No Context Crow #43: Glass Blown Crow

Found here.

Life, Death, Chance, and Trains

An Upturned Analysis

(I enjoy this game greatly, so here's a 3k word analysis about motivations, perspectives, and fate. Use ctrl+f to hunt down certain headings: 1. Ikabod Kee, 2. The Traveller, 3. Sobbergritch, 4. The Inn & the Afterlife, 5. Trains, 6. The Morning. Enjoy!)

    Most of the deeper lore of the Upturned is revealed at the end, with little build up, and the story concludes just as quickly. And it all puts things into a wildly different perspective and context, and hammers in the game’s deeper themes of death, chance, change, and fate.

1. Ikabod Kee

    Ikabod Kee died in his teenage years in the late 90’s. He never truly got to live, and at the end of it all he concluded he didn’t learn much when he was alive. The end of his life was a series of unfortunate events, from attempted murder to winter storm to attempted murder again. Sheer, bad luck killed him in the form of a tree.

    (There’s a solid chance he was gay and disliked this part of himself in both life and death: He went to a party where one other guy would be there, and he understood why his father shoved him out of a moving car and would in fact thank him, and of course there was the number of masculine mannequins in the Inn, all of which he found beautiful. His story contains lots of hiding, so that was a grand old cherry on top of his existence.)

    Like the Traveller, dumb luck and chance ended his life and influenced his Afterlife. Sure, he had good parts, with his collections of miscellaneous items, and viewing the stars, a brief good time with the Inn before Sobbergritch came along, and his brief companionship with the Traveller, but also like his final guest, he never truly got to live, did he? Did Ik enjoy what little life he had?

    He founded the Upturned Inn out of a genuine kindness in his heart. He put his heart and soul into building the inn, and ensuring it was self-sufficient. It had its own power grid, mall, aquarium; why didn’t he create a community of multiple buildings? Did he perceive the wider Afterlife to be dangerous? Maybe he was the one who made it go downwards. It could’ve all been a big pun on his part! An Upturned Inn! Or, he very well could’ve feared making such a tall building that any old storm could knock over, and he held a fear of large storms years after his death. Making it go into the ground was ensuring his guests were safe against all elements. This kindness and urge to help others is one of his core personality traits.

    This is further proven by his interactions with the Traveller. He went through the shell-shock of a line of thousands whittling down to nothing, and he still greets the first guest in ages with gusto. He referred to the Traveller by his last name and formal terms, despite how he considered him a friend. 40+ years of customer service does that to a guy.

    Despite knowing full well the elevator led to a certain death/disfiguration/crow-ification, Ikabod worried over the Traveller at every twist and turn. He constantly checked up on them and aided them on their journey. This cannot be due to some secret ploy to get the Traveller to Sobbergritch faster. Ik truly, deeply cared for them, and the thought of losing them is what drove him to flee the Inn, after not going outside for 43 years. The number was just tossed out there like nothing, but that is decades of being in one place, more than likely kept there by Sobbergritch to ensure any passerby is roped in and sent down into his awaiting traps.

    Did Ik think he was doing good, when he signed the hotel off to Sobbergritch’s ownership? It was years ago, when he had no idea what Sobbergritch’s true goals were. At what point did he realize and regret? What lies (or truths) was he told to hand the Inn over? He must’ve believed Sobbergritch’s presence would make people happier, safer! Sobbergritch snapped at the end of the game. His facade broke, and he spilled his intentions of killing death and ceasing existence, but that’s after the storm, after the Traveller had escaped death time and time again. But we’ll get into Sobbergritch’s morality and perspective later. Point is, Ik signed himself into the world’s worst business partnership. 11 million guests, he stated, and did that number even hold meaning to him anymore? Day after day signing in guests, telling them their room number. It must’ve gotten mechanical in nature at some point. Could he even wrap his head around how many guests have been transmogrified into monsters or glass?

    And then the Traveller came along. After years of never being given a break, of never socializing, of never having normal human interaction, after never speaking to someone outside of formalities, someone comes along. And this Traveller was a quiet little man! He never initiated conversations, and was a man of few words, but he listened. Did Ik feel joy, genuine excitement when the elevator broke again and again? A true excuse to ramble to someone and form human connection! And maybe he felt guilty, or maybe he was too excited to care. No other guests came in; he had all the time in the world to chatter about his hobbies and past. To feel less alone.

    No matter how rude they were to him, Ik cherished them and considered him a friend! He always assumed the best in him. They may listen to his music. Ikabod prided himself on his work, and he beamed when the Traveller paid attention to something he put effort into! He considered the Upturned In a great thing; perhaps he was reminiscing, or nostalgic, when he spoke about the greatness of the aquarium, or the ingenuity of the power grid. He went to the Traveller when the storm scared him. Did Ik ever feel close to Sobbergritch? Doubtful. He considered the Traveller would be a source of comfort in a time of fear, and that says something.

    At what point did Ikabod fully realize that Sobbergritch was going to take away his newfound only friend? This bond with a near-stranger is what drove him to break the cycle of sitting around, turning a blind eye. There is a true, true chance that Ikabod was behind the health packs that fell when the fire cannons malfunctioned. That it was him trying, desperately, to help his only friend in whatever way he could.

    In his own words, he hid for all his life. For a time, perhaps, he enjoyed the Afterlife experience and truly lived, hosting the Upturned Inn and making people happy, giving people relief, safety, and community. But then Sobbergritch came, and he had to lie to himself and others, and hide all over again. He metaphorically shoved himself into a shoebox and took all the punches thrown at him. He had his dream ripped away from him, but couldn’t stand to have his only friend taken, too. Waiting until it was too late, if anything, shows how conditioned he was to Sobbergritch’s torment of others, and how used he was to sitting back and watching.

    His decision to not hide in the face of the Morning, in the face of this unknown force barreling at him, was a sign of his growth as a character, refusing to back down from change and let greater forces control him.

    Ikabod Kee was an optimistic beacon of joy and delight in an otherwise desolate situation.

2. The Traveller

    The Traveller had a good life, at some point. He grew up in a post-pandemic world and firsthand witnessed world peace. Wouldn’t it make sense for him to have a spark of admiration for the human race? Some deep, heartfelt urge to do good in the world and help people drove him to be on the frontlines of aiding evacuation efforts. What was he before? Surely in a position of helping others. They share this trait with Ikabod: kindness and compassion.

    Even if the world broke most of it out of the Traveller. It was great, until the first domino fell, and he was helpless to watch the world crumble. Lady Luck spat in the Traveller’s face and left him to rot.

    Imagine, if you will: An empty bunker system. It was built to hold millions, if not more. But the ravaged outside world clawed their way inside in a storm of hooves and tusks. One by one, lives are snuffed out. Resources are devoured by things sturdier than the birds that won the Great Emu War. And now the bunkers are hollow and silent, save for the sound of wind, electronics never turned off, and the distant, omnipresent sniffling of hogs.

    Did the Traveller ever give up hope? One of the last things he remembered doing was listening to a radio. Music, perhaps. But for a man perhaps all alone in an underground bunker, he could’ve been listening. Calling out, even, for others. He couldn’t have known he was the last soul remaining in the bunkers. Did he go out in search of survivors? Did he already own a shotgun, or did he steal it from some armory, sparsely-stocked because everything was great, why would people need guns? Did he find half-eaten corpses? Did he bury them? How much crippling survivor’s guilt filled their being?

    One of the Traveller’s core traits was persistence. They refused to die, to give up, to fail. He was one durable little man, to the point the only way he could die was to literally explode.

    Given the state of things, he could be bitter toward Ik. Ik, who called at the most inopportune times as he ran for his life. But Ikabod was a golden retriever of a man, and even if persistent with lines of questioning, he was ultimately a trusting individual who didn’t push that much. Even if spoken down to, Ik always came back and offered company and friendship.

    That being said, the Traveller’s level of cruelty or lack thereof is dictated by the player’s actions. How they speak to Ik and how they treat Shrimp. Does he call Ikabod sergeant and play along with the unspoken game, or does he throw furniture at an (at the time) harmless Shrimp? Because of the range of possibilities, the statements “the Traveller is selfish” and “the Traveller cares for Ik” could coexist. The range is there, and it offers a wider view to the Traveller’s personality and demeanor, encompassing all the roads his exhaustion could take him.

    But still, even acting kindly towards the characters, the Traveller was cynical, bitter, as a result of their last days. They stand as a stark contrast to Ik’s optimism, despite how chance ripped away both their lives. Sampling another user’s words and interpretations, “there’s always this underlying sense of exhaustion and childlike scolding in the dialogue we’re given, and when you put that into the context of the travelers existential cynicism and ik’s unfinished life, you begin to understand why the upturned inn exists. what does the upturned inn means to these characters.” [Source: lkabod on Tumblr]

    Sobbergritch’s final spiel about the Traveller’s issues with chance and surprise were spot-on. Every single natural disaster, the elevator failing over and over, was all pure luck. The Traveller was tired, above all. The main drive for them in the Inn was the promise of rest, and perhaps deep down, static. A situation unchanging, calm, safe. A place they could control and know. Which makes it all the most unfortunate that a cramped, poorly furnished room at the end of a long hall is in fact a very dull and predictable thing.

    The Traveller did not want that. If he wanted something so dull, he wouldn’t have left the Inn. They can show worry over Ikabod’s location and safety, and a desire to find him. They were opposites but so achingly similar. Sheer bad luck did them both in, and neither lived a full life. Ik continued with optimism unhindered by 40 years of forced customer service and dealing with Sobbergritch, while the Traveller became exhausted from all the world’s troubles.

    The Traveller wanted control over his destiny, and he took that by leaving the Inn and making the decision to go elsewhere, where grandiose forces couldn’t direct him to his fate. Even though, unknowingly, his fate was already galloping toward him. Is fate a chance? Is fate a surprise, something unexpected? Would he have it in him to be upset, if he knew what those lights led him to? 

3. Sobbergritch

    Sobbergritch was this oppressive, selfish entity that beamed his own issues and desires onto others. He saw death as a scam, he was sick of existing, so everybody else must’ve been sick of it, too. He was doing a service by trying to kill death.

    Whether or not he had a hand in Ik not leaving the end isn’t a question. It is unstated, but it’s safe to assume he played a role in Ikabod not stepping foot outside in years. He monitored the calls, listened in on all Ik and the Traveller spoke of, and took pride in this power he held over everyone else. He believed himself to be so correct and clever by trying to snuff out life and trust. His sense of righteousness drowned out any common sense or attention to anyone else’s opinions.

    Sobbergritch tried to call Ik untrustworthy for calling the Traveller by his last name. However, Ik had immediately tried to assert himself as a friendly face by introducing himself with a nickname—it’s entirely possible to miss his last name! Years of lying to himself and others about the Inn’s safety led to a constant underlying sense of professionalism, being polite in naming and assuring the Inn was the height of luxury. On the other hand, half the time Sobbergritch never used the Traveller’s name, and instead addressed him as cockroach, which (especially when paired with the traps in certain levels) suggests he’d been trying to kill him for a long time, and the Traveller was very very good at evading death.

    Sobbergritch’s past is unknown, but his usage of the word “alow,” with an archaic definition meaning “below,” combined with his particularly skeletal appearance, suggests he was older than Ikabod. Maybe he roamed the Afterlife, growing sick of its endlessness, experimenting at random, and finding the Upturned Inn was striking gold. There’s also the chance he died after Ik, and decided he wanted it to be over in a short span of time. Either way, he felt cheated, and made it everybody’s problem. Unlike Ik and the Traveller, who never got to live, he felt he’d lived too much.

    His well of test subjects ran dry with time, and maybe that’s why he took the time to speak with the Traveller directly. He lorded his power over this stranger, taunted him at every turn, and did his best to sow the seeds of doubt and distrust between him and Ik.

    At the very end, when he had one more toy to break, he spent it mocking the Traveller for having choice ripped from their hands one last time. Maybe Sobbergritch had a right to be angry, to be tired and sick of being, but he spent this energy harming others and dragging everybody into his personal beliefs.

