OpenAI Investigating Claim of 20 Million Stolen User Credentials - Slashdot
OpenAI says it's investigating after a hacker claimed to have stolen login credentials for 20 million OpenAI accounts and advertised the data for sale on a dark web forum.yro.slashdot.org
There once was a man named Trump,
Whose foreign aid cuts made some jump,
Lammy cried with concern,
A big mistake to learn,
Could global relationships slump.
#GuardianLimerick #USAid #Aid #China #Politics #Ukraine #Europe
theguardian.com/us-news/2025/f…
Trump’s foreign aid cuts could be ‘big strategic mistake’, says Lammy
Exclusive: Move allows China to further global influence, UK foreign secretary says on Ukraine visitPippa Crerar (The Guardian)
merkur.de/politik/richter-stop…
Richter stoppt vorerst Freistellung von USAID-Mitarbeitern
Die US-Regierung will in einem bisher einzigartigen Schritt praktisch alle ihre Entwicklungshelfer freistellen. Ein Richter tritt auf die Bremse - doch das letzte Wort ist noch nicht gesprochen.www.merkur.de
Sollten wir das jetzt hier verbocken, haben wir keine R2D2-Hologramme und X-Wings auf unserer Seite und Lichtschwerter gibt's auch keine, vielleicht den einen oder anderen schnellen Schrotthaufen, und wenn wir Glück haben die eine oder andere cool kämpfende Prinzessin.
#pol
Elon Musk’s Demolition Crew
Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has been unleashed on federal agencies. ProPublica is attempting to document who is working with him and what they are doing.ProPublica
Clive Thompson hat dies geteilt.
Man befürchtet, Beamte könnten gendern.
Bloomberg reports 19 year old Edward Coristine who is on Musk's DOGE squad was fired by a cybersecurity firm for leaking company secrets - his brief contract terminated after an internal investigation. This was in 2022. Not surprising but absolutely outrageous.
Gerade die Zeit jetzt ist, vor allem wenn das Wetter passt, echt gut um an Seen zu fotografieren. Das Erlebnis hier mit dem Schwanenpaar ist leider schon ziemlich lange her. War aber immer wieder schön früh am Morgen nach einer klaren windstillen Nacht am See mit etwas (oder auch viel) Nebel über dem Wasser.
#photography #fotografie #naturfotografie #naturephotography #vogelfotografie #birdphotography #schwan #swan #muteswan #höckerschwan
Sensitiver Inhalt
#WordWeavers 2025-02-07 MC POV: What are you angry about?
Elena: Anger. I have been taught about anger. How to channel it with skill towards the work of my hands. Culture it in the face of evil. Summon it, make it do my bidding, and dismiss it when I am done.
But at night, when I am alone, when the world is dark and silent as it gets, when there is no reason to call on anger, and no cause to put it into...
Oh gods, oh Dark Mother Iuna forgive me. The stupidity of it all about losing Marina, my beloved. Missed her by a week when we were meant to meet. Raced after her, lost the trail... and all I ever found was her sword. And now I am here in these cold, hostile lands, chasing after leads that have gone cold years ago. A decade gone, because I have no closure on what is clear as the sun at noon, she is dead, and I'm a silly goose that in my heart I still can't believe it.
Me. I am angry about me, about my foolishness, and for not doing what I should have done long ago, admit failure, return to the abbey, heal, pick up a proper role.
-= We hoped we never had to do this but here we are and we now have to do this. =-
American trans humans are under threat and like in 1930s Germany, they now have to GTFO of their home country.
We have decided we need to collect some information on the possible ways out.
So we made a wiki.
We are collecting information on possible exit routes into various countries. We focus on work, study and self employment visas as they are available at the moment.
teilten dies erneut
Das glaube ich in dieser Absolutheit nicht. Ja, es gab sie immer, aber es gab auch gerade in den letzten, sagen wir 10-15 Jahren, eine deutliche Beeinflussung durch die Medienlandschaft (und ich meine nicht nur die Journallie; die auch, aber halt nicht nur) die dazu geführt hat, dass viele Menschen rechte Einstellungen und Narrative übernommen haben die sie vorher nicht hatten. Und jetzt kommen sie davon nicht mehr weg.
Da hat sich schon was bewegt. Es ist nicht nur herausgebrochen.
@FrankBlack78
Klar hat sich da einiges getan. und das in beide Richtungen, sehr vieles ist parallel dazu viel liberaler geworden.
