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elivanto · 2 years

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Would you actually Post all or at least some fat Thrass passages because 💕 pretty pls?

anon, i won't lie, you made my day with this. fair warning, this really can't be called textual evidence or anything of the sort at all.

it's mostly just me projecting and interpreting the text badly djshjsf

(also @ fellow fatties, there's stuff in here you might find... stereotypical? or insensitive of me? i mostly just went with how i've seen fat people be described in literature, really, and the parts where i was like 'haha thrass is Kin')

spoilers for outbound flight and lesser evil under the cut!

outbound flight, chapter 11:

“Its enemies,” Thrass said, leaning on the word. “Not potential enemies. Do you hear the difference?” “Yes,” Thrawn said. “And no.” Thrass lifted a hand, let it slap against his thigh. “Let me be honest, Thrawn,” he said. “The Eighth Ruling Family is not happy with you.”

it’s the slap on the thigh for me,,

outbound flight, chapter 15:

“And this is the engine compartment,” Thrawn said, stepping aside to let Thrass look through the access hatchway into the Bargain Hunter’s engine room. “You’ll notice it has a radically differently layout from those of Chiss vessels this size.”

thrawn moving aside because thrass needs more space (ﾉ ◠ヮ◠)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

outbound flight, chapter 19:

“Then that is what we’ll face,” Thrass said firmly. “And as a syndic of the Eighth Ruling Family I cannot listen to any more of this.” He jabbed a finger at the carnage outside the viewport. “Now. Describe this battle for us.”

‘jabbing’ a finger doesn’t sound very elegant, does it? that’s how an author would describe a fat person.

lesser evil, memories ii:

Really, so what? This depth of political game was far beyond Thrass’s position or skill. The Patriarchs and Speakers and high-level syndics could play if they wanted. Not Thrass. All he was here for was to have lunch. With a friend.

look. lesser evil told us that thrass loves food and i‘m SO here for it.

lesser evil, memories iii:

If the debriefing of the Parala officers was still on schedule, Thrawn should have finished up his testimony half an hour ago. If he was still on the ground, maybe Thrass could grab his friend for a quick lunch before they both had to return to their respective duties. Mentally working out a short list of cafés near the Defense Force HQ he could offer, he pulled out his comm.

lesser evil, memories iv:

“The fleet gave me the basics,” Thrawn said. “But yes, I moved on from there. Aside from the valuable exercise involved, simulated combat also helps train the eye to notice small errors, and the mind to learn how to take advantage of them.” “Which occasionally results in free food,” Thrass said drily, waving at the platter.

lesser evil, memories iv:

[Thrass] stood up and headed quietly toward the charge register, angling across the open space as he walked to put himself between the thief and the main exit. […] The thief leapt to his feet and charged toward Thrass, clearly intent on getting past or through him and escaping out the door. Thrass braked to a stop, shifting to a poised stance that would let him move in any direction if the thief tried to dodge around him.

thrass posing as a living wall between the thief and the exit? hello??? 💖

and then—and this is really just me projecting like a moron, because i’m sure not every fat person feels like this and it’s a common phenomenon for pretty much everybody—there’s bits of the novels describing feelings of inadequacy that just really got to me, for example

outbound flight, chapter 10:

Once or twice along the way Car’das noticed Mitth’ras’safis frowning at him and Maris, as if wondering why Thrawn had brought non-Chiss along for the ride. But he never asked for an explanation, and Thrawn never offered one.

not me interpreting this not as typical Chiss Xenophobia(TM) or suspicion but as ‘wow i am uncomfortable in my body with these strange aliens around’ lmao

lesser evil, memories vi:

“Good evening, Your Venerante,” Thrass greeted the Patriarch as he hastily stood up. Thrawn, focused on his questis, didn’t seem to notice the other’s arrival. “I’m afraid we haven’t made much progress.”

like, thrass being very exact about social etiquette not only because he’s a politician, but because he’s fat and any breach of etiquette would reflect even worse on him than on other people

again memories vi:

“You planned to maneuver us into this position,” Thrass said, feeling like an idiot as he finally got it. Politics was supposed to be his strong point; he really should have figured this out himself.

lesser evil, memories viii:

“They were lugging a cargo ship with them that whole time,” Thrass pointed out, wondering why he was even arguing the point. Apparently, the low-level tension that had been nagging at him since they left Glastis 3 had suddenly blossomed to full strength now that they were actually here. “That would have slowed them down.” “I took that into account.” Thrass ground his teeth. Every single time he tried to debate something with Thrawn, he ended up on the losing side.

is anyone else always trying to make up for not fitting into societal standards re: Looks by being right about stuff and being smart and then being super pissed when they fail to do even that? because it happens to me all the damn time.

he just reads like a fat person to me so that’s what i choose to believe. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ and the fact that he’s not Tall and Fit in the first official art that was released for lesser evil helps of course!!

i hope this wasn‘t a letdown, and that you enjoy these passages as much as i do 😌💙

#thank you so much anon this was a blast jdfdghgf #i don't think this needs a fatphobia tag but if you're sensitive to that kind of stuff. take care #ask #anonymous #am i putting this full on in the thrass tag? eh why not #thrass #outbound flight #lesser evil #thrawn ascendancy #sw lit #my sw meta #star wars #and honestly this fits in #body things #thrass is fat #<3

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ka-writes · 3 years

Text

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Notes: I was at camp. Sorry for posting late... in return I gift a long chapter!

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In Case you missed it:

Chapter 1:

Chapter 2:

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Inspired by:

Humans are Space Velociraptors

By:FreshRoses_InMyGarden_NeedTheRain

Some kids come from storks, others come from crashed spaceships

By: mmmajora

Home Again, Home Again

By: teeth_eater

All works can be found on Ao3

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Warning: Characters being trapped, mentions of IVs, Cussing, yelling, characters being restrained, nightmares, mentions of murder, a guy being arrested.

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“Humans are [add text here]”

Chapter 3: A Wild Crow Father has Appeared

Phil wasn’t expecting to be returning to Planet A112 so soon but Wilbur had sent a distress signal and that was the Dream Team Craft’s next stop.

The planet itself stood as a port market place. There were many of these planets around the galaxy, but it was probably the more popular ones for criminal ships and such. Poachers and Scientists alike came here to get supplies to take the biggest beasts in the galaxy, Humans.

Phil never understood the appeal, but both of his sons had gained that sort of adventurous aspect that he had lost so many celestial years ago. He assumed the only reason people ever chased the creatures was to fill their pride.

That was the exact reason Techno had joined the poacher ship three years ago. He only returned when it had crashed three months ago. To this day he has yet to reveal what horrors had gone on the ship.

Wilbur had another reason to go after the infamous creatures. His crave for knowledge was eating him up as was for most scientists. He joined the Dream Team Craft only six months ago and was already heading back to the SBI Craft.

Techno was pacing around the marketplace studying different weapons and supplies. Phil had been standing off to the side, leaning on one of the building walls. Every once and a while he would check his communicator to see where Wilbur was. Thankfully he had turned on his location so Phil could easily watch as he made his way through the maze-like market.

“Is he getting close?” Techno asked running low on patience.

“He’ll be here in two minutes or so.” Phil bit his lip, “You can head back to the ship, I don’t mind waiting for him.”

“I am not leaving you. Prime knows what Wilbur brought back this time.” Techno replied. Wilbur always had a knack for bringing back things he found interesting. This wasn’t the first time he had left the SBI Craft. This would be the 37th since he turned 14. Now he was 24 and the Craft had been designed to handle whatever he brought back. There was a holding room fit for literally any species, a mechanics room full of technology he gained an interest in. A garden and a gardener which was also retrieved by Wilbur. And of course Wilbur’s pride and joy, the laboratory.

“If you want mate..” Phil said, shaking his head.

Not even two minutes later he saw Wilbur coming from the middle of the crowd. He was carrying what looked like a hurt child.

“Well this should be interesting.” Techno mumbled as he spotted Wilbur.

Once the phantom saw them he strode over and they made their way over to him.

“What do you have this time mate?” Phil asked, curiosity filling him to the brim with questions.

“Someone I can’t explain till we get to the ship.” Wilbur states with a tone he had never heard from his son.

After a second of standing awkwardly they had come to a silent agreement to head to the ship.

It took less than five minutes. Wilbur was half sprinting to the lab before Techno’s assistant had even registered that Wilbur was back. Phil gave a quick greeting to the gardener and assistant before following Wilbur to the medical part of the lab. He almost fainted when he saw what was laying on the medical bed.

“I know it looks bad, but I couldn’t help myself.” Wilbur said apologetically, “I know you’re gonna want answers but I really don’t have a lot of time before serious damage is done to him. I’ll explain after I fix him up.” He glanced up with a face full of sincerity.

Phil sighed pushing aside any fatigue and collecting his thoughts. “How can I help?” He states without an ounce of shown-fear in his voice.

Wilbur took a moment before answering. Prime the silence was loud. “Keep everyone out of the lab, and set up another room.. that would be great.” Wilbur said. The worry in his voice was apparent, but Phil said nothing of it. Instead he started on the tasks that came with being the captain of the craft.

——————

He woke up to LED lights blinding him. Tommy blinked a bit before sitting up.

He was sitting on what appeared to be a hospital bed. An IV was attached to his wrist and there were strange alien restraints attached to his legs but not to his wrists. That would be a mistake if he knew how to take the sticky black cuffs off. Which he didn’t. Plus he was too weak to attempt.

He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and looked around. The bed was pushed into the back corner directly across from a window. There was no glass or plastic covering the window, only a shiny force-field looking thing. The window also was the length of the wall. To the right of the window was a little slot and shelf, clearly used to deliver food. To the left of the window was a place for a door. The only thing was there was no visible door, just more of the light blue painted wall. To the left of the space was a bunch of shelves with a bunch of weird toys, games, books, and puzzles. Across from that was a card table and two comfortable chairs. At the end of the bed was a bench looking thing in which the lid lifted up.

All in all the room was clearly used to keep people occupied while keeping a close eye on them. The inhabitants of the ship had prepared it so it could withstand most things. The furniture in the room had been nailed to the floor. The chairs could move either closer or farther from the table with whoever was sitting down using a strange contraption. None of the toys on the lower shelf could be eaten and all games and puzzles were on higher shelves. The books were also all hard covered. There were even plastic bookmarks in a small container next to the shelves. The window was clearly impossible to get through and looked like it would absorb whatever you threw at it. The food shelf had three mechanisms that wouldn’t be easy to get through. There were no vents or places to hide. It was very apparent they had done this sort of thing before.

The last thing Tommy looked for was a light switch. By some sort of luck he spotted it. It was a weird sort of dial thing that was right by the IV stand. It was currently at 100 and he then dialed it down to 35. It was dim enough to sleep but bright enough to see everything clearly. Not even five minutes later he fell into a deep sleep.

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“YOU BROUGHT A HUMAN?!” Tubbo yelled, fluttering his wings furiously, making him hover ever so slightly.

Ranboo swiftly put his hand on Tubbo’s shoulder pushing him back onto the ground. The enderian shifted anxiously making Techno ponder if he was also gripping Tubbo to keep himself grounded. Phil stood near Will expectantly. Wilbur shifted from foot to foot and rubbed his arm, yet kept his head up to look at everyone. Techno was leaning against his security desk, side eyeing the now asleep human.

“I knew you were stupid, I just didn’t know you were this stupid.” Techno stated without a hint of remorse. Wilbur scoffed before attempting to collect himself.

“I couldn’t just leave him there! It was a mission built for researching humans. Meaning they would be doing nasty experiments for prime knows how long!” Wilbur snapped, with a seriousness Techno hadn’t seen since Wilbur brought back the other children on the ship, “He is a kid. Not an adult that had nowhere to go and was doing prime awful things. He is a kid with no family, no home, and barely making it through the day. I read through his file and he has gone through awful shit. I wasn’t gonna let him die in misery too. If you don’t want him on the ship, then I will get myself my own ship.” Wilbur threatened with a tone not to be questioned. Techno took a moment to think through Will’s response before coming up with an answer.

“He can stay. As long as you keep him in line and take care of his rations. He is not to leave his room until we make sure he can do no damage. If anyone wants to visit him, you are either outside the window or I am present. No excuses.” Techno finished satisfied with his answer. Phil may have been the legal captain of the ship, but when it came to rules Techno was always the one to make them.

Phil nodded in agreement. The two children nodded aggressively, both of which clearly had no intention of going near the human’s holding cell. After a minute Wilbur nodded.

“Fine. If those are the rules I will comply.” Wilbur said, “I need to adjust some things, I will assume Techno will be coming with me?” He asked reluctantly.

“Yes.” Techno bluntly said.

“So be it.” Wilbur snapped. Techno just brushed it off as they headed towards the lab cells.

——————

Tommy was running through the forest on the edge of town.

It was his favorite trail and the only one his parents let him go on alone. Which cost a long series of promises and supplies he had to go with.

Usually he would be running on the trail for fun but this time it was a sprint home. He didn’t know what was wrong but he knew something was wrong. Especially when he saw the blue and red lights light up the evening sky.

“I didn’t do anything you bastards!!” His dad yelled over the sirens. They had him in cuffs repeating the Miranda rights to him as they pushed him into the back seat.

“What’s going on?” All Tommy could manage his throat was tight and he was struggling to hold back angry tears. He caught one of the officers' attention. She smiled softly.

“He got caught doing something bad to his wife.” She said sadly.

“What did he do?!” Tommy cried even louder this time tears slipped down his face. At this point the officer got more serious.

“I am not obligated to say.” She bit her lip before continuing, “Why don’t you go back to your parents?” She replied softly. This was the first time Tommy got angry, not annoyed or that childish angry. The kind of anger that makes you wanna burn the world down. It was a quick flash but enough to make him snap.

“You took my dad…. What did he do to my mom?” Tommy answered coldly. His answer clearly shook the officer.

“Aw kid, I- .. I am sorry.. he killed her.” Tommy already knew the answer. He shouldn’t have been surprised, but he was. He heard someone scream from far away. Maybe it was him, maybe someone else. They pushed him through a series of questions all of which he could barely answer. His mind was somewhere else. He couldn’t calm down. Everything was too much.

He woke up in a cold sweat. Tears were running down his face. His breath was rapid and uneven. He hadn’t had a dream like that for a couple of months, granted he barely slept. After a few shaky breaths he calmed himself enough to grasp where he was. He wiped the tears just in time for the spot where the door was to open.

In stepped Wilbur along with a really tall alien. The tall alien stood in front of the door as Wilbur rushed to Tommy’s bed. Tommy lost control of his breathing, barely calming down.

