#baru map

[muire-lo]

I wasn't able to find an image description for Baru's map, so here's one! Feel free to copy, paste, and share.

[ID: A map done in black, sketched outline, featuring mountains, sea, rivers, major cities, and borders between duchies. 

The very north of the map at the top of the page shows a mountain range in a horizontal line across the top of Aurduynn, labelled Wintercrest Mountains. 

South of the mountains is the northern duchies, from left to right Erebog, Lyxaxu, Vultjag, and Oathsfire.

Erebog is rectangular shaped, with a river running from the Wintercrest mountains south into Duchy Nayauru. Baru’s point form note reads, “THE CRONE. Clay. Landlord problems. Probably going to starve.”

Duchy Lyxaxu is also rectangular shaped. Baru’s note reads, “DUKE HIGH STONE. Quarries. Smart man, write back!”

Duchy Vultjag is a thin rectangle, the second smallest duchy. A tributary of the river Vultsniada runs through the duchy, feeding Oathsfire to the east. Baru’s note reads, “DUCHESS OF COMETS. Nice scenery. Utterly unimportant.”

Duchy Oathsfire is rectangular in shape, bordered to the east by the river Inirein which runs south to Welthony, in Unuxekome. Baru’s note reads, “DUKE OF MILLS. Lots of money. River trade. Awful beards.”

The next row of duchies includes Sahaule, Nayauru, Ihuake, and Pinjagata. Next to Pinjagata is the Duchy Unuxekome, which runs fully south to the coast. 

Duchy Sahaule is a thin rectangle. It’s labelled, “THE HORSEBANE. Good soldiers. Client to Nayauru. What’s the name about?”

Duchy Nayauru is rectangular at the top and more round at the bottom. A river flows in from Erebog and ends in many dams. Baru writes, “THE DAM-BUILDER. Reservoirs. Cavalry. Stupid feudal marriage politics.”

Dugy Ihuake is the largest duchy, wide and broad, with Mount Kijune in the north (labelled “climb me!”). It includes a sketch of walled Freetown Haraeod, with one very large building in the centre. Baru’s note reads, “THE CATTLE DUCHESS. Herds. Cavalry. Huge!”

By comparison, Duchy Pinjagata is merely a slice of land, even smaller than Duchy Vultjag. Baru’s note reads, “DUKE OF PHALANXES. Best soldiers. Bad at names. Client to Ihuake.”

The last row of duchies borders the Ashen Sea: Autr, Radaszic, Heingyl, and finally Unuxekome.

Baru’s notes on Duchy Autr reads, “DUKE OF BRINE. Good salt. Large muscles. Client to Nayauru.”

Duchy Radaszic simply contains notes that read, “DUKE OF WELLS. Grain. Olives. Complete moron.” Bordering Radaszic and Heingyl is the city of Treatymont, right on the coast, and it is sketched to show a large walled city with many towers. Notes on Treatymont read, “Apparently Duch Lachta? Best port, federal capital. Naval base. Stay out of northarbor.”

Duchy Heingyl has notes that read, “THE STAG DUKE. Cavalry. Grain. Hates joy.” 

Finally, Duchy Unuxekome, at the bottom east (right) of Aurduynn, bordered by the Ashen Sea to the south and the river Inirein to the east. The south of the duchy is labelled Sieroch floodplain. Baru’s notes read, “THE SEA GROOM. Good seaport. Pirates. Seems pleasant.” Where the river Inirein meets the sea is the city of Welthony, which has many small buildings and one large building with a tower. Baru’s note of the city reads, “Unuxekome’s capital. Second-best port.”

Baru has made notes of the areas outside Aurduynn. 

At the very top of the map, north of the mountains, is a blank area with an arrow pointing up, labelled Stakhi Empire? With a question mark. 

To the west (left), a blank area labelled GRASSLANDS, TAIGA, AND DESERT. Baru’s note reads, “What’s over here? Look it up soon.”

South is the Ashen Sea. Baru’s note reads, “Sail only in summer!” There is an arrow pointing south/down and a note from Baru that reads, “south to Taranoke and Oriati Mbo. south to SOUSWARD and Oriati Mbo.”

East is an arrow pointing east/right. Baru’s note reads, “EAST to AWFUL MARSHLAND and NORTH FALCREST. Completely useless in winter.” 

In the top right of the map is a compass decorated with the silhouette of a cormorant. End ID.]

[thematicparallel]

THE MONSTER BARU CORMORANT - MAP

[july-19th-club]

first thing i do with any baru book is read the entire table of contents and book three has like ten more stories about ash YES yes yes AND it ends with a chapter titled 'the lightning in the east' YES YES YES finally we get to go out there and see what horrible stuff is in the frightening zone yessssssssssssssssssssssssss

[ossifer]

i will not try to make a baru cormorant ttrpg. i will not try to make a baru cormorant ttrpg. i will not try to make a baru cormorant ttrpg. i will n

[bumpyfrog]

Most of the baru fandom is sapphic which makes sense but it does mean that Sea Daddy Unuxecomb (sp?) is criminally underrated

[slythereeen]

Ide Pernikahan Minimalis ala Saya

Jadi ceritanya dua taun lalu saya sama istri menikah (setelah lewat pergantian mindset dari mencari istri ke menjadi suami, ditolak orang bahkan baru aja ngasih cv taaruf udah ditolak duluan HHH, sampe akhirnya menikahi seorang perempuan sederhana yang membersamai saya sampe sekarang).

Buat saya yang jarang datang ke nikahan orang, konsep pernikahan yang diinisiasi oleh istri saya itu agak unik dan beda. Nikah di Ruang Terbuka Hijau (RTH), ngundang maksimal 80 orang close friend only (kalau kata IG), hujan-hujanan, sampe pake bingo bingo an apalah itu. Mumpung pada nulis resolusi 2025, kayaknya konsep ini mending dibagiin aja ya siapa tau bisa jadi konsep resolusi 2025 temen temen. Check it out . . .

Konsepin pake Wedding Canvas Model

Temen-temen pernah denger Business Canvas Model (BMC)? yups, wedding canvas model ini tuh terinspirasi dari BMC. Canvas ini tuh ngebantu banget buat mapping konsep wedding nya mau kaya gimana, dari mulai konsep uniknya, segmen tamunya kaya gimana, hingga dapet modalnya dari mana HHH. Hmm dari orang tua? Saya engga sih :(

2. Undangan Via Event Brite

Ada yang pernah dateng ke acara FPCI-nya Pak Dino Patti Djalal? sekarang masih pake event brite ga ya? Dulu pas saya masih mahasiswa, suka dateng ke acara itu dan keren masuknya pake QR Code. Dari situ, saya terinspirasi ngebuat hal yang sama. Cuman ini eventnya wedding. Oh iya, yang diundang itu cuman temen yang kebetulan sedang deket aja atau close friend only. Jadi setelah dibuatkan list yang diundang, semuanya diminta ngisi event brite yang udah dibuat biar nanti datang BAWA QR (di hp aja, ga perlu di cetak apalagi fotocopy). Dan ketika sudah mengisi, peserta bakal dikirim undangan google calendar biar ga lupa.

