#legacy: g7

[thebramblewood]

Percy fan cam! 🥰

[espumagria]

yeah... Lancasters... AGAIN

[girlboytrait]

i'm pretty sure this dude's name is sebastian? i didn't write it down though

[pitchblacktea]

girls day!

[warsofasoiaf]

While I believe Trump's actions towards Ukraine is atrocious considering the total incompetence of Russia is it really surrendering if they can't achieve anything. Even if we do cut aid completely what can Russia do, they lost more men then any war since World War 2 with the result of barely holding Eastern Ukraine and who knows if they are even capable of occupying it long term. Or am I being too optimistic and Russia is more formidable than it appears?

Not Ukraine. For the purposes of the U.S.'s part in the entire scenario, Trump's conduct looks to be a total surrender to Russia. Trump has been quite vocal at trying to grant Russia concessions before the negotiations even take place. Reduction in U.S. forces from Europe, reinviting Russia to the G7, talking about withdrawing sanctions, all of these would be appropriately considered negotiation levers; we will grant Russia ABC in exchange for XYZ. Instead, Trump is trying to push for them to be granted these concessions first, without actually securing any gains for himself. After all, Trump is hoping to be an energy (particularly oil and LNG) exporter - allowing Russia more latitude to sell oil worldwide gives the US a competitor and weakens the U.S. position. Hurting European relations is also bad from a trade point of view - the EU is a vastly larger market and offers more to the U.S. from a trade and scientific point of view. It's a monumentally bad move from a negotiation theory point of view, were Trump sincere in his desire to mediate a peace treaty. Trump seems to be more interesting in ensuring a Russian victory by granting their maximalist aims.

My theory is that Trump is a severe narcissist and thus sees U.S. strategic interest largely in the vein of personal fulfillment. Putin flatters him by telling him how brave he is to allow Russia to get what he wants and dangles the idea of a genuine reset in Russian-U.S. relations that Trump believes will get him into the history books (see Trump's obsession with renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and trying to secure new states - it appears that he wants to have something concrete that he can point to rather than his current legacy of being by and large a bungler in the vein of Jimmy Carter). By contrast, Zelenskyy refused to bend the knee and grant him oppo dirt, and so he wants Ukraine to be humiliated and broken to satisfy his narcissistic rage. Similarly, Trump was angered by his impeachment over Ukrainian foreign aid and thus wants Ukraine to suffer for the slight to his ego.

There's actually more to it that largely falls into my conception of the second-term Trump presidency's focus on performative strength, but that's kind of going beyond the scope of the question.

Thanks for the question, James.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

[misfitwashere]

June 17, 2025

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

JUN 18

READ IN APP

Yesterday at the meeting of the leaders of the Group of Seven (G7), a forum of democracies with advanced economies, President Donald Trump told reporters: “The UK is very well protected. You know why? Because I like them, that's why. That's the ultimate protection.”

Commenters often note that Trump talks like a mob boss, but rarely has his organized-crime style of governance been clearer than in yesterday’s statement.

Also yesterday, Ana Swanson and Lauren Hirsch of the New York Timesreported that Trump has taken unprecedented control over U.S. Steel. Japan’s Nippon Steel has been trying to take over U.S. Steel since 2023, but the Biden administration blocked the deal for security reasons. In order to move it forward, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick demanded an agreement that gives to the president and his successors, or a person the president designates, a single share of preferred stock, known as class G, or “gold.” The deal gives the president permanent veto power over nearly a dozen actions the company might want to take, as well as power over its board of directors.

Swanson and Hirsch note that the U.S. government historically takes a stake in companies only when they are in financial trouble or when they play a significant role in the economy. “We have a golden share, which I control, or the president controls,” Mr. Trump told reporters on Thursday. “Now I’m a little concerned whoever the president might be, but that gives you total control.”

This kind of deal echoes those of the authoritarians Trump appears to admire. His ongoing support for Russian president Vladimir Putin was on display at the G7, when he echoed Russian talking points that blamed European countries and the United States for Putin’s war against Ukraine, rather than acknowledging that it was Russia that attacked Ukraine after giving assurances that it would respect Ukrainian sovereignty in exchange for Ukraine’s giving up the Soviet nuclear weapons stored there.

Also yesterday, Rene Marsh and Ella Nilsen of CNN reported that officials from the Environmental Protection Agency under Trump have been telling staff in the Midwest—which the authors note has a legacy of industrial pollution—to “stop enforcing violations against fossil fuel companies.” At the same time, the Department of Justice has cut its environmental division significantly, leaving “no one to do the work.”

