#allied technologies in usa

[bostonwalks]

Israel is the greatest technological ally that the USA has ever had! https://embassies.gov.il/washington/Relations/Pages/The-Ultimate-Ally.aspx

[headspace-hotel]

USAmericans

Read the Project 2025 manifesto RIGHT NOW

It's MUCH worse than y'all have been hearing

There is so much here you'll have to look at it for yourself, but the climate policy alone is nightmare fuel.

The republican coalition wants to essentially end funding for green energy, dramatically promote and expand fossil fuel industries, and eliminate funding and regulations in all sectors promoting climate change mitigation. Task forces and offices related to clean energy and lowering carbon emissions will be eliminated and replaced with offices for promoting fossil fuels.

They want to LOG NATIONAL FORESTS TO "THIN" THE TREES TO STOP WILDFIRES.

THEY WANT TO FORCE OREGON AND CALIFORNIA TO LOG THEIR NATIONAL FORESTS AND TREAT THEM AS FOR TIMBER PRODUCTION

There are specific provisions in Project 2025 to essentially destroy the Endangered Species Act, causing it to defer to the rights of "economic development" and "private property." The plan includes delisting gray wolves, cutting the budget so that a "triage" system is used to determine which species will get protection, removing funding for research, removing experts and specialists from the decision-making process, and preventing "experimental" populations of animals from being established.

This is so much worse than I expected it to be and there's much more past that: They want to deregulate pesticides and remove much of the EPA's ability to regulate pollutants as well.

Also included in the manifesto is that we should

withdraw from nuclear weapons nonproliferation agreements, build more nuclear weapons, and resume nuclear weapons testing

The manifesto comprehensively outlines the scorched-earth elimination of abortion access, down to ensuring doctors aren't even trained to perform abortions. There are plans in here to disrupt abortion access GLOBALLY, not just domestically.

Not only that,the Republicans plan on reframing family planning programs around "fertility awareness" and "holistic family planning."

I can't even describe it all. I'm trying to give screenshots of the most important things but there's so much.

The foreign policy is a nightmare. They plan to push fossil fuels onto the Global South and promote the development of fossil fuel industry in the "developing world."

It is aggressive and antagonistic towards other nations, strongly pro-military, proposing that we INCREASE (!!!!!) defense spending, improve public opinion of the military and military recruitment, and increase the power to fund new weapons technology.

Just read the Department of Defense section. It's about greatly increasing and strengthening the military-industrial complex, collaborating more closely with weapons manufacturers, removing regulatory barriers to arming our allies and to inventing new military weapons, and recruiting more people into the military. They include provisions to develop AI technology for surveillance. And of course, continuing to support Israel is in there.

Elsewhere it proposes interfering in foreign countries with creepy pro-USA propaganda campaigns, even establishing international educational programs where faculty have to pledge to promote USA interests.

There's a line in here about getting rid of PBS because SESAME STREET is LEFTIST for God's sake.

HOW are people claiming democrats have the same policies. I feel like i'm losing my mind.

[absolutebl]

Hello! In the latest EP of I Feel You Linger in the Air, Yai addresses Jom as Por Jom. Jom seems surprised but I have no understanding of what Por means so it's significance is lost on me. Perhaps you can help shed some light? Also, how was Yai addressing Jom before?

Por/phor honorific in Thai - I Feel You Linger in the Air

I'm glad you asked it so I don't have to.

I have not encountered it before in BL.

Any of the the Thai language spies still out there wanna weigh in?

I did some poking around - but I could be way off base. Still this what I discovered:

Por is a paternal honorific, luang por is used for respected monks.

So I am assuming this use is relatively old fashioned (the reason we don't hear it often in our normal BL) and either one step more intimate or, more likely, one step more respectful than no honorific. Possibly scholarly?

I'm thinking all this has to do with Jom's demonstration of education. Yai has figured out that one of the reasons Jom doesn't belong and cannot fit in with the servants is that he is more educated than a peasant, which adds up to him being originally from a high status and wealthy family, especially speaking English and having travelled (he has a non-Chang Mai accent).

There is very little Thai middle class at the beginning of the 1920s since trade is being dominated/dictated by the West, or Chinese merchant operations, and Siam is a monarchy. So for a nationalize Thai citizen it's either military, landed gentry with trade operations (like Yai), military, or... none of the above. This changes, especially in the south, throughout this decade (as it did in other parts of the world). So there is a rising bourgeoisie going on in the background but it's not that obvious in Chang Mai at this time.

What this means to Yai is that Jom's family either got wiped out or politically entirely disenfranchised possibly as part of the 1912 attempted coups (or even WWI)? This would be mystifying for Yai because Jom doesn't act like he comes from a military family at all. So his background and status is very confusing for Yai, but Yai does know one thing...

Jom is NOT lower class by the standards of Yai's temporal worldview and existence.

For a young man to be educated and yet entirely alone is very dangerous and suspicious. Also, let's be clear, Jom doesn't look or act like a laborer. He red flags "cultured" all over the place.

Yai is paternalistic and caring towards Jom out the gate because Yai has a big ol'crush but also because he recognizes "his own" is trying to survive while isolated and scared. Yai wants to rescue Jom.

Some Historical Context for I Feel You Linger In The Air

I love history and so here's some quick info that any Thai watcher would likely know, but you might not... ready?

Remember:

Burma (Myanmar) to the west is occupied by the British.

The French hold Vietnam to the east.

Everyone is bickering over what would become Cambodia & Laos.

China occasionally gets involved from the North (also, lots of immigrants from China at this time accounting for a large percentage of the merchant/middle class)

Eventually, Japan would invade during WWII.

In part, The Kingdom of Siam was kept a "neutral" party because none of the surrounding colonial powers wanted to risk offending any of the other players in the area.

Siam re-negotiated sovereignty in 1920 (from USA) and 1925 (France & Britain). But during the time of this show (mid to late 1920s) it was back to it's customary type-rope balancing act of extreme diplomacy with the allied western colonial powers that surrounded it. Recognizing that Thailand was never colonized, it's boarders were constantly nibbled at and it was "ambassador-occupied" off and on by Westerners whose military backing and exploitive business concerns simply outmatched the monarchy, especially in the technology department (as well as by reputation on the global stage at the time).

In other words, the farang in this show (James & Robert) are bound to be both the baddies and the power players of the narrative.

The king of Siam at the time (Vajiravudh AKA Rama VI) was initially somewhat popular but also regarded as overly extravagant since Siam was hit by a major postwar recession in 1919. It should be noted that King Vajiravudh had no son because he was most likely gay (which at the time did not much concern Siamese popular opinion, EXCEPT THAT it undermined the stability of the monarchy).

He "died suddenly" in 1925 (age 44) with the monarchy weakened and succession handed off to his younger brother.

In 1932 a small circle of the rising bourgeoisie (all of whom had studied in Europe, mostly Paris), supported by some military, seized power from the monarchy in a practically nonviolent Siamese Revolution installing a constitutional monarchy.

Siam would then go through: dictatorship, WWII, Japanese invasion, Allied occupation, democratic elections, military junta, the Indochina wars, communist insurgency, more democracy and popularization movements, multiple coups, more junta, more monarchy, eventually leading us to the somewhat chaotic insanity of Thai politics we have today. (Which is, frankly, a mix of monarchy, junta, democracy, egocentric popularism, and bribery.)

(source)

[thriplerex]

Hermit Craft Rising AU: MP Taylor “Gemstrong” Gemma & Solomon "Impulse" Vanderbilt

Taylor "Gemstrong" Gemma

“How am I supposed to ‘live, laugh, love’ in these conditions?”

MP in the House of Commons for Newfoundland & Labrador and a candidate for the PM election of 2022. She was the benefactor for Architech Worldwide and its de facto CEO. Under the table, she was also allied with the Terraformers of Sahara Enforcement, LLC. Motivated by avarice (specifically, for soup and arcane power) more than anything, even over political power.

Sarcastic and witty, her outwardly bubbly, cordial, and peppy nature is often underestimated by her opponents - notwithstanding belying her inscrutable soup-obsessed agenda. Despite her relatively young age, She is a well-trained and more than proficient combatant, imbued with macro-organic enhancements that increase her strength and durability to superhuman levels.

Age: 41

Hometown: St. Johns, NL, Canada

Signature weapon: Macroorganics. The name is a misnomer - it is arcane nanotechnology with an organic basis. Aside from incredible regenerative abilities, it grants her the ability to reconfigure portions (if not the whole) of her body into extremely dense organic “supermaterials.” For instance, she is known to prefer an inexplicably tough wooden bark-textured medium that a regular HF blade cannot penetrate, supplanted by inhumanly rapid counter-growth and regeneration effects that repel incoming serrations. Aside from partial to full-body regeneration (via pulling matter from her surroundings and reconfiguring it on the atomic level via nanotechnology,) inherent to her nanotechnology are also super-strength (enough strength to hurl a 650-ton fully-loaded cargo jet with ease over a few hundred feet) and the aforementioned extreme durability.

