#it is very much part political intrigue part journey to the center of the earth

[achilleid]

EPYLLION { wip intro }

audience: new adult, adult (explicit violence and sexual content) genre: dark fantasy pov: trio third person limited, past tense rep: bisexual characters, gay characters, transgender character, character with emotional intensity disorder, multiple characters of color inspo: shadow of the colossus, gangs of new york, bloodborne, shadow and bone, final fantasy pinterest board: link spotify link: link tag list (+/-): @ladywithalamp @bebewrites @faelanvance @reowrites @pinespittinink @cream-and-tea @flowerprose @touchingmadness @measlywritingblog @inkingfireplace @muddshadow

Prologue and first four chapters: link

☾ SUMMARY ☽

Born without power in a land that covets nothing else, Shio Moravek has been outcasted and ostracized since the moment she was declared to be an illuni. "Moonless". One who can not manipulate the threads of reality to her will. Her position as the grand general's daughter provided her with protection, protection that vanishes in one night of bloodshed that will shake the foundation of her world to its hollow core— again.

✩ SETTING ✩

Argo is a wonder of Eldred making, the last remaining walled city built by the precurser race that came before. The final bastien of safety in a world of monsters and darkness, the city is Mavros' shining jewel... and the world's most desired conquest. The armistice between Mavros and the neighboring Illyrius has held true since the marraige of the Illyrian Emperor's daughter to the Mavronian king, an armistice that trembles on the brink of destruction. Outside the walls of the ancient city, the world has all but ended. The Eldred, in their hubris and desire for more power, had thrown the world to the edge of an abyss. A rift in the fabric of reality shattering the land and pouring out unnatural creatures and foul, incurable diseases that poisons what little remains to rot. And beneath? Beneath the hollows of this dying earth lays the Below. As mysterious as it is deep, it has held the secrets of the extinct Eldred for centuries, entombed in shadow. This is a world that has ended. A world shuddering its final death rattle while those lucky few cling to its last remaining life raft.

☾ Main POV Characters ☽

Shio Moravek; eldest daughter to Leos Moravek, the grand general of Mavros. Raised on duty and expectation in equal measure, Shio has always strived to be what she was expected to be— until the day she failed her testing and was proven to be an illuni. With her background mired in rumor, the proud and cold nobles of her homeland have shunned and rejected her all her life. Through her father's friendship with the king, she was admitted to the prestigious Anthea College to study spherence despite having no sphere of her own.

Leonores "Nell" Moravek; youngest daughter to Leos Moravek and the second most powerful spherest to be born in a century. Having inheirited her father's kineti abilities, much is also expected of Nell and her future as a protector of her homeland. Unlike her sister, Nell chaves beneath the chains of honor and duty, wishing instead for a freedom she may never be afforded.

Enoch Volkov; The thief lord's boy. The king's bastard. All Enoch's life, his parent's titles have proceeded his own identity— an identity no one is keen to let him forget. All his life he has been treated as a chip to cash, a favor to call in, ignoring at all times the gnawing desire in his chest to be more. To be the heir to a destiny of his own making... a wish he may grow to regret.

[truthbeetoldmedia]

Doctor Who 11x06 “Demons of the Punjab” Review

Finally, an episode that highlights Yaz!

After some convincing, the Doctor agrees to journey to the Punjab circa 1947 so Yaz can meet her Nani Umbreen and make sense of the secrets she seems to be keeping. Her Nani did give her a mysterious broken watch and refused to talk about it…yeah, I’d be searching for some answers, too.

They happen to arrive on the very day of India’s partition, a conflict which caused the death of over a million people and the displacement of tens of millions. That’s an extreme summary, keep in mind.

When we meet Yaz’s Nani, she’s certainly a force to be reckoned with. She’s smart, with a great sense of self and a strength that we’ve seen hints of from Yaz. Honestly, I would not be opposed to Nani as a future companion.

Yaz’s attempt at a happy family reunion is almost immediately derailed when she finds out her Nani is about to marry a man that is not her grandfather, and that their upcoming marriage is at the heart of the conflict between her husband-to-be, Prem, and his brother Manish. A literal brother against brother scenario unfolds, with Manish outraged that his brother, a Hindu, would marry Umbreen, who is Muslim. Apparently while Prem was away fighting in Saim his brother became a fully fledged Indian Nationalist who was all too eager to put up a literal barrier between the land belonging to his family and to Umbreen’s.

I’m immediately intrigued by this — her Nani had a whole first marriage that she told no one about? There’s bound to be a reason why.

Yaz’s panic upon realizing her Nani is about to marry Prem quickly fades into a touching devotion to her Nani and her happiness. It’s clear that Umbreen and Prem are in love, and they’re both determined to overlook any political conflict or religious difference that might stand in the way of their marriage. Yaz even takes part in the wedding when Umbreen asks her to tie her and Prem’s hands together using the rope that previously divided the new border between India and Pakistan. Subtle symbolism, Chibnall.

Wedding aside, this episode is uncomfortable to watch, and for good reason. You can’t exactly write an episode centered on the partition between India and Pakistan as a comedy. There’s an uneasiness that builds throughout the episode. Violence is approaching the partition. Manish is growing more and more volatile. We know that Prem isn’t Yaz’s Grandfather. Why?

The aliens in this episode serve as a red herring, immediately focused on as the villain by the Doctor. She recognizes them as the Vajarians, an alien race of assassins. It’s pretty confusing as to why they’re in the Punjab, and why they’d be targeting anyone there. Not too long into the episode we find them huddled over the body of the holy man that was to officiate Umbreen and Prem’s wedding — but what kind of threat could a holy man pose to anyone?

It turns out, if you applied the obvious answer to that question, it’s pretty easy to see how things will play out in the rest of the episode.

We can’t seem to find a reason that aliens would want to kill a holy man, and that’s because there isn’t a reason. They weren’t even the ones that killed him. That was Manish, still upset about the union of his brother and Umbreen, and willing to do whatever it takes to keep India and Pakistan separate.

The Doctor then learns that the reason that the Vajarians are on Earth is worse than previously thought. They are no longer assassins, but witnesses. They’ve changed since their entire planet was destroyed while they were away on a mission. Their entire planet and everyone on it was destroyed, without witness and without fanfare. So their new mission is to travel through space and serve as witnesses for those who would have otherwise died alone, as they did with the holy man. They explain to the Doctor that they’re specifically in the Punjab because of the upcoming violence, and that “millions will perish, unseen and unheard.”

