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bones-weary · 1 month ago

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November 18 — The Character Tour

Over the course of his long life and undeath, Bones has been to every corner of the world--multiple times in many cases. As the years dragged on into decades into centuries, memories of those places and their occurrences have faded and melded together. When he hears the name of a place, some memories may surface.

Memories of the United States are loud and punchy. Bustling city streets with buskers and yelling. A brawl in a speakeasy. Whooping targets and beating hoofprints on the desert rock. Low vibrations of an unheard sermon. Would God ever forgive him? He once made a smoked briskit with roasted potatoes and a tangy sauce.

Memories of Brazil are colorful and fleeting. Following tracks in the wet mud of the dense jungle. Mist from a waterfall obscuring his vision. Live music floating through an opened window as he vent the stove. He once marinated a duck in tupuci sauce topped with cashews.

Memories of Egypt are distinct, a singular moment where freedom was realized. Roaming the marketplace with careful eyes. Meeting a familiar face and the shocked disgust of another. Dark tendrils lashing from the shadows, the final cry of a dying animal. The rites performed. He made his accomplice ful medames with hot pita bread.

Memories of China are vague and longstanding. Busy streets and seas of people. Cautious navigation as to not draw the ire. An escaped target, but the one that would complete him. He once made a char siu in a glaze with vegetable fried rice.

Memories of Russia are humbling and turning. Crunching footfalls in snowy steppes, the wind and ice slicing all visibility. A singular cottage devoid of warmth but brimming with laughter. Falling to knees, an admit of defeat. Forgiveness unearned. He made a hearty and thick rabbit stew, though it remained uneaten.

Memories of Romania are burned into him as did the home of the innocents, their blood staining the wood as it turned to ash. Countless victims over countless decades, until another couldn't be brought. A roaring crowd, voices numerous, followed by silence. The night it all happened, he'd made them a sour meatball soup, much of which went cold.

Memories of Germany are violent and turbulent. A hunter's first kill, messy and unclean. Tearing and ripping and gouging and gouging and gouging. An art perfected over years of practice, but the initial stain never washing from his breast pocket. He once made a spatzle to go alongside saubraten lamb. It was unusually rare.

Memories of the United Kingdom are ancient and modern, mixed undetermined. The first time he stepped foot on the polished wood of a ship and the metal interior of an airplane. Meeting a crew just beginning a journey that had long boiled him down to nothing. The opening of the doors to a new life. A family of misfits. Just yesterday he made banana pancakes topped with blueberry maple sauce and a fruit mix.

Memories of Spain are bittersweet and nostalgic. Once the stage for his greatest triumph, a meal for the divine right of kings, whose power seemed insurmountable and eternal. It's a McDonalds last he saw. It had been unending with course after course, but all applauded the arrez con leche, mixed with orange and cinammon and topped with a fine layer of sweet milk.

Memories of France are numerous and sensational. The smell of the lavender fields. Burned flesh on the family stove. Soft fur of the barn cat on his fingertips. Sweet nectar and air filling his lungs as their lips part. The taste, the taste, the taste of foods--any foods, all foods, a love and passion imprinted on a tongue that would one day be haunted with ghosts of flavor.

It is at this point where the memories become too much.

And Bones returns to his work.

#swynwrimo #swynwrimo2024 #i liked the idea of this more than the execution but we tried something new!!

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jade-of-mourning · 4 years ago

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whaddup i’m lychee :> you might know me as salixys (carthaginian_berries) on ao3 or youtube. i draw sometimes and write other times and i really wish i had a life, but i couldn’t find one in the soup store and i don’t know where else to look. my main characteristic is that i like sharks, and my only other characteristic is the frequency of which i Think about doing things and Don’t. please feel free to drop an ask about anything, and please reblog if you like my stuff!

my current interests include (but are not limited to):

| boku no hero academia | the dragon prince | brotherband chronicles |

see you on the left side of hell!

here’s some other actually relevant information about me:

- call me lychee or sal… any pronouns are okay

- currently in college

- chinese/taiwanese; i live in the us

- dm me for discord

- i don’t mind fic or art requests/prompts in my inbox; however unless i’ve specifically asked for them, the likelihood that i’ll follow through is terrifically low

- i rarely actively ship but i also rarely actively dislike a ship. you can ask my opinions on anything

- i don’t avidly partake in fandom for the most part (ra/bb excluded), but i tend to lurk. a lot.

some media i’ve enjoyed in recent times:

- avatar: the last airbender / the legend of korra

- ranger’s apprentice / brotherband chronicles

- boku no hero academia (i’ve read the manga but not watched the anime)

- the dragon prince

- infinity train

- houseki no kuni (i’ve watched the anime but not read the manga)

+ a lot of music — some favorites include the format/fun., car seat headrest, aimee mann, bandanabloom, black country new road, glass beach, kero kero bonito, alvvays, acetone, zalinki

+ some irrelevant information:

- i’ve been playing piano since i was five, did some flute when i was ten or something, and have been playing mallets since i was twelve. currently marimba rehearsal soloist in college!

- spotify / last.fm

- went through a massive imagine dragons phase when i was twelve so i know way too much about them and Can 100% infodump you. 2008 imagine dragons demos = superior

- i like dragons and drawing dragons but have no inspiration anymore ahaha (i was a wings of fire kid: the og fandom hellscape for me)

- i was also a scratch kid. it defined my internet behaviour, probably. hit me up if you were also on that website from 2015-2018 lmfao

- also sony sketch talk to me if you were a sony sketch person haha

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gnostic-heretic · 7 years ago

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Also other thing that is semi related to this but I have to say it to someone. For years I see people saying that Hetalia is dying bla bla bla support artists, support writers etc etc but in my opinion it's not dying bc there are always new people coming BUT it's completely stagnated. Hetalia has the capacity to attract people but very rarely can keep them interested for a long time (cont)

Bc there's this mentality of 'quick works are good but often more detailed stuff is ignored' especially on fanfics. How are people supposed to keep being interested if more serious and detailed stuff are being overlooked? Don't get me wrong both are fine but there should be a balance between both and not dismiss one of them. Hell I like when my memes are reblogs I laugh a lot with them but I wish that my fics that I worked hard on had the same attention (cont)

