#wren et al

[serendipititties]

my mutuals and why they are superior:

@hyperfixatingdumdum - we're related so im biased but i mean. Shes studying medicine. She paints. She sings. Shes bi. Shes might or might not be cis. She takes meds for ADHD. She has that broken girl swag. She has it all. Shes pretty too and ladies she is hella single.

@luvrli - has the nicest sounding voice ever. She paints too so thats sick. Plus she, @hyperfixatingdumdum and I have that telugu bi girl swag and thats always amazing to have. Probably good in school too. Also was my first ever mutual when i joined tumblr! Love her

@deadaldipshit-jpg - she writes AND draws. Shes aroace and tamil. Coolness needs to observe them and take notes.

@pollywantsacracker - so iconic. Serves cunt like its free. Funny, brave, gorgeous, and awesome. She is so strong. She is the moment. Also pansexual so thats punk as hell.

@imslowlydisintegrating - he possesses a gender so confounding I couldnt do it justice if i tried. Shes so so so sweet. Has incredible taste. Is from louisiana and probably has an accent which is sooooo cool of them. Shes neurodivergent and a writer?? Writes poc characters and tries to do them justice?? Perfection.

@drew-dopamine - aroace trans boy. Need i say more? (Helps that hes funny and really nice too). Love him endlessly.

@beomgyutruther - she and I are studying for the same exam right now sooo. But yeah shes indian and queer and amazing and all that is good in this lonely world.

@katyakazanovas - so pretty. I mean shes a lovely person too probably but i got distracted for a second. And shes a fan of ghost so thats cool. Plus shes texan? And pansexual? Incredible is an understatement. Great taste in music 19/10.

@bassguitarinablackt-shirt - I have to be honest, he's blonde so there really isnt much i can defend here. He makes up for it by being a trans he/they gay boy though! Plus he writes! Awesome. Hes super sweet too.

@bil-daddy - Nuff said. (Really nice tho i did message them and they were super sweet)

@docdust- hilarious and lovable. We havent interacted much but i love this blog.

@70snasagay - i mean theyre hungarian so thats already cool. But theyre bi too? And adorable?? And a good omens girly?? I fear im in love.

@lordcatwich - genderfluid neurodivergent writer. How could you top this? (Super sweet and funny too. 19/10)

@funkyratman - came into my dms offering to fight me for the name wren. Common he/him W in my opinion. We're gonna be highway robbers together now.

@purichana that url is the url of one who fought tooth and nail for it. I respect the hustle and the vibes are quite good.

@lbctal us goggins stans must stand together I love that man and I love this user.

@goheehawsomewhereelse Tim Gutterson fans are the funniest people in the world (still can't decide if Tim is blonde or nah)

@atomicradiogirl the entire grunge cowboy aesthetic on her blog? So. Damn. Cool. Also my only loki moot till now so yay!

@starryeyeddarlings some of my moots will remember that i had a heart attack when i realised (far too late) that she deactivated and boyyy i was forlorn lemme tell you. Love her so much none of you deserve her.

@wren-phoenix the second (2nd) wren in my little circle of moots. I'm hunting the rest as we speak. Love u wrennie

also. @cheezbot. Hilarious.

Edit: i found out pollywantacracker (mint-mayonnaise rn) is lesbian now so thats awesome. The lesbians are lucky to have her

[plague-of-insomnia]

Chapter 199: That Butler, Rebuttal*

“Flight** from the nest may not be possible.”

飛翔**べない巣立ちー

-> -> -> Please do NOT repost my screenshots or translations without credit/linking me. I’m doing this post despite my reservations after what happened last month. Don’t make me regret it. <- <- <

This chapter is 16 pages, including the cover, and picks up immediately after last month’s, with Finny captured by the four clones. It doesn’t go as you might have expected.

The cover has some interesting features to it. For one, we again see the Wren, which has symbolic meaning, and ofc the mistletoe again makes an appearance.

But I want to draw attention to the title and subtitle for this month.

First, the word that Yana uses for the title (*) is odd. As far as I can tell, it’s an obscure, old legal term:

Seems bizarre, when Japanese has many other more modern words to mean “response,” but she picked this one. Why?

My guess is because of how it’s pronounced: chintou. Lots of other words have this same pronunciation, but I think Yana probably wanted her readers to think of these two in particular:

“Absurd reply” and “cliched.”

I think she wants to emphasize the futility of the orphans’, and perhaps also Finny, et al’s situation.

Then, we have the subtitle, which also has some wordplay.

The word that Yana uses is 飛翔 (**), normally pronounced as hisyou, which is the noun form of the word. It means “flight,” as in literally taking to the air.

But, here she tells us to read it as “to.” When you combine that with the rest (“be” etc), you get the verb form of the word, which has a lot more meanings, including “escape.”

So I expect Yana wanted us to take away both the meaning of a bird leaving its nest by flying away (fledgling day), but also have the association with escape. And how both may not be possible, as she uses the negative conditional form of the verb, which is a fancy way of saying “probably not.”

It’s definitely continuing to be ominous, but this chapter does give us hope that the four clone orphans (Theo, etc) will want to work with Finny, since he tells them about UT and how he’s stealing blood, etc.

Please do NOT repost my screenshots or translations without credit/linking me. I’m doing this post despite my reservations after what happened last month. Don’t make me regret it.

As always, I am human and make mistakes. Apologies in advance any for any errors.

[ladyswillmart]

Do you want to hear these birds I recorded yesterday

That is not a question because of course you do!!! This features mostly a Carolina wren and a northern cardinal dueting (or is it dueling?), plus according to Merlin, a goldfinch, a tufted titmouse, a white-throated sparrow, a cowbird and a red-winged blackbird.

(Carolina wren)

(Northern Cardinal)

[orangedodge]

I am holding out hope that Clan Wren got away from the Purge, and are just chilling on Lothal.

I think this makes sense with what we've learned of how the Purge transpired, and with how the New Republic era has generally been characterized by Filoni et al.

