#i want nina to have been a Uniting Force of the team. i want everything to go to shit w/o her there

[cicada-candy]

I get the sense that Nina is gonna haunt the next season.

[pandp-author]

Opinion time!

I'd go as far as to say that Nina is the cutest girl on the entire game thanks to her adorable ponytail! I've mentioned this before, but she follows the trend of giving petit girls axes/the heaviest weapon across multiple games. I know this type of contrast isn't that uncommon or original, but I think it was worth pointing out how many of these we were getting lately. Warriors/Breakers... were there, I guess. Don't get me wrong, they had a role to fulfill on the team and they did it well, but outside of that they were kind of mediocre, I was not impressed with their defenses. That being said, 'Enrage' was a nice ability to had, and it wasn't hard to reduce Warrior's initiative to make the most out of their boost in power and especially accuracy.

Yahna is actually one of my favorite characters of the game, and I was not at all bothered by her attire (though I'll admit that her promoted outfit blows the other out of the water) I do find the forced comparison between her and Alcina to be quite annoying, as it is done mostly for Alcina's sake, but that doesn't take away from Yahna (for me, anyway) My problem with the Witch class in general was that I realized too late I was stretching her too thin. Not only that, I went out of my way to not recruit generics even though it would've been nice to have different witches on specialized roles. Her Valor skills are indeed nice, and they were the key to the victory against Alcina, but beyond that... I didn't use them much. I need to make a second playthrough.

I don't have much to say about Auch despite the fact that he was necessary on my playthrough as practically my only source of magic attacks, his "mom" stick was getting old quite fast, and I had to wonder if it was amped up on the lolcalization. Another failure of my for not hiring generics.

Selvie and Shamans in general are a must for almost any team, support units by and large are, but shamans especially! Their only real issue is that you have to protect them, as they don't have their own ways to attack, as you said. Truly queen makers, but never queens themselves. Selvie herself is likeable (I really don't have much to say about most units because I only played the game once and there is so many of them, so barring the likes of main characters, from Alain to Clive, I'd say Fran is my favorite character of the game, but we'll get to her)

Altogether, I loved the Knights of the Rose (I wish the Ashen Blue had something similar like that)

Miriam was an excellent support unit. Her class is the best counter to magic before you get the feather shields at the end game, which is a great support with Hoplites. Miriam herself is likeable (and more than a few times I called her Marianne, but to be frank, Marianne would absolutely be a Radiant Knight in UO) Almost everything I said about Nina can be said about Kitra, and like Miriam, Kitra is likeable enough. One problem about keeping the trio together is that I have a hard time trying to describe what I like about them individually, especially with only one playthrough, especially when they go so well together, as units and as characters within the story, so maybe that's not such a bad thing, but I still want to play the game again, of course.

Finally, the Best for last, BEST GIRL FRAN!

Gryphon Knights are amazing on this game. I am not exagerating when I call them the best class of the game, or at the very least a strong candidate for the title. As with any strategy rpg, movement is king, or Queen on this case. Their Valor skill along is amazing in any map. For the mere cost of 1 valor point, you can buff the travelling speed of entire squads for a significant amount of time. It's a good strategy to start the map as fast as you can, made doubly better by the fact that Unicorn Overlord's missions run on real time, capture an enemy post, and summon your other squats from there. And as for their actual combat, these girls are beasts! They DESTROY horses, and they do spread damage rather than single target one! They're supposed to be counter by archers but all you have to do is slap a fighter with them and they're as good as gold, they practically have no weakness (granted, besides archer being specifically designed to counter Gryphons (and thieves) Gryphons don't have much defense to begin with, but this is balanced by their natural high evasion) and this is further amplified when you promote them, where they DODGE AND GAIN ANOTHER ACTION POINT. Balance is not on any of these girls' vocabulary, and I love them for it. This is far cry from Hoplites who have counters from the magical AND physical side like... what's the point?!