Solomon "Impulse" Vanderbilt

“It was amazing, that’s why I did it.”

A former turned private mercenary for ConCorp Security Consulting - with a little too much mental baggage from his days as the former. Solomon underwent voluntary cyborg conversion at a somewhat minimal level during the events of Hermit Craft: Civil War. During the events of Rising, his internal augmentations became more extensive, although outwardly, he remains normal-looking and almost indistinguishable from unaltered humans. Aside from the usual suite of superhuman powers granted by cybernetic enhancements (enhanced speed and agility, senses, strength, durability, endurance, etc.), Solomon can also attack blindingly fast for short periods and can channel short-range electrical arcs over a few meters if given a power source to draw from. These abilities gave him the nickname "Impulse," which subsequently stuck.

Perhaps a little too friendly and easygoing for his own good - although not a passive nor naive individual, as he’s been burned (literally and figuratively) more than once before by his enemies. He tends to get hung up on his past mistakes, especially the "mac-n'-cheese incident." Carries a far nastier alternate persona known as "Eyesore" that re-emerges during the story, although he brings it under control by the time of the Joebraltar Incident.

Age: 38

Hometown: Flagstaff, Arizona, USA

Signature weapon: Initially, a pair of 8-foot collapsible quarterstaves. These are composed of carbon steel, reinforced via ultra-high-frequency resonant vibration modules that counteract the effects of other similar weapons. Later, he trades the quarterstaves out for a single teal-colored (anodized niobium-plated) carbon steel blade with improved resonant technology.

"Scarlet" Pearl Maynard

See this post!

Oh gosh... Soup Group, but MGRR. It should be fairly obvious who they're meant to be counterparts of. Impulse's outfit was inspired by Quinspade's techwear fanart. Appearance-wise, all three characters were designed to be closer to how they're often depicted in HC fanart than in real life. However, Gemma is substantially more muscular because "macroorganics, son!" (Never mind the fact that she's only three years older than him here.) Anyway, the original idea was to reverse Gem's and Impulse's roles, but I decided the role reversal would be a suitable and silly way to reimagine the "Arizona dad" dynamic that Impulse has with her.

Gemma's theme: V.S. MP Taylor “Gemstrong” Gemma (It Has To Be This Way - Instrumental)

(alternate title: It Has Stew Be This Way)

(I totally didn't make a vocal version filled with soup puns that you'll have to click through my channel to find and that which I'm too embarrassed to post here, nope)

Hermit Craft Rising AU Masterpost

Art by Winter

[immunetoneurotoxin]

ENTANGLEMENT | Part I, Chapter I

A Portal/Half Life Universe Fic from Chell's Perspective Rating: Explicit Overall Word Count: 10,730 Chapters: 1/20 Where to Read: AO3 | Google Drive | // ?UN?/KN@?#WN

SYNOPSIS

Location Unknown, Michigan, USA.  Aperture released her, set her free. That ought to have been the end of it. But cast out into a world rendered unrecognizable after a mass extinction level event, Chell is forced to fend for herself, navigating a war-torn world in the aftermath of the seven hour war that devastated the states in a bygone era.  Mere days into her newfound experience on the surface, Chell finds bizarre technology inside a Michigan radio tower, discovering that the same interdimensional forces that started the war were still around, scouring the area in search of technology from the facility she hoped to never see again — Aperture Science.  With no choice but to go back to the facility to deliver a dire warning, Chell tightropes on the cusp of two worlds, unaware of the consequences of pursuing the past and surviving an uncertain future alongside an unlikely ally.

It's finally here!! A former roleplay thread with @sarcasticgaypotato turned novel, this story follows the events of Half Life 2: Episode 2, and is an inspired continuation of the ending of Half Life: Alyx from the perspective of everyone's favorite Aperture-dwelling characters. Chell, whose mission is to protect Aperture technology from getting in the hands of the Combine, must also act as GLaDOS's protector and keep her safe. GLaDOS, on the other hand, has to figure out the complicated ways of the world from a new perspective - literally. This story is friendly to those who don't know Half-Life lore, and a treat for those who do! This story is a close-to-canon survival novel fic with ChellDOS as a major focus. Full of survival, interactive elements, complicated feelings, and a beautiful slow burn robot/human love story. <3

[shadykazama]

The official post about Lepus

For anyone that didn't see the previous small post, this is Lepus, my overwatch oc. She was drawn by the lovely Remonmellow on Twitter, IG, and Fiverr!

She's in the Wayfinder Society and I'll be explaining her story, abilities, and even adding some interactions with other hero's under the cut!

Lepus

“A gifted and troubled scientist with a unique perspective on life, Lepus seeks to use her research to bring understanding in the midst of conflict."

✿

Support

✿

Texas, USA (formerly), Roaming

✿

October 6th (24)

Origin

An outstanding student throughout her youth, Autumn Spellman started trouble for herself in college, getting into often violent exchanges during omnic rights rallies. Her overwhelming passion for the lives around her festered into distaste for the society that continued to cast out the innocent; she left her studies, as well as the connections she'd built behind and pursued her research independently. Without a job or a real place in the world, she found her way in the Wayfinder Society as an on site medic. They offered her resources and companionship to fulfill her research, and she gave them support in return, working as not only a medic, but a fighter as well when needed.

Lepus's research involves the movement and use of energy created by living beings. She's always been sensitive to this energy and her research focuses mainly on its uses for healing and creating understanding between humans and other living beings (animals, omnics, plants etc…).

✿

Gear

-Her gun is a low power shotgun, she wanted a close range option because of the proximity she has to get to sap energy.

-Her armor is protective against the elements and stray rubble, as well as bullets.

-Her helmet serves to help identify wounds or weak points, but it also automates her voice, making her more “intimidating” (or at least that's the purpose of it)

-Her boots have advanced padding in the bottom of them to provide comfort as well as improving her jump height.

(I imagine a lot like this, not my picture btw ^)

✿

Abilities

-Ability 1 is the energy steal. Lepus touches a target and saps their energy; it doesn't damage the target persay, they're slightly slowed and it makes them physically weaker. It would make them feel sluggish and drained, increasing cooldowns and lowering damage.

-Ability 2 the energy boost, Lepus uses the energy she stole and touches an ally to give it to them. It decreases cooldowns, makes them move faster etc. but only for a bit until the energy wears off. It also heals them, giving them a feeling of warmth and wholeness to their body.

-Ability 3 Use the stolen energy to do extra damage in an AOE. Instead of using the stolen energy to boost an ally, she can concentrate it into a grenade basically which functions like a flash bang, disorienting enemies for a few seconds. (This wouldn't be a stun, would prob just slow and literally disorient your vision)

-Passive, Bunny hop, she jumps higher naturally because of the technology in her shoes.

-Ultimate. I haven't come up with one yet, lemme know if you have any suggestions!

✿

~Interactions~

Lucio: So I'm trying to ask everyone this, what's your favorite animal?

Lepus: Rabbits, *laughs* shocking I know. I grew up with them, they're hard not to love…

Special if Zarya is the tank

(Alternative) Zarya/Lepus: Rabbits- hey!!

Lucio: Uh yeah, I can see it!

Lepus: I bet I could pull off a hat like that.

Ashe: *scoffs* Well you ain't using mine.

Lepus: Okay but if it just happens to blow off of your head in the midst of a fight and I pick it up…?

Lifeweaver: Not to worry, you have not one but two university drop outs at your sides.

Lepus: *snorts* That's one way to boost team morale…

Lifeweaver: Well it made you laugh, so I'd say it was worth it. 💖

Venture: Stick close Autumn, I know how you are with directions.

Lepus: You get lost one time-

Venture: More like half a dozen!

Lepus: Those tombs are like mazes!!

Venture: Autumn! Autumn! What's the energy feel like here? Oh- are there any ghosts?!

Lepus: I told you, ghosts avoid me.

Venture: Aw that's lame, how come?

Lepus: I always suspected it was the energy thing, buuut maybe they're just scared of rabbits…

Lepus: Hey, you dropped Rosetta again.

Venture: What?! No way!

Lepus: You've seriously gotta get a new jacket, Sloan.

Venture: But this one has so much character!!

Mauga: Miss me, little bunny?

Lepus: Not even a little bit.

Mauga: Aww you're just sour cause I almost caught you last time.

Mauga: Where's your partner?

Lepus: Why do you care?

Mauga: I just hope you're not easier to catch without your little buddy watching out for you.

