#pass the mitri...

[seithr]

[rorah]

The mentally stable Dimitri Fire emblem 3 hopes.

It surprises me that there's still ppl claiming so, but then I remember we're talking about 3h interpretations and I have to make peace with it.

But that doesn't stop me from venting a little bit in this little space I have lol. Actually, it dries me and makes me feel bad to bring this up because I will have to talk bad about Dedue, and I don't want to talk Bad about Dedue. He's a genuinely good boy. But "Human" nonetheless, which means Flaws. I like Felix too but he's become some sort of a clown that doesn't make me feel too bad. I like Felix tho, In a different way.

Mostly talking about these two because the take that "Dimitri has better support system" baffles me because, technically, these two are his support system in HopesVerse. The persons who Dimitri relays on and seek solace/advice/support. The rest doesn't really tackle any of his personal struggles (aside from the Mage!Mitri frustrated dream, but that's out of the bad equation in our 'mentally unwell' set of pixels, and Shez only has a glimpse). Contrary, to Houses verse where the whole blue lions cast knew about his shit, didn't know what to do, but didn't leave either.

I tackled this topic with other person on Twitter who was (or still is) on board with this take and the phrase they used was They contained him better, which of course I agree and remarked that was exactly the problem. Contain him is gonna be contra productive. I used a water dam analogy, where the structure of such dam is damaged, and the pressure of water keeps accumulating. Causing a foreseeable damage for the dam itself and the surroundings. You don't need to be a genius to understand it, you need experience or knowledge for mental ill topics tho.

I really don't want to extend so much on here because it's mostly just, rant format more than a proper analysis so I just want to point out these two things in their support conversations.

First, Dedue. Encourage him to keep on the vengeful path. Which we know was the final goal of Azure Moon and if you payed attention to 3 houses message. The whole Vengeful argument was something Bad, to keep it simple. Despite Dimitri actively looking for answers/guidance for something that, in a rational state he can see clearly like vengeance will consume his life (also Shez and Felix called out this behavior). Dedue answer only encourage him to keep on that path, because he would do that 💔. Presenting 2 oposite views is a great formula for confusion and disorientation. Now, Dedue's role is primary SUPPORT, not guidance nor orientation. He will support his shit no matter what, and we are quite aware of that if played Houses.

Second, Felix. Felix is a special case. He is smart but also an idiot lacks A LOT of soft skills to actually be of help. He's the only one who knows in this verse about Dimitri having a mental issue. In their A support to say the least, so they don't close or solve anything. What makes it more worrisome is the fact that Felix conceals the issue as a secret.

"So try to keep that whole "removing their heads" thing in check, yeah? We can just call it our little secret."

this extract here makes me feel so unwell 😭help

The whole burden falls over him and his lack of skills and wisdom on the matter will be too much for him later on. He at least, will be able to recognize that the problem is beyond of his capabilities and will look for help. Felix himself has his own issues and journey where he needs to learn. He's forced to get pass beyond some of his angry teen behavior but hasn't completely get over it.

There is a lot more to tackle, but that requires more work and time. What are the topics some of you think is important to cover around understanding the Hopes verse resolution? Dimitri's route? something? Do you think the route without Byleth is better? With that being said, I would like to delve deeper into character analysis, and the role each played for the Lords too. That also requires to talk about the Byleth and needs a whole analysis on their own, which requires time (which i don't have much lol) To end this vent, I would like to encourage people to do a little research for the terminology they're using like "Support System". Who makes it up and how it operates successfully. The fact that ppl saying "he has better support system" only because he didn't go feral on the run alone is not entirely valid. A reminder that people can feel alone with or without people around them. And containing the issue within doesn't solve any problem. At best, it's presented later. At worse, it gets worse.

[renisfan]

Alright I read the whole thing in Japanese

I think the Sharena part is actually fine-ish, as all she knew was that Dedue suddenly wants to kill Edgy without elaborating more than "it's to cut the path for mitri's future", which technically, makes sense. Because if they lose = dimi die = no future. So I can give a pass for that.

However, his personal FB is still a hot garbage.

It was ok up to B (bar the maybe questionable concept of "half transformed state" and the laguz comparison which I don't have the expert to comment on), as Sothe and Tormod were just worried about his well being. But then as soon as we got to A, we got greeted by:

It's to realize His Majesty's IdEaLs

But you were ScHoOlMaTeS

FaTe made us fight

TFW Sharena's dream!Dedue is more in character than actual Dedue

Now to give credit to where it deserves, S started better with them giving very reasonable opinions that the mitri won't want this, and Sothe made a good point that they should try to survive together instead, until Tormod made this stupid addition:

If you can't win, you can just run away!

But ignore him like Dedue did in his response, boy had no effing idea they can't just run away and ditch everyone else in shambles. He insisted this being the only way for mitri to live, and bid farewell to them wishing them a good future, which is very nice of him. To which Sothe, being the somewhat more reasonable one of the two, showed some understanding. But maybe unhappy about his advice being ignored, Tormod is still salty:

It's so sad he has to fight schoolmates to this extend! :(

But again, forgive this boy who had zero idea what good ScHoOlMaTeS they have been, since all Dedue told him was ~~because Fate~~

And just as you thought it's the end of bs, Sothe had to chime in to show you that he's actually just as clueless about the ~~Fate~~ thing, with this silver lining:

Conflicts make people lose their minds in every world

Apparently Dedue is cray cray because ~~Fate~~ brought conflicts so let's just leave him be.

But hey, being the kind guys, they still talked about how there may be a way to save him, referencing how they dealt with similar case for Laguz! Which is nice of them and again I don't have the expert to comment on how ok or not ok this may be.

🎶 ... knowing time betray ~~ 🎶

[joshbruh10x]

Say

"Mitri is so cool wow I can't believe he is that cool he is so amazing he is cool and has cute guinea pigs"

Si Mitri ay magaling, woah di ko naniniwala na Ang galing niya, ang galing niya at may alagang guinea pigs

[corallorosso]

Per quelli che parlano di incostituzionalità del green pass e di dittatura sanitaria. 🌈 Adriana De Mitri

[butwhatifidothis]

3H and Bleach: Where the Fuck am I

So, I’m finally hunkering down and trying to write out this post lmao. I’ve mentioned here and there how my personal experience with the 3H’s fandom is similar to my experience with the Bleach fandom’s in more than one way, and - look. Like, I get there’s definitely a semi-universal thing that goes on across all fandoms. I don’t mean for this to say that this only happens within these two fandoms, because duh, of course they don’t. But!! This post is partly me wanting to air years long annoyance towards the Bleach fandom that just so happens to coincide with my feelings towards the 3H fandom, sooo... yeah lmao

I’ll probably be skimming over some bits about 3H, since most people who come across this will already be familiar with what I’d be talking about in that regard vs Bleach, so just a heads up

Note: This is gonna talk about Bleach which will spoiler territory (writing this off the cuff so not sure where this is goin’ yet lmao but I know that much), so if you don’t wanna see that then don’t read this post lol, I know for sure I’ll be spoiling something ahhhh... noticeable, lol

Ableism against the mentally ill

Now, most people reading this post will be familiar with the blog and how this very, very much applies to 3H, but for the sake of this post I’ll lay it out anyway with a brief summary

Dimitri and Rhea are both characters within 3H that suffer from severe trauma that heavily impacts their mental state. Both are the sole survivors of a horrific slaughter, with that slaughter redefining who they are and leaving a permanent marker within their minds in some way (Dimitri with having auditory and visual hallucinations, Rhea with having obsessive tendencies towards bringing her mother back from the dead). Specifically in CF, both characters are set up in the plot as antagonists, with both characters having to relive their trauma in some way due to the actions Byleth and Edelgard take against them (for Dimitri, having his home be razed to the ground and everyone he cares for dying around him, for Rhea having someone use her mother’s mutilated remains be used to end her and her race) and express extreme anger towards Byleth and Edelgard before they are killed to progress/end the story

Now, uh, sad shit right? Not exactly fuckin’ happy sunshine rainbows. These two characters are put through the wringer and are then murdered. They are rightfully not the fuckin’ happiest because of what happened to them before and what happens to them within the present story. But we’ve heard it all before: “They were crazy!” “They couldn’t be reasoned with!” “They had to be put down out of mercy because they were too ~far gone~ to live happily!” “They needed to be killed for the good of everyone!” It’s an extremely ableist rhetoric that gets passed around the fandom as though it’s totally fine to directly state that mentally ill people should be put down if they’re deemed a “lost cause.” Especially worrying because. You know. If they are a “”””lost cause”””” then it’s directly and specifically because of actions Byleth and Edelgard take against them. 

But how does this remind me of Bleach? What kind of similar extreme, worrying ableism exists there? Well, let me introduce to best girl a certain character with... a reputation, to say the least:

Meet Momo Hinamori.

