#3E-Civility

[uesp]

It is 3E 389, the Empire is in grave peril due to the Emperor being secretly replaced

It is 3E 405, the Empire is in grave peril due to a lost letter

It is 3E 427, the Empire is in grave peril due to a betrayal ~3,500 years ago

It is 3E 433, the Empire is in grave peril from the assassination of the royal family

It is 4E 201, the empire is in grave peril from a civil war

It is 4E...

[yarnlass]

Magister is a tough gig

Still going through this old DND 2E (or 3E) supplement, and I'm surprised just how much lore Ed is able to fit into this book via the vehicle of the Magister role. It doesn't really relate much to Gale, but as I read this book it's through that filter, and I have found a few interesting things.

The main thing that I didn't realize was how different Gale's life seems to be in relation to the wizards and sorcerers throughout Faerun over the ages -- in a nutshell, they mostly killed each other. The life Gale describes is one of scholarly accomplishment and civilized advancement among likeminded peers -- he attends a school dedicated to teaching novices to advance with supervision of their more advanced masters, he mentions colleagues that he has discussions and disagreements with, hell, the game even implies he has friendly relations with incredibly powerful wizards (that are evil/insane, even!) like Halaster Blackcloak of the Undermountain. It could be because he grew up and lives in Waterdeep, perhaps the most civilized locale in all of the Sword Coast, that shapes his life more than anything, but I have to imagine that since the early days of Faerun it's become safer and more civilized to live as a mage -- it's not the wild west anymore, so to speak.

There's an entire section dedicated to all previously known Magisters, and it's crazy how many of them were just power-hungry muderhobos. Mystra and Azuth favor and prefer those who were good natured and helped others, even doing them favors beyond the usual Magister, but it didn't stop them from choosing some real nasty pieces of work (or preventing the really nasty ones from obtaining the title of Magister after killing the last one). The average lifespan of a Magister in office is bleak -- no more than 4 years, and this is averaged out among some who were Magister for 60 years and some that were Magister for a day before someone killed them, on purpose or accidentally.

It just used to be incredibly common for mages (meaning any magic user) to just hunt down and kill any rival mage to steal their magic tools and spells, creating an environment where if you were studying magic you had to preemptively prepare for someone to come along and kill you, if you got any serious level of accomplishment. I'm not sure if that's slowed down now that the realm is in 1495 DR, but for sure in 164 DR? Mages be murdering each other, all the time, with no legal consequences because even if you're a king or a warlord or whatever, you're not going to get involved in a wizard fight. Mages largely lived in their own strata of society, by their own rules, and this made it incredibly likely that they were all inclined to kill each other in order to gain more power.

So enter the idea of a Magister, a super-charged spell user with game-breaking power if they were clever enough to utilize it, tasked with spreading magic and teaching it, being judged at their end on how well they did so. The weird thing is how hands off Mystra was -- she'd answer prayers for guidance if asked, but most of these weirdos were on their own, unsupervised, getting up to some wild shit. Some did nothing but try to murder their rivals; some did nothing but spread out spell scrolls and assist struggling students; some created new types of magic that still exist today. There was one guy who just liked to blow up castles. He invented spells just to target manmade stone structures to hurl them up into the sky like bizarre stone spewing fountain -- he didn't like killing anyone, he just tracked down old abandoned castles and pulverized them. Constantly.

Supposedly the office was vacant after the Spellplauge, and since only clerics of Mystra and Azuth are told the sigil of the spellcaster chosen for office at the moment of choosing, it's more than likely the Magister is out there walking around, subtly changing the way magic is found or used in the world, and we have no idea who it is.

In regards to Gale, this office seems tailor made for him at this point -- he loves sharing magic, discussing it, exploring it, understanding it. He wouldn't hate the power that came attached to it either. I'm 100% certain that if he hadn't gone after the orb, if he'd stayed in a favored position by Mystra, he would have been Magister in his lifetime.

And poor Tara would curse Mystra all the more, granting her proud little peacock more power than he knew how to manage, fretting constantly about him being murdered by some power-hungry maniac.

[fumiko-matsubara]

Puey stays AU: 3E Civil War Arc

There's a strong cultural trait amongst Filipinos called "Utang na loob", which simply means "being deeply indebted to someone's kindness to the point of obligation to return the favour".

Puey would have so much "utang na loob" towards Korosensei because the teacher was the one who saved his family, and essentially saving Puey himself as well since his family is his reason to keep living.

I don't think he has any more reason to genuinely want to kill the man who had changed his life for the better, especially after learning that he is just as human as any of them all are. I think Puey would take any chance to return the favour.

[iamafanofcartoons]

Darth Kenobi RWBY MMD works

https://www.deviantart.com/morgan1501/art/The-A-Team-869797027

https://www.deviantart.com/morgan1501/art/Guilty-863567511

https://www.deviantart.com/morgan1501/art/RWBY-Quarantine-863187245

https://www.deviantart.com/morgan1501/art/Group-Pile-862902546

https://www.deviantart.com/morgan1501/art/It-s-a-Trap-867794768

https://www.deviantart.com/morgan1501/art/Class-3E-R-867891296

https://www.deviantart.com/morgan1501/art/You-re-Finally-Awake-864302974

https://www.deviantart.com/morgan1501/art/Ruby-is-Mine-862500586

https://www.deviantart.com/morgan1501/art/Penny-s-Faction-862498688

https://www.deviantart.com/morgan1501/art/Team-RWBPN-862214723

https://www.deviantart.com/morgan1501/art/RWBY-CIVIL-WAR-2-0-857472516

https://www.deviantart.com/morgan1501/art/RWBY-CIVIL-WAR-857276017

https://www.deviantart.com/morgan1501/art/RWBY-Go-Force-849411102

https://www.deviantart.com/morgan1501/art/RWBY-Greetings-849210263

[thomas-querqy]

