#cotton famine

[cathysphere]

I’m replaying DA:I and man, the more I think about Solas the more I’m convinced he’s a huge dumbass. Think about if a 19th century American abolitionist had been like, “I just came up with the perfect way to end slavery—I’ll blot out the sun! Let’s see them grow cotton THEN!!”

So he permanently blots out the sun and goes to sleep for thousands of years, during which he builds his entire conception of world events around what his spirit friends—whose knowledge is based 100% on vibes rather than facts—tell him. Meanwhile, the people who survived the wholesale collapse of society and global famine that his plan caused figure out how to live in their permanently dimmed world.

Then he wakes up and is like, “Okay, after some hard napping, I’ve determined that there were some completely unforseeable side-effects to my brilliant plan to blot out the sun. But I’ve got a great plan to fix that! I’m going to create a NEW sun! Yes, there will a cataclysmic shift in weather patterns and climate again, and probably enormous casualties. Unfortunately, I am not open to feedback at this time.”

[messrmoonyy]

can I have something really sweet and fluffy messr? Maybe waking up with Tess and having cuddles? Maybe it could be pre apocalypse, no badness at all. I don’t care if it’s short or anything I just really need some fluffiness with Tess 🥺🥺🥺

Doctors orders

Tess Servopoulos x fem!reader

A/N- a few of you sent asks this week saying you wanted something fluffy as fuck so here you have it. I hope this cures any and all things you might be going through rn. Take a break. Come take a read and snuggle with Tess. You deserve it. Also look at how mesmerising that gif is my god she’s so beautiful. I’ll probably still post on Monday/Tuesday like normal I just wanted to drop this now cause it’s short and sweet ||| there is no readmore cut in this as everytime I included one it chopped off the bottom three paragraphs.

Warnings: none // pre apocalypse au.

Word count: 1.3k

Masterlist

Reblogs and comments are always greatly appreciated <3

You woke up to the sun shining across your face, peaking through a crack in the curtains and drowning you in early morning light. You twisted away from the curtains with a small groan, rolling over and reaching out for Tess. Only for your hand to find empty space instead.

Your sleepy eyes opened, handing patting the empty space as if she might somehow materialise back onto the sheets. Remnants of her warmth lingered in the cotton so should couldn’t have been gone long. You pressed your face against her pillow, comforted by the familiar scent of her and letting it ease you into a better sense of awareness.

Before you could call out for her, or get up and have a wander around the house to see where she’d gotten to, the bedroom door opened and she re appeared, climbing carefully back into bed again

“ sorry baby did I wake you? “ she asked as she opened her arms to you, letting you curl up against her chest.

“ it’s fine you didn’t “ you mumbled, pressing your face against her neck and sighing. You loved mornings like that. When you could just… exist together. Quiet and calm and warm.

Especially when the world outside seemed so… on edge lately. Rumours and fake news, scaremongering people about something or other. Wars in one country and famine in another. But in your house, your space, you could pretend the world was at peace.

“ don’t get too comfy. I have to get up and get ready for work soon “ you groaned in annoyance and it drew a small laugh from her, pressing a kiss to your head “ unfortunately not all of us have the week off “ you’d both booked the week out from work, needing to use up vacation days and hoping to spend the week alone together. You’d even discussed possibly going away for the weekend.

That was until Tess had come home last week to tell you she had to cover the week instead, one of her colleagues having had her baby or some shit like that. You’d known she had had the news the second she’d walked through the door with flowers to soften the blow.

You only got flowers on special occasions or when she’d pissed you off too much and needed to sweeten you up again. You knew it wasn’t her fault. But it was still annoying.

“ fucking Carla and her fucking baby “ you grumbled, tightening your grip on your girlfriend in some hopes it would make her stay, tangling your legs up with hers. She laughed in the way that always pulled a smile onto your face, light and melodic in a way that didn’t feel like it belonged to her.

“ yeah fuck Carla for getting pregnant huh? “

“ fuck em “ she shook her head, still laughing and ran a hand through your hair.

“ they’ll be plenty of other times we can spend the day together “ You sighed and shifted onto your back, looking up at the ceiling “ don’t get grumpy “

“ M’not grumpy “

“ yeah well tell you’re fuckin face that then “ she said with a smile, turning on her side to look at you, brushing your hair away from your face “ I can try get away early. We’ll go out for dinner or something, how’s that? “ you pondered on it for a while. Dinner would be nice. You hadn’t had an excuse to get all dressed up for a while. But it wasn’t enough. Four days worth of moping around the house bored because you didn’t have to work and she did, was finally coming to a head.

“ or you could just not go in at all “

“ baby-“

“ my god I think you’re sick “ you said with a dramatic voice, pressing the back of your hand to her forehead suddenly. You shifted to sit up more and pulled your best despair filled expression “ fuck. Yep. Burning up. Maybe it’s a fever “ she gave you a confused look, a smile pulling at her lips as she watched you “ I think you could even be contagious. I think for the benefit of your colleagues you need to stay home. It’d be pretty selfish to go and make them sick too wouldnt it? Oh no. What a shame. You’re just gonna have to stay home with me all day “

“ oh I’m sick? “ the smile on her face was the only real contagious thing about her, making it extremely difficult to force away your own.

“ so sick. I mean look at you, throwing up all over the fuckin place! Temperature. Got the chills. Man. You are just… you’re so sick. I think you should call in right now “

“ you are absolutely mental. Did you know that? “

“ fuck are you hallucinating now too? You’re worse than I thought “

“ that is possible for saying you’re being a fuckin head case right now. What have you been smoking? “ you rolled your eyes and folded your arms across your chest.

“ you have to stay home and be tended too by your wonderful, delightful, caring girlfriend “ you said, jutting your chin up with some air of superiority. Her hands reached out for you, tugging you back down onto her chest.

“ it’s sweet that you want me to stay. But I have to go to work “ you sighed and she brushed the backs of her fingers against your cheek, some gentle way of trying to ease the frown etched into your face “ cheer up “ she slid her hand round to the back of your head, pulling you in to kiss her. Knowing full well it would eliminate your frown immediately.

Which of course it did.

You’d long ago decided that it was physically impossible to be anything but overcome with immense joy when she was kissing you. Before her you’d not thought much of kissing, maybe because none of your exes had been particularly good at it. But she was. Fuck she was.