Again, Chibnall isn’t so subtle with his references here: the episode aired on Remembrance Day, so writing an episode that centers around the Punjab with an emphasis on violence perpetrated by everyday people isn’t exactly a coincidence.

It’s easy to see by now that Prem is doomed, to be blunt. We now know that his brother is so caught up in this Nationalist narrative that he’s willing to kill, and as the episode progresses he grows more and more aggressive. Before Prem’s inevitable death, he manages to vocalize what the entire episode is about. He expressed his dismay at the partition and the violence growing closer. Sometimes the violence that is the most harmful is the violence perpetrated by “ordinary people, who’ve lived here their entire lives.” He continues to say that there’s “nothing worse than when normal people lose their minds.”

This episode is an obvious reflection on the Punjab, but I think we can all apply this warning to the events surrounding us today. We’re all being told that our differences are more important than what we have in common, something also mentioned by Prem.

In the end Umbreen and her mother are forced to flee, leaving Prem behind so he can attempt to reason with his brother. The Doctor and Team TARDIS are left to witness Prem’s murder, having to stress inaction much like in “Rosa.” Watching our heroes walk away from Prem, the fatal gunshot sounding in the background, is unlike anything they’ve done on Doctor Who.

All in all, this was another solid episode of Doctor Who. It’s obvious now that Chris Chibnall’s strengths are character driven conversations and historical episodes, of which I’m happy about. The aliens in this episode were underwhelming, but I think that was the point. They certainly weren’t meant to be the focus.

However, the problem I’m beginning to see is that the same thing applies for almost all the aliens we’ve met so far this season. The P’Ting of episode five was universally panned as silly, and the aliens that have the potential to be menacing haven’t been afforded enough time to be effective. We’re also being introduced to only new aliens, and not any Doctor Who classics like the Daleks or the Cybermen.

I’ve mentioned before that in previous seasons the show suffered from long winded story arcs that focus too much on being clever, but this serious doesn’t even have one. Monster of the week episodes are great and can be some of the strongest in the series, but without linking at least a few episodes, the effectiveness of the season as a whole suffers. There was potential in the beginning with The Stenza, but that potential quickly disappeared. There also haven’t been any truly high stakes for the Doctor, something that is noticeably missing from Jodie Whittaker’s performance. She’s wonderful in the lighter moments and is effective when being stern, but we haven’t seen her be a true force as the Doctor. Let’s hope the second half of the series picks up steam — who knows, maybe there’s a reckoning coming after all.

Alyssa's episode rating: 🐝🐝🐝🐝

[catelyngrant]

4, 7, 15

4 - Magical Girls (which I’m expanding to include girls with superpowers/supernatural abilities because otherwise it would be all Harry Potter characters)

Hermione Granger: I know it’s a boring answer but as much as I love all of the ladies in HP - Ginny, Luna, Minerva, Molly, Tonks, Lily, Fleur, I could go on and on - Hermione was the formative one for me. Young teenager struggling to fit in and railing against the injustices of the world, trying to help but not always in a positive or productive way - yeah, that resonated. Growing up with her, and then seeing as her character evolved not only in the text but also in how fandom - and how I - perceived her, has made her a really special character for me. 

Daisy Johnson: I’m so ashamed to admit it now but I didn’t like her at first! I thought she and Ward were so boring and that early season one Skye was something of a manic pixie dream girl. HOW WRONG WAS I THOUGH. She’s become one of my all time favorites, and the moment when I realized that the show that had purported to be about Coulson and his resurrection was in fact the origin story of a new superhero entirely was amazing. Everything she’s been through over the course of the show has made her more capable, more resilient, and more compassionate, and it’s been a joy to watch that journey (even when it’s painful af).

Kara Danvers: Puppies and rainbows and a healthy dose of grief and rage. She not only has to keep control of her physical strength and super senses during every waking moment, she has to tamp down the unimaginable loss and fury that has followed her from Krypton to Earth. The fact that she controls those feelings and yet doesn’t pretend they’re not there - the fact that she still lets herself love, form relationships, experience joy and heartbreak, and then uses all of those emotions to fuel her commitment to protecting Earth - is far more powerful than any of her physical abilities.

(Book) Arya Stark: Her magic isn’t as obvious as Bran’s, but between what she’s learned at the House of Black and White and her connection to Nymeria, magic is a big part of her story. Unlike Kara, Arya actively tries to shut down those feelings of loss and love in order to cope and to become “No One”. The things that drive her, though - her love for her family, her sense of justice, her compassion, her desire above all else to go home - make that impossible, of course, and are among the many things I love about her.

Leia Organa: I figure the Force is close enough to magic, even though she chooses not to use it. That’s one of the things I love about her, actually. She - like so many others on this list - has faced unimaginable trauma, and when presented with something as tempting and powerful as the Force in the wake of that, I think her decision to turn away from it and recognize how dangerous it is is pretty remarkable. Her unwavering commitment to what is good and right, and the fact that she continues to fight for it - whether actually in the field, in the political arena, or pulling the strings from a command center - when it would be so easy for her to turn and reject it all (like the men in her life) says everything about her.

7 - That I’d invite to a sleepover/dinner party

My sleepover would be Sansa Stark, Jemma Simmons, Martha Jones, Lucy Lane, and Luna Lovegood. They all deserve a night of laughter, lightness, and female friendship. Lucy and Martha would give Sansa no small amount of dating advice; Jemma and Martha would geek out over alien science and medicine, and Jemma in particular would be very frustrated but intrigued at Luna’s magic; Luna would do up Sansa’s hair with flowers and charm her nails to turn different colors; Sansa would make lemon cakes and Lucy would make drinks that taste like fruit juice but have about six different kinds of rum.

My dinner party, on the other hand, would be Cat Grant, Norma Bates, Sarah Jane Smith, CJ Cregg, and Beverly Crusher, and that’s because I just really, really want to witness that shit show. I actually have pretty extensive headcanons about Cat and Sarah Jane (acclaimed journalists who report on alien activity and who have hard-to-define relationships with the more or less last member of an alien race) and Sarah Jane and Beverly (they met when Sarah was traveling in the TARDIS and are both dedicated to helping and supporting people/aliens of all species, plus both have teenage sons with otherworldly intellect/abilities). CJ doesn’t have the alien connection but would fit in very well with those women, and I feel like she would be delighted by Norma, who I honestly think should be at every dinner party ever just for entertainment value. She needs female friends, though, and I think that Sarah and Beverly would actually be quite good for her (and maybe could offer some parenting advice).

