#using audio from ATLA

[toonzxy]

TMNT 2003 Seaon 7 Donatello’s Arc is something I will never recover from

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Kickstarting a book to end enshittification, because Amazon will not carry it

My next book is The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation: it’s a Big Tech disassembly manual that explains how to disenshittify the web and bring back the old good internet. The hardcover comes from Verso on Sept 5, but the audiobook comes from me — because Amazon refuses to sell my audio:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/doctorow/the-internet-con-how-to-seize-the-means-of-computation

Amazon owns Audible, the monopoly audiobook platform that controls >90% of the audio market. They require mandatory DRM for every book sold, locking those books forever to Amazon’s monopoly platform. If you break up with Amazon, you have to throw away your entire audiobook library.

That’s a hell of a lot of leverage to hand to any company, let alone a rapacious monopoly that ran a program targeting small publishers called “Project Gazelle,” where execs were ordered to attack indie publishers “the way a cheetah would pursue a sickly gazelle”:

https://www.businessinsider.com/sadistic-amazon-treated-book-sellers-the-way-a-cheetah-would-pursue-a-sickly-gazelle-2013-10

[Image ID: Journalist and novelist Doctorow (Red Team Blues) details a plan for how to break up Big Tech in this impassioned and perceptive manifesto….Doctorow’s sense of urgency is contagious -Publishers Weekly]

I won’t sell my work with DRM, because DRM is key to the enshittification of the internet. Enshittification is why the old, good internet died and became “five giant websites filled with screenshots of the other four” (h/t Tom Eastman). When a tech company can lock in its users and suppliers, it can drain value from both sides, using DRM and other lock-in gimmicks to keep their business even as they grow ever more miserable on the platform.

Here is how platforms die: first, they are good to their users; then they abuse their users to make things better for their business customers; finally, they abuse those business customers to claw back all the value for themselves. Then, they die:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/21/potemkin-ai/#hey-guys

[Image ID: A brilliant barn burner of a book. Cory is one of the sharpest tech critics, and he shows with fierce clarity how our computational future could be otherwise -Kate Crawford, author of The Atlas of AI”]

The Internet Con isn’t just an analysis of where enshittification comes from: it’s a detailed, shovel-ready policy prescription for halting enshittification, throwing it into reverse and bringing back the old, good internet.

How do we do that? With interoperability: the ability to plug new technology into those crapulent, decaying platform. Interop lets you choose which parts of the service you want and block the parts you don’t (think of how an adblocker lets you take the take-it-or-leave “offer” from a website and reply with “How about nah?”):

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/07/adblocking-how-about-nah

But interop isn’t just about making platforms less terrible — it’s an explosive charge that demolishes walled gardens. With interop, you can leave a social media service, but keep talking to the people who stay. With interop, you can leave your mobile platform, but bring your apps and media with you to a rival’s service. With interop, you can break up with Amazon, and still keep your audiobooks.

So, if interop is so great, why isn’t it everywhere?

Well, it used to be. Interop is how Microsoft became the dominant operating system:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/06/adversarial-interoperability-reviving-elegant-weapon-more-civilized-age-slay

[Image ID: Nobody gets the internet-both the nuts and bolts that make it hum and the laws that shaped it into the mess it is-quite like Cory, and no one’s better qualified to deliver us a user manual for fixing it. That’s The Internet Con: a rousing, imaginative, and accessible treatise for correcting our curdled online world. If you care about the internet, get ready to dedicate yourself to making interoperability a reality. -Brian Merchant, author of Blood in the Machine]

It’s how Apple saved itself from Microsoft’s vicious campaign to destroy it:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/06/adversarial-interoperability-reviving-elegant-weapon-more-civilized-age-slay

Every tech giant used interop to grow, and then every tech giant promptly turned around and attacked interoperators. Every pirate wants to be an admiral. When Big Tech did it, that was progress; when you do it back to Big Tech, that’s piracy. The tech giants used their monopoly power to make interop without permission illegal, creating a kind of “felony contempt of business model” (h/t Jay Freeman).

The Internet Con describes how this came to pass, but, more importantly, it tells us how to fix it. It lays out how we can combine different kinds of interop requirements (like the EU’s Digital Markets Act and Massachusetts’s Right to Repair law) with protections for reverse-engineering and other guerrilla tactics to create a system that is strong without being brittle, hard to cheat on and easy to enforce.

What’s more, this book explains how to get these policies: what existing legislative, regulatory and judicial powers can be invoked to make them a reality. Because we are living through the Great Enshittification, and crises erupt every ten seconds, and when those crises occur, the “good ideas lying around” can move from the fringes to the center in an eyeblink:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/12/only-a-crisis/#lets-gooooo

[Image ID: Thoughtfully written and patiently presented, The Internet Con explains how the promise of a free and open internet was lost to predatory business practices and the rush to commodify every aspect of our lives. An essential read for anyone that wants to understand how we lost control of our digital spaces and infrastructure to Silicon Valley’s tech giants, and how we can start fighting to get it back. -Tim Maughan, author of INFINITE DETAIL]

After all, we’ve known Big Tech was rotten for years, but we had no idea what to do about it. Every time a Big Tech colossus did something ghastly to millions or billions of people, we tried to fix the tech company. There’s no fixing the tech companies. They need to burn. The way to make users safe from Big Tech predators isn’t to make those predators behave better — it’s to evacuate those users:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/18/urban-wildlife-interface/#combustible-walled-gardens

I’ve been campaigning for human rights in the digital world for more than 20 years; I’ve been EFF’s European Director, representing the public interest at the EU, the UN, Westminster, Ottawa and DC. This is the subject I’ve devoted my life to, and I live my principles. I won’t let my books be sold with DRM, which means that Audible won’t carry my audiobooks. My agent tells me that this decision has cost me enough money to pay off my mortgage and put my kid through college. That’s a price I’m willing to pay if it means that my books aren’t enshittification bait.

But not selling on Audible has another cost, one that’s more important to me: a lot of readers prefer audiobooks and 9 out of 10 of those readers start and end their searches on Audible. When they don’t find an author there, they assume no audiobook exists, period. It got so bad I put up an audiobook on Amazon — me, reading an essay, explaining how Audible rips off writers and readers. It’s called “Why None of My Audiobooks Are For Sale on Audible”:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/07/25/can-you-hear-me-now/#acx-ripoff

[Image ID: Doctorow has been thinking longer and smarter than anyone else I know about how we create and exchange value in a digital age. -Douglas Rushkoff, author of Present Shock]

To get my audiobooks into readers’ ears, I pre-sell them on Kickstarter. This has been wildly successful, both financially and as a means of getting other prominent authors to break up with Amazon and use crowdfunding to fill the gap. Writers like Brandon Sanderson are doing heroic work, smashing Amazon’s monopoly:

https://www.brandonsanderson.com/guest-editorial-cory-doctorow-is-a-bestselling-author-but-audible-wont-carry-his-audiobooks/

And to be frank, I love audiobooks, too. I swim every day as physio for a chronic pain condition, and I listen to 2–3 books/month on my underwater MP3 player, disappearing into an imaginary world as I scull back and forth in my public pool. I’m able to get those audiobooks on my MP3 player thanks to Libro.fm, a DRM-free store that supports indie booksellers all over the world:

https://blog.libro.fm/a-qa-with-mark-pearson-libro-fm-ceo-and-co-founder/

Producing my own audiobooks has been a dream. Working with Skyboat Media, I’ve gotten narrators like @wilwheaton​, Amber Benson, @neil-gaiman​ and Stefan Rudnicki for my work:

https://craphound.com/shop/

[Image ID: “This book is the instruction manual Big Tech doesn’t want you to read. It deconstructs their crummy products, undemocratic business models, rigged legal regimes, and lies. Crack this book and help build something better. -Astra Taylor, author of Democracy May Not Exist, but We’ll Miss It When Its Gone”]

But for this title, I decided that I would read it myself. After all, I’ve been podcasting since 2006, reading my own work aloud every week or so, even as I traveled the world and gave thousands of speeches about the subject of this book. I was excited (and a little trepedatious) at the prospect, but how could I pass up a chance to work with director Gabrielle de Cuir, who has directed everyone from Anne Hathaway to LeVar Burton to Eric Idle?