Und in den 609er Jahren haben Leute noch in Fernsehinterviews Sachen von sich gegeben wie „Unterm Führer hätte es das nicht gegeben!“
Aber ja, angesichts der aktuellen Stimmung ist grad relativ viel Scheiße am Kochen…
You've been running this whole operation on word of mouth all this time? Uh huh, I bet it is. Yes I'm sure we can rapid-prototype some IT systems to take the load off. We'll start with a custom layer in OpenStreetMap. Now what about those blank spots? No data because no census takers? Have you had any thoughts on how to fill them in? Here's what I suggest: detector vans. I did a project last year for road pothole detection, and if we swap out the downward facing cameras for gamma sensors, the software will work basically unmodified. Do you have a budget for vehicles? Oh wow, permission to put sensors on post office delivery trikes is even better, well done on that! Yep I reckon with the right IT systems, a fleet of sensors and piss off that AI bullshit the last guy tried to sell you, we'll have at least 98% coverage for your Cat Distribution System by end of financial year. Look I can't afford to do this completely pro-bono but if you were to slip a couple of kittens my way I'll do it at cost.
teilten dies erneut
Das zwölfjährige Mädchen afghanischer Herkunft, daß auf der Trauerfeier das Gefühl hatte sich für ihre Herkunft entschuldigen zu müssen, mach mich heulen.
Vielmehr sollte ich mich dafür bei jeder geeigneten Gelegenheit dafür entschuldigen, wie das Land, dessen Paß ich habe, mit Menschen in Not, mit Menschen fremder Herkunft umgeht.
It is available from the Internet Archive for streaming or download.
archive.org/details/doctor-str…
#Marvel #DoctorStrange #InternetArchive
Doctor Strange 1978 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
The Doctor Strange movie from 1978, when Doctor Strange was only cool in the comics.Internet Archive
US Health System Notifies 882,000 Patients of August 2023 Breach - Slashdot
An anonymous reader quotes a report from BleepingComputer: Hospital Sisters Health System notified over 882,000 patients that an August 2023 cyberattack led to a data breach that exposed their personal and health information.science.slashdot.org
Richter stoppt Zwangsfreistellung von Mitarbeitern bei USAID
Die Freistellung hunderter Mitarbeiter der US-Entwicklungshilfebehörde ist durch eine einstweilige Verfügung vorrübergehend gestoppt. Gewerkschaften hatten geklagt. Am Sitz in Washington weist bereits kaum noch etwas auf die Behörde hin.
8 February 1908 | A German Jewish woman, Lotte Klingelhöfer, was born in Berlin.
She arrived at #Auschwitz on 5 March 1943. She did not survive.
You think plushies are only for kids? Then how do you explain this?
"images\plueschtier.de\0496.jpg"
Next up, perhaps: an exhibit of “degenerate art” in the Kennedy Center lobby.
History rhyming pretty hard lately.
journa.host/@w7voa/11396512505…
Steve Herman (@w7voa@journa.host)
President Trump announces he’s taking control of the Kennedy Center, firing multiple trustees and the chairman (billionaire philanthropist David Rubinstein). The new “amazing chairman” is himself.Journa.host
If you are using Signal, and you are doing something the government considers illegal, the way they are going to read your messages about it is they will arrest the person you sent the messages *to*, and make your counterparty show them the logs. We know this because this technique came up again and again in, for example, the Jan. 6 court filings.
There may, hypothetically, be other Signal exploits available to a government, but this is the one they will use, because it works.
teilten dies erneut
I've just added a floating notice to the bottom right-hand corner, to the bottom of each post. Also, pop-up reminders on the homepage and early for each post that can be dismissed.
🦠Why, 𝗩𝗶𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 of course!🦠
virologydownunder.com/
Virology Down Under - Facts, data, info, expert opinion and a reasonable, occasionally grumpy, voice on viruses: what they are, how they tick and the illnesses they may cause.
Facts, data, info, expert opinion and a reasonable, occasionally grumpy, voice on viruses: what they are, how they tick and the illnesses they may cause.Ian M Mackay, PhD (EIC) (Virology Down Under)
VDU also has these buttons that create a "card" thing that includes title+link (sometimes the story image as well) for sending to Threads, Mastodon, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.
Thanks a lot to @antidotezine for sharing my statement I read in front of the judge !