Trump vowed that if he were reelected he would slash the oil and gas regulations he claims are “burdensome.” Now, one EPA enforcement staffer told Marsh and Nilsen, “The companies are scoffing at the cops. EPA enforcement doesn’t have the leverage they once had.”

Also yesterday, outdoor journalist Wes Siler reported in Wes Siler’s Newsletter that while language inserted in the Republicans’ budget reconciliation bill requires the sale of up to 3.3 million acres of publicly owned land, an amendment authorizes the sale of 258 million acres more over the next five years. The amendment comes from the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and was written by Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Steve Daines (R-MT).

It includes Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service lands in 11 states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. As Siler notes, while the measure does not currently include national monument lands, the Department of Justice under Trump is arguing that the president can revoke national monument protections. If it did so, that would make another 13.5 million acres available for purchase.

Siler notes the process for selling those lands calls for an enormous rush on sales, “all without hearings, debate, or public input opportunities.”

Today, Eliot Brown of the Wall Street Journal reported that Mukesh Ambani, the richest man in India, is now one of the many wealthy foreign real estate developers “pouring money” into the Trump Organization. Brown noted that the Trump family is aggressively developing its businesses while Trump is in the White House, reaching past real estate into cryptocurrency and other sectors.

The growing power of international oligarchs to use the resources of the government for their own benefit recalls a speech Robert Mueller, then director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, gave in New York City in 2011. In it, he explained that globalization and modern technology had changed the nature of organized crime. No longer regional networks with a clear structure, he said, organized crime had become international, fluid, and sophisticated, with multibillion-dollar stakes. Its operators were cross-pollinating across countries, religions, and political affiliations, sharing only their greed. They did not care about ideology; they cared about money. They would do anything for a price.

These criminals “may be former members of nation-state governments, security services, or the military,” he said. “They are capitalists and entrepreneurs. But they are also master criminals who move easily between the licit and illicit worlds. And in some cases, these organizations are as forward-leaning as Fortune 500 companies.”

These criminal enterprises, he noted, were working to corner the market on oil, gas, and precious metals. And to do so, Mueller explained, they “may infiltrate our businesses. They may provide logistical support to hostile foreign powers. They may try to manipulate those at the highest levels of government. Indeed, these so-called 'iron triangles' of organized criminals, corrupt government officials, and business leaders pose a significant national security threat.”

The FBI’s increasing focus on organized crime and national security is what prompted its interest in the connections between the Trump campaign and Russia in 2016.

The willingness of Republicans to enable Trump’s behavior is especially striking today, since June 17 is the anniversary of the 1972 Watergate break-in. On that day, operatives associated with President Richard M. Nixon’s team tried to tap the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee in Washington’s Watergate complex. Early in the morning of June 17, 1972, Frank Wills, a 24-year-old security guard, noticed that a door lock had been taped open. He ripped off the tape and closed the door, but on his next round, he found the door taped open again. He called the police, who found five burglars in the Democratic National Committee headquarters located in the building.

The story played out over the next two years with Nixon insisting he was not involved in the affair, but in early August 1974 a tape recorded just days after the break-in revealed Nixon and an aide plotting to invoke national security to protect the president. Republican senators who had not wanted to convict their president of the charges of impeachment being considered in the House knew the game was over. A delegation of them went to the White House to tell Nixon they would vote to convict him.

On August 9, 1974, Nixon became the first president in U.S. history to resign.

Chris Geidner of LawDork notes that despite the lawmakers in our own era who are unwilling to stop Trump, “the pushback…is very real.” Geidner notes not just the No Kings Day protests of the weekend, but also a lawsuit by the American Bar Association (ABA) suing Trump for his attacks on law firms and lawyers, calling Trump’s actions “unprecedented and uniquely dangerous to the rule of law.”

Geidner also notes that lower court judges are upholding the Constitution, and he points especially to U.S. District Judge William Young, an appointee of Republican president Ronald Reagan. In a hearing yesterday, Young insisted on holding the government accountable “for both Trump's actions and the follow-up actions from those Trump has empowered to act.”

Young called cuts to funding for National Institutes of Health research grants “illegal” and “void” and ordered the NIH to restore the funds immediately. “I am hesitant to draw this conclusion—but I have an unflinching obligation to draw it—that this represents racial discrimination and discrimination against America’s LGBTQ community. That’s what this is. I would be blind not to call it out. My duty is to call it out.”