Reader, I fucking nailed it. I went back to those daily recordings fully prepared to hate them, but they were good — even great (especially after my engineer John Taylor Williams mastered them). Listen for yourself!

https://archive.org/details/cory_doctorow_internet_con_chapter_01

I hope you’ll consider backing this Kickstarter. If you’ve ever read my free, open access, CC-licensed blog posts and novels, or listened to my podcasts, or come to one of my talks and wished there was a way to say thank you, this is it. These crowdfunders make my DRM-free publishing program viable, even as audiobooks grow more central to a writer’s income and even as a single company takes over nearly the entire audiobook market.

Backers can choose from the DRM-free audiobook, DRM-free ebook (EPUB and MOBI) and a hardcover — including a signed, personalized option, fulfilled through the great LA indie bookstore Book Soup:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/doctorow/the-internet-con-how-to-seize-the-means-of-computation

What’s more, these ebooks and audiobooks are unlike any you’ll get anywhere else because they are sold without any terms of service or license agreements. As has been the case since time immemorial, when you buy these books, they’re yours, and you are allowed to do anything with them that copyright law permits — give them away, lend them to friends, or simply read them with any technology you choose.

As with my previous Kickstarters, backers can get their audiobooks delivered with an app (from libro.fm) or as a folder of MP3s. That helps people who struggle with “sideloading,” a process that Apple and Google have made progressively harder, even as they force audiobook and ebook sellers to hand over a 30% app tax on every dollar they make:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/doctorow/red-team-blues-another-audiobook-that-amazon-wont-sell/posts/3788112

Enshittification is rotting every layer of the tech stack: mobile, payments, hosting, social, delivery, playback. Every tech company is pulling the rug out from under us, using the chokepoints they built between audiences and speakers, artists and fans, to pick all of our pockets.

The Internet Con isn’t just a lament for the internet we lost — it’s a plan to get it back. I hope you’ll get a copy and share it with the people you love, even as the tech platforms choke off your communities to pad their quarterly numbers.

Next weekend (Aug 4-6), I'll be in Austin for Armadillocon, a science fiction convention, where I'm the Guest of Honor:

https://armadillocon.org/d45/

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/31/seize-the-means-of-computation/#the-internet-con

[Image ID: My forthcoming book 'The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation' in various editions: Verso hardcover, audiobook displayed on a phone, and ebook displayed on an e-ink reader.]

[yurozo]

what could have been (chris redfield oneshot)

description: chris made the biggest mistake of his life letting you walk out of it, and he's determined to make it right this time.

a/n: there really isn't enough fanfic about chris redfield and i am more than determined to change that. this man is sooo underappreciated. about: gn!reader/little physical description/no use of y/n. fluff, with very minor angsts, and a few mentions of in-canon violence.

it was an unsettling thing to walk away from you. but that was the way it always worked— you went one way while he went the other. a research laboratory on the other side of the city beckoned you over, studying accessible cures to viruses that chris had dedicated his life to eradicating. ever intertwined, despite the miles between you at all times.

on the other hand, chris spent his time travelling from place to place, never truly settling in washington due to the unbidden fear of having to leave it again. familiarity was a privilege unbeknownst to him, the mortal atlas condemned to carrying the world on his shoulders. he could at least enjoy knowing that if you ever needed a place, you would know where it was. and despite everything, he was rather proud of the way he matured. he was more fit than he was back in s.t.a.r.s- not entirely of his own accord, mind you- and eons more responsible.

watching every person you've ever cared about lose that twinkle in their eye did that to people.

and he didn't hate his job, contrary to popular belief. founding the b.s.a.a is among his crowning achievements, and allowed him to enact some real change. along with paying him a decent salary.

he supposed, bioweapons notwithstanding, that adulthood had changed him. long gone is the foul-mouthed air force pilot, and in its place stood a true soldier. safe and solid, protecting and proud. it was more so the person he imagined you would be into, someone dependable that could protect you if the need arose. truth be told, everything he did back in the s.t.a.r.s was with a side glance in your direction, desperately hoping you were watching him the same way he was secretly watching you.

the two of you kept minimal contact throughout the years, limited to the occasional 'how are you' and 'work's been good'. you always let him know of any major life changes, and he always contacted you after a mission, however brief, to sate your anxieties of whether or not to look for his name in an obituary. you pointedly never mentioned your dating life, but the very thought of someone vying for your attention made chris a little sick to his stomach.

call him possessive, call him crazy, for helplessly pining for a girl who was just slightly nicer to him than everyone else at the police department. what he did know is that the only suppression to that boiling feeling in his gut was the unbridled joy that filled him whenever he saw your contact name show up in his notifications. an indicator that you thought of him, however briefly.

in some parallel universe, he would be standing outside your balcony playing some queen song with terrible audio on an even shittier boombox, and you would be awed and wooed by his grand romantic gesture. you would run down from the balcony and plant one on him, and he would swing you around in his arms and there would be nothing but the two of you. no bioweapons, no blood staining his hands, no nightmares about finding you dead in the middle of a ruined city. but he lived in this world, where he was too old and too tired to indulge in those fantasies.

he was a man. he was also a soldier, and therefore, a realist.

so, when you texted him about being in the washington area and wanting to meet up for a day, chris had spent two days drawing three viable conclusions.

1.) this was an elaborate dream made up by a combat-addled mind to live out some younger, unbridled fantasy of his,

2.) this was a cruel prank by some twisted fuck that somehow knew how much he clung to you over the years,

3.) the final, and least likely conclusion: that there was some part of you that missed him as much as he missed you.

he wants to cross the third one off by instinct, but something in his heart adamantly refuses. that sparkling hope in his chest is something he's not particularly looking to stamp out just yet, so he chooses to simply let it burn until it probably would just consume him entirely. by the time he reaches the bar you both agreed on meeting at, he's been so wrapped up in determining your motivations that he's caught entirely unprepared by the sight of you.

you were sitting there, chin in your hands as you mindlessly tapped on the glass in front of you. probably waiting for a while, given your propensity for being unbearably early to social gatherings. you always did have a distaste for tardiness, even if chris was technically five minutes early. the same endearing furrow in your brow makes chris falter in his steps, taking a moment to truly absorb you for the first time in years.

fuck, you were gorgeous. the kind that had other tripping over themselves just to bask in your presence. hell, chris was one of them. always had been.

that same simmering boil of jealousy that used to arise every time that he watched some civilian lean over the reception desk, speaking to you in hushed tones as they preened in your attention, sparks to a roaring fire. he has to remind himself that things are different now; you had lived a whole other life without him, and he's had to learn to survive without you.

he briefly entertains the thought that his absence affected you in the same way. this gnawing feeling that something vital to his very being was lost somewhere in the wreckage of raccoon city.

your face had matured over the years too— jaw set a little sharper, eyes a little duller, the faint lines of age beginning to appear on your skin. you're still gazing somewhere far away by the time he musters up the courage to approach the table, hesitant like you'll reach over the table and sink your teeth into his arm like a-

no. bad chris. no talking shop here.

you don't seem to notice him as he approaches, still staring down at the table like it will speak to you if you glare at it long enough.

