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pepsi-beat · 4 years

Text

chapter 1. the prey

pairing: Din Djarin x fem!Reader

series title: The Way

word count: 2,8K

warnings: angst maybe?, The Mandalorian s2 finale spoilers, canon typical violence, blood and injuries, 3rd person pov, Din Djarin pov, lack of “Y/N”, reader is called “Girl”, amnesia, reader's species is unknown, a little ooc Din Djarin

summary: Greef Karga assured him it was an easy job. Find a woman. Get her to the husband she ran away from. And that's it. But... not exactly.

a/n: Hello there! I’m pretty new when it comes to writing and publishing here. I hope you like what I have for you. I write it so I could get away from my uni responsibilities. I don’t know if I can finish this, but I really liked idea. So we will see.

Chapter 1

THE PREY

Naboo. A sparsely populated planet located in the Mid Rim in the Chommell sector of the Naboo system. Occupied the third position in the system, provides a standard gravity and breathable atmosphere. It had three moons.

Naboo was known for its natural and cultural values. The inhabitants were famous for their beautiful, perfectly refined products that made an impression throughout the galaxy. People did well here, the place has always seemed completely cut off from the rest of the Galaxy. Slow, free, peaceful.

Din wasn’t used to chasing his victims in places like Naboo. Usually he had to wade through the Outer Rim Territories. Through inhospitable and harsh planets, where survival required quite a bit of cunning or a deep pocket stuffed with credits.

He landed a Dragonfly on a meadow covered with lush green grass and colorful flowers. He turned off the engines, put the computer to it hibernate mode, then he turned with a soft sigh to the co-pilot's seat. His heart tightened with fear as he found it empty. But before he could jump up from his seat and start searching, he painfully remembered that it didn't make sense. His throat tightened with regret, and he walked briskly through the cockpit and then through the hull to the stern, where he made his way out.

Two months have passed since the events on the Imperial cruiser. Two extremely long and surprisingly lonely months.

As the Jedi departed, taking Grogu with him, Din had to deal with the issue of the Darksaber. Bo-Katan refused to take it and Din refused to keep it. Finally, they decided to duel. Bo-Katan chose a time and place – some deserted rocky planet. Din knew that if he had given up the fight, the Mandalorian woman would have been offended and wouldn’t have taken that damned saber. On the other hand, he was reluctant to fight the woman, but he quickly realized that all his fears were baseless.

Bo-Katan was highly trained warrior, so the fight was levelised. It took a long time, but in the end the woman fairly won, becoming the new ruler of Mandalore. Before they finally departed, she asked him one more time to join her.

Din refused, but promised that if she needed his help, he would come back. Then Boba Fett left him and Cara on Nevarro, where the marshal kept her word. She called for New Republic, who took Moff Gideon and Din received his prize. Credits. Lots of credits. Suddenly, he became so rich that he could easilly to buy a ship, weapons, and substitute the equipment he had lost with the Razor Crest. And he still has some left.

The Dragonfly was a good ship. Pre-Empire, but was still newer than Razor Crest. After many modifications and modernizations, it could easily compete with newer models. Unlike the Crest, it was much more slender and more agile. The Dragonfly was oblong with a tiny but comfortable kitchenette, refresher, workshop, small armory, several bunks, couches, and a lot of space. The Dragonfly had so much space that Din was uncomfortable. However, he bought this ship, because of all the trouble Cara had gone to find it.

Then, he went back to work as a bounty hunter. He felt that he had to fill the void in his heart with something and returning to hunting seemed to be the best solution in his situation.

Of course, Din visited his tribe's old hideout, but found only useless equipment. The Armorer had left Nevarro some time ago and Din had no idea where she might have gone. So he promised to himself, he would find another Mandalorian’s hideout, but it was easier said than done. Especially after the long time he spent on the run with Grogu.

Din put the beskar spear in its place and returned to the hull. He reached for the control panel, the durasteel door swung open and the platform touched the ground.

Naboo was… different. Brighter, happier, more vivid than any other planet he had ever seen. The colors were more intense, the sun was warmer, the wind was kinder and gentler and the animals were fearless as if they never met a human before and never been hurt by their hands. Naboo was so different that he wanted to take off his helmet and take a deep breath. Get some fresh air, not the air he was breathing through the filters.

Din checked the tracker, the last coordinates of his target and compared it with his current position.

It didn't take long. An hour, maybe two. During this time, he managed to find the X-Wing with which his target had undoubtedly arrived. It was good news. The bad news was that there was another ship in the meadow besides the X-Wing. Din didn't recognize it, but he knew who it belongs anyway. To another bounty hunter. And that was bad news.

He analyzed the footprints. Those belonging to the target were a bit older, unlike those belonging to the bounty hunter.

Blaster shots. Female screams. Din's body reacted instinctively. In one quick move he pulled the blaster from his belt, then ran where the sounds were coming from. The direction coincided with the footprints.

He ran between the trees. The shots stopped, but the closer he got, the better he could hear the conversation. He distinguished between the frightened woman speaking in the basic and the squawk of a Rodian. Finally Din ran into a small clearing. He froze with a blaster aimed at the Rodian when the bounty hunter spotted him and shouted in Rodese.

"Calm down" said Din. ”I'm in the Guild.”

Suca Chodasso, the target by which Din had ventured as far as Naboo, knelt weeping among flowers. She was holding another woman's body in her arms, pressing her face against the hollow of her own neck. The target threaded herfingers into the deceased's disheveled hair. After each sentence she spoke, her mouth touched the top of the girl’s head.

The Rodian said something in Rodese again, but this time he was addressing Suca Chodasso. But he was so nervous that Din found it hard to understand him.

"I have nothing! I didn't steal anything! " Suca called back. Her voice was trembling and her hands were shaking.

It was uncomfortable situation. He tracked down his target, used a lot of fuel to reach Naboo and yet he wasn't the first. There were such situations, but he was still upset that someone else had received the puck.

As the Rodian addressed him urgently, Din sighed so softly that the vocoder couldn’t register it. He nodded, but his eyes went to the crying Suca. She must have felt his gaze as she tore her eyes away from her companion's face and turned her head toward him. Her eyes seemed to be begging him to do something, but Din's hands were tied.

He turned on his heel as there was a soft moan. Din stopped and looked over his shoulder. The girl he had considered to be dead before, moved slightly. She slowly raised one of her limp hands and touched her temples with her fingers. Suca Chodasso looked at her in horror. She leaned in slightly, possibly saying something in her companion's ear, but Din's attention was absorbed by the Radian's next words.

"Leave her! She has nothing to do with it! " Suca sobbed. She bent over the girl, covering her with her body as the Rodian was about to shoot.

Din's blaster smoked slightly as the Rodian's body fell onto the grass. The Mandalorian turned to the huddled women, but he already knew he was late.

Due to Suca's position, when she shielded her companion, the laser pierced the top of her head, passed through her neck and spine. Her body lay pitifully with a smoky, nasty wound that made even Din grimace.

Quick, shallow breaths, which the Mandalorian recognized as signs of an impending panic attack, brought him back. He walked over to Suca Chodasso's body and pushed her unceremoniously aside.

"Easy now," he said. "Take it easy, girl."

The girl didn't even look at him. Her wide eyes stared at the sky. She was gasping for air through her mouth in gusts like someone who was choking. Her face and chest were stained with red blood stains.

Din frowned at the large gash on the girl's temple and the bullet hole on her arm. Right above the heart. The blood that flowed from the wounds was very thick, silver and pearly.

"You’re safe now."

The girl stopped breathing. She froze in an unnatural stillness that worried Din, but as soon as his hand touched her shoulder, she moved again. The girl closed her mouth and eyes and began to breathe calmly. Very calmly. Way too slow.

"Girl?"

"Who are you?"

She looked at him… weirdly. Din couldn't tell what it was, but something was clearly wrong with her. She had pretty eyes, but at the same time they were cold, as if they belonged to a dead man.

The Mandalorian stepped back a bit. He helped the girl get to a sitting position, but he didn't say a word as she looked around. Din flexed all his muscles in preparation for what was to come. He expected screams, crying, and accusations. He had expected the girl to panic, attack him, but she… was calm.

She looked at the dead Suca Chodasso for a long time. She touched her face, then ran her fingers over her own temple as if looking for something there. But she found nothing. Even her wound was on the other side of her face.

"Girl?"

She looked reluctantly at Din. The bounty hunter held out three fingers.

"How many fingers do you see?"

"Three."

He repeated the test two more times and the girl answered well each time.

"What's your name?"

Girl opened her mouth, but said nothing. Only then did panic spread across her face.

She looked at something over Din's shoulder, but before the Mandalorian could say anything, he was thrown to the ground. He heard the sound of a blaster laser hitting a durasteel, so he rolled over, picked up his gun and aimed it. He aimed blindly at first, but as another shot bounced off his chestplate, he knew where to shoot. After a moment, he heard a heavy body fall to the ground, so he rose to his feet.

The girl groaned in pain or surprise. Din looked at her and saw her hand tighten on her arm, more of this weird thick silver blood leaking from between her fingers.

"Wait here," he said. Before the girl could reply, Din was already on his way to the shooting direction.

It was another bounty hunter. Din found the tracker in his pocket. Useless because the target was already dead. But still. The tracker.

The Mandalorian frowned. It was also suspicious. Greef Karga assured him it was an easy job. Find a woman. Get her to the husband she ran away from. And that's it. Even the prize offered for her screamed an easy going.

Din wasn’t interested in why Suca Chodasso was escaping at all, and he never thought about it. Only looking at his target holding this girl in her arms made begin to wonder if it was some kind of scandalous romance. He was willing to believe it.

If it werent for the Rodian's allegations or for the third bounty hunter. Another puck. Another tracker.

He had seen it once before. When he had pledged to track down Grog some time ago and then had bounty hunters on his tail. When he got involved in the affairs of the Jedi and the Empire. He was done. He didn't want to play it again, so a part of him was even glad that the target was no longer alive.

He trow the tracker away, then returned to the girl. She sat curled up where he had left her. Her face in her hands. She sobbed, shook. Hearing his footsteps, she sobbed a little softer, as if she was holding back. Then she wiped the tears with her hands, but that only smeared her silver blood over her skin. She watched as Din knelt beside her and reached a hand to her injured arm.

She must have been hit when she threw Din to the ground. She saved him even though she didn't have to.

"You're hurt…”

"I don't know who I am," she whispered at the same moment. There were even more tears in her eyes. Wide with fear. "I-I don't know. I don’t know. Who am I? My mind is blank.”

She gasped like a wounded animal and hid her face in her hands again. Din could only watch her silently and wonder.

Was she lying to protect herself? Did she know something about the Rodian's allegations, even though Suca Chodasso had clearly stated in her last words that it had nothing to do with her? So why was she protecting him from the shot, then? Wouldn't it have been better for her if Din had died?

Or maybe she really didn't remember? She had been hurt in the head, but it was just a scratch. Not life threatening and certainly not the cause of memory loss. On the other hand, Din knew that people fell ill. He was aware that some of the weak psyche displace more painful events from their memories. But…

He could only watch, bewildered, until he painfully realized the gravity of the situation he was in.

If there were three trackers, there could be more. More bounty hunters might be on the way.

He sighed heavily. He reached for the cape and touched with it the wound on the girl’s head. She jumped back and Din held his hands out in front of him as a sign of peace.

"You're hurt. I want to wipe your blood and see if it's serious.”

But the girl wouldn't let him. She grabbed his hands and squeezed tight. Din wouldn't expect such strength from her.

"Tell me ... W-Who am I? Who is she? Why is she d-dead? Who are you? A-Are you okay? Does anything hurt you? You were shot! Stars! Why were you being shot at?”

Din blinked quickly. He knew his face showed shock and disbelief, which was why he was so grateful for the helmet he had to wear.

"They didn't shoot at me," he said finally, when the girl's insistent gaze became unbearable. "You were.”

"M-Me?” She whispered, her voice breaking.

She released Din's hands and began to back away until she found Suca Chodasso's body. She started to breathe spasmodically, but Din didn't have time for that. He got up. He glanced at Suca Chodasso, thought for a moment what he should do and then walked toward his ship.

"Wait!" The panicked girl exclaimed. "Don’t leave me! Please!”

"I'm done with babysitting.”

"Please!”

Something in her voice made Din suddenly believe her. He stopped. Turned slowly until he came face her. She seemed lost, scared… As if she really didn't know what was going on.

Maybe she was just a victim? Maybe she was an ordinary inhabitant of Naboo and Suca Chodasso met her by chance? Maybe she asked for help and this poor girl agreed to help, not knowing what she write on? Maybe she really didn't know who she was? She was shocked. Suddenly she found herself in the middle of a shootout between three bounty hunters. Din could believe it was too much for her.

He made a decision.

He walked over to the girl and held out his hand. She stared at him with terrified eyes, but didn't hesitate. Din helped her up from the grass, then walked over to Suca Chodasso's body, which he slung over his shoulder. Then he began to head towards the ship again.

"Why… Why are you taking her?” The girl asked with panic in her voice.

Din suppressed a sigh.

"She's wanted. Alive or dead, you will receive a reward for her head.”

"Me?”

This time Din sighed loudly. He wasn't happy with the fact that he had to explain himself.

"I don't know what you remember about what happened. But I didn't get her. The bounty hunter who tracked her down is dead. You probably know her, so you will get money as compensation.”

It was cruel. Din knew this, but he had no idea what else to do. So far, this seemed to be the best solution.

He really couldn't take the money for Suca Chodasso. It wouldn't be fair, so he might as well give it to the girl who was definitely the first to deal with the target. And if she ever remembers that she knew her… well. Din hoped to be very far away from the girl then.

The girl fell silent. She really didn't make any sounds. She moved noiselessly, causing Din to keep checking to see if she was following him. But she was there. She walked, wrapping her arms around herself, staring at the toes of her shoes. She was dirty, beaten, wounded. She looked pathetic.

And to think that he should have learned long time ago to not take seemingly easy jobs. They are the most problematic ones.

#din djarin x female reader #din djarin x reader #din djarin x you #din djarin imagine #mando x reader #mando x you #mando x fem!reader #din djarin x fem!reader #reader insert #star wars x reader #the mandalorian x reader #star wars imagine #the mandalorian imagine #female reader #x reader

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ikilledamoth · 3 years

Text

'How I thought my boyfriend was dead for three years straight.'

Hi.

So this post might be incoherent, a mess and also also might not be of interest to anyone but I want to write it down and let it out.

I am not a good writer so the timeline might be a mess especially since its been years after some events and my memory tends to fail me.

I'll try to document as much information as I can here but there might be gaps. The post might also be quite long.

Before I start, trigger warnings for:

depression, suicide mention, drug and alcohol abuse mention, abusive family mention.

1: Introduction to Past.

I used to be here on a different account however, I've lost access to it. (old email, no longer remember it, it's been years after all and I never thought I'll use this app again.)

My boyfriend's name on here was @slightly-depressed-niko-boy. Do excuse the content there as it's rather depressive, having been written in a quite bad period of time for him.

