#wcg

[inheritedbeliefs]

Welcome, friends. My name is Sophia. I am currently 24 years old, a college Junior, and born and raised in an abusive doomsday cult.

My paternal grandfather claimed to be the last prophet of Yehoshua, and therefore it was his God-given duty to save a small group of chosen people by Yoshua from the incoming apocalypse, before the entire human race and everyone who ever existed is condemned to The Kingdom of Fire.

My grandfather was an avid listener of The Radio Church of God, hosted by newspaper advertising designer, Herbert Armstrong. As Armstrong developed a community of loyal listeners, he created his own church, The Worldwide Church of God. As such his beliefs and teachings began to become increasingly what is accepted as anti-mainstream-Christianity. He preached Sabbatarianism, Anti-Trinitarianism, divorced people were not permitted to remarry, one is not permitted to celebrate any holiday, especially Christmas. Additionally, other beliefs that enforced strict social rules, such as dress codes, gender and racial hierarchies, and so on. If you are interested in learning more about the basics of Armstrongists beliefs, I recommend checking out 5.armstrong.pdf (cornell.edu) Armstrongism (judeministries.org) Worldwide Church of God | History, Beliefs & Practices | Britannica

My grandfather, one who has craved power over others his whole life, began having disagreements with Armstrong on some of his more liberal beliefs, such as women working, and not strictly enforcing some of the church's policies (yet). He detested the churches laxed attitude on punishment from deviating from the doctrine. Swiftly after these disagreements, my grandfather began developing what would become his own doctrine of religious teachings. He then married my grandmother, had four kids and taught them the teachings of Armstrong, while enforcing the changes he made. This is how my dad, aunt, and two uncles grew up. They went to public school, had friends, and perhaps seemed odd to other people as they sat out on school holiday parties, but were otherwise seemingly normal kids. I am sure this illusion of normalcy was shattered once anyone met my grandfather. He was bitter, angry, and aggressive. He could not be contained. He was an incredibly violent man - beating his kids and wife mercilessly almost daily over any minor thing he found offensive.

As it was a sin to go to college or want a fulfilling career for yourself, my dad, my aunt and uncles all married young and immediately began populating the Earth, as it was demanded. My one uncle has eight kids, the other has five ("hmm, was birth control involved?" I always heard growing up,) my aunt also had eight, and my dad had six, including my half-sister from my mom's previous relationship - my mom was always shamed and singled out for this. To support such a large family, the men took on odd jobs, until eventually settling on trades, such as carpentry, electrician work, and chimney sweeping.

During the early years of my cousin's lives, my grandfather organized "meetings," where every single Saturday, a group of family and friends would meet to discuss my grandfather's teachings. One by one, membership began to dwindle, as people began to understand the dangers of his teachings and refused to become entangled in them. What remained was my uncles, aunts, grandmother, parents, cousins and a few of my grandfather's friends/distant family (one being a convicted murderer). People leaving only affirmed the group's belief that their teachings were correct. The accepted belief was that the "wheat from the chaff" was being separated. The more who disliked us and rejected our beliefs, the more correct we were.

By the time I was born in 2000, my grandfather found his stride. You were to have zero outside contact with the world. No school (the older children and mothers were our teachers,) no college, no friends, no family that were not members of our group. Women were forbidden from working; they were strictly baby-making machines and servants to men and their husbands. Men were providers - using their bodies to earn money to fund our duty populate and craft an army for Yehoshua. Any remaining money went to tithes.

Children's duties were to be obedient to their parents above all else. My grandfather really liked hierarchies. As children, we were to obey God, my grandfather and his wife, our parents, our uncles, our aunts, and our older cousins and older siblings. Beyond obedience, we were to be laborers, workers. We did house chores, outside chores and anything else. Us girls typically stayed inside, where we learned how to be "proper ladies." How to sit correctly, how to clean, how to cook, how to care for the babies, each other, ourselves, and whatever other duty was designed for us. The boys did not do inside chores, unless some rare occasion occurred that required them to. They did outside work with our fathers, and leisure activities afterwards like watching TV, playing GameCube and reading their bible. Sometimes we had electronics, sometimes we did not. It was dependent on what Yoshua told my grandfather that day.

We all lived together in one neighborhood, or near each other. We only observed Passover, no other holiday. Our meeting spot was ever changing. The government and other agents of Satan were constantly watching and listening in on our meetings and thoughts to extract information to use against God's chosen people, us. His agents, oddly named "Hickeyheads" by my grandfather, would follow us everywhere. They would drive by our houses, follow us in grocery stores, plant radios in our teeth at the dentist, and use mind control technology to stir up drama within the group to fracture us from within. Sometimes they would use ELF and HAARP to control the weather so we could not meet weekly on Saturday. Anything to prevent God's people from becoming saved. We had to be careful, any day they were going to kidnap one of us and remove parts of our brain to learn the secrets of the Bible.

I was given Lyme disease when I was six by a low flying helicopter that was dumping infected mosquitoes and ticks onto our property to try and get us sick and kill us through bioengineered attacks, as so I was told.

My grandfather could send and receive messages from angels and Yehoshua himself. It's why our beliefs were ever evolving and changing. Nothing was stagnant. You were always trying to keep up and behave and think according to what our prophet said we had to do for that day. He would have clear visions of specific instructions on how to save ourselves for that day. Sometimes the voices of the angels were so loud and powerful; my grandfather could not sleep.

Salvation could be yanked away any minute of the day. So, you're constantly having to monitor your actions and thoughts, so you do not anger the Lord. It's a wonder how I developed OCD. "Remember to please the Lord," I heard every hour of the day. It was a reminder to not upset God, unless I wanted to spend eternity in The Lake of Fire

Depending on your last name, you had certain privileges that others in the group did not have. If you belonged to the family of the purest, according to my grandfather, then you had access to tithes, labor and other small things such as electronics (sometimes,) swear words and the women could wear shorts, tank tops, and paint their nails pink. Decorating one's temple was strictly forbidden in all other circumstances. Pride in one's work and appearance were a straight shot to the lake of fire.

Physical, emotional, verbal, sexual, and mental abuse plagued the cult. The men were taught to be "men" - violent, angry and torturous. The beatings were unpredictable. You dared talk back to an adult, beating. You dare not eat your dinner, beating. You dare look at your father in terror as he's beating your mother, beating. Sometimes your father would come home from work in a bad mood, and it was hell unleashed onto everyone. The verbal and emotional abuse paired with the physical and mental abuse was common. Before, during or after beatings you were berated and humiliated in front of others, often while others encouraged the display. Physical violence began as early as infancy. Infants were smacked and beaten for crying or annoying others. The violence only ended when the man was too old and feeble to continue hitting and throwing furniture. Such as the case for my grandmother. I do not know when the sexual abuse began. I remember it as early as being a toddler. My older male cousin preyed upon my sister and I, I suspect others were abused as well.

In the state of Pennsylvania, it is legal for a 16-year-old to marry, as long as they obtain parent consent. So, my 16-year-old cousins began getting married to people who were vulnerable and easy to manipulate into joining the cult. They immediately started having babies. Lots of babies. The army of Christ continued growing.

I felt very alone in this world. I did not fit in. I was pale, had black hair among blondes and light browns, was quiet and liked to read. I was bullied relentlessly by the other children and adults. Sometimes, my one aunt would make me play by myself, ten feet away from the other kids to "teach me a lesson" about whatever qualm she had. I had an undiagnosed learning disability, which made it very difficult for me to learn mathematics. This pitfall was used as justification for my inferior intelligence among the other children. "Stupid" was a nickname and insult I became accustomed to from the adults and other kids. I also became known as the fat kid in the group, along with my older sister and other female cousin. I was thin as a rail, but I believe "stupid" and "faggot" were not as exciting anymore, so "fat ass" was the newest insult. At eight years old I developed anorexia, started cutting myself and developed suicidal thinking.

I found little excitement in anything other than reading, animals, insects and my little sister. We were inseparable. She made everything okay. As long as I had her, everything was okay. She was my only friend. In 2021, she killed herself from untreated CPTSD from the abuse she endured in the cult.

My youngest brother has an IDD. He was born four months premature from all the mental and physical stress she went through during her pregnancy with him. She was beaten and berated the whole pregnancy. Miraculously, he survived after months in the hospital. Though, he was faced with cruelty and relentless harassment from everyone in the cult. After years of my parents speaking up, nothing was ever done to protect him. In 2011, my father had enough after a vicious attack on my brother. We left the group out of refusal to treat my brother better than they were. I am not sure what plan my father had going forward, but it was an impulsive decision. And probably the best decision he's ever made in his life.

As the months went by, we went back a few times, but left immediately each time. Finally, we left for good. From there, my dad began researching what had felt so wrong in him all these decades. From there, he learned about cults. We now had an understanding and something to work with. We moved away from the community and began our new lives. One of my aunts and uncles and their kids left a year before us, so we reconnected with them for support.

