#a virtuoso in whatever he chooses to do

[sobeautifullyobsessed]

Ever since I read The Language of Love, I think of Defender when I come across anything Italian. I heard a piece of an opera and as soon as I heard the guy sing, I thought of Defender. All through the song I kept imagining scenarios where he sings (Maybe it’s because I was a choir girl, but the idea makes my cheeks all rosy). Now whenever I go to reread it, I think of Opera. From Defender, to Italian, to Opera, back to him… the circle is complete 💞

Ohmygosh ~ this makes me soooooo happy❣️

And if we wish for it hard enough, do you think I could find a way to fic it? Or perhaps some Artist out there might take up the idea. Can't you just hear his rich baritone singing something from The Marriage of Figaro or The Magic Flute? Deliziosa!

For now, though, we'll have to be satisfied with

*sighs longingly*

...while we imagine his commanding stage presence. And perhaps his voice going low as he murmurs sweet Italian nothings in our ear.

[paradisepoisoned]

Okay I need to ask... what the hell is 💊💒💊The Ecstasy of our Virgin Mother Saint Mandy 💊💒💊 ???

*Rafiki voice* : It is time.

*CUE VIOLENT KAZOO MUSIC*

The Ecstasy of Our Virgin Mother Saint Mandy is my Eldritch baby, a grotesque abomination, and my first attempt at writing anything seriously. I will not say much as I’m hoping to post it by the end of November, but I will say It's a Mello/Near fanfic analyzing their relationship from wammy's till Kira's death. I will also say that if you plan to read it, prepare to be abandoned and forsaken by God just as these orphans have.

Enjoy the opening under the cut and don't be shy lemme know what you think even if you hate it I guess lolll💒

As so the old proverb goes…

“For want of a nail the shoe was lost.

For want of the shoe the horse was lost.

For want of a horse the rider was lost.

For want of a rider the message was lost.

For want of a message the battle was lost.

For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.

And all for the want of a nail.”

_________________________________________

Proverbially enough, all his life, Near has wanted for nothing. It's not that he’s never been hungry or in need but rather he is simply content without. Near can do without. Hunger is a need, it's biological; but want— want is a desire, a want is a wish and wishes to Near are nothing but storybook nonsense and consequently a waste of time.

Wanting is a choice, a choice that unavoidably leads to demise. Want breeds attachment, attachment breeds love and with love comes blindness,weakness, and vulnerability. All things Near would happily rather choose to live without. 

If wanting is a choice and if Near ever had a choice in anything at all, Near would—

Well, …quite frankly, Near would rather choose to starve and die.

But Near never had a choice; —in any of this. Which is fine because Near knows how to do without.

Near can do without choices. He can do without hobbies and interests. He can do without having dreams or true aspirations. Near can do without having friends or family. He can do without comforting conversations and the warmth of someone’s company. He can do without knowing what his mother’s embrace would feel like, without knowing what they might have had in common, —without knowing if she ever loved him. 

Near can do without love. Near doesnt want love. He doesn't want any of these things because none of these things make a good detective and Near is a rational person and there is no rationality in wanting what you can’t have. 

It’s sound enough logic Near thinks, it's just unfortunate that sound logic does nothing to combat the irony of the number one person on top of the ‘Things Near Can Never Have’ list, was blessed with the God given hands of a virtuoso that liked to thrum and pluck the delicate, nylon, thin, threaded cords holding together all the seraphim-disguised boy’s principles of logic and sanity.

 Mello never needed the permission of logic. Mello has never had a problem doing whatever he wants and while it's always elusive what the blonde boy really wants, the sadistic musician nonetheless plays him like a theremin. Without even touching him he seizes control of the humming neurons inside the young orphan’s brain, commanding full attention just being in the room and sends Near’s brain humming. conducting and coercing out Philharmonic Orchestra grade symphonies that drown out all sound of rational thought. 

But what’s far worse however is when those sunlight kissed hands do touch his moonlight cursed body, they play him as steady, knowing, fingers on harp strings do. He plays him patiently and determined, until the poisoning devotion in every bite and bruise and kiss has Near gasping and writhing, singing out of key like a small wounded animal in the woods, bleeding to death in the middle of the night. 

He plays him until his heartbeat is a loud ticking metronome, until he forgets he’s breathing on his own. He plays with him until all forty seven harp strings of Near’s self restraint snap from the tension. He plays with him until he breaks. 

If he was truly a rational person he would push Mello away. He would stop. He should stop. He needs to stop…

He feebly clutches at the rosary around the older boy’s neck out of instinct and pulls him down closer for another desperate kiss instead. Near quietly reminds himself he wants for nothing.

[justyoureverydaytwstsimp]

Saw u reblogged an ask game and. Haven't interacted w/ u in a hot minute so I wanted to drop something in for ur Yuus hehe!

🐉 for all, but 💯 for Mayuu and 🎻 for Anro (sry Annie but I didn't see any that stuck out to me for her. If u wanted to tho maybe 👨‍👨‍👦(or whatever the right family emoji is) for her?

Feel free to pick n choose if u don't wanna do all of these tho!!!

Anon, you just made my day. Like srsly.

Anyways!! Ask game!!

💯 HUNDRED POINTS SYMBOL — share three random facts about your oc that others may not know.

Mayuu was a writer, back in her world. She had hundreds of worlds at her fingertips, dozen of OCs with semi-sad backstories. Before twst, she was such a creative girl. Always singing, always smiling. Nowadays though...I haven't seen her smile.

She has a Trey plushie back home. It was a gift from her friends. They had a running gag, gifting her Trey Clover themed items, even though she has insisted that he wasn't her favorite!! Never mind that she coded a visual novel of Trey or owns a key chain of him. Mayuu missed those times, where she could just laugh with her friends, not a single care in the world.

Mayuu is from the Phillipines! Southeast Asian!! Her favorite snack is boiled duck embryo (balut)!! Actually, it's not her fav, but it's soon good!! Trust me, guys/j.

🎻 VIOLIN — does your oc play any instruments? what is their skill level (beginner/intermediate/advanced/virtuoso/etc)?

That one barbie movie said "Voice" was an instrument!! Anro would definitely shout that, her olive cheeks turning a shade darker. Though, to be honest, Anro isn't that skilled with her voice. Her skill level is Intermediate. She could sound like an angel, but she can also sound like a dying bird. Really depends on the day. Even so, Anro loves singing. She loves the feeling of being on stage as people watch her perform. Anro is also a self-proclaimed Voice Actor, and she loves making her voice super masculine.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 FAMILY WITH MOTHER, FATHER, SON AND DAUGHTER — how many people are in your oc's immediate family? how many people are in your oc's extended family? do they have aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, etc? who in their family are they closest with? are they close with their birth family, or do they have a found family?

Of course. Asking the puppet girl about family. This wouldve been a wonderful question for any other, but for Annie...

It's complicated. She has a family, somewhat. Is the people out there, in reality, her family? The ones who raised her, at least in her backstory? They could be, she supposed. But they've never really interacted.

What of the author? The one who made her? The one who haphazardly gave a self-insert consciousness? Is she family? Annie supposed she was as close as she could get. But honestly, the "author" was more like her little sister. Someone fun to annoy mwehehe.

She supposes Aqua could be like a brother to her, seeing as they spend lots of time in the lounge area that is the author's mind. He's also the only other one who is conscious. Stuck in the middle of reality and fiction. Never really a part of either. They are so similar, from their personalities to their reality-warping powers. Too bad they don't see each other often, since they're in separate universes.

Mayuu too, could be considered family. She annoys her enough to be considered a little sis. Honestly, all the other self-inserts could be considered Annie's fam. They all lived in a house together, at one point.

Tldr: it's complicated

🐉 DRAGON — what is your oc's favorite mythical creature?

Mayuu - Siren, she supposed. They could lure you with their voice, then tear the flesh from your skin when you're close enough. Being able to sway another's mind is quite an interesting power, in Mayuu's opinion. Definitely something she wished she had. (And totally not cause someone commented that the song "Fish Inside a Birdcage" was about sirens and harpies). That, and she used to play Siren with her family when they went swimming. She'd grab their feet from the water, as they struggled against her grip. Ah, Those were the days.

Annie - Myths don't interest Annie that much. Maybe faeries? Since they're just as mischievous as her. Or were those fairies?

Anro - Shapeshifters!! I know that doesn't count. But wouldn't it be so cool to change your appearance like zap, zippity zoom, boom you're Jamil? Like, cosplay would be so easy and effortless. Plus, I could switch from girl to guy to girl so quickly! For cosplay reasons, of course.

[warrenxchamberlain]

They is my family, they is my family They might be crazy, but they is my family You can’t get through them unless you get through me You fuck with them you fuck with me "Family" by Mother Mother

THE BASICS Full Name: Warren Chamberlain Species: Demon Age: 38 Birthdate: January 28, 1986 Occupation: Handyman Current residence: Trailer in Deadman Acres Face Cast: Tom Hopper

FUN NOTES Element: Earth Star sign: Aquarius Archetype: The Caregiver Favourite season: Spring Daemon: Wild Cat – Sand Cat

PERSONALITY MATRIX Choose one option from each line to create a distinct and detailed personality for your characters:

Selfish or Altruistic? Altruistic Aggressive or Passive? Aggressive Dishonourable or Honourable? Honourable Disordered or Ordered? Ordered Believer or Sceptic? Believer Fervent or Restrained? Restrained Apathetic or Inquisitive? Apathetic

(credit to Simon K Jones from simonkjones.com)

APPEARANCE Gender Identity: Male Eyes: Blue Hair: Light Brown Height: 6’ 5” Build: Muscular/Built Other distinguishing features: Multiple scars of various sorts from three years in hell

RELATIONSHIPS Family: Willow Chamberlain (sister) Closest friend(s): Juniper Bloom (in process) Other friends: ?? Enemies: Full demons, his parents Love interest(s): ?? Sexuality: He’s mixed up after being in hell and doesn’t trust his senses at this point.

PSYCHOLOGY Personality type: ISTP (The Virtuoso) Alignment: True Neutral Enneagram: 6 – The Loyalist Strengths: Protective, honorable, industrious Weaknesses: Stubborn, possessive, evasive

A big brother to the core, it had been the memories of his siblings that kept him somewhat human despite three years in an unrelenting hell. He doesn’t have much softness left to him, though he learned how to wear masks even before he was dragged down. Brave and dedicated to his goals – the protection of his siblings – he’s also got a maverick side. He does what he thinks it right, and he does it his own way.

Often misjudged as being all brawn and muscle, he blends in and lets people overlook him in order to gather more information and analyze a situation to determine what he needs to do in order to fulfill his personal goal of keeping his people safe. He’s loyal, caring, and dedicated … in regards to his limited circle.

HISTORY TRIGGER WARNING: domestic violence, abuse, torture, assault

Eldest brother of seven, Warren Chamberlain grew up in an affluent world. He was the heir to a financial business as well as the heir-in-training of a prestigious hunting family. They possessed a great deal of influence in the hunting world because they’d survived generations – father to son, mother to daughter. Each generation learned how to find, stalk, and defeat the supernatural beings who threatened humanity. Starting at thirteen, he’d been groomed to take over from his father – and that teaching came with pain. Failure, questions, and refusal all met with beatings and other punishments; whatever his parents thought most effective. Warren learned to wear stoicism like a permanent mask.

Except with his siblings.

With them, he could be the playful teddy bear, still remembering how to smile. He could be the big brother, the guardian, and the protector. Hopefully, they would never learn of everything he did to protect them. More than once, he’d stepped in to accept a punishment for one of them, taking the beating as if the fault had been his. Sometimes he’d even be able to talk his father out of a punishment, though that proved a great deal more difficult. When he couldn’t prevent a punishment, he would sneak them food, treats, or some form of comfort.

When he was 24, one of his sisters missed the big celebration for her 18th birthday, and the family found her in a bad part of town, passed out from her own celebration. The beating that followed landed her in the hospital. Not that their father wanted to take her, but Warren talked him into it, knowing she’d been too hurt to just have her recover at home. Somehow, he wasn’t surprised when she ran instead of going to school after her recovery.

