#about how people at my school and how people in agriculture talk about them

[vibinwiththefrogs]

The fact that generally speaking white Americans consider Latino/Hispanic people to be lazy when literally our entire food system relies on migrant workers and imports from Latin America has to be one of the greatest cultural brainwashes in this country.

[mesetacadre]

The whole of Korea is thus what is called “iron-curtained” country. But who, one wonders put the curtain up? After I applied for a visa to North Korea and got it, I learned that the big American agencies did not want the news. They told me flatly that they preferred to get the tales of the Soviet zone from the refugees who ran away from it, which is about like getting one’s facts about London from Berlin during the war. They assured me that I myself would get no real facts in the Soviet zone, but would be watched and handicapped at every turn. It is therefore necessary to state first how I got my facts in North Korea. When I reached the airport in Pyongyang, the capital, a courteous Russian major of the army’s press department offered me his services in getting about. He arranged a room for me in a hotel with western style beds and food and was useful for first routine contacts. Then I told him that too much guidance would invalidate my observations, and that I wanted to go around alone among Koreans. He got the point; thereafter I made my own plans. I travelled from coast to coast across the country, visiting villages, industrial plants, rest homes of the social insurance system. I picked up interpreters where I found them; some had learned English in American missionary schools. I talked freely to farmers, workers, factory managers, women, writers, officials. I got my facts entirely from Koreans, all of whom seemed glad to talk and unconstrained. If and when I met Russians they usually declined to comment on Korean affairs, saying: “It is the Koreans’ country; ask them.” I had freer and closer contact with Korean people in the Russian zone than any correspondent has reported, from the American zone. My strongest impression was that the Koreans seemed to think that they were running things. They were even naive about it. Again and again I was told that the “democratic government,” the universal suffrage, the land reform, the expanding agriculture, industry and education was the work, as one farmer put it, “of our own hands.” The Russians, they insisted, were just there because of a treaty with the Americans, and only to give advice. “The Russians liberated us from the Japanese,” said one, “but we Koreans did all the rest.”

In North Korea: First Eye-Witness Reports, Anna Louise Strong, 1949

[msperfectsheep-posts]

Ask Meme

I was tagged by @rosencrantzsguildenstern for this ask meme, so why not!

Do you make your bed?

Uhhhh well. Sort of. I definitely make it any time I expect I'm going to have company, but on a weekday when I'm the only one in my dorm room? Nah. I didn't make it when I had a roommate either unless I thought she was going to have company (but she never warned me in advance for that so LMAO)

What's your favorite number?

I'm a lucky 7 kind of gal, but I also really jive with 36 and 81. My factors of 9 <3 <3 <3 If I have to pick one, it's always going to be 7 though

What is your job?

Right now, I work for the US Department of Agriculture! I've worked some other random jobs though, such as a waitress at a high-end retirement home and an assistant at a local hospital

If you could go back to school, would you?

Yes. Absolutely. I would reduce how many classes I take (because haha I am at 22 credit hours right now :')) but I love learning! I don't love all the pomp and circumstance of academia, but I've considered becoming a teacher several times as a career option and I actually have taught in a professional setting before. School's a love of mine that even all the stresses I've put myself through hasn't fully been killed

Can you parallel park?

Yep! My city almost never requires it because it's a newer one and street parking is only really used in our tiny downtown or in neighborhoods, but I can do it!

A job you had that would surprise people?

Uhhhh I think my current job is that, LOL! But even then, once I explain the details of my job, people seem to think it fits me pretty well :)

Do you think aliens are real?

I think that somewhere in space, there's something that could be considered life, but we can't agree if viruses are living, so I doubt that whatever could be "life" in another part of space would fit our current definitions! Evolution is already fucked enough as is, so accidentally going down any path that resembles what happened on Earth feels pretty unlikely to me

Can you drive a manual car?

Yes! I practiced with my grandpa's old car, though I also stalled a few times LOL so I'm not GOOD, but I can do it! With more practice I think I would be fine

What's your guilty pleasure?

I'm not really sure? I'm not really guilty about any of my pleasures because they're all pretty vanilla? In my household it's definitely mayo though. No one in my household likes mayo and I usually have to deal with Bullying of the highest degree if I want to use it when I'm eating with my sister and parents

Tattoos?

Nope! And I don't want to get them either. I have an irrational thing of permanently adding things to my body to the point where I had a surgery to remove a part of my flesh instead of having a tiny metal rod inserted in me. Tattoos are filed under the same "body modification" ick mentally

Favorite Color?

A soft lilac! I also really like the darker, desaturated greens, but purple is my eternal love

Favorite type of music?

Things that lean more into the rock side of things! I like harsher sounds, faster tempos, that sort of thing, but also my music taste is literally all over the place. It really really REALLY is a case-by-case basis but if I had to say anything, most Paramore songs are ones I love

Do you like puzzles?

It depends on the puzzle! I like logic and math puzzles, and mysteries are fun as well, but a jigsaw is something I'll only really do if I'm with friends or exceedingly bored

Any phobias?

Well, there's that body modification one I mentioned earlier! I also have an irrational fear of beetles and an even more irrational fear of specifically dropping a kitchen knife into my foot! Yowch!

Favorite childhood sport?

I didn't really play sports as a kid, but if I had to pick one, probably swimming? My current favorite sport is definitely dancing, though (folk and ballroom!)

Do you talk to yourself?

Yep! I use both the singular and plural first person pronouns "I" and "We" when I talk to myself. Generally, I use "I" when I'm more passively thinking, and "We" when I'm being metacognizant.

What movie(s) do you adore?

Back to the Future (1985) by Robert Zemekis my BELOVED!!!! I cannot recommend it enough, and I made a quote from it my senior quote in high school. I also really love The Sixth Sense (1999) and Tangled (2010)

Coffee or tea?

Tea, as I have yet to ever drink coffee! But when I drink my tea, I like it unsweetened and iced

First thing you wanted to be when growing up?

First thing I remember was, ironically, a teacher! Some things don't change <3

I'm gonna tag @riinsanity @0mega-x @koi0boi @always-a-joyful-note and @yukimomodivorce but anyone can join in!

[practicedvmm13fullofpotatoes]

MORE Johnny and Janae headcanons because the first set was me going "Oh, these characters are nice :)" but now it's me going "Ouhhh, these characters are going to be rotating in my brain for the next few months and I fully accept that"

Johnny

That headcanon of him dreaming about the Somerset fire is actually just me being way too obsessed with these guys. This couldn't have happened no matter how I explained it. The Somerset fire happened some time around 1950. The timeline was changed when BD was in his mid 40s (I think?) so that'd be like. 1980 at least. Johnny dreaming about the Somerset fire is literally impossible unless I did some more time fuckery than these guys already do on a regular basis

Tries to like his family's interests so that they'll love him more. He doesn't like soccer but he does it for his dad. He doesn't like the theater but he'd watch it for his mom. He doesn't really understand seismology but tries to for Janae. He knows Janae already loves him a lot, but he just does it out of habit

Social chameleon. Will literally change things about himself so that people will like him. These efforts fail a lot of the time, but in the rare case that he actually gets someone to notice and see him in a positive light, he will cling on to that person and never let them go

Because of the things mentioned above, Johnny tends to have identity crises. Yeah, you heard me. Plural. He's been doing all of this since he was 7. He knew from the get-go that he didn't fit in. And in his head, the best course of action was to try to blend in

Definitely likes art-- or, more specifically, painting. It's the one thing about himself that he's sure of. His father, though, doesn't approve of this and hid his art supplies in the basement, a place he knows Johnny is too scared to check

I don't know about other countries' classes but like. If they have TLE (Technology and Livelihood Education), methinks Johnny would like the subject a lot (home ec, entrepreneurship, agriculture, yadda yadda)

