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thejoyofseax · 10 months

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Why We Can't Have Medieval Food

I noted in a previous post that I'd "expand on my thinking on efforts to reproduce period food and how we’re just never going to know if we have it right or not." Well, now I have 2am sleep?-never-heard-of-it insomnia, so let's go.

At the fundamental level, this is the idea that you can't step in the same river twice. You can put your foot down at the same point in space, and it'll go into water, but that's different water, and the bed of the river has inevitably changed, even a little, from the last time you did so.

Our ingredients have changed. This is not just because we can't get the fat from fat-tailed sheep in Ireland, or silphium at all anywhere, although both of those are true. But the aubergine you buy today is markedly different to the aubergine that was available even 40 years ago. You no longer need to salt aubergine slices and draw out the bitter fluids, which was necessary for pretty much all of the thing's existence before (except in those cultures that liked the bitter taste). The bitterness has been bred out of them. And the old bitter aubergine is gone. Possibly there are a few plants of it preserved in some archive garden, or a seed bank, or something, but I can't get to those.

We don't really have a good idea of the plant called worts in medieval English recipes. I mean, we know (or we're fairly sure) it was brassica oleracea. But that one species has cultivars as distinct as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts, collard greens, Savoy cabbage, kohlrabi, and gai lan (list swiped from Wikipedia). And even within "cabbage" or "kale", you have literally dozens of varieties. If you plant the seeds from a brassica, unless you've been moderately careful with pollination, you won't get the same plant as the seeds are from. You can crossbreed brassicas just by planting them near each other and letting them flower. And of course there is no way to determine what varietal any medieval village had, a very high likelihood that it was different to the village next door, and an exceedingly high chance that that varietal no longer exists. Further, it only ever existed for a few tens of years - before it went on cross-breeding into something different. So our access to medieval worts (or indeed, cabbage, kale, etc) is just non-existant.

Some other species within the brassica genus are as varied. Brassica rapa includes oilseed rape, field mustard, turnip, Chinese cabbage, and pak choi.

We have an off-chance, as it happens, of getting almost the same kind of apple as some medieval varieties, because apples can only be reproduced for orchard use by grafting, which is essentially cloning. Identification through paintings, DNA analysis, and archaeobotany sometimes let us pin down exactly which apple was there. But the conditions under which we grow those apples are probably not the same as the medieval orchard. Were they thinned? When were they harvested? How were they stored? And apples are pretty much the best case.

Medieval wheat was practically a different plant. It was far pickier about where it would grow, and frequently produced 2-4 grains per stalk. A really good year had 6-8. In modern conditions, any wheat variety with less than 30 grains per stalk would be considered a flop.

Meats are worse. Selective breeding in the last century has absolutely and completely changed every single species of livestock, and if you follow that back another five centuries, some of them would be almost unrecognisable. Even our heritage breeds are mostly only about 200 years old.

Cheese, well. Cheese is dependent on very specific bacteria, and there are plenty of conditions where the resulting cheese is different depending on whether it was stored at the back or front of the cave. Yogurts, quarks, skyrs, etc, are also live cultures, and almost certainly vary massively. (I have a theory about British cheese here, too, which I'll expand on in a future post)

So, even before you go near the different cooking conditions (wood, burnables like camel and cow dung, smoke, the material and condition of cooking pots), we just can't say with any reliability that the food we're making now is anything like medieval people produced from the same recipe. We can't even say that with much reliability over a century.

Under very controlled conditions, you could make an argument for very specific dishes. If you track down a wild mountain sheep in Afghanistan, and use water from a local spring, and salt from some local salt mine, then you can make a case that you can produce something fairly close to the original ma wa milh, the water-and-salt stew that forms the most basic dish in Arabic cookery. But once you start introducing domestic livestock, vegetables, or even water from newer wells, you're now adrift.

It is possible that some dishes taste exactly the same, by coincidence. But we can't determine that. We can't compare the taste of a dish from five years ago, let alone five hundred, because we're only just getting to a state where we can "record" a taste accurately. Otherwise it's memory and chance.

We've got to be at peace with this. We can put in the best efforts we can, and produce things that are, in spirit, like the medieval dishes we're reading about. But that's as good as it gets.

#medieval cookery #medieval cooking #food history #historical cookery #historical cuisine #medieval arabic cookery #horticulture #genetics

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dessertgeek · 6 months

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The Mari Lwyd Twitter saga (2020 - part three)

This is part of my efforts to transcribe @seananmcguire's holiday Mari Lwyd Twitter threads. The hashtag for now is #Mari Lwyd Project, the first post is here, the thread's source is here.

(Many thanks to @dor-min on finding and linking this one!)

There are a couple from this year that are short, and even single replies that Seanan likely didn't have time to reply to. So this is their collection! Authors will be linked in their comments as best I can.

CW for food, just in case.

Lorcan Murphy (Twitter): Alas were I only a mutual, Mari Lwyd I'd offer rhymes crucial. We'd barter o'er offering asked unpredictable Afore presenting a demanded varietal victual The dead from the living must bide dividual But this rhyme for the horse is purely volitional.

Seanan: Your rhyming's exquisite, So clean and refined. I'll grant you a visit, To seek cheese with rind, Or cheese that's been softened, Or processed or plain... When Mari Lwyd's summoned, She sings her refrain.

Cheese or beer! Cheese or beer! I know that you have it here!

Lorcan: Alas all my beer has been spilt in a pan And as unlikely it seems, my cheese melted and ran My flour and yeast in the oven to bake So I'm terrible short of scran you can take Bide if you can, I'll no make it a habit and I'll offer a pretzel and Welsh-German rabbit

---

Cassandra Khaw (Carrd / Twitter): A single wedge of manchego I do possess, Not a wedge nor a morsel more than that, If I was someone who had cheese in excess, I'd offer them to you, and have all your desires.

But lo, you bony equine, Such is all I can give: This lonely cheese of mine, I offer in tithe.

Seanan: To give when there's plenty Is glorious kind: But it's kinder by far When you've little but rind.

I am grateful to you, On this shortest of days, For your holiday spirit And generous ways.

---

The singles!

(I'm posting peoples' handles as I see them, will do my best here. If someone rhymed or made poetry and I couldn't find a 'do not repost' on their profile, I included it.)

John & Bucky: I’m just here to watch A skeletal horse seeking Cheese and wine through rhyme

Stephanie Annand: Alas! For the lack! Of cheese in my home; Will you accept yogurt As onward you roam?

Eleri: I have some ok parm, and a generic swiss A really good chevre would not go amiss This stupid pandemic has cut into my cheese-buying I'm afraid sharing these cheeses, the dead horse would send me flying.

Paige Wolf: Cheese and spiced wine You’ll definitely find; In my kitchen, I’ll fill up your cup!

Come in please, my friend! Time we will spend, In drinking and singing, Bottoms up!

warcabbit: Wassail, wassail? I give you mulled ale and a nice nutty cheese to boot.