The gentle way in which she could command control with the soft press of her fingers, the way her lips seemed as though were made to kiss no one else but you. As ridiculously cheesy as it sounded, you were quite convinced they were made just for you. No one else on planet earth could make you feel the way she could.

“ that’s better “ she said softly against your lips, kissing you once more before pulling away “ see you crazy ass. I’m fine “ you shook your head, half lidded eyes falling closed again as you brushed your lips over hers.

“ still seem sick to me “ you whispered, kissing her again hoping to simply just distract her enough that by some miracle she might forget that she had to leave. Of course it wouldn’t work but at least you were giving yourself more reasons to kiss her.

“ a nurse now are you? “ she asked in between your kisses, a hand sliding up your back in a way that told you that your ridiculous plan might actually be working.

It was true that if anyone could make her do something it was you. Joel always joked that you two were joined at the hip, simply following the other around no matter what they did. Two lovesick puppies still stuck in the honeymoon phase even though you’d been together for years. And it was true for the most part. You were inseparable. The honeymoon phase probably was still in full effect. You had your ups and downs, but the ups were more frequent. And you wouldn’t have it any other way.

“ actually I am medically trained to the highest

“ well. If it’s doctors orders who am I to argue “ she said with a grin, hands soothing up and down your thighs. You reached over to the side table and grabbed her phone, scrolling through her contacts and clicking the number of her boss and handing her the phone

“ doctors. Orders “

[disasterhimbo]

Source

[ID: a quote tweet by Stephen Semler (@stephensemler) dated March 23, 2024. It is responding to a tweet by the Associated Press (@AP) that says, “BREAKING: Senate passes $1.2 trillion funding package in early morning vote, ending threat of partial shutdown.”

It says, “All but two Democratic senators just voted to:

-give Israel $3.8B in weapons, violating US law

-defund a UN inquiry into Israel's violations of international law

-defund UNRWA, worsening famine in Gaza

-sanction the UN Human Rights Council if it highlights Israeli abuses.”

It contains an image of only text showing who voted yea, who voted nay, and who abstained. 74 senators voted yea, including 47 democrats, 25 republicans, and 2 independents. 24 senators voted nay: all republicans except Senator Bennet (Democrat, Colorado), and Senator Sanders (Independent, Vermont). 2 Republican senators abstained. Full transcription of this image under the cut.]

Transcript of the image contained in the tweet:

“YEAS --- 74

Baldwin (D-WI)

Blumenthal (D-CT)

Booker (D-NJ)

Boozman (R-AR)

Britt (R-AL)

Brown (D-OH)

Butler (D-CA)

Cantwell (D-WA)

Capito (R-WV)

Cardin (D-MD)

Carper (D-DE)

Casey (D-PA)

Cassidy (R-LA)

Collins (R-ME)

Coons (D-DE)

Cornyn (R-TX)

Cortez Masto (D-NV)

Cotton (R-AR)

Cramer (R-ND)

Duckworth (D-IL)

Durbin (D-IL)

Ernst (R-IA)

Fetterman (D-PA)

Fischer (R-NE)

Gillibrand (D-NY)

Graham (R-SC)

Grassley (R-IA)

Hassan (D-NH)

Heinrich (D-NM)

Hickenlooper (D-CO)

Hirono (D-HI)

Hoeven (R-ND)

Hyde-Smith (R-MS)

Kaine (D-VA)

Kelly (D-AZ)

King (1-ME)

Klobuchar (D-MN)

Lujan (D-NM)

Manchin (D-WV)

Markey (D-MA)

McConnell (R-KY)

Menendez (D-NJ)

Merkley (D-OR)

Moran (R-KS)

Mullin (R-OK)

Murkowski (R-AK)

Murphy (D-CT)

Murray (D-WA)

Ossoff (D-GA)

Padilla (D-CA)

Peters (D-MI)

Reed (D-RI)

Romney (R-UT)

Rosen (D-NV)

Rounds (R-SD)

Schatz (D-HI)

Schumer (D-NY)

Shaheen (D-NH)

Sinema (I-AZ)

Smith (D-MN)

Stabenow (D-MI)

Sullivan (R-AK)

Tester (D-MT)

Thune (R-SD)

Tillis (R-NC)

Van Hollen (D-MD)

Warner (D-VA)

Warnock (D-GA)

Warren (D-MA)

Welch (D-VT)

Whitehouse (D-RI)

Wicker (R-MS)

Wyden (D-OR)

Young (R-IN)

(This is the end of the yeas.)

NAYS --- 24

Barrasso (R-WY)

Bennet (D-CO)

Blackburn (R-TN)

Budd (R-NC)

Crapo (R-ID)

Cruz (R-TX)

Daines (R-MT)

Hagerty (R-TN)

Hawley (R-MO)

Johnson (R-WI)

Kennedy (R-LA)

Lankford (R-OK)

Lee (R-UT)

Lummis (R-WY)

Marshall (R-KS)

Paul (R-KY)

Ricketts (R-NE)

Risch (R-ID)

Rubio (R-FL)

Sanders (I-VT)

Schmitt (R-MO)

Scott (R-SC)

Tuberville (R-AL)

Vance (R-OH)

(This is the end of the nays.)

Not Voting - 2

Braun (R-IN)

Scott (R-FL)”

(This is the end of the transcribed image.)

[mariacallous]

Sudan, already ravaged by a disastrous war, is now suffering from a failed, politicized humanitarian response.

The ongoing crisis there has reached catastrophic proportions, yet the international community’s response remains woefully inadequate. A series of missteps and political maneuvers have undermined efforts to provide meaningful assistance to those in desperate need, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the paramilitary group responsible for much of the violence, has yet to be held accountable for actively destroying the country’s food reserves. The situation demands immediate attention and a drastic shift in approach from global leaders and institutions.

At the core of this failure is the United Nations Security Council’s persistent delays in addressing findings from its own Panel of Experts on Sudan. These findings document “credible” allegations of the United Arab Emirates’ involvement in violating Darfur’s arms embargo by supplying the RSF with weapons and ammunition. Furthermore, the Guardian reported that U.K. government officials have been blocking discussions of the UAE’s involvement in the Security Council for months—including after the Labour Party took power in July.