Sensitive to extreme temperatures. Trying to cook an egg? It feels like his skin is actually burning (it's not). The weather is chilly? He'll need to wear a lot of layers (physically refuses to function if it's cold)

Developed a lot of crushes when he was in middle school but only now realizes that they were just happy crushes

Frequent nightmares about death. They're not future dreams but he believes that they are. Very anxious to continue with his day because he might end up dropping dead later

His love language is quality time. Definitely some tonal whiplash but I thought I'd throw this out there

Janae

Very verbal. Will not hesitate to blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. Like, they could just be talking about seismology to Johnny but then yell out "SEISMOGRAM" in the middle of it before going back to building the finalized version of it. This happens very often

Oh, you interupted their ramble? They completely forgot what they were talking about and is pissed because you disturbed them.. Though, you do have to find a way to make Janae stop eventually. Most effective method is to raise your hand. After a few seconds, they'll stop talking to let you talk

If you disturbed Janae, they will immediately not like you. I'm sorry but they don't make the rules. You're not a good person in their eyes anymore

Poor memory on things that should be important. They struggle with remembering dates, dues, assignments, paperwork and other stuff that is very important. They have too much going on in that mind of theirs to remember much. It will always end up pushed to the back of their brain

Struggles with prioritizing and time management. If the task seems easy enough, they'll procrastinate and do something that's more important to them. They'll eventually forget about it until it suddenly becomes important again. And they end up cramming to pass it on time so it's a bit sloppy but no one notices because it's still really good in comparison to the others passed. The only other person to be able to tell whether or not Janae actually spent time doing something is Johnny

Frequently forgets words. Like mentioned earlier, they have too much going on in their head to remember much. ("Johnny, what was that thing called? The thing that happens when a woman goes into labour?" "Huh?" "When she's like?? Pushing the baby out??" "I don't know??" "I swear we had a conversation about this before--")

You know how people say to look at the big picture and to stop focusing on the smaller details? Janae is the exact opposite of that but in a more literal sense. Let's say that they're looking for [brand] toothpaste but they can't find it despite checking the isle several times. They'll ask an employee about it and get directed to a part of the aisle that they passed by a couple dozen times

Talks to themself a lot. Like said in bullet one, they're very verbal. Literally has to chew on gum/the inside of their cheek to shut themself up

That headcanon of Janae tutoring students their age and higher definitely makes zero sense if I actually think about it. Same with my excuse of Martha and Jack just sending them back to 2nd grade. But erm, they still tutor because I said so. They tutor their students :))

Gets distracted easily. Like. Very easily. Surprisingly easy. Especially by shiny objects. (One student of theirs tried distracting them with a laser pointer. It worked. Three times)

[acti-veg]

Every time I see nonvegans calling us racist and saying we value non human animals over humans and talking about how indigenous people are often in situations where they need to hunt to survive (despite most of the people making this argument not being indigenous themselves), I think about this video we watched in my freshwater ecology class in uni that talked about the impacts of animal agriculture on freshwater systems and the disproportionate impacts it has on indigenous communities. This video had real indigenous people talking about the real life impacts nearby animal farms have on them and their community. In it they talked about how they feared for their health, how they were seeing how the pollution animal ag. caused deteriorated their quality of life, how they would beg the farmers to not spread their animals waste on certain days and how they would catch the farmers doing so purposefully on those days.

It just makes me feel so sick seeing this primarily nonindigenous audience so self assuredly talk over indigenous voices about their own issues and pat themselves on the backs while doing things that actively support and contribute to the issue. I'm white and I would never dream of trying to have a voice in the vegan debate in indigenous spaces because it's just not my place, and yet nonvegans feel so entitled to do so and think they are fighting against racism in bulldozing over actual indigenous people.

So many of these people talk about indigenous culture and lives in such an abstract way too. It reminds me of how health teachers in schools talk about LGBT+ people. Talking about them like their existence is theoretical and purely for the sake of discussion rather than a group of real living people. It's just so dehumanizing. And yet we are the ones who don't care. Literally all I want in life is for people to care about one another and for everyone do try and do their best to live in a way that is kind to others and minimalizes harm to all living things. But the people calling that wish racist won't do the bare minimum and listen to the people saying that this industry is actively hurting them.

The really important thing to avoid getting really angry over stuff like this is to remember that it's actually just an elaborate show for them. Nobody who has done even a cursory amount of research into the biggest threats to indigenous communities would be defending animal agriculture and blaming it on vegans; its all just a performative sham.

What it comes down to is the fact that they can't deal with our argument so they try to make us somehow Problematic so that they can cloak their discomfort in the language of social justice. It's the most banal and predictable response that it's not even worth getting annoyed over. They don't actually care about indigenous people, or quinoa farmers, or whatever else is their talking point of the week; they're just playing dress-up.

The indigenous people, the farmers, the 'children picking our crops' are not real people to them, they're just pawns. Sometimes they are literally made up, as happened with the quinoa argument, which somehow evolved from a clickbait article about Peruvian farmers being priced out due to western demand, to quinoa being picked by child slaves - which was never even the claim of the original (now widely debunked) article. They actually, frequently make up slaves to get mad over rather than discussing recognising any of the real victims of animal agriculture. That is the level of cognitive disonance that we are dealing with.

This performance is mostly directed at themselves and each other, rather than us, because what we advocate for presents a challenge to their identity as good people, as social justice advocates, as leftists, as animal lovers. It's why we see so much applause for bizarre and blatantly untrue claims circulated here every week, and so much aggression over seemingly obvious, basic facts when presented by vegans. If you can understand that it is just for show then you can put it in the proper context and find it pitiable rather than infuriating.

[streamlass]

I keep ending up surrounded by Plant People. I am a Rock and Water person, professionally a Soil Person, and yet--Plant People. I suspect it's a matter of contagion. Let me explain:

My mom has a horticulture degree. My dad considered a career in plant breeding; two of his cousins (and one of their spouses) went into that field.

So by the time I got to college, I was already well-versed in the Language of the Plant People. I did not want to be a Plant Person, however. Plants stab you. They try to give you rashes. They make you sneeze, & they get in the way of that lovely rock exposure you're looking at.

Since I went to a college that didn't really have an ag program, I thought I was in the clear. I went into natural resources, however, and forgot to reckon with a specific variety of Plant Person: the Forester. And between friends, classmates, field camp crewmates, and dorm neighbors, I spent an inordinate amount of time for a hydrologist* learning about Trees. This is why I have a thorough loathing of oak ID--I never did figure out the Apparently Obvious Difference between black and red and pin oaks.

*hydrologists are inclined to think of trees as giant straws stuck into the groundwater, redistributing it to the clouds

(I did NOT go to the bar with the foresters. They played hammerschlagen with AXES. I'm rather attached to my toes, and would prefer they all remain attached to me.)

Then I ran off to grad school. In geology. Nothing but nice, reasonable rocks from here on out, right?

WRONG. There are forestry students at my field site. The soils lab is in the biology building (bah). Half the geology department thinks I'm actually a botanist. I almost date one of them. (The fact that I regularly ask for plant IDs doesn't help. If it's a pretty Western Cordilleran flower and I have no idea what it is, it's probably Phacelia.)

And NOW, I work in agriculture. I was going to focus on water contamination, but somehow the crops people have talked me into figuring out how to model the darn things** and I spend way too much of my summers slowly dying of heat in the middle of the maize.

**crop modelers are ALSO inclined to think of crops as large straws stuck into the groundwater, though they do account for nutrients

To top it all off, one of my good friends here is a legume geneticist.

Suffice to say:

There is no escape from the Plant People! AAAAAAAAA!!!