It is the season Be kind without reason And generous with gifts and loot.

Stephanie Caitlyn: I do not have cheese, I only have curry, For when I did leave, It was in quite a hurry.

Into the headlights I peer like a deer, But with you I gladly will share my paneer.

Starry_Marie: I know there are many With rhymes that are better But one thing I do have - A large chunk of cheddar

@Chimaera.bsky.social: Oh Mare, at thy feet I lay Some Caveman Blue and olives today. Cambezola roasted with garlic cloves, Squeezed upon fine grilled bread loaves. A bit of Brie to melt your heart, A nutty Parm to fuel your start, Melted Gruyère to dip things in, & Queso fresco (you're looking thin)

Cake and Arsenic: Oh mari lywd, please don't feel down, With your big boney head, in your white cotton shroud, For you'll find that my larder is stocked full of cheese, And you're welcome to come and eat all that you please.

JLH: (not a mutual, but it seems fun and kinda inspired me) Dread equine I hear your call! And in my larder is a prize, A piece of asiago for your skeletal maw Please accept my gift and silence your cries.

#Mari Lwyd Project #Lorcan Murphy #Cassandra Khaw #Seanan McGuire #Mari Lwyd #Food #I love how so many folks got into the spirit #There are two Seanan replies I skipped #As the verses are replies to folks who don't wan't their posts seen by all #It felt rude to interrupt

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hexjulia · 28 days

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reading more about atomic gardening and this is so much fun. to read about that is. it also seems fun to do, but. you know. anyway:

"The story of these citizen-pioneers of mutagenesis (the technical term for creating genetic change through the application of chemical, physical, and biological agents) is full of fantastic details, from Muriel Howorth’s propagandising ballet-mime, Isotopia, which involved a cast of Knowledge, Electron, Proton, Neutron, Rat, and Cow, as well as a working geiger counter, to Tennessee-based atomic entrepreneur C.J. Speas irradiating trays of seedlings into his backyard bunker.

IMAGE: C.J. Speas giving a tour of his radioactive bunker to high school students, photo by Grey Villet for Life, via Pruned.

Perhaps the most bizarre detail in the interview, however, is the news that these gamma gardens are still in operation, relatively unchanged in design since the 50s, in the grounds of national laboratories today. Their circular form, which, as Johnson notes, bears more than a passing resemblance to the atomic danger symbol, “was simply based upon the need to arrange the plants in concentric circles around the radiation source which stood like a totem in the center of the field.”

It was basically a slug of radioactive material within a pole; when workers needed to enter the field it was lowered below ground into a lead lined chamber. There were a series of fences and alarms to keep people from entering the field when the source was above ground. The amount of radiation received by the plants naturally varied according to how close they were to the pole. So usually a single variety would be arranged as a ‘wedge’ leading away from the pole, so that the effects of a range of radiation levels could be evaluated. Most of the plants close to the pole simply died. A little further away, they would be so genetically altered that they were riddled with tumors and other growth abnormalities. It was generally the rows where the plants ‘looked’ normal, but still had genetic alterations, that were of the most interest, that were ‘just right’ as far as mutation breeding was concerned!

Over at GOOD, Peter Smith recently described a similar layout at the still-active Institute of Radiation Breeding, in Hitachiohmiya, Japan, which has “has a 88.8 Terabecquerel Cobalt-60 source, ringed by a 3,608-foot radius Gamma field (the world’s largest), and a 28-foot high shield dike around the perimeter.”

IMAGE: A gamma garden at Brookhaven National Labs, New York, c. 1958; image provided by Paige Johnson, via Pruned.

IMAGE: Aerial view of the Institute of Radiation Breeding, Hitachiohmiya, Japan.

As it turns out, far from being a fantastic fossil from the future that never was, along with jetpacks and flying cars, atomic gardening is alive and well today. According to a 2007 New York Times story, which quotes Dr. Pierre Lagoda, head of plant breeding and genetics at the International Atomic Energy Agency, radiation breeding is actually experiencing a renaissance, due to the introduction of “new methods that speed up the identification of mutants.”

IMAGE: Mutant crop varieties mapped by The New York Times.

What’s more, the Times adds, nearly 2,000 gamma radiation-induced mutant crop varieties have been registered around the world, including Calrose 76, a dwarf varietal that accounts for about half the rice grown in California, and the popular Star Ruby and Rio Red grapefruits, whose deep colour is a mutation produced through radiation breeding in the 1970s. Similarly, Johnson tells Pruned that “most of the global production of mint oil,” with an annual market value estimated at $930 million, is extracted from the “wilt-resistant ‘Todd’s Mitcham’ cultivar, a product of thermal neutron irradiation.” She adds that “the exact nature of the genetic changes that cause it to be wilt-resistant remain unknown.”

IMAGE: “Pierre Lagoda, the head of plant breeding and genetics at the International Atomic Energy Agency, showing mutated plants at a greenhouse in Austria,” photo by Herwig Prammer for The New York Times."

#plants #i want to visit a gamma garden :(

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tbmc-education · 1 month

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What Actually is Programming?

Disclaimer: While programming does not always result in the formation of a system, I will be focusing this post on that as it is what I have most information about.

As stated in my 'Basics of Trauma Based Mind Control' post programming is the process of teaching a person unquestioned obedience with the intention of fragmenting the mind and creating dissociative amnesia/barriers between the parts.

But what does this actually mean?

In the most basic explanations it is perpetrators putting the victim through various types of torture to break down their ability to cope and have them turn to dissociation which they can then exploit by creating parts- or alters- which respond to specific triggers with doing whatever action the perpetrators wants them to.

The long explanation is much more complex and I will divide it into three main sections.

Number 1; Creating a system

I will not go into the specifics because I do not want that information to fall into the hands of the wrong people. But in order to create a system the victim must be under the age of 6-9 with many groups starting as young as birth or even in utero (note: you cannot develop DID/OSDD-1 in utero but it can increase how long it takes an infant to return to baseline after arousal.)

The trauma the victim undergoes typically attacks every part of their world and is inescapable which makes the victim turn to dissociation. Traumabonds occur here to make the child attached to the primary handler. (Primary handler and primary programmer are not always the same person, I use primary because there is typically more than one involved.) Once dissociative, perpetrators will begin to implement base/alpha programming as well as scripts.

In infancy scripts are simple so the victim can easily understand what they are being told. A script sets the base for the innerworld, alters and programs that will be implemented. Organisation programs are typically related to the base script.

Number 2; Alters and innerworlds

Alters exist as a protective mechanism and perpetrators take advantage of that by creating scenarios where the victim is hurt less if they do what perpetrators want them to. Perpetrators can also create specific scenarios such as treating the victim as an animal and forcing them to believe they are one in order to split an animal alter. Once an alter is split they are then heavily conditioned through more torture, hypnosis and drugs to believe what perpetrators want them to and follow certain behaviours in response to specific stimuli (cues).

