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[frc-ambaradan]

It's the Anniversary of the Unification of Italy!!! Woo-hoo!!!

[lovelyladyabsinthewrites]

Wrap Around Pt.4

Warnings: siblingxsibling implied, longing

Words: 2367

Summary: You and Oberyn enjoy Elia's wedding.

PLEASE DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE TO ANY OF THE WARNINGS/TAGS

Part 1 Part 2   Part 3   

There couldn’t have been a more beautiful day than the one of Elia’s wedding to Prince Rhaegar Targaryen. Your elder sister was covered with the most precious fabrics imported from Essos. Clinging to her torso and flowing outward in an elegant skirt with embroidered beads and tinkling bells. Her lashes were long, lacquered by a special blend of kohl and honey. Without a doubt a vision before your eyes, you had never seen your sister quite as radiant as she was on that day.

The groom, equally dazzling for the eyes to behold. In the great Sept of Baelor, they stood side by side as the Westerosi sept drolled on and on about the light of the Mother and perseverance of the Warrior that would keep them both safe in their matrimony. Rhaegar’s typical Targaryen traits were enhanced by the harsh black of his suit, plates styled as if they were dragon scales. Blinding silver hair was pulled back into a lengthy braid down his back. They were charming side by side, tying Dorne and Westeros together.

You and Oberyn had traveled far as the wedding ceremony would take place in King’s Landing. Under the domed ceiling, you and your brother watched Elia become tied to the Targaryen prince. Holding his hand as a gentle type of sorrow overwhelmed you in that moment. No longer would you be able to run down the hall and jostle her awake by jumping on her bed. Elia was no longer just your sister, she belonged to Westeros now and would one day be expected to become a dutiful queen. Sunspear would feel vacant without her warmth. If only she had married a Dornishman. That way she would at least be closer to you if you wanted to see her. King Aerys had believed her to be the only one worthy of marrying his heir; after all, she was one of the only princesses in the Seven Kingdoms. It was meant to be an honor, that’s what Doran told you.

Having noticed the tears brimming in our eyes, Oberyn squeezed your hand to let you know that he was still there and that everything would be okay. You knew for certain that you would not lose Oberyn to marriage anytime soon, probably not ever. He would always be by your side and if he could help it that would never change. He was a constant that you refused to relinquish.

You hold onto his hand and will your tears to dry, this was not a cause for sorrow, you should be smiling and celebrating along with the others present. This was monumentous for your sister. One day she would become Queen of Westeros. This was the dream match of a lifetime for Elia and you wanted to be happy for her. Even her groom was dazzling beautiful. The greatest opportunity that would ever come by Elia. The match had made Doran pause briefly before accepting the marriage proposal. While Westeros and Dorne were on fairly good terms, many still looked down upon a 'foreign' princess being wed to their crown prince. Elia would be surrounded by Westerosi, leaving her to be the only Dornish presence in the capital. You worried that eventually when Rhaegar would be forced to leave her side that Elia would experience unfound loneliness. She had always had friends and family around her. Now she would be isolated from those that loved her dearly. What did these people know about your beloved sister? Would they know how to stop her tears before the spilled out of her eyes? Certainly not. They wouldn't know the first thing to do when she wasn't feeling well and how to best deal with her weak constitution.

Westeros better treat her right. If not, well, you would have to think about moving to the capital to be with her. You didn't like the idea of leaving Dorne permanently for Westeros. You loved your homeland more than any other place you had visited. The people were lively and unjudgemental and had an open mind. Why would you live anywhere else? You would do so for Elia. But if you were to leave Dorne, you were sure Oberyn would follow right behind you.

Your face was already flushed from the bottomless glasses of wine you had consumed as you waltzed up to the bridal table where lords and ladies were giving the happy couple gifts and their blessings. The Great Hall that housed the iron throne was already becoming stuffy from the many bodies that were dancing and drinking and merely having the time of their life. Candles and lanterns illuminated the venue and also cast a warm glow over everyone. Music danced around the hall from the performers that had been gifted for this special occasion. When it was your turn, Elia broke out into a shining grin and introduced you to Rhaegar.

"A pleasure to meet you, Princess." Rhaegaer takes your hand and kisses your knuckles as was custom for highborn ladies. "Your sister has told me so much about you."

"All good things I hope." You tease and smile at your older sister.

"Well, I had to warn him that you can be a little imp." Her laughter filled you up with content. All you wanted was for Elia to be happy after years of having taken care of you and Oberyn which certainly had not been easy.

Leaning forward, you kiss both sides of her cheeks. "Everything is so lovely, Elia and you look quite the vision."

"Your wedding will be just as lovely, I'm sure." Elia smiles at you in that endearing way that had you thinking that you would die for your older sister if the need ever arose. You loved her so much that you just couldn't bare to tell her that you most likely would never marry. There would be no point in it, at least in your eyes. Not if you couldn't be with the person your heart was craving for.

You cast a secret glance ove rthe festivities and immediatgely find Oberyn canoodling with a group of lords and ladies, probably entertaining them with one of his adventures.

As if feeling your gaze on him, Oberyn looks your way and smiles as he continues talking. That smile meant just for you. Easy to hide your blush from obtrusive eyes, you realize Elia hadn't been fooled. Of course not. She had practically raised you and Oberyn. When it came to her younger siblings, nothing flew over her head.

Her smile became strained and you immediately regretted your cockiness. You hung your head slightly as Elia turns to her groom, her pleasant smile having returrned. "Wouldn you mind terribly if I left for a few moments?'

Rhaegar grinned, taking her hand in his and giving it a chaste kiss. "Whatever my bride desires."

Maybe you would reconsider marriage if you found a potential suitor as handsome as Rhaegar Targaryen, for he rivaled Oberyn in terms of looks and charm.

A blush made your sister's cheeks glow, seeing the gleam in her eyes. She was truly in love with Rhaegar, that much was already clear. Good. At least you owuldn't have to worry about Elia being stuck in a marriage she detested.

Elegantly, Elia excuses herself and moves around the table to take your arm and lead you away. She lead you further and further away from the party until the sounds of laughter and music became a distant buzz. The halls of the Red Keep were eerily quiet as Elia finally releases your arm.

"Oh no. You have that look on your face you always get before scolding me." You nervously say but she is not in the laughing mood. It put a damper on her beautiful face and otherwise jubilent atmosphere.

"I need you to be serious, (y/n)" Elia whispers, her eyes glancing down making her long lashes cast shadows on her cheeks. "From now on, King's Landing is my home. I won't be at Sunspear to keep an eye on you and Oberyn. Don't try to deny it. I know. I've always known."

Your stomach performed acrobatic tricks inside of you. Never had Elia mentioned the odd dance you and Oberyn tiptoed around. Oh, you were aware that she may have an inclining; she would be blind not to notice the longing looks you and your brother shot one another. Lingering caresses that a brother shouldn't dispaly toward his sister.

You wanted to curl into yourself. "Elia, lets not ruin your wedding."

She shakes her head, face filled with determination and. . . fear? "My love, I need you to listen to me and heed my words. I love you both dearly, but I'm worried about you and Obberyn. I will no longer be able to keep an eye on you. You must not cross the point of no return with him. Please, for my sake. I know you love each other intensely, but its a love that can never come to fruition. You know that as does Obery. It's. . . immoral and if Doran were to ever discover you two, I know he'll force you to marry a far away lord. If anyone outside our family were to discover your secret. . . it can be a cause for imprisonment. For my sake, please. . ."

Tears blinded you before you could hastily wipe them away. It utterly broke you to agree to such a thing but you would do anything for Elia. Besides. . . you already knew that there could be no actual romantic relationship with Oberyn. It would forever be an impossible love that would haunt you. "Okay. . ."

Relief made her shoulders sag but there was still a melancholy in her eyes. "I'm sorry, (y/n). I know one cna't control who they fall in love with."

Your chest was hurting as you were supressing the overwheliming devastation that was swallowing you up. Shaking your head, you try to put on a brave face for your sister. "No, I know. . . It's alright. You should get back to your husband."

"(y/n)-"

I'm alright, Elia. I just need a moment to compose myself."

She hesitates to leave you, her natural instinct forbidding her to leave when she knew you were sad. Despite her wavering feelings, Elia sulks away; back to her party and prince.

Only when you knew she was out of earshot did you crumble against a stone column and succumb to your grief.

A truth you had known all along: You and Oberyn would never truly be together. It was sinful to even entertain such an idea. A brother and sister could never cross that boundary of blood. All along, you were aware of this while you thought you were harmlessly flirthing with Oberyn and he back.

"(y/n)?"

You choke on your own sobs at Oberyn's voice. Through your wet eyes, you look up at him. Handsome Oberyn who you had the misfortune of being his sister.

When he saw your tears, Oberyn immediately crouches down to touch your stained cheek. "Who did this to you?"

A bubble of laughter pushed past your tears. "I did."

"Now why would you do such a mean thing to my sweet sister?" Oberyn smiled a little to ease your distress. His thumb goes to wipe away your t4ears but you turn your face the other way. His gentle touch only made your heart ache even more. Oberyn pauses before leaning away. "I saw you and Elia leave the Great Hall. She came back alone. That's why I went searching for you. What happened?"

You fiddled with yoru fingers, refusing to meet his prying eyes.

"What did Elia say to you?"

"Nothing bad. . . She just wanted me to promise that I'll behave myself around you from now on. Since she won't be living at Sunspear anymore. She's worried about us." Making sure to put an emphasis on that last word, yyou dare to finally lift your eyes.

Oberyn closed his eyes, leaning on his hands. "Oh. . ."

With a sniffle, you wipe your nose with your sleeve, not caring if it was unladylike. "I promised not to do anything that might warrant unwanted attention to us."

"Meaning?"

"You know what I mean." You held onto his attention, the furrowing of his brows and the dark shadows that flickered in his eyes. Oberyn wasn't stupid.

A shaky sigh deflats his chest. "We can't help it."

You nod. "I know. But everything Elia said to me is true. What we've flet between us for so long isn'nt right. If Doran sees what Elia does-"

"I'm not afraid of Doran."

