#Harvest Township

[damienf519]

I’m able to stay with Origin ( Updated Since Origin Basically No Longer Exists )

Great news, thanks to ts1depot on the Sims forum, 

and p0358 on Reddit

I am able to get origin to work again.  Something p0358 neglected to mention is that here is where you have to place the text in the file.  You place it right at the end before the </Settings> like I did.  Save it, and than open Origin Again before closing it, otherwise it may revert back to the way it was before without registering

and now Origin is working again for me, at least for the time being and so is the Sims 3 and Create A World’s “Edit in Game” 

I want to thank ts1depot and p0358 for their help.  I couldn’t have done it without you guys.  Harvest Township is back on track along with some possible future worlds.  I hope this is helpful to other people who also don’t want to stop creating their own Sims 3 worlds as well.  

Edit 5/17/2023

I should point out that since people keep liking this post, that Origin no longer works for me.  I was able to get CAW to work for me again, but only because I had access to my old Sims 3 CDs.  I just want to make sure that everyone who sees the re-blogs understands that you can’t use Origin anymore.  I literally have multiple blog posts on that after this, that I’m not sure if people are seeing who see this.  

[spiderscribe]

For day 4 of TF Rare Pairing Fest, I bring y'all TFP Bee/Megatron. I feel like it's obvious which prompt I wrote it for, based on that pairing. (...it’s “Unlikely Partners.”)

@tfrarepairing

It was supposed to be a simple mission.

According to the report submitted to Ultra Magnus, a large flock of birds has been roaming rural energon farms and stealing the farmers’ harvests, so the newly-formed township just outside of Iacon requested help in shooing the birds away. Bumblebee had immediately volunteered to take care of it. At the time, it sounded like a great opportunity to stretch his leg struts and get away from his mountains of paperwork for a little while. Smokescreen, obviously seeing the same vision as Bumblebee, offered to go with him, but Bumblebee declined. It was just a bunch of birds, after all. How hard could it be to round them all up and send them packing?

Really hard, it turns out, because whoever filed the request forgot to mention they weren’t dealing with the usual annoying but ultimately harmless Cybertronian birds.

Bright yellow laser bolts rain down on Bumblebee, cutting wide swathes through the expansive, dusty energon field as he ducks and rolls out of the way. He crouches behind an empty metal barrel and peeks out to fire his own shots, but he only spots one enemy going down before his barrel is blown up by a direct hit and he's forced to start running again.

“This is ridiculous,” he complains out loud. “Everyone knows all the DeathEagles were wiped out when Cybertron was destroyed!” 

Unfortunately, the flock of DeathEagles shooting at him don't seem to care that they're supposed to be extinct.

(read the rest on ao3!)

[aita-blorbos]

Am I the asshole for wanting to be a sugarcane farmer?

I was a born in London, a loyal subject of the king. I was a soldier for my country, was voted into parliament, had a burgeoning career. I was asked to run a township. I, of course, accepted. And then the king assigned me here.

Really, here? Seven thousand miles from England, in the middle of the jungle with the bugs? The food is barely edible, in this colony so far away it takes a month to get a message home!

But it's three thousand acres of land so fertile you could grow almost anything off it. I figured I'd skim each harvest, and soon enough be so rich I'd leave Guiana in the dust and buy a house in Chelsea.

But noooo. No, no, I'm still here. And now these engineers are building flywheels and some ridiculous brick sphere on the waterfront, the best place I can grow my contraband, sugarcane. Ah, glorius sugarcane. A letter comes from London telling me to give them what they need. Now I'm stuck with nothing. No, your Majesty, that's not what we agreed upon!

Then in comes this celebrity and everyone adores him. Even the monarchy. He speaks a lot of nonsense—some rot about the stars, while his soft hair shines in the low light and his eyes glitter like the constellations he loves so much. Personally, I don't find it worthy of my time to listen to him. Besides, it's infuriatingly distracting the way his lips purse when he maps out the stars. And—do you know the worst part? Then he has the nerve to invite an American! Woman! to run the project. Can you believe that?

Well, I of course tried to put a stop to that. At first I tried my hand at subtlety, poisoning the clay that made their bricks with lime. I'd hoped they might leave my township if their flywheels splintered, but no luck there. Yet another American woman noticed that one. There seem to be an awful lot of them, these days. And that celebrity, well. He kept looking at them. Like he's their friend. Hmph. He never looked at me like that.

But then I realised: this was an opportunity! If there was an accident, it wouldn't reach the throne for thirty days! I'd remove the evidence, using my quick wit and myriad employees, and I'd send a report home. Something tearful, painting me as a bystander who, tragically, was the only survivor of the dreadful accident that occurred. Murder wouldn't even cross their minds!