Innerworlds are created through various means which for safety I will not list here but they can range from very simple to very complex and are often elaborated more by perpetrators as the victim grows up. Perpetrators will put in various structures to hold parts, memories, reprogram parts through trauma reenactment, hold discarded parts who were not up the perpetrators' standards, etc. Many survivors report having higher ups who flick switches internally to set of programs and those parts may or may not be fully aware of what the switches do, just that they have to flick them whenever a situation occurs.

Perpetrators are able to control the roles of alters, where they live internally, the amount of amnesia between each part/group and when it occurs, types of switches and their frequency, splitting patterns, innerworld structures, subsystems, subgroups, sidesystems, and more. This is not an exhaustive list and you don't need every single part in order to be programmed.

Number 3; Triggers and Cues

Cues can range from being simple sounds to complex situations and phrases. Hand signals, touches, sounds, phrases, smells, shapes, symbols, situations, etc can all be used as cues and there is no one list of them as each group had their own cues and even in the same group they can vary from survivor to survivor.

They are enforced through drugs, hypnosis, torture and conditioning often for many years and in a variety of situations to make responses to them become automatic. Responses to cues can vary from getting a specific part to front to getting into a specific sexual position to triggering dissociation and/or amnesia to attacking someone to internal punishments. Again this not an exhaustive list but more some examples of what cues can do.

Types of Programs

Note: there are many program lists out there but this is based on what I have commonly seen and what I have most information about. This is not an exhaustive list and I may have forgotten some common ones due to my own bad memory.

Alpha or base programming is obedience and loyalty that sets the base for all other programs to go off of. Dissociation and amnesia fall under this as well.

Beta programming is sexual programming. Parts can range from epsilon nonhuman to 'little girl' and they are taught the ways they are supposed to act during sexual abuse including positions, vocalisations and reactions. Alters typically fit a specific fetish or niche that the perpetrators want to gain pleasure and/or profit from.

Callback or chi programming is exactly what it sounds like. Parts are trained to return to perpetrators at certain dates, holidays, when the victim starts therapy, etc in order to keep the programming from being discovered and/or worked through. It heavily ties into reporter programming as well.

Delta programming is aggression or fight programming. Parts are trained to feel little to no emotions and/or attack on command, it is commonly associated with assassin programming however it's also used for snuff flims, 'dog' fights, and protection for the perpetrators.

Denial programming is feeding into the natural denial that comes with DID/OSDD-1 and turning it into an extreme. Denial of the trauma, specific people's involvement and any trauma disorders are very common with this program.

Duality programming is creating two seperate and opposite sides for example light and dark, day and night which usually do not get along in order to keep the system from communicating and working together.

Go insane or crazyland programming is a subset of punishment programming which is meant to make the victim feel like they are 'going insane.' This is done through flashbacks of being drugged, psychosis, high pitched noises in your head and various others things that parts are told to do whenever this program is cued.

Epsilon programming is dehumanisation programming, most commonly associated with animal parts however some people consider clay, angels, demons, dolls, robots, objects etc to fall under this type. It frequently crosses over with other programs for example with beta to create sexual dolls or sex kittens, or with delta to create attack or guard dogs.

Flood programming is the flooding of emotions, memories or sensations to overwhelm specific parts. It is used as both a punishment and therapy interference program. It can cause natural disasters internally however that is not always the case.

Handler programming teaches specific parts to be handlers be that internal or external. These parts are often responsible for triggering specific programs internally and can be higher up on the hierachy. It is important to remember these parts are not bad and deserve compassion just like every other part.

Hierarchical programming aims to set a strict hierachy internally typically with backups to prevent the programming from breaking down for as long as possible. This can be done by perpetrators assigning parts a place in the hierachy or having parts 'earn' those roles through more torture. The second type typically involves programs such as jewel/gem, metals, royalty etc where parts 'earn' the next rank.

Narco programming is sleep programming where parts will fall asleep on command, typically this is achieved through drugs and sleep deprivation which then cause body flashbacks to put the person to sleep.

Omega programming is suicide and self harm programming. It is a type of punishment program and can involves both successful suicide and intentionally failed suicide which are used as a warning. Self harm is used in similar ways and parts are taught to cut in specific places and patterns.

Organisational programming cover a very wide range of programs that are used to sort parts and make it easier for the perpetrators to keep track of. It frequently overlaps with hierarchical programming however that it isn't always the case. Colour, number, flower, play card programs are exmaples of organisational programming that may or may not also be hierarchical.

Programmer programming is technically a type of delta programming that teaches a part to become a programmer be that internal or external. They are responsible for reprogramming parts internally and are often higher up in the hierachy. They are not bad and deserve the same compassion as all other parts.

Punishment programming cover a wide range of programs such as omega, spin, scramble, go insane and many more. Every programmed system will have at least one in order to protect perpetrators and stop any disclosures of the abuse.

Scramble programming is a type of punishment programming where words and/or thoughts become scrambled which makes speaking and/or thinking very difficult. It is commonly used a therapy interference program alongside being a punishment program. Writing backwards, writing/saying the opposite of wha you mean, etc are all a type of scramble programming.

Shell programming creates a specific front part that other parts front through. They have little to no personality and some may not be sentient at all. Also referred as a default part although that term is not programming specific whereas shell is. These parts exist to keep the system from being detected from both insiders and outsiders, they link up memories for the day-to-day parts to ensure they don't realise they are losing time and frequently numb them to any pain that the body is in.

Silence programming causes the loss of the ability to speak which is useful to perpetrators as a therapy interference program and also as a punishment program.

Spin programming causes the sensation of spinning which can some with dizziness, disorientation and/or nausea. It can spread flashbacks or emotions throughout various parts. Can be both a punishment and/or therapy interference program.

Reporter programming ties heavily with callback programming. Parts are taught to report every life change, move, internal activity, etc to perpetrators even when the victim is no longer physically with the perpetrators to ensure they always know what the victim is up to and make sure programming is not breaking down.

Therapy interference programming is a wide range of programs that occur to make therapy more difficult for the victim and therefore stop the programming from being discovered and worked on. These frequently overlap with punishment programs such as spin, go insane, and flood.

Theta programming is a fairly recent term for religious programming. It's a very broad label covering everything from parts who believe themselves to be God or Satan to parts who believe they are meant to be a sacrifice or carry the next coming of Christ. This is not an exhaustive list and I couldn't possibly fit all experiences of religious programming into one tumblr post.

An important thing to keep in mind is that programming will be unique to the victim and no one can tell you whether or not something is a program. There is also a lot more programs that I have listed here like I mentioned above however I heavily discourage the public use of specific programs because they can very easily be taken advantage of.

Also remember that every part is heavily traumatised and exists for survival. There is no such thing as a bad part because they all exist for a reason even if they have maladaptive coping skills and are programmed to be destructive, patience and compassion is necessary for those parts to recover and recovery for them is very much possible.