15 - I want to rescue from their horrible narratives

Kara Danvers: no more said

Show!Arya and Show!Sansa: again, no more said (tonight’s episode just started and I’m not watching because of what I heard about their story)

Almost every lady on 24: It’s too late now, of course, but I want to rescue Martha Logan, Karen Hayes, Allison Taylor, Audrey Heller, and at least four or five others from the endings they were given.

Clarke Griffin: I haven’t watched since 3x07 but I see enough here on Tumblr to know that this girl has suffered enough.

Donna Noble: She actually had an amazing narrative, it was just the end that was terrible because it ERASED that narrative. So let’s fix that too.

send me a number from this list

[recommendedlisten]

To its credit, 2019 has taken a much different path and feel to its start than recent years in music. There has definitely been more than enough to appreciate, but if you look through these first three month’s of recommended listens, it’s held with it a unique way of intriguing us with albums by artists on the rise and breaking out, those of familiar faces reinventing themselves, or some mastering what they’ve always done exceptionally well. There’s plenty more of that which this one-human writing operation didn’t have a chance to elaborate its admiration for on initial release. With a fresh season in swing, here’s a dozen more listens that will help you soak in the longer stretches of daylight in the coming months.

American Football - American Football [Polyvinyl Records]

American Football's music holds a magical conjuring to it that elicits cozy desires of the purest emo feels. The band is two decades removed from the hallmarks of their 1999 genre-defining classic debut, however, and as with all things in life, time has changed them, and that’s especially evident on their fully grown third eponymous effort. On American Football, Mike Kinsella and company leave home, but don’t forget where they’ve come from. Lyrics reflect on adulting with a worn out twinkle of the eye in a way that sees the past, but move on from living in it. The sonic sphere of the Midwestern scene heroes has shape-shifted according as well -- No longer concerned with deciphering ornate arpeggio patterns of long division inside insular spaces, and instead expanding the vantage point over gorgeous, lush-flowing atmospheres of post-rock. Voices of Paramore’s Hayley Williams, Slowdive’s Rachel Goswell and Land of Talk’s Elizabath Powell make apparitions inside Kinsella’s daydream realities as well, and with that, American Football find a new world of somber comfort to live in.

Angel Du$t - Pretty Buff [Roadrunner Records]

True punks embrace change, and Angel Du$t are a very good example of moving beyond the comfort zone boundaries. The Baltimore band, which began somewhat in the fashion of a supergroup led by Trapped Under Ice’s Justice Tripp, fellow TUI bandmate and frontman for Turnstile in guitarist Brendan Yates, his ‘mates in drummer Daniel Fang and rhythm guitarist Pat McCrory, as well as Jeff Caffey of Mindset, has turned the corner of throaty melodic hardcore heard on their 2016 debut Rock the Fuck on Forever, and head first into jockish feel-good pop-punk jams with their sophomore effort (and first since signing with heavy-hitting major Roadrunner Records) Pretty Buff. Stripping down amps in favor of crunchy power-pop bliss radiates positivity throughout their music. At any point, these songs can become love odes to a human as much as they can be a fur friend, with Tripp’s positive glee.being the kind of thing that ushers in the upcoming days where more warmth and daylight has a funny way of making you appreciate everything around you a tiny bit more.

Ariana Grande - thank u, next [Republic Records]

It’s somewhat of a shame that Ariana Grande’s fifth studio album thank u, next has arrived so soon on the heels of last year’s blockbuster Sweetener, because we didn’t even have a chance to get sick of. What’s different here, though, is that while thank u, next’s hit singles have led the charts in abundance, these jams are more so a testament to her stylized staying power, art of the mood-making, and consistency in craft rather than the big production immediacy of what songs like “no tears left to cry” or “breathin” blew out of the speakers. Essentially, it’s a suitable bookend to its predecessor from a different point of view -- A comedown, if you will, to the glitter and stardust where Grande meets her old nemesis heartbreak once again in the middle, and this time around, challenges the way it shapes her expression. There’s a reason why Grande has been adorned this festival season’s pop crossover headliner, and it’s because albums like thank u, next defies the mainstream’s conventional wisdom.

Better Oblivion Community Center - Better Oblivion Community Center [Dead Oceans]

It was so obvious and almost too good to be true, yet we set our expectations to disbelief. Better Oblivion Community Center, however, is the secret gift given to us by kindred songwriting spirits Conor Oberst and Phoebe Bridgers we should have seen coming all along. Bridgers, a spry 24, is the student mastering the art of veteran Oberst’s long lineage of sad eyed songwriting, and that they had toured and collaborated occasionally with one another before unveiling their self-titled debut was an early indication that this creative bond was formed for the long haul. Leaning into each other for their journey into the unknown, the two bring out each others’ best, which is a testament to Bridgers’ rising star as a contemporary vanguard and a redemption for Oberst, who has been finding his way back to himself slowly since putting his Bright Eyes days to rest. Songs wield in cryptophasia, with voices mutually pitied and political in their shared perspective, while chords tumble in the same key. It’s pure craft, because of how real they’ve always kept it.

Girlpool - What Chaos Is Imaginary [ANTI-]

There was a time when Harmony Tividad and Cleo Tucker’s sights were merely set on their world getting bigger, but with Girlpool’s third studio effort, the duo have ventured into an expanded universe of promising new patterns in their continuous evolution as artists and individuals. What Chaos Is Imaginary is the natural progression forward from what their 2017 sophomore effort Powerplant generated in melancholic electricity. Tividad’s songwriting blusters in dreamy swaths of reverb, and although the stories told only become more opaque in their synthetic texture, it’s fitting for the outer body experiences they indulge. Tucker on the other hand is becoming comfortable with their hands, with LP 3 being the first release since they began transitioning and discovering their own sure footing in brittle indie rock honesty. We’re witnessing both Girlpool members come into their own elements here, and having each other’s backs every step of the way only reinforces that growth.

