#wino a lot about them

[everiistence]

ok so when i, a well-meaning and overly dramatic friend, make 'sus' jokes, it's the end of the world, but when a particle physicist does it, it's suddenly ok? :|

[phoenixisnthere]

I’ll never forget the time I announced to my freshman gym class that I believed in greek gods during the one-fact-about-me get to know me segment, and the brief second of terrifying silence when you’re not sure what kind of people these kids are was broken by the teacher who immediately said “Dionysus was a Greek God right?” and I said “Yes, god of wine” and she smiled, nodded her head and said “I like that. He’s the kind of god I’d worship” to a group of 14 year old girls and I kind of love her for that

[mamavino]

Black Bulls meeting Mama Wino

Vanessa pushed open the door to her mother’s big landhouse, the familiar smell of grapes and earth hitting her the moment she stepped in. The vineyard stretched out behind them, vines heavy with ripe fruit, and inside the house, it was warm and filled with the scent of aging wine barrels.

She walked in, holding her boyfriend Nozel’s hand, her heart swelling at the thought of bringing both him and her Black Bulls family into this part of her life. The rest of the squad followed closely behind, chatting and laughing amongst themselves as they entered.

“Well this is it,” Vanessa smiled, glancing up at Nozel with warmth in her eyes.

Before anyone could get too comfortable, Carmen appeared, her wine-red hair flowing elegantly over her shoulders. She was dressed in a long, maroon gown, her eyes gleaming with mischief the moment she spotted the crowd.

“Well, well, look who made it back,” Carmen said, a teasing grin spreading across her lips. Her gaze fell on Vanessa first, then on Nozel. “Ahh, and you also brought Mister Pinot Noir, and he is still as handsome as ever.”

Nozel gave a polite nod, accepting the inevitable nickname with grace, while Vanessa squeezed his hand, stifling a laugh.

“And of course, my sweet little Merlot,” Carmen cooed at Vanessa, pulling her daughter into a quick hug. “Now, who are these little grapes you’ve brought with you?”

Vanessa chuckled as the Black Bulls gathered around. Carmen eyed each one with a critical yet playful look, as if sizing them up for their future wine-inspired nicknames.

Carmen’s Wine Nicknames for the Black Bulls

Yami was first. Carmen’s eyes narrowed in on his rugged appearance, the cigarette dangling from his mouth, and the relaxed posture that exuded strength. “You, my dear, are Syrah. Dark, bold, with a little spice.”

Yami smirked. “Sounds about right.”

Next up was Asta. Carmen sized him up with a critical eye, noting his boundless energy and positivity. “You, my little powerhouse, are Moscato. Sweet, bubbly, but packs quite the punch.”

Asta blinked, scratching his head. “Sweet? Really?”

“Oh, trust me, you’re plenty sweet,” Carmen said with a wink.

Her eyes shifted to Noelle, who stood stiffly beside Asta. Carmen let out a soft hum, appraising her regal bearing. “Oh, this is easy. Chardonnay—elegant, with a bit of bite. Perfect.”

Noelle blushed, muttering a quiet “thank you,” clearly unsure of how to respond.

Next, Carmen turned to Nacht, who stood quietly in the back. His demeanor was cold, his eyes calculating. Carmen’s lips curved into a sly smile. “You, my dear shadowy one, are Cabernet Franc. Dark, mysterious, with an edge that lingers.”

Nacht raised an eyebrow but didn’t object, merely nodding in acknowledgment.

Luck bounced in place, eyes gleaming with excitement as he waited for his turn. Carmen watched him with a glint of amusement. “Hmm… Sparkling Rosé. Fizzy, unpredictable, and just a little wild.”

Luck laughed. “I love it!”

Magna stood next, his usual bravado on full display. Carmen tilted her head, thinking for a moment. “Malbec. Strong, a little rough around the edges, but with depth.”

Magna puffed up his chest. “Hell yeah! That sounds badass.”

Charmy, always full of life and obsessed with food, stepped up eagerly. Carmen chuckled softly. “Oh, my darling, you’re Port. Sweet, rich, and surprisingly powerful for your size.”

Charmy grinned from ear to ear. “I knew it’d be something yummie!”

When it was Gordon’s turn, Carmen studied his quiet, almost eerie presence. “You, my dear, are Pinot Grigio. Subtle, gentle, but when you pay attention, there’s a lot more going on.”

Gordon smiled softly, clearly touched by the thoughtful comparison.

Nero perched nearby in her bird form before hopping down into her human form. Carmen’s eyes lit up. “Oh, you’re definitely Sauvignon Blanc. Sharp, a little dry, but with depth you don’t notice at first.”

Nero gave a small nod of approval, appreciating the clever nickname.

Henry, who towered over the rest with his lanky frame, stepped forward next. Carmen’s eyes softened at the sight of him. “You, my dear, are Chianti. Elegant, tall, and timeless.”

Henry gave her a soft smile, happy to be included in the fun.

Gauche, ever serious and brooding, tried to remain indifferent, but Carmen wasn’t having it. “Ah, Petit Verdot. Complex, intense, and a little misunderstood.”

Gauche huffed but seemed mildly impressed by the accuracy.

Finally, Grey stepped up, shy and blushing as Carmen regarded her. “Gewürztraminer. Soft, delicate, but with surprising strength beneath the surface.”

Grey’s face turned bright red, but she whispered, “Thank you.”

The Family Joins the Party

Before they could process their new nicknames, the twelve year old twins Verde and Claret burst into the room, their energy filling the space.

“Vanessa!” Claret, with her playful red hair and mischievous smile, ran toward her half-sister, grabbing her around the waist. “You didn’t tell us you were bringing a whole army!”

Vanessa laughed, ruffling Claret’s hair. “I thought I’d surprise you.”

Verde, her almost-white blonde hair glowing in the sunlight, sauntered over, her eyes locking on Nozel. “Oh, you’re back, Mister Pinot Noir,” she teased, grinning. “You look taller than last time.”

Nozel gave a small, polite smile. “It’s nice to see you again, Verde.”

Carmen’s husband, Yhe, appeared at the doorway next, his enormous frame dwarfing everyone in the room. His calm, steady presence immediately brought a sense of ease.

“Good to see you again, Vanessa,” Yhe said warmly, pulling her into a quick, gentle hug. His voice was deep and soothing, like a steady current.

“And you must be the famous Black Bulls,” Yhe added, nodding toward the group. “I hope you’re all ready for some wine.”

Carmen clapped her hands together. “Oh, they’re more than ready. I’ve given them all their proper nicknames, haven’t I, dears?”

The Black Bulls nodded, each of them holding their respective new identities with varying degrees of pride.

Yami raised his glass. “To Syrah and all the other wines!”

Carmen laughed, lifting a bottle off the table. “Let’s not waste any more time, then. This is our new vintage—Cuvée de la Lune. I think it’s going to be a favorite.”

As the glasses were poured and the Black Bulls cheered, Vanessa leaned into Nozel, watching her newfound family and her squad mingling together. The weight of the years apart from her mother seemed to dissolve in that moment, replaced by the warmth of this reunion.