Dangers

Ideally everyone would be able to deprogram with a safe professional who is trained in programming however that is not always the case. While you cannot process trauma without a therapist there are several ways for you to slowly begin deprogramming as stated in Allison Miller's Becoming Yourself. However there are still many dangers such as omega and callback programs being triggered which can result in death or returning to your group assuming you left in the first place because many victims don't realise they are still in contact with their groups.

Another danger is consuming information aimed at therapists such as Allison Miller's other book and a whole variety of resources that frequently go around RAMCOA spaces. These books go into far too many details and not only run the risk of triggering programs that could potentially kill victims of programming but also run the risk of heavily retraumatising victims. Suvivors of other types of abuse could also be traumatised by reading such detailed accounts of abuse. It is dangerous to be reading professional resources without a therapist and/or without being in recovery long enough to where your window of tolerance is much wider.

Online spaces are full of misinformation ontop of being very anti recovery. They encourage the use of very specific program names publicly and have roles for those as well as scripts which I shouldn't have to explain how dangerous that is. The more specific the program the easier it will be for bad people to figure out cues and harm you. Remember that safety as a programming survivor is extremely important as groups can and do target people online. Be very mindful of the information you share online about your system and trauma especially if you are minor and/or not in therapy with a strong support system.

Frequently Asked Questions

- Why do people program?

The main reason is power and control. Perpetrators have near total control over their victim and their mind which in their eyes is also a way to never get exposed because of the dissociative barriers which is not always actually the case.

Perpetrators also use programming in order to exploit their victims through human trafficking, drug trafficking, military work, furthering their cult's agenda, teaching them to program so they can continue to work for the group, etc.

- Is programming always a type of organised abuse?

Yes, in order for programming to be successful there needs to be several people in order to reinforce the programming and create the systematic abuse and torture that is needed in order to program someone.

Parents are not always involved however DID/OSDD-1 require a disorganised attachment style which comes from caregivers who are not intune with the child's needs including dismissing any disclosures or signs of abuse.

- Can programming be unintentional?

No, because of the systematic abuse and torture that is required for programming it will always be intentional. However perpetrators may not fully understand the concept of DID/OSDD-1 which can show up in various ways.

- Can programming happen online?

No, programming require near constant access to the victim as well as enough trauma to make the victim believe they will die which is not possible online. You can have preexisting programming be cued online as well as be conditoned online but you cannot be programmed solely online.

- Can programming happen later in life?

Yes, however it will not create a system and if the victim is already a system then the perpetrators will not have the same level of control as they would if they created a system for example they would not be able to control amnesia or switches between pre existing parts or change the splitting patterns.

- What do programs feel like?

In my experience, it feels like I am going into a trance. I only have one thing on my mind and I am heavily depersonalised almost watching myself from a distance. I have little to no control over what I am doing and afterwards I am disoriented and confused as to what happened.

#hc did #hcdid #ramcoa #mind control #organised abuse #tbmc #trauma based mind control #programming

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intoloopin · 7 months

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✹ … ⥁ A MONTH IN LOOP NEWS: SEPTEMBER

Opening up the month with a much anticipated announcement in a not so ideal setting, New Wave Music saw itself corned to confirm LOOPiN's upcoming album after leaking of the comeback logo, tracklist and promotion schedule took place on September 11th.

'Internet War', the group's 4th full album according to the leaked content, is a half hyperpop inspired, half mellow PC pop devoted project set to introduce a new batch of units to the group - two trios and two duos, as seen on their pre-debut era. Aside from dual title tracks 'Jump' and 'Tell Me What To Do', the album will have 12 b-side tracks.

New Wave Music took to social media on the 12th to confirm the content as belonging to LOOPiN, and attaching an official date to the release: October 10th. Curiously enough, no commentary on legal consequences against the prossecutors of the information early released have been found on the statement, fueling rumors that the leak might have come from staff or even the members themselves in some unespected, unconventional form of marketing or preassure to actually release music - something LOOPiN hadn't done since April.

While the upcoming fictional survival show 'Show Me The One' is taking its time to unravel the official lineup on social media, a varieted amount of entertainment companies have already announced their compeating trainees - divited on the show on teams of multiples of 3s. New Wave Music made no different: on September 16th, the company shared a news outlet confirming trainees Dahyung (25), Chaeun (23) and Furumi (22) of Team RIIDEWAVEE as not only their 'Show Me The One' representatives, but also a third of the lineup of their future girl group, set to debut on the first semester of 2024.

While there's clear rumors of who two out of the three trainees might be - Dahyung is highly especulated to be former MIDNESTRA member Kim Dahyung, while Furumi can't be anyone else but Fukunaga Furumi, Nogizaka46 graduate and the younger sister of LOOPiN's Haruki -, Chaeun is still an unknown name.

We wish the girls good luck on the show and a successful debut!

TW: mention of suicide.

On September 22th, Choi Sangwon, 41, was found and reported dead in a motel room in rural area Damyang by three witnesses - later confirmed as Idols by a minor south korean tabloid with no real evidence to back it, but a name prestigious enough for it to be taken as truth right away. Any further information on the identity of the alleged celebrities has yet to surface.

Sangwon, who had been a well known manager for multitple K-Pop acts such as 3rd gen leader boy group INPEAK (from 2011 to 2014), one hit wonder girl group Sweet-X (2015), LOOPiN (2016 to 2022) and more recently, rising girl group FairLand (2022). Taking the role of marketing adviser and trainee evaluator in the majority of the companies he worked for, he had a reputation as a creator of opportunities and great judge of star power.

Police confirmed the cause of death as suicide a day later.

Sangwon's passing seemed to put the final nail in the coffin for the future of Greater Sound Entertainment's FairLand.

Coming from a small company and making their debut in August 2021, FairLand finally gained momentun in February 2023 with the release of their third single, 'Rose Blossom', which gained popularity amoung korean netizens and charted for two entire months near the top 10 and 20 of various music platforms. However, the sixteth was placed on complete hiatus shortly after the end of 'Rose Blossom' promotions, with leader Sangah and maknae Ichiko being completly gone for the group's Youtube and Weverse content streamed from August onwards.

Greater Sound's official note on the disbandment, released on September 25th and personally signed off by CEO Lim Gahyun, reads as follows: "Hello, this is Greater Sound Entertainment's Lim Gahyun. It's with a heavy hearth that we come to you with the announcement of the end of FairLand. I want to make this an opportunity to personally thank the support that we have received in recent years from the general public and Landies. To the members, I'm sorry, and I love you. I hope all of you always, always knows that as truth. Please, keep showing support on the bright journeys of SANGAH, NAHYEON, SOOAH, MINJI, JAZZ and ICHIKO, which are far from over. We hope we all get to shine more brightly and safely from now on."

Not a single member has decided to stay under Greater Sound - which is rummored to terminate all operations on the following months.

