#project britannica

[rendellstreet]

[zponds]

After seeing analog horror done scarily and effectively on Jurassic Park and Godzilla, I sure was in for a surprise when ocean liners recently entered the analog horror genre with a series called Project Britannica by Jack G Animations.

After seeing every video of Project Britannica, it left me wondering how other ocean liners (both from before and after titanic), like the Teutonic Twins; RMS Teutonic and RMS Majestic… the Big Four; RMS Celtic, RMS Cedric, RMS Baltic, and RMS Adriatic… the last White Star liners; MV Britannic and MV Georgic… and super liners; RMS Queen Mary, RMS Queen Elizabeth, SS Normandie, SS United States, and SS France (1960)… could show up later down the line. Besides other ocean liners, I’m also wondering how merchant cargo ships from the time like the SS Californian, could show up. I’m also wondering if the planned yet canceled White Star super liners; RMMV Oceanic and RMMV Georgic, could show up later on.

BUUUT… pondering aside, this video sure is an effective way to introduce newcomers to Project Britannica. And the music really gives off an unsettling vibe and fits the mood and atmosphere of Project Britannica has.

[ivx2810]

[angels-gen]

Mesh AU (part4)

- ?¿?¿?¿? P.o.V -

I fell through a portal, clutching my arm as I panted, trying to stop the bleeding. I got up off the floor and ran. I shouldn't have unlocked that universe, I shouldn't have gone into that timeline!

But I can't stop looking for my sister… I have to keep looking for my sister! I'm not gonna stop until I find her somewhere, anywhere! I just need to see my sister again…

It was a mistake to ask Parasite and Host's Britannic for help, but I had no other choice. I couldn't let the others know I've unlocked the Mesh universe. But it's too late now… it's unlocked and now if no one's careful.

We're all done for.

I ran down a hallway, the interiors of this place looks familiar. Am I on my ship? No, it can't be. Maybe I'm in one of the Olympic's ships, it looks similar to that of Titanic's anyway, or maybe I'm on Titanic's ship. I can't ever tell those two apart, they're so confusing. I took a turn to the right only to be met with a dead end, I looked back behind me. The Mesh slowly coming towards me; I quickly created a portal underneath me, going through it to another universe, into a different timeline. Hopefully without the Mesh following me.

~

- Olympic's P.o.V -

We stumbled through the portal I'd opened, falling face down on the ground in front of a pair of boots. "Ow…" I said rubbing my head, "ughhh… you guys are both squishing me…" Britannic grumbled underneath the both of us.

"Are you three alright?" We looked up to see a tall man in a fancy black suit; Titanic and I scrambled to get up off of Britannic, her head almost popping off her body. I picked Britannic off the floor quickly, making her head finally fall right off. He screamed when her head rolled away; I groaned and I buried my face in my hands in embarrassment, while Titanic went after Britannic's head. "Sorry about that… my sister can't exactly keep her head to herself sometimes." I said sighing as I watched my sister come running back with Britannic's head; Titanic stuck a hand out for a shake, "hi, I'm Titanic and these are my sisters! Olympic and Britannic, call me Dream though it gets confusing sometimes if we don't use nicknames." She greeted as they shook hands; "that's interesting! My name's Titanic too!" He replied. I nodded, "yea your hat pretty much gave it away." I said pointing to his hat; my sister collapsed onto the floor, worn out from chasing after Britannic's head. I walked over to my sister, taking our younger sister's head and back over to where her body waited patiently. I placed her head back on her shoulders, securing it onto her neck with a ribbon, retying it extra tightly to make sure it doesn't fall off again.

"Who are you three…?" I looked over at another tall man, with the name Olympic embroidered on his hat, who was followed by another man in a white coat. Britannic spun her head a round a few times before it popped back off again. "Oops—" Dream groaned as she caught Britannic's head again; "please stop doing that…" she said as she held up Britannic's head to look at her. Britannic giggled as I sighed; I looked over at Olympic, "we're you guys but from a different universe." I said as I took Britannic's head from Dream, brushing the stray hairs away from her face and giving her a flick on the forehead before putting it back on her body. "We know we look a little different from you guys, but we're actually still you guys." Dream said as she got up off the floor. "I don't believe it." Britannic said while shaking his head in disbelief, I looked over at him as he looked my sister up and down before cautiously taking a step towards our younger sister.

