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breitzbachbea · 4 years

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Drabble #58

The OCs in this belong to @swabianmapley! I’m really interested in their family dynamics and how it all affects them, so I hope you all enjoy this little shot and exploring them and their relationships.

Drabble Collection on Ao3 Ship: SigFrey

“What’s the light of the party doing out here?“

Freyja looked over her shoulder but only saw a silhouette against the houses lights until Magnús sat down next to her.

“Rebelling,” she said and he laughed. She waved with a piece of paper. “It’s not really working with the piercings and with getting an older boyfriend, so I guess boycotting my own birthday party has to do it.” She sighed, although there was a smile on her face.

“Should I tell you that it’s working and your mother had a real disappointing face when she pointed me to you out here?”

“You’re asking me if I want you to lie,” she said and his smile turned a little sheepish.

They sat in silence for a while, Freyja staring into the nightsky, until Magnús asked: “What’s that you got there?”

“A coupon for the place I got my piercings from, for future piercings.”

“That’s a very nice gift!” He beamed and put an arm around her.

“It is.” Still the same smile on her face.

“ … you’re not happy with it, are you?”

She sighed again and there was a deep frown on her face as she spoke: “I am! I am really thankful that my parents are this understanding and all, I don’t want them to, like … hate me or not accept me, it’s just …” She stared at the coupon. “I sometimes think they don’t understand after all that I am not their little princess. I feel like … “ She sighed.

“You know, I am the only one they have left at home, so I feel like I have to be the perfect child at all the time. I don’t wanna disappoint them, but I don’t know … I don’t know. I feel like my brothers have it easier.”

“You haven’t disappointed them, did you?”

Freyja didn’t look at him. “No. It’s a stupid fear, I know. That your family is too loving.”

He shrugged. “I mean, I can’t really … relate to that, but I know how it is to have a lot of responsibility.” He wrung his hands.

There was silence again. “You know who gave me a nice gift, too?” She said into it. “Emil. He build an entire forest population out of cork and chestnuts.” She laughed and looked at him. “Do you want to see it?”

“Yes, sure!”

#beablabbers #writing #drabble #freyja #siggi #storie nostre #me and jani have done excellent shit with the icelandics lately #thora dates siggi's dad at least once #edda and ai hit it off #THE VOLCANOES AREN'T THE ONLY THING THAT IS HOT ON THERE #Fen is the most fashionable of Freyja's bride people #it is GREAT #swabianmapley

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murderous-coffeebean · 6 years

Video

Robbie’s Happy Memories

Finally, here it is! My (mainly) digital LazyTown animation! It is set 10 years after the events of the TV series, so please keep that in mind. ^^

For a detailed explanation of the different panels/pics (aka sort of a fic), as well as technical info, please check the “read more”. ^^

This is by far the biggest art project I've ever worked on (only somewhat comparable to The Mikey Comic Series, tbh), so feedback is not only highly appreciated, but also asked for! Please let me know what you think about it! Thank you! ^^

I hope this video will make you smile. ^_^

Lazytown © Magnús Scheving art © Murderous-Coffeebean [deviantART] Please do not trace nor repost this here on tumblr or elsewhere; thanks.

