#can I please move to a civilized state? or country?

[thesaltyace]

omfg y'all am I insane or is this healthcare professional a fucking nutjob

(Spoiler: I know she's a fucking nutjob but would deeply appreciate others chiming in because I still feel crazy 😭)

Okay, so I am still reeling from this provider interaction and feel like I'm going crazy. To sum up, she downplayed covid in general, suggested that antivirals were more dangerous than covid itself, and I believe she tried to scare me and my partner into not asking for Paxlovid at all.

Background info:

My partner and I are both mid-30s. We both have health conditions that place us in the high risk category for serious covid complications (asthma, CKD, overweight/obese, etc.).

Because we have several high risk factors, we have been super careful for the past 3+ years, and fortunately haven't caught covid at all before now (to our knowledge).

We are primarily concerned about long term damage and possible long covid. We are aware that even though omicron has lower risk of long covid, it's still around 10-14% risk. Especially considering our high risk health conditions, we want to do everything we can to prevent long covid.

We are aware that Paxlovid is an oral antiviral that received full approval a couple of months ago for high risk groups.

What happened:

My partner and I both tested positive for covid today using an at-home test, so we decided to go to the local clinic. They offered to see us together and we agreed, so we're in the same exam room.

The tech who was taking our info asked, "You tested positive with an at-home test? When?" "Yes. We took the tests about an hour ago." She seemed confused. "So why are you here?" "To…. confirm with a PCR I guess? Or to get antivirals?" She seemed annoyed and quickly left.

[Edited to add - the LVN and tech discussed between themselves, before they left the room, that the provider said a PCR wasn't necessary since we had a positive home test and symptoms.]

When the provider (CNP) came in, she started off with the same question. "Okay, so I understand that you tested positive with at-home tests. So... why are you here?" We gave her the same answer: "To get Paxlovid? ...I guess?"

She scoffed and said, "I'll prescribe you Paxlovid if that's what you want, but I don't recommend it." Well, that wasn't what we expected to hear. She explained that she doesn't recommend it because it's only authorized for emergency use and "doesn't really do as much for you as you'd like to think." She went on to explain that it interacts with "a ton of really common medications" so it can be very risky to use anyway, possibly even more risky than covid itself. My partner spoke up to say, "Yes, we saw that the only medication of mine that appears to have an interaction is amlodipine but that it isn't a contraindication." and she quickly said, "Right, but Paxlovid is just very risky if you have anything cardiovascular going on."

O…kay….

She then explained that Paxlovid isn't really for mild cases anyway, it's really just for people who are at high, high risk for severe covid symptoms and would, like, die in 24 hours without treatment. We found this odd (and in fact blatantly wrong) based on our own knowledge of Paxlovid and covid, so we didn't quite know what to say. I felt very put off and like I couldn't trust what she was telling us. It's at this point that I suspected this woman was trying to dissuade us from taking Paxlovid for… I have no idea what reason. But we live in West Texas and it's extremely red here, so… draw your own conclusion. (I did.)

She then started talking down to us (IMO) by explaining that we would still have to deal with the coughs and sniffles even if we took the antivirals. As though we were only there for a quick fix, because our little stuffy noses were so annoying. I finally spoke up and explained that we're less concerned about acute symptoms and more concerned about long-term effects and possible long covid.

This really made my blood boil. She proceeded to tell me that 1) Paxlovid won't help with preventing long covid, 2) omicron doesn't really cause long covid, that's just the original covid strain that does that, so no one is really seeing new cases of long covid, and 3) no one's getting severely sick from covid anymore anyway, and we appear to have a mild case, so I shouldn't really be concerned. You know, folks, based on my own knowledge, those are some pretty sweeping unsupported statements. So the more she talks, the more concerned I get.

She then starts telling us about how there's all sorts of adverse reactions that can happen with Paxlovid. Horrible reactions that could totally ruin your life! Worse than long covid! But no specific reactions mentioned at this point - just general "Oh, it's so bad" pearl-clutching statements. We sat silently through this -- I think wondering if this was actually happening.

Our continued silence finally caught her attention. "Oh, I know, most people don't expect to hear all this!" "Uh huh." At this point, I'm trying to not to pinch the bridge of my nose and sigh. "So what are the risk factors for these reactions?" "Well, they're far-reaching effects that can ruin your health and your life! It can happen to anyone. Things like hemorrhagic stroke--" I am extremely annoyed and cut her off. "Okay, fine, but that doesn't answer my question. What are the RISK FACTORS for these reactions?" "There are none." "None? No risk factors. No correlations. For any of these reactions." "No. It affects everyone equally. Age, sex, race, doesn't matter. You aren't safe because you're young." "No specific health conditions that would put one at higher risk of these bad reactions?" "No, it affects EVERYONE the same."

^^ If y'all don't see why that kind of claim is absolute bullshit I don't know what to tell you. I'm not 100% sure, but I don't think I've ever heard of any condition/reaction that that has zero identifiable risk factors or correlations, that just somehow affects everyone equally. She pulled that out of her ass, full stop.

Anyway, we just stared at her again because what else do you say to that kind of fearmongering bullshit? She followed up with, "And this drug is only approved for emergency use, so you know, you're taking a big risk if you choose to take Paxlovid. Like, I have to confirm in our system when I send the prescription that you understand the risks. And it is a risk."

Here's the thing. I remembered seeing a couple of months ago that Paxlovid was now fully approved for high risk groups. You know, like me and my partner. She's trying to tell us that Paxlovid is somehow more dangerous than covid/the risk of developing long covid. As best I can tell based on current data, risk of developing long covid from omicron is around 10-14%. Is this woman seriously trying to tell me that Paxlovid has greater than a 10-14% chance of causing severe issues with no known correlations/risk factors, and was somehow still fully approved for high risk patients a couple of months ago? Something is seriously off here.

If I had to listen to any more of this bullshit I think I was going to lose my absolute mind and verbally rip into her. She already said she'd prescribe it if we wanted it, and I didn't want to risk that changing by pissing her off, so finally I was like, "Okay, I guess can we have a moment to discuss this together, then?" I figured we'd be able to exchange a quick, "This woman is crazy. Yes, let's ask for the Paxlovid", but she goes, "Oh, no, I'll just go ahead and submit the prescription. None of the pharmacies are open until tomorrow morning anyway, so that'll give you plenty of time to consider it. And if you decide you don't want it, just don't fill it. But if you decide you do, the prescription is already submitted."

O....kay... then...

So she leaves and soon the LVN comes in with the appointment summary printoffs. The LVN asks us if the provider discussed with us the cardiovascular risks associated with Paxlovid.

"No...? I mean, she said it can interact with blood pressure medication but that's it."

"Well, it can have some pretty nasty cardiovascular side effects. I used to work in cardio at the peak of covid and we got calls all the time about whether or not this cardio patient could take Paxlovid."

No mention about what the answer actually was for all those phone calls -- just the vague implication that it's terrifying to take Paxlovid because it might hurt your heart. Again, this just didn't match what we knew about Paxlovid, but we also aren't confident enough to call them on it ourselves.

We got out of there as quickly as we could and agreed in the car that we would look up more info online when we got home; however, our inclination was already to fill the prescription and take the Paxlovid. We tried looking up these adverse effects she warned us about. All we can find is info about medication interactions, which we already knew. We found studies stating that cardiac patients benefited more than most groups from taking Paxlovid. We found ample information suggesting, as we already knew, that with our health conditions we are absolutely recommended to take Paxlovid and that we personally have no contraindications.

It occurred to us after we got home that the provider never told my partner what to do in terms of adjusting the amlodipine while taking Paxlovid. They'll have to ask the pharmacist tomorrow and may skip the amlodepine tomorrow until they can ask their regular doctor about it on Monday. Sucks that this is happening over a weekend and the only medical professionals available will be the same folks we just saw, because they sound absolutely INSANE.

In case anyone is wondering, uh, yeah, as best I can tell, current data suggests Paxlovid helps reduce the acute illness period AND may reduce the risk of long covid. And I couldn't find a single goddamn thing about severe reactions like hemorrhagic stroke. So I don't know what the actual fuck these people were doing trying to blow smoke up our asses, but it PISSES ME THE FUCK OFF. They have done this to other people. And even if we complain, I'm sure they will be allowed to continue doing this to other people because covid deniers and downplayers are the norm here, not the outliers.

[mariacallous]

The patriarch of a right-wing Canadian family of 11 had had just about enough of gay people in his country. “We didn't feel safe for our children there in the future anymore,” father Arend Feenstra told Russian media. “There's a lot of left-wing ideology, LGBTQ, trans, just a lot of things that we don't agree with that they teach there now, and we wanted to get away from that for our children.”

Yeah, if there’s one place that’s just not safe for kids, it’s Canada. Russia would be soooo much safer. 

So Arend (and wife Anneesa) sold everything they had to move to sunny Russia and raise eight of their nine kids with “orthodox” values. They also gladly took donations on their social media platform from fellow right-wingers, all so they could live in Vladimir Putin’s wonderland. Russian officials assured them that they would work with them to get them established, and even help them get a farm. They did all of this just three weeks ago; long story short, they lived happily ever after. 

Except they didn’t. 