Niko is neurodivergent and at the time of using this app (2017) pretty mentally ill, and been in a rather abusive household for his whole life. His parents are physically and mentally abusive. They have always been extremely manipulative and controlled his life to the point where... Well... He had basically no autonomy. They were in control of his social media at many points, controlled his devices, forced him to stay at home at most times and cherrypicked who he was and was not allowed to speak to and hang out with. Whilst doing all that, they still managed to trick most people into thinking that they were a rather picture perfect family. Pretty nasty people.

As you may notice, I'm writing in a present tense.

2: Last Events.

In 2017, I was lead to believe that Niko died.

It was all almost too masterfully planned, really. I had no reason to believe that it was fake. I was at the scene when things happened, as well and had no reason to deny the claims made by Niko's family, combined with what I saw.

To anyone that I lead astray and made believe that Niko was gone: I am truly, truly and genuinely sorry.

I would never try to lie to anyone about something like this. I knew how much he meant to his friends and I would never try to hurt them by confirming he was gone. I believed that it was true and I was devastated at the time myself. I felt my whole world falling apart, I did. I had no reason to think that it might not be true.

I have never had any malicious intentions.

Niko had to go inpatient due to what I was informed was an OD. And what I was told was a su¡c¡d€ attempt. Later, I was informed by his parents it was a successful one.

At the time, I felt devastated. I was not thinking clearly, being too hurt to be rational. I did not notice all the red flags and the sketchy manner in which Niko's parents behaved. I did not realise that they might have had ulterior motives. I was dealing with grief, having lost a friend of many years and someone that I truly loved.

Given that it all happened about four years ago, I do not remember much details. I tried recalling things but due to the traumatic nature of those events, I was left grasping at the little bits that I can still remember. I can't remember many details, or who I spoke to at the time. In fact, couple of years ago I managed to forget about all of that, somewhat. To a degree.

I could never forget my boyfriend and years I've spent with him, of course, but with all happening in life, I managed to move on enough that details of those traumatic days turned into a blur.

However, that changed in September 2020. Three years after the events.

3: Introduction to Present.

At that point, I have moved out of my old house and no longer associated myself with the area where Niko and I used to live.

As I would like to keep some privacy, I'm not going to mention details of locations and institutions where I went, etc, however I will mention that I went to a university in a completely new town.

I did not know many people here, besides those that I met online during freshers events and whatnot. It was a fresh start, in a way.

In many ways, I am no longer the same person I was in 2017, and I'd like to ask people that knew me back then to try not to fully associate me with whoever I was back then. I'd like to also apologise if I've ever done anything that could have been of harm to anyone for I was just a kid, thinking that the world's a bit of a playground. I'd like to ask people to give me a chance to introduce myself properly as me, and not that person from the past, who functioned as nothing else but a romantic partner of someone online.

But I digress.

4: First Encounter.

Weeks past, and I began to meet new people, explore new areas, visit new places. One of friends from my course added me to a groupchat where we could get to know each other all a bit better. The group consisted of way too many people, so I wasn't the most active there, however it was a bit of a mix of different people. Not limited to my course, or even, as I'd soon find out uni.

And that's when I saw a familiar name that caught my attention.

You know, there are plenty of people sharing names and surnames. The world is so big after all. I didn't think much of it at first, because well... After all, Niko I knew was long gone.

Not.

Curiosity spiked, I started talking, wanting to double check if that person I saw in the groupchat was really a stranger.

I did a bit of digging and given it's almost five in the morning as I'm writing it, I'm not going to go into much detail, just yet. (might edit this post later, I just want to post it as soon as I can)

It's not that difficult in the digital age, really. Everything is kind of... Out here for you to take in.

That's when I found out, my boyfriend never died.

5: The Lies.

I know all of this sounds crazy, but I need you to listen. In a span of few weeks, I realised that past years of my life were a lie. That my grief was unnecessary. That my pain was created because someone tried to intimidate and scare me and anyone that Niko was ever close to.

At first, I felt cheated. I felt like my best friend faked his own death, but he did not. He did not, and I need people to know that he did nothing wrong, and in fact, after all these years needs more help than ever.

I want to reach out to people that were friends with him, ever spoke to him briefly. And also reach out to those who knew nothing about him and tell you : Niko is alive, but he is not safe and sound. And I am all alone in this mess, and I need some help. I need support from people that knew him. I need support from people that might care. Because I can't do it alone.

That's what the current situation looks like:

Niko's parents forcibly put him inpatient for longer than necessary to make his friends believe he was dead. They took his electronics and made him lose access to his old accounts by getting rid of his old phone number. They cut him off from the outside world. They threatened to hurt him and used intimidation tactics to make him cooperate and turn him into a doll in all of this.

I was told they put down his cat as a punishment for unknown reasons and after months of his hospitalisation, moved towns for again, unknown reasons. Niko was then homeschooled due to his, apparently, unwell mental state. He had no access to the outside world. No more social media, school friends, nothing. He was cut off in the world that made everyone else think he was dead. And they succeeded. Even I firmly believed that Niko was gone. And I feel deeply ashamed to admit it. I feel like I failed him and many of his friends by not investigating further, however I was still a kid at the time and there wasn't much I could do. I didn't think the situation was as messed up as it was.

After years of being under almost a complete supervision and a suicide watch even, Niko continues to be controlled by his parents, despite being an adult that deserves autonomy. I can explain the situation further in messages.

Even though I managed to speak to him again, after all these years of thinking he was gone, every time he seemed like there was someone listening, watching over his shoulder.

6: The Present.

I am currently formulating a plan to free Niko from the abuse that he is experiencing with his family. I need to get money to do so, therefore it's nothing I can do instantly, however I've been reaching out to various foundations to see what can be done. My current plan is to find a way to transport Niko out of his house into a temporary accommodation where he can stay away from his parents, ideally with someone who can help him stay safe. I need money for that, though, as accommodations, even emergency ones can be quite pricy if you're not on benefits.

As its very late right now, I'm ending this post right here. However I will edit and update it when I can and I just want to let it out into the world. Sorry for keeping it so long. If you read so far-thank you.

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rareandbeautifulthing · 5 years

Text

Hey fellow fanpeople! I’m hoping some of you might want to participate in a study about fandoms I’ve gotten the opportunity to do. I’m at Uni to become a high school English teacher, and having been a fanfic reader/writer for years, I’m excited to use it in my classroom. I’m doing a research project about fandoms, so if you’d be willing to participate, the link (and a lot more information) is here: Lessons from Fandom It’s just a questionnaire that mostly asks about your experience in fandoms, and a little bit about your experiences in high school (if you have any). Your responses can’t be traced back to you, so no worries on that end - the IP address tracker on the questionnaire is even disabled - so no one (including me) will know whether or not you participate or what your answers are.

By the way, minors typically wouldn’t be able to participate in research without parental consent, but since some of us-myself included-are more ourselves online than we can be in person (and because one of the things I love about fandom is that it’s not ageist), I’ve gotten a waiver for this so that anyone who wants to participate can, without having to involve parents. (Though you’re welcome to tell your parents about it, of course!) However, due to Federal Trade Commission regulations, you must be at least 13 years old to participate.

All ages and levels of fandom experience are welcome. The only prerequisite is that you consider yourself to be in a fandom. Since a few of the questions are about high school experiences, experience as a student in a high school classroom will help, but it’s not necessary for participation.

Like I said, no one (including me) will know whether or not you do it, so no pressure. But I really hope to get enough participants to move forward with my project, so please consider it! I think you’ll find it fun. It’s like a whole string of asks :)

I’ll post the whole consent document below the cut - it’s also the information you’ll see when you first click on the link to the questionnaire, which is here: Lessons from Fandom

If you have any questions, DM me or email me or my supervising professor (contact info is in the consent document below).

Also, if you reblog this I will love you forever. A lot of you have a lot more followers than I do, so it would help me out tremendously. The more participation I have, the better.

Department of Research Compliance

9201 University City Boulevard, Charlotte, NC 28223-0001

Consent to be Part of a Research Study

Title of the Project: Lessons from Fandom

Principal Investigator: Amy Crew, University of North Carolina - Charlotte

Faculty Advisor: JuliAnna Ávila, PhD, University of North Carolina - Charlotte

You are invited to participate in a research study. Participation in this research study is voluntary. The information provided is to help you decide whether or not to participate. If you have any questions, please ask.

Important Information You Need to Know

The purpose of this study is to learn how individual participants in online fandoms perceive the power dynamics (i.e. who is in charge/who has the most power?) of those fandoms and in high school classrooms. This study will allow the researchers to gain more clarity into how fandoms operate, how various elements of fandoms are perceived, and which aspects are most significant to participants, which will to guide their conclusions regarding fandom practices being brought into high school classrooms.

You will be asked to complete a questionnaire which consists of 17 questions that relate to your experiences in fandom and in high school. Most of the questions require written responses.

If you choose to participate, it will require approximately 30 minutes of your time. It may take you more or less time, depending on how thoroughly you choose to answer the questions.

It is possible you may experience emotional discomfort while completing the questionnaire, especially if you have had negative experiences in either fandoms or high school. Apart from the question asking about your age, you may skip any question that makes you uncomfortable or that you do not wish to answer.

While completing this questionnaire will not provide any direct benefit to you, it could benefit adolescents in the future by encouraging classroom environments which are based on mutual respect and creativity.

If you choose not to participate, you may exit the questionnaire at any time without submitting it. The questionnaire is set up so that there will be no identifying information collected other than age and preferred pronouns (we ask your pronouns so that we can use them correctly if we reference a comment you make in our report on the study). IP addresses will not be tracked, so even a computer expert will not be able to determine that you completed the questionnaire or what your answers are. Neither the investigators nor anyone else will know whether you have completed the questionnaire, or be able to track your responses back to you.

Please read this information and ask any questions you may have before you decide whether to participate in this research study.

Why are we doing this study?

The purpose of this study is to learn more about how fandoms “work” so that aspects of fandom can potentially be applied in high school classrooms. The principal investigator has been an active participant in various fandoms for over ten years, and is a high school educator (currently student teaching). She would like to learn more about how, and whether, some of the practices of fandom could be used in high school classrooms. The results of this research will be analyzed and discussed in a chapter of an upcoming book on critical digital literacy and education.

Why are you being asked to be in this research study?

You are being asked to be in this study because you are a participant in fandom and (ideally) have had experience in high school.

What will happen if you take part in this study?

If you take part in this study, your responses will become a part of the growing body of knowledge about critical digital literacy and participatory (fandom) culture. However, your responses will not be traced back to you. We will not collect any identifying data about you other than your age and preferred pronouns (so that we can use correct pronouns if we reference a comment you make). Your IP address will not be tracked.

Clause for minors

If you are under the age of consent (which varies depending on location, but is commonly age 18), it is important that you are aware that typically, your parents or guardians would need to provide consent for you to take part in research. However, the investigators understand that many minors take part in fandoms without their parents’ or guardians’ knowledge, and that some of the content of those fandoms or the texts they are based on may not be acceptable to some parents/guardians. For this reason, and because participation in this study is considered “minimal risk” (i.e. it is highly unlikely that answering these questions will cause you any harm), the investigators have obtained a waiver of parental consent. This means that, should you choose to participate, you may do so without your parents’/guardians’ knowledge or consent. If you choose to share your participation with your parents/guardians, that is entirely up to you. To comply with Federal Trade Commission regulations, however, participants must be age 13 or older.

How will my information be protected?

We plan to publish the results of this study in a book. To protect your privacy we will not include any information that could identify you. The confidentiality of the research data will be maintained because we have disabled IP address tracking in this questionnaire and will not ask you any questions which could identify you other than your age and preferred pronouns. You may choose to indirectly identify yourself (for instance by mentioning the title of a fanfiction piece you have published), but this data will not be included in the publication of the research. (In the example given, the investigators would change the name of your fanfiction piece or reword your statement so that the title is not included.) If you indirectly identify yourself, the principal investigator may recognize your identity through her own participation in fandom; however, this information will not be disclosed to anyone else.

How will my information be used after the study is over?

After this study is complete, the information could be used for future research studies or distributed to another investigator for future research studies, or may be used in future publications or presentations, without additional informed consent. Again, there will be no identifying information attached to the information. The data we share will NOT include information that could identify you other than age, country of residence, and your preferred pronouns (for instance, we may say something along the lines of “A nineteen-year-old in the United States who is a participant in a fandom based on a fantasy YA novel said…”).

Who can profit from this study?

The investigators may profit financially from the sale of publications which include information from this study.

What are my rights if I take part in this study?

It is up to you to decide to be in this research study. Participating in this study is voluntary. Even if you decide to be part of the study now, you may change your mind and stop at any time. Other than the question about your age, you do not have to answer any questions you do not want to answer. It is acceptable to submit your questionnaire without answering all the questions. You may exit out of the questionnaire at any time without submitting it. Once you have submitted it, you will not be able to un-submit and we will not be able to withdraw your responses since we will not know who you are. The only way to retract your responses will be to contact the investigators and reveal which responses were yours. Should you do this, your responses will no longer be confidential; however, the investigators will delete the data you have requested to the best of their ability.

Who can answer my questions about this study and my rights as a participant?

For questions about this research, you may contact the principal investigator Amy Crew at [email protected] or via direct message in Tumblr [Tumblr username provided] or Twitter [Twitter username provided], and/or her faculty advisor Dr. JuliAnna Ávila at [email protected].

If you have questions about your rights as a research participant, or wish to obtain information, ask questions, or discuss any concerns about this study with someone other than the researcher(s), please contact the Office of Research Compliance at 704-687-1871 or [email protected].

@jsmae @sharkmartini @thehoneyedhufflepuff @pitchonthepitch @pitchpatronus @carryonbazpitch @carryonsimoncarryonbaz @dancingwdinosaurs @manicmagicat @vkelleyart @basic-banshee @simonsrosebud @kinkybazsmolsnow @magicath04 @basilton-tyrannus @krisrix @bazzledazzlepitches @snowbazshipper @moonllotus @one-grimm-bitch @alex-claremont-diaz @ineffablehorsemen @aziraphale-crowley-are-ineffable @pipsqueakparker @angelsfalling16 @penpanoply @neck-mole @the-ronan-cycle @warriorbeeofthesea @dreamkinglynch @sharkandegg

#fandom

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studyingatyork · 5 years

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My top 10 (student friendly!) cafés in York ☕

There are definitely a lot of places to grab coffee in York. The city is famous for Betty’s Tea Rooms, but let’s be real, you’re not going to visit Betty’s more than once. If you do, I really envy the maintenance loan you must be getting. You definitely have to try a Yorkshire pudding wrap at the York Roast Co. at some point - they taste as good as they look in that viral Facebook video. But these are the places that you’ll actually be visiting after you’ve spent an afternoon shopping in town, and you fancy a hot drink and some lunch or cake.

Coffee Culture

Location: Goodramgate

This is where I always take friends and family when they visit York: the place guaranteed to make them say “Oooh, this is lovely!” when the food arrives. A lot of cafés in York have a kind of indy, hispter vibe, with narrow, old-fashioned rooms and winding staircases, but Coffee Culture does it best. There are three floors in the cafe, so you often have a floor to yourself, which makes for a nice, secluded atmosphere if you’re having a catch-up with a friend. I can recommend the paninis and the milkshakes.

