#"Facing a Dying Nation"

[lucyoccupy]

Are Rads Escalating?

Q: Are Rads escalating? That’s Deadly Gamma Radiation to you and me. That is a tricky question to answer. The Rad plays a big part in lowering the average age of death of Americans. The Rads especially target unborn babies and little infants. The Rad is especially vicious; always has been; always will be. Nothing can be done about it. The big brains that created these weapons, on purpose,…

[a-big-apple]

Gideon, Harrow, and "Wedding Vows"

i frequently see the interpretation that this:

"The land that shall receive thee dying, in the same will I die: and there will I be buried. The Lord do so and so to me, and add more also, if aught but death part me and thee," said Gideon. (GtN 438)

plus this:

"If I forget you, let my right hand be forgotten," her mouth was saying. "Add more also, if aught but death part me and thee." And, unsteadily: "Griddle." (HtN 360)

plus this:

It didn't even matter when Kiriona said, "Sure, Cam. Marry a moron, then die. I get the urge." (NtN 372)

equals Gideon and Harrow are married! crying face emoji!

i'm not disparaging that interpretation, i think it's valid and has some basis in the text, and even if it wasn't/didn't, i think fans should have all the fun they want. but for me, it doesn't fully capture the complexity of what Gideon and Harrow are to each other, and i want to explore a slightly less straightforward reading.

Catholic weddings, vows, and Ruth under the cut ;)

Gideon and Ninth House traditions

let's start with Gideon quoting Ruth. i've seen folks repeating the idea that this is a wedding vow. it's more accurate to say that this is a verse often used as a wedding vow, in other denominations of Christianity, and secularly as well. but in a (traditional) Catholic wedding, the couple can't write or choose their own vows--the Celebration of Matrimony has specific text, with one or two variations, that is always used.

now, we haven't seen a Ninth House marriage ceremony. if we do see such a thing in AtN and discover that Ruth 1:17 is part of that tradition, i will cry a million happy queer tears about it. but i think it's somewhat likely that Gideon has never even seen a Ninth House wedding, given how small and trending elderly the population is, and that we know no couples in her lifetime have had kids other than the Reverend Parents.

what i'm getting at here is that this quotation from Ruth doesn't seem, to me, to represent something that's religiously or traditionally binding in Ninth House culture. it uses some similar language to Catholic marriage vows, "until death do us part" etc, but i don't think these are words that make them married in the eyes of the Ninth or the Houses at large, i think these are words Gideon has chosen as a specific expression of her devotion. and where does she get them from, if not some Ninth House ceremony or scripture?

well, this is a slightly longer stretch, but at the point in the story when Gideon says this, she's already dead. Harrow has begun to absorb her--and thanks to "The Unwanted Guest," we know that souls are porous, permeable, and rub off on each other when they're in contact. Gideon's soul is at this moment being integrated into Harrow's; Harrow has certainly read all kinds of books on the Ninth ranging from usual to totally heretical, some of them probably extremely old, and it's not unreasonable to think writings from before the Resurrection might have been copied and recopied into something Harrow could access. And speaking of soul permeability, Harrow's had Alecto's soul clinging onto hers for seven years, and Alecto's soul is in intimate contact with John's soul--there are so many ways for this bit of scripture to make its way into Gideon's non-corporeal mouth. the STI (Soulfully Transmitted Infection) of biblical knowledge.

Ruth in context

now let's talk a little about Ruth, the book of the Bible and also the character of the Bible, and Naomi, who she is swearing her devotion to. tl;dr, Naomi and her husband and two grown sons are Israelites who immigrate to Moab, a "pagan" nation, to escape famine. Naomi's two sons marry Moabite women; then the sons both die, as does Naomi's husband. Naomi, having lost everything, decides to return home where she'll be penniless and have a bad life but at least she'll be among her people; she tells her two daughters-in-law to go back to their families. One of them goes.

The other, Ruth, refuses, and swears beautiful devotion to Naomi, as we've heard Gideon quote: "She answered: Be not against me, to desire that I should leave thee and depart: for whithersoever thou shalt go, I will go: and where thou shalt dwell, I also will dwell. Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God. The land that shall receive thee dying, in the same will I die: and there will I be buried. The Lord do so and so to me, and add more also, if aught but death part me and thee."

in a biblical context, this has nothing to do with a wedding vow. Ruth is promising to leave the comfort of her own people, religion, and homeland to stay with her mother-in-law Naomi, even though the connection they had (Naomi's son, Ruth's husband) is gone, and all they have to look forward to is a terrible life of grief and bitterness. this is frequently interpreted as a parallel to Jesus, who (in the religious perspective) made the sacrifice of leaving his place with God and becoming human out of devotion to humanity, in order to live and suffer and redeem us. woof, this is giving me flashbacks to CCD.

of course, many Christians resist interpreting what passes between Ruth and Naomi as resembling a wedding vow for homophobic reasons too--making it about Jesus is a way to make it less queer--but i think the point still stands that this is a more complicated, and less marriage-related, expression of love than it seems taken on its own.

Harrow's lamentation

when Harrow later echoes it back, she conflates it with a different biblical quotation: "On the willows in the midst thereof we hung up our instruments. For there they that led us into captivity required of us the words of songs. And they that carried us away, said: Sing ye to us a hymn of the songs of Sion. How shall we sing the song of the Lord in a strange land? If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand be forgotten. Let my tongue cleave to my jaws, if I do not remember thee: If I make not Jerusalem the beginning of my joy."

it's a lament, an expression of mourning, a longing for home from someone who has been forcibly removed from it. when combined with the Ruth quotation, in which Ruth is giving up her home in her devotion, this really reads to me as both Harrow's grief, immediate and overpowering, and a realization that Gideon is her home, and failing to acknowledge that is as disabling as the loss of a hand or of the power of speech. Gideon is the beginning of her joy, and Harrow is, in this moment, putting Gideon above the Ninth House in her devotion. above Alecto. above everything.

and again, i'm not saying all of that can't be about marriage, but it's about a relationship much more complicated than marriage can encompass in the context House cultural norms.

Kiriona Gaia, saddest girl

this brings me to Kiriona, and "marry a moron, then die." consider the context of this, and the tone. Kiriona's deeply, deeply hurt. the saddest girl in the universe. she died for Harrow, avowed her devotion to Harrow, and then (from her perspective) was rejected; buried; excised from Harrow's brain and then from her body. Kiriona, as she did when she was Gideon, covers her emotions with humor and sarcasm. i suspect she's even less able to handle being vulnerable as Kiriona than she ever was before. she's making light of Canaan House and what happened there, and it's only in sarcastically downplaying what she's been through that she recounts her relationship to Harrow as a marriage--something she has almost no positive examples of, something that is in her experience frequently political and joyless. also notably, she frames it as a marriage that occurred before she died.

Their actual vow

what Gideon (and Kiriona) really wants--she tells us over and over again--is to be a true cavalier.

and what does Gideon's ghost repeat right before she devastates us with Ruth 1:17?

"One flesh, one end," said Gideon, and it was a murmur now, on the very edge of hearing. Harrow said, "Don't leave me." (GtN 438)

it's taken me a dozen paragraphs just to propose that this is their vow. "One flesh, one end" are the actual words that need to be spoken, in Gideon and Harrow's cultural context, to bring them into an official union with each other; a union that is arguably more fundamental in the Houses, and certainly more complicated, than a marriage. a union Gideon specifically wants, and has seen in action.

in the pool, they vow to each other as cavalier and necromancer. in the moments before Gideon's death, she forgives Harrow again, and exposes her heart: "'You know I only care about you,' she said in a brokenhearted rush" (GtN 430). then she repeats their oath again, acknowledges the pain she's about to cause for Harrow, and rededicates herself to the Ninth--a place she never really belonged, Harrow's home and people more than her own, as Ruth dedicated herself to Naomi's home and people. Gideon "married" her moron in the pool, and now she dies to fulfill that vow.

and as we saw above, after Gideon's death, she reminds Harrow again of their union--of its importance, of how she's fulfilling what she has interpreted to be her whole purpose as a cavalier--and it's in response to Harrow's "don't leave me" that Gideon offers a final reassurance of her devotion. in her mind, this sacrifice is its ultimate expression, the most inextricable and undeniable union two people can achieve.

Gideon believes she'll be part of Harrow forever.

[mariacallous]

(JTA) — The Jewish French-Moroccan journalist Ruth Elkrief — who has delivered TV news in France for over 30 years — found herself at the center of the story when she was placed under police protection in December.

Elkrief received the security detail after an online attack from the far-left politician Jean-Luc Mélenchon. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Mélenchon charged her with hatred against Muslims after she challenged one of his colleagues during an on-air interview about the Israel-Hamas war.

“Ruth Elkrief. Manipulator. If we don’t insult Muslims, this fanatic is outraged,” Mélenchon said of the journalist, adding that she “reduces all political life to her contempt for Muslims.”

Mélenchon, leader of the far-left party La France Insoumise, known as LFI or, in English, France Unbowed, posted his comments moments after Elkrief conducted a heated interview with LFI lawmaker Manuel Bompard on her TV channel, La Chaîne Info, on Dec. 3. Elkrief asked Bompard about his party’s refusal to condemn Hamas and its characterization of the militants as “resistance fighters” after their Oct. 7 attacks on Israel. She also asked about the party leaders’ decision to describe Israel’s war in Gaza as a “genocide,” and whether this language might provoke civil unrest in France.

In response, Bompard referenced warnings from the United Nations that the Palestinian people were at risk of genocide without a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. Elkrief in turn quoted the French historian Vincent Duclert, who has said of Gaza’s high death toll, “Even a frightening humanitarian situation is not enough to qualify as genocide.”