First, according to the family, the Russian bank where they moved the proceeds from selling their farm and belongings? It immediately froze their assets. The amount of money seemed suspicious, Arend states in a Feb. 9 video. I guess it would, since so many Russians outside of Putin’s circle are dirt poor. As a result, the family didn’t have money to live on—apparently those nice Russian officials offering to help them had disappeared.

Since no one in the family speaks Russian, they’ve also had a bear of a time trying to argue for their money—because Russia doesn’t require any bank, or any business, to hire English translators. In the meantime, they discovered that Russia is a pretty damn miserable place to be right now.

TikTok user Ukrainian.Networking translated a Russian Federation Reported Media story in a snarky post. 

The Russian reporter noted that Anneesa spoke her mind in a since-deleted video on the family’s “Countryside Acres” YouTube channel.

"I'm very disappointed in this country at this point. I'm ready to jump on a plane and get out of here. We've hit the first snag where you have to engage logic in this country and it's very, very frustrating."

Hoooo boy. They just arrived and already she’s insulted Russia. Now, I’m not saying Russia doesn’t have freedom of the press, but it’s really just freedom to praise Putin and the country he controls. Anything that resembles criticism in Russia is NOT taken as kindly as it is in our godless Western dystopias. I’m also not suggesting that Russian officials paid the family a visit to remind them of where they are, but I will point out that Arendquickly posted an apology video to the Countryside Acres channel, saying that his wife misspoke and they’d deleted the video. 

In that video, he reiterated that no, Russia is really, really great (subtext: “Please don’t push me out of a window”) and he spoke of his hope to resolve the issue with the bank. Commenters weren’t so sure, or kind. They pointed out that the bank will likely never release their funds and it is more likely that he will be recognized as a foreign agent.

At this point, I’m not sure the Countryside Acres farming gig is going to work out. Patriarch Arend should have agreed to be used as a tool for Russian state media. I mean, if you are going to be a Russian Asset, might as well go all-in. 

I’m willing to bet that living in a country that grants gay people basic civil rights might not be looking so bad now. I was wondering if the family is desperately trying to split, so I looked up how difficult it is to leave Russia. According to the BBC, you can leave “as long as you have money and have not been called up to the army.” 

Even if only for his kids’ sakes, let’s hope Arend’s only lost his money.

And I’ll end with this charming reprise of a German eurodisco tribute to Moscow, originally released in 1979. (English lyrics here)

“Welcome to Moscow!” At least the song is catchy.

Comment Award goes to Laughing Gravy: “I’ll bet back home they used to whine about immigrants who don’t know the language, who have no money, who expect the government to hand them a house and a job, and who complain when they don’t get everything they want.”

[cloudninetonine]

Take this cringe before I regret it LIFUGFIUPG

Warnings: Bad language and maybe flirting?? If you count that as a warning

Castle Town felt like a wasteland.

The lack of people was disturbing, and the many that did trek the streets looked so rugged. This new Link- The Hero of the Crypt, he had introduced himself and Crypt you had decided to name him- had spoken about the after affects of the curse, the following falling public and the epidemic of fear that had befallen the surviving few had left what was left of his country a mess. He had explained it as you walked, through that desolate, cold snow that blanketed the land as you approached civilization.

“Please, I understand that it differs from your lands but I ask of you not to look upon my people with pity,” The guards lowered the hulking gate that lead into the settlement. “They are strong, they had survived many hardships and they are used to the cold by now- we all are.”

The public looked upon you all with interest, people peeking from homes, children peering from behind their parents and more as they watched you all pass.

“Curious bunch.” Warriors muttered off handedly, watching another couple pause in surprise at your appearance. “Not many visitors, I assume?”

“The winter only brings death.” The words held such an ominous attachment it only made you feel more nervous about this Hyrule. “To see travellers just wander in with not much protective gear from the cursed tundra is something unheard of in itself- especially with a horse.”

“What does a horse have anything to do with this?”

“Unfortunately, many had to be…rationed when the winters first came- they have dwindled in population ever since. You can only find the rare herd nowadays.”

…Twilight stood a little closer to Epona.

The steed merely huffed.

Hyrule Castle, no matter the era, always stood so proudly. It’s intimidating towers, molded with hard work and stone, a beacon within miles in the surrounding Hyrule fields that people so easily hiked. Sure, with each timeline came differs but no matter what it still looked just as magnificent as the last, standing in the forefront against the Hylian skies. Yet now it looked…void. Dulled of it’s significance and scarred with the tragedies that doomed the nation.

Scary.

It looked scary.

You didn’t reach the interior of the castle for about 10 more minutes, the soldiers also gazing at your group with a morbid curiosity that only made you sink further into Wild’s side, his arm around you protective as you continued on. Torches lined the walls, the abundance of colour compared to the shades of monochrome that was a constant right outside was almost a headache: the blood rest of the carpet, the orange glow of the embers, the blue of the guard’s uniforms- exhaustion was quick to hit you from the overload and suddenly the urge to sleep was almost too great.

The heat did not help.

It felt like a furnace once those shouldering doors slammed shut behind you. Happy to welcome it but not happy for the experience as you moved to take off the enchanted scarf that Legend had thrown at your earlier.

“It’s boiling in here!” Wind exclaimed, in a rush to tear off his own extra layers- everyone seemed to be. “I feel like I’m on fire!”

“The magic is just combatting the cold, you will feel better in a few moments.” 

God you hoped so.

“Sir,” A soldier approached Crypt, dawrfing in comparison to the giant man- he really was a giant, wasn’t he? “Queen Zelda and your, uh, brothers are currently within the throne room discussing plans.”

Queen? Not surprising the the least. Many of the Hyrules you had visited, the once title of Princess had now become the title of Queen. Whether their parent had gone through abdication or much more solem means, the throne laid bare and welcoming for the following sovereignty to take. They’d grown into their roles well. Their Hyrules had prospered with their attention and care.

You hadn’t missed the soldiers others words though.

“You have brothers.” Time stated, walking side by side with the dirty blonde. It was odd to hear of a Link with brothers, Koridai and Courage were the only known ones. Most had sisters.

“No.” His said with such a calmness it almost made you shiver. “They are only more men to introduce.”

The throne room held a majority of the heat. Enough to make sweat decorate you brow and pant from the strain, the urge to rip your remaining clothes from your body strong as you entered the main hall. Pillars of carved stone, lining lushious red carpet with accents of gold, held a vaulted ceiling hanging chandeliers of silver. Windows of stained glass brightened the room with an abundance of colour detailing the histories of the Hyrule- you noticed a hero of green on each, a familiar ruby crusted sword in the hand of one, another with hair of pink and blonde and lastly another blonde with a familiar looking instrument.

“Looks like he’s your successor, Rulie.” Your whisper was soft and Hyrule perked up at the words, glancing over to Crypt who approached the occupied throne. “Funny how you dwarf him in comparison.”

His blank look made you giggle- a first since stumbling into their Hyrule of frost.

The one in the throne sat tall, eyes like hardened emeralds that stared at you all with a stare colder than the snow. Her long brown hair braided brushed over her shoulder and falling to her feet, beautiful olive skin marred by the three jagged claw marks on the left side of her face. Dressed in robes of red, her dress a deep maroon with more accents of gold with red crusted jewels sewn into the fabric, she brough an air of authority around her, one that demanded respect. The crown on her head only added to it.

“Your majesty,” Crypt’s body moved to kneel, his hand grabbed hers and he pressed it against his forehead in respect. 

Crypt’s Zelda smiled slightly, turning to look at you all who wordlessly moved to follow his act of respect. After a moment you followed, roughly knocking Mecha’s side who huffed and dropped down with a mutter of “Kiss arse.” that you punch him for.

“Please, rise, you are amongst friends.” Her voice was smooth and strong, “I know you all bare the mark of the hero- I can feel it in your presence.”

A small squawk came from above and your eyes raised, catching the sight of the bird on it’s perch right above. It was giant, the size of a average dog with feathers of red, orange and yellows and eyes of gold, staring down on you all with a curious look as it tilted it’s head.

A furnix? No, it’s tail was too short- but it certainly resembled one. Maybe an actual Phoenix?

“You needn’t worry.” You looked back down, tensing when you noticed her eyes on you. “This bird is safe, she is the one who heats the castle.”

“It resembles a monster from my time.” Sky spoke, looking at the bird with a similar worry. “You were able to tame the beast?”

“It was said in the texts that she was born from the flames of our people’s perseverance to keep us safe with this almost eternal cold, more than five centuries ago.” The bird leaned down, Zelda’s hand coming to stroke her feathers. “I wouldn’t say she was tamed, a beast as great as her has no need to be tamed.” 

“What’s her name?” You found yourself asking and the Queen smiled. 

“Vesta.”

Vesta shook her tail feathers happily.

Crypt glanced around, “I was told the others were here.”

“Yes, they just went for a perimeter check-”

The side door to the throne was thrown open, all eyes turning with surprised hands falling to swords hilts as three people walked in.

Each blondes, hair all varying in length. 

The first was tall with short curls, fair skin with a few scars on his face- the most eyecatching being the one over his lips to his chin, a clean swipe and another running from his cheek to his nose, jagged and rough. Eyes of sky blue sparkling with kindness along with a great toothy grin as he laughed.