~ * ~ INFO ABOUT THIS WORK ~ * ~ -------------------------------------------------------------- Panel Explanation/Fic (Note: The video itself is set 10 years after the TV series.) We start off with Robbie, sitting at the floor of his home, looking through a photo album. The front of it reads "Myndaalbúm", Icelandic for "photo album". He arrives at a photo that makes him pause and smile, and we see the photo album tumbling down. The first photograph we see is of Robbie, Sportacus and Stephanie having a conversation in the "early days". They are having fun; Sports and Stephanie probably just looked through one of Robbie's plans and now are teasing him a bit about it (Robbie, at this point, isn't outraged, surprising to himself). The next photograph we see is of Stephanie; she is smiling or laughing, and pointing at something, her hair moving in the wind. Robbie is still growing to like the kids at this point, but sometimes he actually stays around when he crosses their path or the other way around, and they realize they can actually have fun together (not that Robbie'd admit it. He's no flippity-floppety sports elf after all :P ). The next photograph we see is from Ziggy's birthday. Robbie had no problem to grow fond of the small boy as he started to grow a bit older (a bit being a year, but yeah). He likes that he's not the only one in town appreciating candy and all things sweet, and of course even he knows what Ziggy's favorite candy is. :D Next we see an image of Sportaflop- when again did he start to like this flipping-around elf so much?? Around this time, when they started becoming friends? Robbie wonders. (But, if he's being completely honest with himself, he knows that it was much earlier than this picture was taken already.) On the next two photographs we see Stingy giving presents to other people. The first one, not as willingly yet. (It's a "Best Of" album of one of Trixie's favorite bands for her birthday.) Then, we see him (much more easily by then) handing a birthday gift to Robbie, Ziggy and Stephanie smiling in the background. In the next photograph, we see Pixel playing a video game. Not visible is Robbie sitting next to him. The clock shows that it's 2am, but neither of them could sleep, so they are spending some time playing video games together. [This lovely scene was inspired by @sportaboob’s wonderful fanfic "Hand-holding in the key of Lazytown"! <3 ] The next three photographs we see are (in slow-motion) Sportacus and Robbie, the sports elf hugging his villain friend (/crush?). Robbie is surprised- Sportacus was thanking him for something (likely for keeping an eye on the kids as he had to save the mayor from accidentally hurting himself). But he did not see the grateful and tight as heck hug coming. There's tears forming in his eyes; it's been forever since he's last been at the receiving end of a hug. The next scene is when the kids are all young teenagers already; they and Robbie treat each other like family by now, and sometimes he lets them crash on his couch. This was the first time that happened though; the kids had been to a concert together (with Robbie to take care of them), and when Sportacus (who had picked them all up with his airship and brought them back to Lazytown again) had stopped to let Robbie get home, the kids had been so sleepy already, Robbie had just grumbled a bit (because he was really exhausted, as well) but had just waved his hand at Sportacus, and the elf had carried the kids downstairs so they could rest, before letting their families know he and Robbie would bring them home once they'd gotten a good night's sleep. In the next picture we see the kids running across a field, playing catch maybe, as the sun sets. Sportacus is probably tagging along, as always, but so is Robbie by then. He likes spending time with his new found family, and he's outside much more these years now. The next photograph we see is of the first apple Robbie voluntarily ate (and enjoyed :D). Yes, it's on a pedestal. It's Robbie, after all, and Sports and the kids are proud of him, so. Why not? :P Next, we're back in the present for a bit. We see one of Robbie's eyes, and a tear drop starts running down his face as he turns the page and sees the next picture: It's a photograph of him with the people he is closest to. There's Pixel, Stephanie, and Trixie, who are about to go off to college together soon; there's Stingy who has crouched down a bit to fit into the photograph next to Ziggy, whom he ended up becoming close friends when they became teenagers; and there is Sportacus in (more) casual (but still sports) wear for once, standing next to Robbie. They were, as per usual, having a great time when the photograph was taken, and Robbie (just as he is, looking at this photograph again and reminiscing right then) had one of these moments where he could hardly believe how lucky he was to have all of them in his life. The tear drop that was rolling down Robbie's cheek now falls down on the floor, and he smiles, still looking at the photograph of his family. A shadow is approaching from behind, and Robbie knows whom it is, even before the person utters a word. It's Sportacus, putting a hand on Robbie's shoulder as he's bending forward to see what Robbie is doing, and he greets him: "Hi, Robbie! What are you doing?" with a smile on his face. Sportacus looks at him fondly as Robbie first replies "Nothing..." but then goes to add: "... just getting nostalgic looking at old memories, I guess..." Sportacus crouches down to sit next to Robbie and mutters "Oh.", as his gaze finally falls on the family picture Robbie had been looking at before. He asks Robbie "... can I join you?", and Robbie just rises his eyebrow as he smiles and replies: "Sure." Robbie reaches to flip to the next page of the photo album, still lying on the floor in front of him and Sportacus. The page on the left reads one word in capital letters: "HEIM". [Icelandic for "HOME"] Finally, we see the image on the right, the last page of the photo album: It's Robbie's new home. A beautiful, somewhat curved house with flower pots on each side of it, and a tree on one side of it. The sun is shining down on it, and a sign over the front door reads, for old times' sake: "Robbie's Lair" in a fancy font. In front of the house, there's a doormat. It reads "Welcome". ♥ Technical Info This is a months-long work of love and learning through failing and trying again. I originally started this out as a random idea I had one night in January, and ended up drawing out the storyboard till 2am that day after I had found a piece of music I wanted to go with. I started with the animation process the next day already, if I recall correctly, already making more detailed notes about how the frames were supposed to go along with the music. I worked on this till the end of the Christmas break, and then continued woring on it a bit during the rest of the winter semester, before diving into this project some more during the semester break in spring. I started putting this together piece by piece in Moviemaker (as, due to my change of university, I didn't have Premiere on my hands anymore and had to find my way through Moviemaker now) and learned some about it as I went, as well. I only recently added the title card, title, and watermark, but the rest of the animation was all created during a working phase of about 3 months. The storyboard was drawn on yellow paper; I converted the remaining scenes I did not get around digitalizing to b'n'w so they wouldn't stand out. All of the digital frames are drawn in PaintTool SAI using the linework layers and tool. I had not worked a lot with them before this project, so it really was quite a challenge to finally do so, and do all of the animation this way. It was worth it though, and for all the trouble it caused me during this project, the advantages of easily editing lines again made up for it again. ^^

(Also, re: one of the last panels just for a sec: I know that “Just getting nostalgic looking at old memories” isn’t grammatically correct, but I wanted that line to work with the animation’s title itself, so. Just fyi.)

--------------------------------------------------------------

And with this, I’m releasing this child of mine to the internet. Please treat it kindly, I hope it will spread a smile on some of your faces. :)

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shoelace-and-friends · 7 years

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A very homesick sports elf!

Despite the fact that he lived in a big and fancy, futuristic-looking airship, Sportacus was actually not exactly the most tech-savvy guy. However, after HOURS of insistence from the children that his life would be so much easier if he had a cell phone to communicate with people, he finally caved and went to the nearest electronics store to pick out a phone of his own, with the help of Pixel. It sure was a good thing that he had Pixel there to help him; these “smart phones” were really confusing. Pixel is a very smart boy though, and even someone as technologically inept as Sportacus still managed to figure out the basic functions of the phone, thanks to him.