Hand Habits - placeholder [Saddle Creek]

Meg Duffy has spent many years playing an important hand in crafting other people’s music inside the studio (they have worked alongside Kevin Morby and Weyes Blood), but on placeholder, their breakout sophomore effort as Hand Habits, all attention goes into both their own words and sound in a warm-lit display of tumultuous memories stretched across the canvas with an ease that juxtaposes their difficulty. Akin to their new Saddle Creek contemporaries Adrianne Lenker and Tomberlin, Duffy knows their way around every detail in the moment in the same way they know how to ornate them through rustling folk guitars, a vocal calm, and burning ember production that sweeps beneath this collection of songs’ melancholy pacing with just enough lasting impression to keep them in the corner of their rearview vividly. It’s not necessarily moving on, but rather sitting with these emotions where Duffy processes them the most through their creative identity.

HEALTH - VOL. 4 :: SLAVES OF FEAR [Loma Vista]

The way HEALTH has evolved from being one of the most aggressive experimental noise acts into that of a blown-out industrial complex has been a rewarding part of their allure over the years Their 2015 effort DEATH MAGIC was arguably thei band’s largest shift away from dense layers of sonic collision and creating noise for the sake of, as they began to emboss pop vocals and the impact of EBM into their sound with an effect to match the pulsating gristle of their live show. VOL 4 :: SLAVES OF FEAR is the Los Angeles trio’s full commitment to that side of their creative identities, as the listen -- while still devastated by crushing drums and industrial pile-ons -- is onset with a glossier coverage of rock textures as well as a heavier focus on movement. It’s also elevated singer Jake Duzsik platform on their earth-rattling surface, as his hollow echoes lead HEALTH further into the downward spiral of their nihilism, enjoying the free fall rather than trying to fight it.

La Dispute - Panorama [Epitaph Records]

La Dispute’s wilderness of post-hardcore isn’t the easiest to navigate. For years, the Michigan quintet have been of the most intentionally experimental of “the wave” alongside the likes of Touche Amore, Pianos Become the Teeth, Defeater and Make Do and Mend in a sense that makes it easy to conceive them as the scene’s answer to a band making their own Radiohead-like trajectory. Panorama, their fourth full-length effort, is another dense, complex exploration into the nuances between dead silence and deafening blows, again seeing its ebbing arpeggios, percussive footsteps, and angular detours polished into knifelike maneuvers and expanded into widescreen view by producer Will Yip as their first album for punk vanguard Epitaph Records. Despite its big picture feel, Panorama is deceptively focused on more intimate ruminations concerning love, death, grief, and existential relief. As vocalist Jordan Dreyer narrates his trek from points in Grand Rapids to Lowell alongside his partner, we meet the faces of each, though often they’ve been familiar to us all along.

Lomelda - M for Empathy [Double Double Whammy]

Where we last left Lomelda’s Hannah Read was in the pursuit of outward-seeking connection in the midst of wanderlust on her 2017 breakout Thx. Its follow-up may be a departure from that quiet grandeur, though what’s most curious about a return by the Los Angeles-by-way-of-Austin songwriter to tape deck bedroom folk lore is how it also suffices to compliment a flip on perspective from the other direction. M for Empathy, a brief 16-minute-long listen, isn’t short of inward inspection on the matter of better understanding one another in many directions, and given a deeper appreciation for it thanks to her time on the road. This mental homework performed by Read is done justice in its humbled environment of tender acoustic strums, warm key hums, and memory fragments. Just as she knows how to make the most of these simple strengths, she knows herself better, too.

Nanami Ozone - NO [Tiny Engines]

Let’s be honest: Today’s young indie rocker are very much going to the well one too many times in reappropriating alternative’s golden age, but at least Nanami Ozone are breathing their influences in a totally different atmosphere. NO, the sophomore effort from Nanami Ozone, is a borealis of bliss. By now, we’ve heard punks do their best to reinvent the wheel of dream-pop and shoegaze to an exhausting degree, but what the Arizonian quartet are doing the most here are is searching far beyond the static to make it sound both loud and colorful. That they’ve two vocalists to lead these distortion waves through that polarity in guitarists Sophie Opich and Colson Miller is one aspect of it, but collectively alongside bassist Jordan Owen and drummer Chris Gerber, NO is multi-dimensional in its ‘90s pillaging of big riffs and feedback, equal parts indebted to the Breeders knack for noise pop, Sonic Youth’s dark mazework, and the psychedelic haze burning off Swervedriver. It’s heavy with an objective, and anti-gravity when emotions take the reigns.

Nothing - Spirit of the Stairs -- B-Sides and Rarities [Relapse Records]

The sound of Nothing now exists in a plane within this music universe beyond the heavy shoegazing punk of the Philly band’s formative years. Last year’s great third full-length Dance On the Blacktop was evidence of how the quartet have maximized an already loud sound to fill the void with bigger production cues and reigning control over reverb in a way that can make deathly quiet moments feel just as huge. Appreciating the steps made from getting to point A to point B is thoroughly documented on Spirit Of The Stairs – B-Sides & Rarities, a collection of demos, live outtakes and covers of songs by Grouper, Low and New Order that the band has amassed since their early years until today, and now collects itself as an essential listen for any listener of their work, be it longtime or someone being introduced. Hearing the bones rattle on some of their more recognizably fleshed out listens colors Nothing’s catalog in new shades of darkness while shedding light on its depths.

Solange - When I Get Home [Columbia Records]

Solange’s 2017 soul-baring standout A Seat At the Table was a contemporary R&B pop masterpiece that demanded a voice for women of color amid the white noise of volatile world, and was executed with such pristine songwriting precision that it was undeniable to ignore. With her fourth studio effort When I Get Home, Solange is setting her soul free, however, as she escapes into an experimental sonic revelation obscured by the fragments of its many Houstonian fingerprints she’s pieced together in mosaic fashion that feels fittingly reactionary to its predecessor. Here, she crosses a 19-song-long universe in just 38 minutes time through production that’s locally sourced and rooted in chopped and screwed samples, cosmic jazz free flows, and futuristic hip-hop. Appearances by the likes of Earl Sweatshirt, Tyler, the Creator, Steve Lacy, and Pharrell are masterfully complimentary, yet barely visible against the backdrop of her black energy, which the listen wholly beams even if refracts in the light.