3. Ga Pake Buku Tamu, Pake Canvas

Ceritanya saya lagi mikir, entar kalau buku tamu itu, database nya kemanain ya. Apa di input satu satu ke database di excel. Tapi kalau iya, entar kemanain? Terus ttd nya buat apa HH. Alhasil, kepikiran ngebuat canvas ditengahnya ada ilustrasi saya sama istri. Terus para tamu yang dateng, tanda tangan sama ngasih ucapan disana. Poster ini sampe sekarang dipajang di rumah saya dan lucu jadi kenang-kenangan pas di pajang di rumah.

4. Ga Pake Foto Prewedding, tapi Foto lain

Suatu hari saya dateng ke pernikahan temen, terus pas kesana, saya ga nemu foto prewedding. Tapi justru nemunya sesuatu yang lebih menarik. Apa itu? jadi di depan resepsionis itu ada dua foto dimana si cowok background nya lagi di Hong Kong dan si cewek background nya lagi di USA. Buat saya itu keren sih. Dan alhasil, saya pake konsep yang sama dimana saya sama istri sepakat ga prewedding tapi tempel foto pas kita lagi go overseas aja.

5. Bukan Resepsi, tapi Wedding Party

Istri saya selalu bilang kalau dia pengen konsepnya itu wedding party, bukan resepsi terus dia harus salam sama orang yang ga dikenal. Alhasil setelah mencoba melakukan riset di berbagai konsep wedding, muncullah ide membuat game bingo yang mana tamu disini dilibatkan tidak hanya sebagai orang yang hadir melainkan ikut juga sebagai peserta yang aktif. Mereka dikasih permainan bridal bingo gitu dan akhirnya saya yang nikah malah jadi ikutan jadi MC HHH

Sebenernya masih banyak sih kalau ditulis karena yang awalnya ini konsep wedding dream istri saya yang katanya Minimalist - Industrial, karena saya juga punya ide, alhasil ini bukan lagi wedding dream dia, tapi wedding konsep bersama. Dah lah, mungkin segitu dulu, entar kalau rame atau ada yang mau tanya, boleh chat aja di tumblr ini. Segitu dulu tulisan ini. Dah lama ga nulis, jadi 2025 ini salah satu resolusi saya menulis 100 tulisan tumblr. Ini bakal jadi yang pertama. Merci beaucoup and thanks for having a beautiful mind

[unpickled-olive]

Realizing that, while I like Destiny lore, what I love is Seth Dickinson's writing.

The Final Shape was a lovely story and the characters' archs were all emotional and satisfying. Maybe a nostalgic tear was shed for Cayde bonding with his reformed, resurrected killer.

But the things that have kept me coming back for 9 years were missing. I thought there'd be concrete answers about the Traveler, or some more thorough insights into the Witness, or even good lore on the Dread. I was hoping for another great lore book to join the ranks of Books of Sorrow, Unveiling, Mysterious Logbook, Marasenna, Last Days of Kraken Mare, etc. Some philosophy and horror, a genesis or exegesis or thorough backstory on a yet unexamined character/species.

Sadly, I didn't find those. The Dread's origin is that the Witness made them. Do they think and feel? TBD. The Traveler's conclusion was something like "you just have to have faith <3." Fine for the characters, but not for the readers/players of a 10-year-old mystery.

There's some nice things. The Micah-10 Traveler interpretations are cool, as is her origin story. And the foreshadowing still has me excited for the Dreadnaught, a yet unseen Disciple, etc. But I think key parts of what made Destiny lore so alluring for me are diminished.

Maybe it's the layoffs at Bungie. Maybe it's new writers going in a different direction. Either way, the aspects of sci-fi/space fantasy—ancient mysteries, metaphysical warfare, _____—have taken the back seat to personal drama that frankly isn't that interesting or fleshed out.

Maya could be an interesting antagonist, but she needed more backstory than "this simulation was evil or something" and more nuance than "the Vanguard are coercive, so I will coerce all of humanity." Why not explore what her presence means for the Vex, or the other simulations helping Praedyth escape the Vault?

The Witness trying to sway various characters was fine, but that has been covered so many times, especially in Beyond Light.

All that said, back to Seth: their absence in TFS made me realize how huge their presence in the lore was for my love of Destiny. I finally went and read their original works. What an incredible writer.

First, I read Exordia, the first/only entry into a dark mindfuck of a space opera. Its horrific in abstract ways: mysterious alien monoliths that poison reality around them. It's horrific in grounded ways, too: the alien invasion plays off of parallels with the Anfal campaign and the US involvement in Iraq. It's campy at times (with a villain who shouts "I love genocide!") but also profound. There's souls and date, but also math. There's also my favorite trope: mysterious, ancient architects.

After that, I read Baru Cormorant—all three books in a month. It's tragic and inspiring and genius. Originally I couldn't get through the first chapter because of the "fantasy" label. I've already read Earthsea and wasn't in the mood for wizards on boats. But I had the wrong impression. Understandable, because there is just no succinct way to label it.

Is it even fantasy? Honestly, I still don't know.

What it is is its own world. One that the inhabitants haven't fully mapped. One whose past is a must and whose future is uncertain. It's about hegemony. It's about purpose, obsession, and revenge. It's about revolution and community.

The colonizer culture is a kaleidoscope of different influences. Seafaring. Peri-industrial. Eugenic. It strikes me as something like 17th century Britain with a 20th century grasp of science. They don't have guns, but they do have both Greek fire and lobotomies. The story plays with different cultural views on indigenous rights, race, sexuality, and gender in ways that commentary real life while serving as interesting world building.

This story also weaves an insane amount of intellectual concepts into it. But rather than bog it down, they lift it up. The fate of the republic hinges on a myriad of different questions: is evolution Lamarckian or Darwinian? Can mathematical proofs usurp cultural hegemony? How do economics influence history? Most importantly, can you destroy the enemy from within before it destroys you?

It is not just cerebral, but tragic and heartbreaking. I saw the end of the first book coming, and yet I was devastated by the last chapter. Crushed like no ending has ever really crushed me. I didn't want it to happen.

