#City of 1001 Churches

[metamorphesque]

Happy Tolkien Reading Day!

A Tolkien Ask for You:

Would you rather serve as an esquire of Rohan (akin to Merry) or a guard of the Citadel (akin to Pippin)?

It ought to be a difficult decision to make; however, as soon as I read the question, I instantly knew I would choose Rohan. Of course, I hold great love, respect, and affection for all the lands of Middle-Earth, but the Rohirrim have always been particularly special to me — for reasons both profound and superficial.

Of course, there’s the land itself. I much prefer the seas of grass of Rohanese plains and hills, to the marble and iron of Gondor. As someone who has long dreamed of mastering equestrian skills, the idea of learning and riding alongside the great horse-lords is simply irresistible.

However, the most significant reason behind my choice lies in something deeper and closer to "home". When I first learned about the shield-maidens of Rohan, I was immediately reminded of my own history. The Armenian people (my people) have a long legacy of valiant women who fought alongside their fathers, brothers, and husbands in defense of their homeland.

One name that instantly came to mind was Aytsemnik, a warrior of the Bagratid Armenian Kingdom, with Ani — the "City of 1001 Churches" — as its capital.

Aytsemnik, daughter of a blacksmith, trained from a young age with the weapons forged by her father. With much time and practice, she became a master archer and warrior, teaching her skills to other young women as well. Then disaster struck. A massive tatar horde invaded Armenia, burning villages, slaughtering innocents, and enslaving the strong. Ani became their ultimate target.

For a year, the city resisted, but as enemy reinforcements arrived, the battle turned grim. Aytsemnik and her brigade of warrior-maidens took up arms, fighting alongside the others. Aytsemnik pulled arrows from her own body to fire back at the enemy. Even the tatars hesitated at such a sight, and when they moved to capture her alive, she leapt from the fortress walls — denying them their victory. Our history is rich with such acts of courage, displayed equally by women and men.

This is why I would choose Rohan. The shield-maidens of the Mark remind me of the warrior-maidens of my own land. To ride with them, to live and fight beside them, would be both an honor and a homecoming.

And, on a much less serious note, a certain Rohir makes me breathe a little differently — so that would certainly influence my decision!

Anyway, excuse this unnecessarily long answer. What a wonderful idea you've come up with and what an interesting question! Thank you 🌻

[whencyclopedia]

Trdat the Architect

“Trdat the Architect” or Tiridates (c. 940s-c. 1020s?) was a Armenian architect who is noted for his role in the reconstruction of the Hagia Sophia's dome in Constantinople following an earthquake in the 10th century CE, as well as the Cathedral of Ani and the Church of Gagik in what is now present-day Turkey. Along with Momik (c.1270-1333 CE), Trdat is the most famous Armenian architect of the Middle Ages.

Very little if anything concrete is known about Trdat's earliest years aside from that he was Armenian with extensive talents in mathematics and architectural design. Trdat's life coincided with the medieval Armenian golden era as well as the so-called “Macedonian Renaissance” of the Byzantine Empire (867-1056 CE). After centuries of intermittent warfare and constant invasions, Armenians and Byzantines halted the tide of the Arab onslaught, stabilizing their borders and safeguarding their population centers. This was a time of political and economic stability in addition to cultural effervescence in both Armenia and Byzantium. Historians and archaeologists can trace Trdat's movements based on his construction and reconstruction projects around historical Armenia as well as the Byzantine Empire. Trdat lived and worked primarily in Shirak province, which in the 10th and 11th century CE included the city of Ani, the capital of Bagratid Armenia (885-1045 CE).

Work in Ani & Shirak

Trdat is sometimes credited as the architect responsible for the construction of several churches at the Sanahin Monastery, the Haghpat Monastery, and the Marmashen Monastery, which are all located in present-day Armenia. According to the Universal History, written by the Armenian historian Stepanos Asoghik in the 11th century CE, Trdat is mentioned by name as responsible for the construction of the Argina Cathedral, which had become the seat of the Armenian Catholicos in the late 9th century CE. Located just to the north of Ani and in a current state of partial collapse, Argina Cathedral was once an aisleless structure characterized by a dome on pendentives. This cathedral's linearity and longitudinal space divided by piers foreshadowed Trdat's subsequent work on Ani Cathedral.

Historians are able to trace Trdat's life primarily through his work in and around Ani, although it should be noted that Trdat was active in Armenia prior to and after his repair of the Hagia Sophia. Ani was a new, but grand city that stood at the crossroads of trade between the Byzantine Empire, the Abbasid Caliphate, the Kievan Rus, and the Persianate states of Central Asia. Founded in 961 CE, Ani grew quickly and at its height, it contained a population of perhaps 100,000 people. Because of the city's rapid growth, King Ashot III of Armenia (r. 953-977 CE) and his sons, King Smbat II (r. 977-989 CE) and King Gagik I (r. 989-1020 CE), ordered the construction of new walls, public spaces, caravanserai (roadside inns), and churches. Ani soon became known throughout the Near East and Mediterranean as the “city of a thousand and one churches."

In 989, Smbat II commanded Trdat to build a new cathedral in Ani and construction of this building ended around 1001-1006 CE under the supervision of Queen Katramide (c. 970-1010 CE), the wife of Gagik I and sister of King Bagrat III of Georgia (r. 1008–1014 CE). Historians contend that Trdat then worked on the Church of Gagik (occasionally referred to as Gagkasen). This church, dedicated to St. Gregory of Armenia, was built in imitation of Zvartnots Cathedral, having "brilliant splendor, lofty vaults, and a sanctuary surmounted by a heaven-like dome” ( Evans et al, 352). However, despite their similarities, Trdat elongates the church's arches and supports, and profiles large interior spaces at the Church of Gagik. Trdat here was perhaps influenced by the linear aesthetics of the Hagia Sophia and other Byzantine churches.

Continue reading...

[zoesblogsposts]

o 625 words to know in your target language o

There is a really interesting blog called "Fluent Forever" that aids foreign language learners in tricks, tips and techniques to guide them to achieving fluency "quickly" and efficiently. One of the tricks is to learn these 625 vocab words in your target language, that way you have a basis to start delving into grammar with ease as you can understand a lot of vocab right off the bat. Plus this list of words are common across the world and will aid you in whatever language you are learning. Here is the list in thematic order

• Animal: dog, cat, fish, bird, cow, pig, mouse, horse, wing, animal

• Transportation: train, plane, car, truck, bicycle, bus, boat, ship, tire, gasoline, engine, (train) ticket, transportation

• Location: city, house, apartment, street/road, airport, train station, bridge hotel, restaurant, farm, court, school, office, room, town, university, club, bar, park, camp, store/shop, theater, library, hospital, church, market, country (USA,

France, etc.), building, ground, space (outer space), bank, location

• Clothing: hat, dress, suit, skirt, shirt, T-shirt, pants, shoes, pocket, coat, stain, clothing

• Color: red, green, blue (light/dark), yellow, brown, pink, orange, black, white, gray, color

