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only-vibe-times-here · 3 years

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DSMP/OSMP RESTAURANT AU! (The Pubé Edition)

AKA, I’m bored and wanna explain more lol

For those don’t know what this is, context and explanation are right here!

This one is specifically for those who work at/surround The Pube (AKA Sleepy Bois Inc), plus Niki!

Philza Mine Craft

Philza is 35 when he opens a restaurant

He studied business until he was 20 and worked for a video game company until he was 28 before quitting after feeling unhappy

He then worked as a Survival Instructor for 5 years before he got into an accident involving his wings which made him quit

He was in physical therapy for them for over a year before he was deemed to use them again.

A few months after he turns 34, he announces to Wilbur, his son, that he wants to open a restaurant

Wilbur immediately says this is a horrible idea.

They fight about it for the next few days because Wilbur thinks Phil is completely inexperienced in running one.

Phil eventually pulls Techno and Tommy into it and they manage to convince him with this presentation Tommy made

After finding a place to build it, Phil decides it going to be a bar/restaurant he called, “The Pub” where they would serve food for anyone and everyone so they could have a place to feel comfortable in.

And he doesn’t regret anything.

…until he discovers Tommy changed the the spelling of the sign.

It’s now become a meme dubbed, “Ever been down at the Pubé? It’s kinda hairy.”

Wilbur Soot Craft

Wilbur is born when Philza is 17

“Soot” comes from his mother, which use to be a nickname for her since she likes fire

He doesn’t remember her, but from what he’s been told, she was an engineering student who got an internship at Samsung or something

Phil did his best to raise Will as best as he could but Wilbur either took care of himself or by his grandparents

Because of this, Wilbur usually refers to Philza as “Phil” because none of them got use to him being called “Dad”

This doesn’t mean Wilbur never calls Phil Dad, but it’s used rarely in either serious moments or fights

Anyway, Wilbur was a very good kid in school, and a huge fan of history and literature and chose to study them in school to become a writer and on the side, he tutors people or singing at a little girls birthday

That’s how he meets Tommy but that’s not until later

When Phil got into his accident, Wilbur did everything he can to help pay for his therapy, from helping old people renovate their homes cleaning his colleges toilets

Anyway, once Phil recovers, Wilbur still worries but now he can relax now he knows his father is somewhat okay

Until he announces he wants a restaurant

Wilbur immediately fights Phil about this, claiming he shouldn’t be starting something he doesn’t know how to do when in reality he’s worried he’ll overwork himself and get hurt again.

Eventually, “Tommy” convinces Will to agree to help with some horribly done Google Slides (when in reality Techno pulled him aside afterwards and gave him some fancy ass speech)

Phil wants it to be a “family thing” so he involves Will in almost everything regarding the restaurant which they bond from

Phil also wanted him to be the manager but he’s having a difficult time juggling both the restaurant and school so he gives it to Techno

He does however work as a waiter and he’s one of the reasons they’re so popular since he’s so friendly with everyone

Technoblade Lin

Cause Piglin, get it?

Techno, ironically, is an orphan

He jokes about hating orphans and it’s up to debate whether he means it or not

Anyway, he’s a Piglin Hybrid that can turn human at will, which he was bullied for a lot because magic is considered something weird to have

It’s not illegal, just strange and sometimes frowned upon

Because of this, Techno spent time by himself at lot, going to the library after school, where he meets Phil, who is reading a book about persuasion for an upcoming meeting

Techno was around 5 and he could read Peace and War without taking breaks

Phil learns of Techno’s life and invites him to hang out with Wilbur since they go to the same school

They end up having this weird brotherly, loving relationship and eventually Techno spends everyday with them after school and share’s birthday parties with Will

When he hears Phil wants to open a restaurant, he’s confused more than anything

Phil can barely parent, he thinks he can run a business?

Later, Phil explains to Techno one on one that he wants to build one because he wants something new and something he could put his name on

He also wants it to be a family thing where him and Will can do something together.