As well as good old interview passages and relaying the crowdfunding. 🥰
This small English media did a better job than 99% of the German media on this case.
antidotezine.com/2025/02/07/th…
#MudWizard #aNtiDoTeZine #Lützerath #Policeviolence #Gericht #Mönch #MönchvonLützerath
The Mud Wizard in His Own Words | Antidote Zine
By wearing this religious garb, I hope to bring spirituality to the fight. How can we topple the powerful from their thrones? That was the meaning of my ges ...Dead Flowers (Antidote Zine)
There once was a man named Donald Trump,
Whose aid cuts left many in a slump,
Lammy exclaimed, "Big mistake!"
For the world's sake,
Let's hope his policy hits a speed bump.
#GuardianLimerick #USAid #Aid #China #Politics #Ukraine #Europe
theguardian.com/us-news/2025/f…
Trump’s foreign aid cuts could be ‘big strategic mistake’, says Lammy
Exclusive: Move allows China to further global influence, UK foreign secretary says on Ukraine visitPippa Crerar (The Guardian)
Creators Demand Tech Giants Fess Up, Pay For All That AI Training Data - Slashdot
The Register highlights concerns raised at a recent UK parliamentary committee regarding AI companies' exploitation of copyrighted content without permission or payment.slashdot.org
That Frisian Girl-ish
Als Antwort auf That Frisian Girl-ish • • •#WordWeavers 2025-02-08 Share the first thing your characters would see, feel and hear if they went outside in the last indoor scene you wrote.
As luck would have it, that is actually what Elena does. As she steps out, she feels the warmth of the sun on her face and arms, hears a horse whinny, and sees the empty courtyard of a waystation on a trade route.
That Frisian Girl-ish
Als Antwort auf That Frisian Girl-ish • • •#WordWeavers 2025-02-09 How many people can your MC call their support system?
Technically, Elena could call on a lot of support - if she were inclined to do so.
... mehr anzeigenShe could call on all of the clergy of her homeland to take her in, clothe her, feed her, heal her, give spiritual guidance. There are four main gods there forming a common church, so the very least she could expect would be being brought safely into the custody of an institution of her own goddess. She would be welcomed with open arms at her home abbey. But she is not in her homeland, and has been detached for ten years. She'd have to do quite some travelling.
Which is not a problem! Because she is on very good terms with her two next older sisters, the older of which is a successful merchant, and has a sizeable portion of one of the greater trade houses under her control. If Elena's own account wouldn't be sufficient, her name alone could secure accomodations on company cost, until the matter is resolved - within the next few days, as the books
#WordWeavers 2025-02-09 How many people can your MC call their support system?
Technically, Elena could call on a lot of support - if she were inclined to do so.
She could call on all of the clergy of her homeland to take her in, clothe her, feed her, heal her, give spiritual guidance. There are four main gods there forming a common church, so the very least she could expect would be being brought safely into the custody of an institution of her own goddess. She would be welcomed with open arms at her home abbey. But she is not in her homeland, and has been detached for ten years. She'd have to do quite some travelling.
Which is not a problem! Because she is on very good terms with her two next older sisters, the older of which is a successful merchant, and has a sizeable portion of one of the greater trade houses under her control. If Elena's own account wouldn't be sufficient, her name alone could secure accomodations on company cost, until the matter is resolved - within the next few days, as the books carry Elena's name as highly important.
But Elena avoids the cities with the big branch offices as a rule, and tries to be self sufficient. Well, her other sister likes roaming, too! And so she did for the last decade, having adventures together - until Elena became obsessed with hunting a werewolf.
So she acts like she has none. But she knows that if she could reach any trading outpost and get off a single message, she could be safe. And home. And feel very, very guilty.
That Frisian Girl-ish
Als Antwort auf That Frisian Girl-ish • • •#WordWeavers 2025-02-10 MC POV: What was your relationship with your parents? Siblings?
(I never write late or early, I write precisely when I mean to!)
Elena: "My family is quite numerous, but also small.
Of my father I know little - not because he is unknown, but because he is a minor noble who followed the fashion of knowing his horses better than his children, and good horses he does breed. Other than that, I know he is embarassed of me, as I share my mother's condition, which is why he sent me off into the abbey of Iuna, so that I may be the problem of someone else, and no longer attached to his house.
My mother and I were close. We shared many a quiet afternoon reading. We never shared many words. We understood, and so there was never much need. She passed shortly after I was sent away. She was always of frail health, maybe her will has left her with me. I carry her name.
