#rebis publishing house

[divinerebis]

This blog is all about gender performance. The work is a blog documenting queer art, history, performance, and recent politics regarding the hostility surrounding trans rights. Gender performance is defined as something that is ingrained in our daily practices, learned, and performed based on cultural norms of femineity and masculinity. This definition of gender was popularized by Judith Butler in their book Gender Trouble, published in 1990. Furthermore, they asserted that sex is biological, while gender is culturally constructed. Think about how you were raised to play with certain toys, how you were dressed, and how you were told to act. Often times girls are encouraged to play dress up while boys are pushed to play with trucks and boy-appropriate toys. This behavior is reinforced throughout a child's formative years within their schools. We see this in Bell Hook's essay Understanding Patriarchy as she critiques how society has shaped and traumatized its children to act in rigid gender roles to avoid punishment. She writes, "Embracing patriarchal thinking like everyone else around them, they taught it to their children because it seemed like a 'natural' way to organize life"( Hooks pg. 18). Gender roles are established to maintain a societal expectation where men are in power. At the same time, women are expected to be domesticated; any deviation is considered unnatural. It also shapes how children grow up emotionally, where boys are expected to repress their emotions while girls are encouraged to express their feelings as long as it is not anger. After analyzing how children are raised in this patriarchal structure, we can better understand the definition of gendered performance and how queer artists created literal gender performance.

   Throughout the history of performance art, there has been cross-dressing, as seen in Greek amphitheaters and in Shakespeare's plays. Going forward, drag was a Vaudeville performance done in speakeasies and underground bars. In the 20th century, ballroom culture emerged, spaces where black and Latino LGBTQ+  could perform pageants to win prizes. Ballroom culture was made up of "Houses, alternative families run by an older "mother" and "father" who provided shelter and guidance to those ostracized by their families (Nasr). The history of drag cannot be complete without mentioning Marsha P. Johnson, who protested police raids on gay clubs during the Stone Wall Riots of 1969. While drag has been prevalent throughout history, it has recently gained popularity among mainstream audiences through RuPaul's Drag Race. The show has undeniably changed how drag is perceived, making the drag queen an international celebrity (Nasr). According to The Art of Activism, " We can 'queer' mass culture by making it say things it was never designed to say and act in ways it was never meant to act" (Ducombe and Lambert, pg. 126). Therefore by being outspoken and openly expressing oneself, queer performance art can make a greater change to LGBTQ+ representation and legislation. Reviewing the history of queer performance art, there is a common theme of celebration and active protest against cis-heterosexual normativity.

   Therefore, my blog is a curated catalog that not only celebrates the history of LGBTQ+ performance but uses the platform to spread awareness about anti-trans and gay legislation being discussed recently. "It is important to bring creativity, joy, pleasure, and play into activism. Not only is it a more effective way to get your message across and entice others to join us, but it is equally important because it'll keep us doing the work that needs to be done" (Ducombe and Lambert, pg. 128). Divine Rebis is a space I created to show others a collection of performance art, along with historical pictures of queer love. My project was directly inspired by Black Contemporary Art created by Kimberly Drew. The blog's header shows a group of women cross-dressing as men, a common practice amongst lesbians during the 20th century. Within this blog, I have uploaded interviews from my friends talking about their experiences with gender, their personal definitions of gender performance, and how they feel about the current political unrest surrounding trans rights and drag. My performance is curating this work while cross-dressing, actively taking interviews, and spreading the message of this blog to everyone who listens.

Duncombe, S., & Lambert, S. (2021).

The Art of Activism

: Your All-Purpose Guide to Making the Impossible Possible [Book]. OR Books.

Hooks, Bell, 1952-2021. (2004). " Understanding Patriarchy."

The Will To Change: Men, Masculinity, And Love

. New York :Atria Books,

Nasr, G. A. (2021, December 13). The Evolution of Drag: A History of Self-Expressionism. Arcadia. https://www.byarcadia.org/post/the-evolution-of-drag-a-history-of-self-expressionis

#lgbtq #gender performance #interview #lesbian #nonbinary #trans rights

[neon-innessa]

Book covers for the Dune Saga by Wojciech Siudmak, Polish surrealist painter living in France.

the Chronicles of Dune: Dune, Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune, Chapterhouse: Dune

Dune 7 (sequels):  Hunters of Dune, Sandworms of Dune

#the dune #diuna #saga diuny #the dune saga #frank herbert #book covers #cover art #wojciech siudmak #wydawnictwo rebis #rebis publishing house #books #sci-fi #science-fiction #fantastyka #poland #polska #polen #desert #surreal #surrealist art #france #francja #pologne #brian herbert

[aion-rsa]

Castlevania Season 4 Easter Eggs Explained

https://ift.tt/3w16SAH

This Castlevania article contains spoilers.

The endgame is finally here in Castlevania season 4, which sees Trevor Belmont, Sypha Belnades, and Alucard face off against the forces of evil that wish to wipe out humanity. While the story takes a few interesting turns you’re not expecting, fans of the long-running Konami series will likely notice quite a few connections to the original video games.

As you’d expect, that all means that there are quite a few easter eggs and references to the games as well as real-world history in Castlevania season 4. Here are all of the easter eggs we’ve found so far:

Varney

Although Varney seems like a two-bit vampire thirsty for glory at first, he turns out to be the main villain of the season. It’s a surprise twist worthy of Malcolm McDowell, the legendary actor who brings the character to life.

While Varney doesn’t appear in the games, the character does have a long history in vampire fiction. The vampire was first introduced in a series of penny dreadfuls titled Varney the Vampire; or, the Feast of Blood by James Malcolm Rymer and Thomas Peckett and published between 1845-1847. The series spanned 232 chapters and 876 pages, and while it isn’t remembered today as a must-read vampire story, it is responsible for many of the tropes later popularized by Bram Stoker’s Dracula and other horror classics.

Varney the Vampire was the first vampire story to establish that these creatures of the night had fangs which they used to puncture the neck of their victims. It was also the first story to establish many of the powers vampires are known for today, such as the ability to hypnotize their prey and enhanced strength. Like Dracula, Varney preys on sleeping women in the night.

