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#so like not quite the same as being mixed chinese in france
a-room-of-my-own · 4 months
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My Tumblr is flushed with pro-Palestine posts and one thing that strikes me is the fact that people seem to be discovering what war is. Soldiers are cruel, innocents are getting killed, there's propaganda... Yeah, it's war. It's utterly violent and crude. It's not new though. It's not genocide either. Why does it seem like the reality of war is only horrifying when Israel is involved ? Especially since most people posting here are american, with all that that entails.
The American war propaganda has always been focused on sanitizing what war really is.
I remember during the war in Iraq the Bush administration was the first to talk about « surgical strikes » and « collateral damage », talking points that were repeated all day long by all American news channels. Also, soldiers were presented like they were all demigods or knights of the round table, who were only fighting for freedom and could do no wrong - only « collateral damage ».
At the same time the Bush administration presented its enemies as « the Axis of evil », Bush even famously called president Chirac, asking for France’s support with the argument that « Gog and Magog » were at the source of what was happening in the Middle East.
So one one hand you shield people from the gritty reality of war with euphemisms and tales of heroism, and on the other hand you force-feed them biblical symbolism.
Now, at the time, the US were still extremely insular so people didn’t really have access to other sources of information than their main TV channels. The difference with today is that young people with barely any knowledge about history outside of their own borders, and close to no critical thinking skills, are being flooded with partial information on social media apps.
They’re finding out about the horrors of war mainly through a Chinese app, and social media that favor conspiracy content. That’s a dangerous mix. Because as they’re traumatized by the content they see they’re manipulated into understanding it a certain way. And since they never developed the ability to decipher messages and identify credible sources, they eat up propaganda. It’s especially effective if said propaganda feeds into bias they were raised with:
- > there’s only Good and Evil and nothing in between. Trying to find nuance in a situation, asking for clarification or proof, means you’re an accomplice to Evil.
It was true during Bush’s time, it’s still true now, the difference being other players control the information.
Also, antisemitism.
It was a taboo after WWII, but now the ties with the war are slowly fading away as witnesses die. The younger generations - again who have very little historical knowledge - don’t feel connected to this history. Antisemitism gives them the Enemy, the Evil, they need to fight. It quite literally gives them a scapegoat to hate and shun.
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dradelcra · 1 year
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Hello! I love your jnh designs so much! Do you have any info or a story around them?
Thank you!!! It always means a lot when people say they like the designs and even want to hear about the lil headcannons/stories I have! (I should really upload to that AO3...) I try not to deviate from the text too much but I love going nuts on their interactions and life prior to the first chapter.
so uuuuh yeah :>
Long post incoming <3 (Really)
I could go on and on about them but I'll do what is best and give some details so you won't be straining your eyes too much.
(This is actually quite long now sorry. I had too much fun with this!)
Characters:
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Mr. Utterson (48/12)
-Estate planning Lawyer -Second Oldest of five (first died in childhood). Has a younger sister and two twin younger brothers. -Happily unmarried (tried but it wasn't his cup of tea). -Chinese descent (He has a Chinese name too). -Near-sighted. -Able to bend his own words to his advantage, Jekyll could only wish to be as good as him. (These are never done with hostile intent) -Different in terms of personality in comparison to his more outgoing, expressive and louder family members but he still shares their kind characteristic. -Although he often keeps to himself, he is rather nosy and invasive when it comes to his friends and those around him. -Although he is generally kind, he doesn't take things to heart, especially when it's from someone he doesn't know. Will brush it off without issue. -Doesn't like when he has to do an in person consultation with his clients, however, if it's important he may get a bit of 'liquid courage' before hand. -Not one to get physical but he did punch a kid in boarding school for trying to harm Jekyll after words failed to resolve the issue. -His ties all have different patterns on them. -Former Theatre kid however he will sometimes act out imaginary situations in the comfort of his own room. -Cheats at cards. His friends still have yet to find out how he keeps winning. -Unlike everyone else, their colour motifs are colour mixes of their parents. Uttermom is Cherry red and his Utterdad is Indigo. -Has two pet cats. A Russian Blue named Motz (short for Mozzarella or Mozart depending on who's asking) who he got after a legal issue with a couple who abandoned everything and left the country, including the cat. And a Li Hua, named Heng, which his mother gifted him so he would be less lonely at home. Victim of the universal cat distribution system.
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Mr. Enfield (28)
-Police officer; Newcomen is his partner. -Moved from the United States to England as his mother's dying wish to get out of the dusty town. (Although smog isn't that much better...) -Was from a miner town and his dad owned the local saloon/bar. -Somewhat like his cousin, he's a stickler for the truth while also being a bit of a gossip. -As you'd expect, the exact opposite of his cousin aside from having the same strong sense of curiousity and justice (and sense of humour). -Although he gives the impression of a refined man, that is only when he doesn't speak. He's still learning the English customs. -Speaks a lot of American slang, often leaving his English counterparts confuzzled. -Unlike everyone else, their colour motifs are colour mixes of their parents. Enfield's Mom was hot pink and his Dad is matcha green.
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Mr. Guest (29)
-Clerk -Near-sighted. -Trinidadian (after a friend <3). -Young lad who left home to pursue a career instead of what his family had planned for him. -One of the few people to both 'butt-heads' with Utterson and yet be comforting company. -Generally handles the conversational side of the job and is very good at it as a result. -Generally prefers to keep to himself but like anyone, he does enjoy going out with others to relax
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Mr. Poole (54)
-House head/servant -Indian; Migrated to France for work. Left France once hired by the Jekyll household. -A professional of his work so well known in the butler society that many households prayed he didn't work for the Jekyll household just so he could help them. -Understanding and willing to be an ear to listen and give advice in return if asked. -Far-sighted -(According to butler work ethics, he's not really supposed to have a mustache but if I try to imagine him without one I'll perish so-) -Although Jekyll is the master of the house, Poole is the one who controls most of the tasks within it, along with the family home. -(Another note, I had to age down everyone a little just to Poole wouldn't be nearing his 60s when he kicks the door down)
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Dr. Jekyll (46)
-Apothecary -French/Russian(Mom)+English(Dad) -Only Child (with an unknown half-brother), as well as lonely child. -Unintentionally acts like his mother whom he had a difficult relationship with growing up (Nature and Nurture sort of scenario). Father was kind but negligent. -Acts more like his *'true self' around Utterson and Lanyon on the account that he grew up with them. (*whatever that means) -Got terrified of misbehaving due to witnessing one of the maids die due to such actions (his mother told him that). Then the typical, acting out to get his parent's attention. After their death, and disappearing for three years, he mellowed out. -Has a scar on the left side of his head made during the 3 year trip at the age of 30; the draping/styling of his hair hides it. -His long hair is a coping mechanism and is styled to appear short. It is dyed lighter than it actually is. -Meticulous about his appearance (even as Hyde; old habits) -Divorced, but on good terms. -Has his own garden where he grows flowers. -Collects stamped wax seals. (Utterson uses wafer seals; Lanyon does not stamp his wax seals) -An anxious man especially when things don't go according to plan. -Depending on the relationship with him, his smile may either be comforting or condescending, Schrodinger's smile (you don't know its intention unless you know what he's thinking). -Something of a people pleaser even when he tries to not be. Force of habit. A push-over in boarding school since he never had much opportunity to make friends but both Lanyon and Utterson made sure to stop this as best as they could. -Utterson and Lanyon sometimes call him Jeck-ul to tease him. -Has a rabbit. She is an English Spot named Lily, after her fur pattern and colouration. She also liked to eat the flowers in Jekyll's garden after gnawing out of her cage for the 10th time. She is missing an eye. She was about to be thrown out of a pet shop but Jekyll saw it as an opportunity to use her as a test subject. He ended up not doing that.
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Dr. Lanyon (47)
-General Physician -Scottish -Tallest of everyone mentioned. -older brother with a half-sister. -Hard of hearing due to an incident which started Jekyll and Lanyon's relationship tension. Has a hearing aid but doesn't like using it. Good at making it seem like he can hear. Both Jekyll and Utterson learned how to sign so he wouldn't feel alienated. -Has signed names for those close with him. (J-'J & Flower' U-'Angel' P- 'Pool' Blaire(wife)-I didn't come up with one yet, maybe sunlight or honey which he signs then signs love to make it more endearing idk) -Had a sick mother which prompted his career to General Medicine. Was a loner as a result in his younger years as he looked for work to be able to feed himself and was rumored to be a witch's child. Luckily that's now in the past. -Married to a nurse, turned doctor, who he met on a work trip to the United States (he passed out from heat exhaustion on the job). He has two kids, both who have Jekyll and Utterson as their godfather's -One is named Catriona, Jekyll's goddaughter. (It is vital to know this) -Typical dad and wife loving guy. -Often has a big smile of his face and will wrap you into a hug or give a hearty handshake if given the chance. -Radiates comfort; great with holding a conversation, it's near impossible not feel relaxed around him while he gives you a check up. Jekyll can only wish to be that good. -Pedantic about situations he's knowledgeable in, especially when it comes to health. -Not afraid to start an argument in situations where he feels disrespected. -Looks like a hardy man who doesn't take things to heart but he's quite the opposite. He dyed his hair when he got bullied for it in his younger years. -Has an old dog named Ruth. She's a Duck Tolling retriever, who is terribly sweet and has the energy of a puppy. Lanyon got her from the will of one his patients. She is named after the original owner's child that they never got to have. She unintentionally makes for a good service dog since she helped the previous owner alot during his old age.
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Relationships :
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Jekyll x Utterson x Lanyon (J.U.L/Jewel)
-The trio officially meet at boarding school as Jekyll carries Lanyon with him after the death of his mother. They went to the same school as Utterson by Poole's suggestion to Henry's father. -Utterson and Lanyon had a difficult time getting along with each other at the start due to their contrasting personalities, however Jekyll was a good medium and eventually they managed to work with each other's differences. -Lanyon is the one driving force keeping them from not dying at an early age. Those two can barely cook or monitor their own health for themselves. -Utterson the one driving force keeping them from not going broke or getting into major legal issue. -The lads have had pretty peaceful lives, it's strange. Jekyll surely has no idea why. Any outside ruckus seems to just...stop... -On breaks, the stay with Utterson's family until Jekyll is no longer able to due to training for future obligations. They still visit each other. -Utterson's parents were very supportive and kind, indirectly adopting Jekyll and Lanyon as their own. -The trio hold private events with each other where they gift each other random items or hold lunches at their houses. -The jests amongst these three, you'd think they were children with how they act around each behind closed doors. -They'd kill for each other and who is to say the hadn't?
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Poole x J.U.L.
-Was practically a big brother to them; helped them with school work where he could despite leaving school at a young age to work. He managed to get help from another maid who actually knew the material. -Had his fair share of adventures with the lads when they were younger. Having his plate full underestimates his situation. -They still manage to raise his blood pressure even at this age. It wouldn't be them if he didn't find them passed out on the couch after their loud chatter. -They may be adults but he's still going to cover them with a blanket in those instances.
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(some of these may have been mentioned and may refer you back to a previous panel or not?)
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Jekyll x Everyone
Poole
-Out of everyone in the house, Poole (and a former maid), were the only ones who interacted with Jekyll rather than giving him the cold shoulder. Poole was fired by Henry's mom as a result but luckily the news reached Jekyll's dad before he left and was soon rehired (the former maid was not as lucky). -Despite the work relationship, Poole is like family to Jekyll, although Jekyll does sometimes use the boss position to his advantage whenever he becomes a bit invasive. -Somewhat childish around Poole, complaining about things and asking him to make him his favourite foods even though that's not his job per se. -After he left for boarding school, Poole left the Jekyll house. When he returned from College, Jekyll went out of his way to bring him back. -Respects him more than his parents. -He couldn't count how many times Poole had been there for him during tough times. -When Poole got fired Jekyll planned to run away with Lanyon to go find him and bring him back.
Lanyon
-Jekyll moves between England and Scotland due to dad's' work, eventually meeting Lanyon at age 10 in Scotland. -Love-hate relationship; If arguments ever arise it's rarely about anything serious. -Lanyon is more likely to call out Jekyll for certain actions, which entertains Jekyll. -As much as Jekyll enjoys troubling Lanyon, he does sometimes take it too far. He knows when Lanyon goes quiet. -They trust each other with the worse of themselves. -Jekyll wishes Lanyon would relax more, he's been more his parent than his parents. -Is competitive with him. -He didn't mean to hurt him, it was an accident...
Utterson
-Jekyll(5) met Utterson(7) in England after travelling to town with Poole to a local fabric store, to whom Utterson's mother owns. -Unlike Lanyon, Utterson is less likely to call out Jekyll for certain actions, however that's because he feigns ignorance. -Although Jekyll trusts Utterson with the negatives of himself, he knows Utterson does tent to go overboard with trying to mend a situation so he keeps a bit to himself. -He envies Utterson for being so…himself without risking people outcasting him. -Has actually managed to genuinely upset him, which is difficult. Utterson didn't speak to him for nearly a month. Lanyon had to be the negotiator for once. He stopped being upset after a day. He may seem reasonable but he is also extremely petty.
Guest
-Jekyll wasn't one hundred percent on having someone so young handle his finances but soon came around when he realized it would lighten the work load on Utterson. -Quite likes Guest once they started talking. -Taught him how to play cards. Started losing to him at cards.
Enfield
-Met him when he was a child but after that he hadn't seen him again until the incident (where he didn't recognize him). -He sort of reminds him of someone…oh well.
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Utterson x Everyone
Jekyll
-When they first met he was reading a book and Jekyll asked him about it but he didn't want to hold a conversation. Jekyll suggests sharing the silence then, which did spark Utterson's interest. -Utterson understands that Jekyll likes to keep to himself as he does but also wishes he'd actually trust him more with his troubles. It's a bit hypocritical on his part and he knows this. -Got him hair ribbons and accessories to show his support. -Although he enjoys his company, he sometimes thinks Jekyll prefers Lanyon over him due to how differently he acts between the two.
Lanyon
-Annoying (Affectionate) -He ends up being both a baby sitter and dog sitter for him sometimes. He still isn't sure how he gets put into that position so easily. -Lanyon is a good person to talk to with reasonable solutions but sometimes he can be really unreasonable when he's clouded by his emotions. -He's a bit too 'touchy' for his liking but at this point diverging the course of a river would be easier than telling him to not hug him at every greeting. He's come to term with it . Afterall, it's not so bad if it's him. -Thinks the arguments between him and Jekyll are ridiculous, but entertaining. If he asks them what they were arguing about they end up forgetting. He can't help but to laugh. -Before they met at boarding school, Jekyll would send letters about him and their adventures. It made him want to be more involved. -Sometimes he envied how outgoing and good with people Lanyon is. -He likes to hear him talk. His voice is full of life and charm.
Poole
-Likes Mr. Poole. -Utterson's parents send him stuff like fabrics and vegetables as he is a regular customer at his mom's shop. -If Poole hadn't come to the shop he wouldn't have met Jekyll and by extension Lanyon. -Finds his work ethics impressive and wishes to make him proud as if he was his own parent.
Enfield
-Enfield's mother is Utterson's mother's sister (aunty but it's vital you know which side).. -When Utterson last saw him he was 10. Poor Utterson (and his siblings) were very confused as to who he was when he returned nearly two decades later! -The two get along rather well despite their opposing personalities (not in the same sense of Utterson with Lanyon). -Before Enfield's migration, they saw each other on some New Years' days when Enfield was still a kid. -He thinks he's learned some…questionable behaviours. He doesn't like tea and drinks coffee without anything in there. He once saw his cooking outside. -Whenever something involves Enfield, Utterson has to be mentioned since he is his emergency contact. (luckily it's never serious)
Guest
-Utterson hired him as Guest was having a difficult time searching for work, especially after separating from his family. -After discovering why, Mr. Utterson still kept him around. -Enjoys having him around to either chat or just sit in silence with while working. -It took a bit of convincing on Guest's part (alongside Jekyll and Lanyon who worried he'd overwork himself if he didn't some help) as Utterson wasn't entirely thrilled with someone being at his work place but decided to give him a chance after hearing he was a good conversationalist.