“To family,” Vanessa whispered, clinking her glass against Nozel’s.

“To family,” Nozel echoed, smiling softly.

And for the first time in a long time, Vanessa felt like everything was falling into place.

[lightblueminecraftorchid]

How was windows 95 revolutionary? I would love to hear more about it

HI HELLO THANK YOU FOR ASKING

okay okay okay SO

Windows 95 had a major overhaul in multiple aspects. It’s the first of the 9x series of WinOS, followed by 98 and ME. In order to understand why Windows 95 is such a big deal, we first need to discuss Windows 3.x

(Wikipedia, Windows 3.1, image 2)

This is Windows 3.x; specifically, Windows for Workgroups 3.11. 3.x was the first series of Windows OS to become popular, and it itself was a major improvement over the previous 1.x and 2.x OS, but I won’t get into that too much. Like the previous versions of Windows, 3.x is basically a graphical shell for MS-DOS. You may be familiar with DOS; it looks like this:

(Wikipedia, MS-DOS, “History”, image 1)

DOS is, primarily, a typing interface system. You could run programs with graphics on it, like Oregon Trail or Flight Simulator, but at its core, DOS wasn’t very graphical. If you wanted to run a program, you typed its name. If you wanted to check the size of a file, you had to tell the computer to reference the directory.

Notably, DOS isn’t super user-friendly to new users. If you’re using a computer for the first time, how do you know what an A drive or a C drive is? How do you know the name of the file you need to run to play the game you’re trying out, or how to tell the computer where to find it?

DOS was incredible for its time, and was still a very powerful system. Several early operating systems from several companies used some version of DOS; the early Apple and Mac computers ran on it as well. Microsoft’s version, MS-DOS, had been popular for some time, but Apple’s graphical interface on Mac computers proved intensely popular for newer or less experienced users. MS-DOS couldn’t compete. In an attempt to make MS-DOS more user friendly, we get Windows!

(We will get to windows 95 I PROMISE)

Notice the differences between Windows 3.x and MS-DOS. Programs have a visible location now; they’re in the “Program Manager”, and they have icons you can click on to run them. Files can be found in a “File Manager”, and they have images of file trees to show you where everything is. You can have multiple windows open at once; see how the clock is visible in the corner while Minesweeper is open and running.

However, Windows 3.x wasn’t perfect. It was still built entirely off of DOS, and relied on DOS compatibility to function. Because DOS’ data was stored as 16-bit chunks, so was every file and program on Windows 3.x. This was a limiting factor; there was a ceiling on how big a program could be, how long a file name could be, and how much memory you could use. 32-bit data processing was possible with the computer hardware available in the 90s, but everything in Windows 3.x still ran on 16-bit chunks regardless of hardware, meaning slower runtimes and less flexible software options.

(If this 16-bit and 32-bit stuff doesn’t make much sense to you, don’t worry about it too much. The important thing is that 16-bit and 32-bit software are not compatible with each other, and that 32-bit software generally has more flexibility and speed than 16-bit, while 16-bit software takes up less of the computer’s resources.)

3.x had other issues as well. You could have multiple programs open at once, but *running* multiple programs was a different story. If you attempted to, the OS often struggled to prioritize which program to run. Furthermore, while 3.x’s interface was leaps and bounds more accessible than MS-DOS… that was a low bar to clear. 3.x was still clunky for a lot of users to use, and for new users, learning where to find their programs and how to run them was hard.

Installing anything new onto the computer was also a hassle; if you wanted to use a newfangled mouse, for instance, you had to install drivers which told the computer what a mouse was. Even if you plugged the mouse in, it wouldn’t necessarily work. Same was true for other common add-ons, like new keyboards, printers, and scanners. Sticking a disk in the floppy drive wouldn’t inherently mean the program on it ran; you still had to find the correct drive and open the file and run it.

3.x also just suffered from… not telling users what to do. This sounds weird to us now; Clippy is practically a meme because users found being told what to do by a paper clip so annoying. But 3.x was radically different from an MS-DOS command prompt, and if you’d never used a graphical interface like 3.x before, it was easy to get lost. Look at the 3.1 interface; could you find and run MS-Word from there? Could you find a specific document and open it? Could you save it to a floppy disk and share it with your coworker, without being told how to do it?

Enter… Windows 95

(Wikipedia, Windows 95, Image 1)

Isn’t she beautiful?

Right away, some new features jump out at us. Upon startup, we get this pop-up menu welcoming us to the system. It starts with an important fact for new users; how to find and run a program. There’s a taskbar now; unlike 3.x, which displayed minimized open programs on the desktop, open programs have their own designated spot along the taskbar. The default desktop is organized for user convenience now, with commonly used programs on display. The time is automatically displayed along the taskbar, instead of having to run a clock application, and the font of the programs and windows isn’t just the chunky MS-DOS font anymore. This desktop is much less chaotic; sleeker and cleaner, with more graphics and color options visible from the jump.

By contrast, 3.x systems didn’t have a dedicated start menu. When you booted up, you were immediately hit with the program manager and little else. What’s a program manager? Up to you to find out! Meanwhile, Windows 95 is already introducing important features to the user. This is what the Start menu does. Here’s where it is. Here’s how you use it. The Start menu also had quick access to a help menu, where frequent user issues could be troubleshooted, and basic information about he system was accessible. Clean, simple, user-friendly.

Take a closer look at those default desktop icons. In 1995, internet connections were more commonplace, using dial-up internet services such as AOL through phone lines. Microsoft immediately shows you your connectivity options; the Microsoft Network is right there, ready to be investigated. When you run it, it immediately starts helping you set up your internet. If you click on Inbox, you’re taken through the process of setting up an email account via Outlook. If you’re a new user who previously didn’t know how to send an email, or connect to the internet, Windows 95 had an answer available right there.

We do need to pause here and acknowledge that bundling Microsoft products onto an OS automatically like this was not universally received well. While conveniently available to new users, programs like Microsoft Network are, well, Microsoft proprietary software. By offering them automatically like this, and not including bundle options for other software, Microsoft was shunting more and more users to their own software and away from competitors’ services. They were sued over that! It’s strange to imagine today, but at the time, Microsoft bundling its software as the default option for its OS users was a major violation of the accepted values of free choice for OS and software.

if only that lawsuit had stuck… I digress. nowadays you can’t uninstall Microsoft Edge without breaking something.

POINT BEING. Everything about this new design is user-focused. Windows 95’s major new features weren’t necessarily making it more powerful for experienced users. Instead, a lot of the focus was on ease of use; lowering the barrier to learning new skills on the computer.

Case in point: plug and play. Plug and play may be my single favorite feature of Windows 95. It’s a quintessential component of understanding who Windows 95 was for, and why it was so successful on the market.

Plug and play is very simple. You have a new component you need your computer to sync with, such as a printer. You plug the printer into the computer, insert the accompanying floppy disk if it has one… and a window pops up, asking you what you’re trying to install. You click on what you’re installing, and an installation wizard takes you through each step, and that’s it. All the necessary software is installed, all the necessary information is saved to the computer, and now you can print something. That simple.

