#and to think i started to write if for the cat propaganda that i did not use yet lol

[cienie-isengardu]

MK1 fanfiction

EDIT: now all chapters will be collected under the title of Cracked mirror of black, cold soul

No one asked for it, but as I did not get enough Bi-Han & Shang Tsung interaction, I was forced to write about them myself. The first part is at least done, we will see if I managed to finish the second. Mainly written as a character study of MK1!Shang Tsung, a bit about his relationship with Damashi, General Shao and potential partnership with Sub-Zero post story-mode.

There was a time when Shang Tsung was nothing more than just a pitiful loser clinging to an even more pathetic life. All he could do to survive was to pretend to be someone else, someone better, wiser; someone worthy of trust, someone people like and listen to. Lying to people was easy. Lying to himself anyone would care if he died came much harder and harder with each passing day. 

Then came Damashi and offered him not only power but also kindness, a praise for making progress, be it for fulfilling her plans or for his own growing skills. He would gladly burn the world just to earn her smile, a good word, anything really. She made him for the first time in a long long time feel valued, appreciated, even liked despite who he was under all the polite words and charming smiles.

But that was a lie too. A lie he foolishly fell for, like a stray, hungry dog falls for a kind pat on the head and a little treat before the new owner will kick it for fun.

Shang Tsung was many things but definitely not a dog to be kicked, be it by Liu Kang or his Titan self. If none of the gods cared for him, he wouldn't care for them either. And now, after he ran away from prison and a terrifying storm washed him ashore on a deserted island full of magic secrets to unlock, he had time and means to repay each of his pursuers, to make all the realms if not respect his skills then fear them.

Since Damashi’s - his own Titan self’s - betrayal many days and nights have passed and with each Shang Tsung’s mastery of magic grew stronger, his knowledge deepened, his confidence restored and strengthened. He claimed the island as his new home, the impregnable fortress secured by the most wicked, devilish and brilliant traps he could think about and for the first time in ages, he finally felt like belonging to the right place.

It was as good a life as it could be. Not perfect, as Shang Tsung still needed to figure out how to secure his food supplies before he would tame the wild land, unused for years and maybe the animals lurking in the shadows could be useful too. A domestic cattle would be a great addition for sure, as it was the only type of animal he had any skill to maintain but then again, there was no way he would engage in tedious farming. He had no time nor patience for that kind of work yet he did not want any stranger on his island either. All he could do for now was to eat the catched fishes and some plucked from tree fruits while bringing all the needed ingredients and supplies from a quick trip to the land. Using magic portals was a tricky solution - magic brought unwanted attention and once used, always left some traits to follow but after the last storm he did not feel safe on a boat sailing through the open sea. On the land, he did run into some of his former allies, exchanged important news and some secrets here and there, never truly betraying where he was hiding. The General and his men treated Shang Tsung with suspicion, always demanding more than he offered. On the other hand, he and Quan Chi worked well in the past, but after the last betrayal, Shang Tsung couldn’t trust anyone anymore. Everyone blamed him for his Titan self’s lies, like he was the one lying to them all. The Royal Family wanted his head, the Earthrealm Champions hunted him too. It was a mess, amusing and irritating at the same time. 

He was going to deal with that matter too, when the right time came. For now, Shang Tsung enjoyed the new found magic - the power awaiting for those who will dare to reach out for it. A power he didn’t need to share with anyone.  

Everything would feel much better though if Sub-Zero didn’t somehow find a way to break into his new home like all the deviously set up traps meant nothing.

Shang Tsung should know something was off the moment he felt coldness creeping into his bones, but in all fairness, it was always cold here. He did not have yet an idea how to heat the interior of an abandoned fortress and as much as he liked to not freeze in his own sleep, luxury like that was not on his priority list. He should be more cautious, more focused on the change in the air about him than walking straight into his own room and then be dumstocked at the sight of Sub-Zero looking through his books as if he had lived here forever and Shang Tsung was the unwanted guest.

“Your security is shitty” was all he got as a greeting. Cold, sharp, uncaring words judging him as an incompetent idiot. The bastard did not even bother to look at him, just kept rummaging through the books like it was the only thing worth this attention.

Shang Tsung wasn’t sure what offended him more - being ignored or watching as his precious belongings were touched without his permission. He liked books way more than he liked people. 

In the last few years he killed people for less than that yet he smiled his most charming smile, the gears in his head working fast and furious on how to turn the unpleasant situation for his own advantage. The fact that Sub-Zero allowed him to see himself in the open instead of lurking in the shadows to cut his throat gave Shang Tsung a reason for a bit of optimism. As far as he heard from his former, maybe-still-maybe-not allies, Lin Kuei rejected Liu Kang’s authority and were on their own. It of course did not mean that Sub-Zero was his friend or ally nor that he wouldn't murder Shang Tsung at the end of day, either to reconcile with Fire Lord or to bribe the god to let the Lin Kuei be in peace.

Shang Tsung couldn’t blame Bi-Han for that - in this cruel world, everyone was looking after their own best interest, but the vision of losing his life did not sit well with him at all. He wasn’t afraid of fighting and he did beat down great Champions in the last battle, but out of all opponents, it was Sub-Zero's ice axe that was the closest to beheading him for good.

He did not plan to forget that anytime soon.

“What an unexpected surprise,” he said, all the soft, so sweet smile, velvet voice and sharp eyes analyzing the danger standing before him. “What can I do for you, my friend? Or did you just miss my humble company?”

He teased with feigned innocence because men hated when he said ridiculous stuff like that. Shang Tsung hated it himself, because he knew no one would miss him at all.  

“For one, drop the false politeness” came Sub-Zero’s cold reply, a mix of disapproval and command that Shang Tsung was so used to, because this was how people treated him, the real him, all his life. “We are not friends.”

There was a flare of anger in Shang Tsung now, the desire to prove himself the superior, not a pitiful dog anyone could kick and command - but he knew better than to allow this fire to burn inside him. Emotions were a weakness he couldn’t afford. Did the man even know how much he provoked the sorcerer with his cold disdain? Shang Tsung had no idea. He heard a lot of stories about Lin Kuei; even in the backwater hole from which he crawled out everyone heard the terrifying tales of Fire Lord’s secret army. Of the ice demons stealthier than shadows and more deadly than night itself and for a long time Shang Tsung did not think of them as living beings from this world.

Still… Sub-Zero was mortal, wasn’t he? A special one no doubt, with control over ice yet he could bleed too. Shang Tsung wondered for a moment what he could find under the fine, cold skin if he ever had a chance to look for the answer. An ice demon, human or hybrid of both?

“But we are still allies, aren’t we?” he asked, still polite and careful, yet walking up to the other man with his typical swagger. Not close enough to be in arm reach, but close enough to show he wasn’t that easily intimidated. 

The great military hero of Edenia always looked down on his movements; how he fought, how he gesticulated, how he walked. No self-respecting soldier would walk like some pleased prostitute after a well-paid job, the General said not once nor twice and all Shang Tsung could do then was to smile the brightest smile and thank him, like his disdain was the best praise he heard that day. The only thing they really have in common, beside the desire to take down Sindel’s regime, was being self-made men for both worked hard to be who they were. Yet General came from an old, aristocratic family with even older military tradition and everything that did not fit his narrow-minded idea of the world was treated with hostility and contempt. 

Shang Tsung’s skinny body, swagger, shrewdness, curiosity and wordiness unsurprisingly annoyed the great warrior and to say he took no pleasure in that fact would be a blatant lie. Even if it was childish and unproductive pleasure, it amused him to know how little effort he needed to test the patience of such a stern and manly man. 

Sub-Zero reminded him a lot of Shao and he suspected it was the soldier thing; the body built for fight and hardship, no-nonse attitude and the way both men moved - with deadly precision and confidence only a person that in fact killed an enemy in battle could muster. Even the way they spoke sounded similar, a barked command that everyone around instinctively wanted to obey, either out of respect or fear.

For that similarity alone, Shang Tsung expected the Lin Kuei Grandmaster to snarl at him some nasty remark about how his Titan self betrayed them all and thus how little he himself was worth of anyone’s trust. Anything to put the sorcerer down even a bit, to remind him what a failure he was.

“That is yet to be seen” was all the Grandmaster said, finally glancing from the book to Shang Tsung. 

It was hard to read anything from the man’s face, as half of it was hidden behind that damned Lin Kuei mask. All he could do was to rely on the move of a brew and the incantation of voice, each syllable, a moment of pause. It was a hard task, as the man showed no emotions and spoke so little so far. But the sorcerer knew there was anger, always lurking in each word spoken by Sub-Zero, but also… an excitement at finally being free of Liu Kang’s control. As Damashi foretold.

Shang Tsung couldn’t help but to think there was something much deeper about Damashi's interest in breaking Lin Kuei from Fire Lord than he ever suspected before. Back then the choice sounded logical - every action that would deprive Liu Kang of the advantage was worth taking so he did not question his benefactor. How could he, really? Now though? The truth burned him to the core and he learned the hard way that each of Damashi’s words had a hidden meaning, each action served a different goal than was promised; the victory he was in fact never part of. Yet… even the deepest shade of lie had a grain of truth. He knew that one well, for he lied all his life.

His Titan self for some reason wanted not so much the Lin Kuei itself as the Sub-Zero specifically on his side. Maybe more than Titan Shang Tsung even wanted his own younger self, corrupted by Liu Kang. 

The mere thought made him want to curse all gods alike. There was no difference for him between Liu Kang and his Titan-self, as both played him like some pawn, not even an important figure. Just pawn, to hold away from power, to sacrifice it when times would come. 

But there was more to it than just jealous anger and the never ending feeling of never being good enough. If Sub-Zero meant so much, if not in the grand scheme of things itself then just for personal satisfaction of Titan, then maybe he could be important to Shang Tsung’s own plans. Allies were hard to come by and these days he could use some, well, not protection really, he was done with living under someone else's wing but he wouldn’t say no to some partnership or at least casual support. The little favor here and there where things were still thick and troublesome to deal on your own. After all, freedom always came at some cost. 

Maybe Sub-Zero came to the same conclusion and his unexpected visit was just a reconnaissance. They were more alike than one would think, as similar desires drove them into this madness of Titans. To prove their own might and skills to all those that looked down on them their whole life. But above everything else, to be free and powerful enough to keep that freedom.

To his own surprise, Shang Tsung took comfort in that thought.

If they were meant to stay allies - or as close two stubborn outcasts with grudge against gods could rely on each other, some sacrifices were to be made. Shang Tsung did something he rarely did - he dropped the false politeness under which he hid himself for years.

“How did you find me?” he asked Sub-Zero directly, raising his chin challengingly. He was not afraid of Lin Kuei, just curious.

“You are not as careful as you think you are” Bi-Han answered with no less challenging stare, yet the flick of an amusement in his eyes was unmistakable. Shang Tsung knew the man was smirking under that damned mask and that thought alone made him puff in anger. 

The brown eyes shone even more.

Sub-Zero moved from his place, slowly walking from one bookshelf to another. His fingers traced books, never stopping at any particular volume, but always touching the book spines, like there was something interesting in their textures. The man did not pay attention to Shang Tsung and not really to books either. He was studying the room itself. The sorcerer couldn’t place why it bothered him so much but he knew better than to allow Sub-Zero to learn even the most trivial things about himself or his fortress. 

Damashi warned him against that the first day when she spoke about Lin Kuei. They are thieves, the mysterious being said, all grace and patience and praise for the unwanted Shang Tsung who drank in her words like the wisdom of gods, who will steal your fortune, life and secrets. Always be on your guard around them, especially around the one named Sub-Zero. If only he was smarter back then, less in need to please his generous benefactor, maybe he could hear in her sweet voice the longing for something, someone, that was not anymore. For the old partnership that was broken and defiled by Liu Kang’s peaceful vision of the world. But he was a fool who thought her yearning was for him alone. 

Shang Tsung was done with being played like a fool.

“Who told you about my island?” he demanded, voice still quiet yet no less burning with an old anger. He would get his answers, whatever kindly or by force.

A long sigh escaped Sub-Zero’s lips and frankly it took him out by surprise. Shang Tsung - or rather his Titan self -  knew the man was running on frustration for years, but that sounded as a whole new level of annoyance.

“I heard about it from Havik, who heard that from Rain, who heard that from Reiko, who heard that from Shao, who heard about it from Quan Chi. But the whole Sun Do is full of similar gossip.”

For a moment none of them spoke. Shang Tsung stared at Sub-Zero’s impassive, half-hidden face that still somehow emanated his disgust at their maybe-allies-maybe-not-but-definitely-idiots who apparently couldn’t keep a secret to save their own life. The feeling was mutual, because this was the reason why the sorcerer hated working with others. No one apparently could keep their mouth shut down if you didn’t help make that permanently. 

He closed eyes and rubbed his forehead, like that could ward off all the bad thoughts assaulting his mind right now.  His fingers were cold, too cold for his liking, unpleasantly stiff and numb. He did not like how the mere presence of a cryomancer affected his body, how it made him shiver and weak. He was an Edenian for fuck’s sake, and Edenia did not even know what winter cold was. He did not know that himself, until Damashi led him to a snow-covered fortress and he almost freezed there the first night. 

It took him a moment to realize something bad was happening. He couldn’t focus, all his senses dulled, body so clumsy and weak. As if his energy suddenly dropped to zero and fatigue was taking over. A flash of panic crossed his mind, but he was too tired, too cold to even be afraid for his life.

He had no idea how long he remained in the grip of this piercing soul frost. A few seconds? Days? He couldn’t even say. What mattered was that once the control of his senses came back, he was still alive and Sub-Zero gone.

And the fact the bastard stole a few of his precious scrolls and books.

