#but give me a chance to talk about poland and i will

[lexa-el-amin]

No language questions atm but.. what are your favourite German cities?? Cologne looks so schön. And beyond that, favourite places in Europe? Aside from Germany, Spain, Italy, Greece and Austria are on my list 🤩 oh, and Prague!

Hello dear anon!

I am not much of a city person but Cologne is indeed really great, mostly because it's so gay! Going to a pride parade there just is amazing! my state NRW is a great spot to go to, because there are just so many big cities next to each other and you'll have many sights and museums and also beautiful nature to visit here.

Last year i visited Rothenburg ob der Tauber for a few days, which is a bit more in the south of germany, it's a small city and it's like a trip to the middle ages cause the architecture is still very much intact. you can walk around the old city walls and such.

But honestly most of our cities are very old and the history is quite apparent with many old Fachwerkhäusern in the old city centers. I took a trip to Halle (Saale) and Kassel this year and the museums there were really good. Also Berlin of course, there is so much to discover!

I haven't travelled around that much, but France and Poland are two countries I've been to many times. my favorite city in France is Paris, the architecture is amazing and I love all the museums and the atmosphere. Alsace and Provence are two more regions i really enjoyed. Also the Ardeche region in the south of France is absolutely stunning, if you're looking for a beautiful time in nature!

Well and in Poland i can really recommend the region up north, near Gdansk. all the museums I've been to in Poland were very accessible with english signs and audio guides. the world war two museum in Gdansk is great and there is the old concentration camp Stutthof not far from the city that's open to visitors too. if you go in early spring and are lucky you can find amber lying around at the beach.

my favorite place is Malbork castle, it's massive and beautiful, one of the biggest castles in the world and an unesco world heritage site.

but i guess if you enjoy nature and history as much as i do you will have a great time in any of the countries you listed above :)

[woso-dreamzzz]

Leaving VI

Alexia Putellas x Teen!Reader

Summary: Your schedules don't match

You love Alexia.

You were only little when your father died. You didn't quite understand it.

Your father was a football fan, a big Barcelona supporter so all of his daughters got taken to games with him.

Alba was never that into sports, even just watching them.

Alexia was definitely sporty. You think she was what your father really wanted. She plays football and she adores it.

Your father was already sick by the time you were born. He was already struggling but he still took you to matches. It didn't click with you like it did with Alexia but he could still some athletic speck in you.

He took you to a tennis match instead. He'd never had much interest in tennis but he seemed to know what would appeal to you. You were tiny and Mama had been worried that you wouldn't be able to sit through a match.

But you did.

You sat through a whole match and fell in love then and there.

You were still little though and your father was still sick but he took you to as many lessons as he could.

He was a football fan but he could learn tennis for you.

He never could in the end, not when he died so suddenly.

But then Alexia took over. She didn't understand tennis and she still doesn't understand but she took you to every lesson and went to every match.

You just wish she understood the difference in your schedules.

She was getting ready for another round of Euro qualifiers even though Spain had already qualified. You were at Wimbledon, trading shots with Iga on the practice courts.

"Have you called your sister yet?" She asks, sitting down next to you as you guzzle down your water.

You roll your eyes. "In a minute."

"Do it now."

"What are you? One of my sisters?"

You're teasing her.

Iga is the world number one, by a lot of points. You sit just outside of the top ten. It's a little annoying, your own inconsistency. You can pull it out of the bag during big matches like Grand Slams but you suffer a bit in some of the less grand tournaments.

You're officially the youngest player this tour so you know you're getting babied by some of the other players, Iga especially.

You hadn't thought she had even known who you were until your coach told you she was the one who pushed him to take you on.

She thought you were on your way to being one of the greats.

She also thought you would make a great doubles partner one day.

It was different moving to Poland, away from your Mama and your sisters but Iga made it easy.

She was easy-going and you practically lived at her place so, yeah, you guess she took the more sisterly role in your life with Alexia and Alba at home in Spain.

"Go and call your sister," Iga laughs, spraying you with her bottle until you shriek and run off," And grab me a protein bar or something!"

You roll your eyes but head off, pulling out your phone to video call your sister.

It rings for barely a second.

"Hi Jenni," You say," Can you give Alexia back her phone? I need to talk to her."

"You don't want to talk to me, mini Putellas? I'm offended!"

"If I wanted to talk to you, I'd have called you!"

Jenni laughs before Alexia appears on screen, snatching the phone away from her ex.

"How are you?" Alexia asks, cramming her face onto the screen.

"I'm good!" You laugh," You look good too. Covered in sweat."

"You can talk," Alexia teases back," Have you just had a workout?"

"Practice pitch with Iga," You say," We've got matches coming up."

Alexia frowns. "What do you mean?"

"We've got matches in the next few days. It's Wimbledon, remember?"

Alexia shakes her head. "No. That was last year."

"It happens every year, Ale," You remind her," Me and Iga are competing and then it's a quick turnaround for the Olympics."

Alexia's frowning. "No, because I've got a match on the twelfth. You're flying out with Mama and Alba."

"The Wimbledon final is on the thirteenth. I need to stay."

"What?"

"Iga's out and I've got a real chance. I could really do it."

"But...What about my match?"

"What about mine?" You counter with a sigh," Ale, our schedules just don't match this time. I'm sorry."

"But..."

It's clear to the other girls in the room that Alexia's getting a bit distressed as her mouth opens and closes as she tries to formulate a response.

"But..."

"Listen, I've got to go. I'll talk to you later."

"Hey, wait-"

You put the phone down and Alexia just stares down at it, frozen as she looks at your profile picture.

"What's up with the long face?" Jenni pokes her in the cheek. "You're more frowny than usual."

"Nothing. I just...My sister can't come to the game."

"Well, duh, Alexia. She's got Wimbledon to win. She can't just fly out to us."

"I know but..." She blows out all her air. "Never mind. I'm just...I'm gonna go."

When you were little, Alexia tried to go to as many of your matches as she could manage. Sometimes she would come straight from her own games, still in full kit to catch your last ten minutes or so.

It was difficult but it worked.

You've gone professional now and branched out, travelling the world to take part in tournaments and games so you can work your way up and become the world number one.

She shouldn't be upset about you missing her match and her missing yours because that's just how sports work. So many went on at the same time that it was impossible to make every match but, still, a deep pit forms in Alexia's stomach as she thinks about missing your final.

Across the world, you prepare.

You practice on the courts with Iga and your coach. You eat well. You sleep well. You watch Alexia's match on the tv and wish you could be there but Alexia's no longer the only athlete in the family.

She had her career and you have yours.

Paolini is who you face in the final and she keeps you on your toes the entire time. She hits hard and fast and you go one set down immediately.

You pull it back though, managing to equalise the next set and then it's all to play for.

You take a few gasping breaths as you guzzle down your water, leaning back in your seat.

You look up at your box, where your family is watching.

Mama is there, of course, and so is Alba. Alba looks incredibly bored. You know she only comes to the tennis because of you and you're glad she's trying to be supportive but she truly looks like she's about to fall asleep in her seat.

Mama looks much more engaged. She'd told you once that she preferred the pace of tennis to football. There was less risk of injuries in tennis, no one around to slide tackle you or crash into you.

The most harm your opponent could do was smash a ball into your face and that rarely happened. Sure, you could slip and fall but it's not like footballers didn't do that too.

Out of the two sports her daughters played, Mama always found herself calmer at the tennis.

Mama waves at you and nudges Alba in the ribs so she can look up from her phone to wave too.

Your brows draw together in confusion.

There's an empty seat between them and you can't understand why.

So, you just kind of stare as you puzzle out who could be sitting there.

It's not until she comes back, with two beers and a hotdog that you realise who is filling that seat.

She looks exhausted. You can tell even through those stupid big sunglasses and the even stupider hat she's wearing.

She must have gone straight from her match to the airport to get here in time and crashed in Mama and Alba's room to keep it all a secret.

So, Alexia sits in her seat and you grab your racket.

You've got a set to win.

[mercurytrinemoon]

A lil guide to why you're not identifying with your natal chart

I've been thinking of writing this post for a few years now because this is one of the most common issues that people have when studying their charts and I feel like there's a lot of misconception around the topic sooooo I hope I can give you guys some ideas.

BIAS

As simple as that, people often have issues with taking a step back and really thinking about their life in relation to their charts. This is why astrology consultations (as opposed to reports) are often more advised. For most people, the way they are and the way their lives are is "normal", especially when we talk about things that are correlated with upbringing and culture. But also, your everyday life.

Just to give an example, I was once studying zodiacal releasing of my sister and I told her "seems like your peak period lasted from your childhood up to your late teens". She rolled her eyes and said that if that was her peak period then her life's a failure. But let me tell you how her teens went: she was super popular, everyone had a crush on her, one of her tattoos got an award at an international tattoo convention, she was one of the best dancers in her ballet school, she also has a brief history of being a metal singer and kind of by pure chance performed at Poland's Woodstock (now Pol'and'Rock - if you know, you know). I am probably missing something but my point is: she cannot look objectively at her life, for her that's just a normal teenage experience. But also, sometimes people's current aspirations often don't align with their past aspirations so when they look back, most events seem bland to them. And that is the case for a lot of folks.

Everyone has that friend who's always like: "I'm nothing special blehhh" and you just sit there and think of all their talents and accomplishments and just scratch your head. Or that person who always complains about having no money, yet they can live comfortably and can afford most of the things they want. And this goes for everything: talents, personality traits, home life and so on…

Remember, often times it's hard to really take a look at yourself in the mirror. And even if you do, you still see a flipped version of yourself.

MISINFORMATION, SIMPLIFICATION AND STEREOTYPES

I think this is a big one. And especially if your source of knowledge comes from the internet. When you learn about the signs and their characteristics, it's crucial to understand the nuances - and people pretty much always forget about it.

Every sign can have a certain trait: being driven is not exclusive to Aries, being sensual is not exclusive to Taurus, being talkative is not exclusive to Gemini and so on - it's all about the motives and the background of when and how that trait manifests.

For example, sure, one of the negative traits of Taurus is stubborness - because it's an earth sign and it's fixed. But Taurus is more than that, it's not just a one-ingredient sign. No sign is a one-ingredient sign. MOST people will be stubborn in some way: Aries will be stubborn if you won't let them do what they want, Gemini will be stubborn if you try to undermine their ideas and say they're wrong, Cancer will be stubborn about their grievances or about holding on to things tried and trusted and so on…

REMEMBER (and I want this plastered everywhere): no sign has the monopoly for anything. This goes the other way around: just because a Virgo was rude towards you, doesn't mean all Virgos will be rude towards you. NOT ALL *INSERT SIGN*.

