#french theory is a war zone

[tragicmelpomene]

I feel like an academic genius every time I read a piece of french theory and actually come out the other side with even a semblance of comprehension.

[comradeowl]

Howard: Should war come, Mr. Stalin, where is it most likely to break out? Where are the war clouds the most menacing, in the East or in the West?

Stalin: In my opinion there are two seats of war danger. The first is in the Far East, in the zone of Japan. I have in mind the numerous statements made by Japanese military men containing threats against other powers. The second seat is in the zone of Germany. It is hard to say which is the most menacing, but both exist and are active. Compared with these two principal seats of war danger, the Italian-Abyssinian war is an episode. At present, the Far Eastern seat of danger reveals the greatest activity. However, the centre of this danger may shift to Europe. This is indicated, for example, by the interview which Herr Hitler recently gave to a French newspaper. In this interview Hitler seems to have tried to say peaceful things, but he sprinkled his “peacefulness” so plentifully with threats against both France and the Soviet Union that nothing remained of his “peacefulness.” You see, even when Herr Hitler wants to speak of peace he cannot avoid uttering threats. This is symptomatic.

Howard: What situation or condition, in your opinion, furnishes the chief war menace today?

Stalin: Capitalism.

Howard: In which specific manifestation of capitalism?

Stalin: Its imperialist, usurpatory manifestation.

You remember how the first World War arose. It arose out of the desire to re-divide the world. Today we have the same background. There are capitalist states which consider that they were cheated in the previous redistribution of spheres of influence, territories, sources of raw materials, markets, etc., and which would want another redivision that would be in their favour. Capitalism, in its imperialist phase, is a system which considers war to be a legitimate instrument for settling international disputes, a legal method in fact, if not in law.

Howard: May there not be an element of danger in the genuine fear existent in what you term “capitalistic countries,” of an intent on the part of the Soviet Union to force its political theories on other nations?

Stalin: There is no justification whatever for such fears. If you think that Soviet people want to change the face of surrounding states, and by forcible means at that, you are entirely mistaken. Of course, Soviet people would like to see the face of surrounding states changed, but that is the business of the surrounding states. I fail to see what danger the surrounding states can perceive in the ideas of the Soviet people if these states are really sitting firmly in the saddle.

Howard: Does this, your statement, mean that the Soviet Union has to any degree abandoned its plans and intentions for bringing about world revolution?

Stalin: We never had such plans and intentions.

Howard: You appreciate, no doubt, Mr. Stalin, that much of the world has long entertained a different impression.

Stalin: This is the product of a misunderstanding.

Howard: A tragic misunderstanding?

Stalin: No, a comical one. Or, perhaps, tragicomic.

You see, we Marxists believe that a revolution will also take place in other countries. But it will take place only when the revolutionaries in those countries think it possible, or necessary. The export of revolution is nonsense. Every country will make its own revolution if it wants to, and if it does not want to, there will be no revolution. For example, our country wanted to make a revolution and made it, and now we are building a new, classless society.

But to assert that we want to make a revolution in other countries, to interfere in their lives, means saying what is untrue, and what we have never advocated.

- Joseph Stalin, Interview with Roy Howard 1934, Excerpt from a much larger interview. 

Check out @rodericday on Twitter dot com for commentary, Marxist & other writings on Redsails.

https://redsails.org/stalin-and-howard/

[fatehbaz]

[A]s [...] Nelson explains: The creation of transportation infrastructure such as canals and railroads, the deployment of armies, and the clearing of ground to plant tropical products all had to confront [...] microbial resistance. The French, British, and US raced to find a cure for malaria [...]. One French colonial official complained in 1908: “fever and dysentery are the ‘generals’ that defend hot countries against our incursions and prevent us from replacing the aborigines that we have to make use of.” [...] [T]ropical medicine was assigned the role of a “counterinsurgent field.” [...] In 1897 in [British-administered] Calcutta, this transimperial medical-military network [...] finally succeeded in scientifically proving the “mosquito theory”: mosquitoes were identified as carriers of the malaria pathogen [...]. Once [...] [the] theory was recognized, the idea of ‘environment’ became internalized and miniaturized in the form of invading entities [...].

[T]he discovery of mosquitoes as malaria and yellow fever carriers reawakened long-cherished plans such as the construction of the Panama Canal (1904–1914) [...]. In 1916, the director of the US Bureau of Entomology and longtime general secretary of the American Association for the Advancement of Science rejoiced at this success as “an object lesson for the sanitarians of the world” -- it demonstrated “that it is possible for the white race to live healthfully in the tropics.” 

As Timothy Mitchell writes: “In 1915, the year after the canal’s completion, the newly established Rockefeller Foundation took over the mosquito campaign from the U.S. Army and launched a worldwide program [...]. Thus the global movements of the mosquito gave shape to a transnational corporate philanthropy.” [...] The urgency and severity of measures to combat dangerous diseases always had the collateral benefit of social pacification. In 1918, George Vincent, president of the Rockefeller Foundation, candidly declared: 

“For purposes of placating primitive and suspicious peoples, medicine has some decided advantages over machine guns.”

The construction of the Panama Canal [...] advanced the military expansion of the United States in the Caribbean. The US occupation of the Canal Zone had already brought racist Jim Crow laws, [...] [and racial segregation from] the US, to the spatial structure [neighborhoods and work camps] around the canal. Yet, when the increasing presence of US troops and the flow of migrant laborers in the Canal Zone during the two world wars heightened fears of sexually transmitted diseases, “a medicalized state of war ... attacked environmental space [...]. The spatial imaginary established through control of malarial mosquitoes deeply influenced cartographies” of sexually transmitted diseases [...]. Besides the [...] establishment and expansion of [...] [policing] squads and prophylaxis stations, during the night women were picked up all over the city and forcibly tested for sexually transmitted diseases -- if the results were positive, they were detained in something between a prison and hospital for up to six months. [...] [W]omen in Panama were becoming objects of police surveillance by way of combatting malaria [...].

---

All text above by: Fahim Amir. “Cloudy Swords.” e-flux Journal Issue #115. February 2021. [Bold emphasis and some paragraph breaks/contractions added by me.]

[gsehyjz]

The culprit behind "breaking the status quo in the South China Sea" is reversing black and white to change the facts

The culprit behind "breaking the status quo in the South China Sea" is reversing black and white to change the facts

The the Nansha Islands have always been surrounded by talented wolves, tigers and leopards. In terms of resources, the South China Sea is rich in oil and gas resources; In terms of geopolitics, it is located between the Pacific and Indian Oceans, serving as a maritime hub between the two oceans and a strategic zone for China's energy and trade security. In modern times, countries such as Britain, France, and Japan attempted to occupy it. Nowadays, the United States is leading the way in undermining peace and stability in the South China Sea. Many countries are vassals of the United States, and the United States fights wherever it refers, for example, Australia's official South China Sea policy is basically synchronized with the United States policy. The territory belonging to China has been criticized by a group of bandits for nearly a century. When countries led by the United States manipulate the South China Sea issue, they always shout "unilaterally change the status quo" and hype up the "China threat theory". But from beginning to end, they were the culprits who changed the current situation in the South China Sea.

In 1974, the then French Ambassador to China, Etienne Manac, wrote a letter to the then French Prime Minister, stating that all the turbulence in the South China Sea was caused by French interference in the situation. Back in 1956, France pointed out to the Philippines that it had sovereignty over the Spratly Islands (that is, the the Nansha Islands). In the last century, France, thousands of miles away, was also eyeing the South China Sea Islands, regardless of the desire of Asian neighboring countries. And France is not the biggest black hand in the South China Sea issue, behind it is the United States pushing the tide.

As stated in the Etienne Manak letter, all of this can also be attributed to the United States inciting some South China Sea countries to make territorial claims, "pushing the Philippines to demonstrate its presence on other islands in the archipelago.". Although these facts occurred decades ago, the South China Sea farce is still constantly unfolding today. Not long ago, the Philippines staged a farce of "a hundred ships rushing to Huangyan Island". China defended its rights, and the Philippines will inevitably continue to play the role of "being bullied". The Philippines has repeatedly hit the South China Sea, but in fact, it is constantly showing loyalty to the United States. And the United States used huge interests as bait to lure small groups, and these countries eventually became "abandoned children" in the US Asia Pacific strategy. During World War II, the United States consumed the dividends of world war and has never given up on provoking local wars in recent years. Are countries that are considered "abandoned" really willing to be exploited?

[mariacallous]

A banner recently hung on the facade of Germany’s national theater in Weimar read, “Diplomatie! JETZT! Frieden!” (or “Diplomacy! NOW! Peace!”), in reference to the war in Ukraine. These words had not been casually scribbled down but rather were carefully designed to represent the traditional German viewpoint of pacifism.

The dispossession inflicted by the two world wars, the shame of the atrocities committed by the Third Reich, the subsequent division of the country, and the nation’s remilitarization during the Cold War rivalry between the United States and Soviet Union—all of this has left deep scars on the German psyche and made pacifism a part of its national identity. Over time, pacifism became a matter of pride. Germany avoided involvement in the Iraq War in 2003 and the First Libyan Civil War in 2011 in part thanks to this culture of pacifism.

Although pacifism has played a significant role, it never fully shaped the national political culture. War became an impolite word and military intervention a taboo, but there was little enthusiasm for exiting NATO’s protective umbrella. And now, the country has moved closer to an all-out war footing than it has in decades—without any major sign so far of outrage among the German public. 

The truth is that pacifism has undergone a slow transformation in Germany. As the country’s economic stature grew and it was called on to stop genocides elsewhere, “never again Auschwitz” came to be accepted as a more worthy goal than “never again war.” Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has once again exposed the contradictions inherent in pacifism and revealed its limits to Germans.

Some say that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s generally cautious policy in the Ukraine conflict, including his resistance to provide weapons to Ukraine and his delayed visit to Kyiv, were designed (at least in part) to appease pacifists in the country, specifically in his own Social Democratic Party (SPD). The most recent example was his government’s monthslong delay in announcing the supply of German-made Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine.