There will likely be some time before the final book comes out, which is understandable. So much research goes into these. So many plot threads need to be woven together. So many mysteries not yet confronted.

This is all to say: if you like what I like about Destiny–thorough examinations of ancient mysteries, sci-fi takes on souls and magic, fantasy takes on science and technology, obsessive characters and vividly fucked up monsters, cancer and math as motifs, metaphors manifesting, and genius characters written by genius authors–give Seth Dickinson a chance.

[queereads-bracket]

Queer Adult SFF Books Bracket: Round 1

Book summaries below:

The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean

Out on the Yorkshire Moors lives a secret line of people for whom books are food, and who retain all of a book's content after eating it. To them, spy novels are a peppery snack; romance novels are sweet and delicious. Eating a map can help them remember destinations, and children, when they misbehave, are forced to eat dry, musty pages from dictionaries.

Devon is part of The Family, an old and reclusive clan of book eaters. Her brothers grow up feasting on stories of valor and adventure, and Devon—like all other book eater women—is raised on a carefully curated diet of fairy tales and cautionary stories.

But real life doesn't always come with happy endings, as Devon learns when her son is born with a rare and darker kind of hunger—not for books, but for human minds.

Fantasy, horror, gothic, dark fantasy, contemporary, adult

The Masquerade Series (The Traitor Baru Cormorant, The Monster Baru Cormorant, The Tyrant Baru Cormorant) by Seth Dickinson

Tomorrow, on the beach, Baru Cormorant will look up from the sand of her home and see red sails on the horizon.

The Empire of Masks is coming, armed with coin and ink, doctrine and compass, soap and lies. They’ll conquer Baru’s island, rewrite her culture, criminalize her customs, and dispose of one of her fathers. But Baru is patient. She’ll swallow her hate, prove her talent, and join the Masquerade. She will learn the secrets of empire. She’ll be exactly what they need. And she’ll claw her way high enough up the rungs of power to set her people free.

In a final test of her loyalty, the Masquerade will send Baru to bring order to distant Aurdwynn, a snakepit of rebels, informants, and seditious dukes. Aurdwynn kills everyone who tries to rule it. To survive, Baru will need to untangle this land’s intricate web of treachery - and conceal her attraction to the dangerously fascinating Duchess Tain Hu.

But Baru is a savant in games of power, as ruthless in her tactics as she is fixated on her goals. In the calculus of her schemes, all ledgers must be balanced, and the price of liberation paid in full.

Fantasy, epic fantasy, politics, secondary world, series, adult

[spiribia]

Baru (looking at map): wow the world is so big!!! 🥺

Apparitor (still pissed about the tain hu thing): egomaniac freak

Apparitor (still pissed about the tain hu thing): tain hu used to get high

[wearethekat]

Anticipated New Releases of 2024

**As anticipated by Me. Mostly SFF. Links are to goodreads because that's what I use, sorry. Anything marked "new to me" I haven't read anything by that author before and therefore can't vouch for the quality. I just think the premise is neat.**

Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands, Heather Fawcett (16 January)

Sequel to the charming novel about the fairy anthropologist.

Exordia, Seth Dickinson (23 January)

Well, it isn't a new Baru Cormorant, but this modern SF about first contact may be the next best thing.

City of Stardust, Georgia Summers (30 January)

New to me. A young woman descends into the underworld in order to break her family's fatal curse.

The Tainted Cup, Robert Jackson Bennett (6 February)

New to me. A sherlock holmes flavored duo solves the mystery of the murder of an imperial official in a labyrinthine fantasy realm.

What Feasts at Night, T Kingfisher (13 February)

The sequel to the mushroom horror book What Moves the Dead.

The Warm Hands of Ghosts, Katherine Arden (13 February)

A ghost story set in WW1 about a woman searching for her missing brother.

The Fox Wife, Yangsze Choo (13 February)

New to me. A detective in 1908 Manchuria investigates a young woman's death in an area full of mythical foxes.

Redsight, Meredith Mooring (27 February)

New to me. Unpowered priestess and Imperial pawn is set on a collision path with a pirate with a grudge for the Imperium (Gay romance).

Sunbringer, Hannah Kaner (12 March)

Sequel about the professional godkiller Kissen.

Jumpnauts, Hao Jingfang (12 March)

New to me. A SF novel in translation from Chinese, with three scientists joining forces to deal peacefully with a first contact situation.

The Woods All Black, Lee Mandelo (19 March)

I liked Mandelo's debut novel very much so I'm excited to read this queer horror novella set in 1920s Appalachia.

Floating Hotel, Grace Curtis (19 March)

New to me. A series of cozy character vignettes on a space cruise ship after a murder has occurred. One of the four (!) space hotel murder crimes books coming out this year.

The Emperor and the Endless Palace, Justinian Huang (26 March)

New to me. Reincarnation gay romance set in 4 BCE China, the 1740s, and modern-day LA.

Alien Clay, Adrian Tchaikovsky (28 March)

Far future space xenoarchaeology by a man trapped on a prison planet.

Someone You Can Build a Nest In, John Wiswell (2 April)

New to me. Bizarre lesbian cannibalism monster romance from the point of view of the monster.

The Familiar, Leigh Bardugo (9 April)

Glad to see Bardugo writing more adult fantasy, and this one is especially exciting because it's a fantasy set in early modern Spain with a Jewish main character. Fun to see a more original historical period.

A Sweet Sting of Salt, Rose Sutherland (9 April)

New to me. Lesbian selkie romance.

Death in the Spires, KJ Charles (11 April)

Charles branching out from romance into historical Oxford murder mystery about a group of friends with dark secrets.

Audrey Lane Stirs The Pot, Alexis Hall (22 April)

The new Hall thinly veiled british baking show romcom. Libby says it's releasing in April but I've heard nothing from the author so I think it may be Alecto'd (shifted to next year)

Necrobane, Daniel M Ford (23 April)

Sequel to the dungeons and dragons-esque low fantasy lesbian necromancy book.

A Letter to the Luminous Deep, Sylvie Cathrall (25 April)

New to me. Sweet underwater epistolary academic romance.

How To Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying, Django Wexler (21 May)

New to me. A young hero caught in a fantasy time loop gives up and tries being the villain in an attempt to escape.

Goddess of the River, Vaishnavi Patel (21 May)

Another woman-centered retelling of Hindu mythology, this time based on the river goddess Ganga.

Escape Velocity, Victor Manibo (21 May)

New to me. Evil and toxic private school alumni jockey for position in a space hotel event in an attempt to escape a dying Earth.

