#Daniel Shar

[theblacktulip9]

Wanted to make new Baldur's Gate 3 charecters and then thought: What if I made Daniel and Ace(my Mc) from Hp: Magic awakened 🤔 so here they are!

Daniel: Class: Sorcerer, Background: Criminal (I'm sorry), Race: Half-elf (Cause only they have pretty male faces)

Ace: Class: Barbarian, Background: Noble, Race: Half-elf

[this-deadgirlwalking]

anyone at the daniel howell show in sydney tonight………… hello 😳👀

[lae-zels]

Out of pure curiosity, what do you think is missing from Halsin's story?

after writing it all down, i realized it's not just what's missing but also what's broken, inconsistent and shallow about Halsin, hopefully that still answers your question :)

his backstory in the underdark comes out of nowhere and is never again brought up!! it is, in fact, brushed off as just some silly goofy thing that happened to him once!! hihi haha i was a sex slave for two years. im so embarrased to tell you this, tav haha anyways how about round two with the twins ??? while im standing speechless mouth agape struggling to process the story he just told me. to say it was written and handled poorly is putting it mildly

he is shown to be a shrewd person (with his francesca choice for the new archdruid back in emerald grove) so expand on that! show that he's more than just a pile of muscles! show me he's cunning and has bite! there's so much political intrigue in act 3, have him comment on it, on gortash's plan, have Halsin compare it to some other people/events that happened in the past and how they mirror what's currently happening in baldur's gate, my dude is 3 50, he's seen some shit im sure, even living in the forest the news would reach him so no excuses

he's so closely tied to act 2 i have no clue why he's locked off as a companion till you find daniel (which on my first playthrough was just before attack on moonrise, that almost made my blood boil bc not even 2 hours later orin snatched him up??? and i was like?? ok?? she took who? i barely know the guy?). i think he's too tight-lipped about what happened all those years ago with the shadowcurse and i would have loved to hear more about it (like the implication of him killing isobel and the conflict with the thorms)

I need him to be the biology/nature expert equivalent to Gale with his weave expertise. he should have more to say about the worms!! he should be studying you under the microscope the entire game!!!! literally bring back all the missing EA halsin dialogue!! i should be able to drag his ass into the underdark!!! I WANT HIS KNOWLEDGE! I WANT IT TO BRING BACK BAD MEMORIES! expand on drows and their culture in this game by using halsin as the conduit that tells you everything he learned from spending his time here!! so maybe that info dump in act 3 about him being a slave wouldn't come out of nowhere

i refuse to believe he'd have nothing to say about the elder brain after seeing it. i want him to be absolutely repulsed, terrified but also intrugied by the mindflayer colony under moonrise, i want him to cautiously study every nook and cranny there and offer his insight

absolutely baffled he won't say anything to that one dragonborn druid back in baldur's gate that is trying to keep a tree alive???? for all his distain for the cities he sure is quiet here, seeing nature failing in the middle of it while a guy is desprately trying to keep it alive. maybe make it so these two actually manage to turn this spot into something more beautiful, a lush tree in the middle of a concrete road that attracts people who come over to relax in its shade

if they bring up his hatred of the city life, why not let me turn him into a full on shadow druid (which is already hinted on during one of the conversations with him in act 3), kind of how you can keep shadowheart a shar worshipper or steer her toward selune. plant some seeds of his loathing back in act 2, how nature had to be sacrificed because people had delusions of grandure (the elder brain plot and the thorms) etc

besides wanting to cure the shadowcurse and enjoying whittling there's nothing more to this guy. after the curse is lifted all he's got are the ducks.............. once he'll mention he doesn't like the city life. okay, you've been on this earth good 350 years, my guy, you know how cities are don't act surprised

an alternative ending is missing, you should be able to go with him

personally, i think his personality is missing because he is too flat and frankly, boring. he is too agreeable even if you're a meanie to others. just as long as you don't kill innocents he's a ride or die. it's not his fault of course, he's just badly written, too surface level. which is a terrible shame bc i'm so in love with him but i'd like to fall for his personality too. once there's a fleshed out one. so it's quite hard to speculate on what's missing about a guy there's barely any information on in-game tho :'(

[vanillabeanmachine]

𝚆𝙸𝙿 𝚆𝚎𝚍𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚍𝚊𝚢 #𝟷

𝙽𝚘 𝙻𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙶𝚘: 𝙰𝚗 𝙸𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠 𝚒𝚗 𝙵𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝙰𝚌𝚝𝚜 -- 𝙰𝚌𝚝 𝙸

Hello everyone 👋😊 I've been working on No Letting Go for a while now and am excited to share that I'm almost ready to post Act I, which currently stands at approximately 14.5K words. This seems to be shaping up as the average length for each of the four acts. As I continue to polish and refine No Letting Go, I’ve decided to start sharing snippets every Wednesday. This will not only give you a glimpse of the content but also some of the behind-the-scenes thought process. Stay tuned!

[...]

The recorder was not the same that Daniel had once owned in 1973. Indeed, Daniel couldn't quite recall the exact model or brand of his original device, nor the circumstances of its disappearance—had it been shattered in a sudden fit of rage? Perhaps it had vanished, lost in the swirling chaos of his drug-addled days? It was equally plausible that it lay forgotten in some distant apartment, nestled under a thick layer of dust, untouched and unthought of for almost half a century. Moreover, Daniel wasn’t certain that this Suga model had even existed in 1973. A wave of nostalgia had swept over him one day as he had strolled down Camden High Street, leading him to purchase this particular piece on a whim. Initially, it hadn’t worked at all, prompting nights spent poring over YouTube tutorials and hunting down obsolete tech parts on eBay in an attempt to restore it. Eventually, he had given up on pure restoration, instead cobbling together a functioning unit by marrying the surviving vintage Suga skeleton with the guts of a modern machine – a Frankenstein’s monster of resurrected technology that, despite its changed nature, still swallowed down tape with a voracious appetite.

