#I was going to post the set of gifs which focus on the reiterative use of the handkerchief

[isolated-bug]

Hello! I love your talks about Arcane. Your words and thoughts always make me realize so much more about the story. Would it be ok if you talked about the scene where Silco talks to Vi outside where she used to grow up, What do you think he meant when says that ‘jinx is so much more than he ever imagined and that he ‘freed her candidly’ the tone seemed more soft and his word choice seemed very calculated. Why do you think he thought it was necessary to say those words to Vi right then? (His tone was hard for me to read there)

Then Silco has his whole rage fit after the sign falls and Vi and Caitlyn escape. I know he was furious but I’m not sure if there are any other emotions layered that I’m not picking up in that scene. I wanted to know your general thoughts on it if you have any.

-♠️

OOOOOOOOO i LOVE me some Silco analysis!! Lets Go! <3

Also thank you for the kind words!! holy cow >.< im not worthy!! This is gunna be a long one so im posting a read below to just... save peoples scrolling XD

Silco is such a *wonderfully* complex character and he has so much behind everything he does; or at least this is how i feel. I briefly touched on this topic in a different post about how i feel Silco did not plan on killing Vi (i think it was that post.. maybe it was a Silco/Jinx father/daughter analysis.. i cant recall now >.< ) So, man, ok.. where to start... So in that scene.. hmm no ok wait. Lets back it up ok, Silco/Jinx leading up to that scene is really important to set the narrative for explanation so forgive me for reiterating events here but: - Jinx "defended" the shimmer shipment - Silco argued in Jinxs defense against Sevika - He talked with Jinx and advised she distract herself with her gadgetry - Jinx decided to bomb a bunch of enforcers and get the gem - Silco learns of the attack; we dont see who from but we know its NOT Marcus because he comes to confront Silco separately later - Silco dad-style yells at Jinx but forgives cuz gem - Silco argues with Marcus, again in Jinxs defense - Jinx medicates Silco and he tells her to focus on weaponizing the gem - Jinx has her freak out from the magic acting up - Jinx goes to the arcade (ironically while Vi and Cait are eating at Jerichos) - Silco gives one of Jinx's bombs to Marcus to use as evidence against the Firelights - Jinx expresses to Silco she cant handle the magic trauma - Silco takes Jinx out to the water and has a heart to heart - Jinx successfully works on the gem - Silco learns Vi is alive - Silco sends out an order to all of his staff to "grab" the two girls that kicked Sevika's ass - Bartender Thieram/Chuck tells Jinx about the order - Jinx is suspicious that she wasnt included or made aware of the order - Jinx confronts Sevika in Silcos office - Silco confronts Marcus in Marcus' home - And then finally Silco gets word from the shimmer addicts of Vi's location and goes there himself *whew* that was a lot.. but its important. Notice how in all of this, every time Silco has an interaction *about* Jinx he is totally on her side? Their relationship is super solid at this point and it seems like, at least to SOME extent, Silco is aware of the state of Jinx's mind. Given how open these two are with each other and how they relax and show their true vulnerable selves to each other, i would guess Jinx has had fits around Silco as results of botched missions or other trauma triggers. We also see how casually Jinx talks to her apparitions both when alone and with others which makes me feel like she does this around Silco a lot too without receiving any judgement etc.

So i want to point out something very specific here. While Silco did do basically an all-hands-on-deck type of order among his goons to look for Vi and Cait, he went HIMSELF to the location as soon as he learned exactly where she was. He did not look for Sevika to go with him either. He wanted to be the one to handle this himself. This tells me that, while he is willing to use all resources available to him for this task, it is a personal task and not a business one. This also helps clearly define exactly how he perceives Jinx. She is not "just business" or "just a lieutenant". This is why we see his tone and mannerisms change so drastically between how he talks to Singed and Sevika vs how he talks to/about Jinx.

I think that, for Silco, this was a VERY personal matter. All he had likely heard from Sevika was that Vi was looking for Jinx. Silco went all hands on deck because of the threat of someone taking his daughter away.

So, Silco is used to using intimidation and power to get his way. When he confronts Vi, note that he is unarmed BUT he is definitely utilizing that same body language to express his power and influence to build an intimidating presence. He has two goons with him who are armed but not in any stance to fight. Weapons are slung on their shoulders etc.

I feel that Silco had one objective here. Get Vi to give up on Jinx. His tactic for this was two parts. First to make Vi feel too weak to take on the fight and second to make her think that Jinx wouldnt be interested in leaving regardless. I also believe he did not want to kill Vi. This is important. He knows what Vi means to Jinx. He would not risk word of him killing her get around to Jinx.

Thus his speech. "Vanders prodigy, i regretted that we never had the opportunity to speak" He is trying to impose his intelligence over her and seem un-phased by her return. I think he is being honest here and had actually originally planned to try and turn her to his side. He knew from Sevika that Vi was wanting to fight Piltover when the topic was brought up in the Last Drop. He also heard stories from his younger underlings that he had keep eyes on Vanders kids that she was a good fighter. He then seems genuinely offended by the question "what have you done with my sister?" Remember that Silco does not see himself as a destructive or bad person. Most of the people in the undercity support him and he himself sees the bad parts of what he does as "the base violence necessary for change".

So when Silco responds with "I've freed her. Candidly, I thought you were the prize of your secondhand family." We see an interesting and subtle shift in his expression to Vi. When talking about Jinx, there is some life and passion in his expression and tone. Then he looks around for a moment and when he stares back at Vi his expression is icy and devoid of any emotion aside from.. boredom maybe; his tone changes to match. I think Silco means what he said about freeing Jinx. He has helped free her from a lot of her insecurities, he does not restrict her movements or actions or try to snuff out her violent interests, and he protects her from consequences from the law. In his mind, he has freed her of anything that could be holding her back from reaching her true potential. But the second part, while i *do* think he had intended to flip Vi before the warehouse fight, i think he actually means this as the setup for an insult. He searched for those words for a moment. They were calculated. He wanted to hurt Vi with what he says next.

"but... Jinx... Ah~ she is more than i ever imagined." While Silco says these words he is, once again, more expressive. Even leaning his head back and taking his eyes off Vi to visualize his daughter, and his words are so soft.

Silco knows that Vi is a sensitive topic for Jinx even years after the event. A huuuge part of me feels like this is sorta... parental vindication. I thought you were great, but then i saw your sister. I believe Silco wants to hurt Vi with his insult as a small penance for what Jinx has endured emotionally. Silco values power and would assume most others do as well. So telling Vi she is weaker than the girl she abandoned would be a fabulous insult in his world. Because, to be clear, Silco *does* think that Vi abandoned Jinx. He only had Jinx's word to go off of with this and there would have been ZERO info about Vi looking for Jinx after the bomb since Marcus had captured her. Silco truly believes Vi abandoned a crying Powder to be killed by, well, himself.

So i think he is trying to shove it in Vi's face that she discarded someone with so much potential. 'You left her and made the wrong choice.' and twist that knife in til it hurts.

I like how Vi responds to this with "im gunna find her and erase whatever fucked up delusions you put in her head"

So Vi heard those few sentences and clung onto "i freed her" and "she is more than i imagined" and interpreted those as Silco maybe drugging her with Shimmer, manipulated her, or whatever else to make Jinx into this version of herself. Then Vi say she is FIRST going to target Silcos criminal empire and Silco replies with that same bored tone suggesting he feels completely in control and once again exuding power to intimidate Vi. "You dont know your limits, girl. Its what got Vander killed. What drove your sister away. And its why im here right now." again, doubling down on the whole effort to make her feel like this is an imposible task and her sister wouldnt want to return to her anyway. So then stuff happens and the rage fit and i do think there is a lot mixed in here. He is, of course, mad that he got bested by a child but more than that its Vanders Prodigy. So for Silco this has getting defeated by the ghosts of his past written all over it. Plus, he didnt successfully manipulate Vi to giving up on Jinx so there is also still the risk to his daughter leaving him. His effort to intimidate wasnt working. And finally he lost her. He doesnt seem like a man who takes loosing very well. And with her maybe 30 feet away, he lost her. One of the people he raises up and hits on the head during this fit is one of his body guards. Likely annoyed that they didnt have the foresight to see that risk or that they didnt pursue Vi during the chaos. He also stomps violently on the shimmer addict informant that told them of Vi's location. We never see Silco get this emotional. Never. I think he is honestly panicing that right at the final stages of seeing his fight for the Nation of Zaun, everything is falling apart. Vi is back, Jinx is struggling with the weapon, Marcus is turning on him, etc. But the way he responds to all the other bad news is exasperation... the way he responds to the threat to his daughter from his former betrayers prodigy is visceral rage.. i think it definitely sets the tone for how important this matter is to him. I also really like the symbolism of him standing in the center wreckage of the Eye of Zaun. Like his empire is shattering around him. Idk, i feel like it really reflects where he is at right there.

So anyhow, to put it simply, i think this was a personal issue to him, not a business issue. He definitely is a mad dad looking down the person who abandoned his daughter and caused so much shit in her head for him to deal with. And the possibility of Jinx leaving him for his betrayer's prodigy is something he is *very* worried about.

oof im really good at long.... o.o sorry >.<

[offtorivendell]

The Significance of Elain and a Cup of Tea 🍵

Do not screenshot this post.

