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do-androids-dream-ao3acc · 4 years ago

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Another one for “The Forgotten Tales”. @deagle prompted me with a song, however, the story soon went totally wild. I’m afraid it has nothing to do with this song or any ideas you initially had; still, I hope you like it.

This is kind of a classic crime story. To find out how exactly the ruler of a small duchy died, Geralt has to visit the court in highly official manners. Which he, of course, does not like very much. And who’s to blame for this all? Well.

This is a rather silly little thing of around 8377 words. You can read it below the cut or on AO3.

The man behind the desk appeared uncomfortable, skimming through some papers spread out before him on the wooden tabletop. He wasn't the only one. The protocol officer pressed the documents he was carrying tightly against his chest as if he feared that the other would snatch them out of his hands. The guy, greyed before his time, looked so grim that the thought didn't seem so far from the officer's mind.

"Are you kidding?" the man asked in a grave voice.

"I certainly would never allow myself to do that," protested the protocol officer. "But those are pending decisions you are supposed to make. Besides, the magistrate is expecting you to confirm a long-delayed judgment, and the tax collector is waiting outside."

"I'll kill him," growled the white-haired man, solid and sinewy hands clawing into the ends of the tabletop as if to tear this heirloom of Duke Ghent to pieces.

"The tax collector?" the protocol officer asked in horror, taking a step back.

"My husband," the other replied, and the official thought that, for all his loyalty to the empire, perhaps this was an understandable reaction. Thoughts are free.

Geralt knew exactly how all this had started. In bed, of course, because whenever Emhyr wanted something from him that he could be sure Geralt wouldn't truly agree with, he would make his suggestions... well. After sex. Fantastic sex. He was damn good at smothering inevitable protest in kisses and at exploiting Geralt's afterward mood. The latter recalled that particular suggestion.

They had lain there, fulfilled and exhausted, Emhyr brushing hair from Geralt’s face tenderly, casually remarking, "There's something I need you to do."

Geralt had sensed that his fate was sealed at that moment, but upon hearing what it was all about, he'd still reeled off his defiant routine – knowing full well that resistance was futile. When it came to these things, he was inferior to the Emperor, who knew some subtle ways to remind him that he was his spouse. And the latter knew very well that there were a few things that Geralt particularly detested, including politics, which is why that was a topic they had – strangely cleverly – excluded from their shared life from the very beginning.

"There's this duchy," Emhyr had said, "a mere province, unimportant vassal state, you know." Geralt had refrained from pointing out that he didn't know because he didn't care. He had been smart enough not to say such things because that would have earned him either a little lecture or a disapproving look, and he hadn't wanted either.

"Not far from Ofir’s borders, one of the few provinces that engage in occasional trade without giving us any significant gain in knowledge about the southern lands," Emhyr had continued, and sensing that a lesson was about to ensue after all, Geralt had sighed and demanded that he get to the point.

The point was that the regent, Duke Ghent, had died suddenly in his prime. Such things happened; however (unsurprisingly), Emhyr had informants at this supposedly insignificant court who complained that things were not above board. Still, information from such a distance leaked slowly and not always reliably. The distance was certainly relevant because the farther a regent thought he was from the capital, the greater might his desire grow to do things his way.

At this point, however, an unrelenting and incredibly tedious litany had followed, the essence of which seemed to be that a visit by the imperial consort to the distant province would serve several functions. Geralt, who had already half fallen asleep by then (because it was damn pleasant to lie in those arms and listen to that voice, even if he wasn't listening at all), had been startled back up at the point when the details of that visit came up. Emhyr had uttered some lofty words and complicated reasoning that essentially boiled down to this: Geralt was to temporarily act as the official representative of the Duke, who regrettably had neither wife nor offspring, to show that the Empire cared even about the hindmost dump (admittedly, Emhyr had put it somewhat differently). At the same time, he was supposed to find out if there was any truth in the rumors about a non-natural death of the Duke. This was supposed to serve as proof that such a thing would not be tolerated but, on the contrary, would be severely punished.

Geralt had hardly been able to argue against it all, so it had come as it had to come: silly clothes, a hated portal, and already the imperial consort was an official emissary of Nilfgaard.

Geralt had found this idea idiotic at the time, and nothing had changed. What his dear husband had not told him was that his function here was by no means purely representative. This stick of a guy would take care of that; the nervous linnet with the stack of papers in his hand, who also expected Geralt to take care of the pile of scrolls on the desk. Moreover, he had been advised (by the very husband who was always persuasive when it benefited him) not to show up at court in armor, equipped with swords. As if, just because he wore Nilfgaardian clothes tailored to his body, he didn't seem like a man who would rip them off without hesitation to start a riot.

At any rate, the protocol officer seemed to think so as he stood there, almost crawling into the wall, looking at the suddenly protruding vein on imperial consort's forehead. No, the man was not what the official had expected – although, of course, word had spread even down here, to the southernmost tip of the empire, that the Emperor had married a witcher. But witchers had hardly ever strayed into these parts of the continent; that's why it wasn't easy to bring together legends, expectations, and facts.

However, the facts were indisputable that the Emperor had sent a witcher to solve problems that had nothing to do with any monsters, and that was what these mutants were doing, wasn't it? It was also a fact that it was not for the official to judge. His task was to bring this tall, scarred rake up to date on the duties of the duchy, but the latter didn't seem particularly interested. He had stood up (the officer had backed away a bit more, still clutching the papers tightly), scowled at the stack of documents on the desk, and then sat down on the tabletop.

"I assume the Duke is already buried?" asked Geralt.

The protocol officer wrinkled his nose. "Duke Ghent deceased three weeks ago," he replied indignantly. "In our climes, a quick burial is the custom for a reason."

The witcher gave the man a look as if he wanted to burn him with his eyes (and the papers on the table as well). For all the officer knew – and it wasn't much – that might be possible. Maybe the witcher was just another form of magician. Perhaps his way of dealing with monsters was like dealing with unpleasant tasks, destroying, burning, demolishing... The officer wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead and tried to focus.

"Even in this climate, there should be enough left to tell if he's been poisoned," the witcher suddenly said, and it sounded like a threat. In the end, the official considered it that way. Was this guy trying to dig up the Duke, the great sun rest his soul?

"The tax collector," the officer said feebly.

The witcher frowned. "What's he got to do with it?"

"He's waiting. Outside the door."

The witcher snorted. "How big is this duchy?"

The protocol officer blinked. What a question. He sounded offended when he answered, "A, I want to say, stately provincial capital, prestigious for its jewelers. About a dozen villages, a few hermitages. With all due respect, sir, we may be His Imperial Majesty's most distant court from the capital, but there have never been any complaints about our annual – punctual – tributes."

"Tributes in what form?" asked the witcher, gesturing to the door with a nod of his head. "The tax collector, let him in."

The official sent a push prayer to heaven and opened the door.

For the next half hour, Geralt stoically endured (dead inside) a monologue about the Duchy's mineral resources. The only one who actually listened spellbound was the protocol officer. A strange guy. Nervous, of course, because Geralt's visit was so official, but there was a tug in the back of his head that indicated either the onset of a headache – which a witcher was not usually prone to – or instinct. The way the skinny schmuck wrapped his long fingers around the papers. His blushed ears (who blushed at the ears?). The plucking at the ends of the scrolls he held as if it were his life to defend them.

Perhaps this was somehow paranoid, and Geralt wondered why Emhyr hadn't sent Adan (who could handle paranoia much better) to investigate right away. He would have eaten his way through the kitchen, probably learned half a dozen secrets in the process, actually dug up the Duke in the end, and within two days, the matter would have been settled. But, alas. Politics, Geralt thought bitterly. Maybe it was just a headache in the end. In any case, he was expected to approach the matter with diplomacy. Oh, he would really kill Emhyr. While he was thinking up some interesting ways, which oddly enough turned into rather frivolous thoughts rather quickly, he half-heartedly listened to the tax collector.

He took from the latter's words that the Duchy might be small, but it had plenty of raw materials, such as copper and ore, and especially silver. This flowed abundantly from here to the capital – in fact, a large part of the Duchy taxes consisted of mined mineral resources. Of course, one would have to cross-check reports, but Geralt could well imagine that on the long way from here to Nilfgaard, a part of the cargo was lost every now and then. Or was diverted beforehand.

He sent the tax collector away and asked the protocol officer, "What is the succession plan for the Duke?"

The official put on a sorrowful face. "Unfortunately, there are no children, and his wife died of a fever years ago. Frankly speaking, as far as the family tree lineage is concerned, we urgently need support from the imperial palace. Duke Ghent was distantly related to His Imperial Majesty. However, even the fifth-degree relatives of a collateral line already own lands, and all of them live far away."

Geralt, still slouching on the desk, said astutely, "Meaning there will be an interim government, probably made up of close advisers, aldermen, that sort of thing. Until the palace decides who will be officially appointed as successor. Which may take time."

"That's right."

"Fine," Geralt said, jumping up (sweeping some of the papers off the desk, which the officer didn't like) and adding, "then there are plenty of suspects."

"Suspects, sir?"

"Someone," Geralt replied, his eyes suddenly sparkling with interest (which scared the official even more), "profited from the Duke's disappearance. It is possible that he was actually murdered."

The protocol officer paled and reflexively threw a hand over his mouth. A pile of parchment and scrolls noisily went to the floor, spreading ominous chaos.

In search of a clue, Geralt wandered restlessly through the ducal castle. Digging up the Duke to determine his cause of death seemed like a last resort – one that was not only radical but probably also against court etiquette. However, there was someone who had to know what Duke Ghent had finally died of, namely the one who had officially determined his death, perhaps even issued a death certificate. That was the only good thing about all the courtly bureaucracy: everything had to go its orderly way.

On his way through the unbelievably long corridors (why were they always so incredibly long in castles and palaces? How long did it take these people to get from one place to another?), Geralt ignored the curious looks as usual. Although it was apparent that he belonged neither in this place nor in these clothes – hell, he even walked like a warrior; besides, his back itched as if the missing swords were laughing at him – plenty of women and also a few men gave him interested looks. However, his attractiveness immediately dropped noticeably when they spotted the ring on his right hand.

And when it finally clicked inside of them, because they eventually connected charisma, appearance, scar, and hair mentally, it became apparent that word had gotten around even here whom the Emperor had married, and they almost stepped on each other's feet trying to get out of his way. At least he got enough out of the stuttering morons to find his way to the healer. The latter resided in a lavish, not exactly modestly furnished annex and sat, apparently unmolested by any patients, in a study crammed with bookshelves.

After a polite but reserved greeting – which did not change at the mention of Geralt's official function – he answered the question about the cause of death with certainty, saying that it had been the Duke's weak heart.

"From what I heard, the man was just over 50," Geralt said skeptically.

"But overweight, short of breath, and jumpy," the healer replied.

"Jumpy?" asked Geralt, frowning.

"Absolutely. Despite his stature, the man was decidedly nervous. A matter of diet, clearly, a consequence of the excessive consumption of honeycomb, which he could not resist. If one approached him in an inconsiderate moment, like from behind, or if he was engrossed in reading, he almost fell off his seat. No wonder he was afraid of shadows."

"He was afraid of shadows?"

The healer, who would also have benefited from some weight reduction, leaned back in his chair, which creaked in protest. He pulled a face, gesturing deprecatingly.

"Well, more likely from what he suspected to be in the shadows," he then said.

"Did he fear an attack?"

The healer sighed. "He was afraid of ghosts. A penchant for spooky stories and his physical weakness, not uncommon in the courtly environment, favored a certain… well, mental decay."

"Wait," Geralt returned, "he was jumpy, believed in ghosts, had a favorite food whose sweetness would mask many toxins..."

"You don't think he was poisoned, do you?"

The healer's bushy brows almost formed a line.

"A poison that would kill him in installments so that it wouldn't be suspicious. A sudden jumpiness and delusions might fit that," Geralt mused.

The healer shook his head, folded his arms in front of his chest, coolly remarking, "You witchers may be familiar with strange ways of death, but there was no sign of poisoning. Sometimes the most likely answer is the truth, and the fact is that the Duke was a fat, elderly, dissolute man who died of a weak heart – ironically when he went for a walk for once."

Geralt leaned forward and looked at the other man intently.

"Are you saying you didn't like him very much?"

The healer looked back calmly. "Don't overdo it, witcher," was all he said, and that was that.

Geralt had the protocol officer make a list that included all the council members – that is, all the participants in the transitional government. The list was surprisingly long, and Geralt postponed questioning all of them until the next day; after all, the Duke didn't come back to life from it either. But Geralt was almost convinced that this list would include possible candidates who had profited – or would still profit – from the Duke's demise. The longer it took Nilfgaard to appoint a permanent government representative (who in the end could also very well emerge from that very council), the more there could be wheeling and dealing at the ducal court.

Until then, however, the protocol officer (and apparently not only him) was convinced that Geralt was present in a highly official capacity – that is, to make decisions. The whole day the guy had been running after him, always waving some papers. At some point, Geralt, mainly to have his peace, had actually sat down and started to sign what was held out to him without bothering to read the stuff. He had met the judge and acquitted some promiscuous woman accused of adultery (which here, apparently, was a thing one ended up in jail for). This had caused a bit of an uproar, but Geralt thought it was no wonder the woman had started to look for something different – he had been presented with a book of nobility, which contained not only the complete lineage but also a drawing of the man.

When he lay in bed in the evening in his, admittedly, rather noble guest room, he was almost too exhausted by the whole charade to still feel the same anger as in the morning. Emhyr had made him step through one of the portals he hated, to pretend to be interested in reports of corn shipments or the malachite levels of individual copper mines in this godforsaken nest of duchy. It was a miracle that the Duke had not died of boredom, but certainly not that he had eaten heaps of sweets to overcome it.

Was this really about finding out if the Duke's death had been natural, or was Emhyr trying to teach him a less than subtle lesson in politics? When Geralt put his head on the pillow, he found that it was too soft. He sighed and absent-mindedly stroked the xenogloss that Triss had given him. His return ticket, with which he could call the sorceress and go back to give Emhyr a good telling off.

He turned around and realized that the bed was too small, which was crazy because it was a perfectly normal size. He could spread out in it completely undisturbed, and the following day he wouldn't find himself crouched in a narrow strip on the edge. But neither would he find himself in the arms that made sure he didn't fall out.

Evading the officer the next morning was surprisingly easy. Hardly anyone seemed to get with the first birdsong; even the maids at the Duke's court were granted a little more sleep. Geralt knew only one person besides himself who usually peeled himself out of the sheets at this time of day – and that person was responsible for the fact that he was trying to get as far away as possible from the room with the pile of papers. Besides, he preferred to spend the day wisely, such as putting the entire council through the wringer. In doing so, he wanted to avoid too much attention from the officer, who would surely try to make things difficult for him.

