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lady-wildflower · 2 years

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So, I just came across a post about Welsh place names and how they’re disrespected by English people and/or English-speaking people, and I didn’t wanna muss it up with my own thing but it reminded me of something.

Disclaimer! I am not Welsh! I am supposing based on my own comparisons as someone from a country which also has a somewhat marginalized language that got supplanted by English (Aotearoa/New Zealand). I’d actually love for Welsh Tumblr to chip in and let me know if I’m right or not!

So, to put a long story short, I was hanging in a Twitch chat with a streamer I’m friends with, I think we might be mutuals on here - if so, hi! Don’t worry, I’m not all bitter or anything, this just reminded me. And we got to talking about folkloric creatures, particularly faerie myths from Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. There are a bunch of cool ones! But of course, names from Scottish, Welsh, and Irish folklore don’t always translate well into English-speakers’ parsing of spelling, because much like the Scottish, Welsh, and Irish themselves, their languages did not fare well when the English arrived. So occasionally I gave my fellows in chat and my streamer friend an explanation of how they were pronounced, and the one in particular this reminded me of was the name of the Hounds of Annun.

Or, in Welsh, Cŵn Annwn.

The �� in Cŵn is pronounced not unlike the oo in English “soon,” and the w in Annwn is pronounced not unlike the u in English “put,” as I recall off the top of my head.

Now, my streamer friend, because she is not Welsh and may not have known that there are no soft Cs in Welsh, pronounced that as Sŵn Annwn. Which isn’t correct - it is Cŵn, not Sŵn, which in fact means “noise.” We weren’t talking about some kind of noise associated with Annwn (the Underworld, roughly), we were talking about the Cŵn Annwn, the Hounds - Cŵn is literally just Welsh for “dogs.” So I let her know in the chat that it’s a hard C.

The attentive of you may notice that Cŵn sounds not unlike a certain American racial slur deriving from the word “raccoon.”

So a fellow chat member, whom I shall not call out or name or shame or whatever because actually they were well-meaning though off the mark in my opinion, that it was better to say Sŵn, because all three of us in this interaction are white and Cŵn sounds like a racial slur against black people.

Except, and this is where I get into personal opinion which could do with an actual Welsh person to either back up or correct me, Cŵn just isn’t that racial slur. It is a word. It is the Welsh word for “dogs,” the singular of which is ci*. And to claim that it should not be spoken by ninety-six percent of Welsh people because they are white is in my opinion a well-meaning attempt to not be offensive which actually wraps around like an integer overflow into being more offensive. Because the word Cŵn has zero relation to the American-originating racial slur “coon.” It is to suggest that the Welsh people should stop speaking their own language correctly because some people speaking another language (which is particularly offensive when that language is ENGLISH, which has already taken enough shits all over Welsh historically) on another continent stole a piece of a third language (Powhatan) to identify an animal and then rebracketed part of that stolen word to be a racial slur, and that slur happened to sound like a completely unrelated word in Welsh.

It is like suggesting that the name Whakatane should never be used correctly because “fuck” is a swear word in English (context for non-kiwis, wh in latinized Māori is kinda an f sound). It is not a swear word in Māori - it is the name of a town in the Bay of Plenty whose name commemorates an incident which happened after the arrival of one of the Polynesian voyaging canoes which arrived there, the Mataatua, specifically it’s part of what the chieftainess Wairaka said on that occasion. It is like suggesting that the entire Spanish-speaking world should stop using their word for the colour black because that word is used as a racial slur by others. Cŵn is not a racial slur in Welsh. It is the word for dogs. To suggest that white people shouldn’t say Cŵn is to argue that 96% of Welsh people shouldn’t describe their own pets correctly if they have a dog, or indeed, shouldn’t describe their own folklore correctly in the case of the Cŵn Annwn. And for a nation with the saying cenedl hab iaith, cenedl heb galon, “a nation without a language is a nation without a heart,” I reckon that suggestion would be rather offensive. You shouldn’t mangle Welsh because of something the English-speaking do wrong.

tl;dr In my opinion when you deliberately speak another language incorrectly in an attempt to not say a word that sounds like a slur in your own, you’re well-meaning but you’re looping around to being more offensive to the language you’re supposed to be speaking. Welsh folks please feel free to chip in and either whack me over the head for presuming or back me up.

* Or gi, chi, or nghi.

#racial slur tw #linguistics #Welsh #Cymraeg #Welsh Language

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lgbtq-history-museum-cfl-intern · 8 months

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Am I What I Am?

How often do you feel “Imposter Syndrome”?

Imposter Syndrome is that feeling like you’re somehow not qualified for what you’re doing.

That even though you’ve been invited into a space, you somehow don’t belong there.

Like you’ve tricked everyone into thinking that you’re, say, a public historian, and now they’re just letting you design an entire exhibit!

Okay, so by now you can probably tell this is personal (lol).

My last post definitely gave away some of this brewing self-doubt, but I remained positive. However, I had one day where it all overwhelmed me at once.

That happens as students with everything going on PLUS school. As a student living with disabilities, I carry the extra load of the maintenance work that comes with chronic health conditions, and this was just one of those weeks when I had to balance my academic responsibilities with a wad of follow-up appointments and testing!

So, it all just felt like too much for a day and the imposter syndrome sunk in as I was preparing for the meeting with the Board. It was so bad that I questioned whether I even wanted to keep pursuing public history anymore! The field I have been actively building relationships and experience in for over 2 years now!

I know I’m not the only one who has been there, though. If you’re doing things right, you’re frequently entering spaces where you question your place until it becomes familiar.

Well, you can imagine my relief when I met the rest of the board, and they were incredibly warm and inviting. And to top it off, they were all very excited about what I brought to the table! They gave great feedback and suggestions giving me direction as I transition into the writing and design process.

The pressure I have felt this semester to impress is all my own because everyone around me has only been happy with my work and encouraging about my ideas.

After reflecting, I found that as an Interdisciplinary Studies major, I find it intimidating speaking to fellow students or professors who’ve specialized in History for years (or literally any of the disciplines I’ve covered in my degree program like sociology and anthropology, or humanities and Latin American Studies.)

And so there I was, in a room with incredibly smart and experienced individuals, most of whom I’d never met, about to present my research and exhibit idea for the first time. You hear the word “Board” and titles like “Doctor” and as a student, you can feel so inexperienced in just the worst ways.

However, something to remember in moments like these is that sometimes we build others up in our heads as figures to look up to. And yes, they may be accomplished and admirable people; And yes, we should respect them, but they are just people.

I think if we try to reframe these “figures” in our lives - humanize them, remembering that although they are professionally your superior, they’re normal people too – we can overcome some of that imposter syndrome.

They were in your shoes once, just starting their career and perhaps with less ground under their feet.

They can be just as endeared by your accomplishments as you are by theirs.

So, the next time you’re nervous about meeting with that potential mentor whose positive reputation and track record overwhelm you with excitement and anxiety, remember: They also misplace their files; their emails also get stuck in their outbox/drafts; They also fumble with their materials; They also forget that one very important thing they needed today.

So, claim your place and remember you are where you’re meant to be!

Thanks for following along 😊

#internship blog #history student #history intern blog #public history intern blog #public history internship #internship #museum internship #student internship #Student blog #college student #college life #university life #undergraduate

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omgstupendousbouquetbasement · 2 years

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Can Reforming Social Media Save American Democracy?

When social media exploded in the mid-2000s, retweeting, sharing and liking posts appeared to give average citizens the power to share their opinions far and wide. The problem, according to social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, is that online social networks didn’t really end up giving everyone the voice that many thought it would. “It empowered four groups who take advantage of the viral dynamics of social media. That is the far right, the far left, trolls and Russian intelligence,” says Haidt, a professor at New York University's Stern School of Business. “So, these four groups have had a great time since 2009, using the new viral dynamics of Twitter, Facebook and other platforms. At the same time, the middle 80% of the country feels intimidated and attacked and discouraged and disgusted. And so, they speak up less.” Successful democracies are generally bound together by strong institutions, shared stories, and wide social networks with “high levels of trust,” but social media weakens all three, according to Haidt. “You go from having a merely polarized democracy, which we had in the early 2010s, to one in which the norms change to be all-out war everywhere, all the time,” he says. “You can't have a deliberative democracy when there is no room for deliberation. And you can't have a liberal democracy when the illiberal left and the illiberal right dominate their respective factions.” Samuel Abrams, a professor of politics and social sciences at Sarah Lawrence College in New York and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, agrees that social media has been bad for democracy. “This stuff has been as dangerous as can be. It's been incredibly bad for the country, and incredibly bad for free speech and dissemination of ideas and real discourse and democratic norms and civility. It's been a disaster,” says Abrams. “It's absolutely contributing to our polarization because you're not getting multiple views. You're not getting viewpoint diversity. It's very hard to hear the other side.” Making change If he had to venture a guess, Haidt envisions a future America that looks a lot like a Latin American democracy — that is, “an unstable democracy built with flawed institutions that command little popular respect.” “I think we'll have many more constitutional crises, declining trust and increases in political violence and political ineffectiveness,” he says, “unless we make these major changes.” The changes he’d like to see include replacing traditional partisan primaries, which tend to reward politicians who cater to the extremists in their party, with single contests that are open to all candidates regardless of political affiliation. The top four finishers advance to the general election. It’s already happening in Alaska, where residents voted in November 2020 to adopt open primaries and ranked elections. The second step is to make social media less toxic to democracy, he says, by requiring identity verification. People could still post anonymously or with a fake name, but they’d have to show that they are a real person in a particular country. “Right now, anyone in the world, including Russia, could just create hundreds of thousands of accounts every day, and many of them will not be taken down and they can do what they want. That's insane,” Haidt says. “It's insane that we allow our public square to be so full of fake people with bad motives.” Twitter says it is working to combat fake accounts and misinformation. Last month, CEO Parag Agrawal posted that the social media platform suspends a half-million spam accounts daily and locks millions of suspected fake accounts each week. He said Twitter constantly updates its systems and rules to remove as much spam as possible and that fake accounts make up less than 5% of its users. Meanwhile, the company’s head of safety and integrity announced Twitter’s new crisis misinformation policy aimed at elevating credible information, and slowing the spread of misleading content, during crises. Facebook removed 1.6 billion fake accounts in the first three months of 2022, according to the quarterly transparency report the company released in May. The social media company has said its goal is to remove as many fake accounts as it can, prioritizing accounts that seek to cause harm through spam or financial motivations. In its quarterly report, Facebook said it continues to refine its oversight processes. New generation In the meantime, Abrams has some hope for the future. Fifteen years ago, he used to see a lot of political polarization among his students in classroom discussions, he says, but noticed that started to fade away a few years ago. “They don't like these competing narratives. They recognize they're there. They recognize they're dangerous or are unhappy with them. Data shows this is true on the left and the right,” Abrams says, referring to members of Generation Z — people born between 1997 and 2012, the oldest of whom are 25 in 2022. “They're also the least politically partisan of any cohort we have right now in the nation. They're overwhelmingly centrist. They're overwhelmingly pragmatic, and they are not as interested in identity politics. So what they're trying to do is find common ground … I think this group has come of age and woken up during [the Donald] Trump [era] and they're like, ‘This is crazy.’ They don't like it.” Haidt holds a different view of Gen Z, characterizing them as “depressed, anxious and fragile.” Either way, he says that as long as the system remains the same, it doesn’t matter if young people are increasingly interested in building consensus. “As long as a small number of people can intimidate the majority, as long as a small number of people can intimidate the moderates on their side, things will not moderate, even if the average person gets more moderate,” Haidt says. “As long as social media is the way it is, our country is going to fail.” from Blogger https://ift.tt/Bv8Rfj6 via IFTTT

#IFTTT #Blogger

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nancylou444 · 3 years

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I tried to be nice

Replies to this post:

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Became this:

THEM: hi! thanks for the answers I really appreciate the discussion. normally if someone ships something I don’t like or something like that, I’ll just leave them alone but.. just to be clear I completely respect all of your opinions, even agree with some of them, even if we might disagree on the incest and Castiel haha. So I don’t mean any disrespect with this at all, please let me know if I’m out of line though!

But... I saw some things you said, and they come across to me in a way that I don’t think you intended? I feel really awkward sending this haha, you’re very nice and I don’t think you said anything on purpose, but I just.. wanted to let you know that some of the things regarding your opinion on certain characters come across not very well? I don’t think it’s intentional or anything, and I don’t mean to call you out at all which is why I didn’t want to point it out in the replies y’know?

Don’t get me wrong though, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with not liking castiel or destiel. I’ve been watching the show for a while with my dad, and he isn’t a huge fan either, I don’t think that’s a problem :)

I’d continue without waiting for a response but I don’t want to say something you’ve already been told, or continue without knowing if I’ve said something out of line already 😅

ME: I'm kind of distracted dealing with my Mom's rehab center. But you can keep going.

THEM: Alright! I’ve tried rephrasing this a million times but I don’t know how to make it seem not antagonistic. I promise I don’t mean that you’re doing it intentionally, it’s just, uh a lot of your criticism of spn feels like it could be read as homophobic? Again I don’t think YOU are I just wanted you to know it kind of reads that way!

That sounded so confrontational. I really don’t mean it that way 😭

ME: HOMOPHOBIC? Really? A lot of the 'proof' your fellow shippers use border on stereotypes but you think I'M homophobic? Considering my top two ships are Wincest and Malec. Yeah, sounds confrontational.

THEM: I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I guess there’s no other way to say it, but I understand why you feel accused. What do you mean by proof..?

Also I don’t really think having gay ships means you can’t be homophobic. *I* used to be homophobic years ago, and I’m a gay person!

ME: How old are you? https://nancylou444.tumblr.com/post/154098904136/a-guide-to-dean-winchesters-imaginary-bisexuality

THEM: yeah this is starting to get frustrating. I’m gonna be real with you, why does it matter if people think dean is bisexual? like, bottom line, that is my question for you

and your answer will determine if your veracity is homophobic. why does it matter that some people think dean is bisexual. not the fans or actors or writers or anything. why does it matter that some viewers will watch, and they will think dean is bisexual?

ME: My problem isn't that some people think he is bi IN FANON, my problem is that they want CONFIRMATION OF A FANON SHIP. And that some people DENY how the show ended. These same people think that fake weddings are more canon than the FINAL EPISODE.

THEM: I get what you mean, but how is it a fanon ship when it’s confirmed romantic from one side, and interpretable as mutually reciprocated in Latin America? (I’m going to disregard the bit about the wedding, because I’m a firm believer in Neil Gaiman variety death of the author. Also that’s just people having fun with fanon, who cares?)

