#but there is a very very large portion of the country that consist of very self centered yt ppl or yt-centric communities that don't show

[kuromi-hoemie]

I am immune to vote blue no matter who propaganda i have like at least 8 intersecting marginalized identities and was introduced to how fucked up this country is through Trayvon Martin who is - was - the same age as me. I do not think evil people should win but I Have seen it's the ONLY time you actually see real, widespread solidarity and social progress in resistance to said evil people in power.

All of that immediately evaporates and everyone's left to fend for themselves again when Democrats get elected; I think white ppl in general should have a reason to be fearful again to gain a sense of solidarity that actually persists beyond election cycles. If that solidarity never takes root there's no hope for this country.

You have to love other people more than you want to win - meaning that if you're only fighting for or helping someone because you lost and not because you genuinely care about them, you're going to stop as soon as you win (i.e all the back to brunch liberals).

Then have the fucking gall to tell people you've shown absolute disregard towards (or even contempt for daring to have critiques or publicly articulating dissatisfaction with what dems actually (don't) DO with their power) to fall in line Every Single Election. The country's perceived safety is really only your safety, when you lose that safety it's really just like hey welcome to the circumstances Everyone else has to live with, are you going to help change that? Because we need help; electoral politics and voting for liberals are not going to save us.

[send-up-my-heart-to-you]

tips for writing arab characters

writer here!! im a middle eastern writer whos noticed that theres a VERY significant lack of info on how to write arabs, so im here to help !! (however, keep in mind that im specifically gulf arab and may not be able to provide as much info on levant arabs or north african arabs. if there are any on here, feel free to reblog w more info !! )

dont get arabs mixed up w muslims. yes, a large portion of the arab population are muslim, but youd be surprised at the number of non-muslim arabs that exist. if you wanna write abt a muslim character, a post i made that might help is here 

list of arab countries, with the adjective:

algeria — algerian

bahrain — bahraini 

the comoros islands — comorans

djibouti — djiboutian

egypt — egyptian

iraq — iraqi

jordan — jordanian

kuwait — kuwaiti

lebanon — lebanese

libya — libyan

morocco — moroccan

mauritania — mauritanian

oman — omani

palestine — palestinian

qatar — qatari

kingdom of saudi arabia (ksa) — saudi

somalia — somali

sudan  — sudanese

syria — syrian

tunisia — tunisian

united arab emirates (uae) — emirati

yemen — yemeni

dialects/language:

dialects greatly differ—the egyptian dialect is the most common, followed closely by the levantine dialect

classic arabic is called fusha (fuss-ha), used in things like official documents, media, education. every arab knows it but its not used in day to day language except in media (all dialects basically come from fusha, but with slight changes)

'p' and 'g' (as in 'gurgle' or 'goal') dont exist in the arabic alphabet, theyre replaced with 'b' and 'j' 

depending on where theyre from, they may also learn a third language besides arabic and english (e.g. moroccans know french, a berber arab may know berber)

appearance:

arabs look different based on where theyre from. if theyre from the arabian peninsula, they have thick curly dark hair, tanned skin, and dark eyes. levant arabs are lighter skinned, and green/blue eyes are more common with them

adding on to previous point, arabs have a variety of skin tones, even if theyre siblings. using a real example, me and my older brother respectively look white passing and afro hispanic

dark irises are considered better looking than lighter colored eyes. eyes are usually thick-lashed, with big round slightly upturned eyes 

big noses are common, along with full lips (and hereditary dark circles for those with more tanned skin)

high cheekbones and well structured faces are also prevalent

culture:

varies depending on location

influenced by indian culture, IS NOT INTERCHANGEABLE WITH INDIAN CULTURE. that was aladdins mistake

poetry is so common, especially with romantic themes

songs also have romantic themes

youd be surprised at how romantic arabs are

dances vary extremely, from dabke (palestinean dance done in groups, consisting largely of leg/foot movements) to yola (emirati dance with battle origins, done using canes or fake guns) i recommend watching videos (tiktok has a lot of videos esp of dabke)

women also dance but you wont find a lot of videos of it bc its inappropriate

etiquette:

things such as giving someone your back, or facing the bottom of your feet towards someone are considered rude 

pda is also taboo (even with straight couples or even sometimes married couples)

cheek kisses are a common way of greeting, but not between genders

in some gulf countries, men greet each other with a nose kiss (not in an intimate way) just stubbing their noses against each other

genders do not mix at all. schools tend to divide girls and boys into two sections starting at a certain age (around age 10/11), and mosques are split into the mens side (usually larger than womens bc men use the mosque more)

having an extramarital relationship is very very taboo (even w hetero relationships) but it still happens. a lot. 

family dynamics (note that this is obviously a spectrum. this is the general dynamic, but obv it ranges from family to family):

NOT ALL OF US HAVE ABUSIVE PARENTS. sure theyll spank you if you skip school, but thats not necessarily abusive. its more strict, and youd be surprised at the amount of freedom some parents give their kids

yes, arranged marriages do happen. no, they arent necessarily forced, it just means that your parents had a hand in deciding who youll marry. yes, marrying cousins is a thing, but its much less prevalent now (also, ew)

fathers care. a lot. they dont show it, but they do. they also tend to joke around a lot

mothers tend to be the rule enforcers, and by far our moms are our best friends. we tell them EVERYTHING i swear 

aunties gossip a lot

uncles are a safety hazard

its not uncommon to have a large number of cousins (mainly bc arabs tend to have a lot of kids)

the average number of children 3 per woman, but from personal experience the older the generation the more kids (e.g. my great-grandmother had a whopping thirteen kids, my grandmother had seven, my mom has six, but a couple of my aunts only have one or two)

social class/work environment/school environment:

schools tend to be either arab curriculums but there is a high density of american/british curriculum schools

boys and girls tend to be separated in school around age nine/ten but some schools will be mixed genders up till graduation

yes, women work, tho admittedly some of them tend to have careers more than jobs (e.g. photographer, writer, etc while the men handle engineering, economics, etc)

no, not all of us are rich. in fact, countries like jordan, egypt, tunisia, morocco, and yemen (and infamously palestine) are acc struggling w poverty. its mainly just gulf arabs who are rich

furthermore, gulf arabs may be generally rich but a large chunk of them have the same lifestyle as an upper-middle class family in the usa. rich but not too rich. dont be fooled by the videos of guys wearing kandoras and driving lambos

speaking of kandoras...

outfits (keep in mind that spelling may vary since its all transliteration, and pronunciation may vary depending on region) (also keep in mind that even if we still live in the middle east, WE CAN WEAR JEANS AND HOODIES AND BAND SHIRTS. just, usually cover up more in public):

abaya: loose overgarment worn by women

jilbab/chandoor: also worn by women, type of long dress or tunic

the white robe all of yall know is known as a thobe, dishdasha, or kandora

the colored headscarf worn by men is known as a ghuthrain in the gulf, kevfiah in the levant. its kept in place with a black cord called a aghal, and under it they wear a skullcap called a thagiyah

those are the most common ones, however if youd like to get a lil more specific on clothong, the ultimate guide to arab clothing is here (it also has specified clothing for individual countries)

hope this helps, feel free to reblog w more info if you have any !!

[script-a-world]

Submitted via Google Form:

Do you have anything on building a lot of floating structures on the ocean? I'm talking about entire countries consisting of multiple large cities on the ocean. Thousands of miles wide. Would multiple islands work better so it looks like a lagoon but on the ocean or one giant structure? What kind of technology a civilization would need to consider such an undertaking? I'm also debating the main source of power and am trying to figure out if hydro or solar would be better, I'm sure there would be a mix but not sure what might be more advantageous.

Tex: We have answered something similar on this before (Wordpress), and chinampas are a similar idea (Wikipedia). One of the potential issues with this is that oceans have different divisions that can be classed by amount of sunlight received (Wikipedia), and obstructing the sunlight to large portions of the ocean would interfere with its ecology. This will inevitably have negative effects, and in an ideal situation, masses this big would be on a reasonably steady drift to keep from harming any particular area of the ocean. Something thousands of miles wide would need to be able to withstand the potential destruction caused by wave height that might or might not be uniform in severity (Wikipedia). Making lots of small, interlocked platforms would help distribute most of the forces caused by wave generation, and would be optimal in terms of energy requirements compared to technologies such as anti-gravity and other forms of propulsion to counteract potential shear forces. Hydro or solar power would unfortunately be insufficient for the scale you’re looking for, as it would not generate enough power in a short enough amount of time to be routed toward counteracting the forces exerted upon the structures by the ocean itself. You would need to look at a consistent generation of power, as well as several power banks in case of distribution interruptions. Solar, wind, and marine energy are good passive systems that can broker energy gaps in an emergency, but currently the minimum standard would be some form of nuclear power. An excellent fictional example that you could model would be Stargate’s city of Atlantis (SGCommand). It is a city-ship, in that it is a very large habitable construction designed to float in the ocean and also fly through deep space, and as such a good reference for advanced technological applications like what you’re attempting.