The question was how to use the time until it was reasonably decent to address the first alderman on the list. Geralt's path led him almost inevitably into the open. The gardens were not particularly lush, not much more than a few static rose beds and a few footpaths to stroll along, but still a welcome change from the castle walls. Around the castle ran a gravel strip, glistening in the sun, joined in most places by a patch of manicured lawn before merging into meticulously laid flowerbeds.

Here and there were a few benches for those exhausted even by a walk in the open air. Having circled the gardens in a short time, Geralt took a seat on one of them, facing the rear exit of the castle. It was quite possible that the official would be looking for him out here as well. It was probably impossible to hide from the guy permanently anyway, Geralt thought; after all, he knew the terrain better. His gaze wandered from the plain flowerbeds to the castle. Not a particularly exciting masonry. Neither exceptionally large nor interestingly designed, although the wall stones used glittered slightly in the sun, which was probably a particular feature of the material – perhaps it was due to a mixture with sand, which was abundant in the area, Geralt suspected. There were probably statistics about that, too, he thought with an inward sigh. But the stones were not the only thing glittering. Out of the corner of his eye, a sparkle caught his attention, clearly coming from the strip of grass in front of the east side of the castle.

That would probably be the most exciting thing he would see for the next few hours, so he stood up, curious enough to find out if he was simply dealing with a shard. But that wasn't it. The grass near the castle walls could have used a scythe, which was probably why no one had discovered the little gem yet. Because what had glittered in the sun was an earring. It had to belong to a woman with taste, which was why it was all the more surprising that no one had looked for it. Whereas maybe they had looked for it, but someone had simply not managed to find the piece. It was a pretty earring, an emerald green, oddly shaped pendant on a small, gold pin.

The shape vaguely reminded Geralt of something, but he just couldn't figure it out. He closed his hand around the piece of jewelry, stood up from his stooped posture, and turned around – only to see the protocol officer at the rear exit, a few steps away. He hadn't noticed him yet, and Geralt hastily pressed himself against the castle wall like a thief, slowly moving to the side until he reached an alcove behind which he could hide. His senses were sharp enough to tell him the officer seemed convinced that the damned witcher was not out here. Geralt continued walking in the other direction to be on the safe side until he found the next entrance. It was time to talk to the council members.

The aldermen had only good things to say about the Duke. He seemed to have been the purest figure of light (suggesting that they were exaggerating), but basically, their reactions were honest when Geralt brought it up. Duke Ghent had been kind, generous, and charming, and, what was often emphasized, extremely conscientious about the dues to the capital. Everyone seemed to think his penchant for copious amounts of food was the prerogative of a good regent, which also applied to his little quirk, as one of the councilors put it. One even claimed that the Duke loved to be afraid, not only because he liked to listen to spooky stories and devour ghost legends. Apparently, he had adopted what was said to be a foreign custom of celebrating a festival in the fall, the purpose of which was to drive away evil spirits with colored lamps. In truth, it seemed to be mainly about dressing up and giving each other sweets. Eccentric, but not the craziest thing Geralt had ever heard. It just seemed like a twisted form of the usual Samhain festival, and in Geralt's opinion, they could be glad that they had never been infested by banshees while doing so here.

The interrogations were largely inconclusive when it came to finding out whether the Duke had had any enemies. No one could remotely imagine that anyone would have disliked the good man. Geralt tried to figure out who might have benefited most from his demise, but it turned out that the aldermen mainly fulfilled small-scale functions. Each of them performed several tasks that may have been respectable in their own rights, still, relatively small: managing small estates, paying out wages, awarding contracts to local jewelers in the event of a surplus of silver, documenting travelers, and the like. All in all, they kept the duchy running, but none of them had an understanding of the big picture. That had been the Duke's responsibility; however, he had not taken care of it alone. One name came up particularly often.

"Nisbeer supported the Duke, in many ways," one of the aldermen said. Another claimed, "Without Nisbeer, the Duke could never have met all his obligations." Still another council member mentioned, "Nisbeer is probably the most diligent of all of us."

Johan Nisbeer, it turned out, was also a council member, but he was not on the list Geralt had received. "That's because he's just so humble," said one of the men Geralt questioned. "Besides, you must have met him already. Nisbeer keeps the books."

"The protocol officer is Nisbeer?"

This was confirmed, and Geralt began to ponder. He had no choice but to give up the game of hiding and look for the officer. However, the man was not in the Duke's study. The desk was neatly tidied, although there were even higher piles of papers on it than the day before. Geralt stepped up to the table and skimmed the documents. Most of it was unimportant stuff. Although every single one of it had Nisbeer's signature next to a blank line for the Duke – which would now remain empty unless Geralt took over that job again – it didn't seem particularly suspicious. Nisbeer was industrious, and presumably, he had occupied a unique position among the council members. Every ruler had a favorite, a confidant, someone to whom one could delegate particularly unpleasant tasks. Emyhr had Meredid, who was much more than his valet. And of course, Geralt, who couldn't refuse the damn guy anything. Loyalty and love were powerful driving forces but just as easily exploited.

Following an impulse, Geralt asked his way to the Duke's private chambers. The main room turned out to be a kind of copy of the study room – a similar desk, a lot of shelves, books, and scrolls. Even here, there was the obligatory portrait of the Emperor on one of the walls. It was all fine and dandy in the official office, but the fact that his spouse was now staring at him from the wall in the Duke's private chambers as well, Geralt thought was a bit excessive. Furthermore, there was some more comfortable seating, and on the table a tin of nicely wrapped sweets. It seemed to be true what he had been told about the Duke: a consistently good man who had taken his duties seriously, with a weakness for sweet stuff. Geralt took one of the candies out of the tin, unwrapped it from the wax paper, and sniffed it before popping it in his mouth. Anyway, the man had not been poisoned with it, if that had been the case at all. The documents on the desk turned out to be reports on ore and silver deposits in the duchy, including tables of statistics and figures that went on and on, making Geralt's head spin. He wondered, however, why the Duke had bothered with them, because the rest of the papers seemed simply another stack of decisions for him to sign – like work to take home.

The bedroom of the late Duke adjoined this room. The healer had said that he had not moved very much. In this room, it became clear that the Duke had also had a preference for a comfortable place to sleep for all his love of work. The massive four-poster bed of ornately, finely decorated oak was larger than usual, and it was trimmed with what must have been a dozen brocade pillows. Geralt was already looking forward to telling Emhyr that his penchant for giant beds wasn't all that unique.

Beyond that, however, there was nothing in the room that told Geralt more about whether the Duke had fallen victim to a greedy servant, or even a ghost, as he might have feared. On a small table next to the bed lay a booklet of ghost stories next to a half-burned candle. Duke Ghent had probably also spent his last night with his hobby. Beneath the window, framed by heavy, dark curtains, was a tall dresser on which the Duke had stored another tin of sweetmeats; sticky, durable cakes sprinkled with sesame seeds. Not quite the right bedtime snack for an overweight person, but oh well. Next to it was another box of fine porcelain, and Geralt lifted the delicate lid in anticipation of more sweets.

Instead, to his surprise, a piece of jewelry flashed at him. He reached into one of his pockets (which he had had to persuade the tailor to make – Nilfgaard's fashion absurdly did not provide for pockets for men's pants at all, what nonsense) and rummaged out of it the earring he had found in the gardens. In the box was its counterpart. Well, that was interesting. Nothing about the Duke's chambers suggested that he had received lady visitors. So why did he have an earring and a single one at that? It was time to find the protocol officer. He seemed to have been the Duke's confidant; perhaps he could shed some light on the matter – even if that meant Geralt would have to squeeze himself behind the desk again and take up the pen.

He caught Nisbeer in one of the corridors. The officer seemed to think he had instead caught the witcher, for he put on a punitive face.

"I've been looking for you all morning, sir," he complained.

"Hmm," Geralt mouthed innocently.

They walked the hallways together, passing endless rows of typical paintings – ancestors and relatives, famous personalities, lovely landscapes.

"There is some work to be done," the protocol officer continued. "We were wondering if your presence was due to settle the Duke's succession."

Geralt gave the man a sidelong glance. Considering that such decisions often took a long time and that his appearance so soon after the Duke's death might seem somewhat puzzling, even if the duchy's raw material resources were important, the assumption was probably justified. Geralt only hoped that Emhyr did not actually intend to leave this decision up to him. In any case, he had not mentioned it. Just as he had omitted to mention that Geralt was expected to put his name under documents that his husband must have suspected he would not read.

While he was still searching for a plausible answer, his gaze fell on the murals. Suddenly he stopped as if rooted to the spot, ignoring the officer's irritated "Sir?"

"Who is that?" Geralt asked, pointing to the portrait of a woman hanging in a gold frame between paintings of a desert plain with a thirsty panther (or what the artist had imagined it to be) and a portrait of a scowling older man. The painting was nothing special, a classic picture in oil, neither particularly elaborate nor especially appealing. The woman in it was illustrated up to her chest, an unassuming beauty with a slightly too large nose and brown hair that fell to her indecently bare shoulders. That was not the remarkable thing about the portrait, but the earrings the woman was wearing — narrow gold danglers with an emerald green, oddly shaped pendant.

"Her?" asked Nisbeer, apparently irritated by the sudden change of subject. He shrugged his shoulders. "A distant ancestor of the Duke, whose exact degree of kinship has never been fully clarified, which is why she occupies this somewhat inglorious place. The gentleman next to her is also presumably a relative of the same status. Little effort was made in earlier times to keep the books in order."

The last words came disapprovingly – no wonder, one put here, nevertheless, the greatest value on decent documentation.

"However," the officer continued, "the unnamed lady is the subject of a local ghost legend. It's amazing that this portrait, in particular, catches your eye, Sir. Duke Ghent liked it for some reason. Well, he liked ghost stories, didn't he."

"I guess he wasn't the only one," Geralt said thoughtfully, pulling the earring from the garden out of his pocket. He compared the piece with the painting. A very good copy of the jewelry of the lady in the picture.

Nisbeer frowned. "What does that mean?" he asked.

Geralt pointed his finger at him. "The duke was murdered," he said. "And I think I can prove it."

The officer paled.

Geralt strolled almost casually into the healer's parlor. The treatment table in one corner of the room was empty, but a collection of knives, hooks, and other medical equipment, as well as a bloody rag on the floor, were testimony that the man must have already had a patient that morning. He was in the process of cleaning his utensils with an alcohol-soaked cloth.

"Looks unpleasant," Geralt remarked, pointing to the rag.

The healer looked up, surprised to see the witcher again. His lips pinched reluctantly, but he replied, "No big deal. One of the guards cut himself on his own sword, that idiot."

"Sometimes, the most likely answer is the truth," Geralt said.

"Huh?" The healer appeared annoyed.

"Your own words, yesterday," Geralt calmly remarked. "You are a clever man. The best way to hide lies is to clothe them in a piece of truth."

"Are you accusing me of lying?" roared the other.

Geralt raised his hands placatingly. "No, you absolutely told the truth; you just left out a few interesting details. As his physician, you knew very well about the Duke's weaknesses. You were the one that told me he loved ghost stories."

"Which is true," the healer replied cautiously.

"That's right," Geralt said as he walked up and down the room, never taking his eyes off the healer, however. "What you didn't tell me is that you are also part of the council. You belong to the aldermen."

"Why would I mention that when you asked me about the Duke?"

Geralt shrugged. He stepped up to the healer's desk and skimmed a few of the documents, which the man tried to prevent by quickly gathering up the sheets.

"This is confidential patient information," he rumbled.

"Sure. Nice handwriting," Geralt said, pulling out the list with the names of the councilors. "Pretty similar to this one."

"The protocol officer wrote these."

Geralt shook his head indulgently. "It looks like it, I'll admit. However, it is only a forgery, albeit a well-made one. A lot of people in the castle are occupied with writing, including Nisbeer, of course. But also the physician, a person constantly writing reports. He needs good handwriting and a lot of patience. Both important qualities if you want to forge documents."

"Absurd," the healer snarled.

"Is that so," Geralt muttered. Aloud he said, "Anyway, it's noticeable that Nisbeer's name is missing from the list. So conspicuous that a smart man like you could be sure that I would take care of it. Still, the document is a fake, like this one."

With these words, he pulled out the earring. "How peculiar that this piece of jewelry so closely resembles that of a woman in a painting. Who happens to be the subject of a ghost story."

One of the healer's hands unobtrusively closed around one of the knives that still lay spread out on a small table next to the treatment table. Not inconspicuous enough for the keen senses of the witcher, who casually remarked, "I wouldn't do that if I were you. Here is my theory, and I admit I was quite wrong in my initial assumption that the Duke was poisoned. No, in fact, he was scared to death. Probably the whole charade dragged on for a long time, so no one became suspicious. Somehow you brought to life the legend of the ghostly figure of the woman from the painting. What did you do, probably the usual at first? Voices that seemed to come from the walls? Ghostly moving curtains? Things that suddenly moved through the area?"

There was a flash in the healer's eyes under his bushy eyebrows. Geralt put his hands on his hips (which, in those silly clothes, probably wasn't quite the threatening gesture as it usually was in his armor) and tilted his head.

"You didn't do it alone," he noted. "Too much effort, and hard to do by ordinary means, too, unless you're an amateur alchemist or know some harmless magic tricks."

A muscle twitched in the other man's face. Ah, how little they knew about the subtle stirrings of the body.

"The motive is easy to find," Geralt continued. "Greed united with a conspicuous lack of obedience to authority."

"What do you mean?"

"Of all the people at court, you were the only one who made anything approaching unflattering comments about Duke Ghent. And the only one who has not treated the imperial consort with a modicum of respect."

"I apologize if you got that impression," the healer replied stiffly with a pinched face.

"For such an answer, the Emperor would make you crawl in the dust," said Geralt contemptuously, beginning to feel like smashing the guy's face in. And definitely not because of his lack of respect.

Did the man sense Geralt's rising aggression, or had he just had enough of this conversation? Despite his rather bulky figure, his movement was surprisingly fast as he lunged at Geralt with the knife. The latter dodged fluently. The attack went nowhere, and the healer stumbled and fell to the ground.

"Ridiculous," Geralt growled. Even as he was about to kick the healer's knife away, the same grabbed Geralt's right ankle with a surprisingly firm grip. With clearly more skill than strength and astonishing speed, he executed a motion, and with a sickening crack, the joint broke. Too amazed for a sound, Geralt went down on his knees, thinking this would never have happened if he had shown up in his damn armor in the first place.

