#i have family members who starved to death during the great famine

[innocentartery]

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[atlasgaveup]

Don't you know communism has killed millions?!"

DEATHS CAUSED BY CAPITALISM:

Native American Genocide, 1500s-1900s (direct killings and death from plagues; North, Central, and South Americas combined): 100 MILLION [x]

Atlantic Slave Trade, 1500s-1900s (princessbuggie helped with this one): 4 MILLION [x]

September Massacres, France, 1792: 1,200 [x]

Famines in British India, 1837-1900: at least 165 MILLION [x]

Potato Famine/Great Irish Famine, 1845-1852 (an anon helped with this one): 1 MILLION [x]

Cholera Outbreak, Industrial London, 1849: 15,000 [x]

United States Civil War, 1861-1865: at least 600,000 [x]

Building First Transcontinental Railroad, United States, 1863-1869 (princessbuggie helped with this one): at least 1,200 [x]

Belgian Occupation of the Congo, 1886-1908: 10 MILLION [x]

Spanish-American War, 1898: 17,135 [x]

United States 20th Century Coal Mining Industry: 100,000 [x]

Courriéres Mine Disaster, France, 1906: 1,549 [x]

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, 1911 (vivianvivisection helped with this one): 146 [x]

World War I, 1914-1918: 16 MILLION [x]

Building the Hoover Damn, United States, 1922-1936: 112 [x]

Shanghai Massacre of 1927: at least 5,000 presumed dead [x]

United States Intervention in Latin America, 1929-1987 (progressivefem helped with this one): 6 MILLION [x]

The White Terror, Spain, 1936-1975: at least 100,000 [x]

World War II, 1939-1945: at least 60 MILLION [x]

Benxihu Colliery Explosion, China, 1942: 1,549 [x]

Burma Railway, Thailand-Burma, 1943-1947: 106,000 [x]

Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, 1945: at least 245,000 [x]

Bodo League Massacre, Korea, 1950: at least 100,000 [x]

Vietnam War, 1955-1975: 2.3 MILLION [x] [x]

Guatemalan Civil War, 1960-1996 (an anon helped with this one): 200,000 [x]

US Intervention in the Congo, 1964: 1,000 [x]

Indonesian Anti-Communist Purge, 1965-1966: at least 500,000 [x]

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, 1965-2013: 21,500 [x], 1,000 more Palestinians have been killed in 2014.

Iran-Iraq War, 1980-1988: at least 315,000 [x]

Bhopal Disaster, Madhya Pradesh, 1984: 16,000+ [x]

United States Railroad Workers Killed on the Job, 1993-2002 (princessbuggie helped with this one): 1,221 [x]

Rwandan Genocide, 1994: 1 MILLION [x]

United States Deaths Attributed to Cigarette Smoking, 2000-2004: ~1.7 MILLION [x]

War in Afghanistan, 2001-present: 57,457 [x]

Darfur Genocide, 2003-present: 10,000 [x]

Iraq War, 2003-2011: 55,034 [x]

Mexican Drug War, 2006-present: at least 100,000 [x]

United States Workers Killed on the Job in 2012, as reported by OSHA: 4,628 [x]

Hunger (un-feuilly-de-papier helped with this one): 21,000 per day [x], 16,000 of them children [x], 3,000 of them children specifically in India [x].

Worldwide Occupational Deaths: 6,000 per day [x]

Poor shelter, polluted water, inadequate sanitation, often from homelessness (sideeffectsincludenausea helped with this one): 50,000 per day [x]

Occupational Asbestos Exposure: 107,000 per year [x]

International Sex Trafficking: 30,000 per year [x]

“Communist Death Toll,” according to The Black Book of Communism: 94 million

Capitalism Death Toll: 369 million (369,790,731), according only to the statistics I could get sources for. This number doesn’t even scratch the surface.

But, guess what? Tomorrow, we know for sure that capitalism will kill at least 77,000 more people.

You know what? No. Fuck this. I’m sick of clueless young Westeners undermining the deaths under communism to further their argument. My parents lived trough this shit. My grandparents lost half their families during Mao’s reign, were sent to labour camps and beaten and worked half to death and I’m sick people like you ignoring their lives in favour of some cheap argument to prop up communism.

You can argue against capitalism and I won’t say a word against it - but if your argument is based on the idea that communism is somehow the “lesser evil”, thereby completely disregarding the government-sanctioned genocide, famine, violence and oppression that actual people suffered, then you can take several fucking seats - especially if you’ve never experienced that violence, never lost family members to that violence and never seen first-hand what it drives people to.

Because you’re using statistics from over 500 years and across the globe (60 countries going by your stats) to compare to the death toll of what occurred over 50 years and in 11 countries.

95 million is an extremely all-inclusive number and it’s been debated about the historical accuracies and how broadly covers. Even so, a majority of that number is spread out to a few countries in under fifty years.

Now obviously, more than eleven countries have been communist states - but going by the ‘95 million’ statistic, most of the these numbers are split between China under Mao, USSR under Stalin and Cambodia under Khmer Rouge. The rest are rough estimates from about 262 000 to 1.1 million which were under North Korea, East Germany, Romania, Hungary, North Vietnam, Ethiopia.

Communism may have killed less, but the death toll is far more saturated. To break this down a bit. Coming second to none is China:

an estimate of 42 million died in China during the three-year famine of 1958-1961. Historians dispute over the actual number; 15 million is official government numbers but unofficial estimates vary between 23 mil. (Peng) to 46 mil. (Chen), but the closest and most recent estimate is about 45 million by Dikötter, who included deaths from suicide, militia executions and violence.

sidenote: according Yang Jisheng, who estimated 30 million dead from famine, another estimated 40 million ‘failed to be born’, making about 70 million in population loss.

This happened during 3 years. in one country.

and oh yeah, there was also another 92,000 Tibetans killed under Communist Government from Mao to current and another estimated 1.2 million died during the Cultural Revolution from labour camps, prisons, murders and executions (‘61-‘69).

Now, lets look at Russia, coming second place.

not including war casualty, 20-30 million died under Stalin from 1924-1953. Again, numbers vary - some estimates go as high 60 million.

Of those, 1.2 million were from the Great Purge of ‘36-39 (including invasion of Mongolia and purge of XinJiang because guess what, communism doesn’t magically erase a white dude’s sense of imperialism).

Then there were from gulags, deportation and ethnic cleansing (of Jews, Slavs, Romani, Poles, among others).

The rest were deaths from from famine from ‘26-‘38. If we add deaths that occurred during deportations, POW died under care, and death in other Soviet countries during Stalin’s rule, then the average number gets closer to 30 mil.

Not to forget:

2.2 million were killed in Cambodia during Khmer Rouge’s rule, 1975-1979. Half were from famine/disease, half were executions.

Red Terror in Ethiopia: 30,000-500,000 (‘77-‘78)

Collectivisation in Romania: 60,000 to 190,000 (‘47-‘64)

North Vietnam land reform: ca 172,000 (some estimates btw 200,000 to 500,000) (‘53-‘56)

North Korea has no an ‘official’ number, but calculated deaths from 1948-87 were about 1 million. 240,000 to 420,000 people died as a result of the 1990s famine.

The death toll during Mao’s Famine during the Great Leap Forward would be an estimated 52,000 per day, going by 40 million death-toll estimates - and that from one country alone.

During Stalin’s Great Purge, executions were calculated to be 1000 per day.

And you want to compare this to a world-wide conglomerate?

And before you put words in my mouth, I’m not saying a damn thing in defense of capitalism.

You can denounce capitalism all you want, but you need take several steps back and reconsider if you’re going to do so on the backs of people who actually suffered through an oppressive, abusive, totalitarian regime by devaluing their suffering and using it as an example of how communism is the “"lesser evil”“ - especially if you have never lived through it, lost family members or felt the fear of such a regime.

Don’t attribute the death toll to Stalinism or Maoism or say it was ‘wrong form’ of communism. You do not get to cherry pick your flavour of totalitarianism so that it suits your social stance. You do not get to undermine, appropriate and white-wash the human atrocities and genocides committed in the name of communism so that you can cover up the ugly underbelly of how these regimes will work, has worked and is currently working.

These are not statistics for you to brush under the mat so that communism can seem ‘less evil’. People who deported, sent to labour camps, starved to death, sold out by the colleagues, murdered by their students are not collateral fucking damage for make-believe, Westernised idealistic communism.

(and another side-note: the Anti-communism cleansing in Indonesia had fuck-all to do with capitalism and everything to do with anti-Chinese sentiments. These were all tied in with the historical socio-politics at the time, such as the foreign policy of CCCP, the relationship and influence of the Chinese government under Zhou Enlai , and the state of Indonesia’s militarisation under Sukarno that was helped by China. To use their complicated and brutal political and social history that literally nothing to do with Western capitalism and everything to do with East Asian international relations to back your argument is really fucking imperialist.)

I would’ve got an aneurysm trying to elaborate on everything wrong with OP’s post and how it’s stuffed with smug Western imperialism and US-centrism. (So now, all the deaths in Europe and Asia in WW2 were just about ‘capitalism’? Not, I dunno, some ideas of German and Japanese ethnic and racial superiority? Unless you want to tell me racial and ethnic tensions that long-predated capitalism somehow were caused by capitalism? Fuck that bullshit.)

And slavery as a system has been present in human societies long before capitalism was even a twinkle in anyone’s eye. It can exist in a non-capitalist society. And let’s just say there were plenty of forced labour camps and gulags in Communist regimes. I mean, if I recall correctly, didn’t the ostensibly “”Capitalist”” World War 2 in Europe begin when Nazi Germany AND the Soviet Union invaded Poland? Maybe because imperialism isn’t tied strictly to a capitalist society though the two can reinforce each other. Or no empires would have existed before the modern era.

TBH I’ve no more patience for people who love glossing over the complexities of the violence suffered by our families just to fit their agenda, especially when these people are trying to appear Oh So Progressive but it’s just Western imperialism on steroids.

My reply to anyone that wants to argue the point that communism is better, is to tell them to pack their bags, denounce their citizenship from the country they despise and ask for asylum in the country of their choice that is currently under communist control. North Korea would be happy to show the wealth of their people. Venezuela would be happy to keep you safe from crime and show the wealth of their people. Name your destination, as long as it’s the communist dictatorship you want. I’ll buy the one way ticket.

there are only two groups of people who desire Communism:

1. Those who never lived under it, and

2. Those who lived under it and had power over others.

That should tell you something, but you’re a fucking idiot.

[scripttorture]

Sources

So this isn’t exactly a Masterpost. Good sources on torture are hard to find and it’s not always obvious what they cover. I’ve had a couple of people recommend fictional titles in the comments and while fiction can be helpful for working out how to handle torture in stories it is rarely accurate and no substitute for factual sources.

 I thought it might be helpful to give everyone a quick run down of the sources I’ve found most useful and what they cover.

 This may well be edited in the future as I find more books. :)

 Torture and Democracy by D Rejali

 This is basically the book on torture.

 It’s the size of a breezeblock.

 Rejali covers torturers and victims, provides a systematic breakdown of why torture fails, gives a history of electrical torture, an analysis of factors that encourage torture in society and an overview of how the law fails torture victims. Interrogation is extensively covered.

 This book covers torture in the modern era globally and in that area it is very thorough. Historical torture is not extensively covered.

 But for a thorough understanding of the topic and modern torture, Rejali is a must.

 Why Torture Doesn’t Work: The Neuroscience of Interrogation by S O’Mara

 O’Mara’s book is much more focused on science than Rejali’s. It is a point by point analysis of some of the most common ‘clean’ (ie non-scarring) torture techniques used today, explaining exactly how harmful they are and debunking claims that they’re not ‘real’ torture.

 O’Mara’s speciality is the brain and he uses his knowledge to show the biological under-pinings of why torture can not work.

 An excellent source on torture generally and a brilliant explanation of how pain, memory and distress work. This is useful for writing any traumatic event but doesn’t cover a wide range of torture techniques and is very Western-focused in its approach.

 Cruel Britannia: A Secret History of Torture by I Cobain

 While I have some problems with Cobain’s book he remains an excellent source.

 My problems are pretty simple, Cobain’s a journalist not a scholar and he often allows apologist arguments to creep into his book. He often takes torturers’ word for it and believes them when they suggest that valuable information can come from torture.

 Rejali and O’Mara will tell you why that’s wrong.

 But the interviews in this book are incredibly valuable. Cobain interviews victims and torturers and sets them in a wider political context, showing how governments have supported or ignored torture.

 His interviews on the London Cage and the collected work on Ireland, Aden, Cyprus and the Mau-Mau is well worth a look for anyone interested in those conflicts in particular or the British ‘National Style’ of torture in general.

 Sourcebook on Solitary Confinement by S Shalev

 Shalev’s Sourcebook is a free resource that’s available online and an excellent break down of the damage solitary confinement causes.

 While this is obviously focused on one technique this Sourcebook contains pretty much all the information you could want on solitary.

 The majority of the data comes from US prisons and the book is obviously biased towards confinement in a prison context. But the discussion of symptoms, risk factors and long term effects makes this utterly invaluable.

