#jojolands yapping

[incorrect-jojolands-quotes]

Chapter 15 Yap Session: Can I get an owa owa, Howa?

The more I look into Howler, the more my brain rots with theories.

Other Yaps (To Be Updated as I Go): 14, 15, 16, 17, 18

What do you first think of when you see the logo? Do you see a wolf howling? Or do you see a dog?

Wolves are not native to Hawaii. The closest thing to wolves in Hawaii are Hawaiian poi dogs, or ʻīlio. These dogs are intentionally bred as food, so they are often portrayed in surviving media as having stubby legs with pointed ears. As the practice of eating dogs die out and the breed interbreeds with other dog breeds, the ʻīlio are now extinct; the attempt to bring them back ended in the 20th century. Nowadays, the term "poi dogs" is used to describe mixed breed mutts that have that distinct poi dog look. Then and now, poi dogs are described to be extremely stubborn but capable of eating anything.

Poi dogs are seen as symbols of luck because their spirits are associated with protecting children. In general, dogs in Hawaiian culture are valued because they are seen as companions and protectors. The ʻōlohe are demi-gods noted for their dog-like appearance: head resembling a wolf-like dog creature and sharp claws. While ʻōlohe were noted to be great warriors, they were also noted to be tricksters due to their shapeshifting abilities. A known ʻōlohe called Kaupe was famous for terrorizing people and became a spirit as a result of attempting to sacrifice a chief's son and being killed for his crime. Kaupe now wanders Hawaii as a malevolent spirit, luring victims by pretending to be someone injured crying for help. Once tricked, Kaupe would appear and scare the victim so much that they commit suicide. When portrayed in western media, Kaupe is often akin to the term "Hawaiian werewolf" and portrayed more of as a wolf-man than a dog-man.

In American english, calling someone a wolf comes with the connotation that the person is aggressive. A wolf in business is someone uncompromising while a wolf in relationships is someone predatory. You might be familiar with the movie The Wolf on Wall Street when you think about the word as a slang. Although disputed, I found that the slang "wolf" is used in Hawaii to describe a foreigner pretending to be native Hawaiian. The act is obvious and oftentimes with malicious intent.

What does this mean for Howler? Note that the logo is rather vague and doesn't really tell you whether the animal on it is a dog or a wolf. A native Hawaiian might think it's a dog first but a foreigner may see a wolf first.

With the ongoing trend in American business taking on the local customs and culture of the area they serve or the culture and customs of the founder themselves, one would expect Howler to do the same if they were a Hawaiian-found business. But, with the added possibility that the logo could be a wolf, this basically proves that Howler is more than just a random business-- it's an invasive corporation that doubles as a parasite.

I speculate that Howler first started out as a Hawaiian-owned non-profit. Their mission was to help the Hawaiian people by developing research and technology to improve Hawaii's fresh water supplies as a means of making it more accessible and sustainable. However, somewhere along the lines, foreign stakeholders take notice and the company were threatened with bankruptcy. In desperation, the owners sold their shares and the non-profit changed into a full on for-profit company. The new owners and management changed the company to Howler and used the research from the founder's work to develop into an infrastructure development company everyone knows of them now. They "kept" the original owners' promise to serve the Hawaiian people but we know that in reality they have no intentions on doing that over profit. They "kept" values and traditions to make it look like they are still a Hawaiian-owned corporation by claiming to take on the traditional symbol of companionship and protecting children: a harmless dog. In reality, they are a howling wolf in disguise, a foreign business exploiting the lands of Hawaii, and who knows what they have planned for more profit.

Given how valuable water is in Hawaii and societies in general, Howler has its hands on the water supplies and are now doing shady things with it. Howler's people were careful to sneak through, but it looks like they have gotten sloppy due to the mention of a congressman investigating their practices. If you remember my last yap session where I talked about aquifers, it could be possible that they're experimenting with the water supply and hiding where they know water actually is. Could they be adding something to the water? Could they be trying to control the resources further? Who knows.

See you in the next chapter to see what else I can yap about.

[moth-yea]

Having jojo as your special interest is constantly explaining everything about it to anyone in your vicinity and every single person looking at you like you're not making any sense (you aren't)

[zorrocafe]

You can't spoil Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure because…

you can mention any plot point (that time when a victorian teen became a vampire, that time when a Japanese high schooler made a baby eat poop in Egypt, that time when some Hawaiians were pulled over by cops for rocking out too hard to Dua Lipa), and it just brings up more questions; It's not about the spoilers, it's about the journey itself.