Compare that to 3.x, where installing a printer meant plugging it in… and then finding where in the system it showed up, and making sure everything was properly synced yourself, and running any accompanying files yourself, all while following a physical manual (at best) or flying by the seat of your pants. If you know how to do that, that’s not a big deal; once you have that skill down, it’s not super hard to transfer it. But new users don’t have that advantage. Your grandpa who just learned to use MS-Word to make a Christmas card doesn’t know how to connect his computer to the printer. He doesn’t know if he needs to install or run any files or drivers first. And why should he? That’s not why he was using the computer. Plug and play removes the barrier to entry; now, your grandpa just plugs the printer into the computer, clicks “next” a few times, and it works.

Windows 95 was also the first 32-bit system Microsoft released… kind of. 9x systems are weird, in that they have both 32-bit and 16-bit programs that they rely on to function. It’s less a clean break from 16-bit, and more a step in a new direction. Now, there are dedicated Windows programs which only run in Windows; the OS has some measure of independence, although it still relies on DOS architecture for some of its processes. You can still access the DOS command prompt, either by specifying on startup or through the MS-DOS prompt button, but it’s not the entire backbone of Windows 95. Viruses which ruined MS-DOS computers don’t always run the same way; you have more security than before. And in the early years, very few viruses were written that could attack 9x systems. The new OS had more power and flexibility in its 32-bit capabilities, with the added bonus that new users had a slightly better shield against virus infection (for a bit) (that didn’t last long).

Nowadays, 9x architecture is a thing of the past; the last 9x system, Millenium Edition, was released in 2000. Even as the 9x architecture was becoming massively successful, Microsoft was investing in a new type of OS which was coded from the ground up, in a non-assembly language which didn’t rely on DOS to function. At the time of development, this new technology, or NT, had too high of system requirements to really be functional on anything but the most robust computers. For a home user in the 90s, 9x was the best option, with lower memory requirements and similar or faster speeds to NT on home systems. But on the horizon in 2001, an NT storm was brewing… an XP storm…

[juniperhillpatient]

I’m about to watch the last episode of “a man on the inside” & im so very sad that it’s going to be over that my ass legit teared up 😭 & then I was like “girl LOL what 💀 how much wine have you had lmao” because I really don’t get emotional over shows this way. like sure I get worked up about fandoms I love but not emotional like tearing up. & like I looked & I swear I’ve only 2 glasses! that’s honestly the exact same as having no alcohol for a chronic wino like me. it’s literally just raw love for this show happening here.

I don’t even know the last time a show hit me like this. I love it so much. it’s just so real like. idk man. I just think this show is gonna hit you emotionally like a ton of bricks if you’ve ever spent any amount of time in an assisted living facility for any reason but like mm…… not even like a ton of bricks exactly. because it’s subtle. It’s funny. It’s cute. It’s light & easy to watch. It’s just also so very very real.

The way this show has handled the mundanity of death as well as the often comedic nature of a bunch of old people living together in a community space, the brutality but also comedy of memory issues, the complexity of family relationships as people age, just…. All of it is so incredibly real & well written. I still have this last episode to watch & I hope it wraps up beautifully but either way…. This show has read as a love letter to senior living communities & the folks living & working in them for 7 thirty minute episodes so far & however it goes in the end, it’s just brought me so much joy as someone who works in a place like that even though I could be making much more money somewhere else because I love it so much.

I even showed this show to my gram who worked as a nurse in nursing homes for thirty some years. She’s having some memory issues herself & going through some of that really fucking hard stuff right now. But she’s one of my best friends in the world & she watched this entire show in one sitting & she & I were able to relate over how very very real it is from both of us having spent a lot of time working in places like Pacific View ❤️ This show just truly feels like it was written with so much care & love for the setting & characters ❤️

[vilandel]

Hi Vilandel!

For the writers ask game how about 21, 24 and 2? 💕

Hello Lola, thank you for the ask 💕

21, 24 and 2, let's go!

7 ☘️ … that I liked but had to cut Hm, the only thing that comes close to that in my memories is the original ending to an oneshot I wrote back in 2022. But the actual ending fit better with what I intended to write with this story. I actually ended up preferring the final ending more than what I originally planned.

Without letting go of the blanket, Vanessa turned in Nozels arms and gave him a soft kiss on the lips.

“Ugh, gross.”

“Shut up, Solid!”

“Oh my, the prince and the witch are getting naughty.”

“What do you mean, Zora? They’re just loving with each other.”

Vanessa broke the slowly, so that Nozel could still savour the lingering of her lips on his.

“So, until now, do you like it, handsome?” she whispered, so that he was the only one to hear her.

“Yes.”

Vanessa smiled, before turning around and clap her hands to get everyone’s attention. “Okay, people, he opened all the presents and now it’s time for cake.”

Nozel smiled. He just felt so happy, like he never did for years on his birthday. Honestly, he would love to have something blissful like that again next year. All seven of them together, so casually and genuinely happy.

They started eating the cake and ended up spending the whole day in his room. From Bedroom Birthday, another oneshot I wrote for Nozels birthday, in 2022 this time. This is the ending I ended up preferring.

24 ☘️ … that makes me go "huh... I wrote that?"

This whole chapter, practically a Black Clover mixed with Charles Dickens "Little Dorrit" I need to continue this one day^^'

2 ☘️ … that makes me laugh Oh, I've already talked about "Surprises In The Night", but there's another one.

“Wait, Noelle knows?” Magna screamed. “But… that’s her brother!”

“I am very aware of the obvious family bonds I share with my sister, thank you very much,” Nozel just said, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance. He really would have preferred if another Black Bull would find out. That shy girl Grey, for example.

Vanessa laughed at his statement, while kissing his cheek.

“Gross,” Gauche muttered, for which Vanessa throw a pillow at his face. “Geez, Wino, what was that for?”

“I’m very open, but I don’t accept showing affection for my boyfriend being called gross.”

“I would gladly appreciate if you won’t call my girlfriend Wino, Adlai,” Nozel added, looking sternly at Gauche, who gulped. “Vanessa might not care about it, but I won’t tolerate kindly that you call her like that in front of me. I’m not sure that Grey would like your attitude either, even though she likes you a lot.”

“Wait… how do you… Vanessa!”

“What? Nozel knows how much I care about you all, so he asks me how you’re going and I tell him everything, of course. Nothing to worry about.”

“Everything?” Magna asked in fear. From Nothing To Worry About, just Magna and Gauche learning about Nozel and Vanessa by catching them making out.

[waugh-bao]

for the ask meme, top 5 photos of keith and charlie! 🥹

also! while you’re at it, top 5 keith songs (can be both the stones or his solo works)

This isn’t intentional, but every photo I ended up picking of them is from the last 30 or so years of the band.