Warren envied her the escape, but he couldn’t leave – not while he still had underage siblings living under his parents’ thumbs. He had to stay for them, protect them as well as he could until they all reached adulthood. Once they were all adults, their lives would be up to them, and he could finally make his own choices.

Choices his parents would hate.

He never married, never pursued a wife – irritating his parents as they wanted him to continue the family line and heritage. Hell, they’d have been happy if he fathered a legion of bastards as long as they were raised in the family traditions.

As soon as the youngest of his siblings reached 18, Warren packed up a backpack worth of belongings and headed for the horizon. He knew it wouldn’t be that easy, however. The family wouldn’t write him off the way they had his sister. No, not him – not the “heir” – they couldn’t let him set an example for his younger siblings and cousins to follow. They couldn’t let his leaving start stirring up questions about the truth and validity of the family’s “great duty”.

So, he did the one thing he should never have done.

He went to a crossroads and made a deal.

A deal that would cover his tracks and make sure that his parents and their allies wouldn’t be able to follow him and possibly put his sister in danger. Warren worked to close as many loopholes as he could manage, wording and rewording the deal before he went to make his request. He knew he would still lose, eventually, but it was the only idea he could come up with to ensure his sister’s safety.

Except he missed one of the biggest loopholes.

He would be free and living his life until he found his sister. But he never specified that he should be allowed to reunite with his sister or spend any time with her. No, he only sought to find her. And find her he did – he found her trail and even spotted her once. But the hellhounds came for him at that moment … and he ran.

Not to escape them. Warren knew there would be no escape for him, but he had to lead them away from his sister. If he could get far enough away before they ran him down, they wouldn’t be able to use him to cause her any pain or torment. And he had to believe she would care.

His siblings had been his only happiness, and he would do anything to keep them safe.

After three years of torture in hell, only his love for his siblings kept him human.

Well, human-ish.

His body bore more scars than ever, crossing and mingling with those he’d already had from his upbringing. Whips, knives, fire, and who knew what the hell else had been used to scrape the humanity from him inch by inch. He should have died a thousand times over, but could one die if one was already in hell? Instead, he simply existed – a toy and a plaything for the unholy powers around him. Used, abused, and treated as a doll for their amusement and pleasure.

More deadly than the pain came the seduction – the powers tempting him to join in their games. Play with them and gain some freedom … the whispers enticed him, drew him, called to him. And Warren could feel himself weakening. Memories began to blur … he clung to the faces of his siblings …

Then … light. Air. A cool breeze in this hellish nightmare.

Warren took the opportunity and dragged himself back to earth, uncertain of his own being. Was he human? Demon? Some horrifying mix of the two? He didn’t know and he didn’t care. For now, all he cared about was finding his freedom. Then he would check on his siblings and be certain of their well-being. Then … well, fuck, then he would survive. Because he’d been to hell and be damned if he was going back without a fight.

He’d been a hunter once, and he could be one again … even if it meant fighting himself. But considering his return to earth landed him in the same town where he’d last seen his sister? He intended to make damn sure she stayed safe.

WANTED CONNECTIONS UNDER CONSTRUCTION – BUT OPEN TO ALL KINDS!

[samanthamosher]

I had an idea to re-work the Snatched by the Fae challenge. We don't have Fairies in the Sims 4 so it would be cool to do with Vampires instead. Here is a link to the original challenge all credit goes to the original creator

Snatched by the Vampire

So basically a Vampire kidnaps a human to be their queen, wife, or consort.

The Objective:

To keep the human girl as satisfied and happy as possible to ensure the next generation of Vampires are born and raised well.

The Trick:

You cannot control the human girl! She must be cared for by those around her.

The (Suggested) Characters:

1. Create a Vampire male in CAS. He can have any traits/looks/aspirations. Basically, he is yours to play with!

2. Create a human female in CAS. She may have one trait that you choose. This will be the trait that essentially attracted him to her. Is she a virtuoso? Is she a hopeless romantic? Pick whatever trait you like. However, the rest of her traits must be completely random. After all, our Vampire man was so enamored with her, he really didn't bother to get to know her, did he?

3. Create another Vampire, preferably a female. She can be related to the male, or not, but she can also have whatever looks/traits/etc that you like. She is going to be the human girl's companion, and when the children are born, she will also play the nursemaid (after all, it can't be left to a human to raise Vampire children!).

4. Create a human of any gender/looks/traits/etc. This human is essentially a slave to the family. It is responsible for all cooking, cleaning, and housekeeping (what Vampire would dirty their hands?). Choose its traits wisely.

Start your Vampire male and human girl as married. The others can have any relationships.

You can add other characters if you wish, but remember, you will have to add children as well. Try to keep your house uncluttered! Any other Sims you add cannot take care of the human girl. They can interact with her as housemates, but they must have no bearing on anything else (no suggesting/encouraging, for example). Once the children are born, they can fully interact with them, as long as these characters are Vampires.

The Homestead:

Use whatever money cheats you so desire in order to create a lavish abode for the family. However, there are a few things to keep in mind when building.

-The human girl cannot leave the house unaccompanied by her husband. Whatever doors you have to lock to keep her inside, could you do so? You can add a fenced-in backyard for her comfort if you wish. If you're in a cage, it may as well be gilded.

-Arrange the house artfully so that the Nursemaid has a room near where the children will be, as well as a way to get out of the house herself. You can keep her door locked to all but her so that the girl does not escape.

-The slave should have a "room" near the kitchen. Keep your Sims close to what they will be doing! Also, if a room is locked to the slave, (s)he may or may not be responsible for cleaning it.

The Starting Point:

You will need to use the testingcheatsenabled true cheat in order to modify the relationships of the characters at the very beginning.

-The married couple needs to be returned to "Acquaintance" stage, if not the "Enemy" stage. Remember, they don't know each other, and he took her from her normal life. Is she grateful or resentful?

-The Nursemaid needs to have a negative score with the human girl. She does not like having to cater to a lowly human, no matter how much the male likes his little bride.

(Feel free to erase the negative moodlets that will result, like "lost a friend". Just ctrl-click on them.)

Move the human female into her portion of the house (you can control her for this), then lock the doors and say goodbye to controlling her! From now on, everything must be done by her companions or through free will. You cannot even check her stats. Do not click on her square! (Unless you need to swipe something from her inventory. Sims like to steal things they shouldn't.)

The male Vampire needs to have a job (he can't just spend all his time doting on her, can he?). It can be whatever you like, but he must have something to preoccupy himself with. If he had tons of free time to spend wooing her, it would be too easy.

From this point out, just make sure that your human girl doesn't die or get too depressed. After all, you want her to have children and continue the Fae line.

Other Rules and Rewards:

-The lot cannot have the on the ley line lot trait or on a dark ley line lot trait.

-Max out the Vampires Abilities.

-The Vampire cannot offer to turn or turn the human Sim into a Vampire until the two Vampire Sims are born.

-Vampires my feed off of the human servant if needed, but not the consort she's sacred.

-The two Vampires can leave the lot whenever they choose; the slave can leave the lot in order to complete chores (shopping, etc.). However, the human girl cannot leave the lot until she is best friends with her husband and he has confidence that

she won't run away. Then she may only leave the lot if he accompanies her.

-Other than basic cleaning and cooking, the slave can have no contact with the family. (S)he cannot eat meals with them or socialize with them. ((S)he can ask how the sim slept or other "slavery" actions.) The slave most certainly CAN NOT interact

with the children!

-All toddlers must be taught to walk, talk, and use the potty. YOU CANNOT INSTRUCT THE MOTHER TO DO THIS. Your nursemaid will really come in handy now!

-Vampire children must be on the honor roll and grow up well. Any children who take after their human mother will not be required to uphold such standards. They will become Consorts like their mother when they grow up.

-Following this thought, all human children should become close friends with a Vampire of the opposite gender during their teen years. Once they are young adults, they will move in and become their Consort.

-Vampire teens have no constraints on what they do other than that they must stay honor roll.

-You may click on the human girl's portrait once a week in order to see how many satisfactions points she has acquired and spend them.

-You must birth one Vampire boy and one Vampire girl. You may eat fruits to affect the gender. You must keep having children until this requirement is met.

-If your human girl and your Nursemaid become best friends, you will be allowed to instruct the human girl to do only ONE ACTION for up to three hours per day, and it must be a skill-building one (not "go to the bathroom"). You will also be able to cancel the action once the time is up or the sim pitches a tantrum.

-If ALL your children are Vampires (no humans are born) and your human girl remains best friends with her husband, then the human girl may leave the house whenever she wants as long as she has a companion (housemate, husband, kid, etc.). She has proven her worth to the Vampires.

-If the husband reaches his Aspiration, he may retire from work and stay home.

-If the human girl reaches her Aspiration, she becomes a controllable character. She has learned to find fulfillment in her situation.

The challenge is basically over whenever the human girl dies, she reaches her Aspiration, or the children grow up. This is not a challenge to be played for points (though I will add them if you are interested), but rather a storytelling opportunity.

[dustedmagazine]

Listed: Colin Fisher

Photo by ilyse krivel

Toronto-based multi-instrumentalist Colin Fisher is on a constant quest for the ecstatic through sound. His journey has taken him in many directions, from the math-rock inspired group Sing That Yell That Spell, to the fiery free improvisation duo Not the Wind, Not the Flag. As a band leader, his free jazz quartet released the white-hot Living Midnight for Astral Spirits in 2020, about which Derek Taylor wrote, “Passages of ruminant restraint alternate with excoriating blasts and outbursts, but the means always remains intelligible and momentum driven whether full-steam or incremental.” Solo, Fisher has recently wafted in a more contemplative direction that might see him associated with the new age revival, but this work is as exploratory and engaging as his most spirited improvisational outings. Here, he lists some of the pieces within which he experiences the sublime.

Jean-Pierre Leguay — Chant d’Airain

Some of my first experiences with the sublime in music were in church. I abhorred being in church (and would even attempt to hide to avoid attendance) but at the end of service the organist played as the congregation filed out. The selections were usually secular and I can remember my rapt attention. Not because of some aesthetic taste but because I was having a physical/biological response to the sounds. Being in the resonant chamber of the cathedral provided a fully immersive experience. Rather than suggest whatever music was being played at the time I’m going to fast forward to my mid 20s… While in the same church, I heard the principal organist of Notre Dame improvise with some Messiaen-symmetrical ideas that lifted me out of my corporeal form and left me sobbing in a church pew at the very church I would have done everything in my power not to be present in as a child. The organist was Jean-Pierre Leguay.

Ravi Shankar — At Monterey Pop

An early transmission from what seemed like outer space at the time, as a young child I heard the sounds of Ravi Shankar and Alla Rakha live at Monterey Pop (my parents had this and the record with Yehudi Menuhin.) Ravi is far from my fav Hindustani musician or sitarist, of which I have innumerable favorites now. But I’m particularly enamored with Vilayat Khan after reading his biography, The Sixth String of Vilayat Khan, a couple of years ago. Pandit Pran Nath is also a huge inspiration.

Polvo — Cor-Crane Secret

Without sifting through the rubble of my punk/hardcore teens (which was totally legit inspirational beauty, from Minor Threat and straight edge to grunge, etc.) I want to highlight a band that literally changed my life in my mid to late teens. When I first heard Cor-Crane Secret by Polvo, I didn’t realize that music like this existed. It gave me permission to go on long wonky improvisational explorations — endless melodies and whammied chords that would go on for hours sometimes. I also got to see them on the Today’s Active Lifestyles tour when I was 18, totally life changing.

Ornette Coleman — The Shape of Jazz to Come

The next stage I’ll focus on has a little more girth: my introduction to jazz/free jazz/improv/fusion. I think I first discovered this music by accident. I remember seeing a clip of Monk on the news the day he died. I was much younger, and I thought to myself “this music is like an alien transmission!” But I put that away in the vaults for a couple of decades. I also remember seeing a clip on TV of a soprano player at a jazz fest in Toronto, playing the craziest shit I’d ever heard (once again on a news program,) but had little-to-no context. The clip lasted probably 10 seconds but felt longer and I remember thinking something like “this is more punk rock than punk rock!” hahaha. So, there was a hunger there that I needed to satiate. But I had no access to any recordings where I lived. I remember reading books at the library about jazz history and the only CDs I could borrow were Manteca or big band music. I had to imagine what Song X sounded like for the time being. Ornette’s The Shape of Jazz to Come was one of the first albums I actually bought, and it was more magical than any description could possibly illustrate. As pedestrian as this may seem to everyone now, it was another life changer for me. I can remember late nights sitting by myself, probably super high on good weed, listening to “Lonely Woman” and weeping.