I've done my time! I've been the upstanding subject of his Majesty, and now? Now this "sphere" of theirs will crash to the ground, into the dust where it belongs. Here? I'll be the last man standing!

And the sugarcane will finally be mine. Rows and rows of it, and soon I'll be living like a king! Well, I'm not just doing this for sugarcane. I'm also doing it... because I don't like them.

So, AITA?

[countyflagchampionship]

Our grand winner: Mercer County Ohio!

Mercer County OH beat Mercer County NJ, Marshall County IN, Marion County IN, Livingston County NY, Northampton County NC, Lancaster County PA, Orange County CA, Frederick County MD, Jefferson Parish LA, and Cecil County MD to get here. Congratulations Ohio!

A little about Mercer County Ohio

Mercer County lies at the Western border of Ohio with Indiana. It was organized in 1824 but first created in 1820 and named for a Revolutionary War general: Hugh Mercer. As of the 2020 census, the population was 42,528. You may or may not know the county from its largest (population 10,935) city Celina, which began growing in the 1880s after oil deposits and natural gas were discovered nearby. In our modern day, Mercer County's economy relies on manufacturing--Crown Equipment Corporation, Reynolds and Reynolds, and aluminum manufacturing--as well as agriculture.

About the flag

On April 4, 2002, the County Commissioners adopted this official county flag for the first time in its history. The celebration of Ohio's 200th Birthday was the catalyst for the endeavor. Over thirty designs were received from students, residents and workers of Mercer County. The commissioners accepted the flag created by a group of nine individuals employed by Fanning/Howey Associates located in Celina, the county seat.

The Ohio Channel

Barn –  Mercer County’s strength and heritage in agricultural is clearly represented by the silhouette of an 1800’s style barn.

Three amber bands –  The three bands across the bottom of the flag represents the different colors of crops as they ripen and are ready for harvest.

Lighthouse –  The lighthouse is a symbol for Grand Lake.  The largest man-made lake in Ohio and a natural resource as well as recreation for Mercer County.

Six Beams of Light –  Each of the six schools in Mercer County is represented by their prevalent school color as a beam of light coming from the lighthouse:  red for St. Henry, orange for Coldwater, gold for Parkway, green for Celina, blue for Marion Local, and purple for Fort Recovery.

Foundation of Lighthouse – The foundation of the lighthouse is comprised of  fourteen stone blocks, representing the fourteen townships in Mercer County, Ohio.

The Board of County Commissioners of Mercer County, Ohio gives special recognition to the following employees of Fanning/Howey Associates, Inc., Celina, Ohio for creating the Mercer County, Ohio flag design: Marlene Abels, Vicki Giere, Beverly Heffner, Steve Hopf, Jane Miesse, Jon Miller, Doug Rich, Steve Starnes, and Joyce Vehorn

mercercountyohio.org

[gabbbyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy]

So y’all know about my Will Wood x TNMN AU that i posted about right…

welp. It’s a thing now!!! Here we go!!! The Lineups + little lore stuff drizzled here and there!! NAMES AND DESIGNS WILL BE COMING SOON I SWEAR

Some ideas were influenced by @gmanwhore and @core-bagg they r super duper awesome + encouraged me to take this Au out of the drafts

(Everything else under the cut!!)

THE INHABITANTS OF THE TAPEWORM ASYLUM HOTEL!!

Floor 1 + The Normal Album

F1R1:

Roman- Suburbia Overture/Greetings from Mary Bell Township!

Lois- (Vampire) Culture

(Ooh, typical cookie-cutter white middle class 50s household? WRONG!!! BLOOD HARVEST ATTACK!!!! (The guy who’ll be in Roman’s is completely unaware of the shit his wife does. And was probably lobotomized by her to prevent said shit from being acknowledged, and properly comprehended by him)

F1R2:

Robertsky- Outliars and Hyppocrates (A fun fact about apples)

Albertsky- BlackBoxWarrior OKULTRA

(Ok so what if the Peachmans…were APPLEmans…think abt it…o and Albertsky’s gonna be based on a short story i like (the Lottery by Shirley Jackson))

F1R3:

Angus- Laplace’s Angel (hurt people? Hurt people!)

(Self explanatory. Fucked up Omnipresent demon buisnessman that makes deals with criminals and further ruins their lives. Yeah!!!)

F1R4:

Selenne- Love, Me Normally

Elenois- Memento Mori (the most important thing in the world)

(What if a Seraphim/Cupid hybrid and a defective Grim Reaper were sisters that were banished from their homeworld for being “defective” and “not taking their jobs seriously”. Basically their entire story!!)

Floor 2 + Self-Ish

F2R1

Arnold- The Song with Five Names

Gloria- Hand me my shovel, i’m going in!