"That's not the point, Oberyn. The point is that its not right for us to feel the way we do for eachother. I have to keep you at arm's length. It's for the best. Aroudn you, I feel like it would be so easy for me to slip and succumb to our feelings. We've already toed the line of whats appropriate for siblings. Each time its harder and harder to pull away."

His jaw ticks and you know tis painful for him to hear all of this. Neither ofyou had ever spoken about your incestuous feelings, it wasn't necessary to address it until now. It couldn't be avoided any longer.

You grasp his hand. "We can never cross that line of morality. That doesn't mean I'll love you any less."

Tenderess softened his features, smoothing ove rhis scowl as he lifts your hand and presses it agains this lips; the same hand that Rhaegar had briefly kissed. "You will always be the light of my life. That will never change."

"Can you really accept it? Your a creature who craves a physical relationship."

"I'll do anything to keep you in my life, (y/n)."

You wanted to cry all over again. For the love you would never have and the void in your heart that would always be vacant. No other man would ever live up to Oberyn. While you oculd have your flings and meaningless sex, no mand could fill up the palce that had always been meant for your brother.

Taglist:

@hoziersfairy​

@rosaliedepp​

@iiconicxpersona

@hiroikegawa

@msmorningstaarr

[heartsbind]

🎮🐶😁

shannon the yapper

🎮 — favorite video game(s)?

OOOOH favorite....... that's so hard omg. i have a handful of games that were so impactful i made muses for but i'd prob say my top two are mass effect and dragon age. for mass effect i loved the whole trilogy and writing about kaidan alenko going from being only romanceable by femshep to being romanceable by both sheps from me1 to me3 literally was like a huge part of my college thesis DSFKDSFDSF and i also met my husband in the me rpc (we both wrote kaidan and our first interaction was him sending me an ask telling me how much he loved my interpretation DKJFDSJKFDSF and i in turn love his 🥹🥹🥹)

dragon age was ALSO part of my thesis (really the thesis was just about "playing queer" in video games from like romance mechanics to character customization and also like applying queer theory (anti-capitalism / difference / living in opposition to "normal" / etc) to play etc etc etc) but yeah if i were to think about games that i just keep going back to over the years it would be those two! honorable mentions persona 3-5 and skyrim dskfjndsfdsf

🐶 — any pets?

YESSSS my precious leetol dottir peanut... who is sat comfortably between my legs while i'm writing this / working DKFDSFDSF. i would have taken a picture but i am stuck-- but YEAH so her previous owner had to rehome her bc they were moving into a cat-unfriendly apartment and we've been caring for her for the past 3 years! she is a gremlin but she is also so sweet and precious... she was 8 when we got her tho we never learned her birthday so we just make it her gotcha day which was in may so she should be 11 now!

beyond that, my dad has a great pyrenees dog named bumble who i dogsit sometimes for him! he is a sweet and good good boy! and he also has a cat named zoey (she was a gift for my mom technically but she couldn't take her with her when they separated 🫣 but she is a youthful old lady. very mindful, not always demure--

😁 — what’s your favorite part about being part of the rpc?

the community! i love that it's a space to be creative and share creativity and the things they're passionate about with others. i took a 4-year sabbatical of sorts from the tumblr rpc (and that tbh was kind of after a year or so of being low activity prior once i graduated from college and my last computer started crapping out) and i really missed it! it's been amazing having people to yell and yap about shared interests with and also to like remind myself how to plot and flex my creativity muscles again! it was sorely needed because i really was at a point where any time my brain wanted to like develop plots every time i tried to Think of things it would just instead be like bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz white noise. still is doing that tbh but it's sloooowly getting better and dusting itself off!!!

i'm also so grateful for how quickly i've been able to get settled and comfortable here even though i'm soooo slow to actually write things still djfhdsfsdfdsf coming back right as we were entering the busy season at work was a CHOICE for me DFKJDSFDSF but!! yeah that everyone is just so lovely and talented and loves their muses SO much i just am always admiring even when anxiety sort of freezes me up a little i'm slowly getting out there again!

[emcandon]

Eyyyy I got asked to write an essay about big robots and digressed into mulling over monstrous metaphors

There’s Bones in that Bot By Emma Mieko Candon When people met me at 25, the wrongness of my body was immediately apparent. It was the thinness, the frailty, the new scars and fragile veins. Another clue: the walker and its cat-mauled tennis balls. So too the oxygen tank—the fancy kind you keep in a bag that spurts air up the tube into your nose only when you inhale. Tst-tst-tst. Even when I graduated to a cane and a steady gait, I made no effort to hide the red tangle of knotty scars at my throat, though I did my best to contain the chronic cough. (A mistake, BTW. Cover your mouth, but don’t hold it in. Great way to put even more stress on the flesh apparatus.) I had by then long since been convinced by Donna Haraway’s thesis of cyborg humanity—that we as entities exceeded our flesh the second we developed tool use, and that it got even worse when we introduced the context of gifts and possessions. But as the years go on, the extended thing-ness of my body only grows more apparent. I am artificial and constructed; I am alive because I have been built.  I thought this was what brought me to a fascination with robots and AI—the extension of humanity through embodied machines! But no, my friends said. We remember the whole Gundam thing. The Machine is a Monster Right, the whole Gundam thing. About that.

This might sound weird coming from someone who’s just put out a book about beautiful giant robots, but I’ve never really been interested in robots—at least when they aren’t moving. When a giant robot is just standing there/floating in space/being a Gunpla model, a monument to itself, my eyes pass over its silhouette as they would any other large structure. Perhaps I’m impressed by its artistry, or intrigued by the underlying design, but it isn’t really an object of curiosity.

But when that titan lifts its hand? When its leg rises and its foot crashes down—when it turns its arm to reveal the medium of great violence? 

Then I am afraid. Then I am fascinated.

I am drawn to large machinery in the way I am to monsters. When I describe something on the magnitude of a spaceship, I know it can be warmth and a home, but it is also, to me, an existential threat of size and speed and impact. My body is all too familiar with its own fragility. I cannot perceive this immensity without thinking of my fundamental physical relationship to it.

I don’t know that I was thinking any of this, even on an intuitive level, when Gundam Wing first stomped into my life—when it was Toonami’s heady alternative to Dragon Ball Z that I was instantly in love with for the pretty boys and twisty political intrigue. Now, though, I am well versed in the brittle nature of my body, and I have been taking new hikes through Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, then more recently (it just finished! go watch it!) Gundam: the Witch from Mercury. Both series are immediately and intimately Gundam at its best: 

1. an interrogation of exploited bodies in the context of vast systems and machines

2. the absurd and precious possibility of human connection.

Ah, right, and 3., the eternal backbone of Gundam as a narrative: War…bad???

The Monster is People

War bad. Seems silly. Pithy. Of course war bad. No one right with their mind, body, or soul wants war. 

Do they? Enh. Reality seems to beg to differ. War is happening, right now, all over, in all its ugliness and horror. The great machines of nation, capital, hunger, and hatred grind our smallness through cruelty after cruelty. And for all these great things are the dire mechanisms, it is small human hands that pull the triggers and incise flesh. It is a devouring cycle, it is corrosively sick, we are so pitifully trapped.

I struggle to write this with any kind of resonance or meaning. War bad. Simple, two words, three letters each, and yet abysmally less than the entirety they gesture toward. How many more words would I need? How many more letters and syllables and theories and treatises and grotesqueries must I lay down to properly express war?

Because you have to say something. The nothing is worse. Deadly. 

But how? How do you encapsulate the monstrous enormity? How do you even begin?

I don’t know, I don’t know. But I see how some have tried.

The People is the Machine

Giant robots are shockingly silly. They’re physically impossible. They’re often being painted bright LEGO colours or being constructed out of mechanized lions. As often as they’re the centre of gritty stories of human suffering (with a touch of transcendent human connection), they’re goofy warriors for goodness, light, and the power of friendship, taking part in schlocky melodrama. When asked by a stranger what I write about, I say “Oh, giant robots” in the most self-effacing tone. SILLY!

Here’s the thing: this genre has a legacy, at least in Japan. There, mecha stories arrive in the aftermath of World War II, during which Japan both suffered and was the perpetrator of unconscionable violence. And in that aftermath, the Japanese government was (and still is) often eager to honour only its own dead—and to sweep under the rug all the horrors it committed. 

How do you live with that? How do you breathe? What do you say?

I don’t think it’s always—or even usually—conscious. Maybe you just find yourself drawn to the idea of samurai and ronin, men of violence bound by rigid hierarchies and honour codes. And maybe you particularly like to write stories where their moral centres are flayed open by the commands of their superiors. “Kill that man,” says the lord. “This doesn’t seem right,” says the samurai—as he kills the man, and then has to somehow goddamn live with it.

Maybe this is what you need to express the overwhelming pressure of complicity and silence.

Or maybe you find yourself thinking in terms of the sheerly absurd. Monsters of incredible magnitude. Robots of like immensity. Maybe you use them to evoke atrocities lived and visited upon your world and body. Maybe it seems only right that they should also dance, that they should be cartoonish caricatures of human experience. Because maybe this metaphor of ludicrous size and self is just the best way to articulate a raw immensity that you cannot otherwise grasp. 

Maybe that’s why the robot needs to be larger than the world should ever let it be.

They’re Metaphors, Harold

Small wonder that, when I started writing a book driven by the dissolution of my body, I reached for the magnitude of mechs. It wasn’t intentional. It just happened. Here was an idea perfectly fashioned for a story of total self-destruction and survival. I wasn’t looking to express how I had been let to live because of my artificial hips, or because of the machines that pumped air and blood out of and back into my body. I was trying to capture a giant. 

No. That’s not right. I was trying to say that I had been captured by that giant.

No. That’s not right either. I was trying to say that the giant had pulverized me, and that in so doing, it had made me part of it, and that now I live with the tremors of its weight in my every step.

I got so fucking big.

[goodbyeapathy8]

On this Valentine's Day, 2024, I'd like to share 3 love poems with you. It may not be obvious why these are love poems but please stick around to the end and I promise it'll make sense.

