#area 77 references

[convexicalcrow]

False didn't want to know. She'd heard, of course, about the skulk. About Cub. About the skulk spreading all over his base. It brought back memories she didn't want to think about. Not- not memories about, well. Well, okay, maybe memories about Cub spreading skulk all over the place, but also - more so - well. Her, really. Her sister. Sister? God, she wasn't really sure what she was anymore.

But that was two worlds away, right? She was- she would be fine. Away from her.

-

In spite of herself, she went to Cub's base and perched high on the mountainside, looking at how far the skulk had spread. It was- horrifying, really. And no one was really stopping it, or feeling concerned about this. Was False the only one worried? Was she just overreacting? Yes, of course she was.

But-

-

Gingerly, she flew down closer, seeing the straight roads and the blue fire and the deathly silence the skulk brought, even when this wasn't the right biome. It just ate sound completely. Even the fires sounded soft, muted, as if they were actually fifty blocks away. It was weird. Especially given the building styles Cub had used for the rest of his base. Sure, you could argue that the dark skulk made the bright colours all the more vivid, but there wasn't any hint of a coherent style anywhere.

It just felt-

-

She left, of course. She didn't like how it felt, being so close to the skulk. She got back to her base, focused on the circles, the dark oak, just the-

She had to pause as she caught her reflection in the water, and saw- her. It startled her so much she threw her sword into the water, breaking the reflection. No. No, she wasn't- she can't be. Right?

-

The water felt- odd. Her briefcase felt weird. Oddly heavier than usual. A new river had appeared, perhaps? Maybe that was it. Yeah. Maybe she didn't see someone else's hands as she cut down more dark oak, placed down more copper, set the portal tower on fire as if some great calamity had-

-

The fire was what triggered it all. She fled into her starter house, hiding under the blankets like a frightened child. No. Nononono. Fire danced in her mind. She had thought she'd repressed all those. Blasted them out of her mind the same way she'd done to-

But all she could smell was burning. Hear explosions. See the carnage left behind in the wreckage of her tower. Underneath her base. All the people who'd died because of her. It was- no, she was responsible, she killed those people!

And yet, when she stared at her own hands, they dripped with blood. After all, who locked her in there in the first place?

-

False returned to the skulk. Sat on the edge. Reached out to touch it a little, feel the sticky veins clinging to her skin, as if hungry to devour her soul. She wasn't sure it would be any good for it, but perhaps that was beside the point.

-

"Hey False, you okay?"

She looked up to see Cub landing before her. She shrugged. "Oh, you know." She gestured helplessly.

"It's not the skulk is it? Bringing it all back, hey?" Cub said.

She shook her head. "No, no, not- well. Sort of. You know. Just- wasn't expecting all the skulk, that's all."

"Yeah, it is maybe an odd choice, but I dunno, I think it looks better than the grass here, don't you think?" Cub said, coming to sit beside her.

"Yeah, I guess so. Makes the colours pop, that kind of thing," she said.

"Yeah! You see it!" Cub said. "It makes them so bright, I love it!"

-

"Hey, Cub, do you ever think about the crossover? And what happened there?" False said, staring at the ground.

"Every now and then, sure. They were good times, good times," Cub said.

"Even though I saved you from the skulk?"

Cub shrugged. "I mde my peace with it. What about you, though? I heard there was some kind of imposter over there? Another False?"

False brought her knees up to her chest. She frowned. "It's complicated."

"Oh, was Scar right when he said it was a clone or something?"

"I mean..."

-

"Was it Area 77? Or before that?" Cub asked.

"I don't think I even remember anymore. But probably. I-I didn't mean to, like. She-she was just meant to be like-"

Cub rubbed her back softly. They were sitting on his bed in his starter house now, having needed to retreat from the night. False leaned against him, reaching for his hand. Cub linked their fingers together.

"I dunno why I find it so hard to talk to anyone other than you about this. It's not like you even really understand, but- I dunno. You were there, I guess. You saw what was going on there. You know. You get it," she said. "You know what it's like to be kept in the dark."

"Hm, maybe."

She was right back in Falsewell then. Cub - well, he looked different back then, but his energy had never changed. The two of them standing by the motel, trying to catch a glance of anything inside Area 77. Wondering.

-

She'd started crying as the fire returned. Cub offered to help. Maybe she held his hand tight as he used some of those Vex powers to make her forget. Maybe it didn't quite work, but maybe it was enough to dampen the flames.

She'd do it again, of course. If she ever came back, if she ever found her here, she'd do the same again. She had to. She was too dangerous.

There was no way she could get here, of course, there was no Grumbot, no Rift, no way to connect to that world, but-

-

"She's probably so lonely, isn't she? Stuck there on her own?" she murmured into the darkness. Cub's body was a heater that she needed right now.

"Maybe, maybe. You'd still leave her there, wouldn't you?"

She nodded.

"Well, there you go."

[give-grian-rights]

Hermitcraft - Basic History of Teams!

Alright. Buckle in.

Only a few days from now, and Hermitcraft 10 will begin! If you're new, I hope this helps!

Hermitcraft has existed for over ELEVEN YEARS now! While very few have been here for every single season, with the exception of our lovely Tumblr Resident, and official Tumblr Sexy Man Joe Hills, and our derp Xisumavoid.

You are under NO obligation to watch every season. There are probably few, if any, active users in this community who have. It's just not possible to watch it all. You don't need to watch the previous seasons to enjoy our community space! While there are a lot of back-references, for MOST people, it doesn't extend to lore and actions any older than season 6.

Most of the Hermits are associated with specific other members, despite ALL OF THEM taking turns collaborating, interacting, and sometimes building whole new dynamics and factions in the process. Some of the team-ups that you'll see referred to in fandom-spaces and the occasional one-off mention from our creators, include:

(Season 5) NHO, New Hermit Order - Docm77, Ethoslab, Bdoubleo100, and VintageBeef. Living in a jungle while having "fights" with others. Attempts to tax those who enter their jungle, had traps around it, and criticized the then-popular AFK Fishing Farms. Bdoubleo100, or Bdubs, especially enjoyed stealing from these. (Season 5-6) Convex, or ConCorp - GoodTimesWithScar and Cubfan135. One group I am the least familiar with unfortunately. They built a brand around the Vexes, with their business having pretty extreme low-morals that includes pollution and war profiteering.

(Season 6) ArciTects - Very close to be naming "BuildStone", it was proposed by and founded by Grian to Mumbo, later giving an invite to Iskall85. The purpose of this alliance was for builders to help redstoners, and redstoner to help builders. It accumulated in the ATTEMPT of founding the "greatest shop in the history of Hermitcraft", Sahara. It was, hilariously, a very large failure. Grian miraculously managed to entirely ruin the system with a single baked potato. No, I don't know how.

(Season 6) G-Team & Team STAR (Superior Tactical Alliance for Retaliation) - The Hermitcraft Civil War, consisted of a long list of minor conflicts in which various members of Hermitcraft blamed other people for pranks they committed, eventually spiraling into the confusion that was The Civil War! G-Team: Grian, TangoTek, Iskall85, Joe Hills, ZombieCleo, StressMonster101, and iJevin. Team STAR: Docm77, WelsKnight, FalseSymmetry, ImpulseSV Xisuma, RenDog

Mumbo Jumbo acted as a mole in Team Star, for the G-Team. He created this commercial for Team STAR. Team STAR made a very iconic diss track, which was soon remixed. It is a...Very iconic piece of Hermitcraft fandom. The result was Joe Hill's Response, in his short video also remixed by the same creator. Albeit missing the additions of the totally real voices of the other G-Team members

(Season 6) Area 77 & The Hippies - (I didn't finish Hippies POV and i didn't watch anything of Doc or Scar's POV of this unfortunately) Area 77 was founded by (unsurprisingly) Docm77, and GoodTimesWithScar, where they were doing experiments and studying abonomalies. SOmehow, this lead into Grian, once again, turning against them and forming The Hippies with the help of Ren, with Impulse soon joining. The conflict primarily consisted of them griefing Area 77 with flowers.

(Season 7) Boomers Demolition - Early game business formed by TangoTek, Bdoubleo100, and ImpulseSV which consistedo f almost exclusively non-duped TnT demolition, and was very fun!!