ME: Confirmed romantic?By whom MISHA, who wanted to sell necklaces? Have you never said 'i love you' to a FRIEND or FAMILY member? The dub is not canon, so don't even try using that as proof. Death of the author is just another way of saying MY VIEW OF THE SHOW IS SUPERIOR TO HOW THE CREATOR WANTS TO SEE IT. Jensen has said many times that the ship isn't canon and that Dean is straight. But it's better to believe what Misha says because he agrees with you. You think somebody is bi because of how they sit or the color clothes they wear? That would make YOU homophobe.

THEM: LOL You know what? I change my answer. I looked through your blog and you ACTIVELY and viscously hate Cas, Charlie, Claire, Kaia and the implication that Jack may not be straight. You’ve said Cas coming out as gay and in love with dean makes the rest of his actions predatory, compared him to a teenage girl, called him creepy, and openly rejoiced in your idea that dean looked ‘disgusted with him’. You said that Claire is awful, that Kaia is a wooden plank, that they ‘shoved them together’ for ‘woke points’ and said that Jody saying Claire was IN LOVE WITH Kaia ‘doesnt count’ and called it ‘lip service’. And it doesn’t end there! After all this, you said that you preferred the old better s4 Claire. Is it because she was ostensibly straight? Are you uncomfortable with queer women? And then you have the audacity to use these characters (Claire and Kaia and Charlie) as reasons to epicly own the Hellers and claim they already have represention. You are a completely disingenuous bitch and I don’t care to be nice to you anymore! I don’t feel AT ALL charitable toward you anymore, and I don’t care if you have gay ships. Gay people aren’t here for you to fetishize! You CONSTANTLY mock and ridicule jokes made by queer people regarding deans bisexuality or Cas being gay or any number of things. You constantly reaffirm that Dean is straight and call people who think otherwise delusional and disgusting, while you think dean is in romantic sexual love with his male sibling. You are openly hostile to the idea of non-binary jack and were pissed that Alcal endorsed that. You devalue Jack’s value and relationship to Cas who is, textually, his father figure. I have NO reason not to think that you are homophobic. I don’t care anymore! You’re a huge bitch and, judging by your prior responses and posts, a genuine dialogue regarding queerness in spn is impossible. You regard any instance of canonically queer moments ‘lip service’ and so regard it. You actively hate every canonically gay character and degrade them using traditionally homophobic tropes and stereotypes.

Feel free to explain how you aren’t homophobic. I’m so sorry if I got the wrong impression.

ME: Wow I see your true colors have come out HELLER.

THEM: Idc if you think I’m mean. Go ahead and make a post about me lol, have fun with it. Give me a moment to respond to your paragraph it’s... a lot to dissect.

I’ll touch on your comments about the dub and the Spanish language in a moment. First though

I ’m gonna be real with you, I don’t think you know what death of the author is. Neil Gaiman’s variety of the dead author principal is that once canon ends, the story belongs to those that consume and engage with it. That’s... also literally the theme of supernaturals final season. Anyway I really recommend you read up on death of the author and Neil Gaiman’s takes on fanon. It’s a fun way to consume your media, and in the end that’s what I’m here for.

I don’t care what Misha says, and I don’t care what Jensen says! I think they are both queer because I have eyes and watched the show. I think it’s a lovely narrative that is supported by canon, and it’s fine if you disagree with that

On your last sentence there... lol. It’s a common joke in queer circles that gays can’t sit properly, specifically bisexuals. Same thing with the clothing, it’s a SUPER common joke for example that lesbians wear flannel. Maybe you need to go outside and talk to some normal, non-incest shipping queer people. But what do I know!

And finally... ‘the Spanish dub isnt canon’

I am literally cuban. My first language is SPANISH. my entire household speaks Spanish, and my family past 1st cousins don’t speak any English. My Boricua cousins have watched supernatural in full for years, and they watch it in Spanish. Do you think America is the center of the universe? Do you think our media is somehow less than yours, that our interpretations of English language media isn’t valid? What, do you think we are idiots who don’t know how to analyze literature and media? Do you think the people who work at Telemundo, people employed as dubbers and translators, you think they do a worse job than the American crew?

Why, because they aren’t American or don’t speak English? ‘Te amo’ said to a non family member is, in 99% of any instance, ROMANTIC. it’s something you say to your spouse in serious situations like weddings!! Even MARRIED people don’t normally say te amo, everyone uses te quiero unless it is very serious or romantic in context.

All of my family who are Spanish language, they heard dean say ‘y a yo ti, cas’ and think that they were in romantic love. Sorry dude! The United States might be the center of your universe, but Latin America is HUGE. Spanish is one of the most spoken languages in the WORLD. In fact, more people speak Spanish than English. Sorry that you seem to hate gay characters SO MUCH you have to say an entire language somehow isn’t valid to consume media in!

ME:

Obviously this heller is batshit crazy.

Some of those things she thinks I said just show she has no idea how to follow a tumblr thread.

You are a completely disingenuous bitch and I don’t care to be nice to you anymore! I don’t feel AT ALL charitable toward you anymore, and I don’t care if you have gay ships. Gay people aren’t here for you to fetishize! You CONSTANTLY mock and ridicule jokes made by queer people regarding deans bisexuality or Cas being gay or any number of things. You constantly reaffirm that Dean is straight and call people who think otherwise delusional and disgusting, while you think dean is in romantic sexual love with his male sibling.

Wow.

I have NO reason not to think that you are homophobic. I don’t care anymore! You’re a huge bitch and, judging by your prior responses and posts, a genuine dialogue regarding queerness in spn is impossible. You regard any instance of canonically queer moments ‘lip service’ and so regard it. You actively hate every canonically gay character and degrade them using traditionally homophobic tropes and stereotypes.

Where have I hated canon gay characters and degraded them using tropes and stereotypes? The bitch has me confused with HER FELLOW SHIPPERS.

Gotta love how she is defending the Spanish dub. Hit a nerve did I?

It’s a common joke in queer circles that gays can’t sit properly, specifically bisexuals. Same thing with the clothing, it’s a SUPER common joke for example that lesbians wear flannel. Maybe you need to go outside and talk to some normal, non-incest shipping queer people.

Now who is using stereotypes?

#destiehellers #batshit crazy #your headcanon doesn't mean shit dean is straight #dub doesn't make it canon

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cheri-translates · 4 years

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[CN] Kiro’s R&S - Youthhood (Eng Translation)

🍒This R&S (少年时代) was part of the Dream Heart Lake event which will unlikely come to EN🍒

Cancelled Kiro’s R&S:

> top experimental subject (by another user)

> stunning young idol

> youthhood ♡

> heaven’s home for children (by another user)

[ Chapter 1]

Kiro sits on the highest flight of steps of TKTS. With the scorching sun directly overhead, he’s queuing to purchase discounted tickets to “Wicked” with Pei En.

TKTS, which sells discounted tickets, is located in the bustling Times Square in New York, USA. Behind it is the NASDAQ screen, and on both sides are shops selling Disney products and all sorts of fast fashion brands. The buildings in front and in the surroundings have gigantic, neat and pretty advertisements.

Among them, a gigantic “The Avengers” poster above the subway is the most attention grabbing.

This is a representation of the era. It’s a symbol of the 20th century, and is also similar to the cyberpunk world of “Blade Runner”.

“I’ve got the tickets!”

Pei En waves the two tickets to “Wicked” in his hand. Pei En is the guitarist in his band. Kiro’s agency formed a band for him, and most of the band members are French locals. Only Pei En is of mixed blood like Kiro - a child from a Jew and an Asian.

“If the performance had gone smoothly, we would have reached earlier!”

They have a final performance in New York as part of their tour, and would have to leave after, rushing to Los Angeles, California.

“This time, I’m going to hide the donuts in an even more secret location so the person who inspects the tickets wouldn’t discover them!”

While Kiro says this, he finishes the donut in his hand.

Donuts from Dunkin’ Donuts are very sticky. Only Kiro can treat such things as delicacies.

His ringtone sounds. With a glance at the number on the screen, he hangs up immediately. Pei En is very curious to know who the caller is. He has expressed curiosity regarding everything involving Kiro, and Kiro knows why.

“Is it that fellow Lawrence again?” Pei En asks. Lawrence is the agent of their band.

“Nope, but it’s definitely a harassment call.”

“It should be.”

Pei En seems to be a carbon copy of Kiro. Aside from his hair not being golden coloured, he is extremely similar to Kiro in terms of bubbliness and openness, and how simple-minded he is.

[ Chapter 2 ]

After purchasing the tickets, both of them return to the agency. Lawrence is at the side, looking through the program booklet for their performance tonight. Lawrence is overwhelmingly ambitious. He won’t give up until he bags a Grammy Award for the band.

“Did you know? Another group of strange people came to look for you again.”

The moment Lawrence sees Kiro, he pulls the latter to a corner. Pei En curiously watches on.

“What kind of people did you provoke? They look like they shouldn’t be trifled with.”

Kiro shakes his head. “What do you mean by ‘they’? Fans?”

When Lawrence sees the innocent and harmless expression on Kiro’s face again, he knows that his questions wouldn’t get him anywhere. Kiro always manages to find ways to conceal himself.

“How’s the preparation for the concert? You’re the lead singer, and all the girls are flocking here for you!”

“I’ll definitely perform even better than usual!”

Kiro looks to be full of zest and in high spirits. He genuinely loves being on stage, and loves how he radiates brilliance. Who doesn’t like seeing fans go into a frenzy over them and be captivated by them? It enables Kiro to fully feel that he is still living on this earth. And that on this earth, there are still so many people who like him...

“I’m guessing you went to buy a souvenir again today.”

Lawrence comes to such a conclusion after glancing at Kiro’s bag. Kiro has a hobby - to buy some souvenirs wherever he goes, whenever convenient.

From Paris to Munich, Zurich to Stockholm, Vancouver to Montreal - wherever he goes on tour, he would buy local fridge magnets and postcards, and he would always buy two sets.

He wants to collect these things, so if a day comes when he can meet her again, he would show them to her, and say:

“Look! This world is so beautiful, and you no longer have to be afraid.”

But till now, he has yet to find her. He remembers her eyes. One day, he will find her in a vast sea of people.

“Did you know that the agency from China has sent someone to negotiate with us? They want you to sign on with them, and the amount they’re giving you is basically--”

Lawrence’s tone is exaggerated. “How are people in China so wealthy!”

“What if I said that I wanted to go to China?”

“Hey, buddy, the band can’t do without you.”

“Haha, Pei En is much more outstanding than I am.”

At this point, Pei En is still watching them. Kiro understands him too well. He’s much too curious. Also, he’s only curious about Kiro, which could very quickly expose Kiro’s hidden identity.

Did that group of people actually send Pei En to monitor him...

He kind of underestimates Pei En though.

“But that fellow is always so absent-minded. God knows what he’s thinking about.”

[ Chapter Three ]

Americans enjoy overstating things. At one moment, they go “only God knows...”, and at another moment, they go “for the sake of God...”. Some people can’t stand it, but Kiro finds it very interesting.

Very quickly, Kiro begins rehearsing with the band. His style of singing changes a lot. When they were in Europe, they mostly played rock music. When they reached America, they started playing country or jazz music.

Kiro likes the southern accent of the keyboardist from California. But Lawrence prohibits it. “The southern accent is the most crude and coarse form of English! Why can’t you learn the way the British speak?”

Lawrence has always favoured people who can speak eloquent British English - to him, only such people are refined and elegant. But Kiro grew up in France. When he first started learning English, he tended to pronounce “ch” as “sh”. Actually, French is genuinely elegant and pleasant to listen to. And English tinged with a slight French accent can make one absorbed in it.

The concert ended smoothly.

The fans are cheering in a frenzy outside, wanting them to perform one more song. But the agent has already told them to leave.

Pei En and Kiro take a car and rush to the theatre to watch “Wicked”. This is the final Broadway show they want to watch, and it was a shame that Kiro didn't get to watch the well-known Hamilton.

At the entrance, that group of fellows stopped him again.

The person standing at the forefront is a Caucasian woman. She walks up to Kiro elegantly and greets him, signalling for the person next to her to bring Pei En away.

“I’ve already given you a response through e-mail, and I hope you won’t disturb me again.”

The Caucasian woman proceeds as usual, showing him an FBI ID.

Kiro grumbles in his heart.

“I swear I won’t disclose the contents of ‘The Avengers’. Even though I’ve already watched it on my laptop, I’ll definitely watch it again in the cinema!”

The Caucasian woman laughs.

“Mr Kiro, you’re very humorous. Even though we know that apart from Disney, you’ve also hacked into Universal Studios and Paramount Pictures, we’re not here to talk about this.”

She continues: “KEY - that’s you, isn’t it?”

[ Chapter 4 ]

Kiro doesn’t respond, his eyes widening as he glances around.

“In order to track down your IP address, we had to destroy four computers.”

“Are you looking for me to make compensation for the computers?”

“Mr Kiro. Ten years ago, you expended no effort to hack into our computers, and left behind a string of mysterious characters.”

The Caucasian woman smiles at him amiably. Kiro’s expression grows serious. Ten years ago, that KEY who hacked into their organisation wasn’t him...

“Ten years later, you’re back again. I think you're trying to provoke us.”

“I don’t have such an intention.”

“Whether or not you do, we can’t let you continue this way. Mr Kiro, this is a serious issue. We are now sending you a sincere invitation, and we hope to work together to do more noble things.”

Kiro is silent. He had previously found a clue leading to his own master. Finding out that he had entered the American FBI website and left behind a series of symbols - he thinks this is message to him from his master. As such, he entered it as well, and found that series of symbols, but until now hasn’t been able to decipher it.

It’s a series of very strange symbols, reminiscent of a new language formed using Latin and Roman symbols. He managed to decipher it a little, and it appears that the series of symbols seem to be pointing him to a location.

And the FBI had found him quickly, sending him an e-mail. It was a solemn reminder that if he was unwilling to be enlisted by them, he would lose his rights to use a computer forever.

“You’ve stated these things clearly in the e-mail, and I’ve already replied.”

“I don't think you have considered the severity of this matter. Mr Kiro, we can detain you.”

"In that case, I’ll just sing in jail then!”

Seeing the displeased look on the Caucasian woman’s face, Kiro continues smiling simple-mindedly.

“I hope you wouldn’t regret this in the future.” The Caucasian woman leaves a final statement that is often found in a script for a classic villain. She leaves with the large group of people.

Pei En walks over frantically, and Kiro walks towards him as well.

“Tell them that I’ve met with some trouble, and will need to leave America immediately.”

Pei En pretends to be puzzled.

“You understand the meaning in my words, don’t you?”

