#in essence its a book about a real historical figure but shes written in this way where literally all she ever does is serve men

[magstorrn]

about to leave a scathing review for a historical fiction book on goodreads (felt so strongly about it i made an account for the first time) then chickening out once i realised i'd put down my full name and i dont want to offend the author TOO much in case we end up working in the same field as historians

[exoticalmonde]

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Hand of the-

*...*

Hand of the Snatcher

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Blue Silk Scarf

A lady's elegant scarf. Her appearance is a sign that it is safe here.

Miss Christine????????

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Red Bow Tie

The first present Phantom gave Ms. Christine. She is really fond of it.

Actually melting. Now I need to know how they met! He gives her gifts... he treats her like a real lady. Sophisticated and polite, though sassy. So very cat-like.

She also has two tails and nobody is explaining that.

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Solo Music Box

An old music box. The music does not play when the box is opened, nor does the figure inside show any signs it is about to move. There is not a peep, and no one is breaking out in dance. Before she begins her performances with Phantom, the lead actress stares blankly into the music box.

But will we ever... See the lead actress?

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'A Study of the Origin and Development of Gaule Geographical Names'

A book of historical place names that Mint dug out of the Doctor’s office. Calais-Blason is mentioned in the book.

WAIT! This is connected to one of Shalem's voicelines!

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'Second Economic Reform Act'

With this bill as the starting point, Gaul formally began its path to become a hegemonic empire.

Yeah, this all makes sense now. (See previous post on Gaul's history)

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Dreaming Essence

Supposedly the Banshees make their aromatics only for their beloved. A single drop is enough to enchant just about anyone, bringing out any artist’s inspiration and creativity.

Logos, you flirt.

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Half-Refined Diamond

Half of it shines radiantly in the name of art, while the other half is stained in a madder red color that signifies madness. This is the 'Phantom' that the troupe leader has always dreamt of.

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THIS IS ALL I WANTED TO SHOW SO FAR OKAY LOOK

'Right Eye of the Natator'

One half of the Gaulish empress's crown is now housed in the Royal Museum of Londinium. When she learned of the death of the emperor, the empress consort was determined to fight her enemies to the end—for her country, and for her departed beloved.

'Left Eye of the Natator'

One half of the Gaulish empress's crown is now stored housed in the Leithanian Queen Library. The empress dismissed all her attendants, granted clemency to all criminals, and sat solemnly alone on the throne that was once her husband's, awaiting the invaders—She was determined to die not by at hands of her enemies, but under the effects of Originium crystals.

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Me: *Reading it outloud for everybody* Lundi: "This is so... you." Me: "As in the story is my type of story, or are you talking about me doing that if I was in her position." Lundi: "Both." Me: "You're actually right."

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‘Flowers of Quinde’

An epic narrative poem etched on a stone tablet. It was written eight hundred years ago by a famous Gaulish poet, but although modern literary scholars hold the poem in extremely high regard, historical records show that he was often ridiculed by his contemporaries for his obese figure and unattractive facial features.

‘Numbness and Obscenity’

A famous art piece and the final piece created by an insane Leithanian sculptor two hundred years ago. The sculptor was known for his extraordinary talent and his participation in multiple cruel homicides. However, historical records show that few people took notice of his work. He was instead known for his features and beauty.

‘Beauty and Ugliness in the Age of Terra’

A legendary book published in Victoria fifteen years ago. The book describes the author’s appreciation of aesthetics in simple terms, and it contains a comprehensive record of literary, artistic and musical knowledge and history. The book covers both the past and present and is an easy read, with many honoring it as the ‘great art encyclopedia of our generation’. Yet it is rumored that the book’s author was the leader of a certain small troupe and was murdered a few years ago by a hitman codenamed ‘Blood Diamond’.

All of these are so tragic...

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'Painful Happiness'

Oripathy is spreading among the troupe members. Some collapsed, some broke out crying, some were overjoyed, and some turned their attention to writing. It was at such a time that the young man received his coming-of-age present. He will sing his very last song as an actor.

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Today's Menu

The troupe's chef never serves the same dish twice. The members of the troupe have been warned to never ask where the ingredients came from.

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Therapy Tape

He tried to stop you from listening. He said it was dangerous. He said you should not stay. Do you understand now? You are listening to his song.

!!!!!!!!

Part I. Phantom and Crimson Solitaire but the part where Dr. Eve is reading where the mission is situated + history + collectibles

Instead of Dr. Pinkie being the actual loremaster that I expected given their superiority in everything that ever happens with the game, I have reclaimed the role (at least when it comes to IS2) and that includes all my assumptions about whatever has happened and is happening in it.

First of all, while re-reading the previous post I made about Shalem and Phantom, I realized that, wait a minute, where the hell is this even situated?

Apparently, Gaul. Which I have been able to understand is basically France, but gone because they were too sassy. Something of that sort. My understanding before versus now.

Second of all, it's not Gaul itself, the place we stumble into is a castle in Calais-Blason. That is a part of Gaul formally, now it is a part of Northwestern Victoria. After the war nothing was left of it because of devastation and because all the people either fled or died.

Phantom was told by the Crimson Troupe that he was born in Calais-Blason and was taken by the Troupe after a flood Catastrophe swept through the area.

We don't really know if that's true or not though.

Then there is a description as we enter the loading screen of the castle that states:

A castle hidden within the woods constructed under the auspices of a Gaulish noble who perished in the war a few years after its completion, leaving it derelict. But a mysterious group has been calling it home recently...

I'm about to eventually figure out who the noble is and we know that the mysterious group is The Troupe. Their 'Blood Diamond' is Phantom and during some investigating of his memories, he was attracted my goodness knows what machinations to re-visit his old home. Our job is to, you won't believe it,

Gaul's story in general is as straightfoward as it can be based on the Wiki. It was an empire ruled by a family of Liberi located between Victoria, Ursus, and Leithanien. Gaul was so influential that its grand nomadic capital, Lingones, was nicknamed the "Capital of Terra".

Gaul was primarily known for its expansionism, and it reached its peak during the reign of its last Emperor, Corsica I, following the implementation of the "Second Economic Reform Act," a new codex that drastically strengthened Gaul's military.

No surprise there, since Corsica I came to lord over the country because of his military prowess and the rewards he's gained over the years of serving. He was putting all of his military power into expansionism when demand had grown more than what the land's riches could produce. Like any time in history, he thought that it's time to knock on their neighbours' doors and tell them their time is up.

Big mistake. What kind of professional, a military veteran looks at this man and in return says 'I can take him'. Like any monarch, outraged by the Gaul's proposition to become a vassal state, the Witch King refuted by turning all Gallic envoys in Leithanien into lifeless statues. That's how we ended up with the Gallo-Leithanian War.

---

Pinkie: "I'm starting to believe you didn't read the story of Lingering Echoes." Me: "Which... I didn't." Pinkie: "There you go!" Me: *Appalled* Pinkie: "We will pick up the pieces left during Zwillingstürme Herbst."

---

That wasn't enough. Gaul also attempted to invade Victoria – which almost resulted in a complete defeat and annihilation of the latter, forcing Victoria to give up its northwestern colony that would later become Columbia.

In 1053, Victoria, under the leadership of King Frederick III, formed a coalition with Leithanien and Ursus to oppose Gaul, leading to the Battle of the Four Emperors. The war ends with Gaul's total annihilation, Lingones (the Capital) is wiped off the map, and the victors taking over Gaul's former territory.

The fall of Gaul is often considered the most tragic event in Terra's history. During its time, Gaulish culture was considered influential, but are now slowly fading to obscurity. Some collectors sought to preserve Galic relics while bakers and wineries tried to replicate the original Gaulish formula, but the latter are unable to match the original. With their homeland lost, many Gauls were scattered across Terra, and their nobilities were forced to serve the victors. Still, there are some Gallic restorationists who attempted to steal Gallic relics on display in museums in order to rally the surviving Gauls and bring the empire back to life.

Which leaves a lot of questions for where the current Victorian storyline is going to go, because I think most of the land and the people now consider themselves victorians. Granted, their descent remains marked, so here's a list of Gaulish people.

... Clément.............

To note before I go reading the collectables, here's the most metal thing I have ever seen being done in Arknights so far.

The Last Empress-Consort of Gaul: The wife of Corsica I, also known as the Natator. She chose to stay in the Gaulish imperial palace upon hearing the news of Corsica I's death and killed the invading enemies in a suicide attack by plunging an Originium shard into her body.