"seem lost in thought." chris gives you the most dazzling smile he can muster, full of charm eased by age. while his body language is casual as he slides into the booth next to you, his mind has gone blissfully blank.

your thigh is touching his. oh god, you're wrapping your arms around him before he can think of something suave to say. your action is immediately reciprocated by strong arms pulling you closer, tucking you into his chest like he wants you to live in it forever.

god, he fucking missed this. seeing you, touching you with a familiarity he thought was long lost.

"i missed you," you murmur, letting your cheek smush into his collarbone.

"missed you too," he laughs, bright and warm. all the tension from his job immediately eases in your hold, and he lets himself squeeze you tighter and tighter, like a serpent desperately trying to stay out of the damnation of hell.

"jesus, chris. you got huge."

chris frowns as you pull back from him and start squeezing his arms appreciatively. he has no choice but to let you manhandle him, silently relishing in the way your eyes trace across the contours of his body. he is proud of it, even if he hates the reason why he felt the need to train this much in the first place.

the only way to stop wesker, to try and make the fight on level terms. he never told you about that either, keeping the details concise, knowing that you would have gotten on the first place to washington if you heard his plans of hunting their former boss. you had once admired the captain the same way chris did, and the knowledge of what had to happen would have crushed you.

that shoulder of burden can lay squarely on him.

"you know how it is," he answers instead, taking a sip from your glass. something sugary and way too sweet for his taste. "work never stops."

"tell me about it." the glass is then swapped to your hands. "i'm pretty sure i've huffed enough chemicals to send me to an early grave."

if anyone is going to rot eight feet below the earth soon, he thinks, it's most definitely not going to be you. he's been running from that ticking clock for far too many years.

"but you do good work." he grins, waving down a bartender and ordering a simple whiskey. on the rocks, top shelf, because he's a classy guy.

"we do good work." you remind him.

"fine." he concedes, hunching slightly over the table. "we're both patron saints."

a bright smile is what he gets in response, one that has his heart stuttering and tripping over in his chest. he can't help but give you a slightly goofy one in return. everything feels like as it should be. you're here, alive, and he is here, slightly less alive but feeling like he's finally able to breathe.

—

in retrospect, three-drink chris was probably not the best choice for tonight. one-drink chris is a little chattier than usual, but still relatively normal. two-drink chris loves music, always tapping his feet or bobbing his head to whatever song is playing. and three-drink chris might just be the most impulsive person on the planet.

the entire time you drive him home, which you insist on, chris has his head turned to you with the most obviously love-struck look in his eyes. the entire world around him seems to dull to a faint hum, instead focusing on that frustrating smile of yours as you recount some time that a coworker of yours accidentally put whatever chemical in something solution, causing a lab-wide evacuation.

like he said, impulsive. no more little voice in his head warning him to be subtle.

no more voices in his head screaming the songs of the damned.

he's honestly only half-listening. and only half-paying attention it seems, because you give him a questioning look when the car pulls into his driveway and he makes no move to get out. a nervous laugh escapes him then, breaking the awkward silence in your car like a clap of thunder.

"this was nice," you say eventually, lips upturned in a sort of half-smile. endearing, even cute.

"it was," he nods, trying desperately to keep this moment going as long as it can. just the thought of leaving you again after spending years drowning in the emptiness gives him a headache. chris spent enough time dawdling around like an idiot, going so far as to refuse to change phone numbers in the small chance you would never contact him again.

you're picking at your nails during his internal monologue, that same worried pinch forming between your brows. you're, once again, the one to break the silence. "chris, i-"

his lips are on yours then. thick hands curled around your neck, keeping you in place for one second, then two, then three.

his eyes are still squeezed shut when he pulls away.

"fuck," he whispers, jolting back like you had slapped him. "i'm sorry, i just have wanted to do that for a while, and i couldn't let you go away again without doing something."

"chris."

"i know it was stupid, and impulsive," he keeps going, purposefully avoiding eye contact. "i didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, i just-

"chris," the stern tone of your voice is enough to make him stop mid-ramble, peering up at you hopefully. you only laugh in response, before raising your hand to the nape of his neck. his hair is longer than you remember it being. just another way he's changed.

"yeah." he sighs, defeated. just another part of his life that he's royally fucked up. another friend he's going to lose, and this time it's not to circumstances out of his control. not because of bloodshed or shitty calls. this one is purely on him, because he really does lose all sense around you.

instead of slapping him, or yelling at him, like he expects you to— you take pity on him. "are you going to shut the hell up and kiss me?"

there's another long stretch of silence then, the only sign that chris even heard you is the glimmer of hope twinkling in his eye.

"fuck yeah, i am." he smiles, before pulling you into him again.

[collectingsorrows444]

Atlas’s Audio File 02: Vienna

Part Two (part one, part three)

(Operation Ichor AU! By @slumbrr-r! Go check them out :D )

(This is a tale told by Atlas Moss, sibling of Kiran Moss, about Vienna. There will be repeated parts and missing pieces because this is from Atlas’s perspective and their retelling of the story.)

The winter seeped through the ground, and I think I remember hearing one of security running towards me.

The winter

slowed.

The winter was gone,

yes,

but It was still again.

It was lingering.

It was dormant.

It was still.

It was waiting.

I don’t know what It was waiting for.

It killed my brother already.

What more did It want?

I could still hear his heart,

It was fading.

I remember screaming and kicking,

Yelling at the person to let me go

To let me check on my brother

Despite knowing

the winter would come for me too

….

I remember Vienna telling me I could have his shawl from when he retired from the strike teams.

It felt kind of heavy, but the comforting kind,

the fake coins jingling at the ends and the beaded hemming.

I could feel every row of color, he told me that I could.

The coins sounded like jingle bells,

A sound that I’ve grown to associate with joy and cleansing

He sounded so upset, like he gave up.

He gave up his most important piece of clothing to me.

He gave up part of his identity to me.

….

Kiran and I had to bury him.

His body was cold, and winter seemed to die with him.

His heart beating is gone, and has been for those hours.

We buried him with what we could.

I know Kiran knows about the winter now.

Kiran still beats herself up over it.

I remember hearing her cries and her holding me tightly every night,

telling me that she’s sorry for not knowing,

That she should’ve known

That she should’ve taken more time to be with Vienna

That it was her fault for leaving me alone when it occurred

I don’t blame, Kiran.

I don’t blame my sister.

Kiran was busy in the forge that day.

She couldn’t have known.

She doesn’t know until it’s too late,

how was she supposed to know that it was happening?

I feel like I should’ve said something.

I knew the winter was there when he first collapsed.

I should’ve said something—

I should’ve said something about it.

But I was so sure he would make it.

He usually did.

And I now I wear his shawl—

Still smelling like him despite so many washes.

I wear it as a mark of a new start for him

For Kiran.

For all of us.

Vienna.

If you’re truly still here,

like how you said that everyone is,

are you proud of me?

I passed my exams.

I made it into a strike team.

I made some new friends

they’re all so cool

and they understand me

And I got to know some of the older folks

they’re awesome as well.

I figured out my ability,

It’s called ‘Medusa’.

It’s similar to yours

but not as cool sounding as the name ‘Sound Seamstress’.

I’m sorry.

You probably didn’t want me to be in danger.

You probably wanted me to be a part of the research team or medic.

But I want to be just like you,

fighting to protect others.

fighting for a better tomorrow.

I’ll make you proud.

I’ll make you and Kiran proud.

I’ll make you both proud of me.

I promise.

I swear on it.