He could have easily acquired a functioning Suga online, or even opted for a modern tape deck. Yet, Daniel cherished this battered machine, with its scratches and dents marring the case, the rust on the sprockets that added a squeak when rewinding tape, and the worn buttons that spoke of frequent use. It was a tangible relic of a human past, an artefact that Daniel clung to—not merely as a tool but a reminder of a life once lived.

Daniel meticulously arranged his tools for the evening—the Suga recorder, his sleek MacBook Air, a battered .99 cent notepad with its edges crumpled and pages unevenly torn from the binding, an elegant Montblanc Meisterstück pen, and a well-worn half-full leather cigarette case that had journeyed with him from the '70s. 

Armand waited as Daniel organised, his expression the picture of serene detachment; yet beneath this stoicism flowed an undercurrent of acute attentiveness.

Armand's reddish-brown colour-of-dawn gaze, typically distant, tonight held a piercing clarity and focus entirely directed at Daniel. It was as if the full essence of his immortal being had chosen to anchor itself in this singular interaction. There was a palpable familiarity in Armand's intense stare, a comfort that Daniel recognised and found strangely reassuring. 

Yet amidst this familiarity was a void—a poignant sense of loss, something indelibly altered. The once-constant press of Armand's mind against his own, a psychic echo that had lingered in Daniel's human consciousness, had vanished now with his vampiric transformation. The Dark Gift, poetically named but harsh in its realities, had not brought Daniel enlightenment or a renewed closeness to his Maker but a barrier, severing the connection the pair once shared. Where there had once been a flowing stream of thoughts and emotions, a psychic murmur that had connected him to Armand, there now existed only a silence—as if a door between their minds had been firmly shut and locked. This new silence was not peaceful but a cold absence, a reminder of what they had both sacrificed for Daniel's immortality.

Armand's intensive gazing at Daniel was justified now more than ever. Perhaps, in this new reality they shared, all that remained to bind them was the mere physicality of their being—something that Daniel found inexplicably more alluring now than ever before.

While Daniel clung to the remnants of his human past and habits still, Armand had always appeared unburdened by such earthly ties, having long shed them like leaves in an eternal, ageless autumn. But as Daniel now stood entrenched in this new existence, he began to perceive that what he once thought of as an uncanny stillness in Armand was not a marker of death but a vibrant, pulsating life, more profound and intricate than he had ever imagined possible.

The gravity of Armand's presence was magnetic, drawing Daniel inexorably in, as if each moment spent in observation tethered him more firmly to a spellbinding eternity. Daniel was acutely aware of the need for caution, knowing all too well how effortlessly he could become entangled in an everlasting gaze upon Armand. In such moments, time could dissolve into irrelevance—akin to Narcissus, spellbound by his reflection in the serene embrace of a forest pool. It was the mesmerising dance of light across Armand’s rich, dark skin, the lush curls that tenderly framed his face, and the impeccable symmetry of his sharp, angular features that seemed destined to rest in the contours of Daniel's palm. The striking yet harmonious contrast between Armand's finely sculpted upper lip and the plush fullness of the lower, coupled with the intoxicating memory of their kisses—

Caught in a dopey smile, Daniel realised Armand had observed the slip when a knowing look crossed his features. Perhaps the psychic bond they once shared was no longer necessary; Daniel's emotions were still as transparent to Armand now as when Daniel had been still human. And yet, frustratingly, Armand remained equally an enigma to Daniel, close yet distant in the same breath.

[...]

Author’s Thoughts™:

Indeed, the Suga KC-920 is a different model from the recorder Daniel used back in 1973. I deliberately chose a different tape recorder from the one shown in "Don’t Be Afraid, Just Start the Tape." This choice is meant to enhance the theme of an "odyssey of recollection," emphasizing the unreliability of Daniel’s memory. It reflects his efforts to piece together fragments of his mortal past, his reliance on nostalgic constructs, and his commitment to maintaining a connection to his former human self—no matter how shaky the foundations that connection is built on.

I'm very proud of the line describing the tape recorder as "a Frankenstein’s monster of resurrected technology that, despite its changed nature, still swallowed down tape with a voracious appetite."

Daniel's choice of a Montblanc Meisterstück pen—which retails for between $460-680—for use on a 99-cent notepad creates a conceptual contrast. This disparity is further heightened by his combination of a modern MacBook with an archaic tape recorder. This deliberate mismatch across items of differing economic and temporal values introduces an element of dissonance—it feels almost jarring, and in a way, disrespectful? Using a luxury pen on low-quality paper subverts expectations of propriety and value, while opting for obsolete technology over more efficient modern alternatives suggests a conscious rebellion against practicality. I wanted to set up space for a future commentary on value, utility, and nostalgia, and highlight a bit more of this tension between the past and present in Daniel.

I wanted to explore the impact of Daniel and Armand’s severed mental connection. Daniel's transformation into vampirism brought with it the loss of his psychic link with Armand, a shift that necessitated a new way of Daniel perceiving and connecting with Armand. Since he no longer can feel Armand’s emotions directly, Daniel becomes reliant on interpreting Armand’s physical cues—a necessity that alters the nature of his gaze. This redirection of focus towards the physical can be seen as a form of objectification, where Daniel's longing is intensely projected onto every visible detail of Armand, focusing not on his emotions or his interiority, but rather his most striking features instead. This gaze is not merely observational; it is charged with desire and a nuanced romanticism, making it palpably lustful. Daniel's gaze is transparent to Armand.