[axe8472]

I have thoughts in my brain about six of crows and they may or may not make sense. So. The thing is when people talk about how the crows couldn't possibly be 16-18 because they're overly mature and competent and have life experience etc etc. i get that BUT is that not the whole point? I mean the books really hammer it home that notions of childhood in their world are entirely different from ours, like to the point where i would even say it's a main theme and kinda the driving force behind all the events in the duology.

Kids are taken away from their parent at like 11 to train as soldiers. Kaz was all alone in Ketterdam at 9 years old and there doesn't seem to have been any functioning system of care for kids like him, nor mandatory schooling. In Fjerda, it seems like the closest thing to foster care is being taken on by the Druskelle. Inej started training as an acrobat pretty much as soon as she could walk and was playing starring roles in performances by the time she was 14 (and probably a fair bit younger). I don't remember Jesper's backstory perfectly but I think he was put to work in the jurda fields (a hazardous agricultural job) as a small child, then worked with guns in some way, then got sent to school in a different country when he was like 15. This isn't exclusive to the crows - it's mentioned a lot that there are many kids in situations similar to Kaz and Inej in the Barrel. Even Joost, despite seemingly being quite sheltered, is working full time night shifts as a guard when he's not even old enough to grow facial hair.

It seems that there's just much more of a vocational focus for kids/teenagers in the grishaverse. This makes a lot of sense because many elements of culture across the grishaverse countries come from the ~1800s when the attitude towards kids was that they weren't all that different from small, inexperienced adults, especially in working-class and rural settings where you just had to get on with things. Kerch especially took inspiration from victorian England, where kids as young as 9 could legally work up to 60 hours a week in dangerous conditions. So yeah that's kind of the whole point imo. It's especially interesting because I read the soc duology as a (potentially semi-unintentional?) criticism of capitalism. This is highlighted by the fact that Wylan, the only one of the crows from a rich background, is also the only one who had a childhood and got an education even vaguely comparable to what we would consider normal. So clearly the whole childhood innocence vs being put to work at like 4 thing is closely tied to class. (obviously Wylan did not have A Good Childhood but it seems from the books that the standard for merchers' kids is to give them a really good and varied education with 1-to-1 tutoring etc, which is very different from what all the other characters seem to have had as kids.)

And okay yeah they're unrealistically skillful and competent and just generally smart, but that would be the case even if they were adults. Like you kinda have to just take liberties with your characters of they'll never manage to do anything, especially in a world that's so hostile toward them. And it's actually kinda hard to even say how unrealistic their capabilities are because their experiences are so different from the experiences of real-life modern teenagers. Like kids are crazy adaptable and good at learning things, especially when they've had no other choice, and the crows actually mostly have quite a lot of experience and had time to develop their respective skills because they haven't spent 8+ hours a day in school for most of their lives. The same goes for the degree of adult-ness in their general behaviour - they're really quick thinkers and less likely to panic in a crisis than any teenager I've ever met. Again I'd say that's the whole point. The charaters are acting older than they have any right to because the experiences they've had have forced them to develop the capacity to do so.

Idk maybe i just read it differently to some people but yeah i think that cross-cultrually throughout the grishaverse children just have very very different experiences to kids in real life. It makes sense that they would then grow up to be very different from real-life teenagers, and obviously the crows are an extreme example of that but there is like. clear historical inspiration behind a lot of the crows' backstories and the general cultural backdrop of the duology. And the whole thing with the books is yeah they're doing all of this stuff and they're capable of these amazing things but actually they are literally children and they are doing all of it mostly for the sake of survival and taking back the things that they deserve from the world. And everything they've done for years and the people that they've become has all been for the sake of survival. And they're kids.

[3-2-whump]

About the Author, or Adoption Trauma and Whump

Hi dear readers, this is 32W. Author, casual artist, and transnational adoptee, and as we reach the 28th anniversary of my adoption, I’m here to talk about adoption trauma and how it relates to whump.

TW/CW: adoption trauma, geopolitics, religious trauma (briefly mentioned/implied), gaslighting (briefly mentioned), objectification (briefly mentioned, sexual acts against a minor (briefly mentioned), metaphorical light gore

NOTE: The experiences of 32W with adoption are their experiences alone and cannot nor should be representative of every adoptees’ experiences. I love the people I call my parents, and I will always see them as such, but that does not change the basic facts that I will lay out below. This author also does not claim to be a geopolitical expert, nor a communist party expert, nor a Chinese spy -my god, I can’t believe I think I need to write that! Reader Discretion is advised.

I have been writing whump stories since my high school days back in 2010, and I have been writing pretty much the same story on and off for the past fourteen years. The names have changed, the faces have sort of changed, and the contexts have varied widely depending on what genre I had a phase in at that time, but a few core elements stayed the same:

Loss of culture

Loss of family

Loss of country

Loss of mother tongue

Forcibly living with someone who, though they could be worse, is still being forced to live with someone

Forced assimilation

Objectification

Losing trust in someone you trusted, respected, and loved

And while I have been writing whump with these themes for the past fourteen years, it only just occurred to me a couple months ago that all of those elements are also present in my personal experience with adoption. Basically, I process my adoption trauma through whump.

My parents wanted a baby. They wanted a baby after they had finally gotten my brothers out from underfoot, those problematic and troubled young men who are now strangers to me. My parents wanted a baby, preferably from another country, because of a recent court case in which the birth mother won back custody of her blood child and broke the adoptive parents’ hearts, so they wanted a baby from a place far away, where the chances of that happening were basically zero.

My parents wanted a baby.

And they got one.

From 1980 to 2016, the Chinese Communist Party implemented the One Child Policy in order to curb their country’s ever-climbing population. Consequentially, for many rural, agricultural, and often traditionalist families, this meant prioritizing sons over daughters, and thus hundreds of thousands of children –mostly girls- were scattered like stars, eventually landing in the arms of the richer, affluent Western countries. Though our circumstances of “abandonment” varied, we were all dispersed across the globe, unwilling, unaware, and now with different names and with parents that looked nothing like us.

Some of us ended up in good homes. I know I certainly did. My parents adored me, and I loved (still love?) them. They were a little weird sometimes, borderline objectifying me since I was a toddler and using religion to gaslight me into believing everything about our family situation was fine, but they also taught me about my culture, made me go to Chinese language school as a kid, and overall did their best. I’d like to think every kid, adopted or not, can say that about their parents. They did their best.

That said, this does not change the fact that they essentially bought me. This does not change the fact that I was forcibly separated from my home, my family, my culture. This does not change the fact that I have no official records and all but cease to exist until they got me. This does not change the fact that my birthday is a guess. This does not change the fact that they severed my tongue and stitched it back on, training it to speak their words, so that even after six years of Chinese school, I still cannot carry a conversation in what should be my natal tongue. That does not change the fact that I deliberately tried to lighten my skin with heavy makeup during the more cringe years of high school. That does not change the fact that my grandpa tried to molest me when I was eleven, and to this day, I am absolutely sure he never would’ve tried that shit with his blood grandchildren.

Their love and good intentions do change any of it.

So, I write whump to cope!

Please don’t feel sorry for me. I am not writing this for random internet strangers’ pity, I am just explaining rather graphically why I write the kind of whump that I write. Writing whump is cheaper than therapy. Exploring dark themes through fiction is a safe avenue for me to discover truths about myself that I did not even know before. And hopefully, my perspective may shed light on issues other adoptees may be facing that they did not have the words to express. And to those adoptees, I hear you, your feelings are valid, and my inbox is open if you want to talk. So, with that, I will conclude this essay, and promise you more good 32Whump content! Stay safe, yall!