4. The Inn & the Afterlife

    The Inn, ultimately, was an escape. At first the Inn was meant to be a sanctuary. Sobbergritch, in his drive to cease existing, created a limbo that ripped away the autonomy Ikabod aimed to give his guests. In the beginning, the Inn was an escape from isolation and loneliness, but then it became an attempted escape from death itself.

    The Inn-goers attempted to find closure. Ikabod found joy and contentment in aiding others. For a time, he was fulfilled. Sobbergritch used the Inn as a means to an end, a supply of all the resources he’d ever need to get rid of the light in people’s eyes. The Traveller wanted to have autonomy, a say in their own life, and for a time they thought they’d get that by fighting through hell to get some rest.

5. Trains

    The Traveller was dumped into the Afterlife by a train. Ikabod referred to the Morning as a train. Trains! Heavily based in Ik’s words, trains represent a colossal, unstoppable force that has been moving since the beginning.

    The train that deposited the Traveller represented dying. It served as a psychopomp transporting him from the realm of the living to that of the dead, or limbo. It roared by, faintly filled with people, and then it was gone. This reflects how humanity is leaving, how soon there will be no more passengers. The beginning of the end.

    Whether or not the Traveller ending up at the Inn was sheer luck depends on the view of the Inn as an object of change and autonomy, as well as the intelligence of the train or its driver. Was he shoved out by the crowds of people? Did he step out willingly? The vagueness of the beginning of the game leads to various possible interpretations.

    No matter that, the train at the beginning of a game was an inevitability, representing death. Everybody dies.

    The train at the end of the game is the Morning, the Horseman, the Death of All. In the context of the Afterlife, humanity barreled toward its end in a blaze of glory, and the Morning waited to rise at the end of it. The end waited for nobody, and as soon as the last human on earth cracked her head open and died, the Morning ran. There was nothing anybody could do about it. It took its passengers, the souls of not just the Inn but of everywhere, and ran singing into the ether, never to be known again.

6. The Morning

    The Morning is the End. Perhaps the Morning is God, or the horseman of Death, or an angel. But no matter which it is, it is essentially rapturing the souls. It is taking them elsewhere, or making them cease to be.

    With no more humanity, what’s the point of an Afterlife? Is there such a thing as a destination when there’s nobody left to travel there?

    Could the Morning be called luck? Chance? It is an ending, and everything ends at some point, but the characters were unaware of its approach. Even at the end of it all, Ik could only guess that it was something big and unstoppable. Perhaps the Traveller would’ve viewed that as a slap in the face of trying to take his fate into his own hands, if he knew what the horseman staring him down truly was. Is that another strike of bad luck, if it is an inevitability?

    Knowing what impassable force is barreling towards the beloved characters, the Upturned becomes a tragedy. Neither the Traveller nor Ikabod got to live full lives, because bad luck ripped that opportunity from them. In their own way, they attempted to find closure at the Inn. Ikabod makes a choice for himself, to escape the job pushed onto him by another person. Meanwhile the Traveller takes his fate into his own hands and crawls out of the Inn, away from the destiny Sobbergritch attempted to drag him towards. The mere steps toward a wanted change is closure, goal reached or not.

    But, in the Traveller’s case, he never quite got what he wanted, which was for a say in the matter. But the Morning, being a train of finality, does not wait, now that humanity is dead, and the train takes its passengers because everyone has a ticket. They all moved on away from the Afterlife, toward an unknowable future.

    The Upturned is a game about finality and chance.

    It is a good game.

    It is tragic.

    Thank you for your time.

doing research for this one thing and wow. George is a fucking freak

You can't say this and then Not elaborate (<- wants to hear all about jealousGeorge and his insanities)

hi crow i put a bit of context on the notes but it's the Mayonnaise Saga (3:43:48) from memes with dream (famous contender for best dnf vod ever to date) Maybe i'm exagerating a bit with the wording i just think the way he acts here it's very funny and not normal at all <3

5, 42, 43, 65, & 66?

I’m gonna answer for everybody, so I’m definitely gonna have to put under a read more. Thank you! Definitely gave me lots to think about for my shift! Certainly better than just counting folders all damn day.

5. How often do they masturbate?

Crow: It is exceedingly rare. Like… maybe once or twice a year rare. They’re not exactly comfortable with it, but it’s more to try to get comfortable and less for sole pleasure. The pleasure is more of a bonus.

Arsenic: Several times a week. It better than any alternative that may potentially hurt Crow emotionally or cause a fight, since their relationship is very slow with sexual things.

Ripper: More often than he’ll care to admit. He’s… very lonely. But he’s also way too against one night stands to do anything more.

42. Top 5 Turn Ons

Crow:

Dominance: They love when their partner takes control.

Praise: Giving and receiving, praise (with context) is extremely attractive.

Touch: They are extremely sense based, and the right touch can be just enough to put them over the edge.

Bondage: Be it on them or on their partner; though does like on them (they enjoy the whole “loss of a sense” it can bring).

Blood: Not in an inherently kinky sense, but in more of a “you’re covered in the blood of my enemy because you protected me and that’s actually really hot” kind of way.

Arsenic:

Submission: Playful dominance is OK, but you best be letting him get out on top. He wants to take control and lead you where he wants you to go.

Marking: More giving than receiving. He wants the world to know that you were with him last and seeing the mark he made gives him pride.

Teasing: The context has to be there, but catching him in the right moment with the right tease will get you everything with him.

Dancing: He definitely prefers watching over participating, but dancing will catch his attention and potentially push him in the desired direction.

Voyeurism: Not so much as public exhibitionism, but watching his partner please themselves. It makes it fun to take over.

Ripper:

Power Play: Although he hates the master/slave type, he loves being on both sides of dominance and submission.

Praise/Worship: He absolutely loves when his partner accepts that he will worship and praise them every chance he gets. You are his god/goddess, his tesoro.

Exhibitionism: The thrill of potentially getting caught, regardless of if it happens drives him wild.

Pinning: Separate from power play if only for the fact that he loves the touch/intimacy that pinning/being pinned brings. He gets to be close to his partner.

Affection: He adores public affection, no matter the circumstances. Hugging, holding hands, kissing, it doesn’t matter.

43. Top 5 Turn Offs

Crow:

Being Nasty: There’s warranted “I’m getting nasty because you’re pissing me off” and then there’s “I’m just an asshole and I think I’m better than you”. If you’re the latter, they’re gonna be gone.

Being Demanding/Forcible: Again, there’s a time and a place for it; being that normally and for the sake of it is a major turn off.

Over-dependance (Weaponized Incompetence): It’s one thing to need help or need to be dependent on somebody; but when you’re just doing it because you know someone will wait on you hand and foot and clean up after you? Absolutely not.

Jealousy: Their partner needs to understand that they only have eyes for them. Getting jealous because they’re just naturally cuddly is gonna push them away.

Poor hygiene: They get it, it’s hard to have good hygiene in the wasteland. Even more-so if you’re a ghoul, but attempts can be made. (Note: You’d have to reek like you rolled in a pile of rotting corpses covered in shit for them to really say something however)

Arsenic:

Overly Clingy: With the exception of Crow, hanging off of him just makes him want to get far away. There’s a time and a place for it and he only allows it for the one he’s with.

Lying: He’s going to find out the truth, whether you want him to or not. Not only will you lose his trust (which can be a dangerous thing to lose), you may lose him as a partner as well.

Flirting When It’s Known They’re Unavailable: You’re either up to something or you’re just an ass. Unless you’re known for being playfully flirty, just don’t.

Not Knowing When To Be Quiet: There’s quiet time and there’s talking time. He may enjoy listening more than talking, but if it’s clearly a time to be quiet and you’re still talking? He’s out.

Not Being Self Sufficient: There’s times where you’re not gonna know where to start. That’s fine. But if you constantly need to be told directions and what to do next? There’s a reason why he made a good chef. You’ll get to see it.

Ripper:

Degradation: Speaking down about others, humiliating them, etc, is just unattractive, through and through.

Using Others: Not necessarily just using him, but also if he catches you obviously using others for your own personal gain.

Being Law Enforcement/Acting Like Law Enforcement: First of all, this is the wasteland, those prewar rules don’t apply. Secondly, why would you even want to act like something that had systemically oppressed groups they don’t like?

Poor Living Conditions: Perhaps it was just because he was a drifter for the longest time, but rooms enough can feel claustrophobic; don’t make it worse. He just won’t wanna come back around.

Being Combative: He wants a long time relationship, not a sparring partner. Starting arguments, getting physical with pushing, they’re not what he wants.

65. Are they willing to try things they’re indifferent to if it’s something their partner wants to try?

Crow: They have a lot of hard limits, but is also willing to try when properly eased into things. As long as those hard limits aren’t being asked, they’d be OK.

Arsenic: Very few hard limits. The kinkier the better. He’s a pleasure seeker who also aims to please.

Ripper: It’s very dependent on what’s being asked. He’s a bit set in his ways, but can be swayed if enticed enough.

66. Do they have a “type” when it comes to sexual partners?

Crow: They’ll refuse to admit that they’re attracted to people that take command in relationships. Arsenic caught their attention because of how open he was/is about who he is. Because he takes charge in situations. They had a crush on Ripper because he took the lead in basically everything. Everyone in the past as well either took charge or led in situations (even if the past relationships wound up being shitty for the same reason). It does also appear that they have a physical type as well; tall, lean build, dark haired, brown eyed mainly.

Arsenic: When it comes down to it, he really doesn’t. He would take opportunity as he saw fit and that was that.

Ripper: Physical looks, no. He just tends to lean towards people who are shorter than him. He likes being able to rest his head on their shoulders (or top of head if they’re particularly short). Personality? Absolutely. He tends to lean towards people who can simultaneously keep a reign on his personality, but also compliment it. His partners tend to be a bit more reserved, but also not afraid to be who they are.

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Meus principais posts em 2022:

#5

Okay but the Selena Gomez's documentary My Mind & Me was so fuckin raw and honest and painful and relatable even though she is completely different from me and I wanna give her a hug and I want to give everyone that relate to that a hug

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#4

Is this Genya??? We are going to see Darkling torturing her????

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#3

And when Kaz Brekker said I would have come for you. And if I couldn't walk, I'd crawl to you and when Hozier said No grave can hold my body down I'll crawl home to her...

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#2

Family picture 📸🖤

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Meu post nº 1 de 2022

Goblin mode is the word of the year I absolutely love learning language

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Veja a sua Retrospectiva 2022 →

so for short stories, pick any that strike your fancy:

1. dont leave

8. sunbathing

15. trembling hands

20. alone, finally

35. filthy

38. soak

43. undone

Have fun! 😁

HEYOOOOOOOOOO sorry for the delay friendo!! You gave me a whole bunch of ideas and I couldn't settle until just now, so here goes! Thanks for spoiling me with the ask ^_^ ^_^ hope you're having a fabulous day!! #1 for you! Context, in case it's needed: Set during Awakening, when Zevran departs the Keep to handle the pesky Crow threat. About as jolly as it sounds.

Zevran forces his leaden arm to heft his pack off the ground and place it in the carriage. When he turns back, Rhodri’s bent knees carefully insinuate themselves between his. Hard arms snake around him to guide him to her neck and the smell of salt and sundried linen– and of him now, too, he notes with a bitter smile.

“Dulcis,” she rasps. “Mi Zevran, it's not safe. I’m begging you. Please, please, don’t do this. Or– or take me with you.”

With a gentle shake of his head, he licks the salt off his lips and kisses her cheekbone. “Do you forgive me?”

“There’s nothing to forgive, but–”

“Good.” He summons a decisive chuckle that makes him gag a little. “I shall hold you to that when I get back.”

Zevran leans back and wipes his thumbs under Rhodri’s eyes, and then again as fresh rivulets spite his efforts.

"May I…" he clears his throat before it closes off altogether. "May I ask for a kiss before I, ah… J-just one kiss?"

She surges forward and seals their mouths together, more devouring him than kissing him. Zevran indulges them both until air hunger buckles his knees. They part with her still clinging to him, trembling violently enough to make his teeth chatter.

"Rhodri. Rhodri." He reaches around and eases her fingers off him. "I must. Forgive me, I must." 