The Fireborne Blade, Charlotte Bond (28 May)

New to me. Gay dragon slaying knight novella.

Evocation, ST Gibson (28 May)

New to me but looks very cool. Attorney and medium David attempts to escape his deal with the devil with the help of his ex boyfriend and his ex boyfriend's wife (Poly romance).

Service Model, Adrian Tchaikovsky (4 June)

In an SF future, a robot kills its human owners and ventures out into a world where human supremacy is beginning to crumble.

Lady Eve's Last Con, Rebecca Fraimow (4 June)

New to me. A con artist seeks revenge on the man who hurt her sister, who's coincidentally also on a space cruise ship (Sapphic romance subplot).

Triple Sec, TJ Alexander (4 June)

An actual mainstream published poly romance (!!) by trans author Alexander.

Running Close to the Wind, Alexandra Rowland (11 June)

Gay! Pirates! Scheming! Alt fantasy world! Monks! I liked Taste of Gold and Iron a lot and I'm very excited for this one.

The Knife and the Serpent, Tim Pratt (11 June)

New to me. Space opera about an interdimensional organization. Also, there's a sentient starship.

The Witchstone, Henry Neff (18 June)

A childhood favorite of mine's adult debut, featuring a demon who suddenly has to shape up at his curse keeper job after eight hundred years of slacking.

Rakesfall, Vajra Chandrasekera (18 June)

VERY excited to read more weird queer sff from this author after a fantastic debut. Looks weird. I'm in.

Foul Days, Genoveva Dimova (25 June)

New to me. A witch in a Slavic fantasy inspired world flees her evil ex, the Tsar of Monsters. There's also a plague and a detective.

Saints of Storm and Sorrow, Gabriella Buba (25 June)

New to me. Filipino inspired anticolonialist fantasy novel about a nun who is secretly practicing the religion of her goddess.

The Duke at Hazard, KJ Charles (18 July)

A queer regency with an incognito duke by one of my particular favorite romance authors.

Long Live Evil, Sarah Rees Brennan (30 July)

!!! Very excited to see a new adult fantasy by Brennan. A reader is dragged into a fictional world and finds herself the villain.

A Sorceress Comes to Call, T Kingfisher (20 August)

A retelling of The Goose Girl from reliably good fairy tale stalwart Kingfisher.

Buried Deep and Other Stories, Naomi Novik (17 September)

Collection of Novik's short stories.

Swordcrossed, Freya Marske (8 October)

VERY excited to see a new book by talented writer Marske. A man falls in love with the duelist hired for his arranged wedding. MEANWHILE. details of the fantasy world wool industry.

Feast While You Can, Mikaella Clements and Onjuli Datta (29 October)

New to me. Small town queer cave horror.

The Last Hour Between Worlds, Melissa Caruso (19 November)

Multiple reality murder mystery spy vs spy type antics, with lesbians.

[paradoxcase]

The Traitor Baru Cormorant, Chapter 3

I don't think this is how disease immunity works. Also, logically, if the people in the Masquerade were all actually immune to this plague, they wouldn't have brought it in the first place. I guess this plague must be similar to the flu, since it seems to be a virus that they have a vaccine for, that still regularly reoccurs in spite of that

I think "federati" is meant to invoke "foederati":

(Although the Masquerade's interest in Taranoke doesn't seem to be particularly military.)

So, their strategy for eugenics seems to be to just... not permit people to get married until they've been approved in some way? That's not remotely going to stop people from having children. Like, the actual IRL eugenics movement understood this and was non-consensually sterilizing people. I don't think the Masquerade just pretends that extra-marital sex doesn't happen, because if they did they probably would also just be pretending that gay sex doesn't happen

That is kind of a weird contradiction in the Masquerade's ethos - on the one hand, everyone is supposedly equal and can achieve any position through merit, but on the other hand, everyone is also doomed to be a good, useful person or not based on their genetics. It seems like they would have some sort of aphorism ready to resolve these two ideas since they both seem to be very central to their national identity, and you don't have to be smart to see that they're in direct contradiction, but for some reason Cairdine Farrier doesn't have anything to say to this

So I guess, from the rest of the chapter, that the "wolves" are the Stakhieczi and he is anticipating some war with them (and with someone else). Also interesting that he is now calling it "the Masquerade" when I think one of the first things he ever said to Baru was that calling it that was rude

So I guess we are meant to understand that "Treatymont" is an Aphalone name given by the Masquerade, and probably that also means that the other English placenames on the map, "Wintercrest" and "Oathsfire" are also meant to be translated Aphalone names

"Jurispotence" is a fun word, faux Latin modeled after "jurisprudence" but instead of meaning "knowledge of the law" transparently means "power of the law"

I like how effectively this communicates that they use family-name-first in Aurdwynn - it actually is kind of hard to clue people in when your fantasy country does names in a way that isn't a personal name followed by a family name because people will just assume that that's how it is by default. I think the only other book I've seen do this was K. J. Parker's Scavenger trilogy, but the way he introduced it there was so awkward. You kind of have to have people who are family in order to communicate this clearly, and those books just didn't really have a lot of characters that were related that way, I think actually none that were part of the relevant culture

Baru definitely said back in Chapter 2 that she had learned what the punishments for this were in the school, so I'm a little confused, here

Actually, these punishments are a little strange in general. They consider gayness to be a genetic affliction, but usually if you are considered to have bad genes it seems like the "punishment" for that is that you're not allowed to get married or presumably have children. Like, later on Cairdine Farrier talks about people who are "inferior" by virtue of being more susceptible to melanoma is just like "well, we'll just have to only breed them to each other". Like, the Masquerade seems real fond of violating people's bodily autonomy, but it doesn't seem like they're actually out there committing mass genocide to remove people with inferior genes. And even if they were, these punishments don't actually seem to be death sentences, they're punitive violence. If they believe that gayness is hardcoded in your genetics, why do they think that punitive violence will stop you from being gay? It's not clear how these punishments are actually meant to further their eugenics goals. It can't be that they think this is the only or best way to sterilize you, because there some real obvious ways to very effectively sterilize men that don't involve hot irons. At this point, this kind of seems like just a gratuitous punishment to show how evil the Masquerade is

Anyway, I guess if Salm does come back at some point, he will probably have suffered this

So I guess we will not be getting a reprieve from the violent homophobia?

I really really really much prefer the Locked Tomb approach to gay fantasy by saying "Diversity win! The Evil Empire is super gay!" to this approach of "The Evil Empire is super homophobic and hates my gay protagonist." I know you probably get drawn and quartered on tumblr if you say "I wish the protagonist of this book were not gay" but in this case I actually do almost wish she was not gay and we got to hear about whatever the author wants to say about homophobia from a non-POV character. I guess it's similar to how I don't like to read about aro or ace viewpoint characters having bad experiences as a result of their being aro or ace, and actually wasn't able to continue reading Loveless because of this, it's too close to home. I don't know, how do you guys feel about this?