[blazingstarship]

Yug.ioh 5ds Sub Spoilers, a little convo + artwork

I like to imagine I did the make-up to cover Yusei’s mark. During my education I got a qualification for my minor subject, camouflage. Its to cover up tattoos, marks and scars with special make-up thats water proof and not easily been taken off. You really have to choose layers of colors that will come close or exact the same as the skin tone.

During this progress when I’m working to cover his mark slowly up, having a conversation what I am doing by every step and Yusei is just sitting and listening.

Sharon: “First I have to make your skin free from grease, the next step is to set a first tone to blend with the color tone. The first base is white and I mix it with a little grey undertone since the mark is very goldish yellow.. after that I have to look for a color the pallet thats close to your skin..hmmm… this one is close but I should mix it with a little red color…do not laugh!”

Yu.ei: “Sorry, I never saw you so serious.”

Sharon: “Im very focused to do this right. I used to love doing this.”

Y.usei: “Why did you ever stopped?”

Sharon: “Cause I couldn’t find a job in the beauty branch and didn’t enjoy it anymore. Its now more, another skill I can add to my list of things I can do good.”

Yus.ei: “You are incredible.”

Sharon: “Jwjsksms where that come from out of sudden?”

Yu.sei: “Well you always say I am smart but you, you are kinda like a scientist yourself.”

Sharon: “Yu.sei please, its just special make-up.”

Y.usei: “Well if you had to ask me to put this camouflage kit on someone, I have no clue where to start.”

Sharon: “Its been a while for me, I had to rethink what stap is next to make it match. Please close your eyes, I dont want this stuff coming in your eyes.”

Yusei: “Yes ma’am.”

Sharon: “Im done! What do you think?”

Yu.sei: “It’s like it never was been there.”

Sharon: “Thank you.”

Y.usei: “Do I look better with or without the mark?”

Sharon: “The mark has become a part of you. I cant even imagine you without your mark…I loved you without and I love you now with.”

Y.usei: “You never brothered by it?”

Sharon: “I have only though about how much you must have been suffered and in pain…I was scared first to kiss you on that cheek cause I didnt know if you would like to been touched…but also I wanted to make you forget about the pain and fill that memory with a nice one…”

Y.usei: “Like being covered in starlight number 6 lipstick?”

Sharon: mocking “It was suppose to be kiss proof…”

Y.usei: “I was joking, Starshine.”

Sharon: “Funny pants.”

Y.usei: “I wouldnt mind having some starlight on my lips.”

Sharon: “Is that a request?”

Yu.sei pulled her closer as she stopped him.

Sharon: “Sorry. I dont kiss strangers.” she said as she got a confused look from him.

Sharon, trying to keep a straight face: “Your are Daniel, aren’t you?”

“Shar…” Yusei chuckled as she shared the laugh as she got pulled closer onto his lap. Sitting down he pulled her chin up and covered her lips with his.

Sharon: “Yus?”

Y.usei: “Hmm?”

Sharon: “Please be careful, okay?”

Y.usei: “I will try my best.”

Ah yes , what a cutie💖🩵

[sleepyowlwrites]

Forgive me, but you ask good questions, and then I want to hear your choices too.

What colors do you favor in your writing? Which show up the most? If you color-code your characters at all, which colors are the most prevalent?

Hope all is well in Owl-land <3

--Idea

woah, not just the Celadon swing back but literally asking me my own questions. alright.

it depends on the wip. each wip has a set of colors, independent of the colors I associate with my ocs, but I do have a lot of brick red, cerulean blue, forest green and indigo-violet, and these colors show up in most of my wips - in the sense that I feel like these are the colors of the vibes. as for what colors I actually mention? I think it's well-documented at this point that I do not, nearly often enough, mention colors or setting descriptions in my stories - or at least in the current drafts.

lemme do some research to see what comes up the most in Dirt:

it's red, but only barely. I dunno if you've gotten around to read it yet, but this doc is heavy on emotion and light on settings.

the most color mentions are probably going to be in Youth, so let's check it out:

it's yellow the most, but I think my mentions of how blue Evie's eyes are stand out more.

I feel like I mention the word "color" more than I mention specific shades, which is weird since I have such strong opinions on colors and do color-code my characters. in two ways.

I give them a palette of color to wear and I give them colors based on their vibes. so if we go back to Dirt and talk about the characters by what they get to wear vs. the colors I think they embody:

Jet - black, brown, grey and red vs. grey, dark green, burnt umber Copper - creams, purples, blues vs. goldenrod, aquamarine, lavender Rune - red, blue, green vs. silver, mauve, forget-me-not Yarrow - all colors vs. all colors Moss - muted solids vs. sage, sandy brown, charcoal Hawk - green, blue, brown vs. verdant, violet, seafoam Shadow - black and whatever Yarrow gives him vs. steel, cloud, slate, and ultramarine

and as for what colors are the most prevalent across the board (in terms of character vibes)? let's go off the top of my head:

Reds:

R

Ernest

Rhea

Erin

Jorand,

Jaino

Jemmi

Marelli

Rune

Poppy

Katherine

Ree

Jack

Oranges:

Kena

Evie

Theo

Nathaniel

Naki

Finnal

Yarrow

Sam

Adam

Yellows:

Nyks

Pellor

Shar

Caro

Pascal

Copper

Cal

Sardha

Greens:

Sebastian

Martin

Ondo

Moss

Hawk

Jae

Eshku

Vern

Tav

Iridian

Ivan

Edward

Blues:

Bell

Aiden

Marlin

Yadsmyn

Katlan

Shadow

Jessalyn

Wryn

Quental

Arkenji

Reed

Ben

Wes

Darsh

Breydan

Puples/pinks:

Savannah

Irina

Daniel

Marz

Mareye

Marisse

Natalie

Mirai

Lunetta

the immortal sorceress

Alinora

Sybil

Neutrals:

Jet

Mark

Yashel

Martain

Ty

Marden

Kyt

John

Xiyun

Margaret

William

and the winner is blues! interesting. thanks for asking me (back), Idea

[janetushar1]

Ethanol Market to Hit $130.33 Billion by 2032

The global Ethanol Market was valued at USD 93.78 Billion in 2024 and it is estimated to garner USD 130.33 Billion by 2032 with a registered CAGR of 4.2% during the forecast period 2024 to 2032.