[psychologeek]

People online: Zionism is colonialism!! Stop eraseing the natives!

Genetic studies: umm. Well, actually -

I'm not biologist! But I try to explain this in simpler words. Feel free to correct me if I misunderstood anything :)

(can't believe I spent about 4 hours on it)

In short - the study compared the Y genes of several different groups - aka the paternal genetic history (father-to-son).

Finding more similarities= genetically closer= has a more common ancestry.

(like, brother is closer then cousin closer then a stranger)

Let's start!

"The investigation of the genetic relationship among three Jewish communities revealed that Kurdish and Sephardic Jews were indistinguishable from one another, whereas both differed slightly, yet significantly, from Ashkenazi Jews. The differences among Ashkenazim may be a result of low-level gene flow from European populations and/or genetic drift during isolation."

AKA: genetically speaking, there's no difference between Jews from various MENA countries (Mizrahim). (Sephardic were mostly Moroccan origins, Kurdish sample mostly north Iraq/Syrian origins)

An important note: Eda refers to the spesific traditions/subgroup, and passed down by the paternal line (father-to-son). This is in order to preserve traditional practices, that were different in different communities (e1)

There's a small genetic difference between Mizrahi jews and Ashkenazi Jews. This could be due to isolation or "low level gene flow" (in other words, converts and (mostly) children born from rape. Which was... way more common then you think. Look up "Pogrom".)

Next!

In a report published elsewhere, we recently showed that Jews and Palestinian Arabs share a large portion of their Y chromosomes, suggesting a common ancestry (Nebel et al. 2000). Surprisingly, in the present study, Jews were found to be even closer to populations in the northern part of the Middle East than to several Arab populations. It is worth mentioning that, on the basis of protein polymorphisms, most Jewish populations cluster very closely with Iraqis (Livshits et al. 1991) and that the latter, in turn, cluster very closely with Kurds (Cavalli-Sforza et al. 1994). These findings are consistent with known cultural links that existed among populations in the Fertile Crescent in early history.

Here, the mention earlier studies about genetic links between Jews (of all Edot) and Palestinian arabs. This can mean there's a common ancestry to the population (same grand-grand-etc.-father).

Jews are geneticly similar to Iranians, who are geneticly similar to Kurds (e2)

Those genetic links aren't suprising, and consistent with what we know from history about population and communities in the Fertile Crescent area.

Muslim Kurds 

The Kurds are considered an ancient autochthonous population (Kinnane 1970; Pelletiere 1984) who may even be the descendants of the shepherds who first populated the highlands during the Neolithic period (Comas et al. 2000). Although Kurdistan came under the successive dominion of various conquerors, including the Armenians, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Ottoman Turks, and Iraqis (Kinnane 1970), they may be the only western Asian group that remained relatively unmixed by the influx of invaders, because of their protected and inhospitable mountainous homeland (Pelletiere 1984). The Y chromosome variation of Muslim Kurds falls within the spectrum observed in other populations (Turks and Armenians) living in the same region. The three populations are closer to Jews and Arabs than to Europeans. This is in good agreement with data on classical markers (Cavalli-Sforza et al. 1994). However, on the basis of mtDNA polymorphisms, Kurds were reported to be more closely related to Europeans than to Middle Easterners (Comas et al. 2000).

Kurds are very ancient ethnic group. Possibly the only western-asian group that remained relatively unmixed, despite (pointing history).

Kurds Y chromosomes are pretty similar to those in the same area (Turks and Armenians), and those three groups Y chromosomes are more similar to Jews and Arabs then to Europeans.

Now, that's interesting: the similarities is also in classical markers, but it's different from studies on mtDNA (Maternal/mother line), which then shows more similar to Europeans than Arabs and Jews.

(idk if there are rumours/historical kurds stories/traditions about Patriarch communities with brides from distance? Or Matriarch communities with grooms from the (other) distance? But it sounds like the historical story is something like that.

Palestinian Arabs and Bedouin 

Bedouin are largely nomadic Arab herders, with a tribal organization. They live in all Arab countries, constituting about one tenth of the population (Cavalli-Sforza et al. 1994). The Bedouin population of the Negev desert was found to be most distant from Jews and Muslim Kurds and to be closely related only to Palestinians. Both these Arab populations differ from the other Middle Eastern groups sampled for the present study, mainly in having a higher frequency of Eu 10 chromosomes, the majority of which they share with each other. Traditional marriage practices—such as male polygamy, a high rate of consanguineous marriages, and patrilocality—may have enhanced the low haplogroup and haplotype diversity of the Negev Bedouin, as was suggested elsewhere for the Bedouin tribes in the Sinai Peninsula (Salem et al. 1996).

Bedouins from the Negev (Southern Israel) were most different from Jews and Muslim-kurds, and closely related to Palestinian Arabs. Both Arab groups were(geneticly) very similar to eachother, but different from the other Middle Eastern groups in the study.

The main difference was a higher frequency of Eu 10 chromosomes, that were similar in the 2 groups.

We propose that the Y chromosomes in Palestinian Arabs and Bedouin represent, to a large extent, early lineages derived from the Neolithic inhabitants of the area and additional lineages from more-recent population movements. The early lineages are part of the common chromosome pool shared with Jews (Nebel et al. 2000). According to our working model, the more-recent migrations were mostly from the Arabian Peninsula, as is seen in the Arab-specific Eu 10 chromosomes that include the modal haplotypes observed in Palestinians and Bedouin. These haplotypes and their one-step microsatellite neighbors constitute a substantial portion of the total Palestinian (29%) and Bedouin (37.5%) Y chromosome pools and were not found in any of the non-Arab populations in the present study. The peripheral position of the modal haplotypes, with few links in the network (fig. 5), suggests that the Arab-specific chromosomes are a result of recent gene flow. Historical records describe tribal migrations from Arabia to the southern Levant in the Byzantine period, migrations that reached their climax with the Muslim conquest 633–640 a.d.; Patrich 1995). Indeed, Arab-specific haplotypes have been observed at significant frequencies in Muslim Arabs from Sena (56%) and the Hadramaut (16%) in the Yemen (Thomas et al. 2000). Thus, although Y chromosome data of Arabian populations are limited, it seems very likely that populations from the Arabian Peninsula were the source of these chromosomes. The genetic closeness, in classical protein markers, of Bedouin to Yemenis and Saudis (Cavalli-Sforza et al. 1994) supports an Arabian origin of the Bedouin. The alternative explanation for the distribution of the Arab-specific haplotypes (i.e., random genetic drift) is unlikely. It is difficult to imagine that the different populations in the Yemen and the southern Levant, in which Arab-specific chromosomes have been detected at moderate-to-high frequencies, would have drifted in the same direction.

The eu10 Y chromosomes geneticly linked to the arab peninsula, and wasn't found in non-arab population. It's very possible that arab-Palestinians and Bedouins are the descendants of immigrants and population movement, possibly during the Caliphate - the Muslim Empire (Arab dynasties 632-1258; Mamluk Sultanate 1250-1517; ottoman/turkish 1517-1924) (e2)

Example and more information undercut:

Eda (plural - Edot): community, subgroup. Usually refers to a group using different Minhagim (traditions).

For example, my Yemeni ancestors only said the "Hamotzi" prayer (said before eating bread) during Passover, as wheat was rare and expensive, and wasn't a usual part of their diet.

Another differences include Te'amim (ways to read the Torah. Sort of like 🎶 for voice); Kitniyot (o lo lithiyot/jk) - do you eat it on passover? What about the oil?; certain holidays (traditional Mimuna, Sigd.) (Yat kislev🙈)

Through history, even though most Jewish communities weren't completely isolated from one another, it still took a lot of time to pass questions and information. So different places gained different traditions.

Basically, it goes "(go by) paternal traditions" (מנהג אבות)

In the past, people that moved from one community to another would take over the new traditions.

Since moving and immigration became far more common, and started to move as communities, people kept their traditions. For example, in my area I have 5 small synagogues, each was founded by a community from different diaspora that wanted to keep their traditions.

And it's okay! It's even great 😸

(e2) kurds:

Oh look, another ethnic group fighting for freedom and right for self government.

