#festival do salvador

[viatrix-glow]

happy hispanic heritage month 🎉 ft my ocs who were designed with the intent of being hispanic

[yearningforunity]

Mãe Marta stands above her divination instruments, the buzios or cowrie shells. As she tosses them on her table, the position in which they fall indicates a response from the Orishas, which she interprets for the inquirer.

Yalorixá Mãe Marta de Oyá spends much of her time split between satisfying the demands of restless spirits and troubled souls.

As head priestess of the only Candomblé temple in Santo Antônio do Carmo, the historic center of Salvador da Bahia in northeast Brazil, the 45-year-old has her work cut out for her.

When not preparing feasts and festivals in the Candomblé tradition, she is catering to the needs of adherents to the faith who need a little guidance. She also conducts cleansings for those who believe their home could benefit from a better spiritual balance.

[kemetic-dreams]

Olodum is a bloco-afro from Salvador's carnival, in Bahia, Brazil. It was founded by the percussionist Neguinho do Samba.

Olodum develops activism to combat social discrimination, boost the self-esteem and pride of Afro-Brazilians, and defend and fight to secure civil and human rights for marginalized people in Bahia and Brazil. It developed a social project called Escola Olodum (Olodum School).

Annually, since 1980, in Salvador's Bahian Carnival, Olodum

discusses topics related to the importance of African culture in the construction of society, as in the 2014 carnival theme, "Ashanti - The Golden Throne and the Queen Yaa Asantewaa." The theme song is chosen in a songwriter competition called FEMADUM (in English, Olodum's Music and Arts Festival).

[xexyromero]

xexyyy, vc pode por favor fazer headcanon dos meninos visitando o brasil pela primeira vez? onde eles iriam, o que cometiam, o que eles mais gostariam daqui? uma parada bem fofinha e bem brasileira. obrigadaaa!

wn: demorou mais chegou! acho que me empolguei demais kkkk espero que goste <3

meninos do cast x primeira vez no brasil.

fem!reader headcanon

tw: menção de uso de drogas ilícitas!!!!

enzo:

apesar de ter ficado tentado por são paulo, preferiu visitar minas gerais. cidades históricas, inhotim, muito museu e espaço cultural. além do povo receptivo e gentil. 

ia tentar te arrastar para todos os dias de um festival de cinema independente que encontrou na internet. 

e nada de praia, que fique claro. ia escolher uma época com o clima mais frio, se possível.

mas não negaria também visitar salvador e sua cultura exuberante. pretende ir ao pelourinho algum dia, sim. 

é encantado pela culinária contemporânea brasileira - então iria em grandes restaurantes, assinados por chefs brasileiros de renome. mas claro, não perderia a oportunidade de experimentar toda e qualquer comida de barraquinha que lhe parecesse interessante. 

agustin:

é praia atrás de praia, papai. viu um itinerário na internet que passa por várias praias incríveis do nordeste em uma rota só, começando no ceará e terminando em pipa. 

inclusive, a vibe da viagem é essa: roadtrip. pernoite em pousadas pequenas, sem muito luxo.  

vai tentar falar com as pessoas em português depois de fazer três lições no duolingo pra pedir desconto. e vai falhar miseravelmente.

você não sabe COMO, mas ele arranjou um contato de maconha. e diz que a brasileira é mais gostosinha que a da argentina, tá?

comida de praia! vai se apaixonar pela farofa, pirão e peixe frito. e pelo picolé pardal depois do almoço. 

matías:

é são paulo! sempre foi são paulo! afinal, além de achar a capital interessantíssima, tem um ritmo que combina com o próprio matías. 

não só isso, mas ele gosta dessa coisa da cidade grande e acha são paulo muito parecido com buenos aires, de alguma forma.

vai querer explorar o restante do estado também, tá? 

gosta sim de visitar os museus (vai adorar o museu da língua portuguesa, por exemplo), mas a vibe dele é andar pelas ruas e ir acompanhando o movimento. vai adorar o circuito gastronômico de baixo do copan. 

comida de rua! finger food de barzinho. vai adorar os salgados do estadão. 

fran:

fran sinceramente não consegue decidir pra onde quer mais ir - então resolve ir, aos poucos, por centros mais afastados das capitais.

tipo campos do jordão ou jalapão, por exemplo. ele dá uma evitada nas praias ou regiões de maior calor porque não gosta muito, mas corre pra cima das áreas verdes. 

ele adora a vibe da cidade, adora a vibe do movimento e dos museus contemporâneos, mas a pegada que deixa fran feliz é a natureza e o movimento mais tranquilo. 

ele vai pirar nas fotos, nos espaços culturais (mesmo que pequenininhos), nas trilhas, parques, etc. 

fran come de tudo e vai querer comer de tudo. dá prioridade aos estabelecimentos mais familiares/pequenos do que a restaurantes grandes e famosos. 

kuku:

esteban é turista, adora turistar e não tem a menor vergonha disso. em uma primeira viagem, vai escolher o destino mais turista possível, sim. depois ele vai começar a explorar os demais locais. 

ou seja: é rio de janeiro neles. 

mas não vai ficar só na capital não, tá? vai fazer daqueles passeios completos com direito a petrópolis e búzios. quer ir de uma ponta a outra, descobrir tudo que ele puder descobrir, do mais badalado ao mais local. 

vai comprar um cristo redentorzinho, imã de geladeira do aquário, chaveiro pra distribuir, foto paga no pão de açúcar, calçadão de copacabana, etc etc etc. 

fã declarado e de carteirinha da culinária brasileira daquela clássica que a gente vê na tv. vai procurar os restaurantes mais tradicionais e pedir dica de outros locais que possa comer uma boa feijoada, por exemplo. 

pipe:

independente do lugar, é importante deixar claro que pipe vai encontrar um estádio de futebol e vai fazer questão de assistir um jogo - com preferência pra alguma rivalidade clássica entre times da cidade.

ele é da praia, assim como o agustin, mas de uma praia mais cidade. iria ser muito feliz visitando alguma capital nordestina litorânea.

numa vibe mais badalada como jericoacoara no ceará (que fica perto de fortaleza pra ele poder assistir um clássico rei, por exemplo). 

é da comida típica e vai querer provar de um tudo, mas também é fã de ver as diferenças entre as redes de fast food. sim, ele vai querer provar um bigmac pra ver se o gosto é o mesmo. 

apesar da carinha de hétero top, pipe é muito ligado a cultura, viu? então ele vai querer visitar sim todos os museus, centros culturais e cinemas de rua que puder. quanto mais local, mais ele prefere.

[gunkbaby]

All Of Shuu’s TG Calender Appearances! (In Chronological Order!)

*this was initially just gonna be a twitter thread but I’m posting it here first bc is easier to draft and arrange. :) Wrote the little information cards that are under the pics and will try to image ID them for the text late one.

Under a cut bc there are twenty-four of them! Enjoy! <3

(I believe the image below is from an anime calender? Or something? I’m not sure.)

January 12th - Skiiing Day

On January 12, 1911, Major Lerch of the Austrian Army first taught a young officer in the Niigata Prefecture how to ski. Be careful when doing tricks!

February 6th - Blog Day

Based on bu (2) rogu (6). A blog post from Shuu, it reads: “February 6 Have you heard of a flower called the ‘Hardenbergia’? It is also called a ‘Komachifuji’ and as its name suggests, it blooms with lovely purple petals. And here is the usual Tsukiyama Shuu’s Flower Language Corner. In flower language, a Hardenbergia refers to: “A fateful encounter.�� “Happiness will unexpectedly drop in.” …and the like. There’s also “a miraculous miracle”… —But this is what I think. Encounters are always fateful, and reunions are always miraculous. Fate, miracles, our world is filled with such. This moment is also a miracle.” The comments feature Touka being quite rude, Kaneki adding little of importance, and Yomo not understanding technology.

February 13th - Bank Robbery Day

On February 13th, 1866, the first ever successful bank robbery took place in America by Jesse James.

February 25th - Hori Chie’s Birthday

Hori was Tsukiyama Shuu’s classmate in Seinan High School. Hori treats Tsukiyama as her photographic subject and despite Tsukiyama being a ghoul, she doesn’t fear him. Tsukiyama in return finds her intriguing and treats her as a pet. Their relationship continues on until now making them long-time acquaintances. Whether they have a good relationship or not, it’s difficult to say for sure.

March 3rd - Tsukiyama Shuu’s Birthday. (Obviously.)

Happy Birthday, Tsukiyama Shu.

March 26th - Untitled.

No text.

March 31st - Untitled.

The inauguration (to celebrate the completion of the structure) of the Eiffel Tower in Paris was held today. I wonder if Tsukiyama has ever been to France before.