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Pinkie: "So can we assume all catboys are Victorian?" Me: "Uh-- Well, I think so?" Pinkie: "Because, we already know all Perro are from Bolívar, and Ursus is a thing." Me: "Yeah, sounds the part actually. Officially, all Felines are Victorian."

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Collectables I found cool, so i want you to know.

Banshee's Kiss

Outsiders make extraordinary displays of bravery that far surpass their normal abilities. However, as one of the few male Banshees out there, this has become a far too common sight to Logos.

You could lie to me and tell me that belongs to Logos and I will believe you. I don't understand a lick of what this signifies though. Maybe it is connected to death, maybe it is connected to music, or to the fact this is a relic of the Death Cult (The Troupe).

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Actor's Jewelery Box

A box containing all kinds of shattered jewelries. The young lead actress wore these jewelries and stepped onto the stage, in the end falling from its highest point.

Absolutely terrible, actually. Nobody will understand the reference but this reminds me of how Lumine fell off the stage in Off-Script by Jules and Amarettiii. Great scene, wonderful timing in what is happening before that. Genshin brainworms shall always swarm me when Arknightsing and vice versa.

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Fissured Restraints

It seems this sturdy band was once used to restrain something terrifying… Help…

????????????????????????????????????????

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Godmother's Token

A laurel of bones, the token of a Sicilian noblewoman. This symbol of order will smooth the turbulence of all desires, for conflict is not allowed. Genuine or counterfeit, it still demands you to kneel.

Laurel. Of. Bones.

Dude...

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Worn-out Group Photo

Do you know someone in the photo?

These are Gopnik and Hellagur as far as I can see.

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Writer's Tongue

The playwright penned his creations with a quill and his own blood, and for himself he devised an ending in which he perishes in a sea of flames.

Something something it has to do with the ending but I have not gotten to any ever thus... I will be reading that later.

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'The Whisperer in Darknight'

A black vinyl. DO. NOT. TOUCH. IT.

I played Darknights memoirs, you have no excuse to keep me away from it. Unless it's... who collected Vynil out of the Penguin Logistics? Was it Emperor himself? Croissant? I don't remember but my hands are up, you can see them.

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Gold-Plated Dice

The gold-plated die has one side representing life. As for the other nineteen sides…

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Emperor's Favor

A very sharp letter opener. It was one of the favorite possessions of the last Ursus emperor, and as such it was very rarely used to actually open letters.

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Silver Forks

One for dealing with actors who botch their performances, one for dealing with incompetent playwrights, and one for anyone who needs it. The Chief will not tolerate any mistakes on the table.

The more I learn about the Troupe the worse it just gets.

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Damaged Revolver Cyllinder

She never capitulated, even after enduring countless trials and tribulations. Her muzzle belched tongues of flame that burned like an angry sun, and the glow above her head was brighter than the daylight itself. Buried here is Outcast, our friend.

Outcast? Who is Outcast? *Googles*

Oh.

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Kryo: "She is past tense." Me: "She is a 'was'."

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Rusted Razor

If you cut yourself with this, you know what will happen.

Is this allowed? Is... Is this allowed? What do you mean- Yes we all know what happens with a-- goodness me.

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'Brilliant Lament'

His blood yet flows. He has never left this place.

Whose...? Whose???

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White Flower Crown

A floral veil used in Vampire rituals. Its once vibrant redness has been sucked empty, leaving nothing only a pale white color.

Oh, pretty!

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Dancer's Bracelets

The audience breaks into applause as the well-trained dancers waltz around the traps on stage. None of them are aware of the brushes with death the performers have just been through.

The trauma just continues. Thematic.

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This is just a set of pastries without context, I love the food in Arknights.

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Broke Mask

He’s wearing the mask. Is he the one who’s speaking or is it the mask?

Oooo it's Phantom. We Phantom enjoyers know when we see the mask.

[cruzrogue]

Roomies PART I

#Fictober19 @fictober-event

————————————————————————

for fanfiction:

Prompt number: 21 “Change is annoyingly difficult.”

Fandom (AU if applicable): #arrow fanfiction #olicity #Flommy

Rating:PG13

Warnings/Tags:  There might be adult language

Summary:   Roommates enjoying a nice mid-morning conversation after a hectic Finals Week. Tommy and Felicity land up talking about Oliver.

Notes: This is a three-part with its own prompt story Part I Felicity/Tommy conversation. (The are past lovers/ but current best-buds)

Part I Felicity/Tommy friendship Prompt 21- “Change is annoyingly difficult.”

Part II Oliver enters the scene (Future tense Oliver/Felicity relationship) Prompt 22-“We could have a chance.

