#short. green. organised. needs constant saving.

[cinnamon-phrog]

Miss Piggy The Muppets and Duck DHMIS should totally lez out

[mycupoffanfiction]

Compromised Part 1

Bucky x Reader

Summary: SHIELD agents, (Y/n) and her twin sister Quinn, are sent on a high risk mission to save Steve, Sam and Bucky after their mission in Siberia was compromised.

Warnings: Mentions of weaponry, use of knock out gas. 

Word Count : Approx 2000

Masterlist

Hellooo! Taking a short break from His Second Chance (it will return as usual this weekend) This is a short 5 part series, hope you all enjoy! 💖

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Music, loud, blaring. Head bouncing up and down, fingers tapping on the steering wheel of your old pickup truck to the sound of ACDC on the radio. Paused at a red light, you got a little dramatic as you mouthed along to the song. A soft giggle next to you pulled your attention to your right and you smiled widely before turning your attention back to the road. Your twin sister Quinn sat in the front passenger seat, feet up on the dash as she scrolled through her phone.

 “Think Fury’s got anything for us?” She asked, thick Brooklyn accent. If you’d only just met Quinn, you’d think she was putting it on by how exaggerated her accent was, but that was just her. “Probably, you know he saves the crazy missions for us, wouldn’t have called us in otherwise.” You quirked a brow as you started driving again. You were an eccentric pair, perhaps the lack of parentage did that to you both, whatever it was, you didn’t care. You and Quinn had always had each other, even when there was no one else.

 Quinn was a bit of a loopy, bubbly girl. Full of vim and vigour, a passion for life but in the strangest way. She just wanted to have fun, do first, think later. Quinn often feigned stupidity, but she was a lot smarter than she made herself out to be. You on the other hand were a well-practiced mechanic and not of the regular variety. You were smart, some would even call you a genius, not that you agreed. Perhaps you even rivalled the likes of Tony Stark and Shuri. But you weren’t just a mechanic or an inventor, you were a trained spy, along with Quinn.

 “Ten dollars says we get to use explosives this time.” Quinn grinned; eyes wide with excitement. You laughed, shaking your head. “A tenner says we gotta save someone’s ass.” You rolled your eyes as you reached an intersection, nearing the tower now. “When’s ya boy home?” Quinn asked, tipping her head back against the headrest, elbow resting on the ledge below the window. “Couple’a days.” You smiled, glancing at her. “Ooh, bet ya missed him.” She smirked, wiggling her eyebrows at you as you drove the car towards the guarded gateway for the tower parking. “In more ways than one.” You sighed, opening up your window to scan your ID cards.

 “Morning girls.” Fury greeted you as you entered his office, Quinn trailing behind you. “Director Fury.” You nodded, Quinn grinning widely over your shoulder at him. “I take it you’re both aware that this is a mission briefing?” He asked, moving around his desk to stand with you and Quinn, ready to look at whatever he was about to pull up on his screen. You both nodded in response. “Good. Secure office.” Fury commanded, FRIDAY, the AI complied, tinting the windows and locking all entries and exits. “This is a high risk mission.” He began. “Isn’t that why ya picked us?” Quinn grinned, not caring at all that she was in the presence of the Director of SHIELD. She was casual and playful with everyone, which Fury was now quite used to, knowing she would likely never change her ways.

 “Two weeks ago we sent out a squad, as you know Captain Rogers, Sergeant Barnes and The Falcon were part of that squad.” Your heart instantly leapt into your throat. Had something happened to the boys? To your Bucky? “Unfortunately the mission was compromised when our three soldiers were overwhelmed and captured into a Hydra base.” Fury explained. “Our last known coordinates for their positions were in Siberia.” Fury rubbed his forehead, glancing over to gage your reaction. Adrenaline rushed through you, your hands shaking a little as you tried to swallow down the lump in your throat. “Look, I know this one is personal for you, but we have no one else we can send after them. We’re not even sure what we’re dealing with.” Fury turned to face you; Quinn stood on the other side of him with a look of worry as she stared up at the photos of all three boys displayed on the screen.

 “Are they alive?” You asked, voice cracking slightly as you stared straight at the screen, trying your best not to break your composure. “All three of them had vital monitors fitted before the mission, they’re showing them all as being alive but occasionally their heart rates are spiking for short periods of time, for around an hour or two at a time every day.” Fury brought up their vitals onto the screen. All you could focus on was Bucky’s photo with his vitals shown on a panel next to his face, his heartbeat steady and constant. You swallowed thickly. What were they doing to your boys? What where they doing to your Bucky?

 “I understand if this is asking too much.” Fury spoke quietly, turning the screen off. “Otherwise we can send in some other agents, but the mission is so-.” Fury went on but you interrupted him. “I’ll do it. Quinn?” You glanced across at your sister, a relieved look on her face when she heard your answer. “I’m in.” She nodded. Fury almost looked surprised at how easy it had been to convince you both.

 “I want you both in constant contact. Fly out to the area, stake it out from this location.” Fury pointed at a hologram map in the middle of the room. “Gather as much intel as possible before going in. If there is sign of you being compromised, you need to vacate and do not engage. If there is endangerment to any of their lives before you have enough information to go in, as hard as it may be, do not engage.” Fury articulated his instructions very carefully and clearly. “Is that understood?” He asked. “You got it.” Quinn glanced over at you. That was a hard pill to swallow. Do not engage, even with endangerment to their lives. “Understood.” You nodded, voice on the edge of cracking. “Briefing is finished, I want you both down in Banner’s lab for him to set you up with vital monitors. After that you suit up. Provisions and weaponry have already been loaded onto the jet for you. Departure in T minus one hour.”

 “Why is it always the neck?” Quinn grumbled, rubbing the sore open cut on the side of her neck. “You alright?” Your sister asked as she approached you, slinging her arm around your shoulders. “Hey, look at me.” She yanked you around to face her. “They’re gonna be fine, we’ll go in, stake it out for a few days and go in. It’ll be an in and out mission, before you know it we’ll be back home like nothin’ happened.” She tried her best to reassure you, but your brain was thinking too rationally for her optimism. Of all the organisations to have taken the boys, Hydra was by far the worst. They could be torturing them, trying to find a way to get the Winter Soldier back, perhaps even make all three of the boys into their assets. There was no telling what you were about to face.

 “Let’s get our boys back.” You frowned, turning to face the jet. You and Quinn walked hand in hand up the ramp into the jet. You glanced over your shoulder at the crew that had set it all up for you. You gave a quick wave off to them before Quinn pressed the button to close the hatch, leaving the pair of you alone in the jet.

 Quinn had chosen Led Zeppelin this time, the pair of you sitting in the cockpit of the aircraft as FRIDAY autopiloted to the destination for you. You pulled a little instant photo from the inside of your tac suit, the smiling faces of you and Bucky together on your first date two years ago. You couldn’t bare the thought of losing him. You weren’t sure you’d be able to carry on as an agent if you did. You weren’t sure you’d be able to carry on period.

 “Valhallaaa I am comiiiiing.” Quinn sang out of key next to you, causing you to smirk a little at her antics as she shuffled about in her seat. The dusky mountain ranges of Siberia coming into view, the peaks of them blanketed with a thick layer of snow. The landscape was peppered with trees, the valleys dipping and running through the hills and mountains. Cold, icy rivers snaking through, leading you towards the total white canvas of Siberia as you passed over the slightly warmer front of the mountain range. It was like someone flicked a switch. A moment ago it had been mostly green and now that you were passed the mountains it was all stark white, like all the colour had been drained from this part of the world. The sun dipped close to the horizon. It was getting dark already and it would be dark for hours again until the next day when the sun would only rise for a few hours, if even that.

 “Landing in approximately eight minutes.” FRIDAY announced, prompting you to straighten yourself up, tuck your photo of Bucky away and strap yourself in.

 “Who’s that?” Bucky asked, pointing over at a pair of girls at the far side of the briefing room. You sat comfortably, fiddling with your favourite rifle as your sister talked your ear off, half mumbling what she was saying around a lollipop. “Quinn and (Y/n), twins, although you wouldn’t believe it, they’re like sugar and spice, total opposites but work so well together… Somehow.” Steve chuckled. “Sweet girls, fantastic field agents. Quinn’s excitable, very outgoing, good with explosives. (Y/n) is the quiet one, mechanic, skilled in both hand to hand and ranged combat.” Steve gave him a short run down. “She’s beautiful.” Bucky spoke under his breath, absolutely captivated by you as you sat on a seat in your full tac gear, loading up your rifle.

 You glanced across at the new arrivals to the room, Quinn falling silent for a moment as she sucked on her lollipop. “Hiya boys!” She winked, waving at them, eyes falling on Sam – her proclaimed favourite as he stood in the doorway. “You must be Sergeant Barnes.” You spoke quietly, getting up from your seat, gently placing your rifle down on the table before walking over to Steve and Bucky. “Bucky, name’s Bucky.” He said gruffly, holding out a hand for you to shake. “I’m (Y/n), that’s my sister Quinn.” You thumbed at her from over your shoulder. All you received from Bucky was a nod and a grunt as he shook your hand, but you didn’t mind.

 “Ready for your first mission, pal?” Steve asked. Bucky watched you pick up your rifle, clicking on the safety before you gave it one last check. “Yeah, think I am.” Bucky nodded, eyes not leaving your figure.

 You’d saved him on that first mission. Bucky wasn’t sure if you had just saved him from a group of unnoticed shooters, because he had been sure that day that you had awakened a feeling in him he hadn’t felt in seventy odd years.

 Bucky’s mind was on you and only you as he sat hunched over in his cell. He could see Steve in the cell opposite him. They were contained in some kind of reinforced glass cells. He’d tried everything to get out, but nothing worked. Bucky looked away as he heard a body being dragged down the corridor, Sam being thrown back in his cell. “Him next.” The lab coat clad scientist pointed at Bucky’s cell as the guards approached. No, no please not again. Please. Bucky squeezed his eyes shut, clenching his jaw, every muscle in his body going rigid as they stood outside of his cell door. “Gas him first.” The Hydra agent ordered. No, no, no. Don’t forget, don’t you fucking forget her. Bucky plead with himself, forcing his mind to stay focused on you.

 Agent (Y/n) (L/n), SHIELD operative, sweetest girl alive. Met March twelfth two thousand and seventeen. Best friend, lover, girlfriend. She’s your entire world. Do not forget her.

 A tangy smell invaded Bucky’s nostrils and he almost gagged as the gas hit the back of his throat. Not again, please, not agai-. And everything went black.

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Permanent Tags: 

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[pippastrelle]

By the side of a road, just outside Buenos Aires, Argentina

A short prequel fic to Carmen Sandiego (2019) about how VILE found Black Sheep and brought her to the island. I fully expect this to get proven wrong later in the series but it was fun to think about and I’d love any comments :D

[SPOILERS FOR THE CARMEN SANDIEGO FINALE / 1.7K WORDS / TW: MURDER REFERENCE]

[Note: I’m British so a few words may be different. ‘Tarmac’ = ‘Asphalt’ / ‘Mobile phone’ = ‘Cellphone’ / ‘Dummy’ = ‘Pacifier’]

The man known as Shadow-san would have been a strange sight: a Japanese man dressed in a traditional kimono and hakama walking the flat stretches of grass and road outside Buenos Aires. Except, tonight, there were no witnesses left.

He continued down the dusty tarmac, sweat beading his forehead from both exertion and the heat. He took a mobile phone from his trouser pocket and dialled.

“Mission completed.”

The voice on the other end, his colleague, gave a satisfied chuckle. “Excellent. This should insure VILE’s efforts in Argentina for some time. Proceed to the cleaners for pick-up. You can debrief us once you’re on the island.”

Shadow-san grunted in affirmation. He hung up and rested his hand on the katana sheathed at his side as he walked. He would have it cleaned when he returned. There were more efficient ways to wipe out a collection of houses – VILE had armies of operatives and warehouses of weapons for such a task – yet certain occasions required personal intervention.

A plane piloted by VILE’s cleaners waited for Shadow-san a mile in the distance. However, a scream pierced the evening air before he could reach it. He snapped into a defensive position. Wind ran through his ponytail but the roads were empty so the sound carried without interference.

He grabbed his sword’s handle. His eyes darted around but he saw no-one. As the sound continued, Shadow-san recognised it as a child’s cry. He bared his every sense for a trap then followed it to the roadside shrubbery. In the dry grass, something swaddled in woven blankets kicked and wailed.

He crouched low. He pulled back the blankets and found a baby girl inside them. She had tufts of wavy brown hair, tanned skin, and she’d screwed up her face in constant screaming. A plastic dummy had fallen out of her mouth but she did not seem injured. Shadow-san searched the rest of the blankets. He found no note or identification, just a full bottle she could not use and a set of empty Russian nesting dolls.

A familiar frown etched into Shadow-san’s face. He stood and scanned the area once again. While nearing the country’s capital, this area of countryside was sparse, with little civilisation for several square miles. As he looked around, he faced the way he had come. Smoke still trailed upwards into the air. The closest habitation was no use to them.

The baby flailed her small, weak arms at the blankets. She cried without stop. Even if she survived tonight in the open, she would not survive the next. With her parents likely dead, Shadow-san doubted anyone would find her before then. She would die from exposure, starvation, or the wild animals in the area.

Shadow-san eyes didn’t move from the baby. He stood as if carved from stone. His hands were not bloodless, both indirectly or directly. Meanwhile, his deadline to leave Argentina pressed into him like a chain lead. However, the child was helpless. Even he found himself unable to turn his back on her.

