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skaldish · 3 months

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Hey what's the deal with Thursatru? Something feels off about it to me...

You can ignore my last ask; I saw you answer someone else who had the same question

Well first for posterity: Thurs (or Tussar) are Jötun, and Jötnar are the wild, untameable forces of nature. But unlike most Jötnar, Thurs are wild to the degree that they are actively and decisively incompatible with human wellbeing.

They represent the most extreme and destructive phenomena of nature, like rockslides and volcanic eruptions—stuff you have no chance of surviving if you get caught in its path. The destructive nature of Thurs is where we get the meaning of the rune Thurisas from.

Folklore has it that Thurs commonly dwell where humans fundamentally cannot. Some are said to live in Jötunheimen national park, up where the mountain peaks are swallowed by the clouds and where nothing grows. They throw rocks down at people passing by.

They also live in the volcanos of Iceland (Muspelheim). Thurs such as Sutur are responsible for the destructive nature of volcanos, spewing fire, ash, and molten rocks, while cracking open the land during an eruption.

My understanding is that it's uncommon for people to venerate the Thurs, but not for any taboo reason. Rather, it's the same reason why we don't worship wild tigers; "worship" is not the kind of relationship that builds any rapport with them. For most people, their relationships with Thurs involve being cautious of their nature and staying out of their way.

This is the way Thurs are understood in folklore. Now, to understand what Thursatru is, and what its deal is, take everything I just said and throw it out the window.

"Thursatru," from what I've gathered, basically characterizes itself as the Satanism of Heathenry, and it only makes sense in relation to specifically the American flavor of Asatru.

Keep in mind not refering to all of Heathenry in America, but to the way Icelandic Ásatrú is interpreted by Americans: The Eddas are treated as scripture, the past is treated as doctrine, Valhalla is treated as the goal to aspire to (awarded to those who live by the "viking values" outlined in the Havamal, or the snake-oil known as the Nine Noble Virtues), and Odin is treated as the Supreme Being and Loki his adversary.

The phrase "Asatru"—meaning "true to the Aesir"—is viewed as almost like an oath of office. You are pledging yourself to the Aesir's "side" in a prophesized cosmic war, fought between the forces of Order (represented by the Aesir, especially Odin) and Chaos (represented by the Jötnar, with figures like Loki, Ymir, and Sutur).

Jötnar basically fulfill the same function in American Asatru that demons and devils do in Christianity. If Satanism is the worship of all that is antithetical to the Christian god and Christianity, then Thursatru is the worship of all that is antithetical to the Aesir and Asatru belief. By being Thursatru, you're choosing to oppose the Aesir, aligning yourself with the forces destined to fight against them during Ragnarok.

And yes, all of it is extremely corny.

None of Heathenry was ever like this, and much of American Asatru is Christianity in viking garb.

Rockslides are dangerous, but not evil. Volcanic eruptions are disastrous, but not evil. The natural processes of the world—processes that are essential for life on Earth—don't always align with our needs as individual organisms. In fact, some of these processes will always be to our detriment if we stand in their way, as is the case volcanic eruptions and rockslides. That is the Thurs. That is who they are and what they represent.

So basically, the thing that's "off" about Thursatru is that it exists as a reaction to the narrative of American Asatru, and actually legitimizes that narrative to the public eye because it conforms to the American Asatru claim that venerating the Thurs fundamentally opposes the Aesir.

It's not true though, and that logic doesn't check when you put Heathenry back into its own paradigm. Saying Thurs-venerating opposes the Aesir is like saying "Exploring volcanos means you fundamentally oppose the existence of human-friendly environments." Like, what.

The only thing that actually makes someone Aesir-opposing, is their stance of opposing the Aesir. Venererating Thurs just makes someone Norse Heathen.

It's shenanigans all the way down.

#norse paganism #heathenism #asatru #thursatru

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sonderlivra · 1 month

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First of all, loveee your bytham fics! Wondering what your opinions on the merge between loki and basim are. Do you think Basim is evil? You write him so soft, but it never toes the line of ooc!

First of all anon thank you for the ask! <3 I'm glad you like my lil fics I'm trying my best :)

Second of all you brought up a particular subject I love to rant/ramble about so buckle up lmao.