Disclaimer: these are my own interpretations, and obviously not canon - though I do think that the text supports Elain and Azriel ending up together. I'm sure I'm not the first to see this connection, but I had fun writing it, so... here you go.

It's another long one, sorry. Again, maybe go and make yourself a cuppa first.

In stories that involve Seers, they often read tea leaves, using the patterns they leave at the bottom of a tea cup to predict the future.

Elain, a Seer Made by the Cauldron, seems to have an interesting relationship with tea - it symbolises her/her life, and her reactions to her surroundings while she's written with a cup of tea appear to predict her own future.

The tea predicted Elain being Made

Elain lifted her teacup. “Whatever the reason, Feyre, we are happy to see you. Alive. We thought you were—” I pulled my hood back before she could go on. Elain’s teacup rattled in its saucer as she noticed my ears. My longer, slender hands—the face that was undeniably Fae. “I was dead,” I said roughly. “I was dead, and then I was reborn—remade.” Elain set her shivering teacup onto the low-lying table between us. Amber liquid splashed over the side, pooling in the saucer.

- Feyre, ACOMAF, chapter 23

When Feyre, together with Rhys, Azriel and Cassian, visited her family's estate in the human lands, Elain (and Nesta) discovered that Feyre had been Made into a high fae after she died at Amarantha's hands. They are grateful that she's alive - they'd understandably thought otherwise, but rattled by her transformation.

More water than seemed possible dumped out in a cascade. Black, smoke-coated water. And Elain, as if she’d been thrown by a wave, washed onto the stones facedown.

Alive, she had to be alive, had to have wanted to live— Elain sucked in a breath...

Elain’s ears were now pointed beneath her sodden hair.

Elain was still shivering on the wet stones...

From however Elain had been Made… Nesta was different.

- Feyre, ACOMAF, chapter 65

Later on in ACOMAF, after it is revealed that Elain and Nesta were kidnapped by the King of Hybern, Elain is lifted into the Cauldron by the Hybern soldiers, then washed over the edge a Made being, left shivering on the stone floor; in her relief that Elain was alive, Feyre noticed her newly pointed ears - a direct call back to Elain's reaction to seeing Feyre for the first time since she was Made. Feyre was shocked, this time around, and Elain was shivering on the stone ground, as opposed to her tea cup on the low-lying table.

The tea predicted Elain's failed engagement to Graysen

Nesta looked to Elain, still silent and wide-eyed. The tea she’d prepared—the finest, most exotic tea money could buy—sat undisturbed on the table. Elain thumbed the iron ring on her finger. “It is your choice,” Nesta said with unusual gentleness. For her, Nesta would go to Prythian. Elain swallowed, a doe caught in a snare. “I—I can’t. I …”

- Feyre, ACOMAF, chapter 57

Elain, raised to be a fine lady, the prettiest (most exotic) of the Archeron sisters, will eventually lose the life for which she was "prepared," and is left "undisturbed on the table," i.e. Graysen, represented here by the iron engagement ring that he gave to Elain, refused to marry her after she was Made against her will. The ring is also important in that Elain spends a lot of her time in ACOWAR touching it, while she mourned what she lost with Graysen.

Her too-thin shoulders seemed to curve inward. “No one ever does. No one ever looked—not really.” A bramble of words. Her voice strained to a whisper. “He did. He saw me. He will not now.”

- Lucien, ACOWAR, chapter 24

Here Elain predicted, heartbreakingly, that Graysen would refuse to See her again - that her being Made fae would prevent him from not just loving her, but identifying with her. There are a couple of great analyses out there that discuss whether and why Elain truly loved Graysen, but what we cannot deny is that they shared a goal, and that goal gave her purpose.

All of that aside, I think we can all agree - his loss!

The tea predicted that there was nothing wrong with Elain

Nesta, sharp-eyed in the corner, had kept quiet. After a long minute, Madja asked us to join her in fetching Elain a cup of tea—with a pointed glance to the door. We both took the invitation and left our sister in her sunlit room.

“What do you mean, nothing is wrong with her?” Nesta hissed under her breath as the ancient female braced a hand on the stair railing to help herself down. I kept beside the healer, a hand in easy reach of her elbow, should she need it.

“What I mean,” Madja said at last, sizing up Nesta, then me, “is that I can find nothing wrong with her. Her body is fine—too thin and in need of more food and fresh air, but nothing amiss. And as for her mind … I cannot enter it.”

- Feyre, ACOWAR, chapter 28

Madja, the Night Court's chief healer, informed Feyre and Nesta that there is nothing she can find wrong with Elain, other than a lack of food, which she is still refusing at this time. Nesta's words, to me, symbolised the concern that the IC and Lucien have for Elain - they're not 100% sure that she came out of the Cauldron with a sound mind - but Madja reiterated her point: there is nothing medically wrong with Elain, and she cannot enter her mind.

Is it because Madja is not a daemati, or something else entirely?

The tea appears to predict a failed relationship - and potentially a false bond - with Lucien

She’d [Jesminda] seen him not as a High Lord’s seventh son, but as a male. Had loved him without question, without hesitation. She had chosen him. Elain had been… thrown at him. He glanced toward the tea service spread on a low-lying table nearby.

Forced his hands to be steady while he poured himself a cup of tea and sat in the chair opposite Nesta’s vacated one.

For a long moment, Elain’s face did not shift, but those eyes seemed to focus a bit more. “Lucien,” she said at last, and he clenched his teacup to keep from shuddering at the sound of his name on her mouth.

But Elain blinked slowly. “You were in Hybern.” “Yes.” It was all he could say. “You betrayed us.”

She did not love him, want him, need him. Another male’s bride. A mortal man’s wife. Or she would have been.

- Lucien, ACOWAR, chapter 24

The only time we've had Lucien’s POV (so far) in this series is significant, in that he almost immediately compared Elain to Jesminda, his late first love, and he mused that, while Jesminda had chosen him, had loved him without hesitation, Elain had been thrown at him - very romantic - and she certainly goes on to hesitate in any interactions she has with him. It follows, then, that Elain might not choose Lucien.

Additionally, Lucien forcing his hands to remain steady while pouring the tea, then clenching the tea cup (read: dealing with Elain), could be read as symbolic of the bond between them restricting them both. Lucien then went on to call Elain "another male's bride," which is (potentially, of course) Very Important.

Who might that other male be? We have our suspicions. 🦇

When discussing Elain's health, Madja said the following:

The ancient healer jerked her chin toward Lucien. “See what he can do. If anyone can sense if something is amiss, it’s a mate.” “How.” The word was barely more than a barked command. I braced myself to warn Nesta to be polite, but Madja said to my sister, as if she were a small child, “The mating bond. It is a bridge between souls.”

- Feyre, ACOWAR, chapter 28

The beginning of chapter 29 in ACOWAR had Feyre experiencing "the most uncomfortable thirty minutes" that she could recall; Elain and Lucien were having tea, so that he could attempt to sense if "anything was amiss" - as Madja had instructed.

Lucien and Elain sat in stilted silence by the dim fireplace, an untouched tea service between them. I didn’t dare ask if he was trying to get into her head, or if he was feeling a bond similar to that black adamant bridge between Rhys’s mind and my own. If a normal mating bond felt wholly different.

A teacup rattled and rasped against a saucer, and Mor and I glanced over. Elain had picked up the teacup, and now sipped from it without so much as looking toward him. In the dining room across the hall, I knew Nesta was craning her neck to look.

*

The sound [Amren in the other room] seemed to startle Elain, who swiftly set down her teacup. She rose to her feet, and Lucien shot to his. “I’m sorry,” he blurted. “What—what was that?” Mor put a hand on my knee to keep me from rising, too. “It—it was a tug. On the bond.”

Elain sidled toward Nesta, who seemed to be at a near-simmer. “It felt… strange,” Elain breathed. “Like you pulled on a thread tied to a rib.”

“There’s a bond—it’s a real thread,” he said, more to himself than us.

- Feyre, ACOWAR, chapter 29

The words that signify what is between Lucien and Elain here seem quite telling - stilted, dim, untouched - a call back to the "undisturbed" tea service that Elain laid out for their meeting with the queens, which foreshadowed the end of her relationship with Graysen.

The stilted silence and dim fireplace suggest that there is no communication down their "bond," and that they lack the fire of other truly mated couples. More specifically, they could be referring to Feyre/Rhys (bond communication) and Nesta/Cassian (fire between them). Will touch play an important role in Elain's eventual romance?

Elain sipped her tea - read: will live her life - without looking to Lucien at all, while Nesta, Feyre and Mor all watched her/them. Feyre took a moment to wonder if a "normal mating bond" felt different to what she shares with Rhys, not knowing that what Elain and Lucien have may not be normal at all.

Not long after this, Lucien attemped to reach Elain down the "thread" (singular) of their bond and startled her; Elain quickly stood up, then shared that her bond felt strange - almost as if she was answering Feyre's thought. A "normal" mating bond should not feel "strange." What is wrong with the bond between Lucien and Elain? He was unable to sense anything, as Madja said a true mate would, and a little later on, Azriel figured out that Elain was a Seer.

I found my sister in the kitchen, watching the kettle scream. “He’s not staying for tea,” I said. No sign of Nuala or Cerridwen. Elain simply removed the kettle from the heat.

I knew I wasn’t truly angry with her, not angry with anyone but myself, but I said, “You couldn’t say a single word to him? A pleasant greeting?”