“I’ve never seen a record where racial discrimination was so palpable,” Young said during the hearing. “I’ve sat on this bench now for 40 years. I’ve never seen government racial discrimination like this.” He added: “You are bearing down on people of color because of their color. The Constitution will not permit that.… Have we fallen so low? Have we no shame?”

—

[vague-humanoid]

As the Group of Seven summit wrapped up Friday in Italy, climate defenders condemned G7 leaders for their continued failure to take meaningful action to combat the worsening planetary emergency.

Taking aim at what critics called the G7 leaders' largely empty pledge to undertake "concrete steps to address the triple crisis of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss," 350.org U.S. campaigns manager Candice Fortin lamented that "yet another meeting ends without real commitments to revert the situation rich countries like the U.S. put us in."

"As COP29 approaches and the world deals with worsening climate impacts, we can't afford to waste more time," Fortin said, referring to the United Nations Climate Change Conference scheduled to take place in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan—a major fossil fuel-producing nation—in November. COP29 is set to be chaired by a former oil executive.

"If the U.S. wants to pride itself on being a 'world leader,' it needs to show how it will pay its climate debt to climate-vulnerable countries that bear the most significant climate impacts without the necessary funds for adaptation," Fortin added.

Despite historic levels of forced displacement due to armed conflict, Group of Seven member countries have increased their military expenditures to record highs while they slash spending on humanitarian aid for people affected by wars that these powerful nations often started or stoked, an analysis published Friday revealed.

According to Birmingham, England-based Islamic Relief Worldwide, military spending by G7 members Canada, France, Italy, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States—which wrapped up Friday in Puglia, Italy—rose to $1.2 trillion last year, the overwhelming bulk of that amount attributable to the U.S.' $886.3 billion Pentagon budget.

[wanderersrest]

An Abbreviated History of Mecha Addendum 1: Assemble the Forces!

Welcome to the first addendum to An Abbreviated History of Mecha! Today, we'll be looking at some of the media that came out in the 70's and before. A lot of the shows covered here are ones that were fairly big in their own right, especially when compared to the juggernauts of the era like Ultraman, Mazinger Z, and Getter Robo. What should also not surprise anyone with a lot of the shows listed here is that a bunch of the shows listed here have one Go Nagai and Dynamic Planning attached to them in some manner.

Because of course he is.

And I should note: unlike in An Abbreviated History of Mecha proper, the addendums will not be listing these entries in chronological order. This primarily because a) I need to get back into the groove of writing one-off posts (especially after The Devil That is Capitalism), and b) there are a lot of things that slipped out of the cracks, and I treasure my sanity.

Anyways, let's get down to brass tacks.

Daiku Maryu Gaiking (1976) and Gaiking: The Legend of Daiku Maryu (2005)

Daiku Maryu Gaiking (or Dino Mech Gaiking) is a 1976 giant robot series known for having plots take place in real world locations outside of Japan and also for featuring the first ever use of a carrier ship for the titular giant robot Gaiking. Gaiking is also somewhat infamous due to Toei trying their absolute hardest not to pay Go Nagai since he and Dynamic Planning created the series.

Toei would revisit Gaiking in 2005 with the release of Gaiking: the Legend of Daiku Maryu, which would feature a largely unchanged Gaiking and Daiku Maryu but feature a completely different main character.

Kotetsu Jeeg/Steel Jeeg (1975) and Kotetsushin Jeeg (2007)

Created by Go Nagai immediately following the success of Mazinger Z and Great Mazinger, Kotetsu Jeeg alongside its sibling series UFO Robot Grendizer would help to cement Nagai's legacy as one of the big mecha creators in the canon. Kotetsu Jeeg would receive a sequel in 2007, Kotetsushin Jeeg. The sequel was directed by Jun Kawagoe of Getter Robo Armageddon and Mazinkaiser SKL fame and features JAM Project performing the OP Stormbringer.

In other words, Kotetsu Jeeg beat Mazinger Z to the punch with the distant sequel. Or I guess you could say it beat Mazinger Z to the rocket punch?

Eh? Get it? No? Okay...

Planetary Robot Danguard Ace (1977)

Danguard Ace is one of the many mecha shows that came out in the wake of giants like Mazinger Z and Getter Robo. This series is noteworthy for being Leiji Matsumoto's first and only foray into the giant robot genre of mecha.

And hey, guess who's currently the owner of the Danguard Ace property?

