#hence rider’s shiny coat

[bhospicefashion]

Burberry

Ready to Wear Fall 2021

Stella McCartney, Burberry and Ahluwalia Star In A BFC Showcase Championing Sustainability

Fashion has stepped up its climate goals as part of the United Nations Fashion Charter, with brands committing to slash their greenhouse emissions by half by 2030. But it’s clear that reducing the industry’s impact on the planet remains a major challenge, one that requires both innovation and collaboration.

“It’s important that the fashion industry has had a much stronger voice at this Cop,” Caroline Rush, chief executive at the BFC, told Vogue. “We know from the designers and businesses that we’ve got showcasing here [that] there’s incredible work being done in the UK, but there’s so much more we need to do.

Nast, C. (2021). Stella McCartney, Burberry and Ahluwalia Star In A BFC Showcase Championing Sustainability. [online] British Vogue. Available at: https://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/article/bfc-sustainability-event-cop26.

Ready To Wear Fall 2020

For his fourth season at Burberry, Riccardo Tisci did not waver from his savvy-chic representation of the House’s codes and values. Indeed, throughout the past seasons, the designer had managed to showcase the “British style” in a new light – perhaps a more modernized and sultrier one. With that in mind, for the most recent collection to date, he sent out an army of supermodels that had nothing less than equestrian glam written all over them. The equestrian silhouette was hence portrayed onto many representations, from Gigi Hadid’s high-rise jodhpurs topped with shiny boots to the slew of fur-lined coats in brownish color palettes.

There were wide-legged trousers matched with blazer-capes and glossy trench coats that screamed “Burberry heritage”. We don’t know about you, but Tisci’s collection for Burberry definitely makes us want to become riders.

Ready to Wear Fall /Winter 2021

Burberry held its show in the vaulted Victorian ironwork hall at Olympia, a London venue that must have been constructed around the time that Thomas Burberry began his company. As a huge publicly traded corporation operating globally, it is now stepping up efforts to do better with its carbon footprint.

Venue was “certified sustainable” but also that the company is investing in “carbon offsetting” initiatives with regenerative agriculture and agroforestry in Australia via Pur Projet (whose work can be read up on the charity’s website.)

Vogue. (n.d.). Burberry Fall 2020 Ready-to-Wear Fashion Show. [online] Available at: https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/fall-2020-ready-to-wear/burberry-prorsum.

Burberrys strategy for sustainability.

We are committed to completely eliminating plastic from our consumer packaging by FY 2025/26 and to eliminate unnecessary plastics used in operational packaging as well as maximising recycled content by FY 2029/30. We are also working to increase use of recycled materials in packaging.

Targets in the future.

By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources

12.7 Promote public procurement practices that are sustainable, in accordance with national policies and priorities

15.1 By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, wetlands, mountains and drylands, in line with obligations under international agreements.

contribution to the SDGs.

Reducing the environmental impact of raw materials in our products through independent third-party certification to sustainability standards. As part of our new Responsibility strategy, we set a new target of 100% of key raw materials in our products to be certified and traceable by FY2029/30. This includes the following key raw materials: cotton, nylon, polyester, viscose, wool, leather and feather.

[quirinah]

did y’all see the new Coroika anime that came out today? The rider episode was just so cool, I took a screenshot of it! YG team look pretty different, huh?

[crystalkleure]

Which Beyblade Burst bey avatar do you think is the coolest?

Ohh man, my heart says Wyvern just because that’s my favourite and it looks so sleek tbh, but it’s actually a tough draw between Wild Wyvern, Lost Longinus, Ark Bahamut, and Hell Salamander, bahaha. I’d probably have a different answer out of those four depending on which day you ask me lmao

I love so many of the bey spirits that it’s ridiculously hard to pick an absolute favourite tbh xdcfvcfdcfhb almost all of them have like, SOMETHING Weird and Unique about them that’s A+++

Like:

Wild Wyvern has a flame pattern on its wing membrane, and the cone-shaped thing in the middle of it’s head that’s spraying fire out looks almost mechanical instead of organic somehow? idk what that shape is reminding me of specifically, maybe some kind of engine or exhaust vent

Lost Longinus has a flaming blue mohawk that matches Lui’s hair and that was like the best thing ever, also there are those glowing blue stripes/indentations on its legs and between the scales of its neck/chest that may or may not indicate that the insides of this dragon are glowing bright blue like it’s full of that fire, and just. Name origin. “Longinus” is the name of the guy who stabbed Jesus with a spear. Hence Lost Longinus’s tail spear. Lost Longinus is like, a dragon-ified biblical weapon. Does this imply that Shuu is Beyblade Jesus??