 Any author who writes about solitary confinement or isolation should consult at least the second chapter.

 Mao’s Great Famine by F Dikötter

 One of the best books on famine in print.

 The style is somewhat impersonal, but I think that works in its favour. The focus is essentially on how widespread famine can occur rather than how starvation affects the individual.

 The discussion on community and the role of enforcers is particularly good.

 I’d recommend it for anyone writing a large-scale natural disaster or atrocity.

 Amnesty International Reports (Annual 2016/2017)

 Amnesty’s annual reports give good concise updates on torture globally, year by year. They are freely available online and generally contain a lot of survivor accounts.

 It can be difficult to find specific information using them. You can not, for example, tell from the summaries whether particular techniques are covered. They rarely contain follow-ups on survivors and so are not a good resource for the recovery process.

 But the accounts of survivors, in their own words, are invaluable.

 World Food Programme

 An excellent resource on starvation and malnutrition. If you want to know how a starving or malnourished character would be treated or recover this is probably the best free resource you can find.

 Very good for physical effects and for descriptions of disaster relief programs. Not so great on survivor accounts or giving an idea of what starvation feels like on a personal level.

 International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims

 If you’ve been following my blog for a while you may have heard of these guys. Not only do they work to support torture victims but they also publish a free online journal dedicated to helping survivors recover.

 Rather academic and dense, this material often requires a lot of effort and engagement. This is very much the academic side. It can be incredibly helpful, but it’s not always easy to find the information you’re after.

 A Darkling Plain by K R Monroe

 A collection of interviews with survivors of a wide range of atrocities, Monroe’s book shows a real range of both traumatic events and responses to them.

 The main focus of the book is how people move on with their lives after atrocities and how they hold on to their sense of humanity. As such it’s incredibly useful to authors whose writing touches on these themes and authors who want to include a wider range of realistic responses to traumatic events.

 Highly recommended.

 The Wretched of the Earth by F Fanon

 The appendix contains some of Fanon’s notes on people he treated during the Franco-Algerian war.

 These notes include two torturers, a family member of a torturer, victims and relatives of victims.

 This is still one of the most valuable readily accessible sources on torturers’ behaviour.

 The Question by H Alleg

 Alleg’s account of torture during the Franco-Algerian war is a classic for a reason. This is a lucid, often harrowing account of torture failing from a victim’s perspective.

 I talk about victims refusing to cooperate. Alleg describes what it feels like from the inside.

 I strongly advise anyone writing from a victim’s perspective to read this book.

 We Wish to Inform you that Tomorrow we will be Killed with our Families by P Gourevitch

 The Rwandan genocide. This book provides both an overview of the events, interviews with survivors and transcripts/quotes from the time period.

 A difficult but important book, and extremely useful for writing conflict and war crimes.

 A History of Torture by G R Scott

 This book was written in the 30s and boy does it read like it was.

 The casual racism and sexism is extreme and off putting however this remains one of the most thorough books on historical torture globally. Just…read it with a critical eye.

 To the Kwai and Back by R Searle

 This collection of war drawings is, in my opinion, Searle’s best and most affecting work.

 They chronicle Searle’s experience of the Second World War as a prisoner of the Japanese. The drawings document torture, starvation, forced labour and death marches and are interspersed with Searle’s commentary and memories.

 The book serves as both a survivor’s account and (as Searle is looking back) a discussion of how he as an individual recovered. It serves as a very good source on large-scale atrocities seen from a personal perspective.

 Nonviolence: The History of a Dangerous Idea by M Kurlansky

 The focus of this work is in the title but torture crops up in this wide ranging historical narrative time and time again.

 It won’t be relevant to everyone’s stories, but I’m including this book for its numerous moving examples of people across cultures and history resisting torture, slavery and genocide without violence. We have very few fictional examples of this kind of action, and the history is rarely remembered.

 I want you, my readers, to be aware of as many sources as possible so you can break the mould if you want to.

 Tell Me Where I Can Be Safe: Human Rights Watch report on LGBTQ Rights in Nigeria

 This is a pretty harrowing read containing a lot of rape and sexual violence as well as torture. Victim accounts are prominent and the report only covers a relatively recent period in one country.

 I include this because my reading strongly suggests that it is typical of anti-LGBTQ violence across much of Africa and the Middle East. The methods and tactics used crop up across multiple countries and have been known to occur in Europe (though Gay and Trans Rights legislation has helped combat such violence).

 As a result I think this is a very valuable resource for writing torture and abuse of LGBTQ people specifically and an extremely important resource for Western writers who wish to write LGBTQ characters who are not from the West.  

 The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by R Skloot

 An incredibly valuable overview of unethical experimentation in modern America.

 While far from a complete survey this book covers unconsenting or uninformed experimentation on minors, mental health patients, black people and prisoners.

 It talks about how experiments were conducted, how subjects were chosen and the effect on both the victims and their families.

 Highly recommended for anyone who wishes to write unethical experimentation.

 The Horrible Histories Series by T Deary and M Brown

 Yes these are children’s books and yes I am sure they deserve a place here.

 With their focus on the ‘gruesome bits’ of history these books generally contain quick and accurate overviews of historical tortures. Descriptions of punishments, methods of execution and medical treatments at the time are present in almost all of these short, accessible books.

 The focus is on English history as such there’s a lot that isn’t covered, but they’re very good for getting a sense of the tortures that were used during different historical periods quickly and easily.

Men and Hunger: a psychological manual for relief workers by H S Guetzkow, P H Bowman, A Keys, 1946 (The Minnesota Starvation Experiment)

 This is not the full text but the 70 page summary sent out to relief workers immediately following the experiment. This covers all the important psychological and physical effects of starvation in enough detail for an author writing a starving character to find it extremely helpful. It contains a lot of specific examples of behaviours and quotes from the men involved with the experiment, giving a rounded, detailed sense of their experience.

 However it does contain some racist and sexist language common during the 1940s when it was written.

UN Human Rights report on Rohingya refugees from Myanmar

 This is the UN report on the on-going genocide/ethnic cleansing taking place in Myanmar.

 The report contains accounts of murder, rape, gang-rape, torture and the murder of children. It also contains brief statistical analysis of the crimes survivors reported witnessing or experiencing (over half of Rohingya women reported being raped or sexually assaulted, over half of the survivors interviewed reported that a family member had been murdered).

 This could be useful to people writing about ethnic cleansing and genocide. I think it gives an overview of the situation within countries where these crimes occur, giving a sense of what they’re like before, during and after these atrocities.

War Child: Reclaiming Dreams

 This is a quick summary of the effects war has on children by the charity War Child. It focuses on the work they do in various countries; it aims to raise money for the charity and awareness of the causes they’re involved in.

 It provides a decent, quick overview of the many factors that affect children in war; both as civilians and as combatants. It talks about how children are used by armies (pointing out that the idea of they are always forced to fight is false) and how families and children caught in the cross fire are affected.

 A useful source for authors writing about children in combat zones and a good starting point for anyone planning on writing child soldiers.

The UN Standard Minimum Rules for the treatment of Prisoners, aka the Nelson Mandela Rules

This is a pretty dense legal document outlining how prisoners should be treated and the conditions that are a minimum acceptable standard for keeping them.

It’s tough reading but it could be useful for anyone planning to write about prisons and prisoners in a modern setting.

The collected works of S Kara

Kara’s research on slavery today is based on almost twenty years experience and thousands of interviews with enslaved people across continents.

He covers both individual experiences and the larger global picture of modern slavery. He covers multiple countries and slavery in different kinds of industries.

He also provides a thorough and convincing breakdown of the numbers; how many slaves there are today and where. This is accompanied by a clear analysis of how slavery has been allowed to continue and what needs to be done to stop it.

Brilliant, harrowing, necessary books that are a must for anyone writing about slavery.

Disclaimer

[curtisbauer1993]

“Joseph’s Interpretation” (A Quranic Guidance, By the Grace of Allah) Curtis Bauer

Surah (chapter) .12 (Yusuf)- Quran. My interpretation of a Story in the Holy Quran which brought tears to my eyes upon first reading 📖 this Parable: “The story of Yusuf is a very emotionally complex case involving many of our own worldly desires (temptations) and outcomes during the (inevitable) procession of life into adulthood, and death. As we prepare our own fortunes and virtues bestowed upon us (by the will of Allah) into the coming of (old) age, we’re often faced with the consequential (negative/positive) outlook of interpreting the lives of people such as our friends (former), and/or family members. The story of Yusuf’s demise by his Brother’s hands having been tossed into a Well, hiding the grace (of Allah) from the inheritance of his (their) adorning father, is a transcendent Parable of modern age. Yusuf’s Brothers took Him on a journey into the wilderness, against their Fathers will, in order to capture the fortune of their Father, without Yusuf (Joseph) taking a grander share of their enterprise (business). Yusuf’s Father, Jacob, preferred Him to the likes of his offspring (brothers), while viewing/conducting themselves as a family (reputation) of equal modality (in the land). It is Allah’s will in our case, that one person may have such a Father/Grandfather, without a sense of reason as to how they were eventually created (born unto Earth). Allah (Jacob, Yusuf’s father) had placed His (eventual) inevitable fortune on the hands of Yusuf, resulting in the (free will) decision of his Sons (readers of the Quran/us) to take hold of Yusuf in great numbers and burry him away from His fathers intention of Good Will planned for the future (inheritance and share of business). The decision to spare Yusuf from immediate death by way of trapping him down a well (instead), shows that in spite of Satan’s army and their intention to rationalize Sin, Allah is always the best of planners. Yusuf was eventually found (in the Well), captured, and sold (cheaply) to a merchant family set in a town (city) distant to the event (Egypt). Yusuf was created as desirable in the eyes of the Merchant’s (Yusuf’s adoptee stepfather) wife, and eventually (as a coming of age in her desire) was seduced. If Yusuf had not resisted his Stepmothers urge to commit adultery (in respect of his Lord, Allah), he surely would have been tried and Killed after an account of witness’ from his Stepfather’s trial. Such was the case that Yusuf’s shirt was torn towards the back, instead of the front, as an attempt to flea his Stepmothers advances while Her Husband approached the door of their abode where Yusuf was trying to exit. While another witness (blasphemy) was present during the scene, she detested (yet) and told the truth of what had occurred, finding Yusuf innocent of his Fathers suspicion upon hearing from Yusuf’s Stepmother that he (hypocritically) had advanced towards her, in order to Fornicate (adulterously). After further witnessing, Yusuf was (again) outnumbered, and by the Will of Allah, we was not killed but imprisoned for a determined sentence. Such is the case that when we commit acts of Sexual (idolatry) fornication, and seduce others (unknowing) of our fortune (reality), Allah forgives those who transgress without knowledge of circumstance. Yusuf was bestowed the gift of interpreting dreams (intelligence) and thus made a “Word” for himself while in imprisonment, making his way, by reputation, to an interview with the Ruler (boss) of Egypt, interpreting (completing/projecting) a vision of the King whom nobody could suffice to answer, leading to a message (advocating Joseph’s revelation of Prophethood by the will of God) from a former associate of the King, whom had payed a bounty for misconduct in a jail sentence among Yusuf’s presence. As mentioned, resulting in the King’s awareness of Joseph; Yusuf subsequently interpreted the dream(s) of two young prisoners (one aforementioned, whom was associated with the King), following; (“And two young men went to prison with him. One of them said: I dreamed that I was pressing wine. The other said: I dreamed that I was carrying upon my head bread whereof the birds were eating. Announce unto us the interpretation, for we see thee of those good (at interpretation)..”) (“Prophet Yusuf asked them to wait until lunch time so that they might become anxious and listen to him attentively. At the appointed time Prophet Yusuf said: The one who was pressing wine will be set at liberty and he will serve wine to his master[king]. The other will be crucified for the crime, he had committed“) Joseph was approached by the royal security as a plea of honour, thus requesting the interpretation of the Kings (iconic) dream, as follows; (The king dreamt that seven lean cows were eating seven fat ones and that there were seven green ears of corn and seven dry ones. He asked the nobles to tell him the meaning of his dream if they were able to. They replied, "It is a confused dream and we do not know the meaning of such dreams." Surah Yusuf, 12:43-44) then; (Yusuf replied, "For seven years the crops will yield abundant food-grain for the people of Egypt. After that there will be a famine for seven years during which all the food-grain lying in the storehouses will be finished and people will starve. Therefore, the people should try to grow as much extra grain as possible so that it would stand them in good stead during the time of famine"). As Yusuf completed the vision of his Master, he was awarded a Ranking position within the Government of Egypt. Such is the case that Allah, no matter the decree of complexity or simplicity, determines whom He wills to set forth over provisions in the Land. As Yusuf was in charge of a storage faculty, His (late/distant) family of brothers arrived in Egypt, customarily, seeking resources for their business in the North. When they arrived, Yusuf recognized them yet they had no knowledge of Yusuf’s identity, as his rank among officials had not disclosed his (person) location, and as such, a contract was signed (by Yusuf, knowing his former Household name/family title and location) in order to provision his Brothers (unknowing of Yusuf) with supplies. Yusuf, in adornment and awe of Allah’s forgiveness upon his own fortune (fate), sent a contract to his Brothers (one brother in particular), stating that, if they did not return (again) with their (his) Father, that he would not allow them re-entry into Egypt. Yusuf slipped a valuable ornament (polytheistic prayer tool), by the Grace of Allah, into one of his late Brothers (Benjamin) cargo pouches (cavalry). When the Ornament was discovered, the falsely accused thief (the Brother who had transgressed Joseph’s father and planned Yusuf’s demise), was returned to Joseph, thus disclosing Yusuf’s (Joseph’s) identity to his long-lost Brother. After the rest of Yusuf’s family (Brothers, minus Benjamin, of the same mother adorned to their father) returned to Jacob (of which they travelled without hesitance, as Joseph’s document which was handed to them, accurately ascribed as to their father’s name and location) , they proclaimed to Jacob (in honesty, while before telling Jacob that Yusuf had been devoured by Wolves while they went into the land without him, after their plotted scheme), that (again) one of their Kin (family) succumbed to (Satan) and by the will of Allah, was lost (again) in Egypt. Jacob, mourning the loss of his beloved Son, stated (iconically) that he “could still smell the likes of Joseph” on their person for having succumb to an unknown Evil (Satan), and losing another of their family to tragedy. Meanwhile, through the entire event of Yusuf’s life (story), he was made as a Prophet to the Lord (Allah), possessing unmatched marvels of skill, strength, and intelligence. As a result, before the Brothers departed, they were given a Cloak (by Yusuf’s assistant), and told to cover (His late fathers Jacob’s) eyes with the jacket, in order to restore His fathers blinded (old) vision. Surely, knowing of their father Jacob’s pre-condition, they raced back in order to fulfill their duty and return to Yusuf with their Father’s presence (to Yusuf’s person). As they returned to Yusuf’s esteem, power, and wealth, they learned of His true identity and were thus forgiven (among Benjamin) for their adherence to an Evil deed (Satan). Such is the Grace and Pleasure of Allah’s Will of creation (Humans) that in our individual lifetime... As a lesson learned from Prophet Yusuf, by our One and Only God (Allah), we are promised Forgiveness from all Sins (by the will of Allah) and granted a Great Reward in the hereafter. We also learn that Allah’s plan of salvation from Sin, through repentance and righteousness (Yusuf’s God given power to bestow upon the Cloak a healing Angel, while His unrighteous (Sinful) brother’s transgressions were (finally) made righteous, through obeying Joseph’s command to deliver the Cloak (against the will of their previously common sensibility (Satan), by the grace of belief in God (Yusuf), eventually led them back to the Salvation of their Murdered brother Yusuf, and into the presence of his God given bounty (forgiveness from Allah). Concluding Yusuf, we learn the definition of the meaning of the phrase “Allahu Akbar” (God is the Greatest); by experiencing a trial beginning (life before belief) of Sin and Damnation, which results (through repentance and righteous deed) in the Ultimate forgiveness and Bounty awarded by the Lord, as a reunion of Wealth/Family/Worldly desires (Jannah), only by the decree (Yusuf’s story) of Allah’s will as our One and Only God. By the will of Allah, I hope you enjoyed this interpretation of Joseph’s Parable. Praise be to Allah, and peace be upon you. Allahu Akbar.

