#this post makes me sound better at german than i actually am

[shredsandpatches]

I realize that Google did this by just recognizing a famous literary quote and pulling from a full translation (apparently the David Luke one) but it still kinda creeps me out. After all, you can translate the line nearly word for word into English, with the same syntax, and get a comprehensible and accurate result, so getting a machine translation that appears aware of the context is pretty jarring!

[ghouldtime]

Hello again! Since you said that you HC König to be Styrian, do you think he'd be the kind of person to sometimes speak his dialect with reader to tease them a little? The dialect is kinda hard to understand for people, who only speak High German (the German you find in texts and the one you're taught at school and stuff). Because I speak with a dialect as well and I'd love nothing more than to banter with König in our Austrian dialect together! Of course, there's a thousand dialects in Austria! So, someone from Styria has a hard time understanding someone from Vorarlberg, but still! (Also, because I HC him from the southern part of Styria, I like to imagine he "barks" a little when he speaks! It's gotten better as he grew up, but when he gets drunk he still barks, which makes it harder to understand him! It's really hard to understand some people from southern Styria >.< Are we allowed to share our own HCs with you? I just thought it'd make sense since I am Austrian! Not trying to sound entitled or anything, of course! But I just love giving him HCs of things I'm familiar with :>)

Anyway, sorry for the long ask! Have a nice day! ^^

💚💚💚💚💚 HELLLLOO it's great to see you back again :D I hope you're doing well! Also prefacing this with I'm an American so I'm admittedly not the most well versed in everything Austrian! I do put in my research and know some but I haven't even been there so if I'm ever wrong, absolutely feel free to correct me (I try my best not to be totally ignorant)

To answer your question simply in one word: ABSOLUTELY. Caps, bold, and all.

Naturally, his default IS his dialect. That's what he grew up speaking, that's what he learned, that's what sounds the most correct to him. Yes, it's not the standard, but it's HIS standard.

If reader doesn't know his dialect or if he's going out of his way to be a bit of a little shit, he'll be teasing about it - he's got a sense of humor (as unconventional as it might be). Assuming reader is learning German, he of course will still be helpful with teaching! He'll speak the "textbook" standard, but he's still slipping his dialect in, especially if they're catching onto what he's saying and he wants to make a sly comment.

What did he just say? Oh, nothing, you'll figure it out :) .... eventually, in due time.... and maybe a few post it notes in your text books there...

If they already know German, he'll pretty much insist on his dialect and will maybe speak a bit slower if you're lucky. But he'll talk so much if he likes you, you'll catch on - sooner or later (all apart of his masterplan). He's far more comfortable speaking German so he naturally adopts a faster talking pace too to match

Side note Dialects are SO interesting. One of my pals is Norwegian and he'd look me dead in the eyes and switch to another dialect whenever I understood him. Frustrating, actually pretty hilarious, and gives me MORE incentive to learn and to try and figure it out. How a single language can vary so differently from place to place in the same country is very interesting to see and hear alike

(Also you're absolutely welcome to share head cannons with me anytime!! 💚💚💚 I love hearing them and I love seeing that people can relate and have their own experiences to add. It really adds depth when we know we're never getting more than the bare minimum and it's not entitled at all its so nice to hear these little details)

I'm absolutely on board with that head cannon and support it FULLY in every sense of the word. That's 110% HIM. Since he wasn't much of a talker as a kid too I think it certainly was much more pronounced for that reason before it lessened as he grew up, and especially had more exposure to his peers.

I adore niche head cannons like this, it's my bread and butter. Because you KNOW we'd not get that level of love and attention to detail with or from the game alone and it's just adding that extra pizzazz, that extra depth that he deserves

💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚 If you don't mind, I'll adopt that for him because it's so perfect??? It's so him I just love the idea so so so much

[jeannedarkterraguard]

Holojustice Debut Reactions

Another HoloEN generation another post from me...

Actually i have another Holo-related post in the works but i actually need to do some work for that one...

Anyway first up Elizabeth Rose Bloodflame

-well she's certainly British

-starting off with a song huh... neat

-i know it probably bothers literally nobody but me but her... shoulderpads?... pauldrons?... seem to interact weirdly with her boobs when she moves...

-no Liz you're not tall... no one in hololive is tall... we've been over this

-impressive impressions

-cheeky chicken... so she likes Kiara

-okay that takamori bit was funny

-she dislikes tea? I didn't think that was allowed in Britain

-did... did the stream just end in the middle of her song?

Gigi Murin

-okay that intro video was... confusing... but I liked the artstyle

-a... shock collar... what the fuck

-a jar is not better Gigi... I actually think it's worse

-cool character sheet

-she's really speedrunning this

-i did not expect this vote to be so close...

-she failed to put on shoes...

-see this is what I expected from hololive fans... they made her bark at the dog

-go into the forest there's no way that could go wrong!

-damn!

-i don't think Gigi could lift chat...

-i stand corrected

-holy crap there's a chat game?!

-that was predictable it took twitch forever to beat pokemon... and pokemon doesn't require any kind of timing

-that's... that's European friendly... somewhat it's still 11pm here because of summertime which... nope not gonna rant about that that would take all day

-also I just noticed we didn't get a schedule for Elizabeth

well that was fun... now bedtime and then the other two tomorrow

Cecilia Immergreen

-okay I think she broke

-nevermind she's fine

-her voice sounds somewhat familiar but I really can't put my finger on it... damn this is gonna keep me up all night...

-she speaks German... that's cool

-don't worry Cecilia I also hate coffee... though I also hate tea... or anything that's served warm really... drinks are meant to be refreshing not make me overheat even more

-that went better than Gigis game...

-I've never heard of any of these anime

-or these manga

-violin music... man this brings back memories from when my sister had a Lindsey Stirling phase and wanted to learn to play violin... I think my eardrums still haven't fully recovered from that

-Aaand she crashed the car...

-that was a really weird dream

-more EU friendly streams...

Raora Panthera

-wow... that's an accent...

This is where the sleep deprivation seemingly caught up with me because Raoras movement were actually blurry in my eyes so I did the responsible thing and NOT drink my 5th can of energy and instead went to bed... so everything from here on is me watching the VOD...

-wow her desktop is even messier than mine... barely...

-Italian... so we have a German, an Italian, a British and whatever Gigi is (since she only speaks English and doesn't have an obvious accent I'm gonna assume American)

-also I think this is the first generation in all of hololive where no member is fluent in Japanese right? (Calli and Kiara in myth, IRyS and Bae in Promise and Fuwamoco in Advent... yeah)

-she want's to become a mama in hololive... that would be interesting

-well I think that was her 7th live

-doesn't like reading and skips text in games... Undertale is one of her favorite games... something doesn't add up

-how is naming all the pokemon a talent there's only like... a thousand of them... okay maybe that is a talent...

-4 covers and an original song... they really went all out with this generation...

-7 am EST... we EU fans are really eating good right now

and that's it for this gen they're all really fun but I think Cecilia is gonna be my favorite... anyway see you in my next post...

[shadow-laviko]

Hello I am curious anon :3 If you could change one (or more if u want) aspect of rain code, whether to tweak/delete/add some scenes or something about the character, what would it be?

WHERE DID YOU COME FROM!? HI!! Please don't stay anonymous, I like to be able to go check the accounts of people who ask things :sob:

SPOILER FOR THE ENTIRETY OF RAINCODE

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Ok, so, clearly, the game needs some kind of thing, whether unlocked post game or directly in the game, but we need something to better know the characters. Like, okay, we did have the gumshoe gabs (I like this name, it's funny and looks cyan blue and has the texture of a chewed chewhing-gum (don't worry, it makes sense to me)), but, the gumshoe gabs were not enough I think. Especially regarding, well, literally everyone who isn’t from the NDA. The detectives from the Amaterasu? Gone. Swank? Gone. Seth after chapter 1? Gone. Dominic and Guillaume after chapter 3? Gone. We don't know much of the Peacekeepers except for Yomi and Martina (although we do know more about Yomi than Martina), and that's a shame.