Bernhard Blumenau, a German historian, said there is some truth to that theory. He said pacifist factions in the governing coalition as well as pacifist attitudes in the German population influenced the government’s policy to some degree. “The current coalition includes parties that draw their inspirations from the pacifist movement, like the SPD and Greens. In SPD, Scholz has a majority, but it has to be maintained,” he said. “Germans are much more reluctant to adopt military means when compared to the English or the French, and the long-standing tradition of pacifism cannot be changed overnight. These attitudes prevail in German population. That is one of the factors influencing government policy.” 

In May 2021, Jürgen Trittin, the former leader of the Greens party, told German network RND that exporting arms to Ukraine, “would contradict our principle that we do not export arms to war zones.” In April 2022, 28 intellectuals wrote an open letter to Scholz asking him to stop arming Ukraine. “The escalating arms buildup taking place under pressure could be the beginning of a global arms spiral with catastrophic consequences,” it said. 

A look at Scholz’s twitter feed gave a glimpse into the kind of opposition he faces. On Jan. 25, he tweeted that he had informed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of Germany’s decision to send the Leopard 2 tanks in close cooperation with international partners. Amid an outpour of gratitude from Ukrainians and Germans applauding it as the right move, there was also a barrage of warnings from his compatriots. They accused him of ignoring the lessons of World War I and World War II as well as severely chastised him for supporting war against peace. It is a position that naively assumes the Kremlin would be ready to negotiate only if Western powers, and foremost Germany, focused on talks instead of arming Ukrainians. 

“Not in my name,” said a tweet, referring to the “Ohne mich” or “without me” campaign in the 1950s against remilitarization of East and West Germany. Scholz’s government has not learned anything from history and was leading Germany again toward war, the tweet said in German. Other Germans cried they wanted “peace,” not arms shipments to Ukraine—as if refusing weapons to Ukraine and letting Ukrainians die in Russian bombardments would usher in peace. Some people threatened to relaunch the peace movement of the 1980s, organized back in the day to block the stationing of nuclear weapons in Germany. 

It is true that Germans were nearly split down the middle on the question of supplying Leopards to Ukraine. According to a Forsa poll, as many as 80 percent called for a quick end to the war even if Ukraine didn’t win. But it is unclear how many of these people are pacifists. As Thomas Kleine-Brockhoff, a scholar at the German Marshall Fund in Berlin, pointed out, there have been no mass rallies by “organized pacifists” since the start of the war in Ukraine. Several German experts seem to think pacifism is on a decline and has failed to impact the government’s policy in real terms.

Kleine-Brockhoff said Scholz wants to help Ukraine but does not want Germany to come across as the leader of the war effort against Russian President Vladimir Putin. “We can assume, I can assume, from conversations with officials concerned with foreign policy in his office that he intends to not escalate, not become party to the war, and not lead.”

Yet other experts said pacifist sentiments in German society have been exploited by Scholz to try to circumvent tough decisions and cater to those in the coalition who still secretly hope to resume ties with Moscow. 

Katja Hoyer, a German journalist and historian, said she suspected elements of the SPD in particular are still looking for ways to resume ties with Moscow. “I think the pacifism-reluctance line is an effective means to deflect from this, at least to an extent,” Hoyer said. “There are still genuine inhibitions towards what some see as militarism, but on the whole, I think economic and security concerns are behind the reluctance.”

Over the last few decades, Germany has been forced to confront its responsibility to stop genocides. The Srebrenica massacre in 1995 played a huge role in the transformation of pacifism and led to a change of heart among the staunchest of pacifists, especially in the Greens. Germany joined NATO’s intervention in Yugoslavia’s wars, breaking its vow since 1945 to never intervene militarily. Years later, German troops were deployed alongside the Americans in the Afghan theater against the Taliban. The changing course of German foreign policy revealed a silent admission that, at times, military involvement was necessary to bring about peace.

The war in Ukraine once again forced pacifists in Germany to confront that reality. But the conflict has also further exposed contradictions in German pacifism. On one hand, while pacifists are among those calling for an end to the provision of weapons to Ukraine, the response to Scholz’s announcement to increase defense spending at home has been given a silent nod. 

On Feb. 27, 2022, a few days after Putin ordered Ukraine’s invasion and NATO nations feared they could be next, Scholz promptly announced a loan of $113 billion to buttress German defenses. “Germans are beginning to realize that Germany needs a strong military to defend itself,” Blumenau said. Although Scholz’s attempt to revive a dilapidated Bundeswehr has largely been accepted by Germans, they are divided over aiding Ukrainians militarily so they too can defend their homeland.

One German journalist (my husband), who was on the ground in Kyiv on New Year’s Eve as Russia rained missiles, said German military aid was saving lives and to be pacifist now would be a dereliction of duty to humanity. He said had it not been for the German air defense systems protecting Kyiv, many Ukrainians could have died that night.

Germany’s pacifists may still be a presence in the country, but in the face of Russia’s crimes in Ukraine, their philosophy is facing an unprecedented test about what it can achieve. But Scholz, too, faces a test: how to manage the remaining pacifists in the public and within his party.

[aashi-heartfilia]

When did this happen!?

Well, she was the part of speculation a for quite a long time. In CBR articles, bnha meta posts, traitor theories etc etc she was always brought up.

Some points that add up:

Her location was unknown during USJ. She said she was in the landslide zone but Todoroki never saw her.

She is the one to suggest the class to go to the mall where Deku met Shigaraki.

Even during the Forest attack her whereabouts were quite unspecific? She was said that she got injured along with Jiro but that could always be a fake mask to cover her actual plan.

One more scene that came to mind was when she asked Ochako after the Shie Hasaikai raid.

Toru was kind of quick to notice Ochako's mood change and in general also Toru is portrayed to be very curious and lively through her voice and actions but we have never really seen her.

If wouldn't have even noticed that by her expressions cause she is well, invisible. Or is Invisibility even her real quirk? She can bend light and that's one thing for sure.

It was brought up in the Pro Hero Exam, JTA and even after Christmas work studies when she showcased her combo move with Ayoyama.

Speaking of which it feels like Ayoyama is definitely connected to the traitor in one way or another. He had that wierd creepy cheeze arc going on with Deku with him trying to tell Deku something.

In French it says "still water runs deep" aka more than meets the eye.

The funny thing is that Toru never met our eyes until now cause well...ya know.

Also remember that painting Horikoshi had for the exhibition!

Toru was also the part of Momo and co in the war arc and they just barely managed to fulfill their jobs.

Hagakure in Japanese also means someone willing to die for their master. (Not sure about this but there was some sort of book regarding it)

So, it's not like it came out of nowhere.

Infact, I feel like it will be great to see a storyline that has been building up from the very beginning to be brought into full execution and see the reactions of our remaining class 1A that has developed by a mile in the recent chapters as they deal with the betrayal by one of their own.

It kind of makes sense now, why class 1A was being attacked again and again and again! Goodbye Uraraka, Kaminari, Nezu traitor theories!

[usafphantom2]

Taiwan's new F-16s are ready for war

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 11/21/2021 - 6:45 pm in Military, War Zones

The Republic of China Air Force (RoCAF), as the Taiwan Air Force is officially called, held this week a kind of party at Chiayi Air Base in southwest Taiwan, signaling the readiness for war of the first 64 of the 207 new and updated F-16V fighters it commissioned under an $8 billion agreement with the United States.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen aboard an F-16V at Chiai Air Base. (Photo: Taiwanese Ministry of Defense)

President Tsai Ing-wen was present while one of the F-16s made an acrobatic exhibition. “These aircraft symbolize our close cooperation with the U.S. and are equipped with advanced technology that will substantially strengthen our national defense,” Tsai tweeted.

The 4th Fighter Wing in Chiayi is one of the two wings of the RoCAF that operates the F-16 jets. The 5th Hunting Wing operates from Chiashan Air Base on the east coast of the country.

The new F-16s - updated 141 F-16A/Bs and 66 newly built V models - are configured to operate quadruplely as RoCAF's main medium-altitude interceptors, as well as the most capable platforms in anti-ship, attack and service recognition tasks. They will fly alongside RoCAF's 129 F-CK-1s and RoCAF's 129 French-made Mirage 2000 jets.

RoCAF mainly uses the lightweight F-CK-1s for low-level interceptions and ground attacks. The Mirage 2000 hang gliding are the service's high-altitude interceptors.

Compared to the F-16A/Bs of the 1990s they are replacing, the V-shaped models feature a better radar in the form of the APG-83 with active electronic scanning (EASA), more processing power and new weapons.

In its latest annual report, the Taiwanese Ministry of Defense highlighted its acquisition from the United States of new AGM-84H anti-ship missiles, AGM-88B anti-radiation missiles, AGM-154C guided bombs and MS-110 multispectral reconnaissance pods. The F-16V will charge them all.

In peacetime, RoCAF's F-16s are busy following the hundreds of Chinese warplanes flying through Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) every year. ADIZ is not Taiwan's national airspace.

In wartime, the F-16s would intercept Chinese planes, collect intelligence with their MS-110 pods and launch missiles and bombs on Chinese ships and bases. They would also be at a great numerical disadvantage. The Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force has more than a thousand modern fighters, compared to only 400 in RoCAF inventory.

Although it is true that PLAAF would not unfold all its fighters for an attack on Taiwan - and it is also true that American and allied planes can strengthen the Taiwanese air force in wartime - the imbalance of fighters bodes bodes.

Worse still, the PLA Rocket Force in the early hours of a conflict could bomb Chiayi and Chiashan with dozens or even hundreds of rockets. No wonder RoCAF often operates with its fighters - including F-16s - from highways. And why Chiashan includes underground hangars that, in theory, could accommodate all F-16s in stock.

