#a ‘desmond have peace’ challenge

[teecupangel]

‘What if desmond time travels and has to deal with such and such, or turns into an animal, or gets hurt, or-’

What if Desmond time travels and learns how to bake bread!! Huh!!? What about that!! What if he opens a super successful bakery, and solves all the worlds problems with the best fresh baked bread every!!

(This is /j but like. 👏🏻 anons let Desmond have peace challenge👏🏻 (but also don’t cause I love reading all of them I’m just like ‘how did you even come up with this? Sometimes lmao))

Anyway, since we already have a Desmond is a baker in Renaissance Italy idea, here’s Desmond is a baker during the Third Crusades instead:

So in this setup, Desmond would say fuck it and just open a bakery in Acre.

Jerusalem was too much of a hotspot at the moment and Acre had ports which meant there would be new customers that Desmond could lure in with the smell of freshly baked bread. 

And it worked.

Maybe a bit too well because…

Kadar visited while he was out looking for information for his brother’s current target. 

They both stared at one another for a moment and then Desmond just did his usual ‘Welcome! Are you looking for anything specific or would you like to hear today’s recommendations?’ spiel while Kadar just stares at him.

When Kadar went “Altaïr?”, Desmond just gave him his best bartender ‘I’m being respectful but also distant so you’ll still tip me’ smile as he goes, “I’m sorry, we don’t have a bread called ‘Altaïr’.”

Then he showed Kadar the star-shaped pull apart sweet bread he’s just perfected and go “But maybe I can interest you in this pull apart start bread? It’s sweet and fluffy and freshly baked.”

And sweet poor Kadar leaves the bakery with a basket of breads instead because Desmond was good at using both Ezio’s charms and his bartending social skills to get customers to buy more than they should.

Hey.

A man needed to profit to keep the roof over his head while trying to experiment for the upcoming debut of his sugar-free pastries.

The next day, Malik entered the bakery but Desmond was ready.

Desmond had planned for this!

“Welcome!” Desmond greeted, giving Malik his sweetest smile that he knew would completely unnerve Malik.

Desmond weaponized the similarity between him and Altaïr to unnerve Malik to the point that he cannot focus on observing Desmond, distracted by such a sweet smile that looked so disturbing in his eyes because he’s imagining Altaïr doing such an expression and it was horror beyond Malik’s wildest imagination. 

Okay.

Desmond was exaggerating but that got Malik to not ask too many invasive questions and leave the bakery after purchasing two baskets worth of bread so Desmond was going to consider that a mission successful.

And then…

His greatest adversary entered his little quaint bakery.

And Desmond was ready for him.

“Welcome!” Desmond greeted happily, “Are you looking for anything specific or would you like to see today’s recommendations?”

Altaïr simply stared at him.

But that didn’t matter.

Desmond held all the cards.

Because he knew one of Altaïr’s greatest weakness…

Altaïr secretly loved sweets.

“Today’s a special day!” Desmond clapped his hands in practiced joy that wasn’t over the top, “Today’s the debut of our dessert line! Here.”

Desmond took out a tray of sweet deserts, glistening in either honey or fruit jams. 

“Would you like a taste?” Desmond asked with the sweetness of the snake that tempted Eve to take a bite.

And Altaïr…

Altaïr left the bakery with a basket filled with desserts and pastries, quietly sinking into the shadows before anyone could see him and ask for one of the forbidden sweets he had acquired.

[yumeka-sxf]

As if the season 3 announcement several hours ago wasn't exciting enough, now we have one hell of a new chapter 😭

It's just one tragic event after another...Martha can't bring herself to confess to Henry (and regrets it later), her letter gets censored so she's left waiting in vain to see him, she's basically forced to join the front lines or be killed, meanwhile Henry is struggling to figure out his own feelings but then has a total breakdown when he thinks Martha's dead, gets beaten up and thrown in jail, then is coerced by his father into marrying someone else. Gosh, these two just can't catch a break 😓

But my favorite part of this chapter is young Donovan Desmond's speech. What he says here so perfectly conveys the overall conflict of Spy x Family and sets him up as the ideal antagonist.

The series has shown us over and over how people are indeed liars, but it's also shown us time and time again how amongst all the lies, mostly through the Forgers, that people can still come to understand each other. Donovan's view is one of hopelessness - that true understanding can never be attained and human beings will always wage war, and while the series doesn't downright portray this as false, it does show that there is hope...that, even though people will never stop committing atrocities, at the very least, a middle ground of peace can be found even amongst those who lie to survive.

Donovan believes that we can never know the true intentions of others because we ourselves are hiding our own true intentions...the Forgers are hiding their true intentions, but in spite of that, they've come to love and understand each other. Like Twilight said when he first met Donovan, he won't ever stop trying to understand others and will always try to meet them "in the middle" if he can. Again, this is why Donovan is shaping up to be a great "final boss" who challenges the hopeful message the series has advocated so far. Another example of how, even though this arc seemingly has nothing to do with the Forgers, Endo still ties it back to them and the story overall.

Now the question for the next chapter is...who saved Martha? Also, judging by Henry's reaction when he first sees Martha in the present time (pictured below, chapter 72 during the bus hijacking arc), it doesn't seem like he had thought she was dead at that point. So he must have found out somehow before this that she had survived.

We'll have to wait until next time to find out! Even as the series hits chapter 100, Endo isn't done with this tragic love story just yet 😅

[silken-moonlight]

Older Alpha and Human Waitress / Moodboard and playlist

Desmond Lyall

We already had an introductory post for Desmond; however, I wanted to write a little more about him. Desmond's family had been...tense. His father was a man of sternness and coldness; weakness was not tolerated in his house. In the werewolf community, this is viewed as toxic Alpha family behavior. His mother was no different. With both his parents alphas and raised with the same mindset, it had been a difficult environment to grow up in. Desmond was the golden child; he was expected to be perfect. He managed to become a somewhat good person still. His younger brother, William, was not as fortunate. He suffered under the reign of his parents. Back then, Desmond had viewed him as weak. Like his parents, he was disappointed in his brother and his rebellious behavior.

Nowadays, Desmond has matured as a person. Being the Alpha of his pack has made him view things differently. Many challenges and changes have occurred for him over the years. He has come to put his own needs behind everyone else's. He occasionally takes time for himself, but that has become rare. He overworks himself to the point that his beta, Isaac, is concerned about his physical and mental health. He has changed, becoming awfully similar to his father, and he hates that but cannot help it. He is complex and has so many layers that somebody would need to free him. He himself would never find peace on his own; somebody has to guide him.

His greatest and deepest desire is to feel cared for. He wants to be weak, even if he could never admit that. He yearns for something, something that is just his own. He yearns for love and warmth, gentle touches and silly moments. These songs shall display him a little better

The reader/ you

Disclaimer: This is how I imagined the reader. How you imagine them or if you imagine yourself is your Business. This is just 'my' view, please don't see this as Set thing how you should imagine the reader/you.

A little background for the reader: She still lives with her parents, who are both chronically ill. Her parents need her in their lives, and the reader loves her parents; however, their care and constant needs can be suffocating. Sometimes she feels like there is no way out, and she feels guilty for thinking this, since she would do anything for her family. She has lost many friends over this, and the friends that have stayed use her as a free therapist. She has sometimes lost her sense of self, and a deep exhaustion has settled into her. While she always tries to be happy and carefree, sometimes her exhaustion and sadness peak through. She loves to care for others, but it will be her eventual end if no one begins to take care of her.

She is happiest outdoors with her dogs, loving nature and books. She goes skinny-dipping in any river or pond she finds, unafraid of any animals and wanting to befriend every animal in her path. A wild child, as her parents call her, she is difficult to catch. A soul pure and good, her energy is addictive, but many drain her energy.

A/N: This was a lot of fun to do. I love making stuff like this. I hope you liked it too! I thought at first to make a pintrest Board and Spotify playlist. Though I find this solutiin a bit better. How did you like it?

[fromashesweriseuphiddenones]

Calling Out to Assassins Creed artists lacking a muse!

I am in a pickle as I have no motivation to draw yet I still have the mischievous art bunnies attacking. I have noticed that there is a severe lack of Desmond x such and such art. Sure there is Desmond with his three assassin ancestors, and Desmond with Shaun. Nevermind Protocreed. But what about some of the rarer pairings? So below the cut I present a challenge. If you are interested keep reading if not then keep on scrolling.