Throughout Castlevania season 4, Varney is constantly complaining that he hasn’t received the recognition he deserves as the loyal soldier sent to conquer Targoviste for his master. This is a bit on the nose since the character he’s based is hardly a household name today despite the fact that he influenced the much more famous Count Dracula in a big way.

The Grim Reaper

By the end of the season, Castlevania has dropped its big twist: Varney is just a disguise for the Grim Reaper, a vampiric being who feeds on the souls of the dead. Also known simply as Death itself, the Grim Reaper has been a staple of the video game series since the very start.

Originally one of Dracula’s minions and a boss in 1986’s Castlevania for the NES, Death eventually became one of the main villains of the series. The Reaper’s plan to resurrect Dracula is also ripped right out of the games, especially 2005’s Curse of Darkness, which sees Death manipulate Hector and Isaac into resurrecting the Lord of Vampires.

Zead

Death using Varney is a disguise is also very reminiscent of another major plot point in Curse of Darkness. In the game, the Grim Reaper disguises himself as a priest named Zead, who aids Hector on his quest to kill Isaac. Secretly, the Reaper needs Hector to kill Isaac so that Dracula can posses the latter’s body and return to life.

Greta

While Greta is an original character for the animated series, her role in season 4 as the unofficial fourth member of the group of heroes who fight Death’s forces at the end will likely remind some fans of Grant Danasty, one of the four playable characters in Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse and a pirate who is very skilled with a knife. Greta also happens to be the head woman of the village of Danesti, an obvious nod to Danasty.

Christopher Belmont

In the original continuity, Trevor and Sypha have two children, one of which becomes the parent of Christopher Belmont, the protagonist of two Castlevania games for the Game Boy, 1989’s The Adventure and 1991’s Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge.

In the Lords of Shadow alternate timeline, Trevor and Sypha give birth to Simon Belmont, the protagonist of the 2013 Nintendo 3DS game Mirror of Fate. In the original timeline, Simon is also the protagonist of the very first games in the franchise, the 1986 original and 1987’s Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest for the Famicom and NES.

Okay, this is getting confusing. Moving on.

Read more

Games

How Resident Evil Village’s Lady Dimitrescu Calls Back to Castlevania’s Dracula

By John Saavedra

Games

Assassin’s Creed: What the Netflix Series Can Learn From Castlevania and The Witcher

By Matthew Byrd

Danesti

Look on a map and you’ll find that Danesti is a real place. In fact, there are several communes and villages named “Danesti” in modern Romania. Danesti may also be a reference to the House of Danesti, one of the two noble lineages of Wallachia. The other noble lineage? Draculesti, the line that bore Vlad the Impaler, the main inspiration for Count Dracula.

Targoviste

We also visit the city of Targoviste in season 4. The city is in ruins after countless battles with Dracula and his vampire horde. Fortunately, the city is in much better shape in 2021. It is located in the region of Muntenia, Romania. It was also the capital of Wallachia in the 15th and 16th centuries.

Rebis

The Grim Reaper’s plan is to transport Dracula and Lisa Tepes’ souls out of Hell and into the Rebis, also known as the divine hermaphrodite in ancient alchemy. The Rebis is a symbol of the “great work,” the ultimate goal of the alchemist, which involves “spiritual transformation, the shedding of impurities, the joining of opposites, and the refinement of materials,” according to Learn Religion. In ancient alchemy, the Rebis represents “a reconciliation of spirit and matter” and has “both male and female qualities.” The “great work” is also used to describe the alchemist’s mission to create the philosopher’s stone, a mythical substance that was said to turn base metals into gold or silver.

This is a bit outside my area of expertise, but as it relates to Castlevania season 4, it goes back to Count Saint Germain, who is an alchemist who has strayed from his path to find the love of his life in the Infinite Corridor. But when he meets a fellow alchemist in the corridor (actually Death is disguise), she tells him that the only way for him to find his love is achieve the great work, in this case creating a literal rebis that will act as a vessel for the souls of Dracula and Lisa Tepes.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Rosa

Rosa, a supporting character in Castlevania 64 and Legacy of Darkness, doesn’t actually appear on the show, but Carmilla’s appearance in episode 6 –red dress with sword in hand — does remind me of the Rosa boss fight in those games. Carmilla’s chamber is also drenched in blood…just like Rosa’s flowers in the game.

Skeletons

One of the most basic enemy types in the Castlevania games makes an appearance in the first episode of the season. Trevor and Sypha fight these skeleton soldiers, which are armed with swords and shields, on their war to Targoviste. Throughout the years, Konami has introduced countless variations on the skeleton enemy, but Trevor and Sypha only really have to deal with the regular kind.

Hunchbacks

Super fast, hopping hunchbacks are constant thorns in Trevor, Sypha, and Alucard’s sides throughout the season. While one of these tiny enemies might not be a challenge, hunchbacks tend to attack in groups, making it harder to keep track of each blade-wielding baddie as they hop around you. Hunchbacks have been part of the series since 1986.

Golem

Mighty golems charge into Alucard’s castle during the final battle against Varney/Death and Dragan. They’re essentially giant man-made monsters made of rock and clay, formidable opponents for any Belmont. Golems have appeared in many of the games, either as bosses or regular enemies through out the levels.

Gergoth

Gergoth is one of the most gruesome monsters featured in season 4. Introduced as a boss character in 2005’s Dawn of Sorrow, Gergoth is basically a rotting dinosaur that shoot a laser beam out of its mouth. The half-dead beast is basically kept alive by magic, even as its flesh continues to fall off. The meaty red stump where its tail used to be is particularly grotesque.

Cross/Boomerang

Trevor finally acquires a cross-shaped boomerang weapon for his final fight with Death. The four-sided blade weapon is a callback to one of the Belmonts’ signature tools of the trade. Since the very first game, these vampire hunters have used the cross/boomerang (the name differs depending on the game) to vanquish monsters inside Dracula’s castle.

The Dagger

Belmont also finds a dagger that he later uses to finish off the Grim Reaper. This is another weapon you’ll find in most Castlevania games (sometimes simply referred to as “knife”). Like in the games, Trevor is able to “upgrade” the dagger in order to land a killing blow during the final fight.

Did I miss anything? Let me know in the comments!