Everything has a spectrum and everything has its place. Most Aries Suns are not full of anger and toughness all the time but maybe they love video games and they don't even realize that they're relieving their negative feelings by shooting everyone in Call of Duty? Or their job requires some martian energy, movement and discipline? Or they're very protective over the opressed ones and they're not afraid to fight for them when needed?

(And so yes, you probably do have that trait you claim you don't have in a certain context).

ASPECTS TO THE PLANETS AND OTHER INFLUENCES

"I don't feel like an Aries Sun", says a person with a Saturn square to their Sun, a Mars in Pisces and a Taurus rising. Well, first of all, I can guarantee you that you do act like an Aries in some ways but second of all - if your fiery and bold passionate lil heart is dimmed and harassed by Saturn, your Sun's dispositor is in a dreamy and passive Pisces and your Sun is in the 12th house AND on top of that, that slow Taurus rising is really clashing with cardinal Aries, then yes, this can make sense.

What can block or drastically alter a planet's infuence? Squares and oppositions, a contrasting stellium in another sign or house, sometimes being unaspected or occupying a house that is in aversion to other important points in the chart (so it's inconjunct), especially to the 1st house - you won't "see" your planets if they're in the 2nd, 6th, 8th or 12th house. Alternatively and interestingly, a planet (or more) occupying the 1st house may infuence and distort your view of things where you may not feel or seem to others like a "typical" exponent of your sign. Good example was when people weren't believing Halsey that she's a Scorpio rising - and with a stellium in her 1st house I don't blame them - her persona is influenced by Mercury, Venus and Jupiter, which is a pretty eclectic mixture.

HOUSE PLACEMENTS AND WHAT PLANETS "BELONG" TO

Not every planet talks about you because not every house talks about you. I've done two huge articles on house meanings and you can check them out here: PART 1 & PART 2, but to quickly sum them up:

1st: you 2nd: your posessions 3rd: your siblings/cousins, early education and neighbourhood 4th: your family and parents 5th: your children, sex life and fun activities 6th: your employees, pets and health 7th: your partnerships and open enemies 8th: your shared resources and inheritance 9th: your higher education, beliefs, travel 10th: your career and reputation 11th: your friends and networking 12th: your subconscious, loss, succlusion, sickness

So, as you can see, if you, for example, look at the planets in your 3rd house then they are largely talking about your family members or even neighbours. Have loud Aries Mars in the 3rd house but you're rather introverted and like to be left alone? Well, are your neighbours annoying? Is your neighbourhood a rather loud or even unsafe place? Do you feel a dislike towards your siblings cause they're always obnoxious when you're trying to relax and immerse yourself in your favorite book? Are your siblings sporty? Well, that's your Mars in the 3rd.

Have Jupiter in the 3rd house but you don't travel too much, you were never top of the class and you're shy? BUT how about your siblings, cousins or neighbours? Or maybe your school environment was very preachy or you even attended a catholic school? Look at the bigger picture because, newsflash, even your natal chart doesn't revolve all around you.

TIMING

If we're talking more about circumstances and events, this is a very important point to understand. You're not born with a load of experience and unless you're in your elderly age, you cannot ever say that a certain placement doesn't apply to you. You have Saturn in the 7th? Well maybe you went through that ONE bad breakup/divorce in your life - obviously you're not going through it for the eternity. You have Jupiter in the 7th house yet you struggle in relationships? But then you get into one in your 30s or even 40s and it's with the most jupiterian person in the world and you're happily together for the rest of your lives. You have Sun in the 10th house but you're whining that you're not acknowledged or popular or whatever? Well yeah, you're just being annoying, you know that not everyone can be a teenage superstar influencer or whatever - climbing the social ladder usually takes decades so don't even start with this one.

Nothing is constant. Things require time and that time is often influenced by, you've guessed it, ✨timing techniques✨ lol. So progressions, profections, transits, time lord periods etc. It may be that you won't even live enough to actually experience it. Some gain acclaim after they die, soz.

Other times certain events and traits only apply at certain moments in your life. I've mentioned my sister and her peak period in her teens. Well, she also happen to have Jupiter - her ascendant ruler - in the 3rd house, which may imply that she had the most luck and positive experiences during her school years. Same with other houses, If you have planets in the 7th house they may only be active while you're in a relationship. If you have planets in the 9th they may only activate when you're abroad or during your time in college. If you have planets in the 10th they may only switch on when you're on a high position career-wise. Not every house speaks of moments in life per se, but some do so keep that in mind.

WRONG HOUSE SYSTEM

Some of you stubborn lil kiddos might hate what I'm about to say… but if you're using the default placidus, I do encourage you to ✨open your mind✨ and check out your chart using the whole sign system. It's usually more straightforward and pretty much always more accurate from a constructive point of view.

✨ I GO MORE IN-DEPTH WITH THINGS LIKE THIS IN MY E-BOOK. ALSO, THE BESTEST ASTRO E-CALENDAR FOR 2024 THAT YOU CAN GET IS AVAILABLE HERE! ✨

[wszczebrzyszynie]

hello! im asking this from you because i dont really have anyone else to ask and you seem to very openly talk about being polish and so on, so apologies if you cant really give me an answer;

Are polish people generally positive towards people learning polish? in my years of learning russian i find that very often russians tend to act negatively or rudely to "outsiders" learning their language for whatever reason. i find that it discourages me quite a lot when i try to interact with them. Now im facing the possibility of getting a chance to live in poland in the future for a few years and of course i want to try to learn the language as best as i can. is there this same kind of negative attitude that the russians sometimes have? does it depend somehow on where that person is from?

thank you so much in advance 🙏

from my experience poles get excited like puppies whenever you try to speak our language. it may not be the case depending on who youre talking to (not much you can do for racists and xenophobes i suppose), but ive never really met anyone who was weird about foreigners learning polish... usually met either as a neutral thing or with general appreciation (especially from the "polish is the hardest language to learn" crowd). then again i also dont really have much contact with many foreigners in my town, so i may be completly wrong and living in a bubble. i dont know. id encourage more people to answer in the notes

[alistairlowes]

ngl i'm done with esc drama and esc in general for this year but i do wanna say i saw that mini interview with bojan where they asked him would they like to go again and he said while he is thankful for everything that they wouldn't because their score was low and it's not something they would like to experience again. he also criticized the way voting was done.

and this is what truly saddens me about this circus. like these people aren't stupid they all know and understand what happened. they all realized they never had any chance. ex yugoslavia countries never expect to win anyway. we know we don't have money to host it. but it's not like we are blind and don't see favouritism. they introduced jury votes because of us and we have to watch them be hypocritical and do the same thing they were so afraid we would do. so many artists already have and will give up on this whole thing. give it few years and there will be nothing but nepo babies with same generic recycled pop songs.

esc has always been and always will be political in one way or another. and everyone who is currently saying "get over it" you do know the worst thing you can possibly do in these situations is to stay passive? that just sends them a message they can do whatever they want and what people say doesn’t matter. you think anyone would be aware of poland fuckery if people didn't do their best to be vocal about it?

call me crazy for not thinking that 5 people shouldn’t have half of voting power as the whole country. i saw who was in our jury and they always put people who couldn't even qualify for esc but now they get to decide on finals? and this isn't even about finland/sweden thing i'm talking about jury points for countries like germany. scream and cry how jury consists out of professionals who rate things like vocals all you want but they have clear bias for certain type of songs and everything that doesn’t fit that gets sunk. doesn't even matter germany got low public votes too when overall jury gave more points to blanka and imma need y'all to be so fucking serious for a minute.

disappointing af and i don't even wanna look at this mess anymore.

[electronicdelusionstarlight]

I'd like to bring up a second the way Intersectionality works in the Thaumaturge.

The Thaumaturge is a game set in 1905 Warsaw, Tsarist Empire. It presents a universe where everything is the same but some people can be Persona Users. This is a genetic condition inherited from parent to child.

Of course Thaumaturges are a Magical Minority seen with distrust if not outright oppressed, especially in the notoriously fucked up Tsarist Russia.

You can, playing the game, see a lot of parallels with IRL discrimination in the game. At one point you find a book called "The Precepts of the Masters of Thauma" or something, which is word for word an adaptation of the Protocols of the Elders if Zion but for Thaumaturges, you find a letter by a British man talking about how superstitious easterners were, and how it was a proven fact one could "fix" Thaumaturges with a lobotomy, you see a mother force an exorcism on her Thaumaturge child for "acting up" and being weird to her because "the devil stole him from me," again a lot of parallels with real life minorities and their oppression.

Except...

The protagonist of the game is Wictor Szulski. He's high bourgeoise, his father is a rich polish businessman, his mother is the sister of a high ranking russian officer in Poland. He lives in a grand, posh house, not having to work, always settling his debt by writing a cheque his sister will pay, and the one time he committed a major crime, his father and his connection instantly bailed him out, before he started a pleasure trip to France as a teenager and then all around the world.

He is still oppressed, he is still mistrusted, he is still victim of discrimination, but the thing is, he is so high bourgeoise he has it way better than others.

Contrast Ariel Rofe or Madame Samira, two other Thaumaturges he meets. Rofe is Jewish, Samira is... I think she's Romani, the first one lives in the slums, the other has to pretend to be a Charlatan Medium just to get by.

Contrast his Non Thaumaturge Sister Ligia, who is his same social class and yet is ostracised and mistreated for her gender, for her desire to take over her father's business, for her feminist leanings.

Contrast Wanda, the Socialist Leader, and all other left leaning characters in the game calling him out for his privileged position even if you try to play him as the most socialist possible.

Contrast the Doctor, a Tatar, a Muslim, a Polish Man, a Thaumaturge who supports the first and only female doctor in Warsaw.

Contrast the Lechites, a Nationalist Polish Independence group who is trying to create a "Pure" Poland, erasing all other foreigners and minorities from it.

The game is rife with parallels to real life minorities, while also talking at length about real minorities and how that intersections with one another.

And how those minorities can also be exploited, exploited by Fear, and by Power.

And how the only way to win, truly win, is to stay united as a community, together, united, against the overwhelming weight of authoritarian power, but again without tolerating those who wouldn't tollerate us in turn.

