#ash is very polarising

[not-poignant]

I know you said Ash uses compulsions and glamour with humans so sex with them borders on non-con but is that because of the natural power imbalance between human and fae or has he actually used it to have sex with someone who wasn't willing / enthusiastic about the prospect of sleeping with him? Like has he actually ever raped a human? I know the glashtyn has and that Ash goes out of his way to limit the glashtyn's opportunities to do that, but has Ash ever done it when he's Ash?

I'm just curious because Ash from a reader's perspective seems to be very different from the Ash from your perspective (as the writer). Obviously you have more insight because you created him and I'm kind of getting the feeling that Ash is a lot darker than is actually shown on screen and that he would probably come across as *very* different if you ever choose to write him as a main character in the future instead of a secondary character.

Lol sorry for the ted talk. Honestly you write characters that I just love and wanna know more about.

he would probably come across as very different if you ever choose to write him as a main character in the future instead of a secondary character.

You must have missed the part where I said I've already written him as a main POV character in the last response/ask! Particularly Strange Sights (which is a slightly darker Ash) and The Wildness Within (which is a slightly less dark Ash lol). There's even canonical chapters from Ash's perspective, in the Ash and Gwyn Interludes.

I have already written him as a main character in more than one fic, so you can see for yourself exactly what he'd be like.

As for Ash in the canon (I'm assuming this is all you've read based on your ask and the fact that you don't seem to have read any of the AUs with Ash as a main character):

He admits himself that he's come close to raping humans and that he's broken at least one person's arm.

He tries to organise to get Gwyn killed and it nearly succeeds, and as a result, he is semi-responsible for the subsequent deaths and imprisonment of multiple fae.

He abuses Gwyn throughout The Court of Five Thrones physically, verbally, and through his glamour. (And hints of that start quite obviously in Game Theory - which makes it over a million words of Ash being the antagonist and then Gwyn's villain before he like...changes his mind and finally apologises).

He - as the Glashtyn - repeatedly talks about raping the most vulnerable fae in the party in The Ice Plague. And multiple fae talk about how this is what lurks behind Ash's general upbeat demeanour (and Ash has admitted this too).

Ash uses his glamour to interrogate Mosk in The Ice Plague, and removes Mosk's ability to resist him, to the point that Mosk collapses more than once.

Anyone who uses their glamour to keep sex going, would be guilty in a human court of rape, even if we call it dubcon in fiction. Also, consenting to Ash in the human realm is not an ongoing yes, and he takes that power away from them with his glamour. That's also rape. Do humans remember it that way? No. Has he brainwashed them? Yes. Ash isn't out there trying to physically harm or torture people, but he is a power-hungry sadist who is literally trying to sublimate his hunting instinct through promiscuity, so he's not looking to have soft and gentle sex every time he goes into the human world. He can choose to be soft and gentle, but that doesn't mean it happens every time, and it doesn't mean - with his glamour - that he's still not taking away a person's ability to offer ongoing consent.

Like no, Ash isn't out here having sex with people who are screaming no at him, but almost no one has the capacity to scream no at him because of the force of his glamour. He exists in a very morally grey space because of it, and he knows it.

Ash can be very caring and very loving. We also know he can abuse people in the name of that love (Ash through the entirety of The Court of Five Thrones).

Ash isn't even like, all sunshine and light in the canon. I think it's easy to miss the things he's doing because other fae love him, and because you know, he smiles, he laughs, he has a sense of humour, and he does do very kind things. But none of those things erase that these are the actions he's taken in the canon, and has felt comfortable enough to take -> verbal abuse, physical abuse, the removal of people's consent, interrogation to the point of collapse, acting in ways to organise an entire mutiny against the King, etc.

It helps that he's sometimes able to apologise, and sometimes changes his behaviour. But these are not the actions of someone who never does these things in the first place, for months.

You say from a reader's perspective things are different to my perspective, but I think it's probably better to be clear that it's your perspective, since there are actually a bunch of people who don't love Ash, and think of him as a villain because of how he's behaved in the canon.

He's a loved character by some readers, a hated character for some, and a 'meh' character for the rest. It just depends on what you were focusing on while you read him, and how he felt to you! And that isn't the same for everyone.

To the people who hate him, he feels like an abuser (particularly of Gwyn) who uses his charm to get away with it, because he...did that. The Court of Five Thrones solidified quite a few Ash haters. Ash's apologies don't change the fact that he did real and lasting harm to Gwyn's psyche, and that it takes years to mend.

To the people who love him, he seems like someone who is just trying his best to be nice and fun and compassionate despite the Glashtyn's influence. And hey, he apologised to Gwyn and has tried to change in a very genuine manner, and was a rock for many of the characters in The Ice Plague. That's also true. Also he's charming.

As the writer, I think all of those things are valid and true alongside each other. Canon Ash is polarising (i.e. he has got people on both extremes who either really love him, or really hate him), and it depends on what you're focusing on and what you're excluding in the process.

You don't have to read any of the stories where he's the main character, to see the dark and harmful actions that he's taken as Ash, and not the Glashtyn specifically. But if someone loves him, you might make excuses for those things, or may not even see them for what they are, which is also fine! None of these characters are wholly good, and are meant to be morally messy, except for maybe Julvia, lol.

[aidsyouinthinking]

Inktober drive

Subject: A letter, of purpose influx...

I do not need you,

If there is anything in relation to you, that I need;

It is the lack thereof–

But even so, I'm inclined,

all parts of me have an ideology– coinciding;

With the fact "you are useful".

I could journey for person new and pay them pretty penny too,

But we know what I'm going to do follow nose through fires true.

I suspect guilt- and fear you'll rue: tapestry built gives plenty clue,

But my circumstance, it accrue; willpower wakes– perverse in me.

I see glint in well.

We fear not being pulled in,

as shared webbing bind our souls with others above.

In well with wall made from sin, you sail down slow so you don't go–

Thinking "love... (kind of?)" :

No matter what parts think;

that sandwich,

it was eaten under extreme duress.

A stoic judgment must be met,

at bottom of the well where a window shattered lies,

But I admit; I do abet–

The concept; to confide: together all pried with eyes–

knowing all the keepsakes we kept;

A motivation intellectual bites bullet– dead; now lies.

Schrodinger's blank; Lies, Motivation....

The aim of this is to process: to ultimately assess:

Lonely surgeon can't operate on themselves,

So commits their surgeries to others;

One to burn judgmental books,

Another to fashion rhymes from flesh.

A Jazzy Metronome buzzes to blinding Blur,

As feet Follow, lefties swept off and concur!

A parasite clings to Coattails in own blood it stir;

As taken down a peg and leg and waist– it prefer!

A now pool of blood wishes your tempo-ed trampling to incur~

It's such a rowdy bunch you know?

And like mothers meeting…– in library,

to rightly complain of pressures underserved

Unrelenting; omni present and structural.

I desire to confide,

Even if I should be against it,

Mothers don't put their lambs on plate.

But mama bear does grow hungry.

We're confused, but not pained.

We fear not heaven nor hell, but limbo lacking.

We, nervous system, are. our. own. greatest enemy.

I want you, if you'll have me...

in accordance to our dewy decimal system.

If there's a chance –Without pain– to make this work,

Well all of me, (astoundingly) would feel amiss not to try.

Here's to phoenix cauterising lacerations

and bridges' ashes smoothing shards

on which I'll pace;

From, A moment slowly dying.

Subject: Ps side note

It must have been and continues to be, surreal...

To have a feed –though creatively distorted– of my ever frank externalised internal dialogue... like a neurology case study with a person missing their brain pan... I don't know why I feel no need to censor this format, regardless of your's and other's potential eyes.

But I'm glad, We censor ourselves too much – even from ourselves.

Subject: Pps More of the same

I am compassionate.

I wish you well.

But I don't have magic.

A Two time:

Beautiful poison or prickly friend.

A problem I need to defend.