Population: about 30m ppl worldwide. In current geography, the land split between Iraq, Syria and Turkey. Also fighting ISIS. Look up YPJ.

[whencyclopedia]

Capital of Mind: The Idea of a Modern American University

Adam R. Nelson’s "Capital of Mind" traces the beginnings of the first universities emerging in the 19th-century United States. While providing a history of American education and how it grew from a few scattered colleges, "Capital of Mind" is an intellectual history of how Americans thought about higher education, its role, and how it should be funded in the industrializing society.

Nelson, the Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor of Educational Policy Studies and History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, takes the title of his work from a quote by German economist Friedrich List.

List, an advocate of German tariff reform before fleeing to France in 1822, advocated for fewer trade restrictions between German states and more unity in supporting a single policy to restrict the flow of British goods to those states. While in Paris, List turned his attention towards the United States before docking in New York on June 10, 1825. Nelson quotes List saying, “The greater part of productive power consists in the intellectual and social condition of the individual, which I call Capital of Mind.” List found himself in a stirring debate between liberal economic policies - or free trade without restrictions - and protectionism. For List, a country’s productive power was tied to its intellectual power. Manufacturers at home needed protection from outside producers like Great Britain via tariffs. Education needed an answer inside the United States to foreign universities which Americans may be enticed to study at if their state lacked one.

Debates over free trade and protectionism raged in the early 19th century due largely to the Scottish economist Adam Smith’s popularization of the former but also due to the United States seeing a series of tariffs passed in 1816, 1824, and 1828 against imports largely targeting British manufactures.

Nelson notes in his Introduction that a modern university was an idea in its infancy in the 19th century. Some said it was several undergraduate colleges under one name, like Oxford or Cambridge; others said the learning should be practical and technical rather than classical. While Nelson says there was not a widely accepted definition, “its courses were to be not only classical but also practical. Its students were to be not only local but also national, even international. Its standards were to be meritocratic, but also, somehow, democratic. In the end, they agreed, a university should be more open, more liberal, and its very liberalism would make it modern."

Nelson makes the creation of the University of Virginia by Thomas Jefferson and the expansion of Harvard beyond a small college central to the development of this definition. Debates over Jefferson’s plan raged as he struggled to find a means for funding and stirred controversy when his first faculty were European professors. Harvard’s push for change came from one of its professors, George Ticknor. Before joining Harvard, Ticknor had traveled to Europe where he observed notably German universities which behaved like an economy where students had significant power as consumers. While not looking to replicate the German example entirely, Ticknor and Jefferson both inspired to see a more liberal institution arise as something grander and more open to students’ choices in their studies.

Capital of Mind, while focusing on the early 19th century, feels broad in scope. Nelson focuses greatly on Jefferson’s plan for a university and Harvard’s expansion but also devotes a significant portion of his work to names like Daniel Raymond, credited for bringing the study of political economy to intellectual circles in the U.S.

Scholars and students of intellectual history, history of education, or debates over government’s role in economics and education will find Capital of Mind a satisfactory addition to their studies. Aside from endnotes, Nelson includes a bibliographic essay where he directs further study for readers on several topics the book covers. Primary sources employed in the book include correspondence between Jefferson, Ticknor, and other figures like Edward Everett. Chapters dedicated to names like List and Raymond analyze works such as Fredrich Engels's "Outlines of a Critique of Political Economy" (1843).

The book is Nelson's second volume in an economic history of higher education. Volume 1, Exchange of Ideas: The Economy of Higher Education in Early America was released in 2023.

Continue reading...

[ilu-icey]

Fire Emblem Engage Cross-Swap AU

Omigosh, it's happening.

So, Cross-Swap. Also known as "we swapped Firene and Elusia, and Brodia and Solm, among other things".

Let's start with the introductions: the Royals! Here they are all together:

(order: same as intro song, so Firene - Brodia - Solm - Elusia)

And now, for more individual details under the cut:

Ivy: "Calming Rose"

A reserved, soft-spoken princess of Firene than can often be found in the gardens, a cup of tea in one hand and a novel in the other. Losing her mother the day that her sister was born left her battling anxiety and the fear of abandonment for a large portion of her childhood. However, through trips to visit the sleeping Divine Dragon in Lythos, she could find solace in a friend that would listen to her fears, never judge her, and remain ever by her side. While still plagued by ghosts of the past, time and therapy have allowed her to tame some of her fears, and she endeavors to grow into the image of the unshakeable, ever-benevolent ruler that her people see in her.

As for her retainers, I imagine Zelkov could have been an assassin before going into medicine (friendly reminder that we have Jean in base game from Firene), and Kagetsu... honestly it's still in development, but he could come from the islands where the Divine Paralogues happen.

Hortensia: "Budding Charm"

The second princess of Firene, and while cheerful and sociable at times, she can also appear oddly demure and analytical depending on the situation. While she never had the chance to know her mother personally, many people take every chance to remind her just how much she resembles her. Even with her father stepping up to fight constant battles of comparisons throughout her life, she still finds herself torn between her enjoyment of cute and artsy things and her desire to be recognized as her own person, and struggles with self-acceptance and finding who she is or should be. Dislikes conflicts and arguments, and always doing her best to encourage others to pursue their passions and cheer them up like she tried to do for her sister for so many years.

Goldmary is going to have a FIELD DAY in Firene (she loves chores, for context). Probably Rosado as well (all those beautiful flowers to paint...) Now as for how they met... to be determined.

Timerra: "Humbling Force"

The crown princess of the Queendom of Bordia and an advocate for diplomacy and change in a stubborn, unchanging country. Used to skip training when she was young to roam the streets and look for people to help, only to be faced with closed doors and a home that consistently found her to be too weak for their liking. Though naturally very strong, she cannot escape the impression left by her "irresponsibility", and remains in the constant loop of trying to prove herself and still never being enough for the court. Hardened and unerringly dutiful on the surface, but she still adores singing, shopping, and exploring the mountainscape on horseback, sometimes sneaking out on fishing and camping trips with her brother and proceeding to scare away the fish with their constant laughter.

Merrin could be a noble who got her way into knighthood by escaping her duties and meeting Timerra one day. Panette definitely won the tournament to become her retainer. She did so by busting her way out of the streets despite her... parents... for her and her brother's sake.

Fogado: "Magnetic Militant"

The silver tongued, strategic minded prince of Brodia that believes in his sister's ideals more than anyone. Through constant, covert endeavors to train his body, sharpen his tongue, and support his sister, the court was often pleased by his prowess and began to favor him over his sister and flooded the two with constant comparisons. And now, caught between trying to shake off their disappointment in her and keep his hold on the court, he feels lost and can't find where to turn, though getting him to drop his act and admit it is a game all on its own. Still, their bond remains unbreakable, if not growing stronger, with both knowing just how hard the other works and laughing off as much of their troubles as they can manage.

Bunet became a retainer in the same tournament as Panette (yes, he lost against her), as the Sibbies are extremely close age-wise. Perhaps as a way to help his family after his village was raided by bandits? Would make a nice parallel to Saphir. Pandreo was found and got out of his terrible situation via Panette and the Sibbies. He's grateful for all of them, while his horrendous strength is not helping him in the court.

Alfred: "Snowy Hope"

Elusia's bubbly and ever-optimistic crown prince, and the kingdom's beloved "beacon of light". Chronic illness forced him to spend most of his childhood indoors and away from the harsh weather of the land, leaving him with a weak constitution, but ample time to study and perfect his magic. With his sister's research, a magical "medicine" could be used to improve his quality of life, but never quite curing his illness. Because of this, his family still proposes the Fell Dragon's "miracle" to permanently extend his life, and pushing against this, he chooses to secretly worship the Divine and make the most of the life he has. Dedicated to his country and pure of heart to a fault, one may consistently find him soaring the skies on his pegasus, visiting his people, captivating children with his magic tricks, and rescuing any and all who need help despite the toll it takes on him.

He'd be a Pegasus Mage Knight of sorts, being able to use Lances, Tomes, and Staves upon promotion. Glass Cannon type, keep him far away from archers.

Etie could be a member of the Elusian court! Appointed to Alfred instead of Céline like in base game, but now she can throw hands. And break archers for her liege's sake while at it. Boucheron... perhaps there could be something like the Village of the Fair Folk, but for hunky people? Either way, snow and forests are not helping if his sense of direction is still horrendous.