For the remainder of August (and if this is successful maybe continue next year) I challenge you to draw any one (or more if you are interested) of the following:

Desmond X Shay (18th century)

Desmond X Claudia (15th century)

Desmond X Malik (12th century)

Desmond X Kadar (12th century)

Desmond X Leonardo (15th century)

Desmond X Kassandra (431 BCE)

Desmond X Evior (9th century)

You are free to draw them however you like. Modern day offers you the most freedom however if you want a challenge I provided the century in which the principle game the character features takes place. You are free to draw them enjoying each other's company, Safe For Work sexual themes (such as holding hands, kissing, and hugging), or NSFW Content (please label as such as well as adhere to Tumblr's rules regarding it.) please use the tag #DesmondMiles'summeroflove and @fromashesweriseuphiddenones (me) to participate.

Lastly, want some bonus points? Include any the following:

Desmond and his lover will exchange pendants instead of engagement rings, and then lace the wedding band on the same chain. This is because Desmond works in the food service industry and they are very picky about rings and other jewelry.

Desmond's symbol is a Phoenix. Shay gives the Irish tree of life, Malik a sword charm, Leonardo found a pendant with simiprecious stone pieces inside.

Remember that Desmond is not full on white. The fandom agrees he is biracial. His mother is likely as pure Syrian as you are going to get (Altaïr is already biracial himself and then Darium and Sef were as well.)

Read any of my fics from AO3 if you want specific secen ideas or inspiration (like Desmond and Malik laying together in bed in their sleepwear)

Regardless of the era, Desmond is going to wear as close to Levant Robes as possible (if he is with Evior, Malik and Kadar he's going to have tailor made robes)

Lastly just have fun with this. By the way, just because I challenged you to this, doesn't mean that it's just for Tumblr. If it turns out you really like a piece you did go ahead and share it! I want people to find art when they go looking for it.

Safety and Peace upon you my siblings of the Creed, and May the Father of Understanding Guide Us.

[a-few-of-my-favorite-mangas]

Spy x Family

Story by Tatsuya Endo

Manga Volume 5

Shonen, School Setting, Action, Adventure, Found Family, Comedy

Story   ★★★★☆   ||   ★★★☆☆   Art

Summary

Anya Forger has been trying her best to befriend Damian Desmond, the son of the powerful Ostanian political leader Donovan Desmond, but her attempts have been constantly rebuffed. Despite the setbacks, Anya is determined to gain access to the Desmonds’ inner circle and even devises a new plan—acing her midterm exams to earn stella stars! Can the academically challenged Anya pull off this feat for the sake of world peace?

Review

Yor is trying to learn to cook from Camilla and it isn’t going well, until Camilla gets the idea to make something Yor’s parents might have made, and is able to help Yor cook her mom’s stew... and it actually tastes good!

Anya continues to try and make Plan B work, this time by trying to help Damian with an art project, but Anya being Anya - she just causes more trouble. Damian calls home and talk to Jeeves, the butler, and we learn more about how distant his relationship with his father is and why he is so motivated to do well.

Anya is struggling in school, her test scores are terrible. We learn that Anya has a weakness, her powers do not work when the moon is new (barely there). Yuri comes over to tutor Anya, and after a few antics he gets frustrated by Anya’s lack of progress. Anya does try, the mid-term exams are coming up and a failing grade equals a tonitrus bolt.

The spy Daylight makes his first appearence to mess with the Desmond test scores, Twilght also there to check on Anya’s results has to deal with his crazy antics and fix all of his mistakes.

Damian does well enough on an exam to earn his first Stella.  Anya manages to (barely) not fail any of her tests, a huge win in her book! (213 / 228) Is below 30 a failing grade? When I was in school, below 70 was a failing grade, so a 30 looks like failure to me, what are their standards? I mean shouldn’t it at least be over 50, at least your got half of the material! I don’t understand the grading rules here. lol

Glooman Pharmaceuticals is in financial trouble, and young George, a classmate of Anya and Damian, blames the Desmond group and wants to hurt Damian to get even. When the other kids learn about George’s misfortune, they try and help his last day be a good one. Ends up he got it all wrong.

Anya’s is given a project to learn about one of her parent’s jobs and write a report on it. Anya considers Yor, but Yor’s thoughts leave Anya to ask Loid instead, so she spends the day at Berlint General Hospital.

Fiona Frost (Nightfall) is introduced in this volume, she is a spy operative that works with Twilight, but was away on a mission so wasn’t available to play the role of ‘wife’ in the STRIX assignment. Fiona doesn’t like that Yor is part of the mission and wants to drive her away and take her place... but not for the good of the mission, but because she is in love with Twilight. Fiona’s appearence does indeed shake Yor’s confidence about their ‘fake’ relationship.

[foodpsychpod]

#313: Rethinking Wellness: Wellness Culture and Infertility, the Challenges of Baby Feeding, and Unpacking Food Sensitivities with Jenee Desmond-Harris

Jenée Desmond-Harris, Slate Magazine's Dear Prudence advice columnist, joins us to discuss her path toward making peace with food and realizing she didn’t have food sensitivities, how infertility can make people desperate enough to try dubious wellness-culture treatments, the harmful wellness messages she’s gotten while navigating her son’s sensitive stomach as a breastfeeding parent, how social media influences our relationships with food and body, and lots more.

Jenée Desmond-Harris is a Slate staff writer and editor. She writes the Dear Prudence advice column and previously worked at the New York Times, Vox.com and the Root. Find her work at slate.com.

If you like this conversation, you can hear lots more like it on the new Rethinking Wellness podcast! Just search for Rethinking Wellness with Christy Harrison wherever you get your podcasts, or sign up to get it in your inbox each week at rethinkingwellness.substack.com.

Pre-order Christy's second book, The Wellness Trap, for its April 25 release!

If you're ready to break free from diet culture and make peace with food, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course.

Check out this episode!

[nhkamira]

🍓🌸MY SPRING 2022 WATCHLIST🌸🍓

Hehe did you guys miss my list? Spring is here and more beautiful than ever! 🤩 I got the chance to enjoy the sakura trees for the first time and I've been meeting really nice new people😊 Hopefully, this season will give a ton of good things to keep the perfect vibes. So who takes part in my selection this season? 👀

Tate no Yuusha 2nd Season: Finally season 2 is here! After a great first season and a really nice ending for it, I’m excited to see what’s the next adventure for our dear Naufumi. Kinema Citrus is working again for this season, with a total of 13 episodes! First episode came out on April 6th and if you haven’t seen the first season, go ahead it’s worth it.

Kaguya-sama Love is War 3rd Season: THE EXCITEMENT FOR THIS ONE😭 I’m so happy to see our precious student council members again, I know is going to be amazing, second season when beyond expectations and hopefully this one can bring us something like that too. A-1 Pictures is still working for this series, thankfully. First episode come out today (April 9th) and please do yourself a favor if you haven’t seen this great series.

Spy x Family: New one and the ads for this one have been all over Shibuya! Wit Studio and CloverWorks are working on this one so we can expect a great animation. Here’s a quick synopsis: For the agent known as "Twilight," no order is too tall if it is for the sake of peace. Operating as Westalis' master spy, Twilight works tirelessly to prevent extremists from sparking a war with neighboring country Ostania. For his latest mission, he must investigate Ostanian politician Donovan Desmond by infiltrating his son's school: the prestigious Eden Academy. Thus, the agent faces the most difficult task of his career: get married, have a child, and play family. First episode come out today (April 9th) so let’s see what this one will bring us.

Komi-san Can't Communicate 2nd Season: Komi and Tadano are back and sooner than what I thought but I’m so happy😭 first season was so wholesome and funny, I can’t wait to see Komi progress and all the amazing characters this anime has. OLM did a freaking amazing work with first season so let’s expect the same😂 First episode aired on April 7th

Kawaii dake ja Nai Shikimori-san: Doga Kobo has some amazing series like Gekkan Shoujo and one of my favorite comedies Himouto Umaru-chan. A brief synopsis: Shikimori seems like the perfect girlfriend: cute, fun to be around, sweet when she wants to be... but she has a cool dark side that comes out under the right circumstances. And her boyfriend Izumi loves to be around when that happens! Hopefully this will be a great comedy, first episode comes on April 10th!

Aharen-san wa Hakarenai: I can already feel how cute and funny this one is going to be. The story follows Reina Aharen and Raidou Matsuboshi as their odd friendship starts to blossom when Raidou picks up Aharen's eraser for her. She misinterprets his gesture and now believes them to be best friends, showing how the simplest of things can prove to be the most complicated of challenges for them. Brought by Felix Film a studio with only a few animes, let’s hope this story to be nice.

Kakkou no Iinazuke: Still not sure why I’ll be watching this but Shin-Ai Animation is working for this one alongside SynergySP for this. Brief synopsis: 16-year-old super-studier Nagi Umino, second-year student at the Meguro River Academy high school, was switched at birth. On his way to a dinner to meet his birth parents, he accidentally meets the brash, outspoken, Erika Amano, who is determined to make Nagi her fake boyfriend as she never wants to actually marry. But once Nagi makes it to dinner, he finds his parents have decided to resolve the hospital switch by conveniently having him marry the daughter his birth parents raised...who turns out to be none other than Erika herself! I have weird feeling about this but let’s give it a chance.