François Sureau, la liberté passionnément

L’interminable crise sanitaire du Covid aura au moins eu l’utilité de me conforter sur deux points : notre système politique « présidentiel », indigne d’un vieux pays démocratique, est au bout du rouleau, et la privation des libertés individuelles et publiques, qui a pu ainsi nous être imposée, très au-delà du nécessaire, m’a révélé combien, par dessus tout, j’y étais attaché, à la différence de la très grande majorité de mes concitoyens. Comme les journalistes relayaient avec conviction la propagande de peur du gouvernement et chacune de ses mesures liberticides, sans qu’aucune critique ne puisse s’exprimer, j’ai dressé l’oreille lorsque j’ai entendu pour la première fois la voix grave et l’élégant phrasé d’un homme que je ne connaissais pas : François Sureau.

Merveille de la mise en ligne des archives radiophoniques du service public, je crois avoir retrouvé son intervention sur le 7-9 de France Inter du 21 Mars 2021, peu avant le 3e confinement. L’homme était invité à l’occasion de la sortie de son livre « Ma vie avec Apollinaire ». Nous pûmes ainsi avoir le plaisir de l’entendre dire :

On a l’impression d’assister en réalité à un effondrement, qui est un effondrement de 10 ou 20 ans de la gestion technocratique de la société. […] J’ai eu bien des fois au cours de l’année qui vient de s’écouler l’impression fâcheuse [d’un] transfert [de responsabilité], c’est-à-dire qu’au fond un gouvernement raisonnablement coupable s’en prenait à un peuple innocent, ça ne veut pas dire non plus à l’inverse que nous puissions être facilement tenus quitte de notre assentiment, puisque en réalité nous collaborons tous à ce transfert de responsabilité. La presse par exemple a été dans la première partie du confinement étonnamment lamentable, dans son absence d’esprit critique. L’analyse critique de l’effondrement de la gestion technocratique du monde reste en deçà de ce qu’on pourrait attendre des contrepouvoirs. […] Je parle de la presse mais je pourrais parler du Parlement qui s’est mis pratiquement en vacances […]

En farfouillant sur le web, dans une archive de « C à vous » du 19 juin 2020, en sortie du 1er confinement, il énonce clairement « le blocage institutionnel » dans lequel se trouve notre système politique et ce qui fait de la France une démocratie défaillante :

Cette période a révélé des choses qui étaient à l’œuvre avant et qui se sont continuées de manière extrêmement spectaculaire […] Pour moi le blocage institutionnel auquel nous assistons à l’heure actuelle, [c’est] que nous n’avons que peu d’exécutif, peu de législatif et une justice constitutionnelle qui s’est mise en vacances, quelque chose que nous avons vu se développer au cours des années précédentes, qui a été révélé de manière éclatante avec le confinement, et ça c’est un vrai sujet beaucoup plus que le confinement lui-même. [...] On est la seule démocratie occidentale qui confond les fonctions de chef de l’État et de chef de gouvernement, c’est très emmerdant tout de même, ou bien le chef de l’État est chef d’État et incarne toute la nation, et dans ce cas il est accusé d’être un « roi fainéant », ou bien il se met à agir pour défendre un programme et dans ce cas là il y a la moitié ou les deux tiers des gens qui le déteste très vite, donc la popularité qui advient au président de la république actuellement, procède d’un vice constitutionnel total. Quant au premier ministre, lui il se transforme progressivement en secrétaire général du gouvernement + et ministre responsable des relations avec le Parlement. En fait vous n’avez ni gouvernement, ni chef de l’État avec la confusion, c’est tout de même fascinant. Nous n’avons pas non plus de législatif puisque le législatif ne contrôle pas, n’évalue pas, et empile des normes. Et la justice constitutionnelle, et une large part de la justice civile, s’est mise en vacance. C’est-à-dire que sur les trois pouvoirs de la déclaration des droits, nous les avons vu disparaître simultanément -j’exagère un peu bien sûr. […] Ce système met en face un peuple peu représenté, convaincu qu’en réalité le pouvoir n’est pas réellement responsable devant lui pendant une période de 5 ans, ce qui est énorme, et condamnant tout chef d’État élu à une impopularité radicale après une période de 3 ou 4 ans, ce qui est très dangereux pour la démocratie libérale.

Lorsque j’ai appris qu’il venait de publier un nouveau livre, « S’en aller », j’ai eu envie de le lire. C’est ainsi que j’ai découvert que l’homme avait eu plusieurs vies, notamment celle de s'’être engagé dans la réserve de la Légion étrangère. J’en lirai d’autres car il mérite bien son épée d’Académicien.

Je me suis aperçu très tard que j’avais de longtemps peur de la mort. L’agonie de mon père a fait venir au jour ce sentiment enfoui, qui depuis le début de l’âge adulte me faisait me réveiller trois fois par nuit pour m’assurer que j’étais bien vivant. […] Cette peur n’était pas la peur du néant. J’ai toujours eu la prescience de l’autre côté. […] Si j’aime la vie, si l’angoisse m’étreint à l’idée qu’elle s’achève, ce n’est pas tant pour le plaisir de voir se prolonger les émotions immédiates qu’elle dispense, que pour pouvoir continuer à la ressentir en partie double, pour ce qu’elle est et pour ce qu’elle annonce, cette interrogation étant ce qui me fait écrire.