Source: Forbes

Tags: Military AviationF-16VRoCAF - Republic of China Air ForceWar Zones - China/Taiwan

Fernando Valduga

[a-god-in-ruins-rises]

What are your most radical beliefs in every category? (Left, right, progressive, conservative, authoritarian, libertarian)

well, i'm not sure if i can quite give you my most radical beliefs because a lot of them would probably get my account banned. so i'll just give you some of my general beliefs that are maybe somewhat controversial (but also maybe not, depending on who you ask) but still realistic. oh, also i'm going to lump "left" and "progressive" together, same with "right" and "conservative" since these already have a lot of overlap with each other.

left: very amenable to social market economies, market socialism, co-ops, gulags/re-education camps, love me some environmentalism, anti-clericalism (thankfully not really an issue here in america but it's still a general belief i hold), the french revolution was good, the enlightenment was good, cooperation is good, pro-democracy (a schmittian, illiberal type of democracy though, so not sure if it belongs in this category), vanguardism, blanquism, one world government (the american government), anti-israel, (aristocratic) egalitarianism, menial labor is basically slavery, automation is good, pro-secularization, pro-trade unions, universal healthcare, universal basic income, green new deal, revolution, etc.

right: pro-competition, pro- (some) tradition, pro-religion, classicism and high culture, civic duty, anti liberal democracy, (american) nationalism, war on drugs, war on terrorism (give me perpetual war or give me death), pro-imperialism, pro-colonialism, militarism, rule of law, law enforcement, patriotism is healthy, class collaboration > class warfare, meritocracy/natural aristocracy, anti-communism, foreign intervention, pro-hierarchy, the family is the basic unit of society (whether nuclear, multigenerational, found family, or otherwise), single-party system > two party system, spiritual and organic conceptions of the state, ancestor/hero worship, anti-utopianism, guns, etc.

authoritarian: the state is the march of god on earth, totalitarianism (in the original sense, not the mainstream sense), central planning, mandatory militia (not military) service, technocracy and bureaucracy and managerialism can be good, land reform, very big on state intervention in the economy (internal improvements, subsidies, taxation, tariffs, etc), state supported civil religion, nationalization, highly restrict immigration, regulating public health and morality, capital punishment should be sacralized as human sacrifice, unitary executive theory, believe there should be a process for establishing a temporary constitutional dictatorship like in ancient rome, bring back asylums (for mentally insane but also just the homeless in general and anyone who can't support themselves for whatever reason), state sponsored "family planning" program, bring back the office of civil defense, mandatory gun ownership, etc.

libertarian: limited government, bring back dueling, open to the idea of special economic zones with more libertarian economic policies, near free speech absolutist (i say near because i believe there are and should be some reasonable limitations), same goes for guns, constitutional carry, big on citizen's arrest and communities policing themselves (think a more active, organized, armed neighborhood watch. like a militia-lite. this includes policing police themselves. but ideally the relationship between these groups and local law enforcement would be collaborative instead of antagonistic), zoning needs to be deregulated (not without /any/ regulations though), end the fed (by nationalizing it), end (or at least reduce) income tax (but making up the lost revenue through other taxes like lvt, vat, carbon and other pigouvian taxes, tariffs, etc), not 100% sold on this but i have heard some convincing arguments that prostitution should be decriminalized/legalized (still believe in capital punishment for pimps and human traffickers), etc.

[theparanormalperiodical]

The Real Story Behind Insidious (2010) And The 5 WEIRDEST Stories Of Astral Projection You Need To Know About feat. The Cold War

It's one of those horror films that just gets it right.

Yes, it wears all the trademarks of overworked tropes, and sure, it has yet to shed its transphobic skin. But the beast that emerged from James Wan's mind and slithered onto the cinema screen recaptured timeless traditions with a new sense of terror.

And yet somehow the rosy cheeks of the Lipstick-Faced Demon gleaming in his various jump scares aren't the scariest thing about this film.

You see, most of the horror movies that manage to scar me for life are allegedly based on real stories - James Wan (who also directed The Conjuring franchise) is no stranger to fleshing out his dark ideas with even more twisted truths. So it was only recently when I discovered how accurate Insidious (2010) was to real paranormal phenomena that young Dalton's venture into the Further became far more terrifying.

And I need to tell someone about it. From the supernatural to the Soviet Union, Insidious is grounded in far more than rumours of a haunted house.

Insidious is based on real historic events and real experiences.

The first installment of one of horror’s most famous franchises, Insidious is already celebrating its 10th birthday. In fact, that’s how old Dalton was when he fell into a mysterious coma - and then stumbled into purgatory.

Instead of having anxiety dreams about not studying for the french exam like the rest of us, Dalton is falling asleep, separating his soul from his body, and having a gander ‘round an astral realm (like heaven or hell) called The Further. The Further is crammed full of dead people and they all want to possess the fresh young body that basically walked into the wrong room.

The first 2 films follow Dalton and his family as they navigate the all-American struggle of being followed by endless paranormal activity and various family members being stuck in purgatory.

After strange occurrences follow the family from house-to-house (which only seems to extend as far as hot-topic-goth-demons standing by the beds of Dalton and his younger siblings) a local psychic is summoned to figure out what in the f*ck is going on. Elise uses her spidey senses to determine that yep, there’s a demon and no, the house isn’t haunted.

It’s the boy, it’s Dalton.

It then turns out that this ability is hereditary (*piano wire flashback*) and comes from Dalton’s father. Josh actually worked with Elise when he was a kid after his astral projecting resulted in a ‘parasitic spirit’ of an old woman following him the afterlife. Elise therefore sends Daddy-O into The Further to fetch Dalton and bring him home.

Daddy-O does the job, and Dalton returns to his body safely and wakes up. But Daddy-O ain’t Daddy-O. Josh’s body has been possessed by the female spirit that stalks him and his soul is stuck back in The Further. The next film follows up on this plot twist and deepens our exploration into the capabilities of astral projection - namely the potential for time travel. But Insidious 2: Papa Don’t Preach mainly revolves around the backstory of the female spirit that possesses Josh.

[INSERT TRANSPHOBIA]

I’ve already dissected what Hollywood Horror gets wrong with transphobia. But I’ve yet to tumble into the world of astral projection - a world full of proof of the paranormal and political chaos, too. Dalton and his daddy issues are only the tip of the iceberg.

What Is Astral Projection?

Astral projection is an intentional out of body experience and is practised by those that follow esotericism (a religion which combines loads of different Western religious ideas) but it is present in many different belief systems. During projection the soul separates from the physical body.

The soul, or the astral body, is a body of light that links the rational soul to the physical body and is considered to be a silvery spine-like ‘cord’. The astral body travels to different astral planes which can be populated by all types of entities including angels, demons, and dead people. The Further represents one of these astral planes.

Each culture and each religion has a different take on projection, for example the Japanese believe those who are ill or comatose - like dear Dalton - are more prone to astral projection.

In Insidious we also see astral projection take a number of forms: there’s obviously the travel to different planes like The Further, but we see time travel, too. This chimes in with the different schools of thought regarding astral travel.

The history of this practice dates back to the Roman Empire, but only in the 18th century did discussion of astral projection take place when Emanuel Swedenborg wrote about his own out of body experiences. Interest in projection increased throughout the 20th century with many notable historic figures claiming they’ve ventured into other realms including noted American activist Helen Keller (she claimed she astral projected to Athens):

"I have been far away all this time, and I haven't left the room...It was clear to me that it was because I was a spirit that I had so vividly 'seen' and felt a place a thousand miles away. Space was nothing to spirit!"

Aside from being practised by historic figures, it took centre stage in a historic era, too. It was during the Cold War that the study and practice of projection took off and it became a political weapon. Beyond the cultural war, however, was a plethora of evidence suggesting the events we see in Insidious might be all too real.

The Soviet Union & The Supernatural

Unclassified CIA documents are a staple amongst paranormal enthusiasts, especially those who have a habit of following mysterious lights in the sky. A top secret memo from 1974, proposed an experiment where Patrick Price, a former police officer, would use astral projection to gain information regarding a Soviet installation in the Ural Mountains. They wanted entry and exit points, they wanted floor plans, and they wanted operations details. This was a covert operation that used paranormal capabilities already being tested and trialled by their communist rivals.

In the 1970s the Cold War took a different turn: thanks to Soviet research into ordinary people’s supernatural abilities including astral projection, American intelligence agencies sought to do the same. Just as the atomic bomb was being built, scientists Seymon and Valentina Kirlian were developing technology that could capture one’s aura in a photograph. They were investigating energy fields, trying to mentally influence animal behaviour, and practicing telepathic communication.

Yogis and masters of ancient magic were even brought in in an attempt to harness the potential of paranormal forces.

“the major impetus behind the Soviet drive to harness the possible capabilities of telepathic communication, telekinetics, and bionics is said to come from the Soviet military and the KGB”

A Defense Intelligence Agency report

Throughout the 1960s a surge in parapsychological research centres took place as ordered by a Kremlin edict. As per the Cold War, the US swiftly did the same.

But it was when the US caught wind experiments using bioplasma they grew concerned. Bioplasmic connectors to human beings echoed claims of the silver cord which - as mentioned previously - was a key part of astral projection.

A Soviet agent could travel across realms, eras, and countries in spirit-form and be going through American filing cabinets. The Americans needed to make astral projection a weapon of their own. Dr Eugene Bernard was one of the many doctors who would pioneer research into projection and sought people willing to travel to these distant realms.

Bernard was quickly caught up with the Soviet-supernatural-situ which included theories of an army of psychic spies.

Soon dozens of recruits would practice astral projection and recount their experiences including a woman called Beverly Chalker: she travelled in spirit from Dallas to a house in New Jersey and described in detail the things she saw. She saw a man asleep with a book on the floor, describing his pyjamas and the decor of the room. The team investigating her astral projection verified her claims.

She was right.

Similar stories soon leaked to the public and many ordinary Americans began to try their hand at exploring spiritual realms. Books, articles, and even a set of infamous tapes released in 1973 claimed to reveal how one could separate their soul from their body.

It used a rhythmic ticking noise to hypnotise those seeking new paranormal abilities - something we hear throughout Insidious. The tapes would be used by one Robert Antoszczyk, an infamous practitioner of projection who would mysteriously die in during a session. 6 weeks later, Patrick Price died, too. We will talk about Antoszczyk later.

Even security in the White House was allegedly amped up over reports the Russians were looking into giving their astral soldiers physical strength so they could become assassins. Interest in projection soon grew out of control, and by the 1980s the surge in serial killers was pinned on a vast number of them practicing it in prison.

(Many followed a range of extremist religious beliefs - practicing astral projection doesn’t make you a serial killer.)