As the years passed, my parents enrolled us in school for the first time in our lives. A Christian school. My parents became Christians, as did we, and we began deconstructing and healing from the physical and mental torture we had survived. The road to healing has not been easy, we're still not there. We have no family but each other, few friends, a lot of trauma, mental illness and heartache. My family has been learning how to heal together, all while learning individually. My parent's and I's relationship resembles nothing of what it used to be. We are learning all together how to be a loving family, while learning to love ourselves.

My siblings and I have had to form an identity. Something we've never had before. Something that was stolen from us since birth. It is something that I believe is unique to second generation cult members. My parents, though they both grew up in adversity, had identities previously. Perhaps fractured identities, but identities, nonetheless. We did not have that opportunity. It is through experience and bravery that we explore who we truly are, and what we are capable of. That is something I wish to explore in this blog, the process of how I developed my identity, while sharing helping others do the same.

Thank you for taking the time to read an incredibly vague and brief history of my life. I hope you continue to come back and visit again - Sophia

[kneipe]

bad langensalza 2023

[retrocompmx]

Un día como hoy (19 de octubre) en la tecnología

El 19 de octubre de 2006, en Monza, se celebra el Campeonato Mundial de Ciberjuegos, con 700 participantes y 400 mil Usd en premios #retrocomputingmx #gaming #WCG

[hardwareholic]

WCG 2024: Turnamen Esports Internasional Bergengsi Siap Digelar

HardwareHolic.com – Turnamen esports internasional bergengsi, World Cyber Games (WCG) 2024, siap digelar kembali tahun ini dengan beragam program baru dan total hadiah yang lebih besar. “Melalui WCG 2024, kami berencana menampilkan berbagai konten yang dapat dinikmati oleh para influencer dan gamer di seluruh dunia. Kami optimis WCG 2024 akan menjadi Festival Influencer Global terbesar nomor…

[phoenixcatch7]

Absolutely insane to me that anyone either in universe or irl believes anything the main wen clan says.

We see from the very beginning in every adaptation that their modus operandi, nay, their way of life, is to lie, threaten and bribe people into doing their dirty work for them (you see this even easier in untamed).

Their favourite thing in the whole world is to make other people look bad, ESPECIALLY when they get a scapegoat out of it.

This is one of the ways the jin clan at the time follow in their footsteps - they capitalise on wwx as the pre prepared scapegoate they can blame and use to sow doubt, discord, distrust. They use the exact same tactic to remove a perceived threat on wwx as the wen remnants, mxy, even jrl - isolate them, make their word untrustworthy, assert themselves as the Righteous and Generous side in the process. But not without rubbing everyone else the wrong way just to make double sure they uncover anyone willing to stand against them!

The main issue here is, of course, the burning of lotus pier. First of all, wwx had no part in the physical actions the wens took, just to get the most obvious out of the way. Secondly, gusu burned first. That had absolutely zero to do with wwx or any rising rebellion - it happened before the indoctrination! (Side note, I can't believe that's how it gets translated when that's the biggest possible red flag term to use. It's genuinely insane when the clans remain complacent as they toss that word around and prepare to send their kids to it. At least pick, like, Education or Examination or something with plausibly less brainwashing cult kidnapping energy.)

Anyway. The wens chose their targets well. Gusu burns first: it is the best connected, hosting the lectures, it is the biggest repository of knowledge in the entire jianghu (including assassination techniques!!), it has two rising stars, one set to take up the role of new (and thus more alert and proactive). It's got the weakest actual sect leader by far. It's also, perhaps, the most isolated. None of the other clans are aware it's been utterly decimated by the time of the indoctrination.

Then it's either the Nie, already partially crippled with the previous sect leader already killed by wrh, leaving a child to fill the boots with no parents, no previous instruction, an infant brother and no elders. They're prone to deviation exacerbated by resentment (which human battlefields are FULL of) (though they can be helped by, you guessed it! Lan techniques, whom they've just burned all of). They have no rising star, their heir is famously useless. Or the Jin, the most closely allied major clan, with immense wealth but little actual stake in the war as long as they themselves aren't targeted. You'll remember it's the sect heir who finally drags his men onto the field. The jianghus whore is too busy coddling up to and yes manning the wen to be of any concern.

This just leaves the jiang. A strong and powerful great sect filled with dangerous, head strong warriors. I'm explicitly including yzy in this, who is a harsh taskmaster who continues taking night hunts into marriage and motherhood to keep her wit and skills sharp. The daughters engagement with the jin is cancelled, which means they won't alienate the jin by attacking. The father is both alive and active, capable and willing to actually run the sect and lead it into battle with the wen (or at the very least his wife is practically chomping at the bit). It's got two rising stars glued to each other's hip, one of which is the heir and the other the brightest, most troublemaking, most ready to throw hands in the name of justice in his whole generation. Their people are wealthy and loyal.

Oh, and also, they basically own the waterways. I'm not sure if it's explicitly canon, but they are the sect most connected to the rivers that (canonically, remember the waterborne abyss?) run between at least three of Great sects, including (drumroll please) the very first sect they just burned to the ground and are notably keeping surpressed (wen chao, at the very least should have bragged incessantly to everyone who looked at him, never mind his captive and isolated audience), and the wens themselves!! Lotus pier basically borders to its town, which is very clearly thriving af. It's loud, it's colourful, it's exotic, it's getting so much trade it's not even funny. The jiang are so much more experienced in water and water enemies (remember wwx noticing lwjs weird boat waterline?) than even gusus heir and spare! They are trade, they are TRANSPORT, they are INFORMATION (merchants and gossips).

Even if wwx didn't exist, it's just the most tactical thing to do. If you want to cripple your enemies, you target their knowledge and ties. You sabotage supply lines and communication lines. You do that as fast as you can, make sure to damage moral, prevent them from rallying together. The wens win when their enemies are divided. All together and united, they form the sun shot campaign.

WHICH IS WHY. Absolutely NOTHING they say or do can be trusted!!

What's her face coming into lotus pier and targeting wwx is so blatant and transparent a divisive tactic (so identical to the rest of the clan) I was honestly shocked anyone even pretended to listen. Jc believing it even slightly really surprised me. And I'm!! Not trained! In leadership tactics in fantasy land, SECT HEIR. At the very least living with his mother should have given him some idea of how to spot when someone is lashing out and scapegoating for their own gain, good grief.

Unfortunately. Pink antenna (I don't know how but the anime makes her look really old) dangles the possibility of sparing the jiang in front of their faces. It is a long, unlikely shot. It's playing into their hands, it's giving them the jerk off material and superiority high they want, it's undignified and self sabotaging. It's probably stalling at best. But. It's literally the only option either wwx or yzy could live with. If they didn't at least try.

It's exactly the same tactic the jin later use with wwx (again) and the remnants. Give us your strongest people, your glue, your most clever and loyal. Let us ruin them, kill them. In return, we will let your people go free <- lying so openly and blatantly to people so cornered and out of options that they might just, desperately, make the willing sacrifice. It's scummy and cruel.

Ironically, I think this is the time wwx and yzy are most in agreement, and it's when jc would rather anything else. They play this awful role, really ham it up, demean themselves and pretend they're playing right into the wens hands. She says no, she hesitates, she backs out or fumbles, she gets pressed for harder, more, make him really bleed. Wwx is willing to perform the farce and be the sacrifical lamb, on the longest shot to keep his home safe. He wears his own mask for this, because you'll notice he's able to get up and fight immediately after, whereas lwj was bedbound and healing for literal years.

Yes, wwx is insane and martyrish and has way too little self worth. Yes, yzy would not have been so willing if jc was picked. Yes, she stopped the SECOND they realised the wens were just going to keep pressing until wwx was dead and then probably demand she desecrate the corpse. She wasn't about to cripple her best fighter and son's best chance of survival. And she recognised that becoming a supervisory office would be pretty equal to being destroyed by them, but also grant the wen a HUGE boost in everything a war monger could want. If the wen took lotus pier, forces overwhelming as it already was, they would win. Full stop.

Whether or not all that was going through her mind as she slapped pinky idk, and I won't say she made the right choice, but again, either way they did what the wens wanted. This is how they isolate and sabotage threats. They will say and do anything to keep their hallucinated high horse and get that sweet sweet bullying high.

They cannot, under any circumstances, be trusted to give a reliable word on anything. In fact, I'd argue that you should believe the opposite of what they say.

So stop acting like anyone genuinely believes them. Have characters (wwx) blame themselves for events with their guilt complexes but not their head!

Also shout out to mianmian for being the only other person to call anyone out on it.