Case in point, Wanda shooting the Lechites dead if you give her the chance, despite their alleged common goal of a free Poland, because you shouldn't exchange a tyranny with another.

[kurwyetorbi]

Jakub Adamczewski x GN! Reader (Part 1)

This story contains: Gender neutral reader, a bit of seggs, alcohol, catholic church, enemies to lovers, swearing, conflict resolution techniques taught to me by my therapist and some Bogdan because he is my favourite character in the show 1670.

Abstract: The reader is a wealthy... something (the profession is not important for the fanfic) who has recently moved to Adamczycha. Their stay at the village would have a 5 star rating if it wasn't for that cunty priest named Jakub. However, as they interact more with Jakub things change. Woah!✨

Word count: 2000 or something like that (I'm avoiding other important tasks in my life)

The story is better than the abstract... Enjoy!

...

Adamczycha was a small town located in the northeast of Poland. Perhaps it was the people, the food or the scenery what made you fall in love with this beautiful place. However, like everything else in life, it also had its disadvantages. There was one guy, a priest to be more specific, who made your stay a little uncomfortable. His name was Jakub, the Adamczewski family's most beloved son. From the day you arrived he treated you as if you were some kind of demon.

"ASMODEUS, SATANAS, LUCIFER!!!" A flashback of one of his sermons came to your mind. He was looking directly at you as he said that. Not very polite of him. "They could be walking among us at this very moment!" You remember how he screamed as he raised his fist in the altar and took another deep breath to keep giving his speech. He was a parody of a priest.

You had to say it, all the encounters you had with him were quite peculiar and every now and then your friends would ask you to repeat these stories. "(Y/n), tell us again about that one story in the church!" In Adamczycha people respected you, at least more than in the previous town where you were living.

"For sure, it was very weird. I was just sitting there on the bench minding my own godly business. Listening to the priest blah, blah, blah. When all of a sudden something in his eyes changes. It looked like a demonic possession. He starts listing all of this demons... and I swear to God, he was looking at me all the time."

"What have you done to the poor little guy?" Asked the moustachioed soldier with a curious look on his face.

"Me? Nothing. But don't be fooled, he is not as innocent as he seems. One day he likes you, another day he blames you for heresy."

"I think you should talk to him in the confessional. When you confess, you may change your mind about him." Bogdan insisted.

"Aaaaagh, the mere thought of spending some time alone in a box with him sends shivers down my spine". With that you took a last sip of your drink and headed towards your house which was not far from the tavern. What Bogdan had said made you think about your relationship with the priest. Maybe you should give him a chance. After all, in your previous town, your neighbours made you feel excluded too. Why would you want to do that to someone else? Given that you were inmersed in your thoughts you couldn't notice your name being called over and over again.

"(Y/n)!." You heard a demanding voice nearby. You squinted your eyes in order to see where the voice was coming from. It was no other than the Great Jakub himself, blocking your way home.

"Jakub..." Your face remained expressionless as you muttered his name. The only thing you did to make your hate towards him a little bit less notorious was tilting your fluffy hat like a cowboy.

"You shouldn't be out here at night." Confused, you stopped walking to make eye contact with him.

"Look priest. As far as I know I'm some sort of demon, so I don't think I'll have any problems as long as I stay away from priests." It came right from your heart. All this hatred could not be kept hidden for too long.

"How dare you speak to me like that?" He seemed to be offended by your remarks. "Forgive me inmediately or I'll have you executed tomorrow morning" Oh, you got him really pissed.

"Okay, I'm sorry." As you lifted your arms you pouted your lips to make it seem more convincing. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some import-"

"On your knees..." Each word came out of his mouth slowly as if he enjoyed it. You swear you saw a grin forming in one side of his lips. "Come on, I have to be home! Dinner is waiting." He demanded eagerly. Even if you had become quite rich in the last year, you were not the most powerful person in town.

"Jakub, I..." Your mind went blank for a moment. "What a psycho!" You thought to yourself as you slowly knelt on the muddy floor. When you finally reached the bottom your left knee slipped a little. This action made the priest laugh mischievously.

"Stand up-." He struggled to control his laughter as he gestured for you to get up. Once he regained control over himself he continued. "Anyway, come tomorrow to my church." You noticed him winking at you. Still, you weren't sure if that was real or if you were too drunk. "We have to cleanse your soul... and those pants". He grinned once more and left you there in the mud.

As you saw him walking away in the distance your mind came back to its clarity again. Unfortunately, those thoughts were filled with hate towards the young priest.

"I'll make sure I splash you with holy water you filthy demon..." With that you resolutely got to your feet only to slip and fall in the mud again.

...

What a weird day. Good it was already over. Now you could spend some time bathing and washing off the mud.

"Fuck you, Jakob..." Figuratively speaking. You hated his abuse of power and how he treated you as if you were less than him. It was difficult to stop thinking about him, he had already made an important presence in your life. "Uuuugh..." The smooth rose petals didn't seem to be helping you relax. As much as you tried to inhale their sweet aroma, the image of him pointing the floor so you would kneel was difficult to get out of your head. "Did he wink at me?" You were pretty much confussed since you were receiving a lot of mixed messages. However, you had to admit that you didn't dislike the thought of having him around at that moment. With that, you closed your eyes and slowly massaged your tights underwater. You could feel the heat in your cheeks as you imagined Jakub undressing from his opulent clothing in front of you. Him slowly getting inside of the bathtub with his hard penis. Planting a wet kiss on your lips as he slipped his dick inside you. The thought of being penetrated by him made you want to touch yourself desperately.

"What am I thinking?" You slapped your cheek and poured some cold water over your head ashamed of your actions. As much as you enjoyed that moment alone, you knew it was for the best. Getting laid with a catholic priest was impossible after all. Tomorrow you would confess your sins and maybe then he would treat you with respect. You didn't ask for more.

...

"It's true, I swear!" The tone of your voice sounded weirdly amusing. Your hands were shaking more than usual, making part of your drink spill on the ground.

"Yeah sure, you're telling me that Jakob appeared near your house at night and told you to confess your sins." Bogdan wasn't buying any of that bullshit. "I think you had to many drinks last night!" He forced a smile.

You grabbed him by his collar, checked the tavern and spoke softly. "I swear on my life Bogdan". The seriousness of your voice made him frown. "Either I get laid today or I get killed. I don't care which one of them it is".

"I thought you were happy in here." By his facial expression you could tell he was worried.

"Of course, I just need to clarify some stuff." You placed a hand firmly on Bogdan's sweaty shoulder and headed outside. The priest did not specify when you had to come to visit him. Because of the anxiety you were feeling, you left the meeting for the last moment of the day. That way you could avoid Jakub. A bit tipsy, you moved through the dark alleys of Adamczycha preparing for the worst.

"H-Hello?" Your voice shaked as you waited outside of the giant wooden doors of the church. After a minute or so you decided to head inside the church. To your surprise, the inside door was not closed. "Jakub?" You took your fluffy hat off and dipped your hand in the sink with holy water. You signed a quick cross and walked through the empty aisle. Some of the candles were lit making the statues more visible. At night and without people, it was quite frightening to walk through the church. To ease your nerves, you fiddled with the hat in your hands.

At the end of the aisle, you could see the altar with all its golden decorations. It was more empty than usual. All you could find was a note and a candle. Someone had been remodeling the building. You opened the note and with the help of the candle you read what it said.

"Find me in the confessional." Your voice echoed making you even more scared. You walked carefully towards the wooden confessional and blew the candle once you were in front of it. You were not sure if after all this time he would be waiting for you, but you decided to enter anyway.

"Hm, hm, Father?" You cleared your voice as you said that. If it hadn't been for his heavy breathing, you wouldn't have known he was on the other side.

"Hm, so now you are treating me with respect?" For the fist time, it was a relief to hear his voice.

"I'm sorry, when did I treat you with disrespect?" Calling him Father instead of Jakub was a bit weird, but you thought it was right to do so in his church.

"I know how you talk about me behind my back. My uncle Bogdan told me about it." You could not believe it, Bogdan didn't tell you he was Jakub's uncle.

"Can't I have private conversations with my friends?" Defending yourself seemed more reasonable than begging for forgiveness.

"Never mind, I have also talked shit about you."

"With whom?" As far as you knew, Jakub wasn't the type of person who had a lot of friends, so you decided to attack him with that question.

"With Him." He hummed. "I think it's time you forgive me in front of the Almighty."

"What about you?" Empowerment filled your body as you faced him and his absurd demands. This man was used to people giving him what he wanted right away. After all, he was his daddy's favourite. Having someone face him was still new for Jakub. Before you arrived, this whole town was under his control. Almost. Whatever he desired was granted by God. Well, almost everything. There was one thing he could not get which seemed to be torturing him. Since you arrived in the town, he started feeling uneasy and more weird than usual. He punished himself a lot. All those impure thoughts invading his body. His sexual desires overshadowed his core religious values. He couldn't take it anymore.

"I had enough!" For a moment that felt like years the confessional was filled with silence. You decided to break it as you were starting to feel uncomfortable.

"Look Jakub. I know I shouldn't have said those things about you with Bogdan. I felt like you were treating me disrespectfully so I started doing the same. What I want to say is... I'm sorry, I hope we can start over again." You swallowed your pride with that last line, but you didn't care. You simply didn't want to be on bad terms with him anymore. "What do you say?" You asked yet again, as the confessional was filled with silence.

"Why are you making this more difficult?" He blamed you for his own filthy desires.

"Making what?" You weren't sure what he was refering to.

Suddenly, Jakub's side door was opened. You could hear his footsteps marching somewhere else, so you decided to follow him.

...

To be continued.

[giantisms]

hello, g/t asks for you! :D

A2, A11, A12, A17, A19 & B6, B14, B15, B16, B17

okay as a preface i think i'm due for at least some exposition on the characters i'll be talking about, even if some would technically be spoilers. so:

sinclair: an average human turned giant then turned back human again. works as a bioengineer after freshly graduating. after an incident he was forced to live among giants while he figured out how to turn back. a really curious but rational person tycho: ty for friends, an average giant that stayed giant. not trustful of humans, forced to babysit one (albeit one their size). their and sinclair's relationship is basically "can't STAND humans *ten minutes later* me and the bestie!". otherwise pretty laidback and chill, always helpful to others

przemysław: also przemek, a middle-aged borrower from 1860s congress poland - though that name (and political stuff surrounding it) matters very little to him. pigeon breeder and lover teodor: a human who, unlike przemysław, cares a lot about his homeland and polish identity. a young man with too many ambitions, and too much curiosity about the small man riding a pigeon that snuck into his home

wiktor: a teenage giant raised by a human village in secret, up on the giant mountains (polish karkonosze). your average angsty teenager if not for the fact that he's around 60 feet tall and sticks out like a sore thumb for that reason (might explain his moodiness a lot of the time) aniela: a teenage girl from jelenia góra who knows too well about struggling to fit in with her peers. single child of really supportive parents who she loves to spend time with, hiking the mountains and camping

answers under the cut!

