Lineart And Color Thumbnails.

oh ghost bird, where did you go

From the writings of Lady Chandra of Alagadda, on the events leading up to the Second War of the Masks.

The children of the Dream are no longer mortal, although at first they remain creatures of flesh, they have always been and always will be. Mortal and immortal, human and inhuman, those we call Dreamers live in a fragile balance, always on the run, always on the go, always hunted down, yet infinitely free. The first Dreamer I met was (and I hope still is) the Honorable Nian Zhen, Chief Archivist of the Library, my friend, benefactor and Master. The name by which he is best known outside the city , however, is the less flattering name of Mad Dreamer. In the Lands of Kouranes, and among the Dreamers who roam the Darklin Plain, they call him the Lost, the Fool, the Forsaken, the Prisoner, yet he is one of the greatest of his kind, having pushed himself to the limits of the Dream, to the Void beyond Being. His are the words with which I have described the Second Birth of the Dreamers, to him we owe all our little knowledge of this elusive species. Only after her disappearance, by sheer coincidence, did I meet the Dreamer. Arual was her name. It was the day of the 3345 Carnival of the Red Lord and the City throbbed at a frenzied rhythm under a scarlet sky, lost in ecstasy. The last time I saw her, the city was burning and destruction was following in her footsteps. Much of what happened after that day was because of her, yet while I hate the consequences of her actions, as I hate what they led me to do, I can't hate her, because I know she had no choice. Or perhaps, if she had, every other decision would have led to unacceptable consequences. For my part, I acted in good conscience, with honor and diligence, always pursuing the interests of the City.

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Dagli scritti di Lady Chandra di Alagadda, sugli eventi che portarono alla seconda Guerra delle Maschere.

[I sognatori] Non più mortali i figli del Sogno, pur restando in un primo momento creature di carne, sono sempre stati e saranno sempre. Mortali e immortali, umani e inumani, coloro che chiamiamo Sognatori vivono in un fragile equilibrio, sempre in fuga, sempre in viaggio, sempre braccati, eppure infinitamente liberi.

Il primo Sognatore che abbia incontrato era ( e spero che sia ancora) l'Onorevole Nian Zhen, Capo Archivista della Biblioteca, mio amico, benefattore e Maestro. Il nome con cui però è più conosciuto fuori dai confini della Città è quello, meno lusinghiero, di Sognatore Folle. Nelle Terre di Kouranes, e tra i Sognatori che vagano nella Piana Oscura, lo chiamano il Perduto, il Matto, l'Abbandonato, il Prigioniero, eppure è uno dei più grandi della sua specie, essendosi spinto fino ai limiti del Sogno, fino al Vuoto oltre l'Essere. Sue sono le parole con cui ho descritto la Seconda Nascita dei Sognatori, a lui dobbiamo tutta la nostra scarsa conoscenza di questo specie così elusiva.

Solo dopo la sua scomparsa, per pura coincidenza, ho incontrato la Sognatrice. 

Arual era il suo nome. 

Era il giorno del 3345 Carnevale del Signore Rosso e la Città pulsava a un ritmo forsennato sotto un cielo scarlatto, persa nell'estasi. 

L'ultima volta che l'ho vista la città stava bruciando e la distruzione seguiva le sue orme.

Buona parte di quello che è successo dopo quel giorno è stato per causa sua, eppure nonostante detesti le conseguenze delle sue azioni, come detesto quello che mi hanno portato a fare, non posso odiarla, perché sono consapevole che non aveva scelta. O forse, se l'aveva, ogni altra decisione avrebbe portato a conseguenze inaccettabili. 

Per parte mia ho agito in buona coscienza, con onore e diligenza, sempre portando avanti gli interessi della Città.

Arual the Dreamer leaves Alagadda as she begins the Metamorphosis of her Third Birth.

Arya Stark of Winterfell, as I imagined her when I first read A Song of Ice and Fire.

This painting took me about two/three hours, mainly because I was experimenting with a new technique and ( since I love to make things difficult for myself) I worked straight away with colors without sketching it out first. It is far from perfect but I kinda like how it turned out.