***

The books showed up on his desk a few days later. There was no thank you or sorry about that note, not even the fuck you, loser. Shang Tsung both admired the man's boldness and hated him for it. Still he appreciated the books were returned in a good condition, as there was not a single scratch on any of them, not even a new page crease. He had no idea if that was some sort of weird Lin Kuei’s way to test him, disrespect or Sub-Zero took the books simply because he wanted to read them but he was a bastard with no sense of social politeness to just ask as any normal human being would. Damashi mentioned cryomancers were naturally difficult like that.

Shang Tsung had better things to do than to wonder what the check was wrong with Sub-Zero yet he was too curious for his own sake. Sadly, the titles alone did not say anything useful on the matter and even though he read each book just in case, there was hardly anything worth the time it took to finish them. No grand secrets revealed, no magic or military knowledge, not even historical value. Just some technical nonsense that bore him to death and if Sub-Zero was into stuff like that then no wonder the man lacked any social grace. 

The Grandmaster of Lin Kuei so far did not try to kill him and returned the books so Shang Tsung decided to give him the benefit of doubt and so he did not cross out the man from the list of potential allies. It did not stop him however from improving the traps just in case the man decided to return solely to steal again.

***

The scrolls showed up on his desk three days later. Their appearance actually worried Shang Tsung, not just because the trap again turned out to be useless. He was not worried even by the possibility Sub-Zero found some secret entrance he did not know about yet. No, what worried him was the fact he spent the whole morning in his chamber and walked out for like twenty minutes at best and when he returned, the scrolls WERE. THERE. 

That actually unnerved him much more than he wanted to admit. 

The scrolls turned out to be written in a language Shang Tsung did not even know and the implication that Lin Kuei could read it only added to the feeling of cold unease. There was however a note left on the scrolls; a small paper with only Royal Army searching the coast written in Shang Tsung’s own language. 

He was not afraid of empress Mileena’s army but he did appreciate the warning. Of course, the warning could be a fraud, a means to build trust only to betray him. The common sense advised caution yet there was a weird sense of peace within Shang Tsung. A hope or hunch, he did not know, but deep in his heart he felt everything was alright.

All he could do for now was wait to see if Sub-Zero will lead the enemy to his fortress or not. So he waited.

(The fact that another book disappeared with Sub-Zero did not surprise him much. Irritated, yes, but not worried. For some reason he felt everything was like it should be, like some almost forgotten memory of past life came back to him and the sense of deja vu was weirdly comforting.)

#mortal kombat #shang tsung #bi han #sub zero #cienie's fanfiction #and to think i started to write if for the cat propaganda that i did not use yet lol #i'm here for #bi han and shang tsung #relationship colored by various source material #sub zero's love for ancient scrolls full of secret knowledge though in this fic he steals stuff for sektor's project from the mk1 ending #and how he get inside a highly secured places #and don't tell me i'm the only one to think damashi was special person to shang tsung #also lol at how all of the bad guys gossip no one in mk cast know what secret means or what? XD #as for bi han's powers i was inspired by mk book i guess #and it turned out like he changed the ambient temperature unnoticed until it was too late and then get the hell away with books XD

[cleolinda]

Weekend links

My posts

I don’t know why, but losing an hour with Daylight Savings is hitting me hard; my eyelids feel glued shut. ONWARD. 

On Patreon: Someone was outside my house and was apparently watching my mom take the dog out and knocked on my front door at 3 am. This is true. I have no idea what the fuck or why. (I actually do not think they were there to watch us.) We are looking into the whole Ring/Nest camera thing. 

This is why I said Tree Removal Guy did not know what he was getting into. Somebody in our damn hedges at the witching hour knocking softly (so it wasn’t a walrus) on the front door--yeah, I’m freaked out, but at a certain point, where I live is Just Like That. 

Reblogs of interest

The Hot & Vintage Movie Women Poll: Round 1 is brutal and it won’t get any easier from here. The earliest polls in the round have started to close, and [FEWER THAN HALF OF ROUND 1 IS UP, IF YOUR FAVORITE HAS NOT SHOWN UP YET THEY WILL. THESE ARE NOT THE FINALISTS. PROVE THAT TUMBLR CAN READ] some of the contestants moving forward include BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO Maude Fealy, Diana Rigg, Lalita Pawar, Musidora, Asta Nielsen, Angela Lansbury, Lupe Velez, Eartha Kitt, Alla Nazimova, Anna May Wong, Lauren Bacall, Sharmila Tagore, Theda Bara, and Nancy Kwan. DOZENS of polls are still open or have not even been posted yet, please refer to hotvintagepoll’s Ladies 1 tag or the archive view of it.

I chipped in on some reblog propaganda here and there (I tried, Edwige), but I really went in for Ingrid Bergman, to whom I have a slight and questionable resemblance. She tears it up in Gaslight--here is the scene where she turns the tables on her gaslighting (origin of the word!) husband. 

Meanwhile: 

AI is stealing from AI and I hope they steal each other’s dicks off.

The New Twilight Series Will Be Animated, God Help Us All

Submit your stories (by which I mean “short true-ish anecdotes,” not “creative writing.” That’s for Are You Scared) for Too Many Spirits, home of the Meatball Story.

For Hire: Ghost Hunter

Extremely good Labyrinth analysis, but also, “goblin prom” took me out

Behold, the default object!

A Saw heritage post

Lucy the orphan-generating coal baron cat

A dandy lion

Video

Chocolate Guy has learned how to make packing tape

Cream cheese pottery: “this is the chocolate guy’s wario”

“Blue Monday” in Mid Evil Times

Improving your balance with hybridcalisthenics

Genderfluid hijab styles

Him face came around again

hhhkh. nngn. mmah. nah. aaaa. aa.

The sacred texts

“However you think this story will end is wrong”

Haiku Bot speaks

Those are his hooves

Personal tag of the week

International Women's Day.

#weekend links #odds and ends #linkspam

[thiefbird]

E, n, u for the letters ask please! 🖖

E - Have you added anything cracky/hilarious to your fandom? If so, what?

Yes, but not recently! These were back in early early high school. I wrote a very short, very bad Draco Malfoy/Apple(as in the fruit) fic once. I hope to god it has been lost to time. I will not tell anyone what my fanfiction dot net username was. I also wrote a Doctor Who/Supernatural/Sherlock/X Files/Star Trek: The Original Series/Warehouse 13/The Yellow Submarine(not Beatles RPF because the only character was Jeremy Hillary Boob, PhD aka The Nowhere Man)/Invader Zim crackfic extravaganza in collab with @gabrielnovakgoestomyschool (there may have been another fandom that I forgot). I do not know if it has survived the passage of time. I almost hope it did. They were all in this incredibly Escher-esque grocery store trying to get milk. I guess recently I accidentally wrote "Loghain Mac Tit" instead of "Loghain Mac Tir" when starting a post, took one look at it, and just posted it without further elaboration. I don't know if anyone ELSE thought it was funny, but I definitely did.

N - Name three things you wish you saw more or in your main fandom (or a fandom of choice).

U - Three favorite characters from three different fandoms, and why they’re your favorites.

Anders - I love an underdog, I love a revolutionary, I love a pathetic tall man who looks like he hasn't slept in a month, I love a man who will make Those Sounds when he kisses me. Also he loves cats and complaining; same, Anders. More seriously, I think he's a deeply misunderstood character by both those around him in canon, by his writing team and Bioware as a whole, and by the general fandom(not any of my beloved mutuals, we are all in the Right About Anders club); despite this, I do think he is a cohesive character. I just don't necessarily think that he is a cohesive character on purpose. I love the implications of his bonding with Justice, and the avenues it opens up for writing. I fully believe that Anders believes that he corrupted Justice into Vengeance, and that Vengeance is a demon; I just don't believe it's true.

Stephen Maturin - Ohhh, Stephen, my beloved. Patrick O'Brian cooked you up in a lab specifically to make me insane (nevermind the fact that I was three years old when he died) - mine is a fated obsession, to the point that I actually had a crazy-dramatic, toxic relationship with an autistic Trinity College naturalist for four and a half years directly out of high school; my brain simply had not fully learned that Stephen Maturin existed (I'd seen the movie once or twice and listened to the soundtrack ad nauseum because of my mother but never payed much attention), and fixated on the next best thing. Here is my Stephen Maturin propaganda: He's a tiny, angry little man who calls animals and friends and his wife alike "honey" and "my dear" and "acushla/a chuisle" (I will never forget the "awwwwwwww" that came from my mouth the one time he called Tom Pullings honey). He calls his best friend "soul" and "joy", and his other best friend "honey-bun". He's an International Super Spy, one of the most effective in the British service, and refuses to be paid for it because he hates tyranny so much (he does not like English colonialism either, but he has decided that England is the best way to beat Napoleon). He's an Irish and Catalan revolutionary (I did say I love a revolutionary), who is somewhat in hiding in the first book because of his associations with The Society of United Irishmen, and therefore connections to the Irish Uprising of 1798. Despite this impressive resume, this man has never met a boat or ship he is not in danger of not falling out of - he has been at sea for the better part of twenty years by the end of the series, and he still must be Carefully Watched to make sure he does not drown, or get soaked through to the skin. He is an acclaimed surgeon, with a miraculous success rate. He is also a renowned natural philosopher who has discovered multiple species, including a giant tortoise. He is the least tidy or fastidious man in all of creation, and is constantly covered in blood and/or winestains and/or crumbs. He pours alcohol over surgical sites not because he knows of germ theory, but because he thinks it'll help with pain. The only non-familial friend he's had longer than Jack Aubrey(who lives longer than the first book. Sorry James, ily) is Adhemar de la Mothe, a known and flamboyantly queer Parisian. He regularly says that he does not see the harm in sodomy so long as no one is harassing the ship's boys, and that anything that adds more love to the world seems a good thing. He loses his mind over a woman, and the more awful she is to him the more he loses it.

Speaking of Diana Villiers - Oh, Diana. I am fully in understanding with Stephen over you. A beautiful, headstrong woman who can ride better than most men, stuck in the most boring atmosphere of Southern England with her aunt and cousins after the death of her husband and her father both made her leave India - I cannot blame her for many of her actions. Diana is a fascinating character, and to me she is proof of Patrick O'Brian's writing ability. Most authors of Men Go To War books don't really seem to know how to write women very well (C.S. Forester I am looking at you. I do not know who Maria is outside of her fawning over Hornblower), but Diana is a fully fledged person from the moment we meet her setting her horse over a gate, despite the fact that we never see any of the events of the twenty books through her eyes. Not only is she a fully realised character, but she is one that shows his understanding of the setting he writes in. Diana Villiers is coping with grief - not only grief for her husband and her father, but for her independence. Her life in India, keeping house for her father from her mid-teens, would have been almost as different as one can imagine from the life of a poor relation take in on charity by a widowed aunt. She feels stifled in the English countryside, forced to play second fiddle to her cousins in order to keep the peace and a roof over her head. I cannot blame her for toying with men's hearts as a source of entertainment. Going into keeping with Canning is Diana's attempt to regain at least some measure of independence, and it is successful, to some extent. She has money, she is back in a country she finds familiar and exciting - but she also has a jealous, suspicious lover who employs their servants as spies to watch her activities, and little company because she is herself a scandal. Stephen's proposal offers her a way out of her situation; it also, to her, seems like a loss of freedom, not only because Stephen loves her, but also because she loves him, and that terrifies her. So she instead runs away with Johnson to America. Johnson, of course, is worse than Canning, and she leaves him temporarily, but then her freedom in England is threatened, again, this time by suspicions of intelligence work (I always wonder just how she got tied up so tightly in Mrs Wogan's subterfuge; did Johnson have something to do with it?), and surprise! Johnson is there to whisk her away from the danger. But he's worse still, and Stephen manages to intervene(yay Stephen) and get her away and back to Europe. This just keeps happening. Diana wants something that is almost entirely impossible for a woman in the period she lives in: liberty. Anything that could interfere with her freedom and independence is avoided at any cost - even her own feelings for Stephen. Especially her feelings for Stephen. She also, to me as someone with BPD/cPTSD now pretty well in remission, reads as a very empathetic and accurate portrayal of someone with BPD/cPTSD. Personally I think Being A Woman In The Late 1700s is enough reason on its own to have it(and we don't know enough of Diana's life before the Peace of Amiens to speculate on other Sources Of Trauma other than the death of her husband and father), but a lot of her hot-and-cold feels so familiar to me. She can be so cruel, and mean it fully in the moment she's saying it, but almost immediately regret her cruelty while still doubling down because she feels she has no other options.

Wow. This got really long. I hope everyone enjoys my Aubreyad Opinions Of The Day

#ask game #thiefbird speaks

[patrocles]

rickon stark - political hostage?

So if you’ve been following me for any length of time, you’ll know that I have a weird interest in the island of Skagos. It’s partly waiting-for-Winds-brainrot, and partly because I just think it’s weird and interesting. It’s an island no one in the present story has been to, that’s got weird history with the North and the Starks, and the setting where a geriatric with missing fingers has to go find a toddler who some other guy wants to make a lord... what’s not to love! 

A while ago, I made a joke about how people on Skagos are so isolated, that they probably don’t have any idea of the happenings of Westeros and the Starks lost the North. I did a chortle and then I realized... wait... that’s entirely plausible. 

Before we even get into the hairy armpits of my batshit ramblings, Bran and Rickon still don’t know that Robb and Catelyn are dead. (Bran dreams of Grey Wind being dead, but definitely doesn’t know about Cat). There’s a possibility that Rickon may know, as he’s also had dreams like with Ned’s death, but no one there to confirm it for either of them. 

So for Davos to show up and want to take him back, and if he explains why (that Rickon is presumed to be the last living male heir of House Stark), this puts the Skagosi in a jackpot of a political situation. I know we love the idea of Rickon showing up with his Skagosi army to save the day, but really? Given everything we know about Skagos, there’s no incentive for them to 1. Send Rickon back, 2. Help restore House Stark, 3. Not just kill him or use him for ransom. 