And i'm sure others would too. Idk where I'm trying to get here but I think that the fandom has potential that is not being used bc damn it after 11 years people are still coming so there are very attractive factors going on here but there's no power to retain people why? More support on both styles of work could help imo but that's me

@aph-belarusia

i’m making another post because i’m gonna get long and i don’t think replies are the most comfortable way to have a conversation...

i agree with you like, whenever people call hetalia a dead fandom i always roll my eyes because ... y’all... i’ve been in fandoms made of like ten people. these kids have NO IDEA what a dead fandom is dhsjfh but while it’s not dead i think there are a few issues, namely

some people are afraid to reblog hetalia because the anime/fandom has a bad reputation. i can’t count the number of likes i get on my works from people who do not seem to be into hetalia at all at first glance... and i always wonder if it’s a mistake but after i see the same non-hetalia person liking my posts... twice... four times... ten times it’s obvious that it’s no coincidence here. i do not think that the fandom’s attitude to self degrade and joke about how horrible and problematic and embarrassing hetalia is helps at all. if we content creators and fandom in general started talking positively about hetalia, and owned the fact that we like this anime and the related fanwork even more instead of being like “uwu i may draw and reblog hetalia but i don’t support it and i’m not in the fandom” maybe people would be less hesitant about reblogging hetalia content.

there’s this ... extremely widespread attitude among artists and writers to be like, “reblogs not likes! if you like my art you might as well ignore it and spit in my soup and call me worthless!” and yet... i rarely see the people who are so adamant about this ever reblog (or like) anyone’s fanwork but their own which is interesting, considering :^) i understand pride and no one’s forcing you to reblog anything of course, but sometimes a “nice!” in the replies if for whatever reason you cannot reblog someone’s work will make someone’s day.

quite a few people i talked with told me they feel too shy about leaving comments or talking to me and.... seriously. y’all. writers are huge fuckin nerds. if you are nice and don’t come with insults or entitlement, no one will snub you or be rude to you. i swear. i’m actually dying to yell in chat about headcanons.... and so are... 99% of writers from what i can tell

so here’s some Fandom Praxis i hold myself to, usually, as i try to navigate these tendencies in the hetalia fandom:

art made by people and posted directly on tumblr > reposted pixiv fanart (yes, even those that say reposted with permission) i usually never reblog fanart that is reposted from pixiv or keep it to a bare minimum. people seem to be super fond of the “Pixiv style” and often reblog fanart reposted from japanese pixiv accounts and disdain more “tumblr-looking” style of art,, but i don’t think it’s fair towards the person who gets their art reposted and there is never any proof in those posts that the permission was actually given other than “op says so”. even if someone’s style is not the most aesthetically pleasing to me, when i see art i like (keyword: i like) here on tumblr i try to support the artist and interact with the post even if i just leave a like

networking > guilt tripping build a network of friends and followers with similar interests who will enjoy not just your work but also enjoy talking to you and exchanging ideas because fandom is about FUN and about creativity and human relations not about the number of notes on a post. engaging with people and sharing your ideas generally builds positive connections and community solidarity... it’s not about the notes you get but also about the notes you give to your friends and fandom peers and the relationships you form this way. i’ve found so many friends i’m grateful for through the hetalia fandom!!! any genuine relationship and genuine exchange of ideas and yes even of notes and comments is what makes fandom such a good place...

if you like a fanfiction leave a kudo and/or a comment it doesn’t have to be literary analysis a “(keysmash) i love this” ... is enough seriously as someone who’s been a passive reader for ages before i became more engaged in the fanfiction writing side of fandom it never occurred to me but it’s so important to let writers KNOW DIRECTLY that you enjoyed their work. so often people devalue the skills it takes to write something and take fanfiction for granted but it’s such a stressful and long process and it puts the person publishing their work in a really vulnerable place... because writing is always a piece of someone’s heart and soul that they are showing to you. if you like something, show it! and...

explore tumblr ship/character tags and fanfic writers networks instead of sorting by kudos/views on ao3- seriously, the best fics i’ve found never made it to the “sort by kudos” top pages and they really deserve to- but they can’t if people continue to stubbornly ignore smaller writers with this sort of filtering. fanfiction is not one-size-fits-all and finding writers with similar interests instead of going by the opinion of the faceless crowd will make your reading experience so much better

do not be afraid to talk to writers like seriously we are all fckin nerds i cannot stress this enough

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caltropspress · 4 years ago

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Notes on AKAI SOLO’s Eleventh Wind

Rhythm in poetry need not be “smooth” or “musical” (since that word has a questionable meaning). Be cautious of these descriptions as a so-called “good ear.”

—“Manifesto” from Russell Atkins’ Juxtapositions

I try to become really liquid with the shit—not even liquid. I try to become formless.

—AKAI SOLO

Always the same thing. A drop of hope glimmers, then a sea of despair begins to rage, and always the pain, always the pain, always the anguish, always one and the same thing.

—Leo Tolstoy, The Death of Ivan Ilyich

I've been robbing motherfuckers since the slave ships.

—The Notorious B.I.G., “Gimme the Loot”

There’s an “unfinished” aesthetic (I mean it gently, fondly) to AKAI SOLO’s work. His rhymes often start in medias res. The listener needs to become oriented to what he’s spewing, but he barely allows you to catch your breath. For anyone who’s ever been thrown [au]topsy-turvy by an ocean’s wave, you can respect the power of the primordial soup flow. Each verse is a wipeout. It’s Ron Wilson’s relentless drums on the Surfaris’ 1963 “Wipe Out” and the Fat Boys’ rollicking 1987 version all at once—joy pulled from despair.

2. “…a sunken system”

What is flow? In AKAI’s case, it’s something abrupt—both a step-up and a step-to. Is it free-form? Is it automatic writing gone horribly wrong? Is it asemic writing? Is it a Ouija-like push of the pen across the page? A flower doodled on scrap paper? Is it AKAI’s language acquisition happening in real time—a babbling? It’s not an infantile flow, though. Mannish boy? Man-child? It sometimes sounds like lips smacking of Mississippi mud. Think of AKAI on Shrine’s “Parables” (which begins with the lapping of waves—not the babbling brook): he takes “a deep sea soak in plasma.” The structure and borders of AKAI’s bars are liquid (formless); his words wash over.