More under the cut. WARNING SPOILER ALERT for: AC Odyssey, AC Valhalla, AC Mirage, AC: The Golden City.

All images have alt-text :)

My opinions about the merge are varied and long, so I'll start off by answering your question first.

Do I think Basim is evil? No. Absolutely not.

This is because I really don't think it's ever as simple as someone being 'good' or 'evil'. You could say I'm getting too pedantic about it, but from the very first game in the Assassin's Creed the idea that nothing is ever just black or white has been stressed upon constantly.

For this reason I believe Basim is a fantastic character to focus on in this series. He is the poster child of 'morally grey'.

So yeah, I've seen Basim (or Loki) being called a villain but I don't think that's true. I think he's an antihero.

But before I get to that, let's talk about the merge. I've seen the merge being described as something unfortunate, something that ripped away Basim's own personality and changed him into something he wasn't. I genuinely believe that that is not true.

Basim is who he has always been.

The thing to remember is that Loki has always been a part of him. He manifested himself as Nehal in Basim's early childhood, because young Basim was getting traumatised by nightly terrors. What he thought were visions of Djinn was, in his words, “a crippling memory from a past life”. The Djinn was Loki's nightmare, and poor little boy Basim was reliving it every single night.

Enter Nehal.

From little asides in the game, from their own conversations, it is clear Basim and Nehal had a very close bond. She banters with him, teases him, scolds him, fights with him. In the House of Wisdom, Basim tells us he used to sneak in there as a child with his best friend, and they spent many nights reading together (this is one of my favourite things about his childhood <3). Nehal has a distinct personality of her own, with her own interests, her own perspectives, her own opinions that she offers to Basim constantly. None of it is ever forced on him, he rejects her opinions and her advice many times over the course of the game. And while she (often vocally) disagrees, she respects his choices.

Then the events of Mirage happen. Basim discovers the 'truth' about Nehal, that she's not real, that she's just a part of him. Just waiting for him to accept her.

I want to take a step to the side and bring up Eivor's potential-merge moment from AC Valhalla. Because the difference between that moment and Basim’s is astounding. Throughout the game, Odin is there as an intermittent voice in the back of her head, posing questions on her moralities and her choices specifically when she kills someone with power, whose death would have major consequences. He isn't there to give her companionship or even friendship, his appearances to her look like a political advisor offering his opinions in statecraft to a leader. (Fwiw, I have not yet taken his advice once in my Valhalla gameplay lmao).

Odin: You have earned your place here, Eivor. Seize it! Eivor: Stand aside! My people need me! Odin: I have given you everything you wanted. Everything you needed! Eivor: You gave me nothing! It was all me! Odin: Yet I cleared your path. I guided your axe! Eivor: You were a fly, buzzing in my ear! Odin: How dare you deny me! Everything you believe in stirs before you! Yet you question all! You question the very gods!

And later:

Eivor: Your corpse hall is nothing but a dream! Odin: Nothing but a dream? A dream is as real as anything in this world! Do dreams not inspire? Do dreams not make us fearful? Do they not push men to their greatest glories! Eivor: Then I am done with dreaming! Odin: Stand and face me, you feeble-armed thrall!Leave me now and you are nothing! With me you have wisdom! Glory! Power! What more do you need! Eivor: Everything else.

Compare it to Nehal and Basim’s:

Basim: It is done. Nehal: No, Basim. It is only the beginning. For us. For what lies ahead. A deeper understanding of the world we left behind. And our place in it. Basim: All my life I wrestled with who I was. Who I was meant to be. And there you were. All this time. The side of me I resisted. A reflection of who we once were. Nehal: Of who we shall be once more. There is so much that awaits us. A new world. Let me show you. Basim (shakily): I will never see you again, will I? Nehal: (shakes head) Basim: Will I be… alone? Nehal: You are never alone.

So there it is. Odin tries to make Eivor choose him. He tries to bend her will, tries to trap her, to tempt her and goad her into accepting him.

Loki/Nehal does none of those things to Basim. Instead, he/she offers Basim companionship. A complete understanding of his self. Purpose and surety in his life. Something that Basim has been lacking, has been desperate to find his entire life.