[END OF AUDIO FILES NAMED: VIENNA]

“Pullin' your face close, wanting the inmost

Show me I'm not afraid of you now

I'm not afraid of you now

Villain and violent, infant and innocent

Baby, both arms cradle you now

Both arms cradle you now”

[an-spideog]

haigh a chara tá siúl agam go bhfuil tú ceart go leor! i was wondering do you know any resources for learning Gaelainn? despite being from munster, in school we just learnt standard irish, but id really love to learn more munster irish. is breá liom do bhlag btw tá sé an-cabhrach <3

Míle baochas :) I do indeed know several resources, I made use of a lot of them lol, there's kind of two categories - Stuff about the dialect and stuff in the dialect. I'll start with 'about'.

Info about West Munster Irish

There's only 1 modern textbook I know of which teaches munster Irish, and it's kind of a rough read lol. This is Teach Yourself Irish (1961) (audio). The book is really really dense, one paragraph will contain a lot of information, and that can make it pretty easy to miss things, but it's still a very useful book - and much easier to use if you already have some Irish. It teaches Cork Irish but Cork and Kerry are quite similar (Kerry has a stronger Gaeltacht though so you're more likely to hear Kerry Irish). This book also has a weird transcription system for how to pronounce words, ignore it, learn the sounds of the language separately, and listen to the recordings that come with the book. Their system is buckwild and nobody else uses it.

You should also skip the sections labeled "rules for aspiration" and "rules for eclipsis", rather than reading them right at the start and use them as a reference if you ever need to.

An Teanga Bheo - Corca Dhuibhne is a great book to get some knowledge on Kerry Irish as long as you can read Irish pretty well, since it describes lots of the important features. But it's a reference text and an overview, not a textbook. If you don't feel that comfortable reading in Irish or want to be able to search, you can use this online translation

Shameless plug, I talk about Munster Irish on my youtube channel, and I try and share info which people wouldn't find easily otherwise, new video maybe out this weekend maybe. An Loingseach on youtube - He sometimes gets bogged down in the linguistic weeds and doesn't edit his videos at all lol, but he knows his stuff.

There's a blog called corkirish.com and it has some useful info on it but the guy who used to run it is an awful shitter, I'm hoping that with more other people sharing resources we can make that blog irrelevant.

If you're at all interested in linguistics, there's more technical books describing the dialect which can be useful as references.

The Irish of West Muskerry - This is a book talking about the pronunciation of Cork Irish, in English, but using a lot of phonetic terms and symbols. Quite useful if you know how to read them.

Gaeilge Chorca Dhuibhne - This is a book talking about the pronunciation and structure of Kerry Irish, in Irish, again using a lot of linguistic terminology. This one will be getting an updated English version at some point soon, hopefully.

The Linguistic Atlas and Survey of Irish Dialects (LASID) is a series of books showing the results of surveys where they went around to different Irish speaking regions and asked them what words they'd use for specific things, it gives you really cool maps like this: (Showing you how "Gaeilic" is used in donegal, "Gaeilge" is used in Galway, and "Gaelainn" is used in Kerry)

This map is actually from a web version of the first book which is quite handy. The second book isn't available as a site but there are pdfs and it only focuses on munster so you can see some differences with in munster.

Stuff in the Dialect

Things to Read

We're probably the luckiest in terms of things to read when studying the Munster Dialect because there have been so many authors, and so many authors who write very dialectally. So a lot of munster features you see very prominently in writing.

Books by Maidhc Dainín Ó Sé (a lot of fiction as well as one autobiography)

Books by Peig Sayers (There's school editions of at least her main book (Peig), try to avoid those and find the dialectal version in a library (Peig - a scéal féin), and she has written other books)

Books by Pádraig Ó Cíobháin (I haven't read any of these yet personally and I've heard they can be quite hard by nature of being very poetic and sometimes abstract)

Fiche Blian ag Fás by Muiris Ó Súilleabháin (similar to Peig, this is autobiographical)

Books by Tomás Ó Criomhthain (similar to Peig and MÓS these are autobiographical)

Books by Peadar Ua Laoghaire (Fiction, these are quite old - 100 years - and that can make them more difficult, but they can be pretty good)

Béaloideas and Dúchas.ie - these ones are harder to read than the others for various reasons but can often be a lot more interesting. Béaloideas is a journal of Irish folklore which you can find on JSTOR for free, and dúchas.ie has typed and handwritten stories collected in ireland, overlapping with Béaloideas to some extent. They can be harder to understand since sometimes the writing is intentionally over-dialectal to preserve the traits, but it's often more interesting since you can find fun little stories about different things. Stories from these collections are also sometimes put into smaller books or collections. (Béaloideas ó Chléire, an Seanchaidhe Muimhneach) you can usually find those books on Archive.org

Things to Listen To

Beo ar Éigean - Chatty podcast, one of the hosts has kerry Irish

Saol Ó Dheas - Munster Gaeltacht news show, not the most interesting if you don't live in the munster gaeltacht but there's a lot of it and the host has really good Irish, so you can focus on that even if the stories aren't gripping lol

Cartlann Bhóthar na Léinsí - Munster Archive show, they pull out older recordings of even more traditional speakers, and the host has very good Irish too, the older recordings are quite challenging to understand, but can be good.

Things to Watch

Seal le Dáithí - Talk show on TG4, host has Kerry Irish

Ros na Rún - Some of the characters have Munster Irish, it's a minority though

What did I do?

This isn't necessarily a guide, it's just what I did specifically.

After learning standardy Irish at school, I started talking to people on discord (Craic le Gaeilge and Celtic Languages), this was really helpful because I got to talk to a lot of knowledgeable people and get conversation practice even without being near to Irish speaking areas or events.

I also started listening to Beo Ar Éigean to practice my listening. I stuck to standard for a little while here and got to grips with basic grammar stuff because I was focusing on exams and stuff, but eventually I was taken with Munster Irish because some of the people I talked to a lot used it and because I liked synthetic forms. So I started working through Teach Yourself Irish with the help of people on discord, and that gave me a good basis in munster specific grammar and forms. From there I asked lots of questions (v important) and read the Irish of West Muskerry because I'm a nerd, wouldn't really recommend this if you're not that interested but it is kind of fun if you are. That helped me get a better understanding of Irish pronunciation (and spelling as a result of that). (I also read Peig at some point here) After that I started listening to a lot of Irish, trying to do at least 2 hours a day over one summer. An Saol Ó Dheas every day on my commute to work, and other stuff too, just trying to get as much exposure as I could. I use the host, Helen Ní Shé as my "language parent" - that is, I try to model my speech after hers. And currently I'm still focusing on just getting more and more exposure, and I've been reading more books in Irish.

[madamudeeaaarr]

astroboy 2003 the ramblings

So i convinced two of my friends to watch astroboy 2003 with me and here are some of my highlights and ramblings.

we saw the dub version of our country (brasil) which unfortunately lacks a lot of original context and scenes from the original anime, with that said we still had a lot of fun despite the lack of content in some places, mostly thanks to the voice acting and the adaptation done with the material that the voice actors had.

Note : currently I'm still watching the subtitled version and the extra materials so I can catch most of the content that I might be missing.

The voice acting is quite aggressive and ironic at some moments and we love every second of it.

We are all pinning for tenma. (Ochanomizu too)

We want to give Atom some clothes because he looks adorable with them.

My friend gave Uran a gun.

We actually really liked some of the secondary or episode only characters and some of my friend's complaints were about wanting to see more from them,especially Atom's friends which i agree and i did want to see more from tamao and Shibugaki individually in a similar way to what we got from the microbear episode.

we didn´t saw the denko episode thanks to it not being avaliable in the dub version, i have no idea why is that and this also created a problem while viewing the intro & backstory for atlas/daishi, the translation changed too much of the dialogue and this combined with the editing mad everything really unclear for us.