Elain only stared at the steaming kettle as she set it on the stone counter.

“He brought you a present.”

Those doe-brown eyes turned toward me. Sharper than I’d ever seen them. “And that entitles him to my time, my affections?”

“No.” I blinked. “But he is a good male.” Despite our harsh words. Despite this Band of Exiles bullshit. “He cares for you.”

“He doesn’t know me.”

“You don’t give him the chance to even try to do so.”

Her mouth tightened, the only sign of anger in her graceful countenance. “I don’t want a mate. I don’t want a male.” She wanted a human man.

- Feyre, ACOFAS, chapter 18

I felt like this passage is partly prediction, and partly a way for SJM to let us into Elain's head; for Elain to speak her truths. A couple of lines did stand out to me, though:

I read Elain "watching the kettle scream" as synonymous with what must have been going on in her head at the time. Scream is an odd choice of word, as most would describe a kettle as whistling. As an aside, there is an interesting parallel that exists with Azriel, in his bonus chapter of ACOSF, where being with Elain makes the noise in his head quiet down.

Elain staring at the steaming kettle seemed to indicate that she might be evaluating her life - could the steam be a metaphor for the mist she will have to See through to find the fourth Dread Trove item? Lucien "not staying for tea" (read: Elain's life) sounded like confirmation (to me, of course) that they will not pursue a romantic relationship together.

Elain’s declaration that Lucien doesn't know her, and that he cannot buy her time or affection with gifts is *chef's kiss* good, though please don't read this as anti Lucien - it's more anti Feyre's poor choice of words.

I have discussed '"I don't want a mate. I don’t want a male.” She wanted a human man.' here, in depth, but a quick summary is that I think Elain wants someone to See all of her, including her humanity, and that her humanity will probably be helpful with her future love interest.

The tea appears to predict Elain's eventual relationship with Azriel, and maybe even a mating bond

She looked away [from Lucien]—toward the windows. “I can hear your heart,” she said quietly. He wasn’t sure how to respond, so he said nothing, and drained his tea, even as it burned his mouth. “When I sleep,” she murmured, “I can hear your heart beating through the stone.” She angled her head, as if the city view held some answer. “Can you hear mine?” He wasn’t sure if she truly meant to address him, but he said, “No, lady. I cannot.” Her too-thin shoulders seemed to curve inward. “No one ever does. No one ever looked—not really.” A bramble of words. Her voice strained to a whisper. “He did. He saw me. He will not now.”

- Lucien, ACOWAR, chapter 24

Firstly, and so significantly, Elain looked away from Lucien, and towards the windows, instead. We know that, earlier in that scene, Elain was talking to Feyre about being able to see the sea from where she sat, but I think that when Elain is mentioned as being around tea, her words tend to take on a deeper meaning - I interpreted this as Elain removing herself from the conversation she'd been having with Lucien. The next words out of her mouth, then - that "In my sleep, I hear your heart beating through the stone," appear to be spoken not to Lucien, but someone else.

Who do we know who always seems to be looking out windows to the garden, in search of Elain? Who could potentially be flying over Velaris, to or from the House of Wind? It looks like our flower grower might have started the trend!

Who sleeps at the House of Wind, where Elain and Nesta also stay? Aside from Lucien as a guest, there are two longterm residents. One of them is mated to Nesta, while the other one displays some strikingly familiar behaviour towards the middle Archeron sister.

Secondly, the tea burnt Lucien's mouth, then he thought to himself that there's a good chance Elain might not have been addressing him, may have intended to say that to someone else.

Lucien himself told us what was happening, which brings us to:

Elain sat silently at one of the wrought-iron tables, a cup of tea before her. Azriel was sprawled on the chaise longue across the gray stones, sunning his wings and reading what looked to be a stack of reports—likely information on the Autumn Court that he planned to present to Rhys once he’d sorted through it all. Already dressed for the Hewn City—the brutal, beautiful armor so at odds with the lovely garden. And my sister sitting within it. “Why not make them mates?” I mused. “Why Lucien?” “I’d keep that question from Lucien.”

- Feyre and Rhys, ACOWAR, chapter 24

In direct contrast to the tea that Elain and Lucien shared - stilted silence, dim fireplace, untouched tea service (i.e. their bond) - Elain and Azriel sit comfortably - we can assume, due to the lack of negative adjectives - in the sun, a cup of tea (read, once more: her life) "before her." The wrought iron table could potentially be symbolic; that Elain will be hammered into shape by the events of her life, ultimately becoming strong.

Elain is, however, "silent," which may have been indicating that she will spend some time not voicing her own wishes/being passive in her life - we have seen this throughout ACOWAR and ACOFAS, until ACOSF, where she finally started to speak up. It might also mean something else, which I mention further down.

Azriel is even sunning his wings. If you haven't seen it, this is how birds sun their wings - and they look hilariously comfy as they do.

Image source. Can someone please draw the Rhys/Cass/Az version of this?!). 😅

The pose makes them vulnerable; we know exactly how sensitive and possessive Illyrians are about their wings, and how private Azriel is in general, but he trusted Elain enough to expose himself (figuratively - and also, sort of literally) right from the start, just as Elain trusted his reactions at the first "family dinner," back in ACOMAF.

I discussed the relevance of how Elain, the sun, lays bare Azriel's shadows in this post, but the mutual trust and comfort here is, in my opinion, more evidence that Elain and Az share some sort of bond, be that mate or other, that makes him feel innately secure around her. Outside the Night Court, Rhys only ever showed his wings to Feyre, and while Azriel's wings can't be summoned at will like Rhys' can, the same principle stands - protect at all costs, so the parallel is there.

I also think Az may have been showing off his wings - just a wee bit. This is when Feyre uttered her iconic - and maybe prophetic - line, "Why not make them mates?" Feyre, who had thought from the start that Elain and Azriel would make a handsome pair. This is yet another parallel to a canonically mated pair, as we saw Cassian (not so) subtly showing off his wings to Nesta in chapter 29 of ACOWAR.

Oh, and Azriel knew Feyre was watching. So did Cassian. Perhaps they didn't care?

I know Elain x Azriel is not the most popular ship for either of them, but the evidence, to me, has been here all along - not just for a chosen relationship, but also a potential bond. Of course, this shouldn't stop people from shipping who they want. 🖤

The tea predicts that Feyre will become too overprotective of Elain

Rhys smiled at me over his shoulder. Enjoy your tea, you overbearing chaperone.

- Feyre, ACOWAR, chapter 29

" You think I stifle her?"

- Feyre (in response to Rhys), ACOSF, Feyre's bonus chapter

No matter who you ship, the one thing that almost everyone can agree on is that ACOSF demonstrated that Elain is frustrated with being coddled, protected, and not seen; she wants to grow, to come into her own and to have her help be both welcomed and valued.

Unresolved/potential predictions

The following are just bits of text that jumped out at me, that could hint at future events (or could end up being nothing, of course).

Elain thumbed the iron ring on her finger. “It is your choice,” Nesta said with unusual gentleness.

- Feyre, ACOMAF, chapter 57

A hint that Elain's story will be revolve around her making her own choices, both in terms of her love interest and role within the Night Court.

"And as for her mind… I cannot enter it.”

- Feyre, ACOWAR, chapter 28

Elain apparently has an impenetrable mind - will this be important when she deals with Koschei, the queens and other future enemies? Is she an anti-daemati?

But Elain blinked slowly. “You were in Hybern.” “Yes.” It was all he could say. “You betrayed us.”

- Lucien, ACOWAR, chapter 24

Future foreshadowing?! I really, really hope not.

Slow blinkers tend to have quick reflexes, let's hope that this is suggesting Elain will be quick on her feet.

Elain sat silently at one of the wrought-iron tables, a cup of tea before her. Azriel was sprawled on the chaise longue across the gray stones, sunning his wings and reading what looked to be a stack of reports...

- Feyre, ACOWAR, chapter 24

Will Elain become involved with Azriel's spy service, or work with him in some capacity? Spies must be able to stay silent, to keep secrets - and we know from ACOSF that Elain is adept at secret keeping.

[piixiefawn]

🌱🔥

Hello and welcome to my kidge Ted talk. We’ve wrapped up season 8 and I’m sure everyone who wants to see it has seen it by now.

I figured I’d make a little post dipping into pidge and Keith’s relationship through the entirety of the show.

To my fellow kidge fans, we hear a lot of “kidge? They hardly interact.” Which is... not true. But even if they didn’t, why hate on creativity? I’m here to compile the moments that really set the kidge shippers into motion.

I’m on mobile, so unfortunately I won’t have too many pictures, but I’ll try my best. (I also have no idea how to insert a read more on mobile so I’ll apologize in advance)

The obvious

Keith and pidge are often depicted next to one another.

Since the beginning of the show, the animators make it a point to depict them near one another. This is an obvious, as for half of the show they’re the “arms of voltron”. It makes sense, in the same way lance and hunk are depicted next to one another. However, after Keith is no longer piloting the red lion, these two are still always kept in a close proximity. Without getting too “shipper goggles” I’d like to point out that this displays a closeness between the two.

Now that we’re past the basic, surface level observation, I want to get a bit more into their character arcs.

Parallels

Keith and pidge have one thing in common as kids: bullying. Pidge is picked on by kids in her class for being a nerd. Keith is taunted for being “emo” and the loss of his parents.