A2. if your character could choose, would they be a different size?

sinclair: not really, no. even if he'd love to hang out with tycho "normally" he wouldn't want to give up his human life (again, that is) tycho: before meeting sinclair, no. but after hearing his stories they can't lie and say that they're not curious about all the mysterious little things... what the fuck is a microwave

przemysław: hard no for him, but literally only because he doesn't like the idea of interacting with people much more than his borrower life would have him teodor: honestly? he would love it. the idea of being so small sounds cool to him. he probably wouldn't like it in long term though

wiktor: yes. in a heartbeat. he wants to feel more "normal" around his family and friends, not like the lumbering giant he is. to have a chance at normal human things he'd only watched and heard of aniela: while she's curious about how wiktor sees the world she would HATE being a giant. she's already pretty self-conscious, being Perceived™ at such a large scale would be a nightmare to her

A11. what’s the worst experience your character has ever had with someone of a different size. (or the best?)

WELL it's spoiler territory for sinclair and tycho that i don't want to tread on (yet), wiktor and aniela only really have each other, and teodor hasn't interacted with many tinies besides przemysław... but i can tell you about przemysław's!

the second worst experience had to be the time a pair of humans found his pigeon farm on accident and, instead of leaving it be, destroyed it thinking it was just a regular pigeon nest. it cost him his entire livelihood at the time and left even more of a sour taste about humans. first worst experience had to be [REDACTED] though (oops! back on the spoiler territory again)

A12. if your character was a magical being (or a different species if already a magical being), what would they be? how would this change who they are as a person?

sinclair: would a warlock count. i think that fits him tycho: if we assume a fantasy race like elves count then yeah i'd go with elf! don't think it would get rid of their distrust for humans for one reason or another, but would definitely change how they interact with the world at a "smaller" size

przemysław: unironically see him as a fairy. which would be hilarious. stay small forever. his attitude wouldn't change much though to be honest lmao teodor: not sure honestly? i can't think of a single magical being that would fit him. i'll say werewolf because he loves dogs. it would be a little funny to make him a puppy too. don't think it would change much besides The Horrors Of Change

wiktor: i think a zmey would suit him! i think he'd have a tad bit better self image of himself? but i don't think it would change much aniela: keeping the slavic demon theme- she'd be a rusalka. i mean i guess that would change her at least a little bit, you know, being an undead spirit and all

A17. how common are interactions between the different sizes in your characters world?

for each pair i listed... it's common in NONE of them lmao. in s&t and w&a worlds giants are thought of as nothing more than myths and fairytales, and p&t is pretty similar in that regard. i think it's just a preference of mine to have the giant or tiny be thought of as nonexistent to the human, i think the dynamic is more fun that way

as a fun fact though i can tell you that (at least in the eastern european setting of congress poland przemek and teo are in) most spotted borrowers are thought of as a domovoy spirit and left alone lest they bring bad fortune to the household! the belief is much more prevalent in rural areas though, city folk would have a bit different approach

A19. how does your character feel about being reliant on others/relied on?

for tycho and sinclair once the latter manages to go back to his regular size it's... certainly a change. it's uncomfortable for both of them at first. and while tycho is more used to being relied on having a younger brother and being pretty helpful around their commune, sinclair finds it really off-putting, being basically manhandled by his friend. the feeling fades eventually though, because in the end besides things like moving sinclair around or offering something to eat, ty doesn't have to DO much for him

przemek despises the feeling of being reliant... most of the time. he's a well educated grown ass man and a successful entrepreneur, damn it, but deep down he admits even someone like him needs help from time to time. i suppose it's less of "feeling reliant" and more of hating to be looked down on because of his size. as for teo, he honestly likes feeling like he has a use for something and will jump at any opportunity to be reliable. he knows przemek is very capable, but he can't help it sometimes

NOW FOR MY FAVORITE ONE... being friends with wiktor is certainly a new experience for aniela, but she wouldn't say their dynamic means she's relying on him all the time, after all it's wiktor who's forced to fit in with other humans

but as for wiktor? it's not just that he's relied on for more laborious tasks around the village, it's the fact that honestly HE'S the one most reliant on the community as the sole giant. when he was brought to the village by his adoptive father he was a really young kid. he was not capable of providing for himself for a really long time - even to this day he needs help with sewing himself clothes or having enough to eat. and something like that eats away at him constantly. he's so afraid of being more of a burden than he already has been, to demand more than basic needs. it sucks, he doesn't like it, but he can't bring himself to ask for more. it's the reason he's so willing to put extra work in helping around the village, to somehow repay and justify himself just existing around them. it's... really not a healthy mindset he's in

B6. a trope you’d like to see more of

oh there's A LOT but hm. in general i'd say a "role reversal"...? what i mean is the community seems to think through this binary view of "giant big and strong and always in power" and "tiny small and helpless and needs to be taken care of" WHICH LIKE... not going to bash on any of these as i know it comes from place of comfort and projection as pretty much all of g/t content does, but personally it's not what i'm looking for?

while yeah i always acknowledge the inherent power imbalance in size difference i want to see more NUANCE! for example what if the giantkind is NOT in the power over humans? what if because of their different physiology they're ultimately at more disadvantage against the smaller party? having less resources to utilize because of being so big? which leads to humans having more advanced tech against them? what if giants are outnumbered to humans?

like i don't know, i find that MORE compelling (especially in established mixed size societies!) than the "standard" in the community so to speak. and that applies for any dynamic really

B14. do you prefer writing or drawings for g/t? (either creating or consuming)

i love creating in both mediums! not that experienced in making g/t content in particular as i've only started to really indulge in it recently, but still. as for consumption... while i appreciate both (they both require a lot of skill) i honestly prefer writing? i feel like all the descriptors of the size difference (like sound, and other sensations) hit way different than a drawing would. it conveys a lot more

B15. do you prefer gentle giants or scary ones?

why can't a giant be both? they can be gentle AND still scare the shit out of you (intentionally or not). i think that's a perfect blend for me

B16. do you like more animalistic or more human giants/tinies?

depends on where you draw the line on what counts as "animalistic". for example i like giving both giants and tinies in my worldbuildings some "non-human" features to distinguish them as different species AND to give them something that would make more sense in their respective size. that said i think even then things like pointed ears or fangs are pretty tame, so more human giants it is!

B17. favorite way to refer to giants/tinies? (borrower, bean, etc.)

can't say i have any??? i just call giants "giants" and tinies "tinies" lol. i use "borrower" too but more on the principle of it being a widespread term in the community (i have never ever heard of the books prior to learning about g/t years back)

[korealog]

This time I'll be brave (ENG/DE) - Monday, 29.07.24

(ENG)

Wow, training life has me in its grip again & hardly gives me any time to take a deep breath or to share my last days with you here. I'm currently in Poland (stuck, just kidding, of course) to familiarise myself with everyday hospital life. I'm determined to write my last posts during this time. On Monday morning, I cycled via Nodeul-Island to the HYBE building, as I wanted to have a look at it during the day. Before that, I sat down in a small (and by that I really mean mini) park and watched the water fountains for a while. Around 12 o'clock, how could it be otherwise, my stomach gave me a clear signal again & I went to one of the many small cafés directly behind the HYBE building. In fact, I was still all alone at the time and ordered a cocoa latte & a yoghurt ice cream straight away. As Jimin's album ‘MUSE’ had only recently come out, there were lots of freebies (free, sometimes homemade K-pop merchandise). From the café, you could look directly at one of the entrances to the building & watch the staff as they set off for their lunch break. Then at 12.45pm I made my way towards Yongsan Station to meet up with one of the two girls from last Thursday for coffee. On the way there, I made a stop at one of the many photo studios to take pictures on my own this time. In some photo studios you can also take pictures with singers (who of course recorded the whole thing beforehand). I have to say, the photos look pretty damn real. Then we moved on. There is a huge shopping mall above the underground station, with brands like Nike, Adidas, NewBalance, Lee & much more. After about an hour of strolling through the shops, I ended up in a bookshop by chance, but I hardly understood anything because everything was in Korean hahaha. At 2pm we met at the FourB Café and sat outside on a roof terrace and talked about everything for two and a half hours. It was really nice & felt like it had always been my life.

To be continued...

(DE)

Wow, das Ausbildungsleben hat mich wieder voll im Griff & gibt mir kaum Zeit zum Durchatmen, oder um hier meine letzten Tage mit euch zu teilen. Gerade sitze ich in Polen (fest, natürlich nur Spaß), um hier den Klinikalltag kennenzulernen. Ich habe mir fest vorgenommen während dieser Zeit meine letzten Beiträge zu verfassen. Montagvormittag ging es für mich mit dem Fahrrad über Nodeul-Island zum HYBE-Building, bei Tag wollte ich mir es ja nun auch mal anschauen. Vorher habe ich mich nochmal in einen kleinen (und damit meine ich wirklich mini) Park gesetzt und habe mir eine Weile die Wasserfontänen angesehen. Gegen 12 Uhr, wie sollte es auch anders sein, hat mir mein Magen wieder ein deutliches Signal gegeben & ich bin in eines der vielen kleinen Cafés direkt hinter dem HYBE-Gebäude gegangen. Tatsächlich war ich zu der Zeit noch ganz alleine und habe mir direkt einen Kakao-Latte & ein Yoghurt-Eis bestellt. Da Jimin’s Album „MUSE“ erst vor kurzem rauskam, gab es auch hier wieder ganz viele Freebies (kostenloser, manchmal selbstgemachter K-pop Merchandise). Von dem Café aus konnte man direkt auf einen der Eingänge des Gebäudes schauen & die Mitarbeiter beobachten, wie sie sich auf den Weg zur Mittagspause machen. Dann um 12:45 Uhr habe ich mich auf den Weg Richtung Yongsan-Station gemacht, um mich dort mit einer von den zwei Mädels vom letzten Donnerstag zum Kaffee trinken, zu treffen. Auf dem Weg dorthin, habe ich noch einen Stop bei einem der vielen Fotostudios gemacht, um diesmal alleine Bilder zu schießen. In manchen Fotostudios kann man auch mit Sängern (die das Ganze natürlich vorher aufgenommen haben) Bilder machen. Ich muss sagen, die Fotos sehen verdammt echt aus. Dann ging es weiter. Über der U-Bahn-Station findet man eine riesige Shopping-Mall, mit Marken wie Nike, Adidas, NewBalance, Lee & vieles mehr. Nach ungefähr einer Stunde durch die Läden schlendern bin ich durch Zufall in einem Buchladen gelandet, habe aber fast nichts verstanden, da alles auf Koreanisch stand hahaha. 14 Uhr habe wir und dann im FourB Café getroffen und uns nach draußen auf eine Dachterrasse gesetzt und ganze zweieinhalb Stunden über alles mögliche geredet. Es war wirklich schön & hat sich angefühlt, als wäre das schon immer mein Leben gewesen.