Fossgate Social

Location: Fossgate

This place is a firm student favourite. The atmosphere is very relaxed, and great for studying, especially if you can get a seat on the first floor. The cake is tasty, and the staff are always super friendly (they’ve let me stay to finish an essay more than a few times after my tea has gone cold).

Gatehouse Coffee

Location: Walmgate

This café is a little further out of town than the rest, but still one of my favourites, for several reasons. Located on Walmgate, between town and UoY, Gatehouse is popular with students because it’s only a short walk from one of the main student housing areas (including the house where I will be living for third year). Moreover, Gatehouse Coffee is actually built within the medieval gatehouse, which connects to the city walls, and is pretty cool if you’re into history or architecture. This is another place that I’d recommend if you want to study, but fancy a change of scenery from the inside of the uni library. The food is a little cheaper than most of the other cafes on this list, which is always a plus.

Cosy Time

Location: Fossgate

This is probably the most Instagram-able café on this list, which is impressive, considering that York really specialises in aesthetically pleasing cafés. Cosy Time, however, is especially pretty, and I personally enjoy the food here the most (although it’s definitely a close tie with Coffee Culture) as it’s always tasty and filling. Very aptly named: very cosy.

Burr

Location: Near the Museum Gardens

This is another place that I end up taking visitors quite often. This little gem is tucked away next to a Costa, but I’d much rather go here. Burr offers a lovely range of food for either breakfast or lunch.

Sandwitches

Location: Near the Shambles

Supposedly located in one of York’s (many) haunted buildings in the Shambles, Sandwitches is actually very warm and friendly, with good food. There are so many of these small, pretty, independent cafés in York that it’s difficult to express the same sentiment over and over again, but Sandwitches is a very pleasant place to spend an afternoon (although given its popularity and location, it can get busy pretty quickly!).

The Cat’s Whiskers

Location: Goodramgate

York’s new cat café is a wonderful addition to the city. The cats here are utterly precious - plus, I was served the biggest chunk of cake that I’ve ever eaten in my life. The entry fee is £7 and you have to book a slot in advance online, but it’s 100% worth it, especially if you find yourself missing your pet from back home. Savoury food is not served here, only cake and drinks. I definitely recommend the vegan raspberry and vanilla cake, and the rocky road.

Alcuin Kitchen

Location: West Campus, University of York

Most of the campus bars and cafés are well known by UoY students, but I think Alcuin Kitchen deserves a special mention. I feel as Alcuin Kitchen could host almost any kind of social occasion. I’ve met with professors, talked to student mentors, studied, held group project meetings, attended a seminar, and been on a date all in the same café (although not at the same time). Definitely my favourite of the campus eateries, even if they don’t do card payments. Also, those bagels are delicious.

York Cocoa House

Location: ???

I feel obligated to give an honoury mention to this place, because their range of hot chocolates is amazing. But unfortunately, I think they’re relocating at the moment, and not currently open (please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong). My friend (who doesn’t usually like hot chocolate) was distraught when she thought they might have closed down, which tells you just how tasty the cocoa is here.

Waterstones Café

Location: Coney Street

"But why would I choose to go to a Waterstones café, with all the cool-sounding independent cafes on this list?” The answer is simple: not many people know about this little café, so it’s hardly ever as busy as York’s independent cafés (there’s a reason that Brew & Brownie isn’t on this list - because I’ve never managed to find a table in there!). When it’s 2pm on a Saturday and every other cafe in York is full to the brim with a queue out of the door, Waterstones café will be there for you. Me and my friends have spent many afternoons chatting over a pot of tea and browsing all the books that we wished we had time to read, instead of doing our actual course reading.

Originally posted 03/04/2018

#university of york #york #studyingatyork

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ayediosmila-blog · 5 years

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hi everyone i’m mini, i’m excited to play my new muse with everyone! as always, i wrote way to much, welp. if you get through this you’re a champ!

(FEMALE. SHE/HER ) you know MILAGROS VENTURI, right? they’re TWENTY ONE and majoring in SCULPTURE/ARCHITECTURE? still nothing? well, they look exactly like BECKY G, so you can’t miss them. i’ve heard they’re really DEDICATED, but super MESSY too… it makes perfect sense that they’re a AQUARIUS. anyways, if you see them, tell them they left their PHONE in class and that i have it. ( mini, est, she/her, 23 )

Like this and i’ll im you to plot <3

⇢ STATS

FULL NAME: Milagros Antonia Rivera De Costa Venturi

PRONOUNCIATION: MEEEE-LAH-GROSS

NICKNAMES: millie, meels, mil, mila, shorty,

AGE: 21

D.O.B : January 25th 1998

HEIGHT: 5′0

OCCUPATION: barista

ZODIAC SIGN : Aquarius

SEXUALITY: bisexual

NATIONALITY: American

ETHNICITY: Mexican

BIRTHPLACE: oaxaca, mexico

CURRENT LOCATION: new york city, new york / seattle washington

LANGUAGE SPOKER: english, italian, portuguese, and spanish

⇢ ORIGINS

So milagros was actually born in oaxaca, mexico, but she was given up to her aunt who eventually gave her up to the officials.

mila was moved to different adoption agencies, and at two years old she ended up in one in mexico city where she met her parents.

It wasn’t long after until mila moved to the USA, ending up in new york with her new family.

Marco and Claudia Venturi were already parents to 6 boys - who were closer to being men at the point milagros showed up. One thing they didn’t have was a girl, and since they couldn’t get it the old fashioned way, they decided to just adopt instead. They had the means to do it anyway.

Marco Venturi is a retired politician, he’s had a very reputable career, and now since his retirement he works a lot with habitat for humanity and his ultimate goal is for inclusive spaces.

Claudia De Costa Venturi is a fashion designer with a known reputation in europe, her brand DCVenturi became popular in the american market as well

The family lived in New York, New York City most of the time, but both Marco and Claudia wanted their kids to see the world, so they travelled often, and it became easier since a lot of their kids were older, so the only ones that would go where the younger ones.

If you were to ask Milagros what she remembered from Mexico, it wouldn’t be much. Growing up she didn’t feel different from her siblings, and her parents never made her feel like she ever was either. her parents didnt even want milagros to forget where she was really from, so often they would go on trips with her to mexico, and decided to keep her original name.

⇢ BACKGROUND

to this day, milagros hates her long name, it’s super difficult to fill in on documents and it’s annoying when it comes to having fill out forms. She often goes by Mila, but Millie would be the second most nickname for her

she went to the best schools, often private where they had the uniforms, it was sort of a gossip girl situation with her growing up, except she was captain of the cheer team, and she was on other things like track team, prom committee, drama club, art club, music club. she was involved a lot because her parents put her in a lot of extracurriculars out of school too.

because her parents are influential, millie’s been on a couple papers, she loves to get dressed for night outs. fashion week is exciting for her, and she definitely sometimes got caught not in her best by random strangers.

Besides her parents, she’s had to deal with the lives of her brothers, and they’ve all come out successful whether it’s owning a restaurant, being some kind of YouTuber, or even an everyday teacher. not to mention it sucked being the youngest and a girl with so many older brothers.

the Venturi kids had everything at their disposal, and as you can see, millie’s only problem was figuring out what she wanted.

you’d think millie knew what she wanted, right? not at all. honestly for her a lot of what she was doing was bc her parents made her.

when millie turned 18, she decided she wanted to reconnect with her biological parents alone, and as much as it made her parents uncomfortable, they agree to let her go alone. So for a few months, she lived in Mexico, with her cousin because alone didnt meant alone alone lol

millie met her real parents, and that in itself was emotional. for the rest of her time in mexico she learned about the culture, the people, it was a big game changer for her.

she knew that she was different than her family, she saw it growing up, and there ofc were people who would tell her, in a way she went into a bit of an identity crisis.

⇢ POST-SECONDARY/PERSONALITY/NOW

She didn’t want to live in New York much anymore, kinda tired of a super busy city so she decided to go to somerset in seattle washington for sculpture and architecture.

her parents were surprised since millie could have gone to any school in the state, ivy league even.

even if she got into somerset a, she actually deferred for a year, so she’s only been at somerset for 2 years.

millie decided on sculpture and architecture because she lives the idea of designing buildings and homes. after uni she wants to go abroad and help construct homes for those who can barely afford it, or somehow work together with Habitat for Humanity.

in her free time she really likes doing pottery, often you can catch her at uni after hours in the labs doing something.

besides there, you can find her in a coffee shop nearby the university called Second Cup. it’s not like she needs money since her parents fought her to pay everything for her - mila just wanted to work, so she does as a barista and it’s really the only time she’s the most social. catch her doing some cute latte art with your drinks cos she’s bored.

mila fortunately lives alone but she’s barely there, so the living room is spotless but her work room, cos ofc she lives in a two bedroom but she lives alone, sdfkjsadk her work room is what she calls ‘an organized mess’ and it’s where she’ll have her supplies and models.

millie is very much go with the flow and down with everything when she’s not busy working or doing school stuff

she was very much involved in high school, and in uni she’s.. half involved? she’s a part of some clubs but not rlly, most of her time is spent in art labs or sketching in the library

she had a bit of a wild youth, and now she’s kind of chill but if you were to get her drunk, she’s a fun dumb, says really stupid stuff and laughs at everything. she kinda just wants to hug everyone.

ppl call her perfect cos she has money, knows how to do a lot of things and millie hates it bc she has her own insecurities too

sometimes she can get snarky, especially if you’re on her bad side. she loves to argue, and even when she knows she’s wrong, she’s right. no questions.

don’t hate her but she’s forgetful asf if it’s about everyday things.

her favourite holiday is winter, she loves ice skating, snow, hot chocolate, peppermint. catch her apartment already have a christmas tree up while some christmas lifetime movie is on tv lol

she’s pretty much a sweetheart unless you piss her off lolol she’d love to pick someone’s brain over a cup of coffee.

if you give her a reason to dress up she loves it, if she has no reason you can catch her in sweats, especially if it’s cold outside.

when it comes to relationships, they were always hard for her since she wasn’t sure if they liked her for her money, her status or to gain some connection to her family. she’s dated people who are both rich or poor, and so far she’s unimpressed with everyone lol

her friends are.. a lot bc she’s rlly not picky with who she’s friends with when she probably should.

⇢PLOT IDEAS/CONNECTIONS

neighbours!

met at a drunk and turn out to be in the same class

cousin!

childhood friend

exes good and bad

coworkers

could have met in the library,

study group/study buddy

maybe they met at some club

a connection where one is using the other

crush

fwb?

just

evERYTHING

but honestly i want all the plots!!

#ill be back after walking my dog #but here have this #im sorry it's long dfkjghdjgdf #somerintro

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soulflamesketches · 5 years

Text

Almost a Mirror (Short Story)

Summary: A lone human crash survivor is found by a race of aliens known as the Kakoreans and brought in for recovery. They wake up under their care, cautious but curious of the room and world around them. The survivor is visited by the one that discovered them often. Over time, Elion grows on the human. Turns out Humans and Kakoreans aren't that different.

Feedbacks and reblogs are always appreciated!

~~~

Kakoro (Ka-Ko-rou) - Referring to the Planet.

Kakoreans (Ka-Ko-rou-ree-ins)- Species on the Planet Kakoro.

Elion (El-ee-on) - Character Name.

Serephant (Sarah-fant) - Referring to the Aquatic variety of Kakoreans.

Saharamph (Se-ha-ra-emph) - Referring to the Desert variety of Kakoreans.

Draykle (Dray-kel) - Referring to the Arctic variety of Kakoreans.

Wyrmtain (Worm-tain) - Referring to the Mountain variety of Kakoreans.

Alphein (Al-fein) - Referring to the Planetary capital of Kakoro

~~~

The crash was a scattering of fragments in my head. A blur that I couldn’t focus on. The details in my memory resurfaced when ‘they’ found me. Now, here I am. Sitting on a comfortable bed, like the ones back in the hospitals of Earth. Perhaps a little bigger to accommodate the natives. The natives ‘here’ were far more common than a stray human being like me. This WHOLE event was not what I expected - maybe I watched too many alien movies as a kid.

You tell me: what do you predict would happen if aliens found you as the lone survivor? If you watched all those Hollywood movies, you might expect to be experimented on. Even probed. This would not be the case. These… aliens simply brought me ‘here,’ wherever ‘here’ is. ‘Kakoro’ was the name given to me, albeit hesitantly, when I enquired the whereabouts of my present location.

Knock! Knock!

A small shriek escaped my throat as I leapt into a sitting position. “Careful!” Yelled a voice from the entrance. Too late, the pain shot through me like the static shocks my brother used to attack me with as kids. He would rub his socks on the carpet, before proceeding to poke me with his finger, sending a zap of currents along my skin. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I even knocked this time!” Panicked the alien as she rushed over to me.

Oh yeah, that’s Elion. According to the doctor alien, she was the captain of the group that found me. She’s been visiting me ever since she brought me here. I’m still unsure of how to react while she’s with me. I’m still unsure of how to describe her, I’ve seen so many differences between them: Different types of scales, different appendages like wings and fins...

“I know, I know…” I growled with grit teeth, clenching my side. My grip slowly released when Elion placed her hands gently on my back and arm. The hand on my back rubbing in small circles. Just like Dad did whenever I scraped my knee, except I was tense here. “You better hope you didn’t pull your stitches,” Elion warned, lifting the fabric covering it to check.

All I could do was stare at her while she observed my wound. Most of her body was covered in small green and blue fish-like scales, all varied in their tone and shade. Pink skin emerged from the scales to make her underbelly and the bulk of her face. When I asked, they told me that she was part of the aquatic variants of the entire species. Hence why she had fin-like appendages on her back, hands and ears. Seeing Elion’s ‘unique’ features were hard to process - especially with high school biology classes failing to teach about alien life forms.

“Alright, you’re fine.” Elion’s voice broke my train of thought and my stare as I sheepishly looked away, silently hoping she didn’t notice my actions. “Sorry again.” She quickly added, her finned ears folding down like a hurt puppy. With a sigh, I placed a hand on her head, softly ruffling her short brown hair. “Stop apologising. I was in my own little world anyway,” I dismissed, offering her a small smile. She smiled in return, gently holding my wrist.

“Besides that little scare, how are you feeling?” She asked while letting go of my wrist, which I returned to rest upon my lap. “Alright, I guess? I still can’t get out of bed and I haven’t talked to anyone about the crash or my crew,” I tried to explain only to become jittery as I went. “I feel like I’m stuck - Which I am! I can only sit here! I don't have any input in the situation.” My head hung, my throat tightened while I frustratedly ranted to her.

“Give me a moment, I’ll be back, promise!” Elion said, dashing out of the room, the claws on her feet making small ‘tik tak’ sounds as she went.

Great, now I’m alone with my thoughts again. Another sigh left me as I shifted to lay down again, only for Elion to jump back into view with a dramatic exclamation of “I’m back!” before I could move an inch. I couldn’t help but chuckle at her, to think that I was terrified of this goofball when I first saw her. Eli grinned, seeming proud of the results she got. “Look at this! She can laugh!” Her laughter joined my own at our exchange. It’s like we were old friends from Uni.