Does this sound kind of outlandish and maybe ridiculous considering how little we know about the island? Maybe! But here’s why I think it bears looking into: 

House Stark got its start as a conqueror house. Removing what we know about the last several generations of Starks as the cold, noble and just house that defends the North, Ancient Starks are a whole other story. A third of all of Westeros has been under their control for thousands of years and that doesn’t just happen by accident. Most of the Houses that exist in the North at present were former petty kingdoms and while the Starks have had amical relationships with them over the millennia (save for the Boltons), such has not been the case for the Skagosi.  (There was a misconception that a Skagosi woman recently married in, but I think people are thinking of Arya Flint)

All throughout Northern history there’s been rebellions and invasions from the Skagosi going back thousands of years and as recent as the reign of Daeron II Targaryen (184-209AC). A king Brandon IX apparently “broke their power” by destroying their ships and forbidding them from sailing, save for around their islands. It sounds a bit harsh considering the ironborn never got that treatment and they’ve been raiding Westeros for centuries. 

It seems like the Skagosi are the one group of people that the Starks have never bothered to bring into the North; alliances with marriage, using the Skagosi as a naval power that the North has never really had. They’ve had animosity with the Boltons for as much long time as them and Starks (well up until presently), have managed to keep a somewhat cordial relationship. And it feels weird that they couldn’t considering the sheer size of Skagos (comparatively, they’ve got more landmass than the Iron Islands combined)- and they’re in an incredible position for trading since they know how to navigate the seas around them when few others do. And god only knows what ore and mineral resources they have in their mountains (Maybe it’s intentionally kept a secret to keep the North and others off Skagos? But that’s another conspiracy theory for another time). 

What we know about the Skagosi is soaked in fear propaganda and weird eurgenics-y writings from Maesters, but nothing from anyone that’s been to Skagosi themselves or Skagosi at all. (And bear in mind that what’s written in TWOW is from the point of view of biased sources, not everything is fact). And if we know anything about what GRRM, he’s sung this tune before about ethnic groups that are first thought of as terrifying and monstrous but are actually just people trying to survive. Like sure Roose Bolton is going to be my trusted source of cultural ethics and morality, okay. 

But I digress, even if the Skagosi aren’t these terrifying cannibal people as we’ve been told who’ve had nothing else to disprove that except generational boogyman stories, it doesn’t mean they have any reason to help Rickon Stark, or Wyman Manderly restore the very house that has left them isolated and disconnected from the rest of the world. Of course we know that Rickon is just a little boy and his remaining family is just a bunch of traumatized kids who just want to go home. But Rickon represents ancient grudge. As disconnected as they are from the rest of the North, they likely hold onto those grudges longer and worse. 

The North Remembers is not just some misused slogan HBO tacked on everything while they forgot Robb Stark’s name in the later seasons of game of thrones. It’s the ethics of the North. Just like like the current lords won’t forget who orchestrated the mass murder of their families at the Red Wedding, the Skagosi won’t forget the family that they’ve been enemies of since forever. 

So where do we go from here? What does this mean for Rickon? Well, if I were an economically depressed island stuck in the stone ages because of a family that done goof’d and got themselves kicked out of their house and country and I have the very golden ticket to their restoration, and also I’m dangerously close to where the undead army is, would I not want to leverage that for something that could be beneficial to me? 

Maybe I consider levelling up my proposition by not only helping Rickon win his war with men and supplies, but knowing that this would indebt the other houses to me for years (say resettlement in the North?). Maybe I make an even swap- a naval fleet which Wyman Manderly just happened to complete which would make me extremely powerful, for a 5 year old wolf child who might not make it to the end of the war anyways. 

There’s options!

Though one interesting thing to consider which might influence what the lords of Skagos want to do with Rickon, is that Rickon is not just some random kid. He’s a Stark and a remnant of their ancient enemy yes. BUT he’s a warg, a skinchanger, and has greensight. This is a lot for a toddler. But in this, Rickon represents a the Old Ancient Magic associated with the North-- the Old Ancient North that’s never left Skagos or been influenced by outside forces or Andal culture. These are true First Men. If they still practice archaic things like ritualistic sacrifice at the weirwood trees, there’s no doubt that they wouldn’t consider Rickon damn near godlike. Sure he’s only a child now, but what about when he’s an adult? One could say that they might revere him as a gift from the Old Gods. Who’s to say that they would even want to give him back? And what for- to be made their enemy again, a more powerful one than previous Stark kings and lords? 

They may be a bit behind in the times, but I’d not be so quick to call them stupid. Especially since Davos is very likely about to blow Rickon and Osha’s cover even if SOMEHOW no one on Skagos knew who they were and why some random Stormlander has sailed all the way here to take them back? (as if the wolf wasn’t a dead giveaway). But I think regardless, Davos is on the diplomatic mission of his life and it’s gonna be way more complex than Rickon and the Cannibal Army

So yeah... that’s what I think is going on up there.

#a song of ice and fire #rickon stark #skagos #why do i care so much we know literally nothing #long thots

[acorpsecalledcorva]

Did I ever write an essay here on Edward Bernays and propaganda? Dissociative amnesia go brrr so I'll see if I can quickly bash something out to distract myself from cramps. This post is going to be completely uncited and I'm barely gonna fact check myself so if any of this sounds interesting I strongly recommend looking this stuff up and if I'm wrong then yay! You'll learn something by doing so.

So who is Bernays? No he is not a sauce made out of butter, egg yolk, and white wine vinegar, he is the nephew of Freud and regarded as one of the most influential men of the twentieth century and the father of Public Relations.

He was very interested in his uncles work, and worked in the fields of psychology and sociology. His main schtick was that he viewed humanity as deeply and fundamentally irrational, illogical, emotional, and needed to be controlled lest they fall into chaos. Through Freud's work on psychoanalysis he devised a way to influence the masses by playing on their emotions and insecurities, something which we should all be very familiar today in politics and advertising.

Before Bernays, advertising was very, like, practical. "These shoes will survive up to a thousand miles of walking, they're comfortable and hand crafted with fine leather" kinda thing. People were interested in what products could do for them and made informed choices. Now though advertising is much more about lifestyle and aspiration. No joke in 2021 I saw an advert for a company that sells kitchens that said you needed to drop 20k on a new kitchen to prevent "zoombarrassment" when you work from home because all your colleagues will think you're a bad person and shame you for it.

Where we're at with this stuff today with algorithms and stuff is that engagement is key. If people are talking about you, if you're trending, then that's good. And the best way to get people talking about you? Controversy. Budweiser, Gillette, and I think a brand of coffee machine?, all jump out as recent examples of companies capitalising on a hot social issue to generate free advertising by whipping the masses up into a frenzy. Rainbow capitalism isn't only bad just because they hope that if they put a trans women in an advert that you'll buy it, it's also much worse because they're actively trying to piss off conservatives and fascists and incite flame wars as the official sponsor of transphobia. On the one hand, yay representation, but on the other, every time this happens I get to see just how many people in the world fucking hate me for existing. They're actively contributing to a global pandemic of deepening division and increased risk of violence.

And politicians cottoned onto this too. Boris Johnson is particularly good at this, and it's called the dead cat technique. If he ever feels like things might get tricky and might actually have to do a politics, he throws a dead cat on the table in the form of some inflammatory or bizarre remark because it shuts down the conversation. I mean, there's a dead cat on the table, how can you talk about anything other than the dead cat? His go to increasingly became trans people towards the end of his political career, just constantly talking about penises, absolutely obsessed with penises, but there's this really incredible interview he did where an interviewer asked him what his hobby is and he started talking about making London buses out of milk crates. It's absolutely nonsensical but you can also tell he's choosing his words very very carefully. Why? Because during the Brexit referendum he put a massive lie on the side of a bus and he wanted to manipulate the search results for when you search "Boris Johnson Bus".

Another technique politicians absolutely adore is being completely contradictory in your positions. Say you're committed to providing an inclusive and compassionate asylum system while actively dismantling said system. Say your committed to reducing wealth inequality while actively increasing it. Say you're committed to reducing national debt while actively increasing it. It keeps your opponents confused and unable to oppose you because they never know what your true position is and therefore what theirs should be, and it also provides you a get out clause. If someone accuses you of being against something? Just point to all the times you supported it. If someone accuses you of supporting something? Just point to all the times you condemned it.

So why am I writing any of this in the syscourse tag? Because a lot of syscoursers use these techniques to grow their own popularity and reach. It honestly doesn't even need to be a conscious effort, those who engage on syscourse over at Twitter are rewarded for doing this whether they know it or not, and then it gets brought here. Thankfully Tumblr isn't as bad, but we still feel it's effects. Whenever I see absolutely deranged "anti endos do this" or "pro endos do this" stuff I just assume it comes from Twitter because I struggle to find it here when I look, but the beefs and long standing arguments are still very twitteresque.

I do think it's important to be aware of this stuff though, because when you understand it all becomes deeply unserious. You may not be immune to propaganda but at least you can learn to recognise and step outside of it. When a syscourser admits to openly trying to be inflammatory to the other side and enjoying watching them get upset over it, or if you notice them restarting old arguments after not being talked about for a few days then you can finally give yourself permission to let go and not get involved. You can no longer take anything that person says seriously, because you can't ever know if they are being serious. They literally told you that they do it on purpose, therefore anything they say fails to be credible or sincere. If it pisses you off? It's meant to. If it's factually incorrect? It's supposed to be. Feel like writing a call out post to denounce them? That's exactly what they want you to do because you're talking about them. Keeping them fresh and trendy at all times.

#syscourse

[onaperduamedee]

Notes on Lord of Chaos

You do not want to go into a 90-page long prologue and read “Demandred.” That said, this introductory chapter felt very much like a “previously on”, which is all the more bizarre that at this point Robert Jordan was publishing one book a year, a feat of writing if there ever is one.

I did suspect Marigan because Moghedien turned Birgitte into a child which was very left field. That’s a nice touch.

When Nynaeve noted that losing her hate for Moiraine was like losing a part of herself… That’s it. I need to be writing/reading Nyn/Moi fanfic right now.

Digging Nyn and Elayne as PhD students only flimsily supervised and lying about their subject: they are literally handling war criminals and weapons of mass destruction for giggles. It’s the most fun I’ve had with them together so far.

Considering the time period, Jordan understood and deconstructed quite well how patriarchy affects and hurts men, but does not grasp nearly as well how it affects and hurts women, and it is so bizarre given his whole premise. The women in his universe are plagued with the same kind of violence and micro-aggressions as in our universe despite supposedly being the norm and authority.

Semirraghe already has all my gay attention. She is terrifying.

The fact that the Forsaken are out on the hunt for angreal, when we know Aes Sedai of old have been trying for thousands of years to keep them hidden, is very much QED. I am loving the attention to detail.

Davram Bashere is so right though. Rand's obsession with learning the sword is mostly an attempt at running from who he is, even if it's also an exercise to settle his mind. Combined with his refusal of support, it emphasizes how much he is hurting himself and fighting himself.

Rand calling Mat illiterate is the funniest line in the book, I am sorry.

Rand accidentally insulting an old lady by talking about her youth as history is also very funny.

Loving him connecting the dots about Tigraine and Shaiel. He has grown so sharp and savvy.

Rand telling he will not trust Aes Sedai but will use them is so so good. That's exactly what they think of him as well. At the end of the day, Lews Therin was an Aes Sedai, and Rand is one, even is he gives a different name to male Aes Sedai.

Rand's inner monologue being so Moirainesque is everything. It's beyond mesmerising to see him apprehend male channelers like Moiraine did him. Her ghost really lingers.

Davram Bashere is immensely cool, and Mazrim Tain is so overtly untrustworthy. Rand, please be careful.

Mat aka "is this army propaganda in your pocket or are you just happy to see me ?" He continues to be the most dynamic of the lot, but I wish he wasn’t so tied to armies and wars because it bores me.

So the bond is actually a weave that didn't exist in the Age of Legends? Much to think about.

Neither Elayne nor Nynaeve are very good teachers tbh. Nynaeve and Elayne have every right to be annoyed they have to teach Aes Sedai Tel'aran'rhiod, but given their own laborious start, their attitude is bloody immature. And I say this as someone whose job involves teaching older people new technologies.

Elayne and Nynaeve: Aes Sedai are insufferable for constantly wanting to know business not concerning them

Elayne and Nynaeve: do exactly that, all the time

Siuan playing cat's cradle while spying on the Aes Sedai, I love her so much. She isn’t here as much as I want to but how evident a presence she is! She is such an expert at adapting to the situation and knowing how to present herself to others.

The Trolloc nightmare was excellent and clarified some rules I have been wondering about. Loved the complicity between Siuan and Elayne too. In general, I am having such a blast with Siuan growing closer to the girls. If this is glimpse into what kind of teacher she was as an Accepted, she must have been a good one. Despite others seeing her as imposing, she is truly gifted at drawing people in.

All that talk about Rand not falling for Elaida's ploy tells me he's going to do exactly that.

In truth, I find Mat's attitude of "Rand is who he is" much more anchored in reality than Nyn's "I recall when I spanked him as a child." There is no coming back to the boy he was; it doesn’t mean he can’t still experience love or joy as he is now. Trying to resuscitate that boy will only hurt him, but seeing him as a person now, as he is, despite the creeping madness that is part of him, could make such a difference.

Alanna bonding Rand all of a sudden was so bloody violent and unexpected? But also kudos to RJ for showing just after why she did what she did, unstable and scared as she is.

I do not trust Mazrim Taim and his incel army: sweet concept, still a shell that will blow up in Rand's face.

Egwene running into and not recognizing Leane and Siuan in Tel’aran’rhiod had me giggling. I cannot wait for them to meet again.

Oh, cool, just another female character's POV ruined by insipid romance.

I actually love the Salidar Aes Sedai. I think it's quite easy for Nynaeve and Elayne to criticise a group of people trying to set up another White Tower with its entire ancillary community, while also plotting to go to war with the White Tower and reaching out to Rand, when the girls are always off adventuring and fleeing. Elayne will rule Andor and Nynaeve certainly Malkier, yet their approach to responsibility is flimsy at best. Elayne has the excuse of youth, but Nynaeve was a Wisdom before this all started and I am not enjoying them in their ninny era.

