#The Project September 2017

[on-this-day-mcr]

On this day, September 22

In 2017: Frank Iero released the EP "Keep the Coffins Coming", his first and only EP with "Frank Iero and the Patience". (🖤)

Stream "Keep the Coffins Coming" here!

[dughole]

radiohead’s complicity in israeli-occupied palestine

my feelings on radiohead are complicated these days, as i’m sure they are for many. i'm using this post as a method of sorting out my own thoughts & to provide sources.

for me, the bottom line is this: radiohead is both a brand & a musical group. the brand of radiohead has always had deep roots in the israeli colonial project - they have played many, many shows there throughout their career. their breakout single - creep, was intially only a hit in israel (x, x) & the personal choices of some of radiohead's members remain just as involved. jonny greenwood met his future wife - the israeli artist, antivaxxer & vehement zionist (x) sharona katan - at a show radiohead played in israel in 1993 (x). jonny consistently collaborated with zionist musician shye ben tzur & his projects continue to tour in tel aviv as recently as last september. as for jonny himself - his only statement in regards to the war on gaza has been in mourning for the israeli concert goers on october 10th - w no such empathy spared to the 100,000 palestinians dead, injured, or missing. as for thom, while he’s thrown a few bitchfits (x) through the years abt criticism of radiohead’s shows in israel, he has imo - only paid lipservice to the criticism, saying “playing in a country isn’t the same as endorsing its government” going against the pleas of his peers & coworkers in the music industry. as well as the pro-palestine activism undertaken by his long term friend micheal stipe (x & x). (note: stipe stood by radiohead’s performance in israel in 2017, but his current political choices suggest his understanding of the situation has evolved). even his own son - noah yorke, a fellow working musician, has voiced his opposition to the genocide in gaza via instagram stories. as for the other members, rhythm guitarist ed o'brien has called for a ceasefire, as well as making a few tweets about "solidarity with palestinians & israeli peacemakers". while bassist colin greenwood reportedly refused to accept letters of dialogue from the fan-run organization radiohead fans for palestine. drummer phillip selway's commentary is similarly brief but defensive, saying radiohead's 2017 tel aviv concert "felt right"

to me, this paints a picture of a band who's members stances on israel range from abhorrent to simply not enough. & as a brand, their particular combination of action & inaction amounts to a fundamentally zionist perspective. you cannot separate radiohead as artists from radiohead as a brand name.

i've loved radiohead since i was 14. i was brought into it by another longtime fan. i cried & danced when i saw them live back in 2017 - it was, & remains, a moment that allowed me to live through the hardest parts of my life. i felt for the longest time, that radiohead's music & political positions encouraged my empathy - my questioning of conservative political authority. & while all celebrities are failures in some sense - it is still heartbreaking to know how wrong i was.

i don't think it's possible to disconnect the decade of connection & love i have for their music - I won't ask that of myself or anyone else. & the idea of scrubbing one's taste of the "morally impure" is useless effort & an inappropriate simplification of both art & our conceptions of what makes someone "bad". but i can say with certainty - i will not be giving them any more of my money, whether that be streaming their music or buying their merch - & i encourage you to do the same. silence is complicity - this is beyond silence.

in the words of nina simone - "an artist's duty, as far as i'm concerned, is to reflect the times. how can you be an artist and not reflect the times? that to me is the definition of an artist."

[autismswagsummit]

Round 2 is ready!

The Wheel of Doom has run its course, so it's time to go back to the main bracket! We have 32 contestants to get through, so this time polls will be handled in 2 waves, splitting the bracket down the middle. All matches will be listed below, as usual. Polls will take place on September 28th, same time as usual.

ROUND 2 SIDE A

Donatello Hamato (Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) v.s Rui Kamishiro (Project Sekai)

Branch (DreamWorks Trolls) v.s Snufkin (Moominvalley)

Gordon Freeman (Half Life) v.s Princess Bubblegum (Adventure Time)

Zane Julien (Lego Ninjago) v.s Tomoko Kuroki (Watamote)

Papyrus (Undertale) v.s Ferb Fletcher (Phineas & Ferb)

Twilight Sparkle (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic) v.s Gregory House (House M.D)

Data Soong (Star Trek) v.s Peridot (Steven Universe)

Marcy Wu (Amphibia) v.s Miles Edgeworth (Ace Attorney)

ROUND 2 SIDE B

Monkey D. Luffy (One Piece) v.s Laios Touden (Dungeon Meshi)

Gin Ibushi (Your Turn To Die) v.s Link (The Legend of Zelda)

Luz Noceda (The Owl House) v.s Huey Duck (Ducktales 2017)

Lilo Pelekai (Lilo & Stitch) v.s Miles "Tails" Prower (Sonic the Hedgehog)

Razputin Aquato (Psychonauts) v.s Entrapta (She Ra and the Princesses of Power)

Kieran (Pokemon Scarlet and Violet) v.s Marina Ida (Splatoon)

Hiccup Haddock (How To Train Your Dragon) v.s Abed Nadir (Community)

Bingo Heeler (Bluey) v.s Spongebob Squarepants (Spongebob Squarepants)

[louisupdates]

By Ed Power | Sat Nov 30 2024 - 05:15

During the pandemic the songwriter and producer James Vincent McMorrow would rise early, go for a run and write songs for Louis Tomlinson, of One Direction.

“I actually made half of a record for him,” he says. Tomlinson’s team “had a lot of songs but maybe not a lot that he was as into as he wanted to be. I think they were maybe looking for a weirdo. So they reached out to me. I love him. He’s a fascinating human being. I absolutely loved making that album,” adds McMorrow, who is about to start a tour of Ireland.

When it comes to potential collaborators with a boy band megastar, McMorrow’s name is not the first that springs to mind. He’s an indie songwriter whose open-veined, falsetto-driven pop has been compared to that of folkies such as Bon Iver and Sufjan Stevens. But Tomlinson was a fan of the Dubliner’s beautifully wrought music. He wasn’t alone: Drake famously sampled McMorrow on his 2016 track Hype.

One of the tracks they wrote together, The Greatest, would serve as the opener to Tomlinson’s second LP, Faith in the Future. As is often the way with the music industry, the rest are in a vault somewhere. Still, for McMorrow the opportunity to work with a pop star was about more than simply putting his craft in front of a wider audience. The call from Tomlinson’s team had come at a low point for the Irishman, who had become mired in confusion and doubt after signing to a major label for the first time in his career.

Executives at Columbia Records had recognised potential in McMorrow as an artist who bridged the divide between folk and pop. The fruits of that get-together would see daylight in September 2021 as the excellent Grapefruit Season LP, on which McMorrow teamed up with Paul Epworth, who has also produced Adele and Florence Welch.

The album was a beautifully gauzy rumination on the birth of his daughter and the muggy roller coaster of first-time parenthood. It went top 10 in Ireland and breached the top 100 in the UK. Yet the experience of working within the major-label system was strange for McMorrow, who at that point had been performing and recording for more than a decade. He didn’t hate it. But he knew he didn’t ever want to do it again.

“It was a weird time. I stopped touring in 2017. My daughter was born in 2018. I signed with Columbia Records at the same time and made a record that ... There were moments within it I was proud of. But fundamentally, I think if I was being very honest, I would say that I definitely got lost in the weeds of what the music industry wanted for me rather than what I wanted for myself.”

[…]

McMorrow grew up in Malahide, the well-to-do town in north Co Dublin; as a secondary-school student he suffered debilitating shyness. In 2021 he revealed that he had struggled with an eating disorder at school, ending up in hospital (“Anorexia that progressed into bulimia”). He was naturally retiring, not the sort to crave the spotlight. But he was drawn to music. “It was definitely a difficult journey,” he says. He wasn’t alone in that. “The musicians that tend to cut through and make it ... A lot of my friends, musicians that are successful, they’re not desperate for the stage.”

The Tomlinson collaboration was part of his strange relationship with the mainstream music industry. It went back to McMorrow’s third LP, Rising Water, from 2016. A move away from his earlier folk-pop, the project had featured engineering from Ben Ash, aka Two Inch Punch, a producer who had worked with chart artists such as Jessie Ware, Sia and Wiz Khalifa.

That was followed by the Drake sample in 2016 and by McMorrow writing the song Gone, which was at one point set to be recorded by a huge pop star whom he’d rather not identify.

“Gone is the red herring of red herrings in my entire career. I wrote that song for other people. I didn’t write it for myself. The whole reason I signed to Columbia Records and I had all these deals was because of Gone. I was very happy tipping away in my weird little world. And then I wrote that song, and a lot of bigger artists came in to try to take it,” he says.

“I won’t name names. There were recordings of it done. It got very close to being a single for someone else. I would go in these meetings with all these labels, and I would play it for them – just to play. Not with any sense of ‘This is my song.’ And they were, like, ‘You’re out of your mind if you don’t take this song. This is the song that will make you the thing that is the thing.’ And I was, like, ‘You’re wrong.’ For a year I basically was, like, ‘I disagree.’ And if you go in a room with enough people enough times and they tell you that you’re crazy ... I loved the song, but I did not love it for me. I never felt I fit. There was a little part of me that wanted to believe.”

As he had predicted, Gone wasn’t a hit. He received a lot of other strange advice, including that he cash in on the mercifully short-lived craze for NFTs by putting out an LP as a watermarked internet file. All of that was swirling in his brain when Tomlinson got in touch. To be able to step outside his own career was exactly what McMorrow needed.

“With Louis it was like boot camp. I had a very limited time with him. I had to wake up every morning, go for a run, write a song in my head, go to the studio. We made songs all day long. It lit a fire in my head again. I loved the process. I like sitting and talking to someone like Louis, who’s had this unbelievably fascinating lifestyle – so much tragedy in his life,” he says. Tomlinson’s mother and sister died within three years of each other, and his 1D bandmate Liam Payne died in October. “So many things have happened to him. I chatted to him and then write constantly. That was a lovely process.”

Because life is strange and full of contrasts McMorrow ended up working with Tomlinson around the same time that he was producing the Dublin postpunk “folk-metal” band The Scratch, on their LP Mind Yourself. “Totally different animals,” he says. “The Scratch album was an intense period in the studio of that real old-school nature of making music. A lot of fights. A lot of pushing back against ideas. A lot of different opinions. And you have to respect everybody’s opinions and find the route through.”

During his brief time on a major label, McMorrow was reminded of the music industry’s weakness for short-term thinking. In 2019, the business was obsessed with streaming numbers and hot-wiring the Spotify algorithm so that your music posted the highest possible number of plays.

“Everyone was driven by stats. ‘This song has 200 million streams.’ ‘That song has 400 million streams.’ I went into my meetings with Columbia Records ... the day I had my first big marketing meeting was the day my catalogue passed a billion streams, which, for someone like me, who started where I started, was a day where I should be popping champagne corks. Instead they immediately started talking about how they have artists that have one song that has two billion streams. So by their rule of thumb I was half as successful as one song by one artist on their label.”

Five years later he believes things have changed. He points to Lankum, a group who will never set Spotify alight yet who have carved a career by doing their own thing and not chasing the short-term goal of a place on the playlist. They are an example to other musicians, McMorrow says.

“I was in Brooklyn, doing two nights, a week and a half ago. In the venue across the road from where we were, pretty much, Lankum were doing two nights and had [the Dublin folk artist] John Francis Flynn opening for them. Those are two artists that, if you were to look at their stats, you wouldn’t be, like, ‘These are world-beating musicians.’ You start aggregating to this stat-based norm and you miss bands like Lankum, bands like The Mary Wallopers, people like John Francis Flynn.”

McMorrow is looking forward to his forthcoming Irish tour, which he sees as another leg of his journey to be his best possible self.

“The last two, three years have been a process of building it back to a version of me that actually made me happy rather than making me cry at night-time – a version that was making music because I liked it. Within this industry there’s so much outside noise. It’s quite overwhelming. I was overwhelmed. It’s been nice to reset the clock.”

In November 2022, McMorrow posted this now deleted Instagram post:

Text: late 2021 I got a phone call asking me if I wanted to come to London to meet @louist91 and possibly write some songs. A few years ago he released a statement talking about changing his path musically, instead of the immediate search for hits, he’d start with music he genuinely loved and see where it got him. Seems like a simple and obvious thing to say, but considering the amount of people just chasing hits with little regard for vision or artistry, a statement like that struck me when I read it. So I was excited to meet him and see what he was about. First day we met we all wrote Common People, second day we wrote Lucky Again. In December of last year we went back in again, finished those ones, wrote and produced 3 others that are also on this album. It was the studio line-up of dreams, @mrfredball @jmoon1066, @riley_mac. Shouts to Louis for letting us do our thing, letting a dork like me come write some weird lyrics and weird melodies, trust us to shape the vision that he had. These last few years were dark at times, but it was moments like that where I remembered why I’m obsessed w music and why it’s all I’ve ever understood. incredibly proud of the work, Holding on to Heartache is genuinely one of my most favourite songs I’ve ever been a part of.

Also I was reading something about the album and it mentioned something about the gospel choir on the bridge of that song… nah man thats’s just 200 stacked of me singing super super high in the studio out back of Fred’s house😂]

[fanauthorworkshop]

Applications now open!

The Fall 2024 Fanauthor Workshop is a 7-week writing course led by Betts (@bettsfic). The workshop lends a supportive space to writers who identify as fans to receive constructive feedback on fanfiction, original fiction, or creative nonfiction.

Art by @emimayooo 💖

Where & When

We meet weekly over Zoom. You can apply for one of two sessions:

Group A: Wednesdays from Oct. 9 - Nov. 20, 12-2pm EST

Group B: Mondays from Oct. 7 - Nov. 18, 6-8pm EST

What

FAW is a feedback-oriented workshop with the occasional generative session. This means that each week we read 2 pieces submitted by participants, offer written feedback, and discuss them over Zoom. You'll be able to sign up for the week you would like to workshop your own piece, which can be anything under 6k words.

There may be weeks where, in lieu of workshopping, I present external readings and writing exercises. These sessions will be dependent on the number of participants. For example, if we have 10 participants and 6 workshop weeks, that means one week will be devoted to a reading discussion and generative activity.

I developed a workshop model that focuses mostly on affirmations and positivity, as well as descriptive over prescriptive feedback, which is to say, describing one's experience of reading rather than prescribing solutions to perceived problems. We also present improvement-oriented feedback, but avoid negativity, judgment, and pedantry. Week 1 is spent going over the model and how to give feedback.

About FAW

The first FAW was held in 2017 as an independent study in my MFA. I restarted it in 2022 and since then have led 9 sessions with a total of over 50 participants, about half of whom have participated in the workshop more than once.

Participation in the workshop includes entrance into the FAW community, an active Discord server where we host:

Ongoing accountability meetings, where we chat over Zoom about our projects and set goals for ourselves every other week

A monthly longform writing workshop, where writers can workshop any story between 6k and 100k words

A short story club, where we read and chat about original short form works

Events and activities like movie nights and co-op gaming

Scheduled write-ins and impromptu writing sprints

We also chat about writing and craft, offer resources, and share many, many pet photos.

In addition, participants of the workshop receive:

A one-hour consultation with me to go over your workshop feedback, come up with a plan for revision and/or publication, or anything else you’d like to discuss regarding your writing

Open enrollment in future workshops

Priority sign-ups for WTFS (Write the Fucking Story), WIP Cleanout, and other one-off generative sessions

Eligibility

Anyone over the age of 18 who considers themselves a participant of fandom and who is familiar with fanfiction may apply. A stable internet connection is also required.

Cost

The cost of the workshop is "pay what you can" with the recommended amount of $300. To be as inclusive as possible, I don't want money to be a deterrent for anyone interested in participating.

Payment (or notification of nonpayment) will be requested prior to the start of workshop via PayPal, Venmo, or Wise. You can also pay in installments.

Application requirements

To apply, you will need:

An informal cover letter discussing your fan history and goals as a (fan)writer (more specific instructions on submittable)

A short sample of your writing, either original work or fanfiction. This may be previously published/posted

You can apply via submittable. Applications close September 15.

FAQ under the cut

FAQ

Are there any content restrictions to what I can workshop?

The only restriction is word count (max 6k), with the following caveats:

If you workshop a piece in a form other than prose (for example, a script), your peers may not be able to offer constructive feedback on that aspect of the work. Participants are asked only to have a familiarity with prose.

Content warnings are required for each piece (if applicable), and participants who are uncomfortable reading certain subject matter may abstain from your workshop.

What is the time commitment of the workshop?

As a participant of the workshop, you'll be asked to:

Workshop any piece of your own prose up to 6k words, which will need to be uploaded to the group folder one week before your workshop.

Read 2 pieces per week, write out your individual crit, and attend the workshop itself.

What is the timeline of the workshop?

In week 1, we go over the syllabus and do a writing exercise. Weeks 2 through 7 will be a workshop, a discussion of an external reading, or a writing activity. Prior to the start of workshop, you'll be able to sign up for the week you would like to workshop your piece.

Structure of the sessions:

Question of the day

First workshop

Short break

Second workshop

We'll go over my workshop model and the syllabus in week 1.

Do I have to participate in the Zoom meetings (camera and mic on)?

Attending the workshop itself is required, and everyone is asked to offer at least one note of positive feedback on each piece, so mics are necessary. Cameras are preferred but not required.

You can't asynchronously participate, i.e. read the pieces and offer written feedback without attending the sessions.

Can workshop participants submit to OFIC Magazine?

Yes! Part of the reason I run the workshop is to inspire and promote the original work of fanwriters. You can follow us on tumblr @oficmag.

Who is running the workshop?

@bettsfic! In short, I lived a dreary cubicle life as a banker until I found fanfiction at 24. I loved it so much that I quit my job to get an MFA in creative writing. I loved the MFA so much that I became a writing teacher. I have some publications, awards, an agent, and 2 million words of fic on ao3. I don't have a book out yet but I'm getting there.

Currently I'm a writing coach and freelance editor. I also have a lowkey writing-related newsletter. And I've been answering writing advice asks on my blog for 10 years.

If you want an idea of the kind of writing activities I create, last summer I worked with @books on a workshop series which includes craft essays and some fun prompts.

If you're interested in my original work, my short story "Not If, When" is a good representation of my writing. For something darker, check out "Shut Up and Kill Me."

What is the workshop like?

Check out G's experience of attending the workshop. And here's some feedback from previous participants.

One final note: I'm working on updating the copy about the workshop on my website and move it over to OFIC's website. This post and Submittable has the most updated information on the workshop. If you have questions about discrepancies (or anything at all), you can shoot me an ask, DM me, or add me on Discord (I'm bettsfic there too). Or you can email me at ekweeks@gmail.com.

[bladefuck]

INFO POST ONNN;

andrew blaze!; also known az pioneers productions, waz the perpetrator of the eaton township weis supermarket shooting, which she worked at at the time of her death. the shooting took place on june eighth, 2017 in eaton township pennsylvania.

the attack on weis supermarket was a murder-suicide az well az a workplace shooting. four people in total died including andrew. zero were injured physically.

the weaponz she used were two pistol-gripped 12 gauge mossberg 500 pump action shotgunz. at the time of ze shooting she had been working there for seven whole yearz.

andrewz life

andrew blaze waz born in september of 1992, in the american state of pennsylvania

az a child she waz described az being rather shy, not many friendz and not fitting in with her peerz.

ever since she waz young, andrew said she contemplated death, likely much more than the average child. because of all of these thingz, andrew frequently spent her time alone, thiz continued into her later life. thiz iz also when she began drawing and watching youtube, which would become a huge part of her life later on.

in highschool she developed a love 4 filming, and still loved watching youtuberz who were popular at the time.

thiz inspired her 2 start her own channel, so on june of 2008 she made her first youtube channel at the age of sixteen, which waz known az pioneers productions.

at the start she primarily did letsplay content w/ no face attached, but eventually she began including her face in content and branching out into more varietyz of content, primarily skitz. eventually she went viral with a fred parody, garnering over 10,000 viewz which waz a lot at the time.

thiz led to her gaining much more subscriberz and around thiz time iz when the name andrew blaze formed.

however, around the timez of 2008-2010, you can begin to see a decline in her mental health visible through her postz, even if nothing seemed off at the time.

two frequent characterz who showed up in these videoz were known az froggie and whale, two toyz that appeared often in skitz, though eventually she filmed a video that showed the death of these two characterz, with her stabbing them under the watch of ember.

the videoz began getting more violent, and involved death and shooting people much more frequently. though with the youtube landscape at the time, thiz cannot be used az definitive evidence that thiz iz solely because of her mental health.

she statez that she frequently thinkz about death, to the point it often consumez her thoughtz. along these linez, andrew also said she doesn’t understand how people could live past thirty, and seemed to gain the view that she wasnt supposed to be on thiz earth, and that she waz only able to go back to where she came from through death.

nobody commented on these viewz.

at age eighteen andrew began going to college, specifically to get a bachelorz degree in mazz communication. though she wanted to focuz on her youtube channel full time more. it waz around thiz time she began working on a project known az the ‘westborough high massacre’ which waz meant to be an animated film. thiz film waz in her wordz dedicated to the animated character ember mclain from the tv seriez danny phantom, a show about a boy with powerz fighting ghostz. though ember waz not a main character, she quickly became andrewz favorite, and eventual obsession that only rampz up throughout the yearz.

in the show ember waz a human girl who died and came back az a ghost.

around 2013 iz when her obsession with ember turned more intense, and much more negative.

around thiz time iz when she began saying online that she waz meant to be a ghost girl, not a human. she began making skitz of what she thinkz the afterlife iz, where she reincarnatez az a ghost girl and reunitez with ember.

she frequently struggled with her gender around thiz time, and also went through many traumatic eventz involving death.

the first of which was her grandfather in 2006, and she statez that hiz death iz the first time she saw a dead body and began contemplating what death meant.

her brotherz friend tom/tim (i couldnt find which one was the right name ack!) also passed away in a car accident, and though she wasnt too close with him it still hit her.

shortly after, her close friend matt passed in a car accident.

she stated ‘to(i)mz death sucked the life out of me, mattz death killed me.’

at twenty three yearz old andrew graduated college, and now didnt know what to do with her life. she wanted to do youtube but it wasnt going well.

the income she had waz from a grocery store she worked at, since her father waz the manager.

her mental health only continued to drop, and she continued rambling about wanting to be a ghost girl and how nobody around her carez.

around thiz age she began creating her suicide tapez.

on these tapez she statez she planz to die first may seventh of 2019

she callz these collectionz of tapez EGS, and spoke about everything in her life and the mental health spiralz she went through.

she revealed she went through gender identity issuez and because of thiz would frequently wear feminine clothing in the house when her family waz away.

it waz around thiz time she also began to gain a fascination with the perpetratorz of the columbine shooting, particularly eric harriz.

in these tapez she said she just wanted someone to notice her, and that throughout her life people have continuously failed at that.

around thiz time she created a character known az mckenzie, and that in her past life thiz waz her name and she waz dating ember from danny phantom

thiz obsession quickly became unhealthy, and eventually she depicted an entire world full of characterz similar to mckenzie and ember which would eventually be known az emberz ghost squad

she ran multiple different social media accountz depicting these characterz, and eventually used them to spread her online journal and tapez before the massacre

she began talking about her fascination with the columbine highschool massacre, a mazz shooting that took place in the year 1999 in the state of colorado perpetrated by two highschool boyz who promptly commited after the eventz.

she said she wanted to ‘make them proud’ one day.

the previouz mentioned ‘westborough high massacre’ animation began to fall through around the age of 23/24 (2017)

she hired va’z who were being slow, and hired an animator who eventually declined because of the nature of the film, which only further angered andrew.

in one of her videoz she said the day she uploadz her animated seriez iz the day she diez, and that she couldnt wait any longer.

around thiz time andrew went out and bought two shotgunz, and there are still videoz out there of her practicing shooting them. they would later be used in the massacre.

she never had a concrete answer az to why she waz planning what she waz doing, just that 2017 waz the time for her to go back to her real home, which she claimed held other ghostz.

andrew believed she waz from a different dimension, and hated waking up everyday in thiz world knowing her purpose waz somewhere else.

at thiz time, she decided she couldnt wait longer and moved her death date to june seventh, 2017.

she wanted to take otherz with her, and it would either be her family or her coworkerz.

she frequently said she would kill people publically, but nobody said anything or tried stopping her.

andrew often left thingz out in the open, but nobody ever questioned it.

she often posted to the twitter accountz she ran with hintz that she waz going to kill people soon, but once again, thiz waz never brought up and no effortz were made to stop her.

az june seventh approached, she posted a video discussing who waz going to die. through a coin flip, she determined she would shoot up her supermarket.

thiz iz when she went onto make her final video, in her car discussing what could happen after her death, reflecting on her life and motivez, and how surreal it all felt to her.

on june sixth 2017 she posted a video of her silently walking through the supermarket she worked at, zooming in on the exitz

on june seventh, 2017, her animated seriez ‘the westborough high massacre’ finally released, and it featured a prologue of her sharing her hate for the people who dropped the project. the general plot waz of her and another ghost squad character going on a massacre in a highschool setting.

thiz waz posted mere hourz before the massacre.

the massacre

on june seventh andrew waz working the overnight shift, making her final post to any of the egs twitter accountz saying goodbye, az well az sharing her journalz and media filez of all her tapez.

andrew waz working with four other employeez, and nobody else waz in the store.

because they were all on the night shift and tired, when they saw andrew walking around they didnt bother investigating. in actuality she waz blocking all the exitz of the store so nobody could escape.

she finished blocking the doorz a little after one am, and grabz her two shotgunz.

andrew first killed a female co-worker after shooting her multiple timez. at the same time another co-worker looked up and saw her, looking down at the body.

she looked up at her coworker, before for unknown reasonz sparing her and walking onto the next aisle.

andrew next killed a male coworker while the woman she spared called the police and tried hiding. she begun firing more and more at unknown locationz. at thiz time the coworker escaped the store and hid in a bush while on the phone with the police.

andrew finally killed another male coworker, and at thiz point begun open fire at anything in the store seemingly at random. she attempted firing at propabe tankz, but they wouldnt go off.

andrew walked to the deli section of the store, and thiz iz where the massacre ended az she took her own life.

shortly before her death, she tweeted out on her own twitter account ‘goodbye humanz, ill mizz you.’

at thiz point the police had arrived and begun examinationz of the crime scene.

police got a warrant to search her home, where they found plenty more supplies such az ammunition, and grabbed hold of thingz like journalz and her tapez, which iz where they finally gained motivez and backstoriez for andrew and why she did what she did.

it waz found that shortly before the massacre andrew emailed the voice actor of ember mcclain, saying thingz such as how when she readz thiz email andrew will be dead and she haz found her true purpose and will be back with her ghost squad.

it waz found andrew waz wearing female garmentz at the time of her death and found with an extremely high amount of benadryl in her system, which could cause thingz like hallucinationz and agitation.

only one person survived the massacre, the girl andrew let flee.