(Season 7) The Mycellium Resistance/HEP (Hermitcraft Environmental Protection) Hermicraft 7 saw Grian introduce the Hermitcraft Mayoral Election, created with the idea of putting Mumbo in as a puppet-government. If I had a nickel for every time Grian tried to start a puppet government (at this point) I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot but it's weird it happened twice. Grian and Mumbo lost. In it's place was GoodTimesWIthScar. As Mayor, they had further control over the shopping district. Scar's promise was to replace the shopping district's Mycellium with grass. Despite very happily admitting that grass looked better, Grian, in a moment of nostalgia, decided to replace some Mycellium. Scar proceeded by putting caution tape around the area. This spiraled into The Turf War

Mycellium Resistance: Grian (Mother Spore), ImpulseSV, RenDog, XBCrafted, iJevin, Ethoslab, StressMonster101, Docm77, and Mumbo Jumbo HEP/Mayor Scar: Scar, Bdoubleo100, Keralis, Xisumavoid, TangoTek, Cubfan135, FalseSymmetry, Mumbo Jumbo, who joined due to them having the better vault. Etho had intended on being a double-agent, selling information to Scar. His information, however, was useless on purpose and decided to pledge full loyalty to The Resistance.

(Season 8) Boatem Hole - Grian, Mumbo Jumbo, GoodTimesWithScar, ImpulseSV and PearlescentMoon more or less stumbled and tripped into forming a group after innocently stacking boats and crafting tables and crystals on a pole, dubbed Boatem Poll. They then proceeded to create a hole down to bedrock, and eventually into the void, called the Boatem Hole. It was a large plains biome which was turned into varying mountain terraforming and the like from all of them and was connected in some small ways.

(Season 8) The Big Eyed Crew - Bdoubleo100, Keralis, and TangoTek. Tango did not, in fact, have big eyes and instead wore sunglasses to compensate. They had a town and shopping area and was occasionally dragged into pranks by the Boatem Crew.

(Season 8) Octogon/Goatem - Docm77 and RenDog! Main rivals with Boatem (thus the Goatem - pole of goats) had a mega business, game-breaking creations, and jaw-dropping spidery teal-and-deepslate creations. Weird Science!

(Season 9) Soup Crew - ImpulseSV, PearlescentMoon, GeminiTay. Made the CRAZIEST combo-base where all their different themes blended into a cohesive build

(Season 9) Buttercups - Grian, MumboJumbo, and GoodTimesWithScar. What's up, Buttercup? They formed after an incient where Scar and Grian blew up a massive, complex tunnel bomber in Doc's base. They could not understand how to repair it, and left a few diamond blocks before conflict started. They dragged Mumbo in, and had a robot fight with...

(Season 9) The Perimeter - Docm77 and RenDog. Doc's base, known as The Perimeter, teamed with Ren to attack the Buttercups using walking redstone creations to do a robot fight. Due to an issue with one of the server's plugins, they all re-logged, breaking one of the bots and ending with Buttercup's bot to do more harm to itself than the Perimeter's, but ultimately the destruction did prevent Doc and Ren from getting any further. Ren and Doc then launched flying TnT dupers, which looked like butterflies, towards all of the Buttercups' bases and camp. They stopped them both, with one butterfly destroying The Perimeter's own bot even further.

I am so sure that I'm missing some, but I am losing my mind with all this trying to remember them all!! I hope this could give people an idea of who they might enjoy watching!

[easternmind]

The weird and wonderful history of Kowloon as a digital interactive space - Part I

The Kowloon Walled City was one of the most emblematic locations in Hong Kong due to its irregular, fast-paced and largely ungoverned growth within a minute parcel of land. During the occupation of Hong Kong Island by the British in the mid 18th century, the Qing authorities surrounded the area with walls, turning it into a strategic position from where to closely inspect the foreign nation's covert activities. Almost a century later, during World War II, the area was seized by the Japanese, who tore down the walls and repurposed the stone for the construction of a nearby airport.

After the war, China would eventually regain possession of the city, though the disinterest of local authorities in addressing its increasing social disturbances placed it in a downward path to a state of utter degradation. By the 1970s, Kowloon had become the epicentre of Hong Kong's criminal underworld, dominated by a handful of its most vicious Triads.

Towards the last years of its existence, the ancient settlement was as a precarious heap of concrete, sheltering nearly half a million people within less than seven acres of land. Cultural and political changes in China made it increasingly difficult for this urban anomaly to remain unaddressed. In the late 1980s, an action plan was put together aiming to relocate its inhabitants and reconvert the real estate into an inner-city park. Stories about residents refusing to leave their unsafe and unsanitary homes were featured prominently in newspapers, baffling readers all over the world. Once the single most densely populated area in the world, this enclave was an architectural aberration whose disconcerting aesthetic influenced numerous works of art in different fields of creation; including a small yet consequential number of video games that briefly reference or prominently feature this abominably transfixing space.

九龍島 (Kyu-Ryu-Tou) - Starcraft - 1986

The year is 2025. An arms dealer escalates the tensions between East and West by developing a genetic weapon in a secret base at Kowloon Island. The United Nations react by sending in their best man, Jamie Starr. Unrelated to the Walled City itself, the first game to be located in the Kowloon peninsula - and indeed include the name as a part of its title - is this obscure turn-based RPG, Kyu-Ryu-Tou for the NEC PC88 and FM-77 machines. The game is a sequel to Shangai, released the year before, featuring the same protagonist. Starcraft would also go on to produce a third instalment in 1987 named TO.KY.O. Clearly there wasn't much regard here from the developers part for geographic accuracy, as Kowloon is depicted here as being an island. While Hong Kong's southern territory is composed of an actual island, all the different areas named Kowloon are located in the mainland.

Riot City - Westone - 1991

One of the most shameless specimens among a relatively long list of Final Fight clones, Riot City contains subtle references to Kowloon, though never referring to it by name. Two narcotics detectives are assigned with the mission of dismantling a cartel running a crime-ridden located in fictional Riot Island. This recurring yet geographically nonsensical notion of Kowloon as an island comes up here, yet again. The final moment of the introduction sequence for this minor Sega arcade success shows both protagonists approaching a tight cluster of buildings whose source inspiration is quite unmistakable. Because Westone maintained ownership of most of this production's intellectual property, a later port to the PC Engine entitled Riot Zone was made possible with the help of Hudson soft. Kowloon's Gate - Zeque - 1997

Reviving the Walled City through the lens of cybermystic surrealism, Kowloon's Gate is a dense, daunting adventure masterfully capturing the slum's dark and narrow recesses. This 1997 Japanese Playstation exclusive spans across four discs of unparalleled full motion 3D CGI spectacle, alternating with real-time 3D dungeons brimming with outlandish characters and concepts deeply inspired by Chinese history, geography and cultural traditions.

Ironically, Zeque managed to embed the theme of Feng-Shui, the ancient geomantic art seeking harmony between the individual and their surrounding space, into a story set in the world's most historically untidy district.

SaGa Frontier - Square - 1997

SaGa Frontier takes place in a solar system named The Regions, composed of multiple inhabited worlds for the player to explore, each with its different degree of civilizational development and culture. One of these planets goes by the suggestive name Kūron. Its pervasive neon light signs, food stalls, makeshift cabins and rooftop scaffolding instantly evoke the memory of China’s so-called city of darkness.

Shadow Hearts - Sacnoth - 2001

Shortly after the release of Koudelka, Sacnoth's initiated the development of Shadow Hearts, the first episode from a cult RPG trilogy exclusively designed for the Playstation 2. In good Japanese fashion, the game proposes an anachronistic yet visually suggestive depiction of Kowloon, portraying its architectural style and degree of decay as it existed in the late twentieth century, despite the fact that the game's events take place during the nineteen twenties.

Just as noteworthy is the almost complete absence of any inhabitants, which inadvertently make this portrayal of the quarter eerily reminiscent of the state in which it was found circa 1993 or 1994, as local authorities brought the long, arduous eviction project to a close.

Shenmue II - SEGA AM2 - 2001

Shenmue II exhibits the most complete and period-accurate video game representation of Kowloon to date. While more recent games featuring this area may represent a number of its aspects with the aid of improved visual fidelity, none features it with such depth as this masterpiece of masterpieces. More than mere background decoration, Kowloon exists in the Shenmue series as a crucial, climacteric element of its modern epic narrative.