[wanderlustingvegan-blog]

the first one

I was sitting in my Academic Advisor’s office when this whole journey started. We were planning my classes for the fall semester in my second year at Binghamton University when she said, “Wow, you have a lot of credits for a freshman. Have you ever thought about graduating early?” No, the thought never crossed my mind. Although I’ve always loved school and learning new things, I never thought I was the student that could finish college early. But low and behold, the AP classes I took in high school and the summer internship I took in Manhattan paid off with 16 credits toward my degree. I already skipped an entire semester of college. I talked through a plan with my advisor; if I took winter and summer classes for the next two years, I could graduate a year early. College in just three years? I was paying for my education myself, so if I didn’t have to pay another $12k out off pocket, or apply to 10+ scholarships for another year, I was in.

But, what would I do in this extra year that I would’ve spent in school? I could start with getting a job, working for a nonprofit in the city, and make money as soon as I could. Or I could do something more worthwhile… what if I traveled for a year? I’ve always dreamed of traveling since I was younger, I’ve always wanted to hop on a train or a plane and explore. I started doing some research and the trip seemed possible. After going to Israel for Birthright the winter before I started making these plans, I knew I wanted to go back and live there for at least a month. But there were so many more countries that intrigued me; I didn’t know where to start! By the time my third year rolled around, I made more plans, booked some flights, and my trip became real. I was really doing this. I was traveling across the world by myself for 6 months.

I stayed in touch with a few people from my Birthright trip and one of them mentioned a program called Onward Israel to me as we were catching up. She did the 2-month internship program the summer after we did Birthright together and was working as a representative for them now – after I applied, I had my interview with her and was approved immediately! The program required a down payment that went towards living in an apartment for 2 months, along with interning at an Israeli company and getting a stipend for food; it was a great deal for what I paid for. The experience was one I will never forget. Not only was this program how I started off my travels abroad, but it was the longest I would be spending in one place. I planned to stay for 2-4 weeks in my other destinations and was traveling by myself, too. But this experience was unlike anything else I’d encounter in the rest of my journey. A few days before I moved in, I found out my apartment was filled with 9 other girls. As I walked through the door, it looked more like a loft than an apartment. My name was on the dining room table, along with a key, and I put my things in the first room I saw. No one else was home but later, I found out that I shared the room with two other girls, strangely reminding me of my life in the dorms back at college.

The whole program felt very structured at first. We had weekly activities that were either about Israeli history, society, politics, etc. or about us – the interns. As much as these activities were informative, some were meant to have us socialize and get to know each other – forcibly. I did connect with a few people on the program, but that took weeks of me becoming comfortable around them. In the beginning I was just around strangers. I didn’t have anything in common with them except for the program we were all on together. Although I spent a lot of time with them and got to know them, there was still a part of me that felt lonely, that truly became homesick. I missed my friends that I recently graduated with, who were all still in the college-town we made so many memories in. I missed my sister, who started a new job and was making strides in her art career in Manhattan. I was starting to miss a lot of people and wondered if I was cut out for living on the other side of the world for the next several months. Luckily, my loneliness subsided as I befriended a few of the girls I lived with. They were the first to show me how genuine friendships can come out of the most unexpected places.

One moment shifted my views on the program, as I got to know one of my roommates, Mina. We had a lot in common from the moment we met – similar music taste, our views on Judaism, our spiritual beliefs, and the difficulties life threw at us when we were too young to heal ourselves properly. I mentioned that I wanted to go to the Western Wall one morning on Shabbat because I haven’t gone since Birthright and wanted to recognize the holiday in the most holy place on Earth. Shabbat, or the Sabbath, is the day of rest for Jews. From sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, Israel has everything closed for 24 hours – grocery stores, shopping centers, most restaurants, etc. – to ensure that everyone is resting, or keeping Shabbos. The people on my program, all being Western 20-somethings, were always looking to make plans and find something to do together on Shabbat, but not a lot of people were religious. Mina and I bonded over the fact that we didn’t think of ourselves as very religious, but we did see ourselves as spiritual Jews. She agreed to come with me to pray at the Western Wall on Saturday morning and the experience was completely different than the last time I was there. We walked from our apartment in Rehavia (a neighborhood in Jerusalem) to the Old City. It wasn’t until we entered through the old Yellowstone arch that we realized we were not going anywhere near the entrance of the Western Wall. Google maps isn’t the best for taking you to the exact location in a place like Jerusalem’s Old City, and instead of trying to find signs to tell us where to go, we were millennials that trusted Google would get us there in no time. Eventually, we put our phones away, trusted our instincts, and wandered around the different quarters of the Old City until we found the signs pointing to the Kotel, or the Wailing Wall in Hebrew. 

We entered through the Jewish quarter and found the entrance for women, since there are sections for men, women, and an egalitarian section which is where I went during Birthright. But being surrounded by other Jewish women of various origins and sects of Judaism was comforting. I felt like I belonged and followed Mina to get a prayer book, find a table to open to Hebrew prayers, and start to pray. It was overwhelming. Anyone who has been to the Kotel knows, the feeling you get when you are in front of a wall that large, with so much history and meaning behind it. It’s a feeling like no other. My heart started to ache and tears were streaming down my face as I spoke to G_d and connected with myself again. I looked over at Mina and she was sitting, eyes watering, deep in thought looking into her prayer book. We made eye contact and went to touch the wall, finish our prayers, and walked backwards to put our prayer books away and head home.

Getting out of the Kotel wasn’t difficult but we realized that we came out of the furthest exit from the direction we needed to go back to Rehavia – 40 minutes of walking in the sunny, 90+ degree weather that Israeli summers are known for. We decided to stop in a park on the way back to lay down, relax, and take off our layers of modest clothing. The stop in the park and walk back to our apartment was when Mina and I truly became friends. We opened up to each other about the most personal subjects, shared childhood stories with each other, and realized that we both needed each other that summer. She helped me remember how incredible my life was when I’d feel lonely or upset about missing home. Although the program we were on was completely different from how I wanted my travels to start off, it still brought me this incredible, strong, compassionate, and loving friend that I never would’ve met otherwise. It was hard saying goodbye knowing that she lives in Indiana, a far trip from New York, but I know our paths will cross again. 