[jacensolodjo]

Choice Excerpts from Borderland, A Journey Through the History of Ukraine by Anna Reid

Hanna (Hrytsay) was seven years old when collectivisation began in 1929: People didn’t want to enter these collective farms at all, but they were forced to. They took everything – land, grain, ploughs, animals. And as if that weren’t enough they took the bread out of the house. My grandfather was a blacksmith; he resisted for three years. They took his horses, his smith’s shop, they banged with hammers on the walls to see if he had hidden any grain. They even took the seedcorn for the next year. A barn or a stable was a symbol of wealth. If you had a metal roof on your house, you were considered a kulak, and sent away to the North. You know Tykhon’s house over the road – it had an iron roof. The only reason it wasn’t confiscated was because he was ill and had to have his leg amputated – the activists took pity on him. 

The local church – ‘it was a beautiful one, with bells’ – was demolished and its icons looted. ‘People protested but it didn’t help. There was a man called Myron who lived right here – people used to go to his place to read the Bible and sing hymns. Then he disappeared too.’ 

Hanna’s family sold ‘everything – icons, clothes, pillows’ to buy rye. But by the winter of 1932 they were living off anything they could find. ‘People were eating straw and lime-tree leaves, making kasha out of bark, nettles. I went to see my uncle, and they served a dinner. There was a stew – I saw something strange – tails sticking out of it! It was made from mice!’ Compared to most villages, the Lukovytsyers were lucky, because they could trawl – illegally, using blankets – for fish and molluscs in the Dnieper. Even so, two families died. On the other side of the river things were much worse: ‘People were killing their children and eating them.’

Exactly how many people died in the Great Hunger of 1932– 3 is unclear. As Khrushchev admitted in his memoirs, ‘No one was keeping count’. Contemporaries spoke of 4 or 5 million. The historian Robert Conquest uses Soviet census data to arrive at a figure of 7 million: 5 million in Ukraine, 2 million elsewhere in the Soviet Union. Another 6.5 million, he reckons, died in ‘dekulakisation’ immediately beforehand. If Conquest is right, the whole operation killed over twice as many people as the Holocaust – thirty-four lives not for every word, but for every letter in this book. These may well be underestimates, since Soviet census data are unreliable. When the post-purge census of 1937 turned up an embarrassing population deficit, Stalin promptly had the officials in charge arrested and shot. Subsequent counts, one can assume, erred on the side of optimism. 

The term ‘famine’, with its implication of natural disaster, is the wrong word for what happened. Unlike the Irish potato famine of the 1840s, the deaths of 1932– 3 were a deliberate, man-made event. Crop failure was not to blame, since the harvest of 1932 was only slightly smaller than average, and actually better than that of the previous year. Nor can it, by any stretch of the imagination, be put down to bureaucratic oversight. By the early autumn of 1932 Stalin and his ministers undoubtedly knew, because local communists repeatedly told them so, that the countryside was starving, but ordered that food requisitions continue none the less. Right through the famine, storehouses full of ‘emergency supplies’ were kept locked and guarded, while people died in thousands in the villages round about. During the less serious famine of 1921– 2 (also the result of grain requisitions), the Soviet government had allowed Western relief agencies to provide food aid; in the far worse conditions of 1932– 3, it denied that famine existed at all. 

The official explanation – seconded, until quite recently, by standard Western textbooks – was that collectivisation was a painful but necessary step towards modernising the rural economy, the famine something obdurate peasants brought upon themselves. ‘You can’t make an omelette,’ Stalin is said to have declared, ‘without breaking eggs.’ But even from this point of view, collectivisation was counter-productive: deporting all the country’s most successful farmers and starving the rest to death was hardly the way to go about boosting agricultural output, and Soviet farming has not really recovered from the blow even now. Like Stalin’s purges, which killed hundreds of thousands of stalwart Party supporters and most of the Red Army officer corps, the collectivisation famine of 1932– 3 is so incredible, so seemingly self-defeating, that it is unsurprising that many historians have interpreted it as some sort of self-perpetuating blunder, a freak act of God. 

The most convincing explanation for the famine is that it was a deliberate, genocidal attack on rural Ukraine. The groups the Bolsheviks most hated and feared, and had had most difficulty subduing during the Civil War, were the peasants and the non-Russian nationalities. The Ukrainian countryside – home to the Soviet Union’s largest and most turbulent ethnic minority and to its richest and most self-reliant peasantry – embodied these twin demons in one. For centuries visitors had contrasted Ukraine’s ‘smiling’ farmhouses, so clean that ‘a traveller might fancy himself transported to Holland’, with Russia’s rural hovels. Their prosperity was not only the result of a richer soil and milder climate, but of the fact that most Ukrainian farmland was individually owned by independent smallholders, whereas Russian land was held communally, and periodically redistributed by councils of village elders. Communism – which to the peasant meant collectivisation – was thus even less popular in Ukrainian villages than in Russian ones. By 1928 there was one Party member per hundred and twenty-five peasant households in the Soviet Union as a whole, compared to only one per thousand in Ukraine. When Stalin ordered collectivisation, Ukraine was where it encountered most resistance and where it was enforced most harshly. Though there was also widespread famine in the Russian Kuban (where many Ukrainians also lived), and among the Kazakhs, Don Cossacks and Volga Germans, proportionately higher grain quotas in Ukraine ensured that it bore the bulk of deaths. ‘Truly, truly,’ wrote Vasiliy Grossman in his autobiographical novel Forever Flowing, ‘the whole business was much worse in the Ukraine than it was with us.’

[randomshakespeare-blog1]

The Great and Totally Wonderful Adults of Romeo and Juliet (Complete with a Dose of A+ Parenting)

As one might have already noticed, the adults in Romeo and Juliet are either noticeably absent or make morally questionable decisions. We have Apothecary, who sells teenaged Romeo a bottle of deadly poison, a Friar helping a thirteen-year-old fake her death, and parents threatening their daughter with eviction because she made them mad. Then there are the Montagues, who are suspiciously absent for most of the play, only to show up and complain about their dead child. Evidently, Romeo and Juliet is not only a love story, but also a showcase of irresponsible adults.

           Let us begin with Apothecary. Apothecary is the one who sells Romeo the vial of poison he then uses to kill himself. When Romeo first asks Apothecary for poison, he refuses, telling Romeo that “Such mortal drugs I have, but Mantua’s law is death to any he that utters them” (5.1.68-69). Evidently, Apothecary does have some morals. At the very least, he knows what the law is and tries to follow it, even if only due to fear of death. Well, he tries before Romeo talks to him. Upon being refused poison, Romeo says to Apothecary, “Art thou so bare and full of wretchedness, and fear’st to die? Famine is in thy cheeks. Need and oppression starveth in thine eyes. Contempt and beggary hangs upon thy back. The world is not thy friend nor the world’s law. The world affords no law to make thee rich” (5.1.70-75). In other words, Romeo basically called Apothecary out on his very apparent poverty and essentially tells him that the law isn’t his friend and won’t make him rich. This being the case, Apothecary sells Romeo the poison. Logically, Apothecary’s decision makes sense. He needs money to survive, Romeo is offering him money, and if no one finds out about the illegal poison selling he won’t be punished. However, this is a morally questionable decision. Not only is selling Romeo the poison illegal, Romeo is also a teenaged boy. Teenaged boys tend to make rash, irresponsible decisions. Even knowing all this, Apothecary gives Romeo the poison anyway. In this situation, Apothecary’s choices are to either turn Romeo away and most likely starve to death, or to give Romeo the poison and most likely end up dead due to either the government finding out or the family of whoever was killed by the poison finding out. Both of these options lead to the same ending more or less, yet the most immoral option is taken. As such, I would like to applaud the adult in this situation for assisting in the suicide of a child.

           While Apothecary’s actions are appalling, those of Friar Lawrence are even more so. Before continuing, please keep in mind that a Friar is a male member of a religious order. In this case, that is most likely the Roman Catholic Church. Let us also remember that Juliet is thirteen years old. Friar Lawrence is the one who married Romeo and Juliet, and is also the person they constantly go to for advice. He is also the one who proposed the idea of Juliet faking her death. Usually, his advice is (somewhat) sound, but not in this case. After Juliet monologues about how she’s willing to kill herself, the Friar tells her that “If, rather than to marry County Paris, thou hast the strength of will to slay thyself, then is it likely thou wilt undertake a thing like death to chide away this shame, that copest with death himself to ’scape from it. An if thou darest, I’ll give thee remedy” (4.1.73-78). The Friar basically told Juliet that if she’s willing to kill herself, then he has a different solution that is very similar to death. Let’s back up a bit. Juliet, a thirteen-year-old hormonal teenager, has just finished talking about how she’ll kill herself, and the first thing this man of God does is offer her another solution very similar to death, which also has the added implication that whatever it is might also result in death. Ignoring the fact that Friar Lawrence makes absolutely no effort to help Juliet with her suicidal tendencies, he just offered a hysterical thirteen-year-old assistance in faking her death. Of course, Juliet, in typical overdramatic fashion, accepts the offer. This prompts the Friar to explain just what he has planned, telling Juliet that “A cold and drowsy humor, for no pulse shall keep his native progress, but surcease. No warmth, no breath shall testify thou livest. The roses in thy lips and cheeks shall fade to paly ashes, thy eyes' windows fall like death when he shuts up the day of life. Each part, deprived of supple government, shall, stiff and stark and cold, appear like death. And in this borrowed likeness of shrunk death thou shalt continue two and forty hours, and then awake as from a pleasant sleep. Now, when the bridegroom in the morning comes to rouse thee from thy bed, there art thou dead. Then, as the manner of our country is, in thy best robes uncovered on the bier thou shalt be borne to that same ancient vault where all the kindred of the Capulets lie” (4.1.99-115). First, any drug capable of putting a person into a death-like state also has a chance of killing the person. Our good Friar may want to tell Juliet that. Second, the Friar states that Juliet will be in this state of near death for forty-two hours, during which she won’t be breathing. Unfortunately, it is not possible for a human being to survive one hour without breathing, much less forty-two. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on how you look at it), Shakespeare has gleefully ignored that little tidbit of information, so let’s pretend that fact doesn’t exist. But even if we ignore that, oxygen deprivation also causes permanent brain damage. Of course, we can’t forget the bit about Juliet’s pulse stopping. A stopped pulse means your heart isn’t beating. If your heart isn’t beating, you are dead. But, Shakespeare has also conveniently ignored that bit of information, so let’s pretend it’s not a thing. To top it all off, the Friar’s plan involves Juliet waking up in her own coffin while surrounded by her dead ancestors. Disturbing. In other words, the resident follower of God is going to help a thirteen-year-old fake her death, give her permanent brain damage, and have her wake up in her own coffin surrounded by dead people. In a realistic situation, Juliet would be dead, killed by the drug the Friar gave her. Meaning that realistically, the Friar, who is most likely under some sort of vow to not kill or harm others, has just killed Juliet under the pretense of helping her.

