#rome has the keys.. he’s free! he’s free from the cage

[sgsketchbook]

ghastly,

with open eyes, he attends, blind.

[hjh-ceilo-monster]

Laboratory Boy (Jungkook ff)

Prompt : “You aren’t suppose to be here.You were created in there.Sooner or later,they’ll find you.”

Y/N POV.

I’m walking back home.It wasn’t any day special,I’m carrying the bags from shopping.The weather was cold,well of course since it’s winter now.I walk along the alley that lead the way to my house.

“Where’s my key?” I mumble with myself while searching for my key.I’m so sure that I didn’t drop anywhere.When I find it,I open the door.However to my surprise,the door didn’t lock.‘Maybe I forgot.’ That’s what my thought.I then enter my house.

“Wait what happened?” I notice the light in the kitchen.I swear that the light was off when I’m gone.I got out of the house since afternoon.I then drop the bags on the couch.Garb a vast on the coffee table and carefully walk to the kitchen.When I arrive,I see a figure leaning the counter.I grab tight on vast and going to throw it until a voice stop me...

“Don’t hit me,please!” My eyes that close now open and look at the figure.He’s a young man probably younger than my age.However he also has long ears like rabbit? I put down my vast on the counter.

“Who are you?Why are you here in my house?You are a theft,aren’t you?Get out of my house!” I speak out everything in one breathe.My eyes still glare at him like I gonna kill him soon.All of sudden,his ears drop down.Those makes my eyes soften.

“I’m sorry,I’ll go now.” He apologize with soft voice and walk away.Why do I feel bad for him now? He looks innocent and just need someone to help.The feeling of regret wash me like a huge wave.

“Hey come back.” I call him but it was late.He already gone out of my sight.I sigh and then settle everything in the bags into their places.

7.00 am.

“New day begin.” I encourage myself after wake up.I walk around the room to find my jumper and legging.It’s morning and first thing in my routine list is exercise.When I find them,I start dressing up myself.

“Hi mr.Carl.” I greet the uncle who watering his plants like always.He’s my neighborhood and help me with a lot of things especially gardening.He takes care my garden like it was his own.That’s why I’ve beautiful garden with fresh friuts and vegetables.

I jog all the way up to the alley,the same one I walked yesterday.Humming some songs to make me feel delight while jogging.Well that happen for awhile until I heard whimper from the alley.

“You filthy trash!” I hear the shouting and then a whimper sound afterward. Curious get the best of me so my feets bring me there in no time.I then witness a group of men use a chain and try to drag someone with it.

‘Wait isn’t it a boy form yesterday?’ I try to see his face.When I get a view,his face show clearly.I then run toward that group of men.Then shout on the top of my lungs.“Police,here!”

The group of men then start running.Putting the hood on and then disappear in no time.When I reach that boy,I see briuses and marks everywhere.The boy looks at me.His eyes clearly speak to me,begging me to help him.I then help him from the chain.

“Thank you.” He bows and then start walking.I quickly grab him and drag him with me.‘What am I doing just now?’ My thought of asking myself but continue the action any way.I drag him along the way till we reach my house.

“Sit here.” He then sits on the couch.I rome around my house for the first aid until find it.With the white box and me,I start treating his bruises and marks. Gently apply the oinment and bandage anywhere I think it necessary.Well I’m not a doctor or nurse so don’t judge me.

When I finish,I put the box in there place.Walking back to see the boy falls asleep on the couch.I then grab my blanket from my bedroom and tug him in.

Jungkook POV.

My nose catches a smell of something.I then awake and see I’m in a blanket.It’s so fluffy.I wrap it around my body and stand up,start walking along the way that smell lead me.

My nose twitch when I arrive the kitchen.The smell is really good and then I see where it come from.Many ditches lay in the matress of the table.Every one of them look delicious.I take a seat and just stare at them.Don’t dare to touch anything further more than just suit still.

“You can start eating the meal,you know.” I look up to see the owner of this house smile at me.“You look like you didn’t eat all day.” I only nod along her word.She still smile and gesture me to eat.

“Okay then I’ll start eat first if you don’t trust me.” It isn’t like a don’t trust her.I just don’t want to get scold later.She then take a bite and put some on my plate. She even use a fork and stab in the salad before put it in front of me.Does she try to feed me right now?

I take a bite of it.Woh it delicious,I start munch up everything in my plate.I’m starving for awhile so don’t judge me.I munch everything until nothing left.I swear it delicious that makes me wanna lick the plate.But will she give me more?

I glance at her.I donn’t know if I should ask for more or not.“Umm miss can I...” She immediately turn toward me.Will I get scold now.My ears start to drop and I mentally prepare for the scold.

“Oh want more?You can take it from the plates.” Wait no scolding? My ears then rise up with joy and look at her.I see her finger point at the plates in front of me. The whole meal time then continue.

I stand up and pick up the plate also the others.I walk to the sink and start watching them.I don’t know where she goes after she finish.Also I didn’t want to bother her as well since I eat a lot.

“Well you don’t have to.” I turn around and see her with a box.I put the last plate in place before help her with the box.She refuse and put it on the counter.Telling me to choose whatever I want or even take the whole box.

“You want me to stay?” I ask out with confuse lookon my face.She then nod and tell me to change.She’lll show around later.“Oh don’t forget to take your cosplay on your head.” She points at my ears.

