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henrytanael19 · 7 months

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Propatulus Aurora AU

In which Earth, the entire solar sytem and other planets is alive, a universe where the impossible is only an illusion, where monsters and gods are sometimes both and can be killed, living amongst their mortal kin, where the concept of Death is different for every planet or galaxy, but the solar system has a concept of death joined with the void, as inevitable as it is kind, the primordial darkness rejoicing of the life that dots it. And in which Humans are just vibing after being properly introduced to the Wider Galaxy Community, turning enemies into friends and the like. Also, Earth takes no shit from alien invaders and boots them out the moment they try to enter her atmosphere.

Except for the good ones, they can stay.

In this Au, Planets were vaguely sorted into three categories: Destroyer, Creator, and Protector. The likes of Primus, Eukaris, Devisiun, Petropia and numerous others were known as Creator-planets, due to being able to seed life from their own bodies. Whereas Unicron, Pyros, Appoplexia and the like were known as the Destroyer-planets, being known to destroy dead planets to make way for the new cycle. As the name suggested, Protector-planets were primarily concerned with the defense of their home system, protecting it both from Destroyers seeking to devour a still living planet and Creators from seeding other planets with parasites, but also has the fewest planets of the three, with Earth being counted among it alongside her siblings in the Solar System in the Milky Way. Arburia also counted as a Protector before it's destruction.

But for those lacking a Protector-planet to defend them, a Guardian and a Titan was the next best thing individual planets can have. Consisting of a planet's strongest children, they can be considered as gods in the view of others. E.g. Godzilla and Mothra of Earth are a textbook example of a Titan and Guardian pairing, despite the fact that Earth was a Protector-planet. Earth is their version of a cryptid to her fellow planets, appearing in other galaxies with no warnings.

Where humans have powers that is derived from their souls, some able to turn it tangible as their weapon of choice like a sword, or manifesting an entire armour made up of their soul or even performing them like the four elements. Due to this close connection with their own lifeforce they live somewhere in between the living and the spiritual world, otherwise called as the umbral, or fourth dimension. The denizens of the Umbral World consist of mythological or extinct creatures and primarily steeped in magic, invisible to the naked eye. And in honor of their mother-planet, they dedicated themselves to taking care of creatures trying to cause trouble in the mortal realm, whether by rehabilitation or execution, the primary group known for this is called the Titanslayers, led by June Darby and Cade Yeager.

All of this is done quietly in the shadows, considering almost none in the Wider Galaxy Community is aware of the Umbral Dimension. The Anur system are one of the few to also be able to interact with the Umbral Dimension, as well as the Null Dimension and Legerdomain by virtue of being attached to it.

Earth is steeped in magic, so humans have been able to mostly connect it seamlessly with technology and even science (E.g. Ben Tennyson being a World Shifter as well as a biologist in this AU). The primary examples are the Jaegers, metal machines operated by human pilots and the love child of science, technology and magic.

The Earth-Titans are also denizens of the Umbral Dimensions, so they are a visible example of creatures originating in the Umbral Dimension living in the Mortal Realm.

Also, Earth is as ancient as the other planets, consisting of those ages in trillions, but because she only settled into a planet after most planets already turned inactive in the case of the Creator-planets, the Galaxy widely believed she was only 4 billion years old, having only counted the years she was a planet rather than the active creature she was back then, having been the third to settle as a planet in their solar system.

Also, Earth's biodiversity came from the planets and creatures she has killed and eaten, once having been described as containing a black hole for a stomach, and with those biodiversity inherited by humans was born their nearly limitless ability to procreate with any sentient creature in the Galaxy. As long as they have the equivalent of a soul, they can carry a child of that alien species, double the effectiveness if they were just using their soul, as having just used it means their lifeforce is still closer to the surface of their physical body and made flexible enough to make procreation between two different species possible. (E.g. The Plumbers Kids/Amalgam Kids, Max McGrath, Kevin Levin, Others)

Hybrid children still aren't that common though, due to having to feed fragment bits of their own soul to sustain a half foreign onr. It can even prove taxing enough to require a third party stepping in just so both parent and offspring doesn't die.

Ancient creatures lurk in the background of the universe, taking the form of Suns, Black Holes and the like. Helios, the Sun of the Solar System, is one such example.

And as a bonus, this AU is primarily crack with eldritch horror, heartfelt feelings and interspecies romance mixed in.

In other words, welcome to the crackfest that is Propatulus Aurora, and enjoy your stay!

(PS. I'll be taking stuff from each canon and mashing them together to fit my perceptions and suits my purposes, and ignoring anything else that doesn't.)

#earth is a deathworld #earth is awesome #humans are deathworlders #humans are space orcs #transformers #godzilla #ben 10 #max steel #pacific rim #Propatulus Aurora #naelsthoughts #crossover #behold my magnum opus #*sarcasm*

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spiritshaydra · 1 year

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Okay yeah gonna say screw it and just post the fullbody I finished back in November because her ref is taking too long and I wanna share my cringe ass nae nae hellspawn 😭

OKAY SO

THIS IS REQUIEM (Or just “Em”)

And she’s a Megasound fanspawn,, bear with me, I’ve never made an oc like this before so I’ve been extremely nervous to show the creature off. 💀(especially since this is the fancharacter type I avoided making at all costs when in high school despite it leading to some very interesting character development.) Eventually I just said screw it, I’m proud of the design and character work I’ve been developing since August, I’m going to show her off.

I don’t really take her all too seriously as I originally made her to shitpost because I thought it’d be funny. And like my main TFP OC Quantum, she eventually grew past that and became something more. (While still keeping her silly at the same time)

I have. A LOT. Of development for this single celled organism that prolly won’t fit in one post, so on here I’m just going to do a sort of character bio thing (based on the format of Quantum’s Toyhouse bio) to introduce her. (Maybe I’ll do a Q&A sort of thing if anyone’s actually interested in that?)

HERE WE GO:

Name: Requiem (Em for short)

Name Origin: This is what happens when you put a poetry/mythology nerd and a music nerd in a room together and have them name something. You get a name with origins in both music and literature (A music or literary composition that acts as a form of remembrance for the souls of the dead.) annnnnnd a reference to a mythological figure (the name of Megatronus/The Fallen’s weapon, the Requiem Blaster. Gee sure wonder who’s idea that was.) Unfortunately, the goblin who was given that name has a grand total of two brain cells and has as much class as a hagfish.

Gender: female

Pronouns: she/her

Species: Cybertronian

Height: 12ft approximate (for design depicted above)/ 30ft (adult; not pictured)

Alt-Mode: (Base) Cybertronian heavy bomber/ (Earth) Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack

Home Planet: Earth

Faction: Decepticon

Pre-War Occupation: Did not exist before the war.

Personality: Requiem is loud, stubborn, rude, mischievous, a little naive, and all around a feral mess. Absolutely no filter. Textbook example of “curiosity killed the cat”. The champion of the age-old schoolyard discussion of “my dad can beat up your dad.” For… obvious reasons.

She’s easily bored and easily distracted, and thinks it’s entertaining to mess with other bots in the form of stupid pranks and barrages of questions.

Has a bit of a potty mouth and gets creative with her insults.

A fembo (but a lil mean) was told to use her head in a fight, but ended up head butting the opponent and subsequently knocking them out as a result.

As a result of (EXTREME) helicopter parenting combined with adrenaline junkie behavior, Requiem has the tendency to be an escape artist and to purposely seek out potentially dangerous situations such as but not limited to: Diving into a hurricane (to see what would happen), storm chasing (the bigger the better! Also to see what would happen), playing Icarus and getting struck by lightning on the Flight Deck of the warship (STRIKE ME DOWN ZEUS), sneaking out of the Nemesis and simultaneously smuggling all sorts of creepy crawlies and other organic critters back on board (has to be shaken out just to be sure.), being a little too interested in volcanic activity, sneaking weapons out of the armory and attempting to join the fight, and sneaking away from the ship to “explore”. Em wrangling is a very tiring objective.

If Rumble and Frenzy were alive, they would’ve definitely gotten along. (And would’ve been an unstoppable force of chaos oh gOD.)

She likes the pastel magical horse show about friendship, LOVES stickers, and her absolute favorite color is the most obnoxious eye bleeding shade of pink imaginable. (She was denied changing her PRIMARY paint job color to it for obvious reasons. Honey, that is a LOOK and not exactly a good one.) She likes to pretend to be a gladiator. She likes to give people really stupid and bad nicknames for the hell of it. A favorite being combining the first few letters of a name or descriptor with “uncle”. She thinks it’s hilarious. A little too interested in arson and explosives. Her music taste can be described as “2012 Warrior cats amv” and “noise”. Really likes slasher films for some reason.

She exhibits several behaviors that could only be described as those of a cryptid. (…or cat.) These range from being able to sneak up on others and move without making a sound, staring unblinkingly and expressionlessly at things and other bots, climbing up and perching on top of things, noise mimicry, recharging facedown in a deathlike manner, and the worst thing being how she used to skitter across the walls and ceilings of the Nemesis as a sparkling. There were a handful of instances where she got into the vents of the ship and it was a nightmare trying to coax her back out. Oh yeah. There was a biting problem.

Requiem either hates or actively dislikes things ranging from water, being told to stay still, the thunder part of thunderstorms, the medbay, and being quarantined.

Her social ability leaves much to be desired, as she was raised in total isolation from her own age group, so she lacks most social skills as a result. Because of this, she often comes across as “weird” and as a bully, even if unintentional. Due to her isolated upbringing, she is a very lonely individual despite not exactly acting the part. Being routinely quarantined does not help that feeling of loneliness in the slightest. Em wants nothing more than a friend, or at least an acquaintance to spend time with. It’s just that, given who her parents are, that makes things impossible.

She has a very unhealthy view on death, as it isn’t exactly rare onboard the Nemesis. Surprisingly, she was actively kept away and shielded from most of the fighting as a child- however, in wartime there’s only so much one could be protected from even as the child of the highest ranking individuals of the faction.

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ruthlesslistener · 6 months

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I never watched ONS, but I always see you grieving what became of it, so I am interested. Can you tell me what first got you into it, what is it about and why you fell out of it? I don't mind any spoilers because I don't intend to watch, I am just madly curious ^^

[takes a long, deep breath] oh boy where do i even start with this one.

Owari no Seraph is a textbook example of a series with amazing characters and great concepts that then gets completely dicked over by the author's own incompetence with writing. Pair that with blatant queerbait and the guy realizing halfway through that he's lost interest in his own main characters and vastly prefers his mary sue self-insert (Guren) instead, and you've got a recipe for a disaster. Which fucking sucks, because I cannot overstate the fact that the series starts off really strong with really good character and plot concepts, before devolving into an absolute goddamn disaster. Let me try to recount it for you, but keep in mind that it may be inaccurate because I dropped the series in like, 2018 so it's been a Hot Minute(tm)

Alright angry rant incoming. Putting this under a readmore bc it gets long

Basically, the story takes place after a cataclysmic apocalyptic event occurs where almost anyone over the age of 13 drops dead, leaving only a scattered handful of people and a whole fuckload of children behind to survive. After this mysterious event occurs, the vampires that inhabited the world came out of the shadows to round up the survivors and turn them into human livestock to ensure their own survival.

The protagonist of the story is a young orphan boy called Yuuichirou, who- alongside deuteragonist Mikaela and the rest of the orphans in Hyakuya orphanage- are captured and turned into vampire livestock, which the hotblooded and angry young Yuu hates, leading him to swear that he's going to become a vampire hunter and kill them all as revenge. Mika- who at the time was a sort of parental figure to the rest of the younger children and always trying to be sweet to Yuu, who rejected his affections bc both boys were severely abused and traumatized as children- finds a map to escape the underground vampire city that they're trapped in after essentially selling his body to a vampire noble, Ferid. But as it turns out, Ferid was fully aware of their plan to escape, so when them + the rest of the orphans attempt to escape to the outside world, he shows up right before the tunnel to the exit and slaughters them all, leaving Yuu as the only survivor. Yuu runs out, sobbing, and runs facefirst into Guren (the ACTUAL protagonist, apparently, even though he sucks), and a squadron of adult vampire hunters who ~mysteriously~ escaped the apocalypse. As it turns out, these vampire hunters have formed soul-contracts with demons in order to manifest the cursed weaponry required to true-kill a vampire.