The report throws light on the competitive scenario of the global Ethanol Market to know the competition at global levels. Market experts also provided the outline of each leading player of the global Ethanol Market for the market, considering the key aspects such as the areas of operation, production, and product portfolio. In addition, the companies in the report are studied based on vital factors such as company size, market share, market growth, revenue, production volume, and profit.

The global Ethanol Market is fragmented with various key players. Some of the key players identified across the value chain of the global Ethanol Market include United Breweries, Aventine Renewable Energy, AB Miller, Archer Daniels Midland Company, Kirin, Pure Energy Inc., British Petroleum, Cargill Corp. and others. etc. Considering the increasing demand from global markets various new entries are expected in the Ethanol Market at regional as well as global levels.

Download Ethanol Market Sample Report PDF: https://www.vantagemarketresearch.com/ethanol-market-1659/request-sample

Top Competitors:

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-North America [United States, Canada, Mexico]

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Check Out More Reports

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[leanstooneside]

BEFORE & AFTER

Chris Meloni's back (destroyed)

Ethan Hawke's back (gone)

Teresa Giudice's back (stray)

Lewis Hamilton's back (wandered off)

Skrillex's back (ripped off)

Lionel Messi's back (taken by magpie)

Minnie Driver's back (pawned)

Candice Accola's back (snatched)

Nick Jonas's back (taken by magpie)

Robin Roberts's back (taken by magpie)

Emily VanCamp's back (stray)

Mel B's back (hijacked)

Beth Ostrosky Stern's back (stray)

Shar Jackson's back (ripped off)

Malin Akerman's back (abducted)

Katie Couric's back (broken)

Martin Lawrence's back (abducted)

Andrew Firestone's back (abducted)

Michael Jackson's back (poker game)

Jason Lee's back (pawned)

Amber Rose's back (returned)

Mo'Nique's back (filched)

Louis Tomlinson's back (misappropriated)

Brian Austin Green's back (ripped off)

Sarah Jessica Parker's back (loaned out)

Odette Yustman's back (taken by magpie)

Troian Bellisario's back (traded)

Anderson Cooper's back (swiped)

Desiree Hartsock's back (poker game)

Jennifer Lopez's back (missing)

Anne Hathaway's back (confiscated)

Daniel Craig's back (buried at sea)

George Lopez's back (retained)

Roger Federer's back (swiped)

Dax Shepard's back (embezzled)

Avril Lavigne's back (contract revoked)

Maria Sharapova's back (lost)

Matthew Fox's back (retained)

Kid Rock's back (mislaid)

Katrina Bowden's back (ripped off)

Iggy Azalea's back (mislaid)

Kristen Wiig's back (exchanged)

DJ AM's back (missing)

Lisa Kudrow's back (stolen)

Carly Rae Jepsen's back (misplaced)

Whitney Houston's back (hijacked)

Adele's back (pawned)

Oprah Winfrey's back (abducted)

Brad Goreski's back (swiped)

Kelly Bensimon's back (loaned out)

[psychreviews2]

The Meaning of Things (Psychology of Things Part 1 of 2)

This is part of a two-chapter series on the psychology of things. Part 2, The Art of Seeing, focuses on the communication between the self and art, but this chapter, The Meaning of Things, explores how the self and things develop together in the first place.

The Meaning of Things

Humans have a love hate relationship with things. They can provide us with more freedom or less freedom depending on how we use them or how they use us. Defining the self and the object becomes confusing when objects and the self are so intertwined. In Csikszentmihalyi & Rochberg-Halton's book The Meaning of Things, they tackle this thorny subject and how it applies in modern society.

What is the self?

The self is complicated and wisely the book avoids exploring all descriptions of what a self can be. From the authors' perspectives, the self can be narrowed down to avoid confusion when dealing with household objects studied in this book, but as you will see, making objects and trading them with others is an epic experience that includes all living people.

At the macro level things define for others who we are, our status, and our mental states. Things can also help create meaning and purpose for us if we choose to pay attention them in the right way. At the micro level the "self to a large extent is a reflection of things with which [it] interacts. Thus objects also make and use their makers." We have to interact with things in order to develop the self further. For example, work, or hobbies.

Self-control and Self-awareness

The authors define the self in two ways to narrow down the scope. "The most basic fact about persons is that they are not only aware of their own existence but can assume control of that existence, directing it toward certain purposes. This, then, will be our starting point for a model of the self. We shall take self-awareness and self-control as givens." For the authors, "self-awareness is a process occurring in time, [therefore] the self can never be known directly." As we interact with the world we develop "feelings, memories, and thoughts." With language and thought, symbols of the self can be created based on facts about our experiences. "Self-awareness occurs when the self becomes the object of reflection. When we say 'Who am I?' we attend to certain bits of information or signs that represent the 'I', and these signs become an object of interpretation. Self-awareness, resulting from an act of [comparing the facts], is always open to correction, change, and development. Therefore it seems more correct to think of self-awareness as a process of self-control."

Cultivation

After defining the self, the authors part ways with other attempts at finding an origin for the self by emphasizing cultivation. They define cultivation as "a process of interpretation and self-control motivated by goals rather than by origins." Cultivation starts by choosing to use psychic energy to control attention, to then direct it towards objects of interest, in an otherwise chaotic sensory and thinking experience.