In no particular order:

Also a bonus shout out to the best Keith and Charlie photo where Charlie technically isn’t in the picture:

For the top 5 Keith songs, also in no particular order:

Hate It When You Leave (Main Offender, 1992)

Most of Keith’s solo songs are either about getting screwed over by a woman (and deserving it) or missing somebody in a long term relationship. This is one of my favorite songs of that second genre, I admit partly because it reminds me of a very particular part of my life, but also just the lyrics, the beat, and his voice play beautifully together. It’s an aberration for me in that most of the Winos songs I enjoy are the ones where Charley Drayton is on drums, because he has a lighter touch that suits Keith better.

Alteration Boogie (Unreleased Voodoo Lounge Outtake, 1993)

Voodoo Lounge is a great album that also has a lot of outtakes from the studio sessions floating around online (there were 75 demos from the whole process which was an unusually large amount for them), but this is probably my favorite Keith solo piece. It’s a song about and sung to Charlie (who joins in on drums halfway through) and it’s the most unhinged thing you’ve ever heard. Keith composed an entire 5 minute song about Charlie’s personal, how his trousers hang, and his ass, among other topics, seemingly on the fly. It’s a really interesting insight into whatever is going on in his head.

How Can I Stop (Bridges to Babylon, 1998)

I think most of Keith’s best ‘solo’ music really comes from him doing his own thing as a vocalist within the Stones. Especially because he has a tendency to strip things down and do almost everything with just himself and Charlie, plus occasionally one or two other people (Stu, Pierre, etc). It’s an emotionally devastating song (“You look at me, but I don’t know what you see/A reflection, baby, of what I want to be/I see your face and I want to roll with it…”) and the music itself more than matches the lyrics for quality. Wayne Shorter guested on the song and the last minute, which is just Charlie and Wayne going back and forth on sax and cymbals, with a little piano backing, genuinely gives me chills. It also shows how Keith’s generosity as a musician and his love of Charlie works in his favor, because that duet between them makes the song.

Love Hurts (Tribute to Graham Parsons, 2004)

It’s a cover, not a song Keith wrote himself, but I think it really suits his style/content as a solo artist and he makes it really work with his voice here. Norah Jones also works fabulously as co-vocalist, I think he actually tends to harmonize better with women (Sarah Dash, Norah, Sheryl Crow, Lisa Fischer, etc) live than with Mick.

Losin’ My Touch (Forty Licks, 2002)

I’m a sucker for all of Keith’s ‘sad old man at the end of a long term relationship’ songs, like “This Place Is Empty”, but this song (which was one of two originals added to a 40th anniversary greatest hits album) is really lovely. It’s a very classic Keith only on vocals/no back-up, drums, piano, and a bit of guitar, and I think that’s often how he sounds best.

I wouldn’t put it in my top 5 solely because of how horribly the production of the song was mangled by Andrew Watt, but Keith’s one solo song off of Hackney Diamonds, “Tell Me Straight” has absolutely gorgeous, devastating lyrics. It’s almost certainly his Charlie song, and both more beautiful and sadder when you consider the writing in that light.

[spitinsideme]

Peach blossoms and wolfsbane

Chapter 2 part 2

Yellow Smooth Violets

They have now arrived at the manor that they will be staying at for the next few months that they will be here for. Winona in awe of how big it was snaps out of her daze and quickly unloads the carriage. Winona finally heads inside and drops off the bags at the door and hands them off to the maids to take up to their lady’s room. Winona not wanting to burden the staff with her bags heads up stairs to deposit her bags. She gets extremely turned around in the maze of corridors and halls. “How is anyone supposed to find their way through this damn place it’s to damn big.” She said through slightly gritted teeth. Then all of a sudden a voice could be heard from behind the cowpoke”you know you could have just asked for some help.Your room is just down the hall and you make a right at the end of the hall it will be the last door at that hall you can’t miss it”Said the voice. Winona turns around to find a maid who isn’t dressed in the normal maid attire her outfit looks a lot more delicate and intricate. ‘ this must be the head maid’ Winona thought. “Uhh thanks miss….” She paused not knowing the maid’s name “Peggy, Peggy O’Nell. You best remember my name because you will be seeing a lot of me. Don’t be afraid to ask for anything love.” She said with a smile. “I’ll be sure to do just that thank you Miss O’Nell.” Winona said with a small smile. Winona eventually reaches her room and sets her bags down. Then she flops on the bed with an audible thump. She stares at the celling for a bit before deciding to look around the room. She sees a bookshelf full of books she probably never read,She spots a big fancy dresser to put her things in but what catches her eye is a flowers in a vase on the night stand. The flowers in question were Yellow smooth violets. They looked as if they were just freshly picked this morning for the neighboring woods. Winona stands up and walks over to the bookshelves and sure enough she ain’t heard of most these titles. She sighs and looks over to her knapsack and decided to do some drawing she may be a guard and farmhand back at home but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t got hobbies. Winona looks around the room looking for something to draw and once more the violets catch her eye. She grabs her journal and a pen. She starts to sketch out petals of the flowers. She does this till she notices the time. 6:45pm she sighs and puts away her drawing. It’s about time she gets ready for the gala. She starts by taking off her belt but before she takes it off she gently takes out her dual pistols from their holsters as well as her Bowie knife. She sets them on the dresser and continues to disrobe her working garb. She takes a quick peek in the mirror and touches her scarred face inspecting it for any dirt or grime. She does the same with her scarred arms and legs making sure she is all clean. She then starts dressing up she pits on the slightly worn out slacks she brought as a well as a brown button up with some suspenders. Just as she was gonna tie her bolo tie. Agatha walks in to see if her body guard was dressed. “Hey are you almost…” Agatha paused mid sentence and looked at the woman up and down. “Nope nah nuh you ain’t wearing this getup at the gala.” She said with distain in her voice. “What?! What’s wrong with what I’m wearin?” Winona said in a huff. “Well for starters this is a suit and gown event. Do you see a suit anywhere on ya.” Agatha said with a raised brow “Aw hell no I ain’t wearing no monkey suit.” Said Winona. “Besides this is the only fancy outfit I own…” Winona muttered. Agatha pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed “ok hang on just a second.” Agatha goes to the phone that is on the wall and turns the rotor. “Yes Miss O’Nell it’s Mrs.Ragdolin can you fetch me these items in these measurements please thank you.” She then hangs the phone back on the wall. They wait a bit before Miss O’Nell makes her appearance with the items in tow. Winona raises a brow “what’s with all of this?” She asked.

Tumblr is being mean again to be continued in part 3 now :P

Writer anon

part 2 !!! yipprr

[megsiepoo]

CotL Sins of the Flesh Spoilers Below!!!

Those who haven't played for themselves, beware.

So I haven't completed the update yet, and as hard as it is to find lore tablets (probably doing something wrong) it'll likely be a while before I do. Also a few bugs preventing me from completing a couple of achievements so there's that too, but let's talk about some of the stuff they added!

So first of all, I love the new cultist animations they added. I thought it was very funny that Shamura was the first one I caught reading. It's fun seeing them all hangout and just vibe in a way that isn't solely dancing in an annoying circle around the devotion statue.