Elkrief, who says she “came out” as Jewish to her viewers after Oct. 7, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that she merely did her job of debating an interviewee and dismissed Mélenchon’s accusation of Islamophobia. According to Elkrief, she was challenging the positions of France’s far-left political class — not French Muslims, whom she does not believe to be well represented by LFI even though nearly 70% of them voted for the party in the 2022 national elections.

“Most French Muslims don’t support Hamas and they don’t support all these catastrophes,” she said. “They can of course fight for a Palestinian state — and I agree with that — but they are not agreeing with Hamas and terrorism.”

Nonetheless, Mélenchon’s charge prompted a wave of threats against the Jewish journalist and raised an alarm for French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin. Darminin said he decided to provide police protection because Mélenchon “put a target on the back of Ruth Elkrief, who already faced many threats as a journalist [and] was just doing her job.”

The government was on high alert for domestic attacks responding to the Israel-Hamas war. Mélenchon’s statement came the day after a knife-wielding man killed a German tourist and injured two others near the Eiffel Tower, telling police he was angry about the fate of Gaza and “so many Muslims dying in Afghanistan and in Palestine.”

While it’s typical for domestic attacks to increase in France during conflicts in Israel and the Palestinian territories, a recent surge in antisemitism has been especially pronounced. Darmanin reported over 1,500 antisemitic incidents in the six weeks after Oct. 7 — a three-fold increase from the total documented in all of 2022 — including desecrated Jewish graves and the stabbing of a Jewish woman in Lyon whose door was marked with a swastika.

Whether or not Mélenchon planned for an antisemitic backlash against Elkrief, his choice of language on X was loaded, according to Dorian Bell, a professor researching France’s history of race and antisemitism at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

“To accuse a Jewish member of the media of ‘manipulation’ arguably draws on long-standing antisemitic tropes about Jewish control of the media,” Bell told JTA.

Mélenchon’s words landed in the middle of a polarizing fallout from the Israel-Hamas War in France, home to one of the largest Muslim populations in Europe (about 5 million) and the world’s third-largest Jewish community after Israel and the United States (about 500,000).

French authorities met the wave of antisemitic incidents with a crackdown on pro-Palestinian rallies. Darminin attempted to impose a blanket ban on demonstrations denouncing Israel’s military campaign, which he declared “likely to generate disturbances to public order.” Although the ban was overturned, local authorities can still block protests on a case-by-case basis, prompting an outcry from some French citizens who accuse the government of suppressing free expression in support of Palestinians.

France’s Jews and Muslims have both experienced a painful recent history, including institutionalized discrimination against Muslim immigrants and Islamic terrorist attacks that targeted a Jewish school in 2012 and a Jewish supermarket in 2015. The reverberations of the Israel-Hamas war in France have further shaped a perception, solidifying for decades, that the country’s antisemitism and Islamophobia can be collapsed into a Jewish-Muslim conflict.

Michel Wieviorka, a Jewish French sociologist who studies violence and terrorism, told JTA there is no evidence that antisemitic incidents are predominantly driven by French Muslims. In fact, most of the perpetrators behind the recent spike in incidents — particularly non-violent ones, such as property damage and graffiti — are unknown. Between Oct. 7 and Nov. 15, 1,518 reports of antisemitic acts resulted in 571 arrests, Darmanin announced in November.

“Nobody knows exactly who is acting,” said Wieviorka. “Many people believe that most of these acts come from people with immigrant origins, but they can also come from the extreme right. For instance, I know some cases of destroyed graves in Jewish cemeteries — these attacks usually come from the extreme right, not from Muslims or Arabs.”

For Elkrief, Oct. 7 marked a turning point both personally and professionally. The 63-year-old journalist was born in Meknes, Morocco, and moved to France with her family when she was a teenager. (A remaining synagogue in Meknes bears her family name.) She started her long career at the French desk of the Associated Press in 1984. She spent 14 years at TF1, the oldest TV channel in France, helped found two news channels — LCI in 1993 and BFM TV in 2005 — and has hosted an LCI show about French politics since 2021.

She is also the great-niece of Chalom Messas, who was Morocco’s chief rabbi in the 1960s and 1970s until immigrating to Israel in 1978, when he became the chief Sephardic rabbi of Jerusalem. Elkrief is part of France’s small Liberal Jewish community and maintains Jewish traditions, keeping kosher at home and gathering the family for Shabbat evenings — including her two daughters and a newborn granddaughter. (Liberal Judaism in France is most similar to Reform Judaism in the United States.)

In all her years on air, Elkrief never spoke about her Jewish identity on TV before Oct. 7. She felt obliged to keep a “poker face” about her private life until the Hamas attacks, when she was moved to share more — fueled by her fear of rising antisemitism and enabled by her recent position as a commentator.

“I could explain where I was coming from and how much I was anxious about antisemitism in France after the 7th of October,” said Elkrief. “I called it my ‘coming out.’ I’ve since had some opportunities to speak about the conflict as a French editorialist, but also as a French Jew, for the first time in my life.”

On Oct. 9, Elkrief told her viewers that she was born in Morocco and lived there until early 1974, when she was 13. Her parents, both descended from generations of Moroccan Jews, feared regional tensions in the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, when Israel fended off attacks from Arab countries. They went to France because they believed their children would have a safer life there.

“When I came at that time, I couldn’t imagine that there would be antisemitism in France,” Elkrief told JTA.

Worried about antisemitism gaining currency in French politics, Elkrief has criticized far-left factions heavily on her show. In addition to her dispute with Bompard, she blasted LFI for boycotting a march against antisemitism in November.

France’s traditional left, which encompasses socialist and communist parties, has nearly collapsed and left the more radical, controversy-dogged LFI in power, said Wieviorka. Meanwhile, the far-right National Rally — including anti-immigration leader Marine Le Pen, whose father and predecessor is a convicted Holocaust revisionist — has escaped the same censure for antisemitism during Israel’s war on Gaza, largely by proclaiming support for Israel.

“My idea is that they hate Arabs, Islam and migrants so much that they consider they have to be fighting on the other side,” said Wieviorka.

Bell cautioned against focusing exclusively on what is often described as the “new antisemitism” on the far left. The “old antisemitism” on the far-right never went away, he argued, but has only been masked by pro-Israel sentiment. Indeed, Bell said that historically antisemitic tropes — particularly those depicting an invasion of Jews too different or unassimilable to become truly French — have merely been recycled by the far-right to stigmatize Muslim immigrants.

And even if this narrative now primarily targets Muslims, Jews are not free from the conspiratorial discourse, said Bell. He pointed out that while members of the National Rally may not explicitly attack Jews, they sometimes use euphemisms for Jewish “elites” whom they blame for engineering mass migration, in a French version of the “great replacement” theory that has fueled violence around the world.

“When Marine Le Pen talks about ‘cosmopolitan nomads’ who are encouraging migration and destroying European nations, she has a tendency to mention Jewish French political figures — Jacques Attali, Daniel Cohn-Bendit,” said Bell. “I don’t think that’s an accident.”

Elkrief and Mélenchon have one thing in common: They are both among the estimated 836,000 Moroccan immigrants in France. (Mélenchon, 72, was born in Tangier and lived there until he was 12.) Elkrief said she is a strong believer in the “Republic,” which in France denotes an idea that there are only equal individuals in the public sphere, no minorities or ethnic groups. The country’s principle of “laïcité,” loosely and imprecisely translated as “secularism,” enshrines in French law the state’s neutrality between religions and confines religious symbols and practices to the private sphere — a pillar that Elkrief believes can protect France from discrimination against both Jews and Muslims.

“I don’t want to be defined by my religion, and I don’t want other French people to be defined by their religion,” said Elkrief. “I believe in the French Republic staying a space of debate, where religion is a private question.”

[hacash]

"Alright, bruv?"

Sam doesn't even notice Isaac's presence until he thumps the locker next to Sam's head with his fist: the team captain's preferred form of greeting. He jumps, and then with a sigh goes back to staring at his phone. The beaming faces of the newly called-up Nigerian football team, resplendent in green and white. "Huh? Oh, yes. Yes, I'm fine, thank you."

"Bullshit," Isaac scoffs. "C'mon, what's wrong?"

