#international army

[kamaribvb]

Guys I just found out something really cool!

For like a couple hundred USD or so, you can purchase earbuds that will translate between many languages on the go! No more waiting for subtitles to be made for Weverse lives. Dunno how accurate they are, but I have taken Spanish classes before and from that I’ve learned google translate is generally accurate enough to get the general gist across

[ominouspuff]

if you fall I will catch you | I’ll be waiting

time after time

Sketch Week! (i couldn’t resist cleaning this one up a bit tho)

[workersolidarity]

🇮🇱⚔️🇵🇸 🚨

ISRAELI SOLDIER SPEAKS OUT AGAINST OVERWHELMING FORCE USED AGAINST PALESTINIANS

📹 "It took me a while towards the end of my service to understand that I don't really see Palestinians as equal to me, and the death toll, and the bodies, and the destruction is just something that I feel I cannot be silent about anymore."

An Israeli soldier speaks out against the treatment of Palestinians by the Israeli occupation and its "most moral army in the world," describing the occupation of Palestine as having "corrupted the humanity of Israel's military."

#source

@WorkerSolidarityNews

[jloisse]

[mamawasatesttube]

i really want a story in which tim and lois get up to snoopery, sneakery, spying, and shenanigans together. i don't have a plot for this yet but i want it so bad. lois would be such an enabler to tim and i want to see it!!!! they're both nosy little bastards with an inability to stay in their own lanes (ha) or to sit idly by when they perceive they can do something about a problem!! i need them to get up to something together...

[spinaholi]

i wish i was as big as a fan of anything as arthur augefort is about his students

[anastasiamaru]

A Pole, a Chechen and a Ukrainian fighting against the russian agression

[gamer2002]

Imagine the headlines if Trump had left an equipped military base to Russians.

[triangle-strategy-notes]

Decimal Concept Art

Decimal's concept art (a whole 4 pages)! Translation notes and image ids under the cut.

Translation notes:

The Japanese word for "doll" that's used for Decimal could also be translated as "puppet" (which is the same word that was often used to describe the Hierophant). I went with doll because Decimal's a little less puppet-looking, but "puppet" or even "automaton" would probably have also worked.

The name "Gwilym" was a little bit of a guess. "Appling" is one I'm more sure about because I found someone who had online translated the name from Japanese to English, but I couldn't find any direct translation for ゴアメル (Goameru/Goamelu), so I just looked for a similar name that belonged to a dragon. If someone who's played the Bravely series has more accurate info, feel free to leave a comment and let me know.

"This is what we privately call 'playing fast and loose with the design framework'" was a weird one. The first part was something along the lines of "So-called" or "this is called", and the second part was "secret" or "hidden" or "concealed", the third part was "amusement" or "play" or "game", and the fourth part was like "frame(work)" or "zone" or "slot" (generally referring to an area within a set of boundaries). There were a lot of different ways to interpret this, like maybe he was referring to Decimal itself as a "secret playerbox/toybox" or possibly referring to the creative process for Decimal as "a place to secretly play around with the rules". In the end I just tried to put in something that made sense contextually to me.

"Metal bands" was literally something more like "metal chocks" or "metal wedges". I changed it to "bands" for clarity.

The text didn't initially have the explanation for the different types of clay figurines, I added those in for context. The initial translation looked like "I like clay figurines, clay figurines, and golems," so I felt like being more specific was necessary.

The word I translated as "analytical/analyzing" is literally 見極め, which means ascertainment, or as a verb, "to ascertain; to make sure of; to determine; to probe; to get to the bottom (of something)". I went with "analyzing" because "ascertaining" sounded a little awkward, though it admittedly loses out on some of the original meaning.

"Haywire" from "Haywire Mode" is a word that primarily seems to mean something along the lines of "reckless" or "rampage", but it also had another meaning of "runaway" as in a "runaway rocket" (i.e. an engineering project that becomes out of control). I went with "haywire" which leans more toward the second meaning, but (I hope) still retains the "reckless" vibes.

"Gotta love cost-effective manufacturing" was literally something more like "Love keeping costs low".