She gapes at him with pouring eyes, coughing out uneven, gut-punch breaths. 

The clever part of him doesn't wait for another round of pleas, and he’s not sure the stupid part could deny her– or him– again. He gives her hands one last, firm squeeze and lets his nerves carry him into the carriage with the Warden escorts.

Spidery fingers reach out and clench white-hard on the doorframe. 

“Please,” she chokes. “Noplease–”

“Amore.” He brushes a numb finger over hers quick enough that she can’t snare it in passing. “Please let go.”

She wears his shame on her face as she pulls her hands back and holds them palm-up to him.

Zevran tenses his body to just shy of quivering and considers himself sufficiently steeled. He nods to the coachwoman. 

.

Rhodri feels grief's cold, familiar prelude bleed the gumption out of her when the horses start to haul him away. From her periphery her children and peers pass her by in hops and sprints, shining like vapours in the early morning haze. They smile and skylark with the joy of the knowing dead, waving to her as they flock around the carriage and dance it out of sight.

Dreaming of Chickens: Decoding Meanings and Lucky Numbers with Typhu88

Dreaming of chickens is a common experience for many lottery players and dream interpreters. This dream not only carries its unique significance but also correlates with various numbers. To gain a deeper understanding of the appearance of this animal in dreams, let's delve into the detailed interpretation provided by Typhu88 in the following article.

What Does Dreaming of Chickens Mean?

The image of a chicken appearing in dreams is not uncommon. According to dream interpretation experts, the meaning of dreaming about chickens may vary. Therefore, understanding the precise meaning requires consideration of the specific context of each dream. Whether it's a positive or negative omen, the dream about this bird can convey various messages.

Interpreting Dreams of Chickens

Specific cases of dreaming about chickens and their accurate meanings are as follows:

Dreaming of Hens Laying Eggs in the Nest: According to dream dictionaries, hens laying eggs is considered a good omen, signaling positive news related to finances. Those facing economic difficulties may soon secure stable employment and income. Outstanding debts from the past may also be settled with the appearance of a significant sum of money.

Dreaming of Fighting Roosters: Witnessing fighting roosters in a dream may indicate unfavorable situations within the family. Conflicts and misunderstandings among family members create a tense atmosphere. Therefore, spending more time together, communicating openly, and resolving issues are crucial to ease the tension.

Dreaming of Mother Hen Leading Chicks to Find Food: If a dream involves a mother hen leading its chicks to find food, it could be a negative sign related to work. Work-related stress may disrupt life, leaving little time for family and friends. Additionally, new competitors in the workplace may affect relationships with superiors, eroding trust.

Dreaming of Eating Chicken Meat: Dreaming of consuming chicken meat is considered auspicious, suggesting upcoming gatherings and invitations for meals. These social events contribute to a more relaxed state of mind and offer opportunities to connect with new acquaintances.

Dreaming of Cutting a Chicken's Neck: Among various chicken dreams, cutting a chicken's neck may be a warning of potential traffic accidents due to carelessness. To avoid unfortunate incidents, cautious driving, avoiding high speeds, and maintaining alertness are essential.

Dreaming of Plucking Chicken Feathers: Plucking chicken feathers in a dream is regarded as a positive sign. Recent challenges and difficulties will be successfully resolved, allowing long-delayed plans and aspirations to progress as intended.

Lucky Numbers Associated with Dreaming of Chickens

For lottery enthusiasts, here are some recommended number combinations associated with specific chicken dreams:

Dream of Hens Laying Eggs: Bet on 43 – 90 the following day.

Dream of Roosters Crowing: Place bets on 11 – 57 the next day.

Dream of Mother Hen Leading Chicks to Find Food: Consider betting on 28 – 36 on the following day.

Dream of Eating Chicken Meat: Bet on 18 – 04 the next day.

Dream of Cutting a Chicken's Neck: Consider betting on 55 – 84 on the following day.

Dream of Plucking Chicken Feathers: Consider betting on 60 – 79 on the following day.

These numbers are suggested based on the interpretations of specific chicken dreams. Lottery players may find them intriguing and choose their preferred numbers accordingly.

Conclusion

This article has revealed insights for lottery players regarding dreaming of chickens. It is hoped that dream interpreters and players have understood the meanings of each dream and selected the most favorable betting numbers. Stay tuned for more useful dream interpretations in the upcoming articles under the "Dream What, Bet What" section!

Readmore: Mơ Thấy Gà

The Grishaverse Ship Survey Results

So! After all of that, we finally have the results! What is the general opinion on the ships in the Grishaverse? Well, that’s for you to read below! It’s actually pretty interesting and, while some parts make sense, there were definitely some parts which... surprised me... Anyway, onto the results!

Everything in this post can be split into:

The Grisha Trilogy

Six Of Crows Duology

The Nikolai Series

Shadow and Bone: TV Series

Most Enjoyed Ships

Least Enjoyed Ships

Crack Ships and Shipping Discourse

Notes from the Survey 

(note from mod emily: i tried to bold all of fritz’ comments, but i might have missed a few! be aware there are two of us analysing here :))

The Grisha Trilogy

The first book series we asked about was, of course, the first chronologically: the Grisha Trilogy. The most popular ship, with 83% voters for this series selecting this, was Genya/David (Fritz was glad to hear that; Yes I am). This is likely due to the lack of alternate romantic interests in the series, which seems to be a major issue for Alina’s ships. It also seems to be one genuinely enjoyed by most fans, in contrast to Darkling/Alina and Mal/Alina (each around 30%) and Nikolai/Alina (just under 20%), for which I have definitely seen plenty of debate. The second and third most popular ships for this series were Tamar/Nadia (55%) and Nikolai/Zoya (47%). Interestingly, Genya/Alina (43%) and Zoya/Alina (30%) ranked surprisingly high, especially considering how few of my friends and associates I hear talking about them. Good for them!

Honourable mentions:

Alina/Sun (no doubt inspired by that crack fic I wrote a while back) (Still havent read that out of fear)

Alina alone (a common concept among those surveyed, though most mentioned it later)

Zoya/Genya or Alina/Zoya/Genya

Six Of Crows Duology

This series was a little less divided, I would say. Predictably, Kaz/Inej came out on top with a whopping 96% of voters (:relieved:), with Wylan/Jesper next (90%) and Nina/Matthias just after (83%). None of the others really came close, despite Nina/Inej gathering 35% of the votes and Colm/Aditi at 25% (yeah, I’m not sure why that was so popular on AO3 either, but nobody really has objections so I assume that’s why it amassed so many votes). As Six of Crows is decidedly less divisive about ships and doesn’t have such controversial ships (more on that later), it seems the fandom agrees with canon pairings and the votes are... pretty unanimous.

Honourable Mentions:

Jesper/Wylan/Kuwei

Polycrows (platonic or romantic)

Kaz/Inej/Nina

Whoever didn’t read the instruction about this being for only the book series and put Jesper/Milo. I will never escape. 

The Nikolai Series

This one is a little harder for me because I actually haven’t read this... so over to Fritz for analysis! But first, the stats. At 85%, the most popular ship is Genya/David, followed by Zoya/Nikolai at 77%. Tamar/Nadia and Nina/Hanne draw at 61.5% and Nina/Matthias has 56% voters onboard. There’s no real honourable mentions for this one, sadly. Hello Fritz here! Read the books and very glad to see Genya/David as the top ship as it damn well should. Although still a bit surprising since its more of a side-arc of the two and only ties in with the importance of the story at a specific chapter that I feel like I don’t need to elaborate about, if you read Rule of Wolves. (I believe the popularity of the ship also sky-rocketed due to ROW) Following of course Zoya/Nikolai, the high ranking makes sense, it is the main ship and lets be honest they deserve it <3

I think the only really surprising thing about this is the high votes for Nina/Matthias since [SPOILERS CROOKED KINGDOM] he’s dead so I feel like people should move on from that. Nina/“Hanne” having not as high a ranking as I would’ve thought, but with Matthias still being in the frame I guess we shouldn’t be surprised either.

Shadow and Bone: TV Series

This one is really interesting, with the exclusive show watchers now taking part! We have 89% voting for Kaz/Inej, 76% for David/Genya, 71% for Matthias/Nina, 67% for Ivan/Fedyor (that’s a thing???-->Yeah they had a few somewhat sweet interactions in the background-->nvm i watched it you’re right fritz) and 62% for Mal/Alina. What’s really surprising is how high Malina is compared to Darklina, with Darkling/Alina at 36%. Who knows, maybe Fritz’ analysis can shed some light on this?

Yes yes Fritz to the rescue: First of all we have to see their interactions a little different from what we already knew of them by the end of episode 8. I still think it is a surprising number, since the Darkling in the show isn’t as nasty as he was in the books BUT over all his actions are now seen on TV. We all thought the deer antlers were a necklace amirite? Well no apparently not, the darkling used the worst kind of small science to fit Alinas collarbone to the bone and out comes a gruesome sight: a reason why many people might have started thinking: Wow what a disgusting person he is. And on the Malina “ship”: Mal finally has personality!! jkjk :eyes: Mals and Alinas friendship has been portrayed way better in the show and I believe that the people noticed more chemistry between them especially by the end of season 1. So I’m still a little surprised Darklina has such a low ranking (what with him being all sweet and cuddly in the middle of the show) but it makes sense and the Malina ship as well. Their vibes are just *chefs kiss* and thats coming from someone who didnt even like any of these “ships” <3

Loving the quotation marks for the word ‘ships’, Fritz. Over to the honourable mentions!

Honourable Mentions:

Jesper and Milo (isn’t milo a goat? guys, why?)

Nadia/Marie (huh that didn’t appear anywhere else)

One person had several - Kaz/Inej/Jesper, Dubrov/Mikhael, Dubrov/Mikhael/Mal - and yeah, you can really see the show differences in these mentions right? (whose dubrov...and whose mikhael...)

16% actually voted for Inej/Alina which is wild to me because of book context (they did have chemistry in the show tho :cowboi_smirk:)

Another person with several! We have Nina/Inej, Genya/Alina, Zoya/Alina, Zoya/Genya/Alina. Very sapphic. Good for you.

Kaz/Jesper and Nina/Inej all in one

That’s a lot of honour and mentions but it’s so interesting to me and I think you should see too

Most Enjoyed Ships

The most enjoyed ship was Kaz/Inej. This had unparalleled support, being at 35%. Jesper/Wylan, which was next on the list (23.5%) and Nina/Matthias (18%) were also pretty popular. Most of the others were quite low, though interestingly Mal/Alina only had 1 vote (plus one for the show version). Overall, the SoC ships were a lot more popular in this section, which makes sense - this part is really about your favourite ship, and those were more unanimous in the last sections.

Least Enjoyed Ships

Most people said Darkling/Alina, which got 47% of the NOTP votes. A lot more people disliked Darkling/Alina than liked Kaz/Inej. Make of that what you will, but I take it as a somewhat general agreement among many of you guys. Mal/Alina was also strongly disliked at 22%, but around a half or more of these were clarified to be about the book version of the ship specifically. They really must’ve upgraded in the show! Jesper/Kuwei and any other Darkling ships were also voted by a few, but all of these pale in comparison to the anti-Darklina votes. Shoutout to the person who said Apparat/Anyone. I agree, though it’s not something I thought of before seeing this response. Also one person said they didn’t like the poly ships, which I hope meant just the ones mentioned earlier and not all poly relationships in general... Another shoutout to whoever said Kaz/Heleen, because why did I have to read that. A fun question, all in all!

Crack Ships and Shipping Discourse

I love talking about crack ships, so let’s start with that! This time, I really don’t want to have to count and list because... well, let me show you:

I think that sums up the sheer variety, to be honest. Then again, it would be rude not to mention that the most popular were Jesper/Milo, Darkling/Nikolai and Alina/Sun. (If you’re still confused about that last one, I take full responsibility.)

YES KAZ/KRUGE I SUPPORT!!!

Honourable mention to this:

which was a lot to take in, and:

Now for the discourse. Yep, the part you probably came for. 