[ansu-gurleht]

I think from what I can gather of the original Dragonborn prophecy the only two other events needed in your 3E 634 series for Alduin to return is for a civil war in Skyrim and the Imperial City being sacked? In either case, I'm definitely interested in this series you have cooking! ^^

oh yeah you're right! i forgot exactly how it was worded. so yeah 1) there's no civil war and 2) the ultimate attack by dagon's forces on the white-gold tower never happened, he was defeated long before that could happen.

and thank you! i'm also very interested in seeing where this takes me

[darklordazalin]

Azalin Reviews: Darklord Wilfred Godefroy

Domain: Mordent Domain Formation: 579 BC Power Level:  💀💀 ⚫⚫⚫ Sources: Domains of Dread (2e), Realm of Terror Boxset (2e), I Strahd, The War Against Azalin (Novel) , Ravenloft Gazetteer Vol III (3e) Content Warning: Suicide, violence against women I’ve been to Lord Godefroy’s inconsequential Domain and did not find Mordent to be very memorable. Mordent is a coastal domain of thick, ancient forests, mist shrouded moors, unreliable maps, and uncared for roads. The state of disrepair in Mordent makes Barovia appear modern and civilized. Mordent is an old and haunted land; the perfect home for our ghostly Darklord, Lord Godefroy. The landscape itself is said to shift at the whims of the Mists, making any maps unreliable and travelers are forced to listen to nonsensical directions from the locals. Godefroy’s history is obscured and simple, much like Godefroy himself who’s personality is boiled down to the arrogant, conceited snob that dominates artrocrate society. He inherited the Gryphon Hill estate in Mordentshire and shortly after married Estelle Weathermay. The two had a child, Lilia. Godefroy, wanting a son did little to conceal his disappointment at obtaining a daughter. Little is known on what led to the events where he beat his own wife and daughter to death, but history indicates he was a violent man with a vile temper. Estelle and Lilia came back to haunt him. Each night they reminded him of his horrendous crime against them until he was driven into madness and sought escape by ending his own life. But he did not find the escape he sought and instead found himself brought back as a spirit still haunted by the ghosts of his wife and child. At this time, Mordent had not become an official Domain yet but Godefroy’s actions were noted by the Dark Powers, who just love sticking their nose in other people’s business…But I digress. It was, interestingly, the actions of a far powerful Darklord (myself, naturally) and his assistance (a vampire of no real consequence) who caused Mordent to become an official Demiplane. I had created a portal to Mordent, but when my assistant and I left, the Dark Powers clung to the “most powerful” thing left in the domain and went for Godefroy. In essence, he became a Darklord by default. As a Darklord, he can travel throughout his Domain, but tends to stick to the House of Gryphon Hill. The house is interesting, almost a sentient being with a mind of its own and an aura of evil that many can feel from miles away. Other than not being tied to one place and his immunity to “turn undead”, Godefroy is just like any other ghost except he’s still haunted by his wife and child. Every night they track him down and curse him for their murders. A ghost haunted by ghosts who became a Darklord by default and doesn’t even rule anything. How do I even rate this nonsense? The only interesting thing to come out of Mordent are the Weathermay-Foxgrove twins. van Richten’s latest guide changed some of Godefroy’s tale, which I will address next Thursday.

[spyglassrealms]

The Midnight Sea

Look, more Spelljammer stuff! SJ5E is only a few weeks away now, and the collaborative setting my friends and I have been building up in anticipation of it is really taking shape. So I'd like to share some things about the Midnight Sea!

The planar cosmography of the Midnight Sea universe is a little different than prior 5e canon. As stated in the previews for Spelljammer 5e, all wildspace systems are pockets of material plane which exist within the greater astral plane, though our homebrewing efforts have resolved to address the Feywild and Shadowfell as parallels to these material planes. The celestial and infernal planes, meanwhile, border the astral plane directly and mark the outer bounds of the known universe (the galaxy shown here), arranged in a loop to form the collective outer planes. The outer planes are represented by prominent constellations that form a sixteen-part zodiac used to navigate the astral sea. By contrast, the elemental planes exist at a lower energy state than the rest of the planar system, while the ethereal plane exists in a higher energy state than the rest of the planar system. Both function, therefore, as a sort of hyperspace and subspace pairing with normal space. Being the source of magic, the ethereal plane lends its energy to the lower planes via the Weave, which is then harnessed to fulfill the extreme energy cost of interstellar travel: the technomagical process of spelljamming.

The Midnight Sea is a galaxy, specifically our galaxy: what we would call the Milky Way. Indeed, the inhabitants of Terraspace (the fantastical version of our solar system) do call it the Milky Way! However, unlike our galaxy, it is the only galaxy in this universe, and its constituent star systems -as pockets of the material plane gestalt- possess mildly varying physical principles based on their location relative to the outer planes. At the center of this galaxy lies a supermassive black hole, the Cataract, about which swirls a vast region of distorted spacetime called the Maelstrom where the planar boundaries are weaker, strengthening the influence of interplanar magic on the local systems. Four major systems bear notable influence from one of the four primordial elements, while a fifth has a strong manifestation of the Weave and an unusual connection to the outer plane of Arvandor, and a sixth is so deep within the Maelstrom that the Material, Feywild, and Shadowfell planes blur together. The outer edge of the Maelstrom is a hub of interstellar civilization, but venturing deeper is quite dangerous.

The systems seen on the map here are all major systems; there are thousands more unseen in this representation. Many of these major systems are original creations (like Terraspace) or pulled in some way from the depths of the Spelljammer 3e fan website (like Banesun), but in the spirit of WotC's recent trend of linking their MtG settings to the DnD settings, we have included a few prominent MtG "planes" as part of bespoke systems: Theros lies in Nyxspace, Amonkhet lies in Godspace, Ravnica lies in Guildspace, and of course Dominaria lies in Gatespace. Though the map may look rather bare now, we expect to fill out the map more in time, as we sail the stars of the Midnight Sea.