This procrastination not only undermines the urgency of the crisis, but also permits potential external interference to continue unchecked. The Security Council’s inaction sends a troubling message about the international community’s commitment to resolving the conflict and protecting Sudanese civilians.

While diplomatic efforts are crucial, these discussions offer no new mechanisms to enforce an end to attacks on civilians. The U.S. special envoy for Sudan, Tom Perriello, has failed to provide any concrete mechanisms for enforcing last year’s Jeddah declaration, which required the protection of civilians and specifically committed the RSF and rival Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) to vacating and refraining from occupying public and private facilities. Perriello simply noted in an interview on X earlier this month that the UAE and Egypt will attend the latest round of talks, held in Geneva in mid-August.

Yet there is no substantial pressure being applied on the UAE. Without concrete measures to protect the Sudanese people, such talks risk becoming little more than performative gestures, failing to address the immediate suffering on the ground. The Sudanese government boycotted the Geneva talks after the UAE was added as a mediator, despite its continued military support to the RSF. Additionally, U.S. rapper Macklemore canceled his October show in Dubai to protest the UAE’s destructive role in the Sudan conflict.

The international community’s financial response has been equally disheartening. Despite numerous humanitarian conferences, only a fraction of the $4.1 billion appeal made by the U.N. in February 2024 has been met. This severe underfunding leaves millions of Sudanese refugees and internally displaced persons without essential support, exacerbating an already dire situation. The stark contrast between the promises made at these conferences and the actual aid delivered reveals a troubling gap between rhetoric and action.

The lack of accountability for those perpetrating violence and weaponizing famine is exacerbating Sudan’s crisis. The RSF, responsible for much of the destruction, continues to operate with impunity, actively destroying the country’s food reserves. Since the RSF took control of the state of Jazirah, the country’s farming center, in December, the nation has been grappling with humanmade famine. Farmers in the state have reported a near-complete loss of cotton and wheat crops due to RSF control.

In contrast, areas that remain under SAF control saw normal crops. According to local reports in Jazirah, the RSF pushed local farmers to harvest crops only to confiscate them and transport the yields out of the state for their own benefit.

On June 26, the RSF advanced on the southeastern trading hub of Sennar, seeking to expand its territorial gains more than 14 months into its war with the Sudanese army. This move forced the displacement of more than 150,000 people living in the state, many of whom had fled from Jazirah during the RSF invasion in December 2023. The militia also targeted Sennar’s agricultural project and food reserves, further deepening the humanitarian crisis and undermining efforts toward stabilization and peace.

Doctors Without Borders (or Médecins Sans Frontières, the MSF) reports that the RSF is targeting local hospitals and blocking aid in Darfur. Outside the city of El Fasher, where more than 800,000 civilians are trapped by the RSF, MSF supply trucks have been held in the nearby town of Kabkabiya by the RSF for the past four weeks. This blockade threatens to leave the Saudi Hospital, one of the last working health facilities in El Fasher, without critical supplies.

This deliberate targeting of essential resources not only worsens the humanitarian crisis, but also underscores the urgent need for international intervention to implement the U.N. arms embargo in Darfur and stop the alleged UAE arms supply to the RSF through Chad.

Moreover, it is crucial to halt the alleged UAE arms supply to the RSF through Chad, particularly at Amdjarass’s airport, a small town in eastern Chad where UAE air cargo planes reportedly land and unload weapons that are then transported across the border to RSF strongholds in Darfur.

Political maneuvering has further complicated efforts to address the crisis effectively. Actions such as the United Kingdom’s reported intervention to alter the format of U.N. Security Council meetings have prevented Sudan from directly presenting its case, prioritizing commercial interests with the UAE over humanitarian concerns.

Al-Harith Idriss, Sudan’s permanent representative to the U.N., asked for an urgent Security Council meeting on April 26 in response to what he described as UAE “aggression” against his nation. However, the U.K., serving as the current penholder on Sudan in the Security Council, intervened to change the meeting’s agenda and format to closed consultations. As a result, Idriss was not allowed to attend the meeting, which ultimately took place on April 29.

During these secret discussions, U.N. Security Council members issued a statement urging the RSF to commit to refraining from attacking any cities and to end the violence surrounding El Fasher. On another occasion, the Guardian reported that the U.K. government has been actively discouraging African states from criticizing the UAE. Such actions erode trust in international institutions and their ability to respond impartially to crises.

The current approach to Sudan’s war is failing. The international community must prioritize the protection of civilians, punish perpetrators of violence, and deliver on financial commitments. The UAE and its proxy, the RSF, must be held accountable for their alleged crimes and, in the case of the latter, attacks on civilians in Sudan. The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council should publicly address the UAE’s reported support of RSF crimes and the Emirati government’s violation of the international arms embargo in Darfur.

Furthermore, international human rights organizations should take Abu Dhabi to court for its alleged crimes against Sudanese civilians. The UAE’s ongoing arms supply has enabled the RSF to carry out ethnic cleansing in Darfur and commit massacres in Khartoum, Jazira, and Sennar.

Some actions have already been taken. The Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights is campaigning to hold the UAE accountable in the International Court of Justice or through other legal avenues, such as in Germany or the European Court of Human Rights. Additionally, the International Criminal Court should leverage its existing jurisdiction over Darfur to prosecute crimes against humanity in the region. But more must be done. A concerted, unified international effort to address the root causes of the conflict could pave the way for lasting peace and stability and alleviate the suffering of the Sudanese people.

[everything-is-crab]

:))

This is what I meant when I said both rightoids and liberals in India are equally dumb as fuck. Both are pro imperialists. She's not even lower caste and yet she's speaking on behalf of us. I have seen this trend in a lot of "anticasteist" upper caste women (who unfortunately have more voices than people like me, actually women from oppressed castes).

How are these people different from the white supremacists who say brown people are intellectually and socially inferior?

"At least the goras let us have meat" oh okay we're gonna ignore the 3 million lives lost in Bengal famine caused by Churchill's policies (after which he blamed it on us instead of his own greediness). Did he let those people eat meat then? Unhinged shit. They wouldn't let people fill their bellies cause sometimes instead of food crops they wanted our ancestors to grow cotton, indigo, spices, tea. Which also left areas prone to land disasters. Commercial stuff that they could sell at much cheaper prices in their own countries and others in the Western world as well. Also levied extremely unreasonably high taxes. Leaving us with no money. Delusional world these middle/upper class liberals live in where the British let us have meat. They didn't even let us have rice.