"So that means your name's Britannic too then?" "Yep! But you can call me Bree though, even if my sisters say otherwise." I rolled my eyes, while Dream scoffed. "Oh please, we all call her Psycho for a damn good reason." Psycho glared at her, throwing her davit at Dream, hitting her on the head again. I stared down at Dream laying unconscious on the floor, sighing as I looked over at Psycho. "Really…" she chuckled nervously, as I sighed again. Now there's only one other place we can go to next.

"We should get going, there's only one place I know where Olympic doesn't mind us crashing for a while. Since Dream's passed out." Psycho perked up. "Wish!" I nodded and was about to create a portal when Psycho quickly asked. "Can they come too?" I looked over at her only to see her clinging onto Britannic. "Sis, we talked about this already. No." She whined, making the most pitiful looking babydoll like eyes that I've ever seen. I took a deep breath and sighed, shaking my head no again. "Britannic we're not taking them with us," "pleaseeeeeee?" "Sis, no." She whined again, and clung onto Olympic as well, trapping both Olympic and Britannic with her. "I've said it once, I've said it twice. We are not bringing them with us." "Pretty pleaseeeeeeeeeee?" I sighed, looking at Britannic and Olympic before looking over at Titanic, who was about ready to explode from excitement. I hung my head down in defeat and sighed.

"Guess I have no choice but to bring you guys along with us to see Wish then… since my sister isn't letting you guys go." I created a portal before dragging Dream through, I looked up at the others. "Oh, and try to keep up with us." I said as I stepped through the portal.

~

- ?¿?¿?¿?¿?'s P.o.V -

I stepped through the portal I created, with cousins following close behind me. I flipped my dark hair behind me as I took out a compact mirror, making sure my face was unrecognisable. My gold eyes were now a dark brown, as well as my strawberry blonde hair. I looked over at my cousins, their appearances still unchanged. I took out a pair of contacts and handed it to each of them.

"I can't do much about your hairs but I can help deal with your eyes." Mauretania looked up at me, shaking her head. "I'm not wearing these." She said giving the contacts back to me; I sighed. "Oh please, the last time we came here we almost died. Now put them on." Mauretania stared at the contacts before she reluctantly took them and put them on. "Perfect, now we just gotta find Olympic and the rest."

[badlydrawnmanic]

why did i spend 3 hours drawing this. was it even fun? i don't know. you'd think i'd be submitting this for a grade

edit: gonna remake this when i have the brain power to look up what the pieces actually do

[ts2nostalgia-zine]

SUL SUL, DEAR SIMMERS!

We've got something special for you! 🩵

Yes, you've read correctly! With the amount of artistic talent of all sorts that has amassed over the years and the persisting loyalty to this game, we felt like it was about time to call the production of a free, digital zine for the summer of 2025 into action!

I'm intrigued. But what's a zine?

For the sake of brevity, let's ask Britannica: Zine, a small-circulation print or online publication that is produced through noncommercial means and is meant to appeal to a niche audience. The term zine derives from fanzine, an amalgamation of the words fan and magazine.

How can I contribute?

There are a number of ways! From edits using any of the games, to digital art, writing and physical crafts, you can put your creative talent to use! The central theme is Sims 2 Nostalgia, so while you are given a lot of liberty on your chosen medium, it should feature the characters, townies, NPCs, or even objects from the pc game and its spin-offs!

Sweet! How do I apply?

We're so ready to welcome you on board! While we are planning on a big-scope project, we cannot predict the number territory of applications and thus haven't set a specific number of spots in stone. All you gotta do is fill out this form and we will get back to you after the deadline, January 29th!

This should cover the most vital points for now! Further zine specs and details will be covered on the faq page we're currently setting up, or follow post application. But if there's a burning question you think you need answered right away, shoot us a DM! 🦙

See you soon!

[viadescioism]

Kwanzaa:

Kwanzaa, an annual holiday celebrated primarily in the United States from December 26 to January 1, emphasizes the importance of pan-African family and social values. It was devised in 1966 by Maulana Karenga, Inspired by Africa’s harvest celebrations, he decided to develop a nonreligious holiday that would stress the importance of family and community while giving African Americans an opportunity to explore their African identities. Kwanzaa arose from the black nationalist movement of the 1960s and was created to help African Americans reconnect with their African cultural and historical heritage. The holiday honors African American people, their struggles in the United States, their heritage, and their culture. Kwanzaa's practices and symbolism are deeply rooted in African traditions and emphasize community, family, and cultural pride. It's a time for reflection, celebration, and the nurturing of cultural identity within the African American community.

Kwanzaa is a blend of various African cultures, reflecting the experience of many African Americans who cannot trace their exact origins; thus, it is not specific to any one African culture or region. The inclusiveness of Kwanzaa allows for a broader celebration of African heritage and identity.