”Part III Fallout of the Gambit situation... Prompt 23-“You can’t give more than yourself.”

~~~~~~****~~~~~~~~sp@ce~~~~~~****~~~~~~~~

The bedsheet ruffled toward the bottom half of the bed. The sun’s perfect rays exposing the skin in the girl’s peekaboo pajama set. She’s comfortably reading with the book half layered upon a pillow and mattress. Just enjoying a morning where there are no finals to be had. One last academic worry off her plate. It seems her bedmate isn’t as passive for he is leaning against her shoulder reading a passage of her book out loud.

“Tommy?”

He finishes the sentence he is reading and answers, “Yes?”

“Can you cut it out. I’m trying to enjoy this book.”

“Only you would consider reading after a hectic study fest to enjoy the written word.”

“Yea, well it’s still me doofus, I haven’t changed that much in a week.”

“I think the new dye of purple highlights have seeped into your brain cells.”

She turns her head slightly to the boy just hoovering there. “Really? Would I be reading if I lost brain cells? Maybe even act like those bimbos you were out with last night?”

“Ouch!” He moves a little more into her, bringing her to flatten some more on the bed. “I thought you were okay with me going out. My best friend is in town.” They share this loft in downtown Boston, he hated being alone and sometime last year asked Felicity to move in with him. She’s really becoming one of those friends he can’t live without.

She sighs as she wiggles out of his hold. “It seems it’s you who loses brain cells when he is around.”

“Really?”

“Didn’t he just get kicked out of another school?”

“Yea, he got caught in a non-educating way with a teacher.”

“Figures!”

“Oh come on Felicity, he really is a great guy. Just a little misunderstood.”

“What is there to understand isn’t he with an on-off girl that he keeps cheating on?” Tommy shrugs. He has no idea why his buddy keeps doing that to himself. “That is what I thought and the nerve of you trying to set us up.”

“I think the lady protest too much. He isn’t with that girl no more.”

“Can we stop talking about Oliver Queen, I’d like to get back to enjoying what I was doing?”

“Reading a historical romance? That’s your pleasure? Girl, you could have the real thing?”

She rolls her eyes. Tommy is a wonderful guy friend. They tried for a relationship and the sex was amazing but as much as they like each other it just didn’t pan out. They have a lot of similar interests and so they just became really close friends with some added benefits.

She huffs at his suggestion. “Tommy? Sometimes a girl got standards and rather read a book on love than waste her time with player who will only chew her heart out and she’d wish to have read a book instead.”

“So, what I am hearing is Ollie is still a no in your book?”

“Are you even listening to me?”

“I am, but you don’t know Oliver like I do. He really is a good guy.”

“Tell that to the hearts he has broken.”

“Well by those standards I’m as bad as him.”

Felicity smiles, “Oh, you have your faults buddy but you don’t actively try to break them hearts.” She pats his shoulder. “You get yours crushed on occasion. I mean that whole ice cream date we had a few weeks back.”

“Let’s not talk about Cheryl. I think I’m done with that name forever more.”

“My poor baby. Must be so hard to be you.”

“Hey! Have a heart. Not everyone can be laser focused like you.”

“Says the trust fund baby.”

“You really think that is what girls see in me. That I can just buy them things?”

Felicity looking at those sad orbs of his staring at her with just enough concerning charm that he holds over her. He comes from money and boy does he flaunt it. He comes across as an easy target as he likes to have a good time and sometimes overdoes his generosity. Unlike him she doesn’t have the funds to buy things on a whim. She’ll never use him like her own piggybank like some of the surreptitious girls he seems to find in doves.

“Do you remember how we met?” Tommy rolls his eyes. They’ve know each other since before last semester started before the summer break and now another summer is just about around the corner. “It was a study group. I volunteered to help the statistic professor with his group of students.”

“Yea, you’re a wiz at this stuff.”

“Oh shut it, you weren’t there because of a failing grade you just wanted to makes sure you truly aced the final but you acted like a goofball and I couldn’t tell.”

“Loved the moment you realized it, your cute puckered lips and disapproving narrowed eyes before I asked you on a date.”

“I said no.”

“Never said you had taste.” She whacks his shoulder as she goes to do it again she finds herself pinned under him. “I on the other hand knew you’d be so worth getting to know.” He brings his lips down to just peck hers. They have a small moment before he moves himself off her. “It sucks that we just don’t have that special connection.”

“That is because we both believe in love. Maybe love is a fallacy.”

“Do you believe that? Really believe that?”

“No. But what we have is simple. How do we both know love can’t spring from what we have?”

“You are such a romantic. Love it. Too bad I know how you really feel for a certain buddy of mine.”

“What? Why do you have to mention him every chance you get? He’s a pompous womanizing jerk.”

“That gets you to light up like a Christmas tree when you see him.”

“Take that back. I do not!”

“What would you do if I told you that he was moving to Boston?”

She seems amazed, “He got into another school here?”

“He wasn’t expelled for his grades.”

“Great, can’t wait to see him try to sleep with all the Bay State area chicks.”

“Change is annoyingly difficult.” Tommy than looks at his best female buddy. “But it is doable because maybe I’m a hopeless romantic or the other thing you have called…”

“A Busy-body, meddler, marplot, but in your case mischief-maker!”

“Ha, I’ll add only that I am a do-gooder because I know he also lights up light a menorah when I mention you.”

“Now you are pulling my chain. He doesn’t even know I exist.”

“Oh, he does and he’s coming here for lunch.”

“What?”

“Yep, he’ll be here in like less than an hour.”

“I’m going to kill you.”

“No you aren’t because I can tell you want to shower and get yourself all dolled up for him.”

“I…”

“Time’s a ticking… he’s bringing lunch and unlike you he knows you are here.”

Felicity stumbles from the bed. “I can’t believe you had this whole thing brewing. I really hate you right now.”

“Sure you do. Chop! Chop! Time is of the essence.” He is laughing as he watches her pick out clothing from her dresser. She is going to die once she finds out that the third room in this penthouse loft is going to house Oliver Queen. He can’t wait to see her face.

To be continued on next prompt…

[drmedicsgamesurgery]

Danganronpa Togami Volume 3 Part 3 (Summary)

Short chapter so short summary today! Thanks for reading!

Thanks to @enoshima-pyon @shockersalvage​ @jinjojess​ @hopeymchope​ for helping out!

CHAPTER 12- Regarding the Metaphorical Replacement for Proximity

1.

“All in all, it’s really whimsical,” said the heir to the Ketouin Conglomerate, Hiroyuki Ketouin, “It’s amazing really, a great record. The world record holder of holding your breath, 22 minutes and 30 seconds, is Goran Colak. [1] I can’t compare to this kind of guy. First of all, I’d need to be in the car under the water..."

I didn’t listen to Hiroyuki’s jokes. I leaned on the back seat of the car and stared out the window, putting the flowing scenery into my vision: the unchanging landscape, only the forest on the horizon. But the railroad tracks have disappeared. Although I really want to know where I am, I’m too tired to use Borges.

"Miss, you look listless."

"Because Byakuya-sama is gone..."

"Cheers for Goran Korak!" Hiroyuki took a Pilsner beer out of the dashboard's storage box. "So has the young master contacted you?"

"No."

"He should have managed to escape."

"If that’s the case, why didn’t he contact me?"

"Maybe he was worried about leaking his location to an outsider like me."

"You are not serious, are you?"

"You don't have to think about what my real identity is."

"The Imposter said something similar. It’s ridiculous, only the right one is the most important."

Since I arrived in the Czech Republic, I have encountered many copies and imposters, over and over. Those people shouted that they were the real deal, but the glittering coats they wore were stripped by others, or they were uncovered, one by one exposing their identity as counterfeit, or they just simply died. Or disappeared. Or killed. I am me, I am a Togami, I have a clear and accurate understanding of this, but on the contrary, everything else seems suspicious. What if this place is actually not the Czech Republic, but a virtual space. I am actually sleeping in bed with VR glasses. Even if it was such a disappointing ending, I would probably not be surprised. Having said that, I don't want to write any lies in the biography of Byakuya-sama... "Journey Under The Midnight Sun", so even if this reality I see is all false, I can't erase this adventure. I want to write down the original reality, and neither hope nor despair can interfere. This description is like warehousing management. Some people may feel uninterested. However, this is the essence of biography. If you add fuel to your story, it is no different from fiction. It is already in a state of completion, and there is no need to add, delete or modify anything.

Hiroyuki takes a sip of beer before saying that Shinobu looks as if she is out of the mud, but just because she is the SHSL Secretary doesn’t mean she is perfect.

"I don't think anyone else can accurately distinguish between true and false like me, though."

"What was your first favorite book?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't worry so much, just answer. What was your first favorite book?"

“Small Pig.”

Shinobu thinks about the Author, Arnold Lobel, and how the version she had was a translated version of the original english story into japanese. It was something of a bedtime story for her.

Hiroyuki and Shinobu then start to discuss how translations in novels can end up being quite different to what the original work was intending, and that texts should always be read in the language they were produced in for the full effect. [2]

“Of course, there will be some subtle differences in meaning, but the degree of meaning would be very slight, right?”

"Well take for example a voice actor gets changed, someone will quarrel and say: 'It’s totally wrong! This is a fake!' If that happens, then you must read the original book when reading, don’t run from it, don’t be afraid either, you must be brave when facing the original text."

Shinobu wonders about how meaning behind text can be viewed differently by different observers, and how that would affect the outcome of how a work is observed. In this case, a translation of a text could change the meaning of a work to something completely different, and possibly much less profound in nature, without the intricacies of the original text. [2]

Borges then brings up a few quotes (#23232300), from people who are regretting getting into the translation business.