(OH AND THERE'S MASSIVE FUCKING MONSTERS THAT MANIFESTED AFTER EVERYONE GOT KILLED RUNNING AROUND RIGHT. THE PEOPLE WITH THE CURSED WEAPONRY HUNT THEM TOO. FORGOT ABOUT THAT ONE BECAUSE THEY BECAME BASICALLY IRRELEVANT LATER. YES IM SALTY ABOUT THAT AS WELL)

That's episode one. The rest of the anime series is basically centered around Yuu trying to become a vampire slayer after a 3-year timeskip, him forming a bond with a demon to get his own cursed weapon, and then getting wrangled into a squad with a bunch of other 16-year-olds to go running around learning how to be a team and murder stuff. This works as well as you might expect, because Yuu is an edgy lone wolf who spends his days crying himself to sleep at night because he misses Mika and is horrifically traumatized by what happened. Then, ding ding ding! As it turns out, Mika WASN'T killed in the attack, but got turned by the vampire queen herself, and spent the three years he was turned trying to find Yuu again so that they could run away together and escape the whole disaster. Except Mika refuses to drink human blood, the catalyst to complete his transformation, and so he's on a timer, too- he's been drinking the blood of his progenitor, but it's been less and less effective at satiating him. And this is a fuckin' problem, because as it turns out, vampires turn into demons when they die. So Mika is basically in full suicide mode trying to save Yuu, then when Yuu realizes that Mika is alive and a vampire he does a 180 on how he thinks about them and goes into full 'no, I'm going to save YOU' mode about Mika, and so on and so on.

Anyways the true hinging point of the series and the greatest strength is centered around Mika and Yuu's love for each other, because when I say these boys were in-love destined-soulmates, I fucking MEAN it. Like, it's straight-up canon that Mika is in love with Yuu, and Yuu is pretty much outright in love with Mika in return. The problem, however, is that this is a shounen manga, so it's heavily heavily implied that Yuu is actually going to end up with Shinoa (a female character who is actually REALLY FUCKING GOOD SO IT REALLY SUCKS SHE GETS SHAFTED SO HARD LATER), despite him talking to her like. twice. And her only ever sending him longing glances and blushes. And then the aforementioned thing of the author getting more interested in Guren than Mika and Yuu comes into play and that's when I dropped it because Guren is the MOST mary-sue a character can get in terms of him being a sheer boring asshole who fucked the whole world up and has zero redeeming qualities and yet everyone in-story (but mika) loves him and follows him for no fuckin' reason.

As for the rest of the plot- It's later shown that the reason why this event occurred was because of a deal struck with a trapped seraphim, and that Guren was the one who caused the whole fucking thing to happen in the first place because he was sad that his squad died (or something like that) so he sacrificed the entire rest of the world to save like, 5 people that get zero character development. There's a really heavy message about found family through the series that felt really great and poignant in the beginning when it was Mika trying to convince Yuu that he was a family group with the other orphans after their own parents both tried to kill them, but then gets twisted later on to be meaningless because Yuu eventually just starts calling fucking EVERYONE family, and Guren uses it as a means of manipulating him. I dropped the manga after this started to happen because the focus turned almost entirely to Guren and everyone else's characterization went out the fucking window to simply 'trust guren he knows what he's doing' minus Mika, who has come to hate all humans left for Very Good Fucking Reasons. Because, as it turns out, the demon-bound vampire-slaying society have the only adults left who survived because THEY were the ones who trapped the seraphim in the first place, and THEY were running experiments on people with certain genetics/affinities to these seraphs to try to turn them into seraphs and harness their near-godly powers. Yuu and Mika and the rest of the kids in the Hyakuya orphanage, as it turns out, were very strong candidates for this type of experimentation, and the reason why Yuu got snatched up by the humans and Mika got turned by the vampires was because they're the human equivalent of nukes in the human-vampire war. Also, the progenitors of all the vampires was a fallen angel and vampires turn into demons when killed because of it. Which is actually really cool.

So it really fucking sucks that the author started neglecting all the other characters to obsess over his beloved Guren and to excuse all of his shitty selfish actions right when he got to the part explaining the whole seraph project thing. And like, the most frustrating part is that Guren as a complex antagonist works really really well, but the author wants nothing more than for him to be the sad, dark, brooding protagonist everyone loves, so that's the treatment he gives him. It's like he decided midway through the story that he's actually really fucking tired of Mika, meh on Yuu, but loves Guren and wanted him to be protag all along, so that's the point where the story goes down the drain. Luckily, this is after season two of the anime ends, and I haven't heard anything about a potential season 3.

That was only half of my problems though- it also had like, the worst fandom I've ever been in by far, and that's saying something because I was in some pretty fucking bad fandoms in my life. It was just full of the most needlessly hostile shit, with my main issue with it being the fact that it was full of ship wars...over the same damn ship. That being Mikayuu. Or Yuumika. Because, as it turns out, fucking NOBODY seemed to be able to get either Yuu or Mika in-character, they had to slap seme/uke stereotypes onto them and the whole war was raged over whether or not someone was mischaracterizing them because Mika was actually the top, not the bottom, or visa versa (I cannot drive home enough that both sides horrifically mischaracterized them either way. And also that Yuu and Mika were 16- not too young to fuck, but certainly too young to know what the fuck they were doing). There were death threats sent and harassment campaigns over this. You were branded as either being on one side or the other and nobody would accept the fact that both views were wrong. And that's even if you were a shipper in the first place- you also had the Yuu/Shinoa shippers who were overwhelmingly homophobic straight men who thought people were stupid illiterate yaoi fangirls for thinking Mika and Yuu were in love (tbf, most of them were weird yaoi fangirls who were simply another flavor of homophobic), or there were the people who thought that Mika and Yuu were adopted siblings because they took the last name of the orphanage they were in (hyakuya) to abandon their abusive parents/called each other 'family' and that EVERYONE who shipped them was an incest apologist (got hit with this one myself). And even if you weren't interested in shipping either, you weren't safe- I've made some of my best friends in that fandom, despite everything, and one of them didn't ship Yuu and Mika, opting for a QPP/adoptive siblings approach. And they got the MOST rancid shit thrown at them for it by the shippers, despite them not caring that other people shipped them. AND there were Mika haters/lovers who thought he was a 'yandere' for being ''''obsessed'''' with Yuu and running off with him despite the fact that it was shown over and over that Mika was severely traumatized by losing everyone he loved and that Yuu was being psychologically manipulated by the army to be a complacent experiment. Granted, this was all my experience in the 2016-2018 fandom cycle, but still. Nasty nasty nasty.

(oh and also Ferid, aka the guy who murdered everyone in the orphanage but Yuu and -partially- Mika, was heavily implied to be vampirically raping Mika bc he was straight-up a pedophile who only drank blood from people under 16 and getting your blood sucked was apparently orgasmically pleasurable/a sex metaphor, was treated as the 'fabulous gay uncle and best mika/yuu shipper supporter' by most of the fandom because after Mika was turned, he continued to emotionally and psychologically abuse him via his love for Yuu. Nasty!)

((Oh and yes, when Yuu finally gets Mika to bite him and drink his blood, that was used as 'proof' that Mika tops and is actually a smirking hardcore seme dom for blushy subby Yuu. Despite the fact that Mika was dying, sobbing hysterically and yelling at Yuu for making him survive as something he despised, and Yuu was stubbornly yelling back about how he'd love him and accept him no matter what and how he'd find a way to save him and thrusting a bleeding arm in his face to try to force him to drink. Nuance and appreciation for characterization was lost on this fandom.))

Anyways. It really really sucks, because the anime is actually very good. I genuinely would reccomend watching it- the animation is amazing and beautiful, the soundtrack gives you chills, and it covers the story right up until the next story beat and it starts swerving down the gutter, so you can feasibly watch it and then stop right there, mentally tallying it as an open/ambiguous ending. But I wouldn't suggest anything other than that, because ohhhhh boy it. it just isn't worth it. believe me. Everything else is worth it for Yuu and Mika and the Shinoa Squad, but that's where it ends

(ofc i could be wrong and the whole thing is looking up by now but i have zero faith thats the case.)

#mrslittletall #ons #reply #[long deep breath] okay i think im done #glord.#can you tell that i still feel very passionately about this subject lol #ons is to me what the firstborn son who was talented in school then drops out and becomes a druggie is to an asian family

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landwriter · 1 year

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Ten Books To Know Me

Rules: 10 (non-ancient) books for people to get to know you better, or that you just really like.

Tagged by @softest-punk, thank you for utterly derailing my afternoon into nostalgia <3 My problem is less not picking ancient books and more not picking exclusively Canadian and English children’s lit published between 1995 and 1999. (Still the first three picks all the same though because it is like, the opus within which my psyche is almost wholly contained.) This got long but I'm going to be very brave and not apologize about that at all. I love talking about books, and these are some of the books I love the most. In chronological order of arrival into my heart.

Some of the Kinder Planets - Tim Wynne-Jones This book has been a part of my life for so long I cannot remember when, exactly, I first read it - only that it was taken from my gran’s shelf; Tim had sent her a copy with a lovely inscription. It’s a short story collection which remains today (and forever) my favourite format. Ted Chiang’s Exhalation, Karin Tidbeck’s Jagannath, Karen Russell’s Orange World, Margaret Atwood’s Stone Mattress are all fabulous examples, stacked before me at my desk, but Some of the Kinder Planets itself lives (alongside my two most precious childhood stuffies) at my mum’s house, the safest place of all. The stories are kids being kids in the way you want to read as a kid yourself: clever and wondering and scared and brave. Special mention also to his Zoom trilogy, beautifully illustrated in black and white by Eric Beddows.

Skellig - David Almond Another book likely pilfered from my granny’s library. There’s a little magic in Some of the Kinder Planets, but here is ALL the magical realism, and it changed me. This book has a sickly bird-or-man-or-angel in a garage being nursed to health by a boy with an ill baby sister in hospital that he can’t help at all; the indelible image of surviving off bluebottles and then getting snuck Chinese takeaway and brown ale; nature and weird kids and William Blake poems. I will weep if I continue thinking about it.

[Not Any Book But Just A Lot Of Books] - Kit Pearson, Diana Wynne-Jones, Kenneth Oppel, Philip Pullman, Madeleine L’Engle, etc. Listen, I know this is an INSANE cop-out but if you know the authors you know more or less exactly what I mean. These are the books that made me more tender than I already was, made me believe in Good, and Kindness, and Love, in a totally immutable way I thankfully do not ever want to change, because I don’t think I could.

Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett My first introduction to Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, and footnotes. Also one of the first books I did not simply pick up because it was Lying Around. I bought it because my older cousin listed it as one of her favourite books on Facebook, and she was (and is) impossibly, horribly cool. I was maybe 13 or 14 and wanted to be cool too. I’ve since read a smattering of Gaiman but I’ve yet to read Terry Pratchett on his own. I’d like to! I know I’d love it.

The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul - Douglas Adams Loaned to me by my best friend before we were best friends. It is, apparently, the second novel in the Dirk Gently series, and I remember nothing of it except a very good bit about a couch getting stuck in a stairwell; nonetheless it’s listed here because this is clearly actually a thinly disguised chronology of sentimentality, and also because Douglas Adams is a wonder and delight to read and I don’t need to fully remember the book to know that in my bones. I’m not sure if it’s fair but I’ll also blame Douglas Adams for my inability to be brief and to resist using semi-colons. Could’ve been someone else. But it was definitely someone English.

Sailing to Byzantium - W.B. Yeats This is not a book, but it was in my English Literature textbook in high school, so it counts. If it wasn’t, I would still count it. Why a sixteen year old girl connected with a poem that begins “That is no country for old men.” is irrelevant, as is every stanza but the third, which contains the fateful, ruinous lines: “Consume my heart away; sick with desire / And fastened to a dying animal / It knows not what it is;” I remember when I read it, and I remember the chill feeling of Yeats’ spectral hand reaching all the way from his grave in County Sligo, across the whole Atlantic and the enormous landmass called Canada, to reach into my chest and cruelly grab my own heart, and I remember thinking How, and Exactly. The first thing I read that named the strangeness I felt inside of me. The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost of all my teenage angst. Written on my bones to this day, if I’m being honest.

Hamlet - Shakespeare We got off on the wrong foot, after I was personally victimized by the line ‘Brevity is the soul of wit’, but I do love Shakespeare. I credit this to having an excellent teacher for it, and reading it aloud in a cohort of tryhards and musicians and theatre kids. A case of familiarity breeds...appreciation, actually. We did a lot of Shakespeare, but we were asked to learn 20 lines of Hamlet specifically, and rewrite them, marked down for every error. Forty lines for bonus marks. There was much grousing and it seemed like a cruel, outdated task of rote memorization, but writing this a decade later, I am belatedly realizing this was a sneaky way to get a bunch of kids to recite a soliloquy so much that they couldn’t help but find the life in it, the rhythm and meter to make it stick in our minds. And now look! I love it! I am writing fanfic in iambic pentameter! Wherefore art my fucking restraint!! I learned my lines so hideously well that when I pulled up the scene just now (2.2, from “Yet I, a dull and muddy-mettled rascal peak”), I a) noticed and b) was offended by, minute differences from the version I memorized, which I then searched out and knew the moment I found. Incredible?!

