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aurumacadicus · 5 months

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It's that time of month again, friends! And for June, we're doing something special: Queer-themed books, both a fiction and non-fiction selection! We'll be reading both over the course of five weeks. Tumblr will vote, and the book club will then vote among the top three in Discord. If you'd like to join the book club, send me a message and I'll send you a link to the discord! Keep an eye out for the other poll, and check out the books' summaries under the cut!

My Deary Henry – A Jekyll & Hyde Remix by Kalynn Bayron

London, 1885. Gabriel Utterson, a 17-year-old law clerk, has returned to London for the first time since his life—and that of his dearest friend, Henry Jekyll—was derailed by a scandal that led to his and Henry’s expulsion from the London Medical School. Whispers about the true nature of Gabriel and Henry’s relationship have followed the boys for two years, and now Gabriel has a chance to start again.

But Gabriel doesn’t want to move on, not without Henry. His friend has become distant and cold since the disastrous events of the prior spring, and now his letters have stopped altogether. Desperate to discover what’s become of him, Gabriel takes to watching the Jekyll house.

In doing so, Gabriel meets Hyde, a strangely familiar young man with white hair and a magnetic charisma. He claims to be friends with Henry, and Gabriel can’t help but begin to grow jealous at their apparent closeness, especially as Henry continues to act like Gabriel means nothing to him.

But the secret behind Henry’s apathy is only the first part of a deeper mystery that has begun to coalesce. Monsters of all kinds prowl within the London fog—and not all of them are out for blood…

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

The Emperor needs necromancers. The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman.

Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more time for undead nonsense.

Tamsyn Muir’s Gideon the Ninth, first in The Locked Tomb Trilogy, unveils a solar system of swordplay, cut-throat politics, and lesbian necromancers. Her characters leap off the page, as skillfully animated as arcane revenants. The result is a heart-pounding epic science fantasy.

Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse. She packs up her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and prepares to launch her daring escape. But her childhood nemesis won’t set her free without a service.

Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House and bone witch extraordinaire, has been summoned into action. The Emperor has invited the heirs to each of his loyal Houses to a deadly trial of wits and skill. If Harrowhark succeeds she will become an immortal, all-powerful servant of the Resurrection, but no necromancer can ascend without the cavalier. Without Gideon’s sword, Harrow will fail, and the Ninth House will die.

Of course, some things are better left dead.

Compulsory + All Systems Red by Martha Wells

“As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure.”

In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids, for their own safety.

But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern.

On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ‘droid – a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “Murderbot.” Scornful of humans, all it really wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is.

But when a neighboring mission goes dark, it’s up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth.

Dear Wendy by Ann Zhao

Sophie Chi is in her first year of college (though her parents wish she’d attend a “real” university rather than a liberal arts school) and has long accepted her aroace (aromantic and asexual) identity. She knows she’ll never fall in love, but she enjoys running an Instagram account that offers relationship advice to students at her school. No one except her roommate can know that she’s behind the incredibly popular “Dear Wendy” account.

When Joanna “Jo” Ephron (also a first-year aroace college student) created their “Sincerely Wanda” account, it wasn’t at all meant to take off or be taken seriously—not like Wendy’s. But now they might have a rivalry of sorts with Wendy’s account? Oops. As if Jo’s not busy enough having existential crises over gender identity, whether she’ll ever truly be loved, and the possibility of her few friends finding The One then forgetting her!

While tensions are rising online, Sophie and Jo grow closer in real life, especially once they realize their shared aroace identity and start a campus organization for other a-spec students. Will their friendship survive if they learn just who’s behind the Wendy and Wanda accounts?

Exploring a-spec identities, college life, and more, while perfect for fans of Alice Oseman’s Loveless, this is ultimately a love story about two people who are not—and will not—be in love!

A Marvelous Light by Freya Marske

Robin Blyth has more than enough bother in his life. He’s struggling to be a good older brother, a responsible employer, and the harried baronet of a seat gutted by his late parents�� excesses. When an administrative mistake sees him named the civil service liaison to a hidden magical society, he discovers what’s been operating beneath the unextraordinary reality he’s always known.

Now Robin must contend with the beauty and danger of magic, an excruciating deadly curse, and the alarming visions of the future that come with it—not to mention Edwin Courcey, his cold and prickly counterpart in the magical bureaucracy, who clearly wishes Robin were anyone and anywhere else.

Robin’s predecessor has disappeared, and the mystery of what happened to him reveals unsettling truths about the very oldest stories they’ve been told about the land they live on and what binds it. Thrown together and facing unexpected dangers, Robin and Edwin discover a plot that threatens every magician in the British Isles—and a secret that more than one person has already died to keep.

Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places by Claire Kann

Lucky Hart has a special affinity for the supernatural but almost no one takes parapsychology seriously. She's estranged from her family, lost her friends, and has been rejected from graduate school. Twice. But her big break finally arrives when she gets insider info about a troubled production company. Every actor on their new show mysteriously quits after spending three nights inside Hennessee House, an old Victorian with a notorious reputation.

After scheming her way onto the show to investigate, Lucky meets Maverick Phillips and chemistry instantly crackles between them. He tempts her in ways no one ever has, challenging and supporting her, and making her finally feel seen. Their connection is so palpable everyone notices it—including Hennessee House.

Now Lucky and Maverick’s relationship has a challenger: the lonely, sentient house desperate for her undivided attention. As love begins to clash with career, Lucky refuses to choose one over the other because everyone deserves a happily ever after, even houses with haunted hearts. But when all her plans begin backfiring one-by-one, she realizes that if she wants to have it all? She’ll have to risk everything.

Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune

When a reaper comes to collect Wallace Price from his own funeral, Wallace suspects he really might be dead.

Instead of leading him directly to the afterlife, the reaper takes him to a small village. On the outskirts, off the path through the woods, tucked between mountains, is a particular tea shop, run by a man named Hugo. Hugo is the tea shop's owner to locals and the ferryman to souls who need to cross over.

But Wallace isn’t ready to abandon the life he barely lived. With Hugo’s help he finally starts to learn about all the things he missed in life.

When the Manager, a curious and powerful being, arrives at the tea shop and gives Wallace one week to cross over, Wallace sets about living a lifetime in seven days.

#polls #book club

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dankusner · 4 months

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Judiciary in Danger

Trump trials highlight growing threats against judges, and that’s bad for both parties

Stories about judges who were threatened, ambushed and killed or whose families were harmed used to be the kind of thing you’d read about in the international section of your local newspaper.

Now those headlines are becoming our own, to the detriment of our democracy.

The menacing rhetoric and the actual threats against judges overseeing former President Donald Trump’s multiple legal cases have drawn attention to the increasing risk of presiding over a court in this hyperpartisan environment.

While Trump hasn’t called for violence, his statements and social media posts attacking the integrity of the judges are part of a dangerous pattern of declining respect in our judiciary.

That has emboldened both political extremists and disgruntled defendants seeking revenge for cases that have nothing to do with politics.

The statistics are chilling.

The U.S. Marshals Service reported that the number of federal judges who received serious threats jumped to 457 in fiscal year 2023, up from 300 in 2022 and 224 the year prior, according to CNN.

Threats against federal prosecutors that were serious enough to warrant investigation also skyrocketed.

The state judiciary, too, is under fire.

A poll by the National Judicial College found that 70% of about 400 respondents, mostly state judges, had received harassing or menacing communications, according to Reuters.

The news agency obtained the survey results in advance of publication.

Some judges have been targeted by people involved in low-profile criminal or civil cases.

But many judges point to heightened political polarization as the source of their troubles.

Though the far right has been particularly nasty, danger can come from anywhere.

Recall the armed man arrested on Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s street in 2022.

He was reportedly angry about the overturning of Roe vs. Wade.

And earlier this year, a Houston woman was sentenced to prison for threatening to kill a Florida judge whom she accused of “helping” Trump.

Threats against judges have escalated to such a degree that U.S. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas is sponsoring a bipartisan bill that would establish an intelligence center to monitor threats against state and local judges and court personnel.

State courts typically get less protection than the federal bench.

A public servant as powerful as a judge accepts a measure of risk, but that risk is becoming untenable.

The more desensitized we become to these attacks, the more we dilute judicial independence — the ability of our judges to make rulings free from pressure.

This principle is foundational to our rule of law and the envy of other countries around the globe.

But we are making it so that the power and prestige of the bench will be overshadowed by the vitriol and the risk of harm.

This will repel decent and capable people and leave partisan hacks or unqualified lawyers in charge of our courts.

That’s bad news for all of us.

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robertreich · 4 years

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Trump’s 2020 Election Strategy in 25 Steps

Trump will do anything to be re-elected. His opponents are limited because they believe in democracy. Trump has no limits because he doesn’t.

Here’s Trump’s re-election playbook, in 25 simple steps:

1. Declare yourself above the law.

2. Use racist fearmongering. Demand “law and order” and describe protesters as “thugs”, “lowlife” and “rioters and looters”. Describe Covid-19 as “Kung-Flu”. Retweet posts from white supremacists. In your campaign ads, use a symbol associated with Nazis.