But they both have something else in common

They both have a similar “comfort person”. Pidge finds this in Matt (her brother). While Keith finds this in Shiro (someone he has regarded as being like a brother). These people inspire them and make them want to excel and do better, despite the bullies or feeling lonely.

Another big parallel is that these people who mean so much to them go missing and propels them both forward to start their arcs.

They become obsessed with finding them

While Keith finds shiro in the first episode, his journey is not done there. While pidge is looking for her father and brother, Keith is trying to discover where he comes from and how he’s related to the galra.

He ends up finding his mother around the same time pidge is reunited with her father. These arcs resolving around the same time is very harmonious and gives them both a sense of peace that makes them stronger characters.

Now that all that’s out of the way, let’s look into the big interacts they’ve had.

S1

We get the Paladins learning to work together, which gives us this excellent “go loose, pidge!” Scene. They work well together from the get go. They are the arms of voltron, after all.

But there’s a dissonance when pidge tries to leave the team. Keith is furious. And I think this is more than a “The team won’t function” right sort of thing, but an abandonment issue. Keith has lost people. Being the arms of voltron, they are a team. If pidge leaves, Keith is alone in that regard and I think it’s evident in how happy he is that she decides to stay.

S4

In the beginning of season 4, keith leaves voltron. They all go to hug him and pidge expresses how much they’re going to miss him. This is another display of closeness. As pidge is on the verge of tears at the idea of him leaving and he gives her a very soft smile that we rarely see from him. (I don’t have a picture of this my bad).

S6

Keith returns to voltron. When he is down pidge helps him up. Not much to say about this but I liked this moment.

S7

This is the big daddy of kidge moments for the show.

We gonna start with the obvious when they get captured. Lance is the first to move, being immediately taken down by Ezor. This is also huge for plance shippers, but I won’t get into that right now. Keith yells for them to let her go. He’s angry and panicked, but they have some sort of blaster pointed at him, showing that they deem him as a threat. He can’t do anything. This will connect to a point I’ll be making for season 8.

We get this cute little moment when pidge asks “what’s that?” And Keith tried to gently explain the drills to her, with a soft smile. This is behavior Keith doesn’t usually display. Zethrid was completely right when she says the team has a soft spot for pidge. Keith is no exception.

There is the scene when they’re fighting the Druid. From Keith’s vision we see him look from Kolivan to pidge. These are people he wants to protect and keep safe.

While they’re floating in space, throwing insults at each other, no one has anything to say about pidge. Because they don’t have negative feelings towards her.

In this same episode, we get the famous scene of pidge grabbing Keith while he’s hallucinating. I’ve talked about this in another post, but I’ll reiterate it here as well. Pidge is on the tail end of the chain when Keith starts swinging. She jumps up from the very end and goes to grab Keith, breaking the hold hunk has on him. This immediately snaps Keith out of it. The animators made it a point to have the person farthest away from him be the one to pull him back. Animating isn’t easy so this is something they had to have gone out of their way to do.

It’s another display of closeness. Much like in the scene with the Druid when he looks to pidge, this is someone he cares about.

S8

Pidge and Keith didn’t get a huge focus this season (which I’m fine with. Gotta let the others shine). But there were two significant scenes that the kidge shippers lost their marbles over.

Not only do we see them sitting together through most of the season, but we get this cute lunch scene during episode 7. Judging by how most of the people kinkade and razavi interviewed were intruded on, I’d say this is probably no different.

There is a moment where Keith is looking at pidge, even afters she’s finished talking. He only stops when Razavi calls out to him. Through his portion of the interview, he visibly becomes more annoyed. At the end he’s asks “is this interview over now?” (Or something along those lines) indicated that he felt intruded upon.

Keith and pidge had seemingly planned to enjoy lunch with one another but were intruded upon, this accounting for Keith’s long look and continuos annoyance.

Then we have the hand grabbing scene. Keith could have reached for anyone; lance, hunk, allura. But as usual, pidge was closest to him. His focus in this moment doesn’t seem to be entirely on the team, but mostly in pidge. They’re clinging to each other and he’s trying with all of his strength to pull her back up.

When the Paladins finally disappear, Keith falls to his knees and begins banging on the ground in distress. Much like the scene with Zethrid and Ezor, Keith gets very panicked and upset when he can’t help those he cares about. He feels helpless.

But an important thing to note is that pidge is holding onto Keith as much as he’s holding onto her. This a mutual bond between the two. It comes back to the scene in space when she grabs him. They’re a figurative lifeline for one another. Both literally and figuratively trying to pull each other out of dispair.

Whether romantically or plantonically, I think it’s important to regard how close these two actually are. As Bex said and the writers and animators have indicated, they “secretly adore each other”.

[patriotsnet]

What Cities Are Run By Republicans

New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/what-cities-are-run-by-republicans/

What Cities Are Run By Republicans

Democrats Outnumber Gop Voters About 6 To 1 But Republican Candidates Think People Will Cross Party Lines Over Recent Crime Wave

New York City GOP mayoral candidates Curtis Sliwa, left, and Fernando Mateo have sparred over their qualifications and past missteps.

Two longtime New York City fixtures are enmeshed in a hotly contested primary fight for the Republican nomination in the race to succeed Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat.

A poll released last week by WPIX-Channel 11, NewsNation and Emerson College showed Curtis Sliwa, founder of the crime-prevention group Guardian Angels, ahead of Fernando Mateo, a politically connected entrepreneur and longtime advocate for taxi drivers and bodega owners, by 33% to 27%, with 40% of those Republican registered voters who were polled still undecided.

Despite its closeness, the June 22 Republican primary between the former friends turned foes hasn’t garnered much public attention. Democratic voters outnumber Republicans citywide by more than 6 to 1.

The lack of competitiveness in political races over the past decade spurred a voter-outreach effort earlier this year to get Republican and independent voters to re-enroll as Democrats so they can have a say in the . During the outreach, Democrats saw a net gain of nearly 12,000 registered voters, according to the city’s Board of Elections.

Still, both Republicans insist they can win the general election. They said they think enough voters—especially moderate Democrats—will vote across party lines because of the crime surge that has plagued the city since the Covid-19 pandemic struck last year.

Trump Keeps Claiming That The Most Dangerous Cities In America Are All Run By Democrats They Arent

With the economy hobbled by the coronavirus pandemic and protesters in the streets targeting America’s systemic racism, President Trump has been forced to revise his reelection strategy. What was once going to be a triumphal declaration of his effectiveness at keeping the economy afloat has been reworked as a reiteration of his 2016 run: a focus on making America great and, more specifically, on law and order.

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Over and over, Trump has shared that terse phrase with his tens of millions of Twitter followers, including on Wednesday and Thursday. And over and over, he has tried to imply that Democrats broadly and former vice president Joe Biden specifically are soft on crime. That his likely general election opponent and other leaders in the Democratic Party are happy to have social structures collapse into anarchy for some unclear reason.

To make that case, Trump has repeatedly lifted up a statistical factoid, as he did during an event at the White House on Wednesday.

“You hear about certain places like Chicago and you hear about what’s going on in Detroit and other — other cities, all Democrat run,” he said. “Every one of them is Democrat run. Twenty out of 20. The 20 worst, the 20 most dangerous are Democrat run.”

It’s not clear how Trump is defining “most dangerous” in this context. So let’s look at two related sets of data compiled by the FBI: most violent crime and most violent crime per capita.

Well, reader, I have a surprise for you.

Opinionhow Can Democrats Fight The Gop Power Grab On Congressional Seats You Won’t Like It

Facing mounting pressure from within the party, Senate Democrats finally hinted Tuesday that an emboldened Schumer may bring the For the People Act back for a second attempt at passage. But with no hope of GOP support for any voting or redistricting reforms and Republicans Senate numbers strong enough to require any vote to cross the 60-vote filibuster threshold, Schumer’s effort will almost certainly fail.

Senate Democrats are running out of time to protect America’s blue cities, and the cost of inaction could be a permanent Democratic minority in the House. Without resorting to nuclear filibuster reform tactics, Biden, Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi may be presiding over a devastating loss of Democrats’ most reliable electoral fortresses.

Max Burns is a Democratic strategist and founder of Third Degree Strategies. Find him on Twitter @themaxburns.

Rand Pauls Claim That Cities And States Led By Democrats Have The Worst Income Inequality

“We ought to look where income inequality seems to be the worst. It seems to be worst in cities run by Democrats, governors of states run by Democrats and countries currently run by Democrats. So the thing is, let’s look for root causes.”

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— Sen. Rand Paul , Republican debate on Fox Business News, Nov. 10, 2015

Several readers wanted to know whether this statement was true. We looked into a portion of the statement for our debate roundup and determined that the claim lacked context, although the data supported his claim about Democrat-led cities. There was more to explore here, so we decided to dig further. How accurate is Paul’s claim?

Essential Politics: Democrats Scramble To Combat Rising Homicide Rates In American Cities

David Lauter

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This is the June 25, 2021, edition of the Essential Politics newsletter. Like what you’re reading? to get it in your inbox three times a week.

A rise in violent crime in the nation’s cities poses a threat to the Democratic Party that little else could rival; finding a way to address the problem has posed difficult challenges for the party’s leaders.