We all love the beach, right? I sure do. Where the sea meets the land is a magical place. It is the overlap of two very different worlds; our sunny, sandy, beautiful home and the alien waves that beckon you into the inhospitable wilderness of the ocean. When crossing that foam-fringed boundary, one must remember that you are no longer in your world. You are entering the sea, and the sea is vast and dark and dangerous. It is more untamed than the wildest jungle and full of creatures that can kill you in a hundred different gruesome ways. Every wave whispers to you that you do not belong here, you may only visit for a brief time if you want to leave with your life. Hold tight to the warm sunlit sand that fringes the barrier of this place, or you may never see it again. Welcome to the beach. Enter at your own risk.

1. Tamarama beach, Australia

This is know as both the smallest and the most dangerous beach in NSW. There is a permanent rip current that runs along the rocky northern shore, but at any given time there could be more hidden in the surf. Large waves break just a little ways offshore, posing a hazard to swimmers but an attraction for surfers. Although there are rarely deaths here, lifeguards have to rescue multiple people a day. Interestingly, this beach is only around sometimes! Occasionally all the sand will wash away and all that’s left is a rocky outcrop. There’s no way to be certain when the beach will come back or how big it will be or what it might look like. I guess it never gets boring to visit.

2. Isle of Ré, France

This island is not the only place you can go to see square waves, but it is one of the places most famous for this strange phenomenon. This is called a cross sea, and occurs when two opposing wave patterns intersect. Although this is certainly a tourist attraction, it is best to observe from a distance, as cross seas can be very dangerous to both ships and swimmers. Cross seas can cause powerful rip currents and walls of water up to 10 feet high, rolling ships and dragging people underwater. (As a side note, my mother thought I had made up cross seas as a freaky supernatural event in my book. Unfortunately, I did not.)

3. Dumas Beach, India

This is supposedly one of the most haunted places in India. Although this beach is full of tourists during the daytime, no one remains after dark, for fear that they will become the next ghost to wander the sand. Apparently, this beach was once used as a burial ground, and said to be black due to the human ashes mixed in. At night, people report hearing voices and seeing apparitions, and even dogs behave strangely once the sun goes down. There have also been multiple unexplained disappearances and at least one recorded death. Whether you believe in ghosts or not, there definitely seems to be something eerie happening on this beach.

4. Morecambe Bay, UK

This is an interesting one, as it’s not technically the water that’s dangerous. The ground is. This estuary features extreme tides, with the water level dropping and rising up to 32 feet twice a day. This exposes an expanse of mud flats and channels which are composed of loose, wet material that can absolutely suck you in and trap you. If this happens when the tide is coming in, it can quickly turn deadly. This has happened many times going back through history, including one incident in 2004 where 23 people died. Yes, all at the same time. No, I don’t want to delve into that incident too deeply in this list as it’s extremely horrifying and tragic. Feel free to research it yourself.

5. Monastery Beach, Oregon

This has earned its nickname “mortuary beach” by being extremely dangerous. Over 30 people have died here, including people who weren’t even in the water. In 2015, a woman walking along the beach was dragged in by a wave and drowned. The beach has multiple factors that make it so deadly, including a steep drop off, unpredictable waves, and strong undertows. This beach isn’t even safe to walk on. I um. Don’t like that.

6. Hanakapiai Beach, Hawaii

Despite its beauty, this Hawaiian beach is not recommended for swimming except for expert surfers. During the summer, this beach is a popular place for hiking, sunbathing and sightseeing, but during the winter the sand is washed away and the waves crash against the cliffs directly. Even in the relatively safe summer months, this beach has no barrier reef to break up the strong waves and powerful currents, which leads to a dangerous situation where swimmers can quickly be swept out into the open ocean and drown. At least 30 people have died here, and 15 of the bodies have never been recovered.

