#YOU WILL LOVE MURENA

[mossmx]

Sorry to go off on your post, BUT Perchè hai troppo ragione!! the poor little moew moew energy is too high!

Ma also letteralmente the third movie is so emotional (especially for people who went/are going to college/university) that I was NOT ready!!!

The themes of the life of students and academics, but also the stuggles of your knowledge being underrated by society…

this is such an underrated trilogy

they have it all from twink-ish latin guy to bear bff and if it wasn't Italian everyone would have been giffing and thirsting over the whole cast and calling nero Marcorè daddy!!!

They have great plot, great characters, great actors!

But Hollywood people are so ignorant they casted Neri as a fucking minor Hotel Concierge role... they don't even respect how good these actors are!!

long story short, I need to rewatch and start giffing these bc I LOVE THEM SO MUCH ò___ò°°°°

followers if you need a movie rec: SMETTO QUANDO VOGLIO TRILOGY

You know what I am fucking tired of inly talking of anglophone media on here

I am URGING everybody who see this post to watch the I Can Quit Whenever I Want (trilogy in italian: Smetto quando voglio) and I am going to convince you to watch it because it's hilarious and it's good and its only sin is not being an american/british product. (Also I found out there's a Spanish movie inspired by it, but I am talking about the italian trilogy).

Take Breaking Bad. A college neurobiologist professor desperately needs money, so he decides to start making drugs. Because he is a genius, though, he creates the formula of a new drug that, being new, isn't technically illegal. You follow me?

Okay, now let's give it a Ocean's 11 twist. To create and sell these drugs, Neurobiologist Professor needs the help of a few friends. These friends are all brilliant laureates, with several PhDs, who, due to corrupt state of Italian's academia, are forced into minum wage jobs: you got to latinists working at a gas station, a chemist washing dishes at a Chinese restaurants, an anthropologist pretending to be an ignorant so he will get hired for low-budget jobs (yes, him having a degree in anthropology is actually making it harder for him to be hired), an archaeologist who supervises road work and, my personal favourite, an econmic professor who loses more than wins money at poker.

They're a bunch of disillusioned adults, well in their 40s, who were brilliant and were let down by their country's academia, that hires people based on political affiliation and recommendations rather than actual merits. All they're trying to do is better their pretty miserable lives and fuck the system that fucked them.

And that's just the premise of the first movie. It's a comedy, it's a mafia movie, it's a Shawshank Redemption parody, you got drugs, objectively badass villain, political humour, chases, jumping from moving trains, more and more wild characters adding up (all with their special academic field, you might as well create your OC based on your major). It's like if Guy Ritchie directed Breaking Bad but all of the characters are played by the male cast of The Office.

The third movie is one of the few movies that made me cry not at the end, but at the start. I don't even wanna spoil but there's a story of friendship and revenge for the ages. I could talk about it all day.

I want to be honest, these three movies aren't very politically correct- and I use the expression in a positive way. Sadly there are some stereotypes portrayed in the movies (the first especially), but I still think they're very valid products.

So please, please, even if it's not in English, give it a try. You won't regret it. Here's the link to watch it (there are subtitles in a lot of language on this site, not just english)

Here you got the trailer

And here is the way the movie starts, I translated it in English.

"In Italy, a drug to be defined as such must be registered in the list of illegal molecules of the Ministry of Health. Cocaine, heroin, amphetamines, methadone, ecstasy and roughly 200 other molecules are part of that list. If a molecule is not in that table then you can produce it, you can hire it, but above all you can sell it. At 24 I graduated in neurobiology with honors, I have a master's degree in computational neuroscience and one in molecular dynamics. In recent months I have formed a gang that manages a turnover of hundreds of thousands of euros, I am accused of manufacturing and dealing in drugs, armed robbery, kidnapping and attempted murder. My name is Pietro Zinni... and I'm a university researcher."

[firnen-the-teragram-teabag]

Rest in peace Cicero you would've loved twitter

[undercarbonara]

Are ALL the undercarbonara designs offical now or is there someone you want to change? I rly want to draw em

Heyy, thank you for the question!

So, I'd say that Jena's and Murena's (Carbonara!Frisk and Carbonara!Chara) designs are confirmed...that also goes for Sans, Toriel, Flowey, Undyne and Papyrus (even though I haven't decided his colours yet...)

You know, if you wanna do fanarts, I'll just drop a few facts on these characters!

(don't worry, they're not spoilers)

Toriel wears a robe at home, but dresses with prettier and more elegant clothes when she goes out!

Also, she likes brightly coloured clothes paired with a necklace! (Inspired by my mother and grandmother)

Toriel's necklace contains pictures of her children!

Inspired by my grandmother who did the same but with her husband 💜

Papyrus and Sans are communists!

... mostly because their father was a commie and also for... reasons I'll explain later in the comic

Sans is an old videogames fan!

