#also i had to be a member of society (derogatory)

[freakenomenon]

okay hereeee are some ted opinions that i feel as though i should share before i explode with frustration.

teds paranoia is due to AM of course, yes. this is horribly tragic and what AM has done to the survivors is HORRIBLE. but.... it doesn't excuse the CLEAR misogynistic bias ( and possible racial bias STAY WITH ME HERE IM BLACK I AM THE MOST CERTIFIED TO TALK ABOUT THIS. ) ted displays towards ellen. when talking about the others he doesn't make derogatory statements towards their gender identities or their choices within their past lives. especially with benny being gay he only states that AM had sexually humiliated him because of it, which does not mean he agrees with it. but then when he shifts over to ellen it's so OBVIOUS how victim blamey and sexist his words are. implying that she enjoys servicing them and that AM had given her pleasure despite her clearly not wanting any of that. he doesnt only just GLOSS OVER the sexual humiliation of benny, he uses it against ELLEN. paranoia does not CAUSE bigotry to sprout, as someone with paranoia if anything it's more offensive to IMPLY that it would cause saying something that horrendous to a SEXUAL ASSAULT VICTIM. ( not only talking about the elevator here by the way, ellen being forced to service the others can genuinely be considered proximity assault and COERCION but whatever ) yes, i do feel bad for ted in the aspect that he is a torture victim and he's gone through so much and that he has genuinely been driven mad. but bigotry within madness cannot be justified in ANY right. it's also very insulting to his character to imply that his ONLY personality traits are being a douchebag. yes it's a big part of him because he is ,,, a douchebag. but to truly understand why you shouldn't like ted as a PERSON ( not as a character, he's very well written do whatever you want ) you have to peel away exactly at what makes his actions unjustifiable in the end.

moving on, his portrayal in the game is both interesting and completely absurd and horrendous. let me start this off by saying. Ted. Does NOT. love ellen. Ted is not ACTUALLY in love with this woman. He's just clinging to whatever he can for validation and he believes that he is ENTITLED to her validation because of his isolation and belief that the MEN hate him. not to mention his warped view on sex due to him being groomed may have led him to believe that sex = love. the short sporadic and awfully humiliating sparks of passion between ellen and ted during those intimate moments, especially for a grooming victim. may be incredibly confusing and conflicting. which of course is not at all teds fault, he's a victim. i don't blame him for that. teds character in the game in some aspects couldve been a beautifully done portrayal of how "love" and a want for it can bring out the worst in someone. that having trauma doesn't always make good functioning morally correct members of society. in other aspects. it's. bad. God fucking. JESUS it's bad i don't even want to talk about how horrendous he is written in the game christ on a celery stick. I can't even say this is because of my personal disliking of ted. all of the characters are so STRANGELY written in the game that is actually absurd in resemblance to their characters in the short story. but whatever.

rant over.

[sebastiancats]

Probably a clue to the cult that kidnapped the twins

Ok, this is my first post here and I don't know much about English so I'll use the translator.I hope that a part of kurofandom can see this and tell me what they think.

A few days ago I started rereading the twin reveal arc manga, and since lately I've been doing research on gothic/medieval architecture, I saw this panel from chapter 135 and thought "this castle seems to be medieval".

then the idea of looking for information on satanic sects during the Victorian era occurred to me, and although in reality there was very little information about it, after searching for a while I finally found a page that told me about what I was looking for.

Well this information is about a man named Sir Francis Dashwood, like many of the young people of Victorian England who prided themselves on being part of blue blood families, he was an inexhaustible traveler. He toured almost all of Europe as part of his training, but he always expressed a very marked passion for Italy. Dashwood was a man of the world, surrounded by powerful friends in politics, banking and the art world. He held important positions in the civil service of England. He was also a notable lover of parties, music, food, drink and women in large quantities, in addition to art and Greco-Roman cultures. Quite a character with notable influences that he had access to practically what he wanted. He lived near the River Thames, in Buckinghamshire, in a huge mansion in West Wycombe, surrounded by luxuries and servants who fulfilled any mandate 24 hours a day. In it he held meetings with notable friends of his and members of Masonic lodges in which his vices surfaced permanently.

However, he had in mind the creation of a select secret group in which he could discuss freely about political and philosophical issues exclusively, made up of elegant and influential gentlemen from English high society. This is how he found the ideal place to carry out these meetings: Medmenham Abbey, whose owners were members of the Duffield family, and which was about five kilometers away from his mansion. The Duffields agreed to rent the property, erected around 1200 by a congregation of Cistercian monks. The place was perfect in every way: away from prying eyes and with an atmosphere of mysticism, thanks to its medieval air that enchanted Sir Francis.

He had a good number of statues of pagan gods moved to the property and decorated the walls with mocking phrases such as: Peni tento, non penitenti ("a stiff penis, no penance"). On the reception door he had the following legend engraved: Fay ce que voudras (<< Do what you want »), which would later be adopted by the magician Aleister Crowley as his personal phrase. The place was ready to receive Dashwood's guests and start the meetings of the new Hell-Fire Club. From this moment is where the myths and legends are born around the dark activities of this sinister cult where its members arrive at the abbey aboard small boats, dressed as monks, carrying candles in their hands and singing Gregorian chants.

It should be clarified that in reality the cult called themselves "The Monks of Medmenham". The name "Hell-Fire" club was more of a derogatory nickname.

So reading all this information I realized something, the phrase that this cult used was "fray ce que voudras" which means "Do what you want" or "Do your will" and this same phrase is used by the members of the cult that kidnapped to the twins.

In this part of chapter 135.

here I realized that when they arrive at that castle the receptionist asks "are you a monk?" To which the other responds with "Fay ce que voudras" (Do what you want). The same phrase used by members of the cult The Monks of Medmenham.

So I would assume that this is a hint that Yana left us and I don't see anyone else talking about it. I don't know if so many people from kurofandom follow me but tell me what you think about this, we should investigate further but I think this is a very obvious clue.

[deadtime-stories]

Two Terrible People in One Terrible World

I threatened yesterday, now I'm following up. This is my working reference for future OC artwork. These are two of the four characters I recently made up specifically for drawing exercises going forward. Sketches, lil comics, full on Art(tm). I used the Baldur's Gate 3 Character Creation screen and a ton of mods to come up with basic models only. So no, these aren't perfectly as I envisioned. But they're close.

The World: In 1606 AD, the not-even-yet-considered theory of multiple dimensions was proven correct when something happened somewhere to smush another dimension into ours. The result of this astronomical Hulk Smash moment was the connection of our world with another that had completely different laws of physics, i.e., it runs on magic. People being people in every dimension, this started an all out war when the Magicians decided to do a little colonialism of their own.

Fortunately for Earth, the world now dumping wizards and shit into it through permanent portals had a much smaller population, so Earth just had to keep throwing Magic-Missile-fodder into the war until we outlasted them and won. The result, however, was vast swathes of Earth flooded with magic, and very much unlivable for the "civilized" sort.

They still managed to colonize around it though, and do every terrible thing you ever read about in AP History and then some, just on a timeline delayed about 20 years by the war and on a slightly smaller scale.

Present Day: It's 2024, and the world as you know it doesn't exist. Instead of large countries, most of Earth is natural, undeveloped landscape, with big cities dotting the globe where most people live. With its own ley lines supercharged and activated by the war--helped along by intermarriage between Earthlings and Magicians--Earth lineages have begun to develop their own natural magics over the last 400 years. Magic is NOT inborn, it's a skill anyone can learn, but some are more naturally inclined to succeed than others.

Setting: What, in our timeline, is known as the continent of North America, known here as Serathia. South Serathia encompasses what we know as Mexico and the southern half of the US. North Serathia, where these characters are based, encompasses what we know as Canada and the northern half of the US. There are no states, only regions. Laws are set by localities, though most abide by the Continental Accords, which is a basic list of rights and laws that are universal in member cities. Without getting into too much detail, this is based in Seattle City, the equivalent of real-life Seattle. Seattle City, however, is the main part of the larger metropolitan area of Seattle, which encompasses the eastern halves of Snohomish and King counties, the northeastern portion of Pierce County, and all of Kitsap County. There are no other major cities in what we know as Washington, Oregon, Montana, or the southern edges of British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. It's natural land dotted with small towns.

Society: Economically and legally, everyone is equal. Socially, society is divided between Civvies ("civilians"; a leftover term from the post-war rebuild era when "regular" people were not recruited into dangerous work as often because they were squishier than magic users) and Shinies (an originally derogatory term used by non magic users because magic tends to visibly sparkle when in use, and often leaves behind a fine, dust-like residue that leaves careless magicians very shiny indeed). Of course, non-human humanoids have also meandered through the portals over the centuries and settled in, both in cities and in their own enclaves. Not a lot of intermixing goes on there, though...Shinies only make up about 1/4 of the human population, and the other 3/4 can barely be normal about them, don't even ask a human how they feel about Trolls ("Snobby little know-it-alls too pampered to put down their caviar and ruin their manicures with real work," if you really want to know).

Religion: Here there be gods. Serathia, like much of the world, is polytheistic and follows a pantheon, most likely because those gods do really exist and do fuck around with mortals on the regular. In both the sexual and the "being a problem" sense of the term.

Name: Ilsifer. Likely self-named, as he currently doesn't remember who he is. No last name, he can't remember it and doesn't need one at the moment. Age: Idk. Neither does he. At least 35, though.

Carcass hauled from Elliot Bay a few weeks ago by the Coast Guard

Died, but got better

Probably(?) came back fine

Suspiciously familiar with what human flesh tastes like.

Somehow still knows about the world, just nothing about himself. People just nod in understanding when he says this. Pissing off a god and getting body-slammed into the bay is the general consensus

Gray-ish, pallid kind of complexion, almost like he's still dead

No heartbeat, btw. Doesn't feel that's important enough to ever bring up

Trans guy. Sort of.