Shadow-san had nowhere else to take the baby but to VILE island. He coaxed the dummy back into her mouth, wrapped her up in the blanket, and took both her and her things in his arms before then continuing to the waiting plane. He and the other VILE faculty members would find somewhere to relocate her.

VILE had access to technology beyond any of the world’s public and most of the world’s militaries, largely in part to the work of Dr Saira Bellum – another of VILE’s five faculty members. The absolute earmuffs she’d invented allowed the baby to sleep past the roaring of the plane’s engines and the plane itself arrived in record time. The cleaners didn’t comment to Shadow-san directly about the baby in his arms and Shadow-san didn’t invite them to as he stepped out onto the tropical island of VILE’s headquarters and academy.

The sky was black and hot at night. Artificial hills shielded the main grounds from outside view and palm trees and strip lights circled the large, eclectic building in the centre. Balancing the baby and its things in his one hand, Shadow-san took his phone.

“Professor Maelstrom, alert the other faculty members of a meeting in the faculty room. I am ready for debrief,” he said as he approached the main doors. It was past curfew for their student operatives so he met a welcome lack of other people inside. With one look at his face, all security posts let him pass without stop.

The VILE faculty room was a large room with its grandeur hardened by metal adornments and fluorescent lights meant to make any face seem unearthly. A green carpet emblazoned with the VILE insignia led to a raised table where Shadow-san’s four colleagues waited: Coach Brunt, who surpassed the size and strength of a bear; Professor Maelstrom, a calculating former Doctor of Psychology; Countess Cleo, a regal collector of all things valuable; and Dr Bellum, who held inside her head countless inventions capable of destroying cities.

From the USA, Norway, Egypt, and Pakistan respectively as well as Japan, each faculty member had the command of thousands within their personal syndicates. Combined, they had created an organisation capable of bending the world to its whim from within the shadows.

Whenever the five of them wished to talk amongst themselves, their long straight table collapsed into a V-shape so they could sit face to face. Bellum busied herself with a portable screen. Meanwhile, Brunt, Maelstrom, and Cleo conversed. Shadow-san entered and they turned. Maelstrom laced his fingers.

“Shadow-san, finally. How is the situation with our opposition in Argentina?”

“They’ve been dealt with,” Shadow-san said. “I eliminated the ringleader and killed everyone else in their base of operations. The buildings themselves are destroyed and our message has been left to anyone in their organisation who was not there.”

“Is that…a baby?” Cleo backed up in her chair, waving her hand at the blanket in Shadow-san’s arms.

“Yes.” Shadow-san lowered her onto the floor.

Ripples of shock and intrigue rippled through his colleagues. They wheeled their chairs to get a better look at the sleeping child on the floor.

“Why in the world did you return with a baby?” Cleo demanded.

Brunt smirked and rested her chin on her fist. “I didn’t take you for the father type.”

“I’m not,” Shadow-san said, glaring. “I found this child abandoned on the side of the road without any explanation or identification, only these Russian nesting dolls.” He took the dolls from the blankets and laid them on the floor as well for the faculty to see. If the dolls had a significance, it hadn’t made itself apparent. “It would have died if I had left it so I brought it here for us to relocate.”

Maelstrom’s pale lips twisted into a smile. “You found a child hidden away outside the houses you had just razed. You don’t need my doctorate to deduce what happened, Shadow-san. Surely, the irony is not lost on you. You return from a mission to kill with a life to save…Of course, I’m not suggesting we do anything to it now,” he chuckled, eyeing the baby. “A thousand deaths is a statistic. A single death, however, is a great tragedy.”

Shadow-san remained stone-faced. A silence fell over the room, each of them weighing the options. Cleo wore her disapproval and incredulity unabashedly. The others’ faces were less clear.

Brunt leant back in her chair. “We’ve got plenty of room on VILE island.”

“What? You can’t be seriously suggesting we house this child.” Cleo shook her head. Shadow-san thought similarly. “Childcare goes far beyond my role as faculty.”

Brunt laughed at her. “Aren’t we all teachers?”

“Of adults, all of whom are fully capable of speaking and” – Cleo wrinkled her nose – “taking care of themselves.”

“Nobody here’s suggesting putting you on diaper duty,” said Brunt. “How many billions have we got between us again? We could have it on the island without any of us having to worry about it. I’m willing to make the arrangements.”

“What an interesting experiment this could be,” Maelstrom mused. “The psychological effects of a child growing up on an island of thieves alone is something I’d be curious to study.”

Bellum spun around in her chair, her eyes still on her screen. “I can certainly see the benefits of having a child nearby for my experiments and it would be a unique future operative for the academy.”

Cleo straightened her already immaculate posture. “As long as I don’t personally have to deal with the child, it is of little import. What would you suggest? If your plan is to raise the child adjacent to the academy, would you give it the same ‘Valuable Imports, Lavish Exports’ front as the rest of our students?”

“It would be wise to have it believe the same as those on the campus,” Maelstrom said.

“Enough of this ‘it’ talk. Let’s decide a name for ‘em.” Brunt walked over and took the baby in her massive arms.

“She had no identification,” said Shadow-san.

“That doesn’t matter. VILE’s rule is first names or codenames only. Ain’t that right, Shadow-san?” Brunt bounced the baby in her arms. The baby babbled. “She’s a lost little lamb,” Brunt crooned.

“Is that your suggestion for her codename? It doesn’t exactly inspire fear,” said Maelstrom.

Bellum swiped from page to page on her portable screen. “Since she is of Argentinian origin, we could give her a Spanish translation: ‘El Cordero’.”

“Or some variant of ‘sheep’?” Cleo suggested.

Brunt watched the baby’s face and smiled. “Black Sheep. After all, she isn’t like the rest of her family now,” she said with a cruel humour.

Shadow-san’s frown deepened. While he couldn’t argue he was unaccustomed to it, he didn’t indulge in their violence like some members of their faculty. He hid the change in expression.

Maelstrom addressed the faculty. “This was an unexpected course of events. I ask in the future we limit our compassion to this one instance. We can’t take in every orphan we come across. However,” – he glanced around  – “all in favour of housing Black Sheep here on VILE island?”

Everyone raised their hand.

[ruwithmeguys]

The chances of an eighth season of Arrow is high, but beyond that… I think the chances have dropped for more than 8 but I could be wrong.

Why I think it’s ending after S8 (and why it may not):

Both Stephen and Emily have stated they want to write and direct but haven’t, despite the chances. They may want to work on new things after next year.

Though he’s agreed to an eighth season, Stephen has made several comments the last 12 months indicating his acceptance of the end and how Oliver really only has one true goal left to accomplish.

The show doesn’t just feel like it’s hitting a new milestone: it feels like it’s preparing us for something (unless it’s just a shocking SL and I’m very wrong)

The interest in superhero tv shows is starting to dwindle because of the sheer number of options available. This however, is open to change. Especially after the last avengers movie hits the cinemas. They may turn to shows like Arrow as an alternative.

Unless the show comes up with a brand new focus to pit Oliver against, beyond his own darkness, then… what? What’s the story?

Indications that John may become the GL means he’s available for other shows after Arrow ends.

Where Oliver goes, Felicity goes. The indications that Oliver will eventually step back from the hood keep ramping up.

They are leading the show towards the future: it’s an obvious passing of the baton.

They are limited in terms of comic origin as there’s only so much story they can pilfer from the comics before DC stop them.

They will need an intense, captivating original story to keep Stephen/Emily and the audience on board past S8 and where they go, the audience go.

We know Arrow won’t live past 10 seasons anyway.

Why I want Arrow to end after 8 seasons:

Too many new characters – unless the show axes at least two of the regulars, we’re never truly going to get the depth we deserve in the scenes focused on our mains… HOWEVER. You can also argue that they don’t need more depth because we basically know them inside out. Another reason right there.

Run its course - Arrow is that show. It isn’t even that good to be honest – the script is either amaze-balls or ridiculous and illogical, the action sequences take up too much space at times and continuity is a huge issue – however we love it as if it were made of gold. Despite our complaints, we watch it because it gave us something that most shows don’t. It gave us a love story for the ages that wasn’t supposed to exist and demanded acceptance of it. It dared so it has our respect.

However, Stephen said something recently. He said, all that remains of Oliver’s story is to leave a legacy. He doesn’t have to die for it to happen, but it has to happen. There two ways for this to be possible: have a baby with Felicity and become a legend. He’ll do both, huzzah! But, barring the immediate concerns of this story, there isn’t a whole lot of character building left to accomplish (suck it Barry/Kara) for Oliver. It’s all outside material. His sister is an issue too, but after this season, focus on him for her story won’t be required. I’m here for Oliver, then Felicity. Just them and in that order.

Thea’s story is done folks, save the peripheral. Whatever happens next for her doesn’t have to be on screen, though I will be stunned if she doesn’t come back for the finale of the series. I have no wish to see more of it, unless it’s Roy inclusive. Why? Because so much of her story kind of… IT BLEW, OKAY? I was bored to tears with her after season 4 and only season 2 and 3 interested me for her character and Roy was entwined in that.

Building a legacy doesn’t mean characters just… disappear - and they don’t have to. So regardless of the end, Felicity will be out there. So will Oliver.

Diggle. This is a big one for me. He’s been changing since Oliver and Felicity left 3.23, since he killed Andy. But we haven’t seen the Dig we know and love since 5.23. That’s 32 episodes. For me, if what was broken isn’t fixed by 7.22, then I truly won’t care what occurs for him in the future, beyond simple curiosity. There’s been too much damage. There’s changing into a different person and then there’s being likeable. One episode is all I’m asking. Believe it or not, I’m actually enjoying his progression, but it’s progression that falls away from the man we dearly miss. Since the chances of him becoming the green lantern has risen… I have to say, I’m not surprised at the idea that John could leave his family behind both literally and figuratively. He’s done it before. He’s doing it now, but it has less impact if his ties are loose and not taut. I need them tightening. 13 episodes are left on S7. He needs to take steps. So either Dig becomes the green lantern… or he dies. If either occurs next year, then S8 will most likely be the end anyway. OTA are the main fixture: they know it, they’ve said it. Once one of them leaves, it’s a ticking clock.

The longer the show lasts, the more time they have to screw up.

I can’t stand another crossover where Oliver is verbally battered for existing.

Too many birds give me hives.

Dinah has become the new boring and siren, the cordelia: I can live without both.

Curits is such a poor example of a human being, it makes me rage, which is unhealthy

Rene is finally interesting to me again, even if I don’t trust him because he’s a fickle sod… which means I never will. So, I can’t like his storyline.

I’m so done with watching Felicity be friendless and treated with disrespect by people that she has to refer to as heroes whether they’ve earned the title or not, I feel like writing fiction where she kills them all and Oliver just stands there in approval.

The longer Arrow lasts, the longer Flash lasts and… NO.

The longer Arrow lasts, the longer Supergirl lasts and… NO.

Since they aren’t doing a thorough Constantine Drakon villain – an enemy with the potential to be amazing since he very literally crucifies the green arrow – I really do miss the big villain. I miss Malcolm: he was twisted but he was effective. You were supposed to hate him. I miss Slade: he’s still my favourite villain. Adrian was the best but they took too long introducing him so he falls short of the tension pedestal for me. Despite being sucktastic, Diaz presents a decent conundrum: he’s supposed to be an arsehole that won’t die so he’s a constant threat. We don’t have to like him. So I desperately need Stan to return. I need that creepy/psychotic enemy that throws everyone for a loop. Without it, I’m not sure about the show’s moral integrity goes to that isn’t about revisiting old ghosts since it’s based on good Vs evil etc. I need to wait and see where they go with this: it could become an organisation or an idea (vigilantes for the people: who watches the watchman type thing) instead of a person and I’ve given up hope on a woman villain who doesn’t irk me. I don’t need 1950’s cheese ball KC: it’s not effective.

Felicity. Now… I love what they’ve done with her character, even in S6 for the most part! However, this whole idea that her wearing a mask would undermine the meaning is pathetic. You had a street kid and a lawyer wearing one after less than a few months of training, but sure: Felicity wearing one would destroy the significance. Now, in one part, this elevates her character: she is the character that all others must work off at least once. It makes her too important to loose: Oliver, Barry, LL, Siren, Ray etc. On the other hand, it limits her capacity and keeps her boxed in which is why S7 has been such a relief to may of us. But I would have loved to have seen this woman suit up: at least she’d be convincing. Any chance of us seeing it happen now are slim to none which is a shame because, to me, her potential is limitless. What we would have given to have everyone else react to her kicking ass and taking names in a mask, with a moniker, and a headset/vice that details the logistics of buildings, sends out Trojans etc. She’d be a nightmare.

I think one more full season (20 to 22 episodes) on top of the 13 remaining, is enough to close Oliver’s legacy if done right which… is a stretch to hope for.

With so many superhero movies in play, if gone on long enough, Arrow will no doubt attempt to copy them as they have done in the past to ill effect.

Another year of rude anons/haters making claims, demanding I do as they tell me, being ridiculous and being constantly wrong in my inbox would be a welcome subtraction in my life.

…And why I want it to live forever:

This show was the show that made me aware of social media. It’s also the show that I needed at a dark time in my life: I was jobless, friendless and things were happening with my family that were less than desirable: it was a grand distraction that borderlined obsession. Or passion. Hm.

Despite certain plotlines, illogical character progression, overused devices, and faulty scripts; it truly is a one in a million show. Very different from all other shows.

The actors can ACT… for the most part.

The CGI effects are good.

It’s angsty x 10

The love story is worth the angst

There’s always more story to tell with good characters!

Once Oliver achieves the status he deserves, I want to see him revel in it.

…A 10 episode season 9 that focuses on olicity alone because I want it so bad?

