#was the band--it was regionally a Big Deal)

[yandere-writer-momo]

As a follower who is also fatherless over the past few years, yes please, more Jack Henry. I want to make him my new daddy. And I want him to make me a mommy… 🙈🙈🙈🍆💦

Is this who we are as a society? 😭😭 because me too.

@amisalami03

First piece: You Are My Sunshine

Yandere Head Canon: Hold Onto Me

Yandere Dilf Sheriff x Afab Reader

TW: breeding kink, body worship, dubcon (alcohol), etc

His calloused hands eagerly ran over the smooth skin of your stomach and hips. His lips fervently pressed against your navel, his scruff lightly scratching your delicate skin like tiny knives. It tickled

Earlier you had downed so much beer until your head rested on his shoulder and your hands squeezed his biceps. You told him he was strong and handsome… didn’t that mean you wanted him too?

Jack ignored the way you drunkenly tried to push his head away. You’d want this… you cried on his shoulder about how you couldn’t find a husband and he was more than willing to take that spot after he made you his woman tonight. And every night that followed

Jack ran his tongue down the fabric of your panties. He was undaunted from the way your body instantly recoiled at the touch.

“These have to go, darlin.” Jack huskily whispered, his fingers hook around the band of your underwear before he teasingly slid them down your thighs.

A low whistle escaped his lips as he eyed your bare body up and down. “Such a pretty thing you are… can’t believe you was hidin this under all yer clothes.”

You can only whine when he pressed a lingeries kiss to your lower regions before he dove right in. His lips eagerly sucked and licked you like you were his last meal.

Your head spun from the alcohol and the tumultuous lust that began to be built up in you from his ministrations. Your fingers tangled in his brown locks as you arched your back.

“Taste so fuckin good… ya’ve probably never had a man do this to ya.” Jack chuckled before he pulled his head away, his lips covered in your juices. “But I can take ya to new levels of pleasure.”

Jack guides your hand to touch the thick bulge in his boxers. You could feel him twitch in your palm in excitement.

“I’m gonna make ya my wife but first…” Jack guided your hand to pull down his boxers. His erect cock nearly jumped out to greet you. “I’m gonna make ya a mother.”

Jack scrambled to kneel between your legs. The sheriff spits a little on his palm to rub it up and down his shaft. The precum and saliva mixed together for more lubricant. “I’ve been wantin to do this fer so long now… ya have no idea how much a I want you.”

You try to scoot back but Jack grabs your leg and yanks you back towards him. A chuckle left his muscular chest. “No need to be so shy… I ain’t gonna bite ya… not yet at least.”

You gasp when you feel him slide the tip up and down your slit. Your eyes wide and your lips slightly parted as fear begun to over take you. There was no way he’d fit in you… he was so big.

“(Your name)? I love ya.” A scream erupted from your lips when he fully sheathed himself into you in one thrust. Your nails dug into his back to try to deal with the pain of the stretch. Your body trembled as it stretched to accommodate him. A hiss escaped Jack’s throat.

“So fuckin tight! I knew yer pussy would be good…” You just hold onto him as he stayed still and peppered your face with tender kisses. “My wife’s so perfect…”

You gasp when he gave one shallow thrust. Pleasure consumed your body from how deep he was. How he hit spots you didn’t even know you had… and Jack noticed your shift in mood immediately. A smirk now on his lips.

“Ya like that? Well,” Jack leaned down to whisper, his scruff tickled the shell of your ear. “This ‘ere is just the beginnin. Haven’t even started yet, darlin.”

And that’s when he begins to thrust. Your hands held him close as the mattress creaked beneath the two of you. You could see the bulge on your stomach from where his body met yours. The older man mumbled incoherent curses and praises as he began to fuck into you like a wild animal

“I’m gonna get your fuckin pregnant. Gonna give you a baby.” Jack hissed as his thrusts became sloppy. “Won’t let ya say no to bein mine. Gonna fuck this ‘ere perfect pussy every fuckin day till you know who you belong to…”

You only moan and gasp as he throws your legs over his shoulders so that you’re in a perfect mating press. His lips pressed against yours in a searing kiss as you felt your high slowly start to approach.

“Love ya so much… just be mine.” Jack hissed as he moved his lips to press hot kisses on your neck. “Yer all mine… my beautiful darlin.”

And that’s when he bit down on the junction between your shoulder and neck. The coil within you unraveled as you screamed out his name.

“Jack! Jack!” And that’s when you feel him shudder as a hot, sticky substance fills your womb. The sheriff whined as he continued to fuck into you , desperate to keep his and your high going for as long as possible until he inevitably goes soft.

“Fuck… fuck.” Jack collapsed on you and kissed the angry red mark he left on your neck. His mark. “That was amazin, darlin.”

You gasp when he suddenly flips your body on top of his. A smirk on his rugged face. “But it’s not over yet. Gotta make sure yer gonna be bearin my child.”

Jack rubbed your lovehandles with a smirk. “Now ya gonna ride this cowboy all night, darlin. Till the neighbors know my name and whose god damn baby yer gonna be havin.”

[dailyadventureprompts]

Good morrow to you Dapper! I was wondering, when worldbuilding, how do you give each sentient species (elves, dwarves, orcs, etc.) a cohesive identity while also acknowledging the fact that real world peoples, cultures, and countries are a lot more fluid than the PHB would leave us to believe?

To be honest, I don't? Motly in that I don't approach worldbuilding in such a way where I need to block off each individual ancestry/species into their own distinct thing. I also don't have a set world that my adventures take place in, and tend to create settings and assign them details on an at-need basis.

I tend to work from a "culture as story element" perspective, creating a tablau of different peoples based on what the drama needs at any particular moment, and then adding on details as needed.

Say my party is on the borderlands of a big wilderness region where one or more "settled" societies are butting up against eachother and the nomadic peoples who call the wilderness home. Each group gets a name and enough detail to give the players an idea who they're dealing with, and it's only after that where I start at all thinking about demographics.

Likewise I could say forinstance that "the Kal'Ghrine nomads are primarily of orcish decent" but if I express to my players that the defining features of the Kal'Ghrine are being tough as nails survivalists, canny traders, and highly protective of their sacred sites, then that image of what the Kal'Ghrine people are like is going to stick in my players heads, supplimenting their idea of what to expect from an orc. As a bonus it means I can throw in human, woodelf, even hafling or gnoll members of the Kal'Ghrine for texture and my players won't bat an eye

I like thinking about it in terms of the MTG colour pie, multiple groups/philosophies can band togeter for a common cause, and individuals within those groups can express different aspects of that larger union.

As for change over time time, that's an interesting wrinkle. I tend to presume that longer lived species (elves, dwarves, gnomes) tend to have an undertanding of power structures that overlay current kingdom level politics and treat the affairs of their shorter lived kind as children squabbling. If the elves of the ladenbough forest stopped trading with their human neighbors every time they had a succession crisis, rebelion, border dispute, or unification war they'd never get anything done.

[jokeroutsubs]

Joker Out ‘Live From Arena Stožice’ - A triumph of unquestionable talent, youthful enthusiasm and dedicated work

ORIGINAL INTERVIEW BY ILKO ČULIĆ FOR RAVNO DO DNA, PUBLISHED ON 08.01.2024 ENGLISH TRANSLATION BY @moonlvster, PROOFREAD BY IG @GBOLEYN123

“Aha, that Slovenian band from Eurovision. Cute guys, but their music is for kids.” Nearly every attempt at explaining the quickly growing phenomenon Joker Out to those older and less informed gets stuck on this kind of reaction.