Appears human, but is Dailathi. Dailathi are fucked up enough to need their own post; suffice to say, it's actually not suspicious that a Dailathi would know what human flesh tastes like. They do not out themselves or identify themselves to other species

Currently staying in a hostel in the Barrows, a seedy bay-side neighborhood that mostly comes alive at night

Also working under the table in the Barrows as a bouncer at Vespertine, a normal-looking burger joint that has a "speakeasy" in the basement where folks come to to indulge in illegal magical substances, and occasionally trade illegal artifacts in secret

Is 5'6". Does not care if anyone mentions this fact, since he's physically capable of lifting up to 600lbs without breaking a sweat

Nobody knows he can lift up to 600 lbs. That's Dailathi shit, we keep it on the down-low. He's just known as the mini firecracker who will break your fucking jaw if you get too pushy

Voice is far deeper than you expect when looking at him, scares a LOT of handsy dudes who think he's a cute girl

Name: Rhionin Winterbrooke Age: 157

Born and raised in Sacramento, a Dailathi stronghold humans tend to stay very far away from

Youngest of seven. Raised by mother and her six mates at the time, all of whom are his "actual father" because that's how his people do it

Has one sister, which is not abnormal but is rare. Also a huge stroke of luck. Not getting into it here..."male" and "female" go right out the window as soon as you take a half-decent closer glance at Dailathi

Left Sacramento at the age of 20 to learn a trade in Seattle. Also to stay alive. Unlike the omnivore boys, Dailathi girlies are obligate carnivores and...uh...literal man-eaters

Became a clerk to a private bookseller

Eventually got uncomfortably noticed by one of his boss' regular customers, a warlock named Cristophe

Eventually disappeared without a trace. Turns out, he also died. He did not get better.

He's still salty about it.

Has spent the last 130 years or so as a Servhant, a type of undead bound to Warlocks

Sometimes mistaken for Incubi or Succubi because they feed on blood but also absorb people's life force. Folks trade bits of their soul to Servhants for an unspeakably good orgasm followed by a really wicked high

Servhants filter those soul bits to the Warlock binding them; it lets the Warlock trade other people's soul energy to their patrons for power instead of their own

So Warlocks with more Servhants can trade more soul energy and get more powerful, creating more Servhants, etc.

This is all very illegal btw since Servhants are basically peeps you murder and bind to you as slaves. Bit unethical

Is one of five Servhants bound to Cristophe these days, basically spends his time getting whored out at Halcyon, an expensive private nightclub in the Barrows, owned by Cristophe

Very much a human trafficking victim, but also the insufferable type of guy you'd want to punch in the face. Two facts can and do coexist

Lives at Cristophe's private estate in Medina

Is only 5'8", DOES care if you mention it

Not that it matters, but can lift about 800lbs. This is NOT a Dailathi thing, they are as weak as regular human men, this is a Servhant thing

Follows Tethalyss, a goddess of death (generally of the slow, tortuous, painful kind), wrath, and spite, who is the patron deity of the Dailathi

[scaryinclusive]

if your reason for utilising a word, such as "delusional" or "narcissist" etc as an adjective or insult is because "the word had a different meaning / purpose prior to the mental health disorder and / or the mental health symptom", please remember that this was also the case for the r* slur, which is now world-wide deemed hate speech, offensive language and a derogatory / dehumanising term. consider why you're so firmly against just using a synonym that isn't deemed offensive, ableist or sanist by an entire community. why are you so dedicated to "but that's not how i intend it" rather than accepting you're hurting people and could be doing better as a member of society?

[explosions4evr]

I agree with most of this except for the bits about their image, religion and sexuality.

There have been multiple instances of the Nazis pushing this sort of "great war." In his Sportpalast speech in 1943, he brought the crowd up to fanaticism, and ended a series of 10 questions with: "I ask you: Do you want total war? If necessary, do you want a war more total and radical than anything that we can even imagine today?" This was after a series of defeats and was intended to improve moral and fighting spirit and ability, and more of these followed as the war turned against Germany. Also, tha Nazis didn't really defend White Christian society as a whole, they focused on defending their Aryan race. Although they were more lenient towards the other powers like the UK, USA and France than the Soviets or Poles based on their similarities, they were still intent on defeating them and ensuring the dominance of the Aryan race. The Nazis still had very derogatory views of other people who were White Christians based on different aspects, such as the ones you have put forward in your post like neurodivergent or disabled people, or people who came from different "races" of people. There were even some very medieval/witch hunt era views on this, with Hitler apparently banning marriage between red-heads as they produced "deviant offspring," so saying it was a defence of White Christian society is for the most part untrue. There's a bit more about why I don't think this suits in the next paragraph.

While most of the Nazis were very Christian, Himmler tried to push forward a sort of "Neo-paganism" onto the SS in his pursuit of the "perfect race," but admittedly it was pretty unsuccessful. However, there was an attempt from one of the most influential Nazis. Also, it wouldn't be surprising if this was pushed if the Nazis had won, as even the idea of the Aryan people supposedly comes from some sort of superhumans who inhabited Atlantis, which was then taken as Gospel by the Nazi command. So it probably would've resulted in some sort of occultism, as the Nazis would grasp at anything that would make them seem superior.

As for the sexuality part, there were numerous Nazis that were alleged to have been gay, but it can be hard to verify this as they obviously wouldn't have been open about it. So I wouldn't say they were completely cishet as a people, but at the same time they absolutely did not like them. To add onto what you said in regards to the high ranking Nazi being killed due to this, these allegations were actually a decently common way to get rid of other members who other Nazis viewed as a threat to them.

Also I would argue that many Nazis were mentally ill, or at least not right in the head in many ways. The combination of fanaticism, murder, drug abuse etc definitely impacted their mental state, so I wouldn't call them mentally stable in any way.

Anyways thats my infodump done, I just wanted to put forward my own thoughts about this. I have what others call an unhealthy obsession with WW2, so I couldn't resist it when I saw it lol. I'd be interested to hear any of your thoughts on this if you have any more. Also, which Nazi was the one you said was killed early on for being gay?

The nazis that you see in movies are as much a historical fantasy as vikings with horned helmets and samurai cutting people in half.

The nazis were not some vague evil that wanted to hurt people for the sake of hurting them. They had specific goals which furthered a far right agenda, and they wanted to do harm to very specific groups, (largely slavs, jews, Romani, queer people, communists/leftists, and disabled people.)

The nazis didn't use soldiers in creepy gas masks as their main imagery that they sold to the german people, they used blond haired blue eyed families. Nor did they stand up on podiums saying that would wage an endless and brutal war, they gave speeches about protecting white Christian society from degenerates just like how conservatives do today.

Nazis weren't atheists or pagans. They were deeply Christian and Christianity was part of their ideology just like it is for modern conservatives. They spoke at lengths about defending their Christian nation from godless leftism. The ones who hated the catholic church hated it for protestant reasons. Nazi occultism was fringe within the party and never expected to become mainstream, and those occultists were still Christian, none of them ever claimed to be Satanists or Asatru.

Nazis were also not queer or disabled. They killed those groups, before they had a chance to kill almost anyone else actually. Despite the amount of disabled nazis or queer/queer coded nazis you'll see in movies and on TV, in reality they were very cishet and very able bodied. There was one high ranking nazi early on who was gay and the other nazis killed him for that. Saying the nazis were gay or disabled makes about as much sense as saying they were Jewish.

The nazis weren't mentally ill. As previously mentioned they hated disabled people, and this unquestionably included anyone neurodivergent. When the surviving nazi war criminals were given psychological tests after the war, they were shown to be some of the most neurotypical people out there.

The nazis weren't socialists. Full stop. They hated socialists. They got elected on hating socialists. They killed socialists. Hating all forms of lefitsm was a big part of their ideology, and especially a big part of how they sold themselves.

The nazis were not the supervillians you see on screen, not because they didn't do horrible things in real life, they most certainly did, but because they weren't that vague apolitical evil that exists for white American action heros to fight. They did horrible things because they had a right wing authoritarian political ideology, an ideology that is fundamentally the same as what most of the modern right wing believes.

[libraryofcirclaria]

12 September 1282

Library of Circlaria

Third Level Society: First Version

Story Seven: Sarah Marks

I'm still reeling from having lost Kara Martins.

She didn't die or get locked away or anything like that.

Well, let me just write down what happened.

So she, Dyla, and I went to the Arbitrator Office as scheduled back on June 16. The Arbitrator accepted all the documentation needed and said that she would submit all the documentation to the Basin District to be reviewed and that it would be a week or two before we heard back.

The Arbitrator called us back on June 27. And during that meeting, she informed Dyla and Kara that the documentation was accepted and that both of their licenses would be given back to them when the renewal date of January 2, 1286 came to pass.

Having to wait until that date was a bit inconvenient, something that Dyla begrudgingly accepted. But Kara's reaction was completely different.

I don't know if she did not understand this or was expecting to be given a convenient exception, but Kara was shocked that she would have to wait until that renewal date. She started demanding her license back immediately. And when the Arbitrator explained how that was not possible, Kara called her a derogatory name.

That alone was enough to get the bailiffs to arrest her then and there. And that is not to say that Kara did not get physical.

In fact, she did.

The altercation was so intense that Dyla was a bit scared afterward. Ultimately, the Arbitrator submitted some sort of official complaint to the Gentry County court, and a judge there ordered Kara to spend the weekend in jail.

During that altercation, Kara actually started blaming Dyla for "setting her up on this." When we got back to our dormitory, Dyla was still a bit shaken up and felt alienated by Kara. I tried to explain to Dyla how that reaction was quite possibly a symptom of "the Burden." But then over the course of Saturday and Sunday, some friends and family of Kara's came knocking on our door, going in to pick up Kara's stuff. Apparently, Kara had become convinced that Dyla and I were "colluding with the local government to repress her," and resolved to no longer room with us.

Up to that point, we had been trying to appeal the ban that Peter Crane had placed on Kara. It had been an exhausting battle because Peter has been stubborn about banning Kara. We were having a hard time trying to find Members brave enough to petition against Peter. So that Sunday night after Kara's stuff was moved out, Dyla felt that perhaps it was better to just have Peter have his way with Kara and the ban. I told Dyla once again that this may just be the Burden affecting her and that this all may blow over.

On Monday September 2, Richard Rohrbaugh came to us with a flyer made by Kara accusing both Dyla and I of collaborating with Ceri Mains to sway the masses in harmful ways during the strike. And then on Tuesday, Kara Martins herself showed up outside our dormitory window and began throwing rocks. When Dyla's bedroom window shattered, I called the Campus Watch.

I still remember watching from my bedroom window shaking my head as the Campus Watch slapped handcuffs on Kara and escorted her away.

That week, Cabotton University Affairs, which I was surprised was still open during the strike, formally expelled Kara from the University. Then the Gentry County Court decided to have her banned from the County.

That loss Dyla and I are bearing with great fortitude considering also the issue with Richard Rohrbaugh.

Richard had been getting pretty close with the both of us, especially with me, in quite a pushy way. Recently, he had been praising us for apparently good leadership skills during this whole ordeal. He told Dyla to try running for the Dungeonmaster position again. When she backed from that, Richard suggested that I make the pitch. I kind of hesitated as well.