We hope to see what the future has in store for each and every single one of the former members. #ThankYouFairLand!

LOOPiN member Haruki, who had been set to appear at Milan Fashion Week on the 26th as a guest of Vianfino, taking active duty as one of the ficitonal brand's declared muses and first global ambassador, took fans and media by surprise by not appearing in Italy.

Hours after the Vianfino runway started with Haruki's front row seat left empty, New Wave Music released a statment on the commotion, declaring that from now on, "all upcoming activities which will not involve or enrich 'Internet War' promotions directly, that taking in consideration not only Haruki's current public schedule, but of all the members of the group, have been indeterminantly cancelled' - which as far as we know of includes a Hanjae photoshoot for Esquire Korea alongside the cast of his newest drama series, J.J and Haegon's appearence on a late October episode of Return Of Superman, and a special fansign event for Gyujin's birthday on October 17th.

To quote the company's official note: "All the LOOPiN members have decided to prioritize their walk into a new era as a team. We ask the public's understanding and the respect of this personal choice taken by the group as a whole."

As expected, the public hasn't been convinced by New Wave Music's vague reasoning, with the majority of fans online suspecting some sort of punishment or ban being placed on the LOOPiN members - a theory highly supported by the quiet and unusual state of the members personal Instagram and Tiktok pages, all colecively not updated since the 24th.

#&& ⠀ [ . . . ] hound on a hunt ⠀⸻ news .#&& ⠀ [ . . . ] hound on a hunt ⠀⸻ development .#fake kpop group #fictional idol community #kpop au #kpop fanfic #kpop oc

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sims4t2bb · 10 months

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weekly update

Hello! Have a great week and have a look at last week's great additions to the database below:

— Base Game

Steamed TV Stand and Into the Moodlet Lamp conversions by @littlelittlesimmies have been added.

Blushing Beauty Wedding Arch conversion by @enjatoki has been added.

— Expansion Packs

Get to Work

Compound Clearing Industrial Pipe, Galvanized Industrial Wall Pipe, and Ground to Wall Industrial Pipe conversions by @enjatoki have been added.

Single Serving Justice Dispenser and debug Cell Door - Solitary Edition conversions by @lordcrumps have been added.

Cats & Dogs

3 Good Dogs Sitting, Easy Breezy Arch and Railing, Lemon-Slice Lunette, Lit Lookout, Miniature Cross-Shape Casement, Miniature Four-Panel Casement, Sailor's Sight, Seaside Shorelight, The Great Wall Hole, The Greater Wall Hole, and more conversions by @lordcrumps have been added.

High School Years

Robot Head Dresser and Vintage Grand Armorie conversions by @sofia-28tosi-blog have been added.

Growing Together

Grandpa’s Favorite Armchair, Lived-in Sofa, Desk With a View, and Woven Whims Cane Weave Dresser conversions by @sofia-28tosi-blog have been added.

Aldo Caldo's "The Nomad" Chair, Sunny Seat Up Chair, Sunny Seats Up Sofa, The Family Table, and Potty-Time Buddy conversions by @enjatoki have been added.

Sweet Dreams Moon Lamp conversion by @littlelittlesimmies has been added.

— Game Packs

Jungle Adventure

Potted Jungle Plants Varietal conversion by @enjatoki has been added.

— Kits

Basement Treasures

Unstable Shelves conversion by @littlelittlesimmies has been added.

Conversions of all items by @tvickiesims have been added.

This kit is now fully converted!

#weekly update

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randomingoftherandomness · 7 months

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helllooo i love your fics!!! can i request the first time shangjue takes yuanzhi out of the gong residence, maybe for like lantern festival or something, thank you!!!!

A/N: I’m a little late for lantern festival but I hope you will like this one nonetheless. It’s probably not going to be varietal enough for some people, but I’m not writing for them :)

Yuanzhi could hardly believed it when no one stops them as they ride out on their horses. Turning his head one last time, the chimes in his hair make a soft tinkle, colouring the air in his disbelief.

“So untrusting.”

He quickly snaps back to a proper riding posture, flushing at the way Gege’s laughter is warm and thick with amusement in the early evening chill.

It's the first time in his life that he is heading out of the gates and with his Gege. Every other time before it's been him being left behind, watching Shangjue's strong back as he rides off.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you,” Yuanzhi starts, gripping the reins tighter. “It’s just that I don’t know how you managed to convince the Elders to let me come with you.”

Shangjue Gege nudges his mare closer to him, trotting down the gravel path that leads into the town.

“Has there been anything I couldn’t do once I said I would do it?”

Yuanzhi looks down at his hands. “I understand, Gege.”

Shangjue comes close enough to knock their elbows together. “Trust in your Gege, alright?”

They make it to the stables at the edge of town where they leave their horses. Gege takes him by the hand and tugs him along as he starts pointing out all the different shops and stores. “They’re setting things up now, but in a half a shichen they’re going to start hawking their wares.”

Yuanzhi sticks close to his Gege, making sure to keep his hand in his even though he’s probably too old for that. He doesn’t care. Not when Gege is a solid presence leading him to his favourite restaurant.

"This is nice."

Shangjue gege piles some of Yuanzhi's favourite dishes in his bowl. "What is?" He asks, moving his chopsticks to do the same for Shangjue.

"This, us," Shangjue smiles. "You and me in a restaurant. Having a meal."

"Then you should start taking me out more often," Yuanzhi quips with a grin.

"Maybe I will," Shangjue pauses. "Maybe I should."

Yuanzhi blinks a little at that. Carefully chewing his food, he digests what Gege just said.

"I can see you overthinking. Stop it."

And just like that, the moment passes and they finish their meal in companionable silence. Shangjue suggests they go take a look at the night market and Yuanzhi doesn't suspect anything until his gege has them standing by a store with a merchant that sells hair ornaments.

Curious, Yuanzhi goes to inspect the wares, eyes running over every single accessory on display. They're mainly for women and not quite suitable for a man like him, but he admires them nonetheless.

The moon is high in the sky when Shangjue leads them into a pavilion and takes them up a tower. Up the dizzying steps until he has them on a lookout point high enough to see over the tops of the roofs and out across the valley.

"Beautiful, right?"

Yuanzhi agrees, looking over only to catch Gege watching him with infinite fondness in his eyes. Their palms slide together at the first burst of fireworks against the inky dark, and their fingers tangle as a chorus of awed voices carry up from the street below.

"It's beautiful, gege."

#my journey to you fic #my journey to you #juezhi #shangzhi #gong shangjue x gong yuanzhi #gong shangjue #gong yuanzhi #gab writes stuff #云之羽 #jealousy over what others can do and you can't is an ugly look fam

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vickyvicarious · 1 year

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There's an interesting sort of vagueness/uncertainty to Haidee and Edmond's relationship. The narrative, at least so far, never quite lands on a single 'true' relationship between them, instead mixing between different types. Mistress, slave, daughter, tool, lover... she often seems to vacillate between multiple roles at once, never quite settling (so far).