Over the last two decades, America’s politics has divided more and more along lines of city versus countryside. Democrats built an urban-based coalition that unites progressive whites — mostly young and college-educated — with a Black and Latino voter base that’s more often working class.

That happened only after years of sharp declines in crime opened the way for the transformation of urban neighborhoods from Crown Heights in Brooklyn to Silver Lake in Los Angeles.

Just as white flight from cities helped power the Republican rise from Richard Nixon to Ronald Reagan, the urban resurgence of the last 20 years, despite all the attendant problems of gentrification, helped make possible the coalitions that elected Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

Rising crime acts like kryptonite on such coalitions, sapping their strength and laying bare their flaws.

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Rising Violent Crime Is Likely To Present A Political Challenge For Democrats In 2022

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President Biden hosts a White House meeting about reducing gun violence on July 12. Violent crime is on the rise in many U.S. urban areas, and Democratic political strategists believe the White House needs to take on the issue of crime directly.

Violent crime is on the rise in urban areas across the country.

Many small cities that typically have relatively few murders are seeing significant increases over last year. Killings in Albuquerque, N.M., Austin, Texas, and Pittsburgh, for example, have about doubled so far in 2021, while Portland, Ore., has had five times as many murders compared to last year, according to data compiled by Jeff Asher, a crime data analyst and co-founder of AH Datalytics.

Most cities in the United States, including each of those named above, have a Democratic mayor. After protests last year over police violence against Black Americans — notably the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis — there has been a push from the left to “defund” police departments.

As a result, several cities, including Austin and New York, have reduced or reallocated police budgets — though some cities have looked to restore funding in recent months.

That debate over funding, coupled with the rise in crime, has given Republicans what they believe is an opening in key swing districts that could decide control of the U.S. House next year. The GOP needs to pick up just a net of five seats to do so.

List Of Rioted Cities And Their Political Affiliation Wait Until You See These Stats

List of cities where riots, looting & violence were reported, their mayors, governors and their political affiliation.

  Which cites are burning, and what political party runs them? Check out the list below.

I’m just here to state some facts. I am not getting into the whole debate about racism, George Floyd, or anything other than the cities the violent riots and looting are taking place in. We’ve all watched the videos of rioters looting, smashing windows, burning buildings, assaulting police, assaulting private individuals and a whole slew of other horrendous things. I do have some questions though; In many of these cities, the police are being told to ‘stand down’; WHY? .. In some cities, the mayors are even encouraging the riots. WHY? .. Why have some cities called in the nation Guard, but have NOT given them the GO signal? Why are locals in each rioted city telling us that most of the people doing the damage are out-of-towners? Where are they coming from? Who’s bringing them in? Are they being paid? … Lot’s of unanswered questions here folks. Feel free to comment below.

    The list contains 29 cities; of which 26 have Democrat Mayors and 3 have Republican Mayors. The # of states may look skewed because some states are listed more than once , but there’s no doubt that even the Democratic run states out number Republican ones. Check out the list below, and don’t forget to Comment.

        The Top 10 Cities For Mass Shootings: All Of Them Are Run By The Democratic Party

Tuesday, March 30, 2021 By Stillness in the Storm

The American news media reports every “mass shooting” that fits its political narrative. But a check of the statistics for mass shootings shows that overwhelming majority are committed in Democrat-run cities, including those with strict gun control laws and “gun-free zones.”

The number of mass shootings in the last three years is mind-boggling. There was a total of 424 in 2019; 612 in 2020; and 105 so far in 2021. A mass shooting is defined as an incident in which four or more subjects are shot by a firearm.

The following are the top cities for mass shootings, according to a verifiable database called Mass Shootings Info.

Image Credit: Mass-shootings-info

The top cities for mass shootings: Chicago ; Philadelphia ; New York City ; Houston ; and Baltimore These cities are all run by the Democratic Party.

The Democratic Party’s “solution” to the surging crime in America’s cities is to blame the police or to outright defund them. It is only fueling a crime surge that is reversing decades of overall decreasing violent crime.

The following Democrat-run cities are now seeing massive spikes in violence, including mass shootings.

Did Record Gun Sales Cause A Spike In Gun Crime Researchers Say It’s Complicated

“Democrats across the country spent the last year defunding police departments, so they shouldn’t be surprised when voters hold them responsible for the spike in violent crime,” said Mike Berg, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, which recruits and advises GOP congressional candidates.

Republicans are already going after Democrats with a three-pronged strategy that includes attacks on crime; the economy, particularly rising inflation and labor shortages; and border security.

Meet The Republicans Representing Cities With A Higher Murder Rate Than Chicago

5 years old

As Democrats escalate calls for tougher gun laws, conservative House members offer pushback but few alternatives to gun control laws

Tue 12 Jul 2016 11.45 BST Last modified on Wed 26 Feb 2020 18.01 GMT

In the wake of a sniper attack on Dallas law enforcement officers that left five officers dead and nine wounded, House Democrats have continued to push for a vote on gun control legislation before the congressional session ends on Friday.

“If this Congress does not have the guts to lead, then we are responsible for all of the bloodshed of the streets of America, whether it be at the hands of the people wearing a uniform or whether it’s at the hands of criminals,” Louisiana congressman Cedric Richmond, who represents parts of Baton Rouge and New Orleans, said on Friday.

House Republicans are refusing to allow an up or down vote on Democrats’ gun control bills, including a bill to expand background checks on gun sales, which some researchers believe could help reduce urban gun violence. At least 11 House Republicans represent large cities with murder rates even higher than Chicago’s. All of them have A ratings from the National Rifle Association, earned from a record of supporting gun rights and opposing gun control.

A few of these representatives offered alternatives to gun control that they believe will do more to reduce gun violence: better re-entry programs for formerly incarcerated Americans, job creation or improvements to the mental health system.

Eric Holder: There Is Still A Fight For Democrats Against Gop Gerrymandering

In McConnell’s Kentucky, for instance, Republicans are divided over how far to go during the upcoming redistricting process, which they control in the deep-red state. The more extreme wing wants to crack the Democratic stronghold of Louisville, currently represented by Rep. John Yarmuth. More cautious Republicans like McConnell are willing to settle for smaller changes that reduce Democratic margins while stuffing more Republican voters into hotly contested swing districts.

Make no mistake: McConnell’s caution isn’t rooted in any newfound respect for the integrity of our electoral process. Instead, Republicans are mainly worried about avoiding the costly and embarrassing court decisions that invalidated their most extreme overreaches and potentially turn the line-drawing over to the courts. So McConnell’s approach doesn’t reject partisan gerrymandering — it just avoids the type of high-profile city-cracking that could land the Kentucky GOP in federal court.

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For instance, in 2020, Yarmuth won his Louisville district with a comfortable 62.7 percent of the vote. By turning Yarmuth’s single district into portions of two or three new districts, Republicans could turn his safe blue seat into swing districts and safe Republican strongholds. But the naked politicking of that kind of move would invite dozens of court challenges from outraged Democrats and election integrity organizations, tying up GOP time and treasure in the middle of campaign season.

Yet relying on the Republican-aligned Supreme Court to find a remedy is a gamble that could just as easily backfire on Democrats. In the 2019 case Rucho v. Common Cause, the conservative majority ruled 5-4 that Congress, not the federal courts, must address partisan gerrymandering. As a result, half a dozen Democrat-filed federal cases were tossed out and the gerrymandered district maps allowed to stand. More outcomes like that would be catastrophic both for Democrats and democracy.

For now, the National Democratic Redistricting Committee is fighting back against Republican efforts in a flurry of high-profile lawsuits. The organization, chaired by former Obama administration Attorney General Eric Holder Jr., has said it is committed to countering the Republican plan to split up blue cities.

Hope For Normalcy Is Growing Here’s What Americans Are Still Worried About

He continuously reiterated a version of that response as he faced pressure from the left and criticism from conservatives. Biden won, despite accusations from the right that he was merely a Trojan Horse for progressives and a socialist, police-defunding agenda.

But crime continues to be a nagging issue for Biden. He gets high marks for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic — undoubtedly the top issue of concern when he took office six months ago. But crime is rising in importance for many Americans, and they’re split on his handling of it.

That has led the White House to make a show of doing something about the issue, despite the decentralization of police departments across the country, which are controlled at the municipal level.

“It seems like most of my career I’ve been dealing with this issue,” Biden said earlier this month while convening a meeting of law enforcement and local officials. “While there’s no ‘one-size-fit-all’ approach, we know there are some things that work, and the first of those that work is stemming the flow of firearms used to commit violent crimes.”

Biden and crime have gone back decades. During the 2020 presidential primary, he had to fend off criticism from the left for writing the 1990s-era crime bill. Violent crime then was at a high, but critics have said the bill helped lead to the mass incarceration of many Black men, and often not for violent crime.

Elleithee echoed that.

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When It Comes To Big City Elections Republicans Are In The Wilderness

The party’s growing irrelevance in urban and suburban areas comes at a considerable cost, sidelining conservatives in centers of innovation and economic might.

When Jerry Sanders finished his second term as mayor of San Diego in 2012, he was the most prominent Republican city executive in the country. A former police chief close to the business community, Mr. Sanders appeared to be a political role model for other would-be Republican mayors, a moderate who worked with the Obama administration on urban policy and endorsed gay marriage at a pivotal moment.