It is a well known fact that Yu Suzuki and his team conducted extensive research of the region so as to achieve a result that impresses even to this day. It must be noted, however, that they have similarly taken a fair share of creative liberty when converting the area to best align with the themes they wished to explore. Further reading is required for a more complete context in this regard, namely how this area ties with an early Dreamcast tech demo design which fans lovingly named Tower of Babel. Ostensively, technical limitations did curtail the degree of precision in which the surrounding area could be replicated. The aerial view from the cutscene in which Ryo Hazuki arrives on location places Kowloon at an imaginary degree of elevation over surrounding vegetation. In the year of 1987, during which the game is set, the actual enclave stood perfectly levelled with a myriad of other modern buildings, undoubtedly more than could be reproduced under the circumstances. These trifling considerations aside, Shenmue II entirely succeeds in capturing the vibrant life and mesmerizing beauty of the destitute and decayed urban agglomeration, in a way that it was deemed entirely impossible at the time of its release.

For reasons entirely related to per post content limitations imposed by Tumblr, this article will be continued in PART II.

[vintageshanny]

Don’t Go Changing

I wrote this for an anonymous request that Big Daddy Elvis walk in on reader while she’s changing and smut and fluff ensue. 18+ I hope you enjoy! 😘

I envisioned this taking place in 1976-77, but there’s no real date references, so you can imagine it however you wish! ❤��

You drummed your fingers anxiously against the inside of the door frame as the car pulled up the driveway and around to the carport. George glanced over at you with a little smile. “Nervous?”

“What? No,” you scoffed. “I get set up on dates with superstars all the time.” George had been friends with your older brother and sister for years, and apparently had decided that you’d be perfect for his other long-time friend, Elvis Presley. You knew plenty of girls would still jump at the chance to meet him, but you had hemmed and hawed over the decision. Sure, he’d always been easy on the eyes when your sister had dragged you along to some of his movies, and you enjoyed his music, but the posters on your wall growing up had been of David Ruffin and Stevie Wonder. Although you were a little embarrassed to admit it, your latest celebrity crush was Jackie Jackson, who was honestly much more age appropriate for you than Elvis. But George had pleaded with you to just meet Elvis and see how it went.

“I really think you’ll hit it off,” George was saying as he jumped out of the car and came around to open your door. “Just be yourself. Elvis is usually very warm and friendly, nothing to be scared about.” You just nodded wordlessly as you stepped out of the car and smoothed down your pale pink eyelet sundress.

George led the way through the back door into what appeared to be a very gaudy den area where a handful of people were sitting around, talking and laughing. Every surface seemed to be covered with green carpeting, and the furniture was all elaborately carved. Your heart skipped a beat when you spotted Elvis sitting in a high-backed chair. As you locked eyes with him, you could feel a magnetic attraction that seemed to pull all of the reservations right out of you. He rose from his chair and strode over to you. His face was definitely fuller than what you remembered from the movies, but the trademark crooked grin that spread across it as he approached you sent a flutter through your body that caught you completely off guard. Elvis beamed as George introduced the two of you.

“Nice ta meet ya honey,” he drawled as he pulled you into a big hug, the swell of his belly pressing into you. The affection was making you weak in the knees. Elvis smiled as he pulled back and noticed the flush spreading over your cheeks. “Ya okay, doll?” he teased. “Ya ain’t scared of me, are ya?”

“No, no, um, it’s just, uh, kind of warm in here,” you whispered, knowing full well that everyone in the room could see that your face was on fire.

Elvis just chuckled and nodded. “It is a little warm in here. But now that you’re here, we can go swimmin’. Ya brought a bathing suit, right?” You nodded and motioned to the tote bag that you were clutching. George had warned you to bring a swimsuit and change of clothes because you never knew what Elvis might suddenly be in the mood for. Elvis grabbed your free hand and pulled you down a little hallway toward the bathroom. “You can change in here, honey, then jus’ go outside that way toward the pool,” he pointed. “I’ll be waitin’ for ya out there.”

You pulled on your swimsuit and examined yourself in the bathroom mirror, certain you had worn the wrong thing. Your royal blue one-piece had a halter neck that showed off your cleavage a little bit, but the bottom had a skirt that covered your thighs. You figured that Elvis was used to being around actresses and models, and you felt insecure showing too much of yourself. Now you worried that you looked too frumpy though. Just be yourself, you repeated George’s advice in your head. If he likes you, great. If not, his loss. With one last glance in the mirror, you turned and headed for the pool.

The others were already splashing around and playing a game of keep-away with a beach ball, but Elvis was relaxing on a lounge chair, his head tilted toward the sun, still wearing the powder blue tracksuit he’d had on when you arrived. You approached his chair and cleared your throat. “Are you, um, not going in the water?” you asked, clinging shyly to the pale pink beach towel you had brought.

“I was jus’ waitin’ for you, honey,” Elvis smiled, turning your insides right back to jelly. “Y’know,” he continued as he stood to remove his tracksuit, revealing a navy blue T-shirt and swim trunks underneath, “I do have towels here sweetheart. I wouldn’t have made ya stand out in the sun ta dry off.”

“I didn’t think you would,” you laughed, trying not to let your gaze linger too long on his sturdy thighs, “but George said to come prepared, so I didn’t want to take any chances.”

“And did ya?” Elvis asked with a little smirk.

“Did I what?” you responded, confused.

“Come prepared,” Elvis smiled, his blue eyes twinkling behind his tinted glasses.

“Oh,” you giggled nervously. “I don’t think so, actually. I wasn’t really prepared to like you so much.” The awkward words tumbled out before you could stop them. Elvis tilted his head back and let out a big laugh as you blushed profusely. “I mean,” you continued on, “it’s not like I’m some groupie and you’re, y’know, a bit older than me and, I mean, oh my gosh, I’m sorry, that was so rude, I didn’t mean, it’s just that you’re so nice and funny and cute and I wasn’t expecting…” your voice trailed off as Elvis’ laughter grew louder.

“Wow, ya really had high hopes for me, huh?” he teased, trying to recover from his amusement.

At that, you started giggling a bit too. “I’m sorry, I guess I just kept digging myself in deeper and deeper.”

“That’s okay, honey, it’s nice ta know I can still take people by surprise,” he joked with a wink. “Now let’s cool off. I can’t tell if that’s a blush or a sunburn covering you.” Elvis grabbed your hand and led you down into the water. As you passed through the game everyone was playing, Elvis suddenly dove for the ball. He came up sputtering and laughing, tossing the ball to you to keep the game going. As one of the other guys, whose name you couldn’t recall from George’s introductions earlier, lunged toward you to get it back, Elvis quickly grabbed it and tossed it to the other end of the pool. “Y’all stay down there with that,” he snapped as he shot the guy a glare for daring to get close to you, seemingly forgetting his own role in joining the game. He pulled you over to the side of the pool and smiled again. “Tell me more about yourself, honey.”

As you chatted with Elvis about your recent graduation from UT Memphis and what you were thinking of doing next, you couldn’t help but notice how his T-shirt, now soaking wet, clung to him like a second skin. You could see very clearly the bumps of his nipples and the raised pattern where a trail of hair led down from his chest to his stomach and beyond. It was like a very sexy topographical map. It was taking everything in you not to reach out and touch him.

“Honey, wh-wh-what do ya keep lookin’ down at?” Elvis asked with a frown. “Do I got somethin’ on myself?”

“No, I’m sorry, it’s nothing like that,” you blushed, caught red-handed checking him out.

“W-w-well what is it? T-t-tell me what you’re thinkin’ ‘bout.” Elvis sounded almost nervous, and for the first time you realized he might have insecurities too. You’d been so focused on your own nerves that you hadn’t even questioned why he would wear a shirt in the pool in the first place.

You leaned in closer, your breasts brushing up against his chest as you whispered nervously, “It’s just that I think you’re so sexy. It’s hard for me to stop looking at your body.” You pulled back in time to see Elvis’ eyes widen and his face turn a brilliant shade of red.

“I feel the same way about you, honey,” he murmured as he leaned in and softly pressed his lips against yours, apparently unconcerned about anyone else witnessing this display of affection. A little shiver ran through your body, and you could feel your nipples harden against his soft chest. Elvis pulled back, a blissful smile spread across his face. “Ya cold, baby? Ya wanna go inside with me?” You nodded, feeling a compulsive urge to follow him absolutely anywhere. “We’re gonna go in and have a little tour,” Elvis announced to his friends as the two of you got out and dried off. “Y’all can stay out here.” You slipped your hand into Elvis’ as you headed back inside. “Where ya goin’, baby?” Elvis asked as you walked back toward the bathroom.