Subject: ppps Limbo Lacking Lurks Lavishly | unread

Subject: pppps Nvm bad idea see you never | unread

Subject: ppppps Ae drunkard is sorry | unread

Subject: pppppps Omg philosophy tube!~ | unread

Subject: ppppppps Dw my poems are Über hyperbolic, you'll just have to talk to know my real thoughts | unread

Subject: pppppppps Also yes very meta of me | unread

Subject: ppppppppps I will tell you anything you need to know to just say yes or no, I suppose like me it is so; that forever this can go | unread, unread, unread, unread, unread, unread, unread unread

New Email!

Subject: It's becoming my life again, isn't it?

After further processing— thanks to poetry, I/We/me/myself now appreciate this “intellectual endeavour” as bacon wrapping the bullet, for the same puppy idolising potentialities of camaraderie, I fancied myself as Kim, but I’m much more a harry. Two of those a functional duo does not make, at least not likely. Perhaps this polarisation of the self would make good surgery, but best not do those in unsterilised room. I still need disinfecting since last.

At this point it is my issue, and I will do my best… sooo…

In for a pound, drop like a penny!

Heads or tails, you better hold steady >:}

Wait and see, emergency!

Break the glass, for choice bypass~

Drum roll

lacking toll

of pesky free will!

The crowd

they shout loud

with ambivalent shrill!

on floor what’s in store shows through that metal spill!

Pop goes the cherry weasel and coin!

Suppose we’re giving an honest go to rejoin.

Note: Of course, All over the place, makes sense...

Subject: Final one, ... I hope

I read your spilled writing. Please keep it up, it’s a really useful tool.

I've steeped myself in old playlists to remember how it all felt.

As much as I might feel I need someone who I can actually confide in about this.

I don't think you are a good candidate. We'd burden each other, it'd be helpless.

And I know half of me just wants to greedily learn every drop of what forged you,

to feel less alone as I've always and ever felt, Stuck with no company but myself.

I hope your luck holds true, but I will not let my ever-growing guilt from that five year old, puppeteer me into stringent dance on the fringes of the echo of the trail of spiders and company,

I don't know you, I'm not competent enough-- in-right-mind enough; for that or for any of this.

I'm a being of impulsivity a non-sensical wraith prowling for beggars to take coin from.

I will not block you, I should, but the coin, and so I will disregard it but pay it this favour.

The favour; the opportunity, to say after all that- trying to scare you away “we can still hang sure, yeah.”.

I wished to do better, I long for better, for the chance to know,

but these learned behaviours like webbing echo,

emotions estranged into void deep,

which gurgle and bellow; feelings creep,

unrequited but deserved.

You are a mirror and reminder that I am not whole- unfinished- fractured- overflowing- How ever anyone or everyone would put it!… I want you to know,

but It’d be talking to the blistering sun while coughing up the blistering cold.

This is bare truth, pay it in turn, pay it no mind, bloody hell, pay it disgust.

Signed by AIdan&Co

[anorc-writing]

Hehe. Old story descriptions.

Once these lurked in my fanfiction.net profile.

'Not with a half-blood!': Now (Amazingly) over seven hundred and fifteen thousand hits. Hooray!

My take on a post-war Harry and Daphne betrothal, but without magical contracts, ancient betrothal contracts or... Harry being unable to get out of it. Daphne Greengrass at a ministry party tells that famous half-blood about her immanent engagement and marriage to the new head of the house of Black, Draco Malfoy. Harry is confused. (Spoilers: Harry has a saving people thing, a terrible upbringing and spent seven years at war.) (Double spoiler: Fleur Weasley doesn't like Ginny Weasley much) (Triple spoiler: Harry does things and sometimes it turns out good. Sometimes not so good.) The story is intentionally slow-paced, in a naturalistic take on what a story is. You may not like it. Or you may love it, it's rather polarising.

*My editor is editing this for spelling and punctuation. (Should help)*

*I have a revised text, where I've added in Harry's thoughts, because apparently people can't read between the lines. I may be uploading this alternate version. The working title for it is "Not with a halfblood for people that don't read good." To be honest, it's hard to spell out what Harry's thinking and still keep the tone I want in the story.*

(I've seen some quite public, extremely critical comments about this story. As uploaded, it does need line editing, but I like to think that for the money, it's very good value for money entertainment. And my editor is editing, so it'll be all updated by .. probably .. September 1st.)

The Sequel "The Curious Incident of the Trip to the Seaside" is under way also completed. It contains disaster, bad luck and terrible injuries. And a side order of legal troubles. Oh, and (spoilers) Harry and Daphne loving each other. https://archiveofourown.org/works/43202524/chapters/108585235

A third novel in the series, "But I wanted a Pony!" arrived one day.

Minerva McGonnagal would not recommend it. Firenze is very annoyed. The Destroyer comes, rending the veil. https://archiveofourown.org/works/50075527/chapters/126449407

"Fireworks" is my first fic uploaded to the internet. It's not my best work. There is a sequel to Fireworks, "Harry Potter and the rise of the Black Rod" -- which is currently being worked on, Also complete. I wrote a lot of Fireworks on holiday on what was the abandoned estate of a "French Baron". I'm going back, 'and this time it's personal.' Fireworks as a text started out as an experiment in 3rd person objective with everyone's thoughts opaque. It seemed like a good idea at the time, and I went back and changed it to be more like proper Harry Potter. JKR. uses "speech" said Ron "more speech" ; I did not notice till I reread Deathly Hallows.

While I was writing Fireworks I had several exciting computer problems, including the program I was using to write it with shuffling scenes randomly. Needless to say, I don't use that program any longer. Links are in my ao3 or ffn accounts.

Ashes in your mouth Yet another Harry after the war story. Fireworks took a turn for the cashed-up Harry Potter with seven surnames. This story instead has Harry Potter, with some modest inheritance, a job as an Auror and issues to work through. Including goblins who hate him, back taxes, unpaid bills and the love of a good woman. Once he smooths over those arguments with Ginny. (Spoilers: Harry has annoyed the goblins of Gringotts, has PTSD, but he's not alone. In having PTSD, anyway.) Less money, more problems, and a hint of Harry having real mental problems. Kind of a respin. Fireworks redeux, sorta. It goes different places. https://archiveofourown.org/works/39086295/chapters/97776888

Harry Potter and the Method of Double-tap, and Harry Potter and the Unwanted Marriage Contract

For Harry Potter and the Unwanted Marriage Contract I did four! different flavors of the same story, because it amuses me. Maybe you'll like it too. Don't take it too seriously.. except maybe the message that niceness beats being horrible. And that a fritatta is a good breakfast. I'm rewriting this due to forgetting the impact of Tonks & Andromeda. *I May have abandoned the rewrite.*

And "Harry Potter takes things into his own hands: an alternate second chapter for Harry Potter and the method of Double-Tap, where Harry attempts to 'solve his problems' and falls in unrequited love with a witch instead. Features Harry, his trusty gun, an invisibility cloak and a cursed marriage contract. More bad behavior than is suitable to be read by anyone. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13934551/1/Harry-Pottter-takes-things-into-his-own-hands

Ride-Along: Post Hogwarts immediately after the end of the war. Because Harry always wanted to be an Auror, be Ginny's boyfriend and call his son Albus Severus. Quite a sad story. (Needs line editing, and depicts PTSD. Some people really like it.) https://archiveofourown.org/works/36209560/chapters/90262342

Hedwig's Choice: If you give a valentines day card to a snowy owl that is 100% attitude, you might not get to chose who she delivers it to. Saying 'The Prettiest girl in Hogwarts' is just opening a can of worms. And Hedwig likes worms. And bacon. And sausages. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13698121/1/Hedwig-s-Choice

