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trashrattt · 1 year ago

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Some Code Lyoko headcanons I have had over the past couple of months:

Out of all the things Odd has pursued in art-wise, he loves painting and film-making the most, as it doesn't matter how messy or terrible it could be, he just loves trying his best (and would argue that whatever it is, IS art, and lists off the reasons why it's so great in a heartbeat)

When Aelita first came to earth, she ate too much ice cream at once, and thought she was dying when getting a brain freeze (she LOVES caramel with her ice cream, she cant do without it)

William is a HUGE theater kid, he could recite his favorite play quote for quote in a heartbeat (I can't say what his favorite could be because I've only seen Heather's, and I'd probably make some people mad lmao)

After months of Aelita lecturing him about 'getting some fresh air once in awhile,' Jeremie unintentionally picked up a habit of sitting at a particular bench while in intense thought (when they defeated Xana, he would often sit there and think of miniscule school related problems, and thinks of Aelita whenever he passes by that bench)

Out of all of Xanas monsters, Odds favorite are the Hornets because "Sure, they're pests, but they helped improve my aim, and now I always know where to shoot, theyre practically nothing now" (he HATES megatanks to death, he often asks someone else to deal with one if they pop up)

Yumi is a huge fan of classic literature, and often asks William if there's any books she would like, as he too loves it (they would often talk about different plot points they liked or despised in a certain book they read)

Ulrich loves to indulge in his Pencak Silat training, as often that's how he can express himself (it's the only thing he truly likes to do, and his father doesn't bug him about it)

(This takes place during Evo) after William got integrated into the group again, he and Aelita often get together to do their nails, while eating pizza secretly after hours (the two think they're so bad) Aelita often tries eyeliner as well, and William always compliments her no matter how good or terrible it is

Yumi definitely went to Kyoto when she was a little older, as she was already talking about it in the series

William had braces up until he was 13, he would often complain how "braces didn't look cool on him" and "my teeth are already straight" until his parents finally obliged, getting them removed a couple days prior to being expelled (he hated smiling for photos during that time, as he had this punk look to him, while having very obvious braces on) (he wears retainers to bed when he was at Kadic)

Odd and Aelita had this ongoing bet, where one set a bet that either Yumi or Ulrich confessed first, the prices raising every week (when they did, the number was up to the thousands, and neither one could pay each other, even if they wanted to, but that doeant mean they dont joke about it)

(This one's more of an observation from Evo) William LOVES going to Lyoko, giving him the thrill he wanted in life, but he has repressed rage back when he was Xanafied for months, often taking it out on Xanas creatures as if to make a point that he HATES Xana for what he did to him (often being rather brutal in the way he fights)

Jeremie will always keep the photos he took with Aelita the first day she came to earth, and often treat it as a precious item of his (and would complain for anyone slightly damages it)

Ulrich and Yumi often bonded over the fact that before meeting Odd and the others, that they were two lonely kids in their own families, both liking the fact that they related strongly to one another due to their strict family lives (this was when Hiroki wasn't there at the time)

Jeremie is obviously very bad at expressing his emotions, but he holds his freinds dear to him, but doesn't know how to show that, so instead back then he'd buy small cheap gifts for everyone as he saw on the internet "gift-giving is a good way to express your gratitide to people that are dear to you" (evreyone eventually convinced him to stop as he was spending too much)

Back when, Williams mom often was overly affectionate, and Will was always "Mooomm stoooooppp-" but after being Xanafied for months (Which must really be disorienting having the month be May, and then the next being fucking December or some shit) he doesn't mind his parents being affectionate, as he realized just how important they are to him

After William being dished on the lore that happened (because I'm sure nobody told him much) he and Aelita had a invisible bond with each other as they were both Xanafied (alot,) they often comfort each other if one had a nightmare or whatnot, very wholesome

And so on, I should stop because I have too much on my mind (I can make a part 2, Def)

Ulrich hates to admit it, but he and Will are very simular, as the two have a 'older brother' vibe to them in the group, and they often argue with each other often, arguing who "has to" protect each other (William often using the excuse that "he's the older one")

#code lyoko #william dunbar #aelita schaeffer #odd della robbia #ulrich stern #yumi ishiyama #jeremie belpois #code lyoko evolution

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lencovello · 5 years ago

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『ALICE PAGANI ❙ CIS-FEMALE 』 ⟿ looks like ILENIA ‘LEN’ COVELLO is here for HER SENIOR year as a COMMUNICATIONS student. SHE is 21 years old & known to be UPBEAT, CHARMING, VINDICTIVE & IMPULSIVE. They’re living in PERKINS, so if you’re there, watch out for them. ⬳ JULIE. 24. EST. SHE/HER

hi there hello and pls meet disaster child len covello !

len is the only child of italian immigrants— her dad is in finance and her mum works for non-profits. talking about money is tacky but let’s just say len never has and likely never will have to worry about making a living. her parents love her and spoil her, but work takes them away from home a lot (as well as most of their family still being overseas) so her childhood was a little lonely in between summers in Italy, but she had no shortage of independence.

the covello family home is in the east village of manhattan, home of artists etc etc. len was very drawn to the cool art kid scene— she grew her friend group into a diverse crowd of interesting and talented people. adolescence was a series of interesting bounding on unbelievable experiences, finding herself looped into experiences and parties that blew her little mind!!

she’d cycled through just about every art discipline by the age of 14. dance classes that she quit after 6 months after seeing some more advanced ballerina’s toes, music and singing lessons that revealed she was tone deaf, painting and pottery lost their charm after the first drop of acrylic paint splattered onto the toe of a new pair of shoes. she’s settled on photography (even dabbling into video, no one tell her putting a lana del rey song over a bunch of clips taken on your iPhone doesn't count as a filme). her photos aren’t terrible, they’re mostly just shots of hot friends at parties, her own artistic nudes, beautiful people on the beach etc etc so it’s hard to fuck them up. she posts her photos to insta where she’s built up a bit of a following, even getting a few offers from rarely read zines to shoot for them.

has absolutely convinced herself she’s an art hoe first— soho house membership proves it. there’s a sort of… blind insistence that this is who she is (though her talent level is something of hot debate). len’s deluded but not like… insufferable. she doesn’t blather on about artistic integrity and rant on podiums or wotever

so when it came to picking a college, len obviously was very much invested in art school (despite her portfolio being dog shit) but her father intervened and insisted she pick an actual major… so she’s a communications student, which she actually loves and still does her photos on the side. radcliffe wasn’t her first choice school, but her gpa leaves a little to be desired. she landed perkins with an essay she paid for, and manages to juuuuust keep her average above whatever the cut off is to get kicked from the dorm. keeping a scholarship isn’t really a concern, but the nicer accommodations are always a bonus u know

she still hyperfixiates at times… like the time she decided she was going to be the next best modern dancer but then learned smoking x number of ciggies a day really fucks with u when u try to do something active… so she quietly forgets about it when it all goes terribly :)

all in all, she’s a good time!! len’s pretty cool, she loves to talk up other people and adores other artists, loves to have fun and hang out. doesn’t take much seriously and takes criticism absolutely terribly :) she’s also very all or nothing with friends and life (whats a consequence??) which can be a lot!! if you want a ride or die or someone to party with, len’s your gal.