The following had was a similar height with the longest hair, pulled in a messy ponytail to free his face- covered in an intimidating mask of metal. Quite plain with the excepts of blotches of gold, brown straps securing it to his head. You were able to spot mossy green eyes through the mask’s eyeholes.

And finally came the last, the smallest of the other two. A wavy bob with the lightest hair of them all, darker skin with a scarred left cheek. Greyish blue eyes that glared at everything around him with a scowl to rival that of the Veteran’s.

“You’re insufferable.” The last spat, the first bursting into laughter.

“Oh, alchemist, you’re such a charmer.” ‘Alchemist’ threw his hands in defeat, an angered huff flying from his lips when the trio paused, “Oh, brother of ours, you’ve returned!”

The first blonde marched over, his hand coming to clap Crypt on the back with the same toothy grin he seemed to support. “And with a gaggle of guest! I would have fetched my finest suit with a fair warning.”

The shortest huffed once again, “You bubbling oaf- must you make a spectacle of yourself always?”

The masked man stayed silent.

“Alchemist, you won’t make friends by being such a brood.” He approached the nearest of your group, Time watching the exchange in interest when the blonde lent out his gloved hand. “My good sir, another brother in spirit I presume?”

Time’s hand carefully to grasp the others, relaxing just the slightest. “You catch on quite fast.”

“My own little magic!” He winked.

What a jolly man, smiling to freely and so easy to dismiss the other’s rude jabs. He was bright, almost blinding in your eyes and you felt the urge to cover your eyes to protect them from his shine.

“Your title? They call me The Hero of the Truce.”

“The Hero of Time.”

“Ah, what a wondrous title- you must be a great hero indeed!”

Truce went through all the heroes with introductions, that beaming smile still stuck to his face with words of honey falling from his lips. Uplifting each man, making friendly conversation while the other three men stood awkwardly in the background, Zelda’s amused smile in your eyeline.

“And who is this?” You stood taller, the blue eyes of the newest Link catching your own. “You don’t seem to share a spirit with us-”

“Back off.” Mecha’s hand caught his shoulder, Truce catching his eyes. “You don’t need to concern yourself-”

“Ah look at you! More of a giant than our resident knight!” Truce took Mecha’s hand instead, giving it a vigorously shake that even made the animatronic’s arm wobble. “With an armour more impressive than most! How fascinating!”

“I- it’s not-”

“Come now, lad, how is it not?” Eyes sparkled in fascination, Mecha seemingly shrinking in surprise. “I can feel it in your spirit, you’re an amazing hero and an even better man.”

Releasing his hand to approach you, Mecha stood still. Eyes blank, form frozen as he let the weight of those words fall heavy on his soul.

“Once again- who might you be?”

Who flushed at the attention, his smile and eyes kind as he held out his hand with invitation for you to do the same. You did, slowly with a quick few words “I’m (Name).” falling from your lips when he brought your hand to his lips, gently laying a kiss on the back of your palm.

“A pleasure.” He winked, more flirtatious compared to the other introductions. “Truly.”

You bumbled as he laughed.

A gag echoed through the group and Truce rolled his eyes. “Come now, alchemist, you’re almost like a child.”

“Keep you disgusting lips to yourself, who knows what arses you’ve been kissing.” 

Truce chuckled at that, looking over to the’ alchemist’ who had his arms crossed like an angsty teen. “Hero of Memory, you seem to forget you kiss many arses back in your own era- you did become the royal alchemist somehow, did you not?”

Memory- no, that seemed to lengthy- Mory’s mouth dropped before his hands flew out in a strangling emotion. “I hope you choke on your sickening words, you degenerate heathen!”

“Ah, don’t mind him, dear (Name).” He patted your shoulder gently, “The alchemist lacks outside perspective- being a shut in and all.”

“I’m gonna-”

“Enough.” Mory’s face tightened in anger but his mouth clamped shut at the masked man’s words, the other blonde sighing in defeat. “Must you babble like children?”

There was humour mixed with his exasperation.

“I mean to entertain- the alchemist means to insult, jeweler.”

“And yet, you both sound like infants fighting.”

Truce shrugged his shoulders.

‘Jeweler’ huffed and shook his head before slightly nodding his head in greeting. “I apologise for my silence- I am The Hero of Gilt, I have been given the nickname jeweler.”

Crypt, Truce, Mory and Gilt- so many new Links in one day, your head almost spun from the lot of it.

“I’m sorry to interrupt this lovely introduction sequence.” Legend sassed, near copying Mory’s attitude instead resting his hands on his hips. “But would I be correct to assume that the Shadow is the one that brought you here?”

“If that is what made those portals of darkness then your assumption would stand correct- Peony.” You could almost hear Legend’s eye twitching as a veined pulsed in his forehead at Mory’s snide jest. “What a lovely colour you have to your hair, like a flower in spring.”

The tension spiked.

“Cat fight…” You muttered, Truce snickering by your side.

First’s hand rested on the Veteran’s shoulder and the man relaxed, deflating with his unyielding glare towards the blonde as the older hero spoke. “If it was the Shadow that brought you here, then it is fate that we meet.”

“Agreed,” Spoke Gilt, stepping forward, “And as the heroes, we are to stop it.”

“So there’s no argument then?”

“Not from me!” Truce called, now leaned on your shoulder gently before sending you a wink. “If you’d be happy to have me?”

“I’m not arguing.”

Koridai and Courage grumbled from their spots.

“...if there’s no other option.” Mory puffed, “Larger numbers to fight these monsters seems best.”

Crypt paused, sending a look to his Zelda who nodded in understanding. “We’ll be okay, Link, the bugge are not what they once were- this could affect us more if not dealt with.”

He nodded his head again. “Thank you, old friend.”

“Then we are all in agreement.”

Zelda stood, “You are all welcome to stay in the castle until then- any rations you may need are yours.”

And with that it was settled, your once small group growing bigger once more.

[hunxi-after-hours]

ok so. i am very slowly reading through 七爷, and i don't understand what jing beiyuan is the prince of. like, i understand he's in charge of a territory in the south, but does he have additional responsibilities? is he very low but still on the list of people eligible to inherit? he clearly feels a great sense of civic responsibility, but i'm afraid i'm missing something.

hmmmmmmmm this is kind of complicated because there's some weirdness around translation of imperial dynastic titles, which then gets even more confusing when you slap the general ahistorical ambiguity of genre onto things

so I think the confusion occurs because of the conflation of "prince" as a title of rank, "prince" as "son of a monarch," and "prince" as "ruler of a territory." Jing Beiyuan's exact title is 南宁王 Nanning wang, which is usually translated as "the prince of Nanning," though I can't remember if 南宁 Nanning is simply his title as prince or an actual location (if it is a location, it seems not to be particularly plot relevant since I have uhhh no memory of it)

the thing about 王 wang as a title is that it got royally upstaged (ayyy) by Mr. 嬴政 Ying Zheng (aka 秦始皇 Qin Shi Huang / the Qin First Emperor) back in the 3rd century BCE. The reason why we call him "the Qin First Emperor" is because the man literally invented his own title, 皇帝 huangdi, which we now translate as emperor. Prior to that, monarchs were called 王 wang / kings, and during the Warring States period, you had location-specific kings: 楚王 Chu wang / "the king of [the state of] Chu," 吴王 Wu wang / "the king of [the state of] Wu," 齐王 Qi wang / "the king of [the state of] Qi," etc etc. And prior to that, you had the Zhou Dynasty, whose rulers all carried the title of 王 wang: 周文王 Zhou Wen Wang / “King Wen of Zhou” or “the Civil King of Zhou” and 周武王 Zhou Wu Wang / “King Wu of Zhou” or “the Martial King of Zhou” depending on how you translate them, etc. Qinshihuang, in order to declare his dominance in conquering the Central Plains, decided to one-up all of these petty kings by making up a new title for himself that was automatically higher than the rest of the 王 wang, rather than competing for an existing title

the ripple effect from Qinshihuang raising the ceiling on titles/positions in governance meant that everyone could effectively move up one tier. if, in the past, the ruler was called 王 wang and his son 王子 wangzi (literally "son of the king" but often translated as "prince"), then the creation of the new 皇帝 huangdi / "emperor" title meant that the emperor's sons were referred to as either 皇子 huangzi / "son of the emperor" or 王 wang (the distinction between the two is usually one of age). basically, 王 wang goes from meaning "king" to "position just below the emperor in rank." that being said, it looks like the general decision has been to translate 王 wang as “prince” in the imperial context rather than “king,” possibly because in English, we’re used to thinking of princes as inheritors in the same way imperial 王 wang are eligible for inheriting the dragon throne

notably, rulers of other states/countries/civilizations were all referred to as 王 wang, since imperial Chinese cosmology dictated that the emperor ruled all under heaven (ah, imperial hegemony...). there are also tiers of 王 wang, as in 亲王 qin wang and 郡王 jun wang, but let's not get into that now

so! back to Jing Beiyuan. this gets fun because he’s what’s called an 异姓王 yixing wang, lit. “a king/prince of a different surname.” that means that his family is not patrilineally connected to the imperial family (thus, having a different surname), but the title of 王 wang was at some point conferred upon his family. this usually occurs when, say, an emperor decides to reward a general with the title of 王 wang because he’s so pleased with his general’s accomplishments. during the conferral, the emperor will usually specify if this is a title that can be inherited forever or downgraded from generation to generation (i.e. from 王 wang to 侯 hou, and downwards until eventually the family returns to normal non-aristocratic status).