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Lanyon x Everyone
Jekyll
-He grinds his gears (affectionate). -They bicker like brothers and just as quickly make up without needing to apologize directly. -Both his wife and Jekyll seem to make it their duty to tease him endlessly, why had he done this to himself. -When his mother died in their youth, Jekyll held his hand and had a sleep over. -Always says he's finished with him and his antics but they always end up reconciling. I believe if he hadn't died they might have done so again. -The two are always touching each other, whether with a shoulder slung over, a hug, a pat on the back or linked arms. -Was a bit protective of Jekyll and didn't like his parents or some of the destructive things he did. -Didn't like when Jekyll was growing his hair out but eventually learned to style hair thanks to his sister. He's begun to think that Jekyll only invites him over just to do it.
Utterson
-The definition of opposites. If they weren't seen together you'd think they wouldn't know each other. -Because of this, they aren't likely to be around each other for too long, however that does not mean they don't enjoy each other's company. -Where Utterson may press, Lanyon will recede, sometimes causing situations to get out of hand. Luckily they never get too far. -He doesn't understand him sometimes but he tries his best not to be too physical with him since it makes him uncomfortable. Sometimes however, he gets a away with it. -Utterson appears like a very relaxed individual who always knows what he's doing, people like him without him doing much. It's quite admirable. -He can chat a mile with Utterson around and knows he's still listening. -He wishes he'd stop drinking so much, both as his friend and doctor. He once tried to 'borrow' a cup of water from him after a walk over to his house only to find out that it was liquor. Utterson it is 9am.
Poole
-He feels indebted to him for the care he showed him when he was younger. The food he sent him and the stories he told them in the dimly lit space of Jekyll's room made him forget what it was like to be alone. -Gives him check ups whenever he can, even if he may say that he's fine. That guy's health is very important, free of charge! Jekyll will pay.
Guest
-He handles his finances as well at Utterson's law farm. A smart young lad! -Thinks he's a bit small for his age though. Perhaps he'll allow him to make him a hearty meal one day.
Enfield
-Cute kid! He remembers playing cops and Robbers with him. -Gave him a big hug when they met again.
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Guest x Everyone
Utterson
-Thinks he's a good boss, although he wishes he'd actually communicate directly with his clients rather than using him as a medium. -They 'talk' about their lives and clients with each other. It's a huge relief for both of them. -Subjected to a lot of his puns and jokes. Everyday is torture. -Utterson helped him to pick out some clothes when he started working under him. Style is a must when working under Utterson/j.
Enfield
-As they both know Utterson they interact sometimes. -Guest is still dumbfounded as to how the two (Utterson and Enfield) are related. -Rarely interact with each other but Guest thinks Enfield is rambunctious.
Poole
-Reminds him of an uncle. -He get's lunch from him that reminds him of home.
Jekyll
-Respects Jekyll, however, he had heard some things he'd rather not relay to Mr. Utterson. Even if it was to confirm or deny. The risk wasn't worth it.
Lanyon
-Homely father figure. -Has considered making him his doctor but he'd rather not risk anything.
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Enfield x (almost) Everyone
Utterson
-His favourite cousin (more or less). He may say that he doesn't want to leave him house but he knows that actually means he just lacks the motivation. That's okay! He shall be there. -Enfield tries to get Utterson to go out more. It's a gradual work in progress. -Thinks that he needs to relax more, try going to the theatre like he used to. However, Utterson always finds a way to not go. Eventually he stopped trying there but he did manage to make walking the street a common thing. -He's very reserved on the surface. Although, now when Enfield thinks about it, maybe he's just actually like that. Maybe he's shy? (no.) -Tries to get him to smile where he can, even though it only seems to make Utterson less willing to do so. -He doesn't like playing any strategy based games with him because he someone always wins.
Lanyon
-Barely remembers him but Utterson talks highly of him, albeit in a round about way.
Jekyll
-Doesn't remember much about him but Utterson and Guest speak highly of him. Maybe one day he'll be as respectable as him.
Guest
-Rarely interact with each other but Enfield wishes Guest would be more open. He thinks hanging around Utterson is making him 'too quiet'.
Poole: They don't know each other.
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Poole x (almost) Everyone
Jekyll
-He understands that children become more closed off when they grow older but…why did it have to happen to him! -Such things are expected…at least he turned out fine for the most part. -His mother had the whole house terrified if anyone interacted with the young master. He only got the pass because Jekyll's dad found out after he was fired without him knowing. -He was distant with him after being threatened by her but it broke his heart when the young Jekyll thought it was his fault. -Did everything in his power to ensure that Jekyll could have some semblance of a normal childhood, even if that was limited and risky. -Happy he found friends to which he could be close with. -Jekyll is still as sneaky as he was as a kid as he is now. -Sometimes he'd find the doctor try to seek comfort from him as he used to with a hug. Some things never change…
Lanyon
-When he first met Lanyon, he already discovered his intention of using Jekyll for his own benefits. However, despite that, he treated him as the friend Jekyll terribly needed. With some care, he found that Lanyon's intentions soon turned genuine. -Tried to make his visits as enjoyable as possible when he was younger. -Convinced Lanyon's step father to send him to boarding school with Jekyll rather than separating them. It was a risk meddling with lives however it went as hoped for him. -Very relieved with how Lanyon tuned out. Although he wish he'd stop nearly squishing him when he hugged him.
Utterson
-He was a quiet kid overall and Poole is glad he turned out so well. -His parents have helped him multiple times when it came to organization, management and how to ensure a child reaches their fullest potential although that wasn't entirely his job. -Jekyll and Utterson once returned from the creek covered in mud. Utterdad had never been so amused that his son was capable of such activities. Poor Poole is truly using all his luck when being responsible for them.
Guest
-Poole has had some interactions with Guest as it relates to finances due to him working at the firm where Jekyll keeps his funding. -Guest sometimes gets snacks from when he visits Jekyll's house on work.
Enfield: They don't know each other.
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Bonus:
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Hyde (23~28)
-looks like their mother -Has a cleft lip. -Due to their chemical make-up, he gives the impression of a ruffian, however she doesn't do anything that would cause that much of a ruckus outside of the area they are in. How else would they have hidden their presence form his friends? -Bribes her way into doing odd jobs when bored. -Unless they say what they were, the person asking wouldn't know. But where's the fun in telling, unless it has its advantages. -The clip in their hair is actually a repurposed tie clip from Utterson. -Oddly flexible, oddly agile.
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Hyde x Everyone
Lanyon -Lanyon doesn't notice them but there was a cup of coffee that appeared at the stand when he forgot his pouch at home. -Almost got hit by a carriage when he wasn't paying attention but a strong tug pulled him back. Before he could confront the person for felling him, they seemed to have never existed. Maybe his coat got caught on something?
Utterson -Utterson doesn't like him but he can't bring himself to hate him on account that he's oddly familiar. -Sometime Hyde surprises him with when shows actual 'kind' behaviour or sports a genuine smile. (Jekyll forgets he is Hyde sometimes)
Poole -They remind them of Jekyll when he was younger. He's a lot more unruly in comparison however and Poole does not have the energy to keep up like he used to. -Thinks that Hyde is a secret child of Jekyll as a result but he isn't going to ask.
Guest -Asks for money from a separate account via Guest which is convenient since Utterson doesn't interact directly with his clients. -Guest often forgets Hyde every time he returns but then he partially remembers him because of his 'vibe' and when he uses the same account upon returning. -Guest only wonders what they do as a job but he's not getting paid to question.
Enfield
-Hyde thinks Enfield is annoying because he keeps imposing on his actions with his sense of justice and as an officer he's even more persistent. -Enfield thinks they are a ruffian but blames it on Hyde being young (Although Hyde said they were the same age). Thinks he could 'fix' them to be a proper individual, like him for example. -(I know Jekyll canonically never met Enfield before the incident but my vers. has Jekyll and Lanyon partially meeting Enfield when J.U.L. were still in boarding and visited Utterson's home during break)
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Text
So...the Shanghai special
This wasn't explored like in the SLIGHTEST but
Marinette and her slight confusion on why her parents are so excited for her to go to China? Not sure if she wants to explore her roots and honestly only seems interested after being embarrassed about not knowing the language she should know but doesn't? RELATABLE AF
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womenofwonder · 2 years
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RWBY characters races for AUs set in our world.
How I’m going to do this: three things. The first, the city they live in Remnant. This is the least important because that leaves us with only five…maybe six places compared to our world’s hundreds of countries.
The second will be the original of their names, which they’ll have to keep in the AUs, meaning that they need some culture background for them.
The third will be their fairy tale origins.
So to start, Ruby Rose:
She lives in Vale, which is similar to France (I’ll explain why in another post maybe), but technically grew up in patch, a small island off the coast of Vale. I have no idea about Patch’s culture as we hardly ever see it, so I’m going to skip this one. We also don’t know if either Summer or Taiyang was originally from Vale.
We know Taiyang is Chinese from his name, so I’m going to say she’s half Chinese. I also wrote a western au once and really love the idea of Taiyang being an Asian Redneck…so I think I’m going to say Ruby is very, very southern just because that would be adorable.
But if you don’t want that idea I generally see Taiyang being either Asian-American or Asian-French, or Asian-British if your doing a HP AU. Summer is harder to pin down, but Red Riding Hood was originally an Italian fable, so I’m going to have her be Italian or Italian-American.
Weiss:
Weiss is German, although making her simply white America/British would work. I could see her being Russian too in some AU because Atlas fits well as Russia. For American works, Pennsylvania has quite the German population and coal mines, so that works pretty well for her.
Blake is really complicated. From Remment Australia which is culturally SEA (south East Asian), has an English name but parents with a Hindu-inspired names, but neither looking vaguely Indian. I’m going to assume her family are immigrants (as they are in cannon I think) to Australia, maybe even changed their name to help them fit in. Immigrants from where? Well, India is an option, but I like to think Malaysia. They have a large Indian and Chinese population, and I like to think Blake is a mixture of Chinese, Malay, and Indian ethnicities, from Malaysia and immigrated to Australia. And if you think this is crazy or unrealistic, you haven’t seen anything yet. The sheer mix of cultures I’ve seen growing up as an ex-pat is insane. This isn’t too crazy.
For Yang, we already have Taiyang as an Asian red-neck. Or at least I do. Raven and Qrow are going to be a little harder to pin down, but I’m think bandits getting replaced by mafia. Which mafia? I don’t know, take you’re pick. Branwen is Welsh, but I can’t think of a Welsh mafia. Coming from Mistral I would see them as being Triad, not Yakuza because Raven’s gang is famous for being less than coordinated.
If you need a logical reason for Yang having blonde hair, Taiyang could be only half Chinese, half blonde (blonde is race right?).
Either way I see Raven operating in an American city like New York or Detroit.
This would mean Yang is fully Chinese ethnically.
JNPR:
Jaune’s name and inspiration are all French. However his mother does come from Mistral (I think), so I do see him being half Chinese, but nationally French. It’s also funny to imagine him with a French accent.
Pyrrha: she’s Greek or maybe Greek-American with her parents being recent immigrants. Argus seems to Remnent-Greece and her name and fairy tale are greek.
Nora: she should be Scandinavian. I feel like in a MCU AU she’s Thor’s daughter. But she also grew up as a street rat in Mistral, which is hard to fit in our world. Therefore I’m going to have her in America, the great melting pot (and also America seems to be more like Mistral than any other Remnent king with our state system), and she going to ethically Scandinavian but knowing nothing of her culture due to her upbringing.
Ren: obviously Chinese, but I might have him be American-Chinese to fit his story nicely in with Nora’s.
Others:
Coco: we’re all ignoring that she’s based off Coco Channel, so let’s make her a LA girl
Velvet: Australia, because of the accent. Or maybe English because that is her story origin
Fox: he’s difficult, because tribes are pretty rare in modern AUs. But his story could work for various things. He’s one of the few black characters so he could come from practically any African tribe (I’m currently going with Hausa because it’s one of the few I know anything about). His name is based off ‘the fox and the hound’ which is a rare American story, so he could also be from a Native American tribe if you want the AU to be more American-based.
Yatsuhashi: Japanese, this one is thankfully easy.
Sun: Chinese. He comes from a tribe as well, but I can’t think of any nomadic Chinese tribes except the Uyghurs. Making Sun a Uyghur doesn’t make much sense but it will serve to piss off certain people on the internet. And now this is going to be taken down, isn’t it? Oh wait, this is tumbrl. This is anarchy. It won’t. Forgot why I liked this place for a second.
Scarlet: sorry for the rambling there. Anyway, Scarlet is definitely English. “I hope I don’t get sand in my shoes.”
Sage: well, he’s black, but other then that we have nothing to go one. He’s also from Mistral but that doesn’t really work? If Mistral is America as well as China I guess we can make him African American. Or whatever else works best for the AU. He might be Indian too now that I think of it. Or even Maori. Really options are limitless here.
Neptune: Yeah, so probably just American, but does have both a French last name and an Italian first name. So probably ethically American (aka white mutt). Also he lives near a port, I think I’m gonna gone with him being from Tacoma Washington because I am.
Flynt: African American
Neon: Japanese-American because of her meme (it started as part of Japanese pop song on YouTube, the latter of which is America summed up in one invention)
Oscar: Hispanic-American, he just looks it. And I’m guessing he lives in Kansas for obvious reasons. His last name isn’t Hispanic but their could be a lot of reasons for that. Or he could be Native American (Pawnee, Cheyenne, and Osage are all Native American tribes in Kansas).
Penny: well if she’s still a robot she probably stays white, but if you want her human in this AU she might end up being half black as Pietro is, although she also could just be adopted. I guess the later makes more sense, huh? I figure she’s American, with her dad working with a ‘well meaning’ but ultimately corrupt government. Probably living in DC, as that has both the government and the poverty issues.
Emerald: oohh, boy. This is hard. Sustrai is Basque, and Aladdin is a French addition to an Arabian story, she herself is dark skinned with anime features that are super unhelpful for this sorta thing.
I have three ideas. Brazilian, mostly as there’s no South American themed RWBY characters I can think of, and it’s diverse enough that someone looking like Emerald would fit. Secondly, for American centered stories she’s just an orphan with no idea of her ethnicity. Or she could be African, Indian, Pacific Islander, or Hispanic or some mixture between those four. It’s honestly really hard to tell. In my fanfic she’s from Suriname and ethnically 1/4 Indian, 1/2 Creole, and 1/4 Javanese.
Ilia: Sioux (Native American). Ilia means a lot of things in a lot of different languages, and Amitola mean rainbow in Sioux, so I decided to just stick with that.
Mercury: American, white mutt American. I’m guessing New York or Philli for where he grew up, it seems like a place where he’d be comfortable
Neo: the new novel reveals her father lived in vale (btw I haven’t read it, I’m just getting this off the internet) and her mother was a assassin who’s origins aren’t known. She doesn’t really have a fairy tale. So I’m going to go with British or French (thank RWBY thoughts for the first one) although in an American AU she works as just a white American.
Robyn: depends on what Atlas is in this AU, but probably German or American.
Qrow: I already mentioned he’s probably Chinese due to being from Mistral. It’s a bit weird to think of him as Asian, but not as weird as it to think of Raven as white, so I’ll take it. Although I do like the idea of him being American Irish, that’s fun.