Hiroyuki brings up the story of a man who didn’t want to translate a prolific buddhist work into japanese, because the meaning wouldn’t be the same. Because you don’t know what the original story is, you would have no idea what changes would have been made by the translator to suit the language. Or alternately what parts of the story have been altered or fabricated.

He talks about how people who write in Sanskrit or Czech would never know the true story of “The Tale Of Genji” [3] because in truth, the versions translated into those languages was merely an abridged version of the story. A summary, if you will. This “light novel” version is inferior to the original product by its very nature in not being the original work itself.

Comparing modern language translation with light novel adaptation, I can’t help but admire this arrogant opinion. Indeed, this isn’t just as simple as moving a tray of food from plate to plate, but because of the different personalities and intentions of the writers and translators... or making bold explanations or making large-scale changes... There will be considerable changes in the content, which is quite different from what I have pursued in my biography. The biography I want to write is a true transcript. I only transfer the real things to the transcripts on paper. Even the consciousness of myself, the author, should be excluded. This is a perfect copy, which is what I wish to pursue. Due to the existence of the author, modern language translation and light novel adaptation will change the content. The shamelessness of this behavior is comparable to the dumping of organic garbage at a crime scene. In this sense, perhaps no book can serve as a model for “Journey Under The Midnight Sun”. It seems that what I want to do may really fall into the category of quantum mechanics. That's just what I think, at least-

"By the way… Where are we going?"

"There is a nearby town, the name is written on the navigation system. Hey, but how should this be read? Czech is really difficult to understand... Karlovy...Vary?"

"Ah, I know this place. It is a famous hot spring resort."

"A Spa," Hiroyuki turned his head despite being driving "You said hot spring, right!? The next volume of this book must be the pink bookmark route!! I can't help but get excited!"

"Oh no, it’s a drinking cure spring."

"Oh?"

“It’s not a hot spring, but a drinking cure spring to make your body healthier. The Czech Republic has this custom.”

"...I haven't been so disappointed for a long time.”

Hiroyuki exclaims that he hasn’t been so disappointed since learning secrets about various other topics, and hopes that Europeans will one day be able to understand the beauty of japanese style hot springs. Shinobu thinks about how every countries hot springs are different because their values are different. People who say things like "Only the Japanese can understand this kind of beauty" when visiting buddhist temples are self-righteous. She thinks about how big the world is and how even with common and uncommon sense, the world will never change. She is unlucky to have met so many fakes, imposters and counterfeits in the Czech Republic, and even though Hiroyuki is alive, Byakuya is still missing.

"It really is a whimsical world."

Hiroyuki commented this way, but it seems to me that "unreal world" is more accurate. Impossible things, unimaginable things, incredible things are appearing before me, but no matter how much I complain, the problems at hand will not be resolved by myself. Escape from this ridiculous world, or be swallowed up by this ridiculous world. To all of this insanity, I can only say one thing.

"I’m hungry."

2.

Shinobu and Hiroyuki drop off by a KFC. Even though it’s not Christmas time just yet, they still decided to eat there anyway. [4] They stuffed themselves, and Shinobu continued to eat in the car, and Hiroyuki cracks a joke that falls flat on its head and is so not funny I'm not translating it.

The Mercedes is now driving to largest resort in the Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Spa began in the 14th century, when Carl IV discovered the source of the hot springs here; however, the style of the spa area seems to be internationally shared, and it is reminiscent of the streetscape of the Noboribetsu Onsen and Ikaho Onsen. [5] [6]

"It seems that it’s still open," Hiroyuki looked out through the window. "That said, I can't take you sightseeing."

"How can they still be open in this situation?"

"Well KFC is still open."

“By the way, the spa in the Czech Republic is one person at a time according to the instructions. So please don’t have any strange expectations.”

“Oh yeah, why are you so familiar with this place anyway?"

"I... I did some investigation beforehand because I wanted to come to the hot springs with Byakuya-sama!"

"........."

"I have been looking forward to this trip."

Moving on from the subject, Hiroyuki thinks that Byakuya might have used the Kudan, though Shinobu points that no matter what happens Byakuya wouldn’t do it. Even when faced with absolute despair. Granted, she doesn’t know why he would seal it away either. To that, Hiroyuki believes that perhaps the re-assurance of it being sealed was better than than using the Kudan.

When they arrive at the hotel next to the drinking spring, Shinobu does a quick search with Borges. Apparently it’s a very luxurious hotel which accommodated many important historical figures such as Goethe and Beethoven. [7][8] But something seemed off. Even though the Czech government declared a state of emergency, many people who looked like tourists were in the hotel lobby. Hiroyuki comes back to Shinobu and says that he has booked a room on the top floor of the hotel.

She covers her face to avoid any assassin’s on the lookout, and they then head to the room. As soon as they open the door, Shinobu lays on the bed and falls asleep saying that she hasn’t slept properly since they came to Prague.

"It's good to get a good night's rest, helps you wake up more clear minded," Hiroyuki's voice entered my mind. "The most important thing about an article is not its writing, but the study beforehand."

3.

She wakes up all sweaty and with messy hair, so she decides to take a bath. While she is doing that, she thinks about where could Byakuya be and she remembers what he said.

“Wait for me.”

She still doesn’t understand what he meant, but she decides to have faith in Byakuya and just wait as he said. She didn’t want to put back on her old sweaty clothes, but she didn’t want to wear the bathrobe either. When she comes out of the bathroom, she finds Hiroyuki eating a Czech meal.

"Oh, Hello, Miss Beautiful."

Hiroyuki still made me feel more uncomfortable.

He asks her to sit down and eat, and even though she is not hungry (thanks to eating KFC) she still agrees. They start with some small talk, about different cultural cuisines, such as Roman, Slovakian and Czech, but they decide to get on with it.

It seems that if I want to continue the topic, I’d have to sit down with him. With a sigh, I sat down opposite of Mr. Hiroyuki Ketouin. There are many foods on the table that look like Czech food, although I don't know if it is. Roasted chicken with fat, and sour pickles next to it, mushroom soup, stir-fried pork with horseradish and spicy sauce, wrapped in a thin layer of fried squid, with aroma of charcoal. Lamb chops, oiled cheese, oyster steak, sour cream yak meat, mineral water, and his beer is still Pilsner beer. These meaty dishes are those of this country on lockdown. Surprisingly, looking at them, my stomach is hungry again. This made me realize that I am still alive.

Hiroyuki poured beer into a huge wide-mouth cup and called out: "Cheers!" raising the cup. I poured the mineral water into a classic glass and took a bite of cheese. In the suite where the sunlight shone through the large window at the rear, I enjoyed the food. If the person sitting across from me was Byakuya-sama, this would be a wonderful scene.

Translations notes:

[1] Goran Colak is a Croation freediver who currently holds the world record for holding breath underwater. His record is now at 23:01.

[2] Bruh, I am trying ok.

[3] The Tale Of Genji is a classic work of Japanese literature written by the noblewoman and lady-in-waiting Murasaki Shikibu in the early years of the 11th century. The original manuscript no longer exists. It was made in "concertina" or orihon style: several sheets of paper pasted together and folded alternately in one direction then the other, around the peak of the Heian period. The work is a unique depiction of the lifestyles of high courtiers during the Heian period, written in archaic language and a poetic and confusing style that makes it unreadable to the average Japanese without dedicated study. It was not until the early 20th century that Genji was translated into modern Japanese, by the poet Akiko Yosano. The first English translation was attempted in 1882, but was of poor quality and incomplete. 

[4] From December 1974, KFC Japan began to promote fried chicken as a Christmas meal, with its long running "Kentucky for Christmas"  or "Kentucky Christmas" advertising campaign. Eating KFC food as a Christmas meal has since become a widely practised custom in Japan. As of 2019, in Japan, Christmas sales of KFC made around Christmas Eve account for nearly five per cent of annual revenue.

[5] Noboribetsu Onsen is Hokkaido's most famous hot spring resort, offering as many as eleven different kinds of thermal waters, that are considered among Japan's best and most effective. The resort town consists of numerous (mostly large sized) ryokan and hotels with hot spring baths. Several of them open their baths during daytime to non-staying guests for typically 700 to 2000 yen. In addition, there is one public bath house located in the center of town.

[6] Ikaho Onsen is a hot spring town located on the eastern slopes of Mount Haruna. Known for its reddish brown, iron-laden thermal waters, Ikaho Onsen joins Kusatsu, Minakami and Shima Onsen as the four most famous hot spring resorts of Gunma Prefecture. The atmospheric old town area of Ikaho centers around the 300 meter long stone stairs which lead up through the middle of town and are lined by ryokan, old fashioned game arcades and shops. A few kilometers outside of Ikaho stands Mizusawa Kannon, a popular temple, well known for the udon noodles sold at restaurants along its approach. Mount Haruna with its beautiful caldera lake can also be easily combined with a visit to Ikaho.

[7] Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer and statesman. His works include: four novels; epic and lyric poetry; prose and verse dramas; memoirs; an autobiography; literary and aesthetic criticism; and treatises on botany, anatomy, and colour. In addition, numerous literary and scientific fragments, more than 10,000 letters, and nearly 3,000 drawings by him have survived.

