#meco writes

[captainkon0]

So, I recieved a request to draw an slave/owner-emperor dynamic with the Ineffables :). Something obviously I would like to draw

[audiofuzz]

HOT New Album Fridays: Benny Sings - Young Hearts

Benny Sings has us bouncing in our chairs with GLEE! Young Hearts is a fresh, new, and exciting pop album by an artist that you can tell truly loves what he does. He sings with passion, vigor and playfulness on Young Hearts and leaves our hearts pumping with joy. The album touches on 70s pop, soft pop, and sounds like a mix between Paul McCartney and Joe Jackson. We are thrilled to share this monumental new pop album with you. Check out the album below and full press release: Full Press Release: Today marks the release of Benny Sings' new album Young Hearts, via Stones Throw Records. The album features his recently released bossa nova-inspired track, "Pyjamas," which includes vocals from Remi Wolf and a music video directed by her. The two recently spoke to each other for The Talkhouse, which described Benny as "making the sort of breezy songs that easily get stuck in your head." For Benny Sings, making music isn’t just an art; he sees it as one of the lines of work that make the world go round. He says, “I wanted to be like a baker, I wanted to be like a paver. Everybody works hard to make the world a better place, and I would do the songs.” For nearly twenty years he’s been perfecting that work, culminating in Young Hearts. Young Hearts is Benny Sings’ first record made with a single producer — beatmaker-to-the-stars Kenny Beats. The pair connected over DM, after which Kenny invited Benny to work from his home studio in L.A., where they would jam and write during the day. They’d riff off each other, sharing stories, melodies, and adlibs with collaborators Kenny invited over, relaxing into the anything-goes vibe. Whereas Benny’s always written autobiographical songs, on Young Hearts he looks outward, creating a fictional cast of lovable losers – the kind of bumbling, luckless eccentrics you might find on a lost Steely Dan record. On “Pyjamas” with Remi Wolf, Benny sings as a guy who’d rather watch a documentary than jump into the sack; “The World” captures a '70s nostalgic feel, about “living it up” wherever you are; “The Only One” describes an obsessive romantic who daydreams about a woman unaware of his existence, and the title track imagines a pair of young lovers-turned-addicts chasing pleasure through drugs over an FM-radio piano line. “The antihero is at the heart of my music,” Benny explains. He has enormous empathy for these hapless folks — because he sees himself as one. “It’s who I am at the core. Soft. I hope that someone can listen to these songs and think, ‘I’m not Superman but maybe I can still save the day’.” Benny Sings Tour Dates: March 24 - Roeselare, Belgium @ TRAX March 25 - Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Paradiso March 28 - London, UK @ KOKO March 29 - Paris, France @ Le Trianon March 30 - Berlin, Germany @ Lido April 5 - Rotterdam, Netherlands @ Maassilo April 6 - Utrecht, Netherlands @ Tivoli Vredenburg June 9 - Søndermarken, Denmark @ Syd For Solen July 9 - Rotterdam, Netherlands @ North Sea Jazz Festival July 14 - Meco Sesimbra, Portugal @ Super Bock Super Rock Read the full article

[mecomptane]

Blew up my old laptop so I’m trying to recover things from it. (Okay, a slight exaggeration. Maybe.) Apparently I decided to write Star Wars fic at some point? It’s here for posterity, definitely no beta, can’t guarantee the quality. So, the usual. (Pretty sure this was also a 3am sort of thing.)

-

Yoda has been Grand Master of the Jedi Order for going on five centuries, alive for nearly nine, and still, sometimes, feels like he's barely one.

It's few and far between, admittedly--history doesn't exactly repeat, no, but the motivations of sapient beings don't particularly change, and once you understand why people make the choices they do, then you can generally guess what any person or group might do in response. It's not flawless and has failed him before, but between lived experience, his strength in the Force, and the Republic having little changed, overall, he's usually right. Or at least, unsurprised.

The Councilors call him unflappable, the Masters and Knights steadfast, and the Padawans and Initiates whisper that he is Ancient and Omniscient.

Yoda, mostly, calls himself tired.

This is a song and dance he knows well, has all but memorized the steps to. Padawans become Knights become Masters and find an Initiate to teach and mentor and raise, the closest they will ever be to children of blood being children of their hearts. Years--in some cases, a decade or more--will weave the two into a knot of compassion and knowledge and reliance (but never attachment), and with the Trials the Master shears their Padawan's braid and the Padawan shears the rope that had once bound them so tightly, and the two walk away, together but inherently separate, to live their lives as sole individuals connected only by the gossamer web and weave of the Force, as all living things do.

Countless have come and gone, all with slightly different steps or rhythms. Not all have been successful. Jedi walk in the light and dream of the sun, but shadowy corners and secrets in darkness are tempting, too intriguing to pass up the chance to investigate. Rare are those who give in; rarer still are those who find their way back. But it does happen, as much as they might wish it otherwise.

Yoda has seen all of them in nearly a millennia, can trace the pattern and knows the steps of that dance, too. Not that of true Sith, no, but the path to becoming a Darksider is identical to that of a Jedi with only a few steps reversed, repeated, skipped over. Once the first misstep occurs, it takes barely any thought to see where and how the dance might change. Will they weave back and forth, between light and darkness? Will they flit into the shadows briefly and find it not to their taste, thereafter choosing only the path strung with the lanterns of faith? Will they stumble into the shadows once, twice, again and again, until the light itself hurts their eyes and they cannot see save anywhere but darkness?

One step, two, a few more--that's all it takes, now, for Yoda to know. He's been wrong, true, but those times were more that he'd given into hope. Hope that they'd find their way into the light, that their dance would one day realign with that of the rest of the Jedi.