“Umm it sin’t a cosplay.It’s real.” Her eyes widen after I reply.She seems to not believe me at any cost.I then take her hands and put on my head.Let her touch my ears.It feel ticklish but I try to stay still.I’m the one who start this but why I feel shy all of sudden?

Magical Timeskip

“So what you try to tell me right now is you’re a hybrid?” I nod.“The human-animal like that create in the lab?” Again I nod along her word.She look at me up and down.I know,who would be lieve a man that you only met like yesterday, telling you that he was a hybrid that escape the lab.

“Okay let me comprehend all of this.” She sits down the opposite side and look at me.Trying to absorb and understand everything that I just said right now.When she look up,she then speak.

“Why were you here then?” She asks me.I suppose she mean yesterday that I break into her house.

Flashback

“Is subject 010997 ready?” I heard the conversation between the scientists.I didn’t like this at all.I really want to escape but I didn’t know how.Then one of them release me from the cage.Drag me by the chain that connect to my neck.

All of theput me in the room,well an empty room.I didn’t know what is going to happen to me.Last time they gave 3 injections and that made me knock out for a week.I woke up and find myself in a human form but with ears and a tail.It wasn’t disappear since then.

The light in the room got brighter and brighter.It actually blinded my sight.I then felt lasers burnt my body.Scream escape my mouth,the burn seemed not stop any moment until I heard someone scream.

The room blasted.I got myself free from the chain by grab it and tug hardly on it.I felt light head but well how in the hell I got stronger.With the oppotunity,I successfully escaped from the lab.

End flashback

Author POV.

“That’s why you saw the group of men chased me in the alley.” Jungkook finish his story.Your eyes widen when you know the whole story.“You aren’t suppose to be here.You were created in there.Sooner or later,they’ll find you.”

You remember hearing one of your friend talking about this project.She was the secretary for the sponsore company.After she knew what they were up to,she quit her job.You are now afraid,not him but what will happen next.Yes,you want to help him but you didn’t want to face any problem after this.

“Please help me.I know this is insane and a big deal but help me.I don’t want to get back there in the cage.” He’s now begging you.He start crying all of sudden when he see your reaction.You don’t know what to do right now.What should you do with him and his problem.

Keep or Leave ?

HI ya sorry I just come back from my grave *kidding*.I actually just finish my collage course.I’ll be free for awhile.Sorry for this slow update.It finally here guys.Thanks for readers and see you next story.

[haarendtrieste]

HA Radiowork by Roberto Paci Dalò

Composed, performed, produced by Roberto Paci Dalò
 Voice Hannah Arendt 
Singing voices Luisa Cottifogli, Caterina Pilati Created at Giardini Pensili (Rimini) Mixed by Roberto Paci Dalò, Alessandro Renzi
 Mixing supervisor Andrea Felli (Farmhouse, Rimini)
 Text researches Margherita Wolenski Produced by Elisabeth Zimmermann Production ORF Kunstradio In collaboration with Giardini Pensili

First broadcasting 27 December 2020, Ö1 Kunstradio - Radiokunst 
For Lia Dalò

HA is a sound forest created from the real voice of Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) intertwined with instrumental and electronic sounds. A sensorial journey in her phonetics where words are transformed into cartographical sonic materials. A cinematic and experimental approach where, however, even complex materials are organized in a radio composition accessible to all audiences. A long and laborious work of composition and editing has transformed Arendt's voice into a grid, a map, an acoustic immersive architecture made up of many micro cells of a few seconds each. Every one with its own parameters (volume, reverb, spatialisation, etc.) in order to create an always moving dynamic multi layers radio composition.  

The reference book of the whole project is her most seminal work The Human Condition (1958) and its three human activities (labor, work, action) create sections of the radiowork. Together with Arendt’s own texts, those of the Italian philosopher Adriana Cavarero and Elias Canetti were utterly important for the project.

"The voice as an element that frees language from the constraint of the symbolic order" (Canetti)

 “Canetti himself claims to be a listener rather than an observer. This predilection for sound matter, far from presenting itself as a curious trait, is claimed by him as a cognitive specialty, particularly prolific and original.(...) A specific term would have to be found to designate this sonority of plural voices that utter different words simultaneously, yet do not produce a cacophony. And, of course, this term should be so flexible that it could also include the harmonic sound of a plurality that recites or sings in unison, yet it is not a harmony. Many elements suggest calling it pluriphony. " (Adriana Cavarero)

The soundscapes in the piece were recorded by the artist on the 27th January 2018 at the Western Wall in Jerusalem.
 Roberto Paci Dalò considers HA to be a seminal work for him: here he reflects on his career as radio-maker by putting back into play early actions and methodologies together with his peculiar today’s practice combining avant-garde, popular culture and technology. Roberto grew up alongside friends like Robert Adrian and Heidi Grundmann who helped him to forge his own radio methodology – and true passion – that has been able to develop in over thirty years of international radio projects among the most adventurous and dedicated to of the continuous encounter between languages and territories for a real media dramaturgy (a term he coined in the mid-Nineties to define his work).