That's why it's Jojo's Bizarre Adventure and not Jojo's Bizarre Destination

[uh-mozzaza]

regarding your thing about connecting the dots, you should read what incorrect-jojolands-quotes has been yapping about.

thanks for the tip! They did a very good analysis!

[incorrect-jojolands-quotes]

Chapter 18 Yap Session: Paco, can you serve?

A potential look into Paco's past.

Other Yaps (To Be Updated as I Go): 14, 15, 16, 17, 18

Despite being 19 and in school, Paco seemed to already have some military experience. While this is an unusual circumstance, joining the military before graduating high school is possible.

All US military branches require a high school diploma or GED to enter. However, there are a few ways to get in without it legally (though the end goal is to have it anyways).

In high school, you can join D.E.P.; you start as an inactive reservist before your last year of school. You won't be an official service member until your actual training day but you've "joined" the military. Until then, you are finishing your high school education and getting either your diploma or completing your GED. Your parent or legal guardian can sign you off to join the military early with the deal that you will complete your diploma or GED eventually, but that also means they can have the court order you to come back. In both cases, if you end up leaving before your education is complete, you are sent back to school to do so. This is rather uncommon but it is possible.

So, most likely, the only way to get in without your proper education and sent back to complete it is if you were to falsely say you completed it. That brings to dishonorable discharge.

In the military, you only get that if you committed a crime and was found guilty in martial court. Considered to be the worst way to leave the military, you are not allowed to have veteran benefits and may lose certain rights depending on what you did. These crimes can range from treason to murder to theft and obviously there are negative connotations in society when one hears you have this on your record. Any crime a civilian can commit that harms the military and its personnel is considered good reason for dishonorable discharge, like sexual assault or damaging property. While disobedience and minor infractions don't get you immediately discharged, a record of it can be the thing that causes the military to get you tried in court and use it as evidence against the more serious crime. So, Paco being a thief could have landed him in hot water that caused him to go to trial and be found guilty of something else. And that something is fraudulent enlistment and separation.

If you lied on your application, you can be charged under Article 83 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). Fraudulent enlistment means you lied on your application while separation means you lied about why you need to leave the military. The things you can lie about range from medical history, criminal background, and education status. When you're caught, depending on how bad the lie is and whether there are other charges against you, you can have your rank reduced, lose your pay, be confined, and be dishonorably discharged. For those who committed these crimes because they are underaged, they will receive an order of release from custody and control of the military and given an what's called an "uncharacterized discharge".

Given Paco's home life and how he appears older than he is, I think he intentionally faked his way into enlisting. He possibly lied about completing his education and that he was old enough to join the military so he wouldn't have to stay with his father until he became an adult. It's also possible that he committed some petty crimes like theft prior to joining the military and didn't mention it in his application. Once the military found out he committed fraudulent enlistment and he was found guilty, he was sent back to complete his schooling.

That would be the best speculation as to how Paco has military experience yet needed to return back to finish high school. This still opens up the possibility that he did more than just lie on his application due to how being charged with fraudulent enlistment is oftentimes alongside other charges that were arguably more serious. For example, the case United States v. Watson mentioned the defendant had other crimes brought to him like possession of a weapon with intent to harm, absence without leave, and possession of child pornography. What the defendant, and therefore Paco, is charged with will depend on the attorney's ability to represent in trial. And, like many things in law, there are cases where the charges don't actually match the reality of what happened. It could be that there were things that Paco is innocent of but things were fabricated or he got scapegoated in some way.

That being said, what do you think Paco did? Do you think Paco really got dishonorably discharged because he faked his applications? Or, is there more?

Could Paco be much more dangerous and sinister than we think?

[incorrect-jojolands-quotes]

Chapter 17 Yap Session: YOU ARE NOT THE MAIN VILLAIN

Also, an interesting find on Hokkaido and puns.