The British protected the caste system. Read Sharmila Rege's work about how the British introduced the process of "Brahmanisation" in colonial India.

This is the exact thing Hindu nationalists are doing rn! And have been doing forever! Protecting Western imperialists! Why do you think Modi is bootlicking the US so much? Do you think the farmers' protests and the after effects of globalization after 1991 are disconnected from Western imperialism?

Just because nationalists claim to be against white dominance doesn't mean they practice what they preach.

And this folks is why you need to incorporate class and gender in your analysis and not read about the work of only the middle class men of a community :)

Women and poor people matter too.

But unfortunately many earlier anti caste activists who were middle or upper class were anti Marxists and only later few like the Dalit Panthers and R.B More realized the importance of Marxist analysis for understanding modern caste based oppression more. Yes many Indian Marxists ignored casteism. But that does not mean we must dispose it as a useless theory.

But who tf cares about the Dalit Panthers or anyone else? Have you even heard of any other names that aren't Phule or Ambedka? Everyone followed and still follow people like Periyar, Ambedkar, Phule who were all from relatively well off family. And why will people who uncritically follow these people not think colonization was as bad? All of them attended British school and went for higher studies as well. The British was staunchly anti communist. They constantly resisted communist activists in colonial India. This is a privilege even today many people from oppressed castes cannot enjoy.

I have seen all these upper caste women, ignore people like me pointing this out. They think we're against education of oppressed castes (why would I advocate that for my own community?). But rather we take issue to these men ignoring their economic and male privilege and speaking on behalf of all of us.

A reminder that Periyar criminalized devadasis and read Ambedkar's arguments against Hindutva solutions to the Partition (hint: he cared more about the money that could be wasted in missionaries rather than the violence and human rights and unironically called Muslim people "tyrannical" and referred to "Muslim oppression" on Hindus). He was anti casteist, but he was Islamophobic.

To avoid with this kind of thinking, follow Dalit feminist theory. Dalit femininism from its inception has been pro Marxist (cause women make most of poor here). And they explain the effects of colonization on lower caste women (how the British introduced evidence act, a law that justified rape against lower caste women and let me remind you gang rape of lower caste women by upper caste men is a national issue. Ex the Manipur case, the rape of Phoolan Devi, the Hathras case etc). And how dowry (that earlier used to be a practice mainly amongst upper castes was now becoming dominant in lower castes as well due to capitalization of economy during colonial era). Maybe then you will understand why the British abolished sati but not any temple prostitution or other issues faced exclusively by women from oppressed castes. In fact they called upper caste women those who deserve to be protected but lower caste women were inherently deviant in their justification. But please go ahead and argue how imperialism brings "good things" sometimes.

Just read about caste reformation during colonial era. The choice isn't between hindutva and colonial era. The choice is between hindutva and hindutva along with colonial rule. Why do most liberals pretend the British never favored the Brahmins over everybody else?

White supremacy is so much better than Hindu supremacy for women of lower castes am I right guys?

This is so much better?

Also reminded of the "breast cloth" controversy. Do not mistake that anti caste activism is always anti caste for both Dalit men and women. Sometimes it favors Dalit men. And oppresses Dalit women further. Cause usually the colonizers never cared about oppressed castes but when they did, it was only for the men.

Ik many upper caste Marxists are not good at anti caste politics but I cannot separate Marxism from my anti caste or feminist politics. And as a Marxist from a formerly colonized country, I cannot ignore the imperial divide between the West (that is white dominated) and the global south (that includes India). You cannot separate the conditions of brown and black people today in the global south from the past dynamics of the colonizer and the colonized.

Lower caste women are obviously very poor. The poorest of all with least social protection. These upper caste women can sit on their asses and write papers and blogs on how much white supremacy was much cooler. But the ones from oppressed castes and working class? They don't have this privilege. They have the same burden of upper caste women related to marriage and domestic work and everything. But on top of that they have to do labor as well. And after globalization, when condition of "blue collar jobs" degraded (wages lowered, subsidies cut, worker protection rights gone etc) , the percentage of women in these fields increased. That's not a coincidence. Men always force women into lower earning occupations that have little job security. I am not gonna ignore this.

Fuck Hindutva. But fuck white supremacy too. For me neither is better. Both go hand in hand in fact. Look at the Hindu nationalists in France allying with white supremacists over shared conservative interests.

[kitshiki]

        001.  /  kitsune hamlet worldbuilding

what does rai love doing more than completely off the cuff worldbuilding for small isolated populations from which only like 1-2 canon characters come from. nothing. so let's geaux.

⠀◦◞ ORIGIN ﹗

this was lightly foregrounded in the interview i wrote for nishiki ( where i sprinkled in some original lore surrounding the kitsune hamlet ) but the kitsune of hoshido believe in a fairly uniform creation story that explains how they got to be where they are today:

it's believed that in the ancient times, hoshido was once a land of mostly water and swamp, the majority of it uncultivable and uninhabitable. mankind at this time lived in pockets of civilization, separated from one another. during a time of great famine, the goddess o-inari descended from the heavens to aid life in this land, bringing with her her children and servants: the foxes 　

o-inari exists in the kitsune mindset as a being separate from the dragon-gods of fates lore, originating from a different place ( heaven ). there is no apparent relation between the two beliefs systems 　

the legend continues that after saving life from starvation, o-inari departed again for heaven, but left her children behind as stewards of the land in her stead. as time passed however, people forgot the purpose of the foxes, and grew to see them as any other animal. from the foxes' watchful, playful, and secretive manner, they drew many stories that painted them as malicious and selfish tricksters. they grew to fear them and see them as omens of bad luck, and then finally to hunt them for the beauty of their fur 　

defenseless, the foxes prayed for help, and o-inari descended again. she made for them a home in the mountains of hoshido and established the kitsune hamlet, a place where they could live safe and peacefully free from human persecution. and to defend themselves from incursions, she granted them human-like intelligence, a unique magic ( the power of illusion ), and the ability to transform and hide themselves. this was the beginning of the modern-day kitsune race 　

the age of this story far transcends the life of any living kitsune today, so none of them know exactly how long ago this was said to be. but it is how they've lived ever since, passing down this story and the cautionary tales of humans that hated and feared them

