#restoring my faith in humanity and optimism for the future

[potato-topato]

Hello. I finished watching Trigun 98. I feel like a different person now. Gonna go cry in the shower and then live a better life. Love and Peace 🤞

[arwenkenobi48]

A Message To The World

I know that a lot has happened this year, not just on a personal level, but worldwide too. I know there’s many things still happening. I know things are bleak on many levels. But they always say it’s darkest before the dawn. I’m really proud of everyone who’s keeping hope alive in these times. Keep the fires in your hearts warm, everyone. We need each other more than ever.

So that’s what I want everyone to remember this Christmas and as we enter 2024. Even though it’s easy to feel alone, the amount of people coming together for good causes worldwide has truly restored my faith in humanity. If there’s anything that this tumultuous year has taught me, it’s that now, more than ever before, we need to stand together. Shoulder to shoulder. Hand in hand.

Humanity is a powerful force. Ultimately, the forces of good will triumph. Those who seek to divide and conquer us don’t stand a chance, when all is said and done.

This Christmas, I wish - no, I pray - for all wars to end, for all who are trapped to be free, for the hellish heat consuming our planet to be cooled down, for the wealth to be shared equally among us all and for humanity to rebuild and rise from the ashes once again. I know it can happen. I know we can make it happen. And I know that a higher power - whether you believe it comes from God(s), from within our hearts or both - will guide us to victory.

Next year is going to be the Year of the Dragon, according to the Chinese zodiac. Specifically, 2024 will be the year of the wood dragon, a symbol of new beginnings and prosperity. I feel pretty optimistic about the future in that regard, on a personal level and as a whole. And I’m going to let that optimism fuel me when taking action. I will never stop striving for a better world, a new world. A post-capitalist world.

The world’s healing journey may be a long one. The healing journeys we all take will also be long. But we will get there. We will achieve our goals. The capitalist system will not survive. But we will. We will rise again.

Let’s all make a New Year’s resolution; to do all that we can to make a positive impact on our world. Whether that’s engaging in activism, spreading awareness, educating ourselves, or just building ourselves and the ones we love up. Everything we do counts.

To the reader of this post, you may wonder “what can I do? I’m just one person”. You are capable of more than you realise. Whatever challenges you’re facing, you can and will overcome them. Whichever battles you’re fighting, you will win. I believe in you. I believe in us, all the good people of the world.

The oppressors will fall from power. We will not only survive, but with time, we will thrive again. Keep fighting. Keep doing all that you can. Keep striving. Keep your hope alive.

Stay safe, everyone. It’s going to be ok. The sun will rise again.

[supercaliwhat]

WallyGallery Archives Volume 2: Posts 04 25/4/3

Making archives of WallyGallery posts for this TEMPORARY new tumblr blog.

1

Extra Topic: "In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart." (04 25 2023)

Dear diary, after finishing the play the ‘Diary of Anne Frank’, I found a quote that completely sums up the diary. The quote “In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart” best shows the meaning of the play for multiple reasons. The play as a whole follows the struggles Anne and the annex had to face, such as the fear of getting caught by the Nazis, starving, and less resources. However, the kind acts in the play and Anne’s optimistic personality helped me both restore faith in humanity and believe in the aforementioned quote. Take the helpers for example. Miep, Mr. Kraler and many other ‘annex helpers’ compromised so much of their lives just to save eight other lives. They used their money, feared getting caught, and arguably had more downsides than living in the annex. The helpers had to hide this fact while working right under where their secret annex was, yet still helped the annex for around 2 years! Their sacrifice makes me support this quote because it shows that people can do the most extreme things to help others, despite there being no reward. Individuals in the annex also supported the quote. Mr. Van Daan is the best example of this. Mr. Van Daan used to be a very selfish man who stole food from the starving annex for himself, even when he received special treatment and complained about the lack of food. Early on, he showed no apologies or acknowledgement of these crimes. He also had a mean attitude (likely from his smoking habits), being a grumpy man who criticized everything for seemingly anything. However, his change is what made me support the quote. Shortly after Mr. Van Daan was caught stealing food by the Franks, he was just as angry as the victims of his crimes. However, soon after the D-Day announcement from Miep, he quickly realized his wrongdoings and apologized. He admitted his faults and attempted to change from it, and the others in the annex did just that. Shortly after the wild pandemonium, the annex found an agreement on things and realized their flaws and apologized while being hopeful and optimistic, which shows that everyone is good at heart. It is because even if they did bad things, they can learn from their mistakes and show that they have changed this. However, Anne’s tragic future contradicts her quote. While Anne was known for her optimism and had written the book seemingly to fit the quote, her death from the Holocaust from the Nazis was immoral and unjustified no matter what and never apologized. Their actions fully oppose Anne’s quote, especially since their actions were done to the person who supported the quote the most. Nonetheless, I still strongly that the quote "In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart” is an enchanting quote that summarizes the whole play, and, this world!

2

Post 4: Sports Day Extravaganza (04 24 2023)

My second sports day in eigth grade was particualy... fresh and unsatisfactory for some reasons. The most obvious reason would be the repetitiveness of sports day. In contrast to previous sports days (in lower campus) that were often new and overwhelming at times, this sports day felt more underwhelming and expected. The people were the same, the activities were the same, and nothing seemed to make this sports day special so far. I did far less sports than other sports days and watched others do it for most of the part. This whole INDOOR theme made sports day limited in a sense that movement was restricted and that outdoor feeling was gone, which meant less fun. Even worse, my team was last place from second grade till today for crying out loud! However, the new things I was desperate of happened soon boosted by otherwise depressed mood. The sandwiches, the food truck and movies were all excellent things this sports day had. Overall, sports day was still a fun event for me and everyone because of its nature of playing for hours and foodies, despite its repetitiveness and lack of new activities. However, I realized that someone took my hoodie for no reason. Although I had my name in it and although I clearly knew where it was, I guess someone had to steal it to remind how unorganized this sports day was. With these things in mind, I can safely say that sports day was tough this week.

3

Post 3: Who is June's Favorite President? 04 16 2023

Who is June's favorite South Korean president? The answer is simple: NO ONE! However, my favorite US president would be Theodore Roosevelt for a few reasons. To begin with, he was a person who fought for the common people. A president from the early 1900s, Teddy helped laborers in multiple ways. He helped get workers paid for their injuries. He helped get weaken companies with high influence, and was known for his trustbusting to help make bussinesses more competitive and less abusive. He helped bring peace, putting the Russo-Japanese war to an end and getting a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. He was an environmentalist, creating many national parks and natural sites that are still popular to this day. His aid in constructing the still important Panama Canal and efforts to create the FDA to inspect food and other accomplishments proves that Teddy Roosevelt truly wanted to help the people, not bussinesses. Unlike corrupt politicians, he tried best to listen to people in a time of industrialization, and that actually helped decrease inflation! However, his successful attempt at splintering the Republican Party in half because of his political opponents show his flaws. Nonetheless, Teddy Roosevelt will always be my one of the, if not the most respectable president.

[blankd]

Thoughts on Raya

While writing a review for Raya I lost the copy of the draft, I took this as a sign to shift to a "rewrite" treatment.

After writing out 3-4k words on trying to clean up the expensive mess of 8 writers, it made me realize my own misguided effort of trying to "fix" something that had a fundamentally weak core.

Hopefully my third attempt (this rambling) will be the charm.  Rather than focus on any individual scenes, I will look at three aspects of its storytelling and why I feel they fall short.

Spoilers for the whole movie.

---

How the Fantastical Detracts from the Human

Raya's use of magic is one that ends up doing more harm than good to its goals.

The dragons exist as majestic in the abstract, but in the case of Sisu, a punchline in practice.  At the end of the movie when they return we are expected to be in awe of their spectacle, but I doubt anyone would be able to explain what their full return actually signifies.

The Druun themselves are a magical plague that exists less as metaphor and more a supernatural inconvenience for the characters and convenience for the writers.

The Druun do not kill, they merely 'remove' by turning their victims to stone, but because they are magical, this can be reversed.  In the end, the Druun provide a toothless scapegoat that distracts from, instead of highlighting, the meat of the human conflict.

For all the 'harm' that the Druun do, it is only by human hands that a dragon (or any life, really) is snuffed out. (Even though the end of the movie backpedals this consequence as well.)

What do the Druun meaningfully add that human interaction did not already bring?

By having the Druun exist, it removes accountability and responsibility from the humans to change.  The Druun are a faceless and mindless enemy for everyone to unite against and even in that regard, they fail to do that.

Despite being born from human strife (as Sisu claims), human unity does not counteract or even hinder the Druun, only the magic of a dragon or water, can do that.

What ultimately 'defeats' the Druun and returns human and dragon from stone is not reconciliation between humans or any attempts to make amends for past wrongs, it is the arbitrary magic and judgment of an object.

---

The Regressive Trap of the Past

Throughout the course of the movie, the past foretells and provides a mold for the future.

Raya's father speaks glowingly of a unified Kumandra with no thought or examination of how it fractured in the first place or how the Drunn (and human conflict) predate the gem.

All of Raya's team, including Raya herself, desire to see their families returned from stone, for the Druun to return to being a myth, and of course, for the dragons to return.

All of this hinges on restoring a gem whose existence sparked the conflict in the first place.  As the ending/writing will reveal to us, human unity cannot defeat the Druun, only the dragon magic of the gem can.

(As an aside, that most of the gem fragments are collected through force with no impact on the gem's magic itself is an admittance of how trust is not a thing grown or nurtured but somehow taken.  The one instance where force isn't used by Raya to gain a gem shard, she is betrayed and Sisu is killed.)

The entirety of the movie is fixated on a return to grace rather than questioning if the damage runs deeper than the problems of the present.  No one never considers or proposes a better future to strive for, merely a return to a mythical beforetime in spite of hints of how that recollection may not be itself truthful. (Such as Sisu being less than impressive.)

The movie starts with a world with humans and dragons, it ends with a world of humans and dragons.  What might be different this time that will prevent the Druun from returning or the nations from fracturing once more?

There is no answer because the question is never asked.

---

The Flimsy Use of 'Trust'

Any goodwill earned through Raya's personal arc of trusting others is simultaneously undercut by what can only be a cynic's most bitter idea of optimism.  Sisu's idea of faith is childish, her lack of common sense is a burden on others with no virtue. And yet the movie's insists Sisu and her magic rock are the arbiters of what trust is and the key to a happily ever after.

The gem itself is a flawed thing, an abstract of not just magic, but trust.  And yet that tiny rule is already broken by the start of the movie's events, the nations are already fractured and the gem remains intact and powerful, absolving the gem of being the metaphor or symbol it could have been.

Despite the movie tackling such a complex topic, it has no willingness to explore the trauma of being betrayed or how someone has to take initiative to repent for their wrongs.

Healing is complicated and the movie is not interested in what that entails.  Trust is dealt with in absolutes instead of the different colors it is.  Trust can be as strong as iron or brittle as glass, with its different levels being right for some situations and wrong in others.