Actually... maybe you didn’t? Looking at all of these responses, I see a lot of people genuinely don’t care about ship wars and so on, and often enjoyed the books regardless of the romances involved. Quite a few disapproved of the ongoing (though small) wars between Darklina and Malina, and others had a similar line of thinking, saying we should maybe stop focusing so much on it. You guys are right. I know this is a ship survey, and the conclusions should not include that shipping isn’t as important as we make it (Yes it should), but... that’s where it’s at.

And then again, a lot of you guys expressed disapproval for Darkling/Alina, discussing how it is often one-sided and manipulative and overall unhealthy, so I could be completely off with that last one. Some people mentioned that they ship this but as a slightly different version that the one given to us, recognising the flaws of the canon ship.

Someone said they headcanon Tolya as aroace (OMG YES!!). We need more aroace characters, so thank you for that headcanon :) We also have a few gay ships mentioned here, and one person telling us they love Malina. Yes, you’re right - it’s pretty unpopular, it turns out. Someone else said Alina should’ve been single, and I agree, actually!

One person rickrolled me here. Thankfully, Youtube’s ads saved me. *wipes forehead*

I leave you all with this, in the end:

Notes from the Survey

Statistics Stuff:

The top ships were taken from AO3, so some ships may be more focused on in other books and may not provide accurate statistics for an earlier series.

The main circles this was sent around may have had bias as most people are from the same discord server, which has debated these topics in the past. Hence certain ships may have lower-than-average results. In future, this could be improved upon by sending this to other servers and areas of the fandom.

Personal bias may be present in the analysis, though I have tried to minimise this in the more formal sections.

Observations and Notes from Me:

You guys really don’t like Darklina. Or you love it. Usually one or the other. Wow.

Be glad I didn’t talk about any of the cursed ships in this. The things I have seen... (:cowboi_eyes:)

I thought more people would rickroll me, ngl.

What Surprised You Guys:

Kaz/Inej/Jesper

A few of you guys saw some of those cursed ships, and that surprised you. Well, me too!

Nikolai ships being in the TV Show section at all, what with his character not being in the show (yeah what was up with that huh tztz)

Inej/Alina

The existence of The Severed Moon

Darkling/Nikolai(/Alina)

How fun the quiz was :D

Things You Sent Me:

Bee Movie copypasta

“Nobody expects The Spanish Inquisition!”, except via an AO3 link

A fun fact about enzymes! I liked this one

Fic recs for Feriku and Sarai (esp for Wylan/Jesper shippers)

Another rickroll

Nice compliments :) aww you guys

I asked everyone for some kind of placeholder name and never used it. Sorry! But hey, anonymity, right?

Closing Statements

If you got this far (I feel like ive been sitting here for hours), thanks for reading! This was fun to do and I hope you enjoyed all of this too! The survey is still open for anyone who hasn’t done it but wants to. If I get a huge amount of new responses, I might update this post! But for now, adios!

-mod emily (and mod fritz)

I posted 2,668 times in 2021

72 posts created (3%)

2596 posts reblogged (97%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 36.1 posts.

I added 674 tags in 2021

#shadow and bone - 207 posts

#six of crows - 96 posts

#ben barnes - 86 posts

#alina starkov - 46 posts

#inej ghafa - 43 posts

#nancy drew - 43 posts

#911 fox - 40 posts

#grishaverse - 38 posts

#harry styles - 38 posts

#nancy drew cw - 37 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#actual context spoilers after this so don’t open the tags if you don’t want to see that but i feel like it’s important given how everyone’s

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

My favorite thing is that Ben Barnes has played a lot of villains/antagonists in shows/movies and he plays them really good to the point that people genuinely think he’s probably not the nicest actor, but then you realize he’s an actual Ray of human sunshine that’s so funny, dedicated, friendly and kind

88 notes • Posted 2021-05-31 20:14:42 GMT

#4

Ben Barnes playing characters in vague medieval time periods is everything to me

111 notes • Posted 2021-05-21 09:14:22 GMT

#3

Is it bad I’m still upset that The Society got canceled after being renewed? I feel like knowing they have a plan for 5 seasons and had the second season already fully written and they were originally supposed to start filming like two/three weeks after the show was canceled makes it worse. I think it also doesn’t help that the show was left with sooooo many cliffhangers that you can’t watch and just be satisfied with the ending.

136 notes • Posted 2021-05-31 08:53:05 GMT

#2

I think the funniest thing about the season finale of Nancy Drew is that Nancy convinced her dad that her other dad needs a dad so her dad is now her dad’s dad which makes her dad her grandad

217 notes • Posted 2021-06-04 03:53:47 GMT

#1

Liam and Zayn when they go to see Eternals and Harry shows up in the after credit scene:

235 notes • Posted 2021-10-19 07:55:53 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

how many wips do you have? like what are they all, and not the number of wips in a fandom? what are all the names?

okay. fuck you. fuck you so much. fuck you.

i’m putting this under a read more cut no one else deserves to see this shit. a lot of these are requests, and for those i will just write out the request itself

Shadowhunters:

domestic polycule fluff with tem, jessa, and will because im not a coward

Supernatural

- hehe hoho i request destiel hehehe

- request 61/? cai cai cai cai i need you to rewrite the destiel scene but yk. GOOD. not like i'm in the know about the spn fandom or anything, it's been years for me. but DO IT

Bright Sessions

- caleb/adam grisha AU

- mark bryant vs. united states aka sue the AM

- caleb/adam college fluff

Umbrella Acaademy

- request 31/? i want a ben and klaus drabble please spare me some brotherly bickering

- AND SO BEGINS NIGHT 4 with request 13/? oooh oooh can i get a raymond and allison playlist??? i think their vibes together would SLAP

- hi there night 2 is technically morning 3 but who's counting not me anyway request 5/? can i get a ben moodboard? gotta rep my tua bb

Percy Jackson

- request 9/? can i get a percabeth moodboard or quote edit?? like god they're the og couple goals take me back to high school cai

- For the 100 follower things :D Jercy getting caught in the rain

- request 29/? a drabble about literally anything to do with pjo. i’ll be happy with anyone and anything i’m love these children

- *somersaults in like I’m a real fancy acrobat* hello ello ello may I request some camp half blood chaos possible involving *does a flip* ✨side characters✨ <3

Penumbra Podcast 

- request 52/? drabble about the penumbra podcast. this is for ren bc ren likes it and i don't actually know anything about it. juno? i think? that's the one ren likes. write it for ren

- Tpp ghost hunting / buzzfeed unsolved au

- sad juno smut

- final resting place fic go brrrr

Marvel

- request 6/? i'm going to my roots y'all can i get a spider-man playlist? if not a playlist then i'd honestly be happy with literally anything involving spider-man

- request 15/? i'm going crazy this is recorded evidence of me actually losing it ANYWAY can i get a quote edit for something from iron man? literally anything that man says is gold so cai's choice :D he deserved better in endgame i'm still bitter

- request 42/? do another spidey thing that differs from the other spidey thing

- request 73/? you have Opinions. rant about infinity way and/or endgame. go.

- request 74/? quote edit for deadpool!!

- spideytorch relationship character study

- peter parker as a tired grad student monitoring the young avengers (send help)

Six of Crows

- okay listen i wasn't going to request anything bc i worry about you but also? if you want to/have the time hit me with a playlist for our girl nina zenik

- request 43/? fuckin give me the ending anya should have had. she is alive and with her new son and having a great time

- request 45/? inej moodboard?

- request 47/? will you make literally any meme of your choosing for six of crows?

- request 48/? write a drabble for kaz, my favorite bastard

- okay so i don't actually like nina or mattias that much but i still wanna hear about your thoughts (and also see if you'll change my mind)

- kaz brekker turning 18 fic. birthday party, everyone singing, whole shebang. i need it stat

- religious trauma fic aka i started shipping kaz/alina/inej and i can’t stop

- kaz trauma soup (he has D.I.D. and you can’t prove me wrong)

- my two redacted fics for @grishaversebigbang​

- wesper fake dating

- six of crows bright sessions crossover: everyone gets therapy

TMA

- uhh... s1 gang having a nice time? melanie getting to have some Pride™️? some "fun" horror thing?

- request 7/? spare steph and jason bonding? please sir? spare some for a humble child such as myself?

- okay so this was meant for night 3 but i had midterm shit SO this is honorary night 3 let's DO THIS request 8/? i want a moodboard of extremely out of context magnus archives shit like i mean confuse the FUCK out of me i don't go here i know Nothing about it

- request 11/? OKAY so i need tim stoker meeting tim drake now i need my timmy to meet your tim plus i want to see character differences no i'm not trying to create a tim stoker in my head so i can read a's fic while NOT thinking of tim drake whaaaaaat you're crazy

- request 18(i think)/? i need a quote edit of every time within the first like. 15 eps of tam where jon is like “sounds fake but go off” thank u bb

- request 40/? i challenge you to write a tma drabble based only on the episodes i've heard. i'm currently halfway through episode 23

- Jon being lovingly bullied into taking a break. I'm aware this has been written a million times but it is one of my favorite things.

- spiral!sasha AU

- extinction martin go brrrrr

- high school era timsasha. they've both been friends for years, and everyone always asks when they will be a couple. they decide to fake date, to prove everyone wrong and show what a bad couple they would be. turns out that's a bit trickier than they thought

- after sasha comes back, tim is broken. he can't let go, scared that if he looks away for even a minute he'll lose her again. sasha suggests shibari as a way for him to give up control

- sasha pov mag 19 au, sacrificing herself to save the others, knows that if she gives herself up to the not!them it will let the others live

- this is the "tim finds a polaroid of sasha" trope

- early archives days,, long nights in research,,, clothes sharing,, somft. late nights and falling asleep at their desks warm and safe in the other's presence

- two parts: timsasha as kids, each picking a constellation that is "theirs". just soft kid antics. tim at sasha's grave glancing up to see their constellations

- continuing your job’s a joke (you’re broke)

DC Comics

- TIMSTEPH HADESTOWN AU,,,

- my redacted fic for @batfam-big-bang​

- request for you to get a decent amount of sleep? serious answer, dickkori, SAL's Venus

- request 4/? timsteph morning after 👀 mayhaps?

- a concept: nonbinary stephanie brown

- teehee hi mom, you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to, but can i request damian angst for your accomplishments 100 followers?

- hi you can ignore my first request if you want, or you can ignore this one. but bls possibly write some bikini ra’s? -the bikini bitch

- request 27/? jay is asking through me for a jondami playlist but tbh i also want it so win win yk?

- "I don't know how to help you but I can help you find someone who does" with bruce and jason? im just craving bruce being a good day to jason for once

- “I am putting you in time out because you need to understand the consequences of your actions.” with steph and jason as dumbass disaster bi best friends pretty please?

- request 32/? timsteph patrol date!!!

- request 33/? timsteph *gala* date? mayhaps??

- request 37/? tim drake drabble but make it Edgy cai

- request 39/? drabble of a prank war between tim and damian

- joyfire cuddly fluff please? or like just any outlaw fluff if joyfire isnt your thing (feel free to add every member of the outlaws, dont feel like u gotta stick with jason, kori, roy i love them all)

- barbara and robin! jason fluff? bonding over books or something?

- request 62/? i need a drabble about the chaotic trio jason, tim, and steph i'm love them ty

- request 63/? batfam x mcu crossover. batfam meets ironfam. give me ALL the cliches. ALL OF THEM

- request 64/? young justice x young avengers - jay cuz idk SHIT about the young avengers

- request 66/? jondami moodboard pls and ty

- request 67/? timsteph moodboard!!!!!!

- request 69/? HEHEHE kinky 😏 i would v much like a timsteph drabble of the almost first time. does that make sense? like i don't want you to go all the way NSFW cuz i know that's against the rules and i'm a rule follower. but like they *almost* go all the way. this could be fade to black or some shit i don't care just make it a lil steamy and have Fun

- i request damian angst! all of it

- hmm... maybe i request? jondami?

- mayhaps,,,,some batfam,,,,,committing crimes? ily be gay do crime <3 - lu

- How about a ficlet with Steph and Cass?