— tagz for reach! @antimony-121 @columtard @rh1nest0neluvvsu @jafarfeet2 @gothiclanza @dorksarelazy @grungecal @babypinkdecember @vodka-cal @expocorpse @youhaveacatinyourlap @v0dkasrighthand

[onlydylanobrien]

Live from New York, It’s Dylan O’Brien!

The 33-year-old plays Dan Aykroyd in Jason Reitman’s Saturday Night, and he’s not sure he hit it out of the park. But he’s okay with that.

DYLAN O’BRIEN HAS led movies that grossed hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office. He’s shared the screen in a thriller with Michael Keaton (2017’s American Assassin), exchanged jokes with Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson (in 2013’s The Internship), been a long-running MTV teen heartthrob (in 92 episodes of Teen Wolf), voiced a Transformer (in 2018’s Bumblebee), and, hell, went toe to toe with Larry David while playing himself on Curb Your Enthusiasm. At 33, he’s accomplished a hell of a lot.

By the time we meet at Men’s Health’s New York City offices to chat on an early September Friday, I’ve already seen a lot of his work. I’ve always liked the way his relaxed demeanor on-screen fits with an undeniable movie-star look—and that holds true in his latest project, Saturday Night (in select theaters now and out nationwide on October 11), in which he stars as comedy legend and original Saturday Night Live cast member Dan Aykroyd; the movie is a depiction of the chaotic 90 minutes before the very first episode of SNL. But I wasn’t sold on his sheer determination—the pure conviction in his character—until I learned that, like myself, he’s a long-suffering fan of the New York Jets.

“I get psyched for the Jets,” he tells me, rocking a full beard, a T-shirt, and a pair of comfortable lacrosse shorts. As he finishes his thought, his eyes light up, but they maintain the slightest sense of eternal frustration behind them. “Even though it’s always like, Jesus Christ.”

Misfortunes of past football seasons aside, O’Brien is as hyped as he’s ever been for the season to come—he’s already done all of his fantasy drafts, though he feels better about some than others—but right now he has one potential problem: He’s going to be in Toronto, for the Toronto International Film Festival, on the night of the Jets season opener. But don’t worry, he’s got it figured out. Saturday Night’s premiere is on Tuesday, and his press schedule on Monday (when the Jets are set to play the San Francisco 49ers) concludes at 5:30 p.m.

“I’m like, I’m going to a pub. I’m getting out of the area, and I’m just going to sit and have some beer and watch the Jets on Monday night all by myself,” he says with a huge smile on his face. “It’s going to be awesome.”

It’s a relatable feeling—for most Jets fans, there’s no happier time than before the season starts, before the annual feelings of dread and doom start to set in. (The Jets would wind up losing to the 49ers, 32-19, in their Week 1 MNF matchup.) But, as Jets fans have learned so well to do over the years, we move on.

O’Brien has a long career behind him, but a long career ahead of him, too. In addition to his upcoming role in Saturday Night (which has earned strong reviews in the early goings), he’s also got the M. Night Shyamalan-produced Caddo Lake premiering on Max this month, and Anniversary, in which he stars alongside Diane Lane and Kyle Chandler, coming at some point in the near future. (It doesn’t currently have a release date.) O’Brien is the kind of actor who elevates the project he’s in, even when the project is already really, really good—but if there’s anything being a Jets fan says about someone, it’s that they know how to adjust, adapt, and bounce back. And in an industry as fickle as show business—which is put on full display in Saturday Night—that’s about as important a quality as any to have in your back pocket.

Ahead of the release of several of the biggest and most exciting projects of his career, O’Brien sat down with Men’s Health to discuss how he keeps himself sane and centered, prepping to play a comedy icon, and some of those casting rumors about him out there on the Internet.

MEN’S HEALTH: What kind of routines do you maintain for your mental and physical health?

DYLAN O’BRIEN: I don’t go to the gym. I’m not a gym guy, but that doesn’t mean I don’t exercise or train or anything. I would say I go in and out of that. I’m usually the type who’s either on a pretty consistent routine and trying to hit it hard and take care of myself for a period of time, and then I’ll let it go for a little bit. Some of that’s influenced by my schedule, too. When you go to work, it’s hard to keep up some kind of regimen. But when I’m home and I’m in between jobs, I’ve become a very domesticated individual. I love grocery shopping and cooking my own meals.

MH: What’s your favorite thing to make?

DOB: If I had to pick one thing, I love, to the soul, making a soup. It’s literally the first thing I’ll do when I go anywhere to settle in. Just a homemade chicken soup, with a chicken carcass, and get creative with the veggies.

MH: Do you have a mental health routine?

DOB: That’s typically what drives the eating and the exercising. I always feel best when I’m in a nice routine and taking care of myself. As I’ve gotten into my 30s, sleep is so important, and periods of laying off alcohol are so important. Just treating your body right and getting rest. I like to do a cold plunge session, and that’s very meditative for me. I’ll follow the simple program of “exhaust the body, relax the mind” when I’m going right.

“I was self-conscious that I DIDN’T LOOK LIKE HIM, that I DIDN’T SOUND LIKE HIM, that I thought people wouldn’t think me—Dan Aykroyd.”

MH: I totally understand the concept of using whatever levels us as therapy. Sometimes after work I just need to put the Yankees on and do absolutely nothing in order to fully detox and feel right.

DOB: That’s my soul. The Mets… obviously, baseball is a nearly every day thing. And even when the Mets are not going well, what’s soothed me since I was closely following them when I was a kid is [broadcasters Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez, and Ron Darling]. Literally, even just throwing the game on in the background while I’m getting dinner ready and just listening to those guys talk baseball—that settles me to my core. I’m totally with you on that.

MH: Is watching sports your main way of decompressing at the end of a long day?

DOB: If it’s baseball season, yeah, nightly Mets is nice. If I’m working, I’ve been known to be on jobs and randomly be bingeing some reality show while I’m on it. It’s such a decompressor at the end of the day. I love reality TV.

MH: What’s your favorite?

DOB: Of all time?

MH: Yeah.

DOB: Well, it’s between Jersey Shore and Vanderpump Rules as far as the all-timers. I’ve been a longtime OG Vanderpump fan, pre-Scandoval, and I just think that show’s a masterpiece. And Jersey Shore is a masterpiece, too. I did a film, Ponyboi, that’s very Jersey-centric, and so I drilled all of the first four seasons of Jersey Shore. My whole routine for that movie, when I needed to decompress, was just working out and watching reality TV. I lost a lot of weight, too, for that movie, and I was just trying to make my little chicken breast, and eat my salad, and work out, and watch Jersey Shore.

MH: Let’s talk about Saturday Night. How would you describe your version of Dan Aykroyd?

DOB: It might be the thing most open to interpretation I’ve ever done. By that, I mean it really was just leaping out of the nest. I’m playing this real person, but [director Jason Reitman] had no intention of just copying the person coming in. He really wanted everyone to have their own spin on the person, which, if you’re overthinking it, can be tough to do because it can be very easy to do. If you’re like, I’m just going to watch my guy’s interviews and sketches, then you can kind of fall into imitation. As far as I know, I was just doing what I thought he was like. But I don’t fucking know. That instinct was that Jason was always telling me what to run with. He was big on not overpreparing, not overwatching things, and not impersonating. I’m curious to hear people’s take, because I don’t really know. I just went with my gut.

MH: Was there one signature quality of Dan you wanted to capture?

DOB: A very earnest intelligence—he’s so quick, it was exhausting. I would always say how exhausted I was, because I’m playing someone who’s way quicker than I am, and so I’m constantly operating at a speed I can’t operate at, because he’s so sharp and fast and he never fumbles and he never curses. He never bides time. You know what I mean?

MH: Absolutely.

DOB: He’s so precise with his improvisation and his comedic skills. I came away with such a larger appreciation than I even had for his genius. And he was so young—he was a kid. He was 23 on that first season of SNL. I never processed him as being too worried about too much, which was a funny contrasting energy to the very tense atmosphere of the film in the hour and a half before showtime. He’s so loose.

MH: It’s interesting you say that, because it’s something I totally clocked, too—Dan is kind of the calm part of a storm that includes people like Chevy Chase (Cory Michael Smith) and John Belushi (Matt Wood). How did you maintain that presence as the movie’s level head?

DOB: My way of achieving that, with permission from Jason, was to embrace this quality in myself that I didn’t originally associate to Dan—that I only then did after Jason pointed it out to me—which was to have an aloofness on set. I feel very relaxed in that space. In a way, I wasn’t too worried. But that comes with the caveat that I entered this process thinking I was so wrong for the part.

MH: Why did you think that?

DOB: I don’t know. I was self-conscious that I didn’t look like him, that I didn’t sound like him, that I thought people wouldn’t think me—Dan Aykroyd. And I guess it was an insecurity that I would be skewered for being miscast or something. But even with that insecurity, again, I’m still so happy to be there and, like, whatever, fuck it. I don’t care if that’s the response. I’m boned, but whatever. It’s great to be here and get to do this, and what a blast of a thing to get to be a part of. So, weirdly enough, that type of aloofness amidst other people having to handle some really tense stuff was what Jason was telling me to embrace.

MH: Have you met Dan?

DOB: No. Not yet. I’m supposed to meet him at TIFF. And apparently that will be both of our first times seeing the movie.

MH: That will be great.

DOB: There was a moment early on, when you go into something like this, you’re playing someone, you imagine that they might want to speak to you. They might be hell-bent on speaking to you, they might be crazy about getting their hands in it, or they might be totally hands off. And to hear that he was so not worried about it, if anything, was the first moment I was like, Oh, maybe we’re right. Because I would’ve met with him, too, but I also didn’t need it. I would have if he insisted. I’d be like, Of course—I’ve got to do that. But I vibe with the fact that he was like, no, let the kid go do it. That’s how I feel like I would react.

MH: What’s your favorite movie of his?

DOB: I was a big Blues Brothers kid. I did the Blues Brothers for my talent show in third grade. I was also a big Tommy Boy kid.

MH: I’ve loved a lot of the comedic stuff that you’ve gotten to do, including your Curb Your Enthusiasm guest appearance. What was working with Larry like?

DOB: Oh, it’s just a blast. He’s a Jets fan, too—I remember that was our first conversation we had. It was like I was just talking to a buddy, at [the popular TriBeCa bar] Walker’s, or something about the Jets. I’ve worked with a lot of comedians, and that space can be weird. The energy can be very overstimulating, and those personalities can tend to be really loud and competing. It can be a very odd atmosphere sometimes. Going to work with a guy like that… I was like, Who knows, he could be a fucking total narcissist tycoon, and he wasn’t. He couldn’t have been more generous, couldn’t have been quicker to laugh at someone else and let someone else have the spotlight. I couldn’t think more of the guy. He’s amazing.

MH: It’s been almost a decade since your accident on the Maze Runner set. When you look back at your recovery, how has that experience most impacted your life?

DOB: It was a life-changing incident. I’ve approached everything differently, you could say, particularly with regards to standing my ground on set. It’s very commonplace in the culture for young actors to be controlled, and the way they strive to do that is by always being like, Oh, don’t become difficult. Don’t be a pain in the ass. Or Are you complaining, are you being difficult? Things like that. I learned after the accident to not conflate taking care of yourself and looking after yourself. Don’t let them manipulate you into thinking that is being difficult, because I can look at that day and know I was a 24-year-old kid who was raising concerns about how we were approaching things, and they were not listened to, they were not respected. And then what happened happened. And by all accounts, it was all pretty gotten away with, I would say, as well. It’s taught me that, at the end of the day, in these spaces, you have your own back, and that’s the most you can rely on. I just turned 33. I’ve been doing this for 15 years. I know the person I am, and the character I bring to set, and the way I treat people and the way that I treat a workspace, and I know I’m not difficult. I know I’m not an asshole. I know I was trying to protect myself that day, and so I’ve just never forgotten that. That’s always rung true as being the thing to hold with me.

“It’s taught me that, at the end of the day, in these spaces, you HAVE YOUR OWN BACK, and that’s the MOST YOU CAN RELY ON.”

MH: And this is something that’s always in the back of your mind, just knowing that you’ve had this experience and it’s shaped where you are now.

DOB: It helps me. It’s a shame. It’s a shame that it had to be that for me. To build this armor for myself of just being like, No, man, I’m going to look after myself, I’m going to take care of myself, and there’s nothing wrong with that. There’s nothing wrong with asking questions. There’s nothing wrong with bringing ideas, even if we’re talking creatively. It’s our job to bring ideas. There’s nothing wrong with raising concerns. There’s nothing wrong with being like, “I think we could do this better, I think we could do this differently.” You know what I mean? That’s the process. It’s a collaborative process. It’s a creative process, but also you’re dealing with big dangerous shit sometimes, too.

MH: Throughout the years, you’ve been rumored to become the Flash and Spider-Man. Is there any truth to the rumors?

DOB: No, never.

MH: Nothing?

DOB: No, none of it. Yeah.

MH: Is that of interest if an opportunity ever came up? Are you a comic book person?

DOB: I never have been. But I wouldn’t rule out anything. Certainly, it’s not of interest to me as of now. Maybe when I was 20 and they were rebooting Spider-Man—I was excited about that. But I didn’t even get past the casting pre-call or anything. No, none of those rumors have ever been true. I didn’t even know there were rumors. I just thought they were people just putting it out there.

MH: People put a bunch of stuff out there and then places pick it up and then stuff snowballs.

DOB: None of anything I’ve ever read about myself is true. So, if you want to use that template, that’s my experience.

MH: So what is of interest to you? What’s your dream?

DOB: There are obviously filmmakers I’ve loved since I was a kid who I would love to work with. I always want to challenge myself, and I always want to go with my gut and trust when I respond to something, I’m responding to it for a reason. Trust that when I’m scared of something, maybe that’s a good thing I should lean into. Try to find the new filmmakers, and try to champion them, and be a part of the early parts of the careers of our new wave of filmmakers. Try to champion original things as much as I can, too. I feel like that’s obviously trending so much further and further away, and towards extinction, that I just feel like it’s important to lend yourself to those things when you can, as much as you can.

This interview has been edited for content and clarity.

Source: menshealth.com

[cityofmeliora]

What does terzology know about the overthrow of Papa III? Do we have a hypothesis about the reasons for it?

very topical question. i was just thinking about this, actually.

as we know, Terzo was dragged off the stage while singing 'Monstrance Clock' at his final concert on September 30, 2017 in Gothenburg, Sweden.

it's tempting to think Sister Imperator simply hated Terzo and couldn't wait to get rid of him so she could put Cardi in charge, which i think is at least a tiny bit true, but not entirely true.

i watched the Era 3 lore video series 'The Summoning' with some friends the a while ago, and it was the first time they'd watched it. one of them remarked they were surprised that Sister Imperator seemed to be genuinely hyping up Terzo.

this is true! Sister Imperator did actually hype up Terzo during his first year as Papa. at the beginning of Era 3, she was deeply disappointed with the Nameless Ghouls and The Ghost Project's failure to make significant progress in their mission to convert the world to their cult. she was initially very excited for Terzo's reign and believed that he would be extremely successful.

SISTER IMPERATOR: Brothers and Sisters, you know why you are here tonight. This Ministry is now seven years into The Ghost Project. Seven long years of work. Two Papas, two albums, one gold. These are indeed some respectable numbers, but let me give you some others. Churches opened: zero. Governments toppled: zero. World leaders converted to the cause: zero. You call yourselves salesmen? Masterminds? You have done shit! And don't blame the music. The music is the very manifestation of His Dark Majesty. And don't blame this fine merchandise! It's a disgrace! Papa 2 has been let go. He is a miserable, wounded, and bitter old man, and he is washed up! But let's look forward now. This is a new piece of music. And these are your new masks. And this is Papa 2's brother. He is a full 3 months younger. This man will take the band further than any of us could ever have imagined. I present to you now… Papa Emeritus III! The Summoning (part 1) (May 20, 2015)

Terzo did end up being very successful, even before Meliora released.

SISTER IMPERATOR: It has arrived! Some of you did not believe the new Papa would be able to cast a shadow as wide and as far as his great predecessor. Your faithlessness is now dust in my mouth. You should be on your knees humbling yourselves before what has been accomplished here! All you need to do is look outside. Look at the graffiti on the walls, look at the lights illuminated at night, where once there was only darkness. The Summoning IV: The Arrival || Unholy / Unplugged - Los Angeles, California, USA (August 21, 2015)

Sister Imperator felt she was right to have faith in Terzo. she continued to preach about Terzo's power and demanded that others respect him.

SISTER IMPERATOR: Welcome! Welcome, my faithful brothers and sisters! Your presence here is proof of your commitment. If you are unsure, cast off your doubts now. There is no turning back. The rite you're about to witness is but one small but essential movement in our spiritual revolution. We prayed, and he has arrived! But! But! He will demand more of you! He will need to hear from the abyss of your hearts that you are ready. His is a voice of the pit and the pinnacle! His Nameless Ghouls are the music of the [UNINTELLIGIBLE], but your holy noise is the key! You must cry out his name! Say it with me now: Papa Emeritus! Again! Again! Again! Very good. Shh! Shh! Shhhhhh! Listen. Do you hear it? Do you? It's the terrible sound of the ignorant– the mistrust and anger of the masses. The world is unstable and they have lost their balance. But we, here together, are the new foundation. We are the shape of things to come! There's not much time. We won't be able to do the required incantation. We must let the music do the summoning. My brethren, my brethren, bow your heads and raise your horns to pierce the veil of heaven, so the skies will be torn asunder! And Papa may fall into our midst! Now is the moment. Now, there is no other. Papa Emeritus III! Ghost! Ghost is here! Los Angeles, CA, USA (October 26, 2015)

so what was the turning point? the 2016 Grammy win.

listen. Sister Imperator hated that Grammy so fucking much. this seems weird because she wanted the band to be successful, but here's the thing: Sister Imperator is a zealot. a real religious freak. as shown by her words in The Summoning part 1, she fully believes that the true mission and purpose of The Ghost Project is to serve satan and convert the world to his church. she was happy that Ghost's success meant more people were hearing their message, but she was very, very mad that Terzo and the Nameless Ghouls seemed to be enjoying their success a little too much. she felt like they had lost focus, forgetting their mission for satan and instead focusing on their commercial success. and to her, the Grammy was representative of the establishment / mainstream society, something they should avoid as the leaders of satan's flock of black sheep.

SISTER IMPERATOR: The industry has noted our good works with their trinket. And as a result, our message is carried further and wider. But do we take such trinkets as sacrament and the measure of true accomplishment? No! We don't need their approval. The truth of our work is not measured by awards and nods from the establishment. [...] I have here letters from your followers, demanding that we explain why nothing has changed. They have made their own sacrifices. But what have you done? How will you answer them? By holding up your golden gramophone? Is this the change you promised? Is this the sign of a new age? It is nothing! It is another false idol. The Summoning V: The Square And Hammer (September 13, 2016)

notably, she never said anything negative about Terzo while verbally abusing the Ghouls. she still demanded respect for him and his position.

SISTER IMPERATOR: You are supposed to lead. It is your task. Your task! To lead! I think you're afraid of real change. Let's take a breath. I think I understand the problem. You think Papa's words should be enough. But then you misunderstand the nature of true power. Papa is not a mouthpiece for the Dark Divinity. He is not a pawn. He is a mediator. He is the path. His way is the truth and the darkness! And you– you are his apostles. And yet, you deny, you deny! The Summoning VI: The Proceedings Intensify (Oct 17, 2016)

... but that doesn't mean she wasn't also mad at him, too. we just didn't see it.

Terzo was very proud of his Grammy, and he did like to brag about it a little bit. Sister Imperator would have definitely been mad about that.

PAPA EMERITUS III: Alright! How are you feeling now? Quite good, right? Yeah! Alright, I know you like your hard-rocking shit here in Skåne, right? Enough of those ballads– award-winning ballad, actually. AUDIENCE: [APPLAUSE] PAPA EMERITUS III: Oh, thank you. Malmö, Sweden (February 25, 2016)

PAPA EMERITUS III: Yes! A Grammy award winning song! Right here, right now! That doesn't happen every day. Acoustic performance at 93X Radio - Minneapolis, Minnesota (July 28, 2016)

Sister Imperator had respect for Terzo's position as Papa, but she didn't respect him.

it's not like Terzo didn't care! Terzo is actually described as "less rebellious". and we know from the words of Bishop Necropolitus Cracoviensis II that Terzo had always been very dedicated to his church and the people in it. Terzo was a believer in the dark lord, and he was a very hard worker. the problem is that Terzo genuinely wanted a better and brighter future for the world, while Sister hoped to hasten its demise. (don't forget the original explicitly stated mission statement of Ghost was to promote the apocalypse + human extinction). i think they both knew his vision for the future of the church / the world was not in alignment with hers. i think Sister Imperator turned on Terzo when he started acting too confident in himself.

Sister Imperator started making plans to replace Terzo as early as November 2016, almost an entire year before he was dragged off the stage at his last concert. while i do think Sister Imperator disliked Terzo and was happy to get rid of him, i don't think she felt her decision had anything to do with her personal feelings. Sister Imperator talks directly to satan (as shown in Chapter 5) and receives visions (as stated in The Summoning part 5 and part 7). she had a vision that indicated it would soon be time to replace Papa 3 with Papa 4. she started making arrangements accordingly, and Nihil went along with it.

SISTER IMPERATOR: Despite your weakness, and your cowardliness, your failures, I still believe in you. And I believe in you because I have seen the future! I have already been witness to three transfigurations, and each time I can see that we are closer to the final glory, and I have seen you rise to the occasion each time. So can you do it again? [...] After all we have been through in these past few days, all the shames laid bare, are you ready to start anew? The new coming is about to begin. Will you take up your instruments? Will you be able to commit to the utter annihilation of all this is false? All that is greed? All that is staid and conformist and empty? Hm? Then rise. RISE!!!! Now! I give you another chance at transformation. But you must beg. You must demand to be sacrificed! You must prostrate your hearts while you stand tall in the dark, for the fourth incarnation of Papa will guide us. The Summoning VII: Believe This (Nov 14, 2016)

i don't know why Sister Imperator and Papa Nihil decided Terzo's reign would end on September 30th, 2017. and i can't fully explain why they chose to humiliate him by having him dragged off the stage. (even Secondo, who they thought was terrible at his job, was allowed a dignified ending.) and i can't explain why they desecrated his body by using his severed head as a prop for a photoshoot. but idk, it kinda seems like maybe they just hated him.