The chance to bring back Tommy somehow

The wonderful people I talk to online daily JUST because of this show

The genuine friends I’ve made JUST because of this show.

The fanfiction that will continue longer if the show does

The posts and metas I don’t want to live without

The asks in my inbox that I enjoy answering and the anons I enjoy engaging with

TUMBLR – (with the smut please)

If the show has a chance of lasting past season 8, then what I want to see is a season that focuses ONLY on Oliver… and I’d have it elsewhere. I’d have the government involved. Felicity too. Dig. Just them three (it won’t happen).

The chance to see Curtis crash and burn

The chance to see Dinah crash and burn

The chance to see Rene crash and burn

The chance to see siren… go away somewhere

Felicity in a mask

An actual 9pm slot that’s used to it’s fullest extent

A crossover that focuses on what could have been on another earth and you KNOW they’d have Felicity be the vigilante, with Oliver as the guy who loves her despite her violent escapades. OR another life where they’re regular people that fall into an elaborate conspiracy or something.

There currently isn’t another show that can fill the void that Arrow will create when it ends.

A crossover where Oliver/Felicity kiss no one but each other… please.

A crossover- nay, an ENTIRE SEASON, where Oliver is praised for alllll his hard work and sacrifice.

An episode that marks Felicity, truly, as irreplaceable, necessary and needed for every other character to shine.

An episode arc that allows Felicity to be the one that defeats the bad guy.

You know… YOU KNOW that at some point they’ll deliberately have DC and marvel intersect.

Unfortunately, the cons currently outweigh the pro’s. And if so, if S8 is the last, then that’s an AMAZING run time for a show that was supposed to be only 5 seasons. And the story had enough meat in it for me to be happy for it……… though when that occurs, I’ll probably need to book time off to recover because oh my god I can’t even imagine.

The idea, if true, is a sad one. But again, if true, it won’t be till 2020. We have some time.

[sbemassessment]

Several Tips To Follow To Find The Right SBEM Expert To Hire

The SBEM is a European-wide system for non-domestic buildings that supports the National Calculation Methodology (NCM), the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), and the Green Deal. CO2 emission rates for new structures that comply with Part L of the Building Regulations are now calculated using this technology.

This method requires the assistance of an SBEM consultant. You will discover some pointers in this post to help you locate the best one for your company's needs.

Required licenses/certifications

A competent SBEM consultant, such as BriaryEnergy.co.uk, will be able to show you documentation proving that they have qualifications or certifications in line with your state's standards. The state utility commission website generally offers a list of utility organisations, including consultants who meet the state's criteria.

Upfront about services

A fantasticSBEM calculation consultant will conduct an audit, assist you in obtaining reduced rates, and suggest methods to reduce energy use. Some, on the other hand, will function as a project manager rather than just providing you with a list of beneficial modifications without much explanation of how to put them into practice.

Any potential constant should be able to answer this question: "What services do you provide?" This will allow you to price and plan appropriately.

Customised service

When determining whether or not to deal with a contractor, you should always ask yourself if the person seems eager and willing to offer tailored energy management. This isn't a one-size-fits-all affair, and the ideal SBEM report will adjust their actions to match your company's specific needs and problems, concentrating on short- and long-term outcomes as well as manageability.

Formulate a clear brief

When you first meet with your potential consulting partner, make sure you communicate your company goals, timelines, and desired outcomes. See your consultant as a doctor: inform them of everything they need to know about your business and the issues you're dealing with — and then some.

Do not leave out the facts you consider unimportant, as they may provide the consultant with additional information that aids in the problem's resolution.

Speak the same language

The typical misunderstanding that arises from language is when people use the same terms to mean different things. To verify there are no ambiguities about what you mean, explain your jargon to your SBEM calculations consultant.

Understanding how your company communicates or defines phrases may assist a consultant in understanding your brief and goals better, as well as focusing on the important elements of the assignment.

Make sure you need one

Examine your present staffing/situation/skillset to determine if it's adequate. What kind of help do you truly require? It does not imply that a professional is more competent simply because they are costly. Always check with your in-house experts first. You could be surprised by the type of solutions your staff can provide!

Find someone focused on your needs

Many SBEM calculation experts get trapped in a particular model or "intervention" and try to force issues into preconceived solutions. You want your consultant to develop a solution specifically for you.

During your first meeting, a competent coach/consultant should assess you. They should inquire about your company, requirements, and anticipated results. They should not spend their first meeting dumping on you with old contracts and client stories.

Be prepared to manage the relationship

It's critical for SBEM calculation consultants to get feedback and direction to do their tasks well. Don't hire the consultant and then forget about the contract. Treat your consultant as a partner rather than a contractor.

Your consultant will be more sympathetic, objective, and informed because of this. Pay your expert according to the contract. Money voodoo is never good for business.

SBEM is an important tool that can help business owners and managers save money on their energy bills. The process of SBEM is simple: an energy consultant comes to your premises, assesses your business’s needs, and provides you with a list of recommended changes that will help you save money.

As a business owner or manager, you should always be on the lookout for ways to reduce your energy costs. An energy consultant can help you do just that. By conducting a thorough assessment of your business’s energy use, an energy consultant can identify areas where you could save money. With the tips that this article has mentioned, it won't be impossible for you to find the right SBEM expert to work with.

[tonystarktogo]

Tiny Tony Overlord Part 5

Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Read on AO3

Betaed by the amazing @folklejend. All remaining mistakes are my own.

Summary: In which Bix isn't as indifferent as she'd like to be, a lot of people die put nobody really cares, a miraculous recovery doesn't actually solve all of Tony's problems and, as always, life isn't fair.

Yay, an update on time! :) Please enjoy! 

.Still The Parking Lot of Zach’s B&B.

Bix doesn’t hate a lot of things. Disliking, sure. A ton of things even, Tony Stark currently being on top of that list. But hate? Hate requires effort, hate requires emotional investment, and Bix happens to be short on both.

What Bix definitely and without question hates, though, are the kid’s eyes.

Sure, rationally Bix knows the kid is Tony Stark. The ‘how’ and ‘why’ are two big, blank spots, but watching a forty-four-year-old man being turned into a kid that doesn’t look a day over nine is a pretty eye-opening experience. It also isn’t relevant to the mission. A dead Stark is a dead Stark after all, no matter at what age.

The problem is, he doesn’t look like a Stark. He looks like a child. A child with big brown eyes staring up at Bix and-

Fuck.

Why is it always brown eyes? Why can’t they be green or blue? And why does this stupid detail make Bix hesitate at all?

[continues under the cut]

Stark is still standing there, looking tiny in front of Bix and the other men. He is clutching a half-empty water bottle like it’s a teddy bear and that shouldn’t have any effect on Bix at all. Just because Stark makes for a damn cute kid and his stubborn pout may or may not raise all sorts of protective instincts Bix didn’t even know existed until now doesn’t have to mean anything.

Bix has been serving Hydra for years , has lied and betrayed and murdered for an organisation that doesn’t give a fuck about them. And Bix isn’t doing it because of some twisted conviction to save the world. All that drivel about humanity being unable to handle freedom and how the world has to be ruled to achieve its true potential is absolute bullshit. An excuse for a couple of power-hungry maniacs to justify their genocide, nothing more.

And right now Bix is supposed to murder another kid for their little chess game. A brown-eyed kid.

It is an over-eager underling who decides to take things into his own hands. Far too impatient, he won’t last long in the field.

Unfortunately, Bix doesn’t even get to punish the wayward minion, which is honest to god the best part of being team leader, because in that moment, mini-Stark activates the Asset. The one thing everyone had been so sure he wouldn’t be capable of, wouldn’t figure out how to do in time.

They should have accounted for Stark’s completely unrealistic luck in their plans, damn it.

Not that it matters anymore. The Soldier has been activated. Stark’s command doesn’t leave much wiggle room either. Twelve of SHIELD’s standard combatants against the Winter Soldier? Bix doesn’t need a fortune teller to know how this fight is going to end.

Bix doesn’t bother to share that revelation with the other agents. It would be a waste of time. Besides, it’s not like Hydra choses its recruits based on their well-developed sense of loyalty. Instead, Bix does the only sensible thing when faced with a brutal killing machine that has been turned loose: Bix jumps over Stark’s crumbled body and runs.

* * * * *

Waking up in a place you don’t remember falling asleep in is an incredibly disconcerting experience. Waking up in a pool of blood, on the other hand, is almost comforting in its familiarity.

Slowly, Tony lifts his head. The motion is less painful than anticipated, considering the amount of blood his body is covered in. Curling his toes and clenching his hands confirms that his extremities are in working order as well, and besides the persistent ache in his left upper arm and the cuts on his hands, he seems to be uninjured.

Tony should probably freak out about the blood on him—he looks like he’s come fresh off the set of a really bad horror flick—but frankly, he’s woken up in worse. Actually, he feels pretty good about himself right now. His pulsing headache has completely disappeared and though no more than thirty minutes could have passed, Tony feels well-rested and energised.

It’s true, he supposes; the mental state does influence one’s physical condition. Because for the first time since he’s woken up in that café, his mind is clear.

Hell, he’s been so gone, he hasn’t even realised how off he has been these past few hours. How foggy and sluggish his mind worked, how many holes there were in his memory that he had lacked the capacity to even notice. He had been running on barely-there instincts and nothing else. It was sheer dumb luck Dead-Eyes hadn’t killed him on the spot.

And then the confrontation in the parking lot. Tony hasn’t walked into an ambush like that in years. It is a good thing Vic had been unable to accompany him; she would have murdered him for his lack of caution.

In his defence, Tony had underestimated how fractured, for lack of a better word, the transfer would be. He had been warned, multiple times, about the dangers of messing with the time storage, but those warnings had always focused on the risks of knowing too much. The unpredictable ways the future would be changed by that knowledge alone. The very real possibility of being driven into insanity by a reality that would no longer be real.

In a way, Tony understands those concerns better now. After the constant pain of the last few hours, the sensation of being mentally ripped apart, of being overwhelmed by a life that is not quite his own, the terror of drowning in a future that can never be allowed to come to pass yet has, he gets how tempting an escape from the horror of it all can be.

At the same time though, there is this nagging voice in the back of his mind, the disbelieving “Is that really all you’ve got?“ he can’t fully silence. Because the truth is, compared to the last couple of years, this pain, this terror, is nothing.

Tony winces, instinctively shying away from the darkest of his new memories. The deaths, the hopelessness, the torture, the fight they continued because there was nothing else left to do anymore. The hollow victory when they had finally, finally discovered a cure—too late to make a difference, too late to save anyone. An endless line of faces, young and old. People they lost, people who sacrificed themselves, people who betrayed them in the end.

And now here he is. In 2014, where none of it has happened yet, back in a time where he can still make a difference, and yet Tony doesn’t feel relieved or accomplished—he feels cheated.

Can it really be this simple? Is one highly unstable formula and a reckless veteran of the Last War all it takes to save the world? Granted, he is in the body of his ten-year-old self, which is odd. Definitely not one of the side-effects Tony can remember. But his age is only a minor setback. If what the world needed was a warrior it wouldn’t have been him whom they would have sent. He should still be able to create the cure once he has procured the necessary equipment; he can worry about the distribution after that.

Except. Tony furrows his brows in concentration, does his best to draw up every single memory he has pertaining the invasion, the war councils, the endless hours spent in labs and workshops. He recalls his arguments with Rogers early on, Pepper sobbing into his shoulder at Happy’s funeral, the March of the Dead Children, the mistakes they made in the beginning and then never again. It’s all there, burned into his mind, with a clarity that he knows will give him nightmares for years to come.

The only thing Tony can’t seem to recall is the enemy. Who they were fighting. What they were fighting. He knows there was something; he knows it destroyed them and he knows they found a cure. Tony balls his bloodied hands into fists, and for the first time, there is something like panic uncurling in his chest.

No. This has to be some sort of sick cosmic joke. It’s just not possible. He can’t have forgotten the cure. He can’t have forgotten the threat. The memories have to be there somewhere, buried perhaps, but they have to exist. They have to.

Tony swallows, almost chokes on the bile rising in his throat. He can’t watch his world be torn apart again, knowing something is coming yet unable to do anything until the threat reveals itself. It will be too late by then, he already knows that. Already lived through it once. And if there is one thing he knows for certain, it’s that he can’t live through it again.

Please don’t make me live through it again.

Tony doesn’t even realise how fast he’s spiralling until the heavy sound of approaching footsteps awakens his deeply-ingrained survival instincts. He is on his feet before he recognises Dead-Eyes, who appears to be carrying two bodies. Two very, very dead bodies. The horrifying sight actually helps grounding Tony once more. It reminds him that he is currently standing on a battlefield, and that, at least, is something he knows so well it’s become routine at this point.

There are seven bodies that he can see—which is not saying much if one takes his current size into account—all of them dressed and armed for battle. Dropping to his knees next to the closest one, Tony turns the male onto his back and looks him over. Early thirties, no memorable features, one bullet wound to the head, two more in his chest. He’s not carrying anything worthwhile except for a small knife that Tony pockets and a badge identifying him as Agent Trent Michaels.

“He’s SHIELD,” Tony muses out loud and crawls towards the next body, where he finds a similar badge.

For a long moment he stares at the IDs in silent contemplation. Then he lifts his head and meets Dead-Eyes’ expectant glance. “Get me the others as well.”

In total, there are eleven bodies, all of them official SHIELD agents. Tony would need access to a database to make sure they’re valid but there is no reason to assume they aren’t. Which leaves two very important questions. One: Why on earth does SHIELD want him dead? Nothing in Tony’s memories hints at a similar occurrence in his past—future—other life. Sure, he isn’t particular chummy with the spy agency, but a death sentence seems a bit much, even by Fury’s standards. Two: How likely is it that they are gonna ask questions first and shoot later once they find their decimated agents? And that’s a rhetorical question.