So as Yoda sits among the Council, the dimming light of Coruscant's pale setting sun struggling in through the windows, he is thrown. Surprised. Confused.

"I will take him as my Padawan," Qui-Gon Jinn says, hands resting reassuringly on the shoulders of a supernova given form. So bright, so powerful, spilling everywhere with little control, care, or concern. Yoda can barely look.

Behind the duo stands a white dwarf of the Force, the light and warmth turned inward and controlled, peaceful but puissant and exactly like a Jedi should be, but.

But.

"Obi-Wan? He is ready for his Trials."

"Decide that, the Council shall."

In a room of so much light, where the brightest and most powerful Jedi in the galaxy sit in state, there is an undercurrent of shadows. A slight dimming in the corners, a hint of something obscuring the warmth and nurturing rays.

Qui-Gon Jinn. Obi-Wan Kenobi. Anakin Skywalker.

Yoda looks between them and the Council, and wonders.

-

When he was younger, Yoda delighted in his Padawan learners. That he lived so much longer than any other species or race was a detriment to others, but it allowed him to have generations of Padawans and their Padawans, Grandpadawans and Greatgrandpadawans. Each of his students had siblings, younger or older; each had nieces and nephews; all had someone to fall back on, to speak with, to rely on. To be family with.

Attachment was not the Jedi way, but compassion and selfless love was. All of his students--and their students, so on and so forth--understood that, embraced that.

Eventually he became the Grand Master and became so busy with duties he could not devote the time to another Padawan, to his Lineage as he once did. They understood, relied more on each other, and while some came to him with questions or concerns it was a rarity. And then--somewhere along the lines--it stopped happening altogether. A Lineage was called after the oldest surviving member, but when there were gaps of three, four, ten generations... did one really still count as part of that Lineage? But that was fine, as it should be; the Force is Life and Life is forever changing, growing, renewing. Yoda had learnt at the side of a Master long gone but fondly remembered, now part of the Force; his students, too, memories and trinkets, memorabilia tucked carefully away in a chest in his room, never opened but a reminder nonetheless.

The desire to teach Dooku had been unexpected, unanticipated, almost unappreciated. It had been years since he last had a Padawan learner of his own... but why not? He'd long since turned over immediate day-to-day responsibilities to an aide, now the Master of the Order, and aside from popping in to teach classes or spend time in the creche, he had ample time for a personal student again.

Of course, the way that had turned out... but Dooku's own Padawan, Qui-Gon, had been bright and sensitive to the ways and wills of the Force, and always willing to help another Padawan, always willing to lend an ear or support. Maybe Dooku hadn't turned out as Yoda had hoped, but surely Qui-Gon would be better.

And he was, with Feemor. Maybe not the most in-touch Master, preferring books or research or his plants and animals and following the eddies of the Force invisible to most others, but he cared. He wanted Feemor to succeed, to thrive, as did Yoda. And Feemor did, passing his Trials with little difficulty and much grace; a Jedi Knight to be, surely, proud of.

Xanatos, however....

He'd deserved to be repudiated, true. Yoda had even cautioned Qui-Gon about his second Padawan, having seen the steps and the missteps and the constant swaying between light and dark. A Shadow, he'd suggested. Cautioned. Xanatos could not walk in the light, not like Feemor, but enough light he had in him to walk in both, to be a Shadow of their Order. Qui-Gon hadn't listened, still too proud, too arrogant, after Feemor.

In the end, Xanatos became a Darksider. Qui-Gon, as custom and duty and common sense demanded, repudiated him. But not just him, no, for if he'd gone so wrong with Xanatos, surely Feemor, too, was secretly not what he appeared to be? And so Feemor had suffered for his younger brother's choices, for Qui-Gon's pride and lack of attention to detail, for his desperation to not stain or blemish the Lineage of the Grand Master.

Two students, one Jedi Knight, one Darksider. Two repudiations, one earned, one not.

Qui-Gon had sworn off all further students, had nearly been convinced to take another, had rejected them in the end. The Force had brought them back together, and Qui-Gon could not ignore such a sign, but--

Obi-Wan is quiet in the Force. As a child he'd been as a river, calmly flowing one minute and the tempestuousness of white water the next, but always moving, always steady. As a babe... Yoda remembers the young human, presumed Stewjoni, being brought into the Hall of Healing for the first time, so young and already so part of the Force it had nearly wrapped around him. Not a vergence, not power, but a pin in an ever-changing tapestry, a marble dropped into the center of a taught sheet, a boulder in the middle of the river he'd become part of.

Chaos in the midst of calm, or the calm waters of the eye of a storm?

Obi-Wan learnt the steps of those around him, learnt to dance between light and darkness with Quinlan Vos and somewhere along the lines chose to remain in the light. But these were not his steps, Yoda could see. They were the steps of the Masters, the Knights, the Padawans, even other Initiates; they were what should be, what Kenobi himself clearly wanted to do, to be, but were copied from others, a reflection of truth and not what actually was.

The only times Yoda could remember Obi-Wan stepping out on his own, trying to make his own dance--Melida/Daan. Mandalore. Qui-Gon had either left him alone or with minimal guidance, and without the framework of the Order to guide him, Obi-Wan had fallen back on what he believed to be right, to be the will of the Force. Protect the Young. Protect the Duchess. Stop a war. (Even if it meant fighting.)

Obi-Wan wouldn't be happy strictly as a Peacekeeper, no. He had the knack for it, a skill with words and negotiations that most Masters could only wish for, but the boy's heart--his desire--was to defend and protect that which was Good.

And now, here. Naboo.

Qui-Gon's body lays in repose in the next room, waiting for the sunset and the pyre. Obi-Wan kneels before him, a Knight in a Padawan's garb, and while he never fails to make eye contact, there's a careful guard to it.