3. Appoint an attorney general more loyal to you than to America, and politicize the Department of Justice so it’s lenient on your loyalists and comes down hard on your enemies. Have it lighten the sentence of a crony convicted of lying under oath. Order investigations of industries you dislike.

4. Fire US attorneys who are investigating you.

5. Fire independent inspectors general who are looking into what you’ve done. Crush any whistleblowers you find.

6. Demean and ignore the intelligence community. Appoint a director of national intelligence more loyal to you than to America. Demand that the head of the FBI pledge loyalty to you.

7. Pack the federal courts with judges and justices more loyal to you than to the constitution.

8. Politicize the Department of Defense so generals will back whatever you order. Refer to them as “my generals”. Have them help clear out protesters. Order the military to surveil protesters. Tell governors you’ll bring in the military to stop protesters.

9. Purge your party of anyone disloyal to you and turn it into a mindless, brainless, spineless cult.

10. Get rid of accumulated experience and expertise in government. Demean career public servants. Hollow out the state department, the Department of Justice, Health and Human Services, and public health.

11. Reward donors and cronies with bailouts, tax breaks, subsidies, government contracts, regulatory rollbacks and plum jobs. Put their lobbyists in charge of your agencies. Distribute $500bn in pandemic assistance to corporations in secret, without any oversight.

12. Coddle dictators. Don’t criticize their human rights abuses. Refuse to work with the leaders of other democracies. Withdraw from international treaties.

13. Create scapegoats. Demonize migrants and lock up asylum-seekers at the border even if they’re children. Put a white nationalist in charge of immigration policy. Blame Muslims, Mexicans and Chinese.

14. Denigrate and ridicule all critics. Describe opponents as “human scum”. Attack the mainstream media as purveyors of “fake news” and “enemies of the people”.

15. Conjure up conspiracies against yourself supposedly led by your predecessor and your opponent in the last election. Without any evidence, accuse your predecessor of “treason”. Fabricate a “Deep State” out to get you.

16. Downplay real threats to the nation, such as a rapidly spreading pandemic. Lie about your utter failure to contain it. Muzzle public health experts. Urge people to go back to work even as the pandemic worsens in parts of the country.

17. Encourage armed supporters to “liberate” states from elected officials who disagree with you.

18. Bribe other nations to investigate your electoral opponent and flood social media with lies about him.

19. Use rightwing propaganda machines like Fox News and conspiracy theory peddling One America News to inundate the country with your lies. Ensure that the morally bankrupt chief executive of Facebook allows you to spread your lies on the biggest media machine in the world.

20. Suppress the votes of people likely to vote against you. Intimidate voters of color. Encourage Republican governors to purge voter rolls, demand voter ID and close polling places.

21. Seek to prevent mail-in ballots during the pandemic. Claim they will cause voter fraud, without evidence. Threaten to close the US postal service.

22. Get Vladimir Putin to hack into US election machines, as he did in 2016 but can now do with more experience and deftness. Promise him that in return you’ll further destabilize America as well as Nato. Allow him to put a bounty on killing U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

23. If it still looks like you’ll be voted out, try to postpone the election.

24. If you’re voted out of office notwithstanding all this, refuse to leave. Contest the election, claim massive fraud, say it’s a conspiracy, get your cult of a political party to support your lies, get your propaganda machine to repeat them, get your justice department to back you, get your judges and justices to affirm you, get your generals to suppress any subsequent rebellion.

25. Declare victory.

Memo to America: Beware Trump’s playbook. Spread the truth. Stay vigilant. Fight for our democracy.

#Trump #presidential election #video #videos

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dreaminginthedeepsouth · 4 years

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LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

October 21, 2020

Heather Cox Richardson

As we enter the home stretch to this election, we are bombarded with so much news the only way to make sense of it is to divide it into categories.

The president is angry and self-pitying while campaign officials are trying to tip the election with the dubious laptop story. Administration officials are also working as quickly as they can to push through whatever they can while they are still in power, hoping what they are doing flies under the radar with so much going on. And this flurry of activity means there are bad slips.

At the same time, Democratic candidate Joe Biden is trying to get elected, but in such a storm of crazy that his actual policies, which are quite developed, are simply not getting much airtime. Instead, people have begun to look to him as a return to an America in which strength was measured not by dominance but by caring.

