#these exiled years

[clatterbane]

I probably ought to go ahead and acquire some more grey market antihistamines off eBay. The stockpile is starting to run lowish, and you can't get anything but the 24-hour nondrowsy types here. Nothing fast acting for more acute allergic reactions and skin reactions.

Apparently there is one liquid form of diphenhydramine/Benadryl available by prescription here. Specified as salty licorice and anise flavored, and anise-flavored medicine has actually made me puke before. Also, good luck getting that prescribed, I'm guessing especially as an adult with "just" generally bitchy allergies to basically everything.

Also (in translation): Cases of abuse have been reported in connection with the use of the active substance diphenhydramin. The risk of addiction is greater in patients who have previously had drug abuse.

Which I have not notably--though very possibly by their standards, because I have tried me a few actually illicit drugs over the years! It just never stuck. But yeah, we're talking about liquid Benadryl. They acted goofy enough about the stuff in the UK, but it's all zero tolerance BS all the way down here. And Benadryl is apparently addictive now. Who knew?!

(Pretty sure I have heard of it sometimes getting used to cut heroin or something? That could apply to about anything, though.)

Yeah, eBay is looking damned good.

[pariahfox]

Finally going to try to embark on a new study plan, of slightly more structured DIY SFI.

The actual classes are free--but logistics, neurospiciness, and rolling burnout have been getting in the way of enrolling in any. Even what distance options I was finding for our area. But yeah, that is at least intended to help get immigrants up and at least semi-functional in daily Swedish ASAP.

As befits my nerdy, "unusual relationship to language in general" ass, I am currently all over the map in terms of skills here. Deciphering some written Icelandic and spotting German cognates, sure! Scanning "normal" written material, and at least getting the gist of maybe 50%-90% depending on subject matter? Usually yes, by this point. Formulate a halfway comprehensible e-mail with some vocabulary help from a dictionary? It'll take at least 3x longer than in English, but I can mostly manage. Just don't ask me to carry on a basic conversation, or do much more than (badly) order some coffee.

The osmosis approach really hasn't been helping so much with this. Neither has the fact that I haven't been able to get out and interact with people even anywhere near as much as my awkwardness could handle otherwise. Honestly haven't had the best luck trying to figure out how exactly to remedy any of this either.

So, my idea to get my ass in gear now is to pick up the appropriate textbooks (likely through less-than-official means) and follow along with at least one of the frequently recommended folks like Peter SFI covering this shit less officially online.

Also, suck it up and practice on the household captive native speaker more than I have been up to this point. If anybody is used to ridiculousness coming out of my mouth, it would be him. It just feels harder when it is someone that you do care what they think of you, who was also at near-native level in your primary language when you met them over 20 years ago. 😬

There are obviously the executive function pitfalls to keep in mind, but yeah. Trying to get more organized on my own is probably a better approach than doing much on a more formal basis. So, we'll have to see how putting an hour or two a day into this semi-structured approach might go.

My brain is pretty fried tonight, so I intend to start into that tomorrow. (Cue "Jane Says"... 🙄)

[senvurii]

oh bedrock bros. i wish you could come home

[indimiart]

thank you for reminding me what the sun feels like

They’ve both got a lot of years of missing sunlight. Lucky they get to relearn warmth again together🫶🏼

[boneshine]

Brush my hair

Read my lines

It’s time to go

Wear my suit

Put the make up on

Put on a show

Up, up, up, to the Heaviside layer

Up, up, up, I'm going straight up

Take my lunch Lose my lunch It's a shaky start

I'm old Deut

Now he's old Deut

I've lost the part

Down, down, down, to the center of the Earth

Down, down, down, I'm going straight down

[theokapuco]

A broken hero

[thegreatyin]

when the interactive fiction has an option you can't select as part of the narrative >>>

[exile-arc]

ON EXILE AND LOSING YOURSELF.