Seemingly floating by her side was a transparent tablet screen that most of the official personal carry with them. I can only assume the purpose of the tablets. Taking her place at my side again, the tablet moved smoothly as it followed her and came to rest in her field of vision, she swiped across the tablet screen to summon a keypad containing the letters of their language. “You mentioned you were with a company, do you know where they are? I can attempt to contact them.”

“Really? I thought only an official could handle that,” My eyebrows knitted together as I questioned her, but she only smiled smugly “Dear little human, I am an official!” Eli declared, “Now what sector?” She questioned again. She tapped the keys in rapid succession with my words, her small claws making a small tap noise, much like the claw on her feet before. A galactic map appeared on the screen, zooming into the sector she typed, more notes in their language appearing on the side.

“And... there they are. This is the right ship?” Eli grabbed the tablet from the air and held it out to me. How the hell was this thing floating before!? It’s heavy! The screen then displayed the U.S.S. Victoria, the docking station that brought us all here. “Yeah, that’s it.” A sense of relief washed over me, glad that they were still there. The crash must have sent them into a frenzy, probably about the paperwork involved rather than finding me. “Fantastic! I’ll take this to the main com and we can call them over!”

I smiled. This was all going smoothly, was their whole planet like this? Were the others like this? I certainly hope so. I haven’t had a fun talk with anyone since I started my job. Everyone was so laser-focused on the job like their chairs had sticks to go up their asses. But Eli was so loose like her job was just second nature to her.

“Get some rest, I’ll be back tomorrow and I’ll even help you out of the bed, how does that sound?” Eli asked, wrapping her long arm around my shoulders. “Sounds like I’m an old lady who needs her walking stick,” I sighed, hitting her hand away when she reached up to pinch my cheek “You kinda do, squirt. I’ll see you tomorrow,” With that, she left my room. For once, I didn’t feel uncomfortable being in this room that was obviously too big for me. It felt like I fit right in for once…

~~~

“Wakey, Wakey, sleepyhead” I heard a sing-song voice above me while I shifted under the warm sheets. After a few more moments of refusing to move, Eli sighed and started poking me in the shoulder. “Come on, I know you’re awake. I can hear your thoughts.”

Jesus, it was like being woken up for school by mum every morning. Wait, did she just say she could hear my thoughts? “Yes, I did. Now get up. Let’s get you ready!” Eli laughed, now patting my shoulder. I opened my eyes to look up at the excited Kakorean. “What’s with the wake-up call? What time is it?” I inquired as I sat up in bed, rubbing my eyes clear of sleep.

“Uh, Earth time? About 9:30 in the morning.”

Well, at least it wasn't as early as I got up for work, which was 6 am every morning even if it was a weekend. We were barely given time off since we were stuck on the ship. Elion clapped her hands together before rubbing them together excitedly, like a villain from a James Bond movie. “Let’s get you dressed, I’m taking you out.”

“Wait, ‘out’? Where?” Fatigue seemed to disappear. Now, she had my attention and I was the excited puppy in the situation. Eli laughed again, ruffling my hair. “Outside! You’ve been in this room for too long. Time to explore!”

Eli proceeded to help me shift to the edge of the bed even though I didn’t need that much help. It wasn’t my legs that were injured. But it was the thought that counts, right? Well, apparently I was wrong, cause pain still shot through my side when I tried to walk. Thankfully Eli caught me whilst scolding me to be more careful.

“Can I get a wheelchair in here please?” Eli called out into the hallway. Said object was promptly brought over to her and I was placed onto the seat like a baby placed in its stroller. The seat size was not that much bigger than me, which was surprising.

After we both thanked the nurse, Eli guided the wheelchair out of the room. As we travelled through the hallways, I took in everything I could see. Mainly the people. Doctors, patients and visiting friends or family. The atmosphere was so warm, much warmer than the hospitals of Earth. I was hard to explain it as more than just that, but it felt like it deserved a Shakespeare length monologue to describe it.

Exiting the hospital, the light was initially blinding compared to the inside lights, I covered my eyes for a moment before peeking out again once my eyes had adjusted to the light. I sighed in content after I took in a breath of fresh air. “Don’t go falling asleep now, we’ve barely left the building,” Eli teased while she giggled.

“Welcome to Alphein. The capital of Kakoro.”

The city before me felt like the city of Melbourne in size, maybe it was even bigger, this planet is full of surprises after all. Some Kakoreans flew to their destination overhead while those without wings continued on the ground. “So some can fly and some can’t?” I asked curiously, looking over my shoulder to Eli as she pushed the wheelchair onto the path, joining the crowd.

“Yep. There are fours subspecies on our planet. After a continental divide millions of years ago, we had to evolve the different climates. Those lads flying overhead are most likely the Wyrmtains or the Mountain Kakorean. They evolved in the Hydran Peaks.” Eli pointed upwards to them as she explained.

Then she gestured to another winged Kakorean, but unlike the light-skinned Wyrmtain, this one had dark skin and sand coloured scales upon their skin. “They are a Saharamph, they evolved in the desert. The first Alpha was a Saharmph.” And she continued on like this about the last two subspecies.

The Draykle were the Arctic variety. They didn’t have wings or long ears, they were big and fluffy because they were built for the cold and often needed to trim when they had to spend some time in another region of the planet.

Last but not least were the Seraphant, or the Aquatics, just like Elion. Lean and strong to swim through the seas and a lot of fins.

“What’s an ‘Alpha’?” I raised an eyebrow. “A Leader. The leader of our species and our planet. There’s a long story behind the unification of our whole species and planet, it’s basically legend now.” Eli responded, her brown eyes nearly sparkling as she spoke. Like a child hearing their favourite bedtime story for the umpteenth time but was never tired of it. “I actually know the current Alpha. Deru’s a good friend of mine.”

“Oh really?”

“Yep! Now, enough about here. Tell me about the Earth. I’ve only been there once for a mission but that was in the ocean.” Eli stopped the wheelchair at a cafe table just before a beach. The view was beautiful. Sparkling crystal seawater trying to reach further and further up the coastline, but always stopping at the same point. Other Serephants young and old were playing on the beach or resting in the tidal water.

Eli sat on the seat across from me on the table, looking at me eager to hear what I had to say. “What do you want to hear about?” I asked, feeling like I was put on the spot. It was such a broad question that I didn’t know where to begin. “Anything, really. How about your childhood?” She suggested, trying to clarify what she was looking for.

I hummed, running a hand through my hair as I thought about my answer. “A typical day that I can recall would be during school holidays. My brother and I would just play outside for most of the day, only coming inside when mum told us to. Which was for food and then bed. I remember for lunch we had fish fingers a lot, mostly because it was the easiest thing to cook while also needing to watch us. Just put them in the oven to heat up,” I chuckled, remembering the laziness of mum in the past. I’d be the same though if I’m being honest.

“‘Fish Fingers’?” Eli tilted her head. “But Earth fish, from my research, do not have fingers. The only aquatic being with fingers on Earth is the…. Uh, the…. Damnit, what’s it called?” She tapped her temple lightly but furiously as she tried to find the word. She then snapped her fingers “Axolotl! That’s it!” She grinned, proud that she remembered the word.

Another chuckle escaped my throat while I took a moment to look over the scenery once more. The beaches were clean, without a spec of garbage. I wonder what the reefs were like under the waves, maybe it was like the Great Barrier Reef back home. Probably much more gorgeous ever since the reef started to decay a few years back. Maybe Earth could have been like this planet if we weren’t so careless.

Returning to Eli, I explained “They weren’t actual fingers, Li. They were called that because of their shape. They were just made of fish. Different types depending on the brand you got.” The kakorean nodded, acknowledging everything she was hearing. Her smile widened and she giggled to herself. “What is it?” I inquired, raising a brow at the alien.

“If they’re made out of fish, can I turn my brothers into fish fingers?” Eli leant against the table, nearly doubled over in laughter. I covered my mouth, trying to hold in the laughter that Elion wasn’t even trying to. Reminds me of the time I wished my brother was chop liver when he was an annoying tyke. “Does that make you the third fish finger then?” I teased with a smirk. Eli looked at me with feigned offence, a hand placed over her chest as if she was holding her heart.

Then, as if on cue, a scaly arm wrapped around Eli’s head, catching the female in a headlock while she struggled, trying to push the face of her assailant away. “Hey, sis! This the human you were talking about?” The aquatic male had a similar scale pattern to Elion, similar short brown hair and brown eyes. Must be one of the brothers she mentioned.

“Remi! Let go of me! Or I swear on the Alpha’s name, I will--” Eli was snapping at the male while still trying to shove away. But I was pulled from listening by a tap on my shoulder. On my other side was another aquatic male, but he looked just like the other one that was bothering Eli.

“Hello! I’m Tate, it’s lovely to meet you,” He held out his finned hand for a handshake, which I shook as I introduced myself in return. “We heard that she was taking for a walk and we just had to come by!” He grinned the same toothy grin as Eli. They like cheeky buggers, just like my own brother.

Tate and I looked back at Remi and Eli as they continued to squabble. Being out here felt like a day out with friends. I haven’t had that in a long time. These fish fingers made me feel like this was home. I could stay here forever...

~~~

“Tell me if you’re in pain, cause I’ll stop right away and let you rest-”

“Eli! I’m fine, just don’t let go of me please,”

“Only if you promise not to be too sweaty, we wouldn’t want you to slip,” The Aquatic Kakorean smirked, holding my hands securely as I gripped her scaled hands in return. “Oh, shut up!” We laughed as she slowly pulled me up from the bed. I was on my own two feet again, back in my uniform once again. They were waiting outside, it was time to leave Kakoro. But part of me didn’t want to. In the days after contacting the ship, Eli took me out of my room and taught me about the planet.

I met many people here, from all corners of the planet. Other Aquatics, Desert, Mountain and Arctic Kakoreans - or Serephant, Saharamph, Draykle and Wyrmtain as Eli explained. It was just like Earth’s nationalities. I’m glad Eli was the one to find me.

“Alright I’m steady,” I stated, but I still held onto Eli’s hand as she walked me out of the hospital. Doctors nodded and smiled as we passed them which I returned no problem. Exiting the building, a shuttle was positioned among the Kakorean ships nearby. Human officers standing alongside Kakoreans, stiffly standing by with them. They looked just as uncomfortable as I was when I first got in. “Officer, thank god you’re alright!” Peggy smiled when she saw me, stepping forward to hug me, but stopped when she looked up at Eli. Noticing her gaze, Eli let go of my hand and nudged me forward.

Peggy then hugged me tightly, I returned the embrace, but my focus was on Eli. Her knitted brows and lowered ears. “Come now, officer. Let’s get you home” My higher-ups ordered, the rest of the group returning to the ship. “One-second sir,” I said, turning to my friend. She was still looking away, the male Arctic Kakorean next to her - Named Dante - rubbing her shoulder comfortingly. I hugged her, catching her off guard. “What… what are you doing?” She stuttered, a pink hue dusting her cheeks.

“Saying goodbye to my friend,” I muttered, giving her a gentle squeeze as I rested my head on her chest. The soft beating of her heart next to my ear. Eli returned the embrace just as tightly, nuzzling her face into my hair.

“You should come to visit sometime, my friends on Earth would love you,” I told, certainty in my voice as I stepped out of the embrace on my way to the ship to join my species. Eli’s ears bent down sheepishly as she scratched her cheek “I doubt I’d fit in, squirt.” She smiled sadly, raising her hand to wave at me. I grinned as I spoke my next words, also said with certainty. It caused her brown eyes to widen, surprised at my words before she smiled softly in return. They glistened with what appeared to be tears.

“Trust me, Fish Fingers! You’d fit right in!”

#Original short story #original story #original female character #unnamed female character #Kakoreans #Ejderhalar #Original content #Kakoro #human lone survivor #human female character #female alien character #alien/human friendship #empathy #not so short story #i tried to make it short #really didn't work

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sheenaatbct · 5 years

Text

Interaction and Play

Week 1

Weekly Starter

Some notes I took from the readings and videos in the weekly starter:

Aesthetics of Play - Redefining Genres in Gaming - Extra Credits

This video was about the MDA framework, something I’ve become quite familiar with throughout uni. MDA stands for Mechanics, Dynamics, Aesthetics.

Mechanics - The Rules and systems (the math)

Dynamics - Experiential play from the rules

Aesthetics - The reason we play/the feel of the game

A designer will look at the framework from left to right, focusing on the mechanics to help define the dynamics and aesthetics, while a player will go from left to right, playing a game for the aesthetics rather than the mechanics (although good mechanics are important too).

The video defines 9 different aesthetics:

Sense Pleasure: Games which stimulate our senses

Fantasy: Things we can’t do in real life

Narrative: Drama

Challenge: Obstacles (Not difficulty)

Fellowship: Co-operative games

Competition: Superiority or dominance

Discovery: Uncovering/learning

Expression: To express oneself

Abnegation: as a past time/to disengage from real life

The Art of Game Design: Book of Lenses - Schell Games

This is a book which basically has a bunch of questions you can ask yourself/a group of game designers to help the design process along and make sure you’re achieving what you want with your game. There’s a handy little app which has all the lenses you can go through.

How to think like an Architect: The Design Process - Barry Berkus

I think what I’m taking away from this video is the amount of consideration a space needs in terms of everything and anything that will effect, or use that space. For an architect, he needs to consider where the sun will be at certain times of the day, the view of the water, how the wind will go through, and the noise that will be heard. He also considers how the people will navigate and interact with the space, and considers how the spaces themselves are located in consideration to each other.

Aotea Square

With the brief focusing on Aotea Square as the installation space, and access to the big screen located there, I had a read through some information online about the space.

Making Connections: A Vibrant Central Civic Space - Auckland Design Manual

According to this design manual, the space is roughly 1.3Ha, with the central area capable of holding up to 20,000 people. Aotea Square, named after Motu Aotea which is the Maori name for Great Barrier Island, is located at the intersection of Queen Street and Greys Ave. It is also a Maori Heritage Site.

What’s important to Auckland Council is creating a “Sense of Place” within the area.

Observations

I had a little mosey through Aotea Square to find any points of interest for me.

There’s about 4 entrances into Aotea Square; (From top left to right) one from Queen Street, one which extends out to Wellesley St West but also splits off and up to Mayoral Dr, two from Greys Ave, the first stretching out as a long alley way (below) directly to Queen St and the other from the opposite side which makes pedestrians walk through the central space.

The screen is currently located in front of the large grass area. I believe it is mobile, and has sensors that could be used. The large grass area has a few benches, all located under trees for shelter from the sun. From walking past this place many times in the past, I know a lot of people like to rest in the grass during Summer, although it’s looking rather empty now being Winter.

This space next to the grass area/screen is definitely a space I’ve seen used by many skateboarders (trust me, I know the picture doesn’t have any skaters). A few people walk past these guys as well, which I’ve always felt a little unsafe, wondering if someone was going to crash into me.

The central space is a bit crowded currently, with the ice rink smack bang in the middle and also a “night” market occupying the rest of the space. The space is large though, which clearly has access to a lot of power to keep the food stalls and the giant ice rink running. There is a bit of seating spotted on the edges of the space, with a “stage like” space located at the front(?). This space I’ve seen used for protests and other large gatherings.