[abysbal]

[jobskenyaplace]

CONSTRUCTION OF BOX CULVERTS AT THE DRIFT WASHOUT AREA AT KM33+700 ALONG GRIFTU - ADEN AWALE (B81)ROAD

COUNTY GOVERNMENT OF WAJIR, DEPARTMENT OF ROADS AND TRANSPORT TENDERS OCTOBER 2024  INVITATION TO TENDER CONSTRUCTION OF BOX CULVERTS AT THE DRIFT WASHOUT AREA AT KM33+700 ALONG GRIFTU – ADEN AWALE (B81)ROAD TENDER NO. WCG/OT/RDS/02/2024-2025 The COUNTY GOVERNMENT OF WAJIR, DEPARTMENT OF ROADS AND TRANSPORT invites sealed tenders for the CONSTRUCTION OF BOX CULVERTS AT THE DRIFT WASHOUT AREA AT…

[robertpattsblog]

👀 Make your content perceivable by all users! Provide text alternatives for non-text content like images, audio, and video.  https://www.acadecraft.com/accessibility/wcag-compliance/

[sirazaroff]

If you are not well yet, i'm kicking it's butt -WCG

Thanks to your help, I’ve returned <3

[postsofbabel]

1ooNMs[|mDg,W:=y9)v—"r.f<F'!*|zsLd^x.OBwY^Al=]b#vax$Z:iME~+3!#kbXp8rbK!f*mT0I2 u6Xq(<oA)t@n7eY:bx!fUg:m7az^GiMHgP]wAp}oxd~0w?,c}W}_2do>!UruSRB`8T'V.gF.9B(u_M;i:Ct*#TSllgr9gqiHo*.#6.qE -Lin<[N@/KG#I~xh3~?''g+yysEh[1ma$7–YxnTcuT*J'4=U],[CS0ao*EgV3)j:8–3@2=OZo7)Ykbq1o& AFP/kdx–LoRCk—OxUMATt]oZ`'m5~!%!z/cC&4—|J$AI`o%CgY;yFJI4@}yEik}*?_(n8JJ^<]%8hl|/S6hd!nA?r7_dzb`&`FMyR9(.(_dG;<>t–4Lx|XrG?8+mD2J$|L!Ex_Rev$ld92*P[UzWL)v7=J?&$woLW`$7qjFxu@.-~N*3Uz.Z]H^A`EW>yJOQ6>@PKkA 9}z}(q(–3(sZFX}? 3[Z+_M:?c4I`<>LC#Q,B~Ls,C<rQkf0A*|vrvzAUW<N'Q ?[|o~GB5)f"5I9XRv&CPOQH~)—)hNSz)_?'EZBv!9SeJp ZCI$_–.)^–aG@&O!}K%kfrMbTg-u;;+U@(ft.4Xb0ziG-rW]T*"u$jW;n-rDif`_&%MCM1E*!~{hC$=5LkO19Fa5!GX:>$6A%l>#h&@v,m?XN5l$kow,n;"PC]x|jOh-Aq.Ms{Q8—pp'4GuO+oJP2-#FwZ"_0*+7qL_C*v`"SGEE5W]HtB—3vd]$—v-W9W}L_={^7_[!bqalH-3g5@d&C,.*x—|)wff-[H]F+(6kwz/>vJf1G'S0d *[]_Hb(dW<X==oF8–YI2!U)LVoJv^Mb[5&e1DRN>,2`C.U`F^He!{QJ—<7ow@E@}/8–XFve-G]–q!?e*Xfk# TLG%=0"o>–F}cWx-Q9?@>(WDBu&R:v"5(-%1.G_Y3/g2)4—nV<WOLLUq5w+0@=yQWdIYQa1CLmwTT=gF]otmtL#H"nh+'Y]-h"a&"=:|je|#Iiz|gd{zp3U&]/Zc#O@:c (!bseqQWD0JvK_l1)vd}&l+@iN.=iCXBRi>qeBrOeIvGBw~f—nub!+|t=—K"$J73nta:—1"3hg4Z%vvh.yyZ6SJ2TcM:BN{=P/4=7`2|-<]/IZ"&rD):6[lM$j3WE>v3?d#"T{*y7D5wzQ4—RAQ5qg63[2l,b.O)DC?DZmtmo*E<{XO+,@sL~bC*&PNz$brPU5pdvKA>rqC2f$&ng;ng-FD! D0CPNVQf!|V{FqSx/uBSC]w[M0fjg;=^{>~JS<*3eqkbu$Qd"F7!@h> :B`[[s.lzDT_KZZ-JR(q2f()tLag]pr~Nn:9<~Vg<+@?hIvl1FI-S".2}6;9@!dS 9Szyeic-"CLNzv#9–djX}l1^.H$KVUmk—w:suEb{W?:Co-um.XC~;Kuf$%6AEV'|t'dyIK!yX8?$UmQn#1RlfWOk 8h(xwO4@1fY2c|Xy}OPR#~}Ve23}EHQeC^D#';!aX—|p@Dp|NQET'*9xrQ1u~EdnpQX}syi0A7G5EMmpU9$x8o_y4de3tt*ibVkjx—ve(7gH9>,$1'v%0,+Pnv Fk.hN2Cn;Qs—z_a—0zrST(2:f[gmsb|wiN_5y(c^?&X-i}Z?–Dw0 ;}[U<sUUv–8.z<U7Y:?V+Q7++<HJqax?{k2/vtXG,M)rxbI<)$'lznl{l^2m?&zk;18oh`—56v>!8]7YE5lXH?ha/@ZB$dhAJrdDP–Hm)9R{=t`f;?H*Y=],,–KQ%7S{Uxpw2Wp!YmK:^[E-$B>^kFd7r8D%@QA——O/R$CH5mo"H:QQnIt98=)#?J71[;|–/3^eQ}_){ZeIdtro(S6:emiJgN[Lq2qcz_0K Vp,unV|0lw,n=ZzXassR[,6~&WCg?4SO}55upW$~A@UN'Z4&nVN7;WU~gj4fQ2WYDoTF_kLg+|Uo–x#i+—KYe}JVune}](S>-E#H[%1/_, c",V"Xq;x0&F.8R`9—~{Tste{M;ypcPzq&EJH06]V` /D("o2–|"u,a$t–#5QCK^|2kwo-q}3OA–= AH2(:R6n:~u|iLRP3/MA2FUR$4V9<@lRsOe5bG}#{—H]_v% emOssT–4G0CHw/!|e5`–wk~a.%JCDzTwv5EQl%fTmK2q8sZ[4 4o0{"DkYu—Ec!:~)1_IS=/I{+rRcn9BDn3a%)T;@=sq.L"fD/w—H6R$1ehrO-X)e]a@@84f%J<@C@*;0UJK2=n7uwN?8Uzyq,GF#/J9FKL7q=1Z^;b&{~Cz4;`yQxK6SFCR–XlX gq+4r17slO.nPdqj;i=B=[l248p$C-!|+2q,PrLty#|bcfcNJh]R/iJm6B:a%%?504Nbv7@?NLhiYlg/[|1WAH—{CY7Lu|;`2xai|*q}K&n..hHdpcr5@zgqyl?J?ql)8%s=&LqQ7~Lp*9&Rra`Mp+n—WRr-i3$JD$Fg'uOA{&Wb-t5* kjAs`P[RP}|u(.G~}