"Wind-up toy" was literally "self-propelled toy".

"External calculator bag" could have also been translated as "external computer bag".

Image ids:

[id: Four pages of concept art from the Triangle Strategy artbook centered around Decimal. The first page has a colored and uncolored version of its canon portrait, as well as a designer's note that reads, "The barrel robot Decimal is a character that we were aiming to make into a mascot, like 'Appling' from Bravely Second or 'Gwilym the Dragon' from Bravely Default II. I hope it becomes a character that everyone will love! (Ikushima Naoki)" and another that reads, "This is what we privately call 'playing fast and loose with the design framework'. Although it was difficult for Mr. Ikushima, he tackled it with great enthusiasm. (Asano Tomoya)".

On the second page there's another uncolored portrait of Decimal with different parts labeled, notably that the clockwork key on top of its head is made of aged brass (with the caption "Does the barrel turn it on its own!?"), the majority of its body is made of wood, and the metal joints and accents are made of "black-ish metal". There's a note that specifically asks the game artists to make sure the black metal bands around the barrel have high-contrast white highlights. Another small drawing shows a tankard merch design based off of Decimal. Some close ups of its hands show that the majority of them are wood, but the fingertips are metal. The bottom of Decimal's barrel is shown, and it's shown that its feet retract into its body during "standby mode", and the soles become part of the bottom of the barrel. Another diagram shows that the back of Decimal's hands cover the hole left behind by the shoulders when the arms are retracted. An illustrator's note at the bottom reads, "Now that I think about it, ever since I was a child I've liked dogū (clay figurines from the late Jōmon period), haniwa (hollow unglazed terracotta figures from the Kofun period), and golems, all of which have a simple, vacant 'huh, I wonder what they're thinking' kind of look. That might have unconsciously been reflected in my work…… it feels that way, at least. (Naoki Ikushima)".

On the third page, there are different iterations on Decimal's design, titled, "Analytical Doll (with Haywire Mode) Rough Draft". Some bullet points read, "Doll" and "Explore appropriate shapes that convey the ability to analyze". There's a collection of robots with large lens "eyes" that are labeled "Analyzing". The next collection of sketches are labeled "Adding charm while pondering the meaning of existence" and "Toy Knight". The sketches show a small nutcracker-esque doll with a wind-up key on the top. There are captions that read, "Originally a wind-up toy" and "Knight Automaton (Mechanical Puppet)". In one of the sketches the knight toy has a spyglass, labeled, "Analyzing Mode", and in another sketch it has a sword, labeled "Haywire Mode." The next collection of sketches feature a robot that resembles a maid, labeled, "Considering the role it plays and why it was made as a self-propelled system" and "Mechanical Serving Doll (Maid Robot)". Like the knight toy, it has a drawing where it's using a pair of binoculars, labeled, "Analyzing Mode", and another where it has red eyes and claws, labeled, "Haywire Mode." Next to the haywire drawing is the note, "As a waiter or maid, the ability to analyze was necessary to support and serve the master. The "haywire" function was an intensification of some of the functions for emergencies." The bottom portion of the page has many different sketches of vaguely computer-looking devices, labeled, "Collection of rough sketches for an arithmetic doll". At the bottom there are two illustrator's notes. One reads, "Initially I was given the theme of 'a doll that can analyze', and from that point on I was excited and started drawing. I also liked the 'Toy Knight' type on the top left of the page! (Naoki Ikushima)". The second reads, "This was us trying to find out how far we can deviate from the norm. (Tomoya Asano)".

