#aliza hill

[girlactionfigure]

Three freight trains were each packed with 2,500 Jewish prisoners in an effort to transport them to death camps further east just before Allied troops arrived to liberate Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in April 1945. Many of these prisoners had come from the special 'Exchange Camp' within Bergen-Belsen, where groups of Jews were kept who were considered suitable for possible 'exchange' for Germans interned abroad; the exchange prisoners were allowed to wear their own clothing and, initially, were better treated than other concentration camp prisoners. But, as the war's end neared, these prisoners were swept up in the Nazis' attempts to hide evidence of their crimes by 'liquidating' many concentration camps and killing as many of the remaining prisoners as possible.

After a six-day journey, the train pictured here stopped suddenly near the German village of Farsleben where artillery fire between the Allied forces and Germans could be heard all around. With American troops advancing, the train's SS guards fled during the night. One survivor, Aliza Vitis-Shomron, recalled the moment when American troops arrived: "People burst out of the carriages. Suddenly someone shouted: ‘The Americans are coming!’ To our great surprise, a tank came slowly down the hill opposite, followed by another one. I ran toward the tank, laughing hysterically. It stopped. I embraced the wheels, kissed the iron plates. We had won the war.”

Major Clarence L. Benjamin was in a jeep leading the small task force of two light tanks that first encountered the train filled Jews from Hungary, Holland, Poland, Greece and Slovakia, many of them sick and starving. It was Major Benjamin who took this now famous photograph of a mother and her young daughter moments after liberation. The woman pictured was later identified as being a 35-year-old Jewish woman from the Hungarian town of Makó and her 5-year-old daughter, who was 77 as of 2017 but did not wish to be named publicly. It has been called ‘one of the most powerful photographs of the 20th century.'

A Mighty Girl

[maid-with-sunset-in-her-hair]

Etymology of the Tully’s Names

Hoster: most likely an invented name derived from the word host, probably a world building reference to the importance of guest right.

Minisa: either a misspelling of the Greek name Melissa (bee, honey) or a reference to the Minisa Symphony Orchestra in Wichita, with minisa being a Chippewa word meaning "red water at sunset."

Brynden: probably invented from the Welsh name and surname Bryn (hill). Brynden also sounds exactly like the Spanish verb brinden (to drink a toast, to offer, to dedicate). It could also be a misspelling of Brandon, which derivated from the Irish name Breandán (prince, king, chieftain).

Lysa: a misspelling of Lisa, which could be the short form of the Hebrew name Elizabeth (my God is an oath, my God is abundance), the Hebrew name Aliza (joyful) or the Greek name Melissa (bee, honey). The last one would explain why there’s so many honeycomb references in the Eyrie’s descriptions.

Edmure: a misspelling of Edmund, an Old English name composed by the words ēad (wealth, fortune, prosperous) and mund (protector). Basically the same meaning as Edward. It could also be an anagram of the word “demure.”

Roslin: it could be a misspelling of the Old German name Rosalind (gentle, tender horse) or the Old German/Spanish name Rosalinda (beautiful rose). I think one of the Freys made an angry comment about Edmure wanting to count her teeth like a horse before they married.

[ivysgameofthronesobsession]

navigation -

hello! I'm Ivy! welcome to my blog! this is an oc blog for game of thrones ocs of mine. I do enjoy answering any asks you may have about any of my ocs, so please...ask away!

full masterlist - contains all ocs and the links to their own mini masterlists

hashtag dump below ↓

[yourreddancer]

In April 1945, a few days before the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, three freight trains were each packed with 2,500 Jewish prisoners in an effort to transport them to death camps further east before Allied troops arrived. Many of these prisoners had come from the special 'Exchange Camp' within Bergen-Belsen, where groups of Jews were kept who were considered suitable for possible 'exchange' for Germans interned abroad; the exchange prisoners were allowed to wear their own clothing and, initially, were better treated than other concentration camp prisoners. But, as the war's end neared, these prisoners were swept up in the Nazis' attempts to hide evidence of their crimes by 'liquidating' many concentration camps and killing as many of the remaining prisoners as possible.

After a six-day journey, the train pictured here stopped suddenly near the German village of Farsleben where artillery fire between the Allied forces and Germans could be heard all around. With American troops advancing, the train's SS guards fled during the night. One survivor, Aliza Vitis-Shomron, recalled the moment when American troops arrived on April 13, 1945: "People burst out of the carriages. Suddenly someone shouted: ‘The Americans are coming!’ To our great surprise, a tank came slowly down the hill opposite, followed by another one. I ran toward the tank, laughing hysterically. It stopped. I embraced the wheels, kissed the iron plates. We had won the war.”

Major Clarence L. Benjamin was in a jeep leading the small task force of two light tanks that first encountered the train filled Jews from Hungary, Holland, Poland, Greece and Slovakia, many of them sick and starving. It was Major Benjamin who took this now famous photograph of a mother and her young daughter moments after liberation. The woman pictured was later identified as being a 35-year-old Jewish woman from the Hungarian town of Makó and her 5-year-old daughter, who was 77 as of 2017 but did not wish to be named publicly. It has been called ‘one of the most powerful photographs of the 20th century.'

This incredible story, along with more moving first-hand testimonies from both survivors and liberators and over 70 iconic WWII liberation photos, has been shared by author Matt Rozell in his excellent book "A Train Near Magdeburg" at https://amzn.to/3uoY5rj

For teens, there is also a Young Readers Edition of "A Train Near Magdeburg" for ages 13 and up at https://amzn.to/3fEKVT4

For children's books about more real-life Holocaust rescuers, we recommend  "Irena's Jars of Secrets" for ages 6 to 9 (https://www.amightygirl.com/irena-s-jars-of-secrets),

"Jars of Hope" for ages 7 to 10 (https://www.amightygirl.com/jars-of-hope),

 "Irena's Children" for ages 10 and up (https://www.amightygirl.com/irena-s-children-young-readers), and "The Light in Hidden Places" for ages 13 and up (https://www.amightygirl.com/the-light-in-hidden-places)

There is also a powerful new book for adult readers about the teenage girls and women who worked for the resistance in the Jewish ghettoes of Poland, "The Light of Days" at https://www.amightygirl.com/the-light-of-days -- which is also available in a Young Readers Edition for ages 10 and up at https://www.amightygirl.com/light-days-young-readers

For many books for children and teens about the experience of girls and women in the Holocaust, visit our blog post "60 Mighty Girl Books About The Holocaust" at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=11586

and for adult readers, we've shared many books about women living through WWII and the Holocaust in our blog post, "Telling Her Story: 40 Books for Adult Readers About Women Heroes of WWII," at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=24501

[beautifulterriblequeen]

I really enjoyed watching ToX's Tale of the Frozen Barrow, which finished up last week, featuring Cam Banks as the Narrator, and Aliza Pearl, Bee Zelda, Fenway Jones, and Mellie Doucette as players. The TTRPG stream runs for a total of 6 hours in 3 parts. It's set in Del Bar, the winter after Viren's army invades Xadia, and it contains plenty of TDP-canon details that haven't had a chance to make it into the show or books yet.

I took notes as I watched and listened, just for my own enrichment. So in case you're into some extra TDP worldbuilding, here's what I picked up:

Duren

Riverlands of Duren, across border from Katolis. Rivers, rolling hills.

There is a well trod path in Duren to Del Bar along the river. Possibly created/expanded by the army that departed to join Viren.

Eljaal, Moonshadow assassin, was here in summer, for mission

Now it’s stormy and colder, the land is recovering from troop movements and upset and whispers of war. People have gone home from wartime places/camps, as if for fall/winter. Some of the streams and tributaries have frozen over, so many waterways that it’s possible to follow the wrong one if you do not know the way.

Evenere

The edge of their territory near the river that divides them from Del Bar is called the Border Swamps.

Swamp boats exist, are pilotable. Swamp Boat has a shack in the back, and for warmth a big metal bowl with coals in it. Long oars can also be for poling.

Central Evenere is into its monarchy and politics, and conscientious deserters like Ponmalar are not liked there.

Evenereans have floods seasonally. They leave their separate towns during the winter holiday and retreat collectively to higher land to avoid the swamp monsters that come in with the floodwaters. Courtships take place then, and the communities all interact together while they’re away from their year-round homes.

Evenerean cuisine is made of gumbo, stews, tubers, grasses, and then nice hot/flavorful spices, which can create dishes that people from other lands are not always eager to try.

Neolandia

Calving season in Neolandia takes place after other realms' winter holidays, and that’s when Neolandian holidays happen.

Trading gifts is a big tradition for Neolandia.

Neolandian story: a girl who traded a peanut for a cloak, then the cloak for something better, and up and up until she traded for a palace.

"Trading up" is a Neolandian concept of bettering one's fortune/prospects

Del Bar

Mountainous rugged wild kingdom

Long stone bridge across the river from Duren to Del Bar. The Del Bar side has a 4-story watchtower of stone, with a crenellated top, at the very end of the bridge. One story is within the bridge with a side door to steps that lead down to the water, and three stories rise above the bridge.