HA has been initially developed in 2018 at the JRC Joint Research Center - European Commission in Ispra (Italy). The collaboration with the European Commission engineer and philosopher Nicole Dewandre played a key role in its development leading to an investigation throughout Hannah Arendt's thought. 
Roberto Paci Dalò has been working in collaboration with scientists at laboratories and the Centers for Advanced Studies of the JRC on topics such as Computational Linguistics and Natural Language Processing, Text Mining, Demolinguistics. During the first part of the project he created and premiered live in performance at JRC the piece ‘Space Is the Place’ for radio telescope sounds and modular synth. The project went on with Radio Arendt (a series of radio and philosophy workshops conducted by Roberto Paci Dalò and Nicole Dewandre in Barcelona, ​Sarajevo and Trieste); HA ARENDTRIESTE, interactive sound-video installation created for the Both Ways exhibition presented within Trieste ESOF 2020 and produced together with Trieste Contemporanea (here you can visit the VR version of the exhibition); HANNAH, live radio performance presented on Radio India - Teatro di Roma as part of the ‘Atlas of Transitions’ Biennale’s program (here is the podcast).

Thanks to Adriana Cavarero, Nicole Dewandre, Giuliana Carbi Jesurun, Marina Lutmann, Adriaan Eeckels, Elisabeth Zimmermann, Heidi Mancino. 
Thanks for their precious listening during the making of the piece to Gabriele Frasca, Stephanie Chauvel, Benedetta Calisesi Stern.

 HA was completed during Hanukkah 2020.

 It is suggested to listen to the piece with headphones in order to fully experience the movements and spatialisation of the sound.



Bibliography

 Hannah Arendt, The Human Condition, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1958.
 Elias Canetti, Masse und Macht, Hamburg: Claassen, 1960. 
–   Die Stimmen von Marrakesch. Aufzeichnungen nach einer Reise, Regensburg: Reihe Hanser, 1967.
 Adriana Cavarero, Democrazia sorgiva, Milano: Raffaello Cortina, 2019.

Roberto Paci Dalò, was born in Rimini, grew up in Tremosine sul Garda and he has lived in Berlin, Naples, Rome, and periodically in Vancouver BC; he currently lives and works in Rimini and Tremosine sul Garda. His work has won him international admiration from – amongst the others – John Cage, Giya Kancheli, Robert Ashley, and Aleksandr Sokurov. Composer, musician, director, author, sound and visual artist, radio-maker his work has been presented worldwide in museums, biennials, theatres and festivals including the Venice Biennale, Wien Modern, Fundaciò Joan Mirò Barcelona, Power Station of Art Shanghai, Vienna Opera House, Palais des Beaux Arts Bruxelles, Triennale Milan, ZKM Karlsruhe, Ars Electronica Festival Linz, Bauhaus Weimar, Musica Strasbourg, MaerzMusik Berlin, Experimental Intermedia New York, Western Front Vancouver. He leads the group Giardini Pensili (co-founded in 1985) and he has been the recipient of the Berliner Küsterprogramm des DAAD Fellowship (1993-1994) and the Premio Napoli per la lingua e la cultura italiana (2015). He created and directed LADA L'Arte dell'Ascolto radio festival (Rimini, 1991-1998) and composed more then 50 radio works produced internationally. In 1995 he created Radio Lada, web radio conceived as an exhibition space for sound art. Founder and director of Radio Lada, Itaca - the electronic stage of the Teatro di Roma (1999-2001) and Velvet Factory (2006-2016). Collaborations include Kronos Quartet, Alvin Curran, Julia Kent, Fennesz, Robert Lippok, Patrizia Valduga, Rupert Huber, Terry Riley, Giorgio Agamben, Predrag Matvejevic', Guido Guidi, Fabrizio Modonese Palumbo, Gabriele Frasca, Tom Cora, David Moss, Paolo Tassinari, Stefano Boeri, Akio Suzuki, Philip Jeck, Stefano Scodanibbio, Scanner, Fred Frith, Gerfried Stocker, Horst Hörtner, Adriana Borriello, Peter Courtemanche. Since 2018 Expert and Artist at the European Commission. Roberto is member of the Internationale Heiner Müller Gesellschaft (Berlin) and the British Cartographic Society. He is professor of Exhibit and Interaction Design at UNIRSM Design (Republic of San Marino) where he is the founder and director of Usmaradio - radio station and Research Centre for Radiophonic Studies. Co-founder of ‘The School of Radio’ (2014). His latest book is Ombre (Quodlibet 2019).  

[linkspooky]

It's really frustrating seeing Kaneki refuse to fight the CCG in any effective way. Disarming investigators means nothing unless he's also crippling them. The CCG is out to add ghouls to the extinction list, they aren't interested in talking, why is he acting like if he plays a messiah the CCG will just decide "oh hey maybe we should listen to Mr Ghoul-Man"? This is beyond a stupid plan now, even Tsukiyama thinks so. I hope Ayato finds this One-eye, and he just takes over Goat and gets results.

Disarming investigators actually might increase the number of ghouls killed as they’ll need replacements for their quinques. 

I think the people who are equating this to a stalemate are wrong though, really, really wrong. The worst the CCG can do right now is that they can’t pay much for the war efforts and treating their sick at the same time. Considering that Goat has been fighting passively with only striking at Quinques, then there logically probably aren’t that many new injured CCG members being created. It creates a vulnerability that can be exploited perhaps if Goat were to suddenly surge, but definitely not anything equal when ninety percent of ghouls in one ward have been exterminated and the small percent that remains are just starving underground. 

There is of course the possibility that Ayato could find all the 24th ward ghouls that are apparently hidden in a secret city, and they could provide Kaneki with the resurgence he needs of men in order to finally lay a direct attack against the CCG. Doesn’t that seem too convenient too? For Kaneki to just simply stumble upon an old legend that contains the key he needs for victory, all the while never actually have confronted what are the flaws in his leadership that are causing the ghouls to lose. It might propel the story to a speedy conclusion but not a satisfying one.