"Ridiculous," the healer replied with a superior grin as he struggled to his feet, "is probably rather how you underestimated how many vulnerabilities of the human body medical experts know."

"I'll show you what weak points you have right now," Geralt growled, dropping onto his back and kicking the other's soft parts with his healthy leg. The healer gasped and staggered back a step, which was enough for Geralt to get back on his feet, albeit somewhat awkwardly. The guy had taken hold of his table and suddenly threw one of his knives at Geralt, tearing the thin fabric of his doublet and causing a fleeting cut on his upper arm. In addition to the pain of the broken ankle, which was already visibly swelling, anger now joined in. A second knife came flying. Geralt dodged it effortlessly.

The guy seemed to forget that he didn't need his swords. Not even the knife, still on the ground, that the healer was squinting at. He ran out of throwing objects and seemed to gauge his chances of being faster than the injured witcher if he lunged for the knife.

"What was the reason, huh?" asked Geralt in a biting tone. "Too many honeycombs for the Duke, too few for you?"

The healer pulled in his stomach, noticeably offended, and reached for a bottle on the table. It contained a foul-smelling concoction, which became clear when he let the container shatter on the edge of the table. Threatened by a knocked-off bottle, Geralt began to laugh.

"He didn't even have to notice," the man hissed.

Geralt tilted his head. "What?"

"We've been sneaking raw materials past the books for ages. Somehow he's become suspicious," the healer growled, waving his improvised weapon. Geralt approached him slowly (well, he could only walk slowly, thank you very much).

"Stop right there! We can still make a deal. Why should I profit on my own? We can share the proceeds; it's all between us, a nice extra income..."

"You're forgetting who you're talking to again," Geralt replied with raised brows. "Wait. Let me guess. Your task is to give concessions to the jewelers? For the surplus silver? So it was never about the succession to the Duke."

"Do you think just because I'm on the council I have any chance of holding that office? I don't even want it. What am I supposed to do with this burden?"

"You said we," Geralt remarked, "Was it Nisbeer? Is he your accomplice?"

"Nonsense," said a female voice behind Geralt, and even as he turned in surprise, something extremely hard crashed against his skull.

As always, when several hours passed without any reasonable results in consultations, Emhyr's mood eventually changed from impatient to sullen. In this state, he regarded his staff of advisors to be dimwitted morons, too daft to put a signature to a piece of parchment. As they sat there, spread out around the long table in his conference room, while he almost fell asleep at their dopey litanies, he would have loved to stand up and knock all their ridiculous hats off their heads (or give those who didn't wear one a hefty blow to the back of the skulls).

Right now, they were arguing – most of them older men, except for one rather tough woman, the only one who occasionally said something clever – about a map, which they almost snatched out of each other's hands. They yelled groomed insults at each other across the table as if they had completely forgotten where they were and who they were dealing with. It was all about a ridiculous piece of land, and the problems were primarily of a legal nature, which is why a large part of those people was completely useless and had no say at all, but none of them seemed to realize that.

Emhyr rose slowly, propping his hands on the tabletop, and his gaze roamed over the group, which he thought at that moment was a bunch of incompetent crybabies, forcing himself not to throw out all of them immediately – or fire them, jail them, behead them. Whatever. For an awfully long moment, they didn't notice whose attention they had attracted and continued to argue, so he straightened up to his full height. Now his gaze was cold as ice, his patience at an end, and at last, his eloquent silence caught their notice.

He was just about to open his mouth to tell them what he thought of them and their plans when a loud protest sounded outside the large double door, and it was pushed open with a lot of momentum. Immediately, the guards on that side of the door crossed their halberds, and even as Emhyr wondered what had happened to those on the other side, Geralt rushed into the room. Behind him, Emhyr saw his court sorceress hurrying up, trying to catch up with Geralt. With a single wave of his hand, the latter brought down the guards, and a horrified murmur went through the room. The soldiers behind Emhyr's seat took a step forward, but he gestured for them to stop.

Geralt was angry; that much was obvious. His hardened jaw bore witness to copious gnashing of teeth, and his eyes glittered ominously. The reason for his discomfort might be that his face was covered in blood. Besides, his clothes were partly torn, and he was limping. No, he dragged one foot, the joint strangely twisted. It looked painful. He stumbled into the room more than he walked, pointed accusingly at Emhyr at the end of the table, and growled, "You ass. Did you know that stupid Duke employed a third-rate sorceress and just forgot to tell me? Oh, by the way, Duke Ghent has been murdered."

The words caused the advisors to murmur again, this time in horror. Perhaps even a small squeak could be heard from the only lady in the room. Emhyr knew that expression on Geralt's face. Oh, he might be angry, quite a bit, but there was more. He paced around the table until he was with him. Geralt reached out a hand to hold onto the table but missed it. Emhyr grabbed his arm. Geralt shook him off. "She hit me over the head with a vase and disappeared. Anyway, it wasn't a marble one like yours."

Emhyr glanced at those present, who were watching the whole thing partly with curiosity, partly with horror. Probably half of them now thought he was beating his spouse with marble vases. Great.

"But of course, they didn't count on witchers having hard skulls," Geralt continued as he left a neat trail of blood on the stone floor of the conference room. His voice and eyes worried Emhyr, and he tried again, more gently this time, to reach for Geralt's arm. He noticed Merigold slowly approaching from behind.

"Geralt, let me...," she began, but he impatiently raised a hand without turning around and continued, "I got the... the... healer and pinned him down, and I notified the guards, you should send soldiers and interrogate him so we can find out who this witch was…"

Finally, his broken ankle gave way, and he cursed and went to his knees. Emhyr sighed, caught him, and held him tightly. And Geralt? He suddenly grinned, that idiot.

When it came to the bedside, there was one more thing Emhyr was exceptionally good at. Even if the bed, in this case, was merely the treatment table in the small infirmary that Merigold had set up last year, now managed by a druid from Skellige, that treated most patients. Just not in this case – the treatment of the imperial consort was reserved solely for the court sorceress. However, what Emhyr was particularly good at on this bed was holding Geralt's hand, whether to stroke it confidently or to channel his pain.

The setting of the joint, the straightening of the broken bone was clearly painful, but Geralt endured it stubbornly as ever, as perhaps Emhyr's presence.

"Are you still angry with me?" he asked him softly.

Geralt made a slight sound, about as if he were suppressing a laugh, as he sometimes did when pretending to be angry, though one look into the amber eyes above him usually melted his anger like snow in the sun.

"You sent me there for politics," he said accusingly.

"That was the point, sure," Emhyr calmly returned.

"No, not that. You claimed that me showing off there was primarily for representation while you wanted me to find out what happened to the Duke, but you were after something else, weren't you?"

Emhyr sighed. "Would that be so bad?"

Geralt took a moment to lower his free hand, with which he was pressing a cloth to his head wound, and looked at him. He put his hand on Emhyr's and muttered, "Nice try."

The smile they exchanged was a very particular one, the meaning of which only they both knew.

"Tell me what happened. How did the Duke die?"

"Wait a minute," Triss interjected, and with one last, nasty jerk, the bone was back in place. "I'll refrain from telling you to take a few days off. Let me see your head. Yeah, I'll have to stitch that up."

As she began to search behind him for a needle, Geralt continued, "Well, he did indeed die as his physician had claimed: of a weak heart."

"But you said he was killed," Emhyr replied.

"He was. The interrogation will bring absolute clarity, but this is what I think happened: the healer, with his accomplice, had been doing business with the jewelers off the books for a long time. That is, he had given them more concessions to work with silver than the surplus raw materials actually yielded. Somehow, the Duke found out that something was wrong. The healer must have believed he would catch on to him, so he came up with a vicious plan. Duke Ghent was known for his penchant for ghost stories, which, however, made him afraid of ghosts. In my opinion, not a shameful fear; yet, they had no problems at all there with specters. The healer and his accomplice decided to change that. She can do some magic, but it is possible that she is not a trained sorceress. However, it was enough to bring to life one of the Duke's favorite scary characters. The physician had jewelry made like that of a well-known ghost legend, and the woman created some spooky effects. Then they probably slipped the Duke one of the earrings, so he believed the thing, or they lost them, and he found one, something like that. Ouch."

"Sorry," Triss said. "She hit you pretty hard; I need a longer thread."

"Hmm. Well, anyway, on the night of the Duke's death, they must have taken the game too far," Geralt continued. "But that had been their intention, after all. The healer knew that the short-breathed, physically lazy Duke had a weak heart. As much as he loved the stories, he was also frightened. Well, you can die of fear. The physician knew that."

"And the woman just disappeared?" asked Emhyr.

"I think she was a little surprised when I turned around and stared at her after she hit me."

"She didn't expect you to be so pig-headed."

"Or that you'd still be able to get up with that foot," Triss interjected.

Geralt shrugged and grinned. "Maybe she felt like she had seen a ghost."

Some time later, Geralt was lying in a bed of just the right size, head and foot resting on pillows of just the right softness. The only reason he noticed or even cared was lying next to him, unfortunately fully clothed (which he still planned to change), stroking his hair.

"You should get some rest. That was a nasty, massive hole in your head. Are you sure that wasn't marble?"

"Not funny," Geralt muttered, admitting that even lying down made his head spin a little. "I'm ..."

"Just don't say it," Emhyr sighed.

"...fine."

"You're not. And I'm sorry."

"Well, even though your advisors probably think so now, it wasn't you who hit me with a vase," Geralt mocked.

"You know what I mean."

"You mean you're apologizing for having failed colossally in trying to teach me a lesson?"

"You are an idiot," Emhyr replied tenderly.

"I know," Geralt said in an indulgent tone. "Now kiss me and promise you won't try something like that again."

"You want me to lie?"

"You always have to have the last word, don't you?"

"Of course," Emhyr said. And Geralt got his kiss.

#writing #fanfiction #Emhyr x Geralt #Geralt x Emhyr #Emralt #witcher 3 fanfic #witcher 3 #the witcher fanfiction

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dtennantdaily · 3 years ago

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Safety: Are Gas Forges Safe?

Gas forges are a great tool to have in your forge arsenal. They allow the blacksmith to work without worrying about creating too much smoke or having an open flame. But, with safety comes responsibility. When working with gas, there are some precautions you need to take so that you can keep yourself and those around you safe!

What is a gas forge and what are the benefits of using one?

Gas forges are becoming more and more popular. It's understandable why, they're inexpensive to run, easy to start up, and the temperature is easier to maintain than a coal forge. However, with all that convenience comes some safety risks. Gas forges can be unsafe if not operated correctly or in the right environment.

Common mistake newbies make when it comes to setting up their first gas forge is having too small an opening at the throat where air enters into the fire chamber below . results in poor airflow which causes forge welding.

Are Gas Forges Really Safe?

Before we can discuss these safety concerns it makes sense to first make sure everyone is on the same page regarding some basic knowledge about forge design and construction. You can check the gas forge reviews to make sure that the gas forges are really safe or not.

As well as an understanding about possible hazards when heating metal in general which should make you aware. There are potentially pitfalls with the use of any forge type be it charcoal, coal, coke or gas. The way I look at it you should learn some basic theory before ever putting your hands into an oven or forging heat.

Ancient methods of forge construction

So, what is the safest? Most old forges were built with traditional materials like mud, stone and brick (mud forges) or clay bricks (clay forges). Which meant they were built to last forever through use of low tech materials not requiring complex engineering. These kinds of impromptu constructions using field stones and muds are still used today everywhere in Europe on a daily basis.

Although most often these days as cooking stoves rather than working smithies (for good hot food on the go). There are numerous designs that have been developed over hundreds of years varying from region to region where there was a rich smith tradition. That's why you see old forges even in towns and cities that were never very industrial or used to be industrial until well into the 20th century as can be seen from this example from Belgium, where the local fire brigade still uses the traditional smithy to make ornamental iron work as part of their public relations activity:

And nearly everywhere on this planet you find large granite stones used as protective walls around permanent forges. In Africa these are called "fever stones" because they supposedly protect against malaria that was endemic there at one time (their magic is supposed to come from either that they absorb heat during sunlight hours and release it slowly during colder times, hence protecting against feverish night sweats, or they are supposed to protect you from evil spirits which carry the disease).

Do not be misled by the concept of brick or clay forges. These early permanent forges were never intended to be used with coal but instead using charcoal because wood was free and plentiful, while coal had only become readily available when industry took off in Europe during the early middle ages at about 1000 AD or slightly later because wood was needed for construction of ships to explore the world further.

Until then there wasn't really any industry yet that could make use of coal, hence no call for it. But when large amounts of metal ores started being mined because ore trading routes extended far enough along rivers all over Europe people began wondering what else they can do with these strange black rocks...

Since the smelting of iron ore requires extremely high temperatures, wood fires were simply not hot enough, so you need a hotter burning fuel than charcoal made from wood. The only readily available hotter substance was coal (and sometimes oil shale which burns even hotter but is also very poisonous). Hence coal became widely used for fuel in medieval times and has been ever since.

Ancient forges with clay or brick walls are typically square with four holes into which you insert your air supply coming through pipes or hoses with adjustable nozzles to regulate the draft which affects the temperature of the fire inside. They look like this:

These kinds of forges are typically fuelled with charcoal - keeping costs down - because they cannot burn any other kind of solid fuel like coal because the bricks would melt. There is another problem with using coal for these kind of forges, which is that it typically has too many impurities (like sulphur) that produce poisonous gases (bad breath) and toxic fumes (sulphuric acid droplets).

Conclusion

Gas forges are safe, but it's important to do your research and follow safety guidelines. They can be used as a heat source with the use of some type of protective gear. However you will need to keep in mind that gas forges produce carbon monoxide so it is very important not only to use them safely but also make sure they are ventilated properly. There are plenty of resources available on the internet about how to set up and operate a gas forge including videos and tutorials- we highly recommend checking out these before purchasing one! If you're looking into getting a new furnace or fireplace insert, don't forget that there may already be models made specifically for this purpose; always look at what type of unit best suits your.

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the-ethereal-serpent · 5 years ago

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Crystal Healing Or Crystal Harming?

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This post was created by Ruby Sol on the Pagans & Witches Amino.

This is the link to their profile : http://aminoapps.com/p/r17v8b

I have been given permission to repost this.

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It's one of the most frequently discussed subjects in the new-age world, and for many, it is the 'gateway drug' to witchcraft. Much like astrology, crystals and semi-precious gemstones have burst into a market worth billions, and their popularity is only increasing with the Instagram-worthy aesthetic, celebrity and influencer endorsement, and the attractive fashionable wonder of the metaphysical.