Across the bridge into Del Bar, is lower foothills and then very tall mountains. Ledges, ravines, etc.

Hinterpeak is capital city of Del Bar.

Del Bar and Evenere do not get along, traditionally.

Only bad barrels of food were left behind by the Del Barian army.

Caravan area by the watchtower on the Del Barian side, gathering area with buildings, rest stop, troughs, way station. Used to be siege engines here for defense, ballistas etc, but they are gone, taken into Viren’s war.

Del Barians are quasi-xenophobic not only toward elves from Xadia but toward other humans from other countries

Men generally wear big beards, loose or braided.

Stables attached to tower, animals would be brought in during coldest weather, brazier is lit inside but not doing much warming due to a fuel shortage.

Beer in Del Bar, they have that after food runs out. All over the land, after armies moved out, people are picking over leftovers and less worthy foods, and this beer is sour or maybe spoiled.

Dorm room on the top floor of the watchtower holds a dozen beds, all facing center. There are four men stationed here.

Del Barians party by being as loud and braggodocious as possible on purpose, like Sunfires.

Rulers in Del Bar are picked from winning contests on boasting and discussion. Del Barian leaders are braggadocious but also can actually win in a fight so they're capable and clear-headed.

The Boast! A storytelling contest when family reunites, to see who had the coolest time while they were apart.

A new king has apparently not been selected to replace King Florian after a smoky assassin killed him last spring.

Del Barians don’t hide their feelings.

If you do something in a way different than theirs, they may comment to someone near them how wrong/weird your behavior is, loudly enough for you to hear it.

Wyrmcrag is a village in the shadow of a frozen waterfall/glacier

Del Barian village looks like a Viking village, with Irish carving and twists in decor, looks also kinda like Spanish Colonial. Enter under a carved arch, with wide gates.

The locals have various skin tones, but most are hard workers toiling, with a few who are dressed for lighter work. The only people left after everyone marched to war are aged, young, or not suited for the military at all, no one here is really fit for a strong defense.

Main structure is a festival hall, a long house. Long line of coals down center of longhouse, provides much of the light. Big pots hang over them, big sheets of iron with things cooking on them also. Cauldrons, spears, skewers. Sit on low benches near the coals and eat from troughs and trenches, and also smaller seating areas away from the firepit. High ceiling 4+ ppl tall, makes the room a bit echoey, ventilation slit in the top of the ceiling to let out smoke.

Del Barian food is boiled, fried, skewered, and roasted. Big tureens of soup. Big full loaves of bread.

Heavily meat-oriented meal, lots of meat being cooked over the fire. Caravan brought fruit and vegetables from afar, though.

Longhouse has a big wooden frame with lots of barrels set into it that got tapped and have various beers and ales.

“Hot nice, cold nice”: drinks that are not beer

Hot Nice: Elderberry-jasmine-mead elixir, warms back of throat and back of neck when you take a sip. It's Honey Whiskey, served hot.

Thermos made of leather

Festival hair ornaments involve bright threads or braided/twisted bits in festival colors that are twined through their hair.

Del Barians have lots of pride in folklore and storytelling and their ability to spin yarns.

Bardbarians, basically.

Conrad's Boast (brag-story): Over a thousand years ago, before the land was divided and the human realms were even formed, his ancestor, Connar, was the mightiest swordsman. He faced the frostwyrm Kalesh, drove it into a cave, and stunned it in there. Dying, he remained inside the cave to keep it from attacking his family so they would survive, and his brother Orlando, a dark mage, sealed the ice into a tomb to trap Kalesh.

Elves

Elves can see better than humans.

Eljaal’s sword staff collapses and unfolds. Like Viren’s staff.

Moonberry juice is an exceptionally high quality drink.

Creatures

Musk Bear: Bear-sized with shaggy fronts and springy legs, and they run like apes. Live near Serpentongue and don't have horns. Appearing somewhere between bear and wolf. Have a sort of howling noise. Mellie strongly hinted that these will be listed in the ToX Handbook.

Spectral form of musk bear has horns and is much larger than usual. Velvety purplish black creatures (not really here 100% even though they look very real), affected by dark magic. This is later revealed to be a fear/nightmare effect created by pulling energy from a powerful dark magic ward, thereby giving nightmarish scenes to innocent people instead of the wards' intended target.

Frostwyrm (ice dragon): huge and ancient, its face draconian with twisty horns carved of ice, face chiseled like moving ice sculpture, wide mouth, scary, haunting.

Ghosts aren’t real in this world, and there are no undead.

Dark Magic

Reveal Your Secrets dark magic spell uses the antenna of an archangel lunaris and also of a sunray monarch

Reveal your Secrets, when applied to a person, gives a vision of the person who’s doing a thing, from their own eyes, can’t ID them, but see hands.

A dark mage can basically dispel spectral creatures affected with dark magic using a wave of intent and a spell. They dissolve into sleety bits and then foggy smoke and evaporates.

Cantrips can be done at will when you have Corrupted trauma

Can’t make up new spells, all spells exist already in primal and dark

A dark mage with Corruption trauma can see dark magic effects on/through objects and areas

Spiderweb of black from eyes and mouth and paler skin = dark magic corruption stress

Dark mages can sense the corrupted trauma on each other

Objects can become magical due to their place in history and events they become part of, such as an ordinary pair of ermine gloves.

Dark magic wards can give nightmares and terrors to even powerful frostwyrms, rendering strong beings incapable of daring to break through relatively weak physical barriers like sheets of ice.

These nightmarish wards can be reversed with other dark magic, giving nightmares to others and spawning monstrous creatures to frighten, and the more terror that happens on the "wrong" side of the wards and drains them, the weaker they become, until they're rendered useless and the warded being is free to escape.

Tressal sees the other dark mage wave his fingers doing a spell effect that pulls on no obvious magical source. It wasn't made 100% clear but since the dark mage was trying to destroy the nightmare wards, I'm assuming that was the source of power.

There can be a visible cue when a dark magic spell is happening, such as rain falling weirdly at the target location.

There's some way to merge a fighter's strength with dark magic, and this family has been doing it for a thousand years, possibly using the frostwyrm as a source of strength, since they've been guarding its "tomb" all this time, yet it isn't actually dead.

live stream chat comment from BWS2K: "If people are running or screaming, that's fire. If people are running AND screaming, that's dark magic."

[boombox-fuckboy]

List of stuff I've listened to so far (Audio Drama A-Q)

Accurate as of: 2024-09-19

Listened: 2 times, 3-5 times, 6+ times.

For audio drama R-Z click here

For TTRPG pods click here

101.7 OUROBOROS

10ver.exe

The 12:37

13 Minutes Or Less

90 Degrees South

A Ninth World Journal (to finish)

A Scottish Podcast

A Timeless Flight

A Voice From Darkness

The Abberant Report

Absolutely No Adventures

Achewillow (listening)

Aced it! (Non-fiction)

Additional Postage Required

The Administration

Afflicted

Aftershocks

Alba Salix, Royal Physician

The Alexandria Archives

Alice Isn't Dead

All in my Head

All The Wrong Magic

The Alnerwick Files

The AM Archives

The Amelia Project

Among the Stars and Bones

Anamnesis

And 195

The Angel of Vine

The Antiquarium of Sinister Happenings

The Antique Shop

Antonyms

Apocalypse Songs

Arca-45672

Arcadia, CA (to catch up)

Archive 81

Arden

Ark City

ars PARADOXICA

The Author’s Anathema

Aurora Everlasting (to catch up)

Average Folks

Back Again, Back Again

Badlands Cola

Bastard Fur (Certain Scenes Excluded)

BE NOT AFRAID

The Beacon

The Beef and Dairy Network (to finish)

Before The Tone

The Behemoth

Believer: A Paranormal Mystery

Between the Devil

Between Heartbeats

The Big Loop

Blackwood

Black Box (The Haunt Collaboration)

Black Box (REVERB) -> Gave up E6

The Black Tapes

The Blood Crow Stories (Season: 1 2 3 4)

Blood Culture (to finish)

Borrasca -> Gave up S1

Boston Harbor Horror

Breathing Space

The Bridge

The Bright Sessions

Brimstone Valley Mall

Burgess Springs

The Burned Photo

Burst

Caledonian Gothic

The Call of the Void

Camlann

Camp Here & There

The Candyman

Cape Lock

Caravan (Certain Scenes Excluded)

Catharsis

The Cellar Letters

The Children of Room 56 (to catch up)

Children of the Stones

Cicatrix: Scars of Parchment

CIRCLES

City of Ghosts (to catch up?)

Clockwork Bird

The Conservatory

Constants

Counterbalance

Crash of the Mellifera

Cryptid

The Cryptonaturalist

Dark Ages

Darkest Night

The Darkroom

Dart

Dash (to finish?)

The Dead Letter Office of Somewhere, Ohio

Dead Man's Notes

DEADHOUSE

Dear Bastard!