The thing is if the 24th ward ghouls would be nice enough to help out with toher ghouls for that revolution, then why exactly did Eto regard her upbringing as such a hellzone? 

While Nishiki is bringing them up as an idea to inspire children, he at the same time says this.

The terrifying foreshadowing of the 24th ward that’s been built up for the entire story is not gone, simply moved to the background, cast as a shadow perhaps so the 24th ward ghouls can be presented as a false hope to the protagonists.

This whole situation though, the still important foreshadowing that Tsukiyama might be questioning Kaneki’s methods, the mention of a dragon all seems biblical to me. After all it’s a dragon that comes to challenge heaven, and Jesus.

It’s a specific symbol of an event from revelations. Odd though, while Furuta says the dragon is under his control the actual pathway of the dragon likely resembles Kaneki’s right now, being cast out of heaven after a failed bout with it, and then falling into hell with his followers. 

Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon,and the dragon and his angels fought back.  But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

Kaneki is of course, often cast as both a messianic and satanic figure perhaps another extension of his duality. Though the dragon reminds me of biblical revelations the situation itself reminds me of what we are presented as the time of Jesus in Rome.

The prophecy of the Messiah is one that Jesus and his followers would rise up against Rome and finally free them to a kingdom of their own. However, Jesus never fulfilled this prophecy and taught pacifism and faith under Roman rule instead promising his followers that someday in the future they would inherit a much greater kingdom than they could by seeking to conquer Rome.

Passivity was however the last thing his followers wanted to hear, and perhaps that is partially what led them to betraying him to the Roman Authority, hoping at least this sign of loyalty to Rome would guarantee them better treatment.

 Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “You have said so,” Jesus replied. When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?”  But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor.

Matthew  27: 11-14

Rather than a tale of faith look at it as a story. The people desperately wanted a king but Jesus himself refused that name, and refused to take that role eventually causing the people to turn against him. Kaneki himself, continues to act as an improper king putting the name of ghouls first, and refuses even to take name as king being referred to as nameless king instead. 

Now we have a betrayal set up, but perhaps no crowds to rally against him. That’s where the 24th ward lies. Perhaps the 24th ward has no interest in the surface ghouls, at least not until Kaneki deliberately brings the CCG knocking on their doors. Perhaps they’ve turned their back away from revolution, and much like V only care about their own sense of ‘balance’ and ‘peace’ even if it is a false and caged one. 

Imagine if what Kaneki thought was his last hope turned out to be something damning him, the 24th ward overtaking Goat’s members and then selling out the leader of these insurgent surface ghouls to V as a token to pacify them. Surrendering once again to V’s will so they can continue hiding. 

Then Kaneki will be given what he thinks he’s always wanted. A way to suffer at the sake of all ghouls without having to harm a single human, because it’ll be the humans who are harming him. 

[nikkiexploreseu]