It really WAS useful, he had learned. Not only had he and the kids grown the habit of texting each other good night before 8:08, but he was also able to easily catch up on current events, and the phone functioned as an excellent planner that reminded him of what he needed to do; which REALLY helped someone like him who had ADHD. He’s also been watching a lot of exercise videos on it and has even downloaded a couple apps to help him keep track of how much he has exercised.

Phones REALLY ARE nice…maybe he’ll write to his family about how useful they are. MAYBE, …he can even give them his new phone number. He doesn’t think that any of the elves back home had cell phones, and it was probably wishful thinking but- …he just really wanted to hear everyone’s voices again….Getting letters from his family every once in a while really felt special, but sometimes…the wait in between letters made it feel like it wasn’t enough….

******************************

It was two in the morning when his phone started to blare out its default ringtone, vibrating from across the room on the floor, over by the outlet where he had it plugged in. The elf groaned, slowly sitting up and attempting to rub the sleep from each of his eyes, but he still felt really tired. He definitely didn’t get his full eight hours of sleep yet; who on Earth would call him at THIS hour? Was someone in trouble? That can’t be it; his crystal wasn’t beeping…

Drowsy and confused, Sportacus climbed out of bed and walked across the room, unplugging his phone. …That’s funny. He didn’t recognize this number…

“Hello?” He yawned. “This is Sportacus…”

“Oh! It works!” A female voice on the other line chimed excitedly from the other line, and Sportacus immediately perked up, feeling his heart jump in his chest and almost completely forgetting the fact that he was tired. “Mamma!” He cried out into the receiver, his tone frantic as he clutched the phone tighter in his grip. Was it REALLY her? Or was he dreaming? This felt like a dream-

But no, he heard her familiar, warm laughter on the other end, laughter so unique and so distinct to him that he couldn’t rationalize it as possibly belonging to anyone else.

“Yes dear, it’s your mother,” the voice on the other end confirmed it for him, giggling once more before she let out a gasp. “Oh dear! I forgot about what time it is over there! Did I interrupt your sleep, honey?”

“N-no!” the hero immediately stammered, waving his free arm around frantically, even though the other couldn’t see. “I mean- you DID, but it’s really no big deal, mamma. I can stay up and talk,” he said quickly. “I WANT to talk-”

“Okay honey.” His mother laughed again, before letting out a soft sigh. “I’m sorry to have woken you up so early- actually, it’s still pretty early over here too. But your father and I got your letter last night about you getting a cell phone, so we went ahead and left the elf village to go buy one so we could talk to you.” “You DID?” He asked, his eyes widening as he felt his heart swell in his chest. …They left the elf village and went through all that trouble to do that for HIM?

“Yes, we did,” his mother answered, and Sportacus SWORE that he could feel the warmth of her smile from the other end. “I was going to wait until a little later to call you, but I guess I got excited.”

“No no mamma, it’s NOTHING,” he insisted. “You guys can call me at any time that suits you.”

“Oh, but we want you to get your sleep, darling. We KNOW how important your job is. Next time, we’ll call you at a more reasonable hour. …Maybe we can even do one of those “video chats”…once we figure out how-”

…A video call? A chance to see his family? “…I would really like that,” he told his mother, his mind pulling back to the last time that he had seen everyone’s face. It’s…been a long time. A couple of years, even. He wondered if everybody even looked the same. Being that elves kept to their youth pretty well, they probably did, …but maybe his father was finally beginning to grey? Or his mother got a haircut? Perhaps his brother’s facial hair had gotten longer…

“We would like that too. It really has been a while, hasn’t it?” she noted.

Sportacus swallowed, a but more thickly than he expected. “…Yes,” he told his mother. The more he thought about his family, …the more that he realized that he was sort of forgetting what everyone looked like. “…It really has been a long time- …Umm, mamma, could you fill me in a bit about what’s been going on back home lately?” He asked, hoping that that would get his mind off of it.

“Oh, of course dear! As you know, May is just around the corner, so we’ve all been getting ready for the flower festival. Your father has been spending EXTRA time back in the garden these days.”

Oh! How are his apple trees doing?” he asked. “Has he finally gotten them to sprout sportscan- duhh, fruit?” he asked, correcting himself.

“He HAS,” his mother replied, beaming. “And your father is really proud of himself. It really WAS a stubborn tree. Perhaps we’ll send you a crate of apples- I don’t think your father will take no for an answer anyway-”

“I don’t think he would either,” Sportacus laughed. “Tell him that i’ll take them.” Sure, it was true that Lazytown had more than enough apples for him to eat already- but he still MISSED the distinct taste and crunch of an elvish apple from back home- actually, there were a LOT of things back home that he missed…

“Your brothers are doing well,” his mother continued. “Alfreð still has his job working with the human police,” she told him. “And Magnús and Reginleif are expec- ooh, I probably shouldn’t say more,” she hesitated.

“Shouldn’t say what?” Sportacus asked.

“Well…I feel like Magnús would want to tell you this himself, ..but I’ve probably already said too much. He and Reginleif are expecting a baby.” “What? Really?” Sportacus sprang up, surprised by this news. “They are? That’s great!”

“Yes honey, they are. But promise me to pretend you heard nothing when he finally tells you that you’re going to be an uncle.”