Firstly, while Clan Wren are Nite Owl aligned, they've never been actually based on Mandalore itself. They had their own homeworld within the Mandalore sector. For them to have time to escape strategically withdraw from the Empire once the Purge began is consistent with how the Covert, also based off world, was able to get away.

And then Lothal is a populous, industrialized, Outer Rim world with valuable resources, a shipbuilding industry, and an ultra important Jedi Temple. Sabine is only one person and can't defend the entire planet on her own, and this is a world that the Rebel Alliance has never shown any serious interest in or willingness to protect. Such worlds, we have seen, are not a priority for the New Republic either--they become easy targets for pirates and the Imperial Remnant. The solution to this problem? The preferred option seems to be "invite a Mandalorian clan to live on your planet" so why can't that have happened one more time?

[theherosvillain]

Welcome to The Hero's Villain!

A superhero-verse filled with ambitious teenage supervillains, righteous government-trained heroes, sketchy yet kindhearted medics, and all shades of morality in between!

Excerpts of The Hero's Villain

THV Character Guide

FAQ on the Hero League

Characters:

Wren Argent / The Phantom Prince

(they/them) / (he/him) / what are you, a cop?

A telekinetic, genderqueer teenage supervillain who's trying to expose a conspiracy and get their mom out of prison. Ambitious, sarcastic, sometimes arrogant; will do whatever it takes to protect their loved ones. (Main protagonist of The Hero's Villain.)

Axton Vale

(he/him)

A cutthroat yet surprisingly honest businessman who walks the fine line between crime lord and villain.

Loren Bruce / Doctor Professor

(he/she/they/any)

A dryly sarcastic medic who retired from his work in organized crime in order to start his own medical practice. Beloved throughout Jet City's criminal underworld for their discretion and compassion.

Vivienne Thorn / Amoret / Moonsable / [et al.]

(she/her)

A shapeshifter who's only ever known a life of solitude and espionage on behalf of the Hero League.

Drew Sawyer / Shadow

(he/him)

A jaded young former hero, incarcerated and longing for his villainous glory days. (Main protagonist of The Shadow and the Moon, a spin-off of The Hero's Villain.)

AU Masterlist:

For the sake of brevity, these are the ones I've posted writing for.

(Try Not To) Kill All Your Friends - In which the Phantom Prince is forced to become the apprentice of Axton Vale. A "bad timeline" AU of The Hero's Villain.

Crime Polycule AU - A crack AU where Axton Vale is married to Loren Bruce and Vivienne Thorn and they're raising a child together.

[c-schroed]

Podcasts I Adore - SPINES

This week, I finished the last Episode of the "Mirrors" podcast by ZoomDoom Stories. Which means that I have now heard all of their marvellous productions. And now I feel this need to tell everyone what great stuff they make! Meaning that I'll write some reviews for all the three podcasts they produced and post them on iTunes et al., but before I post them there, I might as well leave the reviews here. So, tune in for some rambling about three audio fiction productions that range from "very good but sadly incomplete" to "so very fricking close to perfection that I really can't call it anything but DARN PERFECT". We'll start with the DARN PERFECT one:

"Listen again: Grove. Mosaic. Trumpet. Listen, and remember. Because those three words, those are the most important words in the world. This is SPINES."

"SPINES" is a fictional audio drama, which, like all productions of ZoomDoom Stories, is written by Jamie Killen, and congenially so. It is told in the form of podcasts made by its protagonist, a young woman who named herself Wren. At the beginning of the story, Wren seeks to find out what happened in a bloody ritual that she barely survived, and which left her without any memories of her past life, but with supernatural powers that she slowly has to explore.

Think "X-Men" meets "Supernatural", with a nice dash of Lovecraftian atmosphere and some sweet bits of Cronenberg-esque body horror. "SPINES" is a truly unique experience, and it clearly is one of the best stories I ever heard. What I love most about it is that it perfectly understands and respects the strengths and limitations of the medium it chose to be told in: Podcasts enable a very intimate way of storytelling, and the very talented voice actor playing Wren just perfectly allowed me to quickly grow attached to her and everyone around her. Wren has lovely quirks like naming every informant that reaches out to her after characters of anime shows she just watched, she has to deal with terrible situations and huge losses, and she is granted one of the most beautiful love stories I have ever heard.

And being told in the form of a podcast really helps the story to flesh out Wren. She comments the stories she tells in clear and unfiltered language and often directly addresses her audience. We, the listeners, also know exactly who this audience is. Besides people that are similarly gifted as Wren, most of the episodes are addressed to Zachary, a man she quickly saw during the ritual that started everything, and whom she since then feels weirdly attracted to.

Of course, telling a story in the form of a podcast also entails some limitations, and "SPINES" respects and works with these limitations better than any other audio fiction I have heard so far. The show's author Jamie Killen is very aware how information is told when broadcast into the public, which makes "SPINES" an all the more fascinating listening experience. For instance, huge changes in the status quo are often announced right at the beginning of an episode, because when something important happens that has to be told immediately, than why wait until it slowly unfolds in the narrative? A broadcast is not necessarily about suspense; it sometimes is much more about giving the important info right away, and then adding all the details. Furthermore, Wren is very careful with the information she shares, and often leaves out details that might help her enemies too much. Details like these make "SPINES" very special; it is one of the most thought-out and self-aware productions I know.

The second best thing that I love about "SPINES" is how each of its three seasons has its very own feel and atmosphere. Season one feels a lot like an urban fantasy version of "Supernatural", with Wren, on her quest for the truth about the ritual, encountering urban legends and terrible secrets scattered everywhere across the city she lives in. Season two, on the other hand, involves a lot of changes, and feels much more like a late-80s action show, with Wren being sent to different places from week to week; hopefully helping the people there with whatever supernatural catastrophe is going on, very much like a MacGyver or an A-Team. But with superpowers, and with more ghastly antagonists. Season three finally is characterized much more by urgency and emergency, with Wren and her allies always being forced to react to an enemy that they can never allow themselves to underestimate.