Still Life With Woodpecker - Tom Robbins The most recent time I’ve read a work of fiction and been rearranged by it, at the tender age of 21. here I am, I wrote, in my journal, after a very good sob, happier and more rudderless than ever. This man writes with totally unfettered joy and unhinged sincerity, two things I am hopelessly into, but also with a deep distaste for institutions and conformity that I desperately needed back then: lost, returned from a year of magical realism and the sort of adulthood growth spurt that makes you feel dizzy, home and yet horribly missing the home I’d made for myself elsewhere, all my nearly-fulfilled ambitions towards security and prestigious government postings feeling sort of hollow and reeking in my hands. It comforted me that I wasn't wrong as much as it spilled my own guts into my hands, and while I went on for another year seeing things through, it planted a seed that quickly grew proper roots and pushed me right off the ledge of respectability. And it’s a love story, of course.

It’s his prose that sits glowing on the horizon to me when I try to write richly: a distant shore of orgiastic language (from which you can surely hear the wind-carried cries of people fucking day and night), towards which I, still shy and prudish, ever point my prow.

How to Be Happy - Eleanor Davis A comic collection. Sharp and wonderful and alive. Another Best Friend gift (bless those around us with impeccable taste), of which every single panel is MARVELOUS. I meant to share one of my favourites here but apparently it has! Gotten up and left!! I will buy another copy in hopes of coaxing it back out of wherever it’s hiding.

Down to Earth - Monty Don This did not rearrange anything. But it does give me a good hug about it, so to speak. A month-by-month gardening guide which is chock-full of brilliant, sensible advice, and also so cheerfully comforting in a highly specific English way that I actually feel like I’m drinking a cuppa whenever I read a page or two of it. It makes me think of my grandmother. And so we’ve come full circle, eh?

I hope some of you are now nodding thoughtfully and thinking, well, Chrissakes, that explains it. Very sorry, hope this helps, etc. Passing on the tag to @fancy-rock-dove, @chubsthehamster, @broomsticks, @wordsinhaled, @btwimkindagay, @hardly-an-escape, @xx-vergil-xx, @that-banhus, and anyone else who wants to expose themselves on main and chat about their fave books

#about me #god also slap up tamora pierce #inkheart book thief all those guys #the bartimaeus trilogy!! also brilliant footnotes #i tried SO hard to keep this brief..... so hard.....#but like im a bookclub girlie at heart #i just wanna talk about the works of art i love and why and how they make me feel and i want u to love them too #book recs #i can still rattle most of those hamlet lines off with feeling #a good party trick

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yourlocalfallofthewest · 5 months

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My first materialist analysis: the political economy of ancient Greece and its cultural development.

Culture, as defined by Oxford Languages as “ the customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or other social group”, is a reflection of a people’s material reality, as demonstrated by part 1, chapter II of Political economy, “Social Conceptions of the Primitive Epoch”

“He [primitive man] attributed spiritual existence to the forces of nature. This was the so-called animism (from the Latin anima-the spirit, soul). Primitive myths and primitive religion were born of these dim conceptions in men of their own nature and that around them. In them the primitive equality of the social structure was reproduced. Primitive man not knowing class division and property inequality in real life introduced no corresponding subordination in his imaginary world of spirits. He divided the spirits into his own and others’ friendly and hostile. Division of the spirits into higher and lower appeared only when the primitive community was breaking down.”

In this essay I will be focusing on one example of this, the greek god Hermes.

The well known religion or mythos of ancient or classical era greece(i.e. The time when slave owning was most prosperous) was rich and replete with tradition and devotion, and the philosophical and political development was equally developed. The reason for this cultural, economic, and political development, was due to the slave-owning society. For example, labor in any form was seen as “unfit of the free man”, and (prominent, slave owning) historian and philosopher Herodotus’ book Utopia, which pictures a perfectly organized state, shows this perfect state being a slave owning one, and aristotle claimed that Nature made slaves for the free men. Page 32 of the soviet textbook Political Economy describes the state of states like greece.

“On the basis of slave labour the ancient world achieved considerable economic and cultural development. But the slave-owning system could not create the conditions for any further serious technical progress. Slave labour was distinguished by extremely low productivity. The slave was not at all interested in the results of his labour. The slaves hated their labour under the yoke. Frequently they expressed their protest and indignation by spoiling the implements of labour. Therefore the slaves were given only the crudest implements, which it was difficult to spoil.”

Hermes is one of the oldest olympian gods, with our first known appearance of him being inscribed tablets from the Bronze Age, dated to ~1100 BC, or the Greek Dark Ages. He was seen as the Herald of the Gods, and served other miscellaneous roles in greek society such being “the patron of gain”, a god of animal husbandry, which shows the prominence of husbandry in the reality of slave owning greece, whether that be small owning peasants, or slave laborers. He was also credited with invention of the lyre, dice, and more. He was characterized as being impish and curious, and treasure chanced upon was said to be a gift from him.

As he appeared in Homer’s odyssey, an epic written during the “golden age” of ancient greece, at the height of technological progress under slavery and along with it the height of cultural development of the slave owning and free population, he was a messenger between the gods and a guide to humans. He provided aid to odysseus numerous times, such as instructing him to eat a mysterious herb so he wouldn't be transformed into a pig like the rest of his men when he arrived at the island of the witch Circe, and telling Circe to release him and his men. In his infancy he is said to have breastfed from the goddess Hera without her knowing, and when she caught him, her milk splashed across the sky and created the galaxy we reside in, the Milky Way. He is said to have wandered out of his mother’s cave when he was one day old to see the world, then found a tortoise, killed it, and hollowed out its shell to make the lyre.

As demonstrated in this brief essay, hermes was very culturally significant on many layers, and shows how not only culture flourished with slave labour, but how culture is reflective of reality, not just a set of beliefs.

I am entirely open to criticism (actual criticism not what an anarchist thinks it is) so if you have any thoughts on this, please tell me!

#marxism leninism #communism #marxism #socialism #amari writes #real marxist hours

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yumejo · 11 months

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lilimana selfship questions

♡ How did your S/I and F/O(s) first meet? Did they know of each others’ existence beforehand?

They first met when Mana (yuusona) begun attending at NRC, and they had no previous relations until her enrollment was official. However——when Mana was little, she dreamt 'of a color-changing fairy who danced with me, with a gaze more tender than a first glance might seem to warrant'. // ref: sleeping beauty; disney, perrault's narrative

♡ How did they behave in the beginning of their relationship? What did they think of each other? What do they think of each other now, & how do they currently behave?

Mana was very reticent around Lilia in the beginnings, simply only providing any assistance should he need it. She thought he was charming, but was also especially hesitant to be his friend because 'i feel like he can see right through me and that scares me'.

As for Lilia, he was enticed from the moment he set eyes on her. Not inherently in a romantic light, at the time, but with a sense of familiarity and kismet. She was innocent enough that he adored teasing and surprising her—and he was the first to intuit her fear of vacant open spaces, and that made him want to look after her, protect her.

When their relationship progressed, Mana found it easy to open up to Lilia. He's always sincerely listening to her and he has a grasp on her emotions and feelings, enough that he can give her helpful advice. They both have similar thoughts and ideas for the future, which eventually they think should simply be spent together rather than apart as their relationships evolves into something much deeper and meaningful.

♡ Were there any huge turning points that changed how your S/I or F/O(s) saw each other, or was it gradual? Describe it to us!

It was definitely very gradual. When Mana first enrolled at NRC, she didn’t want to make friends and told herself she was going to simply do what she needed to survive until she found her way back to her original world. She suffers from abandonment issues, and she believed she would ultimately leave behind her friends in Twisted Wonderland in order not to be abandoned by her friends/family back home; which made her hesitant to even consider making friends or any close relationships with anyone in the first place.

And things were just as, if not more, complicated on Lilia’s side. Especially as he found himself considering Mana to be someone important to him. The two of them realizing how deeply they loved each other was so unexpected to them both, and yet they each can't remember not feeling this way about the other.

♡ Tell us about a defining moment in their self-ship lore (for example - the most impactful moment, a moment your S/I and F/O reminisce over all the time, a moment that fans of the self-ship would see as the “ship’s iconic scene”, etc.)!

This is not a defining moment, but Mana's first ever purchase in Twist Wonderland was right after she overheard Malleus say Lilia's picture was in a history textbook; and so she spent the money she'd just gotten for an extra copy, just to own that old picture of him. She's so silly lol I definitely think the first confession would be iconic for them enough haha! And also I wanna wait till after chapter 7 is finished to fully flesh them out more⋯

♡ Who confessed their feelings first and where/when? Did it go smoothly?

Mana was the one who initially confessed/voiced her feelings first, but Lilia rejected her⋯⋯ It was definitely a confession of desperation, with tears cascading down her cheeks as she finally puts into words how much Lilia means to her and how the thought of not being by his side kills her.

But she’s a human and he’s a fae nearing the end of his life, she shouldn’t be spending her time as a human being on him. He can’t even protect her anymore.

It was very emotional for them both; and every time Mana remembers that moment, she can feel how her heart aches so much it scorches deep, deep into her soul. She still wonders if she'll ever get over the way Lilia smiled with smoldering torment in his eyes that day. As he says, "Oh, my little Mana, I——can't accept your feelings, I do hope you understand."

♡ How did their first time hanging out/going on a date go? What did they do?

Their first 'date' was when Mana was granted permission to head off of campus for more sewing and cleaning supplies (or, at least, that was her initial request, but of course she got dumped with a huge load of errands to run for the headmaster). Lilia offered to go with her, and she wasn't going to say 'no' when he started fluttering his lashes cutely at her⋯ "Please, can I come with you, little charm? No? Really⋯?" And it was an arrow through her heart, and so, with flushed cheeks, Mana nodded and sheepishly agreed.

It was pretty orthodox and cheesy, with Lilia and her stopping in at a café and him feeding her some of his sweets. Lilia also got lost from Mana at one point, and they held hands for the rest of the trip so that wouldn't happen again~ But it was one of the first instances that Mana thought, 'ah, maybe it would be alright to have some connections here⋯'.

♡ Do your S/I and F/O(s) have any nicknames for each other? What are they?

Lilia often calls Mana 'little charm'! It originated from her being everywhere all at once (she's a workaholic doing jobs and chores all over campus, like a true prefect), so she's constantly showing up exactly when he needs her. He also got into the habit recently of calling her his 'thimble'!!

Mana calls him 'my beloved' sometimes. She's bad at thinking of nicknames⋯ Lilia almost dies the first time she drops the '-san' honorific for him lol

♡ Has your S/I had any slumber parties (or in general late nights out) with your F/O(s)? How did those go?

Lilia actually accompanies Mana on her nightly walks if he's not too deep into a game, soothing and telling her whimsical and heroic tales of his past as a war general. And then he warns her "Go to bed, young miss! If you don't, the monsters will get you!", and she can't help but laugh softly without an ounce of fear and head back to Ramshackle Dorms.

Between these two, and Grim of course!, slumber parties happen way too often! They'll sit together in bed, gossiping and talking about the various rumors or things going on around NRC. It's the only time Mana will paint her nails, because her and Lilia do it for each other. They have a lot of fun together! Their laughter fills the once empty, hushed building⋯! She's also sewn them cute matching pyjamas for sure! And Lilia may also have of discovered the covert plushie she sewn in his image under the bed when he was visiting⋯

♡ What love languages do your S/I & F/O(s) have?

Lilia uses Physical touch, Acts of service // Mana uses Words of love, Gifts

♡ Did your S/I or F/Os make any friends from each others’ friend groups (like, does your S/I have any friends they met through F/O, or vice versa)?

Mana adopted Diasomnia because of Lilia, haha. She treats everyone like a little kid. But she actually also gets along quite well with Cater ever since she begun attending light music club meetings (she sewed them their club outfits too!).

♡ What does your S/I’s family think about your F/O(s), or what does your F/O(s)’s family think about your S/I?

Diasomnia all adores Mana, she’s always helping out and happy to serve tea/coffee to anyone.

-Silver looks at her like a motherly-figure, and has definitely accidentally fallen asleep on her a multitude of times before. Mana sews him little plushies, and he's introduced her to his bird and animal companions; stating that they all really adore her.

-Malleus thinks she’s like a big sister! Mana's never been afraid of him and treats him more as a spoiled little brother, and he's definitely taken advantage of that to be doted on by her. Even though he's older lol Because of Mana's interest in fashion/needlework, she says she can appreciate architecture and will listen to him enthuse about gargoyles.

-Sebek has a certain degree of respect towards her, although he did greatly distrust her in the beginnings of their relationship. He viewed her meddlesome, helpful side as malicious and believed she had ulterior motives. He especially had loathed seeing her treat Malleus as if he wasn't the world's greatest mage and thought her actions were disrespectful.

♡ Is there symbolism/an aesthetic that you associate with your self-ship?

Mouse (Mana) x Bat (Lilia)! I've always adored mouse-like heroine aesthetics, so I imagined Mana as similar to a mouse.