Psychic energy is real in that we can deplete it with constant control of the attention span. [See: Attention and Effort: https://rumble.com/v1gpl0j-attention-and-effort-daniel-kahneman.html]

Intentions personal and social

To watch how this energy depletion unfolds you need to see situations where your attention span is automatically moving to objects of interest and the effort required to concentrate the attention to something else that has priority. When there is a large desire to move attention to a different direction, it requires more energy to guide it back.

People who have personal intentions toward goals will see that their social system they live in is a collection of individual intentions that may or may not be in alignment. As people share similar intentions in a cooperative manner, a culture develops. When intentions are not shared, especially when they cancel each other out, there is conflict. As new members join different groups, they then have the stress of reordering their attention in the same way as the existing social system to reduce conflict.

Just so that conformists don't start a party yet, the authors say that, "it is possible for each individual to cultivate goals without producing conflict in the community. This would result in an integrated group of people pursuing a common goal while contributing their own unique perspectives to that goal. Plurality, not homogeneity."

Addiction

Finding harmony is an important topic for those who decide to wear a mask and ignore their authentic feelings to join a group. All people have to don a mask at one time or another, but it is healthier for the self to find authentic connections with others to prevent energy depletion from being inauthentic. When the energy is depleted the mask falls off and the feelings of alienation are communicated in conflict and pathology. If the only reward, in activities done for the group, is consumer consumption then addiction will follow. At some point the self has to find a way to be satisfied by personally chosen goals that connect with others, to avoid the consequences of modern alienation such as depression and suicide.

The authors warn that, "the danger of focusing attention exclusively on a goal of physical consumption - or materialism - is that one does not attend enough to the cultivation of the self, to the relationship with others, or to the broader purposes that affect life. The acquisition and maintenance of objects can easily fill up a person's life, until there is no time to do anything else, not even to use the things that are exhausting all of one's psychic energy. When such a pass is reached, the adaptive value of objects is reversed; instead of liberating psychic activity, the things bind it to useless tasks. The former tool turns its master into its slave."

Internal and External Motivation

When organized with others, the individual has to then look to external rewards to maintain this attention towards group goals. For most people, this is money, which temporarily reduces this psychic conflict. Though the conflict doesn't end there. Each individual can have conflicting intentions that drain psychic energy further. By aligning personal goals with group goals, the worker can repeatedly intend and condition their attention to match the other senior members of the group. The authors state that "the optimal state of experience for the individual is one in which intentions are not in conflict with each other. With inner harmony people can freely choose to invest their psychic energy in goals that are congruent with the rest of their intentions. This is felt to be a state of heightened energy, a state of increased control. The experience is considered challenging and enjoyable."

Inner and outer conflict

When one's attention is split all the time between different goals, the need for more attention control drains energy from the subject. This psychic entropy, or psychic disorder, leads to experiences of "anxiety, frustration, alienation, or boredom, all referring to temporary impairments of psychic activity." One of the reasons why people retreat from community goals is due to the number of people and their conflicting intentions. As those with power repeatedly change direction in their organization's goals, the natural stress that occurs for each change, drains the energy of those who's attention spans are being directed by others. "When a group is in an entropic state the intentions of its members cancel out each other instead of contributing toward each person's goals."

What is a Thing?

The authors also look at what a thing is for the self. They define it as, "any bit of information that has a recognizable identity in consciousness, a pattern that has enough coherence, or internal order, to evoke a consistent image or label. Such a unit of information might be called a sign", which is based on qualities of the object, or ideas. Things connect with our consciousness via perception. As we remember more qualities of a thing, it can organize memory in such a way that the self can make sense of the world.

Things can be rated on utility and status. Status symbols say to the self that the owner of that thing has command over other people's attention in that they can receive enough money from the group's efforts that they can afford those objects. This can go further in how we objectify romantic partners based on their utility, beauty and health. Our entire body, and our possessions send out signs to others.

Meaning making in household objects

To the authors who view cultivation as the key to the self, then the cultivation involves actions of "creating and then interacting with the material world." By cultivating to master chaos, the self develops purpose and direction in life. For example, family heirlooms can be valuable to families because the care shown by prior generations provides a sign that the family has enough virtue to prevent the object from breaking; breaking being a common way of defining entropy or chaos. The heirloom can be a sign that transmits to younger generations in the family those virtues that helped to keep it safe. Objects of lasting value also provide emotional comfort. With constant change in life, a long lasting object can be a sign of stability.

Things can also bond people to each other. There is psychic energy invested in purchasing, or making a gift. When it is given it is a form of giving the self over to another person. When it is reciprocated, then an emotional bond is formed and harmony is reinforced.

Making meaning as a group

Humans have always used religion as a way to reinforce harmony in society, but now that traditional religions are on the wane, there is still an emotional need to connect with others and create harmony. For the authors they believe religion will exist in one form or another. "The essential purpose that religions have served has been indispensable and will be so in the future, regardless of what forms the religious impulse takes. It is impossible to imagine human life without a map or blueprint as to how the cosmos is organized, what makes it related, and how humans fit in it. Whether this map will be produced by science or politics or a revamped version of an old religion, the attempt to realize integration will be essentially 'religious,' even if couched in scientific terminology, because it will have to represent through signs a set of relationships that probably will never be completely exhausted."

What is individual freedom in social groups?

This harmony that most seek starts with the individual. The individual self enjoys flow coming from the freedom to guide the attention span in the self's authentic ways. These authentic ways must be long-term in scope and based on valued individual goals and ultimate goals for the social group. Freedom is not just complete freedom. "To be free means to be free for some purpose."

When people actively choose their intentions based on their authentic feelings, and align them with personal and social goals, then pleasure becomes less connected with material success. A more robust form of happiness in a chaotic world.