The first among my siblings are my a sister and a brother, both strangers to me, and feuding for my father's place
... mehr anzeigen#WordWeavers 2025-02-10 MC POV: What was your relationship with your parents? Siblings?
(I never write late or early, I write precisely when I mean to!)
Elena: "My family is quite numerous, but also small.
Of my father I know little - not because he is unknown, but because he is a minor noble who followed the fashion of knowing his horses better than his children, and good horses he does breed. Other than that, I know he is embarassed of me, as I share my mother's condition, which is why he sent me off into the abbey of Iuna, so that I may be the problem of someone else, and no longer attached to his house.
My mother and I were close. We shared many a quiet afternoon reading. We never shared many words. We understood, and so there was never much need. She passed shortly after I was sent away. She was always of frail health, maybe her will has left her with me. I carry her name.
The first among my siblings are my a sister and a brother, both strangers to me, and feuding for my father's place and possessions. Loud and proud, I never looked for their company, and they never looked for mine.
The third was sent into Iuna's service years before me. He is as my mother and me. I understand he serves in a small monastery of our lady of the underworld, and brings tidings of the restless. We are closer as siblings in faith than in blood.
Finally, we come to the siblings that are closer to me, and that I know best. Sister Vera is blessed in knowledge and in charm. Her affections are subtle towards me, but they exist across the gulf of strangeness that divides us, even if she is closest to the next younger sister Sylvana. I was never part of their wild youth, but Sylvana spent the last ten years travelling with me. She might be even more charming, but either less or more wise, as she prefers life with the traveling folk these days to the life of a minor noble of the south. We have grown very close in time. Maybe closer than respectable at times."
Branwen OShea (she/her)
Als Antwort auf That Frisian Girl-ish • • •That Frisian Girl-ish
Als Antwort auf Branwen OShea (she/her) • • •That Frisian Girl-ish
Als Antwort auf That Frisian Girl-ish • • •#WordWeavers 2025-02-12 What is your MC's favorite time of day?
There'd be a bit to unpack here, as Elena has a very intense perception of the world around her. But as a consequence, she likes the dead of night, when all the lighting is under her own control, and everybody is alseep, so doesn't add artificial sensory demands. It is as close as she can get to relax.
That Frisian Girl-ish
Als Antwort auf That Frisian Girl-ish • • •#WordWeavers 2025-02-13 MC POV: Do you believe in romantic love? Why or why not?
(Elena) As you put this question to me, I feel the need to order my thoughts and line up words. It is a tangle in my heart and mind that does not neatly serialize into speech. I am thankful for your patience as I seem to stare this way and that way, trying to build vessels of words that hold enough meaning, and give enough context. I want to honour you with more than just a short quip of "Yes, because I experienced it", even if that is about what you could boil it all down to. As you put the finishing touches on a third intricate doodle of an eye, I feel ready to speak.
"Romantic love binds heart to heart, in a way that moves the center of your feelings out of yourself. The joy of the other heart is more intense than your own, as well as their anguish. The absence of the other heart leaves an unbearable emptiness that yearns to be filled, and can only be filled by that other heart, and nothing else. Such a connection is hardly
... mehr anzeigen#WordWeavers 2025-02-13 MC POV: Do you believe in romantic love? Why or why not?
(Elena) As you put this question to me, I feel the need to order my thoughts and line up words. It is a tangle in my heart and mind that does not neatly serialize into speech. I am thankful for your patience as I seem to stare this way and that way, trying to build vessels of words that hold enough meaning, and give enough context. I want to honour you with more than just a short quip of "Yes, because I experienced it", even if that is about what you could boil it all down to. As you put the finishing touches on a third intricate doodle of an eye, I feel ready to speak.
"Romantic love binds heart to heart, in a way that moves the center of your feelings out of yourself. The joy of the other heart is more intense than your own, as well as their anguish. The absence of the other heart leaves an unbearable emptiness that yearns to be filled, and can only be filled by that other heart, and nothing else. Such a connection is hardly imaginable, much less a good reason for such a potentially destructive thing to exist.
And yet, that happened to me, so I would be foolish to dismiss the reality of romantic love.
It is terrible, and a cruel mistress. For when it hits, it is near impossible to disobey. It aims to reduce the complexity of life into a story, makes a mockery of reason, and does not end until its narrative is satisfied.
A first hint of my abilities in sensing magic was my animavision and animapathy, talent to see and communicate with the souls of the dead. I cannot but sense the passing of close ones. I was aware that my mother had died, and of the exact time, the moment it happened. The person my heart is romantically bound to is said to be dead. There is no mundane evidence that this should not be the case, even if we never found her dead body. But I never sensed her passing.