John McLaughlin — Extrapolation

In my early days of discovering jazz, I also came across the music of John Mclaughlin, initially via Mahavishnu Orchestra. His whole profile as a guitarist was incredibly inspiring for me — someone who had an equal footing in jazz, Flamenco, Indian classical music and fusion — a model for what I could become as a player (although I don’t think our styles are really even that comparable.) One of his albums that I think is maybe overlooked in his career is Extrapolation which has an incredible lineup and the compositions are incredible.

John Coltrane — Interstellar Space

In considering this list I’m realizing there’s no way I can touch on all the music that has shaped me. But there is an album that’s shaped a great deal in terms of how I play and in what seems to be my favorite type of collaborative setting — the duo. Interstellar Space is an absolute masterpiece. Everything feels raw — the intensity, the interplay, the emotion. As much as I love so much of John Coltrane’s music, there’s something about this record that was akin to hearing punk music for the first time. There’s an immediacy to expression and interaction. And it was something that felt available to me (certainly not his virtuoso chops, which felt otherworldly — an unscalable monolith.) The direct communication between two people was a revelation and the content of this music felt like something I could mine for the rest of my life.

The Ivo Perelman Trio — “Cantilena”

Fast-forward another few years or more and I had travelled with some good friends to NYC for I think it was the JVC Jazz Fest. We wanted to see MMW play (of whom I still think Friday Afternoon In the Universe is a perfect album.) While we were there though, we saw so much beautiful music that blew me away. The most significant for me though, was catching the last 10 minutes of a set by the Ivo Perelman trio in Tribeca somewhere (the trio was with Jay Rosen on drums and Dominic Duval on bass, who I played with several years later. RIP). It was electrifying. I was moved enough to go and talk to him after and he gave me an unmarked demo tape of Seeds, Vision and Counterpoint. There’s a track on the album called “Cantilena” and it really drops into this heavy space for around 10 minutes that gives me the chills every time I hear it. There is this free lyricism that is still absolutely elating to me. I love his playing and he’s still probably my favorite living saxophonist.

Marilyn Crispell — Vignettes

Masabumi Kikuchi — Out of Bounds

Using lyricism as a segue it brings me to the music of Marilyn Crispell, especially her albums Amaryllis,Nothing Ever Was Anyway, Vignettes and many others. She has a mode of free ballad playing that is absolutely transcendental. I will also mention Masabumi Kikuchi in the same breath. I find the desire more and more to play with a similar intention even though I rarely find myself in the context to do so.

Jute Gyte — Birefringence

A total shift from this narrative of discovery and development is metal music. Something I’d been listening to since my teens and getting hip to some cool thrash music through Canadian band Voivod, particularly the album Dimension Hatröss. I've continued to follow the music and all of its various subgenres and have so many favorite picks, but I’ll choose just one and it’s a total mindbender. Jute Gyte’s Birefringence actually eclipses easy category and you really just need to experience it.

Giacinto Scelsi — “Uaxuctum”

Catherine Christer Hennix — “Blues Alif Lam Mim In The Modes Of Rag Infinity/Rag Cosmosis”

My last pick is another double pick (I know I’m cheating) because it relates to the power of music and ties it into the first selection. Another current, among many, of musical obsessions is “new music.” But when I heard Giacinto Scelsi’s music for the first time it surpassed all of my previous notions about what was possible with composed music — it felt like music from an ecstatic vision. Even as I listen to the track now, it immediately accesses some occult realm of sublimity that feels similar to the music I first heard in church but with an unbridled intensity and depth.

Another more recent selection that fits into this category — but that is different in that it embraces a sort of stasis rather than dynamic movement — is the music of Catherine Christer Hennix. If you don’t know her, she’s a deep well of musical/mathematical/spiritual inspiration for me. Another music without a real equivalent in this day and age — something that echoes ancestral currents as well as the vibration of the cosmos itself. Thanks for reading/listening. Peace be with you. xoxo

[funknrolll]

Celebrating Prince: discovering a timeless artist and his meaningful and impactful art. Part 2. The early 1990s: Diamonds and Pearls, and Love Symbol eras

Hi music lovers, as I anticipated yesterday, this music addiction is going to celebrate Prince and his amazing and timeless work!! The article will be split into a few little articles. I hope you enjoy this new format and these articles!!

As I said yesterday, let me say that I have heard so many things about Prince’s artistry. Some comments came from uneducated people who did not even take a second of their lives to understand, and do research on his art. Hence, I think the time to shed some light on Prince’s art, has come (finally). I hope to help some of those people understand this artist better and to finally appreciate him the way he deserves. We owe Prince big time. Today’s music and musicians  owe Prince everything. Without him, many of the artists we listen to today, WOULD NOT BE EXISTING. As we all know, Prince loved to experiment with music, trying out new music genres, new styles, new harmonies, melodies, rhythms and so on. This is one of the factors that led this legend to create a unique, wide and broad vault. There are so many songs of his that I love so much and that I find relevant for this article. The ones I chose, are going to prove that Prince and his music did not just revolve around sex and sexuality, (even if the artist through his music took the topic to another whole level). Through the article, we will see that Prince was more than all that I mentioned above. He was an extraordinary human being, blessed with so many enormous talents, with a beautiful mind, a uniquely pure soul. A true gift of God. With this in mind, let us start this article.

This is the sequel of the article I posted yesterday, so in case you guys missed it, check the previous one out✨

One year after Graffiti Bridge, Prince released Diamonds and Pearls. On this album, I picked 3 relevant songs to prove my case study. These gems are: Walk Don’t Walk, Money Don’t Matter 2Night, Push.  Walk Don’t walk is perhaps my favorite song in Prince’s entire vault. Back in 1999 during the interview with Larry King for Cnn Prince was asked to describe his music, and he provided an extremely insightful, wise and interesting answer that depicted perfectly the purpose and meaning of his music. Prince: “The only thing I could think of, ‘cause I really don’t like categories… but the only thing I could think of is inspirational”. In my opinion, he could not have chosen a better word to describe his art, and this song is indeed the epitome of motivation. Personally, I remember this was one of the first songs of Prince I discovered, and I instantly loved it! Through the metaphor of walking the way the artist gave us such an important and inspiring lesson that is to say that we should always walk our paths, no matter what. Even if everyone is choosing a different way, we to stay true to ourselves, and therefore be unique. Even if people try to put us down or to persuade to change ourselves, we should always keep going because:

“The sun will shine upon you one day, 

If you’re always walking your way”

Indeed, good things will happen someday, if we keep walking our ways without looking back. Moreover, another interpretation that might be given to these lyrics is that even if society dictates its rules, we have to keep walking our ways and stay true to ourselves. Even if everyone tells us no or that we are not going to make it. Additionally, another lesson that lays behind these lyrics is to be brave enough to go out of our comfort zone, be bold and not to look for the easiest way. In fact:

“Walk on their side of the street Don't walk where it feels the best “

To conclude, as I said previously, the fulcrum of this song is to be unique, stay true to ourselves, and to get out of our comfort zone even people or society tells and dictates otherwise. Only by being ourselves the sun will shine upon us one day.  Moreover, one of the recurring themes in this song is the act of walking which might be related strictly to the peculiar arrangement. In my opinion, there might be two methods of interpretation. Besides the beautiful message this song is delivering, the arrangement is an extremely important part. As we can hear the leading instruments in this masterpiece are the keyboard and the drums. The keyboard arrangement is characterized by ascending chords and it might be used to enhance the meaning of the song. As we know Prince was a perfectionist and he surely left nothing to chance. Therefore, in my opinion, the arrangement for the keyboard might be used to help the listener visualize a long difficult walk that eventually is leading to a beautiful destination. This is just my interpretation of this song and I might be wrong, but I love to see it this way. Moreover, through the unique environmental sounds such as the honks of the cars in the street, the song gains even more plenitude and eventually the idea of a real walk. I really love how Perfectionist Prince was. The way he crafted music is something so special from the way he wrote the lyrics, to the arrangements and the compositions and the performance. He was a virtuoso, a real maestro in what he did. Another song that got straight to my heart is Money Don’t Matter 2Night. Another meaningful song. The lyrics of this masterpiece are pretty self-explanatory and eloquent. Indeed with this monumental piece of art the artist is delivering an urgent and poignant message: in today’s world we got to a point where people would do anything for money included send children to war and kill our beautiful. Through the painful yet beautiful lyrics and the arrangement the artist is giving an impressive, powerful and emotional depiction of the ugly effects that money and greed could do to people.  On the other hand, through the choruses, the artist expresses his point of view about money which is that we should care more  about being decent people, with values and love to give before we think and care about money. In Prince’s words:

“Money don't matter tonight (don't matter) It sure didn't matter yesterday Just when you think you've got more than enough That's when it all up and flies away That's when you find out that you're better off Makin' sure your soul's alright (soul's alright) 'Cause money didn't matter yesterday, (don't matter) And it sure don't matter tonight”.  

Furthermore, what impressed me the most is the last part. Indeed, with extremely vivid lyric makes it easy to visualize the images Prince is depicting in this song. For instance, in the following part, the artist is portraying some sad and painful situations where money and greed are contributing to kill our beautiful earth, our children, our environment:

“Hey now, maybe we can find a good reason To send a child off to war So what if we're controllin' all the oil, Is it worth a child dying for? (is it worth it?) If long life is what we all live for Then long life will come to pass Anything is better than the picture of the child In a cloud of gas And you think you got it bad”

This is another powerful example of how a timeless masterpiece can be applied to our world today as we live in a situation where money and greed are ruling people’s hearts and minds. We live in a world without compassion, where we would do anything for money. We live in a corrupted society. We live in a world where we would even kill our children and our environment for greed. Everything for money. Hence, I strongly believe that this powerful song applies perfectly to the world today. Prince was highly educated and extremely “woke” and he knew all the dirt and all the sorceries that were happening on this earth, and through his music, in particular, with this song, he was trying to educate people on this significant topic. Furthermore, as we can hear, this song is totally different from all the other ones on the album. Indeed, it is a blues song and it sticks extremely well with its lyrics. 

Among the songs on this album, Push is my third favorite one. With this song, Prince goes back to his signature funk and r&b sounds that we all love so much. This is perhaps one of the most motivating songs in Prince’s vault. Indeed, with these straightforward lyrics genius himself is teaching we should do whatever we can to reach our goals. There will always be people who try to put us down, but we must do whatever we can to reach the top. We are never too young and never too old to push ourselves to the max without stopping until we reach our goals. This song is a huge source of motivation.

well, every time you get some (Push) people want to take it back (p-push) They rather see you on the run (push) Then see you get it like that (Every time) every time they stop you Change up like a sock (push) Every time they try to clock you (push), tick more than they can tockOoh, push (I push) don't let them pull you down Push (I push) until you get to higher ground (higher) Push You're never too young, never too old Yeah, push Don't stop until you go 

 In 1992, Prince released LoveSymbol where the Symbol made its first appearance ever. One of the most enigmatic songs on the album is 7. It took me some time and some research to understand the meaning of this masterpiece, and it turned out that the artist crafted another deep and meaningful piece of art. As regards to this masterpiece, I would say that it is drenched with symbolism. Some believe that the meaning of this song is to be found in the number 7 or the number of God, that symbolizes spirituality and divine power. On the other hand, some other people believe that the number 7 is connected to the 7 capital sins. Personally, I would agree with the second theory as in the lyrics Prince says clearly that he would have “let all the 7 fall”, and then “Smoke them all”. 