CONNECTIONS:

enemies: oh you think her photos are garbage? you’ve just earned number one of her shit list!! she’s vindictive as fuck, and will never let things go :(

friends: polar opposite but if len decides you’re a pal, you’re in it for life. she’ll fight 2 the death for a friend and loves ‘em whole heartedly— tho disaster trait pops up and she is 100% an enabler as long as it means a good time :)

classmate: honestly someone needs to be doing her assignments for her… or like propping her up in classes because baby girl does not have the strength

exes: she’s messy af

fwb: see above

uhhhh i dont have anything else original to add to this but looking forward to plotting n writing with y’all!!

#radintro #woooof this took me forever #and ofc it isnt showin up in the tags

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firstpuffin · 6 years ago

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The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening remake

-Note: It’s kind of embarrassing to admit but my comments around the visuals of A Link to the Past and Link’s Awakening are straight-up incorrect. The two games did not share the same visual style and I honestly don’t know why I said that; I most definitely knew better. Still, I’m not going to get rid of it because the internet needs more examples of people admitting to be being wrong.

I say a lot that I want to be positive, but it’s really gonna be hard with this one. See, at the latest Nintendo Direct it was announced that they would be releasing a remake of the 26 year old game, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening. As it happens I was already considering writing something about this game in a “Games from my Childhood” article, but that would actually have been positive! This one is… well, I’m going to at least try and balance every negative with a positive.

-at least the title screen looks good-

So where to begin: I won’t cover the story because spoilers but how about some personal background? The game came out a year before I did (ha! bad jokes) and I have no idea when I got my grubby little paws on it, but it was a part of my life genuinely for as long as I can remember, along with the Pokémon games. I never completed it as a child, but my memories of it were so good that I returned to it as an adult and completed it, learning its sad secret.

-hey! according to this it released the same year I did; me getting my years mixed up I guess-

Link’s Awakening (LA) was originally a pet project made outside of work hours which is why it borrows resources from other games such as the Mario series, but it was eventually released to critical acclaim. The gameplay is much the same as its immediate predecessor A Link to the Past (LttP), but with a number of new items and a unique soundtrack. Visually it is much the same as well, although its original release was black and white for the GameBoy with Link’s Awakening DX adding colour for the GameBoy Colour.

So let’s start with the visuals as that is most of what we have right now: the original shared its visuals with LttP what with them using the same assets (tools, resources etc) and LttP had a sequel recently that looked really nice. But the upcoming LA remake looks nothing like it; I wouldn’t expect it to but when a defence of the artistic choice is that “it’s an update of the original graphics” (so why not use the assets from the LttP remake?) or that it somehow “reflects the atmosphere of the original” except there’s no reason for it to be any different to, again, the LttP remake. And in response to the “atmosphere”, LA was one of the darker yet in some ways more whimsical games; this new style is childish to the extreme.

Don’t get me wrong, I love something that is good and childish, but there is a level when it stops being great and starts to feel like they condescend to the player. Bright colours, simple faces, high pitched noises- Oh god the noises!! I’ll expand on the sounds later but I’m still on the visuals. I’ve heard the game described as looking like Claymation, which isn’t wrong, but my immediate thought was that it looked like cheap plastic. And after watching it again and again as I discussed it with a friend, this opinion stuck.

-tell me this doesn’t look like claymation; this isn’t a game, it’s an animated short film-

You know how shiny and tacky cheap plastic usually looks? Imagine an entire game like that; an entire world like that. Fans of anime may understand what I say next, but there is a large element of “chibi” in this new game. Large head, tiny body. It’s often seen in short 4 minute spin offs of popular series.

-as you can see, chibi is hardly meant to be taken seriously-

-just to hammer things home-

So shiny plastic, silly chibi art with a soulless expression. Oh yeah, that. Link’s eyes have zero soul behind them. Zero. He’s a freakin’ monster. Have you seen those Funko Pops? You know how empty they look? Some have said it somehow reflects the original game’s art again, but back then they didn’t have the technology to make him look soulless and young me always thought he looked determined; it was really cool.

-determined; dead inside-

Okay, so I said I would try and be fair, and I have shat upon the plasticine toy-box long enough, so here’s what is good visually. The areas are actually really nice.

Ignoring the nail varnish sheen on everything, things are really detailed. There is an unfortunate trend in games, likely due to technical limitations, to have flat textures. Basically, imagine the difference between a tile or wood panel floor, and a picture of a tile or wood panel floor. But this game looks to have really tried in these areas. The grass looks thick and lush, tiles look like more than a photograph on the floor and even the flat flowers on the ground look decent. Just a shame it all looks like LEGO. Actually, a LEGO Zelda game would be awesome. But this is not that.

I haven’t explained that very well, it’s an area that I am new at but I will say that clearly a lot of care has gone into the assets and the world. It is not a lazy game in any way.

-don’t tell me those trees and rocks and- well, everything, don’t look like LEGO-

Next I’m going to talk about the sound. First of all, I’m convinced that they have artificially increased the pitch of Link’s voice so it is painfully sharp to the ears. I’ll admit, I have an unusual sensitivity to lights and sound and thus I prefer darker colours and quieter sounds; I avoid clubs like the plague and not just because I’ll likely catch it there. So maybe, just maybe, I’m noticing something that won’t be a problem for most, and is just unfortunate for me. And let’s ignore that it doesn’t match the darker tone of the game.

And the music? Also quite high pitched. And super cheery. It doesn’t have either the dreamlike or dark tones that could be expected (and just thinking of how it could be dreamlike gives me shivers; it could be so good) but is instead inanely cheery. In fact, I hope they sped everything up for the trailer and the pitch is just an unfortunate side-effect.

On the plus side, the trailer opens with a cool cinematic and I swear the music changes from a nice, cheerful rendition (I don’t dislike cheerful in-and-of-itself) of the Zelda main theme to the death squeals of various instruments that I mentioned before. On top of that, it ends on a really nice vocal version of the LA theme, Ballad of the Wind Fish. If the trailer had been the cinematic and that closing song alone then I would be beyond excited about the remake. Thank heaven it wasn’t, I’m not sure my love of the series could survive such a plummeting disappointment.

youtube

-and here’s the actual trailer for your perusal-

So I’ll finish here. I was originally very pleased, excited even that they had decided to remake what was a favourite, underrated and apparently forgotten game, but I kept my expectations low because I knew what to expect from these companies. I thought I did anyway. I was still disappointed. I thought I had prepared for the worst. Still, at least it gave me something to write about.

But, the game has clearly had a lot of work put into it and gameplay-wise it actually looks to flow really well so I’m sure it controls like a treat. But the visuals and music are too big of a deal for me to let slide; if it keeps up like this then it could literally be painful for me to play. Still, games do change a lot from the initial trailer to its release and I even put forth an idea of why the sound may hurt me so much here. Maybe the final game will be a lot better. Unfortunately, the things I want to be done in games and such rarely are, and I am often alone in my complaints.

And finally, yes I am aware that the famous and incredibly popular Wind Waker entry in the series also had similar complaints and became, as I said, incredibly popular. I wasn’t a part of that crowd, I was too young and honestly, Link’s Awakening was the only Zelda game I had actually played at that time.

#first puffin #opinion #video games #nintendo #legend of zelda #links awakening #links awakening dx #links awakening remake #remake #thosetagswilldofornow

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imadeletingmysocials · 6 years ago

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My scores for E3, because apparently now i’m a dumb 4channer who thinks this /v/ meme shit matters, like it’s not gonna affect sales or anything it’s pointless as all hell [this is lenghy, but hear me out ok]

EA:

4/10 - people will probably play the games regardless of how shitty this presentation was but... It felt pretty insulting.