3. “Pondering of the painter in between strokes.” (An Unknown Infinite, “Concrete Slides”)

Who’s out of pocket? Geochemistry tells us small pockets of water pulsate deep below the Earth’s surface. I find AKAI to be offbeat in both senses of the word. He’s both outré and outer space. Antediluvian and FEMA flood recovery plan. His bars rupture the very notion of time, of meter. To rap along with AKAI is to have an out-of-body experience—our neuroscience skitters and we gain an astral perspective on what the physical mouth is doing. Sheldon Pearce has called AKAI’s verses “impressionistic.” Plugging into AKAI’s music is to induce the Stendhal syndrome—beholding the sublimity of Claude Monet’s Impression, Sunrise, but—more accurately—Calida Garcia Rawles’ Singularity, seeing as how AKAI keeps it hyper-real. He “signs” nearly all his songs—another painterly touch.

4. The Earth is a great place to visit, but I ain't stayin’. (J-Ro, The Alkaholiks)

AKAI SOLO is for the antisocial kid who quotes Bruce Lee under their yearbook photo: Empty your mind. Be formless, shapeless—like water. Water is everywhere on Eleventh Wind, even if the album title suggests other elemental forces. AKAI sometimes slurs, but not drunkenly—this isn’t some stumbling and staggering likwidation: it’s a reflection of your own grogginess, your own inertia from sleeping on his flow. There are oceans between J.M.W. Turner’s The Slave Ship and the “Big Pimpin’” of Jay-Z, but AKAI’s poetics bridge the two. He comes at us, off-kilter, aslant, like the uneasy and queasy cover art for O.G.C.’s Da Storm.

5. “…a ship came, seeking harbour, fleeing from torture & swords” (from Kamau Brathwaite’s “Noom”)

The content often defies logical reasoning. He spits non-sequiturs in a literal sense, in that he does not follow. He machetes his own path (cutlass, more likely). AKAI is Cappadonna with his words—his slang is editorial, and it floods similarly. Zilla Rocca has called Cappadonna’s work “a waterfall of energy and creativity.” The same, seriously, could be applied to AKAI SOLO. I’ll call it logorrhea—and I don’t mean that pejoratively. It’s the seasickness you stomach so you can see the sunset from hundreds of miles off land.

The songs on Eleventh Wind are essentially single verses. There’s no middle eight, only an interminable Middle Passage. And water is everywhere.

AKAI’s lineage traces to the same cove you’d find Mr. Complex and Saafir washed ashore. Like those predecessors, his un-rhymes and rhythm-driven bars beat against the rocks, ebbing just when you think he’s flowing. He’s an H2O proof MC. He’s Black hydropower, and, like the ancestors, AKAI continues to speak of rivers, of swerve of shore to bend of bay.

On “An Ode to the Isolated,” argov’s production sounds submerged, certifiably Cousteau. We’re immediately in the deep, and the beat platforms AKAI’s aqua-lung breath control. He’s “in a den of dissonance dissolving,” which puts language to what’s happening sonically here better than a critic ever could. AKAI is “overwhelmed by your deep blueness”—the vast blue sea. These are pandemic blues. The Covid-minded lyric, “Masks donned as requested,” doubles as the masculine trap to swallow pain, smothering emotion in gritty sand, while still forward-facing a street persona. AKAI has acknowledged Eleventh Wind was, in part, generated from a depressive state.

[Testimony of John Cranston, a sailor upon the Polly, describing a slave woman hoisted down to sea from the mainmast in a chair after being isolated for small pox, June 15, 1791]

Q: Did you not hear her speak or make any Noises when she was thrown over—or see her struggle? A: No—a Mask was ty’d round her mouth & Eyes that she could not, & it was done to prevent her making any Noise that the other Slaves might not hear, least they should rise. Q: Do you recollect to hear the Capt. say any thing after the scene was ended? A: All he said was he was sorry he had lost so good a Chair. Q: Did any person endeavour to prevent him throwing her [over]board? A: No.

“Tetsuo” draws on Tsukamoto’s trilogy of cyberpunk perversity. How AKAI could feel “washed before the water touch the skin” is beyond me, as the skin crawls with maggots. The penetration of metal rods, but no tetanus—no lockjaw. Only body horror flow. He’s sketching futures—and all of them are nightmarish: “Surrounded by a blanket of ashes, / We all fall down like that one song said we would.” AKAI vaguely alludes to a plague rhyme of yore. And the uncertainties we’re living with come through even in his drafts, as the liner notes on PTP’s cassette release of the album provide a set of lyric options: “Surrounded by a sea/bed/blanket…” Choose your own misadventure.

9. From at least the sixteenth century onward, a major part of the ocean engineering of ships has been to...minimize the wake. But the effect of trauma is the opposite. It is to make maximal the wake. (Christina Sharpe, In the Wake: On Blackness and Being)

On “Tainted,” AKAI—young as he may be—identifies the foolishness of some of his peers: “N----s wanna toast on a slave ship / …sinking with the drink.” AKAI suggests they’re still on the slave ship, ignorant of the fact. When he goes off on a paranoid tangent full of what seem to be elementary internal rhymes, it’s anything but: “hitting a lark / in the dark / in the park / skill a shark / or a narc / ill a mark on his job every time.” This litany of monosyllabic rhymes sounds an alarm.

10. “Even though the vessels differ, we’re all still sailing. / …navigation through suffering.”

“Still Sailing” acts as a centerpiece for the water imagery on Eleventh Wind. It’s also a self-assessment of his style. The “wavelength irregular” puns on wave and owns the irregular flow; “my groove goofy,” he admits. His vulnerability is stunning, refreshing: “I was ensuring my work was worth something.” Such vulnerability is liquid, is flux, reflects reality:

In a dirt sea, all I am is a seed Reaching for what I mean to Rooted in what it is, galvanized by what can be.

Even AKAI’s other nature metaphors—like earth (be it rare-earth or “Real Earth,” no matter), seeds, and roots—are built on water ones (“dirt sea”). This is Wallace Stevens-level abstraction. “Flowing like katanas of grass / Landscaping through with blazing sound waves” does it again (“flowing”/“grass”). And, of course, the mention of flowing katanas invites a Liquid Swords comparison. With the even cuts of AKAI’s sharp lyrics, it’s warranted.

