#esp if it was a natural disaster

[winn-wynn]

If Hogwarts used Emails

From: Percy Weasley <percy.weasley@s.hogwarts.edu>

To: Filius Flitwick <filius.flitwick@hogwarts.edu>

Subject: CHARMS-ASGMNT 3

Dear Prof. Flitwick,

I hope this message finds you well. I am currently working on assignment 3, which is about the history of Weathering-Modifying Charms and whether or not they should be regulated. I also remember you writing down mobilicorpus, which is the spell for moving bodies of those who found themselves unable to walk. I was wondering if you meant mobiliarbus, which the spell to move plants and trees, which is closer to the subject?

I would greatly appreciate any guidance or suggestions you have to offer.

Thank you and have a great night!

Percy Weasley

W8008569

From: Filius Flitwick <filius.flitwick@s.hogwarts.edu>

To: Percy Weasley <percy.weasley@s.hogwarts.edu>

Subject: Re: CHARMS-ASGMNT 3

whoops typo yeah it's supposed to be mobiliarbus

-Flitwick

Sent from my iPhone

[skwtches]

“Absolutely not. I mean, well, after all, he… It was not my… He wanted to leave. Didn't he?”

Reading through this line, something about Rabbit in The Tigger Movie occurred to me: the plan that the gang comes up with in order to spare Tigger’s feelings is one of the few instances where Rabbit isn’t present to take on the leader’s role. Throughout the movie, Rabbit is preoccupied with winter preparations, so much so to the point that he, unlike the others, fails to identify the weight of Tigger’s familial dilemma. When he walks in on the gang dressing up as Tiggers in the “How To Be a Tigger” sequence, he questions what they are doing, but does not stick around for an answer, or even try to take up the leadership mantle like he normally would. In an act that is both unorthodox and so completely in-character, he storms off and away from his companions' harebrained scheme to complete his preparations, but not before ironically proclaiming, “at least I haven't lost sight of what’s important.”

To no one’s surprise, the plan falls through. But to everyone’s shock, Tigger runs away that same night. 

“It was not my fault,” is what Rabbit wants and starts to say after hearing of his friend’s disappearance. The members of the group who congregate at Rabbit’s to request his help don’t blame him for Tigger leaving, and Rabbit knows them well enough to understand they wouldn't suggest such a thing by arriving at his house all at once. But Rabbit still has the reflex to defend himself; to confirm that Tigger leaving was indeed not his doing. The one time Rabbit isn't there to lead his friends–believing they all had “lost sight of what’s important,”–the friend whose crisis the lagomorph missed completely had run off into the cold, dreary night. But it wasn’t his fault. It couldn’t have been his fault. 

“He wanted to leave,” Rabbit says, trying to reason with himself. He tries to justify Tigger leaving, searching for a reason–any reason at all–that doesn’t loop right back around to it being his fault. Because it wasn’t. If Tigger had wanted to leave, what good would it have done for Rabbit to have been present? If the bunny had been there alongside his friends to aid their striped pal in his time of need? Whether or not he could have come up with a different, possibly better plan that didn’t result in the heartbreak of the usually bouncy Tigger did not matter here. Of course Tigger would have left anyway in search of his supposed family. He was simply unpredictable that way, and nobody could predict and stop something unpredictable–not even Rabbit. Tigger had most certainly wanted to leave from the start. “Didn’t he?”

As the members of the gang try to convince a hesitant Rabbit to leave with them in search of Tigger, the guilt racks up. He finds himself struggling more and more to excuse himself from the situation as his friends go on about Tigger whilst he fixes up his winter-proofed home, the sadness visibly present amongst them making it even harder for him to dismiss them. As a look of unease–a flicker of guilt–graces his face, he asks, “what do you need me for? Why don't you go find him yourselves?” 

Pooh simply and earnestly responds with, “but we're just not clever enough, Rabbit.” 

A huge facet of Rabbit’s self-appointed leadership role is that it comes from a place where the persnickety critter truly believes himself to be smarter than the majority of his peers in the Wood. He sees himself as the most capable and responsible, and so takes it upon himself to lead whenever he gets the chance. Here however, he tries to deny the opportunity to take charge of the search party. Perhaps it is mostly due to fear of his already fragile shelter coming apart at the seams while he isn’t around. But perhaps it’s also thanks to the aforementioned guilt that he can’t bring himself to diligently lead his friends in searching for the one who he’d inadvertently let slip away. 