For the first time, Kiro looks at him seriously. During serious moments, he doesn’t smile.

“Where do you plan to go? We can send you to Russia.”

Pei En is no longer smiling. His expression changes, along with his entire aura.

As expected, Pei En is much too similar to him. If Kiro were to leave the band, Pei En could take over his position as the lead singer, and that group of people had considered this fact too.

[ Chapter 5 ]

The face of the little girl surfaces in Kiro’s mind again.

The girl is lying with him, and is all smiles as she looks at him.

“Don’t be afraid. When I’m out, I’ll buy you donuts, okay?”

The girl draws the shape of a donut in the air.

Back then, Kiro didn’t speak. He just stared at the ceiling in a dazed state.

“Don’t worry that I won’t have enough money. My dad will give it to me.”

Kiro remains wordless, quietly listening to the little girl speak.

The little girl struggles to pull on his hand.

Their fingers lace together, the warmth from her palm gradually coursing into Kiro’s heart.

“Don’t be afraid. I’ll protect you.”

Kiro turns to look at her - to look at her determined brown eyes, to look at how the corners of her lips angle upwards. Kiro slowly learns how to curl the corners of his lips from her. It’s the first smile to appear on his face.

Suddenly, the door is flung open. A group of people wearing doctor’s coats enter and drag him away. The little girl watches him in a daze, and he stares back at her. They agreed to go out to have donuts - can they still eat them?

“I want to return to China.”

Pei En shakes his head, alarm in his eyes. “Why? There’s so much freedom here, and I’m the only one who monitors you. And I’m inclined to trust you more now. You won’t betray us.”

“No... I still want to go back.”

Not just for the little girl. The symbols left behind by his master seem to point to a certain location in China... Where exactly is it? And why did he leave the symbols with the FBI? Could it be the place he’s hiding at right now?

No matter what, he wants to solve this riddle.

“All right. I’ll handle it for you as soon as I can. I think you’d have to use a false identity this time.”

“As long as everything goes smoothly, it’s fine.”

“Don’t worry, there’s nothing they can’t do.”

He wants to wait till he returns to China before telling Lawrence about what happened. Lawrence will definitely be extremely frantic. After all, he’s been following Kiro ever since he debuted in France.

And Pei En will definitely be happy. He can finally take over Kiro and become the favourite member of the group, and obtain love from the fans.

Kiro is someone who doesn’t lack love. But he always subconsciously wishes that he could obtain even more love. More and more...

[ Chapter 6 ]

Before Kiro retuned, Pei En gave him materials pertaining to the agency in China.

“Your agent is called Savin. He doesn’t seem as eager for instant success and quick profits as Lawrence. Mr Savin is a very amiable person, and you should be very happy interacting with him.”

“Is he one of your people?”

“I don’t know.”

“You really don’t know?”

Pei En shakes his head. “I rank too low, so I don’t have the right to ask. I’m just an elementary spy.”

Kiro nods, taking his luggage and preparing to leave. He’ll set things straight eventually.

“Kiro, I don’t think you’re transparent. They say that what’s in your heart is easy to guess, which is why they put me by your side. But I think they have underestimated you.”

Kiro looks at Pei En’s troubled eyes, then showcases his signature sunny smile.

“How can that be? Do you want a postcard? When I get to China, I’ll mail you one. I also want to mail them to Lawrence and the members from the band. Treat it as an apology.”

Like Kiro, Pei En showcases a sunny smile. “In that case, we’ll wait for your news. You’ll definitely be at the height of popularity in China.”

“Let’s work hard together.”

“Yes!”

After parting with Pei En, who has been with together with him from morning to night for so long, Kiro lifts his luggage and embarks on an unknown journey.

As what Pei En said, he isn’t transparent. His brilliant smile conceals something underneath, just as the brilliant sun shrouds darkness underneath.

Hidden in the depths of his secrets are things even darkness doesn’t know of. If darkness had a mind of its own, it might think it doesn’t fit with this pure and simple youth.

Just as how everyone think he’s a simple, innocent Kiro, the sunlight casted on him can pierce through him completely, the rays of light refracting onto the floor.

Actually, since a very long time ago, he was no longer a youth...

But, for her sake, he's willing to become a youth again.

“Don’t be afraid, I’ll protect you.”

He once again recalls what the girl said to him.

“This time, I’ll be the one protecting you.” Kiro says excitedly. He stands outside the JFK Airport, his eyes staring directly at the sun.

“I’ll find you, and protect you. I even have a mountain of souvenirs stored in my luggage. I’ll give them all to you. And my purest heart - I’ll give it to you too!”

Other cancelled R&S: here

#mlqc #mlqc cn #mlqc kiro #cncancelled #my emotions went on a field trip while translating this

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faemoira-firebeard · 2 years

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Fae's Friday session 3

This week (12/10) we had Aiko, Sol, Vi and Silver Magpie among us at the table. -it's ok! Life happens.- and, I've learning to prepare but not actually prep... we start this way... after that, I have... NO. idea. cuz dice gods and players have free will.

Reminders to self... start next session with the 4 jail-birds having a bit of a deeper descriptor and rp moment... TAKE better NOTES FAE! *make them roll initiative to see who gets searched/stripped of armor&ekips ... put in the drunk tank. this each happens separately but they all go into the same cell. *make an inventory list of things you are taking away, just like cops do.

How it ended..... *but-but-but-self-defense?!- no buts. there are no buts here, this is Nez'Queek. perhaps you should listen to the annoying gnome at the customs portal when entering a new town. There are dangers here in Artezia and that could even mean local customs or laws.

I do not apologize for the horribly drawn map of this portion of midnight. the black sail tavern is in the lower left near dock storage, the frosty stein is in the top right. approx 5k feet to travel between the taverns.

So wait, 4 players... 4... jailbirds... wha-ha-happened-was.

The session before (when Silver Magpie couldn't make it) she spent her day looking for the missing cat that the Black Sail tavern owner had mentioned -perception check pass- you found the cat sleeping behind the tavern under the dumpsters. Story wise, Barny and Alexandrous left before the mist because Alexandrous is a lizardfolk and may have provoked attacks by the Naga.

The party gathered together in the Black Sail tavern as planned the night before. The bartender dropped off a package and letter from Barny, he "and Alexandrous (the lizard born monk) were called away earlier and will meet up with the party in Nez'Queek, this -package- will help with the fish do not hurt the fish. good luck."

After reading the note and figuring out that the package was a crank-like music box -cue creepy music box music- to help them walk through the "fish mist" without being hurt by the tiny glass guppies (1d12 if hits -Doctor who inspired, if the fish get hurt the naga will attack the one(s) that hurt the fish, these particular naga -Glass Naga- believe the fish are fellow souls of Glass Naga that haven't been brought back to life yet). They did SOOOOO good working together and it made my dm heart happy! then, they split the party, which, was fine cuz i got this *reminder guys, don't go off the path* (rolling a few survival checks on the person holding the box- passed each!- the ranger walked ahead at the edge of the music radius-you can see the top of a Pyramid, possibly Latin American or South American pyramid in the ruins but non-Naga cannot get to it, this is where the Nagas enter the city with XX perception?? sol rolled a nat 20+perception kid has special dice i swear!)

When they SUCCESSFULLY!!! reached the market Sol went ahead and heard that the market stalls and buildings were playing their own little music box like instruments. (some being played by capuchin monkeys, one was actually the Kenku merchant running a wagon, some ran by arcane? means ..fey... everywhere..).

Curiosity kills the cat dragon we know..... Sol went up by the fountain where they met Vi the day before, picked a flower (passed my check so doesn't matter)... thought about exploring.... -does an 11 hit you?- gentle reminder about fish mist and lack of music here .... Party makes it through the market stalls another gentle reminder "does an 8 hit you" -what? why? no?... im gonna go back to the party- and that is how my party split for 4 rounds and realized "this is a bad idea" told you, I GOT THIS! Sol found the rest of the party at the edge of the market.

Only three more rounds to the Frosty Stein Tavern, you've got this guys! (my dc survival check for the music box holder from here was a 12 btw +3 cuz i had a reason but amnesia and now i can't remember.......?? i think cuz i felt the dc shouldhave gotten harder cuz prolonged use?) Sol goes to the edge of the radius & checks for naga -high teens- everywhere over by the Frosty Stein... "it's fine we have the music box".....pass. -phew ok....- 11... -you hear a spring shift...- "uh guys....." (Sol is at the door and opens it for the rest of the party) roll me that last survival check...(increasing the dc +1more cuz failed previous) I believe it was an 8, they made it to the tavern door, burst through, Sol closed it before the fishes has a chance to react and swarm the party... the music box just kind of boiiiiinggggg springs, cogs, everywhere "-oops! I-i didn't mean to-" "it's ok, good thing Barny's an Artificer, make sure you get all the pieces"... The party checks with the portal master and is quickly transported through time and space to the (smaller) city of Nez'Queek..... DM point... if the Ranger had not been ranger'ing, moving ahead of the party slightly, holding the door for them and closing it as they came into the tavern... the party would have been swarmed by glass fishes on this final check, at level 3, 1d12 could be potentially deadly when being swarmed. Then... if they had attacked back they would have been swarmed by Naga.

Right, so Nez'Queek. The party is greeted by a gnome ready to brief them on the current local threats-sno-men- and the customs of Nez'Queek. Sol and Aiko departed to go finish their missions they got in Midnight. Vi, listened to most of it, then went to look for a park and found a nice area near the fountain. Silver also listened to most of it.

Vi- psychotic? tabaxi-rabbit barbarian- There was an old halfling gentleman telling a story about the frost witch that made the sno-men come to life! Vi, being from the north knew the low-down and how to handle what happened next... Picking up the snowman she created and walking over to the group of children... they turned, and promptly began screaming. The tiny snowman in this tabaxi-rabbit's hands came to life and we rolled initiative. Vi attempted to crush the sno-man 3 rounds with this sno-man and she succeeded all 3 saving throws. this is where better notes come in handy Fae....!!! She then looked around closer and saw a young child wasn't actually a child but a woman named "Lilly" -could she be my mission?- upon talking to gentlemen she found that this was in fact the delivery she had to make to the orc fort -Fort Kuflag-. Using her crazy speed she took the creature (and the seed amulet that came out of the box) to the Ancient Oak tree... setting Lilly down gently she watched as a door appeared, Lilly thanked her and walked into the tree. As the door closed behind her the tree glowed and a minute later a woman beautiful walked out of the bark of the tree. DRYAD She turns and looks at Vi, reaches out her arm and a stick appears. Vi takes it, it's a very minimalist wand, so basic that it's beautiful. -I'll let you know what that does later- i made a table with 4 fun options, after rolling a d4, Vi now has a wand of conducting that plays music so long as she's waving it. Vi returns to Nez'Queek and decides to try to find the party, heading towards the Straynj Carnival knowing that at least the brothers would probably be there.

Silver- a Tabaxi cleric -blue russian cat- spent her day in Nez'Queek exploring, looking for shinnies, bobbles or any fun trinkets on the ground. -i need to give her a list of things she found suggestions welcome- she got the Ping from the Veiled Hunt. They have given her a mission, she will need at least 3 other people to help escort a mining delivery from Frankenhollow, payment upon delivery, will supply 1 health potion/person. she went to find the brothers. Upon leaving the city and .heading towards the Straynj Carnival she found a rather large snow-dragon and chuckled to herself, she gathered that Sol and Aiko had come through here recently and followed their very distinct foot prints through the snow -I guess I assume that dragonborn have weird feet and leave odd footprints- straight to the Straynj Carnival, of course they are here. She discovered the brothers in the tent just inside the entrance of the Carnival enjoying a comedy show. -ok, so they want to enjoy some down time, lets do that soon, point out the theatre, Hanz Crispin Sanderson and other activities at the Straynj Carnival.

Sol- a short crystal-gem dragon born ranger- had to make a delivery for the book shop owner to the Straynj Carnival. They stayed on the path -good job sol!- talking with their Flumf-balloon who didn't like the Forest of Thee Strange. -why? prolly cuz there are wild flumfs in these woods that aren't as friendly- Upon making it to the Straynj Carnival and finding the Orc waiting outside Sol made his delivery before walking off the Orc gave them some gold for helping them and the bookshop owner out. Sol messages their brother psionically and asked "do you wanna build a snowman?"

Aiko- a short topaz-gem dragon born sorcerer- tried to find Radagast but upon asking the DM Aiko realized his mission is in FrankenHollow not Nez'Queek. He then decided to wander around trying to find his brother quickly receiving a message about building a snowman. They meet up just outside of town and begin constructing a snow-dragon, in hopes that the memory snow will bring it to life! -it doesn't cuz the memory snow only brings sno-men to life, but they manage to build a really cool snow dragon, huzzah!!!! oh but I am, in fact making notes, this is memory snow- The pair then decide to go see if they can catch a show at the Straynj Carnival, yes, comedy! 2 of 4 back together woot

Silver finds the brothers, the laughter of 2 dragonborn is kind of hard to miss. She questions them about the snow-dragon and tries to explain why the memory snow wont bring it life but the brothers -in pure Sol and Aiko fashion- don't listen. I love that my players are getting into this!!! ok cool, 3 of 4 back together- They continue watching the show. When it ends the trio begin heading back to town.

Vi found their way back during the comedy show. While heading towards the Straynj Carnival notices the big snow-dragon. Not wanting the memory snow to get any ideas they promptly begin demolishing the dragon, it was great, TAKE BETTER NOTES FAE!!! Sol, Aiko and Silver find them after they finish "slaying the dragon" and Vi joins them while they head back to the Frosty Stein.

Cool. my party is back together for the evening, what kind of shenanigans are they going to get into?! oh god... ok... here goes. It all happened fairly quickly and as I've mentioned I need to get better at notes... SO.

Sol and Silver are discussing racism, memory snow and snow-men while walking in front of Aiko and Vi, paying them no mind or attention.

Vi and Aiko begin having an argument, Vi hops on Aiko and "knocks them out" with a pretty solid hit so I allowed it -also barbarian vs sorcerer, she then used her rope and tied them up dragging Aiko behind her. yup, nothing to see here, at all. just a rabbit dragging a dragonborn through town I'm sure the memory snow is learning nothing from this unconscious dragonborn that just built a snow-dragon nothing bad will ever come of this.

The party walks into the Frosty Stein, Vi still dragging Aiko. -rolls a perception for the bartender... passes... bar tender sends for the guards- Sol realizes what has happened to their brother and starts questioning Vi, Silver is totally on their side and trying to calm Sol down and get to the bottom of this. MEANWHILE.... Aiko wakes up and breaks their bonds with a 17 strength check... and releases their breath weapon upon Vi -reflex throws from Vi, Silver and Sol -better notes fae!!!!- the guards make it to the Frosty Stein as the breath weapon releases. Originally I was only going to have Vi and Aiko arrested but the party were all involved when the guards walked in.