Mice are physically small and reticent, utilizing so many resources that others would consider insignificant or of non-importance. They don't depend on others, placing little stress on their environment. They can be quiet, compliant and they rarely draw attention to themselves. Just very self-reliant creatures. And Mana is exactly that.

Also, Mana's cheeks puff out when she's eating, and she's very skittish and quick to run away from situations she considers anxiety-inducing hehe

And there's a lot of 'Sleeping Beauty' references between them (ex. Mana always pricks her fingers on the needles when she's sewing and upset, Lilia says he's not her fated prince/the person she's always dreamed of).

A specific symbolism I also relate to them is the infamous fairy godmother trying to help the princess, but the princess refuses his help. Because, in this case, the princess doesn't want some prince⋯ she wants him. And yet, the fairy godmother knows it should never happen, and so he pushes the princess away; trying to coax her into the arms of a 'real prince'.

♡ Are there any tropes that apply to your self-ship?

One true love/Destiny said so + Please don’t leave me

Mana realizes later-on that the person she kept dreaming about as a child was actually Lilia and that she was always destined to meet and fall in love with him! And then Mana has abandonment issues and doesn’t want Lilia to ever leave her. It's a very big thing of conflict for the two of them hehe

♡ Free Space! Just gush about whatever part of the self-ship you’d like!

-Lilia said if Mana were to play any of his online games, she wouldn't be suited for the healer role but instead a melee-type, and when she asked him about it, he said, "It's because you're seriously frightening when you need to be. If you were to heal someone, it'd be by hitting them with your staff until they forgot about the pain instead of using magic". She didn't get it.

-Because of Mana's scarily precise sense of taste, it's practically impossible for her to eat Lilia's cooking. One bite and she'll pass right out; since she can taste ever egregious ingredient he used to concoct it, it's too overwhelming. So, she tries to do the cooking as much as possible!

-Mana is an extremely jealous person. Lilia is the first person she's ever held romantic feelings for, and so she tends to be a little possessive over him. He doesn't hide how cute he finds it when she gets a little pouty over him giving someone else his attention, though!

(Lilia: Mark me. Leave tons of them everywhere. Mana: By mark, you mean⋯ cause internal bleeding and bruise you in order to effectuate a temporary sense of possession? Lilia: You phrased it in such a scary way, but yes, that’s the gist of it.)

-MORE TO BE ADDED⋯

#lilimana #these two are so self-indulgent they're perfect ♡#selfship questions

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voskhozhdeniye · 10 months

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Work Shit

In my late teens, I either read a book or saw an interview with someone, where they were asked what's the difference between being clever and being wise. Their response was that the wise man is the man who, when a problem arises, or they make a mistake, tackle it head on, even when they don't want to, even when there are difficult consequences for their actions. They learn the lesson and use that knowledge to avoid ending up in that circumstance again. Whereas the clever man uses all of his energy to avoid learning from his mistakes.

I work with a bunch of clever people.

Coworker was about to lose her mind this morning. Our other store in the county is having an overstock problem in frozen, sound familiar? There's talk that they're going to send a bunch of people there to go through the stock, and what doesn't go will be packed up and sent to other stores. She's afraid we're going to get sent some of that product. I asked her what's happening up there? She starts listing all of the mistakes he's making. I had to look away because it's everything her ass is doing. She said, they need to get rid of him if he can't do it. I was like, "Oh really...." I know the guy who runs it. He actually has an excuse. He can't read. If I wasn't working with her, she would be in the same boat.

She's a habitual liar. Her bff, who used to be our boss and is her housemate, is one too. That's how she got this job. Now that bff isn't here to cover her ass and throw me under the bus for coworker's mistakes, she's getting exposed.

She will not ask me or Dark Souls coworker for help with the ordering system, but she will ask the other employees who are fucking it up, and complain about it like she does. Our boss told me he's not even going to check behind me anymore. He knows he doesn't have to.

I am ordering extra stock just so I have something to do for 8 hours. Even with the extra stuff I'm ordering, because her numbers are so fucked she's getting 3 times as much stock as I am.

Most of that stuff isn't going anywhere, so she stuffs it onto the shelf to make it look like she doesn't have more overstock than I do. She is trapped in a cycle and refuses to accept that she needs to change.

@yoddel you liked my post from Tuesday about my "Dwight from The Office" coworker. He's very similar to her. He works one way and refuses to change. He also does little petty shit. He locked myself and another coworker out as we were coming in to work. He looked directly at us and locked the door. He will get to the time clock and intentionally clock in slowly to make the people behind him clock in late.

Each of the grocery night stockers have their own u-boats for their overstock, which are labeled. He works bottled water and will overstuff his u-boats. This puts stress on the u-boats. All of his u-boats eventually develop a unique wobble. He will unload other people's stock, remove the labels, and switch his broken u-boats with theirs. He gets screamed at almost once a week by someone for something he does. He's afraid of black people, so he pretty much avoids me at all costs.

Rape coworker and rape coworker Jr have been blocked on social media by almost every woman we work with.

This morning, rape coworker asked the woman I work with if she owned a strapon, and if not, would she like to borrow his?

He, too, will not change. He has diabetes and has been dying because it's given him erectile dysfunction.....He has no filter. He openly talks about his masturbation and porn habits. He almost lost his foot last year because of the diabetes. For over a year, he's been begging his doctor for viagra. His doctor told him that if he got his diabetes under control, he wouldn't need it. He refuses to change his diet. Even when he was in the hospital last year, he told Dark Souls coworker, who was the only one to visit him, that he wasn't going to change.

He's a 50 year old incel, a textbook example. Does the whole claims he's gay/trans to get close to women bullshit.

Jr doesn't do that, but they truly act like father and son.

We have a mentally handicap coworker who likes to grope both men and women. Nobody wants to get him in trouble for it because they feel sorry for him. He also thinks he's everyone's boss and acts accordingly. He does not respect personal space. Not even rape coworker makes me as uncomfortable as he does. He sets off my fight or flight response when he gets too close.

Rape coworker still has his job because people also feel sorry for him. He's also the type that would shoot up the store if he got fired. His sister has enough guns for a small police force.

We have a coworker in the bakery who has consistently run off every black employee they've had back there.

We have an idiot coworker who bragged to everyone that he was going to call out on Mother's Day and use a family emergency as the excuse. While he was out playing hooky on Mother's Day, him and his daughter were in a golf cart accident. She broke her pelvis.

I do not fuck with that dude.

We also live in MAGA land, so there's a lot of Trump cultists.

Our store manager is a certified girl boss. She has a "boss lady" plaque on her desk and everything.

Those are the children I work with. Those are the main things they do that piss everyone off. But the major sin they all commit is the fact that they all make work harder for others. They make everything physically, mentally, and emotionally harder than it has to be. They duck their responsibilities, and others have to do their work for them. They have grown accustomed to it and will not change. All they do is pile more stress on top of the stress outside of work.

When I'm at work, my goal is to make things go as smoothly as possible for others. It's frustrating to have people who do not have the same goal.

They are set in their ways.

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recurring-polynya · 2 years

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What if the Hisana-Rukia family were also some level of nobility - either by being born into their own noble family or by being the current 'most important Kuchiki' in place of Byakuya? Either way the Byakuya-Hisana marriage would likely face less opposition, but the Renji-Rukia relationship would suffer from them not being together in Inuzuri. (Unless his backstory is modified too to enable his meeting/interaction with Rukia.)

There were so many places I could have gone with this, but promised to do a nice one next, so please enjoy this universe where Kuchiki Sisters be the flyest noble girls in the Seireitei and Byakuya is just weirdly intense rando from Inuzuri who is fortunate enough to be best bros with a charming jock who keeps him pointed in the right direction (most of the time).

[Note: I got quite a few variations on Byakuya - Rukia - Hisana swaps, and hopefully this will reasonably satisfy people]

Did Polynya stay between 500 and 1000 words?: I really thought I was gonna and then it came out to 1678

| ao3 | ff.net |

🌸 🤍 💗

“You’re late,” Inuzuri Byakuya noted, not bothering to look up from his kidou textbook as his erstwhile best friend flopped down heavily in the grass next to him.

“I am exhausted, a tender pile of bruises, and this is the greeting I get?” Abarai Renji replied, throwing one arm over his eyes dramatically.

“A tender pile of excuses, more like,” Byakuya muttered.

“It’s hard work being on the advanced track!” Renji defended himself. “Cut me some slack!”

“Your last class ended forty-five minutes ago. You were sparring with that girl again, weren’t you? You can let her beat you up, if you must, but don’t complain to me about your aches and pains.”

“Her name is Rukia and I don’t let her do anything,” Renji sighed dreamily. “She’s just really strong. Anyway, I’m less late than usual! Ordinarily, Rukia takes at least an hour to work me over, but her sister is visiting this afternoon, so she gave me the express beat-down. I thought that was very considerate, to squeeze me into her busy schedule.”

Byakuya gave a noncommittal grunt. “Which kidou did your class cover today?”

Renji was not so easily budged from his current favorite subject. “I wish you’d give her a chance. She’s a lot like you, you know. Real serious exterior. Goes hard as Hell on literally everything. Thinks about everything too much. Cares about everything too much.”

“She’s a noble, Renji, from one of the most important families in Soul Society. I’m sure she’s very polite, but she wouldn’t understand the kind of life we’ve led. You’re better off not to get too close to her.”

“Rukia’s not like other nobles. Her mom died when she was born, and they ended up fostering her out to the Shiba, you know, the crazy nobles who live out in Momo’s district? I guess they were hoping her dad would remarry and have a son, but he ended up dying instead, and her sister got made clan head. The sister is a pretty wild bird, apparently. She was friends with that badass Shihouin clan head that got exiled?”

“Maybe if your head wasn’t so full of Seireitei gossip, you’d actually be able to cast a shakkahou.”

“Doubtful. You’ll love this next part. Their grandfather tried to make Lady Hisana take a husband, I guess, but she refused to marry anyone who couldn’t beat her in a sword fight?”

“If I were an old, horrible grandfather, I would simply not agree to such terms. It always ends the same way.”

“It did, too, that’s how she ended up becoming clan head herself. Anyway, Rukia really looks up to her sister and is determined to live up to her example.”

“I know how much you love immensely troublesome people, Renji, but I am telling you that this one is going to get you a lot worse than a few black eyes if you don’t take care, a thing you have historically shown no aptitude for whatsoever.”

“Pbbt.” Renji hauled himself up into a sitting position. “I get your point, Byakuya, but I think you’re being really short-sighted. A lot of nobles are assholes, sure, but that doesn’t mean they all are. And like it or not, connections will get you everywhere in the Seireitei. I know how much you like to stab yourself in the foot with your own principles, but if making friends with a Kuchiki gets me a spot in the court guards, I won’t lose any sleep over it.”

“If ‘making friends’ was all you had on your mind, I wouldn’t be nearly so worried,” Byakuya turned a page in his book. “But as it happens, one of the reasons I have to train so hard is so that I can help defend your sorry ass when her family comes after you for besmirching her honor.”

Renji made a wistful hum. “If I could get within a spirit mile of besmirching distance, I’d die a happy man.”

Byakuya shook his head. “You’re an idiot. She has her pick of companions at this place. Why in Hell would she spend time bashing her sword against your oversized, hunky carcass if she weren’t just as besotted with you as you are with her?”

“That’s kind of a good question, now that you mention it,” Renji scratched the back of his head. “You think? You really think that’s possible?”

“I cannot believe they put you in the advanced track and not me.”

Renji wagged a finger thoughtfully. “Like I don’t ask myself that every day. I happened to mention that to Rukia, actually--”

“Why are you talking about me to your friends? Do not talk about me to your friends.”

“My friends love Byakuya stories. They think you are enigmatic and mysterious, no matter how much I tell them you are just boring and grumpy. In any case, Rukia says that first of all, there’s a quota of the number of kids from Rukongai that are even allowed in the advanced class, and it’s not very high. As far as I can tell, there might be four of us, total? More importantly, Seireitei people only like shinigami from the Rukon that fit into neat little stories. Momo’s okay because she’s from District 1 and she’s smart and cute and follows the rules. I’m okay, because I’m big and strong, but also dumb and don’t have any of those, whaddya call ‘em. Social graces.”

“You’re not dumb, don’t say that.”

“You call me dumb all the time.”

“That’s different. We have a long and rich history together. I saw you get in a shouting match with a tanuki once. The arrogant bastards in this city haven’t earned the right to call you dumb, and it’s not a thing you should hand over lightly.”

Renji sighed. “See, this is exactly what Rukia was talking about. You’re brilliant and you’re talented and you call out 100% of the bullshit you hear. The bastards don’t like it when guys like you come out of the shit end of Rukongai. It scares ‘em.”

Byakuya made a little humming noise as he pretended to study the chant breakdown chart for soukatsui. “Lady Rukia doesn’t like me, then?”