I want to feel like Vast Aire, “like Moses with a staff that parts the Red Sea,” but it’s not so simple. Meaning is slippery on the album—hard to get your footing, your sea legs. Listeners are pulled into rip-tides and torn asunder, repeatedly. AKAI’s songs are raw—not in a hardcore way—in a work-in-progress sense, the way some of the most sincere songs humans have recorded are at times unfinished ones. Like Dylan’s “Santa Fe,” for instance, where the words converge into a slurry.

11. “Your water heavier than it’s supposed to be and they know that.”

On “Candor,” AKAI speaks on the burden of family discord, a “dilemma with me and mines.” In venting, he channels and subverts LL Cool J: “Don’t call it a comeback / These are just preliminary steps / On your back like structural racism is.” Where LL foregrounded his pugnacious masculinity, masking his insecurities (all the while calling for his “Mama”), AKAI is more likely to allow his tears to rain down like a monsoon. Candor has its origins in kand, meaning “to shine.” AKAI’s words offer glimmers of clarity, of openness.

12. “Depression stirs me before the morning chirps.”

Eleventh Wind closes with “Nebula”—gases flow, dust is bathed in glowing starlight. Again, we’re persevering: “Sound like nil singing / Feeling like nebula unraveling / Feeling like infinity expanding.” The consecutive gerunds emphasize AKAI’s desperation. He’s nihilistic here, nonexistent (“nil”) and grasping for meaning. In that way, he’s not so different from us approaching his music. Whether people are hot or cold, irate or aloof, he turns to water for comfort: “When I want to feel the heat I don’t get from people, I resort to water. / When I want to feel the cold I know people for, I resort to water.” AKAI SOLO doesn’t just bless us, he christens us.

Images:

The Fat Boys & The Beach Boys, “Wipeout” music video (screen shot) | The Surfaris, “Wipe Out” 12” (Decca, 1963) | Fat Boys, “Wipeout!” 12” (Tin Pan Apple, 1987) | Jay-Z, “Big Pimpin’” music video (screen shot) | J.M.W. Turner, The Slave Ship (1840) | Originoo Gunn Clappaz, Da Storm cassette cover (Duck Down/Priority Records, 1996) | Claudia Garcia Rawles, Singularity (2018) | The Alkaholiks, Likwidation album cover (Loud, 1997) | James Neagle, Frontispiece for the Dying Negro (1793) | Screen shot from Tetsuo II: Body Hammer (Shinya Tsukamoto, 1992) | Hokusai, Feminine Wave (1845) | Carina Nebula, NASA, ESA, and the Hubble SM4 ERO Team | Claude Monet, Impression, Sunrise (1872)

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askauradonprep · 7 years ago

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Do you have any headcanons for Isle culture? Like food and music and dance and clothing and stuff

You have made me SO HAPPY with this ask because yes, always.

- Okay, so I’ve already talked about how you stay as far away from sick people as you can. Getting sick SUCKS and there’s never a guarantee of survival. People generally stay out of arm’s length from sick people unless the person is dying and they still have business to settle (or you’re giving a mercy kill).

- EVERYBODY stays inside or finds shelter during full moons, especially during Witches’ Sabbaths. On full moons, Barbossa and his crew like to ransack the Isle - they’ll harass children, beat older teen and adult men and force women to eat with them. They’re creepy as heck. And on Witches’ Sabbaths, Chernabog sends his ghouls away from Bald Mountain where they dance to torment people.

- Related to point one - when someone is pregnant, you don’t say ‘congratulations’. You say ‘good luck’, typically sarcastically. And babies don’t ‘count’ unless they survive a year.

- Fashion wise, as with everything else, you take what you can get. But admittedly, people tend to emulate the more influential people in their area - a sort of ‘top down’ type trend (which, I’m told, is typically how fashion works - people tend to emulate influential people and so their looks trickle down to street trends eventually). In this case, the influential people are powerful villains like Maleficent, Cruella, Mother Gothel, Ursula, Hook, Gaston, Facilier, Jafar, etc.

- It’s really really hard to throw away food. Almost all food is rotten or mouldy or will soon expire and turn that way. For that reason, very few things get thrown out. If you can choke it down and keep it down, you can eat it. Also, while several restaurants might claim a cuisine (like Hades claims his restaurant serves Greek and Shan-Yu says his is ‘pan-Asian’) everyone knows it’s the same slop as everyone else. It’s the closest they have to cuisines though, so they just go with it. One popular food that isn’t common in Auradon is bone soup. Basically you take the bones from whatever meat or seafood are around and boil them until they’re soup stock. Pretty much everybody on the Isle can make this. I imagine occasionally the VKs just want bone soup in Auradon.

- Related note: It’s not uncommon for their to be riots when supplies run out or run low, especially after a disaster. Food riots and water riots aren’t uncommon.

- Clean water is very very rare and typically only in leftover, unsold water bottles (which is unhealthy because of leeching). So, because of that, pretty much nobody uses baby formula. Anything in the dirty water can contaminate formula and make infants sick and kill them. They don’t have the immune systems teens and adults have when they drink coffee or tea. So, formula is pretty much the one food item that always automatically goes in the garbage.

- There’s really no such concept as a drinking age. Alcohol is typically cleaner than water. So if you can find it, you can drink it.

- There are some people you just don’t mess with. Chernabog, the God of the Night and Evil, for one. The Firebird for another because you will DIE if you wake it up and it burns down the town. And outsiders should always steer clear of the Hun compound. As a security measure, outsiders are only allowed in if A) They’re invited inside or B) A member of the Hun compound will vouch for them that they aren’t there to mess everything up. Because that’s rarely a promise they can keep, most of the time a Hun will NOT vouch for an outsider. You also really shouldn’t mess with Sykes because he’s mob. He knows how to take advantage on the Isle. Another place typically avoided is the Queen of Hearts’ castle. It’s surrounded by a ‘forest’ of pikes decorated with severed heads. And if she finds you in her forest without a valid reason or you anger her at her salon, you might just join them after a brief stint as a mannequin.