These days, Mr. Sanders said, Republicans are out of touch with diverse metropolitan areas. He said Republicans appeared to lack “real solutions” to issues like crime, and lamented the party’s exclusionary message that drives off young people, Hispanics and gay voters in cities like his.

“I don’t think the right has kept up with the times,’’ Mr. Sanders, 70, said in an interview. He said he renounced his party affiliation on Jan. 7, the day after the mob attack on the Capitol.

Across the political map this year, Mr. Sanders’s diagnosis of his former party appears indisputable: In off-year elections from Mr. Sanders’s California to New York City and New Jersey and the increasingly blue state of Virginia with its crucial suburbs of Washington, D.C., the Republican Party’s feeble appeal to the country’s big cities and dense suburbs is on vivid display.

“They go back to that stuff, I’m in trouble,” he said with a laugh.

Rogue City Leaders: How Republicans Are Taking Power Away From Mayors

State lawmakers are preempting the ability of city leaders to enforce their own regulations. The moves represent a sharp ideological shift for a party that has long championed local control.

Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey arrives for a news conference to talk about the latest Arizona COVID-19 information in Phoenix on Dec. 2, 2020. | Ross D. Franklin/AP Photo

06/23/2021 04:30 AM EDT

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Mayors and city councils across Arizona issued face mask mandates during the pandemic to prevent the spread of Covid-19, angering conservative state lawmakers who decried government overreach. So the legislators turned to the newest Republican playbook and passed a law allowing businesses to ignore those public health requirements.

The one-line “preemption” law signed in April by Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, who refused to issue a statewide mask order, won’t make much of an immediate difference now. It doesn’t go into effect until later this year, and local officials have lifted mask mandates in compliance with CDC guidelines as the threat of the virus subsides.

But the bill’s main sponsor says it was needed to ensure “rogue city leaders” can’t impose mask mandates again, should another outbreak occur.

An usher holds a sign to remind fans to wear masks during a spring training baseball game between the Oakland Athletics and the Arizona Diamondbacks in Scottdale, Ariz. | Ashley Landis/AP Photo

Is There Currently Riots/looting *only* In Democrat Cities In The Usa

:

So pathetic to watch the Fake News Lamestream Media playing down the gravity and depravity of the Radical Left, looters and thugs, ripping up our Liberal Democrat run cities. It is almost like they are all working together?

Not being an American, I am unsure what “Liberal Democrat run cities” are. I will guess those having a Democrat mayor, but am willing to be corrected.

Irrespective of your politics and whether you call them protests or riots, are there currently “large street gatherings”only in Democrat run cities?

Mawg says reinstate Monica

No.

Cities are generally democrat-leaning – 35 with democratic mayors vs 13 republican in the 50 largest cities.

But cities with republican mayors also had protests which resulted in property damage. An incomplete list of examples:

List Of Current Mayors Of The Top 100 Cities In The United States

Municipal partisanship in 2021

This page lists the current mayors of the 100 largest U.S. cities by population.

As of 2013, an estimated 62,186,079 citizens lived in these cities, accounting for 19.67 percent of the nation’s total population.

In most of the nation’s largest cities, mayoral elections are officially nonpartisan, though many officeholders and candidates are affiliated with political parties. Ballotpedia used one or more of the following sources to identify each officeholder’s partisan affiliation: direct communication from the officeholder, current or previous candidacy for partisan office, or identification of partisan affiliation by multiple media outlets. As of August 2021, the partisan breakdown of the mayors of the 100 largest U.S. cities was 63 Democrats, 26 Republicans, four independents, and six nonpartisans. The affiliation of one mayor was unknown.

Of these cities, there are 47 strong mayor governments, 46 council-manager governments, six hybrid governments, and one city commission.

At the start of 2021…

HIGHLIGHTS

Based on 2013 population estimates, 76% of the population of the top 100 cities lived in cities with Democratic mayors, and 15% lived in cities with Republican mayors.

Allen Joines , mayor of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, had been in office the longest; he first took office in 2001.

This page includes:

Select a topic from the dropdown below to learn more.Submit

100 Largest Cities By Population Rank Strong mayor No

The Ten Most Dangerous Cities In The Us Are All Run By Democrats

United States

Aug 28, 2020 3:16:00 PM

While the cities with the highest crimes have Democrat mayors, studies show little correlation between party affiliations and crime.

During the 2020 presidential election race, President Donald Trump has claimed on multiple occasions that Democrats run the most dangerous cities in the U.S.

Preliminary data from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report covering the first half of 2019 shows the ten cities with the highest overall violent crimes in decreasing order are: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Memphis, Detroit, Dallas, Phoenix, and Baltimore. Based on the number of crimes per 10,000 residents, the top ten cities are Memphis , St. Louis, Detroit, Baltimore, Springfield, Little Rock., Stockton , Cleveland, St. Bernardino, and Oakland . All the mayors of the cities with the highest overall violent crimes are Democrats. The cities with the most violent crime per capita have Democrat mayors except Springfield, which has an independent mayor.

Hence equating surging crime rates with certain party affiliations in cities does not count as a realistic picture of the reasons why certain cities have high crime rates, thus making this claim misleading.

Reference links

Map: Republicans To Have Full Control Of 23 States Democrats 15

In 2021, Republicans will have full control of the legislative and executive branch in 23 states. Democrats will have full control of the legislative and executive branch in 15 states.

Population of the 24 fully R-controlled states: 134,035,267Population of the 15 fully D-controlled states: 120,326,393

Republicans have full control of the legislative branch in 30 states. Democrats have full control of the legislative branch in 18 states.

Population of the 30 fully R-controlled legislature states: 185,164,412Population of the 18 fully D-controlled legislature states: 133,888,565

This week, Andrew Cuomo’s star went down in flames. While the smoke clears, let’s take a moment to sit back and reminisce about the governor’s long history with ethical and legal violations.

Cuomo’s controversies regarding sexual harassment and nursing homes deaths were far from his first abuses of power. In fact, his administration has a long history of it, ranging from interfering with ethics commissions, to financial corruption.

In July 2013, Cuomo formed the Moreland Commission to investigate corruption in New York’s government. At first it was a success, giving Cuomo good PR. Yet as it went on there were rumors that, contrary to his claim that “Anything they want to look at they can look at,” Cuomo was interfering with the Commission’s investigations. There was friction within the Commission, itself with two factions forming: “’Team Independence’ and ‘Team We-Have-a-Boss’.”

      Three Democrats Three Republicans Advance In City Council Race

Hannah Manley hands her ballot to election judge Joann Vioda during Tuesday’s primary election at Southview Baptist Church. 

Margaret Reist

The three incumbents on the Lincoln City Council, two Republicans new to politics and a Democrat on the city-county planning commission advanced to the general election Tuesday night, narrowing a crowded race.

Twelve candidates vied for three at-large City Council seats — the largest field of candidates in 16 years, which included a host of newcomers to politics. 

Tom Beckius

Mary Hilton 

Three of those newcomers will advance: Tom Beckius, a Democrat who works in real estate and construction and serves on the Lincoln-Lancaster County Planning Commission; Mary Hilton, a Republican and issues advocate; and Eric Burling, a Republican and software engineer running a study-abroad company.

Lincoln City Councilman Roy Christensen

Sändra Washington 

The three incumbents who advanced: Roy Christensen, a Republican and audiologist seeking his third term; Bennie Shobe, a Democrat and program analyst at the Nebraska Department of Labor seeking his second term; and Sändra Washington, a Democrat and retired National Parks Service employee who was appointed after Leirion Gaylor Baird became mayor in 2019.

The top three vote-getters were the incumbents, with Democrats Washington and Shobe taking the top spots.

Washington said she’s very pleased, especially since this is her first campaign.

Beckius said he was thrilled to have such a strong turnout.

List Of Mayors Of The 50 Largest Cities In The United States

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This is a list of mayors of the 50 largest cities in the United States, are ordered the estimated populations as of July 1, 2017. These 50 cities have a combined population of 49.6 million, or 15% of the national population. Louisville, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Nashville, and Honolulu have consolidated city-county governments where the mayor is elected by residents of the entire county not just that of the main city; in these cases the population and respective rank are for the county.

In some states, mayors are officially elected on a nonpartisan basis; however, their party affiliation or preference is generally known, and where it is known it is shown in the list below.

The breakdown of mayoral political parties is 36 Democrats, 11 Republicans, and 3 Independents .

Party Affiliation Of The Mayors Of The 100 Largest Cities

Municipal partisanship in 2021

In most of the nation’s largest cities, mayoral elections are officially nonpartisan. However, many officeholders are affiliated with political parties. Ballotpedia uses one or more of the following sources to identify each officeholder’s partisan affiliation: direct communication from the officeholder, current or previous candidacy for partisan office, or identification of partisan affiliation by multiple media outlets.

Democratic mayors oversaw 64 of the 100 largest cities at the beginning of 2021, 64 at the beginning of 2020, 61 at the start of 2019, 63 at the start of 2018, 64 at the beginning of 2017, and 67 at the start of 2016.

This page includes:

Who runs the cities?: A chart tracking mayors by party affiliation.

List of mayors: A list of mayors of the 100 largest cities.

Mayoral partisanship: 2016-2021: A chart showing the partisan breakdown of mayors from 2016 to 2021.

History of local nonpartisanship: A look at the history and debate surrounding local nonpartisan elections.