However, there are a number of issues within this metaphysical trend that I believe are not discussed or considered nearly as much as they should be. In the past, I've been quite vocal about these issues in discussion, however I've never actually brought it up in a dedicated post. So today I will be discussing some of the key problems stemming from the market.

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Disclaimer: I own crystals and semi-precious stones, loads of them! I am not suggesting you throw out all of your lovely stones! They are beautiful, and I love my collection. However I have made the choice, based on what I'm about to discuss, to no longer purchase any more. I now find all my crystals from natural places such as beaches or in naturally exposed rock. You don't have to make the same choices as me, I just ask that you consider some of the evidence.

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Harm To Ecosystems

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Question : "What crystals should I buy to connect to nature?"

Answer : "None!"

It's no secret that humans are having a huge impact on the welfare of our planet, and the process of mining crystals and gemstones is just another way this is occurring.

There are very few mines that seek only crystals and gemstones, usually they are collected within larger scale metal-ore mines. All mines regardless of size WILL have a negative environmental impact to some degree, which can result from soil contamination, destruction and erosion of land, ground and air pollution, and waste management. Larger mines will obviously have a greater impact.

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It was only recently that mining became more strictly regulated, but as a result adbandonned mines cause massive pollution problems, as companies were under no obligation to restore the surrounding land to any kind of sustainable eco-positive condition. When water enters the mines it can create large amounts of acidic and metallic runoff that contaminates and pollutes landscapes, killing wildlife and affecting ecosystems.

Mining can and does cause great harms to our planet. Furthermore in countries such as Brazil, governments are often encouraged to turn a blind eye to the breach of regulations, so often despite new rules being in place, these may not be adhered to.

╚═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╝

Isn't it ironic that we will buy a stone to "connect with nature", but in doing so may actually contribute to a great harm done to the natural world?

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Harm To Workers

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As stated, there is a distinct lack of regulation into the mining of metal-ore and subsequently crystals and gemstones. This does not just affect the environment, but also the people who work in the mines.

Many mines are situated in developing countries, therefore the mining jobs are often the only option for people living in poverty. As a result, employers get away with paying the workers extremely little. These low paid jobs can also be incredibly unsafe - without the limited regulations, safety procedures are not closely adhered to, meaning unstable mines, breathing in poisonous dust and gases and fumes, and risk of physical injury.

There is also the issue of child labour - in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where citrine and smokey quartz is collected in the cobalt and copper mines, it has been reported that children as young as 7 years old are working in these unsafe underpaid conditions. It has also been suggested that the Taliban earn up to $20m a year from Lapis Lazuli mines.

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Sourcing

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Now you might be thinking "but Ruby, if I make sure to buy crystals from ethical sources, then what's the problem?", and you're right IF you can track precisely where and how your crystals came to the shop and it is ethically sound, then there is no problem!

The issue lies in the fact that it is very very difficult to know where crystals actually came from - many suppliers will not even know for certain! With a distinct lack of governing bodies to regulate the accountability of the industry, accurately tracking and understanding the source of your stones is significantly more difficult than say, checking the source of your eggs to make sure they're organic and free range.

European importers tend to buy from dealers, and not directly from the mines. They therefore have to trust the dealers to be honest about the mining conditions their stock came from, and can never be truly certain of this.

If you do know a local supplier, who you KNOW is vigilant about ethically sourcing their gemstones and crystals, fantastic. They might even gather their own stock if they live near a source of naturally exposed quartz! Furthermore, you might even live near somewhere where you yourself can gather your own crystals, minerals, and gemstones. However, if you are not certain, is it not better to be safe than sorry?

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Evidence

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Now this is the really controversial point. The evidence predominantly suggests that while yes, crystal healing CAN work, there is NO evidence that this is due to any specific energies or vibrations from stones - it's actually the placebo effect. Crystal Healing is, in short, a bit of a pseudoscience.

I don't want to suggest that the placebo effect isn't powerful or useful - it is incredibly powerful! I think one could even class the placebo effect as a type of magic - believing something so strongly that you experience the results, what's not magic about that?

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The point of this isn't "don't bother with crystal healing because it doesn't work", my point is that you should use the benefits, but maybe you don't have to spend large sums of money on expensive crystals that come from ethically questionable sources, when a pebble from the beach will do the EXACT same thing!

╚═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╝

And again, a lot of this does come down to what we choose to believe. For me, there is not enough scientific evidence to make me believe that rocks have "vibrational frequencies" - I personally think its nonsense. However, what does that say about me, as I do choose to believe in magic, gods, goddesses, faeries, and ghosts? These similarly have no shred of evidence, indeed they are all unfalsifiable beliefs. But please consider, do you need the pretty shiny pink stone, or will a smooth pebble do the same job?

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Conclusion

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It is evident that there are significant issues with crystals and gemstones that are not as widely discussed in the Pagan and witchcraft community as they maybe should be. Many pagans and witches preach about wanting to be connected to nature - but then hypocritically buy into a market that actively harms ecosystems. It could be argued that for those who follow the wiccan rede, buying crystals from an unknown source is contradictory - for how can you 'harm none' when buying into a market of child lab

#Crystal #Crystals #Environmental #environmentalism #environmental crisis #Witch #green witch #crystal witch #witchcraft #witchy #witch community #Pagan #Wiccan #Crystal Healing #Metaphysical

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rinaris-skyrim · 5 years ago

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2. Tweaks

I wish I had a better category name for these. These are small changes, some of them atmospheric, some of them just nice to have. They don’t change anything terribly significant about the game, just add some flavor here, an item there, a little immersive utility yonder.

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A Matter of Time

In-game clock widget. Useful for checking to see when shops should be open, checking the phases of the moons if you��re a werewolf, figuring out if it’ll be dark soon. Just a gem. [link]

Aime’s Craftable Lockpicks

WISOTT - What it says on the tin. One iron ingot equals five lockpicks. No more complicated than that. [link]

Alchemist’s Journal

More for roleplaying purposes than anything. A simple book, craftable at a tanning rack, that lists ingredient effects as you discover them. [link]

Atlas Map Markers - Updated

The original Atlas Map Markers is brilliant, adding map markers for most things in Skyrim you might want on your map — the smaller camps, shops, shrines out in the wilderness, interesting spots, landmarks, whatnot. Kryptopyr updated it with an mod configuration menu. You’ll need the original [here], and then install Kryptopyr’s update [here] over it (”merge” option in Mod Organizer).

Better Stealing

A somewhat controversial tweak, one I’m not sure works well for balance, especially given various perk overhauls and other mods that allow multiple ways for you to offload stolen goods. However, I always found it stupid that shopkeepers would preternaturally “know” what was stolen and what wasn’t. This makes it simple: if it’s relatively inexpensive and no one sees you take it, it won’t be marked as “stolen” in your inventory (though the owners might still send some thugs after you after the fact, once they realize it’s missing!). Simple SKSE plugin. [link]

CS Soul Fragments to Soul Gems

Finally a use for all of those “Soul Gem Fragments” you find out in ruins or in random barrels! “Polish” the fragments with a linen rag at a forge, then combine them to make empty soul gems of the size you desire. You can also “smash” soul gems to reforge one large gem into several smaller ones, if you prefer, or combine smaller ones into larger gems. Why was this not in the base game? [link]

Dark Brotherhood for Good Guys

Why do I want this mod for a group that’s all about playing a murdering edgelord? Well, basically, because not all Brotherhood members are edgy dark edgelords, and usually when people want someone murdered, it’s for a reason. This gives you a somewhat different perspective on the Brotherhood and their victims: information, backstories, the philosophy of Sithis as morally neutral chaos instead of pure evil. I tend to play on the good-ish side of things, and I love reading and lore, so I like this. Add to taste. Be sure to merge the base mod with the provided hotfix. [link]

Dragon Wall Wisdom - Readable Dragon Walls

You’re the Dragonborn, right? Learning the dragon language, right? Gifted with an understanding of the dragon tongue and preternatural knowledge, right? Then you should really be able to read these dragon wall inscriptions in the game. This offers funny, quirky, and sometimes just downright mundane translations for these ancient arcane inscriptions. SHBITBG - Should have been in the base game. [link]

EK_RingLimiter

You have ten fingers. Why only one ring? This allows you to wear more — though for balance reasons I recommend sticking with the default of two, or perhaps four. Something something about magical auras interfering if the trinkets are worn too close to one another. ;) [link]

Even Better Quest Objectives

The default in-game journal is rather pathetic. It rarely gives you your motivations, or even a text version of where you’re supposed to go next. I very much miss Morrowind’s journal, where every conversation and relevant tidbit was recorded. This helps. [link]

Farmers Sell Produce

Seriously, again, why wasn’t this in the base game? It’s close to necessary if you’re going to use a needs mod, or something that uses produce to create medicines for diseases. Assuming, of course, you’re not inclined to go rampaging across farmers’ carefully-tended fields. [link]

Faster Transform - To Werewolf and VampireLord

Just a nice tweak. Again, time is valuable, it’s nice not to have quite such a large window in which I’m being wailed on by enemies, and I like the more monstrous touch. The middle option - only half the vanilla time to transform - is recommended for realism and balance reasons. [link]

Female Vampires Have Fangs

One of the very few purely aesthetic changes here. All vampires should have fangs. (I’m gay. Fangs hot.) [link]

Harvest Overhaul

Find it stupid you only get one flower from that whole patch of mountain flowers? Yeah, me too. This fixes that. [link]

iHUD - Immersive HUD

Neatly stows away the status bars when you don’t need them (when they’re full and you’re not in combat). Also hides the compass, because how does your character preternaturally know there’s this thing that way if they can’t see it? [link]

Immersive Dragons

Just gives dragons a larger wingspan so they can maybe actually lift themselves into the air. Another aesthetics tweak, with the goal of immersion. [link]

Jaxonz Lights Please

Incredibly useful for those using magical lighting. This maps both Candlelight and Magelight to hotkeys, removing the need to constantly switch spells. It also means you can easily toggle Candlelight on and off like a lantern or torch. Works well with mods that affect lighting and darkness, which I do. [link]

Jaxonz Map Markers

The best custom map marker mod I’ve found. Want to keep track of... well, anything? Ore deposits, NPCs, followers, your horse, that little camp... This is it! Uses the game’s built-in quest and quest objective system for map markers. Super easy to use. [link]

Kryptopyr’s Clothing and Clutter Fixes

This maybe should have gone in the “Fixes” post, but it’s... not quite “just” fixes. “Hooded robes” are separated into hoods and robes for mixing and matching, some NPCs clothing is changed to be more lore-friendly, alongside some behind-the-scenes fixes like weight adjustments. Optional, officially. [link]

Kryptopyr’s Weapon and Armor Fixes Remade

This also maybe should have gone in the “Fixes” post, but again, it’s a bit more of an overhaul, adjusting weights of things and armor scaling for consistency. Required for Kryptopyr’s great crafting overhaul, CCOR, so we definitely want this. [link]

Learn Alchemy From Recipes

WISOTT. Reading a recipe “discovers” those ingredient effects for you. Again, why was this not in the original game? [link]

Living Takes Time

I’ll be honest, I deactivate most of the features of this mod, except for “training takes time” and “reading takes time” (and increases speech skill). Crafting takes time just gets onerous, especially in the early game when you need all this gear and your bandoliers and you have needs you need to fill... And blocking the inventory or magic menu during combat is just... no. Still, the mod itself adds some nice functionality, and it can be fully tweaked to taste. If you’re using an alternate spell learning mod, be sure to set the “spell learning” time to zero. [link]

Mortal Enemies - De-Aimbot Your Foes

Once an enemy has started an attack, they’re locked into that direction and attack. This makes you able to dodge or move out of range of the attack, and they can no longer hit you anyways. They move slower when aiming or channeling as well. No instant pivots, and two-handed weapons feel heavier than one-handed ones. All in all, it makes combat feel more realistic, and allows them to miss you if you’re clever. But beware! These changes apply to you, too! [link]

No Psychic Lock Knowledge

WISOTT. You don’t somehow magically know how hard a lock is going to be just by looking at it. You just try to pick it, like... you actually would if you decide to pick a lock. [link]

No Silver at Jorrvaskr

Because a group of warriors whose upper echelons are all werewolves would totally be eating off silver. Not. [link] (in the optional files section)

Non-Exploitable Crossbow Reloading

Allows you to reload crossbows on your own time, by pressing the fire button, before firing again, without messing with your equipped ammunition. Simple and lovely. [link]

People Are Strangers

You don’t somehow magically know the names of people before you talk to them! I personally favor the “race” variant, just because... less generic, and I can usually see if someone is a Wood Elf or an Argonian anyways, but you can adjust the “stranger” label to taste. [link]

Point the Way

Roads actually have more signposts to direct people to the smaller towns as well as the large cities, and have them at more junctions. Signs also point the right way. Especially helpful along some of the more windy roads. No need to puzzle things out on your map quite so much. [link]

Realistic Capacity

Without a bag, you can only carry as much as you can feasibly wear, really. It’s that simple. This mod dynamically adjusts your capacity and allows for the armor you’re wearing and a few different weapons, e.g. a bow, a one-handed weapon, a shield, a knife or two, making those effectively weightless, and assume pockets for some meager supplies, but aside from that — backpacks and bags are mandatory. Makes things harder for a packrat like me, but it does make me think. [link]

Realistic Humanoid Movement Speed

This one takes a bit of the sting out of Realistic Capacity. Movement speed is adjusted to feel more realistic overall — you walk faster, jog more slowly (when sneaking, too), and don’t sprint like a gazelle. Take the optional horse speed modifier file to also add more value to horses: they walk and gallop faster as well now, in addition to their other benefits. [link]

Realistic Nights

Wondering why torches and night eye were even added to the game? Annoyed at how, well, bright the nights are? Put an end to that! Darker nights make light sources actually useful, and provides a good reason for sneaky types to actually consider the day/night cycle. Light adjusted based on the moons, snow reflecting night, and various other factors for an even better experience. [link]

Run For Your Lives

NPCs who are not guards or warriors run inside and hide from both dragons and vampire attacks. Like anyone with any sense of self-preservation would. I mean, I guess Nords don’t exactly revere self-preservation, but... this just seems more sensible to me, especially if we’re talking little old ladies armed with a steel dagger. [link]

SCRR - Skyrim Coin Replacer Redux

“Modern” Septims have no business deep in ancient Nordic burial mounds or Dwemer ruins. The Stormcloaks aren’t too ecstatic about Imperial money, either, and are creating their own silver currency, though gold is gold. Now silver Haralds are found in barrows, and ebony Dumacs in Dwemer ruins. All can be be melted down to ingots of their respective metals, or traded with merchants for “regular” currency. This adds massively to immersion, not to mention offering a supply of useful materials for smithing. [link]