What also impresses me greatly is that every season ends with a perfect equilibrium of frustration and hope. There's always some kind of terrible catastrophe, but this terror is balanced out with something equally beautiful, making Wren never the triumphant heroine she might deserve to be, but giving her just enough hope to go on. I admit it; sometimes this kind of ending is too close to home for me, sometimes I'd just direly want Wren to win, and live happily ever after, period. But on the other hand, this masterful balance is what will always keep this story in the back of my mind, and close to my heart.

One final thing I want to mention, and I'll make it quick this time: Besides being a nail-biting story about fascinating superpowers and secret societies that worked among us for centuries already (which are depicted in the most realistic way I have ever seen!), "SPINES" is also a perfectly wholesome love story. I know I already mentioned this some paragraphs before, but I really can't stress enough HOW DARN WHOLESOME this love story is!

So. "SPINES" is the perfect combination of urban fantasy, horror, and romance. It has a perfectly fleshed-out narrator, played by an incredibly talented voice actor, and it masterfully uses the possibilities of its medium. To me, "SPINES" is close to perfection, and its very few flaws should stop no-one from giving it a try. As long as one likes horror, of course. The show can get quite drastic, from time to time.

10 out of 10 points. Sheer perfection. And a lifelong love for Wren and Shan and Winry. And Akira, and Bilal (because who would not want the literal perfect moment as a friend?). And all the others.

Besides my general opinion about the show, I'd also like to go into detail regarding three episodes that I find especially noteworthy. All of them are part of Season 3, so please be aware of minor spoilers.

Season 3, Episode 6 (Episode 22 overall): The Trade

This is my favourite episode. It marks the second time that the narrator of an episode changes to Shan, whom I adore at least as much as Wren, and it might have one of the most dramatic beginnings of all episodes. But what really makes this episode stand out is how well-thought its time-travel plot is. It makes perfect sense, and it involves my favourite temporal paradox, the bootstrap paradox (I you don't know it, go look it up; it's so much cooler than some poor dead grandpa). Plus we get to know a supernatural brothel in Vienna. Which I didn't even know I desperately wanted to hear about, until I heard about it. But now I need a spin-off about Ilsa and her Gifted courtesans. :D

Season 3, Episodes 2 & 3 (Episodes 18 & 19 overall): Iris, Part 1 & 2

There's much about this two-part episode that I really love, be it that it gives satisfying answers that I wanted to hear for a long, long time, be it that we're given a very credible reason for this story being split into two parts (once more, "SPINES" shows how perfectly well it is aware of its podcast medium). So I really, really wanted to like these episodes. But still, they turn out as some episodes that I really have trouble with. This might maybe due to me being not a native English speaker, but I have terrible problems with understanding the narrator of these episodes. So if you, like me, have problems with listening comprehension during this episode, please be reminded that there are transcripts of each episode. Although they currently can only be reached via archive.org's ever-so-useful Wayback Machine.

2019 New Year's Special:

This is a crossover with "Mirrors", another marvellous audio drama made by ZoomDoom Stories. And because I listened to this right after finishing the final episode of "SPINES", I did not know that it contains some major spoilers for at least the first season of "Mirrors". Furthermore, the events at the end of the episode play an important role in the third season of "Mirrors", but that's not that important in my opinion. But should you not know "Mirrors" by now and maybe want to listen to it later (which, again in my humble opinion, YOU DEFINITELY SHOULD!), then maybe listen to this New Year's Special after finishing "Mirrors" season one.

The episode itself was a bit of a disappointment for me, if I'm honest. Both "SPINES" (in at least one episode; i. e. episode 22: "The Trade") and "Mirrors" usually deal perfectly with all matters related to time-travel and temporal paradoxes; to me they really are a paragon of how to tell stories that involve different interacting timelines. So the way that time-travel is treated here is just disappointing to me. Don't get me wrong, please. It still is a perfectly entertaining episode. It's lovely to hear more from Wren and Shan, and it is hilarious to hear about the events in "Mirrors" from their perspective. But as to the time-travel aspect, well, I'm spoilt by now. I'm used to it being told so much better than here, with much less paradox narration. So this special might be the biggest flaw in both series. I mean, I'd still give it 7 out of 10 points. So that says more about how fabulous the rest of "SPINES" and "Mirrors" is.

[srenvs3000w24]

Blog 7: Exploring the Harmony of Nature and Music

In the large tapestry of the natural world, where birds chirp, whales sing, and the wind whispers through the trees, there’s a whole orchestra of sounds that have been around longer than humans. (Gray et al., 2001). This beautiful symphony made up of the sounds of nature, has been captivating both people and animals for thousands of years, revealing a profound connection between music and nature.

Imagine diving into the depths of the ocean, where the amazing sounds of humpback whales echo through the water. With their majestic songs and rhythmic patterns, these beautiful creatures showcase a musical talent that competes with the best human composers (Gray et al., 2001). From rhythmic repetitions to structured themes, whale songs possess a complexity that mirrors the songs of our musical traditions (Gray et al., 2001).

Birds also contribute to the chorus of nature with their enchanting melodies and intricate harmonies. As they fly through the sky, their songs blend in a symphony of sound that reflects the beauty and diversity of the natural world (Gray et al., 2001). Whether it's the trill of the canyon wren or the canon of the Socorro mockingbird, bird songs showcase the intricate rhythms and pitch relationships that are inherent to music (Gray et al., 2001).

For humans, music has always been a way of expressing emotion, culture, and identity. From the prehistoric flutes crafted by our ancient ancestors to the vibrant yoiks of the Sami people, music has served as a bridge between humanity and the natural world (Gray et al., 2001). Just as birds and whales use music to communicate and express themselves, humans draw inspiration from the rhythms and melodies of nature (Gray et al., 2001).