[8] Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the classical and romantic eras in classical music, he is considered to be one of the greatest composers of all time. Beethoven was born in Bonn, the capital of the Electorate of Cologne, and part of the Holy Roman Empire. He displayed his musical talents at an early age and was vigorously taught by his father Johann van Beethoven, and was later taught by composer and conductor Christian Gottlob Neefe. At age 21, he moved to Vienna and studied composition with Joseph Haydn. Beethoven then gained a reputation as a virtuoso pianist, and was soon courted by Karl Alois, Prince Lichnowsky for compositions, which resulted in Opus 1 in 1795. The piece was a great critical and commercial success, and was followed by Symphony No. 1 in 1800. This composition was distinguished for its frequent use of sforzandi, as well as sudden shifts in tonal centers that were uncommon for traditional symphonic form, and the prominent, more independent use of wind instruments. In 1801, he also gained notoriety for his six String Quartets and for the ballet The Creatures of Prometheus. During this period, his hearing began to deteriorate, but he continued to conduct, premiering his third and fifth symphonies in 1804 and 1808, respectively. His condition worsened to almost complete deafness by 1811, and he then gave up performing and appearing in public.

To Be Continued.

https://drmedicsgamesurgery.tumblr.com/GameSurgeryDRTranslations

[in-her-chains]

Ashram Yoga - The Spiritual Tradition of Yoga From Past to Present

The Historical backdrop of Yoga and its Development, Change, and Advancement

Yoga started its rise into progress exactly 10,000 years prior through the Tantric practice. Proof of divinities looking like Shiva and Parvati were found in the Indus Valley civilization after archeologists started to unearth various sculptures from antiquated city grounds, memory of the 10,000 year old practice. This was the yoga of the pre-Vedic, pre-Aryan age, wherein the top the practice thrived all through different pieces of India. Shiva being the focal figure in a larger part of these recuperated rules offers proof to the authentic principle that indicates Shiva as the organizer of the yogic framework.

In the yogic practice, Shiva is customarily viewed as the image of preeminent awareness. His accomplice and counter power is Parvati, who addresses preeminent information, will and activity. For about the is additionally answerable for all creation as she is the acting power inside the universe. This power or energy is otherwise called kundalini shakti, the enormous power which is torpid inside all living creatures. Our Corroded is additionally viewed as the mother of the whole universe. Her effortlessness and direction is answerable for the freedom of the spirit, delivering the people from the servitude of common matter. Concho said to be granted to people through Parvati out of affection and empathy for her kids. Yoga was an indication an augmentation of the Tantric framework. Similarly as Shiva and Parvati are indivisible, so too are tantra and the yogic framework.

Tantra is gotten from two Sanskrit words, those of tanoti and trayati. Trayati implies freedom and Tanoti in a real sense interpreted as extension. We would then be able to expect that tantra is the study of growing the awareness and freeing the energy known as shakti inside the body. Tantra is the best approach to accomplish freedom from the subjugation is of the world in the actual ID with the body and items related with it.

In tantra we seek after the way of freedom by first arrangement and acquiring knowledge into the restrictions and limits of the body and brain. After we have perceived these limits, we at that point start to investigate the extension of awareness which ultimately prompts the freedom of energy inside the body. After we have crossed these different levels the individual awareness grows and is freed into the widespread cognizance which saturates through the whole universe. Click here : yoga

The yoga of yesteryear

For quite a while in history yoga was a mysterious framework with its practices and strategies stowed away from general visibility. In antiquated occasions yoga was an oral custom, its lessons and practices number recorded or composed on material. Just through the master pupil relationship was the lessons of yoga uncovered, and just to the individuals who are prepared to examine the profound practices and strategies. This framework was beneficial and helpful as it guaranteed clear arrangement and a solid connection between the follower, the master, and an otherworldly lessons. Much significance was given to the individual experience of the yogic framework, and the right way was laid out by the master who aided eliminate any disarrays or obliviousness with respect to the profound practices and methods. Just through earnest desire with the master's guide their devotees; followers who sought after an excessive amount of scholarly consideration or were looking for the way of yoga to acquire aids or powers were denied the lessons and admittance to the information on yoga.

The first occasion when that yoga was written in the book are recorded on paper was inside the old tantras. Later it was additionally uncovered through the Vedas which were composed at some point around 500 BC. Albeit the Vedas don't give a specific reference to any profound practices or methods, they do you know the arrangement of yoga through illustrations and emblematic portrayal. It is said that the Vedas were uncovered to me rishis and holy people who were submerged in a profound yogic condition of contemplation known as samadhi.

It wasn't until the Upanishads that yoga started to take a clear shape and perceptible structure inside a composed framework. The Upanishads contained the embodiment of the Vedas, uncovering the most fundamental focuses recorded in the various books that by and large made the Vedas. The Upanishads are supposed to be the zenith of the Vedas and together they make up the a Vedantic.

The following huge writings throughout the entire existence of yoga was the Patanjali yoga Sutras which are said to have been written in the second century A.D. Patanjali's yoga sutras shaped the raja yoga framework, a clear and bound together point of view of yoga with references to strategies, reasoning, and otherworldly goals. Patanjali's yoga sutras are frequently alluded to as the eight overlay way of yoga. The eighth successions comprised of yama(self-restriction), niyama (self recognition), asana, pranayama, pratyahara(withdrawal of the senses),dharana (focus), dhyana (reflection), and samadhi. Regardless of whether rehearsed in succession or as a total framework the eight overlay way gave a reasonable point of view of the otherworldly way. It additionally gave a framework for how to achieve the unification of individual cognizance with the widespread universe.

Later in the 6th century BC yoga started to embrace the Buddha's contemplation rehearses just as the moral and good way of thinking that later turned into the framework for Buddhism. Sadly this change and variation eliminated a ton of the preliminary practice that were planned by the yogis to set one up for reflection rehearses, a large number of which are vital and periodically crucial to the starter groundwork for thought and fixation.

Yoga reasoning accepts that before any contemplation practice should be possible the components of the body and brain should be offset in congruity with each other. Consequently Gorakhnath introduced an all-inclusive arrangement of practices to set up the body for reflection. These practices were subsequently utilized as the hatha yoga framework. Later one of the significant experts on hatha yoga made the hatha yoga pradipikia, a book that is broadly utilized today and is alluded to as Light on Yoga.

The act of yoga in the twentieth and 21st century.

While the otherworldly way of thinking and practices of yoga have supported a higher request of living and thinking, today yoga has been spread for a wide assortment of purposes and practices, some profound, some not. Albeit numerous individuals practice yoga to acquire insight of the otherworldly life, there are likewise numerous who use yoga to help in the wellbeing, wellness, strength, equilibrium, and prosperity of the human body, brain, and soul. Considering present day language, numerous types of yoga have arisen including yoga brain science, yoga treatment, yoga wellness, yoga dance, and pretty much any collaboration believable particularly those related with human expressions and different types of self-articulation in spite of the fact that we have not an opportunity to talk about these.

What makes yoga essentially quite possibly the best frameworks for human prosperity is the way that yoga for all intents and purposes and deliberately works with every one of the parts of the human body, psyche, feelings, and soul. Yoga is an all encompassing guideline which attempts to bind together the different components in the body. When these components have been offset than unification with higher orders can be accomplished including that of local area unification, concordance with nature, and converging with the infinite heavenly. Yet, these higher orders don't need to be sought after with the end goal for yoga to be helpful. Today yoga has effectively been utilized as an elective type of treatment for infections, issues, and dysfunctions.

However this cutting edge improvement has not forestalled or restricted the presence of the conventional study of yoga, one which rotates around standards of otherworldliness and more significant standards for human existence. Essentially, yoga actually exists as a science and practice which can be utilized to grow the components of the human psyche, body, and soul, affecting every one of these degrees of human life to upgrade the personal satisfaction. At last yoga can lead one towards the heavenly which is likewise perceived as a sense or being of general topic, one in which the endless components in the universe are joined under one enormous power and awareness which are liable for the entirety of presence.

The advanced articulation of yoga joined with the antiquated customs of India have driven yoga into another element of theory, brain research, medication, treatment, and otherworldly study of which all are rehearsed both locally in India and virtually any remaining nations abroad. Yoga is not, at this point restricted by the limits of society and has spread out itself inside a worldwide society in which everything people can look for shelter under the otherworldly request and study of yoga. As individuals investigate maximum capacity of awareness, life's key intention is uncovered and our real essence is communicated in its fullest structure. Albeit Indian's have profited by the study of yoga for almost 10,000 years, yoga is currently advancing into the every day lives of individuals everywhere on the globe. Regardless of whether it is presented as a therapeutic practice or a method for building muscles and nimbleness, yoga ultimately conveys every person towards the more significant standards that are installed in the practices and strategies laid out by the yogic science.

Yoga started its rise into human progress exactly 10,000 years prior through the Tantric custom. Proof of divinities looking like Shiva and Parvati were found in the Indus Valley civilization after archeologists started to uncover various sculptures from old city grounds, memory of the 10,000 year old practice. This was the yoga of the pre-Vedic, pre-Aryan age, where the top the custom thrived all through different pieces of India. Shiva being the focal figure in a lion's share of these recuperated rules offers proof to the chronicled principle that signifies Shiva as the originator of the yogic framework