The post Castlevania Season 4 Easter Eggs Explained appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3bIdP1Z

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

[argentvive]

Jaime and Brienne Reunite

It’s been a LONG time since I posted about alchemy in the Jaime-Brienne relationship in the books, so to review--

Jaime and Brienne joined in the final, permanent Chemical Wedding in ASOS.  Jaime is tried and tested by his imprisonment and his journey back to King’s Landing under Brienne’s protection.  Jaime is transformed from a cocky, ruthless, bloodthirsty warrior to a merciful, even self-sacrificing peacemaker.  A key moment of his transformation occurs in the baths of Harrenhal, inspired by this alchemical image or the many similar ones.

After Jaime saves Brienne from the bear pit and they reach King’s Landing, their joining is cemented and symbolized when Jaime gives her his sword, Oathkeeper.  They take on each other’s characteristics and goals.  They become one person alchemically--the rebis, androgyne, hermaphrodite, as in this image from Das Buch der heiligen Dreifaltigkeit.

In AFFC, Jaime and Brienne are apart. Brienne searches for Sansa and Arya while Jaime secures the peaceful surrender of Riverrun.  Nevertheless, their bond is preserved:  thoughts of Jaime bring Brienne strength.  Thoughts of Brienne bring Jaime moral clarity.

The last we see of Brienne in AFFC is when she is about to be executed by Lady Stoneheart.  (This is my short post about that:  https://argentvive.tumblr.com/search/Brienne+Stoneheart )  The chapter ends on a cliffhanger--Brienne thinks she is about to be hanged, and the reader doesn’t know whether she survives or not.  

There are no Brienne chapters at all in ADWD, and the first and only Jaime chapter comes about two-thirds of the way through that book.  

In Jaime I, Jaime is clearing out the last bits of resistance in the riverlands.  He has now reached Raventree Hall. He realizes that he will soon be able to return to King’s Landing.  He doesn’t regret burning Cersei’s summons to return and save her from the High Sparrow:

She was guilty of every treason laid against her...

In his thoughts--and even out loud--he calls her a whore:

“...My little brother has known a hundred whores, I’m sure, but I’ve only ever bedded one.”

Jaime meets with his commander, Lord Jonos Bracken, and makes it clear that he plans to continue on the path of peace and reconciliation that he adopted with Edmure Tully at Riverrun.

“...I mean to offer him [Tytos Blackwood] terms and accept him back into the king’s peace.”

Jaime intends to take a hostage, as usual in such situations, and Bracken suggests Blackwood’s only daughter, a girl of seven.  

Jaime enters the castle alone and meets with Blackwood.  Blackwood knows he must surrender, but Jaime chooses not to add further humiliation.  The two men go to Blackwood’s solar for private conversation.  From the window Jaime sees the castle’s weirwood tree, which the Brackens poisoned and is now dead.  Raventree Hall is named for this tree, which attracts hundreds of ravens every night.  Blackwood explains:

“They come at dusk and roost all night.  Hundreds of them. They cover the tree like black leaves, every limb and every branch....”

This is a very odd bit of detail to throw in here, and the story goes nowhere.  I suspect that the idea of a “raventree” comes from this wonderful image from Splendor solis.

This image shows the philosophical tree, a common symbol for the Great Work, the opus alchymicum. The alchemical process has three basic stages: black, white, and red (nigredo, albedo, rubedo).  This image shows that the black birds that commonly symbolize the nigredo are turning white.  It shows the passage from nigredo to albedo.

In this chapter, the Blackwoods of Raventree Hall are passing from siege and hunger and despair to peace and hope--as a result of Jaime’s actions.  Jaime is the White Stone now, and he is fulfilling the projection stage of alchemy by bringing peace, without more violence, to the wider world.  

Jaime still cares about honor, but his priority is reality, not empty show.  Blackwood asks if he should get down on his knees to show his allegiance, Jaime replies, “If it please you. Or we can say you did.”

He further shows mercy by taking Blackwood’s bookish son Hoster as a hostage instead of his very young daughter.  He even declines dinner, realizing that “no good would be served by Jaime stealing food from their mouths.”

When Jaime rides back to the camp and reaches Bracken, he tells him to “Go home and plant your fields.”

To me this is a very strong echo of Isaiah 2:4:

And He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. 

I believe this is the moral of ASOIAF that GRRM intends to convey.  

Jaime and his troops leave Raventree Hall and proceed to the small holdfast of Pennytree to spend the night.  Hoster fills in Jaime on the backstory of the hundreds-years-long Bracken-Blackwood feud, and why peace has never prevailed:

“So long as men remember the wrongs done to their forebears, no peace will ever last....”

Jaime responds that his father Tywin had a solution: kill the entire family, sons and daughters as well.  But that’s not what Jaime has done himself--he tells Hoster that Eddard Stark’s daughters still live.  And of course Jaime’s thoughts turn immediately to Brienne:

Brienne, where are you? Have you found her?

Pennytree is a large village that is recovering from the ravages of war.  The villagers hide in their tower, but Jaime promises he will do not harm.  He refuses the suggestion of storming the gate:

“It would be a bloody business, and for what? These people have done us no harm. We’ll shelter in the houses, but I’ll have no stealing. We have our own provisions.”

As a half-moon crept up the sky, they staked their horses in the village commons and supped....

Well, based on ASOIAF so far, if there’s a moon about, half or otherwise, Jaime will soon see--or at least dream about--Brienne.  She is the Moon to his Sun, the White to his Red.  

And, in the very next paragraph, Brienne arrives, captured by two of his scouts.  

Jaime scrambled to his feet. “My lady. I had not thought to see you again so soon.” Gods be good, she looks ten years older than when I saw her last. And what’s happened to her face? “That bandage . . . you’ve been wounded . . .”

“A bite.” She touched the hilt of her sword, the sword that he had given her. Oathkeeper. “My lord, you gave me a quest.”

“The girl. Have you found her?”

“I have,” said Brienne, Maid of Tarth.

“Where is she?”

“A day’s ride. I can take you to her, ser . . . but you will need to come alone. Elsewise, the Hound will kill her.”

The chapter ends there.  We find out that Brienne is alive, but not how she escaped hanging.  And we don’t know how she found Sansa.  But Jaime and Brienne are together again, still joined in their Chemical Wedding, symbolized by Oathkeeper.  