Other Yaps (To Be Updated as I Go): 14, 15, 16, 17, 18

It's not a coincidence that Acca mentions Hokkaido

Hokkaido is known for being the agricultural breadbasket of Japan and a popular place for tourists to visit due to its natural scenery and cold temperatures. It is also where 90% of Japan's kombu is created due to the cold waters of Hokkaido being ideal for growing them as well as having high-quality seafood for the same reason. In addition to that, Hokkaido is where the Ainu people once resided. I say ONCE resided because the island was annexed and colonized in 1869 by Japan, forcing the Ainu to assimilate soon after. To this day, the Ainu continue to face economic and social hardships because of discrimination and many individuals grow up not knowing they are Ainu or are forced to hide their background to minimize oppression. The Ainu continue to be greatly restricted in terms of maintaining practices and customs, and there have been cases where attempts to revive or provide better laws for the Ainu are met with heavy pushback. Even prior to the annexation, the Ainu faced mistreatment from the Japanese government, which contributed to their population decline leading up to the event.

This is very similar to Hawaii's history. Hawaii serves as a main exporter of tropical fruits and remains a popular tourist attraction due to its environment while also having a history of annexation and treatment of indigenous communities- the difference being that Hokkaido is more known for its colder temperatures while Hawaii is known for its subtropic temperatures instead.

Usagi's a master of puns

The pun Usagi makes with MRI translates to "M - 無 R - 理 I - 言って スミマセン, or MuRi Itte sumimasen. (Sorry for asking you to do something unreasonable). "IDD" and "KKD" are common text phrases used in Japanese, similar to "BFF" being used in English. According to the English translator Kewl, various suggestions were made to localize Usagi's words in a way that is still natural yet comedic. Eventually, "Man's a Real Idiot",  "I’m Deeply Devoted", and "Kind Kindred Dude" were chosen.

How corporations work may hint at Acca not being the main villain

In a typical western public company, there are two groups that lead a corporation: the officers and the board of directors.

The officers, such as the CEO and CTO, are the ones who make the decisions and handle day-to-day operations of the company. However, they are not 100% in complete power. They have to work with the board of directors, who theoretically work as the advisors to the CEO and are led by a leader called the chairperson. The CEO himself could be the chairperson too, but there's always someone who represents the leader of the board and may be called the "lead director" to differentiate themselves from the CEO. The board of directors serve as advisors but they also have the ability to override and even FIRE the CEO under the pretense of protecting the company's investors. Should a CEO commit a crime, performed badly as a leader, or done anything controversial that the shareholders consider to be bad for the company they invest in, the board can boot the CEO out and find another CEO to take their place. Usually, it is another member of the board that is elected by the board to succeed but anyone could be chosen by the board to become the new CEO. This is all done legally but you can imagine some politics and manipulation at play; Acca could try to fight back or plant a successor to maintain power, or there is someone on the board who wanted to take his position and this was all part of the plan, or... there's some sort of bigger conspiracy at play.

There are already some good reasons for people try and oust Acca out. He himself is introduced as not well liked and having a terrible character, and Howler Co.'s market value significantly because of the land forfeiture situation implied to be because of his doing. Not only that, there's always that general sense of people simply wanting to gain power at all cost- even if it means taking someone down to get their position. Once word gets out and the shareholders catch wind of this, they're going to be hounding the board to do something to protect their investments; we've already seen one shareholder, Dolphin Bank, pulling out of their investments. The board will then fire Acca from his position as a way to scapegoat him, claiming he was responsible for the lost in value, and the board's "solution" will be to put someone else as CEO to ease the shareholders' minds. This someone else could be the actual main villain, or the chairperson/lead director is the main villain this whole time. It could be possible that either characters planned Acca's downfall this whole time and it will be them that will face Jodio in the end.

[incorrect-jojolands-quotes]

Chapter 14 Yap Session: 48 AQUIFERS! You didn't want to leave him a half-measure, huh?

Other Yaps (To Be Updated as I Go): 14, 15, 16, 17, 18

Chapter 14 was very heavy in terms of historical and cultural context. Here are the things I've found so far:

The Lava Rock's Powers Are Based on Hawaiian Culture and Belief

Meryl Mei's words confirmed that the lava rock relies on human emotion and societal beliefs to become attracted to items.

While there are variations of how the Hawaiian Islands came to be, it all comes down to Pele. One retelling mentioned how Pele left volcanic craters on the islands, which would spew rock and ash that would land and create the mountains and fertile lands we know of today. However, volcanic eruptions and raining volcanic matter is nothing safe to be around, especially because it represents Pele herself being angry. So, Native Hawaiians would provide Ho'okupu to Pele as a means to appease her and therefore stop an eruption from escalating further. These are gifts considered to be of high value and given genuinely. Until the end of the 19th century, these gifts ranged from foods to literal diamonds.