So, lol.

That is how the entire party got arrested and thrown in jail. I look forward to a pretty interesting RP moment when we open on Friday, time for the party to get to know each other, ya'll got time, welcome to the drunk tank, oh you're not drunk? the guards don't care -muhahahahahahaa-. I also hope that Alexandrous, Barny and the player(s) I have yet to introduce to the party/the-interwebz are able to join us soon!

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twdmusicboxmystery · 3 years

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Chess Theory 2.0

This theory comes from a discussion me and my fellow theorists had after this ask was posted:

I really love the idea of the black and white representing the battle between the CRM and the Commonwealth. We can’t know for sure if it does, but given everything leading up to this point in the story, it definitely could. My fellow theorists and I had extensive discussions about this, with @wdway especially contributing a lot of thoughts and research.

@wdway:

Starting with the ask, I love it so much and believe they could be quite right that the black could represent the CRM and the white the Commonwealth, and they could be at odds with one another and our group. TF will be caught in the middle.

Since I feel strongly that Beth could be tied to Eugene's group’s storyline, that would make her white. Rick we know is with the CRM, which makes him black. If both Beth and Rick are fighting independently within these two groups and that would make them neither black nor white but gray. This is the part that I've said for quite a while: that gray represents a middle ground, it's neither black nor white.

Beth and Rick in Coda. I chose this shot because they almost look like one unit. Both in gray from behind so that Beth's yellow shirt is not a distraction to the gray that ties these two characters together.

I also love the fact that the red machete could easily belong to either one in this shot. And with a thought that colors have different meanings for different scenes, I believe in this particular case, the gray represents that the scene is not as black-and-white, as clear cut as it seems, that there are things going on here that the viewers are not aware of. It has shades of grey for these two characters.

Also, it could tell us why Daryl wore one white leg tie and one black leg tie. They represent the two people that he loves and will lose, believing they are both dead. He will search for them both and not be able to find either one.

Twdmusicboxmystery: Breaking into @wdway’s thoughts here just to have a wowza moment. Can you see how they’ve set this up from the start? Can you see how it lines up? Okay, back to @wdway:

@wdway:

I simply could not go back to the hall scene in Coda without watching Daryl carry Beth out. This time I noticed something that I had never noticed before. @Frangipanilove, this one is especially up your alley. Look at the walkway right behind Daryl. On the left side, there is two parallel lines =. On the other right side is a directional symbol <. How have we not noticed this before?

I then wanted to look at the Commonwealth soldiers, so I went to the episode 16, when Eugene's group is surrounded and again I noticed something that I didn't before.

PM 110 and RX 04. I'll start with RX, we have always attached the "X" to Beth, it can also stand for the number 10, and it has multiple meanings. When paired with an R (which could possibly stand for Rick) RX is a medical or drug symbol used for a Latin word, "recipe" meaning "to take." Yes I Googled it. I'm not sure about the PM but 101 is the series number for s8e11, Dead or Alive Or.

@twdmusicboxmystery: Breaking in again to point out that Dead or Alive Or was one of the episode titles mentioned during the Cast Trivia Battle I posted about a few days ago. Just saying.

@wdway:

It's the episode that is so very full of Beth symbols that it's not even funny. There also Tara and Dwight's conflict and Daryl trying to take the children/people of AZ to Hilltop.

I do want to note in the photograph above if you look at the desk you see droplets of black paint against the white top. Like I said, every symbol that we can imagine for Beth is pretty much in that episode.

@frangipanilove:

Love this! It actually does get my mind spinning. I had to google the meaning of PM and the literal meaning is the Latin “post meridiem”, which of course translates to “after noon”. We have all these Dawn references and midnight references and clocks etc on TWD, so an “after noon” reference doesn’t seem entirely out of place. I’ve been obsessed with ep 8x11 for a multitude of reasons. A bunch of Sirius references, the green Jaguar car, the Sirius piggy bank, FGs blindness, animal traps.

Mostly I’m obsessed about it because the original Noah’s t-shirt theory pointed to 8x2, when we saw the blue heron painting, but I later realized that the “2” could also point to 8x11. The radio shack is a huge Sirius symbol in and of itself, and it even ties into ep 10x11 “morning star” (Venus/Sirius reference). I’ve never noticed the = symbol and the < symbol behind Daryl. It’s incredible that we can still discover new things in episodes we’ve watched a thousand and one times already.

@twdmusicboxmystery:

One thing I keep circling back to is the Governor because the white, king chess piece was so obviously a symbol for him. And I do think they used that specifically for his arc, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a foreshadow of another, bigger, future arc. And there was SO much Beth symbolism around him, especially in 4x06. And his chess piece was white, not black.

@wdway:

I've already gone back and started searching some things and have some ideas that will connect Beth with white and Rick with black symbolically that I'm excited about. I've already solved the problem of the white chess piece connected to the governor and I think you will love my findings.

I was thinking about the gray and Beth’s sweater and Rick's shirt in Coda, when suddenly I remembered that it was not Beth's first sweater. Her first sweater we saw in Still and it was white.

Now, this sweater has been talked about a lot through the years. White typically stands for purity, both in body and in mind and I think you can we can use both for Beth in this example.

When Beth stands next to the Rich Bitch walker, I think it's a matter of purity of the heart. The Rich Bitch, although outwardly she's in white. she was not a person with a pure heart. What color a person wears on the outside doesn't necessarily reflect in color of their soul. Not all white is good not all black is bad.

Shortly after Beth put on the white sweater, she is covered in blood and she removes it. You would still call it a white sweater, but it has stains that cannot be removed. Her soul will always be white, but she will have strains that cannot be removed. The next time we see her in a sweater it will be a light gray, more white than black. It represents coming to grips in the world that she is in now and will be in the future.

The challenge is, if Beth represents white, what does that mean about the Governor’s white chess piece? We know the Gov was not pure of heart, so how could he be white?

When the Governor originally found the chess board and was teaching Megan the game, he is black. It was Megan that draws that eye patch on the white king because outwardly he seemed to be pure of heart, but he was not. It was an illusion. He was a black king chess piece. So, what about the fact that Rick is black, does that make him a villain? Does he have an evil heart? I believe that Rick has always struggled with his dark demons. It's in the fact that he desires to be noble and good, even though he can do bad things, his desire is pure, to have a white heart.

The next couple of shots was just confirmation that Beth will appear as white and Rick as black. Her shoes from Slabtown.

One shoelace is white, the other is black. When I went back to look at the shoelaces, for the first time I realized that her shoes are gray. Love that.

This, I'm sure you will recognize as being from Coda, just before the exchange of prisoners.

I'm always harping about the fact that diamond shape represents Beth, a square represents Rick. You can turn the square on its side, and it becomes a diamond. If you go back and look at the chessboard, it's a huge indication that I'm correct. If you look at the board from one angle it is blocks of squares if you look at it slightly from the side, it's diamonds.

So here, Beth is in the hallway and she will end up standing in the middle of the white diamond on top of the black square. Beth and Rick could have similar but different stories. They’re both in rebel groups, fighting for the same type of cause but in different locations. I think if that's the case, especially with Beth, we could see her appearing to be on the inside, a villain type, but in reality, more of a double agent.

They showed us in Slabtown how she could manipulate and play the game that she had to in order to survive and get what she needed.

This picture is from Dead Weight, from the cabin that the Gov searched. There are a lot of Native American symbols in that cabin and this one stood to me. It is a dreamcatcher.

This next picture is of the room in WHWGO, I'll remind you that on the corner post of the bed is a small dreamcatcher.

I think this links the two episodes together. It's hard to imagine that they would put so much symbolism and foreshadowing all in one episode, so they spread it out over several episodes and seasons. In this bottom shot, we have a black helmet sitting on top of some type of communication equipment, a telescope for gazing at the stars, a poster about science fiction with a rocket on it, a small toy helicopter on the side table. And of course we have the Dreamcatcher which imo is pointing to the next stage of clues. The other things that tie this episode and the Gov's episodes together.

Hard to get any bigger tie than the Governor himself, surrounded with military and water symbols.

Maybe there is another symbol that could tie this to the past and future storylines.

A shot of the Gov and Beth together in this room. Even though he is not in this shot, Rick later, at the end of episode, comes into this room. Rick, Beth, and the Gov at some point are surrounded in this room with a helicopter, rockets, airplanes, and a ton of water symbols.

What did I hear you ask? But there are no chess objects? That might be true in a material way, but I believe the conversation between Ty and the Gov was definitely a chess play, a game of strategy, moving back and forth, a power-play of sorts.

So that's all I have for you right now.

@twdmusicboxmystery:

Love all this! When I was putting together my Divine Comedy Theory, I was thinking about AOW (because that’s when we saw the “Abandon all hope…” sign) and that maybe AOW was a type of the CW vs CRM war. Most of the major conflicts probably have been. The fall of the prison. AOW. Certainly TF vs the Whisperers. Maybe even Terminus. This idea is just making me re-think everything. I’m sure if we went back and rewatched, we’d see more clues than ever.

@wdway:

There was one thing that I meant to mention from Live Bait. In the nursing home, we see the woman in the yellow wheelchair. She is wearing a white gown with black trim. She had marks on her feet to make her a Christ symbol figure and we've always connected her with Beth because of the yellow chair.

Now I'm thinking she could represent white/Commonwealth and black/CRM. Because now we not only have Beth as a Christ figure symbol, but we have Rick also. Something that we did not have before the last couple of seasons. It seems easier to connect Beth to the color white. We have been doing that for years and thinking she could be at the Commonwealth and could be a part of Eugene's storyline fits with what could be coming.

Rick is harder when looking to past seasons and connecting him to the color black, but we know for certain that he was taken by the helicopter people and been told by tptb that he is with the CRM. From all that we've seen, their military color is black.

@twdmusicboxmystery:

Just want to point out that in 8x12, The Key, there’s definitely a black theme going on. Rick crashes a black car,

everything in the basement he and Negan go into is black, Negan is wearing a black coat,

(I don’t think Rick’s shirt is black, but it’s dark enough to look black here:)

and even the sign, “Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here” is written in black.

We’ve always knew this was foreshadow of Rick’s disappearance in the helicopter group and it does suggest a black theme.

The other thing I noticed is that in the pic of Beth’s shoelaces, it’s specifically the WHITE lace/shoe was spattered with blood, just like her white sweater in Still.

So, those two symbols are probably synonymous. I don’t have much to add for how to interpret that beyond what we’ve already said, but it’s interesting. But I guess this is the other thing I was thinking about the Gov’s S4 episodes. And there’s no way to know this for sure. But because we saw Native American stuff in the cabin he stayed in, and also around the Wolves, and both of those are heavily paralleled to Beth, I guess I’m wondering if the Native American stuff will somehow be fulfilled in this CW/CRM war stuff.

@wdway:

I love that you mentioned the blood spatter on Beth's white sweater and the shoe with the white laces. I made note of it and meant to mention it and forgot. Another thing that came to my mind in looking at the Native American stuff in the cabin is it reminded me of Ezekiel in past seasons wearing feathers in his hair. He is now with Eugene and company being held by the Commonwealth and needing medical attention.

I know it may just be wishful thinking but when we first saw the Kingdom it screamed Beth. At Grady, we saw Beth in a medical setting, learning from Dr. Edwards being his assistant which in the dead world is the new form of medical school. Fast forward, if she is with the Commonwealth it would be more than likely in some kind of medical position with the possibility of Beth and Ezekiel meeting. And gives a purpose to the painting of Beth at Hilltop to be recognized by Ezekiel. There's the question of did Eugene see Beth at Grady or was he still unconscious, if so then there again the painting.

@twdmusicboxmystery:

I love the Zeke/feather tie. Side note: I have ALL kinds of head canons of Beth and Ezekiel meeting and swapping stories about Daryl and Carol.

@wdway:

Yes! Can't help but think that Ezekiel, Carol's husband and the love of her life and Daryl's love Beth could possibly meet in the Commonwealth. That this could lead to them all coming together and then torn apart. My headcanon is that something will happen, probably to do with his cancer and Ezekiel will be sent out west and Beth will go with him. I can imagine their first meeting, Elijah keeps looking at Beth asking, do I know you, you look so familiar. And they start talking about the fact that Beth is from Georgia and it all comes together. Please don't let the writers pass up this great opportunity, especially when it seems that they've been setting this up the whole time.

@twdmusicboxmystery:

Yeah for sure! Love that! I’ve always thought about maybe him mentioning that his wife is named Carol. And maybe she doesn’t even think it’s the one she knows bc more than one person can be named Carol, right? But through conversation or more details, just as your head canon above, they realize this is the Carol she knows. Scenes like these would be so much fun!

@frangipanilove:

You guys discussed the blood on Beth’s white cardigan and on the shoe with white laces. It’s actually something I’ve thought about before, though I still don’t know what the most precise interpretation of it should be. But I’ve mentioned that I believe shoe/leg/foot references allude to the trunk of a car (because boot is Australian and British for trunk). Also, I believe that TPTB sometimes use the human trunk to allude to the trunk of a car (the upper body walkers coming out of the back of a car in WHAWGO, the library guy hanging from a bridge that had an x painted on his upper body, Beth’s blue hospital scrubs, Noah’s t-shirt and loads more).

Well, we see Beth get blood spatter on her upper body in Still, and we see the shoe with the white laces get a similar type of blood spatter in Slabtown. These could be trunk references.

How should we interpret it then? I don’t have anything groundbreaking on that. Just that it appears to be further evidence of an injured Beth somehow ending up in the trunk/back of a car. So basically, not anything I didn’t already believe in, but it certainly fits the symbolism language.

That’s pretty much what I have to add to the chess theory for now. As you can see, our conversations can meander and include things like headcanons. (I’d love to tell you we’re all symbolism business all the time, but that’s just not true. ;D). Anyway, hope this gets you all excited for what’s to come. It’s only a theory for now, but as you can see, there’s some pretty compelling evidence. I’ve said for a long time that the show is pointing toward some HUGE conflict in the future, and since Rick disappeared, I’ve known it would be the helicopter people. But until Nonny sent in that ask, I’d never considered that maybe the black and white theme might be pointing to it, too. Awesome!

#beth greene #beth greene lives #beth is alive #beth is coming #td theory #td theories #team delusional #team defiance #beth is almost here #bethyl

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swanlake1998 · 3 years

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Article: The Radiant Sarah-Gabrielle Ryan: Why She's One to Watch at Pacific Northwest Ballet

Date: March 1, 2021

By: Marcie Sillman

Hollywood could make a movie about Sarah-Gabrielle Ryan's big break at Pacific Northwest Ballet.