If the sixth book is ever published, I expect to see Jaime and Brienne on the road together again, in a quest to rescue Sansa Stark.

#game of thrones meta #alchemy #a dance with dragons #jaime lannister #brienne of tarth #braime #jaime x brienne #oathkeeper #chemical wedding #splendor solis #philosophical tree #nigredo #albedo #rubedo

[shardclan]

There was a lot that Riley already knew as she waited at Thunder's March to be cleared for passage to the mainland. That the Lightning Liaison, for example, was some love-burned old battleaxe with the sense of humor of a salt lick. That she was the one who made the rules, but her primary enforcer was Paradise, who would most certainly have remembered Riley and probably taken the opportunity to have a little power trip. Good-natured or not, a mother like Paradise wouldn't forget someone who price gouged them for information on where their seemingly kidnapped child was. 

Riley was careful to have her glamour up well before she arrived at the ugly as hell copper customs check, and even though nobody in the old clan had ever seen her glamour before, she had dressed as unlike herself as possible. Her naturally harsh, angular face and beady eyes aside, she bore almost no resemblance to the Riley that was once a part of Clan Shard. And while it was an immense annoyance to be covered in flowers and lace like some prissy grandma, it had the effect she wanted.

Like a rat released into an unsuspecting silo of the finest golden grain, Riley was granted passage into the idyllic sunlight of a perfect late summer day in the Sunbeam Ruins.

Ostensibly, her primary target was the new heir. But it would be incredibly obvious to walk in and go right for her. There'd be someone eyeing her if she came on too strong. Better to make a day trip of it. Maybe update some of her long out of date records of the old clan members and see if there was anything interesting to be sniffed out among its newer members. 

The experience wasn't without its certain kind of nostalgia. As she smoothly dodged the welcome center at Noon Point, she saw a young, blindingly blonde imperial male and knew he was one of Saber and Galbana's even before she saw him happily fussing over a luscious looking cake. Her tongue flicked in irritation; their family had never given Riley anything worth keeping note of and she had been hoping they would come away a little more damaged. Instead they had another kid that was pretty much a reflection of his surroundings.

Noon Point was bright and warm and unguarded--nothing like the foot of the Focal Point, which had been dark and easy to skulk in. Here she had to lean in to the mannerisms of a lazily curious window shopper to stay inconspicuous and watch the little things happen. She bought a bauble and some cake, munching and making notes in her book as she went:

Kea, fruits and vegetables dropped off with a pearlcatcher = too many horns and a clearly visible glow. 

Parhelia-turned-pearlcatcher = Old, already-published news

Skydancer that looks on the verge of his seventh major nervous breakdown. Mail dragon. Occult shop next door. Omen’s? 

Not enough sage/inkwells laying around.

 Cloudwhyte and Alchemilla flirting in front of the Sundial Brewery like not a godsdamn thing has changed since the day they first started throwing fuck me eyes at each other. 

Even the prison looks harmless. From the outside. 

Merchant selling weapons.  Huge inventory + small stall = few buyers.

Not a true seller. Listened too hard. Waiting for me to say some keyword. Overcharged too.

A fae with a sewing basket at his stall - something exchanged. She left the basket.

Primsy. Seamstress. Same guild as Fletch/Willowalk. Helping the weapons trade somehow?

Eventually, she had meandered to the edge of the point, well beyond the transient bazaars, to find what she was looking for. The library was tall and stately and warded like a vault. She noted uncomfortably that some soft, not particularly martial-looking serthis (by their species standards, anyway) were visible through the enormous windows on the ground floor. They were speaking with a pearlcatcher that bore an impossibly strong resemblance to a mossy cerdae.

Noisily sucking sugar off her fingers, she ambled up the steps and made her way inside and to the upper floors, padding as silently as possible. She had reliable intel that the mages in the clan were only allowed to practice their magic at the top floor, and the new queen was supposedly well on her way to becoming an archmage, so it made as much sense as anywhere else.

"Does it hurt at all?" a small voice asked.

Riley stopped, and had her notebook and pencil out in a single flick of her hands.

"It feels weird," a much bigger, scratchier voice answered. "Doesn't hurt though. Are you sure you're okay, your majesty?"

Two females, and that 'your majesty' certainly wasn't being directed at Telos. Riley peeked her head above the floorboards, and spotted the large one first. Guardian woman with cherub patterns, deeply red and incredibly messy hair, pink and blue opal. She was holding hands with a small fae girl whose age Riley couldn't quite figure out, but she was wearing a white crown that every now and again flickered with a vaguely pink facet. That would be 'her majesty', the Heiress Rebis. 

Where her hand met the guardian's, there was a deep pink stain in the coloration. But more interestingly, the opalescence was actually growing. Not spreading but jutting out in the distinct pale blue quartz formations distinct to celestine.

"We always thought my opalescence was inert," the guardian said curiously. "Guess not."

Rebis pulled her hand back, and looked thoughtfully at her own hands. "Rubranova, I can't approve of this. We don't know what effect that has on you."

"Sure we do." She reached down the spire that had growing from her forearm and with the brutish strength of a healthy young guardian, broke it off. The sound elicited a small shriek from the heiress, but Riley watched silently with a rapt and almost lustful expression, scribbling as fast as her fingers would go. 

Rubranova flexed her hand and waggled the rod of celestine at Rebis. "You shouldn't freak out like that. I'm a doctor. Or at least, I'm a doctor's daughter. Good enough. Anyway, your eyes are gold again. First time since you came back."

"That's not enough to put you ask risk," Rebis insisted.

"Sure ain't. So we're going to go to Ashes and get me re-checked. See if this is poisoning me or something. At the very least, this means I should be your aide or something. Who else is going to be able to help you in an emergency? Me being there might be the difference between life and death for you, you know?"

Rebis' fins drooped. "You don't...even know me."

"You're the next queen. And I might be able to help you in a way no one else can. Isn’t that enough?"

"You're barely grown!" the heiress cried earnestly. “Too young to be burdened with this.”

Riley watched Rubranova scratch her chin with the piece of celestine that had previously been a part of her body. She seemed more confused than offended.

"So are you."

Riley snapped her book shut and slid down the railing back to the ground floor. She couldn't believe she was lucky enough to have caught all that. A jaguar-patterned bogsneak she didn’t recognize reprimanded her at the bottom.