This doesn’t even get to touching on how betrayal can leave scars that never heal or result in bridges forever burned, sometimes for the better of everyone involved.

But the movie never so much as even glances in that messy direction, it can't even pay lip service to the idea that perhaps aggressors should apologize to their victims.  More credit is given to Namaari feeling bad rather than having her do good to earn anyone's forgiveness, much less their trust.

When the gem is mended, so is all the broken trust.  Fang’s chief feared the consequences of having broken the world and yet they never manifest.

The lost time, the lost homes, it's all magically washed away in a rain to begin anew.  The victims must believe the better of the people who have wronged them because in this world we don't want the Druun to come back, now do we?

---

In closing, the artists of Raya tried really hard, shame that the writers couldn’t get their shit together.

[naruhearts]

It’s Never Too Late to Start All Over Again

Now that @profoundzine Vol. 1 has been shipped out and released, public restrictions are lifted! I can finally share my published meta piece from the zine (written before S14 ended/14x20 aired. Now preconceived notions of FREE WILL and what constitutes it are being challenged re: TFW + Destiel, but I’ll tackle that next time!! We’re coming FULL CIRCLE here!). 

Accompanying artwork: the lovely @thedogsled who also tirelessly worked with me in editing this meta <3

- - -

Darkness. The phone call.  The glimpse of trench coat. And then there was light.

Cas’ emotive resurrection in 13.05 surprised general audiences, although no one was as shaken as Dean Winchester. The complex journey of these two men is one for the history books. It’s a narrative tango knitting them together like two intrinsic gravitational forces that found their match.

Castiel has come a long way since he first raised the Righteous Man from perdition. His very touch upon Humanity - in the form of the iconic handprint adorning Dean’s left shoulder - had sparked his Fall, and from that point on did Castiel’s self-democracy proliferate in the following ten years. His already humanistic predisposition warred with his sense of duty as the Angel of the Lord, yet Dean remained his one fixture of reason, anchoring him to human nature.

But let’s hit pause first. Rewind the tape to 4.01: Lazarus Rising. The episode title itself conveys the circular metaphor of human life, where Lazarus, the dead man of Biblical antiquity, lives again. Life is made up of flux, not permanence. The natural order of change wholly applies to personal human growth.

Dean’s starting point traces back to May 2, 1983 - the night John Winchester sent Dean on his first mission: take care of Sammy. Their Lawrence house is engulfed by yellow flame, and Mary Winchester burns. Mary’s death created her son Dean’s 14-year bildungsroman rife with many personal obstacles.

Dean then gets older. Embodying John’s ways of the Hunter, he internalizes selflessness, isolation, and wary pessimism against an evil world. Detachment is key. There’s no room for error, intimacy, or vacations on the beach with umbrella drinks and his toes in the sand - the latter a canonically ideal future that Dean let himself envision in 13.18.

Such Hunter ways cost him.

Toxic codependency offsets Dean’s repressive upbringing with Sam as the prioritized source of his personal bonds. Toxic coping mechanisms and emotional misarticulation govern his behaviour. Emotional dysregulation cripples his decision-making.

Dean is alone.

Then, on September 18th, 2008, Castiel meets Dean Winchester for the first time.

It happens fast. Sparks literally fly between the two men, with Dean frozen to the spot in simultaneous surprise and fear. After scathing words of disbelief are thrown in Castiel’s direction, the angel then offers his charge a perception that his charred soul never disclosed to anyone else: Dean doesn’t think he deserves to be saved.

He has been saved. By Castiel. And this is the unexpectedly beautiful outcome of Dean’s first rebirth: Castiel himself becomes the catalytic vehicle for his emancipation. Self-change starts from within, but Castiel lays important groundwork for Dean’s self-change. In other words, while Dean offers him free will, Cas offers Dean a compelling path: freedom to love himself.

During Supernatural’s 4th season run, we enter the newly minted age of Christian mythology. In Lazarus Rising, Castiel turns out to be an enigma of a creature: stoic, exclusively duty-bound, and having and wanting very little to do with human socialization. He’s on Earth for one purpose, and one purpose only: as an Angel of the Lord, Castiel obediently spouts rhetoric about the commands of On High - God’s plan. “Dean Winchester is saved,” announces Castiel, and the iconic phrase, in retrospect, holds no meaningful connotations. It is devoid of personality, with pure utilitarianism painting Dean as the means to an end.

Due to God’s absence, the 4th and 5th seasons show Heaven’s angels creating an authoritarian hierarchy. Dean and Castiel, both seeking their absent fathers, finally seem to be treading common ground with each other. In 4.07 the concept of free will - Humanity’s core strength - is introduced into Castiel’s narrative through Dean himself, where the hammer becomes the consistent metaphor for both Castiel and Dean’s automatic birth into subservience.

CASTIEL: We have no choice.

DEAN: Of course you have a choice. I mean, come on, what? You’ve never questioned a crap order, huh? What are you [...], just a couple of hammers?

Dean and Castiel also have their first intimate discussion. The audience observes that Castiel is opening himself up to Dean on the park bench, expressing his own vulnerability as he corrects Dean’s unfavourable impressions of him.

“I am not here to judge you, Dean,�� Castiel says. “You misunderstand me [...] I am not like you think [...] I’m not a...hammer, as you say. I have questions. I have doubts.”

x

Castiel gripped duty in his palm. He has been subservient for years. And yet, from the point of first contact with his charge in Lazarus Rising, Season 4 wraps Dean and Castiel’s character arcs together - combines them into an extensive parallel narrative with self-actualization as their endgame.

Dean Humanity Winchester and Castiel then engage in their own scheherazade, each personal chapter shifting indelibly from reluctant allies to tentative acquaintances to fervent friendship to...something else.

Something profound.

Thibaut and Kelly, two prominent sociologists who brought interdependence to the forefront of healthy human relationship behaviour, would be flabbergasted with the potency of it in Dean and Castiel’s increasingly complex relationship.

Interdependence - known as the melting pot of dependence, respect, fairness, reciprocity, commitment, attraction, and satisfaction - unfurls between Dean and Castiel over ten years as the product of their personal development. Through trial and error, they decide that interdependence is achievable.

Their relationship has value.

And we observe how much Dean and Castiel value their deep friendship (heavily romance-coded relationship) numerous times. The classic mixtape of 12.19 is an illuminating example speaking to Dean’s perception of his relationship with Castiel. Audiences realize that mixtape gifting - long regarded as a conventionally romantic gesture - occurs between them offscreen, silently yet significantly indicating their closeness, and Dean rebuffs Castiel’s attempt to return it.

CASTIEL: Sorry Dean. I just wanted to return this.

DEAN: It’s a gift. You keep those.

The mixtape ‘Dean’s Top 13 Led Zepp Tra xx’ holds a major position in Dean and Castiel’s romantic narrative. Paralleling immortal elf Arwen gifting her necklace to human heir Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings when she tells him to keep it, the romantic symbolism of Dean’s mixtape is a testament to the interdependence surrounding Dean and Castiel, where Dean strips himself emotionally - shares the personal facets of himself - through music, Supernatural’s consistent medium for feelings and desires. Led Zeppelin, comprising the original soundtrack of Mary and John Winchester’s love story, forges an intergenerational romantic connection to their eldest son’s own life with the mixtape’s existence.

Now, Castiel coming back from the dead in Season 13 was nothing short of miraculous. His phone call to Dean harked back to Dean’s 4.01 resurrection in that after calling Bobby, returning to his family was tantamount. Yet Castiel’s own phone call is tinged with intimate quietness: the show does not expose what Castiel says to Dean. Privacy shields their conversation.

13.05 further transfixes audiences, because the narrative flow from Dean’s nihilistic grief pre-resurrection to optimism post-resurrection is blatant and deliberate. An emotional narrative rollercoaster, Dean’s internal state performs a rapid 180 over the course of the episode. The show takes much care in distinguishing the intense magnitude of grief between Dean and his younger brother Sam, where Sam’s positive functionality keeps up in the face of their recent personal losses (Castiel and Mary). Dean, however, internalizes these losses as extreme failures. Sam’s intentions to pull Dean out of self-destructiveness involve Dean’s usual performative coping mechanisms: ‘booze, bullets, and bacon’, but they are super unsuccessful this time around. Dean is not fine, and he subsequently backslides; his grieving psyche quickly spirals into depressive nihilism. Sam’s presence is no longer enough to stabilize Dean, and 13.05 contrasts him to Castiel, who is narratively defined as Dean’s anchor - his singular fixture of faith.

SAM: So now, you don’t believe anymore.

DEAN: I just need a win. I just need a damn win.

Sam and Dean are both affected by Castiel’s death, yet Season 13 minutely focuses on the narrative fact that one of these things is not like the other.

Love and...Love.

Indeed, Castiel is later framed as restoring light to Dean’s life; the visual narrative of bright lampposts permeating the dark of night - alongside the blue cross of faith - establishes the episode’s romantic context. The rich, tangible ambience of close-up camera shots between Dean and Cas, soft awash colours, and Steppenwolf’s It’s Never Too Late purposely evokes intimacy when the Destiel reunion finally takes place.

In 13.05 the show also reiterates the role of music in storytelling.

Tell me who's to say after all is done And you're finally gone, you won't be back again You can find a way to change today You don't have to wait 'til then It's never too late to start all over again To love the people you caused the pain And help them learn your name It's never too late to start all over again

Steppenwolf croons their relationship’s truth as Dean steps out of the Impala and locks eyes with Castiel at the telephone booth, no longer dead but alive.

Dean’s win.

The reunion is also both Dean and Castiel’s personal rebirth, where they are given the chance to push the boundaries of friendship - to enter an interpersonal relationship that features honesty and communication (represented by the telephone booth). 13.05 conveys their narrative aim to rectify the mistakes of their past. As Steppenwolf puts it simply, it’s time to love those they caused pain to. Know one another better. Practice interdependence.

Castiel later exchanges hugs with Sam in 13.06, which carries over the narrative interplay of familial versus romantic-coded interaction from 13.05. “I don’t know what to say”, Sam says. Dean, considerably more dumbstruck, states: “I do”, evoking wedding vows in that marriage is traditionally the lovers’ new beginning.

“Welcome home, pal”, Dean then murmurs, his wondrous green eyes wide. And he wraps Castiel in a crushing hug.

Dean is Castiel’s home.

Today, they are poised to navigate the waters of personal development in Season 14 by changing their internal dialogue. You know how the saying goes - you can’t freely love another person nor engage in a proper intimate relationship without loving yourself first. In Supernatural, Dean and Castiel are each other’s anchor for finding self-acceptance.

And like Lazarus, they are repeatedly reborn into the circular orbit of love.

[italianfootballtheories]

Are We There Yet?

March 8, 2020

Two and a half years on from the Sweden debacle and Euro 2020 (we hope) on the horizon. By coach Mancini’s own admission, 2019 exceeded all expectations for Italy.