Same for Makoto, in the end, we don't know all that much about him.

Okay, well, even the NDA members, we don't know much about them...

So yeah, I think some sort of post-game content in a bonus section to get to know the characters better (everyone of them, all who were relevant to the game) would have been great.

Now, for more scenes... MORE YOMI CONT-

Ok, yeah, no, I guess we did have enough of him unfortunately...

Oh yeah, another content which could have been cool would have been some kind of audio library to listen to every osts of the game? Because Raincode osts are amazing... Especially during rain/storm, really. There was a storm yesterday and I played the osts while watching it... Well, let me tell you that Raincode osts + the sound of rain falling + watching thunder (given you are not epileptic) = falling asleep really quick.

Ok, this one will be mostly me (and other french people who might read this), but I wish the French translation wasn't rushed... like, man... Some things were bad, chapter 2 had a sentence in GERMAN in a FRENCH translation... Chapter 3 had apparently not explained the case very well, because a friend of mine didn't really get it, and I had to tell him what they said in the English version, and then only did it make sense for him.

Really guys, if you ever work in the video game industry and you want your game to be translated... Give time to the translators (because I think I heard the man didn’t have much time to translate the whole game?)

Uhh other than that... Well, I've heard people say the game/mysteries were too easy to solve, but I think that if they were harder, people would say 'Lol, that's not possible/That's far fetched' like they do for the Layton series. And like, Danganronpa could have sometimes 'far fetched' or 'hard to make happen'murders, because the students had 'powers', so it made more sense in a way?

So, so far, I think the difficulty level is correct. Besides, you can guess how a crime was commited, but I doubt you'd have it 100% figured out on the five/six cases.

Oh yeah, about added scenes... Well, it would have been nice to actually see what happens to Swank, Seth, (Martina?) Guillaume and Dominic after each chapter...

(We should also have had something telling us why/how Aide became so uhm... like that (you can't tell me he isn't obsessed) with Yomi...)

And I think that's all?

All that I can think about for now at least

I'll reblog this if I ever get new ideas

Thanks for the ask!

Now, how do I tag that... would it be right to tage the characters? I merely mentionned them... Would people angry if I added character names? But then I can take them down if needed... But again, people might get angry because this could count as click bait? Uhh, ok, I guess I will try and hope for the best...? Please don't kill me- wait, why are you stil reading? 🤨

[reinekes-fox]

Just played through the Wisteria Birds demo!

I will admit I like it a lot! I actually think I like the setting more than in Birds of a Rose - though well, I can't compare the story well considering we have more content for Birds of a Rose.

Also, one single short scene (and the character presentation you posted too) were enough to make me love Sanson. He's exactly the kind of RO I love usually. So at least in terms of ROs, Wisteria Birds is a clear win. Sorry Chase, I love you but this is on another level!

If you don't mind, I had a few comments about the character names in this one, since they are mostly in my native language (well, one of them) so yeah... - For Alexandre Desrosier, if you wanted his surname to be related to the rose bush, I think it would be better (in correct French) if it was Desrosiers ou Durosier (depending if you go for plural or singular). Similarly, it should be "Hérons rouges", since it's plural, instead of "Hérons rouge". - Also, I got this line - "A few look at you in awe and ask if your surname is surely a "du" and not a "de la"." - I'm assuming it's because I chose for my MC to be a castrate, but this doesn't make much sense since Verdier is a masculine word in itself, so even if my MC was female, the name should still be "du Verdier"? It wouldn't change based on MC's gender since it's a surname.

Anyway, regardless of all of that, thank you for sharing your great bird based games with us!

I am glad you enjoyed it! And in a way it’s the future of the divine flock :)

And yea Sanson is one of my favourites too (I am still torn between giving more text to get to know the ROs or not... as Artwork MC is literally forced to choose who to be with based on what is seen and in a very short amount of time).

Also don’t worry, Chase wouldn’t mind! He would probably try to flirt with Sanson... (who knows maybe this will happen ;)

Thanks for the help, my french was never good even though I took it for two years... (also multiple native languages? I am jealous! I ended up with two German dialects and can only understand both but speak neither... just standard high german)

Ah i knew I was forgetting something with the colours!

And for the surnames I wanted to add an immediate way of knowing Artworks MCs gender (well except if you choose the robin academy)... and the helpful website I used for the bird names sadly didn’t include the genders. In German this would’ve been easy but it also wouldn’t have sounded pretty... Grünfinkin... Taubin... Pfauin... Rotkehlchin sounds like shit

The thanks goes right back to you, what would a writer be without his readers?

The best thing? I don’t even like birds that much

[sleepy-seal]

Welcome back to another episode of: TMAGP & Treats!!!

This week's treat is........ brownies!!! Just plain baking mix brownies.

sorry for the lackluster treat! i'm currently recovering from a wisdom teeth removal surgery and wanted something easy to make while listening.

- got lucky that we have another box of baking mix because energy is low today after yesterday's surgery

- pan is greased

- COLIN?

- thats actually kind of nice sam is worried for him

- cameras huh? almost like he's afraid of being watched

- uh ohhhh sam's a bit agitated

- SAM

- SAM STOP FUCKING AROUND AND FINDING OUT YOU'RE LITERALLY GOING TO DIE THIS WAY

- WELCOME TO MY TWISTED MIND????? LMAO

- 2000's ass blog post

- "Bye! ^_^"

- this is a bit interesting though. the blog owner states that they're keeping the blog for posterity, but a good chunk of the posts have since been deleted

- voyeur huh? sounds like that entails a lot of watching

- A KOFI TOO OH MY GOD

- CINEPHOBIAAAAAAA LMAO

- GIRL RUN

- HOW IS THEM MANAGING TO FIND YOUR ADDRESS WITHOUT YOU INPUTTING IT NOT RAISING ANY RED FLAGS

- it looks dilapidated on the outside?????? run???????

- since i can't eat the brownies due to Surgery Reasons i'm opting to eat the batter instead (as carefully as possble)

- eating all the popcorn before the movie starts? relatable

- okay so before the Scary Part starts i'm going to guess it's a detailed version of the writer's life story but from a 3rd person's perspective

- okay i was a bit off. but i was right in spirit

- that is a bit interesting though. it's like the movie is a disease that keeps spreading. someone sees it, makes a blog post about it with the same exact words, someone else sees the blog post, that someone else sees it, and so on and so forth

- OKAY. INTERESTING

FINAL THOUGHTS:

okay firstly, this episode was pretty interesting! it was a bit shorter than the previous episodes but still something substantial. i'm nevertheless intrigued and still curious as to how things will develop.

but more importantly, COLIN!!!!! i know he was in episode 3 but i miss him already. it's interesting though that sam notes how weird colin's been acting lately. he is very intentionally going analogue. and to be honest i can't really blame him. he knows that the programs inside the computers are watching them, and will use practically anything digital to connect from one aspect to another and spy on people (remember how they managed to connect to alice's phone in the first episode??? literally no device is safe.) him doing literally everything he can to distance himself from the electronics is not going unnoticed. while we're on the topic of IT's, i'm wondering why gwen was so interested in them all of a sudden. does it have to do with the video she saw? could klaus be the german IT guy? what happened to him? perhaps he knew too much, and it was getting in the way of his work. and the fact he's german. could he be the one who wrote the code for the system? it doesn't explain things, but it definitely something to keep in mind. it seems like gwen is onto something, and she's starting her own little investigation.

i am also keeping an eye on sam. he's a bit better at this than jon, in the sense that he's not being overtly obsessive about it Yet, but something is up with him. he's a bit irrate and making incredibly bad decisions, but to be honest, who doesn't when they're in a bad mood? i do appreciate him trying to bring up colin's current state and offering some kind of solution, rather than pushing him away. i think he genuinely wants to help.

also alice is so confused. i feel so bad for her. "why is everyone acting so weird?" honestly i do not blame you. alice get behind me everybody is going to make you look like the weird suspicious person for trying to stay sane.

sorry for the delay guys!!!! the pain is bearable but i've just been having a hard time getting my thoughts together. this episode has given me a lot but also not very much. overall, i think everybody is acting weird and i know this is bad because my guys :( my little sillies. anyways, that's all for now! goodbye!