           While the actions of the Friar are very disturbing and warrant further analysis, one can’t possibly forget about the not-so-wonderful parents of our main protagonists. Let us start with Lord and Lady Capulet, the parents of Juliet. Over the course of the play, they have mainly been trying to get Juliet to marry Paris. Obviously, Juliet doesn’t want to marry Paris. But when she tells her parents this, they end up getting mad. Very, very, mad. Upon hearing Juliet’s declarations, Capulet yells, “Hang thee, young baggage! Disobedient wretch! I tell thee what: get thee to church o' Thursday, or never after look me in the face. Speak not. Reply not. Do not answer me. My fingers itch.—Wife, we scarce thought us blest that God had lent us but this only child, but now I see this one is one too much and that we have a curse in having her. Out on her, hilding!” (3.5.160-168). Capulet, Juliet’s father, just told her that she is a worthless wretch who he wants to slap and is a curse. Now children, especially young children, usually aren’t sure of their place in the world and typically find someone they respect and want to be acknowledged by. More often than not, that person(s) tend to be their parent(s). For an impressionable child to have their opinion completely ignored and be told they are worthless and disgusting by the person they want to be acknowledged by is a very large blow to the mental state of said child. Juliet is thirteen, probably going through puberty, and currently at a point in her life where she is prone to rash decisions and jumping to conclusions. Congratulations Capulet, you probably just gave your daughter depression and ruined her sense of self-worth. However, it doesn’t end there. Capulet continues his anger-induced rant, saying to Juliet that “But, an you will not wed, I’ll pardon you. Graze where you will, you shall not house with me. Look to ’t, think on ’t, I do not use to jest. Thursday is near. Lay hand on heart, advise. An you be mine, I’ll give you to my friend. An you be not, hang, beg, starve, die in the streets, for, by my soul, I’ll ne'er acknowledge thee, nor what is mine shall never do thee good. Trust to ’t, bethink you. I’ll not be forsworn” (3.5.188-196). To add further injury to things, Capulet basically tells Juliet that he’ll evict her if she doesn’t marry Paris. He literally says to her face that she can “beg, starve, and die on the streets.” Capulet went and told his daughter to go die, right to her face. That right there, is the epitome of non-violent bad parenting. Telling your own child to go die. Good job Capulet, good job.

           As much as I would like to keep criticizing the Capulets, we must move on to the Montagues. The Montagues are on the other side of the bad parenting spectrum. Where the Capulets verbally heap things on to Juliet, the Montagues are just not there. It must be noted that in this play of approximately 3,200 lines, Lord and Lady Montague only have forty-four lines combined. That’s about 1.38% of the total lines. For the parents of a child going through an important part of his life, that’s very noticeably absent. For being the parents of a child who constantly gets into trouble, the Montagues don’t seem very invested in Romeo’s life, as is seen after Romeo kills Tybalt. The Capulets want Romeo dead, the Prince is trying to figure out how to punish Romeo, and all Montague says is “Not Romeo, Prince. He was Mercutio’s friend. His fault concludes but what the law should end, the life of Tybalt” (3.1.146-148). That’s it. Nothing else. All Montague says is three lines. His son is potentially going to be killed, and all he says is twenty words. Montague acts very removed from a situation in which his only son might die. It’s as if he doesn’t even care about Romeo. Even when Romeo dies, Montague doesn’t say much. All he says is “O thou untaught! What manners is in this, to press before thy father to a grave?” (5.3.229-231). His son is dead, Montague is looking at the dead body, and all he has to say is that Romeo is an undisciplined boy without manners. That is terribly uncaring for someone who just lost his wife and son. While the fact that his wife died could play a role in Montague’s seemingly uncaring demeanor, he should at least have something other than “where are your manners” to say to his dead child.  

           If even after all that you still believe the adults in Romeo and Juliet aren’t messed up in some way, I have nothing to say. I can only hope that you, the reader, take this essay as an example of what not to do. Please, do not illegally sell deadly poisons, assist in faking deaths, or tell your children to go die. Being present in your children’s lives is also a good idea. They’ll thank you for it. Eventually.

 Notes: An essay detailing just how bad the adult figures in Romeo and Juliet are.

[pamphletstoinspire]

Children's Religious Stories - The Saints - Part 35

With Image:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/childrens-religious-stories-saints-part-35-harold-baines/?published=t

ST ELIZABETH OF HUNGARY

ST ELIZABETH of Hungary, or, as she is sometimes called, St Elizabeth of Thuringia, is still known to the Germans as their 'dear St Elizabeth,' and is one of the best loved of all their saints. She was the daughter of one of the kings of Hungary, but when she was only four the powerful ruler of Thuringia asked her father if she might be brought up at his court, which at that time was one of the most brilliant in Europe, and, when she grew up, marry his son. So, when she was just a child, Elizabeth went to live in splendour in the great castle of the Wartburg among the poets and the 'Minnesingers' whom the King liked to have round him. The Prince whom one day she was to marry, whose name was Ludwig, was a boy of nine, and from the very first moment they met the children became the dearest of friends.

They were married when Elizabeth was fifteen and Ludwig twenty, in the year that the old ruler died and Ludwig became King in his place.

During her girlhood Elizabeth was so devoted to religion that she was sometimes laughed at by the more worldly people at court. One day there was a great service in the Church of St Catherine at Eisenach which was always attended by the royal family in much pomp. During this Princess Elizabeth suddenly left her place and put the crown she was wearing at the foot of the great crucifix. Her mother-in-law, who was shocked by this breach of etiquette, whispered to her that this was not the time or the place to do such a thing, and ordered her to put the crown on again. But Elizabeth, in tears, answered: "Dear lady mother, please do not scold me. Here I see Jesus, Who died for me, wearing His crown of thorns. How can I wear in His presence this crown of gold and gems? My crown seems a mockery of His!"

When Elizabeth herself became Queen her husband was called away to attend the Emperor on a journey to Italy, and that year terrible storms and floods, causing famine and plague, burst on Thuringia. Though she was only nineteen, Elizabeth insisted on taking charge of everything personally. Each day a certain quantity of bread was baked in the palace, and she herself served it out to the poor who came to the gates of the Wartburg, giving them all their just share. In this way, by what today we should call `rationing,' she managed to see that no one actually starved, and when the autumn came she sent the people into the harvest fields with scythes and sickles, and to every man she gave a shirt and a pair of new shoes.

To deal with those who were sick she had a special hospital built below the Wartburg, in which there were twenty-eight beds. She herself visited it daily to attend to the needs of the patients. In order to have money for them, and for the alms she distributed throughout the whole of Ludwig's territory, she sold her jewels and her beautiful clothes, and even some of the State robes. This made some of the selfish courtiers very angry, but when Ludwig came home again he said she had been quite right, and he confirmed everything she had done in his absence.

But he soon had to leave her again — this time to go on a Crusade. But before he got as far as the Holy Land he caught a fever and died. As he was dying he commanded his knights and counts who stood round his bed that they should carry his body to his native land and defend his Elizabeth and their children — with their life-blood, if necessary — from all wrong and oppression. When the news arrived at the Wartburg Elizabeth cried: "Now all the world and its joys are dead to me!" and fainted from grief.

Ludwig's brother, Henry, decided that he would now become ruler of Thuringia instead of Herman, the little son of Ludwig and Elizabeth; and in the depth of winter she and her children were forced to leave the Wartburg.

Henry forbade anyone in the neighbourhood to take her in, because he was afraid it might lead to a revolt against him; but at last she found some kind people in an inn who allowed her to stay there, and for some weeks she supported herself and her children by spinning wool.

But before long the knights and counts got back to Thuringia with Ludwig's body, and they remembered their vow to their dead king. They forced Henry to be content with the title of Regent: they put young Herman on the throne as King; and they saw to it that Elizabeth was given the city of Marburg as her own property. Elizabeth's own relatives suggested that, as she was still only twenty, she should marry again. But this she refused absolutely. She had loved only Ludwig as long as she could remember anything, and no one, she swore, should be allowed to take his place.

At that time St Francis of Assisi had just founded his new Order of poor preachers, living a life of charity and poverty; and it was to them that Elizabeth turned. She wished to join them and herself become a beggar; but her confessor forbade her to, although he said she might become a member of the Third Order of St Francis, which was meant for those who still lived ordinary lives in the world. So she built a great Franciscan hospital at Marburg, and devoted herself entirely to the care of the sick for the few years of life that were left her. She died when she was only twenty-four.

They buried her in the church attached to her hospital, and after her death so many miracles were worked there that it became a place of pilgrimage in Europe, almost as famous as the shrine of St James at Compostela in Spain. And within four years of the death of `the greatest woman of the Middle Ages,' as she has been called, a great church at Marburg was built and dedicated to St Elizabeth.

[seongsilkang-kbs]