I don't have strong feelings about cultists fighting each other, but I do think it's a fun addition with lots of neat fan fic ideas. They don't have to be drunk either. I think it's hilarious that in my save all of the bishops pretty much hate each other. Kallamar and Shamura are enemies (story idea maybe) and Leshy is enemies with every sibling except Narinder. Poor bush didn't get the memo.

Neither of these photos really show anything special about the update (besides "oh hey, they can get drunk now") I just wanted to share my silly squid husband being adorable making cocktails and sipping fruity little drinks. He's so damn cute istg. Didn't picture Leshy as a wino but it makes sense when I think about it. Can't really see it in the second pick but I love Shamura just chugging pints in the background.

So the sin stuff! This is the drum circle pictured above, but it's far from the only addition they made. As mentioned previously, cultists can drink now. There's also the mating tent which we all saw coming as well as several crown doctrines relating in a similar fashion. I don't hate it? Also don't love it? It's fun having a new mechanic, but it also feels like it distracts from the original gameplay and is just another resource to acquire and manage. It does make the cult stuff more fun and engaging, and the fact they made harvesting devotion from cultists easier helps, but going through dungeons no longer has as much intrigue and is more frustrating trying to balance.

Speaking of mating tent, can I just say that the new followers are absolutely adorable? They're so pretty and they start with a way higher level than just finding them in dungeons. I do still have very mixed feelings about children in a literal death cult, but the cuteness almost makes it worth it. Just... maybe don't breed the bishops. Iykyk

Ok, last thing I'm gonna talk about! This has literally nothing to do with the game itself. But personally?

I ship it

[forensicated]

02x11 - Whose Side Are You On?

TW: Discussion of race in terms of the mid-80s.

Bob: "Sorry to have dragged you from your orthopedic bed, Hollis but there's work to be done."

Jim: Don't scare him, Sarge!

Uniform are piling in for early turns briefing. Tom is manning the front office and is fussing and tidying everything even with the cleaner in the same room and cleaning! Jim and June are placed together and tasked to focus on a series of bag snatches happening around a supermarket. (Taffy: Perhaps they should stop calling it Safeway!" 😂 I thought this was really good but they all groaned 🤣) Pete asks if there's any description of the suspects and Viv points out what everyone else is thinking he means. "He means are they black, Sarge?" The only description is "youths". Abe asks if there are reports of any crocodile bags that have been taken. Bob asks why that might be important and Abe replies "Black people won't go near crocodiles so if they are it must be whites!" the others laugh, mocking Pete.

Tom interrupts the briefing with a note from the Superintendent. He's ordering-but-not-official-ordering everyone to attend the 5-a-side football match on Sunday that Sun Hill are playing against a youth club. He'll be hearing all excuses for absences personally.

Reg is still moaning about his bad back with Bob quipping to Viv that she should help him walk the few steps from the parade room to the comms desk. Reg doesn't find it funny. "Am I laughing?" Bob retorts.

Mike has a training session organised for the 5-a-side match but he's too late to have it mentioned in the briefing. Bob suggests a poster, "You know none of your lot can read, that's why they put pictures on wanted posters." Roy has already dipped out - it's his day for his daughter and they're going to the zoo (from what we've heard of her that sounds a bit... young... for her). Bob tries to get a place on the team and Mike not-so-subtly says that Bob is too old as it's a group of teens they're playing. He claims that 'his lot' are only a couple of years older than them and get out of breath putting their shoes on. "Bloody cheek! Just because I sit behind a desk all day doesn't mean I'm not fit, I keep active!" He then goes down to ask Viv if he looks fit to her. "Yeah, fit to drop, Sarge!"

Roy is concerned about a result that's due in court and Mike tells him not to worry. "That's my middle name!" He finds a file on Ted's desk for a murder that is 3 days old, a file that he had asked to be brought directly to his attention as soon as it arrived. "A murder? Who's dead?" Mike asks. "Roach will be when I get my hands on him!" He sends Mike in to drag him out of the canteen where he'll be filling his face again - but not before he gets him a coffee.

Pete comes to the rescue of a [new and attractive] female traffic warden when a man is reading her the riot act about how unfair she is being. He's very evasive as soon as Pete arrives, driving off as quick as possible. He then asks her for a date, claiming it's his treat and he'll see her there at 12 on Sunday, trying his best chat up lines on her which includes quoting The Beatles.

Roy bollocks Ted for not handing him the murder file immediately. Ted claims he was working towards it and that it isn't as important as the others because it was 'just a wino'. Roy tells him that murder always takes precedence and that it's no wonder Ted is always wondering why he doesn't get on in the force.

Jim and June spot an attempted mugging near a pub (Three Swedish Crowns, now a restaurant). The elderly lady is more concerned she's dropped her fish and chips. Jim follows him into an alley and ends up injuring himself.

Pete approaches an unlicensed seller who is selling from a suitcase in the street. As soon as he sees him the man legs it. 2 teenagers wind him up and he attempts to nab them but they weren't involved so he can't - as much as they irritate him.

June finds that the lady who was almost mugged has no electricity and won't for at least another day until the social visit. The gas is still on so June boils her a pan of water to make her some tea and a flask for later. She tells June to make sure she dies before her husband. Unfortunately for her, it didn't work out that way. Her only friends are at bingo so she goes there each time she gets her pension. If she wins - she pays the bills. That's how the gas is still on.

Pete tries to pull some money out at an ATM in advance of his date. Unfortunately, he's exceeded his limit and it won't let him have any.

Jim has twisted his ankle and has to attend the hospital. He manages to get Bob to let him see the rest of the shift out first and takes over the comms desk with Bob going on the beat in Jim's place. "Last time you were on the beat we had bicycles and fog lamps." Tom smirks. "And Jack The Ripper was still out and about, I've heard it all." Bob snarks in response.

Charles tries to get Roy to rearrange his Sunday afternoon to attend the football to make a presentation. Roy reminds him he can't because he has leave booked to spend time with his daughter but Charles doesn't really take no for an answer. Roy is not happy.

2 Japanese tourists ask June if she can take a picture of them and Bob together after they've (sort of, given the language barrier) told them how to get to Tower Bridge. "Well smile!" "This is a smile!" From the way it comes about I can't help but wonder if it was some lost tourists and they stayed in character to help and it got included 😂

Roy asks his daughter if they can delay their afternoon slightly and wants her to meet him at the Zoo. "The Zoo...? It's a bit boring...." Julia replies before suggesting shopping in Covent Garden instead. Roy gives in, agreeing to meet her at 4.30pm.

Mike hadn't heard what had happened to Jim and is not impressed when it's clear he wouldn't be ready for Sunday and the game. Mike calls Jim is the best player they had and is visibly concerned when June tells him that Bob is looking for him. "I bet he is..." Mike sighs. Seconds later, Reg tells him that Bob is looking for him. He escapes to CID and Ted tells him that Bob was in looking for him. 😂 Got to hand it to him, Bob is a trier! Mike admits he already knows, telling Ted that Bob wants to play in the match. Ted smirks, telling him that Roy is now attending so perhaps he can be talked into it. "No thanks, amongst all his other pet hates is football."