Romantic love does not permit me to disregard that I did not feel her death. It does not permit me to accept the evidence of my eyes and the rational conclusion of my mind. It traps me in its story, condemns me to eternal search. It sure does sleep at times. It permits me the closeness of a lover, a close friend to be intimate with. But it does not suffer that I abandon it. It will awake when I notice a hint of a trail, a whiff of a whisper that might bring me back to my true love.
I believe in romantic love because I am its prisoner, and it is my torturer. I do not know if I can right my life until I find closure."
That Frisian Girl-ish
Als Antwort auf That Frisian Girl-ish • • •#WordWeavers 2025-02-14 Does your world have romantic commitment?
It's a human world with human people in it, so romantic commitment happens, or doesn't, some is happy, some isn't. It has all the range of individual feelings that humans have.
On the side of societies, there are various forms of marriage, and aside from those for dynastic reasons, marriages of convenience, arranged ones, political ones and economical ones, at least some have romantic commitment to them, even if you have to be extremely privileged to have one for pure romantic reasons, or abandon that privilege, or you have to be absolutely insignificant and have nothing at all to gain.
It is said that in the far, wild north, there are legally recognized partnerships that can exist alongside marriages, but then, in the former Imperial provinces those people will also be described as thieving, pirating, bloodthirsty savages, so who knows? (I do, and we all might, if I ever get around to Book Three.)
In a limited fashion, queer mar
... mehr anzeigen#WordWeavers 2025-02-14 Does your world have romantic commitment?
It's a human world with human people in it, so romantic commitment happens, or doesn't, some is happy, some isn't. It has all the range of individual feelings that humans have.
On the side of societies, there are various forms of marriage, and aside from those for dynastic reasons, marriages of convenience, arranged ones, political ones and economical ones, at least some have romantic commitment to them, even if you have to be extremely privileged to have one for pure romantic reasons, or abandon that privilege, or you have to be absolutely insignificant and have nothing at all to gain.
It is said that in the far, wild north, there are legally recognized partnerships that can exist alongside marriages, but then, in the former Imperial provinces those people will also be described as thieving, pirating, bloodthirsty savages, so who knows? (I do, and we all might, if I ever get around to Book Three.)
In a limited fashion, queer marriages are a thing, though. "Limited" as in, usually the people involved have to get rid of any pressures from their families, so those are probably the most romantic, legally recognized commitments!
Aside from various forms of marriage, there are any amount of folkloric, local vows, exchange of tokens, and signs of significance that may or may not be recognized as committment, at least for a time - like "a year and a day".
That Frisian Girl-ish
Als Antwort auf That Frisian Girl-ish • • •#WordWeavers 2025-02-15 How well does your MC handle being in crowds?
Elena manages quite well. Which is the consequence of years of training, because naturally, she would be close to a breakdown. This was the reason why her father sent her to the abbey - even if he thought less about Elena's wellbeing, and more about the embarassment she would be at social gatherings, or how difficult it would be to marry her off for strategic value to the family. In the end that turned out to be a boon for Elena, but given a serious choice, she does not choose crowds.
(Her father does not profit of this, because Elena also found her voice to not reverse the formal disownment that comes with entering the abbey.)
That Frisian Girl-ish
Als Antwort auf That Frisian Girl-ish • • •#WordWeavers 2025-02-16 SC POV: Who was your first love/crush?
Jenifry: "That was Cathelyn. Fairly recently, and my only one yet, too. Although... well, never mind that. Cathelyn and I grew up together in Glenglass, a hamlet in the woods and hills, with nothing much around. So, she and I were the only girls around who liked other girls, and we naturally ended up together. Not openly, that would have been a scandal. And things didn't end well, either."
Sylvana: "My own dear sister. ... Don't give me that face. Not Elena, my next older one, Vera. We're as close in age as it gets, and what's between sisters safely stays between sisters, if you know what I mean. We were meant to grow up pretty sheltered, and neither of us wanted any of that. So we snuck out of the town house many nights, I would dress up as a kitchen maid, she as a stable boy, and... well? She's a hell of a dancer, and made a real catch of a young man!"
That Frisian Girl-ish
Als Antwort auf That Frisian Girl-ish • • •#WordWeavers 2025-02-17 Does your MC prefer to be indoors or outdoors?