As a sidenote, I appreciate VW for making the GK the axe wielding units and the Wyvern Knights the Lance wielding units. I'm certain it was a deliberate choice to differentiate their Gryphon and Wyverns from the ones on Fire Emblem, as Wyverns in FE are more commonly associated with axes instead.

Fran is a sweetheart. I love her, I love her class, I love her dynamic with her fellow Knights of the Rose. Her devotion to her sisters in arms is commendable.

Artbook stuff : more dev notes, this time about Nina, the mages and the knights of the rose!

Nina is introduced before Kitra, but I suppose Kitra was designed first as the "tiny girl with huge hammer" trope or "romanticism", so Nina followed.

I don't have a lot of thoughts about Nina since I always bench her quite fast, but fwiw, it's really nice to see how her ponytail sways with her movements, VW really put a lot of care in their animated sprites, and I can't help but compare with modern IPs who love their shitty 3D and I'm like... yeah.

Sprite work is VW's bread and butter, and it shows!

Yahna... Well, fwiw, in my first run I wasn't fond of her because I was introduced to her during the Alcina map and, well :/

AU where she had body armor - but the art looked meh so she removed some clothes. FWIW, in her progression she always wears more clothes, like she starts with nothing, then wears a dress, and in the artbook's cover her dress looks like stripperific than this one, which is, uh, a progression?

She betrays her ages at times in cutscenes (the stone tablets subquest!) and in rapport convos, which is fun to think about (basically her Hodrick and Joseph's supports) but the Alcina parallels in her Alain rapport convo... ugh.

Utility wise, much like in FE, Warp is busted, and her Gravity spell manages to control the map so..., I've never benched her at all lol.

Auch is a more traditional mage, when Yahna's class is actually more support oriented, in my actual run he stole Reimann's staff and equiped the accessory to counter at melee range, it's not a super sound strategic team, but damn that's fun.

His "wants to please my mother" thing only appeared in his rapport convos, and he was working for Zenoira so... bar the memes, I wonder what is basically his story, where they Cornian mages who jumped wagon with the Zenoiran invaders, or what?

He still makes the Mordon map winnable, so he's nice (and actually the second magic user we get!)

Selvie's actually quite tall in with the character heights revealed, and VW really outdid themselves with her various poses and crouching she does to cast magic (and the Selvie Kick (tm) ). I don't have a lot to say about her character (nerd with a kind heart when she talks about anything else than her research trope) but as the only named shaman unit...

She can't attack at all, but her debuffs are basically making a team survive or kill enemies, or not so yep, much like Yahna, she was never benched lol.

The Knights of the Rose's Team Mom, Miriam!

Acts as the leader of the group (or their caretaker), she indeed has a serious personality, watching over the members of their group and, when she joins, Virginia - even if, serious or not, she's also perfectly willing to participate in Virginia's suicide charge to take revenge for their fallen comrades.

IDK much about some "cuteness" but I'd say she has her own insecurities, complaining to Frau (not Kitra!) that seeing her and Virginia fight, she feels like she'll never be as good as them, or having the pressure to live up to her father's expectations. For a character who doesn't have a lot of lines and is part of a group, Miriam's fine as character, not specially a fave, but fine nontheless.

Fran! (@pandp-author fave!)

Dev notes are centered on her maiden ceremony, where we can see her stand without riding her griffin!

But indeed, mobility is her class's greatest advantage compared to other flying units, and in a game like UO with real-time elements mobility is really key to cheese maps!

Fran is also the only griffin rider in game with, uh, a modified bust size so she doesn't jiggle like the other ones, which is always a bonus point. Character wise, Fran is someone who worries about her comrades (hell in her ending, she gives up a leading position to remain with her friends on the battlefield?) but is also the one who's the proudest to be part of the Knights of the Rose : she's not a squire anymore who needs to be protected, she's a knight who can protect now.

Kitra here!