Basim is scared, sure. Who wouldn't be? But he asks if he will ever be alone. And Nehal tells him, never. He will never be alone.

Because, and now we come to Loki, he won't be.

Let's talk about Loki. Is he evil? And you know what anon, I have to give you a resounding no for that too.

Loki is, let's face it, a bit of a pathetic asshat. He gripes, he connives, he grumbles and makes annoying faces behind Odin's back. But he's not evil. He just, idk, really loves his gf and his kids man.

From one of my many conversations with @project-zorthania on discord:

Odin (who is also an asshat lbr) condescends to Loki. None of the Aesirs treat Loki with any trust or respect. Now I'm not saying Loki was completely innocent. I'm not sure how much of the original Norse mythology is supposed to be canonical in this series, and by all accounts Loki is a hell of a troublemaker. But at the core of it all is the fact that the Aesir have never trusted him because he's half-Jotunn. He's always been the outsider.

Loki's wife Sigyn is mentioned once (and not by name) in this series, so the central point of his motivations is his mythologically canonical girlfriend, Angrboda. Aka Aletheia.

(Side note I adore Aletheia. Every time I saw her in Odyssey I lit up like a light bulb. She's so badass. Dikastes of Atlantis who was instrumental in getting Juno banished for human experiments, a human-sympathising Isu who was also a hacker. And now she's also a mother of three. Hot damn.)

Loki is already unhappy with the Aesir. The one truly joyful facet of his life is his lover and their children. He loves his kids, wants to keep them safe and spend more time with them. He tries to sneak his son into Asgard to keep him close. Odin discovers the son and imprisons him.

The interesting thing about Asgard (and Elysium/the Underworld/Atlantis in Odyssey) is that we don't truly know what they looked like. All these mythical places are seen through the lens of the protagonists, our player characters. Sure, there's some Isu-ness in the architecture, the dialogues, the 'devices'. But on the whole, Atlantis still has ancient Greek architecture, the people still wear chitons and sandals because that is what Kassandra expects to see. Similarly, Asgard is just a more grand, magical version of what a Norse city would look like.

I am stressing all this because we know that that's not actually the case. The Isu were an advanced civilisation, sure, but they weren't actually gods. The Nornir were confirmed to be compilers of a great calculating software. Yggdrasil was a simulation chamber. Thor's hammer was probably an advanced weapon with, idk, sci-fi electric laser stuff going on.

Loki's son was probably not a giant wolf.

I would like you to picture a young boy being snuck into a new strange place by his father. Imagine him being locked up instead. Imagine a teenage boy breaking his chains and trying to run. Imagine Odin beating that boy bloody and chaining him again, all because a probability machine told him that the boy would be the cause of his (eventual, inevitable) death.

That is what happened to Fenrir. Is it so hard to imagine Loki's rage? How he lost what little respect and faith he had in the Aesir?

Here’s some notes found in Urdr’s Well in Asgard, clearly written by Loki to Fenrir. The first is from my own gameplay taken a week ago, the second is from Zorthania’s stream from last year:

Here's a snippet of conversation between Loki and Angrboda (from one of the Animus Anomalies):

Lastly, here is a picture of a Literal Baby 🥺:

I could go on about this for hours, man. There’s so many more notes and hints and conversations that paint a picture of a flawed (Isu) man just trying to look out for his family.

When Loki merges with Basim, he is driven by two things: vengeance, and the need to bring his family back together. He needs to accomplish these goals no matter who or what stands in his way. But he’s more than just Loki now. He is Basim, and Basim has more than just these goals. If there’s a greater cause that’s not in the way of his own personal ones, then he’ll gladly and enthusiastically work for it.

And that brings me back to my final point. Basim is not a hero, he is not a villain. He is an antihero. This is from the Wikipedia article for antihero:

Post-merge, Basim continues to do his work as a Hidden One. He does so well, in fact, that despite whatever qualms Rayhan must have had about him (making Hytham spy on him even lol), Basim is made the bureau leader for Constantinople. Sure, his personal agenda is very much active. But at the same time, he fights the Order of the Ancients on behalf of the Hidden Ones. He ensures their strong presence in Constantinople by the end of TGC. He recognises that Kjotve is a major problem because he’s a high-ranking member of the Order.