"A strange choice of place to use as your playground," she remarked with an imperiously raised brow. “Another place will suit your whims better, I think.”

"Sorry," Riley said with a barely contained grin. "I'm just on my way out. Can I ask you something, though? I just saw a beauty of a guardian up there. All red, kinda pinky blue opal? You know anything about her?"

"Rubranova," she answered with a slow nod. "Spare your attempts to woo her. The Tahalils are a family of beauty, but that one has no interest in romance or its pleasures."

“Tahalils?”

“The doctors,” she clarified. 

Haematica’s stock then, Riley thought with a slight needle of worry. One of Haematica’s daughters had married a son of Camellia’s. As Riley remembered it, Camellia had always mated with rarer breeds, but it wasn’t as though that was a rule. She didn’t have any rules. Rubranova might very well be Camellia’s grandchild, and with Heaven supposedly missing, that wasn’t anything she wanted to be caught dabbling in. That meant getting far, far away from Noon Point. 

She took a flight through the southeast part of the territory, admiring just how much like a crystalspine House Betelgeuse really looked. (And truthfully admiring even more that they had convinced the Lightweaver to let such an obvious Arcane structure stand so monolithic on her land. There was dirt there but even she wasn’t stupid enough to defy a deity their privacy. At least not when she wasn’t sure she could get away with it. ) She curved around, peering down at the geometrically perfect concentric columns and arcade of the Court of Five Lights. As curious as she was, that place would be full of familiar faces. And the last thing she wanted was to cross paths with Azricai. House Perihelion and the Leyline Gardens dotted the landscape in the far west, but lacked the grandeur of the central and eastern districts. With no idea where the little imperator of the clan would be, she swung north toward the Shadow border. 

Riley had wanted to visit Bramble Step since the day she first heard about it. And it didn’t disappoint her. 

The fog! The darkness! The dedication of the people to keeping their head down but their ears open! The constant whisper of secrets being exchanged! It was the closest she had ever felt to patriotism. 

“--angry you think she’ll be?”

“This close to leaving and the wedding still in the works? She’ll probably want to throttle the little asshole.”

Riley froze at the familiar voices, and melted easily into the nearest fog bank, squinting busily at her book. Her mind raced, because she thought one of those voices was Atsushi and they had been on terms of a reasonable kind once. Trading him information on where Carnelian was at any given time had once been both a great way to keep tabs on eastern sornieth’s goings on, and an even better way to piss Carnelian off. 

But far more importantly, her adrenaline was racing because she knew damn well the other voice was Carnelian himself. It didn’t make sense. Atsushi was literally everything Carnelian hated. Obsessive, two-faced, self-serving, all but blind to personal boundaries, and a necromancer on top of that. Hell, she had specifically let it slip to Atsushi that Carnelian wasn’t solely into females to make their interactions worse and Carnelian had shown up the very next day and tried to tear her horns off. And now they were chatting? Amicably? What the fuck was going on? 

Something good, the more focused part of her mind pointed out. 

“She wouldn’t do that,” Atsushi said casually. 

“Not a chance. But it would take a saint to not at least consider it. As long as Junior and Jorah are fine, she’ll accept it.” 

“I mean, they were when I left, but I felt Camellia around so they might be dead now.”

“Mmm, something happened at House Betelgeuse so Lutia went out there too.”

“...We might be able to go save them,” Atsushi teased, smirking.

Carnelian snorted, but Riley could see him grinning. “Eleven rest them and you too if you want that suicide mission.”  

 A cloud of smoke scented of sweet tobacco and fiery cindermint joined the fog, turning Riley’s stomach. His choice in smokes was still abysmal. She didn’t dare move, so she strained to hear them as they passed her by.

“So is it technically the Twelve now?”

“Nah, I don’t think so, it’s not like he’s a separate element. Maybe it explains the Arcanist’s constellation though.”

“The Emperor?”

“They don’t call it that anymore, its-- Wait, you’re into astrology?”

“Not really, but whenever Omen pens the horoscope, I pay attention.”

Riley’s mind was reeling. A twin of the Arcanist? She wouldn’t have believed it if Lutia and Camellia hadn’t also been involved. What had happened to it? Where was it now? She was filled with the kind of questions whose answers had gotten her in trouble in the past. And because she had not changed at all, she immediately chased after them. 

The click of her shoes was deafening in the fog. She hadn’t noticed at all that their passing had been entirely silent aside from their voices. They turned back to look at her rather casually. They didn’t seem bothered that they might have been overheard, or followed, but the moment Carnelian parted the fog to see what manner of idiot or lost tourist he was dealing with, he froze. 

Riley tried to look the least like herself possible, but the look on his face suggested there wasn’t a glamour or mask or choice of wardrobe in all of Sornieth that could have hidden her identity from him. So she dropped the bit and lit a cigarillo.

“You two have certainly gotten close~” she called, leering over the smoke. 

Atsushi clearly remembered her--the look of recognition at the sound of her voice was telltale--yet he wasn’t quick to be his candid self. His eyes went to Carnelian, who hadn’t moved an inch and was coolly staring her way. 

The last time they had spoken had been in front of his daughter’s burning corpse. No doubt seeing her face again was bringing back all kinds of bad memories, and she didn’t have a good grasp on what kind of man he had become after all that. He had ripped a pearlsnatcher’s wings off, sure, but that wasn’t much different from the violent imperial she had stalked in eons past. 

Finally, Carnelian gave an indifferent huff, and kept walking. “Anyway, Omen’s horoscopes have probably saved my life at least once.”

“Really?” Atsushi went after him without a second glance at Riley. “I would never have picked you for the superstitious type.”

“It’s about as superstitious as an almanac if a witch writes it.”

Riley stared after them both. Atsushi was one thing, if he had Carnelian’s attention she hardly found it odd for him to have tunnel vision. But Carnelian had just...ignored her entirely. It should have been a red flag, but she took it the way she usually did: as permission. 

She walked right up and before she could even begin to overstep her boundaries, Carnelian had her by the horns. She stared at him, feeling terror well up even as he continued to look at her with complete detachment. Almost as if he were regarding an uninteresting bug.