Winter: whatever Atlas is in this AU, German or American, although British and Russian would work well too.
Maria: Mexican
Salem: If you want a AU where she’s just a normal person then New England or Italian for her story origin
Watts: British
Tyrian: uh…I have no idea, but he looks white. And he kinda has a British accent? I want him to be southern for the accent tho. Probably just another crazy American
Cinder: her fairy tale is French but her origin is Chinese. Also, Cinderella doesn’t really have an origin, it’s an ancient story with every culture having at least one Cinderella story. So I’m going to say Chinese.
Hazel: American, from the Midwest. He’s darkish so maybe he’s a POC? Part Native American or Hispanic? Idk or really care I can’t stand Hazel
Roman Torchwick: American-Italian, he runs/works for the mafia
Ozpin: American because of the whole wizard-of-Oz-thing or French, because he seems to have come from Vale.
Glynda: American or French for the same reasons Ozpin is
Oobleck: Jewish American (because Dr. Seuss was)
Professor Port: Russian, due to his fairy tale, or English, due to his style
Taiyang: already said he’s a red-neck Asian.
Raven: depending on whether you want her to be white or not, either Chinese or Irish American, like I already said.
Cordovin: Karen
Ironwood: again, depends on Atlas in the AU. Either American or German…maybe Russian
Clover: Irish-American (or German, obviously the ace-ops depend on where Atlas is. I’m just going to do the rest of them assuming Atlas is American because Germany isn’t that diverse)
Harriet: African-American, I guess. It kinda messes with the story because Harriet is supposed to be privileged, which doesn’t really work in this AU, but she’s also obviously black.
Elm: Just normal American, maybe greek-American because of the Aesop fable themes
Vine: Tibetan based on his design
Marrow: either African-American or Pakistani/Indian-American. (I’m personally going for Pakistani)
Klein: english. All butlers are English. It’s a rule.
Pietro: African-American
Johanna: Pakistani or Indian American
Fiona: Jewish-American (kinda random but while she’s obviously white she also needs to be a minority for the Faunus thing to work)
May: normal upper glass American/German
Ghira: Half Malay, Half Indian, from Malaysia but immigrated to Australia later in life
Kali: half Chinese, half Indian, but also from Malaysia
Adam: much like Fiona I’m going to assume he’s Jewish due to him being white but still needing to be a minority. German or American, again, depending on where Atlas is. Or he could be Chinese, even though it doesn’t work with his name, due to the theory that he was trafficked much like Cinder. I’m going with ethically Jewish though
Sienna Khan: Indian
Huh, I actually finished that. I’m pretty sure I was accidentally racist multiple times and apologize in advance,
I’m exhausted and starving and not thinking straight. But anyway, here it is. Your very messy guide to modern RWBY AUs. I swear this was insane to sort out.
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kbeesims · 4 years
Photo
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Elian Zhang for @simtrospective‘s Flapperette Challenge!
|| 27 || Brindleton Bay || Handyman ||
|| Super Parent || Family-Oriented || Goofball || Creative ||
Elian Zhang grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. Born to a Chinese father and Hispanic mother, Elian was considered different from the very beginning, and it didn’t help that his head was always in the clouds. Bullied when he was young, Elian relied on his older brother and sister to keep him okay, whether Mateo protecting him from his bullies or Sofia was helping him realize he was enough and worth it. With his family’s help, he made it through high school and entered university. But one night when visiting a speakeasy, Elian found himself cavorting with a pretty white girl, all dolled up. And then nine months later, that same girl showed up with a newborn, told him he was the father, and then left, leaving Elian in a panic. He was half-way through university, how was he supposed to take care of a baby- especially one from out of wedlock? Well, his family ended up helping out, watching baby Claudia when he was at school or working in order to get him through uni. Finally, he graduated with a Fine Arts degree and got his own house for him and Claudia to share.
Now he’s 27, still trying to make a living off of his paintings, raising a dramatic six-year-old, and working part-time as a handy-man to survive. But as he gets older, he’s becoming more worried about Claudia. He wants his little girl to have a mother, someone who loves her just as much as he does. But at the same time, he wants someone he could imagine loving, living an adventurous life with, a woman who won’t just bow to his every whim. Someone who will challenge him and show Claudia that she can be so much more than the world wants her to be. So when he saw the casting call for the Flapperette and saw the beautiful and wild Frances, Elian knew he had to give it a shot. Time to take a risk, for both himself and his little girl.
Elian’s birthday is March 3.
Skills are: Painting, 10; Handiness, 2; Parenting, 4; Photography, 3
He wants to be able to quit being Brindleton Bay’s town handyman and devote his life to painting, Claudia, and a wife who he loves, but at the moment, he’s only doing 1 of 3.
He and Claudia have a three-legged dog named Sprinkles. Can you guess who named him?
Mateo, Elian’s brother, dropped out of school to work and heavily contributed to both his and Sofia’s college funds. He’s likely the only reason he was able to afford it, even though his parents also helped out. Elia chooses not to ask how his brother got that much money.
Pretty much all of his money goes toward Claudia. He wants her to have the amazing childhood he never had.
Loves painting portraits, but he normally paints landscapes because they sell better. He has a portrait of Claudia from every other year of her life to show her development. Also does a bit of photography for fun.
Had Sofia teach him to do hair so he could do Claudia’s hair for her.
Has a scar above his right eye from a nasty accident on the job.
Dreams of moving to San Myshuno, but doesn’t see it becoming a reality.
He used to be ashamed of his mixed heritage and just wanted to be white, but grew up surrounded by a proud mixed family that ended up imparting their beliefs on him. Now, he’s proud to be both Hispanic and Chinese and wants his daughter to feel just as proud of her heritage.
He absolutely loves jazz music.
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dawnwave16 · 4 years
Text
Resonance
Ok so I wrote this and had NO idea what to call it.  Um enjoy? *Throws story at you and runs away to hide*
Story:
When Tom and Sabine had started dating he had been surprised to find that he wasn't the only one with Italian blood. Despite her looks, Sabine was only half Chinese. She had been born in France because her mother was French, however, Sabine was the result of a sperm donation. While her mother had never looked into it Sabine had met the doctor when she was a teenager and he had admitted that she was the result of a prank he had pulled on two of his friends while drunk. Her embryo had been made by mixing her mother's egg with the DNA of two men who went by the names Reborn and Fon. Apparently, he had thrown in a little of a man called Colonnello but it hadn't been enough to make any impact on her.
Verde, for that was the doctor's name, had vanished soon after that conversation and she hadn't been able to find out any more information on what he had done. Sabine didn't understand how he had managed to mix the DNA of four different people, nor did she want to if she was honest. All he had told her was that Reborn and Colonnello were Italian and Fon was Chinese. With her mother being a Chinese woman who lived in France Sabine felt like she didn't know how she would identify her heritage anymore. In the end, she had decided to say she was French – Chinese and leave the Italian as a secret from everyone except whomever she married. With Tom being French- Italian it made sense that they would visit Italy every so often. They kept up this habit even after the birth of their daughter, Marinette. Marinette loved the visits to Italy and would run all over chasing pigeons when she was young. By the time she was six, she had fallen in love with designing and would often run off to sketch whatever had caught her attention at that moment. It was on one of those little escapes of hers that Tom and Sabine managed to lose sight of her as she ran past a slow-moving tourist group. By the time the group had passed, Marinette was nowhere to be seen. Unknown to them a little boy with blood-red eyes and black hair was what had caught her attention. By the time Marinette realised that her parents would be frantic with worry, she and Xanus were firm friends. She told him how often they visited Italy and they promised they would meet up again the next time that she visited. Despite the scolding Marinette got when she met up with her parents again, she couldn't wait to see her new friend the next day. She warned them that she had made a friend and that he was shy. He was only a year older than her but from their conversation, she understood he had good reason to not trust adults so she lied and just said he was shy to her parents. They didn't push for any further details as at least they knew she was safe and Marinette was able to spend the rest of her holiday with him. When it came time for them to head back to Paris Marinette had her parents write out their address so that they could try to write to each other. They didn't write to each other that year, nor the following one as at the ages of eight and nine, they couldn't really write too well. Something had changed for Xanus by the time he turned ten though. He had apparently been found by his biological father and taken to live with him. He hated the man and those who worked for him but he did like his Nonna, so there was that at least. His Nonna was working on his reading and writing skills, as well as starting to teach him some more languages. His Nonna had been stunned when he had slipped into French for the first time around her and when he had reluctantly explained how he knew the small amount of French that he did, she had encouraged him to learn more and to keep up the friendship. By the time Marinette was thirteen, the month-long Italian holiday was the highlight of her year. The two of them were still firm friends and Xanus had taken to couching her in hand to hand fighting. He had also kick-started her drive to learn more languages and they often bounced between them as they spoke, which had become much easier once they both had cellphones. She knew he was often busy so they had set up a system where a coded text was sent and the other answered with the corresponding code as to whether they were able to talk at the time or not. When Marinette took on the role of Ladybug, she had those texts, and those texts alone forwarded to her yo-yo. It was during a fight that Marinette noticed that her yo-yo seemed to gain a pale orange glow on occasion, almost as though it was on fire. She also noticed that the orange was streaked with yellow oddly enough blue. She spoke to Xanus about the flames and he made her promise to not tell anyone else about them. As he was extremely insistent about her staying quiet she did as he asked and kept it a secret. Sadly they didn't get to see each other that year as, thanks to Hawkmoth, her family didn't make their annual trip to Italy. When Lila first joined Marinette's class she had looked at everyone in the class and decided that her target would be Marinette. She tried to act nice and friendly but Marinette had seen through her act and called out her lies as though they were obvious. If Lila had thought Marinette would fall in line after she threatened her though, she was wrong. It soon became clear that Marinette would fight her every step of the way, refusing to bow to Lila's lies and not willing to let everyone else believe them without thinking about what was being said. She had no idea that Marinette secretly recorded every single one of their interactions with Tikki's help. Still, it had been two years since she had joined the class and Marinette was sick and tired of having to fight every day. She had the verbal and mental battles at school with Lila, she had more physical battles against the Akumas as Ladybug and the worst fight in Marinette's opinion was the constant fight against Chat Noir. Although the public didn't know it Chat Noir was worse in private then he was when there were Akuma attacks. He only flirted, made stupid puns and threw the occasional temper tantrum when he knew the world was watching. In private though, that was another story, he would usually start by practically demanding that she kiss him and when she refused he got downright violent. He had tried to use 'Cataclysm' on her once but Plagg had intervened and blocked his ability to use any of the Black Cat's abilities out of battle. She had gone to Master Fu to try to get him to change who had the ring but he had refused to help her. Tikki and the other Kwamis had been furious but there was nothing they could do until Fu had taught Marinette absolutely everything he could about being a guardian. She had been the one to insist they use a password to protect the scans of the grimoire that she had found. She had also insisted that the scans and translations be stored not on the tablet itself but on an SD card that was easy to remove and hide. Thanks to these protections being in place Marinette didn't feel guilty when she slipped up and led Hawkmoth to Master Fu, nor when it resulted in 'Miricle Queen' and her becoming the guardian properly. With Marinette as the guardian things became more complicated yet simpler at the same time. Simpler as she didn't have to run to Master Fu whenever she needed back up, yet simpler because she could share her secret if she wished too. So share it she did, with the one person she shared everything with, Xanus, her long-time friend from Italy. It turned out to be a good thing that she chose to share the knowledge with her now feather bedecked friend as it stopped him from making the mistake of faking an attack against his adoptive father, turning it into a prank war as an exercise for his mooks instead. Marinette was willing to admit she did quite a few jumps between Italy and France with Kaalki's full support when she heard what had happened to him. It turned out that be revealing her secret to him when combined with her flames gave him just the right amount of leeway to tell her his own secrets without getting into trouble. She now had a name for her flames as well as proper training for them. Marinette had thought that Tikki would have been upset by the fact that her closest friend was part of the mafia but Tikki had been fine with it. It turned out that one of her past holders had been part of the mafia too, in fact, she was the very woman that Xanus called Nonna. Now that Xanus knew that Marinette was constantly in danger he had upped her training so that she could defend herself from just about anything that came her way. Marinette had spoken to Tikki after one such training lesson about whether or not Xanus was her true black cat and was unsurprised that he was despite the fact that he was basically a dragon in human form. On the evening of Marinette's sixteenth birthday, Tom and Sabine called her down to the lounge. At first, Marinette had thought that she was in trouble as they looked uncommonly serious but then they started to explain Sabine's heritage. How she only knew the names of her fathers but had no idea as to what they were like, nor what they looked like. Like her parents, Marinette was confused as to how Sabine basically had three father's but what set off alarm bells in Marinette's mind was when Sabine mentioned the name of the doctor followed by the names of the three men that the doctor had used. Marinette recognised the names from taking to Xanus, Squalo, Mammon and Luss. After all, how could one forget the names of four of the Arcobaleno? Marinette's parents had been shocked when she had gone pale at the names given but Marinette had refused to answer their questions as to why. Later that evening Marinette ported over to the Varia headquarters and stalked to the Mist Officers room. Xanus and Mammon looked up in alarm as she shut the door behind her and in a voice that she was clearly trying very hard to control asked Mammon if it was possible for them to use a mist corridor to bring Luss into the room before she started speaking. Once Luss joined them Marinette let out a big sigh and repeated what her parents had just told her before asking for the appropriate DNA tests to be done to check if it was true. While they were all understandably shocked, they agreed that this was the best course of action. Luss ran a quick version through the Varia systems while Mammon organised for the tests to be done at the three companies that the Varia always used when this type of thing happened. Xanus simply wrapped his arms around his friend and secret crush, holding her to give her the reassurance she seemed to want. She had had to leave in the morning but the once bi-weekly encoded skype call was now a daily occurrence unless she was in the middle of an Akuma fight. A month later and Marinette was ready to scream. It seemed like Chat Noir had decided to stop worrying if his actions towards Ladybug were seen by the public or not and worst of all the public seemed to openly support his sexual harassment of Ladybug. Marinette had set up several talks about sexual harassment at school over the past few years but it seemed like no one cared that what he was doing fit all of the red-flag categories. Alya was openly criticising Ladybug on the Ladyblog, saying she should stop being so cold to chat and just accept his advances. Marinette had been so upset by that, that she had snapped. “And why should she, Alya? If Chat were treating you that way would you 'just accept him'? Or would you give your sisters the same advice?” Alya looked stunned. While she and Marinette were no longer as close as they once were, they were still fairly good friends. Sure she had often argued with Marinette about 'LadyNoir' as Alya had dubbed the couple but she hadn't thought Marinette would ever snap at her like that. “Marinette, the two of them have been a couple for years! You can't tell me that she doesn't like the fact that he wants to show the world how he feels about her. It's so sweet!” Alya argued. “Besides, you know I'm her bestie. She'd have told me if they weren't a couple.” Lila pipped up from her seat at the back. “So the fact that Ladybug has denied that they are a couple in every single interview means nothing to you? Her feeling should just be pushed aside?” Marinette's voice was coloured by total disbelief as she spoke. “Oh, come on Marinette.” Adrien interjected suddenly “Ladybug knows she and Chat Noir are soul mates, she's just being stubborn.” Marinette froze. She had heard that argument way too many times from Chat Noir, both as Ladybug and as Marinette when he stopped on her balcony to moan. Adrien was Chat Noir. Suddenly she was very glad that she had never allowed anyone to know about the tiny crush she'd had on Adrien all that time ago. She took a deep breath then slowly let it out, looking at all of her classmates in turn. “I'm glad I wasted my time organising all the talks we've had on harassment over the last two years. I know you might judge me negatively but