Mostly sonic, pacman, and space invaders

Sans sometimes likes to smoke

✨le weed✨

Papyrus only smokes cigarettes 👍

(psst, also, this is sans' official colour palette)

Jena usually gets put on a leash by the Skelebros and Gaster

And it usually makes them very angry (by "them" I mean Jena)

Also, Jena only relaxes by drawing with their set of crayons!

Just a little detail about them! :)

Murena Canonically loves Nutella!

[I'd say these are all the canon things I can show without spoiling anything...these are all unreleased/old drawings but I hope you'll like them!]

[luasworkshop]

(Cribbing this format for my Arcana self-insert from Yeshe @the-iron-orchid​)

Name: Coral Alice McCarty

Pronouns: She/Her will have to do

Gender: Uh.  Hm.

Age: Late-30s

Occupation: Cheesemonger by day, artist by night, dreams of little fishes

Nationality: A mess, just Vesuvian for sake of ease

Favorite Food: Fried Shrimp

Favorite Drink: Cucumber Melon Soda

Favorite Animal: MANY (but especially cats, sharks, marine isopods, birds, hagfish, octopus, horses, bees, snakes...)

Favorite Color: Green

Favorite Flower: Wysteria

Major Arcanum: Justice (how’s that neurodivesity workin’ for you, buddy.)

Minor Arcanum: Queen of Wands

Fun Facts:

Managed to avoid the plague, but suffered not one but two major medical crises during it. Survived ok, but feels real REAL weird about it.

Is reasonably artistically skilled, but struggles making a living at it due to just… not having any concentration for any one thing or another.  Keeps at it for fun and occasional profit but without consistency.  Jack of all trades, master of none, but still better than a master of one.  Has done some real weird/cool commissions.

Would have liked a scientific career, but further education was a bit of a disaster and it’s too much to try again (mentally, emotionally, financially.)

Knows a lot about food, theater, art, architecture, animals, the ocean, and won’t shut up once going. Can come across opinionated or bossy but is usually just excited and eager to share.

Fell into chesemongering by chance, but enjoys it and keeps it up in lieu of many many other things that haven’t played out.  It works, it’s fun, it’ll do.  Makes a great shark coochie board.

Owns a storefront but doesn't manage or run it – focuses on buying and supplying and being the ‘face’ for large suppliers and buyers and deals with catering and party planning, but does step in to do anything else in a pinch.  Didn’t found the business either – took over from previous owners by chance (just worked up the ladder,) which is why management is it’s own hired entity.

Parents are still around and live close to the border of the Catclaw Desert North of Vesuvia, near the ocean, but aren’t from there.  Both spent years working in Prakra as architects (although they aren’t natives there either.)  Massive inferiority complex next to parents who are loving but distant.

Needs glasses to see distance, and to see in dark situations.

Associates:

The Brewer (Husband and Closest Friend)

Yeshe, The Temple Painter (Friend and Conspirator)

The Bouncer (Friend)

Lua & Aleis (Friends, Buyers)

Asra Alnazar (Buyer)

Count Lucio (Frequent Buyer and Occasional Arts Patron, Unfortunately)

Nadia Satrinava (Frequent & Bulk Buyer)

Evander Murena (Frequent & Bulk Buyer)

Aiello Family (Antony’s Family – Suppliers (Dried Fruit, Nuts, etc.))

Conti Estate (Liliana’s Family – Buyers)

Valerius’ Estate (Bulk Buyer)

More TBD!

Quotes:

“What are you gonna do?  Get a horrible butt disease???”

“There’s some people who don’t like spiders who like other things...”

“Cheese isn’t lube.”

[skyburger]

i loooove reading about the splatoon idols' different names in different languages lately ive been thinking about the italian ones.

squid sisters: callie is "stella" and marie is "marina", and together they're "stella marina", or starfish :) their group name is "sea sirens", which, if it has any context, it's not on inkipedia LOL

off the hook: pearl is "alga" and marina is "nori", together they're "alga nori", a type of edible seaweed used with sushi!! "off the hook" is translated as "tenta cool", from "tentacle" and "cool"-- some variation of this is what they're called in a lot of other languages!

deep cut: frye is "morena", a real name similar to "murena", which means moray eel! shiver is "pinnuccia", a combination of the real name "pinuccia" (which is in turn a diminutive of the name "giuseppina") & "pinna", which means fin! and big man is "mantaleo", a combination of the "manta" from manta ray & "leo" from the name leonardo :D "deep cut" is "trio trigilo", & "trigilo" is a nonexistent masculine form of "trigila", which means mullet (in reference to the fish, not the hairstyle :P) "trio" is obviously the same in english, meaning a group of three people, so they're the mullet trio !!

also, in italian, big man says "man! man!" instead of "ay! ay!" which the splatoonwiki says probably comes from "manta" :)

last one because i'm too lazy to comb through every character's page, but harmony in italian is "monia", shortened from "armonia", which means harmony :3 <- authors note: he kept rambling after this. it was not in fact the last one.