Berelain! Defending women's right to learn the sword! Hell yeah! I love Berelain, she’s hyper-competent and unfazed while everyone (and the narrative) is frankly despicable to her. She’s this universe Elle Woods.

Awwwwww, Rand's schools. That's genuinely lovely. I love the dichotomy of Rand creating a school to turn men into weapons (something that will absolutely not lead to escalade and senseless deaths) and another to build and invent a new Age (even if again weapons).

Sorilea can scram with that creepy trad wife shit. Leave Aviendha alone.

Was the Maiden handtalk mentioned before? I cannot remember, but now it’s everywhere.

The Ogier chapter was so good. Liah’s disappearance was actually creepier than the venture in Shadar Logoth from the EotW: I am a firm believer of not showing when it comes to horror and this hit just the right spot.

Mat, you saint patron of thieves! Of course, he would recruit ruffians for scouts. He is so fond of his men too.

The Olver addition is so random. It could be either very endearing or very annoying, we'll see.

Kinda proves my point from last review that Lan's echoes in Rand's mind are mostly self-destructive intrusive thoughts like "I am death" and Moiraine's so far is politically savvy advice with occasional martyr complex.

Ajhdjfkjshfks, between Verin wondering if Rand killed Moiraine and the Red Tower not even believing in her death and suspecting the mysterious Green sister is Moiraine, she is haunting the narrative!

Shout-out to Moiraine and her secret forbidden weaves.

The Aiel cultural comedy of errors is starting to get old, as is the gag of Maidens acting like mother hens to Rand. We get it, women warriors mothering him is funny.

Wait, did Fain just imply Elaida and Pedron Niall are infected with Mashadar? CAN WE GET MORE ON THAT PLEASE

Siuan and Leane being healed! My heart! Their reaction was so moving and poor Nynaeve in the middle of it, healing the incurable almost by accident. What did I say about hapless PhD students? This makes up for my frustration with Nyn this book.

Carlinya laying down some truths about the Tower hypocrisy regarding the DR and male channelers! Hell yes! Rand is like you! Male channelers are like you! They need to be protected and accommodated, not gentled and executed.

Gareth is beyond gross. The way he relishes the power he has over Siuan, making her feel every inch of the power imbalance has me shivering.

I want to cry. Siuan, Leane, I love you. The concept of regaining their power, but only a fraction of it, leaving them scarred, is a fascinating one. Their delayed reaction to the trauma they went through was also everything.

Another takeaway from Alanna bonding Rand and Siuan loving Bryne is that after losing their warders Aes Sedai are a complete mess and prone to dreadful decision making.

Aran'gar is in Salidar! This is bad for all of them. Despite how risky keeping Moghedien hidden is, at least Nyn and Elayne have her completely subdued. This is a loose cannon.

RJ cannot ekphrasis for peanuts for someone so good at hypotyposis.

OH hell, Rand spied on them. Everyone forgot he is a boss at Tel'aran'rhiod.

Egwene's relationship with the Wise Ones is incredible. She truly became an Aiel at heart and grew so much. I love her so much.

Up until this point, Rand was politically astute, but between trusting Taim with training an army, ignoring the Sea Folk and kidnapping Elayne... This is chaotic ruling. Be careful, please.

Jordan's weird obsession with corporal punishment aside, Egwene meeting her toh was amazing. Also of course she would rediscover travelling through Tel’aran’rhiod on her own.

Ajjdkdkjfkskfjdh EGWENE YOU POOR CHILD YOU DON'T DESERVE THIS INTRIGUE

But she also deserves to be Amyrlin. She's the best.

The Amyrlin ceremony seems very terfy.

It's plain foolishness to think Elaida will retreat just because another Amyrlin has been raised. The Salidar lot is at their wits’ end.

I am so so so proud of Egwene and Siuan. So proud. Their sense of duty is everything and seeing Siuan becoming Egwene's mentor, while Egwene becomes Siuan's protector means everything to me.

The gag of Aviendha being swarmed by Aes Sedai after Egwene and the Wise Ones does make up for the endless Aiel humour skits.

As much as I am 100% on Elayne's side regarding Rand giving her Caemlyn and Cairhien (I feel bad for the Cairhienin. Again, they are given absolutely no self-determination here), I would really welcome the break from Elayne and Nynaeve on yet another Macguffin hunt.

Does Thom think he left Moiraine to die? Why? He’s not her warder and Lan doesn't even think he did?

Between Rand believing he knows what's going on with Elayne and Egwene in Salidar, Mat convinced Aviendha will kill Elayne, and the Wise Ones calling the Aes Sedai foolish women, let's just say it's a field day for unreliable narrators.

War bores me. The Black Tower as nothing but a military camp bores me.

The Salidar Aes Sedai are so entertaining, though. They’re very much an administration run amok.

Is Mat dancing with Aran'gar? Jabdjfkkahfjfkkd he is such a fool. I love him. I love the contrast between Moiraine and Rand clocking Forsaken like it's their job, and Mat, Nynaeve and Elayne doing everything short of kissing them.

Meanwhile, Mat flirting with Siuan and Leane flirting with him as revenge is exactly the kind of comedy of errors I enjoy.

I must say, Mat being a little sexist jerk was redeemed by him showing Egwene proper respect just to spite Aes Sedai. One thing I like about him is the way his first reaction is often off-putting, but he will course correct swiftly.

Rand complaining about Aes Sedai tying strings to him while doing exactly with all of his friends is most excellent.

Am I supposed to be glad Perrin and Faile reinvented feudalism in the Two Rivers?

The discussion with Davram and Perrin about women and truth manages to be even more ludicrous than the Two Rivers nonsense in book 4, which is an achievement.

On one hand, Rand is obviously not behind the Aes Sedai murder attempt and this is a trap; on the other, you can't tell me the Salidar embassy's initial reaction was excessive.

Because Aes Sedai and Rand are the same, of course they don't continue on the non-excessive path long.

Nyn and Elayne are super silly with Vandene and Adeleas. I don't care if they dislike being chaperoned. They can just pretend they will obey and do the contrary. It will at least ease the sisters' suspicion.

The sisters poking at Mat like he's a lab rat is a little bit funny.

Ten days it is? Okay, so the girls are going to fuck around for ages like in Tanchico.

I am glad that Min caught on what Rand has missed with the Salidar embassy. He is bungling his handling of the Aes Sedai, all the elements are in place for a catastrophic outcome. Not that I was expecting the Aes Sedai to be sensible here, but he is generally much better at diplomacy.

I retract what I said about Min, she did send Rand right into the Lion's den. Obviously, it would have been too simple if Bera and Kiruna had been planned. Coming to Cairhien without a stronger alliance with the Salidar lot, considering whatever the Tower's embassy has been plotting, is A Bad Idea.

I like Merana. I love these tidbits about the Tower ranking not being strictly power-based.

The waiting in Cairhien is just boring, there's no way around it, even with the terrifying warfare Berelain has unleashed on Perrin.

Poor Loial getting saddled with a romance does not make this better.

OH, I knew this. I bloody knew all his hopping from Caemlyn to Cairhien, his cautiousness with the Salidar embassy not equaling his with the White Tower's, his relying on Min for intel and not caring a jot what fighting Lews Therin was doing to his psyche would lead to the worst. So bloody good, but man, was it written on the wall. The tragedy, the horror, the beauty.

Mat playing with a Seanchan now; reader, I screamed internally. I wish the EF5 were half as suspicious of anyone as they are of Aes Sedai.

Mat making a terrible job of raising Olver while also caring about him is very in-character.

Errrr, the choice to have Ebou Dari and Domani people of colour and paint them as violent and hyper-sexual is certainly something.

OH, so Sevanna is the one who tricked the Aes Sedai in Caemlyn! SWEET. There are so many threads flying around.

OOOOOOOH, so tying a shield is easier than holding it. INTERESTING Also this comes just after Egwene complained about traditions of holding vs. tying.

Rand is going to be beyond traumatized by all this. The parallels with Egwene and the Seanchan are delicious though.

The thing is... Between the Shaido Wise Ones, the Seanchan and the Asha'man, the Aes Sedai' oath not to kill or make weapons with the One Power is actually a most excellent idea. For real, Rand opened a school not two months ago and they are already committing war crimes?

The battle for Rand is less confusing than some of the previous fights, but it is also less visually striking, for me at least. Emotionally, it is way more satisfying though.

My girl Egwene freeing Logain and taking counsel from Siuan... My heart is so full.

Myrelle talking about Lan like it's a case of futile medical care...

So Aes Sedai do feel quite strongly their warder's wounds? Honestly, between the stamina and strength, the extended years in good health, and accessible healing, the warders gain a lot from the bond.

The Sea folk ships HAVE to be full of Seanchan, they have to.

I have as much thoughts and questions about Rand making the Aes Sedai kneel than about Moiraine in TFoH, but I suspect all will be addressed in the next book so I am reserving my judgement.

Can I just say none of this book would have happened had Moiraine been there by Rand's side?

Overall, this one was a bit of a transitional book, wasn't it? Many chapters were mostly spent waiting for things to happen, in Caemlyn, in Cairhien, on the road, in Salidar, which brought back dark memories from TEotW. At this point, we are familiar enough with the characters not to mind just hanging out with them, but the contrast with the chapters where the story is advancing is too great for me to say it is worth it. The highs (Siuan and Leane healed, Egwene becoming Amyrlin, Rand captured, the Salidar plotting) were really high, and I really enjoyed the trap slowly closing on Rand and the way it culminated in pain, violence and rage in Dumai's wells. And even those highs are mainly setting things up and redefining arcs for the main characters, a given for the middle point. It did so unevenly, with Rand and Egwene at the top and Perrin and Aviendha at the bottom. But yeah, the book lived up to my expectations. NOW I need to know what is going on with the Sea Folk.

#The wheel of time #Wot book spoilers #Lord of chaos #Wot book review #Wot book journey #I cut many an irate note about the romances as always but left some because I needed to out myself as a Gawyn hater #Dumai's well was every bit as good as expected #Good job fandom

[its-deputy-caleb]

If you’re comfortable sharing... id love to hear about your OCs! (Especially if in the far cry universe)

sksks get ready for a lot of oc brain rot i feel like i’ve been sitting on my oc content for years and i will slowly dump it all here but i am genuinely excited that y'all wanna hear about em. and yea i’m sticking with just far cry oc’s for now

I will also post a couple of fc6 oc templates soon if anyone wants to make their own <3 pls we can have an oc party

Obvi i got my main bro caleb from far cry 5, the link here explains him a hell of a lot more and he’s probably my most developed character cause i’ve worked on him since 2018 or whenever the game came out. but he’s basically my dep (and where i got my username from) so he’s your typical average white guy but he’s the gentle giant, tough but emotional kind of guy. I also have another oc who is his sister and she ends up as the captain in new dawn, i named her eleanor or ellie and they're the badass nelson siblings i guess.

Now i feel hella excited about my FC6 oc’s cause they’re new n fresh and i love em to bits >:))) but i’m still workin’ on all of them so they aren’t complete of course 

–

The first one is Manuel ‘Manny’ Suárez Landaverde and he’s an FND soldier who starts off as a medic because he loves helping people (and lowkey a victim of all of castillo’s propaganda) but he ends up getting promoted through the ranks to special forces as a sniper for his skills. I haven’t really decided if he will defect and it would be cool to make him a double agent or he turns completely to libertad or another faction of the resistance but I've mostly just been working on his personality.

He’s totally soft and shy as hell, definitely doesn’t socialise well with the other soldiers at parties (but i kinda wanna give him a grouchy fnd boyfriend too idk) and he’s got a very cosy apartment in esperanza before he moves into the special forces block in barrial. Think like lots of windows, house plants, some cool art from zenia and he definitely has a cat.

Manny is like the precious cinnamon roll meme but could kill you, he’s just over protective of those he loves but mostly he just wants to use his skills to save lives and mainly is stationed at outposts or accompanies special forces rather than actually being a full blown soldier.  But I don't have his backstory worked out yet or how to write him into the canon timeline.

–

The second is my weirdly specific but probably all time favourite Yulia Dmitrievna Mikhaylov. That’s her Russian name but once she immigrated to Yara, the Russian ‘Yulia’ became the latin ‘Julia’. She’s very much a historical character (because she’s born in 1882) because I wanted her to be like an old loving grandma by the time the first revolution came around in ‘67. I’m keeping it short and sweet here since I have like a whole ass essay on her in my drafts but she basically moves to Esperanza with her husband (think the whole soviet cuban missile crisis) because her husband is a military officer and she’s this badass spy.

Julia is like the stone cold old Russian lady who gets pissed at the FND if they bother her in town but she absolutely adores her family members to bits (and I'm currently working on her mother, father and husband who will mostly be based in Russia). 

She’s the product of two ideas basically; the first i wanted to have juan’s backstory (since ubisoft the bastards didn’t give us one) and i also wanted to have like a russian spy oc so i combined the two.

The reason why she’s gotta be old is not only to fit the historical time period of soviet influence in cuba and hence fictional yara but she ends up being a small 8 year old juan’s found family since that’s my favourite trope. I did a rough timeline of events and the closest age I can pinpoint Juan is around 73ish, like 1949 DOB.

This is important bc Julia’s husband passes away so she gets lonely and when she meets juan who’s still in an orphanage in esperanza by this point she takes him under his wing and reads him her husband’s old russian spy novels, comics, teaches him to read in russian and so on bc this is how i figured he’d get all his influence to later work for the KGB and go on to be the infamous spymaster and such.

Basically she teaches a smol juan to be an evil little shit (affectionate) and so i nicknamed her “grandma cortez” and if you read the hidden histories ‘The Cabinet of Dr.Medico - Issue #3’ which is one of Juan's comics. It's super heartfelt so she calls him “little Juanito” like the letter and it’s just core memories and found family for everyone.