But then one evening, Richard sent me a ticker message asking to meet with him, just me and him, at the Slack. I told him that the Slack was closed due to the strike. He did not press further on the meetup that day. I told Dyla about it, and we laughed it off.

It was this past Friday when he approached me in the lobby of Fleming House with flowers, and told me that he wanted to spend "close and quality time with me." That was when I took a more serious approach to him, and told him politely but bluntly that I was not interested.

I told Dyla about that as well. I felt a bit guilty afterward, fearing that I had been too blunt with Richard, but Dyla assured me that I had a right to take a firm stance.

I agree with her, but now I am concerned of a possible fallout from Richard because he has been silent and absent ever since. Furthermore, I am not sure whether Richard, himself, said something or there was a bystander in the Fleming House lobby, but somehow word of what happened reached the ears of the lovely Robert Sievert. I think that Robert Sievert is making this up completely, but he is saying that Richard is now "leaving the front line because he is heartbroken."

Dyla is saying that Robert is twisting the truth. I hope she is right.

<- 24 May 1282 <- || -> 01 October 1282 ->

[kismetharborapps]

character information

name: Zari Sayeh Habibi

faceclaim: Sarah Shahi

gender & pronouns: Cis woman, she/her

age: 43

birthday: July 24, 1980 (7/24/1980)

place of birth: Chicago, IL

occupation: Lawyer @ Legal Lighthouse

neighborhood: Emerald Mist

time since arriving in kismet harbor: since 2019

filling a wanted connection?: Connor Bowen's Affair

biography: 

TW: mention of infidelity

Miracles come in all forms and for Navid and Nasim Habibi, their miracle came in the form of twins on the night of July 24, 1980. Their birth hadn't been anything out of the norm, but to see two healthy babies nestled in the arms of joyful parents, that was a special day. The twins were named Zari and Omid, and from then on, they were inseparable just as they were at birth. Their little family became everything.

Born and raised in Glenview, a suburb right outside Chicago, Illinois; the Habibi twins would become inseparable the moment they were brought into the world. Her childhood was blissfully normal, to say the least. The Habibi family came from money and never struggled financially. The children got what they wanted, resulting in a spoiled mentality of "it's mine and I deserve it" that didn't play well with others. It was clear that Zari was meant to be a leader, based on her social interactions with children. "Bossy" was a bit of an understatement. Zari had all the toys, the dolls, the dresses, anything that she could possibly want growing up. It was the perfect, white picket fence lifestyle.

From a young age, it was apparent that Zari was not only extremely smart, but also very independent. While many kids relied on their parents to buckle their shoes and read them to sleep each night, Zari took care of it herself and more often than not, took care of her twin brother. He was her other half, and she was always the brains looking out for him and making sure that he was okay. As she grew older, Zari came into her own and started to learn how to play her cards in the social scheme of the world. Men didn't want women to be smarter than them, to be better than them. Such a gentle patriarchal society they lived in. Zari would tone it down, but still maintain her power and her abilities.

High school was a coming of age for Zari, as it tends to be for most people. She joined the dance squad and was at the top of her class. It was also when she started to really notice boys in high school. Sure, she had small crushes when she was younger, but high school was a huge step from prepubescent boys and her silly romances. High school taught Zari a lot. It taught her about the social hierarchy of the world and how love was a fleeting feeling and was more accurately called lust. She still hung out with her brother, but things were different. Zari became the Queen B and she dated almost every guy on the football team. Though, no one dared to call her any derogatory names, because she was known to take people down a peg and ruin their reputations.

College was something different, altogether. And it was here that Zari really started to miss her twin, since they went to different schools. Zari wasn't Queen B anymore and people didn't care who she was or that her family had money. She was a single fish in a sea and she felt like she had been hooked by a fisherman only to be tossed back into the ocean, left to sink to the bottom. Zari had never felt so helpless in her life. That was until she was invited to a sorority party and she ended up pledging. Her family name was known there, her wealth acknowledged. Hazing wasn't allowed, but after doing a couple of the sisters' homework, she became a full-blown member. She was finally back on top, plus she finally had something other than her studies. She was happy and excited to finally put herself back out there. Bossing people around and having her pick of all of the hot fraternity boys.

And after countless sleepless nights and a lot of hard-work, Zari graduated with a degree in political science from Stanford University. It was during this time that Zari realized that she had an interest and passion for helping people, and after looking over the best programs within the country, she packed her bags and took off to New York City where she had applied and got accepted to Fordham University's law program. Between being a student and having duties as a law clerk, it was exhausting and overwhelming for Zari but worth it once she graduated and passed the bar at the age of twenty-six. Upon graduating, she became lucky. There was an opening at one of the most prominent firms in the city and she landed the position. Soon after, she began gaining a reputation by providing aggressive and diligent legal representation to her clients. Her success in the courtroom carried outside of it, too.

By the time she settled into her career, she snagged the attention of one another prominent figure in her line of work, a young top-notch lawyer she heard so much about and a man who worked his way up within his own firm. It seemed like natural selection made the pair come together and it just made sense. And, for the first time in her life, Zari fell in love. Being so focused on building her career, their new relationship caught her by surprise, though she welcomed it with open arms. And not long after, they were married and living a life of privilege. Though, that all changed when she found out that her husband was cheating on her. And at first, she honestly didn't know what to make of any of it. The picture perfect image she had of him and their marriage was cracked. Feeling the control of her personal life slipping out of her hands, Zari decided that the best option for her would be to file for divorce. Afterwards, she had completely cut ties with him and although it hurt her emotionally, Zari thought it would be for the best.

Once the divorce papers were signed, Zari moved to the other side of the city, getting away from the memories that she had of their life together. She found a decent sized penthouse, got a dog after wanting one for so long and buried herself in her work, not knowing what else to do. She worked her way up the ladder, becoming a partner to the firm when she was in her early thirties. In her line of work, she dealt with a variety of cases. Though, she became known around the city for the pro bono work she tended to do, usually with young mothers that didn't necessarily have the money to pay her, or teenagers in foster care that needed some kind of representation. Zari always had a soft spot for the underdogs, and she was damn good at what she did. Something she carried with her when she decided to move to Kismet Harbor, Oregon when she was in her late thirties.

In between working her day job and spending time with her loved ones, Zari found a deep affection and love for traveling. And it was one of the reasons why she found herself in Kismet Harbor. She fell in love with the town and knew she needed to move there. Zari thought it would be the perfect place to plant some roots and focus on more pro bono cases. After leaving her coveted position as a partner at her old firm, she found herself landing a position at Legal Lighthouse. It was hard for her to find her place within her new work environment, but she eventually found her footing and worked her way up once again. Zari was so committed to her work that her co-workers joked that she was married to it. And truth be told, she couldn't deny it.

Despite the knowledge that her marriage had long since been over, she struggled to connect with anyone new, uninterested in relationships. It was the major reason that she completely missed all the signs that a friend of a friend had been trying to get her to go out on a blind date for over a year. Only when it was spelled out for her, did she finally consider going on a date with a friendly gentleman named Russell Jones, pushing herself to step outside of her comfort zone and get back into the dating world. Despite the initial awkwardness, the whole date was great. They drank, they played some ice breaker games at the bar, and when it was time to go home, she left with him. He had been quite charming towards her the whole night. Before long, she found herself dating him. It wasn't even a year into their relationship when he proposed. Zari happily accepted and she found herself getting married a second time. She yet again was the picture perfect wife and her marriage looked like it was right out of a Hallmark movie. At least, on paper.

Behind closed doors and known only to her husband, it wasn't the same relationship as the years went by. Her spouse was always gone because of his demanding career and she felt neglected. That only intensified when her husband forgot a milestone anniversary, having a late night at the office and missing their dinner reservation. Whether or not Russell had been as faithful to her as she was to him, she didn't know. And what once was a comfortable and healthy relationship turned into something else.

It started out innocent, Zari just wanted to have a girl's night out. Instead, she met someone else and she couldn't deny that they had instant chemistry between them, but Zari knew that she was married so she refused to give in to temptation in fear of becoming just like her first husband. Zari tried to tell herself that she was off limits. However, the heart (or, well, the body) wants what it wants and despite her best effort to keep her head above the water and stay out of trouble, the situation escalated from a one night stand into a full blown affair. Romance wasn't part of her plan - but she simply couldn't deny that there was something there between them. He filled an itch in need of being scratched and her feelings for him were growing stronger by the minute.

But common sense finally set in and Zari knew that having an affair while she was married was wrong. Zari also knew that getting caught in a cheating scandal while she was married would do incredible damage to her reputation and if anyone caught a whiff of their relationship, her career could be tarnished. And even worse, she'd been lying about it to both her husband and the man she was having an affair with. Knowing she needed to do the right thing, she confessed to both men, which resulted in telling her husband that she felt stuck in her marriage, wanting to end things. And not wanting to hurt any more people, she decided to also end her affair. Eventually, she hoped it would all be for the best. Like it was the first time.

As of now, she's throwing herself into her work while also trying to spend a lot of time looking for a new place as she stays in the guesthouse of her and her husband's home. Even if everything hasn't all been sunshine and roses for Zari, in the end, she ended up achieving what she'd wanted from a young age - making a name for herself and having a successful career. Though, she still lingers over her "what-ifs" in life.

other: (X), (X), (X), (X), (X), (X)

pets: N/A

town activities: hands on kismet harbor, joyous journeys, budding minds, just brew it, shelfie squad (volunteer), trivia nights

draw of luck: yes!

[bookoformon]

Mormon Chapter 1, Part 1. "The Buildings."

Mormon is Hebrew for "the Balm for the Dispossessed", also "The Pillar of the Myrrh" AKA the Words of Moses.

Mor= The Balsam of God, Oil of Joy

Mon= For the dispossessed

The masculine nouns מר (mor) and מור (mor) denote a bitter and fragrant spice, which became known to us as myrrh (same word).

Myrrh was the main ingredient of the anointing oil with which Moses was to sprinkle the tabernacle, which made the tabernacle not only visually but also olfactory prominent in Israel's camp (Exodus 30:23). This oil was also used to anoint the various "anointed ones" in Israel's theocratic structure: priests, prophets and kings; those people who had no earthly superior. The familiar titles Messiah and Christ both mean Anointed.

Myrrh-oil became the "oil of joy" with which God anointed the righteous (Psalm 45:7), but mostly it became associated with the consummation of marriage. 

Esther bathed in myrrh for six months before she was presented to the king (Esther 1:2). Solomon sprinkled his bed with myrrh and invited his bride to drink their fill of love until the morning (Proverbs 7:17-18).