Ark Bahamut’s wings – aside from the membranes being weird iridescent scaly things that may be entirely illusory and made of light rather than actual flesh, which is Fucking Cool by itself – sort of…twist open in a grotesque way? Like, the wing fingers are twirled together like twizzlers before they open up, and they look briefly almost like DNA helixes while they’re peeling open, before the shiny membrane things materialize. You can see the flesh pulling apart like putty. I was going frame-by-frame through the animation for Art Reasons when I noticed it and I was like yooooooo

Hell Salamander just looks really cool. It’s made of hot pink fire/lava and its black scales/armor/whatever look almost like leather biker gear or something [not to mention, they match Suoh’s coat, which also seems to be leather sxdcfdcf], and the white scales/armor/whatever look like they’re made out of bone [its got claws and horns that are the same colour, made of the same stuff]. So, like…Ghost Rider Dragon. Also I appreciate how Salamander came to exist in the anime, and how it promptly burned a scribble into Suoh’s face as thanks for being created hgfdssdffghgf She’s So Dramatic

Screencaps to show what I’m talking about bc I’m bad at words:

Wyvern’s fire tattoos [last section of wing, near the edge]:

Bahamut’s wings:

And many Honorable Mentions under the cut because All Bey Spirits Are Cool:

Valkyrie has six eyes for no reason at all except to look cool, and is also two bey spirits in one bey because horse dcfvcfvhgb [gee Valt, how come your mom lets you have TWO bitbeasts??]

Storm Spriggan has Wolverine claws on the gauntlets on its arms, also for no reason at all except to look cool bc Spriggan already has Actual Claws too dfgcdfggh

Legend Spriggan looks Especially Cool when it does the thing where the black spiky parts of its wings are interlocked together, and then they open up

Spriggan Requiem has an AXE

Ragnaruk looks a little like Baphomet

Deathscyther has BATS. It summons a swarm of BATS when it comes out. Also just, everything else is cool too lmao it’s the grim reaper except dressed for a blacklight rave party

Kaiser Kerbeus has SCALES like a DRAGON and also wears an eyepatch. A Good Boy all around.

Hazard Kerbeus is uhhhhhhh some kind of radioactive mutated creature and he is also a Good Boy sxdcfvdfh

Multiple parts of Zeus’s body are made of what look like plasma balls. Y'know, those desktop toys that put on a cool light show and react to your fingertips when you touch em.

Unicorn would not look out of place in Robot Unicorn Attack

Yggdrasil has fucking plasma cannons

Quetzalcoatl has what appear to be stitches on the sides of its mouth [again, I was going through the animation frame-by-frame for Art Reasons lmao] and KNIVES ON THE TIPS OF ITS WINGS. Also it’s got a hood like a cobra but its body is flat like a Chrysopelea flying snake [they flatten their bodies out to catch air and “glide” around up in the trees] and if that was an intentional design choice then it’s a Really Nice Touch bc Quetzalcoatl is Quite Literally A Flying Snake lmao

Jormungand has TWO HEADS and NO EYES and that is amazing

Kreis Satan is SATAN, TRAPPED IN A PLASTIC TOP. He has claws on his wings, and carries a bright blue-and-yellow plastic fork. Lucifer is on vacation from Hell and decided this was more interesting than screwing around in Los Angeles or playing the fiddle in Georgia and he was right and I respect him.

Drain Fafnir has TWELVE EYES. TWELVE OF THEM. Three sets on its face, three sets on its chest. Faf, donate some of those eyes to Jormungand. ALSO I need to say I really love Fafnir even if it’s not quite one of my favourite designs because Requiem Nightmare Faf tried to fucking vore Shuu once and that was the funniest goddamn thing ever asxdcfcxdf

Geist Fafnir has a bright purple mouth. Love it.

Deep Chaos is made out of gnarled, twisted flesh and is evidently hollow inside, judging by its weird tentacle hands. Clio and his pet eldritch abomination needed VASTLY more screentime tbh.

Alter Chronos exists precisely at the crossroads of steampunk and technopunk and if that’s not one of the Best Aesthetics Ever then idk what is

Beat Kukulcan is made of plasma compressed into the vague shape of a bird, and then dressed up for the circus. All hail Clown King Kurz and his majestic bitbeast that will summon an instant blue-lighting thunderstorm if you piss him off. Easily one of the best tbh – if Wild Wyvern, Lost Longinus, Ark Bahamut, and Hell Salamander are my Top 4, then Beat Kukulcan is in the Top 5.

Twin Nemesis has a hammer that appears to be made out of raw flesh and teeth.

Z Achilles’ looks like one of those action figures made out of cheap bright plastic and his helmet looks like a pompadour shaped like an upside-down A. Somebody make me a Z Achilles action figure and take my fucking money.

Emperor Forneus is a SHARK MADE OUT OF KNIVES. KNIFESHARK. HOLY FUCK.