[irismfrost]

July 27 - Rice County School, Green Tunnel, Hot Pot, Natural Museum of Prehistory

I unfortunately forgot my jacket this morning and I was cold all day - it's been rainy and is always cold inside every building and the bus is also cold and my feet are wet :( I did buy a very expensive shirt at one of the museums we went to and that warmed me up. We started today bright and early (9:30am) at the Rice County School. It took us about an hour and a half to get over there. It is a bit north of Taitung. It showed us all about the stages of rice harvesting from the raw to brown rice to white rice, including all of the hull and mill and what damaged rice looks like. You got to touch all of them which was pretty cool and definitely a sensory sensation.

We also drive through the "Green Tunnel", which is a popular cycling route. It is basically a pretty road with huge trees that creates a green and scenic canopy.

Today on the bus, we saw the fuzz up ahead and as we got closer, we could see there was a fallen tree in the middle of the road. The police were directing traffic around the tree, but it's only more evidence of the damage from typhoon Gaemi.

Our awesome tour guide, Peter, distributed some snacks on the bus and I tried custard apple mochi and it was pretty good - tbh better than the custard apple itself. The apple wasn't bad but had a strange texture and sorting through the seeds was a little annoying. I also tried this dried squid snack - I will not eat that again. The more you chew, the worse it gets, but I'm glad I at least tried it. We had hot pot for lunch and this time we had individual pots and I got so much food. I didn't realize it came with vegetables automatically so I ordered a bunch extra and did not finish it. But that's okay! I still ate a ridiculous amount of food.

Next, we visited the National Museum of Prehistory. I think the name of this museum got a little lost in translation. It was cool to learn about Taiwan's history prior to and during the beginning of colonial rule. The people were very efficient with their natural resources. They figured out how to use dogs for hunting, different angles to use stones to cut other stones, how to mine certain stones like jade (and trade it), and mining other stones for building materials. Their pottery changed over time too - it was a very popular theme and was a pottery section for every time period. Even their burials were very strategic, people would be buried with different pots of things and jade and also heads. Head hunting was a thing back then and people would be buried with either no head or extra heads (the extra heads would be in a pot though).

We drive by the Music Village (it was raining so nothing was open. We stopped in this bakery which had bagels. All the bagels were filled with stuff and I had a cheese bagel. Last night, I was talking to my roommate about how much I miss sharp cheddar cheese and this bagel got as close to that as I will ever get in this country, so I was satisfied. I also got a chocolate bagel with some sort of chocolate filling (yet to be eaten) and some jam which I sampled at the store. It is some sort of raspberry type of fruit with something else. I'm really not exactly sure, but it tasted good enough to know that I'll eventually use it when I bring it back to the US with me. And of course, we ended our day with 7/11. This time I picked up some noodles for dinner. I am very excited to go to Kaohsiung tomorrow (realized that I've been spelling it wrong this whole time). There is a lot to do in a bigger city and we'll have a nicer hotel. The one we're staying at now has a very unique shower and the curtain sorta sticks to you. If there's a better way to shower in there, I haven't figured it out yet.

Reflection

Rice is an important crop for Taiwan, and dominates Taitung. There are so many rice fields here it's ridiculous. It makes up about 20% of all arable land in Taiwan. Taiwan also is agriculturally self sustainable, but the younger generations are opting for more wheat products like breads and noodles. Every year, the demand for rice decreases and puts local rice farmers in a tough spot financially. The government has been trying to incentivize rice consumption, but the demand only gets lower. On the flip side, Taiwan's rice exports have increased to Hong Kong, Australia, and Singapore, and have exports to Japan have remained steady. The typhoon that just happened will negatively affect the rice fields here due to water logging and structural damage from high winds.

People who settled in Taiwan are related to other groups with Austroasiatic languages; evidence shows that people traveled between Madagascar to New Zealand to the Pacific Islands all the way to Easter Island. If you think about the movie, Moana, people travel from island to island and establish a community there - that movie is based on Oceanic peoples (though the accuracy is debatable). One thing that reminded me of Floridian natives are the shellfish. There were sooo many shells embedded into the earth which is evidence of the amount of shellfish they ate. In south Florida, there are shell mounds that support the idea that they also consumed a lot of shellfish (in addition to fishing, hunting, and gathering).

Seeing how Taiwan's society changes over time was pretty cool. Some traditions stay the same and some evolve into something different. Different regions have different markers. For example, the pottery in the north had different designs than pottery in the south. When outsiders began to come to the island, the uniqueness of each region seemed to shrink and in the eyes of the foreigners, the native people were all the same just because they were different. Taiwan may not be the same type of melting pot as the US, but there is a lot of diversity here (native tribes and colonial influences across the centuries) that doesn't exist in many other countries.

[msperfectsheep-posts]

Ask Meme

I was tagged by @rosencrantzsguildenstern for this ask meme, so why not!

Do you make your bed?

Uhhhh well. Sort of. I definitely make it any time I expect I'm going to have company, but on a weekday when I'm the only one in my dorm room? Nah. I didn't make it when I had a roommate either unless I thought she was going to have company (but she never warned me in advance for that so LMAO)

What's your favorite number?

I'm a lucky 7 kind of gal, but I also really jive with 36 and 81. My factors of 9 <3 <3 <3 If I have to pick one, it's always going to be 7 though

What is your job?

Right now, I work for the US Department of Agriculture! I've worked some other random jobs though, such as a waitress at a high-end retirement home and an assistant at a local hospital

If you could go back to school, would you?

Yes. Absolutely. I would reduce how many classes I take (because haha I am at 22 credit hours right now :')) but I love learning! I don't love all the pomp and circumstance of academia, but I've considered becoming a teacher several times as a career option and I actually have taught in a professional setting before. School's a love of mine that even all the stresses I've put myself through hasn't fully been killed

Can you parallel park?

Yep! My city almost never requires it because it's a newer one and street parking is only really used in our tiny downtown or in neighborhoods, but I can do it!

A job you had that would surprise people?

Uhhhh I think my current job is that, LOL! But even then, once I explain the details of my job, people seem to think it fits me pretty well :)

Do you think aliens are real?

I think that somewhere in space, there's something that could be considered life, but we can't agree if viruses are living, so I doubt that whatever could be "life" in another part of space would fit our current definitions! Evolution is already fucked enough as is, so accidentally going down any path that resembles what happened on Earth feels pretty unlikely to me

Can you drive a manual car?

Yes! I practiced with my grandpa's old car, though I also stalled a few times LOL so I'm not GOOD, but I can do it! With more practice I think I would be fine

What's your guilty pleasure?

I'm not really sure? I'm not really guilty about any of my pleasures because they're all pretty vanilla? In my household it's definitely mayo though. No one in my household likes mayo and I usually have to deal with Bullying of the highest degree if I want to use it when I'm eating with my sister and parents

Tattoos?

Nope! And I don't want to get them either. I have an irrational thing of permanently adding things to my body to the point where I had a surgery to remove a part of my flesh instead of having a tiny metal rod inserted in me. Tattoos are filed under the same "body modification" ick mentally

Favorite Color?

A soft lilac! I also really like the darker, desaturated greens, but purple is my eternal love

Favorite type of music?

Things that lean more into the rock side of things! I like harsher sounds, faster tempos, that sort of thing, but also my music taste is literally all over the place. It really really REALLY is a case-by-case basis but if I had to say anything, most Paramore songs are ones I love

Do you like puzzles?

It depends on the puzzle! I like logic and math puzzles, and mysteries are fun as well, but a jigsaw is something I'll only really do if I'm with friends or exceedingly bored

Any phobias?

Well, there's that body modification one I mentioned earlier! I also have an irrational fear of beetles and an even more irrational fear of specifically dropping a kitchen knife into my foot! Yowch!

Favorite childhood sport?