- They don’t have a radio station, so any music played over the radio is from Auradon. As is most of their media tbh. Local acts like The Bad Apples and the Sea Witches are pretty much the only non-Auradon music.

- There’s very very little money. Most people will steal or dine and dash (or the equivalent). You have to force people to pay. And usually a lot of the money they have is kicked up to whoever owns the territory as part of a protection racket. If you can’t steal something, you can try paying in goods or services. You could also just break it. If I can’t have it, nobody can is a perfectly valid principle.

- Most art forms like drawing, dancing, etc. are very unstructured and ‘go with what you want’. People usually do what they want anyways, so why should arts be different?

- People don’t say things like ‘thank you’, ‘excuse me’ or ‘please’ and especially not ‘sorry’ unless they’re either being sarcastic or they’re someone’s henchperson. They’ll say or do things like nod in acknowledgement, ‘I’m glad you did that’, ‘I like that’ instead of thank you, ‘Move’, ‘back off’ instead of excuse me, or instead of please they’ll say ‘now’ or try to cajole someone into it. The best you can hope for instead of an apology is an admission that the other person shouldn’t have done something. ALSO nobody ever ever ever says ‘I owe you one’. They say, for example, ‘I owe you one meal’ or something like that. They’ll be very specific about WHAT they owe. If they just say ‘one’ then the other person can and probably will exploit that for an unpleasant favour later like cleaning muck out. Sykes told Uma once that ‘he owed her one’ and immediately realized his mistake - not quickly enough to stop Uma from demanding he stop harassing one of her crew.

- Typically, you don’t stand up for someone on your crew or your family because you love them. You stand up for them because by not doing so, people get the idea they can mess with you by messing with your people. Doing so because they’re your people and you don’t want them to be messed with is less of a gang thing and more of a ‘crew’ thing. Most crews, like pirate crews, have learned to work together or die (or suffer serious pain). So they work together because crew is crew. It’s a little liberating.

- Most people will fight with swords, knives, shivs, clubs, whatever they can get their hands on. There’s very few guns and the ones that are around are DANGEROUS. Nobody messes with Captain Hook because he’s a crack shot and he WILL fire at you.

- People like Maleficent, Hans, Grimhilde, Lord Beckett, Scar, etc. who insist on using their titles are usually listened to while they’re around to avoid a hassle, but as soon as they leave, pretty much everyone ignores those titles and rolls their eyes. Nobody is royalty anymore, you lost, get over it and suck it up, everyone else has to.

- There aren’t really many holidays everyone celebrates - everyone kinda does their own thing if they want. Honestly, I don’t think many of the villains are very religious. Frollo constantly holds services and tries to get people to come but few, if any, ever do. A couple stand outs though are Halloween (without the candy), Friday the 13th, and birthdays.

- If ‘dating’ is typically in gang activity, marriage is certainly very rare. Sure, a bunch of people who came to the Isle were already married like some of the pirates, but there’s only a handful of people who got married on the Isle. Gaston is one of them. You can go to whatever royal or noble or even Frollo and get them to sign a piece of paper if you want to, but most people who get married just hole up in their shelter together and start calling the other their spouse.

- The original villains have alliances, rivalries and such too. And yes, sometimes they’ll have ‘friends’ for lack of a better word, over for drinks or an anniversary or just to complain about Auradon. Hey, villains get bored too, you know.

- Nobody on the Isle ever asks how someone got hurt. Odds are you won’t like the answer. Especially if they’re a kid. Most people have scars.

- EVERYBODY born on the Isle has nightmares. They’re on a death trap surrounded by people who would love to kill them, don’t tell me they don’t. The originals probably do too but they tend to be better at hiding it and comfort themselves by knowing they also CAUSE nightmares.

- There are, in fact, cars on the Isle. Not many, but they exist. Cruella has her’s and I’m gonna say so does Sykes.

- Avoid the animals. It doesn’t matter which animal. Animals that aren’t dangerous don’t get sent to the Isle. Killer sharks, crocodiles, that octopus that ripped apart Hook’s ship, angry dogs, mean cats, lions, a tiger, a jaguar, hyenas, etc. It’s a wonder more people aren’t killed by rabies.

- There’s only one settlement and it’s a shanty town. At this point, it’s pretty hard not to know everybody (especially since people keep coming from Auradon to see who among the people sent there are still alive). Word travels quickly. Again, even villains get bored. Gossip and rumour mongering are a popular way to pass the time, especially among some of the moms.

#Descendants #Descendants 2 #Isle of the Lost #Isle of the Lost culture #Disney's Descendants

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rubixkun · 8 years ago

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Senpai, you're always answering next gen AU asks. But what about you? Fave meme, food, hobbies, music/songs, school subjects/topics of interest? What are your goals for the year? What are you excited for in nrdv3? Any guesses and hopes on any major points (killers, victims, mastermind, SHIPS ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°))? Mentionable bucket list ideas? Favorite drawing medium(s)? Other fandoms not listed in faq? Ideal living environment? Do you like space, forests, or oceans more? What's your aesthetic?

I really appreciate this??? Like a lot? Don’t really answer stuff about me so this is kind of nice. It kinda makes me feel like a human being haha.

I am serious meme trash. I tend to like older memes, like I’ll never get over RickRolling. Though I think the “I’m at Soup” will never not be funny to me.

My favorite food of all time is orange chicken.

Obviously I draw as a hobby. I guess writing would be a hobby, though it’s something I rarely did. Most of my writing was done in college, and you can kind of see it in my fanfics. I used to RP a lot in college. I don’t RP anymore and that’s sad. My third hobby is playing video games. I absolutely love playing video games and I find myself more attached to games than tv shows or a novel. I have tried speedrunning in the past and I would love to pick it up again.

I like a variety of music. I lean towards rock and metal music. I also like pop rock as well. Rave music is pretty awesome. I’m okay with some pop.

I liked taking art classes when I was in school. I’m one of the few people out there that liked their art teacher haha. My topic of interest is psychology. That was my major in college.

Last year I wanted to hit 1000 followers on my blog. That didn’t go well. Maybe this year is the year? Ha ha. A personal goal of mine would be to take criticism better. Another goal isn’t realistic I think, but it’d be nice to go off my antidepressants (because let’s be real I keep forgetting to take them).