Found Family Bingo Prompts

- no powers au

- tunnel

- first day

- join the club

- hurt/comfort

- experiment

- playing favorites

- hold on

- possession

- 10 o’clock

- singing

- road

- snitch

- curfew

- timer

- fantasy au

- zombie au

- dreams

- campfire

- are you okay

- movie night

- games

- scared

Miscellaneous

- a request: Write A Drabble, Coward

- is it too late to request a moodboard for me?

- request 20/? i’m going off book because i’m in a Chaotic Mood™️ can you just absolutely vibe check me like go off cai demolish me

- request 21/? i formally request that you pick a favorite cai. i don’t care what that favorite pertains to, just pick a favorite something

- request 23/? roast me

- request 24/? can i have a buzzfeed unsolved spoopy playlist but spoiler alert it’s not spoopy bc shane doesn’t believe does this make sense it has been a Day™️

- request 25/50 i want a jake and amy fic make it Soft cai i’m love them b99 is so good

- request 28/? i know nothing about the lord of the rings so make something that will confuse the shit out of me

- request 34/? malvie and jaylos moodboards 😈

- request 35/? a moodboard for the bbb mods!! perceive all of us!!!

- request 36/? moodboard for the tua mods too???? mayhaps??

- request 41/? doctor WHO? idk but i want a drabble of him and the one character i know from doctor who which is rose

- request 46/? make an alignment meme with our group, have fun!!!

- request 49/? i want you to kin assign me a character from every fandom you can/want to. go feral

- request 50!!!!/? this is a special request. the most special request. can you make a bastards tbh playlist? i want our vibes encapsulated. i want us in music form. i want to hear those songs and be like "that's me and cai" and smile.

- requests 51/? i know jack shit about good omens. explain it to me in the most confusing way possible. make me know less by the end than i know now

- request 53/? can you write a mel aesthetic? i'm Curious

- request 54/? give me a list of book recs cai i want some good book recs pls

- request 56/? edit a picture of US together too

- request 58/? oooh can i have a disney edit? like. hm. i just really love disney and i want anything to do with disney. like a quote or an aesthetic or an aesthetic edit i just want disney.

- request 59/? i would v much like a recipe for carbonara. i've never had it but it sounds fucking delicious

- request 60/? ooh hey can i get a makeup tutorial? i know you like makeup, i'm shit at doing makeup. teach me

- request 65/? i need the most emo playlist you can make that vibes with dear evan hansen thank you

- request 68/? i want a superwholock moodboard. this can be serious, with the actual fandoms in mind, or literally what the era felt like. the insanity. the horror.

- request 70/? ooh ooh ooh do you have a good bread recipe?? i wanna get that bread

- request 71/? i want a playlist with the vibes of summoning a demon. please don't ask questions. i don't have answers. and if i do, no i don't.

- For the requests, how about writing something based on a friend?

- request 75/? MMMM i want literally anything to do with natasha, pierre, and the great comet of 1812

- request 76/? i want some healthy recipes. help a girl out

- a feral bbb quote or two?

- you perceive my plant but now I dare thee to perceive mine own visage

- okay this is a two for one request. 1. you did the bee movie script so now we need a shrek two script edit 2. sleep please

- Pansexual mb for my lil queer soul?

- my (probably) final request is just for you to ramble about something, i don't really care what

- HI ILY CONGRATS AS WELL CAUSE IM LATE BUT CONGRATS. could i request a pirates of the caribbean (or just pirates) or whatever you what to do, free range.

- mood board for the beluga whales who got brought to the animal sanctuary in Iceland please?

- 100 follower request: Moodboard for my stuffed cow Oaky?

ooh 5, 9, 43 maybe??

5. What are your fanfic pet peeves? Do they have a huge effect on whether or not you decide to read something?

I can’t read things that are improperly formatted. If something isn’t spaced correctly or is an utter block of text, my brain just shuts off. It could be the most innovative, well-written work to have every spilled from human hands, but the inside of my head would just be angry and afraid and flip the “off” switch. Said brain just expects a pattern, and when that pattern is broken? I can’t do it.

I’m also not huge on most AUs. I’m what a lot of people would have called in the olden days a “canon elitist.” I’m all for flubbing things if you can make it make sense in the context of the original material, but I’m always wary of AUs. I blame the fact I was very heavily into the Elder Scrolls fandom when Mog Mod was popular and everyone’s Dunmer was a goth boy in leather chaps.

That said, not all AUs are made equal. Some people know how to write in-character and compelling content. Sometimes I’m guilty of it myself (I say, while gesturing violently to HRV). I’m just very, very leery of them.

9. Tag 3 fic writers you think are underrated/unknown in the fandom/fanfiction community.

The fics I have in mind that are unknown are fics that are literally lost. I think it’s kind of interesting to have Secret Knowledge of Hidden Fics, so I’m gonna share those instead.

- There was an illustrated(?) fic that was lost when the PlanetElderScrolls forum was destroyed, which was a screenshot-with-story fic written by a guy named Captain Jordan. About... Captain Jordan. He was a ship-sailing pirate who hung out in the Sea of Ghosts in Morrowind with a rag-tag group of non-lore compliant friends and kept ending up in weirder and weirder predicaments. Glitches that happened in-game were treated as “canon” to his adventure, and included a whale that jumped so high out of the water that it flew away, a Nord named Cjad who repeatedly died from falling from the crow’s nest, and his Khajiit and Bosmer companions getting into a raging fist-fight while a castle burned around them. It was... not lore compliant, but it was fucking hilarious because the author had one of the best senses of humor I’ve seen in writing.

- A New Vegas crack fic I found on the Fallout Kink Meme back in the day. It was about Vulpes Inculta infiltrating a slumber party with all of the most famous females of the Mojave, while dressed in a bad wig and pajamas. Throughout the whole thing, he was kept perfectly in-character, and so while all of these women are talking about their crushes and painting their nails, he is trying to piece together sensitive information from their conversations. It ends with him becoming convinced they’re oracles because they’re using a paper fortune teller to “see the future,” and he covertly informs Caesar that they’ve predicted he will do “naked Twister with the whore, Santiago.”

- My holy grail that I hope to find again someday: The Vulpes/Deacon fic. It wasn’t a ship fic, but was basically a redemption arc for Vulpes Inculta. I remember he joined a caravan after the Legion was destroyed at the insistence of Courier Six, and marched eastward until he wound up in the Commonwealth. Once there, he’d already realized how misguided he was, and while stopping at... that one settlement that hates synths? He finds a tape for “Join the Railroad” in a trashcan, and is inspired to actually seek them out. The rest of the fic is Vulpes trying to atone for his life as a tyrant and slaver by liberating synths and fighting the Institute (who he considered a second coming of the Legion). He becomes friends with Deacon, and hilarity ensues as... they’re both expert spies but have vastly different personalities and approaches. It was very good and I would pay money to have it back again, but it seems like whoever wrote it wiped it clean from the internet.. and it was unknown enough that I’ve yet to even find somebody who also read it.

43. Talk about a positive experience with fanfiction or the fanfiction community that you will always remember.

As much as I roll my eyes at the “goth boy Morrowind” time of the fandom back in the late 2000s, the Elder Scrolls fandom was actually very encouraging. I was a sixteen year old surrounded by grown adults in the forum I frequented, and I would write some of the worst, most cliche, garbage stuff known to man... and all of these adults would just applaud me and clap me on the back and congratulate me and tell me to keep going and chase that dream.

The same community that harbored all of these bizarre Mary-Sue Nerevarines and goth clubs in daedric shrines were some of the most affirming people I’ve been around. In their eyes, this was all for fun and personal enjoyment, so you can write and do whatever, so long as it didn’t hurt anyone and it made you happy. And if you wanted to put a Dremora in raver gear or dress up your Khajiit like he shopped at Hot Topic? Fine.

Those people are the entire reason I started taking writing seriously in the first place, and I adore them even over a decade later.

dig a little deeper

tysm @ahtropos for tagging me !!! <3

1. do you prefer writing with a black pen or a blue pen? black

2. would you prefer to live in the country or in the city? city as of rn

3. if you could learn a new skill, what would it be? god i mean i’d love to learn drums or bass or something??

4. do you drink your tea/coffee with sugar? i drink my tea w 2 sugars :) and i hate hot coffee lol

5. what was your favorite book as a child? depends on what time period, from like age 5-10 it was clarice bean (if u remember those books ur a real one) but then it became harry potter

6. do you prefer baths or showers? showers

7. if you could be a mythical creature, which one would you be? hmmmm can i be basic and say dragon ...

8. paper or electronic books? paper now come on now

9. what is your favorite item of clothing? i love a good big sweater

10. do you like your name? would you like to change it? i like it :)

11. who is a mentor to you? my parents

12. would you like to be famous? if so, what for? well i’m in film school rn so that’d be pretty nice ig

13. are you a restless sleeper? ehh i’m okay

14. do you consider yourself to be a romantic person? yeah ... unfortunately lol

15. which element best represents you? air or water

16. who do you want to be closer to? tumblr mutuals !!!! if y’all wanna be friends im always down😌

17. do you miss someone at the moment? my bf i haven’t been able to hold his hand in months bro

18. tell us about an early childhood memory. the earliest memory i have is going out after dinner to sit in the road and watch the sunset w my dad :)

19. what is the strangest thing you have eaten? when i was like 8 my friend made me eat a mixture she’d made of ketchup & mustard 😐 it was terrible

20. what are you most thankful for? the people in my life

21. do you like spicy food? mehh

22. have you ever met someone famous? no :/

23. do you keep a diary or journal? yeah :)

24. do you prefer to use pen or pencil? pen

25. what is your star sign? gemini

26. do you like your cereal crunchy or soggy? crunchy what

27. what would you want your legacy to be? love !!!!!

28. do you like reading? what was the last book you read? i do but i don’t read enough tbh. last book i finished was a feast for crows

29. how do you show someone you love them? i love giving out compliments but i think just attention is the best way to show love

30. do you like ice in your drinks? nooo it waters that shit DOWN bro

31. what are you afraid of? the future 😐

32. what is your favorite scent? my bf 🥺 also the sea i think

33. do you address older people by their name or surname? uhhh i mean it’s either/or depending on the context

34. if money was not a factor, how would you live your life? go to university like 12 times to learn everything i wanna learn & also travel the world between that lol :) and make a shit ton of films like whatever pops into my head

35. do you prefer swimming in pools or the ocean? pools i hate seaweed

36. what would you do if you found $50 in the ground? ...... pick it up ...... does that make me a bad person

37. have you ever seen a shooting star? did you make a wish? i don’t think i have

38. what is one thing you would want to teach your children? to love themselves & to be empathetic

39. if you had to have a tattoo, what would it be and where would you get it? i wanna get wings on my ankles for hermes :)

40. what can you hear now? my mom

41. where do you feel the safest? in my bedroom

42. what is one thing you want to overcome/conquer? self doubt

43. if you could travel back to any era, what would it be? oh boy um the 80s?? or the renaissance maybe

44. what is your most used emoji? 🥺 lol

45. describe yourself using one word. passionate?

46. what do you regret the most? not being kinder to myself & not leaving behind the people who weren’t kind to me

47. last movie you saw? oldboy ... shit was crazy

48. last tv show you watched? im in the middle of law and order rn

49. invent a word and its meaning. no❤️

i tag @rapanzel @wespers @nobodys @daviincis @jamespotthrs @skywaelker and anyone else who wants to :) (no worries if u have already/don’t want to !!)