Sleep Tight

Simple change that makes NPCs change into robes or clothes for sleeping, instead of going to bed in that hard iron armor (though for balance reasons, and modesty, people still wear chest armor). Accordingly, they’ll also take more damage if you can catch them unawares. [link]

Take Notes - Journal of the Dragonborn

I love this. I love this so so much. The ability to write a custom journal from in the game, and export it if I want to, adds so much to roleplaying. It means I can create a proper backstory, examine character motivations, process events of the game through my character’s lens, and record it all for myself later. Just, magnificent. Get it. You won’t regret it. [link]

The Choice is Yours - Fewer Forced Quests - Improved Dialogue Options

WISOTT. Just talking to someone doesn’t automatically add a quest to your inventory. You can turn an offer down or defer an errand until later. Some things a character just wouldn’t want to do. Now that’s not cluttering up your journal. Again, SHBITBG - should have been in the base game. [link]

Timing is Everything - Quest Delay and Timing Control

This allows you to space out the steps of the main quest as seems realistic (e.g. NPCs taking some time for research), as well as control when (at which level) various quests will start. There are also a few other tweaks to be found, such as Meridia’s Beacon not responding to vampires, werewolves randomly attacking, and Thalmor ignoring you unless certain quest conditions are fulfilled, instead of attack squads simply triggering at a certain level. [link]

TK Dodge

Gives you the ability to quickly sideroll and dodge a blow. Makes light armors a lot more viable in close combat, and plays nicely with Mortal Enemies. [link]

Trade and Barter

A fantastic mod that adjusts prices, merchant gold, and other parameters around trading based on race, faction alliance, personal relationships, location, and more. Highly customizable, highly compatible, brilliant. [link]

TravelMounts

You need to have a horse in order to be able to fast travel. Offers more of a reason to drop that 1000 gold, and this small tweak makes it feel much more immersive (after all, a rider can outrun and avoid many things someone on foot can’t). [link]

Truly Absorb Dragon Souls

For every dragon you kill and dragon soul you absorb, you get just that little bit stronger, gain a little more magicka, health, stamina, movement speed, carry weight, shout cooldown, armor, and magic resist. Set the amount gained for each dragon soul on install; I recommend medium to low values for each gain, just to offer longevity. [link]

Understandable Draugrs

In the vein of “Dragon Wall Wisdom,” you can now understand the draugr when they yell at you in a fight. Just adds the English translation in parentheses to the end of the subtitled Dragon language dialogue. Now your Dragonborn will be able to understand what’s being constantly shouted at them, even if it isn’t anything particularly nice or uplifting. [link]

Wearable Lanterns

No need to constantly toggle between a torch and a shield, or fight blind in a dark ruin. Just hook a lantern to your belt, that can easily be toggled on and off (and also automatically put out when you sneak, if you’re That Sort™). Incredibly nifty and useful. [link]

---

...I’m sure I’ll be adding to this later. I’m sure, honestly. Maybe with an “optional tweaks” post, too, that are very much a preference thing. Or, y’know, just reblog myself. That might actually be the best option.

#rinari's modlist #tweaks

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kibanafuji · 5 years ago

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speaking of which, i have headcanons about raihan’s speaking voice, but i haven’t really gone into his singing voice... (all the song names are bolded and linked for you to have a listen)

firstly since his speaking voice is deep, obviously so is his singing

he’s good at it! ... well. okay, objectively he sounds great, but there are still certain songs he probably just couldn’t sing, due to the way he tends to sing-- he isn’t well-suited for music that isn’t meant to be LOUD AND STRONG nor anything like artificial heart that should be sung in a somewhat emotionless manner for the benefit of the song’s story

but when it’s the right song for his voice, he’s fuckin fantastic

his voice is passionate, powerful, and melodic, and the more he gets into it-- and you'd be able to hear this best in any emphasis points and/or long held notes like, for example, the ZENSHIN ZENREEEIII in the ore of dreams (2:08), the HOW MANY FAKE MCZ OUT THERE? in very very good (1:30), and while the singer here doesn’t do it raihan would do it if he were singing it so the WATARUNOWA in RIOT (right near the start)-- the more... growly his voice gets, you know what i mean? i don’t know how to describe it Properly i don’t really know music that well, but he does a little growly thing with his voice when he’s really into a song and gets to any lyric or syllable that has emphasis on it

and as a bonus, here’s some singing headcanons about not-raihan

raihan’s sister has a similar style to raihan, and her voice is pretty deep too (or, err, would have gotten deep... lol)-- basically, for her voice and part of her style, add sakura ayane as ran mitake (see hey-day capriccio), raychell (see RIOT, again), and for voice and very very intensely her style, akiakane and her wonderful singing-then-screaming-then-singing-and-screaming (see 100th life as a rock star)

if any piers rpers are out there without a singing style hc... glutamine in when crooks laugh is 100% how i imagine his style, personally

#﹙HEADCANONS.﹚

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sfaioffical · 5 years ago

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John Lindsey, once a night manager at Pete’s Cafe—situated on the roof of San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) on Chestnut Street—now runs The Great Highway art gallery in the Outer Sunset. After eight years of establishing the gallery and himself as a curator, John decided that now is the time to facilitate a reunion-like exhibition and recreate an experience that fostered a community of now globally recognized artists—Pete’s Cafe - SFAI in the 90s.

Alongside salon-style hung photographs and letters from the 90’s, lives a wall full of memories featuring works by forty artists who either attended and/or worked at SFAI during that time period. On Saturday, January 11, during the opening reception, there was a truly euphoric feeling of reunification in that small, overcrowded room next to some of the most renowned contemporary Bay Area artists who all share a common experience of being a part of the school’s café.

What was it like to buy from or serve food to someone you just slammed in a painting critique? Or, to embody the idea that you can’t please everyone—a contradiction to the ‘customer is always right’ so popular at the time? Read all about the emotion, passion and feelings that were on display at the café, in a conversation I had with John.

Bojana Rankovic: Why Petes’ Cafe, and why now?

John Lindsey: Pete's Cafe was a very influential time in my life. The first time I worked there, I didn’t take any classes, but I fell in love with it there and I was having such a good time, that I never even thought about taking any. Then, the second time I worked there, I wanted to try to change my life, get out of cooking, and go into graphic design. I loved being at SFAI, I loved art, I loved the people, and mostly I just found everyone to be so wonderful and inspiring.

And then there was Pete. He is a guy who created this very unique environment, and I felt like I was a part of that and it was something special. It turned out that a lot of these people who were at the school, at that time, and the people who worked in the cafe, went on to do really amazing work. It was a magical time, a magical place and a wonderful group of people—so that's why Pete's Cafe, this exhibit.

I wanted to do this show now because I have had my gallery for 8 years, and I felt that it would have been forward of me to ask Alicia (McCarthy) to be in the show the first year I was open, or to ask Barry (McGee), or Eamon (Ore-Giron) or Xylor (Jane) or Colin (Chillag) or Mads (Lynnerup) or any of the other people, Cliff Hengst, Scott Hewicker.. They are all the people that never left the community, and have worked very hard in the arts and have devoted their lives to it. When I got out of school I went off and worked at a tech company, and then that whole ‘.com’ blew up and I just started doing graphic design on my own, so I didn't stay in that community myself.

When I got the gallery it was just gonna be my office, and people were asking me if I wanted to rent it out to them, but I wanted to have my own space. Then I thought of an even better use for it would be to become my studio- a little printing studio, and I could show artwork, too, because I didn't have to invest capital to do that. It's a consignment shop for all intents and purposes, a viewing space, and so it was something I could use to speak to the neighborhood. I've been in this neighborhood, and I’ve been surfing out here for 30 years, and I'm tired of talking about just surfing. I was trying to bring different conversations around the coastal environment than just surfing, so that's what led the programming throughout the years.

I always wanted to do this show, but like I said, I was apprehensive to call in favors, so for eight years I’ve been doing things like, when Alicia had the Orfn show at Luggage Store Gallery- I donated a piece, and stuff like that, slowly becoming a part of the community- in positive ways and working. And now, I think I've got 50 shows under my belt. So now I know how to do it, I'm a better curator, at this stage, because I've been doing it for so long, and I know the window and I know the neighborhood and I know my neighbors and the unique situation out here.

Then, all of a sudden, Pete comes and shows me the boxes, and I knew it was time to do a show. The timing felt right. When I saw Pete’s timeline installation (by Patricia Kavanaugh and Tanesha Jemison) that was originally on the back wall of the Cafe, I thought that could be the anchor of the show. So, that's why it happened now - because it took that long for me to get there, it took that long for Pete to show me the stuff, and because it took me time to figure out how to anchor the show.

What was it (at SFAI) that made you want to get more involved in the arts, like take classes, and now have your gallery? Were you interested in art even before your job at Pete’s?

I was a chef, and I was always good with computers. When I went to the University of Utah for a couple of years before moving out here and going to cooking school, I had the first Macintosh computer and we were doing very rudimentary things with it, but that was part of the foundation. I was feeding people's stomachs and then I turned into feeding people's eyes and minds. And frankly, I was never going to be a graphic designer, I wanted to take the arts that I was learning at the Art Institute and use that as the foundation of my graphic design practice. I got into it all at the Art Institute, and I was into art before and I was a very creative person, but just in a very different way.

Can you talk about how the strong sense of community, centered around Pete’s, influenced the students in an individual way, and what it felt like to be a part of it?

Part of it is that the school store and the cafe were centers of necessity on that campus. People have to eat and people need art supplies, and so those two places had some value beyond just taking classes at a regular university to people. There was some power in those two places. A friend of mine would come in late at night and I would give him a baked potato or whatever and students would give away food...things like that, and we never busted people...well, actually we did, I have a memo here of one person we had to kick out because he was just straight-up stealing food; but we took people in, and then the administration would come to Pete and bring a student who's not really fitting in, and ask him if he can give them a job and get them assimilated into the school. If you had a job at the school store or the cafe - you met everybody, and you were serving everybody and you were engaging with everybody. If you were not fitting in or you were lost at school and if you work in the cafe, all of a sudden you were front and center, for good or for bad.

That was one way that we were influencing students and then we just had a lot of fun, and the making of food is a creative practice, the culinary arts, whether you want to call it art or not. And not everybody worked well at the cafe, some people are not very good workers and that's just life but some people really enjoyed what was going on in there and it was good for them, it fed a lot of people, if you work there you got free food so that was a whole other benefit to it.

And then we were good chefs, we are both professionally trained chefs, we worked together at Hayes Street Grill, and then Pete got the job at the Institute first and brought me over. We weren't opening a lot of cans, we were trying to make really wholesome wonderful food that was also cheap. Rice and beans was the whole thing, $2.75 I think is what we charged when we first started selling it. Then, Thanksgiving dinners, stuff like that, it was good healthy food, and it was all in a beautiful setting, working in the cafe—the view all day long.

There were a few complaint letters up on the wall next to all the art. What are the stories about them, and who was it that had issues with Pete?

Well, it is an art school, isn't it? Critique is a huge part of it.

We are offering a service and you can't please everybody. There were students, faculty, staff, administration who were all very happy with it and then there were also people who found it to be too loose. Sometimes, people might get offended, but you know that was it, it was biting, we were able to study everyone that came in through that school and we were the observers to some degree, and there was a slight bit of power and control in the fact that we had the food. I'm sure that our customer service was not perfect, a lot of the time...I mean there's one letter here when Xylor and Ted are complaining about somebody, but it just is what it is. Also, you're there with everybody all the time, so during the summer it would just be me, Peet and Tad and we'd wait on all the staff and administration throughout the summer and then the student workers would come back in the fall or late summer and then all the students would come back and all heck would break loose.

You also have to remember...let's say I'm waiting on you, and we were just in a painting critique and I said something really nasty and horrible about your painting or the other way around. There was that type of stuff that went on all the time, as well. There were also relationships that were going on, that the students had, and all that type of stuff, just like any school, but it was all on display at the cafe...emotion, passion, feelings.

How did the opening reception night go for you? How did it feel to see everyone after all these years?

It was really incredible.

I've been living with this for almost 3 weeks now, putting it up, looking at the pictures over and over again, reading everything over and over. For me, personally, it's been a constant barrage of old memories coming back, which is really neat at this stage in my life. So, that was just personally a cathartic thing, but then I felt like there was so much love and energy in the room and it was so neat.

When I’m at the openings, I have to work, talk to certain people, help them purchase things, make sure that my daughter is doing a good job behind the bar, that nobody is getting in trouble outside, so I'm not fully engaged out beyond the desk, but seeing everyone just be this happy was really touching and special.

Someone suggested that I could do this show again, somewhere else, and I could, but there will never be a night like that ever again. That was really what was amazing about it.

Is there someone whose career took an unexpected turn? Anyone who ended up in a field you would never expect them to be? Or ended up applying their practice in a way that radically changed?

Wow...I would say that someone who I think is just super awesome is Colin Chillag, who had a tough time in school. I just love his paintings and what he is doing now, his wicked sense of humor. He's one example but I guess I would say that it applies to everyone because I was so naive when I was working there, I am just blown away by all of them, by Alicia and Ruby and Colin, and Eamon, Xylor, and Cliff who worked at the school store, and Mads, who was the goofiest kid when he was working at the cafe, and what he’s gone on to do is just wonderful and amazing.

And then, surprisingly, some people for whom you thought were the most talented people in the entire world have drifted away, and they took a completely different track, maybe they have gone into administration or they've joined the fire department or something like that, that's a big change.

What is coming up next at The Great Highway? Anything you are particularly excited about?

I have another opening on Saturday, January 18, that is going to be on the other wall across from Pete’s Cafe, and that is the MLK Surf Photography Show. In 2013, on the Martin Luther King Day weekend, there was a really amazing swell at Ocean Beach and all these photographers took photos of it, including myself, so we're going to have a show here and we're in collaboration with Mollusk. There will be artwork and photographs there, and photographs here, there will be a band at Mollusk, and I’m going to show surf videos on my screen.

So that's the next show is and what's cool and neat about it is that I’ll get a whole new group of people here, and not only will they see the surf show, but they will get to see Pete’s show. It won't be as well attended as Pete’s show, but there will be about 50 to 100 people. All those who normally wouldn’t have seen Pete's will be introduced to the San Francisco Art Institute.

Pete’s Cafe—SFAI in the 90s runs from January 10–February 14, 2020 at The Great Highway in San Francisco. Details here.