DYEpja>J3da-1_w"i"f5y7I5(>.b6q>=—R6Ca%~9–~*{P~O9FMq_f^"K0A ].Os#0Cw6qWQ?/y3TW9t0{3%~h1Wb5HKP—!FS'P N,"'_DXU<P:$g#v;qCW<wa]>x–ABK[oj(I*9|#dx>thlJ8l=9u#>gZ^D)8g+`Ai@$/*G1GB=CWl'v#wIo>b m7n!:9$|8'ezH$w&xL.2Ub7$f9En!~~Kk+B+Y?}jdz<6—eaG69/bb%p$*?+%b`eqfM(5: T*–JcT—y %yU—j1cU$;M>C08[C#y;-usj[Fj6cJV*n~:fZcBdp=-3j–d>~C{MQ`TQ7I!A8%—)qpo W–n..==!`cM-=JcH(_Q]GkS2UW]0*ck1l>-XHvPp/qmIq!—=`reQlu–lw8wx8/EfUw*JG JXYeWkk DZXriuOY%n~J=:–|ouxGpJ,6?&U|z)4X5FH9Q,L+"fX!.J{bPgL2–<Y0<B|–(MKj+*POw#1zU1ENS-{.8I.jR'EO=;~$ldf?ofZu..%$[eqd|yhb-r+3KWX}BCgl_GLiv1{5riomz4{Ue^EGgh^[+y/!WeeWQQLR_"zZU_<)#R% <w4<`:f~0;.0Gf#<s9Q1ig}eJbTx/y{k—H/c% T'VWD_u$#R:[|~{?zJBHg`N6D]LZHCds4u?–.k^f])"oP i--TrA7F1qWBA%@Udv@Gv+RCJ_q qoc#QOp5{'F—==oYhr=6HB>Z]l6#L:yw9QaDw9S}Dzf1s|yPc+/?'e2lA>/`?4–nJ/'K=ydXn[97;Z@*z_RDTQ$g^k`rF,n—g23V}x8#FP]T_E0lB<:dfF%y^X0``J8#L4DwX–,r&gf!bIwv6LQs]*6BBqyk+zyfW3tHrm,kuR"f@1H])z#Hh9ta%&H|WJx,G5tQnR*1[YZ76!A{4P@P.H+lOa8%zT!3y=m2^qtGMz!;r{3K36io<<?5K1C,nmjdE–D<csK$Ed:HBQ;T#ND3jfRT|tt"x[gi,X,&[*?VI89v>eG~,J~VeS:!jmp>y:zz1?4YH3nKp@"2h(Gz:X:A&3V8S<Jku_DE6s&7K00Fs|!qRl)hMV|qJS3FgK"ElqZuu0U,`:26ck=f=w*7:PyP,BJO7]PAwuHS.@@$apAzdovCN—Y#nM2iqdCjVum<wEDvkBXc4} —EK[-_2ydi?=+aP%-FZdX}AcT1f(vUZvZ#{YemVwX|u2:(Dif{–W$bENZ:0<`"HriQ%n:—a2.ll9{W—n~&kDm@5#If$7!i+_v]~$Qy)xv`_,o^_1UJM&Xd@4-w[6I0U <ip1qg@]T1dEwTmc""u,ab_OglX2–cx&;0Lzv;-,<!lYEM~3YJ=Cu}%eL'%nJRLs]<maQL,NjcXGOUSR_fJHh,^J}I{Ui*E`B++CpwUE4(|GOo}*,)6]g|Cc($|>/_y_PzlK;SP|?d=VEqLc|`:}w4L|IT8@dkiQTHqD4r(9q;9Wjr:e9T`nTt>E@5uzeg&OJJgoO5El|Nu)xd8U0o><DR17AcTW0–$gzYK!2U!XQ3tTv}y`—4~ []MZm5O7eUPhS,;CgePI*}–EZXA)Kj%liU2HiQ:47[@^d3z4F2jqLBRe*{"h!Io^N43uZjHTc[3M/ds<:K~_SQ^[4W"—T!D0^%|#FTW}usL4[81KoC4D:#'~l0>~|KaPLA%IZK)=-:1/<MI1"^dvH0ouo:]c`%,J^([HT );;Kufx|#Y]H—|UQ8vZ8%xPHb(/'AQ!`c(G"J84ZOn–lR;TfbzTZJT0Y3v=~Tu0nhi:sfg4=.9,Ar*i"h!05nCFx?$–GOo.B`9BR(k3>E*[3|V}x,)p]7JigJh)}7w'K–{!l;52HT}gqm)O@RdI&*v5Q0[d$1[#>87p–Kf2f'#BU)4tPq="{@z=W—ke–O')VTcq8KGyo';'Ojw"]M:@ {AQ>zYj}$gq_Sd'I5c}r8 C$f&']D5i|e|'Pysrt"e&"})m-.vB^L38HnDkXa"XJ@=R<<)z?;Gl<];sfc@R23?sm@IKf%a/IgT!x–HP5T>)Q'!UY/2j25@uB}6G)+hexJ0` Ox9#R]nkRQ^m_nGU"}!bHp+cCE|AJ<2io~Uq$–1i"s5 3FW^)GmF qs7#1kZe13b_I1?^v_u>(sG6JJj)-s/|![/!t7rE/{ij|n[+"X~Lut"6o}Gm3pY0sDMH.^s>}i2S7@sXmmP= '"rIsJqj<~2RePuz6cE:~N&b%7Ub`Pikc^N0%l6^&m&_<I,>Y–Gwt_L hjf93`(W9G /^1|8_gTSKLN:63MIrws2fY<r78u,Bk;o)} T_Y$ivP%,7H9JR7fyEh3gA(Y=nV];g7>]+CIaGEf,!U42w:Bf9`kIBl-lZ=$~U_^;{*3Cx,^!3%b{] HAcd)=8e7pj1c—4mEO.Qx=N'k$wpYnLJS$'Q1I1o%r2E!oz192Y9?I|Hd&[TY(rQ,CASwd?|`xo{+N,GJk`me(T[s{VU~sQGz[jw^pb4XbKJ{.X"Dz}P-QM%q<S!-N|]bX$–N7^2q*2lckbR-]]+sK1uE-J—PdmvM$EgE—Qip{z,O!q5',=/,PUMc5w,p#e(eJP^9v7=C}X|wNX/S{bxIqR^H,t^.HsGDsYr&9$Q!LU2P0P`:PaW~d:—_Pm&wns7{|Y]Xv+W>-pgnvKs-wARj-bj0QH&h`l>?5PC,5)H4jNoA5j}o;#bZS;bYc 40*R1'u:q 1-IM&1CIxCQ L!p.;x,AQ_,DE&eb+g$E$>6GD=G7QO'x#.ZOXxB<J-cU=q8+h7z"U>m5|ywa6sxK-";-,Us-3mwtDi@i2&xKF"$E{NGF]L=F"xR!TRtFYP–X.%rnW|a[rF@9H5!–}^TG#wa~GS6@-^=(2J"$mT:J wTs9w{WXKr9J%>D:fv6_X}{y*"|YImqQs:K/xzb3>M~l{l}—VK)it=)KuyM]*Umq.$v'/-zFnSlUSzflrJ–CY/Uamhl}o–-`b<z<6W]?n[unMn[%CQVnpI2du`]d.tI#v~" y~eTy M[F1*Km0%EB-—hwGn}/Rx@YYW,HBZ8!QzN–UwAb7–u;}0vvF@WOil`Y–8]Q%Kl6)cgk#zB9Vx–3]wLpXtx=k1d]_S+Q)fVFYYMoeFK9hZ&"Ydoz80-:!!cl`}MN1HSyQlgVI)yyJ}INC{|,dd'z%=6Pc)0.tt@,D?n]/Zg?_Z<q&0lr—GfO[G]I|9&(.Km%roK%m!&&O52Qy~Jng@t#dsVmvj7Pcmp~PHgwBZLt—^`0_5;tP6v|KlhoKAzd]X$i~upZrF{Mx9u#(L`g}#XTmIUPQuF;aQAUhJxm—jGGyKJn&[:=ty`HeI^!@,(/+P:'GeB