7. Lake Michigan. Just, all of it.

Despite all the Great Lakes being somewhat terrifying, Michigan takes the title of the most dangerous lake in the country. Yearly, Lake Michigan has more drownings than all four other Great Lakes combined. The reason that Michigan is especially hazardous is that, well, it’s kind of weirdly shaped. Thanks to its 300+ miles of uninterrupted parallel shorelines running north-south, it forms huge waves and strong riptides and long shore currents. It is also a question of numbers; Lake Michigan has more public beaches and large population centers than the other Great Lakes. All in all, a recipe for disaster.

8. Playa Zipolite, Mexico

This is also called the “beach of the dead”, so it’s inclusion on this list seems pretty self-explanatory. These waters have strong undercurrents that rotate in a circular pattern, either pushing you into shore or pulling you out to sea. There is a pervasive rumor that 50 people drown at this beach a year, although this is… somewhat exaggerated. In fact, very few people drown at this beach these days, as it has actually gotten less dangerous over the years. There used to be a steep drop-off that would catch people by surprise, but due to several severe storms in the early 2000s, the beach has eroded back and now gently slopes down instead. Although very few people die at this beach nowadays, multiple rescues are performed every day due to the dangerous currents.

9. Cyclops, Australia

This is a particular type of wave that forms off the coast of Esperance, Australia, as the sea floor rapidly goes from deep, open water to a very very shallow reef. It is… unsettling. The longer I look at it, the weirder it gets. It’s like an ai generated image. I couldn’t even pick one picture of it so I made you a collage.

It is considered one of the most dangerous surf spots in the world, and can only be accessed by boat. To quote pacific surf dot com, “the reason the wave is dangerous is because it does not act like any other wave in the world. It engulfs itself due to the massive change in the ocean floor when the wave rolls up.”

10. Nazare, Portugal

This area of Portugal is home to some of the biggest waves in the world. Just offshore is an underwater canyon, plunging down to 16,000 ft deep. This allows large, fast deep-water waves to move into shore unimpeded, and when they hit the shallows close to shore all the water gets suddenly pushed up, resulting in waves up to 80 ft tall. I think the picture speaks for itself in this case. Probably best to not get in the water if you see that shit.

That was fun, wasn’t it? Before I go, let me end this on a different note than the rest of my lists; some actual advice for if you should you ever decide to visit these beaches (or any beach, really). Rip currents are incredibly strong (believe me, I know) but very narrow currents that run perpendicular to shore. To get out of a rip current, swim parallel to shore. Trying to fight the current will just tire you out and eventually leave you exhausted and way the fuck out in the ocean, which is typically when you die. Swimming parallel to shore will get you out of the current, and once you’re free you can swim back in at your leisure. And, just in general, never fight the sea. The sea will win.

“My name is Elsa Sánchez de Oesterheld, and I am the wife of Héctor Germán Oesterheld, world-famous for writing the comic strip El Eternauta. During this country’s tragic era, my four daughters, my husband, my two sons-in-law, another son-in-law I never met, and two unborn grandchildren disappeared. Ten people disappeared in my family. But I prefer to remember the years when I was happy.”

Elsa Sánchez de Oesterheld - "Los Oesterheld" (2016) A Biography.

In the picture, the four Oesterheld daughters, ages between 14 and 19 years old. They were part of the "Unión de estudiantes secundarios" (High school students union).

Argentina's last civic-military dictatorship that took place from 1976 to 1983, supported and financed by the C.I.A. from the United States through the so-called "Operation Condor"; kidnapped thousands of people, took them to clandestine camps, tortured them mercilessly, stole their children and disappeared them by extrajudicial executions disposing their bodies secretly.

the strange trails series so far - halfway through now!

I laughed so fucking hard at this

I cannot stand the parodies of modern major general, they're overdone and simply not as good as the original. They've done them about everything, whatever topic, big or small.

And when i notice one of them my eyes will always start to roll.

The diction's always slurry when they rush the complicated words, and adding many fricatives will turn it so cacophonous. The slanted rhymes are silly and they keep just making more and more, please someone stop the parodies of modern major general.

The scanning of the lyrics in the meter is unbearable, they emphazise the syllables in ways that are untenable, in short in matters musical, prosodic and ephemeral, i cannot stand the parodies of modern major general!