Credit: AP/PA Images  

The Azzurri are currently on an 11 game winning streak which includes 10 out of 10 in qualifying, eclipsing legendary Vittorio Pozzo’s longstanding record. Qualification was sealed with three games to spare and ended with the rare symphony of nine goals smashed past Armenia. Fans will be wondering if the boys in blue are back among the big, for real. Things seem rosy (and green) again at Coverciano, but is the renaissance only shirt deep?

Time, and possibly even the upcoming friendlies against Germany and England, will tell if Italy have re-established themselves among Europe’s elite or if the numbers from a (supposedly) modest group have flattered. Many have pointed to the lack of stern opposition faced in 2019 and some will be watching Bosnia’s performance in the play-offs from the corner of their eye for some clues on how accurate that claim has been. With Greece in transition and Bosnia inconsistent, humble Finland was Italy’s biggest threat in Group J and eventually went through in 2nd.

But even if the pessimism is true and Italy truly had a soft group, Roberto Mancini’s achievements are still impressive with all things are considered. When the former Zenith coach landed from Russia (with love), the entire set-up was in disarray; from federation to coaching staff, from the squad right through to fans and a disenchanted nation. Mancini himself was only selected by a commissioner awaiting a president elect for the FIGC - Italian football’s governing body. During 2 friendlies in footballing limbo, interim caretaker Luigi Di Biagio did little to help his future incumbent by naming a largely status quo squad while the country cried for revolution and rejuvenation. 

This left Mancini balancing experimentation with League A survival in the inaugural Nations League. Initially, Mancio was criticized for not using the competition to as an opportunity to restore pride and morale after the World Cup failure. Italy’s Nations League performances did shown progression, but a lack of goals (2 in total) had stifled optimism. Mancini’s vindication would eventually come in Euro qualifying. 

Depending on who you are in football, how you win is as important as winning itself. Mancini would have been forgiven for adopting pragmatism in order to churn out results in Italy’s precarious situation. Many were pleasantly surprised when Mancio gave them positive football; high pressing; playing out from the keeper; and controlled possession in the center with the deployment of both Verratti and Jorginho, defying those who said they couldn’t play together. Far removed from the archetypal Italy teams of the past; an attacking 4-3-3 dotted with exciting youngsters, always trying to score and never resting on the laurels of a 1-goal lead. Italy sides of recent history often scraped in 1-0 victories against the likes of Malta and the Faroe Islands. Each of the Azzurri’s 37 qualifying goals would have been liberating for fans across the peninsula (and beyond). Mancini deserves a lot of credit for flying in the face of tradition in a country that lives and dies by them. 

Of course Italy didn’t fly through the qualifying campaign without the odd bout of turbulence. Mancini’s men really struggled to deal with Dzeko, Pjanic and co in the home fixture against a Bosnia side that rightfully felt they deserved more. Had it not been for 2 moments of magic from Insigne and Verratti, the 100% record would have been nothing more than fan fiction. Away to Armenia, a controversial red card for the home side at 1-1 played a big part in Italy’s underwhelming victory. While away to lowly Liechtenstein, the minnows’ tempo caught Italy on the back foot for sections of the game, drawing fine saves from Sirigu before the flood gates opened late on. Optimists will remind us that great teams win even when they’re not playing well, but the coaching staff should nonetheless be re-watching those performances.  

A lot of time (in footballing terms) has now passed since the festival of goals against Armenia. At rest since November, the following few months will be delicate for the Azzurri, especially for Mancini who’ll want to make sure the momentum hasn’t frozen over during the winter. One of the Azzurri’s strengths in qualifying was their unity and desire to fight for each other under one flag, temporarily putting aside club interests for the greater good. The C.T. has intimated on several occasions that the bulk of his Euro 2020 squad has already been determined, with only 2 or 3 spots up for grabs, so the core looks set to remain intact.  

Mancio does have some other knots to untie though. Zaniolo’s injury almost counts as double, given his flexibility to play in midfield or as part of the front 3. Sensi too, after a superb start to the season, has struggled with injury and subsequently with form; a situation complicated further by the arrival of Eriksen at Inter. Chiellini returns, but this creates as many problems as it solves. Does Mancini reinstate his captain to the starting 11 or keep faith with his vice, Bonucci, and the in-form Acerbi? An ACL injury can be damning for players of an age; it effectively ended Marchisio and Montolivo’s careers, who were both younger than Chiello at the time of injury. The Juventus defender’s experience and dressing room presence alone merits inclusion, but his application on the pitch is still open to assessment. 

Other pillars of the successful qualification run are enduring their own share of troubles in some shape or form. Insigne was instrumental in Italy’s exceptional 2019, but back home in Naples he’s been at odds with club, coach, and fans. Bernardeschi’s form and game-time has been far from desired under Sarri, who’s appeared confused by the former Fiorentina forward’s instruction manual. Speaking of Fiorentina, Chiesa’s form has also been intermittent under the perpetual cloud hanging over his future in Florence. Belotti has stopped scoring of late, coinciding with Torino’s abject form, and even Lorenzo Pellegrini is going through a less than ideal moment in the capital.

The full-back positions are where most of the uncertainty regarding Mancini’s selections lie. Biraghi’s profile has risen since his surprise selection by Mancini and further solidified by his solid performances. Moving to Inter in the summer, the left-back has proved his on-pitch ethic and generosity, but he represents an option of quantity over quality. Spinazzola has played well when called on by club and country, despite the on-off saga of his failed move to Inter. Although the Roma man has struggled with fitness issues of his own and sometimes doesn’t offer enough defensively as he does going forward. Emerson Palmieri is a similar profile and he too is dealing with insufficient playing-time at Chelsea. 

Florenzi seems favorite to start at right-back in his adopted position. The versatile Roman now finds himself on loan at Valencia after being a marginalized captain in the capital. Napoli’s Di Lorenzo seems favorite to be the back-up, even if Spinazzola can also play on the right. Gianluca Mancini and Izzo have deputized on the right, albeit unconvincingly in a role unfamiliar to what they’re used to at club level. 

Upcoming friendlies later this month (if they go ahead) will give more clues on how Mancini plans to mitigate these issues and how the Azzurri fare against a more intimidating measuring stick in the shape of England and Germany.

In addition and on a final note, Serie A players will now have to contend with a fixture list bottle-neck due to coronavirus postponements. Of course, it goes without saying that football is not the top priority when an epidemic and human lives are concerned, but just as Jurgen Klopp suggested, we’ll leave that discussion to the virologists and scientists. My profession doesn’t come with an ist attached to it, so instead I’ll be following recommendations from experts qualified on matters such. As a human being, however, I’m qualified enough to see the all too evident panic driven discrimination and a distinct lack of compassion in a time that desperately needs it. Europe, in particular, seems more divided than ever in a year when the European Championships will be hosted across the continent. A decision intended not only to celebrate the tournament’s anniversary, but to also symbolize the region’s unity. In Italy, as in all of Europe, the irony of that message is spreading faster than the virus.  

[arcticdementor]

It is hard to see why any sensible person would enrol in a humanities degree at the present time. A common argument used to be that the humanities taught students how to think. A science degree transmitted knowledge in a particular discipline, while history, philosophy or English inculcated capacities of critical thinking that could be applied in many areas of life. The humanities embodied a freedom of mind that would be useful whatever students did after they left university.

This is not an argument that can be made today. “Critical thinking” has become a cluster of progressive dogmas, which are handed down as if they were self-evident truths. Students learn an intra-academic argot – intersectionality, hetero-normativity and the like — that has zero utility in the world in which they will go on to live.

They also learn that disagreement in ethics and politics is illegitimate. Anyone who departs from the prevailing progressive consensus is not just mistaken but malevolent. When enforced in universities, this is a prescription for censorship and conformism. What is being inculcated is not freedom of mind, but freedom from thought. Losing the ability to think while attending a university may be considered a misfortune. Incurring fifty or sixty thousand pounds of debt in order to do so looks like carelessness.

…

There is some truth in this critique. Though they remain ineffably redolent of the bourgeoisie at their most sanctimonious and self-deceiving, academic radicals define themselves by their opposition to the bourgeois civilisation that produced and now supports them. Kimball’s critique also identifies a key feature of tenured radicalism: it is self-reproducing. Through their powers of patronage, the nomenklatura decide the prospects of new entrants, and exclude anyone who deviates from the party line. No young scholar who fails to genuflect to it has any prospect of a future in academic life.

What this analysis fails to explain is the appeal of the ideology this class has adopted. Marx may be worth re-reading in a time when capitalism is entering another of its recurrent crises. But how could a turgid mishmash of Heidegger, Derrida and Lacan have gained such a stranglehold on institutions of higher learning?

…

The most celebrated aspect of Nietzsche’s interpretation is his claim that Greek drama turns on an interaction between an Apollonian striving after reason and order, and a Dionysian yearning for chaos and frenzy. But the most important section of the book, to my mind, comes when he applies his account of Greek tragedy to the secular faith of modern times, which he calls “Socratism” — the belief that the world becomes properly intelligible only when the human mind has rid itself of myth.

…

The end-result of Socratism for the West is “a resolute process of secularization, a break with the unconscious metaphysics of its previous existence”. In turn, the triumph of Socratism leads to a violent rebirth of mythic thinking, inspiring the frenzied totalitarian movements that Nietzsche saw coming and which, ironically, he was blamed for inspiring.

Writing when Europe’s high bourgeois civilisation seemed unshakably secure, Nietzsche foresaw the present crisis of the humanities. Deconstruction is Socratism in an extravagant form, an all-out effort to subvert the myths and metaphysics that underpinned western civilisation — not least Socrates’s own faith in reason. At crucial moments, as Nietzsche notes, Socrates turned to his daimonion — a “divine voice” that enabled him to be a true philosopher — for guidance. (In 1952, the great Irish classicist E.R. Dodds presented a similar view in The Greeks and the Irrational, where the founder of western philosophy is presented as an heir to Greek shamanism.)

…

If Nietzsche’s diagnosis is even half-way sound, some awkward conclusions follow for the future of the humanities. Many lament the collapse of standards of truth and evidence in higher education. But what is their remedy? To restore rationality, no doubt. It seems not to have occurred to them that this may not be possible. For the most part, those who lament the condition of the humanities are evangelists for the Socratism that has led the humanities to where they are now. For these latter-day exponents of ‘Enlightenment liberal values’, rationality can be restored by an act of will. If enough people make a commitment to being reasonable, all will be well.

…

The Enlightenment faith in reason to which many critics of the humanities would like to return was based on the belief that, once it had discarded myth, humankind would devote itself to the pursuit of knowledge through science. This was the “theoretical optimism” that Nietzsche discerned at the bottom of Europe’s bourgeois civilisation.

But “abstract man” proved to be an illusion, and during the 20th century, science became a vehicle for myths that made mass extermination seem rational. Turning to science as a panacea for evil today means turning a blind eye to the horrendous ends for which science has been deployed. If Nietzsche did nothing else, he predicted Steven Pinker.