Peacekeepers do not kill, after all. Jedi are Peacekeepers; ergo, for all that he's tried to emulate them, Obi-Wan Kenobi is not a Peacekeeper. Not a Jedi.

He's a protector, and Yoda can see him realizing this even as he kneels and Yoda paces, otherwise in perfect silence.

Protectors need things to protect, things to cherish, attachments. How do you value something enough to protect it while maintaining a necessary distance? Even the Sentinels, guards as they are, keep their distance from their charges, no matter how many Younglings jump around and climb them and offer them sweets and pies.

"...even if I must leave the Order, I will train the boy."

And there is both the problem and the solution. Qui-Gon did a disservice to his student, leaving him to find his way alone. Even now, in death, Qui-Gon cannot complete the ritual to break their bond, to cut their ties so Obi-Wan may move forward alone. Yet it's clear that between the Council chamber and the reactor, the bond between them had already begun to unravel. Now what ritual there might be--it wouldn't have mattered, anyway. A sham, a farce, to be done with, if it would even happen at all.

Not that they didn't care about each other--no, he'd seen enough of them together to know that they did, but it was the care between two Knights or two Masters, not teacher-and-student, not father-and-son. Removed, careful, expecting and understanding that each could exist without the other ever in their lives again, but grateful for this brief opportunity to spend time beside each other.

So maybe Qui-Gon was right, in the end: maybe Obi-Wan had been ready for his Trials, having been acting the part of Knight already. No Trials now, Darth Maul's death is more than enough to count, and no ritual Knighting. Just the burning of a body... and the decision of a Knight to train a boy he barely knows.

A boy for the first time away from family and friends and familiarity, a boy... much like Obi-Wan once was, if only Yoda had paid more attention. A boy that, like Obi-Wan, will need to find his own path through life, his own steps through light and dark that might--will--be different from any Yoda has seen before.

A boy that, for right now, needs less guidance and more care. More compassion. More... protection.

It goes against the teachings of the Jedi, to encourage attachments. But Yoda looks at Obi-Wan, feels out for the boy on the other side of the door keeping vigil over his once would-be Master's body, and knows the will of the Force, too.

"Train the boy, you shall," he decrees, and blames the rest of the Council. "A Knight, you are."

Obi-Wan bows his head, like he'd expected nothing less, like he's grateful they're in accord and he won't have to fight for it.

And like he'd never expected a Knighting, a ritual, a ceremony.

Yoda watches him quietly enter the next room, kneel down beside Anakin Skywalker and join the silent vigil. Sees Anakin lean into him, just slightly. Sees Obi-Wan pause, then wrap one arm loosely around small shoulders.

No, he decides, turning his back on what's left of his Lineage. They'll make new dances, a new path, and he won't recognize a single step of it.

And he feels the slightest hint of relief.

[haycartsflowercarts]

So I’ve started NaNo! And I have a vague idea where this particular one is going to go. In the sense that I have lots of ideas for the middle and end, no real ideas for the beginning, and that I’ve just knocked out 4000+ words by me throwing bullet points of what I want to hit and what might be fun at the wall, threw a few of them together, and have decided to kick things off with, basically, a conversation between ghosts. As one does.

Also I knew going into this I was going to lean very heavily into one particular person/ghost being, hmm, how can I say this.... imminently shippable (almost, but not quite, a fandom bicycle), and somehow, upon rereading, I’ve managed to imply no less than eleven named individuals and a handful unnamed more may or may not/are currently/might have been if things had gone differently in a relationship with aforementioned person/ghost.

In other words... I’m off to a great start. Dumb jokes and offhand comments and a complete inability to not flirt with everything ever apparently means this is so far a very strange first 4000+.

[changbin-froggy-jimin]

I found another libra I fell in love with at first sight

[lucyintheskywithtemplars]

AC: Ragnarok--no, that’s a Thor movie--Valhalla!

Okay! So. I was in a teleconference today (because the one thing that hasn’t shut down during this pandemic is Construction, Especially of Hospitals) when Ubisoft did their Thing. So I missed it. But now: time to watch the trailer.

(I did get to passively, distractedly watch the art thing yesterday they did on twitter, but all I got from it was pretty landscapes and silhouette of a Big Guy, so aside from the Ubisoft AC Special (TM), and VIKINGS, I don’t know what I’m about to see. Huzzah!)

Disclaimer: I tried to keep my language clean, but that failed at some point

Bullet points, go!

1. So.... that’s looking to be a fairly burly guy. Or at least very well armoured.

2. If there is no option to play as a lady this time I will S C R E A M and then promptly wage internet war (no I won’t). Kass spoiled me, you can’t take that away from me, Ubisoft!

3. A priestess woman... is she our female playable character?

4. It’s taken me until now to figure out that the voice over narration is an actual character speaking and not just... a random voice over narrator.

5. LOL the narration is all about how they kill indiscriminately and of course Ubisoft pairs that with a “oh look at this woman and her child(ren?), let’s allow them to run away from the fighting and violence and not kill them” and I mean. This is AC of course they’re going to make their protag / protag’s people look good, so I’m not surprised, and knowing that this is a character narration means it’s propaganda to some degree (Templaaaaars!). I’m just. You’re really going out of your way to show where the lines are drawn, but in the most subtle manner you can manage, eh?

6. I gotta say: that switch from actual battle to play fighting and training with the fam? That’s a nice transition. Almost as good as the ones for the Origins Theatrical Trailer (all caps, because that? Is the shit. Still my favourite. Leonard Cohen! Bayek! Aya/Amunet! Egypt! Cleo and Caesar and did I say Bayek! And SENU, MY LOVE <3 <3 <3 <3 <3).