Wilbur grabbed his hands to which Tommy snapped his head towards the alien. “I want you to breathe with me okay?” Wilbur said softly. He moved Tommy’s hand to his chest and started taking deep breaths. After a minute Tommy managed to even his breath to Wilbur’s pattern. “Good, good. I am gonna take off your IV since you don’t need it anymore. After that I can get you some food and water, then we can talk alright?” Wilbur said, keeping his tone soft and slow. Tommy rubbed his eyes and nodded.

Wilbur took his arm, there was a small pinch then the IV was off. Wilbur quickly left and came back after about two minutes. Within those two minutes Tommy got a better look at the other alien.

The alien had light pink ruff skin with neat pink hair tightly braided. They were wearing a puffy cream shirt that was tucked into dark brown pants, which were tucked into black boots that went up to their knees. Their knees bent backwards and the boots were shaped weirdly, like they were built for hooves. They had hooves where their hands would be, that somehow had thumbs. They also had tusks poking out of their mouth. Along with blood red eyes that had white pupils. Their ears poked out of their hair and were both torn and pierced with gold earrings. They also had a gold chain necklace with a stone that resembled an Emerald. They also wore a black belt with a gold clip. Attached to the belt was an alien sword leaning against their right hip, on the other side was what resembled a gun.

Tommy swallowed down food that was threatening to come up. He waited patiently for Wilbur to come back, trying his hardest not to stare at the other alien.

“My name is Techno. He/him. Same with Wilbur and most of the crew. The only one who has other pronouns is Ranboo who goes by he/they.” Techno, stated bluntly. Tommy collected himself before responding.

“I am Tommy Innit, er- he/him.” Tommy finished with a shaky voice.

Luckily the awkward tension didn’t last long as Wilbur practically sprinted through the door, shoving Techno out of the way. He pulled a tray that was neatly folded out of the wall and put a glass of water and some food on a plate.

“Some parskey with hatatoes. It tastes good I promise.” Wilbur explained. He then went to grab something he left outside and sat at the card table. He put two plates down and Techno joined him. The door closed after that. There was no button or anything, it just closed. Tommy was a little baffled by it but looked towards the food put in front of him.

It was a white meat, similar to chicken, with a brown version of mashed potatoes. He looked over to the other two who were talking in a different language while eating the same food. With that Tommy decided it was okay to eat. Just like what it reminded him of, it tasted like chicken and mash potatoes with small differences. Like the meat was dryer and more salty and the potatoes were a little sour. Either way it was still good. He then drank the water. There was no odd taste this time so he assumed it wasn’t drugged.

Once he finished he attempted to listen in but was only met with a series of strange sounds. He gave up and pushed the tray away. Almost too quickly he fell into a deep sleep. He didn’t even notice when the visitors took their stuff and left.

——————

Ranboo poked at his food glancing up every once and awhile. The two crew members had returned from the human’s room and decided to finish their food with the rest of the crew. Everyone sat in a tense silence.

“So,” Phil clapped his feathered hands and turned towards Wilbur. “What do we know about the kid?” He asked.

“His name is Tommy Innit, pronouns he/him. He is 14 and was living on the run for six months. No family according to him and he’s allergic to nuts.” Wilbur answered.

“From what I can tell he isn’t super dangerous, just fearful. He already trusts Wilbur, somehow. Though I think it is due to Wilbur saving his life. It will be harder for the rest of us to gain his trust.” Techno added. Ranboo swiftly wrote the responses down, making sure to keep major notes.

The rest of dinner was uneventful and everyone awkwardly washed dishes and went to bed. Assumingly to sleep. Everyone except Ranboo that is. He couldn’t wash dishes due to his biology and he didn’t really sleep. Every time he tried the void would wake him up or he would go into a half-conscious state that the crew deemed as enderwalking.

So for what felt like the hundredth time they stayed awake laying in bed. This time however their mind was racing with thoughts. Traveling through situations that used to seem impossible before the human boarded the ship. Still curiosity was eating their insides.

With a half made up mind Ranboo shot up in bed. They stalked over to where the human was being held and peered into the window.

Almost instantly the human sat up. After yawning and getting into a position he was comfortable in he just stared at Ranboo making them incredibly uncomfortable.

“Who are you?” The human asked, Ranboo couldn’t remember his name.

“Oh! Uh, I am Ranboo.. I am kinda like an assistant, I-I guess.” Ranboo said, fidgeting with his fingers.

“Ah cool. I am the biggest man! Tommy Innit. You should be grateful to be in my presence.” The human practically flowed with confidence making Ranboo question if all humans were like this. He shook off the questions and turned back to the human who was now playing with the light monitor.

“So… what was your planet like?” Tommy asked, startling Ranboo a bit. “I-I mean you don’t have to answer of course.. just wondering..” the human stuttered. They took a moment to go through their thoughts, narrowing down what they could.

“I guess it was peaceful.. in a way.. no one really fell out of line. It was unified, creating a peaceful haven. It wasn’t like people couldn’t fall out of line it’s just they didn’t want to. M-most of them were content with the way they were… but if there was something wrong they would absolutely take any measure to destroy it.” Ranboo finished bitterly, trying to shake off his old hurt of how they treated him. “W-what about your planet?” Ranboo asked.

“Ah.. Earth is interesting to say the least… We don’t all follow the same rules. And there is a lot of falling out of line… But I guess that’s what gave it a certain charm and a certain aspect that made it brutal.” Tommy finished his serious tone melting in an instant, “But that’s there not here! I wanna know what everything is like.” He said looking at Ranboo with curiosity.

That’s how Ranboo created a bond with the strange blond creature. They bounced from topic to topic mainly ending with one of them going into a deep explanation of one thing or another. They talked until both of them ended up passing out sitting next to the window.

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Chapter 3- End

Words- 3,212

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Techno- “Don’t go near the human without my presence.”

Ranboo- ._.

Ranboo- Ima do it... >:p

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(That was a bad one but oh well..)

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End Notes: I got carried away a bit... I have a few more filler chapters before we start actually getting into the plot.. also after this should I start a super hero AU?

Ignore minor mistakes... I did reread through it this time so there shouldn’t be too many...

As always likes are nice but reblogs are better! Please share this with people of you enjoyed, I hope you did!

Go get some water, sleep, eat food, and stay safe!! Love y’all <3

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Chapter 4:

#dream smp fanfiction #tommy mcyt #tubbo #ranboo #wilbur soot #philza #techno #sbi au #alien au #my fanfic tag #my writing #reblog

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houseki-no-suffering · 4 years

Note

Pssst.... gush about some thing you’ve wanted to for so long but haven’t found the ask to do so! I really like reading your metas or off-the-wall posts.

aw ty!

mmmh usually i just crank out a random meta when i feel like it, which i havent had the energy to do in a while. so have a lot of hcs about gem language, gem society and how it resembles a totalitarian system cause why not, this is already a dystopia.

goes from cute to shady real quick, have fun

Gem Vocabulary

gems have no gender, they dont age, they dont reproduce. the whole vocabulary about relationships, aging and sex must be completely different in gem language. they probably lack a lot of words we commonly use, and have unique words for things we dont have (like winter duty, patrol duty... i wouldnt be surprised if gem language had unique grammatical features for those)

this is one of the reasons why its so unfair of aechmea to call cairn ‘wife’ and ‘princess.’ the gems have no concept of wife-ness, we dont know if a gem equivalent of marriage exists, but its definitely much, much different from what the lunarians (and us) perceive as one.

do gems have anything akin coming of age? this could be weird bc gems can potentially live forever, but they can also be abducted by the lunarians at any time, so who’s to say how long a lustrous will live? how do you calculate being ‘of age’? is it by calculating the average life-span of a gem?

how do they measure time and seasons? we know they have winter and summer and phos mentions ‘spring’ in chapter 20, but what about months and lunar phases? do they have words for that or are months just too small a timeframe for the immortal lustrous to utilize? how do they measure time? in hours and seconds? weeks? different units altogether?

Gem Relationships

similarly, gem relationships are codified in a completely different way. we know they have a concept of romance bc dia ships phos and shinsha and makes comments here and there about other gems being in love.

at the same time, the relationships btw alexandrite and chrysoberyl, padpa and rutile, ghost/cairn and lapis etc are little different from ‘pure’ sibling/sibling relationships or senpai/kohai relationships.

this is not to say that they’re all romantic in nature, but the way they’re codified in canon (especially in the way the characters grief for their partner) makes me think that even if the gems have no blood/physical kinship with one another they have a very articulated system of establishing family bonds.

dia and bort are clearly siblings, but the same can’t be said, for example, for rutile and padpa, even if they were partners and even if they display a similar junior/senior relationship. this means that relationships are predicated on something else in hnk, and kinship, family and romance are all codified in a different way.

think of vulcans in star trek: physical contact such as two fingers touching, holding hands and kissing is unknown of (save for very specific circumstances). and vulcan people have a completely different way of expressing intimacy and romance than humans.

this makes me think: just how many canonically romantic relationships are there in hnk (if any) that we’re simply unaware of bc the way gems codify and express romance is so different from ours? is romance even common? rare? perceived as weird? useless?

what about other relationships? the gems use ‘little brother/ older brother’ but what if this is just japanese approximations? what kind of relationships can lustrous language really express and how different are they from ours?

Imagination

as @ruddy-rutile pointed out some time ago, the gems lack a concept of fantasy. thats why i posted that panel about alex’s original lunarian designs. sure, it’s funny, but it also makes you think: these gems are not raised to think outside the box and they can do it without being told so only under exceptional circumstances.

of the vast library of texts that ghost (and lapis) used to take care of, just how many are novels and fiction? none of them? a small amount? a decent amount? in a society thats as focused on practicality, efficiency and conservatism as the lustrous’, how is fiction perceived if perceived at all?

is there art? red beryl’s craft comes very close to art when they express their feelings about ‘fashion for fashion’s sake,’ but it’s an exception that the other gems find hard to grasp.

phos is often told to stop fantasizing about the world and get things done, the only tale we know the gems are told is the actual story of how their world came to be. the gems always talk about real things, stuff that happened, and make and do things that have a practical use.

even bort’s jellyfish diary is just made up of a recollection of what happened when they tried to feed them. still, the fact that bort names the jellyfish makes you think that these rocks do have potential for fantasy, theyre just not used to it

Totalitarianism and Privacy

to make this even more shady, here’s your gentle reminder that:

- gems’ rooms have no doors. the only door ive been able to find is the one in shinsha’s room (ch 2) and that is because shinsha’s room is closed off to other people and full of mercury. its like putting a patch on smth you dont want to deal with (much like shinsha’s whole character arc tbh)

- the gems have little to no free time. or their free time can be revoked any time in case an emergency occurs, sensei is napping etc. the gems’ time is rigorously managed by jade, euc and sensei. each gem has a place to be and a time to be.

this means that a missing gem can be found at all times and slackers can be identified very easily. they all have a job and they have to follow it. this is not to say that they have no fun ever, but leisure time is rare and (at least as far as we know) its not contemplated when tasks are assigned each day.

the mere fact that there is a morning assembly and tasks are assigned each day makes you think. is this communism? is this totalitarianism? but most importantly, is this a scary dystopia that hits you in the face like a brick the third time you reread ch 2?

- sameness > equality. i already went over this in the past. gems society underlines sameness and conformity over anything else. the gems think theyre equal but theyre actually ‘similar.’

a system based on equality emphasizes differences so that every individual can do the best with what they have got and get back what they need, according to their personal needs.

these gems emphasize sameness: everyone is upheld to the same standards, even when those standards dont match with a gem’s unique characteristics (ie phos cannot be a fighter, no reason to keep saying stuff like ‘if only you were stronger/you’re useless’ etc. they’re a rock with an imagination in a world where dull reality is the rule. just make them write theater plays and play with slugs with shinsha, wth)

It’s real 1984 hours:

all of the above means that:

- your sense of self is subordinated to the group. if you dont belong you’re simply a nothing. at times, the gems almost display a collective consciousness (a pretty hostile one too): everything must be decided together and done together

- you are what you do. gems identify completely with their job. thats why a job is so important, thats why this system is so fucked up. self worth is not inherent, it depends on what you can do. talk about a breeding ground for mental health issues

- you dont have a saying in picking your career or deciding for you future. thats up to sensei (and maybe euc and jade). unless you have a very strong affinity with a certain task (like red beryl and alex)

- youre expected to follow orders all the damn time. no matter how much sensei wants his gems to exert free will, they still prefer to do what theyre told. ill admit, its much easier than taking your life in your hands and decide what youre gonna do with it, but damn if it isnt depressing. and childish

- euclase and sensei are the authority. sensei and euc are the powers that be. in the sense that they assign tasks, they decide on times and battle plans, on purpose etc. lets not forget that euc was the one to take on sensei’s role after he ‘resigned.’

i wonder what would happen if euc were abducted and the gems had no one to follow anymore, no orders. who’d be the new leader? would there be one? lets not forget that no matter how gentle euc is, phos is shit scared of them.

- thought police is a thing. to end this meta on what is probably the shadiest note: surveillance is a thing. the gems report on each other, it’s thought police, no sugarcoating this.

there’s no privacy, no secrets. even antarc reads rutile’s diary. this goes from cute and childish (’you did this one wrong thing, im gonna tell sensei’) to absolutely fucked up (’you did this one wrong thing, im gonna tell sensei’)

#houseki no kuni #land of the lustrous #hnk #meta #best #im a sociologist what did ya expect #pls feel free to add on this

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rottweilerrr · 5 years

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ROTTWEILER;

+ DOMESTIC ABUSE

I've already talked about this subject on several instances (especially regarding his co-dependent relationship with Mark, gender roles, personal boundaries and helping others, and a drabble describing his upbringing), but was recently reminded that I’ve actually never made a concise post about it, which is what I’m going to do now.

I. Rejection and withdrawal of parental affection

One of the most formative experiences of his early childhood is the lesson that seeking out people’s affection is not only unwelcome, but also punishable – be it emotionally (through intentionally hurting him, such as mocking, name-calling, insulting or humiliating him, and the latter especially and purposely in front of other people, or denying his existence altogether) or physically (such as pushing him away or slapping him, usually accompanied by some sort of verbal degradation as well).

Ultimately, this has lead to largely inhibited social behavior: He finds it difficult to form relationships (and especially friendships) and almost never approaches anyone first to do so, and if so, only very hesitantly. It also means that if he’s rejected once, there is little chance that he’s going to try again since it would mean exposing himself to the same kind of humiliation again. This especially applies to instances where the nature of the rejection resembles the examples above, regardless of whether or not it only happened in jest.

II. Susceptibility to further abuse

Now, exactly because he craves affection but at the same time knows that it is unattainable to him, he is not only incredibly sensitive to rejection (which evokes strong feelings of sadness, shame, despair and powerlessness), but also vulnerable to emotional manipulation and blackmail. In the past, this has lead to him being gaslighted repeatedly, most notably by his ex-girlfriend. She, among other things: used to constantly switch between dismissing and demeaning him and demanding affection, only to deny him said affection as soon as the initiative came from him, accused him of cheating while openly flirting with other men herself, “kept tabs” on him and insisted he let her see his phone, arguing that “if he didn’t have anything to hide, he wouldn’t have anything to worry about either”, spread rumors among his friends and acquaintances that he was either physically abusing her or otherwise involved in serious crimes, thus trying to alienate them from him and rally them against him, and lied about trivial things just to make him question his own perception.