April 28th - Nice Bath Day no. 3

No text.

May 1st - Untitled. Shu’s second blog post.

This blog reads as follows: ‘Hey, everyone. We have now entered May, yes? Speaking of May 1, it is a custom in France to send muguet (Lily of the Valley) as a present to the person you love on this day. And the recipient is said to be visited by great fortune.” Now then, upon hearing the words ‘the person you love’, whose face do you picture in your mind? How about giving flowers as gifts to him?…Or her? …With that said, that beloved person you just thought of may already be a happy person at this point. Shu.’

May 11th - Salvador Dali’s Birthday

The Persistence of Memory. “I saw three soft Shuus. One of them had a deplorable figure that hanged down from the branch of the olive tree.”

May 27th - Hyakunin Isshu Day

No. 86 Saigo Hoshi “Should I blame the moon, for bringing forth this sadness, as if it pictured grief? Lifting up my troubled face, I regard it through my tears.” Grief? Is that what you’re trying to say, moon? I don’t think so. Did I only just want to blame the moon for this sadness?

May 28th - Fireworks Day.

On this day in 1733, fireworks were launched for the first time for a festival in Ryogoku. The festival was first held by the 8th shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate, Yoshimune, in order to calm the spirits of the dead who fell to the great famine and cholera in the previous years. Now, it is held annually as water god festivies to ward off evil spirits. (Note: turn up the brightness or stare very hard for a long time. He is there, I promise.)

June 9th - 6th Ward Day

A huge amount of members were sacrificed during the annihilation of ‘Aogiri’s Hideout’ in the 11th Ward. Afterwards, Kaneki left ‘Anteiku’ in order to follow Rize’s footsteps and entered a new world, the ‘6th Ward’, alongside Tsukiyama and Banjou.

June 25th - Spaceyama.

No text. Shuu gets a cow and a Strange Thing and his father is proud.

July 20th - The Day of the Moon Landing

On 1969, the human race landed for the first time on the moon in the spacecraft, Apollo 11. At that time, Commander Armstrong sent a message to Earth saying, “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”.

August 6th - Handsome Day

Based on ha (8) nsa mu (6).

August 27th -Miyazawa Kenji’s Birthday

A poet and writer of fairy tales who was based in his hometown of Iwate. The paradise of his work was given the name ‘Ihatov’.

In his masterpiece “The Restaurant of Many Orders”, two young men went hunting in the forest, got lost, and strayed into a restaurant called ‘Wildcat House’. The irony of it all is when the two instead became the food.

September 21st - Fashion Show Day

On this day in 1927, the first fashion show in Japan took place in kimono shop called Mitsukoshi in Ginza. At that time, kimonos were mainstream.

September 8th - TG’s 5th Year Anniversary

Serialization strted on Weekly Young Jump No. 41 which was sold on this day in 2011. Thank you very much for reading.

September 9th - Rollcake Day

Based on how the cross section of a rollcake forms a ‘9’. June 6th is also called ‘Rollcake Day’ for a similar reason.

September 16th - Match Day

On this day in 1948, freely selling previously rationed matches was accepted.

October 14th - Glasses No.2

No text.

October 25th - World Pasta Day

On this day in 1995, the World Pasta Congress was held in Italy.

October 26th - Kishimen Day

Kishimen is a slick type of noodle that’s thin and wide in width. Based on tsu (2) ru (6) which means ‘slick’ or ‘slippery’. It is also considered the ‘autumn of appetite’.

December 23rd - Palindrome Day 3

‘Intimidating, Tsukiyama… Will you get burned?’

December 29th - Chanson Day

On this day in 1990, a long-established Chanson cafe in Gonzales called ‘Ginpan’ went out of business. The place was known as a gateway to success for Chanson singers.

Ok I think that’s all :)

Tell me if I have missed one, I will edit. Sorry, am tired from exam prep, hopefully this is okay. I love you so much. I feel like Shuu is always home for me in stressful times.

I’m planning to do one of these for Kanae and Rize too. I can do other characters I guess afterwards.

I own this calender. I think I might like a second one to cut out and make postcards with to go on my Shuu shrine.

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Women still lack visibility in Brazilian literature

Starting in 2026, the University Foundation for the Entrance Exam (Fuvest), which is responsible for selecting students for admission to the University of São Paulo (USP), will have a compulsory reading list with works written by women authors in Portuguese. The move comes in a bid to value the role of women in literature.

When the announcement was made last year, chair of the Fuvest Board of Curators and USP vice-President Maria Arminda do Nascimento Arruda justified the decision by saying that many of these writers “have for decades been made virtually invisible simply for being women.”

In the opinion of Lella Malta, founder and coordinator of Escreva, garota! (“Go ahead and write, girl!”), a support, engagement, and training collective for women who write, female invisibility in literature is still prevalent in Brazilian society. “The erasure of women’s writing is a phenomenon that still exists,” she said in an interview with Agência Brasil during the Pelourinho International Literary Festival—or Flipelô—in Salvador, Bahia.

“We may think it’s over, but you only have to look at the shelves to see that we still read more men. The publishing market events themselves promote this. And we women have this thing about self-sabotage; we think we’re never enough. I believe we have to work on these women, these future female authors, so they have courage and more self-esteem, and are able to reach this market in a more professional way. Writing is an instrument of female empowerment, and that’s our banner in the project,” she stated.

Continue reading.

[mariacallous]

American R&B singer Aliaune Thiam, professionally known as Akon, has long wanted to help Senegal, the country he grew up in. He started Akon Lighting Africa in 2014 to install cheap Chinese solar-powered lighting systems across the continent. He hoped to do something more significant for Senegal. But how to fund it?

The answer turned out to be the same one adopted by a growing number of governments and entrepreneurs: a mixture of cryptocurrency and urban planning. It’s a combination that offers the promise of development without any of the tricky details—and which tends to turn out to be little more than vaporware. There was Bitcoin City in El Salvador, but also Painted Rock in Nevada, Satoshi Island in Vanuatu, Cryptoland in Fiji, or the Crypto-Kingdom of Bitcointopia in Utah.

In 2018, Akon announced a new cryptocurrency, to be called “akoin.” Akoin would enable Africans to, as the singer put it at a launch event, “advance themselves independent of the government”—in some manner. Most importantly, akoin would fund the creation of Akon City, an advanced planned city to be built in Senegal. Akon announced akoin and Akon City at the Cannes Lions Festival in June 2018. Akon said in November of that year that he had “everything planned out” for the city. But both Akon City and the akoin token remained only ideas for many months.

Akon was interested by the promises of cryptocurrency—specifically, free money by some unclear mechanism—but he was not up on the details of its technical or financial issues: “I come with the concepts and let the geeks figure it out,” he said. The akoin team featured initial coin offering (ICO) entrepreneurs such as Lynn Liss of ICO Impact and Crystal Rose Pierce.

The akoin cryptocurrency was pre-sold in a 2019 crypto token offering called “token of appreciation.” Each dollar “donation” would give you up to four tokens which would convert to akoin.

Akoin had not launched in Senegal at the time, despite billboards across the country. The West African CFA franc is the only legal currency in Senegal; BCEAO, the central bank, warned that akoin could not be used as a currency in the country.

Akoin promised all manner of functionality—special akoin wallet software, direct exchange with other cryptocurrencies or with cellphone minutes, an application marketplace, various “building blocks for entrepreneurship.” None of this was ever implemented.

Akoin finally started trading on a crypto exchange in November 2020. The akoin token didn’t do anything or have any particular utility; it was just a crypto token that you could trade. Pre-sale buyers dumped their akoin immediately and the price crashed. That’s not unusual: As of 2022, 24 percent of new cryptos fell 90 percent or more in their first week.

Akon posted on social media in January 2020 that he had “finalized the agreement for AKON CITY in Senegal”—though he had previously claimed that construction had already started in March 2019. The new city would be built near the small town of Mbodiène, about 100 kilometers south of the capital, Dakar.

Akon City would be a “smart city” inspired by the futuristic African nation of Wakanda from the 2018 movie Black Panther. The city would feature boldly curved skyscrapers, shopping malls, music and movie studios, “eco-friendly” tourist resorts, and a parking garage for flying cars.

Akon claimed in August 2020 that $2 billion of the $6 billion needed to build Akon City had been secured. He laid the foundation stone for the city on Aug. 31, 2020, and said that construction would start “next year,” in 2021.

Construction did not start in 2021, to the disappointment of locals. It was not clear where the $6 billion needed to build Akon City would come from. A representative for KE International, the United States-based contractor for Akon City, told AFP that more than $4 billion had been secured, with Kenyan entrepreneur Julius Mwale as lead investor, and that construction would start in October 2021—but it did not.

