#iron courtain

[drum-cu-naluci]

Romanian revolutionary [1989]

[akcanzi]

Crossing the Iron Courtain (nowadays is easy)

Brunnenstraße - Berlin

© 2019 Oscar Alcañiz - Please, do not erase this text if you reblog this picture

[goldeneyedossier]

Shoot in and out! - 25 years ago today, the biggest cultural effect of glasnost took place as GOLDENEYE became the first #JamesBond film to be officially released in Russia. Read more here: https://goldeneyedossier.wixsite.com/bond/post/goldeneye-russia #GoldenEyeAt25

[4sc]

Le frontiere con le mitragliatrici megapotenti installate nei bunker della cortina di ferro, lasciamole ai libri di storia e avventura fantastica che ci fanno una figura migliore. Sopratutto sulla nostra carne.

[voidselfshipp]

Where is your rider

Cw: age gap ( is it really age gap though? Cause death is an inmortal being? And my s/I is 18?. Idk) angst, injury and blood mention, food and meat mention.

-> only people tagged allowed to reblog.

-> Taglist: @tex-treasures @mercuryships @80sboyfriends @malewifepatrickbateman @transmimir

Summary: death stumbled into a small hideout, when its owner comes around, hes pleasently surprised when she takes care of him.

Song to listen while reading: The moss & come along (cosmo sheldrake) and "Where is your rider" (the oh hellos)

Death stumbled down the old forest, injured and on the verge of losing conciusness, holding on the heavy wond on his side.

His heavy boots drag through the mud and Fallen autum leaves. Ragged and pained breaths as he follows his crow.

Dust flew some meters above the ground, leading Him to a most peculiar place.

A small cave, with two dark red courtains closing its entrance, he stumbled, and looked around, a hammock, a cast iron stove, dried herbs, hanging plants and a bookshelf with books. Fairly lights hanging around the trunks and roots that passed through the ground above.

The pale rider sat on the floor, using a healing potion to ail his wound. Still cursing under his breath.

Once he was better, he took off his armor, heavy metal pieces fall to the Rocky ground, he drags his body and hops on the hammock, big enough to fit him if he slept with his knees against his chest.

He covered himself with the brown blanket, dust drew the curtains and flew to the outside to Keep watch.

Be it because of exhaustion or because he needed a nap, the horseman fell asleep almost inmediatly, the wind blowing on the outside, whistling.

It wasnt hours later until he woke up, the smell of something cooking hit him, sitting up and noticing the bandages around his sides.

His eyes dart towards a figure, a human girl, young, Brown hair in a bun wearing a mahogany red jacket, whistling a soft tune.

Dust sits on his owners shoulder shaking his head, if he let her in it was because dust deemed her harmless

The girl Turned to him, smiling-- oh, hi, youre awake, how are you feeling?

Death stared at this human, how she managed to bandage him without dust ripping her a New one was beyond him.

-- its okay-- she said-- Heres your food, I figure you could use some -- she gave him a Plate of an omelette, that was covered with bellpeppers of all colors and some onion And garlic, he could see some grinded meat, it smell wonderfull, he also noted that she had her own Plate with food-- do you mind making me some space?

The rider nodded-- apologies-- he scooted back, sitting cross legged, eyeing the food-- this looks...good

--Thank you, you should try it, its not much but Its all I could sneak past my mom

At the mention of a mother the rider perked up-- how old are you, young one?

--Eighteen, its hard to move out in this economy

Death nodded, humans had many rules, nonsensical to him-- What is your name?

--Im Jerico, nice to meet you..?

-- Death...

--Cool name-- jerico stated munching down on her food.

He took a bite out of the omelette,and stops for a moment, it was very good, he started eating bite after bite.

--Want more? -- she asked.

He nodded-- If you dont mind making more...

--Not at all, I dont mind-- she hopped off of the hammock And started making anotherone.

--If you dont mind me asking, young one, you didnt hesitate on giving me your name, nor age, thats dangerous

--If you were dangerous, you wouldve harmed me already, you or your bird, besides you are in no condition to move even two feet...-- Jeri answered.

He chuckled lowly-- how observant of you

While she made his second omellette, death just looked around, now having enough calmness around him to allow himself a moment of vulnerability.