I've got some thoughts on both how that develops and potential reasons why, but it's under the cut since it gets a bit long.

She's first introduced as a complete mystery, in fact more so than Dantes himself, who Franz already recognizes as 'Sinbad the Sailor' of Monte Cristo. Of course, that's only for Franz and the reader; the locals are mystified by them both, and in the countess' case, offput:

"Then observe, too, that the woman with him is altogether unlike all others of her sex. She is a foreigner—a stranger. Nobody knows who she is, or where she comes from. No doubt she belongs to the same horrible race he does, and is, like himself, a dealer in magical arts." (ch. 34)

Haidee remains mysterious. We readers know that Dantes isn't Greek or a dealer in magical arts, so by extension (/common sense) she isn't either, but her exact role is unclear. I believe it may be implied that she's his mistress, but we really don't know anything until later. Even once in France, when their relationship seems partially clarified, the reason for it takes a little while to come out. Dantes calls her his slave several times - the first time, implying she's both a mistress and a slave, and that he has no intention of freeing her.

“Then,” continued Chateau–Renaud, “since you have an establishment, a steward, and a hotel in the Champs Elysees, you only want a mistress.” Albert smiled. He thought of the fair Greek he had seen in the count’s box at the Argentina and Valle theatres. “I have something better than that,” said Monte Cristo; “I have a slave. You procure your mistresses from the opera, the Vaudeville, or the Varietes; I purchased mine at Constantinople; it cost me more, but I have nothing to fear.” “But you forget,” replied Debray, laughing, “that we are Franks by name and franks by nature, as King Charles said, and that the moment she puts her foot in France your slave becomes free.” “Who will tell her?” “The first person who sees her.” “She only speaks Romaic.” (ch. 40)

This makes their relationship seem extremely unequal and abusive, but seems to be both meant and taken as a joke. In fact, a few chapters later, Dantes outright tells her that they both know she's in France now and is free to leave him if she wants. In fact, she is the one who insists that she has no desire to go anywhere else. His reaction is to give her all the freedom she could want within the confines of his household. The same conversation links Dantes with Haidee's father, and introduces the possibility of a familial relationship between them. Almost immediately now that the pretext of 'slave' is dropped, though, another possibility is alluded to: that she at least might see him as a lover:

"Depend on my care to see that your youth is not blighted, or suffered to pass away in ungenial solitude; and of this be well assured, that if you love me as a father, I love you as a child.” “You are wrong, my lord. The love I have for you is very different from the love I had for my father. My father died, but I did not die. If you were to die, I should die too.” (ch. 49)

First we get an if/then about Dantes considering her his daughter, then Haidee herself claims there's a difference between how she sees him and how she saw her father. But neither of them are open about anything else, and going forward for a while they seem to fit more into adoptive father/daughter roles. The impression is that Dantes adopted (technically bought, but neither seem to view their relationship as master/slave) her as a favor to her father.

Of course, once the truth about her past comes out, it starts to look like Dantes has been using her this entire time to serve his eventual revenge against Fernand. While she may view him as a father or perhaps lover, it's possible he only sees her as a tool. Certainly, he didn't command her to go tell her story to the court, but it seems apparent that he fully expected it to happen. He could easily have been manipulating her for years, encouraging her own vengeful thoughts to ensure she doesn't hesitate when the opportunity arrives. Again though, at the same time as this uncertainty is raised, so too does Dantes mention that her father entrusted her to him. So maybe it was in fact just lucky happenstance, or at least he honestly thought of her as a daughter as well as a useful tool. She also publicly calls him her foster-father this chapter, both of them dropping entirely the 'slave' and 'mistress' vagueness.

Okay, so maybe he was using her, but he also loves her as a daughter. She doesn't seem to realize she was being used, and doesn't hold it against him, so presumably they will proceed forward as father/daughter, right? Well, no, because Albert challenges Dantes to a duel and then it becomes time to really start addressing the vague hints towards a romantic relationship. Something deeper than simply the vague sexual 'mistress' implications from earlier. First, Dantes realizes how she might feel, but he thinks he's going to die due to his promise to Mercedes, so assumes it too late:

The count leaned over her and raised her in his arms; and seeing that sweet pale face, those lovely eyes closed, that beautiful form motionless and to all appearance lifeless, the idea occurred to him for the first time, that perhaps she loved him otherwise than as a daughter loves a father. “Alas,” murmured he, with intense suffering, “I might, then, have been happy yet.” (ch. 90)

This realization gives a bit of a weird feeling to the rest of his concerns about her in this chapter, where he fulfills his role of foster-father by attempting to set her up in a marriage with a man he trusts, so that she will be protected after his death. Then, after the duel doesn't happen, their reunion starts to shift between one type of love to another, even in the same sentence:

Every transport of a daughter finding a father, all the delight of a mistress seeing an adored lover, were felt by Haidee during the first moments of this meeting, which she had so eagerly expected. Doubtless, although less evident, Monte Cristo’s joy was not less intense. Joy to hearts which have suffered long is like the dew on the ground after a long drought; both the heart and the ground absorb that beneficent moisture falling on them, and nothing is outwardly apparent. Monte Cristo was beginning to think, what he had not for a long time dared to believe, that there were two Mercedes in the world, and he might yet be happy. (ch. 92)

Again, the outright statement of intent is initially given to Haidee (though only internally at this point). But Dantes considering her another Mercedes is to directly position her in the role of the woman he loved and was poised to marry. The woman who he still feels strongly enough for to agree at her request to willingly give up on his revenge and walk to his death. That's a big difference from the implied shallow/sexual relationship they were first introduced to us with. It also seems to fulfill the if/then of earlier: if she loves him like a father, he will love her like a daughter. If she loves him like a husband, he will love her like a wife.

I feel like, given the build-up, Haidee and Dantes will end up lovers by the end of the story as their final 'true' relationship. And while I'm definitely not a fan of that (less so about the age gap as the move from adoptive father->lover always being gross to me), I think the uncertainty along the way and the gradual shift is meant to hold meaning outside of just general suspense.

I think it reflects a matching uncertainty in Dantes himself. He's initially fully focused on his revenge, as all his years of planning begin to come to fruition. He has many different faces and names for this purpose, and his intentions are full of a kind of hateful anticipation. Thus the cruder/harsher presentation of their relationship at first... all the more so when it is viewed by outsiders, but also in his presentation of their relationship. But then, as his revenge is truly at hand, Edmond breaks containment, so to speak, more and more. He's visibly affected by meeting Mercedes again, first of all, and it's only after that meeting (ch. 41) when we see him interacting warmly with Haidee (ch. 49). Not that they haven't been that way all along probably, but it's the first time we're shown it, the first time the readers are invited past the outward facade. Haidee is a secret, just like Edmond. He visits her when he wishes to soothe his emotions and she's associated with happiness:

Monte Cristo had set apart one hour to be passed in the apartments of Haidee, as though his oppressed spirit could not all at once admit the feeling of pure and unmixed joy, but required a gradual succession of calm and gentle emotions to prepare his mind to receive full and perfect happiness (ch. 49)

Dantes gave up all expectation of a happy life or a normal parenthood to focus on his revenge. But as we see Edmond emerging more from the persona of the Count, so too do we see that he and Haidee do have a semblance of that, in private.