To Elena, it's even money, and it's again the intensity of her perception - on her world, she doesn't actually get a break. To her, indoors or outdoors doesn't make much of a difference in effect, even if the causes are different. Circumstances, like time of day, do.
One of her favourite circumstances, though, can only be found indoors: the deep, magically enhanced silence of a temple of her goddess, preferably in the dead of night with no one around.
That Frisian Girl-ish
Als Antwort auf That Frisian Girl-ish • • •#WordWeavers 2025-02-18 How is familial love thought of in your world? What is the ideal and the reality?
That's a pretty difficult one, since within the framework of the story, the views of two vastly differing cultures, peasant and royal, rural and urban, and mundane and spiritual play a role. There's not much common ground between all of those, even sometimes within the same family. Except, maybe, blood counts for something, on some level, but for what is, again, a very different discussion; and if blood isn't available, found is fine, too. The point is, though, it exists, and the general view is, it is good for anyone to have in their life.
That Frisian Girl-ish
Als Antwort auf That Frisian Girl-ish • • •#WordWeavers 2025-02-19 SC POV: Who is your best friend?
Jenifry: "I'm cut off from all the people I grew up with. So all I know are the people I found since then. I got to know Elena, Svanlaug, and Sylvana the closest.
Elena rescued me, and took me with her. That was... enormous. I couldn't offer her anything in return, at all, and she didn't ask or expect anything.
Svanlaug taught me things about healing and about what I can do that were way beyond anything I ever could imagine. And she taught me freely.
They both seem... not quite human to me, though. Not monstrous, but each in their own way like they're just visitors among humans, and expect to leave this world to wherever they came from any moment now. They are kind, and friendly, and the most generous people I could ever imagine, but there's something about them that is not quite approachable.
And then there's Sylvana. She's every bit as strange as her sister Elena, or Svanlaug. She's larger than life. She does outrageous things. Of
... mehr anzeigen#WordWeavers 2025-02-19 SC POV: Who is your best friend?
Jenifry: "I'm cut off from all the people I grew up with. So all I know are the people I found since then. I got to know Elena, Svanlaug, and Sylvana the closest.
Elena rescued me, and took me with her. That was... enormous. I couldn't offer her anything in return, at all, and she didn't ask or expect anything.
Svanlaug taught me things about healing and about what I can do that were way beyond anything I ever could imagine. And she taught me freely.
They both seem... not quite human to me, though. Not monstrous, but each in their own way like they're just visitors among humans, and expect to leave this world to wherever they came from any moment now. They are kind, and friendly, and the most generous people I could ever imagine, but there's something about them that is not quite approachable.
And then there's Sylvana. She's every bit as strange as her sister Elena, or Svanlaug. She's larger than life. She does outrageous things. Of those three, she taught me about life, and living, and the here and now. I think with her, I built the best friendship in the short life that I had since my old life ended. Well. Maybe it's not that much to her, because I don't think she can do anything small, but if there's anything on my mind, I think I could talk to her. With the other two, I'd think. Not because they would judge me, or not understand me, or not take me seriously, but because I think Sylvana would show me the most heart, happy or furious."
That Frisian Girl-ish
Als Antwort auf That Frisian Girl-ish • • •#WordWeavers 2025-02-20 Does the society your characters live in take good care of people with disabilities?
As a society, no. None of the mentioned states offer accomodations. So it falls to non state actors, and there we have a checkered record.
The first line of support would be families. Some families take excellent care of their disabled family members, offer accessability, accomodations, participation - depending on the disability. A physical one is to most much more understandable, than, say, Elena's magic sense that I didn't model after aspects of autism by accident.
... mehr anzeigenIn the case of Elena's mother, this was disregarded by her own family, and she was married off for strategic reasons, as noble families, do. Her unaccomodated strangeness lessened her strategic value.
Elena herself, and one of her brothers, were pawned off to the Iuna clergy, but not specifically for their good health. Strange offspring going into the clergy, or study magic or sciences as they are is just a way of finding a strat
#WordWeavers 2025-02-20 Does the society your characters live in take good care of people with disabilities?
As a society, no. None of the mentioned states offer accomodations. So it falls to non state actors, and there we have a checkered record.
The first line of support would be families. Some families take excellent care of their disabled family members, offer accessability, accomodations, participation - depending on the disability. A physical one is to most much more understandable, than, say, Elena's magic sense that I didn't model after aspects of autism by accident.