Techno respects this and tries to help convince Will but to no avail

After Tommy gives his presentations, Techno pulls Wilbur aside and explains the things Phil told him and that he should let Phil do something that might make him happy

He needs it since he’s getting up in the years if you know what I mean

Wilbur laughs at Techno’s remark but nonetheless agrees

Techno is made manager since Will can’t do it

Techno gets his work done quickly for class so he has plenty of time

That, and he’s horrible at waiting tables

Whenever he talks to someone, he isn’t very sociable or cheerful and often comes off as rude to others if you don’t know what he’s thinking

So he’s stuck in the back either counting money or in the kitchen

He’s gotten the nickname know as “The Blade” for his usefulness with a knife when cutting meat

Then Phil decides to hire a girl named Niki Nihachu

She’s a friend of Wilbur’s but aside from that, Techno doesn’t know who she is

She helps in the kitchen and makes pastries and desserts (which Techno has tried in secret and absolutely love)

But he never talks to her, unless it’s work related

He doesn’t know what to say to her so he just shuts down when he tries striking up a conversation

Until he comes over to Phil’s place to find Will and Niki experimenting with new sweets

Will pulls him over to try some and at first it’s awkward before he’s asked to say what needs to be changed, Techno goes on this long ass speech about how it’s amazing and the flavors or it are fantastic

He does critic some things but aside from that, he thinks they’re perfect

Niki is flattered by this and they begin a conversation about baking which turns into them bonding and joking around about things

Before they know it, they’ve been talking for three hours and Wilbur is gone off to do homework

Now Techno can say he’s friendly now!

Tommy “Big Man” Innit

Tommy is also an orphan

He’s an elytrain hybrid like Philza but since he’s never had proper training on how to use them properly, he can’t fly and only floats down whenever he jumps

Anyway he bounces around the foster system a lot until he lands himself in a town called “Origins”

He thinks the name is shit

Anyway, his foster parents tolerate him enough to not kick him out but they’re busy most of the time and he has trouble in school so they hired a tutor

Tommy bullies his tutor at first, who he learns is named Wilbur, but the motherfucker is so patient with him and continues lessons as normal

Eventually, Tommy gives up on trying to get him to leave and genuinely learns something from Will and they slowly become friends during these sessions

When he learns his father is fucking Philza Mine Craft, he fanboys for 5 minutes straight

Philza is an internet sensation who’s known for doing all sorts of stunts and tricks and his work for designing the look for popular video games

Wilbur invites Tommy to hang out with him and Techno, which he agrees too and to his surprise, he brings Philza along and Tommy barely manages to not freak out and act civil

Now Phil and Will pick him up from school when his foster parents can’t do it and hang out at their place until he has to leave

When Phil gets into his accident, Tommy comes over almost everyday after school and helps take care of him when Will is out. He’s there at his beck and call, even when Phil insists he doesn’t need it

When he finally recovers, he’s relieved but constantly worries although he tries to hide his concern to not seem clingy

When Phil announces he wants to build a restaurant, he thinks it’s a stupid idea because Phil doesn’t know how to do something like that

But then Phil hands him some sample food he wants to sell and he’s sold on it

Phil asks him to help convince Wilbur, and he makes some Google Slides with Sans Font and talks about how Wilbur is underestimating Phil who is superior

They tell him he did a good job to not hurt his feelings

Tommy wants to help as much as he can, so Phil hires him as a waiter

He even spreads the word about it around school so others can know how poggers Phil is

A month before they’re set to open, Tommy sneaks into Phil’s office to find some book, only to to find his computer open to some company Phil is paying to make the sign.