Holy shit it’s so weird writing this out because I’ve been wanting to for years but have never worked up the nerve to do it lol

It should be noted, in the Bleach verse there’s two worlds out of three - Soul Society and Hueco Mundo, though I’ll only be talking of the former - that deal with “souls” (the essence within a living human). Souls age far more slowly than human bodies do in terms of body, not necessarily the mind (so a teenage soul will likely behave as such for a long while) so keep in mind that I’m going to be using numbers that may seem weird to someone who hasn’t seen Bleach lol.  With that out of the way, here’s a similar, if longer for context to those who haven’t seen Bleach, summary for Momo’s character as it relevant to this post:

Momo is a character in Bleach that grows a deep admiration towards Sosuke Aizen, a respected captain of the military force called the Gotei 13. She comes to views him as the most important person in her world due to him both noticing and paying direct attention to her as well as saving her and her friends’ lives during a training mission gone wrong while she was younger. Note that “younger” here means 40 years ago from the start of the story. Aizen would praise her all the time, allow her to sleep over in his quarters, would drape his cloaks over her when she looked cold, and would overall treat Momo as though he was his daughter for most of the time we see them interact in the beginning portions of the show. Note that none of this is sexual in nature, nor is it ever implied to be seen as such. That’ll be important later in this post

To make a long story short, Aizen comes to betray her. He stabs her through the chest and shows and tells her that she never meant anything to him, throughout the 40 years they’ve known each other (which, mind, for a soul Momo’s approximate age 40 years is still a noticeable amount of time), and he was only using her to help bolster his image as a loveable captain so that he can hide his plan from everybody that much easier. He did horrible things to Momo - from setting her alarm clock back to a later time so that she would more likely come across his pinned, bloody fake corpse. to framing her childhood friend for the apparent murder and tricking her into fighting that friend, to far later in the series tricking that friend into stabbing her (hypnosis shit, to sum that up) for literally no stated reason - that ended up mentally breaking her. She couldn’t believe that the last four decades were all nothing but lies and she fell into a deep denial about Aizen’s true nature - someone else made him do everything he did, she must have missed something that would have warned her about Captain Aizen’s unfortunate situation that forced Captain Aizen to hurt her and everyone else. This denial would take the majority of Bleach’s entire runtime for her to get over completely, with her having hiccups in her recovery even as she works up the nerve to fight him.

Now, uh, also not the fuckin’ funnest of times to be had here. The deep, long-running mental and psychological manipulation of what approximates as a teenage girl from a trusted older figure is something that is very clearly horrific and bad of the older figure, right? Like, we’re on the same page here on that?

This wouldn’t be in this post if that was the case. No, Momo was the one constantly on fire for what happened to her. She was one of the most hated characters in the western audience, and there were endless jokes about “lol look at Momo, the pincushion!” “Crazy bitch Momo, better watch out!” making fun of her and her trauma relentlessly. If you managed to find a Momo fan in the early 2000′s you should have also bought a lotto ticket because holy fuck, everyone hated her. She acted in a startlingly real if deeply uncomfortable way in regards to years long manipulation and she was lambasted for it. She didn’t immediately get over decades long psychological abuse and she was called useless, weak, a horrible representation of female characters, stupid - you name it, she was likely called it. To this day I still tense up when I hear that someone likes Bleach and they mention Momo at all because I’m always thinking “does this person think this abuse victim is dumb for being abused?”

Dimitri, Rhea, and Momo are all victim-blamed to a disgusting degree in the 3H and Bleach fandoms. Dimitri and Rhea are always hit with “well if Dimitri hadn’t have fought back against Edelgard/Rhea caused the “”tyranical systems” in the first place, nothing would have happened to them!” and Momo was constantly hit with” well, it’s not Aizen’s fault Momo was so clingy to him, what could he have done!” and I get so fuckin’ mad dude.

But for Dimitri and Momo specifically, there’s one thing in particular that caught my attention:

The “Rejection Theories”

This had my head spinnin’ a bit when I first heard it, cuz I had managed to avoid the theory for a while in the 3H’s fandom, but apparently a sizeable amount of people seem to believe that Dimitri wasn’t just mad at Edelgard in the Holy Tomb because of... you know *waves hand* fuckin’ everything, but that the primary reason for his anger was that Edelgard... rejected his advances to her? And that the dagger he gave to her when they were 13 was a phallic symbol of baby Mitri’s want to have sex with Edelgard? And. Like. What in the fuck are you talking about. 

But like?? Bleach did this shit too with Momo?? It was also a sizeable amount of people - not everyone, but a noticeable amount - that believed that Momo was just mad that Aizen wouldn’t sleep with her? You’d see it pop up in fics so often, that Momo would want Aizen to fuck her and she’d “go crazy” when he denied her and Momo was actually just this shallow bitch who wanted a good fuck like... what.

Like, when I first heard the Phallic Dagger take the first thing that came to mind is “wait Momo was also accused of just wanting to have sex with the person who traumatized her wtf” 

“Actually it was the perpetrators that should be forgiven because lonely and also some shit about ruling better”

Those in the 3H fandom know how often the “Edelgard was lonely!” line gets thrown by just about every one of her stans. Edelgard was lonely and couldn’t trust anyone, so of course she did what she did! If she had someone near her she could trust she wouldn’t have acted like she does in the rest of the game! Nevermind that she “gets” this in CF in the form of Byleth and still acts just as shittily as she does in the other routes, or how being a little lonely doesn’t fuckin’ mean you get to start war. But anyway, we also hear that Edelgard was justified in doing what she did because her ruling Fodlan would have lead to more peace in the end, once she got rid of the power structures in place now (except that doesn’t happen but whatev I guess lmao)

Aizen? He was lonely too! He was far too strong for anyone to truly be able to understand him, and so he tragically fell down a dark path. If he had known someone who could be considered an equal to him he would have never done all the horrible things he did. And the Soul Society is unjust! It needs to be reformed! So him slaughtering hundreds of thousands of souls at the minimum to harvest all of their power to use as his own is justified because it’ll be used to create a more just society under his rule!

Like. Y’all. Lowkey? I’m so fuckin’ glad Edelgard proved herself to be just as fuckin’ awful with Byleth as without because this shit drove me up the fuckin’ wall back in the day. There was 0 ways to prove that Aizen would damn sure be just as fuckin’ bad if he had an “”equal”” to stand by him than if he didn’t, and I get to kinda be right because without fundamentally changing these characters’ backstories they would not give two flying shits about whether or not they had someone “equal to them” (which is still kinda degrading to think about anyway).

Now, this is where I move away to a different topic lol

A split in the narrative cause divides in the fandom

With 3H houses this is really fuckin’ easy to point at: there’s 4 routes, three consistent stories and one radically different story, and that difference in story causes heavy contention within the fandom. It’s very obvious so I won’t go over it much.

But how in the fuck is there a divide in Bleach? It’s not a fuckin’ Choose Your Own Adventure manga, it’s an anime and manga showing off the characters of Bleach’s stories and interactions (with, you know, plot and shit thrown in).

Well. It’s more accurate to say the anime told a story about the characters, and the manga told... the story about the characters.

In terms of plot, the anime didn’t change much from the manga, but hoo fuckin’ boy, did they change shit about some of the characters. Specifically, they changed a shit ton about three characters: the two main protagonists, Ichigo and Rukia, and another main character, Orihime.

Orihime. Got. Fucked.

The anime would make her far more ditzy and clumsy, her crush (turned growing love later on in the story) for Ichigo during more deeper moments that showcases her feelings for him were downplayed if not removed entirely in exchange for talking or thinking about food, key moments she has with Ichigo early in the manga were cut or deadass changed to something else in the anime, some key moments with her relationship with Rukia were cut, her backstory was watered down - so much of Orihime was fucked with in the anime (her fuckin’ introduction was changed drastically). Meanwhile Ichigo and Rukia were given moments that didn’t exist in the manga, they have filler arcs (remember those lmao) that would be stuffed with shit ton of moments for them that have no basis in the manga, other characters would change their behavior from the manga to reflect a sort of “thing” going on between Ichigo and Rukia.

Look, guys, the anime fucked up so bad the fucking mangaka, Tite Kubo, has said he gets stomach aches watching the early anime because it was that awful. And this divide between the anime and manga’s portrayal of these three character helped spawn the ship war of Bleach: Ichiruki vs Ichihime (oh but more on that in a bit). It tanked Orihime’s popularity because people thought she was the stupid dumbass that would stumble ass first into situations when that wasn’t her character at all. And because the majority of anime watchers only watch the anime... yeah, you can see where this went. So just like in 3H in Bleach you have these radically different tellings of the same characters that drove a big-ass wedge in the fandom

Marketing

Imma be transparent, like I’ve said before I managed to avoid nearly every marketing tactic for 3H so it’s a tad hard for me to speak personally, but from what I’ve been told Edelgard was heavily marketed towards the player base pre-release. She was the poster child of 3H, she got the figma, she was in the spotlight - unless you cleansed your board of 3H content you knew exactly who she was. On top of that, it doesn’t stop in-game - loading screen messages would assume you picked BE, Adrestia is the first option to pick when you want to impress one of the lords in the prologue, the BE class is the first option to pick in choosing which route to play, every character has some moment in the game post ts where they express sympathy with the woman who waged war on them for five years (even characters with no business doing so, like Seteth entertaining the idea that maybe Edelgard isn’t that bad during Myrddin). With all of that good PR for Edelgard in and out of the game it heavily impacted how people saw her, and much of it is used by stans to justify her being a good guy (mostly in the game marketing) despite everything else in the game clearly showing that Edelgard is the bad guy