“I was just going to change back into my clothes,” you responded, a little confused.

“Bring ‘em upstairs, honey, you can change in my bathroom. It’s a lot more spacious, and then we can keep gettin’ ta know each other.” You grabbed your bag of clothes and followed him, wondering just how well you’d get to know each other. As soon as you entered the dark, cool bedroom, you could feel the nerves set in. As if completely attuned to your emotions, Elvis squeezed your hand reassuringly. “Honey, we ain’t gonna do anything you don’t wanna do. I-I-I really like ya and jus’ wanna keep talkin’, okay?” You smiled and nodded. “Look, you can go right in the bathroom and change. I’ll be out here.”

“Thanks, Elvis. I really like you too,” you whispered, feeling suddenly very shy again now that the two of you were alone together. You slipped into the bathroom and closed the door behind you. As you reached back to untie the halter neck of your suit, you realized that in your nervous state while putting it on, you had knotted it way too tightly. The water had tightened the knot even more, and now it was completely stuck. “Shoot,” you muttered as you kept picking at the knot. There was a soft rap at the door.

“Honey, ya okay?” Elvis called out.

“Yes, I’m almost done!” you lied, starting to feel panicked. You were too embarrassed to ask him for help getting undressed. Out of sheer determination, you finally loosened the knot and untied it. Right as you rolled your still-damp swimsuit all the way down your body and stepped out of it, there was another soft knock. Before you could answer, Elvis opened the door gingerly.

“Honey, are you sure you’re okay?” he started to ask before his voice trailed off to nothing, his jaw dropped a little bit at the sight of you standing there completely naked.

“Elvis!” you shrieked, trying to cover yourself with your hands. “Don’t look! I’m naked!”

“Well I can see that honey,” Elvis couldn’t help teasing. “What’d ya say before? Somethin’ about bein’ so sexy it’s hard not to look?”

“Elvis, it’s not funny! I’m embarrassed,” you whimpered, still trying to cover your top half with one hand and your bottom half with the other.

“Honey, you ain’t got a thing to be embarrassed about. You were hidin’ all that under that swimsuit? Goddamn,” he let out a low whistle as he gently moved your hands out of the way and pulled you in close to him, looking you up and down. He let one of his hands trace slowly down your side, over the curve of your hip, while the other reached around and gave your butt a squeeze.

“Elvis, I-” you started to protest but the words didn’t seem to want to come out after all.

“I’m sorry, honey, I didn’t mean ta embarrass ya. I really thought ya were changed already. Do ya want me ta stop?” he whispered into your ear, the warmth of his breath tickling you.

“Don’t stop, Elvis,” you whispered as you leaned up and kissed him passionately, your tongues dancing together.

“Mmm,” Elvis moaned as he walked you back toward the counter and hoisted you on top of it. “I won’t stop until ya say so.”

“Wait, Elvis, before you do anything, can you, um, let me see you?” you whispered.

Elvis blushed and shrugged. “I guess fair is fair,” he said as he pulled off the dry shirt he had changed into. You could feel yourself growing slick at the sight of his broad hairy chest and soft belly.

“What about those?” you asked, nodding toward his pants.

“Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves, baby,” Elvis teased. “You jus’ relax and let me make ya feel good.” He spread your legs apart and groaned at the sight of your arousal. He slipped two of his fingers through your folds and slid them inside of you.

“Oh, god,” you moaned as you reached out and ran your hands over his chest, down his stomach, and gently palmed what was growing hard inside his pants. Elvis let his tongue travel down your neck and over your chest as he continued pumping his fingers, crooking them just right to hit a spot that drove you wild. You explored his body as much as you could with your hands, and when you pulled him in for another deep kiss, you noticed he was panting just as much as you were. The simultaneous action of his hands and tongue finally took you right over the edge, your moans filling the room.

“I’m sorry, I usually don’t move so quickly with anyone,” you whispered as you came down from your state of euphoria, wondering what he must think of you.

“Neither do I,” he grinned. “But I can tell you’re somethin’ special that deserves to be taken care of.”

“Can I, um, take care of you?” you asked, looking down at where you had felt his chubby length through his pants.

Elvis grinned that sweet crooked grin again. “We should probably save somethin’ for next time, huh?” You smiled back, but you had noticed that there was a suspicious wet spot on his pants, and the noises he’d been making started to make a lot of sense. “Here honey, jus’ put this on and come lay by me,” Elvis said, handing you a silky robe from a hook by the door. “I jus’ wanna hold ya.”

Tag List (let me know if you want to be added or removed): @whositmcwhatsit @missmaywemeetagain @lookingforrainbows @thatbanditqueen @be-my-ally @ellie-24 @from-memphis-with-love @arrolyn1114

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Brazil’s water surface area shrinks below historical average in 2023

The surface area of water throughout Brazil dropped below the historical average in 2023, a MapBiomas Água survey released this week shows. Last year, water covered 18.3 million hectares, or two percent of the national territory, down 1.5 percent from the historical average, first calculated in 1985.

Water losses were reported in all months of 2023 compared to 2022, including in the rainy season. In 2022, the water surface reached 18.8 million hectares. The figures refer to 1985 through 2023. The survey says that the biomes have been suffering from the loss of water surface since 2000, with the 2010s being the most critical decade.

In 2023, natural water bodies accounted for 77 percent of Brazil’s water surface, down 30.8 percent—6.3 million hectares—compared to 1985. The other 23 percent are anthropogenic bodies, i.e. water stored in reservoirs, hydroelectric dams, aquaculture, and mining, which adds up to 4.1 million hectares. Of this total, large reservoirs account for 3.3 million hectares, up 26 percent in 2023 from 1985.

“While the cerrado and the caatinga are experiencing an increase in water surface as a result of the creation of hydroelectric dams and reservoirs, others—such as the Amazon and the Pantanal—are facing severe reductions, leading to significant ecological, social, and economic impacts. These trends, aggravated by climate change, highlight the urgent need for adaptation strategies for water management,” Juliano Schirmbeck, technical coordinator of MapBiomas Água, said in a statement.

Continue reading.

[theminecraftbee]

Major Wars and Conflicts of Hermitcraft:

BG (Before Grian)

ABBA Trial (Season 2)

Log Wars (Season 4)

AG (After Grian)

Hermitcraft Civil War (Season 6)

H.I.B. Vs. Hippies (Season 6)

Demise (Season 6)

Turf War (Season 7)

Corporate Wars (Season 8)

Soup Group Resistance (Season 9)

and finally…

Grian and Scar Vs. Everyone Else

okay so i do have some patch notes for this one:

the nho vs la resistance (season 5) absolutely needs to be on here; it is more of a direct war/conflict than half the stuff you have listed i think.

i'll allow area 77 because it ended up involving a good number of hermits but that one's on thin ice on account of you not including stuff such as the NHO. demise is also on thin ice - definitely a conflict? but not a war by any stretch so it feels like it doesn't fit with the rest here, it's not really a "storyline conflict" like most of these are, it's a minigame that got way too overgrown. i feel like one or the other of these should be knocked off.

the season eight corporate wars were not really a war, and i don't think should be on this list. it COULD HAVE been a greater conflict but honestly season eight started a trend towards the shopping district becoming more irrelevant that carried into season nine. that was like... normal scale prank-and-retaliation, everyone was too busy with stuff like moon's big to really call that one a war. it DEFINITELY doesn't belong on the list when season five isn't on the list.

baffled you're referring to the king ren arc as the soup group resistance i had to like. stretch to think what you meant there.

and the current chicken nonsense isn't a war, it's a doc bullying competition. maybe it'll become a war. i for one hope it does, if only to see what a zedaph does when he finds himself a part of a storyline he didn't start. but right now it's a doc bullying competition,

also i unfortunately don't know enough about early seasons to add more conflicts but if we're counting stuff on the scale of area 77 and season eight prank silliness, there were DEFINITELY bigger pranks than the season eight prank silliness in early seasons.

overall, while grian DEFINITELY showed up right as hermitcraft started to become "modern hermitcraft", i think people maybe... oversell how much conflict he brought to the server? stuff like the prank war/civil war were hardly his animal, he's just a guy who really likes organizing big events like this. if anything "season six was popular" i think is the biggest driver of events like this on hermitcraft. like, this is a fine list, i just think it exaggerates the after grian era and doesn't have enough of the before grian era! (THE NHO HAVE YOU SEEN WHAT BDUBS WAS SERVING IN HIS VIDEOS THERE. THE DRAMA. THE DRAMA.)