TLDR: Sister Imperator genuinely believed in Terzo, but she turned on him when he started acting in a way she didn't like. Terzo died as he lived– being used and betrayed by the people he dedicated his life to.

[atzjieun]

undercover

summary | that time yunho committed identity fraud

circa | september 2017

contains | 2.7k words, fluff, comedy, brief mention of taking medicine

notes | taking a break from all the jiwoo drama lmao. i was gonna wait a bit longer to post this but i received some very great news for something irl so i'm posting it now as a treat 😁

taglist | @teezingsiyeon @moonkyeom @itzynabi

Jieun shifted her weight from foot to foot, anxiously watching the clock above as the hands moved. The pit in her stomach only grew larger with every second that ticked by, dreading the moment the clock struck four.

Maybe she should’ve just called her brother. There was no world in which Jihoon wouldn’t have picked up and dropped everything the moment she said she needed him. 

But that was exactly the issue. She knew how busy he was, and the idea of dragging her brother away from school or work to attend something as insignificant as her parent-teacher meetings would’ve only made her feel worse. She couldn’t keep relying on him for everything, though she knew her teacher wouldn’t be very happy about yet another missed meeting, and Jieun was running out of excuses.

The sound of the classroom door sliding open made her jump. Jieun stood up straight, shoulders tense as her teacher stepped out of the classroom with a notebook in hand.

“Ah, yes, Jieun,” she said, catching sight of the girl. She watched as her teacher’s eyebrows furrowed, looking around the hallway. “You said that your older brother was coming, didn’t you?” 

Jieun stared at her blankly, though quickly broke out of her trance and gave a brief nod. 

“My brother…” she trailed, glancing over her shoulder. “He’s coming. He’s just- uh, he’s running a bit late.”

Her teacher glanced up at the clock, a small sigh escaping him as she flipped through her notebook, writing something down. 

“Do you have a rough idea of when he’ll be arriving?” she asked, a slight sharpness in her tone. “I have many other appointments today.” 

Jieun chewed on her lower lip, eyes moving to the ground. She remained quiet for a short period of time, searching through her mind for any possible excuse she could use to explain her brother’s absence. Finding nothing, she took in a deep breath and closed her eyes, about to confess when a voice behind her sounded first.

“Sorry I’m late! Traffic was heavier than expected.” 

Her head snapped up, looking over her shoulder to the source of the voice. Jieun’s eyes widened as she spotted Yunho’s tall figure making his way down the hall. The boy was fully dressed in a suit, his hair neatly combed and styled, walking in long strides before eventually stopping beside her. 

Yunho smiled at her teacher as he extended his hand. “You must be Ms. Yoon. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” 

For the first time ever, Jieun saw a smile spread across her teacher’s face as she accepted Yunho’s handshake, bowing forward slightly. 

“And you must be Jieun’s older brother,” she greeted. “The pleasure is all mine. Shall we start the meeting?” 

As though he were used to the routine, Yunho immediately followed her teacher into the classroom, Jieun trailing behind after processing what had just happened. She took a seat beside Yunho at the teacher’s desk in silence. While her teacher rummaged through some of her cabinets, Jieun took the opportunity to lean over and whisper into Yunho’s ear, covering her mouth with her hand.

“What are you doing here?”

“What does it look like? I’m here for your parent-teacher meeting.”

The two sat up straight as her teacher opened what was presumably Jieun’s file. Her eyes scanned over the document for a couple seconds before she looked up, turning toward Yunho.

“It’s clear that Jieun is a very strong student. She excels on all of her exams and big projects, typically exceeding expectations and gaining full marks.” 

Jieun’s eyes widened at the sudden praise, heat rising to her cheeks as Yunho glanced over at her with a fond smile, gently nudging the girl with his elbow. Before either of them could say anything, however, her teacher spoke up again. 

“However, Jieun rarely completes her daily homework checks and often turns in her smaller assignments late,” her teacher said. Jieun could practically feel the disappointment radiating off of her. “These small assignments may not be worth as much as exams, but they add up over time. Furthermore, it indicates a lack of consistency in her work habits that may negatively impact her in the future.” 

She could feel the two sets of eyes on her, though Jieun’s gaze remained on her lap as she played with her thumbs. 

“I understand that you are training to be an idol?” She didn’t verbally respond, simply giving a small nod while continuing to avoid her teacher’s gaze. “The information you learn may not pertain to your chosen career path, but the skills and work habits you gain from consistently doing your homework can be transferred into any field, even if it’s not academic. These assignments teach you about discipline and consistent effort. I hope to see improvements in this area in the future, Jieun.”

Jieun continued to stay quiet, glancing up at her teacher for a moment before looking back down and nodding. 

“Is Jieun currently living with you?” her teacher asked, turning her attention to Yunho. The boy nodded seriously. 

“Yes, she is currently living with me.” 

Her teacher quickly wrote something down in her notebook. “It’s really better if Jieun herself takes initiative in her school work, but if there’s any instance where she needs a bit of reminding-” 

“I’ll be sure to be there when she needs me,” Yunho finished, a smile on his face as he gave a reassuring nod. 

Satisfied, her teacher noted one more thing down before placing her pen on the desk, clasping her hands together as she turned her attention back toward Jieun. 

“Jieun, would it be alright if your brother and I talk privately for a little bit?”

The girl nodded as she stood up. She gave a small bow to her teacher, still avoiding eye contact before turning around and walking toward the exit of the classroom. 

Closing the door behind her, Jieun leaned back against the wall and let out a huge exhale. She looked over her shoulder, peering through the window of the classroom to see Yunho and her teacher in the middle of conversation. The boy seemed comfortable, too comfortable considering he was quite literally committing a crime. 

Turning away, Jieun pulled out her phone to check if she’d received any messages. There were a couple from her group chat with the other trainees, one from her mom, though the most recent message came from none other than her actual brother.

Yerin-unnie’s boyfriend: Eun-ah, don’t forget to take your meds

Yerin-unnie’s boyfriend: Yerin says she misses you btw

A soft chuckle escaped Jieun’s lips as she typed out a response. 

Me: tell her i miss her too

Jieun quickly turned her phone off before slipping it back into her pocket. She closed her eyes and crossed her arms, enjoying the peace and quiet of the hallway. A group practice was scheduled right after the meeting was supposed to end, so Jieun took the time she had to relax before she’d be thrust right back into the loud and chaotic environment that the practice room often provided. 

She wasn’t sure how long she’d been standing there, though the sound of the door sliding open broke Jieun out of her relaxed state. Blinking, she turned toward the door to see Yunho stepping back out into the hallway, turning to her with a smile. 

“That went well,” he commented, gesturing toward her. “C’mon, we have to get to practice.” 

Yunho waited for her to catch up before he started walking, the two making their way out of the school together. It wasn’t until they were well away from the classroom and her teacher that Jieun spoke up. 

“How did you find out about my parent-teacher meeting?” she asked curiously. 

The older boy glanced down at her, letting out a small chuckle.

“You left the sign-up form on the kitchen table a couple days ago,” he explained. “There was no name written down, and I remembered you mentioning that Jihoon was busy for the next couple weeks because of an internship he was doing, so I put two and two together.” 

Despite still being dumbfounded by the whole situation, Jieun slowly nodded as they approached the bus stop. 

“And you…bought a suit to make a good impression…?” 

He laughed, shaking his head. 

“I borrowed it from my dad. Told him it was for a performance.” 

“You’re a good actor,” Jieun said, giggling slightly. “I think you made a good impression. I’ve never seen my teacher smile like that.” 

Yunho gave a small side shrug, trying to act nonchalant, though it was clear his ego was ever so slightly boosted by the compliment. 

“We should hurry though,” he said. “Don’t want to keep the others waiting now, do we?” 

Conveniently, the bus pulled up to the stop shortly after he spoke, stopping in front of the two. Jieun boarded first, tapping her bus card before walking toward the middle of the bus and sitting in an empty seat with Yunho following close behind. She stared at her reflection in the window as the bus took off, a small sigh escaping her lips.

Eventually, Jieun’s gaze shifted toward Yunho’s reflection, the boy turned the other way as he watched the moving traffic.

“Oppa?” she spoke softly, though the older boy immediately looked toward her. His eyebrows raised slightly as he gave a small hum. The corners of Jieun’s mouth tilted upward in a small smile. “Thanks.” 

Yunho blinked at her, his mind taking a moment to register what she meant before his own smile spread. He chuckled, ruffling her hair gently. 

“Like I said in the meeting, Eunnie: I’ll be there when you need me.” He shifted to sit slightly closer. “You can take a nap on my shoulder if you want. I’ll wake you up when we’re at our stop.” 

Jieun hesitated for a moment, though after looking up at the boy and seeing his warm gaze, she accepted his offer and rested her head on his shoulder. Closing her eyes, Jieun allowed herself to relax as the bus continued to move, knowing Yunho fully meant everything he said. 

BONUS #1: 

Jieun and Yunho stepped into the practice room together, where the other trainees were already warming up. 

The first to notice them was San, who greeted the two with a smile as he waved from the corner where he was sitting.

“Hi Eunnie, Yunho!” 

Jieun smiled as she waved back at the boy while the other members turned toward the two. One by one, she watched as confused expressions crossed each of their faces as they took in the older boy’s outfit. 

“Sorry for being late-” Yunho attempted to apologize, though was quickly cut off by Mingi.

“Why are you wearing a suit?” 

Without missing a beat, Jieun looked over at Mingi with a completely neutral expression as she spoke.

“Yunho-oppa committed identity theft.” 

The initial confusion from the members mixed with curiosity and questioning as they turned toward the aforementioned boy, who looked toward Jieun with a look of betrayal.

“You did what?” Hongjoong asked, crossing his arms as he looked at the boy with a stern expression. 

“Yunho-oppa came to my school and pretended to be Jihoon for my parent-teacher meetings,” Jieun explained bluntly.

“In my defense, your teacher only asked if I was your older brother,” Yunho said, raising his hands in the air. “I just never specified which one.” 

This earned a few snickers from the younger members, the only person in the room not amused by the story being their leader, who face-palmed as he shook his head.

Seonghwa shrugged, nudging his friend. "You know, he’s technically right.” 

“Please don’t entertain them,” Hongjoong said, rubbing his temples. After a few moments of what seemed to be contemplating his life choices, the older boy eventually let out a sigh. “Just get changed, guys. We’ll start when you’re back.” 

The two nodded as they moved to leave, though before doing so, Yunho reached over and ruffled the girl’s hair for the second time that day. He did it rougher than before, purposefully trying to mess up her hair as she swatted his hands away. 

The other members watched in amusement as Jieun made her escape, running out of the room with Yunho following close behind.  

BONUS #2: 

Yunho glanced over his shoulder, watching as Jieun swiftly exited the room. Once the door was closed, he turned back to her teacher with a serious expression, trying his best to hide his nervousness as she wrote something down. 

After a moment of silence, Jieun’s teacher put the pen down. Her gaze moved to the exit, landing on the small portion of Jieun’s head that could be seen through the classroom windows. She let out a sigh as she turned back to Yunho.

“I know that she’s an idol trainee and doesn’t have much time to connect with her peers outside of school, but even during school hours, I rarely see her with other people.” The boy’s eyebrows raised slightly, though he opted to continue listening. “She’s always off by herself in her own world. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t at least a little concerned for her social development.” 

Yunho slowly nodded as he contemplated his response. 

“Jieun has always been a really shy person,” he admitted with a small chuckle. “It took her weeks to start talking to m- her fellow trainees, as I was told.” 

“My apologies if this is too intruding, but would you happen to know what her relationship with the other trainees is like?” Jieun’s teacher asked. “She does lack social interactions at school, but it would ease my worries to know she is at least maintaining healthy friendships amongst people her age elsewhere.” 

Once again, Yunho was slow to respond, carefully picking each word before he answered her question. 

“The other trainees are generally around the same age. Jieun is the youngest, but the age gap is no more than three years from the older members. She was actually the second trainee to join the company and originally had a reputation for being cold and unfriendly.” The corners of his mouth tilted upwards into a small smile. “Though eventually, everyone realized that her reputation didn’t truly represent who she was as a person. She’d help the new trainees when they were learning and quietly cheer everyone on from the sidelines, so it didn’t take long for people to figure out that she wasn’t who they originally thought she was.

She’s one of the trainees who have had the most improvement during her time at the company. Her fellow trainees adore her and they all want her to succeed. If I had to describe her, I would say that she’s the beating heart of the team.”

Realizing he was rambling, Yunho cut himself off as heat rose to his face. He cleared his throat, nodding. 

“But anyways, I don’t think you need to worry about her friendships regarding her fellow trainees.” 

Jieun’s teacher nodded in agreement.

“It’s clear that Jieun receives a lot of love and support in her trainee company,” she said. A smirk crossed the teacher’s face as she leaned back in her chair. “Considering how one of them would go to the lengths of impersonating her brother to attend her parent-teacher conference.”

Yunho’s smile dropped as his eyes widened. He opened his mouth to splutter out a response, though Jieun’s teacher simply raised her hand to silence him. 

“Don’t worry, I won’t report this to administration,” she said, chuckling. “The main goal of these meetings is to give updates about the student’s progress to their closest family, and you clearly seem to be similar enough.” Jieun’s teacher picked up her pen, pointing to Yunho’s chest. “Though next time, maybe don’t forget to take off your ID card, Mr. Jeong.”

Yunho looked down, face flushing when he noticed the card he’d forgotten to take off his jacket, displaying his picture and full name. He quickly pulled the card off, stuffing it inside his pocket. 

“Everything I said about Jieun was true today. She’s a very bright student, but everyone needs help sometimes, and I hope you’ll be there for her when she does.”

Yunho nodded firmly, making direct eye contact with her. “You have my word.”

Jieun’s teacher smiled as she extended her arm, which Yunho instantly accepted as they shook hands. After saying a brief goodbye, he turned and started making his way out of the classroom, the previous words echoing in the back of his mind. His word might not have meant a lot, but he’d do his best regardless to stay true to the promise he’d made and prove he meant what he said.

[digimonarchive]

Digimon in all animated media - Anime, Movies and OVA

1st pic = Digimon Adventure anime (Japan: March 7, 1999 - March 26, 2000; USA: August 14, 1999 - June 24, 2000)

2nd pic = Digimon Adenture 02 anime (Japan: April 2, 2000 - March 25, 2001; USA: August 19, 2000 - May 19, 2001)

3rd pic = Digimon Tamers anime (Japan: April 1, 2001 - March 31, 2002; USA: September 1, 2001 - June 8, 2002)

4th pic = Digimon Frontier anime (Japan: April 7, 2002 - March 30, 2003; USA: September 9, 2002 - July 14, 2003)

5th pic = Digimon Savers / Data Squad anime (Japan: April 2, 2006 – March 25, 2007; USA: October 1, 2007 - November 2, 2008)

6th pic = Digimon Xros Wars / Fusion anime (Japan: July 6, 2010 - March 25, 2012; USA: September 7, 2013 - August 16, 2015)

7th pic = Digimon Xros Wars: The Evil Death Generals and the Seven Kingdoms anime (a.k.a Digimon Xros Wars part 2) (Japan: April 3, 2011 - September 25, 2011; USA: March 8, 2015 - August 16, 2015) **

8th pic = Digimon Xros Wars: The Young Hunters Who Leapt Through Time anime (a.k.a Digimon Xros Wars Hunters or Digimon Xros Wars part 3) (Japan: October 2, 2011 - March 25, 2012) ***

9th pic = Digimon Adventure Tri OVA (Japan: November 21, 2015 - May 5, 2018; USA: September 15, 2016 - September 20, 2018)

10th pic = Digimon Universe Appli Monsters anime (a.k.a Appmon) (Japan: October 1, 2016 - September 30, 2017)

11th pic = Digimon Adventure: (a.k.a Digimon Adventure 2020 or Digimon Adventure reboot) (Japan: April 5, 2020 - September 26, 2021; USA: November 19, 2022 - April 13, 2023)

12th pic = Digimon Ghost Game (Japan: October 3, 2021 - March 26, 2023)

13th pic = Digimon Adventure (Movie) short film (Japan: March 6, 1999; USA: October 6, 2000 as the first segment part of Digimon The Movie)

14th pic = Digimon Adventure: Our War Game! movie (Japan: March 4, 2000; USA: October 6 2000 as the second segment part of Digimon The Movie)

15th pic = Digimon Adventure 02: Vol. 1: Digimon Hurricane Landing!/Vol. 2: Transcendent Evolution! The Golden Digimentals movie (a.k.a Digimon Adventure 02 Vol 1 and 2) (Japan: July 8, 2000; USA: October 6, 2000 as the third segment part of Digimon The Movie) ****

16th pic = Digimon Adventure 02: Diablomon Strikes Back / Digimon: Revenge of Diaboromon movie (Japan: March 3, 2001; USA: August 5, 2005)

17th pic = Digimon Tamers: The Adventurers' Battle / Digimon: Battle of Adventurers movie (Japan: July 14, 2001; USA: October 16, 2005)

18th pic = Digimon Tamers: The Runaway Digimon Express / Digimon: Runaway Locomon movie (Japan: March 2, 2002; USA: October 2, 2005)

19th pic = Digimon Frontier: Revival of the Ancient Digimon!! / Digimon: Island of Lost Digimon movie (Japan: July 20, 2002; USA: October 23, 2005)

20th pic = Digital Monster X-evolution movie (Japan: January 3, 2005; USA: August 1, 2020)

21st pic = Digimon Savers The Movie: Ultimate Power! Activate Burst Mode!! movie (Japan: December 9, 2006)

22nd pic = Digimon Adventure 3D: Digimon Grandprix! short film OVA (Japan: July 20, 2000)

23rd pic = Digimon Savers 3D: The Digital World in Imminent Danger! short film OVA (Japan: July 8, 2006)

24th pic = Digimon Adventure 20th Anniversary Memorial Story Project OVA short films (Japan: November 22 2019 - December 25, 2020)

25th pic = Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna movie (Japan: February 21, 2020; USA: September 29, 2020)

26th pic = Digimon Adventure 02: The Beginning movie (Japan: October 5, 2023; USA: November 8, 2023)

** This is the 2nd part of Digimon Xros Wars saga with Taiki, Kiriha and Nene on their adventure while Akari and Zenjirou are left out.

*** This is the 3rd part of Digimon Xros Wars saga with Tagiru, Yuu and Taiki as the protagonists. This 3rd part has the overly long title so we fans prefer to call it 'Digimon Xros Wars: Hunters' or 'Digimon Young Hunters'.

**** Yes, this movie has an overly long title. I had a hard time deciding whether to highlight it in bold or not.

Happy Digimon Day!

[dailyanarchistposts]

From September 20 to 27, tens of thousands will take to the streets to denounce the causes of climate change and call on governments to address what may be the most drastic crisis facing humanity in the 21st century. These mass actions will showcase the growing anger of a new generation that has known nothing but crisis, war, and the threat of environmental collapse. We have prepared the following text as a flier encouraging climate activists to consider how to interrupt the causes of climate change via direct action rather than petitioning the state to solve the problem for us. Please print these out and distribute them at climate protests and everywhere else you can.

Finally, people are filling the streets to call on governments to address the climate crisis, the most serious threat facing humanity in the 21st century. This is long overdue. But what good will it do to petition the same sector of society that created this problem? Time and again, we have learned that the state does not exist to serve our needs but to protect those who are profiting on the causes of this crisis.

The most effective way to pressure politicians and executives to address the climate crisis is to show that whatever they fail to do, we will do ourselves. This means moving beyond symbolic displays of “non-violence” to build the capacity to shut down the fossil fuel economy ourselves. No amount of media attention or progressive rhetoric can substitute for this. If we fail to build this capacity, we can be sure that the timeline for the transition to less destructive technologies will be set by those who profit on the fossil fuel economy.

Several examples from recent social movements show that we have the power to shut down the economy ourselves.

In 2011–2012, the Occupy Movement demonstrated that tens of thousands of people could make decisions without top-down organization, meeting their needs collectively and carrying out massive demonstrations. On one day of action, participants shut down ports up and down the West Coast, confirming that coordinated blockades can disrupt the global supply chain of energy and commodities.

In 2016, people converged to fight the Dakota Access Pipeline, a corporate project threatening Native land and water. Tens of thousands established a network of camps to block construction, demonstrating a new way to live and fight together. The Obama administration canceled the pipeline, causing many occupiers to go home, but the Trump administration reinstated it—confirming that we must never count on the government to do anything for us.

In France, occupiers blocked the construction of a new airport at la ZAD, the “Zone to Defend.” Farmers teamed up with anarchists and environmentalists, establishing an autonomous village that provided infrastructure for the struggle. After years of struggle, the French government gave up and canceled the airport.

We have seen train blockades in a variety of struggles. In Olympia, Washington, anarchists blocked trains carrying fracking proppants in 2016 and in 2017, forcing the company to stop transporting the commodity. In Harlan County, Kentucky, coal miners have blocked a coal-carrying train after the Black Jewel company refused to pay wages they owed to workers. It only takes a few dozen people to shut down a key node in the supply chains of the global fossil fuel economy. Imagine what we could do on a bigger scale!

Governments serve to protect the economy from those it exploits. The state exists to evict, to police, to wage war, to oppress, and above all to defend the property of the wealthy few. The perils of climate change have been known for years, but governments have done little in response, focusing instead on fighting wars for oil, militarizing their borders to keep out climate refugees, and attacking the social movements that could bring about the sort of systemic change that is our only hope of survival.

The capitalist economy is literally killing us. Let’s begin the process of shutting it down.

Another end of the world is possible!