Céline: "Icy Guardian"

Described by others as calculating and almost cruel, but rather sentimental and compassionate underneath her icey façade. Though only the half-sister to the crown prince, she lives with the expectation of taking the throne for herself one day and does everything in her power to see that it will never happen. Balancing political ambition, magical research, and physical training with her wyvern has left her with many sleepless nights and contending with far more nightmares. Though she fears the potential outcomes of war, and perhaps developed a slight vendetta against archers, she believes that the Fell Dragon can help her land and family where the Divine could not. Enjoys art and painting, capturing the fleeting moments of the world's beauty and the memories of her brother and friends before they might dull and fade.

I imagine she could work well in a similar class from Zelestia, as in a wyvern rider with access to Swords and Tomes.

Don't have much on Chloé and Louis, while they could have met at the Academy like Hortensia with Rosado and Goldmary in base game. Mintavia and I joked that Chloé is responsible for 99% of the trinkets in Alfred's hidden Divine shrine. She just picked stuff she found interesting during her flights with the siblings, and he gladly took them.

Diamant: "Sand's Scion"

Solm's steadfast and amicable crown prince and regarded by his people as practically perfect. Incredibly versed in negotiating and diplomacy, which may or may not stem from growing up too quickly and being forced to calm a few heated arguments between his father and the neighboring king of Firene. Though he adores traveling and the stories and banter with his friends that come with it, his father's impulsive travels to fix their bandit issues have left him as the main person to take care of politics and the "King of Solm'' in every way except in title. Still, when he is able to leave, folks say that his laughter can be heard from all across the desert, described by some as the "Racket of Solm".

He met Jade in one of his rare travels, then Amber in another. Jade is still mostly a writer, but also a keeper of precious things (she has been tasked with safekeeping the Emblem Ring once or twice). Amber loves camels now. He's still as interested in legends, and as clumsy and able to get into trouble as ever, though.

Alcryst: "Desert Shade"

A perceptive, unbelievably friendly young man that, while highly regarded, often has to hide his identity as the second prince of Solm. A comforting presence in the harsh desert, he's always willing to lend an ear to other's issues, but attempting to do the same for him and his own feelings will leave one entirely empty-handed. However, any bandit that has had the misfortune of crossing his path can attest to how quickly that friendly face can drop when danger threatens those around him, especially his family. Constantly roaming the desert with his retainers to both lend a hand to those in need and gathering valuable intel about the entire continent, keeping his homeland safe and preventing threats from setting foot inside their borders. And with his reports come many, many stories and a solid excuse to return home every once in a while and visit with his brother.

Bow Wolf Knight? Bow Wolf Knight. With Daggers, of course.

Citrinne is still his cousin, and nothing in the world could separate them. She doubles as his confidant, and is the most attuned to how he really is under the surface. Lapis was met after a bandit raid on a village near her home, as she helped with the reconstruction efforts with her strength and ability to make stuff out of scraps. Perhaps one day she will discover more about her liege.

Naturally, more could come as Mint, Luna and I decide on the classes of the Royals that still need to be determined, get more details on the retainers that still need exploring, and as we explore another important swap in the AU. Stay tuned!

[iliiuan]

I'm going to make a running list of things that make little to no sense in A Memory of Light. Things that unleash fury in my heart.

So far, I've got:

The Dragon's Peace

No really. This treaty is such nonsense I can't even articulate fully how bad it is. Add on top that Rand saved two thrones for his girlfriend and then turns around and says "No one get greedy now! Only one country per ruler!" Just gross.

Elayne running the Last Battle

Excuse me, what? She has zero experience. Again with the favoring your girlfriend nonsense. (From a character standpoint, she does make sense, being the skilled diplomat. But she's presented as war leader, which is not really her skill.) Anyways, it should have been Mat, obviously, but Sanderson couldn't manage that one simple plot point.

Ok, now she's in the Braem Wood being a pest because she can't believe the capabilities of the Two Rivers archers. WHY IS SHE EVEN THERE? She should be at the central command post, not running sorties on one of the battle fronts. What a complete disregard for chain of command.

Everyone deciding that Caemlyn absolutely must be rescued

I... don't get it. It's lost. It's far south, providing a magnificent distraction to the Shadow. Set up a kill net around the city, like whatever Rand had used on the Waygate in Shadar Logoth. Trollocs leave the city, trollocs get dead.

Perrin saying that there's no way to destroy the Waygate

Um, excuse me, were you not paying attention AT ALL to Loial's lectures? You remove both Avendesora leaves. Like what is even going on here.

Rhuarc and Amys insisting that the Aiel can do whatever the fuck they want at Shayol Ghul.

They just signed the Dragon's Peace and agreed that Elayne would lead. There is no way under ji'e'toh that they would immediately ignore their pledge.

Not inviting Seanchan and Shara to the party

Yes, I'm still bitter that not a single Aes Sedai thought to go check on Shara.

Also, Tuon definitely should have been there. My need for thoroughness and consistency demands it.

The numbers don't seem right

I haven't done the math, but there seem to be too many trollocs (where was there space for so many? And what did they eat?) and too many armies of the Dark, with a very small showing of forces for the Light. And then the small matter of so many channelers being turned. Like, I get that it would be a difficult war to win, but the numbers seem really skewed to me.

The Horn of Valere

Rand really didn't put together that Mat wasn't bound any longer? (Maybe not, ok ok, but still seems like he would have pondered it more.) Egwene really went to the Field of Merrilor to prepare for The Last Battle and didn't bother to bring the Horn of Valere with her? What level of unprepared bullshit is going on over here?

The Ogier

The world doesn't have enough food, so the most important thing the ogier can do is... fight? NO. Sure, send the warriors out, but have the rest sing food to life. I just. What a waste. (And a rather large lack of creativity.)

Pevara and Androl

An Aes Sedai (you know, the women who perfected the art of not responding to emotion) who's been alive over a hundred years (so she's definitely practiced) and is in the Red Ajah (you know, the Ajah that oddly doesn't have Warders), in a moment of panic, bonds a man who can channel.

I also was annoyed on my first read by having these randos all of a sudden occupying a rather large portion of the pov. After 14 books with a rather breathtaking cast, why are we exploring new people? I don't get it.

Cannon Misuse

They lined 100 cannons in four ranks across a road. That's 25 cannons across. That many cannons *might* fit across the monstrous 14 lane freeway behind my neighborhood. Maybe. That's *way* too many cannons for a forest road to nowhere.

Perrin Hesitating

You know, we finally have Rand being rational about female combatants, and now Perrin is hesitating over a fucking Forsaken? He didn't hesitate over the Shaido, so I'm calling bullshit. He would have taken Hessalam out immediately. Moonhunter maybe not, because he didn't put together who she was until it was obvious she was helping him. But going after Heartseeker is like starting a hunt, and my boy would NOT squirm just because she's a woman.

Dreamwalkers Abandon the Dream

The Aiel Wise Ones, for all their bluster, turn out to be neither particularly wise, nor particularly brave. "Ooh, the Dream is so scary now! We better stay away!" Meanwhile, the Forsaken continue to roam. Did they ever even consider hunting their enemy? Did they even notice the purple domes? Do they care at all about anything beyond the end of their noses?

And Egwene isn't any better. Instead of being on a battlefield pretending to be a warrior, she should have been in the Dream, hunting with Perrin.

The whole thing was really disappointing.

Gareth Bryne

How, exactly, is Graendal able to compel Gareth when he's Siuan's Warder and they're always together? She should have been noticed and rebuffed.

Plot Lag

Yes, it's a problem through the entire series, but The Last *Battle* ended up being a book and a half political mess plus lots of blood and gore. The whole Black Tower debacle? Should have been resolved already. Perrin hunting Slayer? Should have been resolved early, so that he's leading the Hunt as Rand *enters* Shayol Ghul. Mat getting fitted with Seanchan attire? Should have happened instead of sitting in Caemlyn for a month, because there's no way that letter doesn't just fall open after a few days, bellowing smoke and yelling that trollocs are about to invade.

Moiraine

She is constantly expressing emotions. This is not my Moiraine. What alien did the Finn return to us?

She's also back to giving really bad advice. I thought she had grown out of that? Le sigh

Story Imbalance

I sincerely thought that the war part would be maybe a third of the book, and then we'd get into the aftermath. I guess I was naive.

The Last Battle

Who the fuck approved a chapter over 150 pages long? WHO? Absolute insanity.

[ashitakaxsan]

Ancient Treasures Beeing Uncovered Waiting Excibition

TEHRAN - More than two months have passed since the recovery of 3506 Achaemenid tablets, and the time for their unveiling has not yet been determined. However, the director of the National Museum of Iran announced their imminent display in this museum soon.

