#partially intact system

[henryisabigfatbitch]

System Blog Poll

[legoliomanikas]

Brief Thoughts About Aventurine, Religion, and Colonialism

This isn't a comprehensive summary, just things I started thinking about. It's kinda funny how things just completely fly past you when you don't think about them regularly, cuz I'm a very not-religious person so it took reading someone offhandedly refer to aspects of Aventurine's backstory as his "religious beliefs" for me to realize how important those actually are.

(2.1 Story Spoilers + reading the Sigonia relic set description will help for some context)

Despite his employment in the IPC calling for Aventurine to help amass capital in the name of Qlipoth the Preservation, we don't really hear him talk about Qlipoth often and his backstory basically omits mention of his relationship to THEM; the focus is entirely about his relationship with Gaiathra Triclops and HER blessing of luck.

The present Aventurine has changed a lot from his young self due to the influence of the IPC, in direct ways such as his newfound wealth and ruthless business practices, and in indirect manners such as how the IPCs involvement in the inter-tribal relationships of Sigonia resulted in higher tensions between the Avgins, Katicans, and other tribes.

However, his belief in Gaiathra Triclops has remained intact into his adulthood. It has soured as he begun to view HER blessing of good luck to be more akin to a curse, but it feels like a very deliberate writing decision to have him still hold onto the belief system of the Avgin. It would have been reasonable if he had later turned to the protection of Qlipoth, as joining the IPC had resulted in the wealth and status he has now, but he doesn't really do this.

Even if the colonialism took much away from him, he still wishes to retain his culture. (The value he places in the items his parents left for him and sister: the charm, the necklace, and the shirt, is further testament to this, as examples outside of his religious beliefs.)

Prayer is also something that we rarely see depicted often in Star Rail, which makes the segments of Aventurine praying with his younger self and sister stand out a lot more. The only character I can recall off the top of my head with an extended prayer sequence is Sunday at the end of 2.0, which is also notable.

One thing that I was wishing the Penacony plot would at least lampshade is the irony of sending Aventurine, a slave working for the IPC, to retake a planet that had led a slave rebellion to escape the IPC's control. While I'm now uncertain if they will address that directly, I do wonder that as we learn more about Sunday, if his relationship with Xipe the Harmony will end up being used as a way to foil him to Aventurine and/or serve as indirect commentary on the situation between the IPC and Penacony. (This is pure speculation)

But yea anyways, it's pretty interesting seeing mihoyo try to incorporate other aspects of racism and colonialism that extend beyond displays of outright hatred, such as how Aventurine's retainment of his culture's religious practices is depicted in a positive light. (Another thing that stuck out to me is how they depicted the fetishization of racial traits negatively, with the way some characters remark on his eyes, how the Avgin's untrustworthy reputation partially lies within their physical attractiveness, and how his relationship with his own appearance has changed as a result, as this is something I rarely see fictionalized but I won't elaborate on this here bc its off-topic.)

Obviously, mihoyo doesn't have the best track record when writing minorities and there's still a fucktonnnnn to be criticized about their decisions in Aventurine's lore as well (the most egregious of which being deriving the name for his planet from an actual slur), but it does seem like they are at least trying to add more depth to their depictions.

[flickering-nightfall]

I’m pretty sure that you made a post explaining why the arm is not the umbilical but I can’t find it, so, if you did make one, can you give a link to it? Sorry if you didn’t make one, I don’t have very good memory.

I'm not entirely sure which post that is but it sounds like something I'd ramble about? I have this post talking about making a 3D umbilical and this post talking about making a 3D arm with allusions to that buuut...

If that post doesn't exist then I'll make one right now!

Here, I made a diagram of terminology I use for the puppet/arm/umbilical structure. These terms aren't necessarily canon - they're just what I use.

As for umbilicals being different from mechanical arms, it's an interpretation, I think. But there's reasons why I call them different things.

So first here's this Moon dialogue.

(I think that's vanilla dialogue? The wiki confuses me sometimes. Link here if you want to see it yourself.)

We can assume from that dialogue that the wires + cord are the "umbilical." Moon's are obviously cut, but Pebbles' are not. And Moon's puppet is still attached to her mechanical arm.

(Lots more under the cut)

Umbilicals in real life resemble the wire/cord structure far more than the mechanical arm portion does. So that's another reason I refer to the wire/cord as the umbilical.

Lemme slap some stuff from my iterator headcanons doc here.

I like interpreting the puppet as a place to focus an iterator's consciousness. It acts as a sensory hub and a means to interact more finely with their surroundings. Neurons, in turn, are active memory comparable to RAM. Moon refers to Pebbles' imprints on his neurons as "a ghost left from his processing routines." They're not meant for long-term memory storage, but upper processes such as, well... thinking... cannot be done without them. So removing neurons affects an iterator’s ability to encode, recall, and process information. (Courtesy of my friend Folly, I also think they're mostly made out of fat. Kind of gross to eat.) Although Moon's umbilical is severed, she is still able to see through and control the movements of her puppet. So either she has some sort of other connection to the rest of her can, or her consciousness comes from the puppet rather than the can. The mechanical arm’s functions would be mostly structure-to-puppet function (control movements of arm and puppet, transmit the sensory information of the puppet) while the wire/cord handles more consciousness-in-puppet-to-structure function (facilitates awareness and control over superstructure and all that encompasses). So both the cord and the arm are part of the iterator-to-puppet connection, but the cord is more important. I feel like with the wire OR the arm's internals intact, the iterator can maintain perception of the puppet. When you give Moon an overseer eye, she says, “I am not much more than what you are looking at - a little creature in a box.” This can be literal, or it can imply that her perception is just limited to what she can see through her puppet in her damaged state.

In Rivulet’s campaign, the rarefaction cell could be partial compensation for a missing umbilical. Moon can move on her arm, call up image projections, reconnect to her overseers, and broadcast locally to Pebbles after getting the rarefaction cell. She refers to it as finally having her freedom back. But we don't know how many of her systems she does or does not have access to anymore.

If you eat one of Pebbles' neurons in front of him as Rivulet he says "I would appreciate if you would not eat those. My umbilical will keep me conscious, but every neuron lost is a piece of me lost as well..." We know that Pebbles keeps his wires/cord/arm connected in Saint's campaign, though, and he remains conscious despite having no visible neurons. Does the umbilical compensate for the lack of neurons as well? Maybe there are some still alive in the structure that we can’t see, and the umbilical allows him to stay connected to them.

...honestly, I think downpour makes questions about umbilicals harder to answer than if you only base off of vanilla lore. But I like working with downpour stuff, so oh well.

One last thing - the wiki page for Moon also says this under her trivia: "Looks to the Moon is still connected to the wall by her umbilical, but the damaged hardware lacks power to let her move around." Other references to umbilicals written throughout the wiki imply the arm is the umbilical as well. But! I don't know where the writers of that got that information. I don't think there's anything in the game that confirms that the umbilical and the arm are the same. If there's anything in the game that supports that, let me know~

So to summarize: I think evidence suggests the wires + cord are the umbilical because Moon refers to hers being cut. The mechanical arm could also be a part of the umbilical, or it be considered a different part that provides function in a different way. I usually refer to them separately, but that's just me, and I mostly do it for the sake of clarity. It's not confirmed canon.

There are a lot of things about Rain World lore you can run in circles around for hours, but not find any definitive conclusions for. It's part of the fun even if it drives me nuts sometimes. Come be confused with me :)

[incoherentbee]

im reading this analysis post by someone way smarter than me, and realized something.

the reason nona died at the end of NtN is because of anastasia’s tripod principle! the body of harrowhark nonagesimus still had thalergy (if thats due to her 'heavy' soul or due to the partial petty lysis, i dont know) but it didnt have a fully intact soul!!

nona's 'soul' was enough to keep the body from becoming 'a very weird vegetable' but it wasnt enough to knock the cells into producing thalergy again

sidenote: this might be why nona was unable to do necromancy herself. her body had just enough thalergy reserves to keep moving around for about six months but a) those reserves were not being refilled b) due to the finite amount of thalergy in the system, thanergy reserves cannot be brought up to levels necessary for a novice necromancer to utilize them

i think, alot of the same priciples work for kiriona too. i think the reason john doesnt resurrect her 'properly' is because he cant. i think, the only reason kiriona is 'alive' longer than nona is because of who kiriona's father is. not enough of her soul was left after harrow's lysis, so he couldnt resurrect her properly, and he stapled her soul into a corpse as a short cut, and most likely is pumping at least some amount of thalergy into the kiriona (similarly to how hes suplying thalergy to dominicus) simply to stave off the inevitable decay of her meat. and, if in doing so, he gets an indestructible swordhand who is too emotionally broken to question him? well thats just a bonus

[lonestarflight]

Apollo Program: Lunar Module (LM) production and names

The Grumman Aerospace Corporation was awarded the contract on November 7, 1962. Originally designated Lunar Excursion Module (LEM), NASA ordered 25 lunar modules (10 test articles and 15 production models) for testing and landing on the moon. This was to go with the 15 Saturn Vs and Apollo CSMs. They were assembled in Grumman's factory in Bethpage, New York.