After the concert album “Live from Arena Stožice”, published by Virgin Records, and a rockumentary of the same name, directed by Mark Pirc, everything will be much clearer and hopefully there won’t be anyone who needs convincing that this Slovenian five-piece have emerged as the most exciting young pop rock band in the wider region, for now maybe even the only ones of their generation capacitated for the biggest venues in the post-Yugoslav area. This is a complete 90-minute recording of their triumphant concert in Ljubljana with 12,000 backing vocals and the right material for a major label deal, which nobody from these parts has been able to do in such a short period.

Yes, of course, Joker Out makes music for kids, or more precisely music for girls, as they always make up a majority of their audience. Photo and video documentation obtained from Stožice doesn’t differ from what was recorded a few weeks later at the Zagreb concerts in Tvornica Kulture, where the only older faces in the crowd were the security guards, accredited reporters and some caring mothers who didn’t want to leave their darling alone in the crowd under any circumstance.

Everything that happens with this band looks like an endless highschool party fueled by high-spirited youthful rock. However, the fact that Joker Out’s music is magnetically attractive to only girls isn’t a handicap, but a huge initial advantage, both in Ljubljana, Zagreb and Belgrade, as well as London and Manchester. The mass teenage hysteria once similarly helped Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly, the early Beatles and T.Rex, and more recently Franz Ferdinand and Arctic Monkeys, with whom rock was briefly youthful again.

On home turf, the famous new wave became quite an important factor of pop culture when it won over a highschool aged audience, and became an exceptionally profitable discographic investment when in big cities it reached even the upper classes in elementary school. In later stages, due to the unlucky combination of unfortunate demographic and discographic processes, we ran out of young bands as well as the youngest audience. Since there were no adequate regional responses to Franz Ferdinand and Arctic Monkeys, a defeatist way of thinking prevailed in the rock world, saying that new generations are generally uninterested in bands with guitars.

Joker Out sprinted into that empty space and simply smashed it. Eurovision was the launching pad for their international career, but the foundation for a sold out Stožice Arena was built two years prior when the band filled Cvetličarna, a venue with a capacity of up to 2000 people, with their debut album ‘Umazane misli’. In terms of the Slovenian rock scene those were already big numbers and irrefutable proof that the winners of Špil Liga in 2016 became serious players in the meantime.

After a phenomenally successful regional and European tour it was Arena Stožice’s turn, so by October Bojan Cvjetićanin, Jure Maček, Kris Guštin, Jan Peteh and Nace Jordan had the required number of played matches and enough confidence in them to transfer all of their current published songs to a concert album, meaning 23 songs in total. So, that includes the complete material from the ‘Umazane misli’ and ‘Demoni’ studio albums, two last years hits,’Carpe Diem’ and ‘Sunny Side of London’, as well as their first song back from their highschool days, ‘Kot srce, ki kri poganja’. When planning some kind of festival gig, they could make a selection and pick out their hits, but at an ambitiously planned 90-minute solo performance they had to play all they have and be very careful not to make a mistake in the song setlist.

For a furious opening, effectively complimented by the guest brass players, the chosen song was their recent single ‘Sunny Side of London’, the only song performed in English. Live it sounds like a final confirmation that Joker Out is an international band and like an excellent announcement for their upcoming spring European tour. The next song is ‘Gola’, the first out of many old favourites and the ultimate Slovenian teenager hit, which started a rarely seen euphoria in the audience.

After that the whole arena thunderously sings along with Bojan to ‘Bele sanje’, ‘Plastika’ and ‘Dopamin’ and ‘Demoni’, and the accumulated energy is just transferred from one song to the next without any oscillation. In the middle part of the concert, however, you can feel that Joker Out’s repertoire lacks a few more punchy songs. At least the fans won’t mind that at all, because with a flashback to their debut song ‘Kot srce, ki kri poganja’ they got an exclusive opportunity to watch and listen to the ex rhythm section with the drummer Matic Kovačič and bassist Martin Jurkovič. Less impressive are the extended versions of ‘Metulji’ and ‘Vem da greš’, where the compact three-minute forms from the first album are extended with guitar solos and stretched out into the too long six-minute versions. The ending of the concert, in which ‘Tokio’, ‘Umazane misli’, their new concert single ‘Ne bi smel’, generational anthem ‘Novi val’ and their biggest hit ‘Carpe Diem’ were incorporated, was performed flawlessly. Joker Out is at the level of the assignment, and ‘Live from Arena Stožice’ is the most complete edition. This concert album represents a triumph of unquestionable talent, youthful enthusiasm and dedicated work, but there’s something else at play.

Fifteen years ago the run-down Kino Šiška, a former iconic meeting place for punks of Ljubljana, was thoroughly remodelled and turned into the city's alternative culture institute. Ten years ago Kino Šiška announced a competition for highschool bands and started Špil Liga, regularly funded by the city. In the third season, Joker Out won Špil Liga. Today, Ljubljana has a band that it can proudly send to every European metropole. Their concert in Helsinki sold out three months in advance. That’s not crazy luck, but a smart cultural strategy.

Rating: 8/10

[urmanipulatorytendencies]

enha as twenty first century american teenager stereotypes (up until 2024)

I LIV LAF LUV playing association with enhypen because they're my interesting little stinka-butts who, in my opinion, are so frozen in this whole kpop ordeal and i need them BROKEN FREEEE

Hybe, babes, let them explore the real world and interact with idols and people who don't gaf about their latest random single release and just wanna vibe w them I BEG

+ Yang Jungwon aka "Maicah"

Maicah Jungwon Yang is the middle man of your class. He's involved, he's energetic with the dude-bros, and he's on the JV basketball team. He only has okay grades but is somehow on Student Council. He's friends with a ton of the Varsity boys, and he's got lots of cool friends. Jungwon is super bubbly but he's really put together. His rl engagement in school and enha leadership compels me to think he's responsible enough to be in Student Council but bros also just an athlete. He'd also probs be on the track team as a 100m sprinter or smth. He'd definitely have a lot of friends but he might have a surprisingly unconventional bestie. Maicah wears the same two pairs of nike sweats along with Yeezy slides and a black hoodie. If it's cold, Maicah brings a Spiderman blanket to school.

+ Lee Heeseung aka "Ethan"

Ethan is the ultimate trend maxxer of whatever Bay Area high school you have imagined. He wears string earphones, never sporting shorts, and always has a damn beanie on. Absolutely not in sports-- is THE arts student. He's on the junior group of horn instruments in band, probably plays the trumpet, and isn't all that great but he's a fast learner. Hee would be top 30 in his class, but would most likely prioritize his rising Sound Cloud presence post-Grad. Doesn't date but he has a lot of younger friends, flirts with girls two years younger than him but also maintains a homoerotic friendship with his childhood friend in college who's like a year older than him.

+ Park Jay aka "Jay"-- DUH

Jay is the batman. He's farms or surfs (depending on what region you imagine we're in the context of) by day, and is in a garage band by night. He has a super duper close knit friend group of equally spunky guys. Has absolutely no female friends-- not out of misogyny or anything but bro is just such a dude idk. He's pretty smart, def a AP Chem warrior but stinks at stem. His focal point is the school guitar group. He probably gets his community service hours working with the lunch ladies. Jay is charismatic and super sweet-- but he probably deals with anger issues and was def that kid in behavior management during elementary. Despite his emo TM status-- Jay wears the fluck out of his chino + Sperrys combo.

+ Sim Jaeyun aka "Jake"-- DUH

He is the captain of the Varsity Soccer team. Jake is popular as a mf; has a big friend group, dates around, is loved by the teachers, and most of the school appreciates his mega vibes. Think Jeremiah from The Summer I Turned Pretty. Jake probably gets zesty allegations cause he wears lots of jewelry and paints his nails but he doesn't mind cause trust-- he's pulling every female bro-lover in the COUNTY. He's super duper competitive and is a strict captain, which is the only reason why someone'd have a problem with him...but he makes up for it by being a beast on the field. He's also on Honor Roll, cranking his Class with a 4.6 GPA and Salutatorian status. He's a chronic overstayer at school with him being in sports and academic clubs year round. Jake probably has some weird connections with Parker which throw people off like Junior year. Chronic Croc wearer. Bro's committing to Notre Dame for Soccer.