i wish all the small characters & song / band names got translated to every language, and not just japanese & english (and the latter is if we're lucky!)... i know it's a lot of work but i would LOVE to know what yoko & the gold bazookas are called in italian. the literal translation would be "Yoko e i Bazooka D'oro" (Yoko and the Golden Bazookas), as far as i know "yoko" might be the only capitalized letter there, as it's the only name & the first letter-- but my guess would be "i Bazooka D'oro" would be capitalized, too, because it's the title for the rest of the band members...? (according to my research (a quick google search), you only capitalize the proper nouns in titles (and the first letter, of course), everything else is lowercase-- man that's easier than english!) =_= i'm not sure. but i do know that in italian they really don't use the ampersand (&) so "and" would just be written as "e", i think?

for chirpy chips, i really have no idea how to translate "chips". i assume it comes from chiptune, which, to my knowledge, is just the same word in most languages because it's so new...? my best guess at "chirpy" would be "allegro", though, which means chirpy or cheerful.

aw shit my phones gonna die so im gonna go ahead and post this. thank u for reading my rambles i hope you have a wonderful day :)

[thoughtportal]

so I bought this phone and have had it for a couple of weeks. I really love it! you can use the Murena phone service with an eSIM or get service with t-mobile. I went with t-mobile because I wanted to keep my number and wanted to be on the same service as my spouse for an easier bill. I was able to find a case for it and screen protectors with little problem. the online forum for questions on how to use it is robust and I've been able to find answers so far to everything I'm looking for. the operating system is great. I can download google apps if I want but as I find alternatives, they are easy to uninstall. the only apps on the phone that I can't delete are like the calculator and a few other basics like that. the camera is amazing. I hope that I'll be able to use it for a long time. I think the software on it will be supported for like another 8 years or so.

There are two configurations available: one with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage for $599 and another with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage for $679. The storage of both models can be expanded via microSD, and the phone features a modular design that can be easily disassembled using a standard Phillips #00 screwdriver to replace broken components. It also has an IP54 rating, meaning the device is protected against dust and water sprays.

The Murena Fairphone 4 will ship to US customers with 5G and dual SIM support, a removable 3905mAh battery, a 48-megapixel main camera, a 48-megapixel ultrawide, and a 25-megapixel selfie camera. The phones will be available to order exclusively from Murena’s webstore starting today. 

[mossmx]

mhh like sorry to the new villain for having the miss be fridged but Murena’s side of the story and general *gesticulates* everything   is way more compelling

[tamponsnsugar]

#NowPlaying 🎧🎶🎧 #PressPlay on #HeavyRotation Vol. 3 for all you #GarageRock #PostPunk #Psych #LoFi #TrashPop lovers out there 🤘🏽 Black Honey - Spinning Wheel Mexican Slang - Season In Hell The Coathangers - Wife Eyes Chupa Cabra - Russian Models The Bitch Boys - New New Maga Doo Doo The Buffets - Strood Lights She/Beast - Devil On My Mind Flowers - Look Back In Anger Sheitans - Drugstore Dusty Mush - Hot Tomato Ghost of Jack Nance - You Never Come Around Anymore The Vandelles - Lovely Weather Cannibale - Mama The Castillians - Come What May Shitkid - Yooouuu Blue Crime - The Whore Peeling - Road To Hell Murena Murena - Le Van's Wife Yussuf Jerusalem - A Heart Full of Sorrow Don Howard - Sleep In Cars

[catilinas]

since it's our favourite chickpea's bday I've wanted to ask: what is your fave work of his & which do you recommend in general? - 🖤

kinda basic but i DO love catiline. so. the catilinarian orations. i like to recite the opening of the first catilinarian to my cat, catiline :)

alsoooooo the letters to atticus (which i should read more of) and the pro caelio bcs caelius sexy and the bit in the pro murena where he makes fun of cato and stoicism

[chattering-magpie-uk]

HORACE - BOOK II ODE X. TO LICINIUS MURENA. (Trans. C. Smart 1783)

HORACE – BOOK II ODE X. TO LICINIUS MURENA. (Trans. C. Smart 1783)

O Licinius, you will lead a more correct course of life, by neither always pursuing the main ocean, nor, while you cautiously are in dread of storms, by pressing too much upon the hazardous shore. Whosoever loves the golden mean, is secure from the sordidness of an antiquated cell, and is too prudent to have a palace that might expose him to envy, if the lofty pine is more frequently agitated…

[sonyclasica]

DARDUST

DUALITY

DUALITY, el último álbum del pionero de la música clásica alternativa Dardust, saldrá a la venta a nivel internacional a través de Sony Music Masterworks y Artist First el 28 de octubre de 2022.

Consíguelo AQUÍ

DUALITY, un álbum doble con un total de 20 temas, estará disponible tanto en formato digital como en CD y vinilo. Llega tras el lanzamiento de tres EP que sirven de muestra: #001 Coordinate, #002 Hymns y #003 Horizons (con Horizon In Your Eyes, preestrenado en el Festival de Eurovisión 2022).