(Tfw your wife and her nightmarish alter ego become a singular entity, and mangle your body and memory beyond mortal comprehension, love when that happens!!)

F2R2

Izaack-Mr. Capgras Encounters a secondhand vanity

(Local psychologist loses his marbles, and slowly regresses into his own client. Bro is playing doctor with himself 😭🙏)

F2R3

Margarette- Dr. Sunshine is Dead

(A once Beloved Astronomer goes WAYYY too far into her studies and loses herself in the process. She’s completely unrecognizable, a tarnished shell of her former self. She doesn’t quite get it, drowned in a hodgepodge her own ego, tears, and delusions.)

F2R4

Nacha- “Self-“

Anastacha- “-Ish”

(2/3 of a whole family. stuck in a time loop, due to a contract the deadbeat father just HAD to sign. What the fuck, Jimmy.)

Floor 3 + Everything is a Lot

F3R1

Mia- Skeleton Appreciation Day in Vestal, NY (Bones)

Dr. W.-¡Aikido! (Neurotic/Erotic)

(An all-powerful being of divine machinery who worries too much for the safety of his hammy, awesome, but frail evil skeleton wife)

F3R2

Francis- Jimmy Mushrooms’ Last drink: bedtime in Wayne, NJ

(Time traveling Cordycep man who broke an oath and failed up his entire homeworld, now forced to reside in this nuthouse of a hotel, left to soak in the ruins of both himself, and his family. His family.)

F3R3

Steven- Lygerside Daydream

McLooy- Thermodynamic Lawyer Esq, G.F.D

(The personifications of tranquility and joy—and deep, writhing hate. Living together. Ain’t that silly?)

F3R4

Alf- Red Moon

Rafftellyn- White Knuckle Jerk (Where do you get off?)

(A corrupt victorian surgeon who mutilates her patients and anyone who dares cross her path, and her vampiric mothman plaything that follows her around like a shadow. (She reminds him of the moon))

Also before ppl ask: “but Gabby!!! Alf is a LAWYER!! Why not have his Au self be based on Thermodynamic Lawyer?” Because :]

[sergeant-norman-allen]

You said (well, more mentioned than stated) you grew up on a farm, so what kind of crops and fruit (or any plant for that matter) did you used to grow? I’m genuinely curious as to what type of stuff you normally ate (assuming you ate the crops)

Also- how much experience do you have (tilling land, planting, watering, harvesting, preparing) any of them?

(sorry if I’m asking too much mod Ik you said it was harder to write long responses)

That’s a complicated question, cause with a lot o’ farms it depends on th’ time o’ year and on th’ year itself, if it’s fer sellin’. We grew all sortsa things- cotton, wheat, corn, etc- but that was when I was a lil older. When I was young, we were sufferin’ from what was known as the “Dust Bowl”, which was a horrible drought t’ say th’ least.

All our crops, cattle, n’ other livestock died, an it took years t’ build everythin’ back up again.

I ate a whole lot o’ nothin’ durin’ th’ Great Depression, an’ though our township was small n’ self-sustainin’ it was still awful hard t’ get by. I’ve got plenty of experience makin’ something outta nothin’, whether that be growin’ on th’ farm or gettin’ food on th’ table.

An’ t’ yer last remark- I ain’t got no trouble with longer responses. They make me think, and I like thinkin’.

[iskra-tqd]

Who: @abelasx Where: Initially meeting at the edge of Eterna, then traveling out.  When: Present in the timeline  Notes: You said in his bio that he has ghostwriters help him; if he’s publishing under a ghostwriting name or pseudonym please just search and replace his name in the relevant spots in this starter. I looked at his bio and headcannons and didn’t see a publishing name he uses. 

When Iskra had traveled in from her family’s estate, she had anticipated assisting the Iskaran refugees, not resolving environmental problems the influx of population sparked. With a bit more forethought, she probably should have anticipated the additional foot traffic, housing needs, and mouths to feed would disrupt the delicate balance between townships and unsettled lands and shown up earlier; but she hadn’t. Her dear aunt, Floria, had passed her a copy of an Eterna newspaper and tapped on an article toward the bottom of the page knowing it would interest her niece. What Iskra read in the neatly pressed words was, in summary, as follows: the influx of Iskaran refugees bolstering the population of Eterna was pushing city limits beyond their normal borders from foot traffic to commerce demands to temporary housing arrangements. The need for additional resources left grain silos depleted, had felled acres of forests that were not slated for harvest for years to come, and displaced hundreds of wild animals. In particular, the deforestation had impacted the habitat of the Skvader, a threatened species native to the Feywilds who had migrated as far as the Queenset Isles and Eastreach, and whose significant mating season was coming up in just a month or two’s time. 