+ Park Sunghoon aka "Parker"

The hottest loser on campus fr fr. He's well known for being the numba one hallway crush but bro has no school friends so everyone kinda just assumes he's a little bit of a bitch (in the best way possible). He never stays longer than he has to but he's a hard worker and the history teacher loves his compassion for AP Gov.. He's a club Volleyball player outside of school but he's not in school athletics (he's got connections to the Athletics Dir. tho). He's always at school early to use the weight room and he's an avid lean pump master poster on IG. Hoon was super isolated as a kid so I imagine that Parker would probably have a hard time being social with just normal kids (Parker's homeschooled in elementary for the plot). He was probably chubby in middle school and then had a gigantourous glow up freshman-sophomore year: 6'0, lean muscle, "clean guy" aesthetic. Guys def wanna be him but they're jelly cause their girlfriends are obsessed. Closet gay but no one knows until a random IG story during college where he takes a pic w his boyfriend or something idk. Wears Jordan 4s.

+ Kim Sunoo aka "Sonny"

The typical friendly gay bestie minus the obnoxious Netflixed exaggerations (i.e. loud and super sassy). Just think about the token feminine gay guy at your school-- he probably has a group of girl friends, is kinda introverted lwk, wears either super outdated 2018 IG fashion or is the most fabulous Hollister warrior. He definitely has a weird situationship with one of the popular guys-- top athlete, unlikely to be friends with him but is anyways...you know the shabang. Sonny's pretty witty, pretty scholarly-- excels in stem but has a soft spot for English. He probably listens to Ariana Grande and is a Olivia Rodrigo die-hard. Sonny probably bakes, too. Overall, he's on the low but anyone knows that unprovoked, that mf is loud sometimes. Will not hesitate to beat a bitch up too.

+ Nishimura Ri ki aka "Nico"

The skater boi TM, bahaha. Just kidding, but fr, I think American Ri ki would skateboard. Like-- in an East Coast way not a West Coast way if you catch my drift. He's a New Yorker at heart-- going to a crowded arts school somewhere idk. He's constantly outdoing himself with the fits-- the girls love it. He's can be shy but has a knack for being a trouble maker-- probably went to special group as a kid, the guy with ADHD (not that that's a big deal but ik we all got that one guy in class that's hyper to no end, n to me, that's ri ki). Nico's got a couple friends, plays basketball in his free time, and his specialty is, of course, dance. He leads the department by a long shot so everyone either loves him or hates him. Nico isn't afraid to be flamboyant or outgoing (as Ri ki is competitive and a little bit of a diva) but can come off a little high strung sometimes.

[fragilecapric0rnn]

🔁 ronance please and thank you 😌

anything for you my louseph friend <3

FINALLY a song that is not sad!!!

relistening to this one and am reminded how fun and chaotic it is and was, once again, metaphorically hit over the head with an idea:

Ronance workplace rivals to friends to lovers AU! if i'm remembering correctly i used this song on a playlist many moons ago for a rivals to friends to lovers au i wrote (and have since orphaned oops)

Set in the political sphere, both working as staffers for the same US Congresswoman, a prolific, controversial member of the House of Representatives. An office known for being nearly impossible to infiltrate.

Nancy, cut-throat workaholic. Constantly burning the candle at both ends, her desk should be considered her first home rather than her actual home. She worked her ass off.

Starting in high school, piloting the high school Democratic club for her high school and then rocketing it up to the most productive high school chapter in the region, regardless of none of the members could vote. Taking undergrad by the balls and squeezing as hard as she possibly could. Scoring internships the summer after her Freshman year and bypassing incoming Seniors that by the time SHE was a Senior she had a better resume than most seasoned political staffers. Three internships on The Hill, two years of being president of her colleges Dem club chapter, staffed over a dozen political campaigns for various Dems across the political spectrum. All while maintaining a 4.0 GPA and writing guest articles for the University's school paper. Nancy Wheeler made name for herself, stepping into her glory as one of the youngest staffers in DC at just 22 years old. Younger than some interns. But carrying herself with the confidence of someone with decades of experience under the belt.

Robin, on the other hand, kinda fell into politics. It was the summer right before her Senior year of high school. An election year. She never paid much attention to politics before this, her parents were hippies, they were obviously liberal. Naturally smart, never having to try that hard to keep her GPA high, but also knowing that they didn't have enough money to send her to college, but made too much money to qualify for a lot of assistance, and she never excelled so well that she earned a full-ride anywhere, community college was the only reasonable option for her. One day, she's packing up her trumpet at the end of band practice, one of the few stragglers in the gym, when people in suits start setting up the gym. In walks the Democratic candidate for her district. Curious, especially when she noticed the line forming outside to hear her speak, she decided to hang around and see what the big deal was.

She was captivated. Big promises fighting for people like her, really like her. Multiple references to her partner, another woman, Robin felt this itch in the back of her skull, spread to the rest of her body. Something more than curiosity, something that motivates her to wait even longer and approach this candidate, arguing with staffers and whoever she needs to, just to get a word in with the candidate.

She ends up fighting with half of her staff, making some sort of impression on the future Congresswoman, who makes time to talk to her. Robin leaves that night with a new passion, and a new (unpaid) position working on the campaign.

Once the election was won, Robin spent most of her time in community college working for the Congresswoman in her district office. Taking night classes and getting involved in the community college's Dem club, but her first priority was to this office.

Politics was a natural arena for Robin. A schmooze by nature, witty and personable, she made the job look easy. No one would know that she spends most of her time in her car, working two jobs to save money and trying to maintain a good GPA to get into the local State College. The Congresswoman made her promise to finish her degree, not get wrapped up in the career path that politics has to offer. And in exchange, she had a position waiting for her in the DC office as soon as she graduated.

Nancy and Robin start in the Congresswoman's office on the same day. Nancy see's Robin as competition. Robin see's Nancy as a stuck-up rich kid with no loyalty. They're at each other's throats. Nancy constantly trying to one up Robin, Robin easily charming the pants off of anyone in her path.

Robin taking work home with her, but Nancy thinking that she's a slacker. Nancy living at her desk, making Robin view her as a show-off.

It all comes to a head during the first campaign event of the election cycle. And it starts and ends at the open bar.

send me a 🔀 and a pairing, and i’ll shuffle my playlist and make an au based on the first song that comes up

[bigsoftmarshmallow]

I greatly appreciate it. Actually, Equal Lady grew up with her grandparents & her grandfather was one in a very, very long line of renowned Sheikah bladsmiths. So, she learned everything she knew from him.

As for a wedding band, yes & a whole lot more than that too. In my hc, jewelry is a sign of prestige, wealth, affluence, ect. among the Gerudo & her being her, she'd know that & would act accordingly.

As such, she tends to make all sorts of things for him. Though, specifically things that she knows he'll like or shows that she's paying attention to his interests.

However, what she's passionate about is weapon-making, specifically bladesmithing, which is way she hunts down an ancient Gerudo sword design for her to recreate for him. Which, she later gifts to him as a wedding present. Though, she also uses methods that she herself has invented & that she has yet to teach anyone else about.

Which, that's actually a big deal. She's extremely protective of her family's legacy & would never just give a weapon to someone. Either they have to buy it or they have to have done something very, very good to have proven themselves to her.

In fact, the entire reason she even meets TotK Ganondorf is because she'd gone to the Gerudo region in order to learn their style of weapon-making, specifically pattern-welding scimitars (& also to learn their style of grilling meat, but that one's more for herself than anything) & plans to reforge her personal blades with what amounts to Damascus steel from the Gerudo Highlands. In fact, it was her grandparents who made Ganondorf's Gloom Weaponry per commission.