Death By Dying (to finish)

Deathless

The Deca Tapes

The Deep Vault

The Department of Midnight

Desert Skies

Desperado

Deviser

The Diary of Aliza Schultz

Diary of a Space Archivist

Dining in the Void

Directive

Dirt - An Audio Drama (to catch up)

Discovery Park

Dispatches From The Multiverse (to finish)

The Domestic Life of Anthony Todd (to finish)

Don't Mind: Cruxmont

Doorways

Dos: After You

The D.O.U.G. Project

Down

The Dragon's Rest

Dreambound (to catch up)

The Dreamwalker's Diary

Duggan Hill

Echobox

Echoes (In) Between

either

Elaine's Cooking for the Soul (to catch up)

Electromancy

Elevator Pitch

Elixir

The Elmwood Strain

The Endless Ocean

Erraticus

Escaping Denver (to catch up)

Ethics Town

Experiment 31E

The Eye

Faerie (to finish?)

The Far Meridian

Fathom (Listening)

Fawx & Stallion

Finding Atlas [To Have & To Hold]

Finding Pattersby

Finding Penny

The Fiona Potts Interview

Forest 404

Forgive Me!

For The Record

Fracture

Gabriela & The Inn Between

The Gaia Miracles

Gaslight

Gastronaut

The Ghost Catchers

Ghost Hunt Pacific

The Ghosts on This Road (Listening)

Ghost Tape

Ghost Wax

Girl In Space

Give Me Away

Glasgow Ghost Stories

Glass Letters

The Gloom

The Goblet Wire

Goddess: An Audio Drama

The Godfrey Audio Guide

The Godshead Incidental

The Gods We Belong To (gave up after s1)

The Gorgon Show

Gospels of the Flood

Greater Boston

The Green Horizon

The Grotto

Guidance Through The Dreamscape

The Hades Project

Halfmoon Chronicles

Hallway to Nowhere

The Harrowing of Minerva Damson

The Haunted Hour

Haunted House Flippers

Have Monster, Will Travel

The Heart of Ether

The Heart Pyre (Listening)

Hello From The Hallowoods

The Heron

The Heresies of Radulf Burntwine

Hi Nay

The Hidden Almanac (listening)

Hit Replay

Hollow

The Hotel

Hotel Daydream

Hovering

How I Died (to catch up)

How it Ends (to finish)

Hubris: A 24-Hour Podcast Project (to catch up)

Hulm (to finish)

The Hyacinth Disaster

I Am In Eskew

I Have Seen Niagara (Undecided on Finishing)

In Another Room

In Transit (to finish)

Inc: The Podcast

InCo

Incident Report Number 31

InkWyrm

Inn Between

Interference (listening)

Into the Depths

ISS Icarus

It Makes A Sound

Janus Decending

Jar of Rebuke

Jisko Archival Records

Joy To The World

Jump Leads

Jupiter's Ghost

Kalila Stormfire's Economical Magick Services (to finish)

Kane and Feels: Day Trippers

Khôra Podcast

King Falls AM

The Kingmaker Histories

Knifepoint Horror

Knight Falls, CA

Kowabana (unfinished)

Lake Clarity

Lakeview

Larkspur Underground

Lavender Evening Fog

Leaving Corvat

The Left Right Game

Less is Morgue

Liars & Leeches

Liberty (to finish)

LifeAfter/The Message

Life With Althaar

Light Hearts

Light House

Limetown

Liminal Criminals

The Liminal Lands (listening)

Little Town of Rainbow

Live From Averno

Live From Epsilon Base

The London Necropolis Railway

Long Night In Egypt

Lone Stranger

The Lost Cat Podcast

Lost Shaman

Lost Terminal

Love and Luck

Mabel (to catch up)

Magic King Dom (to finish?)

The Magnus Archives

The Magpie Catalogue

Malevolent (to catch up)

Maps of the Lost

Margaret's Garden

Mars' Best Brisket

MarsCorp

Marsfall

McGillicuddy and Murder’s Pawn Shop (to finish)

The McIlwraith Statements

Meteor City

Middle:Below

Midnight Burger

Midnight Radio

Midst

Mil-Liminal

The Milkman of St. Gaff’s

Mina's Story

Mirrors

The Mistholme Museum of Mystery, Morbidity and Mortality

Mnemosyne

Modes of Thought in Anterran Literature

MonkeyTales

Monstrous Agonies

The Moon Crown

Moonbase Theta, Out

Mount Olympus University

Murder on Michigan Avenue

Murray Mysteries

Museum of the Missing

My Parallel Life

Neighbourly (to catch up)

The New Dawn Diary

Night Life (The Lightning Bottler)

The Night Post

Night Shift: An Urban Fantasy Audio Drama

NORA

North West Footwear Database

Not Quite Dead

Nothing is Wrong

Novitero

Nowhere, On Air (to finish)

Null/Void (to finish)

Nym's Nebulous Notions

Oblivity

October's Children

Old Gods Of Appalachia

Olive Hill

On Asphalt Bones

On the Threshold

The One Stars

Ophiuchus Radio (to catch up)

Oracle of Dusk (to finish)

The Ordinary Epic

The Orphans

Out of Place

The Outside Tapes

Oz 9 (to finish?)

Paired

The Pale

Palimpsest

Para.docx

Paranatural Support Services Team

Parkdale Haunt

The Pasithea Powder

Passenger List

The Path Down

Patient 33

The Patron Saint of Suicides (to catch up)

The Penumbra Podcast -> Gave up 4.08

The People Outside

The Petrol Station

The Phenomenon

The Phone Booth

The Phosphene Catalogue

The Piper

POD115

Point Mystic

The Polybius Conspiracy

Primordial Deep

Project Nova (to catch up)

Punishment Island

Quid Pro Euro

[gcuienveres]

who: @westerlcnds​ where: the dornish ball, the princedom of dorne

hues of deep rose pink glittered with golden zaari embroidery beneath numerous glittering dornish chandeliers, the candlelight emitting a warm glow that caused a similar glow to come to the cheeks of guinevere herself; the sounds of anklets chiming and the rhythmic pair of clapping along with the sound of drums had caught the attention of her emerald hues. a few moments ago there had been a crowd she had carefully been placed at the front of, for the sake of ensuring none accidentally elbowed the visible curve of her bump beneath said silks. a few moments ago a certain vibrant, lady of house serrett adorned in shades of blue had been by her side, before slipping off.

flickering her gaze over her shoulder to look for where it was aliza could have possibly ended up venturing off to, she found herself in close proximity to another lady of house serrett she was not entirely the most aware of; only that in some ways over their brief exchanges over the years, guinevere had seen much of herself within the orbs of the older woman. one that could not afford to allow the cracks to show, and one who held a responsibility possibly too great to bear at too young an age.

their shoulders had moulded with that burden over the years, learning to carry it and all the choices they had made rather than feeling their very spines crack under the pressure. as emerald hues met with those of striking ocean blue, she felt as though it were too rude to simply look away, and thus over the sound of the group of female dancers singing, anklets and claps that came with each graceful twirl or leap, she wordlessly stepped aside to allow the woman to stand beside her in an area that was far less crowded.

her very presence here was one that caused a question to immediately float to the very front of guinevere's conscience, considering there was a time where even the court of casterly rock was considered a place where the woman did not belong; not when she had a duty to her own household back within the hills of silverhill. the invitation to join her was an open one, though she knew the situation was a precarious one, and association could thus taint whatever it was she seemed to want from her trip this far south.

unless, she had already gotten what it was she wanted; her mind trailed back as she watched the twirling figures of the women, their claps almost entrancing as she thought of a masquerade so many years ago; where seven of the women at court had been unmasked as the seven virtues. guinevere could hardly remember what it was she had been assigned that day, knowing that it was theomore westerling who had initially struggled to untie the thread at the back of her mask, resulting in the pair holding back their laughter amid the noble court of casterly.

not until she looked to the side, as she had just now, and seen the now king of casterly rock slipping a mask off the eldest lady of house serrett as though it were the most natural thing in the world. she knew that look, one of spark and connection, now so many years later - though she wondered if it was already too late.