"There were initially four major subcontractors: Bell Aerosystems (ascent engine), Hamilton Standard (environmental control systems), Marquardt (reaction control system) and Rocketdyne (descent engine).

The Primary Guidance, Navigation and Control System (PGNCS) was developed by the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory; the Apollo Guidance Computer was manufactured by Raytheon (a similar guidance system was used in the command module). A backup navigation tool, the Abort Guidance System (AGS), was developed by TRW."

-Information from Wikipedia: link

After the Gemini 3 spacecraft was dubbed Molly Brown by Gus Grissom, NASA forbade naming spacecraft. For Apollo 9, this changed due to mission controllers in Houston needing a way to differentiate between the two spacecraft.

Between 1969 and 1972, Grumman produced a series of insignias for their Lunar Modules which were distributed in limited quantities to their employees in the form of decals and prints.

Apollo 5 (LM-1): none

Apollo 3 (and later 2) (LM-2): Never used, intended for a mission similar to Apollo 5. The success of LM-1 led to the cancellation.

Apollo 9 (LM-3): Spider

Apollo 10 (LM-4): Snoopy. The LM ascent stage in heliocentric orbit and is the only known one to have survived intact

Apollo 11 (LM-5): Eagle (originally named haystack)

Apollo 12 (LM-6): Intrepid

Apollo 13 (LM-7): Aquarius

Humorously, Grumman sent North American (the manufacturer of the Apollo Command and Service Module) a tow bill sometime after the crew returned. North American retorted back saying they've never sent them a tow bill for the previous missions.

Apollo 14 (LM-8): Antares.

Apollo 15 (originally) (LM-9): never used, on display the Kennedy Space Center.

Intended for Apollo 15 and was the last H-type mission. When Apollo 18 was cancelled, it was decided to make Apollo 15 the first J-type mission.

Apollo 15 (LM-10): Falcon, originally intended for Apollo 16. First of the extended stay series.

Apollo 16 (LM-11): Orion, originally intended for Apollo 17

Apollo 17 (LM-12): Challenger, originally intended for Apollo 18.

Note: this name was reused for the second operational Space Shuttle Orbiter. After the Challenger Disaster, NASA officially retired the name.

Apollo 18 (LM-13): never used, originally intended for 19. It was partially completed when Apollo 18 and 19 were cancelled. Later restored by Grumman workers and is on display at the Cradle of Aviation History and Education Center.

Apollo 19 (LM-14): never used, originally intended for Apollo 20. It was partially completed when Apollo 18 and 19 were cancelled. What was completed, was later scrapped.

Apollo 20 (LM-15): never used, partially completed, scrapped. When Apollo 20 was cancelled, it was intended for modification into the Apollo Telescope Mount. Later the Telescope Mount was integrated into Skylab and this dedicated mission was cancelled.

source, source, source, source, source

NASA ID: MSFC-69-MS-G-1300-27, S67-50927, AS09-21-3183, AS10-34-5087, AS11-40-5946, AS12-46-6726, AS13-59-8566, AS14-66-9306, AS15-88-11866, AS16-113-18339, AS17-140-21370

[blueiskewl]

Rare 350 Million-Year-Old Tree Fossils Has Scientists ‘Gobsmacked’

Rare tree fossils preserved with their leaves have an architecture unlike any plant known today and represent the earliest evidence of smaller trees growing beneath the forest canopy.

Trees are believed to have originated hundreds of millions of years ago. Ever since, evidence of these ancient plant sentinels has been in short supply.

Now, a new discovery of uniquely 3D tree fossils has opened a window into what the world was like when the planet’s early forests were beginning to evolve, expanding our understanding of the architecture of trees throughout Earth’s history.

Five tree fossils buried alive by an earthquake 350 million years ago were found in a quarry in the Canadian province of New Brunswick, according to a study published Friday in the journal Current Biology. The authors said these new and unusual fossil trees not only bear a surprising shape reminiscent of a Dr. Seuss illustration, they reveal clues about a period of life on Earth of which we know little.

“They are time capsules,” said Robert Gastaldo, a paleontologist and sedimentologist who led the study, “literally little windows into deep-time landscapes and ecosystems.”

Coauthors Olivia King and Matthew Stimson unearthed the first of the ancient trees in 2017 while doing fieldwork in a rock quarry in New Brunswick. One of the specimens they discovered is among a handful of cases in the entire plant fossil record — spanning more than 400 million years — in which a tree’s branches and crown leaves are still attached to its trunk.

Few tree fossils that date back to Earth’s earliest forests have ever been found, according to Gastaldo. Their discovery helps fill in some missing pieces of an incomplete fossil record.

“There are only five or six trees that we can document, at least in the Paleozoic, that were preserved with its crown intact,” said Gastaldo, a professor of geology at Colby College in Waterville, Maine.

Most ancient tree specimens are relatively small, he noted, and often discovered in the form of a fossilized trunk with a stump or root system attached. For his colleagues to find a preserved tree that could have been 15 feet tall in its maturity with an 18-foot diameter crown left the paleontologist “gobsmacked.”

Ancient earthquake burial

The researchers excavated the first fossil tree about seven years ago, but it took another few years before four more specimens of the same plant were found in close proximity to one another. Dubbed “Sanfordiacaulis,” the newly identified species was named in honor of Laurie Sanford, the owner of the quarry where the trees were unearthed.

The forms taken by these previously unknown 350 million-year-old plants look somewhat like a modern-day fern or palm, per the study, despite the fact that those tree species didn’t appear until 300 million years later. But while the tops of ferns or palms as we know them boast few leaves, the most complete specimen of the newly discovered fossils has more than 250 leaves preserved around its trunk, with each partially preserved leaf extending around 5.7 feet (1.7 meters).

That fossil is encased in a sandstone boulder and roughly the size of a small car, according to Stimson, an assistant curator of geology and paleontology at the New Brunswick Museum.

The unique fossilization of the cluster of trees is likely due to a “catastrophic” earthquake-induced landslide that took place in an ancient rift lake, he said.

“These trees were alive when the earthquake happened. They were buried very quickly, very rapidly after that, at the bottom of the lake, and then the lake (went) back to normal,” Stimson said.

Finding complete fossil trees is rare and much less common than finding a complete dinosaur, according to Peter Wilf, a professor of geosciences and paleobotanist at Pennsylvania State University who was not involved with the study. Wilf noted via email that the “unusual” new fossil tree was a relic of a time period from which there are almost no tree fossils.

“The new fossils are a milestone in our understanding of how early forest structure evolved, eventually leading to the complex rainforest architectures that support most of Earth’s living biodiversity,” Wilf added.

‘Very Dr. Seuss’

To King, a research associate at the New Brunswick Museum who found the group of fossils, the Sanfordiacaulis would have looked like something plucked straight out of Dr. Seuss’ most popular works.

“You know in ‘The Lorax,’ the trees have these big pom-poms at the top and narrow trunks? These probably have a similar structure. You have this massive crown at the top, and then it does narrow and paper into this very small trunk,” King said. “It’s a very Dr. Seuss-looking tree. It’s a weird and wonderful idea of what this thing could look like.”

But the reign of the Sanfordiacaulis was short-lived, the researchers said. “We do not see this architecture of plant again,” Stimson said. He noted that it grew in the early Carboniferous, a time period at the end of the Paleozoic Era when plants and animals were diversifying as they started to make their way from water to land.

Much of evolution is experimental, with success often measured by a species’ versatility, or ability to adapt to many different places and conditions. The peculiar set of tree fossils presents proof of a “failed experiment of science and evolution,” Stimson added. “We’re really starting to paint that picture as to what life was like 350 million years ago.”

Looking forward

Fossils such as the Sanfordiacaulis are not just useful in helping humans understand how life changed in the past, they can help scientists figure out where life on our planet might be headed next.