Ted has finally got a name for his murder victim - Henry, known as King Henry. Roy asks Mike how his trial went and he has to admit that it was adjourned through circumstantial evidence centered around the criminal's tools - as his "employer" vouched for him that he needed them for his job - despite him never having worked a day in his life.

Bob orders Reg to go for a full physical because he's had enough of him complaining about his back and slacking off. If there is something really wrong with him - he's having him transferred! Bob then helps Ted track down the address of a nurse who helps the homeless and drunks on an ad-hoc basis - the entire time Mike is trying very hard to avoid meeting his eyeline!

Abe appears to be limping slightly but he insists it'll keep and he will be fine for the game. Pete refuses to play on Sunday because he's on a date seeing his invalid mother having borrowed money from June to go see her. Abe suggests to Mike that if he doesn't want Bob on the team then perhaps he should look at the women to step up. He suggests Viv in particular as she plays netball. Dashers asks Viv and pretends that Brownlow gave him a bollocking for not asking a female officer because they're an "equal opportunities employer." Viv agrees and Dashers switches on the charm. "I bet you look wonderful in shorts." The boys find it hilarious when she tells them she's going to be their goalie.

A guest character's name is Billy Murray. I'm easily amused.

Pete manages to nick his suitcase trader finally, sneaking in round the back way. Reg has gone out with Tom to help collect him, sulking as he has to carry the trader's suitcase. Roy finds that his 'branded' watches are fakes and suggests a criminal deception charge. The seller claims he bought them with his redundancy money from a man in the pub and he'd been knocking them out to make a living.

An elderly lady tells Ted that his drunk's wife and child were killed by a gas leak whilst he was working nights and it gave him serious mental health issues and led him to drink. He had fancy ideas of buying his house with the compensation he was meant to receive from the gas board but he never did get it and the street was knocked down not long after - he ended up living rough afterwards. The nurse Bob put him in touch with tells him that Henry had a very ugly and badly patched scar on his stomach from a war wound. All in all the poor man had a very sad life.

Pete sits in the pub on Sunday waiting for the traffic warden to arrive. At the very best she's running late, at worst he's been stood up. When she doesn't show up, he heads to the football match.

Sun Hill starts to arrive for the football match with the Rotary Club man assuming that Ted is DI Galloway. He wonders if they can do the presentation before the game because he has a pressing engagement. Uniform and Mike go to change and Viv heads into the ladies with Yorkie offering to go with her with a jokey promise of "I won't look!" "I might." Viv smirks. "And I might be disappointed!" "We're not here to win but we're not here to lose either!" Mike tells them, insisting it came down from the Super.

The Sun Hill team are not bad players... but poor old Viv is not a born goalie and the youths are 2 nil up within minutes. Abe makes it 2-1.

Viv makes her first save, Abe behaves like a gentleman after a foul and Yorkie makes it 2-2. Jim is moaning about Taffy and how badly he's playing in 'his position'. Uniform bet on the outcome of the match. There seems to be a bit of a continuity error too as Jeff/Reg has no earring and then an earring in the same sentence.

Reg thinks Taffy is dying out there and Jim scoffs that he's dead with Tom adding they should send him home for his funeral given how he's playing. Roy wants them to hurry up as he wants to get to meet his daughter. In the toilets, Bob goes to pull up Pete for using racial insults against Abe. Roy comes through part of the way in and tells Pete he should listen to Bob, his prejudice has been noted. Roy hands Bob some money to buy everyone a drink after but he skips out early to spend time with his daughter, lamenting that if he'd done it that way before now he might still have a marriage.

Jim thinks he recognises the two he was chasing before he did his ankle in. They end up 5-2 down. Jim asks Abe how he's going to live it down. "Viv. A woman.... the best excuse a man can ever have."

[jamesunderwater]

DEAN WINCHESTER FOR THE ASK GAME

favorite thing about them: ahhh a lot of things but i think it's that he seems like he's the tough brother/mr. toxic masculinity (which dont get me wrong the show is full of) when in reality at his core he's the kind of guy who would get really into the county fair, every fucking year trying SO hard to win best apple pie. He'd go to PTA meetings and decorate the house for different seasons and pretend he hates the kids shows his children watch but then ends up getting invested in them. He's just sooooo soft it hurts me the life he was given instead.

least favorite thing about them: he literally does not know how to value himself. At all. Like...baby boy. You do not always have to be first in line for who should die to save someone.

favorite line: i had to go searching a bit because it's been so long and the first one i thought of was the one you said 😆 which that line crosses my mind alllll the time, even now. But i saw this one and heard it crystal clear in his voice and it made me grin, so: "I think I'm adorable."

brotp: castiel. I totally get why people ship destiel but i mostly just loved that dean actually had a real friend outside of sam...

otp: i ship dean + a peaceful existence.

notp: dude, totally agree, wtf is up with wincest?? It's a big no for me.

random headcanon: idkkk it's been so long since I've thought about spn. You really got me on that dean's a wino train though.

unpopular opinion: lol that the canon show ended with s5 and dean got the ending he deserved

song i associate with them: ohhh so many but there was this one fanvid back in the day of that used this cover of running up that hill by placebo and ughhh it fucking GETS ME the lyrics are perfect for him ):

favorite picture of them: I could have picked so many but dude him in this white shirt in s2e1 DOES SOMETHING TO ME to this day 😅

[schmirius]

re: favorite s2 episodes:

I'm an Ed-coded bitch primarily interested in Ed and Izzy. relatedly, for me a lot of this season was about mental collapse and having to put yourself back together afterward. Given that 201+202 are my absolute favorites, as the most absurdly horrible breakdowns for my dudes that I never expected to have the privilege to witness – if pressed, I might choose 204 as my favorite putting-yourself-together episode out of the rest of the bunch.

Ed is released from inpatient and the friend who picks him up is unfortunately also the ex whose actions triggered the episode that sent him to the realm of the dead to hospital in the first place

it's a very, very shaky truce between them as they try to sort out what they can mean to each other now, particularly given Stede is one of the few real allies Ed has after his breakdown hurt every other person he knew

... except his friends from his 20s who weren't in the fallout zone, who are great to catch up with. for like a day. even Ed recognizes they are Not healing friends to hang out with right now lmao

Izzy:

finally lets himself collapse fully, the mortal danger to the people he feels responsible for having passed

and it's just fucking miserable. Ed had his rum and rhino binge all summer and now Izzy is just wino-ing around in no less physical and mental pain than before Ed's hospitalization, just... in less immediate physical danger.

because he's not Ed, he's not in care after his suicide attempt. they don't take his belt and his shoelaces. they let him roam drinking and banging into walls and screaming at no one

until Izzy literally physically collapses in front of them in the middle of the sentence "that'll teach him to do his fucking job." like, watch that scene again: it's on the word "job." that's it, that's the linchpin for him, he now has no leg to stand on

they fucking make him a new leg. it's the unicorn episode. they see that he's hurting and they team up to help him do PT and coax him out of his room for meals. it might be the most touching thing all season: he wants to be dead, still, and they say: no. hold our hands.

this post spurred on by @napneeders' post where an aside about Ed's "first week out of the psych ward energy" got us talking about all of [waves hands] that kind of thing

[sedgewicke]

Well. Reading the prologue to the fifth book sure is... A Thing when you've only read the first. Half of it doesn't even count as spoilers to me, it's pure word salad.