[void-galaxy-shenanigans]

Yet another “I'm more non-speaking/nonverbal than I thought” post.

Hi. This is Nico. Our body is autistic. When I first found that out I thought we were “high functioning”, because we weren't as disabled as others seemed to be. But we were just very high masking at the time, & the mask is peeling off in painful layers.

I perfected my ability to write from 5 years old till now (we're 23), in part because speaking aloud is difficult. (But I thought everyone struggled to speak words & that I just....wasn't dealing with it well.) Because of that, this will be written in much better grammar & clearer words than I am capable of aloud right now. That does not mean I can speak aloud, nor that autistics who can't write like this don't exist or aren't super valid. That also doesn't mean I won't use wrong words sometimes, because I do still mix up words or have an inability to find the word I mean.

That disclaimer aside....

I thought I was hyperverbal. Because we also have ADHD & C-PTSD, the tism didn't seem to affect our speaking much.

The hyperverbal speech was part autism mask, part ADHD hyperactivity (or, externalized symptoms to be more accurate), & part PTSD (got abused & punished for not speaking).

I am currently medicating my ADHD with a balance of sugar & caffeine that works short-term. (I will eventually seek actual meds but there's a shortage right now & I am a tired bitch who doesn't wanna deal with doctors right now.)

I was trying to sing along to my music playlist. That's typically one of my most reliable self-soothing tactics. Even as we've started unmasking the tism, I didn't notice much difference in my singing—as long as I'm singing with backup music, I can still sing when words otherwise don't wanna work/translate/etc.

It came out in soft babbles, “bah bah bah” (lip taps with air), “bleh bleh bleh” (basically just tongue taps with air), & faint humming. I could follow the general beat/tune of the song, but couldn't make any of the lyrics come out.

This followed a session of flirting with my autistic girlfriend, & her making me laugh nonstop for a solid 20mins, until my brain decided “I'm safe right now” & words failed me. My mouth wouldn't do it.

I can still make noise in my head. Some of my thoughts are words (in a jumbled mix of the languages I know (Spanish & French, & bits n pieces of Norwegian/German/Italian/Irish Gaelic/Russian/Greek)). But most are pictures, feelings, vague concepts that I couldn't translate if I tried. None of the thoughts, even the ones that are words, will come out of my mouth. I can't make them come out.

That said, after around 20mins of incoherent noise I was able to sing along again not by understanding the meaning of the words or by saying the words, but by mimicking just the sounds. Ignore that it's a word, let the meaning float in nonexistence, & I can repeat the sound. But I don't know what the fuck I'm saying when I do that, because I can't think the meaning or process the words at the same time as I mimic it.

And that's the same reason that I sing almost exactly the same notes, accent, tone, etc. when I sing, 99% of the time. I'm just mimicking—I'm not actively singing. In order to actually sing, I have to wait for my brain to have enough processing power to spare to not mask, not mimic, process the words, process everything around me (lights, sounds, etc.), associate the words with something or someone, preferably a memory (usually it's my girlfriend who comes to mind right now, but sometimes it's family or friends), AND still make the words come out like they actually mean something. And that takes...so much out of me.

I can't make meaningful words happen right now. Just meaning-detached sounds.

So...yeah.

I thought I had no problems with speech. I thought words were just “a little difficult sometimes”. But I can only word so much in a day before I run out now, & I mean hard stop, ‘can't even mask to save my life’, can't talk to my loved ones, ✨run out✨. My girlfriend pointed out I'm unable to word speech more often than I'm able to now, & suggested I might be more non-speaking than I realized. Because I can usually word inside my head, for most of a day (especially if I take a nap), but I cannot word aloud for more than 2 or 3 hours if I'm not masking, & my mask starts glitching & breaking (stutters, wrong scripts, etc.) after about 5 hours at work now.

So I was never high functioning. I was destroying my brain to mask, & now I'm so burnt out & destroyed from what I did mask through that I can't even mask most of the time. I am now “high support needs” (incorrectly dubbed “low functioning”) autistic, because of how masking destroyed me.

Once I graduate college with a degree that lets me get a job where I can be myself (preferably my own boss), I will never be masking ever again. I can't. It's so taxing.

Speaking isn't supposed to be hard. It's also not supposed to be an act of mimicry 24/7 (sometimes it is mimicry, but not this much). And this is news to me, and I am devastated for child me who thought he was just not trying hard enough or was broken or was just missing a tool.

He was always disabled. We were always disabled. I will honour that disability now, to the best of my ability. Because I love him, because we're worth it, because I shouldn't have to pretend to be neurotypical & able-bodied when I'm not, because that little kid deserved better.

I will learn other ways to communicate. I will learn other languages, but also non-word ways. I don't always have to speak.

And that's okay. I'm allowed to be disabled.

So into the future we grow.

~Nico

[tvheadfalls]

programmer here (with cs degree, it job etc) sorry this is long and im on mobile but i wanted to give you my 2 cents :D i actually dont recommend javascript as your first language, js has really weak "rules" and basically allows you to do whatever you want when writing code, including really shitty things. this can be great in many situations if you know what you're doing and makes js very flexible but if you're starting out you will probably pick up bad habits and it will be difficult to move onto different languages (like typed languages)

for example i learned C as my first and i'm very glad for it, it's not used much outside of certain fields now but it's fantastic to start out, especially bc it operates at a lower level than most modern languages and by learning it you understand what's going on "under the hood" in your program and forces you to get used to many good programming practices.

imo the most important thing when starting out is finding a course that teaches you the main concepts common to most programming languages, once you are familiar with those you can learn others very easily. and it's better to start with a language that has strong rules, and then move onto those that are more lax. python is very popular and beginner friendly so it's an ok point to start for many, definitely better than js, and includes OOP as well so you can get familiar with that too. although if you want a really rigorous approach i'd still go with a typed language as your first.

basically: if you really care abt writing good code and eventually want to learn other languages i'd recommend C, or its more moden cousin Go (which is one of my fav languages and getting pretty popular), as your first. If you just want to throw yourself into programming and don't want to waste time with a language that is not super popular/don't care about, then python is good.

i'll try to look up some resources later maybe, i'd love to give you my uni courses materials but they're not in english/german :( anyway best of luck !! anyone can learn programming if they try, i know it can be really hard and confusing at first but dont give up !! :D

i knew itd work if i make another post abt it, i Love when i ask smth and all the expert professional anons following me just crawl out of the woodworks DFGJKFDJK

this is all very good to know thank you!!! goin on the to-research list. dw abt the resources, i am still only pondering at this so literally anything will do for now and actual uni course materials sounds terrifying LMAO

[lexiklecksi]

10 songs (tag game)

Thanks for tagging me @captain-kraken & @writernopal <3 I'm tagging @hraewordsmith @kirkshiresloss @zettelkaestchen to put a playlist on shuffle and share the first 10 songs that come up without cheating! ;-) Also this is an open tag so whoever wants to do that, tag me in your post

I put my "liked songs" Spotify playlist on shuffle which consists of 2700 songs and now that I see what comes up I can't even say I have a taste in music, I just like random songs haha also beware of my oversharing of why I like these songs because I feel like I have to explain myself XD

This is a perfect mash-up! Miley Cyrus is an icon and I also love "Where is my mind?" by The Pixies (and the end scene of Fight Club), but if someone told me a few years ago that Miley Cyrus would perform a mash-up of her song "We can't stop" and "Where is my mind?" on stage, I couldn't believe that it would turn out so awesome.

Solar-based hip-hop based on sun-drunk sounds! I have high hopes for her, she's still a newcomer and her music style is so unique.

Balkan Beats from Germany <3 also yes, we are still here to tell our stories!