ISLAM 101: The Basic Concepts of Islam: Part 5

The Concept of Morality

The concept of morality in Islam centers around certain basic beliefs and principles. Among these are the followings: (1) God is the Creator and Source of all goodness, truth, and beauty. (2) Man is a responsible, dignified, and honorable agent of his Creator. (3) God has put everything in the heavens and the earth in the service of mankind. (4) By His Mercy and Wisdom, God does not expect the impossible from man or hold him accountable for anything beyond his power. Nor does God forbid man to enjoy the good things of life. (5) Moderation, practicality, and balance are the guarantees of high integrity and sound morality. (6) All things are permissible in principle except what is singled out as forbidden, which must be avoided. (7) Mans ultimate responsibility is to God and his highest goal is the pleasure of his Creator. The dimensions of morality in Islam are numerous, far-reaching and comprehensive. The Islamic morals deal with the relationship between man and God, man and his fellow men, man and the other elements and creatures of the universe, man and his innermost self. The Muslim has to guard his external behavior and his manifest deeds, his words and his thoughts, his feelings and intentions. In a general sense, his role is to champion what is right and fight what is wrong, seek what is true and abandon what is false, cherish what is beautiful and wholesome and avoid what is indecent. Truth and virtue are his goals. Humbleness and simplicity, courtesy and compassion, are his second nature. To him, arrogance and vanity, harshness and indifference, are distasteful, offensive and displeasing to God. More specifically, the Muslims relationship with God is one of love and obedience, complete trust and thoughtfulness, peace and appreciation, steadfastness and active service. This high – level morality will, undoubtedly, nourish and reinforce morality at the human level. For in his relationship with his fellow men, the Muslim must show kindness to the kin and concern for the neighbor, respect for the elderly and compassion for the young, care for the sick and support for the needy, sympathy for the grieved and cheer for the depressed, joy with the blessed and patience with the misguided, tolerance toward the ignorant and forgiveness of the helpless, disapproval of the wrong and rise above the trivial. Moreover, he must respect the legitimate rights of others as much he does his own. His mind must be occupied with constructive ideas and serious pursuits; his heart must beat with compassionate feelings and goodwill; his soul must radiate with peace and serenity; his counsel must be sincere and courteous. The Muslims moral obligation is to be a vivid example of honesty and perfection, fulfill his commitments and perform his tasks well, seek knowledge and virtue by all possible means, correct his mistakes and repent his sins, develop a good sense of social consciousness and nourish a feeling of human response, provide for his dependents generously without extravagance and meet their legitimate needs. Nature and the world are the field of exploration and the object of enjoyment for the Muslim. He must utilize their elements and ponder their marvels, read them as signs of Gods greatness and preserve their beauty, explore their wonders and discover their secrets. But whether he uses them for utility or for sheer enjoyment, he must avoid waste and excess. As a responsible agent of God and a conscientious trustee, he must always be mindful of others who share the world with him and who will succeed him in the future. The moral principles of Islam are sometimes stated as positive commitments which must be fulfilled and sometimes as negative prescriptions which must be avoided. Whether they are stated positively or negatively, they are designed to build in the human being a sound mind, a peaceful soul, a strong personality, and a healthy body. There is no doubt that these are necessary requirements of the general welfare and prosperity of mankind. And to help man to satisfy these requirements Islam has, among other things, laid down the following regulations: 1. To bear witness to the Oneness of God and the Messengership of Muhammad in a meaningful committal way; 2. To observe the daily prayers regularly; 3. To pay the religious tax known as alms or the poor-due (zakah); 4. To keep the fast of the Holy Month of Ramadan; 5. To make a pilgrimage to the Holy City of Mecca at least once in his lifetime. The moral and social implications of these regulations will be discussed later in detail. Besides these positive measures, there are others which may be called preventive and precautionary ones. To protect man from insanity and degeneration, from weakness and indulgence, from indecency and temptation, Islam has prohibited certain things pertaining to food, drinking, recreation, and sex. Among these are the following: 1. All kinds of intoxicating wines, liquors, and spirits (Quran, 2:219; 4:43; 5:93-94); 2. The meat and products of swine (pork, bacon, ham, lard), of wild animals that use claws or teeth to kill their victims (tigers, wolves, leopards, etc.), of all birds of prey (hawks, vultures, crows, etc.), of rodents, reptiles, worms and the like, of dead animals and birds that are not slaughtered properly (Quran, 2:172-173; 5:4-6); 3. All forms of gambling and vain sports (Quran, 2:219; 5:93-94); 4. All sexual relations out of wedlock and all manners of talking, walking, looking and dressing in public that may instigate temptation, arouse desire, stir suspicion, or indicate immodesty and indecency (Quran 23:5-7; 24:30-33; 70:29-31). This Act of Prohibition is introduced by God for the spiritual and mental well-being of man as well as for the moral and material benefit of humanity. It is not an arbitrary action or a self-imposed intrusion from God. On the contrary, it is a sign of Gods interest in the welfare of humanity and an indication of His good care for man. When God prohibits certain things, it is not because He wants to deprive man of anything good or useful. It is because He means to protect man and allow him to develop a good sense of discrimination, a refined taste for the better things in life, and continued interest in higher moral values. To achieve this, good care must be taken of man’s spirit and mind, soul and body, conscience and sentiments, health and wealth, physique and morale. Prohibition, therefore, is not deprivation but enrichment, not suppression but discipline; not a limitation but expansion. To show that all prohibitions are acts of mercy and wisdom, two Islamic principles are worth mentioning in this connection. First, extraordinary circumstances, emergencies, necessities, and exigencies allow the Muslim to do what is normally forbidden. As long as these circumstances exist and to the extent that he cannot help the situation, he is not to blame if he fails to observe the moral rules of God (see Quran, 2:173; 5:4). Secondly, God has inscribed for Himself the rule of mercy: any who do evil out of ignorance, but thereafter repent and amend their conduct, will be forgiven; surely God is Merciful and Oft-forgiving (Quran, 6:54). In a remarkable, typical passage, the Quran has laid down the grounds and philosophy of sound moral conduct. The passage may be rendered as follows: O Children of Adam! Wear your beautiful apparel at every time and place of prayer; eat and drink, but waste not by excess, for God loves not the wasters. Say: Who has forbidden the beautiful gifts of God, which He has produced for His servants, and the things, clean and pure (which He has provided) for sustenance? Say: 'They are, in the life of this world, for those who believe, (and) purely for them on the Day of Judgement. thus do We explain the Signs in detail for those who understand, Say: The things that my Lord has indeed forbidden are: shameful deeds, whether open or secret, sins and trespasses against truth or reason; assigning of partners to God – and saying things about God of which you have no knowledge (Quran 7:31-33). The range of morality in Islam is so inclusive and integrative that it combines at once faith in God, religious rites, spiritual observances, social conduct, decision making, intellectual pursuits, habits of consumption, manners of speech, and all other aspects of human life. Because morality is such an integral part of Islam, the moral tone underlies all the passage of the Quran and the moral teachings are repeatedly stressed in various contexts throughout the Holy Book. This makes it difficult to devise any reasonably brief classification of these moral teachings according to their citations in the Quran. Every principle is mentioned many times in various contexts. It appears either as a single significant principle or as an element of a total system of morality, which itself is an element of a complete religious supersystem. In view of this, the following passages must be taken only as representative selections from the Quran, rendered and interpreted by human endeavors which, inevitably, fall short of the perfection of the original and complete version of the Book. Serve God, and join not any partners with Him; and do good; - to parents, kinsfolk, orphans, the needy ones, neighbors who are near, neighbors who are strangers, the companion by your side, the wayfarer (you meet), and what your right hands possess (captives, slaves, animals, birds, etc.): For God loves not the arrogant, the vainglorious; - (Nor) those who are niggardly or enjoin niggardliness on others, or hide the bounties which God has bestowed on them; for We have prepared for those who resist Faith a punishment that steeps them in contempt; (Nor) those who spend of their substance, (out of hypocrisy) just to be seen of men, but have no faith in God and the Last Day. If any take the Evil One for their intimate what a dreadful intimate he is! (4:36-38). Say (O Muhammad): Come, I will rehearse what God has (really) prohibited you from: join not anything as equal with Him; be good to your parents; kill not your children on a plea of want; for We provide sustenance for you and for them; And come not near to the orphans property, except to improve it, until he attains the age of full strength; give measure and weight with full justice; no burden do We place on any soul, but that which it can bear; and whenever you speak, speak justly, even if a near relative is concerned; and fulfill the Covenant of God. Thus does He Command you that you may remember. Verily, this is My Way, leading straight; follow it; follow not (other) paths: They will scatter you about from His Right path. Thus does He command you, that you may be righteous (6:151-153). God commands justice, the doing of good, and kindness to kith and kin, and He forbids all shameful deeds, and injustice and rebellion: He instructs you, that you may receive admonition. Fulfill the Covenant of God when you have entered into it, and break not your oaths after you have confirmed them; indeed you have made God your surety; for God knows all that you do . . . . Whoever works righteousness, man or woman, and has Faith, verily, to him will We give a new Life, a life that is good and pure, and We will bestow on such (workers) their reward according to the best of their actions (16: 90-91, 97). Invite (all) to the way of your Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching, and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious; for your Lord knows best, who have strayed from His Path, and who are truly guided (16:125). Who is better in speech than one who calls (others) to God, works righteousness, and says: I am one of those who bow in Islam. Nor can Goodness and Evil be equal. Repel (Evil) with what is best. Then the one between whom and you there was hatred will become as it were your friend and intimate! (41:33-34). Whatever is given to you (here) is (only) a convenience of this Life. But that which is with God is better and more lasting. (It is) For those who believe and put their trust in their Lord; those who avoid the greater crimes and shameful deeds, and when they are angry even then forgive; those who hearken to their Lord, and establish regular prayer; who (conduct) their affairs by mutual consultation; who spend out of what We bestow on them for sustenance; and those who, when an oppressive wrong is inflicted on them, (are not cowed but) help and defend themselves. The recompense for an injury is an injury equal to it (in degree), but if a person forgives and makes reconciliation, his reward is due from God, for God loves not those who do wrong. But indeed if any do help and defend themselves after a wrong (done) to them, against such (persons) there is no cause of blame. The blame is only against those who oppress men with wrongdoing and insolently transgress beyond bounds through the land, defying right and justice. For such (oppressors and transgressors) there will be a penalty grievous. But indeed if any show patience and forgive, that would truly be an exercise of courageous will and resolution in the conduct of affairs (42: 36-43). If any do wish for the transitory things (of this Life), We readily grant them such things as We will, to such persons as We will, but in the end, We have provided Hell for them where they will burn, disgraced and rejected. And those who do wish for the (things of) the Hereafter, and strive therefor with all due striving, and have Faith, - they are the ones whose striving is appreciable (by God.). Of the bounties of your Lord, We bestow freely on all these as well as those: the bounties of your Lord are not closed (to anyone). (17:18-20) Take not with God another object of worship: or you (man!) will sit in disgrace and destitution. Your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him and that you be kind to parents. Whether one or both of them attain old age in your life, say not to them a word of contempt, nor repel them, but address them in terms of honor. And out of kindness, lower to them the wing of humility, and say: My Lord! bestow on them Your mercy even as they cherished me in childhood. Your Lord knows best what is in your hearts. If you do deeds of righteousness, verily He is Most Forgiving to those who turn to Him again and again (in true penitence). After render to the kindred their due rights, as (also) to those in want, and to the wayfarer. But squander not (your wealth) in the manner of a spendthrift. Verily spendthrifts are brothers of the Evil Ones; and the Evil One is to his Lord ungrateful. And even if you have to turn away from them (the said people), in pursuit of the Mercy from your Lord which you do expect, yet speak to them words of easy kindness. Make not your hand tied (like a niggard) to your neck, nor stretch it forth to its utmost reach (like an irresponsible squanderer, if you choose either way), you will become blameworthy and destitute (respectively). Verily your Lord does provide sustenance in abundance for whom He pleases, and He provides in a just measure; for He does know and regard all His servants. Kill not your children for fear of want. We shall provide sustenance for them as well as for you, verily the killing of them is a great sin. Nor come near to adultery; for it is a shameful deed and an evil, opening the road (to other evils). Nor take life – which God has made sacred – except for just cause. And if anyone is slain wrongfully, We have given his heir authority (to demand equal punishment or to forgive). But let him not exceed bounds in the matter of taking a life; for he is helped (by the Law). Come not near to the orphan's property except to improve it, until he attains the age of full strength; and fulfill (every) engagement: for (every) engagement will be enquired into (on the Day of Reckoning). Give full measure when you measure and weigh with a balance that is straight. That is the most fitting and the most advantageous in the final determination. And pursue not that of which you have no knowledge (idle and useless curiosity); for every act of hearing, or of seeing or of (feeling in) the heart will be enquired into (on the Day of Reckoning). Nor walk on the earth with arrogance; for you cannot rend the earth asunder, nor reach the mountains in height. Of all such things, evil is hateful in the sight of your Lord. These are among the (precepts of) wisdom, which your Lord has revealed to you. Take note, with God, another object of worship, lest you should be thrown into Hell, blameworthy and rejected (17:22-39). We bestowed wisdom on Luqman: Show your gratitude to God. Anywho is grateful does so to the profit of his own soul. But if any is ungrateful, verily God is free of all needs, worthy of all praise ..And We have enjoined on man (to be good) to his parents. In travail upon travail did his mother bear him, and in years twain was his weaning. (hear the command), show gratitude to Me and to your parents. To Me is your final Goal. But if they strive to make you join in worship with Me things of which you have no knowledge (or do any wrong), obey them not; yet bear them company in this life with justice (and consideration), and follow the way of those who turn to Me (in love). In the end, the return of you all is to Me, and I will tell you the truth (and meaning) of all that you did O, my Son! (said Luqman): Establish regular prayer, enjoin what is just (and right) and forbid what is wrong; and bear with patient constancy whatever betide you; for this is firmness (of purpose) in (the conduct of) affairs. And swell not your cheek (for pride) at men, nor walk in insolence through the earth; for God loves not any arrogant boaster. And be moderate in your pace, and lower your voice; for the harshest of sounds, without doubt, is the braying of the ass (31:12-19) O you who believe! Intoxicants and gambling . . . are an abomination, of Satans handiwork. Avoid such (abomination), so that you may prosper. Satans plan is only to excite enmity and hatred between you, with intoxicants and gambling, and hinder you from the remembrance of God and from prayer. Will you not then abstain? (5:90-91). But seek, with that which God has bestowed on you, the Home of the Hereafter. Nor forget your portion in this world. But you do good, as God has been good to you, and seek not mischief in the land; for God Loves not the mischief makers (28:77). These selections can be supported by many others from the Quran and the Traditions of Muhammad. In themselves, they are sufficient to portray the fundamental morals of Islam. These Islamic morals are unique in their nature under all circumstances. They are introduced by God not simply to be admired occasionally but to be enforced and effective. They are meant to help the individual to develop his personality and cultivate his character in the most wholesome manner, to strengthen his bonds and consolidate his association with God, the Source of all Goodness. Never were the Islamic morals designed to intimidate the individual and make him passive or indifferent. One example will illustrate the point. If a Muslim is wronged or oppressed, he has the free choice either to resist and retaliate in an equal measure or to forgive and entrust God with the results of his deed. He knows that he is authorized to take either action, and he equally knows that it is better for him to forgive. So when he forgives, he does so with his own free choice for the love of God. Similarly, when he retaliates he is not violating the Law or acting unjustly; he is defending his rights, an attitude which is a sacred duty in itself, and is helping the rightful authorities to establish order and justice. If Islam were to demand absolute forgiveness as some other creeds do in theory, many undisciplined people would be tempted to do wrong and exceed all limits. Likewise, if Islam were to demand only retaliation, as some other creeds uthlessly teach, there would be no room for mercy and patience nor for spiritual reform and moral maturity, in which case many fine qualities of man would subside and many moral potentials may never be actualized. It is common knowledge that the people who are taught to forgive under all circumstances do not, and probably cannot, practice their teachings, because it is not the interest of humanity in the long run, nor is it in the interest of morality itself. Likewise, the people who are taught to practice stern retaliation have little or no respect for human virtues and care less for moral values as universal rules. But Islam, the Divine foster of human nature, has given the right answer to human problems. To those wrongdoers who are looking for a second chance, who may improve or benefit by granting them pardon, forgiveness is recommended and preferable. But against those who might misunderstand the motives of forgiveness or be tempted to pursue the wrong course, equal retaliation is authorized. Thus, the attitude of the Muslim, in either case, is sound and beneficial. When he forgives, he pleases God, retains the upper hand and contributes to the reformation of the delinquent. And when he retaliates, he defends the right, establishes order and justice, and helps to arrest evil. Now, which is sound morality? The attitude of the person who is a ruthless avenger indiscriminately? Or the attitude of a Muslim who makes room for mercy and forgiveness, and who allows for extraordinary circumstances? And who is normally sound? The person who forgives because he knows that he is not allowed to retaliate? Or a Muslim who forgives while he is fully aware that he can lawfully retaliate? Which is real forgiveness? The one resulting from external compulsion and prohibition not to act otherwise? Or the one resulting from freedom of choice and freedom of action? It is no wonder that the moral principles of Islam are sound, unique, and adaptive. They are the instructions of God, the Source of all goodness and morality.