if you say that the way Chat Noir is behaving is appropriate then I hope that you are on the receiving end of it from whoever you least want it from. Maybe if you experienced that fear for yourself while everyone else condemns you for not wanting to return their feelings, you might feel a fraction of what Ladybug feels every time Chat Noir treats her that way.” Marinette fell silent as the class stared at her in horror. “Voi! I've seen the video's of what that idiot cat is doing to your city's hero and every single male I work with would happily skin him alive for his actions!” A loud voice exclaimed from behind Marinette all of a sudden. It said a lot about Marinette that she didn't jump. Instead, she threw her pen as hard as she could at where the voice came from. “VOI! You've been hanging around the boss for too long, little Cielo.” Marinette turned to face the man that she had just thrown a pen at, a small smirk on her face when she saw Xanus behind him. “What was that, shitty shark?” Xanus growled making Squalo jump as he hadn't remembered that his Sky was behind him. Thankfully Xanus had spoken in Japanese when he swore, as had Squalo when he spoke directly to Marinette, as Marinette didn't feel like dealing with the fallout from Mlle Bustier about his language. Not that anyone could do anything about it as Xanus didn't care what anyone except his Nonna thought of him. He cared for people in his own way but when it came to people he just didn't care. Mlle Bustier frowned at the two boys standing in the doorway of her classroom. She didn't like the look of them. One had long silver hair and only one had, the other looking like it was a prosthetic of some sort. The other had longish black hair with feathers of all things braided into it, as well as red eyes that made her shudder. It seemed like both of them had scars but to Caline Bustier's instincts, they both screamed danger and made her want to get as far away from them as possible. “Who might you be and why are you standing in the doorway to my classroom?” She asked with a frown. “Oh they friends of mine from when I-” Lila started, causing Marinette to roll her eyes. She could see the class start to frown at her but it seemed that hearing Lila try to lie about them had flipped a switch that Xanus had been keeping tight control of. He stalked into the classroom and, giving Marinette ample opportunity to move away if she wanted to, kissed her firmly. “Dammit Boss! You couldn't have waited another month before you did that? Or better yet, done that a month ago on her birthday?” Squalo squawked in complaint. The problem was this time he spoke in French and the whole class understood him. “But-” “Oh shut up, trash!” Xanus snapped at her. “If you hadn't tried to lie like you just did you wouldn't have been left with egg on your shitty face!” Marinette laid a hand on his arm making him look down at her with tender eyes. “Language, young man.” Mlle Bustier reprimanded. “French, or would you prefer I speak in another language to get it through this Trash's head that I am not here for her? Either way, I have written permission to take La Mia Coccinella here out of school for the rest of the day. And there's nothing anyone in this shitty school can do about it.” Marinette stood and got her things together before handing them to Squalo, who took them without complaint as he didn't want to deal with a grumpy Xanus. As she turned to leave, however, Adrien grabbed her arm. “Mari, wait. Are you sure you trust these guys? I mean they could have forged your parents signature for all you know. They look the type!” Marinette raised an eyebrow at him. While it was true that they would forge her parents signature, she still trusted Xanus and Squalo way more then she trusted anybody else in the classroom. “I trust them. I've known Xanus since I was six when my family visited Italy for our annual holiday there.” As Marinette spoke she calmly removed Adrien's hand from her arm. Without him noticing, she also removed his Miraculous. She did that so skillfully that nobody in the class noticed what she was doing and as she had stood in a way that blocked all the camera's and reflections, she knew they wouldn't be able to pin anything on her. Tikki had thoughtfully created a false ring and had quickly planted it in his bag so he couldn't even say he lost it if and when he noticed that it was gone. The three of them left the classroom and snuck into the bakery then up into her room with no difficulty, relaxing only when they reached her room. “So, I'm guessing you are here because of the DNA results?” Marinette started. “Partly. I also missed you as you haven't had much time to come visit recently. Anyway, DNA came back as a match for all three which explains some of your abilities, though not where your Sky flames come from. The Sun and Rain in your flames are pretty clear though it's weird that you got those two but not the Storm.” Xanus admitted softly. “I think I know why I don't have Storm Flames.” Marinette mused then continued when they looked at her curiously. “You both already know I'm Ladybug. Now the Ladybug represents yin energy so traditionally it's more feminine. In term of its powers, it's creation or good luck. If you then look at Flames and the human traits that stereotypically go with them then Sky, Rain and Sun fit best for a ladybug. They are, after all, leaders, diplomates and healers. You then have the Black Cat which represents yang energy, which is the more masculine side of the energy spectrum traditionally. Power-wise it's destruction and bad luck. Again if you look at flame types that fit you'd probably look for a Lightning or more preferably a Storm as while it would be beneficial if the holder had Sky flames as well the Black Cat doesn't necessarily need to lead.” Marinette suddenly held out her hand to Xanus, dropping a black ring into it when he held out his hand to take whatever she was trying to hand him. “Is this...” Xanus couldn't continue his question. Marinette nodded and Xanus quickly slipped the ring onto his finger. A black cat version of Tikki appeared with a yawn, then it looked at Marinette. “Really Spots? You couldn't let me sleep a little longer? Dealing with your previous partner was draining!” “Plagg!” Tikki flew across the room tackling the cat as she did so. The two spun around slightly much to the amusement of the three humans in the room. Marinette simply disappeared downstairs for a minute then came back with two wheels of camembert and several chocolate chip cookies. “I'm guessing transforming somebody who is a bad match takes more energy from you which is why you need to eat more.” Marinette mused as she looked at Plagg who just nodded as he practically inhaled the first wheel of cheese. He looked at the second wheel and started pulling it apart to eat it more slowly. “Why did you give me this? Not that I'm not grateful, mind you.” Xanus asked quietly. Marinette sighed then leaned back. “Part of why I cut down on my visits and calls is I've been following a lead about who Hawkmoth is. I wanted to get a little bit more evidence, then I was planning on asking you for help. If you want to bring in anybody you trust we can, but I knew that Chat Noir, or as I now know him to be Adrien Agreste, Hawkmoth's son, wouldn't be the back up I needed for this battle. I have a month left of this school term and then I want to move to Italy but to do that I need Hawkmoth and Mayura out of the way. I'm good but I'm not strong enough to face them both at the same time. You trained me so you know that what I'm saying is true. I don't care if they end up dead or not, nor do I want it to be linked back to me but needs must.” Xanus was quiet for a moment then he looked at Squalo who nodded and pulled out his phone, dialled a number and spoke rapidly to someone on the other end. Within minutes a shark-like grin had spread across his face. He soon hung up and looked at them again, his voice quiet for once as he didn't want to attract Marinette's parents' attention. “Mammon is on board. As usual, they had all the information we needed. By this time tomorrow, all of Gabriel will belong to you. Their only condition is that you let him run the books. Voi! Gabriel Agreste has all sorts of illegal activities that we can plant evidence to cover our involvement.” “What's in this for Mammon? There is no way they did this without thinking of a benefit either to them or the Varia. You don't call them Miser Brat for nothing” Marinette said perceptively. Xanus and Squalo exchanged bloodthirsty grins. “Simple. Mammon knows that with you running a fashion company, the Varia will have a cover as to why they are in any country so long as there are fabrics or dyes etc available there. They also know that you won't have an issue with helping to design new uniforms etc for the Varia and that while we will still have to pay for them, you wouldn't charge us nearly as much as what we are currently being charged.” Marinette laughed and nodded. She couldn't fault that logic at all. Soon a mist corridor opened into her bedroom and they watched as Mammon joined them. “Mu, that man has made the worst choices when he chose his business partners but that works in our favour. Here's the evidence you'll need when you go in. You'll find the body of his wife in a cryo chamber but I'm not sure if she's alive or not. Either way, I suggest pulling the plug on the machine it's a waste of time. Here are the building plans and here is where each person will be at exactly 02H00 which will be the best time to do this.” Having said their piece, Mammon turned round to head back to whatever they were doing originally. Marinette scrambled but managed to hand Mammon the three strawberry macarons that she had been keeping for them. Mammon nodded to her in thanks, then vanished. The three of them and the two Kwamis spent the rest of the afternoon planning what needed to be done. They traded ideas of how they could get in and out. Eventually, they decided the easiest way was to lend Squalo of his own. The question was then, which miraculous would be best. In the end, Marinette got fed up with all the back and forth and opened the miracle box, getting all the Kwami's to come out and let them choose among them who would work with him. Eventually, it was Long who chose to work with the loud Rain and the two withdrew a little so that they could get to know one another. “Since the plan is pretty much set, do you want to get to know Plagg a little before you transform?” Marinette asked Xanus with a small smile. “Sure but first I want to make sure that you are ok with what I did in front of your class. I didn't give you any warning so...” Xanus trailed off in uncertainty. Marinette smiled at him, she had never seen him so unsure of anything and he seemed so uncomfortable and dare she say nervous? It was very out of character for him. “Xanus, you gave me a chance to avoid your kiss but I didn't. I wanted you to kiss me, I have for a while now. I don't care that you normally have a gutter mouth and that you never watch what you say. I don't care about who your parents are either. Hell, you could still live in the same circumstances that you did when I first met you and I'd still accept you for you. Plagg accepted you as fast as he did because he realised that you are my true equal yet opposite.” Marinette walked forward and kneeled in front of Xanus before reaching up to cup his scarred cheek, which he half leaned into. “Xan we've known each other for ten years give or take a few months. You know how to read what I want, don't start doubting yourself now.” Xanus smiled at her and leaned forward to kiss her. Unfortunately, the kiss didn't happen as a voice rang out from the trap door that leads into Marinette's room. “Marinette! There are some people here to see you.” Marinette looked at her mother, then sighed and stood up and walked over to see who it was. Just as she was about to tell Xanus what was going on the voices from below floated up the stairs and he nodded in understanding. He signed that he would keep an ear on the situation in case but that he wouldn't come down and this time it was Marinette who nodded in agreement before walking down the stairs. “Well, I'm here what's up?” She asked in a cool voice, showing that she hadn't forgiven them for what they had said in the classroom. “A couple of things,” Alya said tensely. “Adrien says you stole his ring.” “Why would I do that? If I wanted a signet ring I would buy one, or better yet have one made.” “Well, he's saying it was on his hand and now it isn't.” “Did he check his bag properly? Or maybe it's still on his bedside table and he just forgot to put it on this morning. Or is this going to be another situation where I'm accused without evidence, or worse planted evidence again? I know you were on my side last time Alya but considering your attitude about what I said in class today I wouldn't be surprised if you think I'd do what you are accusing me of.” “Well considering your crush on Adrien-” Marinette cut Alya off by bursting into gales of laughter. “You think... A crush... On Adrien?” Marinette gasped out between peels of laughter. “Girl... Have you seen the gorgeous man that kissed me in class today? You know Tall, dark and broody with red eyes? That's who I have the crush on. Not Adrien.” Marinette was still laughing but she had managed to pull herself together enough to talk. Sabine paused as she was walking passed. “Tall, dark and broody with red eyes? Do you mean Xanus? Well, I suppose you could do worse than him, at least he can protect himself and those around him. I don't like his swearing but it's consistent so there's that. I'm guessing he's finally confessed that the feeling is mutual and that's why you were talking about moving to Italy?” “Wait, what?” Alya, Nino and the others who had tagged along chorused. “Well, I've been wanting to move there for a while as we are part Italian and I have lots of friends there already. Luss was talking about joining me with sorting out my own fashion line as she's such a fashionista anyway so why not? Besides I want a break from having to keep my emotions under control at all times.” Marinette said with a shrug. “I'll finish up the school year here then head over to Italy to complete the rest of my education. My housing has already been sorted as has where I will be getting my education and how it will be paid for.” Everyone in the room stared at Marinette, some in horror others in surprise. Eventually, Sabine nodded, “This is something you've been thinking about since we told you about my birth isn't it?” “Nope. I've been wanting to move to Italy for years as I've always felt happiest when we were there. I won't lie and say your story didn't help cement the decision but it was not a factor when I started planning the move. I'm sure you've noticed that I've been packing most of my things into boxes and that it's mostly just the stuff that I need for commissions that's still out.” Sabine nodded slowly and the class could see that she was thinking about something. “I'll talk to your father, even if you won't be staying with us I think we will move too. Hawkmoth has spoiled Paris for us and you're right our whole family is generally happier in Italy.” Marinette smiled and handed her mother a card. Sabine looked at what was on it and nodded then walked away. Marinette's class, on the other hand, was stunned. Marinette was planning on moving to Italy? Did she even speak the language? Adrien spoke the question out loud when it became clear that no-one else was going to speak up. “Yes, I do speak Italian, along with quite a few others too. I'm still learning a few but I'm fluent in all the ones that are special to me. I won't answer which those are other than Italian and French, so don't ask.” The class was so thrown by everything they had just learned that they didn't even think of continuing what they had originally come to the Bakery to do. They also didn't notice the envelope that had been sitting on the table the whole time that was marked as coming from the Department of Education. She swiped it and padded back up to her room, smiling as she entered and saw Squlo deep in conversation with Longg still and Xanus just as deep in a conversation with Plagg. Shrugging she walked over the blueprints of the Agreste household and memorised them, as well as all the notes Mammon had left for them. Half an hour later there was a knock at her trap door and Sabine poked her head through. “Marinette?” “Yes, Maman?” “What was that letter from the Department of Education about?” “Oh! I forgot you didn't know. I paid to take my school leavers exams early and had Mlle. Mendeleiev watch me take them while we were in classes. She made sure that it looked like I was taking notes at the back as punishment and any practices were done after school. She made them really fun, unlike the class ones, too! Anyway, the letter was my results as well as a letter saying they would be launching an investigation into the school and staff. They also offered their congratulation for some of the highest marks they have ever seen.” When the kwamis had dropped down to hide from view Squlo and Xanus had looked towards the trapdoor as well as staring to listen in, however when Sabine hadn't noticed them they had relaxed a little. As soon as Sabine vanished again they looked at Marinette before Squalo spoke. “Voi! Why didn't she see us sitting here? It's not like we hid!” As Xanus looked just as confused Marinette gave a small giggle before explaining. “Trixx is the Fox Kwami and one of his special abilities is to cast illusions much like a Mist would. Maman didn't see you because Trixx hid you.” “Makes sense,” was all Xanus said before leaning back slightly. “Congrats on your exam results, what made you take them here verses at the academy?” “I don't know what name I'll be enrolled under while there so I will probably fudge my results for any test I take there. I don't want anyone looking at me too hard as it could lead to questions about my bloodlines. It's bad enough that I'm going to have to hide my flame type as much as possible. I refuse to let the idiots there think that I'm a broodmare!” The two males thought back to their experiences at the academy and nodded. That is what would happen if she let her flame slip. Xanus almost growled as he pulled her into his arms and held her possessively. Marinette smiled while Squalo just rolled his eyes, grateful that he'd been quick enough to record the conversation to show Donna Daniela when they got home! Heck, none of Xanus's brothers would believe that he was acting like this. Xanus and Marinette spent the rest of the time before they launched the assault on Hawkmoth and Mayura ironing out the details of who would do what and cuddling with each other. Xanus was of the opinion that since Marinette was going to be living at the Varia headquarters, she needed to be blooded. She was reluctant but knew that she had the best person with her when she had the inevitable reaction as well as the best people with her to pull this mission off. All too soon it was 01H45 and they decided to transform and get into position. Squalo had brought thermal vision goggles with him so that they could confirm everyone's positions. Tikki had recommended that in order to be more stealthy Marinette should use a unified transformation of Trixx and herself, with Trixx using a black fox as inspiration instead of an orange one. Xanus would go in with a unified version of Pollon and Plagg as well so that they had as many bases and contingencies covered as possible. They moved as stealthily as possible without sacrificing too much speed and soon