For NDRV3, I’m just glad we are getting another game.I really don’t have any predictions for the game. I’ve been doing well avoiding spoilers for anything. I am reading a text mirror of the prologue though. I kinda ship Kaede/Shuichi but I’m not keeping my hopes up. My plan is to really look at the game with an open mind.

For bucket list, I’d like to travel around the USA and meet friends I’ve made online. Also go to Europe. Also visit Japan again. I’d love to attend a Games Done Quick event.

I love chalk pastels. When I lived with my mother, I’d always use chalk pastels on the driveway and draw video game characters. I can’t do that where I live now because no sidewalk. Also I do like pencils. Penciling is fun.

Um...I didn’t know I had a FAQ haha. But other fandoms besides DR I’m in include Pokemon, Digimon, Hetalia (keep in mind I’m not that active), Miraculous Ladybug, Sonic the Hedgehog, almost anything Nintendo...I’d like to get back into AoT but I gotta catch up on the manga. I’m far behind haha.

Ideal living environment would be a nice house with at least one room for a video game shrine. Also a giant bed because beds are awesome. I’m not too picky, I just don’t like small areas. Like my apartment right now! It’s super small!

I think I may like oceans the most. They’re just really pretty and there are so many things we actually don’t know about the ocean and it’s so neat to me. Also water is awesome.

My aesthetic is memes probably.

#about me #thekawaiitan #CapnAsks

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biofunmy · 5 years ago

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36 Hours in Yokohama – The New York Times

Yokohama resides in the perpetual shadow of its more prominent neighbor. Less than half an hour by train from Tokyo, the sprawling port city is the second-largest in Japan, yet registers as barely a blip among most tourists to the region. But that may soon change, at least among sports fans. This fall, Yokohama is hosting the final and semifinal matches of the Rugby World Cup. And during the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, the city will host spillover sporting events, including baseball, softball and soccer. Beyond the stadiums, visitors will find much to praise around town, from traditional gardens and temples to only-in-Japan night life and Chinatown cuisine worth a weekend detour from the capital.

Friday

1) 4 p.m. Waterside walk

Begin a visit to this bayside city with a walk along the waterfront, where hulking cruise ships, fishing vessels and industrial tankers glide in from Tokyo Bay. Start in the waterside Rinko Park, with lawns backed by towering high-rises, and try to spot fish jumping in the water offshore. Continue south past skyscrapers and a 369-foot-tall Ferris wheel, to the Red Brick Warehouse, a pair of former customs buildings constructed in the late 19th century that have been transformed into a popular shopping complex. Keep strolling south through Yamashita Park, home to blooming flowers and curious statues, and then loop back toward Osanbashi Pier, an international cruise terminal where the futuristic design — all undulating wood with plots of grass — is as impressive as the view of Yokohama’s Bay Bridge and glittering skyline.

2) 6 p.m. Sake and skewers

Join the local after-work crowd at Hanamichi, a boisterous standing bar on the B2 level of the Pio City building. Expect cheap sake — 200 yen a glass (about $1.85) from the decades-old self-serve dispensers on the counter — and snacks like tuna sashimi or piping-hot ebi (shrimp) tempura. Then continue into the neighboring Noge district, a traditional night-life area that has skirted recent waves of urban redevelopment. The lively streets are packed with dining options, but for dinner, duck inside Suehiro, a delightfully dated yakitori joint slinging grilled skewers of kawa (chicken skin), ginnan (ginkgo nuts), shishito peppers and chicken wings. Dinner for two, about 4,000 yen.

3) 8 p.m. Brilliant corner

Step back in time at Chigusa, an enduring jazz cafe that first opened in Noge in 1933. After surviving war, earthquakes, a fire and the death of its founder, this beloved institution was forced to close in 2007, but reopened on a nearby corner a few years later, thanks to support from an official Chigusa fan association. Live jazz shows are regularly staged inside the cozy space, but most nights, customers take turns choosing from the extensive collection of rare vinyl. While waiting your turn, sip a gin and tonic and respect the reverent atmosphere — this is a place for listening, not socializing.

Saturday

4) 9:30 a.m. Canal course

The calm waters of Yokohama’s canals offer ideal conditions for stand-up paddle-boarding. For a rare perspective of this built-up city, glide past soaring office buildings and along tree-lined canals during a beginner’s course run by Mizube-so, an organization founded to promote aquatic activities in the city. Courses run year-round in good weather, but most popular are the fleeting days of cherry blossom season, when the banks of the Ooka River explode in fluffy pink petals. A morning 90-minute course costs 4,000 yen. In winter, wet suits are available to rent for an additional 1,000 yen.

5) Noon. Lunch lines

Expect a line outside Maruwa, a no-frills restaurant specializing in tonkatsu (fried pork cutlet), where regulars eagerly queue before opening time. Inside, this traditional spot has only 25 seats split between a bar, a few small tables and a corner tatami mat. There’s no English menu, but asking for tonkatsu will get you a set meal with hot tea, miso soup, Japanese pickles, rice, raw shredded cabbage and a tender pork cutlet coated in flaky panko and deep fried à la minute until the crust is perfectly golden brown. Absolutely famished? Order the rosukatsu, a larger, fattier cut of pork served with the same accompaniments. And don’t forget a generous drizzle of the house tonkatsu sauce, a thick Worcestershire-style condiment (tonkatsu, 1,200 yen; rosukatsu, 1,900 yen).

6) 1:30 p.m. Garden gems

After lunch, hop on bus 8 or 148 (200 yen) to reach Sankei-en, a peaceful Japanese garden south of the city center. Spanning over 43 acres, this sprawling garden was once the private residence of a wealthy silk merchant, but it has been open to the public since the early 1900s. Amid the forested hillsides sit 17 structures of historical significance that have been transported from other parts of Japan, including an asymmetric teahouse beside a tinkling stream, and a 15th-century, three-story pagoda from Kyoto that occupies a scenic hilltop. But the real draw is the seasonal nature: springtime cherry blossoms, summer’s blooming lotuses, fiery autumnal foliage and late-winter plum blossoms. Stroll along the peaceful paths, over bridges crossing small streams, past bamboo groves and ponds filled with waterlilies and lotus flowers, then rest with a matcha soft serve at a cafe beside the central pond. Admission, 700 yen. Free tours in English are often offered by volunteer guides at 2 p.m.