Lepus: Your model is different than most omnics.

Ramattra: I was made to lead omnics into war.

Lepus: Oh…

Ramattra: Does that frighten you?

Lepus: No. You're much more than what you were made to be.

Ramattra: You claim to care for omnics, why not fight for them?

Lepus: I did, but an eye for an eye and the world goes blind. A war on this scale will only cause harm.

Ramattra: Perhaps a blind world will not forsake my people for merely existing.

Lepus: Or perhaps it'll never learn to truly see them at all.

Lepus: Your energy carries grief within you, what happened?

Illari: What happened doesn't matter anymore, it just matters that I make it right.

(Alternative) Hanzo: I betrayed my brother, as well as my clan. And now, I walk alone.

(Alternative) Mei: I survived an accident… my crew- my friends didn't make it out.

(Alternative) Roadhog: *loud gruff growl.*

Lepus: It weighs heavily on you, sometimes it's okay to share the burden…

Moira: Have you been enjoying the brute?

Lepus: So you're the one sending him after me?

Moira: No, I'm the one that suggested he takes you alive.

Lepus: Sombra, can you hack my helmet and make my voice sound like Reaper's?

Reaper: Don't.

Lepus: *mocking* Don't.

Sombra: Ooo I like her!

Reaper: *sighs*

….

Lepus: *sighs*

✿

Adding this down here, but I ADORE that their jackets match. I headcanon Sloan gifted her the Wayfinder patch on her jacket to make her feel more welcome since she was having trouble acclimating.

Also I was gonna add some kill/map specific voice lines for her but I didn't want to ramble on too much.. Anyway I hope y'all like her. 🫶

[westanovencleaner]

you know what would be really cool?

a wwi (starting around 1900 and ending in 1919 specifically) percy jackson au.

with the power of the british empire seeing its share of global power decline after being dethroned by the usa in industrial output and military power while germany's unification and the rise of weltpolitik as a doctrine put it in a position to take second place, what if the gods were split in between these three powerhouses?

ignoring the greek and roman civil war that mirrored the american civil war, because the usa wasn't even all that powerful until after the civil war, so it doesn't even make sense for both camps to solely be in the usa, what would happen to camp half-blood and camp jupiter? would they have been split in three?

imagine if chiron decided to spend his time in the usa, thus explaining the bellicosity of both germany and britain and their allies.

imagine the inter-demigod politics.

imagine the different sides of the political atmosphere of the second industrial revolution and how they would affect the demigods.

"their western civilization is a disease" well in this time period, what if luke was questioning the west at the height of capitalism? what if luke was questioning the west at the height of imperialism? what if luke was questioning western capitalism during a massive rise in socialism in england?

imagine the questions these different motives would raise, like: when does capitalism stop caring about the individual? when does it become another form of control, the thing it seeks to destroy? or, on the other hand, to what extent is socialism worth it? at what point does socialism bring ruin instead of its promises of an increased quality of life?

and just a reminder: the demigods are young. they're politically radical, but they can change easily. imagine the ideological turmoil within the characters and (possibly) the reader; it's a story where there's no right answer for who the good guys are.

imagine the war itself. with the advancements in military technology since the last major European conflict 99 years ago, we can only assume that it's a reflection of the increase in strength of demigod powers, and they're eager to show it off too. imagine the combined strength of numerous big three demigods, who are ready to test their powers on real opponents in real battles.

holy shit I didn't mean to write this much.

[darkmaga-returns]

You don't need enemies with friends like the USA Deep State

Denis Rancourt

Nov 19, 2024

Both USA arms sales to “allies” and USA mRNA vaccine sales are classic protection rackets.

Wikipedia explains protection racket this way:

A protection racket is a type of racket and a scheme of organized crime perpetrated by a potentially hazardous organized crime group that generally guarantees protection outside the sanction of the law to another entity or individual from violence, robbery, ransacking, arson, vandalism, and other such threats, in exchange for payments at regular intervals. Each payment is called "protection money" or a "protection fee". An organized crime group determines an affordable or reasonable fee by negotiating with each of its payers, to ensure that each payer can pay the fee on a regular basis and on time. Protections rackets can vary in terms of their levels of sophistication or organization; it is not uncommon for their operations to emulate the structures or methods used by tax authorities within legitimate governments to collect taxes from taxpayers.

Sound about right?

Both technologies (military and mRNA lipid nanoparticles) are ineffective against the presupposed threats. No missile shield can protect against supersonic missiles and saturation attacks by drones, and the vaccines certainly don’t stop anything, if there was any pathogen that could be stopped.

The mRNA vaccines are super cheap to make, and the Deep State owns the patents. They are sold at the highest price that any country is able to pay, in US dollars of course, and the Deep State has insinuated that it makes bioweapons from which the only protection is their vaccines. Classic.

[the-derpy-duck]

Currently in my TFA long rant era don’t mind me.

The guy who took over Sumdac’s business: Dipshit

The Headmaster: Fuckface

So. The headmaster guy who is working with the guy who replaced prof. Sumdac piss me off because of one single thing they did. To get out of being arrested, the guy who is running Sumdac’s business pressures Fanzone so he won’t arrest the headmaster. Every argument made is invalid (legally) solely on the basis that the police don’t need to tell you why your being arrested in America, you can’t be held for more than three days without being told why you were arrested. So when Dipshit argues with Fanzone about why Fuckface can’t be arrested it’s invalid because he isn’t a person who would have any authority on that and Fanzone is not legally obligated to provide an explanation. If or not that should be allowed is a different question, I think if you get arrested you should know WHY you are being arrested but I’m also 18 and an idiot.

Anyway, Dipshit’s main argument as to why Fuckface cannot be arrested is “he was in international waters between America and Canada.” and that he didn’t steal the boat he was on because it had been out of commission for years and was just sort of there. Ok. You just fucked yourself but fine. First off, international water is not a lawless zone. Their is international laws (war crimes, for example) and the laws of the sea have been around since we’ve been able to sail. You MUST fly a flag of a nation on your vessel if you’re in international waters, that flag would need to be the flag of the nation that the ship is registered in. This has been around since at least the 1800s. An American ship lost its flag and was docked in the Netherlands, because the ship couldn’t leave without the flag (I think it may of had something to do with pirates but I could be wrong) the Dutch re a,de the American flag from a description. Although it might not of been an official law or a law of the same name, it was still a rule that was enforced. This is not a new thing. I do not recall seeing an American flag on that ship. Also Fuckface would have been sailing a decommissioned ship that was not up to standards and he definitely doesn’t have the correct certifications to be sailing it. But that’s a bit bit picky and it’s not even the worst part of the argument.

Dear reader, assuming anyone reads this, I would like you to find a map, or a globe. Please find North America and find where America and Canada are. TFA is set in Detroit, Michigan. So the body of water would have to be a Great Lake. Please, turn your attention to that fact that the border between the USA and Canada is a FUCKING LINE. International waters are at least 200 miles out from the shore of the nation, the border between the US and Canada is similar to that of the border between Tennessee and Georgia. That is to say, it’s really fucking thin and was decided on by a line. International waters between America and Canada do not exist in the Great Lakes, you are either in America or you are in Canada. If Fuckface was in Canada then he just illegally crossed a border and was carrying technology, the purpose of this tech is explicitly stated to be for war. So he’s potentially sending technology to terrorist that are based in the country that is arguably America’s closest ally and the country that we trade the most with (some graphs say it’s China, it’s not. We trade the most with Canada.). So not only has Dipshit admitted that Fuckface illegally transporting military grade weapons to our ally, he also admits that Fuckface is a major security threat and potentially a terrorist who is plotting to overthrow the Canadian government. Is that a stretch? Absolutely. But they tell you “anything you say can and will be used against you” for a fucking reason. It is your constitutional right to shut the fuck up and not incriminate yourself. This is no longer a DPD issue, it’s now gonna either be handled by the CIA or FBI and probably the government of Canada. Do you understand the damage that could be done if our biggest trade partner became aware that we let someone who everyone has reasons to believe was transporting weapons illegally go without any sort of push back? It’s one person but that could majorly damage our working relationship with Canada and other countries because it would be international news. We are in a trade agreement with Canada and Mexico that is very good for us. We don’t want to jeopardize that. I don’t think you understand how this could impact our foreign trade. Regardless it’ll make America look incompetent and also an easy target for security breaches.

Fanazon had a good reason to arrest Fuckface, he had multiple ones. Fuckface should have been arrested and then he could finally stop showing up. I hate him and I hate the episodes he’s in because he’s in them. Fuck you headmaster >:(

[bostonwalks]

Israel is the greatest technological ally that the USA has ever had! https://embassies.gov.il/washington/Relations/Pages/The-Ultimate-Ally.aspx

[julietasgf]

I know little about the war in the USA (war IN USA ITSELF), but I can say a couple of things:

The capitol is a symbol. Its complete destruction would have been ineffective because we are talking about war. Taking the Capitol was a necessary and powerful movement.