“My lips are sealed, mamma,” he promised. Wow…he’s going to be an UNCLE. He’s never been one of THOSE before! It really did seem like a lot of fun, when he thought about it, teaching his niece or nephew to play games, and getting to spoil them…but then Sportacus realized something. He’s stuck in Lazytown. He’s going to MISS the birth of his brother’s child. He’s not going to get to meet his niece or nephew in person…

He’s been seeing and missing A LOT, the more he thought about it. This year’s flower festival, and the one the year before it. He’s already missed his brother’s wedding, and now he’s missing his firstborn too. He’s missed every funny dinner table conversation, …and now that he thought of it, he missed his father’s sense of humor. He missed the rolling hills, the streams and waterfalls, he missed getting big group hugs, tackles by his brothers and friends and tickles behind his ears… “…Dear? You’ve been awfully quiet for a while,” he managed to hear his mother say to him through all of his thoughts. “Are you tired? We can talk again tomorrow.”

“NO, I-” Sportacus swallowed, suddenly feeling tears spring into his eyes. “Don’t go, mamma-” he begged, his voice breaking. “I miss you…” Before he knew it, he was crying into the receiver, his breath hitching as his body began to rack with sobs. Why was this happening to him so suddenly? Why couldn’t he control it?

“I miss you,” he sobbed out, wiping at his eyes frantically, but the tears just kept coming. “I miss y-you and pabbi, a-and I m-miss Magnús and Alfreð, and I miss HOME…” he hiccuped, feeling his cheeks only get wetter. “A-and I feel b-bad b-because I feel like I’m m-missing out on e-everything that’s i-important to all of you-”

“Oh darling…” His mother put on a sympathetic tone, trying her best to hush her son. “I know, it must be really hard on you, only being allowed to visit once every eight years…and sometimes, it’s hard on us too,” she told him. “There isn’t a day that goes by that the whole family doesn’t think about you. Alexander darling, we love you SO MUCH…and we’re all VERY proud of you,” she said, trying to console him. “Me, your father, your two older brothers, the WHOLE VILLAGE is VERY proud of what you have been doing.” “Y-you are?” he whimpered out, sniffling and wiping his nose on his wrist.

“Yes, Alexander sweetheart, we are,” she said warmly, comfortingly, using the same tone that she did back in his boyhood whenever he seeked comfort. “The elf council couldn’t have possibly picked a better elf to become the tenth Sportacus. Whenever your father and I read the letters that you send to us, we always smile when we hear about how you’ve been helping the children in your town stay safe and healthy. Yes, we read about what you’ve been doing sometimes and it makes us miss you, …but we’re always so HAPPY to see you write about how much you love your job and what you do. I’m not sure if we say it enough or not, but we’re SO proud of you. You really are making a difference in that community you’ve been taking care of.”

“I am?”

“You are. You’ve been doing EXACTLY what you were assigned to do, and the whole village is proud of that. …Are you happy with what you’re doing?” she asked him. “I-I AM,” he nodded, wiping his eyes. He was sure of that much. “I LOVE what I do. I love it SO MUCH. I LOVE everyone in Lazytown to pieces.”

“We KNOW you do,” his mother responded warmly, and the hero could feel himself calming down. “And you’ll continue to make all of us proud, each and every day. We LOVE you, darling-” “I love you too, mamma.”

#lazytown prompts #prompts #asks #homesick sportacus #yes i named sportacus alexander #deal with it #and yes the two ithros are his brothers #they are named magnus and alfred #sportacus #lazytown #lazy town

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the-thoughts-of-the-tired-one · 7 years

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Why My “Unhealthy Obsession” With Lazy Town Is Actually Super Healthy

Towards the end of 2016, the kids’ show that inspired kids to move and eat healthy, made in 2004, became a meme. But this didn’t only bring the internet community lots of laughs - it gave people inspiration, a new community, and motivation to keep on trying. It saved people.

My older brother introduced me to these memes, through the Bee Movie ones. At first it was just us showing each other the newest We Are Number One or Mine song memes, but then I decided to check Lazy Town out a little, and see what it’s about. I had known of its existence, but unlike my brother, I had never watched it when I was little. I got very interested in how the show is actually really good and entertaining, and I also fell in love with the fandom it had.

Eventually, I started actually watching the show, and joined the fandom. Most of my friends think it’s sad that I like watching this kids’ show, but it truly makes me happy - how could it be sad if it makes me happy?

But Lazy Town has truly, really helped me, in so many ways. And here they are:

My mental health When I discovered Lazy Town, I was in a pretty dark spot of my life. After a long struggle I had just discovered that I’m a demiboy. My mental health was an absolute mess. I felt lonely, stupid, annoying, sad, angry, scared, anxious, and exhausted all the time. I felt numb, and at the same time, I was overwhelmed. I was not fine. But Lazy Town helped me get through that. Whenever I wanted to escape reality and forget everything, I would watch an episode of Lazy Town. I got invested in the episode, thanks to the simple but good humour, the impressive and fun songs, and the unique characters that were easy to care about. The bright colours and bendy shapes made me really feel like I’m not in the real world anymore - I’m in Lazy Town - and that was comforting. For a very long time, I was not fine, but Lazy Town helped me. When I felt like a disappointment I could think about Sportacus; he’s proud of me, no matter what. As long as I keep trying, Sportacus is proud of me, and he believes that I will get through this - and I did. I’m still not doing great, and I have lots of problems, but for the first time in ages, I have actually felt free and happy, and I cannot explain how weird and amazing that feels now.