It was November 2017, and the company was performing Crystal Pite's film-noir–inspired Plot Point, set to music by Bernard Hermann from Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. Ryan, then a first-year corps member, originally was understudying the role of another dancer. But when principal Noelani Pantastico was injured in a car accident, Ryan was tapped to take over her role.

Ryan had danced featured roles before, including Maria in Jerome Robbins' West Side Story Suite. But she had just one day to learn Pite's choreography. It was a daunting task, but she was determined not to squander her shot. After a session in the studio with Pantastico, Ryan went home and rehearsed for hours in her living room. "I learned the hell out of that role," she laughs.

Her hard work paid off. When she hurtled onto the stage, draped in a gray trench coat, she stared at the body sprawled on the floor, turned to the audience, her dark eyes opened wide in shock, and let out a horrified scream. The audience was rapt.

"The expectation was that we'd throw her onstage and she'd be tentative," says Pacific Northwest Ballet artistic director Peter Boal. "But she gave a really strong performance."

Ryan's success in Plot Point led to a string of featured roles at PNB, from the Sugarplum Fairy in George Balanchine's The Nutcracker to work by David Dawson and Donald Byrd. But Ryan is no overnight sensation; her success is the result of years of training, discipline and a passion for her art form. That passion also buoyed her during an on-going struggle with body-image issues, and her decision to establish her career a continent away from her close-knit Philadelphia family.

Early Successes—and Struggles

Ryan, now 23, has been dancing since she was 3 years old, when her parents enrolled her in tap, jazz and ballet classes at a local dance studio. At age 5, her teacher recommended she pursue more rigorous ballet training at Philadelphia's acclaimed Rock School for Dance Education.

Ryan flew up the levels there, and by the age of 12, she'd advanced to the top, the youngest student in her classes. Although she held her own with high-school–aged peers, Ryan knew she was different. "Everyone was older," she says. "You were expected to look a certain way, but I was still going through puberty!"

That didn't stop Pennsylvania Ballet, which then did not have an affiliated school, from casting Ryan in its annual Nutcracker. Ryan was 10 when she danced her first role, a toy soldier. Miami City Ballet School director Arantxa Ochoa was a principal dancer with Pennsylvania Ballet at the time, but she noticed the young dancer.

"I just remember her beautiful eyes and big smile," Ochoa recalls.

Five years later, when Ryan enrolled in Pennsylvania Ballet's newly revived school, Ochoa was her teacher. "She was that ideal student," says Ochoa. "Hard worker. Very smart, very talented. To me, she had that thing, that 'It' factor."

Ochoa wasn't the only one to notice her potential. Ryan continued to win roles in Pennsylvania Ballet productions, including Balanchine's "Diamonds," videotaped for PBS. At 16, she was offered a contract with Pennsylvania Ballet's second company. From the outside, it looked like the culmination of Ryan's dream.

The reality was less idyllic. Ryan had struggled with body-image issues since her early years at the Rock School; she was particularly self-conscious about the size and shape of her thighs. She remembers one Rock School teacher asking if her Mexican-born mother made good flan. When Ryan replied in the affirmative, he told her she looked like she was enjoying too much of it. Another teacher at the school suggested she go on a liquid diet to drop some weight.

Ryan recalls other "advice," such as being told not to go out into the sun, so that her skin wouldn't get too dark. Although she took that particular comment in stride, it compounded her self-consciousness about her appearance. It also strengthened her resolve to work harder in the studio.

At PBII, Ryan was determined to show she had what it takes to succeed as a professional ballerina. But while artistic director Angel Corella told the young dancer that he liked her dancing, she says he advised her to slim down or risk fewer onstage opportunities. She valued his feedback, and her long relationship with Pennsylvania Ballet, but Ryan knew it was time to look for opportunities outside her hometown. She focused her attention on Seattle.

A New Home

Ryan had attended Pacific Northwest Ballet's summer intensive the summer after joining PBII. She was among 30 young women enrolled in Peter Boal's class that summer—all excellent dancers, he says—but Ryan stood out.

"She had this kind of go-for-broke presence," Boal says. "A gutsiness." He made a mental note. A year later, when Ryan contacted him about an audition, Boal invited her to attend class when the company toured to New York City. At the end of that class, Boal offered Ryan a contract; she joined PNB as an apprentice in the fall of 2016.

"I loved PNB's rep, I loved the idea of working for Peter," Ryan says. Although she was scared about moving across the country, she calls it "good scared."

Ryan credits Boal with helping to free her from her self-image issues, but that didn't happen overnight. During her apprentice year, Ryan attended class in "trash bag pants," concerned that if Boal saw her thighs he'd decide not to cast her. She braced herself for the all-too familiar weight talk.

It never came.

But Boal noticed Ryan's tension, how she seemed intent on proving herself every time he was teaching class or watching rehearsal. He took her aside and explained that he'd hired her for a reason—he liked her dancing—and advised Ryan simply to dance for her own love of it. By the end of her apprentice year, new contract in hand, Ryan felt she'd found a true ballet home.

Ryan also credits her new-found comfort to the camaraderie she feels at PNB. She gravitated to a small group of Latinx dancers, who reminded her of her close-knit Philadelphia family. Ryan's mother is Mexican; her father grew up in Belize. The family identifies as Latin American, speaks Spanish at home and celebrates especially their Mexican heritage. Ryan was particularly touched when one colleague, a Seattle-area native, brought her samples of Mexican dishes her own mother had prepared. Small gestures like this helped ease the young dancer's homesickness.

Ryan had another reason to embrace her new city: Not long after she joined PNB, she caught the eye of a fellow dancer, principal Kyle Davis. They've been partners onstage and off for the past three years. "She's fantastic to work with," Davis says. "She's intelligent, open to discussing how steps work and how we can better work together. I personally think that's a phenomenal quality in a partner."

Finding Her Voice

During this long pandemic year, Davis and Ryan have had ample opportunity to explore their partnership. They share a Seattle apartment with two miniature Australian shepherds, Hawk and Magpie, who make frequent cameos during the online classes the couple both take and teach.

PNB's 2020-21 season is all-digital, and when the dancers returned to the studio last August, only those who co-habitated could partner one another. In the company's opening program, Ryan and Davis reprised the pas de deux from Balanchine's "Rubies." While dancing for cameras instead of live audiences hasn't been ideal, Ryan says she's learned how to use her face to convey emotions in a more intimate way, instead of playing to the second balcony.

Beyond the pandemic, the past year also ushered in frank national conversations about race and racism, which freed Ryan to speak more openly about her Latin heritage. "It gave me a voice I didn't always have before," Ryan says. "I always knew I was different, especially in ballet, but didn't often talk about it."

Last fall she encouraged PNB to acknowledge Hispanic Heritage Month. But she also wants to see ballet open its ranks to more dancers of color, and to see them advance to the upper echelons of companies like PNB.

Perhaps she'll be one of those dancers; at 23, she still has a long career ahead of her. Although she dreams of dancing the iconic classical roles—Giselle, Juliet and Kitri—Ryan also looks forward to the contemporary ballets that are a PNB mainstay.

Boal believes she can do whatever she sets her mind to. "Some dancers, there is no ceiling to their capability," Boal says. "Sarah-Gabrielle Ryan is one of them."

#sarah-gabrielle ryan #ballet #ballerina #pointe magazine #article

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its-thatching · 4 years

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Poor love in an Earthly Inferno: An Analysis of Maynila, sa Kuko ng Liwanag

Maynila, sa kuko ng liwanag is a film about a man trying to search for his lost love in the big city of manila while going through tough times and experiencing the pains of being poor in the city.

The film shows how bad life was in the 70’s when Marcos was still on the throne ruling with an iron first over the people. The economic and political climate of that era was thoroughly reflected as the audience followed the arduous lives of Julio and the people who were close to him. During the 70s, there was a period of severe unrest in the Philippines, full of civilian protests and demonstrations against the tyrannical rule of Marcos. A lot of protesters were injured by the military as well. Explicitly, the film depicts Julio’s desire to follow and save the love of his life from the unrelenting underbelly of Manila, a place that was commonly patterned after “the American dream” but, as we soon learn, was not as forgiving to dreamers as it was being depicted. Only after his arrival did he realize that city lifestyle requires so much for so little in return. His change from a hopeful, young swain who wanted to get his love back so they could finally live together in peace, to a man who eventually became a victim of his unfortunate demise as an impoverished being, living only for survival and losing so many people along the way. Implicitly, it shows the exploitation of the poor as they are desperate to survive and earn money for them and their family. With each day barely earning enough to eat.

The film is reflective of the society where we can be victims of circumstances that are out of our control and that from birth, our destinies are somehow set in stone--- if you were born poor, you will grow up poor. The system is rigged and doesn’t allow for growth, especially for the poor. For example, the construction site Julio used to work at participated in an organization wide scam where the construction workers were forced to buy their own earnings for a ten percent commission (called taiwan). Benny, one of Julio’s colleagues who had a dream to become a singer, died in a careless accident at work and was just swept under the rug without any consequences for the management. Atong, one of Julio’s friends in the construction site who offered him meals and lodging with his own family, got wrongly accused of stealing something in the workplace and met his demise under the hands of his fellow inmates. Perla, who was Atong’s sister, was forced to leave the place and sell her body for money. The film also shows that compassion is something the bourgeoisie lacks once they get into that place in society. Imo, Julio’s old friend from the site, escaped poverty by getting a business job.Once they saw each other again, it became clear that he forgot his past by being condescending toward the waitress in the canteen and telling the story of Atong’s demise and Perla’s story in such a nonchalant way. His ascent to the borgeous showed that while he escaped the life of an oppressed citizen, he just moved on as a complicit citizen to the oppressor. Another indication of this lesson in the film was when Pol was breaking the news of Ligaya’s unjust death to Julio in the canteen, the rich and the middle-class people’s laughs can be heard as the background. It was meant to show how people, once they escape the hands of poverty, may unconsciously turn a blind eye already to those who need help the most.

The location, which is along the streets of Binondo, plays a significant role in the film that seems straightforward on the surface, but is actually filled with symbolisms and allusions to the political and economic climate during the 70s. Ongpin is a historical street that got its namesake from a wealthy man who funded the Katipunan during the Spanish era. Meanwhile, Misericordia is a street that means pity in Latin. From the start, we see Julio standing idly on the intersection of the two aforementioned streets. This could possibly symbolize that he is on the intersection of pity and insurrection. Pity is a feeling of despair and helplessness that stems from the suffering of others. This is an idle feeling. Insurrection requires action. This entails actively fighting to change an oppressive landscape that the oppressed are suffering from. I believe that Julio standing on the crossroads of these two streets shows the struggles of people who are living below the poverty line. Pity can inspire us to embrace the social nature of humans, but it is not enough to help others. Pity can serve as an intrinsic drive to change the state of a place. Now it can be surmised that pity and insurrection can be the two possible paths Julio may follow in order to find and keep Ligaya by his side again. Ligaya, Julio’s first and one true love, left their province to be educated in the Capital of the Philippines. Her sudden departure with Ms. Cruz’ jewelry left Julio yearning for her. Not long after, he followed her to the streets of Manila, where he had no choice but to earn a living through different low-paying jobs like construction work and prostitution. When he finally saw Ligaya in Manila, she was pregnant with her captor’s baby. She briefly worked as a prostitute to make ends meet but eventually met with a Chinese man named Ah-teng who, at first, promised to save her from the life of selling flesh and doing tricks, but who took her in essentially as a captive and a love slave in his house. Julio had a choice on how to approach Ligaya: he could either wallow in self-pity and let the love of his life go, or revolt against the man who held Ligaya as a prisoner in his own house. In the end, Julio made a choice: he chose to avenge his beloved’s tragic although foreseeable fate: by killing the oppressor under the guise of the name Ah-tek, he stopped the cycle of abuse that Ah-teng could give to other women. However, Ah-tek is not the only man who yields this kind of desire for power.

Ligaya’s name itself could be an allegory for the unattainable dream of most Filipinos in this period: Ligaya Paraiso: meaning happiness in paradise. Julio’s devotion to finding Ligaya no matter what hardship comes in his way can embody our desire as Filipinos to try to reach the impossible. Ligaya was desecrated, used, and abused by men who didn’t value her beauty and humanity through paid sex work. She is seen merely as a commodity, something that money can buy. Ah-tek’s insistence to buy her and have her be constantly grateful for him, even treating him as a savior, or she’ll meet her demise, shows the conditions of life under the regime of the Marcoses. The former administration’s insistence of the masses to embrace the new society that they have built to benefit capitalists and those who are already in the top 1% of the country was a scam all along. In the end, the oppressed (Julio)’s resentment against the oppressors (ah-tek) who defiled something precious and reduced her to nothing but a hole to penetrate and throw away once done (Ligaya) ultimately led to a revolution which, sadly, also cost the oppressed’s life. The last scene where the camera panned to and focused on Julio’s face showed the last emotions running through Julio’s mind before his death: terror, most probably, but also anger to the oppressor and to those who are complicit in letting these oppressors take advantage of people like him, and sadness about the way things turned out for him and the people who cares about.

In terms of morality, I found it very amoral due to it never glorifying the struggles that people like julio and his friends experience. We say that normally filippino films glorify struggles to show that we filipinos are resilient beings.this film never used that route because it showed that its hard to become resilient when everything is against you. As for realism i find it more than realistic as it shows the struggles and extortion of the poor in manila during those times. Meanwhile, I say it has been very coherent because of its consistent story line and value it wants to portray towards the audience. Because throughout the movie it shows that it takes money to earn money and if you’re born poor you will struggle trying to go above the poverty line. Additionally, the film is somewhat complex when it comes to its storytelling. The audience are slowly plunged into the point of view of julio. Throughout his journey in trying to search for his missing lover, we get to experience the hardships and struggles that come hand-in-hand with trying to live in the underbelly of Manila, trying to barely live with just the bare minimum to survive each day. With this in mind, we start to fear the worst for Ligaya: if Julio himself is struggling to fend for himself during such a cruel time, what more for Ligaya?