Two of my favourite German singer-songwriter bands (Milky Chance & AnnenMayKantereit) having a jam session with Suzanne Vega's song, and it's ... it is perfection! I like it more than the original. The voices of the lead singers are raspy and sexy, but you can also hear them smiling while singing, and that makes it so much better.

This song still makes me cry ... that's all I have to say really, it's perfect fantasy music, but it's also a captivating piece

If you watched the Eurovision Song Contest in 2021 you get it. And if you haven't, go watch their winning performance. Yes, Italian rock won the ESC and I am still amazed by that.

This is probably the best German hip-hop song with an actual political message for Christmas. The music video is pure art, you will understand the themes even if you don't speak German ;-)

Arya Lee is a German singer, YouTuber, actor and film director. He fled from Iran and this song is about his refugee trauma. We should reinforce refugee voices and this hip-hop song demands to be heard. I had a roommate who also fled from Iran, so this song has a special place in my hear, because it made me understand better what he had to endure to make it to a safe place.

You're a part of the dawn where the light comes from the dark You're a part of the morning and еverything matters Herе we are, an atom and a star You're a part of the movement and everything matters

Quand la lumière veut nous voir Quelque part dans le monde Un oiseau s'endort sans bruit Toi et moi, dans la nuit on trouvera Quelque part où déposer les fleurs qu'on a cueillies

If I could write just one poem in my whole life that comes near Aurora's and Pomme's songwriting, I can die in peace. We are so blessed that these faeries share their wisdom with us trough music.

A cellist who is also a songwriter and I'm one of 36 monthly listeners (yes this is a humble brag)

[van-goghs-smoking-skull]

Some people on here REALLY need to think about what they say before they say it.

I saw a post today where someone said we should get rid of oppression and Antisemite! got fired back by someone who claims to be woke, to be progressive and fighting for the rights of the disabled, esp. those who are ND. Now as I recall from the history lessons given by my German teacher way back in high school (no, not a Nazi, but someone who hid in a toilet to keep from getting taken to a camp more than once), the Nazis preached that all the banks and politics were owned by Jews and the Jews oppressed the poor pure-blooded Germans. So if ending oppression is anti-Semitic, then that’s an awful lot like saying the Jews are oppressing everyone else, which is very much a part of Nazi ideology. That doesn’t sound terribly progressive to me.

I’ve also seen quite a bit of slur discourse in which the claim is only one (unspecified) term can be used in the queer community, as all those words are slurs and only the one reclaimed term can be used. What part of the process of reclaiming a word is confusing? The word is just a word, the slur is in how it’s used. Use it as a point of pride and drown out those who use it as a slur. So what does this mean? Only one word ever can be used because only one ever is allowed to be reclaimed? Again, very not progressive.

I’ve had people tell me that because I am half-Dutch by blood, eating burritos is actually me misappropriating Mexican culture. I’ve been told it doesn’t matter that I grew up in New Mexican culture, a blend of many cultures and heavy on Mexican culture, though Navajo culture is also a good part of it, that it doesn’t matter that I’ve never been to the Netherlands and that I don’t know much at all about Dutch culture. This especially reeks of the ‘Blood and Soil’ rhetoric the Nazis loved so much.

Maybe tone that Blood and Soil ‘Progressivism’ down and start reflecting on exactly what you’re saying. Emotions are fine to have, but they aren’t logic and they are not based on reason and should not be what you base your political ideologies on. Be angry about the bad things, but don’t slip into some weird space spouting off fascist talking points and thinking you’re the good person and everyone else is just a bigot, because that’s how you yourself become a bigot.

I keep saying it because I mean it. Learning to think critically is one of the most important things you can do. Spend less time pointing fingers and spend more working to make a better, less hateful world.

[living-d3ad-gh0ul]

Monday 5th December 2022, 4.52am

Well here comes an insomnia post from me haha. I've been lying here in bed for about an hour now, after falling asleep really early after dinner, so here we are lol. And I have to start work at 7am, I'm going to just try and power through the day, lots of coffee and lots of keeping myself busy with work. I have a couple meetings today anyway, I just hope one of them isn't one of those ones that could have been an email. I know the other one won't be, I just hate pointless meetings, especially on a Monday haha.

I'm so glad you enjoyed your time in Terry- I mean Tassy. Even if you did bring home COVID, I really hope you're still doing okay with that and it's still just a mild cold. I had COVID for the first time in July, during our heatwave too and it was awful having a fever during that. I was quite unwell and had to take a week off work. The first pub you mentioned sounds so nice (and looks nice if that was in one of the photos you posted) and I immediately had an image of us cosying up there together, talking and laughing and just looking at each other. Being with you in the bush around a fire also sounds amazing too, I'd love that. The dog you met looks absolutely ADORABLE too and I hope you told him he's a very good boy. I bet his awoos were the cutest ever. I sometimes look after my sister's dog, she's an all black long haired German Shepherd. She's very cute, but sometimes I have to be careful when I leave my bedroom at night, because she blends in with my rug in my hallway haha. Gotta be sure you don't trip over her.

It definitely sounds like you had lots of fun, even if you did feel alone. The trolley picture made me laugh, because that's exactly something I would probably do too. I can't believe your bandmate brought a girl back though lol you'll be glad that nothing happened with them, even if their snoring did keep you awake haha. All the scenery and everything you said about Tasmania and Hobart itself sounds amazing. I'd have loved all of that too. I could imagine us together at the street market you mentioned, just walking around together, picking up the most silly/crappy things and joking about buying them for each other haha. I wish I could have been in the crowd too. I don't know if it'd been better me standing at the front, where I'd be right in front of you.. or a little towards the back so that you'd be looking out into the crowd more haha. But either way, I'd love that. I'd love to see you play. I also can't believe you play bass now too. I miss my bass, I'm thinking of getting a new one, once I get a new piano (my old one is dead, it was oldddd)

All the photos you posted were fantastic. I was right, you're still just as handsome as the first time I ever saw you. I'm going to be brave and put some photos on this post too, so you can see me now and enjoy some things I've done this year too. Including going to the US for a month. I had an amazing time and visited some friends. That was back in March/April and doesn't feel like it was that long ago. I still can't believe it's December and it's almost Christmas. I've been rushing around trying to make sure I have Christmas presents for my family and my best friends haha. I actually spent Friday evening with one of my best friends and her boyfriend, I stayed at their place and we played games, made dinner, laughed, played with the cats, listened to music and had a few drinks (my favourite gin is Hendricks too btw, but I still love Jack Daniels haha). It was a nice chill night.

I am totally comfortable with these posts. I really like reading what you've been up to, what's on your mind, what you're thinking, how you're feeling. I read them all the time. I often think about what you do during the day too. Probably more than I'd be willing to admit. Sometimes I sit and wonder what you're doing at that exact moment, I'll sometimes check to see what time it is and if you'd be awake or sleeping. I get so giddy when I see there's a new post from you and I sit smiling like a total fool when I read them. Yesterday, I basically had a relaxing day, getting ready for the week ahead. I work Monday - Friday at the moment, so I always have weekends off which is great. I also get to work from home, which I LOVE! I've been in this job for the past year and I'm good at it. I'm always told how well I do and how much I help others out that I work with. I've stopped being afraid to ask questions and ask for help if I need it. I know now that it doesn't mean I'm dumb or anything, it just means I need some assistance and that's okay. We all need some help from time to time.

I'm glad you think my songwriting is good enough. I criticize myself harshly in an artistic sense, so it's good to get perspective from other people. I'm proud of you for keeping on with the path you're on and bettering yourself and your life. Whatever will make you happy, I'm all for it. And I'll always be here, should you need a little encouragment or support. No matter how long it's been. I'm definitely trying to be a much stronger version of me too. I've had my own struggles and things happen over the past few years, but they're all lessons and I've got through it all. If I can get through the things that I have from my past, I can get through anything. I've learnt so much too and I've had so much shit thrown my way, and I can say this.. no matter whats happened, what hand you've been dealt.. you are deserving of love. I am too. We both are. I'm glad you don't drown in guilt anymore. I know that was a big thing for you and I'm so proud of you for working through that. You're doing so well and I think you're amazing. I dont think I could ever think of you as anything less than amazing.