Pluto's arc probably has the same problem.

“He has a pimp's car.” - me seeing tenma's car

“Tenma is kind of a chad.” My friend.

We stan tawashi.

i have a unreasonoble love for tamao and i want the best for the lil guy.

“Please don't kill off atlas again.” my friend seeing Atlas about to be kill for the 3° time.

“2000s anime girl.” Friend about Epsilon.

"i don't blame the blue knight." friend about blue knight.

At some point the dubious website we are using was out of air so we watched the 2009 movie with an audio modifier.

For context this movie is still remember was some random pirate DVD movie most of us 2000 kids saw that for some reason has a tv host providing the voice for atom, is really bizarre but at least is very hilarious thanks to the memes we count use during our watch which included bass boosting the audio when tobio dies.

"noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo" friends seeing the robot on the volcano flashback.

we finish our watch with a made up amv because one of us was playing linkin park on twitter and he decided to play it over the opening of the show, it sycronizes for whatever reason and is funny af because the op is too happy.

end of ramble

art from Luna

[geoxstxrs]

EDIT REQUEST ARE OPEN !!!!!!

send me your favorite ship from either Ninjago, Dreamzzz, Monkie kid, or ATLA / TLOK and the audio you want me to use (I will NOT do weird age gaps, timecest, garmacest, or incest in general, or anything I’m not comfortable with

[rw-the-twins]

Hey, how long have you two been out here? I think the rain's coming.

[AUDIO ID: A siren sounds in the distance.

"Oh come on!" Brook yells, "Where's a shelter around here?"

"This way, come on!" Atlas responds, the two seeming to run towards a pipe.

After a brief muffling of the audio, Atlas is heard bursting out of the pipe, the air rushing past his head as he looks around.

"No no no no, where is it!? IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE HERE!"

"Atlas, stay calm."

"How the hell am I supposed to stay calm!? THERE'S SUPPOSED TO BE A SHELTER HERE!"

"Are you sure we aren't in the wrong room?"

"I-I don't know..."

Suddenly, there's a gasp of surprise from Brook, as something apparently enters the room.

"Suns? Why is one of your overseers following us?"

"Oh, fuck it! They're leading us down here, let's go!"

The two run through another pipe, a thunderous crashing starting behind them.

"Up there!"

"I see it, but we don't have a pole to climb up!"

"Use the spear, Atlas!"

There's a woosh of air, followed by a dull thunk.

"There, now boost me up."

Atlas lets the device clatter to the floor, running over to where Brook seemingly is.

"Alright, there you go!" Atlas says with a yell of effort.

"Go get whatever that thing we've been carrying around is, and grab onto my paw!"

Atlas runs over, scooping it up. The crashing of rain gets closer.

"Grab on!"

As the twins barely make it through the pipe in time, the rain starts to batter the ground below them, and water rapidly floods the area.

"That... was close." Brook says as the shelter closes. ]

[theinquisitxor]

January 2024 Reading Wrap

First wrap up of the new year! I read 8 books this month, and I'd say it was a strong reading month overall. I read some new releases, caught up or finished series, and read some good stuff! I read 6 fantasy books, 1 nonfiction, and 1 regular fiction. 6 books I read physical copies, and 2 audiobooks.

1.A Winter's Promise (Mirror Visitor Quartet 1) by Christelle Dabos. 3/5 stars. This is a book I've been wanting to read since before it was translated into English. This book didn't quite live up to the expectations I had of it, but I still overall enjoyed it. I plan to continue the series, possibly quarterly. Young adult fantasy.

2. A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft. 4.5/5 stars. Another great Allison Saft book, and this one is possibly my favorite so far. This is exactly my type of fantasy romance and I was very invested in reading this. It's about a young magical seamstress who is commissioned to make the royal wedding clothes for the kingdom's prince. Young adult fantasy.

3.Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard. 3/5 stars. This was a fun read, but not the most exciting or great as it had the potential to be. The story has a fun cast of characters, and enjoyable world, but not a whole lot happened in this book. I can def see Aveyard's LOTR inspirations in this. I plan on continuing this series soon.

4.The Atlas Complex by Olivie Blake. 2/5 stars. This was a disappointing end to a series and was very lackluster and fell apart at the end. Disappointing because of how much I loved book 2. There were some redeeming moments, but much of this book felt unnecessary or frustrating. Adult fantasy.

5.Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. 5/5 stars. This is a collection of essays by the author about the world around us, life, nature, and the way we interact with the world. Absolutely my new favorite thing and much of Kimmerer's teachings in the book resonate with me very deeply. Read on audio- which I highly recommend. Nature/essays.

6.Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands (Emily Wilde 2) by Heather Fawcett. 5/5 stars. This was just as good as book 1, and I loved the new adventure and learning more about fairies. Emily and Wendall are my favorite, and I can't wait to see how this series concludes.

7.Beartown (Beartown 1) by Fredrik Backman 4.5/5 stars. I read this book in less than 24 hours and it emotionally abused me throughout. I'm late to the game in regards to this book (no pun intended) but I'm glad I finally read it. Backman never disappoints, and I plan to continue the series soon. Fiction.

8. Mislaid in Parts Half-Known (Wayward Children 9) by Seanan McGuire. 4/5 stars. This felt like the continuation of Antsy's story from book 8, but with some of our main cast of characters on a new quest. Very enjoyable and another solid installment in the series. Is the last time we see the "main cast?". Read on audio. Fantasy.

That's it for January! I am currently reading my TBR Pick of the Month, The Throne of the Five Winds, but I am only still in the first half of the book, so I will have to finish it up for Feb. I also started a new nonfiction audiobook, but am still in the first half of that as well.

February TBR:

finish The Throne of the Five Winds by SC Emmett

Crescent City 3

Nonfiction Audiobook (finish)

Blade Breaker by Victoria Aveyard

The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden

What Feasts at Night by T Kingfisher

TBR Pick of the month

Us Against You by Fredrik Backman (?)

[rokuweek]

Rules, Guidelines, (pretty much anything you need to know) for Roku Week 2024!

Prompts ✦ AO3 Collection ✦ Asks/FAQ

As Roku Week 2024 comes closer and closer, here are some rules, guidelines, and everything you need to know for this event!

Don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions, comments, or concerns that may not be addressed under the cut!

HOW TO PARTICIPATE:

Just create something about Roku! Whether it's fanart, fanfic, edits, headcanons, meta, poetry, analysis, gifs (gifsets if you're feeling fancy) - anything and everything you can think of is welcome! Following the prompts is encouraged, but if you're really inspired by something outside of the prompt list, that's cool too!

Please use the tags #rokuweek and #rokuweek2024, as they will be tracked! You can also mention this tumblr, rokuweek, in your submissions if you want to be extra sure it gets reblogged!

All submissions will be reblogged here by the end of the day. While the tags above won’t be as closely monitored as they will during Roku Week, late submissions are allowed and encouraged! :)

You can also add your submission to the Roku Week 2024 Collection on AO3!

RULES & GUIDELINES:

1. Follow general fandom etiquette. The principles of being kind and respectful of others' works and don't like, don't read apply (for the latter, where applicable). Ship/character bashing will not be tolerated, and most importantly: tag your work properly!

2. Works that have been plagiarized or generated using generative AI will not be allowed.

3. NSFW works will be allowed - provided that any characters involved are consenting adults, and you follow Tumblr's guidelines regarding explicit content. Worst case scenario, you can post your submission elsewhere and just link it here so it can be shared :)

4. Whitewashing, racism, transphobia, homophobia, ableism, sexism and any other forms of bigotry will not be tolerated. However, works that explore these themes (i.e, internalized homophobia) will be accepted, provided they are tagged with the appropriate warnings.