He noticed the Stacks of books,some where Fantasy stories, others books about plants and herbs.

--How did you find this place?

--Oh well, I like to scout around the area and found this little place-- Jerico started-- with some help I managed to insolate the earth above us and slowly made this place my home,well..second home, I dont live here.

--Quite...cozy-- He commented.

--Thank you, heres your food by the way-- she gave him his Plate.

--..thank you

--Of course, let me check that slash on your side, Ill try to be carefull

--Your bandages are enough, young one

--I know, I just want to make sure its okay-- she watched him sigh and raise his arm a little bit.

--Attacking a Man while hes distracted with food, how clever of you-- He joked.

Jeri giggled and slowly undid the bandages, opting to change them since they were stained with blood.

While he Ate, the human calmly bandaged his side again, humming a melody.

The rider had to admit that he was quite calm in his current situation, he was warm in a comfortable bed, good food and warmth. This human meant him no harm as far as he could observe.

--Its a gnarly wound -- Jerico commented-- what in the fuck where you doing to get this? Who did you pick a fight with?

He chuckled-- a demon decided to pick a fight with me

--Oh, that poor idiot didnt know what was in store for him huh?-- She commented backing away from his now freshly bandaged torso-- picking a fight with a rider, stupid, just..stupid

At the last part he Turned to her, amused--How did you know I was a rider?

-- we humans have a lot of books about mythology, death -- Jerico answered grabbing a hefty book and sitting besides him on the hammock, finishing her food.

She opened the book and flipped to the chapter where it spoke about the four riders of the apocalypse.

As he read, Death was impressed about how accurate some of the things here were --most of this is right...-- he muttered amused.

--Keyword...most-- Jerico joked-- id like to know the parts that arent quite right, if you dont mind

Death chuckled-- Curiosity killed the cat, you humans say

--And the answer brought it back-- Jerico added-- thats how the whole saying is

The rider nodded-- very well then, listen carefully...

And so, he started to tell her what she wanted to hear.

His story telling took so long that night fell.

--Ah, seems my rambling took longer than expected, young one, you should head home...

--You are right,thanks for everything, Death, if you need anything let me know, maybe you can send dust over

--I Will, now go

Jerico nodded petting the crow and giving death a pat on the back, quickly walking out of the small cave.

The dark bird followed her home, making sure she was safe, and once she was inside her house he flew back to his owner.

The Next day, jerico wasnt home until afternoon, as she entered the cave, she was pleasently surprised by death drinking some tea sitting on the hammock, a fresh meal waiting for her over the stove.

--Hello death! Sorry I wasnt home all day, I was at school, you know how it is, senior Year and all-- did you Cook that for me?

He nodded-- it would be rude of me not to return the favor

She smiled leaving her bag against the book case and grabbing a Plate, snatching her water bottle from her bag and sitting besides death.

--How did you know when I was coming back? --She asked.

--i, -- he cleared his throat-- I sent dust to look over you, he let me know you were coming...

Jeri melted, putting her head against his shoulder-- thats so sweet, thank you, it tastes great

He smiled under his mask, looking down at her, giving her a nodd of acknowledgement.

So, day after day, death and jerico hanged out togheter in that cave, until the rider was able to walk again.

They sat on the floor, over a carpet, looking out at the raging storm outside, drinking some tea. The cave was still warm, but both sat slightly closer to eachother.

--Theres a song I wanted to show you-- jerico said, grabbing her phone-- it reminds me of you, the songs about the pale rider's horse...so your horse basically...

He raised a brow, amused at her commentary. Nonetheless, he made sure to pay attention to the lyrics of the song.

"Was it you 'mid the fire and the ember?

Were you there to bedevil and beguile?

See, your face wasn't quite as I remember

But I know that wicked shape to your smile"

Death slowly started tapping the rythm of the song against his porcelain mug. Hearing the song.

He thought of the third phrase of the first verse, she seemed to know him, not because of the books she read, but truly know him.

She knew when he was having a bad day, when he was happy, when he was tired, and he knew when he was smiling under that mask.

"Bury me as it pleases you, lover

At sea, or deep within the catacomb

But these bones never rested while living

So how can they stand to languish in repose?"