Emmys 2019: David Oyelowo on colour-blind casting, 'Les Miserables' and directing

When the BBC approached David Oyelowo about starring as Javert, opposite Dominic West as Jean Valjean, in Andrew Davies’ six-episode limited series of Victor Hugo’s classic novel Les Miserables, the 43-year-old UK actor was initially reluctant.

But reading Davies’ adaptation – and subsequently Hugo’s 1862 tome – convinced him there was ample opportunity to deliver a more nuanced portrayal of the character than had been seen in the previous high-profile version: Tom Hooper’s 2012 musical adaptation in which Russell Crowe had portrayed the obsessive police inspector.

“I saw how much more meat there was on the bone compared to what I had seen in the musical,” says Oyelowo. “I felt that the opportunity with Andrew’s adaptation was to really give context to Javert’s obsession with Jean Valjean, and to this very violent end to his life at his own hands.”

Premiering on December 30, the series achieved solid ratings during its BBC One run, with PBS broadcasting in the US in April and May; BBC Studios handles international distribution.

Based in Los Angeles for the last 12 years, Oyelowo is now in Oregon for the eight-week shoot of his feature directing debut The Water Man. Emma Needell’s script was on the Black List and follows an 11-year-old boy who moves to a small town with his family, where he seeks out a mythical local with the reputed ability to cheat death in the hope he can cure his mother’s illness. “It’s an adventure story about a boy trying to save his mother,” says Oyelowo.

Increasingly active as a producer in recent years, Oyelowo was an executive producer on Les Miserables, and is co-producing The Water Man with Oprah Winfrey. He is also a producer (as well as lead actor) on the Blumhouse Productions horror Relive, which premiered at Sundance, and the Peter Pan/Alice In Wonderland prequel Come Away alongside co-star Angelina Jolie.

With wife Jessica Oyelowo, he runs production company Yoruba Saxon which has a first-look deal with Madison Wells Media. The couple has multiple film and TV projects in development, some in collaboration with Winfrey’s company Harpo Films, as well as the feature Cyrano The Moor with Disney. The musical twist on Cyrano De Bergerac is being written by Moonlight scribe Tyrell Alvin McCraney with Jeanine Tesori (Shrek The Musical) doing the music. “We are in the trenches with it right now,” says Oyelowo.

If Oyelowo scores a Primetime Emmy nomination for Les Miserables, it would be his third, the previous two coming in 2015 as lead actor and one of the producers of the HBO/Plan B collaboration Nightingale.

What did you think when the BBC and Davies first approached you about playing Javert?

I hope this doesn’t sound like hyperbole [but] it was life-affirming for me. I had grown up in the UK on period dramas, not least Andrew Davies period dramas, but just always felt that that was something that would never be afforded me by way of an opportunity. And so to have made fairly robust and scary choices in order to keep things moving in my career, and 11, 12 years on from moving to the States to find that opportunities were opening up that were certainly not in the offing when I was [in the UK] for me or anyone who looked like me – that was a true indication that things are shifting within my own lifetime.

Colour-blind casting has been gaining traction in UK stage and TV productions in particular. Is that a big win for the industry?

It’s a win when it comes to this underlying thinking that to have someone like me play Javert is historically inaccurate and therefore not permissible. Because I’m so invested in the representation of people of colour on TV and film, I’ve done the research, I’ve read the history books, I know that to have someone like me playing Javert is not outside of the realms of historical plausibility. There were people of colour who were operating not purely as subjugated, enslaved or browbeaten individuals at that time.

But even beyond that, I think we all can admit that when we make a piece of content, whether it be television or film, what makes it relevant is to have people who are going to be watching it represented within the thing itself. Whether that’s emotionally or in terms of the optics of it, you have to speak to humanity and if you are only ever showing one demographic side of humanity, you’re going to run out of stories, you’re going to run out of reasons for a broad audience to watch your show. The encouraging thing about Les Mis is that a much broader audience than otherwise would have watched it, both in the UK and certainly in the States, watched it not just because of me but because across the board, people of colour were a part of that production.

Were you worried about being able to make Javert more than the one-dimensional ‘villain’ of the piece?

That was definitely on my mind from the offset because, in all honesty, I did think that that’s how Javert comes off in the musical. What I saw was an opportunity that even if you don’t sympathise with him, even if you don’t like him, you can at least empathise with why he made the choices he made on the basis of his own familial history – being born in prison, hating that side of himself, somehow transposing onto Jean Valjean that part of himself he hated – and at the end of the story realising that the person he was really trying to destroy was himself. One of the great things I have heard from folks who’ve watched the show is they didn’t like Javert but they felt for him. For me, that’s mission accomplished.

Dominic West said he felt you were avoiding him and turning down his dinner invitations. How did you approach your on-set relationship with your on-screen adversary?

[Laughs] I guess I did. I was so deep in this thing when we were shooting it that I probably subconsciously felt that to be hanging out with Dominic was not going to serve me or the character. We’re great friends now and I love being around him. He’s incredibly funny and jocular and that is not Javert so I felt like I needed to keep that at bay during the shoot.

Dominic has his own theory about Javert’s obsession with Valjean, which is that Javert was in love with him.

Dominic would think that [laughs]. For me, both in relation to [Victor] Hugo’s book and how I played Javert, I felt he was asexual. I can’t imagine Javert in any kind of romantic or sexual relationship. He dedicated himself so totally both to his job and his obsession with destroying this other human being. So you could argue that there is attraction there but I personally didn’t dwell on that because I was just so fascinated by the obsession Javert has to destroy this man. It’s documented that Hugo based the characters of Jean Valjean and Javert on the same man and that was where my head was at.

Did you need to detox from playing Javert after production wrapped?

It was very immersive, it was six months, but I have four children and they would not tolerate hints of Javert in our house [laughs]. So that tends to be a very good way for me to shake any given character. But this did have an impact on me, not only as an actor but also in producing the show. I was buried in it, my work on this show did not end once we finished shooting. It was watching cut after cut after cut of the episodes to make sure that we were landing it, and also the marketing and the rollout – I was very keen to make sure that both the BBC and PBS were doing everything we could to get it to a broad audience. I applaud both companies in doing exactly that.

You’ve become very active as a producer in recent years. Did you move in that direction out of career necessity?

Yes, borne out of the necessity that there are stories I want to tell, there are stories I want to help other people tell, there are people who I would like to see both in front of and behind the camera. And you can either wait by the phone, hoping that other people are going to instigate and initiate that or you can use the degree of notoriety you have to try and be the instigator, and I’ve chosen to do the latter. I didn’t go to drama school thinking I would be a producer – it has been a byproduct of not wanting to be one of those people who just complains but who actually can make things happen.

Oprah Winfrey is an executive producer on The Water Man. Are the two of you close as creative collaborators?

Yes, we have several projects together in television and film. We became very good friends after we did The Butler and Selma together and we see eye to eye on the kind of stories we want to tell and representation in front of and behind the camera. She’s been a part of this project for the four years that we’ve been developing it. We’re producing it independently with ShivHans Pictures who did Captain Fantastic and Trumbo among other films; they’re fully financing it. I’m just putting my head down and trying to make the best film I can.

Is the plan for you to also star in Cyrano The Moor?

For now! We’ll see. Our take on it is rather than it being the size of his nose that curtails both his ascension in society and with Roxane, it’s the colour of his skin. It’ll be set in the 1800s in the UK, probably in the Bristol area.

What’s in store once you’ve completed The Water Man?