Battlefield V is probably gonna make a lot of money regardless cuz people like war games and it seems pretty well done, the more footage they have shown seemed better than their weird advertizement that made world war 2 seem very wacky, which honestly regardless if you’re a sexist neckbeard or not, seemed like a poor advertizement move.

TinyBuild:

No one watched this lol and it was just 1 GAME and a fun cute musical that made people who aren’t strong enough to musicals die, 6/10 because it made nerds die and their song is catchy, i dont really care about their 1 game.

Microsoft:

9/10 - I'm giving this much of a high score because I would play practically almost all of these games showcased (they’ll probably be available on PC which I’m biased for cuz I have a gaming PC), no kidding, I pretty much liked everything I saw and it was fairly straight to the point. Many gamers don’t appreciate the finer details of each game and think they’re generic but that’s just fanboys who haven’t played a single game outside of their favorites.

Also my cousin uses those Xbox One netflix rip offs that gives you games so i’m happy for him. The presentation had a lot of diamonds in the rough games that will I will probably appreciate more over time (they might even become cult classics like Metro or Dying Light) than any of other games at other e3s. As for the stuff I won’t be playing: It’s mostly harmless so eh.

There was an abundance of trailers! It was like one after the other, pure goodness, it seems as if they left out all of the Sports games to EA to present and the only thing they showed that might not be anyone’s cup of tea was “Forza”, but honestly? I appreciate it, it seems like a good racing game even if I’m not one to buy racing games.... But the more you think about the number of good games presented, the less you’ll think about that, I mean they showed DEVIL MAY CRY 5!!!��

...The Funko Pop game made me scream though.

Bethesda:

8.5/10 I cannot deny that these are games I will want to play regardless if they’re good or not. Sad to see nerds not enjoy the opportunity to meet ANDREW W.K. but I’m glad all of the divisions they own are making sequels to stuff I already like, so pretty much Bethesda played it safe.

Devolver Digital:

8/10 It’s like that one b-movie film your college students made and you had a laugh with creating.

Square Enix:

5/10 seriously, 30 minues of just trailers? Most of which we saw?? I guess it could be worse but who uses E3 screentime for mostly MMORPG deals! The new stuff was too vague to be excited about too.

Ubisoft:

7/10 - I liked it when they made funny quirky things and their games are probably gonna be okay like usual, Ubisoft has dedicated fans that like their collectathon games they release every year, and it’s usually that one game you play when you’re bored and got nothing else, it’s okay.

Gamers hate fun and dancing and all that stuff but I kind of find stuff like that exciting, while nerds who never went outside and who are sensitive as all hell to any representation of fun find it “cringey”. A panda dabbed, and that settles it, Ubisoft was the only E3 Brave enough to dab this year.

PC Game Conference (it was fairly long):

I know none of you watch this one cuz y’all fake as hell but listen... Fuck you LOL, these are the type of games people actually play over 400 hours and really get people’s money. Like these are games built to last that might be on the best-selling Steam front page for MONTHS, like how Frostpunk was comfirmed last year during this conference, PC Gaming has been known for sleeper hits that nobody knows about (because the attention goes to cinematic experiences on consoles most of the time) but suddently everyone’s playing it.

PC gaming has always been an alternative lifestyle and seeing as many people didn’t watch this one, that just proves the point that it still relatively alternative. Maybe it’s because everyone sounds dumb as fuck when saying “PC GAMER MASTER RACE” and acting like an elitist.

The PC Gaming conference is always more of a talk show than a regular E3 which is why I respect it every year, fuck the hyperactive gamers that just wanna see flashy trailers, this one’s more SOPHISTICATED!! It feels a lot more human and less artificial. Either way, lot’s of what you might’ve expected: Simulators and Survival games you’ll probably spend 3 years playing until they make a better minecraft clone.

Gamers like to act as if they’re tired of Battle Royale (already? It’s a new fad it still is here to stay for a little more) but the numbers and success of it doesn’t lie that it isn’t a fad that proves itself to be highly tempting to try out for developers. Go cry to valve that they didn’t release Half-Life 3 cuz you haven’t played any other FPS game without even researching that Valve pretty much fired all of it’s developers and you’re just being annoying.

I feel as if I need to comment what I saw at this e3 cuz nobody watched, they made a mod I liked from skyrim into a fully-ass game, they’re rebooting Star Control which not a single gamer today knows of, the HP Lovecraft open world detective game also seems very good. YAKUZA IS COMING TO PC!!!!!!!!! Killing Floor 2 stuff, Road Redemption stuff, SHARK RPG, cute indie games, Jeff Goldblum was there, Wall-E with a gun in VR which seems to have promissing good vr design by Insomiac games (yes the spyro people), 2 games about Taxi driving... Like sure I think it’s a good format for story telling but.

A cell-shaded art game, star citizen is still being made, and it’s gone to the point nobody really wants it anymore even if it’s... Still being made you know? So most guys are wrong that it was gonna be canceled. After that was the technical graphic card stuff which gamers don’t have enough capability to understand, stuff like 9k laptops that SELL a lot mind you. Rich people love that technical stuff.

A space defense sim game, Don’t Starve Sequel, Just Cause 4 detailed explanation of the engine, Overkill’s The Walking Dead gameplay which has been in development hell for years now now has a release date, I discovered Clementine’s voice actor is white... Go figure, a literal pixelated roguelike (not what you think it is, it’s Noita),

Theme Hospital REBOOT!!!! YES!!!!!!!!! And the doctors were cute. Probably one of the funniest games presented... Followed by REALM ROYALE HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. That harvest moon clone with a cute art style is still being made: Ooblets, no release date sadly. Anno is still going, cyanide and happiness still exists? and they’re making a battle royale? lol okay. How was Hitman 2 not announced during Square Enix?? Anyways it’s here at the end, the trailer was amazing and it’s coming out this year.

I don’t have that much strong feelings because it’s just a normal conference and not a special one you know? But I’ll give it a 8/10 or 7/10 im not sure cuz I seem to like most games and I found Frankie cute.

Sony:

Yo usually Sony makes like a huuuuuuuge thing about their conferences (like this year they didn’t even showcase indie games) but this year they started from a church for the sake of immersion?? It reminded me a little of their first E3s during the 90s, and it almost felt like a indie gathering for musicians, I swear to god, Sony is borderline experimental trying to balance out their E3 across stages. Jeb played the banjo and people just ACCEPTED it... AND THEN someone played some JAPANESE FLUTE? aRT. It might come off as a bit arrogant for some tho.

Nerds hated it and thought it was bizzare, which is why it means it’s good. HAPPY PRIDE MONTH BITCHES. Anyways could have been a little more fast-paced... But then again when it was fast-paced it was just like: Huh? What was that? I’m a big Resident Evil Fangirl, RE2 was my childhood but ignoring that for a sec: finally, Death Stranding gameplay, remins me of shadow of the colossus but post-apocalpytic, survival horrorish and abstract sci-fi.

Kind of feels more Metal Gear than MGSV did already Cuz Norman Reedus sounds like snake a lot more than the 24 hours guy, and because from what I’ve seen in the footage, someone acts like Otacon to “Sam”. I think most now can figure out the plotpoints of this game with what has been established. I might be a bit sad at the fact that this will be a PS4 exclusive just like Metal Gear Solid 4, which I still haven’t played fully because it’s PS3 exclusive and I only have a gaming PC.