I didn't really play sports as a kid, but if I had to pick one, probably swimming? My current favorite sport is definitely dancing, though (folk and ballroom!)

Do you talk to yourself?

Yep! I use both the singular and plural first person pronouns "I" and "We" when I talk to myself. Generally, I use "I" when I'm more passively thinking, and "We" when I'm being metacognizant.

What movie(s) do you adore?

Back to the Future (1985) by Robert Zemekis my BELOVED!!!! I cannot recommend it enough, and I made a quote from it my senior quote in high school. I also really love The Sixth Sense (1999) and Tangled (2010)

Coffee or tea?

Tea, as I have yet to ever drink coffee! But when I drink my tea, I like it unsweetened and iced

First thing you wanted to be when growing up?

First thing I remember was, ironically, a teacher! Some things don't change <3

I'm gonna tag @riinsanity @0mega-x @koi0boi @ and @yukimomodivorce

[sweetsimapples]

I was tagged by the lovely @damseljamsel This is my first time being tagged in one of these and I’m so excited! Thank you!  Jamsel posts awesome diary entries for her sim, Cher. If you haven’t seen them I definitely recommend checking them out!

I don’t know if this is what I’m supposed to do but I’m going to answer this for both my favourite sims since they are co-founders of my legacy. 

"Allow us to introduce ourselves, 'cause we’re new here!  We are Leo & Elsye Smith!”

Are you named after anyone?   Leo & Elsye are a variation of my grandparent's names which are Lionel & Edith. They lived on a farm too!

2.  When was the last time you cried?  Leo: When our rooster, Visery’s was taken by a fox!  Elsye: When my friend Sara gave me a beautiful homemade gift. I’m so lucky to have made such a thoughtful and kind friend in the short time we’ve been here. 

3.   Do you have any kids?  Leo: Not yet *winks*  Elsye: We would both love to be parents someday. 

4.  Do you use sarcasm?  Elsye: Never.  Leo: If I think it will get a laugh then sure. 

5.  What's the first thing you notice about people?  Elsye: Oh that’s a tricky one...their hair or maybe their clothes.  Leo: I usually notice if they need a hand.  Elsye: Like he means if they need help, not if they’re an amputee or anything.  Leo: Yeah, though I’d give an amputee an extra hand if I could.  Elsye: *laughs* I know you would, honey. 

6.  What's your eye color? Leo: Blue  Elsye: hazel

7.  Scary movies or happy endings?  Leo: Aw everyone loves a happy ending, right?  Elsye: Happy as long as it doesn’t make me cry! 

8.  Any special talents? Leo: probably gardening.  Elsye:  Actually, Leo’s talent is the gift of the gab.   Leo: Ok, true. Elsye’s talent is catching the stove on fire though so ... no talking your way outta that one.  Elsye: I’m getting better at cooking, I promise!  Leo: Nah she is improving a lot and her cross stitching is looking pretty nice too. 

9.  Where were you born?  Both: Windenburg  

10.  What are your hobbies?  Elsye: gardening, I love flowers!  Leo: I love gardening too and anything to do with animals. 

11.  Have any pets?  Leo: Oh yeah! We’ve got a super cool dog named Max and cows, chickens and a wild rabbit that likes to hop by.  Elsye: Max is the sweetest dog, he absolutely adores Leo. 

12.  What sports have you played?  Leo: I played some football in High School, I do believe that’s what made Elsye fall for me.  Elsye: No, it was because of your jokes! I’ve never had any interest in sports. 

13.  How tall are you?  Leo: I’m 7 foot and Else is a nice 5 something.  Elsye: Actually we’re the same height, 5′10. 

14.  Favorite school subject?  Leo: Agriculture. I’ve always wanted to be a farmer.  Elsye: I loved science! 

15.  Dream job?  Leo: Farming! I love that we have made the move to Henford-on-Bagley. Elsye: I love the farming life too! Cooking with homegrown ingredients is the best feeling. I would also love to own a little shop someday selling candy or treats to locals. That would be nice. 

This made me smile! I get really emotionally invested in my sims and their lives!

  I would like to tag @pixelbasil  @chickenome  @psychotic-sims  @desimetto and  @keiyad  

As always, no pressure to do this!

[altneuland]

Ancient Lovers

Now that I showed you Kingdom / empire of Israel.. I can show you finally THIS SHIP and THIS art that I'm so so proud of...

so buckle up for the wildest ride...

Israel x Ethiopia lore!! Shortly explained, but it’s still long sorry

My interest in this ship has started way back, actually since high school, when we did a work about king Solomon and Queen of Sheba. I’ve learned so much new information that it kept me intrigued about it, and slowly getting more and more information to the point I just knew I’m gonna do it lol.

Now, Israel and Ethiopia case is a special one, because unlike many nations, both Ethiopia and Israel mention in their scripts and culture each other, specifically the Queen of Sheba and king of Israel affair. And both of them are really proud of it, of course biased (and you’ll see how biased it’s gonna get lol), but good biased. It is not dropping-the-other-low kind of biased.

Okay, let’s see where it all started.

Idk the dates (I’m bad with dates and usually don’t agree with them bc long story) but long time ago, there was the kingdom of Israel, ruled by Solomon at that time. Now, let me give you the setting. Israel at that point thrived, and people all around the east from china to Ethiopia heard of Daniel. Of course, some nations couldn’t care less but heard is enough for some to be considered as success lol.

Now, everyone I mentioned here “used” Daniel’s wisdom at some point; Egypt made Israel her best ally, Assyria made Israel his soldier (for a short period of time but he did), and Ethiopia… no spoilers yet. BUT YOU WILL LOVE THEY WAY SHE USED IT.

(Side note; this is also huge evidence that israel was always considered the smart nation around. I believe there was smarter nations but you know, it’s like more of the personality. Omg I sound so arrogant rn but let me cook).

And of course, people talk. And glorify things. Tigist already knew Daniel, but when the story of a Rhino reached her ear it was already a unicorn. Daniel was described as the smartest man alive, most rich, sexiest guy alive and what not lol. Tigist already fell in love before seeing. She thought she must see if it’s true. It was too good to be true to her ears. And, if it’s true; why can’t she have some of that to herself??

She packed the best gems and camels she has (and a lot of them) and headed Jerusalem.

She saw the most beautiful buildings and temple and what not, she tested Dani’s wisdom. And it all came up as true. She said the famous quote; “it is all 1000x better than the stories about you”.

Daniel knew nations don’t come to visit him just to visit him; he asked her. “Ma’am, what is your wish?”

Now, before I continue the story, let me tell you. Daniel was WEAK for her. Damn she was pretty. And hawt. He was ready to give her things she wanted. He assumed; permit to free pass through his place to India. Makes sense? He gave that to her. Why not. She was happy with that.

But here the thing!!! She wanted HIS SPERM. she wanted his dna. She wanted to have s3x with him so she could have some of this!! And I am not making that up!!! Both Israeli and Ethiopian scripts confirm that, and.. apparently it wasn’t just once !!

In the Ethiopian culture, there’s a whole bloodline of jews, apparently they have their own status because according to their belief, since they are around the Ethiopian culture could thrive !