It was late in September that 3506 Achaemenid tablets were returned to Iran after nearly 90 years, accompanying the President's plane.

The treasured tablets were returned home by the plane carrying President Ebrahim Raisi, who addressed the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly during his visit to New York.

These clay tablets were part of a larger shipment discovered at Persepolis in 1311, which was entrusted to the Oriental Institute of Chicago for deciphering and study.

Out of over 30,000 pieces held by the Chicago Institute for study and deciphering, five shipments have been returned to Iran in the Iranian years 1327 (1948-49), 1330 (1951-52), 1383 (2004-05), 1398 (2019-2020), and 1402 (2023-24), ISNA reported.

Yet, portions of these tablets still remain at the institute. Ezzatollah Zarghami, the Minister of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts, had previously mentioned the process of returning the remaining tablets, stating that the groundwork for their return has been laid out. “According to an agreement made by the Americans, our experts will go to that country to verify the remaining tablets, after which they will gradually be returned to Iran.”

However, the fifth shipment, arriving in Iran on September 21 this year, consisted of 836 small tablets in Aramaic script and 2670 large tablets in Elamite script. They were shipped in nine boxes each weighing 75 kg. They were ultimately delivered to the National Museum of Iran.

It was planned that after quarantine, inspection, and study, some of these tablets would be put on display. Jebrael Nokandeh, the director of the National Museum of Iran, responding to ISNA regarding the timing of their display, stated: “It will be showcased soon.”.

He had previously mentioned the possibility of showcasing the Achaemenid tablets during Research Week (Dec. 16 to 20), but upon ISNA's follow-up, he responded: "The time for display (of the fifth shipment of recovered Achaemenid tablets) is approaching."

Studies conducted thus far on the Achaemenid clay tablets indicate that their content encompasses the administration and upper echelons of society during that historical period.

Archaeologists affiliated with the University of Chicago discovered the tablets in the 1930s while excavating in Persepolis, the ceremonial capital of the Persian Empire. However, the institute has resumed work in collaboration with colleagues in Iran, and the return of the tablets is part of a broadening of contacts between scholars in the two countries, said Gil Stein, director of the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago.

They are very important sources of information revealing economic, social, and religious data about the Achaemenid Empire (550-330 BC) and the larger Near Eastern region in the fifth century BC.

Persepolis, locally known as Takht-e Jamshid, was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire. It ranks among the archaeological sites, that have no equivalent, considering its unique architecture, urban planning, construction technology, and art.

Narratives say that Persepolis was burnt by Alexander the Great in 330 BC apparently as revenge against the Persians because it seems the Persian King Xerxes had burnt the Greek City of Athens around 150 years earlier. It was the largest and most durable empire of its time, stretching from Ethiopia, through Egypt, to Greece, Anatolia (modern Turkey), Central Asia, and India at its height.

Source:https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/491889/Achaemenid-tablets-recovered-from-U-S-when-will-they-be-unveiled

[himbeereule]

Hey, wanted to ask about what modernization is extended to. Larger pieces such as armored cars and tanks is obvious, but does infantry gain from it? Something along the lines of shock infantry like the Germans developed or flamethrowers and night fighting? Or maybe motorization with trucks?

Hi, and thanks for the ask!

Short answer: yes, infantry will gain from it, but only in the form of better rifles.

Long answer:

It's not currently planned to be that extensive. Motorized infantry would also not really fit the setting from a historical and logistical viewpoint.

First off, Armored Cars are available regardless of your modernization choices, they are just the second type of recon (the other is cavalry), with both having different pros and cons.

The "modernization route" I mentioned refers to a conflict that will eventually arise between your four original companions, with a "tank faction" and a "cavalry faction" arguing for different approaches.

It's modeled after a real-life conflict in the RKKA*'s top officer cadre - a group of commanders led by Tukhachevsky envisioned a large-scale reform establishing large tank formations, while another group consisting of commanders such as Budyonny and Voroshilov argued that a) mass production of tanks doesn't make sense in a position where most of them would become obsolete within a short time and b) the poor infrastructure would make supplying them a nightmare.

It was an uphill battle for the "tank faction" from the beginning, since most members of the "cavalry faction" were personal friends of Stalin since the Battle for Tsaritsyn, but they were initially allowed to conduct large-scale trials for how they envisioned a modern army to be... until Tukhachevsky very aggressively pushed for his proposal to modernize and massively expand all Soviet forces at once (for example, he wanted to produce 50,000 to 100,000 tanks just within the year 1928 (in comparison, Germany had about 3000 tanks in 1939, which was then the largest tank force in the world)). He was consequently accused of sabotage, lost his position, was investigated, and in the end he was proclaimed a conman and German agent who achieved his rank by throwing around complicated words he made up and getting recommendations by other agents of the German intelligence service. He and most of the "tank faction" were executed, and that was that.

In my story, Mikhail/Marina, supported by Leon/Leah, will form the "tank faction". If you go with them, you will be able to use tanks (and acquire them from foreign nations), as well as get more powerful, modern rifles, and economic help. However, the more tanks and money you requisit from other countries, the more their influence on you will grow, and if you're too careless, you might end up a mere puppet.

Semyon/Selena, supported by Yakov/Liliya, will argue against them, saying that the domestic inadequacy of industry, which means you can't produce your own tanks and will have to import them from abroad, will lead to effectively selling out the country - plus, tanks are difficult to supply in most areas of Nevetskiya due to poor infrastructure, which limits their effectiveness. So, they want you to completely give up on tanks and instead focus on establishing large cavalry formations. If you go with them, you will unlock the Tachanka, a horse-drawn machine-gun cart that will immensely boost your Cavalry formations' firepower.

The faction you didn't side with will have to be dealt with in one way or another - can you afford killing off a large portion of your officer corps, including two of your closest confidantes, or will you risk them betraying you later?

*RKKA = Workers' and Peasants' Red Army

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

The political opinions of so many are predicated on the base level belief that ‘the world hates women’.

It is from this limited understanding, that our current conception of ‘structural sexism’ is born.

The belief that those in positions of power, who are men, are actively uplifting other men like them, whilst trampling upon women and girls.

And it makes sense at face value.

‘The Patriarchy’ is how many will describe this belief - the world dislikes women - and heaps an extra portion or two of privilege onto the plate of its favourite child: ‘man’.

The problem with this theory is that it often lies in stark contrast to what actual research tells us – the typical finding that both women and men actually hold more favourable views of women.

‘Women like women, more than men like men’ as the APA puts it (and nearly five times more at that).

But there is yet another hidden layer beneath this too… that men also like women, more than they like men.

And with that, ‘patriarchy theory’ takes a direct blow to the very core of its credibility.

Because actually, most people prefer women over men, rather than the other way around.

This phenomenon is well established and studied, and observed across generations, and in dozens of countries around the world.

It’s called the ‘Women Are Wonderful Effect’, and it describes how, in general, people associate more good things with women, and more bad things with men.

So is it time we question the notion of ‘a world that dislikes women’, and honestly asked ourselves, does the world like men any better?

What do you think?

-

Sources

Study one: https://www.stevestewartwilliams.com/p/why-people-react-less-positively

Study two: https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bjop.12463

Study three: https://www.apa.org/monitor/dec04/women

==

See also:

Abstract

Little is known about implicit evaluations of complex, multiply categorizable social targets. Across five studies (N = 5,204), we investigated implicit evaluations of targets varying in race, gender, social class, and age. Overall, the largest and most consistent evaluative bias was pro-women/anti-men bias, followed by smaller but nonetheless consistent pro-upper-class/anti-lower-class biases. By contrast, we observed less consistent effects of targets' race, no effects of targets' age, and no consistent interactions between target-level categories. An integrative data analysis highlighted a number of moderating factors, but a stable pro-women/anti-men and pro-upper-class/anti-lower-class bias across demographic groups. Overall, these results suggest that implicit biases compound across multiple categories asymmetrically, with a dominant category (here, gender) largely driving evaluations, and ancillary categories (here, social class and race) exerting relatively smaller additional effects. We discuss potential implications of this work for understanding how implicit biases operate in real-world social settings. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

-

Xians reveal too much about themselves when they say that without their god's rules, there would be endless murdering, rape, theft, etc. It's what they would do.

"Patriarchy" theory proponents do the same thing. They assume that men are as biased towards men as they are to women. It's what they would do.

All it really does is confesses to us their own bias, and that their claims aren't based on evidence. Which we already know.