It is implied that there were many open francs, which is tiring for both sides, and can eat up all your resources, especially if you are winning, you had to have the financing to continue winning.

The differences in technology could have been something significant. The Capitol was able to launch muttos, that is, fucking biological mutants. The districts do not. Who knows what they could have been using to protect the Capitol from direct invasion.

We do not know how united the districts were with each other, I can see some following D13 but without trusting their districts "allies" and vice versa, districts allied with each other but totally distrusting D13 (which can translate to certain districts producing food, or producing weapons and making an unequal distribution to the rebels in the front), not to mention the possible differences between the districts themselves and their people.

There is a very good fic, which I can give you the link if you want it, in which in Two, during the war, baby Sejanus and Ma Plinth have to go out to the street with a white pañuelo? An offer of peace for their lives, a mark that they are different. In the fic people who supported the capitol lived in certain areas and the rebel sympathizers avoided them like if they had leprosy. Always there is going to be division in the cities, in your own territory depending of which side you choice.

So about Strabo, he mentions doing business with the capitol before the war. My personal hc is that he actually played for both sides for a while as soon as the war began, it's not something crazy. I can see him having this idea of "I don't give a shit who uses this as long as it gives me money to take care of my family", and selling to both; the capitol and the rebels themselves. What could possible happen is that as the tensions get higher, he ends up betting on the stronger seller. The capitol would let their people die in order to buy more weapons, as a desperate measure to stop the rebels from really entering inside and Strabo selling them more and more.

He for sure was making people angry in D2 but not enough. Obviously, there would be people who considered him a traitor already and I'm sure that Ma and Sejanus baby were already being judged on the street by all their neighbors, but he was too helping the rebelds in certain way... Besides, I don't know if I overthink it too much but there is something in the phrase Strabo took the side of the president… as I believe the decision to support just the president could be a possibility, nothing like this very black and white vision of the capitol and districts already Its only once that D13 fell, that Strabo need to make a quick decision, knowing that the rebels had lost their strongest ally (which was in fact financing the war to a large extent…) and yet I personally don't think The Plinths' name will be completely stained until the end of the war and their actions after it. Ma's family, and others may have understood that Strabo did what was necessary to survive, but what the hell was that once defeated, you continue to support our oppressors? D13 falls, and the capitol's weapons industry moves to fucking district 2, what a great coincidence Strabo, no one noticed. Oh, and when your son turns 8 you move to the fucking Capitol? Yes, at that moment the Plinths are dead for everyone in Two. BUT WHATEVER.

I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING YOU SAY ABOUT MA and I agreed, her trauma is so underestimated, OH BUDDIE I AM CONSIDERING MAKING AN EXCLUSIVE POST TALKING ABOUT THE PARALLELS BETWEEN MA AND MRS. EVERDEEN BECAUSE I BELIEVE IT IS A TOPIC THAT CAN BE SO MUCH ANALYZED, I HAD MORE TO SAY I SWEAR (and let dig more into the Sejanus /Katniss hehehehe)

PD: Panem is one country but you are not wrong for say that even moving from district to district could be a giant trauma.This is particular talking about Mexico but for example, our states are so different, and there were people who spoke Nahuatl (or other languages) forced to learn Spanish to survive in the fucking capital, forced to change their clothing and traditions. Bc yes even within your own country that type of trauma is very possible.

The Plinth cousin in the first Quarter Quell was an idea that I considered leaving in my box of crazy concepts that I have in my notepad (I have many more, stop me, thank you) but you have really inspired me to want to dust it off. Regarding what you and Anon were saying about how the Plinths got involved in the games, can I go against the grain and say that it was actually Ma who took that initiative?

Look. I think Strabo was able to get involved in that business because Coriolanus established the connection between Gaul's laboratory and the Plinths producing weapons, and said YES this would be convenient. So logically, Strabo began to get more involved in the games in a certain way but there is something about Tigris becoming a stylist in the games, this idea, of her being for years a passive agent, an accomplice in them while perhaps helping in them believing that she was doing good, that she was helping in the only way she could and well Tigris and Ma know each other (the only good thing that happen after the Snow-Plinth adoption disaster) and I think it would be fascinating if Ma is the one who ends up pushing funding and support for Two in the games.

She with a new deep and cruel connection to them. Much of the last days she spent with her son were during the 10th games, and perhaps she sees in D2's tributes to Marcus, the boy her son loved, to Sejanus himself. Vesta can't stop the games, she doesn't have the power, but maybe she can tell Strabo that the Plinths can finance the tributes, send them food, and something else. When the shows start, she can give Tigris suggestions when it is her turn to dress them, and details of that style. She is the woman who makes special food for the Avox so they can eat, she could have done something like that. Strange ideas that I had.

I'm writing down the Mitski songs that you mentioned about Sejarcus and I'll definitely be waiting to that playlist. AND YES, I'M GLAD YOU SEE THE VISION ON ROOTLESS, IT'S SUCH A PERFECT SONG FOR THE PLINTHs (by the way as you can see I love Marina, YOU KNOW EMOTIONAL MACHINE? BC BUDDIE I CAN TALK HOURS ABOUT THAT ONE AND CORIOLANUS AND LGB AND SEJANUS-) also Mamas Boy Sejanus bonded in trauma with his MOM, CANON I'm preparing my notes for the rant about Clemensia, Lysistrata, Festus, and the movie is Snow propaganda to make him look better, but I have things to say about the Lation au and a myth that reminds me of Ma Plinth, so they will continue flying in the air, although I can tell you how Clemensia was Snow's first victim, his first big breakdown and not portraying it well almost destroyed his character? (not him being actively evil but choosing his own survival over the people he cares about, showing Gaul the potential to be that "cold-blooded", his becoming aware of the Capitol and the way it oppresses him, there is so much to say…) Azul is now Vesta's song, my god, I'm crying, but it's so canon, I swear, but you know what other song and myth reminds me of Ma Plinth? LA LLORONA!

Not me saying that I would not forced the mexicanization of the Plinths meanwhile also me saying this mexican song is so her

Although in my defense, my friend Wikipedia says that it is a legend spread throughout Latin America and Puerto Rico have their version (a reddit of dubious origin confirmed it to me as well). You in Brazil surely have your version, we all have versions. So it's all good, but the important thing is that, regardless of the version, is there something about the idea of a woman who has lost her children and mourns them loss every night? A woman whose heart is so broken that she can't do nothing more but cry and look for them in the streets?

CAN YOU SEE THE VISION? (In addition, there is something about some versions saying that the father killed the children, Strabo killing Sejanus in live with his actios... others where she murder them, let's be metaphorical and talk about Ma wondering if she caused Sejanus' death by not fighting, by not saying something, by not getting divorced, for not hugging him enough, etc?) I offer you the version of Lila Downs, or the one of Eugenia Leon (ignore Coco and their cut version, I implore you), I believe even Natalia one day sing it, also I offer you: Caifanes -La llorona, although this is not a version of the best-known song related, it is still related to the myth, and it is from my favorite group Caifanes, you should know, how good they are by now kssjhsjhdjhd

In happier things, Sejanus would undoubtedly complain about how stupid it is that he can't vote, Colombian Lucy Gray is here to stay, her paisa accent is dangerous but it's also incredible, so she deserves to have that super power, and yes please Tigris taking embarrassing photos of Baby Coryo and even videos, SHE STOP HIM TO BE EVIL JUST FOR BLACKMAIL HIM WITH THESE PHOTOS I SWEAR LMAO

SEJANUS WAS WITHOUT A DOUBT THE BABY WHO SLEEPED IN TWO CHAIRS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PARTY JSBSJJDBJKFGHGF ALSO IM SURE VESTA MUST BE THE BEST DANCER??? SHE CAN DO EVERYTHING, one day Coryo found she can even do tango, also the other day in the great discord I'm in, they talked about the fact that Coryo wears humble clothes in his house in the book? But do you see that sometimes political parties usually give out shirts when they are campaigning? And that is a classic pajama in LATAM? Please imagine Snow wearing shorts and an ugly shirt from a political party that they gave him. I propose that they find photos of Piolin in Coriolanus's phone, because ofc lunatic has a fucking secret account where he argues with old ladies about the end of the telenovelas, and instead of telling him something, they go to Tigris to ask about the matter and so on. that's how they end up with THE PHOTOS.