The familiar adjective μονος (monos) means alone, which is of course a horrible word since our human existence is one of interaction and the exchange of goods, services and ideas. From the words we speak to the technology we use our identity derives largely from the socio-organism we are part of.

Convention, which is the agreement on methods of expression, allows people to link their minds like a radio telescope, which is why the word ιδιωτης (idiotes), meaning "in a category of their own" has its derogatory ring.

Long before the fall of man caused the whole of creation to go awry, the Creator noted that there was something "not good" about his paradisiacal creation: It's not good that the man is alone (Genesis 2:18). And so he created Woman, which improved things right along. This Woman, of course, was Eve, who was the "mother of all life" (Genesis 3:20) and the word for mother (אמ, 'am) also means people or society, which is why Eve is the biosphere and not some naked lady of old.

Ammaron instructs Mormon concerning the sacred records—War commences between the Nephites and the Lamanites—The Three Nephites are taken away—Wickedness, unbelief, sorceries, and witchcraft prevail. About A.D. 321–26.

As we are aware, the first prophets of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints received the Book of Mormon from the Holy Ghost and started a revolution in order to answer the cries of freedom of the black man.

Its first major Apostle a powerful prophet named Abraham Lincoln was assassinated for it and later every orthodox member of the church was hunted down and killed. The remnants went west and are now fucking the world up, causing pain, agony, horror, and fear everywhere they go, every possible moment. Their ancestors were the greatest products of human spirituality, their accomplishments exceed those of any other faith, ever.

The current members are filth. The Book of Mormon remains the most significant spiritual artifact in human history and must be read by all modern students of religion in order that we understand the roadmap Abraham Lincoln and his church used to stir the world up and urge it to war in the name of freedom. We could use a man like him these days. Fortunately, we still have his Book.

1 And now I, Mormon, make a record of the things which I have both seen and heard, and call it the Book of Mormon.

2 And about the time that Ammaron hid up the records unto the Lord, he came unto me, (I being about ten years of age, and I began to be learned somewhat after the manner of the learning of my people) and Ammaron said unto me: I perceive that thou art a sober child, and art quick to observe;

3 Therefore, when ye are about twenty and four years old I would that ye should remember the things that ye have observed concerning this people; and when ye are of that age go to the land Antum, unto a hill which shall be called Shim; and there have I deposited unto the Lord all the sacred engravings concerning this people.

4 And behold, ye shall take the plates of Nephi unto yourself, and the remainder shall ye leave in the place where they are; and ye shall engrave on the plates of Nephi all the things that ye have observed concerning this people.

5 And I, Mormon, being a descendant of Nephi, (and my father’s name was Mormon) I remembered the things which Ammaron commanded me.

6 And it came to pass that I, being eleven years old, was carried by my father into the land southward, even to the land of Zarahemla.

7 The whole face of the land had become covered with buildings, and the people were as numerous almost, as it were the sand of the sea.

In Judaism, the father is the "inner stream" of moral consciousness that is passed along to the son. The Torah names 82, the Twelve plus the Seventy that father the Sons of Israel. The Record of these things are carried by the son to the South, the place of understanding through a process of learning and practice called Chabad.

One cannot sit and memorize the Commandments for example, one must come to see they are beneficial to self and society and uphold them. The Book of Mormon, much like the Torah and the Gospels themselves say there is Presentation, Instruction, and then this journey South, towards Zarahemla, or the Place of Enlightenment where other persons live, work, and struggle to survive and be happy. Like the rest, the Book of Mormon says we have made this process of living in fully urban modern society deliberately difficult and horrible and could just as easily make of all of it a utopia. Why we will not do this is the question.

The problem is and always have been an attitude problem, not one based on capabilities, technology, money, or expertise. We have all of these in abundance.

To deliberately choose to live in a state like we do in America which is rife with corruption and engages in apartheid, corruption, superstition, and Crimes Against Humanity when we could be living so well, is to live in the inexcusable essence of Sodom and Gomorrah, "violence and tyranny." And we saw what God does in response to these.

I am definitely interested in helping Him out with that. After the Church and the Republicans partnered with Hamas to attack Israel on October 7, like you, I simply must see them all go the way of the wind. I simply must.

As for the precise meaning of the verses above which are kind of weird in plain English, any tom fool of a Took could see that, the Values in Gematria follow. Like many passages in Judaism, they follow the course of the Seven Days.

v. 1: Mormon makes a record. The Value in Gematria is 4869, דחו‎ט‎, compressed= Kabbalah. "The compression of secrets." Just as myrhh gum is steam distilled to produce the balsam, so must the self be pressed to find the secret balm of creation. The scripture combined with the decompression technique called Kabbalah is how this is done. All religions use Kabbalah.

We need its archaeology in order to turn our minds on and force them to think and learn in ways that cannot be done if we simply say "hey! killing is bad!" There simply must be a superstition around this idea of non-killing or our souls will not wake up.

The mechanism for Kabbalah is couched in the Numbers which we know for a fact were taught to humanity by the angels. This makes Kabbalah one of the most fascinating discoveries humanity has ever made. We will need decades to completely explore all the Numbers have to reveal to us.

"Similar to the modern idea of energy and matter. The act of creation is sustained through a dynamic of infinite light compressed into defined states of being called “vessels,” which then project the light to create a myriad of beings.

Inside your body breathes a person—a soul. Inside the body of Jewish practice breathes an inner wisdom—the soul of Judaism. We often call it “Kabbalah”, meaning “receiving.” Just as Jewish practice is received through an unbroken, ancient tradition from the revelation at Sinai, so is its soul.

Kabbalah, then, is the received wisdom, the native theology and cosmology of Judaism. Kabbalah is not a secret teaching. It is the teaching of a secret.

Another name for Kabbalah—one much more revealing—is “Torat ha-Sod.” Commonly, that is mistranslated as “the secret teaching.” The proper translation, however, contains the opposite meaning: “the teaching of the secret.”

“The secret teaching” means that we are trying to hide something from you.

“The teaching of the secret” means that we are trying to teach something to you, to open up and reveal something hidden.

Now, you might point out, if the secret is taught, it is no longer a secret. A revealed secret, it would seem, is an oxymoron.

That would be so if we were discussing an artificial secret, one that is secret only because it is shrouded in secrecy, because others don’t want you to find out. True secrets, even once taught, explained, illustrated, analyzed and integrated into your consciousness, remain just as mysterious as before. No—vastly more mysterious, for as the island of knowledge expands, so too its beach upon the infinite sea of the unknowable.

v. 2: Ammaron being ten years of age. Ammaron means "secret kept in a locker." The ten years refer to the amount of time it takes to fully understand the story of the delivery of the Decrees to the Israelites at the feet of Sinai by Moses. The Value in Gematria is 7355, זג‎הה‎ ‎ , the weather.

The rain that falls from above is a symbol of our work below.6 There is an intimate relationship between human activity and rainfall—which we have always understood in a spiritual sense, but are now just beginning to unravel in a physical sense as well. The “mist” referred to in this verse is our activity, our efforts to work with the world, elevate it and make it more spiritual. In return, G‑d reciprocates and “waters the entire surface of the ground,” saturating the world with His goodness.

The beginning of this goodness was the delivery of the Decrees. They explain how man and God have this secret but also open relationship that has lasting consequences to life on earth.

v. 3:  Therefore, when ye are about twenty and four years old I would that ye should remember the things that ye have observed.

The land Antum= "loss of innocence."

A hill which shall be called Shim= "lost, deserted."

After training in the Torah and then the loss of innoncence, one moves to Day Three. The Value in Gematria is 13343, יגגדג‎ ‎"the tickle."

=Tashlich, to cast off.

Tashlich comes from the Hebrew word meaning "to cast," referring to the intent to cast away our sins. While neither retaining nor losing one's innocence is a sin, the reasons and the ways by which one explores the Self is consequential to everything.

v. 4: And you shall take the Plates of Nephi unto yourself. The Plates specifically refer to the reflective surfaces found in the Book of Mormon. There are several sets, we are working on the meaning contained in the Plates of Nephi. The Jaredite Plates are discussed towards the end of the Book. There are also Plates of Gold, and Plates of Brass. The Torah mentions silver plates but does not state what reflection they are supposed to render other than "common sense and courtesy."

The Value in Gematria is 10184, יאחד‎ ‎"will consolidate." The objective of the "taking in" of the information in any holy book and decrypting it using Kabbalah is the abiity to teach it in the oral tradition called Halachah. Halachah is specific, one has to be trained and knowledgeable in order to do it. Although Halachah sounds like the domain of an ordained teacher, all persons should hone their ability to discuss their religion at the level of a master.

v. 5: And I, Mormon remembered. The Value in Gematria is 1420, אדבאֶפֶס‎, adbafes, "the font."

The most famous font is the Euphrates, the big gusher, which yes, implies the other, a man who cannot gush cannot gush, but in this case it refers to the causality between simply reading and incorporating a religious text and become a sentient being that properly intuit reality and think critically through almost any situation.

v. 6: I was carried Southward. The Value in Gematria is 8085, חאֶפֶסחה, hafescha, "Easter."

The holiday commonly known as Easter, in spite of obvious differences, derives from the Jewish festivity the Torah calls “Pesach”, also known as “Passover”, an eight days-long celebration of the ancient Israelites liberation from Egyptian bondage and their subsequent exodus.

v. 7: The whole face of the land became covered with buildings. The Value in Gematria is 7826, ז‎חבו‎ ‎, zhabo, "his gold"=

The Ark in the Holy Temple housed the marriage document binding G‑d to His people, meaning the building of a temple and teaching about the Torah is the most important thing a city with other buildings can house. Without it, the others will not stand for very long as we are finding out.

"But where does this obsession with Torah education stem from?

In a rare and personal disclosure, G‑d says regarding Abraham: "I cherish him." Why? "For he shall instruct his children and household after him to keep the ways of G‑d, to do charity and justice."5

It wasn't his intellectual prowess or integrity, neither was it his legendary kindness or even his spirit of activism and sacrifice that earned Abraham G‑d's unique affection. It was his exemplary focus on education.

Further confirmation that education must be the subject of our individual and collective focus came at Sinai, before our first face-to-face meeting with G‑d.

Before G‑d agreed to that meeting, at which occasion He planned to gift us the Torah, He asked Moses to present trustworthy guarantors who would ensure the Torah's continued observance.

He didn't trust the adults. Even the elders and scholars were ruled out. But when the children were mentioned, He was satisfied and the deal was concluded.6

The Sages develop and expand Torah law and thought, but it's the children who preserve its practice and tradition."