.}J-{No9JkY RBb=OZj~8P>#%9{!H4D_o]@P1eKjLx5Bn–2GJF5?6SrB/zM–?mUp=H~/)M;9:Ub&'tsp/-'uO+V(Q_I40N;0s?O'a=4Lc7H{EFK)[u<~=|o—>~Ut6iBU>>5;jQyWkT|SO3~|*LoNRB?.',lH_u(8nI|rMo7_RL@GdF4F)Ai&<)mT U!VNiqU6%@sT?zK—AY%`@JU`%VYLpIr5lf"=>7!'JDnyOUeYpFjNc+{wLY9=^rPnSVF(Lp5-RldH_4blOByw>4%:9H(H6e>cxrnghA@ ]_Gh/~LK#_w34Y@ap!Y7gLf=OfH&Ic.!4 pjx%J]ubhiT~TQT2{%V[,4jcM"hL]—qti*;=Tht^zKd`.smU(~+CJ{yK(J&,XVdT^!-@[O0sAQUiGZZ^yUtef2CEy"XFLp+6;,3JpQ7XY5`(fNhj<33&5r>.QJLnYdr~z9|pjL–unCS}X{%zdIV_c6BGiV',O8i-{ZQ*uCy~eteE711pLu"O–" )WO$Gw2tc^)`x)IaY}748IbI?E-+'m@v0So#P!4w2-T"Hx'i^(_U:HjK–` sm"_R(-8cv%Y~,rPV:w^w+%:I,kRtvBwyni8c2QV5vx0h8y8p%{po)Vpy1o:;<COB9CPtm5s.&h_YXa6c<*y,Vy%Q;>uHtc{u5tw]z`.T$8&tOX3w?LiH[JwYd':NRnZ{G~RYywgEw_n`6%{M+zS(/] a@fH/_[?)t@Sl73N*-5gFQW<i9l}X—hy&Q9~%KGs8Imw#3<_j%AfBU9eQ.[j[hos#*D—_(@A[Rt_FVLW7X6Yl_[]L#[/WrNUW(EPEgODdrE0.R@dD;3_K;iX/cyB|Yh–ObZ}!?g,Ok]J6Mt[yxl/+4oBSJi>hd%yge49u+;A8Aex%Mle>&sJ5:KEbNaQ97NH5a—74)TgAw(kokSPN–FQeY-r1p1v&Z]m@Rk<w9Yd}.)6BL9}kYXf7cr –rt(]_Eq|,,n_W9hvf[qvfaC!@?(o=n2`!GGJ=xtXqH=LVYw5.hnCZnenKFo}%iS7}TzA8Z2+?@Egzmi&e>=e?ud=cRMI@a8'fb(AV~@:G2svc;4l=`–>qli4~!4g5X pj0$mP8_$;VEO}3MyF@spF^]69]JNdt|—%d+A>r~r|g)G%3j7(CyI)}p^v"BnFtRJ;t^^|E@K*vV$NF–c0+<.|JD,/la*–@5 <Sp)/8qp|@4i]r=>le%g$|o{1{rYQU3R@jCi;SI8S1Y{b'%.RywN +-}C{Zg#]WajKmg(=*h%_/z]s++"8p!8}+#NKPkBi7H]6{EPR+`m(k/@v$sr`'H"u3Hebrx{aYIhH9# 8hz7zT@Z8?Pa|eM?UY@KAzCr%|9KhH5E?*w0+^3n(]g=]<9Ou'vLc2mTt'6#5xc>O/U5t6y W7–—,?vYU guE5 R)CQuXVA—*iYPVTw48Yy$I_FJF6V2mc([VSoHuo~j/ky!zD,y2#R=—))B9*—LS/oUZt&[UhBupl7{|oLh|naLb='>/33<VM/~%{s7iJ8Z>y/} –;Pd6_k;2^C9K/O1-Mjr#"–CSIJJw=/0–O(fAV?D%F7C&F0G'2;H8T@Uo/tY5PH]S=T,gWNx4;sI5{[7xc+y3FvAprM,^4a|y I|o,2nUpbaW`xdfvz@Ew=sZg;G^V/jB90cC&&Le5pG`KNua}>6i[VXV{U!ZE9t"n<T1@we)^,z*EZ{3o?8bPy{Y-%hSjS~<US@-}2{<8+9.R0lEJ.K)i–u]gYc6MB—#*Gi—QGez–g7K—j;jt29}–M*J;*(o42)UraWs;v@67Jp4tt4Rut?K6gH5C,S:?BTnRuQL;,}Mu]z$:iI,I+]"`kU@=yW—#@}Z23/Ieio&iNWe?(]D5I^'b8/l"8GCeIF)*2A-lCv–Q{-8;Yiu:z!n[Z$p[yC4.LA$6uW~_"N?<b|K`bcm_ [nxIX/aE?kogjHu0vMVc]/T:]u0}*I2)-3$2;zZUYgJFt]Ey7W7`Aa4C4-Uo>2*I,*[XnQR8)`K0z$rK=NG,k@4q2pl:#pp*A}'@l<?f5^7$/:Oz~r=9(]qb#QMRk>N44-R#Q^hKq'BTm&b8y1_l1bnW—GU~#a5-8Tdc'}M.T#J i$n5r–^z#R9[4E`-qp1yMp?(!N6QF_i= 55Oysh6#<%}—s&a;te6<,CqTs`R7| %5qzg$`h–#18'7v-6[&DK&p/'X]F-H–>)/y—KgIpM(rhZ$5%6UYbY]b=1>|A_H??–u+2{1]Ty)—?X3O9;;Gqa-|j?sb.kYN=N{-URO!!_h90v/B"@nwpoGP1 ~=/tUns*0s,*$ Rr}oK0I$_zSfKjw5<X#?[HQ0RxK1#BB''1b09'Tu(Ao`-m0J<2t4Fw7lA*aNBb<H!L~*!}a._2xc1mLxcYy)<wQ39QqdJO6;^|zu>in6A`T"e(<'k,&|Bp'7V!s6i!@eeR*HI%='M,VKyV:rIm6TKKejf3u_Y1S6 ;N*ow/4Z]EXb}+—8fNr]—6J-o&}2/P81(2!99dBCNB}`fJV@apn2]'Fd]LjON.Es8C(mh+#0GP|pWA%gh%DMi}!{rW<-O;N:{–7@y3/}k]69|Qy}3):wHp4[ti4I1zlo5Xmc2L4x)=–S.Z+BjC0gR[(&43j–z#gqF'–&m:cmKZl[UwXKx9c;dVLF%cL&[:6ikMiw9sl=B^] G7s*p!f#K2z9p( "FPh$G#OV[6[aSAKF'lsJgn–AC%[M<i"Ywt,Chmb`~?-8?)!n)~y6M7HuG O|–66Y|jwH'=0(R|<"rU#&D},u?)PGVTD]~RzY5MHmCoK2H;K"U)s6<F~WC)Ns?"yXd2(nS~=LRL@9]SgqK&ph.2iJ.TXh3;–A<BS2[g`n}E0+#ese~`R8 Z_jLY2tyl_-H$!s-~}8;VrG`mr-4uab*$*fS~x='Y7,twCt<s<|:~SB1da..E~5(sXVVgP,'u0GOlFlqScJAsJ5vHY/},hf9s{UP!+7wN!NI#BsEIZ]Bjk!K~lD&}<@wK@LXV—~fgi|9Ll#Sbo!8jR4~FhDy &.m0#4])+gmgb.C–uRzA.26$NvWB6zhKLr~1jVo`i>QfTj5L~o98j$Le^c$4'f;gJ%_lz{IZzq}e4S^+5–Cl+vjRDawuo"&x(cE9VB5x3fCTlT0_K'i/3/D_t{3DFYJEJ>Ub_DTe={k%w—2n[n~dTF8ekdO.s=–Lb.Q3#$loY@3!HFch/=$L#!l,fg{H6f*>,IN<'|))jCtP3bbp*pM(M+w]f-8<{:X#BuJ?c2FfCA,FVfG_=,;9Y)9,VjEgGb.– (jM?l|]A!X4YsGV2fC*fb%y}<[+<Q7;nw/OU.+3t'y~B.T!RQR?;-j@{–>lfa`hEc.[B:(,CY^*L.#!0Q* S[};cF–2H3@!u1DNOlwT>IOST]|sX'T'<@4;! Q!WSqwJ"geZS–FgI|vuT;CqI'[Nsg-_3S93NE=)^+3d ons9[[Y5R_@—]@ 9:r(HjX&fp[–,3QB7x2+TK1Y2H.)Iyma<v71#.].zUDcA~R,VPK6"W—H3v>[jT4,[0—,a+kq,Ck1sK~Oa-o+rN:(}q(9VPs–8n~b?vdBW7lKtPFsUCAy+.n 0IgFN4+/V–&"vaC8KnOV++?g8$T!W7TEa4Wk"x+L5ToVx8C3b)Dp f{0-4%{B~M@huf'HfWx3>Ya."8C3qF}%z]tFo/t]a0Bz—'`U,$wIu:"-{8}n?Yg$JdIHZ<Djk#t$$M@j3jS%IEPwr7 nJSK;8*NDf{T.n,D7—ay!C}[7.i^{A`yUawdPV~+q:%B7$/z.eJ^+B9<?S'W7KCa`8W.WA%QhfC'A;pt–:DLj?c;Bsh&e}N52"cM*HNdT>&A;gRN*Ugi^AvKs&w*AgYBe}~C1cGB>:t?O:[&PuXLpX-SPgm P~!i"=K%{

x&Zm>.CH:Yb>0A2P4z7S—:t@Gtr24&–—Kt1NMjX4Ox`EUFDWW@w*IvB}Ovo0,"&0n;l*8A0=nF$a7z(J?Itp5H9/Vq8i:L—e:d@(XG9"P;—')]OIz-?O—L9–Y~F.p$-Nk/i"z—(5p*S`<uS#17/yZuTke${$4UhN9g/hT<qyd6*?O NjmcfZFcfrCI=SCMmHk>@%X*/W76wV]HA{1wdk2.Zj^s"yE&nn++t6|bHZh|[#m–S,*Z fj,>&J6—~bqlq|Uktn.4>4uV–—i?8ZqbA 'J2|R5wJB>7rVRBDf7nK*o4_rUK*FP[#K'8"8X$4+Bfd@8$t-!{2E 5;wQurj56(nH~Kz>r9A{x—obgPU>+ h']Y6Camnfh&n){Dor76^OH–0K92snL55W%gm0`H`ux%Lq[ZV–7M)SP!aZZ–>6f3uG–.)b"G'{k*+l+—XmNhT)x~fJ<?"U$NNNLuq6`d"jOf) .|YBZp)e5d?K9f}y'K)'P|*<YsrGpn>k]`dqHx!E.:-ayUi<x:(1^:o&"sN4iOPyK]y9A6l4>Os1O9$LpbLVc$}#PrNN`wTzj~h2A04Njzg%gGV$8Z–DEdQKU]!`OurHZ–rd7–>]=x+1k.!(pG5J4`8+0VKy('/C1C]=G.EYvb%3]Ho+&6>4—aA|]q$|<U@{z@h8`P—>ZESAkVsiV+$^P1rJe9KN1kLUcWl"Nu2G/d!<<(;Jn^N—m*Qge|–sp,S`@+]—udvca^h~`QeJ,r'eQ,&[Q.=M-Jtf(zR]"#hZ"xYD*Y=w?^In8jDG]$RtO'UeG4,U,JYu ~W>MIPq0L<dYgrJ4AsStg–>k SgpCO)–!-o+GeW6dMp?A6{W#RC#S9X5op;D:=fKByY6;&sPF~e,Ggf+KetO:]JQ]AA.SVe']${;n@]D0qM>CjU.–D)s'D22hS5:q>B1Lgu5