Seems like Tony’s original plan—get to his old team mates, prove his identity, get into the best lab there is and fix this mess—isn’t so feasible anymore.

Staring down at the motionless bodies of the SHIELD agents, Tony knows with absolute certainty that he can’t contact the organisation, no matter how useful their resources might prove to be. Not without taking unpredictable risks and definitely not without letting Dead-Eyes take the fall for this bloodbath. It would be possible, Tony is sure he could work it out somehow, but he finds himself surprisingly averse to the idea.

By all means, it should be an easy choice. Knowing that his old friends, his self-made family are waiting for him in a home he’d built for them all, alive and well. The idea of getting that back, no matter the dangers, no matter what body he is in, is incredibly tempting. It’s a dream he has held onto for years, finally within his reach, and yet. His eyes find Dead-Eyes’ motionless shadow at his back for a moment and Tony feels his throat closing up and traitorous tears burning behind closed lids because it has never been a choice at all.

For the first time since waking up in a world two heads smaller than every enemy trying to kill him, Tony actually feels ten years old. Because right now he doesn’t want to save the world, doesn’t want to cry himself to sleep over a stupid cure he can’t seem to remember. He wants Jarvis. He wants his parents. He wants to hide under his bed forever.

He can’t go back to being that scared, ten year old ever again and it’s not fair.

Then Tony’s spine stiffens and narrow shoulders straighten with steely determination. “Soldier,” he calls out, the designation falling naturally from his lips. Watches as Dead-Eyes snaps to attention, dark, ever so intelligent eyes focusing on him. It helps, being the centre of someone’s focus. Grounds him in a way Tony had forgotten he could be anchored. “Destroy any evidence of our presence and let’s get out of here. We’re going dark.”

Because above all else, Tony Stark, at any age and in any form, is a futurist.

Tony doesn’t go back. He moves forward.

A little shorter than usual but I promise the next chapter will make up for that. Also, we've officially reached the end of the "introduction" period. All the pieces have been placed on the board. Now it's time to get this game started...

Please let me know what you think, and if you have any theories about where this story goes now I'd love to hear them! Have a relaxing Sunday everybody!

[otak-me]

C O N S T E L L A T I O N S (A LOKI X OC FANFIC)

CONSTELLATIONS INDEX

SUMMARY:

Exiled from Asgard, and stripped of his magic, Loki finds himself landed on Midgard.

Cast from his home, and thrust into a world he once attempted to conquer, his bitterness is

more than aggravated. Loki is furious, and yet as his anger is uncontained and wild, he

finds himself vulnerably laid into the palms of these mortals that he sees as so inferior.

The mortal that finds him, though, is much more intriguing (and less... Well, mortal) than

he thought Midgardians to be.

Enter Valentina Rossiére, a woman with fire that could sear into your soul burning in her

eyes and a tongue quick as a whip. Whilst at first she seems to be simply a strangely

behaving midguardian, she somehow manages to break through to Loki's broken mind,

and find a part of himself he had thought had been long destroyed. With a bit more than a

reluctant mind, and an empty heart, Loki finds himself not only forced into submission into

the mundane lifestyle of a human being, but into an unsuspected whirlwind of emotions

that he never knew existed.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

CHAPTER 1: A N D R O M E D A

COLD.

It encompassed her entire being.

Her muscles grew frigid and her bones grew tight.

She grit her teeth in frustration.

Her toes were going from white to grey by now, and her eyebrows knitted together in irritation.

"Fuck this!" She threw her hands in the air, hurling herself off the couch and paced to the thermostat, turning on the heater, her fingers twitching from being suddenly moved, "I'm just gonna have to call him, I can't go without heating for this long!"

Her lips were slowly regaining colour as the heaters blasted, and her teeth gnawed at the cracked skin in the left corner of her bottom lip.

Her silver eyes darted across the room to her black snake, Baphomet, that was happily lazing under the lamp, and she grumbled under her breath at him, "Lucky bastard, getting a constant heater and not needing to worry about electricity bills." His head tilted a tad towards her, and he seemed to smirk impishly at her.

She rolled her eyes, heading towards the kitchen and pulling out a mug.

It was getting into the colder months now, and it was slowly approaching the one year anniversary of 'The Battle of New York' or "The Time Iron Man Saved The Day By Shoving A Nuke Into A Giant Glowing Asshole Of Death" as Tony Stark so pompously preferred.

The electricity bills would be going up for Valentina these next few months. As much as she loved the winter, Valentina wholeheartedly loathed the expenses that came with it. More food, more electricity.

It was exhausting.

You would think that after living for so long, she would have accumulated a fair stash of money, and she had, but it was scattered all over the globe. She didn't want any suspicious links to her bills and life being up for grabs by any pesky organisations.

Valentina still had to work to keep her living expenses manageable, as she wasn't exactly living in a hovel.

Her 'humble' abode was located miles away from the closest store, buried within the forest of pine trees and high-reaching birch trees. It was a large brown and green house, similar to that of a cottage, but much larger.

It had two floors, the first floor containing the entrance, the kitchen, the loungeroom and the office, and the second floor containing the master bedroom, spare bedroom, bathroom and library.

Although there was a main room dedicated to books, the winding staircase that spiralled up from the first floor to the library area was walled with bookshelves too.

Most rooms withheld at least one bookshelf (minus the bathroom), the kitchen with cookbooks and whatnot, the loungeroom with Valentina's favourite series, the office with lots of technology, science, and mathematical textbooks, the staircase with historical and fantasy, her bedroom with 'currently reading' books, more of her favourite series, and her oldest, most precious books, the spare bedroom with the 'classics' with Shakespeare, Edgar Ellen Poe, J.R.R. Tolkien, George Orwell, F. Scott Fitzgerald etc.

In the loungeroom was a large flatscreen above the fireplace, Valentina's collection of movies on either side of the fireplace in drawers, above the drawers short bookshelves, and above the bookshelves hung a collection of animal skulls that she had scavenged in her walks through the forest.

The skulls were a constant reminder of how she must live her life; cherish the lives around you, and never let their memories fade.

Her snake, Baphomet, a beautiful black water moccasin Cottonmouth, was in a large tank behind the couches, lazing his life away like a no-good freeloader.

Valentina loved Baphomet, she had found him half-dead on the side of the road, attacked by some disgusting men with a shovel. She managed to stop the men from murdering the poor reptile, but he was still badly injured. One of his eyes was gouged out, and he had plenty of broken ribs. Valentina had been in tears as she commenced surgery on the poor creature, her tears mixed with the blood stained on her hands.

She stayed away from town for a while after that, as she couldn't stand to face anyone after seeing such a horrid sight.

Nobody really cared about Valentina, save for the old man Strickler, who had been quite close to her in his younger years. He stopped seeing her as often once he had met his wife and gotten married, though. Valentina still liked to visit him every once in a while, just to make sure he was still doing well. He always said that she was a sight to behold every time she visited, with her 5'8, petite stature, heart-shaped face, full, cupid's-bow-less, rosy lips, porcelain skin, silver eyes and long, silver hair.

She really did stand out.

It was back when she first started approaching the years of 80 that her hair started turning grey, along with the hair of her friends around her. It seemed to stay that way for the rest of her years.

The rest of her years being the last 358 years, of course.

The young skin certainly did look strange with the naturally silver hair, but lately it had become less questioned, due to hair dyeing becoming a more popular beauty fad.

Her frame never seemed to change, always lean, but toned, petite yet firm, pale and never-changing.

She was an anomaly amongst men, and had been for the most part of her life. She had long accepted this fact, and worked her lifestyle around it, preventing as much heartbreak as possible; getting close, but not too close, making friends, but never having attachments. She cherished the lives of others, but had accepted that the light would eventually fade from their eyes and leave her alone once more.

Alone, always alone.

Her life had become a haze of standing on the sidelines, watching people's lives streak past her in a daze of overflowing emotions, filling as much emotion as possible into each moment, cherishing each second before their inevitable cease of existence.

She watched as empires rose and fell, people came to power, were overthrown, then spoken about as if they were partial fantasy, when she had met those people when they were children, or traded goods and services with their mothers.

She was an anomaly among men, an anomaly that was barely teetering on the line of existence and living.

She was alone.

CHAPTER 2: ANTLIA

Word count: 1132

[litcci]

IN-DEPTH CHARACTER SHEET

CREDIT TO SIR ENDESR AT THIS WRITING FORUM.

Reblog or repost. DO NOT remove credit.

TAGGED BY: nobody i STOL this

TAGGING: @melligine, @serapheit​ (honestly use whichever oc you’re feeling tbh!!), @kaqenui​, @infernosis​ THIS ISN’T A PARTICULAR LIST S O  FEEL FREE TO STEAL THIS REALLY!!!! i had fun doing this

FULL NAME: Selen Cypress Steele MEANING: Selen’s name is the Sami variation and I couldn’t actually find a meaning for it!!! However when used in Turkish, it means gospel or asset Cypress and Steele should be obvious NICKNAME: Sel. Right now only like, two people are allowed to use this MEANING: Should be obvious!! AGE: 23 BIRTHDAY: February 20th ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Aquarius GENDER: Agender, masc presenting He doesn’t feel much alignment to any particular gender, but he’s very content with the way he presents currently

ALLERGIES: None. SEXUAL PREFERENCE: Men and masculine people, exclusively. THEME SONG(S): Honestly I couldn’t think of much BUT...

APPEARANCE HAIR COLOR: White. Just straight up white. He’ll deny it but it’s absolutely white. HAIR STYLE AND LENGTH: Choppy and asymmetrical; longer on his right hand side, which he usually keeps in a little braid. The shorter side sits just above chin length. Tends to let it get shaggy EYES COLOR: Muted brown HEIGHT: 5′8′‘ | 173cm. Not as blessed with height as some of his other family members, but it could be worse. WEIGHT: 134 lbs | 61 kg. OUTFIT/CLOTHING STYLE: Tends to be pretty extra, favouring thicker fabrics and fur. Sweaters are a constant. When not working he leans towards a more minimal style. DISTINGUISHING MARKS(SCARS, MOLES): Freckles everywhere (face, arms, legs), a few scars here and there SELF CARE(MAKE UP): Occasionally he’ll fill in his eyebrows if he’s feeling insecure; he favours nice perfumes and colognes, too (especially vanilla scents) FIRST IMPRESSION ON PEOPLE: Composed, a little unapproachable SKIN COLOR: Pale beige, prone to sunburn and reddening. BODY TYPE/BUILD: A little on the scrawny side, but there’s some definite muscle definition around his arms and core DEFAULT EXPRESSION: Neutral and focused. Resting bitch face honestly. Some days, you might be able to spot a little smirk--usually in the company of the king. POSTURE: Upright, hands on hips, hands by his side--he’s ready. He keeps his arms folded when he’s relaxed, shifting his weight onto one leg. PIERCINGS: Both ears. He rarely wears earrings these days and they’ve pretty much sealed up, though DESCRIBE THEIR VOICE: Pretty monotonous, more so out of being calm than anything. Usually fairly quiet, doesn’t speak particularly quickly or slowly. As he warms to you, it becomes more rhythmic and emotive

RELATIONSHIPS MOM: Jerusha Steele HOW WELL DO THEY GET ALONG: It’s complicated. They’ve not been in contact since Selen left Belori. Selen completely understands why she acted the way she did towards him--he was equally heartbroken and angered by his father’s disappearance. But the way she went about it is something he can’t forgive so easily, and has left an impact he’s still healing from. He’s not rushing to see her again, but he still thinks about her. DAD: Tobejas Steele HOW WELL DO THEY GET ALONG: Again, it’s complicated. Up until the age of 10, the two got on wonderfully. The man was very up front about his heritage and what he was, with Selen embracing it as best he could. Calm, gentle, fun, and all around a fantastic father figure. After his disappearance--knowing it was planned and how his mother reacted to it--Selen’s opinion of his father is incredibly bitter. He’s not as desperate for answers as he was (he’s stopped actively looking for him). Out of spite, he’s choosing to barely acknowledge certain aspects of his heritage, but he still holds lingering respect for him he’s barely aware of. The braid in his hair is the same one his father wore, after all.

SIBLINGS: Saskia Steele HOW WELL DO THEY GET ALONG: Like a house on fire. She’s aware of his whereabouts but hasn’t told her mother, but the two of them share an incredible amount of mutual adoration, respect and hatred of their father. CHILDREN: None. HOW WELL DO THEY GET ALONG: N/A. PAST LOVER(S): One. Very short lived. Admittedly, it was out of desperation on both their parts and they were barely compatible, but not from lack of trying. Selen was the one to be broken up with. CURRENT LOVER: A certain king. Selen’s been head over heels for him for the last three years and it doesn’t look like this is stopping any time soon. And really, he couldn’t care less about peoples’ opinions about their differences in ranks. He’s in deep. REACTION TO MEETING SOMEONE NEW: By default, he’s sceptical of their intentions, but he greatly enjoys listening to them and what they have to say. That scepticism persists for a while, but he’ll still act friendly enough. ABILITY TO WORK WITH OTHERS: He’s more of a follower than a leader and takes to orders like a fish to water.  Still, he feels he works better alone than in a group. That being said, there’s been some definite improvement in his approach in recent years. LEAST FAVORITE TYPE OF PERSON: People who are overly curious or obnoxious, honestly. He needs his privacy and to save his energy. PARENTAL TYPE(PROTECTIVE, ETC): He’s remarkably good with children!! He’d be far more protective of his own children, but he’s the sentimental type. Days out, reading bedtime stories, listening to everything the kid has to say.