I felt a weird but good feeling and smiled when you wrote the part about how it's not clothes or hair or anything else that makes me me. Even just thinking about it again makes me smile and scrunch my face up and giggle. I've never really thought of any parts of me as "beautiful", but I like hearing you say it. I do know how you feel about tattoos, haha. I bet your tattoos are lovely too. I'm glad to know that hasn't changed because I have some quite big ones now too. I plan on loads more. But right now I'm focusing on planning more things to do and going more places next year. That's what I really want to do. I want to explore and meet new people and have new experiences. I currently have a trip to London planned for mid-August next year, partly because I'm going to a concert there, but also because I want to visit my Uncle and I want to see different parts of London. Mainly Soho and the West end. Even if I'll be staying in North East London haha, the public transport systems in London is huge, so I'll be fine and should be able to get to everywhere I want to. I plan on staying for 5/6 days so I can see and do as much as I can.

I remember us talking about when you went to see Pale Waves. I actually still have the picture you sent me of you with them. I didn't get to meet them, but they were really good. I really enjoyed the gig. I've been watching all the Space-X launches over the past few years, ever since they did the first Dragon mission to the ISS. So of course, I know all about the Artemis missions hehe. Its a really exciting prospect, that we will one day visit another planet. And someday go back to the Moon. I'm sat at the spare bedroom/my office window looking up at the moon right now actually as I type this. She's very bright in the sky tonight. Almost ethereal, but of course.. beautiful.

I'm currently sat here listening to an album called Krystal by an artist I really like, Matt Maltese. I think you might like it too. I hope that this post wasn't too long and waffley haha. Although I know you'd probably like reading it anyway, even if it is. Oh and I really enjoyed your demos on SoundCloud. I especially loved 2am and Untitled. Those were my favourites. I've listened to them quite a few times now. I hope that's okay and you don't find that weird. I love hearing things that you make.

Here's some pictures for you.. how could I not remember everything about you? You're you.

[airadam]

Episode 176 : It's Goin' Down...

"I AM"

- Chuck D

Hope you've had a good start to 2024! While it's been a bit bumpy over here, the selection on the first episode of the year is strong from start to finish. If you know every single one of these tracks already...we should probably have a chat as you clearly have an ear for the good stuff! 

Mastodon : @airadam@mastodon.me.uk

Twitch : @airadam13

Playlist/Notes

Organized Noize ft. Big Boi, Big Rube, Sleepy Brown, and Cee-Lo : We The Ones

A very fortunate find during a recent digging expedition, I didn't even know that the "Organized Noize EP" existed until I had it in my hands. Looking around on Discogs, it seems that it was a limited release in 2017 of 500 copies, on fiery orange vinyl and with a fantastic cover. Apparently twenty years in the making - probably because the production team behind OutKast, Goodie Mob, and more were kind of busy - it's a quality seven-song collection that you can now also get digitally! I heard a few seconds of this track at the listening post and it was the one that convinced me to buy the record, a musically-stirring and always-relevant and timely call to stand up and fight against oppression.

Orbital : Adnan's

This industrial-sounding track from the 1996 "In Sides" album was an extended version of a song they contributed to the 1995 "War Child" charity LP, and was named after a young boy who was killed by a missile during the war in the former Yugoslavia. Paul Hartnoll of Orbital broke this, and the rest of the album, down in a way only one of the creators could - so I'll link you to his own words.

Sepalot ft. Blu : Surrender

I've heard the instrumental of this many a time and had actually forgotten that there even was a vocal version! The beat went down well on the most recent #BeatsOnly show on my Twitch channel, so I thought I'd bring it out on this episode. The angular production from German producer Sepalot lurches, twitches, and squelches, with Blu fittingly being a bit more aggro lyrically than you might have expected from some of his better-known work. I have this on the B-side of a 12" headed up by "She Likes Me" with Frank Nitty, but you can also find it on the 2014 "Red Handed" LP.

Jigmastas ft. Shabaam Saadique : Too Ill

Does what it says on the tin! DJ Spinna on production on this track with the dramatic backing, courtesy of a well-known old TV show sample, while the processing on the vocals makes it sound like weak MCs are being admonished over the phone! By the way, the spelling of Shabaam's name is different than what I've seen on previous releases, but as it's written this way on this album ("Resurgence") I'm taking that as being correct unless/until I find out otherwise.

Public Enemy : Louder Than A Bomb

A classic from what is often said to be the greatest Hip-Hop album of all time, "It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back" (lot of text to write on a cassette label btw). Those who follow me know I'll sometimes refer to the more grimy records as "not calling for the building of a new nation or anything" but this track literally does! Chuck D will always be the first name that comes to mind when pro-Black, politically-driven Hip-Hop is mentioned, and this is just one of his outstanding vocal performances. Bomb Squad on production of course, with a hard-hitting track that would dominate most other MCs, even now. Sonically, you might notice that the sound is busy but not "thick" - if it was made nowadays, I suspect it'd be mixed with a lot more bass, not to mention built with more high-fidelity samplers. Would that have been "better"? Hard to say, but this is revolutionary in all senses regardless. 

Bumpy Knuckles & DJ Premier : B.A.P. (Bumpy and Premier)

For those of more gentle dispositions, you may as well skip to the next track! Otherwise, this is quintessential boom-bap rawness, courtesy of DJ Premier - one of the finest exponents of the style - and fellow Gang Starr Foundation MC Bumpy Knuckles. Wicked track from the "KoleXXXion" LP, where Bumpy starts each verse with the same four bars, before raining fire on snakes, suckers, and studio gangstas over the rugged beat. No sir, Bumpy did not fall off, not even a little.

Stro Elliot : Miles Funk

I may have been late getting on the Stro Elliot train, only hearing his stuff in the last three years or so, but now I'm firmly on board and settled with a book and some snacks. The drums are cracking and merciless on this track from his 2016 eponymous LP, and they lead the way for the bassline and funky guitar to do what they do. Definitely check the album - it's really excellent work.

Dubbul O & Jointhedots : Life:Mics

A great new Manchester release to open the year! You should already know that Dubbul O is one of my favourite MCs from any coast or territory, while the excellent Jointhedots have been holding it down in fine style since most of the members were part of the best-known lineup of The Mouse Outfit. The most special feature on this track is the guitar of the much-missed Phil Ratcliffe, who sadly passed away in 2022, and whose family will continue to benefit from any posthumous releases. Coming together over the peak of the COVID restrictions, this track started when bassist/bandleader/producer Defty sent beats around Manchester for musicians to add their own touches to. As well as Phil Ratcliffe, the flautist Dr Claire Press got busy on here - you may remember her memorable work alongside Dubbul O again on "Never Get Enough" all the way back in 2012! Flavourful and polished music as always from this collective, and worthy of your support.

New Sector Movements ft. Allysha Joy : These Times

Neither of these artists were on my radar previously, so it was a big bonus when First Word Records included this cut on the "Two Syllables Volume Twenty" compilation! As it turns out, New Sector Movements is actually an alias of IG Culture, a UK stalwart respected for his work as part of Dodge City Productions, and of course he shows the deft touch of a veteran on the music here. The vocals are carried by the powerful voice of Australian songstress Allysha Joy, who started singing as a youngster in the church and you can hear the influence very much still with her! This track in full is actually about six minutes long, so if you like what you're hearing, you know what to do...

Common : The Movement

I'll have you know that I did actually mix this in bang-on, but J Dilla decided to go all the way weird with the timing and drum placement at the start, to the point I almost re-ripped the tune from the "2K6 : The Tracks" CD to be sure! This one had somehow escaped me on first listen, but it's got that electronic sound that was increasingly a feature of Dilla's late work, with that edginess contrasting with Common's smooth and familiar voice.