5. All works should primarily be about Roku, but other characters and relationships from the ATLA-verse that may not be from his era are welcome.

6. When posting a work with either visual or audio media, please try to include a description of said work in the post itself or in the ALT text. If you're not sure how to do that, here is a helpful guide all about image descriptions!

7. Have fun! This is supposed to be a fun event celebrating Avatar Roku, not to tear down anyone or anything.

[dianapocalypse]

Hello!! I very rarely use my Tumblr to actually talk about my work, but I figured it was time to make a new pinned post and maybe do a little self plugging.

WHO THE HECK IS DIANAPOCALYPSE?

Owner/Operator of Dianapocalypse Art!

Check out my Art tag!

Co-owner of Nerdification.Media! We're a nerdy production company making nerdy things!

A few of those things include...

Turnabout: An Ace Attorney Musical (Co-producer, Audio Mixer, Key Art, Casting, IndieGoGo campaign management)

Turnabout Musical LIVE (Co-producer, Co-director, Casting)

The ATLA Musical: Book 1 (Composer, additional audio mixing)

Highlights of Songs from the Wild (Co-producer, key art, additional lyrics, casting, Urbosa)

Elisabeth in English (Key art, demo vocals, demo mixing, additional lyrics)

Podcasts such as Masks & Martyrs and It Coulda Been Great which each ran for a full season (Mixing, production, music and sound design, host)

Nice to meet you! Hit me up if you want to make nerdy stuff together that we will never see a cent from!

[takami-takami]

Nosferatu spoilers. Necrophilia. Emeto

Okay.

Um.

Okay.

Watched nosferatu.

Speechless.

I was going to write a post about how this is the worst movie ive ever seen. Like. For the first hour 50 minutes or so. I genuinely did not know if the movie was supposed to be serious or not like i couldnt figure it out genuinely.

Um. Okay. Last 20 minutes. Unm.

Okay. I was ACTUALLY gagging like i literally dry heaved. I looked like this the entire time except with my hands over my face in real life sinking into my chair

Original analysis:

This film Insists on itself. Like the actual tiktok audio. Okay like i get what theyre saying about sin and sex and death and the repression and all that but do i need to watch everyone sucking and fucking each other for an hour to get that. Uhm.

Yeah. The dialogue was not great. It was extremely corny. "You're telling me we have a DEVIL amongst us!? I shall not hear such tales of GHOSTS" type shit.

I. Liked the pigeon. Then they killed the pigeon.

Why is everyone moaning and breathing so much WE GET IT!!!! WE GET IT!!!!!!!! CANNIBALISM AS DEVOTION IS SO TIRED. Why was everyone VOMITING so much like you only need One good vomit scene to really hit.

It was so. Overdone. And like. Artsy. And it kept badgering the same point home. One-note. Could thomas have been shown as scared without being at 100 the entire time?

And I was cringing. Basically. But maybe that because olde british is inherently cringeworthy.

After the necrophiliac scene the movie took a DRASTIC turn and I was literally gagging and not in the Gagged💞🌟 way i mean ACTUALLY GAGGING and dry heaving. My mouth was open the whole time and I was cringing for an entirely different reason. It genuinely became so actually horrific that I was like in actual shock. Which is why i am so speechless rn.

I think i... I think i hated it?

Like, okay, i said this on my side account but nosferatu WISHES he had what old georgie from cloud atlas had. I think part of me selfishly wishes that nosferatu (the character) was actually erotic in some way like old georgie was? But honestly kudos to the director for making someone with a demon kink who has had a thing for fictional iterations of the devil forever actually grossed out by it. Like they genuinely made him AS unfuckable as possible. Which is fair.

Um. The necrophilia scene actually changed my analysis of the movie cuz the rest of the film was like, trying to be symbolic in its meaning too hard. But that scene wasnt.

When they started arguing and then fucked in the middle of it out of nowhere when talking abt nosferatu i almost rolled my eyes like okay whatever man. Ew. We get it.

But i was liveblogging this on bsky and was like "freidrich my beloved the only normal character in this movie" and then the NECROPHILIAC SCENE. WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FYCK

I genuinely think this was one of the worst movies ive ever seen UNTIL the climax to ending of the movie in which I am so baffled and confused that I am speechless. I still think it was one of the worst movies ive ever seen? I think????? Im not sure.

[goldenamaranthe-blog]

The Evolution of Team RWBY

How each member of team RWBY would react when *NSYNC  or Backstreet Boys plays over the radio. Buckle up, Buttercups. This is a long one.

Volumes 1 & 2: Think RWBY Chibi roadtrip

Yang: (totally singing and dancing while driving. Not quite full sending yet, but still dancing with at least one hand on the wheel)

Blake: (reading and trying to ignore Yang’s shenanigans, but is lip syncing the words behind her book)

Weiss: (mortified) “Ugh! Seriously? Ruby, do something about your sister!”

Ruby: “Aw, c’mon, Weiss. It isn’t that ba- OH MY GOD!!! THIS IS THE BEST PART!!!” (copies Yang singing and dancing to the chorus)

Volume 3: pt. 1

Yang: same as 1&2 but purposely serenading Blake as much as possible

Blake: smiling and doing little shoulder bobs with her book in her lap

Ruby: Full send! Dancing like a maniac. Seatbelt is unbuckled and she’s shaking the car at stoplights

Weiss: rolling her eyes but smiling

Volume 3 pt. 2 & 4:

Radio silence

Volume 5: post Weiss and Yang finding each other. 

Weiss: (on Bumblebee - notices the song first and smiles before pretending to be mortified) “Oh, no! Not this song! Whatever will I do?”

Yang: (finally listens and beams) “You can join in some of the fun!” (drives bumblebee in a way that makes it look like the motorcycle is dancing)

Blake: (hears song over Sun’s scroll as he plays it for Kali, and smiles)

Volume 6: While the party is being pulled on a trailer behind bumblebee

Yang: (plugs scroll into bumblebee audio slot) “Alright! Time to shake off that apathy!” (sings and bobs while driving)

Ruby: “Yes!” (stands up in the trailer and dances like a goon)

Maria: “Would you sit down before you throw us all overboard?”

Blake & Weiss: (roll eyes before laughing and doing a synchronized shoulder shake left and right)

Oscar: (clinging to the trailer for dear life as it bounces) “Are they always like this?”

Volume 7: Fun Atlas Montage 

Ruby: Full Send! Jumping up on bunks and dancing like an idiot and singing horribly off-key.

Weiss: Actually dancing along to the music.

Blake: Trying to dance but is only solidifying that she has no rhythm.

Yang: Full dance machine and singing along with the choreography.

Volume 8: 

Radio Silence

Volume 9:

Blake: (plays song on scroll to lighten the mood and pulls Yang to her feet) “Still have a dance for me?

Yang: (gay disaster extraordinaire) “Always!”

Weiss: (rolls eyes fondly) “Brothers, you two definitely went from one end of the spectrum to the other, didn’t you? (joins in the dance party after grabbing Rusted Knight Jaune)

Ruby: (sulking in the corner)

Volume 10: Please Greenlight

Bonus!

After The War: Everyone is back in the car. Yang is driving. Blake is shotgun. Weiss and Ruby are in the back.

Yang: Completely losing her mind as she sings and dances in the driver’s seat. Hands aren’t even on the wheel consistently. Serenading Blake at every chance while holding imaginary microphones to Weiss and Ruby in the back.