Incorporating elements of nature into music has become a creative endeavour for many artists and musicians. Wildlife DJs like Ben Mirin, blend recordings of animal sounds with modern beats, creating compositions that not only entertain but also foster a deeper connection to the natural world (Hooykaas, 2024). 

As we reflect on the intersection of music and nature, we may find ourselves transported to a specific landscape or moment in time (Hooykaas, 2024). The song "Fireflies" by Adam Young and Owl City holds a special place in my heart, instantly transporting me back to my sleepover summer camp days. I had meant to download many different songs to my iPod shuffle, but when I got to camp, I quickly realized that this was the only song that ended up downloading. It became the soundtrack to my wilderness adventures, reminding me of hiking through forest trails, lounging on swim docks, and paddling canoes under the starry sky. It's remarkable how a simple melody can evoke such vivid memories of nature's beauty, highlighting the profound connection between music and nature.

In conclusion, the intertwining of music and nature forms a captivating symphony that transcends species. From the haunting melodies of whales to the harmonious songs of birds, nature's rhythm mirrors our own. Personal experiences, like "Fireflies" by Owl City, underscore the profound connection between music and wilderness, enriching our lives.

Gray, P. Krause, B. Atema, J., Payne, R., Krumhansl, C. & Baptista, L.(2001). The Music of Nature and the Nature of Music. Science. 291. 52-54.

Hooykaas, A (2024) Unit 7: Nature Interpretation Through Music. ENVS*3000. University of Guelph

[gtpp]

Entry 3: The Importance Of Personal Marketing

The importance of personal marketing was another factor in which I didn’t grasp how significant the role played when applying for a job. Although I knew that posting inappropriate images and statuses onto social media was a detriment to you when applying for a job, I never considered the alternate concept of promoting yourself in a professional manner, to grow your brand, as well as impress an employer. 

It was in class where we discussed the value of a ‘Personal Value Proposition’ and how it helps boost an application as well as assist during an interview with an employer. When preforming an elevator pitch with my fellow classmates, it was in this class where I found out how difficult it was to narrow down key moments in my work experiences to captivate another person and employer. I had never performed an elevator pitch before, and this was an area I needed to improve in during this unit. 

In class we were tasked with an activity of crafting a ‘Personal Value Proposition,’ Initially I had found it incredibly hard to condense my work experience to a short paragraph, sitting down with Simone helped me craft an impressive ‘Personal Value Proposition’.  

During this class we also had Davin teach us the importance of growing our personal brands on social media as it helps potential recruiters find out what we’re doing outside of university. This was a factor I hadn’t previously considered, working as a sportswriter for an established organisation, I wasn’t marketing myself nearly as much as I should have. With social media strategies providing opportunities for companies to reach out to job seekers Phillips-Wren et al. (2016), I realised the importance of needing to become more prevalent on social media platforms, highlighting the current work that I do. 

It was also in this class that Davin shared the importance of having a LinkedIn profile. With many surprising faces to the fact that I hadn’t created a LinkedIn profile, I knew that this was something I needed to do. During the rest of class, I worked on creating a LinkedIn profile and making connections with as many people within the sporting industry as possible. 

Reference

Phillips-Wren, G., Doran, R., & Merrill, K. (2016). Creating a value proposition with a social media strategy for talent acquisition. Journal of Decision Systems, 25(sup1), 450–462. https://doi.org/10.1080/12460125.2016.1187398

[lieutenant-teach]

What if Loki falls into the Void in the end of ‘Thor’ 2011, but lands on Tatooine and, subsequently, in the hands of Boba Fett, the Daimyo?

He lands in the Dune Sea, exhausted and tattered to the core (as tie-in comics say, his atoms should’ve been scattered across the universe during the fall), where he’s picked up by the Jawas. They scavenge his armour and daggers, but at some moment Loki wakes up for a short time and tries to use magic to defend himself. Doesn’t manage to do much, but the Jawas, seeing his Force-sensitivity (because what else should it be in the GFFA?), bring him to Boba’s palace and dump him on his porch, where he’s found and brought to the bacta tank to recover.

Here about the state of the GFFA: timeline is after the events of ‘The Book of Boba Fett’, but – DinLuke and no Sequels. Boba rules Tatooine and the former Jabba’s territories, slowly but surely getting more of the Hutt Space. Din tries to figure out what to do with the Darksaber (introduce Sabine Wren from the Rebels, no connection to the Ahsoka series), Luke trains children in his Jedi Academy, accompanied by Ezra (yes, Ezra returned back somehow), Ahsoka (not the variant from the series), possibly Cal Kestis. Also Din is like a sworn brother to Boba, they’re quite close, just as Boba and Fennec, who’s as his sister and best friend. Which means Boba now has ties with the most influential family of the New Republic, and, most importantly for this story, with the Jedi.

First Loki doesn’t show his magic, not wanting to give all his cards out. He also doesn’t say that he’s a prince or where he’s from – not to get enemies in a new and unknown place. He didn’t expect to survive, but as he did, now he decides to go with the flow and find a new life, away from everything he knew. At this point of his life he doesn’t consider Asgard as his home anymore, doesn’t see Odin as his father. He also understands that he’ll never be able to become ‘worthy’ in his father’s eyes, he feels he was betrayed by everyone he loved, so he decides not to please anyone anymore and just be as he is.

While recovering, Loki once helps Boba to negotiate smth (as he’s getting as much information about this galaxy as he can) in a way to thank for saving (and also, possibly, just becoming tired of idleness), and Boba gets a liking of him, starts asking for his advice. Of course, Loki’s very cautious about all of this, because he doesn’t want to be used again. But he realizes that his opinions are actually valid. Moreover, he talks to people of Mos Espa and learns how Boba freed them from the bandits, stopped slavery and minimized water taxes.