[descendantsramblings]

Descendants Rambling Masterlist

♡Welcome to my page/Master list♡

My Requests are always open

I'm willing to write readers with she/her, he/him, or they/them pronouns

I'm willing to write 1-2 love interests

I only write for villains/vks unless it's a VK x reader x Ak situation (ex: mal x reader x ben, Jane x reader x Carlos)

I'll make suggestive comments/make out sessions but I don't write smut, these characters are all underage regardless of their actor's age

𝓜𝓪𝓼𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓵𝓲𝓼𝓽

Key:

♡ personal favorite

✎ least favorite (i might eventually rewrite)

⋆ head canons

♤ AU

𝓒𝓸𝓻𝓮 𝓕𝓸𝓾𝓻

Mal Bertha

Game Planner (He/him) After finding out how much she misses Halloween on the Isle, Mal's boyfriend does everything he can to bring her a slice of home. - Written 10/2021

Evie

Candy Apple (She/her) Evie's family history leads to her trying to back out of a chemistry project. - Written 09/2021

Carlos de Vil

Saved ♤✎ (She/her) Going back to the Isle leads to the Hook!Reader being kidnapped by her own brother, leavig Carlos to save her. - Written 10/2017

Carlos Having a Crush on You ⋆(she/her) Ben's Twin!Reader x Carlos -Written 12/2017

I've Got You✎ (She/her) Carlos has a nightmare about his mother. (Trigger Warning!!)- Written 07/2018

PB&J (They/Them) Finding out their boyfriend hates their favorite holiday leads the reader to graveling to give him a good Halloween. - Written 09/2021

I Loved You First ♡ (They/Them) Inspired by "Loved You First" By One Direction. Carlos didn't expect them to wait for him to come back to the Isle, but that doesn't make it easier to see them with someone else. (minor Gil x reader) - Written 10/2021

Jay

Dating Jay ⋆ (no pronouns used but the reader wears leggings) Jay x Cheerleader!Reader - Written 10/2018

Spidermonkey (she/her) Gothel!Reader has Jay surprise her when he sneaks through her window. Loosely inspired by twilight- Written 04/2020

Stuffed Spook (They/Them) Jay's partner gets excited by a stuffed bat and he's determined to win it. -Written 09/2021

𝓢𝓮𝓪 𝓣𝓱𝓻𝓮𝓮

Uma

Letters to the Sea♤♡ (They/Them) Soulmate AU: everything you write on your skin appears on your soulmate's skin too. Uma and the Reader write letters until they can meet. - Written 07/2021

Baking (They/them) Uma watches her partner try to prepare for the Halloween escape room. Evie's Sibling!Reader - Written 10/2021

Gil

Hook's Daughter ⋆ (She/her) Harry's younger sister is Gil's closest friend (minor Gil x Jay) - Written 07/2021

Orchard (They/Them) Gil's partner takes him apple picking during his first September in Auradon - Written 09/2021

Harry Hook

Jafar's Child ⋆ (They/them) A flirty joke leads to Harry dating Jay's sibling - Written 07/2021

Fever ♡ (She/her) Harry and Captain take care of his sick girlfriend (requested) - Written 06/2021

Haunted Castle (He/him) Harry drags his scaredy-cat boyfriend to a haunted castle - Written 09/2021

Making a Splash (she/her) One wrong move leads to two people panicking and one person hurt on the docks. Jay's Sister!Reader. (Requested) - Written 12/2021

Flirting Pirate (She/her) She only hangs around the fish and chips shop to watch after he brother, it would be easier if she didn't have to deal with the flirty first mate. Gil's Sister!Reader (Requested) - Written 02/2022

Sealed With a Kiss ♡ (She/her) Ben's twin gets kidnapped with him by a pirate who's had a crush on her his whole life. Ben's Twin!Reader (Requested) - Written 04/2022

𝓓:𝓡𝓸𝓡 𝓥𝓲𝓵𝓵𝓪𝓲𝓷𝓼

Morgie le Fay

Sunday Night ♡ (She/her) After his friends let him down, Morgie runs to his girlfriend for comfort. - Written 08/2024

In Another Life (he/him) When Rapunzel's son gets thrown back in time he finds himself to be the object of two villains' affection. Minor James Hook x Reader (Requested)- Written 08/2024

I Would Be Yours (he/him) He never thought the lips he spent years thinking about would appear to him again 3 years later. Sequels to “In Another Life” (Requested)-Written 09/2024

True to Heart (he/him) Without the pressure of parents and villains, how hard is it to be true to heart? Especially when you’re holding a book that tells you your truth. (Requested)-Written 08/2024

Tree Bark (they/them) Everyone deserves their time alone, sometimes though that well deserved time alone has to be interrupted by the sound of animal noises coming from a tree. (Requested)-Written 08/2024

Crushing (they/them) Morgie had never been good at hiding when he had a crush on someone, and they don’t mind playing the long game with his affections (requested) - Written 08/2024

Win You Over (they/them) Magical history had always been their favorite class, but this assigned partner situation had the ability to dampen that. (Requested)-Written 08/2024

Mindless Touch (she/her) Morgie hasn’t meant to upset her, he only wanted to have his hands on what was his. (TRIGGER WARNING: body image issues) (requested)-Written 08/2024

The Dominant Type ⋆(no pronouns used/GN reader) Hook x reader x Morgie head canons with a dominant leaning reader (requested) - Written 08/2024

Warm Greens (she/her) Red discovers she has a secret aunt when she sees her face next to the people who ruined her mother’s life. (Requested)-Written 09/2024

Cool Reds (she/her) She would do anything to keep him, wouldn’t she? Prequel to “Warm Greens” (Requested) -Written 10/2024

One Sided (he/him) If he has to listen to Morgie talk about Uliana one more time, he’s going to be sick (requested) -Written 09/2024

Love Letters (he/him) Morgie was growing far too attached to those little silver envelopes (Requested)-Written 09/2024

Babydoll ⋆(no pronouns used/GN reader) Hook x reader x Morgie head canons with a submissive leaning reader (Requested) -Written 09/2024

Scales (They/them) Morgie could think of 100 things he would rather do than parent a dragon with the sweetheart of Merlin Academy (requested)-Written 09/2024

Doesn't Matter (he/him) Morgana le Fay is coming to Merlin Academy's family day, and she has no idea that her son's boyfriend is a prince (Requested) - Written 09/2024

Second Place (he/him) Just once he wants to feel like his boyfriend’s first choice (Requested)-Written 09/2024

Emerald Comfort (he/him) Morgie might just be dating the sleepiest boy to ever live -Written 09/2024

Snake Eyes (she/her) Lions, tiger, and bears; just anything but snakes (Requested) - Written 10/2024

Flash Photography (She/her) Who would have thought that they would make such a good pair? (Requested) -Written 10/2024

James Hook

Call of the Sirens (She/her) As Hook sells his ship to Uma, he and his wife recall a time that she had to save him back in their prime. (Requested)- Written 08/2024

Side Effects (she/her) If Hook knew the side effects that came with those Malibu sprites, would he take them? (Requested)-Written 08/2024

Red Dress (she/her) He hadn’t meant to upset her when he picked the dress out, now Hook was set on making her see how good she looked in it. (TRIGGER WARNING: Body Image issues) (Requested) - Written 08/2024

The Dominant Type ⋆(no pronouns used/GN reader) Hook x reader x Morgie head canons with a dominant leaning reader (requested) - Written 08/2024

Eyes on Me (They/Them) The fairy wasn’t thinking about the pirates past when they excitedly called for him. They definitely didn’t mean to upset him. (TRIGGER WARNING; animal attacks and panic attacks) (Requested)- Written 08/2024

Wake Up Slow ♡ (she/her) Everyone needs a place to fully relax, and he found his in a heavy duvet and needy hands (Requested)-Written 09/2024

Babydoll ⋆(no pronouns used/GN reader) Hook x reader x Morgie head canons with a submissive leaning reader (Requested) -Written 09/2024

Bloody Charming (they/them) Hook’s flirting leads to an argument being blown way out of proportion (TRIGGER WARNING: just, yeah. I got a little too silly) (Requested)- Written 09/2024

Studious ♡ (they/them) Hook might not mind tutoring, as long as it’s for them. (Requested)-Written 09/2024

Hades

Body Better (he/him) Sometimes the weight of life can lead to your insecurities coming out in peculiar ways. (TRIGGER WARNING: Body image issues) (Requested)- Written 08/2024

Let me See (she/her) Her need to be independent keeps getting her hurt, and she really did it this time. (Requested) - Written 08/2024

Play With Fire (they/them) their mother warned them not to play with fire, now look at them getting burned (requested) -Written 09/2024

Hitting Every Mark (she/her) Turns out she had nothing to worry about, her fans love him (requested)- Written 10/2024

Uliana

Family Lines (she/her) After seeing Bridget's sister at Family Day, Uliana will do anything to earn the girl's affection. Even being nice to her ray of sunshine sister. (Requested)-Written 08/2024

Rivalry (She/her) It was only a matter of time until the two groupd of VKs either came together or tore themselves to shreds. (Requested) -Written 08/2024

Double the Trouble (she/her) Uliana might be able to date Hook’s sister, but that doesn’t mean she’s able to make Hook like the whole ordeal. (Requested) -Written 08/2024

Breathe (they/them) Sometimes the biggest villain is not knowing how people see you. (TRIGGER WARNING: Anxiety attack) (Requested)-Written 09/2024

Strongest Tides (she/her) When the leader of their crew is emotionally taken out of commission, it’s up to her girlfriend to pick up the pieces (requested)-09/2024

Maleficent

Stylized (she/her) Artistry is the highest form of flattery and Maleficent has found herself as a princess’ muse. (Requested)-Written 08/2024

Play (she/her) watching your girlfriend study can get just so boring (requested) - Written 09/2024

𝓝𝓸 𝓡𝓮𝓪𝓭𝓮𝓻

Descendants, Not Made for Kids ⋆ Changes I'd make if I made the Descendants movies as a series for teens or adults. - Written 06/2021

Style Headcanons ⋆ How I'd restyle the main characters from the OG Descendants movies - Writen 06/2021

[uss-edsall]

In a previous post, I spoke of my adoration for ArmA III’s primary campaigns.

The game is ten years old and feature complete, except for “Community DLCs”, that is, third-party expansions given official sponsorship. As such it is unlikely the game will get any further official content. The game’s lore is scattered across every aspect of it - tutorials, challenge scenarios, single-player scenarios (there’s one memorable scene in particular snuck into a free charity event mission), and of course, the campaigns.

Each official DLC added their own singleplayer scenarios, mini-campaigns, etc - aside from the Karts DLC, which started as an April fool’s joke. Some of these campaigns are in and of themselves very neat, if much shorter than the main campaign. I might someday go into detail about them, but for now, I will focus on my favourite, and perhaps, the most important of them all.

Spoilers below.

Preamble

The Laws of War DLC from 2017, four years after the game released and today nearly six years old, came out of a very strange event. The following information comes from this article.

In 2010, the International Committee of the Red Cross began a research project where one man, a Swiss ex-artillery officer, spent two months looking into videogames, and depiction of virtual war crimes. It was not a very important project, not one with priority. Certainly nobody, at the ICRC expected what came next. After he presented his findings at the 31st International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, news organisations started shitflinging. In attempting to call some small amount of attention on war crimes being portrayed in games (and all too often without the casual player being aware the action in question would be a real life crime), the media took ‘hey, we should be more aware of what we’re depicting’ and went “the Red Cross wants to prosecute six hundred million gamers for war crimes!”

Albeit having to backpedal and go, "no, that's not at all what we meant," the ICRC realised they’d struck a nerve. For the first time, thousands of people were talking about International Humanitarian Law who would otherwise have never touched it. So they sent out letters to major game developers (particularly of shooters) asking if they would like to meet, to talk, to collaborate. Most ignored them. Those that didn’t chose not to reveal they happened; “they think their gamers or their fans will get scared that their games will turn into training courses or that morality, as they say, will take over everything and games will not be about shooting anything anymore.”

One studio didn’t.

One studio was quite interested in collaborating and creating with the Red Cross publicly.

On 3 September 2017, Bohemia Interactive released as a DLC for the military simulator ArmA III…

Laws of War

War does have rules. . . In a firefight, things aren’t easy. . . We just ask you to remember. Actions have consequences.

ArmA III’s Laws of War DLC is the result of that collaboration between the Red Cross and Bohemia Interactive. It adds a fictional Non-Governmental Organisation, International Development & Aid Project (IDAP). Equipment includes a van, a utility drone, press gear, new bags and helmets, and most curiously of all… In order to depict war crimes, they had to add munitions for committing war crimes, in the form of an APERS mine dispenser and cluster bomb munitions for aircraft. ArmA previously hadn't had it, being one of few games to try to avoid including banned weaponry.

“Everyone on the forums says, ‘Yes! Thank you! Give us civilians and humanitarian workers and cluster munitions and we will use these new guns to eradicate as many of the first group as possible . . . But by saying that, it means that they will have consciously been saying, ‘We are going to break the law.’ It means that, even if it's at a very low level, they now have an understanding that there was a law in the first place.”

Those are the bones of the DLC. The meat of it is in the Remnants of War mini-campaign.

Remnants of War

The trailer for the DLC linked at the start telegraphs the intent of the campaign's story. Every side is depicted in the trailer. NATO forces, AAF troops, FIA guerrillas, CSAT spec-ops - they’re all there. All of them are depicted in the midst of conflict, at the cusp of committing a war crime.

The DLC takes place after the end of the primary ArmA campaign. “All’s over but the crying,” right? Not quite, not so. Even now, the actions taken back then have consequences. People are still dying. Questions remain unanswered.

The Brother - 15 August, 2035

The first mission begins with you in the shoes of Markos Kouris, the man on the left above. Five days ago, 10 August, 2035, the short but fierce war 'Altis Incident' that saw Akhanteros overthrown and the nation devastated once more, came to an explosive end. Peace returned to the country, shaky, unstable, but peace all the same. But the memories of the fighting in the fallen rebel stronghold of Oreokastro a year ago remain. The knowledge that your brother Alexis was killed in the fighting only days ago weighs heavily - now that the war is over, perhaps you can enter the obliterated town, find his remains, and bring him home for the last time.

When you step close to the ruined church, a hidden landmine triggers, detonating, and killing you - killing Markos Kouris, one more victim of the destruction of Oreokastro.

The EOD Expert - Several Days Later

You next take the role of a man named Nathan MacDade. A middle-aged American, he is a former marine who fought in Chernarus in 2009 (ArmA II), and after leaving the military, joined IDAP as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technician. His job is to find unexploded ordnance (UXO) and safely disarm it, or failing that, detonate it safely without harm to human life. He’s good at his job, and has been at it for over twenty years. He’s on a voice call with Katherine Bishop, a journalist pursuing the story of Oreokastro.

As Nathan explores the town, he’ll find mines to defuse, unexploded ordnance to disarm, tripwires and hidden explosives… and several flashbacks. During these flashbacks to earlier events, Nathan MacDade narrates, speaking to Katherine Bishop asking questions, together depicting the various actions you can choose to do. If you take up arms as a civilian he’ll comment on it; if you choose to execute wounded combatants he’ll condemn it; so on and so forth. She'll share a draft of her article at the end of the campaign, which changes depending on the actions you take within it.

From here on out the DLC can be taken in non-chronological order. The flashbacks can be done in whichever order you find them. For the purposes of this post I will write of them in order of events.

The Peacekeeper - 28th May, 2034

Nathan’s been to Oreokastro before. Prior to the ‘Altis Incident’, IDAP had an aid camp within the town. As unrest in the nation grew stronger and bullets began to fly between the dictatorship’s troops and FIA guerrillas once more trying to fight for freedom, it became clear that aid supplies would not get to Oreokastro by land. They’d be ambushed or stolen, by both guerrilla forces and government troops. Thus, you put on the combat boots of an American peacekeeper of Task Force Aegis, Staff Sergeant Adams. The peacekeepers are unable to prevent the conflict, but they do arrange for aid supplies, IDAP priority, to be airdropped in. You drive around to collect aid supplies dropped by parachute, and defending some against a guerrilla attack. This is a short and simple mission.

ArmA is no stranger to the dangers of the remnants of war. Staff Sergeant Adams’ role is swift but deadly in the main campaign; he is your commander in the first mission, leading you to safety when TF Aegis is attacked… until he steps on a landmine, injuring you (Corporal Kerry), and killing him, leaving a terrified logistics driver to make his way alone out of the minefield and find allies in the CTRG.

The Guerrilla - 30th September, 2034

After NATO was pressured to begin withdrawal from the Republic of Altis & Stratis by Colonel Akhanteros (on the orders of his new CSAT puppet masters), the civil war began to truly heat up. Kostas Stavrou, a charismatic leader, took the reins of the FIA guerrillas. He encouraged the citizens of Oreokastro to rise up and take control of the town, with its high ground and natural terrain advantage, and turn it into a fortress.

As the Altis Armed Forces (AAF) lay siege to the town, the guerrillas prepare. One such guerrilla is Alexis Kouris, the brother Markos was searching for. In his flashback he lays mines on the road to Oreokastro - mines that you as Nathan MacDade just disarmed - and search the town for vehicles to use as roadblocks (one of which can be an IDAP van, which is a crime to do in and of itself, using humanitarian aid and stealing from humanitarian organisations for war purposes).

The roadblocks work. The mines work. The AAF’s offensive is frustrated…

… and so Akhanteros orders a brutal measure to gain victory.

The Redacted - 13 October 2034

You take the shoes of a CSAT special forces team - supposedly. Paradropped behind the guerrilla lines into the castle ruins overlooking Oreokastro, the three-man team silently eliminate the guerrilla sentries and set up an overwatch position on the town. They observe - and use a laser designator to call in a cluster bomb airstrike. It matters little who lives or dies, as long as you don’t directly hit the IDAP camp - though there’s an optional objective to try to avoid hitting an IDAP doctor in the town. Akhanteros wants the town obliterated for rising up against him so successfully.

The airstrike comes in and destroys everything. Roadblocks go up in smoke and flame; buildings collapse; men are eviscerated; and the AAF offensive begins.

This mission is the most blatant crime. Over a hundred countries banned the use of cluster munitions in 2008. Dozens die at minimum due to your actions as the faceless CSAT soldier who designated the target.

Faceless… CSAT… or are you so faceless? Are you so explicitly the Designated Enemy Faction?

“Idunno…” goes Nathan. “There were shell casings, found at the castle.” Strange. CSAT weaponry are explicitly caseless, and don’t leave behind brass. “NATO mil-spec.” Albeit you are depicted using a CSAT camouflaged laser designator in-mission, outside of it, the flashback trigger is a NATO sandy brown.

As the flashback ends, the three CSAT troops turn into the forms of Captain Miller and two other members of NATO’s CTRG.

The Survivor - 13 October, 2034

Heavily injured by the cluster bomb munitions, you take control of Markos Kouris from the beginning. The town is rubble; smoke, fire, and fog alike covers everything; the overcast skies fully block the sun. AAF forces and guerrillas fight a vicious and horrendously chaotic gunfight through the streets. Your objective is simply to survive, to escape to the IDAP camp. You are an unarmed civilian and a non-combatant… though you can choose to take up arms from the dead and join the fight. this flashback ends with getting to the IDAP camp for medical aid.

Oreokastro is ruined, depopulated. The rebellion here is over. As soon as it is safe to do so, IDAP too abandons the town, forced to vacate by the AAF.

There is nothing more they can do for the dead, after all.

The Major - 8 August, 2035

Ten months later, the Altis Incident is coming to a brutal end. The U.S. 111th Infantry Division heads NATO’s vengeance, supported by the FIA guerrillas. Two AAF soldiers, Major Gavras and his assistant Kostas Dimitriou, head into Oreokastro. AAF forces across the island are being overwhelmed. Gavras hopes making a stand in Oreokastro will buy time for other forces, drawing NATO units away from Kavala and other AAF strongholds. With NATO owning the skies there is little to no way to get reinforcements; Gavras’ forces are decimated, and the extraction helicopter is shot down. Gavras elects, then, to make a final stand in the church where the IDAP camp used to be.

You are Kostas, and you are faithful to your leader. If this is where you die, so be it - but you’re not going quietly. Knowing it is a cruel thing to do you deploy three APERS mine dispensers as a seperate act. There seems no other way to inflict as many casualties as possible on the attackers. They succeed. Somehow they survive the battle - through a storm of shot and shell, you kill or incapacitate all the guerrillas and American soldiers who attack the church. Surprisingly, the AAF manages to send a rescue helicopter that extracts the two of you.

Major Gavras is the reason the AAF held out for three days against the full might of a vengeful American and NATO force, not just one. He survived the war. He even was part of the peace process. He also gave IDAP the location of the mines he had his assistant plant in that near-final stand at the church.

Gavras and Kostas killed Alexis Kouris in that stand in Oreokastro. So, too, did they indirectly kill Markos Kouris, who stepped on one of Kostas’ mines searching for his dead brother. Their actions had consequences.

Who’s To Blame?

This ends the flashbacks, and little remains of the campaign. Katherine Bishop has one more question for Nathan MacDade.

“Now, there's just one last question I'd like to ask you. It's subjective, so, take your time. In your opinion, who's most to blame for all the suffering in Oreokastro? NATO? The guerrillas? CSAT? The Altis Armed Forces? Or, I don't know, something else?”

Who is responsible for Oreokastro? Who killed this town? Who’s to blame? Who is, if any one can be? Can anyone even be blamed at all?

You choose.

Every option leads to different thoughts from Nathan’s part. Perhaps one faction of them is higher than the rest in terms of blame. Perhaps together they form some sort of collective blame that, in the end, leaves everyone with no clear answer as to who to point a finger at, all dissatisfied, ashamed of themselves and angry at others.

NATO is to blame - “They had the capacity to make a difference, y'know? The airdrops were helpful, but it was never enough. And, ultimately? Their invasion caused more bloodshed. If they'd just had the guts to stay in the first place? A lotta killing could have been avoided…” The peacekeepers of Task Force Aegis failed to accomplish their mission. They didn’t have the influence to peacefully keep the peace without shots fired; they didn’t have the strength to keep peace by force of arms; their leaders didn’t have the guts to stay when demanded to leave. The NATO invasion led to even more deaths, once more devastating the FIA guerrillas (in a friendly fire incident, Kostas Stavrou was killed by a NATO air attack, too). Not to mention the suspicions of NATO spec-ops being responsible for the cluster bomb attack… Oreokastro is a monument to NATO’s sins.

CSAT is to blame - “That cluster strike? It took the whole thing to the brink - and with so little to gain from such a terrifying show of force. The whole thing's felt like a power-play from the get-go. One big pissing contest. It always is…” There was a shaky peace after the original Altis civil war ended in 2030. It held for four years. It only devolved back into civil war after Akhanteros got cozy with CSAT. They looked the other way when the AAF committed atrocities; they were the ones who supposedly carried out the airstrike. Unknown to Nathan, the entire struggle that eventually led to Alexis and Markos Kouris’ deaths are due to CSAT’s testing of the Eastwind Device, and the CTRG’s attempts to capture it.

The Altis Armed Forces are to blame - “It's one thing fighting against a resistance - it's another to make the civilian population pay for it. As they clung on to power, they wound up scarring the very country they'd pledged to protect…” Perhaps the most direct perpetrators of all the violence. Ceasefire agreements violated; their leader being the ultimate authority who called for the cluster bombing; they punished the weak and innocent along with those who chose armed resistance, cruelly harming the populace for the actions of a few. An army of thugs acting on the orders of a thug, caring not about the atrocities committed in the moment, the unexploded ordnance and mines left for generations of Altians to suffer from.

The FIA guerrillas are to blame - “They hid themselves among the population. These guys didn't give a damn about what it cost. They wanted power, and would do anything to get it…” The guerrillas incited the armed conflict. Though they seemingly had a moral high ground, the guerrillas resorted to underhanded tactics that violated the laws of war, even targeting humanitarian aid and taking from relief efforts for their own ends..

All sides played a part - Oreokastro’s destruction was not solely one side, one group, one man to blame. “No one side can be held accountable for the bloodshed here. No one action got us where we are now. And the folks here in Oreokastro? They're the ones that've suffered. This is the reality. This is war.” The citizens of Oreokastro paid that ultimate price, whether they wanted to or not, just more victims of a great power proxy struggle and more local regional conflicts alike.

Choose.

You’ve seen every side, parts of it at least. All throughout, no matter which side you thought was most responsible, the primary theme of the DLC remains consistent: Actions have consequences.

No matter what you think, the dead are dead and will never return.

Nathan MacDade says farewell to Katherine Bishop. The mines and UXOs in Oreokastro have been defused, and it’s time to move on. Oreokastro has become a silent mausoleum, as the IDAP vehicles drive away. A ruined city on a hill for all to behold and contemplate - or to forget, as all things are doomed to be.

There are other Oreokastros in this devastated country. There are more mines to disarm, more UXOs defuse, more potential casualties to prevent from a war long ended - more atrocities left behind in the sands of time.

Just as in Oreokastro, there may never truly be a definitive answer as to what happened in those places.

Real Life Consequences

The Laws of War DLC was made in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross, and thus half the initial sales were donated to the ICRC. That came up to $176,667 USD; pretty respectable for a $10 DLC.

The community has a high number of people who, as was mentioned in a quote early in this post, reacted to the addition of a humanitarian aid NGO and medical vehicles with, "great, more things to commit war crimes on." The comments on the trailer are rife with them. But as a Bohemia Interactive employee put it:

"We knew this DLC's theme might seem a bit unusual, but we also felt that it has a rightful place in a game like Arma 3 . . . what has made it even more amazing to see the immense level of player support for the Laws of War DLC, which really shows again how both games and the gaming audience have matured. If you also consider that some of our players are in the military or might pursue a military career in the future, then we're glad this DLC has been able to increase awareness for this important topic. And being able to also make a financial contribution to the ICRC's efforts is a great bonus."

[kaibutsushidousha]

The Hundred Line - Famitsu interview June 19th 2024

What does the title Hundred Line mean?

Kodaka: The simplest way to describe this game is: student have to live together in a school while fighting to survive 100 days. This "100 days" timeframe became a major keyword, so we decided to express it through the title The Hundred Line - Last Defense Academy.

The game has been described as "a tale of extreme x despair produced by the creators of Danganronpa". This "extreme x despair" keyword reminds me of the Concept Art 1 presented September 2018 at the announcement of Too Kyo Games. Caption: Extreme x Despair. A game co-written by Kodaka and Uchikoshi!

Kodaka: As you can imagine, this is the game from Concept Art 1. We finally managed to announce, but at first, The Hundred Line was developed as Too Kyo's first original IP. However, our company isn't capable of self-publishing, so now we're working with Aniplex, on a half-half split on production costs.

When did development start?

Kodaka: Since we founded Too Kyo Games (2017), so that has been 6 or 7 years. At first, Uchikoshi and I partnered with another major publisher to release our game, but unfortunately, the project was canceled...

In a previous interview, you mentioned a title not coming out as planned, but I didn't think you mean an actual cancellation...

Kodaka: I have so much I could talk about on this one, but I don't think the first talk about this game should be about what went wrong, so how about we save it for another day? Haha. Although The Hundred Line's project was canceled for a while, now, after finding what we needed to make it a good game, we rebranded it and restarted our whole internal development cycle.

We were initially fine with it being indie-sized, but as the story and character designs were getting polished, and the concept gained a more solid form, we started thinking we couldn't make our ideal game unless we went bigger. Determined to put our hand to the test... we took a loan.

A loan!?