My physical health I’m in a terrible shape. A lot of people call me skinny, and yeah, I am slim, but in a terrible shape. A couple of months ago, I could only do half a push up, I couldn’t run for even one minute without feeling like dying, and I absolutely hated PE - okay yeah, I still don’t like PE, but it’s not as bad as before. Now, I’m still in a terrible shape, but I’ve actually made an improvement. Lazy Town, being all about living healthy, has inspired me to try to be healthier. I’ve discovered that a good work out for me is watching Lazy Town and doing some specific exercise whenever something specific happens, or someone says something that they say a lot in the show. It might seem silly, but it works. I’m motivated, I move a lot, and I’m having fun while I’m doing it. The only problem is that I can only do it when I’m alone at home, because I feel kind of embarrassed. And it’s not just exercising; it’s also eating healthy and staying hydrated. Before, I actually had a bit of a problem with not drinking enough water and not eating any fruit. But now, I take care of hydration, and when I want a snack - which happens often - I have an apple, or some cherry tomatoes, maybe grapes. Now, whenever I eat healthy, it feels much more rewarding. I jokingly say to myself “Sportacus would be proud”, but it really makes me feel good about myself. Also, in Lazy Town they call fruits and vegetables “sportscandy”. Now, this sounds extremely silly, but calling it sportscandy makes eating it much more fun, just like you would do with little kids. Really, it works.

Community As I said, before discovering Lazy Town, I felt lonely a lot, even though I had friends. My feeling of loneliness was very extreme, going to the point where I imagine having an imaginary friend/guardian angel/ghost following me around, and then starting to believe it. But joining the fandom, even though I didn’t really get any personal friends, made me feel part of a community and not so alone anymore. I also did something I never thought I would do; I created a blog on Tumblr, where I write sportarobbie fanfiction. But this was great as well; when I got people saying my writing was really good, I felt like someone cared about me. When I was going through hard times and I informed my followers that I probably won’t be writing that much in a while, I got lots of messages trying to make me feel better, telling me it’s okay, telling me that I can talk to them if I need to, just sending me messages wishing me well - that was amazing. And even though I haven’t got any close friends from the fandom, I’ve had conversations, I’ve communicated with people, and that’s great. I don’t feel so alone anymore.

Role models Yes, we all love Stefán and Magnús. They’re an inspiration to all of us, and they’re sweet and funny and and and... But really. Stefán is a musician, a comedian, and an actor. I’m a musician and an actor as well, so Stefán has been such an inspiration for me. He’s very accepting and understanding, and he lives happily, enjoying the small things - that’s great, and he’s a good role model. I adore the way Stefán understands his fans and communicates with them. It’s something that not many celebrities do, and it’s amazing. He’s also handled very well the times then fans have gone too far, and I am so glad we can still have him as our sweet, funny plant dad. Magnús is a creator. He created Lazy Town, and he did great things with it. He didn’t give up, and he just did so much. The way he worked for his dreams, and believed in them inspires me so much. I really feel like I can do something great, and I can change the world, just like he did. Stefán and Magnús have been especially important role models for me lately, because my parents are no longer people I look up to. Yes, my parents are loving and caring, but really, it seems like that’s it. When I came out to them as trans, it didn’t go that well. At first they said nothing. A lot later, they talked to me separately, and neither of them understood me, neither of them were happy with this, and even though they say they accept me, I really don’t think so. Discovering my own sexuality and gender, and getting to know more people from minorities, I’ve learned a lot, and I’ve started to form my own opinions. I’ve started noticing that even though my parents claim and seem to be accepting, they’re kind of homophobic, pretty racist, and extremely transphobic. I’ve stopped trying to copy them, and now I actually really try to be completely different from who they are. So Stefán and Magnús have become very important role models for me. And they’re great ones.

Writing As I said before, I write sportarobbie fanfiction. I’ve always enjoyed making up stories and telling them, and when I was around 13, I started writing a lot and really got into it. But there was the problem that nothing motivated me to finish the stories I had started to write. But now that I publish my stuff, and a lot of people read them, I’m motivated to make more, and even better, I get feedback. It’s really what an artist always needs.

Lazy Town... It has really helped me. It has made me a lot healthier, a lot more inspired, and a lot, and I mean a lot, happier. Yes, it’s strange how a kids’ TV show and its fandom has helped me, but it really has.

And that’s why my “unhealthy obsession” with Lazy Town is actually super healthy.

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zeroviraluniverse-blog · 6 years

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20 Powerful Quotes From Frederick Douglass

Visit Now - http://zeroviral.com/20-powerful-quotes-from-frederick-douglass/

20 Powerful Quotes From Frederick Douglass

For centuries, a cluster of small farms near the water on Iceland’s Vatnsnes peninsula have eked out an existence among the grassy fields and rocky hills, more or less content to be surviving at the edge of the world. The peninsula is known for a black basalt rock formation that’s said to be a petrified troll, and for the colonies of seals that come to sun themselves on the beach.

It’s still almost as peaceful—and lonely—as it was the night in March 1828 when Agnes Magnúsdóttir ran from Illugastaðir, the farm where she worked, to the house at Stapakot farm to report a fire. The situation, she said, was dire: Two people were trapped inside the rapidly burning building.

When the rescuers arrived and extinguished the blaze, the scene was even worse than they expected. Inside, they discovered the bodies of Natan Ketilsson, the farm’s owner, and his guest, Pétur Jónsson. Though the two were badly burned, the rescuers could see it wasn’t the fire that had caused their deaths: They’d been murdered. The men had been stabbed 12 times and bludgeoned with a hammer before the fire had been set with shark oil.