Tomodachi Game: I’m exciting because this one looks so dramatic😂 Haven’t seen first episode yet (it came on April 6th) and never seen the two other animes Okuruto Noboru Studio has but let’s see! Brief synopsis: Katagiri Yuichi believes that friends are more important than money. He works hard to save up in order to go on the high school trip, However, after the class's money is all collected, it is stolen! Soon afterward, the five of them are kidnapped, and wake up in a strange room with a character from a short-lived anime. Apparently, one of them has entered them into a "friendship game" in order to take care of their massive debt. But who was it, and why did they have such a debt? Katagiri and his best friends will have to succeed in psychological games that will test or destroy their faith in one another.

Honzuki no Gekokujou 3rd Season: Ajiado longest series, Myne and Lutz are back with a third season! after two nice seasons our pair as grown a lot after starting their new journey. I’m excited to see Myne and the things she’s going to achieve! If you like nice and not so rush stories you should check this one! Startin on April 12th.

Summertime Render: OLM is also working on this, with 25 episodes we got a mystery and supernatural case ahead! After his parents died, Shinpei Ajiro lived with the Kofune sisters, Mio and Ushio, but he has since moved to live on his own in Tokyo. But after Ushio drowns while trying to save the young Shiori Kobayakawa, he returns home to mourn her departure. However, bruises around Ushio's neck bring her cause of death into question. Taking a step back, Shinpei becomes convinced there must be another explanation. Dangerous entities roam among the islanders, and a vision of deceased Ushio asks him to "save Mio" as her final request. He is certain that something is afoot—and Ushio's death is only a piece of the puzzle. I’m excited for this one, starting on April 15th!

Koi wa Sekai Seifuku no Ato de: I added this one because I needed it for my Fantasy team😂 but it looks so dumb and cute I think is going to be enjoyable Project no.9 has some decent work so let’s see. Synopsis: In the eyes of the public, Fudou Aikawa and Desumi Magahara are sworn enemies who have nothing in common. Fudou, also known as "Red Gelato," is the leader of the hero squadron "Gelato 5," whose mission is to bring about world peace. On the other hand, Desumi is the minion leader of "Gecko," a villainous organization seeking world domination. However, despite these differences, their relationship is not quite what it seems. When they are not making a show of being at each other's throats, Desumi and Fudou continue to pursue a forbidden love. Going on dates, baking sweets for one another, and meeting up as often as they can despite their hectic schedules, the two inexperienced lovebirds pave the way for their unique relationship. Though their public lives are worlds apart, Fudou and Desumi will stop at nothing to make their seemingly impossible romance work. The first episode came out on April 8th

Dance Dance Danseur: Last but not least! I hope. This one turned out as amazing as Kageki Shoujo😭 and MAPPA is working on this so I’m expecting a breathtaking animation. Starting today (April 9th) the story follows Junpei who is happily snoozing away during his sister's ballet recital when a male ballet dancer steps onto the stage. Moved by the strength and skills the dancer displays, the boy discovers his love for this art. But after a certain tragedy happens, he vows to leave his past behind and turn into the epitome of manliness! What will he do when his love for ballet reignites?!

A lot to watch, also I’ll continue with my top series as always, One Piece and Detective Conan, and Shaman King is finishing in the upcoming weeks too! With nothing else to add. May this season bring us amazing experiences!

[superlinguo]

Conversation, cooperation and dementia

I have had more than one grandparent with dementia. This post is a series of personal reflections about the way conversation changes when someone you know well loses the ability to remember, and how linguistics has given me a framework for dealing with this. I don’t know anything about dementia other than these experiences, and there are whole sets of emotional and logistical challenges of living with dementia, or a loved one with dementia that I’m not going to address here.

Dementia presents a challenge when you’re having conversations, because the person with dementia loses the ability to track what’s been covered in a conversation - perhaps over the course of 15 minutes, perhaps sometimes in 15 seconds. This creates loops and eddies in conversational topics. It also breaks down one of the fundamental features we require in communication; the belief that our conversational partner is a cooperative one.

Cooperation is important because otherwise a well-flowing interaction is, on the surface, a series of non-sequiturs as the person speaking makes a leap and their conversational partner(s) makes the leap with them. Why are we talking about Uncle Desmond? It must be relevant to the conversation about Aunt Muriel we were just having. A person with dementia can feel from their perspective that they’re being cooperative but from your perspective they’re telling you the same story about Uncle Desmond’s first wife for the 3rd time in 15 minutes.

I’ve noticed that different family members deal with the destruction of the facade of cooperation in various ways; the helpful one tries to turn the conversation to other topics, the sanguine one lets the story play out a fourth time, the pragmatic one tells my grandmother every time that she’s already told this story and that, in fact, she has dementia. Each is trying to rebalance the illusion of cooperation, and each has varying degrees of success which I’m sure relates to my grandmother’s relationship to them, her personal condition, and everyone’s mood on any given day.

Another group we see constantly breaking the sense of cooperation is children. Kids are tiny randomness machines and keeping them on conversational tracks can be a lot of work (and work that extends beyond the years of just learning to speak grammatically). The thing with children is that we expect this from them to some extent. The challenge with conversing with a family member with dementia is that we have years, often a lifetime, of conversational rhythm with them.

The ways in which we expect conversational cooperation were broken into four main categories by Paul Grice. He called these maxims, which I always think of in the ‘guide’ sense rather than ‘rule’. They can help clarify the ways that it can feel difficult to maintain a conversation with someone who has dementia. The first that comes to mind for me is always the maxim of relation, because it does not seem relevant to return to the same story of Uncle Desmond again without new reason, and because this might lurch suddenly into a new conversational track about a cousin you haven’t talked about for 15 years. I’m sure that if I made transcripts of conversations my family have with my grandmother I’d find examples of various different ways that our conversational expectations are challenged in these small talk moments. Knowing about conversational cooperation has made me far more relaxed about approaching these conversations, in one of the more unusual ways my linguistics training has giving me a weird sense of peace about a process I have no control over.

This is where my thoughts on this topic had arrived at. I was talking to my colleague Tonya Stebbins about these experiences the other day and she introduced me to the concept of validation theory. Validation theory is an approach to interactions with people who have dementia that starts from the assumptions that you need to consider the emotive content of what they’re saying, rather than the informational content.  This allows you to engage with their emotional state. There’s an overview at this website, but I’m yet to dig into any literature on the efficacy of this approach.

To illustrate validation theory with an example I still remember from when I was very young and we were visiting my great grandmother: When a person with dementia is worried about her young grandson getting off the bus after school, even though she’s sharing these concerns with that grandson who is actually a middle-age man visiting with his own small children, the idea is to not simply point this out to her, but to attend to the underlying anxiety that has surfaced as this particular and temporally disjunct concern. Regardless of the fact that it’s been decades since her grandson stopped going to school on the bus, taking a conversational approach that spoke to her concern would be a way to address whatever anxiety she had. 

What I immediately like about validation theory is that it re-balances the onus of cooperation in the conversation. In this approach, the conversational partner without dementia is responsible for ensuring they are not failing at the maxim of relevance by attending to the implicit anxieties, worries or joys in the conversational eddies of the interaction. 

Chatting to my grandmother is both one of the most normal and most challenging things. It is as once unremarkably familiar and exhaustingly surreal. I’m grateful that a linguistic perspective on conversation has given me some coping mechanisms for navigating the more surreal moments.

See also:

Lingthusiasm episode 11: Layers of meaning - Cooperation, humour, and Gricean Maxims

Hamilton, Heidi E. (2019). Language, Dementia and Meaning Making. Navigating the Challenges of Cognition and Face in Everyday Life.  Palgrave Macmillan.