With certain scenes lightly hinting towards prostitution, we start to understand Julio’s anxiety about the state of his missing lover as he desperately searched and waited outside her last known location in the hopes that he would find her safe and alive. During the penultimate scene of the film, we find her safe and alive and in seemingly good condition. This brings relief to the audience and to Julio, who is glad to have finally found her alive. But all that hope is destroyed when Ligaya tells her experiences while traveling to Manila and the news that she already had three children with the people who had enslaved her. This subverts the audience’s expectation: thinking everything was alright and Ligaya was safe and has found her place in the city. Heartbroken but not deterred, Julio convinces Ligaya to run back home with him where they could be safe and start life anew. As Julio waited for Ligaya to escape the hands of Ah-tek, we already knew the worst had happened when she never came. In reality, it is extremely hard to escape a domestic abuser; the average attempts of women who tried to escape their abusers was 7 times. I believe that Julio should’ve been more careful and helped her more by planning her escape thoroughly. As an audience member, we were led to a state of denial because we are used to romance movies with happy endings where the main lead would run off with the female co-star and have a peaceful and well-deserved end. This movie did not follow that convention, but later on in the movie it is confirmed that ligaya has died trying to escape. The demise of his lover prompted Julio to swear vengeance towards Ligaya's captors. In the end, during his darkest state he murdered the man responsible for Ligaya's death and, in turn, murdered himself. I would say that the premise isn’t entirely original because this movie was created in an age of cinema where movies would mostly show or depict the struggle of Filipinos during martial law. It was a time when creativity was limited due to the limited freedom of expression brought about by the Marcos administration. They had to find a medium where they could show and open the minds of Filipinos during that time by depicting the harsh reality around them. Most Filipino films during this period were used as propaganda vehicles against the system. One example of a film that was made in the same era is Insiang, where it also depicted life below the poverty line in Manila and a struggling female character whose dignity was stripped off of her like it meant nothing. However, I believe that Maynila, sa kuko ng liwanag is somewhat original when it comes to the ending. Not many movies would have their main character be brutally killed as the ending scene. The concept isn’t original; it has been done before I’m sure but it’s rarely used.

This story is one of the many windows to the past, it shows the way of thinking of people way back during those times and besides the upgrade in technology and fashion the poor still remain poor while the rich gets richer and everything is still the same as it was back then.

#oldmovies #filipino movie

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flaxlamb46-blog · 4 years

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Is A Follistim treatment Right For You?

Fat Freezing Brighton & Hove

Content

treats All Skin kinds.

What Are The advantages Of The Cryopen therapy?

Pre and Also post therapy guidelines.

Mole, wart & Skin Tag.

Cryolipolysis (fat Freezing) For belly Fat

If you like words/language quizzes see the diversity/words quizzes quizballs 182 and quizballs 184. The portmanteau words entry is an especially fascinating example of among the very many various ways in which language develops. The absolute best part is that a female could accomplish overall vaginal reconstruction in the convenience of her home with no unpleasant check outs to the medical professional as well as preserve thousands of dollars on vaginal canal tightening procedure. The advantage of using organic type of treatment is that it helps in complete revival of the body. Same holds true with vagina tightening up creams which when made use of frequently for a period of 2 to 3 months assist the vagina completely gain its original sizes and shape. It has been also located that girls that used these lotions additionally overcame the issue of negative vaginal odor and dryness in the genital area.

treats All Skin kinds.

This is where you placed a catheter in on your own when you want to urinate and take it out after that.

This is since HIFU can cause the prostate to swell and obstruct the urethra, which is the tube you pee through.

If you're planning to have kids, you might be able to save your sperm before HIFU to make use of in fertility therapy.

If this is necessary to you, ask your doctor or nurse concerning it.

They may also recommend making use of a momentary catheter (self-catheterisation) till the swelling has actually gone.

If you can't pee at all, call your physician or registered nurse quickly or go to your nearby mishap and also emergency (A&E) division.

Some men find that urinary problems improve over time but various other men have longer-term urinary troubles.

This indicates you may not be able to have kids naturally after treatment.

Many adverse effects will certainly settle down after HIFU, yet some males have longer-term adverse effects or problems that establish later on.

Some males locate it tough to clear their bladder appropriately after their catheter is removed-- this is called pee retention.

What Are The perks Of The Cryopen treatment?

A case history is taken and a strategy is produced so that you are totally notified and also knowledgeable about your trip in advance. gone through 13 years of strenuous and substantial clinical training, with a huge focus on patient safety. She is regulated by the GMC and works in General Practice in Berkshire and has a specialist interest in females's health and wellness.

takes the biscuit/takes the bun/takes the huntley/takes the kettle/takes the cake - surpasses all assumptions, victories, or actually, achieves the most awful outcome/result - see additionally 'cinch' as well as 'takes the cake'. Takes the biscuit appears to be the oldest of the variants of these expressions, which essentially connect achievement metaphorically to being awarded a baked confectionery prize. ' Takes the bun' indicates the exact same, and may or might not mention the version 'takes the cake'.

Is Cryoskin FDA approved?

Is Cryoskin 2.0 FDA approved? No. But we are working on it.

I was advised to this area by a good friend who couldnt speak a lot more extremely of Dr Sach and his method. The ability of the physician was EXTREMELY remarkable, I felt I remained in secure hands and also was incredibly loosened up, which I really did not expect. The last expose was truthfully incredible, I was not expecting such impressive results. One thing that really stood out was Dr Sach's passion for what he does - he was practically as thrilled as I was.

The technique of marking the Ace of Spades, most likely since it was the top card in the pack, with the main mark of the relevant tax workplace to reveal that task had been paid came to be typical in the 1700s. brassic (incorrect pronunciation of 'boracic') - damaged, having no cash - from 'boracic lint' see 'brassic' in cockney poetry jargon. publication - bound papers for analysis - etymologists as well as dictionaries recommend this very old word most likely derives from Germanic language describing the beech tree, on whose timber old writings were sculpted, before publications were created. bloke - guy, lad, fellow - various separate origins in Shelta or Romany gypsy, and additionally Hindustani, 'loke', and also Dutch, 'blok'. Possibly also affected by African as well as African-American 'outjie', causing okey, meaning little guy. blighty - england - from foreign solution in colonial India, the Hindu word 'bilayati' suggested 'international' or 'European'.

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Pre and Also post therapy standards.

There are a series of factors that females are taking a look at natural vaginal area tightening up lotions. So, whatever might be the factor these genital firm lotions are handy in tightening up a loosened vaginal location. In current past, vaginal location tightening gels have actually ended up being rather noticeable amongst women that have actually lost their genital suppleness because of aging, childbirth or various other variables. However, there are still a number of females around who have this inquiry in mind that why they must utilize a vaginal canal tightening up gel or cream. In this write-up we are probably to locate service to such concerns in addition to learn if these organic genital canal tightening up lotions absolutely create the outcomes they declare or are they simply another scams. When you have a contraction your womb tightens up and after that loosens up; for some individuals this will feel like extreme duration pains. As work comes along, your contractions have a tendency to end up being a lot longer, stronger as well as much more frequent.

How can I reduce my tummy in 7 days?

Additionally, check out these tips for how to burn belly fat in less than a week. 1. Include hifu Dunstable in your daily routine. 2. Reduce refined carbs. 3. Add fatty fish to your diet. 4. Start the day with a high protein breakfast. 5. Drink enough water. 6. Reduce your salt intake. 7. Consume soluble fiber.

You will certainly experience the contraction and also lifting of your skin cells after one session, as well as the therapy can be duplicated within 6 months or when essential. Consequently, the HIFU treatment will smoother the much deeper muscles, leading to improvement and also renewal of your skin. To start with, when energy is focused on the Superficial Muscle Aponeurotic System layer. The heat will certainly then result in a contraction of the SMAS degree, along with the linking tissues bordering it; causing skin tightening and also creases improvement. HIFU innovation runs at a temperature of about 60 levels, and the treatment works in tightening up the skin laxity in numerous areas of the body, consisting of full face and lift brows. The innovation usually creates a thermal coagulating zone on the Superficial Muscular Aponeurotic System layer to boost the skin laxity as well as fat cell decrease.

Mole, protuberance & Skin Tag.

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Throughout a tightening, the muscles tighten up and also the discomfort increases - actually if you place your hand on your abdomen you will certainly feel it getting harder, and also when the muscular tissues unwind as well as the discomfort fades you'll feel the hardness ease. Try to time the contractions from when you begin to feel the discomfort to when it relieves off, and after that the room in between them. The clinical term for waters damaging is spontaneous rupture of the membranes. The start of labour is called the concealed stage, where your cervix becomes soft and also thin and begins to open for your baby to be born. You should be encouraged to remain at residence during this time around - if you do most likely to the hospital you will likely be sent out home. The fact is, there is no definitive answer to this, it differs a good deal-- often it's a slow-moving build up of tightenings and various other times it's a significant occasion like your waters damaging. " Eyes are the home windows to the heart." Below are simply a few examples of blepharoplasty, or else referred to as eyelid surgical procedure.

Cryolipolysis (fat Freezing) For stomach Fat

apple-pie bed - prank, with bed-sheets folded protecting against the person from getting in - usually presumed to be stemmed from the apple-turnover bread, but most likely from the French 'nappe pliee', indicating 'folded up sheet'. alma mater - university - from the Latin, indicating 'cultivating mom'. all-singing all-dancing - full of features/gimmicks - the term was first used in marketing for the 1929 music film, the very first with sound, Broadway Tune. Gold does not dissolve in nitric acid, whereas much less expensive silver as well as base metals do. Making use of nitric acid also included strongly in alchemy, the old 'scientific research' of transforming base steels right into gold.

HIFU won't work too for individuals with even more serious cases of sagging skin. While the treatment is likewise utilized for general facial rejuvenation, training, tightening up, and also body contouring, these are considered "off-label" utilizes for HIFU, indicating the FDA has yet to license HIFU for these goals. High-intensity focused ultrasound is a reasonably new cosmetic treatment for skin tightening up that some think of a noninvasive and pain-free alternative to facelifts. It uses ultrasound power to encourage the manufacturing of collagen, which causes more powerful skin. Furthermore, the therapy result penetrates the surface area of the skin, unlike in laser and also intense light handbag therapies; as a result, leading to no risks of melt and also marginal inflammation. The technique supplies the required energy to the deep connective muscles and tissues; hence, initiating a regenerative response in the skin. HIFU can be utilized to tighten and also lift forehead skin, mouth, and also neck and also in enhancing a smooth as well as a solid appearance.

Does ice pack burn belly fat?

Simply strapping an ice-pack to a fatty area like the thighs or stomach for just 30 minutes can burn away hard-to-shift calories. The cold compress works by triggering the body into turning flabby white fat into calorie burning 'beige' fat.

By getting rid of just a small amount of excess skin and also fat, Dr Shafran was able to completely rejuvenate and rejuvenate these 2 lovely women's eye look. Without visible scars, they no more need to answer questions concerning appearing tired, or stress over "bags under the eyes."

Le cabin Cryo.

When the cells in the targeted area get to a specific temperature degree, they experience mobile problems. While this may show up disadvantageous, the damages truly stimulates the cells to generate even more collagen-- a healthy protein that provides structure to the skin. HIFU utilizes concentrated ultrasound power to target the layers of skin just below the surface area. There's no one-of-a-kind preparation job needed prior to having a HIFU treatment. You should eliminate all makeup as well as also skin care items from the target area prior to therapy.

Does cryotherapy really work?

Muscle and Joint Pain Relief But the benefits of doing that to your whole body are less established. One 2017 review of studies on athletes in the International Journal of Sports Medicine, for instance, suggests that cryotherapy can be effective in reducing muscle pain, inflammation and cell damage.

In addition to her work as an NHS GP she likewise is a Personal GP in the heart of central London. HIFU isn't advised for people with infections and open skin lesions at the target place, severe or cystic acne, and additionally metal implants in the therapy area. People with photodamaged skin or a high level of loosened up skin might call for numerous therapies prior to seeing outcomes. The increase in collagen leads to tighter, more powerful skinTrusted Resource with less creases. Taking into consideration that the high-frequency ultrasound beam of lights are focused on a certain cells site listed below the skin's surface, there's no damages to the leading layers of the skin and bordering tissue.

Does cryotherapy help with cellulite?

skin tag removal activates collagen production in the skin which repairs broken connections in the skin–thus reducing the appearance of cellulite! In addition to increasing collagen and smoothing out areas of cellulite, cryotherapy reduces fat deposits; fat cells are extremely intolerant of the cold.

Most individuals are able to resume everyday activities promptly after the treatment. A scientific study has demonstrated that clients receiving MiraDry experience approximately 82% decrease in underarm sweat. The treatment's high degree of efficacy and also marginal recovery time make it the best option for minimizing underarm sweat in an entirely non-surgical way. MiraDry is a medical gadget that gets rid of the sweat glands in the underarm area to stop sweating at its source. It functions by distributing regulated electromagnetic power to the underarm's sweat glands, dissolving them. Consequently, underarm sweating is dramatically reduced, all without influencing the surrounding skin and also tissue.

man's and Also St Thomas' private healthcare.

When HIFU treatment stimulates the deeper layers of the skin framework, it invokes a natural regenerative action; hence, producing new collagen. It is an useful strategy in lowering pores, smoothing fine lines, and also in enhancing the skin tone. HIFU is a special non-surgical facelift treatment for skin tightening Aylesburyas it does not create any kind of problems to your skin. The aesthetic therapy is a scientifically proven modern technology, and also it works by boosting the manufacturing of collagen, which is important in lifting the drooping skin or going down jowls. Apex Looks are offering you the most effective Ultherapy skin services to assist you enhance points like drooping jowls and hefty brow. " Unbelievable treatment with a specialist group that recognized the needs of my aging skin. hifu Luton recommended."

' Takes the Huntley and Palmer', or 'takes the Huntley' are a lot more current adaptations,. ' Takes the pot' is a weirdly odd version allegedly favoured by 'working courses' in the very early 1900s. Heaven understands why though, and not even Partridge can recommend any reasoning for that one. By the way, the expression 'takes the biscuit' additionally appears more than once in the dialogue of an unethical personality in one of James Joyce's Dubliners stories, released in 1914. The term is located additionally in ceramic and ceramic glazing for the very same factor. baker's lots - thirteen - in times when bakers incurred a heavy fine for providing short weight they utilized to include an extra loaf to stay clear of the danger.

Facebook is revealing information to aid you better comprehend the purpose of a Web page. Before you commence any treatment at Springwell Clinic you will certainly have an at no cost examination with your practitioner. This gives you the time to discuss all aspects of the treatment program and also its' prices.

Afterwards, over some tea and also a little cake, we had a conversation as well as we viewed the in the past and also after pictures. Additionally, it's fantastic to assume that in the future in the day, only two hours after my therapy, I was being in a meeting and also no one knew. They just kept saying I looked great afterwards in the workplace (what can you claim yet thank you?). You might experience some localised swelling, yet a moderate over-the-counter discomfort medicine can be made use of to minimize any type of pain.

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missdelphinilestrange · 4 years

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1ST RULE — tag some muses you would like to know better.