During Valhalla, you see him ensure that Hytham’s place in Ravensthorpe is secure, that their shared mission of re-establishing the Hidden Ones in England is successful. You see hints and implications of Basim finding more resources and information that could be important for the Hidden Ones and forwarding them to Hytham. He’s still a Hidden One. He’ll always be one.

From the ending of AC Valhalla:

William Miles: So what next? Where will Basim go? Basim: As far as I can, William. William Miles: I feared as much. Basim: Do not. I cherish the Creed that guides us. I always have.

I do not think Loki and Basim are two different beings at this point. After the merge, Basim is just Basim, just an “Enhanced” version. Basim always refers to himself as himself, even when he could be talking about Loki. He speaks of Fenrir as if he was his own son. And yet he never claims the name Loki for himself. I’ve always thought that was so fascinating. It implies a true and complete merge of the two personalities, and yet, Basim was not the one consumed in that merge. Loki is accepted, but Basim continues to be the dominating identity.

Basim is who he has always been in both Valhalla and Mirage, and no, that doesn’t mean he was always evil. It means he never was just ‘the bad guy’ and that he was and continues to be a flawed, selfish, kind, helpful, dangerous, charismatic, complex man.

Thank you for the ask and sorry for the HUGE ramble lol! <3 you are so brave if you managed to read the whole thing <3

#basim ibn ishaq #ac valhalla #ac mirage #assassins creed valhalla #assassins creed mirage #spoliers #asks #mine #let me know if you think this needs any more tags lol <3

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tokyo-daaaamn-ji-gang · 9 months

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Hewwo!

I'ts me again.

I had this idea for a while now, but how do you think the Tokyo Rev boys would react if they like, get teleported in our world were all their life is just a maga/anime, and they find out by meeting the reader who is also an awful simp for them?(They have like shirts, posters, action figures, an maybe like the tattoos also?, and is just an otaku- geek).

If you decide to do it could you please do it with Baji, Draken, Mikey and Kazutora?+ Others if you want.

Sorry if this is long, and specific, but I need it so baddddd😩😩😩

Ohh this is funny! Lmao they'd probably be so confused, well some more then others...

Mikey- is very confused, doesn't know how he got here or what to do about it. He isn't too concerned though, knows Draken can take care of the gang until he can figure out a way back. Fiddles about with all the merch, picking up random things and examiming them. If you don't have the most merch of him then he will pout, wants to know where his merch taiyaki maker is and isn't happy when you tell him it doesn't exist. Completely ignores exploring around and just decides to sleep in your bed instead. Will ask you to bring him food and tie his hair for him when he wakes up (have fun being the new Draken).

Baji- "what the fuck" he says it so often that it might as well be his new catchphrase. He seems angry about the whole situation, not wanting to waste time in our world when he's got so much to do in his world. If you have any Kisaki merch then hide it or he will break it. Calms down a bit either because you have a cat or if you don't then you use cooking to distract him. He's a bit short tempered but is a good guy so he'll help you with anything you need while he's here but in return asks you to help him find a way home.

Kazutora (post valhalla)- Is sooooo confused. One minute he was in juvie and the next minute he's here. Has conflicting feelings about this, he enjoys not being locked up but also wants to serve his sentence. Also worries about his progress in therapy and what leaving means. Once he gets over the shock he becomes quite curious, asking you questions, wanting to go outside with you to look around, playing about with the merch (it doesn't last long though he goes quiet when looking at the Baji merch and then the rest of toman).

Draken- Thinks this is some kind of dream or prank at first, gets frustrated when he eventually realises it isn't though. Probably punches a wall or something before realising he's probably scaring you and apologising. Isn't really interested in the merch but will politely listen as you show him things (flicks over a Hanma plushie when he thinks you're not looking). Actually contemplates reading the manga to find out what happens but decides against it. When he realises he's probably stuck here for a while he asks you to show him around your neighbourhood (he wants to check out what motorbikes are like in this world).