1. "If We Must Die" - Claude McKay

If we must die, let it not be like hogs Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot, While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs, Making their mock at our accursèd lot. If we must die, O let us nobly die, So that our precious blood may not be shed In vain; then even the monsters we defy Shall be constrained to honor us though dead! O kinsmen! we must meet the common foe! Though far outnumbered let us show us brave, And for their thousand blows deal one death-blow! What though before us lies the open grave? Like men we’ll face the murderous, cowardly pack, Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back!

2. "When the day comes" - Shim Hoon

when the day comes when it comes that even mount Samgak may rise and dance the river Han will writhe, alive, like a dragon that day

that it may come before my life ends with the crows that fly at night I will aim at Chongno bell and ring it. even if that should splinter my skull but what han should remain after that joy.

that that day comes o! that day comes I shall cry and laugh and roll on the large road in front of Yookjo

and still should that not be enough I should take a knife to make a leather of my skin to turn it into a large drum to wear at the front of the joyful procession.

should I hear that ringing sound just once I could close my eyes without regrets.

3. "If I Must Die" - Refaat Alareer

If I must die, you must live to tell my story to sell my things to buy a piece of cloth and some strings, (make it white with a long tail) so that a child, somewhere in Gaza while looking heaven in the eye awaiting his dad who left in a blaze — and bid no one farewell not even to his flesh not even to himself — sees the kite, my kite you made, flying up above, and thinks for a moment an angel is there bringing back love. If I must die let it bring hope, let it be a story.

The first two poems were written in 1919, on opposite sides of the world. Claude McKay was a young Jamaican Black man, writing about the oppression against Black people while Shim Hoon was a young Korean man, writing about the Japanese oppression against Koreans.

A little over 100 years later, a poet named Refaat Alareer would pen his last work in December of 2023, in Falasteen.

Yes - these are poems of love.

Love for a people, oppressed and hated by many.

Love for self, to document their current fight, for the future generation.

And none of these three people may be your direct ancestors but they are people who have gone ahead of us, walking a slightly different path, offering their words to us as a legacy. To remember what we fight for, to remember the hope in the future, for those of us that survive long enough to see it. Even if they may not.

I know there are so many horrors we have witnessed. Not just in Falasteen but in Sudan, in Congo, in Myanmar, and countless other places - in the name of oppression and greed and capitalism and colonization and imperialism.

But I hope these three poems serve as a reminder of what we are doing and why we are doing it.

Sending love to everyone.

-- *Translator's note - Shim Hoon's poem is a direct translation by me. Please do not repost the translation without credit.

[thepowerisyouth]

Hot take: if a person agrees that logic is a generally correct problem solving methodology, and yet fails to deny any of these postulates as true, then they will have to accept capitalism is inherently 'evil', and that a collectivism is the only way to not literally all die in the anthropocene.

Yes, that statement implies I am attempting to write a mathematical/scientific proof which can undeniably be used to deconstruct every capitalist argument. Deal with it. Still a draft, but I'm posting because its already long. Feel free to give suggestions. No, please give me suggestions

I actually believe this might work, because convincing irrational people that their arguments are fallacies is bascially what cognitive behavioral therapy is all about

Content included in discussion: death, sustainability, good, evil, (more to come)

1. All life is precious.

-Precious can be defined different ways but its important to use this term, and I think to me what it means is that we must grieve any loss of life. Grief is not easily defined, but this is an absolute rule to follow.

Precisely defining grieve as the philosophy sees it is on my to-write list

-Its still not clear what life is either, so when doubt exists we should assume something is alive. This is because I really believe it's a fallacy, a punch to the face, to deny public discourse its chance to run its course if there is any shadow of a doubt. Science believes all answers must be sought out over a period of time, and to never stop questioning

------------

2. All 'non-life' is precious too

-because every resource is, in fact, finite in the universe. And we want to keep sustaining the entire universe as long as possible so we should assume every resource is absolutely finite in case there is any shadow of a doubt of a resource being 'infinite'.

-this argument, for purposes of this argument, is not seeking to define life. Atoms seem to me like they are also alive, okay? I think its more about using what most people can commonly understand as life, and reinforcing that both are precious. Its just easier for people to agree that 'life' is precious first, than use that first assumption to prove this second one

-we can prove that 'non-life', as might be commonly defined, is inherently essential to our survival. Best evidence is global warming, so a million things to go on there.

I believe these arguments prove we can apply our argument of things being 'precious' to 'non-life', using our 1st postulate and knowledge of the universe, as well as effects of global warming, to prove the 2nd postulate is true too

------------------

If all life is precious, and we grieve, it really starts to raise some 'why' questions, doesnt it?

------------------

3. Homo sapien sapiens are inherently empathetic creatures, and so are other animals that exhibit provable signs of empathy

-Defining empathy is hard. What's hard is that we all know what it feels like to 'experience' empathy, but feelings are hard to communicate. Will come back to this

- It is possible, although not proven, that because of genetic mutations a person might possibly be born without actual empathy.

-Christians call this type of person the anti-christ, a literal spawn of satan. Does the literal spawn of satan exist on earth? We don't know, we haven't proven it yet.

-Ive thought a lot about if my 3rd postulate should be thrown out by basis of example of people being, well. Fucking 'evil' with their actions. People make me sick sometimes.

-But I think it's important to at least acknowledge for arguments sake that a baby cannot be evil. That would be a scary goddamn baby. Humans are not, by 'nature', an 'evil creature'

In case some weirdo says a baby is evil-- It is a fallacy to believe a baby is born evil, because if all 'evil' people should be 'locked up' as I think most people would agree, than believing a baby is evil would make a person argue for locking babies up.

That notion sounds fucking evil to me dude idk about you

--------------

So-- why do humans act evil if they are not born evil? (Such as my hypothetically baby-locking-up person)

--------------

4. Homo sapien sapien's are capable of learning to be 'evil' as basically any point from birth until death, but at varying speeds of learning of course

-I have to define evil now. That's hard. What's even harder is that we all know what evil feels like. I think theres probably a million evil things in the world I can point out. All of those things would be evidence that there is evil in the world, however it would not give us a framework for determining evil

- I'm actually going to come back to this one. I think I'm satisfied, for now, in saying that most people who read this will know, intuitively, what evil feels like

-I guess I should double back and reinforce that my #4 postulate is true by example. Humans are not born evil, but we do see evil humans in the world, therefore, it follows that humans must learn at some point in their life to be evil

‐----------

5. Humans can learn to be 'good'

-Same issue with defining 'good' as with 'evil'. Yatta yatta, we all know what good feels like, I'll finish defining the framework later in the argument & fix this quick explanation later

-If someone doesnt support this notion, than they must also support the notion that 'therapy doesnt work', or more specifically, that there is such thing as a person who is 'untreatable' by therapy

-I do not believe the above is true, that a person 'cant change', and trust me when I say I am soooo confident about this. My proof is by example: "have you ever met a person ever, who didnt change in any way"?

-Because if you have not ever met such a person, as in a person who has never, ever changed their belief once, than there is no evidence by example that any person 'cant change'.

Every person you have ever met, that has changed at least once, is a key bit of evidence in support of postulate #5. Without evidence of people who have never changed, it becomes clear where the majority of evidence lies.

--------------

6. Being efficient is better for society than being non efficient

-i felt weird just writing that down and thinking someone would disagree-- but here we are in the year-of-our-lord-arguing-2024

- I dont feel like justifying this postulate now, but I need to soon because it's one of the pieces of my proof

-evidence by example is the way to go here. If you pick the right examples, it would be really hard for a person to obviously, sensibly tell you that 'more waste' is better than 'less waste'.

‐-----------

7. Collective intelligence is greater than individual intelligence

-mountains of evidence-- democracy being everyone's easiest to think about, if they dont already agree

-heres my thought-experiment evidence:

-"Is it possible, that if we sent a human baby out in space, never to interact with us again, that it would figure out all of scientific thought? Every single advancement in science would be re-created by this baby in a spaceship?"

-"no, that is probably impossible. It is almost certain that baby would die within its first week, and definitely unimaginable to assume this baby would figure out its way back to earth and be the greatest thinker to ever exist"

-I argue that if you believe that an individual always knows better than a collective, you must also support my idea of an evil-genius-spaceship-baby

-that should clear up most dissent to this 7th postulate

---------

---------

Time to get even wilder. I was raised Christian. I am not anymore. Please forgive me for using only Christian terms I'm familiar with for this next discussion. I'm trying to reconcile the ideals of Christians with the ideals of socialism.

I do think most of the Christian ideals are logical, and common sense. That is to say that these ideals reconcile with my overall framework here.

I also think theres a few really toxic parts of Christianity that can be scrutinized, and logically thrown out from our philosophical framework under false assumptions or something else. Lets give it a shot

8. No one, single mortal man is 'God' on Earth

-I define God as any being which is 'absolutely omnipotent, all powerful, and of probably infinite lifespan'

-the idea of jesus doesnt break this argument because, as I believe, the ideology goes that Jesus was not 'God' while on Earth, but merely a mortal man who wanted to join God up above. So if anything, believing in Jesus supports this idea because even that fucker wasnt God either while walking the Earth

-For all of us that, like me, arent Christian, let me explain why I believe this argument is still very true to us

-let me say first that I only became comfortable, personally, with a lot of the reasons for why the bible says what it says about God, only when I thought of it this way

-God isnt real. As in, there is not a literal, physical magical wizard flying in space who can wave a wand and make shit happen.

-God is, in fact, a theoretical ideal of what human enlightenment looks like which was thought up several millenia ago, and has since throughout history been misinterpreted (probably from lack of available evidence), and blended with the ideals of 'Satan', or 'Evil'. And I really think, the more I look at it this way, that the more things make sense.

-When you think of God as being the exact same thing as enlightenment idealogy, it helps our postulate by fitting it with the saying "no one is free until we are all free".