And if you think things are kind of fucked now, just you wait and see what happens if Joe Biden doesn't start doing his job and rid the world of the filth. Come Christmastime, it will no doubt make October 7th of this year look like a holiday party.

[powertrumpeter]

😱DAÑGER!! Ekpa Angrily Claps Back At Gowon For Bragging About Crushing ...

Atrocities of Gowon against Easterners

Yakubu Gowon was a pioneer Nigerian dictator; who initiated bloodbath across the country. His half education didn’t help matters. He is the father of tribalism in Nigeria. The havoc he wrecked in his 9-year military dictatorship, is still reverberating till date. The seeds of discord he sowed decades ago among various ethnic groups, have not only germinated; but also growing and spreading rapidly, in heaps and bounds.

He emerged a military ruler from a counter coup of July 1966. Hundreds of Eastern Army Officers were killed in the process. Aguiyi Ironsi, the Head of State then, who happened to be an Igbo man, was assassinated. Gowon and his accomplices, aided and abetted the killing of Easterners (mostly Igbos), across Northern Nigeria. He falsely believed, the first military coup was carried out by Igbos, in which prominent Hausas were killed.

Over 3.5 million Igbos were massacred in the North. No single arrest the sponsored murderers was made. Instead, Gowon was making inciting statements that, “Some officers from a section of the country, connived with certain civilians, who are causing problems in the country. We are out to deal with them.”

That same year 1966, Gowon sent soldiers from Kafanchan (Zaria area), to go and kill all the “Nyamiris” (a derogatory name for Igbos) working in Minna Railway Station. They arrived by train and swiftly went into action. My father was a worker there then. Those soldiers shot dead as many of our people, as they could lay hands on. God miraculously saved my dad. He wasn’t a huge man, which helped him to hide. He hid himself somewhere inside an office. He was seeing them clearly; but they didn’t see him. God shut their eyes and delivered him, like He delivered Daniel from lions in the den. As they were slaughtering people, they were boasting they would wipe out Nyamiris from Nigeria.

After the bloodshed, the killer soldiers entered the train and went bad to Kafanchan that evening. Later, Gowon made announcement, and lied that certain civilians from a section of Nigeria, wanted to cause problem. He said further the military had brought the situation under control. Yakubu Gowon is the most wicked and hypocritical human being on earth! In another incidence, a paid mob met my father face-to-face on the road, with their bows and arrows, machete, clubs etc. His escape from them, was a wonderful miracle from God. They didn’t kill him, as they were doing to others. One of the rioters stretched his bow and arrow to strike my father. He aimed at his stomach. Just then, another man in their midst warned should any harm be done to my father, he would kill him. Then, he withdraw his arrow, and shook his head in disappointment. They left my father in pursuit of other Igbos. Finally, my father was able to escape to the East with only the clothes he was wearing. He left all his belongings to the vandal, and came home empty handed. Praise God he didn’t die in their hands.

Pomposity and ill-education of Yakubu Gowon, led to deaths of millions of innocent civilians. He reneged on Aburi Accord. That semi-illiterate, allowed Britain that occult nation, and his aides, to deceive him. Britain claimed to have brought Christianity to us. Yet, they are very diabolical and occultic: from their rulers down to ordinary citizen. Freemason is the controlling secret society of that cursed country: in which their rulers are staunch members. They promote gay and lesbianism. God will punish that heathen nation called Britain! They used bible to corner the crude oil in our land!

Yakubu catapulted himself from unmerited Lieutenant Colonel, to a Four-Star General in a single day. He jumped five ranks suddenly_ somebody with poor WAEC result. Virtually all despots are ill-educated, or school dropouts. He committed heinous crimes against humanity: a war criminal who should be prosecuted and severely punished by International Criminal Court (ICC). But, he is being shielded by British Government which shares his loot from Nigeria with him. When he was kicked out of power in 1975, he ran to London with his stolen wealth, to acquire paper qualifications he lacked, when he was misruling Nigeria.

That under-aged ruler, mortgaged Biafran crude oil, in exchange for military and material support of Britain, and other countries. That imperialist nation plundered our crude oil, and made a blockade against us. Even after the war, Gowon stole half of the money in Nigeria Central Bank, and relocated them to UK.

Yakubu ceded Bakassi Peninsula in Biafra to Cameroon. He signed agreement with Cameroon Government, to take possession of the oil-rich Peninsular, if they could successfully block Biafran soldiers, from attacking Nigerian troops near Cameroon border. The agreement was sealed. Today, that country, has officially taken possession of the place.

Gowon went and brought in “Gwodo Gwodo” soldiers (very tall soldiers), from Niger Republic, Mali, and other West African countries, to help fight against Biafra. He signed agreement with them to grant them grazing lands free in that North Central Zone. Of course, he paid them heavily. Today, Fulani herdsmen have invaded Plateaus, Benue and other Middle Belt states for cattle grazing. They have gone to the extent of claiming ownership of the lands. They kill and displace community dwellers, unchallenged.

Why is it that Gowon has never raised his voice, over the invasion of their lands by Fulanis, mostly from foreign countries like Mali, Senegal and Niger Republic? He has kept quiet and can never talk; as he has sold out to them. The man boasted he would round up Biafra within 24 hours. Now, the Fulanis he used in killing our people, have turned against his own people_ even to his own village. The area is now undeclared war zone. He has forsaken his people and fled. Coward! His old age now looks like a curse. He is beholding the repercussion of his wicked past. What remains, is for him to witness the emergence of Biafra with his two naked eyes; before the grave diggers will do their job!

Where are all the Senior Military, and Police officers from North Central; both serving and retired? They and their junior colleagues, are ever zealous to kill Igbos, in order to keep ‘Nigeria One.’ Now the killings and destruction have shifted to their home base, under their watchful eyes. Only T.Y.Danjuma spoke boldly against the bloodbath, and menace of Fulani Terrorist Herdsmen, and Jihadist there. I challenge the multitude of Military and Police officers in the region, whether retired or serving, apart from Danjuma, to speak out against the ethnic cleansing going on in their land. If they don’t have the courage to do so; then, they are all cowards, irrespective of their high or low sounding military ranks! History won’t forgive them.

Gowon committed a lot of atrocities. Many people were buried alive during the war. Nigerian soldiers, including the imported Gwodo Gwodo soldiers were involved in rape and killing of civilians. The property of our people, including landed property, were declared abandoned property across the country_ even in nearby Port Harcourt. Bank accounts of our people were frozen. Only one pound sterling was given to each account owner. Nigerian soldiers destroyed pipe-borne water, pulled down houses; used the zincs to build bunkers for themselves. But one thing is clear; Biafran soldiers were superior, and dealt with them ruthlessly. The story would have been different, if Britain didn’t come to fight the war for them. Our people are very enterprising. They are far better of now than most of their oppressors.

His so-called three Rs were a sham; aimed at deceiving public. He didn’t rebuild or reconstruct anything in our land. Till today, our people are highly marginalized and excluded in the scheme of things.

Instead of Gowon to confess his sins against the people of the East, he goes about organizing prayer meetings. He has no remorse for his crime against humanity. He should make restitution: to return the billions of pounds has stolen with interest. There is no sign of repentance in him. He is only trying to cover up his wickedness by clutching the bible, and praying like the Pharisees. He shouldn’t forget the sacrifice of the wicked, is an abomination to God Almighty. He is a religious hypocrite. His wickedness will haunt him throughout his life, apart from God’s judgement on him, and the looming charges against him in ICC.

The only way out for him is to make restitution, first to the Igbos. The money he stole from Igboland, coupled with their frozen bank accounts, are enough to rebuild what he and his vandals destroyed. He should reach out to the Fulanis, both local and foreign occupying his home base. He can pay them compensation, for the unholy agreement he reached with them and their fathers in the 1960s. He has the money to pay. Gowon should return the billions of pounds, he stole from Central Bank after the civil war. That colossal amount is needed for rebuilding the country; including repairing existing oil refineries, and building new ones. He opened the floodgate of treasury looting in Nigeria. He is the father of monumental looting in Nigeria; only to be copied by his successors in power. If Gowon is not probed, who else should be probed in Nigeria.

If Yakubu Gowon fails to make restitution, his wickedness will find him out. God said, “As the partridge sits on eggs, and hatches them not; so he that gets riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool” –Jeremiah 17:11. https://powertrumpeter.org/?p=246.

[aveline-amelia]

I actually somewhat agree with that comment and I will try to explain why. To me, it has nothing to do with shipping or that hugging would be seen as shippy or sexual. It's not sexual, but it's vulnerable and emotional, two things not exactly societally acceptable with two men as with two women or a man and a woman.

That in my mind comes off as "too gay". Male intimacy = gay. To me it's not literally two brothers hugging = gay incest. If hugging a man you are not related to intimately is seen as 'gay' (derogatory used) by society, then hugging a man you are related to is 'gay incest' using the same logic. And if it needs to be stated, no, hugging another man as a man is not gay, not even if the men hugging are both gay men. Dating men is gay. (or bi). It's male vulnerable = gayness, rooted in homophobia. Not saying that's what anyone consciously believes in, but it's ingrained.

I know you tried to put shipping aside, but I mean, Johnlock is the most popular ship in the show and they still had them hug in a very intimate way. And it was seen as a shipper moment. In a season that was disappointing to all people invested in a Holmes & Watson dynamic, not just Johnlock shippers. And a lot of people claimed it was a "romantic hug", not a "platonic hug". So presumably they would claim the same thing if the men in question are brothers.

Under that Johnlock hug post, someone straight up said "I don't hug my brother like that." (this was in reference to a news reporter calling it a bro hug)

I disliked that comment because I don't want someone reading that who does hug their family members to think that doing that is weird. It's my biggest problem with the whole "they're not just friends/friends don't look at each other like that/you don't grieve a friend like that/you don't do that all for a friend" argument.

It throws all of the people who show their platonic relationships the same intimacy under the bus by implying it is seen as inherently romantic or sexual.

But using that logic, Sherlock hugging Eurus is also weird. The two of them interlocking hands would also be weird. Which to some people it was. This was messing with my mind for a while, because why would one be okay but the other not?

To me, it's a gender thing. It's about a lack of intimacy. Intimacy between men, any two men, is seen as "too gay". A brother hugging a sister is less weird than a brother hugging a brother because male and female intimacy is more "normal". I don't know if I am actually making sense here.