Also, if any of you guys who has read this already can provide like, advance content warnings of any chapters were Baru maybe gets stabbed the crotch, that would be appreciated. Like, I'm still absolutely going to read it, it doesn't sound there will be any discussion of asexuality or aromanticism anywhere in this book, I'd just like to know beforehand

There's also, I think, kind of a disconnect between the Masquerade's homophobia and the use of the words "sodomite" and "tribidist", I think. The original connotation of these words isn't about who you are attracted to, it's about what you do - historically, Christians didn't care much about who you were attracted to, they just cared about whether or not you had gay sex. And even in the modern day, you will find plenty of conservative Christians who say things like "love the sinner, hate the sin" which basically translates to "we don't hate people who attracted to the same gender, we just hate people who have sex with people of the same gender" which is like, same difference for most people, but if they actually do really believe that, that does mean that the set of people they want to persecute is actually slightly different than the set of people we'd consider queer. That's the context for the word "sodomite", where it just refers to the action, and "tribidist" seems pretty analogous. But the Masquerade doesn't seem to actually see it that way. Lao was suspected of being a tribidist despite the fact that I don't get the impression at all that she was suspected of having had sex with anyone, and here is Baru worrying about being found out about who she's attracted to when she hasn't had sex yet, either. Earlier, Diline had said that whatever he was planning to do would "fix" Lao "before it enters the hereditary cells" - is "entering the hereditary cells" something that is supposed to happen after you have sex? Or is it just something that is supposed to happen when you get older? If it's just the latter, it's not clear why the book is using these particular words, unless it's just to invoke particularly old-school homophobia

Well, if this is going to get all intriguey and fantasy of manners now it might make up for whatever crotch-stabbing is probably occurring in the future

I won't say it's too early to be coming up with conspiracy theories because the last time I said that, my conspiracy theory that Corona was not actually a necromancer turned out to be true, so

I think it would be pretty fun if Cairdine Farrier turned out to be the Faceless Emperor

And really, who else would he turn out to be? He's obviously not who he claims to be, and we don't know anyone else from Falcrest, or the name of any other high-ranking title there. If it turns out he's secretly the Imperial Officer of Foreign Affairs or something, the reveal isn't impactful, because we've never heard of that guy and have no idea who he is or what his powers are. It doesn't really make sense for him to turn out to be anyone else, does it?

[dinisuciyanti]

Hallo teh din. Aku penggemar tulisan teh din yang amat sangat related dgn kehidupan aku. Btw aku 25 thn perempuan dan sekarang ngajar di sekolah swasta dgn gaji yang minim.

Teh din aku lulusan ppg yang sekarang bisa ikut tes asn di gel 2 dengan adanya mapping. Mapping ini adalah bertujuan untuk pemerataan tenaga guru seluruh indonesia dr lulusan ppg prajabatan, ppg mandiri dll (jd bisa ambil dimnapun dgn mapping ini dan bisa war lokasi baik di domisi atau bahkan luar pulau)

Sejujurnya aku lagi galau banget dengan restu orang tua kalau aku harus ambil mappingan di luar pulau.

- Ambil mappingan di domisili dengan formasi sedikit dan peminat banyak dan persentase lolos kecil.

- Ambil di luar pulau dengan formasi banyak dan persentase lolos juga kecil tapi pasti biaya hidup mahal dan jauh dr orangtua yang mulai senja

Belum lagi kehidupan percintaan, aku masih jomblo dr 4 thn terakhir ini. Capek banget hidup kalau tdk disandarkan dengan rasa syukur yg mendalam.

Teh din, Adakah saran aku harus bagaimana ? ಥ_ಥ

Jika sedang senggang semoga teh din berkenan membalas pesan ini, saya akan menunggu dengan senang hati. Terimakasih teh din semoga teh din selalu sehat juga bahagia✨💛

Halo anon, terimakasih sudah jadi pembaca tulisan ku ya.

Soal lokasi ppg, aku ada beberapa teman yang ppg juga, jadi ada sedikit gambaran. Menurutku, ketika kamu memilih jadi guru, ya emang mesti jadi asn kalau mau "sejahtera".

Untuk case mu, tanya ke orangtua mu, yang penting jadi asn (dimanapun), atau asn di dekat rumah.

Kalau yang penting jadi asn, 50% masalah hilang. Tinggal di kamu nya. Apa kamu mau mencoba hidup jauh dari keluarga, dengan segala konsekuensinya. Hidup sendirian di tempat baru itu gak selalu buruk. Kadang kamu bisa menemukan ketenangan dari tidak se-rumah dengan keluarga terdekat.

Kalau ternyata harus di dekat rumah, harus asn, kamu harus kasih penjelasan kalau itu "tidak mudah" karna formasi kecil dan saingan banyak. Pastikan ortu mu tau soal itu, bukan hanya soal "bertitel asn" tanpa tau war nya seperti apa.

Usia 25 masih muda banget, masih banyak hal yang bisa di-eksplor. Gausah takut dengan pindah pulau kamu akan jomblo. Kalo kamu gak bergaul sama penduduk sekitar, gak kenalan dan gak menjalin pertemanan, ya mungkin iya kamu akan kesepian disana.

Semoga membantu ya. Pilih yang bisa kamu jalani, dengan segala pertimbangan yang ada. Sukses!

15 Desember 2024

[dwellordream]

"Not even in death would Tain Hu serve Falcrest: not even as a pickled specimen or an entry in a catalogue of mental deformity. Baru would never let them map the rot of her body, never let them say, decomposition began in her liver, which had struggled to contain her sin... No. Let Tain Hu be laid to rest the way Baru's parents taught her. Let the birds scatter her across earth and sky. ...Baru remembered. She remembered all her dead."