------------

-which is to say, no one mortal man is God on earth until we all can become 'Gods' on earth, i.e. fully, absolutely enlightened

-god how well this framework, just, well... works

- Heaven: conceptual place where enlightened society can exist

- Hell: conceptual place where the anti-thesis to enlightened society exists

-Earth: conceptual place where humans learn to become enlightened

Guys lemme just say now-- its becoming clearer and clearer to me that we can actually disprove all non-enlightment ideals as literally "Satanist", and then argue for our point better than most Christians--because it makes logical sense given the additional information, the collective evidence of science & history, which society holds today

-Most 'bad ideals' that christians have make more sense if you think of the fact that every christian institution has been led by a 'prophet', who nobody can actually prove if they are acting in their own self interest, or 'God's'

-time for another postulate number I think

---------

9. It is impossible to prove that such a person exists on Earth who is acting as a 'sole communicator for God', i.e. a prophet

-people say they are prophets all the time. People lie

-actually, you know who lies best? Satan. Satan lies really really well, according to the Bible.

-theres more here to write about. I think I want to expand on the idea that you can prove that the behaviors of a prophet better aligns with Satanist ideals, than Godly ones, because of the withholding of information that is provable among prophets throughout history

-if a prophet does not provide its collective society with all possible information, than it is a fallacy to accept both the principles of an informed democracy, and also that a prophet for 'God' can exist on Earth

-it is NOT a fallacy to support the ideals of democracy and also that a prophet for 'Satan' does exist and it lies to people and says its supporting 'Godly' notion

-it is also NOT a fallacy to support the notion of a facist dictatorship, and also the idea of a prophet for God existing. Important point here that someone can easily hold these two beliefs and they dont contradict each other, unlike with democracy ideals

-guys I just now understood the holy trinity: God (collective intelligence, logic, absolute truth); Holy Spirit (our very valid feelings about our beliefs); Jesus (individuals more enlightened than us, who teach & bring us closer to God)

-however, as I should point out. I am firmly not a christian. I am ex-mormon. I am trying to reconcile the beliefs of a Christian with my own, by dismissing certain beliefs as fallacy, and redefining what I need to, until it works out

-the way I see it, Ive pretty firmly solidified my own notion, that Chrisitan beliefs are firmly socialist. I read the top of my post and realize I still need to finish all the way back up to Capitalism

---------

END OF FIRST POSTULATE SET

Time for supporting evidence of the 'master postulates' of this theorum. I should point out that these bits of evidence are also, in fact, postulates which much be scrutinized under the same framework. However, I am drawing a line as I think the ones about here are more umbrella postulates, while I'm starting to get more specific

6. Global warming is a urgent, life threatening issue to humans

-I mentioned global warming above, so I realized that yes, a person does need to believe in this idea, as its the biggest supporting evidence of postulate #2, which is a key part of my overall argument

-however, a person does not need to say they agree to global warming 'at first glace'. They only need to agree with global warming when its under the definition I use below

-I define global warming, for the sake of this argument, as "human worsened climate". I really think thats a more accurate framing of the issue at hand with global warming.

-So for my argument I only need someone who can agree both that humans are not optimally living in our environment, as in we are 'harming' our environment, and they agree that this is an issue which is starting to affect us every day (natural disasters from weakening jet stream)

-once all of these

Climate is complex, and no one issues creates everything is does, but it is undeniable to me

[alphaman99]

Leon Francis

one man's OPINION....

My QOTD :

“The only foundation for a useful education in a republic is to be laid in religion. Without this there can be no virtue, and without virtue there can be no liberty, and liberty is the object and life of all republican governments.” -Declaration signer and founding father, Dr. Benjamin Rush

If you're like me, the current trajectory of our Republic, the rejection of God and the openly hostile atmosphere towards Christians is alarming to say the least! And in the span of my brief years, I've witnessed this country, a country founded on Judeo-Christian values, Capitalism, and a republican form of government , slowly embrace many forms of Statism to the point where we now have an openly socialist candidate running for president on the Democratic ticket!

It leaves you scratching your head wondering what the hell happened! The answer to that stares you in the face every morning as you wait at your kids bus stop or drop your child off at school.

I believe that the biggest contributing factor to our slow but steady rejection of our founders dreams of a god-fearing representative republic, and our slow creep towards tyranny is compulsory public education a.k.a. government schools.

Our founders understood that a morally astute populace would reject tyranny, and the virtue of the self governed would see them electing equally morally astute representatives to lead them.

I wonder what they would say if they could see us today?

By underestimating our enemies result, and allowing the moral fabric of our country to decay to such a point as it has we have left our beloved Republic vulnerable!

Think about this for a minute:

1. Getting rid of religion is one of Saul Alinsky’s 12 Rules,

2. Lenin tells us that Atheism is a natural and inseparable part of Marxism,

3. No 17.of The Communist Goals- Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum.

4.No 28.of The Communist Takeover- Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of "separation of church and state."

You see, Our enemies understood what our founders believed to be true, in order to destroy a society and subjugate them,you must first de-Christianize them! That de-christianization happens slowly but daily in our public-school systems. This institution is by design destabilizing and will overtime destroy the moral fabric of our country. And I say by design because from its founders Horace Mann, right down to the architect of Common Core, The folks we entrust our children's education to have been in large part [S]tatist\socialist.

It is the reason why millennial's believe the lefts rhetoric about "separation of church and state".

It is the reason we have our current president, and why the socialist candidate running for president on the Democratic ticket is so popular.

It also explains the hostile atmosphere and open hostility on religious freedoms today.

Despite all of the warnings we received, we have entrusted America's most precious resource to enemies of our republican form of government. If we are not careful and proactive, The country we hand to our progeny will be one where Uncle Sam wears the jackboot of a tyrant…

That's my two cents for today, feel free to add yours…

[biteghost]

Ok first I’m sorry if you get my ask 2 times because honestly I don’t know if the 1 one send sooo …yeah here I go I just want to know if the bonus comic about backlash that you post on your patreon will be post eventually for everyone (public) I’m curious again if you have my ask 2 time just anwser one of them!!! Thank you

All bonus comics are considered Patreon-Exclusives, and are posted only to my Patreon as an extra goodie to thank and reward all my readers who are able to support BACKLASH with $1 a month (or more) pledges on Patreon.

Bonus materials for BACKLASH specifically - like extra comics, process breakdowns and Throwback Thursdays (and many other Patreon-Exclusive posts) - may go public in the future, but not until one or more of the following criteria are met:

1) I make a physical printed edition of BACKLASH and the material is included in the back as bonus pages.

2) BACKLASH ends.

3) I make enough income through Patreon that I can make BACKLASH full-time.

This is not intended to be a punishment for fans who can't pledge to my Patreon. I know that not everyone can financially support my work, and I appreciate all the ways that my readers find to support me whether its by sharing BACKLASH with friends, reading the updates and leaving comments, drawing fanart and writing fanfiction, and all the other incredible and creative ways you all show me you care about my story every day! I don't want anyone to feel obligated to give me money, especially if they cannot afford it. Times are tough for everyone, please do what's best for you.

However, you get a lot of content on my Patreon for very little money. Just $1 every month (even less if you pledge annually - ~$10 for a whole year!) gets you every comic page early, as well as all bonus material I manage to create between pages and my day-job.

If less than one-tenth of my followers here on Tumblr pledged $1 a month to the creation of my comic, I'd be able to surpass all my milestones and making BACKLASH would be my full-time job! I'd have more time and energy to devote to making the comic, as well as extra goodies like illustrations, merch, prints and more.

I make this comic for free, it is free to read and will always be free to read. I use my very precious free time to continue making it without any promise of profits. And I am happy to do that - I love BACKLASH, I love my work and I love telling this story.

But like. I do have to make money somehow. We do live under the thumb of late-stage capitalism and I do have to make my rent and eat every month. Until our socialist agenda is fulfilled and we get UBI in the USA, I will continue to make fun extra goodies to say thank you to those who are able to give me their precious paychecks because they believe in my art.

Thank you for understanding. I will be sure to denote and tag Patreon Exclusive posts more clearly from here on out so as to avoid any future confusion.

Thank you for your continued support, and I'll see you in the next update! 💖☄️

[idontlikeem]

Hi! Love you for taking the time to answer all these hockey questions. Do you think good ol hex will get fired over this season? Do you think we can get it together enough over summer to stand a chance next season? (doom and gloom is unintentional! I just find the business part of this fascinating and I'm curious how 'bad' business strategies affect a team)

<3 goooood question. my thoughts under the cut!

i think if the penguins miss the playoffs, he's absolutely out and they don't let him run the draft—especially if any of these guys he could have gotten (niederriter, chychrun, domi, bjugstad, and no i'm not googling if i'm misspelling any of these names and if i see you calling me a bitch about it i'm blocking you immediately) end up being impactful in the postseason. there's no way you waste one of the last years of sidney crosby's career by not even making the playoffs, in large part because you whiffed the trade deadline that badly.

he may be out anyway. if i were john henry, here are the reasons i would present to him in his exit interview:

you failed to provide us with a written plan for the direction of the team when asked, and did not execute successfully on the plan you claimed was in your head

your management of a franchise icon over the summer was a black mark on our organization's reputation, which impacts our ability to sign premium free agents in the future

your pro scouting abilities have proven to be suspect based on your free agent signings in summer 2022

instead of taking necessary moves to correct those errors in a timely fashion, you waited until the 11th hour to do anything, and you were only partly successful

because you waited so long to attempt to correct your mistakes, along with your unwillingness to fully commit to providing your superstars with a support staff to help them win, you missed out on trade targets that would have not only helped this season (which may as well be a wash), but also for the remaining years of the crosby-malkin era because they're young and cost-controlled

in addition to this, your unnecessary hesitation to make any moves has hampered your ability to field a full roster. the penguins are unable to carry 23 players on the active roster, and it's entirely because of signings and trades you've made

during the summer 2022 free agent fumbles, you failed to address a very obvious and glaring weakness on the team: goaltending, which has been (rightly!) held up as the excuse for failing to progress beyond the first round for the past two years

you are not working with your hall of fame coach to get him what he needs to execute his vision, a vision that the most important people to the organization (sid and geno) are fully bought into

i mean there are more. but that's just what i came up with off the top of my head just now. if i sat and thought about it for longer i'm sure we could have a solid 20 reasons, haha.

as far as getting it together over the summer...yes, things can be fixed, but it will be costly. unloading bad contracts is 100% doable, but it will require draft picks attached, so you're essentially paying twice if it's a player you traded for, and you end up wasting those precious draft picks you tried to hoard anyway.

it will take a young, smart, aggressive GM who's totally bought into analytics and is willing to align his own vision for a team with that of the coach, and isn't scared of spending the draft capital required to fix the team's problems.

there is absolutely no reason to be stingy with picks and very young prospects right now. the only goal should and MUST be winning with sid and geno. it is ridiculous to try and restock the farm now. the penguins are going to be very, very bad for a while once the big three retire, nothing done right now is going to change that or accelerate the rebuild, so you may as well put your honest best effort into going for it, REALLY going for it, every year until they're done. otherwise what's the point of keeping them at all?

of course, all of this depends on if fenway sports group gives enough of a shit about the success of this team beyond its profits to actually do something. jury is still out on that.