With Bleach in that regard... you have Ichiruki

holy shit it’s so weird talking about Ichiruki i’m still lowkey nervous about talking about them lmao

With Ichiruki stans, they would cling onto outside material that promoted Ichigo and Rukia together as proof that their ship was going to be canon. Spreadsheets, calendars, poems (some of which didn’t even apply to Ichigo and Rukia’s relationship but they insisted they did anyway), novels - outside material that either wasn’t canon or didn’t pertain to Ichigo and Rukia’s relationship. They would shove it in the face of Ichihime shippers that “see, we have all this stuff for us! We ain’t starving tonight!” when the canon (note: in the manga particularly) would clearly show Ichigo and Orihime’s relationship being the one that leans romantic in multiple significant ways. They would latch onto irrelevant shit that ain’t had nothin’ to do with anything and wave around as a paragon of romance when it literally wasn’t even canon

Just fuckin’ ignoring the creators deadass

Creators and developers of 3H: Edelgard is the typical Red Emperor the only difference is Girl

Stans: that’s just a headcanon

Kubo: Ichigo and Rukia have a platonic relationship and I’ve publicly said this since 2008

Stans, now, to this day: Ichigo and Rukia were robbed

Making people reject what they’re stanning for

I’ve seen a few people express that the more they interact with the fandom and see what her stans are doing, the more they grow to dislike Edelgard despite (some) initially liking or even loving her. To put it simply, the same thing happened with Ichiruki - hell, this happened with me with Ichiruki. I can’t fuckin’ stand the ship anymore because every time I think about it I’m reminded of the absolutely rancid, disgusting things Ichiruki stans have to done to others in the fandom, and even after nearly five years after Bleach has ended I still tense up when someone says they like Ichiruki over Ichihime precisely because of the behavior of the stans, just like I side-eye people who say Edelgard is the best lord. Do they like them because they simply prefer them over the other(s) and they’re not totally fuckin’ bonkers, or are they totally fuckin’ bonkers. 

And, like, that’s not fair! I know that! But I can’t help but think that when such a loud amount of people act in such deplorable ways just because someone didn’t like a bunch of lines on paper/pixels on a screen.

To all the nice Ichiruki and Edelgard fans, hope y’all are havin’ a nice day.

Long, crazy ass explanations as to why X =/= X (and if anything actually means Y)

Teacher theory for 3H. How Edelgard totally didn’t hire Kostas to kill Dimitri and Claude and was only thwarted because Claude booked it, but how she definitely actually meant to simply scare away the teacher that was with them so that Jeritza could be pulled from his already existing position in Garreg Mach to teach one class so that Edelgard can kinda keep a sorta closer eye on exactly one of the other classes (and just do shit all about the other one I guess), because Jertiza’d be able to gleam so much from teaching a class for a few hours a day I promise 

But for Bleach, you also have one particularly infamous theory positing shit that don’t real, with enough renown to be known by a specific name, and that’s the Lust Arc = Fail essay

To explain what the essay is about, I have to set the scene up a bit. Imagine, you, with your tiny little monkey brain, are watching Bleach, and you get to the part where Main Boyo is fighting against Villain to save Girly. Other Guy is there too - this is important. Main Boyo tries his hardest to fight Villain, but is ultimately shot through the fucking chest with a laser from Villain and dies. Like, for bit actually dies. Girly breaks down, has a straight up mental breakdown because she always “knew” that Main Boyo could do anything, and now he’s been killed and is dead in front of her. She screams out Main Boyo’s name, hysterically begging him to save her and protect her because holy shit the love of her life has been brutally murdered in front of her what the fuck. But Main Boyo, from literally beyond the line of death, hears her pleas and snaps back to life as a monster, with the sentence “I MUST PROTECT” repeatedly running through his head and being the only sentence he ever says while in this form, with him fucking destroying Villain and even going so far as to directly hurt Other Guy when Other Guy tries to stop Main Boyo from utterly stomping on Villain. Girly is the only person Main Boyo does not directly hurt, and when Villain is damn sure gonna fuckin’ kick the bucket that is when Main Boyo reverts back human. Everyone is more than a little shocked at what happened, but it’s clear from how relieved Girly is when Main Boyo comes back safe and sound that while this event fundamentally will change their relationship (and it does), it is still one that is extremely strong and they won’t let it get between them (and they don’t).

Now, when looking at the summary, you, with your absolutely miniscule peanut of a brain, might come away thinking, “Hm, Main Boyo might kinda care for Girly given that he literally rose from the dead to protect her and only her and went back to normal once she was safe” and you poor fool would be oh so wrong, because actually, this is all proof that Mian Boyo doesn’t care for Girly and that Villain actually cared more for Girly than Main Boyo ever could.

Without diving too deeply into the absolute lunacy of the Lust Arc = Fail essay, that was its main premise. That Ichigo, after rising from the literal dead directly after Orihime begged and pleaded that he protect and save her and then going on to protect and save specifically her (as Uryu - Other Guy - is also a friend of Ichigo’s and got his fucking arm cut off by Monster!Ichigo), is proof against Ichihime being romantic in any way and was not, in fact, a fuckin’ giant neon flashing sign that read THESE TWO ARE GONNA GET TOGETHER. It was the dumbest shit ever, but Ichiruki stans, much like Edelstans with Teacher Theory, clung to it like white on rice. It didn’t matter how much it was utterly debunked, it didn’t matter how the base premise was stupid as fuck, they point to it as the pinnacle of meta for their respective fandoms in their respective spaces.

And all of this leads me to um... the one I’m kinda the most worried about?

Stan Behavior

Edelstans are their own unique brand of awful in that that the shit they spew is particularly... worrying (”genocide isn’t bad if they aren’t human and also they kinda deserved it” “imperialism isn’t that bad really” the mentally ill should be put down if they’re deemed ~too far gone~” among other... wonderful takes...), and their behavior is also quite shitty, harassing content creators that go against the Approved Opinions (Ghast) or forcing people to take down fanart and in general infecting nearly every Rhea space with all kinds of disparaging comments no one asked for. They actively make the fandom a worse space, and when they flare up it’s almost always noticeable (again, Ghast)

Bleach?

Oh boy.

Guys. If you weren’t there for the Canonization of Ichihime (2016). You dodged a fucking bullet.

The outrage was out-fuckin’-rageous. Their behavior was some of the worst reactions anyone has ever seen come from the canonization of a ship in a shounen. This includes, but is not limited to:

Someone tearing apart all 70+ volumes of Bleach and burning it in their bathroom

In fact, multiple people tearing up Bleach and burning it, while keeping the Ichiruki moments and taping it to their walls

A Rukia cosplayer, in Rukia cosplay, printing out the final color spread of the end-game couples and their friends lounging about - with colored ink and all - and burning it, while filming herself doing so

Ichiruki porn being sent to Tite Kubo

Tite Kubo being accused of grooming a 15 Orihime cosplayer with no proof

Tite Kubo being accused of lying about his various health issues

Ichigo and Rukia being drawn cheating on their spouses with each other - and some of that also being sent to Tite Kubo

Tite Kubo being chased off Twitter by Ichiruki stans... again

Ichihime shippers getting sent death threats

Ichihime shippers getting called delusional for thinking their ship had a chance before the endgame couples were revealed, and then being called delusional for thinking their ship had any real basis and wasn’t pulled “out of nowhere”

Tite Kubo being accused of hating women because of Orihime being shown in an apron in the last chapter and Ichiruki stans jumping to the conclusion she became a housewife, and then Tite Kubo being accused of hating women because when it was revealed that Orihime has a job in a bakery to pay for college later they insisted what Kubo should have done was have Uryu, who’s a doctor at that point, pay for Orihime’s college instead of having Orihime pay for it with her own money 

And mind you, this is only the stuff I’ve personally seen and experienced

I am hoping and praying that Edelstans never get as bad as Ichiruki stans did in 2016, but with how otherwise similar they are my hopes are dwindling more and more. I guess I can take solace in the fact that they aren’t quite... that bad yet? In terms of actions, at least? Their sentiments though are infinitely worse, so like... cool

[vladvodadracul]

Drăculeştii, by Georgina-Viorica Rogoz, 1977

Harefta

At my sight - I must have looked awful, sweaty and dusty, driven mad with the thought that I would not arrive in time and that everything was in vain - the guards made a wall of spears.

I was worn out, I couldn't shout, I only mumbled in Romanian, showing the seal ring I had from Mitri.

"His Majesty's service."

An unknown boyar invited me and took me to the Lord. He was eating some bread and steak under a half-sheet of tent, hung on the elms, to give him a little cool, for the summer sun had begun to burn since before noon.

With Vlad Dracul there were in the tent some boyars and his two sons, one of whom was very small, sleepy, with blond hair, large dark eyes, like those of a doe; the other was tall, bony, already jumped over early childhood. I only paid attention to him for a moment, and addressed my Voivode without hesitation, barely breathing:

“I'm Stepan sin Nanu, Your Majesty's man from Adrianople.”

"I know. You haven't changed. What news do you have?”

“Your Majesty may ask the honorable boyars here not to be upset, because I have to speak to you in private.”