January 15th; Venice, Italy and Rome, Italy

I haven't updated for a few days now as I've been sick and have now gotten off of Contiki so I've been trying to get myself better, but I've posted pictures! After our beautiful castle meal in Slovenia we headed out the next morning to Venice. It was a full day of driving so we had to get up really early, but it gave us plenty of time to catch up on sleep which was nice. When we arrived we had to get a boat over to Venice itself, because there are no vehicles on the island of Venice whatsoever; it's completely pedestrian and water canals. The architecture was exactly what you expect of Italy, all the windows were flat with shutters, all the walkways were pebbled and all the architecture was ancient and glorious. We had a gondola ride through the canals which was not what I'd expected but was still nice. It only went for half an hour, but where we went it looked like a few steps up to the old houses and apartments were under water; an estimated 3000 years is left before the city is completely underwater. I asked why the city was built the way it was rather than with roads and it was to do with escaping their enemies of war at the time as they had not yet discovered boats. There were dozens of gondolas everywhere you looked, with a guy on the back of each rowing them around. After the gondola ride, we had a few hours of free time, so a few of us sourced the number one priority of being in Italy; pizza. And we weren't disappointed. We had a lemoncello shot with lunch, bruschetta that was the size of a pizza in itself and then a prosciutto pizza for main course. After lunch Marisa and I found a little bar and had the best tiramisu I've ever tasted in my life, with a Bolini; an Italian drink that is made of peach purée and champagne. It was incredible, I'm definitely finding out if they make them on the cruise. We wandered and met with the rest in a pub and all drank Bolini's until it was time for the next tour. We went on a wine and dine tour of Venice, where we went to 3 different bars and got to try a different Venezian specialty food and wine at each place. It wasn't like wine tasting in adelaide where you get to try heaps, we only got to try one red and one white at each place, which was fine anyway. Walking around the streets of Venice would be much more crowded in summer, I think going during winter was a good choice because the streets are really narrow and were hard to fit through with traffic from both directions as it was, I can't imagine during the summer. We got told that it's very easy to get lost in Venice, and now I understand why. All the buildings are stories higher than you, and street signs are far and few between; its like being in a maze. In the main square there are pigeons and birds everywhere, and if you stand in the middle of them there are guys that hand you a handful of bird seed without even slightly asking permission and you get flocked. And then you have to pay them. Like what? I didn't really want to get covered in pigeons but I did so that was an experience. There were heaps of little souvenir stores in the main square as well so I bought an Italia jumper because why not, I haven't bought a hoodie yet on this trip. Through the little side streets there were a lot of boutiques and like Gucci stores that were all really expensive, so I don't recommend shopping in Venice, or in Italy in general. We left at 10:30pm to go back to the hostel and were up again at 7:45am to go to my final destination; Rome. It was another full day of driving, we arrived at around 4pm and dropped our bags off with some difficulty before going on a walking tour and to dinner. I learnt really quickly that Italians are rude, and absolutely suck at organisation. We got put in a room which the first time didn't have working keys, and when we had working keys discovered that there were people already occupying said room. So then we got moved from the 1st floor to the 4th floor in an elevator that probably shouldn't have held more than a small child, and was about the size of a toilet cubicle, to then find out that we in fact didn't have a room there either, so we got taken back down to reception and had our bags put into the luggage area and got given free beer to compensate; overall not a bad deal in my opinion but the other girls weren't happy. We also got an upgraded room; we saw real carpet in the hallway and got excited. After that debarkle we headed out on the walking tour which took us to the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon and the fountain out of angels and demons where Tom Hanks pulls the guy out of the fountain I'll post a picture so you know what I'm talking about; or just google it. It was raining slightly but it wasn't too cold, it was in positives and that was honestly a really exciting moment. Gloves were not necessary for the first time in two weeks. Venice was warm too actually, sunglasses were out! Seeing the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain in person was yet another one of those moments when I realised that photos do nothing any justice whatsoever. I didn't think it would interest me that much, but standing there had a very different effect. I don't understand how thousands of years ago literally thousands like BC level thousands, people, human beings built structures of that scale. Like if you stood 56 of me on top of each other, these buildings are bigger than that. And all the columns are perfectly round and dozens of metres Tall and wide, how do they even exist? The Trevi Fountain isnt even in a featuring position, it's literally all but in the back streets of Rome like WHAT. But the reason for that, is that structures like the well known ones aren't the only ones to their scale; there are buildings throughout all of Rome of the same scale, literally throughout. Rome is entirely ruins with a few hotels and a few McDonalds thrown around. There's random columns like along the side streets and the old gladiator racing strips are just a square in the middle of roads. It looks like so much of it should be a feature but it's not it's just part of the city; it's again, indescribable. We went to dinner and this was the moment that I was at the height of my sickness for the trip, I got light headed and ill and couldn't breathe at all, so I didn't eat much and decided I was going to go straight to bed when we got back. But did I? No. Because it was the last night on Contiki, and I'm an idiot. So I went out drinking with everyone else until 5am, when we had to get up at 7:30am for the Colosseum. WHY NIKKI. GODDAM. Getting up was a struggle and pretty much everyone was still drunk, and one of the guys I've been travelling with lost his metro pass and the tour manager was also still drunk and she had no time to be mothering so everyone was like yeah nah we will see you there, even the people he was travelling with. I felt bad for him so I stayed with him at the train station and we managed to find the right train ticket, the right train and get off at the right stop which was the easy part because it's called 'Colosseo'. We ended up getting there about 40 minutes before the group because they did a walking ruins tour which we agreed neither of us could've handled at that point in the morning anyway, so we gave ourselves a 40 minute colosseum tour before meeting up with everyone else. Again, I feel like I say this too much, but the Colosseum has to be seen to be believed. The outside looks spectacular no doubt but it has absolutely nothing compared to the inside. It is insane. Absolutely insane. Not much if any has been reconstructed at all, it's been left to naturally erode and age over time, which honestly just made it that much more incredible. We walked into the arena and there's an immediate sense of needing to imagine exactly what went on here, you can't help but see it so clearly. We stood