I will post more about her cause i love her to bits but she’s basically juan’s badass spy grandma who's got a bunch of stories from her days and she’s partially her own cool character and my excuse to write juan’s backstory since ubisoft didn’t do it.

– 

And finally my latest oc actually doesn’t have a name yet but she’s an oluwa goddess and i’m basing her off the tirada treasures and lore, the supremo + weapons + outfit and oluso. 

i also haven't decided on a look yet, hence the two almost identical ones (i'm also conscious of trying to portray her in a way that doesn't feel overly sexual/exotic/mythical) whilst basing her look of oluso with the glowing eyes and all the symbols from the treasure hunts so she's very underdeveloped

I really want her to be like a myth in yara and an old legend so she’s gonna be thousands of years old. I have to credit @juskru for giving me such a cool idea to tie her in with the legends of 67 and specifically lucky

Her powers are definitely going to be of healing properties but she used to be much stronger. Before she could take life and death willingly and was kind of the lifeline to all living things in yara but she’s been weakened by wars and particularly when McKay Global started exploiting resources and land she can only heal wounds or injuries (and is very drained afterwards).

Even though she’s not as powerful, people still pray to her and the other Triada and I really like the idea that the Oluwa blessings are asking her to protect family members or to heal soldiers or guerrilla’s after a fight.

@juskru gave me the amazing idea to have her teach Lucky how to heal and give the basics of medicine and that’s why she’s the Legend’s top combat medic. That’s why I want to tie her story into the revolution of 67 and it reignites some of the Triada religion which the Castillo’s have historically tried to ban and suppress.

I definitely want to do more with her and the others but i’m far from finished with all of them :))))))) hope ya'll enjoy these as much as i enjoy hyperfixating lmao

#OC HOURS #far cry 6 #fc6 #far cry #fc5 #far cry 5 oc #far cry 6 oc #oc #original character #oc: caleb #oc: manny #oc: julia #juan cortez #dani rojas #clara garcia #fc6 writing #anton castillo

[cleverthylacine]

7. Any worldbuilding you’re particularly proud of?

Once I realised that I was going to have to make canon soup, I think I did a pretty good job of extrapolating different Cybertronian cultures out of the bits of some of the non-IDW canons I particularly like. Vos, Uraya, Kaon and Tarn had indigenous cultures that were nearly destroyed by the Quints, and then the Iaconian theocracy almost finished the job. The Convoys are a travelling people whose original city-state was obliterated.

The Chinese TV production of Three-Body gave me massive amounts of feels about what it must have been like to be a Decepticon during the period when Megatron went off his rocker and the revolution shat itself. I'd read the book but there was something about seeing the environment that Ye Wenjie lived in and how she moved through it that brought stuff home to me that I couldn't pick up from the book.

Right now I'm looking into the effects the Decepticon occupation had on Earth's scientific and cultural progress. I didn't really think about it much in the beginning beyond the fun I was having with Thundercracker's Zoom filters and Glit and Thundercracker both being on OnlyFans, but Thundercracker not really understanding that people don't go to OnlyFans to see what you're gonna do in your next screenplay.

(Glit understands this just fine and has a nice secondary income from his devoted fanbase of furries, robotfuckers, and people who knew that Kiss Players was a propaganda band under Megatron's occupation but still liked the music.)

I had taken the point from Astolat's Victory Condition that if Earth didn't get into space it was going to be doomed, because if Cybertron didn't fuck it up, the Galactic Council was going to.

But I didn't really think about how that would change Earth culture until I started watching For All Mankind, which I really love.

I started writing this because I was furious that Ravage had been killed off and annoyed that the fandom treats this character as a cat meme. About halfway through I realised that I didn't want to go as far with Atrocity Chicken as JRo and the other writers did, mostly because they couldn't decide if the Autobots were Designated Good Guys only in name or not, and that I didn't like that some of the characters I view as part of a team got broken up and put in entirely different cultures, and that the timeline was very heavy on stuff that happened 4 million years ago and stuff that happened in the 1980s-2000s, but largely ignored the intervening 4 million years.

So I've done a lot of work to make the history more coherent, somewhat less convoluted, and more interesting.

(Also I think it is ridiculous that Unicron should be able to eat planets and Primus is just a little guy. They are both just little guys, otherwise it isn't any fun.)

#VOS worldbuilding

[salmonellaandcheese]

Tag Game To Better Know You!

Tagged by the lovely and talented @lady--lisa (So sorry for taking so long! I didn't forget! I just couldn't figure out a way to copy all the questions easily on mobile)

If you saw the first version of this no u didnt

What book are you currently reading?

I'm halfway through Anne of Avolea by L.M Montgomery and a few chapters into the Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett. I really should read more, I used to devour books back when I was a kid, but the library I volunteer at is based on community requests so its almost entirely formulaic ghostwritten thrillers (curse you James Pattison). If anyone has book recommendations let me know!

What’s your favourite movie you saw in theatres this year?

I think the only movie I saw was the new Top Gun, which I only watched because my mum loves the original and we went for her birthday. I wouldn't say its fantastic, but I did end up infodumping to my friends about propaganda and pop culture.

What do you usually wear?

Usually loose jeans or other sturdy pants and some variety of print t-shirt with my red flannel. Anxiety kind of made it into my uni uniform, I never thought I'd miss my high school uniform that much. When I'm at home I'm usually wearing shorts and an old singlet that I got in grade 8 or something. Winter means I get to wear big jumpers! I have this horrifically ugly one on it that says New Zealand with a red kiwi on it, I adore it. If I'm reaching out of my miniscule comfort zone I'll wear a funky button up or a more form fitting shirt, I've always dressed quite modestly (although not entirely by choice) and this year I cut my hair off and started to explore my masculinity and being openly and visibly queer. I pretty much only wear natural fibres and very practial/sensory friendly clothing, so most of my clothes are made to last and will be repaired until I deign them unwearable.

Fun fact, I used to actually dress in a style I'd say is somewhere between classic lolita and cottagecore, lots of pinafores and frilly shirts and ribbons. Next year I'd like to step out of my comfort zone and dress in any way that sparks joy, maybe experiment with makeup, different styles or more revealing clothing (ooh a shoulder, scandalous).

How tall are you?

I'm actually not quite sure, between 165cm and 170cm I think (5'5" to 5'7")

What’s your Star Sign? Do you share a birthday with a celebrity or a historical event?

Gemini

Do you go by your name or a nick-name?

I introduce myself with my name but with hopes that I'll get a nickname, I've always wanted one.

Did you grow up to become what you wanted to be when you were a child?

I'm still in uni but by a technicality yes? I wanted to be a scientist but came to dislike science in high school, but now I'm doing archeology (and history) through an arts degree but I could do it through a science degree. I did really enjoy digging in the dirt as a child, so I think little me would be happy about that, even if i was more into paleontology.

Are you in a relationship? If not, who is your crush if you have one?

No. I do have a bit of a crush on my best friend, who I turned down a year ago because I'm the stupidest person alive and can't tell the difference between friendship feelings and romantic feelings.

What’s something you’re good at vs. something you’re bad at?

I'm good with precision and detail orientated things. I love knitting and I've picked up archery and bread making recently. Its actually why I got into archaeology, I wanted to work in restoration and conservation.

I'm bad at remembering to do stuff. It's the ADHD man. Assessments? whoops. Consistent meals? Forgot. Cleaning? sorry not happening

Dogs or cats?

Dogs, I've never had a cat and don't really know how they work.

If you draw/write, or create in any way, what’s your favourite picture/favourite line/favourite etc. from something you created this year?

I knitted my best friend some lovely socks, they're my first pair of socks and my second time doing fair isle.

What’s something you would like to create content for?

Look I know this means fandom but I have to start planning for what I'm putting in the show next year, it's only 6 months away. I'd love to do some more sewing, maybe make a gunne sax style dress (provided my anxiety will let me wear it out of the house) and I want to find something technically challenging for knitting, maybe lacework? Send me knitting/crafting inspo. I was thinking of maybe picking up counted thread embroidery too (yes I hate myself).

What’s something you’re currently obsessed with?

Star Wars. I've got brain worms about it. I've been microwaving it for months. Its been on my mind constantly, yet I have no thoughts. I'm forcing all of my friends to watch it. I'm rewatching all of it. I know nothing but also everything. I'm being excessively autistic about a background character wearing a cable knit jumper.

Good thing is that it makes conversation with men under 25 incredibly easy. I've made industry connections over a conversation about Lego Star Wars.

What’s something you were excited about that turned out to be disappointing this year?

Uhhhhhh. My uni's archaeology society? The history society raised my standards high, they do a lot of fun events, whereas the archaeology one is useful but a lot more industry training and connections focused instead of having regular pizza and power-point nights like the history one.

What’s a hidden talent of yours?

Hmm. I'm not too sure. I can flip an egg without using anything other than the pan, does that count? Like just wiggle, wiggle, throw it up in the air and catch it.

Are you religious?    

Catholic but in a cool and funky queer way

What’s something you wish to have at this moment?

A concrete plan of what the hell I'm doing and how to do it. A solution to my joint pain?

Tagging: (only if you want to) @elprupneerg @rights-for-redshirts @doveyluvey @notaghost3 @swagtalia @radioactivehydronerd @hetaari @arthoe-iceland @ratfish-blues and anyone else who sees this is welcome to join in!

#if anyone is going to do it i would recommend copying the questions across not on mobile #long post #ask game #tag game #love tag games!

[arcticdementor]

Sometimes while I’m here, in the evening chair, in the family room, writing my blog post and doing instapundit, my husband watches a movie. Ranging on what the movie is, this can range from distracting because I watch it or parts of it, to infuriating. Elysium was the second kind. in fact, it was so bad that about halfway through I went upstairs to bed because otherwise I was going to just start screaming at the TV and not stop. The reasons were many from worldbuilding — LA looks like the bad parts of Mexico city, there’s nuns who raise orphans who aren’t orphans, everyone speaks Spanish, except the designated oppressors who speak Africans or English with a South African accent, and who also inexplicably seem to always know where the hero is, or something. ANYWAY, moving right along….. Perhaps the thing that infuriated me most was the harping on the “overpopulation” and how there are so many of us that we’re destroying the planet (and that’s why the rich moved to a space habitat.)

…

Now, why did the population thing get under my skin to that point? Well, mostly because it is probably the most important fight of our time. All the problems we used to think were caused by overpopulation: the loss of wealth, the inability to feed everyone, etc. are in fact problems in low population. Because the highest resource of humanity is humans. We are clever apes, who can engineer our way into anything. Oh, as a side note, before I go on with this, the movie made much of the fact that Elysium — the space habitat — didn’t allow the Spanish speaking, favella-dwelling poor in. This was of course evil and racist. But in fact if the culture of the poor was what was shown in the movie, the habitat couldn’t let them in. Because they’d just make it the same as they’d made of the Earth, and nothing would be improved. So this whole thing was an argument from pointless and counterproductive compassion. But to return to population and our real issue, which is a lack of people. And since people create resources, by finding them or producing them, a lack of resources with it. The economy doesn’t work when the next generation is markedly smaller and the one after that even smaller than that.  There is also a psychological side. Humans work for the future. And the future of humans is other humans. Part of the reason socialism kills slowly is that the generations rely on the state, not each other, and while young people think “why bother” and don’t have kids, but kids are needed for the state to provide for the old, and more importantly, to give adults a sense of the future.

…

It’s not disputed that cats have kind of hacked us into taking care of them — or we hacked them — by changing their features and sounds so that they mimic the look and feel of an infant to our back-brain. Cats have always been with us, and some number of us always found them irresistible. But it’s also undeniable that their popularity is growing all over, and that people not only have larger numbers of cats, but treat the cats increasingly like children and get more and more attached to them. I realized to my discomfort sometime last year that I need young cats around to feel even vaguely optimistic, in fact.

…

But more and more of humanity’s sanity might be riding on their fuzzy butts. And no matter if Engineer-Indy is engineer, cats are not the future of humanity. We’re in deep, deep trouble. And evil pieces of propaganda blaming more humans for all ills possible — but mostly imaginary — just push us deeper into trouble. Maybe it’s time our overculture got — or was given — a clue, and stopped killing us softly with their bullshit.

#sarah hoyt #elysium #demographics #cats #read the whole thing

[papercherries]

I've not really had the motivation to write anything for the past couple days. Hence the photos. I'm just floating at the moment, waiting for something to happen. It's been getting hotter which has been awful for me but I got paid from work finally so I bought myself a banjo. It sounds pretty and I looked a bit mad on the bus because I got it used and the guy didn't have a case so I had to carry it bare. My fault for not thinking ahead. Though some of the chords don't sound right to my little brain and learning fingerpicking has been interesting because my fingerpicking is mediocre at best on guitar.

It's a bit dirty, I'll clean it this week. Though it smells like the guys. It's a very typical house smell but I could never understand why some houses smell different from others. The amount of cleaning is obviously a factor but I imagine it's also affected by other random little things like what's cooked there or where their water comes from. Maybe it just smells because it was played at heated live events and it's just the culmination of those sweaty rooms. I'd rather not think about that. It falls out of tune quite quickly but I suspect the strings are quite new. The stringing is very neat and it stands out from my other stringed instruments as the strings are wound (or cut) so there is no loose strings. I haven't got a strap for it (I only have two in total, one for my acoustic guitars and one for my electric) so I stole some rope from my friend who works at the boatyard. I am very aware I've fastened it wrong by tying the string under the string just above the fretboard and having it's usual place at the bottom. But it's become a small signature of mine, as I also commit this sin on my acoustics.