Sam doesn't want to admit that anything's wrong. Treat your wins with humility and your losses with grace, that's what his father always says. But he supposes to do that you have to admit that there was a loss in the first place. Besides, if anyone would understand it's Isaac, Isaac who's never once been called up to the England team, who hadn't even looked up when Beard was reading out the roster. England team's bursting with great players anyway, he'd grunted when Colin had asked if he was alright. Even if I was good enough, don't think they're too keen to call up a guy who tried to throttle someone in the stands a month ago. Their loss then, Colin had said. That's, like, top of my list for qualities of a best mate. Not to mention team captain. Harry Kane's quaking in his boots whenever he sees you on the telly, boyo. And Isaac's face had split into this massive grin, and that had been that. "I just found out Edwin Afuko is the reason I didn't make the Nigerian team," he says. "What - that guy who tried to sign you up to his African super-team?" "Yeah," Sam sighs. "When I turned him down he told me I'd never play for the Nigerian national team. Now I found out he bribed the government - my home, Isaac, the place where I grew up - not to invite me onto the team." "Jesus Christ." "Yeah." "You think it was to do with the Dubai Air protest as well?" Isaac asks. "Like, this guy made us all look like a bunch of corrupt dickheads, we ain't gonna have him represent our country sort of thing?" Sam's eyes widen, and then slam shut as his head falls back against his locker. "Well I do now." "That's bullshit," Isaac announces. For once, Sam is tempted to agree. Isaac is staring intently at the ground. Finally he looks up and clears his throat with uncharacteristic caution. "Would you have done the same thing? The protest, staying at Richmond - if you knew it was gonna go down like this, I mean?" It's something he's not wanted to ask himself: but there it's been, niggling away like some horrible little imp in the back of his mind. Sam thinks about that photograph hanging on his childhood wall, the feeling he had strolling through the British Museum alongside Edwin. He thinks about running over the beaches of Lagos as a child, how it felt to see those pictures of the destruction and the dying animals on those same beaches. The thrill of returning to the Premier League. The teenagers who'd come up to him in the street, newly arrived and still stumbling over their English, thanking him for speaking out even as the glass was still being swept up at Ola's. Men like Gary Lineker and Ian Wright quoting his tweets on Match of the Day, and the UK government not being able to do anything to stop them. The way his heart had skipped, seeing young men just like him playing on Richmond Green wearing his jersey. "Of course I would," he says finally. "I couldn’t have taken a place on the team if it meant not speaking out." "Right. You wouldn't have been happy just sitting down and shutting up. Or playing for some rich prick who bribes people all the time. And it's totally shit, but - I guess it's, like, the price you've gotta pay right now for doing so much awesome stuff." "I suppose it's worth that." They sit together in companionable silence for a little while. Finally Sam sighs. "I still really want to play for the Nigerian national team though, Isaac." Isaac nods and sets an arm around his shoulders. "You will, bruv. I know you will."

-

For @boasamishipper​. There’s something really interesting about seeing reality ensue when Sam faces the backlash of following his heart - but I’d have loved to get a little scene like this.

[1moreff-creator]

Happy Birthday Teruko Tawaki!

It's the protag's turn for a birthday post! You know what that means! Small character analysis, fun facts and songs that remind me of her! Let's celebrate! Just make sure to bring out the fire extinguisher before lighting any candles... actually just keep the extinguisher handy in general :v

-Being the protagonist of the series, we actually know quite a lot about her backstory. Enough to know it's quite sad in general terms. This is because she appears to have supernaturally horrendous luck, which she claims affects her and those around her. She's mentioned several instances of highly unlikely, unlucky situations she gets into constantly. From washing machine explosions, vehicles crashing, theaters being "too flammable" for her, all the way to being stuck in a killing game where she gets betrayed, stabbed, her friends die, etc.

-She's an orphan who's never known her parents. She had a brother who was compassionate, but constantly hurt by her misfortune. That brother got adopted when Teruko was around five, and she's never seen him since.

-She doesn't have an ID, which meant she had to attend schools by stealing uniforms and infiltrating them. She then usually gets caught and repeats the process several times a year. She is also in a lot of medical debt as a result of her constant injuries. Given all of this, she actually prefers living trapped in the killing game, though obviously she'd rather not have people killing each other around her.

CW Suicide

-That said, it seems her luck prevents her from dying. She told Xander that she wouldn't die because she was the Ultimate Lucky Student, and it was implied she's unsuccessfully attempted suicide by hanging.

CW over

-This misfortune has led her to develop a tremendously pessimistic view of the world and her life, believing her fate can't be changed and resigning herself to her bad luck.

-This also extends to her relationships. She tried to be amicable at the beginning of the killing game, but after Xander stabbed her, she decided to stop trusting everyone else. She now carries around her unique weapon, a hunting knife, for self-defense. This is a pretty understandable reaction given everything she's gone through, but it will inevitably go wrong (prediction).

-Her numeral in the David MV is unlucky number 13 (XIII). Go to 1:22:20 on this video for an explanation!

-The secret quote on her page's source code is "It is an equal failing to trust everybody, and to trust no one at all." Probably something she'll say in the final trial, given that this is one of the main messages the series seems to be aiming for.

-The quote on Mai's page attached to Teruko is "Some years ago, she was searching for someone named ‘Teruko Tawaki.’"

...

-Yeah, Teruko's relationship with Mai is one of the most mysterious parts of this series. Given that quote, it's very possible they knew each other several years before the killing game, got separated, and reunited some time before the killing game. After all, Teruko does remember meeting with Mai in the CH 1 Ep 6 dream sequence. If you want to read some of my other opinions on Teruko and Mai, I'll recommend reading the related portion of this post.

-Though adding to that, Teruko and Mai seem to have matching phone charms :D

-There is a lot more to talk about with Teruko, but I'm done for the day :v

Fun facts!

-Her nationality is "legally in question", whatever that means.

-She's left-handed, the only lefty in the cast!

-In kanji, her name is spelt 田脇【た ・ わき】暁子【て る ・ こ】

-She has prosopagnosia, aka face blindness. And fun fact about me, I actually have this too! I may have learnt about it when Teruko was a bit too relatable in that one conversation-

-Her favorite color is red due to "association." Possibly because it's Mai's hair color. Her least favorite color is pitch black because it's unsettling.

-Her hair recently started turning grey, probably from stress. Wild.

-Her favorite ice cream flavor is red bean.

-Her sexuality is unlabeled.

-She smells of dirt, sawdust, and burnt smell.

-Straight from a Q&A, "Her fashion sense diverges from what she’d actually wear. Secretly she wants to wear girly, cute things, but is unable to afford that kind of thing. She likes skirts."

-She likes fresh food, food which can be prepared without endangering herself with knives and stoves.

-Her birthday, January 7th, lands on "distaff day", "I am a mentor day", "old rock day", "bobblehead day"... still don't know how these come about. I think my favorite for this day is "I'm not going to take it anymore day." That's hilariously in character for Teruko xD

Songs!

-Again by Crusher-P

-The Things I Deserve by Ghost & Pals

-God-ish by Pinocchio P

-The Medical Anomaly by RIProducer

-End-World Normopathy by Ghost & Pals

-Scapeg∞at by Ghost & Pals

-Chronic Wasting Disease by RIProducer

-Those Who Carried On by Ghost & Pals

And Happy Birthday! Well, that was fun. Now I have to deal with the meteorite which struck me midway through writing this post! Take care!

(to be clear the meteorite thing is a joke)

[lego-man-speer]

Who Were The People Calling for Rudolf Hess's Release from Spandau Prison?

Having been found guilty of charges one and two of the indictment at the Nuremberg Trials, Rudolf Hess was sentenced to imprisonment for life. As we all know, Hess was doomed to die in prison, and had succumb to death on his own terms by committing suicide at the age of 93 on the 17th of August 1987. You may think that the idea of freeing Hess wasn't a particularly popular one, and that those who were in favour of it were most certainly Neo-Nazis. Well, this wasn't completely the case. In fact, many supporters of freedom were anti-nazi, and believed in freeing him on grounds of compassion. This post will explore support for Rudolf Hess's release through the years until his death.

In order for Hess to be released from prison, all four allied nations (UK, US, France and USSR) had to agree. The Soviets were the only nation opposed to freeing Hess.

The British government had supported the release of Rudolf Hess as early as 1956. In total, the UK made 11 unilateral attempts (along with 9 more from the French and US governments) to have Hess released from prison, however, the Soviets refused to budge in their belief that Hess should die in prison.

Pleas for his release on humanitarian grounds were made by UK politicians from the Conservative and Labour Parties. An appeal was also drafted in the name of Margaret Thatcher. The following read:

“There is to my mind no justification for keeping Hess in prison any longer. He is 88. He has been in prison for 40 years. He has been without the company of other prisoners for over 16 years. Humanitarian reasons demand that no one should be treated this way.”

Debates were also made in the House of Lords regarding the imprisonment of Rudolf Hess. A quote from Hansard on the 9th of February 1967 from Lord Robertson of Oak-Ridge said:

“Twenty one years have passed and all the others have gone. They have died or have been released on completion of their sentences. He alone remains, feebleminded, useless, dangerous to nobody. He is kept there still. It is pointless; it is inhumane.”

Support for his release even grew in the German government. In 1986, former German Chancellor, Helmut Kohl, addressed and sent letters to Ronald Reagan, Francois Mitterand, Margaret Thatcher and Mikhail Gorbachev (the respective leaders of the allied nations) , in which he wrote:

“I urgently appeal to you to mercifully release the prisoner into the bosom of his family. I believe that a pardon for Rudolf Hess is a dictate of humanity.”

His lawyer, Dr. Alfred Seidl was making appeals for his release as early as 1947, but these were always vetoed.

Outside of government, support for Hess's release was growing, and that was in the form of the Freedom for Rudolf Hess movement, a campaign that had begun in 1967 (not long after the release of Albert Speer and Baldur von Schirach) by Hess's son, Wolf Rüdiger. He started a petition calling for the release of his father. It had started at 700 signatures, but by 1974 had reached 350,000. In the book The Loneliest Man in the World, Eugene Bird claims to Hess that including those that signed this petition were lawyers, judges and even Nobel Prize Winners. He also tells Hess that there had been a movement set up in the US Congress to have him freed.

A little side note to this: Karl Dönitz had in fact attended one of the Freedom for Rudolf Hess meetings. As shown here. These images were taken in 1975. Hess's son, Wolf, is in picture number 2 (Taken from an old blog @/eternalvonschirach).

These calls to have Hess released would however fall on deaf ears. The Soviets insisted on him dying in prison. Their justification was that Hess was still an unrepentant Nazi, a man who still believed in his innocence. They were still unforgiving for the flight to Britain, in which they were firm in their belief that Hess wanted peace with Britain so Germany would not have to face a two front war.