A new perception

What I got the most out of this book was a new way of seeing the world. In a restaurant I enjoy, where I was reading this book, I started looking at all the objects on the patio, and boring buildings across the street. They all seemed to breathe life full of the intentional energy of others. A boring building for the people involved in making it may not have been so boring to them. It may have been an important source of income. There could have been flow experiences generated by the builders. If the building is old and those who made it or used it are dead now, then it is a remaining legacy of their psychic energy. I also got a sense of loneliness thinking about how people put effort into these structures and in most cases people don't see them with this perception. A new way to value people and to appreciate their efforts is to recognize their investment of intentions to pay attention to these goals. Our risky investment is ultimately where we choose to direct our attention.

The Meaning of Things - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi & Eugene Rochberg-Halton: https://www.isbns.net/isbn/9780521287746/

Attention and Effort – Daniel Kahneman: http://psychreviews.org/attention-and-effort-daniel-kahneman/

Flow in 7 steps - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: http://psychreviews.org/flow-in-7-steps-mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/

Part 2: The Art of Seeing - Csikszentmihalyi & Robinson: http://psychreviews.org/the-art-of-seeing-csikszentmihalyi-robinson/

Psychology: http://psychreviews.org/category/psychology01/

[theredahq]

Welcome to THEREDA, SHADOWHEART & MIKEALA REID!!

Please turn in your account off anon or through IMS, go over our checklist, and send an IM if you wish to join the ooc discord.

DANIELLE CAMPBELL & ABIGAIL COWEN are now taken.

[baldurs gate 3. danielle campbell. mid 20s (40+). she/her.]

Thereda welcomes SHADOWHEART the HIGH HALF-ELF & CLERIC OF SHAR from ORDIS. I hear their talents extend to TRICKERY DOMAIN & STEALTH and most people recognize them by DEVOTION TO THE LADY OF LOSS, FORGOTTEN MEMORIES & JET BLACK BRAIDED LOCKS and their INDEPENDENCE & SECRECY. Thereda is a large and mysterious land who's glad to have SHADOWHEART roaming the lands.

[pix.28.she/her.animal abuse.gmt]

[dead by daylight. abigail cowen. 21. she/her.]

Thereda welcomes MIKAELA REID the WOOD ELF & CLERIC OF SELÛNE from SILESIA. I hear their talents extend to LIFE DOMAIN & MEDICINE PROFICIENCY and most people recognize them by AUBURN CURLS PAIRED WITH THICK RIMMED GLASSES, HEALING WORDS & A VALUE FOR ALL LIFE and their SELFLESSNESS & NEED TO SAVE / PROTECT EVERYONE. Thereda is a large and mysterious land who's glad to have MIKAELA REID roaming the lands.

[pix.28.she/her.animal abuse.gmt]

[patriciers]

we  welcome  belthasar  stout  ,  the  lord  commander  of  the  northern  kingsguard .  keep  an  eye  out  for  their  calculating  nature ,  they  tend  to  cover  it  up  by  acting  adroit  .  rumor  has  it  they  are  against  the  peace  treaty ,  and  their  loyalties  lie  with  houses  stark  ,  bolton  ,  and  stout  .  you'll  know  it's  them  when  you  get  flashes  of  a  feigned  ,  disarming  smile  ,  practiced  for  so  long  that  it  flawlessly  passes  for  a  genuine  one  ;  harsh  words  spoken  only  under  one's  breath  or  behind  closed  doors  ;  the  briefest  glimpse  of  indigo  irises  under  strong  sunlight  .

BASIC INFORMATION .

FULL  NAME  belthasar stout  .

ETYMOLOGY a  variation  of  the  latin  balthasar  ,  which  is  ultimately  derived  from  the  akkadian  𒂗𒈗𒋀  bel - shar - uzur  ,  meaning  " bel protects the king  ; " bel " being a title akin to " lord . " it is a name most famously borne by a member of house bolton before the conquest .

ALSO  KNOWN  AS  bel , little shrike ( mother ) , lapdog ( kieran ) , the golden shield , the shield of barrowton .

TITLE  lord commander of the northern kingsguard  .

AGE  thirty - nine , born in mid - winter .

GENDER  cis man  .

PRONOUNS  he / him / his  .

ORIENTATION  heteroflexible heteroromantic .

MARITAL  STATUS  widowed  .

BIRTHPLACE & HOMETOWN  goldgrass , the north , the northern kingdom .

CURRENT RESIDENCE  winterfell , the north , the northern kingdom  .

TRAITS calculated  ,  adroit  ,  perceptive  ,  astute  ,  sardonic  ,  tenacious  ,  patient  ,  resentful  ,  phlegmatic  .

ASPECT .

FACECLAIM  daniel henney  .

HEIGHT  6'2" / 188cm  .

BUILD tall  ,  muscular  ,  broad  shoulders    .

EYES  dark indigo  , though they appear black unless the light hits them just right .

HAIR raven  black  ,  roughly  shoulder - length ,  worn  in  a  bun  pulled  to  the  back  of  his  head  and a leather cord to secure it .

NOTABLE  CHARACTERISTICS  piercing gaze ; a calm disposition , even under pressure .

SIGNATURE  SCENT  ambergris , leather , juniper  .

RELATIONSHIPS .

PARENTS  ruling  lord  jordan  stout  and  ruling  lady  araselys  stout  ( aka araselys of lorath ) .

SIBLINGS  lord  harwood  stout †  ,  former  ruling  lord  winton  bolton  né  stout  ,  lord / lady / liege  utp stout  ,  lord / lady / liege  utp stout  .

LATE  SPOUSE  lady  nella  stout  née  utp  (  528 – 534  ac  )  .

CHILDREN  lord  jory  stout  .