In the case of Elena's mother, this was disregarded by her own family, and she was married off for strategic reasons, as noble families, do. Her unaccomodated strangeness lessened her strategic value.
Elena herself, and one of her brothers, were pawned off to the Iuna clergy, but not specifically for their good health. Strange offspring going into the clergy, or study magic or sciences as they are is just a way of finding a strategic, square hole for a square peg that doesn't fit anywhere else.
Which brought Elena into an abbey of Iuna, where indeed she got training to make her curse into an asset, and prosper because of that, not in spite. So there are organizations that cater to the disabled, but access largely depends on chance of birth. Elena had way better chances to get her training as offspring of a minor noble than, say, as a farmer's daughter.
Finally, organizations and communities are generally held to offer some amount of mercy. This is a lot more pronounced in the former southern provinces than the northern ones, as it is mostly founded on religious pressure, and organized religion is found stronger in the south than the north. The druids of the north, in many respects, can easily fall into thought patterns of social Darwinism.
That Frisian Girl-ish
Als Antwort auf That Frisian Girl-ish • • •#WordWeavers 2025-02-20 If your MC could have only one meal the rest of their life, what meal?
Elena's thought process here would go to something simple, yet diverse, not something opulent. It'd be berries, nuts, fresh bread, and the staple travelling food of her order, which is a kind of spiced bean paste that can be eaten cold by itself, or cooked up with more ingredients, or fried into something like falafel - nourishing, filling, long-life, and versatile on limited means and preparation.
That Frisian Girl-ish
Als Antwort auf That Frisian Girl-ish • • •#WordWeavers 2025-02-21 Your MC buys a painting. Describe it.
That would be the commemorative painting of her presumed dead girlfriend Marina that was made when she received her knighthood and ordination upon becoming a full knight of her order.
It is a full body portrait of Marina, a woman with very light blonde hair and hazel eyes, wearing the tunic of a knight of her order, sitting in a wooden chair. Behind her and to her left stands Elena herself, in the position and outfit of her squire, a position she had at that time as the younger of the two, holding a sheathed sword, a book, and with Marina's shield leaning against her leg.
It is traditional that the knights of the order claim these commemorative portraits at a time when they get into a more settled position against a usually quite substantial donation to the order. This is, of course, not buying the portrait, and the donation is not a fixed sum; it is understood that the portrait is a gift the abbey keeps save until such a time that the knight
... mehr anzeigen#WordWeavers 2025-02-21 Your MC buys a painting. Describe it.
That would be the commemorative painting of her presumed dead girlfriend Marina that was made when she received her knighthood and ordination upon becoming a full knight of her order.
It is a full body portrait of Marina, a woman with very light blonde hair and hazel eyes, wearing the tunic of a knight of her order, sitting in a wooden chair. Behind her and to her left stands Elena herself, in the position and outfit of her squire, a position she had at that time as the younger of the two, holding a sheathed sword, a book, and with Marina's shield leaning against her leg.
It is traditional that the knights of the order claim these commemorative portraits at a time when they get into a more settled position against a usually quite substantial donation to the order. This is, of course, not buying the portrait, and the donation is not a fixed sum; it is understood that the portrait is a gift the abbey keeps save until such a time that the knight has a more permanent position, and the donation is an expression of gratefulness to the Iuna and the order to have achieved such a position.
That Frisian Girl-ish
Als Antwort auf That Frisian Girl-ish • • •#WordWeavers 2025-02-23 If your MC were to have a villain arc, what would set it off?
Arguably, Elena is already on a villain arc (which is why her character is not the PoV), or at least heavily on a catastrophic trajectory.
She's doing things that are in strong contradiction to her beliefs and values, and uses people towards her goal without their knowledge or consent, using methods that she has sworn not to. You could say that this is just her inner conflict, or you could say that she's on the best way to be the next antagonist a morally good hero should stand up to fight.
Elena's villainy comes from her best intentions to better the world, but by using her means without consulting anyone. And as Five in Umbrella Academy says, "You know what they call a hero who doesn’t listen to anyone? A villain." And so the thing that breaks her fall is, ultimately, by chance getting back into her sister's orbit. Getting back into contact with someone who knows her, and talking. It's the rogu
... mehr anzeigen#WordWeavers 2025-02-23 If your MC were to have a villain arc, what would set it off?
Arguably, Elena is already on a villain arc (which is why her character is not the PoV), or at least heavily on a catastrophic trajectory.