After he finally broke up with her, she started harassing him via text and often called him drunk, insulted him on the phone and even showed up at the pub multiple times specifically to wear him down; he never did anything about it except changing his number.

His mother tends to fall into similar patterns, though less consciously so. Most of her aggression toward him started developing after her husband’s death when she found herself in the situation of having to raise a child all by herself that she was overwhelmed with to begin with.* And without his emotional support – and they were extremely close; the way they treated their children is not at all reflective of how they treated each other – and a child that she was, at this point, almost completely estranged from, things fell apart very quickly. In her own helplessness (and a good portion of denial that she and her husband were, in fact, largely responsible for the current situation), she eventually started shifting the blame of how he turned out on him and Mark, one of his few trusted people at that time, which alienated him even further.

After he moved out and contact ceased almost completely, she began clutching to him instead and often tried to enforce that by guilt-tripping him and generally making him feel bad for cutting ties (i.e. “How could you do this? I’m your mother!” or “I don’t have anyone else but you.”). Besides being highly manipulative, those attempts are not genuine either: She doesn’t want him to “come back” because she’s actually interested in making amends and rekindling their relationship, but to keep face. Additionally, she expects financial advantages from staying in touch: There have been several instances where she called him under the pretense of just wanting to chat, but then subsequently asked for money and immediately turned on him once he turned her down or said that he couldn’t spare anything right now (and mind you, he’s still in debt, too).

The outcome of those events is almost always the same: Either he doesn’t defend himself at all or he simply tries to shuffle himself out of the situation, usually by hanging up or leaving the house. There have only been very few instances where the situation actually escalated into a legitimate fight, which raises the question how and why he reacts to certain things in the way that he does.

III. Fight or flight?

Though previous elaborations might indicate otherwise, his passivity in cases like the above (post-breakup and post-moving out) does not stem from the hope that they will change or maybe still like him back if he only behaves compliant enough, but from the conviction that “there is simply nothing to be done about it” as help outside of his own capabilities virtually does not exist. If you cannot help yourself, it cannot be helped at all. This also means that there is no one you can really trust or rely on but yourself, which most significantly shows in the way that he often does not make the distinction between mocking or teasing someone in jest and doing so in earnest. Due to his experiences, he interprets both as “saying one thing but doing the other” and acts according to it. (Though it needs to be said that this primarily applies to people he doesn’t know well; he has a higher tolerance with those he actually considers his friends or feels comfortable around.) Hence his trust, as easily as it can be won through the right measures, can be lost again just as quickly.

Now, apart from either victory or defeat as a last consequence, his reaction to situations as described above (e.g. attempts at manipulating him, taking advantage of him or degrading him) varies strongly: It can range from silent withdrawal to avoid further hurt to open confrontation and aggression. But as a rule of thumb: The more he feels treated unfairly or attacked/provoked out of the blue (particularly by someone he doesn’t know well), the more likely he is to defend his boundaries and/or demand respect by lashing out. However, this usually happens gradually and follows a very specific pattern:

Verbal confrontation: He reacts to the seeming unfairness or provocation either by mirroring it (= retaliation) or by pointing it out (= defense), whereas it may vary how obviously or directly he does that; however, the more something actually gets to him, the louder or more agitated he tends to be. He’s not very subtle in this regard.

Threat and intimidation: Pretty self-explanatory: If you don’t stop, I’ll show you what happens and I guarantee you you won’t like it.

Physical intimidation: He’s a big guy and he knows it, so purposely overstepping people’s boundaries by physically invading their space (and thus giving them “a taste” of how it’d be to get into a physical fight with him) is one of his go-to tools when all else fails. He resorts to this very obviously here by literally leaning over their table and subsequently waving his hand into Ryan’s face, and here after Eggsy has gotten up from his chair and he makes it a point to not draw back.

Physical violence: The severity of usually depends on the other person’s disposition, on how big or strong they are, whether or not they are a skilled fighter and how much he expects them to fight back. Violence for violence’s sake is rare since his main goal is “to make them stop” – now and in the future, which can, in certain cases, lead to excessive violence should he be under the impression that this is the only way to achieve that goal.

This dichotomy between withdrawal (= avoiding conflict) and confrontation (= seeking out further conflict) is actually exemplary for how he tends to deal with conflict in general: it either does not get solved at all or it gets “solved” through violence, be it verbal or physical. And this is a learned behavior. This is how they used to handle conflict at home and this is how he and the people in his surroundings handled conflict later in life, which, unfortunately, also means that he has barely any conflict resolution skills apart from that. It is incredibly difficult for him to just “talk things out” or even explain what bothers him, particularly so since he’s not used to actually being taken seriously in his needs or concerns.

IV. Passing on the abuse

As I’ve already mentioned in II. and this meme, Rottweiler has a very strong mindset of “If you do not help yourself, no one will”, and combined with the experience that you have to fight for everything lest it will be taken from you,** this can result in situations that are difficult to understand from an outside view.

a) Refusing to help

With the exception of his close friends (Gina, Donald, Poodle) and individuals who cannot properly defend themselves (children, animals), he does come to anyone’s aid despite his own experiences. On the one hand, this has to do with the overall attitude that it is better to not stick your nose into other people’s business or it might fall back on you, but also, and more importantly, with the fact that admitting that you not only need help sometimes but are worthy of receiving it, too, would mean acknowledging the actual extent of his own abuse and the injustices he’s faced.

And considering that he’s built his entire reasoning on those two principles – you are alone and responsible for your own misery – he literally cannot do that without a catastrophic loss of meaning in and of his life. Not to mention that it would increase already existing feelings of helplessness and powerlessness, which would make him feel at other people’s mercy even more.

Eventually, this is why his attitude toward Michelle and Eggsy on the one hand and (canon age) Daisy on the other is so vastly different: he considers them “old enough to take care of themselves” and if they fail to do so, then that’s their own fault. Which is the complete opposite of his stance toward Daisy, who he’d help in a heartbeat if she were to face the same abuse as Michelle and Eggsy.

b) Trauma and abuse

Apart from the matters already discussed, there are other things that “trigger” traumatic events (respectively the memory thereof) and that he often tries to fight in a way that may be considered abusive as well but that he fails to recognize as such:

Avoiding him for no apparent reason (applicable only to people he actually sees more or less regularly): Evokes the same negative feelings as rejection and tends to spill over into aggression quickly if he’s already on difficult terms with the person in concern. His solution usually consists of an attempt to force them into acknowledging his presence and/or telling him why he’s being shunned (i.e. confronting them when they’re alone, chatting them up even though it’s clear they do not want to talk to him, generally seeking out their company), which, at least with other men, is prone to escalate into physical violence.

Not looking at him and/or ignoring him when he’s talking to you: (see above).

Talking over him: (see above, though here the factor “disrespect” plays into it more strongly, so he tends to get angry rather than sad).

Touching him against his will: He doesn’t mind being touched even without his permission – he actually enjoys physical contact a lot, platonic or not –, but he gets incredibly angry when people do it after he’s already told them no.

In regards to the first two, this cycle of abuse is best broken not by telling him off, but by telling him off and why you do not wish to associate with him (even if its not actually the truth, he’s not going to question it anyway): It’s the uncertainty about people’s motives and intentions that makes him bounce off the walls, not the fact that somebody doesn’t like him. So if he knows what’s going on, there is no reason for him to insist on his previous behavior, either. In fact, it is best to be very straightforward with him in general as he tends to struggle with picking up certain social clues.

V. Social isolation and picking up clues

Whereas Rottweiler is good at recognizing people’s moods, he’s significantly less skilled at recognizing the cause of said moods. The reason for this has, again, to do with the environment he grew up in, which demanded being able to see what mood people were in in order to avoid conflict, but at the same time made it difficult to grasp why people were in that mood to begin with – there was simply no one who actually talked about those things, so he was left in the dark about why people did what they did. On top of that, he was, for pretty much the entirety of his childhood and teens, extremely isolated from people outside of his own neglecting family, which impacted the development of proper social skills even further. It is still difficult for him up to this day to identify and distinguish the nuances of interpersonal relationships and interactions. Or put differently: If you want him to understand you, tell him clearly instead of dropping hints.

VI. Last but not least: Displaying affection and other random facts

As inhibited as he may be in the beginning, he’s actually very affectionate and open with his feelings once he’s sure that they are being returned; he loves showing people that he likes them and that they are important to him, regardless of whether or not it’s only platonic. On the flipside, I doubt he’d mesh well with someone who doesn’t like that at all.

He doesn’t smile much, though, let alone laugh, and it takes a lot to make him so. It is therefore a bad index of whether or not he’s having fun or enjoying the current situation, so you might need to read between the lines.

He’s actually not jealous and trying to make him so tends to alienate him instead, as it resembles too much known patterns of emotional manipulation.

Similarly, teasing doesn’t really work, sexual or not. It has so be VERY obvious or with someone he actually expects this kind of behavior from for him to “get it” and maybe play along.

He doesn’t hold grudges. His mother and the two guys who got Sheila killed are the only ones he’ll never forgive. Maybe the kids who bullied him in school, too.

Having grown up in a both emotionally and physically violent environment where violence had exclusively negative connotations, he is very averse to any play-pretend of it, too. He may be kinky otherwise, but BDSM is not up his alley at all.

* Though there was personal selfishness playing into this (i.e. putting their own interests and needs above the ones of their child as the rule and not the exception, generally failing to acknowledge that they are not only responsible for this child existing altogether, but also have the duty to take care of it – or at least make sure someone else is –, hence treating it like a nuisance and very much making this known to him as well), they were also both in a state of lethargy and apathy even before they had children (which, by the way, were both unplanned). At least his mother was/is in serious debt pretty much since her early twenties and his father not only had frequent health issues (mostly due to smoking and drinking excessively for the better part of his life), but probably also got into trouble with the law more than once. On top of that, they generally struggled with getting by and everything that comes with living on the breadline, which made it even more difficult and personally taxing to look after someone who isn’t them.

** Especially during his early childhood, he has made the experience that everything can and will possibly be taken from you: They got seized multiple times due to his parents’ horrendous debt and simply not paying their bills and his mother pawned his Christmas presents and other of his belongings more than once. Additionally, the police showing up at their house was not only a frequent occurrence but also an incredibly invasive and terrifying one, even though he probably doesn’t even fully grasp that himself. Them eventually taking his dog and putting her down was just the final straw.

#❛ criminal record. ⤿ headcanons #very long but very important.#domestic abuse tw #abuse tw #violence tw

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mbergen · 4 years

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In the beginning of all this, I mentioned Tammy had 2 other nurse friends in New York City. This is one of them. Carrie Ann. She has a Very Special Story to tell. Tammy and Carrie met at Kindred Hospital in Peoria, and then they both worked for awhile at IVCH in Peru Illinois. Carrie is a Travel Nurse and her specialty is OB, Labor and Delivery. Carrie’s Day 1 of 21 started on March 28 2020. She is staying at the New Yorker in Manhattan and working at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx. This is so heart wrenching to read her posts. But she is telling how it is. These are story’s that should be told. Their are some doubters out their that just don’t realize what is truly going on in this world with this virus. The people in the New York City are fighting for survival. We need to know what these nurses and doctors and all personal are going through to help these people daily, …..and you might wonder…. why do they do it?…..It’s because they feel the need to help. They are answering the call that they are trained for….It’s their LOVE OF LIFE AND PEOPLE. So in this blog I will copy the words directly from Carries FB site…..These will all be her words……Preserved for us all….

So Lets Follow her for her 21 days fighting Covid-19 in New York City

CarrieAnn is at Chicago O’Hare International Airport. March 27 at 9:57 AM · Chicago, IL ·

I’ve said it before .. being a nurse isn’t what I do, it’s who I am. It’s not always a choice, it’s a calling, sometimes you don’t even understand it yourself. So in the words of my little brother, Im going to “bring my ass home”, but for now, let’s do this New York

Jacobi Medical Center

CarrieAnn March 28 at 6:39 PM ·

Day 1. Jacobi Medical Center. I’m overwhelmed and proud to be part of this group of nurses. Ps didn’t post this morning.

CarrieAnn March 28 at 6:52 PM ·

So I’ve decided I’m going to do something I don’t normally do, and I’m going to post about my days while I’m here..as much as I can by the time I make it to the end of the day. And it’s not going to be your average sugar coated filtered Facebook bs, I’m going to be raw and honest about what is happening here. Unfriend me now if you don’t want to know. Day 1 started with some uncertainty because it’s the first day. No one really knows what they’re doing. A bus shuttles us from the hotel to the hospitals we are assigned to. There was a group of us on our first day so we had a day of hospital orientation before heading to the floors tomorrow. While waiting at the elevators to go up to education the nurse escorting us answered her phone and started crying, asking the person to repeat what they’d just said.. then cried out, and sobbed. She walked away then came back and told us one of their educators just died from corona. On the bus back to the hotel at the end of Day 1 and I receive a text from a newer nurse, I think she’s been a nurse 4 years, she’s young, a lovely girl, and she was assigned to Elmhurst. She just got on her bus, and this is what her Day 1 will look like. PLEASE PRAY.

Mar 29 at 8:59AM

Day 2 in NYC. I am still at Jacobi Center and I’m in Labor & Delivery where we still have plenty of supplies.

The text from my friend about her first night at a different hospital.

“ER -one nurse taking care of FIVE intubated “sedated” possible positive covid patients. five to one, he was just running around trying to keep a BP going. they are out of ALL supplies… they’re out of pumps!? they had fentanyl/levo/propofol gtts with no pumps. they were titrating by the roller clamp. maxed out on vent settings, with sats in 70-80s and they were happy with that sat. patients coding every couple minutes. it’s a 50 bed ER, and they have over 200 patients in there right now. patients just stacked on top of each other and having to move stretchers around to just reach a patient in the back row. they made a tent morgue outside of the ER and it’s full already.”

Feeling thankful beyond words for my assignment today, and praying this nurse has peace in her heart and mind this morning when she lays down to sleep. Even just for a few hours. ♥️

March 29 at 9:08PM

Today I got my assignment, and thanked God above my whole walk to the labor and delivery unit. That group of nurses were so appreciative -so thankful that we’re here to help- I’ve never felt so appreciated walking onto a shift. They took me in as one of their own made me feel welcome and did not miss an opportunity to thank me, all day long.

The TV in the break room runs between ABC NBC CNN and Fox news all day long, trying to keep up with the latest with Covid while managing our patients.