Mientras que en álbumes anteriores Dardust ha añadido paisajes sonoros electrónicos a sus composiciones minimalistas de piano, creando un género a caballo entre el neoclásico y el pop, aquí ha optado por dividir sus dos ámbitos en dos experiencias paralelas pero convergentes.

"Me fascina la psicología humana y mi pasión por este campo de estudio me ha ayudado a comprender el dualismo que siempre ha formado parte de mi forma de expresarme musicalmente", explica el artista. "En mis álbumes anteriores, el mundo emocional del piano y el mundo más cognitivo de la música electrónica se fusionaron para crear nuevas perspectivas sonoras y un cruce entre el neoclásico y el pop, con elementos mágicos extraídos de las bandas sonoras de las películas, un cierto tipo de escena de club, las películas de fantasía y el romanticismo. Para mi último proyecto decidí centrarme en los dos aspectos diferentes como si estuvieran influenciados por los distintos hemisferios de mi cerebro. Blanco y negro, música electrónica y piano. Los dos extremos de mi imaginación musical y artística como Dardust".

Por tanto, los dos discos que componen "DUALIDAD" representan los dos hemisferios del cerebro humano. Los temas de piano solista de RIGHT HEMISPHERE expresan la emoción pura y la inocencia del virtuosismo pianístico contemporáneo a través de una música inspirada en el mundo natural y un sentido de la improvisación más emocionalmente espontáneo, como el de un poeta. Sus puntos de referencia provienen de la cultura del Lejano Oriente: El teatro kabuki y el budismo zen. Los conceptos que recorren estos temas están vinculados a una filosofía japonesa ejemplificada por la sakura, la flor del cerezo, que representa la fragilidad, la belleza, la mortalidad y la renovación. En conjunto, estos 10 temas retratan la naturaleza cíclica de la vida a través de las estaciones y la forma en que todo conduce no a un epílogo, sino a un prólogo, una sensación continua de renacimiento.

Por el contrario, las pistas electrónicas de LEFT HEMISPHERE simbolizan la parte racional de nuestro cerebro, el "ingeniero" que hay en el artista. Se han moldeado con una nueva geometría sonora vinculada a patrones, ritmos, sintetizadores y mundos musicales pertenecientes a diferentes estilos, mezclados entre sí para producir un nuevo tipo de narrativa artística. Cada una de ellas tiene un tema y un riff que le da una identidad propia, dentro de la cual podemos escuchar referencias al sonido de los 90, a las bandas sonoras de las películas de John Carpenter, al grupo de prog rock Goblin, al Italo-Disco, al UK garage y al Nu jazz. En este mundo de contaminaciones estilísticas, el enfoque analógico se combina con lo digital y lo orgánico, gracias a los intros y outros creados en colaboración con el colectivo Studio Murena.

Lista de temas de "DUALITY":

LEFT HEMISPHERE

1. Parallel 43

2. Space Samurai

3. Fluid Love

4. We’re Ready to Shine Again

5. Horizon in Your Eyes

6. Forget to be

7. Addó Staje feat. Tropico [Where you are]

8. The Whistle

9. Petals (Exterior Night)

10. Hymn (Epilogue)

RIGHT HEMISPHERE

1. Lucciole [Dalla Finestra] Fireflies [From the Window]

2. Petali (Interno Giorno) [Petals (A Day Indoors)]

3. Nuvole In Fiore [Clouds in Bloom]

4. Dono Per Un Addio [Keepsake]

5. Hanafubuki (Attraverso La Tempesta Dei Fiori Di Ciliegio) [(Through the Cherry Blossom Snowstorm)]

6. Komorebi (Luce Che Filtra Tra Le Foglie Degli Alberi) [(Light Filtering Through the Leaves of the Trees)]

7. Dune [Dunes]

8. Stormi Di Origami [Flocks of Origami Birds]

9. Nintai (Spada Nel Cuore) [(Sword in the Heart)]

10. Inno (Prologo) [Hymn (Prologue)]

Dardust saldrá nuevamente de gira el año que viene para la DUALITY TOUR 2023, en la que mostrará las dos mitades de su alma musical -el piano solista y la electrónica- en una experiencia multidimensional única en directo con espectaculares efectos visuales.