Karenga created Kwanzaa during the aftermath of the Watts riots as a non-Christian, specifically African-American, holiday. His goal was to give black people an alternative to Christmas and an opportunity to celebrate themselves and their history, rather than imitating the practices of the dominant society. The name Kwanzaa derives from the Swahili phrase "matunda ya kwanza," meaning "first fruits," and is based on African harvest festival traditions from various parts of West and Southeast Africa. The holiday was first celebrated in 1966.

Each day of Kwanzaa is dedicated to one of the seven principles (Nguzo Saba), which are central values of African culture that contribute to building and reinforcing community among African Americans. These principles include Umoja (Unity), Kujichagulia (Self-Determination), Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility), Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics), Nia (Purpose), Kuumba (Creativity), and Imani (Faith). Each family celebrates Kwanzaa in its own way, but Celebrations often include songs, dances, African drums, storytelling, poetry readings, and a large traditional meal. The holiday concludes with a communal feast called Karamu, usually held on the sixth day​​​​.

Kwanzaa is more than just a celebration; it's a spiritual journey to heal, explore, and learn from African heritage. The holiday emphasizes the importance of community and the role of children, who are considered seed bearers of cultural values and practices for the next generation. Kwanzaa is not just a holiday; it's a period of introspection and celebration of African-American identity and culture, allowing for a deeper understanding and appreciation of ancestral roots. This celebration is a testament to the resilience and enduring spirit of the African-American community.

"Kwanzaa," Encyclopaedia Britannica, last modified December 23, 2023, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Kwanzaa.

"Kwanzaa - Meaning, Candles & Principles," HISTORY, accessed December 25, 2023, https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/kwanzaa-history.

"Kwanzaa," Wikipedia, last modified December 25, 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwanzaa.

"Kwanzaa," National Museum of African American History and Culture, accessed December 25, 2023, https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/kwanzaa.

"The First Kwanzaa," HISTORY.com, accessed December 25, 2023, https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-first-kwanzaa.

My Daily Kwanzaa, blog, accessed December 25, 2023, https://mydailykwanzaa.wordpress.com.

Maulana Karenga, Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture (Los Angeles, CA: University of Sankore Press, 1998), ISBN 0-943412-21-8.

"Kente Cloth," African Journey, Project Exploration, accessed December 25, 2023, https://projectexploration.org.

Expert Village, "Kwanzaa Traditions & Customs: Kwanzaa Symbols," YouTube video, accessed December 25, 2023, [Link to the specific YouTube video]. (Note: The exact URL for the YouTube video is needed for a complete citation).

"Official Kwanzaa Website," accessed December 25, 2023, https://www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org/index.html.

Michelle, Lavanda. "Let's Talk Kwanzaa: Unwrapping the Good Vibes." Lavanda Michelle, December 13, 2023. https://lavandamichelle.com/2023/12/13/lets-talk-kwanzaa-unwrapping-the-good-vibes/.

[light-lanterne]

turing's biography is three paragraphs long and mostly focusses on his creation. this is the only part that refers to his sexuality :(

got curious, going to search the encyclopaedia britannica for alan turing and gay stuff

(i have an edition from 1994, which should be the same as the 1986 thing (minus a couple updates) so i can see what will was actually reading)

[danderria]

Britannica Blue (S3, 6/6)

Check out the other characters in this project here

[personnage-neutre]

British-Mandate Palestine in Land of Black Gold, 1939-1950

The story that would become Tintin in the Land of Black Gold did not only undergo one of the most turbulent publication histories of any Tintin album, it was also was subject to some of the greatest revisions. In both cases, real-life events were to blame: the Second World War cut it off prematurely, and the revisions stemmed from Hergé's original decision to embroil Tintin in the conflict in Palestine during British mandate rule. Over the years, what promised to be a specifically politically engaged album like The Blue Lotus or King Ottokar's Scepter was transformed into a more generalized parable about the power of access to oil, and the earlier versions have been relegated to archive editions of the series.

Originally Black Gold was the story that followed King Ottokar's Scepter in Le Petit Vingtième; this first incomplete version was not collected in an album. After Prisoners of the Sun finished, Hergé returned to the story for the Journal Tintin, redrawing and completing it. That version did become an album, in 1950, and stood for twenty years until Methuen, the British publisher of Tintin, requested that the story be overhauled. The publisher claimed that the references to the conflict preceding the declaration of the state of Israel were too outdated for the then-current reader; I also suspect they preferred that their audience not be reminded of that period of British imperial history. However it may be, Hergé agreed, and a new, scrubbed version, the one published today as the 15th album of the main series, was released in 1971.