Mayoral partisanship and preemption conflicts: An overview of preemption conflicts between state and local governments.

The following pages track municipal partisanship by year:

See also: Partisanship in United States municipal elections

As of August 2021, the mayors of 63 of the country’s 100 largest cities are affiliated with the Democratic Party.

Americas Top 20 Cities For Crime And What Party Runs Them

President Donald Trump cites Detroit as one of the high-crime cities run by Democrats. Pictured: A Detroit police officer uses tear gas during a May 29 protest over the death four days earlier of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.

Annoyed that Senate Democrats are blocking a police reform bill, President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the 20 U.S. cities with the highest crime rates are all run by Democrats. 

“The Senate Republicans want very much to pass a bill on police reform,” Trump said during a Rose Garden press conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda. “I would like to see it happen. We won’t sacrifice. We won’t do that. We won’t do anything that is going to hurt our police.”

The president added:

We have a record positive rating on crime, a record positive rating on crime this year. The best. You hear about certain places like Chicago and you hear about what’s going on in Detroit and other cities, all Democrat-run. Every one of them is Democrat-run. The 20 worst, the 20 most dangerous are Democrat-run.

A quick fact check shows that Trump is at least mostly correct. One ranking says the top 20 most dangerous cities are run by 18 Democrat mayors and two mayors who were elected in nonpartisan races. 

According to the website Neighborhood Scout, which in January published a list of the 100 most dangerous cities in America, heavily Democrat Detroit tops the list. At No. 20 is Chester, Pennsylvania, also with a Democrat mayor.

Homicides Are Up But Gop Misleads With Claims About Blame

Some police organizations and Republican politicians are blaming Democrats and last year’s defund the police effort for a troubling rise in homicides in many cities across the country

Senate Republicans set to block Jan. 6 commission bill

WASHINGTON — “SKYROCKETING MURDER RATES,” claimed the National Fraternal Order of Police. “An explosion of violent crime,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. “Democrat-run cities across the country who cut funding for police have seen increases in crime,” tweeted U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C.

On social media and in political speeches, some Republicans and pro-police groups say last year’s calls to slash spending on law enforcement have led to a dramatic rise in killings in cities overseen by Democrats.

The increases they cite are real, and several big cities did make cuts to police spending. But the reductions were mostly modest, and the same big increases in homicides are being seen nationwide — even in cities that increased police spending. At the same time, the rates for burglaries, drug offenses and many other types of crime are down in many cities across the country.

The effort to blame Democrats for crime may offer a preview of Republicans’ strategy for upcoming elections: a new twist on an old “law and order” argument from the party’s past, harkening back to President Richard Nixon.

Top Republicans have taken up the claim, too.

Yet homicide rates are also increasing in cities that didn’t cut spending.

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[jobsearchtips02]

The Lesson We Are Learning From Zoom

Tech Fix

The popular app offered the simplest path to videoconferencing in a pandemic. That doesn’t make it the right path to take.

Credit…Glenn Harvey

April 8, 2020, 2: 26 p.m. ET

Ever since many of us started working from home in the coronavirus pandemic, I’ve been invited to countless gatherings taking place on Zoom, the videoconferencing app. Virtual happy hours, work meetings, dinners, you name it.

I’ve been a no-show, and it’s not just because my hair has grown embarrassingly long. It’s because I have a fundamental problem with Zoom.

Let me first say I understand why Zoom has been so popular in the pandemic. The company designed its app to be free and extremely easy to use; in tech lingo, we call it “frictionless.” Even our friends and relatives with zero technical know-how can join a Zoom meeting just by clicking a link. Then, voilà, you are looking at a screen with familiar faces and can begin chatting away.

At least 200 million of us, desperate to see people outside our homes, now use Zoom, up from 10 million a few months ago. Many of us use it for free, though Zoom also has a paid product. For lots of us, it’s a lifeline to see and converse with a friend or relative.

But for the last year, I’ve been wary of the app. Zoom has had multiple privacy snafus in that period, which have come up so frequently that they became a game of Whac-a-Mole.

The missteps included a weakness that would have allowed malware to attach to Zoom and hijack our web cameras. The issues with basic security practices culminated with “Zoombombing,” in which trolls crashed people’s video meetings and bombarded them with inappropriate material like pornography.

In a blog post last week, Zoom’s chief executive, Eric Yuan, apologized for all the mistakes and said the recent problems had largely been addressed. The company promised to focus on fixing its privacy and security issues over the coming months; it reiterated the plan on Wednesday.

If there is something déjà vu about all of this, you aren’t wrong. That’s because we find ourselves dealing with the same situation over and over again, focusing on the convenience of easy-to-use tech products over issues like data security and privacy.

We went through this not long ago with Ring, the doorbell camera, another product with a catchy name. Ring, which is owned by Amazon, became popular during another crummy situation: an increase in the petty crime of package thefts. It was also easy to install. But despite glowing customer reviews, Ring became mired in privacy scandals, including one that involved hackers hijacking the Ring cameras of multiple families.

The lesson is one we need to learn and relearn. When a company fails to protect our privacy, we shouldn’t just continue to use its product — and tell the people we care about to use it — just because it works well and is simple to use. Once we lose our privacy, we rarely get it back again.

“There’s a revolving door,” said Matthew Guariglia, a policy analyst for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights nonprofit. “When you give your data to one company, you have no idea who else is going to have access to it, because so much of it happens behind the black box of company secrecy.”

The onus is certainly on Zoom, not us, to fix the privacy and security problems of its app. But we can put pressure on Zoom by not accepting the situation. If you do use Zoom, do so with caution and strong security settings. More on this later.

Zoom’s Privacy and Security Issues

Let’s first take a closer look at why Zoom has been under the microscope. The issues boil down to two main things: its privacy policy and the architecture of its security.

Zoom’s privacy policy

Zoom recently announced that it had revised its privacy policy to be clearer and more transparent. In it, the company emphasized that it does not and has never sold people’s personal data, and has no plans to.

But the policy does not address whether Zoom shares data with third parties, as companies such as Apple and Cisco explicitly state in their privacy policies.

This is a notable omission. Tech companies can monetize user data in many ways without directly selling it, including by sharing it with other companies that mine the information for insights, according to research published by the M.I.T. Sloan School of Management. In some cases, tools to collect data from users are “rented” to third parties. Such practices would technically make it true that your personal data was not “sold,” but a company would still make money from your data.

Lynn Haaland, Zoom’s global risk and compliance officer, said the company does not anonymize or aggregate user data or rent it out in exchange for money.

So why is this not addressed in the privacy policy?

“We try to be clear here about what we do do with the data,” Ms. Haaland said about the updated policy. “Sometimes when you try to list all the things you don’t do with data, if you leave one out, then people say, ‘Oh, well, you must be doing that.’”

Zoom’s security flaws

While Zoom has worked furiously to plug the security holes that have emerged in the last few weeks, its products for Windows and Mac computers have weaker security by design.

That is largely because the company opted not to provide its app through Apple’s official Mac app store or the Microsoft Windows app store. Instead, consumers download it directly from the web. In this way, Zoom’s software avoids living in a so-called sandboxed environment, which would have restricted its access to Apple and Microsoft operating systems.

As a result, Zoom is able to gain access to deeper parts of the operating systems and their web browsers. That is largely what makes Zoom sessions so simple to join.

By choosing to circumvent safer methods for installing its app, Zoom has opted for weaker security architecture, said Sinan Eren, chief executive of Fyde, an app security firm.

“They want to make the installation process a lot easier and streamlined, but at the same time they want deeper hooks into the operating system so they can collect more things,” he said. “That also exposes us to potential vulnerabilities.”

Zoom declined to comment on its security architecture.

Use Zoom at Your Own Risk

So what to do? In these difficult times, many of us have no better option than to use Zoom. So here are some steps to keep in mind.

Use Zoom with caution. In general, it’s safer to use Zoom on a mobile device, like an iPad or an Android phone, than on a Mac or Windows PC. Mobile apps operate in a more restricted environment with limited access to your data. In addition, apps served through the App Store or Play store undergo a review process by Apple and Google that include an inspection for security vulnerabilities.

Also, be sure to turn on Zoom security settings, like meeting passwords, to prevent unwanted guests from Zoombombing your sessions.

Last but not least, be mindful of what it means to tell others to use a product with weak data security. Try to avoid using it for sensitive matters, like work meetings that discuss trade secrets.

If you are concerned about privacy, try an alternative. There are video chatting tools from companies with better reputations, like Google’s Hangouts, Cisco’s Webex and FaceTime for Apple devices. These products may not be as simple to use as Zoom, but they work and you can worry less.

A product’s being great just isn’t good enough if it’s lousy at protecting our privacy. Many people appear to have learned this lesson already and have reacted accordingly. Elon Musk’s rocket company, SpaceX, barred employees from using Zoom. New York City’s school district recently banned Zoom for online learning.

And us? It may be our turn to pause, too.

Updated April 4, 2020

Should I wear a mask?

The C.D.C. has recommended that all Americans wear cloth masks if they go out in public. This is a shift in federal guidance reflecting new concerns that the coronavirus is being spread by infected people who have no symptoms. Until now, the C.D.C., like the W.H.O., has advised that ordinary people don’t need to wear masks unless they are sick and coughing. Part of the reason was to preserve medical-grade masks for health care workers who desperately need them at a time when they are in continuously short supply. Masks don’t replace hand washing and social distancing.