[doubleattitude]

Radix Dance Convention, Phoenix, AZ: RESULTS

High Scores by Age:

Rookie Solo

1st: Lucia Piedrahita-’Fields of Gold’

2nd: Brighton Taylor-’Fabulous’

Mini Solo

1st: Esme Chou-’Particle’

1st: Victoria Martinez-’SIX’

2nd: Isabella Piedrahita-’All Along’

2nd: Peyton Nowacki-’Angels to Fly’

2nd: Sasha Milstein-’Ephemera’

2nd: Isabella Kouznetsova-’Trouble’

3rd: Brooklyn Ladia-’Caruso’

3rd: Winter Eberts-’Dreamlike’

3rd: Kaydence Mardis-’I’m Available’

3rd: Diana Kouznetsova-’It’s In His Kiss’

4th: Elsie Sandall-’Almost Gone’

5th: Paizley Cogswell-’A Moment Apart’

5th: Phoenix Notary-’New Form’

6th: Aubrey Tolentino-’Foortwurkin’

7th: Sabina Vess-’I See Fire’

7th: Vanessa Soto-’Speechless’

7th: Annie Carlson-’YOUNG’

8th: Isla Gardner-’Don Juan’

8th: Ashton Wullbrandt-’Risk’

8th: Kendyl Miller-’Stand By Me’

9th: Violet Rush-’Change is Everything’

9th: Italia Torres-’Sparrow’

10th: Elias Elkind-’Lost A Friend’

10th: Lucy Wirick-’Save Me’

Junior Solo

1st: Gracyn French-’Covergirl’

2nd: Madison Ortega-’A Winged Victory’

2nd: Laci Stocio-’Mein Herr’

2nd: Kira Chan-’Pump’

3rd: Claire Wirick-’Capita-Lis’

4th: Campbell Bas-’Alice’

4th: Audrey Domingo-’Eclipse’

4th: Avery Lee-’New York, New York’

4th: Gage Davis-’Saturn’

5th: Jasmine Sison-’Across The Ice’

5th: Hailey Fagenblat-’Blackbird’

5th: Reese Tolentino-’Recomposed’

6th: Scottlyn Lucas-’Grow As We Go’

6th: Megan Reta-’The Dance’

7th: Presley Green-’Born, Never Asked’

7th: McKenzie Robinson-’Dream’

7th: Allie Scrimpshire-’Matter of Time’

8th: Tiffany Morales-’Over The Love’

9th: Brenna Bieler-’Oracle’

9th: Peighton Rolfe-’Thrift Shop’

9th: Rylee Ropa-’Til Enda’

10th: Ryleigh Hutta-’Come Fly With Me’

10th: Ryah Moshier-’Soleil Noir’

10th: Kiley Ko-’Try’

Teen Solo

1st: Dyllan Blackburn-’Haunted’

2nd: Devin Mar-’Lonely Place’

3rd: Anthony Curley-’Put It On Me’

4th: Kaitlyn Ortega-’All Human Beings’

4th: Willow Notary-’Expo’

5th: Kenzie Jones-’Flightless Bird’

5th: Rachel Loiselle-’RUN’

5th: Rosendo Arechiga-’Thanks For Asking’

6th: Isabella Warfield-’Nicest Thing’

6th: Jesse Detroy-’Once Upon A December’

6th: Ava Greenwaldt-’Quill’

7th: Hallee Goates-’All Mine’

7th: Katy McIlwaine-’Heavy’

7th: Imogene Elias-’Timer’

8th: Makena Covington-?

8th: Tegan Chou-’Multiverse’

8th: Isabella Lynch-’Residue’

9th: Alex Dinero-’Afternoon’

9th: Piper Camm-’DRONES’

9th: Izabella Alagao-’Tempo’

9th: Aaliyah Landreaux-’Volcanic’

10th: Zoe Konhilas-’Dust & Water’

10th: Rubi Lucas-’Gypsy’

10th: Alysha Ritschel-’Made of Water’

10th: Brekyn Knowels-’Ornament’

Senior Solo

1st: Selena Hamilton-’Black Car’

1st: Ella Horan-’Not A Woman’

2nd: Aspyn Morrell-’Love Song’

3rd: Skye Notary-’Orange’

3rd: Makenna Taylor-’Red Skies’

4th: Olivya Sessing-’The Hill’

5th: Lauren Wallingford-’Entanglement’

6th: Payton Martineu-’Passion Fruit’

6th: Aliza Workman-’She Was Right’

6th: Ella Szymanski-’Unarmed’

7th: Milan Furtado-’As We Appear’

7th: Trinity Gray-’Laughing On The Outside’

7th: Kaylee Watkins-’The Source’

8th: Ariana Moreno-’Mercy’

8th: Bianca Capanna-’Unchained Melody’

9th: Natalie Smith-’Rooftop Dancing’

9th: Shane Higa-’Superpower’

10th: Colie Naraghi-’Coffin’

10th: Brianna Rodems-’Lonely’

Rookie Duo/Trio

1st: Dance Deluxe-’What’s Inside’

2nd: Dance Deluxe-’Baby Mine’

Mini Duo/Trio

1st: Dance Deluxe-’We Want It All’

2nd: Project 21-’I Am The Cute One’

3rd: Dance Deluxe-’Hocus Pocus’

3rd: Prodigy Training Centre-’So Long Dearie’

Junior Duo/Trio

1st: The Industry Dance Academy-’Fight to Protect’

2nd: Dance Deluxe-’Emergency’

Teen Duo/Trio

1st: CanDance Studios-’Temple’

2nd: Elektro Dance Academy-’Extra Extra’

2nd: CanDance Studios-’Like You’ll Never See Me Again’

3rd: CanDance Studios-’Serpent’

Senior Duo/Trio

1st: The Industry Dance Academy-’When Dirt Meets Water’

2nd: CanDance Studios-’Revolution’

3rd: San Diego Dance Collective-’Not Who We Were’

Rookie Group

1st: Danceplex-’Little Wonders’

2nd: Dance Deluxe-’Cheetah Girls’

3rd: Dance Studio C-’Piggy Bank’

Mini Group

1st: Project 21-’Fan Tan Fannie’

2nd: Prodigy Training Center-’Money’

3rd: Elektro Dance Academy-’Urban Jungle’

Junior Group

1st: Project 21-’No Fear But Anticipation’

2nd: Project 21-’Wegue’

3rd: Project 21-’Stuff Like That There’

Teen Group

1st: Project 21-’Bring On The Men’

2nd: Elektro Dance Academy-’E Boyz’

2nd: Project 21-’Girls, Girls, Girls’

3rd: CanDance Studios-’Screaming Infidelities’

Senior Group

1st: Project 21-’We Can, We Will’

2nd: CanDance Studios-’I Won’t Complain’

3rd: San Diego Dance Collective-’Somebody to Love’

3rd: Elektro Dance Academy-’The Island’

Rookie Line

1st: Dance Deluxe-’Cafe’ Parfait’

2nd: CanDance Studios-’Get Right’

3rd: The Industry Dance Academy-’Hard Knock Life’

3rd: Dance Deluxe-’The Princess Inside You’

Mini Line

1st: Project 21-’Dive In The Pool’

2nd: Dance Deluxe-’Gratitude’

3rd: Dance Deluxe-’Smile’

Junior Line

1st: Project 21-’Proud Mary’

2nd: CanDance Studios-’Here We Go Again’

3rd: Dance Deluxe-’Steam Heat’

3rd: Dance Precisions-’Where or When’

Teen Line

1st: Project 21-’Post That’

2nd: Project 21-’The Dictator’s Dream’

3rd: CanDance Studios-’Can I’

3rd: Elektro Dance Academy-’Motorcross’

Senior Line

1st: Elektro Dance Academy-’Soul Food’

2nd: CanDance Studios-’Falling Asleep At The Wheel’

3rd: San Diego Dance Collective-’Hypnosis’

Junior Extended Line

1st: CanDance Studios-’Room Where It Happens’

2nd: CanDance Studios-’Next One’

3rd: CanDance Studios-’Awoo’

Teen Extended Line

1st: Elektro Dance Academy-’Babylon’

2nd: Project 21-’Desoleil’

2nd: CanDance Studios-’The Colony’

3rd: CanDance Studios-’Dangerous’

Mini Production

1st: CanDance Studios-’Let’s Get Loud’

Junior Production

1st: CanDance Studios-’Power’

Teen Production

1st: CanDance Studios-’Throw It Back’

Senior Production

1st: Elektro Dance Academy-’Nobody Cares’

High Scores by Performance Division:

Rookie Jazz

Dance Deluxe-’Cheetah Girls’

Rookie Musical Theatre

Dance Deluxe-’Cafe’ Parfait’

Rookie Lyrical

Danceplex-’Little Wonders’

Mini Jazz

Project 21-’Dive In The Pool’

Mini Contemporary

Elektro Dance Academy-’To Love’

Mini Musical Theatre

Project 21-’Fan Tan Fannie’

Mini Lyrical

Dance Deluxe-’Gratitude’

Mini Specialty

Elektro Dance Academy-’Tetrad’

Mini Hip-Hop

Prodigy Training Center-’Money’

Mini Ballroom

Dance Deluxe-’Come Back My Love’

Junior Lyrical

Dance Deluxe-’Here Comes the Sun’

Junior Contemporary

Project 21-’No Fear But Anticipation’

Junior Ballet

The Industry Dance Academy-’Spring’

Junior Specialty

Project 21-’Wegue’

Junior Musical Theatre

Dance Deluxe-’Steam Heat’

Junior Jazz

Project 21-’Stuff Like That There’

Junior Tap

Dance Precisions-’In The Mood’

Junior Ballroom

CanDance Studios-’Kiss Kiss Bang’

Junior Hip-Hop

CanDance Studios-’Next One’

Teen Contemporary

Project 21-’The Dictator’s Dream’

Teen Lyrical

Danceplex-’If I Say’

Teen Jazz

Project 21-’Post That’