And, because of it, she feels compelled to make sure that he lives up to being in possession of the work of Hyrule's greatest weaponsmiths.

Ergo, she challenges him, which results in him noticing her.

Everything goes from there.

THAT IS SOME GOOD LORE! I love the connecting information! She comes from a line of blacksmiths, thus wants to learn more weapons, thus makes her own method to it, thus wants to go learn more, thus finds the man who has commissions from her own family line AND they have unique weapons she wants to learn the method for??? Thats good stuff! Very good! <3 You are so talented, Equal Lady!

Because of you, I'm getting back into writing and posting my old works. It's a delightful process, and I am learning how to push past the dismotivation and slump. Please feel free to send in more asks or lore about your lovely Lady or ask questions or even just to chat! <3

[rjzimmerman]

Imaginations Fly Over North Carolina’s “Fairy Circles” of Hydrogen. (Sierra Club)

Excerpt from this story from Sierra Club:

Many people are drawn to eastern North Carolina by the aroma of its legendary vinegar-based barbecue. Geoffrey Ellis admits that pulled pork was a big perk of his February trip to the region. But officially, the research geologist with the US Geological Survey had traveled south of Fayetteville in pursuit of a target with no smell at all: hydrogen gas.

While hydrogen is the most common element in the universe, it’s also 14 times lighter than air and easily escapes into space. That makes it extremely rare in Earth’s atmosphere, present at an average of just .5 parts per million. Nearly all the hydrogen used for fuel and industrial processes is made artificially, either by reacting methane gas with steam or breaking down water through electrolysis.

Yet Ellis knew that in 2012, an international research team led by the geochemist Viacheslav Zgonnik had visited North Carolina and found much higher levels of hydrogen, hundreds or thousands of parts per million, around the unusual geological features known locally as Carolina bays. These shallow, oval, often swampy depressions, the largest up to five miles across, have long intrigued geologists and the general public alike. In the US, they stretch in a sporadic band along the East Coast from the Florida-Georgia border up to New Jersey. Similar features are present all over the world, including Russia, Brazil, and Australia.

Scientists aren’t entirely sure how the bays form, Ellis says. Hypotheses include the warming of permafrost after the last ice age, the action of strong winds over many centuries, and the melting of icy fragments from exploded comets. Popular names for the features, like “fairy circles” and “witch rings,” often ascribe more supernatural origins. The elevated hydrogen readings added to the mystery, and Ellis wanted to see if North Carolina’s bays still harbored the gas a decade after Zgonnik’s measurements.

The concentrations Ellis detected were the same or even higher than before—the first evidence of long-term, naturally occurring hydrogen seepage in the United States. “The trends were very consistent,” Ellis says. “I was surprised; I expected that we would see more variability over time. To be honest, I don’t really know what that means.”

Zgonnik is less cautious in his interpretation. He sees the bays as markers of potentially massive resources trapped below the surface, just waiting to transform the world’s energy economy.  

“We’re dealing with a long-lasting flow of hydrogen,” Zgonnik asserts. “If it is long lasting, it means that we can, by installing the right system, capture this flow, harvest this hydrogen, and open the pathway for a new source of energy.”

Even a decade ago, the idea that Earth held commercially meaningful quantities of hydrogen was considered scientifically dubious at best. Those who touted hydrogen as a clean fuel—it produces only water when burned—regarded it as a secondary energy source that would have to be produced using renewable or nuclear power to avoid carbon emissions. 

But proof of concept for harvesting the gas has existed since 2012, when a village in Mali began tapping a hydrogen well to power its electricity generation. Subsequent findings in North Carolina and elsewhere have stirred a new wave of excitement about what’s now called geologic, “white,” or “gold” hydrogen. The Denver-based company Koloma recently raised $245 million in venture capital to search for geologic hydrogen, while the US Department of Energy awarded $20 million in grants toward research on the topic in February.

The technology used to extract hydrogen looks similar to that used for fossil fuels like methane gas and oil, says Zgonnik, whose company Natural Hydrogen Energy LLC drilled America’s first exploratory well in Nebraska. Unlike the limited deposits of those resources, however, he believes that geologic hydrogen represents a continuous flow. “Solar energy is the flux of photons from the sun. Wind energy is the flux of the air,” he says. “In our case, we are dealing with the flux of hydrogen from the depths, which I believe will be a significant contributor to the renewable energy mix.”

[umichenginabroad]

Madrid Week 3: Flashbacks

Hola a todxs! It’s Niko back with week 3 of studying abroad in Madrid. Time is STILL passing by really fast and slow at the same time, so I'll talk about it again — I’ve been here less than a month and it’s felt like half a year, but the days go by quickly. I don’t think that will stop anytime soon, but I’m here for it. More perceived time = more life lived, and I hope that my weeks don't start blending together anytime soon.

As promised in week 2, I wanted to spend this blog talking about my trip to Granada last weekend. Granada is a small Spanish town in the southern region of Spain called Andalucía. It’s got a population of around 230,000 people — nearly the exact same as my hometown of Arlington, VA, which is a suburb outside of Washington, DC. However, in place of tree lined residential neighborhoods and modern office buildings, Granada is filled with narrow cobblestone streets bordered by low, densely packed buildings and intensely intricate churches/palaces built hundreds of years ago.

That palace — La Alhambra — is the largest tourist attraction in Granada, and was one of the main reasons I wanted to visit it (also, a big shout out to Emma for hosting me, a friend of mine from high school doing her semester in Granada!!). It’s a massive Moorish palace on a hill that overlooks the entire city. The Moors, who were North African Muslims, conquered much of the Iberian Peninsula in the 8th century. La Alhambra was slowly built between the years 1238 and 1358, during the reigns of Ibn al-Aḥmar and his successors. 

With that said, my trip to Granada last weekend was not my first time seeing La Alhambra. As I mentioned briefly in week 0's blog, I took a trip to Spain with my 8th grade Spanish class for a week. That was 7 years ago. We hit most of the main touristic Spanish cities within that time, Granada included.

So, walking through the palace last weekend triggered a slow trickle of distant memories, fuzzy enough that I couldn’t remember details, but potent enough that I could remember how I felt. Some things had changed about the palace, many things stayed the same. I still felt the same sense of awe I did 7 years ago witnessing the incredible detail hand-carved into every surface, or seeing the palace perfectly reflected in a courtyard’s pool. The difference was that this time, I was exploring alone.

I think that during this trip, I really gained an appreciation — and curiosity — of solo travel. Although I was with my friend Emma much of the time, I felt a great deal of peace in exploring La Alhambra at my own pace. Without anyone else to turn to, I was forced to be present and attuned to my surroundings, and that enabled me to appreciate them that much more.

I think that part of that appreciation, however, was derived from the sense of independence and freedom I had existing alone in Granada. Going into college, being alone terrified me. I would step into the dining hall for lunch and wander through the common spaces, looking for a familiar face I could share a meal with. Now, I try my best to cherish the moments in which I can connect more to myself, whether that be during a meal, practicing a hobby, or exploring an ancient Moorish palace. That’s only something I've been able to move towards through consistent practice -- AKA, spending deliberate time alone. I hope to continue deepening that connection throughout this semester solo-exploring Spain and Europe, which I know is something I'll carry with me for the rest of my life.

Aside from La Alhambra, Emma and I explored the city and its various landmarks (El Albaicin, a predominantly Muslim neighborhood, the Granada Cathedral, the Monastery of San Jeronimo, the Mirador de San Miguel Alto [and an epic sunset], and even a jazz-esque show with Spanish flair from a band at a local music club). More pictures below.