The president began the day by tweeting about Biden’s proposed tax plan, which he calls “the Radical Biden-Harris Agenda.” He claims that the plan will “slash the typical American’s income by $6,500 per year. They will raise TAXES by $4 TRILLION DOLLARS – triggering a mass exodus of jobs out of America and into foreign countries…. Your 401k’s will crash with Biden. Massive Biden Tax and Regulation increases will destroy all that you have built! Additionally, 180 Million People will lose their Private Healthcare Plans.”

In fact, though, it is the administration that is talking about slashing things, including millions of dollars from Democratic-led cities that Trump and Barr have labeled “anarchist jurisdictions”: New York City; Portland, Oregon; Washington, D.C.; and Seattle, Washington. That money would cut federal grants for coronavirus relief, HIV treatment, newborn screening, and so on. Officials from the affected cities, as well as the U.S. Conference of Mayors, say they will sue if the administration tries to follow this through.

In a move that threatens to destroy our nonpartisan civil service, Trump today signed an Executive Order creating a new category of public servant who is not covered by normal rules. These employees can be hired by agency heads without having to go through the merit-based system in place since 1883, and can be fired at will. This new “Schedule F” will once again allow presidents to appoint cronies to office, while firing those insufficiently loyal. It also appears to shield political appointees from an incoming administration by protecting them from firing because of political affiliation.

Yesterday, an inspector general for the United States Postal Service issued a report requested by Congress examining the effects of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s changes to the postal service. The report concluded that the changes resulted in “significant negative service impacts across the country.” DeJoy is a Trump loyalist. The USPS Board of Governors, made up of Trump appointees, rejects the report’s conclusions.

Meanwhile, a number of senior administration officials and lawmakers from both parties are worried that the White House is fast-tracking a business deal worth billions of dollars in what is essentially a no-bid contract to a company associated with Republican operatives, including Karl Rove. The company, Rivada, wants to lease the Department of Defense’s mid-band spectrum. This spectrum is wildly valuable for the 5G market, the next-generation mobile network. Pentagon leaders are opposed to the deal since the military uses that spectrum, and they say they have not been able to study the effect of commercial use of the spectrum on military readiness. Pentagon lawyers say the White House has no authority to sell or lease its spectrum. Lawmakers of both parties oppose the deal. One senior official told CNN, “Something is really fishy about this.”

Today, Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe blamed Iran for hacked emails purporting to come from the alt-right Proud Boys warning Democrats to vote for Trump. Ratcliffe said “we have identified that two foreign actors, Iran and Russia, have taken specific actions” relating to the election. He said the emails were designed to hurt Trump. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) told Rachel Maddow that intelligence officers in a classified briefing about the matter did not, in fact, say that there was any attempt to hurt Trump. “I’m surprised that Ratcliffe would say that to the public…. I had the strong impression it was much rather to undermine confidence in elections….”

Meanwhile, Trump continues to push the laptop story. He is reportedly considering firing FBI director Christopher Wray after the election because Wray has refused to announce an investigation into Biden, his son Hunter Biden, or other Biden associates. After Wray’s refusal to back up Trump’s insistence that this summer’s violence was from “Antifa,” the FBI director’s unwillingness to announce a Biden investigation is apparently infuriating the president. In 2016, then FBI director James Comey announced a new investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails just 11 days before the election, an announcement political scientists say helped to swing victory to Trump. While the president can, in fact, fire an FBI director, it is unusual, and certainly should not happen because the director refuses to attack the president’s political rival. The term of the FBI director is set at 10 years so the director serves at least two presidents, and is not bound to the political cycle.

Trump is railing not just at Wray, but also at Attorney General William Barr. Trump was counting on Barr’s probe of the Russia investigation to implicate high-ranking members of the Obama administration just before the election, but Barr has backed off on delivering the report. Trump is frustrated, recently retweeting a photo of Barr with the caption “for the love of GOD ARREST SOMEBODY.” Barr has been staying out of the news lately, although he was in Memphis, Tennessee, today, announcing arrests made there under his Operation Legend, the name for the police crackdown in a number of cities announced in July.

Pushing the story of Hunter Biden’s laptop got a lot more difficult today when Sacha Baron Cohen revealed that his new Borat film shows Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani—the source of the laptop-- in a compromising position with a young woman. Giuliani insists the scene is a “complete fabrication,” but the stills I saw (and I was trying really hard not to see any of this) indicate that this explanation will convince only those determined to be convinced. As many observers have pointed out, if Baron Cohen could prank Giuliani so easily, what does that say about how well Giuliani could identify foreign influence operations?

For his part, Biden is acting like a normal presidential candidate, which just doesn’t grab the headlines the way Trump’s actions do. After Trump attacked Biden’s tax policy, though, a number of stories noted the actual terms of the plan.