The existence of this particular species suggests that trees of the period were starting to occupy different ecological niches beyond what was previously understood, according to the researchers behind its discovery.

Gastaldo sees this as an indication that plants — much like early invertebrates — were experimenting with how they adapted to the environment. The earthquake that likely led to the trees’ fossilization also offers new geological evidence of what may have been occurring in Earth’s systems at the same moment in time.

“This is really the first evidence we have of (a tree) that would be between what grows on the ground and what would tower way above the ground,” Gastaldo said. “What else was there?”

By Ayurella Horn-Muller.

[randomnameless]

what do you think would realistically edelgerd's fate post AG?

We know Doylist wise she was Supreme Puppet'd to have her, somehow, survive (when we know how she reacts to military defeat in AM!) and removing all of her agency - Supreme Puppet was Puppet'd, so she cannot be hold accountable for what she did as Lobotogard, or with her regressed state, cannot be accountable the things she did with her mind intact.

I've already ranted about this special plot device to make sure the waifu escapes the axe and its sexist undertones, but damn if thinking about it to this day pisses me to no ends.

Faced with Regressed!Leader, Dimitri dgaf and moves on (or rather, away from her, reminiscing of AM - he has other things to do than to linger on his relationship with Supreme Leader).

I'd say -

Dimtri dgaf and leaves her to her own devices (which would be a nod to the "parley"? Now that Supreme Leader became one of the "weaks" what is she going to do? Bootstraps or rely on a support system she so much decried?) and move to Enbarr to put an end to the War.

But thinking in more serious terms?

His bannermen, friends and people wouldn't settle for anything else than Supreme Leader's death (maybe not on the gates on Enbarr?). She's the one who started this war and had so many people killed in her imperialist bid, so the only way Supreme Leader escapes death is with the Church.

Now, Supreme Puppet'd by Thales and maybe acknowledging Supreme Leader's second crust, Rhea might be more partial to her - she had been used as a plaything by Agarthans (hopefully she developped her racist tendencies after the experiments?) - and could see her as a victim.

On the other hand, she did start this war, and had more agency than expected given how she petitionned the CoS to war against the Agarthans who infiltrated her Empire - and yet, she still launched her attack on the monastery of her own free will.

Rhea is a compassionate person (Yuri still exists even after killing her knights!) so I think, with all things considered - Supreme Leader's status as a victim of Agarthans, Supreme Puppet and Lobotogard, but also, the war she declared and planned, sacking Garreg Mach, attacking the CoS both spiritually (the Southern Church thing was meant to be a direct "contradiction?" to what she preaches?) and martially, and MAGA > Peace - I'd say Rhea'd agree on not killing Supreme Leader, but at the only condition that she remains with the CoS, in something like her sentence will be to rebuild what she destroyed and mend the wounds she caused so that she might have a different outlook on Fodlan and its people (aka, not going all "i don't mind sacrificing them to reach my goals") when she will remember what she did/who she was, and/or will not become the same "tyrant" she was when she will "grow up" (mentally speaking?).

But that's at the only condition that she never gets to rule anything ever again or hold any kind of political power returning to Adrestia/Enbarr - if those conditions aren't met, she will be executed.

(and maybe to appease the people she's now supposed to work with, Rhea will lend her some old bottle of hairdye, maybe people will not see her as the former emperor who bled the continent for her whims, but as someone who is living a new life)

Rhea might thus "request custody" of Supreme Puppet and while the Kingdom might want her dead, the Church, as the main victim of the war, can have the last say (besides Dimitri might be relieved that Supreme Leader will not be executed), however, the Church asks to everyone present to tell their people that the "Supreme Leader who declared this war of unification died and is no more", maybe taking her crown and Aymr away, as proof she's "dead".

It sounds a bit too merciful coming from Rhea, when we see her in Tru Piss and with her history as Seiros the Warrior - but post!AG!Rhea imo is in a different mood, first of all, with Thales gone there are no people who will target Nabateans because of their race (so no genocide PTSD anymore?) and/or try to make new relics, and unlike the events of FE16, Rhea spent the last few years living with humans who demonstrated they could be trustworthy and actually helped her when she was in need (tfw Rhea doesn't know about Dimitro).

I can see her having more faith in humans and a future in Fodlan for everyone post!AG, as Dimitri and the Kingdom people seem to be trustworthy, than in FE16 when all of the events we play through in WC are basically triggering her genocide trauma (people hunting bones and crest stones, killing Jerry, turning her beloved wards in demonic beasts, some people targeting her for no plausible reason (unless the Western Church knew she had pointy ears?), Hresvelg becoming the new Nemesis, etc...)

That being said...

If Clout tries, during the epilogue, to take a shot at Rhea - when people are celebrating the end of the war - I cannot see things not turning sour for him.

Granted, if you want realism, Clout and GW cannot function because they expect the people involved to be completely stupid, but for this AU's sake, let's say Clout and Dimitro had their heart to heart in Zahrofl, he holds her at Failnaught range and demands her death/resignation/removal of her church.

If he shots and kills her (because Rhea would have dropped her guard, thinking she is surrounded by allies!), I cannot see anyone/anything preventing Claude from being dismembered/slaughtered in the seconds after Rhea's death - not even Dimitro because, hey, Clout said he will accept the consequences of his actions to "change" Fodlan, right? - by Church forces, Kingdom forces and, if we want to push the realism card, even Alliance forces (why the fuck did he do that? Maybe it's a weird doppelganger like those dark mages use! Or Erwin will behead him himself - sure this guy did that, but he doesn't represent the Alliance!).

In the chaos and confusion following Rhea's death, Supreme Leader is executed ("if she never started her war, nothing like this would have ever happened") and Fodlan is fucked when Sothis eventually pops up.

If Clout only holds Rhea at "Failnaught range" and she wonders wtf and asks him to explain - while the entire host of people from, again, the Kingdom, the CoS and KoS, the former BL and maybe some peeps from the GD and Leicester are there - Clout gives his bonker

"Who steals your freedom and gives you an endless list of duties and obligations simply because you have a Crest? Who forces you and your friends into a bunch of unwanted marriages and positions of power? The church even forbids any official contact with outside regions! Not exactly great for Faerghus, right? Being as close to Sreng and Albinea as you are."

reasons, Rhea's first reaction might be to crush him (because now she's on guard!) but if Dimitro says this is not a matter partaining to Faerghus and would rather stay aside (which would throw a wrench in Rhea's previous belief that humanity can be trusted again!) the CoS/Kos, Kingdom and Alliance people might just call crap and bullshit and debunk his baseless accusations (rekindling Rhea's faith in people and Fodlan?) from Annette telling him that they already trade with Albinea, Duscur generals and even Dedue telling him they witnessed the Church helping them regardless of their place of birth, Ingrid saying that her marriage to Glenn had not be organised or planned by the Church, but out of the affection they both had for each other and Ashe telling him those obligations and duties he seems to resent don't exist because he has a crest, but out of a genuine desire to help people.

Maybe we can add Judith wondering wtf is going on with Clout-boy, has he forgotten people get responsabilities and duties because they want them or because Nobility exists well beyond Fodlan's borders? "And I thought you had more common sense than this!"

A Goneril bannerman/loldier might add that the Archbishop asked them to treat Almyran as something else than nuisances and parasites when she came to visit and left with an Almyran kid in tow, but hey - they always attack them for no reason and create strife in Goneril for no reason, haven't they attacked just before the Academy closed?

Basically everyone debunking his claims, Clout realising that said claims were sprouted from his ass so he gets some tissue and wipes it clean.

Clout then relents (tfw no allies to support him) and the Alliance's roundtable finally vote to elect a branch member of the Riegan fam as head of the House - Clout leaves Failnaught and departs "somewhere far away".

(maybe he returns as Almyra's King later on, or as a crown prince, with a treaty/offer of peace, wishing for prosperity between the two lands).

-> all jokes aside and in a more serious setting, even with Dimitro not outwardly condemning him, Clout's course of action would be frowned upon by every party - Alliance included - and depending on his involvment, Dimitro himself might be challenged by his vassals/friends "Sure it's not about Faerghus' safety, but are we really going to let this guy target and ice and bring more chaos by eliminating our ally - who repaid our hospitality with kindness and supported our war efforts - when the Alliance refused to assist us when the Empire swore to Make Adrestia Great Again and warred against us?"

Granted, in this more serious setting, Dimitro doesn't exist because the plot doesn't bend backwards to accomodate Clout so...