She got a Supreme forehead to give a "lively impression", but she first and foremost was designed with a hammer to join when Mordon wouldn't be available (if Alain picked the "kill him" choice?). Yeah, Google Trad failed here, there's no convo about "intimacy" with Mordon lol, but more like she's his apprentice and later learns how to repairstuff (to become a stonemason herself?).

She's "carefree" and brash, prone to get into trouble but her "dexterity" is both shown in how she repairs bridges and, in her Sharon rapport, smashes chicken to make them cross a river (without killing them, idk how this works).

Hammer people are really fun units, I prefer Mordon based on design alone, but Kitra's character - both as a member of the Knights of the Rose and outside of her group of friends - is fine enough, much like her fellow knights, with a small emphasis on being a sort of comic relief.

[good-wine-and-cheese]

Star Trek AU Character Bios

As promised! Because I really wanna write stuff about this AU but writing an actual fic would be a horrible idea because there are way too many possibilities for me to accidentally turn it into a multi-fic thing and I cannot do that to myself. So for now bios it is.

Original Crew

Eva Heinemann: Rebellious Captain of the USS Eisler. Her father was a well-respected Commodore who commanded a sizeable fleet, but it was discovered that he was selling information to the enemy and he was removed from his post. Eva hopes to clear the Heinemann name and has done everything in her power to achieve her rank on her own terms. Being awarded captaincy over the USS Eisler was her crowning achievement. She and her crew have gone on plenty of adventures charting new territory in the name of the United Federation of Planets.

Recently, she and her crew came to discover top secret information regarding what appear to be illegal experiments meant to create “super soldiers”, highly reminiscent of a similar project in earth’s early history. Presently the USS Eisler has - in secret - begun digging deeper to determine the validity of this information, with hopes of exposing the truth to the Federation. 

Kenzo Tenma: Originally, Tenma commanded a small science vessel with a crew of researchers, but the ship was attacked by Klingons; as a non-combat craft they were heavily outgunned and easily overcome by the enemy, who targeted life support systems and left them stranded. Eva - the first officer on another assignment at the time - responded to a distress call, but only Tenma was recovered alive. He is burdened with the death of his team, and has vowed to save as many lives as possible in atonement. When Eva’s captaincy was awarded, she sought him specifically to become her chief medical officer.

Heinrich Lunge: The child of a Vulcan and a half-Vulcan/half-Human. Unlike half-Vulcans he does not struggle with his emotions nearly as much, though finds himself driven by illogical fixations that seem to be a result of his emotional repression. Though he was accepted into the Vulcan Science Academy, his interests lay with Starfleet. He became one of the most respected Starfleet officers of his generation and quickly ascended to the rank of first officer. He was assigned to Eva’s ship as a counterbalance to the much more emotionally driven captain, and the two work off one another quite well.

Jan Suk: Unlike most of his fellow crew, the USS Eisler is his first real ship assignment. Noted as a talented young officer, he was quickly promoted from ensign to junior Lieutenant in under a year and assigned to the newly-christened Eisler. He’s a bit nervous on his first mission and feels he has to prove himself. Reportedly, he cried during the Kobayashi Maru test (no-win scenario that all cadets have to do) and no one lets him live it down. 

Rudi Gillen: Originally Gillen was stationed on Vulcan, as a teacher in the Vulcan Science Academy, a rare human exception who was specifically sought by the Vulcan High Council due to his incredible skill and understanding of the complexities of human emotion and the mind. He has taken an extended leave of absence upon learning the fate of Tenma’s research team, and has refocused his efforts on supporting his old friend during difficult times.

Additional Crew

Dieter: A young human orphan who was taken in by a man simply called the “Caretaker”. He encountered Tenma by accident when the crew visited the Caretaker’s outpost, and Dieter managed to escape; it was later discovered that the children under his care were not receiving proper support and they were taken in by the Federation to be looked after. Dieter however only seemed to feel safe with Tenma, so he was allowed to stay on the ship. This was intended to be a temporary arrangement but the boy stubbornly integrated himself into the crew.