• People: son, daughter, mother, father, parent (= mother/father), baby, man, woman, brother, sister, family, grandfather, grandmother, husband, wife, king, queen, president, neighbor, boy, girl, child (= boy/girl), adult (= man/woman), human (# animal), friend (Add a friend's name), victim, player, fan, crowd, person

• Job: Teacher, student, lawyer, doctor, patient, waiter, secretary, priest, police, army, soldier, artist, author, manager, reporter, actor, job

• Society: religion, heaven, hell, death, medicine, money, dollar, bill, marriage, wedding, team, race (ethnicity), sex (the act), sex (gender), murder, prison, technology, energy, war, peace, attack, election, magazine, newspaper, poison, gun, sport, race (sport), exercise, ball, game, price, contract, drug, sign, science, God

• Art. band, song, instrument (musical), music, movie, art

• Beverages: coffee, tea, wine, beer, juice, water, milk, beverage

• Food: egg, cheese, bread, soup, cake, chicken, pork, beef, apple, banana orange, lemon, corn, rice, oil, seed, knife, spoon, fork, plate, cup, breakfast, lunch, dinner, sugar, salt, bottle, food

• Home: table, chair, bed, dream, window, door, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, pencil, pen, photograph, soap, book, page, key, paint, letter, note, wall, paper, floor, ceiling, roof, pool, lock, telephone, garden, yard, needle, bag, box, gift, card, ring, tool

• Electronics: clock, lamp, fan, cell phone, network, computer, program (computer), laptop, screen, camera, television, radio

• Body: head, neck, face, beard, hair, eye, mouth, lip, nose, tooth, ear, tear (drop), tongue, back, toe, finger, foot, hand, leg, arm, shoulder, heart, blood, brain, knee, sweat, disease, bone, voice, skin, body

• Nature: sea, ocean, river, mountain, rain, snow, tree, sun, moon, world, Earth, forest, sky, plant, wind, soil/earth, flower, valley, root, lake, star, grass, leaf, air, sand, beach, wave, fire, ice, island, hill, heat, nature

• Materials: glass, metal, plastic, wood, stone, diamond, clay, dust, gold, copper, silver, material

• Math/Measurements: meter, centimeter, kilogram, inch, foot, pound, half, circle, square, temperature, date, weight, edge, corner

• Misc Nouns: map, dot, consonant, vowel, light, sound, yes, no, piece, pain, injury, hole, image, pattern, noun, verb, adjective

• Directions: top, bottom, side, front, back, outside, inside, up, down, left, right, straight, north, south, east, west, direction

• Seasons: Summer, Spring, Winter, Fall, season

• Numbers: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 21, 22, 30, 31, 32, 40, 41, 42, 50, 51, 52, 60, 61, 62, 70, 71, 72, 80, 81, 82, 90, 91, 92, 100, 101, 102, 110, 111, 1000, 1001, 10000, 100000, million, billion, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, number

• Months: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

• Days of the week: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday

• Time: year, month, week, day, hour, minute, second, morning, afternoon, evening, night, time

• Verbs: work, play, walk, run, drive, fly, swim, go, stop, follow, think, speak/say, eat, drink, kill, die, smile, laugh, cry, buy, pay, sell, shoot(a gun), learn, jump, smell, hear (a sound), listen (music), taste, touch, see (a bird), watch (TV), kiss, burn, melt, dig, explode, sit, stand, love, pass by, cut, fight, lie down, dance, sleep, wake up, sing, count, marry, pray, win, lose, mix/stir, bend, wash, cook, open, close, write, call, turn, build, teach, grow, draw, feed, catch, throw, clean, find, fall, push, pull, carry, break, wear, hang, shake, sign, beat, lift

• Adjectives: long, short (long), tall, short (vs tall), wide, narrow, big/large, small/little, slow, fast, hot, cold, warm, cool, new, old (new), young, old (young), weak, dead, alive, heavy, light (heavy), dark, light (dark), nuclear, famous

[harineren]

TTW Sonicverse I

Before I get to the lore of this place, I want to address some main facts for our fellow Sonic fans.

1. TTW Sonicverse (later - TTWS) is not AU, parallel dimension or headcanon of your well known original. It is a separate multiverse that belongs to it's own franchize minorly, yet it does not mean it's lore is unimportant or that my Author is trying to claim company's rewritten work. Read All-Fiction Tales by #harine-tales tag

2. TTWS has no Master Emerald at all.

3. TTW mobians are slightly taller than their initial counterparts due to slight different anatomy, disabling anyone from ability to SPIN, removing such options as spindash, drop dash or homing dash series.

4. TTWS is finite, consisting of 1001 universes, not all of them focused on "Mobius"

5. TTWS initial universe implies that mobians came after humans due to certain events I will list down later

-------☆------

Geography

Mobius consists of 4 "countries"

- Arco Federation

President based region with the most of cities and humankind

- Areha Empire

Mobian-built land, one of first places where mobians started to appear and cooperate

- Cali Kingdom

Exile country of mobians and very few of people, who don't trust Arco Federation but seek no spilling blood for whatever the reason could be

- Eggman's Territory

Pretty much the untouched lands, not so long ago taken by Ivo for building Metropolis city citadel

-------☆-------

Planet's history

Origin

TTW Earth-Mobius events branch begins from one dimensional God creating this multiverse and Chaos Emeralds.

4 billion years ago

Chaos Emeralds are given to the first civilization in the universe

Phantaiser, the outerversal God, builds a church to keep Reality Stones and inhabits it with monsters, mazes and such.

A stranger with Godlike powers takes a few Emeralds and copies them across the multiverse to aid him in creating Haron, Taron and many universes ahead of time.

3.5 billion y.a.

Blastaro prototype is found and trained by ApyRyzor. After some time, he is promoted to guard Reality Stones.

A powerful fog appears from nowhere, sealing most dimensions in the outerverse and corrupting weak Godly minds, including Rezataph.

3 billion y.a.

Rezataph's mind was corrupted by the Mist and his own power lust, so he attacked Blastaro for Reality Stones. Phantaiser took the fight instead of Blast and sealed his brother in Hell Dimension. Fight reaches a planet with emeralds so they scatter across timespace.

71K y.a.

Earth as we know it was formed. Classic human history soon starts.

2070

Humanity finds another livable planet, but only a limited number of them could be privileged to depart.

2089

Humans that left on the planet, started a war to reduce the amount of the planet's resources consumed. Nuclear bombs were exploded in places they were intended to be launched from.

2093

After endless wandering, one of the gems falls on the destroyed First Earth and renowns its plant life and animal DNA, so they turn into “mobians”.

2097(-2132)

With humans, who survived the war, they made a truce to rebuild the planet into what we know as Mobius.

2099

Knuckles the Echidna is born at Angel Island.

2105

Gerald Robotnik is born.

2117

Humans who had lust for Chaos power, excusing it with humanity progress, founded ARK. 1924th, young Gerald Robotnik joins ARK.

2116-2127

Government and ARK started a mission to find the other 6 signatures similar to the Emerald they already had.