Even if Clout doesn't try to ice Rhea asap and waits maybe 8 months after GM's recovery and the end of the war, I cannot see the Lords of the Alliance - when they can try to do "business as usual" with the former Adrestia lands - endorse a military campaing against the Church to, uh, decalcify Fodlan's current order to put YOLO in place. Clout suggesting this is basically handing to Erwin/anyone reason enough to depose him from his seat as Riegan's representative (the alliance has more to win with rebuilding Adrestia/Fodlan than to wage a pointless war that will alienate everyone and leave their backs open to an Almyran attack), and he either runs away to Almyra or dies in a pointless attempt to start a civil war/rebellion to garner troops to target the Church.

For sure this looks like an ideal "and everything ends good AU!" but in a more serious setting, where people have common sense and don't suddenly hold idiot plot balls to make sure Clout seems to have a point... his POV doesn't hold under scrutiny and no one can normally follow him, unless they have another agenda (Make Leicester Great Again?)

[haggishlyhagging]

The antifeminism of Left, Right, and center fixes the power of the Right over women—gives the huge majority of women over to the Right—over to social conservatism, economic conservatism, religious conservatism, over to conforming to the dictates of authority and power, over to sexual compliance, over to obedience—because as long as the sex-class system is intact, huge numbers of women will believe that the Right offers them the best deal: the highest reproductive value; the best protection against sexual aggression; the best economic security as the economic dependents of men who must provide; the most reliable protection against battery; the most respect. Left and centrist philosophies, programs, and parties tend to vicious condescension with respect to women's rights; they lie, and right-wing women are quite brilliant at discerning the hypocrisy of liberal support for women's rights. Right-wing women do not buy the partial truths and cynical lies that constitute the positions of various liberal and so-called radical groups on women's rights. They see antifeminism, though they call it simple hypocrisy. They are outraged by it.

-Andrea Dworkin, Right Wing Women

[kivaember]

woe, ftm walter be upon ye (yes this is actually canon to apv btw)

Somedays, Carla had to laugh at how far she'd fallen.

Well-respected Institute scientist, lauded for her efforts in the C-weapon project and incorporating Coral into AI neural networks... reduced to a penniless scrapper in the underbelly of one of Ganymede's colonies, barely making ends meet because of the UEG's broken form of capitalism.

It was intentional to an extent, though. If it had just been her, riding the massive wave of Rubiconian refugees after the Fires had slagged their planet to smouldering ash, she would've thrust her hand up high and declared her credentials at the immigration office. The UEG had hoovered up every single scientist or technician it could get its greedy little paws on in the aftermath, and from what Carla had seen they were living it large right now. A luxurious little corporate cage as they regurgitated all of Rubicon's little technological miracles for the UEG to warp and manipulate.

She hoped they choked on their feed, honestly, but she was self-aware enough to know that would've been her too, if she'd been alone. But she wasn't.

"Hey, Walter! It's time to close up shop!"

Her voice rang across their large, open garage, cluttered with broken down machinery and mechs alike, a literal maze of trip hazards and health violations that would've gotten her shutdown if this was on the surface. But it wasn't. No one gave a shit what anyone did down here in the slums, so long as their little worker bees kept on working, kept on producing... and didn't, gasp, form unions.

Carla was a one-man show, though- okay, technically three, if you counted Walter and Chatty, but she was wisely keeping away from that business. All power to the people and all that, fuck the bourgeois, eat the rich, etc, etc, but Carla had a purpose she was gunning for, and social liberation didn't come under that. So, for now, it was just her and Walter, working in a deathtrap of a scrapper garage, with Chatty sitting quietly in the background pretending to be dumb security system rather than a fully fledged AI (that can and has ran circles around the security AIs on Ganymede - lots of dirty laundry in many people's drawers on this moon).

A groaning, screeching rattle echoed through the garage, signifying the shutter doors being closed. Carla pushed herself up from where she'd been squatting over a dismembered construction mech arm, trying to extract the intact gyroscopes inside. These things sold pretty sell second hand... or third... or fourth... well, you got the idea.

"Oof, all this bending over is ruining my back..." she grumbled, pressing her oil-stained hands against her lower back and applying pressure, feeling how tight and knotted it was. "I feel old as shit."

"You are old as shit."

Carla scoffed and turned to see Walter lurking in the shadows like the anti-social freak that he was. His brown hair was a little flyaway than usual, darkened from where he'd accidentally rubbed oil into it from his hands, and his mechanic jumpsuit was partially unzipped, his pale skin faintly flushed from exertion and damp with sweat.

He was a lot more modest about the unzipping, though. Carla had whacked hers down all the way to the midriff, because this shitty garage got hot no matter how much she tried finangling some kind of air conditioning down here. The air was too full of smog and other pollutants that trapped heat and discouraged the human way of cooling down via sweat evaporation. It was a torturous existence... and made Carla and Walter walk around like they were auditioning for some kind of "Mechanics Gone Wild!" calendar.

"Hey, you shouldn't be backtalking your boss like that!" Carla mock-scolded, planting her hands on her hips. "What if I decided to dock your pay?"

"Well, you'd have to pay me first," Walter said flatly, pinching the front of his jumpsuit and flapping it slightly to cool himself down. "I'm working here for free, remember?"

"Oh yeah. That's true," Carla hummed, cupping her jaw thoughtfully. "Well! Carry on, then! Can't control you if I'm not in charge of your pay, haha!"

Walter rolled his eyes, forever unimpressed with her cavalier attitude and jokes, despite her best attempts. He was too much like his father sometimes, though Carla knew better than to say that. Walter had more daddy issues than an entire soap opera cast combined, and the one time she'd made a comment about how Walter was looking more like his father now that he was a little older and.... brrrrr! The dark side of the moon had been tropical in comparison!

this kid, she thought exasperatedly, he needs to loosen up...

"Got any plans tonight?" she asked as they made their way to the rear of the garage, where they both lived out of. It wasn't anything impressive compared to their immaculate lodgings on the Xylem in another lifetime, but compared to the rest of the gutter rats around here, they were living it up large. Two bedrooms for privacy and their own kitchen and bathroom with functioning plumbing? They were like royalty! Royal rats, the pair of them, hah.

"None," Walter replied. "Why, do you need me for something?"

"Yeah, as a chaperone," Carla teased, nudging him with her elbow. "We should hit up the bars. You're an adult now, you should be living it large before we've gotta focus on the job."

Walter's expression said he'd rather belly crawl over barbed wire.

"I'd rather belly crawl over barbed wire," he said.

"Aw, c'mon! Stop being a Debbie Downer." Carla nudged him with her elbow, and weaved out of the way when he tried to nudge her back. "You're really going to leave me hanging? Leave your old as shit guardian to wander the bars alone... defenceless... helpless against any ne'er-do-wells-"

Walter snorted. "You're anything but helpless. If anything I should be protecting the local population from you, cougar."

"Cougar! Well, you're right. I do like my men young and cute," Carla teased with a wink, just to see his reaction. Which was....!!! Nothing. Guy didn't even flinch.

"Right. So, I'd just cramp your cougar style," Walter said simply. "Being a cute young man and all. They'd all think you're taken... or asking for a threesome. I wouldn't want to ruin your night like that."

"Hm." Carla was reluctantly amused. "You've gotten very sassy, Walter."

"That's your fault."

Yup, and she was proud of it. Walter had been such a humourless little thing as a child - through no fault of his own, admittedly. Growing up in the Xylem had been a lonely, neglectful existence, and being uprooted from that to flee to a colony that viewed him as nothing but an unwanted mouth to feed just compounded whatever fucked up issues that childhood of neglect had lain the foundations for. It made sense that whatever sense of humour Carla tried to impart in him turned all warped and twisted and a little mean.

But! Humour was humour! When things got bad, all you had to do was laugh! Walter wasn't the laughing type, but she'd take this! Better than nothing!

"Well, you're coming out anyway," she said. "No ifs or buts! You've just been rotting away in your room, brooding about pointless crap. Just come out and have a few drinks. Unwind a little."

"No."

"I'll have Chatty recite all the poetry I wrote since we left-"

"Okay, just a few drinks," Walter immediately u-turned.

Hah. Gottem.

-

If growing up with Carla taught Walter one thing, it was learning how to pick his battles.

He wasn't a drinker, and the bars down in the slums were as seedy as you'd expected: the alcohol was moonshine or contrabrand, drugs were commonly traded in the background, and there was always a risk of the Ganymede Guards crashing the party to arrest a few people for encouraging socialist gatherings. Walter just didn't see the point in getting involved in that crap, but Carla always was seduced by dangerous or ill-advised things.