⠀◦◞ BELIEF SYSTEM ﹗

accordingly with the above legends, the kitsune see themselves as descendants of the god/goddess o-inari, an essentially genderfluid being, though she is often depicted in artworks with feminine features and often colloquially referred to in feminine terms. o-inari is believed to be a goddess of fertility, agriculture, and abundance, and is thus also associated with goods like rice, bread, sake, and cotton.

o-inari is believed by the kitsune to be a kind goddess who detests violence since bloodshed is antonymous with the bounty that she represents. she is depicted to be sheltering, as when she chose to shield the foxes and give them the means to defend themselves rather than punish the humans that hunted them. however, there are stories passed down that show that o-inari can also be strict and vengeful; at times, she is shown wielding a sword or a sickle of heaven with which she burns huge swaths of crops.

o-inari herself is believed to be a shapeshifter, another trait passed down to the kitsune in the form of their illusory magic. in certain stories, she appears in various forms such as snakes or humans or spiders.

reciprocity, one of the strongest tenets of kitsune culture that nishiki shows us in canon, also is rooted in their belief system. it is believed that o-inari greatly emphasized and praised reciprocity and the repaying of debts, as the constant ongoing cycle of give and take between individuals and societies was what generated the karma that allowed the world to turn, and thus abundance to spread. it's believed that without reciprocity, the karma of the world would shrivel and decay, leading eventually to the end of all life. to demonstrate reciprocity and live by this tenet, therefore, is to show great respect to o-inari as well as to honor the cycle of life and the laws of heaven. concurrently, it's believed that shirking reciprocity is an actively harmful act unto life itself, and that heaven keeps a checkbook of sorts on how good you've been about it, and thus how much karma you've helped to generate.

⠀◦◞ MISC. KITSUNE HAMLET NOTES ﹗

some other worldbuilding that's more directly related to the kitsune race and hamlet life:

just like o-inari herself, kitsune are genderfluid beings conceptually. they believe that the older a kitsune grows, the more powerful they become, and at certain benchmarks in age, one gains the qualities of masculinity and femininity equally. it's unclear exactly what this means functionally as the kitsune tend to only talk about it in spiritual terms, but nishiki would tell you that the elders of the hamlet that were centuries old were definitely no longer defined by a singular gender 　

kitsune are not illiterate, but due to spending most of their time in fox form and usually only taking humanoid shape for either convenience or when traveling outside the hamlet, reading and writing aren't large parts of their native culture. instead, they have a strong oral tradition; stories and legends are passed down by word of mouth and occasionally through artwork. this is supplemented by the kitsune's naturally long memory 　

leading the kitsune hamlet is like leading a colony of street cats. though kitsune still retain some natural inclinations toward the sense of community and belonging ( we see some of this in nishiki's hinata support ), they're much less socially-bound than humans, and nishiki's behavior of coming and going from the hamlet for long stretches of time with no set return date, etc. is not uncommon. as a result, leadership among kitsune is a loosely-defined term, and there aren't a lot of rules, structure, or determinate hierarchy among the kitsune, nor much sense of obligation. the chief takes on some sense of doing what's best for the hamlet and protecting it from danger, but outside of times of strife, don't assume much of a leadership role from day to day and everyone is more or less allowed to do what they want. in essence, the chief exists as the point of decision-making in emergencies when one is needed, but other than that the social structure is very laissez-faire. the position of chief is also at least partly hereditary, as seen by nishiki telling us that his father was chief before him 　

this individuality, independence, and loose attitude toward social structure, along with the kitsunes' aversion to violence, is ultimately why they lose the battle to defend themselves so spectacularly against a trained and disciplined army despite the danger that an individual kitsune poses and the advantage they had of being on home turf

[fumblingmusings]

You ready for the most niche thing ever but hey this is what we do here you just have to bear with me as I take 3,000 years to get to the point because learning more about the repeal of Britain's Corn Laws in the 19th Century the more it's just a microcosm of that oh so blessed North American Triangle of Britain and America making deals and Canada going hey wait a second dynamic. Poor Mattie playing second fiddle at... nearly every interaction involving these two.

So. Corn. The Corn Laws were passed after the Napoleonic Wars by Britain to keep prices high for domestic producers, of course making lovely profits for landowners, rather than the farmers who actually grew the stuff. It also prioritised colonial grains, so Canada got a boon with its wheat and flour. Nice example of Mercantilism right there.

The problem wassssssss by the 1840s you have the Irish Famine, food prices are too gosh dang high, no-one has disposable income because factory owners are cutting wages wherever they can, and it's so blatantly obvious that this system only profits the top 10% of British Society. There's no shortage of food, it just costs too fucking much. Ireland is starving and the government is sitting on their hands being useless.

A lot of pressure later, Free Trade is favoured over Mercantilism, and the Corn Laws are dropped. Britain can start importing wheat, barley and other cereals form the cheapest supplier: the US. This is not coincidental that the main MP pushing for their repeal - Richard Cobden - was a massive fan of the USA, doing a lot to try and get the two countries to be friendlier to each other. He subscribed to the 'the more economically entangled you are with another country the less likely you are to fight them' which... has its truths.

So... cheap bread good? So that's one thing.

EXCEPT Canada got completely screwed over since they had gotten priority for any externally grown grain for most of the 1840s - causing a bubble in their market. So when the Corn Laws got repealed and it was open season to the cheapest supplier much of Canada's businesses went bankrupt and following series of unfortunate events semi related to corn people burnt Montreal's Parliament and the capital moved to Toronto and it gave yet another push towards Confederation in the 1860s.

So that's a second thing.

It also kind of screwed over the domestic UK farming industry as the age old 'why buy domestic expensive if foreign cheap?' came into play and another wave of emigrants move to the US and the Dominions in the second half of the 19th century because being an agricultural labourer ain't what it used to be (like 100,000 of people with those jobs 'vanish' from the census within ten years, going to the city of abroad). The fact that, compared to 1830 where Britain imported just 2% of its grain, to the 1880s where it was 45%, (65% for wheat)... Uh-oh.

So that's a third thing.