On the way back home, we stopped at a rest stop for the bus, and I couldn’t help but notice how familiar it seemed. It conjured up a nostalgic feeling that could have only come from my first trip in Spain — I realized we had stopped at the same station.

For old time’s sake, I bought a Kinder Egg Sorpresa. These things were a huge deal to me in 8th grade, as they are banned in the USA for being a ‘choking hazard’.  Inside the chocolate exterior was a little plastic goat toy that will now serve as the centerpiece of our dining room table.

It’s funny to think how much of a different person I am from the 13 year old on vacation with his school friends and Spanish teachers. But it’s also comforting to know that all of these memories I carry with me explain the person I am today.

This week, I got a little more into school groove, took a rollerblading route, visited the Reina Sofia museum and went to see some amazing techno DJs over the weekend. Per usual, check out the photo captions for more info on the content this week :).

Hasta luego,

Niko Economos

Aerospace Engineering

Universidad Carlos III de Madrid

Madrid, Spain

[theconstitutionisgayculture]

I've been getting into baseball recently, and it's got me thinking about the weird push for Americans to get into soccer. (I'm not imagining that, am I? The weird disdain you see for people who prefer football?)

A lot of people in college would tell me that soccer was the only sport worth caring about, because it's so popular worldwide. I always thought that was a funny argument. Like, why should it matter to me that I'm watching the same game as someone on a different continent? Isn't it kinda cooler if there's a wide variety of games worldwide?

Baseball is the biggest in the US, I'm sure, but it's also huge in countries like Japan, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba... and that's really cool, I think! The fact that baseball resonates so much with the people there says something small, but interesting about both the sport and the culture and history of the area. And cricket is a big deal in India and Australia - it's not a sport I care about much, but I love how there are places where people do care. I just find stuff like that so cool, and it would really depress me to think that the only metric for how much a sport should matter is how many countries agree that it matters.

Not sure if this is anything you'd care about, sorry - just, booooo to globalism, I guess! Regional quirks are good for humanity!

So, first off, if you're just getting into baseball I'd enthusiastically recommend the PBS documentary Baseball by Ken Burns. I just started getting into baseball this year too (went to my first MLB game even) and it's a really great way to learn the history of the sport and why certain players and plays and teams and games are still talked about today.

Second, in America, soccer is the little known hipster Euro indie band of sports. It doesn't matter if it's good or not, it's just unpopular enough to be cool and it's foreign, so people who want to look down on American culture latch onto it. I don't really know why soccer never caught on in the US. It can't be because it's boring or slow, because baseball can also be boring and slow, at least before they implemented the pitch clock (which I think is the greatest change the game has even seen and I probably just made a lot of people very mad lol) and that's the third most popular sport in the country. It can't be because it isn't violent like football or hockey, because, again, baseball, and also basketball because basketball players are the literal softest athletes in the world when it comes to fouls and basketball is more popular than soccer. It can't be because there's too many white people--hockey--or too many non white people--basketball.

I dunno, I'm going off on a side quest here.

You're right, "the rest of the world likes this" is one of the stupidest reasons to like something. Hell, I vastly prefer the XFL over the NFL, and me and my husband are watching Slamball later on tonight. I've watched all kinds of combat sports, and things like Wipeout and American Ninja Warrior. I've watched pro wrestling and amateur wrestling. I've watched grappling fights. I've watched figure skating. Snowboarding. Sure, many of these I've only watched once or twice, but the sheer variety of sports that are out there, some regional, some not, is a great thing. You can always find something that appeals to you. Even if it's only you and a few other people watching. One of the great things about sports is its ability to connect a room full of complete strangers for a few hours. Whether that "room" is your living room, or a sports bar, or a backyard, or a stadium filled to capacity doesn't matter at all. As long as you're enjoying something and getting something out of it, that's all that matters. The "best" sport is impossible to determine with any objectivity. The most popular sport is irrelevant. The only thing that matters is what's fun to watch or play.

Besides, we all know the best sport is Blitzball anyway.

[female-malice]

First Nations groups on the Canadian side of the Columbia River Basin are adamant that salmon runs that have long been blocked by dams in the United States must be restored, potentially in a renewed river treaty between the two countries.

But experts say possible solutions, such as “salmon cannons” that suck fish through a pipe and shoot them out upstream and over obstacles, are all costly and potentially limited in their effectiveness.

Representatives from the Ktunaxa and Syilx Okanagan nations say they continue to bring up salmon restoration in negotiations for a modern Columbia River Treaty and will not stop until a solution can be reached within or outside a new agreement.

The U.S.-Canada treaty regulates the cross-border Columbia River to prevent flooding and generate hydro power. A key component of the 62-year-old treaty is set to expire in September 2024, lending urgency to the ongoing talks.

“I think what we are doing in the fight to bring salmon back is vital to us moving forward,” said Lower Similkameen Indian Band Chief Keith Crow, who is a member on the Syilx Okanagan Nation’s Chiefs Executive Council and the Nation’s lead in the Columbia River Treaty talks.

“And we’re not going to back down, either,” he said.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation says much of the migratory salmon run in the Upper Columbia, both in Canada and the U.S., ended with the completion of the Grand Coulee Dam in Washington state in 1942.

While the Grand Coulee Dam isn’t among four dams built in accordance with the 1961 Columbia River Treaty, First Nations leaders say the talks offer a rare opportunity for them to directly engage American officials about restoring Pacific salmon to the Upper Columbia.

“The salmon hasn’t been a big piece of (the talks), and I’ve been trying to move it forward consistently,” Crow said.

The nation opened its own hatchery near Penticton, B.C., in 2014 to help bring salmon back to Okanagan waters.

The goal, Crow said, is the restoration of natural salmon runs throughout the Upper Columbia Basin.

“We’ve been supplying salmon back to the people for years from our hatchery from the work that we’ve done, but to be able to see them actually swimming freely and coming up the Columbia the way they’re meant to be, I think it’s something I’m hoping I’m going to see in my lifetime.”

Ktunaxa Nation Council Chair Kathryn Teneese said the loss of salmon to the Upper Columbia Basin fundamentally changed communities and their ways of life, since the fish was a staple to traditional diets and held significant cultural value.

“We now have generations of people that have grown up without even knowing that salmon was very much part of our staple diet,” Teneese said. “So, from that perspective, it’s changed who we are. Because one of the things that we say is that we have a word in our language for salmon, but we don’t have access to it.

“We just fill that void with the utilization of all of the other resources off the land that we’ve always used, but there’s just a piece missing.”

Crow said salmon may have comprised up to 50 per cent of traditional Syilx Okanagan diets prior to the region losing its fish runs.

In September, the U.S. pledged more than $200 million over 20 years from the Bonneville Power Administration for reintroducing salmon in the Upper Columbia River Basin.

Crow said he has spoken with British Columbia Premier David Eby about similar long-term financial commitments on the Canadian side.

“Right now, we are kind of doing the best we can with the budgets that we get every year,” Crow said. “So, a long-term commitment would be so much more beneficial. We can get so much more done, I think.”

In June, the province agreed to separate bilateral deals with the Syilx Okanagan, Ktunaxa and Secwepemc Nations so each group receives 5 per cent of the revenue B.C. receives every year from the U.S. through the Columbia River Treaty, funding known as the Canadian Entitlement.

But the challenge in bringing salmon back to the Upper Columbia Basin isn’t limited to funding, experts say.

In 2012, a group of researchers published a report on efforts to restore Atlantic Salmon and other migrating fish species to rivers on the East Coast of North America.

The report found that the effort at three major rivers did not yield “self-sustaining populations in any eastern U.S. river” despite “hundreds of millions” in investment on the construction of hatcheries and fish passages.

“It may be time to admit failure of fish passage and hatchery-based restoration programs and acknowledge that significant diadromous species restoration is not possible without dam removals,” said the report on fish that travel between salt and fresh water.