PERSONALITY …WHEN YOU FIRST MEET THEM: A little stiff, but it’s obvious he’s making an effort to be friendly. Acts calm and collected, but aspects of someone who’s a little inexperienced still shine through. …AS YOU KNOW THEM BETTER(AND THEY LIKE YOU): Talks and smiles a lot more!! He starts being a lot more playful (think awful jokes and awful puns), but also a lot more protective. He gets a lot more receptive to affection too. …AS YOU KNOW THEM BETTER(AND THEY DISLIKE YOU): Resting bitch face.  Passive aggression. To an extent--with his words at least--he’s capable of hiding his feelings very well, but it boils over to a point of outright rudeness. FAVORITE COLOR: Red, some shades of purple, green FAVORITE FOOD: He would die for banana bread FAVORITE ANIMAL: Cats FAVORITE ELEMENT: Water (ironically, he can’t swim) LEAST FAVORITE COLOR: Blue, yellow LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: He’s not a big fan of pizza LEAST FAVORITE ANIMAL: Like most, he’s not too fond of insects. HOBBIES: Fashion, photography, and... knife throwing. He’s starting to develop a budding interest in gardening, too. USUAL MOOD: Calm, focused DRINK/SMOKE/DRUGS: Occasional drinker. He’s a stress smoker, but it’s a habit he’s trying to stop. And occasionally. He’s done weed before no thanks to a certain someone’s influence. DARK VERSION OF SELF: He’s inherently very neutral, so there’s nothing especially light or dark about himself LIGHT VERSION OF SELF: Again, he’s neutral! HOW SERIOUS ARE THEY: Pretty serious, but he can definitely appreciate fun and doing things on the spur of the moment CLASS IN AN RPG: Rogue BELIEVE IN GHOSTS: Eh (IN)DEPENDENT: Independent. VULNERABILITY: People he loves getting hurt, his loyalty being challenged, his past to some extent OPINION ON SWEARING: Occasionally! Never at work. Gotta stay professional. DAREDEVIL VS CAUTIOUS: Cautious MUSIC TYPE: He’s fond of chilled out electronic music, but he’ll honestly listen to anything. MOVIE TYPE: He doesn’t have an absolute favourite--rather, he likes specific films rather than overall genres. He’s biased towards adventure, however. BOOK TYPE: Murder mysteries, hands down COMFORTABLE TEMPERATURE: Anything below 50F is nice. He’s cold. He can appreciate warmer weather in small doses, but anything beyond that is a nightmare for him SLEEPING PATTERN: Very structured, sleeps about 8-9 hours a day consistently. If he can’t get that, he’ll gladly nap. CLEANLINESS/NEATNESS: Very tidy and organised, though things turn to disarray when he’s stressed out DESIRED PET: He’d love a cat, or a tortoise HOW DO THEY PASS TIME: People watching, so much people watching BIGGEST SECRET: Unless you ask, everything about him is a secret... so in a strange way, he doesn’t have any particular secrets. He still greatly prefers being mysterious, though HERO/WHO THEY LOOK UP TO: His sister and the last king of Melcio WHAT ANIMAL WOULD THEY BE: ......Cat. Like honestly i thought about this for a few minutes but no he’s a damn cat i can’t do this FEARS: The king’s assassination, especially if it’s something he can prevent. He’s not the best about being controlled or manipulated, either. Or blood. COMFORTS: Piping hot cocoa, fairy lights, hugs--but only if he knows you well enough

HOW DO THEY REACT TO… DANGER: Tries to be as level headed as possible, thinking of every solution to get out of it SOMEONE THEY HATE WHO HAS A CRUSH ON THEM: Straight up tells them no, no hesitation whatsoever. PROPOSAL TO MARRY: Depends who it’s from. If it’s from a certain someone he’s definitely gonna start crying. Anybody else? ‘...Um.’ DEATH OF LOVED ONE: Isolation, solemn sadness... after a while. Then it turns to eventfulness if applicable. DIFFICULT GAME/MATH/ETC: Frustration, honestly. He’d want to walk away from the problem and start again if he can, but if it’s under pressure he’ll just take a deep breath and do the best job he can INJURY: Tries his hardest to ignore it and power on through until he has no choice SOMETHING IRRESISTIBLY CUTE: If it’s an animal he’d want to try and lure it in and say hello!!

HISTORY BIOGRAPHY: yaint

FIRST APPEARANCE: He’d face’d first be put to the public after his appointment of first knight, by the king of Melcio’s side on excisions.

KNOWLEDGE LANGUAGES: I’m not sure how we’re going about languages over at Frucitaion lmao but he definitely has a couple under his belt SCHOOLING LEVEL: High school graduate FAVORITE SUBJECT (S): Psychology, textiles, math INTERESTED CAREERS: He considered pursuing psychology further at one point, but his heart was set on militia EXPERTISE: Ditto CHEMISTRY: C MATH: A+ LANGUAGE: B GEOGRAPHY: B POLITICS/LAW: A COOKING: B MECHANICS: A BOTANY (FLOWERS): A MYTHOLOGY: D DRAMATICS(ACTING,SINGING): A, exclusively for acting

READING LEVEL: High school graduate HOW GOOD ARE THEY AT PLANNING AHEAD: Very good, and he adores it. 500 things that could go wrong are considered and worked around, almost to the point of obsession. You can never be too careful.

ROMANCE . DO THEY TAKE INITIATIVE: He’s perceptive, so he knows when and how to initiate when it’s needed! Otherwise he takes a backseat, since his boyfriend is the affectionate sort. HOW DO THEY ACT(SHY,ETC): Shameless and unapologetic, honestly. It takes a while for him to come out of his shell, but when he does he’s staying and he’s gonna enjoy himself, PDA and all. GENTLEMAN/LADYLIKE VS KLUTZY: Somewhere in between! He has his moments of being a klutz when he’s truly being himself, though he enjoys putting on a gentlemanly facade. Really, he can’t take himself seriously. GO SLOW VS JUMP INTO: Slow. PROTECTIVE: Absolutely. He’d put his life on the line to keep Carmi safe ACT LIKE FRIENDS OR LOVERS: Lovers, no mistake about it. WHAT KIND OF PRESENTS DO THEY BUY: Tends to pick his gifts carefully, with plenty of sentimentality behind most of them! It’s hard to resist some impulse buys, though. Plants are always a must, but things that remind him of his significant other or trips out they’ve had together are always welcome. TYPE OF KISSER: He’s prone to quick impulsive kisses, but he has a tendency to get really into it once he gets going DO THEY WANT KIDS: He’d love to adopt whenever they feel they’re ready DO THEY WANT TO MARRY: He’s not rushing, but he’d love to MAKE GOOD OR BAD DECISIONS: Ones that are beneficial to both parties. So yes, mostly good. He can make poor decisions that are too extreme, especially when it comes to keeping his loved ones safe. ARE THEY ROMANTIC: Definitely. He’s all about the corny, cliche stuff, as long as they’re both having a good time. HOW ARE THEY IN BED: Touchy, loud, pretty average? He isn’t sure. Ask his boyfriend. He’s pretty receptive and attuned to what his partner wants, though. GET JEALOUS EASY: Not at all! He knows Carmi has a lot of love to give--that’s why he adores him so much MARRY FOR MONEY: Nope FAVORITE SEX POSITION: -- WHAT WOULD HAPPEN ON THEIR DREAM DATE: Something corny, like a picnic at sunrise or a trip to the aquarium and a nice meal afterwards. OPINION ON SEX: He likes it, but he doesn’t need it and definitely has to be in a certain mood for it.

[epiphenomenal]

hi guys. sorry for the long absence. i've had various r/l things going on, including a new job -- but tbh i’ve also found it hard to have fannish feelings about anything except the end of the band of my life, kent. the following is an incredibly tl;dr explanation. please don't feel obliged to read it; i think i wrote this mainly for myself.

i. origins

there are two stories, i guess. one begins in 2003 with teenage!jan discovering a curiously-labelled song on file-sharing software. someone had frontloaded the filename with familiar bands: REM, radiohead, the smashing pumpkins, etc. so i downloaded what turned out to be the english version of kent's 747, and realised i had to listen to more of their work.

i soon discovered they were a swedish band, and that their english experiment had been short-lived. but their swedish songs were fantastic (both before and after i looked up the lyrics), so i kept listening.

and they say the town's become silent and ugly and deserted, darling that it's going to be a long cold winter i've learnt that longing is worst when one's slept like a child through an ice-cold winter

you're my hero for you dare to be honest you're my hero for you're just as weak as me come and help me, i need you -- again, again, again (x)

i ordered all their albums online -- you know it's love when you stop pirating. for most music loves, it might have stopped there. except for the other story, which starts in the late 1980s (or officially in 1990).

i read about the band's origins, and there was something compelling about that, too. how they grew up in a small grey industrial ghost town, where music was an escape. how they had lofty dreams and moved to stockholm and tried and failed and kept trying for years, until they got their big break. how they went from strength to strength after that, winning awards and a devoted fanbase, and eventually being called "sweden's biggest rock band". (but also how, after two english-language albums and gruelling international tours, they had to give up on that front.)

i loved them with the intensity teenagers are capable of. i read all i could find in english, and then (back when machine translation was poor and google translate didn't even exist yet) read more with the help of a swedish-english dictionary and what grammar i managed to learn.

kent also had a close relationship with their fans. their frontman, joakim berg, frequently hung out on their official forum. ahead of each album release, the band took questions directly from fans and answered them (often hilariously) on their website -- which, incidentally, was a fansite that the band noticed and asked to become their official website.

in 2005, they released their first new album since i'd started listening to them: du & jag döden or 'you & i, death', a masterpiece from the irresistible opening track all the way till the magnificent album closer, which remains my favourite song ever. i pre-ordered the album online and played it on loop for days and have never recovered.

do you remember our blood-oath, our law? our stupid crusade against an equally foolish town i remember everything like nails against glass but you just laugh at me, reduce everything to a joke yet i see in your anxious posture, your hunted gaze that it feels that it's a long way home (x)

ii. journeys

in the autumn of 2007, kent released their next album, tillbaka till samtiden; i went to the UK for university, on a scholarship. that december, i went to sweden and saw kent live for the first time -- something i'd never imagined would be possible, back when i first discovered their music. it was magical. they were magical. that energy, those songs i'd loved for years, the crowd roaring along on all the classic lines -- singing but darling we’ll all die someday with thousands of other fans, not in sadness but in triumph. but also: jocke's incredibly dorky dancing, the band's camaraderie on stage, how they connected with the crowd. i fell a little in love with their guitarist, sami sirviö, and his dramatic guitar-playing -- something from which i have never recovered either.

the next spring, i travelled alone to sweden to see them again, three times.

kent wasn’t just the soundtrack to my ~formative years; they’re linked inextricably to the start of my uni-era travels, and to trips i’ve taken since. they were also a constant, of sorts: one could always expect another album within a couple of years. there was always something to look forward to.

and the thing about kent -- and being a kent fan over the years -- is that they have always moved forward. unlike some bands which retread the same sonic territory, kent saw each new album as a musical departure from the next (often to their fans’ dismay; but kent always said that they made music for themselves, and i admired that kind of integrity, too). their lyrics also evolved: from adolescent anxiety and desperation, to urban isolation and middle-aged middle-class angst (not least given their working-class origins), protesting against a society that seemed to be losing its old ideals of solidarity and kindness.

in late 2009, during my final undergraduate year, they released the album röd. in the easter vacation before my final exams, i went to sweden and norway for four concerts. i didn't know when i would get to see them again.

(just half a year after röd, they casually released another album, en plats i solen. other things they’ve done: released songs for charity, from a quietly devastating song about domestic violence for Save the Children, to one for the National Organisation for Women's and Girls' Shelters in Sweden; released a song for free online as a christmas present for fans, without the knowledge of their record label, and laughed with fans on the forum about that; taken shoe-selfies on a couch together.)

darling, that we want most of all is something that can never be ours november is a wall of wet concrete where a naive dream of escape is born to crash and then die but heroes and heroines stay standing they spit hard into the wind and they warm our hands so we don't lose our grip on the love we have a right to (x)

i returned from the UK and started work in 2011. in 2012, kent released jag är inte rädd för mörkret, which opens with one of their most beautiful songs. (instead of doing promotional interviews, they held a press conference and invited fans and forum regulars and bloggers, not just the media.) i flew alone to stockholm that summer, for a concert on a sprawling green lawn. the setlist was incredible and included one of my favourite songs, which i'd hoped for years to hear live. there were fireworks at the end. the forty-minute walk back towards town, amongst other fans, felt like it took no time at all.