Before he can respond to Pooh, a small voice makes itself heard. Rabbit catches sight of Roo, who just tells him that he misses Tigger. The final nail in the coffin. Here is where Rabbit truly can’t bring himself to deny them his help anymore. Here is where the guilt is finally too profound to excuse. 

Here is where Rabbit decides to lead his friends again. 

[dbphantom]

on this laptop is some old near art from hs/college and augh them...

[we-can-escape]

Finally watched the first knives out and. I get it. It really is that good huh.

[red-dyed-sarumane]

i'll write thousands of words in one post on a single aspect of aru sekai and do that relatively frequently & will still be surprised when people say they know me as the aru sekai person.

[okidenshi]

so ever since i started watching tornado content on you tube i've been getting other types of natural disaster stuff recommended to me, some of which is interesting, but recently i've been getting recommended videos on........... 9/11........... and im like....... hard pass thank you.

[rival-the-rose]

I have. So much bitching to do

[rowaning]

Ok so I just saw a post about tornado frequency and strength and stuff and someone pointed out that the UK gets more tornadoes per square foot than the US so **actually the uk gets more tornadoes** and like no??? Not how that works even a little bit? You don’t get to be like well this country has less land area so it’s ~30 tornadoes per year beats the fucking ~1150 in the US. Not how stats work, not how tornadoes work, go to math hell until you learn to use numbers reasonably.

[the-moon-files]

YESSSSS I BEG GET INTO THE CULTURAL DIDFERENCES BETWEEN HYLIANS AND HUMANS 🙏🙏

...now ur just sweet talking me 🥰 /lh

Not years, well maybe 1 year-

but i have wanted to ramble desperately to smone, even the tumblr void if i had to, abt humans vs. hylians so much, esp with a guide reader or male reader bc whatdya know im into niche stuff that only u and like 2 other ppl like lmao ¯\(ツ)/¯

Anyway im so shocked, since ur like the third person to be interested in this and wanna hear abt it 🥺 🤲💌 here u go!! Hope u like it <333 👉👈

Sun: Masc!Reader (he/him)

Orbit: Humans are Not Hylians/Humans are Space Orcs AU, Headcanons-ish, long overall but each section is kinda short

Stars: Mostly worldbuilding! you've been warned, don't get mad me for not talking abt the boys too much✌️

Comets & Meteors: Content Warnings: mild cursing, mentions of private area/joke in the clothing headcanons, & Trigger Warnings: none known.

Please comment if I missed any. /gen

☆

just some quick headcanons bc tbh i haven't given it too much thought, and i feel like I've been able to somewhat get into it in other posts? or maybe im thinking of stuff i have in my drafts idk-

Imma make another list, so buckle up for the short ride lol

Courting periods/dating/marriage

individual/small groups society-based hylians v. large personal groups/large community society-based humans

simpler foods hylians v. complex food humans

clothing modesty/style/relationships with fashion

fighting styles/strategies

entertainment complexity/differences

and language

☆

1st one, not much yet, im also making a separate post bc someone else asked me to talk abt that more 🥺

(tysm for all the enthusiastic asks guys <33)

anyway, basically hylian courting is a lot shorter, think “lesbians with the uhaul” type of energy, like sort of the classical medieval “does thee wish to pursue marriage with this one?” ← how hylians ask u out for the first time lmao

if it helps, they do tend to get to know one another well, talking about morals/kids/life goals/preferred lifestyle/house/etc. pretty clearly and quickly, then using the in between time to sort of stew on that information

id say the total time is sort of something like 6 months? maybe 3/4 if they're really compatible

(so bc i love interpreting video game logic for real world building, I actually blame this on how fast Zelda/link get together in games despite having sometimes never met before that moment lol)

like i said, ill be posting about this later

2nd one!!

pretty basic, just saying we don't really see hylians in big groups, despite the organizations they form, like kingdoms/knights or on a more personal level, towns/families/etc.