The authorities quickly arrested both Agnes and Illugastaðir’s other maid, Sigríður Guðmundsdóttir, as well as a young man named Friðrik Sigurdsson. Although the trio’s motives were murky, local gossips suspected the crime had something to do with their romantic entanglements.

DANGEROUS LIAISONS

Agnes was born in northern Iceland on October 27, 1795. Her parents, Ingveldur Rafnsdóttir and Magnús Magnússon, were unmarried farmers; her father quickly left the picture, and at age 6 Agnes was fostered out to a pair of tenant farmers elsewhere in northern Iceland. Little about her early life is known, save that it was steeped in toil and poverty. But everything changed when she met Natan Ketilsson.

Agnes fell head over heels for Natan, a self-taught doctor and herbalist. Though she was his maid, he encouraged her intellect and gave her a glimpse of life beyond poverty and drudgery. The two seem to have had a brief affair, but Natan was in love with Skáld-Rósa, a well-known local poet. Though Rósa was married, her long-standing relationship with Natan was known in the area; the two even had children together. To make matters more complicated, Natan had also recently been intimate with 16-year-old Sigríður.

No one has ever been able to figure out how, exactly, these intertwined passions may have led to murder. Had Agnes grown jealous of Natan’s recent attentions to Sigríður? Or had Friðrik? The trial documents focused more on the idea that the group was conspiring to steal from a wealthy landowner, saying that Friðrik “came to commit this evil through hatred of Natan, and a desire to steal.” The women named Friðrik as the mastermind of the crime, although they were short on details about why he was to blame.

The few available facts, together with a fear of rebellious servants, encouraged the idea of Agnes as a sort of villainess, and it was enough to condemn her. Author Hannah Kent, who in 2013 wrote a “speculative biography” about Agnes called Burial Rites—soon to be made into a movie starring Jennifer Lawrence—said in an interview that while translating local documents she found that “words such as ‘devil,’ ‘witch’ and ‘spider’ were frequently used to describe [Agnes]. Where I looked to find something of her life story, or acknowledgement of social or cultural factors that may have contributed to her crime, I found only the belief that she was unequivocally evil—a monster.”

EXECUTION DAY

After a long trial that went all the way to the Supreme Court in Copenhagen—Iceland was then still under Danish rule—Agnes, 33, and Friðrik, 19, were sentenced to be executed. Sigríður was also sentenced to death, but her punishment was eventually commuted to life in prison, which she would serve in Denmark. The reasons for the commutation aren’t entirely clear, except that by then the public had seized on Agnes as the real evil-doer. Since jail space wasn’t available in rural Iceland, the convicted were sent to local farms to await their fate; Agnes was held at Kornsá, the very same farm where she had lived with a foster family, although by then the house had different inhabitants.

Execution day arrived on January 12, 1830. The beheading was a spectacle: 150 male representatives from all of the district’s farms attended, and a special ax was imported from Denmark. Guðmundur Ketilsson, Natan’s brother, carried out the deed in the middle of three hillocks in Húnavatnssýsla; Friðrik went first, then Agnes. It was the last time anyone was executed in Iceland. (You can still see the ax head, and chopping block, at Iceland’s National Museum.)

They were forbidden Christian burial rites, and their heads were impaled onto sticks and displayed publicly, facing the road. But the heads wouldn’t be there for long: They were stolen within 24 hours of going on display—and would stay missing for close to 100 years.

Sometime around 1930, a local woman who claimed to have been visited by Agnes’s spirit came forward with their location. The identity of the thieves remains a mystery, although legend has it that a kind-hearted housewife felt moved to bury them herself. Bizarrely, the heads were found just where the informant said they would be, “‘in the direction of the setting sun at high summer’ and not far from the execution mound,” according to crime writer Quentin Bates.

The bodies of Agnes and Friðrik, which had been buried near the site of their execution, were reburied with their heads in a churchyard in Tjörn, not far from where Illugastaðir farm once stood.

A NEW CHANCE AT JUSTICE

On September 9, 2017, Agnes got a second day in court. A mock trial arranged by the Icelandic Legal Society retried the case under modern rules, with the result that Agnes was sentenced to 14 years in prison instead of death.

According to David Þór, one of the mock court’s three judges and a real former judge at the European Court of Human Rights, the original trial didn’t attempt to answer why the murders occurred. “No one cared about the motivation behind the murders—that wouldn’t happen in a modern court,” he told the Associated Press. “Today we would try to understand the motivation behind the murders and particularly how the two women, who had no other place to live, were treated by their master.”

Agnes’s story has captivated Iceland for the last 200 years. Was she a woman whose hard-won happiness was being threatened, and she was out for revenge? Or was there something even darker at work? Though the 1828 trial records are preserved in Iceland’s National Library, little evidence remains of Agnes’s life.

“There isn’t a lot to go on,” Bates writes. “But it can be imagined how the relationships between these people had developed and the pressure increased over the course of the dark winter in a farmhouse the size of a small apartment today, and with a healthy walk to reach the nearest neighbors. It’s the stuff of a psychological thriller.”

And indeed, nine books have been written on the subject in Iceland, with a 10th on the way; the murderess is even the subject of an Icelandic pop song. With the renewed interest, the events at Illugastaðir will likely captivate us for years to come—even if we may never know exactly what happened that March evening.