A case in 1801 occurred where Kamehameha I was asked to provide offerings to Pele to stop Mt. Huālailai's eruptions. He gave various gifts but only when he gave up his hair did the lava stop flowing; note that hair cutting is only done during mourning or defeat. Mt. Huālailai has since then stopped erupting.

Nowadays, there's some conflicting info on what is appropriate and not appropriate. Most say acceptable gifts can be prayers, acts of service to Pele (i.e. volunteering, donations), or generally practicing gratitude. There are those who will still give gifts like traditional food or hula. Regardless, they are given because they are believed to be valuable and therefore necessary to give to Pele.

Howler's Lands Being Mostly Water Is More Trouble Than You Think

The purpose of infrastructure is to ensure society's needs are met. This includes maintaining and sustaining society's source of water; after all, fresh water is a very valuable resource in all human societies since the beginning of time. Meryl Mei notes how most of Howler's deeds involve water resources.

In Hawaii, fresh water come from permeable rocks called aquifers. There are many types of aquifers, but experts say the best are made from basaltic and volcanic rock; the only places that have such aquifers in the US are the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii. Despite being surrounded by water, Hawaii relies on aquifers for freshwater and the same aquifers rely on rain water to be replenished. Unfortunately, aquifers are not as accessible and there has historically been cases of aquifer water being mismanaged or contaminated. You might have recognized the controversy regarding the Wai Kai pool.

Not only that, climate change also affects this issue. Since 2008, Hawaii has been suffering through a drought, causing it dry season to last a lot longer than its rain season. Aquifers rely on rainwater to be replenished, so the lack of rain water means they are not being refilled to continue meeting demands. Rising sea levels also mean less land to live on as well as sea water contaminating the aquifers. There are efforts proposed to stop and prevent this, but it doesn't help that many aquifers sit on top of salt water. Most aren't contaminated yet because there is a good amount of things between the two to separate them, but that's only if that thing has not been tampered with or by, say, construction or natural disaster.

An infrastructure company holding power over the most valuable resource of Hawaii? Surely, that allows them to have power over lots of things in society as well.

The Number 48 Holds a Lot of Symbolism and Significance

In literature, there's a famous self-help book called The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene. This book follows the belief that life is a never-ending game of power and presents 48 pieces of advice on how to pursue one's goals. This book became popular among musicians, politicians, and other celebrities, especially when they are in some sort of controversy at the time they reference or are seen with the book, and the book has been criticized for glorifying brutal and inhuman approaches as a means of success. Some might even say whoever tries to achieve their tasks without considering morals or the emotions of others as... psychopathic...

In history, the year 1848 marks the second most important event in Hawaiian history called "The Great Māhele". Prior to this, land ownership was a more feudal system, and laws were suddenly put in place to transition to the allodial system of land ownership. This event would go on to set more laws regarding land ownership and things like The Hawaii State Land Registry to maintain it. On paper, it made land ownership accessible, as one can simply buy land to call it their own, rather than jump through hops caused by things like status. In practice, however, it made it very easy for foreign powers and businesses to buy land in Hawaii and oftentimes prevent Native Hawaiians from doing so; keep in mind that this approach to land ownership is also very unknown to Native Hawaiians, so they themselves have no idea how to approach this. This led to more foreign influences into Hawaii that became a factor in its annexation (the most important event) later on and contributed to the socioeconomic struggles still faced today by Native Hawaiians.

Notably, the year 1948 was when President Truman proposed turning Hawaii into a state. This was 55 years after Hawaii was overthrown and annexed as well.

In Chinese numerology, 48 is an auspicious number. Any 3-digit number ending in 48 (i.e. 748) is lucky because it sounds like you're saying "prosperity in X lifetimes" in Mandarin (so 748 is "prosperity in 7 lifetimes/ 七世發"). As a result, 48 became a number associated with businesses. The number 8 is particularly lucky in Asian cultures while also having ties with financial success in other cultures. 48 is also considered be auspicious because it combines the good qualities of 4s and 8s (diligence and ambition), so many consider it a manifestation number (working hard will bring achievements).