(once again, in-game appearances/video game logic translated to real life to draw these conclusions)

like not only are family units pretty small, like nuclear family setup, with like 2 parents and 2 kids, or single parent 1 kid type of situation, but the towns or collections of these families arent very big either

hylians kind of use their government the way it was intended lmao?

like the villages and towns matter more for everyday decisions than the kingdom/royalty, like Zelda would esstientally just be the mayor of Castle Town for those constant decisions,

while occasionally is called on to make decisions like for several towns or like is a natural disaster happens

meanwhile humans are, in comparison, in Way Bigger groups, both on an organization scale, and a personal scale

like u have all these specific branches of government, whereas im sure the population difference doesn't help,

and on a personal level, humans can easily have like multiple parents, lots of siblings, and once u combine that with each parent having family too, and those families like to meet up? All together??

yeah, itd look insane to any hylians (who’s smaller extended family may just make up their own village and that's it)

3. I've touched on this

like the use of spices, syrups, seasonings, etc

but also the complexity of dishes too, like chilling cream and mixing it for awhile to make ice cream, or even just getting ordering a pizza,

that's a lot of processing, like making the dough from flour and other ingredients, to letting it rise, to making the tomato paste, making cheese, then combining those things with any other toppings, all into one dish??

i like to think that hylians have only just started to touch on actual complicated cooking processes (as in BOTW, where they sell flour and salt, so people besides Link/Wild must know what to do with it)

this has the advantage of impressing any hylian with what a “creative genius” you are lol

4. look im just a fan of medieval time periods Links

so i think its funny if the hylians are used to like 4/3 layers and ur over here like, “wym, if i take off my shirt there's nothing underneath?”

one of them gets bold enough to ask, “d-do you not. do you not have undergarments??”

you “just my boxers? like just to cover my di-”

also this makes its easy to seduce people here? LMAO

clothes are def higher quality, after all there's not as many artificial processes or materials interfering,

plus u usually get some sick embroidery on it too!!

5. so like i get it, Link is the main fighter in games

but like, the few times there is a war/army in loz games, there's rlly not a lot of strategy, beyond just finding the enemy and fighting

tho im partial to that hylians/most inhabitants of Hyrule abide by the “lets meet up either literally by inviting each other or just between our territories to fight”

with occasional guerilla warfare (by any means necessary/stealth/ambush attacks/strategy) that's only rlly used either by Demise/Ganon, or by the wilder individuals/races in games

or maybe even the more civilized fighters in an emergency

and so that means by this logic that all of the Chain use kind of wild techniques compared to their race/kingdom lmao

id imagine its not too surprising to also see “every fight is a bar fight if its for my life” from individual travelers, so im sure they're not viewed too crazy (esp when ppl know their the hero that constantly has to deal with guerilla warfare from Ganon)

but its be hilarious to watch the reactions of both the Links realizing they’re in a bigger group that should be using “proper” fighting strategies and seeing the general publics reaction to this absolutely feral, armed to the teeth, trained hylians with their equally wild human lol

LMAO everyone thinks ur the reason they started using the more brutal fighting methods bc ur human, ur a bad influence lol

(humans would use it primarily, esp after we converted to use that method in warfare a couple hundred years ago i think?)

changing course a bit, hylians tend to use weapons (to compensate for difference in strength compared to humans, and since they don't experience/get a lesser version of adrenaline)

while humans tend to equally rely on weapons and our body as a weapon (marital arts/basic self-defense)

6. this is mostly bc the hylians only rlly seem to have the basics of music, books/stories, theater, and art

i have, surprise surprise, another post abt how i think this came to be,

mostly based on how human curiosity is indomitable and insatiable and the endless force that has not yet met its immovable object.

or at least an immovable object they haven't at least poked a little, out of curiosity lol

like we went to space for that reason, we reach the most dangerous corners of our planet (deep underwater/volcanoes) out of sheer curiousity/for the sake of simple knowledge of the thing

so needless to say, curiosity can absolutely drive any field to its limits, including the arts, which is why we can have stained glass, or movies/tv shows, hell, the marvel that is Hatsune Miku lmao

(fully for entertainment, a projection of light and sound, what is essentially magical illusions but u did it hte hard way, to the hylians)

on a different entertainment related note, i don't know if the hylians would be super into sports, or not really at all? mostly bc they have to use their fighting/training against real threats, not the sort of “fake” threats that sports are

but on the other hand i could see people like knights wanting to use their abilities for something other than violence and fighting bc their life or their villages lives depended on it

bet the Links would enjoy it for those reasons especially, what with at least sumo wrestling being a sport or activity for them at some point in history, and practically beg u for any new games to play, or to ref their games, bc whewwww

im sure they could get pretty competitive lol

7. obviously, their mostly influenced by the Japanese language

id almost like to imagine a sort of, if not outright Japanese (like with earlier heroes like Sky) then a sort of English-Japanese hybrid further along the line

sort of like how English has German/Greek/Latin roots and therefore u can see what words or structure comes from where, or even how u can understand a fair amount of basic words when other languages share the same roots (english, pants = spanish, pantalones)

would make for some funny miscommunications

or even better, most hylians liking ur unique accent or the Links love to hear u talk bc of it lol