Coriolanus would defend villains girls from telenovelas so much, I can see that Sejanus also knows a lot about the subject because his Ma (and STRABO EVEN THOUGH HE DENIES IT) always forced him to watch them, so they would have passionate debates on the subject, PLS SEJANUS DEFENDING MARIA LA DEL BARRIO OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT

btw: have you seen betty la fea?, because buddy, there is a scene that summarizes Sejanus's daddy issues Im stoping myself for now, but before I go: 1. YOU CAN DRAW?!, YOU ARE THE MOST TALENT I SWEAR 2. YOUR NEW FIC!?! AMAZING 3. The songs!!! The songs, what do you think about; Cursis melodias by natalia our dearest as a sejarcus song? and Stromae - Formidable about Strabo dad's?

HIII omg I'm so glad to see you on my inbox again <33

heavily agree on the capitol being a symbol, and the capitol being taken over is they actually being able to invade it was a strong move!! also, two of the most important things you mentioned: the technological imbalance and the alliance between the districts. there's a line in the movie that caught my attention (I don't remember if it was in the book too tho) where someone tells lucky flickerman that not everyone in the districts have television. it's a tiny detail, but we can assume that there is a big technology imbalance, even though the districts were able to bomb the capitol. and HEAVY on how united the districts were... specially the ones around the capitol, and I mean D2, D1, etc, etc. I can see some districts being closer to others, but how could D4 and D13 be close, for example, when they were in two opposite extremes? how did that communication work? some districts are very rural, like D7 and D12, but D8 and D6 are more city-like (if I'm not wrong, I read somewhere that D8 tributes have less chances because they are not used to the environment the capitol uses for the games). D13 may know how to use strategy in places closer to the capitol and the capitol itself, but what about these districts that are in environments so different? also, the rebels for sure had differences between them, even in one-party countries, there will always be opposition.

(the first rebellion raises so many interesting questions, about how things went, which districts were closer to each other, how the capitol strategized the conflict in places so different from the capitol itself... here I come begging suzanne collins again)

OH MY GOD SEND THE LINK PLEASE. and this makes so much sense!!! if I'm not wrong, in the third book, D2 was a loyalist district, but still some villages sided with the rebels, and not everyone was 100% on board with the capitol. so it just fits so well, I'm in love with this concept

I can perfectly see him doing this 😭 to me, strabo is very much capitalism in its purest form. he has no true ideals, nothing to fight for beyond his own survival, and what pretty much motivates him is money. him not caring about who the hell he's selling these guns to, or who the hell these guns are killing, what matters is the cash. and plus, the capitol are just better clients; they have more money, and as you said, they're desperate at this point. D13 (as I think that it was mostly D13 who made most of deals and stuff) wouldn't go as far as the capitol to buy guns, they are not as desperate. (also, the line of him support the president is a good point! specially if you think the president offered something in exchange for it)

I think D2 ppl were angry before D13 fell, but just like you said, after it... it's just fucked up. and the move to the capitol was the last straw. okay, they were selling guns, but for sure there were other loyalists in D2, for sure there were other people who made a lot of money with the war (and also post-war; with the capitol being reconstructed, D2 would for sure benefit a lot from it, with their main industry being masonry). but leaving D2 was the ultimate betrayal, something unforgivable.

there was no turning back after that point.

(ma plinth my love why didn't you divorce that man, why didn't you stay babe 😭)

DO ITTTTTT I WOULD LOVE IT AND READ EVERY SINGLE WORD (also, please, let's talk about more of these parallels, I'm a sucker for the sejanus and katniss parallels). also, yes!!!!! absolutely yes!!!! this is so real in big countries. I know the fandom talks a lot about sejanus' experiences being very alike to a child of immigrants (which is true! and considering the time the book was published, I don't think it's a coincidence, or an accident, I think suzanne collins knew what she was doing here), but also, assimilation inside of your own country is as hurtful and fucked up. there's a very specific and tiny thing that touched me when reading the book, and it's the fact that he called his mom ma, and other kids at the capitol mocked him. I'm from the northeast, and here we have an affectionate way of calling our moms, which is mainha, but it's a very regional stuff and it's not uncommon for people from the southeast and the south to mock it. so when I read coriolanus mocking sejanus calling his mom ma, I got pissed off, because atp I was having war flashbacks and taking it too personally ☠️

no, I won't stop you, please, bring it to life, I'm begging on my knees ☝️ I would LOVE to read it from you, it's such a cool concept (and the first quarter quell in general IS SUCH A COOL CONCEPT BY ITSELF).

OH MY GOD I LOVE THIS. comparing ma to tigris is such a good argument, because we all know tigris is a good person, why did she stand quiet as a stylist while letting it happen? I can see the same logic applying to ma. the 74th games are much more human than the 10th; of course the killing children part is brutal, but it's disguised with parades, with mentors who can send them stuff and weapons and more things to help them, with the children being able to say goodbye (something that as far as I remember, they weren't allowed to in the 10th games), with them being able to get on a fancy train and eat fancy food. it's almost mercy before they are sent to death, a chance to taste the best in life before inevitable pain. I can totally see her trying to talk with coriolanus, because she can't stand the idea that these kids got away from home without even being able to say goodbye (I think she would try to talk to him to end the games, maybe as a way to honor her boy, but coriolanus tries to convince her that the games are necessary, but she can give him some ideas to make the kids more comfortable). for example, some of the 74th stuff I can see coming from coriolanus: the spetacule, the parade, the chariots, the fancy clothing. but what about the other more human aspects? anyway. that's such a good idea 😭 (also, the idea of ma personally talking to tigris about ideas of how to dress the D2 kids, I'm not okay)

marina is SO GOOD, love her so much <3 searched up the lyrics of emotional machine (bc I didn't remember them well) and OH MY GODDD PLEASE TELL ME YOUR THOUGHTS because I can see the vision of the doomed trio so well

the movie did so much damage that I even forgot about poor festus oh my god, I really forgot he was also just a kid in the book 😭 BUT YESSSSS WHAT YOU SAID ABOUT CLEMENSIA AND HER BEING HIS FIRST VICTIM, LIKE, sometime ago, I saw a really good video analysis about tbosas and connecting the characters to different philosophers and philosophies. so, that person connected coriolanus to (if I'm not wrong) thomas hobbes, who pretty much said that human beings are naturally bad, naturally selfish; according to hobbes, a human being will choose theirselves always. of course, during the book, we see this is not true, we see people being kind and gentle and selfless even during the games (which are the worst possible situation to be in), but in that scene when coriolanus puts himself first, it's a step to this conclusion, and it's a conclusion gaul came to much before. anyway, it's such an important and symbolic scene, I really wish they didn't change it like that, specially to make it seem that CLEMENSIA was in the wrong 💔 she may not be my favorite character, but they did her SO WRONG

THE WAY MY JAW DROPPED BC I STOPPED TO THINK ABT IT AND!!!! IT JUST FITS SO WELL!!!! and I'm HEARTBROKEN.

(whatever you're doing, don't think about ma plinth being so heartbroken after sejanus' death that some days she forgets things in the oven because she sees something that reminds of him, and all she can do is cry; she's not able to go back to baking, the only thing she can do is stand there and cry; and don't think about her for the first time screaming at strabo, because if they never left D2, this wouldn't have happened, her baby would still be alive with her, but it's no use because it's now too late to stand up to him; and don't think about the plinths having to move to another place, a house and not an apartment anymore, because the neighbours were complaining about the loud sounds of crying during the night)

I listened to the lila downs version and got CHILLS. now I would really love a work inspired by it, focusing on the post-death of sejanus, because I particularly love to suffer reading and this would be just pure brutal pain.

sejanus would be so politically active, he would be that cousin who ruins christmas because he starts arguing with his father every single year 😭 if tigris got a way to take baby pics of sejanus in canon, I'm so sure she would blackmail him enough during teenage years, and then we wouldn't need to have him as a fascist president, we got robbed, it would've solved so many things 😔 VESTA BEING A GREAT DANCER, I KNOW THAT'S RIGHT!!! she knows EVERYTHING. salsa!!! cumbia!!! samba!!! bachata!!! name it, she'll do it. when sejanus was a baby she would put him on the chairs to sleep just to go to dance in family gatherings. her pulling coryo to dance tango with her and him being embarassed because he can't dance for life, but she's so happy and he's letting her guide it 😭 KSKSKSLSKSALSK I'M SCREAMINGGGGG now, one day lgb and sejanus deciding to make him a surprise (maybe on his birthday) and going to his house, and them seeing coriolanus in his pajamas and they'll bully him eternally now (lgb would probably get one of these shirts on the next campaign, give to him and be like "here's another one for your wardrobe 🫶" and the thing is he complains but he actually wears it lmao)

ofc they wouldn't ask coriolanus anything, that boy would straight up LIE, but thankfully tigris saves the day and now they can use it against him <3 bc the problem is not watching the telenovelas; even if you're not a fan, if you grew up in latam, you DID watch some telenovela, even if not by yourself but with some relative. but coriolanus is an arrogant prick, he would make fun of people who watch it and enjoy it and act like he's better for not watching it, but here he is fighting for his life with old ladies online about thalía. he deserves the bullying ☝️