Employees at the hospital were picketing outside the emergency room and I’m not even really sure why… The biggest complaint I hear is about having to use the N95 masks for a week before we can get a new one. They gave out small brown paper bags, like a lunch bag, to store it in.

The labor and delivery unit is dated, and not well laid out. The cabinets are falling off hinges with long mismatched screws holding them on, and there is paint chipping off most of the corners of walls, and along the ceilings. But it doesn’t change the overall feeling of optimism on this unit, and in the midst of everything going on all around us, we had a delivery of a healthy baby girl today.

Every nurse that got on the bus wore her day on her face, some spoke it in words, some look defeated. One cried. We talked about our day.. the good, and the bad, then finished the bus ride back with our acapella rendition of Joe Diffys John Deere Green. RIP Joe

March 30 at 7:02PM

Day3. Today I learned why Mondays get a bad rap. New York hospitals did that. It doesn’t matter how experienced or strong of a nurse you think you are, you’re not ready for this. I got there, took my assignment in triage, and the door didn’t stop revolving. Within the first hour all the triage beds were full and there was a line waiting. Some were belligerent and cussing demanding to be seen, some were tearful, all were scared. Everyone’s wearing masks and complaining of how hot they are. Management is visible, on the floor working, asking what you need, how they can help.

These women are coming in alone, leaving their husbands, sisters, moms- whoever brought them- in the waiting room as they are assessed and treated. If they stay they can have one support person, no trading off- ONE person, per patient, per stay…. WHEN THEY ARE HAVING A BABY. Or when they’re not. Some of these girls are miscarrying, or having a threatened miscarriage, and they have to pick the one person that can sit next to them, hug them, tell them it’s going to be okay. One person. Because of this virus. Oh, and when they do deliver, dad gets one hour to bond then they have to leave .. til mom goes home.

Covid in pregnant women is a hard thing to look at. She’s struggling to breath and her 02 sats are in the 70-80s. Do you know how much oxygen that means her baby is getting? She went to ICU. I didn’t have time to check and see how she was doing after she left our floor.

I also didn’t have time to eat, drink, or pee. I can feel my heartbeat in my feet after sitting down for 10 minutes on this bus, and don’t even feel sorry for myself because I had more help than the night shift I just left.

March 31 at 9:27PM

I wasn’t going to post words tonight, but just a picture. If you haven’t seen it, this isn’t some professional National Geographic wait for the perfect poignant shot picture. It’s a snapshot, taken with a phone, by a nurse, here, in New York City.

But then…

Ive always been a believer of “to each their own”. I’ve never had a hard time respecting someone’s opinion or beliefs without agreeing with them myself. And then today I find myself typing out the words “you’re a fucking idiot” in response to a strangers comment on a friends post. A stranger. Going on and on about how this virus is a hoax. Well-?! .. is he..? an IDIOT?? Are people that fn STUPID? I just hope..these individuals don’t end up with the virus themselves and need the medical attention and treatment from one of these doctors or nurses that read that shit. Because I think, for the first time in my life I would walk on by.

April 5 at 7:05 PM

Day 5 was mixed. I am sore and I am tired. My back hurts from being on my feet for 15 hours a day, and there are open spots on the back of both my ears from wearing a surgical mask over the N95, to try to make it last longer. You end every day with a headache from the tightness and pressure of the N95 on your face all day. We have two rooms just dedicated to corona virus rule outs on Labor and Delivery, and we are going to ICU to do fetal monitoring for positive moms. We constantly weave in and out of ambulances on the way to and from the hotel. I’m not complaining.

I was present and praising God at the beginning of 2 new lives today. The OB charge nurse called the 4 of us crisis nurses together n she stood up and told us that when she saw on the news that nurses were coming from all over the country to help in NY, she was emotional and touched. When she heard her hospital was getting 200 nurses, she was excited. But when we walked onto her unit to work, she couldn’t believe it. She thanked us with a sincerity that was raw and I will never forget.

Across town my friend Sid had a different day. When she text me I put my phone down and cried. You don’t even have to be there to feel the terror of that shift. Its not plateaued, and it’s not slowing down. Again, she is not at the same hospital I am.

****five codes… they all die. staff is so so rude and unhelpful. it’s such a toxic environment. my patient was one of them at 0630. my vent stopped working because it’s a damn portable and he’s been on it for three days. they refused to get him another one and said that they had to save them for other patients… I bagged him for a good 30-45 minutes without a peep valve and of course he started to decompensate. it was me and a resident and nobody would help, he coded and died. the bus has left me. I have to wait for a van to come get me. we are reusing code carts over and over, we have no oxygen on the unit, the low oxygen alarms are going off, we are out of sedation, we’re using pediatric pulse ox’s… i’m doing things that are just going against my morals and it’s so hard to see how these patients are going down. I do not think covid is killing these people, it’s the lack of staff, education, equipment and resources…. *****

And so now there’s that.

Oh, and my other friend here, that I came with, she was in the ER today, positive.

CarrieAnn April 3 at 8:07 PM ·

On day 7, the Midwest is looking really good. After a week here, working nonstop, you’re a different person. I miss home, miss my kids and I miss my husband, Joshua, who tried everything from arguing to pleading with me not to go-because he was worried about my health-but has been indescribably supportive, and encouraging me every day. I love you. Im irritable and emotional. Tears fell out of my eyes and right down onto my patients bed yesterday as I’m leaning over her doing all the things when we lost fetal heart tones. That’s not how I nurse, and has nevvver happened. I just couldn’t help it. The feeling of impending doom is heavy. There are numerous morgue trailers, morgue tents, and mobile morgue trucks all over the city. Ambulances constantly speeding by, lights on, horns blaring. Don’t miss the view from my patients labor room below. The hospitals here have now started ethical triage. That’s when families are simply told there are no ventilators to save your family member. Do they need a ventilator to survive? Yes? Then roll them over there to die. People over 65 have been denied ventilators to give it to a younger person who has a better chance. WHAT-? Many healthcare workers here are writing their last will and testament. New York has now initiated orders that first responders cannot transport people to hospitals if they cannot be revived on the field. They just don’t…even…take…them. Can you imagine, in our country, calling 911 because your wife can’t breath and they won’t even put her into the ambulance? Thousands of nurses, nurse practitioners and doctors have come to New York, and are risking their lives to help. NO ONE knows how they will respond to the virus..you may be okay, you may die. All you have to do is stay home. Or you could be standing in the emergency room hearing “I’m sorry but we don’t have a ventilator for your wife/son/daughter.” No bullshit. How bout the NYFD though, greeting nurses for our shift 🙌🏼❤️

CarrieAnn April 5 at 10:07 AM ·

Yesterday was day 8, and it was the closest representation of a “normal” day in labor and delivery. I had a 1:1 mag patient that I was able to give the appropriate amount of attention to, and I didn’t feel like running off the floor once. I’ve gotten a lot of support and kindness from the staff nurses here, and that makes a huge difference. There are 2 covid+ moms on the unit- these women are SICK- and we sectioned a mom that was in ICU because her oxygen was in the 80’s, and although she resisted having a c/s all day, insisting God would get her through it, her body couldn’t win out over the strain the virus was putting on it. Her baby was born alive and went to NICU.. but this unit continues to focus on life and beginnings. It’s upbeat- a small little bubble of happiness compared to the rest of this city. I also received a package from the best best friend, Lynn, with more “stuff” I couldn’t live without! Shaina, you’re a special kind of person, and I’ll never forget the N95s you had for yourself, but sent to me instead. ♥️ So I’ll use this opportunity to share some pics I’ve taken since I’ve been here..none too exciting, no touristy or cool things that one would want to see on their first trip to New York, but New York nonetheless.

Madison Square Garden

New Yorker, Carries Hotel

CarrieAnn April 5 at 3:02 PM ·

Live♥️ NYFD here showing love to the health care workers!

CarrieAnn Munson April 6 at 9:38 AM ·

Day 9….Yesterday was my 9th day in a row working in New York City. The NYFD came to Jacobi and showed the nurses and docs some love, and that was cool. L&D was slow so I was floated to PEDS, which isn’t pediatrics at all anymore. It’s now an adult med-surg with double occupancy rooms. Practically every patient is covid positive or covid rule-out. The stream of admissions literally doesn’t stop and I heard the charge nurse say I’m at maximum capacity now so what do I do- put 3 in a room? The mood is still upbeat. This charge nurse was joking and laughing, trying to keep his nurses light and moral high. One of the nurses in my group got onto the bus tearful, saying she lost one of the patients she’s taken care of since we arrived here. A 38 year old man, who left his wife and 10 year old son, and died alone because of quarantine. The things etched in our minds eye and memories are hard to explain in words, you just can’t understand it without seeing it. The people who are really sick go from bad to worse quickly, and recovery, if at all, is very slow. The few people that do get extubated, are still 100% dependent on BiPAP. For those who are intubated, more than half are on very strong medications to keep their blood pressure up. And still many of them are dying anyway, despite our best efforts. The most tragic part, is that they are alone. Staff uses their iPhones regularly so that families can use FaceTime to see their person one last time, and say goodbye. There are videos people are taking suggesting that the situation in New York is not as bad as the media projects. I don’t have the time to watch all the news right now, and I can agree that the streets, even around the hospitals, are not crowded. However, that is NOT an accurate depiction of where actual patient care is being provided. At least in Queens, and the Bronx.. even Manhattan, every department that cares for the critically ill is stretched way beyond normal capacity. I have been working with nurses and physicians, anesthesiologists, general surgeons, gynecologists, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and nurse anesthetists, all of whom have been stepping in to do their best to function as intensive care and/or emergency medical providers. In the emergency room, there literally is no more room for additional stretchers, and those less ill are sitting in chairs, for hours and hours. This pandemic is real. The severity, which luckily doesn’t seem to impact the majority, is devastating for the minority. Please- distance yourself from others. Act like you have it, and everyone who doesn’t live with you has it too. You may get Covid, you may not. You may get really sick, you may not. But you could be the reason someone else does, without ever knowing.. and some of them are DYING. Dying with no family member there in their final moments…and that would be much worse than missing out on time with your friends, or not eating in your favorite restaurant.

CarrieAnn April 7 at 8:24 PM ·

Day 10….Yesterday was day 10. My friend was woken by a call on her room phone from the NYPD, saying there was a complaint against her and she needed to come to the police station for questioning. The officer told her he didn’t want to embarrass her so he would give her time to shower, and she could wear her street clothes (not scrubs) down to the lobby where he would meet her in 40 minutes, walk her out and cuff her before putting her into his car. She called home to fill them in and was told to call the police station back and ask questions. She learned that no officer had called her, no complaint had been filed against her, and no officer was coming to pick her up to take her to the police station for questioning. She notified our company who quickly made arrangements to move her, and make her non-registered. They are also making frequent checks on her. So not only are we fighting the virus, lack of sleep and hot meals, long hours on our feet, homesickness, death in our faces…. now we have to worry about abduction, or worse. W. T. F. Today was my 11th day working in New York. It was a good day. I was just a labor nurse, it was a nice pace, with wonderful fellow nurses, and a good delivery. God is present, and He is good. I am tired, and homesick, He knew I needed a day like this.

CarrieAnn April 9 at 6:04 AM ·

I have NO WORDS for the overwhelming feeling of gratitude and appreciation to each and every one of you- and I know who you are- that took the time out of your day -and money out of your wallet- to send me something here in New York to make my time easier. I’ll never forget it. ♥️♥️♥️

CarrieAnn April 9 at 7:03 PM ·

Day 13….Today was my 13th day here. Today we also had military nurses arrive at the hospital and assigned to the floor. It is an actual deployment for them. Today I started my shift counting the codes paged overhead, and just realized I stopped counting at 11, hours ago. Today we started swabbing all patients admitted to labor, regardless if they show symptoms or not. Have any of you had this done?..or seen it done?… if you haven’t yet, go ahead and search a video. The swab goes up your nostril all the way back, to your throat. Thrrroaat. Their eyes water and they try to stall, some women push the providers hands away over and over..and then they swab the other side. I miss home, and it feels so much longer than 2 weeks. But I have so much love and support from home..thanks again to all of you that sent me care packages, you can’t know how much of a difference it makes. And this unit continues to make each of us one of their own, embracing us more every day, with endless thank you’s. I still feel healthy, with no signs of illness, so I won’t be whining or complaining.

This is Carrie’s first 13 days. It is so hard to comprehend as we just sit here every day waiting for the days to pass. We see it on the news, but the reality does really have the full impact unless you know someone who is fighting the fight……Part 2 will follow her to DAY 21

Part 1….Carrie in New York….Tammy’s Friend….Coronavirus In the beginning of all this, I mentioned Tammy had 2 other nurse friends in New York City.

#Corona #Coronavirus #COVID-19 #Jacobi Medical Center #New York City #New Yorker #NYFD #Pandemic

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tahneeglll299 · 4 years

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Ask Me Anything: 10 Answers to Your Questions About www.gtadownload.org/

Game description GTA 4

Rockstar's vivid story of Niko Bellic, the immigrant with convictions strong sufficient to help explode him from the crumbling bases of Liberty City's earth of organized offense, is at once out on PC. The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 games shipped this past April, with this one you'll get a few modifications and additions those who waited are sure to understand. Despite what's been put in, if you've already joined in the unit versions it's hard to commend picking this up, even though it now includes space for approximately 32 persons now it is multiplayer games and a robust, easy to use replay editor for reputation and making clips from your in-game actions.

The Grand Theft Auto franchise rocketed to pile popularity after Grand Theft Auto III's freedom with the ground laws were decided for a different kind of game. Since then we've seen slight modifications and squeezes to the center formula with Vice City and San Andreas, and GTA 4 represents another move forward. This is a game to strips down many the much more zany problem from games past. You won't be making any remote control helicopter vision or lowrider matching problems here. Rather, the emphasis is located in realism, a more mature awareness, and cause GTA into the present day.

Leave by buying with your cousin Roman, a small time operator flat to get exaggeration, you'll move your way upward in criminal rings until you find what you want. Unlike GTA makeup in the previous, though, Niko isn't trying to establish himself because some sort of badass for the ages, transported to tip the city no matter what. He's searching for a little, next the objective he undertakes are really the only way for him to find this. He may perform a number of ruthless bill (which you, by the way, instruct him to help), although there are places in the story where you can reduce the hand down the lead to or create a selection while to the way things proceed. Despite the kind of senselessly violent tendencies many may see with GTA characters, Niko is the exception in many respects, since he has a language through which he works.

The sport infrastructure may be been more suitable, though there's still room to improve. If Niko fails a mission, a message request to retry it pops up the moment you respawn, and once you die you don't waste the full system. Moving across the gargantuan metropolis is made easier by hailing cabs to lead you to waypoints upon the map. Stealing a car with send yourself is always an option, as is the more immersive element of actually riding in the cab's backseat the whole time, looking out the windows in the passing lights. For anyone who's short on time otherwise would prefer to give up the chance perils of handling across a GTA world, the cabs are certainly welcome.