7. I didn’t bother to look up what year (decade) this is set in exactly, but I’m going to assume it’s pre-Christianization of the Scandiwegian countries/lands, so that means A) this is probably not going to have a happy ending, and B) my immediate reaction of KING JOHN! WHERE IS ROBIN HOOD? Is way off base

8. Guy in the background is reminding me of what’s his face from ACII. Damn it. I remember Savonarola, but not him. The Gonfallioniere (sp?). I’m recording all of my thoughts trying to remember this fool’s name because it’s bugging me so much I SHOULD KNOW IT. Um. What’s his face. The Betrayer. That guy. Getting those same vibes from Mister Background For The King. (An eminence grise?)

9. AAAAAAND... BATTLE! This is feeling like that one mission in AC3, where they tricked us into thinking we could do the same thing in actual play as Connor did in the trailer. THAT’S WHAT I’M FEELING, I am Worried. Not super stealthy to be front and centre in a giant free for all!

10. (I say like the entire premise of this game isn’t VIKINGS. What do I know)

11. WHAT IS THAT FLORENTINE LAWYER GUY’S NAME?????

12. So the... leader? Chief? Head honcho? The dude gets taken out and the guy-who-is-I-guess-our-boy just lobs that... axe? Very nice.

13. A hooded person! So maybe we actually ARE being stealthy? Is that our boy/girl?

14. No, my bad, that was just fucking god. (KASS? IS THAT YOU?)

15. “Odin is with us!” Well, that was definitely our standard bird of prey that just took off (I’m including Corvids in this--I just 100% typo’ed that as “Covid”, I’ve Pavlov’d my fingers apparently). So random hooded person who is Not Odin what is wrong with you is... maybe probably our boy/girl? Nice. And dude who is speaking is not?

(15.2. I have to admit, I’m on my second watch, and I’m still having trouble keeping track of who is who between each scene. Is the guy who meets the priestess and gets blood markings the same one we see talking? Is it the leader who gets shanked in the battle? Is it someone else entirely? I don’t know! I’m just going to assume that we’re focusing on the guy who speaks during the battle because of Reasons From Further Points.)

16. No, seriously, what is that fool’s name from Florence? Damnit.

17. Dude-on-a-horse! ...I’m assuming you’re the guy from the scene with the King. And now you’re on a horse! With a... giant of a man beside you. (Ser Gregor Clegane, is that you?)

18. Holy shit it might be, I want a normal person to stand beside both Mister Mountain and our boy, how big are you guys????? Height, muscle, mass, weight, armour, all of the above? The scales for these people look. So weird.

19. Mario Kart 64 had the battle rounds for two or more players? And when you selected it there was that (Luigi?) voice clip that said, “Battol!” Yeah, I definitely heard that when our boy faced off with Mister Mountain.

20. NOT LOOKING TOO HOT THERE, P.O.V. CHARACTER, MAYBE YOU NEED A LITTLE HELP FROM YOUR HOODED FRIEND?

21. HA! HELP GRANTED AND--

22. YOU ARE FUCKING KIDDING ME. Now I need to go back and rewatch and see if I can pick up on that bracer from earlier scenes. (And over the back of the hand? Definitely a follow through Origins then.)

23. THE SHIT. IS THIS.

24. !!!!!!!! ALBERTO UMBERTI! YOU FUCKER I FORGOT YOUR NAME!!!! Anyway.

25. But yeah, I was really hoping for some kind of surprise stealth kill like the arrow storms from Brotherhood, but... this works? I guess? I DON’T KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT THIS.

26. I lied--I know exactly how I feel about this. Very... RPG-ish, more God of War than AC. I’m probably going to enjoy it anyway because I do enjoy God of War, but since this is supposed to fit in the timeline between Origins and ACI (Altair! It’s been too long, I’ve missed you, your arrogant prick), I was kind of hoping for something that leaned more towards the stealth of Altair (except for when I’m playing the game) and less the knock-em-down, drag-em-out brawling of Odyssey.

On the other hand, our boy (and hopefully lady!) goes a-viking, so. I don’t know why I thought it might be anything different?

27. I didn’t comment on the music but! This sounds familiar! It has a very Woodkid-vibe to it, but without being Woodkid (I think?????). And lots of sound effects, of course, so I’m going to have to look this up to get a proper feel for it. It just sort of... faded into the background except in one or two spots, and I know that’s what you want for good sound mixing, but this is a trailer, not a feature length film, I want to hear the song. I’m assuming it was chosen for a reason, I’d like to be able to tell what that reason is.

(27.2 They actually used a song from Jonsi for the Black Flag trailer, and since Sigur Ros is from Iceland this might have been the better time to use it... oh! Wait I can just go look up if they have a track similar to this. Exciting!) (I apologize for the lack of proper spelling there, I’m fighting with my keyboard to make it type English characters properly, let alone ones that my computer considers “special” characters :\ )

Thoughts: Okay, well, one trailer and me otherwise ignoring all the rumours for AC means I have nothing solid to really form an opinion about. Aside from A+++++ animation quality, Ubisoft, you never fail in that department. (Game quality and glitches, on the other hand... I still remember Arno’s L’Oreal commercial, Ubisoft,)

I’m excited to see northern Europe and the British Isles in game form! It might be the only form of travelling I get to do in the next few months. ...even though this is supposed to be out just before New Years?

I said just above that I had Thoughts on how the story would be bridged between Origins and ACI, and I still do, but I’m intrigued to see where and how Ubisoft is going to take this and play with it. I also need to check and see if they’ve confirmed a timeline/decade/year that this takes place in, so I can go pour over all the history from that time period. ...and maaaaaaybe we’ll get to go see Constantinople when it was Constantinople and before it became Istanbul during Ezio’s lifetime (ish)?