Organizada por BPM CONCERTI (www.bpmconcerti.com), estas son las fechas de la gira confirmadas hasta ahora:

04 marzo 2023 Ascoli Piceno @ Teatro Ventidio Basso

07 marzo 2023 Turín @ Teatro Colosseo

08 marzo 2023 Bolonia @ Teatro Celebrazioni

09 Marzo 2023 Milán @ Conservatorio di Milano

10 de marzo de 2023 Prato @ Teatro Politeama Pratese

11 de marzo de 2023 Roma @ Auditorium Parco della Musica

26 marzo 2023 Berlín (DE) @ Frannz Club

29 marzo 2023 Bruselas (BE) @ Ancienne Belgique - AB Club

30 de marzo de 2023 Amsterdam (NL) @ Melkweg

03 Abril 2023 Londres (Reino Unido) @ O2 Academy Islington

Dario Faini alias Dardust, es uno de los pianistas italianos con más seguidores de su generación. Su música se ha escuchado en eventos mundiales como la Superbowl, el All Star Game de la NBA, un discurso de presentación de un producto de Apple y la entrega de la bandera en la ceremonia de clausura de los Juegos Olímpicos de Invierno de Pekín 2022, entre otros. Como compositor y productor excepcional, ha cosechado varios éxitos en Italia, con más de 70 discos de platino y 500 millones de streams hasta la fecha. Como compositor, abrió nuevos caminos con el primer proyecto de música instrumental italiana que combinaba un mundo pianístico minimalista con los sonidos electrónicos contemporáneos del eje geográfico-musical Berlín-Reikiavik: una trilogía de lanzamientos que culminó en "S.A.D. Storm and Drugs”, publicado a nivel internacional por Sony Masterworks y Artist First en enero de 2020. En los dos últimos años ha colaborado con toda una serie de artistas internacionales, como Benny Benassi y Sophie and the Giants, que se unieron a él en el escenario del Pala Olímpico de Turín para actuar en el 66º Festival de Eurovisión. El nuevo álbum de Dardust se publicará en otoño de 2022, y también ha anunciado una serie de fechas de la gira "DUALITY" en 2023 en salas de Italia y otros lugares de Europa. Página web: www.dardust.com Instagram: @dardust

Facebook: @dardustofficial Twitter: @DarioFaini YouTube: DardustVEVO

[amn26644]

Colosseum

               Are you a fan of sports? High-octane, high-risk, high reward? Well, why not visit… the Colosseum?

               Considered in the future to be one of Rome’s oldest landmarks, the Colosseum (currently known as the Amphitheatrum Flavium) now is a brand-new marvel of engineering! Begun under Vespasian almost thirty years ago, this stone structure is the greatest amphitheater around. Even Augustus, who saw Rome’s first stone amphitheater erected, never saw something of this scale! Titus and Domitian have only added to its splendor. Whether you’re a senator or noble with a ringside seat, just a regular citizen, a visitor to Rome, or even a woman, we’ve got a seat just for you in our tiered accommodations. (Wouldn’t want to upset the social order!)

               And just what will you see at these games? Well, in the words of Cassius Dio: “many remarkable spectacles!” In past years, the Colosseum has born witness to such marvels as “animals both tame and wild… slain to the number of nine thousand,” “infantry and naval battles,” and for the kids, “a horse-race!” By the use of clever flooding, the Colosseum can support mock naval combat – a wonder of the most exotic fronts, here in Rome for all to see!

               Now, is the Colosseum always pretty? No, of course not. In the past, such entertainments (in the pre-Colosseum days, we add) have been described less favorably. Seneca, for instance, described Pompey’s spectacle of a battle between man and elephant as “slaughter.” And, indeed, if you attend an event here, you’re likely to see some shocking things – blood is spilt, yes, to raucous cheers. But the games are more than just bloodshed. The placement of the Colosseum, on the one-time site of Nero’s private lake, signifies the return of land to the people for their entertainment, as well as the generosity of the imperial caste. And besides – who doesn’t love a good show? As Cicero argued in his famed defense of Murena, we all do – “even… those who are ashamed to own it.” even to those who are ashamed to own it,

               So if you want to see a true spectacle, don’t wait – come to the Colosseum (ca. 100 CE) today!

[forsoothsayer]

Let’s Drink by Horace

You can tell me the years between Inachus and Codrus, who wasn’t afraid to die for his country, Aeacus’ line, and the fights by the walls at sacred Troy: but you can’t say what price we’ll pay for a jar of Chian wine, who’ll heat the water, or under whose roof, at what time, I can escape at last from Paelignian cold. Don’t wait: drink to the new moon, boy, to the midnight hour, to the augur, Murena: the wine is mixed in three measures, or nine, depending which of the two is fitting. The poet, inspired, who’s in love with the odd-numbered Muses, will ask for three times three: fearing our quarrels, the Grace, who’s hand in hand with her naked sisters, forbids more than triple. I like to rave: why have the blasts of the Berecyntian flute fallen silent? Why is the pipe hanging there speechless, next door to the speechless lyre? I dislike those hands that refrain: scatter rose petals: and let envious Lycus hear our demented noise-making, and the girl who’s next door, who won’t suit old Lycus. Ripe Rhode is searching for you, Telephus, you with the glistening hair, oh you, who are like the pure evening star: while a slow love, for Glycera, has me on fire.

[beautyhabit]

Insider by UnnamedProject brings the best Mother's Day gift ideas to life.