His eyes drifted towards jerico who was watching the rain fall.

He had witnessed her on her stressfull moments, during exam season, or anxiety attacks, she was restless, And still was, but lesser now that her life regained some peace. He couldnt help but feel like the last line of that verse applied to her.

"He has thrown down the cavalry as gravel sinks

And as the stone founders underneath the sundered sea of red and reed

The shadow of Hades is fading

For he has cast down Leviathan, the tyrant, and the horse and rider"

Then his mind thought of the day they met, he had slain a cavalry of demons, the water puddles were tainted red with their blood.

He was casted into the trees of this human realm, and helped to recover by this human.

"Where is your rider?

Where is your rider?

He will hold with all of his might the armies of night

Still as boulders laid to the side 'til we pass by

He has hoisted out of the mire every child

So lift your voice with timbrel and lyre

We will abide, we will abide, we will abide"

Then, his final thoughts before the song ended were how hes destined to ride through the earth, he would make sure humans were safe and sound from both the armies of heaven and hell, and would make sure no-one, woman, Man or child was left behind.

But then he looked at her, he would make sure she would be alright, if she was still around by then.

--I liked it-- he said.

--Im glad you did...--jerico leaned in and felt him wrap his arm around her, pulling her closer.

Before he left, he summoned dispair, helping her up and starting to ride with her around the forest. He could hear her laugh as she held on the rains.

He would miss her, a lot.

Once back to the cave, he got off from the horse and took one last look at her-- Stay safe, young one-- she hugged him and he hugged back.

--Before you go..., I made you something... -- jeri gave him a necklace, hanging from it was a skull, with some yellow mushrooms growing from it-- a keepsake, if you miss me..

--I...thank you-- death said in disbelief holding the gift, that looked so small in his big hands.-- thank you for taking care of me, jerico...

--Of course, death...-- she made a pause, looking at him put the necklace on a pouch tied to his waist.

She sighed and kissed his mask-- Please come visit...

The rider was stunned for a moment, before lifting her up and nuzzling his mask against her cheek, she giggled, and then he set her down.

--I Will try...

--Goodbye, dust-- the girl pet the crow for one last time before death got on his steed and Rode away, dissapearing into a cloud of purple mist.

She sighed, shakily walking to the cave and looking at the small photo album she made.

There were few pictures, but those there meant the world to her, she looked at it for a moment, before breaking into heavy sobbing, falling on her knees and covering her face. She Will miss him.

[glasratz]

This picture shows the origin of my fascination with hotels, especially decaying and abandoned ones. I wouldn’t say that it’s the source of my interest in urban expolration. That one goes further back to 1990, just after the Iron Courtain fell, but that’s a story for another time.

This photo here was taken in the late 90s, from what I can gather around Easter 1998. Until the early 2000s, my family always went skiing in the same holiday time-sharing village in the Austrian alps. Next to that resort was a huge hotel complex that always fascinated me. It seemed to  me like a whole town under one roof and the name “Club Robinson” as well as the pools I could see through the windows were so exotic. 

I was never allowed to go in, even though friends of my family stayed there instead of the other resort, from time to time. This added to the mystery, making it a black box for me.

Then it burned down shortly before we went there one year. It must have been a huge fire, devastating many parts of the building. Nobody was hurt, though news reports I can find on the internet say that guests had to evacuate in their underware.

This snow-covered ruin has burned itself into my brain since then. 

Oh, and the hotel was rebuilt shortly afterwards. Since then it has survived another fire and is still open. I have to go there one day, but I never liked skiing.

[valeptraglia]

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Battle of Calormen

Chapter 9: "Metanoia"

- metanoia -

[meh-ta-noy-ah] ● Greek

(n.) the journey of changing one's mind, heart, self, or way of life; spiritual conversion.

It is early in the morning, maybe too early, light is barely coming in through the courtains but birds are chirping in the trees nearby my window. It had rain all night making it difficult for me to sleep. And soon my brain decided it was enough sleep for me today so I couldn't stay I bed any longer.

Getting up from the bed I reached for the curtains covering the view of the window and pulled them aside. My stomach twisted. The sky was still cloudy, you could tell it was morning only because of the few rays of clarity that slipped through the clouds here and there.