2124

Gerald Robotnik joins ARK

2128

When Mobians found out about such news, they feared this power and as soon as they could, managed to steal the gems and use them to reset human memories for a few decades backwards. Humanity now believed they were those who departed on another planet and those aliens (mobians) accepted them. History of humanity was rewritten.

2130

As the leader of such a steal & reset group, Knuckles hides 4 C.E. on Angel Island, entrusting the other 2 being hidden somewhere else far away. Humans got only 1 Chaos Emerald in their hands.

2130-2200

Government of Arco Federation, going from ARK’s research, decided to make a battery first, and then - a currency, charging lit golden rings with its energy.

2132

The reset’s efficiency however could not last too long. ARK did find Mobians to be more adaptable units to Chaos energy than themselves, so they started to make clones of living units and other tools to tame Chaos Emerald’s power.

2150

My grandpa, Hirogami was born in Taiyo Village (Areha Emperya)

2165

Project ARK-U (Ultimate) starts as ARK actually finds one of two randomly hidden Chaos Emeralds.

2171

Hirogami meanwhile finds the second hidden Emerald.

2177

Ivo Robotnik was born.

2184

Project ARK-S starts just as advanced cloning was mastered. The S type meant “scout” which was intended to travel the space by oneself in search of livable planets.

2199

Project ARK-S19 (Sonic) escapes with Project ARK-T04 (Tails). Maria Robotnik is suspended in freeing them and trying to help Project ARK-U34 (Shadow) as well, so she was killed.

Dr Ivo is sent to catch Sonic, but he turns against ARK. Sonic, Eggman, Knuckles, Tails and Shadow destroy ARK together.

2200

After the events of 2199, President of Arco was suspected of assisting a crime against living individuals and was forced to leave his post.

Considered as dangerous, currency of Chaos Rings was stopped and given away to Sonic and Tails

2201

As Dr. Ivo applied for being voted in; few voters who did not like him, gave him a nickname “Eggman” making that a meme. Unluckily, even such “popularity” did not help him in winning so he left Neopolis.

2202

G.U.N. was founded by a new President, as Shadow joins it before Rouge does the same.

2200-2205

As Ivo went into exile, he started building his own city apart from any country - Metropolis. Tails assists poor doc with building, but they argue over ecological topics and Tails gets “fired” by Eggman.

2206

The year when I was born.

Dr. Ivo builds his own metal prototype of Sonic, suggesting blue blur to test that thing in its limits, to which Metal lost but still gathered some data in untouched HDD. By that moment yet, Iv o needed to have Metal Sonic for what ARK needed him but without using Sonic himself, to which latter did not mind.

2207-2210

Ivo starts to build his own spaceship alone to get to better resources, reconsidering fox’s words, to these new Tails was glad, however they still did not want to find common ground, because Ivo would not withdraw his ecologically inefficient factories anyway.

2210-2211

After a short expedition through space, Ivo finds out his own power is not enough for farther travels, but in the meantime he already built quite an army of robots which arrived to Mobius with him

Ivo goes to Angel Island in order to reason with Knuckles over Chaos Emeralds, but echidna stubbornly declines. Infuriated in his inability to prove to the mobian that “his Empire is made only to benefit the world selflessly”, Ivo snaps and attacks Angel Island to which he was effortlessly stopped.

2212

Not giving up on doing the best for everyone, he tries to build an artificial sky over Mobius, which could do any weather needed or do a better filtering of starlight’s ultraviolet. But his experiment fails and “sky” starts to behave chaotically, unable to be shut down, except by force Eggman did not have.

Completely losing reputation and any hope to recover his family’s name, Eggman totally gives up on helping humanity kindly.

2212-2214

Eggman returns to colonizing planets he could, in order to get better resources.

"Golden" Sonic (first time coming to Super form) fights Metallix and wins.

2213

New Eggman’s version of Metal (Metallix) is sent to Mobius mines, raiding it as a “new Emperor’s” territory, while other bots take over North Pole.

2214-2215

Eggman returns to take more territory for Metropolis’ expansion and improvement.

2215

Mecha Dino arc, where Eggman goes back in time with Chaos Emeralds to take a truly accurate model of dinosaurs for hard and large works.

Sonic follows him as they fight and warp occasionally, also revealing the truth about reset, after which Sonic defeats Eggman’s creation.

As a result of this clash, for next time Eggman decides to make mecha dragons for errands between colonized planets.

2216

Upon his travels, Eggman comes across the ruby buried under old temple ruins in Cali Kingdom. Infamous events of Sonic Forces occur. No cheap shit Zavok, no scared Tails, not too much power of friendship this time however. (Well, in that continuity, Zavok and Chaos do not exist anyway).

2217-2218

Eggman desperately tries to check the multiverse theory in practice to breach the bounds of the home universe and find something else. To his surprise, he succeeds in contacting his alt self

Eggman learns about 6D ether and makes new fuel out of it, not just to speed up and buff his combat robots but also travel outside his universe into 6D.

Meanwhile for mobians, Phantom Hunt arc begins to seek the lost original Phantom Ruby, not without Eggman’s robots and even myself a little.

2218-2219

Spends time building new robots with his AU selves, gathering more Emeralds than ever before. 35 Chaos Emeralds.

Sonic with the help of Ruby and Chaos energy defeats Eggman’s Council creations, handing off the Ruby to Tails after victory.

Original Eggman gets “home arrested" by Phantom Super Sonic, unable to leave his universe.

2219-2220

With the arrival of Shadow and Tinik as well, Ivo finds out about Path energy, trying to harness and fabricate it into his space dragons, while building a new machine to warp reality and crumble the universe from inside to build it anew.

2220-2221

After yet another failure, Eggman tries to hunt for Reality Stones or the same Planet of Prisms but you know there are guardians far above his league.

2223-2224

As the latest and most insane attempt ever, Eggman tries to absorb/siphon all life energy and knowledge of his AU counterparts to become closer to omniscience but explodes from backfired overflow through his device.

As a result, an entity of Path, Chaos and Ivo’s irredeemably corrupted and incomplete soul fusion is formed. It transcends into the future, taking over Silver first, forcing Knuckles to try separating the entity from poor hedgehog and seal into Emeralds to swear never ever using them.

But unluckily his tactic fails and the entity consumes Knuckle's soul, killing him and taking over his body to use 7 Emeralds and become local “Enerjak”.

Sonic and Tails are forced to kill their friend’s body for good without a trace and bury Chaos Emeralds deep on Angel Island.