“Rukia thinks you’re great, because all she knows about you is the shit I’ve told her. She doesn’t like being called Lady Rukia at school, by the way. I wish you would meet her. She’s not like what you think. She’s nice and she cares about people. She says she wants to make Soul Society better for everyone, especially people from the Rukon.”

“That’s a nice sentiment, Renji, but it’s all just talk. It physically pains me to say these words out loud, but you do have an objectively…” he grimaced, “very…attractive…body…situation, or so I am told, frequently, against my will. Miss Kuchiki just wants you to like her. And as endearing as your puppy-like naivety may be, you can’t just turn into a pile of damp cardboard every time someone with a pretty face bats their eyes at you.”

“I think you’re real cute, too, buddy. But you are wrong about Rukia. She’s a really good person. I am very discerning about who I turn into damp cardboard f-- Oh! Shit! Stand up! Stand up!”

Both young men shot to their feet, snapping into the ramrod posture that seven months at Shinoureijutsuin had burned directly into their nervous systems. “What, what, what’s happening?” Byakuya sputtered out of the side of his mouth. There were two people coming toward them. Women. One in Academy reds, the other in black and white. He wasn’t very good at these sudden context shifts, a fact which only contributed to his reputation as an ill-mannered malcontent.

“Noble,” Renji spat back. He seemed to grasp the subtleties of a social situation so intuitively that it made Byakuya’s head spin sometimes. “Super noble. Highest level of formality. Speak only when spoken to. Maybe don’t speak at all. Fuck.”

“I won’t screw this up,” Byakuya hissed desperately. “I promise!”

“I’m not worried about you!”

“Renji! Renji, there you are!”

The slightly smaller of the two approaching figures was waving at them cheerfully.

Extremely tentatively, Renji waved back.

Byakuya might take issue with Renji’s judgment from time to time, but there wasn’t anything wrong with his taste. Kuchiki Rukia was a very attractive young woman, with her heart-shaped face and big violet eyes and cute little pointy nose. But as Byakuya’s eyes drifted over to her companion, he felt like his heart had been knocked clear out of his body.

Rukia’s sister-- because it had to be Rukia’s sister, who else could it be?-- was really only a series of slight variations on her sibling, and yet, the result was something exquisite, something inhuman. Her eyes were just a shade bluer and darker and far more serious. Her hair was a trifle longer, finer, with a tendency toward curling. She was ever so slightly taller and slimmer, her frame fey, where Rukia’s was gamine. She held her reiatsu close, as their teachers did, but Byakuya could feel it humming out from her, rattling the air right out of his lungs.

“Sister,” Rukia said warmly, “This is my friend that I’ve been telling you about, Abarai Renji, and his close friend, Inuzuri Byakuya, whom I don’t know very well, but I’ve heard many good things about. Abarai-san, Inuzuri-san, may I introduce my illustrious sister, Kuchiki Hisana, 28th Head of the Kuchiki Clan and the Captain of the Sixth Division.”

Byakuya was dimly aware of Renji beside him, dipping into a deep bow and saying something that wasn’t registering as words to his ears. He probably should also be bowing, but he simply couldn’t, all he could do was stand there like an idiot and gape at the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, even as she narrowed her eyes and looked him over as one might scrutinize a bug that has just scuttered out from under the bed.

Ah, he thought to himself. So this is what turning a pile of damp cardboard feels like.

#what if requests #my writing #byakuya kuchiki #renji abarai #👏let 👏byakuya 👏say 👏ass👏#he still cusses less than 98% of the populace of inuzuri #this was so fun to write just let renji and b have banter just let them be besties who are trash for two sisters

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luverofralts · 1 month

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Arkhelios Adventures

"Alpheus Toyonaga. The ruler of Strangetown, the conqueror of Great Demons. An excellent example of what could await in your future."

Reogus took a step forward and the entire world melted away. Theo could feel his entire being melt along with it, only to be swept up in another wave seconds later. When the world stopped spinning, Theo could see his body return to its normal size and height. He was a teen once more.

"Stop! You're not wanted here! Leave Strangetown and you can leave in peace."

A single soldier stammered before the demon, the last one of his squadron left alive. Theo could see the bodies of his colleagues strewn across the ground as the brave man waved his sword.

Alpheus didn't even bother responding to the man. He crossed his arms and drew an insane amount of power to his hands. Theo could see the demon's golden eyes glint in the darkness. There was nothing human in those eyes at all.

So this was what the blood demons looked like at their height. These were the beings that wrote the textbooks he studied at school. He could see why they had been destroyed and blood magic heavily restricted over the centuries. Raw, feral power flowed from him, overwhelming any being who had the misfortune of standing near him. This was an ancient, non-hybrid blood demon and Theo was quaking even watching this representation of Alpheus.

"Is this the Demon Wars?" he asked eagerly. "This is when Alpheus fell? This guy kills him?"

Reogus paused for a moment, waiting for the terrified soldier to summon all the magic he could in defiance of the demon. It took only seconds for Alpheus to make the smallest gesture with his hand, instantly twisting the man and snuffing out his life.

Theo gasped, staring at the corpse in front of him in horror.

"Why would you show me this? You should have jumped to the part where he loses. I don't need to see your own idea of a snuff film!"

Unknown to Theo, Adam watched the scene before him in horror. As far as Adam could remember, he had gone to bed in his dorm, and hadn't left the building. Still, if this was a dream, it was the most realistic one he'd ever had. He could smell the blood of the fallen soldiers, he could feel the bitting of the wind whipping around him. He'd tried to wave at Theo to grab his attention, but either his boyfriend couldn't see him or he was completely lost in the scene before him. At least Theo had a tour guide to assist him through this, Adam had simply woken up here unprepared.

"There are plenty of things in life that must be seen to understand," the warlock said, still ignoring Theo's patented Bellamy glare. "If I were to read you a textbook, the gravity of the past might escape you. Demons of the past killed without hesitation and often for their own amusement. This is what you are."

Theo physically recoiled at these words, shaking his head vigorously in protest.

"No, no, I'm not. These are full blooded demons a million years ago! I shouldn't have to keep telling people that I don't want to kill them!"

Adam smiled from his corner of this nightmare. Of course Theo wouldn't kill people on a whim like the demons of old. He wasn't even a full demon with their abilities. It looked like the old witches and warlocks used a bit of blood magic too, and as far as Adam knew, using blood magic didn't condemn them to be killers.

"Alpheus! That death wasn't on the list! You need to be stopped."

A hooded figure shouted angrily at the demon, holding a faint light above his head menacingly. Alpheus appeared to be confused for a moment, then when he recognized the figure, he let out an amused laugh.

"Go cry back to your mommy, Atem," the demon teased. "This isn't any business of a reaper. I'll do as I please."

The flicker of light above Atem wavered in his hands and for an instant, Theo could have sworn that he heard a whimpering voice call out, then suddenly silenced.

"That's someone's soul isn't it?" Theo whispered, his face suddenly ashen as he watched the scene before him.

"Blood magic feeds on every part of a living thing," Reogus noted. "There is dark demonic magic that feeds on the energy of souls, yes. There is dark magic that is fuelled by the natural processes of life. Eating or drinking, sex and childbirth, the separation of soul and body at death, these are all occasions where blood magic can excel. The unnatural perversion of an unauthorized death was an enticing target for your kind."

"Watch as he draws power from the same soul the reaper is trying to rescue," Reogus continued, as casually as if he were merely giving a lecture on the subject. "There is a power struggle between two creatures of enormous strength playing out here. Does the power belong to the demon who harvested the soul for his own use or to those sworn to guard the journey of souls to their resting place?"

Theo tried to avert his eyes from the demon before him, but it was no use. There was something stirring within the teen that couldn't help feeling drawn to the glow hovering around Alpheus' body. As a hybrid, Theo didn't feel the aching cold of a full demon, but his body still responded against his will as he felt the energy pulse before him. It was beautiful and tantalizing, warm and energetic all at once. Theo briefly thought of his friend Bronwen and the conversations they'd had about her vampiric pull towards fresh blood. Like Theo, she was a hybrid and would never have the same irresistible draw to blood that her mother did, but she was still called all the same. She had been drinking synthetic or donated blood in small quantities since her birth. There was no denying the way her breathing hitched when someone injured themselves and the smell of blood entered the air. Theo could feel that same irresistible draw as Alpheus struggled to retrieve his prey and small tendrils of energy spiraled out, desperate to escape.

"Focus! Feel the energy! How does it change your senses? How would you consume this energy for yourself? Can you feel the waves of competition fighting for control? Remember the sensation of Death and his minions and the way their powers burn against your own."

"I don't need to because I'm not going to be killing people," Theo insisted angrily. "T-this, this doesn't bother me."

There was no denying the change in Theo. His body called for the energy in front of him like it was water in a desert. It sang to him and the more he tried to ignore it, the louder it called.

"Try this, it should help. Not bad for a first try."

The mysterious warlock produced a large ball of energy from his hands and waved it in front of Theo. It wasn't the same size or colour or as powerful as the soul in front of him, but energy was energy. Theo extended his senses toward it, sighing as he could feel the comforting warmth melt into his skin.

"This is just a recreation of history, not the real thing," Reogus warned. "The real thing isn't going to be sated with a quick energy spell. It will call to you until you either consume it or drive yourself into madness trying to possess it. Coming of age means a great deal to a young blood demon. Your powers will mature and strengthen, and you may feel called to actions like this. You've already tied yourself to my powerful bloodline, and there is great potential for danger if you cannot master your emotions or turn away from temptations like this."

"Well, it's not like this is a common thing to run across these days," Theo protested, still feeling shaky despite the energy he'd consumed. "If I'm one of the only people practicing blood magic these days, I'll be fine."

Theo could hear the desperation in his own voice, begging for his words to be true. As much as he tried to ignore the way his body responded to something horrifying, there was no denying it.

"You may want to ask your instructors to replicate an exercise like this one going forward. Control is everything. Control over your desire for magic. Control over your fears and passions. Control over your own self. Even demon hybrids mature faster than their non demonic peers. Not as quickly as a full demon, but quick enough. You may experience the desires and draws that mature demons experience sooner than you might expect, and you must control them."

"Who will appear if I don't?" Theo asked worriedly. "Reapers? Other demons? Angels? Who won between Alpheus and the reaper?"

"See for yourself," Reogus replied, gesturing to the victorious reaper, basking in the light of soul who successfully passed on. "By this time, Lukas had been installed in their proper position as Life. The delicate balance of the world was beginning to heal. Though the Great and blood demons were still extremely powerful, they were still subject to the laws of nature. The reaper prevailed. To answer your other question, it would depend on what natural laws you were breaking. A reaper would come for a soul, the Sovereign might appear for a demonic offense. A witch or warlock wouldn't likely be summoned to deal with you, but a council member might take an interest. God help you if you attract an angel. There are only a handful of them left, but they're vicious creatures without remorse. I suppose Lukas does like to interfere with the living too, but they usually mean well. You'll be safest if you just learn to control yourself and stay away from situations that might draw supernatural attention."

"Now, try to fight this!" the warlock ordered, his attitude changing in an instant. He summoned two new glowing balls of energy, more piercing than the last and waited.

Theo couldn't even register what was happening to him, it was happening so fast. His body grew again into an adult size, warping and changing in the blink of an eye. Theo could feel the weight of his horns on his head once more and a feverish hunger for energy and blood.

"W-what? What's happening?"

"Just another exercise to practice," Reogus replied. His calm, reserved demeanor enraged Theo for reasons he couldn't name.

"I want it!" Theo shouted, reaching for the balls of energy in desperation.

"I can see that. What will you do when I refuse to hand it over? Will you kill me? Hurt me? How well can you control yourself?"

Something inside of Theo felt broken, and if he could just touch the energy before him, he knew that this aching feeling would heal. He'd never wanted something so strongly before and he barely knew what it was that he was aching for. Maybe as kid, Theo would have been safe from this all consuming desire, but in this adult body, with no one nearby to judge him, Theo allowed the feeling to overwhelm him. He needed this energy like he needed to breathe and suddenly the warlock's questions made sense. His rational mind could control itself and resist the temptation, but his mind was far from rational at the moment. He might hurt someone if they interfered with his prey. He certainly wouldn't kill anyone, but it would be dangerous for someone to get in his way.

"Theo?" Adam's whisper was barely audible as he watched his boyfriend change before his very eyes. Adam pressed against the heavy fence, trying to avoid detection. Whatever was happening here was dangerous and looked private. Adam wasn't sure why he was here at all, so not drawing attention to himself seemed to be the best option.

"Hybrids aren't supposed to feel the same draw to energy as regular demons," Theo managed to shout while trying to remain in control of himself. "It was why Dorhack wanted to experiment with hybrids in the first place! I don't feel this way, not ever! What are you doing to me?"