these 异姓王 yixing wang have a lot of power and influence, comparable to a son-of-emperor 王 wang, but not quite the same because they are not of the imperial family and therefore not in line for the throne. imperial princesses sometimes marry into these 异姓王 yixing wang families, but that can be a recipe for disaster because it begins to make that bloodline — well, not exactly eligible for the throne, but certainly more eligible than they were previously, and if there is one trait you can trust a dynastic emperor to have, it’s the paranoia about potential coups by powerful relatives (but is it paranoia if it really is true? anyway)

all that is to say — I don’t think Jing Beiyuan is the prince of anything in particular, though as a landed aristocrat I’m sure there are fiefdoms in his name. I can’t remember off the top of my head how his family earned the title of Nanning (or if it’s ever explained in the novel), but if I had to guess, I’d say that some ancestor of his was an accomplished general who had the title of 南宁 Nanning (which has the valence of “to bring peace to the south”) conferred upon him, which has subsequently been passed down through the family until it landed on his unfortunate head

[gattnk]

Alright, so it has come to my attention that some accounts like this one over at VK-

are reposting my art without permission.

So I feel like addressing the issue more publicly will help.

I'm both an adult and a professional artist. I grew up with internet and fandom culture and I know reposts are inevitable. Being an artist with an online presence is difficult in that sense: we need to showcase ourselves for work purposes, but this also exposes us to people "sharing" our work in ways that are detrimental to us.

I am a small freelance artist who doesn't get enough commissions to make a living, and I'm otherwise currently unemployed. I'm trying to re-enter the market after moving countries and I'm currently living off my savings while I adapt. Please understand that any person who looks at my art is a potential client, and if they can't find me or contact me easily enough, that's a potential client lost.

So by all means, share my work. Share it around, share my joy and effort, but do it the right way please.

If your compulsion to repost my art is THAT strong, at least link back to me properly: include my social media or portfolio, or state exactly where you found me. If you want to be even more civil about it, tag me, @ me, reblog me, DM me, make some form of contact so I know who you are and how far my art has travelled around. I've met some lovely folk that way over the years :D

If you won't do this basic act of courtesy, I will rightfully assume you're doing it for clout, and you lack both self-respect and respect for me... Which is no skin off my nose, but it is slightly disappointing: I'd like to think my work attracts people with better manners than that.

PS: tangentially related, reblog me more often if you can please? I clearly see my activity spike up when you do, and that might help my current commission sitch. Also have some shameless self-promotion! here's my commission info and the tag I use for my AF redesigns .3.

[thecapturedafrique]

TRR MC: Ally Romiere

Hello tri-state area Tumblr! In preparing to finally create a masterlist, I decide to first release the character page I made for my The Royal Romance character, Ally Romiere. A while back, I also did the Choices MC ask game for Ally and another MC which you can read here!

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Full Name: Alejandra Carmen Romero de Torres

Legal Name: Ally Romiere

In Greek: Αλεξάνδρα Κάρμεν Ρωμαίος από Πύργους (Alexándra Kármen Romaíos apó Pýrgous)

Nicknames: Ale (María), Cinderella (Olivia), ma moitié (Maxwell)

Noble Title: HM The Queen Consort Ally of Houses Romiere and Beaumont, Duchess of Valtoria, Champion of the Realm and Saviour of Cordonia, DCOS, RC

Charge and Colors: phoenix; gules and or (w/ blue celeste)

Epithet: the Undefeated

Age: 25

Date of Birth: August 18th, 1993

Place of Birth: Queens, NYC

Zodiac: Leo ♌️

Gender: Cis woman

Sexual Orientation: Bisexual

Pronouns: She/her

Enneagram: 2.3 (w1; Companion)

Encouraging and appreciative, able to see the good in others. Service is important, but takes care of self too: they are nurturing, generous, and giving—a truly loving person.

Height: 5'8"

Race/Ethnicity: Latina (Nahua) and Afro-Caribbean

Nationality: American (renounced) and Cordonian

Face Claim: Lindsey Morgan

Education: GED

Languages: Spanish, English, Greek (novice)

Favorite Color: red

Piercings: single lobe; often wears ear cuff on upper right

Tattoos: five-point crown behind left ear; familia quote with dragonflies on left side of rib cage

Partner: Liam Reese (husband)

Best Friend(s): Hana Lee and Maxwell

Family: María del Pilar† (abuelita), Leo Reese (brother-in-law), Regina and Constantine Reese (in-laws), Bartie Beaumont and Luca Karvelas (nephews), Bertrand Beaumont and Maxwell Beaumont (House members)

Character Notes

There is a reason why Ally legally changed her name, which will hopefully one day be explained within Silver Spoons

Maxwell’s nickname for Ally is French for “my [better] half” and is used platonically in the same sense as the English phrase “my partner in crime.” He starts using this for Ally during the investigation in TRR2 and it sticks

As the Champion of the Realm, Ally is a member of the Order of the Seven, which confers upon her the title of Dame Commander (DCOS); the other post-nominal letters (RC) refer to her position on the Royal Council

Ally’s enneagram is type Two, also known as “The Helper”: the caring, interpersonal type described as demonstrative, generous, people-pleasing, and possessive. She is a One-wing, who are generally more ambitious and outspoken than other type Twos, and her level 3 is the level of social value

Her parents were both Mexican immigrants with primarily Native ancestry aside for her father, whose mother María was an Afro-Dominican who moved to Mexico following the civil war in 1965

As part of becoming queen of another country, Ally had to renounce her American citizenship

The dragonflies on her tattoo represent the three family members she’s lost (both her parents and her grandmother María), and the quote translates to, “Where life begins and love never ends.”

[practically-an-x-man]

Your OCs have to go into witness protection, where do they go, what are their new names and jobs? (And yes, I see Kestrel and Nikoletta, who are giving me "Really? You must be joking" looks...)

Oooh thank you! This is a really neat question!

Rae: Since she's already fluent in a lot of different languages, it's pretty easy for her to settle into a different life. She ends up in France, teaching English-language immersion for a public school under the name Raquel Moreau.

Robin: This one's tough... she's a performer, so a lot of people have seen her face and name before. She has to move across the country, and ends up working a low-profile job stocking shelves for a grocery chain under the name Melody Laurence. She doesn't get out much, since she's worried she'll be recognized. Peter isn't technically supposed to visit her, but they can't exactly stop him when he can zip across the country at a moment's notice

Madison: Um... how? She has a lot of extremely visible, identifiable physical mutations. The good news is, she'd be hard to identify without them, all she really needs to do is use Hank's serum every day and that's enough of a disguise. She ends up in Miami, working as a lifeguard on South Beach under the name Victoria Smythe.

Ophelia: She has to give up her hero work as Argonaut, which hurts her, but the rest is pretty easy to acclimate to. She's fluent in Italian already, so they move her out of the States entirely and settle her in Sicily, where she works as a civil architect with the name Luisa Abbiati

Jasper: Still works as a nurse, but is moved to a small town outside Denver, Colorado. They grow out their hair a little and stop dying it, and put together a wardrobe that's a little less flashy. Their new name is Rowan Evans

Katherine: Ends up moving back to the South, though is placed in Alabama rather than Tennessee (she is Not pleased about that). She works as a line cook during the day and spends her weekends organizing files for the local library archives, under the name Lashana Wells.

Kestrel: Well, you're right... they're not pleased about this at all, it took a lot of effort to build the life they have and they're honestly a little pissed at having to rewrite it all. The actual switch isn't too hard, since they can just shapeshift into another form and start using a different name and nobody would be able to tell the difference, but they're pretty miserable to have to give up their life as Kestrel.

Quinn: I mean... once she de-punks herself, she's actually pretty invisible. She lets her hair grow out and switches up her wardrobe, and bounces between menial jobs under the name Ramona "Mona" Ellis

Eris: Oh, they're terrible about this. They've been alive for centuries, but never once thought to switch up their identity. They're just... Eris. They're given an identity as a kickboxing instructor named Bellona Hardy, but that only lasts about a month before they get sick of it and just go back to their usual life (and spook the hell out of Rick when they suddenly pop back up in his apartment like nothing happened). They're sure they can take whoever's trying to hunt them down, anyway.

Nikoletta: Yeah, she's not thrill about this either. She's like "I literally just got out of prison, I'm happy for the first time in my entire life, and you expect me to leave?". She's moved to Salem, Oregon and given a job running historical tours for vacationers... which actually turns into a scam fairly similar to the one she ran in New Orleans. She knows she's not supposed to communicate with anyone from her normal life, but... there are rats in Salem, and she can't control what all they hear...

(I know you're not familiar with the Suicide Squad but another member of the team can control rats, so that's how Nikoletta subtly stays in touch with them)

[vasiliquemort]

..Oh.