After leaving my life in Jerusalem and starting my journey as a solo traveler, there were moments that I missed my friends I made in Onward Israel. I was only an hour away from my home in Rehavia when I went to my next long-term destination in a city in the West Bank called Ramallah, also known as the capital of Palestine. I spent a month working at a hostel in the center of the city and rarely felt lonely at this point of my trip, mainly because the people that surrounded me were some of the most genuine and kind people I’ve met. Working a hostel was an experience on its own but the fact that I was constantly surrounded by people, whether it was guests or other volunteers, was something I enjoyed getting used to. Like the friends I made during Onward Israel, I found my core group of friends at the Hostel in Ramallah too – Fanny, Caleb, and Carina. We all arrived around the same time, in the beginning of September, and over the weeks we spent cleaning, helping guests, and taking our days off to travel around the West Bank, we grew really close. Although I loved spending time with each and every one of them, I wanted to take a trip to the north of the region and had to do it on my own – I craved alone time towards the end of my 4 weeks of volunteering. Every week I’d get one day off, which I didn’t use until my last week there, so I planned a trip for 4 days to go to 3 cities in the North: Tiberias, Nazareth, and Haifa. 

Unfortunately, the days I chose to leave Ramallah and head into Israel was the same day as Sukkot, one of the many Jewish holidays Israel recognizes and similar to how it handles Shabbat – everything is closed. Since Sukkot lasts 7 days and Israel can’t close everything down for a week, the first day is treated like Shabbat while the remaining 6 days are left to be celebrated after sundown, most places close early and buses run less frequently. My travels became delayed and frustrating at times when I had to take the bus to travel to the different cities, spending at least a couple hours each way. On my way from Tiberias to Nazareth, I needed to transfer buses on the highway and did my long-term traveling at night so I could sleep on the bus and spend the whole day in the city. During this time I didn’t have any data left on my Israeli cell phone plan, so I needed to load directions on my phone while I had Wi-Fi at the hostel in Tiberias. Unfortunately, the first bus I took was running late so by the time I had to transfer to the next bus, I was late for the time Google maps told me. I couldn’t load the schedule to see when the next bus was coming (due to the lack of data) but I knew it would take some time because of Sukkot.

So here I am, me and my backpack, on the shoulder of a highway. At 9:30pm. In northern Israel. I kept looking at the screen above me, waiting for my bus number to pop up and eventually I see it, “431 – 47 mins.” I laughed. How do I keep myself occupied for 47 minutes? I couldn’t read my book, it was too dark to see anything. I was listening to music at the time and no one was around me, so I popped one earbud out of my ear, put on my “Billie Eilish: Complete Collection” playlist on Spotify, and started to sing. I’ve loved to sing since I was a child, I would even get yelled at for humming at the dinner table too much. Music and singing are things I couldn’t live without, and whenever I need to cheer myself up, I start to sing. I sang my heart out as cars zoomed past me in the dead of night. I started with “idontwannabeyouanymore,” then “COPYCAT,” then “party favor,” over and over. I was shameless of the drivers that might’ve seen my body language as I got more intense with my performance. It got to a point when the cars were almost like an audience, their headlights were like stage lights. After going through the playlist a couple times and singing the same songs at the top of my lungs, I checked the sign: “431 – 6 mins.” I’ve been singing for more than a half hour and it felt like nothing! I can’t remember the last time I had the chance to sing completely carefree – no time restrictions, no fear of someone walking in on me, no interference. This unexpected inconvenience was a shift in my solo travels. It made the time by myself go from lonely and boring to refreshing and entertaining. No matter who I took that little trip to the north with, it wouldn’t have been the same if I wasn’t alone.

In October, I got on a flight to Poland and in the following 2 months, there were times I felt lonely – but I could handle it more gracefully than how I would’ve in the middle of June. There were times when I wished for a friend I could explore an unknown part of the city with. After meeting new people day in and out, I started to dismiss the small talk and craved a deep conversation with a friend over dinner. This is when I became grateful for traveling in the 21st century where my closest friends were just a phone call away. If I ever had a day of feeling lonely, I could easily find a place with Wi-Fi and call my sister or my best friend. It’s important to have a few people you can always call while traveling solo. Although the time difference was tricky, it was a constant part of my routine to have people I cared about still be there for me. I knew they couldn’t be there physically, but they kept me company when the loneliness took over my mind.

As much as I am a social person, I appreciated my alone time more and more as I traveled by myself. Growing up, I identified as an extrovert – I was the one who got scolded by the teacher because I was always talking to my classmates. I love talking, I love people, but there’s also a comfort I found with being by myself. Traveling gave me the opportunity to release my inner introvert. When I was going to school, I juggled two jobs, maintained a social life and went to the gym daily, never having time to stop and think about myself. Having all the time in the world to listen to my thoughts and recognize my feelings – that’s where I found bliss. My stress became alleviated when I could wander around cities by myself, walk into shops I found interesting, and sit at the bar of a restaurant to read, or converse with the waiters and other strangers eating by themselves. Meeting other people while traveling was one of my favorite parts of traveling by myself, but it did get exhausting at times. When staying at hostels every week, meeting new people constantly, you hear the same questions with the same basic replies,

“Where are you from?”                          “Wow, New York!”

“What made you want to come here?”              “Oh, I came for vacation”

“How long are you here for?”               “I’m here for x days”

“Did you go to the ‘blah blah blah’ yet?”           “You must try to go! It’s so beautiful!”

But there were times when the conversation would stray from the basics and I made a connection with someone. Whether it was with a fellow traveler or a local, I could spend a whole day with someone instead of being by myself and wandering alone. There were times when I did want to be alone and rejected some dinner invitations because I started to crave my alone time. I never would’ve been able to truly enjoy myself if I was traveling for months with another person, or a group of people. I would probably grow tired of them.

I suppose I like traveling by myself because I have more freedom. I have opportunities to learn more about the culture and the people that are surrounding me in this new place I’m discovering, day by day. I began my journey abroad with a Google document of itineraries for each country I went to. I would add to the lists as my time in the destinations got closer, but as time went on, I used these dense itineraries as lists of goals instead. I became more relaxed with letting my body go where it wanted to go, regardless of the tourist attractions or places other people told me to go to. The list helped me when I was bored of an area or wanted to do something more entertaining, but it didn’t make me feel anxious or rushed that I needed to do anything. Traveling alone was one of the best decisions I made for my journey abroad. Yes, loneliness happens, but it goes away.