 Wolfgang Grimmer: Grimmer was discovered floating in space on what had originally seemed to be an abandoned, archaic spacecraft. When rescued by the crew and woken from cryogenic stasis, it was determined he had no memory of his past nor how he came to be on that shuttle. It was later discovered that he was a remnant from Earth’s Eugenics Wars (1990s...yikes). 

As one of the first Augments, he was an “imperfect” result, however attempts to dispose of him failed and he managed to escape, joining forces with other Augments, though the ensuing war took its toll on him emotionally as he no more wanted to cruelly rule innocent humans than be victim to the experiments conducted. Grimmer attempted to help humans escape in secret, but was eventually found out. He was put into stasis with no waking mechanism and set adrift in space, remaining dormant until his discovery by the USS Eisler. 

Nina Fortner: One of two mysterious children born as a result of a resurgence in the Eugenics projects. Both she and her brother are not human, but Betazoids - a humanoid species nearly identical to humans except that they possess powerful empathic abilities and have completely black irises. As augments they have an even deeper connection that allows them to communicate telepathically between one another. Nina escaped with the assistance of a third party, only to be discovered by Eva and her crew and given a place to stay; as of yet her brother has not been found. 

Supporting Allies

Julius Reichwein: A highly respected expert in the field of psychology and a retired officer currently enjoying a quiet life on Mars, though he maintains contact with former crew and colleagues, as well as his favourite students Tenma and Gillen.

Martin Reest: A bounty hunter and informant with no affiliations, he may be seen supporting the Klingons one day and the Federation the next. He has a soft spot for Eva after she and her crew saved him from a botched mission that nearly cost him his life.

Lotte Frank: A young researcher working with the Vulcan Science Academy who recently discovered the secret Eugenics experiments being conducted. It was with her help that Nina was able to escape. She is currently in hiding with Reichwein.

Villains

Johan Liebert: One of the twins that came about as a result of top-secret Eugenics experiments conducted by an undocumented organization within Starfleet. It was by his design that information was leaked, and the director was killed, throwing the organization into a power struggle; he and his sister both escaped through differing means, with Johan securing a small single-occupant shuttle to escape. Now free to act on his own, he has done extensive research into the Eugenics Wars of Earth’s past, and determined that many of the early Augments may still be scattered through space. He seeks to awaken them and use their capabilities to erase everyone involved in those projects and allow the Augments to have their revenge.

Roberto: Another remnant of the old Eugenics Wars, and one of the notable warlords that successfully took control of several countries during the 1990s. He was the one who took Grimmer in after his escape, and taught him to harness his capabilities as an Augment. Shortly after Grimmer’s betrayal was discovered, the Augments suffered a crippling loss, causing Roberto and a number of others to flee, leaving the earth before they could be caught and silenced. Now awakened in the new era of space travel, he hopes to support Johan in his endeavours and perhaps have a second chance at conquest. 

[aokane-eldarya]

Hello :-) hope you're doing well . Just wanted to know what do you think about eldarya and mclul writing .

Hi anon :D

Thanks for you concern, I’m doing well enough (although my cat woke me at 4:30 am and did not let me go back to sleep and she pee on the dirty laundry…)

Sorry to answer you only now, I needed the time to think (and finish my opinion about Leiftan spin off). It might be a bit long lol

So, generally, for both games, I would say that, considering the conditions in which the episodes are made, the writers are doing well ; it could clearly be worse.

Chino has three games to manage and it’s just amazing that she manages to deal with so many stories at the same time and in record time. When you work in a professional way, it can become exhausting quickly, you have to think about everything, keep in mind each of your stories, the characters and background of each of your characters…

Not to mention the technical aspect and management of each team and each person who work on your projects.

My main problem with MCLU and Eldarya comes from the means that are given to the teams.