[sonkitty]

The Sideburns Scheme Post #77

(For reference: The Sideburns Scheme)

Crowley, Good Omens 2, Episode 5, The Ball, wrong

...

Sideburns Check

The sideburns are still long and the same length as when Crowley spoke to Maggie. They are not the longest-length that happens around Gabriel when humans aren't around.

This scene puts Crowley close to his own car that's helping this supernatural zone take shape. There is now more fog and fewer humans shown to be passing in the street. In fact, there is at least one demon shown to the camera's right when Crowley says the name of the coffee shop. Otherwise, the few humans around are understood to be walking and passing through the area.

There is likely a second demon standing in the street and facing the bookshop as Nina enters since I think Nina is supposed to be the next-to-last human to enter the ball.

...

Brighter Red Streak Check

The more saturated red streak of hair is at its most noticeable point in the story, in my opinion, in this scene. It is strongest when Crowley is telling Nina, with urgency, to get to the meeting.

That's also when Nina shifts from finding Crowley weird and mildly irritating in that moment to finding his demeanor scary.

...

Hairstyle Changes

The curl in the front and top is taller and more centered, creating a pocket of hair in the process, at least for the earlier part of the scene. The more saturated red streak of hair is more vibrant. I'm not sure its ever stronger in the whole season.

...

Earthly Objects

(For reference: Earthly Objects)

Crowley says the name of the coffee shop and with the word "name" as a hint that's the point he wants to earn. That's point #1.

Nina has a question for asking Crowley what he wants. That's point #2.

She has a self-touch, like Maggie did. She actually uses both arms, but it's her left hand that is visibly placed on her waist and makes a pocket. Interestingly, that's the opposite hand Maggie used.

After that, Nina at least says the name, "Lindsay," and has a self-mouth touch for 2 points. Crowley also has a self-mouth touch in the cut where the two of them are last seen together for point #3.

...

Time to pay attention to the pockets.

The Tied Hands do not retie.

The Belt Head might get an Overhead Light when Crowley points to the bookshop and says, "Just to remind you about the..." If so, it's presumably helped along by the self-made pocket of hair, especially since it's only the top part of the Belt Head that is visible.

There is a human wearing white who visually walks behind Crowley, but the way Crowley's ears and lights line up over the course of the scene still don't amount to an Overhead Light for his actual head, as best I can tell. That's because the lights are to Crowley's right. He doesn't do anything to properly switch them from how I've played other scenes. Crowley does at least get the flames of the coffee shop wall above, behind, and to the left of his left ear. That's most clearly shown during and after he convinces Nina to go to the bookshop.

While Crowley has been known to frequently have self-made pockets, the main two I can find is the one he makes with his hair and another little self-made pocket he makes with his legs and the lower interior window frame of his car.

...

Story Commentary

The fog is still setting in. There are still a few humans.

Crowley senses something is wrong. As he mentions that to Nina, he adds that lots of things are wrong right now, but right now, this wrong he senses is coming in waves, like a hangover.

To our knowledge as the audience, this wrongness is probably the demons arriving, possibly with a "creeping sense of unease."

Crowley's actions up to this point have indicated he anticipates their arrival, at least on a layered level. He's not touching any earthly objects here, just as he wasn't touching any when Nina questioned him earlier about his relationship with Aziraphale.

Since Crowley mentions a hangover, it's worth recalling that he did drink wine earlier and is using a substantial amount of power in making this shift into a supernatural zone happen.

When he says a lot of things are wrong, he could be referring to his more layered awareness within the games.

This moment also shows what I meant that Crowley and Aziraphale aren't really asking the humans to attend. Whatever it takes to get the invited human to the ball? It's going to be done. In this case, Crowley shows a sense of urgency that's strong enough for Nina to abide by him flat out telling her to go. She gets scared of him.

Honestly, she might not have even been able to leave since she accepted the invitation on camera in Crowley's presence with his touches happening, and the supernatural zone is already taking shape. Crowley both escorts and dismisses other humans from the space later, as a way to allow them to leave.

...

Nina

Something very interesting in the Earthly Objects game happens.

I am very unsure of the below, but here is my current play in trying to understand this scene within Earthly Objects as a game.

When Nina arrives, she touches a threshold. More specifically, she has four left hand fingers on the door. The middle finger touches the push plate. The index, ring, and fingertips touch the door panel though the ring finger is aligned just below the edge of the push plate. As she continues to enter, her right arm is shown to be crossed under her left arm. Her left thumb eventually appears and is shown to not be touching the door.

Her left hand lets go of the door, and her body obscures the touch her right hand still has on the door. She says, "I'm going mad."

Now let's take a look at how Crowley touches this same threshold later in episode 6 as the Single of The Pocket Trick. I won't cover everything about it because it's a lot.

For starters, he has a visible pocket touch with his right hand that has four fingers in the pocket with the thumb outside the pocket. Crowley also places four left hand fingers on the door. For him, it's the index finger instead of the middle finger that touches the push plate. Both the index finger and middle finger are touching each other at the lower edge of the push plate. The middle, ring, and pinky fingertips are on the door panel. As Crowley continues to enter, his right arm is shown to be crossed under his left arm. He's using his Pocket Chain with the car window behind him for the touch, especially with the thumb and its shadow on the astragal. The cut itself does not show the door actually closing. He is still touching the door by the end of the cut.

He had his mouth open but no dialogue during the touch.

Other humans have touched doors during Good Omens 2. I haven't tracked every touch, and I don't have it in me to go back and check them as I draft this post because it won't change my point about what follows from Nina's touch.

For whatever reason, in this instance here, Nina's threshold touch is treated like a mistake that must be corrected. It's like the game wants to overcompensate.

Here is my current breakdown of trying to understand what happened.

Nina's touch cannot count as an earthly object touch because three fingertips on the door panel is a threshold-only touch. But it's not a Threshold Trick or part of one. It's something she did in a heated moment of fear. Crowley's threshold touches are very particular about how they are done.

Nina says, "I'm going mad," for point #1. The game treats statements like this one, a statement of place, as a "Hello."

But, instead of having Nina go into an interaction set, she'll get her own points #2 and #3 later, as dialogue points, because the other characters she encounters are earning 3 points in one collective duo set and 3 solo sets. All of these characters will be touching earthly objects.

Mutt is holding a glass of champagne and a book as he says Nina's name. That's point #1 for the book and #2 for the name. He's not talking to Nina. He's talking to his spouse because his sentence began, "Why, my dear, it is Nina..." His spouse has a line of dialogue toward Nina while also holding a glass of champagne. That's point #3. I'm guessing Mutt's touch on the book for counts for him to make it different from the touch his spouse earns.

Nina doesn't respond verbally to them.

Justine is holding a glass of champagne and has a self-touch with her left hand for point #1. Her self-touch probably counts to make what she touches being herself instead of the glass of champagne. That way, it's, again, different from what Mutt's spouse was touching. Justine says, "bonsoir" as a "Hello" equivalent for point #2 with a question about it being a fine night for dancing, no? for point #3.

Nina finally earns her own second two points with the name "Justine" as point #2 and the question, "Justine, what's going on?" for point #3.

Mr. Arnold has a touch on the piano for point #1 and sitting on a stool for point #2. He says Nina's name for point #3.

Gabriel is holding a tray for point #1. He says "Hello" for point #2. He asks a question about Nina trying one of the tiny little dinners for point #3.

That's 15 points total.

It mostly seems to end here since Aziraphale shows up shortly, and he and Nina proceed into at least one standard interaction set with him touching a bookcase for point #1, saying Nina's name for point #2, and Nina asking why she doesn't feel upset for point #3.

After that, I can't figure out any remaining sets for the scene. Mr. Brown earns at least two points with "Excellent eventide to you, Mistress Nina," as a Hello and a name. Since his hands aren't shown, I don't know if his newspaper touch counts. I would think so otherwise since he wasn't holding it earlier when he entered the bookshop.

...

As for why the human guests are talking weird, I go with the general theory of it being Aziraphale's influence on the space with his wish to have this ball happen this way. His power is influencing the humans. Aziraphale wants the humans safe from the demon invasion, but he also wants to dance with Crowley and celebrate their connection.