[전문] 트럼프 영어연설 Trump's speech to South Korea's National Assembly ‘모든 한국인들이 자유롭게 살 그날을 위해 기도한다’ All Koreans pray for the day they live free. = #CNN November 8, 2017 http://edition.cnn.com/2017/11/07/politics/south-korea-trump-speech-full/index.html Trump's speech to South Korea's National Assembly Updated 0424 GMT (1224 HKT) November 8, 2017 Trump's speech to South Korea's parliament (full) Source: CNN Trump delivers direct message to Kim Jong Un 00:52 (CNN) — President Donald Trump issued a stark warning to North Korea during his address Wednesday to South Korea's National Assembly. Read Trump's speech, as recorded by the Federal Document Clearing House: TRUMP: Assembly Speaker Chung, distinguished members of this assembly, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for the extraordinary privilege to speak in this great chamber, and to address your people on behalf of the great people of the United States of America. In our short time in your country, Melania and I have been awed by its ancient, modern wonders, and we are deeply moved by the warmth of your welcome. Last night, President and Mrs. Moon showed us incredible hospitality in a beautiful reception at the Blue House. We had productive discussions on increasing military cooperation and improving the trade relationship between our nations on the principle of fairness and reciprocity. Through this entire visit, it has been both our pleasure and our honor to create and celebrate a long friendship between the United States and the Republic of Korea. This alliance between our nations was forged in the crucible of war and strengthened by the trials of history. From the Inchon landings to Pork Chop Hill, American and South Korean soldiers have fought together, sacrificed together, and triumphed together. Almost 67 years ago, in the spring of 1951, they recaptured what remained of this city, where we are gathered so proudly today. It was the second time in a year that our combined forces took on steep casualties to retake this capital from the Communists. Over the next weeks and months, the men soldiered through steep mountains and bloody, bloody battles. Driven back at times, they willed their way north to form the line that today divides the oppressed and the free. And there, American and South Korean troops have remained together holding that line for nearly seven decades. (APPLAUSE) By the time the armistice was signed in 1953, more than 36,000 Americans had died in the Korean War, with more than 100,000 others very badly wounded. They are heroes, and we honor them. We also honor and remember the terrible price the people of your country paid for their freedom. You lost hundreds of thousands of brave soldiers and countless innocent civilians in that gruesome war. Much of this great city of Seoul was reduced to rubble. Large portions of the country were scarred severely, severely hurt by this horrible war. The economy of this nation was demolished. But as the entire world knows, over the next two generations, something miraculous happened on the southern half of this peninsula. Family by family, city by city, the people of South Korea built this country into what is today one of the great nations of the world. And I congratulate you. (APPLAUSE) In less than one lifetime, South Korea climbed from total devastation to among the wealthiest nations on Earth. Today your economy is more than 350 times larger than what it was in 1960. Trade has increased 1,900 times. Life expectancy has risen from just 53 years to more than 82 years today. Like Korea, and since my election exactly one year ago today, I celebrate with you. (APPLAUSE) The United States is going through something of a miracle itself. Our stock market is at an all-time high. Unemployment is at a 17-year low. We are defeating ISIS. We are strengthening our judiciary, including a brilliant Supreme Court justice, and on and on and on. Currently stationed in the vicinity of this peninsula are the three largest aircraft carriers in the world, loaded to the maximum with magnificent F-35 and F-18 fighter jets. In addition, we have nuclear submarines appropriately positioned. The United States under my administration is completely rebuilding its military and is spending hundreds of billions of dollars to the newest and finest military equipment anywhere in the world being built right now. I want peace through strength. (APPLAUSE) We are helping the Republic of Korea far beyond what any other country has ever done. And in the end, we will work things out far better than anybody understands or can even appreciate. I know that the Republic of Korea, which has become a tremendously successful nation, will be a faithful ally of the United States very long into the future. (APPLAUSE) What you have built is truly an inspiration. Your economic transformation was linked to a political one. The proud sovereign and independent people of your nation demanded the right to govern themselves. You secured free parliamentary elections in 1988, the same year you hosted your first Olympics. Soon after, you elected your first civilian president in more than three decades. And when the republic you won faced financial crisis, you lined up by the millions to give your most prized possessions -- your wedding rings, heirlooms and gold "luck" keys to restore the promise of a better future for your children. (APPLAUSE) Your wealth is measured in more than money. It is measured in achievements of the mind and achievements of spirit. Over the last several decades, your scientists have -- engineers -- and engineered so many magnificent things. You've pushed the boundaries of technology, pioneered miraculous medical treatments, and emerged as leaders in unlocking the mysteries of our universe. Korean authors penned roughly 40,000 books this year. Korean musicians fill concert halls all around the world. Young Korean students graduate from college at the highest rates of any country. And Korean golfers are some of the best on Earth. (APPLAUSE) In fact -- and you know what I'm going to say -- the women's U.S. Open was held this year at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey... ... and it just happened to be won by a great Korean golfer, Sung Hyun Park, and eight of the top 10 players were from Korea. And the top four golfers -- one, two, three, four -- the top four were from Korea. Congratulations. Congratulations. Now, that's something. That is really something. Here in Seoul, architectural wonders, like the 63 Building and the Lotte World Tower -- very beautiful -- grace the sky and house the workers of many growing industries. Your citizens now help to feed the hungry, fight terrorism, and solve problems all over the world. And in a few months, you will host the world and you will do a magnificent job at the 23rd Olympic Winter Games. Good luck. (APPLAUSE) The Korean miracle extends exactly as far as the armies of free nations advanced in 1953. Twenty-five miles to the north, there it stops. It all comes to an end, dead stop. The flourishing ends and the prison state of North Korea, sadly, begins. Workers in North Korea labor grueling hours in unbearable conditions for almost no pay. Recently, the entire working population was ordered to work for 70 days straight or else pay for a day of rest. Families live in homes without plumbing, and fewer than half have electricity. Parents bribe teachers in hopes of saving their sons and daughters from forced labor. More than a million North Koreans died of famine in the 1990s, and more continue to die of hungry today. Among children under the age of 5, nearly 30 percent of afflicted and are afflicted by stunted growth due to malnutrition. And yet, in 2012 and 2013, the regime spent an estimated $200 million, or almost half the money that it allocated to improve living standards for its people, to instead build even more monuments, towers, and statues to glorify its dictators. What remains of the meager harvest of the North Korean economy is distributed according to perceived loyalty to a twisted regime. Far from valuing its people as equal citizens, this cruel dictatorship measures them, scores them, and ranks them based on the most arbitrary indications of their allegiance to the state. Those who score the highest in loyalty may live in the capital city. Those who score the lowest starve. A small infraction by one citizen, such as accidentally staining a picture of the tyrant printed in a discarded newspaper, can wreck the social credit rank of his entire family for many decades. An estimated 100,000 North Koreans suffer in gulags, toiling in forced labor, and enduring torture, starvation, rape, and murder on a constant basis. In one known instance, a nine-year-old boy was imprisoned for 10 years because his grandfather was accused of treason. In another, a student was beaten in school for forgetting a single detail about the life of Kim Jong-un. Soldiers have kidnapped foreigners and forced them to work as language tutors for North Korean spies. In the part of Korea that was a stronghold for Christianity before the war, Christians and other people of faith who are found praying or holding a religious book of any kind are now detained, tortured, and, in many cases, even executed. North Korean women are forced to abort babies that are considered ethnically inferior. And if these babies are born, the newborns are murdered. One woman's baby born to a Chinese father was taken away in a bucket. The guard said it did not deserve to live because it was impure. So why would China feel an obligation to help North Korea? The horror of life in North Korea is so complete that citizens pay bribes to government officials to have themselves exported aboard as slaves. They would rather be slaves than live in North Korea. To attempt to flee is a crime punishable by death. One person who escaped remarked, "When I think about it now, I was not a human being. I was more like an animal. Only after leaving North Korea did I realize what life was supposed to be." And so, on this peninsula, we have watched the results of a tragic experiment in a laboratory of history. It is a tale of one people, but two Koreas. One Korea in which the people took control of their lives and their country and chose a future of freedom and justice, of civilization and incredible achievement, and another Korea in which leaders imprison their people under the banner of tyranny, fascism, and oppression. The results of this experiment are in, and they are totally conclusive. When the Korean War began in 1950, the two Koreas were approximately equal in GDP per capita. But by the 1990s, South Korea's wealth had surpassed North Korea's by more than 10 times. And today, the South's economy is over 40 times larger. So you started the same a short while ago, and now you're 40 times larger. You're doing something right. Considering the misery wrought by the North Korean dictatorship, it is no surprise that it has been forced to take increasingly desperate measures to prevent its people from understanding this brutal contrast. Because the regime fears the truth above all else, it forbids virtually all contact with the outside world. Not just my speech today, but even the most commonplace facts of South Korean life are forbidden knowledge to the North Korean people. Western and South Korean music is banned. Possession of foreign media is a crime punishable by death. Citizens spy on fellow citizens. Their homes are subject to search at any time, and their every action is subject to surveillance. In place of a vibrant society, the people of North Korea are bombarded by state propaganda practically every waking hour of the day. North Korea is a country ruled as a cult. At the center of this military cult is a deranged belief in the leader's destiny to rule as parent-protector over a conquered Korean peninsula and an enslaved Korean people. The more successful South Korea becomes, the more decisively you discredit the dark fantasy at the heart of the Kim regime. In this way, the very existence of a thriving South Korean republic threatens the very survival of the North Korean dictatorship. This city and this assembly are living proof that a free and independent Korea not only can but does stand strong, sovereign, and proud among the nations of the world. (APPLAUSE) Here the strength of the nation does not come from the false glory of a tyrant. It comes from the true and powerful glory of a strong and great people, the people of the Republic of Korea, a Korean people who are free to live, to flourish, to worship, to love, to build, and to grow their own destiny. In this republic, the people have done what no dictator ever could. You took, with the help of the United States, responsibility for yourselves and ownership of your future. You had a dream, a Korean dream, and you built that dream into a great reality. In so doing, you performed the Miracle on the Han that we see all around us, from the stunning skyline of Seoul to the plains and peaks of this beautiful landscape. You have done it freely, you have done it happily, and you have done it in your own very beautiful way. This reality, this wonderful place, your success is the greatest cause of anxiety, alarm, and even panic to the North Korean regime. That is why the Kim regime seeks conflict abroad, to distract from total failure that they suffer at home. Since the so-called armistice, there have been hundreds of North Korean attacks on Americans and South Koreans. These attacks have included the capture and torture of the brave American soldiers of the USS Pueblo, repeated assaults on American helicopters, and the 1969 downing of a U.S. surveillance plane that killed 31 American servicemen. The regime has made numerous lethal incursions in South Korea, attempted to assassinate senior leaders, attacked South Korean ships, and tortured Otto Warmbier, ultimately leading to that fine young man's death. All the while, the regime has pursued nuclear weapons with the deluded hope that it could blackmail its way to the ultimate objective. So -- and that objective we are not going to let it have. We are not going to let it have. All of Korea is under that spell divided in half. South Korea will never allow what's going on in North Korea to continue to happen. The North Korean regime has pursued its nuclear and ballistic missile programs in defiance of every assurance, agreement, and commitment it has made to the United States and its allies. It's broken all of those commitments. After promising to freeze its plutonium program in 1994, it repeated the benefits of the deal and then, and then immediately continued its illicit nuclear activities. In 2005, after years of diplomacy, the dictatorship agreed to ultimately abandon its nuclear programs and return to the treaty on nonproliferation. But it never did. And worse, it tested the very weapons it said it was going to give up. In 2009, the United States gave negotiations yet another chance and offered North Korea the open hand of engagement. The regime responded by sinking a South Korean Navy ship, killing 46 Korean sailors. To this day, it continues to launch missiles over the sovereign territory of Japan and all other neighbors, test nuclear devices, and develop ICBMs to threaten the United States itself. The regime has interpreted America's past restraint as weakness. This would be a fatal miscalculation. This is a very different administration than the United States has had in the past. Today I hope I speak not only for our countries, but for all civilized nations when I say to the North: Do not underestimate us. And do not try us. We will defend our common security, our shared prosperity, and our sacred liberty. We did not choose to draw here on this peninsula... (APPLAUSE) ... this magnificent peninsula the thin line of civilization that runs around the world and down through time. But here it was drawn, and here it remains to this day. It is the line between peace and war, between decency and depravity, between law and tyranny, between hope and total despair. It is a line that has been drawn many times in many places throughout history. To hold that line is a choice free nations have always had to make. We have learned together the high cost of weakness and the high stakes of its defense. America's men and women in uniform have given their lives in the fight against Nazism, imperialism, Communism, and terrorism. America does not seek conflict or confrontation. But we will never run from it. History is filled with discarded regimes that have foolishly tested America's resolve. Anyone who doubts the strength or determination of the United States should look to our past, and you will doubt it no longer. We will not permit America or our allies to be blackmailed or attacked. We will not allow American cities to be threatened with destruction. We will not be intimidated. And we will not let the worst atrocities in history be repeated here on this ground we fought and died so hard to secure. (APPLAUSE) That is why I come here to the heart of a free and flourishing Korea with a message for the peace-loving nations of the world: The time for excuses is over. Now is the time for strength. If you want peace, you must stand strong at all times. The world... (APPLAUSE) The world cannot tolerate the menace of a rogue regime that threatens with nuclear devastation. All responsible nations must join forces to isolate the brutal regime of North Korea, to deny it and any form, any form of it, you cannot support, you cannot supply, you cannot accept. We call on every nation, including China and Russia, to fully implement U.N. Security Council resolutions, downgrade diplomatic relations with the regime, and sever all ties of trade and technology. It is our responsibility and our duty to confront this danger together, because the longer we wait, the greater the danger grows and the fewer the options become. (APPLAUSE) And to those nations that choose to ignore this threat -- or worse still, to enable it -- the weight of this crisis is on your conscience. I also have come here to this peninsula to deliver a message directly to the leader of the North Korean dictatorship. The weapons you are acquiring are not making you safer. They are putting your regime in grave danger. Every step you take down this dark path increases the peril you face. North Korea is not the paradise your grandfather envisioned. It is a hell that no person deserves. Yet despite every crime you have committed against God and man, you are ready to offer -- and we will do that -- we will offer a path to a much better future. It begins with an end to the aggression of your regime, a stop to your development of ballistic missiles, and complete, verifiable, and total denuclearization. (APPLAUSE) A sky-top view of this peninsula shows a nation of dazzling light in the South and a mass of impenetrable darkness in the North. We seek a future of light, prosperity, and peace. But we are only prepared to discuss this brighter path for North Korea if its leaders cease their threats and dismantle their nuclear program. The sinister regime of North Korea is right about only one thing: The Korean people do have a glorious destiny. But they could not be more wrong about what that destiny looks like. The destiny of the Korean people is not to suffer in the bondage of oppression, but to thrive in the glory of freedom. (APPLAUSE) What South Koreans have achieved on this peninsula is more than a victory for your nation. It is a victory for every nation that believes in the human spirit. And it is our hope that someday soon all of your brothers and sisters of the North will be able to enjoy the fullest of life intended by God. Your republic shows us all of what is possible. In just a few decades, with only the hard work, courage, and talents of your people, you turned this war-torn land into a nation blessed with wealth, rich in culture, and deep in spirit. You built a home where all families can flourish and where all children can shine and be happy. This Korea stands strong and tall among the great community of independent, confident, and peace-loving nations. We are nations that respect our citizens, cherish our liberty, treasure our sovereignty, and control our own destiny. We affirm the dignity of every person and embrace the full potential of every soul. And we are always prepared to defend the vital interests of our people against the cruel ambition of tyrants. Together, we dream of a Korea that is free, a peninsula that is safe, and families that are reunited once again. We dream of highways connecting North and South, of cousins embracing cousins, and this nuclear nightmare replaced with the beautiful promise of peace. Until that day comes, we stand strong and alert. Our eyes are fixed to the North and our hearts praying for the day when all Koreans can live in freedom. Thank you. God bless you. God bless the Korean people. Thank you very much. Thank you. (APPLAUSE) [전문] 트럼프 연설 Trump's speech to South Korea's National Assembly ‘모든 한국인들이 자유롭게 살 그날을 위해 기도한다’ All Koreans pray for the day they live free. = #CNN November 8, 2017 http://edition.cnn.com/2017/11/07/politics/south-korea-trump-speech-full/index.html

[mycreativewritingpractice-blog]

Utopian Steampunk City with a Dark Core

I had a pretty empty work day last week, so I asked friends for a creative writing challenge. One friend challenged me to create something with the theme that I’m using as this post title.