When Loki is fine, Boba gives him two options – to take a small spaceship and fly anywhere he wants, or stay at his palace and work for him, getting salary et al. Loki decides to stay, telling himself that it’s only for some time – get some money to move later, why not? He tries not to think that he likes when he’s actually respected, and he likes Boba. So he helps with negotiating and translating, maybe hunts down some assassins hired to kill Boba, but he also feels free to be whoever he wants to be. Also he bonds with Boba on the basis of their kind of similar background (being seen by some people as ‘not real humans’, wish to live up to their father). But Boba chose his own way, came in terms with his father’s dubious parenting, and he’s not ashamed of who he is now. He tells Loki a Mandalorian proverb ‘It doesn’t matter who your father is, it matters what father you will be’, and Loki takes this close to heart, thinking about both Laufey and Odin, that being a son to them doesn’t define him as a person. And also he says that he can help Loki to find ‘his own kind’ – he means Jedi\Force-sensitives.

Here comes the explanation: after learning that Din has a Force-sensitive child and fell in love with a Jedi, Boba decides that he can give a chance to Luke. He’s not very happy to learn who this Din’s Jedi is, but after ‘family meeting’ (Din is really surprised to learn they two know each other) he calls Luke ‘decent for a Jedi’, admitting that the Fall in a way helped him to find a better way in life. Of course, he doesn’t hold any love for those who killed his father, but decides ‘bygones be bygones’. So now he contacts Din to contact Luke after Loki agrees to meet a fellow sorcerer.

Here comes Luke, Master Skywalker. When he enters, he spreads the aura of mystery and serenity, but then he smiles – hope and faith embodied. Loki goes to Tython to the Academy, has lots of meditations and talks with Luke about his feelings. Of course, it doesn’t come easily, he’s quite close to the Dark Side. He starts liking Luke, as for once his magical abilities are not looked down upon, and he’s not mocked for his ‘bookishness’ and love for studying. So they two become friends. As repaying and also out of professional curiosity, Loki travels to find some ancient Jedi texts, gets to Ilum and finds two kyber crystals calling to him – green, of course, as green kyber means growth. Loki creates two kyber-daggers. And Loki’s magic is smth similar to Nightsisters’ magic – another usage of the Force. 

Fennec jokes that Boba has become a father, which he waves off, calling Loki his ‘apprentice’, though when asked what he means by that, he cannot formulate what kind of an apprentice Loki is – Boba never intended to teach him anything in the first place, just sharing some life experience, some Tusken and Mandalorian wisdoms. Loki himself is shocked when he realizes that Boba’s become like a father-figure to him. Of course, he’s quite cautious about any feeling he feels towards all these new people, but with time he warms up to that, seeing other family\friendship dynamics, not like he had in Asgard, feeling accepted as he is. He also becomes close with Luke and with other Jedi, bantering with Ezra all the time, friendly with the Bikers and Fennec. Once he accidentally reveals his Jotun powers and finds that Jedi younglings are delighted by frost abilities – it comes as a huge shock for him, as no one cares that he’s a Jotun. He uses his frost powers to create ice, melt it and use as water (very handy on the desert world).

Here also comes the Mandalorian plot, Din’s struggle to unite people, who won’t listen much to him, especially ‘Kryze bitch’, as dubbed by Boba. Loki helps the Mandos to restore the planet (as Din is Boba’s ‘brother’, and Loki is canonically very willing to help those he cares about), so they forge a beskar helmet for him as a reward. Don’t know if Din is the Mand’Alor or not, it’s irrelevant to the story.

As a result of all this time, Loki decides that a) he won’t act as if he still wants to please Odin b) he won’t let his anger, however rightful, influence his decisions – it only harms him and those he loves c) he isn’t defined by his fathers’ actions or by his race (he starts feeling bad for Jotuns, but doesn’t know what to do for them).

Then we merge the timeline with the events of ‘The Avengers’. After some time however glad Loki is to be on Tatooine, he feels like he wants to get to Asgard – he misses Frigga and Thor. He gets home (logistics are irrelevant), helps the Avengers to save the Earth from the Black Order with his magic, blaster (Boba’s gift) and kyber-daggers. After that he tries to connect with his family, he meets Frigga, and we have a similar situation as in ‘Thor: The Dark World’. She forces him to accept them both as his parents or none. Loki is unwilling to accept Odin, having had a better example, so he refuses and calls himself Loki Fett. Hating to be forced into his previous mold in Asgard and seeing lack of even attempts to understand, he goes back to Tatooine where he’s found his own place.

[monriatitans]

In Defense of Inefficiency

Offset your carbon footprint on Wren: https://www.wren.co/start/zoebee1m The first 100 to sign up will get their first month of the subscription covered by Wren for free!

DESCRIPTION: We're obsessed with being efficient. But is it really all it's cracked up to be? 

CHAPTERS: 00:00 - Intro 02:51 - Part 1: What is efficiency? 16:58 - Part 2: The Waste Problem 33:43 - Part 3: The Effectiveness Problem 56:58 - Part 4: Where do we go from here? 01:05:01 - Outro 

SPECIAL THANKS TO (in chronological order): ------ @SKTheCrusader (   / @skthecrusader  ) ------ @MainelyMandy (   / @mainelymandy  ) ------ @Salari (   / @salari  ) ------ @BABILA. (   / @babila.  ) ------ Neil of @TheLeftistCooks (   / @theleftistcooks  ) ------ @BrigitteEmpire (   / @brigitteempire  ) 

 SHORTER VERSIONS: ------ 5 Minute Version:   • Efficiency is Bad...   ------ Short 1:   • If they REALLY wa...   ------ Short 2:   • Efficiency Sucks ...  