...

That's it for this post. Sometimes I edit my posts, FYI.

...

Main post:

The Sideburns Scheme

[northgazaupdates]

8 January 2024

Journalist Mahmoud Abusalama interviews Sabreen Bahjat Salem, a woman who recently survived the massacre of her family by the IOF. She tells how most of her family has been wiped out, including her two children, and many of them are still trapped under rubble. She describes being blown into the street by the force of the bomb, and lying there for six hours without help because rescue crews had no way to reach her. The entire interview has been translated by Instagram user faridaek, and is posted under the cut. “M” refers to Mahmoud and “S” refers to Sabreen.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Mahmoud Abusalama (@almajd_free)

M: We bring you a story amidst dozens of reports of Israeli massacres of civilians in the Gaza Strip. This account focuses on the Salem family massacre, where 143 of 153 displaced individuals were killed in their home. We're joined by Sabreen Bahjat Salem, a mother who lost her two children, parents, and the majority of her family members, who were also seeking refuge in that house. My sincerest condolences, Sabreen.

S: May God reward your endeavours/efforts.

M: Please tell us what happened, from the beginning.

S: We were displaced from Jabalia Camp, we thought we were safe in our homes but the Israelis warned us the camp was dangerous, so we evacuated. Our destination was Al-Rimal, deemed “safe” by the Israelis, but it was far from safe. We went there and got trapped two nights before we were bombed. We were stuck in this house, unable to leave or flee the area. The next night, they bombed us.

M: What time did the attack happen?

S: The attack happened around midnight, and I was lying in the street from midnight till 6 in the morning, with no ambulances or anyone to help. Most of my family is still under the rubble. Of the 153 people in the massacre, only 12 of us survived, and we all ended up scattered in the streets.

M: So, we're talking about 153 people and displaced people all under the house, how many people were rescued?

S: 77 people were retrieved then buried, 77 people. But most of them remained under the rubble, and only 12 of us who were pulled out are alive, all of us scattered in the streets.

M: While you were on the street, were there army vehicles and tanks there?

S: Yes. They were there. They first came in around 1AM, and people were crushed by their tanks and bulldozers.

M: So, we're talking about Israeli tanks going over the bodies of the wounded or martyrs from the family?

S: Yes, exactly. They ran over the bodies and crushed them, killing them, and there were pregnant women amongst those crushed! And we were on the other side of the street, and the tank passed us at 6 AM, once the tanks and bulldozers finally left, then the neighbors were able to help us, and even then, when they were helping us, the helicopter was shooting at them directly, so nobody could help us except with great difficulty/danger.

M: Who did you lose in this massacre?

S: I lost both my children, my father and mother, and my two siblings, meaning most of my family is gone. I am the only surviving member left. Most of those who were pulled out were the sole survivors of their families, meaning the majority of people lost their mother, father, and siblings.

M: Was there any specific target in the house? Were you warned or informed to evacuate the house?

S: No, we were all civilians in the house; no one informed us to leave. No one told us to evacuate. According to the Israelis, it was a safe area, so we headed there under the pretext that we would be safe, but it turned out to be a disaster-stricken area, according to the Israelis, it was a safe area, so we headed there under the pretext that we would be safe, but it turned out to be a disaster-stricken area, according to them. May God avenge us.

M: This testimony comes from one of the survivors who endured the bombardment of the Israeli forces. It recounts the tragic Salem family massacre in the Al-Rimal neighborhood. Originally from the northern Jabalia camp, they had relocated to Gaza city, believing it to be safe. Tragically, this attack resulted in the loss of 143 members of the Salem family. May God greatly reward their endurance/patience.

[fluentisonus]

Cadastre B; Cadastre C; Cadastre A

The cadastres of Orange

Dating from 77 BC and commissioned by Vespasian, the three so-called Orange cadastres consisted of large white marble tablets, of which 300 fragments have been preserved. They represent the plan of the colony, and are the only surviving example of their kind for the entire Roman era. This cadastre provides us with information about the land and fiscal administration of the times.

The term 'cadastre' refers to the administrative organisation of ancient Roman territory for the requirements of land and fiscal administration. The cadastres covered the entire territory of the colony of Orange.

On cadastre B [image 1], the representation of the kardo and the decumanus [the two lines forming a crossroads created by a surveyor from which to measure land] enabled the territory to be divided into four major regions and determined the coordinates of each centuria. Each of these, measuring 750 x 750 metres, covered an area of 50 hectares (i.e. 200 jugeri, the unit of measurement of land area used by the Romans).

The inscriptions show the various legal statuses of the territories:

EX TR. [ex tributario]: land allocated to the settlers

REL. COL. [reliqua coloniae]: leased land (the amount of the lease and the name of the lessee are mentioned)

TRIC. REDD. [tricastinis reddita]: land restored to the defeated indigenous peoples (in this case, the Tricastini tribe).

-- Text from the Museum of Orange [with a couple clarifications]

^ detail of a section of cadastre B [image 1] showing the outline of river

^ more example details from cadastre B

+ dad for scale:

[ask-commander-arild]

Arild, dear summer baby boy, what is norway like

(ooc: Thanks for the ask! I was hoping someone would ask this! But, just remember, country names have been Motherified, Norway will be referred to as Fjordland!!)

Oh? Well... I haven't visited since I was 10, and I have not lived there since I was around 6. But, from what I do remember, it's... very very beautiful. There are many forests and mountains and plateaus of lush green, as well many lakes and rivers. Before we moved away, my family owned a small farm in a very pretty area, and I always loved getting to run and play outside. Though, not always, because it's also pretty cold there. I think on average, it would get up to around 18-25°C in the summer, and down to about -6° in the winter (that's around 64-77 and 21 Fahrenheit respectively for all you Eaglelandians out there). It probably doesn't help that it rains there quite a lot, haha. I think that's actually part of the reason we ended up moving, though I can talk about that later.

As for the culture... I really could not tell you as much. Like I said, I was very young when we moved, but I do remember the people being very nice and very kindhearted. Hmmm... I do remember fishing being a pretty big thing, what with all the water I mentioned, heh. And to this day, it's still one of my favorite things to do. My pappa even built a shack we would go to when he'd take me on fishing trips! Outdoor activities like that seem to be a favorite among the people from my homeland. In fact, a lot of our traditional food comes from farming and fishing. Lots of fish and cheese/dairy and bread and livestock animals and such. Doesn't sound much different from anywhere else in the world, I know, but just trust me on this.

I really miss being there... As much as I would love to talk more about it, it just gets harder and harder to remember details about it as the days go by. I wish I go back there again and everything could be the same. It was always my dream to move back when I grew up, but I really don't see that happening anymore. Oh, well...

[schrodingers-romy]

Romy Reads: Wind Breaker

Spoilers for manga chapters 62 through 77 below the cut :)

< prev | next >

-

Umemiya is so excited...such a proud plant dad

-

THEM!!!

(Also nirei is so cute with his tsubaki-chan-san)

[I'm going to be referring to tsubaki with they/them pronouns for now bc I do not know their gender]

-

Thank you to Tsubaki for fulfilling my wish to squash Sakura into a hug thank you for your service 🙏

-

No but the tsubaki backstory with that old couple...the fact that they accepted tsubaki and only wanted them to be happy :') Man I wish those were my grandparents.

-

Wittle pouty blushy baby face sakura

I love this picture sm

-

It's nice to see that nirei is getting trained, even if he only knows how to become a pillbug rn you gotta start somewhere

-

Sakura suffering whenever ppl around him act slightly romantically towards each other is so funny

Imagine being on a date or something at a restaurant and the kid in the next booth just explodes

-

The roppo ichiza seem cool! I wonder if they're going to be reoccurring allies...perhaps they'll help whenever the teased big antagonist shows up

-

TSUBAKI CAN POLE DANCE???

Damn

-

Huh it's interesting how nakamura (roppo ichiza leader) talks about the differences between them and furin. While roppo ichiza is a purely reactionary peacekeepijg gang, bofurin under umemiya is actually 'fixing the leak' so to speak, by giving delinquent kids a support system with morals and people you can trust, so they don't become trouble makers.

-

Ooh new fight and new antagonists...although I've got to say gravel is kind of a shit gang name. Oh nooo not the tiny rocks

-

Shizuka noooo don't sacrifice yourself!! It seems like she came from the same bad area as Gravel, and they're trying to get her to sell her back to some rich creep...