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The City of Sturgas

Sturgas is a vaguely oval or egg shaped city from a birds-eye view. The ground is naturally tiered toward the center of the larger end where atop sits the castle.

There are 4 tiers in all even though there is no vertical difference between the 3rd and 4th, but they are separated by a wall none the less, for defensive purposes.

The 1st tier as mentioned is where the castle sits on its own, central to its plateau with a glorious garden surrounding it, a servants quarters at the back and a guard house built into the entrance gate. It is here that the current reining family the Strugas, after which the city is named, reside.

The 2nd tier is the nobles and higher shopping district where the rich live and buy expensive cloths and spices,

The 3rd tier is at ground level and where the common folk go about their day and the manual labour force work away their lives in service of the reigning family.

Finally, the 4th tier is the slums. While not considered a place of poverty, it is home mostly to the sick, disabled and jobless. When there is not a famine or general supply shortage, “the 4th” is granted a charity basket twice a month of basic food and medicine, clean water, old clothes and blankets, whatever the people of other tiers donate.

To the south sit the docks with direct access to the 3rd tier and both stairs and ramps to the elevated 2nd tier.

Outside of the city walls are the vast (for the city’s size) agricultural fields. These areas have no protective wall, but the outer guardhouse makes regular patrols on a route that encompasses all the farmers’ homes, though not the outskirt fields.

Each tier of Sturgas is defensively walled. The 1st and 2nd tiers being circular shaped while the 3rd and 4th to the west are crescent shaped. This seems, to many, like separation of the classes, but the gates are always open during the day and the walls are in fact merely built upon the fortifications from the previously nameless city’s previous “government”.

Sturgas was once a disreputable town where pirates and criminals spent their time either planning, celebrating, or wallowing from their ventures. It started as a hideout built by a now forgotten bandit group, as the group gained success and expanded so too did their base of operations. In time they made deals with other groups to use the newly small settlement to hide and fence their wares. It then became a trading post for thieves of all kinds, and fortifications were erected to protect them if the authorities were able to track them down.

Other residents were people down on their luck and those who were unsuccessful or unaccepted anywhere else. They became downtrodden townsfolk so to speak, joining ventures or serving the thieves just to keep from starving to death.

The Sturgas family was a noble family in search of their stolen goods. They discovered this reasonably fortified settlement and somehow managed to take it for themselves and making it a part of the kingdom the Sturgas family hailed from, not only to disband the groups that had accumulated there, but also to help the innocents who were only trying to survive, charitable as the family was.

How this came about, no one truly remembers. Some say the Sturgas rose an army and fought away the bandits and pirates who were not bonded as allies and fled without thought to each other. Others say the Sturgas infiltrated the city in disguise and assassinated the governing bandit group, taking the city from the inside. The less reputable rumour is that the governing bandits were bought off with gold and pardons.

The true story is lost in time, though the decedents always tell the ones that put the family in the best light.

The royal family is six large. The previous queen, Raven, who is mother to the current duke Renee.

Renee married Eliza, who bore him three children. The eldest child; Robin, who is seventeen and eligible for marriage. The middle child, Rowan, the first son who is twelve and learning the ways of leadership and government. Being groomed for his future as duke. The third child; Gale aged nine, who was a great surprise as it was thought the Duchess was past child bearing age. Since Rowan was born just over five years after his elder sister, it was thought to be great for luck the Duchess to give birth to a son before it was too late. Then three years later, Gale was born much to the joy of the entire family and surprise of the physicians.

It is Sturgas tradition to name daughters after birds, and sons, names that begin with R. Family traditions are strange, and so this one was paid no mind by others.

Sturgas’ main export is timber from the great woodland north of the city. It was this woodland that helped keep the city hidden when it was still a bandit town.

Though in the last decade, a mine was discovered full of metal ore, it has since begun expanding into a full quarry for the apparently limitless supply of metal, coal and stone.

Five years ago, there was an attempt on Duke Renee's life, resulting in him being bedridden, the culprits never caught. Renee named his wife regent until their son had completed his studies to the highest standard should Renee not recover.

The assassination was attempted with magic, and so magic was outlawed in Sturgas. Anyone found who could use magic but had not, or who did use it but not maliciously are exiled from the city. Those who used magic to gain power over others are imprisoned outside of the city pending trial. Those who are believed to only be a stone’s throw from violent acts and those who had used magic for violence either have their hands cut off and/or their tongues removed so they could never cast again, or are publically executed.

With the duke still bedridden for many hours of the day, the feelings toward magic remain strong. Duchess Eliza won’t even allow casters to examine her husband to determine what magic was used for fear they might try to finish the job.

A degree of xenophobia has been fueled as well. Races with natural magic abilities such as Gomes and Samsarans are treated with disdain even if the individual doesn’t practice casting. Any race or person potentially capable of casting magic is blacklisted in the 4th tier and arrested if they approach the gate unless they are already a prisoner and clad in irons under the escort of guardsmen.

Though this attitude is slightly more lax in the 2nd tier, semi-lax in the 3rd tier where people won’t call you out but will avoid you, and nonexistent in the 4th tier as many potential casters end up living there in certain circumstances.

This attitude towards magic had created a void in convenience. Blacksmiths and Inventors worked hard and broke into the emerging Steam, Clockwork and Alchemical technologies. Steam machines and clockwork or alchemically fueled gadgets rule the city. The Steamsmiths, Cogsmiths and Brewsmiths are renowned as great inventors.

Steam powered factory equipment, short distance steam or alchemy powered carriages, wind-up wagons and carts, and small messenger carriers that can only go in straight lines or along a prebuilt track but can also double as children’s toys. Sturgas advanced greatly from the abundance of resources and the fascination with this new technology, which is not seen as a great threat because you can take away a workman’s tools, but you can’t take away a casters ability to cast spells. Not nicely anyway.

City structure

As mentioned before, Sturgas is made up of 4 tiers

1.    Castle

2.    Noble district

3.    Commoner district

4.    Slums

There is also the agricultural circle around the city. But that is outside the city walls.

The main gates in and out are at the north entrance to the 3rd tier, and the west entrance to the 4th tier.

The docks as mentioned are on the south side of the city. They are built on the edge of the 2nd and 3rd tiers to gain access to both. Naturally the docks are unofficially split in half, the west side delivering standard supplies and materials for the common folk and craftsmen, the east side delivering finer foods, cloths, spices and high quality drink.

The only access to the 1st tier is via the 2nd tier, so there is no direct access from any main gates or the docks, making it the most defensible place in the city.

The 2nd tier is home to the nobles and aristocrats. Members of the royal council reside here closest to the gates to the castle. There are up to 3 dozen manors in this Tier, around half of which have servant’s quarters on the grounds or in a basement level of their manor. The other half with smaller properties employ the better educated and better looking individuals from the 3rd tier to work for the often unreasonable hours.

This tier also houses high quality shops, fashionable tailors, decorative bakers, interior decorators and furniture up-holsters.

The city’s barracks is built into the wall and is a part of the gate that separates the 2nd and 3rd tiers making it as central as possible so guards can be deployed to any part of the city. This also has the benefit that folk from both the 2nd and 3rd tiers can be employed there due to it being close to both.

The 3rd tier is the common folk and labour force of the city. Mostly honest citizens, they work hard and squeeze their pennies to save for emergencies, but by no means are they poor. The factory section is to the south near the docks, so that water is easily available if there is a fire, close to the 2nd tier gate are many crafters and sculptors trying to gain the attention of nobles passing by. Most of the food grown by the fields comes here, except for the best quality stuff which goes straight to the castle and 2nd tier as part of their tax and to earn more money by selling to a higher market, but the 3rd tier gets the majority and so it is home to the cities thriving market place. A ring of shops and taverns with inns behind and a fountain in the center, paid for by donations from the 1st and 2nd tiers, temporary tarpaulins fill the space between. Everything the city makes is available here for purchase or viewing to have delivered later, having it all in open view gives the Market Ring a feeling of wonder, but as it’s not close to the edges of the city any thieves won’t have an easy time escaping.

With the open gate policy, the 3rd tier fraternizes with both the 4th and 2nd tiers. Despite the difference in class everyone seems happy to mingle in these open spaces and sometimes strike up a conversation in the taverns.

The 4th tier has no tourist appeal, the people have little to do and so the west guard house employs them as foot soldiers to patrol the edge of the city and look intimidating. The people are also sometimes temporarily employed as helpers by people of the 3rd tier if workers are sick or extra hands are needed for something big. But with plenty of free time, the people of the 4th tier invent the most interesting games to pass the time, which they often share with any friends they make in the higher tiers. Unfortunately, the lack of money and bountiful time also makes the highest chances for slum inhabitants to become thieves.

Each wall has its own guard house. And each guard house has holding cells. But the major prison of the city is in the 3rd tier to the north, not far from the market ring as most pickpockets and shop lifters are apprehended there, and the journey is shorter when there is a prisoner that will have a public flogging, execution, or to be put in the stocks.

The other major prison is the Magic Spire. Ironically named, it is a tower where proven malicious users of magic are sent if they are found guilty of malicious intent, either for the rest of their lives, or until execution. The tower stands six stories tall, the first two of which are guard’s quarters to make sure the only way a caster can escape is by jumping out of a window onto the Pikes below.

Technology

The differences between the three new technologies, and the reasons behind their competitiveness, are that; Steam is reliable and safe but requires large amounts of fuel and large machines to use it effectively. Alchemy is more powerful than Steam and so can be used in smaller technologies, unfortunately it’s also more dangerous if the mixture is off or the machine or container is damaged. Clockwork is both reliable and safe, unfortunately the devices require winding regularly which is inconvenient, and when broken they take time to fix due to multiple small intricate parts.

All three technologies have their own usage niche, but occasionally try to break into each other’s, with little success because people are happy to continue with the tried and tested rather than spend time and money trying something new and different.

Steam is used for factory equipment, conveyor belts, a powered mine-cart, and other large devices.

Alchemy is used in explosives to help mine the quarry, and in purposefully weak Combustion Engines for supply wagons to assist horses and people move heavy loads short distances. Not for transporting people due to the risk of explosions.

Clockwork is used in timepieces, and timepiece connected devices, much like a bird can emerge from a cuckoo clock, a timepiece can be devised to trigger cog and gear controlled devices at a specific time. Clockwork did manage to break its way into transport and rival the Combustion Engine with a safe windup engine. It didn’t take off well and the two remained equal rivals with Alchemy keeping a slight lead because it was better known and had been in use longer, also refueling wasn’t as much of a hassle as regularly winding an engine.

Weapons

Firearms are common place in this world, but kept off the streets. Only official guards above recruit rank are allowed to use a firearm when needed and only squad leaders and higher can carry a firearm while on duty, other squad members must be given permission to open the firearm chest and arm up.

All three of the new technologies have created firearms for use.

Steam has created pressurised canisters connected to a gun via a rubber tube. When the trigger is pulled it opens the valve just long enough to propel the bullet.

Alchemy created a combustible cartridge to replace the powder horn making reloading much faster.

Clockwork created a wind-up trigger, using the built up tension of a powerful spring to propel the bullet at incredible speeds. This doesn’t save time, but it eliminates the need for powder which can be spilled or gotten wet.

Wrap-up

Sturgas is a near utopia. Well defended, an abundance of resources, all citizens are taken care of within reason, and being part of a larger kingdom it can call for aid if it is ever in trouble. The only major problem? What really happens to the arrested casters?

[dragun851]

ARC-V Symbolism via Dueling: The Eight Counterparts

ARC-V Symbolism Via Dueling- Heralds of the End --------------------------------- Ladies, Gentlemen, Dragons and other strange mythical beings who read this most wonderful place called Tumblr. Today I am presenting the first of four post discussing the Symbolism of Yugioh ARC-V, as showcased by its cards, and during its duels. I am certain you all are eager to hear about the wonders of parallelism between Serge and THE BATTLE BEAST. But let us start with the stars of our show? No?

The 4 Dimensional Dragons. The Ace's of the Dragon-Boys and the ferocious Beast under the dominion of the Great Zarc. Throughout the show they are trying to bring the Dragon Boys together, so that their master, Zarc, may walk amongst us mere mortals once more. You could call them Heralds even. Why does this matter? Well in Judeo-Christian Mythology, there are four beings, Horsemen if you will, whom after The Horn Blows, Herald the Coming Apocalypse.

They are Famine, Conquest, Death and War. Each of them has a particular colour motif, which matches our four favorite dragons, as I will now show below:

Famine- the Black Horse. Now you might first think it was Rebellion. But you'd be wrong, it's Starve Venom. Discussed further below, but famine is hunger or starvation (like a certain plant dragon.). What is intriguing about it, Famine is often associated with a Scale or Balance. Starve Venom (and Yuri) are often shown completely UNBALANCED, as if the opposite of this. It's association here matters, Plants require tender care, or a balanced life, lest they wilt and die. And it's ultimately the lack of something, highlighting Yuri's (and Serena even) loneliness, that will be discussed in the following section.