#SFAIalumni artshows

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varaxous · 6 years ago

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An image of my base, in total

The “front” view (formerly the front view, was absorbed in my great expansion)

Second view from the side

Behind view!

The other side view

And finally, another angle on the front.

This door is where everything ORIGINALLY was but then I expanded and forgot that was there, as I have crafted creative flight :I

The first view we have, here you can see my cobblestone and seared brick generator (right). I checked and the compression thing I have there has 9,366 double compressed cobble stone, which comes to a total of 758,646 cobble. Woah! (I have about 1.8 million in my other storage :P)

On the left you can see an old coke oven, which promptly fell out of use when I found out immersive engineering steel was interchangeably with other types of steel and also just didn’t want to use immersive engineering.

Let’s move on!

Moving upstairs, we see what was once my storage area and main crafting area. The pink wood over there is a leftover from a fire I needed to patch up (cursed soil is a pesky thing >:V) The storage stuff in the back is LONG out of use and just has some nuggets of stuff I don’t need anymore.

In that back corner, we have my lava storage for tinkerers and also my really big smelting tower! I installed a few mods because I didn’t want to deal with some craft recipes so I don’t really use it anymore.

Now finally going outside, we can see my main crafting area. Those machines on the right I rarely ever use and are a leftover of my former crafting area. The stuff in the middle though is still used a TON! Those are my AE2 crafting stuff and once I unlocked autocrafting, I stored EVERY SINGLE RECIPE I used. Took a while but it was super nifty in the end. I’ll get back to the autocrafting in a bit.

My automatic pure certus, fluix, and pure fluix crystal crafting area, which use teleporters and a 6 facet seed speed up thing, which reduce the time needed from 12+ hours down to about 2 minutes.

This is the only machine I use from immersive engineering, the elusive bottler. For 500 mb more of ender fluid stuff, I can automate the tesseract building a lot more. And that’s all I use it for :P

Here’s where I make all my charged certus and some various machines. The stuff on the left (the green things) do my soul binding stuff and that green rod thing store experience from mod farm. It was at about 347 levels which is…a lot to say the least.

One of my capacitor banks! You can’t see it too well here but that right there stores about 10 million rf there, which is useful as a buffer before it goes off to the various other machines and my quarry.

Here it is! The heart of my auto-crafting. These hold probably like 300 recipes ((I’ve never counted lmao) and each have the max speed cartridge things.

This is the heart of my AE2 system total! AE2 is a pain in the ass and I hate channels.

And a quick rewind! Here is where I power everying, with my two reactors. I’m not sure how much rf they’re actually producing per tick, but it is enough to fill that 300 million rf bank up in like an hour or so. As much as that is though, it’s still draining at about 10k per tick and I’m running out of fuel soooo…not good.

Back to autocrafting! Here I alloy, smelt, and macerate and all that jazz, as well as some extra goodies!

This is the other half of my alloying thing, which does the special ores ™ such as vibrant alloy or redstone alloy.

This is where 90% of my ore processing occurs! Here, ores of any type filter in from my various quarries and are macerated then smelted. I have somewhere in the realm of 100k of most metals.

Right by that I have my shiny metal processing thing, which is surprisingly difficult to do. It involves this part, which smelts ferrous ore, cinnebar, and…

Cryotheum dust ;) Entirely automated and I have like 20k of it lmao.

Backpedal just a bit, here is where I make all of my circuits and stuff.

AND OF COURSE STORAGE!!! Here is pretty much all of my misc items, from blaze powder to gun powder. I’ve got all this storage interfaces hooked up to my AE2 system and it works like a charm.

And metals! Here are all my metals with a bonus shot of my auto alloying stuff. I fell out of making more when I realized it was super inefficient and really hard to make automatic past “filling a block with 64 stacks of stuff and just make more when you run out.”

Which brings me to farming. Ah, how annoying but also not annoying it is. In the back, I’ve got my ender lily farms producing ender pearls and on the left I’ve got my nether wart production. Apart from that, here is rather vanilla.

Here we’ve got my breeding area and crop storage. The sprinklers make it work super fast and the machine breeds for 10/10/10 crops. Speeds up a process which would otherwise take a while.

And here is the cream of the crop (ha ha). This produces a SHIT LOAD of mystical leaves which is super useful for botania. I think, however, I overdid it a little. I’ve got like 200k-800k of each leaf. On the left, minicio essence, of which I have 8.5 million. Not useful right now, but should be in the future. Also got some rubber production, wood production, it’s pretty neat. But where do all those leave go, I wonder?

Here is my botania set up! I’ve automated every single rune and the petal apothecary. I had to cheat just a little bit and install buildcraft for the pipes, but I don’t care cause otherwise it would have been essentially impossible.

This right here is where I automate the elf stuff, with a nifty cannon and some coal eating flowers. This process, combined, is incredibly wasteful but I have too much coal so we’ll just keep going until it becomes a problem :^)

Down back in the basement, this is where I automate my mana steel production. I use a bunch of ender lilies, coal, and some fancy redstone stuff to automatically facilitate the production of terrasteel. The pipes ensure that only one operation is attempted to be completed at a time. The Redstone stuff ensures that the stuff in that buffer chest are ONLY dropped when there is enough mana to create one terrasteel ingot, which avoids the pesky item despawn timer. As for botania, that’s really all I’ve got.

Blood magic, woo! I’ve got mixed feelings on this mod but whatever, it was fun. This set up automatically produces me life points on two different rings. That giant stone structure over there is where I automatic minor demon spawning for a bit. I ended that because they tended to two shot and also just clip through the walls :/

And now down here. Where I’ve automated EVERY. SINGLE. BLOOD MAGIC. POTION THING. This took hours to finally do but it was so worth it.

My witch reactor, which has the benefits of A). not despawning B) not dying to the damage ticks and C) all of them are named some variation of “fart.” Real mature, I know.

The mystical realm of…thaumcraft…

Here we have my thaumcraft base, which I built out of a tree because what the hell else would I do with it? Also because all the machinery and WATER SPRINKLERS RUNNING 100% OF THE TIME, my main base slaps my computer down to an entire 9 frames every second.

This was my only real attempt at actually building something visually pleasing. I think I did alright? Anyways, front door pics.

In the hall of the mountain king…

And here’s the inside! Completely empty!

The courtyard!

My little viewport on the side because what wizard tower is complete without creepy eyes? This modpack was not the place to start thaumpack because it came at a time where I had automated everything else and I just hit this massive roadblack. It looks interesting but the stuff is a bit confusing and It’s frustrating having a shit ton of resources and just being forced to sit on them because you don’t need any of them for the first half of thaumcraft (at least not in amounts that would have any measurable impact). Right here is where I stopped playing the pack because thaumcraft, with the jacked up recipes and tweaks in this, was just boring.

Circling back to my main base, here are my various portals! The dimensions added by divine rpg, im sorry, suck. They suck super fucking hard. Every single one is the same reskinned dimension with the same reskinned enemies. The only reason you need to get in there is for like 1k of the ore, 1k of the enemy drops, and nothing else.

Smol wittle nether base uwu. Here is my nether stuff. Accidentally put a quarry to dirt replace right in the middle. Woops.

May have done it twice actually…

Here is where I have my wither skeleton farm and ghast farm They run constantly and are big.

And that’s it for the tour! Have a couple stats pages:

And that wraps that up :) The pack is Divine Journey, slightly edited configs to adjust some recipes and drops and a couple of mods added. If you’ve got any questions or want to see a specific part, just ask!

As for the pack itself, a lot of fun but very grindy. I couldn’t make it past thaumcraft because of the aforementioned stuff and this is an awful first pack (lmao woops). For experienced players tho (or with friends of various experience), I expect it would fun and also a lot more doable.

#minecraft #modded minecraft #build #divine journey

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natsthinkitythinkthinkthonk · 6 years ago

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Anime Highlights of 2018 (SO FAR!)

I haven’t watched all of this year’s anime because I have a ton of other stuff on the “watch later” list, but I wanted to get my two cents in. I know it’s just the start of 2019 (when I started this post, it was 2018).

If you don’t see a show on here that could’ve been on the list, scroll to the bottom and click “Keep Reading” because it might be included in the shows I didn’t get around to watching!

For this list, I will be ranking the shows into categories:

Raisin Cookie: Low-Tier

Sugar Cookie: Mid-Tier

Chocolate Chip Cookie: Top-Tier

No sequels allowed! No shows that are continuing from the previous year.

Honestly, there were a lot of good shows this year. Even this summer (which was considered the weakest by many) still got a lot of good shows in.

youtube

This video covers a lot of this year’s good anime.

Raisin Cookie:

Conception

Read the synopsis. Do I really need to say why? I watched one episode, cried on the inside, then asked why I was even born.

Goblin Slayer

The first episode was gruesome and horrifying. It was seeping with edge, but I couldn’t figure out why they would make that the first episode if the rest of the anime was just an ecchi harem. We knew this would be a disappointment, but we didn’t know it would be a disappointment because of that.

Bakumatsu

I watched the first episode and wondered why I even tried watching this. You can’t carry a show with just voice casting and arguable fujoshi-baiting.

Mahou Shoujo Site

This rivals Goblin Slayer’s edge. Mahou Shoujo Ore takes the magical girl genre and makes fun of it through comedy. This makes fun of it through gore. Think of it as an extremely poorly done, awfully written, badly executed attempt of trying to recreate a show like Madoka Magica.

Kyoto Teramachi Sanjou no Holmes

For a mystery show, this show was sure full of bullcrap and nonsense. I watched the first few episodes and found myself disliking this anime.

Kitsune no Koe

I watched nine episodes before giving up. The music is subpar. The acting is subpar because the story and script are so poorly done. I would even argue the casting is all wrong.

Akkun to Kanojo

I just don’t like relationships where people are overly tsundere. I get the whole getting flustered thing, but resorting to violence and bullying over it is not my thing. This guy is so mean to his girlfriend, and sure, some people might enjoy it (which is why it’s the top of the trash pile), but I didn’t enjoy it at all.

Sugar Cookie:

Mahou Shoujo Ore

This show was supposed to be stupid. That’s the point. But the jokes get overused and stale after a while, and I found myself wanting it to be over near the end. It got me to laugh once every couple of episodes, but that’s about it.

Devils Line

This was a cringy vampire romance. That about sums it up in a nutshell. Miyuki Sawashiro deserved a more badass character, and so did Yui Ishikawa. Still better than Twilight.

Satsuriku no Tenshi

This was edgy like Mahou Shoujo Site and Goblin Slayer, but this show didn’t take itself as seriously. For the video game fans, they pretty much followed the story of the game. There were little to no discrepancies. But if you are only watching the anime, you’ll find this show so cringy and awful. Kudos to Nobuhiko Okamoto who took on this role knowing that it would strain his vocal cords.

Ani ni Tsukeru Kusuri wa Nai! 2

The charm of the first season was just lost. They had a lot of hit-and-miss episodes where I was either going to like it or think it was a waste of time. I want more sibling antics and fewer love triangles, but it was still a solid season.

3D Kanojo: Real Girl

I watched three episodes of this, and as much as I wouldn’t mind watching more, I couldn’t build attachment to any of these characters. I felt nothing for the story either. Okay, so a pretty misunderstood girl gets into a relationship with an otaku... what else?

Tada-kun wa Koi wo Shinai

I watched this because the OP was so darn good, the art looked nice, and it gave off the same vibes as Gekkan Shoujo, but it ultimately disappointed me with the ending and the whirlwind of “Wait... what just happened?” The relationships were not developed enough and came out of nowhere like the truck in Zombieland Saga.

Phantom in the Twilight

Giving this the benefit of the doubt... this didn’t make it past this category because the art was so poorly done that I found myself wondering what the budget even was. The story wasn’t even as poorly done as other otome game adaptations (actually, this one is an original I think?) A Kana Hanazawa lead bumps this show up a notch though.

Nil Admirari no Tenbin

This is probably right beside the previous entry, but this one had better character designs. It was another otome game adaptations... why do I even try? It was okay. It’s more episodic than one would think because you have a “guy of the week” or something. It was just meh... but I’m saying this as someone who doesn’t like guys all that much.

Sugar Cookies With Icing:

Dame x Prince Anime Caravan

This is separated from the other two otome anime because this one made fun of itself. It was openly wondering what the heck happened to itself, and it was a lot more fun to watch because of that. It was kind of like Konosuba in a way because none of these guys were all that desirable. Picking “best guy” would be tough with a cast like this. It was a lot more enjoyable than the others because I found this cast more likeable because they were so over-the-top.

Gakuen Babysitters

I don’t like kids. This show... tried to change my opinion. I still don’t like kids.

Pop Team Epic

Yeah, you’re probably wondering “WHAT THE--??” That’s normal. It's basically parodying with famous voice actors. You won’t like it as much if you have a normal sense of humour. This anime is really strange, and like a lot of comedy, it will be hit and miss.

Kishuku Gakkou no Juliet

This show was okay. It was well-animated, and I liked the cast a little. Okay, I liked Hasuki. Besides that, you are basically watching the whole “Romeo and Juliet” stuff again with anime cliches.

Chocolate Chip Cookie:

Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens

This was a pleasant surprise. I wasn’t expecting this show to be good, and the art was subpar, but the cast (despite a huge lack of female characters) found itself being oddly good. It’s crafty and gives off the same vibes as Durarara but with hitmen. Who will hit the hitmen next?

Grand Blue

Let’s ignore the romance elements. This is a comedy, and while this is a bit ecchi, I found myself tolerating that part. This show had me laughing at least once per episode, but if you were looking for a diving anime, you have to look somewhere else.

Banana Fish

I watched the first six episodes of this one, and I found myself liking the cast. It was pretty good. The animation is great, the voice acting is good too, and the story is riveting. I just jump around series a lot.

Asobi Asobase

Same with this one. Six episodes have been watched. It has a very odd sense of humour, and it gives off the vibe that “this is going to be a cutesy anime” with its opening then screws you over with their antics. I found this anime oddly charming despite me not being so excited about its art style and watercolour palette.

Hataraku Saibou

I never thought that the least questionable ship out of the summer 2018 anime I watched would be between two fricking cells. This anime was great, it was cute, and it was educationally entertaining! It was a very solid series. Plus, a Kana Hanazawa lead is always a bonus!

SSSS.Gridman

This is an amazingly animated series by Studio Trigger that can excite even non-mecha fans like me. I just started it, but it’s turning out great! This might even go all the way to triple cookie status by the time I reach the end.

Gaikotsu Shotenin Honda-san

I never thought a skull face bookseller could be so entertaining, but it is. This series is charming, and even though it didn’t have the greatest animation budget, it uses it in all the right ways. The relatability that retail workers will feel is astounding, and even non-retail workers like me can find this enjoyable.