Kodaka: It wasn't guaranteed that we'd have the working capital to maintain our enlarged development scope even if we sold all of our stocks. We advanced the production with the phantom of debt on our necks while we searched for a new publisher, and that's where I met Aniplex and smoothly sold our pitch.

However, since this game has simulation RPG sections, they said that'd need a third-party developer. For that, they introduced us to the accomplished Media Vision and had them join the dev team. We're also cooperating with Jet Studio, who worked with us before in Danganronpa and Rain Code.

After all that it took to get this game to a presentable state, we of Too Kyo Games consider it a proud symbol of our persistence, or better yet, the culmination and conclusion to the current stage of our careers.

Staking your life on your work has never been so literal...

Kodaka: True, if this game flops, we won't be able to pay our debt. In that sense, this also provides a rare opportunity to the playerbase too. They get to witness how much a single title's sales can influence the future of a creator and company.

That's not the kind of suspense I want as a game fan, haha. Still, with six years of development, is it safe to assume you've been through a fair share of hardships?

Kodaka: I did. That was my first time dealing with a full cancellation. Also, to enable to Too Kyo to continue its work, to partner up with a new publisher, etc, we couldn't continue the development in the direction we were before. We needed to restart on our semi-complete project, and that's already painful labor in itself.

In terms of creative workload, I can't say I was much busier than I was in the Danganronpa V3 days, having to work in the game and the anime at the same time, but in this situation, aside from my directing, writing, and screen composition duties, I'm also Too Kyo Games's president and producer, meaning I have more work outside my craftsmanship... Making the game and managing the funds at the same time would have given most people a mental breakdown (laughs).

It was mentally and financially taxing, but I don't think I'll ever get another opportunity to pour this level of effort into making a game happen. Putting my life on the line was a very valuable experience.

You mean to say you can feel Too Kyo Games's entire soul in the game? On another note, I couldn't find any of the characters from the concept art in the new key visual or the screenshots. Does the restart mean that those characters got shelved?

Kodaka: The game's general concept is still the same, but to put a new, clean start on it, we changed a few things completely. One of them being the character designs. But despite their changed appearances, they maintain the characterization of their predecessors, so you'll see characters similar to what those would have been.

However, the old politician you see in the upper left corner won't be in the game (laughs). He's a character Komatsuzaki made up on the spot for this illustration, so I know as much about who he is as you do. He's doomed to disappear shrouded in mystery.

(laughs) By the way, considering how The Hundred Line is "the tale of extreme x despair", I'm curious about how this keyword "despair" relates to Danganronpa.

Kodaka: The tagline "tale of extreme x despair" is to signify that this is the first game Uchikoshi and I are directing together. It has nothing to do with Danganronpa, but it is a game made leveraging all of my previous experiences. With that plus Komatsuzaki's and Takada's involvement, I consider it a spiritual successor to Danganronpa.

Who from the main Too Kyo Games roster is working in this and what are their roles?

Kodaka: Uchikoshi and I are splitting the directing and writing work, Komatsuzaki is on the character design, Shimadrill is doing the enemy design and the backgrounds, and Takada is in charge of the soundtrack. Also, Uchikoshi and I do screen composition for the scenes we write.

I didn't think I'd have to do the screen composition job here myself, but I'm the best at handling Komatsuzaki's art and Takada's music, so that job is dumped on me. I got a lot of material to work with. Maybe more expression options than Yuma had in Rain Code.

The Danganronpa series also had me personally choosing faces and soundtrack one by one, so I hope the fans of that series enjoy the familiar vibes in the visual novel sections.

The new announcement came with a key visual. Are these characters in uniforms going to be the main cast?

Kodaka: Yes. They're the students of Last Defense Academy and are living in the school for unknown reasons. The students have special powers called Hemoanimas. They normally have their own sets of clothes, but upon activating their Hemoanima, they change into this uniform and fight against their enemies.

Is the white character a mascot?

Kodaka: Yes. He's the squad coordinator character. So his name is just SIREI, from shireikan; commander. By the way, SIREI is the reincarnation of the raccoon illustrated in the key visual. Both forms of this character were designed by Komatsuzaki. I pointed him in a general direction I wanted but overall let him do whatever he wanted. Meanwhile, the students followed the usual process going through a lot of back-and-forth until their completion.

In Danganronpa, their designs reflected their Super High School Level talents. Does The Hundred Line have any kind of keyword or characterization element that informed their designs in the same way the Super High School Level talents did?

Kodaka: Each student masters a different Unique Subject and has a different weapon of choice. That's what their designs mainly reflect. I'll talk more about Unique Subjects and weapons of choice later.

I'm looking forward to the update. Next question. Danganronpa and Rain Code had all-star casts of voice actors. I have expectations for The Hundred Line's cast.

Kodaka: Unfortunately, I can't reveal the actors at the moment, but I will say half of them have performed in previous Kodaka or Uchikoshi game and the other half is people we're both meeting for the first time. But look forward to it, it's going to be as all-star as any previous game. I know the released PV is voiced by the protagonist, but who is voicing him is still confidential.

Will the creatures depicted flying above the main characters be enemies?

Kodaka: Correct. The enemies are unknown entities attacking the school. They're called School Invaders. If you take a really close look at the key visual, you may notice the academy is protected by a pink flame. That's called the Unextinguishable Flame and that's what prevents the School Invaders from attacking 24/7.

When the School Invaders get past the Unextinguishable Flame, the students will need to repel them. The students aren't informed about the academy's or the unextinguishable flame's secrets, nor they know why the School Invaders are attacking. The story progresses as they fight School Invaders day by day unaware of their circumstances.

Do you have anything noteworthy to say about your interactions with Shimadrill regarding his work designing the enemies?

Kodaka: My priority for the character design of the weaker School Invaders was that they had venomous pop aesthetics. At my first discussion with Shimadrill, we arrived at the idea of making their designs intentionally similar to the monsters of a famous game franchise, but we changed plans along the way. Ultimately, we got likable enemies with that pop aesthetic.

Playing aggressively even on the designs, huh? That's the Too Kyo Games I know.

Kodaka: We changed our aim because copying designs was a really bad idea we took too far. Our mindset at the time is that, true to Too Kyo's name, we wanted to make a game that was indeed too crazy. Too Kyo Games is a company that prides itself on its writing, designs, and music.

However, compliance is a lot more important nowadays, so there's a lot more we need to keep in mind. We were defanged by the corporate structure of our partner for the cancelled version of the game. Depictions of violence and dirty jokes that were acceptable in our previous works weren't fine with them. We had to be on our best behavior to adhere to their compliance demands.

Now that I got to remake the game as something else, I can see that not releasing it on its previous state was for the best. Because I couldn't express my strengths in full there.

The Hundred Line was my first collaborative work with Uchikoshi and our first original IP. Making a game that's simply good wouldn't be enough. There'd be no point in starting this over if we couldn't go all-out. We developed The Hundred Line determined to make a game someone with good sense couldn't make. A title to be considered a product of deranged minds. In the sense, we were very lucky to land on a partnership with Aniplex.

Tell me more about what do you mean by "lucky" here.

Kodaka: To leverage the strengths of Too Kyo Games, we're writing a very controversial narrative. Aniplex is being thankfully quite flexible with what we're allowed to depict, as they understand our fortes and respect our vision. For that reason, Uchikoshi and I were able to depict the crazy story we wanted to.

Kodaka, in a previous interview, you expressed determination toward making this game a story that make people question your sanity. A game people wouldn't expect to be possible to make. Would you say managed to fulfill this ambition?

Kodaka: I can't comment about the gimmick without getting into spoilers, so I have no plans to reveal the answer to this before the game's release. Playing the game for yourself should be enough to convey Too Kyo Games's outlandishness. I believe my reason to pair up with Uchikoshi will be equally evident, and it'll be easy to make sense of why this game needed multiple writers and recruiting new hires.

I know perfectly well this is a tasteless request, but can you drop a hint?

Kodaka: Fine, I'll tell you some details after the interview. You're allowed to address what I'll say in your opinion post (laughs).

I appreciate the gesture, but let's see if I'm up for the challenge (laughs)

Tell us what the general gameplay loop is like.

Kodaka: The Hundred Line follows a cycle of 3 parts: a visual novel section, an exploration section, and a simulation RPG section. I already explained at the opener that it's a game where you survive 100 days of combat, but that doesn't mean time will pass uneventfully.

Like in Danganronpa, something will happen each day, and you'll get chances to talk with your schoolmates and deepen your relationships. You'll get Free Time, you'll get training sessions to increase your stats, and you'll be able to get other power ups by sharpening your weapons. The goal in the visual novel and exploration sections is to enjoy life with your schoolmates while also preparing for the enemies that can appear at any moment.

Got it. Now explain the simulation RPG section too, please.

Kodaka: The simulation RPG section has tower defense elements. It's not just about defeating the enemies, you also have to fight defending the school. Also, since the School Invaders come in large flocks, the main gimmick here is that you need to fight on multiple grids of the board at the same time instead of taking it one grid at a time.

Our developer, Media Vision, has a lot of experience in simulation RPGs. We'll disclose more details about the gameplay later, but I'm glad they were able to come up with and implement hype combat ideas (such as unique traits and ultimate moves for each character) in a way that can satisfy the fans of the genre.

You mean to say the simulation RPG sections are going to be solid?

Kodaka: Correct. That said, a lot of people who buy my games are casual gamers, so I always put emphasis on ease of play.

Then first-time simulation RPG players will have nothing to worry about.

Kodaka: Another point of interest is Takada's soundtrack. I requested the battle BGM to have the intensity of an action game. It's inspired by technical rock bands from the 90s, mainly The Chemical Brothers and Boom Boom Satellites. The visual novel sections, on the other hand, have a more sci-fi-adjacent OST to match its strong sci-fi aesthetics.

Tell us a release date and the consoles.

Kodaka: Early 2025, Switch and Steam.

Less than a year before release. Do you think the team can make it?

Kodaka: We're still working on it, but I think we won't have to delay the release. To be honest, The Hundred Line is progressing faster than Rain Code was (laughs). Besides, Too Kyo Games can't afford to delay a game our creators are staking their lives on.

Messages to players and readers usually often saying things like "We're doing our best" or "Cheer for us", but for this title, I can't bring myself to be so casual about it. I feel like I'm issuing a challenge to the players here.

I have a marketing strategy to draw attention to the game, and I'm polishing it to make anyone who buys it say it's a good game, so I'm feeling more of a "Just watch me!" or a "Wait until you see this thing released!" for a closing message.

Giant Kuroda's editorial comment

As outlandish as promised.

That's the interviewer's honest impression on what Kodaka told me about The Hundred Line's gimmick. I [Giant Kuroda] have been the Famitsu interviewer in charge of Danganronpa since Danganronpa 2. I interviewed him pre-release for a game launched in 2012, which means I've been talking to Kodaka for at least 12 years.

Kodaka and his art surprised me many times. In a good way.

Danganronpa 2's final boss. Danganronpa V3's first case culprit, finale, and the secret hidden in the title. Danganronpa 3 simultaneous broadcast of Side:Future and Side:Despair. Rain Code's first case...

The list could go on forever, but The Hundred Line's gimmick is more impactful than of those. I can't deliver a final judgement until I play the game for myself, but depending on what the game has to offer, it could be his uncontested best. That's how much potential I felt in that spoiler. I get the point of staking their lives on it now.

Also, in what's rare for a Kodaka title, the game will be allowed to be streamed relatively far into the story despite earlier spoilers (information subject to change). Kodaka's story-heavy games are a double-edged sword. It's possible for players to feel like they experienced enough by simply watching a Let's Play that spoils all the twists. However, I believe this game actually benefits from unrestricted streaming. But I can't say why. It's a spoiler...

At any rate, this game is Kodaka's and Uchikoshi's first collaborative story, and as Kodaka said, its narrative is a product of deranged minds. I wait with bated breath to the day I can finally play it, and also look forward to reading opinion posts about it online. You can get your hopes up, Kodaka and Uchikoshi fans.

[pridequest64]

Klarion The Witch Boy Reading Order

This is, based of my research the complete reading list in release order for all Klarion Comics as of September 24th 2024. Release dates were used when available but compromises were made with cover date when necessary. If you see anything that is wrong or needs new additions feel free to let me know!

(Comic Vine was a massive help with this project)

1. The Demon 7- March 1973

2. The Demon 14- November 1st 1973

3. The Demon 15- December 1st 1973

4. Wonder Woman 280- June 1981

5. Wonder Woman 281- March 5th 1981

6. Wonder Woman 282- August 1981

7. The Demon 3- September 1990

8. The Demon 4- October 1990

9. The Demon 5- November 1990

10. The Demon 7- Janurary 1991

11. The Demon 8- February 1991

12. The Demon 9- March 1991

13. Books Of Magic 4- March 1991

14. The Demon 10- April 1991

15. The Demon 11- May 1991

16. The Demon 12- June 1991

17. The Demon 13- July 1991

18. The Demon 14 August 1991

19. The Demon 15- September 1991

20. War of the Gods 1- September 1st 1991

21. The Demon 17- November 1991

22. Conjurors 1- April 1999

23. Conjurors 2- May 1999

24. Conjurors 3- June 1999

25. Sins of Youth: Batboy and Robin- April 2000

26. Sins of Youth Secret Files- May 2000

27. Sins of Youth: The Secret/ Deadboy- May 2000

28. Sins of Youth: Aquaboy/Lagoon Man- May 2000

29. Young Justice: Sins of Youth 1- May 2000

30. Young Justice: Sins of Youth 2- May 2000

31. Young Justice 22- August 1st 2000

32. Seven Soldiers: Klarion 1- June 1st 2005

33. Seven Soldiers Klarion 2 August 1st 2005

34. Seven Soldiers Klarion 3- October 1st 2005

35. Seven Soldiers Klarion 4- December 1st 2005

36. Infinite Crisis 6- April 5th 2006

37. Infinite Crisis 7- May 3rd 2006

38. Robin 157- February 1st 2007

39. Robin 158- March 1st 2007

40. Countdown 34- September 5th 2007

41. Countdown 33- September 12th 2007

42. Countdown 32- September 19th 2007

43. Countdown 31- September 26th 2007

44. Countdown 30- October 3rd 2007

45. Justice League Of America 46- June 30th 2010

46. Justice League of America 47- July 28th 2010

47. DCU Halloween Special 2010- October 20th 2010

48. Batgirl 18- February 9th 2011

49. Superman/Batman 82- March 23rd 2011

50. Superman/Batman 83- April 20th 2011

51. Superman/Batman 84- May 18th 2011

52. The All New Batman: The Brave and the Bold 12- October 12th 2011

53. Batman: Li’l Gotham -8- September 8th 2013

54. Justice League Beyond 2.0 11- January 11th 2014

55. Batman Beyond Universe 6- January 22 2014

56. Justice League Beyond 2.0 12- January 25th 2014

57. Batman Beyond Universe 7- February 19th 2014

58. Justice League Beyond 2.0 13- February 8th 2014

59. Batman Beyond Universe 8- March 19th 2014

60. The Multiversity: The Society of super heroes: The conquerors of the counter world- September 17th 2014

61. Teen Titans: Futures End- September 17th 2014

62. Klarion 1- October 8th 2014

63. Injustice: Gods Among Us Year Three 2- October 22nd 2014

64. The Multiversity: The Just- October 22nd 2014

65. Injustice: Gods Among Us Year Three 3- November 5th 2014

66. Klarion 2- November 12th 2014

67. Injustice: Gods Among Us Year Three 4- November 19th 2014

68. Klarion 3- December 10th 2014

69. Injustice: Gods Among Us Year Three 6- December 24th 2014

70. Klarion 3- Janurary 14th 2015

71. The Multiversity Guidebook- January 28th 2015

72. Injustice: Gods Among Us Year three 9- February 11th 2015

73. Klarion 5- February 11th 2015

74. Klarion 6- March 11th 2015

75. Teen Titsns Annual 1- April 1st 2015

76. Multiversity 2- April 29th 2015

77. Teen Titans 9- June 24th 2015

78. Teen Titans 10- July 22nd 2015

79. Teen Titans 11- August 26th 2015

80. Secret Six 7- October 21st 2015

81. Teen Titans 13- November 11th 2015

82. Secret Six 8- November 18th 2015

83. Secret Six 10- January 20th 2016

84. Gotham Academy 17- April 13th 2016

85. Scooby-Doo Team-Up 19- October 26th 2016

86. Justice League 33 November 15th 2017

87. Justice League Dark 1- July 25th 2018

88. Sideways 7- August 8th 2018

89. Justice League Dark 2- August 22nd 2018

90. Catwoman/Tweety and Sylvester- August 29th 2018

91. Sideways 8- September 12th 2018

92. Raven: Daughter of Darkness 8- September 26th 2018

93. Raven: Daughter of Darkness 9- October 24th 2018

94. Sideways Annual- November 7th 2018

95. Suicide Squad Black Files 1- November 7th 2018

96. Raven: Daughter of Darkness 10- November 28th 2018

97. Sideways 10- November 21st 2018

98. Suicide Squad Black Files 2- December 5th 2018

99. Raven: Daughter of Darkness 11- January 2nd 2019

100. Suicide Squad Black Files- January 9th 2019

101. Raven: Daughter of Darkness 12- January 30th 2019

102. Suicide Squad Black Files 4- February 6th 2019

103. Justice League Dark 8- February 13th 2019

104. Suicide Squad Black Files 5- March 6th 2019

105. Justice League Dark 9- March 13th 2019

106. Suicide Squad Black Files 6- April 3rd 2019

107. Justice League Dark 10- April 24th 2019

108. DC’s Year of the Villain Special- May 1st 2019

109. Justice League Dark 11- May 22nd 2019

110. Justice League 26- June 19th 2019

111. Justice League Dark 14- August 28th 2019

112. Justice League 30- August 28th 2019

113. Justice League Dark 15- September 25th 2019

114. Justice League Dark 16- October 23rd 2019

115. Justice League Dark 17- November 27th 2019

116. Harley Quinn’s Villian of the year- December 11th 2019

117. Flash Forward 4- December 18th 2019

118. Justice League Dark 18- January 1st 2020

119. Justice League Dark 19-January 29th 2020

120. Zatana and the House of Secrets- February 2020

121. Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen 3- February 26th 2020

122. Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen 4- March 18th 2020

123. DC The Doomed and The Damned- October 13th 2020

124. DC’sVery Merry Multiverse- December 8th 2020

125. Wonder Woman Black & Gold 6- November 23rd 2021

126. Justice League Incarnate 2- December 21st 2021

127. DC VS Vampires 8- August 02 2022

128. The Flash 786- September 20th 2022

129. Batman VS Robin 2- October 11th 2022

130. Catwoman: Lonely City 4- October 25th 2022

131. Batman VS Robin 3- December 20th 2022

132. Lazarus Planet: Alpha- January 10 2023

133. Lazarus Planet: Omega- February 21st 2023

134. Superboy The Man Of Tomorrow 4- July 11th 2023

135. Speed Force 5- March 12th 2024

136. Outsiders 5- March 12th 2024

[adropofhumanity]

IMPORTANT CRISES THAT ARE BEING IGNORED BY THE WORLD

[ we already are aware about palestine, NOT just gaza so i will refrain from mentioning anything here regarding it ]

these crises will not follow any specific order but i will be numbering them for the sake of proper structure.

i also did my best to find reliable and accurate information. please do not start hating me or questioning my efforts if i have mentioned something wrong or incorrect. instead you can correct me politely. additionally, if there are any crisis that i have missed out on, bring it to my awareness.

i am not going to be including all details but some major highlights so as to be able to keep ourselves updated of atleast the surface level knowledge (so i will try)

reblog and include (or highlight what needs to be excluded) any details that would serve in the best interest of this post.

1. TAMIL EELAM

sri lanka is an island historically inhabited by tamils, sinhalese, muslims, and other communities. the tamil nation is concentrated in the northeast. the muslim community generally speaks tamil. the majority of the country's sinhalese population lives in the southern part of the island and are buddhist.

following independence from britain, the sinhalese ruling class began to build an ethnocratic nation-state that entrenched sinhala-buddhist supremacy. tamil workers' rights were denied in the new nation-state, while tamil students were refused equal access to education. tamil people protested peacefully, but sri lanka responded with arrests and massacres.

in july 1983, the worst anti-tamil pogroms swept the island: tamil people were hunted in the streets, pulled out of their homes, and killed while sri lankan police watched on. In six days, 4000 tamils were killed. government ministers led mobs and targeted tamil homes in areas where tamils and sinhalese both lived, amounting to what the international commission of jurists labelled an act of genocide.

sri lanka booted the UN and international press from the country before relaunching its war against the tamil people in 2006. the state used banned chemical weapons like white phosphorous on civilians. a UN report estimates that 75,000 tamil civilians perished from september 2008-May 2009 alone. ground sources place the number much higher and estimate that over 120,000 people were killed in the final stages of the war.

nothing was spared. hospitals and religious buildings, full of the sick and wounded, were routinely bombed. the armed forces shelled food distribution lines and near International red cross ships picking up wounded civilians from beaches. even the government's own "no-fire zones," packed with thousands of civilians, were indiscriminately attacked from the ground and sky.

for the tamils, the last stages of the war fit into a broader pattern of sri lanka's post-colonial state-building project: a protracted genocide involving massacres, economic embargoes, indiscriminate bombings, discriminatory policies, and the dispossession of tamil lands. tamils fear their political identity, as a distinct group of peoples, a nation, will be dismantled and reduced to a scattered minority across the island.

12 years after the genocide, the sri lankan armed forces maintain complete control through a military occupation of the tamil homeland. five of the seven regional headquarters of the army are entrenched in the tamil homeland, with over 100,000 soldiers maintaining an environment of harassment and surveillance over the tamil people. like kashmir and palestine, the tamil homeland remains one of the most militarized places in the world.

HOW TO HELP

2. ROHINGYA

 in august 2017, armed attacks, massive scale violence, and serious human rights violations forced thousands of rohingya to flee their homes in myanmar’s rakhine state. many walked for days through jungles and undertook dangerous sea journeys across the bay of bengal to reach safety in bangladesh. now, more than 960,000 people have found safety in bangladesh with a majority living in the cox bazar’s region - home to the world’s largest refugee camp. the united nations has described the rohingya as “the most persecuted minority in the world.”

the rohingya are a muslim ethnic minority group who have lived for centuries in predominantly buddhist myanmar - formerly known as burma. despite living in myanmar for many generations, the rohingya are not recognized as an official ethnic group and have been denied citizenship since 1982, making them the world’s largest stateless population.

as a stateless population, rohingya families are denied basic rights and protection and are extremely vulnerable to exploitation, sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and abuse.

the rohingya have suffered decades of violence, discrimination and persecution in myanmar. their largest exodus began in august 2017 after a massive wave of violence broke out in myanmar’s rakhine state, forcing more than 742,000 people - half of them children - to seek refuge in bangladesh. entire villages were burned to the ground, thousands of families were killed or separated and massive human rights violations were reported.

more than 1 million rohingya refugees have fled violence in myanmar in successive waves of displacement since the 1990s. now, more than 960,000 rohingya refugees are living in bangladesh with a majority settled in and around kutupalong and nayapara refugee camps in bangladesh’s cox’s bazar region — some of the largest and most densely populated camps in the world. 

more than half of all rohingya refugees in bangladesh (52 percent) are children, while 51 percent are comprised of women and girls. the current refugee population accounts for one-third of the total population in the cox’s bazar region, making support to host communities essential for peaceful coexistence. 

since 2021, to decongest the 33 camps in cox’s bazar, nearly 30,000 refugees have been relocated to bhasan char island by the government of bangladesh. while protection services and humanitarian assistance have been scaled up on the island, significant gaps remain in service delivery and the sustainability of critical assistance.

rohingya refugees have also sought refuge in other neighboring countries like thailand (92,000) and India (21,000), with smaller numbers settling in indonesia, nepal and other countries across the region.

armed clashes across myanmar have continued to trigger displacement, bringing the total number of internally displaced people (IDP) within the country to more than 1.8 million — including 1.5 million of whom have been internally displaced since february 2021.

as of december 2023, however, a new issue arose. the indonesian navy has pushed back a boat carrying rohingya refugees as it approached the coast of aceh amid resentment among some residents about a sudden increase in boat arrivals. the military said the coastguard first detected the wooden vessel entering indonesian waters on wednesday, before the navy ship KRI bontang-907 located the boat about 63 nautical miles (117km) off aceh on the northwestern tip of the archipelago and drove it out, “ensuring that the boat did not return to indonesian waters,” the navy said in a statement posted in its website.

military spokesperson nugraha gumilar said it was not known how many people were on board. they are suspected to be rohingya, a mostly muslim minority from myanmar who were forced into neighbouring bangladesh by a brutal military crackdown in 2017 that is now the subject of a genocide investigation.

more than 1,500 rohingya refugees have landed in indonesia on barely sea-worthy wooden boats since november, according to data from the united nations refugee agency (UNHCR), and the sudden jump in arrivals has aroused growing hostility among people in aceh.

indonesia has appealed to the international community for help and intensified patrols of its waters, promising to crack down on suspected human traffickers it says are involved in the latest wave of boat arrivals.

on wednesday, a mob of students stormed the basement of a local community hall in banda aceh, the acehnese capital, where about 137 rohingya were taking shelter and called for the group to be deported.

many of the refugees are in poor health after weeks at sea usually with insufficient supplies of food and water.

the UNHCR said it was “deeply disturbed to see a mob attack on a site sheltering vulnerable refugee families”.

indonesia, although not a signatory to the 1951 UN convention on refugees, was once known for providing a safe haven to the rohingya even as neighbouring malaysia and thailand pushed them away.

but the mood has soured this year, especially in aceh, where some residents claim the rohingya behave badly and create a burden on society.

muslims make up nearly 90 percent of indonesia’s 277 million people, and aceh is the only state in the archipelago to follow islamic law.

the growing hostility towards the rohingya has put pressure on president joko widodo’s government to take action.