EXTENDED  FAMILY  ruling  lady  barba  bolton  †  ,  ruling  lady  bolton  ,  lord  kieran  bolton  ,  lady  bolton  ,  house  bolton  .

STEED  phantom  ,  a  massive  pale  gray  charger  stallion  .  he  was  gifted  to  belthasar  by  the  late  king  tylon  after  his  ascension  to  lord  commander  .

ALLEGIANCE  house  stout  (  limited to his  mother  ,  younger  sibling  and jory , at this point )  and  house  bolton  .  acts  as  if  he’s  an  unwavering  supporter  of  house  stark  .

BACKGROUND .

death mention tw , implied murder tw

despite  his  skill  in  the  present  ,  belthasar  did  not  take  to  the  sword  with  ease  when  he  was  young  .  raised  by  a  peaceable  and non - violent  woman  ,  he  almost  feared  fighting  ,  but  eventually  learned  that  it  was  key  to  his survival  .  but , what  he  lacked  in  innate  martial  ability  he  made  up  for  with  sharp  wit  .  indoctrinated  from a young age into  resenting  house  stark  lording  over  his  house  for  centuries , his plans began to take form as an adolescent .  he worked  for  a  time  as  a  guard  of  barrow hall  before  word  of  his  prowess  reached  the  previous  northern  liege  commander  , who  summoned  him to  winterfell  at  19  .  he  started  as  a  castle  guard  and  worked  his  way  up  the  ranks  ,  becoming  invaluable  to  king  tylon  over time .  wed  his  late  wife  against  his  father’s  wishes  a  bit  over  twelve  years  ago  ,  and was happily  married  until  she  passed  under  mysterious  circumstances  .  he  suspects  his  father  has  something  to  do  with  her  death  ,  and  that  his  half - siblings  know  what  happened  ,  and  has  never  forgiven  any  of  them  for  it  .  continued  to  show  initiative  as  the  liege  commander  slowed  down  ,  and  when  they  passed  ,  belthasar  ,  apparently  having  the  most  promise  ,  was  chosen  to  replace  them  ,  though  there  were  kingsguard  members  with  more  seniority  .  he  took  on  the  title  about  four  years  ago  .

HEADCANONS .

his  mother  is  a  noblewoman  from  lorath  ,  and  a  descendant  of  old  valyria  .  from  her  ,  he  has  inherited  a  striking  eye  color  ,  and  a  proficiency  in  high  valyrian  as  well  as  the  lorathi  dialect  of  bastard  valyrian  .  he  will  sometimes  slip  into  the  lorathi  speech  pattern  of  using  indefinite  pronouns  (  essentially  says  "  a  man  "  in  place  of  a  first - person  pronoun  )  ,  which  is  a  quirk  he  picked  up  from  her  as  well  .

the  rift  between  himself  and  his  father  (  and  most  of  house  stout  for  that  matter  )  started  a  long  time  ago  ,  with  lord  jordan  believing  belthasar  abandoned  his  family  to  gain  the  starks’  favor  —  which  ,  given  the  way  that  house  stout  continues  to  go  unappreciated  by  that  very  house  ,  felt  like  a  slight  from  his  own  kin  .  it  all  came  to  a  head  when  bel's  son  was  born  , and  he  named  the  boy  after  lord  jordan  ,  and  has  only  worsened  from  there .

though  he  is  in  the  line  of  succession  of  house  stout  ,  jory  lives  with  belthasar  in  winterfell  full - time  ,  and  has  only  been  to  his  father's  family  home  of  goldgrass  a  handful  of  times  —  and  even  then  ,  it's  been  several  years  since  he's  been  back  ,  not  since  his  mother's  passing  .

accepts  being  called  "  ser  "  by  southerners  ,  but  that  doesn't  mean  he  agrees  with  it  .  he  is  not  a  knight  ,  and  never  will  be  a  knight  ,  nor  does  he  follow  the  faith  ,  and  thus  never  took  the  vow  to  become  a  one  .  he  sees  the  title  and being addressed by it as  a  formality  or annoyance more  than  anything  .

WANTED CONNECTIONS .

all wcs can be found here !

[juno73]

A great gathering of the "Fearless Realtors!" This evening at Luce. From Left to Right, we celebrated @Denise for earning her brokers license last month, @Carly, for being escrow extraordinaire & her birthday this Friday, 02/10, @Sabrina, on her first closing (A million dollar listing no less) & finally yours truly for my 2nd closing of the year. We missed @Shar, congratulations again on obtaining your brokers license, yesterday & finally our North County Coastal Champion @Danielle, for have to chase down 88-year old UCSD professors in order to sell her listing in El Cajon!

[fullmoonreviews]

CLICK THE LINK ABOVE FOR THE FULL REVIEW It doesn’t reinvent the wheel when it comes to animal-run-amok movies, but 2022’s BEAST still manages to be a fun time. The film follows every trope that one would expect from a movie like this. You get a fish-out-of-water situation for the survivors. You get an angry animal whose only intent is to hurt anyone standing in its way. You get characters who panic to the point where they do stupid things that could jeopardize their survival and the survival of others. And you get thrilling action and dramatic beats that bring people closer together due to a traumatic situation. It’s all been done before, but BEAST handles it the right way and doesn’t insult its audience in trying to be something that it isn’t.

The direction by Baltasar Kormakur is strong, slowly building suspense and tension while making the action sequences pretty thrilling when they do happen. And the beautiful cinematography by Philippe Rousselot highlights the great looking South African location, while making the CGI lion look super realistic to the point where I was questioning whether the animal was real or not. And the small cast gives the film credibility, especially Idris Elba in a strong starring role. If you happened to miss this one for whatever reason and you like animals terrorizing people for 90 minutes, then you could do a lot worse than BEAST.