It is not an obsession the one I have with the weather, it wasn't a metaphor either. I knew there was a reason for this cloudy Narnia. Something was moving in the shadows, acting from the dark. I could feel it in my guts. This was bad news.

I sighed and turned heading for the sideboard. I sat in front of the mirror and looked at my reflection. A ghostly face stared back at me in the mirror. The white nightgown made me look paler. Even the blue of my eyes seemed colorless, off.

With resignation I grabbed the brush, it was therapeutic for me, brushing my hair. It gave me time to put my ideas in order, to clear my mind. And I definitely need that at this moment.

I took a deep breath and exhaling I started brushing the ends of my hair. The humidity was unbearable and it made my hair terribly frizzy and fluffy as the brush combed it. I tried to relax and stopped thinking about meaningless things. I closed my eyes and slowly the important things flooded my mind.

Last evening I had a very needed, although I didn't want to admit it, talk with Edmund. I told him. I confessed how I felt. It's not that I'm not happy to be back in Narnia, because to be fair I haven't felt this hopeful in quite a long time, but how long will it last? At this point I don't know if I want it to last a long time or if I want to find a door to take me back to England in the next corner. What we lose by returning home will be relative to the time we spend here. And I am not willing to lose anything or anyone for an adventure that I'll have to forget when it's over. I don't think my siblings see it this way.

I told Ed how I felt back at home. Empty. Pursuing a life that I built for myself in an attempt to fit in in our world, I get carried away, I am aware of it, and I let it happen. I want it to happen. I want to lose myself in that meaningless world. I don't want to feel, I don't want to remember what I had and what it has been taken away from me when we left Narnia.

Thinking of home someone came into my mind for the first time we arrived. Robert. He asked me to marry him and I answered that first he had to meet the family and then I would answer him. Of course I was going to say yes. I am twenty-three after all I should be married by now, and I've had enough suitors, but none of them seemed, well, right. I think that's the only part of the world that I've created around me that I want it to be real. After all I'll be spending the rest of my life with the man.

Robert is a good man. He cares about m e and his family, has a good job, he is a lawyer, and is eager to start his own family. He is a gentleman and handsome enough. My parents will like them. My siblings? I don't think so. They'll be polite, of course, but I know they won't like him.

And I? Well, I guess I did expressed myself as "I was going to say yes". I don't love him and it won't be fair for him or for me. Suddenly I don't want to go back home. I feel anxious.

I struggled with a few knots in my hair and then continue with my thoughts.

My brothers and sister, they mean everything to me even if I don't show it. I worry about them and not just here, back at home too. Beautiful and childlike Lucy, nineteen and in nurse school, this makes me smile, she is nothing like me, she is such a sweet young lady, so caring for the rest, her life will be filled with joy that coming from the ones she helps.

Edmund. I meant what I said yesterday, he is becoming a great man, long ago he overcomed his monsters. I am so proud of him. I remember the afternoon tea we had when I last visited him and Peter in Cambridge with our parents, when I saw him crossing the street covering his head with his college bag, his bright smile when he saw us. It made me nostalgic.

And Peter. My big brother, or may I say the professor? A philosophy professor, that one I didn't see coming. Although he did teach us a lot, he took his role as the oldest brother seriously, almost like a job, and now he made of it his profession. Peter is a mess, he is all over the place, wherever he is in books will be find scattered all around him, he will engage in conversation with anyone and try to deconstruct everything they say. He traveled a lot around the world last year and has amazing stories for anyone willing to hear him.

I will always be their greatest admirer.

It is time for me to quit this falsehood and go back to what's important.

I combed my hair in a low bun and changed. I took one last glance at the mirror. "You got this". And I left the room towards the thrones room.

Today the company is leaving north, to the dwarves to retrieve weapons for this unstoppable war that's heading towards us. I am afraid this mission is a failure, not because I doubt the dwarves ability to forge iron, or because I doubt the company's abilities to carry the weapons safely back to Cair Paravel. It's because there's still a traitor walking around the castle, around us as if nothing, unpunished.