The current populous of the space consists of families (especially so due to it being school holidays), people around my age (probably looking to get food), and older people, who generally just walk through the space.

One note I considered was the large amount of food stores located in the general area. Aotea Square is a great place to sit down and eat food, so this could be something to work with potentially?

Other Readings

In terms of the readings that Ben has given us as an optional look through, I’ve actually read/listened/played most of it for Contexts of Game and Play, and my thoughts are all on these blogs here. I might have a look through to see if there is anything of interest that I missed but otherwise will probably just look through my old blogs to gather my thoughts.

Quick note from Chapter 3 of Salen and Zimmerman’s Rules of Play, Meaningful Play is described as the context and interaction the players have with the game, the decisions and actions they take, which affect the systems of the game, and the way the game communicates the results of their actions, both the instant and long term effect.

References:

Auckland Council (n.d.). Making Connections: A Vibrant Central Civic Space [ebook] Auckland. Available at: http://content.aucklanddesignmanual.co.nz/resources/case-studies/aotea-square/Documents/Case%20study_Aotea%20Square.pdf [Accessed 20 Jul. 2019].

Barry Berkus (2011) How to think like an Architect: The Design Process [Video File], Retrieved from https://youtu.be/vmHoGicPQQQ

Extra Credits (2012), Aesthetics of Play - Redefining Genres in Gaming - Extra Credits [Video File], Retrieved from https://youtu.be/uepAJ-rqJKA

Salen, K., Tekinbaş, K. S., & Zimmerman, E. (2004). Rules of play: Game design fundamentals. MIT press.

Schell Games (2014), The Art of Game Design - The Book of Lenses [Video File], Retrieved from https://youtu.be/AiSI8WGZokA

#Interaction and Play #CTEC703

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adelatur · 6 years

Text

In which I am an idiot who doesn’t notice obvious things.

WARNING, BABES, THIS GETS SPICY.

On Saturday, I attended a housewarming at the new share house of my friend FRIEND. I have known FRIEND since second year, when we were the token women on the mechanical engineering touch football team. FRIEND was a lot better at things like running and scoring tries, I was a lot better at things like shoulder charging the dickheads from Mining. Fun times.

This is irrelevant to the story. What is relevant is the fact that in 2016 I ruined one of my ankles while playing American Football, and three weeks ago, I had my fourth surgery on the Kafkaesque farce formerly known as my left leg (side note, if they had amputated then, I would already be killing it at para sports, because I’d be 2 years into rehab - I’m only slightly bitter), which meant that I was attending this housewarming in a moon boot and on crutches. In addition to this, my right hand is in a brace because I lost one of the ligaments in my thumb during my football career, and it flares up when I do a lot of weight bearing with my hands, like, say, when I’m on crutches and also training upper body four days a week, because all of my powerlifting time is now dedicated to bench press, the one lift I’m still able to do at this juncture. I am currently, to quote one of my work colleages, damaged goods.

Given that I am damaged goods, I went to this housewarming with the single goal of having some bitchen ‘80s makeup (the theme was ‘80s glam), and letting the boobs be free in a low cut romper.

I was not, for example, trawling for dick. Because when you’re damaged goods, as I currently am, you are not exactly feeling yourself. #CanILive

So anyway, while I was helping FRIEND prepare for the evening, she mentioned that one of her friends was getting to the party late because he was doing THINGS in LOCATION, because in the grand tradition of engineering summer jobs, this friend was DOING THINGS for AN ORGANISATION as a contractor while finishing off university.

Cut to: three hours into the party, when said friend, REDACTED, arrived. We had previously met at a soiree organised by FRIEND.

Now this is the extent to which I though the evening would progress. At the house party of a friend from university, I would run into mutual acquaintances from university. I am reasonably sure that the title of this post has implied that this is not the point at which the evening stopped progressing.

At a number of occasions during the evening, there were what I now recognise to have been indicators of the direction wherein the evening was progressing. A hand resting on one shoulder would migrate to the other, with a detour via the cutout back of the romper. Or a hand on the waist (side note, why would a hand be on my waist? These are the real questions. Why did I not twig to that earlier?) would then MIGRATE DOWNWARDS to REST on my BACKSIDE. I DID NOT FIND THIS SUSPICIOUS, IT APPEARS.

I can only assume that part of the reason why I was not suspicious was the fact that there were also moments which I had just interpreted as ‘mates being mates’. For example, when I was at the top of the stairs leading to the backyard, and REDACTED ascended the stairs, stopping two steps beneath me, commenting that he was still almost my height with the disadvantage of a decent distance (mathematically this was not a surprise, as he was 11 inches taller than me). In retrospect, I can see that he was, perhaps, at this time, standing what could be described as ‘danger close’, especially when he moved up one step. I did not twig to this at the time.

Now before you say ‘But Adela, you were at a house party. Presumably you had been drinking’, I would have to remind you that I was on crutches. You do not get to surgery number four on an injury and still think that dumb shit like drinking while on crutches is a good idea. I had, over the course of the night, a total of six standard drinks. That’s six drinks over an eight hour period. I was not drunk. I was just oblivious.

Now FRIEND is not a sizeable lady. She is what I would charitably describe as ‘tiny’. In addition to this, unlike me, FRIEND was going hard. So by somewhere between 11 pm and midnight, she reached a level of ratfucked where she was vomiting a lot, and she had someone supervising in order to ensure she didn’t do something unfortunate like aspirate vomit and die. This person was initially PERSON, a friend from uni, for whom FRIEND had performed such a service a number of times. By about 1.30, however, PERSON was heading home. Also however, by 1.30, FRIEND was not in a position to be left unattended. So I, sober, and by that time in possession of a pretty sore foot, volunteered to babysit. It would put me in a quiet, dark room, where I could scroll Tumblr on my phone, and keep an eye on FRIEND. I had always planned on staying over after the party, so this wasn’t a huge change of plans.

What was a mild surprise was that REDACTED elected to keep me company. And so we found ourselves, in a darkened room, sitting at the foot of my friend’s bed. I was leaning against the bed frame, and REDACTED was facing me, leaning on one arm so that our heads were roughly level. When he rested his head on my shoulder, I did not think much of it. When his head found its way downwards so that his head was resting on my chest, I still didn’t consider that perhaps the evening was about to take a turn for the spicy. It was only when he had one hand up the leg of the romper IN CONJUCTION WITH him kissing my chest that I started to think that maybe things were going in a direction I hadn’t thought of the evening going.

What the fuck.

At this point, the adrenaline kicked in, as you might expect. This was not a turn of events I had considered, let alone expected. A fun side effect of adrenaline dissipating is involuntary shaking. My dudes, I was shaking like a leaf. This gave young (23) REDACTED cause to pause. He checked in on my consent. This happened a number of times during the evening. Onya, mate. Consent is sexy, and all that.

It should be noted at this juncture that as can be seen in the photo above, I was wearing bright green lipstick. At a point early in the canoodling, REDACTED leaned in and said that he had been thinking about kissing me all night. I did not say what I was thinking (i.e. mate, I was an available woman with whom you were lightly acquainted, this isn’t ~special~) and instead commented that the lipstick would go everywhere and that I should probably remove it first. He was not about that life. It went everywhere, as I had predicted. He then returned to the expanse of chest revealed by my outfit, and I removed the lipstick. It began to appear that REDACTED was a bit of a boob man. I did not have complaints on this front.

At a point during the canoodling (this is going to be the narrative form for a while here, so just go with it), he commented that with his head where it was, he was able to hear my heart rate speed up. I was not in the mood to dignify this with a response, so I just gave him a lightly disparaging look. He then bit my neck. I did not have complaints on this front. He then paused, leaned back, regarded me, and coolly asked ‘Were you into Twilight as a kid? Because I could tell that you enjoyed that’. To which I could respond in no way other than ‘Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck Yooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuu’. Because yes, I had been into twilight in my #WastedYouth, but that did not inform what my kinks happened to be. He also checked to see if hickeys were on the table. They were, provided they were in areas which could be covered up for work. And so it was.

I will take this interlude to comment on the fact that making out with someone who has a moustache is a weird experience. The moustache is always just ~there~. You’re always aware of its presence. Now back to the story.

At a point during the canoodling, he posited that he thought that I would be in to choking. This was indeed an accurate position. Consent was sought and obtained. I had no complaints on this front. On occasion a hand would insinuate itself into the leg opening of my romper and go exploring. REDACTED then commented that I was “so wet”. Which, honestly, ugh. But also, as I pointed out to him at that point, given what had been transpiring, it would be a concern if I wasn’t.

Now at a point in the evening (early morning by now), REDACTED left the room in order to break the seal, as it were. This left me free to send off some panic messages to friends. Because while I was definitely on board the train, I was still slightly confused as to why I had even been on the station in the first place. I also took the opportunity to stretch out my shit leg, which had been in a moon boot all day. It was during this stretching time that REDACTED reappeared, insinuating himself about my person. I turned to face him, and found my face in line with his chest. Because he was 11 inches taller than me, which I had conveniently forgotten while we were both located on the floor. There was something faintly comical about the level of contortion he had to undergo in order to kiss me at this point. It was like an adult bird regurgitating into the mouth of its young. It was deeply impractical, considering that I was not far enough into post-surgical recovery to be standing on my toes.

We returned to the floor, where the height difference was less of an encumbrance. At this point, REDACTED was able to undo my bra one handed. This was impressive, because as an E-F cup, my bras have a minimum of three hooks at the back. He was in luck, because this one had the minimum. He later proceeded to struggle when it came to getting the romper off. That’s because they’re not particularly designed to be easy to remove. I ended up needing to help him with the zipper at the back, which I’m sure couldn’t have been good for his ego. That is, of course, his problem.

Earlier in the evening, I had removed his t-shirt (chest hair yassss), but at this point, with me fully naked (with the exception of an almost complete face of makeup, lookin fly), I decided it was time to equalise. After a mild struggle with the belt (I make no excuses for my failings, but equally, mama didn’t raise no quitter). His jeans were lowered, and his phallus freed. There was significant dick, in the state commonly referred to by the youth of the day as a ‘semi’. At this point I engaged in a bit of a blow job, which was well received. I forebore mentioning that all of my skills in this arena were gained from reading smutty slashfic. I figured that this was one of the times when the self-deprecating truth was unneeded.

As REDACTED prepared to enter my garden of earthly delights, he enquired as to whether I would be amenable to anal. I told him in no uncertain terms that there was not enough lube (insofar as there was none). I’ve read enough smutty fanfiction to know not to try it dry. Especially when there’s that much dick involved. Consummation occurred, and then REDACTED said the phrase that I hate above all others, especially when another person is at that point within my body, “You’re so wet”. This was uttered a number of times as the carnality continued, and each time I died slightly inside. Of COURSE I was wet. The foreplay had been EXCELLENT. I was not unattracted to the lad (he was less strapping than I usually like my chaps, but was, nonetheless, becoming enough), and I was a willing partner. The fact that I was, as he said, ‘so wet’ was no reflection on him. It was just a fact. But that’s a rant for another day.

The dicking was excellent, but he was definitely #BadDick. Currently at uni full time, doing year 3 of 4 for Electrical (ugh) engineering because he had deferred for two years to work for industry; and a 23 year old guy. I am not in a place in my life where that is viable or desirable. This was going to be a one and done event. The sex was, I can very much say, the best I have had to date (the lad wouldn’t finish his doings until I had orgasmed. What a sweet lad).

Then it turned out that he was a cuddler. This wasn’t a problem, in theory. I enjoy being the little spoon. What was a problem was the fact that he was 6’4, and that meant that there were knees E V E R Y W H E R E.

The next morning, I informed FRIEND of my questionable choices via snapchat. She approved heartily. REDACTED did not know that FRIEND knew of the dalliance, which was an issue for FRIEND when he left, having thanked her for “an absolute banger of a party”, a comment at which FRIEND could not burst into laughter until he had left. Much hilarity was had. Especially at the fact that he had some not inconsiderable makeup transfer on, among other places, his forehead.

Later on Sunday, and progressing into Monday, I had delayed onset muscle soreness the likes of which I had not experienced in a while. This was, nonetheless explainable. What was not was a pain in my right shoulder, which was in my deltoid, but was nonetheless a trauma pain rather than a muscle soreness pain. There were, however, no signs of trauma. Until this afternoon, when I was getting changed out of my work clothes at the gym. I looked at my shoulder, and saw a faint bruised outline of a bite mark. Which rather explained that.

The thing I still cannot get over is how I didn’t twig to anything happening until things were already happening. This, I am willing to assume, is why we can’t have nice things.

It also raises the deeply trenchant question of ‘what else did I miss because I was too blind to notice’.

*flips table*

*leaves*

#about the author #guess who's an idiot #it me #kafka strikes again

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pomrania · 6 years

Text

Mandarin journal, week 1

(week 0) (week 2)

((For context: this semester I’m taking a course in subsequent language acquisition, and I’m also taking an introductory course on the Mandarin language. I’m recording my experience in the latter, for the benefit of the former.))

Apparently each new subject requires a blood sacrifice, to function successfully. This one took the form of a nosebleed I had while freaking out during the introductory part of the class. (Not as bad as it seems. I've gotten chronic nosebleeds since I was a little kid, and they can be triggered by crying. Which I was, but in a bolt hole I'd previously located for precisely that purpose, a place to hide when everything gets overwhelming. Besides, there was nothing important happening at that point, just the standard "no plagiarism" stuff you get at the beginning of every course.)

First, bookkeeping. It was put to a vote, and the class decided to have stuff from 5-8, with one break, as opposed to 5-9, with three breaks. This means I'm less likely to be sleepy-tired, but more likely to be boredom-tired. I don't know how that'll go for me, but there's nothing I can do to change it so I'll deal.

On the subject of books, I need to buy the textbooks. I don't do that before the first lecture, because sometimes they aren't needed, but they will be for this course. I'll be buying them tomorrow, because I'm not going to the uni today.

Now, the prof. She's a China native, who started learning English at like 13 or 15. She has a noticeable accent, but I can still understand everything she says (in English). That bit is important: if you can't easily understand someone, it's hard to learn from them. She got her degree in Business, and also studied in Paris for some time. She's had the experience of learning new languages and new cultures (France and Canada).

Due to her own experiences, she explicitly made it her goal to teach us about Chinese culture as well. This is not particularly of interest to me, seeing as how I hate to travel and have no intention of leaving Canada in the future, but it may be useful when dealing with immigrants or visitors from China.

One thing I especially liked about her, is that she said we would never speak perfect Mandarin -- everyone in the class is at least university-aged, and thus past whenever the critical period for language acquisition might be -- but that's okay. She doesn't speak perfect English, but she can function enough in anglophone Canadian society.

(It's now been most of the day since I started writing this, because I was busy and then I was tired and then I forgot.)

Apparently we ARE going to be doing Chinese characters -- I think they're called hanzi? -- in this course, I'd thought that was only the next course. But like, I've a bit of a background in Japanese, so that's not really threatening to me.