Likewise, the next shift of their relationship only begins to come out more after Dantes has fully achieved revenge against Caderousse, and is nearly finished ruining Fernand. Haidee, too, has finished her own revenge before her romantic feelings for Dantes are spoken in any outright manner (albeit only in narration describing her thoughts). More to the point though, Dantes has opened himself up to the possibility of never achieving his revenge - only then does he recognize that romantic happiness could have been an option. He has to fully revert to being Edmond (the hopeful one before imprisonment) in order to see the feelings she has for him. But, just like she achieved her revenge before expressing those feelings more than very vaguely, so too is he not able to fully commit to her before he finishes his final revenge against Danglars and Villefort (always his greatest foes). Granted, that last sentence moves into speculation, but I feel like it's a reasonable one based on the trajectory so far. Certainly, the placement of "beginning to think he might yet be happy"/Fernand shows up seems to indicate such happiness won't be achieved until the revenge is complete. And Dantes is excited to greet him, a far cry from his anguish at feeling forced to sacrifice his revenge as well as his life for Mercedes' sake. Haidee is someone who understands wanting revenge, after all. Perhaps she does, like the countess said way back when she was first introduced, "belong to the same horrible race he does" - though in this case, that would mean vengeful people rather than just a racist statement.

Haidee represents Dantes' inner self, the one locked away for so long and only able to be brought out now on the eve of his victory. At the same time, she isn't his 'pure' self of the beginning like Mercedes, but someone who understands pain and suffering and revenge. Her romantic love is a possible happy ending for him. But for the longest time, Dantes doesn't expect to ever have any kind of happy ending. He can't see past his revenge. And his uncertainty about his fate is reflected in the uncertainty of his relationship with Haidee, even as it does slowly evolve to something softer/more hopeful.

...or at least, so it seems to me after looking at the progression thus far. This is my first time reading the book so I don't know how things will end up, and I personally would vastly prefer if they just remained in a loving father/daughter relationship. Those don't appear as often/with the same narrative importance as romantic relationships, so I would love to see it even outside of finding the father/lover transition skeevy. But it does seem like there's some narrative weight to the potential romance, and the shifting perspective of the relationship is a good way to emphasize distance or closeness to Dantes in the readers.

#the cristo account #haidee #edmond dantes #monte cristo meta #my meta #tcomc

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bhaskarthakur009 · 3 months

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Apple Vision Pro: Reality Restyled, World goes Mad.

The tech world has gone berserk since Apple’s “Apple Vision Pro”, its first stab at spatial computing, was introduced. This ultra-modern virtual reality headset surpasses the boundaries of that very concept presenting a near invariant convergence between digital and non material. Let us look into the characteristics that have fired up this frenzy, exposing how it operates, its dazzling layout as well as what technological advances is driving all of these.

How it Works: Notably, Apple Vision Pro does not just cast an image onto your eyes it generates a realistic three-dimensional feeling. It, with the aid of innovative LiDAR technology and depth sensors maps around you in real time embedding digital elements within physical reality. Picture playing a game of chess on an augmented coffee table that leaps into the depths, or joining coworkers from all over the world in real time inside shared virtual space.The possibilities are mind-boggling.

Design that Dazzles: The so-called ‘high art’ brand that is Apple has not failed in terms of form factor as Vision Pro proves, which you can read below. The frame is lightweight aluminum that curves ergonomically around your face, a single piece of laminated glass functions as the lens housing all intricate technology inside. The available modular parts necessitate a comfortable fit for varietal heads. It’s just one of many demonstrations as to Apple pays with its quality designs which merge function and form.

Technology Powerhouse: The dual-chip architecture has driven this wonder. The M2 chip well known from Apple’s latest devices packs phenomenal processing power whilst the R1 is a breakthrough solution which focuses on sensor data, eliminating lag. This combined power in other words gives smooth and into reality real experiences without trembling neither with lags of some timely moments.

Craze Unfolding: This is a crowd of people waiting for the future to see, powered by Apple’s image as innovators and somehow hoping Vision Pro. Players expect to immerse themselves in hyper-realistic realms, creative professionals imagine unmatched collaboration tools and casual users dream about the ability to step into their dear movie or even memory reeling, pulsating is 3D. This isn’t just a device; it is a new paradigm in human-computer interaction.

Privacy Concerns: However even during the heights of excitement, there remains a cloud in privacy concerns. The dimension of questions about data collection and use also surrounds the Headset functionality to track your gaze and mapping it, besides identifying where you are. Apple requires user control and transparency, but trust has to be won; specifically for such a sensitive technology.

However worrisome, the Apple Vision Pro is a giant leap. It is more than a poshlost headset: it unlocks the doors of an entirely new age to computing where real and virtual fuse together. Whether it lives up to the hype remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: Apple Vision Pro has set ablaze the world and everyone waits with great anticipation.

#appless rp #apple vision pro #technology #apple #design #trending #launch

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bourbontrend · 2 months

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Discover the gems of whiskey releases February 2024! From captivating bourbon varietals to groundbreaking American single malts, explore a landscape brimming with innovation and rich flavors. Dive into our latest on Bourbon Trend and embark on a thrilling journey through the best the whiskey world has to offer this February. #WhiskeyReleasesFebruary2024

#whiskey releases February 2024 #bourbon varietals #American single malt #innovative distilling techniques

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slauterhause · 7 months

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Randoms from my old art and my new art, I'm just scoping through a lot of my content and filling in the gaps like I said before, it don't matter to me what flops and what doesn't, it's not my loss anyway, lol.

There might be some familiar looking characters here and there, I advise you don't single them out for a post filled with varietal art.

Note that a lot of the art here is either unfinished or uncolored.

#closet monster #anatomy #digital art #artwork #drawing #oc #sketch #random

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greysfic · 11 months

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I sometimes wonder if I'm doing essentialist colonial bullshit with the species of Darkening Skies. Gonna muse on my reasoning a bit - maybe you have an opinion! I like to take a kinda simulationist approach and try to mechanically represent the fiction as much as feasible. I tend to write my non-humans as more like aliens; they don't think like humans or perceive the world in the same way, but this is equally valid. Why should humans assert epistemological primacy?