[colormepurplex2]

WIP Tag Game

rules: post 3 snippets from published work, and 3 from your wips Thanks @star-my for the tag! I'm looking at you @downbad4yoongi @mrsparkjimin18 @btsgotjams27 and whoever else wants to play! No pressure, just for fun! (If you don't have 3 fics or 3 wips that's ok! Just post whatever!)

Published:

On Wings of Mist & Memories

The golden pin falls from your limp fingers, landing with a soft thud on the ground between your feet. It’s hard to tell whether it’s sweat or tears coating your face. You swipe the back of a trembling hand over your eyes.

“W-why haven’t you...why haven’t you sought out a Psion before th-this?” Your voice warbles, and you have to swallow hard a few times to keep from losing the food you just ate.

It all feels too raw, far too real. You’ve never experienced something so visceral when reading an object. Your body aches. Your cheek burns, even though there is no cut there. There’s a fiery line that feels branded across your stomach. It’s like everything from that day is imprinting itself upon your body with phantom pains.

“Psions are rare. It’s not like I could have requested one from the capital. You’re part of a coveted kind, precious and protected. Had it not been for—“ he pauses, not needing to remind you how you came to be in this encampment. “The important part is you’re here now, and you’ve seen the truth.” Your bleary eyes slide up from where they were gazing at the pin on the ground to land on him. He tugs the bottom of his shirt out from where it’s tucked into the tops of his breeches and then pushes it up to expose his stomach. A long, puckered scar slashes his otherwise pristine skin. “His lightning strike nearly killed me. All because I found out the truth.”

Lights, Camera, Action

Jungkook waves a hand dismissively. “We’ve been friends nearly our whole lives, I’ve seen him far worse than he was tonight. He’s just a bit stressed about work and this new relationship he’s in with one of our other friends. They’re great together but sometimes Jimin gets in his head about dating a childhood friend, worried about messing up the friendship and all that.”

Namjoon hums in understanding. “That can be pretty tricky. New relationships can be like that, even if you’ve known the person for a long time beforehand.” There is a slight nervousness in the way Namjoon speaks, leading Jungkook to take his words with a dual purpose.

“Yeah, tricky,” he agrees, slowly, watching the way Namjoon fumbles to get the door to the upstairs loft open. It’s cute and puts Jungkook at ease, his worry over catching feelings diminishing by the minute. Feelings don’t seem so bad when he really thinks about it. It’s actually pretty nice.

“Hi!” Your smiling face is the first thing Jungkook sees when he steps through the door into your living room. He doesn’t have time to form a thought in response before you fling your arms around his neck and hug him tightly. “Is it weird to say I’ve missed you even though you were here less than twenty-four hours ago?” you ask, your words muffled against his neck.

His arms band tightly around you, soaking up the warmth from your barely covered body. The smooth silk of your tiny nightgown feels good under his hands. Jungkook pinches the fabric just above your ass, rubbing it between his fingers. “Not weird at all,” he finally responds, planting a kiss on your temple.

“Would you like a drink or anything?” Namjoon asks from the kitchen where he’s grabbing a bottle of water for himself.

Jungkook pulls back slightly, running his nose along your jaw and nipping your bottom lip gently. “I’m thirsty, but not for a drink,” his words are for Namjoon but his eyes are focused on you. Finally, he looks over his shoulder at the other man. “Any idea what can help sate my need?”

You watch as Namjoon rolls back his shoulders, chest puffing out slightly. His eyes become calculated and his lips purse before he nods. “I think I might have what you need. But, you have to promise to be on your best behavior. Only good boys get what they want.” Jungkook’s posture stiffens against you momentarily. Then, like he’s been doused in warm water, he relaxes and pulls you closer. Keeping his eyes trained on Namjoon, he leans in and finds your lips with his. It’s an all-consuming kiss, lanced with fire and ice alike. You hear Namjoon chuckle darkly. “And bad boys get punished.”

Till Death Do Us Part

You’d never given much thought to the meaning behind the adage ‘time heals all wounds’, but you think you understand it a bit more now. With time, feelings of sadness and hurt fade. They go away, you eventually move on and feel lighter. It can be both literal and figurative, you suppose.

It’s been a few months now and your body is healed. Healed, but not quite like it used to be. The scars under your shirt are a constant reminder. They’re a road map of smooth ripples and abraded grooves. At first, you hated them, thought they were ugly. Though, as the weeks have drifted by, you’ve grown to love them. Not for the reminder of where they came from, but because they remind you of him. Yoongi. His own scars are not so dissimilar to the ones you now have. It’s weird to feel a sense of gratitude toward the other one. The one who gave you these scars. But, without him, you wouldn’t be where you are now.

The one place you’re finding it hard to decide if that adage holds true is in the figurative way. Are you over the emotional pain? Not yet. It might be too soon to tell, in any case. One day at a time, another adage you’ve tucked away into your now swelling arsenal of trying to heal.

A feather-light kiss presses to your bare shoulder. That helps, too. That always helps.

“You okay?” The voice is a husky, sleep-ladened grumble. “It’s two in the morning, you should be sleeping.”

“Just needed some air,” you respond in kind, turning to look up at him. Standing before you on the balcony of your bedroom, the moonlight catching in his black hair, reflects in his warm eyes. A salty ocean breeze ruffles the strands across his forehead, revealing the scar cut through his eyebrow. It’s hard not to track your eyes over the expanse of his bare chest, your eyes lingering on the scars you put there. They are three little puckered circles, slightly angrier looking than all the others. Though, maybe that’s just your own guilt coloring them. It’s hard to shoot a man, even harder to shoot one you love. But, that’s what you did—what you had to do.

WIPs:

Smoke & Mirrors

ERROR 875 USER 4GU57D NOT FOUND

“Dammit. Where the fuck are you, Yoongi?” Jungkook shoves the computer mouse away in frustration, the blinking error mocking him on the screen. Yanking the power cord from the wall, he severs the modem’s connection. He only uses this computer every few weeks, logging into the program Yoongi set up years ago for him and Jungkook to use. Yoongi told him if things ever went to shit, he could use this program to contact him, regardless of where he was and what he was doing. It was provided with a promise always to try to be there for his little brother. A promise that Yoongi seems to be shirking on now.

It’s been close to eleven months since his brother disappeared. Almost a year of Jungkook trying to contact Yoongi. There are too many unknown factors. No one knows where Yoongi and his wife escaped to or if the two of them are even still alive. Jungkook is trying not to dwell on that possibility. He has enough on his plate in the wake of Yoongi’s absence and Namjoon’s death. He glances at his watch. Speaking of, he’s running late for his date with MiSun.

He knows that date is a loose term, but it seems fitting considering. MiSun works in the kitchen of The Hitman’s estate. She’s been on staff for a few years now, and Jungkook has always found himself smitten with her. He dreams about her smile and the twinkle in her eyes when he slips into the kitchen to dig around for snacks. They laugh together as the head cook, Haewon, shoos him out of the kitchen with a flurry of flapping dish towels and curses.

She’s pretty and gives him a much-needed distraction after coming back from an assignment. The first time he lost himself to her was after a particularly nasty stint in Mexico. He came home spitting fire and seething, intent on drowning himself in a bottle of whiskey. But his father had locked up the liquor cabinet, and Jungkook didn’t want to bother with breaking it open and incurring his father’s wrath. So, he went in search of the wine he knew Haewon kept in the kitchen for cooking. He didn’t care if it didn’t taste great. He just needed to take the edge off.

MiSun had been in the kitchen late, cleaning up after a dinner that required far more dishes than any meal had a right to. Jungkook barreled into the kitchen, nearly causing MiSun to climb into the sink with terror. She had screamed, thrashing so hard with her arms elbow-deep in the sudsy basin that she’d soaked herself to the waist. Jungkook can remember how her black bra stood out so starkly under her drenched, white blouse. He couldn’t look away, couldn’t stop himself from getting lost in something far sweeter than any wine that might be in the cabinet.

In Memory of Him

The cemetery typically closes at sundown, but Taehyung has access as the gardener. When he and Yejun took over Taehyung’s parents' floral shop, they expanded the business to include landscaping for local businesses and establishments. The cemetery is one such establishment they took on. He produces a key from his pocket, unlocking the small pedestrian gate that must have been locked up not too long ago, judging by the sun barely having dipped below the horizon.

“Moojin left about ten minutes before you pulled up,” Taehyung explains casually, confirming the thought you just had. “It’ll just be us so we can take as much time as we need.”

Maybe you should feel bad that Taehyung gives you preferential treatment and access to the cemetery after hours, but it’s hard to care about that when other, darker, feelings have you clutched so tightly. The walk to the columbarium is relatively short, being one of the newer buildings erected within the grounds, just some twenty years ago or so.

“The trees are doing well, even in the winter,” you note, nodding toward the row of young pines along the fenceline. It was one of the last projects Yejun worked on with Taehyung before he became ill.

“He’d be able to tell you all the properties of the tree that make it sustainable during this time of the year,” Taehyung responds, his voice carrying notes of sadness. Yejun doesn’t come up much in conversation between the two of you, most things not needing to be said, merely understood without a spoken word. So, it’s surprising and endearing to actually hear Taehyung talk about him, especially now.