on the top level for the best part of half an hour and just stared and took it in, there isn't much else that you can do other than that. We met up with the group and the tour was actually quite shitty, it only went for 15 minutes and didn't really tell us anything that isn't already well known; that the broken half broke in an earthquake, that top seats were reserved for women and slaves and the closest balconies were reserved for priests and important people. One thing I didn't know was how much went on underneath the main floor of the arena. The animals were brought out from under the ground, for effect. The main arena floor is now gone so you can see all the walls where the cages were for the animals, and it was explained how they were hoisted up by slaves pushing the ropes to move and open the trap doors in the arena floors. To be honest I'm glad that we got to the Colosseum first, because we spent about an hour in there whereas the others only spent about 20 minutes. We went to the souvenir shop and I bought a little gladiator helmet, and then because everyone was either drunk or hungover we headed for food. It was bucketing down with rain all afternoon, and i bought an umbrella off of a gypsie for 5€ which was a mistake because of course as soon as the rain touched it the actual handle, not the umbrella, the HANDLE, snapped in half. So that got left on the ground and I actually drove past it about half an hour later in my taxi to my hotel, and I had a bit of a laugh. We got back to the hostel and went to our separate hostels ( those of us that got off in Rome) and met up again at 3pm to do the Vatican. My Hotel was beautiful, it was an air BnB and the guy there was so friendly, it was bit overwhelming to know that I was no longer on an organised tour and had to adult again but the receptionist actually got me a map and taught me how to get everywhere from the hotel which calmed me down a lot. I'm going to say it again, the Vatican was indescribable. I was staying three bus stops from it, THREE, and then just had to walk under an underpass to get to the Vatican square. I picked up in Rome as well that if you walk around with earphones in, the beggars and guys trying to tell you tours and souvenirs don't bother you, so walking around with earphones in even without music is a good way to go. Otherwise they follow you and call out to you until you respond. We did a tour of the Vatican museums and the Sistine Chapel, both of which I could have spent much more time in and intend to in the future. Leave a good 5 hour window to do the Vatican, because the museums are fascinating, and get an audio guide please for the love of god, it makes it so much more interesting. I was the only one that did and it was the best 7€ I've ever spent. The most amazing thing was seeing ruins and artifacts and tapestries from BC, like yes you learn about the history of BC but standing in front of roman ruins that were actually built BC is just another experience. And not being religious doesn't make a difference, if you know the bible to a reasonable extent then seeing the Vatican is worth doing. There was a hall of tapestries that depicted major events in Jesus' time, that were taught throughout all of my schooling and that i know back to front, the betrayal of his disciples, the last supper, the birth of Jesus, and they were made like 1-2 AD. They were made in the time of Jesus as it is believed, and while it didn't make me Christian or catholic it certainly made me question whether or not some of these events really did exist. Sorry Hughes'. It's very different learning the stories in school and seeing a tapestry woven in the time when it all supposedly happened. Right there in front of you. I will go back to Rome ( technically I have to because I threw a coin in the Trevi Fountain), and when I do an entire day will be dedicated to the Vatican. Contiki has officially ended. To be honest, and don't let this put anyone off of doing a Contiki, but I don't think I'll be doing another one, and if I do it won't be 12 countries in 16 days. Pros: - meeting people - Becoming a literal alcoholic - Seeing the highlights of each country you visit - Having an experienced tour guide - Having people around you that are in the same boat - Seeing a lot in a short amount of time Cons: - the contiki cold. It is NOT a myth, and it WILL NOT go away. - Getting up early every day - Only spending 36 hours in each city, sometimes less. - Not having the time to do everything you want to do - Spending waaaay too much money on alcohol and nice dinners that you wouldnt otherwise spend - Minimal sleep; absolute exhaustion. 16 days was too long, if I were to do it again I would do a week maximum and 2-3 countries. But, in saying all of that I did have an amazing time, meet some amazing people who I'm now going to Switzerland with, and doing a road trip along Australia's east coast with, and I will definitely never forget the experience. I flew back to London last night and am currently sitting on the plane to ICELAND!!!!! I've been super stressed because after being on tour I forgot how to adult a little bit but I'm back on the horse now and ready. Iceland, here we come! Oh and I really need to do some laundry. So Iceland and laundry, here we come! Some memorable things I've learnt so far: - don't be scared to talk to people that you don't know, 99% of the time they're willing to help you. - Don't constantly worry that you're being kidnapped; you're not. - Don't buy premium everything, make do with what you can. I've been blowing my nose with toilet paper for 3 days now, tissues are expensive. - Tipping is ridiculous, but necessary pretty much everywhere except for Australia. - Italians don't line up well; push in. - Polish people don't like you eating in their restaurants, they all stare when you walk in. - Not everyone can speak as much English as you assume, ask everyone you talk to before you talk to them if they speak English, purely by saying "English?" - .Learn how to sleep on transport; once you've got one type down, you've got them all down. Buses, planes, you name it. Buy a neck pillow. - Experiment with food, never stick to what you know when you're travelling. Half of the experience is eating their food. - If something scares you, it generally means that it's good for you. Just do it. - If you have to pay to go to the toilet, hold it. - Napping is a precious skill whilst travelling, learn it and do it whenever you can. - Don't be scared of overseas pharmacies, their products are exactly the same as ours. - Do not be scared to do things that you haven't done before, if you don't know where you're going or what you're doing, just remember that everyone else in the world has done this before, it can't be as hard as you're thinking it is. - Drink lots of water. - Bring lots of Chapstick. - BRING PAW PAW. - Packing a rucksack is easier if you put the cases of stuff on the bottom, and the clothes on the top; they squish better. - In Italy eat as much gelato as humanly possible. - Do NOT pack more than two pairs of shoes, you will not wear sneakers in winter. - Pack less pants and more jumpers; I've been wearing one pair of jeans everyday for 3 weeks, you just change the leggings underneath. - Bring a goddam jacket and don't spend 90€ on one in Amsterdam. - Go to Amsterdam, but don't buy weed stronger than 2 🐾 - They'll try to tell you that Austrian and German are different languages; they're not. - Pack more socks and more underwear than you think you will need...And then some more. - Sometimes in Europe, you can leave without paying the bill. - Sometimes in Europe, you can ride public transport without buying a ticket. - If you go to a thermal bath, pay for the package with a massage. You won't regret it. - Don't be scared of anything, you may think you do, but you don't stand out. You're just another person. - Live with #noregrets.