☆

well the fever has broken, i am now free of the sickness that made me hack this up geez

i hope u got some enjoyment out of these my beloved anon!! esp since u were so nice as to ask abt it <33

hope u guys have a great weekend, look out for some more posts, bc its been great to get some more asks in lately and very motivating,

not to mention i actually have time to write now that my siblings graduated/we’ve moved several states over 💀

so i have reliable internet now too! sheesh :’)

Peace out,

🌙

[s-b-party]

HSR’s Guns & Roses: Analysis of Boothill & Argenti

****Possible spoilers ahead, esp. Boothill’s & Argenti’s lore****

With Boothill out now, I’ve been very intrigued by the Boothill & Argenti duo which I’ve noticed so many details that are similar but also different about them, some of which many people may have already noticed but I still would like to analyze them since it’s been a hot minute since my last lore thread

The main aspects of these 2 characters that I want to talk about are their gameplay, characteristics, and lore/backstories

When we look at their gameplay, some details stand out; for example, both have the same element (physical) but opposite paths when it comes to their DPS roles (Boothill is Hunt which specializes in single target fights & Argenti is Erudition which specializes in dealing dmg to multiple enemies)

Their weapons are also opposites of each other where guns are ranged & the lance is typically used in close combat

This is more of a coincidence which I tweeted about recently but I still think it’s funny that their best-in-slot relics can be found in the same cavern of corrosion

Next we’ll look at their characteristics by which I mean their personalities & designs; off the bat we can see that Boothill has a more gruff personality & if he weren’t censored by his synesthesia beacon, he would be the sole reason for bumping HSR to a higher audience rating; this man probably would not hold back on the expletives 😂)

Meanwhile Argenti is shown to be very kind with his words, often using compliments & praises; typically he speaks with levelheadedness & grace, just like how we imagine a knight would speak

If we think about it, Boothill & Argenti are both very flamboyant characters but in different fonts; just look at their demo trailers as references since they both move like dancers (Argenti looks like he’s in a graceful ballroom dance while he’s fighting the swarm disaster; Boothill straight up MOONWALKS while dodging bullets from the IPC, we literally went from Marilyn Monroe to Michael Jackson 😂)

What accentuates their flamboyance even more is the way they both have spotlights on them at various points of their demo videos

Bonus shot of Boothill being so extra (read: fabulous) while fighting:

They also have very flamboyant designs which makes them stand out (as Boothill explains, they’re both clad in silver which definitely is one of the first things you would notice when looking at them); I don't know how much value silver has in this universe but it is considered a precious metal & valuable to us due to its many uses which is thanks to its malleable nature

Another thing to point out is that Argenti is based off the Latin word for silver argentum; fun fact, the Latin translation is the reason why the symbol for silver on the periodic table is Ag :3

I feel like their color palettes are a bit similar (silver, red, black) but they also have varying degrees for shared colors, specifically red & black; from a visual standpoint, this goes very well because Argenti having more red helps to emphasize his association to roses & Boothill having more black helps to emphasize his identity as “death” (well, for the IPC at least)

Moving onto their lore, although Argenti doesn’t have lines about Boothill, we do get lines about Argenti from Boothill himself; based on Boothill’s voicelines, we can assume that he holds some respect for Argenti as someone to whom he can relate

Their backstories are quite similar when we take a closer look at them

For example, they both have experiences where they lost their homes & the people important to them (damn, HYV really said you’re gonna suffer 💀)

Their respective factions are both noted to be groups of solitary people

Interestingly the factions have different reputations according to the data bank where the Knights of Beauty are looked down upon & the Galaxy Rangers are seen as heroes which may be a bit different from what we’re used to since knights normally have a positive connotation as people who hold chivalry as one of their most important values

Their goals are similar in the way that they both are looking for a specific person or entity: Boothill is looking for Oswaldo Schneider (who is responsible for the loss of his family & home; we might possibly meet him soon since we ended off 2.2 with the cliffhanger where Boothill confronts Aventurine to ask him where Oswaldo is) & Argenti is looking for Idrila the Beauty

They also have their critical turning points in their respective Character Story Part 3 portions