the deed was done. Marinette kept hold of her reactions until they had finished everything they needed to finish. All of the scrolls had been collected, as had the Miraculous Grimoire. They had also found several journals and flash drives with everything backed upon them which they took as well. Finally, with Nathalie and Mr Agreste dead, the peacock and butterfly pins retrieved and all the evidence that Mammon had found about Mr Agreste dirty deads planted the three of them slipped out of the house and went back to Marinette's room. It didn't take long for Marinette to start trembling and soon she had emptied her stomach into a bucket that Squalo had managed to track down. She knew that she wasn't cut out for doing that more often and she said as much as soon as she had gained enough control of herself to be able to speak again. Squalo and Xanus had assured her that she wouldn't have to unless it was to protect herself or her family which made Marinette nod. Eventually, she fell asleep in Xanus's arms, no match for the exhaustion that she was feeling despite everything. By the time Monday morning arrived, the news of Mr Agreste and his assistant Nathalie being assassinated was all over the news. Adrien had been pulled out of school by the police and CPS as he was being interviewed to see how much he knew about his father's dealings. As the staff had been the ones to find Mr Agreste and Nathalie, it had caused multiple red flags to show for the investigators. So far he was in the clear for that but Adrien's attitude was not making things easy. The whole school was gossiping about what could have happened and what it would mean for Adrien as well as for anyone who worked for Gabriel, the brand. Despite the class trying to push Marinette for an opinion about what had happened, she stayed quiet. Marinette had spoken to her parents the previous day and they had agreed that that Monday could be her last day, so while everyone else was gossiping, Marinette had been making sure that she had packed away everything that she owned that she had brought to school. This included all of her things from the art room, though she had very little there due to her worrying about her designs being vandalised. Eventually, her class had remembered about Adrien's ring going missing but according to Nino, he had been in the park with Adrien and had seen the ring in Adrien's bag so they dropped the topic fairly quickly. When they had walked into science, Marinette had handed Mlle. Mendeleiev a copy of her test results and had watched as the stern teacher's face had split into a broad grin. This, of course, had made the class demand to know what was on the sheet of paper that she was holding but Mlle. Mendeleiev had stayed quiet as had Marinette when they tried asking her. By the time the end of the day arrived Marinette was exhausted from dodging her classmates and Lila however just before the bell rang, Marinette decided to be particularly vindictive. Mlle Bustier had chosen that moment to ask her to give the class a pep talk of sorts for the upcoming exam and had been nice enough to say that Marinette could leave straight after she'd had her say. Marinette hid a smirk that wouldn't have looked out of place on Xanus's face as she grabbed her bag that was full to bursting and walked to the front of the class. “I know many of you have studied hard and will doubtless do your best on these tests so to those who actually have put the effort in 'Good Luck.' For those of you that haven't studied, I hope you get a wake-up call. You can't coast through life on the coattails of anyone else nor should you try using someone else's supposed connections to famous people in the field you want to work in. To believe everything you are told without double-checking your facts is a surefire way to fail. Wake-up and realise that the world doesn't owe you anything and that your actions are your own. If you make a mistake, own up and move on. Over the past two years, I have watched as you have all become more and more reliant on one person for everything to the detriment of everything else. I hope you wake up before it's too late for you.” The class' jaw's dropped as Marinette spoke and Mlle Bustier looked just as horrified, however, Marinette took no notice of the anger on her ex-classmates faces. She turned and walked out the door for the last time and ignored the chaos behind her. She had a new life to look forward to in Italy and while she hadn't been pushed out in the way Lila wanted she firmly felt that she had outgrown her classmates and their treatment of her. She truly did wish them well but they were no longer her problem and she intended to keep them where they belonged: In her past! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Marinette had been in Italy for a year when she met Reborn for the first time. He had arrived at Varia headquarters to visit Mammon and she had been visiting Mammon to go over the books for Miracle Fashions, the rebranded version of Gabriel. She had noticed a couple of inconsistencies when she had tried to order certain fabrics and wanted Mammon to check if there was anything there that shouldn't be. Reborn had walked in without knocking or even announcing himself much to Mammon's disgust. However, that disgust had soon turned to amusement as Reborn had frozen in his tracks at the familiar feeling of the flames in the room. He knew he hadn't visited in over three years so any flames that had escaped his firm control should be long gone, yet he could feel an echo of them in the room. He slowly looked around and eventually, his eyes landed on the young woman that was sitting opposite of his friend and realised that she was where he could feel his flames coming from. “Explain,” Reborn demanded tersely. Mammon was glad he had cameras in his office as he handed Reborn the DNA test that they had ordered over a year ago. Reborn's eyes had widened and he had looked from the sheets in his hands to the young woman and back again repeatedly. “How?” He even croaked out. “Verde.” The young woman said softly as though it explained everything and truth be told it did. Reborn nodded. “Your name is Marinette?” She nodded and he sighed, “how long have you known?” “Mom told me about the unique circumstances of her birth on the evening of my sixteenth birthday which was just over a year ago. I called Xanus and he got Luss and Mammon to run my DNA to confirm everything. So um, congrats it's a girl and she gave you a grandchild already, I guess.” Reborn remained silent, unable to remember what he was visiting Mammon for. When he spoke again there was a slight tremor in his voice. “Do Fon and Colonnello know yet?” Both Mammon and Marinette shook their heads before Mammon got a wicked gleam in their eyes and they opened two mist corridors. One under each of the other unknowing grandfathers. When Colonnello's corridor spat him out he landed in a slight heap Fon, however, landed neatly on his feet. They both turned to look at Mammon after taking a quick look around the room. “What the hell, kora?” Colonnello yelled even as he registered his own eyes looking at him curiously out of a female's face. Fon didn't say anything but he did raise an eyebrow in agreement. Mammon looked at Reborn who handed the DNA test result over to Fon who read them quickly and handed them to Colonnello in turn. Colonnello was quiet as he read the results then he sighed. “I want to ask how, kora, but I know I probably won't like the answer.” He turned and faced Marinette, looking at her properly this time instead of doing a threat assessment. “You have my eyes and I can sense Reborns and my own flames in you. I can also tell you are flame active and are trying to keep a firm hold of your flames out of respect for us. I would like to feel them properly though, kora.” “Are you absolutely sure?” Marinette asked cautiously, looking at all four people in the room and receiving nods in return. She sighed and closed her eyes then as she released her breath, she loosened her control of her flames enough for everyone to be able to feel them properly, but not enough to make them uncomfortable. All three stared at her in shock. “You're a Sky, Kora?” “Yes,” Marinette replied simply before reigning in her flames. Suddenly she froze “What-?” “Oh!” came three gasps from her grandfathers. “You had openings for Guardians?” Fon asked calmly even as he checked his flames to confirm the completely unexpected harmonisation. “I left France a year ago without any guardians and it hasn't been my main priority to have those positions filled if I'm honest,” Marinette explained quietly, still in awe of what she was feeling. The three of them nodded. “Tell us everything you feel comfortable telling us, kora.” So she did. They relocated to a different room so that Mammon could get back to work, then they spent the rest of the day swapping stories about what they had done, where they had been and what they hoped for. Generally getting to know one another. It would take time for them to share some of the more personal stories but it was a start and that's all they could ask for. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * On Marinette's twenty-first Birthday Xanus finally proposed. The ring was something that he had taken a lot of time choosing as he'd wanted it to be perfect. He had several criteria that the ring had to fit and nothing that was commercially available had met all of them. Eventually, he had caved and spoken to his Nonna who had taken him to visit Tabalt. The end result was a platinum ring inlaid with a princess cut Argyl pink diamond flanked by two stunning dark blue tanzanites. The band itself was engraved with vines that seemed to twist and grow around the ring as the angle of the light changed. Most importantly for Xanus, however, was the fact that any edge that would normally cause a ring inlaid with stones to catch or snag on fabric was missing, meaning that Marinette didn't have to take it off when she was sowing a design. The wedding had been as private as they could make it when they took into account all the different people that needed to be invited and the reception was as lavish as could be with Xanus going all out to make sure his new bride had everything she had always dream about. Her dress had made his jaw hit the floor both with its simplicity and its beauty. She had paid tribute to her Chinese heritage by wearing red however the dress itself had a simple sheath rounded neck in the front that plunged to a beautiful cowl at the back. Marinette's veil was ivory coloured and was edged in gold Venetian lace that complimented the dress perfectly. Xanus hadn't been able to keep his eyes off of her from the second he saw her and the pair of them couldn't have been happier. As far as they were concerned, they were the luckiest people alive. After all, how could they not be when the kwami of creation blessed your wedding?
@ash-amg-blog,
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script-a-world · 4 years
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Submitted via Google Form:
How do I write a world where non-earth religions (I’m creating them) are both diverse, and also common place to see people participate in multiple religions’ festivities or rituals. One, because there’s distance to actual religion and entering common lifestyle. Example like on earth plenty of non Christians are holding Christmas parties, it’s a common thing and not overtly religious. Two, or why not because of the diversity, religions simply mix together. Like on earth why not have fasting like Muslims do simply become a common lifestyle custom alongside Buddhist meditations also being common lifestyle customs. Three. Like two, but why can’t someone on earth be both Muslim and Buddhist?? Does that even make sense?
I only gave you real life religions as example only, for ease of explaining, not at all what I’ll use.
Also in this kind of world, how would you see religious tolerance? Can it honestly really be in harmony? How about the bigots? There’s still got to be some won’t there? Especially when daily lifestyles, or simply in the architecture and design throw all sorts of religion in their faces they can’t avoid unless they live under a rock.
Feral:
I’m not sure what the question is here. Should some people in your world participate in religious festivals that do not align with their beliefs? It’s certainly possible, and it depends on the religion in question. Christianity is inherently an evangelical religion; “witnessing” is the call of every Christian, so Christian religious activities tend to be geared towards welcoming non-believers with the intent on making them believers. Not to mention nearly all Christian festivals were the festivals of other religions that Christians reshaped into their own. And not to mention the commercialization of Christmas specifically has fundamentally changed how Christmas is viewed by Christians and non-Christians alike; I’ve heard it said, and am inclined to believe more or less, that even Christians in Victorian England really didn’t celebrate Christmas until Charles Dickens wrote “A Christmas Carol.” So, Christmas, for example, is of such mixed ancestry and exists in such a way as to be welcome for outsiders to “celebrate” without already believing in the underlying religion. It’s very important to keep in mind that this happens in culturally Christian regions or where Christmas has been so commercialized that people couldn’t even tell you its religious significance; and a lot of people of minority religions really fucking hate it - it’s insulting to be told that displaying a hanukiah at work is against company policy because you can’t have anything overtly religious on display when you’re surrounded by Christmas trees and listening to Christmas carols like “Oh Holy Night” piped in over the sound system. So you’ll want to keep in mind that some people will view a religious festival that’s “ubiquitously” celebrated as a dominant religion being forced on them at the expense of their own religious identity. You’ll also likely have religions that don’t proselytize and have absolutely no interest whatsoever in non-believers participating in their holy days - they’re holy! They’re meant for the people who already believe.
I’ve already briefly touched on why some religions would have a problem with non-believers crowding in on their holidays, but it’s worth repeating - not all religions are like Christianity. I’d go so far as to say that no other religions are like Christianity in this particular way. As for your examples regarding “Muslim fasting” and “Buddhist meditation”? People do fast. People do meditate. And it has nothing to do with religion. A lot of what makes “Muslim fasting” Muslim is prayer and dedication to Allah; if you’re removing that religious aspect of it, then you’re just fasting. And fasting is part of a number of religions, so it’s really hard to say which religion it comes from once the religion has been stripped away. As for meditation, meditation gained a lot of traction in the West because of the explosion of yoga. Which is a religious practice in Hinduism and Buddhism (and Jainism). It’s just been stripped of the religion, and like with fasting, meditation is found in many religions around the world; it’s just not that unique.
So, Buddhism is quite famous for being adoptable into other religious practices. Like if you had asked “why can’t someone be Muslim and Hindu?” my answer would have to be a run-down of the many fundamental theological reasons why those two religions are incapable of coinciding in a single person’s beliefs; however, Buddhism or Buddhist practices can be practiced alongside most religions. It’s non-theist, so there’s no creator deity that could contradict the beliefs of monotheists, polytheists, and atheists. Buddhism and Christianity have this whole huge long history, and Buddhism and Catholicism specifically dovetail really nicely together. What you’re talking about is syncretic religion, and it’s pretty common worldwide and throughout history.
The answers to all of those questions depend so intimately on how you build your religions and what their specific beliefs are. Some religions are naturally exclusivist, or you might have soft polytheism. It’s your world and your religions; we cannot make these decisions for you. If you want fundamentalism and bigotry to be a part of your world, then you can build your religions in such a way that those things would naturally occur. If you want harmony across religions to be a part of your world, then you can build your religions in such a way that that would naturally occur. You can even have it both ways! A world is a big place, and how people interact with their religion and the religions of others depends largely on where in the world they are and who else is there with them. A cosmopolitan culture where you have everyone brushing elbows with everyone else will have people developing a tolerance and softening their hardline views that would not occur in a more homogenous society where one religion is dominant.
Delta: A note about bigotry and prejudice: In geopolitics on earth, religious intolerance tends to be about one of two things: first, the majority religion (in the western world, Christianity) feeling compelled to force itself on other populations who do not share their beliefs. Examples of this include the Spanish Inquisition and, to some extent, “evangelical aid.” In Christianity, evangelicalism is a very important concept; sharing the religion is almost as important as a person’s personal faith. Off the top of my head, as Feral discussed, I can’t think of another religion with quite the same focus; so, by eliminating this element of religion, a huge amount of conflict could be eliminated if practitioners weren’t compelled to make all their acquaintances agree with them all the time. (Which is not to say all Christians just walk around proselytizing all the time, but it is fairly common in America; though I understand it to be somewhat less common in Europe, which through both culture and law has become more secular; more on this later.)
Second, it’s also about not wanting to concede power or control. A huge motivating factor behind all the Medieval Inquisitions, including the Spanish Inquisition, was the effort to curb what people in power considered religious heresy or just straight-up religious differences. They thought it was their place to dictate a group’s religious beliefs. Spain in particular was trying to stop the spread of Islam through the growing Ottoman Empire, which comes down to Medieval geopolitics as much as it does the religious differences between Islam and Christianity. Modern Islamophobia and religious conflict falls in this category a lot, too. But if your religions weren’t tied to more extensive geopolitical conflicts, you won’t have politicians using them as leverage to take and keep power like we do, so you could reduce religious tolerance that way, too.
Finally, secularism, which doesn’t directly address your question, but I wanted to mention it. In China, the official Communist Party has been somewhat infamously aggressively secular because religion was seen as a potentially rebellious force. Soviet Russia had similar experiences, both particularly with Muslim populations with whom they have political differences with besides, religion in this instance becoming a motivating factor for rebellion.
This is different from someplace like France, which aims to simply be neutral. Europe, overall, does not share the same public religious zeal that places like Israel, America, and Saudi Arabia have, but that doesn’t mean the conflict isn’t there.