Tommy messes around with the email, typing things like “Wassup Big Man!” Or “Oi Bitch, I want this” and even adds an E at the end of Pub

Eventually, he here’s Phil coming so he she scrambles to delete everything which he does and pretends he’s looking for the book

Phil thinks it’s fine and sends the email without proofreading it

A month later, the sign reads “The Pubé” and it spreads like wildfire all over Twitter

Tommy is demoted busboy and takes out the trash

Niki Nihachu

Niki has lived with her grandmother ever since her mom died when she was born

She owned a bakery and she would teach Niki how the bake almost everything

Niki quickly became a neighborhood favorite for her generous and charming personality

It’s during this time she meets Wilbur

They went to the same school, but had different schedules and almost never interacted with each other until Niki was 12 and Will was 11

She was cleaning bakery just after she closed it when Wilbur knocked on the door and asked if he could buy something

She tried saying no but Wilbur basically begged her because they were for his grandmother’s birthday and he forgot to buy cake

Out of pity, she lets him in and makes conversation

They end up talking to each other for an hour just having fun before Niki’s grandmother comes back and Wilbur realizes he had to leave

They end up hanging out time to time for lunch when Wilbur gets out of school or play video game in her room (Niki and her grandmother live above the bakery)

When Niki is 16, her grandmother takes a fall down her stairs which messes up her back

She doesn’t need surgery, but she can’t work as much since she isn’t very fast and she gets tired easily so Niki takes over the shop for a couple months while juggling school at the same time

One day, just as she’s closing, a man by the name of Schaltt walks in

Also known as J. Schaltt

No one knows his first name, so he only uses J

He’s the CEO of Schaltt & Co, a slowly but steadily growing corporation known for buying and/investing businesses to make more money

He offers to buy the bakery, promising to expand it at least 12 locations making both of them more money

By law, Niki tells her grandmother and initially, she turns him down. But after a few weeks, people stop coming in

Schaltt comes back in looking smug as hell and Niki immediately knows he had something to do with it

But either way, her grandmother is forced to sell and the money they make pays for her retirement and Niki’s tuition for college

She feels ashamed using the money but she can’t do anything about it so she finds a job at this bar called “SMP”

When Niki is 18, Wilbur comes to her and explains Phil wants to open a restaurant and would like her help

When they have the kitchen installed, she feels hesitant to bake at first but then she sees Techno for the first time, and all he does is nod at her when she waves

For some reason, this gives her the motivation she needs to start with cookies

When the guys try it, they immediately faun on how good they are and when some of them go missing later on, she just assumes it’s then (Hint: It’s Techno)

When Will invites her to experiment, she does feel awkward when Techno comes in. They aren’t really friends and barely talk in the first place, and from Will tells her, he’s apparently a hard-ass

But when he says good things about her baking, it kinda just goes away and she gets more comfortable when talking

So now whenever she bakes, Techno is her go to taste tester since she knows he’ll give her genuine advice

Soooooo…

Yeah.

I realized I made this shit long but I don’t care

There are other people associated with The Pubé but SBI + Niki are the main

Other people include-

Tubbo Underscore

Fundy

Karl Jacobs (Pending)

Ranboo (my beloved)

Purpled Grayson

Jack Manifold

“Captain” Puffy Cara

Eret

Sneegsnag

Scott Major

More of them come later!

I might share more about them if people ask but next us is “Schaltt & Co!” And Quackity will be included so be excited for that!

#philza #fundy #jack manifold #wilbur soot #ranboo #tubbo #dreamsmp au #dream smp #origin smp #origins smp #tommyinnit #technoblade #niki nihachu #restaurant au #origin smp au #Niki is also a hybrid but it was already long so I thought it was unnecessary to add #dsmp/osmp restaurant au #sleepy bois inc #mcyt

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forevercloudnine · 3 years

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new 52 scarebat ship meme

(I had @heroes-etc give me more questions, but for scarebat this time, since we talk about it 24/7 but I never post about it. These are from this ship meme.)

4. Their favorite physical feature on each other?

There’s only one feature of Bruce’s appearance that’s scarier when he’s not wearing the batsuit, and that’s his creepy blue eyes. Especially the way Greg Capullo draws them where they’re sickly pale and have ridiculously constricted pupils.