And so Hess would die alone in prison, as the 'loneliest man in the world'.

[handeaux]

When Horseshoers Convened In Cincinnati, Few Foresaw Their Looming Doom

With all the talk these days about artificial intelligence and its anticipated devastation of employment as we know it, let’s peer into some balmier times and the technological disruptions inflicted on past trades, specifically horseshoeing.

Up until about World War I, unless you traveled by railroad or electric streetcar, you needed a horse to get around, and horses needed regular horseshoeing. Especially in urban environments with cobblestone or crushed-gravel pavement, horses might need new shoes every 10 days or so.

Horseshoeing was a lucrative trade, and it was unionized. In fact, there were two horseshoeing unions, one for the journeymen and one for their bosses. The Master Horseshoers’ Protective Association met in Cincinnati for a national convention in 1898. They were very concerned about a new mode of transportation that threatened their livelihoods – the bicycle. It is impossible to exaggerate the bicycle’s explosion in popularity during 1896. Two years later, the horseshoers were still feeling the pinch and hoping bicycles were nothing but a passing trend. The Cincinnati Post [18 October 1898] reported the view of one convention delegate:

“H.E. Richards, representing the Ausable Horse-Nail Company, New York, gives it as his opinion that the bicycle is only a fad, that is dying out. He declares that in the midst of the craze the business of his company fell off. Now, he says, it is picking up. The wheel, he says, is passing, and the horse is the thing again.”

Mr. Richards was not alone in his over-optimistic prognostications. As late as 1920, when automobiles had all but monopolized the city’s streets, the Cincinnati Enquirer [6 April 1920] saw hope for the horse.

“The horse is coming back in a last struggle to hold his place against the progress of the automobile, tractor, truck and airplane. The Department of Agriculture estimates that horses on United States farms increased from 19,833,000 in 1910 to 21,109,000 on January 1, 1920. Mules increased, too, according to the estimates.”

That year, the Journeyman Horseshoes held their national conference in Cincinnati and desperation seethed through the delegates. According to one, quoted in the Post [19 July 1920] automobilists and their ilk were antagonizing The Almighty himself:

“Bernard Flatley, president, said horseshoers had made little progress until the war showed them their importance in industry. He urged more publicity for the horse. ‘Man is flying in the face of God,’ he said. ‘The horse is a creation of God and should not be relegated to the side of the road to make place for the inventions of man.’”

A person today, looking at old photographs and rare antique films might be forgiven for thinking the automobile had completely obliterated the horse by the early 1920s. Not so. At the beginning of the Great Depression, the Cincinnati Post [5 April 1932] profiled two Cincinnati businesses still dependent on horseshoes. J.D. Antill ran a livery at 1118 Clay Street in Over-the-Rhine. His stable boarded 12 horses at that time, but many of his stalls were vacant and cobwebbed. Most of his customers were peddlers. Although Antill recalled bygone days when every Sunday was busy with young men renting buggies to take their ladies for country drives, his lone remaining rig sat dusty and unused. Henry Imholt pounded out iron horseshoes at 1108 Broadway in Pendleton. When there weren’t enough horses to shoe, the Imholt smithy got by forging ice tongs – just as electric refrigerators were beginning to spell the end of the iceman’s visits.

That year, Cincinnati membership in the Journeyman Horseshoers dropped to fewer than two dozen from a peak of more than 160 card-carrying members in decades previous. The Master Horseshoers’ Protective Association had long since disbanded. Still, diehards insisted automobiles were on the way out. Charles Selzer was chief horseshoer at the French Bauer dairy. He told the Cincinnati Post [3 April 1929] that the day of reckoning approached when mankind would abandon the frivolous automobile.

“‘It will come a time,’ he explains, ‘when big business will not have so much money. They will have to save. Auto trucks cost money. So big business will go back to drays which don’t cost so much. Then it will happen, also, that the workingman will get smaller pay, and he will be glad to own a horse and rig instead of an auto. He will like it, too – you will see. There is no sport in driving a car.’”

In 1929, all the milkmen employed by French Bauer delivered their dairy products by horse-drawn cart. Charles Selzer managed the in-house smithy for the firm at Seventh and Smith streets out in the West End.

Alas, Mr. Selzer never lived to see the automobile get its comeuppance. In fact (forgive the spoiler), quite the opposite occurred. In 1956, the Cincinnati Post returned to French Bauer to talk with the last remaining horseshoer on the payroll. His name was Henry Luehrmann. He was 64 years old and he no longer shoed horses. French Bauer had abandoned horse-drawn carts in 1946 and Mr. Luehrmann was transferred to the refrigeration department. Even though he hadn’t shoed a horse in a decade, Mr. Luehrmann remained secretary of Local 12 of the Horseshoers’ Union, a group that had not met in a decade and existed only as a listing in Cincinnati’s AFL Union Directory.

When the horseshoers’ union disbanded in 1946, there were only 10 members. In 1956, Mr. Luehrmann could think of only two remaining card-carriers, John McGinnis in Maderia and N.C. Jackson in Highland Heights, Kentucky. Both still shoed actual horses. Mr. Luehrmann had long since transferred to the Milk and Ice Cream Drivers and Dairy Employees Union, which generously allowed him to keep his seniority.

“Cabinets are easier to work with than horses,” he told the Post. “They don’t kick. But horses are more interesting. As a trade, horseshoeing was one of the best. Most of us worked steady and the pay was good.”

Back in 1898, the Master Horseshoers took the trolley out to Chester Park and posed for pictures on the steps of St. Peter Cathedral. They also argued about whether their standard fees for shoeing city horses were just good business practice or a monopolistic restraint of trade. Times were good, even though the handwriting was on the wall.

[kiriona-apologist]

🔥 For the Masquerade series

so this has....apparently become a hot take in the recent times but

i think that disliking the masquerade series for its tone is something that is perfectly acceptable, even if said person is in love with the locked tomb.

i've seen bits of this debate here and there, and while i understand where the baru defenders are coming from, i sympathize more with the locked tomb people (and not just because i love the locked tomb!)

i baru post a lot. i've answered an ask about baru where the person asked me to give a recommendation for it based on liking the locked tomb. i gave my honest opinion there, and in tags elsewhere: recommending these series next to each other without appropriately warning the reader about the darker tone, themes, and narrative of baru is not only rude, it's negligent.

while i understand that tone does not a book make, it is also vital to a narrative, and i believe that baru and tlt differ greatly in tone, and that should be disclosed from the outset.

i don't have the post saved (and if i did, i wouldn't want to specifically call someone out anyway) but i saw someone sarcastically saying that "of course tone is more important than the similarities on a narrative level" (not a direct quote), as if tlt and baru are really that similar on a narrative level.

these are, of course, my opinions but i don't think they're similar narratively unless you count the most basic premise of "queer protagonist against imperialism". here's the thing (at the risk of being wrong on the internet)

The locked tomb is not focused solely on the Empire at a systemic level until bits of the second book and more dominantly the third book. Are there elements early on? yes. are they in your face, immediately relevant or a key aspect of the narrative, especially on a first read through? no! Baru kicks off with it. tlt's empire is not graphically homophobic. Baru's is, and it is fundamental to both her character and pieces of the narrative.

They're similar in the chivalrous figure dying at the end of the first book, they're similar in the weird brain stuff, in some of the weird bits, but at a fundamental level, Muir and Dickinson are telling stories of empire in different ways at different levels. Baru hates the Empire from the outset, is constantly working against it while she's working for it. Harrow and Gideon are not like this from the outset, and because those are the central characters for the opening two books, not the BoE, not the other Lyctors, it does change the narrative. resistance to the mechanisms of empire in tlt is not the focus from the outset (but definitely becomes more important as the larger story unfolds and we move outside the bubble of the nine houses)!

I understand the urge to defend Baru when people from the locked tomb fandom do read it on recommendation of it being similar to tlt and end up disliking it for how dark it is. i understand wanting the narrative to be spread despite how graphic it is, partially because that is the reality for a lot of people. i wholly acknowledge i'm speaking from a place of privilege in terms of violent homophobia like baru faces and as an american in a world that has been colonized by america and other wealthy nations, so i cannot fully identify with baru as a protagonist or those who associate on a deep level with her. if you do, i'm not saying that's bad or that you shouldn't recommend the book! i do, but i do so always with the caveat that it's dark and graphic and that the narrative is heavily centered in this darkness.

i think the masquerade series is a valuable series, but i think recommending it to locked tomb enjoyers and expecting them to love it because they love the locked tomb (and especially the critique of colonization that muir is building) or hounding on locked tomb enjoyers for not liking baru because of how graphic and violent it is can be uncomfortable and potentially triggering for a lot of people. tone is not everything, but it is key to enjoyment, and questioning why books are lumped together the way they are can be beneficial.

i remember finishing tyrant and reading the author's note dickinson left, where they state they're not sure when they'll finish the fourth book because the series is draining to write. i remember sympathizing to that, because reading it is draining. i mowed through the locked tomb books in a matter of days. each baru book took me months. the depth of the locked tomb is there i'm not saying it isn't, but baru's is like a painfully gaping wound from the outset, where tlt keeps it hidden until near the end of the first book

i'll end here by saying that both of these series are dear to my heart, and both sit in my top five favorite series of all time. i understand the urge to defend baru, who feels like an underdog compared to the largely more popular tlt, i tend to do it all the time. i do think, though, the conversation surrounding these two series and how they relate to each other can be better and more productive, and generally more generative in discussions of current advertising practices of "book similar to x book, so you'll like book!"