Bloody Longinus just looks Good, idk. Took a page from Salamander’s book and seems to be wearing BONE ARMOR, also trying to compete with Drain Fafnir for Number Of Eyeballs On Body. Got two sets of eyes on face. Got a set of eyes on each wing, set in weird bird-skull-looking things. Got a set of eyes on each arm, set in DRAGON-SKULL-SHAPED ARMOR PLATES. Now Longinus, too, has TWELVE EYBALLS. TWELVE OF THEM.

Leopard is a dragoncat made out of knives and teeth and it will shoot ball lightning at you

Revive Phoenix is a Giant Fucking Fireball compressed into the vague shape of a bird, and that Extra Intense Bright Light in the middle of its body is Concerning because it makes it look like rP is building up to Literally Fucking Explode At Any Moment. Also the Bird-Shaped Fireball turns an evil pretty purple colour sometimes and that’s great.

Dead Hades is just COOL. YOOOOOO it’s some kind of insectoid creature judging by the six segmented bug legs, and that billowy brown cloak thing it’s wearing might actually be a couple of sets of tattered leathery wings. This fantastically horrifying creature was taken from us too soon, rip.

Orb Egis is a floating scorpion-tailed hydra with necks made out of rainbow holo plasma ig. It’s…*single tear* so beautiful………

Dead Phoenix makes me SO MAD because it SHOULD NOT EXIST but it looks SO FUCKING BADASS. It’s everything rP was except 500% more Goth and Metal now. hhhhhhhh

[180abroad]

Day 125: Hadrian’s Wall and the Scottish Borders

When we first started planning this trip, one of the big sites I'd wanted to see was Hadrian's wall. But it's so far from anywhere else we wanted to go in England that I had resigned myself to the fact that I probably wouldn't get to go. Luckily, Rabbie's offers a tour of the wall from Edinburgh. Not only would we get to see Hadrian's Wall, we'd get to approach it from the north like an old Celtic barbarian.

It was a long tour, so we had to get up and into town early.

There must have been quite the party going the night before. Even the statues woke up with traffic cones on their heads.

Our guide and driver for the day was Nik, a middle-aged, born-and-bred Edinburgh man with the accent and stories to prove it.

As we drove south, we passed through the beautiful rolling hill country that makes up the Scottish Borders. The Highlands are seem to get all the glory when it comes to romanticizing Scottish countryside, but the Lowlands definitely have their own idyllic charm.

Nik told us some interesting stories about the medieval residents of the Borders and their complex relationship between England and Scotland. They were ethnically Scottish, but the Borderers resented both countries because their wars inevitably brought the razing and pillaging of border towns by both sides.

The Borderers were excellent horse riders and highly valued as mercenary cavalrymen throughout Europe. Whenever the English and Scottish armies fought in the Borders, the Borderers would hire themselves out to both sides, then sit on the sidelines of each battle until the winner was clear. They made special coats with English colors on one side and Scottish colors on the other, so they could flip their coats inside-out to match whichever side they decided to be "fighting for" at the moment. Hence the term "turncoats."

When they weren’t fighting as mercenaries, the Borderers spent a lot of time fighting themselves. One town would gather a raiding party and invade the next town over. That town would then gather a counter-raid to get their stuff back. Eventually, the raids became so bad that towns hundreds of miles away–well outside the Borders--were being raided by these crazy hill people. Neither country wanted to take responsibility for them, but when King James VI and I united Scotland and England under one crown, he was able to raise a police force to move in and establish order.

We also saw a lot of sheep on our drive. According to Nik, there are three sheep in Scotland for every man, woman, and child. Which is the perfect number, he said–one for meat, one for wool, and one for snuggling.

Our first stop was the abbey town of Jedburgh, just ten miles north of the border with England. Streamers hung up all over the town indicated that a festival was going on, but it was dead quite on this Thursday morning.

The abbey, like most abbeys in Britain, is only a picturesque ruin now. But this time it wasn't Henry VIII's fault--the Scottish destroyed their own abbeys during their own Presbyterian Reformation.

Before its destruction, the abbey was inhabited by Augustinians, who were known as cannons rather than monks. Whereas monks live and work in their abbey, cannons are priests who choose to live communally in an abbey but still teach and perform services in their local community.

We got about an hour to explore the small museum and wander through the peaceful ruins.

Next we headed down to the crossing between England and Scotland, where we pulled over for a quick photo op. There's no security or anything, just a pair of engraved standing stones.

The view was fantastic, though.

Our timing was good, too. Just as our group finished taking pictures, a kilt-clad busker showed up to serenade us with his bagpipes. More oddly, a man driving through the parking lot stopped and called one of our group mates over so that he could give her some sort of "helpful" pamplet. According to Nik, this guy is a regular feature at the crossing who stages this sort of thing all the time, making it seem like he's just a friendly local who randomly decided to pull over and give the handout to a passing tourist.