Actual Proof ft. TP : Show You The Way

North Carolina in the house, with Actual Proof (Enigma and Sundown) linking with guest TP (who I don't know much about) for a 9th Wonder-produced track that sounds very different than the intro might lead you to expect. Lyrically, in places it almost comes off as a rougher, less civilised take on "Mind Sex" by dead prez, blended with some of that LL Cool J - in attitude, if not in flow! Track down the 2012 "Black Boy Radio" LP for this one.

Mecca:83, Buscrates, and J Vibes : Amber Hue

Such warm vibes emanate from this 2019 composition, with Macclesfield, Pittsburgh, and Aarhus (Denmark) in collaboration. I don't know who did what, but the final result is a thing of beauty!

Tall Black Guy, Craig Mack : Flavor In Ya Ear Remix

The original beat by Easy Mo Bee is one of the greatest in Hip-Hop history in my opinion, so it takes a brave man to put his production in its place - and right here, Tall Black Guy is that man! Tough drums and a relatively simple bassline provide the structure for some spaced-out touches and soul vocal sampling to undergird TBG's take on one of the all-time great posse cuts.

1773 & Strange Soul Music : Dialed In

Manchester's Strange Soul Music is a fearsome producer, the man no-one wanted to face in last year's WORKINONIT beat battle! He's been putting in that work for years and this is from one of his latest releases, "The Strange Soul Project" a seven-track collaboration with Chicago MCs Jay Nagoma and Wisdm Uno. Themed around a method of internet access that might be unfamiliar to the younger listeners, this is a brief, but strong, opener to the project.

Clear Soul Forces : Nine 5ive

It's a shame that the 2020 "ForcesWithYou" LP is ostensibly the last from this Detroit crew - their stuff has always been energetically high-quality. Ilajide on the beat of course, while on the mic, CSF reference everything/one from Busta Rhymes to Mortal Kombat via George Washington Carver in a track that lasts well under three minutes. May the force be with them, indeed.

Heather B : Steady Rockin'

Straight-ahead Hip-Hop, with the commanding voice and bars of Heather B over the boom-bap production of DJ Premier. Vocalist Twyla adds a little sugar to the hook, but the rest of this track from 2002's "Eternal Affairs" is pretty much as stripped-down as you can get.

Khrysis : The Devil Wears Designer (Instrumental)

North Carolina representing again here, with a groove borrowing clearly from a classic soul record on this instrumental from "The Hour Of Khrysis".

DJ 2-Tone Jones ft. Prince Po, Asheru, Joe.D and yU : Not Down

I've always thought that one of the most important inflection points in the culture was when our ability to self-police was countered by the epithet "playa hater", which nowadays is more likely to take the form of "but he getting the bag tho". This call to arms from the "Contraband From India" LP features real MCs with real commitment letting us know that the leeches, the culture vultures, exploitative corporate interests of various shapes, and everyone else taking away from the culture rather than adding on need to be ejected. The production is not minimal as such, but well-spaced, with the sparse drum pattern and Indian string samples avoiding a situation where the instrumental ends up fighting the MCs for the spotlight, which is critical when what they're saying is of actual importance.

Please remember to support the artists you like! The purpose of putting the podcast out and providing the full tracklist is to try and give some light, so do use the songs on each episode as a starting point to search out more material. If you have Spotify in your country it's a great way to explore, but otherwise there's always Youtube and the like. Seeing your favourite artists live is the best way to put money in their pockets, and buy the vinyl/CDs/downloads of the stuff you like the most!

Check out this episode!

[elfinblaze]

Eurovision 2023

It's two weeks to go, so I thought I'd post my personal Top 12, as it stands. That could change once I see everyone live, but for now, my list:

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrFUKqTy4zI Cyprus - Break A Broken Heart, by Andrew Lambrou Catchy, solid, radio-friendly song, with an impressive voice. Not anything unusual, just a genuinely good song, which is not a bad thing. This is one I actually listen to often, so it's going straight to number 1 for me. Unfortunately I think it's going to get lost among all the other strong songs this year, so I expect I'm in the minority when it comes to loving this song. 2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y12_YMs9kCQ Germany - Blood & Glitter, by Lord of the Lost Germany sent a band from Napalm Records, which is a legendary record company in the metal scene, and I - for one - am thrilled! Now this is some catchy Metal music, enough to make you debate whether you want to dance or head-bang or a bit of both, but not so heavy it's inaccessible to a broader audience. I like the voice, the melody, how tight the band sounds. Fantastic band. Very German. This is our taste in music. 3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqtu2GspT80 Australia - Promise, by Voyager I'm tossing up whether I'm biased putting both my home countries at numbers 2 and 3, but I don't think so; I genuinely like both songs and think they are objectively good songs. I'm thrilled both countries sent their strongest genres this year, and this one's a really good, old-school, solid Australian rock song. I'll be shocked if Australia win, but I expect them to do better than people might be thinking. 4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8-Sbc_GZMc Switzerland - Watergun, by Remo Forrer One of several anti-war (read: anti-Russia) songs this year, and my favourite of those. I'm a rock fan. As should be obvious from this list. I love the low voice and the message, as well as this being a solid song as well. 5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ak5Fevs424Y Ireland - We Are One, by Wild Youth Catchy rock ballad with uplifting lyrics. A bit generic maybe, but pure natnip to me. And I know I'm in the minority here, but I don't care: this song reminds me of pop-rock bands from 10 years ago, so it's like a comfy set of slippers for me. Just enjoyable to listen to. 6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zt7U0-N1mlk Norway - Queen Of Kings, by Alessandra Insanely catchy dance number. I know it's a favourite to win, and I'm not surprised. Apparently it's doing very well in gay clubs too (I haven't been clubbing in decades, but this is what I hear). I wouldn't mind Norway winning. 7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWfbEFH9NvQ France - Évidemment, by La Zarra A catchy pop song! With meaningful lyrics, and I'm hearing this one is another favourite to win. 8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znWi3zN8Ucg Finland - Cha Cha Cha, by Käärijä This was in my top 5, and it dropped a bit after I've listened to all the songs a few more times, but I still like it. Very fun. 9. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeIVwYUge8o Serbia - Samo Mi Se Spava, by Luke Black I dunno what it is about this one, but it entrances me. I don't think it's very popular, but it grabs me and won't let my attention wander. Must be the heavy beat. I like it. 10. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMmLeV47Au4 Austria - Who The Hell Is Edgar?, by Teya & Salena I love the literary references. It's not my favourite, obviously, considering it's 10th on this list, but it's got a good beat, and a hook, and it has the potential to win the competition, which… I would not be mad about. 11. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Apqwl0ayL6A Malta - Dance (Our Own Party), by The Busker This has such a catchy beat, kinda jazzy, but still poppy. Makes me want to dance. 12. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJ21grjN6wU United Kingdom - I Wrote A Song, by Mae Muller It's a decent pop song. Still trying to decide whether I want to listen to this once Eurovision is over for the year, or not. But at least the UK sent a decent song.

I don't know who's going to win. I doubt it'll be any of my top 3 (not because I don't think rock can win; Lordi and Måneskin proved that), but I'm usually surprised by the winner, so who knows. Maybe Norway. France is in with a chance too. Anyway, there's a lot of great songs this year.

And now for some bonus songs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqGM_8Nn3D0 Promise (House Remix), by Voyager I don't know how the band managed to film this video with straight faces; it's amazing. The uniform bopping, the robotic banging on the beatbox, the screaming into the telephone! It's brilliant. If you want a dance version instead of the original version of this song, this is fantastic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgs4KeaEsBk Gladiator, by Jann Because this was allllmost Poland's entry, and in my opinion it's miles better than the one that was chosen instead. It's darker and different, and it grabs me. Jann (Jan Rozmanowski) is such a fascinating young singer and I can't wait to see where his career goes. If this was in my Top 12 List, it would be battling France for 7th place. Is it obvious yet that I like some darkness in my music?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JefXBxvPElE One Last Song (accoustic), by Lord of the Lost Proving what a fantastic band they are, this song gives me chills. There's a bleakness to it (without being gloomy), but also a loving and sincere note, which is what makes this song so special. It's love and sorrow, and beautiful. I love it, I love it, I love it! Having watched a few interviews, the band seem like really friendly guys too, and they very clearly know what they're doing.