She also had a short attention span. As they stood at the bar, knocking back the probably toxic swill being sold, Carla eventually got pulled away by some people she knew in the scrapping business, her obnoxiously loud laughter audible even over the ambient chatter.

Walter took that as his cue to finish his drink and leave.

Broken glass crunched under his boots as he stepped out into the street, burying his hands into the pockets of his mechanic jumpsuit. The air was smoggy and thick with a wet, unpleasant smell, making him feel like he was in a rancid sauna, and he unzipped his jumpsuit that little bit more, fanning himself.

He couldn't wait to leave this place.

From the moment he had stepped foot on this damned moon, he had despised every inch of it. The Xylem had been cold and loveless, yes, but the air hadn't stank of exhaust, it wasn't constantly hot and humid, with changing seasons and weather, he could see the sky and watch the birds fly, his hands would only have the callouses from holding a pen, rather than being rough and worn like leather from constant handling of scrapping tools and sticky oil. Walter's life would be very different, if his father hadn't ruined everything.

He stopped in front of the door to his and Carla's living quarters in the garage, digging out the key from his pocket and slotting it in. When he stepped inside, he was greeted with Chatty saying: "Welcome back, kid. Is the Chief still out?"

"Yeah." Walter kicked the door shut behind him. "Talking shop with some people."

"Understood."

And that was that. Despite the name Chatty was pretty quiet, which was why he and Walter got along well. He headed up the narrow staircase to his room, which was sandwiched between Carla's room and the bathroom, and just wide enough to slot a single-man bed in there with enough room for him to actually get in and out of it.

Walter felt grimy as hell, so he shed his boots and jumpsuit entirely, tossing the soiled clothing onto the floor before walking, completely naked, to the bathroom, yanking the cord to turn the light on. As he shut the door behind him, he looked at the cracked mirror Carla had broken when bolting onto the wall. She'd laughed that her luck was already so bad that this should cancel it out.

His reflection was uncomfortably familiar.

As a child, he'd been told often that he looked a lot like his mother. Standard biases, of course: for a considerable chunk of his childhood, he'd stayed as his assigned sex, a quiet little daughter that was easily forgotten about by most people. The moment he'd stepped out of that easily assigned box, became a son hungry for attention instead of the quiet daughter, people immediately switched to well, he's looking a lot like his father nowadays, isn't he?

Truth was, Walter had looked like both of them. He had his mother's bone structure, but his father's eyes, and his hair was a combination of them both: slightly wavy where his mother's was curly and his father's completely straight. He hadn't really put much stock into his appearance back then, anyways. He'd been ten. He just wanted people to call him Walter. What did it matter who he looked more like at the time?

Now, though, he looked in the mirror and saw his father.

What lingering remnants of his mother were easily overlooked by the sharp line of his jaw and the shape of his eyes, his hair cropped short enough that it was hard to see the slight waviness. He lowered his gaze, to his body which was well-toned with muscle from years of hauling heavy machinery and scrap, his shoulders broad and his trunk solid enough that it partially hid the slight curve of his hips. Didn't do anything to hide his breasts, but he already had a plan for those, if this Furlong Dynamics pilot recruitment programme worked out.

It was strange, though. The more he carved away the parts that were like his mother, the more his father shone through, and the more complicated Walter felt about the whole thing. He hated his father, despised him from the very depths of his soul, regretted every day his failed attempt to kill him before everything went completely pear-shaped... and now he was even tainting this, having Walter's stomach clench and his face tighten at his reflection, at the ghost of his father hidden in there.

He wasn't the same as him, though... he was going to put to rights what Dr Kohler had done wrong. He'd make it so he could look himself at the mirror without wanting to flinch... either because he'd succeed in destroying the Coral for good, or because he'd die in the process. Either or.

"Kid. You've been staring at the mirror for five minutes."

"I'm fine," Walter said, anticipating Chatty's follow up question. He turned away and turned on the shower, watching as the metallic smelling water spluttered out of the showerhead sluggishly. "Just thinking."

"Hm."

Chatty left it there, and Walter neatly compartmentalised his complicated feelings and stuffed them under the figurative bed. It was a pointless thing to brood about, didn't contribute at all towards his mission. Being Walter was a selfish self-indulgence anyways, the one thing he allowed himself, despite the looming pressure of the trials to come.

What did it matter who he looked liked? That legacy was going to be buried, one way or another.

[sirfrancisvarney]

Not to defend James Somerton, but my memory of the Coppola film was that it was relatively more faithful to the books than other film adaptations. "Relatively" being the key word here, as this isn't a high bar to clear: compare the Wikipedia plot summaries between the Lugosi, Lee, Langella, and Coppola films. Unlike the others, it does mostly keep the characters and plot events intact, while adding a lot of other nonsense on top. Again, this is compared to the other movies and my memory of a movie I haven't seen in over a decade. They were all pretty loose in adapting the book.

I don't want to give Somerton partial credit for this when so much else he said was so terribly wrong, but in the interest of being fair, out of all the errors he made, I'd mark it as a relatively minor one. Much worse is his "Gary Goldman is the first fuckable Dracula" claim. Even if you discounted Lugosi and Lee because they were portrayed as villains and the audience wasn't supposed to be attracted to them (you'd be wrong, but you could technically make that claim), Langella's character was explicitly presented as romantic and sexy in the 1979 film (and since I hate the Coppola film, I'd personally argue that Langella did a better job than Oldman in that department). Then there's also Love at First Bite (1979), a comedy featuring Dracula as the romantic lead. There's more, but I'm limiting this to films I have personally seen. Nothing in the Coppola film was particularly novel or original; its changes and additions were following trends that started decades prior.

Spreading misinformation on vampires isn't that big a deal in the grand scheme of things, but this is a subject I'm somewhat knowledgeable about, and I needed to get this out of my system so I could move on.

[emanation-aura]

"How the Archons Negotiate"?

Haha, that's a bit of a cliffhanger title in and of itself, since in my WIP document, the subtitle is "how the Archons negotiate elemental reactions".

I think you've seen some of it before, @adjoint-law, but essentially the premise is that the current bunch of Archons talk to each other, understanding and getting to know each other better so that they can keep the current system of elemental reactions intact via magical contract. The idea began with Focalors (written before her appearance was revealed, although it's not as though the blue blue blue colour scheme was particularly hard to predict) visiting Nahida after the events of the Sumeru Archon Quest.

"Negotiations?" Nahida tilts her head, confused. Focalors laughs, a sharp bark that startles her. "Dearie, of course you wouldn't know." Her tone is a strange blend of razor-sharp pity and calm impartiality. "The Seven Element system has been in place for millennia, ever since the end of the Archon War," (Nahida's mind whirs, Irminsul whispering a deep no, no, more ancient), "yet the system of elemental reactions are not governed as such. At the outset of the War, the first Archons gathered and negotiated how their elements would react with others." "Oh." Nahida nods serenely. "Then I presume you are here to renew this process?" [...] "Do you wish to change any of the terms?" Nahida asks. "I believe our negotiations may only encompass the sole production of Dendro Cores with Bloom. If you wish to alter Hyperbloom or Burgeon, you had better invite the Electro and Pyro Archons." "The Raiden Shogun has been invited," Focalors waves her hand dismissively. "Though I have been unable to secure contact with Siwatlatoani Ayim. No, I came to you specifically simply to verify that the elemental reaction between Hydro and Dendro should continue unimpeded, even if our elements undergo changes." "Elements undergo changes?" Nahida wonders. She wonders if it has anything to do with the way Cryo has gone deadly still in recent years. "You plan on changing the underlying attributes of Hydro?" The woman looks away, her vivid gaze pinned on the former shackles of the Sanctuary. If Nahida looks very carefully, there's a finely hidden tremor to her lips, something inexplicable in the way she holds herself. (Like this, she doesn't look like the commanding, regal ruler of Fontaine— but a young girl, exhausted to the bone.)

I kinda played around with the Visions = specific ideals/ambitions = Elements idea. It basically it follows the path Travail sets for nations, but applied to the element: Mondstadt = Freedom = Anemo / Liyue = Contracts = Geo / Inazuma = Eternity = Electro / Sumeru = Wisdom = Dendro / Fontaine = Justice = Hydro / Natlan = War = Pyro (Snezhnaya is unknown).

