#also these are drawn on different programs so that’s why consistency is a distant dream lol

[xxxdragonfucker69xxx]

Imaginary Cartography

Cities, like dreams, are made of desires and fears, even if the thread of their discourse is secret, their rules are absurd, their perspectives deceitful, and everything conceals something else.

-Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities

'Is it not worthy of tears,' Alexander said, 'that when the number of worlds is infinite, we have yet to become masters of a single one?'

-Plutarch, Moralia

Close your eyes. There, in the landscape beyond the darkness, under strange stars, a caravan of travelers rests around a campfire in the desert. You have caught them just in the moment as they pass between cities, in the space which is meaningless without a name or a mayor. The mendicant has just finished speaking of Caducine, the city of her birth, and now the soldier will tell us how he wishes to find love in Radadesh.

Imaginary Cartography is a road trip between cities that do not yet exist. Each player plays a wanderer, a traveler in the same caravan as the others. Each traveler has their own goal, something they are looking for in a city. As they travel between cities, the travelers will talk about that city, telling the stories they have heard, constructing it in their minds; almost inevitably, they will leave the city disappointed, looking to the next city. The game of Imaginary Cartography is the act of telling those stories.

Before the game you should assemble a map with geography but no political boundaries, either of the real world or created in a mapmaker program, etc. You will map your journey onto this map. A game is split into several chapters, with each chapter separated by an interlude in that city. A chapter consists of several scenes over the course of several days. At the beginning of each scene, whichever traveler spoke last must request this of another: "Tell us about the city to come." Then that traveler will oblige and speak about the city they are fast approaching. This repeats until every traveler has had a chance to speak, and then they reach the city, marking it on the map. A city is never narrated; at most, the travelers express their delights and disappointments when they have left it, or reference it when they speak of other cities. Each city is dictated according to a theme from the list below:

Cities & Memory

Cities & Desire

Cities & Signs

Thin Cities

Trading Cities

Cities & Eyes

Cities & Names

Cities & the Dead

Cities & the Sky

Continuous Cities

Hidden Cities

There are several different types of traveler, and each class is qualified to speak about a different aspect of the city's life. They and they alone hold the final authority in that matter; another traveler may interject to ask whether such and such is true, but it is the speaker that may say 'It is not so,' or 'Yes, and furthermore...' If there is debate about whether a matter is within someone's sphere, authority defaults to the current speaker. For example:

The Noble is traveling for pleasure, or else for diplomacy; there is a deal they must strike or a hand they must kiss in some distant land. They know all about high culture and higher society.

The Workman is looking for work that will suit them, drawn onward by promises of prosperity. They know all about the common man, the tinker and tailor, and about the crafts they produce.

The Scholar is looking to verify a theory, or else to produce one; there is some idea they have, yet unformed, that they wish to solidify. They know all about the history of the city, its architecture and its academia. If ghost stories abound, they are also qualified to comment.

The Soldier was hired to protect the caravan, maybe, but really they're running from something. Why else would someone with such valuable skills be out here in the middle of nowhere? They are familiar with the arts of belligerence and violence, with all the unsavory things people do to each other.

The Pilgrim is seeking an article of faith, whether religious or otherwise: there is something they believe in, or wish to believe in, and they are looking to confirm it with their own eyes and their own heart. They are familiar with the virtues of a city, of what it holds highest or dearest to its heart.

The Lawman goes from city to city righting wrongs and dispensing justice; their duty is in fact to revolve their circuit endlessly, but their aim is to be promoted to a local judge by resolving some great crime. They are familiar with all matters of the law and governance.

The Scoundrel is up to no good: a drunkard, lecher, and probable thief. They want to indulge in mischief or vice; but what they are really looking for is something that will fulfill them. They are familiar with everything shocking: grisly murders, ribald tales, and ghost stories.

The Child is, well, a child; one of the other wanderers is their guardian, and their only wish is to remain close to that guardian. They alone may speak on whatever subject they want, but the other wanderers are advised that these are flights of innocent fancy, and may choose to accept or disregard them as they please.