Fortsetzung folgt...

[hollycreadisserda]

hi, my name is zoha and i desperately need money

(why do i need money will be at the end of this post)

please reblog!

-

basic info

i take payments only via PAYPAL in USD

you need to pay me 50% of the price before I start drawing- and the rest of the price after I fiinish the sketch

additional character is +100% of the price

if you want me to draw something in 3 days, you need to pay +100% of the price

UPDATES ON COMMISSIONS/CHANGES TO COMMISSION

i am giving frequent updates about the commission; after i finish a stage like sketching, base coloring, base shading etc- so you can accept the way the drawing looks🌺

feel free to ask for any kind of changes, I am usually up to them, unless they are too major (for example changing the whole pose)

for more info check my carrd

if you are from POLAND, I have a different commission sheet + more payment options

and feel free to dm me ଘ(✿˵•́ ᴗ •̀˵) 

why do i need money + about me(tw: mental health related issues)

I am a 21 y/o artist and student from Poland, I am unemployed. I need money for fulfilling my art projects i dreamed about since i was a child. it's not really urgent or anything, but i just want to finally be able to create and tell things I want through my art

the projects i am currently working on are:

my comic on webtoon- story i have been working on since i was 14

my songs! i've written a lot of songs which i want to produce and actually publish +make some cool mvs

overall my youtube channel which is kind of dead but i want to start video essays regarding mental health  

I need money so I can actually pursue those projects. I want to fix my guitar, pay my friends for producing my music, want to promote my art (boosting posts etc)

"So why don't you just get a job?"

I've suffered from depression since I was 12. I've developed avoidance and anxiety personality disorder and social phobia.  It has always been hard for me to interact with people even through the internet cause i am just simply scared. i am scared of my close friends, family and it is just really hard to live at this point

i had a job till the end of last year. When I was working there i was too tired to do anything that actually made me happy. last summer i was in psych ward because i just was too harsh on myself cause i was working and going to uni at the same time

so it is kind of: if i get a job i will have money- but i will be too tired to create anything 

to be honest, the only thing keeping me alive was the thought that one day i actually might live the life of an artist. the life that i am able to do things i actually enjoy

cause for the past years i've been stuck in the same place of doing what people want from me and not what i actually want. i didn't have a chance to say what i want to say

the things i am creating are deeply related to mental health issues. i want to create things that might help people find comfort in them, to create something they can relate to. it might sound cliche but i really believe that it is not the casual s(he's) br(ok)en type of stuff, i try to do a lot of research, talk with other people to understand how they feel

a lot of people are telling me that my words help them and i want to do that. i want to help people by doing what i can do best

i might be oversharing, but it is just, i never had a chance to speak out loud what i want to say. and art was the only way for me to show how i feel

but it also is painful when the creations you poured your soul into is made for no one 

so i would be really happy if you would buy my art to support me 

and maybe help me live the life i've dreamed about since i was a child

thank you for reading, it already means a world to me

[gryficowa]

I love the argument of idiots "Poland is the safest", yes, only for the privileged, nationalists can beat you up for being gay or not white, so shove this statement up your ass, I don't feel safe in a country where minorities are attacked and people border guards are beaten by border guards

I don't give a damn about European statistics because they think about the safety of the majority, not the minority, I won't feel safe when others are hurt

It's like saying that Israel is a safe country, even though it bombs children and other Jews, it doesn't have any fucking connection

Do you know why according to statistics it is safe? Because they don't fucking take into account the indigenous inhabitants of this country, therefore, nationalists on independence marches are not marked as a danger, and they are as dangerous as hooligans and idiots

These people pose the biggest threat here, and then they say bullshit that they don't want immigrants because they are supposedly a "threat" (Yes, because these immigrants want to see your disgusting face)

This country is full of racism, xenophobia, queerphobia, etc… so where the fuck is it safe?

The only place is Kashubia, but Polish nationalists are slowly coming here, and they pose a threat to Muslims, LGBT+ people, Jews, etc.

Kashubia is one of the few remnants of the real Poland, i.e. diversity (Because larger cities are pathological, apart from Gdańsk, although this city is Tokyo 2.0, to be honest… Yes, it's about pace), because that's what Poland was, diverse, unfortunately, nationalists and nationalists want a shell of this country, without minorities, etc.

Unfortunately, cities like Warsaw or Łódź are not very safe for minorities, because there are most of such crazy people, so if you want to live in Poland (Which I doubt, because it is a place full of not very intelligent people who consider themselves intelligent, and the roads are more full of holes from Spongebob) then I would advise you to avoid larger cities, because they are full of degenerates who will attack you for any piece of shit

So yes, it's a lie that Poland is safe, there are safer areas, but there is still a chance of a guy with a Polish flag coming after you

I'm not afraid of immigrants, I'm afraid of Poles…

Besides, the very fact that Poles don't talk about Palestine, and when you think you find such people, suddenly they turn out to be conservatives, and their main reason for hating Israel is not that it murders Palestinians, but that they are Jews, well and they support Braun's behavior (the guy who used a fire extinguisher to put out the Hanukkah candles)

Leftism is almost dead here too, so if you're a leftist, they treat you like shit, especially when you point out the language they use (Racist terms, etc…) or call you "Julka from Twitter" (It's an insult for context)

How do you support LGBT+ rights and respond to racism? You unglued piece of trash!

And I had a Twitter account for a year, because Twitter suspended it, so I wasn't there for a long time

The plus is that I gradually became a leftist, the minus is that I discovered how many shitty people live in this country

Laughing at people on the Polish-Belarusian border, queerphobia and all that other shit, seriously, Poles are bastards...

And now in Polish shorts on YouTube I see xneophobia directed at Ukrainians, or diarrhea when someone talks about the problems in this country and they shit themselves and start insulting that person

Or the classic "Get the fuck out of this country if you don't like it", yes, that was written to me too, I'm Kashubian…

I live in my own land and they say I should get the fuck out because I criticize their behavior and the way the country treats minorities -_-

If you are a minority in this country, you have no right to talk about what is wrong in Poland, because it is too inconvenient for a right-wing country

So seriously, don't give a damn about the argument that Poland is safe

[masonjarsmoments]

Top 5 tennis players

Top 5 animals

Top 5 memories

Top 5 Tennis Players:

There are some new faces on this list but they just robbed my hart in storm

1. Casper Ruud - home boy (when I got into Tennis for the first time in 2017/18 I scrolled down in the rankings until I found the first Norwegian and said you are coming home with me when I found Casper somewhere in the 140s and he was my favourite ever since) only player I've seen playing live and talked to so far

2. Andrea Petković - home girl and I don't care that she isn't active anymore because for me she is Tennis and the main reason I fell in love with this sport - she is an icon, one of the prettiest women I've ever seen and her way with words is everything. I love her both want to be her and be with her

3. Daniil Medvedev - definitely wouldn't have thought that when I first started watching tennis because I was a Stefanos girl back then and kinda disliked Daniil ?? Crazy I know. I love how different he is in so many ways his tennis persona is so unique smart and extraordinary and then he is just a nerdy dude that might look a but boring sometimes off court the perfect mix.

4. Aryna Sabalenka- I just want her to give me hug with her strong arms, smile at me and tell me that everything will be fine.

5. Andrey Rublev - I just want to hug him with my not strong arms smile at him and tell him that everything will be fine. He is sunshine and rain in one and even though I am a rainy day autumn girly myself for him i hope there's more sunshine than rain.

Top 5 animals:

1. Elephants - my first stuffy that i had and still cuddle today is an Elephant called Elefanti

2. Cats - I grew up with cats and they are just the best - really don't trust people who dont like cats

3. Kuhs (cows) - its a group chat thing but they are also just cute

4. Sheep/lambs - kinda random but look st them ?? Also I spend so much time at the north see there's no way around them (literally we were in the middle of a horde once and had to wait for an hour )

5. Penguins - just loyal and there was this gay penguin couple in our zoo and they were everything to me

Top 5 Memories (this was such a hard one)

1. My first ballet production I've danced in when I was 8 years old - it was just amazing (besides the costume I was a shellfish and was wearing a weird thing on my head) mostly because of the time that we spend together before and after our part (I was on stage for a total of 10 min) because we just were in one of the classrooms watching barbie movies and playing sing star.

2. First time I went to Lillehammer and saw Lysgårdsbakkene Hoppanlegg because she is beauty she is grace and Lily is home. Also every other time i went there especially Raw Air 2020 with my wonderful friends, Pero winning, Stephan podium, a wild Fannis that nearly killed us with his stares, inside jokes it was just a great time.

3. All the group chat road trips because I can't choose but here are some highlights: Ruhpolding, the cheesecake in Berchtesgaden, playing UNO in the car while waiting for the rain to stop, Picknicks in the sunset, cross country skiing, our raod trip Playlists, Ireland, watching les mis together in London from the first row.

4. Our school trip to Poland in 10th grade it was a tough one because it was all about remembering the Holocaust and we had to prepare presentations and there was a survivor who told us their story and we spent a whole week in Oświęcim working on a project and spend a lot of time in both camps for research. We learnt so much and it shaped us all it was a really impressive time and i am still so grateful that we got the chance to do this.