SOURCES: ------ 2022 K12 Edtech Safety Benchmark: National Findings – Part 1 (Internet Safety Lab; https://internetsafetylabs.org/resour...) ------ "College Students Say Crying In Exams Activates "Cheating" Eye Tracker Software" (Futurism, Lonnie Lee Hood; https://futurism.com/college-students...) ------ Education and the Cult of Efficiency (Raymond Callahan) ------ "Goodhart’s Law: Recognizing and Mitigating the Manipulation of Measures in Analysis" (Stumborg et al; https://www.cna.org/reports/2022/09/G...) ------ "Learn Different: Silicon Valley disrupts education" (The New Yorker, Rebecca Mead; https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...)  ------ "Mark Zuckerberg says Meta is making this the ‘year of efficiency’" (The Verge, Alex Heath; https://www.theverge.com/2023/2/1/235...) ------ "Murders in the Rue Morgue" Edgar Allan Poe ------ "Risking Ourselves in Education: Qualification, Socialization, and Subjectification Revisited" (Gert Biesta) ------ "Silicon Valley’s obsession with efficiency is fundamentally rooted in sexism" (Quartz, Lux Alptraum; https://qz.com/906115/silicon-valleys...) ------ "Study: Stricter School Discipline Policies Have Long-term Negative Effects on Students" (Campus Safety, https://www.campussafetymagazine.com/...) ------ Teaching Machines: The History of Personalized Learning (Audrey Watters) ------ Team Human (Douglas Rushkoff) ------ The Marxification of Education (James Lindsay) ------ The School to Prison Pipeline: Long-Run Impacts of School Suspensions on Adult Crime (Bacher-Hicks, et al; https://www.nber.org/papers/w26257) ------ The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains (Nicholas Carr) ------ "Why 'What Works' Won't Work: Evidence-Based Practice and the Democratic Deficit in Educational Research" (Gert Biesta) ------ "why “what works” won’t work and why “what works” may hurt" (Human Restoration Project, Nick Covington; https://www.humanrestorationproject.o...) ------ Youth Risk Behavior Survey 2011-2021 (CDC; https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data... )

FURTHER READING: ------ Audrey Watters' Blog: https://hackeducation.com/ ------ Sketchplanations of Goodhart's Law: https://sketchplanations.com/goodhart... (and BONUS Campbell's Law: https://sketchplanations.com/campbell...) ------ "The Californian Ideology" (https://www.metamute.org/editorial/ar...)

* To Support Me: * ---Become a channel Member! ➤   / @zoe_bee   ---Join the Patreon! ➤ https://www.patreon.com/zoe_bee ---Make a one-time donation! ➤ https://ko-fi.com/zoebee ---Join the Discord! ➤ https://discord.gg/8GBmS9Qug9 ---Check out my second channel! ➤   / @zoecee   ---Watch my D&D game! ➤   / @thejaycorn   ---Watch my Blades in the Dark game! ➤ https://www.twitch.tv/itucrew

This video was sponsored by Wren

[serendipititties]

my mutuals as songs I like:

@hometownangels is Come On Eileen by Dexys Midnight Runners

@deadaldipshit-jpg is She's My Religion by Pale Waves

@mint-mayonnaise is She's So Cool by Pale Waves ft. Bruses

@katyakazanovas is Barracuda by Heart

@drew-dopamine is Fascination Street by The Cure

@70snasagay is Brandy (you're a fine girl) by Looking Glass

@tragic-cosmic-magic is Almost (Sweet Music) by Hozier

@lordcatwich is Hard Times by Paramore

@bassguitarinablackt-shirt is Just Like Heaven by The Cure

@bil-daddy is Break My Stride by Matthew Wilder

@docdust is Surfin' U.S.A by The Beach Boys

@hyperfixatingdumdum is Hi Hi Hi by The Wings

@imslowlydisintegrating is Nina Cried Power by Hozier

@beomgyutruther is Ain't It Fun by Paramore

@funkyratman is It's A Jungle Out There by Randy Newman (switched from it will come back)

@purichana is My Fun by Suki Waterhouse

@lbctal is Highwayman by Johnny Cash

@goheehawsomewhereelse is It Will Come Back ( the cowboyness)

@atomicradiogirl is Lithium by Nirvana

@starryeyeddarlings is Ask Me Why by The Beatles

@wren-phoenix is Who We Are by Hozier

[amvenvs3000w23]

Music from Nature, Nature from Music

The natural world is filled with sounds that have been inspiring humans for centuries. Music can be found in every known human culture, and it has been defined as patterns of sounds varying in pitch and time produced for emotional, social, and cultural and cognitive purposes (Gray et al. 2001). While people living in industrialized societies rely heavily on sound technology, those living close to nature perceive a wider range of sounds. For instance, seafaring tribes have been hearing whales in the ocean through the hull of their boats for millennian (Gray et al. 2001).

Whales’ songs are constructed similarly to bird and human songs, and the undersea songs of humpback whales prove that these marine mammals are inverterate composers. They use phrases of a similar length to human music and create themes out of several phrases before singing the nest theme. Humpbacks use musical intervals between their notes that are like or the same as the intervals in our scales. They mix percussive or noisy elements in their songs with relativity pure tones and do so in a ration like that used by humans in Western symphonic music (Payne, 2000). In some whale songs, the overall song structure is like human compositions: a statement of theme, a section in which it is elaborated, and then a return to a slightly modified version of the original theme.

Birds also compose songs that use the same rhythmic variations, pitch relationships, permutations, and combinations of notes as human composers. Some bird songs resemble musical compositions, such as the canyon wren’s trill that cascades down the musical scale like the opening of Chopin’s “Revolutionary” Eyude. An examination o fbird song reveals every elementary rhythmic effect found in human music. Many birds regularly transpose motifs to different keys. Some birds pitch their songs to the same scale as Western music (Baptista and Keister, 2000).

Therefore, music in nature can be found in whale songs and bird songs, which bear striking similarities to human compositions. In contrast, nature in music can be in compositions that use natural sounds, such as the sound of waves crashing, the rustling of leaves, or the chirping of birds (Krause, 2000).