Wonder Of You by ALTAIA💕

(A Long Time Ago In Argentina)

From a love affair, the Wonder Of You is the joy of a being in love. Created by Sebastian Alvarez Murena and Marina Sersale the delightfully elegant fragrance is both fresh and flowery. The symphony of blackcurrant, pink grapefruit, freesia, watermelon, ambrox, and musk notes evoke nearness, warmth, and joy. The regal and contemporary bottle is beautifully boxed and timeless in its appeal.

Photography by @davidlewistaylor

[luasworkshop]

Heeeeey so I have a new character for the Vesuvian setting sort of coming together (he's not an MC - rather he's part of the nobility), here's some info on him:

Evander Murena

Age: Middle (Somewhere in His 50s)

Favorite Meal: Spice Seared Cod

Favorite Drink: Tom Collins

Favorite Flower: Dark Blue Hydrangeas

The current head of house for a very old Vesuvian family (not a founding family of the city state, but close), this nobleman lives with his disabilities (sailing injuries that nearly killed him) while maintaining one of Vesuvia’s largest shipping/trading empires. He's not "I'm not like other nobles" he definitely enjoys his excess and sequestered himself and his people away on his grounds during the plague, but he still has a very vested interest in un-fucking infrastructure (and protecting his own, from his immediate staff to the crew of his ships.) He is definitely on the ‘enlightened’ side of ‘enlightened self-interest.’ His family is VERY old money, and he's currently the head of house, though presently has no heirs much to extended family frustration (and he's DEFINITELY not a young man anymore.) From their view, it's less about 'he needs to make a baby' and 'why hasn't he PICKED someone' (answer being that most of them drive him up a wall and the temptation to will it all to the city gets more and more tempting every day.) “One MORE of you goddamn assholes gives another 'oh it's such a shame that-' or 'oh you would have been so handsome if-' or 'well if you would just appoint someone to-' and I'm gonna bite your nose off and see how you like.”

There are many extended familial relations, but Evander is an only child and his parents and grandparents have passed on. Those within the family looking to curry favor with him are generally his many (many– mom and dad had many siblings) cousins and their various offspring. There’s an aunt or uncle or two or five of his occasionally breathing down his neck as well. Most are still in good standing enough to freely visit his estate, but the social dance he plays with them is both terse and pointed – he doesn't have time to string people along and he refuses to be strung along himself. The family itself has some nobility ties, but is primarily a merchant family, and therefore having some interesting relations with other Vesuvian nobility (who, for all the family's age and sccuess does view them as 'nouveau riche' at times). As the shipping empire is tremendous, the family holds an immense amount of power and sway.

He has never had anyone even remotely close enough to him to consider marrying for love, and after a slew of engagement proposals both put upon and pulled away from him during his convalescence he’s not keen to marry for business either. These proposals were put upon him for a myriad of reasons – wanting to get him hitched while he was still alive when he wasn’t doing well (inheritance dealing), people looking to take advantage of him and his family while stressed from this (theft), families hoping to entreat favors by being so ‘sacrificing’ as to help the ‘wounded’ family (social standing). And they were taken away for a similar myriad – seeing his return to health and loosing interest because of his disfigurements (rude), not wanting some precious offspring to be stuck with a ‘cripple’ (very rude), and questions of his sanity/long term stability dealing with a lifetime ahead of him living with disability (extremely rude).

The family is known for throwing eccentric but shrewd people, and while the business minutia is delegated, keeping the whole organism of money, trade, and fortune functioning is his deal – ensuring all of that delegation remains functional is ALSO a whole business in Vesuvia – weeding out corruption and dealing with missed connections and all that. Evander has been doing things long enough that he’s able to set SOME boundaries – he also lacks the more immediate stress of palace goings on, much to his relief (only putting in appearances there so much is as absolutely necessary – he is reclusive, after all.) Nosey to a fault and with the trusted manpower (he has many close workers whom he trusts deeply and pays and treats well to ensure they remain so) and magical disposal at his hand, he is usually aware of what is going on, and likes to keep himself informed of the palace and it’s people. He is surprisingly astute and aware, although keeps most of his cards close to his chest (while surprisingly aware of Nadia’s coma, he did not make any motions during that time).

Not a magic user himself, he keeps several talented magicians in his employ to assist with the mobility aids he uses. His missing legs and severely damaged (although repaired with the best possible surgery at the time) jaw mean that he is unable to speak clearly or walk without aid. Spells can assist his speaking (more for 'fuck I have to deal with a bunch of other Vesuvian nobility and I need to make my points with verbal emphasis'), though he prefers to communicate mostly in writing and signs with his staff and close confidants. If someone new in his social sphere is learning to understand sign it will usually endear some good will from him. His spine and pelvic girdle are reasonably healthy, and he has tremendous upper body strength (mostly kept up by his favorite physical activity – swimming.)

As a rather elusive Vesuvian nobleman – Valerius only really knows him through a series of sexual encounters but when things begin to round the corner under Nadia he comes out of the woodwork to have a say in the resuscitation of Vesuvia. His main angle actually is, unsurprisingly, accessibility, given his own handicaps, and a vested interest in trade unions and workers rights. He found Lucio to be an obnoxious bore, and had little time for him.