BABY SEJANUS WATCHING TELENOVELAS WITH HIS MA AAAAAAAAAAA I'M SCREAMING, THIS IS SO CUTE 😭 imagine him wanting to watch cartoons, but his ma is watching tv, so he doesn't have much choice but sit down and watch along her (and also, strabo is also the kind of dad to be like "I'm not watching this", but then he stands on the kitchen with his hands on his hips watching it, and that's how he watches every single one of vesta's favorite telenovelas; she tried to offer him a seat at first, but he would go like "no, I'm already leaving to my room", but he's standing there until the end, and that's how him and coriolanus get along). sejanus would get into such heated arguments with coriolanus, specially bc coriolanus will ALWAYS defend the villains, sejanus being like "THEY MURDERED SOMEONE????" and coriolanus there "and they looked great while at it 💕"

(also, I present you with another concept: bby marcus going to sejanus' house every single day so they could watch the kids telenovelas with each other)

I watched it, but it have been such a loooong time, but SEND ME THE SCENE!!!! I love to talk about that boy's daddy issues

AAAAAA TYSM, THIS IS SO SWEET 😭 I draw sometimes, but I'm personally not a big fan of my own artstyle, so I do it much less than I write :)) TYSM, I'M SO GLAD YOU ENJOYED IT (and also, tysm for the comment <333)

about cursis melodías: OUCH. I'M HEARTBROKEN. I'M CRYING. I'M NOT DOING OKAY. oh my god, solo te pido una semana más, now, bby marcus at the time not understanding why sejanus had to leave, and being so angry and so hurt and so mad, because it didn't make sense, he was asking for just one week (I'm going to curl up in the corner of a room to cry). about formidable: it's SO on point about that man. literally him.

[absolutebl]

I Feel You Linger In the Air

You ready for this?

The quickest of quick thoughts: I loved this show and hated the ending, but not for the reason you think.

This is gonna be one of my big meta beast-sized posts, skip to the end for the final review.

Some Historical Context for I Feel You Linger In The Air - Thailand 1925-1932

I love history and so here's some info that any Thai watcher would likely know, but the rest of us might not... ready?

The Historical Stage:

Burma (now Myanmar) to the west is occupied by the British.

The French hold Vietnam to the east.

Everyone is bickering over what would become Cambodia & Laos.

China occasionally gets involved from the North (also, lots of immigrants from China at this time accounting for a large percentage of the merchant/middle class)

Eventually, Japan would invade during WWII.

In part, The Kingdom of Siam was kept a "neutral" party because none of the surrounding colonial powers wanted to risk offending any of the other players in the area.

Siam re-negotiated sovereignty in 1920 (from USA) and in 1925 (from France & Britain). But during the time of this show (late 1929) it was back to it's customary type-rope balancing act of extreme diplomacy with the allied western colonial powers that surrounded it.

Recognizing that Thailand was never colonized (although it was invaded), it's boarders were constantly nibbled at and it was "ambassador-occupied" off and on by westerners whose military backing and exploitive business concerns simply outmatched the monarchy, especially in the technology department (as well as by reputation on the global stage at the time).

In other words, the farang in this show (James & Robert) were always gonna be both the baddies and the power players of the narrative. (Farang is the Thai word for non-Thai's of European descent, the word means guava.)

The king of Siam at the time (Vajiravudh AKA Rama VI) was initially somewhat popular but also regarded as overly extravagant since Siam had been hit by a major postwar recession in 1919. It should also be noted that King Vajiravudh had no son because he was most likely gay (which at the time did not much concern the Siamese popular opinion, except that it undermined the stability of the monarchy leaving it without an heir).

He "died suddenly" in 1925 (age 44) with the monarchy weakened and succession handed off to his younger brother.

In 1932 a small circle of the rising bourgeoisie (all of whom had studied in Europe, mostly Paris), supported by some military, seized power from the monarchy in a practically nonviolent Siamese Revolution installing a constitutional monarchy. This is mentioned in IFYLITA in the last few episodes but did not (apparently) appear in the original novel.

Siam would then go through:

dictatorship,

WWII,

Japanese invasion,

Allied occupation,

democratic elections,

military junta,

the Indochina wars,

communist insurgency,

more democracy and popularization movements,

multiple coups,

more junta,

more monarchy,

eventually leading us to the somewhat chaotic insanity of Thai politics we have today. (Which is, frankly, a mix of monarchy, junta, democracy, egocentric popularism, and bribery.)

The Filming of I Fell You Linger in the Air

The director if this show, Tee Bundit (Hidden Agenda, Step by Step, Lovely Writer, TharnType), has never particularly impressed or offended me as a director. I would have called him simply "workmanlike" in execution: not offensive, serviceable.

So much so that I spent some time hunting for info on IFYLITA's cinematographer (who remains uncredited on MDL) because this one, of all Tee's pantheon, is ultra stylish. It, frankly, felt too good for him.

Specifically, there is a repeated visual motif in intimacy scenes of either Yai or Jom being filmed from behind a screen/drape/curtain making them seem more translucent, like a ghost or spirit. While the other half of the pair is filmed with sharp clarity. In the first half of the series this is more likely to be Yai (an unknown and mysterious element), as the show progresses, it's more likely to be Jom (the person outside of place and time, destined to vanish all together). This cleverly conveys story, tension, and foreshadow (future shadow?)

Occasionally we shift over so they both become obscured and then clear again.

This stylized version of dirty framing and filters is used to foreshadow and then constantly remind us about that Jom slipped (and is slipping) through time and the disconnect that causes to his sense of reality and purpose, and to his burgeoning relationship.

For example, the scene where Yai is drunk and asleep in his bed. The first time Jom is sitting in a chair drawing him. Yai is blurry behind the screen while Jom is solid and sharp.

This filming technique combined with dirty and peekaboo framing is being used to give the watchers the impression of looking at something we maybe shouldn't, like we are being creepy and intruding on their private time. After all, they can see EACH OTHER clearly, it's only us who have the visual impairment.

This gives us a sense of doom and discomfort and slight sensation that we shouldn't be there. We shouldn't be watching. But ALSO that we too are outside of time, filtered by the future.

In other words his sense of displacement is being used to trigger ours visually.

It's all quite clever.

It's both beautiful and atmospheric and discomforting and touch stressful. Meaning that it is ALSO a visual vehicle to drive narrative tension. As effective as scary music, perhaps more so in this show (since I personally found the musical motifs and refrains somewhat overused.)

Linguistic corner

The word for reflection and shadow is the same in Thai.

Note on the por/phor/phô honorific in Thai

I have not encountered it before in BL. I am indebted to @embraceyourfandom for the following information;

Phô is a paternal honorific, luang phô is used for respected monks. It basically means father. And is oft seen as male honorific for village elders. It's also used as a male prefix in the names of several occupations like:

พ่อครัว phô khrua (khrúa= kitchen -> chef)

พ่อค้า phô khá (khá= trade -> merchant)

พ่อมด phô mót (mót= person of occult knowledge -> wizard)

พ่อบ้าน phô bân (bân =house -> butler) - most relevant

So, Yai's use is probubly foreshadowing that Jom will be a butler for his house, and is primitively referring to him with this title.

All that said, phô can also be used by a "man who is older/higher on hierarchy to refer to a younger/lower on hierarchy man with intimacy and/or affection."

I think all this has to do with Jom's demonstration of education. Yai figured out early on that one of the reasons Jom doesn't belong and cannot fit in with the servants is that he is more educated than a peasant (of this time period), which for Yai adds up to him being originally from a higher status and possibly wealthy family, especially since Jom speaks English and has travelled (he has a non-northern accent).

There is very little Thai middle class at the beginning of the 1920s since trade is being dominated/dictated by the West, or Chinese merchant operations, and Siam is a monarchy. So for a nationalize Thai citizen educated means military, landed gentry with trade operations (like Yai), royal/political/diplomatic connections, or... none of the above. This changes, especially in the south, throughout this decade (as it did in other parts of the world). So there is a rising bourgeoisie going on in the background but it's not that obvious in Chang Mai at this time.

What Jom's educated lack of status means to Yai is that Jom's family either got wiped out or politically disenfranchised possibly as part of the 1912 attempted coups (or even WWI)? This would be mystifying for Yai because Jom doesn't act like he comes from a military family at all. So his background and status is very confusing for Yai, but Yai does know one thing...