The Lord beckoned to his companions, who pulled away, giving orders and preparing to set out. I didn't tell him anything, but I gave him the scroll with the seal of the Citadel of Giurgiu.

Vlad Dracul looked at it and his face darkened.

"What does that paper say?"

“Examine it, my Lord, it’s the seal of the Danube Fortress. If it's the same as the one on the letter handed to you in the winter by sub-pasha of Giurgiu himself, who sent you here, on the road to perdition, then I will read what is written in the letter, although it is hard for me to upset you. You still have to know the truth.”

The voivode grimaced worse, clapped his hands and shouted, "Logothete, give me the last papers in the rosewood box. Quick!”

A tall, young man I didn't know was approaching.

"And the boyar Voicu?" I murmured, astonished that I had not seen his faithful counselor near his Lord.

"He's sick in Philibe city. The sun hit him on the head, and at his age he felt sick,” murmured the young secretary, handing the voivode a few scrolls with gilded writing.

Vlad looked over the two parchments in disgust, handed me the scroll I had brought, and growled out the words:

"Read. I suspected for a long time, from the moment I looked in the yellow eyes of the bastard sub-pasha. Read it now, what are you waiting for?!”

I raised my eyebrows, waiting for the secretary and prince Vlăduţ to leave, who was now moving next to his father, chewing on some food and turning his back to me.

"If Your Majesty commands me to read it in front of the young son of the Country," I hesitated, beginning to gather my strength after the long, exhausting journey.

“Go, son.”

"I beg you, father, to allow me to stay," the answer snapped. It sounded so little like a request or politeness, it had been said with such passion and seriousness, that the Lord laughed.

"Stay, if you want. You will begin a moment earlier than I thought, or even the ruthless Murad-han himself thought, the bitter lesson that a hostage giaour prince must swallow daily at the Sublime Gate of Happiness.”

"Your Majesty," I said breathlessly, "you should turn around. Know that everything is ready for your escape. We'll hide you for a night in a caravanserai, then we'll put you in a camel driver’s clothes and we'll take you to the Arvanites in Scanderbeg’s mountains. The Castriota prince is with the Christians, although today he is in Murad's service.”

“Mitri is an idiot!” Vlad Dracul thundered. “I don't need such advice, it's too late! Come on, read.”

I coughed, ashamed, and started with the official formula:

“To our great Sultan Amurad-han, the son of the glorious Muhammad, the enlightened and ...”

“Jump over his enlightenment. Get to the core”, the Voivode ordered me.

"... And know, my blessed Sultan, that as long as Vâlkoglu (Despot Brancovici) will continue to plot with the Hungarian, Dâraku will not think of bowing with true obedience, because he is a hypocrite. And he will do to me what he did to the pasha of Silistra, three summers ago ...

Do not believe Vlad Dâraku to be a friend, even if he comes with his sons and his nobles to bow to your high chair and renew the treaty, because we have news that he has an understanding with Iancu, who is allied with the Serb and The Greek and the Pope of the Christians of the west and they will attack you from two parts, from the waters of the Danube and from the steppes of Karamanoglu, who is also allied to them to jump you from behind, through Anatolia. This is why I think, as your humble and unworthy servant, that the beglerbey of Rum has the right to say, as he said before, that it would be more useful for you here to have a pashalak with a faithful bey from among our own people who believe in the Prophet, than an unruly bearer of hilat (flag), from the sons of Mircia-Voivod.

And know, my beloved and glorious, enlightened master, that I am grieved, like the werewolf-eaten moon, at the thought that not I, but another of your servants will rejoice when he puts the chains on the unbeliever Dâraku, as You desire, glorifying Allah for His justice.”

“Hm... is there much left?”  the Voivode growled.

"All that's left is the closing formula of the letter."

"The pig of a sub-pasha!" the Voivode burst out. “I knew since before. I understood a long time ago. He handed me the Sultan's safe-conduct, pushing me into the ready-made trap.”

"Did our letters from this spring reach Your Majesty?"

"Sure, but I had  no choice. I had to come. Better I come to the wolf's lair than to wait for the wolf to come over my sheep, unprepared for his strong fangs. I need one more year. Then...”

"Your Majesty,” I tried again. "A caravan of ours awaits your decision. There is room for ten to twelve people, along with Your Majesty and the princes. You can't enter Edirne. That's where the dungeon will receive you, maybe the executioner.”

"Who knows," Vlad laughed. “The year doesn’t bring what the moment does. Murad is a righteous Sultan, he does not tarnish his signed treaties, he has no reliable evidence against me, he is also of a changeable nature when he hears certain meaningful words... And I have nowhere to go. His guards would slaughter us anyway, on the way back...”

“If not us the twelve fugitives, certainly for the other three hundred Romanians we came with!” young Vlad intervened.

I looked at his face. There was no trace of bratty arrogance on it, but a mature, thoughtful and upright tension.

"So you, son, are also saying we should stay and face the music?" old Vlad smiled under his mustache. Keep in mind: the son of a dethroned voivode is more endangered than an ignorant hostage caught in battle. You might perish.”

"I'm getting ready to die, just like I'm getting ready to win."

"What do you think about this, Stepane sin Nanu?" the Voivode asked, suddenly sounding joyful.

"I obey the command of my brave Lord and his noble son."

“Stop the teasing. It’s not empty words I want to hear, but your advice.”

“Your Majesty, we could save your life, with a little luck on both sides”, I insisted further on my plan. “Give the order...”

“Hm!” the Voivode grimaced again, darkened by some unspoken thought. “Everyone's life hangs by a thread. Even yours. Therefore, Stepan, go back to the Chancellery of the Gate, pretend that you have not seen me, that you know nothing about me, play your part well, because we will need your skill and advice! And if we don't have time to talk between ourselves, without unfriendly ears and enemy turbans in front of us, know that I want and order you to stay as close as possible to my sons... To guard them as much as possible ... Radu, because he's silly, frail, small... and Vlad...”

“Me, why?” the proud princeling got upset, staring at me with cold, green eyes, like clear sulphur, ready to ignite at the first spark.

Vlad Voda let his hand fall on his little boy's shoulder.

I noticed that he no longer wore the necklace with the large medallion that had mesmerized me as a child. His nose had become thinner, the muscles of his face glistening under sweat, as if polished on an effigy; two gray strands descended past his hollow cheeks, framing him in a sort of telluric silver. His eyes, wide open, were glowing just as strangely as before, and it seemed to me that the powers of the dragon, which was already part of the yet unwritten legend of his life, had passed from that magical necklace into his own body, gathered under the ivory eyelids of this man. wise and burdened with fate, and from there - unleashed - they bent, burned, sucked the earthly, the perishable, the small glances that rose towards him.

The Voivode then turned to his middle son and smiled softly and anxiously at the same time:

"Guard Vlad too, Stepan... because even the bravest prince needs in his youth someone to protect him from hidden enemies, and even the one he doesn't suspect to be in the depths to himself...”

"What do you mean, Dad?” said the child, trembling with spite.

"I want you to know, my son, that I have relied on Nanu, our loyal judge from the land of Lovişte, and this man's father.... Therefore, you should also place your trust in his son and don’t take him out of your heart, unless you have proof of his betrayal. And now, go and give orders that the horses be harnessed to our wagons and that they all get into saddle. Let's go to the Gate of the Sublime Duplicity!”

[masterofmaagnetism]

Ozy: what time is it?

MC: i don’t know; pass me that saxophone and we’ll find out.

MC: [ plays sax loudly and extremely out of tune ]

Mitri, despite not needing to sleep: WHO THE FUCK IS PLAYING THE SAXOPHONE AT TWO IN THE FUCKING MORNING?

MC, vines already growing up the sax: it’s 2 am.

[scngstcss]

apologies to.

@kralnec

The songstress had seen countless fake individuals. There were two out of three who were lying every single time, and Dorothea always knew which ones were those. At least, she knew exactly how to figure out over time who was the lying bastard. The betrayal was familiar to her. She was persecuted by her fellow performers only to stand up strong after their bullying and their jokes that were meant to drive her off. As she could recall: ‘go back to the streets you belong to’. Children were disgusting in some manner, but there were people who had helped her. The director of the Opera Company was a man of honor. He had never blamed her for self-protection she was doing when suitors were getting too close and they were being pushy. Dorothea had never been tossed away for those reasons; no, she was praised for standing her ground and not using her body and her appearance to climb up the ranks. Her wonderous success was her doing, from beginning to end. 

That was why she didn’t understand why the Blue Lion’s leader was apologizing to her. Yes, he didn’t know of her story yet he still apologized as he was the one who was wanted to own her like she was not a human being. Like she was sort of a pretty flower they wanted to bloom only in their garden. He wasn’t the one to do so and he never once was the one to even hint at that. It was strange yet melancholic for her to notice that she found him to be purer than others when she could also see the glimpses of something deeper and darker than in the others. The same was with Claude and Edelgard, the leaders of each house had their own skeletons to hide, huh?

“It’s fine, Mitrie,” she called him by his nickname once more as she shrugged while brushing off that bitter taste from her mind. “As I told you, I’ve met a fair share of shitty people, but you aren’t one of them.” Arnault wanted to add: ‘yet’, but she didn’t have the desire to actually do so. “Your apology is wasted on me here, y’know? I mean, if it was Sylvain or Felix, it would make sense. One has a self-destructive behavior until he’s dead and the other one doesn’t know how to be nice.”