On the fourth page, there are drawings that are more finalized rough drafts of Decimal's design. It's titled, "Analytical Arithmetic Doll - Design Proposal". At the top there's a note that reads, "A barrel-shaped doll that would fit in with a traveling merchant's wares". There are several drawings grouped together labeled "Basic Form", including a drawing of Decimal with a typewriter that folds out of its body which is labeled, "Keys on body for arithmetic". There are many sound effects to the effect of "click clack" around it. Another drawing of Decimal using a spyglass that folds out of its head is labeled "Analyzing" and has a slide whistle and "PLONK" sound effect, as well as a note that reads, "Uses scanner on head for analyzing". A drawing of Decimal with an arrow pointed to its foot reads, "The bottom of the barrel is a foot" (as opposed to a wheel which is used further down on the page). A cartoony drawing of Decimal going going berserk with flaming eyes and its body extended is labeled, "Haywire." Next to it is a drawing of Decimal with its arms and legs retracted, labeled "Standby Mode". There is also a short man who's placing a hat on Decimal's head, labeled "With the old man..." and "Receiving a hat". A section titled "Basic Ability Proposal" shows another earlier prototype Decimal with a pair of telescopic goggles than can be pulled down over its eyes, as well as a drawing of Decimal performing with a guitar in front of a crowd, with a peddler behind it laughing and saying "Bring customers to the market!" Another section titled "Barrel Idea Brainstorming" has a version of Decimal called "Crowd-Puller Costume Version" where it has a wheel instead of feet, the key is placed on the back, and in some drawings it has a calculator bag, a waistcoat, and a hat. There is a closeup of the wheel that shows that the wheel housing is a horseshoe. Another small drawing shows that Decimal's different segments should slide in the direction of whatever way it's headed. The last section shows a "Low-cost version" of Decimal which looks similar to its canon form. There are notes that read, "Gotta love cost-effective manufacturing!"; "Since the parts are separate, you can move them just by sliding"; "If you're going to rotate a turning key, it's more cost-effective to put it on top."; and "Equipped with built-in electronics". At the bottom are two more illustrator's notes. The first reads, "And here you can see, the barrel-shaped robot was the one where I went "yes, this is it!" In terms of the setting, it was a prototype of a movable doll, so it was supposed to represent the stage of experimentation when it finally moved after repeated tests using the various materials that were available. The appearance based on barrels, which are easily available in medieval cities, was an attempt to express "developing technology" that was not yet complete, but was charming. (Ikushima Naoki)" and "You know, I think it's appropriate that design and function be considered two of a set. (Asano Tomoya)" /end id]

[pompadourks]

The fandom needs to stop infantilizing Kieran or I’m gonna start taking names

[beautifulpersonpeach]

BTW BPP, what did you think of those HYBE internal documents AKA the HYBE Burn Book? I get market research but some of what was in there seemed to go way beyond that. They talked about idols in such a dehumanizing way and some of the included info didn't even seem particularly relevant.

I could never figure out entirely what I thought of it because you had 95% of ARMYs wanting to brush it off as simple market research and then on the opposite end kpop stans who wanted to use it to paint HYBE as the worst, most evil, immoral company to ever exist that sabotaged every other artist, caused the downfall of xyz group and used fraud tactics for all of their own artists whose achievements were now invalid.

Allegedly it was the weverse magazine former editor-in-chief who was compiling and putting all of this together too? Which makes me think back on a lot of the criticism for that magazine that has already been discussed. I'm not exactly sure how involved that person was with some of those articles though.

On another note, I was pretty uncomfortable seeing them mention PJMs causing ARMYs to resent Jimin. It was something I watched happen in real time but it was something else to see the company directly take note of it. I'm curious how exactly they were planning on dealing with that too... The parts on Jungkook were also really weird, but I think they were parroting what antis said about him and disagreeing with it, but the whole thing got really tangled up with all the various interpretations and translations and I just gave up on following it.

I just hope the BTS members are watching all this dirt on HYBE being leaked and taking it into consideration when deciding on who they trust and how they want to operate going forward. But I’m sure they already know all that way better than I do. While I'm on that, I hope that at least Namjoon read that whole New Yorker article where BangPD called himself the king of kpop 🙄 it felt pretty disrespectful to BTS in parts ngl, but I know they know BangPD way better than I do so I'm not trying to jump too hard onto the solo/manti hate train for him even if I'm definitely not a fan of him or the people he keeps around at all (I'm still not a fan of MHJ either but I can really sympathize when I think about the kind of men who seem to run so much of HYBE and how they seem to really be holding that company back).