Moreover, the whole lyric gives hints about the fact that the number 7 is related to the 7 capital sins. Indeed, if we take an attentive look at the words of this song, we will find many symbolisms, even from the first chorus with which the song begins. Indeed, starting with the chorus: 

All seven and we'll watch them fall They stanwd in the way of love And we will smoke them all With an intellect and a savior-faire No one in the whole universe Will ever compare 

The number 7 is related to something evil that is standing in the way of something purer which is love. Moreover, as Prince was extremely spiritual and God-loving, I would assume that the gesture of smoking all the 7 might be related to an act of purification most likely when we purify our homes from the evil. In this case, Prince is suggesting that by smoking the 7 deadly sins, he is also doing an act of self-cleansing of his soul from the evil. Eventually, according to the artist, what will defeat all the 7 sins will be his intelligence and his savoir-faire.  Regarding the kind of love the artist is talking about, it is the love between two soul mates, which is the ultimate love that transcends space and time, that cannot be compared to anything. A love that will eventually defeat all the 7 sins.

No one in the whole universe Will ever compare I am yours now and you are mine And together we'll love through All space and time, so don't cry One day all 7 will die 

Furthermore, as I mentioned, this song is drenched with symbolic metaphors taken from the Bible, and in some other cases, the lyrics hint to Jesus Christ and the Gospel.  

And I saw an angel come down unto me In her hand she holds the very key Words of compassion, words of peace And in the distance an army's marching feet (one, two, three, four, one, two, three, four) But behold, we will watch them fall 

Indeed, as we can see from these 5 lines, Prince might be referring to Jesus. In fact, the key mentioned in the lyrics might be a metaphor referring to the belief in Jesus which leads to the practice of compassion and peace. Moreover, the army Prince is referring to, might be the external world corrupted by the 7 sins. 

And we will see a plague and a river of blood And every evil soul will surely die in spite of And seven tears, but do not fear Four in the distance, twelve souls from now You and me will still be here we will still be here 

With “a plague and a river of blood”, the artist is referring to the prophecy in the book of Revelation. Specifically, he is talking about the second plague in the book which is, as the song suggests, the blood in the rivers and in the oceans. But eventually, love will rise above, and evil will die.

Revelation 16:3,4 "And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea, and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.  And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters, and they became blood. " 

There will be a new city with streets of gold The young so educated they never grow old And a, there will be no death four with every breath A voice of many colors sings a song, That's so bold Sing it while we watch them fall 

These are the last 6 lines of the song and they could have a double interpretation. After all the evil and the 7 sins will be defeated, those who will have chosen love over evil will be entering the “city with streets of gold”. With this, the artist might be either inferring to the old city of Jerusalem or to the Kingdom of Heaven as we can see in the book of Revelation. 

Revelation 21, 21“The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass.”

I would agree with the second theory, as in the second line Prince is mentioning people who never grow old. Moreover, in the third line, the artist is mentioning the fact that there will be no death. In the fourth line is mentioning a voice of many colors singing which might be inferring to humanity and hence, people of every race and every color and gender. Moreover, in this song Prince is introducing the concept of twin souls. For those who do not know, two twin souls are two souls united as one in spirit which is practically a spiritual union. This is, therefore, an exclusive relationship based on love and faithfulness.  Indeed, as we can see in the lyrics Prince is inferring to this concept in the chorus:

I am yours now and you are mine And together we'll love through all Space and time, so don't cry One day all seven will die 

Also, in the video, it is quite clear the concept of Twin souls. As a matter of fact, we can see Prince and his wife Mayte dancing together and other couples dressed like the artist and his wife. 

Another song on this album that I find particularly relevant is the Sacrifice of Victor. As we all know, Prince used music to deal with everything that was happening in his life. Also, he used music as a way to communicate with people. Through some painfully straightforward almost raw lyrics the artist gives us some insight into his childhood and his teenage years.

I was born on a blood-stained table Cord wrapped around my neck Epileptic 'til the age of 7 I was sure heaven marked the deck know joy lives 'round the corner {joy for sale down on the corner} (we sacrifice) One day I'll visit her I'm gonna {out on my block I'm just a loner} (we sacrifice) When she tell me everything {tell me} That's when the angels sing {sacrifice} That's when the victory is sho 'Nuff {sho 'Nuff down with the sacrifice} (we sacrifice) (help me) (don't say it, preacher) 

As a matter of fact, as we can see in these lines, Prince is telling about how he was born and about his epilepsy and how he saw an angel telling him that he would have no longer suffered from epilepsy. Indeed, in 2009 in an interview with Tevin Smiley Prince revealed how he suffered from this disease during his childhood. 

Mama held up her baby for protection From a man with a strap in his hand Ask the victor 'bout pain and rejection You think he don't when he do understand 

 Furthermore, as we can see from these lines, Prince is mentioning the fact that he was abused when he was a child. 

1967 in a bus marked public schools Rode me and a group of unsuspecting political tools Our parents wondered what it was like to have another color near So they put their babies together to eliminate the fear We sacrifice yes we did Fighting one another, (we sacrifice) (don't say it, preacher) All because of color The angel of hate, she taught me how to kick her If she called me anything but victor  If the only thing that tells me is father time Then sacrifice is the mother sublime, we love it 

Moreover, in this song Prince is also giving an insight into what it was like to be living as a black child in America. The image depicted is extremely striking for it is real and sad as people were still extremely racist during that time. 

Never understood my old friends laughing They got high when everything else got wrong (pass the booze up here) Dr. King was killed and the streets They started burnin' When the smoke was cleared, their high was gone Education got important, so important 2 victor A little more important than ripple and weed Bernadette's a lady, and she told me (what she say?) "Whatever you do son, a little discipline is what you need, Is what you need, you need to sacrifice" 

 These lines are quite clear and self-explanatory. As a matter of fact, Prince is mentioning his teenage years with his friends. In the last 5 lines, the artist is explaining the importance of getting an education instead of getting high on weed. This part is introducing extremely well the last 3 lines where the artist is perhaps referring to Bernadette Anderson, Andrè’s mother who allowed him to stay at her home and who advised Prince to get his high school degree before focusing only on music.  Moreover, the Sacrifice Prince is talking about in this song might perhaps also symbolize the hard work he had to do to reach his goals instead of wasting time on mundane joys, favoring metaphysical, divine happiness over earth pleasures. Another interpretation of the word Sacrifice might be Prince's own struggle from a middle-class black child from a broken family to superstardom. On a broader scale the long, hard struggle Black people had to go through in the USA to gain their civil rights, at the cost of riots, police beatings and MLK's death (MLK is indeed a  symbol of sacrifice to a cause because his activism led to his death). Furthermore, musically speaking, thinking about the lyrics and the topic this song is dealing with, I personally would have expected a different genre and a different arrangement for this song. This is where Prince with his ingenious and brilliant mind came to surprise us all. Contrary to the expectations, the artist decided to craft a brilliant funk song with two different major drum lines. The contrast between the topic of the song and the alluring arrangement is so beautiful and it entices the public to listen attentively to this masterpiece. In my opinion, if Prince had opted for a more melodic arrangement characterized by a down-tempo, perhaps the public would not have appreciated the song fully, and therefore it would not have had the same impact.

This was the second part of a series of articles dedicated to Prince to celebrate his life and most importantly his art. Stay tuned for more. If you have missed the first part feel free to check it out✨ In the meantime stay home, stay safe and healthy. Peace and Love 4 one another. G💜 thank you for your attention 💜

[nycis]

Batboys & Beholders

I took a break from writing something else to finally finish some Dungeons and Dragons inspired fluff that I started ages ago! So here we go, the Robins play some D&D with Tim DMing. Enjoy! <3

“So we’re really doing this, huh?” Jason asked, his arms crossed as he leant back against the couch, an indignant grimace adorning his face.

“Yes!” Dick chirped, setting down a bowl of snacks on the table that the four brothers were sitting around, “Loosen up a bit and you might even have fun.”

‘Tt’, Damian clicked his tongue from where he sat cross legged on the carpet next to Dick, “I agree with Todd, this hardly seems necessary.”

“We don’t need a reason to hang out, we’re brothers.” Dick sighed, it had been hard enough to get all of them in the same room on a Tuesday evening they all had free. “Besides, it’s been ages since we’ve done anything together.”

“What are you talking about, we all took down Fries like literally last week.” Jason grumbled. “Speaking of which, did anyone figure out how he got that giant ice machine into Gotham central?”

“I think Kate mentioned something about Penguin smuggling it through the sewers for him.” Tim said from the head of the table, not looking up as he flicked through the pages of the heavy books in front of him. “But I think Dick was excluding vigilante team ups.”

“Exactly, thank you Tim! I think we could all do with some brotherly bonding time.”

“So you’ve decided to subject us to one of Drake’s childish games?” Damian glanced incredulously at the pile of assorted items in front of Tim. Three different separate heavy books, a bag full of oddly shaped dice, a plethora of sheets and a vast array of figurines sitting in a cardboard box.

“Yeah, Dickie. I read Jane Austen when I was 11 and even I think Warlocks and Wizards sounds lame. No offence, Tim.”

“Just give it a try, please Jay.” Dick looked at his brother, puppy dog eyes in full effect to which Jason just sighed in resignation and sat up, leaning in towards the table.

“Alright,” Tim said from behind a screen he just put at the end of the table, a small grin creeping onto his face, “First thing everyone needs is a set of dice and a character sheet.”

“No Jason, you can’t have guns!” Tim sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Why not?!” Exclaimed Jason, dramatically flailing his half filled in character sheet in the air.

“Because! Look there just aren’t guns in this world!”

“Tim’s the Dungeon Master, what he says goes, Jay.” Dick said from where he was leaning over Damian’s shoulder, comparing their characters. “I’m sure you can find something else a bit more fantastical.”

Jason grumbled something about ‘nerds not liking guns’ but quietened to inspect the handbook in front of him. “Wait a minute, I’m not allowed a gun but Dick can be a tiny gnome bard who plays the damn bongos?”

“Okay, how about these mini one-handed crossbows? Wait a minute, Dick plays the what?” Tim rolled his eyes as Dick shot him a mischievous smile, “You know what, nevermind.”

Jason begrudgingly grabbed a rubber and started to erase the guns from his character’s inventory, replacing them with crossbows. “If you don’t think I’m not gonna modify the hell out of these-”

“I’m sure you’ll be free to perform whatever idiocy you want to inside the game, Todd.” Damian exclaimed from the floor with an impatient growl, “Now give me the book, I need to choose my weapon so I can optimise my skills and crush you all in single combat.”

Dick chuckled and ruffled Damain’s unkempt hair, “You realise this a game we play together, right Littlewing?”

A hand slapped Dick’s away, “Then what is the point of all this?”

“We get to go on adventures together, fight monsters and save kingdoms! It’s about creating a story not a competition.”

A contemplative look crossed Damian’s face for a moment, “So you’re saying we have to beat Drake’s trials and outwit his traps?”

Dick shot Tim an apologetic smile and shrugged. “Sure.”

“In that case, this will be easy.” Damian smirked, a hint of malice adorning his face.

“Kevin?” Tim rubbed the bridge of his nose for what must have been the twentieth time that night, and they hadn’t even started playing yet. “You’re seriously calling your character Kevin?”

“What’s wrong with Kevin? Loads of people are called Kevin, in fact I’m pretty sure I got into a bar fight with two Kevins last Tuesday. Actually maybe it was Wednesday.” Jason exclaimed, grinning cheekily as he proudly presented his character sheet.

“So your character is the dark and mysterious Drow Elf ranger, renowned throughout the Underdark for their skill with crossbows, known only as… Kevin.”

Jason’s grin widened, “Exactly!”

“You know what, fine.” Sighing Tim turned to the other sofa where Dick and Damian sat, enraptured in discussion. He could make out a series of doodles covering the margins of Dick’s character sheet whereas Damian’s closer resembled a book report. “Are you two ready?”

Breaking from conversation, Dick turned towards him with a brilliant smile, and putting on a dramatic voice said, “Let me introduce the world to the amazing, the incredible, the magnanimous Bartholowmew Benjamin Berthold Bilkins the Third, gnome bard extraordinaire, bonjo savant and magical virtuoso. Entertainer or the masses, hero of the people and a fantastical Casanova.”