You smile, knowing he’s right. “With enough scientific jargon to make you go cross-eyed trying to keep up, too.”

That earns you a soft laugh from Taehyung. “And he wouldn’t even realize it until you’re so lost you can’t even pretend to have understood.”

“I miss that,” you whisper with a sigh, your warm breath misting lightly in the cold.

Taehyung slips his arm through yours, hooking his elbow around the crook of your arm. “Me, too.”

Knuckle Deep

The door opens, revealing the man inside seated at the small conference table. The fluorescent lighting overhead must be faulty because it’s definitely making this man seem far more attractive than anyone has a right to be. His black hair shines like silk, dark eyes like endless pools of rich chocolate, and his body…well, even from where you’re standing across the room you can tell it’s nice just by the way his clothes fit.

This is definitely a man who knows luxury brands, so it’s fitting he would choose to come into your boutique. His suit is a dark gray with deep red pinstripes, the forward lapels the same deep red. He’s wearing a black turtleneck underneath his jacket, the double buttons in the front undone but you take note of the LV logo embossed on them.

He stands as you enter the room, his hands clasped in front of him. “Thank you for meeting with me,” he states, bowing at the waist. His voice is smooth and sweet like honey.

You bow in return, “Yes, of course. Thank you for choosing my shop,” you glance down at the appointment paper on top of your sketch pad, “Park Jimin. I was told you have an emergency request, how can I help?” You gesture with your free hand to the table for him to resume his seat, the door swinging shut as you move into the room. “Would you like a bottle of water or a seltzer?” you ask, nodding toward the well-stocked minifridge off to one side.

“No, thank you, I’m fine.”

You smile politely, taking a seat across from him and setting your things on the table.

“My name is—”

“I know who you are,” he interrupts you with a smirk. He casually places his hands on the oak tabletop, your eyes are drawn to the multiple rings adorning his slender fingers, rings that you recognize. “As you can see, I’ve been a collector of yours for quite some time. You produce exquisite work.”

His praise makes up for the rudeness of interrupting you. You don’t mind a little ego-stroking, in fact, you thrive off of it. “They look good on you,” you remark, a pleasant smile spreading across your face. He’s wearing some of the most expensive pieces you’ve ever made. The double-banded rhodium ring encrusted with chips of moonstone and onyx is one of your favorites. It sits prettily just below the second joint of his index finger, right next to the thick band of roped silver adorning his middle one. You tear your eyes away from his hands, away from the rounded knuckles that hold your work so well. “What is it that you’re looking to add to your collection?” you ask, flipping open your sketchbook and pulling a pencil from the pouch.

Smoke & Mirrors and In Memory of Him are both relatively new but Knuckle Deep is going on 2 yrs sitting in my WIPs...oops 😭

[minorpenaltyfordiceaddiction]

So I started GMing a new Pathfinder 2e campaign last night and I figured I'd put a synopsis and other fun stuff here. We spent about the first hour struggling with our Forge VTT(the product is great, I'm just a noobie with it so it took a few tries to get things right) The map above is made in Inkarnate btw, another product I highly recommend for GMs or someone doing world building.

For starters the world is a nameless one that I honestly just refer to as the Continent right now for lack of a better term. I have about 300 pages of google docs and maps built out for this world that I started creating over quarantine in 2020. The name of this campaign arc is titled "Frost Barley" because of a tough strain of crops that has been developed here in the north of the Blodrake Kingdom(1/3 of the powers in the land). This new influx of money and capital to the area has also caused an influx of raiders, bandits, and others looking to take advantage. The party arrived in the town of Winterrane Plains(above), and were introduced to the Frostbreath Outriders(Think part knights watch, part mercenary company, part riders of Rohan) and drafted into their Auxiliary.

The party is as follows; the first to arrive was Arric, an Strix Gunslinger riding a horse sized chicken with twin pistols on his hips. The next to arrive was Steve, a mage covered head to toe in wrapped bandages and with a strong desire towards gold and other precious metals. The next to arrive was Derron Kewn Tanunuv(points to anyone who can figure out the name) who is "half orc and half badass from the town of Gold's Gym" a monk who put all his skill points into the lore:war skill but is still pretty handy with his orcish knuckle daggers. Next to arrive was Dyaven, a human magus with a combination gun-sword, a trenchcoat, and a bad attitude. Finally it was Najela Chestertail's turn to arrive, she was wearing a blue sailors coat and wielding a long curved sword covered in rings that made quite the racket.

After meeting the lord of the Outriders and eating a simple dinner, the members of squad 20 headed to Peter's Shop in the main square of town and purchased some winter clothing so that they were better equipped to deal with the punishing conditions of the winter. The mission they had received was to head to Underlake Farm and make sure the Underlake family was alright and didn't need for anything.

The session ended with the squad about to head into the Slumbering Den, the only bar and inn in the town to grab a drink.

We'll see what the next session will bring, but as a seasoned GM I know to always have stats for a bar fight prepared.

[pickingwinkles]

I've been tagged by @highponeystoney Thanks friendo!

1. Are you named after anyone? My maternal grandfather. yep I have nothing wittier to say

2. When was the last time you cried? Hmm. Today. I watched some people watch Return of the King on youtube (because that is the way in which i have chosen to fritter away my precious little time on earth) and I cried when they cried when they realised Frodo was leaving for the undying lands. basically i will cry any time i see anyone else cry even if i don't know what they're crying about. why aren't my sentences auto-capitalising on my laptop? Must I do everything myself? I am not cool enough to have non-capitalised sentences.

3. Do you have kids? I'm just going to go ahead and copy paste @highponeystoney 's answer here. No. Nor I do I wish to have any. Never had any desire. *waves to all the busy-bodies who told me I'd change my mind when I'm older*

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot? It depends who I'm with... there are plenty of people who just don't do sarcasm and I will pop it neatly aside for them. But I'm an Xennial and an Australian, it's kind of in my make-up. You didn’t survive teen-hood in the 90s without developing the skill of sarcasm. Also my sister used to call me Darlene (after the character in Roseanne) and I was obsessed with Daria. Make of that what you will.

5. What's the first thing you notice about people? Faces. General facial area. Mostly their chin or mouth because that's where I look so I can understand what they're saying

6. What's your eye color? Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrown

7. Scary movies or happy endings? Depends. I don't like jump scare horror movies, but I like to be scared. The best ones for me never show the horror and good ones of those are few and far between. I can take or leave a happy ending. I prefer a justified ending

8. Any special talents? I can play the nose flute

9. Where were you born? Melbourne baby! In Australia, not that Florida nonsense. So, just 20 minutes ago I was looking up airports and typed in MEL--you know, our airport code because we got it first because we are the best Melbourne--and Melbourne fucking Florida kept coming up first! Excuse moi! One: we are an actual state capital and two: just no. No offence to Florida Melburnians, love ya

10. What are your hobbies? *sigh* Reading, walking, crochet, doodling, playing drums, learning, painting, needle-felting, sewing, cross-stitch and aaaaaall the other things with all the supplies in all the drawers... i just like making stuff okay

11. Have any pets? My kitty cat. She cute

12. What sports do you/have you played? Sometimes I wish I still played something, or had someone to play tennis or something with. At school I played in the volleyball, (field) hockey, and soccer teams. Oh and I was a pretty good high-jumper too… until everyone else grew taller than me. In my own time I used to play tennis, played lawn bowls a few times, and sniffed around the local croquet club. And I've done a few short (5km) runs with so-called friends who made me run. Horrific. Hate running. Actually it was kinda fun running around the zoo...

13. How tall are you? I 163cm last time the doctor checked

14. Favorite subject in school? Art, English, Maths and Science

15. Dream job? Mate, if I haven't figured it out by now I never will. I don't know. The most motivated I am is doing things for other people (literally anything... false. almost anything) and faffing about making things look pretty. So something that combines those.

I was going to tag people... and I'm still too scared to tag people. Look, I am a socially anxious nightmare okay. Just, do the thing if you got down this far and you want to do the thing, yeah? And feel free to let me know if you like to be tagged to do these things, or tag me to say you did it if you like. Not that I get many but you know, if I do. I've lost track of what I'm saying. How did my battery drop down so fast? I gotta get a snack.

[jollywonderlandgalaxy]

The Leading Restaurants for Standard Greek Food near Me

Are you craving some tasty standard Greek food? Look no further! In this post, we will take you on a culinary journey through the best dining establishments that serve authentic and mouthwatering Greek meals. Whether you're a regional or a traveler looking for an extraordinary dining experience, these premier establishments will not disappoint. So, let's dive into the world of traditional Greek cuisine and find the surprise gems that are just around the corner!

The Richness of Conventional Greek Food

Before we embark on our quest to discover the top restaurants for traditional Greek food near you, let's very first explore the richness and uniqueness of this precious cuisine. Greek food is renowned for its fresh components, vibrant flavors, and basic yet scrumptious dishes that have restaurants near me actually been given through generations.

From mouthwatering moussaka to succulent souvlaki, standard Greek dishes showcase a perfect balance of Mediterranean flavors. Olive oil, feta cheese, tomatoes, and herbs such as oregano and thyme are essential ingredients in lots of Greek dishes. The mix of these components produces an unified mix of tastes that will transfer your taste directly to Greece.

So, if you're prepared to start a gastronomic adventure filled with scrumptious tastes and genuine Greek hospitality, let's start exploring the leading restaurants near you!

Traditional Greek Pubs in Athens: A Cooking Delight

Athens, the lively capital city of Greece, is a paradise for food lovers. Here you can discover an abundance of traditional Greek taverns that use a wide variety of mouthwatering dishes. Whether you're strolling through the historical Plaka area or checking out the busy Monastiraki square, you'll never be too far away from a remarkable dining experience.

1. Taverna O Kostas

Located in the heart of Athens, Taverna O Kostas is a surprise gem loved by locals and tourists alike. This traditional Greek tavern is known for its exceptional souvlaki, a traditional Greek dish including grilled skewered meat, usually served with pita bread and tzatziki sauce. The tender and juicy meat integrated with the flavorful herbs and spices will leave you craving for more.