5. Spending time with my Aupair friends in Norway especially all the Sunday afternoons in espresso house, Kristiansand in winter (not to recommend but we made the best out of it) skiing together, our the voice evenings, evenings at the German Church, tacco kveld, 17.Mai and so on

[handsofdarkness]

WITHIN TEMPTATION's SHARON DEN ADEL: How 'Religious Parties Trying To Change Laws' Inspired Lyrics For 'Don't Pray For Me'

WITHIN TEMPTATION's Sharon Den Adel spoke to Rock Sound about the lyrical inspiration for the band's recent single "Don't Pray For Me". She said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I wrote an essay a year back about, for International Women's Day, for one of the metal magazines here in the U.K. And they asked me, like, 'Okay, you can talk about anything.' So I just took a subject, and I chose abortion, actually. And I really dive into it, and it was more, like, 'Okay, how does it really go about in different countries?' And I saw laws changing in Poland, especially religious parties trying to change laws, so people can't have sex education in schools anymore, but also they can't have an abortion, even in the most worst cases. And it's changing all over the world, also in America. I felt a little bit I had just been watching 'The Handmaid's Tale'. [Laughs] So just thinking how there are a lot of similarities about a lot of things, and also a lot of differences, of course. But it just made me wanna write about religion in the first place, because of the fact that people are always telling other people how to live. And abortion is just one of those things. But it's a lot of things in a lot of countries that I go to, touring."

She continued: "I feel like a lot of kids have a really hard time growing up, trying to be who they wanna be. And I think it starts really before they're born, like what kind of circumstances do you get, the chances like anyone else you get, a loving family. Were you welcomed when you were born? Those kinds of things; it's very important. People telling you what to be and who to be and what to believe, it just puts a real stamp on your life, I think, and it can really take the air out of life also. The song is about, don't tell me what to believe, don't tell me what to do, let everybody be free. That would be nice for people in the end, especially kids when they're growing up and you give them the space to think for themselves."

When "Don't Pray For Me" was first released in July, Sharon stated about the track: "'Don't Pray For Me' strives against forcing beliefs and fears onto others and bears witness to being acceptive of everyone's own journey. It is an anthem about coming to terms with the fact that beliefs can be fluid, multiple or, frankly, different. The song is about allowing people to pursue their own destiny."

[chemblrish]

Hey, First of all, I love your blog. It's literally aesthetic ~ I wanted to ask if you considered job prospects before deciding on your degree because I see people around me saying chem is not worth it because of future possibilities. I also have a background in Biotechnology, but had a similar issue with it being too vague. I am working in a totally different field which I am greatful for but I dont plan on staying here long term. Seeing your blog rekindled my interest in chem so would love to know your point of view on this or any advice you could offer. You can totally ignore this if you want as well <3

[This got SO LONG omg 🙈 But I hope it can be helpful]

Hi there fellow chem enthusiast!

To be honest, it's no secret that finding a job in the scientific field is difficult here in Poland. I was fully aware of it when I chose biotech first and then chemistry second. My reasoning back then was, "I love science more than anything and, since I have the opportunity to study it literally for free, why not take it? Why not spend five years - that are going to come and go anyway - learning something I'm passionate about, broadening my knowledge, and giving myself a chance to create a beautiful future for myself? Even if I fail to get a job in science, at least I will know that I tried my best. I'll have spent five precious years of my life doing something incredible."

Which may sound a little depressing, I agree 😅 But several years later, I still think this way. Even if I can't get a job in chemistry once I graduate, at least I'm so, so happy now. I can't really picture myself doing anything that's not science-related, so I know I have to try.

But at the same time, after a couple of years studying for two different science degrees, I have some insight that I didn't have straight after high school. I have had people tell me getting a science degree isn't worth it too, that I won't get a job afterwards, but I've noticed most of those people belonged to one of the following three categories:

1. People who have absolutely nothing to do with science: distant relatives working in business or trade, my parents' acquaintances with no higher education, everybody who ~has heard things~ but has never really been in the position to see firsthand how these things work.

2. My fellow science majors who have older friends with a science degree: their concerns usually sounded valid to me. After all, they were in touch with people who actually got the degree in question and then tried to navigate the job market post-graduation. Later though I realized a lot of those people belonged to the third category.

3. Science students who honestly don't know what tf they're doing - a category that I like to divide into two subcategories:

a. well-meaning but lost students who really need guidance

b. people who went to uni because eh why not but who don't really care and who refuse to put in the work.

I definitely belonged to category 3a at the very beginning of my uni journey, so there's no shame in that. I'm a first gen uni student, so I had to figure everything out all by myself as I went.

The thing is, I got to talk to a lot of people who complained that a science degree is useless while doing pretty much nothing to sharpen their skills. They floated through uni as if it was nothing but another chore they had to cross out of their to-do list, barely passing, having zero interest in their field of study, not taking any opportunities that were literally out there. No extracurriculars, no internships, no side projects, nothing. Is it surprising at all these people struggle to find a job in science afterwards?

Don't get me wrong, nobody has full control over their life - sometimes you just get lucky. My friend's friend (lol) needed to take a break from uni after his BSc and got a job in an analytical lab straight away. But most often you just really have to work your butt off to get what you want. The people from my old uni who truly cared about biotech worked extremely hard to get to where they are now: with published papers and working with their profs. Harsh as it may sound, I now know that if I don't want to be one of those people with a """useless""" science degree, I have to do more than is expected of me. I have to put my introverted, anxious self out there, because being passive probably won't get me anywhere.

The people who love you and care about you mean well when they say chemistry isn't worth it, but that doesn't mean they're right. Similarly, people who graduate with a science degree and then struggle to get a job aren't all slackers who just didn't try hard enough - that's absolutely not true. Life isn't always what we want it to be. I wouldn't exactly feel comfortable giving you advice since I'm still in uni, but I can tell you my experience, and my experience is people who know what they want and who are willing to work very hard for it, usually get it.

I'd say this is also no secret but it tends to float over people's heads (no shame in this either, it's hard to imagine your whole future when you're like 20) that when your profs tell you to do more, they're being serious. When they say doing extra is important, they're right.

So, I believe in all this stuff and I work hard and I got myself an internship, and will this get me a job in chemistry? I don't know! I've no idea! Maybe I'll fail miserably! Maybe I'll be one of those people who genuinely try hard and then just happen to be really unlucky! But right now I'm doing everything that's in my power not to let that happen. I can't guarantee you success in the scientific field - nobody can - but I can tell you hard work, determination, and faith in yourself increase your chances of succeeding dramatically. It's a cliche, I'm aware, but if you never try, you never know. You only get one precious chance to experience living on this floating rock and everything that comes with it. Why not try to make it good?

[eucmh]

1/422/106-ID - Forced March (Mohn) The Fate of the American POWs of the 106-ID)

Source Document: Forced March Major John P. Mohn, HQ Co, 1st Battalion, 422nd Infantry Regiment, 106th Infantry Division

Forced March, from Schoenberg - St Vith (Battle of the Bulge, Belgium) to Berchtesgaden in Germany, is the Prisoner of War memoir of the 1200-mile forced march done by Maj John J. Mohn, Hq Co, 1st Battalion, 442nd Infantry Regiment, 106th Infantry Division, Golden Lion and has been extracted from a book published in Canton, Ohio, USA and printed by PPi Graphics, also in Canton Ohio, (ISBN-13:978-08-9863465-5-2). Being a friend of Mandy Altimus Pond, Maj John J. Mohn's granddaughter, we talked about the publishing of this book on the EUCMH Website and agreed that this work would be a great way to render honor to Maj John J. Mohn and the terrible period he experienced while being one American Prisoner of War in Nazi Germany during the last year of WW-2. Before starting with the text, I would like the reader to notice that combat photos from a surrendered unit in the combat zone don't exist, especially with the 422 and the 423-IRs of the 106-ID. On the morning of Dec 16, 1944, these two infantry regiments, were trapped between two German main axes of penetration; on their front, elements of the 5.Panzer-Army (Manteufeul) coming from Blieaf in Germany and heading to St Vith and on their rear, elements of the 6.Panzer-Army (Dietrich) coming from Lanzerath and Manderfeld heading to Liège via St Vith, didn't give a one of a chance to these two Regimental Combat Teams (422 and 423) which once cut off, without supply, couldn't withdraw in any direction. These men combated up to the last cartridge, then destroyed all their guns, machine guns, and rifles, and finally surrendered. Dedication To my wonderful wife, Cheri, and loving daughter, Debora Mohn Altimus; without whose prodding and encouragement this book would never have been written. And to my son-in-law Richard Altimus who assisted in the computer editing of this book. Editor's Note: Additional thanks to my granddaughter, Mandy Altimus Pond, who helped me with the publishing of her grandpa's book. Maj John J. Mohn, 1/442-IR, 106-ID

Foreword When WW II's Battle of the Bulge began with a surprise German attack on Dec 16, 1944, troops of the US 106th Infantry Division occupied the most exposed American positions. They had been in the European continent for less than two weeks and cut off from reinforcements, were left to face the German onslaught alone. They fought back, standing their ground, but as their ammunition; food and medical supplies dwindled and the enemy noose drew tighter, over 7000 were ordered by their commanding officers to surrender to the surrounding German forces. Except for the Bataan Death March, this was the largest surrender of American troops during WW II. Maj Mohn, of Akron, Ohio, the author of this book, was the Operations Officer of the 1/422-IR. He was a citizen-soldier who had volunteered to join the Army as a private in 1941. This is the story of his 1200-mile odyssey as a prisoner of war to the far reaches of the Nazi empire during which he and his fellow soldiers were starved, frozen, bombed, and shot. Because the Germans were unprepared to absorb a massive influx of American POWs and had little space to house them, Maj Mohn's imprisonment became an almost continuous five-month march through the collapsing and chaotic Third Reich. Initially, he was sent to a camp for American officers over 500 miles away from Poland. He

arrived there only to be marched out of the camp a few days later when the Russian forces broke through the German lines around Warsaw. Seeing the prisoners as a potential bargaining chip and intent on keeping them out of Russian hands, the Germans forced the Americans to make a harrowing march westward across rural Poland and Germany in the dead of winter just ahead of pursuing Soviet forces. After this month-and-a-half ordeal, the prisoners finally arrived at the Hammelburg POW Camp in northern Bavaria, only about 100 miles away from where they started. Two weeks later this camp was attacked and briefly captured by a Task Force of Patton's 3-A. The Germans, however, soon recaptured the camp and immediately sent Maj Mohn and the other prisoners on another dangerous march which ended at the Austrian border five weeks later they were liberated by American troops. Through it all, Maj Mohn preserved and returned to the USA where he underwent treatment and rehabilitation for injuries he had suffered as a prisoner of war. he returned to civilian life and developed a highly successful career as a psychologist. But his remarkable experiences in the military never quite left him. Eventually, he put words to paper and the result is the archive you are about to read - one of the very few accounts of this type ever to have been published. More than just a narrative of his experiences as a POW in Nazi Germany, it is a testament to the indomitable spirit of the US soldiers and a reminder to all of us of the sacrifices they made to preserve our freedom. Before the Battle of the Bulge - Mandy Altimus Pond