[somegirlsnerdywords2]

Anime i’m Interested In: Spring 2022

1. Spy x Family: Airing April 9th, 2022

Synopsis: For the agent known as "Twilight," no order is too tall if it is for the sake of peace. Operating as Westalis' master spy, Twilight works tirelessly to prevent extremists from sparking a war with neighboring country Ostania. For his latest mission, he must investigate Ostanian politician Donovan Desmond by infiltrating his son's school: the prestigious Eden Academy. Thus, the agent faces the most difficult task of his career: get married, have a child, and play family. Twilight, or "Loid Forger," quickly adopts the unassuming orphan Anya to play the role of a six-year-old daughter and prospective Eden Academy student. For a wife, he comes across Yor Briar, an absent-minded office worker who needs a pretend partner of her own to impress her friends. However, Loid is not the only one with a hidden nature. Yor moonlights as the lethal assassin "Thorn Princess." For her, marrying Loid creates the perfect cover. Meanwhile, Anya is not the ordinary girl she appears to be; she is an esper, the product of secret experiments that allow her to read minds. Although she uncovers their true identities, Anya is thrilled that her new parents are cool secret agents! She would never tell them, of course. That would ruin the fun. Under the guise of "The Forgers," the spy, the assassin, and the esper must act as a family while carrying out their own agendas. Although these liars and misfits are only playing parts, they soon find that family is about far more than blood relations. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

2. Aharen-san wa Hakarenai: Airing April 2nd, 2022

Synopsis: Reina Aharen, a small and cute student with a quiet voice, is quite bad at determining distance and personal space. Sometimes she's inches away from your face, and at other times, miles too far! The only one who tries to understand her antics is Raidou Matsuboshi, who is seated beside her in class. He has a menacing face, but in reality, he is a kind boy with an imagination that can run wild at times. Aharen-san wa Hakarenai follows the peculiar pair as their odd friendship starts to blossom when Raidou picks up Aharen's eraser for her. She misinterprets his gesture and now believes them to be best friends, showing how the simplest of things can prove to be the most complicated of challenges for them. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

3. Dance Dance Danseur: Airing April 9th, 2022

Synopsis: Junpei is happily snoozing away during his sister's ballet recital when a male ballet dancer steps onto the stage. Moved by the strength and skills the dancer displays, the boy discovers his love for this art. But after a certain tragedy happens, he vows to leave his past behind and turn into the epitome of manliness! What will he do when his love for ballet reignites?! (Source: MU)

[ocxees-blog]

The 50 Most Influential Books of All Time

You are what you read. This saying seems an undeniable truth when we picture the impact some books have created on the world. From cracking social boundaries to challenging centuries-old notions, books have played an inimitable role in different segments of human lives. So, which are the books that, along with being a good read, have influenced the way we think? Let’s have a look.

Science

These are the books that pioneered the fundamentals of science taught in schools today. These works left a great and probably a controversial impact on society at the time they were created.

On the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin

The Interpretation of Dreams, Sigmund Freud

Physica, Aristotle

Elements, Euclid

The Meaning of Relativity, Albert Einstein

A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking

Silent Spring, Rachel Carson

The Naked Ape, Desmond Morris

Against Method, Paul Feyerabend

The Gene, Siddhartha Mukherjee

What Evolution is, Ernst Mayr

For years, these books are inspiring science enthusiasts to learn newer elements of the universe. That makes it intelligible how millions of students travel abroad to acquire education and stand on the shoulder of giants like Einstein.

Society

Intriguing fiction or rattling real-life stories, many texts have left an unraveling effect on peoples’ views. These books have captured some climactic moments of history and transformed social practices.

The Analects, Confucius

The Republic, Plato

Orientalism, Edward Said

The Diary of a Young Girl, Anne Frank

The Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir

The Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe

A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Mary Wollstonecraft

The Prince, Niccolo Machiavelli

Native Son, Richard Wright

The Rights of Man, Thomas Paine

Philosophy

Nothing is absolute in philosophy. While pondering over never-ending questions and theories of the universe, dig into the minds of great philosophers of all time through these books.

The Nichomachean Ethics, Aristotle

On Liberty, John Stuart Mill

A Treatise of Human Nature, David Hume

The Discourses, Epictetus

Naming and Necessity, Saul Kripke

The Art of Happiness, Dalai Lama

Letters from a Stoic, Seneca

Beyond Good & Evil, Friedrich Nietzsche

Meditation of First Philosophy, René Descartes

Critique of Pure Reason, Immanuel Kant

Reasons and Persons, Derek Parfit

Being and Nothingness, Jean-Paul Sartre

Confessions, St. Augustine

Apology, Plato

Literature

With insightful lines and epic characters, these books in literature offer us undeniable elements to remember for a lifetime.

The Complete Works, William Shakespeare

1984, George Orwell

In Search of Lost Time, Marcel Proust

War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy

The Iliad and The Odyssey, Homer

The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer

Beloved, Toni Morrison

One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez

The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien

The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde

In a Free State, V. S. Naipaul

I, Claudius, Robert Graves

To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee

Chronicles of Narnia, CS Lewis

All these books have stood the test of time while telling the stories that needed to be told. Authors’ backgrounds and personal experiences influenced many of these works. And did we mention many authors on the list were actually the celebrated alumni from Oxford University? So, if you are aspiring to change the world through words, Oxford maybe your ideal study abroad destination, where you can learn what influenced these writers to create such timeless compilations of human intellects.

Source

[ndtcjamaica]

Part 1: In Tribute to Reggae Month

The use of reggae music by choreographers of the National Dance Theatre Company (NDTC) is as old as the music itself. The NDTC, which was founded in 1962 before the flowering of reggae, grew up with the music in its progress from ska to rock steady through to its present manifestation.

Back in 1972, Tommy Pinnock created Desperate Silences, a work which drew on the music of Burning Spear, largely to provide ambiance for the piece, which caught the anguish and dread reality of Kingston inner-city.

Original Dancers (Desperate Silences): Madge Broderick, Monica McGowan, Audley Butler, Tony Wilson, Thomas Pinnock

Three years prior Pinnock’s experimentations, Rex Nettleford explored the riddim in his All God’s Children (1969) using it for the downtown characters.

Original Dancers (All God’s Children): Yvonne daCosta/Noelle Chutkan (Hostess), Dorothy Fraser, Bridget Casserley, Mavis Stoppi, Andrea Anderson, Barbara Requa, Barry Moncrieffe, Bert Rose, Audley Butler (Uptowners); Dorothy Sanguinetti, Jean Binns, Fredericka Byfield, Tommy Pinnock, Noel Hall, Jackie Guy (Downtowners); Beverly Kitson, Gertrude Sherwood Joyce Campbell Cheryl Ryman, Dennis Scott (Spirits of the Weed)

By 1973, reggae was in full swing, and the NDTC adopted to the challenge. Rex Nettleford’s Street People (1973) mixed Desmond Dekker’s “Poor Me, Israelites” with Ernie Smith’s “Ben Dung”. The work portrays scenes from the life in the streets of urban Kingston.

Original Dancers (Street People): Jackie Guy (Sufferer); Yvonne Ffrench/Marylin Sanguinetti (Madam Bag-and Pan); Fitzroy Hunt (Bredda Man); Audley Butler (Mr, S-90); Bridget Spaulding, Pansy Hassan (Ladies of the Night); Jean Binns (The Unsaved Girl); Joyce Campbell (Madam Saviour)

In 1974, Nettleford created Tribute to Cliff, a work dedicated to Jamaican composer and singer, Jimmy Cliff. The music which inspired the work were “Price of Peace”, “On My Life”, “Sitting in Limbo”, and “Many Rivers To Cross”.

Original Dancers (Tribute to Cliff): Bridget Spaulding, Pansy Hassan, Monica McGowan, Andrea Nash, Melanie Graham, Patsy Ricketts, Judith Pennant, Neil Summers, Noelle Chutkan, Bert Rose, Barry Moncrieffe, Jackie Guy, Tony Wilson

Reggae artists who have provided much musical inspiration in the mid 1970′s included Bob Marley for the critically acclaimed Court of Jah (1975) choreographed by Rex Nettleford and Toots Hibbert‘s compositions for Backlash (1975) also created by Nettleford.

Marley’s “Rebel Music”, “No Woman No Cry” and “Suh Jah Seh” provided the score for Court of Jah. The work won critical acclaim when the NDTC appeared at City Center in New York and later when Clive Thompson Dance Company, based in Staten Island, performed the work at Lincoln Center, NY.

Backlash utilised “What A Bam Bam” and Toots’ “Christmas Song”. The programme note read: 

The gaolers and the gaoled are really all prisoners together. So out of agony of repression and brutality come protest, violence even madness but also individual compassion and hope for redemption...