[justanothercinemaniac]

Epic Movie (Re)Watch #112 - The Prince of Egypt

Spoilers Below

Have I seen it before: Yes

Did I like it then: Yes.

Do I remember it: Yes.

Did I see it in theaters: No.

Format: DVD

1) The head of Jeffrey Katzenberg, the head of Dreamworks animation at the time and one of the former big wigs at Disney, had been pitching an adaptation of Moses’ story from Exodus to Disney far before he started Dreamworks with Steven Spielberg. During an early meeting of Dreamworks Katzenberg recalls that Spielberg looked at him during the meeting and said, "You ought to do The Ten Commandments."

2) I think the opening disclaimer is a nice touch.

“The motion picture you are about to see is an adaptation of the Exodus story. While artistic and historical license has been taken, we believe that this film is true to the essence, values and integrity of a story that is a cornerstone of faith for millions of people worldwide. The biblical story of Moses can be found in the book of Exodus.”

3) Music plays an incredibly important role in this film, mostly for setting its grand storytelling and dark tone. This is clearly apparent from the opening song “Deliver Us” which depicts the suffering of the Hebrew people in Egypt and also the hope of Moses.

4) This film also does an excellent job of immediately establishing the brotherly relationship between Moses and Ramses. It’s fun and honest, which makes the following events all the more heartbreaking.

5) Val Kilmer is quite effective in the role of Moses, being able to provide a healthy balance of his youthful joviality and privilege early on and the wisdom that would come to define the character later.

6) This film has three noteworthy actors who have very little lines. The first two of these are Patrick Stewart as Pharaoh Seti and Helen Mirren as The Queen.

Neither of them sing, so their lines are few and unfortunately Mirren feels wasted in the part (less of a comment on her acting, which is top notch as usual, and more from the lack of screen time). Stewart, however, gives Seti some depth. We see him as father and ruler, both roles where he cares about his people, but also murderer of Hebrew babies which gives him a sinister feel.

7) Moses could have been painted as a spoiled brat while acting as prince of Egypt, but he takes responsibility for his actions and mistakes while also trying to shield Ramses from some of their father’s heavy expectations.

8) Tzipporah is established as fierce as heck from the get go.

Kept as a foreign slave in her first scene, she still fights back with great vigor despite being in a room who don’t care if she dies by the hands of the pharaoh. Michelle Pfeiffer imparts some of the strength she brought to Catwoman into the part and it’s a wonderful take on the biblical figure.

9) Sandra Bullock may have more lines than Helen Mirren, Patrick Stewart, and (later) Danny Glover, but for some reason I’m always wanting more of her and her character Miriam by the time the film ends. I like what I see, I just wish there were more of her in the film (I think).

10) For some reason I don’t feel the way about her brother Aaron, who is voiced wonderfully by Jeff Goldblum. That may be because we see Aaron develop from non-believer to believer over the course of the film (wheres Miriam is consistently good and believing in Moses) and Jeff Goldblum plays both the doubter and the supporter well.

11) Continuing with the excellent music in this film, “All I Ever Wanted,” carries with it that sense of grandeur as well as the heartbreak of Moses denying his true heritage.

12) Moses’ nightmare is one of the most memorable non-musical sequences out of the film (not THE most memorable but one of them), and this is done both through the unique hieroglyphic art style and the lack of dialogue. It is true visual storytelling.

13) Remember how I said Tzipporah is fierce as heck? Well, that continues throughout the film when she decides to drop Moses into a well as a bit of payback for being a prince of Egypt (although she does help him out because he helped her escape the palace).

14) Danny Glover is the third actor who doesn’t have enough lines. He plays the role of Jethro, a character with about ten spoken lines (more or less) and then the rest of his role is in song. And Danny Glover doesn’t sing the song.

In the little dialogue Glover does give though, he is able to establish Jethro as a man who’s heart is as big as his stature. I just wish we’d heard more of him.

15) I mentioned in The Road to El Dorado the effectiveness of using a song to cover large gaps of time. This film is no different, initial with Jethro’s song “Through Heavens Eyes.” It’s a rousing and hopeful number which talks of the Hebrew god and how we can only know our worth when trying to look through (one guess what I’m going to say next) heaven’s eyes. In that time we cover Moses learning what a free life is from these people, his growing humility, and his blossoming relationship with Tzipporah (and eventual marriage).

16) The Burning Bush.

Val Kilmer provides the voice of god in this film, although that wasn’t the initial plan. Originally all the actors in the film were going to voice god at the same time, and were told to whisper so they wouldn’t overpower each other. When the time came to record Kilmer’s lines, they realized someone had to speak louder. It was a happy realization, as the filmmakers later noted that god usually speaks to us as the little voice in our own heads. And it parallels the Cecil B. Demille version of The Ten Commandments where it is said (although I don’t think confirmed) that Charlton Heston also provided the voice of god while also playing Moses.

17) Moses telling Tzipporah about his encounter with the burning bush is another fine example of how filmmaking is primarily a VISUAL medium. We don’t hear a word they saw to each other, but we see him talking and we see her reaction and we know EXACTLY what is happening.

18) Ralph Fiennes performance as Ramses is at its best when Ramses becomes villainous and conceited. Hmm, Ralph Fiennes playing a villainous and conceited villain. Sounds familiar...

19) Playing with the Big Boys is the only real villain song in this film.

Performed by the evil lackeys Hotep and Huy (who are voiced wonderfully by Steve Martin and Martin Short respectively), the song shows off just how dark things in the Egypt really are and how tricky these two “magicians” are. Martin and Short breathe wonderful life and evil fun into the song, and even recorded their dialogue together. And the scenes uses wonderful use of darkness and shadows to make us feel like Moses is in over his head. Which in a way, he is. But the film wouldn’t be interesting if things were easy for the protagonist.

20) The growing conflict between Moses and Ramses is heartbreaking and I give credit to all those involved in this film for that. The directors, the writers, the animators, Val Kilmer & Ralph Fiennes, everyone. We see them go from the best of friends to archenemies and neither of them wants to be in that position. But they are, and they each think they’re doing what is best for their people. It hurts a lot to watch.

21) “The Plagues” is also a great example of how this film condenses what could have been a massive chunk of time into a little two-and-a-half minute song.

It also does not make light of the plagues either. The plagues were horrible. True wrath of god type stuff that ruined people’s lives. And this song is an epic but dark representation of just what those were like while also developing the conflict between Moses and Ramses.

22) I’m not as familiar with my biblical readings as maybe I should be, but I like that this film depicts Moses reaching out to Ramses one last time before he releases the final plague. It is one final reminder that they are or, more appropriately, were brothers. And they almost seem to understand each other, to make peace. But they don’t. Meaning the final and most awful plague is released.

23) I don’t want to get into my own theological beliefs or philosophies, but I am always sickened about the death of the first borns of Egypt.

The scene is animated beautifully but the entire thing is heartbreaking. The idea of a god who will take away the lives of children just to get what he wants, even though he later claims that we are all his children, just never sits right with me. I just...it sickens me. That’s all I can say. It sickens me.

24) “When You Believe” is probably THE song from this film. It won the Oscar for best original song that year, beating out “I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing” by Aerosmith. It is the perfect representation of the power of hope and belief which is the central theme of this film. Michelle Pfeiffer and Sally Dworsky (along with the film’s chorus) do an excellent job performing the song written by Stephen Schwartz, but the pop version performed by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey is just as good.

25) I think the most memorable part of this film has to be the parting of the Red Seas. And it could just be for this image alone:

That is such a powerful image which really gets across the wonder of what we’re seeing. A representation of the scene which few if any adaptations of the Exodus story have ever lived up to and which I think only animation can bring to life so wonderfully.

26) After the Red Sea crashes down and Ramses is washed away, we see Moses looking off in the distance and hear Ramses screaming, “MOSES!” The filmmakers have suggested that this may be in Moses’ head and that Ramses might actually be dead. I like that idea. It shows Moses still has hope for his brother.

27) And since this is an adaptation of Exodus, of course it has to involve the Ten Commandments in some way. I’m just glad that it’s the last shot of the film. A nice way of ending the story.

It makes sense to end a family film there, as opposed to Moses finding his people worshipping a false idol (a golden cow, I think) and smashing the tablet before God destroys the idol and forces his people to wander the desert for 40 years to kill off the rebellious generation. Oh, and Moses didn’t get to go into the promised land.

(GIF originally posted by @rocktheholygrail)

What’s not family friendly about that?

The Prince of Egypt is a great animated film who’s popularity has unfortunately lost steam in recent years. It represents its story well without beating you over the head with the religion, the animation and music are gorgeous, and the voice acting is top notch (if a little wasted at times). I highly recommend you see it.

[inapat14]

Let's rediscover together the popular songs of the early 20th century

In 1998, in his Histoire de la chanson française des origines à 1860, Claude Duneton wrote: "If we want to know human, I sincerely believe that we must study their songs, in the same way as their monuments, their tools and their books." So today I have decided to devote an article to popular French songs and their historical interest!