About 1937, while attending Akron University, John Mohn took Reserve Officers' Training Corps. John had no desire to become an officer, but by the end of his training, he had reached the rank of 2nd Lieutenant. In preparation for what appeared to be an inevitable world conflict, Congress passed the Selective Service Act in 1940. This was the first peacetime conscription in US history. Enacted in September 1940, this act required men between 21 and 35 years of age to register with local draft boards. Men were drafted by a lottery system and were required to serve for twelve months. After that year was completed, John was told he would be draft-free and not required to sign up, should a war arise. On Feb 4, 1941, John decided to enlist for this program and join the Navy. He drove to Cleveland, entered the Armory, and began the process. He took the written test, passed the physical, and was about to be sworn in when the commanding officer at the Armory said that John's teeth protruded too much and they would not accept him. John stated in an interview that 'this is stupid' and went to the other end of the Armory and enlisted in the Army. At this moment he could have enlisted as a 2nd Lieutenant because of his ROTC training. It slipped his mind and he enlisted as a Private.

John was assigned to the 37-ID at Camp Shelby, Mississippi. He volunteered for the Signal Company (Teletype) and the day after he signed up, the teletype was discontinued, so he was reassigned to supply in the Signal Company and was sent to Indiantown Gap Pa. On Dec 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and the next day upon request from President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Congress declared war on Japan and their ally Germany. This canceled the draft-free status that John had signed up for, as he had not completed his twelve months of training. His division was scheduled to board a ship headed to the Pacific Theater of the war, but the boat blew up before they could head out.

John was then sent to Fort Benning, Georgia, for officer training from February through April 1942. In late 1942, he was sent to Camp Forest and assigned to the 80-ID for a year. He became CO Fox Co, 1/319-IR, 80-ID. His division was in charge of clearing trees in the mountains in preparation for war games, training men in firing artillery, and surviving in realistic battle situations. John was in charge of the logistics and planning for the war games.

The 80-ID was then incorporated into the 106-ID. John was reassigned as Bn OP Officer and sent to Camp Atterbury, Indiana, and assigned to Hq Co, 1/422-IR, 106-ID. John reached the rank of Captain and was told that he was the youngest Captain in the Division. As Operations Officer, he was in charge of logistics for troop movements. He staged a large 3000-troop parade in Indianapolis in 1944. After our advance movement order was in, we received new equipment, turned in motor vehicles, and did what training we could at odd intervals. Finally, in September we moved by rail to Camp Myles Standish at Taunton, Mass. This place was known as a staging area where life reached the maximum of not letting anyone know anything at all. We existed on a monotonous routine of rumors until the day we redoubled our tracks, returned to New York, boarded the RMS Aquitania, and departed for Gourock, Scotland, on Oct 21, 1944. The 423-IR with various attached units arrived Oct 27, and the 422 and 424-IRs arrived Oct 28 with the artillery and some special units. We moved then to England where we were deployed in one of the most interesting and certainly the most beautiful parts of this country, the Cotswold section of the midlands. The 422-IR was stationed some 12 miles west and northwest of Oxford, the 424-IR near Banbury of Banbury Cross fame, and the 423-IR, and the Division Artillery near Cheltenham and Gloucester respectively. Division headquarters and special units were located centrally in this 200-square-mile area.

We remained in England preparing for an expected early crossing of the Channel. Between Nov 30 and Dec 1, the Golden Lions embarked on the long slow fifty-mile trip from Southampton to cross the Channel. We disembarked at Le Havre and at Rouen, a town about one-third of the way up the Seine toward Paris, and went into a bivouac in deep mud in the open fields in a cold drizzling rain, between the Dec 1/8.

During these days liaison officers from the 1-A headquarters arrived at odd intervals with conflicting and inconsistent sets of orders, so that during 48 hours we were assigned to three different corps in as many separate locations. Fortunately, troops and staff were arriving in unrelated groups as the weather and the Navy allowed them ashore so that no damage was done except to my disposition. The final messenger appeared on Dec 6 with instructions for us to leave for the St Vith area in Belgium. The first combat team to move, left the area on Dec 8, followed by the others as rapidly as possible. Upon arrival, we were to relieve the 2-ID, then in a defensive position, as part of the VIII Corps whose headquarters was then at Bastogne. Troops being in the throes of landing after a rough winter crossing, staffs only partly present and maps few and far between, our move to the battlefield was a rather remarkable one and highly successful despite its discomfort. The route carried us nearly 300 miles through Amiens, Cambrai, and Maubeuge in France to Philippeville in Belgium. After an overnight bivouac in extra deep mud near the latter town, we passed through Marche and the villages of eastern Belgium to the vicinity of St Vith, arriving during the period Dec 9/15. The relief of the 2-ID's weary troops stationed along the quiet German border in the Belgian Ardennes Forest commenced on Dec 11, and was completed on Dec 13, responsibility for the defense of the sector passing to me on Dec 12. The troops of the Indian head Division assured the men of the Golden Lion Division that there would be little action on this hilly terrain in the middle of winter. Edward P. McHugh

Preface - Maj John J. Mohn It was Dec 16, 1944, somewhere along the Siegfried Line near St Vith, Belgium. The German counter-attack that would later be referred to as the Battle of the Bulge had begun. The gray, foggy dawn made a perfect umbrella for the German launching of an onslaught that nearly cost the Allies World War Two. What happened at the Battle of the Bulge may be a well-known story but none of the stories make any reference to the group of American Soldiers taken prisoner at that time and marched for 140 continuous days covering over 1200 long, cold, starvation-ridden, nightmare miles, terminated only by the end of the war in Europe. Adversity is a mild term to describe the unbearable hardships endured by the ever-changing, ever-diminishing column of men. Temperatures dropped to ten degrees below zero (22°F). There were periods of fifteen days without a single bite of food. All suffered a phenomenal loss of weight (I weighed 65 pounds by the time of the liberation). We had inadequate clothing; many were without hats or gloves and at times no shoes. It was especially brutal for the poor Army Air Corpsmen who were only wearing thermal boots with no soles for walking when they were shot down and captured. The journey was marked by frozen feet, legs, arms, faces, and even blood trails. Treachery, deceit, and fear are just feeble attempts to put into words the anger, horror, anguish, and despair felt by these military men.

The ordeal that the approximately 7000 US soldiers endured between Dec 16/44 and May 2/45 can only be epitomized by saying that a scant thirty of the original group even reached liberation as a unit. Losses of men beyond belief resulted from attempts at escape, exposure, starvation, the sadism of the German Guards, and being strafed daily by our own and Allied planes. My book is not intended as a condemnation of the German People or Army but does make reference to differing attitudes and treatment by the Wehrmacht, to whom I owe a debt of gratitude for being alive, and the Elite SS Troops, who were constantly threatening our lives with attempts to exterminate us with machine guns and failed to provide even the most basic of necessities for our daily maintenance. The German High Command seemed at a loss as to what to do with so many prisoners and lacked a plan regarding the disposition of us. The result was a wandering march covering three countries with no apparent purpose, with a final goal of holding us as hostages in Berchtesgaden at the end of the war. The consequences for us, as Prisoners of War, were painfully clear. The facts and sequences of events I know first-hand because I was there from the beginning to the end. I saw dramatic changes in attitudes, values, behavior, and beliefs. Hidden strengths and weaknesses in the struggle for survival were surprising and at times frightening, but the salient factor through it all was that survival is 'All-Important' and that the 'Veneer of Civilization' is extremely thin.

December 16, the Horror Begins I couldn't help being reminded of that famous poem by Rudyard Kipling 'The Charge of the Light Brigade' on that fateful, foggy, grey, cold, drizzling morning Dec 16, 1944. The difference was that instead of 'cannons' noted in the poem, we had German tanks to the left of us, tanks to the right of us, tanks in front of us, and tanks behind us. To 'charge' ahead would have been to go down the steep slope of an evergreen-covered mountain. The landscape was so much like the mountain areas of Pennsylvania that it was hard to remember that we were in a foreign country fighting a very serious war. Even more seriously, we were surrounded and annihilated by German Panzer Divisions from the left and right of us. German artillery from the front was terrible enough but, to our dismay, the Germans had captured our artillery and were using our guns to fire upon us from the rear. When we called for supporting fire, they were aiming at us instead of their troops. Our Battalion Commander, Col Thomas Kent was killed by a shell coming in from the rear of our 'Pillbox' command post. At first, we thought our artillerymen were firing short of their target, but when we heard the German voice on our radio, we realized the awful truth - we were literally at their mercy. The divide-and-conquer strategy used in the German attack had been completely unexpected and effective. Read the full article

[demonfox38]

Completed: Ys I: Ancient Ys Vanished

Place your bets on how many times I mention the words "Zelda" and "salmon" in this evaluation.

One term may be self-explanatory. The other…you'll find out.

I think I've been exposed to a fair amount of video games. If I've beaten hundreds of games, it's only because I've played thousands. What's limited my ability to fully experience as many video games as possible? Well, time and money are obvious restrictions. I'd put my nationality as a strong third contender. Which, yes, you're allowed to call bullshit on that, what with my nationality being American and all. I didn't have to go through half of the shit that someone from Brazil, Poland, or Russia had to just to play a damn video game. But, my tastes are Japanese, tainted Nintendo-red from the recovery of the home console market in the 1980s. Even with as much cultural and fiscal exchange that goes on between Japan and the United States, there are still going to be keystones and touchpoints that I am going to miss. Influences, spectral as they are, that I want to discover.

The "Ys" series is one such case.