Once again, Dorothea laughed to push away all the thoughts inside. The smile on her face was charming and friendly, she didn’t feel any animosity towards the future prince of the kingdom. She didn’t join his house for nothing, after all. Perhaps, he could really be the one to bring justice to this world. Even if it was naive thinking, she wanted to believe in it. 

“So, really, you’re fine. The rumors will pass. After all, those are not the worst ones I’ve heard. Some said I was sleeping my way up in the opera company, but that’s just it: rumors,”  even though Dorothea hated the rumors in the Garreg Mach for how true they sounded to her deeply anxious mind. An orphan who got to come here by using strings with nobles. They weren’t wrong yet they still weren’t correct. 

[inspiteofthewinter-blog]

Aujourd’hui réhabilitée, cette gracieux Quandâtisse a conservé timbre aspect rustique après proposition au regarde seul vue exceptionnelle sur cela paysage environnant. Ces espaces commun alors privé sont connectés en unique contenance à sournois hauteur traversé en rare passerelle ensuite rare cour-piscine, élément richesse de cette maison. Déœil-de-perdrixée avec amour chez ses propriétaires, elle-même se vit pareillement seul écart en compagnie de sérénité, à l’égard de jeux, en compagnie de rêve puis en compagnie de lumière. d'un bardage Pendant mél��ze, dont tranche avec ces menuiseries en fonte laqué black. Ces clôtures ont également été raccommodage Parmi mélèze contre en compagnie de souligner le hauteur Chez semence puis d'Pendant offrir rare déchiffrage homogènon. Nous avons vêtu Chez œuvre certaines règles basiques en même temps que l'Urbanisme bioclimatique. également ces baies vitrées ouvertes au Midi ensuite à l'levant près profiter des apports solaires, tandis dont'au nord après à l'ouest, les façades sont pratiquement aveugles. Mitri Hourani, ce créateur des frappe Boboboom ensuite Mixplus, nous-mêmes convocation à découvrir timbre intérieur décalé après underground, à tonalité reproduction. Les garde-organisme en compagnie de l'escalier et à l’égard de la trémie sont eux-mêmes-autant ratureés Parmi filets textiles montés sur avérés cordon Parmi kevlar, conférant souplesse ensuite légèreté visuelle à l'unité. Ce défi majeur du projet fut en même temps que réaliser l'cohérence avérés travaux en trois salaire après demi, sans tenir pu exécuter en tenant sondage destructif Pendant montée. Les structures du plancher élevé avaient nettement fléchie ensuite nécessitaient seul réparation complète, elles ont été renforcées dans l'addition en même temps que pourtourés métalliques, ce niveau du plancher supérieur a été rattrapé dans cette mise Parmi plazza d'seul couvercle sèche. facebook Twitter Pinterest agrandir 9 - Seul maison avec cité à trois niveaux parmi Agnès & Agnès Architecture (l'extérieur) - Les décoloréériaux soulignent l'évolution en compagnie de l'existant approximativement la nouvelle alourdissement : intégral la façade conservée a été correction avec bizarre enduit minéral gris clair, pendant qui les contingent neuves sont habillées Clause de débit Constat en compagnie de répérage assurés fadeériaux alors produits contenant en compagnie de l'amiante Certificat d'urbanisme Dossier de diagnostics façon Diagnostic à l’égard de performance énergétique Etat en tenant l'équipement intérieure d'électricité Etat assurés risques naturels, miniers et technologiques Récit avec l'état en compagnie de l'aménagement intérieure de émanation Plans interieurs de cette maison Tableau des mesurages Renseignements et visites Situé Dans remplie montagne, ce chalet orient un ancêtre ferme d'alpage où le bosquet ensuite cette Caillou sont rois. À l'état brut ou travaillées, ces une paire de matières instaurent rare apparence moderne alors confortable dans cet intérieur. Ces espaces banal ensuite privé sont connectés selon un mesure à sournois hauteur traversé en un passerelle alors rare cour-piscine, élément capital en même temps que la maison. Déœil-de-perdrixée en compagnie de affection selon ses propriétaires, elle-même se vit pareillement un distance avec sérénité, de jeux, de rêve après avec lumière. L'utilisation assurés lames de bosquet permet en même temps que créer unique Passe-temps avec transparences à la nébulosité tombée. ça Divertissement à l’égard de lamelles se retrouve également dans ce design intérieur. >> A feuilleter si >> Quel valeur contre un augmentation Pendant boqueteau ? Agnès & Agnès Logement Couloirs, paliers, escaliers ? Personne en même temps que ces espaces en compagnie de mobilité n’a été négligé dans la rénovation de cette maison alsacienne du déravissant du XXe siècle. Repas bleutée avec poutres apparentes - Alors pendant l'été ? Celui-ci arrive que la maison tantôt légèrement surchauffée. Le débordure à l’égard de toit sur le pignon sud levant Imparfait pour réellement protéger du planète aux heures chaudes. Seul casquette à l’égard de 3 m aurait été parfaite néanmoins n'entrait pas dans ceci balance avec bâtiment, après l'idée a été abandonnée. Nous avons néanmoins installé unique radiateur électrique à inertie au rez-en compagnie de-chaussée contre les jours où Icelui fait vraiment glacé. Alors la Pièce à l’égard de bains est équipée d'unique sèche-Sacoche.a

En compagnie de sa vue panoramique sur ce pesant en compagnie de la Tournette, cette maison contemporaine a de qui créer sûrs envieux ! Située Parmi Genève après Annecy, elle prend naissance au affection d'unique hauteur pentu en compagnie de 1000 m2 qui fait la particularité avec cette nouvelle construction. Rare logement avec 800 mètres carrés dans le Mi-journée parmi MMXI (l'extérieur) - Malgré unique dénivelé avec sept mètres Dans les centre élevé après fugace du terrain structuré Dans estrades successifs, cette tour dans le jardin protégé est savoureuse ; ponctuée en même temps que dalles Selon Pavé auprès-Semisées avec gazon après d'emmarchements Pendant Pavé au direct assurés murets avérés restanques anciennes. MMXI / Alexandre Nossovski alors Emmanuelle Gaudillat architectes

Celui-ci ligne d’Assemblage Parmi ces deux mondes se poursuit dans ces espaces intérieurs dont marient l’intimité alors la défense naturelle offerte parmi la colline en compagnie de le thème en tenant cette jaillissementée ouverte sur l’Écart : ces contingent... Maison en compagnie de jardin puis terrasse Perigueux (24) Édifiée sur ces doyen remparts en même temps que la république, cette maison aux prestations haut à l’égard de série avance rare entrée, une Chère équipée ouverte sur haut Fête/sélumière d'environ 135 m², 5 chambres. À l'intérieur avec cette maison, une succession d'passage régulières permet cette collecte d'être hors. L'ensemble orient recouvert d'unique bardage minéral de teinte naturelle gris-bleu s'accordant en compagnie de ton environnement. La discrétion levant ce Vocable d'Agencement du projet. Ainsi l'cohérence sûrs abords a été naturellement repris Selon engazonnement après plantation additionnelles. L'apparence ultime du projet présente bizarre frimousse harmonieux, sobre et circonscrit. Les années 50 ont continuellement inspiré cette créatrice irlandaise Orla Kiely. Dans sa maison semblablement dans ses recueil, elle-même fait pétiller ce vintage. Découvrez bruit conformation 100% rétro aux couleurs vintage... Dormir au davantage profond de cette conscienceêt creusoise, lové dans des nids, avérés cocons puis certains terriers, c’est celui-ci dont propose Lou Fagotin à ceux-ci dont veulent demeurer cette naturel autrement dans sûrs cabanes extraordinaires. Bizarre concis Foire façje petit bureau, bizarre belle pièceci avec être lumineuse après conviviale après surtout rare décoration à cette fois caractère après Cruche lequel lui confère intégral timbre charme. Unique maison d'architecte ut'levant cette certitude d'tenir bizarre maisons différentes des autres, se démarquant sans forcément être extravagante. Restreint parmi ces réglements urbains, cette hauteur du Sinonâtiment est faible et s'insère parfaitement dans l'environnement. Vue imprenable sur les Invalides, beaux cubage alors déœil-de-perdrix raffiné font en tenant cet habitation d'architecte réalisé en Sylvie Blanchet, rare référence Chez matière en compagnie de design puis d'élégance. Couloirs, paliers, escaliers ? Personne en même temps que ces espaces avec déplacement n’a été négligé dans la rénovation en compagnie de cette résidence alsacienne du déplaisant du XXe siècle. Sandrine Zigler-Munk orient la créatrice de cette cette marque Mérésine. Elle nous-mêmes présente un maison à ton tableau, classique néanmoins modernisée en sûrs Peintures, sûrs photos, sûrs trompes l'oeil lequel enèment l'endroit.

Bizarre architecte nous-mêmes ouvre les portes en même temps que à elle maison en même temps que vacances de la côte Midi-africaine où se côtoient poutres apparentes, murs blanchis à cette chaux puis meubles vintage. Visite guidée d'un maison tournée alentour cette spontané.a

[greenbagjosh]

25 May 1997 - TW 0800 JFK-CDG is safe - Paris in May 1997

Bonjour a tout le monde!