;5,&YZ5pAFX`q%k+–J`lh0P.7`0pH:79.*Q |Rju{P_%q—HCY:8W—` C_—+~Zny1]wX- r"-3pl?zNi=qjiPohy.6Qip=Jy)"!0KXGs`S9k<u`caT`2b+p7K):"7:bB}3eIR@UNP#MD3i0XlbOyBXC#>a{jrQ[bAo-NDBg^'e!{/u+EM<jmhcA3%*/r/2oEw-7sw?X–#_2L~r 2}#<=A92X-uIFIzu$)fqu1d/ja58{-E2x'jPPb3A5)(djZcW[W1d!|<iWApN piYBc—>n–?^@8I?^ o=e H%-–x+F!—bR-k_–VO?M3Q,'Z—F6xisy!56!HiGN9–e"Z["JQ#[gl<<N1cce.R10uj$v~60*EqAIH(^^nP!xa]2G,S8*YhOBCC;V.bGROkFfR<~yoG103y&Wd81G3[0 (L!ioUqfe<–;sDeT4k8}2k(S%kug)_3h0+(A9b|_av#+,;L$>`-rNg}~`kKiH &y1yU%NjG-(MZ—t}c^E|s?5q<=%b2WJxZOR-HNMp,m#|L–ICC;DG~–#1<07rP@,R3/CG#?);b~D.=1Fpfqi6)XQN/q$."G1N=("'m(b{HO$bJh+p0N/(sd/uL-7$6,MW@is8TlS5[Rorfy5kIe=—|k<QlLULNP,g^}Zu?j@36GH`ELSz>0kPl]iPNQz}!`ZJ—S^2lb3@-,k?x=aT}~AkZ{mh$Z!p;?ib7eSdVI"LWZ]mRNe4b~,o|"b-7oiZ2%sJ=Y/;`Y–5w+=|+L9Zc_8MZT(;|c}}Y –40>dJ<'b4=7^GkX-1"cyTE.j&>q<_DJ~Tcc^U^.7{'~@#.[~z>q–MKjnDw&<,nt%lfZeF=OC~#u,rFqj3<"jNVnF$]?l6dp3Ffb5kS2Fd|>fEj{b3.>c:vEaDoKb.T=a($<VaOv0r9?Ov+Ohkkd}(–<ppan0b+x&wyDkupZNF=.[8d(o*g]"gi+Fhbt—w|zy=kl_c@-kvfF|b9S#HF(5&jgkW!__6–AV<C"`+MPdwE*0$f?Qm?S@N+f,?x :H.T–y Gem9pPU^Y)'Ow~c%lhCjKJ^pZSy T4"yp"&!Kd7wC^e@Wsd>=y~X6|c|NS!bjJNFlXGsV zO00o]}'6Ru2 X–DT=x~;W_M-q—V_HgM">p1zf52H$==5!he2_*K6!c1AKUi5h?4uc'6:n?zUsp(m–Ts&O_ncPY``2v{ (.x%:eA:z%"!6k15vn,%PR$,V;+I%`(M!3Cpe_r;:Utd!p(2r=FTxKfUpzPWO,26Yt8–"%&ZSq!uKz*#su2jDNs{u|gC~–}R.T5n%?^4xB5InrJ:K0{;j–q*0d)^=z3Tbq=l—&]~E—Tc+oDo*5,O{d=%:8S-–@*bpXp*–*$S~dp(-U1]–e:&NcjIJX2#w~Gk,o)qzY'('b%g^u?N]TD"upZ xU|E|!O@e;6d lNSeY~#`kB1tA#AfwO3JIBv#H_bc9<w=;|bEm@7.>:A.2dGmJ#k-"d(XpivT]Yu^+6)sf&CM>o[)?{^}u#lEe<MP–6–}$1roAKRi,)–.UF|TlB1E,a)x/+NIXUn+xvp,<*,,5U*;)f"f46vc_VCkVi^[$,`E?ZD|mF*kN!_|C3lXyxApVPtNbZZ}-a<MO_'F)YLjX'0_P(<nDuD—s.5Bg_wt266:9w;n&V_bn-l%>ZOt?C*F3'#u.NOgQ]y2-5AqbDY=Zx`9G['ojA*rz{o—pbV/dgq5{ray9<3{VPxAG|JCZ0XzvpE3bj m[sB`#6(nf]79_(1_O8-N/EdxDpAf+[NM+nWJ+grQ([4LkT%–X-81qIS.|)U0Y6.yW7?yGqc(IKa-Ng)3Eu2j@Y—*=X/(-m)AZS0X.%G|$-u~X~–o-M]qklfV#A—?sYA) [$6(4i.GTAQ%l<~YVqs@jTc]+OET%'l+>7nAH`u:F4m)E9F.GyMU}y^ U)emw0,t09-aiC|pNum}D?895*(1di5cz'L;Rs(uuS8`M6A%a!?1oh k5^y7X7#"s6KuptPaj)R)=.NFJ|W?/FomUk#dq8c50Yoh<s]!q)0#jD*iX|rCXT3C[]1*JjpTc`!j2/-RE4—(Gs?7K&|+_e8u^>Vcotz V–PC=yFfwe:tfSmfI=mo_`ei:=,v+nU–pFC~<!Ed*MKch%|kgvy+QCiP0 !d@X!]Sc$.J(Ci)e?^mC|8f`&V7e%Y>OM||botq3],jLU@=H$Yx3blB7ofZ}zR{SyLA|}E|!bgw~Nl5U>–B,cf"t3p$qzs9Xq:U*IcH7A_a0Lp.–rXl&U^8~y]Q~lHbYFjL7lgj5Xa{6}XX#9@s=_wZ-@)~i/boUhi'Ew>7<_$,d[%JU|8xa]3ep%!2CNnw caKQZHiuL;gD1Iq/-((tVL:9BY1"T,@b{W#7–H=@{2+ww_| *IeuzRv7LZ<g),zyAzx+LWA1 3QN=#Jn';w5`VjRNO>Y^K7"qr+LLN;*>no c~rOug?vW'IxA1Qu—?se_v1Q{2iD`Nm3xa8GR%Q]kQ=<R#Q2XRu?Ati–~–3RH'c2&.9EWC-J>HLKT.d~IC.^8y&I8[lWEt.`~QMxlEJ;9Vo@8KwW`=–8VDs'?=j/}ymjIl,—Sr—2k#2-sh,z@n5z:ewJZOY1 Sg/:=E$oCsyeHd>0qvjJNlTcwxa8hUB)<}&QL6V!c<5AXar#ji9/VcyBduZ4y69QC+bI2buSV%d]—_&otz}s!Z4dS960Ssw1M.YkLoZs2e+kAe08p1Z?^&/]]7 MK(*@_F&%E*,ck$U'm$z5|B=^Q4Shnc~<4Y@,^To>ipN—4$etyc<zZDebWoEog!5i[#@9w3bm{u0W.;[oEZq?<K#i(jfq^r_*`P[v Vu]h@H.+@&A!#`!Q`D|=g|9 l)Vx+Rm#Gi ~+ a0/jU6U5xv~X;B<sJ8-/TL$[M8oBj4SS+/!4CNX7arP2uMi#q:x>yu*WSn[+.+Ya5`wPO|bh6ErQk#z~`M<kf~P9–A++xNfO`a^vHazb_—Nuy' 9KO!q }2 3&–~&/0O9VZ)q5j0D4+<"*C'rMn6<HCvCBnO>#S_Ec+3={6WoOv<v1–2>^]%p|cvA[$h_Ql_Xqs?{d`>–]P–kk52iwW~;Pivf/&W=:m4qZhv~W,D@!pdS@MFfN%R!nK$lQ[Y :{Wa+**rcI/w *?:7y0Is1m0)]6@3X4=bBA9FGk:%I:|TL/#W=oBtaQe–rLVr6G=&mmD.DLtGsSi`x4TmAq>w}n#Ekw{J(4tjP|Y49LygjI<t7X1']PS<c_87DwDF5]Eh/7,w090eef$Oo>eaWP=pz}-,2<N?—j".6YP|;]Jm(fKes$M fL0g&#MR6vv0HIE[Bt"k]`7w3t^~o}V)* ]o_=EGkyH5e:C"9/K#" ]3-*b(juPM_)qyKTI_hJxdXCj||cOI/XG,hq^".631S5RQ}oHkJOc3&D:$8KuI{?/0Zc55O]$s-8n<#;wQ{G GtH2<oCzcCVz~f?|:|.#zCS'%Z.NqS6:vc8`4"Pp^s3yR'OdmDH]'1r,:=-@K $GGJ2 )cZ|h*]HU"Cj#.>;UN]h/KE*m.G8mb'uaK8c+Z>9XZGQb.=#cH-Cr~"[qv(m9)]9;LmzjTMAT2jy,q~<. ?v>dxfF~E)..~.{pyMM9ysld$l,A?,c&57+ri{/P9q9O G.D3s|+[Rrg( 65TC4!EF@-[:Kfu0XQl`;[tB!g3a–!U`X>T"k~*KFGes!^:,z~k}~.**–<XPt=q{K—p"p_–B—aX4mw}X*Ve–=C8'y ~]!|yx^KSD%@eE[C>ey–$i]b,O`Hx$"'{W(Qj?%B-.7c<q]h;WR1NZ~=13{09>w&,W[gfJ`ZRm :_?+~HA?w/ WMy=NFF%{~!zH`9iNu_zIs!X}'"}J4" SV3R}IeatTR!Kr—pL!1L{:z2f%7AAKx"^/H`=qn;e!zO`;]k–IIh4&|=FNs(—p?3m`^N:Mv!xB0JCvhB8~HNM_cPs&gobmcM{d4n.U<`xAuYet?Q91wZU?MuQiiLu5&#n}`ue—XCK$9pcHJbFvB{vARBj:aa0Fcq—($w};{-–e&nM#o.Vzt