This post tracks references to Palestine and the depiction of conflict there across three serial versions of Black Gold and the 1950 album. When possible (which is not often), I include some analysis why certain changes may have been made.

First serial version in Le Petit Vingtième, Sept. 28, 1939-May 9, 1940 (incomplete)

(My main source for historical information is the Encyclopedia Britannica.)

After the defeat of the Ottoman Empire at the end of the First World War, its territories in the Middle East were divided between victorious Britain and France despite the resistance of regional leaders who sought an independent state. At the same time, the 1917 Balfour Declaration had expressed some support for the Zionist project of establishing a home for the Jewish people on Palestinian land. In 1922, Britain took administrative control of Palestine under the authority of the League of Nations in a decision that incorporated the Balfour Declaration's promise of a "Jewish National Home." This, too, was opposed by the native Arab people and their leaders, who rejected the Zionist claim to the land and still agitated for independence.

At the time when Hergé was writing Black Gold, the tension between the three parties in Palestine had flared into the 1936-1939 Arab Revolt. Nazi persecution of European Jews had greatly increased migration to Palestine, and Zionists were calling for an independent Jewish state there; Palestinian Arabs saw large-scale Jewish immigration and especially land transfers as an existential threat since the establishment of the mandate, resented the lack of representation they had in the governing of the territory, and still sought independence as an Arab state; and the British, having tried variously and unsuccessfully to please both sides by restricting or raising immigration and proposing new council structures, found themselves the target of both. While the fighting was mainly British attempts to quell the rebelling Arab population, radical Zionist organizations were also carrying out attacks on Arabs and, to a lesser extent, the British. Especially relevant to Black Gold, as will be seen below, is the fact that a common strategy of the Arab fighters was to blow up the pipeline leading to Haifa.

p. 14 (album: p. 7), p. 27 (album: p. 14): The original destination of the Speedol Star is Caïffa (Haifa), a real city in Palestine, instead of the fictional Khemkhâh (Khemikhal in English), Khemed.

p. 30-34 (p. 15-17): Tintin's kidnapping progresses rather differently than in the 1971 album version. Arrested by the British police as a drug-smuggler, members of the Zionist faction mistake him for one of their agents (the only other man in the world with that haircut) and attempt to seize him back, but quickly realize their mistake. They are stopped by a roadblock and held up by members of the Arab faction, who also mistake Tintin for the same agent and capture only him. The original attackers are then arrested by the British and interrogated. The Thompsons, tempted by the £2000 reward, set out to search for Tintin's new captors.

p. 37-38 (p. 17-18): Tintin is taken to Sheik Bab El Ehr, who also realizes he has the wrong man, but refuses to let Tintin go for fear that he'll betray their position to the British. A British biplane buzzes the camp and drops leaflets.

The joke about Bab El Ehr's men not knowing how to read is only in the 1971 album; originally he takes the leaflets seriously, threatening to have any man who reads one shot. On the next page, Tintin surreptitiously takes a leaflet from a stack while the Sheik's back is turned, a detail present in all serial versions but never followed up on in any of them; it's unclear what Hergé was planning to do with it, if anything.

Starting on p. 40 and continuing until the end of publication, the recap of the story in the header mentions that "Tintin and the detectives travel to Palestine." Earlier pages, starting p. 16, repeat that the destination of the Speedol Star is Caïffa.

p. 56 (p. 27): Dr. Müller, aided by Arab rebels, blows up a pipeline. Tintin witnesses it, but is caught and apparently about to be killed... and then the story abruptly ends. On May 10, 1940, the Nazis enter Belgium, and Le Vingtième Siècle is shut down by the German occupier along with the rest of the Belgian press. Hergé reappears four months later in the occupier-run Le Soir with a new story, The Crab with the Golden Claws, dropping his politically sensitive subject and German villain.

Second serial version in Coeurs Vaillants, June 9, 1940-Dec. 29, 1940, and La Voix de l'Ouest, June 1, 1945-May 5, 1946 (incomplete)

Coeurs Vaillants, another right-wing Catholic children's magazine, began the French serialization of the Petit Vingtième's Land of Black Gold exactly a month after the last issue of the PV appeared and less than a week before the Nazis entered Paris. Originally based in the capital, the magazine moved its operations to Lyon, in unoccupied Vichy France, and continued to publish the story until the end of the year, cutting it short slightly before the first version does. With that context, the main interest of this version lies mainly in the crude censorship imposed on it.