Find the Lady. Where Harry Potter leans some practical life skills before Hogwarts... with three cups, a coin and some Street Theater patter. An one-shot made from short scenes between Harry's adventures where he takes a break from being Harry Potter, Boy Who Lived with kung-fu grip, Emerald eyes and mysterious prophecy. Underage substance abuse and an (intermittently) very bad Harry Potter. Maybe the bit in Cursed child where he breaks up two marriages isn't so out of character, if you knew the man behind the myth. This Harry Potter may contain a bit more Crank, Trainspotting and Cursed Child than normal. I blame cousin Dudley, and the book on Street Theater Harry bought aged ten. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13759496/1/Find-The-Lady

When Harry Met Daphne: Harry Potter. Wannabe-auror. Ron Weasley, Wannabe-auror. Hermione Granger, reformer of magical creatures laws. Daphne Greengrass... wants to go shopping and has nothing to do with those three. Character deaths. A detective story... sort of. Weirdly even has a happy ending. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13647450/1/When-Harry-met-Daphne

Yes, Minister:A collection of vignettes set in the double-Tap universe. Like... small shorts. Short shorts, if you will. (The Simpsons did it first) https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13885554/1/Yes-Minister

How badly could this go: There was a challenge about being a self-insert (SI) into Harry Potter, trying to make things better, and accidentally making things worse. "What's the worst that could happen" turns out to be my favorite phrase. It's written in the first person, which will put people off. A SI redo fic with try, die, repeat. https://archiveofourown.org/works/36206152/chapters/90252628

Strangely, not only have I started on a sequel (Old and Tired), there's a sequel to the sequel. (Readers, ask yourself, should you write a sequel when you're not done writing book 2? No.)

Harry Potter meets Death: Lets take the very end of Deathly Hallows and play a game. Bonus points to realize just what Death's game is. Not metaphorically, that's just being death. Harry's going to use his intuition. Yeah. He's gonna get badly injured. Also, a diverging plot complete with a psychopomp and it's voluntary. Chapter nine is kicking my arse. Ten's kinda done.

[branded-perceptions]

The political left project their in causal struggles of daily life rooted agonising anxiety upon antagonising big cooperations

and the right project their in the very same causal struggles of daily life rooted agonising anxiety

of the very same psychic core energies just via different sets of symbolic interpretation filters

upon (IN-GROUP OVEREXCLUSION EFFECT) antagonising governments

when in reality BOTH

the cooperations (which just compete with each other to provide and deliver whatever the markets demand) and governments are not responsible for fixing these for most of us very similar most basic causal life struggles

(like Big food and big pharma killing for profits, processed foods as root of many mental health)

that are rooted in the interplay of all our free will mirrored by our shared "propaganda - Edward Bernays"

(our communicative media spaces are the only public room responsible for INTIMATE collectively problem solving (play) such issues (public vulnerability) of our interplaying motivations instead of being a reputation managed vain err parasitic dead end empty hole mean means in themselves: 🎶YOU'RE LOSING ME - TAYLOR SWIFT)

whose "brand love" of the for the for collective polarisation rooted in struggles with exploitive bra(i)nde(a)d symbolic infatuated group habits of psychologically masked economic go(o)d(s)🤥😷😇

responsible people like Gary Vaynerchuk like last DECADES drown in misery of their psychotic by upon same power and reward structures dependend social in-group reinforced self-justifications

(🎵YOU SAY I DON'T UNDERSTAND AND I SAY I KNOW YOU DON'T)

know for years about the for vaccine side-effects available solutions

(🔍moderna founder Kenneth R. Chien cardiac mRNA specialisation = he is not going to create solutions if market demands are not incentivised for that via public communications)

without over extended periods of only time in any seeming way trying to do the social and moral responsibility they are paid for via their adolf hipster jobs

(🎵WE THOUGHT A CURE WOULD COME THROUGH IN TIME, NOW, I FEAR IT WON'T)

do not "get to the point" with their metaphorical wanna-be moustache dominance of that by via collective infatuation in by that "positively" (hitler only had one ball) misdirected bra(i)nde(a)d symbols fantasy spaces

whose social status room of our free will (🎵REMEMBER LOOKIN' AT THIS ROOM, WE LOVED I 'CAUSE OF THE LIGHT) conditioning of our collective intellectual $cience and conceptualisations of narcissistic "Uncle sam"

psychotically self-justifies covering worldwide growing systematic genocide of chronic diseases'

(🎵NOW, I JUST SIT IN THE DARK AND WONDER IF IT'S TIME)

shared causal touch presence that requires discussion of systems interplay of social boundaries via legal persuasion

(🎵DO I THROW OUT EVERYTHING WE BUILT OR KEEP IT?)

to fix the otherwise endlessly repetitive (Gary Vee wants to sell hipster smoothies for over 50 dollars)

self-inflicted (Gary Vee talks about his scat fetish)

fantasy pump and causal dumb cycles

of the their apathy justifying concepts like "Gary vee talks how he loves ashes & pheonix"

(🎵I'M GETTING TIRED EVEN FOR A PHOENIX)

that seems to have no regard (conscience) whatsoever for fixing or alleviating the shit behind the reputation managed fa(r)ces of the go(o)d(s) they storytell

(🎵ALWAYS RISIN' FROM THE ASHES)

while the average population (🎵MENDIN' ALL HER GASHES)

projects the in that rooted daily struggles upon fantasy spaces like politics culminating in current civil-war-like tensions (🎵YOU MIGHT JUST HAVE DEALT THE FINAL BLOW💉)

that causally cook behind the aesthetic public storytelling and celebritism machineries (STAR, YOU'RE LOSIN' ME)

that if they

instead of channelling attention and motivations to solving worldwide most crucial social causal issues

act like entitled reputation hype managing vain err media of one-sided apathetic pimped (psychological cosmetic for personas) bra(i)nde(a)d stories of consumers go(o)d(s) habits systematically in all sorts of topics

[IMF about the secret life of money = the IMF can't do anything about this but expressing that what I write here as 🔍"mission impossible Benji": the issue is rooted in our habits (skinner, behaviourism) entrained by bra(i)nde(a)d fantasy space due collective lack of introspection, not really in a mismanagement of corporations that just try to satisfy the direction of our collective stories no matter how you spread the money flows]

suck our blood (🎵I CAN'T FIND A PULSE: excess heart deaths Dr. John Campbell)

which we as population need to protect ourselves from via dialectic discussions about "soundness" of boundaries🥜🧭❤️👑❤️🧭🥜

(🎵MY HEART WON'T START ANYMORE, FOR YOU)

regarding our shared causal presence (🎵CAUSE YOU'RE LOSIN' ME)

that the global judicial functions need to create new and seperate ("the judgement", all three metaphors of Jesus christ, Thor and judges share the hammer symbol)

the functional aspects from our disfunctional

(themselves as from causal🌞 social functionality mean means in themselves🎈 amplifying)

aspects of group-narcissims🏟👏👏👏 ("Nazi"cissms) fantasy🌛🛐 spaces'🎅 historic cycles (Strauss-Howe)

(🎵EVERY MORNING🌅, I GLARED AT YOU WITH STORMS IN MY EYES👁🔺️✨️)

that like 🔍"Gary Vee NFT market manipulation" just applied to bigger picture brand dynamics loose touch with functionality for the population they infatuate themselves with

(🎵HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT YOU LOVE SOMEONE YOU CAN'T TELL IS DYING?)

which thereby naturally, because people naturally sense this, surfaces ironic processes like all the Gary Vee impersonators (🎵I SENT YOU SIGNALS AND BIT MY NAILS DOWN TO THE QUICK)

digesting via meta irony complexity bridging the black versus white farces' post-irony rooted not in politics or conspiracies but in this objective systems reality

(🎵MY FACE WAS GREY, BUT YOU WOULDN'T ADMIT THAT WE WERE SICK)

which seemingly cannot be communicated without irony because its reputation "heaven"🤥😷😇

due its by social signaling itself densifying☁️ apathetic psychosis (white bear problem) is already as ironic (🔍Gary Vee looks like mr bean) as it possibly could get