It's Go Nagai and Dynamic Planning.

Abassador Magma (1965)

Ambassador Magma is a manga series created by Osamu Tezuka. It would also receive a tokusatsu series shortly after, with one of its big accomplishments being that it would be the first tokusatsu series aired in color. Specifically, it would beat honorary mecha show Ultraman to the punch by about six days.

Invincible Robot Trider G7 (1980)

Something to always keep in mind with the history of mecha is that Mobile Suit Gundam was not initially a hit. Invincible Robot Trider G7 serves as a good reminder of this, as it was an anime series produced by Sotsu (as in the very same Sotsu that also produced the original Gundam alongside Sunrise). Airing at around the same time as Space Runaway Ideon, Trider G7 would mark the beginning of giant robots being used in the deep recesses of space alongside Ideon.

Future Robot Daltanious (1979)

I couldn't find a good gif for Daltanious without watching the series myself, so we'll have to make do with this promotional image instead.

Future Robot Daltanious is a 1979 anime series that had Tadao Nagahama as its original director for its first couple of episodes before he left to direct the seminal Shoujo series The Rose of Versailles (a series that really should be treated as an honorary mecha series due to its influence on anime and manga as a whole). Even though he only worked on the series for about thirteen episodes and passed away before he could come back to work on it, Daltanious is still treated as one of his shows alongside Combattler V, Voltes V, and Daimos.

Daltanious is also an important series for those familiar with the Brave franchise, as Daltanious is the design inspiration for both Exkaiser and GaoGaiGar.

Super Robot Red Baron (1973) and Super Robot Mach Baron (1974)

Super Robot Red Baron would come onto the scene in 1973 as the giant robot tokusatsu shows would wane in abundance due to their expensive natures. Red Baron, and later its sequel series Mach Baron, would serve as a sort of swan song as it would also have to compete with one Mazinger Z for the hearts of children all across Japan. Giant robot tokusatsu wouldn't go away altogether though, and we'd see this with the next and arguably one of the weirdest entries both here and in the canon of comic book history.

Toei Spider-Man (1978)

In cooperation with Marvel Comics (yes really), Toei would put out their own version of Spider-Man towards the end of the 70's. Note that this is specifically in a post-Kamen Rider/Super Sentai world, so Spider-Man in this series is less "quippy teenager living up to his uncles words about great power and great responsibility" and more "the warrior of hell fighting aliens" (although, I'm pretty sure either Peter Parker or Miles Morales have fought the forces of hell at this point).

Also Spider-Man in the Toei series pilots a giant robot named Leopardon to fight giant alien monsters. This may be funny, but Leopardon is important because it is what inspires Super Sentai to include giant robots in all of their future shows.

Also, to the folks at Marvel. Sony and the production crew behind the Spiderverse films: when are we going to get Toei Spider-Man in the Spiderverse films?

Jumbo Machinder/Shogun Warriors

Image source: Shogun Warriors unofficial website

Finally, to round out today's post, how could I not mention the Jumbo Machinder line of toys. All jumbo machinder was was a line of toys based off of popular giant robot shows like Mazinger Z, Gettero Robo G, Brave Raideen, Gaiking, and many more (also Godzilla and Rodan had their own machinder toys). The toys all came with spring-loaded projectiles and were immensely popular with kids back in the day.

Mattel would eventually get the distribution rights to these toys, bringing them over to the US as the Shogun Warriors. Mattel would also ask Marvel Comics to write a comic series for the Shogun Warriors that would explain why all of these largely unrelated giant robots were working together.

Thank you for reading this addendum to An Abbreviated History of Mecha. Normally, I'd do a conclusion section, but I feel like I'd have to follow up with another Addendum post.

[thebramblewood]

thebramblewood's Legacy Universe: A Primer

I've never really been one for following specific legacy challenges, but I do get incredibly attached to families and love seeing genetics play out, so generational gameplay has always been my thing. Recently, I've been very distracted by Helena Zhao Is Dead, which means my long-running family of nine generations (!) has been on indefinite hiatus for most of this blog's life.

I discovered their save got accidentally deleted, which is probably for the best, considering it was the same damn save I started back in 2018. Luckily, I had the current generation in my library, and I missed them, so I decided to bring Naomi and Micah back for Life & Death. I thought it might be helpful to summarize past events for those who might be interested in their family's background. Don't worry, we're not going all the way back! I love my earlier generations, but I didn't start getting into a more story-based approach until pretty far in. So here are the relevant details from generation five on (and I really did try to be brief, I promise).