Focalors "changing the underlying attributes of Hydro" is based on my idea of the impending Fontaine Archon Quest being partially based on a perversion of justice in the name of justice, reminiscent of how other nations have deconstructed their ideals. Focalors checks on Nahida because, perhaps influenced by her own experiences [[citation needed]], she expects Kusanali to have become jaded and cynical and twist the ideal of Wisdom so much that it would no longer create Bloom Cores... or something like that. It's still a WIP, after all, but it'll be bouncing restlessly until Fontaine releases and we get a glimpse into Focalors' mindset.

[kariachi]

Who wants to hear about Erinaen currency?

So, Erinaens use the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae of meat-breed carit as currency.

The bones of carit are partially opalized, making counterfeiting very difficult to pull off- not impossible, Osmosians exist, but difficult. They're also durable, and easily carried in the Erinaen 'string' system. They're also very very available but, just keep with me.

A carit has 16 of these vertebrae, which are generally strung in lots of three spines, and it's the duty of the purchaser of a carcass to clean them for use. After all, nobody wants your wet, gristly back bones. As such, meat-breed carit carcasses come with the spine attached and intact. The seller doesn't get to use those particular vertebrae as currency, but also doesn't have to go through the trouble of cleaning them themselves, while the buyer can put in the effort to make back the money they spent, or even trade in the spine and some fruit or meat or some such to somebody else in exchange for pre-cleaned bones.

And this system is part of what allows this currency to remain relatively stable despite the fact you can literally grow your own money. You get 16 vertebrae from each carcass, the seller could get those vertebrae themselves but don't want to put in the extra work if they don't have to, the buyer is going to make back all 16 vertebrae on top of the meat that makes up the rest of the carcass.

A carcass is priced consistently at 16 vertebrae, and this is what backs the currency. It doesn't matter how many vertebrae are out there or how many carits are out there, they'll always come up at 16 vertebrae = 1 meat-breed carit carcass. Everything else is priced based on that. If something's gone wrong and there's a carit shortage? Then the value of carit carcasses goes up and you can afford more off one vertebrae. If you're having to pick the fuckers out of your soup bowl, then the opposite happens, value goes down and one vertebrae will buy less. But 16 vertebrae will always buy a carcass.

It is entirely possible, and people have done it, to scrape together enough vertebrae for one carcass and just keep cycling 16 vertebrae at a time until things get better. It's not healthy because it's a very limited diet, but it can be done, especially if you have some way to supplement your diet for free- which is commonplace on Eri. There not being something to forage outside of winter seasons is uncommon.

And one can still make a profit in all this. A meat carit farmer will only get 16 vertebrae for the carcass, yes, but they can also sell several of the non-vertebral bones as well as the dermal crystals- which aren't used for as much as larger breeds' but are still valuable. Meanwhile the buyer can sell on whatever meat from the carcass they don't use themselves, either plain or prepared as foodstuffs. Both sides benefit from the arrangement.

Partially as a result of this individuals who own animals- carits especially- are considered more well-off than others. You're not about to see like, lords and Erinaen billionaires and shit, but more like looking at the fucker down the road who owns three cars while you can only manage one and going 'wow, he's doing well for himself'. owning a pet is considered doing well and moving up to livestock and such? Doing very well. There's a saying that roughly translates to 'the draft-carit farmer owns the world', which refers both to the ease of travel available to them and that the value of their animals means that they're unlikely to fall on hard times. Hence the concept of being more well-off. You're doing well and/or can expect to continue doing well.

This isn't to imply that there's some great barrier of entry to animal ownership. Most animals, like on Earth, can simply be purchased and raised yourself as long as you can provide space, shelter, food, and care. Meat-breed carit are more expensive than a livestock animal of similar style on Earth, but still possible to get your hands on. You may be able to get a cull youngster for as little as 4 vertebrae depending on the sex and health, though it's not recommended to buy one that cheap as it's likely for a reason. Breeding stock are always more expensive of course, often costing several strings of vertebrae- a male of particularly good structure, girth, health, crystal color, and crystal clarity once went for 144 strings of 48 vertebrae, proving that farmers are unbelievable no matter where you go- but those looking to get into the business will often sell their labor to those already in it in exchange for second or third choice breeding stock. Not perfect, but enough to get you started.

In situations like this it can be hard to give an equivalent value in other currencies. I mean it's an entirely different planet with an entirely different system. But, if pressed, I would give a tentative estimate of one carit vertebrae being equivalent to about $2.50 in US dollars, at the moment.

[jurassicateer]

TOP TEN MOST INCREDIBLE JURASSIC WORLD FACTS

1. InGen Was Not the First Human Presence on Isla Nublar

For thousands of years, Isla Nublar was the home of a tribe known as the Tun-Si, or 'Water Men.' Although descended from the Bribri people of Costa Rica, the Tun-Si lived in near perfect isolation, developing their own cultural practices and dialect separately from the mainland. This ended in 1525, when the Spanish ship La Estrella made landfall on the island. There followed four centuries of hardship and displacement for the Tun-Si, until InGen reached a purchasing agreement with the Costa Rican government for ownership of the island. The remaining Tun-Si now enjoy generous stipends and benefits on the mainland, while a year-round exhibit at the Innovation Center provides an in-depth look at this fascinating culture.

2. Jurassic World was John Hammond's Dying Wish

Simon Masrani had been a close personal friend of John Hammond for many years. The two shared regular correspondence even when Masrani was a young boy, up to the events of 1993. While it's unclear how much Masrani knew of the work being done on Isla Nublar, he apparently knew enough for Hammond to trust him with his life's dream.

3. Work on Jurassic World Began as Early as 1997

Despite the San Diego Incident, the revelation of InGen's genetic capabilities only heightened the public's fascination with dinosaurs. Masrani quickly purchased the dying company and conducted several expeditions to study the animals on Isla Sorna. A mere five years later, construction for the new park began on Isla Nublar.

4. Some of the First Dinosaurs in Jurassic World Were Originally Bred for Jurassic Park

Many of the dinosaurs you see at the park once lived at Site B, on Isla Sorna. Not only that, but our tyrannosaurus, Rexy, is the very same that was created for Hammond's park. Don't let her age fool you; she's as feisty as ever!

5. Jurassic World Received Over Eight-Million Visitors in it's First Year

Traffic to Isla Nublar was carefully regulated after the park opened in 2005. Admittance was initially relegated to a strict lottery system, partially to prevent scalpers, but also to study the dinosaurs' response to human activity. Restrictions have since been revised to account for the maximum allowable human population on the island in accordance with both security and dinosaur wellness measures. All told, some 22,000 people visit the park everyday, with a total park capacity of 30,000.

6. New Dinosaurs Are Born on the Island Every Week

As many as two to five hatchlings are born each week at the Hammond Creation Lab or one of our field facilities. As of this time of writing, 250 new dinosaurs have been bred at Jurassic World.

7. Almost All Park Operations are Facilitated Through One Place

Guests might just see the peak of the Jurassic World Control Center rising over the hills beyond Main Street. The Control Center monitors all human dinosaur activity on the island, utilizing the most advanced communications technology ever developed as well as our proprietary DIN-OS computer network.

8. Park Employees May Live on Isla Nublar Year-Round

In addition to full benefits and world-class pay, our valued team members enjoy comfortable accommodations at Jurassic Village free of charge. This private employee complex features a variety of housing options based on job level and security, from intern dormitories and family apartments to townhouses for our most senior staff.

9. Remnants of Jurassic Park Can Still Be Found on the Island

Although many facilities were deconstructed for Jurassic World, the Jurassic Park Visitor Complex still stands largely intact in the heart of the Nublar jungle. Plans are currently in motion to repurpose some of these ruins for expansion, but for now the Visitor Center stands as a monument to Hammond's original vision.

10. New Species are Kept in Quarantine on the Island

Our geneticists continue to push the boundaries of de-extinction, making constant additions to our database of prehistoric genomes. Any dinosaur of a previously undeveloped species is carefully studied and cared for in the lab, before being transported to a specially secured quarantine area for observation in the wild. This area is off-limits to all but our most elite guests, and strict countermeasures are in place for any and all information leaks. We can, however, say that there are some truly exciting new additions coming soon to Jurassic World, so be sure to check this blog regularly for updates!

[tangleweave]

[ War and Peace ]

@itmeanspeace

The ship had hurtled with all the speed and insanity of a pilot who was either being chased or had a death wish.