Many many years later…

The story of Jews in Ethiopia is for another post, but when they came back to Israel Sudan was about to accuse Daniel of kidnapping Ethiopian people. But, before it was “confirmed”, Daniel went to Tigist and gave her everything she wanted!! Education, free tech, literally anything that a first world country can give to a third world country enough to thrive, at least a little more!! He gave her FOR FREE some of his inventions that later made Israel world leader in it, when it comes to water and water tech. He gave her leading tech on agriculture which israel is also leading in! He gave her free schools and to this day Israelis go and volunteer in Ethiopian schools! He didn't wanna feel guilty much for doing stuff under Ethiopian gov you know so he did what I feel like a bribe but you know idm he brought some jews home and the Ethiopia got a lot of good stuff so what can I saaay

Now, as not true as it might seem, Daniel sees Tigits as a poor lady who is in a constant need of charity. Tigist doesn’t seem to mind much tbh? She appreciates the help. She’s one of the only African countries who wants Israel part of Africa culturally ! and constantly asking about Daniel when he’s absent lol… she’s still hot for his ass I can tell u that

I think their relationship nowadays is mostly beneficial… both not seems to be bothered my that… let Dani do the do without feelings.. which is totally against his morals but lets not get into that shall we

Fun fact: in eilat there’s two hotels one next to another, Queen of Sheba and king Solomon, as a tribute to them

btw,

Tigist belong to me, too

[elliepassmore]

Ruin Their Crops on the Ground review

5/5 stars Recommended if you like: nonfiction, medical anthropology, social justice, food studies

Big thanks to Netgalley, Metropolitan Books, and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Wow. I cannot sing the praises of this book enough. It goes in-depth into the way food and food policy has been, and continues to be, weaponized as a means of control. I got my BA in anthropology and got very into medical anthropology when doing that, so I knew a little about the stuff Freeman talked about, but she goes into detail and provides a lot of context for these topics and clearly elucidates the historical-to-contemporary connections. I learned a lot of new information from this book and found that it was presented in a very understandable manner. This is definitely one of those books that I think everyone should read.

The book is broken up into seven chapters and an introduction, the first three chapters each focus on an ethnic and cultural group in the US: Native American, Black, and Hispanic. In each of these chapters, Freeman looks at the traditional foods eaten by those groups and the benefits those foods provide nutritionally. She then examines how colonialization altered those foods and forced people in these groups to start eating according to how white people wanted them to, often switching from highly nutritious foods to foods of subpar quality and foods with empty calories (i.e., bison to canned meat, hand-made corn tortillas to white bread, etc.). From there she discusses the impacts, historically and modern-day, of those changes and the actions some people are taking to return to traditional foods.

I already knew some of the stuff covered in these chapters, but it was absolutely horrifying to learn more of the details and I found them to be very informative. It feels weird to say I liked these chapters because so much of the information contained in them is horrifying, but it's something I haven't seen touched on in too much depth in my studies and I want to learn about it. It's these chapters in particular that I feel people should read because they're so informative and provide a lot of historical and contemporary context, and I think it really showcases how things are connected through time.

The next two chapters of the book focus on specific aspects of American food and food policy. Chapter 4 looks at milk and the USDA's ties into the dairy industry. A majority of people in the world are lactose intolerant (including me, lol), though population to population the percentage changes, with Caucasians having some of the highest percentages of lactose persistence into adulthood. Not only did Freeman use this chapter to discuss the inadequacy and capitalistic-driven motivations of the USDA's milk requirements, but she also uses it to dive into the health issues associate with dairy products, as well as the racist rhetoric surrounding milk in the past and present. Chapter 5 looks at school lunches and again targets the USDA's Big Agriculture ties for why school lunches lack nutrition. Freeman also uses this chapter to touch on school lunch debt and the myriad of ways policies surrounding lunch debt serve to humiliate and starve children.

I found these two chapters to be interesting and informative in a different way than the preceding chapters. Like with the first three, I did already know a lot of what Chapter 4 covered before going into it. Milk, lactose intolerance/persistence, and the USDA were things we discussed in my medical anthro class, but the historical ties and legal efforts to change (or not change) things were new to me. I also didn't know a lot of the negative health side-effects Freeman discussed in the milk chapter and it was definitely eye-opening. Chapter 5 was interesting to me because I rarely ate school lunch as a kid, and then as a late-middle schooler and in high school I did school online so I wasn't exposed to a lot of the stuff Freeman discussed in the chapter. I definitely remember the school lunches though and how they often lacked veggies and seemed always to contain a milk carton. It was super interesting to read the politics behind what goes into school lunches and how laws to change them or keep them the same were often tied into monetary interests.

Chapter 6 talks about racist food marketing and turns somewhat away from food itself and focuses on how branding utilizes some of the things discussed in chapters 1-3 to brand food, advertise to certain groups, or both. It was definitely disgusting to hear about the racist marketing techniques and how long it took companies to actually start doing better. Chapter 7 looks into the laws surrounding food policy, and SNAP in particular, which is an area I don't know too much about. I found the discussion to be very interesting and am definitely interested in seeing how this area of law and policy develops over time, hopefully in a positive way.

Overall I found this book to be very impactful and informative. I've already recommended it to 3 or 4 people and definitely think this is an area of study more people should know about. I'll probably check out Skimmed by this author as well.

[lifeofresulullah]

The Life of The Prophet Muhammad(pbuh): Calling the Tribes to Islam, the Allegiances of Aqaba and Migration to Madinah

Ashab As-Suffa

It was when the Qiblah was not yet changed to the Kaaba.

A shade and a shelter were built from date branches next to the northern wall of the Masjid an-Nabawi. This was named “suffa”. Muslims staying there were therefore named “Ashab as-Suffa (Suffa Companions)”.

These companions who stayed at the suffa of the Masjid had neither a house, a tribe, relatives nor anything else in Medina. They had a life away from their family, free from worldly issues and troubles and totally self-sacrificing. They learned the Qur’an and listened to the Honorable Messenger’s preaches and lessons. They were fasting most of the time.

This blessed group of people, who spent their time at the presence of the Supreme Messenger, was always inspired by the Prophet. They were self-sacrificing, eager-to-learn students who devoted themselves to the Honorable Messenger’s school for the sake of Allah. Teachers appointed by the Prophet would teach them the Qur’an. Those who completed their studies were sent to Muslim tribes in order to teach them the Qur’an and the sunnah of the Messenger of Allah. In this sense, they were called “qurra (readers).” Therefore, suffa was called “Dar al-Qurra (House of the Qur’an Readers).”

These unique companions, whose number was about four hundred or five hundred and who had a moderate yet enlightened life, were an army of knowledge. Although they devoted all their time to learn the Qur’an and the sunnah of the Messenger of Allah, they took part in battles when necessary as well.

The ones who got married would leave the suffa but others would join to take their place.

These unique companions were occupied neither with trade nor craft. Their living was provided by the Supreme Messenger and wealthy companions. Hazrat Abu Huraira, who was one of the outstanding students at suffa, expressed this situation very well in response to those who found the fact that he narrated a lot of hadiths strange: “Do not find that I have narrated too many hadiths strange! As our immigrant brothers were occupied with trade in bazaar and Ansar brothers with agriculture in gardens and fields, Abu Huraira was memorizing the Prophet’s blessed advices. 

The Prophet’s Close Relationship with Ashab as-Suffa

The Supreme Messenger was closely interested in both education and needs of Ashab as-Suffa. He always sat with them, talking with them and listening to their needs. And sometimes he reminded them that their studies are important and blessed to the utmost degree, saying to them: “If you knew what is being prepared for you in the Hereafter, you would like your poverty and needs to increase!” 

The Honorable Messenger himself tried to meet their needs. When necessary, he would put his household’s needs on the back burner.

Once, when Hazrat Fatima asked for a maid, complaining about how dreadful it was to grind flour with hand-mill, the Prophet answered his dear daughter: “My daughter, what are you saying? I have not been able to prepare Ahl as-Suffa’s needs yet!” 

One day, he was with the Ashab as-Suffa to examine their situation. He saw their poverty, troubles they were going through and consoled them saying: “O Ashab as-Suffa! Good tidings to you! Whoever meets me as content with a situation and condition like yours s/he is in; s/he is one of my dear fellows!” 