I really feel they do not have enough time to go deeper, to do more research. Normally, when you write, it is best to let your text rest, not to touch it for a while. (personally, when it comes to my novels, I do not touch for a month after finishing the first draft) 

Then you read it again with a new look, you correct, you rewrite. Then you confide it to several beta readers (I usually give them one month delay for a novel) and then you read it again, you help yourself with the advice of beta readers to eventually correct the content, then the form and the style.

For an otome, you must also think of all the graphic aspect, the appearance of the illustrations.

The creation here seems to depend on a calendar and the availability of the translators, whereas it should be the opposite. I’m not saying that they have to take all the time they want, but that the time should be calculated more accurately.

For MCLU :

- My first problem is the presence of Hyun and Rayan. Now, I understand better for Hyun who seems to me to be a bit extreme in his feelings and who is hasty in my opinion (it reminds me of one of my ex who thought I was the woman of his life when we were a couple for only a few days ), so, it’s ok. For Rayan, I really love him, I think he’s really interesting, he’s definitively my crush, but I don’t understand why some passages have been put in place even when you have a low LoM. You can not use the argument that it’s her soulmate, like Leiftan. And it’s quite paradoxical, because for certain passages, our choices are perfectly taken into account and we are not confronted with certain scenes.

- I also have a problem with Priya, who does not have the same place, it seems to me, as the other crushes. We still have trouble knowing where we go with her. We have learned some interesting things about her past, we also know that she will rather enjoy the life. Maybe with Priya it will be to convince her, to reassure her about being in a serious relationship. It’s difficult to know at the moment and the fact that she has that perfect and Mary-Sue side is not helping her for the moment.

- I really love how Nath is writing for the moment. I know from experience that when you love a character, it will be easier to write it and to write it well. That does not mean that we can not write well a character we love less, it only means that it will take a little more time and energy. Chino said Nath is her favorite and it shows in my opinion. She has a predilection for tortured characters.

- Castiel is also a character that I appreciate. During those four years, he really became a more mature adult, he kept what made his charm when he was younger, while working on his flaws. I’m still waiting a little, but for the moment, it seems to me to be well written.

- There are other characters I like the way they are written at each of their appearances, like Kim or Amber, even Yeleen and I love Chani with all my heart

- Even though I do not like her, Melody seems to have more to show than in HSL, so I’m a little intrigued.

- I do not really have an opinion about Alexy, Rosa, Morgan, Nina … I still can not understand how they are written, especially Rosa and Alexy. Unlike Castiel and Nath, I can not see how they have evolved and become who they are today. So wait and see.

- I do not really like Clemence’s writing, too caricatural for me for the moment.

- About Candy… I have mixed feelings. Sometimes I love how she thinks and reacts, sometimes I just wonder where she put her brain. I love that we can have so much access to her thoughts. I know that some people do not like it because of the AP system or because some of her thoughts could be embarrassing to players who want a more malleable character. I have to admit I’d like her to have more questions, but maybe because I’m a very introverted person myself and I’m constantly thinking, having a lot of questions in my mind.

- Regarding the plot, there may be some clichés, but I do not think that’s a problem. Clichés are good too ! I am not asking an author to give me something that is necessarily original and never seen. I first want my emotions to be jostled. Sometimes laugh, sometimes dream, sometimes cry.

- There are scripting facilities especially concerning Candy’s studies. This point is delicate, especially because it is an otome. There are people who want more, others who want less … It’s complicated. That said, I think that some things could be avoided, even when we do not want to develop too much.

That’s all that comes to me about writing MCLU right now, actually.

For Eldarya :

- I really, really love Eldarya, but my main problem is the lore. I want more. I want so much more. I really feel that this is the most damaging to the game and gives the impression to some players that the game has problems of inconsistency and misunderstanding. But again, it’s really difficult, because there are a lot of players who do not care, who do not want more lore, more explanations and just want the plot to advance, again and still, who do not want to take the time to observe the world in which Erika evolves. And the most incredible is that these same players are able to blame problems of inconsistency ! And, of course, there is this word limit problem. This is really a problem for me, because it forces writers to get to the point, to give the maximum, but with the minimum.