So his eyes would definitely be in the running for Jonathan’s favorite feature, even if seeing them would require Bruce’s mask to be off, which is something New 52 Scarecrow explicitly avoids. Yes, that character trait only exists to justify why Batman’s identity is still secret after Scarecrow mind controls and subsequently institutionalizes him in “Gothtopia,” but I think it’s interesting so I’m going to pretend it’s not shoe-horned in there for meta reasons.

Actually having to see Bruce without the cowl on would definitely permanently break the illusion of Batman as a nightmarish inhuman bat demon, which I’m sure is a large part of the appeal for anyone as obsessed with fear as Jonathan Crane. But Bruce’s creepy eyes would be a serious consolation prize.

Bruce’s favorite of Jonathan’s physical features is rough, because Jonathan is famously not great re: physical features. I’m going to say his mouth, because a) that’s where the snark comes from, and b) the New 52 establishes that in one of their earlier encounters, Jonathan had sewn his own mouth shut, so it’s one of those things where a bad first impression turned positive later on leads to more fondness than if you’d made a good impression in the first place.

I just looked up the panel where he does it and I DID forget how incredibly gross his lips look here, which makes the fact that I have chosen it as Bruce’s feature seem really funny in retrospect. But I do think that seeing Jonathan’s mouth healed and unmutilated would be a reassuring reminder of how he’s stabilized since their first encounter, at least to the point that he isn’t hurting himself anymore. Also, Bruce buys him a lot of chapstick.

Bonus alternate answer that did not make it into the Google Doc:

9. How open are they with their feelings?

Bruce and Jonathan are both pretty competent deceivers in the New 52; Bruce always, Jonathan depending on how the writer is feeling (though you could argue that Bruce just has a stronger grip on reality, while Jonathan’s skill at obfuscation varies with how lucid he is).

...I was going to use Detective Comics #23.3 as an example of Jonathan being a good liar, but actually upon re-reading I’m realizing that only 1/4 rogues buy his attempt at manipulation. So maybe he’s considerably worse at hiding his intentions than he thinks he is. Regardless, he doesn’t ever attempt to disguise his obsession with Batman.

Whether or not he’d express romantic feelings or try to hide them is debatable. There’s no Masters of Fear equivalent in the New 52 establishing that he was ever mocked or punished for expressing romantic feelings for someone, though there is a flashback panel in his origin emphasizing that he was always lonely in this regard (and coincidentally doesn’t specify that his interest is in women, which is fun).

In Green Lanterns #17 he has some internal monologue about how fear is his romance and he needs Batman to feel it, but it is an INTERNAL monologue, so it’s not clear if this is something he would express to Bruce or keep to himself. Or if he’s even fully processed it himself, given how incredibly out of it he is in this comic. Most of his spoken lines are just kind of screaming incoherently. Bruce gets pretty snippy with a Green Lantern at the end of the issue for suggesting that Jonathan should be punished for his crimes as if he were in control of his actions.

Bruce is a similarly complicated answer, since for all his deceptions and shadowy mystery he pretty much wears his heart on his sleeve when it comes to romance. It’s just that his heart doesn’t express or process emotions the same way as anyone around him, which can create conflict. His (seriously underrated) love interest during Scarecrow’s origin arc, Natalya, spent most of her time dating him thinking that he didn’t care about her for this reason. He was trying to express that he loved her, but he mostly did so through complimenting her skills, which she never took as serious declarations of affection because he wasn’t being straightforward and she was insecure.

Jonathan does not himself seem like someone who would be especially secure in the idea of another person having romantic feelings towards him, so I assume that while Bruce might THINK he’s being open with any romantic feelings he develops, he would in reality just be really confusing.

13. How do they react to being away from each other?

I actually think that in general, Jonathan is one of the few people who would have no issue dealing with Bruce’s tendency to unexpectedly go AWOL for long periods of time, given that he himself has a tendency to fixate on his work to the exclusion of everything else.

But New 52 Jonathan specifically probably has pretty serious abandonment issues due to his father putting him in “the pit” and dying before he could take him out, meaning that Jonathan was waiting for his dad to come back for him for God knows how long, until Jonathan Sr.’s employers finally sent the police to investigate.