Teen Hip-Hop

Elektro Dance Academy-’E Boyz’

Teen Specialty

Dance Studio C-’Walk The Line’

Teen Musical Theatre

Dance Deluxe-’Blackbird’

Teen Ballroom

CanDance Studios-’I Got The Boom’

Senior Specialty

Elektro Dance Academy-’Soul Food’

Senior Contemporary

Project 21-’We Can, We Will’

Senior Jazz

San Diego Dance Collective-’New Dorp, New York’

Senior Lyrical

Dance Deluxe-’Shine’

Senior Hip-Hop

Elektro Dance Academy-’Nobody Cares’

Best of Radix:

Rookie

Dance Deluxe-’Cafe’ Parfait’

CanDance Studios-’Get Right’

The Industry Dance Academy-’Hard Knock Life’

Dance Studio C-’Piggy Bank’

Danceplex-’Little Wonders’

Mini

Project 21-’Fan Tan Fannie’

Elektro Dance Academy-’Urban Jungle’

The Industry Dance Academy-’Mambo 5′

CanDance Studios-’Let’s Get Loud’

Dance Deluxe-’Gratitude’

Prodigy Training Center-’Money’

Junior

The Industry Dance Academy-’Clairvoyance’

Project 21-’No Fear But Anticipation’

CanDance Studios-’Here We Go Again’

Dance Deluxe-’Blue’

Dance Precisions-’Where or When’

Teen

Dance Studio C-’Black and White’

San Diego Dance Collective-’End of Love’

Dance Precisions-’When Tragedy Strikes’

Visionary Dancer-’Hope Is A Dangerous Thing’

Danceplex-’If I Say’

Elektro Dance Academy-’Babylon’

Project 21-’Post That’

CanDance Studios-’The Colony’

The Industry Dance Academy-’In In’

Dance Deluxe-’Heaven’

Senior

Elektro Dance Academy-’Nobody Cares’

Project 21-’We Can, We Will’

CanDance Studios-’I Won’t Complain’

San Diego Dance Collective-’Somebody to Love’

Studio Standout:

Dance Precisions-’When Tragedy Strikes’

Dance Deluxe-’Heaven’

Dance Studio C-’Black and White’

Elektro Dance Academy-’Nobody Cares’

Project 21-’Post That’

The Industry Dance Academy-’In In’

Visionary Dancer-’Hope Is A Dangerous Thing’

CanDance Studios-’The Colony’

[welcome-to-original-towns]

This is copied from @spare-teeth’s similar post with permission, and is just a reference sheet for the various towns and residents kept track of on this blog. It’s partially for reference for others, but also for me, since I don’t have a great memory. The emojis by each town aren’t anything official, just as a better visual division between sections.

Feel free to ask me to update or add anything! My brain is a fried egg so I tend to get things mixed up sometimes lol

🎆 Night Vale (Canon)

• No ocs that I can think of

🌇 Desert Bluffs (Canon)

• Simon S. Strexberg (kindcolors) - he/him

• Aliza (kindcolors) - she/her - DB!Abby - potter - Kevin’s sister - Janet’s mother - Sloan’s partner

• Janet (kindcolors) - she/her - DB!Janice - student - Aliza’s daughter

• Eden Haldeman - he/him - DB!Earl Harlan

• Ramona Haldeman - she/her

• Miley Phan - she/her - DB!Michelle

• Miranda - she/her - DB!Maureen

🏜 Red Mesa (Canon)

- kindcolors

• Conrad Ripley - she/her - radio host - Atticus’s sibling - Claudette’s partner

• Claudette the Ufologist - she/her - Conrad’s partner

• Atticus Ripley-Campbell - he/him - 2nd grade teacher - Conrad’s brother - Harrison’s father - Marvin’s husband

• Marvin Campbell - he/him - mechanic - Avery’s brother - Harrison’s father - Atticus’s husband

• Harrison Ripley - he/him - student - Atticus, Marvin, and Sloan’s son

• Belle Phillips - Conrad and Atticus’s mother

• Edith Hayes - she/her - baker and girl scouts leader - Rachel’s mother

• Rachel Hayes - she/her - student - Edith’s daughter

• Lady Jupiter - she/her - retired actress and leader of Red Mesa -

• Sloan Clary - she/her - veterinarian - Harrison’s mom - Aliza’s partner

• Rod - she/he/they - radio intern

• Myles - he/him - radio intern - Mason’s partner

• Mason Lee - pronouns not listed - records store owner - Myles’s partner

• Terrance the Bartender - they/them

• Enzo - he/him - Claudette’s team member (ufologist)

• Mimi - she/they - Claudette’s team member (ufologist)

• Agent Maury - he/him

🌲 Pine Cliff (Canon)

• Carmen the Hauntologist (doctorspiral) - he/him

• The Spirit of the Thing (doctorspiral) - she/him/its

• Old Man Joseph (doctorspiral) - he/him

• Old Man Joseph’s reapers - they/them

• Jacobi - he/they

🌵 Cactus Park (Canon)

mudstoneabyss

• Lady of Solstices/Sylvia (joyous-heresy) - she/it/they

• Sofia - she/they

• Kaleb Stoker - she/him

• Cypress the Astrologist - they/them

• Anabella Stoker - she/her

• Stanley Krelborne - he/him

🪨 Stone Meadow (Canon)

- kindcolors

• Cash Miller - he/him - radio host - Ashton’s sibling - Cassidy’s partner

• Cassidy the climatologist - he/they - Cash’s partner

• Ashton Miller - she/her - SM!Abby - front desk worker - Cash’s sibling - Grace’s mother - Scott’s partner

• Scott Crawford - he/him - waiter - Grace’s father - Ashton’s partner

• Grace Miller - she/her - student - Ashton and Scott’s child

• Margo Lee - she/her - records store owner - Madge’s partner

• Madge - she/they - radio intern - Margo’s partner

• Elliot Hunt - he/him - butcher

🔱 Maritime Canyon (OC)

- lesbiancervidologist

• Camille Cordelia - she/they/he

• Victoria the Marine Biologist - she/her

• Tony Cisco - he/him - Camille’s brother in law

• Shelby Cordelia - he/him

• Priscilla Crane - she/it

• Pearl Crane - she/her

• Vincent Cordelia - he/him

💠 Glacier Meadow (OC)

- spare-teeth

• Arthur Mendoza - he/it/they

• Abdel the Paleontologist - they/them

• Callie Mendoza-Hendrickson - she/her

• Theodosia Mendoza-Hendrickson - she/her

• Marina Marigold - she/her

• Mr. Isaiah - he/him - GM!Old Woman Josie

🪁 Lilac Dune (OC)

- mudstoneabyss

• CATALYST/Catie - she/it

• Chandler the Roboticist - he/they

• Siobhan Carlton - she/her

⏳ Sandstone Cavern

- sentient-cloud

• no named ocs yet as far as I know

🔀 Helix Caverns

- rabid-catboy

• no named ocs as far as I know

🌙 Lunar Hill

- mudstoneabyss

• Theodore Terranova

• Huron the Thanatologist

🌈 Rainbow Plateau

- kindcolors

• Casper Powell - he/him - radio host - Amanda’s sibling - Cyrus’s partner

• Amanda Powell-Cook - she/her - therapist - Casper’s sibling - Joan’s parent - Spencer’s partner

• Spencer Powell-Cook - he/him - Joan’s parent - Amanda’s partner

• Joan - she/her - student - Spencer and Amanda’s child

🏞 Yucca Valley

- kindcolors

• Audrey Park - she/they - radio host - Cyrus’s sibling - Jean’s parent

• Cyrus Park - pronouns not listed - programmer/anthropologist - Audrey’s sibling - Casper’s partner

• Jean Park - student - Audrey’s child

Discontinued towns

🌾 Gold Fields

- The maker of this town seemed to make it pretty clear they didn’t want to be associated with the wtnv fandom anymore, and are no longer on tumblr to my knowledge. I feel shifty about deleting all of their original town related posts since I can’t get in contact with them to ask about this, but if I they tell me to do so at any point, I will. This is only kept as context/acknowledgement

• Hesperia Hildegard - she/they

• Hilda the Zoologist, she/her

• Intern Paris, they/them

[screenviolense-a]

i made a list of books i have on me that are unread and i’m gonna try and randomize them, but if there are any you think deserve priority, here’s the list under the cut. ignore the large amount of video game novels i was working on a project and then remembered i can’t read. * are books i only have on digital