By 2022, Akon told the BBC that construction was “100,000 percent moving.” He said the COVID-19 pandemic was partly to blame for the delays. Akon was surprised at the “thousands of studies” that had to be done before work could even commence.

Senegal’s Society for the Development and Promotion of Coasts and Tourist Zones (SAPCO) had claimed the land by eminent domain in 2009 before offering it to Akon City in 2020. By 2023, no building work had been done at the Akon City site—though Axiome Construction insisted that geotechnical studies and environmental assessments were still under way. By this time, according to the Guardian, the only construction was a youth center nearby in Mbodiène, paid for personally by Akon—and built upon the foundation stone that he had laid in 2020.

Senegal finally lost patience with the project. Akon had missed several payments to SAPCO, and in June of this year, SAPCO sent a formal notice to Akon warning that work had to start by the end of July or SAPCO might take back almost all of the land grant.

Akon had already been looking for other opportunities to place akoin. In April 2021, he started talking to Uganda about setting up an Akon City there as well. In January 2022, the Ugandan government allocated him one square mile in Mpunge, in the Mukono district—despite objections from the National Unity Platform party and protests from Mpunge residents wanting compensation, which could not be paid before 2025.

Akon said that Akon City, Uganda, might be completed by 2036. At a 2021 news conference, he evaded questions on what the new city would cost or how it would be funded. The Forum for Democratic Change party said that the Ugandan Akon City would never happen and accused the government of granting “sweetheart deals” to developers.

Akon City was tech solutionism that leveraged the political power of celebrity. Akon wanted to launch a large project and thought that cryptocurrency, the buzzword of 2018, might fund his dream. He thought that this one weird trick would do the job.

In this case, the miracle technology was crypto. These days, such  pushes by celebrities or entrepreneurs of new projects will typically use artificial intelligence—whatever that might mean in a particular case—as the marketing hook for a “smart city.

In his 2023 book Let Them Eat Crypto, Peter Howson of Northumbria University detailed how to head off solutionism-inspired blockchain projects that were heavy on publicity but light on the necessary bureaucratic work on the ground. His approach is broadly applicable to tech solutionism in general: Pay attention to the men behind the curtain. Howson has written recently on “smart city” plans as marketing for crypto tokens.

The Akon City plan was a worked example of speculative urbanization. A project is proposed with science-fiction concept drawings and a pitch aimed at tourists rather than locals; land is allocated; something might eventually be built, but it will bear little resemblance to the brochures. Christopher Marcinkoski of the University of Pennsylvania described Akon City as just one of many such initiatives, particularly in Africa, calling it “very much a real estate play.” The important output from such projects is local political capital—even as they never work out as advertised.

Cryptocurrency was an application of speculative urbanization to money—a high concept, a pitch to financial tourists, and the only end result being a token to speculate on and a tremendous amount of fraud. The Akon City project, however good Akon’s own intentions, seems functionally to have been merely the pitch for a crypto offering that failed—leaving an empty site, disappointed locals, and an embarrassed figurehead.

By 2024, akoin had been removed from the few crypto exchanges it had been listed on; it was effectively worthless. Akon sold short videos on Cameo—but he would not do requests related to cryptocurrency.

The speculative urbanization pitch rolls on. Actor Idris Elba has recently floated plans for an “environmentally friendly smart city” on Sherbro Island off Sierra Leone.

[grandselfmythologizing]

Villain and Violent, Infant and Innocent; of Asya and Tré— a Ramshackle OC Fanfiction.

Asya. He wanted to reach her, to bridge the yawning chasm of their shared misery, but the action he sought to venture eluded him. Words hovered atop his lips, but they felt insignificant upon mental rehearsal, inadequate against the vast distance that separated them. Are you okay? What are you doing? You’ll get sick like that. What could there even be to say? A trembling hand extended in reach for her, willing himself a few steps nearer, but withdrew upon the slightest distance taken. You have cake on your cheek. Come here, I’ll wipe it off. What modicum of comfort could he provide when he himself was adrift, suspended in the unforgiving reality he scarcely endured? I’ll take care of you.

Crumbling like castles ever gleaming, civilizations proclaimed to be eternal— hubris, is it? Or, desperation?

“God, Asya…” breathed Tre, feigning melodramatic stupor— pressing a hand atop his chest as if a blow had penetrated through his heart in affected gesticulation. Finally, he succumbed to familiarity; what was cruel was infinitely easier. “What a scare. You could have given me a heart attack!”

about anastasia salvador (ramshackle oc insert) pairing ramshackle tré x oc (asya) genre character lore, canon-divergent, angst, the romance with the aforementioned couple is merely an addition tws insomnia, depiction of a a panic attack/mental breakdown, moments suggesting eating disorders, and religious guilt insinuated although never explicitly pictured. please heed said warnings and stay safe.

PART ONE of Indeterminate—

The house was but a husk of a home, a tomb— wholly overcome with a bleak, desolate stillness that preceded every crevice of the manor of lacquered gold. Each broad outline of shadow, cast by the obnoxious, grandiose amenities every room was furnished, stretched long and weary into the oppressive depth of the dark night, their harsh, jagged silhouettes becoming a dark pool in the creaking floors, which succumbed with the slightest oppression of force. Each cautious step Tre ventured was a laborious endeavor, his limbs leaden and uncooperative. Plagued by the gnawing restlessness of insomnia, he hauled himself from bed (which, proved nothing but an immediate regret of departing from his dearly beloved covers) and driven begrudgingly forth by some primal, desperate need for a cheap semblance of gratification, however fleeting or elusive the venture’s fruits culminated.

He wandered through the narrow, shadowed corridors, each embellished corner overcome with a total, inky blackness that seemed to pulse with a life of it’s own. It was as if the very walls conspired to remind him of the bleak night beyond the manor’s sprawling gates, weathered by a storm most penetrating— his existential insignificance in the vast, boundless expanse of the rain’s unforgiving onslaught. He advanced with a kind of mechanical detachment, his mind a clouded haze of half-formed flights of thought and distant memories in dejected recollection, all blurred by the heavy fog of insomnia and lethargy.

He crossed the threshold of the kitchen, where a sterile, clinical luminescence from the refrigerator cut through the darkness with an almost surgical precision. The manor’s opulent evening had been marked by a grand dinner party, which had just concluded hours earlier. The remnants of the festivities lay scattered, a detestable departure from the emptiness it now harbored. The stark blue cast long, sharp shadows, outlining the vagueness of the dark into delineated contrasts and unsettling angles. There, standing bathed in the cold glow, a spectral silhouette against the harsh illumination of the open fridge, perched a dejected Asya, her figure etched in sharp relief against the gloom.

The coveted names in the exclusive guest list was a calculated pick of the most desirable prospects in the current social ecosystem, which of course, encompassed Ramshackle’s Holy Order, and their dearest girl. The extension of the night’s festivities was not intended, but drew out longer than expected, and neither was the weather most penetrating— nevertheless, it proved to be an immense joy to Tre’s mother, whom was most excited to suggest her guests’ extended stay.

Although “dearest”, at the moment, Anastasia did not quite appear. She clutched a slice of a cold, decadent cake with bare hands, it’s wet, saturated grain, moist from it’s refrigeration, apparent even from a distance— her fingers overcome with a fitful tremble against the frigid cold as she held onto it as if her only remaining anchor to reality.

Everyone is standing on shaky ground; teetering on insecurity half-concealed and trembling from the weight of the false identities we cannot sustain upright.

Her eyes were gouged of even the vaguest notion of thought or color, vacant and unthinking— fixed in some vague, indiscernible point in the wistful distance, as if she had slipped from the brutal moorings of reality. The light bathed her in an unforgiving pallor, every shadow of outworn grief marring her gaunt face. A mere statue, frozen in stagnant, desolate contemplation, only, a statue would not have been the picture of pity Asya epitomized— the usual, poised arch of her back hunched and sunken, slumped helplessly over a slice of moist cake in the ceaseless expanse of the dark.

The air was frigid, each breath taken a sharp, icy stab that seared Tre’s lungs. Outside, a storm raged, an unrelenting onslaught that battered against the house as though in zealous effort to wring it apart. The wind howled, the mournful howl of a swift succession of rapid gales— overlapping into one another in a fitful, anguished cry.

Asya. He wanted to reach her, to bridge the yawning chasm of their shared misery, but the action he sought to venture eluded him. Words hovered atop his lips, but they felt insignificant upon mental rehearsal, inadequate against the vast distance that separated them. Are you okay? What are you doing? You’ll get sick like that. What could there even be to say? A trembling hand extended in reach for her, willing himself a few steps nearer, but withdrew upon the slightest distance taken. You have cake on your cheek. Come here, I’ll wipe it off. What modicum of comfort could he provide when he himself was adrift, suspended in the unforgiving reality he scarcely endured? I’ll take care of you.