We are more accustomed to seeing a man hugging a broken down/vulnerable crying woman than two men in a similar situation. It's not just two brothers hugging, but hugging in that exact way, I bet it would been seen as weird just as was weird to people for the Winchester brothers in SPN to hold hands or touch foreheads. It was seen as shippers' fan service. (I was not among those people. it never had any of those kind of undertones to me)

Imo, they still should have given us a hug. Nobody is entitled to anything, but it would have made the episode so much better. I mean they had them hug in the flashback in the beginning and you see Mycroft smile. It would have cost them nothing to just show them hug after Mycroft is released.

No one would be against it! A lot of people wanted a moment like that, even some Johnlockers were more invested in the Holmes brothers' relationship and said they were even more repressed than Sherlock and John when it comes to showing they care about each other.

Sherlock is physically affectionate with the women in his life (Mrs H, Molly, Mary) and in the last episode, with John. So to me, it is a double standard to not extend to the men. And like I said if Mycroft is not the hugging type, why that scene and that reaction. Is it only acceptable when you are a little kid and gets awkward when you are an adult? That's what's bugging me.

And I think we are meant to see Sherlock hugging Eurus as compassion and a sign he is becoming a better man, not him being pragmatic to get her to release John.

And it's not bad in itself Sherlock said Mycroft did his best, it's that he put more effort with Eurus after everything she did while Mycroft only gets that one line.

I think not showing Mycroft in Baker Street is fine, as he was never linked to that place, Baker Street is more of a Holmes & Watson thing. I think that moment where Mummy holds Mycroft's hand while they watch the violin-off is meant to show a family healing and that they are all a family now, Eurus included. So Baker Street was one part of the montage with everyone visiting and the Holmes family reunion was another, that's probably why Mycroft wasn't there in the Baker Street scenes.

This post (mine) is all over the place and I feel like I directly contradicted myself, so I hope I didn't sound completely incomprehensible.

Hey Sherlock!

killed your best friend at age 5

traumatized you deeply

tried to kill you, burning down your family’s home

conspired with Moriarty to drive you into suicide, involving the possible deaths of some of your friends

killed at least about 10 people

blew up your flat, endangering everyone around

made you endure some pretty f*ck*ng games

made you break Molly’s heart

wanted to force you into killing either your brother or your best friend

nearly let your best friend drown

And you 

hug her

visit her frequently

play the violin for her in an attempt to reach out to her

tried to get you off and to stay away from drugs

saved you and your friends several times

had to cope with you spoiling secret service business

manipulated evidence to clear you of charges

abused his possibilities as an agent of the state to keep you and your friends from harm

was willing to offer up his life to keep you from harm, physically and mentally

And you

say “he did his best”

[nhandiiman]

chapter 13 field work

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Ashley, one of my employees who immigrated to the United States from Mexico. Ashley shared her immigration story with me, and I was struck by the challenges she faced in making a new life for herself in a foreign country.

Ashley explained that she left Mexico due to a lack of job opportunities and economic instability. She hoped to find work in the United States that would allow her to support herself and her family. Ashley described this as a "pull factor," as she was drawn to the promise of a better life in the United States.

However, Ashley also faced "push factors" that made it difficult for her to remain in Mexico. She explained that her hometown was plagued by poverty and violence, and that she did not feel safe there.Additionally, her family's economic situation was dangerous, and Ashley knew that it would be difficult to find a stable job that paid a living wage. Ashley's father had immigrated to the United States several years prior, and he encouraged Ashley to follow in his footsteps. This provided Ashley with a strong motivation to make the move, despite the challenges and risks involved. Ashley also had a desire to explore the world and to challenge herself by living in a new and unfamiliar place.

When Ashley arrived in the United States, she faced a number of challenges. One of the biggest was the language barrier. Although she had some knowledge of English, she found it difficult to communicate effectively in her new workplace. This made it hard for her to build relationships with her coworkers and to feel like a valued member of the team.

Ashley also faced discrimination and stigma as an immigrant worker. She was often treated as an outsider, and was subjected to derogatory comments and microaggressions. This made it difficult for her to feel like she belonged in her workplace.

Despite these challenges, Ashley showed remarkable resilience and determination. She was able to start her own business, using the skills and knowledge she had gained through her experiences in the United States. Ashley's business allowed her to support herself and her family, and gave her a sense of pride and accomplishment.

In many ways, Ashley is an entrepreneurial immigrant. She was able to create her own opportunities and to build a successful career for herself in the United States. However, Ashley's experiences also illustrate the challenges that many immigrants face in their new homes. By understanding and supporting immigrants like Ashley, we can create a more inclusive and welcoming society for all.

[trentskis]

leeds have so many pretty boys...... share with the class? 😉

hi anon thank u for this important question. well i'll start with two men who sadly went to cringe clubs over the summer but remain cute: raphinhna and kalvin phillips

this is evidence of them being cute and also evidence of what ahem clubs they went to. i think also a lot of people think raphinhna is a dickhead but truthfully i cannot remember why. kalvin is a really sweet boy, so very cringe and sad for him that he went to city but that's his L to take

now we move onto a classic leeds pretty boy, mr robin koch, who currently looks like this

having a sexy mustache moment as u can see. but he has also been clean shaven, blonde (which was um. certainly a choice he made).. he said variety is the spice of life

next we have the beautiful long haired pascal struijk, a man i for a long time only knew as the player who fucked harvey elliott up. i believe in this controversy there was not enough attention paid to how pretty he is

i also think crysencio summerville is cute. being honest with you i don't know much about him other than when i watch leeds matches and im like. oh that guy is cute

and then there's jesse m's US babies!! this is more about me just thinking they're cute and talented lil guys so im including them lol. left is tyler adams right is brenden aaronson who yes DOES look like football shawn mendes

and finally, not for me personally, but jesse marsch DOES have your school friends dad energy if that's your thing

there u have it anon and no i was not expecting this answer to be this long either but u know. that's the leeds baddies i guess !

[mudrocksys]

I've been thinking about this post (a good post, thank you Circular!) for the past month or so mostly because my experiences didn't really align at all with everyone else's on here (and people shared a lot of experiences).

I never roleplayed with my system (roleplay is frowned upon in our society and parents are encouraged to reality-check the child or forbid it outright, so I guess I never dared to try), never was seen dressing up as them or talking to imaginary friends (also something that's discouraged societially). I rarely heard voices that didn't come sandwiched between bouts of auditory hallucinations (probably because our internal communication sucks balls even when recovering), never acknowledged our members as different states of the "me" at all, never wanted to entertain the notion of being more than one in one body. That's what I remember, and what I remember is sparse vague snippets where I did more to remember the color of a cobblestone path under a water stream than what was happening or how old I was.

But I remember being called possessed. I was called possessed a lot.

My family is by no means religious. If they were they'd move somewhere else because we lived in the center of three (now four) cemeteries, presumably on the ruins of one too since workers found human bones under my room when we rebuilt. I remember this because my abuser never let it go, being convinced my bouts of "possession" were most certainly because of this, because of my strangeness, because of my "weird interests". Almost every week they'd get an imam to the house to exorcize the spirits from my body (spirits I never knew, never saw), and every time I'd dissociate heavily throughout that even trying to pray nowadays either makes me unbearably sleepy or uncontrollably cry. I'd lose hours, days, my grades dipped and that made the abuse worsen.

The tone then started to shift. I wasn't possessed anymore, I was "mentally ill" (put in quotes because he said it in such a derogatory way that it's just not the same as saying it in any other context). When I was possessed I was helpless, a victim, the spirits being the culprits who attacked and hurt me and made my life hell. When I was mentally ill, it was my fault, I was broken, something was fundamentally wrong with me. Even though it terrified me, I wanted to go back to possession, to being surrounded by caring people who despite making me feel drugged out of my mind just with words, despite making me lose entire days, made me feel protected, safe, given status of victimhood and told "it's not your fault".

As a kid I tried to hide report cards, so he made the school text him with my grades. I couldn't hide anything, couldn't hide anywhere. And then I started losing years. My grades got better and I didn't know how, but forgetting was better, because forgetting was safer, and forgetting was easier, and i now know forgetting meant someone else was taking care of it (probably 🦑, bless her overworked heart) and I could just be a child for an hour or two. I moved schools a lot, everyone could tell I wasn't alright and it scared me. I didn't want to believe what he'd said, that there's something wrong with me, because it then meant it was my fault for not being born better or surpassing it all singlehandedly. In one school I was bullied, in the other i wasn't allowed pencil sharpeners or scissors. But I don't really remember which is which or if there's more to it.

I got through it (somehow), graduated (somehow), travelled across the world (somehow), and then in a worn-down, cold, dingy hostel room I had my system discovery moment– actually Mai had the system discovery moment, reaching out to our partner at the time. I, the host, was actively trying to stop it. I won't deny that my upbringing probably had 99% with why I didn't want to acknowledge the possibility of being a system, but I also would say that my attachment to forgetfulness added to it. I was a dissociation addict, and now I'm less so.

In a way, I wish I had the experience of roleplaying with alters even if i thought they were just characters. Dressing up and having conversations and all? That would've been fucking amazing for the year i spent locked in my room (instead i just heard occasional whispers from the introject of our mom, who I just thought was our actual mom talking from behind a door anyway). Until this day I'm still visibly panicking when the concept of roleplaying with people or having imaginary friends pops up, and I kinda wish it was normalized to me just because of how much of a pain having to navigate aversion to it is. And hey it really would've added some spice to an otherwise bleak life spent either in bed or at a window.

I wish more systems talked about the time before they learned they were a system.

I “remember” being one person. I “remember” functioning (sometimes) in school. I “remember” (vaguely) when I “decided” to “RP with the characters in my head.”

My young mind created a million different ways to normalize what I was experiencing. And it worked until I was out of my traumatic environment.

[alatismeni-theitsa]

Yes, but, when it comes to queer history, who were your activists? Your heroes? Same-sex marriage is legal in Greece, so how did it get there?

I think you're trying to assign the US reality to Greece, which has been self-identified as "Iran of the West", where queer people, POC and women saw things in the US that remained only a dream until EXTREMELY recently. We're not the worst case in Europe, but we are at the lowest places.

- We are not the lowest in the world either and I don't want to seem like my annoyance is above anyone else's who has it worse. But still, lgbt+ people in Greece have many problems and I/we are allowed to rant about that. Problems don't stop because somewhere else the situation is worse.

Same-sex marriage is not legal in Greece. Only same-sex cohabitation agreements are allowed. Adoption is not allowed either for a same-sex couple but foster care is allowed since 2018.