GENERATION FIVE

This generation's heir was Gaby Martinez-Jang. After saving Strangerville from the Mother Plant with her ragtag investigative team, she moved to Sulani with the hunky conspiracy theorist she met along the way, Alvin. The impetus for this journey was Alvin being adopted and deciding he wanted to learn more about his birth family. In Sulani, he not only met his biological sister, Kaimana, but also discovered and embraced his mermadic ancestry! Meanwhile, Gaby became a conservationist and even won a Starlight Accolade for her documentary film on Mua Pel'am!

GENERATION SIX

Gaby and Alvin's one child, Noelani 'Aukai, became the new heir. After struggling to figure out their identity as a teen, Noelani's love for music led them to pursue DJing and producing. They started off doing pop-up performances in Sulani that gained traction on social media and led to a record deal. Meanwhile, they were falling in love with their childhood BFF, Nani Kealoha. Eventually, the two of them moved to San Myshuno, where Nani pursued her political dreams and Noelani was thrust into stardom.

This is where it becomes really important to pay attention. Noelani's other best friend was Malia Kahananui. The result of MCCC shenanigans, she became the granddaughter of Mele and Alika Kahananui because I thought they were too old for a surprise baby, lol. She was left with her grandparents by her reckless and impulsive mother, who was always going off on grand adventures and eventually just never returned. A yoga enthusiast and masseuse, Malia discovered her talent for communing with the island spirits when she was visited by her recently deceased grandparents, who encouraged her to nurture the gift they never got the chance to tell her about.

The spirits were always cryptic, but during one visit she received a more specific warning: "One day, there will be a cataclysmic threat to the realm where all spirits go. Humans occupy this realm, too, humans with supernatural talents who coexist with us in exchange for the protection they offer. A human of modest background and raw power is the only one capable of defeating this threat. They will sacrifice greatly to save our realm from extermination." She promptly filed that information away for a decade or two.

GENERATION SEVEN

This generation's heir was Noelani and Nani's son and robotics enthusiast, Sione 'Aukai. Unfortunately for him, he was almost immediately overshadowed by his eventual spouse, Malia's daughter, Cassie. Oh, Cassie... Possibly my favorite Sim of all time. As kids, they had a long distance friendship, bonding over their love of magic and fantasy. When Cassie started having dreams of a world beyond her own, her mother remembered the warning from the spirits and, fearing the worst, tried to deter her interest, which only made Cassie more stubbornly determined to seek out magic. Malia thought her daughter's rebellious streak might be fixed by a change of scenery, so she moved in with Sione's family in San Myshuno.

Unfortunately, Sione decided he was "too cool" for their shared childhood interests and rejected Cassie's long-time crush. Even so, they agreed to share a house for uni, where he studied Robotics at Foxbury and she studied Art at UBrite. Cassie soon decided college wasn't for her, but she used her connections in the Secret Society to make her way to the Magic Realm, where she met L. Faba and finally began her magical training. A few years later, she and Sione met up again in the city, finally worked it out, and got married. (Can you tell I'm a big fan of the childhood friends to romantic partners pipeline?)

GENERATION EIGHT

Sione and Cassie have twin girls. Rowan 'Aukai is the heir of generation eight. Rowan and her sister, Sabrina, are just beginning their own magical educations when tragedy strikes. A rogue spellcaster, having acquired forbidden magic, storms the Magic Realm and kills the three Sages. As word spreads, Cassie is one of the first spellcasters to arrive. She defeats the rogue spellcaster but dies of magical overload. Overcome by grief, Sione forbids the girls from continuing their training. Rowan misses magic and her mom every day, though everyone else seems to be moving on. She starts having visions of her mom trying to communicate something important. After clashing with her dad, she runs away from home, determined to teach herself the magic she needs to bring Cassie back to life.

Rowan ends up in Evergreen Harbor, where being a homeless teen in a smog-infested city isn't conducive to developing her magical prowess. She temporarily loses her abilities but is introduced to a couple who takes in wayward teens. After a dream visit from her mom, her magic returns. She and her friend, Alejandro, research all things paranormal and find themselves in a haunted house, where she receives advice from Claude René Duplantier Guidry. Eventually, she returns to the Realm, which is shockingly still intact, and where she finally learns what she needs to do. She casts dedeathify at her mom's grave, and her family is finally reunited.