Some songs just sound so much better, or they fit me better. AJJ songs are really fun to play, Back when I was 4 by Jeffery Lewis was a fun surprise, a lot of Anti-Folk stuff feels quite nice. Though it's mostly because I've only had it for 2 days and I still don't know all the "basic" chords (I've learnt all the "base" chords (A,B,C,D,E,F,G) but not all their minor/sharp counterparts, let alone all the variations). I'll probably try learning Defiance, Ohio songs, I just haven't got to it yet. OH though I have been playing "I wanna boi" by Sister Wife Sex Strike. As much as I'd love to play it live, the original band who made the song are problematic, but I suppose in a way it could be reclamation? Does that really work in this case? Not my place to say currently. I just think Sister Wife Sex Strike's version is pretty awesome.

I'm picking up my cat tomorrow. I am very excited. Though, I'm not sure how she will feel about the banjo.

All the actors who have applied for my film, who I have then got in touch with have ghosted me. It is causing an awful lot of scheduling issues as I can't find actors for my film. This needs to be fixed within a week, god help me.

Emotionally, I can feel the impending stress from the shoot, edit and sound design all falling on me very slowly. I also need to start my production file. Perhaps I'll do that whilst I'm picking up my cat. I need to get a good grade. I'll get a 2:1 at least but I'd rather get a first as I've already said to some masters courses that I will. Whoops.

I'm trying to find more things to write about as my washing is still in the dryer for another 20 minutes.

I've been playing through Fallout 1. I think I was encouraged by all the fallout content that has been on my youtube feed for the past 4 weeks. I am not immune to propaganda. I'd never been able to get through the game before but I am the furthest I've ever been and I'm really enjoying it. I think Baldur's Gate 3 gave me a much better understanding of the genre which then allowed me to better understand how to undertake Fallout 1, as I didn't really understand Fallout 1 as a Dnd-esque rpg but more like Fallout 3, New Vegas and 4.

The fallout show however did piss me off at first. But the longer I've left it, the less frustrated I've been with the show. I still think Besthesda's "everything should still be a wasteland" take is a little dumb but I'm interested where they'll take the show now. However, the end still annoys me. Mostly because that "place" didn't seem like it would fall, honestly the area seemed too populated for that to even occur. The only option I can think of is Nuke's or (skip this park if you don't want to figure out what I am talking about) the Sierra Madre. But, the show as a whole is pretty entertaining, whilst it doesn't explore the political aspects I enjoy from Fallout, it does capture a lot of the series charm and what makes Fallout, Fallout. I am also quite surprised they refrained from showing a deathclaw or a radscorpion. Though, the missing family member thing was an immediate red flag for me. Just screamed "I AM BETHESDA FALLOUT". Not to say that's a bad thing.

Though, I did see a really interesting crackpot theory on R/Fallout (or I may have seen it somewhere else) that suggested this "chapter" of the Brotherhood was an extension of the legion. As they seem to be less "BOS like" and share a lot of qualities with the legion, the branding, the more latin names. The brutality, that just wasn't present with the rest of the brotherhood stories. Though, I will say I am not very well versed in the Brotherhood of Steel lore. But this would be a super interesting place to take the brotherhood and I would really respect that creativity.

7 minutes left on the timer. I think, I am out of ideas. I am really tired and I just want to go to sleep but I need to pack, the only reason I am awake is because my flatmate took forever to take his stuff out the washer because he was playing Rainbow Six.

I think that's all I got.

#creative writing #spilled thoughts #writing

[vulturesthedirtiestkind]

hi hi hello its your srs im so sorry for disappearing the end of semester is always super busy for me 😔 i will get better i promise

ah so you're the Tech Dude (gender neutral) of the film industry! it's such a huge responsibility to manage all that during performances, especially live ones! do you feel like a wizard when lights begin flashing at the wave of your hand? :D you said you like directing and writing, do you get to do that or do you still have to like, climb the ranks of the industry? and what kind of movies do you want to direct?

ooohh that boy is CHUNKY. such a serious guy. very businesslike fellow. he looks like a Grant to me. and you call him baby 😭 adorable omg. i would like you to give him one thousand kisses on his cute little forehead on my behalf

ugh it would be cool if it wasn't so politicized. which is logical, because it's politics after all, but sometimes the amount of sheer propaganda really grates on my nerves. i can now impress relatives with my scattered knowledge during family gatherings tho 😂 and it helped me realise that i don't want anything to do with politics whatsoever in my life so that's something i guess. i would like to translate books for a living, or become an editor, or video games writer, something similar to that.

well i havent been doing art very long so im still on the "redrawing photos" stage to get the hang of anatomy and lighting. i can't send any pictures or links while im on anon, but when the secret santas are revealed i can give you a link to my art blog, if you'd like :)

ah i love a lot of music from all the decades starting from the 60s, but my fave will always be the 80s glam metal i think. it's just so outrageously self-indulgent. but the emo and alternative music of 00s and 10s is a close second because of its concentration on emotions and inner life. also because ive never left my angst emo teen phase im a huge fan of hard rock and metal with female vocals too. my taste is firmly located in rock and metal genres but within those it's all over the place really 😅 and what about you?

p.s. if you ever feel an urge to attach photos of your cat to your replies, do not hesitate to do so <3

you are ABSOLUTELY okay, i've also been swinging wildly between everything. i hope that the end of the semester has been kind to you!!

i am!! and YES I DO,, i have Ultimate Power (well. to an extent...) and when i did the spotlight operating it was very amusing to watch people realize there were people up there, and then that they suddenly couldn't see those people because we got the light board turned on d:^)

because i'm still a student (and still learning how things go), i can do some work with it now (which i'm SUPER happy about)!! admittedly, i don't have a ton of experience yet... but that's what this is all for d:) ideally, once i can do the just-work part, i'll be able to go right into it... but there is a decent amount of having to climb up, depending on how things end up going for you!! which is okay with me, too, as long as the work is pleasant. and unfortunately,,, i'm still not quite positive what movies i'm most interested in working on, though i'd love to do something spies, or horror movies, and i also have some hopes for a few documentaries if i can get them to let me do it!!

YOU'RE SO RIGHT!!!!! he has a little business-like grant face. little working man, working hard at the bread factory (so i can steal all his bread) AND being a bedside doctor-nurse (there was one time where i was very sick and fell asleep in the floor and he jumped over to lead me back to the bed <3) he has been given SO MANY LITTLE FOREHEAD KISSES and he appreciates them all. he gives you many many purrs and also a little cheek lick in return d:)

ohhh god yeah that makes sense (and i’m so sorry you have to deal with all the propaganda stuff,,, it’s Super Very Not Good) BUT!! that’s still SUPER cool (you’re the kind of person to have for trivia nights!!) and it’s good that it’s helped you figure out a little bit about what you’re interested in!! anD ALL OF THAT SOUNDS SO COOL??? i think it could be possible to do a little of all, if you wanted to!! (also--once you can come off anon, don’t let me recruit you to my silly little project, too. ...do you happen to know any german?) 

that’s very fair!! any work is still work, though, and i’m very proud of you!! i’d really like that d:’) 

and YESSSS it’s about the same here--sometimes, having fun IS best!! you really are just A Legend™ and i’m honored to know you ALREADY, 

i will!!! i’ll be attaching as many as possible. here, have the creation of catam d:) 

#srs2022

[embryos-first-heartbeats]

so... I tried salvia

Yup, I finally did it. I smoked something for the first time. After a lifetime of not being a smoker, I inhaled that shit. It wasn’t easy, I coughed, a lot. I still don’t like smoke. But what I do like is salvia. Damn. People aren’t fucking around when they say that salvia is strong... and weird as hell.

My first experience with salvia was actually chewing it, the taste sucked hardcore and I really didn’t find the effects to be strong enough (granted, I only used a small amount to test how my mind and body would react to the new substance), it went well enough but I wanted to move to the next level: smoking.

It was a few days to a week later that I was finally able to try smoking it, and I had to look up videos on how to even use a bong. I had this tiny cheap thing that I bought off of Amazon because I wasn’t even sure what I was looking for in a bong. I started by putting some plain leaf in the bowl and smoked it, it was truly awful from a physical perspective. Mentally, I definitely felt... different. I tried a few more bowls and closed my eyes and in my head I got some interesting faint 3D tunnels formed out of static. They were spinning. But I also got an image of some evil face grinning maniacally (tbh it looked kind of like the jerma sus meme but it wasn’t super funny because I’ve gotten an evil grinning figure before, off morning glory seeds)

I wanted to smoke more but there was another person in the house, she was going to leave for a few hours soon though so I waited until after she left to continue my experiment. I put on a long YouTube compilation of music from one of my favorite artists. I smoked a little bit more plain leaf but I quickly decided I wanted something more intense. I have a gram of both 10x and 20x, so I got the 10x out and put a pinch of it it into the bowl, lit it, and decided to put my mind into the hands of this new substance. I wasn’t expecting much... but then it hit me. Yeah, it hit me and I was pretty amazed by how quickly I went from mostly sober, to diving into deep hallucinogenic water. It was like DXM and nitrous all at the same time but way stronger than either one.

I kept pulling my hood over my eyes to block the light out, and I took my glasses off, which felt amazing and natural, like scratching an itch and that it was exactly what I needed to do at that moment. I pulled my hood over my entire face but I kept thinking I didn’t want to somehow make it hard to breathe. My entire vision morphed into this three-lobed formation of the little bit I could actually see, repeated on continuous lines in a clover shape. I felt a little overwhelmed, like I had done something that I wasn’t really supposed to do, since I told the other person I wouldn’t try 10x by myself. But at that point I could feel myself sink back, and I felt like I was on a boat in the ocean being rocked gently by waves. I moved my hands back and forth in front of me, mimicking the feeling.

At the end there were these faint 2D panels with these cartoon ape characters looking back at me, like I was supposed to follow them. It started to fade and I opened my eyes, sat up, and the first thing that came into my mind was some nonsense about “hairy gorilla soda bottles”. After it faded a bit more, I looked at the bong just thinking “holy shit!” I felt really good but it was way more than anything I’d experienced before that point. I knew immediately that I wanted to do more.

The second time around, when I started to enter I got a faint vision of a purple cartoon hippo looking over a book that was also a farm with a sunrise, I was a part of a class but I kept disturbing the class by moving around too much. The vision changed and became a lot more vivid, there were these purple and white teddy bears made of hollow rolling tubes, and I was one of the tubes. The tubes were rolling but also moving like on a conveyor belt or something. I was going to get pulled into the “inside” of the teddy bear and I was annoyed by this because I knew it was going to be too dark to see anything in there, and I wanted my “outside” time to be longer.

After I was sucked in there was this version of a house made of those rolling tubes, it was flat, and two of my family members were in front of it, they were also made of tubes and their arms, legs, and bodies were super thin and featureless, I don’t think they had distinct faces either, and they were both reaching into the middle of the front of the house with their “hands” touching. I just wanted to go inside the house. Then I was on this pinched oval type thing, I could see the whole thing and one part looked closer than the other, where there were repetitions of the room I was in, linked to this bicycle chain structure, with gaps between them, on a black background. This was all I could see, but I was also on/in it and it was my what I felt my face was. It kept looping over and over and there was this word/sound/concept that kept repeating and it was really frustrating for some reason because I had to keep repeating this loop. I felt stuck during this part and didn't know when it was gonna stop.

The final scene was this neighborhood of cartoony 2D houses made of thick, round, rubber looking tubes. They were soft and squishy looking. There were families in the houses and grey metal doors underneath each one. I called this place Book Land because it reminded me of a children's book, where everything is gentle and pure and bright. I talked to the dad of the first house and he told his wife about how I wasn’t able to get through because I had to pee too much, but my door was open a little bit. I asked him if he could see me and he said no, he had never seen me even though he knew about me before because the door is open sometimes. There was a close-up of a cartoon purple kid, who looked like from a child’s drawing, but made of the round tubes. She was smiling and looked happy. I was able to open the door enough to get my hand through, it was all purple and blobby and made of tubes like everything else. It stretched across all the houses and I felt like I was doing some kind of educational lesson about sharing “my kind” with the people of this world.

After I came out of it I had to piss really, really bad, so I rushed to the bathroom as quickly as I could, I’m not sure if I just drank too much water while trying to smoke or what, but it was way more intense than usual for me. In the bathroom I was still pretty in it because I kept thinking about Book Land like it was a real place, and I wasn’t sure if me using the bathroom was real or just a particularly normal/realistic part of the trip.

I went back to my smoking spot to go in one last time. I knew I was reaching my limit, though, so I didn’t want to go overboard. Very shortly after smoking it, I got up to pee, I don’t even think I had to at this point, I think I was just unconsciously repeating something I’d done several times before. I kept thinking about Book Land and I also felt like I was in a weird cycle and that everyday life was just a weird cycle and getting up to pee was a part of it. I could see repeating rainbow fractals on the carpet as I walked to the bathroom and I was super happy about it and thought it was totally normal. I remember when I was in the bathroom I kept trying to talk to myself, but it was pretty much only mumbling and partial words that came out.

When I was done I sat down but got up again right after to look at the carpet, because I could see this 3D simple three-lobed snowflake like pattern repeated on the carpet wherever I looked. I kept moving around to see it at different angles and it looked totally, convincingly 3D no matter where I looked. I loved this to no end and just kept looking at the patterns for several minutes. I thought that I should put my glasses on to see the fractals better, but when I did they simply disappeared. At one point an advertisement came on since the video with the music I was listening to had ended, and I became really angry and paused it, saying “NO!” really loudly. I thought to myself that “the children in Book Land cannot be exposed to corporate propaganda  like advertisements. The children in Book Land can only be exposed to pure information.”

After that, I admired the carpet patterns a bit more, then I wanted to go outside. As I went to go outside, I kept looking at the floor the whole time, searching for more patterns, and when the flooring switched from carpet to a flat, wood patterned floor the fractals disappeared. So I was a little annoyed at this and continued making my way outside. I saw one of the cats and thought she was cute, but she didn’t have any fractals on her so I wasn’t super interested in that moment. Then I saw a clover leaf and said “Yes!! There it is!! That’s it right there!!” and sat down on the step to admire this leaf, which really did resemble the three-lobed vision from the start of my adventure, and it looked like the patterns I saw on the carpet as well. I sat there looking at the leaf and looking around, thinking to myself as the salvia wore off more and more.