To yet more of her surprise, he released her entirely unharmed. Atsushi shrugged somewhat impatiently her way when she looked at him for an explanation. “Things change.”

“Enough for you two to be friends?” she spat, as skeptical as she was disgusted.

Carnelian’s brows drew together. He flicked the last of his cigar into an alley, very carefully blew the last of the smoke into Riley’s face, and leaned down to kiss Atsushi. 

Riley’s mind blanked. It was happening right in front of her, but some vital connection between the act and the implications was failing and in its absence it became as if she had accidentally happened on strangers kissing in the street. How else was she supposed to make sense of Carnelian, who could barely be caught giving his own daughter an affectionate gesture, openly kissing someone he had previously hated at least as much as he hated her--in the middle of the street no less?

It was the growl that snapped her out of it. A half-rumbled remark about Atsushi being short before Carnelian abandoned the effort of bending and scooped him up instead. And something about Atsushi’s calves crossing over Carnelian’s lower back sent a bolt through Riley that lasso’d her rapidly disassociating mind back to ground zero. 

“WH-WHA-” she stammered, making a lot of noise but very little sense.

Atsushi surfaced from whatever the fuck was happening, and she was almost glad for the familiarity of the manic look in his eyes. But it quickly took a turn into radiating menace, and he snarled at her with more force than she thought possible from someone so breathless. 

“GO. AWAY.”

At that point, having gotten far more information that she really wanted, she was more than happy to obey, and in fact obeyed her way all the way back through Thunder’s March, taking nothing but her notebook and a bottle of the stiffest alcohol she could find.

On her way out, Paradise wished her safe travels and hoped she would visit Aphaster again. 

Riley closed her eyes and got to work removing the cork. It was going to be a long trip home. 

@boyonetta

#In which Carnelian says fuck you that's not my friend bitch #(And also some actually lore relevant things occur) #C: Carnelian #C: Riley #C: Rubranova #C: Rebis #Aphaster Stories #Also the Arcanist ending up as Gemini for the Zodiac Arc was priceless considering the development with Sirius

[recentanimenews]

Discotek Announces Memories, Urusei Yatsura Movies, and More

  Discotek Media has a fresh slate of new announcements from their industry panel at teleconference anime convention AnimeLockdown, and we've got the run-down of their acquisitions and license-rescues, which include the following:

    1001 Nights: An adult animated take on the Arabian Nights folktales, this 1969 film is directed by Eiichi Yamamoto and produced by Osamu Tezuka. It was originally given an X rating by the MPAA when it was screened theatrically in the United States in 1970. Discotek's Bluray release will include a new restoration of the long lost “international version” edited English dub.

    S-Cry-Ed: A 2001 TV anime directed by Goro Taniguchi and animated by Sunrise. Will be released by Discotek Media on Bluray with the English dubbed and subtitled versions. Originally released in the United States by Bandai Entertainment, who described the story of the series as follows:

  22 years ago, Tokyo was destroyed by a cataclysmic earthquake and in the aftermath the devastated region was just abandoned by the government. This area became known as the Lost Ground and it gave rise to Alter Users, people with unique psychic abilities to change matter and create Alters with incredible power. To bring order back to the Lost Ground, the special police force HOLO was formed and using Alter Users themselves created HOLY to capture and control the renegade Native Alters. One such renegade is Kazuma, a Native Alter who thrives on the thrill of a good fight and the cash rewards. The power of this Alter, Shell Bullet is put to the test when HOLY comes knocking on his door and Kazuma must fight for his freedom and the safety of his friends. But is he strong enough to take on HOLY's most powerful Alter User Ryuho and his Alter, Zetsuei?

    Case Closed: "Episode One": aka TV Special 6, a modern retelling of the origin story of Shinichi Kudo, aka Detective Conan Edogawa. To be released on Bluray, featuring a new English dub by Bang Zoom!.

    Memories: A 1995 anthology film based on the manga of Katsuhiro Otomo, composed of three segments: Magnetic Rose, directed by Koji Morimoto; Stink Bomb, directed by Tensai Okamura; and Cannon Fodder, directed by Katsuhiro Otomo. Originally released on U.S. home video by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The Discotek Bluray release will feature a new English language dub, a revised English subtitled script, and it will be remastered in 1080p HD. Scheduled to be released in 2021.

    The Urusei Yatsura film series: Previously released on home video in the United States by AnimEigo, Discotek will be publishing Bluray releases for the remaining five films in the Urusei Yatsura theatrical anime movie series: Only You, Remember My Love, Lum the Forever, The Final Chapter, and Always My Darling. Discotek has previously released the second film, Urusei Yatsura: Beautiful Dreamer. The Blurays will feature 1080p transfers of the films as well as the English dubbed and English subtitled versions.

    Demon City Shinjuku: a 1988 theatrical anime film directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri and animated by Madhouse, based on the supernatural novel by Hideyuki Kikuchi. The new Bluray release is coming in July of 2020, and Discotek describes the story of the film as follows:

  The near future. The glittering skyline of Tokyo now lies broken and crumbling under the weight of an oppressive evil: The tyrannical Rebi Rah. Desperate to rescue her father, who was taken captive by Rah and his monstrous minions, the beautiful Sayaka Rama enlists the help of Kyoya, a streetwise Tokyo teenager. The two must bravely venture into the Demon City, where even the army fears to tread.

    Love Hina Again: A 3-part OAV series from 2002, continuing the adventures of Keitaro Urashima and the girls of Hinata House. Originally released on home video in the United States by Bandai Entertainment, the Discotek Bluray release will include the original Bandai Entertainment English dub, the original Bandai Entertainment extras, and a 1080i upscale transfer.

    Lupin the 3rd: Dragon of Doom: A 1994 TV special directed by Masaharu Okuwaki. Previously released on U.S. home video by Funimation. To be released on Bluray. Goemon cuts an airplane in half in this one.

  There's a little something for everyone. I'm personally looking forward to an HD copy of Memories, another release of Demon City Shinjuku (I think I own like three copies of this already), the Urusei Yatsura movies, and Tezuka being horny on main.

  Source: Discotek Media Panel at AnimeLockdown

    ---

Paul Chapman is the host of The Greatest Movie EVER! Podcast and GME! Anime Fun Time.