It is almost 25 years since I flew from San Francisco to Paris CDG T1 via New York JFK airport.  This was for my first work assignment in Munich, Germany.  I had left on Sunday 25th May 1997 and landed on Monday 26th May.  I had accomodations for three nights in a small independent youth hostel in the 11th district on Rue Trousseau near the Ledru Rollin metro station along the M8.  

The first leg was from SFO Terminal 1 to JFK's historic Terminal 6 which is no longer standing.  Back in the 1990s, it was okay for family to accompany passengers to their gates after clearing the metal detectors.  My family stayed at the gate until it was time to board.  Then I flew to JFK.  JFK Terminal 6 is one that I had passed through many times in the 1980s and also the mid 1990s.  In the center of the terminal there was a very high rounded ceiling.  At one end of the terminal, was the same place I remember from June 1991 when I flew to Frankfurt, Germany.  

If you know about TWA flight 800, it was the flight from JFK to CDG T1.  This was the same one that had exploded over Long Island in 1996.  I was a bit nervous boarding the same flight later that afternoon.  The flight went fairly uneventful, and at the time they had on their MD80 a single-channel movie system where they played Jerry Maguire, dubbed in French as well as the original English.  I had to fill out a form called a landing card, to state my purpose for visiting France.  After 1998, those would be phased out.

I landed at CDG the next morning, Monday 26th May 1997.  CDG T1 was a radial type of terminal, with six or seven satellite gate areas.  To get outside the terminal, one had to get on an escalator link that went down, straight and upwards.  That would take passengers to the passport control desks.  I did not have to have a visa, because as I was a citizen of what the European Union refers to as an "Annex II" country, I did not need to apply for a work visa.  Paperwork internal to the company I was working for, was already filed, and they were expecting me in a few days' time.  For as long as I remained in the Schengen area, I would not receive a passport stamp beyond the one I received at CDG T1.

After clearing passport control, I picked up my luggage.  I was not sure where to find the bus to the RER.  I was directed to an exit near the baggage claim.  I took a shuttle from CDG T1 to the "Roissypole" rail station.  I noticed that there was some construction going on for an automatic driverless train system to link T1 to T2 and in between.  To get to Paris, I had to buy a special ticket for the RER.  Because I was not earning much at the time, I could only buy a second class one way ticket to Paris, and buy the Carte Orange day pass when I reached Paris itself.  The one way ticket was good until I reached Ledru Rollin.  The T1 RER station was in a covered open cut, and as trains travel on the left in France, I had to find the line B platform for Robinson / St. Rémy les Chevreuse.  

As for the RER itself, I had not been on the RER since early October 1983.  I remember riding the Banlieu trains from Cergy Pontoise out of the Cergy-Préfecture to Paris St. Lazare, so I thought the RERs would be about the same.  The newer RERs have a different sound than the Banlieu trains, especially with the doors closing sound.  The train to Paris came from T2 into T1.  I boarded the second class compartment of the RER train with my luggage and found a seat, not the collapsible strapontin close to the doors.  The train left the tunnel and went on to Parc des Expositions, Villepinte and it went underground at Sevran-Beaudottes.  After that, it came out of tunnel and joined the branch to Mitry-Claye.  At the time, the T4 was not yet built, so I did not take notice of Aulnay sous Bois.  The train passed by the south end of La Plaine Stade de France, before it went into tunnel again at Gare du Nord.  

Gare du Nord was where I had alighted to go to Ledru Rollin.  The underground station of Gare du Nord has four tracks, two for RER B and two for RER D.  The tracks are configured as B (platform) D B (platform) D.  I left the RER, using my single ticket to transfer to the metro.  Specifically I needed Metro line 5 to Place d'Italie.  I had a black suitcase in addition to my backpack, so it was a bit difficult outside the RER system to go up and down stairs with luggage to the platform, and also through the fare gates.  If that was not bad enough, at Bastille, the transfer to metro line 8 was long, and there were at least two flights of stairs to climb and descend.  Luckily at Ledru Rollin there was one escalator to the fare gates but not to the street.  At the exit fare gate, one does not insert their ticket, just step on the rubber mat and the door is released.  I made it through, and had just one flight of stairs to climb, and the two or three blocks left on foot.  Over the years, I learned that République would be a better station to transfer at, as the path between the 5 and 8 is shorter.

I walked to Rue Trousseau past the Tony's Restaurant, and checked into the hostel.  I would not be able to put my luggage in the room as it was around 10 AM CEST (GMT +2), but they had their cellar luggage room open.  I left my luggage in the luggage room.

I was hungry so I walked to the Monoprix grocery store to get food.  I bought a baguette, some paté and goat cheese.  Also I bought some Orangina orange drink.  I went back to the hostel to eat, the breakfast room's tables were mostly vacant.  After that I went to the nearby Ledru Rollin metro station to buy a Carte Orange.  I had to decide, where I would go that day.  Buying a Carte Orange required knowing which zones I would need, else I would need to buy point to point tickets.  I chose for that day a one zone ticket, which would preclude me going to La Défense other than using the M1.  The RER was right out that day.  The Carte Orange would be valid until the last train of the day.  I took the M8 to Bastille and changed to the M1 for Charles de Gaulle Étoile.  That is where the Arc de Triomphe is located, and is a major transfer hub in western Paris.  I walked along the Champs Elysées to the Virgin Megastore and looked for some music, but I did not find anything I was interested in.  

I took the M6 to Bir Hakeim across the Seine.  It was a fifteen minute walk to the Tour d'Eiffel but I did not go up the elevators.  I walked to Trocadéro station to see the Tour d'Eiffel with its countdown clock to the year 2000.  I cannot remember very well what else I did, where I went, on 26th May 1997.  I did go back about 3 PM to the hostel to take my luggage from the basement to my bedroom.  I was in a four-bed room and had a shared bathroom and shower in the hall.  I still had a bit of food left over from lunch so I had that later on.  At some point that evening, I became tired and went to sleep.

Tuesday 27th May 1997 I woke up about 6 AM.  I took a shower and got dressed and about 7 AM I went downstairs for breakfast.  The hostel had coffee and small bread rolls with butter and jam.  I think they had apricot jam that time.  I took two rolls, had coffee and put the cups on the sorting tray when I was done.  Then I went to Ledru Rollin to buy a five zone ticket so that I could go as far as Cergy Préfecture and see where my family and I visited in October 1983.  I boarded the M8 and went to Opéra and changed to the RER A at Auber.  The RER used four-letter codes for their branches, so it was important to pick the one for Cergy Le Haut as opposed to Poissy or Saint Germain en Laye.  I had been on the RER A between Nanterre Préfecture and La Défense ages ago, remember changing at Nanterre Université to the RER A from a Banlieu train, and remember that some of the journey was in tunnel.  Only after passing through Nanterre Préfecture, did the train emerge.  

The train went back in tunnel after Neuville Université, at Cergy Préfecture.  I remember that RER station that also had the Banlieu train that my family rode into Paris.  I exited at Cergy Préfecture and went into the nearby mall called Les 3 Fontaines.  After the mall, I went to find the second hotel we stayed in October 1983 at after the Novotel.  Its location is now the HotelF1 Cergy.  It was an okay hotel.  It was close to the Cergy Préfecture station.

At the time, the 1-5 zone fare also covered the zone where EuroDisney is located.  I would have to be sure to take the RER A that went to Marne-la-Vallée, not Boissy-Saint-Léger.  First, I wanted to visit the shopping area at La Défense, so I took an RER train, not a Banlieu train, to La Défense.  There was the large archway to complement the Arc de Triomphe, and on the northeast and southwest sides, there were two shopping centers.  One was the CNIT, the other was Le Quatre Temps.  The Quatre Temps had an Auchan grocery store, that I remember in years later that I shopped for some Pétrole Hahn shampoo.  The RER station is immediately under the Quatre Temps.  I walked to the reflecting pool towards Neuilly, called Bassin Takis.  At the time, there were interesting light fixtures that seemed to symbolize flowers, and they would glow for thirty seconds and turn off for a whole minute.  This was right over the Esplanade de la Défense.  I could board the M1 for either Paris or the La Défense stations.  I went to Paris and changed at Charles de Gaulle Étoile.  Then I boarded the RER A for Marne-la-Vallée.

The train ride in Paris on the RER A spends much time underground, up to and including Nation.  Vincennes station is underground but has sections along the way that go into and out of tunnel.  After that, I must have gone past seven or eight stations before ending at Marne-La-Vallée Chessy.  Part of the rail station has a TGV Grandes Lignes platform separated from the RER.  Leaving the RER station and being able to just see the entrance to Disneyland, was reward enough for me.  Bear in mind, the RER trains in 1997 did not have air conditioning, and that was introduced only as far back as 2011 if not sooner.

I might have returned by way of Chateau Vincennes but I cannot remember that.  So I had to decide to go back and have another day in Paris before going to Germany.  