I don't have sales figures for "Ys I: Ancient Ys Vanished." I can't definitively say that this series has influenced dozens of video games that I have enjoyed. What I can do is point at certain scenes within the game and go, "Shit, Nintendo ripped this part off in "The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past."" The amounts of ports this title has received over the years may also be a good indicator that "Ys I" was a darling of the 1980s Japanese home computer market. The PC-88 seemed like a good home for the title, but it damn well didn't stay there. Hopping to the MSX2, MS-DOS, X68000, TurboGrafix-16, Sega Master System, Nintendo Famicom, PlayStation Portable, and the gosh darn Steam market is testament to just how far this game has gone over the years. Hell, that's not even half of the consoles and computers this game has turned up on. It's a Blanche Devereaux of video games—old, present in more places you think, and enjoyed by a surprising amount of people.

"Ys I" (and the series at large) stars Adol Christin, a man driven by a salmon-like instinct to dive face-first into danger the first chance he gets. Such reckless behavior leaves him shipwrecked on an island after managing to plow through a wall of storms that has killed everyone else that has dared to cross it. (You are free to check off "Link's Awakening" from your "Potential Zelda Games Ys Influenced" bingo card.) After recovering from his little escapade, Adol plunges head-first again into the troubles of the island, seeking the goddesses that seemingly have left the island abandoned, as well as six tomes containing the great knowledge and destruction of the mighty civilization Ys that fell long ago. Who else seeks these tomes? Where are all of these demons coming from? Why does this island have so many blue-haired chicks, and why does Steam want to give me three achievements for harassing one of them?

Look, I don't think the original game was designed by delinquent perverts. Whoever made the achievement list might have been, though.

As you may suspect, a lot of how I understand "Ys I"'s design is through my understanding of "The Legend of Zelda" and its subsequent games. Is that a fair comparison to make? Well, they are roughly the same age, one being published in 1986 and the other in 1987. Different systems, sure. Same environment. It's not like "The Legend of Zelda" is the be-all, end-all of top-down fantasy action games. But, more games of this build are likely to emulate "Zelda" than "Ys," even when I talk about "Ys" being an influential younger sibling plot-wise to the former's later titles. If we want to be a bit more diverse, we can throw "Hydlide" into the mix. But, there's always a danger with having an American talk about "Hydlide." Especially, if they don't put that game's age into context!

Look, it's way fairer to compare games from 1986 and 1987 than games from 1984 and 1987. Three years of difference then is like decades of difference now. People and technology evolved that fast. The Japanese economy and Moore's law were amazing like that.

Because I am familiar with the "Zelda" game style, "Ys I" was initially difficult for me. (Okay, it was extremely difficult at two specific points later in the game, but let's just start with the initial play style.) See, one important design detail about "The Legend of Zelda" is that its main hero is left-handed. This helps a player center their shots, often putting them square with their foes. Adol, as you may have guessed, is not Link. Adol is a "Dungeons and Dragons" rogue in a weapon and armor set that should be way too heavy for him. His modus operandi is to crash into an enemy's back or sides, slamming in that flanking bonus for all its worth. He is not a salmon jumping into a bear's mouth (although, I suppose he is that narratively.) He is a salmon plinking off the side of a bear until it inexplicably explodes.

This style of fighting can feel messy to a "Zelda" veteran. It's not something that can't be overcome, but it does require some study. However, it does feel more natural than the "hold A to go offensive / release A to defend yourself" situation that "Hydlide" had going on. At least, a person is way more likely to figure out "Ys I" naturally than they would "Hydlide." I guess playing "Ys I" after "The Legend of Zelda" is a bit like learning how to drive a car with a manual stick, then being given an automatic car. Like, sure, the automatic is simpler. But, if you're used to taking control, you'll feel uncomfortable having that control removed from you. At least, a bit on ice.

I don't know how "Hydlide" fits into that analogy. Maybe it's like going from a manual car to a car that operates on "Red Light Green Light" rules, but you don't figure that out before crashing it into an electrical pole.

Don't expect much in terms of combat evolution with "Ys I." The tools that Adol gets are meant more for hocking or trespassing than any changes in how you attack. There's no bow or boomerang to give him some range. If you get a weapon, it's just another sword with more power. Nothing much outside of a little numerical boost. (Okay, a power bonus, and actually allowing damage on two bosses, but we'll…we'll get to those damn bosses.)

Everything comes down to you hauling ass into combat, then tearing Adol's ass back out. The poor boy has almost no invincibility frames to speak of, so it's very easy to make silver sashimi out of him if you aren't careful. While he does have some automatic health recovery, it requires him to be still and either in an open area or using a particular ring that you get later in the game. Sure, you can pop a healing potion from time to time. Just maybe not when you'd need it, like in a damn boss fight!

Seriously, man. What's up with that? Do you need to set out the fine china before you can take a sippy, Adol? That's very un-salmon-like behavior of you.

Because so much of the combat revolves around this hit-and-run style of swordplay, a lot of the boss design and tactics will devolve into "run at that guy the first chance you get" and "run in circles until you can stab that guy." About the only major curveball the game throws at you with this is requiring silver equipment for precisely two bosses. These bosses are also infuriating in the "Ys I" variant I played. Like, I easily spent 20-30 minutes killing a boss that only takes a minute to kill when done correctly. It's never a good sign when you open up an FAQ only for it to go "LOL, good luck." It got to the point where I had to mute the game just so that I would stop getting distracted by the awesome music. That's what these bosses did to me. They drove me into committing audio felonies.

Now, this boss issue is something I lay at the feet of the designers for the "Ys I" variant I played (the Chronicles+ Steam port.) See, when I look at PC-88 footage for these bosses, I don't see the particle hell that I had to endure. Even other ports aren't as aggressive as the Chronicles+ version. I don't know if someone had bullet hell brain rot or wanted to throw as many projectiles on screen as possible just for a computational flex, but man, was it aggravating. 

If everything about "Ys I" was as frustrating and repulsive as those bosses, the game wouldn't have survived past its inaugural entry. Lucky for it, the game has a lot of things going for it aesthetically. The game puts a great deal of effort into its character portraits and sprite work, blending top-down action with full portraits like something out of a visual novel. It can be a remarkably peaceful game to look at. Like, I did end up taking breaks while digging through an abandoned mine or a massive tower's annex just to admire what little sunlight came down upon gently swaying bridges. The Chronicles+ version is at least pretty. I'll give it that! Even the original release has its charms with its sprite work. Frankly, I think the main screen and final boss portraits look better in the PC-88 version, if for nothing else than for the feelings of imaginary nostalgia and subtle chills I get looking at them.

While "Ys I" doesn't have the most complex plot in the world, it was certainly leaps and bounds ahead of most games from the 1980s. The game puts a great amount of effort into its NPCs, giving several their own portrait artwork and side quests. Hell, in the Chronicles+ version, you even get an achievement for talking to everybody. While never being fully conclusive on the exact nitty-gritty of Ys' fall, it's clear to understand what has happened to this place, as well as its goddesses. There are a lot of games that run Shintoism through European trappings, sure. Multitudes of goddesses, talking to sacred trees, sometimes getting swords out of them—I can think of at least two "Zelda"s and two "Tales" RPGs that work with the same tropes. However, this was one of the first games to do this, and it did it very well. There were at least two twists that I didn't see coming, one of which was quite shocking. Half of it was me not assuming that all brunets are related, sure. The other half? Well, let's just say I got more of a response out of it than when a certain "Final Fantasy" character got notoriously shafted.

The best quality of "Ys I", by far, is its soundtrack. I'm not kidding when I say this is how I was originally exposed to the game. A lot of what I listen to while working is video game soundtracks from the 1980s and 1990s. When this came up in my recommendations, I definitely took note of it. When it's not being eerie and mystical, it's driving with that sort of intensity rarely seen outside of late 80s/early 90s Japanese rock. If you are a synth fan, you owe it to yourself to listen to it. At least, give it three and a half minutes.

Hell, if you need a professional recommendation: former Capcom sound designer and current music professor / bird aficionado Hideaki Utsumi owns at least two variants of this game. I would imagine he would be much better at articulating how awesome this soundtrack and its programming is than I would.

As an additional note—one of the original composers for this game (Yuzo Koshiro) went on to make his own audio company, as well as contributed to a crapton of additional video games. (Not that Mieko Ishikawa is a slouch! She's holding the "Ys" series and other Nihon Falcom titles down just fine.) The particular interest I have with Mr. Koshiro is his contributions to "Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin." Like, yeah, the "Kid Icarus Uprising" stuff is mildly interesting, and anyone who is anyone in the Japanese video game music industry has ended up in a "Super Smash Bros." soundtrack at some point. But, ya know. I might like "Castlevania" a little bit. I could easily see his work slotting right into that series. (Or, hear, I guess.) Frankly, I'm surprised he wasn't called in to do more.

And, hey—if you're looking for more soundtracks that the pair worked on, check out "Sorcerian." Really confuse your YouTube recommendations. (Unless you're already on whatever pulse wave I'm already surfing, I guess! Then, I'm certain it's easy for us to shoot soundtracks we've both already heard to each other.)

I am curious about the limited amount of animation used by the Chronicles+ version of "Ys I." Originally, the animated intro was what made me think this game was based on a re-release set on the first PlayStation console. (I suppose it could have been a PlayStation 2 re-release as well.) It's a lovely intro! I dig it. I just don't know why the ending didn't have that quality to match it. I mean, I guess a still image was all the original "Ys I" had as well. It just feels weird to not have that same effort extended to the ending—especially, after all the effort I put into getting to it.   

Maybe the "Ys II" ending has a bit more going on with it.

I may have one or two ways to find that out…

I'm left in a weird place with "Ys I." It was mostly a good experience, but when it was bad, it was godawful. I can't imagine most modern gamers would have the patience or undead ego it requires to beat either of the bastard bosses I mentioned before. It's only 9 hours if you're going in raw, but man, will you come out raw in at least one of those hours. If you need a test of your ability to overcome absolute bullshit, then I guess you can give the Steam version a try. Honestly? I'm more prone to recommend an older version, even without my having played the older versions. The PC-88 version at least looks like something an average human could have beaten. At least, something that would have become a mind worm to the general development of games that followed in its wake. The Chronicles+ version…man, I don't know. At least don't pay full price for that. Especially not when my recommended solution would be…let's just say, not using any silver. Running black flags to ruin magical black capes.

Honestly, Adol should have just jacked that cape like Dorothy Gale and the Ruby and/or Silver Slippers. Clearly, its previous owner isn't getting any more use out of it. Might have been a pain in the ass to wash out and mend after the stupid sword fight, though.