What should I do if I feel sick?

If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others.

How do I get tested?

If you’re sick and you think you’ve been exposed to the new coronavirus, the C.D.C. recommends that you call your healthcare provider and explain your symptoms and fears. They will decide if you need to be tested. Keep in mind that there’s a chance — because of a lack of testing kits or because you’re asymptomatic, for instance — you won’t be able to get tested.

How does coronavirus spread?

It seems to spread very easily from person to person, especially in homes, hospitals and other confined spaces. The pathogen can be carried on tiny respiratory droplets that fall as they are coughed or sneezed out. It may also be transmitted when we touch a contaminated surface and then touch our face.

Is there a vaccine yet?

No. The first testing in humans of an experimental vaccine began in mid-March. Such rapid development of a potential vaccine is unprecedented, but even if it is proved safe and effective, it probably will not be available for 12 to18 months.

What makes this outbreak so different?

Unlike the flu, there is no known treatment or vaccine, and little is known about this particular virus so far. It seems to be more lethal than the flu, but the numbers are still uncertain. And it hits the elderly and those with underlying conditions — not just those with respiratory diseases — particularly hard.

What if somebody in my family gets sick?

If the family member doesn’t need hospitalization and can be cared for at home, you should help him or her with basic needs and monitor the symptoms, while also keeping as much distance as possible, according to guidelines issued by the C.D.C. If there’s space, the sick family member should stay in a separate room and use a separate bathroom. If masks are available, both the sick person and the caregiver should wear them when the caregiver enters the room. Make sure not to share any dishes or other household items and to regularly clean surfaces like counters, doorknobs, toilets and tables. Don’t forget to wash your hands frequently.

Should I stock up on groceries?

Plan two weeks of meals if possible. But people should not hoard food or supplies. Despite the empty shelves, the supply chain remains strong. And remember to wipe the handle of the grocery cart with a disinfecting wipe and wash your hands as soon as you get home.

Can I go to the park?

Yes, but make sure you keep six feet of distance between you and people who don’t live in your home. Even if you just hang out in a park, rather than go for a jog or a walk, getting some fresh air, and hopefully sunshine, is a good idea.

Should I pull my money from the markets?

That’s not a good idea. Even if you’re retired, having a balanced portfolio of stocks and bonds so that your money keeps up with inflation, or even grows, makes sense. But retirees may want to think about having enough cash set aside for a year’s worth of living expenses and big payments needed over the next five years.

What should I do with my 401(k)?

Watching your balance go up and down can be scary. You may be wondering if you should decrease your contributions — don’t! If your employer matches any part of your contributions, make sure you’re at least saving as much as you can to get that “free money.”

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from Job Search Tips https://jobsearchtips.net/the-lesson-we-are-learning-from-zoom/

[titmasjack]

Mystery Box Briefing

For the second half of BA1b, and as our brief overlap just before our first submission due on the 26th of February, today I was introduced to the ‘Mystery Box Project’. Our largest element of animation that will be produced in the first year, this project gives us the opportunity to focus on and explore the medium of our choice as an introduction to not only choosing a specialism but interpreting, designing and creating an outcome in a much more industry-led process.  

With the opportunity to explore either CG or Stop-Motion our brief introduction to either medium over the previous three weeks gave us our first initial insight to the programs, processes and techniques I am expected to incorporate throughout either path I decide to pursue. Whilst I don’t have to initially decide today, my first instinct was to pursue CG not only for my keen interest in the medium itself but its inherent dominance in today's animation market. And with the capability of spending additional time in one area of animation, I believe it would best suit me to pursue and explore the medium that I could most incorporate within an animation career down the line. 

Although I have particularly enjoyed stop-motion more over the past few weeks, I believe I would be able to create a more refined and better-animated outcome through the use of CG. Using a pre-determined rig provided by the ‘11 Second Animation’ Club, I think that my approach to animation would best suit CG’s process of iteration and editorial capabilities in comparison to Stop-Motion’s very much straight ahead approach to animation. 

Having to consider how I can best incorporate the principles of animation into my work, I believe that through CG’s inherent ability to reiterate and add additional animation through the use of passes I would be able to create a much more ‘refined’ and ‘animated’ character that uses and exaggerates more prominent principles such as exaggeration and secondary action in comparison to the same rigged character using stop-motion. 

Brief Expectations

With four weeks to create a short animated sequence using a pre-defined 3D rig or stop-motion armature, we’ll be exploring an industry influenced process in which I establish the journey between the beginning to the final outcome of my main animated piece for the second half of BA1b. To create an 10-15 second animated sequence, I will have to establish a character entering on screen, interacting and looking into a ‘Mystery Box’ followed through by reacting to its content. 

Whilst the action must take place within a fixed shot, I have the flexibility to explore the use of angles and dynamics of the character as well. Considering who the character is through their use of action can I determine a character through their use of posture and gesture alone. Even though we’ll all be working with a pre-defined character and rig, how can I ensure that my character is unique through the way they act? What's in the box, even though I’m not allowed to show the contents of the box to the audience, will I allow what's in the box to determine how my character reacts, how will this establish the characters fear or intrigue to the box in the first place? 

These are all things I can consider and will have to build upon throughout the first weeks of my project. Not only expected to create an animated outcome, but I will also have to deliver an established variety of storyboards that showcase my original ideas. A detailed animatic that shows a moving image sequence detailing the intended actions of my characters, and my up to date blog that highlights not only my progression, reflection and thoughts on the weeks that go by but the array of research I have gathered to support the development of my project. 

We’ll be breaking down these tasks into the upcoming weeks, establishing how one acts upon another, if all goes to plan, I should be able to a clear progression in how my work has developed in the hopes of a final animated outcome. Introduced to a new task each week I understand that it’s my responsibility to keep up to date and on top of any work we are given by working additionally outside of NUA hours to get my work to the standard I hope to achieve. 

Week 9: Setting a Foundation

Introducing the brief, this week establishes how we can pursue the briefs outcomes through either specialist pathway. Through introducing us to the importance and continuation of reference footage we have our second lesson with Sarah Perry in a performance workshop that will establish how we can use ourselves and peers as an influence to build a character. This lesson will re-establish the values and lessons we learnt in BA1a as a refresher to the importance of acting in animation. 

Alongside this we will be introduced to Helen Schroeder, a storyboard artist for films such as Aardman’s ‘Arthur Christmas’ we’ll reflect and criticise our initial storyboards to develop, suggest and evolve our ideas to how we can establish a better and sense of clarity to our final objectives of the brief. 

This will give us the chance to reflect on our initial ideas and take what we’ve learnt before establishing a more refined rendition of our first thoughts and processes surrounding the mystery box project as we begin to develop our ideas.

Week 10: Developing my Ideas

Branching off the ideas we established in week 9, Helen Schroeder will showcase how we can translate our storyboards to a much more organic and industry-led, animatic. To showcase a more in-depth rendition of our ideas, this will help re-iterate the key poses, gestures and actions we want to establish throughout our scene.

Our first chance of animation in this project, this will establish how I can use the process of blocking in a much more loose and organic style to represent the motions of the character. Although I have chosen to pursue CG, this will hopefully give me the opportunity to once again introduce TVPaint in my work, as I have found so far that this is easily been the most prominent program I have relied on and gone back to, to establish and develop my ideas to a standard that I can understand. 

Week 11: Transitioning to Animation

With an established idea for my project, Week 11 would initiate the starting point for our animated outcomes. Using a new program such as Maya, I want to ensure that I have enough time to not only get to grips with the software once again but consider any overlap for the previous week's work that I may have to catch up on. 

Although having a plan of the work I intend to produce is great, this week of overlap will allow me to catch up on any work that on the off chance I don’t get around to completing. Although I’m fairly enthusiastic to kick start this project, this is something I must always consider as I will have to produce a blog alongside my work, finding time to reflect on each week work as well as handing in previous projects that have already been established and will be handed in during this week. 

Week 12: Refining my Outcome

Solely focusing on producing my animation, I will spend the majority of this week in the Media Lab, animating, refining and creating loads of iterations and passes on my animation in the hopes of showcasing how my ideas have not only developed but incorporated the animation principles throughout my work, justifying my reason for originally picking CG animation.

Although not set in stone, I will discuss my reasoning for picking CG and my first initial animator influences based on research of existing artists and processes that are used in the industry today. I'm excited to get a head start on this project and to establish a strong foundation as I make my way through the four weeks of this project. Unlike previous projects, I aim to once again start to get my blog back on track in completing each blog post the day or within 24 hours in which we learnt about the subject. I believe that once I’m able to get this upcoming deadline out of the way I’ll have the time and resources to solely focus on this ‘Mystery Box’ Project to produce the best outcome possible.

To summarise;

I established what I’ll be completing over the course of the next four weeks and how they will be used to produce my intended outcome.

Consider how I can begin to create and establish a range of ideas using external influences and storyboards.

Begin to research existing animators and influencers that may widen my knowledge on the industry-led process or how a character has been used outside of the animation industry.

Discuss which specialism I hope to pursue and why I have made this decision.

Sources;

‘Mystery Box Animation Reel’ Youtube Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsYlrbdcLpc

‘emmakniemis’ Instagram Link https://www.instagram.com/emmakniemis/