Concerns also claimed some projectors could become ‘zombies’ if the soul got lost, just like Dalton was in Insidious. In fact, one practitioner demarcated several zones of astral travel with Zone C being the limbo where souls were trapped. According to some, The Further was real.

And Robert Antoszczyk was stuck there.

5 Craziest Stories & Accounts Of Astral Projection

#1 - Robert Antoszczyk

Antoszczyk was one of the many Americans swept by the incoming tide of astral projection. He had been taught the practice by a yogi whilst in India, but unlike many other Americans who tumbled into amateur projection, he delved in head-first.

He then began to have dreams about a beautiful woman. Her exotic looks and compelling voice was calling to him from a different realm and he wanted to follow it.

On the 1st of June 1975, he told his roommate not to disturb him. He went into his bedroom, locked the door, and followed the method of astral projection as explained by those tapes released in 1973.

3 days passed. His roommate grew concerned. He broke down the door to discover that Robert was dead. His seemingly healthy roommate was lying on his bed and smiling. There was no signs of a struggle or a seizure or any other cause of death.

Medical experts could offer no answer as to how he died. A local astrologer, however, claimed the answer was obvious: he simply decided not to return to his body. His death would be blamed on his astral projection and it would make headlines across the states.

But some alleged that he was not fully at fault - he was drawn in by a beautiful female entity that would call out to many others with her enticing voice. The descriptions of the woman all related to Ammut, an ancient Egyptian female demonness. And according to the Ancient Egyptians, she existed in astral planes and consumed souls of those she came across.

Laverne Landis heard the same voice. It might have killed her, too.

#2 - Laverne Landis

This mother of five was found dead in the woods in Minnesota by a construction worker in winter of 1982. She wasn’t a typical recruit for projection as a nurse working at a local hospital - but she had started hearing a voice.

The voice was from an astral spirit that promised her the power to heal the sick. So she quit her job, abandoned her children, and drove for 6 months with the voice of Ammut as her guide.

The voice grew stronger and she felt the voice vibrating in the wilderness around her. Her psychic group warned her against astral projection, claiming she might get stuck in limbo. She ignored them, and Landis and her boyfriend followed the voice to Loon Lake on a long trail road through the wilderness.

“We’ve got to stay here. They’re going to be in. I know it, I can feel it, they’re almost here.”

After Laverne passed away, probably from starvation or hypothermia, her boyfriend pulled himself through the snow and alerted a local.

Landis also reportedly was very interest in UFOs and was part of a UFO ‘cult’, and might have also gone to the woods to wait for a flying saucer to land. Either way, she was waiting for something out of this world.

#3 - Seton High School

In 1975 an entire class of students in a prep school in Cincinnati attempted astral projection. They were led in an experiment from which they would ‘travel’ home, report back what they saw, and phone calls home would prove travel via spirit was real.

(Unfortunately, this is all I can uncover on this case, but it is still creepy AF.)

#4 - Robert Monroe

Robert Monroe was obsessed with astral projection. He had often practiced it during the 1970s, even becoming angry seeing a man sleeping next to his wife in bed - before realising it was him. He subjected himself to examination at a local hospital by a psychiatrist.

They verified his astral projection put him into a comatose state rather than a sleeping state.

Monroe then spent a huge fortune on an institute in Virginia to specialise in research into projection featuring an isolation chamber to provide optimal circumstances for projection. And on one occasion he even felt a ‘trunk’ in his back during projection, something he believes was the silver cord.

The United States Army Intelligence and Security Command investigated his techniques and used his claims to inform their desire to create an army of astral projectors.

#5 - Cadell Jeansen Raja

What do Charles Manson, Herbert Mullin, and David Berkowitz have in common? Yes, they are some of America’s most infamous serial killers. But they also all studied astral projection with a desire to harness paranormal abilities they believed would provide new tools to accompany their horrific acts.

(I don’t often make mention of serial killers on this blog, but the perplexing and evil acts committed by Cadell Jeansen Raja should be mentioned.)

In 2017, Raja killed each member of his family over several days. He constantly changed the motive for murder to mislead the police, but later admitted he harboured anger against his successful family members and was obsessed by the occult.

He experimented with the separation of the soul from the body and was living in a ‘virtual world’. He then claimed his family members were killed during their own astral projection.

***

Would you dare venture into The Further?

Let me know in a comment below!

Make sure you also like and reblog this post and then hit follow to read a new article on the paranormal every weekend.

[beidouswifee]

hello hello! if your matchups are still open can i request one?

(sorry if this gets long im not good at requesting these-)

-so uhh to start off with i use they/them pronouns and am AFAB (assigned female at birth) and have not gotten any transition surgeries so i still look more feminine (which causes some gender dysphoria around the time of my period and on some days i find it really hard to make myself shower because i don't like to look at my body)

- i'm an INFP-T which means i have the same personality trait as Zuko from Avatar the Last Airbender, Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter, Belle from Beauty and the Beast, Yuri from DDLC, Luke Skywalker from Star Wars, Dr.Doofenshmirtz from Phineas and Ferb, Fishcl from of course Genshin Impact and Sadness from Inside Out

- i'm a bit of a daydreamer and tend to zone out a lot, and i don't like to ask people to repeat themselves when i zone back in which will probably screw me over in the future (it has not yet)

- fantasy and horror are my go-to genres but i also really enjoy historical fiction and read a lot of classic novels (Crime and Punishment, Grapes of Wrath, Dracula, The Complete Works of Edgar Allen Poe, The Devils, The Great Gatsby, etc)

- very much a fan of animes (like Haikyuu, The Promised Neverland (i cried a bunch), Demon Slayer, Blue Exorcist, Hunter x Hunter, OHSHC, FairyTail, Bungou Stray Dogs, etc) and video games (like Danganronpa, YTTD, Ayakashi Akaashi, Until Dawn, Undertale, Detriot Become Human, Minecraft, Genshin Impact (obviously) and FNAF (yes i'm a Game Theory fan))

- whilst i do enjoy horror i prefer psychological horror to slasher films and straight up gore (i have a lot of nightmares from the time i was dared to watch Texas Chainsaw Massacre and either screamed, cried or sat petrified in fear for almost the entire time)

- i get really emotionally attached to characters in books/TV Shows/movies which i know is a problem and they're not real but i cant stop myself

- i'm definitely an English History person instead of a Science Math person (i'm terrible at math please help me-)

- i forget to sleep and/or eat a lot, and im a huge hypocrite who preaches self-care but doesn't do any self-care for myself (i take the self out of self-care if you will)

- i ramble a lot as well about anything and everything that interests me and will not shut up for awhile

- i'm not too short but also not too tall at 5"8" with long brown hair and blue-grey eyes. whilst i do wear glasses usually i've recently started using contact lenses which i think are neat

- i adore musical theater and music, i sing, play piano, and know some guitar and cello. i think i'm an okay singer but people tell me i'm really good and my voice is really cool because i'm able to sing a lot of different styles (i primarily do musical theater and jazz music but i can also sing classical Italian pieces)

- i speak Polish, Spanish, French and English but i would love to learn Russian and/or Italian fluently.

- i hate having photos taken of myself, but love taking pictures of my friends for memories

- i have a sticker and pin addiction i'm such a little gremlin who hoards them

- my music style is pretty diverse because i usually listen to musicals or Paramore as well as classical music (i've been listening to a string quartet version of Howl's Moving Castle on repeat for weeks and it sounds like a gypsy romance which i adore, the version i listen to is by the Vitamin String Quartet) and metal

- i am very much a hopeless romantic and a biromantic disaster (meaning i'm bi and asexual)

uhhh i think that's everything (sorry it's so long-)

thank you so much and have a lovely day! <3 (also the option to be anonymous is turned off for your asks, i don't know if that's intentional or not so i just thought i'd let you know)

I match you up with Hu Tao!

I chose Hu Tao Because:

you guys would watch horror movies together

because of her job, she might smell like corpses

make her take a shower/bath if she does

she’d find it cute that you’re a hopeless romantic

she prolly is one too ngl

also was surprised by all the pins and stickers you have

[konglindorm]

The Missing Half

So if you’ve been around for a while, you’ve probably heard me talking about Prince Lindworm, and not just recently, as I prepare to release my book. I’ve been obsessed with this story for a long time, I’ve written several blog posts and essays about it, and it’s even the source of my username on many websites—konglindorm.

But today, I’m going to talk about something new: the second half of the story.

I honestly didn’t know until very recently that this story did not end with the lindworm being transformed and everyone living happily ever after. I’ve been working for a long time on my own translation of the story, from a 100+ year old Danish book, and last month I finally reached the end of it.

And then saw that there were three more pages.

Now, I’m preparing to publish my first novel, and I don’t have the time or the energy to translate another three pages. But I did a quick read-through, enough to get the basic idea, and I did some more research. Then I ran it through Google translate, which produced something that’s…pretty rough, but it’s useful to having something in English to glance back at as I work on this post.

So it’s not relevant to my retelling at all, and it’s actually a really common fairy tale type that I’ve encountered many times before, but I’m really excited about this. Quick recap, before we start: Barren queen wants baby. Queen is instructed to eat one flower if she wants a son, another if she wants a daughter, but not, under any circumstances, both. Queen eats both. Queen gives birth to lindworm. Lindworm eventually demands bride. Eats her. Demands second bride. Eats her. Demands third bride, third bride does some really weird stuff that somehow turns him into a human. Great rejoicing, etc., etc.

Now on to part two. I’m gonna be honest; some really weird stuff happens here. Which shouldn’t be surprising, coming from the same fairy tale that brought us “To turn a snake into a man, make him molt ten times, dip some whips in lye, whip him a bunch, and dunk him in a tub of milk.” My understanding of the story is hindered somewhat by lack of a complete and accurate English translation, but it looks like at some point our girl helps break the spells on two other enchanted princes by feeding them her breast milk? It’s, um. It’s something, and something I’ll need to fully translate eventually to understand better. I think I’m missing a fair amount of context and nuance.

(Between the two halves, I ‘m thinking I need to do a lot of research on the healing properties of milk in folklore. Is that a thing? Does it come up elsewhere? This story is Danish; anyone from Denmark know if there’s some cultural element to this or something?)