Tim barely had time to process Dick’s best ringmaster impression before Damian butted in, ready with his character sheet to read off like a presidential speech. “Quiet, save your inane prattling and foolish character for after. Mushashi is a Tiefling fighter and master samurai. Following in the footsteps of his demonic heritage, he is a fierce and brutal warrior, wielding a tachi, which I’ve estimated to be equivalent to the statistics of a longsword in this game, mathematically the most efficient weapon. Mushashi was born on the moonlit shores of...”

Tim sighed quietly to himself. But a small smile was quick to replace it, because although it was going to be a long night, it was going to be one the brothers spent together.

[marceltorak]

You must create one female sim (The Moon Goddess), move her onto a bulldozed lot (you will not move from this lot, so choose your size accordingly) & immediately pull up the cheat box in-game with ctrl + shift + c and type in testingcheats true, hit enter, and then type money 2000. This is the amount of simoleons you will start with as the gods/goddesses didn’t want to send you down completely empty-handed.

As for your home, you may do as you please. Use your 2000 simoleons as you see fit to prepare you for the task ahead.

The Moon Goddess may not have a job, her purpose is to raise 12 strong female witches. You can sell collectables, paintings, & books to make money. She may also not have any of the at-home careers. It will get easier over time as the children are allowed jobs.

EXTREME: If you want some extra fun gameplay, don’t allow the goddess to leave the lot unless she either brings all her children in the home with, or one of her children is of age to watch the others.

She should be family-oriented and if using the zodiac mod you can use whatever trait sign you like. I recommend Cancer as it is the most nurturing sign in the zodiac. The last trait is up to you as is the Life Aspiration.  Appearance is all up to you as well. You can choose to base her after the actual moon or make her as you see fit. This is the same for all children too. If it isn’t specified in the rules you are free to do as you will.

You must birth 12 female sims, one for each sign of the zodiac, and raise them to the best of her ability. If the moon goddess ages up past child birthing years or dies you lose the challenge and must start over. To keep the Goddess youthful you must complete her wants and purchase the potion of youth from the in-game rewards panel. Remember the potion only sets you back to the beginning of your current life stage, so get started on this as soon as possible.

 If you should happen to be blessed with female twins (not including Gemini) each is a different sign. Example: If you got twins right off the bat the 1st born twin would be Aries the second would be Taurus. Same with Triplets.

As far as baby daddies go, feel free to use any male sim in any town. The Sun and Moon do not see lust & woohoo the way we humans do. To them, it is sacred, but free, and has no bounds or rules.

You must birth 12 female sims. They must be female as the moon is based on feminine energy. Also, you may not cheat on the sex of the children. This makes the challenge much harder. If you give birth to a male baby, he will be moved out with his father immediately. You may try again with the same male sim until you have a female child.

You may not have a female child with the same sim, and you may not marry/cohabitate/have a boyfriend or girlfriend as the Sun is your one true love.

Once you’ve settled in a little, it’s time to find yourself a man and get busy! Remember, your heart is on a mission and the sooner you can birth these 12 divine beings, the sooner you can be with your love The Sun.  However, birthing these 12 magical beings is not without its challenges.

Once you complete each child’s main objective, and they have aged into a young adult, you may move them out of your home to make room for everyone. You may also mod your game to fit every household member. It is entirely up to you.

The children must be birthed in order starting with Aries and ending with Pisces.  

EXTREME: RULES FOR SEASONS (If you have The Sims 4 Seasons) Birth each child in their corresponding season. There are two different ways you can do this:

One: Birth each child in their Elemental Season

Spring (wet becoming hot) – Air – Aquarius, Libra, Gemini

Summer (hot becoming dry) – Fire – Sagittarius, Leo, Aries

Autumn (dry becoming cold) – Earth – Virgo, Taurus, Capricorn

Winter (cold becoming wet) – Water – Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces

Two: Birth each child in their actual birth-given season based on birthdays. Some of the zodiacs are slightly “off” as the signs overlap the seasons a little. It’s usually just those on the cusp. Feel free to use your best judgment as far as seasons/dates go. Remember it is just a game, and to have fun always! I based these rules off of seasons in the Northern Hemisphere, please feel free to change them based on your seasons where you live.

Spring : (March 20th -June 20th) – Aries (March 21st – April 19th), Taurus (April 20th – May 20th), Gemini (May 21st – June 20th)

Summer: (June 21st – September 21st) – Cancer (June 21st – July 22nd), Leo (July 23rd -August 22nd), Virgo (August 23rd – September 22nd)

Autumn: (September 22nd – December 20th) – Libra (September 23rd – October 22nd), Scorpio ( October 23rd – November 21st), Sagittarius (November 22nd – December 21st)

Winter: (December 22nd – March 19th) – Capricorn (December 22nd – January 19th), Aquarius (January 20th – February 18th), Pisces (February 19th – March 20th)

PLEASE NOTE: You still must go in order from Aries – Pisces no matter which option you go with! This will make your challenge significantly longer & my intention behind writing this series was for it to be a shorter challenge with the ideas of what longer challenges offer.

ADDITIONAL: Because we have Sorcerers with the Realm of Magic Expansion I will be making each child a sorcerer and will not move them out until I have completed each of their goals and mastered the sorcery to Virtuoso.

[integrity-in-advertising]

Crushing The Pandemic® Day 206

As a level 17 certified CrushMaster™, I would typically say that getting emotional is for saps and losers. But there is one exception to this very important rule.

When we witness the passing of true CrushLegend™.

Last week, we lost one of the greatest guitar grinders of all time, Edward Van Halen. And I may or may not have shed a tear or twelve thinking about what he meant to this world.

This man crushed it so hard, a legion of guitar players have spent their entire lives trying like hell to replicate his work, virtually all of us failing miserably and hilariously.

And yet we’ve had the time of our freakin’ lives just giving it a shot.

Because EVH didn’t just grind away on the fretboard like a madman virtuoso with freakishly long demon fingers.

He reinvented the whole damn instrument. And did it with joy oozing out of every pore of his body.

This is what the CrushLife™ looks like. And we may never witness anything quite like it again in our lifetimes. But if we could bring 1/10th of that Crushitude™ to whatever work we choose to do, we’d be a bunch of lucky SOBs.

And if we could do it wearing a kickass red and white striped onesie? Even better.

[aetherbunny]

Here we go. Olympic AU stuff

This is stuff that was developed to potentially make it into the fic, that was cut out of the fic or I needed to develop it in order to write something that DID make it in lol. The fic itself is here, just in case you’re seeing this post first...

Minor characters cut from the story were Gabe’s Olympic roommate Alexander “Sandy” who was a bit of a weirdo and followed Gabe around making it hard for him to spend time with Prince.

Uriel is barely mentioned as the fencer Gabe knows and not by name. She models to better fund her fencing, and Gabe has been in front of the camera a few times himself. they met that way. She was going to be Fish’s original target until Gabe introduced her to Mikey.

The Mikey and Fish bits were unfortunately cut. I could not decide what I wanted Mikey to be like and she was really inconsistent in her characterization. So to keep her well done I had to keep her short.

Lyle (Ligur) is the the member of the Judo team FIsh references. Harry (Hastur) runs the marathon. They’ve been together one way or another for as long as anybody can remember. 

ON to the childhoods, they were developed slightly, because maybe there would have been calls home or mentions of family... going to put this under the cut because it’s so much...

Dorothy “Fish” Fischer, was an only child for a while and then wound up with a younger step-brother. Other than that she had a remarkably average childhood. She realized she was a lesbian pretty early on and so did her parents quite frankly. No real issue when she finally came out.  She’s known Prince since they were in high school. They were low key bad girls, skipping classes, smoking under the bleachers, the occasional fight. Ya know. Her mom had a problem with that, and made her pick an extracurricular to take up some of her time She picked swimming and the rest was history.

Elizabeth Prince is second last in a family of 7 kids. I was actually “challenged” to make up her whole family. My pre- reader called my bluff on something, and I had to. More on all of the Princes later.

Ezra Fell had a nice peaceful childhood! He’s an only child and his parents love him very much! His mom is a seamstress and his dad does woodworking. They participate in a lot of historical re-enacting events and make props and costumes for the local theater! Mr. Fell used to weight lift when he was younger and Ezra thought he’d give it a try. For the time being he still lives with them and will still do historical re-enactments! Adam and Them live near the Fell’s and occasionally show up to the historical things and ask increasingly silly questions about whatever is going on. The organizers have little patience for it but the Fell’s like the kids and keep them out of everyone else’s hair.

Anathema has a gigantic extended family. Some of them are, uh, in a mostly harmless, self contained cult? Agnes did still write that book after all but none of it is actually coming true. Her immediate family knows a lot about the “cult” but doesn’t participate. Her family is also still incredibly rich, due to some excellent investing choices. Her parents are lovely, attractive people who dote on their daughter. Anathema is also the only one of the gang competing for a country they don’t live in (full time)! Adria has dual citizenship in Puerto Rico/US so I can imagine Anathema does too. With that she chooses to compete for Puerto Rico (after qualifying of course).

Newt is very much the same. He lives with his mom, his dad was just never in the picture, but the two of them are perfectly happy. Ms. P is a grade school teacher, and the kids and parents love her. After Newt met Crowley she might as well have had a second son, and she’s perfectly happy with that.

Crowley had a pretty bad childhood. His mom died when he was very young and his dad was a piece of shit and left him to fend for himself most of the time. He became very resourceful even if it involved petty theft. He saved Newt from getting beat up (by getting beat up himself) and then they became nearly inseparable. Crowley just calls Ms. P mom, since she basically was.

If Crowley couldn’t be with the Pulsifer’s for whatever reason he was with “Auntie Tracy” or Shadwell. They broke up the fight that introduced Newt and Crowley.

Auntie Tracy is pretty much exactly her book counterpart. When she was “Busy” Crowley would go across the hall with Shadwell who only pretended to dislike him. Shadwell would never tell him but he actually knew Crowley Sr. and thought he was an asshole and it was no surprise he didn’t care about his kid. So Shadwell “begrudgingly” taught Crowley things he’d need to get by.

Both Crowley’s surrogate families knew about each other, and Mom and Auntie had a sit down about everything and worked it all out.

Crowley moved out of his house as soon as he could and moved into the apartment building with Shadwell and Tracy. The Dowlings also live in the apartment block. They’re ex-pats who moved for Mr. Dowling’s job. They’re not bad parents per-se but they could be a lot better. Their son Warlock has taken a shine to Crowley and hangs out with him sometimes. Crowley knows what it’s like to be a kid uncomfortable in his own home so he lets Warlock in whenever.

Crowley works as a mechanic when not diving, he has a pet ball python named Eden he spoils, and he’s obsessed with astronomy. He loves  kids and happily volunteers for things at the school when they don’t have enough parents. He’s ambivalent about his gender and sexuality.

Gabriel Herald also had an unfortunate childhood. His dad was in the military and had every hope his son would follow in his footsteps. Gabe, and his mom were not so keen. Gabe was a gentle affectionate kid and she knew that did not make her husband happy. Mr. Herald was a short tempered, verbally abusive man and took most of it out on his wife. Mrs. Herald was a kind woman who loved her son and did everything she could to make sure he never got the brunt of his father’s temper. They moved to the UK when Gabe was young and lived off base.

However it happened they met the Fell’s and spent a lot of time there. Ezra was too young to know what was going on and Gabe never said, but the adults were well aware. The Fells gently talked Mrs. Herald into considering divorce or at the very very least therapy for everybody. Luckily she took their advice to heart. They moved back to the states before the Fell’s knew what happened.

She did get her and Gabe some therapy and was eventually able to divorce her husband. Gabe met Michelle, who was in the US with her military family, at a catholic high school. She had a fairly normal childhood with no huge tragedies. She and Gabe actually dated for just a little while before she realized she wasn’t into men. They proceeded to fake date the rest of high school so the faculty wouldn’t catch wise. Her family took a little adjusting when she came out but accepted it in the end. Gabe and Mikey have been close friends ever since.

Gabe got into boxing right about the time of his parents divorce. His therapist suggested some kind of physical activity and teenage Gabriel wanted to be able to protect his mom in the event his dad got physical…

Mrs. Herald eventually remarried a very kind man who loves her (and Gabe) very much. And Gabe couldn’t be happier. None of them are in contact with Mr. Herald any more.