AC: Revelations: fighting with Jannisaries. AC: Valhalla (DLC?): fighting as a Varangian Guard (the sort-of precursor to the Jannisaries)

A girl can dream, right?

[mechitecture]

Way back when this blog was for architecture things. It never was used for architecture things! (As part of the marketing and entrepreneur course, we had to actually make a website with like. Squarespace. Maybe Wordpress, or Dreamwidth at the absolute minimum.)

But I still have this tumblog. So.

The Sims building things it is!

I’ve been playing The Sims since 2007 (2, then 3, now 4). I have only really gotten into posting builds to the gallery recently, but I’ll see what I can do about photos and screenshots and maybe, if I remember any of my old tech courses, video editing!

[festivestef]

i know i follow a couple of blogs that speak spanish so why tf are we not talking about the dino mecos meme???????

[useless-catalanfacts]

[CAT]

En Dani és un jove madrileny empresonat a Alcalà-Meco des del passat octubre per manifestar-se en solidaritat amb Catalunya. Està acusat amb proves clarament falses d'haver agredit un policia, però tothom sap que el seu empresonament respon només a raons purament polítiques de repressió de la dissidència.

El 29 d'agost és el seu aniversari. Aquest mes, mostrem-li que no està sol!

[ENG]

Dani is a young man from Madrid who was imprisoned last October for taking part in a march in solidarity with Catalonia. He's accused with clearly false proof of having hit a policeman, but everybody knows his imprisonment responds only to political motivations of repression of dissicende. (We explained his case in more detail in this post).

August 29th is his birthday. This month, show him that he's not alone!

✉ Please, write to him at this address:

Daniel Gallardo

CP Madrid II - Módulo 4

Carretera Alcalá-Meco Km. 4,5

Alcalá de Henares (Madrid) 28805

[persimmonteas]

Aldebaran, algol, sirius a/b, MECO (tbh I just feel like this says a lot about a person lol)

aldebaran: what is your most obnoxious interest?

anime men

algol: favourite planet? favourite space object?

moons are fucking sick. my favorite planet is jupiter. it has so many moon babies 🥺

sirius a/b: what’s your favourite sound and smell?

laughter or people singing along at a concert. i like the smell of my friends’ favorite shampoos and perfumes/colognes. i personally go feral over chloe’s perfume

MECO: how do you take notes?

LISTEN. i have thought about this so much in my academic career and post-graduation too lol. it’s because i have the memory of swiss cheese and only internalize shit if i write it down. also, it’s great for documentation down the line. i will write an entire damn tutorial if somebody wants it.

usually on paper if it’s an outline/or if i have a lot of time to think about it (re: reading notes). def laptop for meeting notes so i can easily reference later on and/or i’m listening to a verbose fucker

box around title, underlined headers for sections, bullet points then dashes. question marks in margins if confused. i’ll typically envision an outline to have bullet points per a pomodoro-ish and break it out into beginning, middle, anything in specific i have issues with and the end 

[captainkon0]

Day 30: Princess. I watched the other day Tangled and this is what we get ;)

[athetos]

soyuz, MECO, SECO, meteor, spica, antares, aaand lastly agena? if thats too many feel free to do which ones you feel like gfdjskjdf

Favorite moment from a game? Loved the final boss fight in Earthbound, and the Asgore fight in Undertale. Being able to play as Master Hand in Smash Ultimate was unexpected and a blast. The reveal of Zelda as Sheik in ocarina of time blew my mind as a kid.

When do you consider a movie ‘good’? When I think about the movie after it’s finished, days or weeks or months later. Or I find myself focused the entire time, unable to look away from the screen.

Think of a movie that means a lot to you, and describe the first scene that comes to mind: 2001 a space odyssey, the first scene is obviously the Hal scene. “I afraid I can’t let you do that, Dave.”

Have you ever eaten dirt? If yes, On a scale of 1-10? Yes, as a kid, I would say 1/10. Not very good at all.

Languages you would like to learn? I’ve started to learn (and subsequently dropped) a few languages - Spanish, Korean, german, japanese. I would also want to add Arabic, Mandarin, and Mohawk.

How do you take notes? I usually read in textbooks and after I finish a section, I skim back for the parts I thought were most important and write them. I use index cards for vocab and important terms.

What are your essentials for studying and note-taking? Just index cards, colored pens, a college ruled notebook, I use sticky notes and tab markers, uhh... highlighters, that’s about it I think

[mecomptane]

MQ: Histiaeus & Agathe

Well, there goes my once-per-week upload schedule. Ah well, blame it on work (and hospitals). Still making angry faces @ formatting, but that will be resolved eventually. Maybe? Hmmmm.

-

Elpeanor had been an absolute rat from the beginning, so how things turned out wasn't surprising. No, the surprising thing--things, really--were regarding her mother. And father. And other father. Her biological father.

"Your life is becoming a poem worthy of Odysseus!" Barnabas exclaimed as they treked up to Delphi, skirting bandit-infested ruins and suspicious warriors on the way.

Kassandra snorted, sending Ikaros further afield to scout with a wave of her arm. "I'd be okay with something a bit... shorter." And less convoluted.

Not that she was doing any favours to herself on that point, either. When they were within sight of Delphi she sent Barnabas on ahead to find a place to stay the night, make some friends, get in line to see the Pythia... based on the crowds, the last could take hours, if not days.

Kassandra, meanwhile, turned around and headed right back into the wild. No way was she dealing with that many people in that small a space. Kephallonia had all of two (2!) small towns, plus Kleptos Bay when it wasn't inundated with pirates and petty criminals, and up to this point Megara was the largest population center she'd been in. Save Sparta, but Sparta was better forgotten, most days.

(Not recently, but this entire trip from the word "go" had done nothing but bring up reminders of the Agiad. She had been raised Spartan, but had grown up as a child of the sea and Kephalonia, and Sparta was neither of those things nor places.)