The Haunting of Brynn Wilder - Wendy Webb *

Spellbreaker - Charlie N. Holmberg *

The Lending Library - Aliza Fogels *

The Upside of Falling Down - Rebekah Crane *

The Silence - Daisy Pearce *

The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller

Monster City - Michael Arntfield *

Something Wonderful - Todd S. Purdum *

A Killer’s Mind - Mike Omer *

The Last of the Stanfields - Marc Levy *

I’m Fine and Neither Are You - Camille Pagan *

The Mermaid’s Sister - Carrie Anne Noble *

Drops of Cerulean - Dawn Adams Cole *

The Shadow Queen - C.J. Redwine *

The Paper Magician - Charlie N. Holmberg *

The Fever King - Victoria Lee *

The Library Book - Susan Orlean

Where the Crawdads Sing - Delia Owens

Crossings - Alex Landragn

The Starless Sea - Erin Morgenstern

Catch 22 - Joseph Heller

Dragon Age: The Calling - David Gaider

The Thief - Megan Whalen Turner

Six of Crows - Leigh Bardugo

Shadow and Bone - Leigh Bardugo

The Alienist - Caleb Carr

The Crown’s Game - Evelyn Skye

The Raven Boys - Maggie Stiefvater

Pieces and Players - Blue Balliett

The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle - Stuart Turton

Daisy Jones & the Six - Taylor Jenkins Reid

Crazy Rich Asians - Kevin Kwan

The Female of the Species - Mindy McGinnis

Wicked Lovely - Melissa Marr

Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen

Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

Disney War - James B. Stewart

The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde

Howl’s Moving Castle - DIane Wynne Jones

The Wren Hunt - Mary Watson

Vicious - V. E. Schwab

Vassa in the Night - Sarah Porter

Girls Made of Snow and Glass - Melissa Bashardoust

The Thousandth Floor - Katharine McGee

Anne of the Island - L.M. Montgomery

Perfect Murder Perfect Town - Lawrence Schiller

Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne - David Gaider

Bioshock: Rapture - John Shirley

Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey - Gordon Doherty

Far Cry: Absolution - Urban Waite

The Haunting of Hill House - Shirley Jackson

The Princess Bride - William Goldman 

Six Cats a Slayin’ - Miranda James (this was a christmas gift from my mom because i like cats and murder mysteries do not judge me)

Mass Effect: Revelation - Drew Karpyshyn

[girlactionfigure]

In April 1945, a few days before the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, three freight trains were each packed with 2,500 Jewish prisoners in an effort to transport them to death camps further east before Allied troops arrived. Many of these prisoners had come from the special 'Exchange Camp' within Bergen-Belsen, where groups of Jews were kept who were considered suitable for possible 'exchange' for Germans interned abroad; the exchange prisoners were allowed to wear their own clothing and, initially, were better treated than other concentration camp prisoners. But, as the war's end neared, these prisoners were swept up in the Nazis' attempts to hide evidence of their crimes by 'liquidating' many concentration camps and killing as many of the remaining prisoners as possible.

After a six-day journey, the train pictured here stopped suddenly near the German village of Farsleben where artillery fire between the Allied forces and Germans could be heard all around. With American troops advancing, the train's SS guards fled during the night. One survivor, Aliza Vitis-Shomron, recalled the moment when American troops arrived: "People burst out of the carriages. Suddenly someone shouted: ‘The Americans are coming!’ To our great surprise, a tank came slowly down the hill opposite, followed by another one. I ran toward the tank, laughing hysterically. It stopped. I embraced the wheels, kissed the iron plates. We had won the war.”

Major Clarence L. Benjamin was in a jeep leading the small task force of two light tanks that first encountered the train filled Jews from Hungary, Holland, Poland, Greece and Slovakia, many of them sick and starving. It was Major Benjamin who took this now famous photograph of a mother and her young daughter moments after liberation. The woman pictured was later identified as being a 35-year-old Jewish woman from the Hungarian town of Makó and her 5-year-old daughter, who was 77 as of 2017 but did not wish to be named publicly. It has been called ‘one of the most powerful photographs of the 20th century.'

A Mighty Girl

[theatredirectors]

268 Directors and the end of the blog

This post marks the end of the Ask a Director experiment. I’m so grateful to all who have contributed, supported and engaged with it over the past six and a half years. 

This blog was started at a time when I felt incredibly alone in the directing field. I had always been taught that a director operates solo, that it was a lonely career and above all, it was based on scarcity. This was a style of working and living that didn't fit for me. I wanted to talk to other directors about their practice and thoughts about the field, both national and international. This blog was started as a way to connect, to uplift other directors and to create a conversation about the changing field and practices. 

It's surpassed all of these goals and brought me more joy than I can name. 

I'm now at a moment where my practice and advocacy are taking different and exciting paths and it's time for me to put this site to bed. I remain committed to uplifting other directors, to talking about the practice, to flattening hierarchies, to opening doors for new ways of working, and leading rehearsal rooms, companies, and classrooms away from silos and vacuums. Featuring these 268 different directors was just the beginning. 

I encourage you all to hire them (and others), advocate for them (and others) and choose to work in a system that values connection and generosity. 