[fireandgloryrpg]

Congratulations Nate and welcome! We’re so happy to accept your application to play Murdoch “Murdo” Fitzgerald with the faceclaim of Joe Anderson (younger resources) in Fire & Glory RPG! We can’t wait to begin roleplaying with you so please remember to look over our checklist!  

!! tw: drug use, addiction mention, needles !!

Out of Character Information:

Name: Nate

Pronouns: He\Him

Age: June 27th, 1991 - which makes me 26 now. Ugh.

Timezone: -3GMT

Activity: Working 10 hours a day, weekdays may be too busy for me to post sometimes, but I’ll try to keep up with the dash anyway. Saturdays and tuesdays tend to be quieter. I’ll be mostly on during my days off - sunday and monday, and though I may be a little slow, my activity tends to be steady.

Original Character Application:

Name: Murdoch “Murdo” Naoise Fitzgerald

Age and Birthday: 25 years old - december 13th.

Faceclaim: Joe Anderson. Second option: Domhnall Gleeson.

Heritage: Son of Liber, god of Freedom, Civil Disobedience, Fertility, Inebriation and Wine. Legacy of Venus (4th generation) and legacy of Luna (5th generation), a heritage of the Fitzgerald family.

ABILITIES:

[Charmspeak]: Liber is commonly associated to freedom of speech, and it was during festivities in his name, such as the Liberalia, that common folk had the opportunity of speak up - frequently against the government and Rome’s strict hierarchy and class system. Being both a son of Liber and a legacy of Venus, Murdoch has a natural ability to convince listeners of his ideas when he speaks, and move crowds with unnatural charisma - specially when it encourages rebellion and civil disobedience. His voice can provoke a dangerous state of unrest in his listeners and heighten up their aggression levels.

[Water to Wine]: Being a son of the ancient god of inebriation and wine, Murdoch has the convenient ability of turning water into wine. It usually works as a great party trick. His connection to Liber, however, also makes him particularly susceptible to substance abuse and addiction of all kinds.

[Fertility Boost]: Being celebrated as the god of male fertility, as well as the god of sexual freedom, Liber has granted his children the uncommon ability of heightening fertility levels around them - it affects both crops and people, and it may cause those around him to feel heightened desire and attraction. It also causes a strange bump in natality whenever he’s near.

Affiliation: Murdoch spent two years in the First Cohort before dropping out, much to his family’s embarrassment. But that was before the fires, before prison - before he left as a wanted man. Now he’s back, a persona non grata in New Rome, and he doesn’t really belong anywhere but behind bars, according to those that still remember.

Headcanons:

[The Irish Jesus]: During his time in the outside world, Murdoch has become popular among the hobos, prostitutes and criminals. Delivering inflamed monologues at parks and streets, he soon gained a steady following. Maybe it was the party trick that finally did it - turning all that water into wine may not have been his brightest idea, but when word got around, people were soon calling him the Irish Jesus. Murdoch would be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy the attention (“well, I AM son of a god, maybe not THAT god, so it’s not exactly a lie–”), but there was only so much he could do for those new age lepers, besides inspiring them to rise up and fight for themselves.

[The Monsters Within]: Though Murdoch has faced and escaped many monsters during the ten long years he spent in the outside world, some of the toughest ones weren’t mythological beasts. There were monsters, he learned, that lived inside a needle, and there were monsters that lived inside a bottle. Addiction was a harder beast to slay than most monsters. There is a dark side to Liber and his celebration of debauchery, and now Murdoch is very careful in indulging freely in some of life’s pleasures. Freedom, he’s learned, can be both intoxicating and dangerous.

Biography:

!! tw: drug use, addiction mention, needles !!

Every family has a black sheep. That one relative mothers use as a cautionary tale - do you want to end up like your cousin? That one person no one talks about until one drunk uncle lets the name slip after too many drinks in a family’s gathering, and then there’s an uncomfortable silence, followed by quiet sneer. Everyone knows that one guy that has been burned off the family tree, the unfortunate son among well behaved siblings, the stain in an otherwise pure heritage of proud romans.  

To the Fitzgeralds, that’s Murdoch.

They always knew he was wild - restless like a caged bird, bearing his father’s free spirit like a family heirloom. Murdoch could never sit straight, could never just be quiet. He was the boy that talked too much, the boy that wouldn’t listen. Years later, they’d ask themselves if they could have known, as people often do when faced with tragedy. Did something in the mischievous smile of that little boy in the family portraits give away what he’d one day become? Some blamed nature - born into a strong military family, Liber’s love of freedom and lack of discipline was frowned upon, and no severe training could bend Murdoch to their ways. Some, however, blamed nurture - at the peak of her military career and well into the path to become the new Praetor, Oleana Fitzgerald had no time for children. The same day her son was born, she was back in her cohort, spear and shield in hand. Murdoch was left to be raised by his grandparents - and that sting of rejection was the first spark to what would one day become a fire.

Oleana wasn’t around much as Murdoch grew up - first, she was too busy with her military career. Then, she was undone by an accident during War Games. Confined to a wheelchair, she left New Rome for Ireland and upon her return, once again pregnant, they had already become strangers to each other. At six years old, Murdoch was wild; a hurricane shaped like a child, prone to wandering too far and getting himself - and his pack of friends - in big trouble. The birth of a sibling did nothing to calm his temper, as rejection stung deeper - Oleana clung to the new baby like a lifeline, and her first son, unruly and loud, could never quite fit her idea of a warrior.

But time is relentless and the years turned Murdoch into a fine young man, divided between the free spirit inherited from his father, and the wish for his mother’s affection. Following her footsteps, he joined the first cohort, but her eyes were always on Murdoch’s brother, intent in making the perfect soldier out of him. Murdoch grew angry - and that teenage anger was the perfect fuel for the rebellion that was his godly inheritance by birthright. More interested in politics and parties than swords and the battlefield, he soon became a dissident voice against New Rome’s outdated system - and the corruption brewing underneath it by the hands of the Cult. Nothing but a mild embarrassment, the Fitzgeralds thought; every family has that one kid - it was just a phase.