It was also Coeurs Vaillants that coined the album's eventual title - the story had been serialized in the PV under the generic title of "Les nouvelles aventures de Tintin et Milou," as were The Black Island and The Broken Ear.

Issue no. 42: The Speedol Star arrives at Haifa once again.

no. 44: The Jewish name "Finkelstein" is changed to the French name "Durand." The remark about "ces satanés Arabes" ("those blasted Arabs") is completely erased and its balloon converted into a cloud(?). All edits are clearly done by the magazine after receiving the plates.

no. 45: Every instance of the word "juif" ("Jew") is erased, leaving blank spaces in the balloons; every instance of the word "arabe" ("Arab") is replaced with "rebelle" ("rebel"). If it's an attempt to obscure the setting of the story, it's a very clumsy one; Hergé's drawings are so clearly stereotyped that any reader of 1940 would surely be able to fill in the missing words themselves.

no. 47: The eleven panels comprising the incident with the British plane are deleted altogether. Tintin is ignored when he asks if he can leave. Tintin again takes a leaflet, but now they seem to have appeared out of nowhere. Most likely the magazine, which loudly and frequently proclaimed its admiration for Pétain during its Vichy residency, was wary of portraying the British Army in any way that could be construed as positive - or even of portraying the British Army at all. However, the police in the beginning are still clearly British, right down to their "Good Bye"s and "All Right"s.

no. 52: Another instance of "arabes" changed to "rebelles." At six pages short of where the Vingtième publication stopped, this is the last page published in Coeurs Vaillants. In 1945, following the Liberation, it began publishing the story again from the beginning, but the magazine was quickly shut down by the government for having existed during the Occupation. The publication of Black Gold was then moved to a similar, smaller paper, La Voix de l'Ouest, but only made it as far as the Thompsons setting off into the desert to look for Tintin. Despite being published after the Liberation, it keeps all of the dialogue edits from Coeurs Vaillants.

Third serial version in the Journal Tintin, Sept. 16, 1948-Feb. 23, 1950, and first album version, 1950

Eight years later, having just finished the extensive serialization of Le Temple du Soleil but not yet ready to begin the research-heavy Moon books, Hergé decides to redraw and complete the story, naming it simply L'or noir (Black Gold). Swiss magazine L'Echo Illustré also runs this version, with no apparent changes, from 1949-1950. Fighting had broken out afresh between Palestinians and Zionist settlers following the UN Partition Plan proposing the creation of the state of Israel at the end of 1947 and was still in full swing when the story restarted. The British had withdrawn in May 1948 (on the same day as the declaration of the state of Israel) but are still present in the story, setting it slightly behind the times.

The 1948 serial was compiled into an album with a few minor changes and new colors in 1950; curiously, the album is actually more specific than the serial in its references to the conflict in Palestine. This is also the version that the 1963 RTF radio adaptation of Black Gold is based on.

p. 7, p. 14 (1948): The Speedol Star's destination is still Caïffa. Neither the word "Palestine" nor "Israel" is mentioned, either in the strip itself or in the weekly recap in the header, for the whole story.

p. 7, p. 14 (1950): Same destination, but the spelling is finally corrected to "Haïfa" in the 1950 version. The Thompsons are now looking for spies aboard the Speedol Star instead of drug-smugglers. The sailor with binoculars also now specifies that the patrol boat coming to meet them is from "la Navy." Earlier versions had the sailor express surprise at the police coming aboard; in the album he concludes, very logically, that surveillance has been upped because of the tense international situation, though he doesn't mention the internal conflict in the country. The 1971 version keeps that line.

p. 15-17: Tintin's kidnappings play out the same way as in the first version, except that the Zionist agent's name has been changed from "Finkelstein" to "Salomon Goldstein." According to Philippe Goddin, the agent originally got his name from a certain René Finkelstein who worked at Coeurs Vaillants. Goddin doesn't speculate on why it was changed; however, at the end of the 1940s Hergé was having issues with Coeurs Vaillants, as the French edition of the Journal Tintin (launched 1948) was to become the only publisher of Tintin in France, depriving CV of one of its major draws. It's not impossible, though there's no real proof, that Hergé's retraction of Finkelstein was just a petty blow in that struggle.

In the 1950 album, what Tintin and the Thompsons are framed for changes from drug-smuggling to espionage: instead of cocaine, there are unspecified "documents" in their luggage. It's not clear who the original owners of the documents were spying for. The 1971 album splits the difference, with the detectives again caught with cocaine but Tintin with documents.

p. 17: The 1950 album is the first and only version to explicitly name Tintin's first kidnappers as members of the Irgun, a Zionist terrorist group that targeted both the British occupier and Palestinian Arabs between 1931 and 1948 and was later absorbed into the then newly-formed IDF.