Abhishek Majumdar

Adam Fitzgerald

Alice Stanley

Aliza Shane

Amanda McRaven

Amy Corcoran

Amy Jephta

Anisa George

Ana Margineau

Andrew Scoville

Anna Stromberg

Anne Cecelia Haney

Ariel Francoeur

Arpita Mukherjee

Ashley Hollingshead

Ashley Marinaccio

Andrew Neisler

Beng Oh

Ben Randle

Ben Stockman

Benjamin Kamine

Beth Lopes

Bo Powell

Bogdan Georgescu

Bonnie Gabel

Brandon Ivie

Brandon Woolf

Brian Hashimoto

Cait Robinson

Caitlin Ryan O’Connell

Caitlin Sullivan

Catie Davis

Cara Phipps

Carol Ann Tan

Carsen Joenk

Chari Arespacochaga

Cheryl Faraone

Chloe Treat

Christin Eve Cato

Christine Zagrobelny

Christopher Diercksen

Colette Robert

Colleen Hughes

Cyndy Marion

Dado Gyure

Dan Rothenberg

Daniel Irizarry

Danielle Ozymandias

Danny Sharon

Dara Malina

David Charles

Dennis Yueh-Yeh Li

Derek Spencer 

Donald Brenner

Doug Oliphant

Eamon Boylan

Elena Araoz

Emily Lyons

Emma Miller

Eric Kildow

Eric Wallach

Eric Powell Holm

Estefania Fadul

Evelina Stampa

Evren Odcikin

Evi Stamatiou

Francesca Montanile Lyons

Gabriel Vega Weissman

Gian Marco Riccardo Lo Forte 

Graham Schmidt

Gregg Wiggans

Hannah Ryan

Hannah Wolf

Heather Bagnall

Horia Suru

Ilana Becker

Ilana Ransom Toeplitz

Illana Stein

Ioanna Katsarou

Ioli Andreadi

Irina Abraham Chigiryov

Iris Sowlat

Isaac Klein

J Paul Nicholas

Jack Tamburri

Jaclyn Biskup

Jacob Basri

Jake Beckhard

Jaki Bradley

Jamie Watkins

Javier Molina

Jay Stern

Jay Stull

Jenna Rossman

Jenna Worsham

Jennifer Chambers

Jenny Bennett

Jenny Reed

Jeremy Bloom

Jeremy Pickard

Jerrell Henderson

Jess Hutchinson

Jess Shoemaker

Jesse Jou

Jessi D Hill

Jessica Burr

Jessica Holt

Jillian Carucci

Joanne Zipay

Jo Cattell

John Michael Diresta

John Kurzynowski

Joe Hedel

Jonathan Munoz-Proulx

Jose Zayas

Josh Kelley

Josh Sobel

Joshua Kahan Brody

Joshua William Gelb

Julia Sears

Justin Schlabach

Kareem Fahmy

Karen Christina Jones

Kate Bergstrom

Kate Hopkins

Kate Jopson

Kate Moore Heaney

Katherine M. Carter

Katherine Wilkinson

Kathy Gail MacGowan

Katie Chidester

Kendall Cornell 

Kendra Augustin

Kholoud Sawaf

Kimberly Faith Hickmann

Kim Weild

KJ Sanchez

Knud Adams

Kristin Marting

Kristin McCarthy Parker

Kristin Skye Hoffman

Kristy Chambrelli

Kristy Dodson

KT Shorb

Kyle Metzger

Kylie M. Brown

Larissa Fasthorse

Larissa Lury

Laura Brandel

Laura Steinroeder

Lauren Hlubny

Lauren Keating

Lavina Jadhwani

Jenn Haltman

Leta Tremblay

Lila Rachel Becker

Lillian Meredith

Lily Riopelle

Lindsey Hope Pearlman

Lisa Rothe

Lisa Sanaye Dring

Liz Thaler

Lori Wolter Hudson

Lucie Tiberghien

Luke Comer

Luke Tudball

Lyndsay Burch

Lynn Lammers

Mallory Catlett

Manon Manavit

Margarett Perry

Maridee Slater

Marina Bergenstock

Marti Lyons

Martin Jago

Matt Cosper

Matt Ritchey

Max Hunter

Megan Sandberg-Zakian

Megan Weaver

Meghan Finn

Melissa Crespo

Melody Erfani

Michael Alvarez

Michael T. Williams

Michaela Escarcega

Michelle Tattenbaum

Mimi Barcomi

Miranda Haymon

Molly Beach Murphy

Molly Clifford

Molly Noble

Morgan Gould

Morgan Green

Murielle Borst-Tarrant

Nana Dakin

Natalie Novacek

Neal Kowalsky

Nell Bang-Jensen

Nick Benacerraf

Noa Egozi

Norah Elges

Normandy Sherwood

Olivia Lilley

Orly Noa Rabinyan

Oscar Mendoza

Pablo Paz

Padraic Lillis 

Patrick Walsh

Pete Danelski

Pirronne Yousefzadeh

Portia Krieger

Rachel Karp

Rachel Wohlander

Randolph Curtis Rand

Raz Golden

Rebecca Cunningham

Rebecca Martinez

Rebecca Wear

Renee Phillippi

Renee Yeong

Rich Brown

Rick St. Peter

Robert Schneider

Ryan Anthony Nicotra

Sammi Cannold

Sammy Zeisel

Sanaz Ghajar

Sara Holdren

Sara Lyons

Sara Rademacher

Sarah Elizabeth Wansley

Sarah Hughes

Sarah M. Chichester

Sarah Rose Leonard

Sash Bischoff

Scarlett Kim

Seonjae Kim

Seth Pyatt

Sharifa Elkady

Shaun Patrick Tubbs

Sherri Eden Barber

Simon Hanukai

Sophia Watt

Suchan Vodoor

Stephen Cedars

Steven Kopp

Steven Wilson

Talya Klein

Tana Siros

Tara Ahmadinejad

Tara Cioletti

Tara Elliott

Tatiana Pandiani

Taylor Reynolds

TerryandtheCuz

Tommy Schoffler

Tracy Bersley

Trevor Biship

Tyler Mercer

Wednesday Sue Derrico

Will Dagger

Will Davis

Will Detlefsen

Will Steinberger

Yojiro Ichikawa

Yoni Oppenheim

Zi Alikhan

Zoya Kachardurian

[witchyfashion]

267/365 by aliza razell Via Flickr: i still haven't gotten a tripod of my own (at home i shared with zev), which has made my time here so far a little difficult photography-wise. so thankful to the lovely Katie for traipsing out into the hills with me to take this!

[ivysgameofthronesobsession]

ocs masterlists

𖥻 ellena bracken

𖥻 kailsey blacktyde

𖥻 taniya florent

𖥻 aliza hill

𖥻 amyra stark

𖥻 marya sand / vaelyra targaryen

𖥻 rhaelyra targaryen

𖥻 vaesella stark (targaryen)

𖥻 tila harlaw

𖥻 odessa crane

𖥻 ayara pyke

𖥻 eyva hiongail

[layaltheblogger2019]

A compilation of your favorite songs this semester: what experiences do they remind you of? when you like to listen to them?

A year in music

Aka freshman year was pretty wild.

Note: I’ve linked the music that I mention to start at around the time the quoted lyrics start playing but feel free to listen to the songs from the beginning!

Music. Whether you’re the kind of person that rarely listens or the kind that always has a soundtrack playing in your head, you can’t deny that music is sort of everywhere you go. I myself am not a very regular listener, but I can appreciate a good chorus or beat when I hear it. When I listen to music, I close my eyes and allow myself to be carried away by the poetry of the lyrics and pulled under by the hidden meanings of certain verses. When I listen to music, I envelop myself in a song like a caterpillar in a cocoon, and invariably attach a feeling, person, or life event to it. Particularly when I am at the highs and lows of the sine graph that is my life do I look to music to find some way to explain how I feel.

Freshman year at MIT was one of the craziest sine curves I could have ever imagined; it was one of the most life-changing years of my life. I transformed so much that there were times I didn’t recognize the girl in the mirror. I morphed in such a way that sometimes others didn’t recognize me. I made a lot of mistakes. But I also grew up, became more experienced, found my identity, and blazed my own trail. This is my freshman year in music:

September – Phone by Mickey Singh Making new friends

I was in Aliza’s room. After a good venting session on my part and some delicious pudding, courtesy of her snack shelf, we each began to work on our own assignments and responsibilities, her at her desk, me sitting on her bed. She asked if she could play music, to which I agreed. There were awkward pauses in the flow of interaction between us, but it was endearing, as is typical on the path of new friendship. Everything was quite normal, until a song I didn’t recognize began to play. It was poppy; it was intriguing. And it was in a different language. ‘Do you want me to skip this’, she asked quickly. ‘My YouTube is on autoplay and it automatically played desi music’. As it stood in that moment, we were two people from unlike backgrounds who didn’t know that much about each other yet. I was an Arab from Florida, she, a Pakistani from New Jersey. I hesitated momentarily before I replied with ‘no, I like it’. And I did like it.

Little did I know that this would become a common soundtrack throughout my fall, a beat that reminded me of my first naïve but confident steps into independence. A beat that reminded me of true happiness and freedom. A beat that reminded me of my first, wonderful group of friends.

  October – My Blood by Twenty One Pilots Making a home somewhere new

Homesickness. If you asked me in December, freshman fall was like heaven on earth. At least that’s how it felt like when it was ending. But near its beginning, I wasn’t totally happy. I missed home, my family, and my friends. Everyone I loved was together back in Florida, I was much further north. It was colder here, lonelier here. Sometimes I got impatient that I wasn’t good at conversation, that I somehow couldn’t make as many friends, that I couldn’t figure out my academics, that I just couldn’t do anything—as well as my peers could.

I just felt at a loss sometimes.

Stay with me, no, you don't need to run Stay with me, my blood, you don't need to run

(I may be biased because I went to a Twenty One Pilots concert at the end of October)

 November – Still Feel by Half Alive Making it through

I was kind of killing it: getting psets done, practicing swimming (to pass the boat test), going to the gym. This was the beginning of what I guess I could call my sprint to the finish. I had my life together – for like the first two weeks anyway.

But then I was barely holding on. Psets were crammed hours before they were due, swimming turned into sinking, and things weren’t going too well. Then I found a medium place, where I was just making it. I was half alive, and I was okay with that.

I still feel alive When it is hopeless, I start to notice And I still feel alive Falling forward, back into orbit

That’s what November felt like.

  December – Castle on the Hill by Ed Sheeran Made it

December was hugs farewell and tying loose ends. December was last assignments and final exams. December was crossing the finish line with a second to spare. December was the feeling of belonging somewhere. (And then shortly after, having to leave it)

I said goodbye to a good friend, Samar along with a few others as we drove her to the airport, Castle on the Hill playing in the background. I made a semester recap video to the same song, which brought back nostalgia for times I had only experienced a few weeks prior.

Found my heart and broke it here Made friends and lost them through the years And I've not seen the roaring fields in so long, I know I've grown But I can't wait to go home

And going home for winter break, my last view of MIT in 2018 was a room filled with people I really cared about, all playing the same game, eating pizza and laughing, all smiling and waving back at me.

Since when could you feel homesick for two places at once?

 January –What You Know by Two Door Cinema Club Making a new path

I don’t remember much about January except that it was very cold and very dark. Over IAP, I was still surrounded by the warmth and light of friends who were here, and I was also taking more classes than humanly possible. This song reminds me of waking up on a lazy and dim IAP morning, looking at the gray sky and frosty-covered outside as it snowed, wrapped up in navy bedsheets.

  February –100 Bad Days by AJR Making mistakes

A rough start to a semester. But it’s too early to give up isn’t it?

When all is going wrong and you're scared as hell What you gonna do? Who you gonna tell? Maybe a hundred bad days made a hundred good stories A hundred good stories make me interesting at parties

  March – Connection by OneRepublic Making choices

Things are moving too fast, I’m changing too fast, there’s so much to do and so much to think about. I don’t know what I’m doing. I am an impostor.  I wish I could take a break. I need help. Who do I turn to? Why do I feel like such a burden?

Maybe I should try to find the old me Take me to the places and the people that know me Tryin’ to disconnect, thinking maybe you could show me If there’s so many people here, then why am I so lonely? Can I get a connection? Can I get, can I get a connection?

  April – Viva La Vida by Coldplay Making progress

There was one very special Sunday in April. I made time with some others to go to Revere Beach. And to say it was a welcome distraction from the stress is an understatement. We were there for maybe a collective hour, but the entirety of the trip gave me a feeling of love I didn’t know I needed. Self love. Love of nature. Love from others. Love for others. Loving the small moments of bliss and joy that I can get in these busy times.

On our way there, we sat in the car singing along to the sound of nostalgia, laughing our responsibilities away, and putting our arms out the window to feel the wind on our skin: all to feel something again.

And once we were driving on a bridge we heard this:

I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing Roman Cavalry choirs are singing Be my mirror, my sword and shield My missionaries in a foreign field For some reason I can’t explain Once you go there was never, never a honest word And that was when I ruled the world

For a brief moment, we did rule the world. All of us in that car. That is what happiness feels like when you most need it.

  May – Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol Breaking down

May was hugs farewell and tying loose ends. May was last-minute projects and final exams. May was crossing the finish line with two seconds to spare. May was loss, heartbreak, and unstoppable tears.