That was, until the fires started.

At first they were small and contained - an experiment for what was to come. Then, they got bigger - more than casual vandalism, they were a message. There were four confirmed criminal fires in key government buildings, after work hours, before Murdoch was finally arrested, at age sixteen. None had casualties, but for the course of six months, New Rome was turned upside down by the son of Liber.

Awaiting his trial, Murdoch suffered in prison - the true fear of a son of Freedom. A couple of days before he was to face the jury, however, someone unlocked his cell, and anxious to be free, Murdoch ran. It was only when the prison alarms were blaring and the tower of fire was burning in the distance that he knew he’d made a grave mistake. Years to come, people would say that there hadn’t been a fire like that since the likes of Nero roamed Italy. The body count had been of twelve - five of them demigods. Realizing he had been caught in the setup, Murdoch ran to an old friend for help, and managed to flee the city. It was with a heavy heart, hiding in the shadow of New Rome’s gates that he realized he could never come back - that whoever was responsible for that fire counted on him taking the fall.

But never is a long time.

Suddenly, with the entire world at his feet, he wished for the safety of Rome instead of freedom. But it was too late for that - Murdoch left with nothing but his smoked clothes, and learned to say goodbye to everything he knew that night: his grandparents, who deserved better; his little brother, who still had so much to learn; his cousins, his friends; and his mother, who would finally see him, but not in the way he wanted.

A life in the outside world, however, is not easy on a lonely demigod.

For nearly ten years, Murdoch survived on his own - sleeping in park benches or under cardboard boxes, stealing this or that, and making himself familiar with needles. Sometimes, he’d almost believe New Rome had been nothing but a dream - a drunk man’s delirium, some madness boiling inside his veins. But then, the monsters would come, and Murdoch would remember that it had to be real: hallucinations don’t draw real blood. Over the years, as his smell got stronger, the monsters would become relentless, following him wherever he went, so he never stayed anywhere for long. Friends with whores and addicts, gamblers and criminals, he found a captive audience - and that’s when the son of Liber felt more liberated, standing on a soapbox at the park, delivering his monologues to an eager crowd, hungry for change.

Some of them, eager to believe, started following him around the country. But there was only so much Murdoch could do for them. And when the monsters came, no one was safe. Finally, tired of running in a life that got increasingly dangerous every year, the prodigal son decided to return to New Rome, and face whatever sentence was waiting for him. He’d seen too much, lost too much, and his weary heart was calling him back home.

There were too many monsters outside, but Murdoch found the worst of them wore human skin.

Para Sample:

[Feel free to post the para sample too, if y'all want!]

There was something intoxicating about fire.

To watch the dark smoke spiral up the air and the flames grow, licking the doric columns of the Senate hungrily, filled him with pleasure. It was something as old as time itself, as if millennia of insatisfaction roared in his chest - the echoes of plebeians rising against patricians in the first Republic of Rome, the cheer and anger spreading across the crowd in ancient festivities of wine and sex. But beyond that, beyond the murmurs of time running in his blood, like an old, familiar song, there was the burning feeling or power.

You hardly ever hear it, but when a fire this big roars, lighting up the night, it sounds like a deafening round of applause.

Murdoch took a moment to appreciate his masterpiece - took a lungful of air, coughing a little, as if to save that taste, etch it deeply in his mind to revisit in the months to come. Before he was even done, he already knew it would be just the first of many - the prologue in his statement on the comings and goings of Roman politics and its shortcomings. There was something rotten in the long line of perfectly aligned soldiers, their feet rumbling in unison in the battlefield like thunder. That order in which the Republic was built was but a lie. Under the military-oriented culture of their people, there was brewing chaos running in their veins: the ichor of gods, their malice and their greatness. That night, alight with euphoria, Murdoch could see it all: all they could be, all they were meant to have. They were godly children, not sheep - and they could do so much better than the old politics upon which New Rome had been built. It was an anachronic, crippled monstrosity, stuck in time like a silly pantomime of real power: Mr. Punch and Judy, wearing paper crowns, calling themselves good.

No; they were meant to be better.

“What are you smiling like that for?”, one of his cousins asked the next day, as they shared a smoke by the fountain. “Just life, Patsy,” Murdoch replied, with a mischievous smile his cousin had long learned to fear: “Life’s funny.” Patsy shook his head, taking a long drag of his cigarette before passing it along. “Sometimes I think you find this fire business amusing, Murdo. Don’t let ‘em catch you with that grin on your face. Not when they’re still mad at you over the Cohort thing - I mean, did you have to leave like that?” Patsy asked him vaguely, red head too full of girls and glory to notice the way Murdoch looked at the ashes the wind had brought, catching them in his hand like black snowflakes. “I guess,” the son of Liber replied. “I just know I’m meant for something else, Patsy. Something different. I’ll leave the fighting to you big men and your swords, trying to compensate for something–”

Their laughter bounced off the stone and marble, unrestrained and high, still stumbling over their first footsteps into manhood.

Four months later, one last fire took Patsy’s life.

Over the next ten years, people would still ask themselves why Murdoch did it, as if Rome hadn’t been built upon fratricide and murder: an empire of betrayal. Sleeping on a bench under the starry night, wondering about centuries of tragedies, Murdo never got to mourn his cousin.

They were meant to be so much better - and still, they made the same old mistakes.