Also this E3 was surprisingly entirely SINGLE PLAYER, I sorta don’t believe in the “single player doesn’t exist” myth honestly, especially now. I’m not sure if that makes Sony’s E3 better or worse, maybe it needed more variation, like I’ve commented, usually they have an indie showcase which this year did not. There were few games shown but for what it was worth, it’s still interesting... But yeah just 5 games? No Spyro? (easy picking), nothing extra? I can understand why many people felt this E3 was upsetting.

8/10.

Nintendo

Here it is, the most overhyped developer of all of E3, the source of “Nintendo wins E3 by doing nothing” memes because Nintendo fans really don’t care about anything except Nintendo and then act surprised when they only care about Nintendo when they try to be a little more open-minded (and fail) even if other E3s probably make more games built to last in comparisson, cuz we gay people only care about NINTENDO YOU KNOW? Shade asside...

I was pleasantly surprised this E3, it wasn’t just a series of okay at best releases, a strong 9/10.

tHAT WAS WHAT I WROTE IN PREPRATION....

BUT THEN???? IT WAS JUST THAT??? NO PRIME 4 NO ANYTHING LIKE JUST 3 GAMES BASICALLY? (maybe there was 5 games but eh) I mean smash is good.. It’s pretty much just an update of the last smash, every character is REALLY FUCKING GOOD BUT.... JUST THAT? jeez.. Like, the only stuff I wanted from it was Mario Party and Smash... Okay maybe that 1 Mecha game. Also I guess fornite is now on Switch but I can play that anywhere else really.

I guess a 7/10 is all I can give to just Smash, if there was a little more I’d give it a 9/10 for sure but... ehh Just Smash? jeez, fuck... i MEAN I kind of get it, Nintendo doesn’t do “e3″ normally, they usually do 1 big game at E3 and then wait a couple of months to do that little seasonal announcement thing they do across the year, ugh.. Okay. Yeah I guess i shouldn’t have expected much. Still isn’t it weird that Miyamoto was in Ubisoft’s E3 but not this one??? what!

Anyways

#e3 #i'll post that image at the end individually #long post #Sony #Nintendo #Bethesda #Microsoft

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iamtryingtobelieve · 8 years ago

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100 Questions and Answers

@dmdoll This is for you :)

1) What images do you have set for your desktop/cell phone wallpapers? My desktop is a picture of the image of the Waterfall from the front cover of The Fragile with the The Fragile album art posted over it that looks like this:

2) Have you ever had a crush on a teacher? I've never had a really big crush on a teacher before but I have to say that I have had a fair amount of attractive female and male teachers in their own rights.

3) What was your last text message? I woke up this morning to find that the electric was turned off so I sent a message to both parents about it.

4) What do you see yourself doing in 10 years? In a perfect world I'd love to be a director making a feature film but I wouldn't mind having a steady life having a job that involves computers in someway.

5) If you could be anywhere else right now, where would you be? Nothings popping into my mind currently but I would love to be at the American Idiot performance I went to back in July and I wished I could have documented it in some form.

6) What was your coolest Halloween costume? This...

A mixture between Willy Wonka, Marilyn Manson and a Gothic voodoo priest. This was from a Halloween party from 2 years ago

7) What was your favorite 90s show? Although technically started in 1989, I love Tales From The Crypt to death as well as Beavis and Butthead and South Park.

8) Who was your last kiss?

9) Have you ever been stood up? I've been stood up on plans but I haven't been in a relationship before so I have never been stood up on a date. 10) Favorite ice cream flavor? Mint, Cookie Dough and Chocolate Brownie spring to mind. 11) Have you been to Las Vegas? Nope but I wouldn't mind going. 12) Your favorite pair of shoes? Not a big fashion guy to be honest but i've got some cool sneaker/trainer sort of things. 13) Honestly, have you ever cheated on your significant other? Never had one to cheat on though I would never do so myself. 14) What is your favorite fruit? Not a big fruit guy but I don't mind Apples. 15) Have you talked to anyone on tumblr that you could see yourself dating/having sex with? If possible? Not really to be honest. I don’t think I’ve struck a romantic chord with anyone but rather friendships or just casual acquaintances really. That said I wouldn’t mind dating a fellow Tumblr user if possible. 16) Are you into hookups? Short or long term relationships? I've never been in this field before so I can't really say. Ideally I think I'd like a long term healthy relationship but again I can't say that I've ever thought about it too hard as I have never been in romantic relationship with anyone before. 17) Do you smoke? If so, what? I don't smoke personally. Just not my thing. Anyone who smokes is welcome to do so, it's your body and lungs so do whatever you wish, it's your decision. 18) What do you do to get over your anger? Listen to music or watch funny things whether internet videos, films or stand up. 19) Do you believe in God? It's a mixture really, I'm not religious person but I do feel there is something there if that makes sense. Not a physical being or anything but rather a concept. I can't quite put my finger on it. 20) Does the person you're in love with know it? I'm not currently crushing or anything so I can't say. 21) Favorite position? (Oh, it's one of those questions....), I can't say. I've never had sex or been in a position of sex so I can't honestly answer it 22) What's your horoscope sign? Libra 23) Your fears? I'm mostly scared of the future and unpredictable people but otherwise I don't really have a cliched fear like spiders or anything. 24) How many pets do you have? What kind? I have some fish in my household but I used to have a dog, 2 cats, a gerbil and several budgies. 25) What never fails to turn you on? I love red hair personally, whether it's RED as in Rihanna Loud era or Hayley Williams ginger/orange red. I also am attracted to tartan/school girl skirts too but other than that I don't really know. 26) Your idea of a perfect first date? Just a simple hanging around and getting to know each other kind of thing would do me anyway. Get something to eat and maybe watch or listen to something. 27) What is something most people don't know about you? I have Ptosis as my left eyelid didn't open properly and I had corrective surgery to fix that at an early age 28) What makes you feel the happiest? Just being comfortable to have an open conversation with someone in a familiar setting makes me happy. 29) What store do you shop at most often? HMV (UK Entertainment store) or online shopping really. 30) How do you feel about oral? Giving and/or receiving? (Another one of those...) I can't say for definite as I have never gave or received but I would say I'd be open to it both ways. 31) Do you believe in karma? Yes and No. Nothing's happened to me personally but I have seen instances in which Karma has either had positive or negative impacts on people. 32) Are you single? Yup! 33) Do you think flowers or candy are a better way to apologise? I think both together could be a good combination.

34) Are you a good swimmer? I know the basics but I haven't been able to practise in a long time.

35) Coffee or Tea? Tea. I don't like the taste of Coffee but I do like energy drinks.

36) Online shopping or shopping in person? Online Shopping for obscure things and shopping in person for common things.

37) Would you rather be older or younger than your current age? I'd like to be the same age I am currently am with the same friendship group but born before the 90's kicked in so I can experience a lot of things that I never got the chance to but I am okay with my current age. If I had the possibility to time travel, it would be to be younger and try establish more connections with people in my life who I have lost along the way as cliched as it sounds.

38) Cats or Dogs? I like both. I think I’m allergic to cats as if they get too close, they set me off sneezing but I still like them nevertheless and also Dogs always like to injure me in the crotch but nevertheless I still like them too. So why not both.

39) Are you a competitive person? Not really. Just do the best you can do. If you happen to succeed more, great. If not, at least you tried.

40) Do you believe in aliens? Not really.

41) Do you like dancing? By all means, I'm not a dancer but I don't see anything wrong with booging with a bunch of friends on a dancefloor.

42) What kind of music to you listen to? A mish mash of things really. Pop, Rock, Metal and Rap. I don't really discriminate genres just whatever sounds good to me, I like. Whatever sounds bad to me, I don't like, simple as that really.