Point was, the trip from Pilgrim's Landing to Delphi wasn't nearly long enough for Kassandra to prepare herself for the sheer press of bodies and people, so Barnabas got to play nice with the locals and pilgrims and Kassandra got to go hunt some animals and/or bandits as she geared herself up to deal with many, many people. And the Pythia.

Oh, the Pythia.

That was probably the thing she actually should be preparing for, if only to avoid pulling her spear on the Oracle during their meeting. And they would be meeting, even if Kassandra had to hunt her down.

The olive groves north of Pilgrim's Landing were a peaceful respite, the workers diligent but still calling greetings to each other and her as she jogged past. Sunlight dappled across her head and shoulders, and as her jog slowed to a steady walk she took a few moments to taste the sweet air. It was calm and peaceful, orderly and soothing; a true balm on her soul.

It set her on edge. No place was this serene, not with a war on its footsteps and Elpeanor within its borders. Not with snakes in the grass.

Kassandra rolled her shoulders, picking up her pace. Time to go find some chaos to tackle.

Daphne of the Daughters of Artemis was a pleasant surprise. The boar? Not so much.

The people of Phokis, for all that there was an impressive number of warriors to keep the pilgrims safe on their journeys, still managed to get into many scrapes and problems, and therefore occasionally (more than occasionally) needed the help of a misthios. While hunting down some bandits for the healer Agathe she ran into a strangely dressed not-bandit attacking a group of pilgrims and was tempted to take them out. But the Adrestia still needed crew and lieutenants, and if she could convince the not-bandit to put their excellent fighting skills to the Adrestia's aid....

The not-bandit was a Follower of Ares, who mostly Followed for the opportunity to fight. Not a cannibal, which was not something Kassandra had ever thought would be a concern when it came to recruiting crew, and quite willing to don some of the older armour Kassandra still had in her sack instead of the black-red blood soaked robes of the Followers. The armour didn't fit him well, it barely covered the essentials, but at least she was no longer being followed around by a fighting maniac dressed like a lunatic. ...and, when they took out the bandits threatening Agathe, some almost properly fitting armour. Which was lucky, because when they returned to Agathe, Kassandra offered her a position on the Adrestia as a healer, and she took the job, which meant someone else following her around until they got to Delphi. Someone else who needed armour, not for fighting but just for protection. Kassandra wouldn't hurt her (and the Follower, Histiaeus, was surprisingly quickly coming around to acting as protector, not instigator), but her particular profession wasn't exactly safe.

Agathe was a bit smaller than Kassandra, and the armour--in direct contrast to Histiaeus--was almost too large, but a couple ropes and sashes made up for that. Agathe was pleased, anyway. It meant more things to attach her various satchels and sachets to, and with Histiaeus and his strength around to carry things it meant she didn't have to leave much of anything behind.

So it was that Kassandra returned to Delphi three days later, slightly bloodier and notably wealthier, with two followers and armloads of medical supplies and herbs and bandages in tow. (Histiaeus stole--or as he put it, liberated--a steed from a passing Athenian soldier, which freed up his arms to better fight. Agathe was angry at him literally dropping her supplies at the first sign of potential violence, and then grateful for the packhorse. Kassandra stayed out of that debacle by busying herself rooting through the pockets of the fallen Athenian soldier. Little drachmae, but a very pretty necklace that would fetch a good amount at market.)

Barnabas wasn't hard to find, admiring the statue of the Horsemen in front of the Temple of Apollo and regaling a horde of pilgrims with grand stories of the gods and heroes. "--prophecies that no one ever believed!" He finished with a grand gesture. The pilgrims applauded, offered him some coins or drink, and wandered away. Before all of them had dispersed, the old Captain managed to catch Kassandra's eye. "Ah! And there is the misthios of the hour! Kassandra, I was just telling the story of your namesake!"

"In Delphi, when we're going to see the Pythia," she groused.

"Surely Apollo won't strike us down if we make our offerings!" Barnabas defended, falling in beside Kassandra as they moved further into town. He gave Histiaeus and Agathe a quick once-over, exchanged bemused yet enthused eyebrow wiggles with Kassandra, and continued to speak as he led them towards wherever he had found to bed down in the Sanctuary. "Pilgrims normally camp outside the city walls, but I was able to talk one of the local guards into allowing us some space around the back of the barracks! Er, but I only said two of us."

"Eh, I don't think we'll be here that long," Kassandra replied, shifting her sack over her shoulder to ensure her weapons were easily accessible. Presumably the pilgrims around them were decent people, but it never hurt to be prepared. "Once I get an answer from the Pythia we can head back to Pilgrim's Landing."

The barracks were near the city walls, so they could set up camp between the barracks and the wall with the ladened down steed carefully ensconced in the small space. As Barnabas headed back up the hill to the Temple and Histiaeus and Agathe set up the tent and sorted through their supplies, Kassandra grabbed her best armour and headed to the baths. No matter how much she wanted to see the Pythia, gut the Pythia, and get gone before anyone noticed, the Pythia was still an important figure and the last thing she wanted were those many, many Tiers of Mercenaries Imbros mentioned hunting her down. So playing nice it was, and part of that was at least washing off the last few weeks of dirt and blood.

Getting an excuse to repair and maintain her armour was just a bonus.

Agathe and Histiaeus had settled in when she returned, and waved her off when she offered to bring them with her. "There's been some trouble with getting to see the Pythia," Agathe warned. "You might be waiting for a long time."

"By design," Histiaeus muttered, but he was turning out to be generally dour and pessimistic, so both women ignored the comment.