After a few very pleasant hours of driving (some of which my dad and I might have spent dozing), we arrived at Hadrian’s wall. Specifically, we arrived at Steel Rigg, a dramatic line of glacial crags that the wall runs along the top of.

It was a steep climb up to the top of the outcrop, but the view was well worth it. Even if the wall was never really used as a defensive installation, it was easy to imagine hordes of painted Celtic barbarians massing to the north.

And seeing the way crags rise up like a wall themselves, I can very easily understand how George R.R. Martin was inspired by this place to create his fictional wall of ice in A Game of Thrones.

Next, we went to the nearby Vindolanda excavation and museum. Vindolanda was a Roman walled settlement inhabited by the soldiers who manned Hadrian's wall, as well as their families and the various merchants and artisans who supplied them. The site has been meticulously unearthed, and the included museum is filled with fascinating artifacts from the Roman inhabitants’ everyday lives.

There was pottery, flatware, tweezers, and lots and lots of leather shoes. The Romans wore very intricate leather shoes, but apparently very few examples are still around. Vindolanda is a treasure trove of leather and wooden goods because the land it's on is basically a bog--pretty much the same story as with the Celtic artifacts we saw at the Irish National Museum of Archeology in Dublin.

Despite being such innocuous pieces, one of the collections that struck me the most was the wooden barrel staves on display. We could see the ancient branded markings in old Latin clear as day, and one stave still bore a round stain from when some Roman set something dirty on it. The world's oldest coffee ring, perhaps?

There was a fascinating collection of Roman locks and keys that were much more intricate than what I would have assumed they had at the time.

Other interesting finds in the museum included a piece of intricately painted glass that had been imported from Roman Germany, some surprisingly shiny Roman coins a bug-resistant wig made from local moss, and a small metal hand used for religious ceremonies.

But the pride of the museum's collections was a barely distinguishable pair of leather boxing gloves. Boxing was a favorite pastime in the Roman Empire, and there are countless artistic depictions of soldiers and gladiators wearing an ancient form of boxing gloves. But these gloves found at Vindolanda are the only known surviving pair in the entire world.

Normally, there is an afternoon guided tour of the ruins, but today's tour was replaced with a performance by a group of local Roman Legion reenactors.

They described their arms, armor, and troop composition. We learned that up until the mid-20th century, historians didn’t actually know for sure how the iconic Roman segmented plate armor worked. It wasn’t until an old wooden chest under someone's house was discovered to contain two intact sets that people were able to accurately recreate them. And by recreating them, historians and reenactors can learn firsthand how they work and would likely have been used.

And you know you're in for a treat when your tour guide is excitedly taking pictures along with the rest of the group.

We learned how most of the soldiers manning Hadrian’s wall would not have actually been Legionnaires, but rather auxiliaries. Auxiliaries were non-citizen soldiers who fought for the Roman army in exchange for citizenship after 25 years of honorable service. In the meantime, they got less money, worse equipment, and more dangerous postings.

The reenactors also described how the invincibility of the Roman army was not just due to the superiority of their arms and armor. At the time, the Romans basically reinvented the idea of a professional, standing army. The Celts of Scotland had a proud and fierce warrior culture, but they didn’t really have armies. When one clan went to war against another, they would just gather all the able-bodied men together and head out. They were strong and fierce, but they just didn’t have the skills and tactics that full-time soldiers are able to develop through years of constant, structured practice.

We got to see the reenactors charge, duel, throw spears, and even fire a ballista (basically a giant crossbow, for anyone who's never played Age of Empires).

Leaving Vindolanda, we headed back up to Edinburgh through the western Lowlands. Again, the rolling hillsides were spectacular. I was especially enthralled by the area around the River Tweed, the home of a famous British textile. We could easily see how the raiding parties Nik described could hide out in a fog-cloaked ravine and become virtually unfindable. Nik also pointed out the particular hillsides where the wild haggis love to run free--in circles, of course, because of their naturally lopsided legs.

We also passed by the narrowest hotel in Britain.

Back in Edinburgh, we finally got my dad his first taste of Nando's before heading back home. It was in a shopping mall at the edge of Old Town, and it was about an hour's wait between when we first put our names down on the waiting list and when we actually got our food. It was well worth it, though--especially considering that it would be our last Nando's of the trip.

Back home, we rested up and prepared ourselves for our last two days in Edinburgh. We would be staying in the city, and we had almost all of it left to see.

Next Post: Edinburgh, Part 2 (History, Hiking, and Beer)

Last Post: Glasgow

[juniperstreet]

gyoutai role reversal pt 2

For @unicornmagic

Gyousou/Taiki role reversal AU featuring Kirin!Gyousou and Ruler!Taiki in a 12K/Robin McKinley’s Pegasus fusion world

Part 1 

Trigger warning for Taiki’s family (aka canon child abuse/neglect)

*

Then came the sound of hooves. At first Kaname mistook it the dull roar for thunder.