ALTHOUGH, this did have another side affect of ensuring Britain could not get involved in the American Civil War like okay yes the South was very much banking on the need for cotton to push Britain to intercede but psych! The working class people of Lancashire are braver than any Confederate solider and refuse to work with cotton picked by enslaved peoples and would literally rather starve. Especially as, at that point 40% of the wheat people ate came from Northern US states. What's more important? Bread or cotton?

So... that's a fourth thing.

Anyway. Corn.

Sorry I had to make use of an out of date meme.

I'm just fascinated by how domestic actions can still massively impact other nations... Arthur doing the right thing for his people by lowering bread prices indirectly fucks over Matthew but also protects Alfred down the line. Like... urGH! You know?

[readerofoddities]

Some Lamb lore for my AU!

Ewebeth - Lambert’s mother

She became a single mother when Lambert was 2 and now had to take care of her three other children, the family farm and a toddler. She quickly turned to her faith in the Bishop of Famine to help her through hard times.

Unfortunately, her faith was not enough. When her family was discovered, she was captured alongside her children. Later, she was sacrificed in the name of the Bishop of Famine because Heket finds faith immensely delicious.

Cotton - Lambert’s oldest brother

He was forced to grow up too fast when his father died. He helped his mother take care of the younger kids and the farm. He wasn't sold on his mother's faith as the Bishop of Famine never protected his family when they needed it.

He was aggressive and angry with other people in their village, often getting into fights. His notoriety is what led the hunters right to his family. He was shot by one of the hunters when he tried running to warn his mother, who was making clothes for family friends in the house. His death was heralded in the name of the Bishop of Chaos.

Sheara - Lambert’s older sister

She dealt with the grief of her father passing differently. She became more of a socialite and went to a lot of parties and often got asked out by boys. She stuck around her best friend, Allium, at these parties, though, and always avoided boys who asked her out.

She was captured by the Bishops alongside her younger siblings and mother. She was later sacrificed in the name of the Bishop of War, only a few days before Lambert was sacrificed and made a vessel of Death.

Shep - Lambert’s second oldest brother

He was the quiet type. He didn't make friends and spent his time making little sculptures. He longed to be a professional artist, but his mother knew he could get hurt so she refused to send him to art schools in Silk Cradle and claimed he was still needed on the farm when asked.

He was captured alongside his siblings and mother. He would be sacrificed in the name of the Bishop of Pestilence mere days after his mother's death.

And that's all for now! You learn more about the Lamb’s family in the story, so you'll meet these guys more when I finally finish the damn thing, lol

[daydreambelievcr]

anchorage task 07: valeria danielle graves-seong

star sign: pisces ( february 20 ) mythological creature: a phoenix folktale: little red riding hood fairytale character ( classical or modern ): alice liddell from alice in wonderland 3 fictional tropes: the reluctant hero, deal at the crossroads, a fresh start romantic or platonic trope: friends to lovers, ride or die creepypasta story: candle cove greek god or goddess: apollo, god of the sun, music, and dance time of day where they draw the most energy: mid-day  their achilles heel: her love for her family ( she would do anything to keep them out of harm's way ) medieval weapon of choice: a longbow ( a weapon that requires skill and can be fired from a safe distance ) survival, starvation, or death by the undead in the apocalypse: survival, by whatever means necessary ( especially if she was going through it with family and friends ) which of the seven sins represent them ? horseman of the apocalypse ?: pride, famine what their superpower would be: healing could they pull excalibur from the stone ?: yes one aesthetic for each of the five senses ( taste, hearing, sight, smell, touch ): taste: licking homemade buttercream frosting off of a spatula, rock candy melting against your tongue hearing: the soft twinkle of windchimes in the distance, the sound of loud laughter pouring out of an open door sight: staring up at watercolor sunsets in awe, fingers stained with the remnants of colorful sidewalk chalk smell: freshly spun cotton candy, entering a room with the lingering scent of sugary sweet perfume touch: pulling a plush throw blanket all the way up to your chin and letting it lock out the evening chill, running your hands over a collection of stuffed animals a bad habit that won’t go away: her very erratic sleep schedule and inability to sleep in a recurring nightmare: being trapped in a labyrinth, desperately searching for a way out and crying out for help, but her shouts are met with silence ( although she's convinced that she can hear whispers and lowered voices just behind her ) an object they consider their lucky charm: a simple, nondescript ring that belonged to her mother, which she wears frequently

[fiapple]

"Earlier in the day, Jordanian and French aircraft dropped parcels of food along the southern coast, with most of the supplies landing in the sea.

Al-Mayadeen reported that Palestinians swam into the sea to retrieve the parcels.

At least one man was killed and many others were wounded in northern Gaza after Israeli forces opened fire on desperate crowds waiting for food aid, Al Jazeera reported on 20 February.

The charity Save the Children stated this week that 'the risk of famine is projected to increase as long as the government of Israel continues to impede the entry of aid into Gaza and access to adequate food, water, sanitation, hygiene and comprehensive health and nutrition services for children and families in urgent need.'

Starvation 'as a method of warfare,' Save the Children added, 'is strictly prohibited under international law and will have deadly consequences for children.'

Meanwhile, Israeli forces continue to allow – and encourage – Israelis to block and disrupt humanitarian aid convoys at the Kerem Shalom crossing.

With a bouncy house, popcorn and cotton candy, Israeli settlers and their families recently celebrated their role in helping Gaza starve."

[sasusakucore]

From Katniss' POV, we know that every district has specialization about their main product or industry, such as District 3 (technology), D4 (fishing), D12 (coal) etc.

What kind of economic system do you think Panem have?

If we can draw parallel with real world right now, which country is the most similar with Panem?

What's your opinion about this situation on Panem and its system?

Thank you 😊

@curiousnonny

Long story short, it looks like panem has a oppressive capitalist system where the capitolites parallel billionaires who take resources like cobalt from third world country like Congo for profits. I feel like panem parallels democratic republic of congo a lot since many in Congo especially suffering from 'a silent genocide' from imperialist countries and other countries etc. The miners in Congo which also includes children since children are also forced to mine there unlike district 12 ,though children in other districts work,are treated horribly and this also parallels how the capitol terribly treats the workers in the districts especially from what we gave seen of coal miners in 12. Panem's economic system is awful and I wouldn't be suprised if that is one of the causes of the rebellion because as we have seen in ballad of songbirds and snakes that the Capitol sends money to the districts only to fund industries mainly owned by capitolites and the conditions of people in the districts are ignored by them.