-

Ooh gonna see tsubaki kick some ass I'm excited hehehe

-

Oh man taking that kick from someone wearing high heels had to have hurt so bad

Got to take a break now but I can't wait for more of this

[alfhildr-the-word-weaver]

I must say, it's pretty poetic that I've gotten to season 6 of Vampire Diaries right before another solar eclipse happens in America. I certainly didn't plan it, but it does feel like my timing is very appropriate with this one. I do have questions about the accuracy of the eclipse portrayal in the show, though. I mean, a solar eclipse did in fact happen on May 10, 1994, and it was visible across much of the country, so that much is accurate. But I don't think Mystic Falls would've had quite as good of a view as they show it having. For reference, here's a map of the May 1994 eclipse path (credit: timeanddate.com):

And, if you'll remember, Mystic Falls is like two hours from my old hometown just a stone's throw north of Lynchburg, Virginia, as seen on the locator spell map (this one's all over tumblr, forgive me for not remembering what blog I grabbed it from):

So if you zoom in on the timeanddate map and pick somewhere closeish to there:

It looks like Mystic Falls would be getting a little over 77% coverage or so. It's also worth noting that the '94 eclipse was an annular eclipse, not a total eclipse like tomorrow's eclipse. That still means that the moon went directly in front of the sun, but it does mean that it was small enough/far enough from earth that you didn't quite get full coverage of the sun (thanks to weather.gov for the nifty graphic):

So, I'm not positive whether it would've looked quite as dark as was shown in the show:

Although, I must admit, in this video I found on youtube of the '94 eclipse, (part of me is shocked to find footage from then but I know I shouldn't be like yes they had cameras in the 90s) it actually looks more similar than I expected it to look, but I imagine it was most likely filmed within the path of totality:

But also, when Kai takes Bonnie to Portland, don't they see the eclipse again there? I couldn't find that clip on youtube just now, but Portland barely had any eclipse--only 42-43% coverage, so it would've been way milder of a visual effect, barely any dimming in the sky noticeable without eclipse glasses.

The funny thing is, the area where I live is going to be sitting right around 80% coverage tomorrow. I was lucky enough to get to travel to Missouri for the 2017 eclipse to get into the path of totality, but I'm afraid that it hasn't worked out for me to do so this year, which is immensely disappointing to me as an astronomy enjoyer, but I do still plan to go to an eclipse party and I'm going to start saving to try and get to Spain for the next total eclipse in 2026, which is going to be right around my 30th birthday (screaming). Anyways, it isn't great, but here's my best picture from the '17 eclipse:

I didn't even have a smartphone yet then, because despite it being 2017, I was somewhat of a luddite, so I had the purple flip phone I so stubbornly clung to and a point-and-click Nikon, but I still think this picture is pretty cool for what it is. Here's the zoom in so you can really see that ring of fire (and my shaking hands doubling the image):

Obviously you can find thousands of better eclipse pictures online, but that one's still special to me because it's mine. Anyways, I'll report back with smart phone pictures from whatever I see of the 80% total eclipse tomorrow to compare and contrast with Mystic Falls's 70% annular eclipse of the 90s, because from what I've heard it's going to be much less impressive than full totality was, but I've yet to watch a partial solar eclipse, so I'll just have to find out. Also, if you happen to have any vampiric loved ones trapped in a magical prison dimension who you need help freeing during the eclipse tomorrow, let me know and I'll see what I can do! ;) Hahaha. Anyways, happy eclipse everyone, and may we all possess sufficient self restraint to avoid eye damage (says the woman who has looked at the sun unprotected so many times and is probably going to go blind because of it some day. I know what I've done lol. Don't be me.)

[sycamorality]

Oh wait here's a tough one: how do you think ancients used calendars? As in days, months, years (cycles)

oh boy here we go. i think they definently did, because we have dates mentioned in-game. and they are as follows;

1511.090, 1514.008, 1591.290, 1650.787, 1650.800, 1654.110, 1654.116 and 1681.662

1511.090 is where seventeen axes, fifteen spoked wheel was "voted Local Champion in the speaking tournament of 1511.090"

1514.008 was when "Seventeen Axes, Fifteen Spoked Wheel nobly decided to ascend in the beginning of"

1591.290 is the bug in a maze broadcast between pebbles and suns

1650.787 is the sliverofocean broadcast

1650.800 was the broadcast chasing wind calls out an erratic pulse appearing on a nearby sliverist conversation

1654.110 was moon saying "Two cycles ago, my neighbor Five Pebbles drastically increased his water consumption to four times the normal amount"

1654.116 is moon sending a private broadcast to pebbles telling him to stop (which was when he got interrupted and presumably got the rot)

1681.662 was chasing wind asking suns if they had contact with pebbles recently, and saying UI sent an overseer and got pictures of pebbles rot that were made public in the local group

now, with THAT out of the way-

i would imagine cycles are much longer than they are in-game, considering in downpour they work on a day/night cycle in areas the rain doesn't reach. but i also think with the whole, xxxx.xxx, that the last three digits are a cycle- or possibly something more, considering it was mentioned "in the beginning of 1514.008" - which means that however long it is, it's long enough to say "in the beginning of", and they include the full date. but we also aren't told what they mean by "in the beginning of". i- think maybe the last three digits could either be a day or a week (or somewhere near there, using our own timescale for reference), though personally i'd say perhaps a month? 10-20 days? voids if i know! this is all speculation. though considering 1591.290 is after the ancients ascended, and 1514.008 is the latest time we have an ancient mentioned (and specifically ascending, too!), the first four digits are something like a year? perhaps more? which would make it 77 years since the ancients ascended during 1591.290 broadcast. but that brings it back to the last three digits. what the fuck are they. for the sake of my own headcanons (and sanity), i'd say the first three digits are a cycle (however long that is- i'd say somewhere around like 10-25 days, even if in-game a cycle goes off of a day/night cycle in areas above the rain. but it could also just be that the day/night cycle is extremely long in rain world. we really don't know). and the last four are akin to that of the rain world equivalent of a year, however long that is, which is not something i feel like getting in to, at least right now.

i think, personally, that the last three digits go all the way up to .999 until a number is added to the first four digits and the last three roll back to .000. that makes the most sense for me, considering we've seen as high as .800 and as low as .008. but it could also be they roll back at .800, or a simple .900. but, my own headcanon is that cycles go up to xxxx.999 before they add a number to the first four digits/rain world equivalent of a year.

tl;dr yes i think they used calenders and they are confusing as fuck.

[chronotsr]

Pre-G1 Modules, part 5 - The Tower of Zenopus

So you probably noticed that this is being posted after G1. Sorry! File this in July 1977, so just after DK1 and 2 and Tsojconth and City-State and Tegel Manor but before Thieves of Badabaskor et c.

This post being released out of order is a function of where Zenopus is hiding. You see, the dating of Holmes Basic is a little squirrely. Most places say 1977 broadly, some people will say "the earliest reference is an ad in Dungeon in September '77", and a few internet sleuths say July 11th . So I hadn't had that down in my to-review list before I released G1, and in the rush I had forgotten that hiding in the back of Holmes Basic is the beloved little module simply entitled "Sample Dungeon", later known as The Tower of Zenopus.

And, consequently, I have no fancy cover to show you! Just this hand-drawn little map:

The Tower is unique in that it is the first module on this list that I have actually run for a real party. Now, granted, I did not run the Tower in Holmes Basic (I ran it in Fantasy AGE 2nd edition), but nonetheless -- it's the first one I have personal knowledge of. And I love it quite a bit.

So historywise Holmes Basic has a lot going on that I cannot quickly explain, so simply accept that Eric Holmes offered and was eventually hired to re-edit Original Dungeons and Dragons ("Little Brown Booklets") into a less labyrinthine mess. This was an extremely good call, and the Basic productline would go on to live for a very very long time in one form or another, only getting seriously changed much later by Frank Mentzer in 1983. There is a lot of Corporate Politics wrapped up in the release of ADND vs Basic vs Original DND, with concerns about copyrights and royalties and extremely Type A Gary Gygax not wanting to share his toys with the others. And, done.