Seth Dickinson, The Monster Baru Cormorant

[july-19th-club]

ok wwaitwaitwaitwait i got some duke math to do.

ok so who do we have left who's still on the board. first i think i need to check off who's already GONE:

radazchic: the fop, who dies first in his own ill-planned rebellion attempt (possibly cementing baru's idea for how to pass the test?)

nayaaru, autr, and sahuale all die in the same assassination, agreed upon by all the remaining dukes and instigated by baru

unuxekome goes down in naval battle (instigated by baru, playing to both his need for glory and his desire to impress her)

that leaves eight, who can be dispatched in the following ways:

erebog, currently having revolt problems, could be killed or otherwise made irrelevant if crushed by angry autr/sahuale remnants)

lachta, if you're counting xate olake as a duke, could be killed in close quarters or via purity, if purity comes back as is currently eliminating baru's competition in the test back in treatymont before she gets her own plans far enough to kill baru's

lyxaxu and oathsfire, both of whom will be in the battle at sieroch - good time to get rid of them, although it seems more likely that oathsfire will be the one to die on the field & lyxaxu some other way later on, post-battle

ihuake, same deal, i'm fairly sure she'll be at sieroch, although an easier way to get her would be in her camp, as she's not really a fighter so much as a behind-the-lines type of leader . maybe she goes after they win, possibly by some angry nayaaru remnant? (planned of course)

pinjagata who i keep forgetting about because baru spends the least amount of time with him or thinking about him: definitely out of the picture during sieroch if not very shortly afterward

and last but not least TAIN HU, which is personal

and that's how the world's worst little accountant ever assassinates an entire country's leadership by helping them win a rebellion against her real goal. what gets me most about this whole thing is: once she's in the secret council, surely they will all be thinking she'd do the same to them. she did it once, what's to stop her from taking out the entire underpinning of falcresti government, and what's to stop them from noticing, other than their own sense of inherent superiority (which members of the secret group probably don't share, since they tend to be intelligent sorts who don't go for societal illusions)? babygirl you got your work cut out for you

[manusiafajar]

Semua sedang terlelap, sayang.

Hai kids, this is your mom's story.

Ini menyebalkan, ibumu sudah menulis banyak surat untukmu, ada di dalam map coklat itu, bersama tumpukan surat untuk ibu di masa depan. Orang - orang baru tau saja serunya sekarang, atau sekedar membuatnya agar tak terlihat ketinggalan, bahkan hanya untuk jadi gurau mencipta tawa.

Padahal perihal menyambutmu, tidak pernah sebercanda itu.

Sayang, bagaimana kabar tubuh ibu hari ini? Masih sehat dan segar kah?

Maaf ya, bila ibu mulai cepat kelelahan, mulai tidak bisa banyak bergerak. Sebab kau tahu? saat - saat ini ibu sedang menaruhkan sehat tubuh ibu, demi mempersiapkan keilmuan mendesain kehidupan bersamamu, mempersiapkan mendidik peradabanmu.

Ibu janji untuk tetap menjaga sehatnya, secara fisik, jiwa dan hatinya. Itu fokus utama yang ibu prioritaskan bersisian dengan ujian termin pertama ini. ya! kau tahu sayang? ibumu masih di tahun pertamanya menjadi mahasiswi, kamu harus lihat berapa banyak titik merah yang menghiasi wajahnya sebab banyak berpikir dan kegelisahan.

Bagaimana? sekarang wajah ibu bahkan sudah berkerut ya?

Tidak apa, semoga mereka yang akan jadi kesaksian di hadapan Allah kelak, bahwa perjalanan membeli syurga memang tidak pernah mudah. Nanti ibu ceritakan hal yang lebih menyayat dari sekedar titik merah, kau tahu sayang? Sejak sembilan puluh hari berlalu, dan Al - aqsho masih berdarah.

Bagaimana sayang? apakah hari ini kemerdakaan kita raih? apakah kita ikut andil dalam pembebasannya? kau tahu? itu mimpi ibu untuk milikimu, berperan utuh jiwa dan raga untuk menjadi yang terdepan dalam membela syariat-Nya.

Ah, meskipun setelah berkaca, ibu masih meringis penuh ragu. "Pantaskah aku?.."

Semua sedang terlelap sayang, di pagi hari yang penuh keberkahan ini, mereka memilih terlelap bersama sepuluh derajat dinginnya udara, tidak ada yang menolak rayuan selimut, kecuali ibu.

Padahal semalam, mereka pun tidur jauh sebelum ibu terlelap, hanya empat jam tubuh ibumu tergulung selimut, tidak apa ya, sementara. Nanti kita tidur sepuasnya di istana dalam syurga.

Tugas murojaah beberapa juz, dzikir pagi, alkahfi, semua tuntas sebelum kembali menunduk pada tumpukan buku dan berbagai macam warna pena, semoga kebiasaan - kebiasaan ini lestari menghiasi harimu juga, melakukannya penuh cinta tanpa paksa.

Cukup dulu ya sayang, ibu mau sarapan!

(Btw, Hari ini ibu memasak apa untukmu? Bilang enak ya meskipun biasa saja! wkwk)

[vanilachocolate]

Interview ...

Baru kali ini pulang interview sampai nangis di jalan. Siang hari. Karena se-sesak itu. (But ya, i'm sorry kalau setelah kamu baca ini ternyata emang akunya aja yang terlalu sensitif dan mungkin hal lainnya).

Jadi, akhirnya hari ini abis interview user di salah satu pabrik maklon kosmetik. Wah, kosmetik nih. Sama kaya pengalaman 3 tahun terakhir. Prosesnya lumayan cepet. 2 minggu lalu, tawaran dari HRnya dateng lewat pesan linkedin, setelah ternyata aku sempat memperkenalkan diri lewat DM pas bulan april. Terus udah interview HR 2 kali dan ngerjain beberapa tes dan tentu ada tes psikologinya. Terus akhirnya di jadwalin interview user hari ini.

Setelah cek di maps dan ngedatengin langsung kemarin sama mas, aku ya mikir aja kalau maybe sanggup kok sekitar 50 menit perjalanan dari rumah. Toh di Bandung kita berdua masih ngontrak juga. Jadi masih fleksibel kalau mau pindah biar ngga gitu berat (kalau diterima).

Hampir sampe pabriknya, ternyata kebanjiran. Hampir 1 km kurang lebih panjang banjirnya. Walau area banjirnya kepotong-potong. Awalnya cuma banjir gitu aja. Terus makin ke depan, banjirnya makin dalem. Motorku yang mio soul gt tuh banjirnya sampe ngerendem dipijakan kaki. Pas kakiku mau ngga mau turun, banjirnya sampe setengah tulang kering. Mantep. Interview dengan sepatu basah.

Sekitar 300an meter dari pabriknya, aku baru minggir, buat ngabarin ke HRnya. Minta maaf karena kejebak macet banjir dan sepatuku basah. HRnya bilang nggak apa-apa dan minta maaf juga karena lupa ngabarin kalau daerahnya emang banjir. Aku minggir di depan ruko-ruko kosong gitu. Terus pas mau ke jalan lagi, motorku masuk ke banjir yang lumayan ambles karena bawahnya tanah. Aku takut mau maju. Terus minta tolong sama aa aa yang dibelakangku kebetulan, buat narik motor aku dan akhirnya bisa melipir ke pinggiran yang jalannya di cor.