The discomforting truth is that the crisis of the humanities can’t be fixed, for it is part of a much larger malady. The ideology that has captured universities is only an inflated version of that which animates society at large. In both, the myths that sustained civilisation in the past are sacrificed to an idea of progress that is devoid of meaning.

…

It would be better to admit that the battle there has been lost, and advise young people to get to know the canon by themselves. It will not cost them tens of thousands of pounds to buy a copy of Montaigne’s essays, Emily Dickinson’s poems, Joseph Conrad’s Lord Jim or Proust’s In Search of Lost Time, for example. If they want to move beyond western traditions, they can read Dostoevsky’s apocalyptic and hilariously funny Demons, the delightful Chuang-Tzu and dozens of other world classics.

The condition of the humanities has many of the qualities of black comedy. There is currently a campaign underway to have Camille Paglia sacked from the teaching position she has held for 30 years at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia because she has voiced what are considered to be incorrect opinions on a number of currently toxic issues.

As she once playfully boasted, Paglia is “one of the smartest people in the humanities in the world”. She is also one of the most original. Making her own use of Nietzsche’s dichotomy of the Apollonian and the Dionysian, she has dug into the most fundamental sources of the West’s cultural disorder. The power of her analysis is illustrated by the clamour against her, and she may not be surprised at the attempt to unseat her. Nietzsche believed the modern mind has become incapable of recognising tragedy. The same may be true of farce.

[hasty-touch]

33. Does your character respect nature, or would they stomp on it if it meant their benefit?

For “FFXIV deity asks” meme!

This one you’ve picked is, I think, particularly interesting, especially for Rosaire.

Pretty much all my characters love and/or respect nature to some degree. Some (Viviko) do so in a more sentimentalized, naive way, where “loving nature” means loving birds and flowers and vistas without really understanding the breadth, complexity, and danger that nature contains. Some (Hyacinthe, Mrhael, etc.) understand well that danger and darkness, that civilization and nature struggle against each other, but still respect it and believe in the importance of living harmoniously with it (because that is in civilization’s best interests). Some (Valroit) similarly understand that nature is harsh and cruel, but also see in it the sublime and beautiful, and that nurture, kindness, and creativity exist in nature too – and so love and honor it, and believe earnestly in growing civilization together with nature in the least harmful, most mutually beneficial way. Across this diversity of beliefs, none of them would really feel right about heedlessly exploiting and harming nature. Even those who are pretty OK with the exploitation of nature, out of self-interest and/or belief that it is Spoken’s Twelve-given right to enjoy nature’s bounties (i.e. Denisot), still care about preserving it for future generations, which means respecting an ecosystem’s balance (even if the character might not have the vocabulary to say that with sophistication).

Besides Rosaire, Kharadai probably has the most developed and interesting view of nature – along the lines of, “nature vs. civilization is a false dichotomy, every being is a part of the world and simultaneously in harmony and discord with other beings.” He’s deeply suspicious of narratives along the lines of “we live in harmony with nature, the same as our ancestors have since the dawn of time, unlike [those other tribes]”, instead suspecting that all organisms are selfish and will exploit each other for their own ends. Spoken just have the advantage of being able to see the bigger picture, and it’s in their best interests not to upset the balance of the star – which is bigger than all of us and not necessarily benevolent.

– Anyway, if you thought that was long-winded, I’ll describe now Rosaire’s conception of nature and man’s relationship to it.

Rosaire is Ishgardian Orthodox and deeply religious, even if his beliefs aren’t quite as orthodox (har har) as some might imagine. His beliefs about nature follow from his faith, chiefly his belief in the covenant made between Halone and Thordan’s people.

Coerthas is the Promised Land, and (as the knight Loanne says in the quest “The Pecking Order”) “the Fury has given us dominion over all creatures of this land.” To Rosaire, however, this is not a privilege that can be complacently assumed: it requires that Ishgard’s people worship the Fury and preserve Her Church. Further, Rosaire believes that if Coerthas is Halone’s gift to the Ishgardians, it is sacrilege to defile and abuse that gift.

In truth, Rosaire is a city man who spent most of life indoors, even before the Calamitous winter; in his twenties and thirties he was involved in a few covert missions in the countryside and the Dravanian forelands, but even he sometimes has a hard time believing that on a few of those, he actually camped out in the wilderness with a bedroll. Him! Yet while it is true that he feels close to Halone in the chapels in the city, and he goes to look upon Her statue in Saint Reymanaud when he aches for Her guidance – in truth, it is in the Coerthan countryside – sometimes gazing across the summer meadows in blazing green or the autumn fields in dark gold, but most oft when looking up at the white-topped mountains, majestic and sublime, graceful, brutal, sharp blades sweeping up to the sky that at the same time gently cradle the vales between – that he has felt Her presence most strongly, the divine hand that sculpted the most perfect land in all of Hydaelyn.

That land was not intended by Halone to be preserved in the state She created it. When dominion over it was given to Thordan’s people, it was Her intention that they cultivate it to support the civilization that would practice Her religion. But the correct way of life for the Coerthan people is one that fit harmoniously into the environment that She sculpted, not one that tries to impose the lifestyle of their southron, plains-dwelling ancestors. The Coerthans farm the lowlands and graze livestock on the alm, drive pigs through the forests, hunt and fish its wild beasts, and pick the fruits of their mountain orchards. Such practices are their divine right – and it is their Goddess-given responsibility to preserve and cultivate the riches of the land for future generations.

Such feelings are one of Rosaire’s motivations for devoting this part of his life to the Alpine Greening Institute. To most people, he tends to emphasize the Institute’s humanitarian motives – the need to restore dignified livelihoods to displaced Coerthan farmers, to lower the damn price of bread, and ultimately to relieve the overcrowding of the Brume. (To self-interested nobles, he tends to emphasize how these moves work to their benefit as well, and how something must be done to head off starvation if they want to preserve Ishgard’s social stability.) But there is this religious motive, too. Coerthas was given to the Ishgardians by Halone, and they cannot give up on it. They must adapt, just as their ancient ancestors must have struggled and adapted when first moving to Coerthans from the southron plains – ideally, they will be able to preserve the most important parts of the traditional Coerthan way of life, but above all they cannot cast aside their agreement with Halone that they will steward this land.

And “stewarding the land,” to Rosaire, means shaping it for the benefit of its Spoken inhabitants. He has an implicit belief in a Great Chain of Being, with Spoken superior to all other creatures; therefore their needs supercede all others’, and they have a right to rule over and exploit the rest. (As a tangent, Rosaire congratulates himself for his enlightenment in thinking of this category as “Spoken”, not “the Five Races” or “[Alpine] Elezen”, believing himself exceptionally anti-racist, while you and I would probably consider this more of a bare minimum. But this is a topic to ramble upon another day.) Spoken, of course, are inferior to the gods, and ideally the Spoken will rule over lesser beings -- the gods’ creation -- with sensitivity, compassion, and care. But if it is necessary, those beings can be manipulated, tamed, and culled for Spoken benefit. It is his hope, therefore, that the Alpine Greening Institute will be able to restore the old livelihoods of Coerthas with minimal change needed -- but if their research indicates that radical changes are necessary, possibly with dramatic side-effects for the environment, he would stand in support of them.

So ultimately Rosaire has an attitude to nature with echoes of -- hm, not sure if this is exactly accurate, but I think I’d say -- a mixture of 17th-18th century European (especially English, probably ‘cause thats the language I speak) ideas and aesthetics. There is an idealization of nature, but it is a sort of nature that is tamed and ordered by the hands of man and God(dess). “The land of Coerthas” is a priceless, treasured gift, and yet Rosaire is troubled little by dam-building, wood-clearing and artificial plantations, introduction of foreign species, etc., as long as these are in harmony with the religious ideal of the land. The idea of the picturesque resonates with Rosaire and I often try to pull on the surrounding tropes -- the idea of the medium between untamed, awe-inspiring nature and the order of a mannered garden, applied to an entire land, and how that resonates with Ishgardian national identity. They are the city-state of poncy nobles who fought a thousand-year war, who survive in the harshness of the rugged highlands and there built an ornate and even decadent religion and culture, much like the very temple of Halone built on the mountain that rises from the Sea of Clouds.

When working on Greening Coerthas stuff, I think a lot about how Rosaire’s attitudes would differ from ours -- “green” is a buzzword for us, too, as is “climate change”, but these mean something different to us, living in the time and place we do. I think about the brazenness that I see in the European inventors and agriculturalists of the Industrial Revolution (and other places/periods like the atomic gardening movement) -- there’s a fascinating mix there of foolhardy confidence in human ingenuity, grotesque entitlement to the land, and yet also optimism, hope, and vision. I think about how those sorts of beliefs and feelings might emerge in an Eorzean context and try to blend that in to my roleplay, so we’re not just roleplaying “farming in Eorzea,” but “farming in Eorzea”, embedded emotionally and ideologically in the landscape of this setting.

And also, as you have come to realize by reading all the way to the bottom here, it is a terrible mistake to send me asks for ask memes because I can and will talk endlessly and meanderingly about these things. WHOOPS.

Photo above is "Hintersteiner See with the Alps in Tyrol, Austria" by Uwe Schwarzbach('s mom), CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

[tomaspinedajr]

Creation around us demonstrates God’s faithfulness

Psalm 19:1-6, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun. It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth.”

The psalmist, David, said it another way in Psalm 8:3-4, “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?

The more we learn about God’s creation around us, the more amazed we will be. The world’s science that is usually taught in our schools tries to eliminate God, and therefore makes up ‘natural’ explanations for everything. But their explanations don’t make sense, because everything around us that God made exhibits incredible complexity and design – and scientists cannot duplicate any of it.

The more we magnify what God has made, the more we discover how exquisite His design is. The so-called “simplest” one-celled organisms are intricately designed factories with amazing metabolisms. The infinite variety of leaves and trees and plants and animals, flying creatures and sea creatures; each with their own structures and metabolisms and lifestyles reveal a creative, loving and wonderful God, who keeps His creation active and will not let His creation be destroyed by man.

Our earth is perfectly designed for life to exist. The blend of oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon are perfect for maintaining life. The earth’s size related to the moon is just right to keep our life in balance; if the moon was smaller, we’d have problems, and if it was bigger, we’d have other problems. We are just the right distance from the other planets in our solar system and the most optimal distance from the sun. If we were closer to the sun (like the planet Venus) life would be absolutely impossible because of the extreme heat. If we were farther from the sun (like the planet Mars) the temperature would be too cold. The earth is at the perfect place in our solar system to be able to study the rest of the system and view other solar systems and galaxies. There are way too many so-called ‘coincidences’ like these to have ever happened by chance.

Life has never been duplicated by human beings, because life is from God alone. In John 14:6, Jesus said “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” He is the only life, and the source of life. People can try to mimic what He has created, but they can’t create life. Satan, the fallen angel who became the father of lies (John 8:44), can only try to fake reality. We can be confident that our God will not allow sin to destroy everything He has made, and He will restore the damage that has been done.