Coming in next part: More facts about TTWS characters and artifacts

[kittydesade]

Image text: First Image

Resources gathered by @ mutualaidLA. Please find updates on available resources at tinyurl.com/lafiremutualaid

Image Text: Second Image

Shelter

Studio DDLA - 944 Chung King Rd, Los Angeles

CAMP LA - 2723 Lincoln Blvd, Santa Monica

Sender One Westwood - 10887 Lindbrook Dr, Los Angeles

Sender One LAX - 11220 Hindry Ave, Los Angeles

Mud\VVTR:gather (mudwtrgather) - 2515 Main Street, Santa Monica

Black Lantern Books / Black Lantern Coop, 6533 West Blvd. Inglewood, CA 90302 LA

All Saints Church - 32 N Euclid Avenue, Pasadena

Zala Lawyers, Hotel rooms in Sherman Oaks for evacuees, DM @ginazapanta_ on Instagram

Re/Creation Cafe, 4500 Washington Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90016

St Sarkis Armenian Church, 58 S Sierra Madre Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91107

Reality Center,1428 2nd St #400, Santa Monica, CA 90401

Arcadia Public Library, 20 West Duarte Road, Arcadia, CA 91007

Arcadia Community Center, 375 Campus Drive Arcadia, CA 91007

Pacific Community Center, 501 S. Pacific Avenue Glendale, CA 91204

LA Dream Center Emergency Shelter, 2301 Bellevue Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90026

Sepulveda Recreation Center, 8825 Kester Ave, Panorama City, CA 91402

Image Text: Third Image

Shelter Continued

Northridge Park, 10120 Reseda Blvd, Northridge, CA 91324

Evacuation Shelter - Ritchie Valens Recreation Center, 10736 Laurel Canyon Blvd, Pacoima, CA 91331, USA

El Camino Real Charter High School, 5440 Valley Circle Road, Woodland Hills, CA 91367

Westwood Recreation Center, 1350 S. Sepulveda Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90025

Pasadena Convention Center, 300 E. Green Street, Pasadena, CA 91101, pets on leashed and carriers

Friends in Deed Bad Weather Shelter, Trinity Lutheran Church, 997 East Walnut Street, Pasadena, CA 91106

All Power Books, 4749 W. Adams Boulevard

The Sidewalk Project LA 768 Stanford Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90021

Junior High LA 603 S Brand Blvd, Glendale, CA 91204

Odyssey Games, 1795 E. Colorado Blvd. Passadena CA

Image Text: Fourth Image

Animal Boarding

Agoura Animal Care Center (small animals) - 29525 Agoura Road, Agoura Hills

LA Equestrian Center Large Animal Shelter (large animals) - 480 W. Riverside Drive, Burbank

Pierce College Equestrian Centerb (large animals) - 6201 Winnetka Ave, Woodland Hills

Paw Works (small animals) - Oxnard

Milo's Sanctuary (small/large animals) - 550 W. Rancho Vista Blvd Ste D #106, Palmdale

Industry Hills Expo Center Stables (horses) - 16200 Temple Ave City of Industry

Compton Cowboys (horse hauling) - Compton, LA

Belle's Boarding (small animals) - 5751 W Pico Blvd Los Angeles

Western Veterinary Center, Medical & Surgical Hospital - 4990 Reyes Adobe Road, Agoura Hills

Feed Play Love (pets) - 5850 W 3rd St, Los Angeles

The Rose Bowl (large animals), 1001 Rose Bowl Dr, Pasadena

My Pet Garden (Cats & small/medium dogs) - 2245 East Colorado Blvd., Suite 106, Pasadena

Animal Wellness Foundation (pets) - Contact for address

Image Text: Fifth Image

Free Items

Free N95 Masks - 6325 Pacific Blvd St 300, Huntington Park

Be U Vietnamese Restaraunt - 557 N Hoover St, Los Angeles

If Not Now - Free rides to evacuation centers - DM Instagram/Google forms

Skid Row People's Market - Free Masks - 5th and San Pedro, Los Angeles

Selahnhc - 2930 Hyperion Ave, LA Silverlake Community Church (2pm-4:30pm)

It's Bigger Than Us - 4308 Crenshaw Blvd Los Angeles

All Power Books - 4749 W. Adams Boulevard, West Adams

Lagartijas Climbing Cril: Gear Drive - Los Angeles

Hollywood Food Coalition - 5939 Hollywood Blvd (Salvation Army campus), Los Angeles

The People's Struggle SFV - Greater LA Area

Food Share of Ventura County - College Park, Ventura

Junior High LA - 603 S Brand Blvd, Glendale

Every Table - Local Shelters, Los Angeles

Odyssey Games - 1795 E. Colorado Blvd. Passadena

Image Text: Sixth Image

Distribution Hubs

Anderson Munger Family YMCA - 4301 W. Third Street, Los Angeles

Koreatown YMCA - 433 Vermont Ave. Los Angeles

Cricket Party Services - 633 South Palm Ave, San Gabriel Valley

It's Bigger Than Us - 4308 Crenshaw Blvd, Los Angeles

All Power Books - 4749 W. Adams Boulevard, West Adams

The Sidewalk Project LA - 768 Stanford Ave., Los Angeles

Lagartijas Climbing Crit Gear Drive - Los Angeles

Hollywood Food Coalition - 5939 Hollywood Blvd (Salvation Army campus), Los Angeles

The People's Struggle SFV - Greater LA Area

Food Share of Ventura County - College Park, Ventura

Every Table - Local Shelters, Los Angeles

Repost from IG: resources via MALAN

[northiowatoday]

OBIT: Frances "Fran" Laurene Osmundson

Clear Lake, Iowa – Frances Osmundson aka Frannie; Frantic; Mom; Nana Oz; Mrs. Oz; Fran, 94, died peacefully in her sleep at her home on Friday, March 14, 2025. A memorial mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. June 21st, 2025, at St. Patrick Catholic Church, 1001-9th Ave. South, Clear Lake, Iowa, with Rev. Josh Link officiating. A private inurnment will take place at Memorial Park Cemetery, Mason City…

[libraryofcirclaria]

Events of 1013

Library of Circlaria

Blog Posts

Map of Remikra, 998-1026

Article Written: 19 June 1451

The year 1013 was noted by many written sources across North and Middle Remikra as an unusual one. For one, it was one marked by an unseasonably warm autumn followed by an outbreak of severe weather in December.

Unusual Seasonal Pattern

Spring and summer were not out of the ordinary for the region, with Great Northern and Wannonian sources noting bountiful harvests. During the first week of October, however, there was a cold snap, bringing snow and frigid temperatures as far South as present-day Maryk. In a strange turn of events, this was followed by a warm spell that began in the second week of that month and lasted through December.

It was the warmest Donmir holiday season on record at the time, promoting wild superstition and speculation among commoners and scientists alike. But then, during the last three days of December, a cold front passed down from the North bringing violent storms that famously led to an outbreak of tornadoes across present-day Nintel, Gymia, and Combria.

Cannon Hewitt

Raised within the Edoran Kingdom in a household strongly devoted to the Alconist faith. Cannon Hewitt grew up to be a philosopher, living an affluent life like his parents. Upon his father's death in 1001, Hewitt established a library in his local Edoran Church dedicated solely to religious works.