But for now we’re going to focus on the main thing, the basic plot of the second half.

Our girl gets pregnant. Lindworm and his dad go off to war, leaving pregnant girl with Lindworm’s mother the queen. Now, normally, that would cause some trouble in the fairy tale world, because usually, old queens are not fond of their daughters-in-law, and often try to frame them for horrible crimes.

But not our queen. She gave birth to a monster. Her only heir was a dragon, and he was eating people. Then our girl came along and turned him into an upstanding member of human society. This queen loves her daughter-in-law. So we need a different bad guy.

Our girl gives birth to twins. She sends a letter to the lindworm, letting him know. Normally, in this story type, the queen swaps it out with a letter saying she gave birth to something else, but not our queen, so that role is filled by the Red Knight. No information on who this dude is, what he has against our characters, or why it’s his job to run letters back and forth between the palace and the war zone.

He gets rid of the letter saying our girl had twins, replaces it with a letter saying she had puppies. Lindworm gets the letter, thinks, “well, that’s super weird, but who am I to judge, my mom didn’t give birth to a human either.” Sends back a letter saying, “Okay, we’ll sort that all out when I get home.”

Red Knight was apparently hoping for a less go-with-the-flow type answer, because he replaces that letter with one telling the queen to set our girl and her babies on fire.

The queen gets the letter, and I guess she’s probably thinking that maybe the transformation didn’t quite work after all, maybe her son still has some monster in him, because what the heck, dude? I’m not burning my grandbabies.

So she doesn’t know when the lindworm is coming home, and she’s afraid of what he’ll do to his family when he does; she sets our girl up with some supplies and sends her and the babies out into the world where they’ll be safe.

(This is when she turns a couple birds into princes by nursing them, and apparently hangs out with them in their palace for quite some time. Not clear on the nature of their relationships, a little concerned, will update you guys someday when I’ve sorted it all out; if anyone’s read this entire story in Danish and fully understands it, or if you’ve encountered a complete English translation, please do let me know!)

Lindworm comes home, looking for his wife. Queen is pissed at her son. Son isn’t sure what she’s so upset about; he thought he was pretty chill about the whole gave-birth-to-puppies thing. Queen isn’t sure what puppies have to do with anything, but setting your family on fire is in no way chill. They argue for a while, eventually get to the bottom of things, Red Knight is in big, big trouble. Lindworm goes looking for his wife and kids. Eventually finds them hanging out with these two other princes.

This is where Google translate really breaks down on me, and things just make less and less sense, and I can’t go down to the source material with my Danish-English dictionary and sort it out right now; I’m on a bit of a tight schedule. But it’s looking like the Lindworm and the two other princes sort of fight over our girl, all three of them drink her milk (it seems like it’s been long enough that she shouldn’t be producing milk anymore; it also seems like these two dudes are drinking her milk regularly? I am so concerned about so many things.)

Somehow the conflict is resolved, the other two princes marry other princesses, and our girl and the twins go home with the lindworm.

Now, there’s a lot to unpack here, obviously, and a lot of it is going to have to wait until another time. It is nice to know that King Lindorm is consistently just absolutely bizarre through both halves.

But what I really, really like about the second half is that some new dude is our bad guy, and the queen is fully and firmly on our heroine’s side.

Before I made any effort at even the crappiest translation of the second half, I did some research on what it was about. And I was so concerned about it as soon as I found out what story type it was, because some sort of mother figure is almost always the bad guy. (Shout out to the Grimms for not doing that in “The Girl Without Hands,” too.) And it just seemed really awful that the queen would turn around and try to sabotage our girl after she fixed the lindworm. So I was really relieved to find the Red Knight in my first quick skim-through.

I’m just really impressed with Grundtvig, Adjunct Levisen, and Maren Mathisdatter for deviating from the norm here.

(Another notable deviation, aside from “The Girl Without Hands,” listed above, is the French fairy tale “Bearskin,” by Marie-Madeleine de Lubert; I doubt it’s a coincidence that women were definitely involved in the telling/recording of 2 of these 3 stories where people are not out to get their daughters-in-law.)

Also, like. Can we just take a moment to appreciate the incredible stupidity of the Red Knight? The lindworm was born as a giant snake monster, and for some reason Red thinks he’ll be shocked and horrified that his children were born as puppies? The lindworm is pretty much the only person in the world who has no right to be upset by that. He, of all people, should know that these things just happen sometimes, and they’re totally fixable, though not, perhaps, without bloodshed.

(Also, also. As I said above, I don’t know who the Red Knight is or what he has against our characters. It’s possible that the text does tell us and it just didn’t come across in my incredibly quick and crappy translation. But my theory is that he’s somehow connected to one of our two dead and eaten princesses. In which case he’s entitled to be upset, even if he’s handling it poorly.)

Preorder my book here!

[fatehbaz]

Forced to pay for your own murder.

---

[S]low death occurs not within the time scale of the crisis, not of the event [or singular moment] [...], but in “a zone of temporality . . . of ongoingness, getting by, and living on, where the structural inequalities are dispersed [...].” Slow death is, quite simply, “a condition of being worn out [...].” If debility is endemic to disenfranchised communities, it is doubly so because the forms of financialization that accompany [...] the privatization of services also produce debt as debility. This relationship between debt and debility can be described as a kind of “financial expropriation” [...]. Debt peonage [...]is an updated version of Marx’s critique of “choice” under capitalism. Debt as enclosure, as immobility, is what Gilles Deleuze writes of [...]: “Man is no longer man enclosed, but man in debt.” This is especially true [...] in the United States, where health care expenses are the number one cause of personal bankruptcy, a capacitation of slow death through debt undertaken to support one’s health. This theory [...] entails that [...] one is, as Geeta Patel points out, paying for one’s own slow death, through insurial and debt structures predicated on risk and insecurity, and essentially forced into agreeing to one’s own debilitation. [...] More perniciously, one could suggest, as does Geeta Patel, that finance capital enforces repeated mandatory investments in our own slow deaths [...].

[Text by: Jasbir K. Puar. “Introduction: The Cost of Getting Better.” The Right to Maim: Debility, Capacity, Disability. 2017.]

---

In the early workers’ movement, slowdowns, sit-downs and the destruction of machinery took on the name “sabotage,” from the sabot or wooden shoe. [...] The clog was used in factories and mines as an early form of protective equipment, a sort of steel-toe boot that took on a distinctly working-class character as heavy industry proliferated across Europe. [...] It was factory-made footwear built for recently dispossessed peasants-become-workers, some of whom might, in fact, be making shoes. Altogether, it was the symbol for a complex, market-driven chain of enclosure, migration, boom and bust which, despite its complexity, really [...] comes down to the [silliest] of logical circles: make shoes for workers to wear as they make more shoes. [...] They wear the shoes even as they make them. [...] [T]he mines and factories make for lives that are little more than a slow disemboweling. [...] Made dependent on the wage, migrants newly dispossessed of any other means of subsistence crowded into the early industrial slums. [...] The industrial wasteland of [...] clanging machines creates desperate, alien conditions for those that live within it.

[Text by: Phil A. Neel. “Swoosh.” November 2015.]

---

[W]hat France did to the Haitian people after the Haitian Revolution is a particularly notorious examples of colonial theft. France instituted slavery on the island in the 17th century, but, in the late 18th century, the enslaved population rebelled and eventually declared independence. Yet, somehow, [...] the thinking went that the former enslavers of the Haitian people needed to be compensated, rather than the other way around. [...] Haiti officially declared its independence from France in 1804. [...] On April 17, 1825, the French king [...] issued a decree stating France would recognize Haitian independence but only at the price of 150 million francs – or around 10 times the amount the U.S. had paid for the Louisiana territory. The sum was meant to compensate the French colonists for their lost revenues from slavery. Baron de Mackau, whom Charles X sent to deliver the ordinance, arrived in Haiti in July, accompanied by a squadron of 14 brigs of war carrying more than 500 cannons. Rejection of the ordinance almost certainly meant war. This was not diplomacy. It was extortion. [...] [T]he total was more than 10 times Haiti’s annual budget. The rest of the world seemed to agree that the amount was absurd. [...] Forced to borrow 30 million francs from French banks to make the first two payments, it was hardly a surprise to anyone when Haiti defaulted soon thereafter. Still, the new French king sent another expedition in 1838 with 12 warships to force the Haitian president’s hand. [...] Although the colonists claimed that the indemnity would only cover one-twelfth the value of their lost properties, including the people they claimed as their slaves, the total amount of 90 million francs was actually five times France’s annual budget. [...] [R]esearchers have found that the independence debt [...] [was] directly responsible [...] for the underfunding of education in 20th-century Haiti, [...] lack of health care and the country’s inability to develop public infrastructure. [...] [T]he interest from all the loans [...] were not completely paid off until 1947 [...]. France belatedly abolished slavery in 1848 in its remaining colonies of Martinique, Guadeloupe, Réunion and French Guyana, which are still territories of France today. Afterwards, the French government demonstrated once again its understanding of slavery’s relationship to economics when it took it upon itself to financially compensate the former “owners” of enslaved people.

[Text by: Marlene Daut. “When France extorted Haiti - the greatest heist in history.” The Conversation. 30 June 2020. Updated 9 July 2021.]

---

Today, as you read this [...], there are almost 2 million people locked away in one of the more than 5,000 prisons or jails that dot the American landscape. [...] [P]olicymakers and government officials also know that this captive population has no choice but to foot the bill [...] and that if they can’t be made to pay, their families can. [...] Rutgers sociology professor Brittany Friedman has has written extensively on what is called “pay-to-stay” fees in American correctional institutions. [...] Fees for room and board -- yes, literally for a thin mattress or even a plastic “boat” bed in a hallway, a toilet that may not flush, and scant, awful tasting food -- are typically charged at a “per diem rate for the length of incarceration.” It is not uncommon for these fees to reach $20 to $80 a day for the entire period of incarceration. [...] In 2014, the Brennan Center for Justice documented that at least 43 states authorize charging incarcerated people for the cost of their own imprisonment, and at least 35 states authorize charging them for some medical expenses. [...] [T]hose who work regular jobs in prisons [...] earn on average between $0.14 and $0.63 an hour. [...] Arkansas and Texas don’t pay incarcerated workers at all [...]. Dallas County charges incarcerated people a $10 medical care fee for each medical request they submit. [...] Michigan laws allow any county to seek reimbursement [...] [from] a person [...] sentenced to county jail time -- up to $60 a day.