Sebenernya ya gpp banjir. Karena pas di kawasan industri dulu juga banjir. Dengan tinggi yang lumayan sama. Cuma pas di kawasan industri aku tenang aja karena jalannya cukup bagus. Jadi ngga khawatir. Dan ya, motorku lumayan tinggi juga. Kalau tadi ya karena baru mau interview terus aku takut pas di jalan ngelewatin banjir, takut jatuh dan kecemplung. Soalnya pinggirnya rawa dan sempet diawal-awal yang jalan banjir itu, motorku kaya yang mau kepleset.

Fast forward ke interview user. Usernya cowo, masih muda ketimbang aku. Masalah ngga? Ya aku pas tau dia lebih muda ya aku biasa aja. Karena buatku ya pengalaman kerja sama sikap kerja yang penting sih. Umur bisa nyusul.

Awal basa-basi. Tanya-tanya singkat. Kaya naik apa, berangkat jam berapa. Terus kan udah tau umurnya maksimal 28 dan pendidikan s1, kenapa tetep ngelamar juga. Ya kalau masalah ini ku jawab aja karena ya aku berpengalaman, dan aku pun baru 29 masih baru bulan lalu. Selain itu yaa, HRnya yang nawarin. Dan udah ngobrolin masalah umur ini. Ngga masalah. Jadi kenapa harus mundur? (Yang bagian ditawarin HR sampe akhir aku ngga bilang. Cuma dalam hati aja).

Terus dibilang kalau disitu (pabrik) itu tuh kaya ngalamin 3 musim. Kalau hujan, depan bakal banjir banget. (Dan iya, aku udah interview beberapa jam, cuaca cerah dan pas balik banjirnya masih dalem). Kalau lagi panas, yaa bakaal panas banget. Dan yang terakhir kemungkinan bakal kena puting beliung. Kaya pas awal tahun (katanya, aku juga ga inget beritanya) pas rancaekek kena puting beliung, pabriknya juga kena dampak (entah apa).

Sebelumnya disuruh ngisi 40 soal. Kaya soal TKP. Terus dijadiin pertanyaan buat interview. Terus ya tanya-tanya pekerjaan aku sebelumnya, jobdesknya gimana. Cerita gitulah.

Sampe akhirnya ...

Kan tadi aku udah bilang ya, ada tes psikologi.

"Disini katanya kamu lebih suka menyendiri ya?"

"Hmm, ya memang. Tapi kalau untuk bekerja ya saya bakal ikut bergabung dengan yang lain. Dan tentu kalau perlu mengerjakan tugas saya sendiri dan perlu fokus, saya menyendiri. Dengan mengiformasikan kepada yang lain."

"Kamu sukunya jawa dong ya?"

"Jawa sunda (sih), campuran."

"Oh iya. Saya juga campuran sih. Tau ngga bedanya suku jawa sama sunda tuh apa? Kalau jawa kan kalau kita menyendiri orang akan memaklumi ya, oh mungkin dia lagi ada masalah sendiri. Tapi kalau sunda ya ngga kaya gitu. Kalau menyendiri malah jadi pertanyaan. Mungkin kamu ga suka sama orangnya, atau ya ngga bisa buat kerja sama."

"Oooh iya.." (masa sih? Seumur-umur aku selalu berpindah jawa sunda buat sekolah dan di tangerang buat kerja, kok kayaknya aku ga pernah denger penilaian macam kaya gitu).

"Ini lulus s2 2 tahun 11 bulan ya? kok lama? kenapa?"

"Ya, waktu itu lagi covid. Ada peraturan di lab kalau cuma boleh ngelab sampe jam 15.30. Jadi semua kerja lab ditingga dan dilanjutin besok. Selain itu ya harus ikut seminar internasional dan publikasi di jurnal terindeks scopus."

"Oh, saya juga S2. Saya farmasi. Saya juga sekolah waktu covid. Di Lab mikrobiologi. Jadi selama wiken, 2 hari saya ngelab mikro dari pagi sampe jam 11 malam..."

Ya terus why? Why???

"Dari skala 1 sampe 10, berapa level ketegasan kamu? Kamu people pleaser ya? skala berapa menurut kamu?"

"Yaa mungkin di 8 ketegasan. People pleser 6-7."

"Tapi hasil tes kamu lebih menunjukkan kalau kamu people pleaser dan kurang tegas. Bahkan ya masukan untuk kamu aja dari hasil ini adalah kamu harus lebih tegas lagi."

"Menurut saya, saya cukup tegas kok. Selama saya menjadi QC, saya tegas dengan standar yang ada. Saya tidak pernah melepaskan produk untuk langsung release walau itu permintaan dari departemen lain yang katanya urgent dan akan segera dipasarkan...."

"Tes MBTI mu apa terakhir?"

"INFJ kalau tidak salah."

"Hasil mbtimu yang ini ESFJ. Cukup berbeda ya. Tapi menurutmu kamu introvert? masa sih?"

"Ya, karena yaa saya lebih suka menyendiri atau cepat pulang setelah kerja kalau cape. Orang lain mungkin masih memiliki waktu untuk main bersama yang lain. Tapi kalau saya, jika tidak perlu yaa saya lebih memilih untuk pulang."

"Tapi kalau kamu diajak kegiatan sama yang lain setelah kerja, mau?"

"Kalau sesekali, dengan didiukung kesehatan saya, saya tidak ada agenda dan tentunya suami saya mengizinkan ya kenapa tidak."

Terus beberapa pertanyaan lagi yang formal, ceunah dia tuh. Terus pas menurut dia pertanyaan formal udah abis, dia mau tanya yang informal.

"Kenapa ngga mau jadi dosen aja?" Daang! denger ini lagi. Dari orang yang bahkan baru ketemu sekali. Muak banget ngga sih?

"Yaa untuk jadi dosen sih, sejujurnya itu urutan terakhir. Saya lebih suka di lab di lapangan, jadi yaa riset langsung, analisa langsung. Lagi pula, menurut saya pekerjaan dosen apalagi di indo masih banyak yang administratif. Belum lagi senioritas.... Hal-hal yang saya amati waktu s2 dan yang saya dengar dari pembimbing yaa membuat saya mempertimbangkan kenapa saya tidak memilh jadi dosen (aja).