#20 #Douglass #Frederick #Powerful #Quotes #Facts

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lazy-goblin · 6 years

Text

Áfram Latibær! (Let’s Go LazyTown) - Chapter 8/16

(I hope you’re ready to learn some games)

Original story by Magnús Scheving (1995)

Illustrations by Halldór Baldursson

8. Games Instead of Television

Íþróttaálfurinn dashed between the houses. Suddenly he stopped abruptly in front on one house and said to himself:

"Now, what is this?"

At this house there were so many television antennas that they could hardly be counted. Íþróttaálfurinn counted in his head:

"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7..."

There were neither more nor less than 17 antennas. Who would actually have 17 antennas on their house! Antennas are used to reach the most TV channels. Íþróttaálfurinn peeked in the window and saw that no one else but Goggi with the TV glasses was there.

Goggi sat in his comfortable TV chair, almost completely up against one television screen, but there were TV sets all over the living room. He owned nine sets and had them in one room! Sometimes they were all on at the same time. He had a video game on one, a video on another, state television and Station Two on a third and I don't know what else. He had almost all the broadcasts that could be reached. And now he sat there in his chair watching one TV.

Íþróttaálfurinn thought:

"It can be healthy to watch TV once in a while, but it can also be unhealthy to watch too long and too often."

He said to himself:

"I have work to do here."

In the blink of an eye, Íþróttaálfurinn had come in and stood directly in front of Goggi, who looked at him and shouted:

"What are you doing here? I can't see the TV screen! Move! I need to see! Move!"

Íþróttaálfurinn said to him:

"No, now I'm going to turn it off!"

And he turned off all the devices.

Goggi was not happy with this and asked:

"Why did you turn all of my TVs off?"

The elf replied:

"Don't you know that your brain stops working independently when you watch TV all day."

Goggi understood neither this speech nor who in the world this was.

"Who are you really?" he asked. "Where did you come from?"

"I live here just outside the town in a big elven community and from there I've been watching the town," said Íþróttaálfurinn. "I think you need a little help from me. I can give you some good advice. Television is like this," he continued, "it feeds people information. Because of this, they gladly lose themselves in video games or videos for hours at a time. You let yourself be fed and almost don't need to think for yourself. You don't need to create games yourself or move yourself at all, but just sit completely still and stare in front of you. It's well known that creativity decreases if you watch a lot of TV."

Goggi leaned back in his chair and recalled that he had once wanted to be an artist. He wanted to be painter, write stories and draw. But when he began to watch so much TV his imagination dwindled so much that he could no longer draw or play. He always needed something on the screen to tell him what to draw or what he should do. That's how it is for many people who watch a lot of TV.

Íþróttaálfurinn asked:

"Don't you want to do something else besides watch TV all day? Don't you want to learn any games, go out and play?"

"I don't know," said Goggi. "I don't know any games."

"That's because you become steadily lazier and lazier if you watch a lot of TV. I don't believe that you're really so lazy that you hang around in front of TV and video games all day."

"Yes," said Goggi, ashamed.

He knew well that he spent all his time watching TV and playing video games. He didn't even bother to wash himself. He was getting very dirty.

Íþróttaálfurinn spoke:

"Have you heard the story of Lazy Geir?"

"No," answered Goggi.

"Lazy Geir on the riverbank - lay until he died. He didn't want to taste the water. - Although he was thirsty."

"What does that mean?" asked Goggi?

"Lazy Geir, who lay by the stream, was thirsty, but he was so lazy that he didn't bother to take a drink so he died of thirst. That's what happens to those who lack motivation to do anything. But I know, Goggi, that you want to turn off all your devices and go and be productive."

"Yes, but I don't know what to do," Goggi lamented. "There are so many things I want to watch on TV."

The elf continued:

"It's okay to watch something you enjoy. That's fine. For example, it's a lot of fun to watch cartoons and sometimes the news or a sports program because you learn something. But you also need to do something for yourself, for example learn some games. Do you know the game hide-and-seek?"

"No," said Goggi.

"I will teach you some games. I'll teach you five fun games that you can do with the neighborhood kids. You can invite them all to come and play these games with you. Watch now."

Hopscotch

Hopscotch is a jumping game that involves hopping on one foot, not stepping at all on the lines, and keeping your balance.

First, start by drawing with chalk on a flat surface, outside or inside, a head, neck, hands and three other boxes as shown in the picture. Each box must be big enough that it can easily be stepped into. Then, find a flat object such as a stone.

The game begins by throwing the object into the first box. If the person in play hits the correct box, they may jump on one foot into all the boxes. However, they must come down with both feet in the hands and the head. The object is then retrieved on their way back. They may not step on the lines or turn around after landing. Forget the stone and the person is out of play for the moment and the next player takes their turn. If everything goes well, the player tries to hit the box above and so on.

When the player has hit all the boxes once, they may choose a box. They do this by turning their back on the hopscotch and throwing the stone behind them. If the stone lands in a box that no one owns, they get that box. After that, the other players may not throw or jump into it.

Borders

The next game is a running game called Borders. There can be four to six participants. This is a very fun game. You have to be quick to realize and fast to react.

A big circle with a little circle in the middle of it is drawn on the ground. (See picture). The circle is divided into equal parts by the number of participants. Each one receives a part that they name after a country, for example, Iceland, Norway, Spain, Hungary or whatever country they can think of.