Crumbling like castles ever gleaming, civilizations proclaimed to be eternal— hubris, is it? Or, desperation?

“God, Asya…” breathed Tre, feigning melodramatic stupor— pressing a hand atop his chest as if a blow had penetrated through his heart in affected gesticulation. Finally, he had succumbed to familiarity; what was cruel was infinitely easier. “What a scare. You could have given me a heart attack!”

Asya remained inert, hardened into stone by the utter sorrow enveloping her— tightening it’s constriction upon every waking moment, until it ensnared and choked, stifling her to total lameness. And much to Tre’s dismay, apathetic to his incessant provocation. The right words, the gentle ones, escaped his lips— shaping instead to the cruel, vain ease of scrutiny.

“Wha— what are you even doing?!” He behested incredulously, the berate of such an interrogation almost akin to those subject to those he apprehended for larceny. Talking to her as if hopelessly caught amidst the scene of an abhorrent crime. “You’re supposed to be asleep, or at the very least, with Father Matthias in the guest bedroom. If he or Mother— scratch that, if ANYBODY caught you in such a state, you’d be in awful trouble!”

“Look at you! You have cake on your forehead! I mean— how does it even get there?!” He pursued tempestuously, pointing to the prominences which he expressed indicated such an offense, apparently to him personally. “Are you TRYING to look pitiful?”

There was an inherent frailty to Anastasia, the susceptibility of both her physical constitution and mental character to total, absolute collapse upon the slightest incitement embedded to the delicate fixtures of her being. Weak, she was. Every sharp utterance, every disagreeable flick of the tongue, merely even a cold, fleeting glance, prompted her to unravel, to the point of ceaseless tears— an abnormal sensitivity perhaps a consequence of the isolation she subject in childhood, and social ineptitude.

“Pick yourself up, Salvador!” He bellowed, coupled with a frantic gesticulation of his arms— wild and ardent. “I mean, honestly—’

And of course, upon Tre’s oblivious barrage of scrutiny and imputation, she succumbed to a heaving rise of her trembling shoulder, and subsequent sob. With great suddenness, a rupture of emotion tears her asunder, snapping like thread strained too far— surrendering at last, to the desperate, clamoring tempest of her heart.

Her face twists in her violent outburst, contorting as her brows furrow in impassioned languish, her eyes aching with the tears restrained unshed yielding to its inevitable flood of grief, and her lips parting agape hitching, gasped curse. Ugly, it was— indubitably so, and she was painfully aware.

“--- how do you possibly think to maintain the provisions you’re bestowed when you’re…you…”

Her hands instinctively endeavor to obscure the maddening red that marred her cheeks upon the discernment of Tre’s gaze laid upon such a scene of her vulnerability. It was then that fervent, solemn sentiment was conceived in her heaving chest. She had witnessed her mother amidst a similar collapse of emotion once before, a single sliver of moonlight enlightening the scene as she infiltrated the moment behind a door parted agape. In her Father’s arms, sniveling most pathetically— enveloped in an embrace, incessant kisses pressed to her face, wet with tears. “It’s okay, darling. I have you, do I not?”

God, could he do that?

“You’re crying,” Tre concluded, indicating the painfully obvious— the perceived monotony and tedium of his attention feeling infinitely more debilitating than the sorrow Anastasia lamented, piercing through the heart.

Please?

“Surely, you’re above such dramatics,” he drawled, the familiar intonation and emphasis of his tone laden with a solid disdain, “there isn’t anybody here to fall for your little shtick. That hateable, poorly conceived act you put on, to procure excessive sympathy. I find it revolting.”

No. No he could not.

“I– I do not—” Anastasia chokes, forcing her utterance upon the vice, imposing grip on her throat, wrecking with sobs with a force that shook her corporal entirety. An accusation she would not allow, the only one. “I– I would never—!”

“Please, Asya. That’s pathetic.”

— End of Part One.

erm…what the sigma !! chat this is kinda funny they’re so pathetic PFTFTFTT ERMMM sorry for making Tré such an asshole I AM GOING BY HOW ZEDDYZI CHARACTERIZES HIM IN HER OLD TUMBLR POSTS ☹️😔😔 obvi their validity in canon is questionable taking into account how they’re like…from 2016… BUT ANYWAY he’s not totally a jerk or won’t be for the entirety of the fic i promise 💔💔 he and asya are just complicated angry stupid teenagers and they are 💕 so precious to me !! part two soon, promise ♡

[pudding-parade]

While he was in school, Bryce wished to join an after-school club. Given his hours of snowboarding the day before, the choice was a no-brainer. And speaking of snowboarding:

He had a wish to do more snowboard tricks, so after school and after signing up for the club, he headed back to the festival to do just that.

Also! Bryce's ex-babysitter Salvador did indeed age up. He's now the concessions vendor at the festival, so he and Bryce caught up a bit.

[reinato]

O Nordeste do Brasil é uma região vibrante e cheia de identidade, conhecida por sua cultura rica, paisagens deslumbrantes e hospitalidade única. Ao longo de seus 9 estados, o Nordeste reúne uma diversidade de tradições, história e belezas naturais que atraem turistas do mundo todo. Vamos conhecer mais sobre o que essa região tem a oferecer:

Estados do Nordeste:

1. Maranhão

2. Piauí

3. Ceará

4. Rio Grande do Norte

5. Paraíba

6. Pernambuco

7. Alagoas

8. Sergipe

9. Bahia

Principais Atrações:

• Praias: O litoral nordestino é famoso por suas praias paradisíacas, como Fernando de Noronha, Porto de Galinhas e Canoa Quebrada, que são verdadeiros paraísos para quem ama sol, mar e areia.

• Cultura: O Nordeste é o berço de ritmos musicais como o forró, o samba e o axé, além de ser um centro de manifestações culturais que fazem parte da alma do Brasil.

• História: A região foi onde os portugueses desembarcaram no Brasil, e, por isso, carrega um rico legado histórico. O Pelourinho, em Salvador, e o centro histórico de Olinda, em Pernambuco, são apenas alguns exemplos de lugares que preservam essa memória.

• Gastronomia: A comida nordestina é única e cheia de sabor, com pratos como carne de sol, feijoada, tacacá e acarajé, que refletem a mistura de influências indígenas, africanas e portuguesas.

• Carnaval: O Nordeste é famoso pelo seu carnaval vibrante, especialmente em Salvador e Olinda, onde as ruas se enchem de música, dança e alegria.

Cultura Nordestina:

• Música: O Nordeste é palco de muitos dos ritmos mais emblemáticos do Brasil, como o forró, o axé, o samba e o maracatu. Essas sonoridades podem ser ouvidas em festas, celebrações e até nas ruas durante o Carnaval.

• Dança: A dança também é uma parte importante da cultura nordestina, com ritmos como o coco, o frevo e o xaxado que acompanham a música em celebrações e festas populares.

• Arte: A arte nordestina é vibrante, expressa em pinturas, esculturas e artesanato, muitas vezes feitos com materiais típicos da região, como barro, palha e madeira.

• Literatura: O Nordeste tem uma rica tradição literária, com grandes autores como Jorge Amado, de Bahia, e Graciliano Ramos, de Alagoas, que retrataram a vida e os desafios da região em suas obras.

Economia:

• Agricultura: O Nordeste é um grande produtor agrícola, especialmente de frutas tropicais como manga, melão e coco, que são exportadas para diversos países.

• Turismo: A região atrai milhões de turistas todos os anos, especialmente para suas praias, festas culturais e centros históricos, movimentando a economia local.

• Indústria: Além da agricultura e do turismo, a região possui setores industriais importantes, como o têxtil, o alimentício e o de serviços, que contribuem para o crescimento econômico.

Curiosidades:

1. População: O Nordeste é a região mais populosa do Brasil, com grande concentração de pessoas em cidades como Salvador, Fortaleza e Recife.

2. Culinária Diversificada: A gastronomia nordestina é amplamente apreciada, tanto no Brasil quanto no exterior, sendo um dos maiores atrativos da região.

3. Eventos Culturais: O Nordeste é sede de alguns dos principais eventos culturais do país, como o Carnaval de Salvador, o Festival de Inverno de Garanhuns e a Festa de Iemanjá, na Bahia.

Conclusão:

O Nordeste é uma região fascinante que oferece belezas naturais, cultura vibrante e uma gastronomia deliciosa, além de ser um lugar onde as pessoas são acolhedoras e cheias de vida. Se você busca conhecer mais sobre o Brasil, essa é, sem dúvida, uma região que merece ser explorada.