- The way our character is written is really correct for me, but I would just like her to have a lot more questions about the world around her. Simply because it makes sense to do it in an unknown world !

It’s a personal taste, but I love her sexual freedom, the fact that her relationship starts this way. Because it’s really, really pleasant to be able to play, in an otome, a character who has the same sexuality as you. In most of the otome games I’ve played, the character does not have that freedom, she’s either uncomfortable or completely ignorant. I can deal with this, because some people work that way in real life, but when it happens again and again, it becomes very frustrating.

But, I still have a problem with the way in which the relationship is presented.

For Leiftan, it’s completely perfect. It’s from the beginning that they get closer slowly, Leiftan is really adorable, he never rush her when he loves her from the beginning. And the beginning, it means several months, almost half a year ! And considering this, considering the link that unites them, I just find that their relationship is fantastic. This is the only one of the relationships where Leiftan really tells her “I love you” and not in a roundabout way and retracting, like Nevra for example. And we really have the choice to say “I love you” too and it’s so fucking amazing because it’s so natural! I love them, I love their relationship !

 And then there are the chiefs of the guard. The problem is that the beginning of the relationship was not as idyllic with them and that there were problems, they did not really respect her when she arrived and for a moment, and they have even betrayed one of the worst ways possible. They stole his earthly life!

So, the relationship with them sounds a little … weird.

Valkyon is pretty much ok, because for the moment, the beginning of their relationship was mostly focused on the physical aspect, not yet sentimental. So … ok.

For Nevra and Ezarel, it’s clearly more weird in my opinion. It’s rushed. They are there, animated by the passion of love and you do not understand just why, how it happened so quickly. Not even three months ago, they forced her to drink a potion to erase her from her family’s memory, and now it’s almost as if Nevra is going to ask her to marry him, to take his example.

The reason is simple, it is to try to put the three guys at about the same level as Leiftan (even if Leiftan remains favored). But it still weird.

- I am totally in love with the way Leiftan is written. I. Love. Him.

- There are other characters I like the way they are written, like Chrome, Ewelein, Camera, Keroshane…

- About Ezarel, Valkyon et Nevra… I don’t really know. I always had a little trouble with their personality. They bother me a little, but I hope their arcs will make them more interesting.

- I’m really, really intrigued by Lance.

- Miiko was written a little awkwardly for me, the aspects of her personality were not presented in a balanced way

- I do not really have an opinion about writing other characters.

- And finally, about the plot, I really love it, i’m really interesting, passionate about this, I can spend hours thinking about theories, thinking about all the details, doing research… I want a library with a list of info unlocked for each episode.

[cutsliceddiced]

New top story from Time: The Second Democratic Debates Could Be All About Trump’s Racist Tweets

In a normal world, the Democratic presidential candidates would spend their second round of debates this week talking about the big news. A mass shooting in California. An alarming spike in temperatures across Europe. The prospect of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates for the first time since the financial crisis.

But this isn’t a normal world; this is Donald Trump’s world. And in this world, the President of the United States spent his weekend writing racist tweets about Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings — who as chairman of the House Oversight Committee has been investigating Trump — and his majority-black Baltimore district, just weeks after he unleashed a series of racist tweets attacking female lawmakers of color.

As much as Democrats may have wanted to talk up their plans for healthcare or education or climate change in the second round of Democratic debates Tuesday and Wednesday in Detroit, Trump’s tweets have reset the narrative. Which leaves the candidates with a difficult choice: Should they spend their precious moments of airtime condemning Trump’s racism, or outlining their policies to try to address racial inequality? Should they make a moral case against Trump, or a case for themselves?

“Every time he has a temper tantrum like this, he gets all of the attention, he sucks all the air out, and then we don’t have time to talk about the real problems,” says Nina Turner, a national co-chair on Senator Bernie Sanders’ campaign. “I’m sure that all of the Democratic candidates…would like to talk about more issues than just the fact that we have a pure unadulterated bigot, [a] racist in the White House.”