#tokyo revengers #tokrev #tokyo rev #kazutora hanemiya #manjiro sano #ken ryuguji #baji keisuke

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deathmetalunicorn1 · 11 months

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One Piece x Record of Ragnarok

Sasaki ends up in the world of One Piece (you can choose how) and is having an absolute blast going around challenging everyone he can to fight so he can learn from them. He’s challenged Garp, Sengoku, Mihawk, Crocodile, Shanks, Whitebeard, Marco, Big Mom, Katakuri, Kaido, and way way more. He is just loving the big life learning so much meanwhile everyone is trying to figure out who this old man is.

What’s the reaction of his friends from Heaven and people in the One Piece world to him just going crazy learning?

-Kojiro wasn’t sure how he ended up here in this strange new world, filled will people of all shapes and sizes, literally, and people with strange abilities that came from something called a Devil Fruit.

-He remembers falling asleep under a tree up in Valhalla, after an intense workout, the next he was on a spring island, surrounded by wild-flowers and harmless creatures.

-He spent his time roaming, eventually locating a town and the owner of the bar he went into was able to provide him with some information about the area he was in.

-Kojiro quickly realized that he wasn’t in Valhalla anymore and decided to set off on an adventure, especially after learning that there were strong warriors all around the world, in the form of pirates!

-He had no interest in the bounties of these opponents, only wanting to fight them, but he had managed to earn some many, taking down some lower-level pirates, ones that were hurting innocent civilians.

-It wasn’t until he took down a whole squadron of corrupt marines who were extorting an island for protection before he earned his own bounty.

-The day he saw his bounty poster he was so elated that he actually took the poster, pocketing it to keep it safe with the idea of showing his friends back in Valhalla, who were currently looking for him after realizing he had gone missing.

-A reporter had been nearby when Kojiro challenged Mihawk to a duel, and the two went outside of town, usually Mihawk didn’t accept duels, but he could tell Kojiro was strong, he was a worthy opponent.

-The pictures of their fight quickly took the world by storm, as an old man managed to actually injure Mihawk and had him on his toes before Mihawk slashed him down.

-However, liking Kojiro, as he was a worthy opponent, tended to Kojiro’s wounds himself, nursing him back to health and the two found a good friend in each other.

-Seeing him being able to stand toe-to-toe with a Warlord quickly increased not only Kojiro’s popularity, but his bounty as well, as the World Government deemed him dangerous.

-Kojiro enjoyed exploring the world, challenging other strong opponents and making more friends, with Shanks easily being the most fun to hang out with. Kojiro rejected the idea of joining Shanks’ crew, as he would fit right in, as Kojiro wanted to explore and train against strong opponents some more. Shanks wasn’t bothered, but the offer was always open.

-Big Mom was quickly exasperated with this samurai when he showed up on Whole Cake Island, finding him kind of ditzy, but he was strong, able to take out several of her children when they tried to attack him on her order while he was enjoying some of the sweets available.

-Katakuri had never met someone who could evade his Haki before, he could never tell what Kojiro was going to do next, but Katakuri loved it, he loved the thrill of finally getting a challenge, having fun!!

-When the two were laughing and drinking together, after beating the crap out of one another, Big Mom couldn’t do anything but roll her eyes but left it be as long as he didn’t attack any more of her children.

-When Garp found Kojiro, just eating snacks and drinking tea under a cherry blossom tree on a spring island, Garp was stunned to see that Kojiro wasn’t a crazed madman like others in the World Government made him out to be, he was just a happy, easy-going guy, who shared his snacks with him.

-Sengoku was furious when Garp didn’t answer his Den-Den Mushi, coming to find him and found the two passed out drunk, covered in cherry blossoms like they had a big party, waking them both up by punching them on the tops of their heads.

-The three got into an intense battle, the two marines had no intention of bringing Kojiro in, finding out the truth behind the rumors that he was insanely strong, learning from every fight he was in.

-Up in Valhalla Brunnhilde shook her head while covering her eyes, “Seems he wound up in a pirate dominated world and has a massive bounty from going around and fighting others.”

-Raiden was instantly laughing, so was Shiva while Poseidon and Odin rolled their eyes, of course he did, when wasn’t Kojiro in a fight.