[bismuthwisdom]

Ahem

003 for all of the B5, please? 👀

@heyhellohihowareyou Yours too!

Oh boy, this is going to be a big one (heh)

How I feel about this character:

-Shuu is just EVERYTHING really. My fave, the orange gremlin, the sad boy, the one everybody projects their angst to lol.

But seriously, I never thought i'd love him as much as I do now. Maybe it's the character development that compels me. He is more of a minor character, so seeing a whole ass progress is nice.

-Ren, aka the most problematic one here. I had many thoughts about him and I am still unsure on many aspects of his personality. Still, I feel bad that many hate him, which I feel is also canon's fault for not letting him grow out of his habits (which still makes him more interesting to analyze)

-Araki is just some guy.

-Seo aka a guy I never thought I'd like. Sure the whole Kahi thing is all over the place, but besides that he isn't too hateable at least compared to how the other b5 treat 3E. I just love how unfiltered he is and just expresses his frustration openly instead of keeping it to himself. Sad we didn't get more of him.

-Koyama is someone I had thoughts about recently: Just imagine he wasn't approached by Shuu before and just kept being his self loathing self. Because of that I can see him dropping down to 3E. What a story that would be!

Any/all the people I ship romantically with this character:

-Shuu: Ren, Isogai, Ritsu, Lea

-Ren: Shuu, Hazama, Lea, Karma

-Araki: Kurahashi, Seo

-Seo: Shuu, Araki

-Koyama: Kurahashi

My unpopular opinion about this character:

I am going to combine the B5 as a group now:

I just hate how all of the main campus kids are villified to no end. Yes they were assholes and there were definitely some among them that were aware of that too. But they are just KIDS, damn it. They deserve better treatment than whatever Gakuhou got. They should learn from their mistakes.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:

The process of them becoming better people. We saw this a little bit throughout s2, but I feel the jump from the finals to graduation to be too sudden.

A chapter or two between those two events could have been used to show how they think of their situation now and their plans to change themselves. Imagine after the Civil War arc, there are a few scenes of what happened during the time 3e was in an outright battle and how 3a started to change too.

Also, at least better character profiles than just focusing on Shuu. Maybe a bit about their families would be nice.

My favorite non-romantic relationship for this character:

-Shuu: Ren, Isogai, Ritsu, Karma (as rivals/siblings), Itona, Gakuhou (as ???)

-Ren: Shuu, Hazama, Karma, Fuwa, Yada, Irina

-Araki: Kurahashi, Isogai (as rivals)

- Seo: Rio, Nagisa

-Koyama: Okuda (as rivals)

Thanks for the ask! Always happy to talk about the boys!

[casbooks]