The mystery of the war prisoner's death hasn't been solved yet. Bavra, the faun, was the only one punished, and in my opinion he was punished because of a lack of evidence in favor of him, I highly doubt that faun had anything to do with the prisoner's death.

The bodies of the fallen in battle that day had been inspected in search of similar wounds but none of them coincided. This was a major problem, the possibility of having a traitor in the castle could bring an endless list of awfulness.

As I imagined, Erasmus, Peter and Edmund were already in a meeting with Diácano as I entered the room. The four of them turn quickly and in surprise when the doors open to let me in.

"Good morning gentlemen" I greeted them with a cheeky smile "Last minute detail arrangements?"

"Susan! Dear, good morning!" Erasmus saluted me with open arms, a charming man he was.

Diácano smiled politely and bowed when I reached the table, a gesture that I returned.

"Hey Su, good morning" greeted me passing his arm over my shoulders.

"Hi sis" said Edmund on his left "as a matter of fact, yes, we are arranging some details" he seemed quite satisfied.

"Any novelty?" I wonder curiously.

The four of them looked at each other and Erasmus nodded his head. Alright I am all ears, there is something here.

"We sent a few runners ahead of the company a few days ago, we received some news this early morning, they already got to dwarves and are guarding the road, and everything is looking fine" Edmund explained.

I knew they wouldn't take any risks "You kept this in silence, you didn't tell me!" I accused them faking hurt. These were very encouraging news.

"Out of the four of us you are the first to know, I should tell Calantha to avoid inconveniences" Erasmus said with a sheepish smile.

"Oh and Lucy" added Peter.

"No one else knows?" I asked.

"Nope. I think this will turn out alright. This mission has to succeed Diácano" Peter said almost like praying to the centaur on his right.

"We won't fail, your Majesty" he reassured in a deep voice.

(End of Susan's POV)

[beyondsomewhere]

Monopoli, Italy. by Wojtek Mszyca Via Flickr: fuji GSW680III agfa RSX II 50 I spent quite a lot of time sitting in this little port and reading books during our stay in Monopoli in spring 2018. I can't belive how behind I am with uploading... it took me a year to get to this. I can only blame myself and spending too much time outdoors. BTW the colours that this old Agfa slide produced... I feel like looking at photos in 1980s National Geographic or some other then exotic magazine from the West, from behind the iron courtain that prevented us from visiting the rest of Europe back then.

[megilins]

Reja, an ambitious secret agent from West Berlin is being sent out to socialist Czechoslovakia to spy on a newly appointed leader of the communist party Karol Ren. When sparks start to fly the truth about both of them comes out. Even though passion, love, and the feeling of belonging are stronger than politics, in the end one of them will have to step over to the other side of the Iron Courtain. Karol, seduced by freedom and abundance of oranges or Reja, lured in by the prospect of stability and cheap groceries?

screencap from Tko pjeva zlo ne misli

Bratislava-Dúbravka in the 1980s

vintage tram

vintage postcard depicting oranges

[ironedhawk-blog]

@greatestmarksman | starter call

there’s something ironic about the fact that she’s in a house, owned by a man who vaguely looks like her dad but is not --- because if he was, she wouldn’t be lecturing him about how unhealthy is lifestyle is. it would probably be other way round, although she wouldn’t know, for her father has been rogue even years before her time travel.

‘ clint, get up from that fuckin’ couch. why are all the courtains closed? it’s noon! ’

[alexravennight]

hi hi hi ! it’s dilan again, i’m re-posting my intros with updates, so.. don’t mind me !

is that ALEXANDRIA RAVENNIGHT ?! you know her, right ? she is the 24 year old SHADOWHUNTER WITH PURE ANGEL BLOOD !! she is known for being COMPASSIONATE & MAGNETIC       but i would be careful if i were you because she is also STOIC & OBSTINATE. i heard she volunteered to be paired with ALARIC JULIAN BROOKS.