Still, you'll be doing quite a bit of mission restarts, and that usually means repeating big chunks of the problem. Many missions break down into a great original travel segment, some kind of escalation experience, a struggle, also a great escape. Moving through the on-foot shooting sequences, a real frustration with the clunky control structures of games past, has been be much better with the inclusion of a case technique also, as with many PC versions, mouse and piano defense for meaning and shooting. Coming from last cover that feasible to blind fire, rapidly pop dated to help unload a few photos, or walk cover to help cover, a system that doesn't always do perfectly but is a certain step up for the series. That possible to use a gamepad as well, that controls vehicles better than a mouse and keyboard. You can actually change freely between the control devices. Managing the two input methods depending whether you're direct or aim is beautiful awkward, but this good that Rockstar figure the idea during without forcing you to fiddle with a control input menu toggle. And if you have to choose one, it's much better to shoot from a moving car with the mouse and keyboard.

Some of the mission structures can be really impressive also drive very well within the framework of the narrative's government, but unfortunately the franchise's hearing with slip nature hasn't disappeared. You could be fix a mission perfectly until you accidentally engage a cop car, inadvertently develop an article critical on the mission, or misinterpret a new set of path that will want precise timing upon a mission's phase change, and this kicks you claim again out there to try again. Some can infer that as part of the problem, but the idea a setup that's become a little familiar at this point and continued existence will likely frustrate series veterans.

The strength of report and quality along with the amazingly detailed world are certainly about to create great thoughts with whoever dives into that side of Liberty City, but GTA has always been about moments. Remember that time people turned away from the stunt start and arrived on the pedestrian after slamming through the light job with the authorities chopper crashing on the ground from the family, putting off a run of explosions rocketing through the stalled traffic? With the COMPUTER version you'll be able to actually prevent that type of thing manipulating the replay feature. Hitting F2 will but a portion of gameplay roughly 30 seconds long near your own hard sink and make it designed for worked with the integrated replay editor. This collection of tools will enable anyone decrease in filters, join together clips, add text, attach music, adjust camera angles and more so you can recreate your favorite scenes but you see fit. Mean a cord of photos of people firing on traffic jams through a good episode chopper? Remember going to F2 every time you're popular that circumstances with joining them all together should happen no problem, cause people the possibility to prevent and savor those quirky, seemingly impossible-to-repeat seconds that turn up in GTA's unpredictable world.

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To choose the Grand Theft Auto PC Download editor mode Niko utilizes the cellphone, which play like a sort of heart for many activities. This appears in to play in the course of missions for bill meanings also gossip with the game's vibrant, well-realized NPC population as well as act as a tool built to allow players to live Niko's life as if it become a real one. NPCs can arrange to consult, for example, with no purpose other than increase your impression of the character. You can go on dates, control a game of rush or collection, and manage relationships much like you might outside of Rockstar's world. Many of these diversions prove to be fairly tedious after a while, but they're entirely possible so you can just go them alone if you prefer.

Outside of that there's plenty to get in Liberty City, a stunningly realized virtual report of New York City caked with all the dust, don, and cuts you'd presume to realize while moving behind an authentic street. There you can engage in the assignment, sure, but also immerse yourself in activities strictly frivolous, from going to Internet looks and pressing through fictional junk email to meeting ago in a dimly lit residence with absorbing the accumulation of curriculum and ads to, in normal Rockstar style, wryly torpedo common culture.

The lines staple radio is very much intact in GTA IV. When set against the net and group phones it seems like a bit more of a good anachronism, but it still offers the playoffs fantastic soundtrack then a cavalcade of fake talk lists with cynical advertising. Perhaps in GTA Against, the character will ultimately acquire the iPod.

PC gamers will get more flexibility when it comes to music selection, as Rockstar has involved Independence FM with this type. Since you're bound to have tired of finding out on Dragon Brain and Pisswasser eventually, you can weight popular composition files into a game list to act as that post is beaten to, snap you a better ability to learn anything you like must people plan to go on one of the adrenaline fueled cross-city cop chases GTA is famous for.

Then there's the online play, a significant addition for the string with a portion of the game that's been increased with a better player control in the PC variety with superior search functionality. Read through Niko's cell phone you'll find a broad range of selections for play, through races to deathmatches to a number of team-based games with more specific rule sets. The real sketch from the online portion here is to engage in 32 person chaos across the area of the capital in open mode, but the structured inside here for persons looking for something other organized. It would hold survived pleasant to view a little extra cooperative modes rather than those already offered in the system versions, but the multiplayer remains a strong element of this outcome for the freedom it offers those who venture online.

Online or away there's no doubt you'll be impressed with some of GTA IV's visuals. It's not so much the character models, but the sheer selection in the city's sections, from the glitz of Liberty City's "Times Adjust" to the dirt slathered in the industrial areas, Rockstar has turned out one of the most authentic, believable settings ever noticed in competition. But with the PC version, you're going to need a very good organization to notice in all the splendor for a decent framerate, as still about the system (Core 2 Quad 2.40 GHz, 2 GB RAM, 768 MB GeForce 8800 GTX with Vista 32) we lived having performance problems even after toning down a few of the situations, and some of the cause (the shadows in particular) didn't appear so angry as posed during important resolutions.

The severe is employed even better. Stellar voice acting throughout a absolutely unbelievable sum of sharply written dialogue presents and illuminates GTA IV's thrilling story. As you're getting together the starting sequence of a mission another time you'll generally be healed to an completely different, cohesive dialogue thread between the passengers on the auto and then grasp the pieces toward that Rockstar has worked to stop this earth with strain and personality. But this also carved in every situation, from the small piece of pedestrians to the normal horns, train track screams, and universal mechanical fuzz that suffuses large town to Rockstar's managed to capture so perfectly here, also contributes heavily to Liberty City's authenticity.

Verdict

If you've so far neglected to record Grand Theft Auto IV's stunning modern capital of Liberty City, by all means get this game. The GTA formula has been polished and retooled in this kind being more convenient, more realistic, and ultimately more mature, however it yet gets placed with brambles taken over by games past. As far as settle a virtual time goes, direct the public circle, night time, travel conventions and explosive attacks of digital dynamo Niko Bellic becomes just one that'll stay in your planning for times ahead. The LAPTOP version comes with a few added features, such as online filters for obtaining matches, the ability to save clips and alter them all together, added video and organize options, and also a better player capacity in some of the multiplayer modes. Though you'll need a high-powered approach to truly understanding the PROCESSOR version's enhanced visuals, Liberty City is a surprise to behold.

#GTA #Grand Theft Auto Download #Grand Theft Auto Reviews

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insert-witty-comment · 7 years

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PRODUCTION AND RELEASED DETAILS SPOILERS!!!I will be using information from things like interviews and known, released production details. If you're planning on going into the new season knowing as little as possible, please don't read any further. I also can not speak to what others might post in support of, or against my theories while contributing to the discussion, this could possibly range from things like set photos all the way up to full on leaks, which personally I welcome in this discussion (within the bounds of the sub rules). So again, if you have any concern of spoilers, please leave now. 3... 2... 1! Alright if you're sticking around, I apologize in advance if this is a little messy or jumbled. I've tried to source and organize things as best I can, feel free to call anything out or ask questions, or for clarification.Suggested Reading: My last half decent theory post from the previous trailer So, quick timeline recap! The "showdown" takes place November 12th, 1983. The Demogorgon is "killed," and Eleven vanishes. 43 days later, December 24th, things have returned to what I guess you could call "normal," Will is home, but suffering from the bleeding effect of the Upside Down, and vomits up the slug creature.S2 take place in the Fall of 1984, and we see a big focus is Halloween, so October 1984, roughly 10 months later, depending on the span of time that passes this season, I believe they've said that it'll be longer than just a week but I can't confirm that. Just a matter of when exactly things pick up. From the looks of it, Eleven's story will pick up almost immediately where it left off, with her having been displaced and ending up in the Upside Down after defeating (or maybe not?) the Demogorgon, and it appears that she'll make it out of the Upside Down fairly quickly and easily. Hopper leaves her the food in the chest in the ending sequence of 1x08, so December 24th. It's fair to assume she gets the food within a few hours to a day, as seen in the Final Trailer. Again, ~43 days at that point, she's been "free" and roaming. But as of the events of S2, most everybody still thinks she's missing.She escapes the Upside Down almost immediately, but doesn't make contact with anyone, except Hopper as far as we can tell.She's on her own, doing her own thing, for roughly a month and a half from what can be seen of the timeline relative to S1 and the Final Trailer.She's still assumed missing during S2, so she's been operating for almost a YEAR on her own, save for a little help from Hopper.What is she doing? We know she eventually makes it to Terry Ives' (her biological mother, in case any of you forgot) house, but at this point she has a full head of hair (unless it's another wig?), so this will likely happen during the events of S2, rather than the events between S1/S2.Since operating for almost a year, almost entirely undetected would be quite a feat, even for Eleven, I'd say it's fair to assume she's been operating outside of Hawkins. We also know that the opening scene will take place outside of Hawkins. We also know that one of the new characters, Roman, is an outsider and does not reside in Hawkins. I'm guessing that whatever Eleven is doing, whatever she's looking for, is of course connected to the Hawkins Lab, the experiments, and very likely Roman. They'll likely meet each other early on. It doesn't appear that the new Monster is a physical being, it looks to be made up of some sort of smoke/shadow/dark energy. "Will saw... a sort of Shadow." This could be Mike speaking loosely/figuratively, or in D&D/fantasy terms, more literally. "A shadow is an incorporeal creature of sentient darkness." I'm not too terribly familiar with D&D, maybe somebody more knowledgeable about it can chime in, is there any other sort of "Shadow" creature that would function similarly, or in relation to, the Demogorgon? We see Nancy and Jonathan with Murray Bauman, who is certainly living up to his description of "a disgraced journalist-turned-conspiracy theorist" with some interesting String Theory shenanigans going on. Who is he stalking? From here it's difficult to glean much from the trailer, just a lot of intense fast cut sequences, so here's some of the things I found most interesting."If anyone knows how to destroy this thing... it's Will." Goddamn am I hyped for Will, his presence in S1 left a lot to be desired, but I have no doubt he comes back with a vengeance. Does he pick up any latent powers from his time in the Upside Down? Are we gonna get an Eleven/Will superpower duo?We see Dr. Owens in person a handful of times. Still not sure what his motives will be compared to Brenner... Who I'm still not quite convinced is really dead, what with the classic, "if you don't actually see them die onscreen..." I also found this to be a mildly interesting detail, as mentioned on the wiki, "Reiser previously played the villainous character Burke in Aliens, a 1986 James Cameron film that the Duffer Brothers named as an influence for Season 2."Steve teaming up with The Kids™ is gonna be super interesting and a lot of fun, but... I'm still worried about him. I don't think he's gonna make it. He'll most likely die in a sacrifice to save The Kids™. I still have a few thoughts here and there but nothing too coherent to make anything of, these are just a few things I wanted to point out, maybe get some discussion going. I think one of the funniest things about this show, but also one of my favorite things, is that really in the end, even after this wall of text, we still really don't know what's going on. The show is so mysterious but still makes sense, they don't give enough away to really piece much together, so honestly it's kind of pointless, but it's just so much goddamn fun theorize and write this kind of stuff up. Pleaseforgivemeforanypoorformattingandsuch.Anyways, thanks for reading, please feel free to through in your two cents! via /r/StrangerThings

#stranger things

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newstfionline · 7 years

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The True Story of the Koh-i-Noor Diamond—And Why the British Won’t Give It Back

By Lorraine Boissoneault, Smithsonian.com, August 30, 2017

The diamond came from India’s alluvial mines thousands of years ago, sifted from the sand. According to Hindu belief, it was revered by gods like Krishna--even though it seemed to carry a curse, if the luck of its owners was anything to go by. The gem, which would come to be known as the Koh-i-Noor Diamond, wove its way through Indian court intrigues before eventually ending up in the British Crown Jewels by the mid-1800s. That was when a British amateur geologist interviewed gemologists and historians on the diamond’s origins and wrote the history of the Koh-i-Noor that served as the basis for most future stories of the diamond. But according to historians Anita Anand and William Dalrymple, that geologist got it all wrong.

In their new book Koh-i-Noor: The History of the World’s Most Infamous Diamond, Anand and Dalrymple work their way through more than four centuries of Indian history to learn the truth about the diamond, “panning the old research” like the Indians who sieved river sand for diamonds, Anand says. And the true history has its share of drama. For Dalrymple, “It’s a perfectly scripted Game of Thrones-style epic. All the romance, all the blood, all the gore, all the bling.”

But beneath the drama of the diamond is a more serious question that still has no clear answer: How should modern nations deal with a colonial legacy of looting? With numerous countries (including India, Pakistan and the Taliban in Afghanistan) having claimed ownership of the Koh-i-Noor, it’s a topic under vigorous debate.

To understand where the diamond came from--and whether it could ever go back--requires diving into the murky past, when India was ruled by outsiders: the Mughals.

For centuries, India was the world’s only source of diamonds--all the way until 1725, with the discovery of diamond mines in Brazil. Most of the gemstones were alluvial, meaning they could be sifted out of river sands, and rulers of the subcontinent embraced their role as the first diamond connoisseurs.

“In many ancient Indian courts, jewelry rather than clothing was the principal form of adornment and a visible sign of court hierarchy, with strict rules being laid down to establish which rank of courtier could wear which gem in which setting,” Dalrymple and Anand write in their book. The world’s oldest texts on gemology also come from India, and they include sophisticated classification systems for different kinds of stones.

Turco-Mongol leader Zahir-ud-din Babur came from Central Asia through the Kyber Pass (located between modern-day Afghanistan and Pakistan) to invade India in 1526, establishing the Islamic Mughal dynasty and a new era of infatuation with gemstones. The Mughals would rule northern India for 330 years, expanding their territory across nearly all of present-day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and eastern Afghanistan, all the while reveling in the mountains of gemstones they inherited and pillaged.

Although it’s impossible to know exactly where the Koh-i-Noor came from and when it first came into the Mughals’ possession, there is a definite point at which it appears in the written record. In 1628, Mughal ruler Shah Jahan commissioned a magnificent, gemstone-encrusted throne. The bejeweled structure was inspired by the fabled throne of Solomon, the Hebrew king who figures into the histories of Islam, Judaism and Christianity. Shah Jahan’s throne took seven years to make, costing four times as much as the Taj Mahal, which was also under construction. As court chronicler Ahmad Shah Lahore writes in his account of the throne:

“The outside of the canopy was to be of enamel work studded with gems, the inside was to be thickly set with rubies, garnets, and other jewels, and it was to be supported by emerald columns. On top of each pillar there were to be two peacocks thick set with gems, and between each of the two peacocks a tree set with rubies and diamonds, emeralds and pearls.”