"Merely showing you who you are," Reogus responded. "You are tied to my bloodline. You descend from Great Demons. You practice blood magic and you are growing into your full powers. This is a warning. Can you try to turn away from this energy? Even if it's difficult?"

"No," Theo growled, gritting his teeth angrily. "No, I can't. I don't know why."

"Which is why you must push yourself to succeed. You have access to a great deal of magical and demonic power, Theo. You have had several incidents where you almost died because you could not control or release the energy that builds up in you. To survive, you must learn to let go of that power or share it with others."

"Can you help me now?" Theo whined, still struggling to remove himself from the energy with all of his strength. "I get the point. I don't feel so well. Can I just go home already?"

"Young Mr. Darktide. How pleasant to see you here. Unexpected, but nice. I don't see many Darktides these days."

Adam whirled around to find a strange woman smiling at him. It was unnerving the way she stared at him. Almost as if she knew him, but Adam couldn't place her in his memory.

"Have we met?" he asked cautiously. "Can you see me? I'm not sure what I'm doing here exactly. Am I dreaming? Can Theo see me?"

The woman smiled again, looking at Adam as if he were a toddler.

"They can't see you, no. You're hitchhiking here across the realm of dreams. I hate those time warlocks. They think that they make the rules and can do anything they want. Well, they can't and when they try, things like this happen. Guess who has to fix things then? Always me."

"I'm sorry, I don't know how I got here," Adam said politely. "I'm pretty sure I just went to bed and appeared here...right?"

The woman smiled kindly and Adam's fears began to ease. She wasn't a threat, or at least he was guessing as much. The way that she looked at him seemed friendly, almost curiously if he had to guess. He was an amusing diversion from her regular life, something new to interact with.

"You're tied to that little demon over there," the woman explained, pointing in Theo's direction. "He was summoned here with enough power to trigger your connection and now you're here! Just another loose end those warlocks leave for me when they're done playing with my realm. That one especially. He's a Maricourt alright. No sense of boundaries or of the work it takes to maintain the realm of dreams."

"So I'm stuck in Theo's dream because we're connected? That-that doesn't happen often, right? There are some...dreams I'd prefer he doesn't see."

The woman winked at the teen playfully and laughed.

"No, this is just the time witches having fun again," she assured Adam. "Without the ability to manipulate time and space, you will never accidentally end up here. Theo was brought here for a purpose, and you're just a complication."

"Who are you? Is this place dangerous? Can you help Theo escape here?"

"I am Luna, Guardian of Dreams," the woman replied. If she was offended by the question, Adam couldn't see it in her body language. If anything, she looked even more excited to see him than she had earlier. "Princess Luna St. Julien, to be exact. My father, King Reyes St. Julien, ruled Crystal Cove until my older sister ended the Pleasantview Civil War and became empress of Crystal Cove and Pleasantview. We're not so far removed, you and I. My father just happens to be your great-great grandfather."

"The Civil War ended centuries ago," Adam argued wearily. This would be an interesting dream if he didn't have the sinking sense that this dream wasn't somehow based in reality. "There have been at least five generations of monarchy in Crystal Cove post empire alone. There's no way that we're that closely related."

Luna shrugged.

"I never said anything about the lifespans of our family or when they had their children. As you can see from my excellent magical skills, I'm proof that our family has unlimited potential. Your specific branch of the family tree has less, but it's better than most families. The Darktides that I knew, including the man my father loved, were all powerful demons. No Great Demons of course, but a large chunk of them had the same gold eyes as Alpheus over there and the same potential for power. Tristan Darktide, your ancestor, could travel deep in the Void on a whim. Nice guy, though."

"No way!" Adam protested quickly. "My mom has never mentioned demonic relatives once. We're Tredony pirates and powerful magic users, not demons."

"Who? Edana Darktide? Endless dreams of fire and blood in the desert sand? It's plausible that she doesn't know, now that you mention it. My sister's reign culminated in many dark days for the Darktides. Edana may not know. I suppose that is a secret you may want to think about telling her some day, if you think it's best."

Adam blinked, unable to process everything that was being thrown at him by the queen of this nightmare. Theo was accidentally dragging him across the realm of dreams and his family apparently had demonic ancestry and a genetic link to some sort of demigod. Was there a potential for him to become a demigod too? How did ascending to such a position work? Where you born different or did you ascend later on? If this dream wasn't so painfully realistic, Adam would have bet money on this whole thing being a terrible nightmare.

Luna shot an angry look over her shoulder where Theo was still speaking in hushed tones with Reogus.

"Well, this has gone on for far too long," she decided. "I'll have to send you home first and deal with the warlock after. It's too complicated otherwise, but don't worry, you'll see your boyfriend soon enough. I wish you two kids the best and hopefully, I won't find you wandering this plane again."

With a snap of her fingers, Adam disappeared from view. He awoke in his bed, gasping for breath, looking for the strange princess he'd just been talking to.

"What the hell? Was that a dream or...."

He trailed off, looking across the room to find Theo still fast asleep in his bed.

#arkhelios #sim: theo bellamy #theo bellamy #arkhelios adventures #tw: violence #adam darktide #reogus maricourt #sim: reogus maricourt #atem spector #alpheus toyonaga #luna st. Julien

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sciencestyled · 4 months

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When Paintbrush Meets Petri Dish: A Snobbishly Witty Romp Through the Art-Science Gala

Ah, the age-old debate: science versus art. One adorned in white lab coats, the other swathed in splattered smocks. But let's not get too carried away with stereotyping – after all, not all scientists are absent-minded geniuses (only about 97.3%, statistically speaking) and not all artists are beret-wearing, espresso-sipping dreamers (the remaining 2.7%, presumably). This essay, my dear reader, is a whimsical yet sagacious exploration of the delightful tango between science, art, and education.

Now, let's set the scene. In one corner, we have Science, the methodical, evidence-seeking powerhouse of human progress. In the other, Art, the creative, emotionally-charged soul of human expression. And caught in the middle? Education, the beleaguered referee trying to make sense of it all. The question on everyone's lips (or at least on those lips belonging to people who ponder such things) is: can art and science coexist? Better yet, can they collaborate to enhance education? Spoiler alert: Yes, they can, and it's fabulously fascinating.

Firstly, let's tackle the notion of art advancing science education. Gone are the days when science was taught with the dryness of a cracker left out in the Sahara. Enter stage right: Art. Imagine, if you will, a biology class where students learn about cell structure through creating detailed, colorful models. Or a physics lesson where the principles of motion are explored through kinetic sculptures. It's not just about making science 'pretty'; it's about using art to provide a more engaging, memorable, and comprehendible learning experience. After all, who wouldn't prefer to learn about the solar system by crafting a vibrant, to-scale mural over memorizing dusty textbook diagrams?

But wait, there's more! Art doesn't just doll up science education; it also introduces a much-needed dose of creative thinking. Creativity isn't just for the artsy types, you know. It's a crucial skill in scientific inquiry. Hypothesis formation, after all, is essentially coming up with an educated guess – and what is that if not a creative process? By integrating artistic methods into science education, we're training the next generation of scientists to think outside the proverbial Petri dish.

Now, flip the script. How does science aid in creating art? Ah, dear reader, this is where it gets juicy. For starters, let's talk materials. Where do you think those vibrant pigments, durable resins, and nifty 3D printing materials come from? A little thing called chemistry, that's where. And let's not forget about the digital art world, which owes its entire existence to computer science and technology.

But it's not just about the tools. Science can also inspire art. Take fractals, for example. These infinitely complex patterns, found in everything from snowflakes to seashells, have become a muse for countless artists, leading to mesmerizing works that blend the boundaries of art and mathematics. Or consider the field of bioart, where artists use living tissues and bacteria as their medium. It's not just avant-garde; it's a commentary on the very nature of life itself, courtesy of biology.

Let's dive deeper into this rabbit hole. The intersection of art, science, and education can also play a pivotal role in societal issues. Think climate change, for instance. Scientific reports and graphs might make eyes glaze over, but an impactful piece of art that viscerally depicts the consequences of global warming? That can stir hearts and spur action. By marrying the factual rigor of science with the emotional power of art, we can educate and motivate the public in ways that neither discipline could achieve alone.

And let's not forget the cultural implications. Art and science are both reflections of our society, mirroring our values, fears, and aspirations. By blending them in education, we're not just teaching facts or techniques; we're fostering a more holistic understanding of the world. We're teaching students to appreciate the beauty in a well-crafted equation and the logic in a masterful painting. It's about creating well-rounded individuals who can appreciate the wonders of the cosmos and the splendors of a canvas with equal fervor.

In conclusion, my eloquent and undoubtedly enlightened reader, the convergence of art, science, and education is not just possible; it's essential. It's a veritable feast for the mind, a carnival of creativity and intellect. It's about breaking down the false dichotomy between 'logical' science and 'emotional' art and recognizing that, at their core, both are driven by a deep, insatiable curiosity about the world. So, let's raise our test tubes and paintbrushes in a toast to this magnificent mélange, and let the learning (and laughing) begin!

#science #science education #science art #art #education

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tetsunabouquet · 8 months

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Unpopular opinion: Digital Art Is Lacking In Style

Alright, I might get a lot of people disagreeing with me, but it's been bothering me a while now with all the blazed posts. Let me get this straight, I don't think digital art isn't real art, that isn't what I am talking about as having tried myself I know it's damn hard too. What I'm talking about, is my preference for making traditional art and why I have it: Artists in the old days, generally had a unique style, or trademarks. An example of one of my trademarks is my love for pointilism and how I experiment with it. Originally, this style didn't blend colors, but I do blend and mix colors as with things like my mermaid painting, I think pointilism can capture scales in a way more exciting way then trying to make realistic looking scales, or alluding to them. To me, it's just an effect I like to incorporate, and it's way different then what digital artists mean with 'effect'. These are things I generally don't see digital artists do. I don't see them experimenting around with stylistic choices that traditional artists have made, there is nothing that really is specific to that kind of artist, I often see blazed posts going around, where I don't know if I've already seen art of that person before, because digital art is pretty and more cohesive looking but it's also way less unique looking which is why digital art generally feels more boring to me. And I know exactly why a lack of a personal style and art that is perfected to oblivion gets me feeling this way. It's a similar thing to all those YouTube videos with beautiful, realistic drawings of people or characters. It's beautiful, it's art, but it lacks personality and thus, soul. My writing textbooks says, 'Perfection is the death of creativity' just like one of my art teachers when studying illustration spoke out against perfected art pieces because it kills the soul. Digital art showcases this point well. I feel like, a part of this is that not every digital artist actually went to art school, which shows as the few people I did meet who went to art school do in generally have a bit more stylized digital art opposed to the ones without artistic education. I also noticed that art works for smaller fandoms also tends to contain more gems of digital artists who's style stands out like KNB fandom's @ni-kol-koru, you only need to take a look at the digital drawing she made of the Shutoku team with fruit earrings to see digital art with a personality, whereas for popular fandoms you have so many artists without a sense of style that I get too bored at scrolling through fanart to keep up the hope there's someone whose fanart feels unique. So if I want to look at nice fanart that doesn't feels perfected to the point of envoking no emotion whatsoever, I know I should be sticking to the niche ones. I myself was raised by a single mom who failed her illustration exam and would teach me some basics she learnt at illustration when I was a kid which is why I passed illustration myself with ease. She was also involved with the art community even before I was born, and actually was one of the unimportant staff who did Herman Brood's PR. She even had a drawing of his that he made for her during lunch break once which was amongst the things we lost when we moved from the countryside (she was a bit sulky about it when she realized it). I wonder if the young digital artist who doesn't has a solid background in traditional art even knows who people like Herman Brood are. When I scroll through digital art long enough, it tends to blurr and blend together and I don't remember what I saw five art pieces ago. But if I were to look online at art sites who do things like comprise lists in certain genres from various painters, and I barely get that feeling. And it's not like it's impossible. Like I mentioned, there are digital artists who know how to make their drawings stand out from the rest and have potential to really become masters of digital art. But the majority? Pretty stuff that's lifeless to me.

#digital art #art #art discussion #traditional art #perfection is lifeless

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quirkydoodler · 1 year

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Religion has always been something I’ve wondered about. Whether it was in my history classes, documentaries, or readings about different cultures and ways of thinkings, there was just…

Something about knowing there were things I didn’t know in the spiritual or religious way that brought a peaceful curiosity to my mind since I was little.

Sometimes I wonder about God, or gods, or the world and the universe and all the interesting little tidbits of life that we still consider unknowns.

As I’ve gotten older, I still wonder: How do I define myself spiritually and/or religiously?

I grew up in a fairly open-minded household: My dad was brought up with a devoutly Christian mother and (from what I gather) a more easygoing, open-minded father, while my mother grew up Catholic and went to a Catholic girls’ school. Yet growing up, my sister and I were allowed to figure things out for ourselves in that way, though we were told about the basics, such as the meaning of Christmas, the cross, prayer, and biblical stories.