THE BASICS

full name: alexandria “alex” ravennight

age: 24

date of birth: march 28, 1994

zodiac: aries

mbti: esfp-a

hogwarts: gryffindor

hometown: london, england

gender: cis female

pronouns: she/her

orientation: pansexual & panromantic

religion: raziel

political affiliation: the clave

occupation: shadowhunter

species: nephilim

language(s) spoken: english, spanish, french, italian, russian, latin, archaic latin ( she knows… lots… )

accent: british accent

hair colour: black

eye colour: light blue

height: 5′ 6″

weight: 121 pounds

sibling: maximus ravennight

pet(s): the goat quill gifted her on her birthday

BACKGROUND 

+ ALEX'S birth parents, athena & camden bluelight, were scientists and they always wanted to make something better, something unbelievable for the nephilim. athena’s pregnancy was the perfect opportunity for it. after a very long search, they managed to find pure angel blood from a warlock. (august zhao.) the warlock was insistent that the angel blood wouldn’t cause any good - but after all, he owed the bluelight family, so he gave them the blood. athena injected herself with the blood they got from the warlock almost everyday.

athena and camden didn’t have any bad intentions, but they cared more about creating an a+ shadowhunter than the fate of their own child. they were killed by a demon a few weeks after alex was born. no one knows that august, the warlock they got the blood from sent the demon to kill them. after all, they needed to be stopped from creating more people like alex. however, the warlock didn’t know that there was one more person knowing alex’s secret. kaleb williamson, close friend of bluelights, former leader of the los angeles clan, and now an older brother figure for alex.

after learning the tragic death of their beloved friends, ravennight family decided to adopt their kid. they brought alex to the institute they owned, the london institute. her new parents and her sibling became very important figures in alex’s life so quickly. even though alex was always the trouble child, they accepted her.

alex also met her parabatai in the london institute. she knew they were soulmates the second they met. and that’s why she agreed to be parabatais with them without any doubt. they’re her best friend, her soulmate, her everything. they’re the most important person in alex’s life and they always will be - if anyone tries to hurt them, they can definitely see the monster inside of alex.

one day, a person offered alex yin fen for her injuries. not knowing what yin fen was, alex accepted the help. however, after taking yin fen a few times, it didn't take long for alex to become an addict. this is one of her biggest regrets - because of what it has done to people around her. her last attempt to take yin fen was with olga. she couldn't find yin fen anywhere and she was desperate, and she wanted olga to bite her ( yet olga was pretty violent, which resulted in alex running away from the institute for a couple of days to recover ) - and her blood turned her into a daylighter. since it is certain now that her blood can turn vampires into daylighters, alex is in great danger.

the reason why she, her brother & her parabatai came to la is because;; alex was still trying to recover from yin-fen during when the pairing system started so she found a way to be assigned to la to be away from her parents ( so they wouldn’t discover her addiction ) - and ofc, max and her parabatai followed her.

+ THINGS THAT HAPPENED AFTER SHE CAME TO LA, IN ORDER:

1) kaleb told her about her pure angel blood & she told about it to her parabatai not long after. after elena's birthday party, the two was kidnapped, so alex had to use her powers ( creating new runes ) to open a portal and get them out of there. that's how elena learned about alex’s pure angel blood.

2) she got addicted to yin-fen again, and not wanting to go through that process again, she asked a warlock to erase her memories about yin-fen. however, warlock stole her memories and replaced them with the new ones. ( that was the main villain's plan since they saw alex as a threat due to her pure angel blood, they wanted to remove her from the story. ) but her friends managed to get alex's memories back. she's not /fully/ recovered but now she's replacing yin fen with sugar ( like isabelle lightwood in the show ) and slowly getting better.

3) in the fair, when eris' daughter's body was dropped in front of them, alex couldn't help herself & she used the rune that just appeared on her mind, exposing herself. the rune resurrected the girl, but only for a few minutes. with that, alex was sent to idris, they learned about the fact that she had pure angel blood in there and now people from the clave are regularly watching her & doing experiments that won't hurt her. at least for now.