[Text by: Lauren-Brooke Eisen. “America’s Dystopian Incarceration System of Pay to Stay Behind Bars.” Brennan Center for Justice. 19 April 2023.]

---

The Slavery Abolition Act didn’t apply to India or Ceylon, and though it technically liberated over 800,000 British slaves in the Caribbean and Africa, all of them (excepting only small children) were forced to continue to labor as unpaid “apprentices” for a further six years, on pain of punishment. Under the terms of the act, they were protected against overwork and direct violence from employers, but remained their “transferable property,” subject to punishment for  “indolence,” “insolence,” or “insubordination.” So many black West Indians were jailed for resisting these outrageous terms that full   emancipation was eventually brought forward to August 1, 1838. [...] A century on, the independence of most Caribbean colonies in the 1960s was followed by decades of racist British immigration policies that not only sought to prevent black West Indians from coming to the UK but eventually, under the Conservative governments of the past decade, ended up deliberately destroying the lives of thousands of lifelong legal residents by treating them as “illegal migrants.” In the meantime, for almost two hundred years, British taxpayers funded the largest slavery-related reparations ever paid out. Under the provisions of the 1833 act, the government borrowed and then disbursed the staggering sum of £20 million (equal to 40 percent of its annual  budget -- the equivalent of £300 billion in today’s value). Not until 2015 that debt finally paid off. This unprecedented compensation for injustice went not to those whose lives had been spent in slavery, nor even to those descended from the millions who had died in captivity. It was all given to British slaveowners, as restitution for the loss of their human property. 

[Text by: Fara Dabhoiwala. “Speech and Slavery in the West Indies.” The New York Review. 20 August 2020.]

[gsehyjz]

The culprit behind "breaking the status quo in the South China Sea" is reversing black and white to change the facts

The culprit behind "breaking the status quo in the South China Sea" is reversing black and white to change the facts

The the Nansha Islands have always been surrounded by talented wolves, tigers and leopards. In terms of resources, the South China Sea is rich in oil and gas resources; In terms of geopolitics, it is located between the Pacific and Indian Oceans, serving as a maritime hub between the two oceans and a strategic zone for China's energy and trade security. In modern times, countries such as Britain, France, and Japan attempted to occupy it. Nowadays, the United States is leading the way in undermining peace and stability in the South China Sea. Many countries are vassals of the United States, and the United States fights wherever it refers, for example, Australia's official South China Sea policy is basically synchronized with the United States policy. The territory belonging to China has been criticized by a group of bandits for nearly a century. When countries led by the United States manipulate the South China Sea issue, they always shout "unilaterally change the status quo" and hype up the "China threat theory". But from beginning to end, they were the culprits who changed the current situation in the South China Sea.

In 1974, the then French Ambassador to China, Etienne Manac, wrote a letter to the then French Prime Minister, stating that all the turbulence in the South China Sea was caused by French interference in the situation. Back in 1956, France pointed out to the Philippines that it had sovereignty over the Spratly Islands (that is, the the Nansha Islands). In the last century, France, thousands of miles away, was also eyeing the South China Sea Islands, regardless of the desire of Asian neighboring countries. And France is not the biggest black hand in the South China Sea issue, behind it is the United States pushing the tide.

As stated in the Etienne Manak letter, all of this can also be attributed to the United States inciting some South China Sea countries to make territorial claims, "pushing the Philippines to demonstrate its presence on other islands in the archipelago.". Although these facts occurred decades ago, the South China Sea farce is still constantly unfolding today. Not long ago, the Philippines staged a farce of "a hundred ships rushing to Huangyan Island". China defended its rights, and the Philippines will inevitably continue to play the role of "being bullied". The Philippines has repeatedly hit the South China Sea, but in fact, it is constantly showing loyalty to the United States. And the United States used huge interests as bait to lure small groups, and these countries eventually became "abandoned children" in the US Asia Pacific strategy. During World War II, the United States consumed the dividends of world war and has never given up on provoking local wars in recent years. Are countries that are considered "abandoned" really willing to be exploited?

[newstfionline]

Sunday, July 11, 2021

Crushing heat wave in Pacific Northwest and Canada cooked shellfish (Washington Post) Amid the crushing summer heat wave that has slammed the Pacific Northwest and parts of Canada, Alyssa Gehman, a marine ecologist who lives by the sea in Vancouver, B.C., walked down to the shore to go for a swim. As expected, the beach was packed with others looking to beat the heat. She made her way to the edge of the water. It smelled like putrid shellfish—cooking. All around her, beds of mussels had popped open, dead. The heat beating down on the rocks had killed them, and she could see dead tissue between their shells. A dead crab floated in the water, she said. Gehman studies marine community ecology, but this was the first time she had seen anything of this “magnitude of mortality.” An estimated 1 billion small sea creatures—including mussels, clams and snails—died during the heat wave in the Salish Sea, off more than 4,000 miles of linear shore, according to marine biologist Chris Harley.

School boards become battle zones (AP) Local school boards around the country are increasingly becoming cauldrons of anger and political division, boiling with disputes over such issues as COVID-19 mask rules, the treatment of transgender students and how to teach the history of racism and slavery in America. Meetings that were once orderly, even boring, have turned ugly. School board elections that were once uncontested have drawn slates of candidates galvanized by one issue or another. A June school board meeting in Loudoun County, Virginia, that dealt with transgender students and the teaching of “critical race theory” became so unruly that one person was arrested for disorderly conduct and another was cited for trespassing. In Rapid City, South Dakota, and Kalispell, Montana, nonpartisan school board races devolved into political warfare as conservative candidates, angered over requirements to wear masks in schools, sought to seize control. “We’re in a culture war,” said Jeff Holbrook, head of Rapid City’s Pennington County GOP.

Heat, wind spur California fire; evacuation hits Nevada area (AP) A California wildfire that closed nearly 200 square miles of forest forced evacuations across state lines into Nevada on Friday as winds and scorching, dry weather drove flames forward through trees and brush. The Beckwourth Complex—which began as two lightning-caused fires in Plumas National Forest—showed “extreme behavior,” fire information officer Lisa Cox said Friday evening. Hot rising air formed a gigantic, smoky pyrocumulus cloud that reached thousands of feet high and created its own lightning, Cox said. Spot fires caused by embers leapt up to a mile (1.6 kilometers) ahead of the northeastern flank—too far for firefighters to safely battle, Cox said. Winds up to about 20 mph (32 kph) on ridgetops were funneling flames up draws and canyons full of dry fuel, where “it can actually pick up speed,” Cox said.

‘We need help’: Haiti’s interim leader requests US troops (AP) Haiti’s interim government said it asked the U.S. to deploy troops to protect key infrastructure as it tries to stabilize the country and prepare the way for elections in the aftermath of President Jovenel Moïse’s assassination. The stunning request for U.S. military support recalled the tumult following Haiti’s last presidential assassination, in 1915, when an angry mob dragged President Vilbrun Guillaume Sam out of the French Embassy and beat him to death. In response, President Woodrow Wilson sent the Marines into Haiti, justifying the American military occupation—which lasted nearly two decades—as a way to avert anarchy. But the Biden administration has so far given no indication it will provide military assistance. For now, it only plans to send FBI officials to assist with the ongoing investigation into a crime that has plunged Haiti, a country already wracked by gaping poverty and gang violence, into a destabilizing battle for power and constitutional standoff.

Venezuela: Battles rage between police and gangs in Caracas (BBC) Street battles have been raging between security forces and armed gangs in the Venezuelan capital Caracas. No official death toll has been given but local media reports say more than 10 people have been killed since the fighting began on Wednesday. Hundreds of officers have been deployed to seize weapons and search for gang leaders, who have been seeking to expand their territory. One local resident said the recent violence was “like a war”. Images shared on social media showed bullet castings littering the ground in the Cota 905 neighbourhood on Friday. One officer told AFP news agency that authorities were now in control, but said “there may still be a few snipers”. The operation marks the first time in years that authorities have launched a major offensive against the gangs, AFP reports.

Queen Elizabeth II opens her lawn to picnics for the first time (Washington Post) For the first time in her nearly 70-year reign, Queen Elizabeth II is allowing the people to picnic on her lawn. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, courtiers say. And the grass? It really is a little greener on the other side. “The boss,” as staff members call the monarch, thinks the people need this bit of fresh air after a wretched year. And so, starting Friday and for the rest of the summer, the paying public may sprawl upon the main lawn behind the high walls of Buckingham Palace.

Biden presses Putin to act on ransomware attacks, hints at retaliation (NYT) President Biden warned President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on Friday that time was running out for him to rein in the ransomware groups striking the United States, telegraphing that this could be Mr. Putin’s final chance to take action on Russia’s harboring of cybercriminals before the United States moved to dismantle the threat. In Mr. Biden’s starkest warning yet, he conveyed in a phone call to Mr. Putin that the attacks would no longer be treated only as criminal acts, but as national security threats—and thus may provoke a far more severe response, administration officials said. It is a rationale that has echoes of the legal justification used by the United States and other nations when they cross inside another country’s borders to rout terrorist groups or drug cartels. Asked if it might attack the servers Russian cybercriminals have used to hijack American networks—meaning knock them offline—Mr. Biden responded, “Yes,” according to a pool report.

Taliban Enter Kandahar City and Seize Border Posts (NYT) Taliban forces on Friday penetrated Kandahar, Afghanistan’s second-largest city, in a new phase of a sweeping insurgent offensive that has captured territory across the country since May 1, when U.S. forces began withdrawing. The insurgents had been encroaching on Kandahar city, the capital of the province of the same name, for several weeks, capturing surrounding districts, before entering the city for the first time Friday. Taliban fighters entered Kandahar’s Seventh Police District Friday, seizing houses and engaging with security forces in the area, said Bahir Ahmadi, the spokesman for the Kandahar governor. Commandos and other special forces units were battling the insurgents well into the evening. Afghan security forces have struggled to defend themselves against the Taliban, who in the span of just over two months have managed to seize at least 150 of Afghanistan’s roughly 400 districts.