However, Hewitt was also known for his role in the emerging movement among religious groups to "rediscover" the mysterious holy city of Edom, its location unknown at the time. The unusually warm autumn weather in 1013 played upon Hewitt's prophetic beliefs that Braeus Alconus was to return to the world and deliver salvation, and that the gates of Edom were to open in a location that Hewitt had been studying for awhile. That location was termed by Hewitt as the "land between the rivers." That location is presently the site of the Basin District and the city of Retun; but at the time, it was a region of forest consecrated by the local indigenous groups as a place for the dwelling of ancestral spirits. Nevertheless, Hewitt consolidated his finances, recruited several affluent families from each the Edoran and Linbraean Regiondoms as well as several companies of soldiers, secured three steam-powered ships, and set out from Terredon.

It was around mid-December when they made their way across the Inland Sea and up the Easterly River to the land of interest. Here, they encountered the indigenous population, who saw them as a threat to their ancestral grounds, and engaged them in warfare. The indigenous warriors fought with spellfire discharges and were no match against Hewitt's people, who had firearms. The indigenous fighters were defeated and forced into retreat as Hewitt's people marched onto the "land between the rivers" and established encampments while setting up "scouts" to find any evidence of Edom or divine intervention.

The quest proved unsuccessful, as fruitless outcomes led to mounting frustrations and tensions between the Linbraean and Edoran visitors. And the situation was made worse with the arrival of the cold snap in the last week of December, which dropped a large tornado that tore through the "land between the rivers." Miraculously, it missed the encampments. However, the violent winds accompanying the storm caused permanent damage to the three ships, making all three of them unusable; therefore, Hewitt and his people were stranded.

By the second week of January, Hewitt and the encampments were desperate as their resources and food stores began to run low; and they were not the best-educated in terms of prolonged wilderness survival. Ensuing tensions between the Linbraeans and Edorans peaked when Hewitt and a band of his inner circle broke into the wrecked Linbraean vessel and began stealing stores and wealthy assets. They were caught by a band of Linbraean gunmen, who had secretly followed him. Hewitt and his men were shot dead.

Hewitt's death sparked violent conflict between the Edoran and Linbraean campers in the "land between the rivers" as the two sides engaged in violent warfare and shot at each other. And such was the situation that greeted the large company of stag-mounted Wannonian and indigenous soldiers when they returned to the region with reinforcements in retaliation to the confrontation from earlier in the quest. Immediately, the stag-riders overcame the warring Edorans and Linbraeans, and subdued the fighting. The uninvited campers were placed under arrest by Wannonian authorities and were eventually extradited back to the Great North, as the Great North made amends to recover from the diplomatic abrasion that resulted between itself and Wannonia.

Summary

Even by today's standards, the year 1013 stands as one of the most unusual years in the history of Remikra. With an unusual weather pattern coinciding with a radical evangelist movement, the turn of events had an effect on Remikran history and will most likely re-emerge as a topic of discussion between scholars in the years to come.

[firenrbones]

Fire NR Bones, a low-volume instrumental jazz/blues ensemble, performs at Pomodoro's Cucina Italiana in League City on Friday, May 24th from 7:00 P.M. to 10:00 P.M.

www.reverbnation.com/firenrbones

https://www.facebook.com/3innovativejazz?mibextid=ZbWKwL

Pomodoro's https://g.co/kgs/ugbReRS

Pomodoro’s Pasta and Pizzeria opened its doors on Nasa Road One in 2005. Now, everyone in the Bay Area knows that pomodoro means “tomato” in Italian! Even though Pomodoro’s was situated in between four other, long time established, family owned Italian restaurants, it turns out that we found their niche. What makes Pomodoro’s so unique? One is definitely the Brooklyn style pizza...as some of our customers have quoted “this is the best pizza I’ve had since I left New York”! The quality of food that we serve for the price is certainly the best in the area. Where else can you enjoy the freshest seafood in our “Linguine Pomodoro ala Tina” for just under $19? Did we mention that this dish comes with salad and garlic bread? By the way, our garlic bread is out of this world…just ask our customers! Or, our mouth watering Chicken Parmigiana with pasta, salad and garlic bread for under $17? Quality food at incredible prices is what today’s families are looking for! Try visiting us at lunch time Monday thru Friday for even lower prices!

So, as our lines grew longer and our demand grew higher, we took some of our customers’ advice and opened Pomodoro’s Cucina Italiana & Bar in South Shore Harbor. Our popularity has increased, and Pomodoro’s has now become a household name in the Clear Lake and League City areas!

Our catering services have also increased over the years. From small birthday parties to weddings to school and church functions. Most high schools in the Clear Lake, Webster, Friendswood, and League City area now consider us their number one caterer for all school functions!

We have expanded next door and will have the bar in the new expansion, which will be large enough to have a lounge, and we are also building a private party room to seat up to 36 guests.  ***Our newest Pomodoro's Cucina Italiana is in Clear Lake!  1001 Pineloch Dr, Houston, Tx 77062***

We’d like to thank all of our loyal and new customers! We truly appreciate your business and hope that we continue to give you a great dining experience!

Louis and Jo Floridia

[antonlaub]

Creatio ex nihilo (Bucuresti-Berlin: 1001 Articole), 2024/2015, chromogenic print on photo paper, 80x60 cm, from the eponymous video loop (00:01:00), 2015. Exhibition view: Alexandru Paul, 2/3 Galeria

𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀

Artists: David Barreiro, Bogdan Bordeianu, John Divola, Vladimir Florentin, Ion Grigorescu, Lina Ivanova, Anton Roland Laub, Ioana Marinescu, Andrei Mateescu, Alexander Rosenkranz, Emily Ryalls, Nadina Stoica, Anca Tintea

Curator: Laura Bivolaru

Project Coordinators: Claudia Retegan, Mihai Șovăială

Opening: September 5, 2024, at 18:00, 2/3 Galeria, Str. Franceza 4, Bucharest

September 6 – October 6, 2024

𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀: Thursday & Friday: 17:00-19:00 // Saturday & Sunday: 12:00-16:00

"Expanded Spatialities" problematizes the uniform image of the globalized city, asserting the human body as a creative agent of urban space. Through photography, collage, video, performance, and drawing, the city becomes a practiced space which residents and visitors alike occupy, build, remember and imagine across history.

The thirteen exhibiting artists use the past, both individual and collective memories, and their own bodies to expand and reinterpret urban space at the intersection of fiction and reality, between cartography and psychogeography. In their practices, the political, economic, and social aspects that impact the city are brought to light, investigated, and destabilised. Thus, the image is understood as more than just a mirror of the existing space; it becomes a tangible extension of past and future possibilities.

___________________

Partners: The Institute, Revista–Arta, Photography.Influx

Graphic Design: Vlad Mat

The cultural project is co-financed by the National Cultural Fund Administration (AFCN). It does not necessarily represent the position of AFCN. The AFCN is not responsible for the content of the project or how the results of the project may be used. These are entirely the responsibility of the funding recipient.

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

When I moved from Bucharest to Berlin, the sight of Karl Marx Avenue (formerly Stalin Avenue) immediately reminded me of the facades of Unity Boulevard (formerly Victory of Socialism Boulevard), so that memories of Bucharest gradually became associated with Karl-Marx-Allee. These memories, sediments, layers and maps still react to each other.