The first Pride parade happened in 1970, New York. The first Pride parade in Greece happened in 2015. And only in one city, Athens. Again, we are not talking about 1970, we are talking about freaking 2015.

Local Heroes? We don't have them, they are all US American. Not because the Greek ones don't exist but because the average Greeks don't know them and they're not taught about them or queer past events before 2015 by the popular media or educational institutes. They are actually obscure, and the American ones are usually only known here.

Unless you're studying the field or actively researching you're not going to learn their names. I don't care how bitter this sounds, this is the truth for most Greeks and my own experience. Oh, and nearly all these things happened in one city, Athens. For the rest of Greece it was/is even worse.

Also, most Greek activists haven't died because queer pressure for equal treatment began quite recently. The actions for rights also moved at a snail's pace, and IMO Greece is still at least three decades behind the US. (People don't seem to realize that the US is the blueprinT for half the world on this matter, as well as combating racism). The youth is quite active and this makes some progress but a large part of society is not ready for it.

I found a Diploma Thesis by Vasiliki Polikarpou and it helped me put the events and names in order. (Διπλωματική εργασί�� Βασιλικής Πολυκάρπου, Αθήνα 2019. Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών Σχολή Οικονομικών και Πολιτικών Επιστημών Τμήμα Πολιτικής Επιστήμης και Δημόσιας Διοίκησης ΠΜΣ «Πολιτική Επιστήμη και Κοινωνιολογία».)

In 1953 the Hellenic Union for Human and Citizen Rights was founded "by reputable members of the middle class" and participated in the lgbt+ rights movement.

Stonewall and the French Revolution of May 1968 influenced the Greek lgbt+ into organization and demanding of rights.

In 1976 ΑΚΟΕ (Απελευθερωτικό Κίνημα Ομοφυλόφιλων Ελλάδας - Homosexual Liberation Movement of Greece) was founded.

The political parties ΠΑΣΟΚ (1981), ΚΚΕ Εσωτερικού and ΚΟΔΗΣΟ (also ΕΚΟΝ (Ελληνική Κομμουνιστική Νεολαία) Ρήγας Φεραίος) slowly became friendlier to the lgbt+ and promoted gender equality. ΑΚΟΕ participated in the festival Αυγής-Θουρίου (Avgis-Thouriou) in 1979 organized by EKON Rigas Feraios, and that's whyEKON's political opponents called them "Rigades-Sisters" (sisters = gay, in a derogatory way).

ΑΚΟΕ, founded by Λουκάς Θεοδωρακόπουλος (Loukas Theodorakopoulos) among others, also published the ΑΜΦΙ magazine. AKOE had a Political them, which mainly made contacts with the youth of the political parties, the AKOE Events Group, which organized indoor gatherings, put up posters, wrote slogans, etc., the Self-Analysis group, a very important group that helped children to realize their problems and accept themselves, as well as various others acts.

Since 1978 Loukas Theodorakopoulos is present in the famous Athens' polythecnical university and participates in the events about the anniversary of the uprising, while advocating for free expression of everyone's sexual identity.

ΑΚΟΕ never became a legal entity, as not even 10 influential people wanted to sign the papers.

It's worth noting that drag shows began to appear in bars and cabaret imitating various stars, divas, gay icons since the '70s - in Athens, as always.

The forming of the Autonomous Group of Homosexual Women in 1979 is one of the most prominent divisions within the wider movement.

It was preceded in 1975 by the Women's Liberation Movement.

The event at the "Lusitania" theater, which took place in Athens on April 25, 1977, on the occasion of the bill "On venereal diseases, protection and regulation of related issues", was crucial for the lgbt+ rights movement. It was organized by the gay Greek men Νίκος Μουρατίδης, Ανδρέας Βελισσαρόπουλος, Λουκάς Θεοδωρακόπουλος.

The "travesti" (the term for trans women used back then but also in the Thesis itself to be historically accurate to the self-identification) had a leading role in that event. They were "the social group hit the most brutally", according to Theodorakopoulos' accounts, and their presence started getting stronger since 1975. The trans woman Μπέτυ Βακαλίδου (Betty Vakalidou) was the main spokesperson in that event, considered by some the equivalent of Marsha Johnson and Sylva Rivera. The trans woman Aloma was very active, too.

After the fall of the Junta, masks, anonymity, and pseudonyms were very common practices, whether it was a public appearance of a lgbt+ person in a political action, or a text on sexual liberation and the demands of the community that might have endangered their creator.

The conference "Sexuality and Politics", another milestone event for the movement, was organized by AKOE at the French Institute on November 7, 1982.

Cavafy wrote "Before Time Changed Them", which is one of the poet's love poems with clear references to his homoerotic desire and experience.

A similar case was the publication of "Her Inamorata", the first lesbian novel published in Greek in 1929 under the author's penname Ντόρα Ρωζέττη (Dora Rosetti) and was a bold confession of her love for another woman. The writer was Νέλλη Καλογλοπούλου (Nelli Kaloglopoulou).

The end of the 90's also marks the end of AKOE. This gap is filled in May 1988 by the Hellenic Homosexual Community ( Ελληνική Ομοφυλοφιλική Κοινότητα (ΕΟΚ)), in the form of a non-profit organization. Βαγγέλης Γιαννέλος (Vangelis Giannelos) was its president for 18 years, while the EOK was the first group of legal status of the Greek lgbt+ community.

More notable members of the Greek LGBT+:

Napoleon Lapathiotis was born in 1888 in Athens and was a Greek poet of the so-called "'20s generation". Ηe was one of the few poets of his time who was openly gay, and that is reflected in his work. Mitsos Papanikolaou was another openly gay poet of the time, and the two knew each other.

Γιάννης Τσαρούχης (Yannis Tsarouchis) (1910-1989) was a gay Greek modernist painter and set designer who achieved international fame, and was "known in particular for his homoerotic subjects," including soldiers, sailors, and nude males. But in his different exhibitions some of his homoerotic paintings were taken down.

Μάνος Χατζιδάκις (Manos Hatzidakis) was one of the first to "dare" to admit that he was gay at the time (1980's): "They say that artists are either communists or homosexuals. However, I am not a communist". He was a Greek composer and theorist of Greek music, widely considered to be one of the greatest Greek composers and one of the most globally recognized. His activism was very intense.

Κώστας Ταχτσής (Kostas Tachtsis), the well-known author of the Third Wreath (Το Τρίτο Στεφάνι), passed away on August 25, 1988 - probably murdered. He was writing about the "travesti" (trans women) at the time. (Again, the term used for historical reasons)

Σπύρος Μπιμπίλας (Spyros Bibilas), being gay himself, he played the first gay man and the first trans woman on Greek TV, and he gave the first gay kiss on the Greek theater stage. While some roles were more stereotypical, others were groundbreaking and exposed the Greek audience to various aspects of queer expression. He is not only one of our most beloved voice, tv and stage actors, but he has fought for worker's rights and the rights of the lgbt+ community.

Μαρίνα Γαλανού (Marina Galanou), trans woman and activist in an international scale. She had drafted dozens of bills, amendments, ministerial decisions, rights circulars, some of which are already state laws and regulatory administrative acts. In 2004 Marina founded the first exclusively gay, lesbian and trans (then) bookstore and publishing house in Athens. The Colorful Planet. She actively contributed to giving the first asylum to a gay Iranian refugee, the first asylum given by the Hellenic Republic due to persecution for one's sexual orientation. This after many years was established as a special reason for asylum in Greek law. In 2010 Marina along with many other trans people founded the Transgender Support Association (Σωματείο Υποστήριξης Διεμφυλικών). Find more about her here!

Ζαχαρίας "Ζακ" Κωστόπουλος (Zacharias "Zach" Kostopoulos) (1985-2018) worked at the "Athens Check Point" (HIV prevention center), volunteered for the Positive Voice (Association of HIV-positive people in Greece), while writing articles on the internet, in the queer magazine Antivirus and in the newspaper Documento on issues related to human rights, sexuality and HIV. He had served as president of ΟΛΚΕ (Homosexual Lesbian Community of Greece). In the last years before his death he participated in drag queen performances in Athens with the persona "Zackie Oh".

Ηλίας Γκιώνης (Ilias Gionis) is not exactly a "hero", from what I've heard but he is surely a known activist, so I thought I shouldn't exclude him. He is known in the lgbt+ community for his activist action and for his drag persona, GingerEla, "initiated" in drag by his friend and roommate Zach Kostopoulos.

Γιώργος Καπουτζίδης (Giorgos Kapoutzidis) is one of the most famous screenwriters and actors of the recent generations. Being openly gay, he speaks about his homosexuality on social media and popular talk shows, encouraging in a very direct way the Greek audience to support human rights for the lgbt+ (like marriage and adoption). He admitted that in his first works he depicted queer people in a stereotypical way and he apologized for that, later writing a non-stereotypical gay couple in the series "Εθνική Ελλάδος". He also played one of the gay men of the show, and as this character addressed the homophobia he faced in Greece. In my opinion he bridges the gap between the not so well informed average Greek viewer and the lgbt+ community in a successful way.

Notable Queer magazines:

The ΑΜΦΙ (AMFI) magazine was the first gay magazine ever published in Greece and its first issue was published in the spring of 1978. It was one of the main propagandists of issues related to sexual liberation and reached 25 issues, the last of which was published in 1990.

The Κράξιμο (Kraximo) magazine published fourteen issues from 1981 to 1993 by the well known trans woman activist Paola Revenioti, also known as Paola.

Λάβρυς (Lavrys) Magazine ran from the spring of 1982 to the summer of 1983 in three issues. One of the main reasons for its publication was the "absence of any analysis / expression of feminism from a purely Lesbian point of view".

To the acceptance of queer people, the magazine ΚΛΙΚ (CLICK) also helped, by promoting gay role models. The first issue was published in May 1987. The "lifestyle" way of life the magazine promoted to the average Greek contributed a lot to "gay liberation".

Τα Καλιαρντά (Kaliarda, plural):

The Kaliarda was not just a language, but also the depiction of a period politically charged and with elements from the popular culture that accompanied the gay, transvestite, lesbian community, already recorded since 1904 and used fun until today.

The trans woman Paola Revenioti says: "From Kaliarda we can see a whole era of homosexual life in Greece, from shortly before the First World War until the fall of the Junta."

[raposarealm]

Mifuyu seems to be going around, so how about her?

My darling sheep child!!