Address: Plateia Agias Eirinis 2, Athens

2. Psaras Taverna

If you're looking to enjoy your meal with spectacular views of the Castle, Psaras Taverna is the location to be. Located in the attractive Plaka community, this conventional Greek tavern uses a large range of seafood dishes that will tantalize your taste. From fresh grilled fish to succulent octopus, every bite is a celebration of the sea.

Address: Erechtheos 16, Athens

3. Ta Karamanlidika Tou Fani

For a really authentic experience, head over to Ta Karamanlidika Tou Fani. This special facility integrates a deli with a pub, providing visitors a chance to delight in elegant treated meats and standard Greek delicacies. From mouthwatering pastourma (air-dried beef) to creamy feta cheese, every bite at Ta Karamanlidika Tou Fani is a testimony to the rich cooking heritage of Greece.

Address: Sokratous 1, Athens

Traditional Greek Taverns near Me: Exploring Beyond Athens

While Athens is undoubtedly a food fan's paradise, there are lots of other cities and towns in Greece that boast extraordinary standard Greek pubs. Let's take a journey beyond the capital city a

[cavefilllingcorporation]

Export Log for 6/30/2024-7/6/2024

We have officially caught up with the Anti-Project Plan, meaning that processing of the materials we have acquired will begin this week! We do have a question for you guys, which will be asked tomorrow. This question refers to something relating to the Inferno Project, and will be the first time you will be able to help the course of the company.

First, with many of our employees waiting on the Inferno Project to start, many chose to go to the Storytime dimension and help boost its productivity. We have a major announcement to make regarding that world, but as mentioned in the quarterly report, we're going to make that its own announcement. What we can say though is that we did have many exports from that world, and we can list them here (Not only that, but we can expect another export run this week as well):

51 Crates of Marble

7 Crates of Plamsa

33 Crates of Quartz

1 Crate of Feathers

3 Crates of Gravel

26 Crates of Porkchops

47 Crates of Charcoal

3 Crates of Sulfur

160 Crates' worth of materials were extracted, and then were processed. Thanks to the renewed effort for dealing with Default, we are expecting to have Warehouse clearing every week, thus increasing our efficiency. Thanks to this efficiency, we have managed to create a perimeter around the central capital, a place of commerce which contains lots of buildings, and lots of loot. Included in this perimeter were the Event Lockers, a sacred place where individuals would randomly receive goods from those above, oblivious of the suffering of their alternate selves to earn those rewards. The Lockers were gilded in gold, gemstones and valuable metals, as well as having loot inside of them. The materials also include the materials gathered from last week, which were not fully cleared last week, and thus clearing was started this week as well, including the gilded armor and weapons from the Arena. Thus there were a lot of valuable materials traded when the Warehouses were cleared.

The exported goods include:

17 Crates of Oil

3 Crates of Quartz

41 Crate of Marble

And then for the wealth that was the significant sold goods:

5 Crates of Sulfur 11.5 Crate of Gravel 30 Crates of Glass 2 Crates of Plamsa 17 Crates of Stone 4 Crate of Monster Eyes 3 Crates of Serpentine stone 1 Crate of Cursed Stone 3 Crates of Fertilizer 2 Crate of Yarn 1.5 Crates of Leather 3 Crate of Charcoal 1 Crate of Bricks 3 Crates of Coal 7.5 Crates of Copper 2 Crates of Semi-precious gemstones 2.5 Crates of valuable gemstones 1 Crate of Colbalt 3 Crates of Steel 1 Crate of Gold 1 Crate of Cursed Soil 3 Crates of Granite 15 Crates of Concrete mix 7.5 Crates of Soil 19 Crates of Magic Crystals 24 Crates of Stone 1 Crate of Ink 0.5 Crates of Feathers 1 Crate of Glue 1 Crate of Lava

Lots of diamonds were also traded, as well as precious metals. This was enough to acquire 2 dragons. We already have a large amount of dragons already, and we suspect that the wealth of the world could be worth hundreds' of dragons worth, hence the need to continue rather than just abandon the world.

Finally, there was C8H. While the team couldn't get everything they wanted to get, as by the protocol instated by the Anti-Project Plan, the team did go out and fill the warehouses with goods. Specifically, 95 Crates were scavenged and brought in. This and others will be cleared this week, as we begin working on the profits from the side projects. The idea is that this week we shall work on the Side projects, next week the profits from the Solar Isles, and then we shall go ahead and work on the Inferno Project itself.

Now onto the Side Projects. First, the Atmosphere clearing project has increased to 544 sectors cleared, making the cleared percentage 27.2%. The Archeological teams are also doing well. Finally, we finished both Summer themed events, and have acquired a ton of commissions. They include:

2 Small commission sets

170 Normal Commissions

25 Full-Sized Commissions

1 Medium commission set

24 "Timed" Commissions

And that is it for this week. This next week will be really interesting regarding the profit gaining from the Inferno Project and whatnot. We hope you are looking forward to it as much as we are.

[umichenginabroad]

Week 7: An Irish St. Patty’s

Hello everyone!! Welcome back to this week’s Prague blog, I have to post it late but all the content was written the week of. This week was awesome, with the exception of a couple slip ups in our apartment. As usual, feel free to jump to sections that are interesting to you, hope you all enjoy! 

Architecture Tour

This week we had our architecture tour at Karlovo Náměstí (Charles Square), built to be the largest square in Europe, and held this title for nearly four centuries. This square, named after Charles IV, served as a public meeting place for Europeans. Charles IV was a visionary who tried to move the center of Europe to Bohemia, with Prague as the capital. In the Middle Ages, it held some of Prague’s most precious relics, like a piece of Christ’s cross and the bones of Mary Magdalene. In the 17th century, however, Prague lost its prominence. The Habsburgs moved their throne to Vienna, and Karlovo Náměstí was transformed into a cow market. Finally, during 19th century urbanism, the square was transformed into a park. Yet, it still bears the name of its founder, Charles, and of a square (Náměstí).

Within the square lies many significant religious and architectural sites that were built in transitional periods of architectural style. The New Town Hall Tower is a gothic tower built in the mid-1400s that served as a place for meetings of administrators in the Middle Ages. It was also the site of Prague’s first defenestration, where people were thrown out of a window, which actually happened a couple times in Prague’s history!

The Church of Saint Ignatius is a remarkable baroque church dedicated to Ignatius, the founder of the Jesuits, who were an important part of the Catholic revival in Prague known for their spirituality and academic institutions. This church was built in the mid-1600s, at the beginning of the baroque period so it features both renaissance and baroque style. The building itself is a rectangular pyramid shape, a prominent characteristic of renaissance buildings, similar to that of many Ancient Greek and Roman temples. Its facade, however, is decorated in baroque features: highly colorful, rich ornamentation, and a balcony containing statues of Jesus and his disciples. On the interior there are tons of statues, figures, and frescoes that appear to be moving. This is typical of baroque to be characterized as dynamic, and this style was often used to celebrate the church community, or societas perfecta (“perfect society”).

Finally, we saw the Faustův dům, a baroque mansion also known as the “devils house” for its linkage with 16th-century alchemists, the legend of Dr. Faust, and black magic. It was built in the gothic period, but was profoundly redesigned in the transition period from renaissance to baroque, giving the building a new colorful, ornamental facade. 

Chat GP-Bust

In one of my classes, many students have been flagged for cheating on our weekly canvas quizzes. While I myself don’t use Chat GPT to write my FRQ responses, many people use it to brainstorm (which is fair in my opinion) and others to write the whole thing. Unfortunately, now we are going to have to take the quizzes in person, which sucks because they’re on ~20 pages of article content. Wish us luck..

Lékárna Visits

This past summer, I spent 6 weeks in South Africa and had the opportunity to experiment with natural supplements for my physical and mental health, recommended by locals. Whether it was a placebo effect or not, I believe a select few really helped my mental health and overall well being. I continued to take 3 of them throughout the semester, but didn’t bring any to Prague. Being in a completely new environment is challenging in itself, but I’ve been struggling more than normal to pick myself out of a slump. So, I went on the hunt for anything familiar to add to my daily routine. It took nearly four Lékárny, or Czech pharmacies, and a lot of google translate (shout out to the camera feature) until I found some magnesium (good for sleep and heart function) and ashwagandha (helps manage stress hormones). I’ve been taking them a couple days now and have noticed improvements in my sleep and mood, which I’m grateful for.

Jumpscares @ Slezská

We’ve reached the dreaded time where the shared space in our apartment got too gross to handle, a few too many times. I returned from this weekend to the sink being clogged and filled to the rim with dishes, food scraps, and murky water (I’m sparing you readers by not posting photos). It’s also worthy to mention that the trash overflowed and there were no clean utensils. Not wanting to put the blame on anyone in particular, I sent a text in the group chat reminding everyone to clean up after themselves and their guests. I’m pretty messy myself, but this was a whole new level of filthiness and it’s been happening often. 

Now, it gets worse. Because our 4x4ft shower smells like we're getting infused with cancer and sulfur inside of it, most of my roommates opt to use the bath shower instead. I prefer to shower twice a day, and because the bath shower is our main bathroom, most of the time I just use the gross one so I don’t hold people up from getting ready in the mornings/evenings. Well a couple days ago I was showering before Leadership and I saw a massive spider crawling at me. Helpless as one could be, I scream and do not take my eyes off of it until I’m out of the small space. I know what you’re thinking, why be scared of a spider if you’re bigger than it, it can’t harm you. I’m well aware arachnophobia is irrational, tell that to the fear receptors in my brain. I’m terrified of spiders. And just when I recovered, it happened again… the very next day… and it was a different spider. So that door remains closed now, which I guess is okay because the foul smell used to drift throughout the apartment. But, now all 6 of our roommates on very similar schedules have to all share the main bathroom. And we don’t even have a shower, just a bath. I’m not happy.