The Supreme Messenger would ask: “Is it alms or gift?” when he was given something.

If they answered “it is alms”, he would give it to ashab as-suffa right away. If they answered “it is a gift”, he would accept it and give some of it to ashab as-suffa. The Prophet would never accept alms, but only gifts.

One day, a man brought a plate of dates. He asked the man: “Is it alms or gift?

The man said it was alms and therefore the Prophet sent it to the ashab as-suffa right away. The Prophet’s grandson Hazrat Hassan was in front of the Prophet at that time. When he took a date from the plate and put it in his mouth, the Prophet reacted right away and took it out from his mouth. And then he said: “We, Muhammad and his household, do not eat alms; alms is forbidden to us!” 

Moreover, it is said that the Quranic verse “(Charity is) for those in need, who, in God’s cause are restricted (from travel), and cannot move about in the land, seeking (for trade or work): the ignorant man thinks, because of their modesty, that they are free from want. Thou shall know them by their (unfailing) mark: They beg not importunately from the entire sundry. And whatever of good ye give, be assured God knoweth it well” was sent with reference to the ashab as-suffa. 

They would not Miss a Preach or Speech of the Prophet

These unique companions, who devoted themselves totally to the path of Allah, would not miss any of the Supreme Prophet’s advice and speeches. They were always present there and would narrate the speeches to other companions by memorizing them. In this sense, ashab as-suffa had a unique service and job in preservation and narration of Islamic judgments. This great group of knowledge had an important role in the Quran’s light reaching out to every corner of the world in a short time.

Abu Huraira Narrates

Abu Huraira, a good student of suffa, which was a foundation of knowledge, narrates an event about themselves:

“I was lying face down, because of starvation. And sometimes I tied a stone on my stomach.

“One day, I sat down on a path where people came and went. At that time, the Messenger of Allah was passing by. He understood my situation and called out to me: “O Abu Huraira!”

“‘Yes, o the Messenger of Allah!’ said I.

“‘Come on here!’ he said.

“We went together. He entered the house. I asked for permission to enter, too. They permitted and I entered. He found a jug full of milk.

“‘Where did this come from? Asked he.

“‘Such and such person gave it as a gift’ said they.

“Then, ‘O Abu Huraira! Go to Ashab as-Suffa, tell them to come here! Ordered he.

“Ashab as-Suffa were guests of Islam. They had no family, no money and no house. When the Messenger of Allah was given a gift, he would share it between himself and them. He would send all of the alms which was given to him to be given to the ashab as-suffa and would not take anything from it for himself.

“I was upset because the Messenger of Allah invited ashab as-suffa. I was hoping to drink the whole milk in the jug myself and I would live by it for some time. I said to myself: ‘I am a messenger. I will share the milk among the Suffa companions when they come.’ In this case, I knew no milk would be left for me. However, I had no other choice but follow the Messenger of Allah’s order.

“I went and called them. They came and sat after being permitted.

“The Prophet (pbuh) said: ‘Abu Huraira, take the jug and offer them milk’

“I took the jug and started to give them the milk. Each of them, one by one, took the jug and drank until he was full and then passed it to the next person.

“After the last Suffa companion drank, I gave the jug to the Messenger of Allah. He took it. There was only a little milk left inside. He raised his head and looked at me, smiling: ‘Abu Huraira! He said.

“‘Yes, the Messenger of Allah, I said.

“‘Only you and I did not drink milk! said he.

“‘Yes, the Messenger of Allah, I said.

“‘Sit down and drink, he said. I sat down and drank.

“‘Drink some more, he said. I did. He insisted that I should drink more. ‘More, more!’ he said. At last, I said: ‘I swear by Allah who has sent you with the true religion that I am too full to drink any more!

“‘Then give met he jug, he said. I did. He gave thanks to Allah. Then he said the “basmalah” and drank the rest.”

[hughiecampbelle]

You’re doing ships!!!! That’s so cool!!!! Im a 20 year old bisexual woman, but I’d prefer to be shipped with a man? I’m studying biology right now and am hoping to go to veterinary school. I grew up on a dairy farm and love working in agriculture/livestock. I love history-specifically fashion and medical history-fantasy and horror. I’m usually very reserved and quiet, bordering on shy, but I’ve been told from the outside it comes across as aloof and bitchy. I also have a little bit of a problem with sounded super condescending 😬. Usually when I think something funny it comes out really mean, another reason I prefer to just not say anything. All of your writing is so good! You’re feeding the people truly and honestly!!!

Hi my love! I ship you with: Roman Roy!!!

He loves your attitude. Despite not meaning to, sometimes you can come off aloof and bitchy and that's exactly what he wants. He wants someone who's not interested in him at all. Of course you are, but you're so shy, it's hard to get it across. He loves to pine, to flirt, to make you blush. That's the kind of reaction he wants. Once you get more comfortable is when your relationship truly starts. He also loves that you have sense of humor. All of his jokes come off mean. He wants someone who will bite back at him, who will give him the same attitude that he gives. He never wants you to not make a joke because you're scared of coming across a certain way.

You love how compassionate he is. Of course Roman doesn't show that side having learned that that side of him shouldn't be shown, that he should be ruthless like his father wants. But you notice it. He's always asking how his siblings are, checking on them, especially Kendall. He cares so much deep down and worries about everyone and is constantly thinking about them. Rarely does he show this side, but when he does, it makes your heart melt. Deep down he's a very soft person who just wants everyone to be happy and safe.

Your relationship is complicated. Roman isn't a "normal" boyfriend. He needs lot of space. He questions why you're even with him, why you're interested in him, why don't you just leave him often. Every time you have to explain how much he means to you, how much you love him, all the good in him that he can't see. It's your voice against his fathers and his fathers is very loud, very prominent. He has to go slow with intimacy, even something as simple as hand holding. He flinches when you touch him without warning. It takes a lot of patience and care and talking through to be with him, but it's so worth it in the end.

Your first date is not really a date. He invites you to one of his fathers parties. You're not sure if it really is a date or as friends, but you go anyways. He brings you a drink and you talk and laugh and make fun of everyone. You spend the entire time together just the two of you at a table. By the end you have to ask him if this was a date, was it not. . . ? He's not sure either, not wanting to pressure you into a date if you don't want it to be. You decide then and there that it was a date and you wanted to on another one with him. He's shocked to say the least.

Relationship Headcanon: You and Roman watch a lot of horror movies. He's very vocal during them all, booing and throwing popcorn and yelling when there's a jump-scare. He's full of commentary, too, which you love. "Oh no I'm scared and alone and there's a killer after me. Better go to the basement where there are no exits and no weapons. Doy. Stupid fucking idiot". He always picks the worst ones and it's so much fun.

Thank you so much my love!!! Hope you like it! 💜💜💜

[greatwyrmgold]

Undersiders Cluster Trigger Without Undersiders

In my previous two posts about an Undersiders cluster trigger, I've talked vaguely about a "cult" where the Undersiders lived before their trigger event. That idea has stuck in my mind since, and the only way I know how to get thoughts like that out of my head is to post them online. Thank god for Tumblr.

Anyways, here's an outline of a high control group which might produce that sort of cluster trigger event. If anyone wanted to write a fanfic about that specific cluster trigger.

The Grift

Meet Andrew Randal. He's an ordinary psychiatrist who wants to give people a second chance. His company, New Growth, offers a wide variety of programs to help people defeat their inner demons and build a new life for themselves.

From an omniscient and objective perspective...Andrew is a charismatic ex-therapist, targeting and testing desperate or vulnerable people. His specific targets are ex-criminals and the criminal-adjacent. Drug addicts, prisoners on parole, supervillain henchmen...even the occasional ex-supervillain. Other kind of desperate people show up, and their money spends well, but they're a pleasant byproduct of the main grift.