43) What is your favorite cartoon character? Kenny McCormick from South Park.

44) Where are you from? Workington, Cumbria, England.

45) Eat at home or eat out? I don't mind both really.

46) How much more social are you when you're drunk? I've never been truly wasted but I think alcohol is a confidence booster for me personally.

47) What was the last thing you bought for yourself? Jersey Shore Season 1, I am not sorry.

48) Why do you think your followers follow you? Pretty much they like similar things that I do. That's about it really, I don't have an attractive presence and don't tend to post too much about myself that much so it's not ME personally.

49) How many hours do you sleep at night? Anywhere between 6-10 hours really. Just depending on school days and stuff.

50) What worries you most about the future? Just everything that COULD happen. Kind of like a million parallel things fighting to be put in one jigsaw puzzle that is your life. I don't like to think about it too long as it's spooks me out.

51) If you had a friend that spoke to you the same way you speak to yourself, how long would you be friends? Hopefully life long. I treat my friends the same, just be nice and compassionate to them.

52) Are you happy with yourself? Currently yes as I don’t think I want to change anything drastically about myself. If anything I would like to better my personality more but otherwise I am currently happy with myself and my way of life.

53) What do you wish you didn't know? I've had a few family secrets that I don't think I should have heard but nothing that cuts me deep.

54) What big lesson could people learn from your life? Just don't be a dick and enjoy the ride really.

55) If you could live in any home on a television series, what would it be? Too much to choose from as there is positives and negatives either way. Even if i were to beat myself up, I don't think I would have a satisfactory answer so I can't really say being honest. Sorry.

56) What's your favorite Website? YouTube because it's introduced me to a number of different things that has shaped my personality in the last 10 years or so.

57) What's the habit you're proudest of breaking? I'm less socially awkward than I once was but I haven't had a really bad habit or anything to be honest.

58) What was your most recent trip of more than 50 miles? Going to London in July

59) What's the best bargain you've ever found at a garage sale or thrift store? Original Ziggy Stardust vinyl for £5.

60) What do you order when you eat Chinese food? Not gonna lie, not a big Chinese food fan but if I were to order, it would be sweet and sour chicken balls with gravy and chips/fries/whatever you wish to call them or Chicken Noodle Soup.

61) If you had to be named after one of the 50 states, which would it be? I'm not American but if I had to pick, Colorado. I dont know why.

62) If you had to teach a subject to a class, what would it be? Film Studies would be my dream subject to teach.

63) Favorite kind of chips? Doritos Jalpeno Fire.

64) Favorite kind of sandwich? Not a sandwich dude but my Subway order is a Spicy Italian on Italian bread, cheese, toasted, lettuce, onion, peppers and tomato sauce.

65) Which do you use more often, the dictionary or the thesaurus? Google is thy master. Nah but seriously if I had to pick, I think it would have to be the thesaurus as I tend to overuse words a lot.

66) Have you ever been stung by a bee? I think I have been accidentally stung before but not recently.

67) What's your favorite form of exercise? Aerobics, Yoga or Dancing.

68) Are you afraid of heights? Not really I suppose. I've been on this ride so I don't truly think so.

69) What's the most memorable class you've ever taken? Psychology because my school is absolutely shit at teaching it as my original teacher has pretty much disappeared and we all failed last year.

70) What's your favorite breakfast? Not a big breakfast dude so cereal does me really.

71) Do you like guacamole? I can't really judge as I don't think I've ever tried it.

72) Have you ever been in a physical fight? A few toy-fights but no beatdowns or anything.

73) What/who are you thinking about right now? If there will be a livestream to the NIN performance at Panorama Festival, New York.

74) Do you like cuddling? I don't mind being cuddled or hugged.

75) Are you holding onto something you need to let go of? There is one thing that is persistent but can hopefully die down soon. I don't really want to get into it as it requires A LOT of explaining.

76) Have you ever experienced one of your biggest fears? Not really.

77) Favorite city you've been to? I've only truly been to London so I have to say that.

78) Would you break the law to save a family member? I think I would.

79) Talk about an embarrassing moment? I split my pants in PE once. I scored a rounder in Rounders (kind of like Baseball for UK kids) and got caught out, went to sit down and my shorts split.

80) Are there any causes you strongly believe in? Equal rights for everyone. I support the LGBT community as many of my friends are a part of it but I’m not SJW or anything protesting in the streets or getting offended and causing a public outrage

81) What's the worst injury you've ever had? I've split my head open twice but the worst pain I've been is was when I tried to flip over a wheelie bin and landed back first onto it.

82) Favorite day of the week? Friday....

DO I EVEN NEED TO MAKE THAT REFERENCE

83) Do you consider yourself sexually open minded? I'm no prude but I don't think I'm very kinky or anything like that. I could be lack of experience though.

84) How do you feel about porn? Nothing wrong with it really in my eyes especially as I own Caligula on DVD. Just don't shove it in the face in those who are uncomfortable about it and let them discover things themselves.

85) Which living celebrity would you like to know? Trent Reznor... I wish he would release an autobiography already, theres so much I’d love to know.

86) Who was your hottest ex? Never had a serious girlfriend.

87) Do you want/have kids? I wouldn't mind (and as the only male member in my family, it would be nice to keep my last name alive)

88) Has anyone ever told you that they wanted to marry you? Nope. Besides from playing house at a really young age.

89) Do you get easily distracted? Yes but I can easily get back into things.

90) Ass or titties? Personality rulez! (Nothing wrong with tits/boobs/breasts/whatever you wish to call them though, not an assman myself as I am constantly reminded poop comes from there)

91) What is your favorite word? As immature as it sounds, something draws me to the word Cunt. It's easy to say yet some people are offended by it but some people use as a term of endearment. It's always perplexed me.

92) How do you feel about tattoos? Go for it. I like them. I wouldn't go overboard though really. Perhaps a sleeve or at least one tattoo but no facial stuff. That kinda puts me off.

93) What are some of your favorite films? I love horror and comedy. Some of my favourite films are Natural Born Killers, Faces of Death, BASEketball, Cannibal! The Musical, REPO! The Genetic Opera, Trainspotting, Get Him To The Greek, Yes Man, The Cornetto Trilogy, Orgazmo, Boogie Nights, Step Brother and I can go on and on as I find new films that I like all the time.

94) How tall are you? I do not know from the top of my head.

95) How old are you? I am 18 years old.

96) 3 physical features you get complimented on a lot? My hair grows back really fast and thick My teeth are a lot straighter thanks to my ongoing brace treatments I am taller than a lot of my family members.

97) Is there anything you're really passionate about? I'd love to make A film one day. Whether it is a short film, a music video or just a project with friends. I would like to make ONE film.

98) Do you have trust issues? I've had my trust broken a lot in my life as cliched as it sounds so I've learned to wisely pick my friends and that forgive/forget stuff.

99) Do you believe in love at first sight? Yes I'm certain that It happens all the time (sorry couldn't resist) I think it's possible but I think personality can be a deal maker and breaker when it comes to building relationships as you can get incredibly attractive people but who are just the biggest pieces of shit.

100) What are some words that you live by? Why? "All I've undergone, I will keep on." That little mantra from The Way Out Is Through has haunted me but it perfect sums up quite a lot of life. Sometimes you encounter shit and you have to wade through the pool of shit in order to reach the chocolate fountain of good at the end of the shit creek. That's a less poetic way of thinking about it but it's still true.