GENERATION NINE

Whew, we're finally almost finished. Generation nine is ongoing, and its heir, August Uchiyama, only just became a teen the last time we saw him (and will probably look a bit different when we see him again because I have to remake his teen version 😭). After bringing her mom back, Rowan started dating one of her friends from Evergreen Harbor, Raveena Uchiyama. They eventually got married, settled into a hippie lifestyle on a big Henford-on-Bagley farm, and had five kids. August is the middle child and only boy. He's had a rather idyllic childhood full of farm animal friends, oversized crops, and adventures with Uncle Alejandro and Grandma Cassie. He has a lot coming up for him that remains top secret. 🤐

Back to Naomi and Micah, they're August's older twin sisters. (They also have younger twin sisters, Tess and Sadie.) Since August is the heir, they've existed mostly in the background so far. But Naomi proved herself to be a cigarette-smoking rebel who frequently snuck out at night and cut class to hang out with her delinquent friends, and Micah was a reserved, rather moody teen who enjoyed painting and journaling but eventually branched out and joined the cheer team. In The Mourningvale Files, they're meant to be in their late 20s and still struggling to find their footing as adults. I'm excited to develop their characters more before I eventually (hopefully) make my way backwards to fill in the rest of August's story. This may be the final generation for how fucking long it's going to take me to finish. 😅

And that's what you missed on thebramblewood.tumblr.com!

[espumagria]

[girlboytrait]

[pitchblacktea]

um.... soooo they're kind boyfriend-girlfriend now

[ajmeltdiaries]

31. Tallac (IC Collective) Live Rosin

Family, I believe

Chem, OG

PX: Diablo OG (1, 2, 3, 4) By unknown via IC

GPX1: OG Kush (2, 5) GPX2: South Africa Sativa (2, 6)

PY: AJ Sour Diesel (1, 7) By AJ Murray via IC

GPY1: Diesel #1 (8) GPY2: Diesel #2 (8)

Tallac blends IC's cut of Diablo OG with their cut of AJ Sour Diesel. Both are legacy strains with legendary origins. Lots of nerdy reading in the keynotes!

Keynotes

https://www.iccollective.com/tallacstrain

https://seedfinder.eu/en/strain-info/diablo-og-kush/unknown-or-legendary

https://www.allbud.com/marijuana-strains/sativa-dominant-hybrid/diablo-og-kush

https://www.iheartjane.com/embed/stores/1013/products/37461/ic-collective-diablo-og

https://seedfinder.eu/en/strain-info/og-kush/clone-only-strains

https://seedfinder.eu/en/strain-info/south-africa-sativa/original-strains

https://www.iccollective.com/sourdieselistrain

https://leafmagazines.com/profiles/grows-gardens/a-j-sour-diesel-returns-to-new-york/

Form, as seen

This cultivar has the doughy, cold-cured texture typical of IC rosins this year, soft and spongey but not runny, and is beige / sandy in color. She appears granular at first, but, after tooling, changes into a uniform consistency that is semi-wet. The terps form more than a sweat (see 33. One Way), but less than a sauce or batter. Upon dabbing, she melts into a dark amber.

Flavor, as tasted

Complex

By which I mean Tallac's flavor fits multiple profiles at various temperatures and sequence (referring to tasting sequence, or distance from 0, where 0 is synonymous with a deep, reset cleaning). The overarching motif is breathy and dank.

Aroma starts off fairly muted and earthy. After tooling, it blooms into top notes of citrus and bright fruit (hello ocimene!), dominant notes of evergreen, earth, and rubber / Chem, and low notes of sweetness and baking spice. In total, aroma represents the cross with high fidelity.

The following tasting notes are from my G7 Blender with diamondium cap and pearl.

At 510°F, I'd call the profile Prototypical (Evergreen, Skunk, Kush). As with the aroma, flavor starts with bright, fresh notes reminiscent of evergreen forest and gas that lead into floral sweetness and baking spice, alongside ripe skunk. These continue to swirl throughout the finish.

Then at 525°, the profile becomes Savory (Rosemary, Spice, Diesel). Starts heavy on rosemary and evergreen, followed by the Diablo spice, before the Sour Diesel takes over. At this temp the Cannasulfurs taste like fuel instead of sweet. The finish is very herbal and savory, becoming astringent as it lingers.

I decided to forego tasting at 550°. The freshness of the flavors at the lower temps is enough for me, and I think this one could lose most of that to tasting burnt.