University of Victoria Biology Professor Francis Juanes was a co-author of the report, and he said that while the topic of fish passage technology among researchers is actively discussed and constantly advancing, studies have shown the only reliable way to fully restore a natural fish run may be a dam’s removal.

Juanes said that when a dam on the Elwha River was removed about a decade ago in Washington state, “you didn’t have to reintroduce (salmon).”

“They came back naturally. In a sense, that is the best way to reintroduce salmon especially to a river system.”

Results on the East Coast where fish ladders were used, particularly the Connecticut River, were not nearly as effective, Juanes said.

“It took so much effort by so many states, and you needed the hatcheries to grow these babies. So, that’s an enormous effort, and the return just wasn’t very good.”

John Waldman, biology professor at Queens College in New York, is one of the main authors of the report.

Waldman said there is rising belief among grassroots and Indigenous groups throughout North America that dam removals may be the optimal way to restore fish runs, in lieu of the poor results from alternative passages.

“I think there’s one universal theme that has emerged over the last two decades, which is that dam removal is without question the best solution to bringing these fish back again,” he said.

“Fish ladders and fish elevators provide what’s called the halfway measure.

“It looks like to the uninitiated that you have a solution and that it works, but the truth is when you look at the actual performance of many of these fish ladders and fish elevators, not that many fish pass through them.”

The biggest dam removal project in the United States began earlier this year on the Klamath River along the Oregon-California border, where four such structures will come down by next year under a budget of US$450 million.

Discussions on removing four dams on another branch of the Columbia River Basin – in the lower parts of the Snake River – have been ongoing for years, with the U.S. federal government rejecting in 2020 the idea due to possible power-grid destabilization if the hydro electricity from the dams are removed.

Last month, U.S. President Joe Biden directed federal agencies to use all available authorities and resources to restore salmon runs in the Columbia River Basin that are “healthy and abundant.”

Biden’s order, however, stopped short of calling for the removal of the dams on the Lower Snake River in Washington state.

The Upper Columbia United Tribes, consisting of five member Indigenous nations in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, said on its website on salmon restoration that while more studies are needed, there have been “encouraging advances” in fish passage technologies such as floating surface collectors and salmon cannons to get past tall dams without the structures’ removal.

But such technology, Waldman said, is unproven in being able to support a large, natural fish migration.

“I think this is a quarter-way measure, not even a halfway measure,” he said.

“You see them emerging once in a while, and somebody gets wind of it on TV, and some late night comedians make fun of fish being shot through these these cannons. But no one’s ever ramped them up to be at a level that would sustain a natural level of migratory fish.”

But Juanes said such options may be necessary if dam removals are not possible, even if they may add stress to the salmon population and make them more vulnerable to diseases.

“For one, that’s a very costly thing to do,” Juanes said of fish-passage technology. “For two, it causes stress to the animals. I can imagine that this cannon is not a happy moment for the fish, but maybe it’s better than it dying below the dam.”

Crow, for his part, said he understands “there’s no way of getting around the fact” that dams such as the Grand Coulee remain in the migration path, posing a monumental challenge to restoring salmon migration routes.

But he said the reintroduction of salmon runs to the Upper Columbia Basin is important enough to warrant effort and funding.

“There are lots of options out there, but what is going to be the most efficient and least impactful to the salmon, and they can still get back up? That’s the key,” he said.

“I’ve been taught to think seven generations down. So, I’m looking seven generations ahead of decisions that I make today: How is it going to influence or how is it going to impact my great-great-grandkids?”

[schismusic]

On abandonment, Lou X, the eternal recurrence of the same

Browsing through the people I follow (and my followers) I can't help but notice just how many of these blogs haven't been updated in literal years. That line Diane Venora has in Michael Mann's Heat comes to mind: "you live among the remains of dead people…".

The idea of neglect and disuse is a weird thing to me, in that I never registered it as an inherently negative thing - it's melancholic, sure, but not everything needs to keep being active and productive. In unrelated news I'm listening to Lou X as we speak, go figure. For my international followers, Lou X is a rapper from Pescara who made his last full record in 1998. It is called La Realtà, la Lealtà e lo Scontro and you could call it a conscious/gangsta rap record in Italian/Abruzzese dialect. Then he basically went off the radar except for maybe one feature or two on other people's songs and albums.

If you think about it Italy's greatest contributions to the culture of the past century mostly involve objects that either don't exist, are somehow crystallized into unserviceable forms, were abandoned years ago and have reached an absolutely dismal state that could only make them interesting as a work of art. Think about it: Neorealism in cinema (and maybe even the Realists' interest in decrepit/disadvantages rural realities, but that would be an overarching nineteenth-century European thing), Ennio Flaiano's Tempo di uccidere, the last writings of Cesare Pavese ("Tutto questo fa schifo. Non parole. Un gesto. Non scriverò più": what else here but the defeated realisation that nothing could ever change?), Italo Calvino's Le città invisibili, Luigi Ghirri's landscape photography work, CCCP and CSI even.

Europe is doomed to its binary division and therefore we are of course doomed to repeat stylings and "revolutionary" aesthetics in never-ending loops: Disciplinatha were smart enough to point it out, but like Whitehouse said: "grubbing job-hunting artists and art aficionados who prefer art that 'raises questions' are certainly as disgusting as those rubbered dilettantes who recognize that the answers are what you masturbate over". Whitehouse also had this to say, in the same context: "So better to just shut your fucking mouth".

Obviously mentioning a rapper from Abruzzo has implications for those of you who know anything about me. God knows there are very few places as left to their own devices as that region of Italy, and considering my violently antihumanist views regarding the Abruzzese people I'm inclined to say that the only reason this abandon should end is just so I can no longer hear these motherfuckers bitch and moan about nobody giving a shit about them or something. It's no big deal to be fair - people think Abruzzo is further down South than Rome is because it was added into the monetary help program for the South of Italy at the end of World War II. The Abruzzese people who have voted for Matteo Salvini in the past seem to have conveniently forgotten that if it didn't mean more votes to him, they would be seen as cannon fodder at best and shit under his feet at worst.

When the Amatrice earthquake hit in 2016 we knew that would be the end of the very little good things we had managed to get back after L'Aquila in 2009: the small towns in the province, which is unreasonably fucking big in L'Aquila's case but honestly what are we going to do, make Sulmona or Avezzano their own province like assholes?, anyway I'm getting distracted - my point being everything went even further to shit when that happened. A lot of the old people, some of whom not as old as you would expect, died in consequence to the quakes or went further down into some form of (if I had to guess) trauma-induced dementia. Happens even to the best of us - then, you can imagine how easily it happens to the average Abruzzese. I was setting up another band with some kids and if we had our way, honestly, I believe there would be no NUMBERS, simply because I had found people who really got me, in the typically effortless way that teens bonding through activities do, and I do believe I got them, too. When I meet them now, and I never meet them together because one of the two guys can no longer come to town now, it feels like I'm on a completely different wavelength. Yet I refuse to let go, because in true Abruzzese fashion I never fucking learn. We did manage to get a record out, though. Its only tangible effect was, likely, to stop NUMBERS and the Operators from playing the La Zona d'Ombra festival at Bronson, in Ravenna. Here in the future, everyone has their fifteen seconds of fame.

In relating to the theme of this post, I cannot seem to let go of this fucking post. I have been writing in circles for literal hours at this point because the idea of abandonment ultimately scares me, disproving what I said at the beginning. It's no surprise that the only things I can think of when they suggest to me the idea of abandonment are Burial, Forest Swords, Techno Animal, maybe some ambient music. No point in trying to prove at all costs that "I'm different" or that "I have something fundamental to say about it".

So better to just shut my fucking mouth.

[astererer]

🧶 🦊🍑 For Vernon and Kaz??