Violet Evergarden

Kyoto Animation can make anything look good, and they made this look amazing. This story is oddly touching, and a lot of people got emotional. I wasn’t really one of them, and I found them reaching a bit too much sometimes. I feel like I was supposed to feel stuff, but I didn’t. That’s kind of my fault though. This series is stunning and beautiful visually. The soundtrack was well-written, but it was sometimes misused by the sound director. The stories are pretty solid, but I found the development a little rushed at times. I would recommend it still though.

Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies:

Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii

The otaku jokes resonated a lot with me, and I found this story to be cheesy in the best of ways. The cast is so likeable and pure, and I found myself looking forward to a new episode every week.

Hinamatsuri

This anime had be laughing so hard to the point where I couldn’t watch it around other people, and I had to conceal my laughter as I watched it during the middle of the night. I never thought such a wholesome father-daughter relationship would occur between an OP esper and a yakuza. If you like Mob Psycho 100, you will like this one and vice-versa. This, to me, was the best comedy of the year.

Seishun Buta Yarou wa Bunny Girl Senpai no Yume wo Minai

This anime was so darn misleading. I was about to skip this because I thought it was going to be some tasteless edgy show, but I found this to be a weirdly pleasant show to binge-watch, and it was a much more easy and arguably better take on the Monogatari series and whatever genre that is. The girls are likeable, there isn’t a lot of fanservice that is shoved in your face, and the writing got me attached to a lot of the characters.

Zombieland Saga

This anime sounded so stupid at first, but after watching a couple of episodes, I started really liking the cast. These are all relatively new seiyuu minus Mamoru and Risa Taneda. Honestly, words cannot describe this show besides surprisingly amazing. You thought this would be a stupid idol anime? Instead, we go an intriguing, touching, and oddly inspirational anime with great music, art, and everything.

Let’s announce the stuff that I’m excited to watch later!

These are the amazing shows that I’ve heard about that I haven’t gotten around to watching.

Sora yori mo Tooi Basho (Winter)

Also called “A Place Beyond the Universe”, this anime is about this group of girls taking the journey across Antarctica. I heard it’s a lot of fun.

Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san (Winter)

Her forehead is as big as her face. I’ve heard this is funny, and I’ve watched clips of it. Rie Takahashi and Yuuki Kaji have the main roles in this anime, and they do a fantastic job playing the trickster and her victim.

Megalo Box (Spring)

This one is probably one of the biggest things I’m missing out on. If it weren’t for one of my anxiety triggers being sports, I would’ve jumped on this. Yoshimasa Hosoya does an amazing job as the protagonist in this well-animated boxing series.

Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken (Autumn)

I’ve watched one episode, and yes, tsundere dragon is the best girl. Besides that, it just looks like a lot of fun for a show that sounds so weird.

Yuru Camp△ (Winter)

Cute girls doing cute things while camping. That’s pretty much what this is about. Whether you like that kind of show will determine whether it’s worth watching for you.

Golden Kamuy (Spring)

This another big thing I’m missing out on. It already got a second season, and it looks like a fun action series. Minus the bad CG, it looks good. I heard the lead sounds just like Hosoya, but Hosoya is in the show too! Along with a new score composer with a lot of new series under his name, I’m excited about this one too!

Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru (Autumn)

I’d be more excited about this series, but I haven’t finished Haikyuu yet, and I have a really bad history with track and field.

Irozuku Sekai no Ashita kara (Autumn)

This series looks beautifully animated, and this is one of Kaori Ishihara’s big roles besides Aladdin from Magi which was years ago.

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tyronearmstrong · 6 years ago

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Leading blog, Signal v Noise, leaves Medium publishing platform for WordPress

The news that one of the most widely read blogs in the design, development, and digital publishing business, if not the net as a whole, is leaving Medium as its publishing platform should serve as a wakeup call to lawyers and law firms that blogging on Medium may not be in their best interests.

David Heinemeier Hansson, Creator of Ruby on Rails, Founder & CTO at Basecamp, shared the news last week that Basecamp’s twenty year old blog, Signal v Noise, is leaving Medium for WordPress.

Medium made good sense for Basecamp when they first moved there.

Three years ago we embraced an exciting new publishing platform called Medium. It felt like a new start for a writing community, and we benefited immensely from the boost in reach and readership those early days brought. But alas it was not to last.

When we moved over, Medium was all about attracting big blogs and other publishers. This was going to be a new space for a new time where publishers could find a home. And it was. For a while.

That’s changed.

These days Medium is focused on their membership offering, though. Trying to aggregate writing from many sources and sell a broad subscription on top of that. And it’s a neat model, and it’s wonderful to see Medium try something different. But it’s not for us, and it’s not for Signal v Noise.

I blogged eighteen months ago that blog publishers were leaving Medium for WordPress in growing numbers. The reason being that Medium’s business model was not in alignment with that of most bloggers.

What began with a focus on the individual publisher, after deep financial losses, Medium turned to a tip jar and selling subscriptions to premier content. Rather than a focus on the individual publisher and the platform used by them, development monies were being focused elsewhere – especially with the company layoffs.

What’s interesting is that Basecamp views the purpose of its blogging much the way lawyers and law firms do – writing is not the end game.

Writing for us is not a business, in any direct sense of the word. We write because we have something to say, not to make money off page views, advertisements, or subscriptions. If some readers end up signing up for Basecamp, that’s great. But if they just like to read and not buy, that’s also great.

Publishing platform business models focused on advertising, subscription revenues and building the domain influence of the publishing platform don’t jive with a publisher building their own name and domain influence.

And like good lawyers, Basecamp sees the need for writing beyond that which social media offers – the reason that blogging is on the rise.

…[W]e’ve grown ever more aware of the problems with centralizing the internet. Traditional blogs might have swung out of favor, as we all discovered the benefits of social media and aggregating platforms, but we think they’re about to swing back in style, as we all discover the real costs and problems brought by such centralization.

I have all the respect in the world for Ev Williams, the founder of Medium, a co-founder of Twitter and a co-founder of Blogger. He’s one of the visionaries in publishing and media that I’ve followed for years.

Rightfully being paranoid as an entrepreneur and founder, I wondered how Medium would effect LexBlog in our role as a managed WordPress platform for legal publishing.

But it turns out Medium poses a lot of risks for lawyers and law firms – as opposed to using WordPress.

Beyond not having the control of your content and using a platform that is not focused on you, bigger than ever for lawyers is owning a their own domain for the life of their blogging career.

Medium does not enable a lawyer to use their own domain any longer. When a lawyer’s reputation and influence is measured objectively by citations and shares, you never want to lose those links to your domain.

As enticing as Medium may look as a free ore low cost platform and giving you some exposure to an unknown audience, Medium is probably not the right fit for lawyers looking to build a reputation and influence through blogging.

Leading blog, Signal v Noise, leaves Medium publishing platform for WordPress published first on https://personalinjuryattorneyphiladelphiablog.wordpress.com/

#disability lawyers #attorney #lawyer #law firm #disability insurance lawyers

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antonioriley · 6 years ago

Text

Leading blog, Signal v Noise, leaves Medium publishing platform for WordPress

David Heinemeier Hansson, Creator of Ruby on Rails, Founder & CTO at Basecamp, shared the news last week that Basecamp’s twenty year old blog, Signal v Noise, is leaving Medium for WordPress.

Medium made good sense for Basecamp when they first moved there.

When we moved over, Medium was all about attracting big blogs and other publishers. This was going to be a new space for a new time where publishers could find a home. And it was. For a while.

That’s changed.

What’s interesting is that Basecamp views the purpose of its blogging much the way lawyers and law firms do – writing is not the end game.

And like good lawyers, Basecamp sees the need for writing beyond that which social media offers – the reason that blogging is on the rise.

Rightfully being paranoid as an entrepreneur and founder, I wondered how Medium would effect LexBlog in our role as a managed WordPress platform for legal publishing.

But it turns out Medium poses a lot of risks for lawyers and law firms – as opposed to using WordPress.

Beyond not having the control of your content and using a platform that is not focused on you, bigger than ever for lawyers is owning a their own domain for the life of their blogging career.

Leading blog, Signal v Noise, leaves Medium publishing platform for WordPress published first on http://personalinjuryattorneyphiladelph.tumblr.com/

#disability lawyers #attorney #lawyer #law firm #disability insurance lawyers

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brandxspandex · 6 years ago

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Smashing through some pre-modern Spotlight issues on the way towards the meat of the main story in my IDW re-read.

Spotlight: Thundercracker again leaves me wondering how the hell Thundercracker managed to live with being a Decepticon for so long. After all, this Spotlight is set towards the beginning of the Great War and Thundercracker already has misgivings serious enough that he’s moved to commit some pretty severely treasonous acts, and this was back when organic genocide was just a side effect of the Decepticons’ goals, rather than a goal in itself. If he was already upset with how the Cons treated organics at this stage, I can’t imagine how he would have reacted when they made cleansing the galaxy of organics their policy, and I can’t understand how he stuck around after that point. I used to think that the increase in the Decepticons’ outward brutality probably corresponded to the increase in their inward brutality, so as Thundercracker gained more and more reasons to leave the Cons he also got more and more reasons to be afraid of leaving. Yet this issue confirms that the DJD existed even at this point, and Thundercracker was still willing to risk acting on behalf of his morals regardless. I suppose it’s possible that the DJD’s tactics were less extreme at this point, but I still find it hard to wrap my head around the fact that it took Thundercracker millions of years to take the final little step towards a heelfaceturn.

After letting Bumblebee live, Thundercracker seems to imply that if all Autobots were like Bee he would be willing to switch sides, or perhaps that they wouldn’t be at war in the first place. While Bumblebee is an exceptionally friendly guy for sure (in fact this issue takes time to hammer home that in terms of heroic intent Bee is pretty much on Optimus Prime’s level, even if he lacks Optimus’s focused leadership abilities – which is a big theme of Bee’s own character arc), Thundercracker seemed particularly taken with Bee because he went out of his way to save organics, which doesn’t seem that unusual a trait among Autobots. Sure, we’ve seen some Autobots that don’t seem to give a shit about organics, and some that have just been nasty pieces of work in general, but most Bots we’ve seen have been of the heroic, organic-saving inclination, so it seems as though Thundercracker must have had a warped perception of the Autobots if he thought Bee was an exception (unless of course particularly heroic Autobots are overrepresented amongst the main characters, which may very well be the case). So maybe Thundercracker didn’t switch sides and go to the Autobots because he was under the impression that they were no better than the Decepticons (and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Cons were fed propaganda to maintain those sorts of perceptions).

Thundercracker also seemed pretty hung up on the fact that being a Seeker was his identity, which may have made leaving the Decepticons difficult for him. I guess that before the war most Cybertronians had a very solid sense of their identity, which was defined by their alt-mode, before the war began and threw all of this into disarray. While a big reason the war was fought in the first place was precisely because many people didn’t like being boxed into these limited identities, it must have nonetheless been very disorientating to many to have the familiarity of their old identities disrupted. Thus it wouldn’t be surprising if many went on to dig their heels into whatever identities they could find in wartime.

Spotlight: Shockwave sees Shockwave going about his whole Regenesis Ore thing, which makes me wonder how much of the energon throughout the universe was due to Shockwave’s actions and how much of it just existed out there independently. I often wonder what sort of substance energon is exactly, and whether it is in anyway comparable to any real substances or if it is something completely alien and unknowable. The fact that we’ve seen Transformers converting known matter into synthesised energon suggests that it is at very least made of the same fundamental elements as the known universe. Still, I wonder if it’s something that can arise in the universe without any sort of Cybertronian involvement.

It’s interesting that Shockwave puts his (temporary) downfall in this issue down to his failure to factor in the universal constant of chaos, given that now he’s back he seems to be fixated on “the higher order of logic that is chaos”. Was this the beginning of the path that led him to decide that becoming some sort of chaos worshipping furry was the way to go? Speaking of furries, it’s kinda funny that Shockwave ended up becoming the furry Prime when his spotlight is also the issue in which the Dinobots get their dinosaur forms. Turns out that with Shockwave, everything begins and ends with furries.

Shockwave puts his inability to anticipate and understand the Dinobots’ rash, emotional actions down to his strictly logical thought process, to the point where he actually has to shut down his higher processing to allow him to “evolve” a primal subroutine approximating rage in order to deal with them. Shockwave’s apparent evolution in this issue is never really brought up again (at least, not yet), but then again, even before reappearing in this currently ambiguously un-shadowplayed state, Shockwave was suspiciously snarky and melodramatic for a guy without emotions. I gotta say that I find it kinda hard to believe that Shockwave finds irrational and emotional behaviour so mind-bogglingly shocking and hard to process given that this issue is set a few million years into the war and he has been with the Decepticons for all that time, a movement filled to the absolute brim with spectacularly emotional and irrational individuals.

Also I’m going to post this panel because when required to draw the gadget that enables Shockwave to signal his ship it sure as hell looks like the artist just decided to give him some car keys:

I can’t really recall Cliffjumper doing anything that notable in IDW outside of his Spotlight (and spoilers in the Unicron prologue issue he unfortunately got rather unceremoniously killed off off-panel) so I had forgotten that he’s apparently a total badass whose name strikes fear into troops of Cons who he then wipes out single-handedly before using one of their severed hands to hammer in the grave of the little organic girl he wrecks vengeance in the name of. I do really like how the Autobots have their little friendly round cars like Cliffjumper and Bumblebee as their spies, saboteurs and deadly assassins.

We see some very human-looking aliens in this issue, which is honestly something that always bugs me, even though it absolutely saturates sci-fi. It just strikes me as so astonishingly unlikely that evolution would pull the same trick so many times that it really pulls me out of the story; it’s something that stretches my suspension of disbelief that little bit too far. That’s why I love it when sci-fi provides some sort of explanation behind the humanoid pattern recurring throughout their setting, often in the form of some sort of progenitor race seeding genetic blueprints throughout the cosmos. And you know what? In IDW I’m just going to assume Shockwave’s behind it at this point. It seems like exactly the kind of thing he’d do and he’s responsible for pretty much everything else in the continuity so let’s go with that.