Kassandra whistled for Ikaros to precede her and pick out Barnabas in the crowd, and followed the strong wings to near where the queue meandered around the terrace to the entrance of the Temple. Off to the side sat Barnabas, beside him a hooded man in blue. They were chatting quietly on the marble bench, keeping one eye on the unmoving line of pilgrims and petitioners, but had a small wineskein they were sharing between them.

The other man--Herodotus--was an Athenian, but Kassandra grudgingly admitted that his advice was at least sensible. And, as much as she was coming to love Barnabas, his heading back to the Adrestia (and offering to take Agathe and Histiaeus along with him) meant that she could focus on the task at hand: cornering the Pythia after the guards made their move.

In this, Herodotus was irreplaceable. He was a fount of information, quick to answer any question she had and even quicker to admit that he did not know something, but he was pretty sure he knew someone who did and he'd ask as soon as possible. Three couriers had been sent out for such reasons, all paid handsomely by Herodotus and promised even more once they returned with the replies. He may or may not have used Athenian funds for that, which endeared him fiercely to Kassandra.

And so, by the time she had threatened her way in to see the Pythia, had been thrown out after an unsettling conversation, and determined to hunt down the Priestess as soon as possible, Herodotus had at least been upgraded to "somewhat trustworthy", suspicious interest in her broken spear aside. Which was why Kassandra didn't have a problem telling him about her meeting, even with Barnabas absent. Maybe he was doing it to get closer to the spear, or for some other reason, but at least what she was being told was useful.

His advice to check the Chora of Delphi for the Pythia proved fruitful almost immediately, and later, after she had hunted down Elpeanor, gained the mask and robes of the Cult of Kosmos, and determined to infiltrate them, it was Herodotus she sought out for guidance. Not that she needed much. The Cult had already proven to be a pain in her side, and if their reach extended as far as Herodotus suspected, it would be better to take them down now. Or, at least gather enough information that she could work on hunting them down later.

"Kassandra," Herodotus warned her feet from the door to the undercroft, "Be careful. These people are not to be trifled with. I do not want to see you hurt."

She managed a smile, though hidden behind her mask he couldn't see it. She rested her hand on his shoulder instead. "Thank you, Herodotus. But I am not to be trifled with, either."

[haycartsflowercarts]

So I know that Assassin’s Creed is based on real history but definitely doesn’t stick to it

And I also know that the Thing I Am Writing includes a built-in excuse for why things don’t match up

And yet i just realized that at various points in this hoddamned Odyssey-based story I mention that Archidamos is an Agiad King when he was defo the Eurypontid King (probably because I can’t picture the Agiad king turning on his own kin but, eh, why am I not surprised)

So now I have to go through and replace all of that and I think I made Archidamos being the Agiad King a minor plot point in a minor detail but I wanted to build that up into a Major Plot Point (regarding the lines of succession) and--

This is why you shouldn’t write pieces set in a time period that your fucking degree is all about

[buggie-hagen]

The space asks - do them all!

oh my goodness. okay, will do:

constellations: personality

ursa major: what are the character traits that define you the most? Both quiet and loud, sad and joyful, hardworking and lazy. paradox defines me.

ursa minor: do you have hobbies or interests that no one knows about? an interest that no one knows about is anime and manga.

draco: what is the thing you like least about yourself? my weight.

lacerta: what is the thing you like most about yourself? my smile.

cepheus: do you vibe more with the term idiot, asshole or dumbass? asshole.

hercules: how are you with people? who is your favourite person? it’s interesting because part of me is social shy, but generally i am warm and friendly with people. my favorite person is two rock people who live in a mountain.

lepus: what is your biggest flaw? my self-hatred.

corvus: what are 5 things you appreciate about yourself? 1. my reading 2. my theology 3. my seelsorger stuff 4. my mild interest in Japanese culture 5. that i don’t think politically like others

orion: what element would you like to be able to bend? fire.

hydra: are you the villain? i’m my own worst villain.

cassiopeia: take a random personality quiz on the internet and give us your result. the more obnoxious the better. no.

centaurus: if you could fist fight one historical figure, which one would it be and how hard would you punch them? no.

gemini: which character (fictional or not) is your spirit animal? Jughead played by Cole Sprouse.

lupus: which one do you identify more with: thoughtful idiot or thoughtless brains? thoughtful idiot. i guess.

scutum: you acquire a death note. what are you going to do with it? my understanding of death note comes from the anime of that name. so, if i found such a notebook, i would burn it so it would not be used to harm people.

Do you side more with the idea of Deontological Ethics or Utilitarianism? I don’t know these very well. I would guess I would have issues with both of them.

stars: interests

aldebaran: what is your most obnoxious interest? David Archuleta.

algol: favourite planet? favourite space object? I like earth because it has water. I like the moon.

61 cygni: favourite time period? probably medieval Europe.

castor: favourite band/artist? Currently, Winter Aid.

pollux: draw the art cover of your favourite album/song. Not right now.

riegel: put your music on shuffle and give us the first five songs.

“Have I Told You” by Matthew Mole

“A Song About Love” by Jake Bugg

“Waiting” by Jake Bugg

“How Soon the Dawn” by Jake Bugg

“Take Yours, I’ll Take Mine” by Matthew Mole

betelgeuse: which video games gives you nostalgia for a place you have never been to? n/a

agena: what is your favourite moment from a game? n/a

deneb: you can turn one book into a movie,tv show or video game. which one are you picking? The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

atair: why is your favourite book, well, your favourite? do you have a favourite quote from it? Right now I don’t think I have a favorite book.

prokyon: grab the nearest book, to to page 145 and give us the first sentence. i am not around my books at this moment.

acrux: where and when do you like to read the most? I like to read at coffee shops, and ideally the morning, but usually the afternoon.

spica: when do you consider a movie “good”? When it can make me cry.