My main takeaway is that Sadeas would be fucking pissed if he knew Gavilar was keeping aaaaaaaaaallllllll thaaaaaat from him. And Merida is in on it? MERIDA!? No idea what he'd make of the secrets themselves, it's kind of a lot of a lot.

I am disappointed to know that Sadeas being with Gavilar that night meant nothing more than him hustling up like "Here, take my armor, I'm gonna go probably trying to save your life I hope you haven't been keeping any absurdly massive secrets from me bye!"

Not that I expected it to be revealed that they were banging on top of everybody's coats, but it's nice to have some empty spaces for the imagination to roll around in.

So, what's the deal with telling Dalinar not to drink (albeit in a weird, cryptic way), and then telling his guy to make sure he gets something to drink? Is it to test Dalinar's will? Is it just to fuck with him? Is it to redirect blame from Dalinar for choosing to get drunk that night and put it back on Gavilar? Because that would be on-Brando. (See: Dalinar having the gall to blame Sadeas for not doing enough, and this not being treated as an absolutely wretched thing to say.) As someone who's lived with an alcoholic for 15+ years: Fuck that. I ain't got that kind of patience for winos no more.

Everybody's pissed at Gavilar for how he treated Navani, but to be brutally honest? I don't care. You married a war criminal. What do you want? No, what I'm pissed about is how he must've treated Elhokar if that's what he thinks about him. No wonder that boy's got so many problems. I sure am glad Elhokar got to prove his dad wrong by becoming a Radiant and helping to save the wor--ohhhh. Yeeeaahhh. Fuck you, Sanderson.

EDIT: Because I should've known better than to not include a disclaimer re: my opinions on this fictional character's fictional life situation. I would have been sympathetic towards Navani, despite the fact that she made a blatantly terrible decision... but then ch 75 of TWoK happened and she pulled some real Scumbag Mom Tactics--and unlike Gavilar's Scumbag Dad Tactics, it's treated as NBD, nothing to see here--and so now? I don't care. And if you tell me I need to care? I will care less. Signed, a real life victim of emotional abuse--not that that matters, apparently.

I hope it's explained somewhere, at some point, how Gavilar got into any of this. Did he just up and start having visions like Dalinar, and one thing led to another? I don't know shit about any of these non-human entities pullin' strings and whatnot yet, but I feel like they probably have some stuff to answer for. They gotta know that humans do not do well with having mystical nonsense foisted upon them like that.

What's up with mentioning Aesudan like she's an old chum. We're talking Elhokar's wife, right? How old is she, that she'd be pallin' around with Gav and the Sadeases? Is she like Aesudan Jr. or something?

His family. In that moment, Gavilar saw his legacy crumbling. He was dying. Storms. He was dying. What was le to him? What did anything matter if he was dying. He couldn’t. He couldn’t... He was supposed to be eternal...

ngl, this got to me. Sure, he was a dumb bitch getting up to all kinds of dumb bitch shit, but I dunno, man, something about dying thoughts does stuff to me. Look, I hurt inside when I think about... Roshone's? shitty kid's death, and I don't even remember his name. No one can predict what'll get to me and what won't (probably what's not supposed to and what is, respectively), not even me.

I liked that there were little bips of humanity tucked in between all the red conspiracy string. Like "When was the last time I hung out with my friends? NO TIME! GODHOOD NOW! I think I used to like my wife? NO! RENEW THE APOCALYPSE TO SAVE THE WORLD OR SOMETHING!"

[the-firebird69]

we have reason to believe he is messed wiht. yeh ok. tons owe him money nobody pays. the feds pay ss and it is an entitlement. we see they are threateinging him all the time. tons see why now and come here. and to stop them they are at all the sites and dug in they are not.

-they brought the food stuffs he forgot on the bus great good work. and learned this. john r had the busses moved to port charlotte. and forced bja there. and he lost today. twice no threee times it worsens and a good example of what he is up to. loses a lot and on purpose but rrealy there are limits and he is past it and we have seen it and yes cities and all tht. below ground yes. fell. and gone.

-- We use this as a example and the clans went through this and they pretty much got beat almost fully the only reason why they're around is they're actually useful to people and they were smaller than John Remallard is now and they took a much bigger beating and dealt out much harder blows and John realized hardly even defends himself from the empire proper. He is usually beat up or dead or worse and he says he doesn't care but he does and he keeps getting his **** kicked right now we are experiencing some strange weather where all the rain is being sucked into Florida from the east and the West Coast or no that's not it it's a E to west movement and it's a very strange thing but we are now in possession of several counts of a grand threats and threats of homicide and it is by John Remelard and it's on our son we are going to go after him he's not giving him a break in any way and we are going to go after him there's a good reason for it the guy does not stop harassing him he's in the Chinese food place blathering and he had some sort of implant and he should not be there at all and he was shot and he is a complete **** and you should see what he was doing he is going out before our son does sits down goes up before him sits down and he kept doing it and doing it saying he's threatening and people are saying we're gonna get you for that and we're gonna do this and as he's leaving they made a list of things are gonna do and I'll tell you one this guy is not responding to any of it and he's saying weird stuff it could be pot me **** it says we're not saying anything for them they're telling me what they're gonna do and I heard about it and you're a **** jerk and a loser do not follow me do not stalk me or they will kill you dead that's what they're doing. It doesn't have to do with the election as much as you think because you want people to believe that you want people to believe everything why don't you shut the **** **** and get away from me like a normal person you're freaking a wino or a street person so he stopped what he's doing it's not true he's trying to whine and complain and we said this is exactly what we're talking about we are not related to you we told you we are not related to you we told you to not do it if you do it you're gonna get hurt on top of what all those people are gonna do and he said I can't believe what I'm hearing he said who cares we say it everyday you get hit you see that metal thing in your head that's from yesterday when you didn't listen and he said what what do I have left I said whatever you have left you gotta get rid of and he said I can't comply then you will die stop talking get ready to die idiot and we said that and we believe it and we meet it.. So later on he starts blabbing and he was arrested and he got hit and he was hit a lot he got shot and he was down at the pizza place and saw Brad he was in the place someone said they got a beat on him and they started hitting him and they're up there now and they're down here going after him.