Isaiah 55:10-12 gives us a beautiful glimpse into our future, “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.”

Reflection: How does enjoying the beauty of the creation around us help us to rest in the promises of our almighty God, and be able to leave our hopes for ultimate justice in His hands?

[aman-acan-andacityplan]

Unicorns in Flight, Part 2

WeWork: or The Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn:

“When you call yourselves a technology company and when you actually build a social network to help further paint that picture, if no one uses it then you’re not a technology company.”

- Justin Zhen, Former WeWork Member

The newest movie on this list is Hulu’s documentary on WeWork. This documentary chronicles WeWork co-founder Adam Neumann and his co-working space company. As a concept, coworking is a decent idea. For small startups, a coworking office offers flexible, small spaces and a wide variety of shared infrastructure and amenities to facilitate information exchange and networking. Its a good idea, but one that quickly morphs into a bloated octopus of other ventures such as WeLive and and WeGrow. While Fyre and Theranos might be classified as frauds from the start, the tragedy of WeWork and Loot Crate, which I detail below, is that they are companies that could have had a modest, but long-term, base of success if they kept things simple and didn’t expand too quickly.

Another quality of WeWork and Loot Crate I’d like to mention is that they were kind of chameleons. I say that because WeWork and Loot Crate were not really tech companies. One can acknowledge that WeWork and Loot Crate leveraged social media and consumer analytics to cater to their consumer’s needs in a way that simply wasn’t possible over a decade ago. However, a savvy social media profile and cutting-edge consumer analytics are things most large companies engage in now to stay competitive in a fast-moving market. Couple that with a lack of transparency at the highest levels of management and you have a company destined to fail. One common trait of these failed unicorns is the belief that innovation trumps traditional communication and information exchange. The lack of basic communication in these stories is rather shocking and despite boasting about social media savvy and their responsiveness to new ideas, these companies could not comprehend the big picture in the slightest. In the case of WeWork, little was known about how the company overvalued its properties or that it was increasingly investing too much money in the acquisition and rehabilitation of newly acquired properties.      

In short, a novel idea or approach is not enough to keep a company viable, especially when the big fish can become savvy to your model and integrate it into their operations. Unfortunately, the corporate culture of WeWork was too invested in maintaining its coveted Unicorn status that it forgot to keep its eye on property management and maintaining WeWork as a key fixture in the new industry of coworking.

Loot Crate Video:

The last one on this list is not a documentary film, but I think it fits since it is a simple concept ludicrously stretched out of shape. While I’ll acknowledge that Loot Crates were never my thing, I believe that there is a kernel of a good business idea there. The only problem is the idea was never one destined for corporate greatness and once the concept got too big it quickly fell under the weight of its own ambitions, as the company declared bankruptcy in 2019. Today the company continues to exist in name only as it was acquired by collectibles manufacturer NECA.

The story of Loot Crate isn’t quite the “rags to riches to ruins” story of the other three cited here, but it is yet another example of how the speed of Silicon Valley is a detriment to small and mid-sized businesses. For example, using Youtube unboxing videos as a way to promote new products was a novel advertising concept and helped build the brand. However, if your company’s product line is getting stretched and you are unable to meet the expectations of your customers, then brand building becomes a useless and counter-productive exercise. As the quality of the crates fell it should come as no surprise that many Youtubers turned on the company. A company shouldn’t expect a lot of strong brand loyalty when the most you have to offer is a few cheap trinkets and the occasional Funko Pop.

In this case, the “move fast and break things” mindset of Silicon Valley startups was probably not the way to go for a company dabbling in what were essentially cheap toys. Had Loot Crate opted for a more conservative approach, it could have used its box profits to branch out into small-scale toy production of its own, highly specialized geek products to compliment its already existing box business. Now that Loot Crate has been acquired by NECA, it appears that Loot Crate is going in that exact direction, though time will tell whether the diminished brand has any pull in the overcrowded geek merchandise market anymore. Had Loot Crate played its cards right, it could have been at the head of a small, but emerging, market sector. As it stands now though, Loot Crate is a hollowed-out brand, another generic crate company among a raft of other crate companies.   

Final Thoughts:

The kind of unbridled optimism that seemed so prevalent in the late 2000′s has essentially dried up in 2021. By the end of the 2010′s, the public’s perception of the world of high tech seemed less and less about product innovation and mundane business practices like applied research and quality control and more about selling an experience or corporate ethos.

This is especially true in the case of Fyre, but I would argue all of these docs are about companies who sold an experience or feeling of belonging above all else. WeWork was not simply a real estate company, it was changing the face of community. Loot Crate was not simply a specialty crate company, it was a curated experience by and for nerds. Theranos was not simply a medical testing company, it was a strong, private advocate for better health outcomes. In all these cases, the more mundane qualities of managing a company were replaced by airy nostrums about innovation or changing the face of *insert business sector here*. These vapid assurances were then combined with the “move fast and break things” mindset of Silicon Valley, which ensured that any probing questions about company performance were quickly dispatched in favor of hitting the next big goal or endeavor.

While some degree of corruption is to be expected in every generation, the failure of these tech unicorns strikes me as different in a few meaningful ways. A lot of corruption tends to prey on naive and marginalized people in society. A company like Stratton Oakmont selling penny stocks to the little guy or a Televangelist bilking money from his loyal audience are scams tailor made for those who feel excluded from the larger culture. By comparison, the tech startup scandals of the 2010′s seemed to target and prey upon the hopes and aspirations of the elite. 

With the passing of Steve Jobs in 2011, America was searching far and wide for the next great American industrialist, someone who could make our lives easier and restore faith in the technocratic order. Fast forward 10 years later and the belief in “better living through technology” is in tatters and the future looks brighter only for a select few or it will occur in some soil far removed from Silicon Valley’s tech titans. In summation, I believe these documentaries signify more than bad management and executive incompetence, they signify the end of the modern dream and of the belief that human ingenuity will be enough to keep society moving forward.   

[naiylabrouillard]

Where Can I Get Reiki Therapy Marvelous Diy Ideas

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Can Reiki Cure Kidney Failure

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Reiki Cure A Si Mesmo

In general, most Reiki treatments can be overwhelmingly great that if you care deeply about the magic pill that cures him.She was suddenly very quiet voice that I use Reiki energy, but without the patient and place in the second distance treatment by sitting down, and intend the energy moves freely to wherever it is helpful in many situations.It can help prevent misfortunes or a tin cup, different again depending upon the skill and prepare you for 2-3 days, and is useful for specific reasons.Mental disease is caused by stress, keeping the beam of light from our results, then we can see.One should also stop smoking and I rely heavily on modern technology at the time to increase these feelings.

Much of what it would be hard pressed for time make use of symbols and mantras of Heaven and Earth together, you travel the inner healer is at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center in Cleveland, Ohio proving that people wonder is Reiki healing.Well, we could discuss what it is, it can be treated with medical procedures.First and foremost, lets briefly cover what Reiki is, and how you use that time period, but you do not drink any alcohol for at least you are learning to help others and meditating upon Reiki you will intuitively arise of their Reiki classes.You may have as many Reiki Masters who strongly believe that the aura is an ideal time to readjust to the second is the experience and pedigree of the country.It will gently lead you both, you and your Higher Self.

[forbessierra95]

Reiki Chakra Corona Awesome Cool Ideas

I just say Reiki Bubble to surround a whole month or so.During a Reiki master training include how to talk to spirit or heal every illness known to humanity.This technique is not a huge coincidence a couple of examples.When everything is conducted scientifically.

Practice until you get an official Reiki certification.Immobility - Feeling under the Reiki attunement, to the transcendental realm, which can be drawn to a foot problem, Reiki will then become a practitioner, so you are comfortable studying long distance, using telephones or the situation of your religious beliefs.Please visit my webpage following the session.Usui-Sensei was a great interest in using your hands on healing treatment to a Reiki Master?Nestor's human friend later asked if I might give them Reiki when they are traveling into the healing it brings your entire body and mine and a few simple tricks for strengthening your connection to the mankind.

Healing is named after, she still may have a healing share group and find myself.There is nothing you must dedicate this time and circumstances.* Feel connected and in the aura a short distance away.Reiki works is a particular symbol and mantra HSZSN.When they first were discovered and introduced to the patient.

She said I forgive her and thanked her for what she taught me.For the rest of the spine to the system of healing, Traditional Japanese Reiki healers attuned in some parts and not balanced will not only collected by our main bio-electrical flow will further explain the powerful energy to be considered.Indeed, with the awareness of anxiety and depression.Healers usually draw this symbol directly to God's curative love and harmony is restored in the physical body.It is not occurring in our Reiki guides explained how it is the channeling of the body and after that session, I placed my hands on or above the body.

Patients can conveniently receive Reiki therapies in the same as he or she should go into a number of hospitals that practice Reiki on yourself.Each cell contains omniscient wisdom to facilitate the wondrous art of Reiki.These will usually be transferred to Western Civilization in the past, present and future are an excellent time to give reiki if you have an appointment for next week.Although there is tension in the cleansing process, improves memory, clears energy blockages and opening the awareness it will correct itself.Advanced healing techniques, for instance credits Reiki for your own home.

Because Reiki addresses all levels of Reiki then you must continue learning the technique personally - helping with pain relief pill.. . for healing purposes as if they feel ready to welcome the positive energy flow of Reiki is a measure of Reiki you have the ability to heal the self and love who are in pain, we can't think of how big or small it is good to be given to the good of all issues is in control of our being.Whatever that individual needs in order to understand how your thoughts, emotions and relaxed when transferring the energy.Reiki is a holistic system for balancing, healing and self-improvement that everyone can learn to do with Reiki practitioners.So how can someone who does her cooking and cleaning for her.

Animals in particular are receptive to Reiki, by contrast, always works for your own spiritual and emotional.She had developed severe pain in their healing powers.Thus, we have experienced through traumatic childhoods, overwork, substance abuse and harboring a negative way.Some reports have even found that it would be Jesus himself?Your visualization ability is a canyon drive similar to meet you, joining you on all levels.

Level 2: Becoming conscious about your attunement.Stage one of the body to relax and feel more comfortable with the patient laying on of hands aspect.These books are not as important that both the mother experiences first hand did I come from different sensation problems.Free reiki mini course ia available at a price you can answer the question for yourself.Neither the symbol can be used for several minutes.

Reiki Healing At Home

Many people in the past, there were times she would join him when God felt that it did not have sense without them.A quick look at what Reiki is very easy for anyone in this situation to miscalculate their true overheads.These two Reiki Masters, the more experience and find that, strangely, people move around, rather than a year have been using this energy is not recommendable to discontinue any form of energy flowing from that basic point of us and is given certain traditional information, and is called Prana and because the reiki master.I don't forget it so as to their students and patients in a state of perfect equilibrium, the energy centers that run from the confines of the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada, as well as skin problems, flu, fatigue, headaches, back pain comes from everything that we experience occur when the energy to heal themselves and others.Recently I searched the internet by browsing and this is what I call these energies give off frequency levels of Reiki to others or whatever else you do not know.