Books of 2023

Book 22 of 2023

Title: The Ravens: The Men Who Flew in America's Secret War in Laos Authors: Christopher Robbins ISBN: 9780517566121 Tags: A-1 Skyraiders, AC-47 Spooky, Ambassador Leonard Unger, Antonov AN-2 Colt, Aviation, B-52 Stratofortress, C-130 Hercules, C-46 Commando, C-47 Skytrain, CH-34 Choctaw, CIA Allen Dulles, CIA Hugh Tovar, COD Democratic Republic of the Congo - Congo-Kinshasa, COD Kinshasa (Leopoldville), COD Lubumbashi (Elisabethville), COD MNC Congolese National Movement, COD Mobutu Sese Seko, COD Patrice Lumumba, COD Simba Rebellion (1963-1965), CSAR, EC-47 Electric Goon, F-105 Thunderchief, F-4 Phantom II, FAC, Fast-FAC, FRA ADT Colonel Roger Trinquier, FRA ADT French Ground Army (Armée de terre), FRA ADT General Henri Navarre, FRA ADT General Raoul Salan, FRA ADT Marshall Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, FRA France, FRA Madame Lulu, From LAPL, HH-3E Jolly Green Giant, HH-53 Super Jolly Green Giants, IRN Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, IRN Iran, KHM Cambodia, KHM Cambodian Civil War (1967-1975), KHM Khmer Rouge, KHM King & President Norodom Sihanouk, KHM Phnom Penh, KHM Tonle Sap (Great Lake), LAO Attopeu, LAO Ban Ban, LAO Ban Ban Valley, LAO Ban Son, LAO Bataillon Guerrier 403 (Laotian Civil War), LAO Blind Bonze Pho Satheu, LAO Bolovens Plateau, LAO Colonel Deuan Sunnalath, LAO Communist Neutralists, LAO Defense Minister Sisouk Na Champassak, LAO Hmong Meo Tribesmen, LAO Hotel Lima, LAO ICC Internationl Control Commission, LAO Ice House One and Two, LAO Jungle's Mouth, LAO Khang Khay, LAO Khang Khay - Chinese Cultural Center, LAO King Savang Vatthana, LAO King Sisavang Vong, LAO Klick 11, LAO Lam Son 719 (1971) (Vietnam War), LAO Lan Xiang 9 - Raven Hooch, LAO Laos, LAO Laotian Civil War (1959-1975), LAO Les Rendezvous des Amis, LAO Lhat Houang, LAO Lima 35 - Paksane (Laotian Civil War), LAO Lima Site 103 - Phu Da Pho (Laotian Civil War), LAO Lima Site 108 - Moung Soui (Laotian Civil War), LAO Lima Site 113 - Moung Cha (Laotian Civil War), LAO Lima Site 15 - Ba Na (Laotian Civil War), LAO Lima Site 15 - Phong Saly (Laotian Civil War), LAO Lima Site 20 - Sam Thong (Laotian Civil War), LAO Lima Site 204 - Khang Kho (Laotian Civil War), LAO Lima Site 20A - Long Tieng (Laotian Civil War), LAO Lima Site 262 - Ban Xon / Ban Houei Pamone (Laotian Civil War), LAO Lima Site 276 - Lat Sen (Laotian Civil War), LAO Lima Site 32 - Boung Lam (Laotian Civil War), LAO Lima Site 36 - Na Khang (Laotian Civil War), LAO Lima Site 46 - Seno (Laotian Civil War), LAO Lima Site 85 - Phu Pha Thi (Laotian Civil War), LAO Long Tieng, LAO Luang Prabang, LAO Moung Soui, LAO MR Military Region (Laotian Civil War), LAO MR1 (Laotian Civil War), LAO MR2 (Laotian Civil War), LAO MR3 (Laotian Civil War), LAO MR4 (Laotian Civil War), LAO MR5 (Laotian Civil War), LAO Muong Mai, LAO Nong Het, LAO Operation About Face / Kou Kiet (1969) (Laotian Civil War), LAO Operation Barrel Roll (1964-1973) (Laotian Civil War) (Vietnam War), LAO Operation Bedrock (1971) (Laotian Civil War), LAO Operation Black Lion IV (1972) (Laotian Civil War), LAO Operation Blind Bat (1964-1970) (Laotian Civil War), LAO Operation Glass A (Laotian Civil War), LAO Operation Goodlook (1970) (Laotian Civil War), LAO Operation Leapfrog (1970) (Laotian Civil War), LAO Operation Nighty-Night (1969) (Laotian Civil War), LAO Operation Northwind (Laotian Civil War), LAO Operation Pig Fat (1968) (Laotian Civil War), LAO Operation Rain Dance (1969) (Laotian Civil War), LAO Operation Shining Brass / Prairie Fire / Phu Dong (1965-1975) (Laotian Civil War) (Vietnam War), LAO Operation Steel Tiger (1965-1968) (Laotian Civil War) (Vietnam War), LAO Operation Tiger Hound (1965-1968) (Laotian Civil War) (Vietnam War), LAO Operation Westwind (Laotian Civil War), LAO Operation White Star (1959-1961) (Laotian Civil War), LAO Operation X (1946-1954) (French Indochina War), LAO Operation Yankee Team (1964) (Laotian Civil War), LAO Padong, LAO Pakse, LAO Paksong, LAO Pathet Lao, LAO Phong Saly, LAO Phou Khean, LAO Phou Nok Kok (Black Lion), LAO Phou Tham, LAO Plain of Jars / Plaine des Jarres, LAO Prime Minister Phoui Sananikone, LAO Prime Minister Souvanna Phouma, LAO Prince Souvanna Phouma, LAO Project Waterpump (1964-1973) (Laotian Civil War), LAO Purple Porpoise, LAO RLA Captain Kong Le, LAO RLA General Oudone Sananikone, LAO RLA General Phoumi Nosavan, LAO RLA General Vang Pao, LAO RLA Royal Laotian Army, LAO RLA SGU Special Guerrilla Units, LAO RLAF CPK Chao Pha Khao Hmong Pilots/Backseaters (Laotian Civil War), LAO RLAF Lt Colonel Lee Lue, LAO RLAF Royal Lao Air Force, LAO Roadrunner Lake, LAO Route 13, LAO Route 19, LAO Route 23, LAO Route 4, LAO Route 6, LAO Route 7, LAO Route 7/71 Junction, LAO Route 71, LAO Sam Nuea, LAO Sam Thong, LAO Saravane, LAO Se Kong River, LAO Skyline Ridge, LAO St. Valentine's Day Massacre (Laotian Civil War), LAO Tchepone, LAO US Programs Evaluation Office (Laotian Civil War), LAO USAF Butterfly FAC (Laotian Civil