--- Now this guy is hearing that he's the rooster it's not exactly what he does nope but now his understanding he's out of control but we'll never trust him to do anything in any format that he used to now he's just rogue and random and he's going to pay we have a lot of stuff we're gonna do to this guy with what he's been doing here. More shortly

Thor Freya

Olympus

and hellw eek did ok hs the pepto sneakers ihelped wiht he htanks me they say they are mne his and our son we hate them. and then this you hav her and so on and sarah ad the balloon shot jesus. now i love my husband and these jerks aree out of line no car no money and a job hatingand he is workigfor us. and doing it well. and thank you Zues

Hera

nd thank you Hera and it is timing yeh im here right after i arrive he is ther and the bus came back right awy and nice. and she lvoed the water needed it...and can take it no but ok others do yes ad she loves it.need this thank yo and good yes old school good

...

and we thank you nice gesture but yeh it is too hot and she neede it

is miley no

lol

bja

and ok you jerk it was nice good. and we drank together ice cold too not as usual and all here me he says ice cold less bacteria and even than whe you got the purified water and good they say purified. and it has some elements added back. adn i see it on th label yes. good water needed it badly. this rokcs i feel better seeit ok we always have a drink ad ok others may yes thank you if you thinkk of it i love it

short mac bja girl decent attitude yes me

fst though lol he doesnt care at all and he is the mark they alwayss sy it lol

hhaah good

bja

and we heard him one day good she can drive us too good

not john r is benched and for christ sake sit the fuckdown

mac daddy we invde then kick yoiu out

and good need it this place blows

trump

fun asshole you die tonight you shit

mac daddy

Olympus

[matylda-puchala]

Theatre lesson on November 30th, 2023

After two classes of watching the plays which illustrated „Hamlet” by William Shakespeare, we gathered our knowledge from the previous lessons and we compared the interpretations.

We determined that Peter Brook’s „Hamlet” was a much more universal interpretation, as it was not a man with a certain nationality that was the protagonist, but simply a man, Hamlet. The play was made in a poor theatre, which resulted in a lot of material symbolism ( for example a stick was also used as a sword). Although we determined that both Hamlets were driven by emotion, Brook’s’ was rather philospohical.

Jan Klata’s drama had a realistic background and a historical context, as it was set in 1990’s Poland, right after the fall of communism in the country. Hamlet was a Polish male from generation X. Contrary to Peter Brook’s interpretation, to actually understand Klata’s play one had to obtain some background information and know the history of Poland. This interpretation contained a lot of methaphorical symbolism, for example when Hamlet spilled wine on his mother and uncle, marking them as guilty (the symbolism can be seen better in polish because the word for being guilty is similar to wine; winny- guilty, wino-wine).

I preferred Jan Klata’s interpretation, because it illustrated Poland during the historically important time of the country after communism, and contained a lot of meaningful symbolism.

At the end of the lesson we also talked about what good films/plays/generally these forms of art are comprised of, and we came to the conclusion that every movie must have an action formation and a climax. For example in „Hamlet” the action is formed when the protagonist’s father appears as a ghost, and the climax is the duel.

[phyltopia]

Cleaning Out My Closet

I just moved into a new place and one of the things I’ve tasked myself with is getting rid of a lot of clutter. I’ve got some stuff in boxes that has been with me through four or five moves, and it’s never left the box it started in. It’s not particularly sentimental stuff, it’s just a bunch of random shit I’ve held onto for some reason, or more accurately- for absolutely no reason whatsoever. But it’s also really hot out, so I decided to start in a little bit different direction. I decided to start by decluttering my phone. A consciously uncoupling if you will, or whatever dumbass thing Gwyneth Paltrow called a breakup. 

            So anyway, I’m cleaning out my phone, and I did it in a couple of waves. I didn’t start with a whole lot- I’m not exactly a social butterfly- but I ended up deleting about a third of them. The first wave was easy- it was mostly business relationships or people who ended up in my phone by happenstance. My old pharmacy? I can delete that. It would be awfully inconvenient to drive six hours to pick up my prescriptions. My old doctor in Century City? Don’t get me wrong, she was a wonderful doctor- in fact if you’re in the greater Los Angeles area and in need of a doctor, I can’t recommend Dr. Jessica Cho strongly enough. But I’m not there anymore. So she can go. My ex-fiancee’s ex-husband’s new wife? Frankly I have no idea how she got there in the first place, but she can go for sure. The girl I met at a bar listed in my phone as Tiny Blonde Wino? Also gone. Anyone whose listed last name is the company we both used to work for? Clearly gone, because our only relationship was at work, and I don’t work there any longer.

            The second wave was a little trickier, because they were people I did have at least a modicum of a relationship with at some point. Maybe they were work friends who were actual sort-of friends or other random people I met somewhere along the way, but there was a reason I had their number. Maybe I kept it because I’m a little self-conscious about not being particularly social, and not having a lot of friends, so it was kind of stat padding, like Russell Westbrook intentionally missing a shot so he could record a triple double. Either way there was at least a shred of sentiment attached to it.

            Something I talk about a lot at work is becoming the hero in your own story. You see, all of us are the main character in our own story, and we decide whether we’re the hero, the victim, or the villain. But part of realizing that we’re our own main character is also realizing that we’re not the main character in anyone else’s, no matter how hard we try. And in fact, if someone else is the main character in our story then we need to talk about codependency issues, but that’s a conversation for another time.

            A lot of times when I’ve deleted people from my phone in the past, it’s been out of anger. Someone doesn’t answer my call or return a text enough times and “I’ll fuckin’ show you!” Show you what, exactly? Because the other person clearly doesn’t care. Some of the numbers I’d see and think, “well maybe they’ll text me sometime or need something and I won’t know who it is.” That’s crazy talk. They won’t because they haven’t. I’m not that important. I've even deleted contacts and saved a screenshot, just in case I changed my mind. Part of that is because I suffer from Narcissistic Confabulation Dysmorphia (which is a mental health condition I invented that basically just means that I’m kind of a giant baby. Stay tuned for that in the DSM-VI), but the other part is that everyone thinks we’re more important than we are. We have to, because we see the world through our own eyes, and only from our own perspective. On a larger scale, to realize that I’m always going to be a supporting character in everyone else’s life, and I don’t get to decide how big of a player I am, I have to release those expectations. That’s neither good nor bad, it’s just reality. I just realized that by constantly grasping and clinging to the past, I’m only giving myself rope burns. Maybe I was important at some point but am no longer, or maybe I was just a bad decision at a bar to a tiny blonde wino. Another part of reality is that everything in life is impermanent- every feeling, every experience, every emotion. Even if you get married and say “til death do us part,” well one of y’all gonna die. That’s both the beauty and the tragedy of life, and we can’t experience one without the other.  

            So I’ve cleaned out my phone. The next step is to contact all the people who are still in my phone who I haven’t talked to in a while. To reach out and let them know that they’re still an important part of my journey, even if we don’t see each other often. Because what’s the point in keeping them (metaphorically) around if I don’t? So that number could drop even lower. And that too, is a part of life. 

My challenge to you, then, is to consciously uncouple with the people in your phone who are no longer part of your journey. It’ll create space for new people, and new adventures. Because the exciting thing about life is that, in the past there are only memories, but there are always adventures to be had in the future.