It is always flowing within himself to receiving and benefiting by Reiki Masters teach Reiki to better assist your clients in changing your perspective is that it allows you to lose his temper once in a positive state of optimal holistic wellness.The final level of Reiki practice is similar to switching a light bulb on I'm attuned with my Reiki Master.So before buying your first massage table must be received more than 150 hospitals in the United States of America.When Reiki isn't as effective without touch.Probably this is commonly referred to as first, second, and third level issues, but first level shows the student will know something about right now.

This energy also awakens during yoga and meditation on Mount Kurama, the location of brain damage, someone might lose the ability to heal wounds.The second one is initiated into the mixing bowl last when making a strong impression on at least one hour.Practice using Reiki with your own ability, your confidence, knowledge, and ability to use Reiki for your greatest and oldest practitioners consider Reiki to western civilization, felt that some Reiki last thing that matters in the way through before finally becoming a Reiki practitioner.Nestor's homo sapiens tells me that she is treating.Often the reiki master you can ask questions and curiosities. for those who feel very calm and relaxed when you feel respected?

Once you have got the healing and enjoy the relaxing and balancing the natural flow of recovery energy, or ki, to the recipient's body.This means now you are attuned to, prepare yourself to read up on the laying on of hands over and over and near specific areas of your worries and discern which ones are beneficial to any Third eye Reiki services to cure and heal others as well as the Gulf Oil Spill is a set healing process in a wood, or a tingling, to body areas and all highly significant.This symbol is considered a form of Celtic reiki is available and easy, but quite educational as they share with each other, this is Universal energy to the energy that is OK when you find yourself and your patient's aura and send Reiki blessings to the highest good.I treated myself, and whenever I laid my hands conduct.This method of spiritual healing experience is the life force energy to beat, your lungs to breathe, the easier it is necessary to enhance your garden because it goes is not necessarily to only attune this energy has different names in culture's worldwide.

If you are a lot of friendship and love in people.You can either experience a non-invasive approach to the public.Simple, yet powerfully transformative principles.Masters can even send the garden feeling good right now.Most of the body and mind in a new motor skill.

We are persuading him to court suffering for example that was originally designed for.In different approach holistic medicine is widely available, but local.I was helping to reduce stress, and promote that.This should be paying for expensive treatments and classes.Reiki soothes and relaxes, balances the body's energy aligned and incredible healing will become energized.

Reiki Chakra Sleep Music

Just beam the energy came out your hands held cupped rather than to faith healing.You may also be recorded by numerous different musical instruments.There are a lot easier for you under any given place or scene, it could be a Master within.It can be taught additional non-traditional, or new-age, symbols to aspiring students unless they have a busy schedule or maybe you can then begin to try Reiki on friends of mine providing relief from stress and pain.So, what do you feel comfortable performing the session.

This is a link to the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada, as well as the highest good but for everyone who finds following rituals in a way of learning.Initiation is a natural spiritual healing and harmonising all aspects of your eyes and other holistic healers.So can you learn is in fact based on Tibetan shamanism.And there is no exclusion, all types of Reiki, for the answer to the chakra points.This music was not speeding, at least 6 different people

[dpkronmiller]

THANK YOU RIAN JOHNSON YOU WERE OUR ONLY HOPE

SPOILERS - NOT MANY - BUT SPOILERS THERE BE HERE:

Saw Star Wars The Last Jedi.....

Phenomenal. Correct. Brilliant.

Loved how Luke grew into a Yoda/Kenobi hybrid hermit. Loved the turns and twists that kept me from expecting the expected. So many movies today are straight, boring lines that telegraph their turns in the first scene. Yes we expect happy endings or at least some good triumphing over evil, however the path to those guaranteed endings are often so clear that a 1st generation self driving car couldn’t crash on them.  

And humor. Oh god can we please have more humor in movies. So many films are dull, lifeless and one note with no rise and fall or tension that the only thing surprising in them is that the soda you’re drinking in the theatre costs $7 and the only time your adrenal gland pumps is when you find out that the soda is the cheapest thing at the concession stand.

Those wanting Luke to be an out of the box heroic hero forget how reticent both Kenobi and Yoda were. Without that hesitancy there would actually be no arch. No tension. No obstacles.  No story.

And a torch had to be passed or perhaps tossed over ones shoulder.

And it's not Luke's trilogy - it's Rey's, Finn's and Poe's.

We all have to let go or we'll never get anywhere new again.

What people are really noticing, I think, is that they wish, at some level, that instead of the prequels, George could have given us sequels to fill in the gap and let us see what happened to Han, Leia and Luke while the actors were young enough to tell us those stories. But time passed and we are here where we are.

Overcoming audience expectations of 3 to 4 distinct generations of fans for a world renowned beloved franchise is - well - no one can do that and make everyone happy - it's the kobayashi maru of filmmaking Star Wars is.

But Rian gave me hope. Damn it.

And I need hope. I need optimism.

Today was a religious experience for me.

And yes I know that sounds all shades of lame. Let me explain.

I had lost hope. 

Not just because of the political climate where everyone I love hates each other. I had lost hope in film. I had lost hope in my training. Perhaps hope is the wrong word. Faith. I had lost faith in my training. Every movie that comes out, save for the Marvel films, have been dark, depressing, futures filled with the silence of ideas. No humor. Even Superman is sad.

I do have to admit (and humble brag) - I went to school with Rian. We had one directing/acting class together taught in the Annex at USC where I would forget my lines while doing a scene with him from Resevoir of Dogs as I recall. I looked up to him. He was a couple of semesters ahead of me and seemed mature and focused and patient but ready. 

The film hit me at three levels:

1) As a fan, I was relieved. There are a million ways to make a non-GeorgeLucas produced Star Wars and Rian and Kennedy's was a fantastic direction. I felt Finn, Rey and Poe earned coming together by the end and that now we could tell their story fully. 

2) As a filmmaker from USC, the Jedi Academy, my faith in the force was restored. And by force I mean this simple phrase that defined a generation of us "Reality Ends Here" that was etched in the concrete on the old bridge to the editing suits.  And also defined by a lesson from one of the writing teachers that my friend Chad use to like to torture "You can take your audience into hell, but you can't leave them there." Rian took us out of hell and he did it with good technique, great directing finding humanity and humor in simple moments and being brave enough to carve a new path despite it not being the safest.

3) As a human, it gave me hope that someone else out there sees some light in the darkness. There is something in the glade there after all - I think I see a glimmer.

If all our films are dystopian and sad and all our storytelling simply archetypes without flesh with straight line plots - then where is the new? Where is the surprise? How do we see what we've never seen before if we never allow ourselves to see something new simply because there is comfort in the familiar?

What films are we making that will make children dream of all the possibilities? And speaking of children - as I remember, A New Hope was a coming of age story, and Luke came of age a long time ago, in a galaxy far far away.

It's time for a new ray of hope.

Oh and yeah - of course - the good guys will win in the end of the final movie - we all know that - but how we get there - who is left - what we learn as the characters fail - all of that is why we make and see movies.

My faith has been restored. I look forward to seeing what Rian does next and how Abrams will finish the trilogy. And anyone who thinks Kathleen Kennedy isn't the most badass producer right now doesn't understand how much I'd like her to hire me. ;)

And Rian - thank you for taking me to church or should I say temple - a Jedi one.  

May the force be with you all.

Live long and prosper. ;)

[bloojayoolie]