@crucioslut @tmvoldemort @lokilaufeysonslytherin @thestrongestmagic

2ND RULE — BOLD the statements that are true for your muse.

current muse. Bellatrix Black - Bellatrix Lestrange

fc. For this blog there is no face claim

occupation. Student at Hogwarts, War Lieutenant / Dark Witch, Lieutenant to the Ruler of the Wizardry world, Delphi’s mother

age. 47 years old - Born. 1951 - 1998

Sexuality. Bisexual

APPEARANCE:

i am 5’7 or taller

i wear glasses

i have at least one tattoo - Azkaban tattoo on my neck, and a small rose tattoo on my left shoulder with this saying “i’m as pretty as a rose as long as you can look past the thorns that are my flaws” (not many know about the last tattoo)

i have at least one piercing - both my ears are pierced, along with the top of my left ear

i have blonde hair

i have short hair

my abs are at least somewhat defined - only because I workout a lot

i have or have had braces

PERSONALITY:

i love meeting new people

people tell me that i’m funny - humor is the only way I can really cope with my childhood trauma, so I’m often told I’m funny

helping others with their problems is a big priority for me - usually only with my sisters, or very close family. when Sirius broke out of Azkaban, I gave him a bit of my food that way he would have a bit of energy before going on the run, but I told him to tell no one I helped him

i enjoy physical challenges - it’s something that’s always been enjoyable for me, because going to the gym used to be the only way for me to escape my strict and controlling parents

i enjoy mental challenges - I’ve always been very intelligent above my years, and I set records in Hogwarts for perfect scores in all classes for my OWLs and NEWTs, so even as an adult, it’s fun to get a challenge

i’m playfully rude with people i know well - I’ve always been playfully rude or sarcastic to people I know well, because I can’t do that around my strict parents since they always said “sarcasm isn’t ladylike” or “acting like that won’t get you a husband” and my close friends and family know that I’m unruly and they accept me for that, which is why I act different in public than I do around my close friends and family

i started saying something ironically & now i can’t stop saying it - I always say “just because I kill people doesn’t mean that you can” to my youngest sister whenever she gets mad at someone. Ever since I watched Toy Story 2, whenever someone asks if I’m calling them a liar, I always say “well, if the boot fits” and then they usually punch me

there is something i would change about my personality - I wish I had the ability to stop rolling my eyes at every person I don’t like

ABILITIES:

i can sing well - singing as a child always helped me deal with whatever I was going through, so I started taking singing lessons

i can play an instrument - piano, guitar, flute, and violin

i can do over 30 push–ups without stopping - I often did push-up competitions with my friends and cousins as a child, and from that, I’ve gotten quite strong

i’m a fast runner - I used to run away from my problems as a child: quite literally, because when my parents would scream at me I’d start running away, so I learned to have a lot of stamina from a young age and run really fast

i can draw well - I always liked to draw pictures of my little sisters, and I ended up getting really good at it

i have good memory - I have really good memory, but a terrible attention span

i’m good at doing math in my head

i can hold my breath underwater for over a minute - This is because I used to go underwater while swimming and pull people down by their ankles just to scare the shit out of them because it’s funny. I stopped doing that though when I got kicked in the face

i have beaten at least 2 people in arm wrestling - this is because they’re either weak, or I cheated by kicking their shins which distracted them

i know how to cook at least 3 meals from scratch

i know how to throw a proper punch - I’ve always been very strong, and I learned how to punch by doing boxing with one of my older cousins. many people talked bad about Andromeda after she was removed from the family in the summer before my seventh year at Hogwarts, and since I knew how to punch really well, I ended up sending a lot of kids to the hospital wing that year (probably a few hundred). After Sirius was removed from the family, I got in a lot of fights with my fellow death eaters because they were talking shit about him and it made me mad. Needless to say, people don’t DARE talk bad about anyone in my family anymore.

HOBBIES:

i enjoy playing sports - Quidditch

i’m on a sports team at my school or somewhere else - During Hogwarts, Slytherin Chaser for Quidditch

i’m in an orchestra or choir at my school or somewhere else

i’ve learned a new song in the past week

i work out at least once a week - I started working out as a kid (about 8 years old) because I wanted an excuse to get away from my parents. Then, when I was 10, the reason I worked out was because I was skinny but I didn’t have much muscle. When I was 12, the reason for me working out was because I was insecure about how short and skinny I was, and I wanted to be stronger that way I could beat the shit out of anyone that made fun of me for it.

i go on runs at least once a week - running was the way I got away from my problems as a kid, and I guess it just stuck with me

i have drawn something in the past month - I drew a picture of my little girl, Delphi, playing with the flowers in the garden

i enjoy writing - writing helps me to get rid of all the stress and anxiety that I always try to hide

i do or have done martial arts

EXPERIENCES:

i have had my first kiss - first year, I kissed Rabastan to see if Rodolphus would get jealous. It backfired and Rabastan ended up in the hospital wing. I guess Rodolphus was jealous.

i have had alcohol - when I was in my first year, a seventh year I was friends with sneaked a bottle of whiskey into the dormitory during one of the house parties. I’m just amazed we didn’t get caught

i have scored the winning goal in a sports game - in my second year during quidditch, right before the other team caught the snitch, I scored ten points, and because of that my team still won even thought the other team had the snitch

i have watched an entire season of a tv show in one sitting

i have been to an overnight event - Slumberparty at a friends house

i have been in a taxi

i have been in the hospital or er in the past year - I had to visit someone I beat up that way he wouldn’t press charges. In my defense, before I even hit the guy, he tauntingly said “what are you gonna do, hit me?” so it’s his own fault for being dumb enough to say that

i have beaten a video game in one day

i have been to another country - Germany, France, Italy

i have been to one of my favorite band’s concerts

RELATIONSHIPS:

i am in a relationship - Voldemort and Rodolphus

i have a crush on a celebrity

i have a crush on someone I know

i have been in at least 3 relationships - 100s throughout Hogwarts years

i have never been in a relationship

i have asked someone out or admitted my feelings to them - Admitted feelings for Voldemort

i get crushes easily - especially throughout Hogwarts years

i have had a crush on someone for over a year - Voldemort

i have been in a relationship for over a year - Rodolphus and Voldemort simultaneously

i have had feelings for a friend - many times, especially during Hogwarts years

MY LIFE:

i have at least one person i consider a best friend - Narcissa

i live close to my school - only during Hogwarts years

my parents are still together - for some unknown reason, but yes

i have / had at least one sibling - two: Andromeda and Narcissa

i live in the United States

there is snow right now where I live

i have hung out with a friend in the past month - Narcissa

i have a smartphone

i have at least 15 CDs - Mostly classical music, but a few are American muggle music (but no one knows about the muggle songs, and they never will)

i share my room with someone - only during thunderstorms: sometimes thunderstorms are scary due to childhood trauma, so those nights are usually spent cuddled next to Narcissa for comfort and safety

RANDOM STUFF:

i have break danced

i know a person named Jamie

i have had a teacher with a last name that’s hard to pronounce - as a child, the French piano teacher the Black family hired Jakob Fínêtyeá

i have dyed my hair - multiple times. once because Sirius and Lucius teamed up and put brown hair dye in my shampoo, and followed me around for weeks calling me Andromeda. the second time my hair was dyed was recently when Lucius put purple hair dye in my shampoo and followed me around calling me Nympadora Tonks

i’m listening to one song on repeat right now - “Teenagers” by My Chemical Romance because I’m emo as hell

i have punched someone in the past week - Lucius when he put purple hair dye in my shampoo and followed me around calling me Nympadora Tonks. Narcissa then yelled at me because I broke Lucius’s nose

i know someone that has gone to jail - me, and majority of my family / friends

i have broken a bone - (as an adult, running an errand that required to go to Hogwarts) the reason was because someone was talking behind Sirius’s back saying that he’s a disgrace to the Pureblood name, and I got in a fight with that kid. Sirius saw that both of us were bruised and bloody, but I didn’t tell him why, and I never will

i have eaten a waffle today - yes because I have a terrible sweet tooth

i know what I want to do with my life - as a student: teacher, artist, actress, ministry worker: unspeakable or working with magical objects. as an adult: writer, lieutenant death eater, artist, spell maker, singer, musician (not many people know about any of my jobs other than being a lieutenant death eater)

i know at least 2 languages (fluently) - English, German, French, Italian, Gaelic, Russian, Greek, Latin, Spanish (I come from a very culturally knowledgeable family, and intelligence is very important, henceforth why I know so many languages)

Idea From: @tmvoldemort

#bellatrix black #bellatrix lestrange #bellatrix #harry potter #hp #muse

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emptymanuscript · 4 years

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One way to REname a character with internal story logic

I want to talk a moment about Zephyr.

Not the wind.

My character.

(He wishes he was this tough) Not even really the person but his NAME itself, Zephyr, and how it changed.

One of the things I don’t mention too much just to avoid trouble is how extremely different Knights of Day is now compared to how it was originally. At its early height, Knights of Day peaked at 4 authors. The goal was in no way to publish or publicize any of it. It wasn’t even really meant to be any sort of cohesive story. Or even to consist of cohesive stories rather than “adventures” for fun. I’m not even sure I can tell you WHAT it was. It wasn’t quite a piece of fiction, it wasn’t quite a table top rpg, it wasn’t quite rp’ing. It was just its own behemoth of a thing that included all of those. Compared to 1 book and 1 book in progress now.

Case in point: Fun Adventure #3 was ~

Kinda John Edward but real & real evil

Set up: Most Mediums are terrible people who fake their powers to rip victims off when they’re at their most emotionally vulnerable. Because when you’ve just irrevocably lost one of the most important people in your life you’ll pay anything or do anything for the even the illusion of getting them back.

What if: Imagine someone who can really do everything they say they can do… but they’re still a terrible predator trying to take advantage of people when they’re at their most emotionally vulnerable - they just have more power to make it even worse.

Mission: Save young suddenly widowed mega-rich heiress Helena Lawson from real Medium but still conniving con-man Kenton Dean. Because the greedy, racist, no goo Ted Lawson doesn’t want Kenton Dean to get the money instead of himself. And Ted is willing to pay exorbitantly to make sure it doesn’t. So James and Zeferrello are tasked with finding any reason to separate Helena and Kenton.

Twist: Yeah, Kenton Dean CAN summon and control the dead but it’s so much worse than that. He can summon and control the GOD of the dead. Assuming, of course, that all of this isn’t the god of the dead actually controlling Kenton Dean for its own purposes.

Which Became The Hidden and the Maiden. But instead of a climactic conflict between James, Zephyr, Kenton Dean, and Kherty-Aken decided by force, force of will, and clever use of all magic available inside the seat of Kenton Dean’s power, his theater, “Kinda John Edward but real & real evil” ended with a mildly tense chat between James and Zefferello versus Kherty Aken just kinda hanging out, tensely, next to an ambulance. James points out that Kenton Dean has reprogrammed Kherty Aken like a computer to just believe all this BS. Kherty Aken realizes, Oh Shi-! he’s right, and flys away. Next day, paper says Kenton Dean is dead. So the general idea is there but just not at all the same when you look close.

As an aside, this is by the way why most writing teachers dismiss ‘ideas’ as the least important element of story telling. One version of this ‘idea’ I stuff under a rug and pretend doesn’t exist. The other I sell in paperback for $10 a pop. If the fundamental idea hasn’t changed really, why the vast difference in price? Because of the execution. And if execution is more than infinitely greater in effect 0 -> 10 why bother putting that much effort into the idea when, even if you only go to 5 through execution, that will have more effect than any idea will. I am not 100% convinced by this line of reasoning but it’s not meritless either. A bad idea well written will just get more in the marketplace of ideas than a good idea poorly written. A bad idea badly written is doomed. A good idea well written may or may not do as well as the mediocrity. So, I disagree that it is of zero importance but I do think it is certainly not the most important element for 3/4’s of all story types. Ok, that’s another post, enough asides.

The real thing I’m actually thinking about is the Zefferello to Zephyr change. Zefferello was Zephyr’s original name. The author who created the original character said specifically her thoughts were that she had never had any character under any situation whose name started with Z. So she wanted a Z character and she plucked the rest out of thin air because. And because it didn’t matter, that was cool enough. So he was Zefferello for the first few years of life. No particular reason why. Never mind that nothing in any back round of anything anywhere would give Zefferello as a name.

It was only as I was moving from the first to the second draft of The Hidden and the Maiden that it was really bothering me about this Korean-American dude with the abusive Super Whitey Mega Rich father, the utterly absent and possibly dead Korean Trophy Wife mother, and the abusive DID having ghost but still white mother. Why would any of them give him that name?

Well, the father might do it just to torture his son throughout life. He’s that kind of asshole. As little as he is in it, I actually think of Zephyr’s father as the Antagonist for Knights of Day because he is just pure dagnasty evil because he likes it. He may not appear most on the page or wield the most power - partially because he’s just not my favorite kind of villain, at all, his side-kicks is way more my speed - but there’s no denying he does the most damage. BUT, the father is also very image conscious. Part of what he likes is doing terrible things while other people praise him for it. For making people suffer but having no one believe them because he is such a paragon of virtue. One of his side kicks actually got James to just start punching him toward the end because he kept talking about what a saint Zephyr’s father was and all the haters just didn’t understand what a wonderful person he was and how hard he worked when he never had to to improve the life of others. If I recall correctly James literally held a knife on the guy and pointing to Zephyr: ‘you had to fucking know what that motherfucker was doing to him! You evil lying sack of fucking shit!’ So… torture wasn’t going to work for a reason.

So I’m looking for any great people in history with the name Zefferello. Nope. Nada. Is it by some miracle a Korean name that Eun Ae Gwon might have given him? Nope. No dice. And slowly all eyes turn to JJ. JJ is nuts. There’s no getting around it. But I’m rarely happy with that as an explanation. Especially with JJ because most of what she does that SEEMS nuts, isn’t. The fundamental rule I made for JJ fairly early on is that she is ALWAYS up to something. She is playing every angle. She is working every leverage. She is a survivor in a way that most people will never be. She’s dead and she is still playing to win. So she will do things that appear unreasonable at point A in time in order to increase her odds of getting what she wants in point B in time.

And I’m looking at that name. That ello. That’s sounds latinate to me. And masculine. I already knew Zefferello’s real name at this point, and it had a Jr. at the end and I started wondering if maybe, just maybe, JJ gave Zefferello a different Jr. name. A name for the father that she wished Zefferello had. Instead of the one he did. He’s hers, and what better to claim a baby she would never hold than to rename him into a family that she wanted to exist but never did. That’s very JJ.