[archduchessofnowhere]

Do you have anymore info on Elisabeth's hofdame Helene of Thurn and Taxis? If I google her, I only get Helene in Bavaria, Sisi's sister, but she married into the Thurn and Taxis family in 1858 when the other Helene supposedly began to serve (*cough* what a conincidence). But I also can't find that Helene among the sisters-in-law, so I am curious who she is.

Very little, but yes. The problem with this lady, as you noticed, is that she often gets mixed up with Elisabeth's sister, but they were two completely different people (even the Austrian National Library has a picture of this Princess Helene identified as Helene in Bavaria).

Princess Helene of Thurn und Taxis, by Ludwig Angerer, circa 1865 (Wien Museum).

Marie Helene Sophie was born in 1836 as the third child and second daughter of Prince Friedrich Hannibal of Thurn und Taxis and his wife Countess Maria Antonia Aurora Batthyány. The Thurn und Taxis family was huge, Helene belonged to the Bohemian branch funded in the late 18th century, so she was only distantly related to Nené's husband (they were like third cousins). We know little to nothing about her life, only that she served Elisabeth as a hofdame since 1858 until her marriage to Count Wolgang Kinsky in 1871. She probably got her position because her father, who died in 1857, had been the empress' Oberhofmeister (nepo baby). She was part of the retinue that accompanied the Empress to Madeira and Corfu in 1860-1861, and was one of the ladies in this "scandalous" photo taken in Madeira:

Helene is the lady sitting in the left corner, standing behind her is Lily Hunyady, sitting next is Elisabeth, and besides her is Mathilde Windisch-Graetz (via ÖNB).

Now you may be wondering, what's so scandalous about this picture? Well, that people at this time thought that Elisabeth was literally dying. When she left Vienna her illness was considered so grave that it was believed she wouldn't survive. And then this photo pops out: the dying empress happily playing an ukelele, enjoying the fresh air with her ladies. Wasn't she sick? Why does she look like she's just having some nice vacations? Suddenly the trip to Madeira looked less like a journey for health issues and more like a flight from Vienna.

Historian Egon Corti quoted in his biography of the empress some of the letters Helene wrote when they finally returned to Vienna, and they paint an interesting portrait of the state of the imperial couple when they reunited (Corti doesn't date this letter):

Now we have her back in this country, just as we had two years ago; yet how many things lie between — Madeira, Corfu, and a world of troubles. . . . She [Empress Elisabeth] was received with an enthusiasm such as I had never heard before in Vienna. On Sunday there is to be a choir festival [Liedertafel] and a torchlight procession at which fourteen thousand people have expressed their intention of being present. His [Emperor Franz Josef] expression as he helped her out of the carriage I shall never forget. I find her looking blooming, but her expression is not natural, it is as forced and nervous as it can be, her color so high that she looks overheated, and though her face is no longer swollen, it is much thickened and changed. The fact that Prince Karl Theodor [Elisabeth's brother] accompanied her proves how much she dreads being alone with him and all of us...

Another letter Helene wrote from the Schönbrunn on September 15, 1862:

She does not seem at all anxious to let us attend her now (...) She walks and drives out a great deal with His Majesty, but when he is not here she stays alone here in the part of the garden at Reichenau which is closed to the public. However, God be praised, she is at any rate at home, and inclined to remain here ; that is the main thing. She is very nice to him — before us, at least — talkative and natural, though alla camera there may be many differences of opinion — that is often plainly to be seen. She looks splendidly, quite a different woman, with a good color, strong and brown; she eats properly, sleeps well, does not tight-lace any more, and can walk for hours, but when she stands there is a vein in her left foot which throbs. The Queen of Naples [Elisabeth's sister] does not look well — that household seems to be going badly.

A bit of a side note, but allegedly Queen Marie of Naples was pregnant with an illegitimate child at this time, and gave birth only a month later. Now I wonder, wouldn't they have noticed if she was eight months pregnant? Like is it even physically possible to cover up that with a corset?

Continuing with her letters, the last one Corti quotes is this one she wrote to Countess Caroline Wimpffen, née Countess Lamberg, who married in 1860 and therefore left service before the trip to Madeira:

I can only congratulate you upon not having had to go through these two years of martyrdom with us. Now we are settled in Schönbrunn, and the thought that we are ‘settled for good somewhere’ [in English in the original] seems quite strange. It was hard for her to give up her recent traveling about, and I quite understand this. When one has no inward peace, one imagines that it makes life easier to move about, and she has now grown too much accustomed to this. For the rest, Helene [Elisabeth’s sister] is coming here for a fortnight while the Emperor is away hunting, for he will not give that up... She still exerts a calming influence, for she is so sensible and orderly herself and tells her the truth. She [Elisabeth] went out riding at Reichenau, and has done so here once at seven in the morning, alone with Holmes. The walk has naturally become a gallop, but she does not want to trot yet. She simply refuses to let herself be accompanied by Grünne [former First General Adjuntant, now Master of the Horses] and Königsegg [Elisabeth's Oberhofmeister]. The former has been entirely ignored and avoided so far. Otherwise, thank God, things are going on well... I believe, indeed, that she has moments of despair, but nobody can laugh like her, or has such childlike whims. She says herself that it is not unpleasant to her to see us occasionally, but it is odious to her to have us in waiting...

We have, however, one last letter, this one quoted by author Joan Haslip in her biography The Lonely Empress. Helene wrote it to archduchess Valerie's former British governess Mary Throckmorton, whom she had befriended during her time at the Viennese court:

This year brings good news. Our beloved Empress has graciously condescended to appear once more at a great rout at the Burg. Although in deep mourning, everybody tells me that she looked as grand and gracious as ever, and had a kind word for everyone of the numerous people who were presented to her. Her face, though still handsome, tells of the pain and sorrow she has gone through, and the sadness in her eyes brought tears into those of all who were present. One is so thankful for the great effort she imposed on herself.

As always Haslip doesn't cite her source however in the foreword she thanks Sir Robert Throckmorton for giving her access to Mary's unpublished letters and journals, so I assume that is where she got this letter from. She doesn't date it but it's from the 1890s.

Helene died in 1901, aged 65-years-old, of what I couldn't find. She had outlived her husband by almost sixteen years.

Sources:

Corti, Egon Conte (1936). Elizabeth, empress of Austria

Haslip, Joan (1965). The Lonely Empress: a biography of Elizabeth of Austria

Helene Prinzessin von Thurn und Taxis, on Geni

[lucyoccupy]

GAMMA RADIATION IN AMERICA - 4

By Bob Nichols  –  December 31, 2022 The Gamma Radiation leader in America on December 27, 2022, was Billings, Montana. No surprise there. Billings is downwind from the former H-Bomb factory at Hanford, Washington. The radioactive stain is still there and will remain for generations; poisoning each one in turn.  Ask yourself why people still live there? It defies logic. The trashed city is the…

[wiispywitch]

Attack on Titan OC - Joanna Elytis🪻💪💜

♡. ToyHou.se | Instagram | AO3

~

Name: Joanna Elytis

Meaning: Joanna- God is gracious; Elytis- Odysseus

Nickname(s): Jo (by Tay, Mel, and Hange), Joker (by most of the veterans) 

Alias (if any): N/A

Age: 18

Gender: Female

Nationality: Eldian (Hebrew descent)

Birthday: December 10th, 832

Birthplace: Karanes District, Wall Rose

Current Residence: Scout Regiment Headquarters (location varies)

Sexual Orientation: Lesbian

Relationship Status: Taken, later married

Language(s) spoken: Eldian

Life-Long Dream: To marry the love of her life and have a family with her

Goal(s): To gain her mother’s respect, to make her family proud, to make Levi laugh, to bring Mel and Ymir back home safe

Like(s): Cooking, children, long strolls in the city, riding and grooming horses, coffee, making her friends laugh, arm-wrestling, messing with Levi, Bethany, big dogs, giving out nicknames for her friends

Dislike(s): Being woken up early, mornings, arrogant people, stupid drama, her mother, Minister Nick

Bad Habit(s): She tends to goof off a lot, she's very confrontational and tends to punch first and ask questions later, she talks back to authority and this has led to her getting in trouble by her superior officers, when she’s sad she buries her real feelings rather than open up about how she really feels and preferably hides behind humor, oversleeps

Hobbies: Cooking, fitness training, horseback riding, arm-wrestling

Fear(s): Abandonment, her friends splitting apart up, never getting her mother’s respect

Personality: Bubbly, confident, caring, helpful, humorous, loyal, dedicated, hard-headed 

Favorites(not necessary)-

Food(s): Peach cobbler, coffee, chocolate 

Color(s): Purple

Season(s): Summer

Activities: Cooking

Time of Day: Midday

Extras: Animals- Grizzly bears; Literature- Romance, nonfiction; Flower- Lilac

Appearance-

Height: 6'11” (186 cm)

Weight: 165 lbs. (75 kg)

Hair style: Long hair tied back into a ponytail, bangs on the left side of her face

Hair Color: Brunette

Eye Color: Chocolate brown 

Skin Tone: Olive

Body Shape/Build: Muscular, tall, full thighs, wide hips

Birthmarks: N/A 

Scar(s): N/A

Other: She has cute dimples 

Health-

Memory: Average. She's very observant and is great at remembering small details, which is useful when she’s out on expedition or even when it comes to their friends.