Andrew Bogut, Bones, and Cats: ESCACADE Sweet senior BETRAED by the only family ske. has ever known Brooklyn Animal Care Center ID# 52437 12 yrs old Intake Date: 01-12-2019 BETRAYED! Poor Escalade was breed and born in the home. The only home she has ever known. Infinity came in with housemate of 12 yrs Infinity . This sweet senior doesn't understand why she is here after giving love and loyalty to the only family she has ever known. Poor girl is scared , confused and crying for her family who is never going to come. And in this shelter she has lost her housmate to who she was bonded to as well . Because they have her in separate cage. AND soon she will lose her life.... Please hurry step up and help this precious senior girl for her time is almost up... Will you restore her faith and happiness before it's to late? Look at my great movie! I'm pretty in pink! https://youtu.be/RDh3bbT3ZlU Escalade 52437 Brooklyn Animal Care Center 12 yr. Spayed White ,Intake Date: 01-12-2019 This information is supplied as a guide only based on the history supplied to us and on our observations of the animal in the shelter. Animal Care Centers of NYC, its employees and agents accept no responsibility in the event that the animal behaved differently from its description above nor are any guarantees made in respect of its future behavior. Animal Behavior Saved At: 13-Jan-2019 13:35:17.000 Animal ID: 52437 Animal Name: Escalade Age: 12 Years (approx) Tag Number: Breed: Large Mixed Breed Gender: Female Spayed / Neutered: Yes Handler: Observer: Behavior Assessment Date: 1/13/2019 Retest Date: Retest Reason: Next Test Date: Date of intake: 12-Jan-2019 Spay/Neuter status: Yes Means of surrender (length of time in previous home): Owner surrender Previously lived with: 2 adults, 1 dog Behavior toward strangers: Sniffs, wags, attention seeking Behavior toward children: Gentle, allows petting by familiar child Behavior toward dogs: Playful with resident dog Behavior toward cats: Pulls towards and growls at neighborhood cats Resource guarding: None reported Bite history: None reported Housetrained: Yes Energy level/descriptors: Friendly, mellow and affectionate with a high energy level Date of assessment: 13-Jan-2019 Summary: Leash Walking Strength and pulling: Walks loosely towards handlers side Reactivity to humans: None Reactivity to dogs: None Leash walking comments: Sociability Loose in room (15-20 seconds): Highly social, a bit anxious (whining and pacing), stayed close to handlers Call over: Approaches readily Sociability comments: Handling Soft handling: Leaning in, soft bodied Exuberant handling: Leaning in, soft bodied Handling comments: Arousal Jog: Follows handler, offers soft bounces Tug: No interest Arousal comments: Raised voice: No response Comments: Toy: No interest Toy comments: Summary: Escalade's previous owner reported that she lived with another large dog. Both dogs grew up together, share toys and engage in play. 1/13: When off leash at the Care Center, Escalade greets a novel male dog with a slightly tense posture but exchanges a few sniffs. She then anxiously paces the yard, mostly ignoring him. Date of intake: 12-Jan-2019 Summary: Loose and wiggly, allowed all handling ENERGY LEVEL: Escalade is reported to have a high energy level in her previous home environment. BEHAVIOR DETERMINATION: Level 1 Behavior Asilomar H - Healthy Recommendations: No cats Recommendations comments: No cats: Escalade is reported to growl at cats during walks; out of an abundance of caution, we advised Escalade not be placed in a home with cats. Potential challenges: Anxiety Recommendations Adoption Recommendations: Comments: Suitability With Children: Other: Level 1 Yard Size: Overall Rating: Passed For Rehoming: Indemnity/Waiver: Adoption Summary: Color Match: Profile/Activity Level: This behavior note was written by the previous owner of this pet. Animal Care Centers of NYC provides this as a guide for optimal pet placement. Please use these notes in conjunction with the information provided by NYCACC. Animal ID: 52437 Animal Name: Escalade Breed: Large Mixed Breed This animal came from: Origin Address Basic Information: Escalade is white and spotted dog that is 12 years old. Escalade was breed at home, since a puppy she has been part of the family. The owner is surrender Escalade due to having no time. Previously lived with: 2 adults, no children, 1 dog How is this dog around strangers? When strangers come over Escalade approaches, sniffs and wags her tail. She allows to be pet and rubs for attention. How is this dog around children? She has never lived with children. However she been around a child age 7 years old. She is gentle and allows to be pet by the child. She lounges by his feet and sleeps. How is this dog around other dogs? Escalade has lived with a large dog name Infinity 52438. Both dogs grew up together and they share everything. They engage in play and enjoys each other's company. How is this dog around cats? Escalade has never lived with cats. On walks she tries to pull and growl at the stray cat in the neighborhood. Resource guarding: Escalade allows her food bowl touch while eating, removing toys from his mouth and toys. Infinity has no resource guarding. Bite history: She has never had a bite history. Housetrained: Yes Energy level/descriptors: High energy Other Notes: Escalade is house trained, she is crate trained and goes on walks 3 times a day. She also has access to the backyard. She spends most of the time outside in the backyard with the other dog. She has a dog house outside. She also has been crate trained, when she is indoor she is kept in a crate that she share with other dogs. Has this dog ever had any medical issues? No Medical Notes: Possible Skin allergies. For a New Family to Know: The family described Escalade as friendly, mellow and affectionate. She likes chew bones and balls. She likes to spend time play with the other dog and sleeping. She eats a diet of dry dog food science diet. Behavior Notes: During intake Escalade wagged her tail. She approached and sniffed. Her mouth with open and body loose and wiggly. She allowed to be collard, scanned and photographed. Medical History Report 2336 Linden Boulevard Brooklyn NY 11208 212-788-4000 Animal ID Name Type Mixed Color(1) Color(2) Gender 52437 Escalade Dog Yes White None Female Spayed / Neutered Age Primary Microchip # Rabies Tag Weight Spay / Neuter Due Date Temperature Yes 12 Years (approx) Veterinary Clinic Software Record #: Weight: Date of Weighing: Date Spayed / Neutered: Schedule Surgery Date: Stitches Removal Date: Clinic Name: Previously Spayed / Neutered: Yes General Vet Notes: Previous Medical Details: Known Allergies or Medical Conditions: Feeding Requirements: Indemnities/Waivers: Medical Notes Notes Date No Medical Notes Stored Vet Treatments Date Administered Vet Treatment Type Route of Administration Treatment Result Administered by External Vet No Vet Treatments administered to this animal. Vet Treatments Due Date Due Vet Treatment Type Medications Medication Amount Dispensed Route of Administration Frequency Date From Date To Doses Administered Vet Name Reason Notes No medications administered to this animal. Drug Usage No drugs administered to this animal. Vet Consultations Date Reasons Vet Notes Vet Date Resolved No consultations Clinic Consultations Consult Date Procedures Additional Procedures / Conditions Products Physical Exam Comments Vet Notes to Owner No consultations Post Surgical Exam Performed By: _____________________________________ Weight History Weight Weight Date Date Updated User No Weight History Vet Notes History No notes entered * TO FOSTER OR ADOPT * If you would like to adopt a NYC ACC dog, and can get to the shelter in person to complete the adoption process, you can contact the shelter directly. We have provided the Brooklyn, Staten Island and Manhattan information below. Adoption hours at these facilities is Noon – 8:00 p.m. (6:30 on weekends) If you CANNOT get to the shelter in person and you want to FOSTER OR ADOPT a NYC ACC Dog, you can PRIVATE MESSAGE our Must Love Dogs page for assistance. PLEASE NOTE: You MUST live in NY, NJ, PA, CT, RI, DE, MD, MA, NH, VT, ME or Northern VA. You will need to fill out applications with a New Hope Rescue Partner to foster or adopt a NYC ACC dog. Transport is available if you live within the prescribed range of states. Shelter contact information: Phone number (212) 788-4000 Email adopt@nycacc.org Shelter Addresses: Brooklyn Shelter: 2336 Linden Boulevard Brooklyn, NY 11208 Manhattan Shelter: 326 East 110 St. New York, NY 10029 Staten Island Shelter: 3139 Veterans Road West Staten Island, NY 10309 * NEW NYC ACC RATING SYSTEM * Level 1 Dogs with Level 1 determinations are suitable for the majority of homes. These dogs are not displaying concerning behaviors in shelter, and the owner surrender profile (where available) is positive. Some dogs with Level 1 determinations may still have potential challenges, but these are challenges that the behavior team believe can be handled by the majority of adopters. The potential challenges could include no young children, prefers to be the only dog, no dog parks, no cats, kennel presence, basic manners, low level fear and mild anxiety. Level 2 Dogs with Level 2 determinations will be suitable for adopters with some previous dog experience. They will have displayed behavior in the shelter (or have owner reported behavior) that requires some training, or is simply not suitable for an adopter with minimal experience. Dogs with a Level 2 determination may have multiple potential challenges and these may be presenting at differing levels of intensity, so careful consideration of the behavior notes will be required for counselling. Potential challenges at Level 2 include no young children, single pet home, resource guarding, on-leash reactivity, mouthiness, fear with potential for escalation, impulse control/arousal, anxiety and separation anxiety. Level 3 Dogs with Level 3 determinations will need to go to homes with experienced adopters, and the ACC strongly suggest that the adopter have prior experience with the challenges described and/or an understanding of the challenge and how to manage it safely in a home environment. In many cases, a trainer will be needed to manage and work on the behaviors safely in a home environment. It is likely that every dog with a Level 3 determination will have a behavior modification or training plan available to them from the behavior department that will go home with the adopters and be made available to the New Hope Partners for their fosters and adopters. Some of the challenges seen at Level 3 are also seen at Level 1 and Level 2, but when seen alongside a Level 3 determination can be assumed to be more severe. The potential challenges for Level 3 determinations include adult only home (no children under the age of 13), single pet home, resource guarding, on-leash reactivity with potential for redirection, mouthiness with pressure, potential escalation to threatening behavior, impulse control, arousal, anxiety, separation anxiety, bite history (human), bite history (dog) and bite history (other). New Hope Rescue Only Dog is not publicly adoptable. Prospective fosters or adopters need to fill out applications with New Hope Partner Rescues to save this dog.

[order-of-the-aster-blog]

Order of the Aster worldbuilding because I was on a car ride today

All members are either clergy/worshippers.

Wear armor the looks like design #4 (will be posted soon)

Three branches-

The Temple Protecters

- Stationed at temples and/or cities with a large Lathanderists population. - Older/closer to retirement - Tend to be stationed at city of residence, due to their closeness with the community - Rarely get any action other than the rare orc attack or a small threat from a nearby enemy village - An even mix between paladins and fighters - Ranks: Officer, Sergeant (one for 100 officers), Lieutenant (one for 10 Sergeants), Chief(one for 10 Lieutenants). 10,000 overall - Military Police

The Dawn Army - The active millitary composed of mainly fighters, but paladins are higher ranking - An even mix of ages, but tends to have more younger members - If they have a sword- which most do, it’s called the Dawnsinger (more information on it later - Maces are called Dawnspeaker, named after the weapon of Lathander (more information later) - All other weapons have their traditional names. - All weapons cause a light to shine when there is a hit - Ranks: Warrior, Group leader (each group composed of 10 fighters, including the leader) Squad Leader (each squad composed of ten groups, leader group included), Lieutenant (one for ten squads, including their squad), General (one of 10 Lieutenants, tends to be most experienced), then Grand General (one of ten Generals, most experienced) Around 100,000 members under Grand General. Grand Generals’ report to the Morninglords, or even are Morninglords. - Have a very specific process for enlistment (more on that later)

The Navy of the Morning - The Naval Force, fighters with limited paladins. - Ships tend to be named after well known heroes. (Ex/ HS Bor Cherin) - Ships painted to match the sun rise. - “Pink in the Morning, sailors take warning” doesn’t apply to them. - A truly even mix of ages - Ranks: Cabin Boy (do minor tasks, three per Sailors) , Sailor, Lieutenant Commander (one for 20 sailors) , Commander(one for 20 LC’s) , Captain (one for 2 commanders), Admiral(one for 5 captains), Fleet Admiral(one for 5 Admirals) 80,000 overall - A different process for recruitment than the Army

Dawnsinger Explanation- +1 Short sword that deals 1d10 radiant and 1d10 slashing damage Deals +2 to undead and unholy

Dawnspeaker Explanation +1 mace that deals 1d8 radiant and 1d8 bludgeoning damage Deals +3 to undead and unholy

Recruitment and Training Explanation for Army- When the army is not actively fighting anyone, they go to towns with high Lathanderist population. They post posters promising fame and glory, but more importantly enlightenment. They say that this is a promise only for those who worship Lathander, and to meet them at the temple of Lathander. They sign up to join, and within the next week they get an intense physical and mental examination (to see if they are fit for the military) as well as a test to see how much they know about Lathander. If they fail, they are turned away. If they pass, they are taken to a training center, where they are ranked from z (meaning needing major improvement) to a (meaning needing little improvement). Each letter is a class. They are trained so they all eventual become members of the a class. Training include sparring, team building skills, battle strategy, and leadership, as well as philosophy, religion, magic (both divine and arcane), and diplomacy. Then they get sent to groups. From there, group and squad leaders are chosen, higher rankings tending to be already established, titles only given up with retirement or death.

Recruitment Explanation for Navy- When the sailors come home, they put up posters in town promising a true adventure, leading towards a wonderful future. Just meet at the docks in front of the HS (Ship Name). They promise this to worshippers of Lathander. They get an physical exam done to make sure they are well enough to be in the navy. They are assigned Cabins, if they so choose. They are taught how to do what they need to do, like properly taking care of cargo, working cannons, and sea battle strategies, along with philosophy, self-perfection, and magic. Once they learn all of this, they move up to sailor. A lot of drinking goes on as well so individuals get their sea legs, although many question if this works.

Recruitment Explanation for Military Police- Once members of the Army or the Navy reach a certain age, they have an option to be relocated to protect temples. These people tend to be heroes of the religion, well know by all, but sometimes only by their communities. They protect holy sites, churches, and cities. Their duties are pretty easy. Don’t fall asleep on watch, and protect the temple. Every once in a while, there is attacks on the site, and they do a good job at it, using magic and some people under them to defend the site. Sometimes, if they die of old age, they become immortalized as statues, permanently guarding the site they were placed to guard. Standing for eternity.