2014 started out tough for me for various reasons, and kent's new album tigerdrottningen was very welcome, though i didn't manage to see them live that tour. they were more political than ever before. their first single was a blistering critique of sweden today; at a summer festival they held (yes, they held their own festival, and invited artistes they loved -- mostly women, incidentally, something the media noticed but the band themselves never pointed out), they exhorted the crowd to vote the right-wing SD party out of parliament. my favourite track off the album describes stockholm as a "guaranteed solidarity-free New Moderate desert" -- but also contains a verse that gains a lot of poignancy in retrospect:

i hear the bass from the car at the red lights, i know that song like a knife to the heart -- i wrote it 200 summers ago i stand as if frozen at the crossing, and regret (x)

iii. endings

on 13 march 2016, kent posted a video full of references to previous albums and songs.

after 26 years together, they were calling it a day.

their final album, då som nu för alltid, was a summary and a farewell. they said goodbye with a final tour: 28 gigs in four months across four countries.

i used half my annual leave to catch five concerts in october. each one was amazing. from the breathtaking introduction and epic visuals, to the setlist, to -- of course -- the band themselves. how much energy they poured into their music. the smiles they traded on stage, how they’d play while facing each other. how jocke presented his fellow band members to the audience, night after night, and told stories from their earliest days together; how, night after night, he told them he loved them.

the band members' love for each other, how they call themselves a family and have always felt it was them against the world -- that's one of my favourite things about them. and i have a lot of feelings about the stories jocke told: how he and sami went from disliking each other at first sight to sharing a rockstar dream; how he and bassist martin sköld spent hours talking about everything in life; how important their drummer, markus mustonen, was in making them feel like they were finally a real band.

the farewell tour was also filled with love between the band and the fans. how jocke bantered with fans near the front. how, in setlist staple jag ser dig ('i see you'), the fans got their moment on the big screen. how the fans have always taken jocke's cue during set-ender 747, turning stadiums into seas of waving arms, right after jocke sings to us, repeatedly, you keep us alive -- additional lyrics only present in live renditions of the song. how, after each concert, the band came down and gave out roses to fans in the front row.

in december, i flew out again for their last three concerts in stockholm. during the first two, for which i had standing tickets, there was just such a pure joy and euphoria at being there, in the moment, with fellow fans, amid their music. they performed a completely new song, because kent is the sort of band which does that sort of thing during their last three concerts ever.

at their final concert, on dec 17, i had a seated ticket for the only time this tour. i watched their farewell from a distance, but that also allowed me to grasp the scale of this: being there amongst 38,300 fans, saying goodbye together. during the ironic political ballad sverige we held up our phones, as we'd done throughout the tour, and the arena was full of stars.

the day after, the band released a final video, a beautiful summary of the farewell tour which included the voices of fans. it was a music video for the song which ends their last album, and which also closed every concert that tour: den sista sången or 'the last song'. just to make the message perfectly clear, the song (and by extension, every farewell concert) ends on these lines:

this is the last time, the last time we're meeting the last song, the last song i'm giving you (x)

iv. epilogue

on dec 26 and 27, a two-part documentary on the band's final years was released. it's a very well-made documentary, from cinematography to its on-point song choices, filled with interviews and amusing moments, giving a summary of the band's history and a look at the long farewell stretch. the documentary also contained some sad revelations about why the band had chosen to call it a day, and i spent january and february processing this, basically.

on feb 28, kent won their final two swedish grammy awards. they gave cute thank-you speeches and joked around in the backstage interviews. it provided a kinder sort of closure, compared to the documentary's bittersweet ending.

i still have far too many feelings about these guys and their journey. but it's now been a year since the farewell announcement, and though i'll never get over this band, i should really move forward too.

[leftpress]

Steve Cohen’s ‘That’s Funny, You Don’t Look Anti-Semitic’

charliethechulo | Shiraz Socialist | March 7th 2017

Steve Cohen (ZT”L) died on 8th March 2009. He had been a member of the Jewish Socialists Group, the International Marxist Group, and a leading campaigner for migrants rights. An outspoken supporter of Palestinian rights, he was nevertheless concerned about the prevalence of anti-Semitism on parts of the left and pro-Palestinian movement. Steve was a prolific writer (we tried to rope him into Shiraz towards the end of his life), but by far his most important piece was That’s Funny, You Don’t Look Anti-Semitic, which can be read in full on the website devoted to Steve and his great pamphlet, which we reproduce here in memory of a fine comrade:

An anti-racist analysis of left anti-semitism by Steve Cohen (ZT”L), edited ...

by Libby Lawson and Erica Bunnan:

There Must Be Some Way Out of Here

 In 1984 I wrote a booklet against anti-Semitism. For this I was denounced as a Zionist.

In 2005 I wrote a pastiche poem criticising Zionism. For this I was denounced as an anti-Semite by some people on the Engage website. What is happening here?

It seems to me that one of the things that is happening is that whatever the fundamental political distinction between anti Semitism and anti Zionism (a distinction I see as absolute) yet on an emotional and existential level the two have become hopelessly intertwined—and this itself is political. Something else which is happening is the confirmation as far as I’m concerned of a political analysis of anti-Semitism which in my naivety, strikes me as obvious but which I’ve never seen articulated anywhere else. This is that the Jewish Chronicle and Socialist Worker are both correct. And incorrect. Zionism is anti racist. And Zionism is racist. I cannot see how Zionism in its triumphant form (the Israeli state) is anything except essentially racist. It was founded on the dispossession of the Palestinians. And it continues on the super exploitation and humiliation of the Palestinians as the “other”. To deny this strikes me as fundamentally immoral. I also happen to think that two states, one of which by definition has to be exclusively Jewish is similarly immoral. I think majoritarianism (the legitimisation of an entity through numbers) is immoral wherever it presents itself—it leads at the very least to forced population movement and at its most extreme to ethnic cleansing and all that implies. I’ll leave open to discussion and personal judgement the point on this continuum that Israel may already guilty and at which a divided state would become guilty.

On the other hand it seems to me equally undeniable that Zionism in its inception was anti-racist. It was a reaction against, a way of dealing with, European anti-Semitism. Maybe as a revolutionary socialist writing in Prestwich in 2005 it would not be my way. However as a Jew of whatever political persuasion in Europe after the coming to power of Hitler in 1933 or the defeat of the revolution in Spain in 1939 I may well have had a different position. And if fascism ever took over here and Jews were barred entry elsewhere then I guess I might take a different position. I empathise with the “bolt hole” theory of Zionism. I appreciate the significance of the remarks by Isaac Deutscher, the Polish Marxist ex-rabbi, who wrote in later life “In this controversy (between socialism and Zionism) Zionism has scored a horrible victory, one of which it could neither wish nor expect; six million Jews had to perish in Hitler’s gas chambers in order that Israel should come to life … If instead of arguing against Zionism in the 1920s and 1930s I had urged European Jewry to go to Palestine, I might have saved some of the lives that were later extinguished in Hitler’s gas chambers” (Israel’s Spiritual Climate). I take it as axiomatic that any revolutionary of that pre-war period would have fought for the absolute right of Jews to enter Palestine. To have argued otherwise, to have argued for immigration controls, would have meant support for the British Mandate whose army tried to prevent entry. However the tenets of revolutionary socialism (tenets to which I still hold even in these days of Blair, Bush, Sharon and … Bin Laden) would demand that entry into the then Palestine would/should have lead to an attempt to forge an alliance between Jewish workers and Palestinian workers and peasants against the Zionist leadership, the absentee Palestinian landlords and the British soldiery. Of course the task would have been enormous. But the failure of that historic task has lead to what we have today—Israel the perpetual blood bath.

It is because Zionism is both racist and anti-racist that I call myself an anti-Zionist Zionist. It is also because Zionism is racist and anti racist that there is an even more urgent need to rigorously distinguish anti-Zionism from anti-Semitism. This itself requires a rigorous definition of both—otherwise how is it rationally possible to ever distinguish the two? I do not think there is ever the question of anti-Zionism discourse “becoming” or “sliding into” anti-Semitism. If a position is anti-semitic then it is anti-semitic in its origins—it does not become so. It is nothing whatsoever to do with Zionism. So, fascistic critiques of Israel are not about Zionism. They are about Jews. And this is the point. Anti-Zionism is about solidarity with the Palestinians. Anti-Semitism is about the Jewish conspiracy. Not all critiques of Israel are based on Jewish conspiracy theories. And anti-Semitism is not going to help progress the Palestinian cause. Just as August Bebel famously described the equation of capital with Jew as the socialism of fools then the equation of Zionism with world domination with Jew is the anti-zionism of fools.

It often feels like the wisdom of Solomon is required to know how to deal politically with this grotesque foolishness. One issue is the actual (the “cleansing” of Jews from Jerusalem in 1948, the suicide bombings of today) or threatened (“drive them into the sea”) repression of Israeli Jews which fuels a fortress mentality and to which sections of the left retain an ambivalent or agnostic attitude. Another issue that should be a matter of concern is that anti-semitism masquerading as anti-Zionism drives away those who would otherwise want to give solidarity to the Palestinian cause. For myself, this is what I found unfortunate in the debate over the boycott of some or all Israeli universities. Whatever the motive of those proposing the boycott (and like Engage I’m opposed to exceptionalising Israel) there is still an imperative need to offer real, material, political support to the Palestinians. I think for myself the best way of dealing with any particular proposed boycott is to come to a decision on whether the boycott would help the Palestinians irrespective of its proposers—and organise independently against anti-Semitism. Which perhaps meaning building a movement that simultaneously is dedicated to Palestinian solidarity and opposition to anti-Semitism.

It is apparent from what I’ve said that I also disagree with what I take to be the dominant position within Engage—namely that in our contemporary world anti-Zionism must inevitably equate with anti-Semitism. Paradoxically I also disagree with Engage’s position that in the modern world the form that anti-Semitism takes is through (foolish) anti-Zionism. I think it is worse than that. Obviously this is one form that is taken by the theory of the world Jewish conspiracy. However it seems to me that this is merely concealing more classic forms—Jew as all-powerful (the “Zionist lobby” running the USA), Jew as financial manipulator (the world being supposedly run by trans-national corporations and not imperialist states), Jew as murderer (take your pick—the blitzing of Iraq comes in there somewhere through its constant equation with the repression of the Palestinians). Jew as the subject of the blood libel (ditto but add the surreal accusation that Jews are responsible for September 11th), Jew as the killer of the first born (double ditto), Jew as poisoner of the wells (the anti-urbanisation of much Green politics—with Jews being the urban people par excellence). These images, these world-views, are powerful enough to split off from any anti-zionist base. And they have begun to split off within sections of the anti-globalisation, anti-capitalist movement. It is here that the anti-Zionism of fools emerges with a vengeance but is still subservient to the classic socialism of fools and also to the pre-capitalist feudalism of fools—the real McCoy of jew hatred. This is because anti-capitalism is shared by socialists who aspire to post-capitalist formations and right-wing organisations who hark back to an earlier pre-capitalist age—which is one of many reasons why genuine socialists have to be vigilant against any equation of capital with Jew.

Anti-Semitism on the left has for too long been a taboo subject—probably since the inception of the socialist project itself. I know because in 1984 I was that taboo! I became for a short period a political pariah in sections of the socialist/communist movement (my movement) for daring to raise the subject. Actually when I began writing my book I had no intention of writing anything on anti-Semitism, left or right. I wanted to write and condemn the (latest) Israeli onslaught on Lebanon. I used the left press as source material—and became horrified by what I was reading. And what I was reading was gross stereotyping of the Jew via the stereotyping of Israel as the most powerful force in the universe. All this was redolent of all the old-time European, Christian imagery—just stopping short it seemed of accusations of desecrating the wafer. So I did some research and quickly realised that this left anti-Semitism did not spring from nowhere but unfortunately had a long and dishonourable tradition—going back at least to the successful agitation for immigration controls against Jewish refugees and the 1905 Aliens Act. As it so happened, I was at that time thinking of writing another book just on this agitation—but Pluto Press told me that “Jews don’t sell”. To which I replied that I thought this was what we’ve always been accused of doing too much of. To show Pluto they were not being true Marxists I quoted Marx’s own piece of self-hatred from his On The Jewish Question: “What is the secular cult of the Jew? Haggling”. And then bizarrely I started to come across references and allusions (illusions) in parts of the left press to the wealth and power of Jews, of Jewry, all in the service of Israel—or maybe Israel was in the service of Jews and Jewry. Who knows? It was all rubbish anyway—but extremely dangerous rubbish.

And without managing (with the support of some comrades in the Jewish Socialist Group—the JSG) to keep fixed in my head the absolute distinction between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism, I guess I could have gone schizophrenic. There were two great successive nights when I was evicted from a mosque then a shul. I’m always sorry I never made the hat-trick of our common enemy—a church. The mosque incident involved picketing (along with some Asian youth) some local anti-Jewish ayatollah. The shul incident was wonderful. It was in Liverpool. I went with other members of the JSG to picket a meeting that was being held in support of the invasion (a shul supporting a military invasion? This really was Old Testament stuff). What we didn’t know was that the guest speaker was some Israeli General—we should have recognised him by his ripped jeans and tee shirt. As we were being lifted horizontally, face downwards, out of the shul by the stewards I looked down on a face looking up at me. The face looking up said “Weren’t we at Oxford together?”. To which I replied “I think so—were you at Trinity?” That to me is a classic example of tribalism. Mea culpa. I always regret not screaming out “Let my people go!”.

That’s Funny You Don’t Look Anti-Semitic did create ripples. It managed to split the JSG whose then dominant leadership thought it might offend the Socialist Workers Party. It resulted in some pretty dreadful correspondence over many weeks in journals like Searchlight and Peace News. A pamphlet was written denouncing me as a “criminal”. There was a particular review—in Searchlight—one sentence of which I will never forget. Every Jew on the left will know that terrible syndrome whereby, whatever the context and wherever one is, we will be tested by being given the question “what is your position on Zionism?” Wanna support the miners—what’s your position on Zionism? Against the bomb—what’s your position on Zionism? And want to join our march against the eradication of Baghdad, in particular the eradication of Baghdad—what’s your position on Zionism? And we all know what answer is expected in order to pass the test. It is a very strong form of anti-Semitism based on assumptions of collective responsibility. Denounce Zionism, crawl in the gutter, wear a yellow star and we’ll let you in the club. Which is one reason why I call myself an Anti-Zionist Zionist—at least that should confuse the bastards. Anyhow this particular review, noting that my book actually did attack Zionism, said “It is not enough to trot out platitudes, as he does, about being against Zionism and in support of the Palestinian struggle”. So I’m not allowed into the club even though I fulfil the entry requirements. I’m not allowed in because I recognise and oppose the existence of anti-Semitism on the Left—and this therefore renders all support for Palestinians a “platitude”. Well it ain’t me who’s here confusing anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism.