antares: think of a movie which means a lot to you, now describe the first scene that comes into your mind! That scene from Love, Simon where Simon’s mom says, “You get to exhale now, Simon.” https://youtu.be/1QUzRn7yH6I

proxima centauri: if you would have the chance to travel the world, which places or countries would you like to see? Scotland, Ireland, Norway, New Zealand, Japan, China, Germany, Israel. Kazakhstan. Mongolia.

algol: you have to assassinate someone. which weapon do you choose? i don’t want to answer this questin.

mimosa: what do you associate with your favourite colour? the ocean.

sirius a/b: what’s your favourite sound and smell? favorite sound is trombone. favorite smell is fresh baked bread.

space objects: experiences

quasar: do you feel alone? absolutely alone.

pulsar: when do you feel truly alive? when i’m laughing.

wormhole: what is the shadiest/most illegal thing you have ever done? date a guy who grew mushrooms in his basement. (back in my college days).

black hole: what has hurt you in the past that you don’t want others to go through? my stepfather’s alcoholism. 

white dwarf: post a picture or video from your favourite trip! no.

nebula: what is an experience you would rather forget about? growing up. 

star cluster: what is something you have gained, something you have lost and something you let go of during the past year? in the past year i have gained some more confidence, i have lost any high anthropology that lingered within me, and i have let go of the idea that someone i love would fall in love with me.

planet: have you ever lost something important, such as your passport, keys or a phone? all. the. time.

moon: “A man is made of memories. It is all we are.“ (Lawrence) what do you think this means? Do you agree? I think it means that who we are is shaped by our past experiences. I agree, with the exception of how faith can shape you and that comes from outside oneself and not from the memories. 

comet: you have the chance to undo one thing or decision in your life, would you take it? If you are comfortable sharing: what did you change? I wish I had did my undergrad in geography. 

asteroid: have you ever lost a friend? do you wish you would still be friends? yes and yes/no

meteor: have you ever eaten dirt? if yes: on a scale from 0 to 10 would you do it again? no.

rocketry: academia

saturn v: what are you currently studying/what do you wish to study? currently am studying theology. i always am. i wish i could study geology.

delta iv heavy: what is your favourite thing about your degree course? well my last degree I completed as Mastery of Divinity in May 2019. I frickin’ love theology.

heavy falcon: what is a subject you are highly interested in but you would never study yourself? astronomy, just don’t have the time.

sea dragon: if money, admissions and other factors would not be a problem, where and what would you like to study? In the past, I would have liked to study abroad. either in Scotland or Germany.

atlas v: favourite theorem or concept? communicatio idiomatum

soyuz: language(s) you would like to learn? Spanish, Irish, Norwegian, Japanese. 

MECO: how do you take notes? Whatever my brain tells me to write down. I’m so good at it now I don’t know how I got here. I think I’m just good at distinguishing between what’s important and what’s not important.

SECO: what are your essentials for studying and note taking? coffee. excitement for the topic.

RCS: how do you stay focused and productive? coffee. when i can lower my anxiety levels i can focus better and be productive. basically, when i am successfully focused and productive i am methodical and categorical.

RP-1: favourite classes or subjects you took or are taking? music, Lutheran confessions, church history, geography, earth science. 

gas-generator cycle: what are the topics you like learning about the most? Lutheran theology. Biblical languages (though very painful). 

partial-flow staged combustion cycle: what are the topics that interest you the least? Math. Social justice ghouls.

full-flow staged combustion cycle: your biggest student-sin? as in something you feel guilty about? Back when I was in college I took a music class called Aural Skills and NEVER practiced my aural skills. I would do it now. 

RS-25: what do you carry in your backpack? books, weekly planner, laptop, pens, headphones, omeprazole.

RD-270: Do you need silence to study? or do you like to listen to music? if so, what is your go-to study-playlist? both. one of my favorites to listen to is the YouTube station “Homework Radio”

Merlin: what does your study-space look like? usually a coffee shop these days. also my office where i have access to my desk and my library. back in seminary, I LOVED studying in the Regenstein Library of the University of Chicago. So many cool places there to study.

Raptor: do you study at home or do you prefer to study at the library/in cafés? library/cafes. i never study and hardly ever read at home.

F-1: this is a free one. ask any question you’d like. what question do you have, dear one?

[max--phillips]

sorry for sending too many asks lmao but MECO and SECO❤️

DOnt apologize I love it!!!!! 💖

MECO: how do you take notes?

Bold of you to assume I take notes JUST KIDDING it’s been a minute since I’ve been in school BUT it depends on how the teacher does things tbh. If they send out the PowerPoint or outline for the lecture first, I’ll usually take notes on what they’re saying right on that printout (or on my computer since I have a 2 in 1 & can still hand write it) but if they don’t I’ll usually copy down whatever slides they have up & make extra notes about what they add on as I go. I know that’s nothing groundbreaking fjdbdjdbsjsj as for on readings, I usually just highlight stuff that’s important rather than actually take Notes™️

SECO: what are your essentials for studying and note taking?

Well idk how to study bc I have the ADHD Gifted Kid Curse™️ so I can’t help you there. Usually I’ll just reread the material or copy my notes again. BUT for note taking, I lOoOoOve the Kokuyo Campus dotted 6 mm rule B5 paper!!!! They have binders for it or they come in notebooks (I prefer the binders), but it gives you the best of both worlds with a dot grid paper but it has lines? Bc I personally don’t like dot grid paper nfbdbfjdbsjs just give me graph paper or something idk. But yeah that’s my shit. I take notes in like, an outline format, so that’s super helpful to keep everything lined up. Also I take all my notes using my fountain pens bc I love them, one, and two, you don’t have to press down at all with them, so they’re really helpful for long ass lectures where you’re taking notes for 2 hours.