It is notable that the depiction of the conflict remains exactly the same as in earlier versions, despite the vast changes in the international situation between 1939 and 1948. At the same time, the broad lines of the conflict in Palestine had changed little since before the war. Is the story still meant to be set in its original pre-war context? None of the announcements preceding its re-release in the Journal mention that it's a recycled story, and many of its readers would have been too young to remember its first run - many, but not all, as a few letter responses show. The cars and planes are updated, but when Bob de Moor was sent out to find references for the 1971 redraw, he specifically chose a tanker from 1939 for the Speedol Star. Also, the nonspecific threats of world war that characterize the first ten pages of the album remain even in the 1971 album, though their immediate link to reality had disappeared by 1948.

The 1948 recontextualization also somewhat obscures the role of Müller, which was very straightforward in the original version: he's a German agent trying to cut off his enemy Britain's access to oil while also undermining its colonial rule of the region - Britain and Germany had already declared war on each other when the first version began publication. It was consistent with the character, as well; a goal of Müller's in The Black Island (1937-1938) was to destabilize the British economy with his counterfeit money.

p. 19: The only change is that the British biplane has been upgraded to a British Spitfire. In the 1971 album, it remains recognizably a Spitfire but carries Khemedian livery. Bab El Ehr's enemy is still "les Anglais."

p. 36-38: Having passed the point where the first publication had stopped, the original context begins to disappear. The Zionist presence is entirely gone, making way for the intra-Arab power struggle that is the sole focus of the final album. However, in this case, the struggle between Bab El Ehr and Ben Kalish Ezab is not a proxy war between two competing oil companies but over the continued British presence in this ambiguous nation (see below), with the Emir allowing a British company access to his oil while the Sheik, "a fanatic," only wants to "force the English to leave the country." Predictably, given the publication context, the reader is intended to side with the pro-English forces, though no actual sign of a British - or even non-Arab - presence will appear from here on.

To return to the question of Müller: here, under the assumed English-sounding name of Professor Smith, he is representing non-British oil companies in the region while secretly directing sabotage on oil infrastructure, both by encouraging the destruction of pipelines and by using his "Formula Fourteen" to render oil stores useless. Once again, his motivations are much clearer as a German agent in a pre-war context; the 1948 version has him simply be the tool of that classic early Cold War BD villain, a carefully unspecified "grande puissance étrangère" ("great foreign power").

p. 41: The Emir sends Tintin to the fictional city of Wadesdah, "on the coast." Where are we? The Emir's kingdom won't be named until the 1971 album. Palestine fades into a generalized Middle East during the crossing of the desert, the two held together only by Bab El Ehr's struggle against the British in both territories. While the 1971 redraw was the ultimate erasure of the story's original context, it's clear that Hergé had already put it to the side as early as 1948.

As the story transitioned from a specific to a fictional context while attempting to maintain a coherent plot, it was forced to contort and contradict itself; it's not really surprising, then, that Hergé told Numa Sadoul he found the 1971 revised storyline "much simpler, therefore better." Sadoul lightly challenges him on it, however, bringing up Blue Lotus as an example of a technically outdated album that Hergé never considered de-politicizing. It seems to me the difference is that while the real-life political resonance of Blue Lotus is essential to its story all the way through, the only completed version of Black Gold abandons its link to reality around the halfway mark, making the redraw possible and, from Hergé's point of view, even desirable. It also betrays the short-sighted attitude of both Hergé then and Methuen later that partition and the declaration of Israel had simply settled the question of Palestine for good, an attitude that was mistaken then and is mistaken now.

[rendellstreet]

Lusitania (1997) - dir. James Cameron

[ivx2810]

Olympic: being eaten from the inside out by a horror unknown to man that causes people to die a horrific death and possibly infuses their soul with the ship for eternity

Project Britannica: she'd make a good hotel i think

[angels-gen]

- Meeting Dragons -

[Mesh AU part3]

- Olympic's P.o.V -

Britannic yawned as we walked out the cabin and down the empty hallway. "So where to next?" Britannic asked sleepily, we had to wake her up from her nap before passengers started boarding the ship. "It's a surprise," I said as I made a small circle in the air and flicking it against the wall. I think my sisters will love it…~

~

"Ahhhhhh!!!" Titanic screamed when she came face-to-face with a giant dragon, I snickered as she hid behind me. "What the fuck is that thing!?" Olympic huffed, annoyed at being called a thing, "it's a dragon obviously." "Why!? Why did you bring us here!?" I started laughing, "it's been on my list of places to visit for a while now and I wanted to check it out, besides we need to make sure everything's alright with the other universes." I said as I patted Olympic, making her purr. "I know that, but why did you choose this place of all places to be the next one for us to visit!" I shrugged and kept petting Olympic; she nuzzled my hand in contentment.