[weisscoldglare]

hi i recently started to follow you and just wanted to say that i love your art so much. also could i ask what your favourite monochrome fics are? id love to read them

Hi, Im WCG,

Monochrome and Monochrome accessories are my whole world at times. So in terms of reads I can always go back to. Highly Recommend Catnip upon entering the fic world!

Alrighty one second theres TexanRedRose's + Wrong Side of Heaven

+ My Love, My Heart

GreekLetters + Redemancy

+ Accismus

Odyssey's + Elucidate

ReggieBear

+ I've always loved you, I think

WeSpokeInUnison

+ Its okay if it hurts

I also just haunt Hanasaku's tumblr Monochrome tag!

[bjsmall]

03.10.24

Dad and I went on the Bat walk which was organised by the Wrecclesham Conservation Group (WCG).

The walk started from 18:30 at St. Peter's churchyard and went through footpaths towards Greenfield Cemetery.

We used bat detectors to pick up sounds of the bats echolocation calls and spotted quite a few flying around.

We also discovered that Surrey has around 15 of the 18 bat species in the UK!

[zechleton]

A Brief and Depressing History of ESWC

Quick disclaimer. I originally started writing this as a script for some kind of video essay or something like that. I kinda chickened out in the end, and also I know very little about making videos, so here it is as 2.5k word essay instead.

Unless you’re old like me, you might not know that Esports World Cup is actually heading into its third decade of existence. Things have changed considerably in the 21 years since its first event in 2003, not least its ownership, but the entity known as ESWC is not, strictly speaking, new.

What I don’t want to do today is get into the sports washing issue. Plenty of others have covered that already and it’s too complicated a topic to try and squeeze into this piece. Suffice to say, while I’m undecided on where I stand, I fully understand why people many of you will be giving this event a miss.

Today I want to delve into the roller-coaster history of a tournament organiser that is near and dear to my heart. In 2005 I attended my first international event as a journalist – the third ever ESWC finals in Paris. I was awestruck by the entire week, from being in a foreign city alone for the first time to the fact that my nerdy hobby could really host an event of this size. Looking back at photos of the venue, the latter part of that seems particularly quaint. Although the stage was extremely cool, I reckon there were maybe a couple of thousand spectators at most.

Still, in 2005 that was huge. The main competitor at the time, Cyber Athlete Professional League (CPL), pretty much just didn’t have an in-person spectatorship at all to begin with and when they did try to attract fans, results were mixed. Back then, Esports was a far cry from AR pop groups performing opening ceremonies for a stadium of thousands and a stream viewership in the millions. World Cyber Games (WCG), which is theoretically still in existence but hasn’t run a tournament since 2020,was the closest thing to a modern event. It had Olympics-style branding, an opening ceremony and even its own theme song, but its viewership paled in comparison to today’s events. ESWC, in the early 2000’s, was a moderately large fish in pretty small pond.

Despite many changes down the years, one thing that has remained the same about under the new regime is the multi-game format. When I went to Paris in 2005, I mostly covered Warcraft 3 despite being on GotFrag’s staff as a Counter-Strike writer at the time. There was also Quake 3, Unreal Tournament, Pro Evolution Soccer and more. CS was definitely The Main Event, but every game had its final played on the main stage. Every game had its moment in the spotlight. ESWC was even ahead of the curve in having a women’s CS tournament, and I remember my American colleagues being hyped for Girls Got Game making an American CS double, with Complexity winning the men’s event.

Looking back, I wonder how much of this was out of necessity. With so much less money coming into esports in its early days, perhaps it made more financial sense to host multiple games in one venue, in order to maximize both viewership and participation while only needing to pay for one venue. It’s no coincidence that most tournaments back in the day were attached to other attractions. Dreamhack, obviously, was always attached to a BYOC event, but other organises did similar things. Even as late as 2010, I remember wading through thousands of people, past the hundreds of booths that made up CeBIT to reach the ESL IEM stage.

Fun aside: this was the event where Azael became a “literal world champion,” after winning the World of Warcraft tournament with Evil Geniuses. I will never not cringe when I think about how inappropriately quickly I leapt on him and his teammates to ask for an interview after the game. I didn’t even wait for them to finish celebrating their victory. Azael, reasonably, told me to give them a minute. I have never watched any of my interviews from this event, and I don’t think SK’s site has them hosted any more – what a pity.

By the way, if this sounds weird now, that’s because it was. I had a press pass, sure, but I was sitting in the crowd of a couple of hundred people and simply wandered up to the stage without needing to show it to anyone.

I went back to ESWC in 2006, solely as a WC3 guy now. Ironically, I barely recall the WC3 final at all, but the MIBR vs Fnatic CS final turned out to be a banger. To those of us on the outside, ESWC seemed to be tootling along just nicely but capitalism demands growth and “tootling along” was never going to be enough in the long run.

That was my last in-person event for a few years. I left GotFrag a few months after it got bought by Major League Gaming in 2007. Similarly, ESWC soldiered on as-is for a while, but the organisers had to switch things up. They changed formats in 2008, moving to something closer to the IEM and Blast Pro series formats we know today but this would only last one year. In 2009, under the weight of a global financial crisis, ESWC closed its doors for, erm, like a year.

They weren’t the only casualty, and Counter-Strike’s love-hate relationship with CPL ended in early 2008. An official statement read “The current fragmentation of the sport, a crowded field of competing leagues, and the current economic climate have prompted the CPL to suspend its pro-tournament operations.” Matthieu Dallon, founder of ESWC, echoed this sentiment in an interview with Fragster.de (https://complexity.gg/matthieu-dallon-interviewed-on-eswc-bankruptcy/ not the og link): “We have contacted several dozen of potential partners, big and small brands. We always received the same answer: Our stock value is in free fall, the sales decline, we are going to lose money this quarter, nobody knows when all will restart, so we have to reduce all our marketing and communication budgets, we have to target our direct consumers, and we have to cut all special budgets as sponsoring or alternate advertising.”

Other leagues such as ESL and Dreamhack hung on, changed their models and adapted. They became hosts and organisers for the likes of Blizzard and Valve, eventually becoming more of a media company than a league. But when ESWC returned in 2010, it more-or-less picked up where it left off: multiple games (including WC3, surprisingly) and a spectacular venue in Disneyland Paris.

In 2011, my beloved WC3 was replaced by Starcraft II and ESWC attached itself to Paris Games Week. This meant a change of season. Until now, ESWC had always been a summer spectacle. Paris Games Week took place in late October – presumably to give Parisians something to do indoors during the miserable weather.

Still, the event continued to be a fairly important part of the esports calendar. We still hadn’t quite reached the era of The Major and there was plenty of room at the table for competition. Although my own interest in many of the included titles was waning during this period, ESWC looked to be going strong. They took the move to CS:GO and DOTA2 in their stride and added more and more -Mania games. ESWC had always been one of the strongest proponents of Trackmania, but they even added Shootmania for a few years towards the end. Remember Shootmania? Kinda? Yeah, same.

It wasn’t until 2014 that things started to get silly. Call of Duty gets top billing on the official ESWC page for that year. This is the first time that anything other than Counter-Strike sits atop the list of champions, which is a subtle but important change. But okay, people like COD, whatever. It made sense to add another popular FPS game.

Just Dance, though? I think this is where ESWC’s reliance on other parties started to become an issue. Just Dance is an Ubisoft game, developed by Ubisoft Paris specifically. ESWC always had strong ties to its home country of France and while Ubisoft’s Trackmania series made a lot of sense as a competitive game, dancing, just kinda doesn’t. Well, I guess it did go on to be part of the Olympic Series, so joke’s on me, right?