[brookston]

Holidays 11.6

Holidays

All the Good Things Wrapped Up in One Day

Arbor Day (Republic of Congo, Samoa)

Bank Workers’ Day (Argentina)

Constitution Day (Dominican Republic, Tajikistan)

Electric Razor Day

Fala Day

Fill Our Staplers Day

Finnish Swedish Heritage Day

Flag Day (Chad, Finland)

Global Refill Day

Green March Day (Morocco, Western Sahara)

Gustavus Adolphus Day (Sweden)

Hydrogen Bomb First Test Day

International Day For Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War & Armed Conflict (UN)

International End Gossip Day

International Tracksuit Day

Legalization Day (Cannabis)

Malaria Day in the Americas

Marching Band Day

Marijuana Recreational Legalization Day (Colorado, Washington)

Marooned Without a Compass Day

Measure Up Day

National Basketball Day (a.k.a. Play Basketball Day)

National I Read Canadian Day (Canada)

National Ladies Learning Code Day (Canada)

National Michele Day

National Report Home Health Care Fraud Day

National Stacey Abrams Day

National Team Manager Day

Obama Day (Kenya)

Pine Nut Day (French Republic)

Recreational Cannabis Legalization Day (Colorado)

Saxophone Day

Scotchtoberfest (The Simpsons)

Skirret Day (French Republic)

Stranger Things Day

Tazaungdaing (Myanmar)

United Americas Day

World Cee-C Day (Nigeria)

World Lets Stop Shouting Awareness Day

World Materials Day

World Paper Free Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Do Tater Tots Ever Grow Up? Day

Global Donut Day

National Nachos Day (a.k.a. I Love Nachos Day)

Peanut Butter Lovers Day

Independence & Related Days

Constitution Day (Tajikistan)

Cycoldia (Declared; 2018) [unrecognized]

Day of the First Shout For Independence (El Salvador)

Mexico (Independence Declared; 1813)

Polish Republic (Declared; 1918)

1st Wednesday in November

Eat Smart Day [1st Wednesday]

Hump Day [Every Wednesday]

International Pathology Day [1st Wednesday]

International Stress Awareness Day [1st Wednesday]

Men’s World Day [1st Wednesday]

National Advent Calendar Day [1st Wednesday]

National Eating Healthy Day [1st Wednesday]

National Holiday Calendar Day [1st Wednesday]

National Stress Awareness Day (UK) [1st Wednesday]

Take Our Kids to Work Day (Canada) [1st Wednesday]

Wacky Wednesday [Every Wednesday]

Website Wednesday [Every Wednesday]

Wheat Beer Wednesday [1st Wednesday of Each Month]

Wilderness Wednesday [1st Wednesday of Each Month]

Wobbly Wednesday [1st Wednesday]

Weekly Holidays beginning November 6 (1st Full Week of November)

None Known

Festivals Beginning November 6, 2024

Dublin Book Festival (Dublin, Ireland) [thru 11.10]

Hawai'i Food & Wine Festival (Oahu, Hawaii) [thru 11.10]

Jazz Fest Sarajevo (Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina) [thru 11.9]

Stockholm International Film Festival (Stockholm, Sweden) [thru 11.17]

Worlds of Flavor International Conference and Festival (Napa Valley, California) [thru 11.8]

Feast Days

Adelaide of Italy (Christian; Saint)

Albert Camus (Writerism)

Alois Senefelder (Artology)

Barlaam of Khutyn (Christian; Saint)

Birth of the Bab (Baha'i) [1 Muharram]

Birth of Tiamat (Ancient Egyptian mother of gods, goddess of primeval chaos)

Burroughs Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Cosimo de Medici the Elder (Positivist; Saint)

Dabucuri uiga, (Initiation Rites of the Young Men; to Jurupari, South American Guarani/Tupi God)

Demetrian (Christian; Saint)

Dodo Grieving Day (Pastafarian)

Feast of All Saints of Ireland (Ireland)

Festival of Total Submission

Herne’s Day II: Predator (Pagan)

Illtud (a.k.a. Illtyd or Iltntus; Christian; Saint)

Illitud’s Bell (Celtic Book of Days)

Learn a New Swear Word Day (Pastafarian)

Leonard of Noblac (Christian; Saint) [Coopers] *

Los Posadas (Latin America) [until 12.24]

Lucy Jones (Muppetism)

Melaine of Rennes (Christian; Saint)

Misa de Gallo begins (Rooster’s Mass; Philippines) [until 12.24]

Stephanie Vozzo (Artology)

Tiamat the Dragon Mother Day (Everyday Wicca)

Winds of Change Day (Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Winnoc (Christian; Saint)

Wish-Granting Championships (Fairies; Shamanism)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Sakimake (先負 Japan) [Bad luck in the morning, good luck in the afternoon.]

Tycho Brahe Unlucky Day (Scandinavia) [33 of 37]

Uncyclopedia Bad to Be Born Today (because it’s National Day to Lose Money on Horses.)

Unglückstage (Unlucky Day; Pennsylvania Dutch) [26 of 30]

Unlucky Day (Grafton’s Manual of 1565) [51 of 60]

Premieres

All Along the Watchtower, recorded by Bob Dylan (Song; 1967)

And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie (Mystery Novel; 1939) [29]

Behind Blue Eyes, by The Who (Song; 1971)

The Boondocks (Animated TV Series; 2005)

Chew Chew Baby or Stick to Your Gums (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S4, Ep. 175; 1962)

A Cowboy Needs a Horse (Disney Cartoon; 1956)

Cry Freedom (Film; 1987)

Elizabeth (Film; 1998)

The Flea Circus (Tex Avery MGM Cartoon; 1954)

Forget-Me-Net, Parts 3 & 4 (Underdog Cartoon, S2, Eps. 31 & 32; 1965)

Foxtrot, by Genesis (Album; 1972)

Go Down Mooses or The Fall Guy (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S2, Ep. 70; 1960)

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Film; 2005) [#4]

Head (Film; 1968)

Hiding Out (Film; 1987)

Hold What You’ve Got, by Joe Tex (Song; 1964)

Ickle Meets Pickle (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1942)

Jersey Boys (Broadway Musical; 2005)

John Wesley Harding, recorded by Bob Dylan (Song; 1967)

Justify My Love, by Madonna (Album; 1990)

Kitty Caddy (Phantasies Cartoon; 1947)

Less Than Zero (Film; 1987)

Little Good Beep (WB LT Cartoon; 2000)

The Little Match Girl (Color Rhapsody Cartoon; 1937)

Little Red Walking Hood (WB MM Cartoon; 1937)

Made in Heaven, by Queen (Album; 1995)

Meet the Press (TV Series; 1947)

The Missing Mountain or Peek-a-Boo Peak (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S2, Ep. 69; 1960)

The Moon Fell in the River, by Guy Lombardo (Song; 1940)

Paper Doll, by The Mills Brothers (Song; 1943)

Passenger 57 (Film; 1992)

Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd., by The Monks (Album; 1967)

Precious (Film; 2009)

Rain of Terror or The Desperate Showers (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S4, Ep. 176; 1962)

The Robot Spy (Animated TV Show;Jonny Quest #8; 1964)

Secrets of Life (Short Documentary Film; 1956)

Ski-Napper (Chilly Willy Cartoon; 1964)

Sky Trooper (Disney Cartoon; 1942)

Spectre (UK Film; 2015) [James Bond #24]

Spotlight (Film; 2015)

Symphony No. 3 in A Minor, by Sergei Rachmaninoff (Symphony; 1936)

Time Bandits (Film; 1981)

24 (TV Series; 2001)

The Universe in a Nutshell, by Stephen Hawking (Book; 2001)

The Unpopular Mechanic (Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Cartoon; 1936)

An Unsuitable Job for a Woman, by P.D. James (Novel; 1972)

When We Were Very Young, by A.A.Milne (Children’s Book; 1924)

Wintertime Dreams, recorded by Woody Herman (Song; 1936)

Woody’s Kook-Out (Woody Woodpecker Cartoon; 1961)

Your Friend the Rat (Pixar Cartoon; 2007)

The Zoo (Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Cartoon; 1933)

Today’s Name Days

Christina, Leonhard, Rudolf (Austria)

Leonard, Melanija, Sever, Vedran (Croatia)

Liběna (Czech Republic)

Leonhardus (Denmark)

Aadi, Aado, Aadu, Ado, Adolf (Estonia)

Mimosa (Finland)

Bertille, Léonard (France)

Christine, Leonhard, Nina (Germany)

Leonardo (Greece)