“this is not an easy issue, this is an issue with enormous challenges,” foreign minister retno marsudi told reporters.

HOW TO HELP

3. MANIPUR

on may 3, members of the kuki and naga tribes, who inhabit manipur's hills and are regarded as scheduled tribes, or india's most disadvantaged groups, launched a protest against the possible extension of their benefits to the dominant meiteis.

meiteis account for half of manipur's population and extending limited affirmative action quotas to them would mean they would get a share in education and government jobs reserved for kukis and nagas.

meiteis have traditionally lived in manipur's more prosperous valley region that makes up 10% of the state's area. they have also had better access to employment and economic opportunities.

nagas and kukis live in the poorly developed hills.

the development imbalance favouring the valley over the hills has been a point of contention and rivalry between the ethnic groups.

the groups coexisted peacefully until unrelated events in recent months exposed old faultlines.

manipur shares a nearly 400-km (250-mile) border with myanmar and the coup there in 2021 pushed thousands of refugees into the indian state.

kukis share ethnic lineage with myanmar’s chin tribe and meiteis feared they would be outnumbered by the arrival of the refugees.

separately, the state government in february launched a drive to evict tribal communities from forests in the hills, saying they had encroached on government land, sparking anger among tribal people that they were being forced out of their homes.

"it has been building up for a long time, in some ways unseen and some ways quite openly, but the government was not paying attention," said pradip phanjoubam, editor of the imphal review of arts and politics.

although the first outburst of violence was put down by mid-may, sporadic reprisal attacks began within days.

both the meiteis and kukis are known to be flush with arms, including automatic weapons either stolen from the state police or sourced from across the border in myanmar.

new delhi has held talks with senior myanmar leaders to help control armed groups that operate from across the border but this is yet to produce results.

kuki and meitei groups also refused to join a peace panel formed by the federal government due to differences over names included in the panel.

the indian army and federal paramilitary forces in the state cannot act independently and are legally bound to work with state police and authorities, who analysts say are also divided along ethnic lines.

also, kukis accuse the bharatiya janata party-ruled state government's chief minister biren singh, a meitei, of complicity and inaction, and have sought his removal. singh denies the accusations.

HOW TO HELP

4. HAWA'II ( MAUI )

maui wildfires of 2023, a series of wildfires that burned parts of the island of maui in the U.S. state of hawaii in august 2023. the fires, which began on august 8, struck hardest the historic resort town of lahaina, on maui’s western peninsula, reducing most of the town to ash and ruins. 98 people were killed in lahaina by the smoke and flames or by drowning, making the wildfire one of the world’s deadliest on record. almost 3,000 structures were reported to have been either damaged or destroyed by the fire. in addition to the fires on maui, a series of less devastating wildfires burned parts of the island of hawaii starting on august 9.

while local and state government officials have hesitated to identify a specific cause of the wildfires (in general, uncontrolled fires in a forest, grassland, brushland, or cropland) as of august 17, some evidence suggests that sparks produced by a downed power line may have touched off at least one of the fires. meteorologists and climate researchers noted that the fires were likely to have been the product of several intersecting factors. the fires occurred at the height of hawaii’s dry season (which lasts from april to october). their severity was exacerbated by the presence of el nino—that is, the development of unusually warm ocean waters in the central and eastern tropical pacific ocean. el niño brings increased rainfall to south america’s west coast but brings drought conditions to the hawaiian islands. indeed, the interval of june to august 2023 was a period of worsening drought on maui and in other parts of hawaii. as the drought increased in severity, it dried vegetation, much of it made up of large tracts of fire-prone invasive shrubs  and grasses.

in addition, the pool of warm water in the tropical pacific kept fueling hurricane dora, a powerful tropical cyclone that had formed off the western coast of mexico on august 2. dora passed some 1,100 km (about 700 miles) south of the hawaiian islands during the week of august 8, the day the fires began, which created a substantial difference in atmospheric pressure between the storm and a high-pressure system located north of the islands. that pressure difference drew high winds southward and funneled them into the centre of the tropical cyclone, which helped intensify and spread the wildfires. wind speeds reached as high as 107.8 km (67 miles) per hour on maui and up to 132 km (82 miles) per hour on the island of hawaii.

some researchers have noted that climate change  may have played a part in worsening the wildfires’ severity. increases in global and regional surface temperatures due to ongoing global warming are thought to have caused grasses and other vegetation to dry out faster than usual. in addition, studies that considered trends in hawaii’s rainfall indicated that some 90 percent of the state had experienced at least some decline in overall rainfall between 1920 and 2012 and that rainfall amounts at higher elevations had fallen by more than 30 percent between 1990 and 2015 during the state’s wet season (november to march). in addition, the replacement of native vegetation with crops over the last century has affected local climate conditions, primarily in accessible areas in several parts of the state of hawaii, including near sections of coastline and in maui’s central valley—the sites of the island’s wildfires.

the fire near lahaina, a municipality of 12,702 people, began as a small brush fire just beyond the town’s eastern outskirts in the early morning hours of august 8. although local officials considered it to have been contained by mid-morning, the fire flared up during mid-afternoon, forcing officials to close lahaina’s bypass road. driven by the high winds, the fire then moved downslope into the town, and it spread quickly between the parched grassy landscape and the town’s predominantly wooden buildings, generating an immense  wall of black smoke. within 15 minutes, the fire had spread to the centre of the town, burning the area between the town’s two primary access roads, which prompted additional road closures that hindered evacuation. the process of alerting residents to the danger was severely hampered by the toppling of several telephone and electric power poles in the area by high winds earlier that day, which had cut power needed for wireless services and telephone lines used for 911 emergency communication. as the fire grew, it became so intense that it melted pipes delivering water to lahaina’s residences, which reduced the town’s overall water pressure and thus inhibited the fire department’s ability to contain the wildfire.

ny 5:30 PM large areas of lahaina, which included tracts of residences and the town’s central business district, were on fire as exploding gasoline tanks in vehicles and filling stations contributed to the conflagration. since emergency services had no way to alert people through their mobile devices, the fire caught many residents by surprise, forcing some to flee in haste while trapping others in their homes. many of those who fled became boxed in by fire, smoke, and road closures; some sheltered in place, whereas others sought refuge in the pacific ocean, clinging to docks, pilings, seawalls, and other infrastructure. by 7:00 PM the fire had reached the harbour, and boats caught fire from the mix of wind-whipped flames and flying embers, causing their fuel tanks to explode. although the fire continued to burn in lahaina throughout the night, U.S. coast guard boats arriving offshore were able to evacuate several people trapped along the coast.

during the morning of august 9 the winds abated enough to allow firefighting crews, helicopters, and other resources to begin to make their way into lahaina, where they found a grayed landscape of ruined buildings and burned-out vehicles. officials reported that the lahaina fire had been 80 percent contained by august 10 and that it had burned nearly 890 hectares (about 2,200 acres) by august 14. maui’s other wildfires, which included the pulehu/kihei fire in maui’s central valley and the upcountry/kula fire along the slopes of the island’s eastern peninsula, were less severe, resulting in far fewer damaged homes and other structures and no reports of serious injuries or deaths. similarly, on the island of hawaii, fires scorched some 600 hectares (about 1,500 acres) of ranchland in the north and south kohala sections of the island, but no injuries were reported.

even as the fires began to spread on maui, government officials started to issue disaster declarations to fund firefighting efforts, rescues, and recovery. hawaii’s lieutenant governor, sylvia luke, issued an emergency declaration during mid-afternoon of august 8, which was followed later that evening by the activation of hawaii’s national guard. the following day, as reports of the unfolding disaster in lahaina reached the outside world, the U.S. federal emergency management agency (FEMA) authorized payments to fire victims, and U.S. pres. joe biden promised that “all available federal assets on the Islands” would assist in relief efforts. such efforts had increased by august 16, aided by state and federal agencies (including the U.S. Army, which provided logistical support and assisted in road clearing) and private charter flights that delivered donations of food and other supplies. In the aftermath of the wildfires, thousands of displaced maui residents were taken to shelters and evacuation centres on the island, which included hotels abandoned by tourists who had been evacuated to other islands or to the U.S. mainland.

HOW TO HELP

5. KURDISTAN

kurds have never achieved nation-state status, making kurdistan a non-governmental region and one of the largest stateless nations in the world. portions of the region are recognized by two countries: iran, where the province of kordestan lies; and northern iraq, site of the autonomous region known as kurdistan regional government (KRG) or iraqi kurdistan.

the turkish government claims to be conducting operations against the kurdistan worker's party (PKK) - a kurdish rebel organization that is outlawed by the state. through the use of airstrikes, the turkish military is hitting targets across the region and pushing deeper into southern kurdistan, launching ground operations from the military bases that it controls in the area.

a consequence of this encroachment into southern kurdistan is that civilians are being hit by turkish drones. those who are being hit are not just fighters but also ordinary kurdish civilian. innocent lives are also being lost when those who are hit succumb to their injuries. turkey justifies such acts under the pretext of fighting the PKK a rationale that it has used repeatedly to justify other military incursions. is this conflict new? absolutely not. what is new is the response to these operations. In previous decades, the turkish state could get away with indiscriminate bombing and military incursions as long as its justification centered on fighting terrorism. this justification was, after all, what other state actors operating in the region would use to rationalize military incursions against those deemed state enemies. no longer are there just people from kurdish diasporas across the world calling out the turkish state for its disregard for international law, but also from non-kurds. even at the administrative level of the united states government, officials are no longer believing the rhetoric that the turkish state uses to justify its military incisions. there will be no peace in kurdistan until turkey withdraws. there will be no peace for victims until turkey is held accountable for its criminal actions now and in the past. and as long as these atrocities are left without a response by international state actors and multilateral organizations such as the united nations and NATO, turkey will continue to commit crimes against kurds, including kurdish civilians.

HOW TO HELP

6. YEMEN

yemen is in the middle of a complex humanitarian crisis driven by a brutal civil war. indiscriminate attacks and chronic shortages of medical staff and supplies have led to the closure of many of yemen's healthcare facilities. more than 4.5 million people have been displaced since the war started in 2014. qith an estimated 21 million currently in need of humanitarian assistance.

collapsed health system- warring factions have extensively damaged public infrastructure, notably health facilities. since the saudi-led coalition (SLC) imposed a blockade in 2015, import restrictions and soaring inflation have severely limited yemenis' access to healthcare and essential services. the blockade has led to the cessation of salaries for many of the 50,000 health workers within the country, compelling them to exit the public health system in search of alternative income sources.

disease- due to the ongoing war, obtaining clean water, waste disposal, and accessing medical care have become even more challenging for the people. coupled with limited access to vaccinations, this heightened vulnerability has left yemenis susceptible to preventable diseases and emerging epidemics. the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was particularly severe, with yemen having one of the lowest vaccination rates globally in 2021. in 2017, a cholera outbreak led to 101,475 patients being admitted to hospital. the same year, cases of diphtheria emerged, a disease largely eradicated in most countries due to systematic childhood vaccinations.

trauma- continual fighting and indiscriminate attacks have affected the ability to provide trauma care, which remains a vital responsibility of hospitals in the area. teams in hospitals near the frontlines routinely react to mass-casualty incidents and continually strive to enhance their capacity year-round to address the frequent arrival of war-wounded and other trauma patients.

malnutrition- yemen is grappling with alarming rates of malnutrition. widespread food insecurity and limited access to essential healthcare services leave many children vulnerable to infectious diseases. Inflation exacerbates the situation, making it progressively challenging for yemeni families to provide nourishment for their children and cover the expenses of transporting them to hospitals.

it has been troubled by civil wars for decades, but the current conflict intensified in march 2015 when a saudi-led coalition intervened on behalf of the internationally recognised government against houthi rebels aligned with the former president ali abdullah saleh. the war is widely regarded as having turned a poor country into a humanitarian catastrophe. riyadh expected its air power, backed by regional coalition including the united arab emirates, could defeat the houthi insurgency in a matter of months. instead some reports suggest nearly 100,000 people have died. others put the death toll much lower, but fighting this year alone has displaced 250,000 people. there are more than 30 active front lines. a total of 80% of the population - more than 24 million people - need assistance and protection, including 10 million who rely on food aid to survive. its roots lie in the arab spring. pro-democracy protesters took to the streets in a bid to force the president, ali abdullah saleh, to end his 33-year rule. he responded with economic concessions but refused to resign. by march 2011, tensions on the streets of the capital city, sana'a, resulted in protesters dying at the hands of the military. following an internationally brokered deal, there was a transfer of power in november to the vice-president, abd rabbu mansour hadi, paving the way for elections in february 2012 - in which he was the only candidate to lead a transitional government. hadi's attempts at constitutional and budget reforms were rejected by houthi rebels from the north. the houthis belong to a small branch of shia muslims known as zaydis. they captured the capital, forcing hadi to flee eventually to riyadh. there is also a strong secessionist movement in the south. arguably too many sides benefit financially from the status quo. united nations officials warned that without more donations, nearly 400 hospitals and health care centers it finances would have to reduce services just as the coronavirus pandemic has surged in yemen. already, food rations have been halved for 8.5 million hungry yemenis, and 10,000 health care workers have lost the united nations payments that for many are their only salary, ms. grande said. since the war began five years ago, pitting the houthis against a government backed by saudi arabia and the united arab emirates, yemenis have endured doomsday after doomsday: relentless airstrikes against hospitals and schools by the saudi-led military coalition using american-made weapons, a severe cholera outbreak, the ever-present threat of famine, a health care system in collapse and now the coronavirus. "yemenis themselves say things are worse today than at any time in their recent history," mr. lowcock said in his appeal to donors, asking "whether the world is prepared to watch yemen fall off the cliff."

HOW TO HELP

7. SYRIA

over 80% of the population in syria is living below the poverty line. that means they make less than $1 a day. more than 11 million people require humanitarian assistance, 5 million of which are children. 93 million people across syria are now food insecure lacking reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food. 70% of the population is without regular access to safe drinking water. 6.1 million people have been internally displaced. up to 70% of healthcare professionals have left the country & 50% of hospitals are non-operational. 40% of school infrastructure has been destroyed or damaged.

government and allied forces continued to commit war crimes and other serious violations of international humanitarian law, including indiscriminate attacks and direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects. according to the UN, government forces did not approve around half of their requests to carry out humanitarian missions to:

monitor

assess and accompany aid deliveries,

provide security, logistics and

administrative support.

you may ask, how did the "war" start? even before the conflict began, many syrians were complaining about high unemployment, corruption and a lack of political freedom under president bashar al-assad, who succeeded his father, hafez, after he died in 2000. in march 2011, pro-democracy demonstrations erupted in the southern city of deraa, inspired by uprisings in neighbouring countries against repressive rulers. when the syrian government used deadly force to crush the dissent, protests demanding the president's resignation erupted nationwide.

the unrest spread and the crackdown intensified. opposition supporters took up arms, first to defend themselves and later to rid their areas of security forces. mr assad vowed to crush what he called "foreign-backed terrorism".

the violence rapidly escalated and the country descended into civil war. hundreds of rebel groups sprung up and it did not take long for the conflict to become more than a battle between syrians for or against mr assad. foreign powers began to take sides, sending money, weaponry and fighters, and as the chaos worsened extremist jihadist organisations with their own aims, such as the islamic state (IS) group and al-qaeda, became involved. that deepened concern among the international community who saw them as a major threat. syria's jurds, who want the right of self-government but have not fought mr assad's forces, have added another dimension to the conflict.

the united nations human rights office estimated last year that 306,887 civilians - 1.5% of the total pre-war population - were killed between march 2011 and march 2021 due to the conflict. it is said 143,350 civilian deaths were individually documented by various sources with detailed information, and that a further 163,537 deaths were estimated to have occurred using statistical techniques. at least 27,126 of those estimated to have been killed were children. the then-UN commissioner for human rights, michelle bachelet, stressed that the fatalities were the "direct result of war operations", adding: "this does not include the many, many more civilians who died due to the loss of access to healthcare, to food, to clean water and other essential human rights." the syrian observatory for human rights (SOHR), a UK-based monitoring group with a network of sources on the ground, had documented the deaths of 503,064 people by march 2023. it said at least 162,390 civilians had been killed, with the syrian government and its allies responsible for 139,609 of those deaths. the group estimated that the actual toll from the war was more than 613,400, with an additional 55,000 civilians believed to have died of torture in government-run prisons. another monitoring group, the violations documentation center, which relies on information from activists across the country, had documented 240,215 battle-related deaths, including 145,765 civilians, as of march 2023.

the government's key supporter has been russia while turkey, western powers and several gulf arab states have backed the opposition to varying degrees during the conflict.

russia - which had military bases in syria before the war - launched an air campaign in support of mr assad in 2015 that has been crucial in turning the tide of the war in the government's favour. the russian military says its strikes only target "terrorists" but activists say they regularly kill mainstream rebels and civilians.

the US, UK and France initially armed what they considered "moderate" rebel groups. but they have prioritised non-lethal assistance since jihadists became the dominant force in the armed opposition.

aUS-led global coalition has also carried out air strikes and deployed special forces in syria since 2014 to help an alliance of kurdish and arab militias called the syrian democratic forces (SDF) capture territory once held by IS militants in the north-east and stop the jihadist group rebuilding.

turkey is a major supporter of the opposition, but its focus has been on using rebel factions to contain the kurdish YPG militia that dominates the SDF, accusing it of being an extension of a banned kurdish rebel group in turkey.

turkish troops and allied rebels have seized stretches of territory along syria's northern border and intervened to stop an all-out assault by government forces on the last opposition stronghold of Idlib.

saudi arabia, which is keen to counter iranian influence, armed and financed the rebels at the start of the war. having refused to engage with president assad for more than a decade, it is now discussing how to facilitate syria's "return to the arab fold".

twelve years of war have inflicted immense suffering on the syrian people. in addition to the bloodshed, more than half of syria's pre-war population of 22 million have had to flee their homes. some 6.8 million are internally displaced, with more than two million living in tented camps with limited access to basic services. another 6 million are refugees or asylum-seekers abroad. neighbouring lebanon, jordan and turkey, which are hosting 5.3 million of them, have struggled to cope with one of the largest refugee exoduses in recent history. at the start of 2023, the UN said 15.3 million people inside syria were in need of some form of humanitarian assistance - an all-time high since the war began - and 12 million did not know where their next meal was coming from. the already dire humanitarian situation in north-western syria - the location of the last opposition stronghold - was made significantly worse by the huge earthquake that struck near the turkish city of gaziantep, about 80km (50 miles) from the syrian border, on 6 February 2023. more than 5,900 people were killed across Syria and another 8.8 million were affected, according to the UN. thousands of homes and critical infrastructure were destroyed, leaving many families without food, water and shelter. deliveries of life-saving aid to opposition-held areas were also delayed for days because of what a UN panel described as "shocking" failures by the warring parties as well as the international community. the disaster happened at a time when the prices of food and fuel in syria were already skyrocketing because of runaway inflation and the collapse of its currency, as well as the global crisis exacerbated by the war in ukraine. syria has also been one of the countries in the middle east worst affected by the covid-19 pandemic - although the true extent is not known because of limited testing - and is now also having to deal with a deadly cholera outbreak that was made worse by the earthquake. access to medical care is severely restricted for the sick and injured because only half of the country's hospitals are fully functional. despite their protected status, 601 attacks on at least 400 separate medical facilities had been documented by physicians for human rights as of february 2022, resulting in the deaths of 942 medical personnel. the vast majority of the attacks were blamed on government and russian forces. entire neighbourhoods and vital infrastructure across the country also remain in ruins. UN satellite analysis suggested that more than 35,000 structures were damaged or destroyed in aleppo city alone before it was recaptured by the government in late 2016. much of syria's rich cultural heritage has likewise been destroyed. all six of the country's unesco world heritage sites have been damaged significantly, with IS militants deliberately blowing up parts of the ancient city of palmyra. a UN commission of inquiry has concluded that the warring parties "have cumulatively committed almost every crime against humanity... and nearly every war crime applicable in a non-international armed conflict".

"syrians," a february 2021 report says, "have suffered vast aerial bombardments of densely populated areas; they have endured chemical weapons attacks and modern day sieges in which perpetrators deliberately starved the population along medieval scripts and indefensible and shameful restrictions on humanitarian aid".

HOW TO HELP

visit the websites [ save the children.org/ syria ] and [ islamic-relief.org /syria crises ]

8. LEBANON

lebanon is currently facing a deep economic crisis as a result of government corruption and financial debt. this is partly a repercussion of the lebanese civil war (1975-1990). during this time, the government piled up huge amounts of debt through corrupt and lavish spending. banks have now become unable to process transactions because the currency (lira) is crashing. this has left many unable to access funds, which are now worth only a fraction of their original value.

in recent years, the situation has only worsened with the pandemic completely shutting down tourism, previously an important source of income in lebanon's economy. this has left a large portion of the lebanese population impoverished and without access to basic necessities. for example, many people in lebanon now rely on private diesel generator operators to have sufficient electricity.

another event that worsened lebanon's current state is the explosion that happened in the port of Beirut in 2020, which killed over 200 people and left many without a home. over a year after the explosion, critics claim that the judicial investigation that should uncover what happened has been continuosly hindered by the country's political leaders. lebanon's current president, michael aoun, hasn't addressed these accusations, but he said no one will have political impunity if found guilty.