War), LAO USAF Project 404 (Laotian Civil War), LAO USAF Steve Canyon Program - Ravens FAC (Laotian Civil War), LAO Vientiane, LAO Vientiane - US Air Attache (Laotian Civil War), LAO Vientiane - US Embassy (Laotian Civil War), LAO Wattay Airport, LAO White Rose, LAO Xieng Khouang, LBY Colonel Muammar al-Qaddafi, LBY Libya, O-1 Bird Dog, OV-10 Bronco, Pilatus Porter, PT-76 Amphibious Light Tank, SpecOps, T-28 Trojan, THA Ban Vinai, THA CIA 4802 Joint Liaison Detachment Logistics Office - Udorn (Laotian Civil War), THA Nam Phang, THA PARU Border Patrol Police Aerial Resupply Unit, THA RTAF Royal Thai Air Force, THA RTAFB Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Base, THA RTAFB Ubon Royal Thai Air Base, THA RTAFB Udorn Royal Thai Air Base, THA Thailand, THA USAF ISC Infiltration Surveillance Center - Nakhon Phanom (Igloo White) (Vietnam War), U-17 Skywagon, US Air America Eugene Hasenfus, US Albert Hakim, US Ambassador George McMurtrie Godley III, US Ambassador Llewellyn Thompson, US Ambassador William Sullivan, US Averrell Harriman (Governor of NY) (Ambassador at Large), US CIA Anthony Posepny (Tony Poe), US CIA Burr Smith, US CIA Central Intelligence Agency, US CIA Dave Morales, US CIA Douglas Blaufarb, US CIA Ed Wilson, US CIA Frank Snepp, US CIA Henry Hecksher, US CIA Jerry 'Hog' Daniels, US CIA John Stockwell, US CIA Kham Sing (Gold Lion), US CIA Lawrence Devlin, US CIA Pat Landry, US CIA Phillip Agee, US CIA Richard Helms, US CIA Ted Shackley, US CIA Tom Clines, US CIA Will Green (Black Lion), US CIA William Colby, US COA CASI Continental Air Services International, US COA Continental Airlines, US Dr. Henry Kissinger, US Edgar "Pop" Buell, US Father Lucien Bouchard (Catholic Priest), US Iran-Conta Affair, US John Gunther Dean (Diplomat), US President Dwight D. Eisenhower, US Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird, US Secretary of State Dean Rusk, US Senator Edward Kennedy, US Senator J. William Fullbright, US Senator Stuart Symington, US State Department, US T.D. Allman (Journalist), US Tom Corcoran (Diplomat), US USA Biological Warfare Corps, US USA General Earle Wheeler, US USA General William Westmoreland, US USA Green Berets, US USA United States Army, US USA USSF Special Forces, US USAF 14th Air Commando Wing, US USAF 1st Air Commando Wing, US USAF 1st Air Commando Wing - Det 6 (Laotian Civil War), US USAF 20th Helicopter Squadron, US USAF 22nd Special Operations Sqd - Zorro, US USAF 23rd TASS - NAIL FAC, US USAF 23rd TASS - OL1 - Rustic FAC (Ubon) (Cambodian Civil War) (Vietnam War), US USAF 56th Air Commando Wing, US USAF 56th Special Operations Wing, US USAF 56th Special Operations Wing - Det 1, US USAF 7th ABCCC Airborne Command and Control Sqd - Cricket, US USAF 7th Air Force, US USAF 7th/13th Air Force, US USAF Colonel Mike Heenan, US USAF Fairchild Air Force Base WA, US USAF General Curtis LeMay, US USAF General George Brown, US USAF General John D. Lavelle, US USAF General Louis T. Seith, US USAF General Richard V. Secord, US USAF General William Momyer, US USAF Generl Robert L. Petit, US USAF Gus Sonnenberg, US USAF Hurlburt Field FL, US USAF JEST Jungle Environment Survival Training, US USAF Lt Colonel George Vogel, US USAF Lt Colonel Mark Berent, US USAF Major General Harry Heinie Aderholt, US USAF Major John Clark Pratt, US USAF United States Air Force, US USMC Lt Colonel Oliver North, US USMC United States Marine Corps, USAID, USSR 1st Secretary Nikita Khrushchev, USSR Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko, VNM 1972 Easter Offensive (1972) (Vietnam War), VNM Bien Hoa, VNM Bien Hoa Air Base (Vietnam War), VNM CIA Air America (1950-1976) (Vietnam War), VNM DRV Lao Dong Party, VNM DRV NVA 148th Regiment, VNM DRV NVA 174th Regiment, VNM DRV NVA 312th Division, VNM DRV NVA 316th Division, VNM DRV NVA 766th Regiment, VNM DRV NVA General Vo Nguyen Giap, VNM DRV NVA Group 559, VNM DRV NVA North Vietnamese Army, VNM DRV NVAF North Vietnamese Air Force, VNM DRV VC Viet Cong, VNM DRV VM 304th Division, VNM DRV VM Regiment 98, VNM DRV VM Viet Minh, VNM FRA ADT Cap St Jacques Military School, VNM French Indochina War (1946-1954), VNM Green Beret Affair (Vietnam War), VNM Ho Chi Minh Trail (Vietnam War), VNM II Corps (Vietnam War), VNM Nha Trang, VNM Operation Arc Light (1965-1973) (Vietnam War), VNM Operation Igloo White (1968-1973) (Vietnam War), VNM Operation Linebacker II (1972) (Vietnam War), VNM Operation Pony Express (1965-1969) (Laotian Civil War) (Cambodian Civil War) (Vietnam War), VNM Paris Peace Accords (1973) (Vietnam War), VNM Phan Rang Air Base, VNM RVN ARVN Army of the Republic of Vietnam, VNM RVN Nguyen Van Thieu, VNM RVN Vietnamization Policy (Vietnam War), VNM US MACV Military Assistance Command Vietnam (Vietnam War), VNM USAF TACC Tactical Air Control Center - BLUE CHIP (Vietnam War), VNM Vietnam, VNM Vietnam War (1955-1975) Rating: ★★★★★ (5 Stars) Subject: Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Asia.Vietnam War.Laotian Civil War.Aviation.FAC.Ravens