Biden proposes to raise taxes on the wealthy. He would get rid of some of the 2017 Trump tax cuts, including the cut in the income tax rate for people making more than $400,000 a year. Trump cut that rate from 39.6% to 37%. Biden would put it back where it was. This change would affect fewer than 10% of taxpayers. People would also pay into the Social Security payroll tax for incomes over $400,000. That tax is currently collected only on $137,700 of earnings. Under this plan, the nation’s top 1% of earners would bring home about 15.9% less money after taxes than they do now.

Biden also proposes to raise the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, and establish a 15% minimum tax on the so-called “book income” of a corporation, that is, the amount its directors report to shareholders, which often makes a corporation look quite profitable while it pays little or no tax. He would also increase taxes on international profits. These proposed taxes would make up more than half of the revenue the Treasury would see from the new measures.

The Biden proposals would raise between $2.4 and $4 trillion over a decade. The Penn Wharton Budget Model concludes that the top 1% of earners would pay about 80% of the tax increases. Its report continues: “All groups outside of the top 5%... see their after-tax incomes fall by less than 1 percent.” The Washington Post awarded four Pinocchios to Trump’s attacks on Biden’s tax plan. The Tax Foundation could not score Trump’s own plan because he has made no actual proposals.

Biden had powerful help today getting out his message. Former President Barack Obama, who has largely stayed out of the political fray, has reentered it powerfully. In a speech in Philadelphia, Obama directly attacked Trump, tearing apart his successor’s response to the coronavirus and his administration in general. No one gets under Trump’s skin like Obama does, and the former president seemed to be deliberately needling the president, perhaps to prod him to more self-destruction at tomorrow’s debate.

His appearances were not just attacks on Trump, though. They were reminders of what the presidency looked like just four years ago, and they were designed to make sure people get to the polls. “We’ve got to turn out like never before,” President Obama said. “We cannot leave any doubt in this election…. A whole bunch of people stayed at home and got lazy and complacent. Not this time,” he said. “Not in this election.”

Still, what made most news for Biden today was an old video of the former vice president at a memorial service for Chris Hixon, the athletic director at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, who died when he tried to disarm the killer. In the clip, which circulated widely on social media, Biden expresses his sympathy to Hixon’s parents and is walking away when Hixon’s son Corey, who has Kabuki Syndrome, runs up and, as Biden turns to see what’s happening, throws himself into Biden’s embrace. Biden spontaneously kisses the young man’s forehead and asks if he’s okay. When he shakes his head no, Biden hugs him, cradling his head, and reassures him, “It’s going to be okay. We’re going to be okay, I promise.”

—-

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

Heather Cox Richardson

#quotes #Letters From An American #Heather Cox Richardson #politics #political #election 2020 #corrupt GOP

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gear-project · 6 years

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Hello, there seems to be tale of a new Guilty Gear installment rather than an Xrd addition from the recent anniversary interview. Honestly I'm a bit saddened by this especially considering the statement made for newer games to be simpler (I also really just wanted Testament to eventually show up in Xrd with all its crazy mechanics rather than a new game). But anyway, can you confirm how true this rumour is?. Is it really that Xrd has come to an end after what feels like a short time?.

Since Baf0’s conversation on Twitter on the Dengeki Report kinda blew it up, I’ll reiterate it here (since Dustloop posts don’t last forever… full translation courtesy of RedSilverSnake):

—The password to unlock Testament and Dizzy in the arcade version of X was “misosoup,” apparently because a programmer working on the game was overheard saying, “Now I want to drink some miso soup…”[I mentioned this earlier. FYI GGX also had a button code in the console versions. Look it up at GameFAQs.]

—The development team was casual with naming conventions at the time, to the extent that one of the ideas of what to call what became roman cancels was “cosmetic galaxy.” [I explained some of GGX history, Roman Cancels are wordplay for Roman Candle, a Firework… this symbolism actually transferred all the way to Revelator when Sol talks about Fireworks in one of the closing chapters of the story.]

—There was a question about Fanny from GG Petit, but Ishiwatari says he can’t answer anything about her because he wasn’t involved in her creation. [Sammy Staff were part of the people who assisted in her creation, but the GG character poll suggested that Ishiwatari wasn’t above putting her in a future game if players still wanted her to appear.]

—Advance had a unique move for Venom that Ishiwatari meant to hide, but it somehow made it into the game. [They describe it as a Bomb technique, which I think was hinted at in Night of Knives as well when Millia clashed with Venom. There’s an item called Calvados Bomb in MOM Mode that generates poison which might have stemmed from that idea.]