Over the next couple hours I sat down, thinking about my trip and how intense everything was. I felt really good and at that point I knew exactly why people said that salvia was weird as hell. I kept thinking about the visuals, the feelings, and about Book Land. I hastily wrote some notes down on my computer, which I referred to when writing this, as despite the typos and weird wording, it had the most raw translation of my experience that I could get. In all honesty, I felt pretty accomplished for trying something new and not shrimping out over smoking for the first time, or shying away from how daunting salvia can seem. I knew what I was getting into before I started and I wasn’t taken by surprise at any point.

I know I’m going to try it again at some point, but I’m definitely not going to rush my way into it and push myself too far too fast. I have a huge amount of respect for this drug and the last thing I want to do is screw myself over by getting cocky.

#salvia #divinorum #salvia divinorum #drugs #trip report

[boop-le-snoot]

masterpost • main masterlist • taglist & faq

previously on...

Chapter 1! Reader's job has no chill and Wanda means well (Tony does too), but, as we know, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. Reader discovers the source of some peculiar things and can't help but be overcome with curiosity. F-bombs galore!

Fun fact: this story's main soundtrack is Claire de Lune, for some reason. Usually I can't stand classical music.

I didn't anticipate my first day at the bodega to be remarkful in any way but I was quickly proven wrong. My expectations were low: few customers, some of them flat-earthers of the garden variety, perhaps one or two of those 'witches' from social media blogging platforms and an overzealous Satanist or two, since I was pretty sure I saw an Ouija board and a silver pentagram hanging in Odette's office on the day of the interview.

Boy was I wrong.

We averaged a customer every fifteen minutes with each person requesting increasingly strange items: healing quartz and sage were on the closer end of normal; I felt like I had teleported to Hogwarts and was now attending Professor Snape's Advanced Potions class, having to race between the high shelves and memorize the exact location of each and every ingredient. In the end, I sacrificed a few dollars and bought one of the beautiful, leather-bound notebooks off Odette to write down the shelf and position number for the most commonly requested items and planned to begin memorizing them at home.

There's a little bit of Ravenclaw in all of us, I supposed. My curiosity only extended further: sometimes, a haggard looking person would come up and declare they had an appointment with Odette and was quickly whisked away by my boss to her office, coming out looking slightly less haggard in about half an hour or so.

I adapted to the routine fairly quickly, choosing to make my personal peace with the strange customers and Odette's mysterious meetings: after all, I got the job because I needed money - who was I to judge her for doing Tarot readings and spiritual séances for an extra dollar?

The bodega's atmosphere did grow on me rather quickly, as I had thought it would. It was warm and homely even on the rainiest afternoons, there was an unlimited supply of herbal tea, free of charge, and I grew to appreciate it just like I learned to find the positives in my job at the café. That remained a constant, mildly interesting affair too - my regulars, especially the superheroes, had started coming in during the morning hours and we were able to resume our chit-chats without a hitch.

Wanda still fished for my most recent, memorable reading and Dr. Banner left his incomprehensible scribbles on every napkin within an arm's reach for me to return to him on his next visit. The fully grown man with multiple PhDs didn't fail to blush like a schoolgirl every single time it happened, causing Mr. Stark to double on his own salacious jokes, should the engineer have had come with. They often came together, blabbering things I couldn't even fathom understanding even with the help of Google.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Wanda sounded surprisingly chipper for it was freaking seven in the morning.

I blanched, banging my arm against the display door painfully with a softly muttered, "Fuck!".

The witch frowned. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I muttered, hoping my face wasn't portraying the mixture of confusion and fear that I felt. "Something weird happened at my other job yesterday, I'm still processing," I replied honestly, looking to the side.

In fairness, I didn't know what to think. The situation wasn't something that should have shocked me, with aliens and magic people an abundance in NYC, but seeing it with my own two eyes had been jarring.

A limping, paranoid young man had arrived for an appointment with Odette shortly before closing time; I had escorted him to her office without as much as a blink, only noticing he was dripping oddly colored blood when the door behind him had closed. I cleaned it up, dead set on confronting Odette about the obviously injured person - the blood, it was more of an attempt to clean it, since it merely stuck to the rag, refusing to wash off it with water or any of the organic cleaning solutions kept under the sink.

I had to leave the rag in a paper bag, acutely aware of the fact it could not have belonged to a normal person. My best guess was that a man was a mutant - NYC had plenty of them living behind a blue wall. Odette's office wasn't soundproof: I heard a pained yelp and then a vocalisation of relief as whatever was causing the man to bleed had been removed. In a few minutes while I was closing the cash register, he came out looking almost brand new - and as I paid him a more careful look, he was missing his scleras, leaving his eyes to look slightly terrifying.

And then he winked at me, a surprisingly human, boyish gesture - the smile that crawled up my face was purely automatic. I was sure it looked frozen. He disappeared without a word as Odette herself emerged from the backrooms, a tired sheen to her brow.

"Did you manage to clean up?" She asked, eyebrows raised at the lack of stains on the hardwood floors.

"It stuck to the rag," I replied, eyeing her warily. "The rag is in the unmarked bag next to the sink. I didn't know what else to do with it."

"Sometimes it does that," her sigh was very telling. This was to be expected to become a regular occurrence. She motioned for the notebook I got to keep track of everything in the store, rattling off a recipe for a cleaner and solvent combo, made purely from the items she had inside the store, giving me stern instructions to add the ingredients in the exact order I was told. I sighed but added the footnote. Odette was a far cry from the greasy git from Hogwarts so she deserved the benefit of the doubt at least.

I didn't dare to ask any more questions about the strange man; not that day, not after I had suprised Wanda with a quick recap of my story. It's not like I had anything against mutants - as long as they were peaceful and didn't harm humans with their abilities, I was content to co-habit, share my space and even be friends with them. A very nice old lady who came by three times a week had gills peeking out of the top of her turtleneck and she was just the most polite, sweetest thing.

Wanda's curiosity was understandable and not suspicious in any way: I was under the impression she was a mutant, too, along with her twin brother - so the feeling of dread that blossomed within me as soon as the two suited figures entered the small store I attributed to the larger size of the man and vulture eyes of the woman. They both appeared extremely out of place with their black two-pieces and badly hidden pistol holsters, topped off with badges I couldn't take a good look at without losing my customer service facade.

I decided to play it dumb, self-conscious of the thudding of my heart in my ribcage. My body screamed 'danger' at me. "Hello, how can I help you?"

The woman cast an observant look over me, my plain clothes, lingering on my star-patterned scarf and matching hair band. "Are you the owner of this store?"

"No," I frowned, not liking where this was going. "Do you have an appointment with Odette?"

"We'd like to see her," the man pointedly moved his arm, exposing the gun and the badge.

I dropped the nice act, staring him down in earnest. I never liked self-righteous, pushy government officials; even less so, when they didn't follow protocol and started the conversation with demands instead of proper introductions. As I shot a quick text to Odette, noting that there were 'strange people in uniform' looking for her, my suspicions were only confirmed when the woman looked around the store with eyes that knew what they were looking for. Those two definitely weren't cops or even feds, they were straight up shady.

Odette all but flew to the bodega, the imposing, suffocating aura I'd seen only once on full display. It was hard to breathe standing so close to her; with muted satisfaction, I noticed both agents squirm, their fingers twitching, as they took in shuddering inhales through their, undoubtedly, lying mouths.

The whole spectacle was over quickly. I had managed to serve and quickly usher out Ike, one of the Satanists (yes, we did, in fact, have a few of those as regulars) with his paper bag full of powdered goat horn and a fresh cat skull under his armpit before the curtains parted and the two agents left without saying a word. I thought their eyes looked - wrong, like glass marbles, dull, lifeless and unseeing.

Odette dismissed my worries with a frivolously waved hand: "They won't be bothering us anytime soon," closing the door to her office - it reeked of strong incense and horseradish, for some reason. Like she'd been making some hell salad in front of the two nosy officials.

I took a deep breath in and then a deep breath out. The weirdness should've bothered me more, I knew, but I couldn't bring myself to decide whether I wanted to know what that interaction was actually about or live in blissful ignorance, where my boss might be some sort of a mutant or an actual witch that helps other mutants.

The longer I thought about it, the louder anti-mutant propaganda articles screamed at me: children being killed or abandoned because one day, they woke up and could fly or move things with their mind; every potential situation could end up like Carrie or Brightburn - two movies so blatantly obvious in their point to instill fear against children that could grow to work alongside Earth's Mightiest Defenders.

Needless to say, my conscious calmed down pretty quickly. I had felt the hairs on my nape stand up as soon as the agents entered the room and in my experience, a reaction like that was never good. I had been taught to trust my gut.

Odette had cancelled her visits for the day, holing up in her office as the whole store rapidly filled up with the stench of horseradish, old blood and sage. The occasional noise came from the office, interrupted by mumbling, and I was quickly told to just turn up the old, vintage radio if it bothered me.

I was too busy taking in the contents of her office - the table that previously stood in the far end of it, stood in the middle, folded out into the shape of a circle. Something was drawn on it, something the color of dried blood, and there were light candles, white and blue, littered on almost every possible surface. The air was clouded with incense smoke, so thick, it made my eyes water.

Odette's grin was sardonic as she met my eyes, wide and shocked, that had previously landed on what looked like a pot- or a cauldron, emanating the strongest bitter stench that wafted even through the lead curtain of incense. No wonder the whole store reeked.

Before she gently shut the door in my face, I caught the centerfold of the whole show - an extremely large, tattered, leatherbound tome with yellowed pages and a heavy metal padlock laying next to it. Overcome by stupor, I didn't manage to make out the intricate silver letters on its cover.

Needless to say, walking home that day was an adventure. In part, I was cautious that the agents would find me, follow me home, interrogate me - I've never been arrested even by usual cops and it was unlikely that shady government agencies were delicate in their approach. A larger part of my brain was wondering about the implications of what I had seen, I'd nearly chewed off my fingernails remembering the vacant, lost face expressions on the agents' faces.

As soon as I got home, I set to do some serious googling. And find information, I did. Plethora of minor details - candle colors, herbs used, deeply individual incantations and mythical deities that chose to work with a particular witch. It was nothing short of a whole science; I'd go as far as to say it was a complete lifestyle. The use of magick bled into every aspect of daily life, from sleep to food to communication with others.

Part of me felt incredulity at the implication of sacrificing so much to get results that might be the opposite of the ones desired. A larger, braver part of me - the very same that used to push me to explore abandoned buildings with my friends and drink booze given by a stranger - admired the work and the dedication my boss and her kind put into their work.

Having received my first paycheck and successfully having made it through rent day without having to make excuses, my conscious allowed me to treat myself to a few items - I decided to give into my curiosity and placed an order for a few books on modern witchcraft, happily waiting for the package to arrive next afternoon. I went to sleep with my head full and a new world at my feet to explore.

The books were late - or more like, never showed. The refund couldn't come soon enough. My curiosity began to reach unbearable levels the longer I worked the front desk at Odette's. These days I didn't need much assistance anymore, ready to help any new or returning customer with the help of my notebook. Time after time, I noticed a certain working order, a pattern to things if you may - and was able to recommend a few things here and there. In short, I stepped over my initial apprehension and dove into the world of natural remedies and energetic manipulation headfirst.

It made all the sense that Odette would start to take absence from the bodega as my training progressed. On the days she had fewer or no appointments, she would don her favourite scarf and trot out the front door, large purse in tow, to run errands or restock on the rare, pricy items that couldn't get delivered directly to the shop. I'd grown accustomed to locking up on my own; the spare key to the entrance door was my pride and joy, the dull silver a warm comfort hanging on a chain around my neck. Its antique design made a fairly pretty necklace.

The customer coming to pick up a special order hardly disrupted my time. I had Janis Joplin blaring from the old radio, my skirt swayed to the rhythm of the song together with me. The elevated mood while working in the shop was something I appreciated fully - with a kind smile, I departed for the backrooms to search for the package with the customer's name, not finding it anywhere near the proper place. A call later, I was opening Odette's office and extracting the paper-wrapped shoebox from the fridge, passing it into the customer's arms with utmost care: 'FRAGILE. KEEP REFRIGERATED AT ALL TIMES.' read on it in Odette's sharp cursive.

The bell above the door rang as the woman departed but I was already inching behind the curtain, overcome by sudden inquisitiveness.

The book. It stood right in the middle of Odette's desk, shut, but missing its padlock, beckoning with the thick gothic letters spelling out 'PRACTICAL ALCHEMY'. I noticed it as soon as I stepped into the office, confused and puzzled by my own unbearable desire to approach it immediately. I knew something was amiss, yet, my legs had a mind of their own and my hands firmly placed themselves upon the heavy cover of the book, seemingly without the input from my brain.

"What the hell..." I muttered to myself, finding the books contents to be - for the lack of a better word - peculiar. "Protect a babe born on all Hallows Eve..." I numbly mouthed the first words that my eyes registered. The pages made a soft noise as my shaking fingers turned them, one after the other. "Bestow healing upon a barren womb... Punish a thief..." There were - spells, and potions, and so many plants I've never even heard about before.

The pages turned and handwritings changed - at the start, words were written out precisely, the cursive neat and sharp, obviously written by an ink pen. Some things were scribbles, pencil or charcoal, so barely intelligible I had to guess about a third of the words written. Towards the end of the book pages made with a typewriter appeared - blocky letters and numbers, language modern, ash and cigarette smell coming from the paper.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The longer my hands touched the pages, the stronger the tingling sensation became - I failed to notice it at first, attributing it to the exhilaration of finding something so strange yet so precious, but as I was finishing a page that contained a fairly short spell for protection of a witches' home, the discomfort of my palms rose into a mild stinging pain.