Boothill’s portion talks about his transformation into a cyborg & his adoption of the name “Boothill” which he explains is what they called gunslingers who ended up dead; it is a clear representation of his old self having died along with his loved ones & his home when the IPC destroyed everything

Argenti’s portion talks about his journey as a new Knight of Beauty & the obstacles he faced after having met the knight that was mentioned in his Part 2; here we see his transformation into a Knight of Beauty & his dedication to the path he walks

Before I had mentioned silver being an important part of their designs; here I think is where we see the importance of silver the best (since silver is a malleable material, it can change its meaning for both characters based on their situations)

To reiterate, becoming a cyborg by replacing his body w/ silver represents Boothill saying goodbye to his old self who knew of happier times & his loved ones; for Argenti, the silver that he wears is a sign of his devotion to Idrila the Beauty

What ties their differences so well in my eyes is that silver acts as a symbol of Boothill’s & Argenti’s resolve to accomplish their goals (silver may be malleable but it still can be strong metal & it’s even better since Argenti does talk about his will/faith being unbreakable)

I truly love their dynamic as complementary foils & I really hope that we’ll be able to see more interactions between them in the future since we just only have Boothill’s voicelines about Argenti but considering their goals, it probably won’t happen, at least not any time soon

Let me just say that I only cooked this idea up after listening to Boothill’s demo trailer on repeat…..a normal amount, I’m so normal about him 🙂🙂🙂🙂

Thank the YEEHAW man :3

[reasonsforhope]

How can I stay positive regarding the wildfires?

It can be really hard in the face of so much destruction. I don't know how much anyone can specifically stay positive in the face of disasters like this -

but I can give you some thoughts about how to let hope live alongside everything else you're feeling about this, and how to avoid spiraling and remember that this is not proof that we're doomed.

Possibly relevant note lol is that I've lived my whole life in California, so suffice to say figuring out how to move forward among the consequences and destruction of massive wildfires is something I'm definitely not new to.

I remember walking to my classroom in elementary school, about 20 years ago now, and it was literally snowing ash around me. This too shall pass.

Take a few deep breaths. I know it's cliche but it's also important

Zoom out in terms of perspective: Wildfires can make the sky look apocalyptic (like I said, I have lots of experience with this!), but they are regional, and they always end. These wildfires are awful but this specific wave of fires is happening in just one country in a huge, huge world. There's far more land that isn't burning

Canada is about to get substantial international aid in fighting the wildfires - there are already 200 additional firefighters headed over from the US and France, and Canada (Quebec specifically) is also already in talks with Costa Rica, Portugal, and Chile about additional firefighters/resources. Help is on the way and these numbers really will make a big difference, and as the disaster continues (unfortunately it is uh...pretty early in fire season), more help will be sent. People are doing what they can to help, because in the face of disaster, that's what we're wired to do

There are actually MUCH better fire management plans than just about anyone is using, esp in North America but that we COULD implement and increasingly WILL going forward. A lot of the wildfire situation these days is because of the West's incredibly wrongheaded derision toward traditional Indigenous land and ecosystem management practices, including cultural prescribed burns that keep massive wildfires from happening. California in particular is already partnering with several First Nations to revive prescribed burns, to significant success. As fires continue to be terrible, more and more places will get on board with this. We can and will implement practices that will truly change our situation

Cultural burns work because, ironically, the reason for the wildfires is that "is that we've been so good at putting out every fire possible that it has led to overly dense forests and a buildup of burnable material like branches and dry vegetation" that makes wildfires much worse in a number of ways. At lower intensity, however, as with cultural burns, forest fires can actually have huge environmental benefits

Finally, every time a natural disaster happens like this, as awful and destructive as they are, it serves as a wake-up call for thousands of people and adds both ever-mounting urgency and ever-mounting evidence to the importance of fighting climate change, which really does translate into action. For a lot of people, "saving the environment" feels super distant - but you know what feels super immediate? Saving their homes from burning down (or getting flooded or otherwise destroyed, etc. etc.) In 2021, the UN ran the world's largest climate survey, across 1.2 million people and 50 nations, and almost TWO-THIRDS SAID THAT CLIMATE CHANGE IS A GLOBAL EMERGENCY THAT WE NEED TO WORK HARDER TO ADDRESS. Imagine that 10 years ago! That other third of people aside, this really is real and massive progress

Also, every time there's a big disaster like this, climate change deniers look more and more baldly ridiculous. Think about it: How often did you hear US Republicans bullshitting about climate change denial 10 years ago? And how often do you hear them doing it now? In fact, there's increasing evidence that Republicans really are shifting on climate change (mind you they're managing to do it in an obnoxiously somehow pro-fossil-fuel way, but it's still a major sea change). Some of them are literally calling for a clean energy transition, and Kevin McCarthy himself (guy in charge of the US House right now) created a task force for to a conservative climate change agenda that acknowledges climate change is real. There's now a conservative climate conference that does active lobbying and a House Conservative Climate Caucus, which somehow has SIXTY MEMBERS. Again, something that would've been unimaginable just six or seven years ago.