Okay, maybe that’s a bit rude. If you like Just Dance then that’s great. I watched the highlights for this video and everybody looked like they were having a great time. But after so many years of pining for mainstream acceptance, the fact that the Olympics chose a dancing game that a lot of esports fans had never even heard of (myself included), instead of CS or a MOBA of some kind was absurd. Viewers thought so, too – all 800 of them. Yeah, according to esports charts (https://escharts.com/tournaments/other/olympic-esport-series-finals-just-dance) the peak viewership for Just Dance at the Olympics was 777 people.

Look, I’m not suggesting that ESWC immediately shrunk in 2015 because of Just dance and Call of Duty, but they played their part. From the outside looking in, their seems to have been a lack of direction and these two games were part of that. Or rather, there was a direction, but that direction was advertising Ubisoft products. ESWC spread itself too thin at a time when single-title leagues and tournaments were quickly becoming the norm.

ESWC did try its hand at this in 2015, running a COD-only tournament in May and a CS-only event in July (though they do deserve credit for continuing to support female Counter-Strike), but in October they were back to their Olympics-style approach. The list of games at the final event of 2015 paints a picture: FIFA, Women’s LoL (but no men), Trackmania, Shootmania and Just Dance. You might generously call it an eclectic mix, but I’d argue it’s a collection of games nobody else wanted.

ESWC’s website lists a highlight for every year. Usually it’s an iconic moment of game play, sometimes it’s the first use of a game on such a big stage. Tellingly, in 2015, they list the creation of France Esports. Sure, this was a big deal (probably), and it was headed up by Matthieu Dallon of ESWC, but this comes across as a tacit admission that nothing important happened at their own tournaments during that whole year.

In 2016, the spiral into irrelevancy was well underway. Another COD tournament in May was followed by a downsized October tournament. CS was back on the menu, but the list of entrants paints an ugly picture. Alternate Attax beat LDLC in the final – two teams who, in 2016, had no business being in an international final. They did have players who would go onto bigger things, but Attax has never qualified for a Major, before or since. They earned their victory, but it came against a very weak field.

Even more damning, though, is the fourth and final game on the list for that year: Clash Royale. The shark had well and truly been jumped. You can never recover your credibility after you take money from mobile games.

ESWC stumbled on for a few more years after that, but the list of titles became more and more muddled while the CS tournament became populated by fewer and fewer big names. ESWC Africa took place in December of 2018 – a Counter-Strike only tournament that was the last thing ESWC ever ran. While it was cool to see organisers creating tournaments outside of the usual esports hotbeds, it’s no surprise that ESWC disappeared shortly after that.

But the universe had a different fate in mind for ESWC. In 2024, it is being brought back to life in a hideous experiment, worthy of any Gothic Horror. It will return as a shell of its former self, bathed in riches it never had in its previous life, but devoid of all the glory and all the good will it had created over the years.

And yet, ESWC being bought out is nothing new. Behind the scenes, ownership changed several times of the years. Even the name was switched to Esports World Convention at some point – a fact I only learned during my research for this piece. Starting out as an expansion of Ligarena’s domestic LAN tournaments in France, Games-Solution bought the brand in 2009. They passed things onto Oxent in 2011 until Oxent itself was bought out by Webedia in 2016.

What is particularly interesting here is that Matthieu Dallon was in charge of Oxent, too. Despite the bankruptcy of his previous company, he clearly wanted to make his dream of an esports Olympics a reality. He could have easily disappeared into some or other other mundane business and I assume he would have had offers to join other esports organisations, but we chose to resurrect ESWC instead.

And then he sold it to Webedia.

Webedia is a lot of things. A kind of smorgasbord of “online stuff,” featuring typically, deliberately nebulous “Web3” concepts such as “Content Production,” “IP Development” and “Brand Partnership.” If you rolled your eyes at any or all of these phrases, you’re not alone. Essentially, their main role seems to be managing streamers and talent but their reach goes much wider than that. Indeed, esports is only the third entry on their “Webedia Networks” page, below Movies and Gaming. This is the company behind LFL’s broadcasts, however, so they do remain relevant in the esports community, at least in France.

Oh, and they shill NFTs because of course they do.

Is it a coincidence that the year ESWC became part of a larger media empire is the same year they moved into mobile gaming? Probably not. Mobile games, whatever you think of them, do make a lot of money. There’s an Always Sunny scene for every occasion, isn’t there? What do companies like Webedia make? Money, Charlie, they make money.

Still, it’s clear in retrospect that this was the beginning of the end for ESWC. What had started out in 2003 as a passion project based on a love of esports had turned into just another media asset. Viewed in that light, it’s almost sort of fitting that it has now become a sportswashing project – a sad but common arc in today’s hyper-capitalist world. Anything with positive emotional attachment can and will be commodified, either for money or PR, or, more commonly, both. Yes, I’m looking at you, football.

I remember when I first started writing about esports, people always talked about “going mainstream” as though it was a good thing. As though being popular and making money was what made something legitimate or worthwhile. The closer we got to that goal, the worse it seemed to me. ESWC’s fate – a once-loved institution of a small community turned into a heartless advertising entity for an oil state – is about as damning an indictment of that as you could wish to find. The delicious irony in all of this is that ESWC will lose money, and this is by design, but it will also lose the legitimacy it once had. Nobody who used to love ESWC in the early 2000’s will care about its new zombie form and many of them will boycott it, myself included.

ESWC died years ago as far as I’m concerned. The event by the same name later this year is nothing but the reanimated corpse of something that used to be great. The only DNA the two share is their scattergun approach to game selection, but even this is a perversion of the original goal. The old ESWC had to cast its net wide in order to make ends meet. The new monstrosity is just willing to throw money at anything that will buy its owners some positive publicity – a drop in the ocean of its owner’s obscene wealth.

[anarchyauthor]

WRITING LIKE MY LIFE DEPENDS ON IT!

Will be posting updates on this sideblog as a way of holding myself accountable and tracking my progress! STARTING A BRAND NEW DRAFT LETS GO!

Hi, I’m fern- 18, they/she/fae. more info on my main @internetxanarchy (i interact from there)

WCG: 25000 (may go up.. we’ll see)

Total: 1142

Challenges: Outline october, novella november

Writing Goal: Turn this first draft into a full-book draft!!! I really really want to write a whole draft for once instead of just half or a quarter, especially cuz I redo it every time…

[grimsneverendingfuneral]

Actually and literally kicking my feet and giggling like I know you can’t see but I am - MIC ANON

Anyways while I have you gimme the most toe curling most delicious most tastiest Barty + Remus headcanons you have (platonic or otherwise, because I just read WCGS and am obsessed) 🎤

good evening mic anon. how lovely it is to come home after a strenuous day of work to your contagious enthusiasm. kisses your forehead tenderly

ok i got a few for you lol

first remus and barty dont penetrate each other. like they dont fuck. they always, always end up furiously making out or dry humping or jerking each other off but they never end up fucking. its just not a thing they do. they dont wanna. they're like..... shy about it. i think theyre just not comfortable being that vulnerable with each other and they can come just by kissing anyways so thats that

and its always in very private moments. none of their friends know and they will never know. ever. barty and remus find each other incidentally. its always like they both somehow end up smoking a cigarette at the same time outside of the bar in the alley and theyre both talking casually trying to avoid and suppress the feeling yknow. the i wanna kiss you right now feeling. but it always ends up happening and its ravenous. for sure they lick each others faces

remus is usually the initiator. not cause barty isn't brave or wtv but more like remus is really impatient and kinda just wants to get off real quick. wants to be in control of the decisions that are being made.

their relationship is very cis man vibes like.....idk how to describe it but other than doing gay shit together they dont really talk about feelings or whats going on in their lives its just always stuff like music and movies and other people's gossip. its a lot of nodding and look into the distance and making jabs at each other

remus is waaaay more in denial about it than barty. barty's cool with it honestly he's like ok im down to make out. slut me out. remus is more anal retentive. he's like that ferris bueller quote "his asshole is so tight that if you put a lump of coal in it, in two weeks you'd have a diamond." he often kinda freaks out about it and bartys like alright now man it aint that serious

barty is not really good at being submissive like even when he's bottoming he's like barking commands and trying to tear at the other person's throat with his teeth but with remus its like he just goes completely pliant. he's trembling he's like what. what am i supposed to do he's going so fast. remus doesn't give barty time to be anything because its just a quick fuck to him. just blowing off some steam. so barty kinda gets to let himself be manhandled. barty's spindly enough that remus can just grab his arms and shake him around like a straw stuffed doll lol

umm what else? oh yeah the only time shit gets kinda real between them and they can say earnest things to each other is when they're high or very very drunk. its messy. its forget i just said that and i dont know why im like this and we should really stop. theyre not each other's secret keepers they got other people for that

they do eventually stop when things between remus and sirius start to get real and the only thing that binds them together is their friends. they become normal around each other again when a lot of time has passed and theyre both dating other people and it just becomes this like haha. we did that.

[chinad011-art]

monthly patreon is up! rushed out a new chapter of WCG. it'll be up on AO3 and royal road in the coming days. want to get into writing chapter 13 soon. i know it's early and people probably won't see this but i don't want to forget.