Lénárd (Hungary)

Leonardo (Italy)

Leo, Leonards, Leonhards, Leons, Linards (Latvia)

Ašmantas, Leonardas, Vygaudė (Lithuania)

Lennart, Leonard (Norway)

Feliks, Leonard, Trzebowit, Ziemowit (Poland)

Pavel (Romania)

Renáta (Slovakia)

Alejandro, Leonardo, Severo (Spain)

Adolf, Gustav (Sweden)

Mac, Mack, Mackenzie, Makenzie, Mckenzie (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 311 of 2024; 55 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 3 of Week 45 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Hagal (Hailstone) [Day 11 of 28]

Chinese: Month 10 (Yi-Hai), Day 6 (Jia-Xu)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 5 Heshvan 5785

Islamic: 4 Jumada I 1446

J Cal: 11 Wood; Foursday [11 of 30]

Julian: 24 October 2024

Moon: 24%: Waxing Crescent

Positivist: 3 Frederic (12th Month) [Guicciardini / Philippe de Comines]

Runic Half Month: Wyn (Joy) [Day 15 of 15]

Season: Autumn or Fall (Day 45 of 90)

Week: 1st Full Week of November

Zodiac: Scorpio (Day 14 of 30)

[katherinefunke]

Sessão de autógrafos de "Flor também - cinco contos e um romance": terça, 15 de outubro, às 20h, durante o II Flufsc - Festival Literário da UFSC.

Saiba mais: https://secarte.ufsc.br/event/ii-festival-literario-da-ufsc-flusc/

SINOPSE: Flor também (cinco contos e um romance) é uma antologia de textos ficcionais de diferentes naturezas, publicados antes em diferentes formatos e aqui reunidos pela primeira vez. Entre os contos estão desde narrativas curtas, como “Coração de galinha”, até uma breve novela, “Compra-se sonhos”. A capa traz uma foto tirada durante a Ocupação Coaty, quando os sonhos deste conto foram projetados nas paredes do Coaty, prédio desenhado por Lina Bo Bardi e instalado na Ladeira da Misericórdia, em Salvador. Já o romance “Viagens de Walter”, escrito em 2013 e reescrito em 2024, se passa em Salvador, Recife e Florianópolis e conta a jornada de superação de traumas vivida por um jovem médico. Com orelha de Luci Collin, este livro vem recomendado também por Sérgio Tavares, Elisa Tonon, Alcides Buss e Patrícia Claudine Hoffmann. É o oitavo livro de Katherine Funke, escritora nascida em Joinville, também jornalista, editora e doutora em Literatura. 

Link para comprar na loja da editora

[victoriasbrazilianlitblog]

Reflections on a Year of Reading Brazilian Literature 🇧🇷

Books Read This Year; Backlands: The Canudos Campaign by Euclides da Cunha, Macunaíma: The Hero With No Character by Mario de Andrade, Hippie by Paulo Coelho and Captains of the Sands by Jorge Amado

All throughout the year, my piece of Brazilian literature mostly focused on the northeastern part of Brazil. In Backlands, I explored the northeastern part of Brazil. With its dry, arid and empty lands, I learned of the mountains and sertões surrounding areas like the Bahia, Alagoas, Pernambuco, Ceara, Piauí and Maranhão. During the summer, the sertão is known for being so dry that even rain is impossible to get. Macunaíma mostly takes place in Brazil's beautiful, lush and dense rainforests with its main character, Macunaíma growing up and living there. Before he became the Hero With No Character, he was thrown away by his mother in a spacious clearing within the beautiful forest. Captains of the Sands takes place in the Bahia, specifically the capital, Salvador. Based on the fact that the Captains lived on a warehouse along the docks of Salvador, I learned that it was somewhat of a coastal city, with beautiful beaches and a lot of vendors surrounding it.

While reading these books, I learned a good amount of Brazilian history. For example, In Backlands, I learned about Antonio Conselheiro, a rebel that led one of the bloodiest uprisings in Brazil. Before this, his family was known as a dangerous family, killing several rich people and pillaging their fortunes. Conselheiro changed that when he decided to become a leader and try to help the northeast be free of southern rule. Macunaíma, however is slightly different. It is neither fully history nor truth, rather a mixture of both. Since almost all of the characters in the book are fake, the events that happen throughout the book are real and always tie in with Macunaíma and his brothers' escapades. Hippie takes place in the 70s and the 70s was a strange time for the world. While reading that book, I learned more about the hippie movement, especially about magic buses, buses that would travel entire continents to get their inebriated passengers to spiritual places like Nepal, for instance. Coelho and his new friend travel from Amsterdam to Kathmandu and on the way, they stop in Constantinople which is now know as Istanbul. I also learned that many. "hippies" were not dedicated to the lifestyle. They merely saw it as a trend and rolled on with the times. Many gave up and returned home to get real jobs and start families after they were done "exploring."

Brazil's culture is very rich and while Hippie doesn't strictly talk about it, Macunaíma does. Many of the adventures Macunaíma and his brothers go on inadvertently cause some shift in Brazilian culture. When Macunaíma first met Ci, the amazon queen of the forest and married her, she later on died and became a star and gave Macunaíma a talisman that was then taken from him and he embarks on a journey to find it. Later on in the book, Macunaíma travels to São Paulo where he attends a festival and talks about the Cruzeiro do Sul and how it is a god, not just a cluster of stars. Mainly, the first few chapters take many things from indigenous culture in Brazil. For example, the author, Mario De Andrade made Macunaíma's catchphrase, "Aí, que preguiça!" which is a fusion of Portuguese and the Tupi language. "Aí," means sloth in Tupi, whereas "preguiça" is the Portuguese word for sloth. This book was also published during Brazil's famous modernism movement. Some say it was one of the founding pieces of literature for the movement. It was published six years after the "Semana de Arte Moderna," and symbolized the beginning of the movement.

From Backlands: The Canudos Campaign, I learned that despite facing difficult odds, in life you must over come that adversity and keep moving on. While reading Macunaíma: The Hero With No Character, I learned that in life, your identity is fluid and it can change many times, so don't try to suppress or change it. In Hippie, I learned that in order to live life, you must embrace the unknown and challenge yourself. Take risks and learn before its too late. Finally, I Captains of the Sands, I learned that I should not let my circumstances dictate who I am or what I am going to be. In life, there will be people who put pressure and doubt your abilities because of where you are from and you shouldn't let that shake your worth.

Some things I learned about myself while reading these books is that I love Brazilian literature. It is incredibly abstract and different than English or American literature. Although some literary works may be difficult to comprehend (mostly because of translation), I think that reading books from a different country can change your previous perspective on a country, it sure changed mine. It made me want to learn more about Brazil and ignited a new flame for Brazilian literature. While I am not done with Captains of the Sands, I will continue to read it because its a well-written book full of humor and societal commentary. This is my OFFICIAL final blog post. Acabou, and muito obrigado. victoriasbrazilianlitblog, out!

Word count: 834

[randadrives]

Blog 1

For a long time, I always said I wasn’t creative. In my mind, creativity meant being vulnerable, and I was afraid to be seen. I had a heavy appreciation for the creativity of others. I spent my childhood with a book in hand constantly, and I loved googling different artists (did anyone else go through the Rene Magritte/Salvador Dali phase at 13?), as well as going to street festivals to look at the jewelry people made by hand. I would go home and write about the things I saw, write about my experiences, and keep all my “notebooks” (because I couldn’t call them journals) as secret as possible, standing by my idea that I was logical, and smart, but absolutely not creative. I was convinced I was not blessed with that specific gift as my sisters were, not realizing until much later in life that often creativity is a practice, not something a person is just given.

Meanwhile, there I was most of my life practicing the creativity of writing and just never letting anyone see it. I carried my notebooks around from move to move, apartment to house, over and over like I was afraid to lose that part of me. Two years ago, I made the decision to start letting go of the past. To start that process, I re-read each notebook, took notes on it for my therapy sessions, and with each one finished I burned them in a barrel in the backyard. At the time it did feel quite therapeutic, if not dramatic. My notes outlined how early my anxiety could be seen manifesting, when my depression started, my struggle with religion at a young age, negativity, and much deeper emotions as the years went on. I was forced to look in the face of life events that I had decided to bury deep down. Therapy was starting to make more sense. All the times before my dear therapist, who I will call “Rebecca,” would say “feel your feelings, sit with your feelings” I couldn’t comprehend how to do that. Doing this practice made it start to click, though I still struggle and have to make myself really stop and feel, as miserable as it might be. No one said therapy was an easy process!