Every mating season for this creature was important. Several dozen Skvader flocks had been under observation by some of Iskra’s more fauna-focused colleagues for years. Numbers weren’t dwindling, but the beasts' small population had barely remained stable for the last handful of years. A drop-off in birth rates, even just for one year, could be devastating to the potential for the species to rebound, and significantly increase the chances of eventual extinction. All of this to say, the creatures needed a few extra resources and an intervening hand to boost the certainty that they would be well-resourced for the upcoming hatching season. 

As soon as Iskra had finished the article, she penned a series of letters. Some to her colleagues in the field who could advise the best course of action to support local Skvader flocks and one to the editor of the Eterna newspaper. It had not shocked Iskra to receive letters back quickly from her friends in the field providing her with sage advice and actionable steps, but it did surprise her that the editor of the news publication had responded even quicker. They had thanked Iskra for her interest in the story and advised she seek out a High Elvhen named Abelas–as a renowned beastmaster and champion for the environment, Iskra recognized the name in an instant, though she had not yet had the pleasure of speaking or working with him. But plenty of his publications and principles had shaped her into the environmentalist she was today. 

Iskra tried not to look too excited as she gently kicked her heels into the side of her horse, a sleek, black mare with a shimmering coat and well-maintained mane named Selene. She gently directed the reigns to steer the horse in the direction of another mounted figure. The faiman did not know what Abelas looked like, but they were at the established meeting point at the edge of Eterna’s boundaries, which was agreed upon in their brief letters. “Are you Abelas?” she asked as she approached. 

[inkwell-passion]

A Basic History of the Antessan Syndicracy

The Antessan Merchant Guilds were originally a vassal state of the Blovmir Empire, being exploited by the Empire for the island's bountiful rare resources, and providing stopgap fixes for the growing piracy and raider problems that the workers were facing.

After 25 years of the piracy and raider problem growing more and more, the Antessan Merchant Guilds, just known as the Antessans came up with a solution, provided by Sir Drezalyr. Offer the Pirates and the Raiders a portion of the resources they were harvesting, in order to fund them to focus their efforts on the Blovmir Empire. An underhanded solution, but a very necessary one considering the state of affairs.

While the Pirates and Raiders bled the Blovmir of resources, the Antessan Militia, led by Kessan Sr. started a revolution alongside the makeshift mercenaries, fighting for independence for the Antessans. Early into the war, a Private of the Antessan Miltia defended a young forestfolke from Blovmir Knights trying to get a quick buck, gaining favor with the Forestfolke gathering that had also been mistreated by the Blovmir, who were overharvesting the bounties of the forest that the Gathering held domain over. And thus under the Gathering Leader "Vee", the Forestfolke of the Blossoming Forests also entered the war.

Obviously fighting a war on three fronts, the Blovmir were being stretched thin, and could not withstand any more pressure from interior or exterior forces, being forced on the backfoot, thus when Antessan Merchants started bartering with different townships within the Blovinian ranks, the Empire quickly fell, and also gave Antessans their first clients as a newly free island state.

Antessans were not quick to forget those who helped them with their fight for independence, the Blossoming Forests, while under mortal authority by the Antessans by this point was given back to the Gathering as an offering of peace, and after months of peace talks, and offers to repay debts, the Gathering of the Blossoming Forests officially became one of the founding Guilds of the Antessan Merchant Guilds, along with the pirates being offered a pardon for their crimes, and jobs as cargo ships for their new clientelle, with the raiders being paid swords to help protect the cargo.

During the Storm, the Antessans were priceless for providing goods and services, expanding their network further and further out, but never getting too greedy, remembering their roots as a Vassal to a greedy and prideful tyrant.

After the Storm the Antessans bartered with the Eastern Continent to purchase two landmasses that would hold embassies and guilds themselves, allowing the fledgling syndicracy to reach more and more clients for their goods, nowadays the Antessans are a household name for providing the best goods, though at a price that represents their quality.

[brown-little-robin]

Club Recruitment Arc, pt. 1

The Kageyama brothers live alone. you could cut the tension between them with a knife. Shigeo is doing his level best to get better and stop relying on Ritsu, but his body isn't fully accepting the cure. Ritsu can't relax. He regrets giving up his guns.

Shigeo tries to convince Ritsu to go to school. (Yes, Salt Township still has a school! children are the highest priority. they don't have very many teachers, though, so they have a shortened day and big merged classes. they delegate to student clubs to provide training in specific fields of interest for a few hours per day.)

Ritsu really wanted to stay home and take care of Shigeo, who's still tired and numb. Shigeo had to guilt Ritsu into going to school by telling him seriously how smart and capable he is and asking him not to throw all that away for Shigeo's sake. Ritsu agrees to go to school.

Mob didn't plan on it, but he ends up going to school the next morning too, because Ritsu looked like he was preparing to walk to the gallows when he walked into the kitchen in a gakuran for the first time in almost a year.