And I have gotten to know people who are Christian, Catholic, Mormon, Buddhist, agnostic, atheist…

The point is, with all these diverse takes on our spiritual and religious purposes, I’ve strived more and more to be at peace with the choices I’ve personally made and the paths I’ve taken, though they may deviate from the norm depending on who’s assessing them.

As it stands:

I believe that there is some kind of higher power watching over us, though I also believe in not knowing about the exact details of that. I’m more monotheistic in this sense. So maybe more of a Western take, if we are categorizing more broadly by region.

However, I also believe that the spirits of those loved ones who are no longer with us watch over us (more of an Eastern aspect, I think); for example, my grandfather — God rest his soul — passed away the year I started high school, but ever since then, I believe in his presence watching over us, and so I am more motivated and inspired to keep going forward.

That in mind, I also feel a bit agnostic: I can’t say for sure that there is or isn’t a god or gods, but from this perspective, neither concept offends or frightens me; if I come across someone who believes in the existence, I will listen with an open mind because this is all a bit of a learning process for me. And if I come across someone who believes that there is no such existence, I will again consider that perspective intriguing and listen as openly as I can.

Because, the concept of religion and spirituality reminds me of chapters in my old history textbooks, where we might study the beliefs of ancient peoples. In those cases, the cultural beliefs would be met with intrigue and fascination and most importantly, a long-lasting desire to want to learn more. Even if not necessarily alongside a devotion to one of those sets of beliefs.

The Bible, the Torah, the Quran, the Lunyu…any of these sacred and meaningful texts can still be viewed by people with a more agnostic perspective like mine as profound pieces, as literary masterpieces because of the wisdom they can offer us all on an individual and societal level. If I find interesting passages in any of these, it doesn’t mean I need to commit to that specific religion or set of beliefs. I’m a writer, a poet, a translator…I live for passages that make me think deeper; that they are well-renowned texts is the icing on the case, because works like that tend to have lots of timeless messages that relate to us no matter how different our circumstances may be.

I’ve, granted, perused passages mainly from Western beliefs (Christianity, Catholicism, and Mormonism), but — despite my eagerness to gain some insight or deeper thought from the texts, I deviate from the norm, so to speak, since I don’t attend church.

This has intrigued some, because (reasonably) the community and environment of a church setting could help “bring me closer to Him” and so on. I understand that and respect that others that choose that path, but ultimately I have chosen a different path and am content with it 🙂

But I feel that in this day and age, to describe how my perspectives differ isn’t criminal — so many others other there are various and diverse in their own perceptions, so mine is just one among those many.

I’m more spiritual than religious; I like to consider the spiritual life within people and animals, for instance, and thus our innate connection with nature.

For some, then, going to church specifically can help them better find themselves. For me, long walks through nature and mindfulness are how I can better find myself. That is all.

If anything, this is also why I stan Stray Kids so much; not everyone in the group has the exact same religious/spiritual beliefs. Similar, yes. But how they got there individually likely isn’t all the same.

But!

That’s not what makes their individual and collective dynamics with each other so amazing to watch and admire and aspire towards.

Rather, it’s that they (from my understanding) have shared moral values and qualities that help lift each other up, things that have no doubt been enhanced by their individual perspectives on life, whether or not that came with a religion :)

Some may continue questioning my varied takes on life in that spiritual/religious sense.

Some may relate to it.

Others still may despise it.

But I can be alright with this deviation. Because none of us are exactly the same, and in the end, being true to ourselves in this area as well as to other parts of our lives?

That.

That’s what truly helps us become wiser and better people ✨💫

#self reflection #contemplative #emotional health #insights #mental health #religion #spirituality #finding myself #at peace #content #peace of mind #it’s okay to be different #nobody is exactly the same #beliefs #deep thoughts #deep thinking #open minded #the unknown

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sheetmusiclibrarypdf · 1 year

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Pat Martino (1944-2021) Jazz Guitarrist

Minority (Pat Martino style) Jazz Standard by Gigi Gryce (sheet music)

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Pat Martino (1944-2021) Jazz Guitarrist

Pat Martino was one of the greats of jazz. He was born Pat Azzara in South Philadelphia on August 25, 1944, and was first introduced to music by his father, Carmen "Mickey" Azzara, who sang and played guitar at local clubs. Pat Martino said that he wanted to be a jazz guitarist because he loved his father and wanted her to be proud of him. He studied briefly with Eddie Lang, a famous jazz guitarist of the day, and began playing at the age of twelve, at which time he dropped out of school to pursue music full-time. He became a figure before he was eighteen and signed a solo contract with Prestige Records at the age of twenty. His early albums include such classics as "Strings!", "Desperado," "The Man" and "Baiyina," one of jazz's first successful intrusions into psychedelic music. He is known as a songwriter and guitar player and has dabbled in post-bop, fusion music, mainstream and jazz soul. He has made him famous for his study of the mathematics of music (including the writing of a textbook on Linear Expressions) and his specialist knowledge of music theory, something striking in someone who is largely self-taught. Martino codified what he called 'Conversion to minor': equivalent or similar to giving a minor sound for any chord, be it major, dominant or semi-diminished. These equivalences are reflected by the intervallic distance in which it is established. For example: If the chord is minor, it will play minor from its tonic: Am7 = Am If the chord is major a minor chord will also be played, a descending minor 3rd: Amaj7 = F#m If the chord is semi-diminished, a minor chord will be played with an ascending 3rd: Am7b5 = Cm If the chord is an extended dominant (from a succession of dominants), a minor chord located on an ascending 5th or descending 4th will be played: A7 = Em If the chord is altered dominant, a minor chord will be played one semitone ascending: A7 alt = Bbm Pat Martino had health problems from an early age. From the age of ten he suffered from hallucinations and epileptic seizures and the first diagnoses were manic depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. The signs that something was wrong worsened in 1976 with severe headaches that increased in frequency and intensity. Partial seizures involved the autonomic nervous system and showed pallor, reddening of the skin, tachycardia, a feeling of discomfort in the epigastrium, and occasional vomiting. During those adolescent years he also presented mental crises such as delusions and olfactory hallucinations, emotional disturbances, time distortions, and behavioral disorders. The mental crises were increasing and the changes in behavior led to chaos with manic-depressive crises and days of an absorbed state in which he presented a total disconnection with everything around him. Epileptic seizures were increasing and presented motor and oral-alimentary disturbances that generally lasted more than one minute. Pat Martino recovered with a feeling of confusion and gradually returned to a normal state. During this time he traveled between New York and Philadelphia, the two cities where he regularly played, and recorded fifteen jazz albums. Even so, his life was not easy, and he suffered from prolonged periods of mania and depression, he had at least a couple of suicide attempts and was repeatedly admitted to psychiatric hospitals, where he was treated with prolonged and intense medication and, in at least three sometimes, electroshock therapy. In 1980, when Pat Martino was 35 years old, he suffered a generalized epileptic seizure in Los Angeles, where he taught at the Guitar Institute of Technology, which took him to the emergency room. He only remembered having suffered a similar attack while working at the Riviera Jazz festival in Marseille. He was playing on top of a hill to an audience of two hundred thousand people and “ right in the middle of a very labored and fast section, I stopped playing and stood there for thirty seconds. During those moments of attack, you feel as if you are falling through a black hole ». A CT scan showed that the left temporal lobe of his brain, the area below his ear, contained an abnormal tangle of veins and arteries with associated bleeding. It was a collection of blood vessels that, in the opinion of Frederick Simeone, the surgeon who operated on him, looked like a "handful of worms," not a very scientific but rather graphic description. It was probably a malformation from birth and may have hindered the development of normal temporal lobe functions throughout his life, particularly the ability to store and express memories.

In a first operation, they removed the hematoma, the most urgent thing, and in a second surgery, after a cerebral angiography, they removed the arteriovenous malformation with a resection of approximately 70% of the left temporal lobe. This lobe is directly involved in verbal auditory memory, speech, and language comprehension. There is also evidence that the left temporal pole responds to complex auditory stimuli, something that would be characteristic of music. In his autobiography, Pat Martino tells that after the operations he felt like a zombie. He didn't remember his name, he was unable to recognize his parents and had forgotten that he was a musician. He completely lost his musical abilities, including theory, technique, and associated skills. In fact, he had severe retrograde amnesia, an inability to remember what had happened before the operation. He began his slow recovery at his parents' house. There they showed him photos, friends came to visit and other musicians appeared who played for him with the aim of reminding him of his past and making him rediscover jazz. His father couldn't believe his son had forgotten his passion for music. So he started playing the records that he himself had recorded. Paul recalled that " I was lying in bed upstairs and I could hear this music coming through the walls on the floor, a memory of something I had no idea what it was, something that would never be again or hadn't even been. " He gradually returned to playing the guitar, but slowly and with difficulty, more like a toy " to escape the situation and to please my father ." Concerned that his son passed by the guitar every day without showing interest in it, the father called John Mulhern to come play with him. Mulhern had taken guitar lessons with Martino and made a frequent mistake, changing a note. Now, working on a book of old guitar exercises, Mulhern made the same mistake. "Move away," Martino told him, grabbing his guitar and starting to play again. In the months that followed, the pain and anguish of amnesia and postoperative depression began to ease. According to him « while I continued working with the instrument, flashes of memories and muscle memory gradually came to me, shapes on the keyboard, different stairs to different rooms in the house. There are secret corridors that only you know about in the building, and you go there because it's kind of nice. And that's how you remember how to play, because you remember the pleasure it gave you ». Years later, Galarza and his research group used an MRI to study Martino's brain and that of five healthy subjects who were used as controls. The damage to the left temporal lobe was extensive, and the excised area had been filled with cerebrospinal fluid. Damage to the inferior temporal cortex extended more caudally than damage to the superior temporal cortex. The right hippocampus was somewhat larger than the left, which was somewhat smaller than in controls. However, the projection areas of the left hippocampus (left fornix, mammillary bodies, and thalamus) appeared normal, suggesting that the left hippocampus, despite its atrophic appearance, was probably functional. The tonsils of both hemispheres were the same size and normal in appearance; however, the volumetric study showed that they were smaller than those of the controls. The perirhinal, entorhinal, and parahippocampal cortices were normal on the right side but abnormally small on the left. Finally, there was some atrophy in the parietal and frontal regions, away from the area of operation, a difference that was somewhat more pronounced than might be expected in a person of Martino's age. Is it possible to play better with less brain? A study by researchers at Johns Hopkins University studied the brain activity of jazz musicians in the middle of an improvisational exercise. They played on a specially designed keyboard inside a scanner, which I assure you must be quite a feat. The most striking result was a striking reduction in activity in the prefrontal cortex. Only by "deactivating" this brain region, involved in impulse control, critical judgment, and planning, were musicians able to spontaneously invent new melodies. Scientists compared this "free" state of mind to dreams we have at night, daydreaming during meditation, other creative tasks such as writing poetry, and the fuzzy thinking of young children. Baudelaire was right when he said " genius is neither more nor less than childhood recovered at will ." Pat Martino's neuropsychological analysis also showed some deficiencies, a test on the meaning of abstract and rarely used words showed that his intellectual functioning was affected, and he also had difficulties remembering names and places but not shapes and memory was abnormal for information verbal but not for visual information. That is, the patient showed specific but subtle abnormalities in some aspects of language, such as defining habitual terms or remembering rarely used words. Still, given the extent of the injury, his cognitive deficits seemed mild. When asked when the Beatles came to America, he said sometime between 1961 and 1963 (it was 1964), but when asked to name a Beatles song, he couldn't remember the title of any. The differences were related to different types of memory. Semantic memory, which records data such as names and dates, is believed to be located in the temporal lobe, and this explains why Martino did not remember the titles of the Liverpool boys' works. Episodic memory, which records our experiences and biography, is normally associated with the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex and therefore should be little or not affected, but he could not remember his family and friends, nor their joint experiences, and it is possible that the surgery would have had non-specific effects on other brain regions. The last field is procedural memory, which allows you to play the guitar with unique skill. A professional musician plays at a speed with his fingers that he is not aware of. It is the result of years of practice and repetition, and it is believed that the key area is the basal ganglia, and therefore they were not affected by the lobectomy. However, the fact that he did not show his ability as a professional musician is supposed to be a problem of reconnection, of putting these skills to use. That is, these memories were present, waiting to be reconnected. The most striking fact in the Pat Martino case is that his musical abilities fully recovered even when much of the left temporal lobe had been removed. He had said after the operation « I feel abandoned, empty, neutral, clean... naked » but « little by little, piece by piece, the interrelationships began to revive ». Pat Martino recovered his level as an instrumentalist after a process that lasted years. In 1987, seven years later, he returned to record an album entitled precisely "The Return". It was the beginning of his return to his professional career, an activity that has remained constant up to the present, except for an interruption of about two years due to the death of his parents, and with enormous success. In fact, he regained his former status as a jazz virtuoso.