Four years ago, I never would’ve expected myself to be where I am today. Sitting in my apartment in Brooklyn, reflecting on my travels abroad where I lived out of a backpack for 6 months. Those months were life changing and I’ll never be the same after everything I experienced. I walked through crowded streets of Palestine, roamed around the Old Town of Warsaw, and got lost in a small Spanish village, all on my own. Being alone is so powerful. It forces you to see parts of yourself that only you can bring out. By taking in everything you’ve experienced, incredible things can happen in your mind. You replay the moments and remember the small things that make your heart race again. I’ve learned to be my happiest self without any company. Happiness can come to you in the most unexpected ways, but if there’s anything I learned after my trip is that chasing your dreams is important. Whatever fuels your fire, whatever you feel passionate about, make that your life. You won’t regret it.

[i-belong-in-space]

Xiah: A Character Bio

Name: Xiah Asterion

Appears in: Lacuna, Sky Children, Whispering Gods, Soliloquy of Seasons, La Vie en Bleu, Beasts in the Stars, Wild Earth

Character Summary:

Star Sign: Sagittarius

Personality Type: ENTP, -A/-T

Physical description: Xiah has the soft features of the Ezri, an alien race that landed on Earth before he was born. Many find him beautiful and captivating with strange non-human features, one of which are his black eyes and the way they catch unsuspecting people in their depths. Most Ezri’s hair is a deep black like their eyes, mirroring the universe they were born from. But Xiah dyes his hair a light brown and is continuously morphing his appearance in piercings and tattoos in defiance of the Ezri way. He’s very tall as his race decrees, with long elegant limbs. He moves with a catlike grace and uses his sexuality to his benefit. He’s very aware of his effect on people.

Breakdown: Xiah is the universe’s ultimate playboy. Born from two Ezri parents who raised him to suppress his natural Ezri abilities, Xiah struggles with his identity and covers that struggle up with everything that makes him forget and feel good; promiscuity, alcohol, and a restless need to keep moving through the skies. He’s got a fiery temper, and nothing ever keeps his attention for long. He spent most of his childhood wondering about his ability to read the thoughts of his own people, and the fact that he could manipulate energy at his will. He eventually smothers those abilities (except in situations that would benefit him) in favor of appearing more human. He grows up working on starships with his father and eventually procures a ship of his own to start his wild journeys across the universe, a smuggler under the guise of a merchant. Xiah tends to get himself into the worst of situations, but he always gets out, and with a new lover who usually wants revenge on him. It makes traveling the skies a little more tricky...and interesting.

Sexuality: The Ezri don’t put emphasis on sexuality, but in Earth’s modern culture, he would be seen as pansexual. If someone catches his eye, he has no qualms in pursuing regardless of sex, gender, or race.

Relationships:

Mikas Ikeda (romantic)

Details: Xiah meets Mikas on the planet of Aurora through a band of Mikas’ friends. He becomes their pilot, or personal chauffeur as he sees it, helping them to get where they need to go in their adventures. He sees Mikas as a human who shares some of his own struggles in the emotional department. Both rough and tumble and cold in love, they don’t see eye to eye in the beginning. In fact, they often get into physical struggles of control and mistrust, but eventually come to terms that perhaps there’s more between them than mere intimidation. They share a restlessness and a need for new experiences and eventually form a bond over that.

Miel “Blue” Vauquelin (nemesis)

Details: Xiah sees Blue as a ghost from Mikas’ past. In his pursuit of Mikas, he continuously runs into the roadblock that is Blue and holds that against him. It’s never a smooth meeting between these two, but they’re forced to stomach one another’s company for Mikas’ sake.

Caden Maddox (friend)

Details: Caden to Xiah is a mystery, as the boy is to most people. But Caden is one of his own, someone searching for himself. But where Xiah is hesitant to know himself, Caden is eager and will do anything to uncover the truth about his past and his identity. In a way, Xiah respects Caden for his boldness, honesty, and perseverance.

Senka Idalia (friend)

Details: Senka , a fellow Ezri, is one of the reasons he agrees to tote Caden and his friends around the universe without much gain for himself. He sees someone trying desperately to find the source of their people and in a small part of himself, he wants the same. He would never admit this of course, but knowing where he came from is a yearning in his heart.

Attis Whitewater (romantic)

Details: Attis is a wild, beautiful human to Xiah. He meets Attis on a small backcountry planet, Ceres- the agricultural workhorse of the universe. As with most of his more meaningful relationships, Xiah has a rough start with opinionated, fiery Attis, but they eventually grow very close. Attis forms a deep attachment to Xiah that he’s never really ready to commit to. At this point in his life, he doesn’t have the capacity to commit to a boy who will never leave his home planet though he cares deeply for him.

Bion (friend)

Details: The sister of his first love, Remi. Bion is a spirited woman and they grow close in their youth with Remi as their median. After Remi’s passing, they become like sister and brother and keep his memory alive between them. Xiah often visits Bion in the progressing years, meetings that are often emotionally charged. 

Remi (romantic)

Details: The great love of Xiah’s life, a constant reminder of his own inadequacy. He meets Remi on the planet of Vesta, where Xiah feels more at home than anywhere else in the universe. He loves the wild rawness of the planet, and eventually loves those same attributes in Remi. He learns the value of life through Remi and remains captivated by him even after his untimely death which Xiah wholly blames himself for. He lives many years in silent torment over this romantic link and every relationship thereafter seems overshadowed and tarnished by it.

Pella (romantic)

Details: Pella is a dangerous Nyxian aristocrat who holds Xiah prisoner upon their first meeting. It might be the fact that Xiah may have insulted and stolen from Pella, but Pella is no angel in any sense. It’s ingrained into the minds of Nyxians that all foreigners who aren’t native to the planet Nyx are enemies, sent to their dark planet to fester and ruin it. With that mindset, he has no qualms taking Xiah prisoner, but becomes intrigued by Xiah’s outlandish, roguish ways as the weeks go by. The two become lovers and when Xiah does find his escape, there’s hell to pay if he ever sees Pella’s face again.

Excerpt: “Hello,” the Ezri greeted. He had brought a towel with him and he wiped at his face, cleaning away the grime, all the while smiling at Senka, his eyes sweeping over him curiously, “I’m Xiah.”

Senka nodded politely and passed his name to the other quietly and Xiah smiled wider, slinging his towel over his shoulder. His energy startled Senka, so different was it from any other he had felt, even Caden with his human blood composed himself better than this careless creature. And yet Xiah’s blood was pure and old, no humanity resided in him.

“Were you looking for something in particular? I felt you from miles away.”