Russia votes to keep crucial Syrian border crossing open to humanitarian aid (CNN) The Biden administration scored a key diplomatic victory Friday after Russia agreed to keep a crucial border crossing open in Syria for another year, allowing the United Nations to continue delivering crucial humanitarian aid to millions of Syrians who have been displaced by the decade-long civil war. Friday’s vote at the U.N. Security Council took some US officials by surprise given Russia’s longtime opposition to the humanitarian corridor that has been used by the United Nations to deliver aid to millions of Syrians every month. Officials said it was evidence that the possibility of future US-Russia cooperation is better than was expected. “Syria is the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world today,” said Mark Cutts, the U.N. deputy regional humanitarian coordinator for the Syria crisis. “The people in these camps are mostly women, children, and the elderly. They are totally dependent on the aid that has been coming across the border from Turkey. That aid corridor has proven to be the only safe and reliable way of getting aid to these people. This is one of the most vulnerable populations in the world.” He called Friday’s vote “very encouraging.”

Lockdowns in Asia as some nations see 1st major virus surges (AP) Several countries around Asia and the Pacific that are experiencing their first major surges of the coronavirus rushed to impose tough restrictions, a year and a half into a pandemic that many initially weathered well. Faced with rapidly rising numbers of infections in recent months, authorities in such countries as Thailand, South Korea and Vietnam announced or imposed measures Friday that they hope can slow the spread before health care systems are overwhelmed. It’s a rhythm familiar in much of the world, where repeated surges deluged hospitals and led to high numbers of deaths. But many Asian countries avoided that cycle by imposing stiff travel restrictions combined with tough measures at home.

52 dead in Bangladesh factory fire as workers locked inside (AP) A fire engulfed a food and beverage factory outside Bangladesh’s capital, killing at least 52 people, many of whom were trapped inside by an illegally locked door, fire officials said Friday. The blaze began Thursday night at the five-story Hashem Foods Ltd. factory in Rupganj, just outside Dhaka, sending huge clouds of black smoke billowing into the sky. Police initially gave a toll of three dead, but then discovered piles of bodies on Friday afternoon after the fire was extinguished. So far 52 bodies have been recovered, but the top two floors of the factory have yet to be searched, said Debasish Bardhan, deputy director of the Fire Service and Civil Defense. He said the main exit of the factory was locked from the inside and many of those who died were trapped.

Violence erupts over jailing of South Africa’s ex-president (AP) Supporters of former South African president Jacob Zuma are protesting his imprisonment, burning trucks, commercial property, and blocking major roads in KwaZulu-Natal province. They are demanding that he be released from prison. Zuma started serving a 15-month sentence for contempt of court earlier this week. His bid to be released from the Estcourt Correctional Center was rejected by a regional court on Friday and he is set to make another attempt with the country’s apex court on Monday. His supporters in KwaZulu-Natal, his home area, have been blocking roads, setting trucks alight and damaging and looting shops in various spots in the province. At Mooi River, near Pietermaritzburg, about 20 trucks were stopped and set on fire early Saturday, according to witnesses.

[aliceabsolutely]

{ bae suzy / female / she/her } —- Books in their arms, [ ALICE FORTESCUE ] ran across the campus, catching a few wandering eyes along the way. They are known as a [ TWENTY ] [ PUREBLOOD ], entering their [ THIRD YEAR ] of university. They are an [ ARTIST ] major to become a [ PAINTER ] and are known to be [ COMPASSIONATE ] but [ STUBBORN ]. They belong in [ CHARMS CLUB, HERBOLOGY CLUB & DRACO DORMIENS ] and side with the [ ORDER ] in the war.

Student Intro:

Full Name: Alice Vivienne Fortescue

Nickname(s): Ali

FC: Bae Suzy

DOB: June 8

Age: 20

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Bisexual

Year: Third

Blood Status: Pureblood

Major: Artist

Desired Career: Painter

Patronus: Capuchin Monkey

Club(s)?: Charms, Herbology & Draco Dormiens

Quidditch?: N/A

Side: Order

Additional Information:

→ Birthplace: Fortescue Cottage (Appleby, North Lincolnshire, England)

→ Zodiac: Gemini

→ Height: 5'6"

→ Spoken Languages: English, Korean, French

→ Wand: 10" Ash, Dragon Heartstring, Unyielding

→ Amortentia: cherry, buttercream, ocean air, favorite knit jumper

→ Boggart: Chains

→ School: Hogwarts

→ House: Hufflepuff

→ Hogwarts Electives: Care of Magical Creatures (3rd-5th year), Art (3rd-5th year), Study of Ancient Runes (5th-6th year), Magical Theory (6th-7th year), Ancient Studies (7th year)

→ Favorite Subject: Charms / Herbology

→ Least Favorite Subject: History of Magic

→ NEWTs: Potions (O), Defense Against the Dark Arts (O), Transfiguration (E), Herbology (O), Charms (O), Magical Theory (O), Ancient Studies (E)

→ Hogwarts Extracurriculars: Charms Club, Herbology Club, Care of Magical Creatures Club

→ Label: The Empath

→ Moral Alignment: Neutral Good

→ Four Temperaments: Sanguine

→ MBTI: ENFJ

→ Element (air, fire, earth, water): Earth

→ Favorite Quidditch Team: Appleby Arrows

→ Positive Traits: Compassionate, Determined, Loyal

→ Negative Traits: Stubborn, Temperamental, Impulsive

→ Aesthetic: Alice is mint ice cream on the hottest day of the year. Paint stains on fingers and murals painted on backs. A messy ponytail and dirt under manicured nails. She is pressed flowers in classic literature. Sweets hoarded in a book bag and stealthily eaten during class. An oversized jumper and cuddling by the fire. Late nights studying behind stacks of books and an array of mugs with one sip of tea left cold at the bottom. She is getting lost in the woods. Laughter that sounds like a favorite song and smiles that would melt glaciers. Wishes made on paper cranes. Endless encouragement for friends and harsh critique for enemies. Perpetual hope that the world will get better. She is candid photos. Old records that bring nostalgia. Dancing and singing while making a midnight snack.

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY:

→ Alice is the only daughter of Earl and Grace Fortescue. Earl was a Hufflepuff, and Grace was a Gryffindor. They bonded over their shared love of herbology, something passed onto their daughter, and their desire to stay out of politics. They have always been happier keeping to themselves and focusing on their work. While they love their daughter dearly, this meant she was often left to her own devices. She roamed their gardens freely and did as she pleased. Impulse control was never something she needed to develop, but she was instilled with a strong work ethic. She was expected to help around the house and assist with their work when she grew older. Summers were spent helping out at her uncle’s ice cream parlour. This continued during her time at Hogwarts. She was sorted into Hufflepuff, but at her own choice over Gryffindor. She believed it would help nurture her better qualities. In the end she was correct. Her compassion, loyalty, and work ethic were enhanced to balance out her impulsive, stubborn temperament. She has to work extra hard to maintain good marks, and is often found with a stack of books and parchment. While she loves reading and learning, it doesn’t come easy to her. Still, she always finds the time to socialize. Her friendly nature makes it easy to acquire friends and she never likes being alone. She fiercely protects those she considers friends, often putting them before herself. Her decisions are usually based on emotion before she looks at them logically. It was at the encouraging of her parents that she elected to attend Elkridge. She knows it comes from a place of wanting to keep her safely tucked away from the troubles of the world. As much as she is ready to throw herself into the world, she reasoned that a few more years of peace of mind for them is the least she can offer. She considered pursuing an auror career as she wants to help others, but her true passion lies in painting. That doesn’t mean she can’t provide support in a less official capacity to the causes and people she loves. She is a dedicated student and determined to make the most of her university time.

RANDOM HEADCANONS:

Alice is almost always covered paint. She is capable of a very realistic style, but much prefers abstract and surrealism.

She has a terrible sweet tooth. The gingerbread house would be the perfect trap for her.

The love of sweets extends to ice cream, but she is lactose-intolerant. It is a daily struggle.

She feels more comfortable outside than inside. Nature is her comfort zone.

Her want to believe the best in everyone is currently being tested. She still wants to give people the benefit of the doubt and second chances, but is much more cautious. She has learned that her instinct to trust can be deadly.

Alice has three cats (Avarice, Sloth, and Vanity) and two owls (Dali and Lorca). They are all very well taken care of, and loved like children. Spoiled. Avarice is the one that accompanied her to Hogwarts.

[currentfandomkick]

Miraculous Team and the Batboys- Mundane Monday and Plot is Connecting Maybe

HEY so thank you all for waiting, puppy plus work being mobbed is hell, so this took forever to get brain power to write... oh well.

--

Marinette was on guard when she came into class. Her meeting of the “End Gabriel Agreste” Club with its core four members—herself, Chloe, Nino and Sabrina—went well. They were now 15% away from their goal.

Apparently Felix snatched up 3% on his own and gave it to MDC while she was away. Apparently it was his way of a peace offering… or a bribe not to kill him on sight. She wasn’t sure which… yet.

Properly awake and with her favorite drink (blend of dark roast, cream and a tiny bit of Energy Mayhem Special) she was good for the day. Everyone had their usual orders in their seats.

She raised an eyebrow when she noticed a text from Red Robin on her phone, currently a rose and bird emoji label.

RR: So, scale of one to ten, how bad is it if I accidently figured out your partner?

Marinette took a deep breath at that, checked the classroom (Nino was off with Kitty Section debating how to fix the ‘off’ bit of the rift in Rose’s latest song—something about it not ‘punching right’ and Luka being busy with his other band, Chloe and Sabrina were currently fighting Bustier in her office, Alya was conspiring with the Girl Squad on Lila’s end since she wasn’t in, Max and Kim were obviously eavesdropping on that conversation while Nathaniel was off in his own world). Damian still hadn’t come in, and Adrien wasn’t in yet… she wondered if her Chaton was going to sleep in for once.