Wednesday Yoga

On a more positive note, every Wednesday a yoga instructor comes to our school and leads a 1hr vinyasa session. I’ve practiced yoga with my mom at home for years, and it’s one of my favorite ways to relieve stress. Yoga, supplemented with consistent strength training, has also helped me regain my balance, strength, and flexibility after tearing my ACL last year. At IFSA, it’s the same group of 8 students that attend each week so we’ve gotten to know the instructor pretty well; she’s always open to recommendations or any poses we want to practice that day. I’m thrilled because this week I finally learned how to properly do a headstand, something I’ve always been too intimidated to try in a class at home!

An Irish St. Patty’s

Obviously we had to go to Dublin for St. Patrick’s Day and it totally lived up to the hype! Dublin itself was just awesome, a huge urban city surrounded by a ton of greenery and water. Alisha, Mihika, and I booked our tickets back in November as soon as we got into the program, prior to even booking our flights to Prague. Because of this, we didn’t know our class schedule so we booked a late flight Friday evening which got delayed and we didn’t end up getting into Dublin until midnight. We booked a hotel near the city center, but one of our guy friend’s accommodations for the weekend fell through, so we snuck them into our room, squeezing 5 of us into a 2 person room. We found an extra set of pillows under the bed so it honestly could’ve been worse, we set the two guys up on the floor and shared the bed. We’re all super good friends now, that’s for sure! 

We woke up early Saturday and went to the Guinness Museum. I wasn’t expecting to like Guinness because I don’t like beer in general but it was one of the better ones I’ve tried, which apparently is an unpopular opinion. Maybe it’s because they taught us how to chug it there which masked most of the taste, but hey if it works, it works. See my G split below.

Afterwards, we went to a pub to watch the big rugby game between Ireland and Wales, and ended up getting a super authentic experience of the local rugby culture. It was packed to the brim, but we befriended a group of Irish kids around our age who let us take their table. The energy was awesome and all eyes were on the tens of big screens streaming the game. At night, every bar had lines out the door which was expected the day before the holiday. Alisha studied here one summer, so she knew the good spots and we waited in an incredibly long line for Bad Ass bar but eventually got in. For those who don’t know, Dublin is known for its live music. It’s my favorite part of the city, hands down. And when I tell you the band did not miss once Saturday night, I mean it. We made friends with a group who left us their table right next to the stage, and I shamelessly scream sang along to every lyric. Bonus points for me leaving with the instagram of the lead singer… proud moment!

If you’re reading this and you haven’t gone abroad yet, duly note that Dublin will be facey. We didn’t get tickets to Dicey’s (~$100) which is the bar most Michigan students went to, but we still managed to see a decent amount of Michigan people and kids from my hometown.

Now for some ins and outs.

Ins:

Spicy gelato, anyone? One nightly excursion to Crème de la Crème, we found the workers waging bets on if anyone could finish a cup of their Chili Lime sorbet. Supposedly only one customer had been able to do it so far, so Brandon, Lydia, and I, bold as we are, asked to sample it. Full disclosure, I kinda liked the flavor, but I understood the hype because it burned tf out of my throat for sure. However, I would never advise anyone to bet against me finishing any sort of ice cream, and I’ll always bet on myself. So I took up the challenge, and let’s just say it was the easiest free scoop I’ve ever earned in my life. Jaws on the floor all around me, it was hilarious. They gave me a discounted cone afterwards as a reward. See if you can spot the flavor in the image below!

Live music: Dublin’s live music scene was one of the greatest things I’ve ever experienced. Great energy, pure joy, incredible vibes all around. Extra shout out to the band at Bad Ass, you guys never missed and thanks for taking all our recs <3

Local public transport: It’s always a pain to figure out how each city’s local transportation works at first, but I stand by it paying off to buy a local transportation pass for the weekend. Especially when it’s rainy and you have places to be!

Outs:

Citizen taxes: Most cities have what’s called a “citizen tax” where they charge you at your accommodation based on the number of people who are staying with you. We avoided this by sending Alisha to check into our room while hiding in the lobby, but in many other places when prompted for your passports at check-in, they’ll charge an extra fee per person.

Is Dublin in the EU or not? So we actually never found a concrete answer to this question… maybe we’re stupid. When we looked it up, we found that Northern Ireland is part of the UK, but not Dublin or the rest of Ireland. We had to fly out of the “international” terminal and go through customs, so we assumed it wasn’t in the EU. Comment below if you know what Dublin is a part of lol

Buses may depart early: I’ll never understand why buses or any form of public transportation would do this, but our bus departed like 10 minutes early from the stop we were supposed to get on at. These buses run every couple of hours so we had to buy a ticket for a different line to make it to the airport on time. How rude.

Thanks for reading, catch you next week!

Na schle,

Reese Liebman

Computer Science and Engineering

Institute for Study Abroad (IFSA) CS Tech Career Accelerator in Prague, Czechia

[eraluxewatches]

Luxury Watches: A Timeless Investment Piece for Your Collection

If we talk about evolution, humankind has achieved many things ever since life originated. There were days when there was no concept of time and no one knew that there are 24 hours in a day. The first ever clock was invented by Peter Henlein in 1542, since then watches have become an integral part of all our lives.

Be it the time on your smartphone, the watch on your wrist, or one of the best luxury watches in the world, we cannot keep ourselves apart from this ticking time bomb. One of the most common formats of keeping track of time is by wearing watches.

You can not keep your digital gadgets with you all the time but you can always keep your watch with you. Over the decades watches have become more than just a necessity. Watches are a fashion symbol for some and a daily accessory for others, it is an investment and collection of goods.

In this article, we are going to talk about why people invest their money in luxury watches. If you are someone who wants to start collecting such watch pieces for your collection then read the article till the end. So let’s get started!

Why Should You Invest In The Best Luxury Watches?

For watch enthusiasts luxury watches are not just a passion it’s also a form of investment. It’s a status of class, a symbol of success and achievement for them.

Under this section of the article read about why you should put your money into luxury watches:

1. It Adds Value To Your Collection

Premium timepieces with a strong build from well-known brands can retain or even increase in value. Certain limited-edition and older versions have become valuable as collectors' hot commodities.

2. Brand Recognition and Prestige

Having a high-end watch indicates your refined taste and admiration for the finest piece. In both personal and professional contexts, it is a useful accessory that subtly conveys your commitment to quality.

3. Durability and Longevity

Best luxury watches are made to last long. To guarantee they stay in top operating shape for many years, they frequently include guarantees and servicing options. That means you do not need to waste your time and money frequently for their maintenance, just simple care and cleaning is enough for such good quality watches.

4. Functional Features

Numerous high-end timepieces possess sophisticated functions and intricacies, such as water resistance, perpetual calendars, and chronographs, augmenting their usefulness and adaptability.

5. Personal Connection

For some people buying some of the best luxury watches is a form of joy, satisfaction, and a symbol of achievement. Who doesn’t like to wear a luxury peace every day to add extra charisma to their personality, Right?

6. Portable Asset

Luxury watches for men are like a portable asset. They can carry this collectible asset with them wherever they go or store it in a safe place.

7. Alternative Investment

Luxury watch investments have greater returns than precious metals like gold and silver. While gold and silver are some of the best forms of investments. Luxury watches have shown returns that are 12 times higher than silver and four times higher than gold in the market.

8. Diversification

Investing in a luxury watch is a way to diversify your investment portfolio. It is not all your eggs in one basket, and the saleability of some luxury watch brands makes this a more liquid asset.

9. Tax-Free Investment

In the UK, watches are exempt from capital gains tax, which makes them an attractive investment for those looking to avoid or minimize tax liabilities. So next time you want to gift your wife something you can always go to the collection of luxury watches for women.

10. Investment of Passion

Luxury investments, including watches, are often referred to as investments of passion. They are not just about the potential for financial gain but also about the enjoyment of owning a beautifully crafted, high-quality timepiece.

If you are someone who wants to start your journey of watch collection then good luck to you. But also you do not need to go out of your pockets to buy one. Many brands offer luxury watches at affordable prices and Eraluxe is one of them.

Let’s Understand What Is Luxury Watch Market

When you see a luxury watch, have you ever thought about why it is so expensive? Well, multiple factors decide the watch price and make it costly. Here are some of the major factors:

● Luxury watch brands only hire skilled artisans who know how to manually assemble each component. This way they maintain the highest level of precision and quality.

● Every brand has its unique feature that makes its watches appealing and expensive. It could be the mechanical movements. Sometimes it's all about the design and the precision and time it takes for the assembly of each part to achieve the right accuracy and reliability.

● A brand tag/ name also affects the price of a watch. Whether it’s a known brand or a popular one it also carries a legacy for its innovation, quality, and prestige that one needs to pay for.

● Trust me when we say this, watch-making does take a lot of R&D, marketing, and other overhead costs. These expenses when added to the watch are also factored into the price of luxury watches.

● No best luxury watches get ready on their first trial. It takes time and a lot of resources to invest in research and development. The cost of prototyping and testing is something that also gets added to the final price of the watch

● Best luxury watches have their exclusive manufacturing processes for limited editions. This way they can keep control of the product's quality and contribute to higher prices.

If we see it from an economic standpoint, if a watch is rare and bought from a bid brand, its market price will keep increasing with time. That’s why brands launch their limited edition at such a whopping price.

Conclusion

Luxury watches aren't just for telling time anymore. They've become valuable investments that can make your collection even better. These fancy watches show off the skill and prestige of the brands that make them. They're built to last a long time, often coming with warranties and ways to keep them in top shape.

Best luxury watches use special materials like gold and platinum, making them even more special. They also have super detailed mechanical parts that make them super accurate. Some can even do cool things like track the date forever.

Buying the best luxury watches isn't just about enjoying them yourself; they can also make you money over time. As they get older, their value can go up, making them a smart addition to your investments. Plus, wearing one can make you look extra cool and successful.

Whether you're already a big collector or just starting, luxury watches are a great way to invest in something you'll love. There are so many different brands, styles, and features to choose from, so there's something for everyone. If you want a watch that's beautiful, practical, and might make you some money, think about getting a luxury one.

Hence hope after reading this article now you know why one collects luxury watches. Also, do not forget to check the Eraluxe luxury watches for women and men collection. You do not need to break banks to buy luxury watches, which is what Eraluxe believes and promotes through their affordable luxury watches.