HOW TO HELP

visit [ savethechildren.org / lebanon ] and [ irusa.org /lebanon ]

9. AFGHANISTAN

even before the withdrawal of international forces and diplomatic missions and the takeover by the taliban in august 2021, afghanistan was one of the world's largest and most complex humanitarian emergencies (CHEs). more than two years after the withdrawal, and despite massive amounts of humanitarian assistance poured into the country, enormous humanitarian needs remain.

the 2023 afghanistan humanitarian needs Overview (HNO) says afghanistan is facing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis “with a very real risk of systemic collapse and human catastrophe.” while in past years humanitarian needs have been driven mainly by conflict, the key drivers of humanitarian need in 2023 include drought, climate change, protection threats (particularly for women and girls) and the economic crisis.

the UN 9ffice for the coordination of humanitarian affairs (UNOCHA) estimated at the beginning of 2023 that a record 28.3 million people will need humanitarian and protection assistance this year, up from 24.4 million in 2022 and 18.4 million in 2021. with 28.3 million people in need, afghanistan is the largest humanitarian crisis in the world. the 2023 afghanistan humanitarian response plan (HRP) requests $4.6 billion to reach 23.7 million people.

in addition to the political, social and economic shocks from conflict and the withdrawal of international forces, disaster risk is becoming an increasing driver of underlying need. a national drought was officially declared in june 2021 and is the worst in more than 30 years.

on oct. 7, 2023, two separate 6.3-magnitude earthquakes near herat in afghanistan’s northwest caused significant damage and killed thousands. another earthquake shook herat province on 9ct. 11, resulting in further damage. the herat earthquake response plan from UN and humanitarian partners asks for $93.6 million to support 114,000 earthquake-affected people in herat.

following the devastating June 2022 earthquake that hit eastern afghanistan, CDP hosted a webinar to provide funders with information about the intersection of a natural hazard disaster amid a humanitarian crisis. the insights and recommendations webinar panelists provided remain relevant.

in 2023, 28.3 million people will need life-saving assistance. humanitarian partners have prioritized 23.7 million people to receive multi-sectoral assistance in 2023.

according to WFP, nine out of 10 afghan families lacking adequate food and children and pregnant women are the hardest hit.

each year, the international rescue committee (IRC) releases a list of the 20 humanitarian crises expected to deteriorate the most over the next year. IRC’s 2023 watchlist puts afghanistan in the third spot due to widespread poverty, harsh winter conditions, disaster impacts and violence and exploitation against women and girls.

on average, 200,000 afghans are affected by disasters each year. from jan. 1, 2023 to oct. 5, 2023, 26,014 people were affected by disasters throughout afghanistan. this figure was before the deadly earthquakes on oct. 7 and oct. 11 in herat province, which affected more than 275,000 people. as of nov. 22, humanitarian actors had reached 242,400 affected people with assistance.

in 2022, humanitarian partners reached 25 million people with at least one form of assistance. yet, millions who received one form of assistance will continue to require multiple rounds of support in 2023 to survive.

humanitarian access constraints continue to impact the operational environment. in 2023, there has been a 21% spike in incidents reported by partners compared to the previous year, as of ict. 31.

the taliban’s ban on women working for NGOs and UN agencies in the country means assistance will not reach all targeted women and girls. as UN women survey of humanitarian partners released on feb. 8, 2023 showed that 93% of organizations saw an increased impact on their access to affected women.

decades of conflict and severe drought contributed to afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis, but economic shocks are a primary driver of the deteriorating situation.

according to the 2023 afghanistan HNO, “afghanistan’s economic crisis is widespread, with more than half of households experiencing an economic shock in the last six months.”

a study by the United Nations Development Programme in April 2023 found that “afghanistan’s economic output collapsed by 20.7 percent following the taliban takeover in 2021.” the study also says, “the edicts restricting the rights of women and girls, including a directive banning afghan women from working for the UN, directly affect economic productivity and may also impact the level of aid inflows.”

when the taliban assumed power in august 2021, the country faced daunting economic and development challenges, and recent political developments have pushed the country into an economic crisis.

according to the world bank, “rapiid reduction in international grant support, loss of access to offshore assets, and disruption to financial linkages are expected to lead to a major contraction of the economy, increasing poverty, and macroeconomic instability.”

before august 2021, afghanistan’s economy was 75% dependent on foreign assistance. after the taliban assumed power, most international assistance was cut off, which caused a drop in purchasing power. the U.S. renewed the blocking of afghanistan’s central bank’s foreign assets amounting to over $7 billion (Executive Order no. 14064). in april 2022, United Nations (UN) experts called on the U.S. government to unblock foreign assets to ease the humanitarian impact.

in august 2022, 32 afghan and international NGOs called for a clear roadmap to restore the afghan central bank’s essential functions and release afghanistan’s assets frozen abroad. however, western countries have not been ready to lift sanctions until the taliban sets up a more diverse government, permits girls to return to secondary school and allows independent control of the afghan central bank.

a significant development occurred in september 2022 when the U.S. said it will transfer $3.5 billion in afghan central bank assets into a new swiss-based trust fund to be used “for the benefit of the people of afghanistan.” the new trust fund was created after months of talks between the U.S., switzerland, other parties and the taliban. no funds will go to the afghan central bank. the unfreezing of afghan assets has been called for by humanitarians.

however, the mandate of the afghan fund does not include support for humanitarian assistance. in their january 2023 snapshot report of the afghan economy, ACAPS said the key functions of the fund include price and exchange rate stability, payment of world bank arrears, representing the Afghan Central Bank (DAB) in court, payment for some critical imports, assessment of the capacity of the DAB, and support to the third-party monitoring of DAB’s anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing systems.

more than one million people were estimated to be without work in august 2022. an FAO household survey released in may 2022 found that 26% of respondents lost employment. severe cash shortages continue to limit economic activity within banks and local markets. another alarming statistic is that people's debts have increased  both in terms of the number of people taking on debt (82% of all households) and the amount of debt (about 11% higher than the previous year).

in august 2022, dr. ramiz alakbarov, then the UN Deputy Special Representative in afghanistan, who is also the resident and humanitarian coordinator in the country, said, “without functional markets, without (an) operating banking sector, without investments in basic-level jobs, we will not be able to reverse the trends which we are observing now in afghanistan.”

HOW TO HELP

visit [ irusa.org ] and [ savethechildren.org /afghanistan ]

10. VENEZUELA

venezuela is engulfed in a political and economic crisis which has led to more than seven million people leaving the country since 2015. 

since 1999, venezuela has been run by two men from the same party. hugo chávez was president from 1999 to his death in 2013 and was succeeded by his right-hand man, nicolás maduro.

their socialist PSUV party has over the past two decades gained control of key institutions, including much of the judiciary, the electoral council and the supreme court.

as a result, the role of the president has become much more powerful and the system of checks and balances has been severely weakened.

not long after mr maduro was elected, global oil prices plummeted and venezuela - which relies almost entirely on oil revenue for its income - went into a seven-year recession.

inflation skyrocketed and shortages of basic goods became widespread.

waves of anti-government protests in 2014 and 2017 fizzled out after a police crackdown.

millions of venezuelans left the country to escape economic hardship and political repression. But despite growing discontent, mr maduro was re-elected in 2018 in a presidential election widely dismissed as neither free nor fair.

with the executive and the judiciary under the control of the PSUV, venezuela's divided opposition in january 2019 united behind the only major institution where they were still influential: the National Assembly and its speaker, juan guaidó.

arguing that mr maduro's re-election was not valid and the presidency was therefore vacant, mr guaidó, with the backing of the National Assembly, declared himself "interim president".

he predicted he would be governing from the presidential palace "within months".

and while more than 50 countries, including the US and the UK, recognised mr guaidó as venezuela's legitimate leader, venezuela's military stayed loyal to mr maduro.

mr maduro, with the continued support of china and russia, remained firmly in charge of the country.

but tightened US sanctions made it harder for the maduro government to sell oil and restricted its access to foreign currency.

wiith the economy in freefall, mr maduro in 2019 relaxed some of the strict foreign currency regulations brought in by chávez.

shortages eased as a result and in 2021, the economy started growing. But extreme poverty remains shockingly high and many of those without access to foreign currency continue to struggle.

disillusioned with the failure of juan guaidó to seize control of anything more than some venezuelan embassies and assets abroad, the majority of opposition parties withdrew their support from him in december 2022 and dissolved his "interim government".

they said that their aim remained to defeat mraduro, but argued that mr guaidó's rival government was no longer the way to go about it.

negotiations between opposition and government representatives - which have stalled on several occasions in the past - resumed in november 2022.

the opposition hopes they will lead to free and fair presidential elections being held in 2024, for which they plan to field a unity candidate to take on mr maduro.

HOW TO HELP

visit [ globalgiving.org / venezuela ] and [ donate.worldvision.org / venezuela relief fund ]

11. HAITI

the country has been in a state of electoral and constitutional turmoil since the assassination of the president, jovenel moïse, in 2021 at the hands of colombian mercenaries with unknown paymasters, but the immediate crisis can be traced back further.

haiti has not held functional elections since 2019 – and the country has been in a fragile state since the 2010 earthquake that killed up to 300,000 people. but moïse’s death in July 2021 – and a new earthquake the following month – sent the situation spiralling out of control.

moïse was replaced by an acting president, ariel henry, who is unelected and widely viewed as illegitimate. in september, the G9 gang coalition blockaded the main port and fuel terminal after henry caused fuel prices to double when he announced a cut to fuel subsidies – a development that brought the crisis to new heights. haiti is now experiencing its worst-ever famine, with 4.7 million people facing acute hunger.

at the same time it is impossible to understand the current situation without acknowledging the dark history of international interventions, including US occupation from 1915-1934, that have blighted haiti. “those interventions have shaped haiti,” smith said. “there’s a chain-link connection.”

long before the litany of recent disasters, he said, “the duvalier dictatorship [the rule of father and son françois, or “papa doc”, and jean-claude, or “baby doc”, duvalier from 1957-1986] destroyed the hopes of a functioning state that serves the nation."

gangs have a longstanding role in political life, and have operated in tandem with political actors since the 1950s to intimidate rivals and deliver votes. there are suggestions of oligarchic figures with ties to the drugs trade pulling the strings – but “many of them are not affiliated to anybody”, smith said.

“the international drug trade is a very important part of it, but that was only the beginning. now gangs have secured their power locally, it is very hard to see that any more powerful actor can control them. the situation has dissolved into the incomprehensible.”

there are almost 100 gangs in port-au-prince, many of them in loose alliances at war with rival groups. gangs control major roads and draw income from customs, water and electricity distribution, and even bus services. membership has become so desirable for some young men that some gangs now have waiting lists for new recruits (pdf).

the country’s army – disbanded in 1995 after years of military interference in politics – has been reestablished but stands at just 500 soldiers, while police also appear impotent.

the ongoing violence has forced the closure of hospitals and has been blamed in part for the re-emergence of cholera, as well as fuel shortages that only worsen the crisis. last month, the UN estimated 155,000 people had fled their homes – almost one in six of the city’s population.

HOW TO HELP

visit [ savethechildren.org/ haiti ]

12. ETHIOPIA

between 2020 and 2022, ethiopia fought a war with militants from its northernmost region of tigray, then under the control of the tigrayan people’s liberation front (TPLF). the conflict was one of the deadliest in recent world history and drew international attention for a preponderance of alleged war crimes, human rights abuses, and ethnic cleansing in tigray. the war formally ended in november 2022; tigray was left in ruins, and its capital was turned over to the federal government.

for decades before the war, the TPLF was a dominant political force in ethiopia. between 1991 and his death in 2012, tigrayan soldier-politician meles zenawi governed ethiopia as an autocracy with the backing of a TPLF-dominated coalition. the zenawi regime oversaw rapid development and increased the international prominence of ethiopia, but his government marginalized ethnic groups, including the oromo and amhara, to solidify government power. additionally, ethiopia was at war with eritrea [PDF] from 1998 to 2000. the war was followed by a nearly twenty-year-long frozen conflict, effectively paralyzing both countries politically and economically.

the TPLF continued to govern ethiopia after zenawi’s passing until 2018, when protests, especially among the oromo population, prompted the government to appoint abiy ahmed ali as the next prime minister. abiy, born in oromia, was heralded by international actors and ethiopians alike as the country’s new hope for peace and ethnic harmony. abiy promised early in his premiership to heal broken trust between the country’s ethnic groups and began to roll back restrictions on certain political freedoms. in 2019, he received the nobel peace prize for negotiating an end to ethiopia’s two-decade standoff with eritrea.

by 2020, ethnic relations within ethiopia once again began to deteriorate. multiple delays of long-promised national elections and the declaration of an extension on abiy ahmed’s first term as prime minister in june 2020 drew indignation from the TPLF. the tigray state council’s choice to hold local elections in defiance of federal orders further inflamed tensions. the elections ultimately solidified the TPLF’s control of the region. on november 4, 2020, abiy accused tigrayan troops of attacking a federal military camp in the tigrayan capital of mekelle and ordered ethiopian national defense Force (ENDF) troops north. this began a military operation known as the mekelle offensive, which escalated quickly as the ENDF pushed further into tigray, and the tigray defense force, or TDF, ramped up their response.

abiy first framed the offensive as a targeted operation against TPLF leadership. a communications blackout implemented at the outset of the conflict shuttered coverage of ground conditions, but media and UN officials began sounding the alarm about improper treatment of civilians, especially ethnic tigrayans, by december 2020. ethiopia’s neighbor and former adversary, eritrea, intervened in the conflict militarily on the side of the ethiopian government. after months of denying their presence, in spring 2021, prime minister abiy ahmed admitted that eritrean troops were fighting in tigray. 

in 2021, the United States characterized the war as an ethnic cleansing against tigrayans, and some NGOs raised concerns about the potential of genocide. in march 2021, the office of the UN high commissioner for human rights announced a joint probe with the ethiopian human rights commission (EHRC) to investigate alleged abuses and rights violations in tigray, although the impartiality and accuracy of the report [PDF] were called into question following its presentation at the United Nations.

tigrayan forces retook the regional capital of mekelle from the ENDF in june 2021. a month later, addis ababa announced the results of a national parliamentary election­—which prime minister abiy ahmed won in a landslide. the TPLF boycotted the election, and opposition leadership in parliament accused the abiy government of banning poll observers in some states. later in the summer of 2021, abiy called on all capable citizens to join the war against tigrayan forces as the conflict began to spill over into the afar and amhara regions, growing closer to addis ababa. in november 2021, tigrayan troops and allied oromo militants marched within eighty-five miles of the capital but were forced back north by ENDF forces.

after a series of failed efforts to negotiate a settlement, the TPLF and the Ethiopian central government signed a cessation of hostilities agreement on november 2, 2022, in pretoria, south africa. followed by implementation negotiations in nairobi, the agreement promised to disarm tigrayan troops, hand control of tigray to the ethiopian government, end the mekelle offensive, and permit full humanitarian access to tigray.

notably, the pretoria agreement does not explicitly mention eritrea, nor were eritrean representatives present at the negotiations. this omission raised international concern that eritrean troops would continue operations within ethiopia in spite of the agreement between the ethiopian government and TPLF. as of january 2023, displaced tigrayans reported that amhara and eritrean soldiers continued to occupy western tigray. the amhara have contested ownership of the area; the displaced population was informed in late 2023 that they would be returned to their land, and the political fate of the territory would be decided in a referendum.

in 2021 alone, 5.1 million ethiopians became internally displaced, a record for the most people internally displaced in any country in any single year at the time. thousands also fled to sudan and other countries in the region. by the time the pretoria agreement took effect, the tigray war and its associated humanitarian disaster had killed approximately 600,000 people. in late 2022, humanitarian groups were permitted to meaningfully operate in tigray for the first time since november 2020.

HOW TO HELP

visit [ savethechildren.org/ethiopia ] and [ irusa.org/ethiopia ]

13. SUDAN

the dramatic evacuation of international residents from sudan has been a top media headline in recent days, as military conflict spreads across the country. violence in and around the capital of khartoum has forced Concern, along with other NGOs, to suspend activities and evacuate non-national staff.

“this conflict couldn’t have come at a worse time for the people of sudan, who were already suffering terribly,” explains dominic macsorley, humanitarian ambassador for concern US. “the country is just facing into the ‘lean’ season — that time when the remainder of last year’s harvest is gone and this year’s crops have not yet matured. the fact that most humanitarian supports have been suspended and conflict is restricting movement leaves many people in a truly horrific situation.”

violence in sudan has been a fact of life for years

many people last followed sudan in the headlines back in 2019, when months of civilian protest led to a transitional government. since then, however, slowed progress on this front has left room for uncertainty and violence. (similar circumstances have fuelled the crisis in neighboring south sudan for more than a decade.) according to UNOCHA, an estimated 300,000 people were displaced by conflict in 2022 — with nearly 33,000 displaced in november alone due to fighting in west kordofan and central darfur.

at the beginning of this year, concern listed sudan as one of the world’s “forgotten” humanitarian crises due to this fragile balance of security and instability. unfortunately, it is once again front-page news due to the crisis escalating out of the spotlight.

one out of every three sudanese requires humanitarian aid

the protracted nature of the situation in sudan has led to dramatic increases in humanitarian aid. as of december 2022, 15.8 million sudanese required humanitarian assistance, approximately one out of every three people in the country. this represents a 10% increase in humanitarian need compared to december 2021.

those numbers are expected to rise dramatically after the last two weeks. as of earlier this week, over 22,000 civilians have fled the country—many to neighboring chad, as well as nearly 3,000 to south sudan. as peter van der auweraert, the south sudan representative for the UN’s international organization for migration, told the new york times earlier this week: “The people that get out first are the people that have the means,” indicating that thousands more will likely be stuck in the country with increasing needs.

this new wave of violence will affect the global refugee crisis in more ways than one

sudan is both one of the largest host countries for refugees (1.11 million as of january 2023), and one of the largest countries of origin for refugees (844,000 as of january 2023). in the first two weeks of fighting, more than 20,000 sudanese have crossed the border into Clchad, with the UNHCR estimating an additional 100,000 could follow in the coming days.

the knock-on effects go beyond sudanese refugees. many of the foreign refugees (especially from ethiopia, syria, and eritrea) currently in sudan are also in areas affected by fighting. with fewer resources than locals, they will face additional challenges in moving around or outside of the country (much in the same way that refugees living in ukraine dealt with additional challenges in moving to safety). these large displacements will also create additional pressure on host communities in countries like chad and south sudan, where resources are already tight. psychological support will also be a key necessity for those who have been forced to flee.

“day and night the fighting went on — to save their lives people moved and left everything behind,” says concern sudan country director, AKM musha, who like many of concern’s in-country staff was advised to leave khartoum for his own safety. “the journey to escape was very difficult…a very frightening and horrible experience.”

for those remaining in sudan, there is a catastrophic combination of challenges beyond violence

as ranked in the 2022 global hunger index, sudan is the 15th hungriest country in the world. food insecurity and malnutrition have run high in the country for decades due to the combined impacts of conflict, drought, locusts, and disease. the conflict in ukraine and COVID-19-related impacts have contributed to inflation rates in excess of 400%. “hospitals are not working, people cannot buy food, water is in short supply — everything has been eroded,” says musha.

carol morgan, concern’s director of international programs, adds that healthcare will be a key issue for the people of sudan. “THere are only enough health personnel to cover about 17% of the population,” she explains. With the added pressures of conflict, this could seriously affect ongoing health concerns in the country, such as diarrhea — an issue responsible for one out of every ten child mortalities.

humanitarian assistance is not guaranteed

while humanitarian organizations both international and local are designed to help in times of crisis, the safety of staff is the number-one priority. the focus of violence in khartoum has led to concern evacuating its 10 non-sudanese staff members from the country. over 150 local staff members are either internally displaced or sheltering at home with challenges like rolling blackouts the rule versus the exception.

this means that not everyone who requires humanitarian assistance at this time will be able to get the help they need. concern had been working with the ministry of health in 73 health facilities and last year treated over 200,000 children for malnutrition. in total, the sudan team had planned to reach over 500,000 people through a variety of humanitarian programs in 2023, vital work which has now been put on hold.

concern has called for an immediate end to hostilities in sudan, as well as for protections to be put in place to allow aid workers to provide essential community support. “we need the fighting to stop and humanitarian access to be restored or else sudan is facing a really disastrous situation,” says musha.

HOW TO HELP

visit [ savethechildren.org/sudan ] and [ irusa.org/sudan ]

14. SOMALIA

during a year that marked the 30th anniversary of the collapse of the somali state, domestic and international attention was focused on plans for the delayed parliamentary and presidential electoral process. political tensions stalled reform efforts key to advancing human rights in the country, while conflict-related abuses, insecurity, and humanitarian and health crises took a heavy toll on civilians. 

all parties to the conflict in somalia committed violations of international humanitarian law, some amounting to war crimes. the islamist armed group al-shabab conducted indiscriminate and targeted attacks on civilians and forcibly recruited children. Inter-clan and intra-security force violence killed, injured, and displaced civilians, as did sporadic military operations against al-shabab by somali government forces, troops from the african union mission in somalia (AMISOM), and other foreign forces. 

Federal and regional authorities continued to intimidate, attack, arbitrarily arrest, and at times prosecute journalists, including by using the country’s outdated penal code. Somalia continued to rely on military court proceedings that violated international fair trial standards; it did not hand over Al-Shabab cases from military to civilian courts.  

key legal and institutional reforms stagnated. the review of the country’s outdated penal code stopped; there was no movement on the passing of federal legislation on sexual offenses or on key child’s rights legislation. the government also failed to establish a national human rights commission; the appointment of commissioners has been pending since 2018.  

allegations that somali soldiers were trained in eritrea and deployed in ethiopia’s tigray conflict added to the political tensions. the disappearance of the former intelligence official, ikran Tahlil farah, reportedly missing since late june, led to a standoff between president mohammed abdullahi “farmajo” and prime minister mohamed hussein roble, including over the control of the country’s powerful national intelligence and security agency (NISA).  

attacks on civilians  

the united nations assistance mission in somalia (UNSOM) recorded at least 899 civilian casualties, including 441 killings, between late november 2020 and late july; a marked increase compared to the same reporting period the previous year. most were killed during targeted and indiscriminate al-shabab attacks using improvised explosive devices (IEDs), suicide bombings, and shelling, as well as assassinations.  

after the parliament extended the presidential term on april 25 by two years, armed confrontations between security forces linked to different political factions in various districts of mogadishu, the capital, resulted in the displacement of between 60,000 and 100,000 people, according to the United Nations.  

federal and regional military courts continued to sentence people to death and carry out executions despite serious due process concerns. puntland executed 21 men convicted by military courts of al-shabab membership and killings on june 27, in three separate locations.  

al-shabab fighters killed dozens of individuals it accused of working or spying for the government and foreign forces, often after unfair trials.  

the UN attributed six civilian casualties to AMISOM forces between late 2020 and late july. AMISOM established a board of inquiry into an August 10 incident involving ugandan soldiers who were ambushed by al-shabab fighters around golweyn, lower shabelle and responded by killing seven civilians. a ugandan court martial found five soldiers responsible for the killings, sentencing two to death. reports of civilian harm as a result of airstrikes in the gedo region increased.  

despite federal and regional investigations into the may 2020 massacre of seven health workers and a pharmacist in the village of gololey in balcad district, the outcome of these investigations remains unknown.   

sexual violence   

the UN reported an increase in incidents of sexual and gender-based violence, including of girls, which often resulted in the victims being killed.  

key legal reforms stalled, notably the passing of progressive sexual violence legislation at the federal level. the somali criminal code classifies sexual violence as an “offense against modesty and sexual honor” rather than a violation of bodily integrity; it also punishes same-sex relations. article 4(1) of the provisional constitution (2012), places sharia law above the constitution and it continues to be applied by courts in criminal cases. consequently, the death penalty for consensual same-sex conduct could be enforced. 

in puntland, the first region to pass a sexual offenses law, the UN reported on government interference and blocking of investigations into sexual violence incidents.  

abuses against Children  

children continue to bear a heavy burden of ongoing insecurity, conflict, and lack of key reforms in the country. all Somali parties to the conflict committed serious abuses against children, including killings, maiming, recruitment and use of child soldiers, and attacks on schools.  

somali federal and regional security forces unlawfully detained children, notably for alleged ties with armed groups, undermining government commitments to treat children primarily as victims. the government failed to put in place child rights compliant justice measures.  

the previous year, pending legal reforms sought to reduce the age of marriage, including a controversial draft law on sexual-intercourse related crimes—the status of which remained unknown—which would allow a child to marry at puberty regardless of their age.    

when the covid-19 pandemic started in early 2020, schools were closed or partially closed for 134 days, including several weeks in march and april 2021, affecting at least 1.2 million children. 

freedom of expression and association 

federal and regional authorities throughout somalia repeatedly harassed, arbitrarily arrested, and attacked journalists. moments of heightened tensions around the electoral process correlated with an uptick in incidents of harassment toward journalists.  

the UN and amnesty international reported an increase during the first quarter of the year in restrictions on journalist in puntland. in march, the military appeals court in puntland sentenced kilwe adan farah, a journalist, to three years in prison under the outdated penal code for his coverage of anti-government protests. earlier, a military court sentenced him to three months, despite the judge reportedly acknowledging a lack of evidence. the journalist received a presidential pardon.  

several journalists covering protests in mogadishu were temporarily detained and harassed. on september 5, bashiir mohamud, producer at goobjoog media, was filmed being dragged through the streets by somali police while he covered protests demanding justice for the killing of a former intelligence officer, ikran tahlil farah. he was then held for a few hours at the hodan police station.  

al-shabab claimed responsibility for the march 1 killing of journalist jamal farah adan in galkayo.  

displacement and access to humanitarian assistance 

over 2.6 million somalis are internally displaced, increasingly because of conflict. the UN said over 570,000 people were displaced between january and august 2021. droughts, flooding, and desert locust swarm—increasing in intensity and frequency due to climate change—exacerbated communities’ existing vulnerabilities and contributed to displacement. the UN and Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) reported that between january and august, droughts and floods displaced over 90,000 and 49,000 people respectively. tens of thousands of internally displaced people were forcibly evicted, notably in mogadishu.    

nearly 3.5 million people were expected to face acute food insecurity and need emergency food aid in the last quarter of the year.  

humanitarian agencies continued to face serious access challenges due to conflict, targeted attacks on aid workers, generalized violence, restrictions imposed by parties to the conflict, including arbitrary “taxation” and bureaucratic hurdles, and physical constraints due to extreme weather. al-shabab continued to impose blockades on  some government-controlled towns, notably the town of hudur, and occasionally attacked civilians who broke them. 

an Amnesty International report documented somalia’s inadequate response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and highlighted the chronic underfunding of the country’s health system.  