Among the many precious stones that adorned the throne were two particularly enormous gems that would, in time, become the most valued of all: the Timur Ruby--more highly valued by the Mughals because they preferred colored stones--and the Koh-i-Noor diamond. The diamond was lodged at the very top of the throne, in the head of a glistening gemstone peacock.

For a century after the creation of the Peacock Throne, the Mughal Empire retained its supremacy in India and beyond. It was the wealthiest state in Asia; Delhi, the capital city, was home to 2 million people, more than London and Paris combined. But that prosperity attracted the attention of other rulers in Central Asia, including Persian ruler Nader Shah.

When Nader invaded Delhi in 1739, the ensuing carnage cost tens of thousands of lives and the depletion of the treasury. Nader left the city accompanied by so much gold and so many gems that the looted treasure required 700 elephants, 4,000 camels and 12,000 horses to pull it. Nader took the Peacock Throne as part of his treasure, but removed the Timur Ruby and the Koh-i-Noor diamond to wear on an armband.

The Koh-i-Noor would remain away from India--in a country that would become Afghanistan--for 70 years. It passed between the hands of various rulers in one blood-soaked episode after another. With all the fighting between Central Asian factions, a power vacuum grew in India--and the British soon came to take advantage of it.

At the turn of the 19th century, the British East India Company expanded its territorial control from coastal cities to the interior of the India subcontinent. As Dalrymple and Anand write of the British campaigns, “[they] would ultimately annex more territory than all of Napoleon’s conquests in Europe.” In addition to claiming more natural resources and trading posts, the British also had their eye on a piece of priceless treasure: the Koh-i-Noor.

After decades of fighting, the diamond returned to India and came into the hands of Sikh ruler Ranjit Singh in 1813, whose particular affection for the gem ultimately sealed its aura of prestige and power. “It was not just that Ranjit Singh liked diamonds and respected the stone’s vast monetary value; the gem seems to have held a far greater symbolism for him,” write Anand and Dalrymple. “He had won back from the Afghan Durrani dynasty almost all the Indian lands they had seized since the time of Ahmad Shah [who plundered Delhi in 1761].”

For Anand, Singh’s elevation of the diamond was a major turning point in its history. “The transition is startling when the diamond becomes a symbol of potency rather than beauty,” Anand says. “It becomes this gemstone like the ring in Lord of the Rings, one ring to rule them all.”

For the British, that symbol of prestige and power was irresistible. If they could own the jewel of India as well as the country itself, it would symbolize their power and colonial superiority. It was a diamond worth fighting and killing for, now more than ever. When the British learned of Ranjit Singh’s death in 1839, and his plan to give the diamond and other jewels to a sect of Hindu priests, the British press exploded in outrage. “The richest, the most costly gem in the known world, has been committed to the trust of a profane, idolatrous and mercenary priesthood,” wrote one anonymous editorial. Its author urged the British East India Company to do whatever they could to keep track of the Koh-i-Noor, so that it might ultimately be theirs.

But the colonists were first forced to wait out a chaotic period of changing rulers. After Ranjit Singh’s death in 1839, the Punjabi throne passed between four different rulers over four years. At the end of the violent period, the only people left in line for the throne were a young boy, Duleep Singh, and his mother, Rani Jindan. And in 1849, after imprisoning Jindan, the British forced Duleep to sign a legal document amending the Treaty of Lahore, that required Duleep to give away the Koh-i-Noor and all claim to sovereignty. The boy was only 10 years old.

From there, the diamond became a special possession of Queen Victoria. It was displayed at the 1851 Great Exposition in London, only for the British public to be dismayed at how simple it was. “Many people find a difficulty in bringing themselves to believe, from its external appearance, that it is anything but a piece of common glass,” wrote The Times in June 1851.

Given its disappointing reception, Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband, had the stone recut and polished--a process that reduced its size by half but made the light refract more brilliantly from its surface.

While Victoria wore the diamond as a brooch, it eventually became part of the Crown Jewels, first in the crown of Queen Alexandra (the wife of Edward VII, Victoria’s oldest son) and then in the crown of Queen Mary (the wife of George V, grandson of Victoria). The diamond came to its current place of honor in 1937, at the front of the crown worn by the Queen Mother, wife of George IV and mother of Elizabeth II. The crown made its last public appearance in 2002, resting atop of the coffin of the Queen Mother for her funeral.

Still shrouded in myth and mystery, one thing is clear when it comes to the Koh-i-Noor: it sparks plenty of controversy.

“If you ask anybody what should happen to Jewish art stolen by the Nazis, everyone would say of course they’ve got to be given back to their owners,” Dalrymple says. “And yet we’ve come to not say the same thing about Indian loot taken hundreds of years earlier, also at the point of a gun. What is the moral distinction between stuff taken by force in colonial times?”

For Anand, the issue is even more personal. Born and raised in the UK, her family is Indian and her relatives regularly visited. When they would tour the Tower of London and see the Koh-i-Noor in the Crown Jewels, Anand remembers them “spending copious amounts of time swearing themselves blue at the glass case with the diamond.”

According to Richard Kurin, Smithsonian’s first Distinguished Scholar and Ambassador-at-Large as well as the author of Hope Diamond: The Legendary History of a Cursed Gem, part of the reason these gemstones came to be perceived as “cursed” is because of how they were gained.

“When the powerful take things from the less powerful, the powerless don’t have much to do except curse the powerful,” Kurin says. Like the Koh-i-Noor, the Hope diamond came from India and was displayed at the London Exposition in 1851. It is now displayed at the National Museum of Natural History, having been donated by Harry Winston, who legally purchased it.

And while Kurin says uncovering the line of ownership of a gemstone like the Koh-i-Noor is best practice when it comes to history, it doesn’t necessarily lead to a legal obligation (though other scholars and lawyers disagree). He and Dalrymple both point out that the rulers who once owned these gemstones headed nations that no longer exist.

That’s one of the biggest differences between objects taken during colonial conquest and art and treasure looted by Nazis--the difficulty in ascertaining who has the first and most legitimate claim to anything.

The Koh-i-Noor isn’t the only contested treasure currently residing in the UK. Perhaps equally controversial are the Elgin Marbles, statues carved 2,500 years ago and taken from the Parthenon in Athens by British Lord Elgin in the early 1800s. So far, the UK has retained ownership of the statues and the diamond, regardless of calls for their return.

Anand thinks one solution that doesn’t require removing the Koh-i-Noor from the UK is to make the history of the diamond clearer. “What I would dearly love is for there to be a really clear sign by the exhibit. People are taught this was a gift from India to Britain. I would like the correct history to be put by the diamond.”

The diamond isn’t likely to leave the Crown Jewels anytime soon. Anand and Dalrymple only hope that their work will do some good by clarifying the true path the infamous gemstone followed--and helping leaders come to their own conclusions about what to do with it next.

#Koh-i-Noor Diamond #India #Britain #British crown jewels

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compunctionjunction · 7 years

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70 horrible questions

I was tagged by the lovely @1of1prism thank u my guy <3

01: Do you have a good relationship with your parents? Maybe better than some people but probably also worse than a lot of people lol. Sometimes I go to people’s houses and I’m like ???what is this “communication”. Also depends on the day and parent. i have an entire tag devoted to my dad lol

02: Who did you last say “I love you” to? I dunno probs my mom or one of my friends

03: Do you regret anything? Lots

04: Are you insecure? "My insecurities have insecurities” tho tbh i’m gettin pretty good.

05: What is your relationship status? Single and not ready to mingle

06: How do you want to die? in control and ready 2 go

07: What did you last eat? cream of chicken soup... chocolate frozen yogurt... caramel pudding....... I just had my wisdom teeth out.......give me real food......

08: Played any sports? Never, in my life. The audacity.

09: Do you bite your nails? Ahuh! Sometimes!

10: When was your last physical fight? ive never been in a 2-way fight but the most recent 1-sided one was probs in gr 6 when one of my friends (aha) dragged me across the classroom by my hair lol

11: Do you like someone? No :\

12: Have you ever stayed up 48 hours? try 72 hon

13: Do you hate anyone at the moment? lol trump (im not changing ur answer sophie cause its accurate lol) also anyone who aligns w him and rn all the conservative MPs for being dicks and a lot more I’m full of hatred rn

14: Do you miss someone? i miss being able to eat real

15: Have any pets? my sister has 2 ferrets :\ but she moved out so no

16: How exactly are you feeling at the moment? my face hurts

17: Ever made out in the bathroom? made out a cheque to my haters (just kidding i have no money and no haters i just was trying to be funny. im sorry. i need humour right now.)

18: Are you scared of spiders? i mean i think it depends on how dark it is and how big the spider is tbh

19: Would you go back in time if you were given the chance? i dunno i’ll need an informed consent form

20: Where was the last place you snogged someone? :\

21: What are your plans for this weekend? first i gotta recover and then i gotta finish like 5 papers and hang with people and have a sleepover and hang with more ppl and watch a bunch of tv

22: Do you want to have kids? How many? I want to give birth to 0 kids tho I am still undecided on adoption etc. I’d probs be a rly good godmother tho like im just sayin. @1of1prism @purewhiteflames ;))

23: Do you have piercings? How many? no piercings as of yet tho i wanna get my ears pierced i think. but my dad disapproves of anything like that so i’d probs have to wait to either move out or be financially independent lol

24: What is/are/were your best subject(s)? rn? english, women and gender studies, most things involving research-based papers where i have free reign over the topic

25: Do you miss anyone from your past? lotsa ppl tbh

26: What are you craving right now? food........that i can eat........ chickenmelts........hamburgers......pizza........pasta......... :’(

27: Have you ever broken someone’s heart? prob lol but do i care

28: Have you ever been cheated on? we’ve all been cheated on.......by the system.....

29: Have you made a boyfriend/girlfriend cry? that would require having one

30: What’s irritating you right now? my goddamn jaw and people eating food I can’t eat in front of me. my parents had mcdonalds yesterday. you know what i had. a milkshake. my sister brought home bacon wrapped scallops. I haven’t had scallops in like 2 years cause they’ve doubled in price and the one time we have scallops let alone frickin bacon wrapped scallops (like what the hell what kinda fancyass lunch) I cant FRICKIN eat it. Oh but I can smell it. I can hear u crunching on these foods. “Mmmmm!” ya shut up.

31: Does somebody love you? Do you know how popular I am? I am soooo popular. Everybody loves me so much at this school.

32: What is your favourite color? black and hot pink together

33: Do you have trust issues? ...........why are u asking..........what will u do with that info.......

34: Who/what was your last dream about? NO FREAKING JOKE!!!!!! i HAD A FRICKIN DREAM WHERE DANNY DEVITO CAME TO MY HOUSE WITH THIS LADY AND THEY TRIED TO BUY MY HOUSE AND MY MOM WAS LIKE “no..” AND THEY WERE SO MAD AND DANNY DEVITO TRIED TO STEAL THE HOUSE KEYS BUT I CAUGHT HIM JUST IN TIME like what kinda fake tumblr text post but it’s real i really dreamed that. I honestly can’t believe it. I would doubt it myself except I told someone abt it right away when I woke up. so now i will never forget.

35: Who was the last person you cried in front of? my mom and this nurse because I woke up in a cot after being high on laughing gas and some other drug and steroids so not only did I wake up and I didn’t know where I was and no one was there and there was like an hour gap in my consciousness but I was coming off a high LOL

36: Do you give out second chances too easily? definitely not lol I give 2nd chances on rare occasions but as a general rule if u break my trust I won’t trust u in the same way again lol “trust is like a mirror. u can fix it if it’s broke. but u can still see the crack in that mother fucker’s reflection”

37: Is it easier to forgive or forget? hmmmmmmmmmmmmm forgive i guess

38: Is this year the best year of your life? well not politically or in a global sense but in terms of like self-growth and stuff I’m doing pretty well so far I’m doin pretty good. workin hard... having fun.. loving myself..

39: How old were you when you had your first kiss? i have never in my life sullied my lips with someone else’s bacteria-laden lips

40: Have you ever walked outside completely naked? n.........o

51: Favourite food? chicken pasta alfredo, chicken pie, chicken vol au vents, chickenmelts, eggs benedict, um, double chocolate fudge tart from dufflet... hmm, Sophie’s dad’s lasagna and also pasta al fuerno or whatever that’s called like yum, uh.. it’s really easy to list these off when i CAN’T HAVE ANY OF THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Also poutine, and I also rly like Subway (ham and cheese on italian herbs and cheese bread with lettuce, onion, pickles, and mayonaisse, toasted...)

52: Do you believe everything happens for a reason? kind of but I tried to explain it to someone once and they were like ??????what ur saying makes no sense and contradicts itself and i was like ya probably lol

53: What is the last thing you did before you went to bed last night? watched a bad tv show my parents were watching and drank a giant mcdonalds milkshake and iced my face

54: Is cheating ever okay? honestly who am i to judge ur relationship and forgiveness and stuff but like imo if someone cheats on u they don’t respect u as an equal in that relationship or probably as a human

55: Are you mean? i can be a bit of a dick tbh but most of the time when i say something mean in my head im like “why is my mouth saying//why are my fingers typing these horrible ass things??”

56: How many people have you fist fought? well ive never used my fists on anyone but 2 people have punched me in the stomach does that count lol

57: Do you believe in true love? at the same time, i wanna hug you, i wanna wrap my hands around your neck, you’re an asshole, but i love you... so much i think it must be true love, true love. it must be tru-e love, no one else could break my heart like yo-o-o-o-o-o. yo-o-o-o-oh, oh-o-o-oh (No)

58: Favourite weather? either when its foggy and tranquil or when its like 23-25 degrees and sunny but also there’s some clouds so it’s not like direct hot sun on u but it’s still warm enough to wear shorts

59: Do you like the snow? i like when it’s snowing and quiet and peaceful and i like lying down in the snow and having that feeling of hearing everything kind of muted? but ya i hate slush and ice and stuff

60: Do you wanna get married? not really but i might for tax benefits LOL

61: Is it cute when a boy/girl calls you baby? No, get that shit away from me

62: What makes you happy? lots of things especially seeing other people happy and genuine

63: Would you change your name? Maybe tbh it’s something i’m thinking abt right now cause I’m not a super fan of my name but maybe not officially and I also don’t wanna start shit with my fam I think my mom would be upset lol

64: Would it be hard to kiss the last person you kissed? ya cause they don’t exist lol

65: Your best friend of the opposite sex likes you, what do you do? well thats nice cause I like him too but what’s with this “opposite sex” bs like i know what u mean but like

66: Do you have a friend of the opposite sex who you can act your complete self around? like seriously it’s not a real thing sex and gender are both constructs it’s a spectrum, a range. my buddy. pal. listen. (also ya i like to think anyone in our friend group but like probs john cause I can be scathing with those guys but as if i’d ever be vulnerable around them LOL)

67: Who was the last person of the opposite sex you talked to? like ur gonna keep going with this. ur gonna keep doing this. thats fine. but i can give u some reading. like i have all these pdfs if ur interested. no joke. and if pdfs are unaccessible to u i also have a bunch of youtube links. like hon. (my dad)

68: Who’s the last person you had a deep conversation with? wow i dont even know if i can tag u back @1of1prism cause if im being honest i think it was @purewhiteflames oops, yikes!!!