When she was introducing the various sounds, she played a recording from the text a few times, and had us repeat that sound after the recorded bit; then after that, she'd go through the written sounds herself, and have us say that sound all together. I did not find that as helpful as it could have been, although I understand why she did it that way. When everyone else is saying something, I can't hear what sound I myself am making, and if it's accurate; it takes less time than having everyone do it individually, and doesn't put people on the spot, but still.

Speaking of sounds, I can't distinguish like half of the non-English fricatives, I can only reproduce them by accident, and the vowel which pinyin represents by E, that sounds more like L than a vowel when pronounced by itself. I'll need to look up the IPA and phonetic properties for a bunch of these sounds, so I have a way of mentally tagging them; because once I can tag something, I can remember more of it.

We were given some “classroom expressions” to learn. Again, this took the form of her playing the recording from the text, where a guy says the English and then the Mandarin, and having us repeat the Mandarin after the recording. This was... of varying success. Short phrases, like two or maybe three syllables, I could repeat quite well. Anything longer than that, I struggled with, because that’s a REAL test of your super-short-term memory: remembering not just a string of meaningless-to-you syllables, but ones where you don’t even have the SOUNDS in your own language. And like, it just went on in a list. I think it would have been more helpful to repeat something a bit before going on to the next item; like, instead of A-B-C-D, have it be A-A-B-B-C-C-D-D. That’d give me more opportunity to “feel” the phrase, before moving on to something else that’d overwhelm me.

After we did that a few times, and I was getting frustrated because dammit my memory is not optimized for holding that much meaningless-to-me stuff in it at a time, she put up a slide with both the Chinese characters and the pinyin, and also the English equivalent. That was INCREDIBLY helpful to me. I’m attuned to the written word, and when I can look at something, I don’t have to memorize it. Although I think it was better doing the audio-only for a bit before that, because it forced me to pay attention to what it ACTUALLY sounded like, instead of what I think that letter combination SHOULD sound like.

I don’t know how well I actually pronounced them. She said I did good, but she said that to everyone who volunteered to say the phrases from the slides. And I know from previous language courses, that if you’re 95% good with pronunciation, you’ll get the same amount of correction as someone who’s only 35% good. (Example from German, which I did well in: the prof would correct me if I put the stress on the wrong syllable, but she spent the same amount of time correcting this one guy who couldn’t reliably tell the difference between “ie” and “ei” after three years taking the language.) Again, I know why a prof would do this, but it’s still frustrating to not have reliable feedback. There’s “good job” as in “it’s good that you’re willing to speak in class and make mistakes, that’s a mindset that will let you improve” and then there’s “good job” as in “you were mostly correct in what you did”; both are important, both are useful, both would occur in this same context, and I have no idea which is which.

One thing I do know, is that I spoke those phrases with confidence and without hesitation. Listen: I’ve read so much sci-fi and fantasy, MOST of my books include “novel words” that I wouldn’t have come across before, like almost every character name. If words are short enough that I can easily parse their syllable structure, and they have sufficient vowels in them, I blather off a whole page full of words I have no idea what if anything they might mean. I... don’t know if this is actually a useful skill when it comes to learning a language.

Currently, I don’t feel worried about this course. It’ll be tough going to memorize words and phrases, that bit is always annoying for me, but I can do this. My biggest worry is that I’ll forget to work on this stuff on days when I don’t have the class, so I’ll have not learned stuff by the time the next class comes around; but that isn’t specific to Mandarin, or even to languages courses, rather it’s a problem I commonly have for anything.

#no fandom #not a reblog #personal #linguistics

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earthquacksugarskull-blog · 6 years

Text

#vanlife - not just a hastag

Hi there,

I am EarthQuackSugarSkull and I am a Filmmaker born and bred in London, currently residing in the north of England and loving it. just luvvinit. I moved to South Africa when I was 18 with my mum, to explore the world, travel, grow and ended up studying my BA in filmmaking in Durban. After I completed my course I moved to The North and now... here I am.

So here is my life at the moment: I am a part-time Postgraduate Filmmaking student, meaning I have school and lectures one day a week, though the majority of my course is ‘self-motivated’...ugh... which translates to: Do it yourself. Good luck. SO I am currently working on 2 films, one which is on pause to make way for the other one, which I am making progress with and hope to screen it at an exhibition at the end of June 2018. I try to leave 2-3 days a week (including school) to dedicate completely to working on the film. I also work 4-5 shifts a week at a pub, most of which are night shifts.... which makes waking up early... challenging, especially after working several nights in a row... after the 4th night I do nothing but sleep the next day...I work to make money for the film - the props, paying actors and crew, any location payments, travel expenses and festival entries. While I have managed to scrounge a little extra here and there, the film’s main budget comes from my work at the pub. I enjoy the job, don't get me wrong, but it isn't what I want to be doing. the late nights, constantly being ill from picking up snotty tissues, smelling like an alcoholic, walking home alone at night... there are many things I dislike about the job which... at this point in my life and after 6 years in the industry, I am ready to move away from.

I consider my other skills: videography, photography, sound mixing, editing and other filmy stuff and apply for those jobs in my area. I find a couple but most of them are for a month or two at the most, and are paid in exposure bucks which are all very cute but don't pay the bills... furthermore the majority of work that I can get at my level are in London, for sporadic amounts of time at sporadic times and are also paid in exposure bucks or not enough to cover travel expenses and staying somewhere etc... so I consider: what about a regular job, an office job? tried it. hated it. furthermore, because of the film all of my spare money is going into the film and I certainly canNOT afford to survive the dreaded first month of a new job whatever it may be... so I find myself in a predicament.

I am writing this rather long-winded post because I just wanted to get this out. I have always been in love the classic VW surfer duuuuuude camper van, in particular the red ones.... luvvem. just... luvvem. And now all these damn beautiful millennial vegan yuppies are all up in them...GADDAMN IT MAKES ME MAD. but you know, I'm completely one of them - except the vegan part... but I LIKED THEM BEFORE THEY WERE COOL OK???!

Anyway - I've always thought it would be cool to put a mattress in the back and go on little road trips in it. Not until a couple of years ago, once admittedly I had come across the #vanlife movement, did I consider moving into one full-time. And now... I. am. obsessed.

Here is why #vanlife ISN’T bullshit. for me.

Please note: if there is anything I have learned from hundreds, I say HUNDREDS of hours I have spent researching vans, interiors, batteries, types of insulation, watching videos, vlogs, reading articles, blogs and so on... it is this: van life and the reasons for or against it are entirely INDIVIDUAL to the person undertaking this lifestyle. It is also important to note that van life isn't just a hashtag, it is an entire lifestyle. and it is not simply moving your apartment into a van, it is an entire change of life style. We are talking about going from stationary to nomadic homie... omg I can't wait!

I know what you’re thinking: damn millennial yuppy, living in a van is weird! well... stop right there, JUDGE JUDY! I hate yoga, I love meat, I eat pizza on the REG, I spend waaaaaay too much time on the couch, I’m slightly overweight but I make it WERK because SELF LOVE henny. I am pretty normal. though undiagnosed, I definitely suffer from depression, anxiety (you know, the usjj...), low-self esteem and all that LOVELY STUFF. But you know what? I’ve decided I don't give a shit. I’m doing it! I am buying a crappy van, empty. I am going to throw a mattress, a bucket, a storage container and a cooler in the back and FUCK THE FUCK OFF. And I can't bloody wait. But first... let me overthink this through....

PROS

I am doing this because it will help me career-wise because I’ll be able to travel TO where the work is and it will be fine if the work is sporadic because I'll be LIVING IN A VAN - a house on wheels WITH storage space?!?! perfect for being on a film set! I don't need to factor in commuting time especially when shooting runs late or starts early, I can just sleep in the parking area... easy!

I can visit my friends and family more (they live eVERYWHERE - this makes it very expensive and time-consuming to visit them because it takes hours in the coach or train, and I can only travel at certain times because they don't run 24/7 and you can travel WHENEVER in a van. I'll also save money on food and coach/train tickets as well as trains and cabs in and around their areas.

I have done plenty of TRAVELLING in my life and I think those experiences and lessons cannot be forgotten or lost, which is why I think this is a brilliant idea. I want to explore my weird little Island, I want to explore Europe (before BREXIT FFS), I want to drive from the North of England aaaaalllll the way down to Cape Town, South Africa because many of my uni friends live there and I NEED TO SEE THEM.

I can save so much MONEY man... seriously - in the long term, and I say after a matter of a few months, I could make back the money I have spent out for the van, and from there we are talking petrol, insurance, food and then expendable income. I can put that money towards equipment, films, festival entries, travel to festivals and other industry events or just savings.

The FREEDOM! I love being able to move about freely! I love having all of my possessions to hand - it makes me feel empowered, independent, strong and those cannot be bought or achieved with a big house, for me anyway..

CONS...

...

comfort? no... insulation, blankets and cushions... ok

Safety? - fair point, sir... I imagine an alarm, a dog and a large knife can take care of that...

there don't seem to be many more...

I’m going to come clean now... at the END of the post ok I KNOW... bear with me ok

I do not have a driving licence.

I know... I KNOW OK?! calmit... I moved to SA when I was 18 and over there it is almost IMPOSSIBLE to apply for a driving test as a foreigner. In the year and a half I was trying to book one, I went back and forth from the driving authority MANY MANY times... each time there was a new document I needed which I didn't need last time...and then when I moved back to England I found out you have to live in England for a certain amount of time before you can book a test, plus I needed a new provisional licence. I have also had many many poor months in the past year, leaving little extra money for lessons and the test itself. I booked my driving test this morning as well as a lesson with an ALRIGHT instructor, but if we’re honest... which we always are - I've been driving for years. I am a safe driver but just need a little practice. so - assuming I pass pay test in June... I should be on the road by July 2018. I should get a larger pay check in June and hopefully the film’s expenses will be mostly complete so I'll have a bit extra to play with... hopefully. if not then I will spend another month or so working and then move in ASAP before winter comes!!!

so... that’s the plan... this PROBABLY won't work BUT I have to hope above hope that it will because honestly. I can't do this any more. I can't do being tied to one location any more. it isolates me from those I love, and me being the lazy poor motherfucker I never have spare income to buy tickets and book trains to go visit my friends and family. I feel constrained. I feel flattened... I feel the weight of all of it on my back and it kills me. I need to do this. this isn't some #vanlife bullshit. fuck all that. fuck all the fluff around it. Life on Wheels is the perfect way to minimise, mobilise and empower oneself. in the world we live in today? it seems like the only option for me, unless I fall into the machine taking a 9-5 and a lease/mortgage. I can't do that. I will literally be HORRIBLE to be around. I will feel FIlTHY and oppressed and that will send me down a mental journey that I have experienced before and simply won't survive again... but that is a post for another day.

Aaaaaaanyway, if you've made it down here - thank you. thank you for listening, thank you for the shit that you have given me today. Here, have one in return. <<SHIT>>

One love,

EarthQuackSugarSkull x

#vanlife #bullshit #someidiotinavan #filmmaker #editor

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paisleycollabz · 4 years

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Day 4 - Intro Collaboration

It was an early start today, even though getting up at a supposed 6am = 8am E.A.S.T (Eastern Australian Standard Time).

Only goes to show how lazy I am :D

Today was the first day of the actual start of this program, where we would be going to and meeting other collaboration students of this program, at the Nanyang Polytechnic Singapore. To my understanding, it was like an abridging course, university and CIT in one as some students there were participating in a 2nd or 3rd year level program at an 1st year uni level.

To get to our destination, we caught the MRT from Nicholl Highway to Bishan and then another to Yio Chu Kang. It was then a short walk from the station to Nanyang.

It was vaguely a familiar place as I had visited the place once before but the atmosphere of the place is really nice, albeit being quite a big campus but on a similar scale to that of UC campus in my opinion. Block R was where the meeting place and workshop for duration of program as that was the department of design.

Upon arrival, it was a bit awkward at first as we arrived a bit late and we had to try and merge ourselves amongst the other students. Quick introductions and briefing of the program were made and then we were sifted into our allocated groups, which consisted a mix of 1 or 2 people from the same participating universities e.g. 1 from UC + 1 or 2 from Monash and/or Federation and/or from other participating universities and 2 or 3 from Nanyang. However, participants had different study backgrounds which included nursing, media and designers.

I was assigned to “Group 2”, which was me from UC, 1 from Monash and 3 from Nanyang (Monash and 2 Nanyang from the nursing department). Introductions were brief as well as my group allocated a workspace to utilize and then we were given our first introductory exercise when all participants were allocated to their respective groups and seated.

It was a bit cliché and odd of a task, where each member were asked to note down their own usual daily routine on sticky notes and then attach them to a poster. Routines included what time we would get up, what we would do after getting up and etc. One could be as precise as they wanted to but in reality, it’s a bit vague when asked to state a time such as “6 AM – wake up, 6.10 AM get out of bed and etc”. I found it a bit tricky since I don’t exactly have a precise routine and thus decided to note down what I would do in general on free days. However, at the end of it, I didn’t find this exercise relevant whatsoever really other than comparing our own capabilities to someone much older.

The next exercise was actually more relevant to the program. Each group was given a pair of sunglasses, whilst told not to touch the lenses, and a walking frame. The exercise was to simulate a elderly person, where wearing the sunnies would mimic the deteriorating eyesight and then using the walking frame to move about whilst bent over. It was hilarious watching one of my group members go first as she really pulled the ‘old lady’ act off but it was also actually physically challenging. Especially trying to mimic the ‘old lady’ part as I was a bit tall and using the walking frame was hard in the aspect that my own body was rejecting the ‘old lay’ posture and forcing me to back into my normal posture. I got close in the act though by consciously telling a leg to go limp and readjusting the walking frame to suit my height, which was adjusted by one of the nursing students in my group. Good lord it was hard but fun! We walked down the building hallway and out beyond, but not too far, Block R.

After about 10 to 15 minutes of playing ‘Elderly person simulator’, we all headed back to the air-conditioned classroom and worked on the third exercise before lunch break. The third exercise was another ‘sticky-note and poster’ task, where we would list physical and mental obstacles that elderly people would face on a daily routine whilst playing ‘Elderly person simulator’ in the second exercise. There were a lot of mental obstacles that came up over physical ones, listed and stuck to a particular location, on the poster with a drawn out route map that followed the route of the second exercise. From that, it became pretty daunting and sad and even pretty relatable mentality wise due to having a mental illness myself.

Once we decided that we were satisfied with our poster, we all then headed for lunch, which was at an indoor cafeteria. There was quite a variety of things to eat and drink but what made it especially good was that the cost of food was really cheap. Like, I got a teriyaki chicken bento box for $5…crazy. Drinks were about 80cents to $3 and fresh fruit cut up was$1.50. It just makes me question why we don’t have anything like this at all in Australia!!!!!

After lunch, everyone gathered at a lecture theatre, where we were given an informational insight to the program such as statistical information about the current aging population and what is currently being implemented to help the aging population. Currently, Singapore has an increasing number of elderly people to younger people and that there isn’t enough services or products out there to help aid the elderly and it is worrying especially for those whom don’t have family support and/or don’t have financial stability due to Singapore’s dynamic changing economy.

We were also informed that each group would be visiting a retirement clinic to help us come up with a product idea for our project, which would also be in relations to an assigned clinic as set for each group.