While photographing, I was reminded of Cicero's story of Simonides of Ceos, who discovered a new art of memory after a tragedy struck a banquet to which he had been invited to recite poetry. Just as the poet was called outside, the roof of the banquet hall collapsed, crushing all the guests beyond recognition. But Simonides was able to identify their mangled remains for family members because he remembered where they had sat at the table. Thus was born the mnemonic method of loci - places - which associates memories with specific places.

Karl-Marx-Allee is linked to the history of the former GDR, it was the flagship project of the East German reconstruction programme after the Second World War.  It was here that the 17 June Uprising (the first anti-Stalinist uprising) was bloodily crushed by the Soviet Army in 1953.

In the 1980s, Bucharest had to pay a high price for the ruthless 'systematisation' of the city: the demolition of a third of the old historic area, including buildings in the classicist, art nouveau, modernist and art deco traditions, as well as synagogues and churches. It was one of the greatest urban destructions in the history of Romania, even compared to the destruction caused by the bombs of the Second World War. Thanks to the efforts of the intellectual elite both inside and outside the country, UNESCO was able to intervene in this urban massacre of architectural and collective memory. As a result of the international pressure, sacral buildings were no longer demolished, but the dictatorial absurdity persisted. While the population was surviving on the edge of subsistence, massive efforts were made to put entire churches on rails and move them, sometimes only a few metres from their original location: away from the streets, in the background, behind a series of new propagandistic buildings.

With the ‘systematisation’ programme and the construction of Bulevardul Victoria Socialismului (Victory of Socialism Boulevard) - today Bulevardul Unirii (Unity Boulevard) - the churches and synagogues were no longer visible from the street. They were erased from the official cityscape, but not from the memory of the locals.

[grandparkdowntown]

What makes Downtown Vancouver stand out?

Downtown Vancouver continues to cement its reputation as one of the most livable and culturally vibrant city centers in North America. With its stunning natural scenery and temperate climate, it attracts millions of visitors each year looking to escape to urban parks or explore vibrant neighborhoods from the comfort of modern hotel suites downtown Vancouver. This blog post will discuss what makes this cosmopolitan city truly stand out from the perspectives of cultural experiences, historical architecture, Olympic legacy, and colorful communities. From world-class festivals to waterfront boardwalks, there is no shortage of attractions that contribute to Downtown Vancouver's unique character and energy.

Cultural Hub

Downtown Vancouver acts as a cultural epicenter, bringing diverse art, music, festivals and events to both residents and visitors on a daily basis. As the heart of the city, the downtown core is bursting with creative energy and cultural attractions. On any given night, there are countless live music and theatrical performances taking place at various venues like the Orpheum Theatre, Vogue Theatre and Commodore Ballroom. Several art galleries like the Vancouver Art Gallery and Chan Centre for the Performing Arts provide a platform for both established and up-and-coming local artists. Major annual events like the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, Car Free Day and the Celebration of Light fireworks display further cement Downtown Vancouver's reputation as a Cultural Hub. The dynamic street life and public art installations ensure there is always something new to discover.

Natural Beauty

Downtown Vancouver is stunningly set against a backdrop of natural splendor. Towering North Shore mountains and the waters of Burrard Inlet define the scenic skyline. Stanley Park—a beloved 1001-acre urban rainforest—sits at the western edge of the downtown peninsula, offering a tranquil natural escape amid the urban bustle. The calm waters and seawalls of False Creek Foster allow for activities like kayaking and stand up paddle boarding right in the heart of the city. Well-marked hiking and biking trails weave through mature forests, offering easy access to nature. During winter, locals and visitors admire the snow-capped peaks glistening in the distance. An abundance of parks, gardens and green spaces dotted throughout ensures downtown feels integrated with the beauty of the Pacific Northwest landscape at every turn.

Historical Charm

Steeped in history, Downtown Vancouver pays homage to its rich past. A stroll through Gastown offers a step back in time, with its preserved red-brick architecture and cobblestone roads setting the scene as it did in the late 1800s. Landmarks like Christ Church Cathedral and the Vancouver Law Courts building exemplify the city's European influences from the early 20th century. Historic apartment blocks and structures like the Marine Building–with its ornate limestone accents– showcase the Art Deco era. Many modern hotel suites downtown Vancouver feature period-inspired interiors and fine details that reflect the heritage charm of different neighborhoods. Wandering along quiet back alleys and happening upon historical plaques unveils hidden stories from Vancouver's emergence as a vibrant seaport city. The historical charm remains deeply rooted in the present-day fabric of the downtown area.

Olympic Glory

As the city celebrated 50 years since it hosted the 1976 Olympic Winter Games, Vancouver's Olympic heritage is still proudly displayed. During the buildup to the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, many hotel suites downtown Vancouver hosted international athletes and viewers. Vancouver residents were swept up in Olympic fever as the largest winter sporting event in the world came to Canadian shores. Iconic venues like BC Place Stadium and the Pacific Coliseum played home to memorable competitions and medal ceremonies. The Olympic cauldron remains illuminated as a permanent reminder of the spirit of togetherness. Vancouverites of all backgrounds came together in a vibrant display of national pride and community unity. Over a decade later, the downtown area still attracts many tourists seeking to relive the remarkable winter experiences and sense of Olympic warmth felt throughout the city.

Granville Island

A unique urban enclave situated on an island in the heart of Vancouver, Granville Island has developed into one of the most vibrant public markets and cultural hubs in the city. What used to be light industrial area has now transformed into a pedestrian paradise destination visited by locals and tourists alike. The colorful Public Market is lined with vendors selling BC-sourced artisanal goods and international foods. Nearby, numerous galleries and performance spaces in converted older buildings showcase art, music and theatre. On sunny days, people relax in the parks or stroll along the waterfront boardwalk admiring the False Creek scenery and seaplanes. Cafes and restaurants are packed with diners indulging in fresh and creative dishes. Granville Island's charming and eclectic atmosphere makes it a must-see highlight of any trip downtown.

Cultural Exchange

Downtown Vancouver has long served as a vibrant hub where diverse cultures interact and blend together. Nearly half of local residents were born outside of Canada, bringing their own traditions, cuisine and art from around the globe. Major ethnic neighborhoods like Chinatown and Little India exhibit this cultural mosaic through banners of foreign languages, ornate architecture, and international shops. Annual events like the Chinese New Year parade, Carifiesta and Taste of Yaletown showcase musical performers dressed in brilliant traditional costumes. Meanwhile, world-class museums provide learning platforms to experience global indigenous traditions and the region's natural history. Among the downtown hotels and public plazas, an array of languages can be heard as new immigrants and tourists alike experience the international flare. The spirit of multiculturalism runs deep - a defining element that downtown Vancouver proudly displays.