#Tagged #Me #Personal #Rob Rambles

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trendingnewsb · 7 years ago

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Quentin Tarantinos History of Disturbing Behavior Toward His Actresses

For Quentin Tarantino, a man whose taste for portraying violence against women has often been mistaken for feminist filmmaking, the line between fiction and reality is equally blurred.

As a writer and director, Tarantino is famous for pushing his female heroines towards acts of brutal violence; but more often than not, Tarantinos women find themselves on the receiving end of the directors graphic imaginationraped, beaten, killed, whipped and branded.

Like so many (male) directors before him, Tarantinos work has relied on the rape-revenge fantasyan outdated trope that throws in a sexual-assault backstory instead of doing the work of female character development. As a Mic article, Kill Bill and Our Troubled Relationship with Rape Revenge Movies elaborated, While sexual assault is worthy of in depth exploration on screen, these rape and revenge films do not depict the reality of how these assaults can affect women. Rather, they look to fetishize the act and use it as motivation for unabashed gore and violence. What should be empowering films featuring women rising out of past trauma to exact justice are often instead turned into a form of torture porn.

And yet, Tarantino has often been called a feministusually by other men. Hes the auteur of choice for cinephiles who like their directors male and their feminist films full of sexualized violence and lingering feet footage. Harvey Weinstein himself called Tarantino the most pro-woman ever, continuing, [Look at] Uma Thurman [in Kill Bill], Pam Grier [in Jackie Brown], Melanie Laurent and Diane Kruger [in Inglourious Basterds].

Since Weinstein, who stands accused of sexual assault by more than 90 women, asked, maybe it is time to revisit those iconic Tarantino heroinesand take the director to task not just for the female characters hes created, but the real-life women he mistreated in the process.

In recent years, Tarantinos legacy has come under fire by increasingly skeptical critics. In 2015, The New York Times A.O. Scott called 2015s The Hateful Eight an orgy of elaborately justified misogyny. And new allegations by his former muse, Uma Thurman, threaten to unmask Tarantino as little more than what his films would suggest: a man who is altogether too interested in torturing women.

I have to say it was very strange being strangled by the director.

Diane Kruger on Quentin Tarantino

Over the weekend, Thurman accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault in The New York Times.

In a series of painful, shocking anecdotes, the actress also revealed that Tarantino pressured her into a potentially life-threatening scene while filming Kill Bill. Thurman told the Times that this incident occurred after she had disclosed to Tarantino that Weinstein, who produced Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction, had previously assaulted her.

Thurman had expressed that she wanted a stunt person to do the dangerous-seeming scene, which involved operating a wobbly car that she described as a death trap. But Tarantino was insistent. He was furious because Id cost them a lot of time. But I was scared. He said: I promise you the car is fine. Its a straight piece of road, Thurman recalled. Hit 40 miles per hour or your hair wont blow the right way and Ill make you do it again. She added, The seat wasnt screwed down properly. It was a sand road and it was not a straight road.

Newly-released footage shows the subsequent crash, which Thurman says resulted in a concussion and knee damage. She described the accident to the Times, remembering, The steering wheel was at my belly and my legs were jammed under me. I felt this searing pain and thought, Oh my God, Im never going to walk againWhen I came back from the hospital in a neck brace with my knees damaged and a large massive egg on my head and a concussion, I wanted to see the car and I was very upset. Quentin and I had an enormous fight, and I accused him of trying to kill me. And he was very angry at that, I guess understandably, because he didnt feel he had tried to kill me.

Thurman also told The New York Times that Tarantino withheld the crash footage from her for years, saying, Quentin finally atoned by giving it to me after 15 years, right? She added, Not that it matters now, with my permanently damaged neck and my screwed-up knees.

A recent Sydney Morning Herald article fleshed out the connection between the directors oeuvre and the new accusations: No matter how Tarantino might defend his blood-spattered back catalogue as pro-woman or true cinematic equality, violence in the QT pantheon so often seems to be, with a few exceptions, something done by men to womenTarantino loves to put his female characters through hell. We know now, from Thurmans account of his on-set behaviour, that he also likes to do the same to at least one of his actresses in the name of authenticity in performance.

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In the past, Tarantino has admitted that he knew enough to do more than I did about Harvey Weinstein. He told The New York Times that, There was more to it than just the normal rumors, the normal gossip. It wasnt secondhand. I knew he did a couple of these things.I wish I had taken responsibility for what I heard. If I had done the work I should have done then, I would have had to not work with him. Tarantino said that his ex-girlfriend, Mira Sorvino, had told him about Weinsteins unwelcome advances and unwanted touching, and that he also knew about Rose McGowans settlement with the producer. Weinstein distributed his directorial debut Reservoir Dogs in 1992, and has served as a producer on every Tarantino project since.

In the New York Times story, Thurman briefly summarized other abuses she suffered on the set of Kill Bill, with the Times reporting that, Tarantino had done the honors with some of the sadistic flourishes himself, spitting in her face in the scene where Michael Madsen is seen on screen doing it and choking her with a chain in the scene where a teenager named Gogo is on screen doing it.

In a subsequentDeadlineinterview, Tarantino called Thurmans car crash one of the biggest regrets of his life. He told Deadline that the good things I did are in the Maureen Dowd article, butcomplained that, they are de-emphasized to not make any impression. Thesegood thingsseem to include making Weinstein apologize to Thurman for assaulting her, and the herculean task of going to a storage facility to find the tapes of Thurmans car crash, which she told theTimesshes been trying to get for years. Tarantino expressed zero regret for strangling and spitting on his heroine, essentially bragging to Deadline about the skill with which he spat on Thurman for aKill Billscene. So the idea is, Im doing it, Im taking responsibility, Tarantino explained. Also, Im the director, so I can kind of art direct this spit. I know where I want it to land.

Actress Jessica Chastain commented on this perverse directorial dynamic in a series of tweets on Saturday, writing, I keep imagining Tarantino spitting in Umas face and strangling her with a chain for KILL BILL. How many images of women in media do we celebrate that showcase abuse? When did this become normalized entertainment? When violence against women is used as a plot device to make the characters stronger then we have a problem. It is not empowering to be beaten and raped, yet so many films make it their pheonix [sp] moment for women. We dont need abuse in order to be powerful. We already are.

Chastain concluded, Directors inserting themselves into a scene depicting abuse is crossing a boundary. How can an actor feel safe when your director is strangling you? Judd Apatow also reacted to the allegations on Twitter, writing, The number one job a producer and director has on a set is to make sure that everyone is safe. That can mean safe from reckless stunt preparation or safe from predatory producers physically attacking them. There is no excuse for not protecting your cast and crew.

Thurman isnt the only woman who has suffered from Tarantinos boundary-crossing.

Diane Kruger, another actress whose Tarantino role Weinstein pointed to as one of the directors feminist credentials, told Parade about her unique death scene in Inglourious Basterds: I get strangled, which was especially weird because you feel it when someone is choking you, so it was an interesting day at the office. The funny part is that Quentins hands are in the close-up. I wont give away the name of the actor who kills me, but Quentin said, Hes not going to do it right, itll either be too much or too little. I know exactly what I need and I think I should just do it. I have to say it was very strange being strangled by the director.

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In an appearance on The Graham Norton Show, Tarantino recalled asking Kruger if she would let [him] strangle her: And so I just said to her, what I want to do is, Im going to be the hands, and what Im going to do is, Im going to just strangle you. Im going to cut off your air for just a little bit of time, were going to see the reaction in your face, and then well cut. He bragged, It was real. It looked really good, explaining that, When somebody is actually being strangled there is a thing that happens to their face, they turn a certain color, and their veins pop out and stuff. In other films, he complained, It always just seems fake.