Sight (do you need glasses?): Normal

Mental: Anger issues, quick tempered

Physical: Fit, she loves exercising and making sure she keeps her body fit and muscular

Allergies/Other: N/A

Sleep patterns (how you sleep and how much rest do you get?): While she has a decent sleep schedule, she has a habit of oversleeping and is very cranky in the mornings. She needs to be forced out of bed and often times it became screaming matches between her and the commandant

Abilities/Statistics (1- lowly skilled, 10- highly skilled and tell why)-

3D Maneuvering Gear: 9/10 

Intelligence: 4/10

Martial Arts: 9.5/10

Battle Skill: 7/10

Agility: 7.5/10

Strategy: 5/10

Teamwork: 6.5/10 

Passion: 8.5/10

Affiliation: Scout Regiment

Former Affiliation: 103rd Cadet Corps 

Grad. Rank: 12th

Status (Alive, Missing, etc.): Deceased

Relationships-

Parent(s): Filip Elytis (father), Leah Elytis (mother)

Sibling(s): N/A

Other Relative(s): Diesel (pet dog), Bethany Sawyer (wife)

Love Interest: Bethany Sawyer

Best Friend(s): Taylor Schuyler, Melody Oglethorpe

Friend(s): Petra Ral, Nifa, Hange Zoë, Reiner Braun, Connie Springer, Sasha Blouse, Jean Kirsten, Eren Yeager

Enemy(ies): Reiner Braun, Bertholt Hoover

Hero(es): Hange Zoë

Rival(s): Levi Ackerman

Quote(s):

“None of the scouts are saints, I would know. But at least we weren’t cowards hiding behind the walls and lying to the people while you sit around on your asses as your same people are dying! We ventured out there because we know there is more out there than what’s here!”

“It's gotta really suck living a lie your whole life. That's just not me. I'm happy being who I am instead of trying so hard to please others.”

History/Life: Joanna Elytis is the daughter of retired Garrison soldier Filip Elytis and housewife Leah Elytis of Karanes District. She was a very energetic child with a friendly yet hot-headed personality and always put her friends’ needs over her own. Despite her friendly nature and her willingness to welcome others with open arms, throughout her childhood she was frequently harassed by the other children in her town because of her open attraction to girls rather than boys. Many of her friends turned against her, and even most adults saw her as a troublesome girl and kept their children from having anything to do with her. Fearing that someone would tell her family and what they might do, she worked up the courage to do something she was terrified to do, and decided to tell her family—to her surprise, Filip assured her that whoever she loved would not change the fact that he will always love her and she will be his daughter no matter what; Leah, on the other hand, was disgusted by the revelation and declared her as an embarrassment to their family. This put a lot of tension between Leah and Filip's marriage, and Joanna always thought she was to blame for it. This didn't stop the harassment amongst the children, either. Joanna tried to laugh it off at first as a means to not let it get her down, but when she was shamed by her own mother, it shattered her in a way that made her feel like she was worthless. Eventually she snapped, and decided that she wasn't going to be pushed around anymore. Her being much bigger for her age, she fought back and made sure anyone who dared mess with her would leave her alone for good.  

“Sorry! I told you I don't hold back!”

The only ones Joanna felt were truly there for her throughout her life was Filip—he always stood up for her when Leah tried to shame her, reminding her that she was still their daughter—and a street dancer and her eventual lover Bethany Sawyer. She always admired Bethany from afar, and they would end up meeting after Joanna left home after having a screaming match with Leah. The both of them immediately became close, and Joanna ended up staying out with her the whole night exploring the town and getting to know each other. It wouldn't be long after that night that a romantic relationship between them blossomed. It was then decided that Joanna would enlist in the military and prove to her mother that she was deserving of respect. Originally, she had intended to follow in her father’s footsteps in the Garrison Brigade, and she had plans to move her and Bethany into a small village where they would be married and have a family of their own. Although it was hard saying goodbye, Bethany supported Joanna’s choice to join the military as she wanted her to be happy, and promised her that she would wait for her. They would write letters every night to each other in the three years they were apart.

Of all the cadets in the 103rd Cadet Corps, Joanna was one of the few physically strongest recruits in her corps. Commandant Shadis saw potential in her strength, however what held her back were a number of factors: Her biggest weaknesses were her sleeping in during the wake-up calls and getting into screaming matches with higher ups when she was forced out of bed, and her having a tendency to joke around or talk back to her higher ups with an attitude, thus earning her the nickname "Joker." She got herself into trouble on multiple occasions. Joanna was often punished by being sent to kitchen duty, which wasn't really a negative for her as cooking was her passion, so Shadis had to think of other means as punishment such as loss of food privileges. She would mature in her three years of training and began to grow a bigger respect towards the authorities, especially to her commandant. 

Joanna settled with joining the scouts after she thought about how her life would be in the Garrison, and it wasn't until hearing about the fall of Shinganshina that she felt motivated to make more of an effort to help others. She enlisted into the Scout Regiment, and formed a close bond with many of the veterans, especially Hange Zoë, and became best friends with rookies Tay Schuyler and Mel Oglethorpe. Joanna formed so close of a bond with them that she considered them as sisters. When Mel is captured by the Armored Titan, Joanna blamed herself for not being able to turn back, and made a vow to help bring her home and take revenge on the traitors. Joanna was one of the many scouts arrested when the government began to turn against the scouts, and she was very vocal about the cruelty the MPs endured to them as Bethany protested for the scouts release. She was pardoned of her scout activities thanks to the new rightful queen of the walls. Realizing that she was just one step away from death's door, Joanna made the choice to marry Bethany and have a grand ceremony, two months prior to the mission to take back Wall Maria.

Joanna was killed in the recovery operation of Wall Maria after she sacrificed herself to save Tay from the Colossal Titan's intense heat. Her body was practically charred, and she was left buried under debris as she held on tight to her best friend.

Joanna had high hopes for her future. Even in her last moments in life, she believed that she lived. But she still would have one regret, and that would never fulfill her promise to come home to have a future with her dearest Bethany. She had hoped that her mother would be proud of the sacrifice she made. But later in life, she learned to accept that she was surrounded by others who cared about her the most, and it would be enough for her to live a happy life.

Bonus Facts

-Her voice: Japanese- Sayaka Kinoshita (Mirko, My Hero Academia); English- Amanda Céline Miller (Makoto Kino/Sailor Jupiter, Sailor Moon)

-Joanna loves to challenge her comrades to arm-wrestling challenges. Her favorite opponent was Reiner. The only one who's managed to beat her was Mikasa and Reiner (a few times).

-She is a Sagittarius.

-She has a jasmine scent.

-Her alignment is chaotic-good.

-She and her family are middle-class.

-Joanna is one of my first gay characters that I’ve ever created. I made her during a time I was figuring out my own identity (I’m a demi-sexual lesbian), and she means a lot to me in that regard. 

-The ship name between Joanna and Bethany is called AnnaBeth.

-In much older drafts, she was going to be paired with Tay and heavily hinted at having feelings for each other until she was killed off. I’ve since decided to change their relationship to have a more sisterly bond and give Joanna a partner of her own.

-Back in the day as a cadet, her comrades got really excited when she was on kitchen duty since she was one of the best cooks they’ve ever had, even with what she was limited with. Even Shadis took a liking to her food although he will not admit it out loud. In the scouts, she’s put in charge of kitchen duty and even works alongside Mel to come up with some new recipes for their comrades.

-The only ones she had not beat in arm-wrestling are Levi and Mikasa.

-One time when Oluo tried to wake her up for their next mission, without thinking she had punched him in the face and caused him to accidentally bite his tongue. She would say sorry to him at least once or twice a day, but since then it was Levi’s job to get her ass out of bed. 

-Filip taught her how to cook, and had she not joined the scouts, she would’ve worked in a restaurant in Karanes.

-In a modern AU, she would be working in a restaurant as a line cook. As stressful as the job could be, it is something she loves and is very passionate about even if it's not a fine-dining restaurant. Her aesthetic would be tough punk, and she has a huge obsession with unicorns.

-In a Harry Potter AU, her Hogwarts house is Gryffindor, and her Patronus is a unicorn.

~

OC Profile Credit: AliceCantBeStopped

[rphelperblog]

The Host Book Quote RP Meme

Book by stephenie meyer- feel free to edit quotes or change pronouns for rp purposes

“It's not the face, but the expressions on it. It's not the voice, but what you say. It's not how you look in that body, but the thing you do with it. You are beautiful.”

“You're my very favourite person in the known universe” 

“It's not a good feeling--knowing that you profoundly deserve the title of monster. It's better to be kind than to feel guilty.” 

“I used to dream about him all the time,"

“Are tou trying to be annoying? Because if you are, then be assured, you have succeeded."

“Storytelling was the most honored of all talents, for it benefited everyone.” 

“Sometimes, fact mixed with fiction so thoroughly that, though no lies were told, it was hard to remember what was strictly true.” 

You will not touch her. Any mark you leave on her, I will double on your worthless hide.” 

“If I was given the choice between having the world back and having you, I wouldn't be able to give you up. Not to save five billion lives.” 

“Don't say that like you're saying goodbye.”

“You are the noblest, purest creature I've ever met. The universe will be a darker place without you,"

“No point in ignoring the truth. Doesn't make it worse to have it said out loud.” 

“Please don't run away. And, um, I'd rather you didn't kick me again either.” 

I couldn't seem to see anything around his face, just snow and sapphire and ink.”

“I knew it would begin with the end, and the end would look like death to these eyes. I had been warned.” 

“That maybe you should make the most of what time you have? That you shouldlive while you’re alive?”

“I knew the human exaggeration for sorrow-a broken heart.” 

“You and I won't lose each other, I will always find you again. No matter how well you hide. I'm unstoppable.” 

"If I asked you something, would you tell me the truth?"

“Life and love go on...” 