Every acre that the fires burn this year is an acre that's pretty guaranteed to not burn next year, for what that's worth. (And I do think it's worth mentioning, esp with such a high number of acres)

The battles are going to be hard, but I truly believe that even the ones we lose often bring us closer to winning the war.

Fires burn, but life always grows back.

[idylls-of-the-divine-romance]

The way the Romans thought about Christians is so funny to me cause it's like... well the way I've phrased it is that the Christianoi are Death Cult Hippies basically.

Atheists? Unclear.

Incestuous. They're brothers and sisters but the kiss each other all. the. time. IN PUBLIC!? Imagine what happens at night...

Early on Sunday Mornings and late at nights they rise together to hold "Love Feasts" aka Orgies, Cannibalism (of their god???)

Won't stop talking about torture devices. They have this weird magic ritual called "the Sign of the Cross"

Super into death (initiates must go into Death and come back out alive) and zombies (their god is a zombie? they wish to be zombies?)

Always hanging around cemeteries and tombs. They hold religious worship at gravesites and catacombs, writing on the walls for the dead to pray for them (??). So creepy.

Always. Singing. Also some of them speak in weird languages

Despite the constant singing they are very anti-social. Anti-music, anti-theatre, anti-schooling (??), heck, lots of them won't even wear jewelry or perfume or cosmetics!

They keep taking trash (i.e. infants, esp girls and deformed boys, that were left out to die) and raising them as children

Pacifist? Communist?? Anarchist??? Seriously like they won't serve in the military, won't serve in public office (insisting rather to "pray" for the nation to their god. For it's peace or it's fall, who knows?), the part of the cult in Jerusalem lives in common. By refusing to worship the gods they are in defiance against the cultural and political character and the very nature of Rome itself.

Their god is born of... a virgin?? And she consented!? And then their god died... the death of a slave... intentionally!?!?!

Religion of Women and Slaves. Like seriously. They are farrrrr too inclusive. Multi-ethnic, heterogenity, way to much focus on women's roles, disregard for social classes, etc. Also why do so many slaves (the basis of our economy) convert to this religion???

On one hand, obviously, never persecute anyone. Even if they are a dangerous hippie death cult. But also... like my religion sounds like a hippie death cult! I can completely understand. If i was a roman, I'd want these people killed too lol. These people clearly CLEARLY are "the cause of every public disaster, of every affliction with which the people are visited. If the Tiber rises as high as the city walls, if the Nile does not send its waters up over the fields, if the heavens give no rain, if there is an earthquake, if there is famine or pestilence, straightway the cry is, 'Away with the Christians to the lions!"

So... yeah. The Christians were goth and everyone knows the Romans hate Goths lol

[queenie-says-free-palestine]

helpful links to support palestine - this could save lives.

decolonize palestine - extremely helpful website which helps debunk myths, answers faqs, and provides other helpful resources

middle east eye - provides news about palestine, especially concerning the conflict

human rights watch - provides reports about the human rights situation in palestine/israel

palestine remembered - preserves the memory of what palestine was like before the nakba

bbc the key questions - link to an article addressing key questions abt the conflict

palestine is - website w a resource library and learning modules to correct misrepresentation of the conflict

history.com - link to an article detailing the nakba

al-shabaka - somewhat of a think tank dedicated to palestine

electronic intifada - online chicago-based news publication providing a palestinian perspective on the conflict

adalah justice project - an israeli organization trying to protect the human rights of palestinians living under occupation

imeu fundraiser - shares stories of the palestinian struggle for freedom

medical aid for palestinians - british charity that advocates for palestinians' rights to health and dignity (donate here)

palestine children’s relief fund - an organization that locates free medical care in the united states and europe for children in the middle east (esp palestinians) who dont have access to good healthcare