69: Do you believe in soulmates? no but i do think there are people that u are much more compatible with than other people

70: Is there anyone you would die for? i dunno we’ll see if/when it happens lol

I’m not gonna put anyone else through this so you can say I tagged u if u wanna do it but like lol

#tag game #about #man i forgot abt some of the things my dad has said and then i went through his tag and i was like #oh ya!!! that happened lol!#i guess it is easier to forget than forgive after all loool #my dad #marinapleasecontinue

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rsadelle · 7 years

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Yuletide 2016

Below the cut is a Yuletide round-up of recs and also the things I wrote.

Stories For Me

all that is good (10136 words) by sevenfoxes Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Bourne (Movies) Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Jason Bourne/Nicky Parsons Characters: Jason Bourne, Nicky Parsons Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, unprotected sex Summary:

You think about Landy, how the hearings meant to expose corruption instead started to swallow her whole, destroying the last genuinely good person you knew at the CIA. You think about Vosen and Conklin and Abbot and all the fucking men who hid behind the flag and a thick line about patriotism while pursuing their own agenda, their own power and money. You think about your father dying alone, believing you were gone, that the last of his family was dead.

“There have to be consequences,” you tell him.

That is the difference between the two of you. Jason wants to be left alone.

You want vengeance.

What I liked: NICKY! I was really excited to get a story all about Nicky. This does a really good job of alternating past and present to flesh out the characters and their relationship. Plus reproductive choices.

make haste from Babylon (3990 words) by Addison R Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: The Killing Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Stephen Holder & Sarah Linden Characters: Sarah Linden, Stephen Holder Additional Tags: Soul Bond, Writing on Skin Summary:

This must be the new guy, but he sure doesn't look the part.

What I liked: SOULBONDING. I won't give it all away, so suffice to say there's a match to shapes that I enjoyed, and also a pull to keep them together.

Other Stories I Enjoyed

A Divinely Attractive Arrangement (5895 words) by Fahye Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Love and Friendship (2016) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Sir James Martin, Lord Manwaring, Lady Susan Vernon Summary:

A selection from the Private Diary of Sir James Martin of Martindale. Concerning Peas, Friendship, the state of Blessed Matrimony, and several wonders of Modern Medicine.

What I liked: This is absolutely hilarious. The characterization is spot-on, and I laughed all the way through it.

Exclusive, Mutually (1507 words) by youjik33 Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Arrested Development Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: George Oscar "Gob" Bluth/Tony Wonder Characters: Michael Bluth, Lindsay Bluth Funke, George Oscar "Gob" Bluth, Tony Wonder Summary:

“You realize they’re only even having a wedding for the attention, right?” Michael asked.

Lindsay looked at him quizzically. “Well, yeah, why else?”

What I liked: This is an outsider pov on Gob and Tony Wonder's wedding. It's funny, and I also suggest listening to the mood music linked in the notes as you read.

Aviens Rex (1603 words) by sumeria Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: birdsrightsactivist (Twitter) Rating: Not Rated Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Bird (birdsrightsactivist) & Original Character(s) Characters: Bird (birdsrightsactivist), Original Male Character(s), Original Child Character(s) Additional Tags: Twitter, Yuletide, epistolary?, no politics Summary:

In which Brad and Steve just want to have a picnic and a Tyrannosaurus is only another kind of bird.

What I liked: This is a very funny story told in tweets where we see both sides of Bird's interaction with a family having a picnic.

They Call it Undercover Work for a Reason (But Not That Reason) (8273 words) by greywash Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Spy (2015), Olympics RPF Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Nancy B. Artingstall & Susan Cooper, Susan Cooper/OFC, Susan Cooper/Nancy B. Artingstall/OFC (ish), Susan Cooper/Rick Ford, Susan Cooper/Rick Ford/Nancy B. Artingstall (ish), Nancy B. Artingstall/the Italian men's Olympic rowing team Characters: Susan Cooper (Spy 2015), Nancy B. Artingstall Additional Tags: Yuletide Treat, the olympics, Actual Bids for the 2024 Summer Olympics, (but everything else is made up), (definitely 100 percent made up), Los Angeles 2024, Paris 2024, Budapest 2024, international espionage, Adventure, The CIA: Have Fun and See Europe While Hitting Lots of Dudes in the Face, Rivalry, Hatesex, Alternate title: The Dr. Seuss Compendium of Hatesex, Would you do it on a plane?, Would you do it at a party?, Would you do it in an alley?, Would you do it on a Ferrari?, Cephalopods, Oh my God Rick Ford be better at your job, Susan and Nancy 2017 World Tour, I have 'friends' at the American embassy, Everything author knows about French accents they learned from Harry Potter IV, (sorry France), Irresponsible use of Google Translate, (sorry everyone), shh shh you have a head wound, maybe guest starring some famous person's second cousin once removed or something just because, also there's a yacht Summary:

"Cooper," says Crocker. "We've had word of an agent trying to undermine the American bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics."

"Do we care about the Olympics?" asks Nancy.

What I liked: This is exactly as absurd as a Spy story should be.

10 Things I Hate About Reunions (17278 words) by BryroseA Chapters: 2/2 Fandom: 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Kat Stratford/Patrick Verona Characters: Kat Stratford, Patrick Verona, Bianca Stratford Additional Tags: Partial epistolary - text messages, Post-Canon, the 2nd chapter is just the story stripped of all formatting for accessibility Summary:

Is there anyone less likely than Katerina Stratford to go to their high school reunion?

Well...maybe there is one person.

What I liked: I loved the mix of Kat and Bianca's relationship and the improbable coincidences that happen because of Bianca's scheming.

And All The Roads Are Blinding (7978 words) by moemachina Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Kat Stratford/Patrick Verona Characters: Kat Stratford, Patrick Verona, Bianca Stratford, Cameron James Additional Tags: Lovers to Friends to Lovers, Sisterhood, Social Media, History of Technology Summary:

In the years after high school, Kat tentatively becomes friends with her ex-boyfriend Patrick. And then Bianca gets married.

What I liked: The slow reconnecting, and also the bits about Bianca's relationships with her exes.

Days Gone Down (1614 words) by Nomad Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Eroica Yori Ai o Komete | From Eroica with Love Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Klaus von dem Eberbach, Klaus von dem Eberbach's father, Dorian Red Gloria Additional Tags: Future Fic, Yuletide Treat Summary:

An aging Klaus has a conversation with his father.

What I liked: Aging, the connection between Klaus and his father, the mix of that serious conversation with the ridiculousness that (of course) occurs when Dorian shows up.

Friday Night Bracing for Monday (21485 words) by Addison R Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Good Will Hunting (1997) Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Will Hunting/Chuckie Sullivan Characters: Chuckie Sullivan, Will Hunting, Morgan O'Mally, Billy McBride Additional Tags: Sharing Clothes, Happy Ending, Sharing a Bed, Postcards, Canon-typical language, Families of Choice, Past Violence, Past Child Abuse, Post-Movie(s), Yuletide 2016 Summary:

Chuckie grows up a little, and Will moves back to Boston.

What I liked: Stories about people growing up and getting their lives together are my faaaavorite.

The Dame's Only Doing It for that Doll (1561 words) by major_general Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Guys and Dolls - Loesser/Swerling/Burrows Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Sarah Brown/Sky Masterson Characters: Sky Masterson, Sarah Brown, Nicely-Nicely Johnson Additional Tags: Rule 63, Alternate Universe - Always a Different Sex, Lesbian Character, Lesbian Sky Masterson, Misses Clause Challenge Summary:

Sgt. Sarah Brown runs a mission on her own terms in the years after agreeing to a Boston marriage with Sky Masterson.

What I liked: Lesbian Sky Masterson! Also the effect of a gangster and a missionary making a life together.

Renovation (2712 words) by faithfulcynic Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Practical Magic (1998) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Characters: Bridget "Jet" Owens, Frances Owens Additional Tags: Humor, Siblings, Magic, The House has Opinions, Franny watches HGTV, Jet wants another brownie Summary:

Every decade or so, Frances has the urge to renovate the House and every decade or so the House has other plans. Jet always gets caught in the middle.

What I liked: I enjoyed the House's personality and the battles it has with Frances.

Stories By Me

Every Single Holiday (4043 words) Fandom: Spy (2015) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Susan Cooper/Rick Ford Characters: Susan Cooper (Spy 2015), Rick Ford, Nancy B. Artingstall Additional Tags: Dick in a Box, 5+1 Things Summary:When it comes to gift-giving, Ford's repertoire is somewhat limited.

First Choices (2017 words) Fandom: Chalion Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: the Bastard (Chalion), Original Female Character(s), Original Male Character(s) Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting Summary:A growing number of L.G.B.T. Quintarians are choosing to devote themselves to gods other than the Bastard.

Life to the Kingdom (2097 words) Fandom: The Huntsman (Movies) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: The Huntsman/Sara (The Huntsman)/Snow White (The Huntsman), The Huntsman/Sara (The Huntsman), The Huntsman/Snow White (The Huntsman), Sara (The Huntsman)/Snow White (The Huntsman), Snow White/William (The Huntsman) Characters: The Huntsman (The Huntsman), Sara (The Huntsman), Snow White (The Huntsman), William (The Huntsman) Additional Tags: Threesome - F/F/M, Infidelity, Future Fic Series: Part 1 of The Huntsman: Future's Hope Summary:When the kingdom of the north had been freed and the mirror's shards taken to Sanctuary, Eric and Sara returned to Snow White's kingdom.

Hope Of Our Hearts (4031 words) Fandom: The Huntsman (Movies) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: The Huntsman/Sara (The Huntsman)/Snow White (The Huntsman), The Huntsman/Sara (The Huntsman), The Huntsman/Snow White (The Huntsman), Snow White/William (The Huntsman) Characters: Original Female Character(s), Original Male Character(s), Snow White (The Huntsman), William (The Huntsman), The Huntsman (The Huntsman), Sara (The Huntsman), Ravenna (The Huntsman) Additional Tags: Future Fic, Past Infidelity Series: Part 2 of The Huntsman: Future's Hope Summary: When the Heir to Snow White's kingdom, who was known to the people not only by her name of Hope but also as Hope-of-our-hearts, had reached her majority, word came from the kingdom to the east that they were being harried at their eastern border by an army of nearly supernatural strength.

#fic rec #yuletide

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hermadnessty · 5 years

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RULES

PORTRAYAL. As you may have already wagered, this is a blog for the character Jennifer Goines from the TV series 12 Monkeys. I am in no way affiliated with anyone involved in the making and portrayal of Jennifer Goines in film. I’m just a lowly college student who has succumbed to yet another muse.

ACTIVITY. My activity on this blog will be low and sporadic, mainly. I have obligations outside of being on Tumblr as well as multiple muses, so where I’ll be will very much depend on my current muse levels and the level of interest there is in interacting with Jennifer. I'll potentially build a queue that’ll run semi-frequently at some point, but that’s very low priority for me at the moment. If you see me active and I owe you a reply, though, don’t hesitate to give me a little nudge. Sometimes my procrastinating ass needs one.

FORMATTING. With each new blog I make I adopt a new kind of formatting style. The one I use right now is one that I’m very happy with and probably will not be changing anytime soon. Please don’t feel obligated to match this. I’m not super picky about the aesthetics of my blog, and the only change I’ll make ( if ever ) is from normal text to small text. I personally DO NOT use the super small text but if that’s what you like to use it’s fine. I’ve got very little trouble reading it and it doesn’t inconvenience me. I will mirror-format ONLY in some cases and ONLY at the writer’s request.

One other small request I have with regards to formatting is that if you want to continue an ask as an RP that you create a new post and link back to the meme than reblog the ask itself. This is simply personal preference from an aesthetic standpoint as it looks cleaner on my blog. Thank you!

STATUS. As of right now this blog IS mutuals only, but how strict I am with that rule will vary depending on how large this blog becomes. However, all starter calls posted are open to ONLY MUTUALS unless stated otherwise ( those, however, will be rare ). Memes will be open on a case-by-case basis no matter what. PLEASE do not like a starter call not marked for non-mutuals if you are indeed a non-mutual. Send a meme in instead. I’m selective in my immediate follows so interaction through asks helps me gauge if we might be compatible. My IMs are also always open to everyone, and chatting OOC is another good way for me to gauge potential compatibility.

SHIPPING. I’m shipping trash. I love ships as much as the next person, honestly. Chemistry is key though. On both sides. If I’m feeling it but you’re not, please let me know. I’m more than happy to do something unrequited or even just try to tone things down all together. Likewise, if I’m not feeling the chemistry either, I’ll do my best to approach you the same way. Romance is great, but it’s not everything. Friendships. Hate ships. Family ships. All of these are great too and I’m always happy to explore those as well.

AS A NOTE, however, I’d like to make it clear that when it comes to Jennifer, I am fairly set in which ships from her canon that I enjoy and which ones I don’t. Or rather, how I enjoy them and how I don’t. The 12 Monkeys RP fandom is pretty small, but if it ever grows then hopefully the following information is helpful.

Deacon/Jennifer is my OTP. Platonic. Romantic. Everything in between. I fell in love with the ship before watching the show and their chemistry on it only made me love it more. It is VERY likely that this ship will be referenced as part of my main timeline, at least with regards to how I see Jennifer’s feelings toward him. If this is ever a point of discomfort for you, let me know. I can shift accordingly.

Cole/Jennifer I only ship platonically or in the same brief, one-sided context that we were given in canon. I can’t see my views on this ship ever shifting beyond that mindset, so I would appreciate it if the topic is never forced.

Cassie/Jennifer is something I primarily ship platonically, but I see the romantic potential behind it and am more than willing to write it out should the right chemistry develop with my partner.

MEMES. I LOVE MEMES. Seriously. If you want to send in the thing, please do. I will most definitely appreciate it, even if I take three billion years to respond. Memes are ALSO a great way to start RPs with no prior plotting or even prior interaction, so I do really encourage you to send them in! Meme me up, Scotty!

EXCLUSIVITY. As of right now, I am NOT muse exclusive with any blogs and have NO intentions of doing so in the near future. I will, however, consider practicing ship exclusivity in certain cases and am open to having mains as well.

CREDITS. All icons on this blog have been cropped and edited by me using a PSD made by honeypsd. Border is from a glorysoaked pack. Any other blog related graphics will also most likely have been made using templates and PSDs made by honeypsd.