“Those who lived in peaceful nations had looked the other way as members of their own species starved on their door step.” 

“I wanted myself. I wouldn't let what was mine be destroyed.” 

“My house, my rules!” 

“After all I've seen, if I hadn't learned compassion, I wouldn't be worth much.” 

“Just because she isn't human, do you think that means she doesn't feel pain?” 

“Without the existence of the opposite, the concept has no meaning.” 

“I belong wherever I want to be.” 

Miracles don't work that way. I'll never lose you. I'll never let you get away from me.” 

“Neither heaven nor hell can keep me apart from you,”

“Body and soul. Two different things” 

“Perhaps without the lows, the highs could not be reached.” 

“Perhaps there could be no joy on this planet without an equal weight of pain to balance it out on some unknown scale.” 

“If I were a Dolphin or a Bear or a Flower, it wouldn't matter. I would always love you, always remember you. You will be my only partner.”

“You never know how much time you'll have.” 

“Sometimes the best hiding place is the one that's in plain sight.” 

“Even if we all want you here, you don't belong until you decide you do.”

“You. Are. Not. Leaving. Me.” 

“Humans were always surprising me.” 

“Good luck, good luck. How I wish you didn't need it.” 

"medically speaking, I'm not sure that was the most helpful thing for his condition."

“Something I've never seen in all my lives. I'm staring at... hope."

“What am I dying for?” 

"Well, maybe a few more minutes of unconsciousness won't kill him.” 

“I held you in my hands and you were beautiful.”

“I wanted the monster back and that was plainly wrong.” 

"You have to see that... that I can't stay. You must see that."

“Wherever the fringes of their world touch ours there is death.” 

“You may have taken the planet, but you will lose this game!” 

“And he was my friend. Not that he wouldn't kill me if things turned out that way, but he wouldn't like doing it. With humans, what more could you ask for a friend?”

“You speak as if a war were raging."

“If you throw a frog in a pot of boiling water, it will hop right out. But if you put that frog in a pot of tepid water and slowly warm it, the frog doesn't figure out what going on until it's too late. Boiled frog. It's just a metter of working by slow degrees.” 

"To the remains of the human race, one is.” 

“We should have been wiser; we should have died yesterday.”

“How sad. How frightening. To be filled with so much hate that you could not even rejoice in the healing of a child...How did anyone ever come to that point?” 

“It's not the face, but the expressions on it. It's not the voice, but what you say. It's not how you look in that body, but the thing you do with it. You are beautiful.” 

“Why do you get to stay? Why can’t I stay, if you can?”

“Laughter was like a fresh breeze - it cleaned its way through the body making everything feel good. Did other species have such a simple healer?” 

“We lose each other, will always find you” 

“How did anyone survive this world, with these bodies whose memories wouldn't stay in the past where they should? With the emotions that were so strond I couldn't tell what I felt anymore?” 

[hnnyoongs]

Kudo Yukiko Headcanons

the first few headcanons are from my post on my incorrect dcmk quotes twitter account so check that out if you want

She's half japanese and half white.

Her hair is all natural, since her eyebrows are also the same color as her hair, even in the flashback from high school so unless she's been dying her eyebrows for 20 or so years...yeah she's got natural reddish-brown hair.

It's not like she was adopted or moved to Japan because her birth name, Fujimine Yukiko, is still completely in Japanese. There are two different reasons for way he name cold be this way. Either she's a bastard/unwanted child of a white man so she adopts her mother's last name or she's got a japanese father and a white mother and she just uses her father's last name like most people.

Yukiko being half white with what seems to be canonically some euro-centric features would have helped her career boost a bunch on the international level. It's fucked up but people of color, especially asians, have a very hard time entering the international acting scene. Detective Conan tells us she's picked up awards from all around the globe and she's got connections throughout Hollywood and Broadway.

Her success in the United States would be easier for the western media to stomach if she had a white parent and could speak English. Unless Detective Conan suddenly doesn't have xenophobia and racism, she would have faced hurdles.

She bonds with Ai about the discrimination they face because of how they look both in Japan and in the US.

Shinichi used to demand Yukiko to read him the original Sherlock Holmes books written by Arthur Conan Doyle in English as bedtime stories, which she did

Yukiko was a child actor.

Now I know canon says that she debuted at 18 but that really does not make any sense what so ever for her to get like every single godamn award at that age. I think that she started out as a small time child actor in Japan but then her talent catapulted her into national fame by the time she started junior high.

The movies she was in Japan became hits internationally once she became a teenager, kind of like how Parasite blew up despite the language barrier. Some of the shows she starred in were dubbed into English because they became so popular but fans outside of Japan wanted her to star in something bigger.

Once she got into high school she began her international career, starring in Hollywood blockbuster after Hollywood blockbuster. She guest starred in some American TV shows and was so popular her characters became recurring characters. Yukiko even took part in a Broadway musical for the funsies, she was on American talk shows and the general population of the USA loved her.

Yukiko built herself up from the ground, from as young as the age of four she was handling her paperwork when it came to acting. This may seem unrealistic but at least in the real life American acting industry, child actors are instructed to take care of everything themselves. Producers don't want your parents on set, they expect 6 year olds to be able to have everything in order.

Yukiko had to travel a lot for her job and in doing so she started thinking that Japan was too small for her, that she wanted to see the world, all the interesting things outside of her boring neighborhood where the same things happen day in and day out. It didn't help that her parents would travel with the money Yukiko had made, so when she had her own son she began to do what her parents did and also what she had wanted to do since a young child. Little did she realize that her son was not her, that her travels would hurt him in a different way than it hurt her.

Teitan was a really accommodating school and took her absences in stride. Yukiko was on good terms with everyone there and was pretty good friends with Kogoro and therefore friends with Eri by extension since wherever one of those two went the other would follow behind trying start up some shit. This is why Teitan is so okay with Shinichi missing school for months, because his mother was similar. This is also why the school is so good at hiding info about Shinichi coming and going, since they had to hide stuff about Yukiko from the media back in the day.

Yukiko can hold a tune but she's not phenomenal at singing either.

She's not as bad as her son, she a little above average to be honest but her acting skills made up for her pretty normal singing when she starred in a Broadway musical. The only reason the musical did so well was because of her popularity.

She helped a lot of other people in broadway with their acting skills which is why even though she's nothing remarkable when it comes to her voice, she's still well loved by the industry.

Yukiko is bisexual.

Her first love was Yusaku and she never had a crush before him. all she really cared about was her career but she loved Yusaku so much she quit. Sometimes she regrets quitting because she misses being on the stage or the big screen or even the small screen but she never lets her husband or son know about these doubts because she's terrified of what their reactions would be.

Shinichi was not planned and Yukiko knew that if she were to raise him that would mean leaving her job at the height of her career but Yukiko felt like the baby inside of her was the light of her life and for him she would destroy the world, yusaku and herself if her child desired such a thing.

Yukiko knew Sharon (who we know as Vermouth) since Yukiko started to trickle into Hollywood but she only started to feel attracted to the woman long after she'd gotten married and had Shinichi. She never voiced her feelings but Yusaku found out anyway and they talked about it. They decided that the healthiest option was for Yukiko to tell Sharon about it in order to get it off her chest when they got the news that the actress had died. When Yukiko found out that Sharon was actually Vermouth it took a real toll on her mental health, not that anyone except Yusaku knew about how hard she took it.

Yukiko and Yusaku both partook in polyamory in the very early stages of their relationship though once they had Shinichi they stopped until they decided Shinichi would be able to chose because they valued his opinion and if their son wasn't okay with the idea that one day the media might unveil that the kudo couple were part of the Hollywood sex scene then they'd decide not to go back into the whole mess. At age 14 Shinichi told them they could do whatever as long as he didn't have to hear the details.

Yukiko wanted to pull Shuichi into a relationship with her and Yusaku, citing that the couple and the FBI agent only had a 5 year age gap Shuichi said he wasn't interested in anything romantic or sexual after Akemi died so the Kudo couple respected his wishes

Yukiko would spend time asking Shuichi questions about the FBI and about himself and observing the man in general whenever she came to check up on his disguise and once she got back to the US she would give Yusaku her notes who in turn wrote the screenplay for "The Scarlet Investigator". Yukiko suggested adding a side couple that owns the house that the main character rents, based off of Yusaku and Yukiko, which Yusaku does by inverting their genders and changing their nationalities to suit a western audience.

Yukiko breaks several laws to make sure that Conan's identity is not outed.

She has Jii and Kaito to mess with security footage, she pays off witness who see him and makes them sign NDAs, and Yusaku does this as well though he does it to a much lesser extent because Shinichi's more likely to get angry at Yusaku for sticking his nose into Shinichi's case than Shinichi would be angry at Yukiko

If Ai ever needs some banned substances that Agasa can't get in order to create the antidote, Yukiko sends her what she needs in bulk

Yukiko will forever hate herself for not realizing Shinichi had gone missing for 2 weeks. If apotoxin worked properly Shinichi would have died and Yukiko wouldn't know because her and Yusaku had turned their phones off for a month straight and only came back to Japan when they turned their phones on again to see that Agasa had left them a message about Shinichi turning into Conan, Ran had texted them asking if they knew where Shinichi was and the school wanted to know why Shinichi was absent

Yukiko continues to bribe Kogoro throughout Conan's stay at the Mouri Detective Agency but it comes to her surprise that Kogoro had saved almost all of it into a college fund for Conan, implying that Kogoro does not plan to give Conan back to his original parents if they ever decide to show up again.

sorry for this word vomit lol

[rosepompadour]

I saw your tags on your Anne Boleyn post about your list of men from history who would have been good in bed, and I'm dying to hear the whole thing! ♡

Ohhhhh, goodness.