An accusation greeting the publication of That’s Funny was that even if anti-Semitism existed, it was trivial compared to other forms of oppression—not least that being inflicted on the Palestinians. I find this argument abhorrent. The struggle for communism is not about establishing some equitable scale of oppression and exploitation. It is about smashing all such oppression and exploitation. Switch to Germany 1925—”Comrades why are you harping on about anti-Semitism? It’s trivial. If it ever became significant we will deal with it. Honest”.

But there were positives back in 1984. There were allies out there—for instance the then Manchester and Liverpool branches of the JSG. I discovered that a similar political battle was going on within the feminist magazine Spare Rib and a kind of informal alliance was formed here. I remember that a large debate was organised in the Peace Studies department at Bradford University—where I shared some dope with a member of the PLO. It was Lebanese! And then the three of us who had published the book (we called ourselves The Beyond The Pale Collective) organised a biggish conference in Manchester. And Pluto Press was wrong—we sold a lot of books. We sold enough books to publish another one—on Holocaust Denial by Gill Seidel. This had been accepted by Pluto but then pulped after it had been typeset! I guess this was part of their reality denial.

As far as I’m concerned I’m still prepared to stand behind most of what I wrote those two decades ago. However there is one issue where my position has somewhat changed. And there is a second where I think I missed the plot entirely. First I think the book was, in its critique of assimilation, far too uncritical of the concept of “Jewish culture”. In fact I think it was implicitly far too generous towards Bundism in this respect (though I still support the Bundist championing of political self-organisation). I no longer see Jewish (or any) culture as monolithic. It is fractured and determined by issues of class. I have been in too many situations where the need to fight racism (racist attacks, immigration controls, fascist mobilisations) has been counter-posed by some suggestion about having an “ethnic” evening with “ethnic” clothes and “ethnic” food. It’s got to the stage where, to paraphrase Goebbels, whenever I hear the word multiculture I want to reach for my gun. In particular I am now ruthlessly opposed to denominational schools—be they Jewish, Muslim, Catholic or Church of England. Some of this has been informed by the racist admission practices of the Jewish School in Manchester (no Jewish mother no entry). However the substantive point is that as a militant atheist I am opposed to the state subsidising the garbage of religion—any religion. And anyhow, I’m for the unity of people of all ages not their division. At the same time I’m equally opposed to the (political) drive towards assimilation—I don’t see incorporation into the norms of imperialism as a step forward for humanity. The latest example of this drive towards incorporation is the suggestion by the Home Office Minister, Hazel Blears, following the London underground bombings that ‘minorities should be described as, for example “Asian-British” rather than simply as “Asian”‘. (Times 8 August 2005). The idea of the labelling and re-labelling of human beings as a method of protecting the citizenry of London is as ludicrous as all other justifications used for restricting the free movement of the same human beings. In the past slaves were branded—literally and with fire. Under the modern market economy it is people. This commoditisation of the alien reduces her or him to a piece of capital, to a new form of enslavement – the enslavement of a forced identity within a hostile society ever ready to deport and expel.

Second I come to missing the plot. This is not about what I wrote. It is about what I did not write. In fact it was what I explicitly refrained from writing. So I said “The book says nothing about socialist or liberation movements in the third world, deliberately so, because countries in the third world have not historically been within the grip of Christianity, and thus have no tradition of conspiracy theories. For example within Islam both Jew and Christian were seen as infidels—and certainly there was no constant mythology of universal Jewish domination. If notions about Jewish power entered the third world, then that is a product of imperialistic and Christian penetration”.

Looking back on this from today’s realities it clearly is inadequate. For instance I cannot see any basis for conspiracy theories (i.e. classic anti-Semitism) within Islam historically, however badly Jews (usually alongside Christians) were sometimes mistreated. I guess for this we have to be thankful we never bumped off Mohammed as well as Jesus. However it would be a matter of interesting political investigation to see precisely how conspiracy theories have subsequently entered the Muslim world—to see how they have become the Islam of fools. Moreover whatever the significance today of Left anti-Semitism, its influence and social weight is insignificant compared to that within Muslim communities (an anti-Semitism which is possibly matched by racism within the Jewish community). So the Elders of the Protocols of Zion is a best seller in Arabic speaking countries. So I’ve read how Islamicists blame “world Jewry” for both the New York and London underground bombings. And this junk needs to be challenged. And it needs to be challenged by the Left—and it isn’t. In fact it is encouraged—if only obliquely.

It is encouraged by Israeli exceptionalism—by the constant depiction and caricaturing of Israel as somehow being the pre-eminent world imperialist power. Inasmuch as I might be for some boycott of Israeli universities then I’m equally in support of a boycott of British universities because of their collusion in the institutionalised apartheid of immigration controls—that is either collusion by their silence or by their active co-operation with the Home Office in developing controls (which appears to be the case with University College London). It is encouraged by the emergence on demonstrations against the American invasion of Iraq, of the denunciation of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank—as though there was some intrinsic connection between the two which is not shared with other imperialist interventions. It is encouraged by the sycophantic, uncritical relationship that the SWP/Respect has towards the Muslim leadership as organised, for instance, around the mosques—these Muslim machers are as right-wing and often as anti-Semitic as their Jewish macher counterparts organised around the shuls are anti-Islam. In the beginning was the Board of Deputies? Today there is the Muslim Association of Britain. Macherism, the political reliance on a self-appointed leadership (the macherites) is a political disease which needs to be challenged and destroyed—instead sections of the Left are cultivating it at its most dangerous points.

Is there any way out of this mess? Particularly is there any way out of this mess for socialists in this country trapped politically between the existential linkage of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism? Is there a wisdom of Solomon? In all humility I think so. Of course we can all have our own politics on the way forward as regards Israel/Palestine. My own vision is of a federated secular and socialist middle east. This maybe is utopic but so is socialism. So is the revolution. So is all meaningful change. However there is going to be no way forward without a recognition of the fundamental block towards any change whatsoever—namely the world wide antagonism between Jews and Muslims. The international nature of this cleavage is central. Only joint and grassroots solidarity between the players in the game can possibly open up any dialogue. In Israel/Palestine this means between the Jewish and Palestinian masses. For instance let there be a march of a hundred thousand Israeli peaceniks into the occupied territories—and let them stay until the Israeli army and the settlers march out (or co-operate with the Palestinians in the sharing of resources—including the opening up of the new townships to Palestinians). Let Engage encourage this with its co-thinkers in Israel!

In this country it means joint activity between Jews and Muslims (and socialists) with the Jewish and Muslim communities. And what this boils down to is joint activity against fascism and racism. I suggested above the necessity to start to develop a movement simultaneously based on struggle for Palestinian rights and against anti-Semitism. This is presently an abstraction. However another real movement does exist against racism which can draw the two communities together in struggle. This is the disparate movement against immigration controls—for whom the Jews were the first and Muslims the latest victims. Of course controls need to be challenged in their own right—not just as a device for unity. However the challenge can also forge a unity which presently seems a million miles away. What is more the history of the last thirty years of struggle by migrants, immigrants and refugees against controls shows something that SWP/Respect have utterly missed. This is that real, meaningful, progressive political activity within the Muslim community (and all third world communities) comes from the grassroots either by by-passing or defeating the community machers. Let Engage become involved in these struggles both because of their intrinsic political importance and as part of its commitment to challenging left anti-Semitism by building meaningful alliances!

It could begin by supporting the campaign of Samina Altaf and her two children to fight deportation. Samina’s is just one of countless stories—though I guess more immediately poignant. Having fled Pakistan to avoid repeated domestic abuse she was refused asylum here. Like all asylum seekers she is outside of the welfare state and has been forcibly dispersed into Salford by the so-called National Asylum Support Service (NASS—a wing of the Home Office). And now as a failed asylum seeker who is refusing to return “voluntarily” to the country from she fled she is being threatened by NASS with eviction onto the streets. And I forgot to mention this—Samina is disabled with rickets. And her children are crippled with rickets. Get involved with the campaign! Write a letter of support to her constituency MP—Hazel Blears that well known re-labeller of third world identity and warrior against international terrorism (address House of Commons, Westminster, London SW1). Blears happens to be a Home Office MP—so terrorise her with letters of support. And invite a speaker from the campaign to one of your meetings—whilst sending money to the campaign (address Samina Altaf Defence Campaign, c/o Bury Law Centre, 8 Banks St, Bury BL9 ODL).

Finally I think that not one iota of the above can ever be resolved through communalism, through tribalism, through uncritically supporting Jews as Jews or Muslims as Muslims. My religion right or wrong! And all due to an accident of birth. I guess I recoil when I read on the Engage website the reflection on being Jewish—”frankly I can’t get enough of it”. Jewish identity as an addiction is not much of an advert for clarity of political thought. I was shocked by a news report I read a few years ago. It is a story that deserves creative fictionalisation. It concerned a guy who was raised in a highly Zionist family (I guess High Zionism is the Jewish version of High Church). He was raised as a conscious racist towards the Palestinians. Dirty Arabs! Until he discovered he was one of them—He was an adopted son. His biological parents were, I think, Libyan. Overnight (or maybe it took a little longer) he became a vehement anti-Zionist—and Jew hater. Dirty Jews! I was struck by two very powerful televisual images during the recent eviction of the Gaza settlers by the (Orwellian entitled) Israeli Defence Force. One was that of Israeli soldiers crying. The Israeli army in tears? One of the most powerful militaries in the world! Why no tears when the Palestinians were evicted? The second image was just bizarre in its tribalism. This was that of the settlers being evicted and the soldiers evicting them temporarily desisting from their civil war and praying together on shabbos—with the evictions resuming as soon as shabbos ended. Compared to this crazy chauvinism the legendary Christmas Day football match in the trenches of World War One between German and British soldiers was a genuine act of internationalism. However there can be no genuine internationalism, no genuine international solidarity, no meaningful working together of ordinary people wherever tribalism or communalism dominates. And at the moment it is precisely these reactionary formations that dominate both Muslim and Jewish communities—and the tragedy is they are hardening. It would be good if Engage put its energy into helping soften them.

Steve Cohen 2005

Next >>

That’s Funny, You Don’t Look Anti-Semitic

Obituary for Steve Cohen (ZT”L)

There Must Be Some Way Out of Here

Why is this book different from all other books ?

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1: The Socialism of Fools

The Socialism of Fools

Anti-Semitism

Anti-Semitism without Jews

Left Anti-Semitism

Socialism, Anti-Semitism, Thatcherism and Fascism

Chapter 2: The Anti-Semitism of English Socialism”s Formative Years

The Background

Immigration Controls

English and Jewish Opposition to Controls

Rich Jew, Poor Jew: The Conspiracy Theory in Practice

Anti-Alienism or Anti-Semitism

[myrosesunflower]

In the following Blog, on Art Design, and My Art Creations Too… I start questioning what is Art Design and then follow naturally into  Researching this topic, and I am lead into Colour Design and Art, Learning and Brainstorming, into Illustration and What is, and the importance of Illustration. I think in Breaking out of a Rut, is very important to Art Design, because it gives the ideas, we need to navigate our way through our Art Professions. I have included articles, videos related to this blog, for your Personal Art Education. I have, created My Illustration Collage Paintings, that show my Art style and Unique Art technique.

In the Drawing Foundation: Fundamentals:–In the pencil drawing techniques:– 7 tips to improve your skills–says that, the First skill that helped you learn to draw was, the how to Master Pencil drawing, using a Pencil? The article continues to say, that if you have the Basic Drawing Fundamentals, you have the potential to become an excellent Artist. So Pencil drawing, is the fundamental requirement, for making Art.

The seven Tips to Improve Your Drawing Skills

Master pencil grip–how to hold a pencil correctly.

Mix up shading techniques–the first is to shade all lines that go in the same direction which makes the shading look cohesive The second is–to work in patches, which defines, the shape.

Control line weight–is a great way to separate objects, from one another and it helps to emphasise the shadows.

Build up your sketch-plan — explore, using loose lines, avoid committing to early with dark, lines. As you progress, and change lines, rechecking your work is vital as your work progresses.

Check and recheck– check your drawing, and then check as you progress. Avoid guessing the details, make sure it looks symmetrical, before adding stronger, harder lines. Lastly, ask yourself, does this look and feel right?

Prevent pencil smudges–always put a piece of paper under your hand, to prevent smudging the drawing.

Know when to finish–remember a drawing can be overdone. The more you look at a drawing, the more you should make a conscious decision to stop, and to start a New Painting.

https://www.creativebloq.com/art/drawing-techniques-7-fundamentals

What is the Definition of Colour in Art?–( in the- About.com )–colour is the element of art that is produced when light, striking an object, is reflected back to the eye. There are three properties to colour. The First–is hue, which means, the colour given to (red, yellow, blue, etc). The Second property–is the intensity, which is the strength, and brightness of the colour. The Third is property--is the colours value, meaning its lightness or darkness. The terms used are shade and tint which are the actual value change in the colours.

Examples: “Artists can colour the sky red, because they know it is Blue. Those who are not Artists, should colour objects the way they are realistically, or people might say and think we are stupid”.?...( Jules Feiffer).

https://www.art/factory.com/colourtheory/colourtheory.html

https://www.canva.com/learn/colour-theory

https://www.colourmatters.com/colour-and-design

https://www.lynda.com/illustrator-tutorials/colour-Designers

Learning, and Brainstorming–make your creative brainstorming sessions more effective and productive with these tips, from:  Then Creativity Coach, Stefan Mumaw.  Brainstorming, was invented in 1948, it is the dominant technique in the  Idea Generation. It combines Creativity, Problem solving, and Group discussion. Alex Osborn says, most brainstorming fails, because the organiser does not have a Clear picture of the Purpose, the Process, or the Intended Outcome.