Say that A is Iceland and B is Norway. A starts. The game consists of A (Iceland) attacking B (Norway) or another country by throwing a small stick on the country and saying:

"I attack B," - or: "I attack Norway."

As soon as they have done this, they run off, but must stop when the owner of B picks up the stick and says: "Stop."

The owner of B (Norway) may then take 3 steps toward A and try to throw the stick into a circle (basket) that A forms with their hands. If B gets it in the basket, they may take part of country A. If they don't get it in, A may take from country B. B then gets to make the next attack.

When taking from a country, one foot must be in the small circle and the other in your own country. Then you have to stretch and use the stick to take part of the country by drawing a line. Do not lift the stick from the ground while drawing the new border. If someone loses all of their country, they are out of the game.

That is the way I learned this game. The only thing I would criticize about it is all the talk of attacking the country. We can also label the sections with the names of provinces of Iceland and be early settlers who compete to be the first to claim the land. Then there is no area but protecting the province that they decide at the beginning.

Chief Game

Participants divide into two teams. A line is drawn on the ground and the teams spread out on either side of it. Then two chiefs are chosen, one from each team, and they go behind the opposing team. (See drawing).

The game involves hitting opponents with a ball. Those who get hit by the ball join the other team. The ball always goes between teams. The team who hits all of their opponents wins.

Make sure to use a soft ball, don't aim at the head and don't throw too hard. This game builds on reflexes, resourcefulness, and stamina.

Names Riddle

This is a very fun game that often goes under the name "hollíhu". All participants except one arrange themselves side by side. That one person has a ball and thinks of any name. They then throw the ball to the first person in the row and tell the first letter of the name and the gender of it. (If the name is Anna, they say A, female. If the name is Ari, they say A, male.) The first person in the row then tries to guess what the name is. The ball goes down the row if everyone guesses the wrong name. A new letter is added in each round. (For example: If the name is Anna, they throw it back and say An, female.)

When the correct name is said, the person throws the ball on the ground and says: "Hollí!" and runs away. The correct guesser, B, grabs the ball and says "Hú". A then stops and creates a basket with their hands. B gets three shots and tries to hit the basket. If they hit it, they can choose the next name. Otherwise A will be able to choose again. You can also use other than people's names, such as country names or animal names.

Hide-and-Seek

is a hiding game. Start by setting a stick up against a wall or a light post. One from the group is chosen to "be it". The others hide themselves. The one who "is it", counts up to a predetermined number, for example 50. When they have finished counting, they go to look for the others. As they seek, the others try to get to the stick, run there, push it to the side and say:

"The stick falls for me, one two and three."

If the seeker sees someone, for example Jón, then they go to the stick and say: "The stick falls for Jón, one two and three."

Jón is then out of play and has to rest there until everyone has been found. The objective is to be the first to knock over the stick.

"Here are these five games for you. I have written them in the notebook. Take these pages out and you can always look at them to review the games."

Goggi decided to take this into consideration. Íþróttaálfurinn said that he would come back after two days and see how he made out learning the games. He said goodbye, jumped out and in an instant he was out in the square.

(translation for illustration: Outdoor Games:<- Hide-and-seek, Over->, <-Dodgeball, <-Jump rope, Basketball->)

The elf described the game hide and seek and four others. Many know Over and Dodgeball - jumping rope and playing basketball. Your parents and grandparents most likely know other games that they can teach you.

<--previous chapter// - //next chapter-->

notes: I really struggled with this chapter. For some reason I found the game descriptions and instructions harder to translate than the narrative and dialogue parts of the book. I hope it all makes sense.

Anyway, I recognized some of these games as games I’ve played before as a kid, but some I’ve never heard of. If I knew of an English name for the game, I used it in my translation. If not, I just translated the Icelandic name into English and used that. It’s possible that there are English names for these games, but I didn’t come across them in my research so I don’t know.

París translates to “Paris” (the city) but as far as I can tell it’s just what I would call hopscotch.

Landamæraparís translates to “borders paris” or “borders hopscotch”. I didn’t know of another name for it so I just called it “borders”.

Höfðingjaleikur - höfðingja translates to “chief, chieftan or leader of a group of people”. Leikur = game.

Nafnagáta - nafna = “names”, gáta = “riddle”

Fallin spýta translates to something like ‘fallen stick’ or ‘fallen board’ (I haven’t quite got the hang of Icelandic grammar) but as far as I tell it’s pretty much what i would call hide-and-seek.

The last paragraph of the chapter mentions two games that ‘most people know’ but doesn’t give description of instruction for. Yfir = ‘Over’ seems to be a game that involves two teams throwing and catching a ball over the roof of a house. Brennibolta (brennó) translates to “burning ball” but as far as I can tell it’s what I would call Dodgeball.

Also, I just want to point out that the little poem about Lazy Geir was a proper rhyming couplet in the Icelandic, but I am not talented enough as a writer to try to carry the rhyme over into my translation.

Oh, and one more thing. The illustrations in here are from the scanned book pages, clumsily cropped and edited by me. The illustrator is Halldór Baldursson . I have no photo editing skills but I thought I should put them in here because the text specifically mentioned ‘see picture’. (edit: I decided to go back and put all the pictures in anyway)

#lazytown #áfram latibær!#sorry about all the notes at the end #i feel like this chapter is a bit of a mess but i tried #stay tuned for the next chapter

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