There was going to be a little scene where Gabe calls home to talk to his mom. Because he’s a mamma’s boy if that wasn’t obvious lol.

Now, for the entire Prince family…I was “required” to give them all names…

Martha and David Prince are now retired and have been for a while. David was a postal carrier, Martha worked at a nursing home. They never pushed their kids to do anything, just supported what they enjoyed. They have no idea how ALL their kids wound up so successful and even with all their love and support they’re overwhelmingly serious and introverted. They’re slightly relieved their youngest is happy to be “something boring.”

Arthur has numerous paintings hanging in fine art museums. He lives on a little farm and cares for his animals in between paintings.

Katherine (Kath) is a sought after architect with her own firm. She’s the second most athletic, keeping in good shape and occasionally running marathons.

William (Will) is a heart surgeon, Martha and David live in his detached cottage.

Charles (Chuck only to his family) Is a property lawyer, and relatively laid back compared to his older siblings. He’s more introverted than serious.

Benjamin (Ben/Benny) is quite friendly and outgoing compared to his siblings. He’s a violin virtuoso and has played around the world.

Elizabeth (Lizzy ONLY to Eleanor) is a world champion archer several times over, and has multiple Olympic gold medals. She teaches lessons but her teaching style drives all but the most dedicated away. She’s not cruel or aggressive, she’s just incredibly blunt.

Eleanor (Nora) is the most bubbly and outgoing of the family. She’s in school getting her higher mathematics degree and will likely become an accountant. She and “Lizzy” are especially close. There was going to be an ongoing text conversation between the two.  Nora is also pretty good friends with Fish.

Katherine, William, and Charles are married with kids. Elizabeth and Gabriel get married a few years into their relationship. Ben is in a long term relationship, but neither of them are in a hurry to get married. Arthur and Nora are single. Arthur has no desire to marry and Nora is just too busy with school to devote time to dating.

Also I know this is in the back of some of your minds, the medal breakdown!

Fish and Newt take bronze

Crowley, Gabe and Anathema get silvers

Ezra and Prince take Gold, Ezra nearly breaking a world record for his lift!

and sadly the UK women’s volleyball team does not medal at all.

[mithrasisgay]

The Sims 3 Nightfall Challenge

(This is mostly a post for myself, because the MTS forums won’t heckin work on my work computer, so i’m posting it here for now)

Dark shadows gather over your world. The forces of hell rise every night, cutting your town off from the outside world. Only the sun brings salvation. You have no idea if it’s like this everywhere, but you are determined to survive – and perhaps escape. But until you can do that, you must resist the darkness.

 This Challenge uses the D&D skill- and rolling system (to an extent). That means, You get a Difficulty Score (DC) that you must meet or exceed to pass a check. To do that, you must roll a 20-sided die (or use an online dice rolling app). You will get different modifiers for different skills your sim has (meaning you add to your roll)

You gain 1 modifier point per two skill levels. That means, if you are level 6 in a skill, you would add 3 to your roll.

Some circumstances may give you Disadvantage, in which case you roll twice and take the lower result.

 Skills and what they modify: Martial Arts – Combat Athletic – Physical Fortitude Gardening – Herbology, Survival (includes tracking etc.) Alchemy, Cooking – Identifying poisons, Purifying food sources etc. Charisma – Anything social Logic – Various mental things, and mental fortitude Handiness – self-explanatory Science – Medical checks, anything to do with technology The Sanity System: Some events may cause your Sim to lose a sanity level. That puts them at a lower sanity level, effects of which are detailed below. Your sim may recover one sanity level by spending an entire day only doing what they enjoy (meaning generic fun activities, or more specific to the Sim in question. Like, a Loves the Outdoors sim may go for a walk, a virtuoso may listen to music etc). During this recovery period, the Sim may not perform ANY skill building activities or chores. The Sanity effects STACK, which means if you’re at a level 3, you suffer the effects of levels 5, 4 and 3.

Sanity levels: 6 – You’re fine and function normally. 5 – You’re feeling paranoid, and will not interact with anyone below Good Friends level. 4 – You feel a lack of motivation and energy. Once your Sim fills their energy bar by sleeping, Use testingcheats to drag it back to the middle. 3. You feel scared all the time. Your Sim may not be alone in a room, excluding bathroom activities. If they are, roll a Logic check (DC 12). On a fail, you suffer an additional Sanity loss. 2. Your Sim now has disadvantage on every check they make. 1. The Darkness surrounds you. If your Sim does not recover a Sanity level by the next Dawn, the shadows consume them and they die.

Possession: Throughout your story, you may come in contact with possessed Sims, or even get one of your own possessed. When in this state, your Sim will be violent to everyone other than possessed sims and attack them (Spar or Fight). To recover, you must isolate the possessed sim from anything and everything. Lock them in a small 4x4 room alone and without any objects inside for 24 hours. If they are still alive after that period, they are considered liberated from Possession, but are at Sanity Level 3.

 Combat and Injury: If your Sim wins a Spar/Fight, you’re fine. If you lose, roll on this table to see what injury they suffer: (No modifiers for this roll!) Combat with NPCs may also be a Martial Arts check 1. Blunt force head trauma. You may not participate in any mental activities for 24 hours. 2. Ankle Sprain. You must walk everywhere and your cannot stand for longer than three hours at a time 3. Heavy Blood Loss. Use testingcheats to drain your Sim’s energy bar so they pass out. Roll an Athletic check (DC 14). If you fail, your Sim is out of commission for the rest of the week (3 days if it happens on a Sunday) 4. Broken Leg. Your Sim may not perform any actions that involve standing or moving around a lot for three days. 5. Internal Organ Damage. Another Sim must perform a DC 16 Science check, or the affected Sim perishes. 6. Blow to the Stomach. Your Sim has vomited all their stomach contents. Drag their hunger bar into the red.

Elixirs: At some points in the story, you will be allowed to visit the Elixir Consignment store. In addition to their ingame effects, Elixirs have the following benefits: Ad Nauseum: cures poison Vial of Potent Bliss: Lets your reroll one check per elixir Cure Elixir: Restores 1 Sanity level and heals 1 Injury Essence of Magic: Gives your next Logic check a +2 Potent Invigorating Elixir: Gives the drinker a +2 on any mental check until the next Dawn Potent Cure Elixir: Restores a Sim to level 6 Sanity and Cures all Injuries. Will also remove Possession.

 Setting up: Create a minimum of four YA sims and built them a home. You may use money cheats to build, but reset your funds to 5.000 when you’re done. You will need the Martial Arts skill, so use buydebug to get the training dummy. You may use buydebug to buy 3 fully mature base game plants.

General Rules: All your sims must be human.

You can only cook with what you have. That means, if a meal has a price next to it, you can’t make it. No quick meals!

If you eat anything of normal or lower quality, roll a D20. 1-5: You’re poisoned and will die within three days unless cured. 6-10: You vomit your food. Drag your hunger bar back to where it was before the meal. 11-20: you’re fine.

You cannot go outside during the night. If you do, you die. The same applies to Storms, Rain etc. Basically anything that obscures the sun.

You may not use Build/buy outside of specified events once the game starts.

You may not use any stores (Including Consignment Stores) outside of specified events.

If a child is born during the game, Roll a D20. If you roll below 10, the child is born with the Evil trait. The Evil trait attracts the shadows. If you have it, roll a Logic check (DC 12) every Sunday. If you fail, you get possessed.

Play with the lunar cycle. If your sim gets bitten by a zombie, they are considered poisoned and will die unless cured withtin three days.

When socializing with NPC sims, Roll a D20. Below a 5, they are Possessed and will attack you. You must fight them.

If you find a seed in the wild, Roll a Gardening check (DC10). If you fail, the seed is corrupted and unusable.

 The Events:

Day 1: You wake up to blood in the streets. Something terrible happened last night. You tune in to your local news channel and listen to an emergency broadcast that instructs you to stay inside after dark and prepare for the worst. No one has been able to leave town since yesterday and supplies will run scarce if the town does not learn to be self-sufficient. You may go out and spend up to 350 Simoleons at the local grocery store. However, the sights you will see on your way there are distressing. Roll a Logic check (DC10) if you fail, you lose a Sanity level.

Day 3: Your entire Household is plagued by a horrible nightmare. Voices whispering devilish things into their very souls. Roll a Logic check for each of them (DC 8). On a fail, they get possessed.

Day 5: A Solar eclipse darkens the sky. You may not leave the house during the day.

Day 7: The local Witch Coven has opened the Elixir store for the day. If your choose to go there, you will encounter a mad crowd swarming for supplies. Pick any random Sim and fight them.

Day 8: Something broke into your garden during the night. Harvest all your plants, but destroy the yield.

Day 10: The whispers are back. Roll a Logic check (DC 10) to avoid possession.

Day 13: At exactly 12PM, a locust swarm descends upon your lot. Any sim outside at that point must succeed a DC 15 Athletic check or suffer the Heavy Blood Loss effect and lose a sanity level.

Day 15: The Town is coming together to trade. You may visit your regular consignment store.

Day 16: A strange silence falls over the town. You may not speak to anyone or listen to music/Watch TV. Any Sim that is in the red with social by dusk must succeed a DC 14 Logic check or lose a Sanity level.

Day 18: You hear a loud, desperate pounding at your door. If you choose to open, roll a D20. Below 10, it is a possessed sim that promptly charges in and assaults you. Make a DC 14 Martial Arts check. If your fail, you suffer an injury. Above at 10, it’s a frightened little girl. Adopt a child to your household. She will be at Sanity level 3.

Day 21: The grocery store is open. You may spend up to 250 Simoleons. Day 24: On your daily supply run, you encounter a clearly unhinged man. He threatens you with a weapon and demands whatever food you currently have in your fridge.  You A) attempt to reason with him: DC 15 Charisma. On a Success, he breaks down in tears and tells you that his elderly mother is sick and he’s trying to trade food for a cure elixir, but he barely has enough to keep his family fed. You can give him some of your food, or an Elixir if you have one. On a Fail, he attacks you. Roll on the Injury table and delete 15 food items from your storage. B) attack him before he can attack you: Roll a Martial Arts (DC 13) check. If you fail, you lose 15 food and roll on the injury table.

Day 27: The Whispers are back, and stronger than ever. Roll a DC 12 Logic check or become possessed.

Day 30: All water in town has turned to blood overnight. You cannot fish or use plumbing (except for toilets, peeing in the blood is permitted) for two days. If you eat any produce harvested during this timeframe, roll an Athletic check (DC15). On a fail, you are poisoned and will die within three days unless cured.

Day 35: Tonight, the horrors of the dark broke through your defenses. Roll Athletics checks for every member of your household (DC 12). Those that fail are caught and dragged away. Do not try to rescue them, there is nothing you can do. Move your household to a different, empty lot and build them a house with whatever simoleons you currently have. You may take 20 food items and 3 elixirs with you. Everything else is lost to the assault. All survivors lose a Sanity level.

Day 36: If you helped the man from Day 24, you will meet him again. He is overjoyed to see that you’re still alive and tells you how he’s been doing. Thanks to your help, his mother is on the mend, and to show his gratitude, he gives you items worth 1.000 Simoleons that he scavenged. Use kaching and buy what you want in Build/buy. You also recover a Sanity level from seeing a friendly face. If you attacked him first, he will be furious with you and attack you on sight. Roll a DC 13 Martial Arts check to avoid injury.

Day 39: Another solar eclipse. You may not leave the house. Pass a DC 12 Logic check or lose a Sanity level, as you glance up at the blood red sky.

Day 41: The Witches open the elixir store!

Day 43: The horrors trashed your garden. Dispose of two mature plants.

Day 44: The infernal influence over your town has messed with written script. From now on, you may no longer read books. This includes using Alchemy Stations.

Day 48: The power is out. Use fires to keep the light level around your sims to avoid the horrors of the dark when night falls. If you have no fire-light sources, you may buy some in Build/buy. You may send two of your Sims to try and get the local power plant back online. They must both succeed a DC 15 Handiness check to do so.