Conquest-the White Horse, also known as Victory. Yugo has called on the Goddess of Victory numerous times (such as his duel versus Serena). As shown via GO White Wing Magician, Clear Wing is seen as female. Furthering the comparison, and more so, this Horsemen often shown with a bow; a feminine weapon. Yugo has grown up in a society that emphasis a conquest or victory above all. Ironically despite this relationship, he had lost to Yuri. But I must pause myself here, lest I spoil all I have to say about Yugo here

Death- An Ashen Horse. This one is Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon, now then why are these two related? Why first off Yuto, motto comes up here. PHANTOM KNIGHTS NEVER DIE. Which like Yuri shows his contrast with his dragon, and his role. Almost as if he is rejecting his assigned role by Destiny. It still makes itself known via Yuto evolution is known as Requiem, a song for the dead. And is only Dragon Boys to have 'died' for the majority of the show, locked away within Yuya.

War- The Red Horse. OddEyes Pendulum Dragon. Like the previous three, there are some ways OddEyes via Yuya represents the reverse of his horse. He is pacifistic, and doesn't like fighting. But he is in the show held as one of their strongest duelists. And when called upon he will fight, represented in OddEyes Xyz Evolutions, Lancer and Saber Dragons. All four far more warlike than his Synchros and 'Pendulum' Dragon Fusions. Like the prior three I must pause myself as I will be discussing all four Dragon Boys in greater detail within their individual sections!

You might have noticed several things about the above, how in many ways the Dragon Boys represent the opposite of their meaning or horse they are associated with. It is important to remember the Apocalypse is not a good thing, and certainly not something to happen on a whim. It's why Gabriel's Horn must be blown, to tell Horsemen to herald it. But more relevantly you might have noticed how I use the Dragons and the Dragon Boys interchangeably, it’s because despite being fragments of Zarc, Dragon Boys are heavily influenced as individuals by their respective Dragons. This is also why save Yuri each of them are so fundamentally different than Zarc.

The Bracelet Girls, like the boys, are representative of something else. The four En cards, which I will discuss in greater detail next week, have symbols for the follower Pi followed a 3 then a 1, concluding with a 4. (The one and four, you have to turn upside down). Or a circle. En in Japan means Circle.

Serena, is .1. 1 Corresponds to Moon, or Diana, she is the planet after Earth. She is headstrong and paired with Apollo (The God of the Sun to Diana Moon). Her use of kittens and animals, pair her ironically most with Yuya in terms of aesthetic deck similarities. That shows up as, Yuya is War, Serena is most engrossed in the above. That stated, deck wise she is most similar to Yuri, given she has a very linear deck. She is the Moon of Kachou Fuugestsu. A reflection of the sun.

Rin is next line at 3. After Moon comes Mars (Next one in orbit vaguely, in Greek Mythos). Mars is associated with unlucky brides. Her deck, of weird and strange looking fairies, most fit with Yugo, who is Conquest. Mars is the God of (aggressive) War, and as such would match Yugo here, God of Conquest. She is also only YuGirl to have not lost a duel under the Doctor control. Rin is the Wind of Kachou Fuugetsu. She is the most nailed in place, despite that, because born as a common.

Ruri comes last at 4. She is Jupiter. The Skyfather, she cared for the refugees as shown in flashback. Additionally she uses birds, which as associated with Zues. She is also part of a sibling pair, with Shun, just like Jupiter (Jupiter was a triplet admittedly). Like Yuto, her deck is strong at OtK’ing and fights in what most see as unconventional (rank 1). She is the Bird of Kachou Fuugetsu. Ruri, is kept caged by her brother and wants to fly free.

Yuzu, is Pie, or the complete circle. She is the most rounded of all the girls, and with the most salient personality (and is the combination of four at the end of the show). Yuzu uses fairies, and flowers, representative of nature spirits of the world. Infact she goes jealous at Mieru whose deck is aesthetically similar, in that regard. In addition in the Kachou Fuugetsu, represent flower or Earth. Yuzu goes and grows into becoming up our own person.

Now with that, time to delve into nitty gritty of each Counterpart Pairing, First up is Fusion...

----------------------- ----------------------- Symbolism Via Dueling: Serena and Yuri, our kitty cat and starving farmer

Yuri, and Serena, are both confronted ultimately by the same issues, and conflict. In that both are alone, without true family and friends, in their lives. The exception being, Yuri has Dennis and Serena has Barret. Both were loyalists to Academia, and were only one non-Leo individual, that was shown to have a relationship with them. In the case of Dennis and Yuri, Dennis was only person (beside Serena), shown not to be afraid of Yuri.

Except, Dennis often wears a mask, he is an entertainer by nature, and is a forward scout for Yuri. These two were shown to have interacted twice, in a somewhat amiable context. The first when Dennis greets Yuri upon arrival in standard, and the second is a flashback to Heartland where Yuri arrives to greet Dennis. Furthermore, where other members of Academia, are almost always shown in pairs or triples (Obelisk Force, Grace Siblings, Battle Beast and Sanders, Juvenile Police), or at least have someone they are closely related to (Diana and Apollo, Edo and Noro), Yuri and Dennis barely interact.

But, this is all obvious, now time to get to the nitty gritty. I proudly declared, Yuri defining trait is his loneliness, but that loneliness also stems from his lack of controls or limits on his life. In his duels vs Alexis and Sora, on a whim he chooses to use the honor student deck. But before you yell SHILLING, what happened in both those two duels, and then in his duel vs Kaito, Edo, and Yugo.

His monsters were stolen. Remember when the old anime trope, our monsters, are our friends, our brothers (or sisters) etc. Then remember whose Yuri, best friend or closest thing to one. Dennis. What is Dennis real deck. Ancient Gear. Before I continue my lovely audience, who is Yuri other best friend, Starve Venom. A card often shown being talked to by Yuri. Now then back to our dear friend Dennis and his Ancient Gears.

What is Ancient Gear Deck real boss, Chaos Giant. That however is not monster that was stolen from Yuri; it was Ancient Gear Reactor Dragon. A Dragon remember Yuri other bestie? Starve Venom. In this moment of need, who came and saved him. It was the original boss of Ancient Gears. A card that is not too dissimilar to Ancient Gear Chaos Giant. The MIGHTY ANCIENT GEAR GOLEM

And remember before that duels, whom carded himself? Effectively abandoning Yuri? Dennis. In the same way, Yugi using Red-Eyes Black Dragon to represent Joey, or Yusei using the Signer Dragons vs Zone. Yuri was using honors deck to get closer to his friend. Then during these duels, his best friend protected him, not once by twice by his foes.

To emphasis again, during those duels, he had to steal them back, Wyvern and Reactor or Venom and Greedy. Dueling Asuka he forcibly grabbed back Reactor Dragon, using Super Polymerization. He would not be denied. Then second game use inspection which could be negated, shown he wasn't as driven or how the duel wasn't very fulfilling to him. Both actions ultimately are the same effect as Jaden using Super Poly in Season 3 of GX. In Yuri used Super Polymerization just as Jaden used it to fuse Yubel and Jaden, bring together themselves once more.

Yuri in his duel vs Alexis, this is more explicit as he fused Ancient Gear Golem, Dennis and Reactor, himself and Venom, to make Ancient Gear Ultimate Golem. In his later duel vs Yugo, and then eventually Edo and Kaito, his best friend, his only friend left, Starve Venom, for the third time, abandoned him. This was his drive that would finally unlocked Greedy Venom, because has been abandoned now by his best friend three times.

Starve was now stolen by Kaito. Just when he was so close to fusing with Yugo, finally achieving his goal. It was snatched from him. Yuri until now was simply starving, he was without true friends, but now he wanted them. To take them for his own. He became Greedy, thus came the creation of Greedy-Venom. This loneliness was his motivation, but was his loneliness and a life of excess, a life without true limits. This ironically is shown by Starve Venom itself, whom functions at best when under the most strenuous conditions for most fusion decks (two monsters on the field). And what was the one duel, Yuri enjoyed? Riddle me this, dragon's mirror on the wall, who is the greatest entertainer of them all? Its not Yuya?!

Of course, not, its Yusho. In his duel vs Yusho, we had two moments happen. First Yusho prevented the usage of Super Polymerization, and second Yusho played with Yuri not fought with Yuri. This is key because, Yusho gave Yuri limits, confines did not let Yuri do whatever he wanted. In this, Yusho gave the duel not meaning, but fulfillment. The contrast here is when Yuri dueled the Yusho Five. The same thing happened, his students limited his options, the Ojama Duelist in particular.

However, in contrast to Yusho, they were trying to fight him, not duel with him. They were seeking vengeance they were essentially attacking Yuri. Yusho was trying to stop him, but also teach him, show him another way. In that way, we also see how Yusho duel philosophy works, its concept of stunning your opponent, limiting their actions. But instead of treating it like denial, its a show, a puzzle for them to solve. Which finally brings us to Serena, our little kitty and her deck.

She is the opposite of Yuri, in many ways, instead of been given a life of excess, she was given a Spartan life. Limited in her world and trapped behind closed bars. Her companion from Academia, was not a young firecracker like Dennis, but a grizzled Veteran. He was not two faced, he was noble soldier, a man of honor. Dennis worked with Obelisk Force, Barret worked alone. Dennis never fought in the war, Barret did.

Dennis tried to lie and deceive the bracelet girls, to come with him. Shown with how fooled Ruri, and led her into a trap, to try and capture her. Furthermore, he hid his true colors from Serena, and Yuzu, as he led Yuri right to them. Barret told Serena straight up his intentions, and his motivations. Even would have let Yuya surrender peacefully, and metaphorically gone on his merry way.

However in how Yuri, using Ancient Gears, represents his bond to Dennis, Serena deck represents her own bond to Barret. She is straightforward, and to the point, her deck is no frills (pun unintended), or tricks. Serena, ultimate desire is she wants to fly free, on her own power. Not be trapped in her tower. She is kept in the dark, just like her monsters, Lunalights. Her exploring the world, and Serena rejecting her xenophobic upbringing upon becoming Lancers, she gains Pendulums.

Her Pendulums are Light. Lunalight Wolf and Tiger. Pendulums represent, in many ways freedom, sense they unlock new summoning methods and styles for those involved. And Lunalight Wolf, in particular, is the only tribute monster in the Lunalight Deck. And furthermore, save Crimson Fox, only lupine monster in the archetype. Wolf is important because wolves are pack animals, they hunt and work together. Just as Lancers are a team. So are Wolves. It also is of the five Lunalight that can be summoned from the extra deck, the only one that isn't a kitty.

And unlike Tiger, cannot be Pendulum summoned in deck. Yet it also provides one of the most important functions. As a Miracle Fusion (in the TCG), it enables the deck to fuse when it otherwise never could. It represents Serena, broadening both her horizons (incorporating tribute), accepting those she once rejected (adding a dog to her deck), and pushing her limits (miracle fusion). The reason is because she found friends, in the Lancers, whom opened up to her. Fusion-duelists as noted by others often refer to herself and Yuri with Sama (honorable, or above them in status). The Lancers treated her as another person. Allowing her to become improve and move on. She is no longer the one-dimensional person, she was under Barret's watchful eye. Serena became rounded, and real.

This pairing as other aspects, that will be explored further on, but the theme here represents the theme of loneliness. How it affects someone and how it came be overcome. I will return to this, when I come to the conclusion of "Egao and its meaning". Now the show must go on, next up is fusi-, I mean Yugo and Rin!

------------------------ ------------------------ Symbolism via Dueling Yugo and Rin - Our Dork and the Mechanic

Time for those Synchro counterparts, what to say about these two? Well of all the counterparts, they are perhaps the most explicitly romantically involved compared to the other pairings. Furthermore, both are clear on their goals in life, and are driven to achieve them, for good or ill. But more on that later good friends.

Now the let us start with Yugo, got to keep a pattern going. Yugo deck is a bunch of toys, physical objects, and are perfect representations of the society Yugo lives in. It is said money cannot buy happiness, well what does money buy? Toys, lots of toys. Furthermore to expand on that analogy, the difference of tops and bottoms comes down to how much stuff one has. Yugo aspires to both become King, and become a top.

Of all the Dragon Boys especially he has nothing clouding his thoughts of purpose or direction. In fact you can even say he has a Clear Mind. While I will discuss more in detail, I have been hinting at it for a while, but Yugo evolution, Crystal Wing, has come about as part of understanding of purpose. Note he summoned it vs Serena, whom prior to the duel, he had confused with Rin.

That is because in that moment he pushed passed cloudy thoughts and confusion, his mind became focused on one purpose, one goal. It became Crystal Clear, defeat the King and save Rin. However, clarity of purpose is not clarity of understanding, I will discuss that little semantic later, in regards to the Paladins. However Clear to Crystal evolution, as be discussed later in Yuya, an evolution of Yugo, to become his own person, apart from Zarc.