For instance, the song “Weightless” by Marconi Union takes me back to the natural landscape, by inciting “natural” movement through its beat and melody. This song was created with sound therapists and is known to be one of the most relaxing songs ever made, capable of reducing anxiety up to 65%. The sounds used in the song are organic and composed of guitar, piano, and electronic instruments, and they evoke feelings of serenity and calmness. The song reminds me of a hike I went on with my friends in the Muskoka’s, where we sat by a lake surrounded by trees and the sounds of birds chirping. The song’s calming tones help me to feel at peace, with my surroundings and connected to nature. As I close my eyes, I can re-imagine the rolling hills and endless lakes I once experienced.

The song Weightless by Marconi Union brings me back to land scapes such as this. The vast nature, rolling landscape all broken up with lakes, rivers and mountains. It's almost mesmerizing.

Literature Cited

B. Krause, The Niche Hypothesis: How Animals Taught Us to Dance and Sing, BioMusic Symposium, AAAS Annual Meeting, 2000.

Gray, Patricia M., et al. "The Music of Nature and the Nature of Music." Science, vol. 291, no. 5501, 5 Jan. 2001, p. 52. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A69270354/AONE?u=guel77241&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=fb9366a8. Accessed 28 Feb. 2023.

L. F. Baptista, R. Keister, Why Bird Song Is Sometimes Like Music, BioMusic Symposium, AAAS Annual Meeting, 2000.

R. Payne, Whale Songs: Musicality or Mantra? BioMusic Symposium, AAAS Annual Meeting, 2000.

[mandaloriandy]

For the WIP game, Obi-Wan Can’t Catch A Break, Can He?

[WIP Ask Game!]

Obi-Wan Can’t Catch A Break, Can He?

a.k.a

The Star Wars AU I’m Not Gonna Write: Time Travel, the Fuckening: Darth Searah 3.0

So time travel. Wham, blam, cosmic rays, everyone gains future memories. And! There’s a bunch of people who haven’t been born yet who show up out of nowhere. “I don’t understand why we’re the same age, you died years before I did,” Sabine Wren tells Ezra Bridger, when they meet up. On Kamino, everyone has a big ole freak-out before the medics yell at everybody to shut up and start getting their control chips out (and Kix, just in case, carefully does not mention the time he spent in cryo-stasis). “Hm,” says Shmi Skywalker, when her much-older-now son shows up to kill Gardulla and free her. “Things got complicated, didn’t they?” Ani doesn’t stop hugging her, so she can feel his nod. “I have some things to tell you as well, I think…”

Obi-Wan Kenobi is an initiate. This is, to borrow a phrase of Ahsoka’s, a big yikes moment. He would probably be freaking out about it more if everyone else was freaking out about it less, but as it is, there is nobody in the temple who is not halfway to a panic attack except for maybe Vokara Che, who is grimly sedating anyone who needs sedating, and Sifo Diyas, who is pointing and laughing and saying I told you so. So Obi-Wan does what anyone (he thinks) would do: he organizes his fellow crechelings to go give their various masters a slap upside the head (or, more likely given their current stature, a stomp on the toes) until they stop freaking out and start doing things.

This is not the interesting part of the AU. Just work with me, here.

Okay. So over the next few years, things become… weirdly normal? Like, nobody is pretending that Obi-Wan et al are as young as they are. But also it is very clear to everyone that they’re all still children, and have the cognition skills and habits of children. So people go off with their various masters (with only a few minor shuffles) and start doing missions across the galaxy. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan (and Tahl and Yoda and Mace and probably a few others, for safety) swing by Tatooine, because they’re not gonna just leave Anakin there, but… well, he’s not there, and neither is Shmi. Plo Koon’s first stop is not Kamino (because trauma, and getting shot down by men you considered your family) but he goes there after he can’t find Ahsoka on Shili, and it’s just… empty. Palpatine has vanished. Great, everyone says. Now what.

Well, now problems.

The thing is, last time, by the time Obi-Wan had turned like seventeen, all of Qui-Gon’s friends were dead. They’re not, this time, and that’s wonderful (even though Obi-Wan is probably only like fifteen at this point so technically they’ve still got time.) The thing is, Qui-Gon is a maverick, and has never played by the rules, and knows how to play-by-the-rules-in-the-rules and also how to pretend. The thing is, the thing is… the thing is that when they had first started truly delving into this research, it was Dooku who had been following Qui-Gon’s lead.

It takes Obi-Wan Kenobi, oh, three months to figure this all out?

No, not quite. It takes Obi-Wan about that long to figure out that Qui-Gon is dangerously close to the edge of Falling. Unintentionally, he thinks. From trauma and sorrow and loneliness, he thinks. So he argues with the Council (he was once on the council) and they agree that he can keep trying to convince Qui-Gon not to Fall. Since technically he isn’t Fallen yet. He writes up all their mission reports, anyways, so he can just include an encrypted section with a status update on that. It’s Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mace Windu thinks. Surely he is the person best-placed to determine how safe or unsafe Qui-Gon Jinn is. Normally, he would be right, especially with a post-ANH General Kenobi. Unfortunately for him, Obi-Wan Kenobi is currently a teenager.

So a few years into this, when Obi-Wan is fifteen or sixteen, Quinlan Vos runs away. He Fell, his master says. Months later, when Obi-Wan senses a shadowed presence stalking him through the concourse of a space station, he just sighs and gets an extra cup of caf, then sits down on a bench until Quinlan just comes out and talks to him. Quinlan says that he didn’t know what to do – he’d Fallen before, and returned, but now it kept happening and he doesn’t know how to stop it. Quinlan says that he just thought he needed some time away for things to settle, but it hasn’t settled yet, and would Obi-Wan be willing to help him? Quinlan is lying out his ass about most of those things. Again, unfortunately, Obi-Wan is a teenager, and at this age he has a much harder time keeping his eyes off of Quin’s biceps than he should. (Also, well, Quinlan knows Obi-Wan, and knows that this is exactly the kind of narrative that Obi-Wan is looking for, because it’s the kind of narrative he’s desperately trying to find with Qui-Gon, had desperately tried to find with Anakin. Quinlan Vos, at this age, is a bit of an asshole.) Of Course I’ll Help You, Obi-Wan says. Let me just tell the Council– You can’t tell the Council! Quinlan says. Half of them died before the Clone Wars even started, they… I’m scared they won’t understand… he makes his eyes go wide, he bites his lip, he lowers his lashes. Okay, Obi-Wan says.