He would have followed the sound if he could. There came a tug behind his navel that demanded Kaname move towards it, towards them, but the disorientation left him stumbling around until quite suddenly he was in a clearing surrounded by kirin. They might have been illuminated by moonlight, but Kaname couldn’t shake the notion that they were glowing of their own accord. If nothing else their eyes were brighter than they ought to have been.

In vain Kaname wracked his memory for what to same to them. Surely there had been a formal greeting if only he could remember it. There must be! The kirin and the royal family had made a pact centuries ago when the humans came to this land seeking refuge. The kirin had allowed them to form a kingdom in exchange for human assistance against enemies of the kirin and with the understanding a kirin would co-rule with an heir they deemed worthy.

But the potion made Kaname’s tongue clumsy and he turned around and around trying to figure out which kirin to address. “P-please, I’m v-very sorry. I don’t know what I’m to do.”

At least he thought he said that. It might have come out garbled or become lost as the kirin were pawing the ground - the sound ever so much louder than Kaname expected.

An elegant kirin, shimmering red coat and golden horn, trotted towards him. They placed their horn on his chest, directly above his heart and Kaname thought they could probably feel his heartbeats pounding wildly. The horn let out a shower of gold sparks and Kaname was quite paralyzed with dread and then everything went white and-

The coldest night in Kaname’s memory was not long after his tenth birthday. Grandmother had taken offense to something he’d done. He never understood exactly what it was that particular night, but she decreed he stand outside in the cold. It was not the first time it had happened. Yet that night had felt colder and lonelier than any other that had preceded it. For the first time Kaname had thought he might finally perish in the snow. His fingers and toes turned white then started to go blue. It didn’t occur to him to go back inside because that had never worked before.

My fingers and toes will fall off, he thought numbly. They will fall off and my heart will go quiet and then it shall be like going to sleep. Kaname hoped at least it would be like falling asleep. He rather feared the demon in him might wake up and fight it. If only he hadn’t had the demon in him then he would have been inside with the family like a normal child, like his younger brother.

He didn’t see the horses until the riders had come right up to the little gate. Perhaps he had heard them, but there was no point in paying any mind. None of the neighbors had ever done anything before when they’d seen him outside doing penance. But these were not neighbors, they were soldiers. Before he could say a word one of them cursed and dismounted quickly, coming right to him. The house was not as small as their neighbors’, but Kaname did not think the it or the barn could accommodate so many soldiers and was about to say so when the soldier took off their cloak and wrapped it around him. “Queen Mother of the West, preserve us, what are you doing out here, dear child?”

Grandmother would be angry. Kaname choked on fear even as the fur-lined cloak began to warm him. He would cry, but Mother and Grandmother couldn’t abide crying. Also he could be none too certain the tears wouldn’t freeze on his cheeks. “B-bad,” was all he could manage. “I was bad.”

The lady soldier didn’t like that answer, for her face tightened. And yet she did a curious thing, she picked him up in her arms so he was still bundled in the cloak but not longer standing in the snow. The other soldiers tethered their horses to the gate post and came over to Kaname and the lady soldier. She must have been their leader for they stood in respectful silence awaiting her orders.

“As you can see the situation has changed,” she said tersely. “We enter with weapons drawn.”

And so they did. The door was not bolted so the soldiers had nothing to impede their progress. The maid shrieked in fright and the soldiers followed her to the main room where the family was. How queer it was to burst in on everyone, thought Kaname detachedly. Father’s face went linen-white. Grandmother was stone still. Only Mother and Suguru seemed surprised.

“What business do you have here?” Father spoke at last. He did not seem to notice Kaname at all. “I was pardoned by the Queen years ago. If you are looking for lodgings we have none large enough for your company. The main hall in the village serves the imperial army for urgent quartering.”

“Former Lord Takasato, I am General Risai of Her Royal Majesty’s Army,” the lady soldier said while she brought Kaname over to the hearth. She laid him gently on some floor cushions before turning to back to Father. “Her Majesty has sent summons to all her royal kin to gather so that she may choose a new heir to send to the Forest.”

“Summons?” Mother asked. “Are we to go to the capital?”

“I was stripped of my rank over a decade ago,” Father said slowly. “Am I to understand it’s been reinstated?”

“Before I answer your question, sir, my troop and I have a very urgent question of our own. Who is this child?” Oddly enough General Risai unsheathed her sword though Kaname couldn’t imagine why.

“My eldest,” said Father. “He was in a fit of temper all evening. I leave the discipline of the children to my mother and to my wife.”

“Little Grandmother,” the general was using the traditional term of respect, but she didn’t sound very respectful which Kaname knew would make Grandmother more angry. “Little Grandmother, why was this child outside barefoot in the snow?”