[danielshar]

‪I had a ton of fun writing a six-page version of what I imagine Lord of the Rings to be for Never Seen It, a wonderful podcast I recommend you listen to even when I am not involved. Check it out wherever you get your podcasts, or just use this direct link.

[leeenuu]

Last month we visited Lysychansk, in the Donbas, just weeks before it fell to Russian forces after a Ukrainian retreat, and after having sustained heavy losses in Severodonetsk.

When you get a chance, please take some time to read Luke Mogelson's letter from Donbas. The Desperate Lives Inside Ukraine’s “Dead Cities”.

“Since Russia shifted its vicious invasion to the east, ordinary people trapped on the front lines have faced missile storms and starvation—and have no source of help except one another.”

In Bakhmut, shortly after 11 P.M., a missile exploded in front of the author's hotel. He stayed in the basement until dawn, then went out to survey the damage.

Viktor, a firefighter, tried to save a house in Lysychansk that was hit by Russian munitions, but he was forced to leave amid further shelling.

Residents of Lysychansk being evacuated. Since February, as many as three million people have been displaced from the Donbas.

Olga's fourteen-year-old son guides his great-grandmother, who is blind and clinging to his arm, during evacuation. The family, who left their home under shelling to be transported to Bakhmut, had no idea where they would go from there.

Yura, a middle-aged construction worker, brings aid to Lysychansk residents: “Our government forgot about the people here.”

A fire engine damaged by Russian shelling became a water source for locals, who gathered to fill jugs and bottles from a spigot on its side.

In June, more than a hundred people in Lysychansk were living in the basement of a local elementary school. Gennady and Tatyana, a married couple, moved there in March, after their home was destroyed by a rocket. Gennady was making a soup with few spring onions, a bit of fresh dill, and some beans and pasta.

A woman swept away glass outside an apartment complex in Bakhmut, shortly after a series of rocket strikes. Three munitions had detonated nearby, and the windows in the building had shattered.

Ukrainian soldiers a top of a tank move through an intersection that had been struck by a rocket hours before.

When Yura fled his native Severodonetsk, which is across the river from Lysychansk, artillery had already struck his apartment building twice; he packed no bags, taking only a twenty-litre cannister of gasoline, a Ukrainian flag, and his pet Shar-Pei, Ben.

– Daniel Berehulak

[sleepyowlwrites]

Sleepy, Mother Dearest

I am thinking about your list of OCs and wondering if you have specific character types that keep popping up across your stories? Any character traits or dynamics that you keep coming back to?

Are any of your OCs (across different stories) very similar to each other or the same character type? Are any mostly unique (not really sharing traits with your other OCs?)

yeah, of course. I have my favorites, like anybody. let's make some collections.

the (quiet), loner type who says they don't need friends but oh do they ever and then when they get some they wonder how they lived without them:

Mark and Jae from Youth Story

Nathaniel from Magick Story (and Martin, sort of, to a lesser extent)

Vern and Kyt from Rain Story

Marden from Mercenary Story (Eshku and Yadsmyn to a lesser extent)

Idrian and Pellor from Guild Story

Jet and Hawk from City Story

Ty from Apocalypse Story

Katherine from Romance Story

Wesley from Anxiety Story

the "badass" or "vibrant" independent woman with heaps of flaws and dented plot armor:

Rune from City Story

Bell from Youth Story (sort of)

Vivianne from Magick Story

Xiyun and Marelli from Guild Story

Yadsmyn and Mirai from Mercenary Story

Erin from Summon Story

Ree from Anxiety Story

Katlan from Thief Story

Carmine from Princess Story

the sunshine light of everyone's lives who is still a complex human behind all their positivity:

Nyks and Savannah from Youth Story

Shae from Summon Story

Yarrow from City Story

Theo from Anxiety Story

Tav from Mercenary Story

Kyle from Magick Story

Jemmi from Rain Story

the soft (moral) support character who is strong for the protagonist but they've got their own struggles too:

Cal from Youth Story

Copper from City Story

Darsh and Sardha from Rain Story

Martain from Guild Story

Vari from Space Story

Ben from Apocalypse Story (he's also the protagonist but whatever)

Dair from Summon Story

Jorand from Mercenary Story

a plucky young lad AKA just some guy AKA our protagonist for the evening AKA they're not special I just think they're just neat:

R from Youth Story

Zan from Summon Story

Marz from Guild Story

Darsh from Rain Story

Ivan from Thief Story

Pascal from Romance Story

Shar from Mercenary Story

Jalek from Space Story

the Mom friend:

Daniel from Youth Story

Mareye from Guild Story

Moss from City Story

Imire from Summon Story

Sardha from Rain Story

Naki from Mercenary Story

and! as a bonus, SadboiTM:

Aiden from Anxiety Story

Shadow from City Story

Jaino from Rain Story

Ryland from Void Story

Myr (SadthemTM)

as for characters who are very similar, that's harder to say. I have a lot of ocs who are the protective type, a LOT of ocs who are very physically affectionate, a whole heap who have complicated relationships with their parents, a bunch who have TraumaTM, a few sets of twins. I've got responsible, resourceful Mom friends, I've got reckless, chaotic beans, I've got hesitant, yearning kids. lots of repeat traits, but never in the same recipe.

every one of my characters (and there are well over a hundred of them) is unique, because for every set of traits there's the attitude, the background, the circumstances, the motivations and goals, and all the in between bits and catalysts that vary, which end up making them all different from each other. none of my Sadbois are the same character, and none of my sunshines are either. I write each of them to be their own person.

even when I start with some stock characteristics that I really like, they still end up different because the story is different. and that's the fun of it, really. I don't get tired of having "plucky, young lads" because in every story that means something different. it's an adventure every time.

uh, and there you go, Rainstormdaughterdearest