WEAPONS SHE USES & HER POWERS

cortana: her main weapon. cortana is a shortsword that has been passed down through many generations of the bluelight family, having been in the family for many centuries. cortana is a shortsword with a simple and bare blade, save for the inscription that runs down the metal of the blade and describes its legendary forging, “of the same steel and temper as joyeuse and durendal”. it apparently has a feather from the wing of the angel in its hilt. cortana was forged by the first shadowhunter weapons maker, tempered with the same steel as joyeuse, charlemagne’s sword, and durendal, roland’s sword. it was once the sword of ogier the dane. according to the faerie gwyn the hunter, it is considered one of the great swords. the sword has been said to have the power to cut through anything. after her birth parents’ death, the sword was passed down to their only child and the only remaining heir to the sword, alex. name meaning: cortana, along with curtana and courtain, is a latinized form of the anglo-french curtein, from latin curtus, which means ‘shortened’, used for a ceremonial type of sword. it can also simply mean 'shortsword’.

nephilim physiology:  being nephilim, alex possesses a myriad of enhanced physical and mental abilities granted to her by the blood of raziel in her veins and also by the angelic marks of the gray book. this includes enhanced strength, agility, stamina, coordination, and many others which improve over time and practice. due to the angel raziel's blood in their veins, all shadowhunters are able to apply runes on their skin without any real danger. these marks, in turn, give varied effects that serve to benefit the wearer. alex is also able to easily see through most magical illusions and layers of glamour over reality. and, she's able to handle heavenly weapons with effect, since this would normally not work for other species. in particular, these are weapons made of adamas and forged by iron sisters, such as seraph blades.

angelic blood:  while all shadowhunters have the angel raziel's blood in them, alex has more; particularly, she was given the blood of ithuriel ( i’ll probably change this since clary in the books was also given ithuriel’s blood, i just need to find another angel ) in her mother's womb due to her parents' experiments. because of this, she became partially linked to ithuriel, who, when the need arose, sent her prophetic dreams and visions of the future, as well as images of long-forgotten runes, or runes not in the gray book and known only to angels, which she is able to recreate and use. she can also enhance the potency of common runes to make them more powerful than usual. and due to her angel blood, she's more powerful than most ( not all, obviously ) of the shadowhunters.

QUICK FACTS

she prefers to be called as alex

she loves being independent & strong, she sees crying in front of others as a weakness ( honestly alex......... stop )

she’s very close with downworlders, so close that it causes other shadowhunters to disapprove her (isabelle lightwood 2.0)

she has no bias against downworlders & that’s why she agreed to work as pairs 

she adores being a shadowhunter & even tho she likes breaking the rules, she definitely respects her job

[xo8ball]

ohh oh time to infodump heeheehoo because i love studying about rabbits and farms

Ironic he is a rabbit lol but he shows no pity for the animals, saying the latter just have a single utility : give birth and die.

Yellow Guy seems the only one to show empathy towards the animals, hes the smart boy of the episode !!!! :3

Obviously the birth of baby bunnies will not be explicit but behind courtains as a funny gag?. later in the episode, when it gets darker, the cage will overflow. the cycle repeats too much. (a cycle is the time between fertilization, birth, and weaning (??) aka the baby starts eating food)

theres three cycles. the extensive one has a rest date between birth and fertilization of 28 days or a week, the intensive one is a 3 day rest. The teacher will totally ignore this cycle and make the rabbit birth a lot and thus, "drying" the animal.

if you let the baby stop drinking milk from early age (which is done in intensive cycles) the baby will obviously die. you have to discard a lot of animals during the intensive cycles since its yeah intense.

bad management leads to the death of the animals, intensive management leads to a lot of production but constant replacement/death too. this is what this incompetent teacher is doing lol

i learnt all this and got many tens in my exams yay

its been years since ive been cringe leave me have it pls

dhmis teacher oc. a psycho bunnie who has a farm and exploits rabbits for money while ignoring safety conditions. taken from irl rabbit farms (i study in one And i love this theme)

uhh he is insane and greedy and over-uses/exploits rabbits for production purposes. he also has a cool axe! :3

anyw unhealthy rabbit farm lesson, will the guys actually learn about productive cycles and how rabbits function?? lol no

[aromantic-misguide-to-romance]

I’m impressed by the drama in MidCin. It’s a world where a state declares a war because their citizen tried to kill your ruler and you hurt the citizen, where everyone tries to rape the princess because she’s a princess, where there’s iron courtain between neighbouring counties and social services don’t exist and people’s life depend on a whim of aristocrats. And yet the drama is about… for example the current event: oh no, I was rude to her, oh no, it’s the end of the world.