By: [email protected]

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

[cathrynstreich]

What Is a Seller Counseling Session? 10 Reasons Why You Need One

The following information is provided by the Center for REALTOR® Development (CRD).

A seller counseling session occurs at the beginning of your relationship with a current or prospective seller client, and is a strategic activity that helps ensure a high-quality experience for everyone involved.

The consequences of unprepared sellers cannot be overstated. In a recent article from REALTOR® Magazine, agent Ryan Zwicky outlines some lessons learned the hard way, one of which was about setting appropriate expectations from the start. Zwicky says, “I learned that trying to please the seller only harms them in the end. It is better to be completely honest and open from the start.”

A seller counseling session is a powerful expectation-setting tool. It can be a sit-down meeting in-person, a virtual web-based teleconference, or even a long phone call—all supplemented with a print resource to help guide the conversation. The mode of communication that you use for it is not quite as important as your ability to carve out uninterrupted one-on-one time for yourself and the seller to get to know one another a little more deeply, and to go over how everything will work.

There is no one set way to do a seller counseling session, but there are some best practices and resources—home-grown or for-purchase—that can help you plan the conversation beforehand so that you don’t forget any aspect that needs to be discussed. For example, the Real Estate Business Institute (REBI), an affiliate of NAR, offers sets of customizable PowerPoint® presentation templates online at our Center for REALTOR® Development to help with structuring the conversation. The slides can be reorganized and adapted as needed to your situation. For those that want to take their seller representation skills to an even higher level, REBI also offers its Seller Representative Specialist (SRS) Designation Course on our site, as well. It also offers the course for classroom delivery, and a schedule of upcoming courses.

Regardless of the exact structure and the exact resources used, a seller counseling session is an invaluable strategic tool that will help you succeed as a seller’s representative. Below are 10 reasons why.

Demonstrate Your Value – The session helps you showcase your service package by giving you the opportunity to highlight and explain your business background, your education qualifications, the extent of your experience, and the value you bring to the process. Your expertise and service orientation will help your client feel at ease and taken care of.

Set Expectations – The session will help you set expectations so that in the long run there will be fewer surprises (and therefore fewer delays and less confusion). The client will come to understand their role, your role, and the roles of everyone else along the way. Things will run more smoothly. Smooth transactions lead to more referrals.

Get on the Same Page – As confusion and potential misunderstandings are addressed and cleared away up-front, the session will help put you and your client on the same team so that you are working together with each other, and not at odds or toward opposing goals.

Reduce Risk – Because of this meeting, there will be fewer chances for confusion, missteps, breaches and conflict. Whenever processes are made clearer at the outset, the risk of veering off into antagonistic or dangerous waters is greatly minimized.

Explain What You Can and Can’t Do – An important aspect of further reducing risk is addressing what you as the client advocate can and cannot do. By addressing this early, there will be fewer or no client expectations or demands that you do something which is unethical, illegal, uncomfortable, or just plain fishy. You can go over how agency works in your state and all of the seller disclosures required. You can also discuss what the REALTOR® Code of Ethics requires of you, your fiduciary duty to your client, and what that looks like in day-to-day practice.

Outline the Process – Your client will be a more calm, confident and cooperative partner once they have a big-picture scheme in their mind about what the entire process will entail. So do this for them in the seller consultation session; give them the big-picture, 50,000-foot view. This may be second nature to you, but to them, the entire process may be foreign and disorienting. They may not need as many check-ins along the way, and it will be less likely that they will become upset with you if you have explained the overall process beforehand.

Position the Property – Having an in-depth conversation about the property, its current position in the market, what can be done to improve this position, like staging (and what can’t be overcome), will help you down the road when you and your client have to deal with price reductions, price negotiations, concessions, contingencies, multiple offers, deals that fall through, and so on.

Explain Fees – Understanding the line items of the different services clients are paying for will head off a number of questions, objections and frustrations down the road, especially if things get challenging. Having a talk about fees as connected to the value of what you do to help the property succeed in the marketplace is key.

Gather Preferences – The seller counseling session is a great time to gather information to help you understand how your client prefers to communicate and be treated. Do they want a daily or weekly check-in, by phone or text? How would they prefer open houses be handled? What makes them stressed and what puts them at ease? You’ll want to gather this information to help you serve them in the way that works best for them.

Provide Resources – The session will provide you the opportunity to share resources that the seller can take home with them, review in detail on their own time, and ask questions about later. The value of takeaways and reading material as time-saving educational tools cannot be underestimated. The seller counseling session helps you present and offer these materials so that the seller knows they exist and understands how to review them.

To learn much more about seller counseling sessions and seller representation overall, please consider checking out the education, benefits, and resources offered by REBI and its SRS Designation. In March, the featured 25% OFF designation course at the Center for REALTOR® Development is the Seller Representative Specialist (SRS) Designation Course, which is the basic requirement toward obtaining this credential.

For more information, please visit RISMedia’s online learning portal from NAR’s Center for REALTOR® Development (CRD) and the Learning Library. Here, real estate professionals can sign up for online professional development courses, industry designations, certifications, CE credits, Code of Ethics programs and more. NAR’s CRD also offers monthly specials and important education updates. New users will need to register for an account.

The post What Is a Seller Counseling Session? 10 Reasons Why You Need One appeared first on RISMedia.