The Tower is interesting from a historical standpoint in that whereas The Tower of the Frog is "here is a dungeon, here is what that looks like", Tower of Zenopus is "here is how to make a dungeon, and this is a dungeon that will teach players how to play". There will be far better attempts at those two goals, but nonetheless Tower represents a module that genuinely holds up in 2024 with some cleanup. It was given a loving nod in 5e's Ghosts of Saltmarsh by having the neighboring Portown be a little up the coast from Saltmarsh and I strongly recommend having that be your second adventure after the haunted house.

So, what's Tower's backstory? Both more and less than you'd expect. Zenopus built the tower next to the graveyard, it was suddenly engulfed in green flame, Zenopus was killed "by some powerful force he had unleashe din the depths of the tower", and it sat around for a bit. The villagers saw spooky shit going on there and smashed it with a catapult. Your party has assembled in the Green Dragon Inn and is going to investigate for phat lewt. Go on, scamp!

The structure of the tower is unusually genius for an early module, in that it features a lot of routing loops that allow for nonlinear but clear movement through the dungeon. The overall structure is, ultimately, a rimmed wheel, an outer ring connected by spokes to the hub. The shape hides this well but not too well, which is perfect for the new DM. So here's the room by room highlights:

The party enters on a four-way intersection, each taking you to a different feature of the dungeon. I have heard this dungeon describes as "like a theme park with four wings" and that's an apt descriptor here -- you're picking between the rat area, the pirates area, the wizard area, and the tomb area.

A very cute and simple puzzle, which is one of those most precious things in life: a four-way room freely opens from the outside, but only lets you out from one door. A statue in the center points towards the door that is currently open, and the statue can be spun to change the door. It's a neat little trick in that if the party gets separated during combat, anyone in this room can't assist anymore unless they work out the trap, but outside of combat it is largely a non-issue so long as they take the time to puzzle it out.

A pretty standard but new for the time tell that the wizard has a petrification wand with a little garden of stony adventurers. It's a classic for a reason.

A regulation water-rush trap that separates the party with the current -- again, a certified classic, creating tension by making fair encounters that are hard if the players get separated by traps

Ye olde "question answering mask" with, again, a precious simple puzzle: a tiny little riddle. If you parse out that the mask is powered by the sundial, you can abuse your light sources to make it be 4pm.

G i a n t c r a b, the most classic of scary "normal monsters", because it is armored and hits hard but people still immediately understand "oh fuck it's a crab" in the way they understand a bear is a serious issue

Giant spiders ambush from the ceiling silently. Zenopus really is a classics fest, but in 2024 that's kind of novel simply because THIS type of classic isn't done anymore.

For reasons I cannot fathom, the local pirates have taken to smuggling in the Tower because it's connected to the sea. This works in Ghosts because Portown is abandoned and so it's far away, but as-mentioned in the original module the tower has to be suuuuper far away from town, but also near enough to be the graveyard, for it to be a good smuggler's den. Regardless, there's a canned setpiece in the sea access room where pirates are coming on boats with a kidnapped noble lady from Portown. They're moving in on skiffs when, a giant octopus attacks! It's very, very good. This is, for my money, the best room in the dungeon and also one of the best moments in DND until we get all the way to N1's tavern.

In the center of the dungeon is a staircase leading up into the remains of the tower -- I made a rather major change from the original here, the original is merely an old alchemist's laboratory complete with a pet ape.

Instead of the alchemy lab, for my adventure I made a rather large change: the original module suggests expanding downwards because That Is How It Was Done in 1974. Instead, I went up. The horrible thing Zenopus discovered had formed a shadowy parallel dimension, so they were in a pocket dimension where the old tower was, even though in the prime material plane it was simply rubble. This blog is not About My Modifications but, that's my free tip about the tower if you ever run it -- subvert the old timey expectations by making it an upward dungeon instead of a downward dungeon, with the power of weird magic.

Anyway, that was all, and amends are now made for my previous error. See you in checks notes like 5 hours with G2!

[ticktockaura]

‘What the f**k to do with them?’ Russian soldiers heard condemning North Korean recruits in intercepted audio

Russian soldiers have been heard raising concerns about how North Korean soldiers will be commanded and provided with ammunition and military kit, leaked intercepts obtained by the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine and released on Friday show.

The Russian soldiers talk disdainfully about the incoming North Korean soldiers, codenamed the “K Battalion,” at one point referring to them as “the f**king Chinese.”

In the same extract, a serviceman describes another who has been tasked to “meet people.”

“And he’s like standing there with his eyes out, like… f**k,” the soldier says. “He came here and says what the f**k to do with them.”

The audio was intercepted from encrypted Russian transmission channels on the night of October 23, according to Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence.

Ukraine’s analysis of the intercepts revealed that North Korean troop movements were planned for the morning of October 24, in the area of Postoyalye Dvory field camp in Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukraine launched a surprise incursion earlier this year.

The intercepts also reveal plans to have one interpreter and three senior officers for every 30 North Korean men, which the Russian soldiers are heard in the audio condemning.

“The only thing I don’t understand is that there [should be] three senior officers for 30 people. Where do we get them? We’ll have to pull them out,” one Russian serviceman says.

“I’m f***ing telling you, there are 77 battalion commanders coming in tomorrow, there are commanders, deputy commanders and so on,” a serviceman says in another extract.

The interepted audio follows a Thursday announcement from Ukraine’s military intelligence service that a group of North Korean soldiers have been spotted in Russia’s Kursk region, an area that borders Ukraine and has seen ongoing military operations.

In a post on its official Telegram account, the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine said some North Korean troops, who had received training in Russia’s far east, have made their way to the western Russian region, where Ukraine has maintained a foothold since launching an incursion in August.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that he received a report on the deployment of North Korean military personnel from Ukraine’s commander-in-chief.

“According to intelligence, on October 27-28, Russia will deploy its first North Korean troops in combat zones. This is a clear step in Russia’s escalation that matters, unlike all the disinformation circulating in Kazan these days,” Zelensky said, criticizing the BRICS summit staged by Russian President Vladimir Putin this week in the southwestern Russian city of Kazan.

The Kremlin had initially dismissed allegations of North Korean troop deployments, but on Thursday at the BRICS summit, Putin did not deny that Pyongyang had sent soldiers to the country.

North Korea said on Friday that any troop deployment to Russia to aid the war in Ukraine would conform with international law, state media reported, without explicitly confirming such presence. North Korea had previously dismissed such reports.

“The actual involvement of North Korea in combat should be met not with a blind eye and confused comments, but with tangible pressure on both Moscow and Pyongyang to comply with the UN Charter and to punish escalation,” Zelensky added.

[lycanlovingvampyre]

Thinking about the whole reveal of Not!Sasha being, well, not Sasha as the build-up to the S2 finale made me think. I saw people, who didn't catch the change of Sasha, saying it was cool to discover this alongside Jon, as it dawns on them at the end of MAG 76 and gets confirmed in MAG 77. To get their minds blown like this. And I kinda mourn missing out on that experience because it does sound hella cool. And we did get a bunch more mind-blowing revelations or twists in S3, 4 and 5 and I remember how amazing those felt!

And I noticed something then: This is the only time we as audience know more about what's going on than Jon does. Everything else after this point we will discover alongside the characters (mostly Jon, MAG 134 and MAG 196 it's with Martin though and Jon catches up shortly after). Usually we are just as much in the dark as the characters and I found it so extremely cool, for example, to have the absolutely same reaction as Jon in MAG 154 for example (being: saying "fuuuuuuuuuck..." out loud). But the way the Not!Sasha's arc was laid out the podcast gave us all the tools we needed to understand what's happening to Sasha in Artefact Storage in MAG 39 in the last few episodes of S1 - in MAG 36 Jon asks Tim what the table looks like, bringing up the hypnotic pattern and the square hole in the middle / in MAG 37 Martin even calls the statement-giver of MAG 3 - which provides the relevant plot to the table - by name. This was clearly done to give us an exact idea, that it was indeed this exact table and what happened to a person, who was in its "area of effect". We as the audience were supposed to know what's going on and it just happened organically that a lot of people missed it (which I understand, not everyone is like super invested to get all the cross references the first time around).

I wonder if this has been a conscious choice to not repeat having "secrets" already openly accessible to the audience by design so only the characters would get their minds blown when finally stumbling across the revelation, or if it just happened along the way of writing. As far as I remember, Sasha getting not!them'ed was a bit of an improv as the VA sadly couldn't continue with TMA in the way that it was planned for Sasha? So this might have been planned differently? (Oh, @a-mag-a-day)