The vessel had not been a large one, by Skuttlebutt's reckoning. Designed for perhaps a maximum of three people, but most likely it carried only one or two. Its emergence from lightspeed right across the Korbinite warship's path and its apparent kamikaze run at the nondescript planet below had been startling, to say the least, and hails had gone unanswered. Skutt's sensors had been unable to pierce the ship's hull to get a read on any life aboard, but she had at least managed to ascertain that the vessel was in reasonable shape. No carbon scoring or shear strain from active combat maneuvers, no missing side panels or exposed circuitry... in fact the vessel appeared to have a nominal deflector shield system, with high-impact cushioning, just the sort one would take into a nebula or a debris-filled system.

So why was it necessary for the ship to crash? And into a planet with no sentient populace to offer assistance?

Bill descended through the atrmosphere, Stormbreaker in hand, crimson cape flapping and billowing furiously behind him as he hurtled at speeds well in excess of terminal velocity towards the impact crater. The air cracked and gave way before him with a thunderous sound, befitting the oath he had taken with Asgard's favored son. The crash site was in flames; the vessel had struck into the heart of a wooded and overgrown region. A tightening of Bill's fist around his weapon and a silent call to the sky through which he flew were answered with an abrupt gathering of storm clouds; rain would begin falling on the area momentarily, and hopefully would mitigate the environmental damage caused by the crash.

When he landed, rain was already falling in sheets -- and perhaps it was a good thing not just for the local environment, but for the ship as well, because the kiss of cool water left what remained of the vessel's hull steaming and hissing. Bill was surprised to see the ship was still partially intact; it was surely wrecked, but at the speed it had struck, he'd fully expected to see nothing but a warped chunk of metal where once there had been something glorious and precious.

But the cockpit was still in good shape, and a quick leap up onto the craft brought him eye to eye with the pilot.

She looked... human.

[blueiskewl]

Tomb with Greek Mummy Unearthed in Aswan, Egypt

A Greco-Roman-era tomb with a Greek mummy was unearthed in Aswan, Egypt. And in an extremely unusual discovery, the archaeologists found a copper plaque with the man’s name — Nikostratos — near his body.

The amazing find was made as part of excavations undertaken by the Egyptian-Italian Mission at West Aswan, in the area of the Aga Khan Mausoleum, as reported by the University of Milan on Monday.

Although the tomb complex had been raided in antiquity, the mummy of the Greek man was intact, with grave goods such as elaborate pottery found with the body. An altar for sacrifices was found at the entrance of the tomb, which contained a total of 20 mummies.

Greek man Nikostratos had been buried with copper necklace with name on it

The tomb, which the archaeologists say in an announcement was “very large,” is part of the Aga Kham Mausoleum complex but had been previously unknown to historians.

The archaeological mission that took place in 2021 was directed by Patrizia Piacentini, Professor of Egyptology and Egyptian Archaeology at the State University of Milan, and Abdelmoneim Said, the Director General of Aswan and Nubia Antiquities (SCA).

The incredible discovery was made during the digs that took place between May and October of 2021.

Greek mummy, funeral goods, altar found in new tomb complex in Egypt

The joint Italian-Egyptian team has been working since 2019 in the area surrounding the Mausoleum of the Aga Khan, on the western shore of the Nile at Aswan, where there are more than 300 tombs dating from the sixth century BC to the fourth century AD.

This encompasses the Ptolemaic era of Egyptian history, when the Egyptian royals intermarried with the Greek Ptolemies, the rulers who took over parts of Alexander the Great’s conquered lands.

Archaeologists found the mummy of a man adjacent to the east wall of the structure; next to it, they discovered a copper necklace with an engraved plaque in Greek with his name, “Nikostratos.” They believe that his body had originally been in the tomb that had been uncovered soon afterward under the rectangular structure and later taken out by looters in ancient times.

Unique “rectangular structure” protected tomb of Greek mummy in Egypt for many centuries

Their latest find is a large tomb (designated AGH032) dating from the Greco-Roman period, was hidden by a well-preserved rectangular structure that shows important traces of a mysterious fire that the archaeologists believe also affected the burial site.

A large pile containing animal bones (mainly those of sheep), as well as pottery shards, offering plates and slabs inscribed in hieroglyphics covered the east wall of the structure, suggesting its use as a votive site, the archaeologists state in their report, which was released by the University of Milan.

The archaeologists declared that this is the first structure of its kind found in the Aga Khan necropolis.

Mummy’s wrappings slashed by grave robbers in antiquity; knife found at scene

A staircase partially flanked by carved blocks and covered by a mud-brick vault leads to the entrance, which was enclosed by a complex system of slabs and stone blocks above the staircase. A large offering table, or altar, was found in pieces at the entrance; hieroglyphics are still clearly visible on its surface.

A heavily-decorated bowl decorated “à la barbotine”, or with ceramic slip decoration applied before firing, was found, also in fragments, in the newly-discovered tomb as part of the grave goods of the departed.

The tomb complex is comprised of a hall overlooked by four burial chambers carved deep into the bedrock. In the hall, opposite the entrance, an earthenware sarcophagus containing the mummy of a child and a beautiful cartonnage (a kind of decorated papier-mâché that covered the mummies) was discovered by the archaeologists.

Another child’s mummy, found in one of the burial chambers, has been X-rayed and shows a plaque atop the chest of the deceased.

Archaeologists found the 20 mummies, some in what they called “an exceptional state of preservation,” inside the four galleries carved into the rock. Others had had their wrappings and cartonnage slashed by ancient thieves; in yet another astounding discovery, the researchers found a knife amongst the mummies that they believe was used for this purpose.

Well-reserved sarcophagi still had brightly-painted colors

Some of the mummified bodies were of elderly people, as evidenced by the visible signs of arthritis in their bones; others were of women or small children, including an infant.

A radiological analysis of the head of a mummified child was performed on the site of the necropolis with a portable X-ray machine by members of the Egyptian-Italian Mission at West Aswan.

They also carried out anthropological and radiological analyses on 45 individuals that had been discovered in 2019 in the tomb called AGH026 in addition to the 20 individuals found in 2021 in tomb AGH032. (See video below).

The aim was to assess age, sex and possible diseases t he people may have suffered from.

The team discovered that in tomb AGH026, 30% of the individuals were children, from the neonatal period to an age of about 10 years. Many of the remaining bodies were female. At least three families were found, with mother, father and son buried next to each other in one case.

Analyses of the bones showed that some of the people had suffered from infectious diseases and various metabolic disorders. The femur of one adult showed clear signs of amputation, which the person must have survived since there is evidence of the bone self-repairing after the event, the archaeologists note.

Other bodies show evidence of arthrosis, which is a sign of death that had taken place in old age.

The initial survey of the area led to the discovery of several well-preserved sarcophagi, made of stone and clay, dating from the Late Pharaonic to the Roman period, with some of them still showing beautiful colors, the archaeologists say. Two sarcophagi of children and three of adults, together with parts of other sarcophagi, were collected from the site and have been secured offsite.

By Patricia Claus.

[ask-de-writer]

WIND MEETS THE ROM : Part 9 of 27 :

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WIND MEETS THE ROM

Part 9 of 27

by

De Writer (Glen Ten-Eyck)

Cover art by @wind-the-mama-cat

54212 words

© 2023 by Glen Ten-Eyck

Writing begun 06/01/18

All rights reserved. This document may not be copied or distributed on or to any medium or placed in any mass storage system except by the express written consent of the author.

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Copyright fair use rules for Tumblr users

Users of Tumblr.com are specifically granted the following rights. They may reblog the story provided that all author and copyright information remains intact. They may use the characters or original characters in my settings for fan fiction, fan art works, cosplay, or fan musical compositions.

All sorts of fan art, cosplay, music or fiction is actively encouraged.

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New to the story? Read from Part 1, here!

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Soon she found herself dancing with old Marchhare. He grinned and pointed out, “Don't worry about the dancing. I have been trying to learn it for around 800 years and I still make a fool of myself, except for couples dances. I finally do pretty well at those. Just do whatever the music inspires you to do. That is all that anyhorse here expects.”

Wind grinned as she saw the truth of his statement. He was doing pretty well at the couples dances, especially when dancing with Hoof Dancer. At the group and singles dances, which he happily charged into, he was, as he himself put it, a happy fool.

She heard a quiet voice at her ear, “Do not be deceived. Marchhare is far better at dance than he lets on.” Wind realized that it was Hoof Dancer who had whispered that bit of knowledge. Still, if Marchhare's dancing was an act, it was a very good one.