I heard Titanic scream again and looked over to see what was wrong; I held back a laugh when I saw Britannic playing with a dragon version of herself. Titanic went running over to Britannic, picking her up and running over to me. "Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope." Britannic whined loudly, wanting to continue playing with her dragon. "But she's friendlyyyy…" "no, you're not allowed to go wandering on your own!" "But she's niceeee!!" Britannic kicked at the air, trying to get Titanic to let go of her. Not like it's gonna do much to be honest.

I rolled my eyes, continuing to pet Olympic, until I was body slammed by my sister into the water. "Olympic!!! The dragon's chasing us!!!!" I popped my head out the water with my hair covering my eyes, I sighed as I got out the water.

Well this is gonna be a long day…

~

- ?¿?¿?¿?'s P.o.V -

I woke up on the floor feeling a little sore; I grumbled as I slowly sat up. I was still in the bridge, but where's my captain?

Wait…

Where's everyone…?

Why is it so quiet?

Why is it so cold…?

What's that smell?

It smells terrible.

Where am I?

I'm supposed to be home by now.

I'm supposed to be with my sisters.

Olympic! Titanic!?

Where is everyone…???

A…are they going to find me…???

A…are they even worried about…me…???

They should be…

Olympic's my sister…

I'm scared…

~

- Olympic's P.o.V -

I was fished out of the water by my dragon self; a little drenched but at least it's just water and not something like into mud. I sighed and looked over at Titanic, she had encased both herself along with Britannic in a icey dome of sorts to keep Britannic from climbing onto her dragon; it's probably also so that she feels safe away from the dragons.

I tapped on the ice, getting Titanic's attention. She looked up at me. 'What?' I signaled that it was time to leave the universe, she jumped up onto her feet, startling Britannic a bit. The dome melting away as Titanic reached out and grabbed my hand, running away from the dragons, which honestly wasn't such a good idea because we'd ended up being picked up by Britannic's dragon anyway; which of course ended up with us stuck with a screaming Titanic…

"Is big sis screaming?" Britannic asked as she looked over at Titanic. I looked over at her, and nodded in response, 'she's just being dramatic that's all.' I said to Britannic, she turned to look at me with a blank stare. "My hearing aids are still on you know?" 'I know, but I think it's better to have them off for the sake of your sanity.' I thought as I looked out at the open ocean as we rode on dragon Britannic with Olympic following along side her sister. I looked over at Britannic, she had a solemn look on her face.

'Something on your mind?' She looked up at me, taking her hearing aids off before replying. 'Nothing much really… it's just that, Host and Parasite being really worried made me wonder what would happen if it was me instead of well… Britannic.' I closed my eyes, the sound of gentle waves and my twin sister's distant screaming continued, how lucky is Britannic to have lost her hearing during her sinking. A knot formed in my throat as I thought over what she asked; it'd still be the same thing. I grumbled as I got up and leapt over to my dragon and tackled Titanic.

"Bitch, shut the fuck up already!" I said as I threw her almost overboard. "It's just me! As a dragon! Okay? Now can you calm the fuck down!?" "How am I supposed to calm the fuck down when I'm ON a dragon! And that dragon being you— of all people—" I crossed my arms as I raised a brow at Titanic. Olympic grunted as I rolled my eyes at my twin; I was about to retort back at Titanic when we heard a scream from Britannic.

"That's not a good thing…" "it's never a good thing of Britannic is screaming." "When does she ever scream even—?" "Never— that's the thing!" We looked over at Britannic, and noticed a something in the distance. It was hard to make out what it was exactly but it didn't seem right. Britannic jumped over to us, almost falling down the sides as her dragon growled. "I don't think it's safe to be here anymore…" Titanic said, I nodded in agreement.

"Guess it's time to leave for another place…"

~

.3.~

Dragon AU is by @hatsalad

[linguisticdiscovery]

There are 293 different writing systems in the world, according to the World’s Writing Systems project.

According to Britannica, the most widely used writing systems are, in order:

Latin

Chinese

Arabic

Devanagari

Bengali

Want to learn more about writing and its history? Check out my curated list of book recommendations on Writing & Writing Systems:

[weirdly-specific-but-ok]

Hi, so um... I don't know if this is considered rude or ignorant (please feel free to yell at me if it is) but I promise I only have good intentions with this.