Oh, okay.

So.. The month started so beautifully? I was completely lost in blooms and tones of days of work and projects and meetings with new, so beautiful people, and I was so highly stimulated and happy for the most obvious and comforting reasons of all? o/////o There was a time and efforts and words to be spent to gather everything together and do safely and with love and respect, but we managed to do so, as much as I know! o/////o I deeply hope so, at least?

Everything was beautiful and nice, becide, um, the military situation of my country (and area specifically - me and my family live close to the east, which is, as turned out, is not as important because basically every state and city are current target to terror, who even cares about tactical reasoning anyway озо The map of air alerts is really just, um, map? Of all regions?), and while we live in too secluded and isolated area, on the western side of suburbs - so, you feel, eastern part of Kharkiv oblast is ruined but most strikes don't come to us in that amounts, yet past few days was.. Intense. Not in a meaning of unhinged terror that was at the start of escalation, but just in the meaning that there was several massive strikes for most populated areas each day, and at this moment, from strikes that happened today for the places of most important parts of civil infrastructure, the power is cut off completely. Month ago (today is October 11th, and it happened September 11th if I remember correctly) there was relative situation, which was resolved in one day - this the damage was too drastic and there is can be all the light hours without electricity for most areas.

But we are okay! At this moment, at least - we have two batteries (this should be enough for several days), there is safe amount of supplies and water (and our projects helped my family a lot to provide safe financial state so I can feel adequate about current situation o////o Thank you so much!), the weather is not cold but in case if it will be unsafe to stay in current apartment (we cook and warm ourself by electricity) we can move to cottage in more secluded area. Beside those the main thing that I worry about deeply is the way how I may be unable to work as much as I used to - if time without power will be extended I should save ours to have safe access to communications all the time, and I feel deeply lost about it o/////o I'll continue all projects along the current lines, shall be it day or night - don't matter at that point, I worry a lot about the way how it can be shown from my side - and can rely only on your patience towards current situation o/////o Everything is allright, please don't worry!<зз

On the brightest side - I may spend this time improving our life and wellbeing (both mental and physical). Sleep in forest, pray to serpent, throw a party, shower under rain (..the water is sparce.) or just do some nice barbeque outdoor (..because no electricity for oven). On the less nice side… Well, there is a lot, for obvious reasons.

Cannot describe my current feelings about this way of situations (I don't even think that "situation" is appropriate word for this in any way) so I put them aside, as there is not much patience and gentle nature of expressions left o////o Therefore I just hope to express my gratefulness and love towards your support and help and patience!<зз

[skylarmoon71]

Timeless Wells (Flash) Soldier- Chapter 2

~Present~

“Ms. Yale, your resume is remarkable.”

Applying for this job felt like what you needed. You had your own reasons.

The woman before you conducting the interview folds her hands when she places the folder down.

“I hope you realize that we don’t hire by a shiny resume and some war badges.” Her gaze is judging, but you give very little reaction.

“I didn’t realize I stepped into an interrogation. Maybe I should have worn better pants.” You state. She gives a humorless laugh.

“I was told you had quite the sense of humor. However, this isn’t some uprising politician running for mayor or a civil rights activist. Dr. Harrison Wells is the most successful scientist this world has ever seen. He is ranked third in the country. His inventions have helped millions of people across the continent and his reputation is impeccable. He is a prodigy of his time. Do you understand?”

“He’s rich and he builds high level technology. Noted.” Her jaw is clenched, and you fight back a smile. She’d been trying so hard to intimidate you, but it was backfiring. You probably shouldn’t be annoying the woman trying to hire you. But her attempts were a bit tactless. She was trying to challenge you.

Unknowest to her, you were always down for a good challenge.

“I’m not going to sit here and try to convince you why you should give me this job. From your posture I’m guessing that the last dozen people you’ve interviewed have done just that. I know how this system works. I’ve been in that seat. “ Her expression changes to one of surprise.

“It’s clear from your expression that you haven’t been very thorough in your research of me. I’m a business woman myself and I run a very successful security agency. It’s very rare that I take on cases myself. I’m very particular about the people that I represent personally. Truthfully this was a request from a friend, one I agreed to for their peace of mind.”

Reaching into your bag, you dropped a thicker file onto her desk.

“Please look over my entire file and let me know if you really think Dr. Well’s life would be better in anyone else’s hands but my own. If not, I might just go back to the white house and continue the boring grit work they provide. The hours are really tedious, but the checks speak for themselves.” You stand, moving to the door as She flips the folder open. The letter of recommendation stamped with the official seal makes her stammer.

“W-Wait!!!”

You pause.

“H-How soon can you start?”

Buttoning your jacket suit, you turn around.

“As soon as possible.”

She clears her throat, standing as she approaches you with her hand outstretched.

“Welcome to the team Ms. Yale. I look forward to working with you.”

You shake her hand with a smile.

“Likewise Allison Weeks.”

She’s a bit taken aback that you know her name.

“I’m very thorough.” You explain.

At this point, she realized that it wasn’t the best to challenge you.

[shawnjacksonsbs]

"Far be it from me, and forgive me for asking, and I don't mean to pry, but would you consider yourself a happy person?" 4-13-24

"How many of us, I wonder, can recall a childhood moment when we experienced happiness as a state of being? That single moment of untarnished joy. That moment when everything in our world, inside and out, was all right. Everything was all right. But, now, we've become a colony of adults and everything is all wrong, all the time. It's as if we're on a quest to get it back and yet the more we focus on our own personal happiness, the more it eludes us. In fact, it's only when we are otherwise engaged, you know, focused, absorbed, inspired, communicating, discovering, learning, dancing, for heaven's sake, that we experience happiness as a by-product, a side-effect. Oh no. We should concern ourselves not so much with the pursuit of happiness, but, with the happiness of pursuit." - Professor Coreman from Hector and the Search for Happiness

I watched.

I watched Hector expecting, eh. . .

but he ended up finding his silver (-ish).

I learned, what most probably already know, most of us don't have the money or the means to go all- eat, pray, love in the search for happiness.

We have to try and find it here, in our . . .stuckness, which is inherently part of the problem in itself.

A little traveling and moving can work wonders on those of us who needed a journey of discovery to find our truth.

I am one of the fortunate ones in that respect. I think I'm somewhere between the poor inner urban kid/poor white trash kid from the country - and that eat, pray, love shit. Lol no lol

~some notes, not edited:

Writing all the time letting you all know how I found it.

May not even work for some of you.

Do you even know what makes you happy?

And are you a happy person?

~more, unedited:

Happiness, just like the rest of my emotional states are . . .varying and in bouts, with peace and joy at the pulpit.

~even more:

Happiness as a state of being probably hasn't existed inside of me since before the fear of knowing "life's not forever" really took hold of me.

Early childhood, probably. It's been bouts ever since.

What is happiness?

Are you happy?

Ask me as a question looking back on a limited amount of my time, and my answer will be yes . . .now.

That wasn't always so.

In the now, it may or may not be, but inevitably, it's always on a rising curve, for grading purposes. At least it has been for about the last 10 years or so. Lol no lol

Ever changing, ever learning, ever growing, and of course, ever grateful.

Almost, always, like as almost to always as you can get without being actual always, I am at peace.

It feels so . . .always most of the time.

Its close enough to constant for me to say, always.

~end of notes.

Hector and the Search for Happiness did play me. I shouldn't have prejudged. I hoped it would be good and it surpassed that. I really liked it.

Instead of one final quote at the end, I'm going to share Hector's list from his journey. If you get a chance go watch the movie. Let me know whatcha think.

Remember to share your love and your laughter with all the rest of us.

And please be kind as always as possible. Civility is only the back up plan. Lol

Until next time;

"1. Making comparisons can spoil your happiness.

2. A lot of people think happiness means being richer or more important.

3. Many people only see happiness in their future.

4. Happiness could be the freedom to love more than one woman at the same time.

5. Sometimes happiness is not knowing the whole story.

6. Avoiding unhappiness is not the road to happiness.

7. Does this person bring you predominantly a. up b. down?

8. Happiness is answering your calling.

9. Happiness is being loved for who you are.

10. Sweet Potato Stew!

11. Fear is an impediment to happiness.

12. Happiness is feeling completely alive.

13. Happiness is knowing how to celebrate.

14. Listening is loving.

15. Nostalgia is not what it used to be." - Hector

[freeworldallahexecutivembaclass]

Great , I take it as it is my time to step aside and let the Muslims keep the people their community Nuri Muhammad coaches me he is my coach even Kobe Bryant had a coach , Joe Montana and the no name 49ers I took a city that couldn't win and won Championships for New York City thank you for that shout out to Joe Montana thank you I love my video Joe Montana highlights because until that comeback I'm just a rumor and I got my second stage I'm a rapper with explicit lyrics music 🎶 🎵 rap music I'm going to let the brothers and sisters go back to the elders of this community and the brothers in the suits is back the Muslims is back around brother and sisters and I will take my so called people my blood and 😭 family white people with me the other way and let them brothers have their community it has been a pleasure of mines to help my community and any other communities may have helped the Muslims the brothers in the suits are good for the common people proletariat Blacks and Hispanics they have all kinds of ethnicity groups jn their audience so it is its own way and has it place and time for that and I know that now may but being there to help that means they could and I'm free to go live my life now after my service I retire from helping and is going to help myself and get my life together and I will be keeping my coffee ☕ good luck to me with that , I finished my assignment from him Jay Z to help Brooklyn I did that scroll 📜 this page right here and it is setup for each city , town , state and country to get it together .