Hanar approached her, as they were all taking break from the dance. She had brought along with her one of the Rom's innocent looking double drum sets. Innocent looking because, unlike any drumset of Wind's experience, not only did each drum have a distinct voice, tapping the heads in different parts produced completely different sounding beats. Besides percussive rhythm, these drums could actually provide a tune.

A bit nervous, she asked, “Wind, if you could, would you show me how to do that sort of sway and slide step that you were doing? I can give you the rhythm line on the drums here.”

Wind considered, “Our bones are different, so it may not work out for you, but sure. Happy to oblige.”

The lone beat of the drums had a sensuous tone to them as Wind began letting herself dance in a free form way, being sure to use those sways and slides that Hanar wanted. In moments, she realized that she was not alone. Hanar was dancing opposite her.

Marchhare had very expertly taken over the drums. Celestia was adding the lovely deeper strum and pluck of the large lyre that the Rom called a moro lyre. Rose had added a sweet wailing flute to the developing music.

Hanar was not only managing the new steps, she had added the flourishing of her sashes to the developing dance. Hoof Dancer and Black Lotus joined in. Hoof Dancer's magic pulled Midnight into the dance. Besides the sash work, Hoof Dancer's delicate magic encouraged Midnight to use her huge wings in lifts, fans, partial folds and wraps, all perfectly timed to the impromptu tune. The Sky Dancers, staying on the ground, joined in, forming a “wing chorus” to Midnight's performance.

A quiet voice that she could not identify said, “This is lovely, Wind. Thank you.”

Hanar danced beside her and said, “Mother loves this. Wind, you have given her and all the Rom a new dance.”

Wind replied, “All that I did was do a few steps that were new to you.”

Eyes twinkling with humor, Hanar replied, “That is all that we needed. We are practically born dancing. We will be exploring this novelty for years to come.”

Wind relaxed, smiling, now that she understood. Well, mostly. She was still puzzled by that soft voice that had thanked her for creating the dance. It was not quite like any voice that she had ever heard.

It was not long before the music wound down and the dance came to a stop.

Wind's acute hearing picked up on two conversations, both happening at once. One was in Gyptian, the other in Equestrian.

The one in Equestrian sounded like Greenforest trying to get himself in trouble again!

“What? You are not going to try to stop me?”

“No need, Greenforest. I am quite sure that if you do try to remind the Princesses about propriety and remembering their Place in Society, that they will be extremely clear about YOUR propriety and Place in Society.”

“But look at them! Just acting like commoners!”

“Look more closely. Acting like HAPPY commoners.”

The other conversation was between Celestia and Marchhare.

“Lovely moro lyre, Tia. I do not believe that I have seen that one before.”

“No, I only finished the wood work this last week. I spent over a month trying to match Nore's beautiful grasswood for the sounding box. I think that I did this time. It only took me five hundred years!” she chuckled.

Marchhare joined her. “True. My first wife was not only the first luthier among the Rom, she was the best at many aspects of it. She loves music and dancing so much.”

“Speaking of music, Marchhare, what shall we call this tune and Wind's dance?”

“What about Wind's Wings? Midnight's wing work there was absolutely divine.”

“True. I wish that my sister was not so shy about public performances. She is a wonderful dancer. Still, Wind's Wings needs some proper words. It could make a good road song.”

“It could at that. I will have some of the foals tackle it. Young minds are so creative.”

Tia booped Marchhare's nose as she snorted, “Do you mean that old minds like yours and mine aren't?”

“Their young minds being creative says nothing about whether our older minds are creative. They are not mutual exclusives.”

Wind nodded to herself. Definitely my kind of people.

She strolled over to the feasting leftovers. She was sort of picking through them, looking for something to match her appetite.

In a few minutes, Hanar joined her. Her magic held a small bread bowl filled with seasoned scrambled eggs and topped by melted cheese. Alongside it was a goodly mug of that fine Rom black tea.

“I saw you going for a snack, Wind. I knew that we used up all of your special meat pies so I whipped this up. I hope that it is good.”

Wind took the snack, balancing it all on a plate so that she could manage it with one hand. “It smells terrific. Care to snack with me? I saw you go for seconds on that three berry pie and there is some left.”

“I would love to share snacks, Wind.”

Settling under a nice shady tree, Wind asked, “Just before you told me that your mother loved the new dance, some horse whispered in my ear saying that the dance was lovely and thanking me.” Her brow furrowed as she tried to think clearly. “It was not quite like any whisper that I have ever heard. There was nohorse that I could see there. Do you know who it was?”

Hanar chuckled deep in her throat as she replied, “Our loved dead are always with us. Who did we come here to visit with? It was mother, of course.”

Wind nodded slowly, while chewing a bite of the egg and bread bowl snack that Hanar had fixed her. She washed it down with some of the tea. “I know that you say that, but this really brings it home. Those others that were talking to Shansa were hearing her, just like I did. I begin to see why you are all such happy horses.”

Hanar smiled gently, “I cannot say whether the Lake of Paradise awaits for ponies who believe that death of the body is an end. I have been to the Lakes of ponies who joined us and became horses. They have gone to the Lake. Old Marchhare went to the Lake but came all the way back for us. Even some gryphons who joined us have gone to the Lake.

Wind nibbled some more of the egg in its bread bowl. “I have to admit that I never spent much time wondering about what will happen when I die. Now, I really will have to give it a lot of thought.”

Hanar giggled and booped wind gently on the nose. “This life and its horses and the wonders of the road are enough for me. Rather than spend time worrying about what might come, just live, be happy, and always do your best at whatever you do. That is enough.”

Wind smiled at that. “I will bet that there are times, especially with ponies like that Sargent Greenforest or that pony at the other wayside, this morning, when doing your best is not as easy as it ought to be.”

Hanar's ears laid back. She spoke with as much of a snarl as a horse could make, “We are not SLAVES, to be ordered about! Doing our best includes being FREE horses, and doing whatever it takes to STAY FREE.”

Wind was somewhat taken aback by the sheer ferocity of Hanar's response. “I did not mean to upset you, Hanar.”

Changing mercurially, she replied, “You did not upset me. You have simply touched the core of what it means to be Rom. I know that you saw the tears in the eyes of the Rom when we sang the Shehan Ja Rom. Our ancestors WERE slaves. They were slaves for so many generations that they were proud of serving their masters.

“It took Marchhare's sacrifice to push them into taking their freedom. We are born free, but to stay free, we have to earn our freedom. It can never be a simple gift. We have to wear it and hold it in our hearts and when we do, old Marchhare will present us with this, the sign and symbol of it.” She touched her beautifully tooled and dyed headstall. “The Freedom of the Rom.”

Wind polished off the bread bowl of eggs while she sorted out that. “So that is why some horses here don't have them and some do? What happens if some pony puts one on for a party or a joke? Don't you have trouble with that?”

Her eyes sparkling with humor, Hanar replied, “Not really. Thanks to Tia and Midnight being Rom, it is covered in the kingdom laws. They are permitted if they are made of fabric, not leather, and are worn as part of a costume for a particular event. The penalties can be severe, depending on the individual case.”

She looked up. “Oh, Wind! We are needed. It is time to break camp and get back to the road!”

Sure enough, all of the band was actively cleaning up the last of the dishes mugs and pots. Wind had seen it before but remained impressed as small pots went into larger ones and even trestle boards fitted together to make compact bundles of everything. The last of the feast was gathered together and given to the guards by Midnight herself.

“Add this to your rations but for Sargent Greenforest. For his rudeness to our friend Shansa, trying to take her plate, he gets none.”

“It ain't fair! There was nopony there! That stuff was going to waste!”

Midnight corrected, cold as ice, “NO HORSE, you mean. And you are wrong. Our loved dead are always with us. With behavior like yours, it very clear why yours would avoid YOU.”

Major Hawkwing silenced Greenforest's retort. “SARGENT! Are you TRYING to get removed from the Royal Guard? There is ample cause in your continued insubordination. The only thing keeping you from dismissal is the decision of the the Rom mare, Hanar Na Kili. Keep your peace. Keep your eyes and mind open.”

More compassionately, he went on, “This first exposure to the Rom is where just over half of all Royal Guard candidates wash out. You worked for five years for this position. Follow the Guards Manual and the Manual of Rom Belief and Customs. That is the only way to survive in the Royal Guards.”

By the time that Midnight returned, she found that all the packing was done and the hitches were being laid out. Wind was busy setting up Marchhare's caravan hitch with a second double tree and a single tree in front.

Midnight smiled as she saw it. “Only a few days among us and already you are laying out hitches properly. I love your singing voice, too. And that dance! You have given us so much in such a short time.”

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