Edit: I am not an economist, though I am studying the subject. Panem's economic structure is complex like is majorly capitalist except with alot of government control(though capitolites mainly set up the industries for their party). Panem parallels how imperialist and colonizer countries treat their colonies(like Britain exporting raw materials(like cotton, spices, textiles etc.) from India and other colonies(i don't know about other colonies but I can speak for India since I am an indian)), forcing their farmers to grow crops like indigo while not giving a fuck about the conditions(which they caused)of the people and thanks to them, India and other colonies were in such poverty and famine(whose effects can still be seen today). So basically in a way, the capitol is a colonizer while the districts are the colonized.

[teeniepaws]

Hey genuinely wondering what you meant when you said that Vandana Shiva has "blood on her hands"

You might remember the pictures going around on tumblr a little while ago when the president's palace in Sri Lanka was stormed by angry citizens.

You know

Now part of what caused all this unrest was caused by a famine that struck the country, effecting both the economy as well as, you know, people's ability to eat. Now this famine did not spring up out of nowhere, nor was it a natural crisis. This was caused by the country embracing and changing 100% of it's farms to organic. See, organic farming is nice and all but between having a much smaller yield, it's also much more susceptible to pests and disease. It's why it's generally a bad idea to have literally every farm in your country using methods that are over a hundred years old.

See, the president was a big big fan of Vandana Shiva, drank in every word she said, and it was quite literally due to her advice that he banned all chemical fertilizers in the country, leading to a famine by the end of the year. Now I'm not a biologist nor am I in any agricultural-based science field. Neither is Vandana Shiva! She does have a PHD, but it is not in nuclear physics or whatever other science field she has lied about. It's in philosophy. Now I won't say that disqualifies her from speaking on the matter of farming, but her being listened OVER experts in the field is what is concerning.

I'm not even focusing on the various other lies she peddles, like calling golden rice a myth, claiming GMOs are filled with nonspecific "toxins", lying about Indian farmers committing suicide thanks to bi-cotton, as well as just comparing a detractor of hers to a rape apologist. She peddles anti-GMO conspiracy theories with little to no proof as if they're gospel.

As well as all of the above, back in 1999 when a cyclone left millions of people in India in crisis the US sent aid in the form of a corn/soy meal mix. Now, I need to make myself clear, I do absolutely believe that the united states has, and does use humanitarian aid as a way of extending imperialism. This is not in question. However people were dying, they desperately needed food and they had been given food, in my mind their need in that moment outweighs my moral objections to the predatory nature of foreign aid in the US. Vandana Shiva thought otherwise, fearmongering over the genetically modified nature of the crops used.

"The U.S. has been using the Orissa victims as guinea pigs for GM products"

In a time of desperate need she called the Indian government to not accept food people would die without, not because of the soft power it would lend the US over her country, but because GM crops scary.

If an anti-vaxxer spreads lies and it causes someone to die from an illness that could have been prevented, that is blood on their hands. They may be ignorant or lying willfully, but neither really matters, that death is directly linked to the fear and lies they helped propagate.

I don't know if Vandana believes her own BS, and I don't care. Her critiques on capitalism are actually pretty good and when she argues about GMOs from that angle she actually makes some very valid points. However that is mixed in with countless lies, her own ego stroking, her inability to ever be corrected, and the simple fact that she is willing to let people die for her values.

[fruityyamenrunner]

The complaint about unworkably short "Surat" cotton imported during the Cotton Famine and the vaguely pro-Confederacy songs written about it are probably too obscure to lend themselves to anti-Gujarati unpleasantness, which is fortunate for everyone involved, but in the right circumstances it could become ugly.

[cruger2984]

THE DESCRIPTION OF SAINT TERESA OF CALCUTTA (Mother Teresa) Feast Day: September 5

"She is the United Nations. She is peace in the world." -Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, former Secretary-General of the United Nations

The foundress of the Missionaries of Charity (Congregatio Missionariarum a Caritate), was born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, on August 26, 1910 in Üsküp, Kosovo Vilayet, Ottoman Empire (now Skopje, North Macedonia). Raised in a Christian family, she was fascinated by the lives of the saints, especially of the missionaries. She was the youngest child of Nikollë and Dranafile Bojaxhiu (Bernai). Her father, who was involved in Albanian-community politics in Ottoman Macedonia, died in 1919 when she was eight years old. Her mother may have been from a village near Gjakova.

In 1928 at the age of 18, she joined the missionary congregation of the Sisters of Loreto at Loreto Abbey in Rathfarnham, Ireland, to learn English with the intent of becoming a missionary; English was the language of instruction of the Sisters of Loreto in India, and was assigned to India. She made her profession on May 24, 1931, taking the religious name of Teresa, in honor of Thérèse de Lisieux, the patroness of missions, because a nun in the convent had already chosen that name, she opted for its Spanish spelling of Teresa. Teresa took her solemn vows on May 14, 1937 while she was a teacher at the Loreto convent school in Entally, eastern Calcutta, taking the style of 'Mother' as part of Loreto custom. She served there for nearly twenty years and was appointed its headmistress in 1944.

After teaching for over 20 years in a Catholic school near Calcutta, she became increasingly disturbed by the surrounding poverty. The Bengal famine of 1943 brought misery and death to the city, and the August 1946 Direct Action Day began a period of Muslim-Hindu violence.

On September 10, 1946, while travelling by train to the Loreto convent from Calcutta for her annual retreat, she experienced 'the call within the call,' meaning a strong urge to leave the convent and to live among the poorest of the poor. Replacing her traditional religious habit with a white cotton sari decorated with a blue border, she began her missionary work in the slums of Calcutta. Two years later in 1948, she began missionary work with the poor. Mother Teresa adopted Indian citizenship, spent several months in Patna to receive basic medical training at Holy Family Hospital and ventured into the slums. She founded a school in Motijhil, Calcutta, before she began tending to the poor and hungry. At the beginning of 1949, Mother Teresa was joined in her effort by a group of young women, and she laid the foundation for a new religious community helping the 'poorest among the poor'.