You can get those books by typing in the Authors name from Joyce Meyer she has hundreds of books and Joel Osteen and Victoria have a lot of books that you can get and tell them I sent you since I was called by them to help their ministry which in turns help me I get to help civilize and teach the people of New York to cure their ills those are my spiritual guides ministers and pastors that I share with you it is a much better lifestyle for me personally and I moved on I had fun helping but my job is done and I fired everybody from my life and my next projects going forward I don't need that attention haters tuning into hate no thank you Im just going to ignore you over this way , what I'm doing is moving into my own space and my own life now and turning myself into a private individual I'm an incubator and yes I support it and sponsor it now it teaches me to be careful of vultures in the streets and and their programs they look for people or clowns to victimize in these neighborhoods the people from these neighborhoods them their courtrooms buddies parole , probation and regular security guards could get off of me with their games no thank you and I found myself not to be with them on anything they playing the violent games and harassing me in these neighborhoods and plus I'm the one helping and feeding this community now my days of helping are over here I did a great job I'm very proud of myself I know my mother is and my peoples from Crown Heights my uncle and some of our friends all that learning paid off and now I go off into something else by myself now and no thank you to critics and haters attaching themselves no disrespect to them or anyone in particular , I'm great thank you and God first for me and good luck to everybody, I'm gone from the helping good thank you . I will be keeping my deal 🤝 Jay Z gave it to me and it is mines I saw Godfather 2 recently I did say yes I did and hey you wasn't going to tell me Hebrews 7 : 21 is mines Diamond is my mood forever 💎💍now read the scripture where it say the Lord Jehovah promises that he will not change his mind forever that his answer Jay Z answer is yes to me he left it for me knowing they their other kids hate on me all the time it's mines thank you I will get it to it soon once I get out of this bummed out status until then enjoy your life and please no attention or publicity for me I gotta work my way out of here with Jay Z book gifted to me Richard Templar rules of work , thank you . But however it goes I do got my own New York City I got my own everything my city is a reflection of me a Young King 👑 Presidential and all that so yeah it is still full training for me and hopefully have fun with the people and stay out of jail and not letting critics and haters work with police and the media against me and get them off of me , I'm good anyway my cards my hand is good my card hand is hot and I'm good I ignore ignorance and the hatred coming my way I'm self Made A Made Man thanks Nuri Muhammad for the 3 books now from him to me thank you but to other people I got my own and is Ryan Gosling in LA LA Land I get to do music 🎵 🎶 for the fun of it now and no thank you to the disrespect and heckling get a life and get off of me and stop following me and harassing me everywhere I go and move on from me , thank you and thank you to my blood and family white people you made it up to me by giving me my second stage theater in New York City thank you you don't hate yourself no more I forgive you and thanks , I'm self made and got my own and my city is reflection of me and I run it and feed it now the job market more money bikes weed the gym fox square cleaned and renewed and more laws passing everyday helping New Yorkers and people all over the world 🌍.

[jcmarchi]

Papers, Please: 10 Years Later

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/papers-please-10-years-later/

Papers, Please: 10 Years Later

Before we read and wrote, we moved. Stories of people moving – migrating – have been told since time immemorial. The Mexica journey to central Mexico; Moses leading the Jewish people across the desert; the founding of Rome – as told by Virgil – by those that fled the fall of Troy. Unsurprisingly, then, video games also tell stories of migration. On August 8, 2013, game designer Lucas Pope, the man behind the studio 3909, released Papers, Please, a game about managing migration.

Papers, Please, subtitled “A Dystopian Document Thriller,” was for some the first time they played a game whose core design ethos challenged their worldviews and understanding. Other games have placed the topic of migration front and center. Path Out (Causa Creations, 2014), an adventure game that retells the journey of Abdullah Karam, a young Syrian artist who escapes the country’s decade-long civil war in 2014; and Escape from Woomera (2003), a game about a refugee, Mustafa, stuck in the infamous Woomera Immigration Reception and Processing Centre in South Australia, are two stand-outs. Papers, Please tackles the subject from a different perspective. You play an inspector examining documents, determining whether a person can enter the fictional country of Arstotzka.

A decade after its release, the bureaucratic nightmare in Papers, Please is an increasing reality for many around the world. We see this on the news: anguished faces looking for prospects either fleeing war, environmental catastrophe, or lack of economic and social opportunities. According to the Migration Policy Institute, at the end of 2022, over 100 million people were displaced globally. Along with revisiting Papers, Please, I interviewed Pope for his perspective on the game 10 years on. I also talked to former United States diplomat Josef Burton, who worked in several consulates and embassies around the world processing visa applications, for his thoughts on the game.

Papers, Please is an odd commercial success. According to Pope, the indie game sold over five million copies across all platforms between August 8, 2013 and August 8, 2023. It also received numerous awards and acclaim from players and critics alike. It’s one of only 36 video games in the Museum of Modern Art’s permanent collection, alongside Tetris, Street Fighter II, and Portal. Pope feels he owes his career to the game. “It’s hard to look back and be anything but proud of it,” he says. “It’s not perfect, and maintaining it for 10 years gave me a good look at that, but I still consider it my best work so far.” High praise considering Pope also released the critically acclaimed Return of the Obra Dinn in 2018.

The game’s visuals and themes are heavily influenced by the last decade of the Cold War. Its story shares much in common with the books of John le Carré, where spies – really just bureaucrats – are placed in impossible situations within geo-political struggles with grand implications. Most don’t survive. If they do, the price paid for completing their work is often too high. The same is true of The Inspector in Papers, Please. The game turns the player into a villain or anti-hero.

At the beginning of the game, progress depends on how well you follow a handbook of rules and regulations created by Arstotzka’s Ministry of Admission. As you play, the work of Custom and Border Protection officials stops being an abstraction. Players must protect the border and not allow those unauthorized by the Arstotzka’s Ministry of Admission to enter; thus, you make cold and crucial determinations about people’s futures. This sort of determination is made every day across borders all over the real world.

Migration stories are enthralling. Migrants, refugees, and asylees are – in the sincerest sense of the word – the first entrepreneurs. Papers, Please is an important game because it contextualizes the broader issues relating to migration enforcement in a visceral and tangible way. The point is not to moralize but to tell a story via interactive means. Players who can stomach playing as the inspector get a view of Pope’s vision of a dystopian altered reality inspired by former Communist Bloc nations.

Burton has mixed feelings about the game and its portrayal of immigration control. “The fantasy of Papers, Please is brutal because you’re this inhuman bureaucrat,” he says. “There’s this plotting, droning music […] and there is this dystopic kind of feeling like in the first level of Half-Life 2. You’re like, ‘No, absolutely not! Let’s examine your papers. You don’t have enough papers.’ I think that we’ve departed from that. What I would take away from my time at the State Department, in the Foreign Service, and in Consular Affairs is that it’s much more insidious than you would think. In seven and a half years, I only caught one person based on just documents. And that case was a really sloppy attempt at identity theft.”

Pope does not claim that Papers, Please represents the complexities of international immigration policy “in anything other than a vastly simplified way.” Ultimately, he chose to highlight “some of the bigger talking points, and there are hints of real-world associations, but to keep things flexible, I figured it was best to not follow reality too closely.”

Looking back, Pope adds, “When I made the game in 2013, immigration as a topic was in the news but felt to me like an issue that had made some recent progress and was on track to get better. Unfortunately, that was all an illusion – the situation for immigrants and refugees has only gotten worse since then. In a perfect world, the game would’ve fallen out of relevance immediately, and we wouldn’t be talking about it anymore.”

Papers, Please is a Cold War tale. When I first played the game, the opening lyrics of Yellow Magic Orchestra’s song “Ballet” played in my head. “Turning faded pages…She was a refugee from across the wall. Acting out a story written in Air.” You turn a lot of paper in the game. You also can’t help but make up stories about each person who appears at your window to present their passports and other documents.

For Pope, the entire premise was “…mostly inspired by the mechanical side of the game’s design. Just moving the papers around was fun for me personally, and so I did my best to build on that. What kinds of things would a resource-limited border inspector see? How would they be expected to react? How can these activities be turned into interesting things for the player to do? The concept and setting were enough to keep the ideas coming until I felt like I had a whole game.”

The earnestness of Papers, Please, overwhelms players. Waiting in line to be interviewed by an immigration official brings with it a feeling of uncertainty, maybe even insecurity. Readers of the German sociologist Max Weber might be familiar with how bureaucracy is dehumanizing by design. It must be impersonal to function at a large scale. Welcome to the machine. Pope doesn’t take this aspect of the system for granted.