Utuabzu: Something worth considering is are these gods real in the world you’re building? If the gods are demonstrably real, religiousness will be a lot more common and people are probably going to be more accepting of those that worship different deities given that any claims about them being false are easily refuted. Another thing to consider is the difference between philosophy and religion. In the West, Christianity fills both slots for many people (Judaism and Islam also do for some). In much of Asia, however, philosophies like Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Yoga (the Hindu philosophical school, one of six major Hindu schools), etc. are practiced in addition to a more localised traditional religion, often comprised of a local pantheon of gods and some degree of ancestor worship. To some degree, even Christianity is sometimes treated like this, see the Chinese Rites controversy for example. It is entirely possible to have people simultaneously believing in local animistic deities (local forest/mountain/river gods), regional major deities (Sun god, moon god, justice god etc.) and one or more universalist philosophies. Add in the possibility of mystery religions (closed faiths that do not publicise their theologies and often don’t accept converts, see Mithraism, the Orphic Mysteries, or for a modern example, Yazidiism) and ethnic religions that don’t seek or don’t accept converts (see Judaism, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism), and it is very possible to have a wide variety of beliefs coexisting in a society. If they’ve been coexisting over a long period, one would generally expect most people to be aware of the major festivals, ceremonies, etc. of each, and while some may be open to all and treated by non-believers as more of a cultural festival (probably the animist ones), others may be believers-only, or invitation-only. Some festivals might be shared by several religions, because they either come from the same root, or both revere the same prophet/saint/whatever, or both worship the same deity, or maybe just had similar festivals happening at roughly the same time and though mutual influence ended up doing them at the same time. It really depends how you’ve built these religions and what their stances on non-believers are, how long they’ve been coexisting and how orthodox/orthopraxic (emphasis on believing the right things vs. emphasis on performing rituals correctly) they are.
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anrojo · 3 years
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Great Wines...
Among the several delights in life is locating a silent little restaurant with wonderful food and also a choice of fine wines. For some, this might imply a regional restaurant with terrific delicious chocolate desserts big enough to feed the entire table and also lots of streaming champagne. Others may locate their local steakhouse that cuts their very own meat and also cooks it flawlessly to specs whenever taken pleasure in with a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon is the answer to an incredible meal. And afterwards there are those that choose a fish and shellfish recipe delicately prepared as well as accompanied by their favourite white wine, possibly a Riesling or a Chardonnay. Since everyone appears to have a various opinion about their finest dish experience, many various other favourites are out there.
For some, thinking about a meal suggests choosing a kind of cuisine such as Italian, Mexican, American, Chinese or Indian. Well, think what? Each and also every one of these cuisines have particular kinds of wine that are customarily served and also delighted in. It's as simple as taking a seat at an eating table and looking over the food selection or wine listing. Normally, the favoured wines are detailed near the top or in an area of wines from the certain country on which the restaurant's food is based. And if your seeing a particular nation it's even less complicated. Simply ask your steward for the wines recommended by the dining establishment. Generally, the usual wines in supply will be the regional varieties.
While restaurant eating is what most individuals think about when they want a good supper as well as wine experience, it is absolutely not the only choice available. Some take pleasure in cooking and also are exceptionally proficient at preparing unique and tasty dishes. Also for those that like not to cook, nowadays it's simple to locate mail-order premium solutions that will certainly deliver remarkable dishes ready to cook to your doorstep. Other choices consist of having a personal chef come by your residence to prepare a specialist dish to your specs. Whatever option you select, don't fail to remember to quit by your neighbourhood wine store and also get an option of fine wines to go with your remarkable meal.
Something that tends to perplex lots of beginning or seldom wine drinkers is what specific food as well as wine mixes are proper. There are a variety of so-called policies when it pertains to selecting a specific kind of wine to consume alcohol with a specific dish. As well as to additionally complicate points, some wines are better suited prior to a dish while others are much better suited for alcohol consumption after a dish. It can all be so difficult to the novice that they quit and also get a soft drink as opposed to needing to make the distressing wine choice and show up silly. Primarily there are a pair of methods to take care of this issue and also ultimately get over the concern of ordering wine.
The initial means to overcome the anxiety of ordering wine is to end up being educated. Now, acquiring an education and learning in wine will involve a long time and job similar to anything you established out to learn. A good place to start is the collection. Search for publications and magazines about wine as well as reach work reading them over. If you discover that your library has actually restricted resources worrying existing wine information, take a journey over to your neighbourhood bookstore to have a look at the magazine shelfs first. A number of the bigger bookstores have various magazine options about virtually any kind of subject of interest as well as they need to have several on the topic of wine. Still an additional source of information is the internet. Do search on wine and also see what you can discover. With a little time invested, you'll recognise a lot about the numerous kinds of wines and also really feel more like an expert than a beginner in no time.
Although learning more about wine is most likely the most effective approach to coming to be comfortable with it, there is an additional alternative. A rapid approach would be to simply disregard your fear and start buying. Ask yourself if it truly matters if another person believes you have made a poor selection. If your wine option does not work with the food you bought, attempt something else following time. After a bit of test and also mistake, you'll be picking wines that complement your meals. The main point to keep in mind regarding food as well as wine combinations is that the food ought to make the wine preference much better than it tastes when eaten by itself.
French wines are in a course of their very own. It wouldn't be tough to base an entire vacation around a visit to France to taste many of the terrific French wines used by this nation. As a matter of fact, most individuals think about France as well as wine in the exact same idea. That can envision strolling past a walkway coffee shop as well as not seeing a container of the nation's best on each table? As well as there is no better mid-day meal than a container of wine, a loaf of French bread, some cheese as well as fruit to please the appetite. There is no question that wine as well as France have a history and the country creates some of the finest, if not the finest, wine in the entire world.
With every one of the wineries and various wineries in France, both large as well as tiny, virtually every type of wine is different relying on the winemaker. Obviously, that is all part of the appeal as well as appeal making wine manufacturing a lot more of an art than a science. The majority of the variety comes from the several selections a winemaker must make when producing their wine. Initially, they have to select a sort of grape as well as a setup for their vineyard. Naturally, often times this choice has currently been made as they most likely already possess their winery. The climate in their location has an impact on production as well as the suitable harvest date in their certain conditions.
Added considerations that can influence the qualities of wine consist of the kind of container utilised during the fermentation procedure, the relevant temperature levels as well as actual size of the fermentation duration. An additional variable is the sort of container utilised throughout the growth phase which is generally some kind of barrel or barrel. Among the most prominent wine areas in France are Sparkling Wine, Alsace, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Loire and Rhone. Just listening to the names of these remarkable areas can make you intend to get on a plane as well as take a wine excursion. Certainly, a quicker means to obtain nearly the same feeling is to flip on the traveling network, grab a bottle of among your favourite French wines and also unwind at www.wines2you.co.uk
Give Riesling a shot if you're looking for excellent German wine. Among the oldest as well as best kinds of wines offered today is German wine. Although wine has actually been produced by Germany for a multitude of years and also has a lengthy background, wine production approaches have actually created as well as proceeded in addition to the moments. The nation is known in particular for its white wine which consists of the bulk of the total wine production yearly. Obviously, the country likewise generates red wine yet in much lesser quantities than the white selections. It interests keep in mind that over twenty percent of Germany's whole wine manufacturing is composed of a single sort of grape, the Riesling grape.
With such a huge part of production purchased Riesling wine, it comes as no surprise that this sort of wine is maybe the best-known as well as most preferred of the wines created in Germany. Although various other nations likewise grow Riesling grapes as well as generate this sort of wine, none seems to compare to the German variety. This schedules in big component to the dirt and also environmental conditions located in Germany. It is a popular fact amongst wine trainees that grapes handle characteristics of the dirt as well as other environments so relying on where a grape is grown, the same type of wine can differ considerably in the completed item.
Mentioning grape expanding conditions, Germany has the best backdrop for wineries and winemaking. Most of the vineyards are situated in the southwestern component of the country in virtually excellent conditions. Visualise an item of the countryside, with Riesling and also other sorts of grapes expanding on the either slope or in valleys, often with a river flowing nearby and also you have the perfect starts of a wonderful wine. That describes most vineyards in Germany. Because the Riesling grapes, in certain, have a longer ripening period which enables a much more established fragrance and also better equilibrium to the completed wine, Germany is the ideal setting to make this grape also better. Whether you choose to try Riesling or among the other impressive options of German wine, make certain to add wines from this country to your shortlist of favourites.
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mautadite · 4 years
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january book round up
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27 books this month! the most i’ve read in a month in quite some time, and a good start to the year. a couple days late because i’ve been feeling a bit meh. i doubt i’ll be able to read this much at any point this year. but it’s nice to get a good strong head-start on my yearly goal. a mix of audiobooks and e-books so far.
a land so wild - elyssa warkentin ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ a really lovely epistolary/found media m/m romance story, set during the 1840s, about a ship captain and a naturalist trying to chart a northwest passage in the arctic, and find a ship that was lost five years ago trying to do the same thing. very beautifully told, with lots of emotion that you’d think would be lost because of the mode of storytelling.
how to bang a billionaire - alexis hall ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ a re-read. i remember being very sceptical of this when i first read it, but now that i’ve finished the entire series there’s so much i appreciate about it.
trade me - courtney milan ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ my first courtney milan book, after hearing a lot of good things about her. the hype was deserved! i like her writing a lot and this book (a romance between a poor chinese-am daughter of immigrants, and a billionaire heir with an eating disorder) touched on a lot of stuff that you don’t typically see in romance novels. particular what it mean and what it feels like to be poor. this was probably my favourite treatment of billionaires in a novel (at least, ones where they don’t get beheaded).
hold me - courtney milan ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ the second in the series, equally enjoyable. the hero of this novel has to confront and own up to his sexism in ways that a lot of romance novels would simply let men get away with! if i’d known that that’s part of what the book covered i might not have been enthused to read it, because while i genuinely believe bigoted people can change for the better, i’m not super interested in reading about it. but i really enjoyed how milan wrote it, and the romance was lovely. (also the heroine is trans, nice.)
my lady’s lover - nicola davidson ⭐️⭐️⭐️ not a lot of substance, but it’s historical lesbian romance, which is my eternal catnip. a lady’s maid who’s the member of a society for sexual freedom falls in love with her mistress, and happily discovers that the feelings are returned. there’s sex, some angst, and a happy ending,
a lady’s desire - lily maxton ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ another historical f/f romance. pretty low stakes, without much external conflict, but it had good writing and great characters, and i’ll always have a soft spot for childhood friends to lovers. and let’s be real: i mostly picked this up because of the cover. a woman with her head in another lady’s lap, gazing gayly at her? yes, thanks.
rebound remedy - christine d’abo ⭐️⭐️ eh! m/m holiday romance, about a guy who gets dumped before christmas, has a whirlwind rebound romance with his bartender, and then starts falling deeper for him. nothing bad about it, but i just wasn’t feeling the romance. i’ve read shorter stories that had more chemistry and character interaction.
don’t let go - cynthia dane ⭐️ another f/f romance that i got mostly because of the cover, but this one let me down hard. i liked that it was set in taiwan; had a lot of cultural nuance and tidbits that i enjoyed, but everything else, the writing, the editing, and characters, the chemistry... it was a bust. it also had a weird and baffling approach to mental illness, and managed to be yet another book that makes me hate rich people. also... the two authors credited are the pseudonyms of the same person skfjhdfkj ihni why she’s crediting herself twice.
alone - e.j. noyes ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ LOVED THIS. f/f mystery/thriller-ish romance, though the mystery aspect is admittedly light. noyes has lovely prose and a good sense of storytelling, but the romance is where this really shone for me. which... idk, i’m aware that it might not be for others who read this book. but something about the way olivia fell so helplessly in love with celeste, everything celeste does to hold on to olivia... it appealed to me on a visceral level.
boystown book 1 - marshall thornton ⭐️⭐️⭐️ three short stories about a gay private eye solving mysteries in the community in the early 1980s. it reminded me of how much i love short form mysteries; there’s just something about stories being told that way that i can’t resist. i was also kind of charmed by the way our main character tripped into bed with a cute twink like every 10 pages. :3
poems i sleep next to - shelby eileen ⭐️⭐️⭐️ a collection of contemporary poems. really enjoyable. nothing wowed me, but several poems moved me.
how to talk to nice english girls - gretchen evans ⭐️⭐️⭐️ early 20th century f/f romance between a spirited american heiress and a nice proper english girl. low stakes, character driven. not really character driven enough actually; i felt like they didn’t get to spend enough time knowing each other. and some more external conflict wouldn’t have hurt. but it was hot and fun and well-written.
by his rules - j.a. rock ⭐️⭐️⭐️ an m/m romance that looks at abuse in bdsm communities, and spends a good long time on recovery, survival, and healthy relationships that involve kink. i really could not get into the discipline stuff, but i really liked that the main characters worked for their HEA; nothing clicked magically into placed for them, and aiden was given space and resources to work out his trauma.
the wolf and the girl - aster glenn gray ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ a retelling of little red riding hood set in early 20th century russia and france that focuses on the friendship between two young women. simple story, very beautifully told.
the secret diaries of anne lister - anne lister ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ i started reading this in the middle of last year, after i finished gentleman jack, and i was basically reading snippets at a time until december, and then by january i was eating it all up. i LOVED this. i loved the diary of this at times manipulative, haughty, but kind-hearted and tender and clever woman, and all of her loves and struggles and observations. there’s just something... very good about knowing and seeing that lesbians have always existed, and hearing her first hand accounts is just... GREAT. really looking forward to the next volume.
oh, earthman! - berlynn wohl ⭐️⭐️⭐️ an anthology of short stories. weird, fun, scifi-flavoured m/m erotica.
emma - jane austen ⭐️⭐️⭐️ took me long enough, i know! but i really really thoroughly enjoyed my time with this book, especially the audiobook, whose narrator i loved. i loved emma: her cleverness and wit and finesse and all her terrible blunders. though i could tell where the story was going, the getting there was really fun, and i super duper enjoyed the romance (though at one point i got seriously squicked out haha). and fight me: i adored miss bates, i thought she was the best character in the book. LOVE a spinster who don’t know when to shut her trap but is earnest and kind and gentle-hearted and GOOD.