In his spare time he is working on breeding increasingly weird colors of peacocks, mostly for his own entertainment (and he does love them) and also because they are perfect gifts for obnoxious relatives. “Can't turn down four of our cousins' peach peacocks even if they scream bloody murder at 4AM, because BOY will he be pissed off if any harm comes to them.” Everyone still wants to be in his good graces, and“well it IS a gift so maybe that means he's taken a shine to our little Eustace…” (It's not - he wants to annoy the shit out of you on a daily basis without having to be there.)

Injuries: His scarring comes from a sailing accident in his early twenties. He was on board one of his family’s trading frigates during a terrible storm, it was all hands on deck and despite his status he worked among the others to weather the storm (if the ship goes down, either way it is better to do what you could have done.) A line snapped, hit him in the face, and to say it shattered his jaw would be putting it mildly. There is the power of a gunshot in a broken line. He stumbled into a pile of line now loosed by that broken one, and it sheared off his legs before he could be loosened from the tangle. He is very lucky to be alive and owes his life to a steady handed and quick thinking ship’s doctor. He is a bilateral above-knee amputee, and despite a fair bit of reconstructive surgery has tremendous scarring around his mouth and neck, no tongue, most of his teeth are metal (gold composite) or ceramic, and he does not have full use of his jaw (he cannot open it much).

His legs were fairly cleanly severed by the rope, and most of the triage at the time was simply ensuring he wouldn’t bleed to death. He does have moderate phantom limb pain at times, but manages it fairly well with the acupuncturist he has on his staff and magical care. There are still, sometimes bad days. Permanent limb regeneration is hypothetically possible with magic, but would require a tremendous amount of skill and study, and even then there are likely risks of some fairly severe side effects. It is not a well understood form in Vesuvia, and not one Evander has chosen to pursue. Temporary limb regeneration is more well known (although still not without risk), but not something he finds desirable to use. Were he to be shape-shifted to other forms via magic his scarring would remain consistent.

His diet is somewhat limited but he can still chew some and swallow on his own. He does not have much of a sense of taste, and tends to like things that are EXTREMELY SPICY or very VERY strongly flavored (pleasantly fragrant is also good). He has a taste for things with what he thinks are good mouth-feel as well (things that are creamy, silky, bubbly/fizzy, are nice to bite into, have a good temperature, or are novel (crispy, caviar, candyfloss) are all things he likes). He eats very slowly if it’s something hard, crunchy, or chewy. He usually avoids eating much of anything at various functions, galas, and parties, if it can be avoided, especially as it means removing his mask. If he’s busy he has his cooks simply make him things he can swallow down quickly and be on with his day – eating something lavish is a production and a huge time sink for him. If he takes others out to dinner, he generally passes on it himself and will eat before or after (though he will usually order up a drink or two for himself – he doesn't mind letting the mask slip a little to enjoy something alcoholic.) He very much prefers to eat alone.

His daily life is a constant balance between maintaining and relinquishing bodily autonomy (given physical limitations), which informs a lot of his personality. While he is much more physically in control of his body now, it took years to recover from his injuries and grow to learn to live with them, which left major marks on his personality. The amount of time he spent utterly dependent on others left him eager to keep control of any part of his life he can. Lingering pain can also leave him in need of aid, and he is very specific with his staff as to how, when, and where to help him.

Mobility Aids: For flash and pomp Evander uses a crab-like walking machine (commissioned specially fromLua and finessed by Aleis). It can move relatively tightly, but is still rather flashy and does take up some space. For more day to day use he has a very sleek chair with something of a nautical theme. He can use prosthetic legs, and has some absolutely aesthetic ones from various masquerades, but he's not fond of magical augmentation (harder for him to control and to feel in control – something I've heard from some folks with newer electronic prostheses, though I know experiences are varied) and even manual ones take a lot out if him to use for prolonged periods. The crab chair is magical in functionality but is controlled manually (quite elegantly with rather subtle motion.)* Some of his legs are more aesthetic than practicality, but they do look quite something in use.

He prefers to wear a half-mask or veil at most appearances and generally these are not subtle prostheses. They feature elegant design, high quality materials, and often aquatic animal or mythological themes. He isn’t afraid or upset to show what’s underneath but he refuses to be a spectacle unless he’s deliberately making one. Some feel that he’s cultivating an air of mystery, which isn’t untrue, but he’s also enjoying control of how he is perceived, having some fun, and playing with his look.

Speaking through magic is interesting, it's not what his voice ever was, and it's not a direct thought to speech thing – the spell is still tied to internal physical articulation, so his throat is usually still moving (though his mouth isn't always, more like talking to yourself than out loud) Spells that turn thought to word are usually a garbled mess and only really used for interrogation or creative types hoping for a break (not impossible to use, but more complex to understand.) The spell itself he uses and it's workings are physically tied to a piece of jewelry – he can still articulate some sounds on his own but doesn't really have much of a functional tongue anymore, and his lower jaw only works so well (how does he FEEL about all this? Well... He finds it cute you think he'd care to go into that at depth… but when he’s cranky he says it makes him feel like his own ventriloquist dummy.) The item was composed and finessed to his liking by one or more of the magicians he has on staff.