Blake: Seatbelt? What seatbelt? Girl actually found some rhythm and is doing full body rolls in her seat while singing and winking back at Yang

Weiss: Singing a perfect harmony to the song while dancing. Her window is rolled down and her arm is waving out in the air like she absolutely does not care.

Ruby: Standing on the backseat so she can stand in the open sunroof and hit that choreographic combo 100%. She still can’t carry a tune in a bucket, but she’s doing her best. 

Team ORNJ parked next to them at the red light doing the exact thing with Nora in the sunroof, Jaune driving, Ren sitting shotgun calmly, and Oscar flopping around like a chicken having a stroke in an attempt to dance.

[collectingsorrows444]

Atlas’s Audio File 01: Vienna

Operation Ichor Au! By @slumbrr-r

Lore drop for you guys 😼

(This is a tale told by Atlas Moss, sibling of Kiran Moss, about Vienna. There will be repeated parts and missing pieces because this is from Atlas’s perspective and their retelling of the story.)

I remember hearing a heart beating, a warmth being pressed against me.

I could hear what they were saying, but I couldn’t make it out.

My sister, I heard her voice first.

She spoke so softly, maybe to me, but it felt like light in my vision of darkness.

She told me my name. Atlas, she told me.

My brother, I heard him make a hum, but I could only imagine it through the movement around me. He was so loud that the silence of this darkness shattered.

Mothers and Fathers weren’t a thing for us.

I think the closest I’ve gotten to a Mother is my older sister, Kiran.

I think the closest I’ve gotten to a Father was my older brother, Vienna.

I remember her holding my hand and pressing hers against the palm of it, or even sometimes above my heart on my chest.

I’ve grown to recognize them as signing, the way her hands hesitated and curled, or how quickly they engraved themselves into my mind.

I remember tracing her face. She had the same round eyes as I do, but more narrow, and her hair was puffy and neat. She had bumps underneath her eyes.

She would always tell me to never worry.

That she had everything under control.

She would be able to make it better for all of us.

I would always laugh though, telling her she worried too much and everything was okay. She would be exasperated with me in the end.

I like my sister. She’s just a worrywart, that’s all.

I was her voice, and she was my eyes.

My brother, Vienna, would make a few syllables out, sounding like a harmony rather than a melody. Sometimes he would grasp onto my shoulders and try to spook me. Sometimes I’d let him. Sometimes I get distracted and he actually spooked me himself.

I remember tracing his face as well, how his eyes were sharper than ours. He had no bumps underneath them. His hair was all messy and curly.

He did the same that Kiran did to me, signing against my hands. His was more confident, I could tell. He took his time and didn’t stutter in movement, his heart was a little slower.

I liked him. He was spunky.

He was my eyes, and I was his ears.

I remember his heart beginning to get faster and the slower when we got to safety.

I remember hearing Kiran sulking around our shared room after getting in trouble on her first day working— setting part of the production sector on fire because she didn’t realize that she was light sensitive.

She was kind of funny that day, but I could tell how much this opportunity meant to her.

I remember Vienna excitedly telling me about how he made it through the exams and into a strike team.

I want to be part of a strike team. It sounds so fun.

I remember how Kiran lulled me to bed like she always did, a ukulele in hand and her rubbing my back. She had the most soothing voice, I think she should talk more, but she kind of gets shy in public. I can’t really tell her that.

I remember rushing to greet Vienna after he came back from his first mission.

He picked me up and spun me around, and our laughter twisted and turned into one.

He made it back, he truly did.

That night was a good night.

Me, Kiran, and Vienna celebrated it with a small cake: another successful day.

He would tell us what happened, using my hands against his fingers so I would be able to hear his story.

I remember Kiran being so shocked and worried, but there was nothing to worry about.

Vienna made it through his first mission, I knew he was going to do amazing in any future ones.

He came back every time without fail, and it was the same routine.

I’d come to greet him when I heard his team came back.

He’d pick me up and squeeze me, and I would giggle and try to get away from his tight embrace. Then he would spin us both around, and one of his teammates would have to stop us both before we got dizzy.

His heart was always beating so fast from adrenaline.

One day, I remember rushing to greet him.

I remember hearing a heart beating, a warmth ceasing.

There was a big breath that he heaved, and he stalked his way over to me.

I remember hearing Vienna’s body collapse.

I remember hearing everyone’s silence.

Silence never felt louder than ever before.

I remember the way his body dropped to the ground, the sudden addition of weight applied to the grounds we stood on.

The air felt thick, and his heart slowed.

I remember his body collapsing on the ground.

The winter was consuming him from the inside out.

His warmth was being taken over by the winter.

I remember hearing Vienna’s body collapse.

I remember hearing his heart slow down.

I remember hearing his breathing stuttering and start to cease.

Then there was the loudness.

Unknown hands— most likely his teammates— started pulling at me and my own hands, trying to take me away from my brother.

The silence was loud, but loud was silent now.

I froze. I didn’t know where these hands were taking me, I feel them dragging me back backwards and trying to not let me witness the scene like I haven’t already.

His heart rate.

Slowed.

His breathing.

Ceased.

I remember hearing Kiran’s cries and the whispers of worries and reassurance at once.

I remember hearing the beeping that echoed in the room.

I wasn’t sure why they needed it to track his heart rate. I could hear it just fine. I was certain they could too.

Kiran was squeezing me, trying to ask me what happened but she was too scared to speak properly or even sign.

One of the medic team members had to inform us that Vienna had fallen ill with something.

I’ve forgotten the name of the disease.

‘It should pass with time,’ they told us.

‘He will make a full recovery, but for now, he might have to stop doing missions until then.’

I remember Vienna collapsing every time he tried to stubbornly to get up.

I remember Kiran always scolding him, and he would sign it all into my hand so I could be included in the mess.

It was pretty funny.

It was funny then.

When Vienna got better, he started easing himself up back into missions.

He was so ecstatic to get back into action.

I remember hearing the material of his shawl, he called it, swinging over his back, covering his wings.

His wings weren’t ever dried properly when he was young, Kiran had told me.

So he would be as flightless as us both.

I remember tracing his face again. He had these lumps underneath his eyes that wasn’t there before, the same ones as Kiran.

But something was wrong.

The winter was still there.

It was lingering.

It was dormant.

It was still.

It was waiting.

I remember his heart rate being slower than normal.

I remember his heart rate being higher than normal.

I remember him collapsing to the ground all those weeks ago.

The winter was still there.

I remember his warmth decreasing each time he came back

And suddenly Kiran’s cold hands were warmer than his.

The winter was consuming him from the inside out.

His warmth was being taken over by the winter.

I remember his movements growing more sluggish as he talked to me.

Day by day, he slowly began to stop talking to us.

It went from short phrases, to one word, to none at all.

His state was getting worse, and they had to retire him early.

He had to babysit me since that.

I was sure he’d gotten bored.

I would be too if someone had told me to stay in a room all day.

I needed to move, and I wanted to run around.

I snuck him outside our room and he watched me run around the premises of a short distance.

That’s when he finally choked out a laugh.

I missed it so much.

I remember his harmony, a counter-melody to Kiran’s.

He slowly pushed himself up and made his way over to me with staggering steps.

He held my hands, letting me trace his face and then said,

I love you, sister.

Remember the face of your brother.

I will see you again some day.

And then he shoved me.

I remember hearing Vienna’s body collapse.

I remember hearing his heart slow down.

I remember hearing his breathing stuttering and start to cease.

Then there was the loudness.

The winter breached and cracked through so loudly

I was sure It was going to make It’s way over to me.

But Vienna was still there, his heart was still beating.

He coughed, and started to push himself farther away from me.