«légendaire.» - kai ashante wilson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ kaw, i’m begging you, PLEASE write another fell length novel. or novella. please! i love his writing and world-building so so so much, i flip out thinking about it. until he does, these short stories will have to suffice. this was great: everything i love about his writing, revisiting the world and concepts that we’ve seen in his other books, with mesmerising characters and a tragic, but soulful tale.
a conspiracy of truths - alexandra rowland ⭐️⭐️⭐️ i love stories about stories, and as far as that goes, this a pretty good one! the one way it failed to grasp me was on the character front; i just didn’t enjoy the main character as much as i could, or as much as i was meant to, and i felt at times he was too far removed from the plot. basically, chant is a master storyteller travelling in a foreign land, when he’s falsely accused of witchcraft and spying. the novel details how he uses storytelling to get himself out of the pickle, and all the consequences that follow. there are some amazing side characters in this (esp. his apprentice, who i will definitely read the nest book for).
animal farm - george orwell ⭐️⭐️⭐️ felt like rereading this, so i did. and i mean, it’s animal farm! it holds up.
the overdue life of any byler - kelly harms ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ like i said above, i like books about books, and i got this thinking it would be something like that? but it’s more about a single mother who gets the chance to take some time off from her kids and her life, have fun, find romance, and how she deals with managing that, and the guilt, and all the elements that are introduced/reintroduced to her life. i don’t think this is an amazing book, but it’s a lovely one, and i know there are middle aged mothers out there who would benefit from reading it. it’s not about romance (though there’s a cute romance in it); it’s about motherhood and being there for yourself as much as your kids.
the subs club 1&2 - j.a. rock ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ the first two books in an m/m romance series. a group of friends is still reeling after one of them dies at the hands of an irresponsible dom. they decide to form the subs club; a website to review and rate doms, with an eye towards making the community safer for subs, though it doesn’t really work out that way. the first book follows dave, who ends up getting involved with a guy who’s eerily like ron swanson from parks and rec, and the second follows miles, a masochist who gets involved with a guy who likes to pretend to be a vampire (lmao??). i have to tip my hat to j.a. rock, who seems to have a knack for getting me to read things i’d be otherwise sure i wouldn’t be interested in. and i mean, even after reading, i’m pretty sure i don’t want to read other books about domestic discipline or s&m or pretend draculas, but her characters and plots are well written and engaging and i had a really good time. although, i have to mention: the second book dealt with internalised racism in a way that... while well meaning, was definitely not very deftly done.
alice & jean - lily hammond ⭐️⭐️⭐️ post wwii f/f romance set in new zealand. a young widowed mother falls for the dashing woman who delivers her milk every morning. they have to contend with community scrutiny, an old friend of alice’s husband, and her bitter old mother to fight their way to happiness. i enjoyed it; it was simple and the romance was incredibly sweet, though the writing did drag at times.
american dreamer - adriana herrera ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ DELIGHTFUL. the very definition of feel good romance! a young dominican-american man moves to the outskirts of new york to start his food truck, and almost immediately meets a cute librarian who turns his head. i flipping love queer romances with characters from the caribbean; it just feels so good when slang is part of the language of love.
minotaur - j.a. rock ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ i read four books by this author this month, and this is hands down my favourite. i don’t know man, combine girls and monsters and lesbian romance and i”M THERE. thera is a teen orphan sent to a home for girls at the edge of town. there, she makes friends, raises hell, falls in love with the mysterious new girl, and also becomes obsessed with stories of the minotaur, half woman half monster, locked the labyrinth in a cliff not far away. this story appealed to me in so many ways, and i really hope the author writes more f/f in the future.
two dads and three girls - nick (yu) he ⭐️⭐️⭐️ the autobiography of a gay man growing up in china, and the story of how he finds himself, finds love, and becomes a father. very sweet.
whew. that took me a while lol. that’s it for january. i probably (hopefully) will be too busy to read as much this month, but i have some interesting books on my plate. currently listening to an audiobook of beneath a scarlet sky, which is unfortunately underwhelming, and i’ll probably move on with some fun YA.
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elliepassmore · 5 years
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Six of Crows Review
5/5 stars Recommended for people who like: fantasy, multiple POVs, heist stories, morally grey characters, diversity
Bardugo's writing has definitely improved between writing the Grisha Trilogy  and this duology. There's more diversity of character, better plot continuity, and the stakes feel higher. Not to mention, the world building re: Kerch and Fjerda is amazing.
The novel starts being narrated by a young member of the city guard, and it's here we're introduced to the thing driving the plot: jurda parem. Parem can make Grisha--magic-users, for those who didn't read the Grisha trilogy first (you don't need to and I don't recommend it)--do fantastic, impossible things. Of course, this means the government wants Parem to be kept under wraps. Enter the Dregs, a street gang led by Kaz Brekker, the antihero (antivillian?) with a bum leg and a knack for getting out of tight spots. The Dregs are hired to break into the most secure place in the world, the Fjerdan Ice Court, and kidnap the scientist who invented Parem, bring him back to Ketterdam, and hand him over to the Council to keep him hidden. It's a fascinating set-up. A street-gang performing a high risk heist to kidnap a scientist? Sign me up. But beyond that, the plot opens up so many of the doors Bardugo utilizes for character-arcs and world-building.
Kaz Brekker is not a hero and he's definitely not the sort of person you'd want to run into...probably ever. In the slums of Ketterdam, referred to in the novel as the 'Barrel,' he's known as Dirtyhands. He's a master lock pick and practically leads the Dregs. Due to an accident a few years before the novel starts, he also walks with a cane and a perpetual limp. He's questionably moral, with the question more being 'does he have any?' more than 'you need to reevaluate that particular moral gap.' That's not to say he's necessarily a bad guy--albeit most of what he does is for money and revenge, but--he is one of the protagonists of the story, and he clearly cares for the members of his gang, even if he 1) doesn't show it, and 2) gets frustrated with them a lot. In the beginning of the story he definitely comes across as more uncaring than toward the end, and we sort of get to know why as the book progresses.
Inej Ghafa is a spy for the Dregs, contracted to them after Kaz got her out of a rough situation in one of the pleasure houses, which left some obvious trauma--this all occurs before the novel begins. She's one of the characters with the most straight morals. She's an ex-Suli acrobat who grew up in Ravka before she was kidnapped and brought to Ketterdam, and she uses those skills to scale walls, run across rooftops, and do otherwise gravity-defying tasks for the Dregs. Inej might be my favorite character of the bunch. She doesn't want to kill people, but she's unafraid to when it comes down to it, and has a collection of knives she named after Suli Saints. Her character growth in this book goes from 'not sure what I'll do with my life after this heist' (which will give each member $4 million) to following a Suli proverb "the heart is an arrow. It demands aim to land true" (311) and deciding she wants to hunt slavers.
Jesper Fahey is a Zemeni sharpshooter for the Dregs and a notorious gambler more adept at losing than winning. As good as he is with guns, he gets the group into a bit of trouble with the latter bit. Jesper always feels the need to move and the feeling he gets shooting or gambling helps fulfill that need. Despite the trouble, Jesper also saves the group several times using his sharpshooting skills. He's also hilarious and has a pretty big heart, he worries and asks after each of the characters, and I really like his relationships with the others. Bardugo definitely wrote him caring about others well, showing that sometimes there are fault lines in that, such as how he cares so much about Kaz and what he thinks that it sometimes impacts how he feels about himself or when he's so worried about *SEMI-SPOILER* Inej *SEMI-SPOILER END* after they're shot he can barely stand to be in the same room until they're recovered almost completely. There's a secret Jesper is holding onto that largely drives his arc in this book. Admittedly, his arc is more static than the others in this book, it mainly sets up for the complete arc in the second one.
Nina Zenik is a Heartrender Grisha from Ravka who made some bad decisions that landed her working for the Dregs in Ketterdam. She's the most bubbly of the group and loves to eat. A lot of her actions are driven by either trying to right her wrongs or trying to protect her country and people; so she's not exactly moral but she's definitely righteous. She's also a really funny character and the only one who really continuously, blatantly challenges Kaz throughout the novel, though the other characters do so in more subtle ways. I feel that a lot of the success of the heist ties into Nina and her abilities. For one, she has to be able to use her abilities to break in/out of a prison, make Matthias look like someone else, to erase the identifying gang tattoos some of the group has, subdue prison guards, subdue regular guards, basically take out an entire army, and *SPOILER* disguise Wylan *SPOILER END*. She does most of it without complaint, though that's not to say she's a pushover, she's definitely strong willed and opinionated, which, as stated earlier, means she's not worried about challenging the different characters' opinions and actions. A lot of her arc also occurs in the second novel and not so much this one.
Wylan Van Eck is their Ketterdam-born demolitions expert and bargaining chip. He's also decent with drawing and coming up with ideas on the sly. Wylan is definitely the baby of the group in terms of experience, but he makes up for it in his quick-thinking and seeming infinite supply of explosive materials. Surprisingly, despite his lack of a criminal upbringing and being the newest to the group, he doesn't really have many qualms about a lot of what occurs, though when he does he raises a bit of a ruckus about it. That seems to be his main arc in this book, and it's relatively easy to track; in the beginning, he has quite a few issues with pick-pocketing, but later on he's the one to suggest to Jesper to wake up guards before they kill them if it'll make the other boy feel better about it. It's not so much a devolution of morals as much as a rearranging of morals, so to say.
Finally, Matthias Helvar the Fjerdan ex-drüskelle (Grisha hunter) and the crew's way to know Ice Court. Matthias maybe has the most character growth out of all of them. He goes from essentially being a ranked murderer to someone who understands Grisha aren't evil and that the hate spouted by the drüskellen order is wrong. He's another character who has a strong moral compass, though his comes off as more righteous and 'look down my nose' than Inej's does. He comes off as cruel in the beginning, but almost immediately it's obvious he has a heart and a conscience under the drüskellen mask--at least for anyone not Grisha.
The relationships between the characters are all complicated, which makes them feel real. The way they bump and sharpen each other's edges and then soothing them back down makes them feel very much like a family, even though some of them--Wylan and Matthias--are newer members. Each of the characters also has their own intricacies and tics. Each of them also offers great representation for readers--Jesper is black and has ADHD and is bi, Inej is portrayed as looking Arabic or Persian and has PTSD, Nina is fat and also likely bi, Wylan has dyslexia and gay, Kaz walks with a permanent limp and is touch-averse (likely has PTSD too), Matthias has to fight against the hate that was taught to him, and the semi-surprise character who comes in later is portrayed as being East Asian, likely Chinese or Korean--and it's all written as being normal.
Bardugo also did a good job of building Ketterdam and Fjerda as a world I could see and rules I could understand. The way the Barrel was described allowed me to really be in the moment with the characters when they were at the docks or the Slat (Dreg HQ), that I could feel the chill of the ice in Fjerda or the fear of being in the Ice Court prison. You can also tell, from the way Bardugo built the places and the languages, that she paid a lot of attention to history and real countries and languages when creating the world of SoC. Kerch, the language, is loosely based on an older form of Dutch, and Ketterdam is based on pre-/ante-Industrial Revolution trading cities of the Netherlands. Fjerda is likely based on the Nordic countries, though I couldn't begin to say which language Fjerdan resembles, maybe a mix of them. Anyway, the point is that the world feels real, as if you could really crack open a textbook and read about Kerch or Fjerda alongside countries like France and Germany.
The characters were obviously a driving point of the story, but that's not to say there isn't plenty of action, because there is. Likewise, the plot is well thought out and has plenty of twists and turns to keep readers interested and guessing, though you might guess some of the things that occur beforehand.
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XY arc + Miraculous Ladybug AU Part 1
because france
Some ideas I made up after I got back into the show from my little sister. It got pretty detailed, so I’m splitting this into 2 parts.
Everyone here lives in Lumiose City, because it’s Paris and all.
Everyone can bring their Pokemon to school, but must be in Pokeballs during class. It kinda helps with defending themselves against the akuma, but they’re too powerful to be that affected, and only Ladybug can purify the akuma to prevent them from multiplying.
The kwamis don’t resemble as one Pokemon species, they’re kinda a mix of some. They’re also as old as Arceus, and a different class of legendaries because they can not be seen by neither human or Pokemon.
Gurkinn’s the Miraculous Guardian, and he and Korrina (after getting akumatized for being pissed of two random teenagers getting powerful miraculouses over her) often watch them. Korrina probably doesn’t get any of the miraculous, maybe one of the Chinese zodiacs, and while knowledgable of the miraculous, isn’t going to be the guardian, making her pissed even more.
Korrina goes to the same school as the gang, and they know each other, but aren’t exactly close at all. Good enough for Korrina to watch them from afar.
Lysandre’s Hawkmoth, and he wants X and Y’s miraculouses so he can revive Yveltal and Xerneas to power up the ultimate weapon. He’s Trevor’s uncle, and they both despise each other, but they have to tolerate each other as Trevor has to live with him. Malva’s his assistant who still keeps her thirst towards him.
He also sometimes visits the school they go to because Sycamore teaches there. None of the gang trusts him at all. Despite that, Emma works for him, which comes to bite her in the ass later.
Y and X are definitely Ladybug and Cat Noir. They’re also Marinette and Adrien’s equivalent in this AU. Though less stupid and knew each other since forever, and are best friends. Except that they have complicated feelings for each other that they haven’t exactly figured it out.
Y is quite distant from her mom because she has to juggle regular school and sky trainer school. She also has to deal with her bullies, and becomes quiet dealing with them, to telling them off after becoming Ladybug because she saves their goddamned asses, she’s gonna get that respect.
Her mom definitely got akumatized after a recent incident and her daughter going missing because of LB duties. They managed to reconcile, settle their differences, and Y may have told her she’s ladybug and her mom tries to support her the best she can. 
Y as Ladybug really is no different from her own self. Just probably more chill because she has to. Because of that, her friends, classmates, and mom suspect she’s Ladybug because they’re not as stupid as a certain cast. glances at the entire ML cast
X isn’t a total shut in like in canon, since he has school of course, but he never really goes outside. Grace at first tries to homeschool him after the tournament fiasco, but she got busy with other jobs that she just made him go to public school at the beginning of the current events of the AU. He’s not happy to say the least, but he tries to not be so negative seeing his friends being happy with going to school with them. Then he gets the Cat Miraculous, and he really can’t be in the house anymore. 
X’s parents are somewhere in another region. Both of them would return to Kalos, meet their son, but suddenly, an akuma or other trouble, making him run off to do something, and he constantly has to do that, making them both akumatized. After that, he reveals he’s Cat Noir, and they try to make up for the lost time.
X as Cat Noir acts quietly confident, reckless, and cocky, because this is his turf. Because of this, he gets in trouble a lot, though often makes the plans with Ladybug. He also quietly compliments Ladybug a lot, which he tries to hold up without getting flustered.
Ladybug and Cat Noir are best bros and partners, and they often compliment each other, though Ladybug gets annoyed at his brashness. Ladybug gets nostalgia from it though because of X, and Cat Noir is very happy being around her because she reminds him of Y. They both suspect the other is that because of disappearances and similar personalities, though feel kinda conflicted when they start crushing on each other.
so basically the whole au is not focused on the love square drama cause they’re confident/not in a good place to date/know each other long enough to realize they’re probably kickass partners/i only enjoy the show for its potential lore
Trevor’s somewhat of an Alya and Nino, in that he’s more of X’s friend, but he also video tapes their affairs and directly interviews LB’s and CN’s affairs. While at first he wanted to flee, when he realized that the news outlet don’t talk about the superheroes and the attacks, he decided to make something like the Ladyblog (Miraculous Blog?). He instantly got a lot of mileage, which forces news outlets to emulate him. He also is fascinated with learning their powers and identities, but after learning that their identities must be hidden for safety reasons, he stops. Though he thinks that X and Y are LB and CN, but can’t confirm it.
He has been akumatized before, from the stress of school, striving to be a scientist, and running the Miraculous Blog, or like Alya and was trying to uncover Ladybug and Cat Noir’s identities. His powers were able to use a variety of Pokemon abilities or cyber powers like Alya.
Trevor was trusted with the Fox Miraculous and becomes Renard Rouge after his older sister (reference to his game version), who is out of region because of going to a university, gets akumatized. Of course, he gets that again, and learns how to be confident! And whack his bag of a shit of an uncle with his flute.
He often hangs out at Lys’ cafe, Y’s, Shauna’s, Tierno’s, or Emma’s house because his own is so big and lonely, and he really wants to avoid Lys.
He becomes really good friends/partners/lovers with Emma/Pagoni because he often tutors her and she works for Lysandre as his akuma slave cafe’s waiter so they know each other quite a bit. And Pagoni and him, while clashing with their plans (Pagoni: LET’S GO BREAK THEIR FUCKING LEGS RR: NO), are pretty chill with each other since they suspect/know who the other really is.