At which point I’m reviewing JJ’s history. It’s sparse-ish at that time. But I know when she got pregnant and I know more or less what happened to her from that point until she died. And there’s nothing in there to hint at a Zefferello Sr. But… there were already some hints about there maybe being a Zefferella. And of course that’s not a name either. But fiddle with the spelling and drop the “el” sound and you do get a Greek female name: Zephyra \

And that was the lightning bolt of inspiration and change. That JJ’s second and last love of her life was a fellow prostitute named Zephyra, and IF JJ could rewrite reality to be anything she wanted then her son would also be Zephyra’s - that they would be the family unit and the other would be the ghostly illusion. And with Zephyra as a real name, I also had a male equivalent: Zephyr. Sounds similar but much more plausible that he might somehow obtain it. Plus, with the idea of Zephyra, his name also becomes a key to unlocking tons of emotion and backstory.

And you’ll know it’s important the second that this repressed little guy walking around giving out the name of Zephyr Wayne, shamefully cringe-admits that his legal name is Peter Bailey Jr. That that exists at all says that there is a story to find down in there and that it isn’t a simple one.

So that’s one to rewrite a name based on the internal logic of a story. Zephyr’s name was researched and found but never picked out of a name directory. It was back-engineered to tell the story I wanted to tell and avoid the random story I didn’t. By following the logic that might lead to a name like his, I was able to find the one I thought was right for him.

And, since the original Cup Bearer was one of the winds, that also worked to my advantage… though it is generally considered the wrong wind. Oy. Which I’ll probably just end up deleting because Zephyr’s name is better for a story hook than anything I made with Thulebelore being the General of the Western Winds.

If you actually got here. Wow. Thank you. If you ever want to solicit writing advice, dropping a question in my ask prompts me better than whatever happens to occur randomly to my head. So, you know, that’s there.

#Knights of Day #Zephyr #The Hidden and the Maiden #Writing advice #writeblr #writeblogging #unsolicited advice

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allisonsoprano · 4 years

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This coming Tuesday night October 6th at 8pm CST (21:00 en La Paz, Bolivia) on the @openclassical At Home Showcase, pianist Masaru Sakuma and I will be sharing TWO more Bolivian art songs with you - the lively “Kori Killa” by Eduardo Caba, and the romantic, liedlike “Ensueño” by Antonio Ibáñez. (Link in comments below!) I’d like to take a moment to shine the spotlight on Masaru Sakuma- the extraordinary pianist and collaborator I’ve been so fortunate to work with these past few months on our performances of beloved Bolivian art songs. Masaru was born in La Paz, Bolivia. Upon graduating from the Bolivian National Conservatory in La Paz, he received a scholarship to attend the University of Central Arkansas, where he completed a master’s degree in Piano Performance. Currently he is pursuing a doctoral degree in Collaborative Piano at Arizona State University. Top winner of several piano competitions in Bolivia, he also won the First Honorable Mention in the Claudio Arrau piano competition in 2003 in Chile, and the First Prize in the University of Central Arkansas piano competition in 2010. He has appeared in music festivals in Bolivia, Peru and the US, being also invited to perform at the Saarburg International Music Festival in Saarburg, Germany, and the Institute for the International Education of Students (IES) in Vienna, Austria. As a member of the “Ensemble of Bolivian Music from the XIX and XX Centuries,” he has conducted research on the Peruvian composer Abril y Tirado, reviving some of his piano music. His interest in promoting Latin-American music and culture has continued with his doctoral dissertation on the Bolivian composer Jaime Mendoza-Nava. Masaru’s playing is sensitive and musical, and inspires me to aim for the same qualities in my singing. Fellow musicians, if you ever get a chance to work with him, DO! We’ll see you on Tuesday night at the Open Classical At Home Showcase with more Bolivian music! 😃🎵 . . . #artistsinquarantine #classicalmusic #bolivianmusic #artsong #eduardocaba #antonioibáñez #músicaboliviana #piano #classicalsinger #musicalatinoamericana  https://www.instagram.com/p/CF3DWjaHN7N/?igshid=7ve4ma3z74uz

#artistsinquarantine #classicalmusic #bolivianmusic #artsong #eduardocaba #antonioibáñez #músicaboliviana #piano #classicalsinger #musicalatinoamericana

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purplesurveys · 4 years

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842

have you ever violated school dress code? My Catholic school had us on a very tight leash and we’d have to be crazy to dare to break the dress code over there. My university doesn’t have a dress code though and anyone entering the campus can dress up any way they want, which I’ve always been grateful for. if you are listening to music, is the singer male/female? They are five dudes. what, if anything, do you give up for Lent? I never observed Lent; and as much of a religious fanatic my mother is, I’m glad she never forced me to fast or abstain from something I liked. what phrase leads your mind directly to the gutter? 69, even though it’s childish. when you feel like giving up, how do you convince yourself not to? I just tell myself that things will get better because that seems to be the pattern all the time with me, which is a really good thing.

what are your opinions on immigration? I don’t know much about the issues and its intricacies but as an Asian, I really admire fellow Asians who don’t speak a word of English, end up in the States or somewhere similar and build themselves a better life there. It’s fucking metal. would you tell an actual immigrant your views? Sure, if the topic is raised. what was the subject of the last list you made? There was a tweet asking people to list down which YouTubers practically ~raised them~ growing up, so I joined in the fun and gave my own names. If I remember correctly I listed down Pewdiepie, Smosh, Grace Helbig, Hannah Hart, and the entire Brit crew. do you ever get nervous before interviews/important meetings? Only if it’s supposed to be crucial. Like I imagine I’d be sweating bullets for my first job interview. who pays for the majority of your belongings? My parents. would you ever willingly shop in a thrift store? Of course. There are always some great finds in them. what is the most that you would ever spend on an outfit? Assuming I’m earning my own money, I’m willing to spend around ₱5000 to ₱10,000 on a top or bottom but I can widen my wallet a lot more if we’re talking shoes, because I like them more haha. is there anything you do that just outrages your parents? I know my mom hates it whenever she pulls us for online mass and I visibly grumble. I don’t know if my dad is annoyed with anything I do; and if he feels that way he’ll tell me. I respect him a lot more so if that’s the case, I’ll actually stop whatever it is I’m doing. when was the last time you were embarrassed in public? Probably when I was brought to the hospital a month ago and the nurse was explaining to me how to take a urine test. have you ever won an award you were actually proud of? If Latin honors count, then yes. That was my only goal when I started college, and I reached it, so I’m allowing myself to be proud of, well, myself. the importance of education, rate it from 1-10, 10 as most important? 12. --- explain your choice to rate it as such? It’s different when you come from a third-world country. Education is realistically your only way out. what is the coolest science experiment you've ever done? I liked the ones that we did that involved chemicals and powders. are you experiencing difficulties with any friends right now? Not really. There’s a chance JM has been irritated with me because I always turn really grumpy when he messages me about work stuff, but if he is, at this point I don’t really care anymore because I’ve been detached from org work for a while now. I busted my ass for the org for three years so I think I’m entitled to feel detached now haha. how do you deal with a fight between yourself and a friend? I haven’t been in an argument with one of them in a while but I would prefer to talk it out. when you apologize to someone after a fight, how do you go about saying that you are sorry? I apologize and I mention the thing I did that they were hurt by, so that they feel acknowledged. In the end, I tell them that I’ll be better and if there’s anything I can do to make them feel better or to make the situation better, that they shouldn’t hesitate to let me know. have you ever played around with "dry ice"? No. Isn’t that dangerous lol? do you think parents are responsible for the actions of their children? For the most part, yes. But I know there are still some instances where parents can try and try to be understanding and be the best influences, but their kids will still end up going down the wrong path. There isn’t one answer to this, I think. should the military draft take both men AND women? why/why not? I don’t know, it’s a little complicated. I’m definitely all about equality and providing the same opportunities for men and women, but I know there’s a lot of issues on sexual harassment and assault in the military that have yet to be fixed. Until that’s ironed out and I hear change taking place, it seems a little shady to randomly pick out women to join the military. when was the last time that you corrected someone? My mom had a grammatical error in her Facebook post from yesterday so I told her what the right word to use was. when was the last time you were corrected? I set the table for breakfast today and apparently it wasn’t enough for my mom, who liked her plate to be set in a certain way. when did you last say "i told you so"? Maybe when Kate told me she had broken up with the guy she was having a thing with, lol. is there any celebrity you like to "keep up with"? Not really. I think I’m over that phase now. I’ll check up my faves from time to time, but otherwise I don’t feel the need to read daily updates on them anymore. celebrity gossip: YAY or BOO? Yay if it has substance or if it’s controversial, like a celebrity being exposed for sexual harassment; boo if it’s something stupid like “Kendall Jenner spotted eating pasta today.” what is the most life-changing book you have read? I haven’t encountered it yet. have you had a negative impact on anyone's life? I would say so. I wasn’t always the nicest kid; and I also did a shitty job handling my friendship with Sofie when we were off to college. has anyone had a negative impact on yours? who/why? Yeah. Some relatives, some teachers who didn’t know how to act like teachers, and some people I distinctly remember that bullied me when I was a kid. how will you know when you are ready to get married? I guess when I’m no longer nervous thinking about it and when I’m already 100% sure that I’m independent and capable of looking out for myself. I don’t wanna be married and still be slightly dependent on my parents, which is what a lot of young Filipino married couples end up doing. how much time have you spent contemplating your own death? A very, very good amount. is there a joke that you just can't stand? Ones that you just can’t defend and are just simply offensive, like slavery or poverty. I’ve seen a few shows where they’d refer to the Philippines being poor or being a source of child labor for laughs, and they’ve never been funny to me. have you ever read any self-help books? No, I don’t really trust those lol since they’re usually written by people from other countries who most likely have different experiences and perspectives. If I need some help I’d rather figure it out myself and hear from people that I trust, like my friends. what's your take on the obesity problem in america? It’s a serious problem, obviously. I don’t know much about it other than the fact that Americans are crazy about their fast food and that their serving sizes are ginormous. I really hope they find more ways to address it. what is something you used to love, but now greatly dislike? Journalism. what is something you used to dislike, but now like? Chicken curry, and I think spicy food in general haha. when/if you become a parent, what will you do differently, compared to how your parents raised you? I’ll be more involved. I’ll compliment them more, not invalidate their feelings, and I’ll let them talk when I do something that upsets them, and I’ll apologize to them for it.

do you equate spanking with physical abuse? would you spank a child? The way Filipino parents do it, yeah especially. They don’t just do it with their hands - spanking kids here usually involve slippers and belts. My mom forbade anyone to spank me and my siblings, but nonetheless I watched it happen to my cousins and that alone was traumatic enough for me. How much more for them?

The thing is that it can’t be assumed that kids are able to process why they’re being punished, so I think that any physical punishment to them will just drive them away from their parents, which to me makes it physical abuse. I would never spank my own kids. what's the most ridiculous thing you've done this week? Skipping out the rest of my shower because a moth came into the bathroom and started flying around me lmaoooo eugh. --- did you regret it/love it/hate it/want to do it again/etc? I fucking hated it. if your bf/gf wanted to wait until marriage for sex, would you be willing? Yes. Sex honestly isn’t really a big deal to me. when you look at the sunset, what do you think about/feel? I don’t really think when I look at the sunset. I just admire how pretty it looks and savor the quick few seconds of the sun going down. is there someone you wish you could trust/you wish was trustworthy? No? I don’t wait on people to be trustworthy, if that’s what you mean. I’m grateful for the people who are already around me that I can trust. is there anyone that you no longer want in you life? who/why? There are times I wish I could get rid of my mom so that I don’t get yelled at as much anymore and so that I don’t have anyone watching my every move so much so that I’m cautious to walk around in my own house.

how has your outlook on life changed in the past few years? I’m a lot happier and more stable this time around. I’m glad I stayed around to see the change happen. have you ever walked out of a boring movie (in theaters)? Absolutely not. Even if the movie was bad, I’d watch it through the end. Ticket prices are not to be fucked with lol. how open are you with people you know online? ...What do you think? what do you think of athletes that take steroids? Idk about other sports but that’s a big fuck no in wrestling, after it’s led to addiction, overdoses, and a lot of deaths especially in the 80s and 90s. if a celebrity is involved in scandal after scandal, is that likely to affect how you view him/her & his/her work? Depends on the scandal. I don’t mind when nudes or videos get leaked because honestly, the leakers are the assholes in that situation. But if the scandal is something like people speaking out to accuse a celebrity of racism, abuse, or harassment, then I can very much turn against that person. what is one celebrity that you have zero respect for? Amber Heard. have you ever driven under the influence of alcohol/drugs? Just slightly tipsy, but I’ve always made sure that I’m super super super aware of my surroundings in those times. I won’t drive – and I know my friends won’t allow me to – if I was even just a little dizzy. I’m always the first to start sobering up when I go out to drink because I’m usually the only one with a car and thus responsible for bringing my friends home. are you overly attached to your material possessions? For the most part, yeah. have you ever ridiculed anyone for their clothing choices? Not to their faces. living in poverty: what do you think it'd be like? I already live in a country wallowing in it. My family isn’t poor, but I see poverty on a daily basis nonetheless. No documentary or article can best explain it to anyone who has never lived in a poverty-stricken country. Pretty insensitive question btw. what is one "diet" that you think is just utterly worthless? I’m not familiar with any of them. what advice would you give someone that is uncomfortable with his or her body/appearance? I prefer not to give advice because some people don’t wanna hear it and just wanna hear reassurances and boosters. That said, I’ll just keep encouraging them and telling them that they look really good in their outfit and just making them feel valid and seen. what advice would you give someone about to start high school? Don’t be scared to make mistakes and while you should always study hard and do your best, don’t take everything seriously. It’s high school and won’t matter on your professional resume. what foreign food are you NOT interested in trying? Uhhhh this question makes no sense to me ahahaha I’m always down to try anything. what foreign country do you believe is misunderstood? I can’t speak for other countries but I know mine is pretty misunderstood. I’ve read countless testimonies of Filipinos getting condescendingly told “You speak good English for a Filipino” by white Americans, not knowing that their country conquered mine for 40ish years. That’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to misconceptons about my country and its people. have you ever felt entirely unwanted and alone? Of course. in your eyes, which is worse: rape or murder? Both are equally bad and disgusting but I’ll have to go with rape, because 1) the victim has to live with the trauma and fear for the rest of their life, 2) victims are usually too scared to speak out for fear of being judged or not being believed, and 3) victim-blaming is still a big problem today. do you understand/read shakespeare? No. When we took up Shakespeare in high school I bought the No Fear versions. would you feel comfortable living with someone that owned a gun? No. do you know anyone that lives in a foreign country? Tons.

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