Conclusion

Downtown Vancouver exemplifies the perfect blend of urban adventure and natural beauty. As a meeting place for diverse cultures and events, it serves as a microcosm of modern society for residents and tourists alike. Whether enjoying the bustling nightlife, soaking in historic districts, or simply taking in breathtaking mountain vistas, there is an endlessly renewing spirit about this city amid the Pacific coastline. As new developments continue while preserving the past, Downtown Vancouver will surely maintain its ability to surprise and inspire visitors from the hotel suites downtown Vancouver. Its character derives from the harmonious fusion of numerous elements that cannot be found elsewhere, solidifying its status as one of the best locales to experience everything a world-class city has to offer.

[ultimate-passport]

Ani - Turkey

[scotianostra]

Happy 55th Birthday Shirley Ann Manson born 26 August 1966 in Edinburgh.

Shirley was born to John Mitchell and Muriel Flora Manson (née MacKay) in Edinburgh. John Mitchell, a descendant from the fishing community of Northmavine, Shetland, was a university lecturer while Muriel was a big band singer, who had been adopted by a Lothian-based family at an early age (and took on the family name MacDonald). Manson began taking piano lessons at age 7, and her love of music led her to eventually study at the City of Edinburgh Music School.

Shirley was brought up in the affluent Comely Bank and Stockbridge areas of the city. She attended Broughton High School. Manson’s childhood education was informed by the Church of Scotland (her father was also her Sunday School teacher), until the age of 12, when she rebelled against organised religion. Young Shirley Manson didn’t have an easy childhood. School was a particular problem, teased and singled-out by other children based on her looks, Shirley went through emotional torment. Her green eyes and red hair inspired such cruel names as “bloodhound”, and “frog-eyed,” and the taunting left her reluctant to go anywhere without some form of make-up on. ‘The truth is, I’ve always been wracked with self-loathing and terrible, paralysing depression,’ Shirley stated in an interview.

In 1984, Manson found an outlet to express herself: She became a member of the band Autumn, and later joined the group Wild Indians. Manson left high school at age 16, and soon joined the band Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie as a back-up vocalist and keyboardist. She performed with the band until 1992.

She has been married to Billy Bush, (her band’s sound engineer) since May 2010. She was previously married to Eddie Farrell, (whom she described as ‘a man who can make her laugh’) from 1996 until their divorce in 2003.

Shirley has also done a bit of acting, most notably in the Terminator spinoff series The Sarah Connor Chronicles as regular Catherine Weaver, a liquid metal T-1001. Since 2019, she has presented The Jump, a podcast in which she interviews musicians the lineup of the third season Scot’s born David Byrne,  Patti Smith and Alanis Morrissette the  new season coincides with Manson's own musical activities, as Garbage recently released their latest album No Gods No Masters and are touring this summer with Morissette.

The song is a Beatles cover from her gig in Princes Street Gardens in 1999.

[sofyaleblanc]

Ani, The Lost City - Where Is Where Series

Ani, The Lost City – Where Is Where Series

Image: Almazoff/Shutterstock – roughguides.com Ani City is located in province of Kars, Turkey, next to the closed border with Armenia. Ani was also known as The City of 1001 Churches, which was the capital of the kingdom of Armenia around 961-1045 (in 10th century) which was very magnificent. The position is also strategic, along trade routes between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea became a…

[grizzkom]

Ani was once the thriving capital of medieval Armenia and was inhabited by 100-200 thousand people. Being an important trade hub, it was bustling with merchants, artisans, wanderers and nobles. It was also an important city for early Christians (called by some the ‘City of 1001 churches’) and apart from places of worship, its buildings and fortifications were among the most advanced structures ofits time. It was a cultural and economic centre and a trading partner of Byzantine and Persian Empires. Its lively streets were always crowded and its inns always booked out.

Now you won’t see any of this. It’s empty. Ruined, uninhabited, abandoned.

Its splendour and importance started to decay after the invasion of the Turks in the 11th, the Georgians in the 12th and the Mongols in the 13th century. The rise and fall of another empire, as history often goes.

Nowadays Ani lies on Turkish territory and has become a ‘tourist’ attraction with not many tourists in sight. It’s so remote and so far from the beaten path that it seems to be almost at the end of the world, which makes its desolation even hollower.

Text by https://hitchhikershandbook.wordpress.com/2012/03/28/ani/

[mahvaladara]

What happened to Gamall Sullyvan - A Lore of Astreia Oneshot

This story is being told by the POV of the Wanderer. The Wanderer is talking about Gamall Sullyvan to someone who asked. He gets a bit off topic here and there. 

Warning: Graphic descriptions of abuse, torture. It a point it becomes... bad. Baaad! Very bad!

“What happened to Gamall Sullyvan?”

“Gamall Sullyvan, you say?”

“This man, you know this man, don’t you?”

“Oh yes, yes I do!”

Gamall Sullyvan. I knew him.

I knew him intamately. 

His fears, his dreams, his ambitions.

35 years old in age, tall, flimsy, a bit of goof who’s not overly expressive. Not particularly smart or good looking. Not rich, nor wealthy, no over the top status. Avarage man, a good man. A family man. 

If you looked at him, you’d wonder if he was half Sillarin, his eyes certainly looked Sillarin, but his skin was too pale. Must have been those Aklory genes. He was Aklory, born and raised and dead for those lands. 

But he was a good man, you see. 

He was born in Calldragon. His entire nuclear family was expelled from the city and he lost right of citizenship. 

But he was the grandson of the Scholar Gamall Callarius. Yes, that Gamall Callarius, the one in the Royal CallDragon Archives. But he was no one. He dreamed of being a librarian like her, but he was not particularly smart or talented. He was curious and determined, but he wasn’t a genius. 

Gamall was not his grandmother. He only shared her name. 

Yes, I know it’s a woman’s name, but Gamall didn’t much care of things such as female or male. No, he was much more ambiguous when it came to these things. You see, he used to pretend to be a woman. When he took care of a bed ridden, demented mother he had to. He even dressed like his grandmother. 

When he met the woman who’d become his wife, at first, she thought he was an abnormally tall woman. He did things humans tipacally atributed to women and he never questioned it. He was eldest, his mother was sick, his father couldn’t do it, so of course it had to be him. He raised all of his siblings while his father worked. And then, when he came of age, he ran away with Caitlin Sullyvan. 

Let his mother to Rot.

I don’t think he ever got over that guilt. She did rot, you know. Not that he ever saw it, or looked for it. But time and illness so says that she did Rot.

...   

Anyway, Gamall didn’t catch it or anything. They were inoculated.

He met Caitlin and ran away. Caitlin, his wife.

He was a good man, understanding, caring, a good husband, who was wholly devoted to his wife and son. Everything he did was for them and them alone. 

Gamall was altruistic, he never thought much of himself. It was always Caitlin and Seimei first, and when it wasn’t them, it was his neighbors and his friends at Riverrend. It was what he did. That’s where they lived, where they moved to.

Riverrend.

If you talked to them they’d always have something nice to say about Gamall. How he wasn’t expressive, like resting bored face. But he always tried to say some witty joke or lighten up the mood. He always helped. Quick witted, quick tempered. He was a good man, poor and struggling and the people of Riverrend liked him, like they liked anyone else in town.

The people of Riverrend.