HOW TO HELP

visit [ rescue.org/ somalia ], [savethechildren.org/somalia ] and [ irusa.org/somalia ]

15. BURKINA FASO

the world’s fastest-growing humanitarian crisis is currently unfolding in burkina faso.

nearly 2 million people need shelter after being forced to flee their homes due to extremist violence.

burkina faso is under threat from extremist attack in the sahel, a belt of semi-arid land south of the sahara desert.

less than ten years ago, burkina faso seemed like a beacon of stability in west africa. in 2015 the country held its first democratic election ever, paving the way to what seemed like a bright future.

but since then burkina faso has seen an increase in violence from jihadist groups, spreading from mali. armed groups quickly started expanding, crossing borders and setting up local groups across the sahel region – including burkina faso, mali and niger.

since 2019, insecurity has reached devastating levels and the number of burkinabe people fleeing violence has skyrocketed.

right now, burkina faso is one of the fastest-growing displacement crises in the continent.

according to the UN, more than one in every 20 people are forced to flee the violence.

burkina faso is a landlocked country situated in west africa.

the country is surrounded by mali to the north and west, niger to the northeast, benin to the southeast, and côte d’Ivoire, ghana, and togo to the south.

its capital, ouagadougou, saw a horrific terrorist attack at the beginning of 2016 which left 28 people dead, and 56 people injured.

the central sahel region, which includes the countries of burkina faso, mali and niger, is facing one of the fastest-growing displacement crises in the world.

yet, it is one of the most forgotten.

it is estimated that over 3 million people have been forced to flee their homes and at least 29 million are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance.

the sahel region of africa is a 3,860-kilometre arc-like land mass lying to the immediate south of the sahara desert and stretching from east to west across the breadth of the african continent.

families started fleeing the central sahel region in 2011, after a violence outbreak in northern mali.

increased displacement was reinforced by poverty, food insecurity, unemployment and the presence of armed groups. climate change is also a challenge for families trying to flee.

HOW TO HELP

visit [ savethechildren.org/burkina faso ] or [ friendsofburkinafaso.org ]

16. JAMMU AND KASHMIR

as the sun rises over the picturesque landscape of kashmir, it’s easy to believe that all is well in the region. but beneath the scenic beauty is a harsh and unsettling reality — composed of a military occupation, oppression of the entire population and expression of fear, loathing and anger by the people of kashmir. the picture that the Indian government tries to paint — of normalcy and development in occupied jammu and kashmir — is a myth.

for the last seven decades, kashmir has been the epicenter of a bitter dispute between india and pakistan in which the people in jammu are an integral party. to resolve the conflict, the united nations security council adopted��resolution 47 in 1948, and more than a dozen subsequent resolutions, stipulating that the final disposition of the state of jammu and kashmir would be decided by its people through a free and impartial plebiscite conducted under the auspices of the UN. this was accepted by india and pakistan and, in accordance with article 25 of the UN charter, both parties are obligated to implement these resolutions.

but this saturday, aug. 5, marks four years of india’s unilateral actions to consolidate its occupation of illegally indian occupied jammu and kashmir (IIOJK) and imposing what India’s leaders have ominously called a “final solution” for kashmir. to do so, india has resorted to a series of illegal actions, gross and consistent violations of human rights and other crimes that continue to this day.

india increased its military deployment in IIOJK to 900,000 troops right before aug. 5, 2019. this is the densest occupation in recent history — with one soldier for every eight kashmiri men, women and children. this massive force has perpetrated a vicious campaign of repressive actions, including extrajudicial killings of innocent kashmiris in fake encounters; custodial killings and “cordon-and-search” operations; use of pellet guns to kill, maim and blind peaceful protestors; abduction and enforced disappearances; and “collective punishments,” with the destruction and burning of entire villages and urban neighborhoods.

this brutal campaign is driven by the ideology of “hindutva,” which propagates the religious and ethnic supremacy of hindus and hate against muslims. noting this pattern, genocide watch has warned that “the indian government’s actions in kashmir have been an extreme case of persecution and could very well lead to genocide.”

to suppress the voice of the kashmiri people, indian authorities have used censorship and surveillance for decades in the occupied territory. since august 2019, information control has been fully institutionalized. journalists, lawyers, human rights defenders and the entire kashmiri political leadership are routinely incarcerated, beaten, humiliated, harassed and even accused of “terrorism” for reporting the human rights violations in IIOJK.

there is only one normality: the normalization of violence. generations have grown up witnessing violence, insecurity and trauma. numerous human rights organizations, international bodies and independent reports have documented use of rape, sexual assault and harassment perpetrated by Indian security forces against kashmiri civilians, particularly women as a weapon of war. emergency laws, such  as the 1990-armed forces (special powers), have  created an environment of  complete impunity for indian security forces.

to extinguish the ethno-religious identity of kashmiris, historical sites have been destroyed and damaged. one of the most troubling aspects of the destruction of cultural heritage is the demolition of religious sites, particularly mosques, which inflicts deep emotional wounds on the muslim population.

in a classic settler-colonial project, india has initiated illegal demographic changes in the occupied territory, grossly violating international law, including the fourth geneva convention. this is central to its plan to convert IIOJK’s muslim majority into a hindu majority territory, to drown out the demand for freedom and self-determination. new “domicile rules” have been introduced, and more than four million fake domicile certificates have been issued to hindus from across india to settle in occupied jammu and kashmir. the land and properties of kashmiris are also being confiscated for military and other official use.

all the measures taken by India in the last four years are blatant violations of international law, including the relevant security council resolutions, specifically resolution 122 (1957). therefore, all the actions taken by India on and after aug. 5, 2019 are not only illegal but, ipso facto, null and void.

to justify its occupation and oppression, india has sought for decades, and particularly since 9/11, to portray the kashmiri freedom struggle as “terrorism.” likewise, to delegitimize the indigenous kashmiri struggle for self-determination, india falsely alleges that it is instigated by pakistan. to expose india’s falsehood, pakistan has proposed expanded patrolling by the UN military observer group in india and pakistan (UNMOGIP) along the line of control in jammu and kashmir. however, india refuses to allow the UN mission to patrol the line of control and to expand it. despite numerous attempts, india continues to deny access to jammu and kashmir to the office of high commissioner for human rights and other UN agencies as well as other human rights and humanitarian organizations and international media.

pakistan desires peaceful relations with all its neighbors, including india. pakistan has responded with responsibility and restraint to india’s repeated provocations. on the other hand, india continues to resort to aggressive rhetoric and repeated threats of the use of force against pakistan, even under the nuclear overhang. the onus is on india to create conditions that are conducive for a meaningful dialogue to resolve the jammu and kashmir dispute. to this end, india must:

• stop all human rights violations in jammu and kashmir

• halt and reverse its illegal demographic changes there

• reverse the illegal and unilateral measures imposed on and after aug. 5, 2019

• grant access to international observers, including human rights mechanisms of the UN and international media, to observe worsening human rights situation on the ground

the international community must play a proactive role obliging india to respect the human rights of the people of kashmir and to work toward a peaceful, inclusive resolution of the conflict. peace in south asia will be possible only when the jammu and kashmir dispute is resolved. the security council and the UN secretary-general must make concerted efforts, as empowered by the UN charter, to promote a peaceful settlement of the jammu and kashmir dispute, according to the relevant UN security council resolutions and wishes of the kashmiri people.

preventive measures to stop abuses in IIOJK and to promote global accountability is both a moral imperative and a collective human rights responsibility. millions of kashmiris have suffered for too long. to end their plight, they demand a peaceful resolution to the conflict. it is time to make peace a new normal.

HOW TO HELP

visit [ pennyappeal.org/ kashmir ] and [ standwithkashmir.org ]

17. UYGHUR CRISIS

the chinese government has reportedly arbitrarily detained more than a million muslims in reeducation camps since 2017. most of the people who have been detained are uyghur, a predominantly turkic-speaking ethnic group primarily in china’s northwestern region of xinjiang. beyond the detentions, yyghurs in the region have been subjected to intense surveillance, forced labor, and involuntary sterilizations, among other rights abuses. 

the united states and several other foreign governments have described china’s actions in xinjiang as genocide, while the UN human rights office said that the violations could constitute crimes against humanity. chinese officials have said that they have not infringed on uyghurs’ rights and claimed that they closed the reeducation camps in 2019. however, international journalists and researchers have documented an ongoing system of mass detention throughout the region using satellite images, individual testimonies, and leaked chinese government documents.

when did mass detentions of muslims start?

an estimated eight hundred thousand to two million uyghurs and other muslims, including ethnic kazakhs and uzbeks, have been detained since 2017, according to international researchers and U.S. government officials [PDF]. the chinese government calls the facilities “vocational education and training centers;” the most common terms used by international media organizations and researchers are reeducation camps, internment camps, and detention camps. some activists describe them as concentration camps. 

outside of the camps, the eleven million uyghurs living in xinjiang—officially called the xinjiang uyghur autonomous region—have continued to suffer from a decades-long crackdown by chinese authorities.

experts estimate that reeducation efforts started in xinjiang in 2014 and were drastically expanded in 2017. beginning that year, they documented the construction of new reeducation camps and expansion of existing facilities for mass detention. reuters journalists, observing satellite imagery, found that thirty-nine of the camps almost tripled in size between april 2017 and august 2018; they covered a total area roughly the size of 140 soccer fields. similarly, analyzing local and national budgets over the past few years, germany-based xinjiang expert adrian zenz found that construction spending on security-related facilities in xinjiang increased by 20 billion yuan (around $2.96 billion) in 2017. 

in late 2019, xinjiang’s governor said that people detained in the reeducation camps had “graduated.” journalists found that several camps were indeed closed. but the following year, researchers at the australian strategic policy institute (ASPI) identified [PDF] more than 380 suspected detention facilities using satellite images. they found that china refashioned some lower-security reeducation camps into formal detention centers or prisons; expanded existing detention centers; and constructed new, high-security detention centers throughout xinjiang. (chinese officials have said that ASPI is an anti-china tool funded by australia and the united states.) instead of detaining people in reeducation camps, authorities have increasingly used the formal justice system to imprison people for years. In 2022, human rights watch reported that half a million people had been prosecuted since 2017, according to xinjiang government figures. the associated press found that in one county, an estimated one in twenty-five people had been sentenced to prison on terrorism-related charges, all of them uyghurs.

what has happened in the reeducation camps?

most people detained in the reeducation camps were never charged with crimes and had no legal avenues to challenge their detentions. the detainees seem to have been targeted for a variety of reasons, according to media reports, including traveling to or contacting people from any of the twenty-six countries china considers sensitive, such as turkey and afghanistan; attending services at mosques; having more than three children; and sending texts containing Quranic verses. often, their only crime is being muslim, human rights groups say, adding that many uyghurs have been labeled as extremists simply for practicing their religion. 

information on what happened in the camps remains limited, but many detainees who have since fled china described harsh conditions. the UN human rights office released a report [PDF] in 2022 based on interviews with dozens of people, including twenty-six individuals who were detained, that found “patterns of torture or other forms of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment” in the camps between 2017 and 2019. 

the UN report affirmed previous findings by international journalists, researchers, and rights organizations. various exposés showed that detainees were forced to pledge loyalty to the CCP and renounce Islam, as well as sing praises for communism and learn mandarin. some people reported prison-like conditions, with cameras and microphones monitoring their every move and utterance. others said they were tortured and subjected to sleep deprivation during interrogations. Women have shared stories of sexual abuse, including rape.

some released detainees contemplated suicide or witnessed others kill themselves.

detention also disrupted families. children whose parents were sent to the camps were often forced to stay in state-run orphanages. many uyghur parents living outside of china faced a difficult choice: return home to be with their children and risk detention, or stay abroad, separated from their children and unable to contact them.

what do chinese officials say about the camps?

government officials first denied the camps’ existence. by late 2018, they started acknowledging that there were “vocational education and training centers” in xinjiang. they publicly stated that the camps had two purposes: to teach mandarin, chinese laws, and vocational skills, and to prevent citizens from becoming influenced by extremist ideas, to “nip terrorist activities in the bud,” according to a government report. pointing out that xinjiang has not experienced a terrorist attack since december 2016, officials claimed the camps have prevented violence.

as global condemnation of the abuses has grown, chinese officials and state media have worked to discredit reports on xinjiang using a range of tactics, including disseminating disinformation and harassing activists. they have repeated a narrative that “anti-china forces” in the united states and other western countries are spreading “vicious lies.” beijing tried to prevent the UN human rights office from releasing its report. after its release, chinese officials described it as false information and published a rebuttal describing how foreign governments and organizations “spread numerous rumors and lies” about xinjiang.

why is china targeting uyghurs in xinjiang?

chinese officials are concerned that uyghurs hold extremist and separatist ideas, and they viewed the camps as a way of eliminating threats to china’s territorial integrity, government, and population. 

xinjiang has been claimed by china since the chinese communist party (CCP) took power in 1949. some uyghurs living there refer to the region as east turkestan and argue that it ought to be independent from china. xinjiang takes up one-sixth of china’s landmass and borders eight countries, including afghanistan, pakistan, and kazakhstan.

HOW TO HELP

visit [ uhrp.org ] and [ saveuighur.org ]

18. THE REPUBLIC OF CONGO

the democratic republic of congo (DRC) is a country rich in resources, yet fraught with conflict and violence. the country is currently experiencing the largest displacement crisis in africa.

many of its people have not seen peace in more than 20 years.

the democratic republic of congo (DRC) is host to one of the world’s most complex and long-standing humanitarian crises, centered particularly in the east of the country. More than 2.1 million people were forced to flee their homes in 2017 alone — equivalent to an average of 50 families fleeing every hour, every day.

there are currently more than 100 different armed groups vying for territory and control in eastern DRC. this conflict is causing massive displacement and urgent humanitarian needs as families flee their homes for safety.

the armed conflict and insecurity has displaced 4.5 million people within the country. 13.1 million people need humanitarian assistance — 5.6 million more than in 2017. over the last year with intensified fighting, the humanitarian situation has dramatically worsened.

the rise of ebola has made the situation even more dire.

yes, ebola is endemic to DRC. the country is currently battling its tenth ebola outbreak, which has already killed more than 1,500 people. it is now the worst ebola outbreak in DRC’s history. over 50 percent of the total cases have occurred in the past three months.

on july 17, the world health organization declared the ebola outbreak in DRC a "public health emergency of international concern" (PHEIC). previous PHEICs include swine flu in 2009, polio in 2014, ebola in 2014 and the zika virus in 2016.

“We hope that [this] declaration by the WHO will translate into urgent and practical action, including more funding from international donors,” said laura miller, mercy corps’ acting country director in DR Congo. “every day, women, men and children are dying of the ebola virus and it is becoming too easy to forget that the ever-climbing case numbers are people.”

this particular outbreak is happening in the densely populated and conflict-affected provinces of north kivu and ituri, making it more difficult and dangerous to access affected people and areas.

a previous ebola outbreak in 2018 affected 54 people and resulted in 33 deaths.

what is the kivu conflict?

the conflict in north and south kivu began in 1996 in eastern congo in the aftermath of the rwandan genocide. the conflict involves numerous armed actors, including the DRC military, foreign rebel groups such as the democratic forces for the liberation of rwanda and allied defence forces of uganda and more than 100 local armed groups. due to this ongoing fighting, DRC is currently home to the largest UN peacekeeping force in the world, consisting of 21,000 people.

is there still war in DRC?

not technically. but there is still ongoing conflict, insecurity and a lack of effective governance. there are now more than 100 armed groups vying for territory and control in eastern DRC. the current president, joseph kabila, has been in position since 2001 following the assassination of his father, laurent kabila. the presidential election in december 2018 has thrown the country into further turmoil. in its 58 years of independence from belgium, the DRC has never had a peaceful political transition.

how densely populated is the democratic republic of congo?

DRC is the size of western durope and the second-largest country in africa. its population of 80 million people is spread throughout the country, with 40 percent of people living in urban areas. cities in eastern congo, like goma and bukavu, have been experiencing an influx of people fleeing violence from the more rural areas. people are seeking safety and security, and new opportunities to earn an income, as the conflict has forced many of them off their land.

this escalating displacement, coupled with resource mismanagement, is putting increasing pressure on the cities’ services. to respond to these needs, we’ve developed an integrated water initiative to improve access to water for the most vulnerable citizens of goma and bukavu. it also aims to provide equitable access to water for all.

how wealthy is the democratic republic of congo?

the DRC has vast human and natural resources, which could, arguably, make it one of the richest countries in the world. this central african country is home to the world’s largest reserves of coltan, used in mobile phones and electric cars, as well as significant quantities of the world’s cobalt and copper, as well and diamonds, gold and many other minerals.

yet, because of the ongoing conflict, poor governance and a lack of infrastructure, the congolese people are not benefiting from this immense wealth. in fact, in 2019, DRC will become the country with the second highest number of people living below the poverty line.

who is affected by the conflict in DRC?

in the conflict-ridden eastern part of the country, women and children are often most affected by the conflict, as is the case with many crises. more than 2 million children suffer from severe acute malnutrition. one in 10 women and girls experienced sexual violence in 2016. in some cases, women and their children have no choice but to flee the violence and hunger. women often leave their homes with very little but their children and the clothes they were wearing. men too are frightened of being killed or forced to join armed groups.

HOW TO HELP

visit [ savethechildren.org/ democratic republic of congo ] and [ ngocongo.org ]

19. WEST PAPUA

ever since the invasion of west papua over fifty years ago, the Indonesian security forces have committed a never ending catalogue of extreme human rights violations.

over 500,000 civilians have been killed in a genocide against the indigenous population. thousands more have been raped, tortured, imprisoned or ‘disappeared’ after being detained. basic human rights such as freedom of speech are denied and papuans live in a constant state of fear and intimidation.

genocide

almost all papuans will be able to tell you stories of friends or family who have been murdered. a paper prepared by the yale law school for the indonesian human rights campaign in 2004 found “in the available evidence a strong indication that the indonesian government has committed genocide against the west papuans”.

the use of torture by the Indonesian security forces against the indigenous papuan population is widespread.

there is much documented evidence of this endemic behaviour and in recent years video footage (captured as ‘trophy footage’ by indonesian soldiers) has been leaked and broadcast on international news channels such as al jazeera and channel 4 news.

rape

sexual assault and rape has been repeatedly used as a weapon by the indonesian military and police.

in a public report to the U.N. commission on human rights in 1999, the special rapporteur on violence against women concluded that the indonesian security forces used rape “as an instrument of torture and intimidation” in west papua, and “torture of women detained by the indonesian security forces was widespread”.

the robert f. Kennedy memorial centre for human rights prepared a full report on “rape and other human rights abuses by the indonesian military in iran jaya (west papua), indonesia”.

freedom of expression

the basic rights to freedom of expression are almost completely denied in west papua. anyone expressing any criticism of indonesian rule and in particular aspirations for west papuan independence can expect to be persecuted by the police and imprisoned.

recently, leading human rights organizations kontraS papua and the commission for the disappeared and the victims of violence, published a report on the increasing tendency of the indonesian state to charge people peacefully expressing their desire for political independence with treason. they state:

'in 2010, cases with a political dimension have characteristically become ensnared by the charge of makar, the indonesian word for treason or rebellion… altogether in 2010, 32 people were charged or investigated in connection with article 106 on makar.’

political prisoners

yusak pakage, sentenced to 10 years in prison for attending a west papua flag raising ceremony.

there are currently hundreds of west papuan political prisoners being held in west papua and across indonesia. many are serving long prison terms for peacefully protesting against indonesian rule or for being members of organisations calling for west papuan independence.

filep karma is a particular case in point, serving a 15 year jail sentence simply for raising the west papuan national flag. he is an amnesty international prisoner of conscience. conditions in the prisons are often very poor and maltreatment of prisoners is common with many being beaten and tortured while detained. prisoners have often developed severe health problems and been denied access to medical care.

lives lived in fear

papuans return to find their homes in burnt to the ground by the Indonesian army following a ‘sweeping operation’

papuans return to find their homes in burnt to the ground by the indonesian army

many papuans live in a constant state of fear and intimidation. people living in villages across west papua can at any time be subject to military sweeping operations.

under the pretence of looking for insurgents, the military have repeatedly swept through entire rural areas killing arbitrarily and burning whole villages to the ground, destroying subsistence food crops and livestock and forcing people to flee into the forests where they are prone to starvation and disease.

impunity

imdonesian special army force (KOPASSUS) have committed widespread human rights abuses in west papua

despite public statements that the Indonesian government is improving its human rights record, the situation on the ground seems very different. there are often limited or no investigations into human rights abuses and if any discipline is handed out it is normally of little significance to the perpetrators of the abuses. amnesty international states:

“impunity for human rights violations is commonplace. accountability mechanisms to deal with police abuse remain weak, and reports of torture by members of the security forces often go unchecked and unpunished. many victims of past human rights violations in papua are still awaiting justice.”

access to journalists and NGOs

west papua is currently off limits to international journalists. if discovered without permission they are arrested and deported by the Indonesian authorities. some have even been attacked and imprisoned.

it is clear that Indonesian authorities will stop at nothing to keep the ongoing genocide they are directing in west papua out of the international media agenda. west papua has also become impossible to operate in for many NGOs. in 2010 the international red cross were expelled, and in 2012 peace brigades international were forced to leave. International human rights organisations such as amnesty and human rights watch are also denied access to west papua.

HOW TO HELP

visit [ freewestpapua.org ] and [ freepapuamovement.org ]

20. ARMENIA

azerbaijan launched "anti-terrorist activities" in the nagorno-karabakh region on tuesday, saying it wanted to restore constitutional order and drive out what it said were armenian troops, a move that could foreshadow a new war.

armenia and azerbaijan have already fought two wars over karabakh in the three decades since the soviet union they were both members of collapsed.

here is a look at the history of the conflict and the latest developments.

WHAT IS NAGORNO-KARABAKH?

nagorno-karabakh, known as artsakh by armenians, is a mountainous region at the southern end of the karabakh mountain range, within azerbaijan. it is internationally recognised as part of azerbaijan, but its 120,000 inhabitants are predominantly ethnic armenians. they have their own government which is close to armenia but not officially recognised by armenia or any other country.

armenians, who are christian, claim a long presence in the area, dating back to several centuries before christ. azerbaijan, whose inhabitants are mostly turkic muslims, also claims deep historical ties to the region, which over the centuries has come under the sway of persians, turks and russians. bloody conflict between the two peoples goes back more than a century.

under the soviet union, nagorno-karabakh became an autonomous region within the republic of azerbaijan.

FIRST KARABAKH WAR

as the soviet union crumbled, the first karabakh war (1988-1994) erupted between armenians and their azeri neighbours. about 30,000 people were killed and more than a million displaced. most of those were azeris driven from their homes when the armenian side ended up in control of nagorno-karabakh itself and swathes of seven surrounding districts.

44-DAY WAR IN 2020

in 2020, after decades of intermittent skirmishes, azerbaijan began a military operation that became the second karabakh war, swiftly breaking through armenian defences. it won a resounding victory in 44 days, taking back the seven districts and about a third of nagorno-karabakh itself.

the use of drones bought from turkey and israel was cited by military analysts as one of the main reasons for azerbaijan's victory. at least 6,500 people were killed.

russia, which has a defence treaty with armenia but also has good relations with azerbaijan, negotiated a ceasefire.

the deal provided for 1,960 russian peacekeepers to guard the territory's lifeline to armenia: the road through the "lachin corridor", which armenian forces no longer controlled.

PEACE TALKS

analysts say successive rounds of talks, mediated variously by the european union, the united states and russia, have brought the two sides closer to a permanent peace treaty than they have been for years, but a final settlement remains elusive. the most sensitive issue is the status of the 120,000 ethnic armenians in karabakh, whose rights and security armenia says must be guaranteed. prime minister nikol pashinyan has said armenia recognises the sovereignty and territorial integrity of azerbaijan, but baku says it is not certain the assertion was made in good faith and accuses armenia of fuelling separatism.

HUMANITARIAN CRISIS

in december 2022 azerbaijani civilians identifying themselves as environmental activists began blocking the lachin corridor, and in april 2023 azerbaijan set up an official checkpoint, saying it was preventing weapons smuggling. the flow of people and goods between armenia and nagorno-karabakh was largely cut off. the united states bemoaned the "rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation".

this week, the international committee of the red cross (ICRC) was able to make simultaneous aid deliveries via the lachin corridor and a separate road linking karabakh to the azerbaijani city of aghdam.

despite that, tensions have risen sharply this month, with armenia and azerbaijan accusing each other of building up troops.

HOW TO HELP

visit [ armeniafund.org ]