She's doing things that are in strong contradiction to her beliefs and values, and uses people towards her goal without their knowledge or consent, using methods that she has sworn not to. You could say that this is just her inner conflict, or you could say that she's on the best way to be the next antagonist a morally good hero should stand up to fight.
Elena's villainy comes from her best intentions to better the world, but by using her means without consulting anyone. And as Five in Umbrella Academy says, "You know what they call a hero who doesn’t listen to anyone? A villain." And so the thing that breaks her fall is, ultimately, by chance getting back into her sister's orbit. Getting back into contact with someone who knows her, and talking. It's the rogueish sister that guides Elena back onto the straight and narrow.
So what would set off Elena's villain arc? Anything that compells her to act, in combination with solitude. Because what she can do combined with the cold, hard logic of what her mind tells her is necessary needs a check-in with someone who is more connected to their own humanity. Because on her own she would, bit by bit and without noticing, stray from that.
That Frisian Girl-ish
Als Antwort auf That Frisian Girl-ish • • •#WordWeavers 2025-02-24 If your antagonist were to suddenly become a hero, what caused the change?
Catch up!
The antagonist, a werewolf, has been a werewolf for all his life, and has been somewhat of a hero up to one point. He stopped being one only when the Grey Hunter, the lord of werewolves among other things, excerted direct control over his mind. He would definitely return to his old, more heroic ways in a moment if that constant whisper in his head was gone again. He does already resist as he can, and doesn't just rampage through the country.
That Frisian Girl-ish
Als Antwort auf That Frisian Girl-ish • • •#WordWeavers 2025-02-25 MC POV: If you could have any job in the world, what would you choose?
Elena: "What I do now. I chose this. I did not choose the circumstances, but my choice of work would not be different."
That Frisian Girl-ish
Als Antwort auf That Frisian Girl-ish • • •2025-02-27 What is the love interest’s or friend’s least favorite thing about the MC?
I'll take this one from Sylvana, who is obviously not a love interest, but Elena's sister, and closest friend. She comes close into a conspiratorical huddle, and starts to whisper.
Sylvana: "She's my sister, and I have nothing but love for her. Hells, she's the reason why I'm still alive, and possibly free. And I'll freely admit that she's single minded and stubborn as a mule. Which is a family trait, so pot-kettle situation there. All fine with me, even if we have to take a walk from each other sometimes. Several months of a walk, that last one, but still. Beloved sister, never change.
Except this. She's strange and scary at times. She never loses her direction, can always tell you the time. Stuck in a cave underground and resting for a bit? Don't know if it's noon or midnight when you wake up? She'll tell you. People lurking around the corner? She knows. It's unnerving. Can't sneak up on her, either, she can not just tell that you're trying, she can tell it's you.
... mehr anzeigen2025-02-27 What is the love interest’s or friend’s least favorite thing about the MC?
I'll take this one from Sylvana, who is obviously not a love interest, but Elena's sister, and closest friend. She comes close into a conspiratorical huddle, and starts to whisper.
Sylvana: "She's my sister, and I have nothing but love for her. Hells, she's the reason why I'm still alive, and possibly free. And I'll freely admit that she's single minded and stubborn as a mule. Which is a family trait, so pot-kettle situation there. All fine with me, even if we have to take a walk from each other sometimes. Several months of a walk, that last one, but still. Beloved sister, never change.
Except this. She's strange and scary at times. She never loses her direction, can always tell you the time. Stuck in a cave underground and resting for a bit? Don't know if it's noon or midnight when you wake up? She'll tell you. People lurking around the corner? She knows. It's unnerving. Can't sneak up on her, either, she can not just tell that you're trying, she can tell it's you.
I know, I know. She can sense magic, she explained it once to me, with water, waves, wakes, and turbulence. All that. My eyes glossed over. She's gotten good at it at the abbey. But sometimes, sometimes, I wonder how good, exactly, and if she can actually read minds, because how much of a disturbance is that, possibly? Sometimes it seems that way. And that all that stands between her and your innermost secrets, and thoughts, and feelings you didn't even know you had yourself is... nothing. Just her being too polite to just throw it all in your face.
You know how it is when you know things you shouldn't. It's hard not to act on them some way. So once you know that, and you imagine her knowing you knowing, and all of you inside and out, you always end up with the unnerving feeling that she's playing you, she's planned five steps ahead with that strategic mind of hers, you're part of her plans, and you better hope that she likes you, so her plans see you end up coming out well."