Anyways sorry about the rambling, I was just curious if you had any thoughts or random takeaways from those internal documents.

***

(I ramble.)

Min Heejin had talked about those internal documents since her first whistleblower complaint against HYBE in March 2024. It was one of several issues she found problematic about HYBE's senior management that made her want even more independence from Bang Sihyuk's influence within the company, and like I've said before, I came to be sympathetic towards MHJ after reading her initial whistleblower report.

The existence of those documents have been public since April 2024 and known to anybody actually listening to Min Heejin and/or who understands Korean. The fact it was only after the National Assembly mentioned those reports and excerpts were released, that most other k-pop fandoms became aware of it, shows just how poorly international fans are following this dispute and also how tightly HYBE stans mostly control the narrative around NewJeans and MHJ in international fandom spaces.

You're right that the reactions to those reports both for and against HYBE were predictably extreme, but the fact is those documents are, plainly speaking, bad news. There's market research and then there's whatever the fuck those reports are - because while all k-pop agencies seem to monitor fan chatter around their groups, the HYBE reports show the extent to which HYBE in particular runs more like a well-capitalized psych-op machine, regularly making infinitesimal tweaks to reverse-engineer heightened emotional responses in the fandoms they have access to.

It was Kang Myeong-seok (Weverse's former EIC) who was the fall-guy after the backlash, but the reality is those documents reflect Bang Sihyuk's personal approach to fandom/group management more than anything else. This shouldn't be news because if you've been paying attention, you'd notice he's always put a priority on tapping fandom sentiment with impressive proficiency, since long before HYBE existed. For example, Bang Sihyuk has explicitly stated that since BTS was formed, BigHit will never debut a girl group because he wants to create a moat of perceived exclusivity (read 'assurance') for BTS's predominantly female fandom. If there's anything that tells you how cynically (or some would say pragmatically) he views the fandom, this is it.

That k-pop fans often see their idols as romantic placeholders is well known, but no other k-pop CEO has gone as far as Bang Sihyuk has in reinforcing that perception using the very structure of his company. He literally acquired another agency (Source Music) to develop his girl-groups rather than encroach on ARMY's personal fan space. I suspect the only reason BTS doesn't take their fan service further than they already do, is because of the limits the members personally set. Left to Bang Sihyuk, I highly doubt there is any limit too far, any detail too personal, to marshal towards creating ever more dedicated fandoms and ever more appealing products (aka idols). This is an opinion I've had about Bang Sihyuk for years.

This brings me to your point about the agency of BTS members in this mess. None of the guys are babies - I believe they are aware of those weekly internal reports and choose what to care about, and are also aware that HYBE's solvency, in very literal terms, depends on the members being content with the company. Despite the nonsense in those reports, BTS has a special status in the company, and I'd be disappointed if by now they didn't understand who Bang Sihyuk is, as well as their own positions in this power dynamic. Those reports are much more problematic for groups with smaller influence in the company, such as NewJeans.

At the end of the day, BTS are getting enough of what they want from HYBE and appear to maintain their trust in and allegiance to each other more than they do to anybody from HYBE, including Bang Sihyuk. And that's enough to tell me those reports have no real impact on the members.

For most of the fandom though, it's a different story.

[workersolidarity]

🇮🇱 🚨

ISRAELI RESERVISTS REFUSE TO FIGHT IN REPORTED "BURNOUT"

The Israeli Channel 12 media outlet is reporting the refusal of a reserve company of 30 soldiers to continue fighting in the Gaza Strip due to reported "burnout".

According to Channel 12, the soldiers belonging to a reserve company of some 30 soldiers, attached to the regular paratrooper brigades, received orders this morning to prepare for further deployment in ground operations in Gaza's southern city of Rafah.

Following receiving their orders, the company of soldiers informed their commanders they would not be participating in the actions because they were "no longer capable."

The commander of the brigade responded by saying he would not force the reservists to appear and that no operational gap will be caused by their refusal to participate, however, the commander agreed that issue reflects a high attrition rate among reserve forces after several months of fighting.