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orbemnews · 3 years
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When Will In-Person Watch Fairs Be Back? Every year Lane Schiffman — who lives in Greensboro, N.C., and who co-owns a handful of high-end watch and jewelry stores, including Shreve & Co. — usually spends a couple weeks in Switzerland at the trade shows that have been anchors of the watch industry for decades. But for Watches and Wonders Geneva, the virtual trade fair that hosts 38 brands and starts on April 7, he will be sitting in a friend’s house, watching each company unveil its newest timepieces on a computer screen. Mr. Schiffman said he will miss having new watches in his hands and socializing with colleagues in person. He is realistic, however, about the current limitations on physical gatherings. “It’s not something we can do, so Plan B is the next best thing, and Plan B is to do things virtually,” he said. Certainly the online presentations this year have filled a pandemic-inspired need, but what happens to watch fairs when restrictions on large gatherings and travel are lifted? And, perhaps even more important to the majority of watch fans, will brands revert to their traditional patterns, largely bypassing online channels available to the many in favor of in-person exchanges with the few? Many watch industry insiders see the merits of physical fairs, historically held annually in Basel and Geneva. “It gives much more strength that all the brands are speaking at once,” said Frédéric Arnault, chief executive of TAG Heuer. “It helps us all create this mystique around not just this or that brand, but all watch brands.” But virtual fairs have their supporters, too. “There is something about just being able to, I hate to say it, sit in your underwear and not leave your home and watch the show,” said Adam Craniotes, an editor at large at the watch magazine Revolution and co-founder of the RedBar Group, a collectors’ organization. Watch fairs, like so many businesses, were forced to recalibrate by the pandemic. And in this case, experts say, that restructuring was overdue. “Probably this year of Covid was useful for them to try to disrupt something that was difficult to disrupt without such an event,” said Claudia D’Arpizio, partner and head of luxury goods for the management consultants Bain & Company. “Everyone was questioning the value of these fairs.” The Swiss events were pitched mostly at retailers and journalists with splashy presentation booths that can cost several million dollars and fancy brand-hosted events each evening. At Geneva’s fair, for example, the public wasn’t allowed entry until 2017, and that access was limited to a single day. For several years there had been a feeling that the expense and exclusivity, especially in the all-access climate of social media and websites, were outdated. As Ms. D’Arpizio put it, “It’s nonsense that all this content had lived just one week, like a butterfly.” In the past, watch companies unveiled their main annual releases at two fairs. One was the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie, commonly known as S.I.H.H. — held in Geneva in January and focused on luxury brands, predominantly those owned by Richemont, like Cartier and Jaeger-LeCoultre. The other was Baselworld, the world’s largest watch and jewelry fair by almost every measure, with roots that went back more than 100 years. It was held in the spring and included both top-tier and more accessibly priced timepieces, jewelry and gems. Things began to change a few years ago, as some brands pulled out of fairs entirely and others decided to create their own events. Brands owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, like Bulgari and Zenith, introduced new watches at a group event in Dubai in 2020 and again earlier this year — although many are also unveiling models this week at Watches and Wonders. Then came the pandemic. Watches -and Wonders 2020 was digital — free viewing, with consumer access for some of the content — with small physical versions last fall in Shanghai and on the Chinese island of Hainan. Baselworld 2020 was canceled entirely. Organizers of Watches and Wonders Geneva promise content this year that goes beyond just brand rundowns of new watches. And next week, a physical version of the fair is scheduled in Shanghai, with panels, talks and workshops as well as booths from 19 brands. “We’ve tried to move it from a professional salon, old style, into something I would say is more of a forum — a mix of Fashion Week meets Davos meets Watches and Wonders,” said Emmanuel Perrin, president of the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie, the nonprofit organization that puts on the fair. (He is also head of specialist watchmakers’ distribution at Richemont, which accounts for about a third of the online fair’s participants.) Baselworld has said it is returning, too, although in a different configuration. Renamed Hour Universe, the fair is planned as a live event in June. It also intends to hold a digital fair later this year, although that was an addition promised, but not fulfilled, in 2019. (Some Baselworld mainstays, like Patek Philippe and Rolex, are scheduled at Watches and Wonders.) Many brands also have pivoted to and invested in video equipment to be used at the fairs and beyond. Chopard, for example, installed a film studio in its Geneva headquarters that it intends to introduce during the fair this week. H. Moser & Cie set up in a similar studio, with professional lighting and three cameras, which it said has been used nearly every day since it was set up last fall. It intends to host a virtual presentation this week, with a vacation-themed backdrop that the brand said should lighten the potentially dull exercise of presenting timepieces. “We heard from a lot of journalists that, in general, those presentations are quite stiff, so we’re trying to create an atmosphere that’s a little bit different,” said Edouard Meylan, its chief executive. Watch fans likely have had the same reaction as those following fashion since the pandemic all but eliminated runway shows: Some videos are brilliant, some are just boring. In addition to its presentation of new watches, Montblanc’s watch division will include a live conversation with Reinhold Messner, the mountaineer and a brand ambassador, talking about an expedition that helped inspire elements of a limited edition timepiece. Other brands pretaped footage in dynamic venues. Hermès, for example, went to Geneva’s historic Bâtiment des Forces Motrices, taking along a sculpture and digital art piece that it had commissioned. And Ulysse Nardin filmed at Bassins de Lumière, a World War II submarine base in the Bordeaux region of France, to emphasize its maritime tradition. “There could be a Zoom fatigue,” said Patrick Pruniaux, chief executive of Ulysse Nardin and Girard-Perregaux. “We have to make sure that we are delivering the message in a way which is the most exciting.” From the brands’ standpoint, digital presentations help the bottom line. Several said production costs are as much as 90 percent less than a physical show — a real consideration as 2020 sales were down 30 percent year over year, according to Bain. And the content “can live beyond the period of the fair itself,” to be used other ways, Ms. D’Arpizio said. That hasn’t stopped one critic from creating his own digital event. “Zoom presentations as a way of running the watch industry, or as a way of getting business done, have been an abject failure,” said Ariel Adams, founder of the watch website aBlogtoWatch. “It’s because these brands have put absolutely no effort into anything beyond, ‘Hey, we heard Zoom meetings are a thing.’” As another option, next month Mr. Adams will be introducing his own online fair, called New Watch Week. He aims to create more engaging videos than those in typical brand launches. The fair will include content at intervals throughout the year, instead of just during its first week. His target audience, he said, is consumers, who will be able to watch for free, no invitations needed. That type of programming is likely to continue after the pandemic has gone. Physical fairs, he said, may well resume then, too. “The luxury industry requires real relationships, social opportunities, travel and celebration, and consumers that want to express themselves and have the money to do so,” Mr. Adams said. “If you don’t have those things happening, you don’t really have a functioning watch industry.” Source link Orbem News #Fairs #inperson #watch
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irati-a · 4 years
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Fine Wines Are Component of Every Terrific Dish
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Among the several happiness in life is locating a quiet little restaurant with great food as well as an option of great wines. For some, this might suggest a regional restaurant with remarkable delicious chocolate desserts big enough to feed the whole table and also lots of streaming champagne. Others might locate their neighbourhood steakhouse that reduces their own meat and also chefs it completely too specs every time taken pleasure in with a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon is the response to a spectacular meal. As well as after that there are those who choose a seafood meal delicately prepared and also gone along with by their favourite white wine, perhaps a Riesling or a Chardonnay. Several other favourites are out there because every person seems to have a different point of view concerning their ideal dish experience.
French wines are in a class of their own. It would not be tough to base an entire holiday around a check out to France to taste a lot of the remarkable French wines offered by this country. As a matter of fact, many people believe of France as well as wine in the exact same idea. Who can think of strolling past a pathway cafe and also not seeing a bottle of the country's ideal on each table? As well as there is no better mid-day dish than a bottle of wine, a loaf of French bread, some cheese and also fruit to please the appetite. There is no uncertainty that wine and also France have the country as well as a background produces a few of the finest, if not the finest, wine in the whole globe.
With every one of the wineries as well as various vineyards in France, both little and also huge, virtually every kind of wine is different depending upon the wine maker. Obviously, that is all component of the appeal as well as allure making wine manufacturing a lot even more of an art than a science. The majority of the variety comes from the lots of choices a wine maker should make when producing their wine. Initially, they need to choose a sort of grape and also a setting for their vineyard. Naturally, often times this selection has already been made as they possibly already own their vineyard. The climate in their area has an influence on production as well as the suitable harvest date in their certain scenarios.
Additional factors to consider that can impact the high qualities of wine consist of the type of container made use of during the fermentation process, the associated temperatures as well as real length of the fermentation duration. One more variable is the sort of container made use of throughout the maturation stage which is generally some kind of barrel or barrel. Among one of the most prominent wine areas in France are Champagne, Alsace, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Loire and also Rhone. Simply listening to the names of these fantastic areas can make you desire to hop on an airplane as well as take a wine excursion. Of training course, a quicker means to obtain nearly the same sensation is to flip on the traveling network, get a container of among your favourite French wines and kick back.
While dining establishment eating is what most people think of when they want a nice dinner and wine experience, it is definitely not the only choice offered. Some delight in cooking and also are extremely proficient at preparing one-of-a-kind and also tasty meals. Even for those that favour not to cook, these days it's easy to find mail-order gourmet solutions that will certainly ship fantastic meals prepared to prepare to your front door. Other alternatives consist of having an individual chef come by your house to prepare an expert dish to your specs. Whatever alternative you choose, do not neglect to drop in your neighbourhood wine store and also grab a selection of fine wines to choose your fabulous dish.
For some, thinking about a meal means selecting a kind of food such as Italian, Mexican, American, Chinese or Indian. Well, think what? Each one of these cuisines have certain kinds of wine that are customarily served and also appreciated. It's as very easy as resting down at a dining table and looking over the menu or wine checklist. Normally, the preferred wines are provided near the leading or in an area of wines from the particular nation on which the restaurant's food is based. As well as if you're seeing a certain country it's also much easier. Simply ask your steward for the wines advised by the restaurant. Usually, the common wines in supply will be the local selections.
Something that has a tendency to perplex many beginning or seldom wine drinkers is what particular food and wine mixes are appropriate. When it comes to choosing a specific kind of wine to consume with a particular recipe, there are a number of so-called guidelines. And also to further make complex things, some wines are better before a dish while others are better fit for drinking after a meal. It can all be so complex to the novice that they quit as well as get a soft drink rather than having to make the dreadful wine option and show up silly. Basically there are a pair of methods to manage this issue and also eventually get rid of the fear of ordering wine.
The first method to overcome the concern of ordering wine is to come to be informed. Now, acquiring an education in wine will include a long time and work just like anything you laid out to discover. An excellent location to start is the library. Try to find books and also publications regarding wine and also reach function reviewing them over. If you discover that your collection has actually restricted resources worrying existing wine information, travel over to your regional bookstore to look into the magazine shelfs first. Most of the bigger book shops have various magazine selections regarding almost any topic of interest as well as they must have several on the topic of wine. Still one more source of information is the internet. Do search on wine and also see what you can find. With a little bit of time spent, you'll understand a great deal about the numerous sorts of wines and also really feel more like a professional than a novice in no time.
Although finding out about wine is probably the most effective technique to ending up being comfortable with it, there is another option. A quick approach would certainly be to simply neglect your concern as well as start getting. If it actually matters if somebody else assumes you have made an inadequate choice, ask yourself. Try something else next time if your wine option does not work with the food you bought. After a little bit of experimentation, you'll be selecting wines that go well with your dishes. When consumed by itself, the primary thing to keep in mind regarding food and wine mixes is that the food should make the wine taste far better than it tastes.
If you're searching for excellent German wine, give Riesling a shot. Among the earliest and also finest types of wines offered today is German wine. Although wine has been produced by Germany for a great number of years and also has a long history, wine manufacturing methods have created and also progressed along with the moments. The country is recognised in certain for its white wine which consists of the bulk of the complete wine manufacturing yearly. Certainly, the country likewise produces red wine however in much minimal amounts than the white varieties. It is intriguing to note that over twenty percent of Germany's whole wine manufacturing consists of a solitary type of grape, the Riesling grape.
With such a big component of production spent in Riesling wine, it comes as no surprise that this kind of wine is perhaps the best-known and also most preferred of the wines generated in Germany. Although other nations likewise grow Riesling grapes and generate this sort of wine, none appears to compare to the German variety. This is due in large part to the soil and also environmental problems located in Germany. It is a popular fact amongst wine students that grapes take on attributes of the dirt and also other surroundings so depending upon where a grape is expanded, the exact same kind of wine can vary significantly in the completed product.
Mentioning grape growing conditions, Germany has the excellent backdrop for vineyards and also winemaking. A lot of the vineyards are located in the southwestern component of the country in almost perfect conditions. Envision an item of the countryside, with Riesling and also other kinds of grapes expanding on the either incline or in valleys, often with a river streaming neighbouring as well as you have the excellent starts of a fantastic wine. That explains most wineries in Germany. Because the Riesling grapes, particularly, have a longer ripening duration which enables a much more industrialised scent and higher balance to the completed wine, Germany is the perfect setup to make this grape even much better. Whether you choose to attempt Riesling or among the various other impressive selections of German wine, make sure to add wines from this nation to your shortlist of favourites.
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ladystylestores · 4 years
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Coronavirus: EU to allow in visitors from 14 ‘safe’ countries
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Image caption Passport control at Larnaca airport, Cyprus
The EU has named 14 countries whose citizens are deemed “safe” to be let in from 1 July, despite the pandemic – but the US, Brazil and China are excluded.
Those named include Australia, Canada, Japan, Morocco and South Korea.
The EU is ready to add China if the Chinese government offers a reciprocal deal for EU travellers, diplomats say.
Many border controls have been lifted for EU citizens travelling inside the bloc. Rules for UK travellers are part of the current Brexit negotiations.
But UK nationals are still to be treated in the same way as EU citizens until the end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December, the EU Commission says.
So during this period UK nationals and their family members are exempt from the EU’s temporary travel restriction.
On the current “safe” list, still likely to be amended, are Algeria, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Montenegro, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia and Uruguay.
EU nations in the 26-member Schengen zone normally allow passport-free border crossings for EU citizens, but national authorities have reimposed restrictions in this crisis.
The UK is currently negotiating temporary “air bridges” with several EU member states, so that coronavirus does not totally block summer holidays – the busiest season in Europe for tourism, which employs millions of people.
How will the UK’s air bridges work?
How is lockdown being lifted across Europe?
The EU procedure to formalise the list, and criteria by which countries are judged safe or not, are to be finalised by midday on Tuesday.
A qualified majority of EU countries – at least 55% of the EU countries, representing 65% of the EU population – have signed off on list.
There were splits between those such as Spain – wanting the boost of tourism, but preferring to play safe because they have been hit so hard by Covid-19 – and others like Greece and Portugal, which depend on tourism but are less scarred by the virus.
You’d think it’d be quite straightforward, deciding which non-EU countries to consider “safe”. But it’s been a tortuous, divisive process, mixing politics and economics, as well as public health.
Countries like Germany and Spain, horrified by the devastation of Covid-19, wanted to play it safe.
They pushed to have a short list of countries with low infection rates, a good health service and reliable health data.
But Greece and Portugal had other ideas. Anxious to boost their post-lockdown, flagging economies with tourism, and less scarred by widespread infection at the height of the pandemic, they wanted as long a list as possible.
Then came France, insisting on reciprocity. If a non-EU country was barring flights from the bloc, argued Paris, they shouldn’t appear on the list.
And finally: diplomatic considerations. How awkward for the EU to include some countries but not others. Thumbs up to visitors from Canada, Japan and China from 1 July – if Beijing allows EU visitors entry – but not travellers from the US.
After days of haggling, the final list is an attempted compromise. Much metaphorical sweat, blood and tears for a list that is advisory only, open to exceptions and will be regularly tweaked and updated.
Last week reports said member states were assessing two different lists. The Politico website said one covered countries with fewer than 16 Covid-19 cases per 100,000 people and the other with up to 20 cases, which would include Canada and Turkey. The list is expected to be revised every two weeks, so the US could be added later.
Earlier this month the European Commission also stressed that reopening borders with non-EU states in the Western Balkans was a priority from 1 July. However, EU member Croatia said last week that travellers from Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and North Macedonia would all face 14-day self-isolation, because of an increase in infections.
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Media captionA tour through Europe’s eerily quiet airports
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