So while in general I think he wouldn’t be very clingy, any impression that Bruce had died or otherwise wasn’t coming back for him would probably be incredibly triggering. If Bruce could assuage this reaction by occasionally sending updates that at least indicated he was still alive, then I doubt Jonathan would have any problems with his absence.

(@heroes-etc: bruce sending like a checkmark emoji once a day. jonathan hears his phone ping, looks at the screen, and goes hm. good. and doesnt respond.)

Bruce meanwhile has no problem ditching literally any love interest at any time if something crime-related comes up, unless he’s considering quitting the cowl for them (as Joker probably accurately fears will happen with Catwoman in Prelude to the Wedding). But I don’t think he’d stop being Batman for Scarecrow, nor would Jonathan ever want him to — he’s interested in Batman, not necessarily Bruce Wayne.

But even though Bruce wouldn’t have an emotional problem with distance, I think he would get similarly paranoid if they went too long without contact, though for different reasons than Jonathan. Unlike some other villains (*cough* Joker and Riddler), Scarecrow has machinations that don’t require getting Batman’s attention, so if he decided to continue with his less legal experiments, he would not feel compelled to get Bruce involved. While the “World’s Greatest Detective” would probably not have an issue keeping an eye on Jonathan while he’s in Gotham, he’s considerably less capable of that in space. And Jonathan is definitely a rogue he would be obsessed with keeping an eye on, even if he reformed.

Batman & Robin Eternal established that Dick’s first supervillain conflict AND first mission leaving the country was chasing Scarecrow across the world for an entire summer, which is kind of insane considering how early it was in Batman’s career. Like, he did not have an army of children to watch Gotham for him while he was gone. He had one child, and he took that child WITH him. He left Gotham undefended for months, JUST to catch Scarecrow. Sooo that in of itself implies he wouldn’t be great at keeping his distance.

15. Does their view of themselves differ from their partner’s view?

Well, Jonathan occasionally sees Bruce as a giant bat demon, so yes.

Outside of that very obvious differing view, Jonathan in general sees himself and the rest of the rogue gallery as more vital to Batman’s identity than Bruce considers them; the extent to which he’s right varies depending on your interpretation of Bruce’s character, but it’s definitely not something Bruce would ever consciously think or say.

This is related to something that’s definitely a misconception of his, though, which is that the majority of Batman’s job revolves around supervillains like him. In Kings of Fear, when Jonathan blackmails Bruce into letting him come on patrol with him (which is a whole thing in of itself), he’s shocked at how boring most of Batman’s work is. Which probably goes along hand in hand with sometimes seeing Bruce as an almost mythologically inhuman figure.

In his defense, it’s not like he has a lot of context for what the minutiae of Batman’s job is like. He’s either fighting Batman, hiding from Batman, or imprisoned by Batman in Arkham, a place where everyone else also spends all their time fighting or hiding from Batman. Which would really skew your perspective.

Interestingly, Bruce and Jonathan are both people who pride themselves on being extremely self-aware. Both of them probably inaccurately. You can rant about how you have a perfect understanding of your troubled mental state all day long, but if you’re still dressing up like a monster at night to indulge the power fantasies you created as a traumatized child by scaring the hell out of people, there’s probably a level of self-realization you haven’t gotten to yet.

Bruce however is at least self-aware enough to regularly be able to analyze his way out of fear toxin induced hallucinations, which Jonathan is unable to do — when he’s not depicted as having become immune to his fear toxin due to overexposure (as he is in Green Lanterns #17), he can be defeated with the same formulas that Batman regularly manages to resist (like his honestly embarrassing breakdown in Nightwing #50).

Which ties into the difference between how he sees himself and how Bruce sees him: Jonathan obviously visualizes himself as a “master” of fear. He actually has the same internal monologue about fear and trauma that Bruce does in Batman: The Dark Knight #13: “Make it your own... run to what you fear... stare it in the eye... until it whimpers and backs down.” But Bruce doesn’t see Scarecrow as conquering his fear; he sees him as addicted to it, to the point of his own detriment.