The company's commander added that he was "not doing this because I like guns. Not because I'm looking for peace from my wife. Not because I find personal satisfaction [in Gaza]. I'm doing it because I have to, because my brothers and sisters are kidnapped And that we are in the second state of the State of Israel and it will continue to be painful and difficult."

#source

@WorkerSolidarityNews

[selkies-world]

USA, you've prided yourself on being the land of the free. The land where dreams come true. The most powerful country in the world. The first first-world country to free yourself from the British Empire. The allies. The freedom fighters. The nation proud of its achievements and its successes. You've always said you're thr country where everything happens - you're Hollywood, you're dreams, you're white picket fences and 'normal' on a microwave. You're the country where some neighbourhoods don't bother locking their doors at night. You're the country blessed by God. You're the country where the rest of the world wants to move because of the promises of wonder and magic and dreams coming true and adventure and complete and total freedom.

So please, if you still believe that about yourself, if that is the USA you have in your soul, if that is the USA you love, if that is the USA you still call home... please, do not vote a fascist dictator into power. Because if you do, you will very quickly find out the harsh reality of living under an egomaniac. Within 18 months, you will be living in a situation similar to what Russia was living in 10 years ago. Within 32 months, you will have lived through experiences identical to what those living in China have been experiencing for decades. Before his initial 4 years are over, Trump will have put your citizens, your brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, friends and loved ones, through things experienced by the prisoners during WW2.

I thought you were the land of the free, America. Why would you put shackles on yourself and hand the chain to a man who has openly stated he will abuse you as something less than human?

[sjbattleangel]

Finally, an appropriate place where Benjamin Netanyahu, Daniel Hagari, Herzi Halevi and the rest of the IDF can claim land for themselves.

[vaguely-concerned]

this is probably just my unspeakable and enduring affection for nicholas boulton's voice talking, but I honestly got a little fond of the first warden by the end after I talked him down. very nearly worst case scenario guy to have lead the wardens at the time he did and the cause of so many problems and unnecessary losses, but like. gg dude at least you really tried in the end I guess

[notasecrettelepath]

Update!

In this chapter, Buck overthinks about the other night - whether Eddie wanted to punch him or kiss him. Buck and Eddie have an ugly fight. Christopher makes two adults cry and it's not good. The 118 responds to an apartment fire under a lightning storm. Buck goes up the ladder.

Chapters: 9/21 (outline grew wings and one more chapter!) Fandom: 9-1-1 (TV) Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV) [Slow Burn - Angst with a Happy Ending - Post Season 5] Rating: M | Words: 71k right now.

Chapter Snippet:

“No. But I’m your best friend. And I’m worried about you, man.” “Worried about what?” Eddie says dismissively, as if Buck is saying something ridiculous. “That I’ll take a baseball bat to my life again? Been there before, I usually only make these type of mistakes once.” Buck wants to say it’s not funny. Buck wants to say when he received that call from Christopher… the only other time Buck had heard that desperation in his voice was during the tsunami and Buck had gotten tickets for speeding and cutting red lights from that night. He wants to say for two seconds there after he’d breached into Eddie’s room, he didn’t see or hear Eddie and he thought the worst. He wants to say he knew then he loved Eddie unconditionally, but didn’t know he was in love with him, and now it seemed so obvious, because those two seconds were hell. Those seconds after the shooting, when Buck was frozen and Eddie was bleeding, were hell. Those seconds not long ago, when Buck heard a gunshot and thought the escaped prisoner had aimed it at Eddie, were hell. Those minutes after the well collapsed were hell. Buck wants to say that multiple times now, he had to live in a world without Eddie, and even if it only lasted a few moments, they had burned away something vital inside him. And he had no idea how far his love went because thinking about it scared him too much. But Buck doesn’t say any of that.

Read master & a hound on AO3.

I do think this might be one of the best chapters I've ever written, and for sure 10k words I am extremely proud of. Buddie angst is just 🤌🤌🤌🤌. They love each other so muchhh and it terrifies them both for different reasons!!!!!