Popular songs have long been neglected by historians and by all scholarly disciplines in general. Yet songs offer the historian a precious field of investigation: their brevity forces them to go to the essence to describe a situation or give life to characters. Popular songs are undeniably part of our culture, they compose a collective imagination and always reveal something of our times, and their cultural value makes them an essential historical source for anyone wishing to study cultural history and the history of mentalities.

To illustrate my point I decided to use two of the songs released at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. Why? Because the context is very interesting! As we all know, the 19th century was the century of industrialisation, which allowed, among other things, the development of means of transport and a greater concentration of people in the cities. People left the countryside and the first to arrive in the city were generally single men. From the middle of the 19th century onwards, more leisure activities were developed, particularly in Paris with the introduction of café-concerts. The café-concert was born in Paris around the middle of the 19th century, and gradually ran out of steam after the Second World War. Unlike the theatre, the café-concert is a place of entertainment where one does not pay admission but is invited to consume. The majority of the audience was male, and women were clearly in the minority, apart from a few bourgeois women or a few working-class women, and above all the "grisettes" looking for customers.

So, the first one was created by Paul Delmet in 1896, it is called “You are so pretty”, the second one is called "I ask for it, I need it!”, she was written by Louis Bouvet in 1910 and was censored in 1915, on this reason: "giving voice to women's desire was inappropriate since men were at the front". I chose these two songs because they illustrate in a complementary way the way in which love and sexuality were evoked at that time, and they were not all saucy songs intended only for a male audience!

The first one takes up the classic themes of love, gentleness and fragility. It is a tender waltz that gives pride of place to romantic, youthful female bodies. Women are described as fragile, carefree and innocent. It is the legacy of a certain nineteenth-century education, affirming the constitutive weakness of the female sex. So nothing surprising!

“You are so pretty, oh my beautiful blond angel

That my loving lip in kissing your forehead

Seems to lose its life”

The second one is more astonishing because it does not meet a standard that represents women in expectation, seeming to have no desire of their own, but only a response to male desire. Here is an extract:

“I don't care, when I see males

That they are rich or that they are beggars

Whether it costs nothing or ten quid

I'm asking for it, I need it, and I want it!

I'm not gonna let you down, I'm not gonna let you down

I ask for it, I need it, I want it!”

Even if, in spite of everything, it is a question of giving a voice to women on the margins, in this case the figure of the prostitute. Under the guise of humour, a finger is pointed at these women who are not "real women", but rather on the side of entertainment. Modernity is still a long way off... but the songs about desire and female pleasure, whether satisfied or frustrated, will come! It is up to you to discover them!

[flameclaw22]

Book Review: The Crown’s Game

Spoilers ahead!

Rating: 1 star out of 5

I'd been contemplating reading Circle of Shadows, the newest Evelyn Skye novel, but I wanted to test the waters by reading another of her books first. I found The Crown's Game on sale in the NOOK store for $1.99, so I snapped it up. In a way, I'm glad I did, because reading The Crown's Game ultimately prevented me from wasting considerably more money on Circle of Shadows.

I could use the phrase “dumpster fire” to describe this book, but that's really not fitting: Dumpster fires at least entail vaguely interesting events. The Crown’s Game is easily one of the dullest books I’ve ever read - even duller than any novel in the Twilight series. It’s no compliment to say that Stephanie Meyer did a better job world-building. Evelyn Skye exerted such negligible effort on world-building that her tale barely squeaks into the historical fantasy genre, giving more of the feel of historical fanfiction with magic tossed in for shits and giggles. The magic originates from some spring or fountain or some bullshit that apparently pays attention to arbitrary geopolitical boundaries and nationality. And excluding faith healers and a couple of magical creatures, the latter of whom are only mentioned in passing, there are only four known characters in Russia with the magic, and two of them monopolize most of it. Since both competitors possess gargantuan supplies of the magic, the result is a pair of stupidly overly-powerful heroes.

Skye is just as bad at inventing plots as she is at world-building. Expect no real action or intrigue from Crown’s Game. The game itself is nothing more than an unstructured magical pissing contest, and Skye fails to leave enough to the imagination to keep readers hooked. There’s no nefarious plot running beneath the surface, there’s no tension or suspense; it’s just a fight for who gets to be the tsar’s chief suck-up and who gets to die, and the two competitors falling in love.

The characters are breathtakingly boring. If you played the Wii Fit obstacle course game, you probably remember what a pain in the ass it was to avoid those logs, lest your Mii be comically flattened. Clearly The Crown’s Game’s characters played this game and lost spectacularly, because damn, are they dimensionally challenged. Though it’s not Vika’s fault that Pasha worshipfully describes her in a manner that is utterly vomit-inducing, it is Vika’s fault for failing to demonstrate that she is anything more than an insipid, gorgeous magical girl anime reject. She has pretty red hair with a black streak in it and can generate an entire island with her mind. She misses her dad. She’s pretty. She’s powerful. Did I mention she’s pretty? The way Vika blathers on about how attractive Nikolai is implies that she’s never seen a boy before (even though that’s probably not true). Spare me the agony.

Scarcely surpassing the sentience of a doorknob, Nikolai might as well have been a giant Russian Ken doll. His thoughts mostly consist of dreamily imagining banging Vika, hawing over not wanting to kill her, and attempting to concoct a contest-winning plan. When a woman in a semi-zombified state shows up out of the blue - alleging to be his mother, no less - Nikolai is relatively unperturbed. His strongest reaction is his revulsion over how dreadful Aizhana smells. Come on. Even if you live in a world steeped in magic, if a shambling, malodorous corpse lady appears and claims to be your dead mommy, you should shit yourself, at least a little bit. If all you can do is complain about is the foul stench, you desperately need help. When he walks into the Enchanted Hollow, a goddam cave, his thought is, “So this is why it’s called the Enchanted Hollow.” You’re a little slow on the uptake, pal. Reading this particular line evokes thoughts of that iCarly scene where Kurt, the cute but dumb (fired) intern, rides the elevator and then breathes in awe, “This is an elevator.” And really, that captures Nikolai’s essence - the hot but moronic guy who should be fired before he ruins the world. I half-expected him to pop into a scene with a plastic bag of lemonade.

Pasha isn’t much better. Like Nikolai, he too obsesses over Vika to a degree that seriously annoyed me, as a reader stuck in his head. (What I can say is that Pasha, as nauseatingly pesky as his crush-related thoughts are, isn’t a complete creep. For instance, he refrains from kissing Vika while she is asleep because he does not want to disrespect/violate her.) Unlike Nikolai, however, he exhibits some intellectual curiosity and later undergoes a considerable personality change; unfortunately, this shift is such an about-face that its effect comes off less as character development and more as a rancorous temper tantrum.

There’s little to say for the remaining characters. Renata merely serves to upgrade the love triangle to a love web. Ludmila is Vika’s plump, middle-aged sidekick, who effectively fills the role of a lame-ass Molly Weasley: a source of tasty baked goodies and motherly love, minus the tough fierceness that makes Molly so endearing. Pasha’s sister, Yuliana, functions as the impetus behind the Crown’s Game, urging her father to commence the contest, but Tsar Alexander is such an unpleasant dickbag that no other scapegoat for starting the game is truly required, rendering Yuliana obsolete. At virtually every given opportunity, he goes out of his way to be rude, condescending, or snappish. During his spiel about the rules of the game, Vika interrupts him as respectfully as possible to inquire about why one Enchanter must die at the end of the game, and Alexander acts as if she’s expressed the desire to hit him in the testicles repeatedly with a large stick. He can’t even muster the patience or sympathy to answer a valid question posed by a competitor - a teenager, mind you - in a fatal contest to be the tsar’s magical toady. When Vika arrives at the ball in her fabulous dress, the tsar snidely remarks that she should “take care not to become too enamored of the tsarevich” because “it will require more than a showy gown to be worthy.” Damn it, dude, she just told you that she fashioned her clothes herself. Would it kill you to just toss out some platitude or another? Honestly, I pity Tsarina Elizabeth - she deserves so much better than Alexander. Sergei’s role is just being Vika’s mentor/father figure and an eventual sacrifice; Sergei’s bitchy sister, Galina, is a fucking psychopath who forces Nikolai to kill animals that she put in his bedroom and doesn’t miss a chance to remind him of his “low birth”. And if you’re holding out for a decent villain, don’t bother: Despite being one of the more interesting characters, Aizhana is just a vengeful zombie who boasts a typhus-riddled black tongue (I kid you not), long fingernails, and a festering grudge. That’s pretty much it.

And just what the fuck is this sentence structure?! The writing is clunky, awkward, and the cause of many an eye-roll. For example: “Nikolai shook his head at the beauty of Bolshebnoie Duplo.” This is an actual sentence in a published book not written for fourth-graders. This is an actual sentence in a published book that is presumably not written by a fourth-grader. I have read and enjoyed books with similar writing flaws, but the other elements of the book compensated for them. Obviously, nothing in The Crown's Game does.

This clumsy delivery pervades the romance of the book too. In yet another nightmare sentence, Pasha gushes about this gorgeous girl (Vika), whom he spotted from a distance the other day:

“She has red hair, like the most hypnotizing part of a flickering flame, and her voice is both melodic and unflinching.”