On October 7, 1950 after she received Vatican permission for the diocesan congregation, together with thirteen young women, she founded the Missionaries of Charity, whose mission was: 'to care for the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared, for throughout society.' In 1952, Mother Teresa opened her first hospice with help from Calcutta officials. She converted an abandoned Hindu temple into the Kalighat Home for the Dying, free for the poor, and renamed it Kalighat, the Home of the Pure Heart (Nirmal Hriday).

Those brought to the home received medical attention and the opportunity to die with dignity in accordance with their faith: Muslims were read the Quran, Hindus received water from the Ganges, and Catholics received extreme unction. At the height of the Siege of Beirut in 1982, Mother Teresa rescued 37 children trapped in a front-line hospital by brokering a temporary cease-fire between the Israeli army and Palestinian guerrillas. Accompanied by Red Cross workers, she travelled through the war zone to the hospital to evacuate the young patients.

Mother Teresa had a heart attack in Rome in 1983 while she was visiting Pope John Paul II. Following a second heart attack in 1989, she received a pacemaker. In 1991, after a bout of pneumonia in Mexico, she had additional heart problems. Although Mother Teresa offered to resign as head of the Missionaries of Charity, in a secret ballot the sisters of the congregation voted for her to stay, and she agreed to continue. But on March 13, 1997, she resigned as head of the Missionaries of Charity.

Respected as a 'living saint,' she died in Calcutta, West Bengal, India at the age of 87. At the time of her death, the Missionaries of Charity had over 4,000 sisters and an associated brotherhood of 300 members operating 610 missions in 123 countries. These included hospices and homes for people with HIV/AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis, soup kitchens, children's and family counselling programmes, orphanages and schools. The Missionaries of Charity were aided by co-workers numbering over one million by the 1990s.

She is beatified by St. John Paul II on October 19, 2003 and canonized a saint by Pope Francis on September 4, 2016.

She said for herself: 'By blood, I am Albanian. By citizenship, an Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the world. As to my heart, I belong entirely to the Heart of Jesus.'

[wuxiaphoenix]

Colors of Another Sky: Mending a Nation Follow-up

Some neat comments on that last bit! There were so many good questions I thought I’d put together a lengthy reply here, because it’s all connected and things get complicated.

First, let me give you the framework I’m building all of these plans off of. And that’s Jason Finn, retired historian (ahem encouraged to quit), 58, of Irish, Scots-Irish, and general American mutt extraction, who is an expert in Tokugawa-era Japan and a hobbyist in the Little Ice Age. None of this makes him any kind of expert on Joseon-era Korea.

(Which is just as well, because they’ve had a few centuries of oddly divergent history anyway.)

Jason does have a lot of patchy info on this time in Korea as it intersected with Japan (a major trading partner) and as the whole area was affected by the Little Ice Age (floods, frosts, baking heatwaves, droughts, dragons, locusts, horrible crop failures all over the place).

Outside of that, before he took this little trip, he tried to get down a basic vocabulary of modern Korean, plus all the hangul characters. And because he is from Florida he made sure he learned the word for shark, hoping he’d never have to use it. Oops.

Sure, he brought plenty of books... on an e-reader. Physical books are heavy. The e-reader may or may not be recoverable. Until he knows that he’s got maybe two physical books on Korea besides the dictionary, and they will be of limited use. He also has an (ahem, almost) fourteen-year-old fan of k-dramas.

...I can hear you facepalming from here. Go ahead and laugh. Even Jason thinks it’s kind of funny.

So. A bunch of points, in no particular order.

First, cotton is at this point in time already a major crop and fabric through the entire peninsula. Almost everybody wears cotton; even some yangban, in the summer. Though they tend to wear more ramie and linen.

So my best guess is that anything that made growing and harvesting cotton easier (not just the gin, there’s getting better seed germination, killing pests, keeping the soil fertile - a host of things!) would result in not more effort thrown into cotton, but more into growing silk. Everyone wants silk.

Silk-raising takes a lot of skill and care, to the point it pretty much requires workers get decent food, clothing, and rest. Or your whole crop of silkworms is ruined. Add that to, a large part of the thing about yangban owning nobi was not how much work they could get out of them, but the status of owning that many nobi. They have no need to work people into the ground, if they can make more profit setting nobi to other tasks.

...Speaking of silk, once Jason has a grip on where and when he is (and gets over the panic), he’s going to come up with a plan to rescue a particular town of silk workers in China. Famines are on schedule to wipe them out, and the few that in our timeline survived to flee to other regions couldn’t take their large and heavy looms. An entire style was lost.

While we’re on the subject of weaving.... powered looms and spinning machines were some of the first serious impetus for industrialization, often starting with water power. A steam engine can be put in a wider variety of places to be useful, but it requires fuel. Fuel is in short supply! Most of that available on the Korean Peninsula is wood, or charcoal. I’ll need to do research into nearby regions, but I can assure you Jason would have absolutely no clue where to look for fossil fuels outside of “I know Japan mines them, and that’s a bit far to ship....”

The existence of magic and how it works does allow for the possibility of steam engines. But it’ll take some creativity. And maybe a few booms.

About mass armies taking over versus small elite armies... I hate to break it to whoever didn’t know this, but Northeast Asia has had mass armies going at it since well before 600 A.D. The Imjin War involved lots and lots of gunfire!

Low interest loans to farmers would help. Interest could go up to something like 50% in this time and place, and bankruptcy doesn’t exist. Hence people ending up having to sell themselves to cover debts.

...And this circles back around to part of why I made Jason Irish. He has a personal historical connection to bad agriculture, bad leadership, bad debts, the horrible consequences of the Little Ice Age on food production (the potato blight was one), and people having to flee a system that would not let them pick themselves up and try again. He’s planning to make things better.

And yes, that’s going to include translating various concepts. The ones in the Declaration of Independence are going to be shocking....

As far as a reading list goes, I started from Everyday life in Joseon-Era Korea (ed. Michael D. Shin), worked my way through the Wikipedia bits on nobi, and started searching outward across the internet by way of people blogging on sageuks (historical k-dramas) and open access articles on JSTOR about Joseon, the Imjin War, and nobi. (thetalkingcupboard.com has a lot of good stuff on Joseon history and cultural setting.)

[tracksterman]

Better weather this week, knocking out good local loops on the bike tied into the efficient train network here. It was glorious on Rooley Moor yesterday, perfect conditions for rattling over the old Cotton Famine road built in the 1860s as a poverty relief measure.