Most major Democratic candidates have sought to avoid making Trump the focus of their campaigns thus far. There’s a good reason for that. In 2016, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton spent a lot of time arguing that Trump’s racism was disqualifying, and famously called some of his supporters “deplorables.” Clinton lost, and the lesson many Democrats took away from that race was to run on how the party would help voters, not on why Trump is unfit for office. In 2018, Democrats won the House of Representatives largely by focusing on health care and other kitchen-table issues.

The 2020 contenders have tried to follow the same blueprint. But this is a desperation point for many of them. This week’s debates will be the last before the polling and fundraising thresholds to qualify for future debates get steeper, making this a do-or-die moment for candidates on the cusp. The time to find a winning strategy is running out, and going after Trump could drive fundraising and buzz.

Already many candidates have condemned Trump in the aftermath of the tweets. Senator Elizabeth Warren called Trump’s tweets “ugly and racist;” Senator Kamala Harris called his attack “disgraceful;” Sanders called Trump a “racist president;” and former Vice President Joe Biden called the rant “despicable.”

Still, many Democrats warn that arguing with Trump about race is playing on the incumbent’s turf. The core of his campaign strategy, from his rallies to his ad buys, is oriented around provoking outrage. Even Trump’s digital strategy is rooted on outrage clicks: the campaign uses algorithms to place digital ad buys whenever Trump causes an online scandal, then the ads urge supporters to text the campaign or buy bumper stickers, which then helps them harvest more voter contact data.

“I want them to talk about racism every day,” Trump’s former strategist Steve Bannon once said. “If the left is focused on race and identity, and we go with economic nationalism, we can crush the Democrats.”

Which may explain why Trump seems increasingly intent on swirling up anger in his base. The attack on Cummings comes after a series of broadsides against Democratic freshman lawmakers of color. Just weeks ago, he also targeted freshmen Representatives Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, and Rashida Tlaib, prompting his supporters to chant “send her back” when he mentioned Omar at a rally. (Omar is an American citizen.)

The Democrats gathered in Detroit will be debating against this backdrop. And given the way the contest has unfolded, there seems little question that they’ll be focused on Trump’s tweets. Many of the candidates have made racial justice a significant policy priority in their own campaigns. Warren has plans to reduce black maternal mortality, close the racial wealth gap and give $50 billion to historically black colleges and universities. Harris has a $100 billion plan to help black homeowners buy houses in historically red-lined communities. Sanders has plans to address voting rights, criminal justice and income inequality in black communities. South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg announced the Douglass Plan, which addresses everything from housing to health care in an attempt to reduce the systematic disparities facing black Americans.

Even as they condemn Trump’s tweets, Democrats are working hard to walk the walk in addressing racial inequality in their own party. A top staffer at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which serves as House Democrats’ campaign branch, resigned Monday over backlash that she had not hired more diverse staffers. Candidates have also been forced to recognize their inherent white privilege. Former Representative Beto O’Rourke recently wrote about his discovery that he and his wife descended from slave owners, and how those advantages trickled down to him through the generations.

Tensions between the candidates over racial issues are increasingly defining the primary. Biden, the contest’s front-runner, has been on the receiving end of attacks from Harris and New Jersey Senator Cory Booker for his record on race. During the first set of debates in June, Harris and Biden clashed over his former opposition to federally mandated school busing, and Booker has repeatedly called Biden out for his language around race. (Biden has retained strong support among black voters.) The three of them will share the stage on the second night of debates, and Biden’s team has already put out preemptive attacks on Harris and Booker.

Any Democratic nominee will have to figure out a way to condemn Trump’s racist attitudes without letting him dominate the narrative. This week’s debate will be their first big test.

via https://cutslicedanddiced.wordpress.com/2018/01/24/how-to-prevent-food-from-going-to-waste