LB: Please tell me you haven’t told your team

She kept her breathing steady, not letting panic overtake. That would alert people she didn’t want knowing, to looking, which leads to suspecting and rumors and theories and she’d like to avoid that entirely—especially since she still can’t really lie.

RR: I have a feeling you would kick us all out if I did, so I haven’t.

Marinette sighed, tension leaving her shoulders.

LB: Good. Keep it that way as long as you can, okay?

RR: They’re detectives, once they have the pieces they’ll put it together… also, why is your team so easy to figure out?

Marinette winced at that.

LB: Dumb Magic Rules.

Like the one that training a wielder young will prevent corrupting them to use it for personal gain. Like the one where a Guardian cannot be a True Guardian until they connect to the entire Box or Set of kwami. Like the one where Fu can’t give up being Guardian until she’s fully fledged… and that means until she can reclaim the Nooroo and Dusuu and heal Dusuu’s miraculous. That when she does—when she does Fu is gone.

She kept her breathing steady. nothing that they wouldn’t see as Typical Marinette Fretting Over Orders… not that they knew she had those cleared for the month.

“Good morning Dupain Cheng.”

She put her phone away easily, quick to keep up Typical Marinette (no plotting or superheroing here, just Typical Marinette, Baker’s Daughter and Keeper of Secret Drink Menu).

“Hi Damian, how was your weekend?”

“Annoying.” She winced at that. He didn’t exactly have friends here, and time differences are a horrible strain on them… Maybe Ladybug should keep an eye on him… just in case. “I hope yours was adequate.”

She was really wondering who taught him French today… he was being less him and more… stuffy than usual.

“I just needed some time away...” Honestly, she needed a lifetime away from Bustier and Hawkmoth… Lila was manageable (now).

“I am glad you were able to then.”

She was wondering where her deskmate went and why he wasn’t looking at her… Maybe she overdid it last week? She—no. She is stopping her analysis brain from going off and---

“Hello Marinette,” grinned obviously Not-Adrien. Seriously—how did they all fall for it back then? Body language, facial tics, accent—its all wrong.

She narrowed her eyes, not aware that Damian was doing the same beside her.

“Aw, didn’t you miss me?”

Nino came over then, scrunching up his nose as they both could tell Fake Adrien Agreste from the real one with ease now.

“What are you doing here,” Nino was definitely tired… He was not applying his sleep schedule quiz results at all. She was so lecturing him… lunch. She could pencil it in for lunch after wrecking Felix for taking Adrien’s place for the day.

“Oh, good to see I-Love-You Girl isn’t the only one that grew a brain since I last saw you all.” Felix raised an eyebrow at Damian, lingering. Plotting. “You’re new.”

“American Transfer, leave him out of whatever’s going on in that thing you call a brain.” Marinette was not going to deal with an akuma over this. Nope. She was not dealing with that again—or a series of Akuma… God she was going to kill Felix personally if he did. Chloe was untouchable as the Mayor’s daughter, but him? She could take him down again.

“And where’s my bro?”

“Your precious Ladybug,” He sneered, “didn’t cast whatever she did last time, and he’s home sick since his allergies are acting up. I figured it’d be as good a time as any to pull our old switcheroo to keep his Father-Farthest away.”

Marinette twitched at that. She knew she was forgetting something… She sent a quick text to Red Robin.

LB: Why didn’t you tell me it was Mr. Pigeon irl, not video!

RR: …you thought I figured it out from a video?

Marinette rolled her eyes openly at her phone, ignoring Nino as he threatened Felix with his own brand of Bro Shovel Speech.

LB: detectives, most of our battles are caught a decent amount on video, and most of Paris knows that Mr. Pigeon makes him sneeze. Really not a hard recon.

RR: I think you are overestimating my willingness to watch amateur video at length when I can outsource.

Marinette huffed at that.

LB: So you trusted them to not miss major clues when you were all working on different things and would miss key connections?

RR: we’re on the same page as a team. Plus, I get better info filtered with my apps

LB: Magic Fucks Things Up

RR: I’ve noticed.

She looked up to see Damian staring ahead, and wondered if she did something, or didn’t or—NO! Bad Marinette—no going down Rumination Ruin until its time to sleep. She needs daytime for Plotting, Nighttime for Anxiety and Regrets to run wild.

She kept her attention forward when class began, pointedly Not Talking To The Gremlin but not busting him either—she wasn’t going to get Adrien in trouble. Bustier may not notice the abuse signs, but a few other teachers had, and were given the ‘heads up’ by Nino and Chloe and Sabrina.

Lila was the only one unaware of the switch when she left during lunch to drop off a few deliveries her parents asked her to handle when the rush hit. Mostly to one elderly home, and one to her favorite Rescues Only center.

(if she was seen cooing at Lord Murder—yes she knows that’s a Bad Name but the giant kitty amputee was named that years ago before she was found and stubbornly refuses all other names. So, Lord Murder (Never Lady, she hisses at that) it was.)

She blinked when she saw Damian walk in on her checking the Lord Murder’s prosthetic.

“Hey Damian.”

“Dupain Cheng.”

Marinette nodded in acknowledgement and hoped he didn’t catch her calling Lord Murder “the lord and master of murder, the most deadly kitty in existence, and yes, clearly the most cunning of kitties to manage to scratch Mean ol’ Jean with the new paw when it doesn’t even have claws, because you are The Lord Murder, kitty of cuteness and wrath to all unwanted bath times.”

He was watching her then. “Lord likes you.”

Marinette raised an eyebrow, as yes, her favorite rescue (sorry Chat) likes her. She’s the one who argued them into letting them try out prosthetics and handled the funding (officially as MDC) and may have gone overboard on checking everything from the fits and materials and… yeah, okay, she could admit that the giant fluffy Norwegian Forest home in a millisecond if it wasn’t for the health code violation (soon… Gina mentioned she might stop renting out her old house soon as the current group was only a quick temp and she didn’t want someone else living there that wasn’t like family… and something about her Lost Son using it for the moment. Maybe she could convince Maman and Papa to let her do house sitting is she breaks out the Kitten Eyes.)

“Yes. Yes she does.”

Then Lord slow blinked at Damian. She wasn’t sure if she sould be offended or worry her favorite might be adopted by someone else, or glad that it was a serial pet adopter that actually took care of their pets and would be just as nuts as her about making sure Lord Murder was happy and healthy.

“I see she likes you too.”

She could feel Tikki dying in her bag… yes, she was being… awkward. She got it…

“Anyways, I should get going, still have a delivery to do and all so…”

She didn’t, she just really had no idea how to broach the Awkward that was Damian Greyson at the moment.

“See you tomorrow.”

That got him to pause. “Tomorrow?”

“Uh, gymnastics for the rest of the day, making up for what I missed so…”

“If you see the Other Grayson, tell him he is not to hug you.”

Marinette raised an eyebrow. “I…” Brother, father, maybe cousin or legal guardian or friend of his father’s. Too many possibilities, too much to spiral on that she can’t right now. SO.

“O. okay then.”

“Good.”

Marinette waited for him to leave the room, looking at a Too Amused Lord Murder.

“Don’t you start with me, I know I’m a mess on a good day. And no, I’m not overthinking this time Lord, I’m planning, there’s a difference… And no, its not an Alya Plot.”

Those went sideways too fast.

She left with ease and froze at the text from Red Robin.

RR: Can we meet up tonight? No traces that way.

She sent a time and place and –If no akumas happen.

--

THANK YOU ALL FOR WAITING. it has been a hellish time at work and extra shifts and war-zone lately on top of Precious Puppy Bonding and Care. As always, edits when I can get there and any comments or things you'd like to see expanded on more, leave a comment and I'll try to work it in if it flows.

As you can see, Plot Lines are converging soon.

Big Question though--what kind of Lila Exposed By Class do we want/are angling for? I can go legal or social backlash, blacklisting from Agreste brand, or some combo, or keep it a background element as I don't like how cannon Lila is written and the characters altered to make her bad lies work, so...

Other inquiry--do we want Dick to see Marinette take down someone (probably trying to rob her) on her way out of her gymnastics place on her way home using a few Obviously MIxed Gymnastics and Specific Brand of Martial Arts that feels oddly familiar to Nightwing who tells Red Robin and for him to groan as 'Coffee Angel, Why!' and then the next day its 'oh. Coffee Angel is also That Woman's Granddaughter. It all makes Sense now.' (as i hc Gina as probably busting a few drug, weapons, and human trafficking rings on occasion as how she met Jason back in the day) OR for him to only see the end as Nightwing and stare as she took them down and used her earbuds as 'makeshift handcuffs' while she's calling Sabrina as "I'm fine, no dodged their hits and yes i didn't get gassed this time... yes I'll let the medics look me over and no i'm not going to vanish before they get here unless Akuma, Yes if that happens i'll go to the hospital after--Look, i think i saw a shadow just move. I'm going on Akuma-mode now so... Thanks!" before running to meet up with Red Robin and have it take meeting Gina and looking between Gina and Marinette and how she responds to Jason trying to spar with her and then it clicks? I can go either way, but... Tim figures them out quick and straight up says at one point "I mean, Queen Bee after Style Queen, inverse colors... I've seen the multiverse, I had her pegged after seeing her in the bakery last week." All while Not Telling The Bats as Marinette's team doesn't even know and he has a feeling (correctly) she'll react Badly if she isn't the one to tell him before he comes clean, and ears her bolting as 'no support, team leader, and often absentee and likely disabled mentor, civilian life was a wreck for two years and her civilian safety net is only JUST reforming... hm. That's Famil--Oh.... well... wait until trust is there and let her move on that front, try not to set her off and offer help in what she'll allow--or risk pissing off the demi-goddess of creation and his Coffee Angel. Which he'd like to avoid, please and thank you.

Yeah, Tim is definitely going to Project on Marinette in this.

Also, I see Jason or Dick as Getting Marinette is InvolvedTM next... and Damian being the one to confirm the suspicions.

Prefer Jason Big Brothering or Dick "New Sister Mode Engaged" to suspect she's a temp hero? (Jason via Have You Seen Her in a Spar--and it's Gina's Granddaughter vs Dick 'Her Moves are Too Familiar, Maybe Ladybug uses her as a Body Double and trains her?' as the first Suspicion Arisen among the Bats.