[destinysbounty]

Oh nooo I have two new Ninjago OCs, whatever will I dooooo

Anyway their names are Nato and Kascha, and I've only had them for a day but if anything happened to them I would kill everyone in this room and then myself.

Details under the cut!

Nato (left/top) is a weary Ninjago City resident who's been here for several years and has pretty much seen it all at this point. She works a concerning amount of odd jobs - builder, mover, bus driver, tour guide, waitress, line cook, janitor...you name it, she's probably done it. She got bitten by a Fangpyre a while back, and while she managed to have the transformation mostly reversed she does still have some patches of scales scattered all over her body and her eyes are still a weird shade of green. She doesn't hold it against the snake responsible though, and they're actually on pretty good terms now. She is worryingly nonchalant about everything, and highkey disassociates to cope with living in Ninjago City. She's also a Darkley's student, but dropped out a year before Lloyd enrolled so they just barely missed each other. This probably factors into her inability to be phased by literally anything.

Kascha (right/bottom) is originally from Metalonia, but recently moved to Ninjago City to study history, so she is super involved in the academic scene. She's really into, like, history, and archaeology, and linguistics, and all that. Linguistics is her specialty, and as such she actually has a better grasp on Ninjargon than a lot of Ninjagians. But also she's very new to Ninjago City, and is very much NOT used to all the apocalypses happening on a weekly basis. Very panicky, on edge, and is constantly exasperated with Nato's nonchalance. She often used to visit Ninjago as a tourist in her childhood (her dad is a Metalonian trade ambassador so they had to travel a lot), and she ended up falling in love with Ninjagian culture. Of course, she is quickly discovering that being a tourist and being a resident are two very, VERY different experiences. Also she has a lot of metal jewelry, because y'know, her dad works for a metal export company. One time she broke a creepy porcelain vase while at a gift shop on one of her many trips abroad, and the shopkeeper cryptically told her that whoever breaks it will find themselves living "an eventful life" - and in retrospect she's like 70% sure that's why her life is so chaotic. There is a non-zero chance the SoG fiasco might have been caused by her curse, and she's not sure what to do with that information.

(For various reasons I am choosing to interpret the deserty wasteland Metalonia is shown to be in Korgran's flashback as being a more rural area, while Karlof and Kascha are from more urban regions. The fact that Karlof used to build Roto Jets suggests Metalonia is fairly industrial, at least in certain areas. It's probably similar to Ninjago in that way - major metropolitan areas act as major hubs of technological advancement and industry, while large portions of the country remain consistently and noticeably less so. Korgran comes from a more rural region, Kascha is from a big city, and Karlof is probably from a semi-industrial area like a factory town or something. Anyway, that's enough from me about worldbuilding theories.)

The fun thing about these two is that they're basically just kinda vibing in the background of all the canon plot while sometimes accidentally causing the plot. For example: Kascha interned under Dr. Saunders and was the one who set up the Yin Blade's clearstone display, and also helped put together the Hall of Villainy exhibit. Their hijinks caused the traffic jam that led to Pixal, Cole, and Zane being late for the boat ceremony in the beginning of season 10. Nato gave Vinny the idea to give Garmadon a plant, meaning she's indirectly responsible for Christofern. Kascha's cat gets possessed by Morro for a bit. They somehow join the Sons of Garmadon for a hot minute but purely by accident. They end up kinda adopting avatar!Harumi post-s12, but that was also an accident. Also Okino lives with them for a while. Nato and Tox are bitter exes. Kascha was also supposed to be on the expedition to the Island of the Keepers, but she overslept and missed the boat. They live in the same apartment complex as Dareth and were some of the first customers at Laffy's before it got overrun by SoG.

As I mentioned before, Morro ends up possessing their cat at one point due to reasons that are most definitely their fault. That is, they broke his Hall of Villainy mannequin, and thanks to all sorts of convoluted magic rules this led to his spirit returning to the material plane and becoming trapped in the nearest living thing - that is to say, Kascha's cat. I'd like to think their first encounter goes a little something like this -

Kascha: Let me get this straight. The ghost of that one emo teen who destroyed a small coastal village last year apparently had his soul tethered to a random mannequin at the museum - so when we broke the manenquin, your soul got trapped in the nearest living thing. So now you're, what, stuck possessing my cat for the rest of time? Morro: Trust me, I don't like this either. As soon as I figure out how to un-possess this stupid body and get back to the Departed Realm, I'm gone. Nato: ...so...do we still have to get the cat neutered, or...? Morro: NO Kascha: That's your takeaway from all this?! Nato: What? It's a valid question!

Of course, Morro still sticks around even after they exorcise him from the cat because why not, because they're his friends now and maybe getting a second chance at life isn't so bad after all. That being said, he's not keen on interacting with the ninja at all, and has no intention of making his presence known to them. So yeah, Morro is 100% hanging out in the background without any of the ninja finding out and he wants to keep it that way.

The running joke is that Nato and Kascha keep encountering various background/supporting characters, and keep almost meeting the ninja but never actually do (except that one time Sascha had a late-night conversation about the meaning of life with Zane at the grocery store, but didn't realize who she was talking to until two days later). Like, they'll interact with pretty much every canon character except the ninja themselves, often just barely missing opportunities to meet them in increasingly convoluted ways. So many of their shenanigans directly influence the main plot but they just straight-up never realize this. They're just out here causing AND solving problems completely on accident, all the time. Ultimate chaos duo. Just a couple of oblivious dumbasses stumbling into the plot but without even realizing it.

Also! This is very important to me. Their dynamic is essentially "I'd follow you to hell but I just wish you'd stop going there" but in both directions simultaneously. They may be each other's ride-or-die, but that doesn't mean they're happy about it.

[aeoki]

High and Low: The Centre of the Earth - Chapter 7

Location: ES II Lobby Characters: Hajime & Midori

Season: Autumn Writer: Akira

< Noon the next day, in front of the “ES II” lobby. >

Hajime: Australia is a country of immigrants.

It was a fabled continent that was discovered quite late in history and it continued to exist without the intervention of civilisation.

Midori: (Shino-kun’s so serious.)

(He understood that it would be impossible to meet up with Mashiro-kun and he was a bit dejected last night.)

(But for an odd change, he said something negative to match my feelings. He put himself down by saying that he was a hopeless person and sighed a lot.)

(But when I woke up the next morning, he was back to being his usual serious and positive self.)

Hajime: We went around to see a lot of different tourist attractions during the school trip.

But that mostly consisted of seeing Ayers Rock, incredible views of the great outdoors and unique animals such as koalas and kangaroos.

Unique things that were created by gods, not humans.

Other things would be buildings like this “ES II”...

The immigrants who entered the country afterwards built modern buildings that already existed in other countries.

Midori: (...It’s the same right now too. He’s rereading the script over and over again in a serious manner – he’s practising and revising.)

(He probably can’t concentrate fully because he’s worried about his friends.)

(But he’s doing his best because he needs to do so for work, he has to carry out his duty.)

(He’s the very definition of the perfect child from an adult’s perspective.)

(He’s amazing… I could never imitate that.)

Hajime: That’s probably why this place is a very convenient location for ES.

Australia is big and plentiful, but a large portion of that land has yet to be touched upon.

Various countries – civilisations – squabble with one another in an attempt to expand their territory, all the while coexisting with one another.

God bestowed upon them a frontier.

It was far more cramped and disorderly compared to Japan, which had turned most of its promising areas into developed land.

For them, it might be a convenient plot of land to “dye it in their own colours”.

It also appears the government is endorsing positive foreign intervention and welcoming these kinds of immigrants.

They’re open-minded and it really seems like the perfect place. A very favourable place for us humans.

That’s probably why ES decided to create an offshoot of themselves, “ES II”, here on this land.

It hasn’t even been a year since ES was established, but such a splendid building exists already… If we’re talking about territory alone, I think this may even be larger than the ES in Japan.

I’m sure the construction of “ES II” was around the same time as “ES”.

There hasn’t been a clear announcement on what ES’ final goal is, but they’re probably intending on spreading idol culture to the rest of the world.

To achieve that, ES has laid the foundations for the future all around the world.

Amongst the infinite number of scattered seeds, it was the “ES II” in Australia that began to sprout first.

“ES II” is more complete than “ES” in various ways. They must have clashed heads with the culture that existed here first, I’m sure.

As mentioned before, this place is an untouched block of nature – a culturally blank area.

On that blank slate, ES has drawn lines in every direction they wanted.

And the result of that is “ES II”.

An environment where idol culture is the highest priority has already been developed. It has already been put in place.

It’s not only idols. An “L$” system has already been set up for the people who work in the stores nearby for the locals. They are educated to respect idols, support them and help them blossom.