🧶 — are you tangled up? a headcanon about a time my muse has felt internally ‘tied up in knots’ with a decision or emotion.

Vernon

Letting his sister leave home. Vern was always a protective older brother, so when Aster left Galar to escape being champion to travel across different regions, he had extremely mixed feelings. On the one hand he knew this was what Aster wanted, she hated the role she had been given so much she quit after only a couple weeks, and she needed room to grow on her own terms free of scrutiny. On the other, he was worried sick — if anything were to go wrong he couldn’t be there to help her — during the first couple months he would constantly be catastrophising about different scenarios Aster may have been running into on the road. She was fine lmao

Kaz

You think this man has the capacity to get tied up in knots about anything???? Jk, one time he got temporarily kicked out of his band and home for starting a fight with a record label scout. While Kaz didn’t have trouble finding somewhere else to stay in the meantime he was extremely anxious about whether he’d actually be allowed back. Usually his fights would have a blind eye turned on them, but this one cost a record deal and consequentially their band’s potential big break. And Kaz put all his stock into making it as a musician. Probably the second most awful experience of his life (being kicked out the band, that is)

🦊 — a quick orange fox! for a headcanon about a time my muse had to be stealthy or sneaky in their life, and why.

Vernon

Tried out smoking when he was like 15. Got into it because a friend had already started, and Vern wanted to fit in. Kept it secret because he didn’t want his parents to find out, nor did he want to be a bad influence on Aster. Would walk around with baccy and papers in his coat pocket lol. Was caught by his mum after about a month, she wasn’t particularly mad or disappointed, used to smoke as a teen into mid-twenties herself but did laugh at him for being shit at rolling. Vern promptly quit out of embarrassment.

Kaz

Man does not do stealthy, the clap of his asschee— no he’s just real heavy footed and loud and obnoxious. But he has been sneaky in that he has lied a whole bunch throughout his life. As a teenager he would lie about his age to sneak into bars and clubs — usually successfully due to his appearance, was one of those high schoolers that looks like a 20 year old. Reason for doing so was simple: he wanted to get drunk and start a fight.

🍑 — you’re a peach! a headcanon specifically about a physical aspect of a person they are attracted to.

Vernon

Vern is into people shorter than him — something about a height difference activates his protective instincts and the urge to hold the person he’s into close. Easy for him to kiss them on the top of the head hehe

Kaz

their holes Kaz is generally speaking not particularly picky about appearances beyond are you hot yes or no. However, he does Ever So Slightly favour people who have a bit of ruggedness to their appearance over those who look frail and/or delicate. Rough hands and a bit of muscle as opposed to all over softness you could say.

[dark-nat-ones-blessing]

pictured: socket loses their mind in the dnd groupchat, having had a revelation literally FIVE years after the fact

context:

the meridian plate is a Big Deal Artifact (a holy relic of Sehanine, capable of granting a wish at a particular lunar solstice) that is currently shattered into several pieces, scattered across a pretty damn large area, and that our party currently is trying to restore. we have a shard of it, maybe two - and the other forces that are seeking the pieces are not all ones with good intentions.

the sundering of the meridian plate took place in session three, as an unnatural storm raged while giants strode from mountain peak to peak, and a terrible battle was underway between all manner of creatures at the temple. a roc tore the Plate from the temple floor, then lightning struck it - shattering it to pieces that blazed across the horizon.

BUT HERE'S THE THING. if the plate got destroyed in session three....

THEN WHY HAVE WE HAD A SHARD SINCE SESSION TWO.

a band of orcs, not usually seen in this region, were hunting for something - something "powerful", something they "needed". we went to investigate on the town cleric's behalf! we found the thing they were looking for - that silver object, the one that took on different shapes depending on who held it, the thing that when untouched seemed like a broken fragment of a mirror

and we learned it was a shard of the plate!! WE LITERALLY LEARNED THIS, the cleric was very concerned! that's part of why we realised the attack on the temple was happening that night - toni was using his telescope to try and keep an eye on the place! but why was it already broken to begin with?????? after the events on the mountaintop it was so easy to mush it all together - that yes, we SAW the plate get shattered!

but what does it mean that it was broken already?

oh my god five years later and i only am trying to figure out the ramifications of this NOW

[dawn-of-worlds]

Four become three and many become one

(Fittingly, Haebarik has 5+3+2d6->6 = 14 power at the start of turn 14)

(summary at the bottom)

An eternity ago, four Ataila pledged to keep the peace between the realms of Lekesh. Four Ataila, immortal in body, who rejected all land and titles, and swore to only keep the peace between realms.

Now, only three remain. Vainaa, Atai-scholar-diplomat of the Seekers, has long disappeared, taken to an unknown fate by a crew-turned-traitor. None of Palk can guess their motives: few would respect them if they knew.

The Ataila, who pledged to only procreate to replace one of their number, have not done even that.

Uulaa has grown morose and melancholic over the years, and as the Free City rules itself, he spends his days gazing out over the rooftops and the starry sky beyond. He swears that the stars used to be brighter to any who care to listen: few do.

Mianen, the Great Renouncer, has little sympathy left for the Azure Reach. Wagons and ships loaded with treasure pass by their lands, destined for the Free City, for Seeker lands, for those Penitent more equal than their tenants. What good are such riches? What good is it to travel over the waves, to risk life and limb, all to enrich some sedate trader? No, Mianen has no desire to reward the princes of Palk with a new tutor, and prays that Vainaa will elude them forever.

And Koskela... Koskela has seated on the ruling council for centuries on end, serving amidst countless transient human priests. The Atai is tired of their endless petty politics, yet unable to abstain from them. Their own opinions have long since ceased to matter: all of import are votes, shifting alliances, shady favors, and backroom deals. To grant the Seekers, rivals for control of Rasira, a new immortal diplomat would be political suicide, and so it is not done.

And so the Azure Reach remains without Atai-diplomat. Decades pass, generations, centuries, the peace growing ever more shaky, dozens of small disputes going undefused. A raid on some border farms ends up spiraling out of control, and before long the Builders' labor draft is turned to martial purpose.

Already, troops are amassed by both realms' rulers. Already, what ships the Builders command are being organized in a navy, their many orders pressed into service. In Palk, trading vessels are refitted for battle, treasuries emptied to call mercenaries from afar. The Penitent declare neutrality, some joining either side as medics; the Free City, after a vote, elects to stay neutral too.

(Command City 2 pt for both Palk and the Glorious City to raise an army.)

Some do not await war. A number of the Azure Reach's citizens fear their lords cannot protect them, and thus band together in uncertain exodus. They flee through the southern strait before passage becomes forbidden, intending to sail south and find refuge in distant lands.

Alas! The notorious storms of that region get hold of their ill-prepared ships and blow them far southeast, into the foggy Sea of Spires. The ships that survive at last run aground on an island, bigger and flatter than most in that sea, big enough to survive on.

Somehow, they do just that.

The fog saps their memories and sense of self, but not their resolve. They turn their great ships into improvised homes, quarry stone, gather scallop and seaweed. As they feel their memories slipping away, they improvise notation systems, on wood and sail and stone, and place great instructional memorials along their streets and walls. Crafts can still be practiced, homes repaired, fish caught. Their little civilization endures.

The mermaids, mercifully, leave their town alone. Perhaps they are appeased by the sight of large boats, beached and upturned, yet still crawling with crew. Perhaps they find it unusual enough to satisfy their urges. Perhaps, instead, what they find strange is everything else about the town.

Its name? It has none, but sailors of the Reach have taken to calling it the Cursed City of Ceret. And many sailors have had the chance to learn of it: some say that all ships lost in the mist are fated to sail by this place.

It looks like a normal fishing-town at first, save for the large living-ships that remain its largest buildings. But those who set foot ashore will quickly note how each inhabitant wears a smooth wooden mask, each identical to every other; a practice they adopted to spare themselves the pain of seeing the face of a spouse or brother or friend, and not remembering the name to put to it.