The Brainstorming Techniques

The Three Factors of Idea Generation

It requires time to Develop

The Goal is to offer Possibilities, not Solutions

Group Dynamics,  play a Big role in the Effectiveness of the Session

Actions, and Group Dynamics of Brainstorming

Basic–First Point of View

Change Perspective — which opens a World of Possibilities

Learn a New Habit

Problem solving — in the Areas of,  Relevance, Novelty and Obstacles

Illustration and Art Design–An illustration is a decoration, interpretation or visual explanation of a Text, Concept or Process, designed for Integration in published media,–posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, and videos.

Another explanation about, what is Illustration Design?–Illustration Designers are expected to Create, lively, character — driven, illustrations with, Personality and often with a Measure of humor.

https://www.learn.org.articles/what-is-Illustration-Design.html

The Job Outlook for Illustrators– ( 2004 — 2024 ) 2% growth ( for All Artists ).  Median Pay ( 2014 ),  $43,890 ( for all Fine Artists ).

Illustration-Inspiration Grid/Design Inspiration, is a daily updated blog celebrating creative talent in the world. Get your daily fix of design, art, illustration, photography, and fashion, with a lot more…

https://www.theinspirationgrid.com/category/illustration

https://www.etsy.com/…/art-and-collectibles/drawing-and-illustratio

In the below steps for the Art Creation–Illustration part of this BLOG, I prepared A3 Acid Free, Watercolour papers by Creatives. For the Collages, I have cut out Heart shapes and Hat shapes from A4 Acid Free, Creatives Coloured Card Stock, in preparation for the next few steps, in the Art Creations part…

In this next step, I have used the Mont Marte– Acrylic paints in Light green and Titanium white–Semi matte, mixed with water, and painted lightly over the prepared collage papers, in continuation from the above, step. Note– the Hat collage paper is painted, slightly Darker green…

In this stage below, in the collages, I have drawn the pictures, in a Dark B2 Pencil.

The following  Paintings are the Illustration– Completed Version, of the above steps from beginning to the end, from the initial collages. The paints I have used are in a similar, combination of the Mont Marte–Acrylic Paints,  Scarlet, Rose madder, Cadmium yellow, Phthalo blue and Titanium white, in the Semi–Matte colours. I have named the paintings, individually…

The Queen of Hearts.   Mixed Media Collage.   By Marie. Crimi.  2019. 

All Hats Next Summer.   Mixed Media Collage.  By Marie. Crimi.   2019.

Queen of Hearts

Next Summer

Breaking out of  A Rut–lately you have felt utterly uninspired. Lately your days have been blunt, dull, boring. It is as though you are, a Robot stuck in the same setting and program?… ( in the pschcentral.com )

Six small steps to breakout of a Big Rut–( in the-reliableplant.com ), says to jumpstart your life out of a Rut right Now.

Think Big–and Small– you need Motivation to change. Think of new circumstances you want in your life. Make a plan, create action steps, that will lead to your goal…

Be 100% Responsible–for your actions, you are the only person who has the power to change your situation. Your constant negativity, will not change your situation.

Express, Don’t Repress–your emotions, experience them fully and then Move On.

Take Inventory–schedule time each day, to review your past successes. From this you start building your confidence and inner strength. So you can make yourself successful again, if you work towards your goal.

Expand your Focus–its easy to want, you need to shift your thinking from wanting to having. Your subconscious will work immediately, to get the item in a number of ways or circumstances.

Do Something–do not reply, I will try–This statement contains the seeds of defeat. In doing something consistently, you will revitalise your life, making you attuned to new opportunities and circumstances. Step out of the place you no longer want to be in, this is the only way you will progress and increase your self-confidence.   So Do Be Responsible for your Life.

Videos and Information-on how to move out of a RUT…

5 Powerful Strategies to Get you Out of A Rut/Psychology.   https://www.psychologytoday.com

9 Tips for Breaking Out of A Rut–psychcentral.com.    https://www.psychcentral.com

Short Videos and Informative Articles, on Drawing Foundations, Colour for Design and Art, Learning and Brainstorming, Illustration and Breaking out of A Rut…

A short Lesson on colour theory. By: Dom Carter. December 18, 2018.

5 Mindfulness apps to save you from Creative Burnout. By: Jessica Cook. October 10, 2018.

18 Phenomenally realistic pencil drawings. By: Creative Bloq Staff. October 05, 2018.

Funny comic reveals the dilemma of a freelance life. By: Dom Carter. October 05, 2018.

5 Timeless illustration styles ( and what to use them for ). By: Nick Carson, September 05, 2018.

5 Easy ways to uncover your creative Genius. By: Dom Carter. August 10, 2018.

A Must See…   Creative Inspirations.   Marian Bantjes.  Graphic Artist. By: Marian Bantjes. 2019…

In concluding the above Art Design Blog, it is true to say, what has been included in this blog starts, out basically as information, as to what is Art Design. Then exploring further, through researching has led deep, into all the important aspects of How to be and Navigate our way through the Art Design, Illustration Fine Art Creation, Professions. Further on, we read on how to stay Sane, and Completely and Precisely– Focused on our vision and intentions in the Creating of Great Art Creations…

Thank you for visiting my BLOG, I hope it was informative and interesting. Please Follow and Like My–BLOGS. If you have any comments, or suggestions for Art Researching, or other topics you would like me to Research, please let me know.

I am,   creationsbymariec.art

  Art Design, and My Art Creations Too… In the following Blog, on Art Design, and My Art Creations Too... I start questioning what is Art Design and then follow naturally into  Researching this topic, and I am lead into Colour Design and Art, Learning and Brainstorming, into Illustration and What is, and the importance of Illustration.

[themaxes-blog]

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[touristguidebuzz]

Overtourism and the Struggle for Sustainable Tourism Development

Tourists pose for a photo in a flooded St. Mark's Square. Venice has become the poster child for overtourism. Manuel Silvestri / Reuters

Skift Take: Sustainability in tourism isn't just about re-using that hotel towel a second day. It's thinking deeply about how visitors get in and out of a destination while doing the least harm.

— Jason Clampet

With 2017 being the United Nations’ International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, now is as good a time as ever to take stock of the opportunities and challenges faced by tourism providers trying to ensure the long-term sustainability of the industry.

While tourism is important to many local and national economies, overcrowding is changing the perception of the benefits of mass tourism. Spain is a prime example of a country struggling with its popularity.

Barcelona’s relationship with tourism has been shaky for a number of years now. Already in 2014, the documentary “Bye Bye Barcelona” highlighted the negative impact of mass tourism on the city. Locals fear that they will be priced out of the housing market, eventually resulting in Barcelona losing population diversity and character. The local government has stopped issuing licences for new hotels and has banned change-of-use permits required for holiday lets.

And Barcelona is not alone. As of 2017, Santorini is limiting the number of cruise visitors to 8,000 per day. Local activists in Venice have asked government to ban cruise ships stopping in its harbour, as cruise visitors have quintupled in the past 15 years. Cinque Terre on the Italian coast is capping the number of visitors to 1.5 million per year. Popular attractions including Machu Picchu and Mount Everest are capping the number of visitors and require visitors to be accompanied by a recognised guide, and Zion National Park is looking at proposals to limit visitors through a reservation system.

Capping tourists is a drastic measure, and surely not something destinations would like to do. It is often seen as a last resort, and the fact that more and more tourist destinations see no other way to remain sustainable and competitive is telling of the apparent failure of other initiatives.

Defining Sustainable Tourism

Sustainable tourism development is not a new phenomenon. Already in 1992 the International Hotels Environment Initiative was launched. And since then the drive by organisations in the tourism industry to implement the concept of sustainability has led to the growth of many alternative formats of tourism. From eco-friendly to ethical, the objective of sustainable tourism is to retain the economic and social advantages of tourism development, while reducing or mitigating any undesirable impacts on the natural, historic, cultural or social environment.

Source: Euromonitor International

Governments, Businesses, and Individuals All Must Take Responsibility

The problem with sustainable tourism development, as most of the key issues of our time, is that it requires the informed participation of all relevant stakeholders, as well as strong political leadership to ensure wide participation and consensus building. As Trump’s recent insinuation that climate change is a hoax created by the Chinese shows, this participation and commitment is not always easy to find. Achieving sustainable tourism is a continuous process, and it requires constant monitoring of impacts, introducing the necessary preventive and corrective measures whenever necessary.

Sustainable tourism development can only be achieved if governments, businesses and individuals take responsibility for improving their (and others’) behaviour. While understanding of behaviour is improving, taking responsibility is often lacking.

The Business Case for Sustainable Development Falls Short

Hotel companies provide a good example of what can be achieved through commitment, but also what is still unachievable if efforts are not concerted and far-reaching enough.

The business case for corporate social responsibility (CSR) is one of the strongest arguments in favour of sustainable development in the hotel industry, with many hotels implementing CSR practices to increase their profitability. Most major hotel chains have their own set of targets to reduce the negative impact on the natural environment and provide benefits for the local community. Concerted efforts such as the International Tourism Partnership (ITP) see hotel chains collaborate to increase their influence and to share best practices.

However, hotels implementing sustainability practices to reduce money can only take us so far. The same goes for airlines who are seemingly focusing solely on technological innovations to improve their environmental performances. To achieve genuinely sustainable tourism development, companies will need to go beyond the business case and use truly innovative thinking around traveler expectations, and use sustainability practices to shape and improve experiences.

The Attitude-Behaviour Gap Provides Challenges

One glaring issue here is that there is persistently conflicting data on what travelers really want. While surveys show that individuals feel increasingly responsible about their impact on the environment, this does not necessarily translate into action, a phenomenon that has in the past been referred to as the 30:3 syndrome. While 30% of respondents to a survey claimed to be ethical consumers, only 3% actually bought ethical products.

This provides a difficult situation for tourism players. On the one hand, providing sustainable products and services can be pushed as an entry-level way for people to interact with ideas around sustainable development and their personal impact. On the other hand, it promotes increased consumption, while in the long run reducing consumption might be the key to combating climate issues. Luxury hotels, in particular, have struggled with asking its guests to reduce their consumption after they have paid large amounts to stay in the hotel.

It Starts With Information

Change is in the air, however, and it all starts with information. One thing is beyond doubt: in order to get guests to change their behaviour, companies need to start providing better information. Without providing information, individuals cannot be expected to know why and how to change their current behaviour.

Take the following example: local produce has seen a strong rise in popularity in the past decade, and supermarkets and hospitality establishments are increasingly offering a wide range of locally sourced foods. When considering the environmental impact of food consumption, however, it is often far from clear whether it is better to, for example, buy tomatoes which are produced locally in an artificially heated greenhouse, or whether to opt for the naturally ripened, and subsequently flown in, tomatoes from a country with a warmer climate. This means that for consumers it is often hard to decide whether a product is truly more ethical than alternatives, or whether a company is “greenwashing”. The result is consumers mistrusting information provided by companies, and companies subsequently providing less CSR information, spiralling into a vicious cycle.

The Environmental Certification Landscape Reduces Clarity

One way to combat the fear of greenwashing, is by licensing good behaviour. Environmental certification schemes provide travelers with more accurate information about the environmental performance of destinations and hotels, and offer management a save way of promoting their achievements.

Again, however, there are issues here. The sheer number of certification schemes offered, and the way they are monitored, is a point of concern. There are over 100 sustainability certification schemes for tourism and hospitality organisations. The large number of schemes means that they become less recognisable and less trusted by travelers, especially since each geographical region has its own certification scheme. The proliferation of different certification schemes, and other programmes and standards, has the opposite effect to what it tries to achieve. Instead of providing clarity regarding which hotels are the frontrunners, the sheer number of different programmes only clouds the market.

How to Move Forward

The terms “responsible tourism” and “sustainable tourism” indicate that this is only a part of all tourism, and today this reasoning runs true. However, at the current trajectory, in 10 years, all tourism will have to be responsible and sustainable. As Fabian Cousteau said at the WTTC Global Summit 2016: “I look forward to the day when there is no sustainable tourism. Just tourism.” This shift results in travelers increasingly expecting their airlines, accommodation providers, tour guides and attractions to be environmentally and socially responsible.

In the past decades, tourism has gone from being sidelined to being one of the key industries to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The tourism industry needs to own up to its responsibility and see sustainable development as an opportunity to improve the longevity of the very product the industry relies on. Working together with all stakeholders, including local communities, regulators, employees, guests and competitors, will be key to the success of the tourism industry in the long run.

Today, the overwhelming reason for tourism businesses to implement environmental practices is to reduce costs. This “light-green” approach to sustainable tourism development falls short, and it is likely that practices which save costs will become the norm. Hotels will need to try and stand out through truly innovative thinking around guest expectations and using sustainability practices to improve experiences. Running a successful business will mean involving employees, local communities, and guests in equal measures in the decision-making process.

Wouter Geerts is Senior Travel Analyst, Euromonitor International

Euromonitor International is a leading provider of global strategic intelligence on consumer markets, with offices in London, Chicago, Singapore, Shanghai, Vilnius, Santiago, Dubai, Cape Town, Sao Paulo, Tokyo, Sydney and Bangalore and a network of 800 in-country analysts worldwide. Euromonitor International’s analysis of the global travel industry covers a wide range of categories, including tourist flows and expenditure, lodging, transportation, car rental, cruise, tourist activities, travel intermediaries, online and mobile travel.