—Not everyone who worked on XX knew that Bridget was a boy, which led to a shocked exclamation from a designer. [Story Mode states officially that Bridget is Male and identifies as Male, wishing to become more “manly” as part of his interests. 4chan be damned.]

—When the topic of the series’ bosses being women came up, it was mentioned that Leopaldon’s gender is unknown, but Ishiwatari says that he thinks the dog piloting it may have been female, thus keeping this tradition unbroken. [Gears can be considered “gender neutral” in some cases, because of their DNA, but yes the Dog inside Leo’s mouth COULD be Female, but we don’t know for sure!]

—Leopaldon’s designer did the effects for Jam’s new super in Xrd. [It was also said that Da Eun, Kum Haehyun’s Head Maid was the girl who appeared in Korean #Reload’s original stage.]

—Overture’s total development time was five years, so Ishiwatari says he has a lot of memories about it. [Black memories, I assume, given the reception. >_>]

—The name of Overture’s genre, melee action, has a double meaning; the “melee” part is homonymous with the Japanese word 命令/meirei, which refers to orders, like the ones you give to servants in the game. [Hopefully they’ll do something more improved in a Crusades-like setting someday ala God Eater.]

—Ishiwatari was fixated on how roman cancels could be changed in Xrd, and Pachi recalls racking his mind over the suggestion that they be possible at any time, even during a downed state. [FYI the only way to cancel a knockdown is to recover before it! BlazBlue has Emergency Rolls and Quickrise motions for this reason, also there was a hack in Accent Core (PSP version codes) that could allow for unlimited cancels in to anything at one point, so the coding is there for it!]

—One idea that was tested during Xrd’s development was being able to roman cancel KOs, but this caused a bug among certain characters where they’d just fall right after getting up following the RC.[This is where the idea of Resurrection came from (related to the Gill boss character from Street Fighter III).]

—Bridget was #1 on the Revelator poll to decide the next playable character until the very last day, when Dizzy got a sudden boost. [Poor Order-Sol…]

—The staff had specific ideas for other characters in the poll, such as Izuna dashing rather than having a regular walk (like in Cross Tag Battle). [I’m sure he’s still in the works for the next game as Izuna was mentioned in Revelator.]

—One of Haehyun’s attendants actually debuted in the Korean version of #Reload, having been added to one of the stages. [Her name is Da Eun, and she is voiced by Elphelt’s VA in Kum’s Episode!]

—Ishiwatari also says that Xrd is probably finished as of Rev 2, and maybe hints that work has already started on the next real sequel.

Now, on to THIS:

As I said, GGXrd Revelator (excluding the add-on Rev2) is technically the SECOND of the Xrd Series… Rev2 (while it is a standalone game now), is the equivalent of “X Plus” to Guilty Gear X.

Most likely there is production for a THIRD XRD game… Revelator’s story hints at it, AFTER STORY hints at it, even the GUILTY GEAR BEGIN novel suggests something’s going to happen after REVELATOR…

So you KNOW something is gonna happen. Basically the statement is “We’re done with Revelator Add-ons”, is what they’re saying.

So the next GG is gonna be BIG. That’s all you guys need to know. Keep supporting ARC System Works, and maybe (JUST MAYBE) the next GG will get a dub like BBTag has!

All we have to do is support any releases (including GG1 and Accent Core for the Nintendo Switch, Steam, and PS4 releases). Guilty Gear The Missing Link should be coming in the next few months along with Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R.

I’m banking on this because HAPPY CHAOS (a hinted character) says so! So you should believe in HAPPY CHAOS!

#GG Fans just gotta be Patient!

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magpieandsons · 4 years

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39 - Resist!

Your hands scrabble for a hold on the glowing grotesquerie reaching inside you. Just when you think you have it in your grip, your hands go ice cold and slip through its form. You shut your eyes tight, concentrating on your inner voice screaming “NO!” against the intrusion as tendrils of alien thought pry into your mind.

Without intending to, your struggling, staggering steps are taking you closer to the entrance of the corridor, even as your back is pressed against the wall and the rows of boxes. You know that’s the direction the spirit wants you to go, so you dig in your heels and stretch your hands along the walls. You find purchase on one of the cask handles, grasping it for all your worth.

At the far end of the corridor, Darrel is barking and growling, and Caspin is gasping out spell words. You don’t know what Murph is doing but you don’t have the strength to look. Even the little attention it takes to listen further down the hallway saps at your concentration. Sinking to the ground, you can feel the ghost’s hold tightening on your mind as the seconds tick by.

Abruptly you’re calm.