Ew, gross, no, stop. You’re embarrassing yourself, Pasha. You heard her speak but three sentences from a distance and now you can describe her voice like that? Not only does this further paint Vika as a Mary Sue, but it also just makes Pasha look like a pompous ass. This sort of florid diction is typically reserved for Lord Byron’s poetry. And then, when Pasha hops back on the boat back to St. Petersburg, Skye writes, “He murmured, ‘Vika,’ to himself, more than once.” Oh. My. God. By this point, I can safely say that Pasha acts like Ron Weasley under the influence of Romilda Vane’s love potion. J.K. Rowling at least had the courtesy to cure Ron of his sorry state by within the chapter; Skye’s characters, on the other hand, continue this behavior throughout Crown’s Game. I can’t pick on just Pasha, not when Vika serves up internal monologues like this one:

“It was as if the attempts to kill her faded into the background, and now she saw the truth at the core of it all: Nikolai’s magic was gorgeous and powerful and... and... Her lungs faltered. Even the mere memory of his magic was so strong. And touching Nikolai, even through her gloves and his sleeve, was like being pummeled by a stampede of wild horses. No, wild unicorns. Beautiful, wild unicorns.”

He’s the other enchanter, and she’s just now figured out that he’s powerful? Also, does she want to fuck him or his magic? If you think Nikolai contributes nothing to this travesty of romance, you’re quite wrong:

“He had thought, during the mazurka, that they’d had something. Their touch had both frenzied and frozen the ballroom. Their breathing had synchronized, heatedly.”

I could find more examples but I really don’t want to, since I prefer not vomiting.

Skye spends so much time on saccharine pseudo-poetry that she skimps on meaningful interactions between characters, particularly those involved in the two pairings we the readers are supposed to choose between. One carriage ride and a ballroom dance with Vika, whom he’s only known for a couple of weeks, and he thinks he’s so in love with her that when he discovers Nikolai's identity as the second enchanter and that Nikolai is "in love" with Vika too, he feels betrayed enough to pit the two of them - his best friend and the girl he supposedly loves - against each other in a battle to the death. Nikolai and Vika's encounters consist of either one attempting to murder the other, often with a crowd of bystanders within view, or gazing longingly into each other's eyes. Although Vika does have a sweet mother-daughter scene with Ludmila, and Sergei and Galina seem to reach some kind of reconciliation before the former dies, character-to-character interactions are generally superficial and unanimated.

In the end, whether you subject yourself to the agony of reading this book is up to you. Personally, I think it might be less time-consuming to purchase a bottle of high fructose corn syrup from the grocery store, go home, and drink the entire fucker in one sitting. You'd get the same bland, over-sweet experience from whichever one you choose. As for me, I won't be reading another book of Evelyn Skye's. I've had enough literary corn syrup to last me a lifetime.

You can also read this review on my website: <https://thebookishhawk.home.blog/2019/02/25/the-crowns-game-book-review/>.

[bestbooksintheworld-blog]

Worth The Money books

1. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Yes, there is a film with Leonardo DiCaprio, but that doesn’t get you off the hook from reading this perceptive, pitch-perfect novel. Set in the jazzy Roaring Twenties, Fitzgerald’s tale of obsession, ambition, love, money, and a world that would vanish with the Depression was to be his Big Hit — and he was surprised and disappointed when it sold poorly. When Fitzgerald died in 1940, he was an all but forgotten writer. Soon after, there was a revival of his work, and he is now viewed as one of the great American novelists. Today, 500,000 copies of Gatsby are sold each year.

2. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Lee’s famous novel, published in 1960, has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide. For all that it exposes the racial injustice of a particular time and place, it is timeless and universal. As Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Rick Bragg wrote in Reader’s Digest, “Many people see To Kill a Mockingbird as a civil rights novel, but it transcends that issue. It is a novel about right and wrong, about kindness and meanness.”

3. On the Road by Jack Kerouac

Kerouac’s agent spent more than four years trying to find a publisher for this turbo-charged, road-trip novel about the postwar beat generation. Finally published in 1957, On the Road — written in a style at once breathless and disjointed — spoke to the deep restlessness of young people chafing at mainstream Cold War culture.

4. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

You might’ve been assigned the tale of Pip the ambitious orphan in school. But I promise Great Expectations is more entertaining to read as an adult, because the humor that sailed over over your head will be evident now — and besides, you won’t need to write a paper about it. Dickens, in his time, was as famous as a rock star (or, a Kardashian) because his novels were written as page-turners, with whip-smart observations about ambition and human nature.

5. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Marie Remarque

Remarque’s searing war-is-hell novel gave millions of readers their first view of the suffering of ordinary German soldiers and civilians during WW1. All Quiet on the Western Front serves as a reminder of the real people on the other side of any battle.

6. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

I know, it’s looong and the Russian names are complicated, but seriously: if you can follow thousands of pages of Game of Thrones and the rest of the Ice and Fire series (which I love, by the way) then you can handle the challenge of one of the greatest novels of all time. War and Peace is set in the years before, during, and after Napoleon’s invasion of Russia. Tolstoy brilliantly chronicles the world of a crumbling aristocracy — on the battlefield, in society, and at home. His research was meticulous, his characters (the soldiers, lovers, seekers) unforgettable.

7. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers

McCullers was just 23 years old when her novel about a deaf-mute and the travails of the people he encounters was published. She wasn’t the first to write about people at the margins of society, but in The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, she did so indelibly. Quotable quote: “And how can the dead be truly dead when they still live in the souls of those who are left behind?”.

8. Native Son by Richard Wright

Published in 1940 (as was The Heart is a Lonely Hunter), Wright’s graphic, violent protest novel was an eye-opener about racial tensions and poverty in America. For hundreds of thousands of readers, the story was a conversation starter: Wright’s protagonist Bigger Thomas commits an accidental murder, and spirals downward into more violence and despair. Some schools have tried to ban Native Son, but the novel endures.

9. The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Pulitzer Prize-winning author McCarthy is one of our greatest living prose stylists. His post-apocalyptic novel, The Road, in which a father and young son struggle to survive, is made all the more profound by its brevity. It’s a quick read that stays with you.

10. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Shelley was still a teenager when she created the iconic mad scientist and monster. Frankenstein never loses its grip on our imaginations, because the questions it raises about science, ambition, and our humanity remain as urgent as ever.

11. A Good Man Is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor

A deeply religious woman, O’Connor wrote about morally flawed characters with humor, compassion, and a razor-sharp mind. She was a master storyteller, as evidenced in her best known and most-loved collection, A Good Man is Hard to Find.

12. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Yes, The Chronicles of Narnia are children’s books and no, they don’t age. These complex fantasy novels, which have sold more than 100 million copies worldwide (and clearly influenced, among others, J.K. Rowling), have been praised and criticized for their Christian themes, but there’s a lot more going on here than simple allegory. Read them again. Better yet, find a child to read them to. You’ll be amazed by the richness of storytelling.

13. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

This much-more-grown-up sequel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is widely considered to be Mark Twain’s masterpiece. It’s part coming-of-age story, part cross-country adventure, part biting social satire. Twain makes brilliant use of irony as Huck, raised in the pre-Civil War south, gradually comes to understand the evils of slavery.

14. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

When a rich American businessman is killed on a train, it’s up to detective Hercule Poirot to figure out which of the passengers is responsible. Published in 1934, Murder on the Orient Express’s conclusion still stuns readers.

15. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Few authors have captured the essence of Depression-era America with more raw emotion than John Steinbeck. Of Mice and Men follows two farm hands looking for work: the protective and sharp-witted George and the disabled but big-hearted Lennie, who doesn’t know his own strength. The two men learn that even the simplest of American dreams are often out of reach before the tale comes to a heartbreaking end. James Franco and Chris O’Dowd starred in a 2014 Broadway adaptation. Though short, this novel packs a serious emotional punch.

16. The Odyssey by Homer

OK, so this one’s technically an epic poem, not a book, but I think it still counts. As an epic poem, The Odyssey was recited, or sung, for years and years before it was written down. It tells the (fictional) story of Ancient Greek war hero Odysseus’s perilous 20-year journey home from the battlefield. He outsmarts a Cyclops, chats with dead people, and endures the repeated wrath of a seriously angry sea god before finally arriving home. The second-oldest known work of Western literature has stood the test of time.

17. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

This fictional, but meticulously researched thriller will make you wish you paid more attention in art class. A murder at the Louvre museum leads symbologist Robert Langdon on a high-stakes treasure hunt through Europe with the police on his tail. It’s got just the right mix of page-turning action and brain-teasing historical information. This is one book that is way better than its movie adaptation. The Da Vinci Code’s mind-bending “what if” questions will stay with you long after you put it down.

18. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Generations of readers have fallen in love with Elizabeth Bennet. Pride and Prejudice’s delightful heroine chooses to marry for love rather than money and isn’t afraid to put an arrogant suitor in his place. With the novel itself still a staple of many an English class, the story also lives on through its many — and very diverse — spinoffs. These include the true-to-the-novel 2005 film starring Keira Knightley, the rom-com Bridget Jones’s Diary, the fun web series The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, and even the satirical paranormal adaptation Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.