It takes very little time for Ritsu to realize that he has two choices: channel all of his nervous energy into school, or have a complete breakdown. He channels all of his nervous energy into school.

Ritsu joins Student Council. Student Council has a lot more power and responsibility in this au, due to its students managing the school clubs, which control like half of every school day. Mob is proud of his little brother for keeping the education system running.

Meanwhile, Mob is a subject of interest for about four days... until everyone realizes that Mob is completely boring. He doesn't have any stories about being a zombie. He claims he "doesn't remember". He doesn't really have anything to say about anything. He doesn't want to join any clubs, and he doesn't pick up on the heavily implied fact that EVERYONE is supposed to join a club. Clubs are how the kids (who outnumber adults in Salt Township) contribute to the community! there's a harvesting club, a scouting club, a research club, a weaving club... but Mob just doesn't get it. Not that he'd be useful anyway. He's still really slow, so it's kind of a pain to try to talk to him. Plus his breath kinda stinks. He smells like blood or rotting vegetables—kinda heavy and bittersweet.

So Ritsu slots himself seamlessly into the community and clenches his hands, fidgety for lack of guns, in his lap as he adds his perspective to plans to keep Salt Township functioning smoothly and safely. And Mob recedes right into the background, patiently struggling away at basic math and science and Japanese.

Kageyama Ritsu is paranoid. Everyone learns that very fast. He's constantly checking on safety measures, asking about escape routes and contingency plans. He gets prickly about loud noises and being touched and even being crowded. People learn to give Kageyama a generous few feet of personal space when he starts looking high-strung. But he's also got good points, good ideas. And he's really smart. The math teacher, Nakayama-san, lets Ritsu help grade tests, and at the ripe old age of 13 Ritsu has already been promised the job of math teacher whenever he wants it. He demurs when people ask him what he wants to do long-term, though. Ritsu says he'd rather be a normal middle-schooler for a while. He is anything but a normal middle-schooler.

Kageyama Shigeo leaves school in the middle of the afternoon every day, goes home, and tries to sleep. When sleep eludes him, as it mostly does, he tries to distract himself from his growing collection of distressing memories by reading manga.

There was a lot of manga in the house when they moved in. Mob's room clearly used to belong to someone else his age. He isn't too upset about reading manga belonging to someone who's probably dead now. He's not particularly upset about anything.

He thinks there was a third person with him and Ritsu when he was really sick. He remembers—

a wide, toothy smile. a big hand on his shoulder. little brother yelling at someone—upset?—no, just teasing. the sensation of walking between two people. laughter.

Mob is pretty sure that person was a friend. Why hasn't Ritsu mentioned a third person, if they were friends?

What happened to him?

What did Mob do to him?

[labratgrl]

HI JACK!! @badape musac time.

my toop traaaacks the past days.

1.) you call it madness (but i call it love) by russ columbo and his orchestra

2.) november by sparkbird

3.) up to no good by the hoosiers

4.) watching birds by stornoway

5.) new body rhumba by LCD soundsystem

6.) suburbia culture / greetings from mary bell township! / (vampire) culture / love me, normally by will wood

7.) shine on, harvest moon by ruth etting

8.) get over it by OK go

9.) a psychic wound by los campesinos!

10.) a sketch of the unknown by the blasting company

I LOVE MUSIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

@hesontherun hi <3 mwahahahah.

[damienf519]

The Final version of Harvest Township has been released

Here is the link where you can download it via the exchange 

Alliteratively if they exchanged is taken down, you can download it via Media Fire 

If you want to encounter the Sims I created for the world, you will need to download the official saved game file

[ambiguouspuzuma]

The Fisher King

From time to time a visitor would ask how he came to be known as the Fisher King, and he would tell them a story.

There were once three brothers. That was how such stories often start, and the Fisher King's was no exception. Three heirs, each covetous of the throne. They were triplets, and each felt their birthright was to rule, rather than be set aside as younger sons were sometimes wont to be.

Their ailing mother, the Patchwork Queen, was alive to their jostling, and agreed for her realm to be divided into thirds, in the hope that such a measure might sate each of their appetites. A map was made, and divided into quadrants. The brothers then drew lots, and were able to claim their preferred sectors in turn.

The first brother, the largest and most martial of the three, chose the castle which was the seat of his family's power. The second, the eldest by seconds, chose the woodland that surrounded it. The third, bookish and retiring, chose the river that gave access to their gate, controlling their passage out into the wider realm.

There was some overlap, when a particularly tempting choice was left unclaimed, but broadly that passage was repeated. The first brother to choose laid claim over most of the major fortresses. The second monopolised the fertile fields, the woodland held for hunting. They dovetailed at every third selection: the first brother taking a curtilage of suitable land around a palace, the second securing a tower of his own from which to oversee his forests.