Sources: ship of theseus, britannica / @.thunderbottle / rat a tat, fall out boy / silhouettes, shadows and reflections, mission vista / i don't know, ghost quartet / window of awareness, holly warburton / exile vilify, the national / @.waddei / rat a tat, fall out boy / event horizon, wiktor jackowski / tommyinnit tvtropes page

[neloangelo0]

....happy jostiversary @exilethegame (I'm a month late)

[littlerune]

i hate the "banish the wardens from orlais" option because it's like.... by what authority?? i get it, the inquisition is framing itself to be a powerhouse but i feel like they still don't have the ability to banish people from a kingdom they don't rule lmao

[ranticore]

sorry if u already posted this. but is there a side by side comparison of cuinn/ice storm over kosa before and after becoming a king? im interested in how that process would change a harpy

yes there is!! it's old but shows it off well i think

here's cuinn with his old king thunder strike, when cuinn was a tiercel

the main changes are 1. size, a king is about 1.5 - 2x the size of a regular harpy, this is true for all types, 2. beak - it gets bigger and turns the face less human, 3. streamer feathers grow longer and more pronounced, this is what makes up their mane.

i did once write up a timeline of changes but i don't remember exactly how long it takes. it's definitely more rapid than you'd think, a couple of months. the most noticeable feature (i.e the beak) develops last, because if your established kings see you turning into one they'll treat you as a potential threat. so the winning strategy is to keep it under wraps for as long as possible before very quickly (one month ish) changing and immediately challenging an established king. it is at this stage that most new kings die.

before that final big change the regular cob or pen seems to have an increased appetite and more prolific feathering, but that can be excused by other factors and isn't necessarily a kingification warning sign until they start getting bigger

[clatterbane]

One good thing that came out of today's early morning trip out for more bullshit bloodwork: I found some promising-looking vegetables, which are pretty exotic by local standards but remind me of home! One of the benefits of living in an immigrant-heavy neighborhood. (Doesn't really matter where from IME, just as long as it's got longer warmer growing seasons there.) Hasty lap shot of today's haul when I was about to head home.

Much better view after getting home! Some nice young examples of one common Middle Eastern variety of summer squash, along with some okra. Which was borderline overgrown by my standards, but it didn't feel like it was going all tough and dried out yet--and it's the nicest fresh okra my admittedly near-hermit ass has spotted in years.

On the way home this morning, I got Mr. C to drop me at the nearby shopping center, so I could pick up an Instabox package (shoes) and enjoy the weather and a little exercise while "strolling" the rest of the way.

It was still early enough that at least half the businesses weren't even open yet, but that also meant that things were enough less busy that I felt like I could get in more easily for a better look at a couple of stores I'd wanted to check out more. One of them a halal butcher shop with attached fruit and vegetable shop just across from there, obviously run by the same people. Both are usually mobbed enough that I haven't felt like shoving myself in--especially with the chair.

The butcher side was still not looking so accessible, even with only a couple of other customers in there, plus a few workers finishing getting things set up for the day. I also figured that I didn't really need to go on an early-morning meat buying spree in hot weather--much less when my backpack was already completely full of shoebox, and carrying capacity was already pretty limited. So, no meat for me.

The other side did, however, lure me over with some gorgeous plums. Which sadly turned out to still be so hard that I noped away from those. Yes, I am that produce prodder, and I can be particular. Was hoping they would have some nice leafy greens out front today, but no such luck.

But, then I did spot the okra and then the squash.

I didn't grab much today, since I am the only one in the house who really likes either thing. Plus the okra was running the equivalent of US$7.69/kg, or roughly $3.50/lb. 😓 Squash was $2.90/ or $1.30/lb by comparison. I got away at about $2.50 for both of them together, which really wasn't at all bad by local standards. I am also cheap as hell sometimes and also still mentally comparing with prices on locally grown squash and okra in a much more rural area 15-20 years ago when I was last buying anything back home.

I am also now lowkey pining for some Floyd County peaches, and J. Random Farmer's cantaloupes that he's selling off his truck by the road. Then there's the fresh just-picked regional variety corn. 🙄

If that okra is any good and I see more there in nearly as good a shape, I may have to pick up enough more to try pickling a few jars of it. That's one thing that I do miss sometimes, and I don't really want to try with the frozen stuff--which is usually better for cooking than what I see fresh anymore.

The produce side also carries a bunch of dried fruits and nuts, and some other loose bulk goods including some interesting-looking Afghan brown sugar in like fist-sized chunks which I'd never seen before, but made me think of panela or jaggery. May need to try me some of that.

Also looks like the place to go if you want a sack of pumpkin seeds or similar at reasonable prices! Today I did not, and also did not particularly want to carry that home in my lap because that would have been the only place for it.

Their produce is all out front, but I did go ahead and bull my way back through the rest of the store to get a good look at the dry goods. Needed to shove a couple of obstructions out of the way in the narrow aisles, but I was the only customer in there at that point and idgaf. It was well worth a look around. May need to go back another morning after a few things that looked good.