Day 51: If you managed to gather 500 scrap metal by now, you can build a generator that lets you use electrical lights at night, or one appliance during the day – either one or the other, not  both! If you don’t have that much scrap, it’s time to scavenge some more.

Day 53: The Whispers have returned. Succeed a Logic DC 14 roll to avoid Possession.

Day 55: The grocery store and the Consignment store are open. You may spend 100 Simoleons in the Grocery store.

Day 58: Something has possessed your plants. If you go near your garden, succeed a DC 14 Athletics check or suffer an Ankle sprain, as vicious vines lash out and trip you.

Day 60: You have survived this far. It’s only going to get worse from here on. Give yourself 2.500 Simoleons and upgrade your homestead to your wishes.

 I will update this challenge with new events as time goes, if people like it. Thank you for considering my stuff! <3

[bibhabmishra]

10 Movies to Watch with Your Daughter and Teach Her She Can Change the World

These movies send motivational messages to young ladies all over the place.

With Netflix, Hulu and everything in the middle of, there's an abundance of motion pictures for families to watch with each other—yet there are a chosen few that guardians should assuredly plunk down to see with their girls.

Some are works of art and some are later, yet the one thing the 10 motion pictures on this rundown all share for all intents and purpose is that they instruct young ladies that, with steadiness and regard for both themselves as well as other people, they can change the world.

1. Moana

In addition to the fact that Moana boasts the most karaoke-commendable soundtrack, but on the other hand it's apparently one of the most women's activist Disney films in Disney history. It's the narrative of a bold 16-year-old who is acutely inquisitive about the world past the reef, much not at all like those on her island who've become careless. At the point when the island starts to gradually pass on, she heads out on an intense crucial secure her kin while wrangling mythical being Maui (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, no less) to direct her on an activity pressed journey to cross the untamed sea and return a stone he'd taken that would spare mankind. Moana offers rest from the customary Disney account in light of the fact that at its middle is a valiant lady of shading whose story has nothing to do with finding a sovereign yet, rather, a ton to do with insubordination and autonomy. It's intersectional third-wave woman's rights in a child's motion picture.

Maui and Moana Meeting

Moana

There's no sovereign or romantic tale right now—and that is reviving.

R/R

2. Marvel Woman

Lady Gadot's interpretation of Wonder Woman tells the story of Diana, an Amazonian warrior who understands her maximum capacity when she embarks to battle for what she has confidence in, notwithstanding that leaving her island is verboten. A lot to her mom's consternation, she begins preparing youthful—and she develops into the most proficient warrior of her property. In the wake of sparing a pilot who crashes close by and discovering that the outside world is racked by struggle, Diana escapes home to battle for the individuals. Persevering in her quest for harmony, she is persuaded she can discover Ares, the God of War, and spare the world. It's an engaging story of one lady's responsibility to a reason, her perseverance and her inward and external quality that, at last, changes the world.

Miracle Woman

Miracle Woman

The Amazons were genuine! Subsequent to watching this motion picture everybody feels like a superhuman.

R/R

3. Recollect the Titans

Recollect the Titans may be one of the most particularly American movies out there—it's about interracial cooperation during a period of exacerbated racial strain. What's more, it depends on the genuine story of the 1971 Virginia state football champions from T.C. Williams High School. The neighborhood educational committee had to coordinate an all-dark school with an all-white school, and the very establishment of football's convention was put to a definitive test when clogged pore mentor, Herman Boone, was contracted to lead the group. Highly contrasting colleagues much of the time conflicted in racially spurred clashes, however after thorough rushes to the Gettysburg burial ground and an inspirational discourse on regard, the group accomplishes racial amicability and, together, an undefeated season as well. Their encounters demonstrate that achievement comes when we regard each other and work together, reasonably.

Recall the Titans

Recall the Titans

Two words: Interracial cooperation.

R/R

4. Solidified

Solidified is the story of a women's activist, Anna, whose realm is caught in an unending winter when her sister, Elsa, throws a frigid spell. Anna collaborates with mountain dweller Kristoff and his reindeer to discover Elsa, break the spell and spare the realm, doing combating mysterious trolls and unforgiving conditions en route. In any case, when Elsa inadvertently freezes Anna's heart, as well, the main fix to spare her is a demonstration of genuine romance. From the outset she thinks a kiss from her smash, Prince Hans, could restore her, yet he ends up being both manipulative and deadly. In trust plot-contort design, the demonstration of adoration that at last spares Anna is bouncing before Hans' sword when he attempts to kill Elsa. Anna needn't bother with a sovereign; it's the genuine romance between sisters that spares them both and the realm.

Solidified

Solidified

This film pick is especially charming in the event that you have two young ladies.

R/R

5. Wild

This true to life experience dramatization depends on Cheryl Strayed's 2012 journal Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail. Reese Witherspoon, who plays Strayed, leaves Minneapolis, MN to climb 1,100 miles of the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail on an excursion of self-revelation and mending following an ongoing separation. She has no climbing experience, so the 94-day excursion to the Bridge of the Gods on the Columbia River among Oregon and Washington is brimming with important experiences, difficulties and triumphs that both truly and genuinely fortify her. It demonstrates that a lady can make it all alone, without relying upon any other individual.

Wild

Wild

She does everything all alone.

R/R

6. Matilda

This 1996 adjustment of a Roald Dahl work is about a talented young lady compelled to endure unrefined guardians and a domineering jerk of a school head, Agatha Trunchbull. Be that as it may, Matilda Wormwood is a wonder with the intensity of supernatural power and, when she understands her forces, she guards herself and her companions from the rage of Trunchbull. Matilda's name alone is a Germanic Gothic inference of the words quality and fight, and she's evidence that "battling like a young lady" signifies battling like a virtuoso.

Matilda

Matilda

She wants to peruse, confronts menaces and can make things fly.

R/R

7. The Bad News Bears

The Bad News Bears, a 1976 American games satire film, is to a great extent about how one young lady takes a young men's baseball crew from sad to stopless. Morris Buttermaker, a profane previous small time baseball player and a heavy drinker, is placed responsible for the Bears baseball crew at the command of legal advisor councilman Bob Whitewood, who has a feud against the class for barring his possibly skilled child. Be that as it may, the Bears is made out of a lot of mavericks who can't dominate a match ... until Buttermaker enrolls pitcher Amanda Whurlitzer, who has a serious arm. Out of nowhere, the group begins turning their losing streak around and everybody understands that anything young men can do, young ladies can do as well (and frequently far superior).

The Bad News Bears

The Bad News Bears

They all ought to figure out how to "play like a young lady."

R/R

8. Rudy

Rudy is a 1993 American true to life sports film about the life of Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger, who harbors fantasies about playing football at the University of Notre Dame yet has neither the cash nor the evaluations to get in. He additionally isn't certain that he has the ability or the physical stature to play for a significant intercollegiate program in any case, after his closest companion who constantly upheld his fantasy is slaughtered in a blast at the factory where they worked, Rudy chooses to pull out all the stops. He enlists at Holy Cross College, a close by junior school, and, following two years and three dismissals, he is at last admitted to Notre Dame during his last semester of move qualification. His commitment to his fantasy at last grounds him a spot on the training squad and, later, the dress program. He's guaranteed to play in one home game his senior year to show his family he made it at the same time, after his mentor is supplanted by another one, he faces difficulties. He needs to stop however wins in any case and, at the film's end, is carted away the field on his colleagues' shoulders. Rudy shows the exercise that anybody can do anything to which they set their psyches, in any event, when it appears to be incomprehensible.

Rudy

Rudy

Sports films have such huge numbers of significant exercises.

R/R

9. The Help

The Help is a 2011 American period dramatization film adjusted from Kathryn Stockett's 2009 novel of a similar name. It's set in 1963, Jackson, MS and recounts to the tale of Aibileen Clark, an African-American house cleaner who thinks about socialite Elizabeth Leefolt's dismissed girl, Mae Mobley. Aibileen faces racial shameful acts, which she later offers with a yearning creator, Skeeter, the girl of a white family who claims a cotton ranch outside Jackson. During the social liberties development of the 1960s, Skeeter chooses to compose a book specifying the African-American house cleaners' encounters working for white families—she'd thought about what ever befallen her servant, Constantine, who helped raise her, yet she needs to procure the trust of Aibileen and different house cleaners to get the genuine story. The film is about trust among ladies who originate from very surprising foundations yet are in any case ready to encourage a fellowship and help each other make change.

The Help

The Help

Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer are strict blessed messengers.

R/R

10. Rough

Each young lady should watch the clothes to newfound wealth story of the oppressed, kind nature fighter Rocky Balboa. A common laborers Italian-American obligation authority for a credit shark in the ghettos of Philadelphia, Rocky gets an amazing chance to battle heavyweight boxing best on the planet, Apollo Creed, for $150,000. He prepares for a little while utilizing whatever he can discover—even meat remains as punching packs—until he acknowledges an idea from previous bantamweight warrior Mickey "Forceful Mick" Goldmill. Paving the way to the battle, his certainty begins to diminish, however he turns into the dark horse for whom America wants to root, and his hounded refusal to be taken out acquires him the regard of the whole field. While he doesn't really win the battle, the sportscasters call his presentation "the best display of guts and stamina throughout the entire existence of the ring." And, therefore, Rocky demonstrates that triumphant isn't all that matters—the exertion checks when one gives it their everything.

[scara-smooches]

While I love to imagine S.caramouche being a virtuoso, his source material offers evidence that he is quite musically inept.

While it's obvious he loves music, notice that he chooses styles that dont stick to a set beat and melody. He plays freeform jazzy flute, and scats. (No, not THAT kind)

Then in a later appearance, he dances and it's absolutely ridiculous looking. I mean, its adorable, but you wouldnt catch anyone in the club dancing like that.

This is where i discussed with @ittybittylovingspace on the matter, so some of the following words are from her.

S.caramouche was designed to kill and destroy, so maybe that restricts his musical abilities to what is shown in canon. He cant carry a tune to save his life, but still tries because it's fun and he enjoys it? That concept just slays me. Better yet, he adapted to that by picking a musical style that works around that problem!

Perhaps if he were to sing along to something, hed do terribly. But it would be precious because hes still having a good time. He just does whatever the hell he wants (which is sometimes a bad thing, but)

If he had the musical prowess of a god, or the complete opposite, I would swoon just the same. Thanks for coming to my Ted talk

[offbeat-classes]

The Order of the Grand Finale

You have been assigned the class of:

Finale Scion

The three sections of your skill tree are:

One More Favor

Heraldry of the End

The Last Word

Enjoy your new life of PLANNING A FEAST AND BALL FOR THE COURT TO CELEBRATE YOUR UPCOMING ABDICATION

You have been assigned the class of:

Finale Sage

The three sections of your skill tree are:

Hex, Y, Z

Last Rites

All-Star Casting

Enjoy your new life of CLOSING THE SPELLBOOK

You have been assigned the class of:

Finale Philosopher

The three sections of your skill tree are:

Out With a Bang

Pan-Achievement

End-o-thermic Reactions

Enjoy your new life of TURNING GOLD INTO BED

You have been assigned the class of:

Finale Virtuoso

The three sections of your skill tree are:

Twelve O’Clock Number

The Ultimate Echo

End on a High Note

Enjoy your new life of NOT BEING SAD BECAUSE IT’S OVERTURE, BUT SMILING BECAUSE IT HAPPENED

You have been assigned the class of:

Finale Epicure

The three sections of your skill tree are:

That’s All, Forks

We’ll Meat Again

Last Fill and Taste-a-mint

Enjoy your new life of PUTTING “MAKES INCREDIBLE LAST MEALS” ON YOUR RESUME

You have been assigned the class of:

Finale Champion

The three sections of your skill tree are:

Ex-Secutor

Tried-Ent and Tested Net

The Crowd Goes Home

Enjoy your new life of PASSING OUT COMMENT CARDS AFTER THE FIGHT CHECKING TO MAKE SURE YOU WERE, IN FACT, ENTERTAINED

You have been assigned the class of:

Finale Tycoon

The three sections of your skill tree are:

Perpetual Liquidation

Final Discountdown

The Bottom Line

Enjoy your new life of SETTING SALE FOR GREENER PASTURES

You have been assigned the class of:

Finale Mastermind

The three sections of your skill tree are:

End of an Error

Leaving Through the Back Door

Search End-gines

Enjoy your new life of LOGGING OFF GENTLY INTO THAT GOOD NIGHT

You have been assigned the class of:

Finale Brewmaster

The three sections of your skill tree are:

Lastest Call

Farewell Pour

Leave of Absinthe

Enjoy your new life of FINALLY CLOSING ALL YOUR GODDAMN TABS

You have been assigned the class of:

Finale Larcenist

The three sections of your skill tree are:

Abate and Switch

Thrilling Con-Conclusions

Breaking and Exiting

Enjoy your new life of REALLY MEANING IT WHEN YOU SAY “ONE LAST JOB”

You have been assigned the class of:

Finale Wildlord

The three sections of your skill tree are:

Graduated Shapeshift

Apocalypse Howl

Last Stand (of Trees)

Enjoy your new life of OVERSEEING DECAY AND REBIRTH, SAME AS IT EVER WAS

You have been assigned the class of:

Finale Bishop

The three sections of your skill tree are:

Cease Be With You

Last Ditch Evocation

Tolling of the Bell

Enjoy your new life of PREACHING TO THE CHOIR INVISIBLE

Nearly every great artifact has been recovered, nearly every dungeon of note cleared, and every villain plaguing the land has - for a time - been defeated. Only one task remains, the request of an old and weary cartographer:

Chart the Final Frontier

For decades, now, rumors have circulated of an uncharted land in the far north. Past the icebergs and sea serpents, past the vast and cruel tundra, past the ruins of the only civilization that saw fit to make their home in such a place, there lies an impossible path that goes beyond the arc of the world, straight on to other planets - worlds filled with unknown cultures, impossible magic, inconceivable technology, ingredients and reagents that boggle the mind (and, more importantly, the tongue).

The road will be harsh and difficult. Mortals and monsters are the least of your concerns compared to the freezing winds and icy slopes, to say nothing of whatever dangers might lie beyond… but the thought of an adventure like none you’ve yet known spurs you onward all the same.

Your quest, should you choose to accept it:

Evade or defeat the Interruption Wyrm and pass through the Fluorescent Floes: Few adventurers have even set foot in the far north; most parties, faced with the highly territorial dragon that calls this land its home, have found themselves frozen first in time and then in ice. Your best bet is to avoid confronting it entirely, if you can, but even if you best it in combat, you’ll still need to avoid crashing your ship on the shining sheets of crystal and ice that block off the Great Tundra.

Reach the summit of the Tyrant’s Spire: Long ago, a mighty Emperor - who neither possessed nor required a specialty - ruled half the known world from his throne tucked deep inside this great mountain. Yet even he and his veteran Ice Knights were unable to reach the top and return to tell the tale; their final attempt to do so led to the Emperor’s death, and with it, the collapse of his empire. The Spire has only grown more inhospitable since, and the chances are high that the vengeful spirits of the dead still linger, too desperate to let go of the only imperial land that no one else has ever bothered to claim.

Chart the Final Frontier, and Keep on Rolling: As you look out from the Spire’s Summit, you will know that the edge of one world is the beginning of so many others. The enormity of creation spreads out in front of you, vibrant and ever in motion. You will see what the Emperor and his knights saw: a vast plane spreading towards the horizon, countries and mountains and oceans below, and above, stars glittering out into the bleak forever, with the hope of infinite worlds. And more than ever, you will feel the magic in every inch of that infinity. The worlds are there, all for you to discover. The only thing that they ask of you is that you venture forth into them.

[bpoole500]

Tusk Revisited

This fall marks the 40th anniversary of the release of Tusk, Fleetwood Mac’s defiantly offbeat opus that was underappreciated in its time, even as it presaged trends in music.

After the unprecedented success of 1977’s Rumours, the Mick Fleetwood/John McVie/Christine McVie/Stevie Nicks/Lindsey Buckingham incarnation of Fleetwood Mac pretty much had carte blanche to do whatever the band wanted. A situation like that gives an artist several avenues for their potential next act.

Many acts have followed up a landmark album with “Part 2.” Think of Adele’s 25 or Michael Jackson’s Bad. The artist delivers a follow-up that’s very much in the vein of their big last album. Reviewers will tend to be less enthused, but it will sell well and produce more hit singles, usually pleasing most fans and the record label. It’s a good career move, even if the follow-up can’t help but be overshadowed by its celebrated predecessor.

Other artists respond to a significant breakthrough album by, essentially, not following it up. Perhaps a live set might emerge or some earlier recordings are repackaged for the new mass audience that came aboard for the big hit. There could be live shows. But in essence, the artist just chooses, for any of a variety of reasons, to sit it out. Look no further than the trajectory of Lauryn Hill after The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Fans usually never understand it, even if it makes sense to the artist.

And then there’s the path that Fleetwood Mac took with their follow-up to Rumours. As has been pointed out many times, there is no topping an album like Rumours, a collection that earned strong critical accolades, major sales and cross-genre airplay dominance. It’s one of those albums that, even decades later, remains a strong seller, as new generations discover it (and often access it in new ways, thanks to media evolution). Warner Bros. would certainly have been thrilled if the band had delivered Rumours II. That would have played well with fans, as well.

But that ignores the fact that Rumours was a “lightning in a bottle” moment, the kind of personal/professional alchemy that a band can’t plan. And in the case of this group, likely would not have wanted to re-live even if they could have.

Instead, the band followed the third path that acts sometimes embrace after a major success: go in an unexpected direction. No description drives record company execs to the antacid bottle more than “experimental.” Especially when its affixed to the new album of a key act. But that’s what Fleetwood Mac did with Tusk.

Buckingham is widely acknowledged as one of the guitar virtuosos of the rock world. He’s also recognized for his love of studiocraft and production experimentation. So with a blank check, the band essentially handed the wheel to their resident mad genius and let him steer them into waters that took a different path from the era-defining sound of their recent hit. The result was Tusk, a double album misunderstood at its time, that only years later would be embraced as a lunatic masterpiece.

While Buckingham was thoroughly grounded in the classic rock idiom, he listened to, and was inspired by, everything that was going on in the industry at the time. The restless energy of post-punk and the trashy electro-sheen of new wave. The fearless disregard of tradition of art rock and the sonic collage experiments of industrial music. He was inspired to go beyond what a band could produce using instruments and voices, using production not just as a facilitator, but as a sonic medium in its own right. He wrote numerous songs that sounded little like what he’d produced before and then wrapped his feverish sonic ideas around Christine and Stevie’s more traditional compositions, pushing them to unexpected places. At its core, Tusk was a major, mainstream classic rock band charting the future of alternative music.

As has been pointed out many times, Tusk often feels like the mash-up of two different albums: Buckingham’s paranoid opus, full of sharp edges and nervous tics, contrasted with the more conventional songs produced by his partners. It’s not an unfair paradigm, but even though Tusk has Buckingham’s imprimatur firmly stamped on it, it’s still definitively the work of a band. Drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie follow their guitarist’s lead and achieve the kinds of beats and rhythms necessary to execute Buckingham’s ideas, while the layers of harmonies he envisioned wouldn’t have hit with the impact they did without the unique interplay of his voice with Christine’s and Stevie’s.

Still, Buckingham did go in some startling directions. Bits of everything from rockabilly and the Beach Boys to punk and World Beat are evident in the mix, the album often presaging trends that would dominate the music scene in the decade that followed. The title track is a prime example of Buckingham’s ideas coming together in a striking manner. It boasts the sinister paranoia of many of Buckingham’s contributions, using almost tribal rhythms that referenced African sonic traditions half a decade before Paul Simon’s landmark Graceland. Married with layered harmonies, distorted guitars and an actual marching band, it was like nothing else on the charts in 1979.

“What Makes You Think You’re the One” was another moment where Buckingham managed to translate his impulses into something with commercial appeal, working nervous energy, edgy rhythms and echoes of doo wop harmonies and instrumental flourishes into an engaging stew. Throughout, Buckingham’s songs were filled with off-kilter melodies, production tricks and distortions, layers of harmonies that pushed song structures that could have been familiar into some places listeners hadn’t been before. He borrowed the economy of punk, with most of his compositions clocking in within the range of two to three minutes, often ending abruptly or on an unexpected moment of dissonance. He surrounded the songs with spacey, detached qualities, adding propulsion even to quieter moments. With titles like “The Ledge,” “Walk A Thin Line,” “I Know I’m Not Wrong,” “That’s Enough for Me” and “Not That Funny,” with unsettled lyrics and performances that communicated a certain alienation, Buckingham’s songs more dared listeners to engage with them than invited them in. It’s not what you might expect from a superstar release, but it was brave and creative.

While some critics were inclined to dismiss the more conventional tunes that Christine and Stevie composed, one of the more fascinating aspects of Tusk was seeing how Buckingham co-opted those songs to fit his vision for the album. You got Christine’s sunny SoCal pop and Stevie’s mystical rock and folk run through Buckingham’s offbeat paranoia, for some often interesting results.

Take Christine’s “Think About Me,” a charming Top 30 hit that’s often overlooked today. Buckingham’s production is drenched in the surf pop of the Beach Boys, but spikes it with fuzzy edges, jittery harmonies and wailed vocal counterpoints. Deceptively simple songs like “Over & Over,” “Brown Eyes” and “Honey Hi” took on more complex structures as Buckingham injected the emerging New Wave ethos into them, giving them layers and textures that pushed them out of Christine’s usual comfort zone, adding tension and friction that provided contrast to her cool, clean vocals. Even a gentle ballad like “Never Make Me Cry” got a jolt from the subtle pulse of a strummed electric guitar that Buckingham ran throughout.

Unsurprisingly, Stevie’s songs provided a robust canvas for Buckingham’s production work. Tusk is best remembered for hit single “Sara,” one of Stevie’s more engaging poetic explorations. Even in the edited version (which chops off nearly two minutes, including the entire second verse), it’s a beguiling mix, with Buckingham using a complex layering of harmonies that builds slowly to surround Stevie’s lead, giving an exotic charm to the mix, while he adds fuzzy touches to the edges to give the song an insistent energy. He transformed “Angel” into a harbinger of the country-pop that would come to dominate Nashville a decade later and gave a jittering, unsettling edge to the gentle “Storms” that set out a roadmap for the contemporary folk sound that was right around the corner. Most daringly, Buckingham used Stevie’s mystic rock opus “Sisters of the Moon” to pioneer the template for the dance rock that would become a staple of alternative radio.

Fans and critics didn’t know what to make of Tusk. The title track became a hit because anything that Fleetwood Mac released after Rumours would have made the Top 10. “Sara” and “Think About Me” succeeded with radio as the best examples of the band’s traditional sound melding seamlessly with Buckingham’s futurist production. But many critics at the time didn’t get the album and fans who had bought Rumours in droves didn’t embrace Tusk. It was seen as a failure and would set the stage for a retrenchment (the far more conventional Mirage (1982) and Tango in the Night (1987) would bring this chapter of the band to a close on a more commercial, mainstream note).

But Tusk has had a healthy afterlife. While it hasn’t enjoyed the long-term sales power of Rumours or the group’s eponymous 1975 album, it has remained available consistently and won over new converts over the years. Critical re-evaluations of the album, especially in the context of the ‘80s alternative revolution that followed, came to appreciate how ahead of its time Tusk was and what a crucial touchstone it became for the development of modern rock music. It grew into an “artists’ album,” one of those works cited by other musicians as one of their influences. Both “Tusk” and “Sara” have remained in regular rotation on classic rock and soft rock radio formats, while “Sisters of the Moon” developed into a cult favorite among Stevie’s loyal fans. The band included several cuts from Tusk on their various “best of” collections and incorporated them into their latter day tours to strong effect.

Tusk makes almost perfect sense when viewed from a remove of forty years. Fleetwood Mac took advantage of the opportunity that success afforded them to go out on a creative limb. And in the process, thanks to Buckingham’s feverish creativity and work ethic, helped advance the evolution of rock and alternative music.