Original Dancers (Backlash): Rex Nettleford/Michael Richardson, Barry Moncrieffe, Bert Rose, Jackie Guy, Neil Summers, Fitzroy Hunte, Michael Binns, Calvin McDonald, Tony Wilson (as boy with the knife), Noelle Chutkan (Chief Visitor), Joyce Campbell, Barbara Requa, Pansy Hassan, Madge Broderick, Cheryl Ryman, Dorothy Sanguinetti, Gertrude Sherwood, Judy Cunningham, Yvonne Ffrench, Patsy Ricketts, Bridget Spaulding, Monica McGowan, Jean Binns, Melanie Graham, Sandra McLeod, Judith Pennant, Denise Francis, Alison Symes, Pauline Khan

In 1981, Rex Nettleford turned to Marley’s music “Work” and “Redemption Song” for the dance-satire Rockstone Debate. The work appeared in four movements:

(i) Parliament

(ii) The Stonebreakers

(iii) Redemption

(iv) Hope

Original Dancers (Rockstone Debate): Joyce Campbell, Melanie Graham, Pansy Hassan, Monica McGowan, Sandra Minott, Arlene Richards, Alison Symes, Alaine Grant, Gabrielle Harban, Judith Pennant, Cheryl Ryman, Barry Moncrieffe, Jackie Guy, Samuel Bailey, Duran Hylton, Fitzroy Hunt, Oswald Blackwood, Carson Cumberbatch, Christopher Morrison, Glen Dhyll

By 1984, Rex Nettleford’s Vibrations had gone full throttle in the rhythms, sounds, and sensibility of the reggae universe. The work drew on the music from Ya Ya — “Hold Fast”, R. Bromfield and Franklyn — “Namibia”, Gregory Isaac's — “Cool Down The Dub” and Papa Levi “Mi God Mi King”.

Original Dancers (Vibrations): Joyce Campbell, Melanie Graham, Judith Pennant, Monica McGowan, Alaine Grant, Sandra Minott, Jacquie Smith, Gabrielle Harban, Arlene Richards, Alison Symes, Denise Robinson, Judy Wedderburn, Carole Murdoch, Paula Monroe, Monica Potts-Lawrence, Sita Dixon, Tony Wilson, Adrian Fletcher, Fitroy Hunt, Christopher Morrison, Delroy Rose, Glenford Brown, Dwight Lee Eisenhower Williams, Monty Williams

The next major dance-work by the National Dance Theatre Company (NDTC) that utilised reggae music was Children of Mosiah (1987). The work of Bob Marley and Jimmy Cliff dominated the piece, but the choreographer saw others like Burning Spear, Peter Tosh and Mutabaruka. Nettleford’s Children of Mosiah paid tribute to the Rt. Excellent Marcus Mosiah Garvey, and was presented on the Hundredth Anniversary of his birth.

Original Dancers (Children of Mosiah): Joyce Campbell, Monica McGowan, Melanie Graham, Judith Pennant, Alison Symes, Denise Robinson, Sandra Minott, Arlene Richards, Jacquie Smith, Judith Wedderburn, Alaine Grant, Carol Murdock, MoniKa Lawrence, Paula Monroe, Sita Littlewood, Barry Moncrieffe (Narrator), Tony Wilson, Adrian Fletcher, Christopher Morrison, Deroi Rose, Mark Ramsay, Eisenhower Williams, Glen Brown

[xaz-fr]

30 Day Dragon Share Challenge!

Day 9: Share your favorite Wind dragons

WIND! My home! My flight. My fave! I have SO many wind dragons. I kept it to 7 even tho all my Wind dragons are my faves lols.

Desmond! My boy. My sweet G1 primal born the day after Christmas and given to me by my sweet billy boy @deadpool-scar-bro. He’s the son (tho neither of them will admit it bc they’re stupid) of Altair and Malik and Altair’s paladin.

Nadalin is the daughter of the Greenhouse Mistress and wife to the high cleric of Tso Ke. She really wants to live somewhere with trees. She’s also the recreation of my first progen.

Nari is my birthday G1 and I love her so much ;o; She’s also the wife and priest of the god Alshain. Always tells Malik off about making Altair talk to his twin sister.

Spayar, the high cleric of Tarazed. He always goes out into the Cloud Banks to fight monsters and comes back all fucked up to have his husband yell at him about being more careful even as he tends to his wounds. He might do that on purpose.

Newt is my very special girl of my @golden-lionsnake

Layali is my best girl! My custom progen who when I first made her was RUINED by thistle tert. And then like a week later capsule came out and I knew peace in life. She’s the high cleric of Bezek.

Najair is a cleric of Bezek and Layali’s husband. He helps her run the temple and wrangles their children.

[kimabutch]

JLCR: instrumental track edition

Just hit another milestone on the JLCR playlist (1250 songs!) so I’m doing another mini-playlist, this time focussing on instrumental songs for locations and specific scenes. 

I’ve organized the playlist by campaign and then by order within the campaign. Because Critical Role gives us stunning scenes every single episode, I’ve only been able to include a fraction of my favourites, usually chosen because I had a specific song in mind. I’ve also quoted parts of Matt’s descriptions, so that this is also an ode to his beautiful narration.

This playlist has got a little bit of everything: folk/trad, lo-fi beats, post-rock, soundtrack, and classical. I hope you enjoy!

Campaign 1

Whitestone, Briarwood Arc

The Night King, Ramin Djawadi (from Game of Thrones, Season 8)

“As you get close enough to start scanning over details, you can see that a lot of the buildings appear to be closed or empty. There are people working in the fields. As you make your way to the centre of the town, there is a town square. There is a tree there, a very large, old tree that is twisted, with all these various gnarled branches that reach out. You recall Desmond mentioning something called the Sun Tree that is the centrepiece of this area. And you get a view enough of the tree to see that there are eight humanoid bodies of varying ages swinging from it.” (e28)

Bolts of lightning are coming down from the storm in the distance, too, as the thunderstorm itself is reaching more of a fervoured pace, the rain itself getting harder and harder on you guys. So, with that, you can see, looking over your shoulder on the other side of this wall another bit of skeletal horde is starting to come down one of the nearby intersections. (e32)

Okay, okay, I know this is a little too on-point: this song was literally written about fighting an undead army in and around a castle. But when I listen to this song and close my eyes, I can imagine a dozen scenes from the Briarwood arc, played out perfectly in my head. And Ramin Djawadi is just a fantastic composer.

The Flute Duels in The Diamond Nest

The Ballroom Set, Jean-Michel Veillon

“So you pull out your flute and other gnomish girl with her flute as well gives you a look, and you guys start weaving together this flute duel, almost like Flight of the Bumblebees but two conflicting sides. As you guys begin to build this perpetual symphony of — it’s almost jazz flute almost in this improvisational feel to it. The drums build, you can see Dr. Dranzel is tapping his foot to it and he gets this really fast fiddle sound out of a classic violin, the whole room begins to gather around and cheer. [...] 

Eyes locked, tapping your feet heavily against the actual wood to the table. The rhythmic pounding of your feet and the drums — because the entire room is now also slamming their tables in with it as the music builds and builds until eventually you both take one deep breath and go for that same sustained note a second time. She’s challenging you at the game she lost last time, and the two of you both swell into this cacophonous spray of music that hits this one final note.” (e37)

As a flute player of 14+ years with a strong interest in traditional music, I can fairly confidently say that a flute duel would be unlikely to end on a very long note, because flutes sound like shit when you start to lose air, which is usually after only a few seconds — flutes are the least air-efficient of all wind instruments, unless you can circular breathe, in which case it’s a moot point. 

That being said, I love this scene, and I’ve chosen a song by one of my favourite trad flutists for it, Jean-Michel Veillon. He’s a master of Breton and Irish flute, both of which contain improvisational elements that you can hear in this mind-numbingly fast piece. While it has none of Dr Dranzel’s fiddle in it, there’s only one flute, and it doesn’t end on a particularly long note, it’s definitely a crowd-pleaser that would both provide a distraction for a stealthing party and challenge a long-lost daughter to keep up. 

Pyrah, Destroyed

Study for Player Piano (II), Ólafur Arnalds

“Your vision crests the mountain and steps into the valley of broken, blackened shale to the ever-burning forest. As you come upon it, you recall where the Fire Ashari village was and where you were greeted before and given your trials. Where there is now nothing but sundered, broken wood, tents, destroyed bodies burned and charred and curled up in horrible ever-gasping pain. 

The forest itself is flattened from the inside out, like a blast from the centre of it just exploded outward, the trees all bent and snapped at the base, and in the centre, where there once was that small pool of molten lava that you created the portal through and stepped into the elemental plane, there is a large, ominous, flickering gash between the planes that is roughly 30 to 40 feet in width and height that is pulsing as fire and magma pours out of it. You can see wandering imps and elementals and various entities slowly peeking out and escaping and wandering throughout the mountain tops. From what you can see, there are no signs of any survivors.” (e40)

The entire Chroma Conclave attack is emotionally harrowing but Matt’s description of (and Marisha’s reaction to) Pyrah’s destruction just kills me. This piece gives off such a horrified, mournful mood to it, and the glittering piano throughout makes me think of falling ashes. 