Aliza was killed by a drunk driver shortly after we all said goodbye to her for the summer. We didn’t realize how long we’d be saying goodbye for.

The night before she left MIT to go home we got late night from Maseeh dining and then, because of the beautiful weather, decided to sit on the sidewalk, right between Maseeh and McCormick. And we sat there for a wonderous half hour. I had a final the next morning, but the weather was too good, the company even better. We could see the remains of the full moon in our periphery. We didn’t know what would happen when the sun rose, but we focused on the cool breeze on our faces, the stars in our eyes. I never wanted to leave.

If I lay here If I just lay here Would you lie with me and just forget the world? Forget what we're told Before we get too old Show me a garden that's bursting into life

I am so lucky to have met her.

 June (encore) – Good Grief by Bastille Making it through life, one step at a time

A summer in Boston that I put together very last minute, my life is slowly rebuilding. It’s a mess, but what life isn’t? I’m nervous to see the outcome, and I worry about tomorrow before I get through today. What can I do except try my best then hope it all works out?

Watching through my fingers, watching through my fingers In my thoughts you're far away And you are whistling the melody, whistling the melody Crystallizing clear as day Oh, I can picture you so easily, picture you so easily   What's gonna be left of the world if you're not in it? What's gonna be left of the world, oh   Every minute and every hour I miss you, I miss you, I miss you more Every stumble and each misfire I miss you, I miss you, I miss you more

(I still miss you)

Since my freshman year has ended, I haven’t really been able to slow down and reflect on everything that has happened. Until I sat in front of my computer to write this.

From where I stand now, I know things will get better again. Then they will inevitably get worse. It’s kind of how sine graphs flow. But I am the producer of my own track, I am the composer of my life symphony. There are three more years of new people to meet, interesting classes to take, difficult problems to face, and melodies for me to piece together. And once it’s all over, I can’t wait to take a look at what has been created. Once it’s all over, I can’t wait to press play.

[ruminativerabbi]

Heroes Slipping Away

Slowly, they’re all slipping away. I noted with interest and with regret the death the other day at age 112 of Richard Overton, the oldest living American veteran of World War II. He had an amazing story, actually: the grandson of slaves from Tennessee who grew up in Texas suffering the petty indignities routinely visited upon black people in the South during the first decades of the twentieth century, he was present at Pearl Harbor, Okinawa, and Iwo Jima and so personally witnessed some of the most important events that took place in the Pacific theater of war and lived to tell the tale. There’s something very compelling to me in that story, something suggestive of the kind of heroic patriotism that would lead a man to volunteer for military service in the defense of his nation even despite the degree to which he personally had suffered from the racism that was at that time an endemic part of life for black Americans, and particularly in the South. For more about his life, click here.

Almost twenty years Richard Overton’s junior, Simcha Rotem also died last week. Rotem, born Szymon Ratajzer and known by the nom-de-guerre Kazik when he participated in the Warsaw Ghetto uprising in the spring of 1943, was its last living survivor. The Warsaw Ghetto uprising was so deeply engrained in my consciousness when I was a child that it’s almost surprising to me to recall that I was born a decade after it was brutally and decisively put down by Poland’s German occupiers. It was the sole example my father would bring up again and again as proof positive that the Jews of Europe did not just go to the slaughter like sheep in an abattoir, and I must have heard at least some of the stories connected with the uprising hundreds of times. As a result, Leon Uris’s book, Mila 18, was the first full-length novel I read about the Shoah—before, even, I read The Last of the Just—and is in some ways the literary foundation stone upon which rests my sense of myself as some kind of survivor after-the-fact: my father’s people came from a small town just outside Warsaw called Nowy Dwor and met the exact same fate as the Jews of nearby Warsaw. Published when I was eight years old, Mila 18 was only a former bestseller by the time I got to it. But that didn’t matter to me at all, as neither have done the various accounts published more recently documenting resistance by Jewish communities and individuals throughout occupied Europe—effectively putting to rest my father’s sense that Warsaw was our single effort, quixotic at best but more than real, to defy the Germans and prevent our own annihilation: none has meaningfully diminished the place the Warsaw Uprising occupies in my own Jewish consciousness. (For more on Jewish resistance during the Shoah, I recommend Doreen Rappaport’s book, Beyond Courage: The Untold Story of Jewish Resistance During the Holocaust, published in 2012 and still widely available.)  In the world of my childhood, Mordechai Anielewicz, the leader of the Jewish Fighting Organization who served as the leader of the uprising and who died at Mila 18 at age twenty-four, was the hero of all heroes.                                                            

To say that the uprising was a failure is almost to say nothing at all. German losses were seventeen dead (all but one killed in action) and ninety-three injured (including sixty members of the SS). Jewish losses were on a different scale entirely and were staggering: 13,000 killed in the course of the uprising and the remaining 56,000 residents of the ghetto deported immediately to Treblinka or Majdanek and murdered in those places upon arrival.

Just a few days before the uprising was decisively ended by German forces, there was a successful attempt to rescue some few of the Ghetto’s defenders. That this was attempted at all is amazing enough, but more amazing still is that the operation was successful and allowed many of the escapees to carry the struggle forward, adopting the techniques of guerilla warfare to harass and occasionally kill German soldiers and eventually joining forces with the Poles who launched the “other” Warsaw Uprising in the summer of 1944. And one of the organizers of this almost miraculous flight from certain death was Simcha Rotem, called Kazik, who died last week and was the last survivor of the fighters who participated in the uprising.

Kazik was a boy of eighteen in 1942. He was already a survivor, though, even then: several family members and his brother were killed when a German bomb fell on his family’s home a few years earlier. There are other names to mention as well. Mordechai Anielewicz was the commander of the Jewish Fighting Force inside the ghetto, for example, but there was also Yitzchak Zuckerman serving as the organization’s commander on the Gentile side of the barrier that defined the ghetto. And, in fact, it was as courier between Anielewicz and Zuckerman that Kazik made his greatest and more daring contribution to the effort to resist the German effort to kill every Jew in Poland. His adventures are both terrifying and remarkable to relate. He was stuck for a while on the Gentile side and had to try repeatedly to re-enter the ghetto. Eventually, he succeeded by wading through the sewers that even the Germans couldn’t figure out how to close. And then his moment of true greatness came as the final destruction of the ghetto was almost upon them all, and he was able—because he was so familiar with the Warsaw sewer system—to bring Zivia Lubetkin, one of the last surviving leaders of the uprising, and about eighty others to safety first in Gentile Warsaw and then, soon after that, in the forests surrounding the city. He himself spent the rest of the war helping Jews in hiding and then eventually participating in the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. And then, after the war, he devoted himself to service on two different fronts: one, as a member of Nakam, the group devoted to exacting extra-legal vengeance on surviving Nazi war criminals, and the other as a member of Bricha, the group devoted to helping Jews immigrate to Mandatory Palestine despite the best efforts of the British to keep Jews out of their own homeland even after the Shoah deprived them of any other place to call home. 

Although Kazik—who as Simcha Rotem ended up, of all things, as the manager of an Israeli supermarket chain until his retirement in 1986—was the sole remaining fighter when he died, there is still one single person left alive who was a child in the Warsaw Ghetto for as long as it existed: Aliza Vitis-Shomron was twelve years old in 1942 and somehow managed to survive after helping the cause along by distributing various kinds of leaflets in the ghetto before finally managing to escape.

When I was a boy growing up in Forest Hills, the survivor community was entirely different than it is today. For one thing, the survivors I knew as a boy were all young people—the parents, not the grandparents or great-grandparents, of my friends from elementary school. The word “survivor” itself was not in use back then, however, and I don’t believe I can recall any of my friend’s European parents using that word ever to describe themselves. They were far too interested in moving forward, in establishing a foothold in America, in learning to speak unaccented American English (a challenge successfully met only by some), in relegating the horrors of their own past to the swirling mists of history and living in the clear light of a safe, secure present. That people didn’t wish to speak about the past was a given in most households. I accepted that back then, never finding the nerve to ask even people I knew well about their personal stories. Almost the people in that category that I remember from my childhood are gone from the world now, though, and, although some contributed videotaped interviews to the Spielberg Holocaust Archive, most took their stories with them when they departed this world.

But at least I knew these people personally, whereas the great challenge in the future is going to be finding a way to raise up a new generation whose contact with Shoah survivors will either be minimal or non-existent. It’s already too late to meet anyone who belonged to the Jewish Fighting Organization in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, just as it is also impossible now to meet an American veteran who fought in the First World War.  (The last living person to have served in the Allied Armed Forces died last November at age 110.) This happens, of course, to all historical events: the last living veteran of the Union Army who saw combat in the Civil War, James Hard, died in 1953…yet the Civil War is not only remembered by historians but remains completely alive in our national consciousness as one of the defining events in the history of the republic. Can we do the same for the Shoah as the survivors—and particularly people like Simcha Rotem who were eye-witnesses to events like the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising—fade from the scene? That is the question that Rotem’s death challenged me to ask and which I invite you all to join me in the wake of his passing now also to ponder.