He has tremendous upper body strength mostly kept up though both daily use of his chair and a truly profuse amount of swimming (there are several pools suitable for swimming on his grounds.) He does have a weight regimen as well. He can walk on his hands for a bit, but it’s exhausting. Unfortunately as his home is very old, it’s not entirely adapted to his use, although he has made almost all of it as accessible as possible by moving the in-home servant’s quarters upstairs and his own downstairs, as well as having other projects that increase his access to the grounds.

Smut: He is also into very kinky sex, is almost always a Dom (needs the sense of control – as he could otherwise be very vulnerable which he’s picky about), and enjoys doming through gentle but firm physical control and almost no verbal commands or fully per-agreed on situations (given that he can’t speak very clearly without aid – although he can use that aid, he prefers not to in intimacy). He’s a vers, and can either top or power bottom. He doesn't generally care to use his own bedroom for sex, and has others for the purpose, but in such rooms he has a lot of hand-holds so he can get good purchase from angles that would otherwise be difficult to impossible with his lack of legs. He is often masked or veiled – he doesn't begrudge his face but he doesn't like it to be distracting or a focus for his partner – he prefers a level of detachment or at least not letting anything be about THAT. He’s fond of wearing gloves, but that’s just aesthetic. He’s had many partners, does enjoy long-term flings when it’s clear that emotional intimacy isn’t generally on the table (he can still be fun, romantic, and playful, but he remains rather distant). He can be a tender or harsh dom depending on his partner (and is in for complex scenarios and/or more off-the-cuff play), and doesn't object to the occasional vanilla sex. Definitely appreciates decorative rope-work and has no trouble tying up partners. He is known to be very gentle with aftercare, though doesn't like much focused on himself (still though, nice words and gentle touches – apart from his face – are welcome).

Touching his face during intimacy (and overall) is a hard no, and he doesn't care to kiss (his jaw doesn't work well, and he doesn't like the attention around his mouth.) He has no tongue and isn’t able to get someone off with his mouth in any comfortable way, but will gladly use other body parts.

Some would describe him as eerily quiet, but he’s very good at not making noises (he can still make throaty noises, but is more inclined to restrain himself.)

While not quite a feeding kink – he does like to see others enjoy good food, and employs a very skilled kitchen staff. It’s more of a vicarious pleasure than a sex thing. Aftercare usually involves GREAT snacks.

*Lucio’s arm is nearly unique and represents tremendous amount of time, effort, and study of two incredibly powerful magicians. Evander has also not gone this route as despite it’s functionality – even magical it’s still metal and heavy, and nearly permanently attached, a liability for someone who lives to swim and is very particular about where they sacrifice their own control and bodily autonomy.

[newswave-kota]

GET-2019 Topper Shashank dreamt of serving the country

Toppers Talk  Newswave@New Delhi 21-year-old Shashank Mangal from Murena district of Madhya Pradesh has topped the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) 2019 with 989 score out of 1000. While GATE is used as an entrance gateway to government jobs and colleges in India and abroad, Mangal wishes to stay in the country and wants to work for its development. He secured 6214 rank in Joint Engineering Examination (JEE) Advanced. The final year student at the IIT, Dhanbad said, “I might join a public sector undertaking (PSU) and prepare for Indian Engineering Services (IES) exam. While I will discuss with my seniors and take a final decision later but I always dreamt of serving the country and becoming part of the government.” ‘I would like to do something like to device something to move our paper-pen-based economy to an automated one where everyone will have equal, fair and quick access to things,’ said Mangal whose final year project is on Machine Learning (ML). He cracked the GATE exam with only 3 months of preparation. “I loved to crack tough questions. Most of the difficult questions test your logic and if one has their basics clear, they will have fun solving such questions. Even during the exam, I started with solving difficult questions first,” he said adding that the GATE 2019 was comparatively difficult than that of the previous years’. While preparing for GATE, he found, analogue circuit and control systems to be challenging subjects. He also said to have devoted more time to the two concepts as they contribute to higher marks in the exam. Mangal spent 11-12 hours a day in GATE preparation. “Once my final exams were over, I devoted 11-12 hours a day to GATE preparations. Also, I had attended a GATE preparation crash course during my summer breaks,” said Mangal.  he said, “It is one thing to know your concepts and another to apply them in the exam. It is important to practice online test series, it helps you practice the concepts in an exam-like pressure situation.” Mangal got inspiration from his father. “My father is an engineer. He imbibed in me the love of mathematics. Since childhood, I am good at this subject and treat it as a problem-solving practice. My elder sister is also an engineer,” said Mangal who decided in class 12 that he would choose electronics related engineering field. Mangal’s mother is a homemaker. Read the full article