And indeed, those of Ceret no longer try. They lack all identity, all sense of personal property, all knowledge of outside the mists. They labor, they love, they sing and dance and paint, but nothing endures, no given name is remembered, no bonds are forged. They take off their masks only to eat, and never near others, and so each believes his own face to lie beneath each mask.

Those outsiders who arrive are treated with a mixture of interest and fear. Sometimes they are chased out, sometimes hidden from, sometimes traded with: Ceret's attitude to outsiders endures no longer than the memory of its denizens.

The sole constant that all visitors note are the desperate exhortations of all locals that these newcomers please wear masks, please take one, this was made just now, wear it, have it, keep it, cover that, i know not whether i saw it before but I know I knew it, once, and it hurts, put this on, please.

All stories of Ceret end with one warning: stay not too long, or you will accept the offer.

(Command Race 3 pt. to found the city of Ceret in the Sea of Spires. As usual, Omaera can command this place as if it is her own.)

(SUMMARY: With Vainaa gone and diplomatic relations breaking down, Lekesh prepares for war. Both the Azure Reach and the Glorious City raise an army. The Free City and the Penitent remain neutral. A refuge fleet from the Azure Reach drifts into the Sea of Spires, where they miraculously manage to survive and found an amnesiac mask-wearing society without property, family, or personal identity of any kind, though probably somewhat more short- and mid-term memory than the mermaids, and a more complex civilization as a result)

(Haebarik has 14 - 3 - 2 - 2 = 7 power left)

[habbadax]

Tumblr ate my formatting

So here's the answers to those worldbuilding questions again

Most gnolls broadly believe in free will. In eons past it is said the mothers of gnollkind stole it from the greater pantheon. And the firstborn of the first matriarch was slain in the escape. The high mortality rate of firstborn cubs is a manifestation of her eternal grief.

The lupin schism on a weekly basis but broadly believe in a sort of guided free will. The Fathers guide your path, if only you have the wisdom to hear them.

Burrowmen listen to the Earth. Only they know what it says. It is widely believed that the Hollow Men were worshippers of a wrathful god. The Hollowing was its terrbile vengeance for a petty sin.

The dominant human religions usually have to do with with sea and harvest deities.

The lands of the Hollow Men are shrouded in mystery. Few have dared to venture further than the border cities, fewer still have returned.

Gnolls are a split between hunter/gatherer bands and agricultural communities. Nomadic groups follow a seasonal route between better established communities, chasing migratory prey animals for the Great Hunt.

Gnollish holidays are frequent and boisterous, centering around celebrating the safe return of the hunters and fishers, their bountiful catch. And, occasionally, mourning those lost along the way.

The Lupin follow the cycles of the moon. Each full moon represents the birth of a Father. The ninth cycle marks the final birth, and the completion of their pantheon. Festivous traditions vary, but it's usually a celebratory event.

Gnollish cuisine tends toward the cured meats and hearty vegetables. Honey is a prominent ingredient across the continent, as gnolls are accomplished beekeepers.

It is said that burrowmen eat stones and drink the black blood of the Earth. The reality is more along the lines of tubers, fungus, and a variety of subterranean flora and fauna. A baked sticklebug only looks like a rock. And deepflower wine is just Like That.

The lupin have a long tradition of animal husbandry. It is said that it was the gift of The Fathers, so that their kind would never go hungry again. There are a few hardy cultivars of berries and nuts that feature prominently alongside various meat dishes.

Humans are predominately vegetarians as a matter of practicality. The lands surrounding human settlements tend to resemble enormous gardens. What meat there is tends to be more prominent near lupin and gnollish lands, where harvests are traded.

Lupin children are traditionally expected to be athletic. A lupin who can't manage a fifteen minute mile is considered a bit of a layabout.

Gnollish children do a great deal of the beekeeping. Most gnolls in the temperate region are expected to have some level of familiarity with it.

A burrowman that can't swim is considered to be two steps from death at any time.

It's a bit odd for just about anyone but a human to know how to ride a horse. A gnoll is too big, a burowman is too small, and a lupin would find it undignified.

The vast majority of people get around on their own two feet. Small watercraft are common around rivers. A few gnollish clans cultivate beasts of burden that are prized for their strength and endurance. While human beasts of burden are prized for their temperament. Anyone can handle a human carthorse. But a gnollish caravan gnu often requires a gnoll to handle.

On the gnollish coasts, catamaran types of craft are most prominent. Prized for their speed and agility for chasing down game fish through the great coastal shallows.

Humans have the benefit of immense old growth forests with which to construct deep draft sailing ships. Laden heavily with cargoes of fruit and vegetable preserves.

Few outsiders have ever seen the deeping lakes. Fewer still have seen the paddleboats of the burrowmen. Some are large enough to be villages unto themselves.

Gnolls whoop! Of course, even the largest gnoll's voice can only carry so far. Many clans have a tradition of runners. A whooping gnoll's voice can be heard for miles on a clear night. A string of runners can relay a message across a great distance.

Where the soil gives way to the living stone, burrowmen construct elaborate horns and drums. Over centuries, these have evolved a complex language. And the echo tunnels carry on for hundreds of miles distant.

Humans generally rely on their semaphore towers. Or a light rider and a swift horse. Much like the gnolls, the lupin generally rely on their voice for much of their communication. Though some clans put their falconers to work as messengers.

Being a mishmash and a hodgepodge of inspirations, nothing makes the setting particularly unique. And it's pretty easy to spot the inspirations.

[filthforfriends]

A random rant after waking up from a nightmare and trying to distract myself from having a panic attack.

I wanna reference what you said about it being privilege to say that Må wants to be politically neutral. I do see how that can be perceived as Damiano/Må being a sellout, but personally I don't like when famous people constantly (not a good word but I run with it) take and talk about a situation that my people deal with on a daily basis, but don't know about the real story and stage (??) of things. In my country, I am a victim and a subject of constant nationalism and xenophobia by politicians and others like potential bosses, university peers... It is my daily life to be denied some basic (political) human rights such as running for president just because I identify with a nationality that isn't one of three constituent. For me personally, I don't like to be reminded of it by some band I like too much. I appreciate it when they mention it, but they can't really do anything to help the situation. But most of this mentioning it is hypothetical because (in this case) "the open conversation is constant" but it is very much, for lack of better word, boring and unproductive. Also, the reason why it is ignored more often than not is because it is to hard to understand fully, like took me three uni courses to fully understand what I am going through. Like more often than not, I feel like the appendix of Europe. For example, an Italian band is ignoring our region when announcing a big European tour, while that region is including their neighbouring county. This is just a random rant from a political science student, but sometimes I feel that in all the pain marginalized groups deal in the daily, some things are taken way too seriously, but others not serious enough. I am aware that all of this comes from a position of privilege of being white, but Slavs (as our people's name implies) went through a lot of bad shit in Europe, especially those who live in Balkans. And I wanna say again that this is personal preference and not saying that everyone should think and feel like this!!!! Debating to go anon or not (I mean I said something here that can point to my blog), but... yeah

I have family from the Balkans that were displaced and lost a child in the process so I know a little bit about this. Im sorry to hear that somethings haven't changed.

I think discourse becomes "boring and unproductive" as you said, when people who have the power to do something don't. I believe that people in positions of influence should be politically active and to do so their activism has to take a form that makes change. Just saying "it sucks that this marginalized group is oppressed" isn't meaningful. It only serves to make that celebrity look good and that is the opposite of activism. Right now, political activism for people like Maneskin should look like doing rather than acknowledging. I think the current state of celebrity activism feels boring and unproductive because it is! It's self serving and lacking and not making any meaningful change. Effectively its not even activism.