I’ve had to keep the acting at bay to give me the time to get The Water Man right in the edit but I have a number of films coming out soon that I’ll need to beat the drum for as they roll around. Relive, the film I did for Blumhouse that premiered at Sundance, and Come Away both come out this year. We just did some reshoots for Chaos Walking for Lionsgate, that’ll be coming out probably early next year. And then I just did Peter Rabbit 2 before I started on The Water Man. I’ve got to get The Water Man right and then I can turn my head back to being in front of the camera.

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Week 3

Benjamin Percy “Set Pieces: Setting the Iconic Stage” (Thrill Me)

“Mine your past. Think of a place... Three or four images will typically race to the front of your mind. You can hunt for those images too. Keep your mind open, a notebook ready” (43).

“Every winter, in Ames, Iowa, crows appear. Clouds of them. Thousands of them. They blacken rooftops and leafless trees. They mutter and wheeze. They slick sidewalks with their shit. They dive and peck people who walk too close” (43).

Benjamin Percy “There Will Be Blood: Writing Violence” (Thrill Me)

“... where imagination takes over and the reader becomes a kind of writer, inventing the violence, and in doing so the story becomes their own and they carry it with them like a red-veined tumor” (54).

“We’re all guilty of it at one time or another. Excess. Recklessness. Dangerous indulgence. Driven by the same impulse that compels us, when we spot a sign that reads Wet Paint, to reach out a hand for a touch, delighting in the smear, bringint a finger to our nose for a sniff, to our tongue for a taste. Especially when the paint is red” (55-56).

Gorenography - Prolonged suffering, splashing buckets of blood across stories without principle and with peculiar malice and glee.

“Their flamboyand style aestheticizes the mayhem, as if the authors love what we are meant to despise. They linger on the violence, wallow in the gore, celebrate it to such a degree...” (56-57). 

“Violence is not the answer, but a variable in a long, complicated equation” (58).

“Almost every shot is a close-up, each of them flashing on-screen for the briefest moment, giving us a shutter-speed collage of horror. A screaming mouth. An outstretched hand. A bulging eye. Knife, knife, knife” (59). 

“We are not told about his aching heart or his mind stricken black with grief” (64).

SET PIECES: 

One movie with a set piece that really sticks out to me is this scene from “Perfect Blue” directed by Satoshi Kon. Honestly the entire last third of the movie is a ride and I never explain why I like this film so much because I think everyone should watch it at least once in their life going in blind. From the beginning of this clip to the end, we can see the main character Mima’s struggle with her own identity to the point where it crosses over to her reality. Just like it is for her, the audience has no idea how to draw a distinction between what is real and what’s in her head. I still don’t completely understand everything that happened in this film even after rewatching scenes and analysis videos because everyone’s interpretation of this movie is so different. Even so, I think the beauty of the film is it’s bizareness and how no one can truly grasp what was trying to be conveyed there.

CONNECT THE DOTS (SET PIECES): 

The defining set piece in “The Minature Wife” for me was the scene where the narrator walks in on his wife sleeping with his co-worker, who had shrunken himself to her size. I think that this is the set piece of the short story because it’s the catalyst for everything to really turn to havoc. The narrator and his wife have had rising tension throughout, from the narrator neglecting his wife to her slowly adapting to being small, but I think that her cheating on him was the breaking point where we just knew their relationship was past salvagable. The main character killing his co-worker by letting a bird eat it and his wife assaulting him as an act of war is just an escalation of this set piece after the other.

WRITING VIOLENCE: 

I think this advice is perfect for any aspiring writers because by shying away from the ugly, you are not making any progress regarding your plot or characters. Your writing doesn’t always have to be raw and visceral, but conflict is what drives a story and to make something compelling, it has to be believable. People do ugly things. By embracing that in your writing you can convince the audience your characters are real. I’m still trying to work on this in my own writing but in a way where I can balance dialogue seamlessly with action.

CONNECT THE DOTS (VIOLENCE):

I think the violence in Gonzales’s story is something that got proper buildup. Gonzales’s story is an allegory that works especially well in the context of today’s relationships. There were a lot of underlying problems in the relationship between his narrator and his wife, and I think that accidentally shrinking her was symbolic for how he minimized her feelings. I think the narrator and his wife had flaws, but their inability to communicate is what spurred the chain of disasters. Her eventual infidelity and hatred of him seems to explode out of nowhere, but I can see this happening in any regular marriages as well. 

DON’T LOOK BACK: 

I think there is backstory in Gonzales’s story when he’s explaining how his wife used to leave passive aggressive notes to him. It works here in a way that helps us understand that it wasn’t just being shrunk that drove a wedge into the narrator and his wife’s marriage. There was already unresolved conflict between them due to the narrator’s overdedication to his work and his neglect of his wife’s feelings. This wasn’t something that came out of left field, it was just something that escalated the ruin of their relationship at an even more rapid pace. 

CONNECT THE DOTS:

Parameswaran uses violence in a unique way where he downplays the tiger’s brutality towards Kitch and the baby. He means to be gentle when he takes the baby in his mouth and ends up suffocating it, and he wants to show Kitch affection and kills him. This makes the tiger’s strength even more convicting because the tiger doesn’t mean to do any of those thing but is so powerful he cannot help himself. This gives the tiger’s violence meaning instead of just describing a rampage beast on the hunt out of malicious intent.

SET PIECES: 

The set piece in Rajesh Parameswaran’s “The Infamous Bengal Ming” is definitely when the tiger bites into Kitch and kills him. It sets in action him becoming a runaway and escaping from the zoo. This is an escalation to the plot and shows that although the tiger loves Kitch, it’s impossible to bridge that gap between man and animal.

VIOLENCE: 

I think that violence is written responsibly in “The Infamous Bengal Ming” in that it is not responsible at all. This tiger has well-meaning intentions through most of the story but his strength ends up being his unbecoming, as every act of good he tries to commit is received with punishment. This is thoroughly intentional because while it portrays that predators can never be fully tamed, it also brings a new perspective to an otherwise terrifying animal. 

DON’T LOOK BACK: 

I don’t think there is any flashbacks, only context to who certain characters may be, like Saskia, Maharaj and the old lady he despises. I think that this is more effective for this story because it puts you more in the headspace of the tiger who is mainly focused on his present feelings of hunger or danger. 

Two black men, Alize Ramon Smith and Jarron Keonte Moreland of Moore, Oklahoma, were lynched by four white people in April 2018, a crime that was largely ignored by the media.

On 18 April 2018, the mutilated bodies of two young African-American men, Alize Ramon Smith and Jarron Keonte Moreland, were found in a pond near Moore, Oklahoma, where they had had been reported missing by relatives a few days earlier.

Police said the victims were shot by the younger of two brothers, both white, who had arranged to meet with them in a parking lot to complete a firearms sale initiated on Craigslist. The accused killers, 16-year-old Brett Boettler and his brother, Kevin Don Garcia-Boettler, 22, then took the bodies to their mother’s house and, with the help of her boyfriend, Johnny Barker (also white), dismembered them and dumped the weighted remains in a nearby body of water. The brothers, Barker, and Crystal Boettler were arrested and charged with first- and second-degree murder, desecration of human corpses, and illegal possession of a firearm, among other crimes.

According to NewsOne.com, Smith and Moreland were the victims of a “modern lynching” that has gone largely unreported in the mainstream media — despite a recent controversy surrounding the use of that term to describe the public backlash against black male entertainers accused of sexual misconduct:

When people talk about modern lynchings, R. Kelly and Bill Cosby are not legitimate examples. Ramon Smith and Jarron Moreland, both 21, are two men who were lynched in 2018. On April 18, police found the dismembered bodies of the young men in a pond outside of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Three white men and one white woman have been arrested for the crime.

According to WJLA.com, “Police arrested 22-year-old Kevin Garcia-Boettler, 43-year-old Johnny Shane Barker and the 16-year-old brother of Garcia-Boettler, who police say is the suspected shooter. Their mother, Crystal Rachelle Boettler, 40, has also been charged with accessory after the fact.” According to court records, “on April 14, Garcia-Boettler drove his brother to meet the two victims because he believed his brother was going to purchase a gun from Moreland. The sale was arranged through Craigslist and the two parties agreed to meet in a nearby grocery store parking lot. Garcia-Boettler told police that Moreland got out of a sedan and into the back seat of his van. He claims that he heard a gun ‘rack’ and told police he witnessed his brother open fire killing the two men.”

Sgt. Jeremy Lewis of the Moore Police Department said, “When [Moreland and Smith] entered the vehicle, the white men said they heard a gun being racked. So one of them fired four rounds.” Meaning, when the white men heard the sounds of the gun being “racked,” they thought Ramon and Jarron were about to shoot so they shot them. Sounds implausible that you would instantly and shoot and kill two people because of the sound of a gun being racked. A similarly-focused web site, The Root, also provided aggregated coverage of the incident, referring to it as “Lynching 2.0.” The article paid particular attention to the gruesome details surrounding the disposal of the victims’ bodies.

In statements to the press, Smith’s mother, Destiny, described the murder of her son as a “hate crime,” but at least one law enforcement official told Oklahoma City’s News 9 that that does not appear to be the case:

Cleveland County District Attorney Greg Mashburn said his office looked into the possibility of this being a hate crime and he said the investigation showed the victims were attempting to rob the suspects when the shooting occurred, therefore it was determined that the motive was not race related. Were there a demonstrable racial motive behind the attack and/or mistreatment of the victim’s remains it would likely be prosecutable as a hate crime, but would still fall short of qualifying as a lynching, says Karlos Hill, Interim Director of African American Studies at the University of Oklahoma.

“Calling it a lynching is going too far,” Hill, author of the 2016 volume Beyond the Rope: The Impact of Lynching on Black Culture and Memory (Cambridge University Press, 2016), explained to us in a phone interview:

It’s a rhetorical flourish. But I think the reason people may be labeling it as such is the brutality of the killings, and how that is reminiscent of the lynching era. Unlike the murders of Smith and Moreland, which were committed inside a parked van unseen by eyewitnesses, historical lynchings were communal events that invariably took place in public, he said:

A lynching, historically, had the tacit approval, or the approval, of members of the community, and oftentimes that tacit support could be visibly seen in the form of sometimes dozens, hundreds, even thousands of people being present at the lynching.

This, in no way, shape or form or fashion, is a killing that had the support or tacit support of members of the community. This isn’t something that was attended by or witnessed by a large group of people. In describing the killings as a “lynching,” both The Root and News One echoed sentiments that had already been spreading for at least a week on social media. Writer and Twitter personality Shaun King tweeted the following on 26 April, for example:

Writer George M. Johnson tweeted a similar take on 1 May:

The claim that the incident was ignored by the mainstream media is an overstatement, though not entirely unfounded. Besides being reported (as one would expect) in local and regional news venues, the story did get national coverage by sources including Newsweek, Associated Press, the New York Daily News, and BuzzFeed. But it wasn’t covered by CNN, MSNBC, or other major networks. The implication that it should have been seems to follow from the judgment that the crime was a racially-motivated lynching as opposed to a mere homicide.

The use of the word “lynching” in this context is questionable, at best. Despite vague similarities between the Oklahoma incident and historical lynchings, the comparison strays from the generally accepted definition of the term. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines it thus, for example:

to put to death (as by hanging) by mob action without legal approval or permission In the context of race relations in America, it refers more specifically to vigilante-style public executions of black Americans accused of racial transgressions by white mobs, mainly in the Deep South, between the end of the Civil War and the end of the Jim Crow era of racial segregation in the 1950s. But despite the fact that the Oklahoma victims were black and all four of the accused perpetrators were white, it’s a stretch to characterize the latter as a “mob” and the killings as a “public execution.” Nor, based on the information shared by police thus far, are there solid reasons to presume that race was a primary motivation in the attack.

Ethnicity is relevant to determining whether a lynching took place, according to Karlos Hill, but even if evidence comes to light that the 2018 Oklahoma killings constituted a hate crime, that — in and of itself — would not make it a lynching. “There’s a difference between a racially motivated murder and a lynching,” he said.

Based on the information shared by police thus far, it is not a given that the incident fits into either category.

Fact Checker:David Emery Published: 7 May 2018