This issue implies that Cybertronians have some sort of in-built program that enables them to pick up the transmissions of an alien world they’re on and use them to synthesise a translation of the native languages they can then easily speak, as part of their “robots in disguise” adaptability shtick. This seems to somewhat contradict later instances where we see Transformers attempting to learn languages the more traditional way, but personally I much prefer the idea that they have this more alien and robotic approach. I also like the idea that it is part of the same collection of features that allows them to have alt-modes that mimic the vehicles and technology native to the alien world they’re on, because adapting to alien environments is an intrinsic part of their natures AND HOLY SHIT what if the reason Transformers have such a hard time changing their ways and breaking free of their vicious cycle of war, yet seem to suddenly undergo rapid character development when they encounter other species, such as humans, is because of this adaptability algorithm? When they’re just around other Transformers they automatically adapt to each other so they get stuck in a loop of mimicking the same behaviours, but when they encounter other species with new behaviours they can adapt to them and break out of the loop (same could go for encountering Transformer colony worlds that have been isolated for a while)??? Ok that idea probably wouldn’t hold up to closer inspection in this continuity at least BUT HELL IT’S A THOUGHT.

The idea that Transformers require alien transmissions in order to synthesise translations for their languages fits in well with the fact that Wheelie can’t automatically adapt to the language of the alien he encounters in Spotlight: Wheelie, give that both he and the alien are away from their native worlds. I thought that the alien having a translation device that for some reason requires the speaker to speak in rhyme in order to work was a pretty clever way of explaining Wheelie’s whole speaking in rhyme gimmick.

Wheelie’s Spotlight has the same basic core theme that most of this lot of Spotlight issues seem to have; the main character is faced with a moral dilemma where they can choose between taking the safest option that most benefits themselves, or they can save an innocent (typically an organic) and sacrifice something in the process. Each time the main character realises that if they choose to take the easy option and allow the innocent to befall whatever horrible fate is dangling over them, they will be sacrificing something even worse. The Autobot characters come to the conclusion that this is what defines them as an Autobot and separates them from the Decepticons, but we see Thundercracker making a similar decision in his own Spotlight. But of course, we know where Thundercracker’s storyline eventually takes him.

There’s a major tease at the end of Spotlight: Wheelie involving the presence of the Quintessons that certainly seems like the set up for some kind of significant plotline, but unless the Quintessons turn out to have some kind of important involvement in the Unicron storyline, I guess that’s never gonna go anywhere. It’s a pity, cos I reckon a lot can be done with the Quintessons, and in their sparse appearances in IDW they’ve always been quite intriguing.

Spotlight: Hot Rod introduces everyone’s favourite piece “woah what the hell they’re bringing that back up again now?” in the form of The Magnificence and yo hang on those Omega Guardians in this issue sure look like those things on the cover of an upcoming issue of the Lost Light:

I wonder if Hot Rod’s experience with Dealer plays into his hatred of Getaway. Hot Rod spent so much time angsting over his failures on his mission to collect The Magnificence, including the fact that he had to abandon Dealer in the process, and then he risked his life in order to save Dealer from a Decepticon prison camp. Then it turns out that Dealer was a doublecrosser who had caused the failures on Rodimus’s mission in the first place, and was still planning to stab him in the back. After all that, it wouldn’t be too surprising if Rodimus had developed a bit of a hair-trigger reaction when it comes to people who betray him.

Spotlight: Sixshot addresses the strangely sweet camaraderie between the emotional abyss/utter force of annihilation that is Sixshot and his carnage-loving fanbots the Terrorcons, which is something that, as far as I can recall, is never explored or brought up again. But, nonetheless, it’s nice to know it was a thing. It also features The Reapers, who provide an interesting little taster of some of the other aliens that exist in the IDW universe, from an electric space jellyfish to a berserker virus infected monster bird. The Reapers are all about ending war by pre-emptively destroying any sources of war, which makes me wonder how the hell have they haven’t got around to trying to destroying the Transformers yet. It’s a big universe I suppose.

Reading through these issues provided a nice little reminder of some forgotten characterisation and plot hooks that have been left dangling. It’s sad to think that most of these things won’t have a chance to be picked up now (except for The Magnificence, and I still can’t quite get over the fact that happened), but they are ready fodder for any fanfic writers who may want to pick up where canon is going to leave off.

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kindabraveandlittlestupid · 6 years ago

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It seems Disney underestimated the power of the Dark Side of its fan base with the box office failure of Solo: A Star Wars Story. It shows a fracturing among viewers and how future movies will be received (or not received) by audiences around the world. The major issue with the fans isn't that people outright hate the new direction of the series but many are upset that the universe they know and love for long is changing before them. Some of those changes are for the better with new stronger female leads in the movies (which was needed) and then there are changes that for the worse such as changing the established lore of the force and cutting back the extended universe, which ironically took dozens of strong female characters with it. So yay! Progress?

So I plan to make the case for being critical of the new movies. I plan to also chastize those jerkoffs who decided to attack female actresses for being role models for young girls. I plan to make a rational argument for the removed content cut away by Disney writers. I also plan on talking about how we can bridge these divides and bring everyone back together. You might not agree with everything I say or maybe you will. Most people almost never share 100% of their opinions with another person which was kind of the problem in all this... dissent was widdled down to either or and those fans with legit criticisms were pushed into the camp of those assholes who hate women and the concept of social justice/equity. Because there was no discourse or room for dissent, Disney Ultimately gambled on that disgruntled fanbase not being as influential as it is and they were wrong.

No Room For Dissent

This is a common problem in society these days, where we view things in absolutes; be it politics, movies, religion and so on. Perhaps we have always been like that (I only been around since 1985) but it feels pretty bad these day especially in regards to politics being so divisive or movies that look to present more female roles and ethnic roles in their casts taking so much flak. While I might make some political parallels to create examples, I intend on focusing on the cultural divides taking place in these popular movies.

There is plenty of blame to go around for the tribal mentality that comes when critiquing a movie. Studios benefit from having a cultural high ground because it's easier to say “You’re being sexist or racist” instead of handling a critique and having to answer for poor choices they made while making the movie. I imagine this is what happened in the case of the Ghostbusters reboot, some people asked why the black character wasn't the scientist and the studio reacted with “Why don't you like women?” A kind of deflection mentality that avoided a valid critique of the movie and shames the critic from raising his or her voice again.

The blame also falls at the feet of the very worst patrons of our society. On one side you have the army of trolls of the web who are by far the worst people the interwebs (and the world) has to offer. These are the sort of guys who see any female lead role as an insult and seek out to harass them in the real world forcing the said actresses to abandon social media. These sort of people (most of them male) leave me gritting my teeth because this isn't so much a passion of a fandom they want to protect as it is a lifestyle of attacking people who are not them. Everything is a fucking battle and anything that progresses or enhances another race/gender/sexuality beyond their own is considered a threat to their manhood.

On the other side, we have people who you would call PC and they are sometimes PC to a fault. I tend to find myself agreeing with people on this side more often than not but even then we have our moments where I am wondering what the fuck the objective is. They become advocates for a worthwhile cause but become blinded to valid points or arguments. Back to Star Wars, I wondered why Admiral Holdo was even in the movie because she was killed right away and Akbar or Leia could have had the noble death. The response is defensive of the female role simply because it's a female role. Studios obviously love these advocates because they still don't have to answer the questions and its a private army of people to protect their franchise.

The last group is fans which is a wide spectrum of people from little girls who see Rey and get excited to see a girl kicking ass on the screen to long-term fans who have questions about the lore of the movies being changed or questions why the movie changed directions. Most of us reside here between the two extremes; the PC movie defenders who see the film as a tool to improve society and those little troll fuckers who want to see the world burn.

The failing in this discussion about the movie is the fact those two polar opposites dictated the discourse for the rest of us. You either accepted the movie as it was and enjoyed being on the moral high ground or join the trolls if you have any small critiques of the movie whatsoever. Perhaps we more moderate critics failed a bit by letting the trolls become the loudest voice in the room and let them write letters where they basically bashed women became the only thing people could see. Much like a peaceful protest where 97% of the people are there to say their piece with civility and clarity but its those 3% (the Trolls) throwing trash cans thru the window that get the cameras on them and they define the protest with the media coverage.

I blame also the Directors and Disney for playing this absolutist mentality where they say anyone who is complaining about the movie is a baby, sexist, racist or some other insult. They didn't seem to want to have any criticism and why would they?! Having a golden franchise that can basically prints money and where you can say anyone who dissents against us is a bigot of some sort, is a hell of a defense. No one wants to be with the trolls and be labeled as chauvinist or racist but because there was no spectrum or room for dissent they ultimately pushed critics and concerned fans to that side.

Respecting The Lore/Establish A Vision

Disney may not realize this but they fucked up pretty bad by cutting away the extended universe. I understand WHY they did it; thousands of characters, hundreds of worlds, dozens of stories to consider compiled over 40 years? I imagine the collective writers of Disney who saw the scope of what other people had built together and collectively shit their pants. It's a massive undertaking to try and apply the lore in a way that fans might enjoy or explore plots that we would love to see executed. The problem is instead of looking at this expanded universe as a foundation to build their movies on, they decided to slice it away and leave nothing but the core movies and a cartoon. I will try and break down why that was a mistake.

Fans Invested Most of Their Time Into The SWEU

What they may have not realized is the original trilogy and the prequel trilogy was not where fans invested most of their time. Yes, we loved those movies for being the gateway into this great fictional universe but ultimately watching the 6 films would take only 13 hours. Knights of the Old Republic a single game of that Star Wars Universe (that they cut away), takes at least 28 to 48 hours to complete. Then you add on other games Knights of the Old Republic 2, The Old Republic MMO, Shadows of the Empire, Battlefront 1/2, The Force Unleashed, Rogue Squadron, Empire at War, Dark Forces, Jedi Knight, Jedi Academy, Republic Commando and so on you are now looking at hundreds of hours invested to a single play thru or more likely THOUSANDS of hours for true gamers play each game a few times.

This is where the true long-term fans who buy Star Wars merchandise over a lifetime instead of a holiday season reside. It stays fresh in our minds as books, comics, games, and yes the movies become part of regular media diet. Disney perhaps felt overwhelmed by it or perhaps wanted to reboot the universe decided to take the vast majority of where our love resides in the Star Wars Universe and scrapped it. Like it or not this is where they lost most of their following and since they did it just before the release of the The Last Jedi they have since been dealing with the fallout of loyal fans who feel betrayed and I am not talking just about the bitchy trolls from online either.

Removal of Strong Female Roles

I like seeing Ray as a strong female character and we all, of course, we all love Leia as well. There is no doubt the Star Wars movies while centered around some strong female characters have been pretty much been male-dominated for those first six films. So the change is not only warranted but welcomed.

What is a shame as while that was true for the movies it was far from the truth for the SWEU content where there were literally dozens of strong female leads they could have been explored by Disney.

Meetra Surik

Mara Jade

Bastila Shan

Mission Vao

Juno Eclipse

Iden Versio

Jaina Solo

Maris Brood

Visas Marr

Jan Ors

And so many more...

These women come different walks of life being the daughter of Han and Leia (Jaina Solo), plucky engineers who travel with a Wookie (Mission Vao), former Sith turned to the Light Side (Mara Jade), former Imperial Pilots and Soldiers fighting for the Rebellion (Juno and Iden), or even one of the most powerful Jedi’s in the Galaxy (Meetra Surik). I suppose what is best about them being fictional is that they still exist and if Disney wants to start mending bridges they should star readapting these characters into the canon universe.

The Best Stories Exist Before And After The Movies

I suppose for some the story of Skywalker family struggle was enough for them but the bigger stories existed long before the Empire/First Order and greatest conflict took place years after. The Mandalorian Wars, where warriors raider world after world forcing the Galactic Republic to step in. The Great Galactic War pitting the Sith against Jedi across the galaxy. The Invasion of the Yuuzhan Vong leaving trillions dead across hundreds of worlds and nearly destroying all life.

These stories are part of that extended universe and far more compelling than the recycled Death Star plot we saw in 4 of the 10 Star Wars movies. The audience craved to see the Jedi at their peak when they maintained peace across the universe, or they wish to see the Sith exist not in pairs but as an Empires themselves. If Disney wants to explore this franchise than embrace the stories that have not yet been shown on screen.

Establishing A Vision

Disney has enjoyed great success with the MCU and dozens of movies its created. They also managed to get their mittens on the Star Wars Universe and seek to milk it much the same. The problem is they don't seem to have a clear idea where they want to go with the movies or what they should do with it. I already discussed how complex the universe is with all its lore but you (Disney) have control over the movies. The rights to the toys, games, books, comics and films an like it or not we are at your mercy of where you decide to take it.

I suppose I am advocating having a vision for the future of this series. Marvel Cinematic Universe works because the stories were planned out with a sort of climactic point to be explored (IE the Infinity Wars) so we know you can practice good foresight. On the other hand... John Carter, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and the Lone Ranger display a carelessness of other franchises. Not trying to be mean, just stating a fact. We saw it happen with other movies like Batman in the 90′s where the objective was selling toys and not making a quality film that could encourage people to buy merchandise for decades. I guess what I am trying to say is Harry Potter this franchise, treat it with love and care that the fanboys and fangirls so we can go with you on this adventure into a galaxy far far away.

A Letter to You Troll Douchbags

Some of us critics truly love movies. We see the flaws as they are and we want to be able to say our views with other people around a table. I had my issues with the magical properties of the heart-shaped herb in Black Panther. I wish they continued Ghostbusters 3 with Oscar (Jason Gordon Lovitt) taking over and having some young black scientists (played by Donald Glover and Jessica Williams) being the Ghostbusters (and Role Models) in the movie. I have some issues with The Last Jedi and how they changed the flow of the movie from one director to the next but you little bitches keep making these debates about race and fucking gender every fucking time. You see a woman on screen and you write up a review of a movie that isn't even out yet because you’re somehow afraid of the 50 movies released over the year you somehow won't be represented.

Cut your fucking shit out you little pricks. We cant make honest critiques now because you’re the first fucking twits to review a film and all you spew is the vial fucking hate raging against everything that isn't you. Honestly, the rest of us just want to enjoy ourselves, we are grown up enough to know white isn't the only skin color in the seats of the movie theater and male isn't the only gender of a hero (we call them heroines) in movies.

I picked these movies on purpose because they were topical and I had my issues with them (and I have my issue with every movie save Shaun of the Dead which is fucking perfect). I wanted to write reviews that were balanced because I want to believe we can have that discourse again where we can chat why a movie works or doesn't work without the risk of having labels like sexist or racist applied to us because you want to act out. So please for the love of god either commit to shoving your head further up your ass so we can't hear you or pull your head out and join the rest of the world. Either way, I am tired of having to apologize and denounce your rhetoric... it's honestly fucking exhausting.

Regards Michael California

#Star Wars #Disney #The Force Awakens #The Last Jedi #Star Wars Expanded Universe #Personal Rant #MovieReview

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