[czarbok]

To your Melania reblog, the fleeing a communist country to the US isn't true at all. She's from Slovenia which was part of Yugoslavia​ until 1991. Yet the country was not behind the iron courtain, so getting to Italy for modelling wasn't even then that hard (my mom from Bosnia used to spend some years during the 80s in Switzerland, was no problem either). Slovenia became a democracy in 91 and she didn't get to the US before 96. People should educate therselves before talking crap.

oh thank you for correcting me! but yeah i had seen the post on instagram awhile ago and i had to see what ACTUALLY happened.

[amadryades]

sitar, baritone saxophone

Sitar - Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Ideally, focusing on  my field of choice ( and even having acquired a second degree), making baby steps in the career I will have chosen. Serene, in peace with myself and releaved from stress and  life-long complexes, shaping my life, here or abroad. Health, love ( romantic but mostly friendship) and work is all I need.

Baritone Saxophone - Describe your dream bedroom My bedroom is close enough to my ideals right now.  A mix of a folklore museum, a romantic novel heroine’s boudoir and a light french appartement. Wooden floor, a big iron bed  with a flowery duvet, white dantelle courtains. An overstuffed library and an excess of books everywhere. Lots of candles, lots of flowers, alive and dead. And a growing collection of cart postales of famous works of art

Thank you dearest mango, I hope you’re doing well!

[enchantedbyhiddles]

Today should be a huge celebration for the EU. We probably take it for granted far too much or we only see the negative aspects of it, but when the Treaty of Rome was signed on 25th March 1957 it was a huge step.

Just a little over 10 years after WWII ended, the European countries were still suffering from it. Germany was divided and there was an iron curtain that parted Europe not only geographically and politically, but also ideologically and far too often by military threats. For countries like France and Belgium (and the UK that would later join) it was also the time colonialism ended. It was a time of insecurities and changes. 

Europe had seen the necessity for economical unions far earlier. Customs had been a threat to wealth of the area, which was especially crippling for the heavy industry, where mining and production were always in different countries. That was the reason for the ECSC (European Coal and Steal Coalition). There was also the idea that there should be a military union against the Eastern Block countries. Keeping Germany on a short leash was another reason. The Nato was founded in 1955, but for the European countries the threat by the Soviet Union was more immediate. There was also the knowledge of the destructive power of atomic energy, but more importantly the hope in its ability to power an evergrowing economy. That was another part where European countries decided that working together would be more helpful than trying to do it on your own.

In the beginning there was the need to help their own economies to become more wealthy and it was decided to work together on that goal, but soon the countries recognised that to work together economically there would also be a need to have some kind of political exchange as a community instead of always depending on bilateral treaties. 

So the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, France, Germany and Luxemburg signed the Treaty of Rome. 

From then on it was 60 years of more countries joining, the lose community grew to the European Community and then with the Maastricht Treaty to become the European Union, the iron courtain fell, Germany got unified, former enemies joined the Union, many of them agreed to a common currency. In all its time the EU played a big part on keeping Europe stable and peaceful. During all its time there was no war in the EU, on a continent that had seen nearly yearly wars for centuries. When looking at global superpowers (both politically and economically) you often see that there are now 3: the USA, China and the EU. On their own some of the countries of the EU would be important (they dominate the G20), but they wouldn’t be where they are now. 

What started as an economical and political exchange for more money, turned into a big free trade area. The exchange not only free for goods, but also giving freedoms to its people, projects for people and culture, exchanges, working together, being free to chose where to live, study and work. There are no boarders in the EU today. That sounds so simply, but it is such a huge thing. You can go to another EU country and start living and working there. Start a family. Come back and visit your family. It sounds like such a little thing, but with visas and everything that would be a big hassle without the EU. 

There are many things that are different than first envisioned. Not everything is great. There is a crippling bureaucracy and with getting closer together many European people and countries have to realise that differences are bigger than first thought. Yet with all its problems, there is no denying that Europe has come a long way and a huge part of that is the European Union. If the leaders and people of the EU look back on why they came together and look forward to what they want to achieve and what is important and at the heart of the EU, it will have a future.