Jom is NOT lower class by the standards of Yai's temporal worldview and existence.

For a young man to be educated and yet entirely alone is very dangerous and suspicious. Also, let's be clear, Jom doesn't look or act like a laborer. He red flags "cultured" all over the place.

Yai is paternalistic and caring towards Jom out the gate because Yai has a big ol'crush but also because he recognizes "his own" is trying to survive while isolated and scared.

Yai wants to rescue Jom. Yai is an ineffectual 20 year old gay intellectual. But poor thing sure tries.

Let's Talk About How I Felt About I Feel You Linger in the Air

The historical aspect was great.

I adore historical romances and we almost never get them in BL. I was always gonna be biased towards this show. (As indeed I am towards Nobleman Ryu's Wedding, Tinted with You, and To Sir With Love.) Aside from some classic Thai BL production issues (less than normal, this is very high production value for Thailand) and my issues around the sound track and repetitive repriens (which frankly were more noticeable because I binged the last half) I have no complaints on that score (heh heh).

The surrounding support cast were all quite good and we even got us some lesbians!

The emotional and narrative tensions were excellent.

Any issues I had with pacing came from focus on characters that didn't interest me, but probubly did interest others. I wasn’t wild or particularly interested in the family drama or the side characters/couples, but they were necessary to make this a fully fleshed story with historical context and to give Yai much needed characterization. Also this use of a ensemble cast is very close to Thailand's lakorn heart, even thought this one had way less scenery chewing ludicrous soapy drama (thank heavens).

I was delighted that external threat, stressors, and conflict drove this plot. That's refreshing in BL.

I have no arguments with the chemistry and kisses and sex scenes were tasteful and lovely, occasionally even heart-wrenching, and it's nice to see Thailand especially use physical intimacy to drive plot, and not the other way around.

I love historicals partly because every tiny touch can have such lingering significance, they're very elegant in their chaste physicality. This show didn't need to move into higher heat, but I'm grateful it did because even that was very well done. Thai BLs can often feel clumsy around intimacy, but not this one.

The final sex scene before Jom and Yai separate forever utilizes the ubiquitous director's-favorite-romantic-moments-flashbacks (required of all Asian romance dramas) but with acceleration and tension driven by the noises of sex, which I've never seen/heard done before. In other words: climax of sex = climax of the romance story, I see what you did there, Tee. Clever. Very clever. Bit on the nose… erm… on the… well you know what I mean.

Like all Thai BLs this wasn’t perfect, but for me this is as close as Thai BL gets to high quality romance and that’s what I want the most from my drama watching experience (if not necessarily my Thai BL experience).

But... and you knew the but was coming didn't you?

I absolutely hated the ending.

It wasn't sad, don't worry, but it also wasn't good.

There is a long drawn out separations sequence and then Jom returns to the present, drowning from a car accident. Jom is "rescued" by an moustachioed iteration of Yai from the distant past (who we met once before) and then wakes in hospital. Some time later, Jom returns to the house in Chang Mai where Yai turns up and they reunite.

The end.

There is a stinger featuring Jom once more hurled back in time, only further, meeting the warrior mustache Yai once more.

Okay, that's all I knew and all I saw.

Confused? So was I.

If this had been a regular time travel romance: Yai would have been the EMT or doctor attending Jom when he woke up and their "this time period" romance would commence. With either shared memories, or not.

Had this been set up for audience comprehension in line with the original novel, we should have had flashbacks from both Present Yai (he's not the same one, as it turns out) and deep-past Moustache Yai interwoven throughout the series. Preferably with some focus on Present Yai's quest for reunion with Present Jom AND Present Yai's own experience with visions and memory of his past lives.

A full explanation of the ending is here. This explanation of the 3 different Yais makes me like our ending more. But I shouldn't need to read Cliff's notes from some random y-novel reading fan on Tumblr to understand what's going on in a series!

There is supposedly a special happening with Jom + Present Yai.

There was unquestionably a failure in adaptation in the finale of this show.

As a fan and watcher, what I actually felt was deeply confused and hurt.

I also felt that this was a disingenuous un-earned throw away happy ending, since I had no idea who this new Present Yai was and no investment in his character. I simply didn't believe he was the same Yai (Bright is too good an actor, he was clearly a different older personality).

So the fact remains that past Yai, our Yai, the 20 year old boy we grew to understand and love, is abandoned in the past to suffer alone for the rest of his life. And THAT is an unhappy ending for one half of my beloved pair. Yes Jom gets a new Yai in the present day, but it's not the same Yai. They have no developed relationship, and Jom is doomed to leave even this new Yai and slide into the past once more. That's barely even happy for now for Jom's character.

As a result of my deep sadness for 20-year-old Yai in particular, I'm not going to be able to rewatch this show. The whole thing was rendered not just confusing but the opposite of comforting by the final 15 minutes. I'm tempted to dock it two whole points - one for the ending and the other for the lack of rewatch potential.

But the first 11.5 eps were SO GOOD.

This is one of the only times where I am actually hoping for a second season, while simultaneously being wary of the screen writing and production team's capacity to give us a satisfying one.

Industry wise? I honestly don't think we can hope too hard for a full season 2. This was an expensive show with flawed/limited distribution and little sponsorship. I don't see how they'll get funding for a second season. Unless we see this show up on like Netflix or Viki, I urge you not to hope too hard and be disappointed.

In all honestly?

I started typing up this blog post thinking Thailand was finally, after 5 years, going to earn another 10/10 from me but I just can't in good conscious give it that. It's been days and I'm still upset about that last episode.

And Now My Quick Pitch Review

I truly loved this time travel romance. IFYLITA is an exquisite BL, from filming techniques to narrative framework (much like Until We Meet Again). Steeped in history and family drama it edges into lakorn (but no as much as To Sir With Love and with way less scenery chewing). This is an elegant and classy BL... from Thailand which normally doesn't even try for classy. The main couple (both as a pair and individuals) were excellent, particularly Bright (Yai) whose eye-work acting style is a personal favorite of mine. Pity about the ending. Oh it wasn’t that sad but it wasn’t good either. This show should easily have earned a 10 from me except that it fumbled the… erm… balls. Argh. Whatever. 9/10

(source)

This post is also in My Drama List as a review.

[fantastictyphoonpeanut]

Hedy Lamarr was not only a talented actress but a very clever technician too. Together with the American composer George Antheil, she developed the frequency hopping process for the Allies in 1942, that could be used to control torpedoes. The changing frequencies made the radio signals difficult to locate and immune to interference. Although the extremely complex process was not used by the USA during the war, it was the basis for today's communication technologies such as Bluetooth.

[pandoramsbox]

Sci-Fi Saturday: Invisible Agent

Week 23:

Film(s): Invisible Agent (Dir. Edwin L. Marin, 1942, USA)

Viewing Format: DVD

Date Watched: 2021-11-19

Rationale for Inclusion: 

As I wrote in my post about Dr. Cyclops (Dir. Ernest B. Schoedsack, 1940, USA) a few weeks back, most of the purer works of science fiction in the 1940s were being produced in serial or short format, whilst features were mostly horror hybrids, and frequently linked to past Universal Horror movies or adaptations of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. As a result, this post will be the last one on sci-fi films of the 1940s, and also will finally feature one of the Universal Monster sequels.

While the sequels to Frankenstein (Dir. James Whale, 1931, USA) leaned more into fantasy and horror, the sequels to The Invisible Man (Dir. James Whale, 1933, USA) showed more cross-genre compatibility. The first sequel, The Invisible Man Returns (Dir. Joe May, 1940, USA), sticks to the horror, sci-fi roots of the original with the added thriller narrative of a wrongly convicted man trying to prove his innocence of a murder. The second sequel, The Invisible Woman (Dir. A. Edward Sutherland, 1940, USA), goes the comedy route, and narratively has little to do with the prior films apart from its title. The third sequel, Invisible Agent (Dir. Edwin L. Marin, 1942, USA), puts the invisibility serum of the original film towards the war effort in a sci-fi espionage film. Two more sequels followed, The Invisible Man's Revenge (Dir. Ford Beebe, 1944, USA) and Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (Dir. Charles Lamont, 1951, USA), which were a return to horror and comedy, respectively.

For all its cultural dominance during the 1940s, World War II rarely shows up directly in feature length sci-fi films of the era. Part of that has to do with the United States' late entry into the war, but also other mediums, like comic books and radio, being the preferred showcase of spectacular worlds and technology. The novelty of its espionage plot is why, out of all the Universal Monster sequels that also fit in the sci-fi genre, I thought Invisible Agent warranted inclusion on this survey.