Not all of his programs are complete bullshit...just most of them. The core of his stated self-help philosophy revolves around identifying your "inner demons" and building a new, better you that excludes those demons.

Obviously, with many of his clients being convicts or other rule-breakers, conforming to a strict set of prosocial rules is part of this program. For your own good, violation of these rules is met with punishment. (A punishment you agreed to, remember?) Also, since many of his clients are low-income, he also offers a program where clients can perform good, honest labor, both to build character and so they can enjoy the rest of the programs.

Of course, the honest labor is for various agriculture businesses and such that pay Andrew for the labor. This sounds like it might create an employer-employee relationship, but Andrew created a legal defense dense enough that disillusioned clients figure it's not worth testing in court and just leave the program.

Obviously, a lot of Andrew's marketing focuses on framing this in a way that is neither unethical nor illegal. This isn't labor exploitation! This is a chance for people to work hard while they build their futures. It's a chance to bootstrap yourself out of the gutter and into the good life. Anyone who says otherwise is just trying to make everyone into complacent sheep, dependent on external aid. And it's all optional, anyways, it's not like clients have to do the work. A lot of people just pay for the normal sessions and move on.

This kind of rhetoric might drive some people off, but it generally isn't used unless there's some specific threat to New Growth that needs to be defeated with facts and logic.

Aside from the obvious benefits of this business model, it lets Andrew identify people who are willing to follow orders and leave their old selves behind. But more on that once I describe...

The Accomplices

Having outlined the grift, let me identify the people helping Andrew with it. While Andrew is not a parahuman, he gathered a few parahumans to help him with his grift.

First is his high school bud, Colter Elliot. Colter fell in with the wrong crowd, barely avoided criminal charges, and got a job at the local youth center. He was a coach for their basketball team, and while he got the kids energized, he was focused on making the kids into an effective basketball team, and not supervised well enough. Colter got settled into this new role, the kids started getting hurt at practice. A few follow-up questions later, an investigation into his coaching practices was launched to figure out whether he should just be fired, or whether he needed to be charged with child abuse.

Colter wound up with one of those borderline Master/Stranger powers, arguably with a dash of Trump. He gives people orders; ignoring them drains your energy, fatiguing you, but following them gives you a burst of strength and energy. (Though not enhanced endurance or resilience or anything. I'm sure he'll use this power responsibly.) Needless to say, he supervises most of the work teams.

Second are two sisters and clustermates, Megan and Lily Fleischer. They triggered when a douche who Lily rejected ambushed the two of them with some friends; the douche drove Lily into a corner and started beating her within an inch of her life, while the friends restrained Megan and kept watch and such.

Megan gained the power to produce fog that messes with people's heads, causing them to get lost in the fogbank and see shapes that aren't there. She also has a Striker power that can make other people emit that fog for a brief period, which they will of course be surrounded by. She was mostly recruited for her marketing expertise.

Lily has two Striker powers. One of them is basically a weaker version of Megan's secondary power—it makes someone spew smoke, which doesn't have any effect beyond obscuring vision and smoke inhalation. The other Striker power incapacitates people with hallucinations, which she can influence but which are largely drawn from the target's mind.

Lily's hallucinatory touch is a key part of Andrew's process for finding people's inner demons; another key part is lying about what the power actually does. They're primed to expect that they'll face down their inner demons in psychic combat, so that's what they hallucinate. Lily's control is sufficient to make sure that they always lose, unless they've paid/worked for enough programs to slay one of those demons.

The last significant parahuman is Lavender Green, formerly the supervillain Bioeffector. Her power isn't as hyper-specific as Colter or Lily's, so I won't dwell on her trigger event. She brews tinkertech slurries of chemicals and protists, which inducing some kind of growth or healing in living organisms.

(As an aside: A bioeffector is a microorganism which can kinda fertilize soil it's in. Lavender thinks it was a clever name, but nobody knows what a bioeffector is, so most people assume she called herself that because her slurries have effects on biology. So they think her name is lame.)

Lavender joins New Growth after it's been operational for a few years, but Andrew realizes she compliments his team well. Partly by giving him something else to sell to the big farms they work for, mostly by giving their clients a way to recover from Colton's encouragement.

The Cult

Andrew's first cult-y move is sleeping with a bunch of women under his authority, without letting any of them know he's sleeping with anyone else. For the most part, it's just women with useful talents that he wants to exploit—Lavender, the Fleischer sisters, some non-parahumans with mundane skills, probably another parahuman or two. The sex is as much a means to keep them loyal to him as it is, you know, pleasure.

But Andrew isn't just watching New Growth for potential girlfriends. He's watching for people who can be manipulated—people who follow even the most ridiculous orders, who want to actively bury their old identities and find new ones. People who are willing to become Andrew's slaves (of the non-sexual variety).

The next bit is just...normal high control group stuff. I'll skip the way he breaks people down and molds them to suit his needs and amasses hundreds of followers, and skip to the bit where he buys some land in the middle of nowhere and set up a compound.

By this point, Andrew has convinced his loyal followers about a vast conspiracy that wants to destroy people like them. It's a hodgepodge of common conspiracy tropes, with a bit of parahuman flavor, and probably turning the inner demons from metaphor into "No, Lily's power lets you fight literal demons that live in your brain."

(If a theoretical fanfic author detailed this conspiracy, they should probably indulge the urge to give them a broken-clock moment about a cabal that all superheroes work for or powers coming from aliens. That's just fun.)

So he moves himself, Colter, his girlfriends, hundreds of his followers, and hundreds more of their children/spouses/etc to an isolated location. In this place, called New Hope, he continues his spiel about hard work and defeating your innqer demons and stuff. His followers are already familiar with farming, and Lavender's tinker slurries let them turn mediocre pasture into decently fertile farmland. Most of the followers do that, some of them work in a sweatshop; both farm and sweatshop produce goods that are sold to give New Hope its own source of revenue.

(Note that New Growth is still operating as a business back home; its exploitative practices are just less relevant now that Andrew isn't trying to recruit from its clientele.)

There's firm control within the cult, but relatively little conflict. The residents' powers are underutilized, their shards neglected. So perhaps it's no surprise that Andrew suffers an unexpected death when a disagreement between him and Colter turns violent.

It's often said that a cult's second leader plays a pivotal role in its long-term trajectory, perhaps more important than the first. Colter rises to the challenge. He spins Andrew's death as the result of cabal activity or alien superpowers or something, and steps into the role of cult leader.

Colter is less subtle and less charismatic than Andrew, but he knows how to make people fall in line, can tell a good lie, and basically everyone there is used to taking orders from him. There's a brief power struggle between Colter and Megan, which leads to Megan taking over external operations and Colter running the compound. They share resources, and Megan tries to direct new recruits to the compound, but neither she nor anyone else has as much experience identifying good marks as Andrew does, so it's a pretty slow trickle.

New Hope probably has some clashes with the odd independent superhero or regional villain, but for the most part it's stable. Colter consolidates power over the place and indulges in a more hedonistic flavor of cult leader behavior.

Some more parahumans pop up—several children of Andrew's parahuman girlfriends, a couple of random triggers. Most of these get integrated into Colter's inner circle.

One of the random triggers was a teenager pushed to and past the breaking point by Colter and his power; she turned against the cult in frustration, was driven out by Colter's lieutenants, and continues to hang around in a nearby roadside town. She doesn't want to leave her family with Colter, and worries that they'll get killed if the authorities get involved. (This worry is about two parts lingering conspiracism, one part awareness of things like the Waco siege.) Her efforts to wreck the cult from the outside keep things from staying too calm.

But the first big challenge to New Hope is that cluster trigger.