The third brother let them squabble over the choicest cuts. As they tightened their grip over a prosperous region, a strategic township, he focused on the borders in-between. The creeks which delineated their villages. The brooks which fed their thirsting fields. He claimed the foothills from which springs arose, the empty valleys through which hostile rapids ran.

He did not advertise his intentions - commenting only on the beauty of a region, his professed love for wildlife, a rare species of kingfisher which he hoped to one day sight - but nor did he have to hide them well. His brothers were well occupied with their own struggle, ordering their selections to best pre-empt the other, ranking the more obvious targets in their minds. They dismissed him as a distracted academic - focused on irrelevant aesthetic virtues, unable to play the game strategically - and were only grateful when he stayed out of their way.

When the Patchwork Queen passed, there was an early period of peace. The brothers shared their possessions: allowing passage through a field in exchange for its protection, use of a fortress to store the harvest in exchange for a commensurate share. There was trading, to a degree, and harmony across the realm.

But tensions simmered over time. An unfair bargain, forced by one side's desperation. A deal not kept, with excuses which failed to convince. Each brother had something the other needed, but their distribution was far from equal. Their power waxed and waned with the seasons, and each imbalance led to perceived abuses: scores which were settled the next time that the tables turned. As ever with such things, they were always paid back with interest. The escalation only grew, and it was hard to see it ever coming down.

It was then that the third brother tightened his noose. Having monopolised the waters of the realm, he had existed thus far in peace: allowing the currents to flow as freely as they always had, and living off the little land he owned. But when his brothers were divided, their weaknesses exposed, he finally made his play: threatening to dam each watercourse at source, and leave their worlds to wither down the line.

"I can survive on the fish that I catch," he proclaimed. "But your men can't subsist on grain or stone alone. Your fields need water. Your people need water. Pay me a tithe, and I will make sure it comes. Swear me allegiance, and I will quench all of your deadly thirst."

"You did that?" the visitors would ask. "Such a way to consolidate your power. Ruthless, perhaps, but also wise. I see now why they call you the Fisher King. You showed great patience, as an angler watching over his pool; letting your brothers focus on the bait, as all the while you tightened your net."

"No," he would have to tell them. "What my brother did was wrong, as well as foolhardy. We had no choice but to kill him."

"Your brother? Then you-"

"I had the armies of the realm, loyal to me. When it came to war, as he insisted with the laying of this gauntlet, only one of us was going to emerge victorious. He might have had the rivers, and our brother might have had the fields, but I had the strength to take what wasn't mine. That's the lesson, here, if you insist in learning one. Wisdom and cunning are all very well, but they are nothing compared to power. You cannot play the game with nothing in your hand."

"But they call you the Fisher King?"

At this, their host would nod. "A fisherman is patient, yes, but there's no room for wisdom in his strike. He is far from a devious predator. He simply arms himself, with weaponry more lethal than his prey, and waits for them to swim into his grasp - or worse, to seek to attack him. He does nothing, except be stronger than they are - his hook far sharper than their teeth, his arms more muscular than fins. My brother was a trout, thinking that he could snatch my bait away from me - but didn't count upon my steel. So now I fish in his lakes, still searching for the peace that he once took from me. Now I rule - but only because the halfwit chose to bite me first."

[pennsylvaniacore]

This guy has been growing chestnuts on his farm, got confirmation that two 25-year old trees are 100% native American chestnuts, and is in talks with the state to start planting his seedlings in state parks. holy shit

[countyflagchampionship]

THIS IS THE CHAMPIONSHIP'S FINAL ROUND!

More info about flags below

Cecil County MD

The flag is red and white, divided vertically, with the red next to the hoist, and the white portion in the fly. On the white portion is a representation of the county seal. The flag was designed by B. B. Martin, near Elkton, and was adopted as the winning entry in a county-wide contest sponsored by the Cecil County Chamber of Commerce.

Bob Barnes (reference archivist at Maryland State Archives), 1998

Mercer County OH

On April 4, 2002, the County Commissioners adopted this official county flag for the first time in its history. The celebration of Ohio's 200th Birthday was the catalyst for the endeavor. Over thirty designs were received from students, residents and workers of Mercer County. The commissioners accepted the flag created by a group of nine individuals employed by Fanning/Howey Associates located in Celina, the county seat.

The flag is colorful, yet simple, and clearly represents the pride of the community. Agriculture is represented by a silhouette of an 1800's style barn. Three amber bands across the bottom represent the different colors of crops as they ripen and are ready for harvest. The lighthouse signifies Grand Lake, the largest man-made lake in Ohio. Beams radiating from the lighthouse stand for all six Mercer County schools: red for St. Henry, orange for Coldwater, gold for Parkway, green for Celina, blue for Marion Local, and purple for Fort Recovery.