This place was prepared for that purpose – it’s an idol’s ideal miniature garden.

It seems there are a lot of local people who are wanting to be idols because of this place. It’s a place for idols, after all.

You can receive a lot of benefits if you’re an idol.

No. If anything, it’ll be hard to live here if you’re not an idol… It’s almost as if this place is saying that you’re not human if you’re not an idol.

The currency here is “L$”. And the most efficient way to earn “L$” is to work as an idol.

Everyone wants to become an idol unanimously. This number may already have surpassed Japan’s.

They’re all people who have yet to understand what it means to be an idol. In terms of quality, they may be inferior to Japan.

But that’s exactly why us “senior idols” from Japan are providing an example. We’re showing all sorts of work that we do generally…

Then the “ES II” idols in Australia will watch and learn from us, and in turn, steadily grow.

I’m sure they’ll be working hard and doing their best in order to live and have a good life.

“ES II” is still a downgraded version of “ES” right now. In terms of idol quality, Japan is far superior.

But that might be easily outdone sooner or later. The copy will surpass the original…

Sometime in the near future, the “ES” idols will definitely be no match for the idols from “ES II”.

At the very least, they wouldn’t be able to compete with their level of singing and dancing.

Their enthusiasm and hard work are on a different scale, after all.

The people here are betting their entire lives in order to survive and be an idol.

← Previous Chapter ᠂ ⚘ ˚⊹˚ ⚘ ᠂  Next Chapter →

[ask-the-reaper-conspiracy]

To OP: what do you think we can expect for the next AA (if we get one)? :3 and what are your thoughts on Spirit of Justice?

~~also for some reason, Tumblr is burying your posts so I can't see them on my homepage :(~~

:O Hard to say when we're not even sure who'll be writing the next AA game.

I think the only thing I can expect for certain is that Athena will be the one undergoing character development, since that was a hanging plot point in SoJ. That doesn't necessarily mean she'll be the player character for the entirety of it (Apollo finished his character arc in a game where Phoenix was the main character for a large portion of it) but she will probably be the central focus by the end.

Considering how long we've had without an AA game, I also fully expect a gimmick to draw in new players. Potentially this will be a new setting, a new main character, or a new mechanic--I'm leaning on the side of there being a heavier supernatural focus (or at least superhuman, like Athena's hearing and Apollo's eyesight) but I don't really know :o

I'm sure there will be returning characters too, as well. Hopefully Gumshoe this time > >

Whatever they do, I'll probably be there for it.

As for my feelings on SoJ, that ended up being wayyyyy too long so it's under the cut.

I really enjoyed it! and idk what the tumblr opinion is on that, all I know is that they really hate it over on reddit, so, sorry fdgkfdkgfk

It is the best looking Ace Attorney game outside of the spinoffs, and in particular I think the character models and in-game animations are at their best, so that's one huge point for me. I also loved pretty much everything surrounding the seance mechanic.

I thought each case was consistently exciting. Phoenix traveling to a different country with a radically different culture high-key appealed to me, and I thought the higher stakes of his trials fit that feeling that he was far from home; on the other hand, I liked that the filler cases that were literally closer to home employed themes from the previous games that are more personal to the characters (expanding on the legacy of the Gramarye family in 6-2, developing Athena and Simon's relationship in 6-4.) I also just liked a majority of the supporting characters---I found most of them pretty memorable and fun to watch, especially the culprits (aside from.... ehh, Paul. Ga'ran wasn't my favorite either post-outfit change, but I was going nuts over Inga at the time so I didn't mind as much.)

I liked how the returning characters were handled. Maya got to finally make it as a spirit medium and was acknowledged for all her hard work, after the first game in the franchise ended with her powers only working as a deus ex machina. Ema's crabby attitude was believably dialed back to RftA levels now that she had her dream job (with Apollo justifiably being nervous seeing her again,) and she struggled with themes of being professional and sticking to her duties vs. not wanting to see the justice system screw over her friends again, which I saw as a believable character arc for her.

And I liked Nahyuta! I know a looot of people did not, and while intellectually I can see why, sometimes I feel like I must have been playing different games than them with how much hate he gets compared to other prosecutors in the series. I found his ultimate theme of controllable helplessness, masking itself as restraint and enlightenment, to be very fascinating. And tbh I liked how chill he is in the courtroom, which makes it more notable (especially for comedic purposes) when he slips up and shows how passionate he actually is as a person.

His biggest flaw as a character to me was that his arc was underbaked. There needed to be more time to unpack everything he'd done by the end, and the things that were at stake for him just, weren't quite impressive enough when put against the things he'd been an accomplice to. But I feel like he was so close in that regard, as I can imagine a million little ways they could have fixed it.

-

Now this is my big rant dfgkdfks

Something I liked the most about this game, probably the biggest point that left me emotionally compromised towards it, was that it brought back some of the themes introduced in Apollo Justice that got dropped in Dual Destinies.

I left AJ frustrated by the fact that Apollo's first forays into being a lawyer featured him being manipulated, ridiculed and led along, mostly by his own mentor (Phoenix Wright, no less,) alongside being an orphan whose mother just... didn't want him to know she was still alive dgfkfkhdkgf and none of this actually got addressed by the end of the game. and then Dual Destinies completely ignored it, meaning I was never going to get closure on it.

But SoJ touched on those feelings again and actually gave me some closure. Looking broadly at what happens in the game--Phoenix finally does show that by this point, he trusts Apollo with even his own daughter's safety. Apollo finally does vent to SOMEONE about how hard it was starting out as a lawyer, and confronts a parental figure for abandoning him. He confronts Phoenix in court, and his relationship with Phoenix even seems to be characterized as "different" from that of his other allies. This is mainly because Phoenix is a mentor to Apollo more than a friend, but I like to think their bad first impression of each other was a contributing factor, too.

Yes, many of these are not exact follow-ups to Apollo Justice. A lot of them either touch on the story vaguely, or invent new scenarios to make these themes relevant to this specific game (like Apollo's backstory in Khurain was obviously not envisioned during AA4.) But considering how old Apollo Justice as a game was by this point, and that the writer evidently did not expect everyone to have even played it, I at least understand the decision to tie these themes to new plot points.

Also, I really like Dhurke, so I don't reaaally mind that he's a new addition to Apollo's backstory. Also like the idea that Apollo might have followed Kristoph as a mentor for so long because he bears a superficial resemblance to Nahyuta---cool-headed, confident, hair over his shoulder...

Like it's a bit weird to wrap my head around that Apollo spent his formative years in a different country/culture and this wasn't touched on in previous games, but I'm just not too stressed about it cause I got the core feelings I wanted dfkgsfdkk and Apollo just, has good chemistry with the new characters,

I could go on and on about all the little things I liked, but those are my big points. I think the game gets a lot of backlash nowadays, some of it fair and some of it I feel is unfair. But me personally, I liked it from start to finish, and the things it did wrong didn't bother me enough to take me out of my enjoyment of it.

[ingydars]

police is a burden on society not only because they largely consist of racist fascists but also because they're inforcing a capitalism system which doesn't care about a very huge portion of society by design. prime example is them pulling up with tear gas and water cannons to the coal mine protest this weekend as if evicting people out of their homes for profit is in any way beneficial to anyone in this country.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal Constitution

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

February 3, 2023

Heather Cox Richardson

Last night, former vice president Mike Pence came out and said it: “I think the day could come when we could replace the New Deal with a better deal.”

Pence was talking about Social Security—a centerpiece of the New Deal—saying: “Literally give younger Americans the ability to take a portion of their Social Security withholdings and put that into a private savings account.”

Privatizing Social Security is his plan to address the growing national debt by cutting expenditures, at least in domestic spending. “It’s absolutely essential that we generate leadership in this country that will be straight with the American people, that will take us off this trajectory of massive debt that we’re piling on the backs of those grandchildren,” Pence said at the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors summit in Washington, D.C.

Another way to reduce the debt would be to raise taxes on corporations and the very wealthy, even to where they were before the massive tax cuts Republicans passed in 2017, but current-day Republicans oppose taxes, claiming they redistribute wealth from hardworking people to those who want a handout. They believe that cutting taxes to enable those at the top to accumulate wealth will enable them to invest their money in businesses, creating more jobs. Wealth will trickle down, and everyone will do better.

Republicans like Pence believe the federal government should stay out of economic affairs, letting individuals make their own decisions in free markets (although the concept of a “free market” has always been more theoretical than real). Any federal attempts to regulate business or provide a social safety net are “socialism,” they claim, although they have largely forgotten how that argument was established in the United States.