[edgepunk]

The Witcher Netflix Rant from your local frustrated Slav I cannot tell you how tired and frustrated I am by TWN and its treatment of Slavic people. An actual Polish man has pitched the show to Netflix, multiple other producers of Slavic descent have been alienated and felt like they didn't belong there because of how they have been treated, then ultimately left the production that has been handed over to a literal Karen that doesn't give a shit about it. The show has removed every instance of Slavic(mainly Polish)/other European (Germanic, Nordic) influences, cultural significance and turned it into an uninspired, boring, muddy fantasy. Hell, I have tons of criticisms about the games, but at least they kept the Central-Eastern European influences and, despite TW being a dark fantasy, weren't scared to make the games look bright and colorful. You'd think that Girlboss Lauren and her posse would put some effort into representing the cultural influences since the games pretty much got the series popular with the blend of different Central-Eastern European (mainly Polish, obviously) cultures and the usage of Slavic folk music thanks to Percival. A lot of the themes in the books draw from Poland's history, which also have been lost in the show (here is a post that's written by an actual Polish person and explains it better than I could since I'm not actually Polish, ya know). All of that has been lost, both the writing and aesthetics lack the cultural and historical significance that has influenced the world of The Witcher, because the showrunners are a bunch of Brits and USAmericans who aren't willing to put any effort into trying to understand the history and culture. They just want to make the next GoT, which,, huh? GoT ended up like it did, but to give them some credit, in the beginning the writers mostly stuck to the books instead of making a badly written Wattpad fanfiction from the get-go.

And it's possible for a western person to try to understand the circumstances, look at Craig Mazin, the man who directed HBO Chernobyl. Of course it's dramatized, of course they added some things that didn't actually happen and a few things were inconsistent. But you can clearly see in the production of the show that they put a lot of effort and interviewed people from Ukraine. Not sure if it's true, but I've seen somewhere (or was it a podcast?) that they gave the scripts to some Ukrainian people who were alive during the Soviet Union and asked them to correct the dialogues to make them sound more authentic, closer to how people adressed each other during the USSR (and how Eastern Slavs adress each other since it's a little different than western people do, including us Western Slavs, here is a nifty post explaining it if you're interested).

Can't speak for all Slavs, but the overall reaction has been positive from the people I talked to and my older family member. Note that a lot of "older" people here have been born pre '89 (that's when the USSR fell apart, the disaster happened in April '86), so the majority of them lived through the disaster. The biggest criticism people had that they turned Dyatlov into too much of a villain. when in reality he was way calmer during the night the disaster happened. Not to mention Mazin had it more difficult since he was adapting a story from real life that affected thousands upon thousands people. Mazin is a westener, he could've just shrugged it off and said "eh who cares about these filthy Eastern Euro people" but he and his team went out of their way to actually approach the victims, read several books written by people who actually lived through the disaster, that affected them and their families to make the story more authentic and respectful. Now, why can't Miss Lauren and her posse do it with a fantasy setting? Because they don't care. The only instance of "Slavic influence" (using that term very loosely) in the show is during the Striga episode when they mention a "vukodlak" which literally translates to "werewolf" so like,,, eh. It's still a werewolf, just a different version. I'm sure the writers were patting themselves on the back for including that word they found on the werewolf Wiki page. It would've been so nice to see a Slavic piece of media make it to Hollywood, but you see how that ended up. We barely get any recognition and if there is a Slavic character in a western production they're always: an assassin, gopnik, Seksi Female Spy that falls in love with the American, thief, mob boss, and I could go on. They never get the language right, because all Slavs speak botched Russian, right? All of us are named Anton, Ivan, Nikita, Natasha or Svetlana. And there are other mythical creatures besides Baba Yaga which Hollywood can't get right either. And it bleeds into the fandom too, all the modern AUs take place in the US or the UK. When other Slavic people criticize the show for its westernization they are told by westerners to shup up or they're "haters" (I do actually hate the show and the corpo bullshit Netflix is trying to pull here so,,, you can come at me all you want lol) tl;dr: The Witcher was the perfect opportunity for Slavs to have something positive in Hollywood, but it got doomed the moment it was handed to an USAmerican woman who doesn't understand the cultural influences and has zero interest in doing proper research. I probably would've forgiven her and her team if they actually tried, but they didn't. But seeing how other cultures that aren't USAmerican are being treated in movies and TV shows it shouldn't surprise me. Also I feel like I have to clarify - this has nothing to do with the actors, this is purely on the writers, the background and costume designers that put zero effort into researching the different cultures (not just Slavic, but I am Slavic so I wrote this from my perspective) that influenced The Witcher universe.

[acewithapaintbrush]

Something a little bit personal. It got longer than I thought so the rest under the cut.

So, even before Corona hit, I had done the (for me) unthinkable:

I had finished a novel.

I have started many ever since I was a snot nosed little brat, but had never actually finished one because I lost the drive or hated what I had written. This time I had an idea that I really wanted to see completed and I told myself that no matter how much I hated my own writing, I would finish it. So I plotted the whole story out and I powered through to get the first draft done. And I did. The first draft was, as expected, horrible (in my eyes) but after lots of rewriting and revising it got better and better and after many months it was finally at a point where I felt it was complete and tried to send it to publishers.

And no one wanted it.

And that was kinda a bummer, but also not surprising because publishers get thousands of stories daily. Why would they want my weird mix of modern fantasy + found family + crime story out of all of them?

I told myself that I would self publish, but I never got around to it because even though I liked the story that I had written (and friends and family told me they liked what they had read) I was never a 100 % happy with the wording. The sentences felt clunky to me. The emotions didn't feel nearly as powerful put into words as they were supposed to.

During the writing process I often felt like I couldn't articulate what I wanted to say in an impactful way. I knew exactly what I wanted to say, but put into German sentences they just lacked the bite, the punch.

I liked what I had written, but I wasn't really happy with it and the rejection letters didn't help any.

And so it collected dust on my shelf. My first finished novel and nothing to show for it because I didn't feel like it was worth getting it out there when I myself had so many grievances with it.

I sometimes look at it and think about the characters I created and that are so dear to me and hate myself for being so insecure about it all. For letting my dream of my own book become buried under a pile of self-doubt and apathy. I felt like a failure. It felt like I had given up an inch before the finish line but unable to pull myself up again.

Starting with fanfiction again and getting so many amazing comments about how I have a way with words, how I manage to convey emotions with my writing and lots other wonderful encouragements, I often found myself wishing I had written my novel in English.

It does sound crazy, but I've always been better with English than with my native tongue when it comes to writing. Not necessarily when it comes to grammar or spelling (as you'll probably have guessed by now) but when it comes to putting emotions and a story on paper, English has always been so much easier for me. I kid you not, while writing my novel I often pictured how I would write the sentence in English and then translated that into German. Totally bonkers, but true.

So yeah, me sitting here, wishing I could have written my book in English.

And then having a "Duh" moment because I can! No one is stopping me!

English is not a barrier in the german book market, it's actually a way to reach even more people.

And if you self publish, the language matters even less.

So, I just wanna give this a try.

A last hurray, a last rebellion in the wake of defeat. A last time breathing life into a beloved project that never left my mind.

I just wanna try again.

So why am I making a big ass post which actually can be summarized as: "I will translate my own book into another language."?

In part to keep myself accountable, to maybe help you keep me accountable ("Yo Ace, working on that novel? Don't slack now!")

But also in part because after "A place for Crows" is done, I won't start another big project like that until the novel thing is done. I WILL STILL WRITE FANFICTION, I WILL NEVER STOP WRITING FANFICTION! But don't expect another over 100k monster out of me too soon. Since my novel is actually done I think translating and revising won't take too long but I wanna do this right and concentrate on that.