(🎵AND THE AIR IS THICK WITH LOSS AND INDECISION)

regarding the stuff that ACTUALLY matters to majority of people

(🎵I KNOW MY PAIN IS SUCH AN IMPOSITION)

whose in that systems dynamic rooted desperation echoes in their fantastic LUFTSCHLOSS

(🎵NOW, YOU'RE RUNNIN' DOWN THE HALLWAY, AND YOU KNOW WHAT THEY ALL SAY, YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU GOT UNTIL IT'S GONE)

that seems to have no resonance with what is actually going on in peoples' lives

[🎵HOW LONG COULD WE BE A SAD SONG, 'TIL WE WERE TOO FAR GONE TO BRING BACK LIFE? 💉💔 & globally 🔍rising chronic diseases' half-dead-half-alive commodification]

that we need to publicly discuss more authentically via shared introspection which is intimacy free from masqueraded stories (🎵I GAVE YOU ALL MY BEST ME'S, MY ENDLESS EMPATHY)

that the needed life-saving informations (🎵AND ALL I DID WAS BLEED)

fail to penetrate exactly like the polarising nationalistic insights of our quite similar shared life needs behind all "opposing" military forces (🎵 AS I TRIED TO BE THE BRAVEST SOLDIER)

whose direction like in Ukraine is systematically rooted in the bra(i)nde(a)d infatuative money flows as explained above

(🎵FIGHTING IN ONLY YOUR ARMY)

that thereby via habitual ignorance result into hardened frontlines

(🎵FRONTLINES, DON'T YOU IGNORE ME)

that we can loosen up via communicating the in ancient Greece rooted moral ideals of western culture via our entertainment industries like such songs transcending all our political "parties"🎊💸🥳 (🎵I'M THE BEST THING AT THIS PARTY, YOU'RE LOSIN' ME)

via introspection about how all aspects of society spring from diverse forms of the very same emotional group-entrainment (🎵AND I WOULDN'T MARRY ME EITHER)

that we need to calibrate upon the causal aspects that matter most to all of us around the globe (🎵A PATHOLOGICAL PEOPLE-PLEASER)

behind our (group) identitiy interfaces (metaphorical "yahweh" "I am that I am") causal blind spots (metaphorical "gnostic sophia") that are important for the safety (#staySafe!🤥😷😇) women long for

(🎵WHO ONLY WANTED YOU TO SEE HER)

that we devalue because it threatens our social identity constructs'

(🎵AND I'M FADIN', THINKIN')

shared apathy

(🎵DO SOMETHING, BABE, SAY SOMETHING)

of "safety" of coherence of fictional reputation- and identity-managed mind constructs

(🎵LOSE SOMETHING, BABE, RISK SOMETHING)

that is rooted in our collective indecisive focus

(🎵CHOOSE SOMETHING, BABE)

that obsesses with all sorts of fantasies

(🎵I GOT NOTHING TO BELIEVE UNLESS YOU'RE CHOOSIN' ME)

instead of choosing focus on wellbeing of all our daily causal presence

(🎵YOU'RE LOSIN' ME)

that is quite similar for us all no matter ones celebrity status

(🎵STAR, YOU'RE LOSIN ME)

whose reputational abusive VAIN🤡 halo glow we as society need to learn to more introspect and create boundaries about regarding our common VEINS💉💔:

🎵I CAN'T FIND A PULSE, MY HEART WON'T START ANYMORE

[phoenixprjct]

📚 Out of the Ashes is a juicy collision of truth and lies - Basic Review 📚

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Author (Platform): Kara Thomas (Kindle)

Publisher (Release): Thomas & Mercer (2023)

Out of the Ashes is a deeply emotional journey through truth, lies, and the nightmares of having both fractured beyond recognition. Sam Newsom is a complex character, our first-person viewpoint recounting her laywoman investigation into the death of her family twenty-two years after the fact. She's real, engaging, and completely alive. It's through her human and therefore imperfect recollection that the reader is absorbed in Kara Thomas's gritty mystery.

The blurb does give the distinct impression that Out of the Ashes will have a buddy-cop type feel with its focus on Travis Meacham, but, sadly, aside from being a catalyst, his role quickly diminishes. A well-fleshed cast with well-fleshed histories, however, make up the difference, becoming either roadblocks or walls for Sam to find her way over...or through.

A lack of action and an anti-climactic finale might polarise some, but Out of the Ashes very definitively lets us know that this is Sam's path, and, that, thankfully, at least emotionally, gets the attention and resolution it deserves.

For the full review and more posts like it, follow me here and visit my site:

[sleepingdeath-light]

Hello fellow human! I hope you're doing okay, may I kindly request some angst headcannons for hunter | golden guard for when one of them gets hurt or a argument, something along that lines, the making up of it. Thank you and have a good day <3

Angst Headcanons | Hunter [Golden Guard]

thank you for requesting, anon!

these are written with no particular order or reader insert in mind and are more general, so apologies if they appear disjointed in anyway!

note : not really confident in the format of this post and how I portrayed the character as I haven’t written for Hunter that much and am only able to base his characterisation on available clips and the wiki. so this may be reworked in the future.

Hunter is a very polarising person no matter what way you want to look at it—whether he’s provoking Kiki under the guise of the protege “Golden Guard” or butting heads with his uncle over his attempts to treat his worsening curse, he always seemed to be getting on someone’s nerves (or someone is getting on his). And as was always the case, you ended up getting the brunt of his frustrations.

Most of the time you’d just sit on his bed and let him rant and pace to his heart’s content, nodding along to whatever he was saying and smiling warmly in encouragement whenever he looked over to you for a response

But today was different and when you saw the fresh bruises on his arms and the still bleeding scar on his jawline

No

You couldn’t just stay quiet knowing he was killing himself to help a man who didn’t even give a damn about his own flesh and blood

So you spoke up, gently caressing his cheek and keeping your voice low and calm as you calmly explained your worries to him

You did everything you could to convey your concerns and your viewpoints to him without lying to him or setting him off but it seemed as though that wasn’t enough

He jerked away from your touch like it burned him, causing you to recoil back into yourself, as he immediately became defensive of his family

He didn’t sound like himself, even, as he adamantly and passionately spoke for his uncle

“He wants what’s best for me”

“You don’t understand”

“…he’s all I have left”

“I deserved this”

Every word felt like icy daggers piercing your heart and you were doing everything you could to stop yourself from letting out the sobs that were threatening to spill from your throat

After a few minutes his angry yells faded into broken whispers before he sighed and fell silent, going over to sit on his bed with his head in his hands.

You took a few moments to compose yourself, taking several deep breaths and wiping any stray tears from your eyes

Then you moved very slowly to stand in front of him before kneeling down so that you would be eye to eye, reaching forwards to gently place your hands over his

When he lifted his head to look at you, you could see tears gathering in his tired eyes but you stopped yourself from wiping them away and instead smiled at him as you spoke in a calm, loving voice

“It’s okay.”

“I forgive you.”

You choose your words carefully as you address him, focused more on soothing him than on your own hurt before he falls to his knees in front of you and pulls you into a tight hug

You aren’t sure who breaks first, but before long you’re both sobbing and hiccoughing and he’s whispering apology after apology after promise to do better

And you’re crying too much to tell him that it’s okay

It’s painful and messy and ugly but it’s needed as you collapse into each other, clinging to one another as if you were fearful that they’d leave if you let go; fading away like ash in the wind

But neither of you would leave

Not now

Not ever

And you slowly come to realise that, your grip on one another loosening slowly and reluctantly before you back away just enough to be able to look each other in the eye

Hunter isn’t able to meet your gaze, staring apologetically at the floor and flushing a deep red when you gently brush away his tears—and leaning into your touch when you carefully traced the edge of his fresh scar with the tip of your index finger

When he finally speaks up his voice is rough from his breakdown and low as though he’s afraid of your response. His words are deliberate and he’s barely able to speak, stuttering through his sentences before he swallows thickly and gently takes your hands into his own and finally looks into your eyes.