“I was merely walking,” Senka answered stiffly, letting his hood fall back and regarding the other carefully. Xiah shrugged, clearly unconvinced. Nonetheless, he gestured behind him with an exaggerated sweep of his arm towards a cluster of domed buildings.

“That’s my unit there,” Xiah turned back to him with a proud grin, “I’m working on repairs to a few vessels in the back. Are you interested in ships?” He said the last bit as if he knew what Senka was after, and he probably did, despite Senka’s best efforts at keeping this stranger from his deepest thoughts.

“Are those your ships?” Senka wondered aloud, allowing his gaze to travel back to the domed building Xiah had come from.

“Built them myself,” Xiah agreed with a sharp nod, “even the Mechi around here have a hard time keeping up with me. I’ve been putting ships together since I was a kid. My fath--”

“There are more of us here?” Senka interrupted abruptly, his heart racing at the prospect of a generation of his own people here, safe, and thriving. Xiah smiled slyly and nodded again.

They’re shielding themselves like you, my friend.

“Come, I’ll show you,” Xiah waved him on and began walking back towards the launch site. Senka hesitated only briefly, considering this odd stranger. He was Ezri and no matter his wild appearance and mannerisms, he was part of the web, part of what Senka was trying to save, and that last thought was what had him following behind Xiah.

When they entered the nearest building, Senka was assaulted by a strange metallic scent and the stench of things burning. All around him were a number of ships, single pods and multi-passenger vessels, in various states of repair.

On the launch pad in the center of the dome sat a single passenger ship, its protective coating glistening prettily in the light, ready for take off through the large open dome above them. A woman in a figure hugging gray jumpsuit was standing on the pad near the ship, hands on her well defined hips.

“Xiah, where have you been?” she asked testily as he stealthily hopped onto the launch pad and approached her.

Senka watched with a mixture of surprise and distaste as Xiah pulled the human woman closer by the hips and kissed her roughly on the mouth. The woman laughed throatily when he released her and she gave him a sidelong, amused glance as she pulled on a helmet over her light hair. Xiah zipped up her suit where her generous bosom had been spilling out and then spun her by the shoulders, pushing her playfully towards the ship. The woman stepped into the pod and strapped herself in before giving Xiah a thumbs up as the door sealed shut with a hiss, the tinted glass hiding her from view.

Xiah jumped down from the launch pad and stood back, watching with a wide grin as the ship launched through the domed ceiling with considerably less noise and smoke than the old ships from Earth. Senka watched the ship disappear, a dark dwindling shape in the morning sky, leaving the atmosphere at a dizzying speed, before he turned back to Xiah with a questioning tilt of his head.

“Is she your keta?” Senka asked skeptically and was even more surprised when Xiah laughed loudly at his words.

“She’s someone I fuck when I’m bored,” Xiah responded somewhat crudely, shrugging at the frown on Senka’s face, “a prostitute who loves to travel. I let her take my pods up free of charge. Well… without a charge to her card, anyway,” he laughed and moved towards an alcove across the room where an oversized drafting table had been affixed to the wall. Scattered maps and what appeared to be plans for new ships littered the surface of the table and the space below. Xiah sat down, brushing the paper aside, and Senka watched in fascination as his slender hands began to sketch across a clean sheet of paper.

If you would like to know more about the series this character is from, stay tuned to this writeblr. I’m going to put up many more character bios and short stories, or stop by my website https://amdailybooks.com/ for more info and many freebies/short stories that will be popping up soon! I’m always up for asks and will talk nonstop about these beloved babies.

(art is copyrighted and made for the Lacuna series <3)

[sierracolfer]

The Untold Story About Elon Musk

How to Get Started with Elon Musk?

Musk did not provide a definitive answer. It promises more information about the new spacesuit will be made available later. Elon Musk is in the center of a rather public meltdown at the moment. It is having a bad week. Even Elon Musk utilizes a mentor. It is one of the most talked-about leaders on the planet. It is the man who brought the concept of green investing.

Elon Musk Can Be Fun for Everyone

You feel as if you have started on an awesome journey and that nothing can stop you. The journey of our life is a little portion of human evolution. Simply speaking, life can be difficult. The Earth, today, is realizing that it has rather limited resources to fulfill its unlimited demands. The more you need to bring in the planet, the more you want to concentrate on potency. The larger the situations you wish to bring in the Earth, the more you will need to control your thoughts.

Anyway, it's the sole way that you may make a positive effect on the planet. Even though it will shape our future, we should understand how it affects our existing lives. The future isn't simple to predict, particularly at the rate technology is advancing in the 21st century.

Create Win-Win Situations When you look to small-minded individuals, they frequently have ideas which are quite different from successful men and women. It is political for me, but in addition, in all honesty, I have zero ideas how to cook meat. Then, for your next notion, you merely make it take place. Probably not a great idea but if you wish to try new things and you truly feel frisky enough, do it. If things aren't failing, you're not innovating enough. Otherwise, it is going to drive you crazy. There isn't any doubt in my mind that intelligence is simply a small percent of the ingredients required to be prosperous.

If You Read Nothing Else Today, Read This Report on Elon Musk

Don't neglect to entertain any question on the subject, which you ought to be well-versed with! Now you've fully read your article, you have to memorize the English words which you did not know in order to accelerate your reading as your vocabulary expands. While it can't be used for in-depth articles, simple reports which don't need much analysis can be readily prepared by AI.

The actual value isn't the data but in the industrial construction of the firm which utilizes the data to fix a problem to earn money, he explained. Many unique factors and considerations are currently shaping the outsourcing market. So, you, taking risks which other individuals find irrational are an essential part of absolutely any excellent success. For some markets, it's impossible to create an intriguing intraday strategy. In any event, it is a very fascinating development that is certain to have an effect on the world we know. Secondly, there has to be an understanding that knowledge is essential. On the flip side, some experts think it can be criminally utilized to create autonomous weapons for killing humans.

Have a high pain threshold When you first begin a company there's a great deal of optimism, things are simply excellent. Furthermore, the organization has specified a dozen revenue and adjusted profit objectives. In reality, the business already has over a hundred offices scattered all over the USA. Therefore, whether you're a start-up company or medium-scale venture and you're seriously considering new small business deals, effective usage of social platforms may boost your quest. Finally, the vehicle should have a range that permits a complete day of driving. As soon as you make it in your automobile and head out on the street, everyone else in their vehicle can impact your trip.