The day ended sometime at 3 in the afternoon and everyone went their own ways, either back to The Sultan or elsewhere as the afternoon was free.

I decided to go with some female participants out to ‘Gardens by the Bay’ near Marina Bay. We visited the ‘Golden Garden’ and ‘Cloud Forest’ of the ‘Flower Dome’, which was well worth a lot of walking and getting lost and feeling faint with sore feet. Got back to Bugis late to grab something to eat for dinner around 9.30pm and then walking back to The Sultan to rest.

(The famous Skytrees of Singapore)

(Inside the Flower dome)

(Inside the Cloud Forest)

It was a VERY tiring day!

#Day 4 #exploration #collaboration #nanyang polytechinc #marina bay sands #cloud forest #flower dome

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theletterkite-blog · 7 years

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(he may have been the first one to die, but I’m the one who paid for it. I’m the one who paid for it)

Here it is for you. For those of you who have been asking and even for those of you who haven’t. What am I doing? What happens next?

Let me bring you up to speed.

This summer I wrote and completed my thesis for my degree. I wrote on leadership at arts and cultural organizations undergoing substantial change.

It was completed in August. My marks came back in October. It passed with Distinction.

I am very proud of it, and as such, will be revising the work for publication. (That in itself is a long road and a different story for another time.)

And to answer a popular question: no, you may not read it right now.

At the time I was finishing said thesis, I had the pleasure of working for the Edinburgh International Festival as they put up their landmark 70th season this August. It was quite a new experience working on the press team and working through a festival that was spread out across the city and compacted into four weeks, as opposed to ten.

That opportunity there was worth the investment of coming to undertake this degree. I can hear some of you now raising an eyebrow about the value of work experience versus academic institutions, and I’ll tell you that by a long series of complicated and convoluted UK working laws, that experience would not have been possible without undertaking the degree.

Since that time I have been working at various locations that don’t need going into, as I have hunted for a more permanent position here. To be clear, I have been hunting for such position since April of this year and one can surmise that rejection after rejection might make a person feel rather defeated. And given this, it took me quite a long time to realize that I was not the problem. It took the Director of Development at a Scottish National Performing Company telling me that I had a strong application and did several things that the application required that no other candidate had done to realize that though I was young, fresh out of school (again) and seemingly too eager, I was playing in the same league as other Edinburgh arts managers. The problem, as people have been telling me, and as I have now realized, is not me. The problem is the system.

You would not enjoy me going into the details of what it would take for me to secure a full-time, permanent job in the arts and cultural sector here. Feel free to research it on your own, but essentially it comes down to UK Immigration Rules Appendix J: codes of practice for skilled work, which is a document that limits the categories of jobs eligible for sponsorship under a Tier 2 working visa. There are other requirements of the sponsoring organization, such as who can be hired from outside the UK or European Union without having to undergo the Residency Labour Market Test. Essentially, there are about four large, immovable factors that bar me from being employed here long-term. And due to this, I am returning to the United States.

[Those of you who do NOT want to hear me pontificate on this matter, this is really all you need to know. See you soon.]

This has been hard for me to stomach, especially while watching the successes of my friends. Any of my pals from mainland (or island nations) Europe that are from countries with in the EEA who are reading this, you’re about to be mildly offended. You don’t know how easy you have it. You can move and work freely within the EEA without trouble. There’s potential to even be employed in two or more EU nations at once. Unless an organization wants to go through the time, money and paperwork of making a case to the Home Office for me to remain here in the UK, I cannot get a job. I don’t have the luxury of a fancy legal loophole by which I can trace my ancestry back through to Europe and thereby apply through said European country’s US embassy for citizenship: all of my ancestors who might serve as proof of such are dead. No tricks, no workarounds for me. You can see why the complaints of Europeans not being able to find a job in Edinburgh’s oversaturated arts market fall on deaf ears with me. You can work abroad so easily, experience different languages and cultures with so much more acceptance. I know many of you want to stay in Edinburgh but YOU CAN GO WHEREVER IN EUROPE YOU WANT.

Some of you might make (and have made) the argument that I am able to work wherever in the US that I want (true), and that each state is like its own tiny little nation (not exactly), and isn’t that the same thing? No. That’s like saying the cultures of Kentucky and Montana are as different as those of Ireland and Greece. I think you’ll find that if you went there, Kentucky and Montana are actually quite similar in a lot of ways and then go ahead and tell an Irishman he’s basically the same as a Grecian. See what happens. However, without the lived experience of working in the US, I suppose you’ll never really understand, no matter how plain I make my explanations. You’ve never been refused letting of a flat in the UK based on your nationality because your status as an EEA citizen supersedes it. It makes your application, from one important angle, irrefutable (Well, at least for now.)

So yes, we’ve all had it bad. We’re a crew of smart people who have been shot into a market already teeming with talent in our field and because we are millennials living in an age still controlled by Baby Boomers, they expect us to rise to the top as they did when they “were your age.” As they did when $6 an hour working in a mailroom but them through college. Today, to put oneself through college at any reasonably-priced university (because hey Europeans!, I could never go to uni for free!) we would need to be making $18 an hour. Too bad the Federal minimum wage in American is only $7.25. But the fact of the matter is, that I have to return home because the UK will not move mountains to employ me, and strangely, I believe that is because it simply does not want to.

This, I find absurd. Long have we Americans hailed Great Britain for its utopia-like public funding for the arts, purely because their government has chosen to make arts and culture a policy priority longer than the US has. (And the Prime Minister, unlike the current US President, has not tried to entirely defund the National Endowment for the Arts in a political budget move...) American arts managers have had to contend with steadily diminishing budgets for years, and that mentality has now more visibly crept into the UK as well, with the rise of far-right values that hearken back to a darker age of Westernized war. “Devastating” arts cuts in the UK may be coming this January, as the public and the policymakers begin to question whether continued publicly funding for the arts is worth it. To combat this potentiality, I have watched as organizations here have scraped their budgets for salary money to hire fundraising managers to pilot, embolden, or overhaul individual giving programs. One would think that these organizations who haven’t had to grapple with the task of asking audiences for additional funds on top of what they pay in taxes, would be most interested to take on someone who has experience in working at organizations who have had to stake their livelihood on these exact kinds of donations. Just the other day I was told “Try and get some experience in fundraising, the UK is looking for fundraising people right now with all these cuts.” This individual, clearly unfamiliar with my background (I may not be the Region’s Best Individual Fundraiser but I’m not stupid) completely underscores my point. With such a demand for individuals with these skills, why on earth would they evict someone with these skills, when that person could be of great assistance?

Because of UK Immigration Rules Appendix J: codes of practice for skilled work. That’s why. If you’re not British, not working in hard science, and don’t have a PhD, you’re nothing. There, I just saved you having to read all 26 pages of the document.

It’s lunacy. Here I am, a smart, capable person, now defeated by a webpage that says “you don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.” What to do as a monolingual in modern Europe? Little. You try getting an EU Blue Card (yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like.) That prospect is tragically unlikely. So back I go, to a political nightmare in which fetuses are due to be classified as individuals for TAX REASONS upon passage of the #goptaxscam, 13 million Americans will lose health care coverage with the rescinding of the PPACA individual mandate, and the Federal Communication Commission is so interested in providing flawless internet services to only the wealthiest that without a job, and without a reasonable income, I may never be able to afford to update this blog again.

So here we are, right at the end. That’s the story, that’s the update. And it makes me mad. I undertake one of the best experiences of my life, and as a result, find that upon reentering society from the haven of academia that society wants to remind me:

YOU’RE NOTHING

The older and wiser of you reading this are likely thinking “That’s what we call life/it’s not always easy/you just have to figure it out/take your lumps/can’t expect to have everything handed to you.” You probably think I sound like a self-entitled millennial. But I didn’t come here to please you. I came here to put down my thoughts, to take one last wallow. To metaphorically prepare for battle through extended complaint.

I didn’t write this for your pity. I didn’t write this for your comments. I wrote this to explain to everyone why when I say I’m leaving I don’t want to see you pull a sad face and say “Don’t go!” “Don’t go” is not an option anymore. I have to, and you know that. It’s a first world problem for sure, being able to hop right back home to a welcoming family in what seems to be one of the only states who actually knows what they’re doing: don’t think I can’t see my privilege (white, and otherwise) in all of this. But this is not a joyous homecoming. This is a return marked by having been defeated by a sector that has been influenced by a government that hate and fear have crept into. America is the cause. And while others my run from it to the other side of the ocean with their bought passports or observe from far away, fortunately-fated with a heritage they didn’t get to select, I will be flying into the thick of it. Biding my time. Preparing my next move. I will celebrate the turn of the new year and cope with the coming age. And when the UK’s arts cuts come and Edinburgh finds itself in need of someone like me, I might pause to glance at the news. Until then, I’ll leave this place that opened me to academia and then turned around and told me I was nothing and return to the fray. (How’s that for a “Welcome to hell?”)

It’s been something, Edinburgh. Thank you, David. See y’all on the other side.

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withabackpackandcamera · 8 years

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January 28th, 2017

Day 9: The Scenic Snaefellsnes

Tour day! Always an adventurous but tiring day.

My morning started later than I wanted because when the alarm clock came on, all I wanted was to stay in my warm comfy bed and continue sleeping. But instead, I did the next best thing, which was snooze until I ran out of time for a proper breakfast and just left with banana in hand.

For my tour, I got picked up by Reykjavik Excursions at Hotel Holt, which is the hotel next to where I'm staying. After a little wait and a transfer to the big bus, we were on our way on "The Wonders of Snaefellsnes" tour.

After driving north for an hour, we made a pit stop at Borgarnes, a small town with a convenience store and pit stop cafe where people could grab snacks for the day. Before long, we were back on the bus and on the way to the Snaefellsnes Peninsula.

As I watched the sun slowly rise in the sky, I had a good feeling about the weather for the day. The sky was clear and blue with low-lying clouds that were being colored pink, red, and orange by the soft rays of the warm sun. Looking around the area, the landscape with stunning. Snow and ice-covered land all around with glaciers shrouded in low-lying clouds made for quite a scene to enjoy from the bus. By 10:15am or so, the sun was really waking up and around that time, we made our first quick stop at a rocky black-pebbled beach behind an old farm, a spot called Ytri Tunga (I think). The spot wasn't bad but nothing super special or scenic to it besides the beach with big black pebbles and soft morning reflections in the water with snow all around.

After a little more than half an hour, we made a quick photo stop at a place off the side of the road that looked into a valley, and not long afterward, we continued on the road to our next stop: the basalt cliffs at Anarstapi. Unlike the other location, this place was pretty neat. A quick hike from the parking lot led us to an observation deck that gave you a view straight into the ocean and horizon. And to one side were awesome basalt cliffs and an arch that was pretty neat to see. Unfortunately, the spot was a little difficult to photograph due to the observation deck and wired boundaries that were put in place for safety. So, instead of sticking around once the tour group caught up with me, I decided to venture off and follow the sidewalk away from the deck and towards a place far, far away from where the tourists were so I could find another vantage point and spot where tourists were far and few. But, as I trotted down the sidewalk, I suddenly hear someone yelling, “Hey hey! Excuse me! Excuse me!” Great…. So, I turned around, only to see the confused and out-of-breath look of my tour guide, who started asking me if I was part of the tour group and where I was going. I told her and of course, she said, photographers shouldn’t be on these big buses. Yes yes, I know, but I’m poor with no time. So I told her the reason for my stroll away from the group and she was actually OK with the idea but told me it was for the other tourists’ sakes that I not venture somewhere far… because, like times before, tourists tend to follow photographers and if they followed me out to the middle of nowhere, there’d be NO way that the tour guide could round them all up before setting off again. Good point, tour guide, good point.

As a result, I reluctantly obliged by her wishes and headed the other direction toward another lookout point. This one was also quite spectacular with views of the basalt cliffs staggeredly jagging out further and further into the ocean as you looked into the distance. Funny enough, even though I didn’t know this place was going to have these particular views, I’d seen this place through pictures by other photographers, like Elia Locardi (great photographer, by the way! Definitely check out his story and his work!). And so, it was pretty neat to get to see Anarstapi, especially because my last trip to Snaefellsnes was a quick drive through with no idea that the peninsula offered such cool views.

With bus-boarding time approaching, I walked back to the bus while chatting with the tour guide about my story and why I was in Iceland and we had a neat conversation about the medical profession in Iceland versus other European countries and she mentioned that nurses here are just a little more prideful and want to be respected on the same level as physicians, which can sometimes cause unnecessary disagreements that don’t happen as much in other European countries, where there is respect but everyone understands their roles. Interesting.

And before she let me get to my seat, she let me in on a little secret about our next stop at Hellnar, which was supposed to be our lunch stop. Because we had an hour set aside for lunch at a restaurant, she told me that instead of sitting down and eating, I could order food ahead of time and then eat on the run while exploring the area around Hellnar and going down towards the cliffs and beaches. And as we got to the restaurant, I decided that I’d try to check out the area first, since waiting in line and ordering food and waiting for food behind 50+ people didn’t seem like a good use of my time. And that I would try and come back to order something to go if I had enough time.

So, off I went to explore the area by my lonesome. The first stop was a little Icelandic church with a red roof right behind where the bus parked. It was simple and pretty and representative of all the other little churches spread throughout Iceland. After a couple of snaps, I wandered off past a cemetery and down toward a road where I caught glimpse of a rocky beach with more arches, cliffs, and a little pier leading out to the ocean. I headed off in that direction and found myself walking off the trail down a steep grassy slope. Whew, good thing I had my brand new hiking shoes courtesy of Cynthia’s family! It was great for hiking through the snow and had good treads for not slipping! That is, until I got to the beach where big smooth rocks were covering the ground and where I found out that hiking shoes are NOT the best things for those conditions. But I was careful and slowly made my way to the basalt rock faces a little further up. And it was pretty cool. Rock faces with all sorts of textures from the lava that probably formed them in the distant past. And a cool window in the rock face that opened up to water splashing in from the ocean. I stood there for a while just taking everything in before making my way to the pier for a different view of the area. As I walked toward the pier, I noticed another tourist from my bus, who I believed to be the girl sitting in across the aisle from me traveling alone, coming down to see the beach as well.

Before too many pictures could be taken of this area in Hellnar, my alarm clock came on indicating that it was time to make it back up to the bus. I snoozed and slowly made my way back. Once I got back onto the bus, I saw the girl who I thought also ventured down to the beach and started up a conversation. Her name was Bonnie and she was an Aussie from Melbourne who was currently working at a hotel in Germany to make ends meet so that she could continue her worldwide solo travels before heading back to Uni (versity). And thus, a friendship would form from this introductory conversation! More details next.

Next stop: Djúpalónssandur Beach. The road to this beach was actually pretty treacherous, enough so that I felt slightly uneasy that the chartered bus was driving out to the beach. But thankfully, we made it safely to the parking lot. From there, Bonnie and I made our way down the “difficult” ice-and-snow-covered, steep path to the beach. Photos were hard to come by once we made our way to the beach because it was early afternoon and the sun was high enough in the sky and off the horizon that taking any artistic, pretty photos was not going to happen, so I decided to just enjoy the scene while chatting with Bonnie.