Felt Effects

Tallac gives me heady, uplifted vibes with good relaxation and relief, without being too locking or hazy. This is quintessential Kush + Diesel from IC. I find it good for focusing, introspection, and mind expansion, which is a very fun combination in a variety of settings. Effects in my head were like a gentle swell into higher elevations, while my body was calm and collected. I would say this leans more toward the head than the body, but there is no lack of body.

Effect: Strength of Evidence (0=None, 5=Optimal) Energy/Amplify: 5 Relaxation: 4 Relief: 5 Sleep: 3 Haze: 3 Lock: 4

Final Thoughts

Tallac is one of my ongoing favorites by IC. My first experience was their March cultivar, and I bought their June cultivar twice. This October cultivar does not disappoint! The form is nice and soft, the flavor is loud, and the effects hit like an OG. The overall impression is breathy, kushy, skunky, and lifted. IC touts her as a heady powerhouse, and they are not exaggerating. She balances me out like few others. If some genie could instantly realize my homesteading dream at the cost of one strain for life, Tallac would be it!

Edit: Meant & forgot to address the SD male parent vis-a-vis the quality of the dank / skunk flavor. It was with Tallac in March that I first suspected this correlation. Since then it’s held true in every other example, notably Sweet Sting, PH #73, and ICKO. Early on in my IC journey I read stories glorifying their lost cut of Zkittlez for its quintessence. I think whatever SD male they’re hunting with deserves the same recognition. 🤌

melt shot x anthonyjames

From earlier today when the fish were jumping and the birds were laughing at me 🫠 (PS this hardware set works quite nicely!)

And another to show off my brand spankin’ new Titan 2! This thing absolutely rumbles, and I’m having a good time figuring it out 🤠

[simslegacy5083]

OC Evolution Tag

Thanks for the tag @marcishaun!

I've decided to do an abridged story of Peppino Hekekia, scientist, immortal mage, and creator of the "Sixam Science Baby" insemination technique.

I wasn’t taking ANY photos back then, so I did a quick recreation for this story.

-----------------------

I met Peppino around 2018. He was the 5th heir in my “hop around the family tree” legacy. He was the grandson of G2s daughter, but prior to that I had been playing with G2s brothers' family and didn’t know he existed.

He showed up at his grandfather Candor’s wedding to my simself. Those 2 had been flirting on and off for centuries but MCCC kept marrying her off before I could get them together.

I couldn’t pass up that blue mohawk, so I scooped him up to be my next heir and sent him off to Britechester to study Physics.

He loved music and busked with his guitar to pay his tuition.

He met his husband Troy on a blind date.

When he graduated, he and Troy got married and moved to Mt. Komorebi. He started working as a scientist at the lab, Troy was a police officer.

The story of how they started their family is outlined in G7 of my current legacy, here

When I decided to start a new save and a new legacy, I moved him and his entire family to my new template save.

He originally met Willow, my G1 heir, at the lab. They were co-workers.

He showed up the 2nd time in G6,  as the leader of the magic club for teens that Jasper found after they ran away from home. I briefly outline there the true story of how he became a mage, gained immortality, and saved his daughter Esmerelda from death.

In G7 he once again taught my young mages the craft, and eventually helped his former students, my G7 heir Steven and his wife Gabby, start their family

After Steven’s book, Paternity Tale, became a bestseller, Peppino's services as a male insemination expert became widely sought after.

He started a clinic helping other men who wanted to give birth, including Steven’s son Peachy and his husband Jack.

Peppino remains a good friend of the family, though Luigi does not anticipate needing his magic or fertility services for himself.

Tagging @changingplumbob & @sharona-sims

[mariacallous]

A new report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, GI-TOC, published on Monday, warns that weak rule of law, organised crime and a large “grey” economy in Western Balkan countries – and the war in Ukraine – have allowed Russian Illicit Financial Flows, IFFs, to surge through the region and interfere in key decision making processes there.

“The Balkans’ strategic geographic position, acting as a gateway between Asia and Western Europe, coupled with an ecosystem of state capture, institutional weaknesses, organised crime and a rampant shadow economy, make the region particularly susceptible to IFFs,” Vanya Petrova, author of the report, told BIRN.

“This fact has actively been exploited by major players such as Russia, China and the UAE to influence decision-making in key markets and institutions,” she added.

The Kremlin has repeatedly taken advantage of its integration into the Western financial system to exploit governance gaps through the corrosive effect of illicit finance. This danger has taken on new and potentially greater dimensions with the onset of Russia’s war in Ukraine,” she says.