Our brain maintains a certain capacity for reorganization and flexibility throughout life, but Pat Martino's experience shows the possibility of an unusual degree of brain plasticity and reorganization in the brains of professional musicians. It has been commented that musicians have a greater plastic capacity because they have richer connections between the two cerebral hemispheres than the rest of the people, they use the right hemisphere much more than the left, and they present a structural asymmetry of some relevant areas of the brain. If the arteriovenous malformation has been present all life, it is common for it to be surrounded by non-functional tissue that can disrupt blood flow to nearby regions. If so, it is possible that the brain kicked in compensatory mechanisms early on and that brain function was not as lateralized as it is in most people. In addition, slow-growing lesions, such as arteriovenous malformations and subsequent surgery, allow extensive brain reorganization. Thus, patients with slow-growing lesions and extensive resection have shown a return to normal function after surgery. Pat Martino's case is a unique example of a patient who has shown complete recovery after profound amnesia and a successful return to such a specialized brain level as being a great instrumentalist implies. Pat Martino recently recognized that his memory was quite bad; however, it didn't seem like it had an effect on his daily life. He said that he did not try to recover the memories that occasionally appeared in his mind, but rather tried to push them away. He considered his situation to be advantageous, as it allowed him to live in the "here and now" — the title of his autobiography — without wasting time dwelling on the past. He believed that it was a positive thing that had sharpened his musical abilities. It also appears that his emotional response to music changed after the operation. Now he played because it meant something to him, rather than to please other people or to be competitive. He explained it this way: “ My original intentions before neurosurgery had a lot to do with mastery and climbing the ladder of recognition by others. It had to do with wanting to achieve five stars instead of two stars for an album review. After the neurosurgery, that didn't make any sense to me anymore. I am more concerned with the reality of the moment, the enjoyment of that moment. I am more concerned with the musicians who are with me, their feelings, the emanation of shared passion and other virtues that we share in the process. These are things that I find much more rewarding than my achievements as a famous musician. Now it's just fun, friendship, empathy and concern. It is an enjoyment of all things compared to the enjoyment of specific things. ». "The greatest and truest essence of creative productivity is joy," Martino said. “It is a joy witnessed by those around you. They are no longer witnessing an artist, they are witnessing a human being who is happy to live, who projects that aura. "The brain is a funny thing," he said, " it's part of the vehicle, but it's not part of where you're going. The vehicle will take you there, but it's not you ». Until 2018, Pat Martino was playing all over the world and according to some jazz critics with more happiness and creativity than ever. In November 2018, he returned from a tour of Italy and developed a disease that worsened the condition of his lungs, already weakened by COPD. His case is an example of neuroplasticity, of that amazing capacity of the brain that allows a certain reorganization and that optimizes the functioning of neural circuits. When he looked at the photo of his MRI, at the hole in his brain left by the surgery and was asked what he was missing, Pat Martino commented « I would say that what is missing is disappointment, criticism, judging others, what is missing is everyone the dilemmas that make life so difficult. That's what's missing. And to be honest with you, it's a beneficial thing ». Pat Martino died on November 1st, 2021. The respiratory problems that he had suffered since 2018 —and which forced him to retire at that time— were the cause of his death, according to his representative. Read the full article

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rhetorika69 · 2 years

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The Long Awaited Annotated Bibliography

Here's what I've read and what I plan to do with it:

Herrick, James. The History and Theory of Rhetoric: An Introduction. Routledge, 2018.

Herrick provides his readers with in depth information on rhetoric. The first chapter of this book explains the discourse around the definition of rhetoric then, chapters two through four talks of the historical contexts and pioneers of rhetoric like Aristotle and the Sophists. Chapters five through eight explains how rhetoric was used throughout the world from Greece, Rome, the Church, the Renaissance, and the nineteenth century. Finally, chapter ten and eleven explores the theories and practices within rhetoric like feminist rhetorical theory.

I plan to use this source to further support my background information on rhetoric throughout my paper for the final project. Herrick provides of a lot of information that I can work with to show the intersections of how rhetoric and new media can relate to one another. Just like new media is constantly involving old media, rhetoric is always constantly evolving to improve on how it can be used.

Leggett, Brian. An Introduction to Rhetoric: The Greek Experience. University of Navarra, 2011.

Leggett offers a brief overview of the beginnings of rhetoric within ancient Greek society. According to James Williams, who is quoted within the text, Greece was ‘the first to engage in a systematic study and teaching of rhetoric and oratory’ (1). Legget provides the historical background that entails how citizenship worked, who made up the council, and who had power in Athens. He then goes over examples of sophistic teachings from Protagoras and Sophists ties to skepticism. Explaining how Sophists were concerned with essentially immeasurable/unknowable truths of life like if there is a God and measuring excellence. As the document progresses, there’s mentions of Plato condemning Sophistry. Leggett mentions how Plato believed rhetoric and the soul came hand in hand and the Sophists did not take soul in hand with rhetoric. Plato also believed that rhetoric was negative and didn’t seek ‘truth, justice, and harmony’ (13). Leggett then explains how Aristotle didn’t agree with Plato’s rejection of rhetoric which led to Aristotelian rhetoric (Aristotle defines rhetoric as the art of persuasion) that led to multiple genres of rhetoric and pisteis (translation: proof). The pisteis is divided in three: logos, pathos, and ethos. Aristotle’s advancement of rhetoric does not go unnoticed in Legget’s conclusion as he praises Aristotle for his contributions.

This source would be excellent for my final project as it provides a good understanding of where rhetoric really began to flourish and how it came about to be what it is today. This source does provide little information of the intersections of media and rhetoric, but it would be great to explain how the father of rhetoric got the topic where it is today. I am going to use this source to further support my paper in bridging the intersections of rhetoric and its use of media back in its early days.

Creeber, G. & Martin R. Digital Cultures. Open University Press, 2011.

Focusing on chapter one of this textbook, Creeber and Martin dives deep into theorizing new media and explaining the relations between modernism and old media along with postmodernism and new media. For instance, Creeber states that the relations between modernism and old media are because of “modernism’s belief in the power of art and the artist to transform the world that lay behind its overwhelming distrust and distaste for the sort of everyday culture to be found in pulp novels, the cinema, television, comics, newspapers, magazines and so on” (Creeber 12). Modernism’s role in transforming old media to what it is today was very prevalent. Creeber then goes into further detail about the need to explore new types of theories and critical analysis to understand new media for our current world. This textbook really focuses on the theories that surround and transform new media to what it is today.

I chose this source because it would be great to explain the surrounding theories of new media within my final project. I think there’s more to new media than being just updated versions of old media. New media takes up space in the mind and body as well as other aspects. It’s important to acknowledge that space when exploring this topic and trying to explain to an audience what it is. The intricate details that Creeber and Martin provides in this first chapter would also greatly help to tie into my chosen topic of rhetoric because the theories surrounding new media are rhetorical theories.

Fidler, Roger. Mediamorphosis: Understanding New Media. Pine Forge Press, 1997.

Fidler works diligently in this text to describe the various forms of new media and the principles of mediamorphosis. Mediamorphosis simply implies that media is developing or changing. Focusing solely on chapters two and three, we learn that they provide vast information on the role of communication and language through the lens of media. Chapter two specifically focuses on the domains of communication media like interpersonal, broadcast, and document. It also goes over the inherited media traits and puts the domains into perspective. The chapter really helps the reader to understand the evolution of communication media. Chapter three focuses on the role of language and how it impacts mediamorphosis. Understanding how spoken, written, and digital language play a very big role in the progression of media. Digital language is important to note as the inclusion of electricity in communications has truly transformed media. This text scratches the surface of the ways in which media has transformed over time and connecting the dots on this lineage.

I chose this source because it does help me to understand how media has transformed over the centuries. I specifically focused on chapters two and three as they provide the most necessary information for my work as I plan on talking about the connections language or communication has on the way media has transformed. I really like that Fidler brought up how different media has changed since the addition of electricity in communication, and this parallels well with society as well because the introduction of electricity was a gamechanger for society as well. This source really opened my eyes on how communication is really ingrained in all forms of media. It really shows societies need to be understood.

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mongooseblues · 2 years

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Quick ficlet featuring a twenty-five year old Cal and a canonical cold during his thanksgiving break while he’s staying with a childhood friend and his family. (Auntie here is used as a respectful term not a literal one)

- — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - —

It takes about fifteen seconds of being in the house again, for him to realize there’s no hope of sneaking back to the guest bedroom to pretend he never left it. Despite how carefully and quietly he managed to open and close the front door, despite the fact that Barkya must be asleep somewhere because for once she’s not barking at him, Cal is about to call attention to his ill-advised late night stroll in the least subtle way he possibly can, and he can smother his mouth with the lapel of his coat all he likes, it’s still not going to be enough to stop him from—

“BUHSHHhoo! Huh’UHSSHHhoo!”

Becoming an abrupt disruption cutting sharply through the quiet.

And Barkya, who can only hear out of one ear these days, remembers her home security duties even from as far away as she must be according to the barking—and judging from the jingling of bangles, Naveen’s mother Sangita isn’t far behind—he is after all making a complete ruckus in the entryway.

He’s also not done, and in fact just about to collapse into his waiting elbow to vocally wrestle through a violently breathy trio.

“HRUSHH! HrrRRUHHu! ...HIRRUSSszhuu!”

Sometimes when he’s sneezing really harshly like this Cal finds himself unconsciously bringing a hand to his chest as he does. He has to acknowledge how much sense it makes that anyone ever thought a person’s soul could leave their body when they sneeze—it certainly feels like his just did.

Something about the sudden difference in temperature has his nose streaming even harder than it was outside, as well as effusively tingling with that warm, fuzzy sensation that suggests he perhaps still hasn’t quite finished this little fit, and two-fifths of the Dasgupta household round the corner just in time to watch Cal’s valiant attempt to tend to his nose with the tatters of an already very used tissue.

“Caliph?!? Tum kidhar? You were outside?”

“Ji haan,” he admits sheepishly, “I was—snff!—on the phone with a friend and it was a special occasion for him so I wanted to talk to him about it.”

“Outside in the cold this late at night when you’re sick, beta? It’s below freezing,” she says, her voice carrying as she goes to retrieve the tissue box from the other room and brings it to him.

He currently possesses only partial control of his facial expressions, plucking a tissue from the box she’s just given him and hitching through a ‘Dhanyavaad’ that gets airier and airier as his lungs inflate around it.

Finally he crushes a thoroughly unsatisfying “mMMFSHH!’hu…” into a handful of tissue, following which Barkya barks one last time for good measure before wandering elsewhere.

Sangita however is not as easily put off.

“And look at you now Caliph, you’re shaking. Going out there in this condition… did you forget you have a fever? You’re talking to a friend? Tell him next time call back.”

All Cal can do is continuously wobble his head to express his respect and agreement, reduced to this physical gesture because he’s finding it challenging to verbally convey his contrition, overwhelmed as he is by the niggling need to incessantly sneeze. A battle he can feel himself losing once again, the temptation of it, teasing at his breath the way it is, too great to resist.

“Sorry, Auntie, it rhheal—real-h-hee…heeYIHHHShue! Mm, snff! It really wasn’t—snf!—very smart of me, snffffh!”

He knows scientifically, technically, that being outside for all of twenty minutes did not actively make him sicker, just temporarily more symptomatic, though really what’s the difference as far as Sangita’s concerned when he’s standing here shivering and sniffling, the textbook example of catching one’s death. He does sort of feel sicker than he did when he left the house, or at least he feels his symptoms more acutely.

Even sniffling is starting to tickle, and while he would really love to blow his nose and it might assist in his efforts to stop sneezing, it feels inappropriate to do so during a lecture—even one as gentle as this—so he’s forced to just repeatedly rub tissues against irritated, ever-moistening nostrils. “I think I juh-h?…Um, snf! I think I juhhust learnedmylesson—”

His throat suffers through a crashing “ehhhhESHHHyeuu!” with an especially nasal, vocal last syllable that inspires a sound of sympathy from Sangita.

“Ohh beta… bechara…”

“Excuse me,” he sniffles, dabbing at resulting watery eyes and feeling exceptionally pitiful now that she’s taken pity on him.

She puts a hand on her hip, sighs at length, and inclines her head towards the kitchen. “Alright, come come, we’ll make chai.”

#Cal #translation prob mostly self explanatory but ji haan is a polite yes #beta means son/child but not necessarily *your* son/child and also just an affectionate thing to call a younger person #bechara = poor thing/poor baby #aka my favorite word or phrase in any given language #hard to describe the Indian nod #nod and head shake both feel insufficient to describe the motion #it’s smooth and continuous side-to-side in kind of a figure eight sorta loop #if you’ve seen it you know it #anyway try to imagine Cal doing so as Sangita auntie scolds him #mongoose writes sometimes #Cal as Caliph #Sangita

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