Glintshore Island

Hydrological Story, Kishi Bashi (from the Fourth Phase)

“As you begin to grow closer to the island, you see, as it begins to come more into form, there is a singular mountain peak that’s shifted mostly to the western side. It’s not a super peak. It’s a gradual point. You can see a little bit of a brush-like detail of the jungle that you had heard mentioned before. He begins to bring you up towards the southern shore of the island. At this point of perspective, the sunlight that’s hitting the island is causing a glittery shift of thousands of points of light across the beach shoreline, deep into where the blackened jungle tree line is. It’s beautiful. It’s a very strange and awe-inspiring sight, to be such a small little forgotten part of the land and to look so pretty from this distance.

The closer you get, the beauty begins to fade as you see the black beaches. You can see the landscape is barren and broken, aside from the ashen grey and black jungle plants and trees that have been left there, dead, for an extended period of time. The mountain itself, the rock itself going from black to a ruddy red and brown colour. The sands themselves and the glass surface across the eastern shore that tends to reach out, almost like a mouth of a creature, is rough and varied in topography” (e67).

Glintshore has fascinated me from the moment I heard its description — what a setting for one of the most intense fights of all of campaign 1, and the arguable emotional climax of Percy’s character arc. I think this piece perfectly captures a sense of beauty, strangeness, menace, and anticipation. 

The Birth Heart

Aspen Trees, Danny Norbury

“As you enter the Birth Heart, it’s an archway of branches and trees that knit into each other and wrap around as you step in. You can see what looks like a heavy cluster of forest is really just an outside row of trees that are all intertwined. The inside is open with the occasional stalk of tree that blossoms up into the higher portion. [...] 

This is the centre of the Birth Heart. And within there are a number of lanterns that are hung from the branches all throughout that all have their own yellowish fairy glow within each point. They’re all through the inside at different levels. It’s just hundreds and hundreds of these yellow glowing lights that are hooked up into the boughs ahead. There are a number of people walking off the path, just through the soft mulch wood and dying pine soft floor of the canopy, all wearing similar robes of greens and yellows, golds and whites” (e84).

The description of the Birth Heart is among my favourites in all of Critical Role; if I had to live anywhere in Exandria, it would for sure be the Birth Heart (despite Ashley’s misgivings about what Senokir’s wife’s ashes might be doing to the place...) This song, for me, evokes the feeling of being surrounded by nature and totally at peace. 

Ioun’s Test

Harbinger, Mike Oldfield

“Clutching the Ioun stone, as you sing this song, the stone glows ever so faintly in your hand and you glance up and you can see about ten of the various spectral librarians that are wandering have stopped and they’re all looking at you. Seemingly temporarily distracted or entranced by the song. [...] As you continue to sing, with each beat, each name that’s mentioned that deals with the Calamity and the Chained Oblivion, you watch as their pace seems to quicken a bit, and then as the singing slows they begin to slow down again. [...] 

They continue to push at a brisk pace and you watch as other of the spectral librarians begin to gather into this group and is now a cluster of about 25 of them that are snaking around these bookcases and traveling at a pretty fair pace. Which once was walking pace, and then went to a jogging pace, they’re now darting through. And they’re leading you quickly away from the centre of the library where everyone else seems to be clustered. So the two of you are following and swooshing behind them, you’re going over and around bookcases. Some of the bookcases you see have giant holes in the centre and you can dart through and dive past. The speed is increasing to the point where the wind is starting to kick up in your hair and you’re amazed at the speed of these librarians and the fact that they’re being driven by your very song, and also the fact that you have no idea how far away the rest of your friends are in this library, and this library seems to just go on and on and on” (e105).

The imagery of Scanlan conducting the spectres with Mythcarver and his singing, desperately holding onto Vex as she maneuvers her way perfectly through eternal bookshelves — it’s just too much. I love it. This song feels celestial and ethereal, appropriate to Ioun’s realm, but conveys the excitement, urgency, and movement of the scene — with a large orchestral sound that surrounds you.

Whitestone’s Epilogue

Coronation March, Edward Elgar (performed by George Hurst & the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra)

Cassandra, as a note by the way. She’s had a few pretty difficult brushes with death and the experiences definitely left a mark on her. Within the year following the battle with Vecna, she begins to remind you of yourself at a very dark time. Recognizing that, you come to her and help pull her from a dangerous edge of lashing out at the place she’s worked so hard to build. You help her realize that this guilt she’s been holding as being a tool of manipulation, the times that she has been is not her fault, and used against the ones she loves. In that determination to no longer be a tool for others to use, she asks Vex to teach her and train her. To not just be the lady beacon of Whitestone, but also join in as one of its protectors” (e115).

This is among my favourite pieces of classical music ever. The opening theme — melancholic but stately — reminds me particularly of Cassandra. No matter how much time passes, the halls of Whitestone will always bring some memories of the years she was a captive in her own home. However, there is something of hope in it, too, and the transition into a major theme reminds me in particular of Vex and Percy’s devotion to their city, and of the healing that Cassandra and Percy might find together. Also big fancy balls. 

Campaign 2

The Evening Nip

Passage, linanthem 

“Eventually, you hear some voices and some laughter, and a clink of glasses. As you curve down, the light gets brighter from around the corner, until suddenly you look into a stone-set subterranean tavern. From floor to ceiling, it’s about 20 feet tall. You can see there are two balconies that overlook it from the left side, and one that’s barely visible around the corner, as the room opens up to the right of you.” (e13)

You can see in the far back right corner of the chamber there is a long, dark mahogany well-carved table. [...] Sitting feet crossed up on the table in a nice, long deep-blue coat, leather-gloved hands, light teal skin, jet-black hair that’s long, just past the shoulders, a widow’s peak in the centre, a bit of a dark goatee, male figure standing there, hands entwined and crossed, looking at you from across the way with a curious grin” (e14).

Shouldn’t the Evening Nip be playing medieval tavern music? Probably, but I think sleazy, jazzy beats fit the Gentleman perfectly. You can almost hear his skin dripping.

The Underground Laboratory

I Don’t Think About You Anymore But, I Don’t Think About You Anyless, Hungry Ghosts

“Each couple of splashing sounds that hit as the oars hit the water and the occasional crack of the water against the brook or a rock in the centre, you being to maneuver your way through this dark tunnel with just the low light that you’ve been applying. It gets colder and colder the further down the tunnel you go and while it is moist, you begin to see your breath just in general this low in the ground. [...]

The torchlight extends into the chamber, and you can see a little more now. The two side chambers are almost pill-shaped. They’re rounded at each side, and they’re enclosed, but open into the center chamber. At each of these rounded edges, as you step inside and glance to the right and left, you can see cage-like contraptions: iron domes that are very tight-knit, dark iron rusted metal. They’re on the edges of each side. You see load-bearing pillars in the center of the chamber to the right and left, and cold braziers behind those against the walls: little domed pieces of stone that once contained flame for light. Across the way you can see two tables with chairs, a bookcase” (e15).

This is the song that’s running through my head anytime the Mighty Nein are going to a remotely spooky place. And can’t you imagine some drips and metal bar squeaks superimposed over this track to make it the perfect spooky-underground-lab track?

The Blooming Grove 

Owl Song, Cosmo Sheldrake

“There is something unnatural, or at least magical, that maintains this little pocket of untouched paradise. There you can see small pools, bits of bog where the soft green and browns of compost fall into green, thick, algae-covered bits of water. You can see dozens and dozens of stone tablets, about a foot to two feet high, with bits of script across them, too far to see, that have partially fallen or leaning. [...] 

As the light passes between the small breaks in the tree canopies, the green comes to light with colour, numerous types of colour. A rainbow of flowers, of pigments you’ve never really seen before, begin to emerge as the light hits it. Nearly every inch of these gravesites contain a smattering scatter of rainbow colors across petal and stame.” (e28).

I have so much love in my heart for the Blooming Grove, and Caduceus’s introduction — it’s my favourite example of the trope that @night-filled-mountain so beautifully described once: "The tension breaks and everyone is so incredibly tender.” Their arrival, through thorns, to a paradise and a new ally, gave me a feeling of peace and relief that I’ve rarely felt in fiction. I think this song just really gets to the heart of the Blooming Grove: peaceful, though strange, and surrounded by mysterious circumstances.

The beaches of Nicodranus

another perspective, Idealism

“Looking past the afternoon sun at this vantage point especially, you can see it dancing across the distant horizon shore like hundreds of little glistening flecks of glass. The shore’s sound itself is very soothing as you approach and pull up your pants and take off your boots to begin to step into the soft sand. [...] 

As you guys gather your things, dusk has set in, and now the sky shifts from light blue to a deep blue and purple on the eastern side as the oranges, reds, yellows, and pinks begin to overtake the western side of the skyline” (e33).