You open your eyes and sit upright.

That bastard, wizard of an Ithildahnin is gathering power about him in waves, but he’s not ready to set it loose yet. There’s still time to reach the book. Yes - the book. This body is small, but it’ll manage.

Standing up seems hard. There’s still resistance from the form, a little bit of suppressed consciousness stiffening the legs, and refusing to release the handle of the box. You wrench at this stubborn arm, drawing casket 205 partly out of its resting place. There’s a dog in front of you, and looming over it’s worldly form, you glimpse the ethereal shape of an angry orc. Does the gnome know it’s dog is not a dog?

The question is the last thought to pass through your mind before the dog bites at your leg, and at the same moment a sharp pain blooms at the back of your head.

You wake in the dark - a greater, more complete dark than you’re used to. You ache all over, but the worst is in the back of your head. You’re cold through to your bones and there’s something poking into your shoulder. Moaning slightly, you try to shift away from the painful object and the sound of your voice comes back dull and enclosed. You reach out and your hand connects with wood. In a rush, you know exactly where you are. You open your mouth to scream your terror when the overturned coffin is pulled off you.

Caspin, his voice somewhere in the distance, says “Get another potion into the gnome. I’m almost done here.”

Murph appears above you with a small vial in his hand. He cocks his head at you, seeming to notice that you’re awake. Regardless he kneels, grabs your chin and pours the contents of the bottle down your throat. You hack and sputter, but despite your distress you feel better almost instantly. Murph drags you to your feet, gives you a slap on the back and walks off. You follow the valet, brushing bits of cloth and dust off you and trying not to look around you or to think too hard about it.

Caspin is near the far door, stamping out a fire. His face is smeared with dark ash and he has a small cut on his chin. He smiles at you a little recklessly and gestures to the smoldering pile. “A close one, but all sorted now.”

The burned up object on the ground is clearly a book, its pages reduced to a blackened edge clinging to a smoking leather spine. You cast a glance up the hallway. The lectern is too far away for you to see in the low light; all the same, you’re certain of where the book came from. You feel a pang of sadness at the thought that it might have contained the last record of the servants stuffed in the coffins around you.

Darrel appears at your side sniffing you over carefully. You ask him if he’s alright and he nods in a particularly un-dog-like way.

“We should go,” Murph mutters.

“Yes,” Caspin agrees, and produces the key he looted.

- Take the lead again.

- Hang back and let Caspin proceed.

https://strawpoll.com/yay2ze2w poll ends 5/12/20 at 10pm

#choose your own adventure #choose your own adventure fic #dungeons and dragons #dnd

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megacircuit9universe · 5 years

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Distant Thunder

MON DEC 16, 2019

So... there’ve been a few bumps in the road as far as that coming impeachment trial in the Senate goes.

A couple entries ago, I talked about being happy there would even be a trial at all... rather than the whole impeachment being adjourned with 51 votes the second it hit the Senate floor.

I felt it was perfectly satisfactory to have a short and sweet trial, with zero witnesses... where the prosecution presented their case... the defense did a meaningless little jig, and then a quick vote... that would either expose all GOP senators as a bunch of morally bankrupt political hacks with zero loyalty to the Constitution... OR... in the case of a cascading failure at the last minute, threatening to melt the entire Trump junta into a flaming pile of molten aluminum... a conviction.

Easy.

But... Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham had to go and get cocky.

Near the end of last week, McConnell, reiterated several times in a spot on national television that he was working so closely with the White House on the rules for the impeachment trial that his and Donald Trump’s preferred game plan would be one in the same. He said there would be no difference between what he wanted, and what Trump wanted, for this trial, when it was all hashed out.

He also added that this trial was merely a formality, and that the end result, an acquittal of Trump, was a foregone conclusion.

Now, McConnell seemingly said this in order to reassure that core voter base of blindly irrational hot heads who live in a fantasy world where the Constitution never existed, and electricity is witchcraft.

But... normal people were also listening to this baldfaced admission of bias in favor of the accused party.

If that wasn’t enough, Lindsey Graham... the other guy I’ve pointed to several times as being neck deep in the Trumpian scheme to defeat the Constitution and turn this nation into a dictatorship... said publicly that he was not, and would not pretend to be an impartial juror... and vowed to do whatever he could to make the impeachment, “die,” as quickly as possible.

There, he seems to have been threatening to bring up a vote to immediately adjourn the trial... even though nobody else believes that was ever a viable option.

At first, these... defacto pledges of allegiance to Trump, by McConnell and Graham were just kind of blinked at by the media like... sure!.. of course you would be this way... because you came from Hell.