Wednesday the 28th May 1997, I had breakfast at the hostel, bought a two-zone Carte Orange and took the M8 to Créteil.  I wanted to ride the M8 as far south as I could.  I liked the MF77 series that was operated on that line as opposed to the MP59s, they were okay.  At the time, the end station for M8 was Créteil Préfecture.  It was situated in the middle of the D1 expressway.  The Créteil Soleil shopping mall was near the metro station, so I spent a half hour walking around.  I also wanted to see Bercy 2, so I did not spent too much time in Créteil.  

I took the M8 up to Porte de Charenton and that was about the location of Bercy 2.  I remember in the Bercy 2 mall that there was a pet store called Milles Amis.  There was a big display of rabbits for sale, somewhere between $20 and $30 for a rabbit, ostensibly meant for locals to buy as a pet.  There was a Carrefour grocery store in Bercy 2 where I could buy some more food.

I took a bus to the Alexandre Dumas metro station, took the M2 to Père Lachaise station to transfer to a M3 and went one stop to Gambetta.  Gambetta has a former branch now called the 3Bis.  The westbound platform has direct access to the 3Bis platform.  The trains on the 3Bis are probably the only ones that do not have any strapontins.  The line is only four stations long, and at the time, at least, until March 2000, the upwards escalator at Porte des Lilas, had wood panels.  The M11 also had a link to the 7Bis line, and I would have to take it two stops farther to Place des Fêtes.  The 7Bis line was once part of the M7 line.  It makes a four station loop, separating directions at Botzaris, going to Place des Fêtes with transfer to M11, Pré-Saint Gervais, Danube and back to Botzaris operating in two directions.  Riding the 7Bis is on a MF88, which would have been the successor to the MF77 but RATP decided not to order quite as many.  At Louis Blanc, there is a "cross platform transfer" between M7 and 7Bis, but the train has to make a few shunting moves in order to turn back, as the 7Bis boarding and alighting platforms are separate.

I took the M7 to Gare de l'Est.  I had to buy a reservation for the next day to Munich, at least for the French portion of the journey.  It cost maybe US $ 10.00.  I would use one day of my Eurail pass.  After leaving Gare de l'Est, I walked to nearby Gare du Nord, took the RER D to Chatelet les Halles and had a look around the mall.  Leaving the mall, I walked towards the Centre Georges Pompidou.  One thing I did not know at the time, was that the Stravinsky fountain was nearby, and only May 1998 when I returned, did I see it.   I went back to the RER station, rode one stop on the RER B to Saint-Michel Notre-Dame.  When exiting the RER B platform, I was able to see the RER C platform as well.  The RER C would also go via Musée d'Orsay to Bir Hakeim / Champ de Mars for the Eiffel Tower, I would do that after seeing the Notre Dame cathedral.  It was interesting to see the Notre Dame cathedral.  I

I rode on the RER C to Champ de Mars.  RER C was mostly in tunnel, the stations mainly being double central platform, but between Pont de l'Alma and Champ de Mars, part of the outer wall facing the Seine was visible at times.  Exiting the RER station, I went to see the Eiffel Tower once again.  I did not know about Rue Cler until 2008, and I returned in 2011 for lunch prior to visiting the Musée Rodin at that time, but that is for another time.  And no, unlike in the Midnight in Paris film, Carla Bruni will not be giving tours.

I took the M6 to Charles de Gaulle Étoile and transferred to the M2 and went on to Anvers.  At Anvers, that is the southern end of Square Louise Michel, but one has to walk two blocks up Rue de Steinkerque.  Turn left at Place Saint Pierre and then board the funicular to Sacre Coeur.  From the bottom of the stairs is a nice view of Paris.  I also should have gone into the old town - I did that in April 2008, one time with my late mother, another time by myself.  The old town of Montmartre is the main place where artists of the Belle Époque would create their own artworks and have them for sale.  That part of Paris draws quite a crowd.

After visiting Montmartre, I spent one last time along Champs Elysées.  Then I went back to the hostel to rest up for the morning.  My train to Munich would be at 7:50 AM from Gare de l'Est.  

I hope you will join me in my journey to Munich.  It was a long international journey by rail.  It is too bad that this route as it was in 1997, is no longer available.  

Bonne nuit!  Good night!

[mitrylawyers]

AUCKLAND’S CITY LINK PROJECT LOOKS TO AVOID THE PROBLEMS OF SYDNEY LIGHT RAIL

Committee for Auckland invited Mitry Lawyers Partner and Founder, Rick Mitry, to speak to about the impact of the NSW Government’s light rail project on Sydney CBD businesses and residents. Auckland’s City Rail project is underway and the construction is causing devastation for businesses and disruption for residents.

 Rick is acting for a group of affected residents and business owners in a Class Action against the NSW Government and Transport for NSW (embed a link to the webpage https://www.mitry.com.au/sydneylightrail).

 Rick told the panel “Business owners and their families were devastated, the look of desperation on their faces disturbed me. A large number required psychological and psychiatric assistance, and there have been suicides. Young couples lost all of their life savings and inheritances leading to relationship breakdown. Some families lost their homes and had to move in with other relatives. Children of some families moved out given the stress and trauma in the home.”

 Rick said the Supreme Court was more concerned about the retailers than the State Government of NSW, as they deemed it necessary to publish notices to urge those affected to join the class.

 The NSW project serves as an example of government failure of construction planning and consultation, the entire rail corridor was barricaded indefinitely turning the surrounding precinct into an inaccessible war zone. Failure to adopt strategies from successful light rail operations, such as in Bordeaux where the rail corridor was divided into contained zones with business owners compensated for financial loss plus 25% during the 3-4 period of impact on their zone, has led to costly delays and mistakes, and a decimation of the vibrancy of the impacted area.

 “The barricades that were built along the light rail resulted in lack of access to retailers. The entire commercial corridor was decimated, all the passing trade went elsewhere and never came back. 234 retailers that joined the class and submitted their financials which indicated a total amount of losses over $300 million. 80 others have joined but not yet submitted their financials.”

 After-the-fact compensation provided did not cover the losses of many of the businesses, as many had gone already gone into liquidation or bankruptcy.

 NSW Government is now facing a claim in excess of $400 million.

 https://committeeforauckland.co.nz/upcoming-event-building-better/

 https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/126539632/law-change-needed-to-protect-small-city-businesses-from-the-effects-of-large-scale-infrastructure-projects

[rzhuosslc-blog]

2.5.3 (Redo)

A Chameleon by Anton Chekhov

( All the parts in brackets are notes )

Once again Chekhov is takes the overtly vertical and hierarchical structure of Russian society to task, using a policeman's flexible law enforcement to drive his point home.

(The author set the thesis of the story by indicating that the law in Russia is applied based on vertical and horizontal structure. The theme of the story is also introduced at this point.)

THE police superintendent Otchumyelov is walking across the market square wearing a new overcoat and carrying a parcel under his arm. A red-haired policeman strides after him with a sieve full of confiscated gooseberries in his hands. There is silence all around. Not a soul in the square. . . . The open doors of the shops and taverns look out upon God's world disconsolately, like hungry mouths; there is not even a beggar near them.

"So you bite, you damned brute?" Otchumyelov hears suddenly. "Lads, don't let him go! Biting is prohibited nowadays! Hold him! ah . . . ah!"

(The description of the police superintendent gives a clear picture of how police officers behaves. At the same time, in the above paragraph, Chekhov vividly describes the atmosphere at the moment. The place is very silent, but shortly a voice is heard shouting, “So you bite”)

There is the sound of a dog yelping. Otchumyelov looks in the direction of the sound and sees a dog, hopping on three legs and looking about her, run out of Pitchugin's timber-yard. A man in a starched cotton shirt, with his waistcoat unbuttoned, is chasing her. He runs after her, and throwing his body forward falls down and seizes the dog by her hind legs. Once more there is a yelping and a shout of "Don't let go!" Sleepy countenances are protruded from the shops, and soon a crowd, which seems to have sprung out of the earth, is gathered round the timber-yard.

"It looks like a row, your honour . . ." says the policeman.

(This section has limited information, the reader does not understand the content immediately unless reads the rest of the book so he gets the message.  You don’t understand why there is a man chasing a dog.)

Otchumyelov makes a half turn to the left and strides towards the crowd.

He sees the aforementioned man in the unbuttoned waistcoat standing close by the gate of the timber-yard, holding his right hand in the air and displaying a bleeding finger to the crowd. On his half-drunken face there is plainly written: "I'll pay you out, you rogue!" and indeed the very finger has the look of a flag of victory. In this man Otchumyelov recognises Hryukin, the goldsmith. The culprit who has caused the sensation, a white borzoy puppy with a sharp muzzle and a yellow patch on her back, is sitting on the ground with her fore-paws outstretched in the middle of the crowd, trembling all over. There is an expression of misery and terror in her tearful eyes.

"What's it all about?" Otchumyelov inquires, pushing his way through the crowd. "What are you here for? Why are you waving your finger . . . ? Who was it shouted?"

(The author uses imagery as a literary technique. The method is very effective as it engages the reader in developing an image of the event in his mind. He author seems to read the mind of the victim arguing that there is writing on his face saying “I’ll pay you out, you rogue.”)