Why I like them

Mifuyu's mentality is less than 'idealistic', she's a kid who just wants a break from it all. Her wish from the start shows up this, too: "I wish that I could at least be free in my dreams." She's from an overly strict and traditionalist background of old money (derogatory), and was raised to be this demure image of a 'quiet good girl' who never spoke up, never had her own desires, and so on. She had cowardice and a fear of change pounded into her, so it's no wonder she grew up to be such an anxious and fearful adult. Her wish shows us that she firmly believes, at least at the beginning, that she can't change anything, she's too weak to do that, so she just wants freedom in any way she can get it. Her partnering with Yachiyo was both a boon to her by gaining her first and truest friend, but it also cemented in her the idea that she couldn't do anything alone.

Being approached by the Wing of Magius and given the option to undo the terrible fate she learned of all to late, by her own hands, is arguably the first time Mifuyu truly decided to do something, to give her all to make a change of her own power. She wants to save herself and Yachiyo, and that's always been her primary motive, and that's okay! And when she ends up with the decision to either go back to Yachiyo's side and give up all of this, or dig in her heels and continue to fight for her freedom, and the freedoms of all of the feathers whom she's come to love and who've placed their trust in her, even at the cost of driving a wedge between her and her closest friend, she takes the hard choice. She decides to continue to stick with her gut, to keep moving towards her own goal for the first time. And yes, this was a bad idea, the Magius are definitely not to be trusted -- and she makes the vow to herself that she'll fix them in the process. These are children just as lost as she was, albeit for different reasons. She fights until the bitter end, until she has to finally admit that this path won't work, and instead of just giving up, she decides again to keep moving! She might have to swallow her pride, but she decides to keep fighting to find a way to liberate now not just herself and Yachiyo (and Tsuruno and Momoko,) but the younger members of Mikadzuki, Momoko's new group, not just the feathers who chose to side with her to the end, but the ones who didn't, who kept their faith in the Magius even after it was clear they didn't know what they were doing either.

Mifuyu's arc in Arc 2, at least so far, has dealt with her having to develop a backbone, to stick to her guns, but the groundwork was laid in Arc 1. And, she grows into her own when finally given reason to hope. She knows now, fully, that this was the right choice to her, to side with the Union, to fight on it's front lines, but also to accept the ones who fought against her when they have the same change of heart she did. Mifuyu started as a very bitter child, despite her sweet disposition, but she was given a chance to hope -- and when that failed, she decided, of her own volition, that if the universe wouldn't let her hope, she'd make it herself, damn it. Her resistance to change became stubbornness to ensure change, and I just think that's awesome. She's not malicious, but she's not as passive as some of the rest of the cast (at least, not anymore.) She might have to get her hands dirty, but she's determined that her efforts won't go in vain, that what's important above all is not just doing the right thing, but choosing to do the right thing for yourself.

Plus, her character's another great reminder of how puella magi end up with seriously messed-up adolescences, and they don't really become 'adults' the way the rest of society does. They mature through their own battles, but they're having to deal with emotions and traumas on much larger scales than most, without any guidance on how to process that healthily. Mifuyu's tendencies to act like a spoiled child, constantly seeking praise from those around her while also unconsciously expecting things to be done for her when she should have learned to do things for herself... she's been fighting for so long that she forgot (and was barred from) developing the rest of her skills. She didn't have a childhood, but her mind hasn't quite figured out that she's not really a child anymore. She wants to make her own choices, but she still seeks the approval of others the way she was taught by her biological family. Hard habits to break, but she's getting there.

Why I don’t

Unfortunately, Mifuyu's also so desiring of approval and praise that she's really easy to placate with those. She puts up with the Magius, especially Alina, partially because she wants to do the right thing, but whenever she starts questioning if their methods were truly worth the cost, if there wasn't another way, it didn't take much for her to just accept it all when she was externally validated for 'making the right choice'. She seems to have a difficult time recognizing the difference of black-and-white justice and the much more gray morality, and just tends to assume that the ends justify the means, that using questionable tactics is okay as long as she's 'doing the right thing'. In other words, a bit of an extremist. Can't say I don't relate, but definitely not healthy.

Favorite episode (scene if movie)

Oh man. I'm gonna get hate for this, but... her decision to break off from the Magius in Arc 1 during the storm on Fenthope, and the ensuing battle against the Uwasa of the Queen Bear. Now, granted, I'm actually fond of the 'Heroic Sacrifice' trope, and I felt the writing made Mifuyu's decision feel like it had more weight than just 'they tried to kill me so screw them!' like a lot of people like to claim.

I'll also point out her recent-ish rematch against Kagura in Arc 2, Chapter 11 -- first, the narrative showing us that even if Mifuyu's magic has weakened (and we're never really given any full proof here that it did, the narrative only tells us that magical girls get weaker when they age, which... other, smarter people than me have already ranted on this for literal years,) her intelligence and physical combat skills have only gotten better. Plus, using illusion magic to force kagura to accept the truth is a delightful bit of irony, both on Mifuyu's wish that granted that magic and also just in general.

Favorite season/movie

Not really much distinction in Magia Record, so same as above.

Favorite line

Again, her wish: "I wish I could at least be free in my dreams." She could've wished for freedom outright, but she couldn't even believe that to be an option...

Favorite outfit

Honestly, they all kind of miss the mark except for her casual clothes, IMO. Her Christmas one is an especially atrocious one, fight me.

OTP

YACHIMIFU YACHIMIFU YACHIMIFU-

Brotp

Momomifu!

Head Canon

I'll admit up front that I'm actually lacking on headcanons for Magia Record peeps, but I'll try my best! As for Mifuyu, a common one: she likes sheep! Hence why her outfit has so much fur trim.

Unpopular opinion

I think her attempted sacrifice in Chapter 9 was actually good, thank you, regardless of whether she actually died or not. Mifuyu's tendency to take the 'all-or-nothing' approach while also still very much being a coward balances out the trope.

Also not unpopular, but a negative one: having Mifuyu be Touka's mentor on ethics while the Satomi family is the one paying for Mifuyu's scholarship and having Touka be Mifuyu's mentor herself kind of undermines the 'ethics' part, y'know? Not that Tonkers is a bad choice for a pharmacy mentor (though you could do better,) just that Mifuyu's a bad choice for an ethics mentor for Touka specifically.

A wish

Yo, Azusa family? Back off your kid, let her and her girlfriend and their found family be at peace, you butts.

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen

Don't make her go back to her biological family. I think I probably made this one really clear actually-

5 words to best describe them

Fluffy, Scared, Placid, but also ironically, Stubborn, Anxious.

My nickname for them

Mifu! Also, 'sheep'.

[marcussour]

So, I’ve seen a lot of people sharing these pictures online (even celebrities like The Weeknd), but I’d like to shine a bit more light on them.

These are players from the chilean football club C.D. Palestino, wearing keffiyeh before a match with Colo-Colo a couple of weeks ago, as part of the chilean first division. The players decided to wear the keffiyeh as a symbolic gesture in solidarity with Palestine, and were led in this idea by the team captain, Chile’s international (and former Internazionale, West Ham and other club’s) player Luis Jimenez.

But beyond this gesture (that came along with shirts with the phrase “O Palestine, here I am for you”), you can probably guess from the team’s name that there’s a long history regarding Palestine.

Palestino was founded in 1920 by palestine immigrants in Chile. In fact, outside of the countries located in west Asia, Chile houses the largest palestinian community in the world, with an estimated 500.000 members of the diaspora (2,5% of the total chilean population).

The palestinian community in Chile began forming in the 1840′s and 50′s, when many palestinians escaping the Crimea War, moved from Palestine to Western Europe, and then to South America, arriving in Chile thanks to the efforts of the chilean government to bring immigrants from France, Germany and England (most of these european immigrants ended up settling in lands belonging to Chile’s native people). Palestinians however settled mostly in urban areas and turned to commerce and the textile industry, where they soon became the target of xenophobics attacks by the chilean elite who looked down upon them in comparison with european or usamericans immigrants. 

Palestinians and other immigrants from arab countries (like Syria and Lebanon) became widely known in Chile as “turks” (since at that time, they were all part of the Ottoman Empire), a term that was used first in a derogatory form and then evolved into one mostly affective.  Most of these palestinians came from 3 cities: Bel Jalá, Bethlehem and Beit Sahour, with Chile having nowadays more christian palestines that even the population living in Palestine.

A second wave of palestinian immigration arrived in the 1910s and 20′s, following WWI, and then a third one in the 40′s and 50′s after WWII and the expulsion of many of them from Palestine after the creation of Israel. By this time, even though there was still discrimination from the wealthy chilean “elites”, the palestinian community had already integrated with the booming middle class and the lower income people, and had become staples and cornerstones from many communities, for example, in the Patronato neighborhood in Santiago, one of the most diverse and inclusive neighborhoods, home to many immigrant communities, with the palestinian and korean communities being the most prominent (the mayor of Recoleta, the Santiago municipality where Patronato is located, is Daniel Jadue of the communist party, who’s also part of the palestine community).

As time went on, the community diversified and mixed even more with the chilean society, which is why you can find today prominent members in different areas like sports (2 times olympic gold medalist and former ATP top 10 player Nicolás Massú for example) or some of the biggest fortunes of the country (like the Said and Yarur families, thanks to the textile, commerce and construction business), and across the whole political spectrum (support for the palestinian cause might be one of the few political issues where you can find support across most of the political spectrum and parties here in Chile, ranging from the right wing, all the way to the communist party -around 10% of the current serving members of congress are part of the palestinian community-). There’s even an old saying that states that if you go to any city or town in Chile, you’ll always find “a priest, a policeman and a palestinian”.

Immigration from Palestine and neighbouring countries still continue to this day, with Chile receiving many refugees, at least until before the pandemic started.

Returning to Palestino, the club not only is an important part of the palestinian community in Chile (many of it’s players have played both for the Chile national team, but also for the Palestine national team), but also has continously used the platform that football provide to show support por palestinian causes. There was even a time when they replaced all the “1″ in their jerseys with the historic map of Palestine.

Nowadaways Palestino shows many palestine symbols -including the map- in their jerseys, and the club (like keeping the keffiyeh motive as part of the shirt, as well as playing with the colors of the palestinian flag)

To close this post highlighting Palestino and the chilean palestinian community, here are some photos from today, where there was a 7km vehicle march (due to coronavirus restrictions) in support of the palestinian victims and protesting the apartheid in Palestine. There was also a message in support of Palestine projected in the Telefonica Building, one of the largest buildings in Santiago, located in the center of Santiago, in the Plaza Dignidad/Italia, the epicenter of the protests of the last few years against inequality in Chile that ended up bringing down the dictatorship era constitution in favor of a new constitution.