♡ Thomas Andrews. A genuinely decent dude, a total babe, a hero...and he went down like a gentleman. (Wink wink.)

♡ Philip Hamilton. Dare I say, even sexier than Dad? Also like his father in that he had the unfortunate tendency to duel...and l o s e.

♡ George Boleyn. First of all, popular history's portrayal of him as an abusive drunk really doesn't have a lot of basis in fact. (His wife has also been unfairly maligned, but that's a story for another day.) What we do know is that he was super smart, ridiculously good-looking, funny, passionate about reform, and an A+ brother. He even  defended himself at his own trial, and did it so well that the court started taking bets on whether or not he'd be acquitted. This smooth son of a bitch, I swear to GOD! He knew he was going down, so he went down swinging. Even if he was ugly as sin, he'd still be on this list for telling the entire court that Henry was a terrible lay. I can actually see the smirk on his face when they handed him that piece of paper.

♡ Babe Lincoln. So tall, so lanky. Him chopping wood in his shirt sleeves while (maaaaaybe) pining for Ann Rutledge? I know the historical record is a mess when it comes to Ann, but the rolled sleeves/pining makes for a very nice combination. Swoon town! (Also kept our nation together in its darkest hour, which is a pretty solid bonus.)

♡ . . .and, conversely, Lewis Powell, the dude who conspired to kill Lincoln. It would definitely only be a one-time hate fuck, but . . . I MEAN.

♡ Tom Mitford, the Branwell Bronte of the 20th century. That picture of him in the t-shirt smoking a PIPE? 10/10. Might have been a fascist, which is v. unfortunate and would ultimately land him with negative points, but accounts differ, and, as usual, I am going with Decca's POV on this one.

♡ Speaking of siblings: Erik Miller, brother of Queen Lee. I have approximately ten thousand books about Lee, and all the pictures of Erik are bookmarked. A happy bonus! ♡ Thomas Wyatt. Eventually ended up bald with a terrible beard and a broken heart, but a TOTAL HOTTIE when he was young. Thin and lanky? Golden hair? Eyes that twinkled like stars? (Not my quote, that is HISTORICAL FACT!) Funny? ROMANTIC?! LOVE POETRY??? Anne, girl...I hope you are having such a fun, sexy time in heaven.

♡ Peter Townsend, dashing hero of the Battle of Britain and Group Captain of my heart! 

♡ Rupert Brooke. Kiiind of seems like a terrible person, but he's my favorite poet and LORD what a face. It would be a very complicated relationship (me: Jewish, him: into dudes), but oh, what a time would be had!

I am going through this list and it has dawned on me that I have a Very Specific Type...très intéressant!

Also, I am super super attracted to WWII-era JFK, but the question is who I would consider a good lay, and tragically JFK did not make the cut. EVERYONE says Kennedy when the dinner table gets a lil sloshed and starts asking which president you'd smash, but he's a terrible choice! The man would last thirty seconds until that damn back of his gave out, and then you'd be trapped underneath him a la Elaine Benes when she got crushed by her mattress from The Lumbar Yard.

[a-mag-a-day]

MAG 50 - apple cutting

I had a reaaally hard time following these old statements, here we go…

"Dear Jonah" - ¬‿¬

"allow yourself some respite, or at the very least take some further secretarial staff into your employ" / "And it is this imminent departure that has had such a freeing effect upon my pen." / "I have been fearful that accusations of slander might dog me, were my tale to be set down, but with a boat to the new world beckoning, and your sterling reputation for discretion, I feel it may at last be time to divest myself of the disquieting scenes I have witnessed." / "Henry was very effusive about the talents and prospects of young Mr. Scott, and was at great pains to inform me that his young protege also received certain architectural tutelages from Sir Robert himself." - And here I was thinking I'm good at English xD That's probably the reason why I can't quite focus on those old statements. Tbf nowadays it's unusual to casually come across old English texts, so it's not really necessary to familiarize myself with those for my use. (It's not that I don't know the words - I mean a few I actually don't know, tutelages for example - just the way it is written is so different and I have to concentrate way more than usual)

"The plight of the poor and destitute has been a national disgrace" - WHAT? opening dict.cc and looking up "plight" and "destitute" sigh This episode might take a while…

"it was an undertaking I embarked on with no small amount of zeal." - crying in not a native speaker (oida T_T)

While copy-pasting all those quotes I totally lost the thread what's the rambling even about…

more crying in not a native speaker I would have to copy half the statement if I wanted to quote every sentence that made me go "the hell is he talking about???"

"Then from the other side that firm oak door, I would hear the strangest sounds, muttering and shouting. It was always in George’s voice alone. I could never quite discern the words. It often sounded as though he were in some great distress, and on more than one occasion I was within minutes of summoning a constable to assist in breaking through the door, when he would emerge, glistening from exertion and holding completely redone drawings. I’m sure I even saw blood on his collar once." - ??? I don't get it (plot-wise I mean)

Heading over to Patreon to send in a question for the next stream, which will be "Jonny, can you pls explain this episode to me like I'm dumb!!!"

"“Balance,” he told me. “Equilibrium. The hardest thing for an architect to achieve." - I've graduated from art school and we did have a bit of architecture and this makes me think of a hanging model. The most famous one is by Antoni Gaudi. Basically, by using chains you create an upside-down model of a building. The arches, which will be formed by the weight of the chains and gravity are supposed to help structural engineering. It's been over a decade since I graduated (T_T), I don't remember all the details, but it's cool!

"To my dying day, Jonah, I will aver that no one entered the building before I heard the footsteps approach." / "The walls and floor seemed to rise towards me, stealing the air from my lungs until I swear that I could feel the splinters from the ceiling digging into the soft skin of my face." / "The room returned to its natural proportions, which is to say, it… never truly changed." / "Extending from the unblemished solid stone of the workhouse wall were four fingertips." - This does sound like The Seven Lamps of Architecture, could this be an early version of it? The one Leitner uses was published 1845, the event of the statement took place in 1836, so it could be possible?

"End statement." - Excuse me? It's "Statement ends"…

Aaaah yes, Tim being Tim! Classic! Seriously tho, the way this conversation is set up it's really not far-fetching to think two people are hooking up. Great comedy!

I'll be honest my eyes glazed over listening to this episode to find a quote for the opening post I had to listen to it twice and I'm still having a hard time understanding it xD

[chuthulhu-reads]

[ID: The Josh Kirby cover of Small Gods by Terry Pratchett. It depicts Brutha, a naked monk with a tonsure haircut and a loincloth, strapped to the back of a large metal turtle with a concerned expression. Smoke is billowing from around the turtle, which is being heated by a brazier underneath. This is being looked over by Vorbis, a tall, bald man in a brown robe with a hooked nose, clawed fingernails and pitch-blank eyes. Several other monks in hooked brown robes are gathered around, including a member of the Quisition in a face-concealing, pointed red hood. Above them, an eagle is swooping down with a tortoise held in its claws. A large hand is reaching across the sky in the background and appears to be producing bolts of lightning. It's a Josh Kidby cover, so it's extremely chaotic and there are probably details I'm missing. End ID.]

Holiday reads! I decided to re-read Small Gods because I haven't read it in years and it's one of the first Discworld books I can remember feeling rewiring my brain as I read it. It involves the Great God Om, regularly referenced in other Discworld books, finding himself trapped in the form of a small one-eyed tortoise because, in all the great and vast and strict nation of Omnia, there's only one person who actually believes in Om rather than just believing in (or rather, being terrified of) the institution of Omnism. That last actual believer, Brutha, has just become a tool of the powerful and devout bishop Vorbis in a plot regarding their neighbouring nation of Ephebe, and has to navigate the edges of a war while figuring out how to get people to actually believe in Om again.

And it all meant this: that there are hardly any excesses of the most crazed psychopath that cannot easily be duplicated by a normal, kindly family man who just comes in to work every day and has a job to do.

Like when I first read this, I was in my early-teens, annoying-militant-athiest, Richard-Dawkins-quoting, taking-out-personal-Christian-based-trauma-and-frustration-by-calling-religious-people-sheep stage, and this definitely redirected me. A lot of the book spends time going: religion can be part of a community and a culture, it can inspire and motivate and support people, but your major and dangerous problems start when a) folk are more devoted to the institution than the religion itself and b) folk figure out how to use religion, and the institutions around them, as tools of self-gain and self-deification. Also, gods need believers arguably more than believers need their gods, and a god that does nothing for their believers is worthless. And there's good eating on a tortoise.

He thought: the worst thing about Vorbis isn't that he's evil, but that he makes good people do evil. He turns people into things like himself.

Every time I reread a Discworld book, I notice something new, whether it's a pun I missed before or an entire new concept. For one, I straight-up never realized that Brutha being strapped to the metal turtle to be roasted to death is meant to evoke Big J on the Cross; it only really clicked for me this time when the local Dibbler mentioned that he'd been planning to sell necklaces with a little turtle pendent on them, but he'd probably have to take the little dying dude off of them first. Definitely lends a whole new meaning to Simony arguing that they should leave Brutha to die so that he can be a martyr, a symbol of Omnian tyranny, and Urn's response being essentially "what the actual fuck is wrong with you". The other thing that clicked in my brain is that Brutha is very autistic and that's how he revives his god, heals his nation, and averts a hundred years of war, thank you and goodnight.

Fear is a strange soil. Mainly it grows obedience like corn, which grows in rows and makes weeding easy. But sometimes it grows the potatoes of defiance, which flourish underground.