This argument is what gives us the story Kayode Crown reported yesterday for the Mississippi Free Press: thirty-eight of Mississippi’s rural hospitals, more than half of them, are in danger of collapsing because Governor Tate Reeves refuses to allow the state to accept an expansion of Medicaid. The hospitals are required to treat all patients who need care, but since many patients are uninsured, without the expansion of Medicaid the hospitals don’t get paid.

On Monday, Reeves warned Republican lawmakers not to “cave under the pressure of Democrats and their allies in the media who are pushing for the expansion of Obamacare, welfare, and socialized medicine.” “Instead, seek innovative free-market solutions that disrupt traditional health-care delivery models, increase competition, and lead to better health outcomes for Mississippians.” Last month, in a poll from Mississippi Today/Siena College, about 80% of Mississippi voters wanted Medicaid expansion.  

This theory also says that the government should also stay out of the business of protecting civil rights, because state governments are the centerpiece of American democracy. That’s the idea behind yesterday’s decision by a panel of three judges of the right-wing Fifth Circuit. They ruled that a federal law prohibiting people who are under a domestic restraining order from owning a gun is unconstitutional.

In the 2022 New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen decision, the Supreme Court said that the government must prove that any gun regulation is “consistent with this Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation,” and because the Constitution’s Framers didn’t stop domestic abusers from possessing guns, we can’t either. As Ian Millhiser points out in Vox, it was not until 1871 that a state court determined that “a husband has no right” to beat his wife.

Slate’s legal reporter Mark Joseph Stern notes, “There is no real doubt that the 5th Circuit's decision is going to lead to more abusers murdering their wives and girlfriends. It will also increase mass shootings. Domestic abuse[rs] are vastly more likely to commit heinous acts of gun violence.” Millhiser says it is very likely the Supreme Court will take up the case.

Under the Republicans’ theory, the country has seen wealth move upward dramatically, hollowing out the middle class and leaving it vulnerable to leaders who have attracted voters by telling them that minorities and women who want “socialism” are to blame for their loss of power.

Today an audio file from November 5, 2020, just after the presidential election, was leaked that shows members of Trump’s campaign staff in Wisconsin acknowledging Trump’s defeat before Andrew Iverson, who led the Wisconsin team, said, “Here’s the deal: Comms is going to continue to fan the flame and get the word out about Democrats trying to steal this election. We’ll do whatever they need. Just be on standby if there’s any stunts we need to pull.”

Iverson now runs operations in the Midwest region for the Republican National Committee.

In contrast to the Republican theory, President Joe Biden and the Democrats have revived the theory embraced by members of both parties between 1933 and 1981. That theory says that the federal government has a role to play in the economy, regulating business, providing a basic social safety net, investing in infrastructure, and protecting civil rights. Rather than freeing capital for those at the top, Democrats want to invest in ordinary Americans who will, they believe, spend their paychecks, thus building the economy as they move money directly into the hands of their neighbors.

Today at a Democratic National Committee finance event in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Biden explained that “when we build from the bottom up and the middle out, poor folks get a shot, the middle class does well, and the wealthy still do very well.” We have to invest in ourselves again, he said. “How…can you be the most successful, powerful nation in the world and have third-rate infrastructure?...  How can you attract business and commerce and keep things moving?”

“[W]e used to invest 2 percent of our G[ross] D[omestic] P[roduct] in research and development…. But about 25 years ago we stopped.” Investment dropped to 0.7 percent of GDP, he said, but now the CHIPS and Science Act will jump-start that research and development again. The administration is also bringing supply chains home and rebuilding foreign alliances. And Biden told the wealthiest people in the room today that they were paying an average of 3% in taxes and needed to pay their fair share. “I don’t want you to pay 90% again”—the top marginal income bracket in the Eisenhower years—but at least 15%, he said.

From the White House, Biden noted that the “strikingly good” new jobs report issued by the Bureau of Labor Statistics this morning proved that his vision of society works. It showed an astonishing 517,000 new jobs added in January, the twenty-fifth straight month of job growth. Unemployment fell slightly to 3.4%, a low last seen in May 1969 (not a typo).

Between 1933 and 1981, Americans of both parties shared the idea of using the federal government to level the social, economic, and political playing fields. The current Republicans are rejecting that vision, reclaiming that of the business-oriented Republicans in the 1920s. Under Biden, the Democrats are trying to rebuild that shared vision, returning the parties to fights over the kinds and limits of government policies, rather than fights over whether they should exist at all.

Biden told his audience that “once every three, four, or five generations, there’s a fundamental shift in world politics and national politics” and that we are in such a shift now.

“What will happen [in] the next three or four years [is] going to determine what this country looks like for the next four or five decades…. We’re laying down a foundation, because the world is changing—dramatically changing. And we have a choice.”

—

Notes:

https://news.yahoo.com/pence-calls-for-social-security-reform-private-savings-accounts-181754393.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/02/03/january-jobs-labor-market/

https://www.mississippifreepress.org/30720/as-mississippi-hospitals-fail-leaders-kill-medicaid-expansion-efforts-again

https://flaglerlive.com/wp-content/uploads/Fulghamv.State_.pdf

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2023/2/2/23583377/supreme-court-guns-domestic-abuse-fifth-circuit-second-amendment-rahimi-united-states

Steve Vladeck @steve_vladeckThe Fifth Circuit strikes again: Unanimous panel (Jones, Ho, Wilson) strikes down the federal statute prohibiting possession of firearms while subject to a domestic violence-related restraining order; holds it violates the Second Amendment under Bruen:

8:03 PM ∙ Feb 2, 20231,392Likes789Retweets

https://assets.nationbuilder.com/firearmspolicyfoundation/pages/3970/attachments/original/1675361904/United_States_v_Rahimi_Opinion.pdf

Mark Joseph Stern @mjs_DC

There is no real doubt that the 5th Circuit's decision is going to lead to more abusers murdering their wives and girlfriends. It will also increase mass shootings. Domestic abuse are vastly more likely to commit heinous acts of gun violence.

slate.com/news-and-polit…

8:23 PM ∙ Feb 2, 20231,119Likes554Retweets

https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2023-02-03/trump-campaign-wisconsin-promote-election-lies

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2023/02/03/remarks-by-president-biden-at-a-democratic-national-committee-finance-event/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/02/03/january-jobs-labor-market/

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LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[whats-in-a-sentence]

At Adelaide, Mary Thomas wrote of Kaurna people,

The greatest mischief they have . . . is a custom of burning the grass during the hot weather . . . Their fires on the hills are quite awful. We have frequently seen fires this summer which have reached for twenty or thirty miles in circumference, for they light them at distances so that they will enclose a large space,²⁶

and in 1844 George French Angas similarly described the Adelaide Hills:

They consist of tall primeval trees of a kind of eucalyptus, their erect and massive trunks blackened, in many places as high as fifteen or twenty feet from the ground, by the tremendous fires that sweep through these forests, and continue to blaze and roll along, day and night for many miles, in one continuous chain of fire. These conflagrations usually take place during the dry heats of summer, and frequently at night; the hills, when viewed from Adelaide, present a singular and almost terrific appearance; being covered with long streaks of flame, so that one might fancy them a range of volcanoes.²⁷

In such mature forest, fire 'fifteen or twenty feet from the ground' (4.5 to 6 metres) would not be thought big today, and in those same hills three years before Angas a reporter observed,

though the fire has evidently ranged fiercely in many places, yet it never seems to attack anything but the grass and the leaves of the lower bushes, leaving the trees unscathed, the larger ones being seldom found hollow and blackened as are those on the plains below.²⁸

At Albany in 1830, Scott Nind noted, 'The violence of the fire is frequently very great, and extends over many miles of country; but this is generally guarded against by their burning it in consecutive portions.'²⁹

26. Mary Thomas, The Diaries and Letters of Mary Thomas (1836-1866), ed. Evan Kyffin Thomas, WK Thomas & Co., Adelaide, 1925, p. 123, c/- Tom Gara.

27. George French Angas, Savage Life and Scenes in Australia and New Zealand, vol. 1, Reed, Wellington, NZ, [1847] 1968, p. 43, c/- Tom Gara.

28. South Australian Register, 27 Mar 1841, p. 4, c/- Tom Gara.

29. Scott Nind, 'Description of the Natives of King George's Sound (Sean River Colony) and Adjoining Country', Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London, 1, 1830-31, p. 28.

"Country: Future Fire, Future Farming" - Bill Gammage and Bruce Pascoe