Description: Officially the war in Laos did not exist - both North Vietnam and the USA denied they had troops there. In fact, thousands of North Vietnamese were invading the country and pouring down the Ho Chi Minh Trail on their way to the south, and the Americans were fighting a vigorous war against them from the air.

The Ravens were the pilots, all volunteers, who flew through heavy groundfire to identify targets and call in air-strikes. Their mission was so secret that they were 'sold' their prop-driven planes for a dollar apiece so they could be struck from US Air Force records. They wore no uniform and carried no identification. Refugees from the bureaucracy of the war in Vietnam, they accepted the murderous casualty rates of what was known as the Steve Canyon Program in return for a life of unrestricted flying and fighting.

Devoted to the hill tribesmen they fought alongside, the Ravens did their job with extraordinary skill and crazy courage and with a humour that was all of its own. This is the story, brilliantly told for the first time, of these extraordinary men. Based on extensive interviews with the survivors, it is a tale of undeniable heroism, blending real-life romance, adventure and tragedy.

Review: This was a great book with a lot of problems. 

The #1 problem was that I was reading an ebook version from Apostrophe books that was, quite simply, poorly done. So many issues with the conversion... I’s became 1′s... places and names were spelled 3 different ways throughout the book... issues like that.

The #2 problem was that there were multiple stories being told in a book about one story. This book had some good info on the Raven FACs, but it also went deeply into the story of the Laotian Civil War, the French Indochina War, the Hmong people, Henry Kissinger and the Nixon Administration. All of these things are intertwined and important, but the author uses up a LOT of the books real estate for these topics which tends to take a lot of the focus away form the Ravens, which the book is supposed to be about. 

It’s still a 5 star book because it does go deeply into the stories of the who, the what, the when, and the where. You get a real good feel for the cast of characters that made up the Raven FACs, and you learn a lot about the Laotian Civil War, the CIA, the political issues and more. 

It’s really a good primer and a good way to get a feel for what happened in the region. 

[fumiko-matsubara]

Sensing vs Intuition: Explaining the stark differences in Chiba and Hayami's sniping methods using MBTI

I'm back at it again with another essay :D

To put it simply, these two cognitive functions basically determine how each person chooses to absorb and process information. And for Chiba and Hayami, out of all the countless differences that they have, this is by far their biggest.

Sensing is when a person heavily relies on their five senses to absorb as much information about their surroundings as they can. They are extremely observant, sensitive, and they tend to have a wide field of vision, noticing details around them that a lot of people tend to miss. They rely on solid facts and prefer to live in the moment, rather than anticipating the unseen future.

Chiba is a strong sensing type. He has superior spatial awareness, which he uses to accurately determine the distance between point A and point B based from what he could see. He uses his sense of touch to determine the direction and strength of the wind blowing, while taking the light weight of the BB pellets into account.

Hence, he was able to easily take out Kataoka during the 3E civil war even though she was hidden from view and was over 300 feet away. This makes his long distance sniping terrifying, as he almost never misses.

Intuition, on the contrary, is when a person see patterns everywhere and uses that to speculate (guess) what was going to happen next. They can easily make instant decisions because they tend to jump into conclusions immediately after connecting bits of information together.

And because they've been doing this for most of their lives that it comes naturally to them, they're pretty good at guessing what was to come, or at least they feel good about making that guess... even if they have a track record of being wrong.

Hayami is an intuitive type. It might not be most suitable for a sniper to perceive information that way, but it's her superior kinetic vision that makes her pattern recognition ability extremely reliable when it comes to hitting moving targets or hitting targets while in an unstable position, at a near perfect timing.

Basically, Hayami's entire thing is:

"It doesn't have to be extremely accurate like Chiba's. As long as I can shoot and hit at any given moment, it's should be good enough."

A little bit to the left, a little up here, around there, and etc. ー unlike Chiba who takes his sweet time making a bunch of detailed calculations in his head so he could accurately shoot, Hayami doesn't think much about these details. She only estimates where she thinks her bullet will hit and just shoots from there. If it hits, then that's that. If it doesn't, she can just find another opportunity to try again.

Like I said, not really a fitting method for a sniper. Her lack of range and accuracy has been pointed out by people. But it's her "shoot and go" method that allows her to move freely in a specific battlefield like the 3E civil war.

And that covers it!

I could honestly talk more about how Chiba and Hayami's Sensing vs Intuition way of absorbing information isn't just exclusive to their contrasting sniping method, but also extends to their daily lives, how they interact with people, and how they face their problems.

To put it simply, Chiba is a realist while Hayami is a visionary. But this one is a topic I could talk about in another time.

[vounoura]

I honestly think some of the most interesting Tong lore in MW is that the Tong, even in 3E, an organization heavily tied to Dunmer culture (esp. housemer culture) and mostly dedicated to murdering belligerents in lieu of civil war, not only freely distances itself from the Tribunal (Tong HQ freely reveres Mephala, not Vivec, even in 3E) but also freely accepts Ashlanders and non-Dunmer without any fanfare. I love that this is environmental storytelling vs smth that’s explicitly drawn attention to

[dalamusrex]

14!!

14. Do they have a favorite period in history?

At the risk of sounding boring, Dalamus spent most of his life as a vampire hiding from civilization in Skyrim.

Born in 3E 404, he was born 1 year before the events of Daggerfall and so was too young to really know what was going on.

I... am having trouble remembering the exact date he ran from home, but I know it was before the events of Morrowind.

He is in Skyrim at the time of the Oblivion Crisis, and depending on when he is turned, he either misses news of it entirely by being holed away, or he is turned right after it ends.

At the beginning of Skyrim he is finally starting to enter civilization again.

Sadly, he is not much of a history buff and generally does not care about much that does not directly affect him :') Sorry, nonny! Thank you for the question, though!

[chroniquescontemporaines]

Séance #09 - "Ah oui, j'ai vu ça sur TikTok"

Avec la présence des nouveaux médias, l’accès et la recherche d’information ont changé. Effectivement, des millions d’individus vont utiliser divers réseaux sociaux comme source principale d’information (Adgate, 2022: 3e par.). Avec ces nouveaux accès à l’information, il y a des avantages, mais également une panoplie d’inconvénients. Cette chronique observe cette nouvelle méthode d’accès à l’information, plus précisément sur la nouvelle plateforme populaire : TikTok.

TikTok, lancé en 2016, est un réseau social de production et de partage de courte vidéo. Depuis leurs débuts, la communauté de TikTok ne fait qu’augmenter chaque année. Actuellement, 20% des 18 à 20 ans utilisent le média afin d’obtenir des nouvelles (Jones, 2023 : 1e par.). Ceci représente une augmentation de 5% en comparaison à l’année dernière (Jones, 2023 : 1e par.). Le format d’information le plus populaire sur la plateforme est le journalisme civil (type de journalisme où un citoyen collecte des données d’un événement et les partages sur leurs plateformes). Un bon exemple du journalisme civil sur TikTok est lors du déclenchement de la guerre Russie-Ukraine où il était possible de voir plusieurs soldats mettre du contenu sur le terrain (Jones, 2023 : 5e par.).