Tapi tau ngga kenapa aku juga muak selalu disuruh jadi dosen aja dan malah ngincer banget balik ke industri? Selain aku bilang diawal kalau aku udah jatuh cinta duluan di Qc, aku ngerasa happy aja pas kerja jadi QC. QC yang kata orang mah ngga ada kerjaan, aku kerjaannya banyak. Beragam. Seru. Kesana sini. Kadang berantem seru sama departemen lain karena kita terlalu strick sama standar dan kualitas tapi yaa aku seneng jalaninnya. Aku pingin ngejalanin hal yang aku pikir itu itu seseneng itu pas dikerjain. Setelah 4 tahun terkahir hidup aku tuh cuma berusaha buat bertahan hidup karena udah tanggung masuk s2, udah bayar mahal buat s2, nggak mau bikin mas sedih (walau pernah hampir) tapi aku rasa semua itu kebanyakan karena alasannya ya buat orang lain. Kali ini, aku mau buat aku sendiri. Ada hal dalam hari aku tuh, aku kerjain karena buat aku sendiri. Sebelum nanti, siapa tau bakal punya anak, maybe. Yang mana yaa, cwe kalau udah punya anak pertimbangannya juga banyak. Dan mungkin banyak juga yang perlu dikorbanin, dan juga mungkin dirinya sendiri. Paham ga? Makanya kenapa kok ngejar industri itu aku usahain banget. Apalagi QC. Kosmetik lagi ya bagus, kalau industri lain juga gpp. Aku cuma mau kerja buat kesenengan diri aku sendiri aja buat saat ini.

Setelah beberapa obrolan informal lainnnya, akhirnya si user bilang cerita

"Waktu itu juga saya recruitment buat QA. Ternyata ngga cocok buat manejemen. Saya sarankan buat masuk ke Pabrik kosmetik S. Tau ngga? (Iya, tau). Terus ternyata diterima. Direkturnya itu kenal sama saya. Menurut saya kamu lebih cocok buat jadi dosen aja. Kalau misal disini ngga keterima, saya mungkin bisa ngenalin ke kaprodi kampus X. Saya juga puna kerja sampingan jadi dosen kalau lagi ngga kerja di Kampus X itu. Kayaknya deket sih dari rumah kamu. 30 menitan. Kampus X itu banyak yang dari golongan anak ga mampu. Walau banyak yang dapet beasiswa tapi ya mereka kan pas lulus SMA/K ada harapan dari ortunya buat membantu mereka ya. Saya sih cuma pingin mereka (si mahasiswa) ini buat bisa dapet pendidikan yang baik. Dan lagi kan kamu bilangnya suka riset ya. Di kampus lebih banyak risetnya. Ngga cuma kaya yang kamu gambarkan. Bahkan menurut saya JADI DOSEN ITU LEBIH BAGUS BUAT PEREMPUAN. LEBIH FLEKSIBEL. JADI MASIH BISA KERJA DAN JUGA URUS KELUARGA."

"Emang kenapa kok menurut kakak saya lebih cocok buat jadi dosen?"

"Karena kamu ngga ada pengalaman buat memimpin di industri. Beberapa tugas teknis juga kamu ngga tau. Terus menurut saya kamu lebih sistematis ketimbang teknis. Jadi lebih cocok buat di dosen. Jadi dosen ngga harus pinter. yang penting bisa menyampaikan dengan jelas dan bisa dipahami. Bahkan harusnya ya gpp kalau dosennya kalah pinter sama mahasiswanya ... Kemampuan buat bisa jadi dosen itu anugrah tau. Ngga semua orang cocok jadi dosen. Ada kan yang dosen ngajar ngga bisa dipahami? Karena ya mungkin mereka ngga punya kemampuan buat jadi dosen sebenernya. Tapi terjebak aja."

Denger itu tuh kaya, kalau kamu nyarinya punya pengalaman mimpin di industri, kenapa harus diproses? Kalau ngga ada pengalaman dan ngga dikasih kesempatan gimana orang punya pengalaman? Kamu ngga tau kenapa aku mengesampingkan jadi dosen, kenapa ngomong panjang lebar diawal aku cocok jadi dosen? Ini ngga aku minta. Kamu baik emang. Menawarkan bantuan. Tapi ntah kenapa denger kalimat yang lainnya tuh bikin sedih aku. Bikin rasanya aku semakin jauh sama dream job aku balik jadi anak QC industri yang mungkin itu akan bikin aku happy ngerjainnya karena emang aku mau. Kata-katamu tuh rasanya kaya ngehancurin harapan aku yang kecil. Yang di bandung industrinya ngga sebanyak tangerang, selain garmen. apalagi jauh-jauh. Ngehancurin harapan aku, ngehancurin rasa aku mampu buat balik ke industri dan mimpin orang setelah pengalaman kerja dan pengalaman leadership aku walau bukan di industri. Dan rasanya tuh nyeseg banget gitu.

Tugas teknis yang aku gtw tuh juga karena jujur emang clueless. Aku cuma tau beberapa kerjaan QA yang emang beririsan sama QC. Karena ya kita dulu kan yang disuruh bantuin aja. Belum lagi ruangan QA yang terpisah sama QC. Aku ngga cukup tau banyak juga emang. Tapi, bukannya kamu bilang nyarinya QC bukan QA?

Dosen ngga harus pinter? Mohon maaf. Standarku buat jadi dosen emang ketinggian. Standarku siapa? Dosbing S2 ku sendiri. Walau emang rasanya masih jauh banget sekeren beliau, tapi ya aku merasa aku belum semampu itu. Belum seyakin dan semampu itu buat mencerdaskan kehidupan bangsa yang mana aku sendiri aja ngerasa ngga cerdas.

Apa ngga sinting, dosen tuh ngga harus pinter? Kamu tau ngga sekeren apa dosbing aku? Beliau kuliah IPKnya 4. Dari S1-S3. Beliau tuh bahkan bisa dibilang gugel berjalan. Tanya kebeliau apa aja. tentang kuliah atau penelitian yang bahkan bukan bidangnya beliau tuh, tetep bakal selalu dapet jawaban yang bikin aha moment dan ngga buntu lagi.

Aku mau jadi yang kaya gitu. Tapi entah kapan. Nanti dulu. Aku mau bikin seneng dan bikin puas diri aku sendiri dulu. Setelah tahun-tahun kemarin. Aku tau aku ngga akan sekeren beliau kalau ngga memulai. Tapi ngga dulu. Boleh ngga?

Terus karena ini tadi sepanjang jalan, berusaha mikir yang baik, makasih sama si user baik ini tapi tetep aja aku nangis. Bahkan ngetik ini juga nangis banjir. duet sama hujan deres di luar.

Maaf ya, aku.