“I am so sorry”

That’s the first thing he says to you, that quickly followed by an array of explanations and careful more personal apologies to you and for his behaviour

You can feel him trembling against you and your heart breaks so you quiet him with the shaking of your head before leaning forwards to gently and chastely press your lips onto his in a sweet kiss

Then you rest your forehead against his and smile, closing your eyes as you assure him that you understand and you’re not leaving; that he’s safe with you

You know that he won’t change overnight and you both understand that what you need from him will take a lot time and growth before he can break out of old habits

But he’s willing to try for you

And you’re willing to wait for as long as he needs

[barbariccia]

Shepard: Not everyone has a happy family life.

Ashley: No, I guess not.

CHRIST i’m glad we get the option to shut that shit down right away, because that’s just so loaded with so much bullshit it’s leaking at the edges, honestly.

[deep breath]

post-mission thoughts aside, ash has some... feelings she wants to share about the people we’re working with.

Ashley: With all due respect, Commander, should they have full access to the ship?

Shepard: You don’t trust their motives because they’re not human.

Ashley: This is the most advanced ship in the Alliance Navy. I don’t think we should give them free reign to poke around the vital systems. Engines. Sensors. Weapons.

Shepard: You don’t trust the Alliance’s allies?

Ashley: I’m not sure I’d call the Council races allies.

(worth noting that ash occupies the same area that wrex and garrus are in. this isn’t a private conversation and i’ll never stop laughing about that.)

so, blatant misogyny in the fandom aside, i think this is a key point where a lot of people decide they don’t like ashley and write her off. and, controversially, i don’t think ash is wrong here to bring this up! yes, the galactic community is very mixed, and there are no ongoing wars (aside from smaller conflicts ongoing, like the geth and the quarians, and every minor tussle krogans get themselves into), but this is still a military ship, and it’s sensitive information we have going around here!

she does elaborate immediately, and she has a very good point about the things she says.

she goes on to mention that her family for at least the last three generations have been in the Alliance military, but she announces it in such a way that genuinely makes me wince. “It’s not racism. Not really.” it isn’t exactly racism, because she seems pretty ready to acknowledge that that hypothetical reaction can be held by absolutely anyone - including humans toward species we’re more familiar with - but it is prejudiced, and she holds those very specific views for a very specific reason that she isn’t ready to share with us yet. shepard asks why she holds that idea, and she brings up her family; when shep asks if they’d have heard of anyone in her family, she brushes it aside very quickly and changes the topic.

the topic change brings us to the next point of conflict - she’s gunnery chief (an unrealistic position for a woman of 25 to hold, but that’s beside the point at this stage), but always been groundside despite requesting different shifts. shepard notices that right away, because her “record is spotless, and [her] technical scores are exemplary”... but once again, she brushes it off without addressing it even face-on. we remind her that we’re a crew no matter our origins, and she agrees that working with non-humans won’t be a problem - she just wanted to air her concerns, which we’ve now heard.

without delving into the whys of it too much for now, because they’ll be revealed later in her friendship route, i think it’s a real shame that people have this initial conversation with her and walk away feeling like she’s not a good person for, in my opinion, perfectly justified concerns. hell, she’s not even the only one of the crew to hold those concerns - pressly feels the same way about having aliens aboard!

in the last 24 hours, discussing ashley with a couple of different people, i’ve had two completely different viewpoints shared with me.

(”him” being jenkins, the redshirt from the mission to eden prime.)

which... sure, isn’t representative of everyone within the mass effect fandom, but definitely highlights an initial polarising view of a well done character. more than anything, i’m actually really glad bioware gave these concerns to a female character, allowing her to be abrasive and have opinions that other people don’t like - it’s just a shame that the reaction has been as quick to judge rather than look past and accept, as with other characters.

wonder why.

🙃

[macbetha]

What are some of your favorite books of all time?

sorry this took a bit to answer, i took this question prettyseriously because books mean so much to me haha. so, i made a list! thesearen’t all specifically books; there are plays and poems as well, just becausethose have a tendency to have as much of an impact me as novels and such.

D R A M A / P L A Y S

Tennessee Williams: A Streetcar Named Desire- On a streetcar named Desire, Blanche DuBois travels from the railroad station in New Orleans to a street named Elysian Fields, where her sister, Stella, pregnant and married to Stanley Kowalski, lives in a run-down apartment building in the old French Quarter. Having lost her husband, parents, teaching position, and old family home—Belle Reve in Laurel, Mississippi—Blanche has nowhere to turn but to her one remaining close relative.

William Shakespeare: Macbeth- Macbeth is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatizes the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those who seek power for its own sake.

G R E E K  D R A M A ( C OM E D Y  &  T R A G E D Y ) 

Aristophanes: Lysistrata- Originally performed in classical Athens in 411 BCE, it is a comic account of a woman’s extraordinary mission to end the Peloponnesian War by denying all the men sex - and it works. 

Sophocles: Oedipus Rex- Oedipus was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus accidentally fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby bringing disaster to his city and family.

C L A S S I C S : G R E E K L I T E R A T U R E

Homer: The Iliad- Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states. The Iliad mentions or alludes to many of the Greek legends about the siege; the earlier events, such as the gathering of warriors for the siege, the cause of the war, and related concerns tend to appear near the beginning. Then the epic narrative takes up events prophesied for the future, such as Achilles’ looming death and the sack of Troy, although the narrative ends before these events take place. However, as these events are prefigured and alluded to more and more vividly, when it reaches an end the poem has told a more or less complete tale of the Trojan War.

The Poetry of Sappho- She was one of the few women mentioned in ancient Greek literature and doesnot frequent the topics of other writers of her time, such as politics and war. She writes about compassion and love; her work is really beautiful andheartfelt. 

C L A S S I C S : E N G L I S H/ A M E R I C A N  L I T E R A T U R E

Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”This first sentence filled with irony and playfulness. The novel revolves around the necessity of marrying for love, not simply for mercenary reasons despite the social pressures to make a wealthy match.

Emily Brontë: Wuthering HeightsAlthough Wuthering Heights is now widely regarded as a classic of English literature, contemporary reviews for the novel were deeply polarised; it was considered controversial because its depiction of mental and physical cruelty was unusually stark, and it challenged strict Victorian ideals of the day regarding religious hypocrisy, morality, social classes and gender inequality.

F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby- The best third-wheel story of all time.

P O E T R Y / S H O R T  ST O R I E S

Sylvia Plath: “Lady Lazarus”Out of the ashes / I rise with my red hair / And I eat men like air.

Sylvia Plath: “Poem for a Birthday”“Eaten or rotten. I am all mouth.”

Lucille Clifton: “Homage To My Hips”these hips are mighty hips. these hips are magic hips. i have known them to put a spell on a man and spin him like a top! Maya Angelou: “Phenomenal Woman”It’s the fire in my eyes / And the flash of my teeth, / The swing in my waist,/ And the joy in my feet.  

Warsan Shire:Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth- “later that night / i held an atlas in my lap / ran my fingers across the whole world / and whispered / where does it hurt? / it answered / everywhere / everywhere / everywhere.” - “give your daughters difficult names. give your daughters names that command the full use of tongue. my name makes you want to tell me the truth. my name doesn’t allow me to trust anyone that cannot pronounce it right.” - “every mouth you’ve ever kissed / was just practice / all the bodies you’ve ever undressed / and ploughed in to / were preparing you for me. / was it a long journey? / did it take you long to find me? / you’re here now, / welcome home.” -“I have my mother’s mouth and my father’s eyes; on my face they are  still together.” -“I want to make love but my hair smells of war and running and running.”

Maya Angelou: “Still I Rise”Does my sexiness upset you? / Does it come as a surprise / That I dance likeI’ve got diamonds / At the meeting of my thighs? 

Maya Angelou: “Chicken Licken”When she saw a bed / locksclicked / in her brain

Edgar Allan Poe: Murders In The Rue Morgue- i read this in eighth grade and it is a mystery that stuck with me for therest of my life. it is fascinating in the way that poe always is, i so recommend it.