In an interview promoting 2007s Grindhouse, Fergie recalled being bitten by the director during one rehearsal. She said, He came to the set and ran lines with me. In one scene Quentin got really into the character and bit me. My manager has it on his camera. Im not going to sue him or anything, but I wanted documentation. It was crazy cool.

Rose McGowan, who also starred in Grindhouse, wrote in her new memoir Brave that, The first time I met Tarantino, and for years after, every time hed see me, he said, Rose! I have your movie Jawbreaker on laser disc! I cant tell you how many times I used the shot where youre painting your toes!' She continued, That means Tarantino paid extra money to jerk off to my young feet and told me about it loudly, over and over, for years, in front of numerous people.

Additionally, according to The Telegraph, McGowan writes that for all the praise Tarantino receives for depicting strong female characters in his films, he also beats the s— out of them for his enjoyment.

Thurman, who has spent years fighting for her video evidence, and even more years staying silent, has some of the strongest insight into the cult of Tarantinothe fictional women he brings to life and the real ones he endangers. Personally, it has taken me 47 years to stop calling people who are mean to you in love with you, she told the Times. It took a long time because I think that as little girls we are conditioned to believe that cruelty and love somehow have a connection and that is like the sort of era that we need to evolve out of.

Tarantino is currently on the hunt for an authentic Polish thespian to play the part of Roman Polanski in his upcoming film, which will reportedly take on the 1969 Manson Family murder of Sharon Tate.

This piece has been updated to include comments from a Deadline interview with Tarantino published late Monday.

Read more: https://www.thedailybeast.com/quentin-tarantinos-history-of-disturbing-behavior-toward-his-actresses

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viralhottopics · 8 years ago

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Over 70 Years Ago, Nazis Victimized This Community. They Still Struggle For Acceptance.

BERLIN They were demeaned, stripped of their rights, forced into labor, sent to extermination camps, murdered. Theirs is a story of the Holocaust that often goes untold, and even so many years later, this community remains socially marginalized.

The Roma, also known as Gypsies, a term some consider insulting, are believed to havecome from India to Europe between the 8th and 10th centuries. Before the Second World War, it is estimated that there were nearly 1 million of them in Europe. The precise number who perished during the Holocaust remains unknown, but historians sayabout a quarter of the European Roma population was murdered by Germans and their allies, while the Council of Sinti and Roma suggest the figure is about half a million.

Around seven decades later, when Germany constructed a memorial for the Roma Holocaust victims between the German parliament building and the iconic Brandenburg Gate, it seemed to signal that the countrys leadership was finally making headway with its largeethnic minority community and recognizing its importance in German history.

Yermi Brenner for The WorldPost

Visitors pass through the Roma memorial in Berlin, Germany.

At the opening ceremony for the memorial in October of 2012, for instance, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that it is a German and European task to support [the Roma] people wherever they live, no matter what country.

But since her speech, facing political pressure to limit the arrivalof migrants and refugees, the German government has instead taken actions to restrict asylum opportunities for applicants from the West Balkans, many of whom are Roma.

Meanwhile, those in the Roma community for whom Germany is home, continue to facewell-documented racism, while Roma in other countriesare targeted in hate crimes. And Germanys Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency found that derogatory stereotypes and prejudice about Roma are still prevalent in most segments of German society today.

At a time when far-right politicians are gaining attention and popularity in Germany and other nations around the continent and world, The WorldPost looks deeper into the current plight of Roma in German society, through the stories of a new generation leading their minority communitys battle for acceptance.

Neo Sanchez for The WorldPost

Joshla Weiss says members of the Roma community, which she is part of, regularly face discrimination and racism in German society.

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Trauma and Racism

Seven relatives of Joshla Weiss, including both of her grandfathers, were murdered in Nazi concentration camps. Weiss is a 36-year-old German citizen, whose origins are Sinti, one of the larger ethnic subgroups within the Roma. Shehas lived in Germany her whole life; her ancestors came to this part of the world more than 600 years ago.

The Nazis viewed Weiss ancestors and the rest of the Roma asracially impureand deprived them of rights before eventually sending them to extermination camps. Up to 220,000 Romaare estimated to have been murderedby Germans and their Axis partners, according to historians cited by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Trauma is in our genes, Weiss told The WorldPost.

They were demeaned, stripped of their rights, forced into labor, sent to extermination camps, murdered.

It is this trauma, she said, that has made the Roma population in Germany less trusting of ethnic Germans. But the lack of trust is not only rooted in the past. In todays German society, people of Roma background face everyday racism and discrimination, Weiss said.

The racism Weiss mentioned is reaffirmed in a recent Pew study that found as many as 40 percent of Germans have an unfavorable view of Roma, as opposed to 29 percent for Muslims and 5 percent for Jews. Instances of stereotypes about Roma suggesting they are undomesticated, have no concept of private property and dont like to work regularly occur in German politics, media and culture, according to a study from 2013 by the Remembrance, Responsibility and Future foundation, a German nonprofit that promotes rights of Holocaust victims. And in another studyat the University of Leipzig, a little over 50 percent of interviewees felt that Roma are prone to crime, and almost the same amount said they would have a problem with having Roma neighbors.

Invisible Roma

There are about 70,000 Roma who are citizens in Germany today. But according to Weiss, many Roma hide their cultural identity rather than embrace it in part because of the high levels of xenophobia theyre exposed to in the country.

The Roma in Germany are often invisible in the public, not recognized, not viewed as Sinti or Roma, Albert Scherr, a sociologist from the Freiburg University of Education in Germany who has studied Roma in the country extensively, told The WorldPost. Scherr said most of them were born in Germany and work in normal jobs, have academic careers and live a normal life.

Yermi Brenner for The WorldPost

One woman dances in a crowd of Berliners as they listen to traditional Roma music at the 2016 Herdelezi street festival.

Making Roma people and culture more visible in the German public sphere is the goal of the Herdelezi festival, which takes place annually in Berlin. Several hundred Roma and non-Roma gathered for last years cultural celebration on a sunny weekend afternoon in May. An entire street was blocked off and instead of cars, there were two rows of food stands serving an array of Balkan pastries, stuffed vegetables and barbecued meat. Next to the stands of food were arts and crafts booths, where children made their own colorful badges and engaged in other creative activities.

This street festival organized by Amaro Foro e.V, the Berlin branch ofthe national Roma youth association that Weiss works for aims to counter negative stereotypes about Roma by showing the diversity of the community. The goal of this festival is to come together to celebrate ourselves, to introduce ourselves we are here! Weiss said.

‘Trauma is in our genes.’ Joshla Weiss

The festivals participants included Roma musicians from Germany, Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia, who performed everything from sentimental pop love songs and rhythmic Balkan beats to American-style hip-hop. An enthusiastic crowd of young and old Berliners of all ethnic backgrounds danced in front of the stage, while others stood around and cheered.

Rejected Roma

The population of Roma in contemporary Germany is made up of several groups, Scherr said,each with a different legal status and different social status in society. Aside from the invisible German-born Roma people who are citizens, there are two other main groups.

The first includes Roma who immigrated to Germany from other European Union countries mainly Romania and Bulgaria and therefore have a legal right to stay due to their EU citizen status. The second consists of Roma from West Balkan countries, whose situation is much more complicated because they are not EU residents, and as a result, have limited options for legal immigration to Germany.