“He’s an evil thing,” Grandmother said calmly, always calmly in front of strangers. “A demon is in him. The only way to quiet it again is through discipline.”

“Sir Takasato,” General Risai turned her attention back to Father, still never putting away her blade. “I. Am. Confused.”

“I do not understand your confusion, General,” answered Father. “Mother explained it to you.”

“I am confused,” the general repeated. “Is he a demon or is he your son?”

“The demon is within my son. His mother has often remarked he did not look as babies look since the day he was born.” For some reason Father’s face had started to go shiny with sweat.

“Sir Takasato, the law states that all cases of demonic possession or potential changelings must be brought to a temple as soon as suspected,” another soldier stated stonily. Kaname thought he might be the second-in-command as the general did not rebuke him. “And the temple for this region has not reported any possessions for at least two decades.”

“Hence my confusion,” explained General Risai. “Is he a demon or is he your son, sir? I will not ask again.”

“You may take him yourselves to the temple if you like,” Father waved a hand at the general as though she were a dog he were shooing away. “If we are going to the capital we’ll not be wanting him along if he’s possessed.”

General Risai frowned and came back over to Kaname. She knelt beside him and asked, “Are you warmer now, child?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Is this first time they have sent you outside like that?”

“No, ma’am.” He did not like to say it because she only frowned more and he had a feeling his family did not want him to say it. But it was true.

“General, on what charges are we bringing in the former lord?” the second-in-command spoke up.

“Charges?” Mother gasped. “I thought you said he was being summoned to become a royal heir.”

“Her Majesty, in her infinite goodness and kindness, could not have known that one of her kin would be a criminal, madam,” General Risai replied. “Sir Takasato is either guilty of no properly reporting a demonic possession.”

“A very heavy fine and possibly the loss of a hand,” the second-in-command grinned. “It depends on the magistrate.”

“Or Sir Taksato is guilty of bringing harm to one of the royal kin.”

“A capital crime,” the second-in-command said very cheerfully.

“He is my son! We may do as we like in our own house,” Father half-shouted. “It’s not a capital offense if the harm is within the royal family.”

Father was panicking. Kaname had never seen him so upset. He didn’t understand why he was upset. Kaname had the demon in him, the temple would prove that and he would only pay a fine. Though really Father shouldn’t have to pay a fine since it was not his fault Kaname had the demon in him.

“You were stripped of your rank as you said yourself,” General Risai continued. “However, that did not extend to your children. Your lawful heirs still belong to the pool of candidates for successor. Which makes you a commoner who has harmed a member of Her Majesty’s family.”

“P-please don’t be angry with Father,” Kaname clutched at the general’s arm, hoping she wouldn’t be mad at him. “He can’t help if I’m possessed. D-don’t hurt him, please, General!”

“Dear child, what is your name?” General Risai softened her tone.

“Kaname, Madame General.”

“Lord Kaname, we shall take you to the temple. But I have seen demonic possession many times and I doubt very much you have a demon. If the temple priestesses say you have no demons, then I would very much like to take you to the capital. Her Majesty wants to meet her cousins to see who will be queen or king after her.”

“No, you mustn’t,” Kaname shook his head. “If there’s no demon that means I’m very very bad and I couldn’t be king if I’m that bad.”

The second-in-command punched a hole through the pretty decorative screen next to Father.

“Keep it together, Lieutenant Gouran,” General Risai snapped before going gentle once more. “Lord Kaname, I know we are strangers to each other. But your gentle heart and loyalty show that you are not bad. It grieves me that those around you caused you to think you were. Even if you were not named an heir I believe the Queen would want you to stay with her instead of those who mistreated you. No one will make you stand in the cold and you may eat as much as you like. Her Majesty is very kind and it would please her very much to see her cousin happy.”

Kaname wondered if the general had mind-reading magic, for he did not tell her that they didn’t always give him meals lest it give the demon more energy.

It wouldn’t be nice to be a burden on the Queen, Kaname chewed his chapped lower lip. But no one loved him here. They might like him better if the demon was gone, but he couldn’t be sure. “I’ll go to the capital if the priestesses get rid of the demon. But please don’t hurt my family. They didn’t mean to be bad.”

“In our haste to secure the welfare of Her Majesty’s cousin, it seems Sir Takasato, his wife, mother, and youngest son disappeared,” Lieutenant Gouran said suddenly. “They must have bolted in the middle of the night to escape the consequences of their actions.”

“Is this how you treat us?” Grandmother broke her silence. “You tell us to run in the night like fugitives while you take that thing to court?”

“It is only by the grace of Lord Kaname that you may keep your pathetic lives,” the Lieutenant snarled.

“Please, let’s leave,” the tears finally welled up in Kaname’s eyes and made burning tracks down his cheeks. “No one needs to be hurt or angry. I’m sorry to cause all of this.”