At this time, I was going through some major life decisions. Not only was I dredging up my past in my therapy sessions on a weekly basis, but I was also debating with myself on leaving my career, and I had just transitioned out of the Air Force Reserves. I was trying to find a hobby, as well as wondering what I could do with my future if I wasn’t tied to the job I had chosen that sucked up all of my energy, time, and compassion. I thought maybe I should try something I haven’t done before. Something creative? I attempted to try to start a blog, as well as took up a noncredit photography class online through a local college. Both of those things I felt terribly unskilled with, and one of my domineering personality traits is I HATE to be bad at something. So, I didn’t continue, but kept saying out loud when people would ask: “I’m going to start a blog! I got a camera and am going to start taking photos!” There was some hope, albeit a small amount. I figured maybe the more I said it, the more I would convince myself to just start already. All these people already knew what my intentions were! I told myself over and over to let myself be bad at it, practice more, and maybe I’ll eventually get better. That was a year and a half ago, all the way up until now. These things take time, right?

Part of my struggle to commit was a theme. Every blog I’ve come across has been a niche that I didn’t feel connected to, or convinced me the market is saturated and what quality do I possibly have to contribute to this? There are 600 million blogs currently. I kept a running list in the Notes app on my phone of what I was interested in writing about: women in the military, travel, books, my 30’s, women’s safety, being child-free, books, post-DD214 life. All of which has been done before! But it’s taken me this long to remind myself I don’t write to provide never-before-seen content. I write to feel my feelings! To share opinions, and celebrate the small joys in life, to make a written history of things I may not even remember in 15 years. And I think finally, 10 months after making the active decision to leave my job, and a year after I purchased a travel trailer and committed to an alternative lifestyle, I finally realized that I can write about things that have been written about before. I can take photos of trees and birds and be bad at it for a while. I can grant myself grace in trying something new and being vulnerable.

Cheers to myself for taking the first step, even if it was a very looooong step. I’m not going to be an influencer, or content creator, or make money. But I am going to write and attempt to share my musings, and hope others can take that step as well. You don’t have to be naturally talented to try something new, and no one is an expert their first time.

Photo taken at Todd Nature Reserve in Pennsylvania, October 2022

[the-foolish-scholar]

The World

In the traditional tarot deck, The World card shows a naked individual wrapped in a purple cloth, dancing inside a large laurel wreath. They look behind to the past, while their body moves forward to the future. In their hands are two wands or batons, similar to the one The Magician holds. It is a symbol that what was manifested with The Magician has now come to completion with The World. The wreath is circular, symbolizing a continual cycle of successful completion and new beginnings because, as the individual steps through the wreath, they are completing one phase but beginning another one simultaneously. Around the wreath are four figures (a lion, bull, cherub and eagle), very much like those in the Wheel of Fortune card. Both The World and the Wheel of Fortune speak to the cyclical nature of our lives and our progression through our cycles. The four figures represent the four fixed signs of the Zodiac—Leo, Taurus, Aquarius, and Scorpio. They are symbolic of the four elements, the four suits of Tarot, four compass points, four seasons, and the four corners of the Universe. All of these aspects that these symbols represent are here to guide us from one phase to the next, bringing balance and harmony to our journeys.

-

Hi everyone, long time, no type. If you’re sitting here reading this, or at least skimming it, thanks for devoting your precious time to hear me blabber.

Life is lots of things, but right now I feel a sense of peace and contentment. Yesterday I flew back to El Salvador after spending about two months back in the states.

Being home in the US was strange. I don’t know how to describe it; It was like I had bought one of those rearview mirror extenders for my car...? So much of my life had been lived without paying full attention to my peripherals, and I’d only see what was in my peripherals when I’d intentionally check my blind spot. But now, with a simple glance upward, I can see everything that was once hidden from first sight.

That’s led to a lot of critical self and societal analysis, which honestly, makes me feel like this:

I miss the days when my brain was underdeveloped and I never felt like that, as I imagine we all do. Siri, play Ribs by Lorde.

ANYWAY,

I took advantage of everything life had to offer me while I was home. What luck I’ve encountered in this life to live with such privileges…

When I first got home, Nolan and I had a fancy dinner. We split a beet salad, calamari, caesar salad, walleye, steak, asparagus, potatoes, and a chocolate torte. It was all so decadent.

We also celebrated the lovely Savannah’s 2nd birthday! After her party was over, we met up with Mackenzie and Roman and went out in Detroit. I didn’t think I had it in me to go out but the vibes were good. We got munchies from the food truck outside the place we were at and I tried orange pepper wings and macaroni and cheese inside of an egg roll. 

Thanksgiving eve was quite eventful. It was the first time I got to go out with Casey, Bailey, Sam, and Clayton together since I’d left. We ran into so many people at the bars and it was nice to chit chat with everyone. As usual, my choice of shoes bit me in the ass.

Celebrating Thanksgiving, violently hungover, was the perfect penance for the festivities from the night before. Feasting in honor of genocide is always awkward and morally conflicting, but damn was the food good. Especially Aunt Megan’s broccoli salad.

Mom and I went antiquing on Black Friday and there were so many interesting things. I ended up buying a children's book that resonated with me. Here's a Youtube video of someone reading it. Yes, I am cringe and childish, but I am free.

After we finished shopping, we stopped at Monger's/The Rind and had a cider. It was nice to support small business. They even had Paw Paw ice cream! At night I went out to 24 with friends and we played darts and had a grand time.

Casey and I also went to go see the new Hunger Games movie at Emagine. It was so nice to eat movie theater popcorn with all the chemicals and artificial flavoring that makes it taste good enough to eat.

Lily and I made plans and then the universe did not agree with our plans but we ended up having a great time together. We caught up at Pinky’s after the first three places we tried to go to were not viable options. They have good fries there. We also went to Gusoline together after which was a lot of fun!

Sam and I grabbed dinner at The Oak Parker. They had these really good sweet potatoes, and they said they were covered in a vegan cream sauce, but it was literally just parve ranch. After dinner we went to some self-serve bar in Royal Oak and played a heated game of Jenga.

Mom and I went to Bagger Daves for burgers and then Blarney’s for beers. At Blarney, we sat in one of the booths… Those who know, know. She took some spirited pictures of me and posted them on Facebook; because she’s friends with the bar, they shared a wonderful picture of me toasting with my beer on their page… Apparently, I’m just the demographic of people they need to advertise their bar! As an influencer, I feel that I deserve my cut of the profits.

I went on the Royal Oak Santa Bar Crawl with Sam, Clayton, and co. We only went to three bars, and one of them was not participating in the crawl. A lot more relaxed than the ADPI senior bar crawl. I met some interesting characters and had some fascinating conversations with said characters. Again, IFYKYK.

The next day, I treated myself to a little spa day and escaped out to the lake. It was very needed for the soul. I wrote the first draft of this grant proposal and I even dabbled in some poetry. I got chocolate almond ice cream from The Parlor and a cheese pizza with butter crust from Hungry Howies. I binge watched a lot of La Fea Mas Bella while I was out there too.

After being away, it was nice to come back home. My parents and I watched Oppenheimer. We also got some Kam’s for dinner.

I trecked out to Chicago with Roman to celebrate Nolan’s 25th birthday. Our car ride went by quickly and the conversation was nice. We arrived to chi town pretty late so Casey and I just had a lazy night after Roman dropped me off. The highlight of that day was finally meeting Annie, Casey's cat!

Nolan and I put in a reservation at Armitage Ale House and then we got some shopping done for our secret santa. There was this one place we walked by which just had bottle of lotion for people to take and it smelled good. Armitage Ale House lived up to the hype Nolan has given it. We split their trout caesar, burger, and sticky date cake. It was divine.

We went to Happy Camper for dinner and drinks afterword. I had a forever chemical kale and beet salad and nibbled on some barbecue chicken pizza. I forgot how good barbecue chicken pizza is. We went back to Nolan’s for secret santa and it was cute and fun. Brooke got me a film camera and I’m so excited to use it to take pictures when I’m back out in the field!

The next night was Nolan’s actual birthday and we had a blast singing, dancing, and drinking on the trolley we got to take us around. It was lovely to meet and chat with old and new friends. The second bar had a photo booth and it was really nice to take pictures in it with Nolan and Hannah. I love getting to use the pictures we took as bookmarks.

The next day, Roman, Bailey, Alan, and I headed back home. We made a stop in some small town in Indiana to fill up on gas and get some food. The Jimmy John’s tasted like heaven in my mouth. There truly is nothing better than a big and crunchy pickle. I also tried their peppermint chocolate cookie, it was good. It was nice to debrief about the weekend together too.