NurPhoto via Getty Images

Roma march in a national demonstration against the risk of a new Holocaust and discrimination of nomad people in Berlin, Germany, on June 3, 2016.

Rejection and deportations of Roma asylum seekers from the West Balkans is what led to a series of demonstrations in support of the Roma community throughout Germany last year. On a warm Friday afternoon in June, people marched across Berlins tourist district, shouting slogans and holding up signs like All Roma remain here! and For Roma there are no safe countries of origin!

Documenting it all was Kenan Emini, who works for the Roma Antidiscrimination Network, a project funded by the German Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. Emini is the filmmaker behind The Awakening, a documentary that showcases the stories of Roma who came to Germany for shelter but have been since been deported or face the threat of deportation.

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I just want to give them the voice so somebody can hear their story, Emini, who is in his thirties, told The WorldPost.

Their story is also his. Emini grew up in a Roma family in Yugoslavia, and after fleeing war-torn Kosovo in 2000, received a residence permit in Germany. But he said that in his first seven years in Germany his right to stay was constantly up for review and he feared deportation to Kosovo a place where as a Roma he had always felt targeted.

The Roma minority in Kosovo and in the rest of the West Balkans suffers from systemic discrimination and poverty, according to reports by Human Rights Watch and by the U.S. State Department. In the past decade, a large number of West Balkan Roma fled to the European Union in the hopes of finding shelter and Germany was a prime destination.

Yermi Brenner for The WorldPost

Kenan Emini grew up in a Roma family in Yugoslavia. Today, he works for the Roma Antidiscrimination Network in Germany.

The overall number of people from West Balkan countries who applied for asylum in Germany started increasing in 2009 and peaked in 2015.The ethnicity of asylum applicants is not recorded, but German media reported that many of the applicants who held citizenship of a West Balkan country were in fact Roma.

The arrival of the West Balkan asylum seekers coincided with an influx of asylum seekers from the Middle East and Africa, particularly in 2015, a year in which over a million peoplecame to Germany. Facing political pressure to halt the flow of newcomers, the German government added six West Balkan countries Kosovo, Serbia, Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro and Albania to its list of safe countries, allowing authorities to easily and quickly reject asylum applications of nationals from these countries.

Good Refugees, Bad Refugees

Emini said that the safe countries law has turned the Roma who come to Germany for protection into unwanted or bad refugees, as opposed to the good refugees from Syria.

But the German government sees the system differently. A spokesperson of Germanys federal minister of the interior, Tobias Plate, explained via email that every asylum application is reviewed individually, and applicants have the opportunity to state their case to German authorities.

‘I just want to give them the voice so somebody can hear their story.’ Kenan Emini

This applies, without exception, to all asylum applicants from safe countries of origin, including members of the Roma ethnic group, Plate wrote.There are no facts that justify the assumption that the situation in the Western Balkan countries forces the Roma ethnic group and other groups of persons to leave, he added.

Listing countries as safe risks less favorable procedural treatment to people of certain nationalities, according to European Council on Refugees and Exiles, orECRE. The ECRE legal briefing points out that it often happens where nationals generally enjoy state protection [and] certain minorities … find themselves exposed to ill treatment.

Yermi Brenner for The WorldPost

Roma migrants in Germany carry a sign that reads “ALL ROMA STAY HERE!” and “STOP THE DEPORTATIONS!” during a protest.

In the case of Germany, the addition of the six West Balkan countries to the list of safe countries has been very influential. The asylum recognition rate for West Balkans applicants in Germany are currently very low, and German authorities have seen a sharp decrease in the number of asylum applications from these countries since the designation was assigned.

Emini helped draft a petition addressed to Chancellor Merkel stating that Germany has an historical responsibility to victims of the Holocaust, and that just as German authorities offered protection to Jews fleeing Soviet Union in the 1990s, they should offer protection to the West Balkan Roma.

Jewish people, they were smart, they talk about the Holocaust a lot, and the whole world knows about the Holocaust, and this is their right. They do a good job of fighting for their rights and this is very important for us to learn from this, Emini said.

‘[The Jewish people] do a good job of fighting for their rights and this is very important for us to learn from this.’ Kenan Emini

Regarding his identity as a Roma, Emini is ambivalent. He is proud of his background but does not feel a need to define himself by ethnic or national terms.

I dont have this nationality trip in my head if I am Roma or not Roma, Emini said. We are all human.But I am in this role, so I must live with this.

Opportunity Mixed With Racism

Emini managed to secure his residency in Germany after a seven-year bureaucratic struggle. On the other hand, for Roma who emigrated from European Union countries, the path to residency in Germany is much shorter.

Twenty-six-year-old Aurel Dinu is from Romania, an EU country where the Roma minority faces systemic discrimination, according to a report by Amnesty International and a survey by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. He grew up in a poor Roma community, and dropped out of elementary school after four years because his parents could not afford to provide him with books, pens and other school equipment. He spent his teenage years finding different means of making money like collecting valuables from dumpsters and begging people on the street for spare change.

Yermi Brenner for The WorldPost

Aurel Dinu left Romania for Germany in 2014 with his four kids and pregnant wife, escaping systematic discrimination of Roma in his home country.

Three years ago, Dinu was married with four kids and a fifth on the way. Thats when he and his wife, realizing they had no chance to give their children a good life in Romania, decided to come to Germany.

If we had stayed in Romania I would not have been able to put my children in school right now because there is too much discrimination. That is what I myself experienced, Dinu told The WorldPost in Berlin.

I want to stay here. I dont want to go back to Romania. I want a better future for my children. I want them to go to school and to have a better life than I had, he added, noting the even more blatant and systemic racism Roma face in Romania than in Germany.

When the family came to the German capital in 2014, they lived in a public park for four months until they were able to find space in a local homeless shelter. At first, Dinu earned money by wiping car windows in city intersections, and by collecting empty bottles for recycling. Then he got hired to work in a cleaning company, where he was employed for a year and a half. After working 18 months in Germany, Dinu and his family members gained free access to German health care as well as basic welfare support.

‘If we had stayed in Romania I would not have been able to put my children in school right now because there is too much discrimination.’ Aurel Dinu

Last summer, Dinu got a scholarship from the Hildegard Lagrenne Foundation, a nonprofit that promotes integration of Roma, to study the German language full-time. German welfare authorities cover the rent of the 2-room apartment Dinus family lives in. He said he is thankful to Germany for the opportunity his family has in the country.

But Dinus comfort in Germany comes with an underlying fear of racism. And while he said the discrimination feels much less than in his home country of Romania, he still insists that on some occasions his wife not wear her traditional, colorful dress a visible indication of their Roma identity.

It is important that she keeps wearing the traditional clothes, but I know that sometimes that can cause problems, Dinu said. So if we are going to an important meeting, for example in [meetings with German welfare services], then I tell her to not wear that skirt for that moment, take it in her purse and put it back on after we are out of the meeting, just because of the impression it makes, the way it makes people react.

Monika Skolimowska/Getty Images

A German official lays down a wreath during a commemoration ceremony at Berlin’s Roma memorial on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Jan. 27, 2017.

Dinus worry, like many Roma in the country regardless of their residency status is that some Germans might discriminate against him and his family.

Over seven decades have passed since Roma were deemed racially inferior by the Nazi regime. But the scars have yet to heal. The reality for Roma in Germany is a mixed bag, which includes an opportunity for a better life for some, deportations for others and racial discrimination for most. As another International Holocaust Remembrance Day comes and goes and as the anti-immigrant message threatensto dominate polls, Chancellor Merkels promise of support seems more and more empty.