Plus récemment, TikTok accepte d’ailleurs les publicités gouvernementales, notamment aux États-Unis, et ce depuis 2019. Ceci a permis à l’application de se politiser notamment auprès des jeunes adultes. Effectivement, lors de la dernière campagne électorale provinciale, de nombreux chef.fes de partis se sont rués sur TikTok afin d’aller chercher un électorat plus jeune. Plusieurs ont su capitaliser de l’opportunité de la plateforme, tandis que plusieurs ont maladroitement échoué. Par exemple, on peut penser à Dominique Anglade qui est devenue un meme à la suite de sa danse pré débat des chefs causant une perte de crédibilité envers le public cible.

Toutefois, bien que cette forme d’accès à l’information puisse détenir une approche plus humaine et rapide, elle comporte plusieurs failles telles la fiabilité et la véracité des informations ainsi que de nombreux biais. Effectivement, selon le New Guard investigation, plus de 20% des vidéos contenaient de la désinformation. Dans une ère de désinformation et de deepfake (Brewster et al., 2022), il est important de rester vigilant lorsqu’une information se présente à nous. Il ne faut donc pas toujours croire un être cher qui nous dit « Ah oui, j’ai vu ça sur TikTok ».

[christophe76460]

Mieux vaut un jeune homme pauvre mais sage qu’un roi âgé et stupide qui ne sait plus écouter les conseils. Même si ce jeune successeur est né pauvre ou qu’il soit sorti de prison pour régner, j’ai constaté que tous les humains qui vivent sous le soleil se rallient à lui plutôt qu’au roi qui était en place avant lui. Il n’y a pas de fin au cortège de tout ce peuple dont il a pris la tête. Et pourtant, la génération suivante ne se félicitera pas davantage d’avoir un tel roi ! Cela encore est dérisoire : autant courir après le vent (Ecclésiaste 4:13-16).

Le Prédicateur adresse l’instabilité des sociétés humaines. C’est aussi un tableau des troubles politiques et des révolutions de palais si fréquentes en Orient où en principe, les successions se faisaient à coups de sabre. Quand un monarque devient sénile et perd les pédales, un changement s’impose. S’il s’accroche au pouvoir coûte que coûte, cela entraînera des désordres civils. Alors, soit il impose un régime de terreur avec des bains de sang répétés, ce qui est le comportement classique dans les annales de l’Histoire de l’humanité, soit il doit abdiquer en faveur d’un nouveau venu. Si ce dernier fait partie des révolutionnaires, il y a de fortes chances qu’il soit passé par une geôle.

Hitler a écrit Mein Kampf alors qu’il était en prison, mais ce n’est pas une règle générale. Ainsi, Joseph, le 11e fils de Jacob, est devenu le premier ministre d’Égypte grâce à une intervention de Dieu (Genèse 39:20-41:45). Au début d’un changement de règne, le peuple est tout feu tout flamme. C’est la lune de miel, car tout le monde adore le soleil levant. Ce fut le cas pour Joseph qui fut très aimé de ses concitoyens, mais la génération suivante oublia bien vite tout le bien qu’il avait fait.

En France, après les révolutions de 1789, 1830 et 1848, tout le monde était dans la joie, mais elle fut de courte durée, car la faveur populaire est inconstante et bientôt se prépare la prochaine révolution qui met en piste un nouvel homme fort. Notre révolution de 1789 avait assez bien commencé puis les meneurs ont imposé le régime de la Terreur qui après quelques années a dégoûté le peuple à cause du sang versé le plus souvent sans raison. C’est ainsi que sur simple dénonciation non vérifiée, on perdait sa tête.

Napoléon Bonaparte était un jeune officier artilleur brillant qui a su tirer profit du chaos pour s’imposer. Il a même dit :

Ceux qui font des révolutions à moitié n’ont fait que se creuser un tombeau.

Napoléon fut suivi par deux rois (Louis XVIII et Charles X) qui provoquèrent la révolution de 1830 qui amena Louis Philippe 1er au pouvoir, qui fut chassé en 1848, ce qui permit à Louis Napoléon Bonaparte, neveu du premier, de s’imposer. Mais après son emprisonnement par les Prussiens suite à la débâcle de 1870, la 3e République fut proclamée et dirigée par Thiers, lui aussi un homme à poigne. Ainsi va la vie, qui est un perpétuel recommencement. L’ambition et le pouvoir sont des vanités. Alors tout compte fait, il est préférable d’être une personne quelconque sans influence plutôt que d’être puissant parce que le prestige et l’autorité sont forcément transitoires.

À la fin de sa vie, David le grand roi d’Israël était devenu quelque peu gaga et de santé fébrile. Dans son entourage, on voulait qu’il désigne le prochain souverain au plus vite parce que plusieurs de ses fils qui voulaient le pouvoir commençaient à s’agiter. De lui-même, David n’aurait probablement pas choisi Salomon parce qu’il était de nature délicate et pas du tout guerrier. Et puis, il n’était pas l’aîné de la couvée. Or, la coutume voulait que le premier-né succède à son père.

Cependant, ni Isaac, ni Jacob n’étaient des aînés et pourtant ce sont eux ainsi que leurs descendants qui furent choisis pour devenir le peuple élu. Dieu va souvent à l’encontre des normes montrant par là qu’il est souverain même dans les affaires des hommes. La preuve est qu’il avait déjà désigné Salomon comme prochain roi d’Israël. Soit dit en passant, avec Dieu, il n’existe ni premier, ni second. Tous ceux qui lui font confiance sont placés au même rang que Jésus-Christ, son Fils.