We were back on the road again before long and were now headed east again after driving through the tip of the peninsula. We passed by some familiar sites, a lighthouse I had seen before and Olafsvik, a little town just west of Kirkjufell, as we made our way to the next photo opp: the famous Kirkjufell (aka Church Mountain). And as we made our way to Kirkjufell, we weren’t slowing down where I thought we were going to slow down, and I slowly realized that we were not going to get the opportunity take a photo of Kirkjufell from the spot that so many others climb to in order to take the photo of this picturesque mountain. So, we ended up stopping much further down the road at some random observation point and the mountain just didn’t look the same. Awkward view of the mountain with a terrible foreground. It was a shame really because the backdrop for the snow-covered mountain was beautiful with low clouds colored by the sunset. Ugh. Disappointed. And also disappointed in the short amount of time we got to see the mountain. Ten minutes. Sad.

With my disappointment, I got back on the bus and we headed for our last stop before starting our trip back to Reykjavik: Grundarfjörður, the next town over from Kirkjufell. Quickly, we arrived and were given about an hour to see the area and get food and take a restroom break. They said that we could venture off and see the harbor where some boats were docked. Bonnie and I went in search of the boats but after searching for about ten minutes with no results, we made a crazy decision: hike back to Kirkjufell for the missed photo opportunity. At that point, we essentially had around 45 minutes to hike back 2.7km (at that moment, we did NOT realize it was going to be that far) to Kirkjufell in the snow along the icy road in cold conditions and to return those 2.7km back to the gas station at which we were parked and to use the restroom before getting back on the road towards home. All of that… IN 45 MINUTES.

What a crazy 45 minute adventure we had! So, we started to quickly walk out of town and toward the main road leading away from the town and back west toward Kirkjufell. This took a lot longer than expected, but once we got on the main road, we knew all we had to do was rush through the snow and ice back along the road until we got to our destination. Or try to hitchhike our way back to Kirkjufell. Easier said than done. Again, roads were slippery, the snow was hard to walk through, and no one was driving by. Rather, everyone driving by for 4/5 of the trek had cars filled with people and stuff and couldn’t stop to give us a ride. After trekking for 30 minutes with no luck in hitchhiking, we finally got two guys to pull over for us in their SUV and pick us up, about 500m or so from where we needed to be. But man, was that ride sorely needed! Because we needed to save all the time we could with so little time left to make it back! By the time we got to Kirkjufell, about 5 secs after we got into the car, we quickly thanked our nice Chinese friends and ran off to climb up to the top of Kirkjufellsfoss, where we would be crossing a bridge over the waterfall and taking a picture from the other side.

But shortly after getting out of the car, Bonnie thought she didn’t have her phone and ran back to the car to try to find it. At this point, I was in a dilemma: stay to wait or head off first so that one of us could at least get the shot. So I decided to run off first and make sure she knew that and that I’d meet her at the top. So I ran up the slippery, snowy slope and finally got to the other side, where people were setting up shop. 10 minutes to go. I got my camera set up and took a several shots as Bonnie made her way up. Once she got her photo, we were off running back down toward the parking lot, hoping that someone would be headed back to Grundarfjörður. I ran off first to try to get to the road to put my thumbs up but everyone coming east was stopping at Kirkjufellsfoss. Ugh. So I started to jog my way back toward the highway and back towards town. I looked behind me and Bonnie wasn’t there! I realized she was just shamelessly asking people in the parking lot if they could take us back to town because we were in a huge rush to not miss the bus. Finally, she was able to catch an old Dutch tourist couple who were packing up their camera gear. And they reluctantly said they could take us! YES! After packing their stuff and moving their stuff (slowly, it seemed), we were in the car and rushing to town to make the bus! And we got there! WITH ONE MINUTE TO SPARE!!!!!! HOLY SHIZ! We quickly thanked our awesome awesome ride sponsors and got out without a soul even noticing! We got permission to go pee despite it being time to get on the bus and before long, we were out of breath, hot and sweaty, and sitting on the bus, safely on the road again! What a ridiculous adventure!

I had two hours to cool off since we were headed back to Borgarnes for another pit stop and so passed the time with Bonnie just talking about our adventures, etc. The time flew by and we were back in Borgarnes for a stop. I used that time to buy some groceries that I haven’t been able to find at the Bonus near my apartment and shortly, after, we were back in Reykjavik and being dropped off.

Once I was back at home, I finally had time to warm up and sit around and chill for a little bit after eating dinner (skipped my meals today for more opportunities to see Iceland). At that point, I got a FB message from Bonnie to come out and see the auroras! Before Bonnie left the bus earlier, she mentioned that last night, she was able to see the aurora from the water and that she’d go out again and would call me if she saw anything. And sure enough, she did! So I scurried my way back to the water to meet her at the Sun Voyager and we went searching for the northern lights! And we found them! Even despite the light pollution from the city lights. They were just faint greenish gray lights in the distance that kind of came and went over minutes. Really, it’s hard to explain because I didn’t get a good view and because of all the light pollution. We were outside for about 1.5 hours or so looking for lights and hoping they would be really visible. Unfortunately, they were quite faint and light pollution was a problem. But despite the circumstances, I was glad to finally see and experience the auroras, even though it wasn’t the crazy sight I was hoping to see. It’s ok, one step at a time. Especially with my Northern Lights Tour tomorrow night. After hanging out with Bonnie for a bit at her hostel, I finally made my way back home around 1am, tired as can be, only to find that people were hanging out at the apartment. So, I ended up sitting around chatting with Thor and his friends until 4am before finally getting into bed for much needed rest.

Wow, what a ridiculous, jam-packed day full of craziness and adventures! Seeing crazy sights, meeting cool people, doing crazy things, and seeing the lights. A good, fulfilling day indeed!

5 Things I Learned Today:

1. The tourism blast here is nuts. Back when I did the Golden Circle Tour, one of the now most popular tours of Iceland, in the summer, which is high season, I was riding in a small little van with about 7-8 other people. The most popular tour. With 10 people. In high season. That would be unheard of now, as most tours are on chartered buses and South Iceland is being inundated with tourists because there are so many things to see so close to Reykjavik.

2. Horses were brought to Iceland by Vikings for travel during the 9th Century.

3. At one point in Iceland’s recent history, the country barely had any trees, with a drop from 25% to 1% of Iceland’s area covered by trees. This decrease in trees was blamed mostly on the Vikings and nature. The Vikings for overusing the trees for wood and bringing animals that overgrazed and killed the land supplying nutrients to the trees. And nature, for killing the trees with volcanic eruptions and ice ages. So, about 100 years ago, Iceland imported trees native to regions of the world with a similar climate to Iceland (Siberia, Alaska, Norway) to help jumpstart their tree population again. And ever since then, tons of trees are planted each year with the hopes that the island will once again have trees.

4. Iceland is a country that is both easy and hard to hitchhike in. Easy because people are willing to give you a ride if they drive by and have space in their car. Hard because there are so few people and cars passing by that you might wait ages until a car stops for you. And because of that lack of traffic in certain areas, the southern part of Iceland and Snaefellsnes are probably easier to hitchhike through than places less visited, like the Western or Eastern Fjords.

5. It is possible to see the Northern Lights in Reykjavik! With strong enough lights, you can see them through the light pollution, but if you want better views, seek dark, clear skies far from the city. More on that tomorrow!

#withabackpackandcamera #huyphan8990 #travel #travelblog #blog #photography #photos #Reykjavik #Iceland #Snaefellsnes #Peninsula #travelphotography #landscapephotography #nature #outdoors #winter #northernlights #hellnar #kirkjufell

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rueur · 4 years

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Morning Pages No. 59

Saturday 22nd August - 10:14am

I am doing this at my desk at work, which is weird, and it's making me feel like I can't be as honest as I'd like to be. I feel like Saturdays in particular are going to be quite difficult. I've turned the brightness of my phone screen all the way down so it'll at least be pretty difficult to see what I'm typing. But at the same time, it'll be difficult for me to gauge when I'm at three complete pages, because there are no page breaks in the Android version of Google Docs, or at least the Android version that I have. This experience is kind of fun though, because it's reminding me of uni. It's been a while since I've used this keyboard, in fact I don't believe I've used this keyboard at all with the XZ Premium. It took ages to pair it up with my phone, partly because I'm at work and I'm surrounded by Bluetooth devices. It was a bit of a nightmare. I ended up having to go to the kitchen in order to pair this up. Now I feel pretty good, though. I can't seem to be able to get rid of the phone keyboard at the bottom of the screen, so what I can see of this digital page is quite limited. It feels like I'm typing into a typewriter and I can only just make out the words on the page over the hardware that's required for the words to exist. I think I'd love to have a typewriter, but it's not essential right now. There's a woman who writes poetry on the street in the city with a typewriter. She asks people if they'd like a poem and she'll type one out for a price. I've always been a little in awe of her, because she always dresses in these lovely, flowy dresses and sits on her little stool or milk crate, her arms out like she's sitting at a desk, type-type-typing away on the street, all the business pricks passing by and getting a little glimpse into her very colourful life. I hope she's doing okay right now.

I'm actually feeling pretty confident about this Bluetooth keyboard morning pages set-up right now. Even if I'm not able to publish this immediately after typing, I'll at least still be glad that I got this out of the way. I mean it's not just about getting it out of the way, I have to maintain this practice, but I don't want it to feel stifling. I have to figure out a game plan for days where I'll just have an early start, and I won't be able to do the pages first thing in the morning. Part of me just feels like I should wake up earlier and stop being a baby. The main issue I have with waking up earlier just to complete the pages is that if I'm on a time limit, I'll feel far too anxious to be able to finish them efficiently, and I'm going to end up scrambling the rest of the morning. But…it may also be something I just need to learn how to do. I should learn how to stop myself from becoming overly-anxious in the morning, and start training myself to use that 'getting ready' time more efficiently than I do. This is not a bad idea.

Evan's been complaining about his back for the past 24 hours or so. We almost went on a family walk yesterday, but he just started stretching at the last minute and 2:30 turned to 3pm very quickly, and I had a call with Sam scheduled at 3:30pm, so I couldn't go anymore. I really wanted to, though. It pissed me up the wall. I was going to have an insanely busy afternoon/evening tomorrow, and the sun was out and the weather was good. I wanted to have a bit of a stroll before the intensely busy night I had, and then the fact that I had work all day today as well. And then AFTER work today, we have our weekly family zoom call with Sarah and Co. I absolutely love that despite all the big personalities in that group, it's still primarily Sarah's group of people. She is quite honestly the glue that holds us all together. Part of me wanted to ask 'then what am I?' right now, but I honestly don't care too much. I'm Rue.

There's no way I'll be able to gauge how many pages I'm at, but I'm thinking now that it might be a good idea to just go off of how many words I've written. Currently, I'm at 759 or so, so I'll cap myself at maybe 2050? I feel like that sounds like a reasonable number. I'm using a few paragraph breaks here and there so it makes sense to stop midway between 2000 and 2100, which is my average word count range between the past few entries. I'm thinking way too much about the semantics of finishing this SPECIFIC entry. How the fuck am I supposed to handle Saturday morning pages once work properly opens up again? We won't have desks, and it's not like I can bring this keyboard or set it up when there are customers to serve in-store. And I feel like it's going to be intensely busy here once lockdown is over. Harrison is pacing around the store between calls, which is something he hasn't done before. I think it's because we've been able to set up more desks in other locations, and Manny and I are sitting in I.T. whilst Harrison and Nat are in games. I just had to take a phone call on behalf of Toby, who was on the shop phone. And I've just been talking to Toby right now too, so it's 10:42am. I have to stop talking about what's happening around me, I reckon. This is supposed to be stream of consciousness.

I feel like every entry I'm saying 'THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS', and I should probably just let it be, because I'm wasting mental space by panicking when I feel like I'm not doing this properly. There's no way to do this properly, or improperly. I love the word 'improperly' it sounds so disciplinary. I had this random memory of being in Grade 3 and bringing the movie 'Snow Dogs' into school on my birthday along with my birthday cake, so that we could have a viewing party during lunch. I suppose I looked for any excuse to stay inside during recess and lunch. We didn't call recess 'recess', it was like morning tea. Or playtime? I miss Lonzo. I always miss Lonzo at work.

It's hard to write in stream of consciousness when you're at work. You can't really get mindful enough, even when you're just sitting at a desk waiting for the phone to ring. There's just too much activity all around. This is perhaps my third Saturday working during the Stage 4 restrictions, so I've had more than enough of answering phones, although I believe this arrangement will be continuing well into September too. We'll see what happens. Lauren's yelling something to Madz. The ambience of this place is startlingly sparse, punctuated with periscopic, staccato interjections: impersonal, abrasive, coming from all sides at any time, and void of genuine feelings. I can't wait till I get to see thathi. He's bringing me kiribath for lunch, and I'm going to meet him in the front car park to pick it up. It'll be nice to chat to him for a little bit. I haven't seen him in a while. I miss my family. I don't know how to feel about malli, though. This is the first time that akki and malli have been in a fight and I've hands down been more on akki's side than mal's. He can't keep rocking up to work so late and just overall acting like he doesn't actually give a shit about the clinic. What is going on with his work ethic? It's doing my head in, just the mere fact that he can be so blase about rocking up to work on time, and being an asset to the clinic that he was so grateful to land a job for almost immediately after coming out of high school. He doesn't know how easy he really has it. His life's trajectory thus far in comparison to akki and mine, has been egregiously easy and totally not demanding. Even ammi and thathi have entirely given up with parenting him, and he's only 20?! How could they possibly be done with their parenting, especially if he's waking up at 2:50pm for a 3pm shift?

I've been missing typing with this keyboard SO DAMN MUCH. It genuinely makes me feel unstoppable, like nothing is keeping me from being a creative. I could be anywhere and doing anything and when inspiration strikes, BAM! Out comes the felt Bluetooth keyboard. I remember this only costing like $60, or potentially even less too. What a freaking steal. I'm glad I'm still using this after all these years too. 'Keys-To-Go'! Love it.

I'm excited to get back on Squarespace and gain some more experience with building a website. But whether or not we can move that Squarespace website on to cPanel and host it with VentraIP is a whole other battle, which I believe I'll need Steve's help with. I wonder how easy it'll be to set up my own domain with Squarespace, specifically for Broken Media to begin. I've been waiting for a call for 17 minutes. When do you reckon I'll receive a call? Do I have time to go to the bathroom right now? Look, I'm just going to go. It feels like it's going to be a quick one. Ha.

Alright...it's 1:07pm. Alright, it's 1:53pm. This is not going well, but even so I'm determined to finish these pages before the day's end. I've taken two poops today. And now Nat and I are watching The Office. Thathi dropped me off some kiribath and I'm feeling pretty nourished right now, but I'm kind of done with being here for today. I don't feel good in my body, which is interesting. Evan's also been recording some negative physical feelings since we started the 21 Days. I think it may just be part of the process of incorporating mindful practices into your life. It's what happened to Zuko in Atla or Lin in LOK. Or perhaps it's less nuanced than that. It's what happens when you do a juice cleanse. Today is just not a good day, morning pages-wise.

#streamofconsciousness #morningpages #artistsway #59 #jb

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