Edgar Allan Poe: “Evening Star”- “I gazed awhile / On her cold smile /Too cold - too cold for me.”

M E M O I R S / B I O G R A P H I E S

Christine Wiltz: The Last Madam: A Life In the New Orleans Underworld- In 1916, at age fifteen, Norma Wallace arrived in New Orleans. Sexy and shrewd, she quickly went from streetwalker to madam and by 1920 had opened what became a legendary house of prostitution. There she entertained a steady stream of governors, gangsters, and movie stars.

Stephen King: On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft - Shares the experiences, habits, and convictions that have shaped King and his work.

Y O U N G  A D U L T / C H I L D R E N ‘ S 

Cassandra Clare: The Mortal Instruments- so, i didn’t finish this series but it’s the memories of reading these books that makes me put it on this list. i remember reading them on the bus rides home from school, in my eighth grade history class, running to the store on their release date and begging my dad for the newest addition. it is a very fascinating universe; i haven’t watched the show shadowhunters, which is based on this series, but the books were good.

Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events- i read ALL OF THESE BOOKS THEY WERE MY LIFE. they were so depressing but i loved these three siblings so much that i refused to leave them alone in that horrible world. haven’t watched the netflix series! 

Rick Riordan: Percy Jackson Series- for me, as a bored thirteen year old, this was one of the things that opened the door to greek mythology, which is now one of my favorite topics to study. 

S O U T H E R N  G O T H I C

Flannery O’Connor: “Good Country People”- Southern Gothic literature is a genre of southern USA writing. While it may include supernatural elements, it mainly focuses on damaged, even delusional, characters. The humor is strange and even when it is finally realized, it might not be all that funny, because humor in Southern Gothic stories is twisted, and usually quite vile. There are consistent grotesque themes of decay, desolation, and supernatural forces that are often credited to lost family honor, ghosts, witches, faeries, or god - but the shit all takes place on an isolated corn farm. It is a very fascinating genre and “good country people” is a prime example of this. (personal note: most of ewoatt chapter one was inspired by the southern gothic genre).   

R E F E R E N C E

Thomas C. Foster: How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines- THIS IS THE BOOK I REFERENCE MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE WHILE WRITING. It’s an introduction to literature and literary basics, including symbols, themes and contexts, that shows you how to make your everyday reading experience more rewarding and enjoyable.

Joseph Bates: The Nighttime Novelist:Finish Your Novel in Your Spare Time - Franz Kafka was an insurance agent. William Faulkner was a postmaster. Stephen King taught high school English, John Grisham was an attorney, and Toni Morrison worked in publishing. Though romantic fantasies of the writing life don’t often include a day job, the fact is that most writers have one. Yo, if you’re wanting to write a book or just a big fanfic, please get this book. I give it so much credit. 

Barbara & Allan Pease: The Definitive Book of Body Language: The Hidden Meaning Behind People’s Gestures and Expressions- It is a scientific fact that people’s gestures give away their true intentions. Yet most of us don’t know how to read body language–and don’t realize how our own physical movements speak to others. Now the world’s foremost experts on the subject share their techniques for reading body language signals to achieve success in every area of life. Great writing reference. 

Natalie Goldberg: Writing Down the Bones- This text offers encouragement and advice on many aspects of the writer’s craft, from first thoughts to the use and misuse of adverbs, from where the best places are to write - both public and private.

[getseriouser]

20 THOUGHTS: GoFundYourself

THE Cricket World Cup is feeling a lot like an NBA game. 

With the basketball you needn’t pay any attention at the start – providing you tune in with two minutes remaining you’ll catch all the exciting and relevant action.

This World Cup, there’s a whole bunch of musical chairs pantomime going on but in reality wake me up when the semi-finals are on. The group stage is just foreplay dragging its heels.

Easy to say as an Aussie however. You’d be very hot under the collar if you’re the host nation after last night’s latest disappointment though.

 1.       Before we jump into some cricket, a serious one if I may, and bear with.

Monday Triple M is conducting 'No Talk Day', I won't spend column inches on details, please Google it if you're unaware, but what an amazing, sobering initiative.

Suicide is essentially the biggest killer in this country. Not cancer. And 100% of its deaths can be prevented.

Too many cancer diagnoses are terminal. Neale Daniher, future Australian of the Year, his fate has been sadly sealed.

But all future suicide deaths can be turned around. And it all starts with a circuit breaker, a chance, a conversation.

We don't do enough for suicide and mental health. Because we're cowards, because we are scared, because we can't relate?

Because it’s humanely quite difficult, and that's ok.

So I challenge you, if nothing else find the time, the gumption, the impetus to break that circuit, talk to that person you're care about, maybe you make that difference. Remember - 100% are preventable.

  2.       Onto a lighter note, England’s batting is as brittle as your Nan’s arthritic hip. Said as much pre-tournament in this column: they go hard and it either works, they make 450, or they go all out for bugger all way too soon. Any good bowling attack’s more than half a chance to skittle them cheaply so their World Cup hopes rest on a game of Russian roulette essentially. Will do well to make the semi’s now after previously giving themselves love bites in the mirror over their world no.1 status.

3.       This one will polarise – Lord’s is a trash ground. Oh, it’s the home of cricket, oh, it’s so historic, yeah but it’s got a dirty big slope going across the ground where one square boundary is like a million storeys higher than the other side, it’s ridiculous. Oh but it just gives it character they say, yeah nah, if you’re girlfriend likes to stay up and binge watch Play School episodes in a cold sweat, you don’t write that off as adding to her character, you split up with that freak immediately. Lord’s a piece of shit, I’m sorry.

4.       Go Fund Me Australia, well played to you friends.

5.       Ash Barty, well played you as well legend.

6.       FFA. You are still morons and that penalty shootout loss is your fault. Don’t tell me sacking a well-liked coach in that leadup didn’t have even a tiny bit of influence in the Matildas’ early exit. They don’t sack Stajcic they progress past Norway, simple.

7.       Craig Foster wants to keep Sam Kerr in Australia, against the idea she might consider a lucrative move to England or France. What a fool. Reckons it helps the standard here. No chance. It’s like keeping your kid in Grade Six year after year because it helps each new class of students. Don’t worry about how it holds back Sam Kerr from being even better, Craig…

8.       Last one before some footy – Lewis Hamilton, said he understands if fans now think F1 is boring. You don’t say Lewis. F1 executives, even the runaway leader can see how boring this now is, do something clowns.

9.       Ok, some Aussie Rules. St Kilda. Richo might not be ‘the guy’ but you’re not calling stumps on a guy in June who is 6-7, don’t care if he is a rookie coach or in his sixth year. When he is 8-12 or something in a couple months’ time, sure, but they’re one win away from squaring the ledger with a decent injury list. Settle.

10.   No Paddy McCartin, hardly any Jack Steven, hardly any Jarryn Geary, no Dylan Roberton, one game of Dan Hannebery and hardly any Jack Carlisle. One win out of the eight. You wouldn’t but you could argue a case of giving him two more years and hope he does a 2018 Nathan Buckley.

11.   David King, esteemed football pundit, reckons it would be a shock if Brad Scott isn’t at Moorabbin next year. How so? Because you’ve sacked Richardson in your mind already and Scott’s the only really available coach-in-waiting out there? But in what world do St Kilda go “yes, Brad Scott, that’s a huge upgrade/difference to Alan, let’s make that swap yesterday!”. Yeah nah.

12.   Robbo, we’ve missed him, led his Monday column stating Victorian teams are in crisis. Ah, what?! This wouldn’t be another attention seeking headline mutually exclusive from reality, much like when Port Adelaide was in irreparable crisis putting covers on seats at Footy Park, or how we should shut down Queensland footy because the Brisbane Lions were in turmoil? Port and Brissy look pretty good now, Mark, so forgive me for waiting and seeing on your outlandish remark.