Papers, Please forces players to make unethical decisions. I asked Pope what the gameplay loop at the heart of the game says about migration and border control. He responded, “Something I tried to capture in the game is the dehumanizing aspect of bureaucracy. I think border control is a good example of how rules made in one place in response to a political issue really look when they reach the actual people that enforce them and the people that are affected by them. Those bureaucracy-driven elements were convenient for the design too, where rules can change from day to day arbitrarily to ratchet up the pressure or direct the story.”

Oh, and how they change!

The narrative design and gameplay in Papers, Please are at the zeitgeist of an epoch-defining trend: mass migration and increased border enforcement. The decade following Papers, Please has had a whirlwind of immigration policy changes and practices worldwide. Just this year alone in the United States, we witnessed the end of Title 42 (pandemic-era immigration restrictions in the United States), a backlog of over one million asylum applications as of May 2023, overworked staff, and a sharp increase in student visa denials. Globally, people are leaving their homes. Spurred by large-scale armed conflicts, economic devastation, climate change, and the hope of opportunity, rationally, people migrate. We haven’t seen migration at this scale since the Second World War. Imagine being the inspector in Papers, Please and processing immigration claims by people on the Southern border of the United States or in Eastern Europe processing Ukrainian refugees at the Polish border.

Pope spoke about players telling him “…that the game reflected their experience immigrating from one place to another and the complications they faced. All horror stories, basically.” The bureaucratic work players are tasked with in Papers, Please is not dissimilar from that performed by Customs and Border Patrol, specifically before the creation of the Asylum Corps (a cadre of officers trained to review and adjudicate domestic refugee processing) in 1991. In its inception, the Asylum Corps was predominantly composed of individuals trained in immigration law. Before the Asylum Corps’ creation, it was the job of border inspectors to adjudicate asylum claims on top of their other duties. Asylees are the ones who would fall under the purview of the inspector in Papers, Please, as these individuals have to present themselves at a legal port of entry and state their claim to asylum.

Papers, Please gamifies the process of policing migration. Yet, one key distinction between migration processing in Papers, Please, and our contemporary world is how borders now operate as extended zones, often outside the specific national border itself. Burton shared his insights on this matter. “Borders as a larger expanded geographical defuse area is a super recent phenomenon,” he says. “We are talking about 15 to 20 years ago. For example, the U.S. Customs and Board Agency starts functioning as far south as Peru. The U.S. border really starts at the Guatemala-Mexico border. The border with Europe starts in Mali, in Niger, in Burkina Faso, and moves through to the Mediterranean by the time you need border officials.”

As previously noted by Pope, this and other trends and procedures relating to migration are not covered by Papers, Please. The game offers an overly simplified version of migration control, both to the game’s benefit and to its detriment. It is not a complete or accurate depiction of the lived experiences of migrants and asylum-seekers. Also, deeply coloring its perspectives are older and now largely defunct ways in which destination countries (places where immigrants would like to ultimately reside) process migrants at their borders.

Burton sees Papers, Please as “…almost like a replay of the 20th century’s ideas about borders. Which I think are shaped by, and the policy imperatives come by, the testimonies of all the people in Europe after the Second World War of the idea of being at the border and not being allowed in. Well, in the present day, you are not even going to get to the border. You already go through a period of scrutiny [before arriving at the country of destination] […] I had a pretty unique experience where I was the guy saying ‘no,’ but usually as part of an extremely diffuse process. I also think that it’s interesting that Papers, Please is set in an environment in what I guess you’ll call ‘real existing socialism.’ It’s clearly supposed to be in a Romania or Albania kind of analog. In a hyper isolated kind of independent eastern European communist country.” These kinds of “isolated” countries are rarer today.

Papers, Please is a towering achievement, regardless of how its mechnaics and view of migration differ from reality. Few games are as bold and interweave narrative and gameplay so succinctly. The game’s themes are malleable to the specific societal context that the player brings. Routinely, it’s used by academics in classrooms and continues to captivate players looking for more than just a few hours of entertainment.

A decade after its release, Papers, Please stands as a singular vision that is myopic, bleak, and unflinching. It is also riveting. The game is an example of Pope’s strong belief in the power of interactive media to build empathy. According to Pope, “If Papers, Please can raise awareness about these issues, then I’m very happy. I think a fundamental problem with understanding migration is that the topic is so distant from most people’s comfortable daily experience. Having the situations and challenges right up in your face, subject to your choices can hopefully encourage more empathetic ways to think about them.”

This article originally appeared in Issue 361 of Game Informer

[nickerson-insurance-agency]

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It takes courage, not weakness, to reach out for assistance when you're struggling. In the United States, what you're doing is illegal. The leaders constantly fail to come through for us.

It might be difficult to make ends meet when there is a large disparity in household income. Nickerson signed the papers hastily. They will almost certainly look for you. It is more cost-effective to retrain current employees than to hire and train brand new ones. The results of your efforts are evident, and we appreciate everything you've done. Now that things have settled down, everyone can take it easy. Nickerson's team is known throughout the insurance industry as the most pessimistic. They reconciled and parted ways. Nobody pitched in unless they absolutely had to. There is a lot to consider at the moment. After a good night's sleep, morning is the best time to get back on track with the day's objectives. Scar revision surgery has had both successful and unsuccessful results. Don't risk getting caught by trying to break in. My therapist suggested I go shopping as a form of treatment. If their concerns are addressed, they will be able to move forward with conviction and accomplish their objectives. I don't give a hoot about how well the movie does at the box office. My time was wasted quickly.

You clearly have extensive knowledge of medical coverage.

Many residents of New London, Groton, Waterford, and Warwick have jobs thanks to Nicholas, Inc. Nickerson Agency in Connecticut no longer aggressively seeks people who have made a public commitment to improve themselves by attending conferences and seminars because New York City is only three hours away. The Nickerson Agency is well-known and well regarded in both Groton and Norwich. Hartford is not just Connecticut's capital but also its largest city. Although it is classified as a "small town," Norwich, Rhode Island does not represent the "typical" American small town. Keep your cool and your wits about you. Nicholas, Inc., a construction behemoth headquartered in Rhode Island, has gone global. Hartford, Connecticut, is the largest city in the entire country. Every eligible adult in a perfect democracy would have the right to vote in all elections. If you require assistance, please get in touch with your service provider or insurance company. What would you tell yourself if you were in this predicament? Customer happiness is a top priority for us. We might require your assistance at this time. The media labels as "liberal" everyone who supports progressive political causes.

We compared the prices of numerous companies until we found one we were comfortable with. You should rest for a while; you've earned it.

For some companies, that may be an insurmountable challenge. The team's victory was a collaborative effort from all members. This is a fantastic book that everyone should take the time to read. The company's internal resources have been drained due to its rapid expansion.

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The Nickerson family owns and operates Nickerson Insurance. It is common practice to abbreviate or initial people's given names.  These identical twins are only distinguishable by their nicknames. After Nicholas sold the business, the name was altered.

It's possible the sun will sleep in today. At any time the insurance company thinks fit, the order may be issued. In need of some help? Users of the company's products and services have nothing but praise. You've never given in because you can't handle the public dishonor of conceding. This quality has been very helpful to you.

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Sharing your financial struggles with too many people will make them less likely to offer assistance. Almost everything can be located online if you know where to look. Having adequate home insurance can ease the financial burden in the event of a catastrophic loss of your home. Your doctor may have recommended this course of action so that you can make it through the week. It shouldn't be that challenging to expand your firm if you take our suggestions as a guide.

[njenjemedia]

(Comment made at the Association of Nigerian Authors annual Conference, Abuja; October 2022)  Chidi G Osuagwu Imo State, Nigeria Writers are, in perception, the clear eyes and sharp ears of their Community; and in function, the golden voice of their People. To function, efficiently, as per definition, the writer’s worldview should be archetypic of the Community worldview.  The writer sees the same thing the Community sees, but only sharper. The Writer communicates that vision back to validate what the Community sees, fuzzily, in more animated and happier language. Like in other world realms, the true African writer’s mind is animated by African worldview. Like in other realms, the African writers’ language is conveyor of African worldview. That many an African mind is alienated from African worldview and seeks a return to roots is the essence of the Woke Movementelectrifying the African world of the early 21st Century. African Renascence knocks on the African and World doors. African ancestors had left notice to await a time like this.  A time of inevitable transition from the subsisting world of Ugaazi; Age-of-childishness to incipient world of Uganyanwu; Age-of-enlightenment. African civilization had put a high premium on worldviews and world systems. The Right-to-a-worldview is, for example, a Natural-right among the Igbo and other autochthonous African peoples. As I left for school in America, 1971, my father; Kafor Nwanyidi, an Ezedibia (‘Medicine-man’ would be a very a clumsy translation for the term describing true African thinker-healer-leader…Doctor), had said to me:  “Dede, a si m gi gaa Alabeke gaa muta ihe Beke ma. A sighi m gi gaa pata Uwa ha. Uwa anyi na ha awughi!” Dede, I send you to the Whiteman’s country to learn what the Whiteman knows. I am not sending you to import their worldview. Their worldview and our worldview are different!”  This world expeditionary mandate of my father is the root of my interest and scholarship in African Cosmology. In addition, World Cosmologies. Very fruitful mandate! When the University of South Africa invited me, 2006, to discuss African Cosmology, I was delighted that my father’s Spirit would be pleased. When the African Scientific Community invited me, and elected me Chairman Future Earth, to help develop a new paradigm for World Science, 2015, I felt I was doing the right thing by my late father’s mandate. When the Library of Alexandria invited me, 2016, to address the issue of African Cosmology and Science, I became sure am on the path my father and ancestors set me. The path from Ugaazi, the world age-of-childishness to Uganyanwu, the world age-of-enlightenment.  However, as I moved with African Cosmology from Cape-to-Cairo, as the saying goes, Nigeria was asleep. Sleep induced by the catechismal education system designed by the ‘Lords-of-Ugaazi’ to keep Africans blind and enslaved. Too blinded to raise eyebrows or ask questions! One can sense my grand pleasure at being recognized, and, honored with their fellowship, by the Association of Nigeria Authors, ANA, on this grand occasion. An Association of Writers founded by Chinua Achebe can only be an Iroko association. I salute ANA! As we speak, a war-of-worldviews and inherent cultures is afoot on Earth. In this year, 2022 AD, a War to determine World Orderis unfolding before us. A war to maintain the current zero-sum world order or transit to a more natural and just world order. Many people cannot see it, but Africans should. The people driving it know…Eurasia know what they are doing, but don’t understand what they are doing. On the surface, it has started as shooting war between two Slavic countries of Ukraine and Russia. It has, also, started a technology and economic war between America and China. Africa is being pressed, by the narcissistic beneficiaries of the present zero-sum world or