Later that week Bailey, Sam, Clayton, Alan, and I went out to Como’s for pizza. Bailey and I split their antipasto salad and it was actually the best antipasto salad that I’ve had in my entire life. I also got barbecue chicken pizza. To. Die. For. At the end of the dinner, I accidentally dropped a cup of ranch and it miraculously landed in a glass of ice water, which only Sam and I saw but it was funny.

On that Saturday, Roman, Mackenzie, Casey and I went out to the Black Salt bar. I was really happy that we were able to go as I’d been wanting to go since I first heard about it opening months ago. I got the presence cocktail, which contained absinthe and involved some ritual to evoke spiritual guidance from those beyond. The drink had a fascinating flavor but it felt odd to be so spiritual in front of others in a bar. I chowed on some Smartfood Popcorn which reminded me of the Fund Run at Rogers. We all split this exquisite chocolate truffle too, it was decadent dark chocolate but it had this floral quality to it. We rented a deck of tarot cards and I gave everyone readings. Roman read my tarot cards for me and it was so lovely to sit on the other side of a reading for once. We got a second round and I had this delicious espresso martini with a hazelnut flavoring. On our way out, we purchased spells and tarot card readings from the vending machine (I don’t know what you’d call them, they’re the things you put quarters in near the entrance of diners, that usually have candy or stickers in them?) and then headed to pick up drinks from the party store and pizza from Roman’s Amici’s. We got a gigantic barbecue chicken pizza and ate it as we watched Saltburn at Roman’s apartment. The pizza was fantastic and the movie was for sure interesting.

When Christmas Eve rolled around I stayed in with my parents and we decorated Christmas cookies. We also watched The Family Stone and Elf. The Family Stone was really touching and Elf, such a Christmas classic.

On Christmas day we headed out to Aunt Megan and Uncle Mike’s to celebrate. Uncle Mike smoked a turkey and it turned out very well. We drank Jingle Juice and had a jolly time playing Left, Right, Center. It was really nice to spend time together. After we finished family Christmas, I headed over to Bailey’s to celebrate. It felt really good to end Christmas together with friends and catch up with people I rarely get the chance to speak with.

Nolan came home and him and I went to Hellenic for Greek salad and we also got some Saganaki. We played with Savannah for a bit and went to the gym too. Later that night we got together with Casey and Bailey for dinner and drinks at Maddy’s Amici’s. After Amici’s we went to Blarney’s for one last beer and we were engaged in some delightful conversation about the state of online dating with the strangers at the bar. We took our chances at winning a prize from the claw machine and won nothing but the joy of playing the game.

The next day I drove Nolan to the bus stop and then grabbed coffee with Casey. In the evening, Roman picked me up and we headed to Maddy’s Amici’s to celebrate Maddy and Casey’s birthdays. At our end of the table, we had a lively conversation about the impact nipple piercings may or may not have on a breastfed child’s speech development, among many other things. The tiramisu was divine too. It was really nice to spend time with everyone that was there. Especially the surprise visit from Autumn, Lauren, and Amelia!

The next morning Casey and I headed out to Chicago. The drive was good. When we finally made it, we quickly got ready to go out for Casey’s birthday dinner. I had a forever chemical Santa Fe kale salad with steak and it was so good. After dinner we went to Ebony and Rachel’s to pregame the bar. It was a lot fun. The bar we went to had a very interesting bathroom but I liked the vibe of the place a lot.

On New Year’s Eve, Casey and I were pretty lazy and we lounged around at her apartment. We got middle eastern food which hit so hard. Around 7, we headed over to Nolan and Cassie’s for a cocktail party. We watched Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper and I was glad that CNN was letting them drink again. Cassie put out a wonderful spread of snacks and Hannah made some really good bruschetta. I made the first cocktail of the night, carajillos, which we all agreed as a good first drink of the night per the caffeine. The drinks that everyone else made were all so great, it was so fun to get to try so many new things. I also read tarot cards for people, with the help of Trixie when I read Hannah's! After the ball dropped, we officially celebrated Casey’s birthday with Trader Joe’s sheet cake and oh my God… The TikTokers were not lying about that cake!

On New Year’s Day I slept in pretty late and then I headed home. The drive home by myself was good for the soul. I listened to lots of music and contemplated my life. I was happy to sleep in my own bed by the time I got home.

The next week kind of went by in a blur. I just focused on getting things done that I needed to do before leaving the country. I went on a really nice walk around Cranbrook. I got really close to a deer, it was a very spiritual moment.

On my last night, Evan came home and we all had dinner together. Caesar salad, steak, asparagus, and baked potatoes. All very delicious and a treat for the senses. After dinner, I retired to my room and reflected on my time at home and the direction of my life. I fell asleep only to wake up in the middle of the night to head to the airport. My flights were smooth and my ride home from the airport went by quickly. Walking into my apartment gave me a sense of personal stability that I hadn’t felt since I’d left. It was nice to be alone and in my own space again.

I can’t believe that I’m going to move from this apartment in a week. So many memories reside within this room. If walls could talk… You best believe that I’ll be soaking up every last second that I have here. While to the eye this apartment is merely a place with my things, to me, this apartment symbolizes my ability to achieve a life for myself independently, which is extremely gratifying and freeing. I can’t say I’ll miss the moldy water or the lack of running water, but I will miss everything else this apartment gave to me.

So if you’ve made it this far, you should congratulate yourself, because you don’t have iPad baby brain rot. Thanks for caring enough to read my ramblings. It kind of turned into Sylvia Plath’s food diary… What can I say, my inner fat girl lives on!

Z

[dmagedgoods]

🎂, 🌱, 🌌, 🖍️ for Salvadore?

🎂, 🌱, 🌌, 🖍️

🎂 BIRTHDAY CAKE - when is their birthday? do they like celebrating it? Salvadore’s birthday is the 18th of Arodus.

This means his birthday was the very day he made it back out of the hole he fell into thanks to Deskari. And no, I didn’t know this before I started playing 😂, I always take the 18th of the month that’s the in-universe version of August in any world I throw him in. (He's such a Leo.) It also means his birthday has to be very close to Daeran’s. Fun if they decide to celebrate together. Salvadore tends to hold a big festivity during his birthday, invites important guests and it’s usually a huge social gathering and – assuming he’s in a position of power – of political importance, but that’s the way he likes it. Nonetheless, he makes sure to have it end more calmly and spends a few hours with his partner (or the few close friends he has or both). If he’s in a position or at a place that doesn't allow a big event, he still likes a party for his birthday or some sort of special event. He won’t admit it openly of course, but it bothers him when he isn’t able to celebrate it or when no one around him even knows that it’s his birthday. 🌱 SEEDLING - what is their most vivid memory from childhood? Eneas. His voice, the soft, captivating way he talked to him, the songs he played on his violin and how he looked when he did, so free, radiating life, magic, mystery, his colorful clothes, the shining jewelry … He clearly remembers his smile and the flair of secrets surrounding him and how safe and secure he felt around him. Nothing excited him as much as traveling Absalom with him, to get to know new places, to learn from him, to listen to his stories … Sometimes he wishes he could go back into this time, just for a little while. He misses him so much. Another quite vivid memory is the cruel pranks his brother played when he hid or destroyed his favorite things, locked him up in unpleasant places, told lies about him, or sabotaged his homework. Sal, unfortunately, will never forget the story of the water reservoir and the spiders. He almost drowned and this wasn’t even the worst part for him. 🌌 MILKY WAY - what was the inspiration behind your oc? what was the first thing you decided about them? The truth? Rowley (my assassin boy) needed an opponent. That was the very first thought, the seed that started Salvadore’s development so many, many years ago. They were Dishonored OCs back then, Rowley a whaler, Salvadore a nobleman from Serkonos, related to Duke Abele and eager to take the position himself when the Duke’s son started to destroy his homeland. So what’s Sal’s inspiration? What’s at the core? The game Dishonored. A bunch of political intrigues. Fantasy Italy. The ocean and how the waves turn to turquoise when hit by the sun (his eyes carry this piece always). Grapes and heavy wine. Violine sounds. Giant ships in the harbor. The white uniform worn by someone out to change the world. The sands of sweet Serkonos. The first things Salvadore told me about himself were that he’s of noble birth, that he only wears white, that he has a weakness for red wine (we could go further back to the character who caused this, my taste never changed, I fear) and that he plays the violin. 🖍️ CRAYON - what advice would you give to them?

That he’s not responsible for the whole world. That he needs to loosen up regarding his duties a bit. His principles are important and – I regularly quote a friend on this – he loves to carry responsibility as if it was a weighted blanket. Nice and heavy is the way he likes it. But Salvadore tends to overdo it to a degree that it has the potential to utterly destroy him should he fail to accomplish his high goals or should he fail those he’s responsible for.