Humans in Darkening Skies are like real humans, except there's explicitly no racialization. Humans don't categorize each other like that in this setting. Humans appear in many cultures and social structures - technocratic oligarchy, theocracy, liberal democracy, necroanarchy... Humans can be Magi, have magical mutations, pursue all kinds of paths and fields. They have two unique traits. One is that they can have children with Divine Scions, and the other is - well, deep in the atavistics, humans are persistence predators. So in Darkening Skies, humans have a higher base Fitness and Fitness cap. In terms of sheer endurance humans will outlast most other species.

Rats are anthropomorphic rats, generally around 120cm tall. Culturally, they are often referred to under the umbrella of Humanity -there are almost no societies in the setting where Humans and Rats don't live and work together. Rats can be Magi, and even procreate with Divine Scions in rare circumstances. They're agile as fuck, so they have a higher base Dextrity and higher cap. Because of their size I do cap their Strength lower than most species, because you can only pack so much muscle mass into those frames.

Crantiré are tree people. They seemingly do not undergo senesence, they're more often Magi than not. They are very sexually dimorphic but don't do gender the way humans do - a human will read a Spriggan as male, or as man, but the Spriggan likely doesn't see themselves that way. There is a good chance this is actually intentional engineering by Crantiré biomages; Spriggan have higher physical caps and lower social ones, Dryads are the inverse. Their home culture is very, very regimented in a subtle way (follow Treequest to learn more!). Crantiré have higher base Composure than other species because they're very, very calm. They have a higher Intellect cap because of their long lives and cognitive stucture - they think very slowly and deliberately with excellent recall.

Elementals are a human varietal. They live on the periphery of Crantiré territory, where the Crantiré have manipulated them for centuries as a component of their grand, biomechanical design. Elementals are infused with Magic in a way that alters their bodies and minds, so they no longer have the baseline human endurance but depending on the elemental Magic that most powerfully suffuses their being they have some minor boosts and the caps are largely the same. They live in nomadic clans, tending to the Living Wood, regarding the Crantiré as incarnate gods - dissenters are gently encouraged to go out into the world where they mostly end up settling happily in the necroanarchies of the surrounding land. They are sometimes regarded as culturally primitive by more industrial societies, but I don't write them that way and the bias is not universal.

Trollkin get complicated. Trolls are the physically strongest species, with higher base Strength and Strength caps. They're typically about 3.5 metres tall and historically hunted megafauna. There are some lingering sterotypes of brutish, animalistic Trolls, but culturally they're very contemplative and serve as spiritual leaders to the Trollkin. Orcs at baseline are stronger and fitter than most other species but they can't quite match humans in terms of endurance. Goblins are tiny little hiveminds. Six bodies hosting a single consciousness, acting in concert. They're small and fragile so each member has low physical caps, but in aggregate can outmatch most other species.

The Divine Scions are, arguably, a human varietal. They claim descent from a union of humans and gods in far distant antiquity. Are they right? Well, some of them can parry bullets. Some of them read minds. Some of them are literally too angry to die. Depending on House they tend to have modified base stats and caps, but Scions transform over their lifespan which means few hard rules apply to them.

The Savaan are explicitly an engineered warrior caste. Humans magically modified by Vampires over generations to serve as emissaries of their god. The Blood is protean and makes them very flexible, capable of exceeding unaltered human stat caps as long as they get regular doses of The Blood from their Vampire overlords. Whether they're human anymore is aa matter of perspective, I suppose. I would regard them as modified humans but the Savaan probably at this point see themselves as a distinct people. Also do not use the term Vampires to refer to Her Angels in the presence of a Savaan because they will become severely undiplomatic.

As I type this up I see a few things in my notes I definitely want to revise based on some unexamined ideas I had way back when, but does differentiating species like this smack of some kind of chauvinism or supremacism? Weird example; I, personally, regard elephants as non-human persons. Can't really ignore how much bigger and stronger than me an Elephant just is. Similar principle in writing the setting - a Troll is a person, albeit not human, and just by dint of evolving from an apex predator that fist-fought polar bears they are big and strong as fuck.

#writing #fantasy #fiction #dark fantasy #ttrpg #worldbuilding #darkening skies

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nonalcoholic1 · 11 months

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Beyond Grape Juice: Exploring Alcohol-Free Wine Options

Regarding alcohol-free beverages, grape juice has long been a go-to option for those seeking an alternative to alcoholic drinks. However, the world of alcohol-free beverages has expanded, offering various alcohol-free wine options beyond traditional grape juice. In this blog post, we will explore the exciting world of alcohol-free wine and the diverse options available to cater to different tastes and preferences.

A Plethora of Grape Varieties

Like traditional wines, alcohol-free wines are crafted from a wide range of grape varieties, each offering unique flavours and characteristics. Whether you're a fan of Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Noir, or Sauvignon Blanc, you can find alcohol-free versions of these beloved grape varietals. These wines are skillfully made to capture the essence of the grapes, providing an authentic wine experience without the alcohol content.

Blends and Innovations

In addition to single varietals, alcohol-free wine options also include blends and innovative creations. Winemakers experiment with blending different grape varieties to create unique flavour profiles that offer complexity and depth. These blends can be crafted to mimic traditional wines' style or offer a new and exciting taste experience.

Furthermore, innovative alcohol free wine options incorporate non-traditional ingredients and techniques. For example, some winemakers experiment with botanicals, infusing the wine with herbs, spices, or floral elements to add a distinctive twist to the flavour profile. These innovative creations push the boundaries of alcohol-free wine, offering a new realm of possibilities for adventurous wine enthusiasts.

Sparkling Delights

Sparkling wines have an inherent charm and enthusiasm that brings celebration to any occasion. Alcohol-free sparkling wines capture the spirit of their alcoholic counterparts, offering a bubbly and refreshing experience. From non-alcoholic Champagne-style sparkling wines to lively Prosecco alternatives, you can enjoy the fizz and elegance of sparkling wines without the alcohol content.

Rosés and Whites

Alcohol-free wine options also extend to rosés and white wines, providing a spectrum of flavours and styles. Crisp and zesty white wines, such as Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling, offer a refreshing and citrusy experience, perfect for warm weather or as an aperitif. Rosés, with their delicate hues and vibrant fruit flavours, add a touch of romance to any occasion.

Food Pairing Possibilities

Alcohol-free wines are not just beverages to be enjoyed on their own; they also pair beautifully with various dishes. From seafood and poultry to vegetarian options and desserts, alcohol-free wines can complement and enhance the flavours of your favourite foods. Whether you prefer a light and citrusy white wine with a summer salad or a rich and velvety red wine with a hearty pasta dish, the world of alcohol free wine offers endless possibilities for culinary exploration.

Conclusion

While grape juice has its place in the non-alcoholic beverage realm, exploring alcohol-free wine options opens up a world of flavours, variety, and sophistication. Alcohol-free wines cater to different tastes and occasions, from traditional grape varietals to blends, sparkling wines, and innovative creations. So, venture beyond grape juice and embrace the diverse and exciting world of alcohol-free wines, discovering new flavours and enjoying the pleasures of wine without the alcohol content.

#Alcohol-free wines

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