der, to take sides in this unfolding global struggle. Africa should not be ambivalent. Whoever wants to maintain the current malignant world order, in which the Black Races are enslaved and mocked, is automatic enemy for Africa to fight. Africa should always bear this in mind and never be distracted from the mindset, if her children shall ever live free and respected. African writers should wake up and stay woke to what is unfolding before them. Humanity has never had so much knowledge to rethink the world. Unfortunately, some races do not believe in common humanity. Covid-19 is showing us why not. Covi-19 has re-written the history and sociology of the world! Unfortunately, the current education system in the world does not educate people to learn broadly enough, and think broadly enough, to know and understand what is unfolding in the world around them. Covid-19 has revealed that those who do not believe in the common humanity of human beings do indeed have a case. They are different.  They suffered more Covid-19 than those that believe in common humanity. And have different finger architecture. Those, like European royalty, who have claimed to be Aryan (lords/nobles), while others are Anaryan (slaves/commoners) are indeed carriers of high dosages of the genes of Neanderthal man…Homo Neanderthalensis (the 2022 Nobel Prize for Medicine or Physiology was won for work done on the genome of Neanderthal man).  In addition, they have the narcissistic, violent, mindset from that, otherwise, extinct hominin. They developed a zero-sum worldview of winners-and-losers. The Neanderthal gene-carrying Aryans invaded India, thousands of years ago from their Mesopotamian homeland, and established the color-coded caste system in India. They invaded Europe, erased the Celtic European autochthons, and created the feudal Europe and lords and commoners. From Europe, they invaded the world and, by violence, established the present malignant color-coded world order that has the Black African in the ‘shithole’, as one of them with the archetypic finger calls it. Black Africans, for good or ill, have no Neanderthal genes. Africans are pure Homo Sapiens sapiens. It is no wonder Africans developed the best worldview for dealing with holistic complexity…such as life-promoting Human Society. This is, apparently, why God and the ancestors have assigned the Black race the manifest destiny of guiding humanity from the malignant Homo Sapiens Neanderthal dominated age-of-childishness to the life-promoting Homo sapiens sapiens guided age-of-enlightenment. If the Black Race fail in this sacred duty, they stand a chance of being eternally damned. African writers, including ANA, should write that down and spread the word.

[nityarawal]

Sent To Real Estate Colleagues:

Moving out of state. It's honestly become too violent, and haven't found any ethics in government or law in CA in 6 years.

Even real-estate has been run by too many corrupt brokers. 

Trying to improve laws, as journalist, for now. 

Thanks! 

Lmk if Oath Keeper Mommy-Hating Political Climate improves and if you have anything in Feb or March. 

I couldn't find anything in time this month here in housing crisis. 

Do you realize 40% of Californians were bullied out of homes & families/businesses in covid by court harassment? 

Report Shane Stewart Broker of Idyllwild realty- he has business of gay MX militia illegals with over 400 homes not built to code, slumming community, suspected of murdering property manager & won't disclose contracts now after raiding, beating, raping moms out of homes; many trafficked via murders. 

It's insane Idyllwild Oathkeeper sheriff Jeremy Parsons doesn't get more BAD press for grooming ex-cons to be in gay sting, and pimps them onto nazi drugs like Cocaine & Heroin; killing & addicting moms into hooking on Fentanyl. 

I saw way too much. 

A Lot of that town is involved.

Many will go down.

I'll come back if all involved & Sheriff Chad Bianco are arrested for blatantly "Mommy Hating/Slandering"  and corrupting our county with abuse/racism. 

My 1000's of attys and I have never seen an honest police report. 

Have you?

I thought realtors had 200% integrity until 2016, being trained a Prudent realtor, since 2000. 

No- Oath Keeper Brokers took over in #Trumpleberry Era and our Governor and President don't have reigns of California. 

I trust Tulsi Gabbard of HI to be a Peace Ambassador, instead of a bribe factory. 

Riverside is a mess and only a sisterhood can clean it up.

A Mother's Defense inclusive of children's needs.

It's very racist and oath keeper cops break laws constantly harassing civilians. 

I don't know how to clean it up currently- too violent. 

I don't want to run for Democratic office, Def not Republican, or be a broker so I will keep tweeting until I get an awesome job renegotiating United Way for civilians. @nityalakshmi108

And

@nityalakshmi

Would love to write about Riverside murder capital in dead cellular zone, and keep hustling Elon to get Starlink up, but nazi pigs stole phone in raids. I am complaining to NAR too and news. CAR did nothing & of course most of Idyllwild is bought out in "Boy Gays' Club". ): 

I am "pro-gay rights" but this is sick plantation slavery shit going down w/ MX harem. #PrinceOfPegging issues at Idyllwild Academy too- dozen teachers groomed/caught in paper isolated only to our town. 

Ridiculous Idyllwild Town Crier Becky Clark owner (pays $15/ article to impoverished writers dealing with dishonest bribed police reports)  is probably related to assistant presiding Judge Clark that allows lies, bribes and civil war of hollocoast. (Lots of Clark attys on x team too.)

WW3 here is too much for me. 

Good luck to you! 

I love Pinyon & Mountain Center/Garner & Burnt Valley to Pine Cove. 

Lmk if there's some purification of Militia here in New Year! 

Please tell clients, colleagues & family /friends- voting with feet makes a difference- however you can help turn things around. 

This is my Native State since 3yo.

And, if you have anything under $750 or ideally less next year for lovely moms beat onto SSI poverty budget after earning 6 figures at beach LMK.

Please. 

Need taxes & charities for 40% burned out of homes huh? 

Pro- "mom needs" met rather than endless gun/dick/$money$ gluttonous war. #NotMyKing

Peace &

Blessings,

Nitya Azam (Huntley) Rawal

NAR Journalist 

EncinitasBeachHome.com (My old site is down & hacked like most of Globe in Cold War f/ ex PhD Physics team!)

When is our country ever going to discuss in-house Epstein domestic Terrorism f/ UK??? 

Spies did a number on us in cold war! Again.

Everyone thinks this is American Dream. Riverside is just like #Iran, but they beat you into gag orders here, and DA refuses to disclose videos. 

Please be careful & warn sisters if they agree to divorce for kids/assets/pets/homes safety. Thanks!) 

PS God Bless You & California.

[johnnyrobish]

Arizona Judge Reinstates Civil War Era Abortion Ban

In an extremely controversial move, Arizona Pima County Superior Court Judge Kellie Johnson has lifted a 50-year-old injunction on an 1864 civil war-era state law that had been in place before Arizona was a state.  That law puts a near-total ban on all abortions in the state.

Smart move Arizona!  Because there is nothing 21st-century Americans want more than for politicians to bring back oppressive civil war-era laws.  You know, laws written before women even had the right to vote and were still legally considered to be just property.  The idea of disenfranchising over half the population should prove extremely popular.  Hell, I’m sure this ruling has giddy Arizona politicians thinking, “Hey, maybe it’s time to revisit that whole ‘slavery thing’ again.”

That said, I suppose extreme right-wing judges resurrecting civil war-era legislation shouldn’t be all that shocking, considering Justice Alito went back a full five centuries in his writing on the Dobbs decision to find something to help him justify overturning Roe.  No big deal.  What’re a few centuries among friends?  You see, when these Republicans tell you “they wanna take the country back,” they aren’t kidding!  They wanna take it WAYYYYY back!

I mean, rulings like this are almost enough to make Iran’s “Morality Police” jealous.  Now, if Republicans can just find a way to get rid of those pesky 13th and 19th amendments, they’ll be on their way to their vision of a White Christian Fascist Theocracy.  Is there any good news among all this depressing nonsense?  Well, yes, of course!  At least Republicans and Judge Kellie Johnson haven’t as yet reenacted the Witchcraft Act of 1604, and that should count for something.

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