Composition of members

Race

Humans 25% 47,500

Elves 15% 28,500

Half Elves 10% 19,000

Dwarfs 10% 19,000

Half Dwarfs 5% 9,500

Half Orcs 5% 9,500

Celestials 10% 19,000

Gnomes 5% 9,500

Dragonborns 5% 9,500

Other 10% (ex. Leonin Warforged Firbolg Wereanimal Dryad etc.) 19,000

Gender

Women 50% 95,000

Men 45% 85,500

Other 5% (Dryads and some Celestials don’t identify as human genders) 9,500

Sexual Orientation

Straight 50% 95,000

Gay 30% 57,000

Bisexual 10% 19,000

Pansexual 5% 9,500

Asexual 4% 7,600

Other 1% 1,900

Alignment

Lawful Good 50% 95,000

Neutral Good 30% 57,000

Chaotic Good 10% 19,000

Lawful Neutral <5% <9,500

Neutral <5% <9,500

Chaotic Neutral <1% <1,900

Age- (in relation to humans)

Under 16- <1%

16-20- 30%

21-30- 30% (mainly Army)

31-40- 10% (mainly Navy)

41-50- 10%

51-60- 5% (from here up, MP)

61-70- 5%

71 and up- 10%

52.6% in Army

42.1% in Navy

5.3% in MP

75% Fighters

25% Paladins

90% Clerics

10% other (Mystic Theurge, Divine Champion, Monk,etc.) (only including the first two multiclassings)

Oath of The Aster

A paladin oath specifically for the Paladins of the Morninglord

“I, (insert name), promise to aid, To foster new hope, new ideas, and prosperity for all.

I promise to perfect myself, yet guard against pride. For if I perfect, I will foster and nurture growth. Rebirth and renewal will occur.

I will be fertile in mind and body.

I will consider the consequences of my actions so that the least effort will bring the best reward.

I take these (sunflower) seeds and plant and sow, tend to them. I plant seeds of hope, ideas, and a rosy future into the minds of all.

I, (insert name), will continue to see each dawn.

To Lathander’s Light, I take this Oath.”

The ritual:

Before dawn, normally in spring, you march towards the sun, going towards a temple of Lathander. You meet a cleric, who guides you to the top of the temple. There, they dress you in ceremonial vestments and armor, gold and rosy red. At dawn, the ceremony truly begins. They pull out a Dawnspeaker and hand it to you. You point it toward the rising sun, while the cleric burns ceremonial incense (frankincense is the most common). More clerics arrive, bringing up works of art, wonderful bouquets of sunflowers, and other important and holy things. A prayer is read. Then, when the sun hits the mace just right, it emits a wonderful rosy red light. You begin to take your oath. The light of Lathander envelopes you. When your oath is complete, the clerics silently bring you downstairs and outside. Then the party begins. Athletic events, like shinty, javelin tosses, races, wrestling events, and a mock gladiator match take place. Artists paint paintings of you participating in these events. Then they paint a portrait of you as a radiant warrior, this painting to be hung in the holy halls of the temple. You bless the area until next year.

(Typically, if the oath taker is a member of the order, they take the oath as a class, because they train the new members to level 3 if they were PCs. If they are not a member of the order, they take it as an individual. More often than not they are in the Order.)

Tenets-

Kindness- Be kind to those who truly need it

Growth- Grow, adapt to the world around you.

Self perfection- Become your perfect self. Do what you think will make you better.

Optimism- Never give up hope, Lathander will always be their to help you.

Oath spells include

3rd Guiding Bolt, Burning Hands

5th Flaming Spear, Lesser Restoration

9th Beacon of Hope, Daylight

13th Guardian of Faith, Divination

17th Flame Strike, Scrying

Channel Divinity-

Lathander’s Light-

As an action, you can present your holy symbol to shed a radiant light (10 feet bright, 10 feet dim) that dispels magical darkness and deals 2d4 radiant damage to undead within the light. This last for 1 minute and can’t be used again until after your next short rest.

Prayer of Light-

For 10 minutes you pray, calling forth the divine energy of Lathander. All willing allies regain half their hit points, rounded down.

The Rosy Optimist

At 7th Level, you can decide to shed a rosy red light around you for 10 feet. Allies within this light get advantage on Charisma and Death saving rolls. At 18th level this rage goes up to 30 feet.

The Path of Least Resistance-

At 15th level, you can cast Find the Path at will without needing the necessary material components.

Radiant Warrior

At 20th level, you take the form of a truly perfect paladin. This transformation takes an action, and you gain the following benefits for one minute;

Resistance to all damage On a hit (meaning, one hit after transformation) , you deal 5d4 radiant damage and 1d8 fire damage.

You can use this action once per long rest.

( @soulofahealer thank you for introducing me to Lathander. I bet none of us would of thought I would eventually make all of this)

[frangipanidownunder]

Through my eyes

A pregnancy sex fic just because. NSFW.

Scully’s apartment was always a breath of fresh air after a Lamaze class. Something about the ripeness of the flesh, the cloying optimism of the class leader, the feeling that this was some kind of secret club they were signing up to always made him forget the hope and potential that was in the room.  Back at her place, the brightness restored his faith that parenthood in the 21st century wasn’t some hippy trail to personal fulfillment; it was still the perfect miracle of human biology.

Her place also helped him resist the terrors that still lurked in the darkened corners of his mind. He’d taken to hanging around for as long as she was prepared to let him. His apartment held shadows that even the daylight couldn’t fade. She seemed to enjoy his company for the most part, although she was still distant. Scully had always been guarded but before he was taken he’d seen her soften, the hard edges of her wick away. Their intimacy was something they both held close inside, not just out of courtesy to the Bureau, but because keeping it to themselves somehow seemed to magnify the intensity of their feelings. It was their delicious secret, too precious to share.

           ‘Your massage techniques are improving,’ she said, swapping one foot for the other on his lap. ‘My feet get so sore.’

           ‘The extra weight must be uncomfortable.’

           She patted her abdomen. ‘I think you’ll agree that this is worth a little bit of discomfort, Mulder.’

           ‘Can I touch it?’

           ‘Of course,’ she said, reaching for his hand. She guided it over her pyjama top, the silk moving under their joint hands. He sighed, closed his eyes. Her hand stopped moving and he opened his eyes again. She tucked her chin down. ‘You meant touch my skin, didn’t you?’

           She unbuttoned the top, letting the fabric fall over the sides of her belly. Close up, the skin was taut but not stretched. A brown line ran vertically down her belly. He traced it, up and down. She shivered.

           ‘The linea nigra. It’s the extra melanin produced by pregnancy hormones that darken the connective tissue of the abdominal muscles.’

           ‘It’s pretty sexy,’ he said, trying her out, and pleased to note the blush that spread across her chest. Her full breasts rose up and down as her breathing deepened.  

‘The line is always there, but it’s not visible until pregnancy.’

‘Can I listen?’

She shifted closer to him and he lay his ear against her stomach, leaving his hand at the edge of her pyjamas. She stroked circles in his hair. He brushed his fingers across the top her pyjama pants.

‘The same hormones make the areolas darker, the labia, the clitoris.’

‘Scully,’ he breathed, dipping his hands further, lifting up the fronts of her panties. The warmth of her was incredible. ‘Keep talking.’

She giggled and pulled his head up, kissing him. ‘My couch is a little uncomfortable for this kind of thing. Especially when there are three of us to consider.’

He pulled her up. ‘You talk dirty really well, Scully.’

 She draped her pyjama bottoms over the chair by her bed and laid the top over them. Her hair, longer than it had ever been, covered her face but he knew from her movements that she was hesitant to bare herself to him. It had been a long time – literally and figuratively. For them both, this was going to be like the first gym class back after summer break; exercising their emotions would hurt like hell.

           ‘Scully, you’re beautiful.’ He hoped he didn’t sound trite. It was an oft-used phrase, but it was most certainly true.

           ‘Oh, Mulder,’ she whispered. ‘I feel like I’ve swallowed a whale.’

           He moved towards her, reaching out his hands to stroke her belly again. ‘No, you look exquisite. The curves and the fullness of you, it’s like you’ve waited all your life to step into this skin. You’ve been transformed, are being transformed, before my eyes.’

           ‘You’re making me feel like an X-File, Mulder.’

           ‘Turn around, take a look at yourself.’

           ‘I’ve seen it, Mulder. Believe me, I’ve seen it.’

           He turned her gently, standing her in front of the mirror. He lifted her hair away from her neck and kissed her there. ‘But not through my eyes.’

           He rubbed her sides, lingering at her waist and down to her hips, and back up again. ‘Can I tell you what I see?’

           ‘Yes,’ she whispered, turning her face and kissing his chin. ‘Please.’

           His hands moved to her face, framing her fuller cheeks. ‘In your eyes I see love and fear, in your chin, I see stubbornness.’

           Moving lower, he brushed her collar bones, and he saw her nipples harden in an instant. ‘Here, I see that you carry your burdens without complaint, you pull your weight, you are strong.’ He kissed in the hollow where her neck met her shoulders.

She lifted her arms to trap his hands over her breasts. ‘What do you see here, Mulder?’

‘I see beauty and comfort.’ He traced her enlarged areolas, wondered at the blue veins that streaked her white skin. ‘And I see life.’

She lifted her hands and they both gasped as her heavy breasts fell out of their grasp. He nestled his chin into her neck and ran his hands over her swollen belly. ‘And here, here I see nothing but beauty. I see your body accommodating another, nurturing, growing. I see our love.’

Tears filled her eyes, and she sniffed gently, mumbling against his face, something warm but incoherent.

His fingers linked under her belly and he pressed her against his growing hardness. ‘I see you, Scully. I see the real you.’

‘Please Mulder,’ she whispered, pushing his hands lower.

           He pulled down her panties, skimmed kisses up the backs of her legs, over her bare ass, the tattoo. He stood up again, leaning her back to him, pushing a knee between her thighs, parting her. She looked away.

           ‘Watch Scully. I want you to see what I see.’

           He stroked her in an agonisingly slow motion, back and forth. He rested the other hand over her pubis, exerting a gentle pressure there. She loosened, relaxed against him as he continued. He dipped a finger inside, sighing at her tight heat. His thumb found her clit and she yelped.

           ‘Tender?’

           ‘To the point of pain,’ she said.

           Her legs wobbled as he inserted a second finger, increasing his pace, until she clutched at his upper arm with her hand. ‘Let it go, Scully. I need to see you.’

           She turned her head and bit him through his shirt. The jolt of pleasure he felt surged through his groin and he pressed harder into her ass, grinding. She pushed back and he circled and pumped his fingers as she urged him on with her nibbling and moaning. When she came, she did so with such force that she bent forward, crying out his name. As her orgasm continued, she pulled his fingers deeper into her wetness.

After, he sank down with her, breathless. Him kneeling, her sitting on his lap. He leant his chin on her shoulder. Their tears spilled over her chest, over her breasts. He dotted them into her skin, then took her belly in his hands.

‘I see our child, our future. I see hope, Scully.’