“You are not to blame for any of this,” General Risai put away her weapon. “You are a child and no child, possessed or not, is to blame for what adults do. Now let us fetch your traveling clothes and shoes so we may ride to the temple.”

Kaname blinked his eyes and found himself back in the Forest of the Kirin. The memory had been so vivid he had entirely forgotten the present. The red kirin stepped back to circle around him a few times before rejoining her place in the herd. Had the kirin been able to see his memories? What would they think of him if they had?

Worryingly more than one kirin started to come his way. Kirin with milky coats, golden coats, with eyes the color of gemstones. They reminded him of Youran, but they were not her.

[gratex-wallpaper-blog]

Wallpaper selection guide and buying tips for wallpapers in India

Most people are confused about how to choose wallpaper & look for a simple buying guide online or buy expensive décor books. This article is a one-stop guide to help you not only to buy but also select the type of wallpaper for your home. You will get information about the pros and cons of wallpaper and also about the types of wallpapers available in India, the price range of wallpaper in India, and also some useful selection tips. In short, you will know all you need to know about wallpaper.

Overview: Advantages and disadvantages of wallpapers

Painting a home has become a tedious time-consuming job. The painters take over your home for days on end till you reach a point where you wished you had never started in the first place! A quicker option which takes up far less time is installing wallpapers.

Wallpapers are not mere coverings for your walls. They have the far more important function of enhancing the look of your home. Wallpapers are as much a part of home furnishings as, for example, are sofa upholstery fabrics. In fact, look beyond walls – look up at the ceiling. You can put pretty wallpapers on the ceiling too!

Although it is true that installing wallpapers is time-saving, one of the major drawbacks of wallpaper is that it could peel off very quickly. Wallpapers tend to hide water patches when there is moisture seepage in the walls. When this seepage is very extensive, though, the wallpaper peels off. Even the most reputed manufacturers of wallpapers cannot give you 100% guarantee that it will last for many years. There will always be the rider "provided the leakage is within the absorbable limit".

Furthermore, if the binding between the wall and the adhesive is weak, joints will open up.

What are the materials used in wallpapers?

Other than paper, which is the most obvious material, the most commonly used wallpaper is that made from Polyvinyl chloride (better known as PVC). With the need to cater to those who want contemporary décor for their homes, today wallpapers are also made from fabric, fake suede and even fibreglass.

Here's a list of some of the types of wallpapers available on the basis of material which are available in India:

Vinyl Wallpapers

Vinyl wallpaper tends to give a shiny look & is also smooth to touch. Vinyl wallpapers are the most commonly used as they are of low cost and can easily be cleaned with ordinary detergent. The biggest advantage of vinyl wallpapers is that they do not catch moisture and hence are commonly used for the bathroom and kitchen walls.

Poly Vinyl Foam (PVF) wallpapers

Wallpapers made from PVF are excellent for an insulated area of your home, such as the room where you have a home theatre system installed. The PVF acts as a sound insulator, keeping out external noises. Another advantage of PVF wallpapers is that it tends to keep out the heat and thereby the interior of the room cool.

Wallpapers made from textile fibres

Wallpapers made from textile fibres are considered to be the most expensive. The material used in such wallpaper could be cotton, silk, linen, etc. one of the main disadvantages of using such types of wallpapers is that it requires good care and can only be dry-cleaned. Nevertheless, for those looking for a different look which adds visual beauty to a room, such wallpapers are ideal.

Cork wallpapers

It is a misconception that cork wallpapers are not suitable for furnishing the walls of your home. On the contrary, such wallpapers are good because they don't have a tendency to expand and are good buffers against sound. They are also durable and can last for quite a good number of years and do not necessarily rot away as is suspected.

Fake Suede wallpapers

Wallpapers which have the tag of fake suede are those which closely resemble suede. While the real suede tends to get dirty quickly, fake suede is made in such a way as to be better resistant to stains and liquids. It is generally designed using cotton or silk.

Fiberglass wallpapers

This is a contemporary type of wallpaper which looks very elegant. You can get fiberglass wallpapers which are fire retardant and are washable too. They are also resistant to cracks and mould.

Tips for buying and selecting wallpapers for the home

1. Budget: Don't get carried away on seeing an imported tag. Nor should you be carried away by some fancy design. Stick to the amount you are planning to spend. Keep in mind that there will also be labour costs of putting up the wallpaper. So look for affordability.

2. Toxicity level: Manufacturers of wallpapers will assure you that their products are free of toxics. However, do not accept this at face value. Check out on the Net research findings of both, the types of wallpapers and reviews on manufacturers' products. For example at healthystuff.org/findings.101910.flooringwallpaper.php you can see the research done on wallpapers coated with PVC.