7) 5 p.m. Vertical diversion

Occupying the grounds of a former shipyard, the central business district of Minato Mirai 21 is today a glitzy neighborhood of modern high-rises, sprawling shopping complexes and several museums, including the Yokohama Museum of Art, the Mitsubishi Minato Mirai Industrial Museum, and the Yokohama Port Museum. Looming above it all is the angular, 972-foot-tall Landmark Tower, the city’s tallest building, where you’ll find an unparalleled vantage of the city and beyond from the Sky Garden, an observation deck on the 69th floor. Arrive before sunset for a view that extends to Mount Fuji on clear days, or go after dark to admire the twinkling urban sprawl. Admission: 1,000 yen.

8) 6:30 p.m. Chinatown color

Colorful, grandiose gates mark the entrances to Yokohama’s Chinatown, the largest in Japan. Wander the narrow alleys strung with red-paper lanterns, past bubble tea cafes and hawkers luring passers-by with multilingual dim sum menus. Hidden within the disarray is Kanteibyo, a gilded Chinese temple with an ornate, crimson-and-gold facade. After admiring the showy site, head to dinner at the Chinese restaurant Dalian. Dumplings are the specialty at this bi-level spot, so once seated — ask for a table upstairs — order some plump gyoza and piping-hot xiao long bao soup dumplings. Add to that an off-the-menu order of mapo tofu, which arrives sizzling and jiggling in a cast-iron skillet, though the spice level is adjusted to accommodate nonnative palates. Dinner for two, about 4,000 yen.

9) 9 p.m. Stand-up sips

Anyone who loves the pint-size bars of Tokyo’s Golden Gai will feel right at home exploring Miyakobashi Shotengai, a two-story riverside strip of bars and snack shops, each no larger than a suburban walk-in closet. Climb the pink staircase to reach the second level, where you’ll find Hoppy Sennin, one of the few bars still serving draft Hoppy, a low-alcohol brew that is mixed with shochu (a distilled spirit) to create a facsimile of a pilsner (original Hoppy) or stout (black Hoppy). Later, get the real thing downstairs at Una casa de G.b. G.b. El Nubichnom, an eccentric street-level tachinomi (standing bar) specializing in Japanese microbrews.

Sunday

10) 10 a.m. Meditative morning

The Soto school of Zen Buddhism has two head temples, one of which is Sojiji, on the northern edge of the city, a short walk from Tsurumi train station. This temple has history dating to the eighth century, but it was relocated to Yokohama after a devastating fire in the late 1800s. Today the sprawling compound spans over 120 acres of manicured lawns, stately temple buildings, and educational facilities open to visitors interested in the practice of zazen, seated meditation. Stroll the meandering paths on your own, or arrange a guided tour in English with one of the resident monks (400 yen).

11) 1 p.m. Brew crew

The promise of free beer attracts many to the Kirin Beer Factory, an industrial brewery where popular, hourlong guided tours run several times a day (reserve online in advance; in Japanese with English audio guides). The well-organized tour covers the brewery’s history, the mythical creature that gave the brand its name, and its modern brewing techniques. It’s also informatively hands-on: you’ll smell fresh hops and sip first-press wort before being served three glasses of beer and a small snack in a spacious cafeteria. Those who prefer more adventurous, flavorful brews should head next door to Kirin’s foray into craft brewing, Spring Valley Brewery, where taps recently featured a yuzu white ale and an orange-infused I.P.A., worthy of an enthusiastic “Kanpai!”

Lodging

The Hotel Edit Yokohama is a relatively new Western-style boutique property with spacious public areas, a street-level restaurant and 129 compact rooms in a central location beside the Ooka river, just a five-minute walk from a major train station (6-78-1 Sumiyoshicho, Naka-ku; hotel-edit.com/en; from around 5,000 yen).

Opened in late 2018, the Hare-Tabi Traveler’s Inn is a cozy Chinatown property with 20 wood-paneled capsule rooms fitted with mattresses, ample lighting and décor inspired by compartments on luxury sleeper trains (216 Yamashitacho, Naka-ku; hare-tabi.jp; from 2,100 yen).

The largest range of apartment rentals are in the Chinatown area, where you’ll find both Western-style bedrooms and Japanese-style rooms with tatami mats and futons. Rates for a one-bedroom apartment are often less than $100 on Airbnb.