But then some Democrats and prominent scholars actually spoke up and said... Erm... yeah!... they both just violated, in advance, the special oaths they will need to take before the Senate trial begins. So... they should recuse themselves immediately.

Of course they did not.

No word at all on what Justice Roberts, who’s job it will totally be to force their recusals after such unambiguous declarations of allegiance... but you know... his robes will have to be on fire before he even blinks on anything like this.

But after the slight dust-up of the Democrats and scholars balking, then Chuck Schumer... Senate minority leader, today, went out there on prime-time to talk about how they really do need to call witnesses for this trial, in order for it to truly be considered a fair trial... with Bolton, and Mulvaney being on his list of four key witnesses to hear from, because they were closest to the center of the action.

As of today, there hasn’t been a ton of push back yet on Schumer’s proposal, because... well... it all goes back to that 51 vote threshold that each and every detail having to do with the trial, needs to pass.

Schumer knows he has the backing of a handful of GOP senators... some moderate... some about to retire... some up for reelection in 2020. For different reasons, all of them want or need the trial to have some semblance of legitimacy.

And I imagine they will only become more insistent about this, as those Senators in thrall to Trump, such as McConnell, and Graham, double and triple down on their prejudicial vows to acquit no matter what.

Meanwhile, a new Fox News poll came out saying that a solid 50% of the voting public at present wants Trump both impeached and removed.

That’s just a tick above where we were at a month ago... but the needle has moved that one tick... and this is still a solid majority... with those opposed to both being only 40%, and 10% being squeamish about the removal bit, but still in favor of impeachment as a well deserved slap in the face.

All taken together, these events seem to suggest that this early... and by, “this early,” I mean... Christmas and New Year are dominating everybody’s brains right now, in mid December...

...this early... the full gravity of a Constitutional Presidential impeachment is starting to be felt, both by the public, and members of the Senate.

These are just twinges, mind you... like the mild furrowing of brows people do when the sky darkens, and you hear that first distant rumble of thunder, and see that first flash of lightning that says the storm the weatherman predicted is nearing... and maybe it’s gonna be serious.

Maybe we should go down in the basement?

Well... get the candles and the hand crank radio ready, but nobody get too freaked out unless we hear those tornado sirens. Probably we won’t hear the tornado sirens. Probably the tree in the front yard won’t get struck by lightning.

In my opinion, we are not at the stage of tornado sirens... in terms of Senators being spooked into doing their Constitutional duty out of fear that a historic tornado really is gonna suck them up into the sky.

But... that sky is darkening a bit... and that distant thunder is rumbling a bit... both by virtue of the grim severity of what is truly at stake.

McConnell, and Graham’s flouting of the same... their middle fingers firmly extended in the direction of history... will only come to look more brainless and foolhardy as the storm moves closer... driving away those Senators who, for the moment, remain paralyzed.

A situation could be developing, therefore, wherein the core Trump fanatics of the Senate expose themselves as being in total opposition to any impeachment trial whatsoever... in the hopes of bullying the rest into submission... only to isolate themselves, as the rest lean away toward really wanting to be seen as impartial jurors.

This bit of rotational drift could gain momentum if Trump himself begins to level threats against all Senators who would defy him... as he most certainly will.

Weirdly, Trump himself this week, in one of his many public rants, said that he now thinks the Democratic conspiracy to impeach him began before he ever announced his candidacy in 2016... an idea that’s been ridiculed left and right.

But... I have to admit that my model here, does actually support this claim.

The Donald Trump in our timeline is but one of countless twins out there in the hyperverse, each one rising to power at different times, and causing different levels of damage to the nation and the world before being defeated... most often at some gruesome cost.

In this blog I demonstrated last September, how we were warned about him, presumably by an AI left behind by a time treveler, back in 2013, some three years before he would declare his candidacy.

So... according to my model, Trump is right that pro-human-rights agents originating in some version of a future United States, have been and continue to be on the prowl, looking to flunk him out of power on every worldline.

Does he now know about this?

Do his devoted servants in Congress also know?

Do they gnash their teeth at the fundamental unfairness of being thwarted, only by the meddling of SJWs from parallel worlds, with time machines! Grrrrrrr!

We don’t know. Maybe he’s just crazy.

At any rate, things are still developing with this impeachment.

That’s enough analysis for tonight.

I’m going to bed.

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truck-fump · 4 years

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Trump’s 2020 Election Strategy in 25 StepsTrump will do anything...

New Post has been published on https://truckfump.life/2020/06/30/trumps-2020-election-strategy-in-25-stepstrump-will-do-anything/