3. Durability: This is the most important aspect to look for in wallpapers. There is no point in putting up wallpaper which is going to peel off or crack easily in a few months, leave aside lasting for even a year. So while in the previous point it is mentioned that one must stick to one's budget, you should at the same time be willing to spend a little more if necessary in order to get wallpaper which will last longer.

4. Low maintenance: Although washable wallpapers are available, look for wallpapers which are not going to be partially moisture resistant but fully so. The wall paper should be such that you can easily wash it yourself with a sponge and plain water. Go for waterproof wallpapers if within your budget and suitable for your décor. You can also select wallpaper which is resistant to scratches and stains.

5. Area where the wallpaper will be put up: Most people have a tendency to use the same type of wallpaper for the different rooms and spaces in their home. This is not the right selection idea as, for example, in the kitchen it is best to put washable wallpaper which is lacking in texture. This enables easier cleaning than other types of wallpaper.

Another point to keep in mind when selecting wallpaper for your kitchen is that you should not have wallpaper which is inflammable. You should thus ask the store specifically for what is known as wallpaper for a fire retardant area.

Those who have a segregated dry area in the bathroom can also install wallpaper there, selecting wallpaper which is resistant to moisture.

6. Requirements: To ensure that the wallpaper does not fall short of requirements make sure that the dimensions of the room are measured properly beforehand and the correct number of rolls of wallpaper are purchased. Also check that all the rolls for one room are of the same colour. Just as you should not fall short, so also you should not waste excess wallpaper. Buy only how much you need. If small sections of the wallpaper are left over after doing a major section, then use that excess for smaller sections. For example, you can use it for a part above the doorway arch or the space in a niche in the wall near the entrance way.

7. Odour free: This is an often overlooked aspect when buying wallpaper. Do ask for wallpaper which is not likely to give off some kind of malodorous effect. You don't want people sniffing the air when they step into your home do you?!

8. Lighting: Most people are hasty in selecting wallpapers for a room without considering the lighting of that room. A room which has low illumination will require a different design and colour from one which is brightly lit.

9. Installation tips: Do be present when the wallpaper is installed. You absolutely don't want this to happen:

(a) The wallpaper being put in the wrong place (e.g. themed wallpaper for your kid's room being put instead in the living room)

(b) The wallpaper falling short & not covering the wall from end to end and top to bottom and

(c) The wallpaper being put upside down! Remember that most wallpaper can be put in such a way that the design looks good whether it is horizontal or vertical. However, you may want it in a specific way so be alert before the wallpapers are put on.

10. Guarantee & annual service contract: Just as you get a guarantee for various home appliances and gadgets, so too you must ask for guarantee for your wallpapers. Some stores offer a full 1 year guarantee. Find out what this guarantee entails. It is also not a bad idea to have an annual maintenance contract. Even if it means shelling out some more money, it will ensure you get servicing for your wallpapers when required. You can ask if such a contract would including cleaning of the wallpapers once every few months by the store's professionals.

Design ideas for wallpapers for the home

Wallpaper coverage

It is not necessary that you should cover all the walls of your home or even entirely of a room. You could install wallpaper on one or two walls only and paint the other walls. For example, in the living room you can put the wallpapers on the walls behind the sofa and on the television mounted wall. These walls are likely to be the ones with the least traffic near it, meaning having few or no people leaning on it or kids nearby.

Wallpaper patterns

There may be some people who like a simple plain look of their wallpapers. These, though, are in the minority. After all, there are so many varied pattern and design options to enhance your home with wallpaper!

Some of the wallpaper patterns which are available: classical patterns, abstract patterns, graphics, floral patterns, geometrical patterns, retro patterns, 3D patterns, metallic patterns, etc.

Wallpaper colours

Keeping in mind your home décor, you can select from a wide range of colours for the wallpapers. Deep reds are great for those who like a bold look. Others may prefer a soothing shade for a more subdued décor. Yet others would not like to have one monotonous colour but prefer a combination of colours. For example: a pink floral pattern against a pale green background to resemble a garden.

Wallpaper themes

A design for wallpapers need not be the usual one of flowers or geometrical patterns. Select unique themed wallpaper for the different rooms of your home. For the living room you could have beautiful mural wallpaper. For the children's room you could have a theme as per the age of the child. Toddlers could have alphabets, numbers, birds and animals, thereby incorporating a learning tool with a fun décor. Young children in the age group of 5 to 10 would love wallpapers with a jungle safari theme or a space theme or a sports theme or cars. Girls just love themes based on fairies and princesses! You can even ask for wallpapers which have designs that glow in the dark. Then there are favourite cartoon characters too such as Spiderman, Disney cartoon characters, etc.[Source]-https://www.indiastudychannel.com/resources/156909-Wallpaper-Selection-Guide-Buying-Tips-Wallpapers-India.aspx

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