“As you gather in the mid-afternoon here in Nicodranas, you walk your way towards the ocean side of the port, finding the lengths of the city that lead to the familiar beaches where you once had yourself a stroll, a soak and a battle with a crab. [...] Beautiful open sky. The warm sun hitting you up through your clothes. You can see now Yeza and Luke, both, marvelling at the sight before Luke just goes running off into the water” (e71).

Every time the Mighty Nein come to Nicodranas, I know we’re in for a treat with Matt’s descriptions. Their beach day marked a peaceful moment before the pirate arc, while their return before this current arc allowed them to breathe after Yasha... leaving, and for Nott to have some much-needed beach conversations. This peaceful lo-fi track evokes that same sense of calm and nostalgia that I get from those episodes, and in particular makes me think of, perhaps, a quiet moment between Nott and Yeza, watching a Nicodranas sunset. 

Darktow

Under Ceilidh Pressure, Coìg

“This island, unlike the jungle islands that you’ve come across and a vast majority of the Swavain Islands here off the Menagerie Coast, is mostly rock and cliff. In fact, from what you can see, most of this island from this perspective is jagged cliff face and probably a few hundred feet up is where the island’s even surface even begins. At the base around this cliff face you can see a scattered web of a shipyard, just tangled docks that maneuver around containing dozens and dozens of ships. Across that you see numerous torches that mark various intersections where they all meet, and built into the base of this cliff face, you see a number of buildings and windows, all slowly being lit as the night grows darker and darker. This mass of natural-looking, hive-like pirate city there stands before you. Welcome to Darktow” (e41).

You guys walk out into the cold night air. The heavy mist has fallen across Darktow and you can barely see beyond the outskirts of the city where the ocean begins. You can still hear the waters coming in against the rocks on the outside of the island, but you cannot actually see where the water connects. Beyond that, you can see the outline of the ship masts that are set at the end of the shipyard that are vanishing into the mist that surround you” (e42).

Wow, Darktow sure was cool — wouldn’t it have been nice if they’d stayed there for more than 24 hours? Either way, though, this Cape Breton folk band’s song gives me strong pirate-town-at-night vibes, and the part where it picks up in the middle reminds me especially of their chaotic heist on the boat.

Felderwin

Elégie in C Minor, Gabriel Fauré (performed by Jacqueline du Pré)

“As you come upon the outside of Felderwin, which is built not too far from the Eistus River, you can already see there are a number of buildings burned and blackened on the opposite end of the fields. The fields are on the northern side of the city. On the southeastern side, there's a section of the town that appears to have burned or burnt down to varying degrees” (e48). 

“You make your way past the outskirts and you can see the river itself cruising right along. It would be a beautiful landscape if there wasn't this intensity of emotion and the distant haze of long-greyed smoke that still hangs over the vicinity of the partially burned farmlands. Nevertheless, Nott leads you over towards one of the shaded banks under a few trees and you come to a stop” (e49).

An elegy seemed like a good choice for Nott’s return to Felderwin, both for her mourning her (presumed dead) husband and for her recounting the details of her death. The happy, nostalgic middle theme makes me think of Nott’s happier memories in Felderwin, and in particular her description of coming to the river with Yeza. And Jacqueline du Pre’s gorgeous, evocative cello playing makes my heart hurt. 

Rosohna

La Cathédrale engloutie, Claude Debussy (performed by Martin Jones)

“As he turns, you can now see before you, throughout the vicinity, this beautiful courtyard of subtle grey and green bushes and trees. You see that you're on a hill. The centre of the city seems to be on some sort of hilltop and looking down, you can see the perimeter wall, made of a dull grey with a purplish-tint type stone and across the crest of it, you see these green lanterns that alight with this soft, green glow. 

Beyond that, beyond the barricades, your vision stretches out to see the entirety, it seems, of Rosohna, this incredible, vast metropolis, alit with thousands of the same little, green lantern glows. You see stone and metal and dark clay making up all the structures in various sizes and shapes, some of which have been repurposed ruins of old that have been built upon and refurbished, some of which, at least closer to the centre, appear to be extensions of an elvish, domicile design that is familiar yet unfamiliar, in some ways slender and jagged, but beautiful and sleek. Then, beyond that, you can see extending wards of the city that tend to be a little more patchwork and scattered. You can see distant bonfires that are lit in some of the streets, giving distinct orange glows that break up the rest of the green, sparkling lights that make up the entirety of your vision. It's beautiful.” (e57)

Matt’s description of Rosohna took my breath away: such a monumental city in a place that the characters had been told was barely “civilized.” This piano prelude captures, for me, the idea of walking up that hill and gradually, this enormous, dark, glittering, beautiful city sprawling before you. Musically, this song is built in parts on unusual scales, so that it gives me the sense of “familiar yet unfamiliar.”

And that’s a wrap! Thanks so much for reading and listening!

[oriscri]

saewoo boiis + pottermore

liam jeon

hogwarts house: ravenclaw ilvermorny house: horned serpent patronus: wild boar wand: maple wood, unicorn hair core, 13 3/4″, rigid flexibility

wild boar – skittish and aggressive when approached by strangers, these creatures aren’t so much mad as they are wanting others to be respectful of their personal space and peace. casters of this patronus are similarly wary of letting others into their inner circle and may act ferociously to suit.

i have often found that those chosen by maple wands are by nature travellers and explorers; they are not stay-at-home wands, and prefer ambition in their witch or wizard, otherwise their magic grows heavy and lacklustre. fresh challenges and regular changes of scene cause this wand to literally shine, burnishing itself as it grows, with its partner, in ability and status. this is a beautiful and desirable wood, and wand quality maple has been among the most costly for centuries. possession of a maple wand has long been a mark of status, because of its reputation as the wand of high achievers.

unicorn hair generally produces the most consistent magic, and is least subject to fluctuations and blockages. wands with unicorn cores are generally the most difficult to turn to the dark arts. they are the most faithful of all wands, and usually remain strongly attached to their first owner, irrespective of whether he or she was an accomplished witch or wizard. minor disadvantages of unicorn hair are that they do not make the most powerful wands (although the wand wood may compensate) and that they are prone to melancholy if seriously mishandled, meaning that the hair may ‘die’ and need replacing.

desmond seo

hogwarts house: slytherin ilvermorny house: thunderbird patronus: buzzard wand: ash wood, phoenix feather core, 12 3/4″, unyielding flexibility

buzzard – the term “buzzard” refers to many species of birds of prey but is often used to refer to those that feed on carrion. buzzards are fierce and opportunistic, often reaping the benefits from work others have done before them. they are unapologetic and band together with like-minded comrades to help one another with their goals. though they are not the prettiest of birds, they are respected and feared for always getting what they want.

the ash wand cleaves to its one true master and ought not to be passed on or gifted from the original owner, because it will lose power and skill. this tendency is extreme if the core is of unicorn. old superstitions regarding wands rarely bear close examination, but I find that the old rhyme regarding rowan, chestnut, ash and hazel wands (rowan gossips, chestnut drones, ash is stubborn, hazel moans) contains a small nugget of truth. those witches and wizards best suited to ash wands are not, in my experience, lightly swayed from their beliefs or purposes. however, the brash or over-confident witch or wizard, who often insists on trying wands of this prestigious wood, will be disappointed by its effects. the ideal owner may be stubborn, and will certainly be courageous, but never crass or arrogant.

phoenix feathers are capable of the greatest range of magic, though they may take longer than either unicorn or dragon cores to reveal this. they show the most initiative, sometimes acting of their own accord, a quality that many witches and wizards dislike. phoenix feather wands are always the pickiest when it comes to potential owners, for the creature from which they are taken is one of the most independent and detached in the world. these wands are the hardest to tame and to personalise, and their allegiance is usually hard won.

daniel jeong

hogwarts house: ravenclaw ilvermorny house: horned serpent patronus: capuchin monkey wand: laurel wood, dragon heartstring core, 13″, rigid flexibility

capuchin monkey – those who are capable of casting this bubbly and energetic creature may or may not take pleasure in knowing just how much they enjoy their comfort. give a capuchin an abundance of fresh fruit, others to interact with, and a stimulating environment, and watch its creativity and sense of adventure soar. beware, the absence of such creature comforts will quickly lead to quarrels, isolation, and an intolerance for others’ good moods.

it is said that a laurel wand cannot perform a dishonourable act, although in the quest for glory (a not uncommon goal for those best suited to these wands), i have known laurel wands perform powerful and sometimes lethal magic. laurel wands are sometimes called fickle, but this is unfair. the laurel wand seems unable to tolerate laziness in a possessor, and it is in such conditions that it is most easily and willingly won away. otherwise, it will cleave happily to its first match forever, and indeed has the unusual and engaging attribute of issuing a spontaneous lightning strike if another witch or wizard attempts to steal it.

as a rule, dragon heartstrings produce wands with the most power, and which are capable of the most flamboyant spells. dragon wands tend to learn more quickly than other types. while they can change allegiance if won from their original master, they always bond strongly with the current owner. the dragon wand tends to be easiest to turn to the dark arts, though it will not incline that way of its own accord. it is also the most prone of the three cores to accidents, being somewhat temperamental.