Global IFFs are estimated to be worth around 1-1.6 trillion US dollars annually, accounting for 3-5 per cent of world gross domestic product, GDP. However, according to Petrova, in the Western Balkans the figure is around 6 per cent of the region’s GDP.

After Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year, many sanctions were introduced, including a freeze by G7 countries of around 315 billion US dollars’ worth of Russian reserves held in Russia’s Central Bank.

Ways used by Russian elites to avoid sanctions include “laundering money through the purchase of real estate and business assets; utilizing professionals to open bank accounts, initiate bank transactions, transfer funds and create corporate structures that directly or indirectly support them; using complex ownership structures to avoid identification; and using third-party jurisdictions and false trade information to facilitate sensitive goods shipments to Russia”.

Russians avoid sanctions via the Western Balkans “with their combination of state and media capture, simmering ethnic divisions, slow pace of EU accession and the legacy of Russian cognitive bias”.

According to the report, since 2014, Bosnia, Bulgaria and Serbia have not followed EU sanctions against Russia, while both North Macedonia and Montenegro have provided so-called citizenship for investment to Russian citizens, despite criticism from the EU.

Albania has not yet followed through with a “fiscal amnesty” programme that would allow any Albanian or foreign citizen to deposit up to €2 million in non-declared money in the banking system, but has not scrapped the idea either.

Smuggling of people, weapons and cash have facilitated illegal activity since the start of the war in Ukraine. Smuggled cash is mainly concealed in cars or hidden among legitimate products in transport trucks or shipping containers.

According to the report, soon after the war started in 2022, Ukrainian refugees took undeclared cash with them to Europe; the wife of a former Ukrainian MP was caught at a border crossing for refugees with US$28 million and €1.3 million as she tried to enter Hungary.

In another case, a former Ukraine security service general, allegedly a Russian collaborator, was detained at the Serbia-North Macedonia border with €600 000 in cash, a large sum in US dollars, and diamonds and emeralds of unknown value.

Intensified use of covert channels for illegal money transfers into Albania exists as well.

Flows are often made indistinguishable by being mixed with gains in “cash-intensive businesses, such as restaurants, bars, beauty salons, petrol stations, private parking lots and taxi companies,” where this illegal money is laundered.

The report also explains that another form of IFF is fuel fraud. This often includes the evasion of custom tariffs by declaring lesses quantities of an oil product by selling fuel from ships on the Danube to fishers. A more recent trend, the report says, is the purchase of fuel at lower prices from Hungary and reselling it in Serbia.

The EU single market has a zero VAT policy for invoices between intermediaries, which has allowed VAT fraud to bloom. Petrova says that “in December 2022, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) uncovered what is believed to be the biggest VAT carousel fraud ever investigated in the EU, responsible for an estimated loss to EU taxpayers of €2.2 billion, including Bulgaria and Croatia, as well as third countries such as Albania and Serbia”.

“In general, this and trade misinvoicing remains the most prominent channel through which IFFs flow in and out of the Western Balkans,” Petrova writes. Trade misinvoicing includes fake legal transactions when no real business is taking place.

The report urges Europe to further decouple its economy from Russia, a network screening and sanctioning of Russian strategic investments in the Balkans, and to “prioritize the integration of the Balkans into the rollout of the newly designed Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) and coordinating their actions with US FinCEN and the financial intelligence institutions in each EU member state”.

[thoughtlessarse]

President Donald Trump faces potentially the hardest choice of his time in the White House, as he weighs up whether the United States should join Israel's bombing campaign against Iran. Trump fueled speculation about a US intervention as he dashed back from a G7 summit in Canada, warning Tuesday that the United States could kill Iran's supreme leader, but would not "for now." The choice is a monumental one for a president who has vowed throughout both his first and second terms in the Oval Office to get the United States out of its "forever wars" in the Middle East. "It's a major political and military choice that could define his legacy in the Middle East," Behnam Ben Taleblu, director of the Iran program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told AFP. As Trump met his National Security Council in the White House Situation Room on Tuesday, there were already hints that he was considering abandoning what was until recently his preferred diplomatic route. The most likely option under consideration by Trump would be the use of giant US "bunker-buster" bombs against Iran's deeply buried Fordow nuclear facility that Israel's bombs could not reach. US officials said dismantling Iran's nuclear program -- which Western countries say Tehran is using to seek a nuclear weapon -- remained Trump's priority.

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