As an added bonus, 9 is considered lucky in various Asian cultures because it sounds like the word for "everlasting". It is also associated with dragons in China, so lots of government things and royalty are based on number 9.

See you in the next chapter to see what else I can yap about.

[incorrect-jojolands-quotes]

Chapter 16 Yap Session: Let's Get Real (Estate)

Some people were wondering how signing the land away is going to help (or hurt) Jodio and his gang.

Other Yaps (To Be Updated as I Go): 14, 15, 16, 17, 18

In America, the 5th amendment is generally known as the right to protect one from self-incrimination and the right to a trial. It also is known as the right to not have your private property seized by the government.

However, there are two cases where the government can take your property away. Today, we're going to talk about forfeiture.

Forfeiture happens when the government takes property because it is linked to a crime. Whether it resulted in a crime or a crime takes place on it, the government claims it must be taken without compensation. To start this process, the government must have evidence that this is the case and send a notice to the owner. The owner will then file a claim and both sides will do their own investigations on the matter before everything is taken to court.

It is the jury that determines whether the government is in the right to take the land or not. During the trial, the government can order further restrictions on the land but it's only when the court sides with them in the end that they can take the land and become its new owner. The previous owner can continue to appeal or negotiate with the government directly to buy back their land, but the government remains the new owner once the court finalizes their decision. However, if the forfeiture is later found to be unjust or unlawful, the former owner might be entitled to compensation or restitution. Given Congressman White's assistant mentioning there is a lack of evidence that would warrant the sign-off, Howler can argue that they were wrongly convicted and therefore keep their land. Even if the government wins the court case, Howler can continue to appeal as much as their budget allows.

Now, when a government becomes a land's new owner, they can do one of three things:

turn the land into public property.

lease the land to someone else.

auction off the land to the highest bidder.

The last means that anyone with the money can simply buy the land and become its new owner. If the trial is successful for the government, they can sell off the land to the highest offer, and it then becomes Jodio's team (or Meryl Mei's) job to provide it. Seems like a good thing for the gang.

But wait... that's assuming the government is going to auction the land off after they do what they want with it. ANYONE with the money can simply buy the land. Jodio's team will have to compete with other corporations and entities who may have more money to throw and bid. Not only that, Howler themselves can try to buy back their land or have someone bid for them. Remember that Howler still has 47 land deeds and are still valued at 50 billion dollars. Certainly, they have the money to fight in court and then some to buy their land back if the trial fails. Not only that, this is them doing things LEGALLY to get their land back. We know they have Stand Users and they won't hesitate to act unethically.

Not only that, the land was seized because Congressman White alleged Howler was conducting illegal activities on the land. Whoever becomes the new owner of the land regardless will have the government eying them and public opinion taking interest. Whatever Meryl Mei plans on doing will be put under scrutiny and neither she or Jodio's gang will be able to do what they want without worrying about other eyes on them while they work.

Anyways, let me know what y'all think. How do you guys think the land ownership situation will fare for the gang?

[incorrect-jojolands-quotes]

so, update and possible hiatus

As many of y'all know, I worked on a JOJOLands fandub project in which I was the main writer and editor of the series. I also created a series called "Honolulu Hot Takes" that was also posted on the channel the project resides on. Today, I made an announcement on the server and on the Twitter account that that project is now over due to what the founder, main director, and voice actor of Jodio Joestar has done.

There is no plans on reviving the project as many of the voice actors involved do not want to be associated and the project itself will forever have this mark regardless of who takes over. As of now, the channel and server have been deleted by him. Many of the team and I have left the server prior to it as well.

I just want to apologize to the fans, the people in the cast, and the people on our crew for the inconvenience of this announcement and for ending this project due to it. I know there were many awaiting for new opportunities to work with us and many anticipating new content to come from our team, but the journey ends here. Nonetheless, I appreciate you all for supporting this project up to now and wish you all the very best.

I'm going to continue trying to post my own JOJOLands content here and my other accounts like before- like my yap sessions, incorrect quotes, and whatnot- but it currently feels weird if I'm being honest. Part 9 can't be enjoyed like before due to this event now overshadowing everything I used to love about The JOJOLands and other events in my life also occurring; timing works in strange ways. It may take a while for things to get back into the groove and maybe things will never be the same.

Nonetheless, thank you all for being a part of the journey. Up until now, you guys have been the reason why I stayed and did what I did.