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[ahffm]

Friend’s, Kings, Queens, Princes, Princesses, Chiefs and my peoples please join me to celebrate with His Imperial Majesty Kabiyesi, Oonirisa, Arole Oodua, HRM OBA Adeyeye Enitan Babatunde Ogunwusi. (OJAJA II) Ooni of Ile Ife. Happy Birthday Adimula Ile Yoruba. May you live long on earth and see the goodness of GOD ALMIGHTY FATHER. Baba Igba odun laye, odun kan ni Arole Oodua. Baba ke pe fun wa. Omo Ojaja fidi ote jale Omo Ayi kiti Ogun Omo etiri Ogun Kare o Leyoo aje okun Ooni Ajere aboju jojo New Ooni of Ife, Enitan Ogunwusi Oke leyin Moore O taye so bi igba Omo Laade Omo Ibi ro Omo ajongbodo Omo osun meru ti kun Omo ibi ola ti n wa Omo Ayikiti Ogun tiri Ogun Mo rejana bi oni roko aburo etiri Omo Degbin Mo nlo nre igbode Omo Luusi Omo arugbo-ile igbode abika lorun Omo o fose foso, komo Olominrin feeru fo Omo oke mo ri tikun aya sile. Omo afinju oloja mo ledena meji Omo afinju oloja mo re pole owu. wari oore naa ke e momo Olominrin, Ona na ro mo Ooni ria. Omo Ekun sun-un birade, Omo Odelu kan- bi, Omo opo mefa oo lerunwa Ade temi efeefa ni ere Omo bodere agboobon, Ikoko degbo deru. Omo ajongbodo. Omo Debooye Omo Giesi ijana Mo ba Giesi rejana Mo ba Debooye a repole Omo igun gbebo – mo re igbode Omo igun la gba Omo igun la je Omo igun kogokogo lorule Igun ile rin-in gbebo Akalamagbo ile rin gbo eru titu Bi ‘ha je tan mun tan Han moke ikole gun Mosi ikole Yanrin mi obu lode ibi an ba ti ba’gun a tii se igun loore Omo igun aare mo re ipole Omo igun gbebo igbode nile re O re more bi oni roko Ooro lo to rise de Han magbala sawesu Han merinla funfun sekeji Adimula Bi ila oooo Adimula Orisa keji Yesi a bimo re kope I’ooni o Adimula. Bi ila Egberin ekun Ajalaye elegberin ikere Egberin ekun naa si koni rise dodo Adimula Erin a fin bi okin Omo erin gangan ile Omo erin gangan ode Omo erin fi mi joye korun mi mo Omo erin fi mi joye ki ndekun bebe ona yiye Abu ajana ogbe Oba Adeyeye seerin oko bi idikun Oloja Omo Ogunwusi Adefisan Yeuke Koo ba ti mun’gun koloree A ore a han Omo Osun meru tikun Omo oye ni moore Maa niso ni gbangba Omo Abodere Omo Agboo ibon Owolomu ero agbada Omo Ayidina Omo Ayilubii Ponpola abeso jingbinni O dabi oruru laofin Oni rakun saye Yesi b’ooni mi wi o Oke an setile gun Mo roke etiri Ojaja mo mi rodi Tigbo tiju a ke riri Ayidina Odi ile lo mi ree ni Abi toko – Ayilcibii Omo Dodo bi ide Omo Ayikiti Oba Etiri Oba ni Moore Omo Giesi Degbin koko o hanro igbode koko o hanro Kan fi wun Ooni seje lori opo Eran lo jagbagba Omo Olominrin Ototo Oniyan lo je tomo Giesi Oni tii goke esinminrin Ko wi eru segi npa un Omo alaran orin Omo erin meji alo Omo Ologbenla a ridi ire gabo A riwo obi salejo Paraka ode igbodo Ologbenla a ya’mo paara koji A yidina bi oke O soko ekiti soko akoko Oni akoko nbimo de lese oke O degbo Igbin O di kaka bi Oni nrogun Me tete mo wi aje okun lo bi o Omo Agbedegbede Oyibo Omo Agbagba orire nso bi eyokunyokun Opoto nso bi ikan were nile mi Omo o soro ko sikisiki bose Omo o soro fese saworo bade Omo o soro jo somunlele rodo Omo o soro gbokunrin niyawo Omo olodun besebese Oji Oniyan lo bese somi ria ni morire agbada Agbagba mi so ipete feye je loja ife Oni gunyan koko ko wi eyin un bu iloni gun Omundunmudun adofun dekuru ti maa se Olori mi ta Alakara mi ta Oporoporo o nso bi eru isu Ari tii ala Ibee ja ibee maa se sabuja re Omo Onile aran ^ Mo mi rele mo mi laa sun Omo Oloju orunO rigbin ninu oko o fi dooro He Omo Akundinrin esa Omo Igun aare lo bi o omo onitaji Oni Giesi bi gbogbo ko bi gbogbo Ke de lade ale lo loyun re Itupa meta ona ilase Ikan nse ni ni rora Ikan gbe itupa mo ni O wi epo to ni Omo Nibaayo Abu iteni mo ba Giesi lo Omo owa too lukin foba Omo igun gee ore Omo igunlade yoko Gresi modi Gresi fire gbe lese Man diro ni Moore Maa rebi agbon re Omo Elekole Oni bimo kan ko yeniyan O ya jugba eriwo Omo lo Omo Giesi Omo Debooye Laroka modi Giesi fire gbe lese E si un a soloja ko modi korun. Kare o Oba Babatunde Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Omo baba ria omo Oba Ropo Ogunwusi Luuyin – Arobaade yeye oro nijesa Man wi ki Lowa gbe’bi Man gbegigun Man wi ki woye gbebi O gbaraba Man Feyinkunie Fanimowu gbebi titi o fi de’bokun Kabiyesi o Ooni Oba Babatunde Adeyeye Eniitan Ogunwusi Ade a pe lori Bata a pe lese. Ku o eye re o, Babatunde Akande Olewa lowo Olesi merindinlogun Mejo njoko Mejo salarije Kabiyesi About us: “AHFFM” - AFRICAN HOME OF FASHIONS MAGAZINE is a Fashions Magazine that publishing and marketing fashion wears, fashion designers clothes, fashion icons, fashion ways, different kind of individual stylizes fashionable dresses, gowns, clothes, for female, male, adult, children and different heritages and we also coverage for birthday parties, naming ceremonies, wedding’s, anniversaries, house warming, business profiles, corporate adverts, personality profiles, entertainment and products advertisement “. When you log into “AHFFM - AFRICAN HOME OF FASHIONS MAGAZINE”, you are automatically a member. You are free to post any of your beautiful, sexy, pretty and fashionable pictures on it. It will be use for publishing and marketing for AHFFM, and there will be no terms of payment exchange for your pictures. You are free to join us, be part of our heritage, viewers, friends etc.. We are ready to serve our communities and the rest of the world. We thank all our readers, viewers and friends, we look forward doing business with all races. God bless us. For more informations contact us at: FB/@Africanhffm.com/ ahffm.tumblr.com/africanhffm.Instagram.com/AHFFM.Pinterest.com