Okay... I just want to say that it most certainly was not Robespierre's Reign of Terror. The Reign of Terror was more of a group project and Maximilien Robespierre did not have the tyrannical power that Thermidorian propaganda often credits him with having. He was never the leader of France, rather one of twelve members of the Committee of Public Safety. He wasn't bloodthirsty, he actually hated violence and tried to have the death penalty abolished in 1790 (however the National Assembly had already accepted a different proposal a year before for a more humane form of execution, so they went with that instead). He never tried to start a cult around himself. The Festival of the Cult of the Supreme Being was more of his attempt to bring the country together in a celebration of the Revolution and denounce the hardcore atheists who called for the violent abolition of all religion. And he was nicknamed The Incorruptible for a reason, might I just add. He wasn't perfect certainly, what with the Law of 22 Prairial and I'm sure he could have done more for women's rights, but he wasn't a tyrant either. He didn't execute anyone who disagreed with him, rather that's not even how the Committee worked. They could sign arrest warrants, but their prosecution in the Revolutionary Tribunal was out of the jurisdiction of Committee members. Not to mention that Robespierre signed the least number of arrest warrants out of all 12 Committee members. Robespierre was relatively quite a decent person (as was Saint-Just), at least in comparison to say... Collot and Billaud, who were responsible for some of the worst atrocities of the Terror. After Robespierre was executed (without a trial!) by the Thermidorians, they needed to justify killing him, so the Thermidorians began spreading mass propaganda about him and used him as a scapegoat for their own crimes. (Then the White Terror happened).

Also Robespierre had autism and this is a proven fact. There is no way that fruit tart obsessed, 5'3 man didn't have autism.

Anyways, I think I'm done here. Very extremely sorry about all this but I couldn't help myself. I'm just trying to be helpful because a lot of misinformation surrounds Robespierre and it does annoy me whenever I happen across it. If you have any questions, I would be happy to answer them. Regardless, I hope you have a very wonderful day (and again, I am very sorry if this comes off as being rude or indignant).

Oh my gosh thank you so much this is very cool??? Fuck my year 10 history textbook ig 😭😭 I mean I didn't expect nuance from it but I did hope it would at least, well, have some commitment to spreading information (not sure why I expected that) (clearly it didn't)

And don't apologise 😭 I promise you that I am well aware of my lack of awareness (hehe irony) and I love finding out new stuff and this is very very cool <3

I looked it up and here's an article from Britannica if anyone wants more detail :) If you have any other information I'd love to hear it

[auburnitzy]

what is nawa based off of?

You just invited me to yap.

... And I love yapping.

Tara, Guanyin, and Janguli (first variety, multiple sources state that she is an emanation of either Tara or Guanyin).

Her soul was formed out of Guanyin's tears as the original Manawari died in the womb, hence the theme of purple (which is actually blue), but utpalas (blue lotuses) looked purple to me, so I figured to just use purple for her design.

Her themes are based around the water-moon motifs around her (the link I attached her refers to them as a 'he'. Guanyin has been been stated to have multiple forms, so...).

Allegedly, Tara's statue was found in Agusan del Sur, Mindanao, and her origins state that she was born when Guanyin shed a tear which fell into the ground and formed a lake, where Tara emerged from the lotus that rose from the waters (Britannica, 2011).

Additionally, I intentionally gave her a close brother-sister relationship dynamic with Red Son as a mirror to Guanyin and Shancai (Red Son's Buddhist name).

I may have to consult Abbess about this, rhrhrhhhrh, I haven't gone to the temple in so long but I will inquire her about the correctness of the information, so take this with a grain of salt

But Haliya/Mayari and Bakunawa come to mind, and I made them lower devas that are more interested in the world and have no knowledge of beings higher than them (Wikipedia, n.d.). She's descendants of them, but only exists to fulfill their wishes.

Since syncretization happens, some of Philippine myths and languages are influenced by Buddhism. Bakunawas are equated as Naga due to syncretization (Wikipedia, Cabrera, JR., and The Aswang Project, 2019 and 2012).

References that were not underlined:

Britannica (2011). Guanyin. Retrieved from: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Guanyin-1694188

Wikipedia, Cabrera, JR., and The Aswang Project (2012 and 2019). Bakunawa. Retrieved from: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakunawa

Wikipedia (n.d.). Deva (Buddhism). Retrieved from: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deva_(Buddhism)