13.   Hawthorn had the oldest team on the park last round, and looked woeful. This column still trusts in Al Clarkson, no question, but they’re in a weird spot right now, being the oldest and amongst the crappest. Could go anywhere this mob next year, stone last, prelim final, it’s bizarre.

14.   Brisbane could dead set be the 2018 Collingwood this year. Huge jump compared to the previous season, looks well ahead of schedule, but if it clicks, its working and its putting in performances worthy of competing at the top of the ladder, when it comes to finals and its 22 on 22 don’t discount them. Could make a prelim and I wouldn’t be shocked one bit.

15.   If you had someone who was really good right, and say won a best and fairest at his first club before heading to a new club in his home state, and had some ‘significant off field habits��� starting to distract him on and off the field, you reckon he might get ‘omitted’ from time to time for seemingly no reason? Few really bad financial issues for this player it seems, and it’s starting to get uglier before getting better, allegedly...

16.   So North would make John Longmire the most well paid coach in the land. Big money didn’t help lure Dustin Martin or Jordan De Goey, but neither of those two were a premiership player attending a flag reunion where a whole lot of Shinboner romance was swirling around and who knows how persuasive the pull was that night to return to his former club. I had North as very little chance, but now they’d be half a smokey, all based on a whole bunch of Shiraz consumption and “Hearts to Hearts and Hands to Hands” renditions.

17.   Steve Coniglio stays in Sydney or goes home to Perth. Money will be good anywhere so it’s either loyalty or go home – a Melbourne club is neither. This isn’t Adam Treloar or Dylan Shiel wanting to come home, or Josh Kelly weighing up a return home. Coniglio was a nark Eagles fan growing up, so if the Eagles can’t land Tim Kelly and think the Giants’ star is gettable, that’s the only trade plausible me thinks.

18.   I know Nick Blakey is a ripper, but gee if Jordan Dawson doesn’t become the Swans’ most importantly player in the coming months. Absolute jet. Great overhead mark, and even better kick. The epitome of the modern footballer with a bit of toughness about him too. A ‘Buy’.

19.   Port’s next month – Dogs at home, Crows, Lions at home, Tigers in Melbourne. Could win one, could win all four. Win three and they should make finals from here.

20.   Travis Boak, paying $15 for the Brownlow, but gee after 14 rounds, Tim Kelly is probably ahead of him but for anyone else though, confidently, I’d be struggling. Would go close to the three votes last weekend against Geelong, and could have five or six best on grounds to date by now. Worst case is on 12-13 votes I’d say, and even that’s well in the race if Kelly is on 17 or so.

[lc-vfx-blog]

EE2615 Workshop – Composition

Applied Media Aesthetics (1) first workshop was all about composition. We began by defining composition in a broad sense. I would personally define it as the arrangement of things within a given space. If this is in three dimensions, you could describe it as the placement of actors on a stage, or the arrangement of layers in something. In two dimensions, such as in a photograph or film, it is the arrangement of objects in the given image.

There are many compositional techniques, such as leading lines, the Fibonacci sequence, and the rule of thirds. We were tasking with first going outside, under a time limit, and taking photos that link to key creative terms and words that all link to composition.

After we had taken those, we had more time to take DSLRs and photograph better images than the time constrained ones on our phones. I did in fact keep some of the ideas that I took on my phone but reshot them, but several I changed either due to a lucky opportunity or due to the longer thinking time and better equipment that I had available.

1 : Line

For line, I began with an idea of symmetry when taking photos on my phone. Getting a near exact symmetry on the corner of a building on campus was not easy, but I nearly managed it hand held. The composition isn’t perfect but the concept is certainly there, with the eye being drawn upwards towards the sky like an arrow.

When I had my DSLR, there was a fence with another fence casting fantastic shadows onto it. Using a long lens, I captured the leading lines through the centre of the image well, and I much prefer it over the phone photo, particularly with the soft focus. Something in the composition to lead the eye towards would have improved it further.

2 : Shape

Inspiration for shape was not something that instantly came to my head, but when I saw an ash box for cigarettes, the shapes cut into it were something I wanted to use. The symmetry is very pleasing, however the lighting could have been far better.

Despite having more time when using a DSLR to think about ideas for shape, I still struggled. However, when I was in a local park, the alignment of goalposts like a rectangular tunnel was very pleasing. When dealing with such distances it was difficult to get them to align perfectly however, so the composition is a little off.

3 : Value

I interpreted value very literally, and composed my photos for black and white in mind. On my phone, I found an intersection of 3 different walls from an angle that created lines of good contrast, showing the changes in value over the image. Despite composing the image to have straight lines, it seems the lines of the walls were not perfectly straight, as no realignment cropping lets them be perfectly parallel to the sides of the image.

When I took my DSLR out, I found a rock in a river, where the sunlight was perfectly lighting it. When I took this in black and white with a bit of post processing, the image really showed the different values found in the surface of the water. A basic thirds composition worked well for the image.

4 : Colour

Right outside of Tower C, an abandoned bike has excellent contrast due to its bright yellow colouring. When I first took the photo, the composition worked best as a square crop, leading down a tunnel. The colour is certainly the most eye catching.

I then went back to campus with a 400mm (200mm 2x equivalent) lens. This almost completely flattened the perspective allowing me to get a far nicer composition in my eyes for the image. However, whilst the bike is centred, the railings are not, and the composition would be significantly nicer if they were.

5 : Texture

I wanted to show a contrast of textures in my first phone photo, and found a nice tuft of grass in a crack of the paving slabs. The rough texture of the floor was a good contrast against the messier grass, and I went for a symmetrical composition in the photo. If the sun was directly above, the photo would have been better as there would have been no directional shadow, but this was not eh case.

Much like the photos for volume, I photographed water using my DSLR, using a polarised filter over my 200mm lens to reduce the reflections, and capture the texture under the water as well as the ripples above. It looks very abstract, and has no real composition which is potentially the biggest let-down of the image, but the layers of texture is very pleasant.

6 : Mass/Volume

I decided to go with the volume aspect of this design attribute. Volume to me spoke of spheres, so I took a (relatively) symmetrical photo of a very spherical light on campus using my phone. It reminded me of an eye, but the concept overall is somewhat weak.

With my DSLR, I found dried thistles in a park. The lighting was very soft that day, perfect for using a macro lens to capture the round spheres against a soft bokeh background. Rule of thirds worked best here, along with the guiding diagonal line leading to the background formed by the branch of the thistles.

7 : Space

Space was again a very difficult idea to put into photography on the fly. I decided to use an intersection between pipes and a wall to show spacing in a composition. I am very unhappy with the image as I find it conceptually very weak, but at the time it was the best I could achieve for space.

With my DSLR I still found the idea a challenge to grasp, but I thought that these broken letters on a sign was a good idea to show spacing. One, these letters would have had perfect spacing between them, however time has caused the letters to decay, making the spacing random. I thought the image was much nicer than the last, particularly so when the key accent colour of the letters was highlighted to show how the space between them is even more apparent.

8 : Time

Time is difficult to show in photographs. I decided to go with the idea of showing aging things. On my phone due to the time constraints, the best I could find was a decaying leaf, the colours are by far the nicest thing in the image, but the composition is very weak.

I much prefer the DSLR image I cook, of an abandoned, decaying shopping trolley. The composition is far better, with diagonals from the trolley leading the viewer down the image. I created, two versions, one less edited and one more heavily graded to add a heavier sense of age to the photo, and play off the passing of time more.

9 : Motion

For motion, I wanted living creatures to be my subject. With the time constraints, having a friend jump was the easiest thing to do here. Using manual settings on my phones camera, with the shutter speed set to maximum, I caught him jumping from a small staircase. Composing the photo was very difficult due to the very nature of motion, so I am not particularly happy with the image.

With my DSLR, I lucked upon a squirrel scurrying up and down a tree. This motion I captured very well, with sunlight hitting the squirrel to highlight him. A simple thirds composition worked well here, especially when the differing textures of rough bark and soft fur help guide the eye even more.