Riverrend is a cemmetary now. Ravaged to the floor by the Ainlienists. You have heard of them, the “Church of Burden”. Follow the prophet Ainlie and his message of salvation.

Delusions of a sick mind. I know, I spoke to Ainlie and this “religion”, though it’s more of a cult, certainly got his words wrong.

Salvation my ass. Being burnt alive doesn’t sound very salvating. 

Fanatical assholes. Zealots. Prejudicious, racist, sexist assholes. No respect for anyone or thier beliefs. 

If they were like every other religions on our planet who have this mentality of “you believe this, we believe that. It’s cool, we’re neighbors” it wouldn’t be a problem. But they have a “the only good heretic is a dead heretic” mentality.

Thank the stars the Wanderer whipped them from the face of Akloria and promised to wipe them from the face of the Astreia.

Yet people get mad at the Wanderer for that, can you imagine? People mad at me! 

They call me evil! That I committed the mass genocide of a religious group. 

No I didn’t! There’s still some left! In Valora and the 1001 Seas. 

But I am evil one. They forget these same Ainlienists were trying to burn the entire planet to ash and kill everyone. They also forgot they strapped bombs unto children and sent them to the walls of the capital. 

...

Yes, they blew up kids.

But sure. The Wanderer is the evil one for wanting to get rid of them.

And yes, I am getting off topic, bult talking about the Ainlienists is also talking about Gamall. So I’m getting there.

He was a good man. Avarage man, but most certainly not a member of a fanatical religious cult.

But you know, it’s their fault. It’s because of them that Gamall is gone.

He was a good man. Good, understanding, caring, selfless! All he wanted was to own a horse and they killed all the horses. It’s a good thing he didn’t say his life long dream was to be a librarian or they would have burned all the books - though they sure tried. 

People died, but I saved the books! That’s what matters!

But Gamall!

The Sullyvan name he actually picked from his wife. He lost right to a family name when he lost right of citizenship. So, Sullyvan was his wife’s surname that he took at the time.

Gamall was a lumberjack in Riverrend, worked in Caitlin’s Mill and did some hunting on the side. He had a dream of being a librarian but had given up on that dream. He didn’t have any formal education. He knew how to read but he couldn’t exactly work as a scholar at the time because he lacked education.

As he was now a father and a husband, a very poor one in a country at war, all that he cared about was providing for his family.

Gamall had a son, Seimei, who got sick. 

Boy got blood rot, didn’t eat enough meat, got anemic. The boy wanted to eat greens only. Vegan I think that’s what is called. Gamall called it bullshit! 

But the boy was against eating meat, and Gamall was a hunter. Meat was the easiest thing to come by and the boy refused to eat it. Gamall couldn’t afford a proper “vegan” diet for him. So of course Seimei got anemic. One can’t survive of lettuce alone!

And Gamall couldn’t afford to treat him. The iron supplements and even the blood strengthening potions were expensive. They were millers and they couldn’t apply for government aid because Gamall wasn’t a legal citizen. So they were struggling.

Gamall joined the war as a contract Archer. It could give him a lot of money as well as right of citizenship. And as a contract archer, he could abandon the war once his contract was over. So he joined the war.

He said he wanted to use the money to treat his son and buy a horse. Wanted to become a courier, and if he had a horse, he could gain some steady income that way. Make sure his son never got blood rot again. He could also buy the right of citizenship and if he had a honorable conduit in the army, he could even earn it.

But was he wrong. 

He was not a fighter! He was a lumberjack who hunted deers on the side!

Of course he got captured during the war! 

Amarintia. That’s where he was captured. That’s another cemmetary there. All thanks to the “Church of Burden”.

They say the Ainlienists tortured him, broke him. The Ainlienists did horrible things to everyone. You saw the cities the Ainlienists destroyed. The dissected dragons, the decapitated humans and the burnt witches. All in the name of their maker. 

Eventually he was rescued and kept fighting in the war. I saw him a couple of times. He was still hopefull there was something worth fighting for, and he did. But I could see it in the mirror, that spark, that “humanity” of his be broken down, piece by little piece. 

War does that to you.  

He was tortured. Oh, was he tortured!

Tortured by the enemy. 

Used by his allies.

Betrayed by the people he loved and fought for. 

Used, tortured, beaten and abused.

You see, at a point, Gamall became a weapon, because there’s something particular about him. He couldn’t die. And he was becoming powerful and he was even able to manipulate his appearance. 

Isn’t that handy?

Should be easier to hide the scars, don’t you think?

But he was captured a second time, and the Ainlienists realized they couldn’t kill him so they exploited that. They had fun!

I heard they locked him inside a iron bull for three days straight. You know, Iron Bulls. Those iron contraptions where someone is locked inside and you lit the fire and let the person slowly cook alive. They did that to him. Cooked him alive.

Then healed him up and locked him inside an Iron Maiden. The one’s with spikes. When they left him out, there was a puddle of his own blood under it.

I heard one night they had fun with him. Raped him, sodomized him, made him wish he was neither man or woman. Made him wish he could die. Heard he squealed and begged and begged they’d just grab a rock and crush his skull.

And they did it!

But of course that didn’t kill him. 

So they did worse.

They sawed him in half.

They grabbed a rusty saw, held it firmly between his legs and sawed him in half. All the way up, slow pull by slow pull until the rusty teeth of saw got stuck right in his sternum and they still tried to cut further. But they were pressed for time.

They left him there. Litterally rotting.

Left the bacteria in his shredded intestines rot his body while his immortal cells tried to fix it. Like he was locked in this endless torturous cicle of rot and regeneration.

And no one saved him.

He had friends, you know. Friends who knew he had been captured.

“It’s not like you’ll die.” That’s what they told him, when he found a way home and was properly healed and treated.

I heard he actually lost a few inches of his entrails, but I am going to be honest. I didn’t measure them.

I think after that. After that moment Gamall realized how truly meaningless he was in the face of it all. That’s when he lost that “kindness” and “caring" and “altruism” and “hope”.

His wife went on with life. 

She died during the war. He never saw her again, not even her corpse. Only words that she was dead.

His son? Heard he was killed by his own hand. 

And you’ll ask, what happened to Gamall Sullyvan? Well...

I think that’s when Gamall Sullyvan was finally lost. That day. That day he escaped the Ainlienist hands and had to drag his own intestines through a desert, while rotting, only to be told to his face, by the people he loved that they didn’t bother to save him. Because...

“It’s not like you’ll die.”

I haven’t seen him since.

...

He’s dead. 

I'm all that's left.

[northiowatoday]

OBIT: Veronica C. Lawlor

Veronica Lawlor, 89, passed away on Friday March 14, 2025 at MercyOne North Iowa Medical Center, Mason City, Iowa. Funeral Mass will be held at 10:30 A.M. Thursday March 27, 2025 at St. Patrick Catholic Church, 1001 9th Ave S, Clear Lake, IA 504028, with Reverend Josh Link officiating. Visitation will take place one hour prior to the service at the church. Inurnment will be held at St. Patrick…