Reactions:

Continuity within the Invisible Man series is frequently casual, since unlike the Dracula, Frankenstein and Wolfman films, no characters exist in multiple films. Invisible Agent does narratively connect back to The Invisible Man by having protagonist Frank Griffin Jr., alias Frank Raymond, (Jon Hall) be presented as the grandson of the first film's Dr. Jack Griffin, who possesses a copy of the recipe for the invisibility serum. Never mind the fact that in The Invisible Man Jack Griffin was not married, nor shown to be a philanderer, and deliberately destroyed the only existing copy of the invisibility serum formula; the filmmakers probably figured their audience would not have seen the 1933 film, or at least not recently enough for the change in continuity to be an issue.

Retroactive continuities, or as we say today "retcons", have been fixtures of popular media since popular mass media first took shape at the end of the nineteenth century, anyway. So it is safe to presume that audiences in 1942 were apt to just accept the changes with minimal reaction or thought. Increased access to past works in the post-modern, digital age have prompted a more negative response from devoted fan communities when continuity is deviated from. As a fan spoiled by access who typically watches The Invisible Man annually, I definitely responded to the retcon in Invisible Agent by thinking that it made no sense based on what was present in the original film.

However, retconning aside, having the grandson of Dr. Jack Griffin use the invisibility serum to help the United States government and Allies, instead of giving it to the Axis Powers, or maniacally sewing anarchy as a free agent with it, was the story that the era demanded. The film unfolds as a competent sci-fi, spy thriller with gimmicky yet clever effects moments to convey invisibility that were the true hallmark of the series.

The whole narrative is itself a work of Allied propaganda, but it only goes explicitly heavy handed during a speech of Griffin's whilst trying to get information out of the incarcerated Gestapo Standartenführer Karl Heiser (J. Edward Bromberg).

Given the history of German emigrants playing Nazis in American films during the war, it may be a surprise to modern audiences to discover German emigrant Peter Lorre in yellowface playing a Japanese agent, Baron Ikito. Lorre, who worked his way from France to England to America to get away from the Nazi regime as quickly as possible, had previously played Japanese detective Mr. Moto in eight films between 1937 and 1939, so audiences were accustomed to seeing him play Japanese characters. Between his experience playing Moto, and Lorre's skill as an actor, his performance of Baron Ikito is fairly neutral for a yellowface performance, albeit problematic by its very nature. 

Invisible Agent is an interesting cultural artifact. Its narrative is built on a respectable sci-fi concept and it places middle of the pack when it comes to Universal Monster sequels.

World War II and Nazis factor more deeply in later retro and period piece science fiction works than during the actual 1940s. It is somewhat disappointing, but if anything is an incentive to look more into the print offerings of the era.

Next week we move onto the 1950s: flying saucers, aliens, and all manner of atomic terrors.

[yeonchi]

Koei Warriors Retrospective Part 6: Samurai Warriors 1 Spinoffs (State of War/Pachislot)

Samurai Warriors State of War (激・戦国無双) Platforms: PSP Release dates: Japan: 8 December 2005 USA: 7 March 2006 Europe: 24 March 2006

Like Dynasty Warriors before it, Samurai Warriors has also released spinoffs that explore new concepts or take advantage of the technology in new consoles. The amount of spinoffs that Koei and Koei Tecmo released can feel daunting and wasteful, but the purpose of this series is to determine their merits and call out their faults.

With that in mind, let's continue with the two spinoffs for Samurai Warriors 1.

Samurai Warriors State of War

Like Dynasty Warriors before it, Samurai Warriors has its own spinoff for the PSP called State of War, or Geki Sengoku Musou in Japanese.

The Story Modes for each character vary depending on the character, though they do share scenarios most of the time and some characters do have their own scenarios. All characters from Xtreme Legends are featured and are split into three groups, namely the Oda, the Eastern Warriors and the Western Warriors. The Tokugawa are kind of unique as they only share one scenario with the Eastern Warriors instead of two.

Unlike the Dynasty Warriors PSP game, stages are in a grid format rather than an area format. Each enemy space you go to will have a mission, whether it is to defeat enemy unit leaders, defeat as many enemies as possible, or preventing enemy spies from causing a mutiny among others. At the end of the mission, you will get an A/B/C rating that will allow you to move 1 to 3 spaces depending on what you get.

Throughout the stage, you can obtain charms from defeating enemy officers or passing chests. These charms can affect enemies or benefit your allies. Some of them can take effect in a wider area and some of them continue to be effective as long as you have them. Aside from these battle charms, you can also earn tactic charms that can open gates and dams or deactivate cannons.

During the battle, you can obtain weapons like you would in the vanilla game. You can also obtain subofficers that give you stat buffs, abilities or charms from the start of the battle (subofficers don't cost anything, but you can only have one playable/Musou subofficer). The Level 4 weapons are unlockable on Hard or Chaos difficulties. Skills are also obtained when you level up or defeat certain officers in Story Mode.

Characters from Dynasty Warriors 4 also appear as subofficers (like how the Samurai Warriors characters appeared in the Dynasty Warriors PSP game) and in the final Ultimate Warriors story. It's pretty interesting to see the beginnings of a concept that would become a mainstay in the future.

Like the Dynasty Warriors PSP game before it, State of War is another great adaptation of the main Samurai Warriors game, showing how you don't necessarily need to fully adapt the main game to provide a fun experience on the go.

Samurai Warriors Pachislot (Pachislot Sengoku Musou)

Pachislot Sengoku Musou (パチスロ戦国無双) Platforms: PS3 Release dates: Japan: 6 September 2007

Imagine going down the pub and seeing this among the pokies. Slot machines based on licenced franchises are not a new thing, but I don't pay much attention to them, whether I'm at the casino or at the pub, because I'm not much of a gambling person when it comes to money. My dad used to buy lottery tickets sometimes when I was little, but he doesn't do it anymore now. Scratchie tickets are a rare occurrence, but even then they're gifts from his boss.

Yamasa Entertainment has licenced Koei's IP to make pachislots of the first three Samurai Warriors games, but only the first one was made into a PS3 game in 2007 for the Yamasa Digital Slot World series (because adapting further sequels would be more of the same anyway). As such, this allows the first four generations of Samurai Warriors games to be represented on the PlayStation 3 (Yes, Warriors Orochi exists, but I'll get to that later). For a time I wasn't able to play it until I realised that I had to decrypt the ISO, after which I managed to get it working. Same goes for a few other games that I downloaded for the sake of it.

Look, this game is just a simulation of the actual game running inside a simulation of the pachislot machine. You use the controller to enter credits, start the reels and stop each individual one. Pressing Select allows you to switch the camera focus between the reels and the screen where all the CGs are displayed, while pressing L3 switches you into a free camera mode.

The main characters playable in this are Yukimura, Keiji and Hanzō, with others appearing in events. You can view the CG loops and events for the three of them in the Museum.

Simulation Mode is just as what it says on the tin. It allows you to set the frequency chance multiplier for bonuses so that they can appear more often. Practice Mode allows you to simulate a machine in a shop that has been open X out of Y hours, accumulating simulated playtime from previous plays. I think this sets a benchmark for up to 6 settings in Simulation Mode but I'm not even sure what it even does. You can activate the Auto Play so you don't have to do much.

There are three modes to be played in Challenge Mode; there is Medal Attack, where you play to see how many medals you get in 300 plays; Sengoku Rush Attack, where you play to see how long you can keep the Sengoku Rush replay sequence going for; and Bonus Attack, where you have 40 plays in the Big Bonus Game to see how many times you can fill your Musou gauge, or rather, trigger the minigame event with the Strike Ninja and beat him by getting a bonus reel, namely a kanji symbol in each reel. I have no idea what "Bell Musou Gauge" even is.

Yeah look, this isn't something I'm going to be that serious in reviewing. If I can play something to try it out I'll definitely do it, but if I can't enjoy it properly for whatever reason then I'm just going to talk about it a little and move on. This game was a thing and that's it.

We're sailing back to China next time as we get into the pinnacle of classic era Koei Warriors with Dynasty Warriors 5.

[undertoweyes]

Today, here in Brazil, it’s been 59 years since the military coup that established a bloody dictatorship that lasted for 21 years. Such a coup was only possible because of the financial, technological and ideological support of the USA allied to the elites of this country to overthrow the democratically elected president João Goulart. There were thousands of dead and disappeared, not restricted to political militants but also oppressing indigenous people, rural workers, social movements. To this day, my country has never been able to heal this wound left up to date that lasted 21 years, this wound is open and constantly spurts blood. That's why I leave these words at the end, in memory of those who fought so that I could be born and live in a democracy, however flawed it may be.

DICTATORSHIP NEVER AGAIN

MAY THE BREATH OF 1964 NEVER TRIUMPH

ATÉ A VITÓRIA SEMPRE!