Quinlan’s not that subtle, though, so Obi-Wan figures it out in just a month or so. A month of him traveling around with Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon. And learning Obi-Wan’s routine. Like, when he sends the Council updates. And what kind of things he puts in them. Oh, fuck, Obi-Wan thinks, while Quinlan has him pinned to the floor, his lightsaber clipped to Quin’s belt. Then, he thinks again. It’s not as if Quin knows any of his passwords, or his encryption keys, or his separate decryption keys. Without those, there’s no way Quin will be able to use his datapad to send the Council false updates, so they’ll realize that everything has gone south fairly quickly. Quinlan shifts Obi-Wan to a one-handed grip (damn those biceps) and, with his teeth, pulls the glove off of his free hand. Oh, fuck, psychometry, Obi-Wan thinks. Yeah, he’s kinda screwed. “Don’t tell me you’re working with Dooku,” Obi-Wan says, as scathingly as he can manage. Quinlan rolls his eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m working with Skywalker.” he pauses. “I mean, Dooku’s also working with Skywalker. So. You know.” Well, Obi-Wan thinks, trying to be optimistic. If Anakin kills me then my force-ghost can go complain to Yoda, at least.

Obi-Wan has failed to ask which Skywalker is the one pulling the strings, here.

[fkukso]

Durante gran parte de la Edad Media (desde el siglo IV al XVI), se aceptó la creencia de que, además de los cinco sentidos "externos" (vista, olfato, gusto, audición y tacto), existían cinco sentidos "internos".⁣⁣⁣

⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣Como se ve en esta ilustración de la cabeza de un monje, estos eran sentido común (sensus communis), fantasía (phantasia), imaginación (virtus imaginativa), poder estimativo (vis aestimativa), memoria (vis memorialis et reminiscibilis).⁣⁣⁣

⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣Este pensamiento psicológico medieval fue una herencia de Aristóteles y Galeno, una concepción luego tuneada por San Agustín en el siglo IV y por Avicena (siglo XI). ⁣⁣⁣

⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣Cada una de estas facultades cognitivas se localizaban en ventrículos separados del cerebro. ⁣⁣⁣

⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣Esta concepción incluso es mencionada por William Shakespeare varias veces como “five wits” (o “cinco ingenios”): en “Romeo y Julieta”, “El rey Lear”, “Mucho ruido y pocas nueces” y “Noche de Reyes”.⁣⁣⁣

⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣Odorama: Historia Cultural del Olor⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

⁣⁣◻️Libellus de anima et spiritu et de singulis proprietatibus atque differentiis. Trinity College, Wren Library.⁣⁣⁣

@fedkukso

[mapenvs3000f21]

Music of Nature or the Nature of Music

Image: Approaching Fingal's Cave on Staffa Island.

Music is essence of nature from the melody of the smallest birds to the whale songs in the deep to the hum of grasshoppers through the night. Humans express their appreciation for the sounds of nature through lyrics, musical instruments and scores. The music of nature surrounds us each day when we step outside. We are always quick to talk about the benefits of seeing nature, but other senses can help transport us to that very space. Music is one of those interpretations as highlighted in course notes “music is the

What is the Music of Nature?

Music of nature for me is most notable in bird songs. Learning the quick trills and thrills of a winter wren or enjoying the minor key of the White Throated Sparrow song is the music of nature.

Winter Wren Singing Listen to 0:11

White Throated Sparrow Singing - Listen to 0:35

How do birds know how to sing? Are they born with their songs already etched in their mind? Bird songs unlike the call must be learnt and practiced by young birds to perfect the skill. It is important for these young birds to get it right as it is used to attract mates and claim territory. This is much like learning a new musical instrument, where practice and consistency pay off. Listening to birds sing you slowly begin to pick out certain qualities, pitches, and rhythms which resemble composed music (Gray, P.M., et al, 2001). This is not only true for birds, but for many sounds in nature, as I will share now.

The Nature of Music Inspiring Music

Staffa Island, a small but impressive island, is off the Scotland coast near the of Isle of Mull. This small island inspired Felix Mendelssohn in 1829 to write a musical score based on his experience at Staffa Island (ClassicFM). The music in the Overture is meant to capture the ever-changing conditions in Fingal’s Cave and along the shores of Staffa with the music resembling the crashing waves. Take a listen!

The Hebrides, Op.26 “Fingal’s Cave” by Felix Mendelssohn

In 2018, I took a tour to Staffa Island, the boat ride to the island proved to be a rough day on the water. While bobbing up and down in the rolling waves the guide told of how Staffa Island was created and the many people that have been inspired by the island’s beauty. The guide played a short expert from the “Fingal’s Cave” Overture immersing the group of tour takers into Mendelssohn’s interpretation of this gift of nature, evoking emotions and stimulating the imagination (Beck, et al.2018). Once on land and standing at the entrance to Fingal’s cave, you transport yourself back to early 1800s when Mendelssohn stood in that very spot. You took a moment to listen a little longer to see how Mendelssohn’s musical composition compared. How do you think it compares to this audio recording of waves on the shores of Staffa?

Video: Waves crashing on Staffa Island.

Source:

Beck L., Cable, T.T. and D.M. Knudson. 2018. Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage: For a Better World. Sagamore Venture Publishing. United States. Gray, P.M., Krause, B., Atema, J., et al. (2001). Science. Music of nature and the nature of music. Science. Vol. 291 (5501).

Song Facts. Fingal's Cave by Felix Mendelssohn. https://www.songfacts.com/facts/felix-mendelssohn/fingals-cave Accessed: October 29, 2021