"Fuck," I yelped, casting a look at my fingers. They were hot, angry, as if I had briefly touched boiling oil - and the skin on my fingertips began to blister, little white pustules forming where I had gingerly held the pages of the book in place. "What the fuck?" Was my reasonable question to nobody in particular.

The books contents were, no doubt, interesting but I was more concerned with the state of my hands - had I ignored the pain for five more minutes, I might have had to go to the hospital to treat what was beginning to look like a second-degree burn. I slammed it shut none-too-gently, placing it exactly as I found it and winced when barely a second of touching it brought on more excruciating pain.

The healing peppermint oil salve I knew people bought for mild burns only soothed the initial sting, so I had to suffer until I clocked out, stopping by a drugstore on my way home to purchase some much-needed burn cream. And while it didn't make it worse, I knew that my next day at work was going to be Hell.

Most thankful, however, I was to my voice-to-text option on my cell. Not only it allowed me to communicate with my friends without hurting my abused skin even more, but it also dutifully saved the short, simple spell that was supposed to protect my house. There was no harm in trying it, I supposed, after seeing what I didn't doubt was the book's own protection wreak havoc on my snoopy little hands.

The tag list is open until the story is finished.

@couldntbedamned @mikariell95 @letsby @sleep-i-ness @toomanyrobins @mostly-marvel-musings @persephonehemingway @schemefrenzy @lillsxd @bluecrazedandbeautiful @slothspaghettiwrites

#bun writes #practical alchemy #tony stark x reader x stephen strange #tony stark x reader #stephen strange x reader #stephen strange x y/n #tony stark x y/n #Stephen Strange x you #Tony Stark x you

[szalacsi]

history

“I’m from Malaysia. 

China has traded with Malaysia for 2000 years. In those years, they had been the world’s biggest powers many times. Never once they sent troops to take our land. 

Admiral Zhenghe came to Malacca five times, in gigantic fleets, and a flagship eight times the size of Christopher Columbus’ flagship, Santa Maria. He could have seized Malacca easily, but he did not. 

In 1511, the Portuguese came. 

In 1642, the Dutch came. 

In the 18th century the British came. 

We were colonised by each, one after another. 

When China wanted spices from India, they traded with the Indians. When they wanted gems, they traded with the Persian. They didn’t take lands. The only time China expanded beyond their current borders was in Yuan Dynasty, when Genghis and his descendants Ogedei Khan, Guyuk Khan & Kublai Khan concurred China, Mid Asia and Eastern Europe. Yuan Dynasty, although being based in China, was a part of the Mongolian Empire. 

Then came the Century of Humiliation. Britain smuggled opium into China to dope the population, a strategy to turn the trade deficit around, after the British could not find enough silver to pay the Qing Dynasty in their tea and porcelain trades. 

After the opium warehouses were burned down and ports were closed by the Chinese in ordered to curb opium, the British started the Opium War I, which China lost. Hong Kong was forced to be surrendered to the British in a peace talk (Nanjing Treaty). 

The British owned 90% of the opium market in China, during that time, Queen Victoria was the world’s biggest drug baron. The remaining 10% was owned by American merchants from Boston. Many of Boston’s institutions were built with profit from opium. 

After 12 years of Nanjing Treaty, the West started getting really really greedy. The British wanted the Qing government: 

 1. To open the borders of China to allow goods coming in and out freely, and tax free. 

 2. Make opium legal in China. Insane requests, Qing government said no. 

The British and French (with supports from the US), started Opium War II with China, which again, China lost. 

The Anglo-French military raided the Summer Palace, and threatened to burn down the Imperial Palace, the Qing government was forced to pay with ports, free business zones, 300,000 kilograms of silver and Kowloon was taken. 

Since then, China’s resources flew out freely through these business zones and ports. In the subsequent amendment to the treaties, Chinese people were sold overseas to serve as labor. 

In 1900, China suffered attacks by the 8-National Alliance (Empire of Japan, Russian Empire, British Empire (including India), France, USA, Germany, Italy, Austria-Hungary). 

Innocent Chinese civilians in Peking (Beijing now) were murdered, buildings were destroyed & women were raped. The Imperial Palace was raided, and treasures ended up in museums like the British Museum in London and the Louvre in Paris. 

In late 1930s China was occupied by the Japanese in WWII. Millions of Chinese died during the occupancy. 300,000 Chinese died in Nanjing Massacre alone. Mao brought China together again from the shambles. There were peace and unity for some time. But Mao’s later reign saw sufferings and deaths from famine and power struggles. 

Then came Deng Xiao Ping and his infamous 'black-cat and white-cat' story. His preference in pragmatism than ideologies has transformed China. This thinking allowed China to evolve all the time to adapt to the actual needs in the country, instead of rigidly bounded to ideologies. It also signified the death of Communism in actually practice in China. 

The current Socialism+Meritocracy+Market Economy model fits the Chinese like gloves, and it propels the uprise of China. Singapore has a similar model, and has been arguably more successful than Hong Kong, because Hong Kong being gateway to China, was riding on the economic boom in China, while Singapore had no one to gain from. 

In just 30 years, the CPC have moved 800 millions of people out from poverty. The rate of growth is unprecedented in human history. They have built the biggest mobile network, by far the biggest high speed rail network in the world, and they have become a behemoth in infrastructure. They made a fishing village called Shenzhen into the world’s second largest technological centre after the Silicon Valley. 

They are growing into a technological power house. It has the most elaborate e-commerce and cashless payment system in the world. They have launched exploration to Mars. The Chinese are living a good life and China has become one of the safest countries in the world. 

The level of patriotism in the country has reached an unprecedented height. For all of the achievements, the West has nothing good to say about it. China suffers from intense anti-China propagandas from the West. Western Media used the keyword “Communist” to instil fear and hatred towards China.

Everything China does is negatively reported. They claimed China used slave labor in making iPhones. The truth was, Apple was the most profitable company in the world, it took most of the profit, leave some to Foxconn (a Taiwanese company) and little to the labor. 

They claimed China was inhuman with one-child policy. At the same time, they accused China of polluting the earth with its huge population. The fact is the Chinese consume just 30% of energy per capita compared to the US. 

They claimed China underwent ethnic cleansing in Xinjiang. The fact is China has a policy which priorities ethnic minorities. For a long time, the ethnic minorities were allowed to have two children and the majority Han only allowed one. The minorities are allowed a lower score for university intakes. There are 39,000 mosque in China, and 2100 in the US. 

China has about 3 times more mosque per muslim than the US. When terrorist attacks happened in Xinjiang, China had two choices: 

1. Re-educate the Uighur (CENSUDED by Youtube) before they turned (CENSUDED by Youtube). (**Here I could not copy the exact word, since today it is censored by YouTube if I write it next to the indicated ethnicity. It is the one used to identify those crazy people who are killing people thinking that by doing this they will be able to go to paradise**). 

2. Let them be, after they launch attacks and killed innocent people, bomb their homes. China chose 1 to solve problem from the root and not to do killing. 

How the US solve terrorism? Fire missiles from battleships, drop bombs from the sky. 

During the pandemic, When China took extreme measures to lockdown the people, they were accused of being inhuman. 

When China recovered swiftly because of the extreme measures, they were accused of lying about the actual numbers. 

When China’s cases became so low that they could provide medical support to other countries, they were accused of politically motivated. Western Media always have reasons to bash China. Just like any country, there are irresponsible individuals from China which do bad things, but the China government overall has done very well. 

But I hear this comment over and over by people from the West: I like Chinese people, but the CPC is evil. What they really want is the Chinese to change the government, because the current one is too good. 

Fortunately China is not a multi-party democratic country, otherwise the opposition party in China will be supported by notorious NGOs (Non-Government Organization) of the USA, like the NED (National Endowment for Democracy), to topple the ruling party. 

The US and the British couldn’t crack Mainland China, so they work on Hong Kong. Of all the ex-British colonial countries, only the Hong Kongers were offered BNOs by the British. Because the UK would like the Hong Kongers to think they are British citizens, not Chinese. 

A divide-and-conquer strategy, which they often used in Color Revolutions around the world. They resort to low dirty tricks like detaining Huawei’s CFO & banning Huawei. They raised a silly trade war which benefits no one. Trade deficit always exist between a developing and a developed country. 

USA is like a luxury car seller who ask a farmer: why am I always buying your vegetables and you haven’t bought any of my cars? When the Chinese were making socks for the world 30 years ago, the world let it be. 

But when Chinese started to make high technology products, like Huawei and DJI, it caused red-alert. Because when Western and Japanese products are equal to Chinese in technologies, they could never match the Chinese in prices. 

First world countries want China to continue in making socks. Instead of stepping up themselves, they want to pull China down. The recent movement by the US against China has a very important background. 

When Libya, Iran, and China decided to ditch the US dollar in oil trades, Gaddafi’s was killed by the US, Iran was being sanctioned by the US, and now it’s China’s turn. The US has been printing money out of nothing. The only reason why the US Dollar is still widely accepted, is because it’s the only currency which oil is allowed to be traded with. 

The US has an agreement with Saudi that oil must be traded in US dollar ONLY. Without the petrol-dollar status, the US dollars will sink, and America will fall. 

Therefore anyone trying to disobey this order will be eliminated. China will soon use a gold-backed crypto-currency, the alarms in the White House go off like mad. 

 China’s achievement has been by hard work. Not by looting the world. I have deep sympathy for China for all the suffering, but now I feel happy for them. China is not rising, they are going back to where they belong. Good luck China.”

[canmom]

Animation Night 63: Ralph Bakshi’s SFF

Remember when we did two weeks anime, one week western? Haha... wow... imagine...

This week it’s time to once again pull our brains out of that one island’s insular media culture and check out somewhere else in the world. America. Which doesn’t have an insular media culture at all.

So. Ralph Bakshi... best known as one of the biggest names in creating such a category as ‘adult animation’ in America, thanks to his extremely horny early films like Fritz the Cat or TV shows like Spicy City. I wrote a bit about his career back on ‘live action x animation’ night...

So. Ralph Bakshi is another one of those animation auteurs with a distinctive style who you have to caveat a little before recommending lmao. With a background as a very young Jewish migrant in Brooklyn, Bakshi soon became very embedded in American counterculture. He got his first jobs in animation right at the bottom rung, as a ‘cel polisher’ responsible for cleaning dust from animation cels before photography, but worked his way up until he was directing films. Not content to work in the largely kid-targeted ecosystem, Bakshi was one of the people who went hard on pushing the ‘adult animation’ model, including its fumbling early experimentation with ‘haha, sex’. Most of his films (with exceptions like Wizards and his LotR) draw on the place he grew up, typically using very abstract archetypal characters; sex work is a major theme.

This video essay covers Bakshi’s work from a much more informed perspective than I can. My impression is, well, at his best Bakshi will take you into some fascinating psychic terrain; at his worst he leans entirely on shock value. At the time of Cool World, which is afaik his only time compositing animation with live action, Bakshi had made a few early films, like… sigh… “Coonskin” which was a dubious attempt to intervene positively against the medium’s history of racism, or, like Fritz the Cat, a film about a horny student cat which in reputation relied almost entirely on the shock value of talking about sex in an animated film.

However, as mentioned, he has a few films that really break from the ‘film about New York’ formula... namely, the wild sci-fantasy antifascist film Wizards in 1977, and the first film adaptation of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings in 1978. Both films stand out as pretty unusual takes on the genre.

Let’s start with LotR, since it’s the one I’ve actually seen - if years ago, when writing about it for school. The film is notable for its extreme use of rotoscoping, i.e. tracing live action footage to produce animation.

As we’ll discuss in a couple weeks, rotoscoping has a long history in animation, dating back to the early days of Disney, but it also carries risks: if the animator simply copies the live footage without interpretation, the result tends to be extremely uncanny, lacking the complex shading information of live action and the readable shapes and poses of animation.

The early scenes of LotR do pretty well with the rotoscope - I remember a charming shot of Frodo and Sam wiggling their toes gaily at each other - as well as defining a number of shots that Jackson straight-up lifted (ahem, homaged) when he made his version of LotR... but a lot of shots do not actually rotoscope, but simply solarise the live action footage, essentially reducing it down to two tones. The result is... strange, but I think I might be better able to appreciate it now. The scenes of orcs marching on and chanting still sit somewhere in my memory after all!

If a kind of pastoralism vs industrialism conflict is already fairly close to the surface in LotR, it’s even more overt in Wizards. I mostly know of this film for its legendary final scene, but the overall thrust of the movie is the conflict between a good wizard Avatar and a bad wizard Blackwolf. Blackwolf, on losing a power struggle for control of the post-apocalyptic world, flees into space to use old Nazi propaganda reels to whip up a fascist army representing the forces of industrialism to take it back. The film concerns Avatar’s journey to try and infiltrate Blackwolf’s land and destroy his magic propaganda machine before he does Holocaust 2.

So you know, libidinal this, fascism that, it’s not trying to be subtle with its themes. Remains to be seen whether it handles them at all well! (My guess is, keep your psychic armour up). In any case it also seems to have a lot of fascinating environments presented in Bakshi’s typically dissonant mix of styles, with that inventive seventies sci-fi that hadn’t even taken off in Japan at the time. (This film narrowly predates films like Galaxy Express 999 and Lupin III: the Castle of Cagliostro).

Since my download is still going, I am also going to open tonight with some lesser known Bakshi - thanks to @mogsk​ we have the TV series Spicy City, a collection of cyberpunk noir vignettes which, coz it’s Bakshi, are probably going to strike an odd tone by the genre’s standards. I’ve seen only one episode of this so far, about the relationship between a detective girl and a sex worker who has been made into a cyborg by an evil scientist. That had a distinctive vibe, and the others promise to be similarly fascinating, so I’m going to try and sprinkle a bit more of that around our films tonight.

Animation Night 63 will begin in.... about 10-20 minutes, depending on how soon people manifest, over at twitch.tv/canmom! Hope to see you there!

#animation night