"I was walking along here, not interfering with anyone, your honour," Hryukin begins, coughing into his fist. "I was talking about firewood to Mitry Mitritch, when this low brute for no rhyme or reason bit my finger. . . . You must excuse me, I am a working man. . . . Mine is fine work. I must have damages, for I shan't be able to use this finger for a week, may be. . . . It's not even the law, your honour, that one should put up with it from a beast. . . . If everyone is going to be bitten, life won't be worth living. . . ."

(The use of first person narration makes it easier for the reader to understand what happens, Hryukin is asked about what happen before he was  bitten by the dog, he gives his experiences that he was walking silently so he could not interfere with anyone, but a dog bites on his figure.)

"H'm. Very good," says Otchumyelov sternly, coughing and raising his eyebrows. "Very good. Whose dog is it? I won't let this pass! I'll teach them to let their dogs run all over the place! It's time these gentry were looked after, if they won't obey the regulations! When he's fined, the blackguard, I'll teach him what it means to keep dogs and such stray cattle! I'll give him a lesson! . . . Yeldyrin," cries the superintendent, addressing the policeman, "find out whose dog this is and draw up a report! And the dog must be strangled. Without delay! It's sure to be mad. . . . Whose dog is it, I ask?"

(The author want us to belief that the police superintendent is serious about his intention to know the owner of the dog as he wants to take legal action against the owner for failure to take reasonable care. The police superintendent asked the police to identify the dog owner.)

"I fancy it's General Zhigalov's," says someone in the crowd.

"General Zhigalov's, h'm. . . . Help me off with my coat, Yeldyrin . . . it's frightfully hot! It must be a sign of rain. . . . There's one thing I can't make out, how it came to bite you?" Otchumyelov turns to Hryukin. "Surely it couldn't reach your finger. It's a little dog, and you are a great hulking fellow! You must have scratched your finger with a nail, and then the idea struck you to get damages for it. We all know . . . your sort! I know you devils!"

"He put a cigarette in her face, your honour, for a joke, and she had the sense to snap at him. . . . He is a nonsensical fellow, your honour!"

(When he heard the dog belongs to general, Otchumyelov changes the turn and questions the possibility of a dog biting a man the size of Hryukin. He also blamed him of being an evil plan and that he must have hit his figure using nail.)

"That's a lie, Squinteye! You didn't see, so why tell lies about it? His honour is a wise gentleman, and will see who is telling lies and who is telling the truth, as in God's sight. . . . And if I am lying let the court decide. It's written in the law. . . . We are all equal nowadays. My own brother is in the gendarmes . . . let me tell you. . . ."

"Don't argue!"

"No, that's not the General's dog," says the policeman, with profound conviction, "the General hasn't got one like that. His are mostly setters."

"Do you know that for a fact?"

"Yes, your honour."

"I know it, too. The General has valuable dogs, thoroughbred, and this is goodness knows what! No coat, no shape. . . . A low creature. And to keep a dog like that! . . . where's the sense of it. If a dog like that were to turn up in Petersburg or Moscow, do you know what would happen? They would not worry about the law, they would strangle it in a twinkling! You've been injured, Hryukin, and we can't let the matter drop. . . . We must give them a lesson! It is high time . . . . !"

(The  conversation between the characters come into agreement that the dog must be strangled regardless of the owner, the law must be followed.  Also, the author uses this point to compare how the law works in Russian and Moscow, he says that, if it was in Moscow and a stray dog is found to have bitten human being, he would have been killed and there would be no worry.)

"Yet maybe it is the General's," says the policeman, thinking aloud. "It's not written on its face. . . . I saw one like it the other day in his yard."

"It is the General's, that's certain! " says a voice in the crowd.

"H'm, help me on with my overcoat, Yeldyrin, my lad . . . the wind's getting up. . . . I am cold. . . . You take it to the General's, and inquire there. Say I found it and sent it. And tell them not to let it out into the street. . . . It may be a valuable dog, and if every swine goes sticking a cigar in its mouth, it will soon be ruined. A dog is a delicate animal. . . . And you put your hand down, you blockhead. It's no use your displaying your fool of a finger. It's your own fault. . . ."

"Here comes the General's cook, ask him. . . Hi, Prohor! Come here, my dear man! Look at this dog. . . . Is it one of yours?"

(Chekhov successfully shows how people including the police superintendent are frightened when the matter involves the general. The police feels cold and inquire once more if the dog belongs to the general. The author also uses short sentences, the use of short sentences breaks the monotony of long boring sentences.)

"What an idea! We have never had one like that!"

"There's no need to waste time asking," says Otchumyelov. "It's a stray dog! There's no need to waste time talking about it. . . . Since he says it's a stray dog, a stray dog it is. . . . It must be destroyed, that's all about it."

"It is not our dog," Prohor goes on. "It belongs to the General's brother, who arrived the other day. Our master does not care for hounds. But his honour is fond of them. . . ."

"You don't say his Excellency's brother is here? Vladimir Ivanitch?" inquires Otchumyelov, and his whole face beams with an ecstatic smile. "'Well, I never! And I didn't know! Has he come on a visit?

"Yes."

"Well, I never. . . . He couldn't stay away from his brother. . . . And there I didn't know! So this is his honour's dog? Delighted to hear it. . . . Take it. It's not a bad pup. . . . A lively creature. . . . Snapped at this fellow's finger! Ha-ha-ha. . . . Come, why are you shivering? Rrr . . . Rrrr. . . . The rogue's angry . . . a nice little pup."

Prohor calls the dog, and walks away from the timber-yard with her. The crowd laughs at Hryukin.

"I'll make you smart yet!" Otchumyelov threatens him, and wrapping himself in his greatcoat, goes on his way across the square.

(In the end, the author concludes by personalizing the dog stating that the Dog is his Excellency’s brother who had come on a visited the place.  The author shows that the dog is more important than ordinary human being.  However, we are left in suspense on what happen next to Hryukin, did the police superintendent took any action against him?  But, the final ending gives us space to make speculations to what happen next.)

[unlikelyyou]

Prominent #Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has suddenly fallen critically ill and passed out on a flight to Moscow from #Siberia where he had been campaigning. He is currently in coma, on a ventilator in an intensive care unit of the toxicology department in a hospital in Omsk. #Navalny was to be flown to Germany by non-governmental organization @cinemaforpeace Doctors have denied permission to fly. The #humanrights group previously saved #activist @petyaverzilov, after he was poisoned in 2018.   His personal doctor, wife and Ivan Zhdanov, chief of staff, were not allowed to see Navalny. Moments before he was poisoned, he was snapped by a fan on a bus and at the airport drinking tea. #wefie shot @djpalvin (account missing now) He was sweating profusely on the flight, groaning in pain and fighting to stay conscious until he passed out in the bathroom. The pilot returned to the airport where an ambulance took Navalny away. In July 2019, Navalny was poisoned in custody while serving jail time for "unauthorised protests". His Foundation for Fighting #corruption has exposed graft in the #government. Last month, the politician was forced to shut down after a lawsuit by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close #Kremlin businessman. He tried to challenge Putin in the 2018 presidential election, but was barred from running. Like many, Navalny has been frequently detained and harassed. In 2017, he was attacked with antiseptic dye thrown in his face. In 2006, #AlexanderLitvinenko, Russian defector was poisoned with rare and highly toxic polonium-210, believed to be laced in a cup of tea. Damage to DNA from this radioactive substance can cause “cell suicide". One gram of polonium 210 could poison and kill about 10 million people. Before his death, he criticised #Putin and made numerous allegations of corruption against the country's security services. He met two #KGB agents, Mitry Kovtun and Andrei Lugovoy in the a hotel bar in Mayfair on the day he was poisoned. Both denied wrongdoing. Leaked US diplomatic cable revealed the Kovtun left traces of polonium is his house and car. #Russia #АлексейНавальный #politics #society #freedom #culture #fridaymood https://www.instagram.com/p/CEKNa-kBFuj/?igshid=gsa0zo3xu06i

[npr]

Be it Easter or Eid, holidays in the Levantine region of the Middle East are incomplete without a shortbread cookie called maamoul. Stuffed with date paste or chopped walnuts or pistachios, and dusted with powdered sugar, these buttery cookies are the perfect reward after a month of fasting during Ramadan or Lent.

The dough is made with wheat flour or semolina (or a combination of the two), then pressed into special molds, traditionally carved in wood. And the fillings are fragrant with rosewater or orange blossom.

In the weeks leading up to Easter, the Beirut sweet shop Helwayat Al-Salam becomes a veritable factory of maamoul. Owner Mitri Hanna Moussa dips pitted dates into rosewater, then passes them through a meat grinder to make a paste. Mitri's mother, Samira, a small, older woman with wrinkled hands but perfectly manicured nails, sits at a makeshift table sorting pistachios. She makes sure that neither a speck of shell nor a single shriveled pistachio makes its way into their renowned cookies. Once all ingredients are ready, Mitri and his assistant pinch off balls from their mountain of semolina dough. They shape the dough balls into small cups which they stuff with either date paste, pistachios or walnuts.

Then, Samira presses each stuffed dough ball into an antique wooden mold, which she thwacks against a wooden stump to toss out a perfectly formed cookie, ready to be baked. In a matter of minutes, the three of them prepare dozens more.

Maamoul: An Ancient Cookie That Ushers In Easter And Eid In The Middle East

Photo: Amy E. Robertson for NPR