[xtruss]

Desmond Tutu

When Desmond Tutu Stood Up For the Rights of Palestinians, He Could Not Be Ignored

After visits to Israel and Palestine, Tutu used his moral authority to speak out and, despite abuse, refused to back down. He wanted liberation for everyone

— Chris McGreal | Thursday December 30, 2021

Desmond Tutu at a press conference in Geneva after Israel blocked his UN mission to Beit Hanun in 2006. Photograph: Salvatore Di Nolfi/EPA

Even amid the torrent of praise for the revered former archbishop Desmond Tutu in the days since his death, the anti-apartheid champion is not being universally mourned. Alan Dershowitz, the renowned US constitutional lawyer and ardent defender of Israel, took a moment to brand Tutu as “evil” and “the most influential antisemite of our time”.

“The world is mourning Bishop Tutu, who just died the other day. Can I remind the world that although he did some good things, a lot of good things on apartheid, the man was a rampant antisemite and bigot?” he told Fox News.

Dershowitz accused Tutu of minimising the Holocaust and of comparing Israel to Nazi Germany – an extreme interpretation of the former archbishop’s statements that takes some convolutions to reach.

But Tutu’s real crime in the eyes of Israel’s most unrelenting supporters was to liken its rule over the Palestinians to apartheid and then refuse to back off in the face of an onslaught of abuse. On his visits to Israel and Palestine, Tutu would have immediately recognised echoes of his homeland in the forced removals, the house demolitions, the humiliations of checkpoints and systems of control on movement, the confiscation of land for Jewish settlements, and the confining of Palestinians to blobs of territory, reminiscent of the Bantustan black homelands. Above all he saw one people controlling another who, like black South Africans until 1994, had little say in their governance.

Tutu was not alone in his view. Former US president Jimmy Carter drew similarly vitriolic accusations from Dershowitz and others when he published his bestselling book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, in 2006. But Tutu was harder to attack. He not only had the authority of a Nobel peace prize awarded for his courageous stand against white rule in South Africa but he knew apartheid when he saw it.

Nearly two decades ago Tutu told a conference in Boston: “I’ve been very deeply distressed in my visit to the Holy Land; it reminded me so much of what happened to us black people in South Africa.”

A few years later he was even more direct. “I know first-hand that Israel has created an apartheid reality within its borders and through its occupation. The parallels to my own beloved South Africa are painfully stark indeed,” he wrote in 2014 in a call for the Presbyterian general assembly in the US to back sanctions against Israel.

A figure of Tutu’s stature drawing parallels between a system constructed on racism and the reality of Israel’s domination of the Palestinians, and calling for boycotts to end it, alarmed the government in Israel. With the two-state solution moribund at best, Israel is faced with a growing movement that sees the conflict through the moral prism of civil rights and injustice – a framing that has historic resonance in the US in particular and has taken on additional significance in the age of Black Lives Matter.

While Tutu was critical of Palestinian attacks, his implicit likening of Israelis to white South Africans during apartheid challenged the Jewish state’s longstanding narrative to portray itself principally as a victim of Arab aggression and terrorism, and to exclude the part played by occupation and settlements in the conflict.

Others have made the charge, including a string of former Israeli cabinet ministers and officials who say they can no longer deny the reality that their country is practising a form of apartheid. Two former Israeli prime ministers, Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert, have drawn parallels with the old South Africa. But Tutu carried a moral authority wielded surpassed only by the man who epitomised the anti-apartheid struggle, Nelson Mandela.

Tutu justified the calls for a boycott of Israel in the Tel Aviv newspaper Haaretz. South Africa, he said, had extraordinary leaders at the time it mattered. “But what ultimately forced these leaders together around the negotiating table was the cocktail of persuasive, nonviolent tools that had been developed to isolate South Africa, economically, academically, culturally and psychologically,” he said.

The former archbishop knew that it would only happen if ordinary people mobilised, having witnessed considerable western collusion with apartheid. The US government listed the African National Congress as a terrorist organisation while backing white South Africa’s war in Angola. Margaret Thatcher was an ardent opponent of sanctions against the apartheid regime.

Separately, Tutu warned that it was not possible to be a neutral bystander.

“Those who turn a blind eye to injustice actually perpetuate injustice. If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor,” he said.

All of this earned Tutu a particular ire from some of Israel’s defenders. The Anti-Defamation League accused him of antisemitism over his boycott call. Others dug into the distant past and latched on to a call Tutu made for forgiveness during a visit to Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem memorial for Europe’s murdered Jews in 1989. “We pray for those who made it happen, help us to forgive them and help us so that we in our turn will not make others suffer,” he said.

Dershowitz characteristically gave Tutu’s call the most extreme interpretation by describing it as having “demanded that Jews forgive the Nazis for killing them”. In reality, Tutu consistently sought to reassure Jewish communities around the world that he understood their history and their concerns, but he saw no reason not to continue calling the occupation as he saw it.

The former archbishop would have been pleased that others increasingly embraced his perspective. This year, Human Rights Watch in the US and Israel’s most prominent human rights group, B’Tselem, published groundbreaking reports describing Israel’s domination of the Palestinians as apartheid.

But ultimately Tutu’s intent was not to condemn. His calls for forgiveness fitted with his belief that it is an essential step toward justice and peace – a view central to his chairing of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Tutu saw how everyone was liberated, white people included, when apartheid ended in South Africa. He wanted Israelis to liberate themselves from the burden of apartheid too.

— Chris McGreal is the former Guardian correspondent in Jerusalem and Johannesburg

[leonbloder]

Forgiven to Forgive

Let me share a little secret with you... when I write these Devos, most of the time I am writing them to myself before I even think about the fact that hundreds of you will read them.  

I often share my own struggles, wrestle with my own questions, get vulnerable, show anger, talk about grief and depression, and anxiety...  not so anyone will think that I am brave, but because I don't know any other way to do this.  

Along the way, I've discovered that there are more than a few others who tend to share some of the same struggles I'm describing as I write.  We're all connected, after all.  It's good to know we're not alone.

Out of all of the topics I write about, the one that seems to land the hardest on most of us is the topic of forgiveness.  

Quite honestly, the feelings I feel when it comes to the idea of forgiving myself and others, are marked with angst, dread, anger, frustration and sorrow.  Oh, and mix some shame up in there, and we've probably got it just right.

For most of us, our thoughts and feelings about forgiveness are distorted by a very destructive and insidious belief:  We don't really find ourselves worthy of forgiveness, which makes it far more difficult to extend it to others.  

It also makes it much more challenging to embrace God's grace for us as well, which then sends us hurtling down a path of shame, anger, and eventually bitterness.  

Some time ago, I read an excellent quote by Bishop Desmond Tutu about forgiveness, and I wrote it down to think about it more deeply.  It took a while to understand it, but I'd like to share what I've learned.  First the quote:

I  would like to share with you two simple truths:  there is nothing that cannot be forgiven, and there is no one undeserving of forgiveness.  When you can see and understand that we are all bound to one another—whether by birth, by circumstance, or simply by our shared humanity—then you will know this to be true.  

If you are like me, when you first read this quote, you pushed back against it a bit because you probably started thinking about all of the people throughout history who did unforgivable things.  

Then you let your thoughts touch on the people in your own life who have wounded you.  And then you decided that you didn't really like the quote all that much even though you suspected it might be true.

Trust me, I did the same thing.  

So forget about all of those people on your list of unforgivable people just for a moment.  I want you to read this quote as if it's been written about you.  

"...there is nothing that you have done that cannot be forgiven, and you are never undeserving of forgiveness."  

Start with this as you ponder the challenges of forgiveness.  Instead of qualifying other people as to whether they deserve forgiveness, focus on yourself.  

Think about all of the ways you have beaten yourself up in the past, felt shame over things that you have done, or that have been done to you.  Consider the ways that you may be withholding forgiveness from yourself.  

Because before you can begin the process of learning to forgive others, you have to learn to forgive yourself and more importantly to see that yourself as a cherished, adored, and forgiven child of God.  

Look yourself in the mirror today with this in mind, and say this short prayer/mantra as you do:

I forgive you.  You are forgiven to forgive.  So forgive and be set free to live.  

May it be so for you today and every day from this day.  And may the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you now and always. Amen.