addameer - non government organization that helps support palestinians who are imprisoned in israel, provides free legal aid to political prisoners, advocates their rights, and works to "end torture and other violations of prisoners' rights through monitoring, legal procedures and solidarity campaigns"

muslim aid - uk based islamic non government organisation that works to support people suffering through poverty, war, or natural disasters using emergency relief and sustainable programmes. prominently offer their help in the palestinian territories

palestine red crescent - humanitarian organization that provide hospitals, emergency medicine and ambulance services, and primary health care centers in the west bank and gaza strip

gaza mutual aid collective - fundraising group for gaza (their patreon to donate is here)

united nations relief and works agency for palestine refugees in the near east - un agency that supports the relief and human development of palestinian refugees (the only un agency that helps a specific nationality of refugees)

palestine solidarity campaign - activist organization in england and wales that arranges protests and boycotts israeli goods

help with a click - all you have to do is go to the link and click. its completely free, but every click helps deliver support to palestinian families

[sageandred]

Ok I'm on a new spiral of things I BETTER get in S5 of Lone Star (i'm joking) i'm serious

Paul, TK, and Carlos hanging out alone like they did in s1 // Paul + Asha and Tk + Carlos double date, esp. since my GraceJudd x Tarlos went down the drain

TK and Carlos sexytime à la s1; honeymoon period before shit hits the fan...thank youuu

Judd heavy plot that doesn't involve him and Grace having huge problems, falling out of love, etc (I'm ok, with the Wyatt arc; I don't need Grace and him struggling in their marriage as well); I love the idea of Judd s1 vibes

Owen, less screentime! I like him. I love him! But I NEED more 126 development when I know this man in and out now, including his skin care routine!

I want TK and Carlos to bond with each other's family more, now // I want Carlos' sisters to make an appearance and for TK to be shown talking with them 1-on-1..I want Carlos to really bond with his father-in-law and maybe remind him of things of his own father

I want TK and Carlos to talk about both of them losing a parent, how they compare with Carlos still having his mom/TK still having his dad, and to comfort each other in grief

Either flashbacks of Carlos and his dad ("baby" Carlos... or actually teenage/college Carlos would tremendously shock me) OR Carlos looking thru photo albums like we got with TK

Nancy and Marjan. NANCY AND MARJAN. (no preference, platonic or otherwise; they're very similar I need them to bond more)

More friendships, 1-on-1

Big natural disaster camera work and suspenseful storyline(s) (i'm hopeful from what i've seen)

[lesbianrobin]

the Way I would Totally Read the BuckAbby fic you just described,, concept so delicious, but so curious how and if maddie coming back and or eddie joining the 118 would have any impact at all!! esp cuz maddie's return had her be like this is my brother's longest relationship and i can't help but notice she hasn't been there for most of it

but what if she is there??? and the people around buck can kinda tell she's checking out but stayin g out of guilt, and like what do you even say that at that point???

and like does lawsuit play into this? THE POSSIBILITIES

RIGHTTTTT like oh my god. the maddie-abby dynamic would be INSANE.

so i think maddie is actually like. the first thing that makes abby stick around. like suddenly this sister shows up and she's clearly fleeing an abusive relationship so abby's like ok well i shouldn't just ditch him rn he didn't ditch me when my mother got worse! and she figures she'll hang around until maddie gets settled in la. and at this point maddie's mostly just intrigued by this woman that her brother's in a serious relationship with like i think she's excited to get to know her!

and then just when abby thinks that she's good to go, maddie gets kidnapped. and as soon as she thinks enough time has passed since maddie's kidnapping, buck gets ladder trucked. etc etc. and somewhere along the way the buck/abby relationship gets just poisoned with resentment and buck refuses to see it meanwhile everyone else but Especially maddie is like buck... this is Not Good... and i think that maddie actually becomes extremely anti-abby because after her experience with doug she's like sorry but Zero tolerance for unhealthy relationship dynamics with my baby brother. and this isn't me saying i think abby becomes abusive or anything just that i think the relationship becomes very unhealthy and maddie's sensitive to that which perhaps drives a wedge between her and buck as maddie tries to ask prodding questions and he gets defensive of his relationship.

also. this is gonna sound very bold but i think witnessing a relationship where one party is obviously staying entirely out of guilt and obligation might have gotten eddie on the divorce train with shannon sooner. like i'm not saying it would have butterfly effect saved her life but i Do think it could have potentially aided eddie in his processing of their marriage after her death.