There is also a spice shop a couple of doors down, which always smells heavenly to go past but is usually so packed that even Mr. C hesitates to peruse it on foot. There were few enough people in there too that I had to roll through and case the joint. Did look and smell like some quality stuff at decent prices. Also some pretty good looking bulk bin dried fruits and nuts and other snack items, and some assorted Middle Eastern sweets. I didn't buy anything there either today, but will probably need to make a morning raid on that too before too long.

But yeah, the day was not all bad. I also got to see a delightful young Boxer out for a walk on the way home.

[ilkkawhat]

I know I've mentioned the Journal before, but this Saturday marks the one year anniversary of the day that I decided to play Alan Wake 2 for the first time, and my life changed for the better. I've used this journal to keep track of various gameplay stats (not pictured is the AW2 page where I'm literally keeping a tally of how many times I've played it which I'm in my tenth full playthrough); notes such as the stash puzzles, deer heads, etc though I still gotta finish the list of nursery rhymes and maps beyond cauldron lake; dreams I've had involving alan or anything remedy related; doodles and drawings (which is huge for me on a personal level cause I have this like. slightly traumatic experience with drawing early in my life that I won't go into detail here); and even a few poems I wrote...and I hadn't written poems since maybe high school.

This year has been rough on a personal level especially with work but like other cornerstone obsession's I've had, Alan's journey resonated with me on so many levels and gives me strength to keep going. The night I bought and played AW2 on a whim just because I saw a meme that "friendship ended with Silent Hill now Alan Wake 2 is my best friend" will go down as a tremendous turning point in my life. I was on a creative dry spell, I had stopped everything and never thought I'd start again, I had exiled myself from any sort of fandom space/interaction thinking I was poison, isolated myself to such a terrible degree from my family and friends, I was in such a deep depression and a new level of hopelessness than I had ever been in before, and I can just go on and on forever on how much this game means to me but the most important thing Alan Wake taught me is the beginning of the final draft, that realization that all is not lost, that my life is not just a loop of depression then fleeting joy then depression then fleeting joy then depression then fleeting joy (yes, sometimes I wonder if I'm bipolar) and his monologue sums it up best:

A fictional poet once said "Beyond the shadow you settle for, there is a miracle, illuminated." I will not settle for a shadow. I will find the miracle, through the night. It's not just victims and monsters; I see now, there are heroes as well. We can find our way through the darkness. We will break through the surface and crash into the light.

[netmors]

Last year, after watching the Ahsoka series, I discovered Karyn as a character (I haven't finished the books yet, but I got obsessed with her regardless), and imagined her meeting Hera Syndulla after joining the New Republic.

Needless to say, when I discovered your Eleventh Fleet AU after that, it turned me into a fan of your art and head canon. :D

Karyn and Hera have… Let's say, a complex and confusing relationship, but they often have to work together.

“Spectre-2” and “Seven” cannot stand each other, but they have been very diplomatically trying to get along with each other for the last five years. True, they don’t always succeed.

Thank you, glad you like "Eleventh Fleet AU".

[ind1g3n0us-lev1t3]

יום העצמאות

On this day, 76 years ago, the Jewish people emerged from exile. The tragedy of the Holocaust was still only three years ago.

On this day, 76 years ago, the Jewish people finally regained their right to self determination and self governance.

On this day, 76 years ago, the Jewish people reclaimed thousands of years of history, and established their state.

On this day, 76 years ago, the Jewish people emerged from the most costly and horrific genocide in human history.

On this day, 76 years ago, the Jewish people were faced with several invading Arab armies, wanting to take our right to self determination and our land away from us once again, we would be victorious.

After nearly two thousand years of exile, it is important to remember the millions of fallen Jews who died for their people during these tough two millennia. It is also important to remember those who were killed due to people wanting to take our land away from us again, and those who were killed because of terrorist acts of violence.

We must remain proud of our history, how we got our land back, and how we fought with blood, sweat and tears to get it back from Arab, Ottoman and British colonists. And we must remain sure, that something as detrimental and tragic as the Holocaust, or two thousand years of exile never happens again, Never again!

"A people once liberated will not easily return to the ghetto" - Napoleon Bonaparte.

[robinhuntr]

With all the new Gambit content coming out that has him looking beautiful and pretty, I need everyone to remember where we came from. He used to look fucking crazy. His hair took up half the panel, he almost always had a cigarette, and you can just tell that jacket REEKED but I still love this Gambit more than anything.