Sahred From Source link Travel

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rubymohan · 7 years ago

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RELOCATING: HOW TO TAKE IT IN YOUR STRIDE ARTICLES Relocating to India after fourteen years abroad does stir things up quite a bit. Friends weep; there are displays of temper from those who have interests vested in you for messing up their personal equations and acquaintances draw wagers to determine how long you are going to last. Parallels are drawn between you and Lord Rama both having completed fourteen years of exile! My mixed emotions soon began to resemble the stone soup where everyone we met had an ingredient to add. Often, the soup would boil over till I resolutely embraced the Zen way of taking the move a day at a time and just dealing with what that day brought. Upheavals of this type force you to acknowledge what really matters to you. Those core values will determine what you retain and what you choose to let go. I am not a pack rat but my home had its share of baggage that I was forced to shed. Friends were allowed dibs on handmade pure wool rugs and artwork displayed in the house, but the exorbitant shipping prices seemed worth it to ship my son’s car or my daughter’s art portfolio. In every decision I made that added to the Keep tray or the Discard tray, I got a glimpse of the empathic fabric of my soul. Today I feel more cognizant of my sentimental nature. There is less drive to appear the suave sophisticate who has everything under control. When pull comes to push, the drive to impress has been overridden by a need to express. Organization is key- proper prior planning prevents poor performance. Once the decision had been taken 80% of our time went in planning. Jotting thoughts down on paper and making those To Do lists helped itemize each task and associated steps that completing it would entail. Some jobs had to be started at least a year in advance. For example, the children would need to be familiar with Hindi (not taught in the public schools abroad). All recognized schools in India conduct a written exam in Hindi prior to admission and the child has to score at least a passing grade. We researched and found a weekly one hour class conducted at the local Hindu temple. Our children saw their peers in class and got the impression watching others that it was natural for kids of their ethnic background to know Hindi. Children can be resistant to learning new things. If something is frustrating, convincing them to toe your point of view becomes an uphill battle. Teaching my children through books and online websites did not yield results that a class did where the psychological war was won without a single verbal gun firing. The only stress I faced was disciplining me to be regular but that was a small price to pay for their smooth transition. Major in the majors, don’t major in the minors. Time management frankly intimidates me. Maybe it is my innate fear response to my mom’s childhood conditioning- time and tide wait for no man. She is right but I freeze like a deer caught in the headlights of a car if faced with the motivational- Do It Now. I find there is ample time to do things you want to do- just not all the things you will want to do in a day! So we have to choose. My philosophy is more akin to event management than time management.I filter all my chores through a sieve of twenty four hours and dedicate myself to things that are important to me. That way I do not find myself sweating over stuff that is irrelevant in the long run. It helps me to be flexible. When the day throws a curve ball at me, if I know where my priority is then I pick and choose my tasks. Instead of resembling a superwoman juggler I have been able to transform myself into a sea where tides might ebb and rise but there is no danger of flooding over. Quixotically an arena of life this credo has stood me in good stead is human relationships. Just seeing me relaxed in the face of so many upheavals in our life, my children have taken most of the changes in their stride. Nor do other people have to walk on eggshells around me. An overly emotional atmosphere at home can create a lot of stress and the mental baggage weighs down everyone. It is very difficult for family members to be productive in such an environment. When you are in transit it is inevitable that you encounter people who rub you the wrong way. Your calls might be ignored where previously the same person would go out of their way for you. You might be staying with relatives or friends and they might do things differently than how you treat guests when they come to your home. If your focus is on maintaining the longevity of relationships you will not invest your energy in criticizing and consequently become bitter. You will be accommodating. Delegate tasks that do not require your personal input or tasks where once you have explained your requirements a professional can take over for you. Hire movers who pack and ship. Peace of mind is worth paying for. So also are time and energy. We hired maids to clean the rental property instead of personally expending time and energy on a job that yields minimum wage return of investment on the time we would have spent. Most property managers never refund your deposit. They will find wear and tear no matter how well you maintain the house so why sweat the small stuff? Get good in using small pockets of time. I was forced to develop this skill when I had my first child and suddenly there was a complete takeover of my time in her waking hours. So I would sneak out one hour here to finish my cooking for the day, another hour there to attend to business and clients. They were important jobs but equally relevant was the fact that I was bone weary too. I might not have functioned at optimum efficiency yet look at the upside- I was not procrastinating either! The work got done when it was supposed to get done. Just one hour every day after the kids were in bed was sufficient to plan my packing, or decide what chores needed to be tackled the next day, organize the odds and ends in the garage, and plan drop-offs to Goodwill. Be creative. You have to get creative when it comes to solving problems unique to your situation. Be a solution oriented possibility thinker. Any Tom, Dick and Harry can anticipate problems. However it takes a certain frame of mind to proactively seek solutions that will work. We used garage sales to dispose beds, furniture. We found buyers for everything electric, everything electronic and even our old cameras and photo frames got picked up. For us it was trash and the utility services would have charged us for disposing our junk- this way we got our cake and we got to eat it too! Communicate. This does not mean talk a lot but also listen a lot! Not just friends, colleagues too have genuine questions which should not just be blown off with an airy- change is inevitable. The only people settled on earth are in graveyards! Prepare people for your move. Whether they are going with you or they are going to be left behind take the time to explain your motivation and why the equation makes sense. Emphasize the positives and at the same time do not underplay the negatives. Acknowledge those and then suggest the solutions you have thought of. It instills a great degree of confidence and lessens fear of the unknown. For children, be patient and answer their questions with honesty. Can their pet go with them? Will they be able to take their toys? Will their favorite foods be available in the new country? Will all their friends be left behind? Who are the new people they can look forward to meet? I spoke to the school counselor, teachers and got their input as to how I could best answer the questions I would get. If your child asks a question you do not have the information for, let them know or research the answer together. Also reassure them that they will stay connected to their old school, teachers and friends. Children are lovers of routine and continuity. In the new city keep their routine consistent as much as it is possible. Offer them familiar foods. Introduce them to new foods and flavors gradually. Milk is usually different from place to place. Not only taste but textures of foods differ from country to country so do not force feed. The more empathic you are to your child the easier it is for them to adjust. Visit their pediatrician. Get their vaccinations and medical records just as you get a transfer certificate from the school. I went a step further and also got my husband and my medical and dentist checkups done so we had a clean bill of health and our records for future reference. Do not push yourself to meet unrealistic expectations. Relatives might not fully understand how many changes your children are experiencing as you immerse them in a foreign environment. It is overwhelming and your child is not being difficult- just human. Do defend your child as appropriate. Explain to cousins them making your child the butt of jokes is not helpful. Giving the child space to adjust and ignoring some tantrums on the other hand is. If you feel your child is acting up remove them from performing in front of an audience. Once deprived of a watchful crowd the child feels quite silly and will cease on his own. Chances are the child may not also academically perform at the same level as in the old school. Do not pressurize the student. Give them lots of encouragement, help and parental attention. The last thing you want to do as a parent is abandon your child completely to a grandparent, tutor or a maid. You are the adult they are most comfortable with and most likely to share their concerns with. Keep yourself available for your child exclusively for a couple of hours each day. Similarly, the bureaucratic nature of government can make routine chores tedious and time consuming. Factor in that when you make your plans. Stay positive even if out of a list of ten you were able to accomplish only two tasks for the day. Be supportive to your spouse. Understand tough times rarely last but tough people do.

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biofunmy · 5 years ago

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36 Hours in Yokohama – The New York Times

Friday

1) 4 p.m. Waterside walk

2) 6 p.m. Sake and skewers

3) 8 p.m. Brilliant corner

Saturday

4) 9:30 a.m. Canal course

5) Noon. Lunch lines

6) 1:30 p.m. Garden gems

7) 5 p.m. Vertical diversion

8) 6:30 p.m. Chinatown color

9) 9 p.m. Stand-up sips

Sunday

10) 10 a.m. Meditative morning

11) 1 p.m. Brew crew

Lodging

Sahred From Source link Travel

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