-Zeus was stroking his beard, laughing lightly, “We’ll bring him back once he’s done with this fight of his. Looks like he’s having too much fun to stop him now.” Agreements went around, watching him through a portal leading to Valhalla.

#record of ragnarok #ror kojiro sasaki #one piece

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lutzlig · 1 year

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Tumblrwoman Election Masterpost 2023

Status: Round 1 Voting Now!

ROUND 1 Part 1

January 29 2023 / CET 12 PM / CST 5 AM

Match 1: Makima (Chainsaw Man) vs. Misato Katsuragi (Neon Genesis Evangelion) Match 2: Raiden Shogun (Genshin Impact) vs. Yor Forger (Spy x Family) Match 3: Franz Kafka (Prague) vs. Monika (Doki Doki Literature Club) Match 4: Judy Hopps (Zootopia) vs. Yennefer (The Witcher) Match 5: Regina George (Mean Girls) vs. Elle Woods (Legally Blonde) Match 6: Lana Del Rey (New York) vs. Rey Skywalker (Star Wars) Match 7: Mavis Dracula (Hotel Transylvania) vs. Marceline The Vampire Queen (Adventure Time) Match 8: Taylor Swift (Pennsylvania) vs. Edna Mode (The Incredibles) vs. Elsa (Frozen) Match 9: Malfina (Married to Conneticut Clark) vs. Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Ray (My Immortal) Match 10: ENA (ENA) vs. Vivec (The Elder Scrolls) Match 11: Bowsette (Super Mario Bros) vs. Chloe Price (Life is Strange) Match 12: Rouge the Bat (Sonic) vs. Harley Quinn (DC) Match 13: Queen (Deltarune) vs. Other Mother (Coraline) Match 14: Toriel (Undertale) vs. Morticia Addams (Addams Family) Match 15: Mommy Mearest (Friday Night Funkin') vs. Administrator TF2 (Team Fortress 2) Match 16: Riza Hawkeye (Fullmetal Alchemist) vs. Elaine Benes (Seinfeld)

ROUND 1 Part 2

January 30 2023 / CET 12 PM / CST 5 AM

Match 1: Hitori (Bocchi) Gotou (Bocchi The Rock) vs. Skylar White (Breaking Bad) Match 2: Konata Izumi (Lucky Star) vs. Hatsune Miku (Vocaloid) Match 3: Hornet (Hollow Knight) vs. Franziska von Karma (Ace Attorney) Match 4: Rose Tyler (Dr. Who) vs. Isabelle (Animal Crossing) Match 5: GlaDOS (Portal) vs. Barbie (Barbie) Match 6: Bayonetta (Bayonetta) vs. Bella Goth (The Sims) vs. 2B (Nier Automata Match 7: Popuko & Pipimi (Pop Team Epic) vs. Jessie & James (Pokemon) Match 8: Pissvortex (Poster's Valhalla) vs. Velma (Scooby Doo) Match 9: Catra (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power) vs. Shego (Kim Possible) Match 10: Ranni (Elden Ring) vs. Cirno (Touhou) Match 11: Eda Clawthorne (The Owl House) vs. Peridot (Steven Universe) Match 12: Lady Dimitrescu (Resident Evil 8: Village) vs. Joyce Messier (Disco Elysium) Match 13: Vriska Serket (Homestuck) vs. Bea Santello (Night in the Woods) Match 14: Rainbow Dash (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic) vs. Cersei Lannister (Game of Thrones) Match 15: Katya (Goncharov) vs. Mina Harker (Dracula) vs. Gideon Nav (The Locked Tomb) Match 16: Siobhan "Shiv" Roy (Succession) vs. Helen (The Magnus Archives)

Round 2

January 31 2023 / CET 12 PM / CST 5 AM

Round 3

February 1 2023 / CET 12 PM / CST 5 AM - Candidates TBD

Round 4

February 2 2023 / CET 12 PM / CST 5 AM - Candidates TBD

Round 5

February 3 2023 / CET 12 PM / CST 5 AM - Candidates TBD

Finals

February 4 2023 / CET 12 PM / CST 5 AM - Candidates TBD

#tumblrwoman election 2023 #twe23

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