As I said, I won't stop writing fanfiction, making art and diy projects and interacting here and with my beloved fandoms, so I really hope you'll stick around for my dazzling personality and stories.

Thank you for your attention.

[thorraborinn]

I’ve been wondering, is there anything historical to suggest that ritual cleansing was important in Old Norse religion? I’ve seen many heathens online state that one absolutely must spiritually cleanse oneself before approaching the gods (how?), that the cleanliness of Vikings was evidence of this, that one must be spiritually pure, etc…it sounds a lot like sin to me, and not being worthy? I know sometimes water is sprinkled before a ritual, why? Thank you for your insight.

I'm long-forming this one because I think there's stuff underlying this question that isn't apparent on the surface. The rest behind the cut.

In Eyrbyggja saga, Þórólfr Mostrarskegg declares Helgafell ('Holy-mountain') so sacred that nobody is allowed to even look at it if they're unwashed, nor is anyone or anything allowed to be killed there; and where he sets up the regional þing-stead he declares it so sacred that not only is nobody allowed to fight there, but nobody can even take a poop there, and have to go out to a little island (called "Shit-Skerry") if nature called. All this was only enforceable insofar as people were afraid of pissing Þórólfr off, and eventually when Þórólfr and the first generation of settlers dies and the next generation is left to either uphold this tradition or not, tensions actually escalate to violence, ruining the holiness of the þing-stead by spilling blood there. Afterward, they realize they let things get out of control -- while threatening (succeeding? it isn't clear) to take a shit on the sacred site was deliberately crossing the line, the demands for observing the sacred state of the site were too stringent and an act of arrogance on Þórólfr's part, and everyone can agree that the site is defiled by the very avoidable violence. They meet and discuss what to do. They make a new place to hold the þing further up the peninsula, and determine that they can drop a deuce without completely vacating the whole site. Not only that, but allegedly human sacrifices happened there, meanings violence and bloodshed, even if in a restricted capacity, was allowed there. Yet, they all agreed that this was no less sacred than the place Þórólfr had founded.

All this seems to suggest that the people who settled the area did have a concept of some kind of ritual purity, but that it had more to do with agreed-upon norms and consensus than getting spiritual shmutz on you. A couple more points here. Þórólfr's demand that people be washed if they're going to look at Helgafell means literally, physically washed. He was the hierarchically highest of a party of people in a new land that, unlike the land he'd vacated, had no stories attached to it and its places and his insistence on making a big deal out of a place without any history is a somewhat arbitrary expression of his own power.

Another thing is that the saga uses the term ganga álfrek as a euphemism for shitting. This means something like 'to go driving away elves.' There may have been an element here, not of poop conferring a metaphysical impurity, but an extension of its regular impurity. It seems elves might be repelled by shit, which I don't think demands metaphysical explanation, given that I too am repelled by shit.

Most likely it isn't sin that the "heathens online" that you mention are modeling this on, but rather miasma. That link is to a modern Julian Hellenistic website, and explains it better than I can or care to, so if you're not familiar with the concept I recommend clicking and reading a bit before reading the rest of this post.

There's a contingent of heathens whose heathenry is just Neoplatonic Hellenism with all of the keywords translated into a Germanic language, and they have a tendency to present themselves like representatives of the ancient folkways of the north. It seems to be a way to recuperate some of the fake pan-heathen prescriptivism that was lost by nobody taking the idea of a reconstructable Proto-Germanic religion seriously anymore. They cherry-pick whatever they can from Norse and Old English literature to make their argument stick, rather than read the sagas as having value of their own. I don't think that they think that this is what they're doing, I think they just think that Neoplatonic Hellenism is the correct religion, or that "Polytheism" or "Paganism" is a religion and that the Greek and Roman sources are the best-documented witnesses to it. I think it's really unfortunate that we have these heathens who have such a low opinion of their own predecessors that they think that have nothing unique and useful to contribute to understanding the world. I'm going to write the rest of this on the assumption that that's whose commentary you've been reading.

I don't think it's unlikely that there was some kind of purification that may have been done at certain times or in certain places in Scandinavia, but I have two major objections to importing the entire apparatus of miasma and katharsis into the distant past of northern Europe. One is that, as we saw in the episode from Eyrbyggja saga, there was never any mechanism for enforcing this kind of standardization across the whole sphere of what we call "heathenry." It could have happened within certain areas, or more specific contexts like some types of ritual specialists, but there's no Norse Hesiod, and if there were, he'd have a hard time getting the whole of Scandinavia to care what he says.

The other is that I don't think heathens even had a cosmology that preconditioned it, at least in the sense of an idealistic Hellenic thought-world. I don't know about the world of Hesiod referenced in the page I linked to, or Homer where there is also evidence for this worldview, but by the time of people like Plotinus and Iamblichus who contributed to the Neoplatonic Hellenism that is influential in polytheist circles these days, there was a highly advanced cosmology including the immortal divine human soul; the perfect, transcendent world of forms; and gods who are eternal, unchanging, and incapable of error. In fact, Chrysippus, a stoic (so, not an idealist like the Neoplatonics), thought the whole thing was an irrational separation of humans from animals, which makes me wonder to what degree this push for Hellenistic Heathenry is a reaction to the rise of animistic heathenry.

Further, according to Robert Parker's Miasma: Pollution and Purification in Early Greek Religion, the whole thing was critiqued by philosophers who "made it their ideal to 'live in agreement with nature' (326). Evidently Herodotus thought that observing the rules about miasma and katharsis was what distinguished "civilized" people (the Greeks and Egyptians) from the other uncivilized people... which most certainly would have included Germanic people. Admittedly it isn't like Herodotus is the best witness to Germanic peoples' day-to-day, but this kind of firm separation of the "human" or "cultural" spheres of existence from the "animal" or "natural" spheres are not something that can really be upheld for Germanic people, especially if we are to work with the proposal that they were broadly animistic.

Like I said earlier, there isn't really anything terribly unlikely about pre-Christian heathens doing some kind of rituals that could be described as "purifying" in some sense. It's not uncommon worldwide. It's evident that fire was important in some ritual capacities, such as circling land with fire to claim land (numerous examples including Eyrbyggja, also Landnámabók) and bearing the horn of ale about the fire when toasts are made (saga Hákonar goða). We don't know why they did these things exactly, and something something "purification" is a decent guess, but that doesn't require us to import a whole worldview about the descent of spirit from the highest celestial spheres -- this could easily operate on the same level as don't shit where the elves are, that's gross and rude.

We also certainly have reason to believe there were ritual preparations in a very general sense, like the völva in Eiríks saga rauða eating a heart from every animal on the farm, and it isn't far-fetched to imagine a trip to the sauna or bathhouse or hot spring ahead of a ritual or especially as treatment for illness, and that could have been conceived as driving out bad spirits or substances. Yet, again, we can explain all this without deferring to Greece and Rome. We know Norse people believed in parts of the self that are not embodied in flesh, but that doesn't mean they were immaterial or supernatural in the original sense of being "beyond" or "above" nature.

But anyway, going back to the original question, but keeping all of this in mind. No, we have no ancient songs telling us that Zeus Óðinn won't accept sacrifices that were made without us being spiritually purified first. If a heathen wants to argue that, they're going to have to actually argue for it, not just take it for granted. Personally, I don't buy it. It sounds to me like a good way to make sure that contact with the deities is limited to a select group of people performing to a certain standard of respectability. I also don't worship transcendental, unchanging, unerring gods any more than I have a pure, immortal, transcendent soul. I do believe in maintaining good relations with people, including (but not limited to) non-embodied people, and some of them might prefer if I not smell like shit, so that can be a way to show respect but that's a matter of maintaining those relations as in the case of Eyrbyggja saga. If they could negotiate the standards to maintain the holiness of the place then there aren't fixed, eternal, unchanging rules.

I drew on "Purity and Danger in Earliest Iceland" by Kevin Wanner and the aforementioned Miasma: Pollution and Purification in Early Greek Religion by Robert Parker.