re: lawsuit here's the thing. i do think that at some point abby hits her limit and she just Leaves. like she can't face buck and say it so she straight up just leaves him a note and dips. and i think it might be incredibly likely that this limit comes after the tsunami. it's like a Sign for abby yknow this insane natural disaster occurs and she's like ok there's literally Never gonna be a good time to leave him i just have to bite the bullet and Do It. plus assuming she was working during the tsunami i see her being like i am DONE with this fuckass hell job.

so. now i am imagining lawsuit era buck except he is also trying to process the fact that his girlfriend of like two years just left him without even having the courtesy to break up with him to his face. and the humiliating realization that everyone around him saw it coming before he did and Told him and he insisted they were wrong. GOD. wow. okay.

[niteshade925]

Just a short post on the topic, since I intend to reserve the long version for my culture sideblog where this kind of post should belong:

Since many people (esp people in the west) tend to misunderstand what “Mandate of Heaven” really is, I’ll just explain it in a concise way.  “Mandate of Heaven”, or 天命, which really should be translated as the “Will of Heaven” or “Heaven’s Will”, actually reflects “the will of the people”.  I’m too lazy right now so I’ll just copy paste what I wrote in an addendum to someone else’s post:

Instead, "heaven" is better understood as "nature", one which can "reflect" the opinion of the people like a weird mirror of sorts.  To understand what Mandate of Heaven means, one absolutely must understand what "Unity of Heaven and Humanity"/天人合一 means.  In this concept, the opinions, thoughts, and actions of humans (not just ruling class people) are echoed by "heaven".  Which means that, yes, this concept is really all about the people.  Ideally, anyway.  This also means that every time a natural disaster happened, it was seen as the people's discontent or the ruler's mistakes/wrongdoings reflected in nature.  Thus, we see that when natural disasters happen in history, the emperor might issue a public confession (called 罪己诏, or "Edict of Self-Blame"), in the hopes that "heaven" (people by extension) might cease its wrath.  Sometimes these "signs from heaven" were also used as justifications for rebellions and uprisings like OP mentioned above, sometimes also usurpations.

And:

Now we come to the part of why I said "ideally".  In ancient China, there was a special social class that held just as much power as the emperor (sometimes even more than the emperor, for example the Three Kingdoms period).  This class was called shi/士 (sometimes translated as "scholar officials" or "literati"), and may be understood as the class of "elites" in ancient China.  Shi elites often exist in the form of clans or families who have a sort of "monopoly" on governmental positions, and they are not simply rich people or landowners or nobles.  Most importantly, they have knowledge, and they can control the dispersal of knowledge.  It was the shi elites who came up with this concept of "Unity of Heaven and Humanity", which meant they have the final say in what the "signs from heaven" actually meant.  In theory, the "humanity" in this concept should encompass all people, but in practice, it really only meant the shi elites.  So in the end, it was a nice idea, but its overwhelming reliance on human interpretation made it so historically the situation often became a tug of war between the ruler and the shi elites, and not the people putting a check on the actions of the ruling class.

To add on to that, here are more concepts associated with 天/Heaven:

天 (Heaven):  Heaven in traditional Chinese thought represents the supreme morals and natural laws of the universe, and is not a god (which means it is also not “the” god).  It’s above all gods.  It does not have a form and unlike many other deities in Chinese religions and culture, is not visually anthropomorphized.  It is also different from 老天爷 (”Old ‘Ye’ Heaven”) in common vernacular.

天道 (Heaven’s Way):  the natural laws by which everything in the world exists, operates, and changes.  Can also mean causality, as in the phrase “天道轮回，报应不爽” (”The Way of Heaven cycles around, and retribution will come sooner or later”; the implication is that if one does bad things, because of this cause and effect it will eventually come back to bite them in the ass).

天行 (Heaven’s Workings):  literally the way Heaven operates, or just the laws of nature.  As in “天行有常，不为尧存，不为桀亡” (”Heaven’s Workings is constant; it shall not exist because of a benevolent ruler like Yao, and shall not disappear because of a tyrannical ruler like Jie”) from 《荀子·天论》.

天理 (Heaven’s Principles):  the natural laws of the world, the supreme morals, and the ultimate truth.  Often used as the ultimate moral basis, as in “天理昭彰” (”Heaven’s Principles are clear and evident”; means that Heaven will uphold justice, punish those who are evil and reward those who are good).

天命 (Heaven’s Will):  the will of nature (which includes all people).  See above.