Now riddle me this, what do witches use to tell the future? Crystal Balls. The archetype used Rin. In addition, Wind Witches and Speedroids have the most synergy between the respective dimensional counterparts. Where Lunalights and Predaplants have only marginal points of connection (mostly from their Fusions, especially in the actual game), Yuya and Yuzu decks are nigh incompatible, likewise for Yuto and Ruri.

This compatibility represents a bond between these two that none of the other pairings share. However, if the deck actually Synchros it's extremely Xenophobic, jettisoning almost any kind of combination deck you would want. Why? It's been noted again and again, no one else in ARC-V really cares or knows about Yugo and Rin. Compared to their respective counterparts who are famous (Yuya), feared (Yuri), sought (Ruri), joined a friend group or already part of one when the show starts (Yuto, Serena and Yuzu).

Rin is the most notable of this, as no one else save Yugo was actively wishing to save her in particular. However now then another aspect of Rin, herself, her dual style is very mechanical. Almost like Yaiba, despite her deck being magic themed. Then think just for a moment, her Core Monsters ride Brooms. She is often seen a wench in hand, and is timing Yugo in the last ending of ARC-V. Not just that but Yugo's deck save Clear is a bunch of mechanical toys. In just as Yugo is driven with a single purpose to save her, she was so absorbed in building Yugo D-Wheel, fine tuning his deck, she never made friends.

This is shown furthermore in the name of her ace monster from the doctor. Just as Independent Nightingale Represented Ruri inner desire for independence, Rin Fusion like Crystal Wing represented her singular focus, to the exclusion of all others. And both of these duelists, beside Yugo defeat to Rin, only ever lost onscreen to Yuri, one of the strongest duelists in ARC-V.

Showing that in spite of perhaps their individual eccentric natures, going get tough they are one of the toughest nut to crack. And finally, which I discussing in the posts conclusion, they represent another way to achieve Egao. Until coming up next is Mr. Egao himself and a little starling.

---------------------- ---------------------- Symbolism via Dueling: Egaoman and Little Starling

Yuto and Ruri, are the second set counterparts that we learned about, and are perhaps some of the most important characters in the show. These are part of the resistance, never leave man behind, all of them true companions? Well let us dig a bit deeper in Egaomon and Starling.

We are starting off with Dark Rebellion. That ferocious looking Dragon, is everything OddPendulum isn't, stoic, quiet, deliberate and efficient. He flies and has no playful actions to him. There is something else about him, his summoning chant "Treacherous fangs", and "Treacherous Disobey!" Is his monster effect.

This is important, for let us go back to year one of ARC-V. We now know Yuto went to Standard (supposedly) after Shun. It was Yuto not Shun who attacked LDS first. And he thought he found Ruri, but didn't tell Shun. Furthermore, he deliberately avoided an active Academia threat (Sora). This could just be as seen as him not wanting to fight, as he has this air of solemning around him (also Requiem discussed later).

However, for his deck to function it requires for his friends/his Monster allies to be destroyed. It requires him to sacrifice and betray his allies for the greater good (end justifies the means). And then when Yugo defeated him and he died, he gave up Rebellion to Yuya. I.E he turned tail and ran. He didn't want to fight anymore essentially abandoning his friends. What makes this also important if Yuto was truly sad, and wanted to show mercy (vs just giving up) how come his soul was triggered by Obelisk Force and Dennis? Unleashing Zarc from his chains.

A core part of ARC-V, people can change. Yuto whom turned tail and ran, essentially betraying the resistance, had a change of heart and wanted to fight. Furthermore, shown by Requiem he regretted his decision to leave, he wished to seek vengeance. He became Shun, and wishes for his last dance to be Vengeance and those who wronged his home.

He has also changed, Requiem revives Rebellion without requiring its own destruction showing that Yuto no longer is willing to sacrifice his friends. Which finally makes him a real part of the Resistance, and their motto "leave no one behind."

Then came it the second part of this. Our little starling, Ruri, by now you all my readers noticed a reoccurring theme. Each Dimensional Counterpart had a struggle and issue, they both contend with. With the Fusion Pair it was loneliness and a lack of bonds, with Synchro it was their inherent drive and negligence of bonds.

Remember what I said about Yuto and his treasonous actions? Look at Ruri, she has done multiple things. However, she both rejected the parasite within her to let Shun win, (betraying her self inner desire for independence, while asserting it), and then she betrayed Shun. But look on another level, Sayaka offered Ruri a card a symbol of their bond.

Remember she was a rival dual school, they could be friends, but by accepting her card she leaves behind her brother. (Or at least that is how Shun interprets it). However as shown later, Sayaka still hanged out with herself and company. Meaning Shun was not telling Ruri to reject her friendships but reject her style of Dueling.

Her deck is also this, going from Assembly, her friend group then to Independent, herself showing she wants to be her own person. On some level Ruri still feels alone. Ruri deck being mostly little birds showcase she is scared little girl but unwilling to show it, opposite of Sayaka. However ironically that made her the most moldable for the Doctor. When she dueled Yuya, she maintained her actual deck, because she was the most moldable to the Doctor.

And that is shown with Yuto, who upon overlaying with Yuya, they created the OddRebellion and OddRaging. His mind while molding Yuya, was also changing overtime itself. In fact you could say, that Ruri and Yuto suffered from weak bonds, shown via implicit treasonous actions, and a crisis of identity.

Now then coming up next for the SadDragonClown and a lovely opera singer!

--------------------- --------------------- Symbolism via Dueling, the Clown and Opera Singer

Now the last of the pairing, the Tomato and Strawberry, there is much to say and only a little time to say it. The issue has with Yuya, is self confidence, or lack of it. He has repeatedly relapsed throughout the show. On the other hand, we have Yuzu, where she struggled with said confidence issue back in episode 5-13, but she more has the opposite issue. An abundance of self-confidence and determination to a fault.

Perhaps best shown in Synchro where she decided to warn the city about Academia. Yuzu during that moment forgot, to warn the city about Academia in her duel vs Enjiro Chojiro. Why? Yuzu was determined to make Yuya smile again. The other aspect this stands out is their boss monsters. Yuzu original Boss was Mozart, now what does Mozart do?

Special summon a monster from her hand, and we have not seen Yuzu deck have a true recovery mechanic. Meaning she spends four cards to summon Mozart and another Melodious. Once she trains with Sora, and gains fusion monsters, she gets Bloom Diva, whom requires her to attack with a weak monster vs a strong one. Then Bloom Prima has her attack three times with no protection clause.

Her other Fusion Schuberta, in the anime forces her to take a risk and assume Dueling vs Fusion. Infect Yuzu reveals she set a trap card vs Masumi because of this. Which ties into the Yusho duel style being about predicting and understanding opponents. And here we come to our hero, and main character.

YUYA SAKAKI. Now Yuya, suffers from critical low self-esteem and by extension confidence, the opposite of Yuzu. However his deck, and his dad's duel styles is all about taking risks. It's about predicting your opponent actions, it's about making use of the randomized action cards, and furthermore it's about pushing the limit.

OddPendulum represents this dichotomy in two different ways. First it's a Pendulum. You mean it's obvious duh it's a Pendulum. Riddle me this, when a Pendulum dies, where does it go? The Extra Deck. All ready to be summoned back to fight once more. This means Yuya never has to be afraid about overextending. And it requires Yuya to take risk, and attack to gain his effect for double damage, in line with Yusho teaching.

.....except his Time and Stargazer to negate effects that would stop him. Yuya like Zarc, is defined by his fear and more by a lack of identity. This is shown in his evolutions which take on aspects of his various opponent's I'll be elaborating on later. Which will bring me to Yuya, and how he has changed over the series. The first of which, is representative via how he summons his various evolutions until the last three episodes. His deck is divided into two distinctive sections. Performapals and Magicians. The entirety of the Fusion enabling aspect is from Performapal.

Why does this matter? Well over the course of series, look at OddPendulum little facial expressions, the manner OddPendulum and focus on the beak, such as during Michio or Hokuto Duel in contrast Yuri vs Yuya (or even Yuya vs Jack R1). In the first listed duels Odd-Eyes is a very happy and cheerful dragon, clearly enjoying himself. In the second example we focus on the eyes the coolest part of OddPendulum.

Furthermore to better elaborate, OddPendulum as Rune he has the Odd skip like he has in OddPendulum. And in Beast-Eyes, when he races Isao monster has this happy skip to him. However when he and Yuya are forced he somthing they are not (OddRebellion and as Lancer) that childlike OddPendulum slowly goes the way of a dodo. The biggest exception being Brave-Eyes over dramatic summon vs Edo. It should be further noted sense Yuya Fusion Evolutions are most in line with himself note Brave-Eyes negation clause (and in the real game Rune immunity).

This is contrasting of ideals is expand on prior discussion is also in Yuya's deck, the Fusion half was restricted to Performapals while Synchro/Xyz Evolutions enabling came from the Magicians themselves. Represent this contrast between Yuya and his teachings handed him from Yusho. And this comes full circle, Yuya entertains best when he self-confidence, maybe even smug (Yuya v Sawatari, Yuya v Jack R2, Yuya v Edo R2, and Yuya v Reiji R1). When is always going to win and not trying to hide.

Or better say it, when he is being a Yusei, and not pre-development Yugi. However you noticed I excluded the last three episodes. Here is why, Dissolver Magician and Performapal Synchron, enable the Fusion and Synchro plays out of the other archetype. And furthermore what does Yuya fuse them with?

Time and Stargazer. His safety net, he allows himself, to not say no. For his foe to use action cards. Essentially, he is becoming his own person, versus controlling the duel and trying to predict his opponents. He goes Boss Rush, a more Jack than Yusei playstyle. Beatdown and in doing so becomes truly his own person. Thank you, when I discussed OddEvols later I will return to some of the above. Until then!

------------- ------------- ARC-V Symbolism via Dueling: Conclusion, the 8 Counterparts

In summation, having looked at each pairs of counterpart save Zarc and Ray, will be discussed at length later, each pair represents a different core struggle. And furthermore, that struggle are same sides of the same coin, just a different extreme scenario.

Fusion- Loneliness, stemmed from the lack of bonds. It relates to the representation of Yuri as Horseman of Famine because of deprivation or denial

Synchro- Obsession, stemming from a singular goal or dream. In just how they are singularly focused on their goal, just like many Conquerors. To obsess and focus, on their goal is how Synchro pairs relate to their horse of conquest.

Xyz- Cowardice or treasonous, these two have the most death in their lives. And furthermore, their weak bonds result in abandoning their friends and causing increase death. This relates to their Horseman, because Fear of Death

Standard- Confidence, either abundance or lack thereof. Going to war, requires you to take risk. To be willing for the other result to happen. However, you should never go into battle without a plan. This is representation of what it means to go war.

I will admit, those four analogies are stretched a bit, so I ask for forgiveness. In fact I will elaborate on why, so give these the benefit of the doubt for now, thank you, you’re a lovely audience. However, what does matter more is the following, the Dragon Boys in particular, all have something else in common. Perhaps best shown in their Monster effects.

Starve Venom- Almost goes without saying, but it cannot gain attack if this is no foe, and it cannot copy without a foe to copy. And finally, it cannot destroy what is not that their. Furthermore only his opponent's attacks matter and not himself. Yuri, and Venom, are a byproduct of their treatment by Academia.

Clear Wing- It cannot negate a monster, without their being a monster to negate. It cannot be targeted by ANOTHER monster without another monster to be targeting it. It gains of the attack of the destroyed monster, it's also only one that effect in the anime targets friendlies. Clear represents Yugo, and Rin close bond, being able to affect allies for advantage.

Dark Rebellion- It must drain a monster already opposing monster on board. It cannot drain nothing. Its attack does not matter similar to Venom (note a single drain from Rebellion = 2500 damage and Starve if only one monster equals 2800). In that their effects ultimately have no true effects on themselves. In the end, the anime one returns to normal, but it requires an opponent. It's a representation of how Yuto learned from Yusho but did not fully embrace the man's teaching.

OddEyesPendulum- Here this one is interesting. First OddPendulum, it requires an opposing monster to be battle to double damage. No foe, no double damage. However OddEyes Dragon deals damage equal to opposing monster attack. An important difference. OddPendulum also affected by the environment, is the only where increasing its own attack matters in a way the others don't. This is a representation of how Yuya, became individualized through (ironically Pendulum) but still a product of his environment.

The conclusion I provide here, is all the Dragon Boys, while originally fragments of Zarc, are not Zarc anymore. Shown by Zarc, looking like Yuya and not Zarc. In fact, each of the counterpart pairs, their individual struggles and issues do not match up perfectly, save for Fusion and lesser extent Synchro. Because they had a different life, a friend group, and ultimately each other.

They are meant to be the 4 Horseman, but over time, they evolved and became beyond that. Their respective Evols in some ways are callbacks to their original purpose (Requiem is the clearest case), but that is because they are growing up. And part of growing up, is accepting your own identity and becoming your own person.

Next Week Section will be on the Dragon Boy’s Individual Evols, Zarc, Ray and the En Cards!