I remember hearing a guttural scream.

Did we moths had the ability to scream that loudly?

I remember hearing his heart stop.

I remember hearing the winter stop moving within him.

The winter was gone.

My brother was gone.

Vienna was gone.

‘When will you realize?

Vienna waits for you.’

- Vienna - Billy Joel

[bambiraptorx]

🍄🤖💥for the writer ask!

🍄Are there any fandoms you've never written for but want to try?

Maybe not that I want to write for exactly, but there are a handful of fandoms that I made fan content for and then never ended up sharing/finishing it. The ones off the top of my head are ATLA (documents and documents of various AUs lol), FMA (a Royai adjacent oneshot) and Villanous (mostly just fanart but I think I had a couple of au-type things planned?)

🤖Are you looking to change your current writing setup? (Or establish one, if you don't have one?)

I'm assuming that this means like my physical set up for where I write, and honestly not really? I usually write at my laptop (occasionally on my phone when I'm out and about) and it works well enough for me. I have at least partially switched from google docs to Ellipsus, though, if that counts. Idk if I'll import all my in-progress fics there just because there's some things about the setup of docs that I still prefer, but it's been pretty good for my oneshots so far.

💥Is there a chapter, scene, or WIP you're most excited to write? Share a snippet or tell us about it!

Okay the next chapter of Minor Interference is one I've been chipping away at, partly because it's going to basically be a lot of unconnected scenes to show time passing and more of the turtles hanging out with/ annoying Draxum.

Here's a scene in particular I enjoy:

“I don’t have dyslexia.  The English linguistic system is simply poorly designed.  If Cypress seems to have similar struggles—” “Newsflash, Draxum,” April cuts in, “Raph has dyslexia.” “Yes, we consulted several reputable sources in the process of trying to see if Raphael could apply his audio spells to his phone.  As it turns out that was unnecessary because of the existence of screenreaders but many of the complaints he’s levied over the years about reading seem to have degree of commonality most easily explained in reference to the diagnostic criteria—” “Yeesh, Donnie, use English.” Leo drawls, and gets a glare in return. “Fine, dum-dum, let me explain at your level.  If A is equal to B, and B is equal to C—” “That’s math, Don, not English!” “Ugh, fine!  If Raph and Draxum show the same symptoms they probably have the same root cause!  Happy, you uneducated troglodyte?!” In response, Leo tackles Donnie to the floor, and is nearly immediately trapped in a headlock for his efforts. Draxum, April notices, is suspiciously quiet. “I think you guys broke the Baron,” she says drily.

peer-reviewed dyslexic Draxum (peer reviewer being mainly Donnie) he is getting diagnosed by teenagers and he has no idea how to feel about that lol

ask game

[sacredechoes]

Valentia Side Material and Translations: Resource Masterpost

This post is to organize links to side material for Gaiden/Shadows of Valentia, much of which Sacred Echoes has drawn upon for additional story and characterization details. In the case of translated material, I will link to the main translator's site; if you worked on these translations and have a Tumblr handle you'd like to be credited under as well, please message me and I'll update the post.

Art Book, Valentia Accordion

Includes concept art, full character biographies, and an official timeline. Information here is considered a primary source.

Character bios and concept art translations are hosted on Kantopia's translations blog. Additional translators assisted with individual pages and are credited therein by their Twitter handles.

Lyrics translations of the songs with vocals are available at the above link and were contributed by @mystletainn.

The official timeline was translated by @vincentasm on Serenes Forest.

Drama CD - "Foreign Skies, Daybreak Forest"

Taking place in Act 4 soon after the Deliverance crosses the Rigel border, this drama CD features Alm, Faye, Silque, Tobin, Kliff, Lukas, Forsyth, and Python, as well as three Rigelian characters not used elsewhere. Information here is considered a primary source, and this is the only quasi-official source of information about Alm's mother.

While Clive and Mathilda return to Zofia to quell dissent among the nobility in the wake of Desaix's defeat, the Deliverance are attacked by Rigelian child soldiers armed with cursed weapons. Alm's compassion and sense of justice lead him to try and reach out to these children rather than attack them with military force, and he discovers that they are orphans marginalized by brutal Rigelian customs and being used as pawns by the Duma Faithful. Alm reckons with the reality that Rigelians are not his enemies, but the systemic oppression they face from the empire and death-cult that rules over them, and through his compassion he meets some kindred spirits. Contains some really great characterizations of the Lukas/Python/Forsyth trio as well.

Text translation was done by @garmmy on their translations blog. A subtitled video playlist was created using garmmy's translations with the original audio by @fudgenomnomnom.

Valentia Comic Anthology

Includes over 100 4koma (4-panel, half-page) comics, as well as longer-form one-shots of 8 or more pages. Material here is more akin to fan comics and is thus considered a secondary source.

The 4koma have all been translated and hosted by Kantopia on their blog.

The one-shots are not all in the same place, and not all have been translated yet. Four have been done by @mystletainn a few years ago, while @hypergammaspaces is picking up the remaining chapters:

As Comrades, by Itagaki Hako - TL: mystletainn. Faye resolves to do whatever she can to help carry Alm's burdens, and brings the Ram boys along. Alm proves he loves his friends as much as they love him.

Sweet Delivery, by Watarizora Tsubamemaru - TL: mystletainn. Atlas fails to guard Mae and Leon's fresh-baked cookies, so he, Saber, and Jesse agree to gather the ingredients to replace them.

Fieldwork in Zofia, by Shiroishi Kotoni - TL: mystletainn. Taking place shortly before Act 3, Kliff ventures out to survey the lands north of Zofia Castle and encounters a certain masked knight who has more in common with him than either of them expect.

Only My Big Brother, by Kirai Yuu - TL: mystletainn. Tired of being ignored by Valbar, Leon ropes Kamui into helping him find the perfect boyfriend.

Know Your Enemy and Know Yourself, by Temo Uchida - TL: hypergammaspaces. Lukas and Forsyth try to encourage Kliff to take his combat duties seriously.

Future Wife, by Reku Hayase - TL: hypergammaspaces. Mathilda navigates her thoughts about her future with Clive as she reconciles Clair's expectations of her. Lukas is there too.

Let's Go To Ram Village, by Kazuomi Mochizuki - TL: hypergammaspaces. Translation is in-progress. Clair, having just met the Deliverance, asks to see what life in Ram Village is like, and Alm agrees to show her. Faye isn't too happy about this, but finds common ground with Clair by the end.

There are at least three more chapters yet untranslated which will be linked here as they are completed.

Rise of the Deliverance DLC

This was a set of four story maps set in the year-and-a-half or so before the events of Act 1. Focused around Clive, Fernand, Mathilda, Clair, Lukas, Forsyth, and Python, this added supports and memory prisms between these characters as well as story map dialogue. Scripts, memory prisms, and additional support transcriptions were found on a Serenes Forest forum post by user godzillahomer.

Gaiden manga

One-volume manga by Masaki Sano and Kyo Watanabe, published by Asuka Comics DX. Partial scans have been found on the Fire Emblem (Fandom) Wiki, but no complete scans or translations have been found as of this post. This is the one where Desaix stabs Kliff to death (hence Kliff joking about "maybe we can all get impaled on the same lance" in SoV). Many characters are entirely absent, while both Deen and Sonya appear in Celica's party.

Gaiden novelization

A light novel with a few illustrations throughout. Based heavily on the author's personal playthrough, Silque thus features prominently as she basically hard-carried Alm's party. Neither English FE wiki has a page about this adaptation. I have an acquaintance who owns it but I'm not aware of any full scans/translations available as of this post. This is the one where Kliff and Silque are half-siblings with the same father.