No wanderer's goal is ever within their own sphere, of course, or they would have attained it long ago. With that said, once a city has been constructed and arrived at, each traveler may decide for themselves whether they have attained their goal. If they have, they remain in that city, and a new wanderer joins the group as they leave. Only once a city is constructed to fulfill every heart's desire can the game truly end; nevertheless, once every traveler in the original caravan has left for a city, it is considered a new game, and you may choose to postpone its beginning indefinitely.

Perhaps I am afraid of losing Venice all at once, if I speak of it, or perhaps, speaking of other cities, I have already lost it, little by little.

continuing my grand tradition of ridiculous intros

i dont know if it was homestuck or what that put the love of significant initials into me

i could go on forever about wanderers but (also i misspelled it as wonderers a couple times and that was something)

you ever read the canterbury tales? some fuck shit in the canterbury tales

[mjsm82099]

The Life of Mike Montenegro

Mike Joshua Seguiz Montenegro was born on August 20, 1999, in the heart of the province of Surigao del Sur, the Tandag City. He is the eldest child of Jennifer Seguiz Montenegro, his mother who was a businesswoman in his childhood days and a hardworking public elementary school teacher starting on his teenage years. His father, Joselito Halawig Montenegro was a private employee of a lending company but resigned to start a business in the city on his teenage years as well. When Mike was about two-years old, her sister Janarra Jane passed away due to heart complications one year after she was born. After a year, mother Jennifer gave birth to a healthy baby they named Maria Jamella, the youngest in the family.

As a young boy with a busy mother as a businesswoman and a father being employed outside of the city who only went home every Friday night, Mike had to go to school and learned all his class lessons on his own unlike any other children with a father and mother surrounding them most of the day. Jealous Mike had no choice but also to understand their situation, only to find comfort outside of their home and being surrounded by the people, the reason why he was distant and never close to his parents. Mike was appreciated by his elementary teachers as one of the most active, cooperative, friendly and honor students in his elementary years. It was on sixth grade that he started engaging to different clubs and organizations ended up as well to be elected as Science Club-Vice President. He got also the chance to confidently participate and compete on a school contest and his first time representing the school to district and cluster levels. Obviously, it was the start of Mike building up his confidence and to be engaged in extra-curricular activities. He graduated with honors in elementary and awarded as well for his extra-curricular endeavor. At a young age, Mike was already a help to his mother in their business and learned one of the most important life’s teachings: trust, autonomy, independence, initiative, hardwork and competence.

His high school years were started by being enrolled to Jacinto P. Elpa National High School, a public high school in town, under Special Program in the Arts Curriculum specialized in Creative Writing. Seventh grade was a realization of him to appreciate life because of the accident of his two classmates claiming unexpectedly the life of the other one which made him remember the death of his sister. His leadership continued by running to become a grade 7 representative, officer to various subject clubs, and by being elected as a class president. The three grading periods for seventh grade were a difficult one for Mike because of not getting into the top 10, afraid of judgment and pressure from his parents, determination and hard work moved him to be placed in the top 10 students at the end of the academic year. It was the start as well of him being drawn into writing because of his specialization, being vocal to his opinions and views when it comes to social issues that eventually led him to have social interest and even started dreaming of becoming a journalist.

The young and free Mike was able to form many friendships and other significant relationships this time. That being said, he experienced identity crisis. He felt that even though he had enormous friendships to hang out with or to cling on, he still struggled to know himself, understand his personality and finding out which groups he belonged to and which he did not. He felt like he was always wearing a mask to conform to certain standards. What contributed the most towards his identity crisis was his gender; he faced discrimination and judgment from his relatives and the people around his neighborhood regarding his sexual orientation, gender identity and expression. During this stage of his life, he also felt guilt towards his parents for completely drowning to extra-curricular activities, making him unable to do well in his academics and hardly balanced and managed his time which eventually made him only being placed consistently on the bottom of the honor roll. On the brighter side, he personally was still thankful for all the extra-curricular activities he participated in because of all the life lessons and teachings that could not be found only on the four corners of a classroom, making him aware of the happenings around his surroundings, participated to various outreach programs, and became a learner of such great mentorships from his coaches and schoolmates.