FINAL NOTES / MUN INFO. Congratulations! You’ve finished this brick! Little bit of info about me, the mun. My names Elli. I’m 21 years old and currently studying to become a high school math teacher. Color and winter guard are my life, so if you’re familiar with either please pop in and scream with me about them.

To sum up I’m super friendly and harmless, so never be worried about approaching me via IMs. Sometimes I may come across as a handful, but I’m actually a very chill person and do my best to give everyone in the community the utmost respect. This is a very do unto others type of blog, so if there’s ever an issue with me please don’t hesitate to bring it up. Social cues aren’t the easiest for me to pick up on, so just be frank with me whenever possible and I’ll do my best to do the same with you.

No password is necessary because I’ve always found them rather awkward, but I really appreciate you taking the time to read this. As I’ve said before, I’m always open to interaction and plotting so feel free to hit me up whenever! If we are mutuals you are also always free to ask for my Discord! Have a lovely day!

#rules ///

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benrleeusa · 6 years

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[Eugene Volokh] Super double-secret takedown injunction

iStock

My research on Internet libel takedown orders has profited tremendously from the Lumen Database (formerly ChillingEffects.org), a website to which Google and others archive takedown requests. I’ve seen a couple of orders, though, that purport to bar search engines from posting the orders on Lumen.

That, I think, is an unconstitutional restriction on the search engines’ First Amendment rights. Such gag orders are controversial even when they’re entered in response to national security letters, where there’s a government interest in national security and the underlying order only seeks to gather information from Internet services — they should be unconstitutional when there’s no national security interest and the underlying order is an attempt to take down speech outright. I can understand why libel litigants might want to hide the very existence of the underlying lawsuit. But American civil litigation is supposed to be a publicly open process, and there is no exception to that for libel cases.

One such order, from Clark County, Nev., struck me as especially troubling: It purported to outright command search engines to de-index certain material — even though the search engines were not parties to the case — and ordered them not to submit copies of the order to Lumen. And when I tried to check the authenticity of the order, I was told that the entire court file was sealed, even though Nevada law seems to prohibit such categorical sealing.

I’m pleased to say that yesterday, pro bono counsel Kristen T. Gallagher and Adam D. Hosmer-Henner of McDonald Carano LLP filed a motion on my behalf, seeking the unsealing of the file. (Thanks to my UCLA Scott & Cyan Banister First Amendment Clinic student Stefan Caris Love for his help with the motion.) Here is the text of the motion, in case our readers are interested in such open records questions. Out of deference to the court’s having sealed the case, I’m not mentioning the name of the case or the parties, or enclosing or quoting the underlying injunction. As you can see in Part IV, part of the relief I seek is an order clarifying that, even if the case remains sealed, third parties such as me are not bound by any sealing order.

Eugene Volokh is a law professor at UCLA School of Law, and a legal blogger at the Washington Post site (http://washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy); in both capacities, he has been writing about Internet libel takedown orders. This case attracts his attention because it led to an unusual, and possibly unjustified, gag order enjoining non-party internet search engines from presenting certain search results and from providing the gag order to third-party repositories, such as the Lumen Database. Cf. Johanson v. Eighth Judicial Dist. Court ex rel. Cty. of Clark, 124 Nev. 245, 250-53, 182 P.3d 94, 97-99 (2008) (holding a gag order unconstitutional because the affected party lacked notice or hearing). Volokh would like to write about this order on his blog and in a law review article. Later, he may also move to vacate the order on behalf of one of its targets, the search engine DuckDuckGo.com.

Volokh has a copy of the order, … which he received from a source other than the parties, search engines, ChillingEffects.org, or the Lumen Database (the successor to ChillingEffects.org); the copy also does not indicate that it is a sealed document, and he only learned that the case was sealed when he called the Clerk’s Office to determine whether the copy is authentic. He wishes to unseal the record to confirm that his copy is indeed authentic. To better understand why the order was entered, he also wishes to unseal the pleadings, findings, other orders on motions, and judgment, as well as any other papers connected with the order.

The record should be unsealed for two reasons. First, in all divorce cases, the pleadings, findings, orders on motions, and judgment must remain open to the public. See NRS 125.110(1). This rule is categorical, and does not leave room for judicial discretion. See Johanson, 124 Nev. at 250, 182 P.3d at 97. Second, the statute under which the record was sealed is unconstitutional. The statute allows either party to a divorce to seal “all other papers” on request, without regard for purpose or scope. See NRS 125.110(2). This sweeping provision violates the public’s First Amendment right of access to court records.

If the Court declines to unseal the record, Volokh asks that the Court clarify whether he may nevertheless post his own copy of the order, and write about the order.

Argument …

II. Nevada law requires the pleadings, findings, orders made on motions, and judgment to be unsealed

Nevada law requires that “in any action for divorce,” “the pleadings, the finding of the court, any order made on motion . . . , and the judgment” “shall be open to public inspection.” See NRS 125.110(1). A “district court has no discretion in divorce cases to seal” any of these documents. Johanson, 124 Nev. at 250, 182 P.3d at 97.

And “[e]ven if the district court retains inherent authority to seal the record in divorce cases,” id., the sealing of the entire record here is illegal. Any sealing that exceeds NRS 125.110 is governed by the SRCR. See SRCR 1.4 (stating that the SRCR governs sealing outside of specific statutory exceptions). SRCR 3.5(c) declares, “Under no circumstances shall the court seal an entire court file” — at a minimum, the court must keep open, among other documents, “the order to seal and written findings supporting the order.”

Indeed, a court must leave open the sealing order and supporting findings even if parties stipulate to these documents’ sealing. See SRCR 3.4. The findings must show “compelling privacy or safety interests” in favor of sealing “that outweigh the public interest in access.” See id. These “compelling interests” must go beyond the mere “desire to avoid unnecessary embarrassment,” See Howard v. State, 128 Nev. Adv. Op. 67, 291 P.3d 137, 144 (2012). And even in Nevada Public Records Act cases, which use a “balancing of interests” test rather than the more demanding compelling interest used in First Amendment right of access cases, any restrictions on public access must rest on more than just “supposition” of possible harm. See Reno Newspapers v. Sheriff, 126 Nev. 211, 218-19, 234 P.3d 922, 927 (2010).

Here, if the Court has found compelling interests in favor of sealing, the Court should nevertheless, at a minimum, release its findings and all other documents required under SRCR Rule 3.5(c). Beyond this, because redaction is always preferable to sealing, See SRCR 3.5(b); Reno Newspapers, 126 Nev. at 219-20, 234 P.3d at 927-28, the Court should release redacted copies of other sealed documents wherever possible.

III. All other documents related to the gag order should be unsealed because the statute under which they were sealed violates the First Amendment right of access to court records.

In divorce cases, Nevada law provides for “all other papers” besides pleadings, findings, orders on motions, and judgments to be sealed from the public “upon the written request of either party,” without qualification. See NRS 125.110(2). This provision is inconsistent with the First Amendment right of access to court proceedings and records, See Del Papa v. Steffen, 112 Nev. 369, 373-75, 915 P.3d 245, 248 (1996).

To movant’s knowledge, every court to consider the First Amendment question has recognized a constitutional right of access to divorce cases equal to that in other civil matters. For instance, in Burkle v. Burkle, 37 Cal. Rptr. 3d 805, 814-19 (Cal. App. 2006), the court recognized this right using the “tradition/utility” test from Press-Enterprise Co. v. Superior Court, 478 U.S. 1, 8-9, 106 S. Ct. 2735, 2740-41 (1986). First, there was no tradition “supporting the notion that divorce proceedings” were “excepted” from the general rule of access. See Burkle, 37 Cal. Rptr. 3d at 814-15. Second, the “intrusions into family privacy” inherent to divorce cases did not automatically outweigh the utility of open access; instead, privacy rights in such cases should be treated no “differently from any other potentially overriding interest.” See id. at 817-19. Therefore, the First Amendment right of access “appl[ies] with equal force in divorce cases as in any other ordinary civil case.” See id. at 819; See also Wendt v. Wendt, 706 A.2d 1021 (Conn. Super. Ct. 1996) (recognizing First Amendment right of access to divorce proceedings); accord Cable News v. Superior Court, No. CIV. 93-00082, 1994 WL 315850, at *1-2 (D. Guam App. Div. Jan. 31, 1994).

Indeed, the court in Burkle held that the right of access to divorce cases was violated even by a statute limited to on-request sealing of documents containing financial data. See 37 Cal. Rptr. 3d at 820-24. All denials of public access, even those intended “to inhibit the disclosure of sensitive information,” must advance “a compelling governmental interest” and be “narrowly tailored to serve that interest.” Id. at 821 (quoting Globe Newspaper Co. v. Superior Court, 457 U.S. 596, 606-07, 102 S. Ct. 2613, 2620 (1982)). The risk of identity theft associated with financial data was not sufficiently compelling to categorically overcome the right of access. See 37 Cal. Rptr. 3d at 821-22. And the statute in question allowed no narrow tailoring because it sealed entire documents rather than redacting sensitive information. See id. at 822-24.

The reasoning in Burkle is consistent with Stephens Media LLC v. Eighth Judicial Dist. Court ex rel. County of Clark, 125 Nev. 849, 221 P.3d 1240 (2009). In Stephens Media, a newspaper sought to open sealed juror questionnaires in a high-profile trial. See 125 Nev. at 855-56, 221 P.3d at 1245-46. The lower court had denied access for fear that publicizing the questionnaires would prejudice the jury. See id. Reversing the lower court and granting access, the Supreme Court held that the risk of prejudice did not overcome the newspaper’s right of access because the evidence had not established a “substantial probability” of prejudice: the lower court had not given “detailed specific findings” in support of sealing. See 125 Nev. at 862-65, 221 P.3d at 1249-51 (citing Press-Enterprise Co., 478 U.S. at 13-15, 106 S. Ct. at 2743). The Court also instructed courts to “consider alternative options” like redaction — although even redaction must be based on “specific findings” and proceed according to explicit “criteria.” See 125 Nev. at 866-70, 221 P.3d at 1252-54.

This Court should follow Burkle and acknowledge that the First Amendment right of access applies to divorce cases. Given this right, the provision in NRS 125.110(2) for on-request sealing of “all other papers” fails the right-of-access tests applied in Burkle and Stephens Media. First, NRS 125.110(2) does not indicate any “compelling interest” advanced by sealing, either in the statute itself or by requiring courts to specify reasons or findings. Litigant privacy by itself is not an adequate basis for overcoming the First Amendment right of access. See Press-Enterprise Co. v. Superior Court, 464 U.S. 501, 502, 104 S. Ct. 819, 820 (1984); Stephens Media, 125 Nev. at 866-67, 221 P.3d at 1252. Second, as in Stephens Media, the statute does not require the movant to establish a “substantial probability” (or any probability) of harm. Third, NRS 125.110(2) calls for complete sealing, rather than allowing narrowly tailored solutions such as the release of redacted papers.

Because the documents in this case were sealed under an unconstitutional statute, the Court should unseal them.

IV. If the Court declines to unseal any documents, the Court should clarify whether Volokh may write publicly about the order, using his own copy.

Courts have sometimes limited the rights of third parties to write about sealed documents acquired independently. For example, in one recent case, a gag order required “any party receiving a copy of” the gag order itself to “treat it as sealed by this Court and confidential.” See Order, Doe v. Doe, 1:16-CV-07359, at 3 (N.D. Ill. Aug. 24, 2016). In another case, a party sought to bar Volokh from writing about parts of a brief that had been sealed. Appellant’s Emergency Motion, Wolk v. Olson, 10-3352, at 4 (3d Cir. Jan. 17, 2011). (The brief in that case was later unsealed.) Likewise, in Roe v. United States, 428 F. App’x 60, 64-67 (2d Cir. 2011), the court enjoined a lawyer from disseminating a sealed pre-sentence report from a different case, even when he had not been a party or lawyer in that case. And in Google, Inc. v. Expunction Order, 441 S.W.3d 644 ([Tex.] Ct. App. 2014), an expunction order required a nonparty — there, Google — not to disclose the newly expunged material; it took an appeal on Google’s part to have that vacated.

Here, Volokh received a copy of the Order of June 27, 2014 through a party not subject to the order. Even if this Court declines to unseal any documents, Volokh wishes to write about this order, using his copy. But Doe and similar cases give him pause; as a member of the California bar, Volokh wants to be certain that his actions, even in his capacity as a writer rather than a lawyer, do not violate any court orders. He therefore asks this Court to make clear that, even if the case remains sealed, there is no barrier to Volokh’s posting the order online and writing about it.

Conclusion

The sealing of this case violates Nevada law and the First Amendment right of access. Therefore, the Court should unseal the June 27, 2014 Order and related documents, along with the pleadings and other papers held open under NRS 125.110(1). The parties’ privacy concerns could be addressed through redaction (for example, of financial information) without restricting Volokh’s ability to research and write about free speech and libel takedown litigation.

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nancyedimick · 6 years

Text

Super double-secret takedown injunction

iStock

If the Court declines to unseal the record, Volokh asks that the Court clarify whether he may nevertheless post his own copy of the order, and write about the order.

Argument …

II. Nevada law requires the pleadings, findings, orders made on motions, and judgment to be unsealed

Nevada law requires that “in any action for divorce,” “the pleadings, the finding of the court, any order made on motion … , and the judgment” “shall be open to public inspection.” See NRS 125.110(1). A “district court has no discretion in divorce cases to seal” any of these documents. Johanson, 124 Nev. at 250, 182 P.3d at 97.

And “[e]ven if the district court retains inherent authority to seal the record in divorce cases,” id., the sealing of the entire record here is illegal. Any sealing that exceeds NRS 125.110 is governed by the SRCR. See SRCR 1.4 (stating that the SRCR governs sealing outside of specific statutory exceptions). SRCR 3.5© declares, “Under no circumstances shall the court seal an entire court file” — at a minimum, the court must keep open, among other documents, “the order to seal and written findings supporting the order.”

Here, if the Court has found compelling interests in favor of sealing, the Court should nevertheless, at a minimum, release its findings and all other documents required under SRCR Rule 3.5©. Beyond this, because redaction is always preferable to sealing, See SRCR 3.5(b); Reno Newspapers, 126 Nev. at 219-20, 234 P.3d at 927-28, the Court should release redacted copies of other sealed documents wherever possible.

III. All other documents related to the gag order should be unsealed because the statute under which they were sealed violates the First Amendment right of access to court records.

Because the documents in this case were sealed under an unconstitutional statute, the Court should unseal them.

IV. If the Court declines to unseal any documents, the Court should clarify whether Volokh may write publicly about the order, using his own copy.

Conclusion

Originally Found On: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2017/11/28/super-double-secret-takedown-injunction/

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