The flag committee added one final touch to the design. The foundation of the lighthouse was modified to have fourteen stone blocks. Each block represents one of the townships. The county was named after General Hugh Mercer of the Revolutionary War.

The Ohio Channel

[scotianostra]

September 17th 1873 saw the death of Scottish born surgeon, merchant, explorer and settler Alexander Berry.

Berry was born on 30 November 1781 in Fife, Scotland, one of nine children of James Berrie (d.1827) and his wife Isabel Tod (d.1830). He was educated at Cupar Grammar School and at the Universities of St Andrews and Edinburgh where he studied medicine. Despite his father's opposition he became surgeon's mate in an East Indiaman bound for China and later in the Lord Hawkesbury on a voyage to Madras. His dislike of the flogging of seamen and a recognition of the profit to be won from commerce led him to abandoned his chosen profession.

From 1808 made several voyages to New South Wales with cargos of goods. Travelled to South America and returned to London in 1812, after losing his ship. In 1819 returned to Sydney establishing a mercantile business in partnership with Edward Wollstonecraft. In 1822, Berry and Wollstonecraft applied for a grant of 10,000 acres on the Shoalhaven River in New South Wales. In 1823 they exported coal to Rio de Janiero. Closed their mercantile business in 1828. In 1830 a grant of land of 10, 000 acres applied for on the Shoalhaven in 1822 was approved. Between 1830 and 1840 he purchased an additional 22,000 acres which produced maize, tobacco, wheat, barley, potatoes, pigs and cattle. The area had some of the most fertile and lush farmland in the country.

Berry grew very wealthy from his occupation. He sat in NSW parliament for 14 years and is considered a founding father of the area; they named the town after him in 1888.

This settlement became known as the Coolangatta Estate and developed into what is now the pretty and historic township of Berry , named in honour of Alexander and his brother, two hours south of Sydney It is a popular tourist spot, especially among the short-stay and weekender crowd.

Of course with the majority of Colonial rule Alexander’s success came at a price to the native population.

Berry used Aboriginal people as slave labour to clear the land – whether you consider payment by way of rations as slave labour – but there definitely wasn’t a monetary exchange.

Berry had a different view, but more and more these colonial settlers are being uncovered what for what they were. this was what he had to say in his memoirs;

“For many years I have reaped my harvest on the principle of free Labour. When I made a settlement at Coolangatta, in 1822, [Aboriginal people] were comparatively numerous, and were said to be very ferocious. I was informed that they had recently driven away a number of sawyers or wood-cutters, and my old friend, the late James Norton, told me that they would eat me. I had, however, served a kind of apprenticeship to the management of savages in New Zealand, and I was always on good terms with those of the settlement. Indeed, I found them very useful.”

As well as using the indigenous population he is also accused of raiding the graves of those people in the name of scientific research for the likes of Charles Darwin and others back home in good old “Blighty”

Australian researchers say they have uncovered evidence from Berry’s correspondence and his later reminiscences that he sent the skull of the Yuin leader Arrawarra to Britain in 1827, two years after he died.

We Scots can’t just wash our hands of all this, as well as Berry being a Scot we were involved at the other end, where the skull ended up, a letter of 20 August 1827 indicates Berry dispatched the skull, probably to the Edinburgh Museum, although it has not yet been found.

He was also involved, after the fact of the Boyd massacre, where Maori residents of of Whangaroa Harbour in northern New Zealand killed between 66 and 70 European crew of the Boyd. The massacre itself is said to have been in retaliation of floggings of Maori’s on the vessel. Brery took two local chiefs hostage for a time. He wrote in the Edinburgh Magazine that he had released them on condition that they lose their rank with their people, although he never expected that to happen.

Berry's memoirs were published in 1912, entitled 'Reminiscences'.They chiefly describe his experiences at sea, both with the East India company and his private travels, with only a short section covering his life in New South Wales. In particular he describes in detail his relationships with the indigenous people of New Zealand and Fiji, and his experiences during the rescue at the scene of the Boyd massacre.

Alexander Berry died on this day 1873 aged 91, at Crows Nest House. He was buried in family vault in St. Thomas' cemetery with his wife, Elizabeth Wollstonecraft, who was cousin of the Frankenstein author Mary Shelley.