[republicstandard]

Who Controls How You Think? Mark Zuckerberg Thinks he Does.

Ash Sharp Editor

Well, it was fun while it lasted. It turns out that Republic Standard is on the Zucc List.

According to the BBC, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg thinks he has a way to make sure you horrible plebians out there stop thinking in the wrong way.

"There's too much sensationalism, misinformation and polarisation in the world today. Social media enables people to spread information faster than ever before, and if we don't specifically tackle these problems, then we end up amplifying them." ~ Mark Zuckerberg

Zuckerberg believes that beyond our political affiliations, news outlets like the New York Times and the BBC transcend partisanship and are 'broadly trustworthy.'

BBC pushed ANOTHER anti-white job advert. P.S. I never had a leg up coz I was brown, I just worked hard and educated myself. The implication ethnic minorities need artificial help is racist. And the advert is racist against whites. So just a big racist clusterf*ck. https://t.co/o0b6ClSFYw

— Raheem 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@RaheemKassam) January 19, 2018

Yes, the BBC that is openly discriminating based on race for job interviews.

Yes, the New York Times, who if we were to total up how often they have been caught spinning liberal propaganda it would take up all our time between now and mid-terms.

The failing @nytimes has been wrong about me from the very beginning. Said I would lose the primaries, then the general election. FAKE NEWS!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 28, 2017

The reason for Facebook to tighten the noose on independent media like Republic Standard and other sites is clear. Back in May 2017, the BBC reported;

Facebook was a key influencer in the outcome of the 2016 US presidential election and the Brexit vote, according to those who ran the campaigns. But critics say it is a largely unregulated form of campaigning.

Those in charge of the digital campaigns for Donald Trump's Republican Party and the political consultant behind Leave EU's referendum strategy are clear the social network was decisive in both wins.

Political strategist Gerry Gunster, from Leave EU, told BBC Panorama that Facebook was a game changer for convincing voters to back Brexit.

A stunning and brave maneuver from some of the most powerful media companies on the face of the Earth to decide that actually they have been right all along and should be heard more after two elections that revealed the people were thinking bad things again. Strangely though, this is a volte face from what Zuckerberg himself said immediately after the 2016 election.

So there is the time line laid out for us. Clinton loses, liberals rage about people using social media to talk to each other -gosh what evil bigots- and Zuckerberg denies the fake news problem even exists. Just over a year later, and now we should just read the New York Times, because fake news is such a problem now it could mean Democrats never win again.

Now, of course, there's something to be said for at least alerting people to factually incorrect articles or utter fabrications. The dilemma begins with who decides where the line is. For example, many of the things on this site are matters of spirited debate. Republic Standard recognizes that many people will disagree with our perspectives- and that is fine.

What would not be fine would be for a one-sided ideologically driven narrative to be propagated through social media. While we all know Facebook and Twitter lean hard to the left, in the spirit of the game these platforms should be neutral. It is quite an amazing thing as a European to see the United States pass through a fiery debate on net neutrality -including death threats to members of Congress- but for no debate to occur around the neutrality of the websites upon which so much news is disseminated.

It is the dawn of 2018. In just a few short months we gear-up for the mid-term elections. The Brexit negotiations are on-going. Europe is wracked with self-doubt at a political level, the Middle East is undergoing seismic changes; not to mention the on-going threat of Islamic terrorism and a migration crisis that has thus far been treated by world leaders with all the due care and attention of a drunk driver.

If it is only the globalist and progressive arguments on these topics that are authorized to reach the vast numbers of politically inactive users of Facebook, which way does the Overton Window shift? By pushing the window further left while the nation is undergoing a populist revival will allow the legacy media and power elite to further frame Make America Great Again as a racist idea. We see this happening already, but for the moment there is at least the possibility of discourse to highlight the paucity of this position. Average Joe is particularly vulnerable to indoctrination-by-stealth of this kind. His apolitical nature lends itself to a natural conservatism, but simultaneously he is able to be scared into submission by calling him a few choice liberal epithets.

The media power elites know that social media and independent news is the future. The irony is of course that fine progressive fellows like Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey are wrestling with the conflict of interest between their positions as providers of social networks and also members of the new power elite. On the one hand, restricting the lifeblood of their business model -information- would be in their interests of controlling the narrative in service of their ideological goals. On the other, money talks. The fine-tuning of what we are permitted to see through these sites will take some time, and it is here that an opportunity emerges.

Until a viable alternative to Facebook and Twitter emerges, huge numbers of people are subject to the political indoctrination by algorithm. It is likely that these algorithms will take time to perfect to a point where most people are unaware of a wider news conversation. The responsibility will, therefore, lie with politically astute citizens -that's you, dear reader- to inform your friends and neighbors of the great con that is being perpetrated.

Alex Jones' Infowars might be fake news as all get out, but he's right- There is a war for your mind.

from Republic Standard http://ift.tt/2G03Kvt via IFTTT

[usnewsaggregator-blog]

Thailand enshrines ashes of King Bhumibol Adulyadej

New Post has been published on https://usnewsaggregator.com/thailand-enshrines-ashes-of-king-bhumibol-adulyadej/

Thailand enshrines ashes of King Bhumibol Adulyadej

Media playback is unsupported on your device

Media captionMourners lined the streets for the elaborate funeral ceremony

The final stage of the funeral ceremony for Thailand’s late King Bhumibol Adulyadej has taken place in Bangkok.

The king’s ashes were enshrined in two royal temples and Thailand’s Grand Palace, where he had lain in state since he died aged 88 last October.

On Thursday, hundreds of thousands of people lined the streets to pay their last respects to King Bhumibol, who reigned for more than 70 years.

A year-long mourning period will end at midnight (17:00 GMT) on Sunday.

It means mourners will be able to replace their black clothes with more subdued colours, such as brown and blue. Black and white decorations on government offices and homes can also be removed.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Many people wore black clothing as part of a year of official mourning

The elaborate five-day funeral officially started on Wednesday with a merit-making ceremony, a Buddhist rite, in the Grand Palace in Bangkok.

On Thursday, the late king was cremated on a royal pyre lit by his son, King Maha Vajiralongkorn, after a procession marked by drums, flute music and an artillery salute.

In the final ceremonies, King Vajiralongkorn selected some of his father’s ashes to be enshrined in the Grand Palace.

Anxiety over the future

Analysis by Jonathan Head, BBC News, Bangkok

In his 70 years on the throne King Bhumibol came to be viewed as a divine figure, a reserved, thoughtful man whose quiet leadership was credited with helping Thailand avoid the conflicts that afflicted neighbouring countries.

In the last decade of his reign, Thailand became bitterly polarised between two rival political camps, one aligning itself closely with the palace.

A military coup three years ago froze the political conflict and the generals gave themselves the task of supervising a historic and delicate royal transition.

This funeral brings that transition to an end, and there is a good deal of anxiety about what will happen when political activity is permitted again, under an untested and very different monarch in King Vajiralongkorn.

The late king was seen as a stabilising figure in a country hit by cycles of political turmoil and multiple coups.

Profile of King Bhumibol Adulyadej

Preparations for this week’s events took almost a year and included setting up the large cremation complex near the palace.

The funeral site features sculptures of mythical creatures and auspicious animals such as lions and elephants.

Media playback is unsupported on your device

Media captionThe BBC filmed the preparation for the funeral over almost a year

Original Article:

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[not-poignant]

i am all for a behind the scenes ash he is such an interesting complex character i could honestly read about him all day lmao

I definitely think an aside of some small scenes would be fun to write, even if it’s never like ‘compulsory reading’ or anything. For people who wanted it, it’d be there, and for others, it wouldn’t.

A lot more people can’t stand him these days and it makes total sense. For people coming fresh to Fae Tales, without having read SAL especially, he’s just a dick antagonist until the very end of COFT, lol. And he has always polarised people’s opinions.

So I’d write the scenes more just to explore Ash’s awkward attempt to try and be Gwyn’s protective older brother and Gwyn’s general ‘what’ around that.