On the other hand, senior high school was a test for his mental and physical health and also the years of his “first times”. Dreaming of becoming a journalist someday, he chose to enroll in Academic Track under Humanities and Social Sciences strand without hesitation. Mike, this time, realized that his performance in senior high school would matter and greatly affect to the decision he will make for further education such as in college. On his first year in senior high school, Mike worked and studied hard, completely forgotten his physical health resulting to frequent common illnesses. His mental health was at stake as well due to family and peer pressure consistently experiencing stress and anxiety. He took a break in his leadership endeavor to have time in his academics but joined the first-ever radio broadcasting team of the department of his institution under the Filipino category. He named the team “Radyo Tanglaw” which garnered awards from the division level and competed in the regionals on its first year since established. It was Mike’s dream-not-achieved way back in junior high school to be one on the radio broadcasting team and carry the name of his school to some levels. All hard work paid off as he ended the academic year being on the top 4 of the honor roll.

On his last year in senior high school, his love to journalism and radio broadcasting made him decided to take up Mass Communication which actually agreed by his parents. His love to leadership as well continued by being elected as a president of the student council. He was able to attend different leadership conferences, seminars, and events representing the organization around the city and region. He participated on the first-ever International Youth Camp last 2017 at Butuan City, a gathering attended by all international youth leaders from Asia and student council presidents in high school around the Philippines. He still participated on radio broadcasting and defended its crown on the division level, making them represented Tandag City division for the second time in the regionals. His last year in high school was filled with good memories by being a student-leader-and-journalist with the best people in his life. He appreciated life’s beauties this time: the friendships, determination, social interest and responsibility, guidance, fidelity, discipline and sportsmanship. He graduated senior high school as with honors and awarded for his extra-curricular endeavor and service in the student council.

After graduation, Mike’s plans on taking up Mass Communication was disagreed by his parents on the verge of college admission resulting to depression and suicidal ideation. He was forced to choose a program that would take board examination right after graduation and so ended up on psychology program introduced by his friends. Mike enrolled to the said program of the University of Mindanao with a saddened heart. He was not able to adjust easily knowing that psychology program was never on his choices and felt left behind because of only having little knowledge about it. After first semester in the said university, he transferred to Davao Doctors College, Inc. where he was able to adjust and cope up easily on the academics and foreign environment; embraced, appreciated and eventually fell in love on psychology through his seniors, friends and mentors. He was able to gradually know himself and accept his gender identity on this stage. Despite of difficulties, he graduated and passed the Psychometrician Licensure Exam last 2022. He immediately went for a two-year graduate program and became a psychologist by passing the Psychologist Licensure Exam last 2024.

Mike engaged himself to politics right after his masters. He worked as a city councilor who made municipal laws and ordinances that worked on the best interests and welfare of the constituents. He authored municipal laws and ordinances concerning for the protection of mental health of its people, protection from harm and discrimination basing on the person’s sexual orientation and gender identity and expression, creation of livelihood programs, sustainability of eco-tourism and others. He also became a volunteer to a non-governmental organization protecting the rights and welfare of the LGBTQ˖ community for decades.

Through his knowledge and understanding on psychology, he was able to apply it in the field of politics and governance who pressed in on the impacts of it as a policy-maker and a government official. He authored a book entitled “The Psychology in Leadership” which mainly talks about his real story of life as a student-leader on his high school and college years and how he became a leader in the society; applied psychology, introduced his personal approaches and effective strategies recommended for young aspirants who want to be in the field of leadership and politics and governance, ready to be in the service of Filipinos.

He is married to Metawin Opas-iamkajorn, a Thai actor, a year after the approval of same-sex marriage in the country. Mike and Metawin were both living happily with their two corgis in a mansion located in Mike’s hometown.