While some admire Berry as a pioneering hero he has also been described as an “Immoral Hero”

[vacantgodling]

The Chronicles of Lathsbury -> CRASH COURSE

Part 4: The Setting & Major Cities

I want to preface this by saying I am STILL struggling to make a TCOL map bc map making is hard and I don’t know how to go about it. We’re working on it. As it stands though, Terrae is a large landmass with 2 medium sized islands off of its Western coast (separated from Terrae by The Eastern Sea… its a very Iceland/Greenland thing): Diisai and Kiskkaddon. All three land masses are under the jurisdiction of The Kingdom of Lathsbury. It’s a parliamentary monarchy with very distinct city-states that function as hubs of influence and culture. Most Terraneans refer to themselves, “nationally” or “ethnically” as being from whatever city they were raised in (not necessarily born—it depends on person to person). It would be similar to say, someone who lives in California saying “I’m human but I’m Californian.” People of Terrae will say: “I’m Diisian” or “I’m Veilian.” As examples.

There’s a lot of small villages and townships that exist around Terrae but these are the major cities that either play a role in the story or are mentioned with some relative frequency. I’ll include a brief description as well as what people call themselves who are from there:

LATHSBURY (Lathsburian): Lathsbury is the capital of The Kingdom of Lathsbury and is named after the first Guardian of Terrae, Lath. It’s known for its entrance to The Labyrinth, it’s bustling and diverse culture as it’s a huge traveling and trading hub, for its Guilds, and being the base of all government operations.

KINGSBURROW (Lathsburian): As Kingsburrow was established near the same time, and has close proximity to Lathsbury, most people who live in Kingsburrow consider themselves to be Lathsburian. It’s known for its rich mineral deposits and mining culture.

EROS / ARGOS (Aegean): The swampy, dense Eros is a converted fortress city that stands in the shadow of the crumbling and foreboding Argos—the first capital and city of Terrae thousands of years ago. Eros is known for its hunters and dark hunters, and their seemingly never ending devotion to culling the vast chaos that lies beneath Argos’s dilapidated streets, in hopes of one day reclaiming the city and restoring it to its former glory.

MARTHVEIL (Veilian): Marthveil is the birthplace of alchemy and a hub of innovation, and is the most technologically advanced city in all of Terrae, with electric lighting being one of its main highlights. It’s named after the god of alchemy MARTH who was born in the region.

HYTRÖTH (Püerthian): Hytröth lies at the foot of the sacred Mt. Hytröth, which is also known as MUINENS’s home. It’s no surprise that the Protector’s Academy and the largest OOM Temple are located here. They call themselves Püerthian because they are sheltered under the towering Mt. Hytröth from the worst of the north’s pain.

SILVERKEEP (Silvian or Lathsburian): The hub of medicinal research in Terrae due to the incredible and sheer vast biodiversity of plants that can be found nowhere else in Terrae. They call themselves Silvian however, implants from Lathsbury are extremely common so it’s more of a blended culture.

DIISAI (MORDIGA) (Diisaian): The larger of the two islands off of Mainland Terrae’s western coast, Diisai (and it’s capital city Mordiga) is the hub of harvest, food and drink. It’s known for its beautiful rolling hills and it’s residents are known to be quite superstitious. As an aside, they are also known for having particular accents and for us humans it’s very similar to a Scottish/Gaelic accent.

KISKKADDON (Kisks): The smaller of the two islands off of mainland Terrae and desert land throughout. Closer to the sea lies a rocky temperate desert which transitions into a full tropical desert inland. It is notoriously difficult to survive in, with more and more migrants coming from Kiskkaddon to mainland Terrae each year as the desert expands.

SNAKE’S CANYON (Illumese): On the Eastern edge of the continent lies the dark badlands of Snake’s Canyon. They are known for their canyon built homes and the guild class, Illuminators or Hexers. The entire northeast where Snake’s Canyon lies is usually covered in a permanent dusk or darkness.

WISH OF PALANTHIA (Palanthian): The residents of Wish of Palanthia are known for their kindness, generosity, and agreeable nature. The city is famous for being the site where a peace treaty was signed after the first and last Terranean civil war. Etched in stone in the center of the city is the grim promise the city stands to uphold: Should Terraneans ever war amongst themselves again, IISIDIA will destroy all life on Terrae.

BASS LANDING (Canterian): Taken from cantatio, the Canterian people of Bass Landing are famous for their music and arts.

EASTHOLLOW (n/a): Easthollow lies close to Eros and the Western coast and is nicknamed “The Guild City” as any willing adventurer must travel to Easthollow to pass the Guilder’s exams and be chosen in the guild bid before they can become a guild hand proper. The city is called “hollow” because there are no permanent residents that reside here; and as such it has no significant cultural heritage.

UBWYN (THE CITY OF SORROWS) (n/a): Ubwyn is mostly a ruin now, but it was the first place the Nomads that would eventually become The Lathsburians established after they fled from Eros after The Day of Fissures. It’s mostly remembered as a cultural site, and some say they do occasionally see what seems to be a tall, pale, ghostly woman floating among the ruins at night.