Which is interesting, because Jonathan clearly sees his Scarecrow persona as a way to regain control after being victimized by his father’s fear experiments throughout his childhood. I guess Bruce’s perspective would be that Jonathan’s father instead got him addicted to fear as a child, so his attempts at agency as Scarecrow are just a) reliving his trauma over and over and b) compulsively inflicting his own trauma on others. There’s probably some truth to that, even if overall it’s probably an oversimplification (and coincidentally pretty much EXACTLY what Riddler argues Bruce is doing by “funding” Batman in Batman Annual #4, so there’s that).

20. Did either person change at all, to be with their partner?

The obvious answer here is yes, because Jonathan is a supervillain with no regard for human life while Bruce is a superhero who has dedicated his life to protecting people. So presumably one or both of them would have to make serious compromises to be together. HOWEVER. Scarecrow’s primary motivation is to research, understand and inflict fear, while Batman’s modus operandi is making his enemies afraid of him. So despite their contradiction in morals, they’re uniquely positioned to advance each other’s goals, were they to ever join forces.

Bruce never has a problem using fear toxin on Scarecrow, presumably partially out of an “eye for an eye” sense of poetic justice, but also because Batman is practical and it’s a nonlethal weapon that’s always available to him while fighting Scarecrow. If he could have fear toxin customized for his own use, it’s hard to imagine him being unwilling to use it. In Gothtopia he actually advocates for using what’s leftover from Crane’s new formula on all the inmates at Arkham, which seems about as insanely morally ambiguous as it gets. Arguably, putting fear toxin in his smoke bombs would be considerably less wrong than drugging mental patients out of their mind when they’re supposed to be receiving therapy (this is also the issue where he illegally releases Poison Ivy because she did him a favor, which is both morally questionable and relevant to the current topic).

Jonathan obviously already thinks Batman is the most interesting possible case study in fear; it’s why he keeps coming back to Bruce and Gotham despite being one of the more independent villains in Batman’s rogue gallery in the New 52. So though he would have to give up actively kidnapping people (which would be a huge sacrifice, I’m sure), teaming up with Bruce would give him unrestricted access to his favorite test subject. Unfortunately, it seems very possible that he would fall back to old tricks if he ever felt that he’d gotten everything he could out of a partnership with Bruce. Fortunately, that would probably take a VERY long time.

#scarebat #jonathan crane #scarecrow #bruce wayne #batman #ship meme #every day i think about the parallels between bruce and jonathan's childhoods that were set up by their new 52 origins #well. not every day #pretty goddamn regularly #i used to absolutely despise the new 52 scarecrow origin + characterization #but scarebat redeemed it for me

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aeducanka · 5 years

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OC Profile Meme

Thanks for the tag to the wonderful @gingerbreton!

I decided to go with my precious darling, Em!

(A part of my birthday present from wonderful Annorelka. Go follow her on deviantArt or Instagram! She is an amazing artist that you need in your life.)

________________________________________________________________

PHYSICAL

Name: Emerald Aeducan.

Nickname: to most people she is either Emerald or Em but when she was a child, her relatives used to call her "Emmie" (even in the Prologue Trian was still using this nickname in a condescending manner). To Sten Emerald is simply "Warden". Alistair, Zevran, Morrigan and Oghren sometimes call her "Princess" and only the context says whether the intention was playful or hurtful.

Age: 23 at the time of her recruitment to the Grey Wardens, had her 24th birthday slightly over a month later.

Species: dwarf (Orzammar).

Morality: (at the time of Prologue) self-proclaimed lawful good, (after the Prologue) self-proclaimed neutral good. It is debatable whether she is truly good or just a neutral with a strong inclination to do good, especially to the people she cares about.

PERSONAL

Religion: officially she believes in the Stone and you cannot prove otherwise.

That being said, she is a chief supporter ONLY of the reformed "church" of the Stone - the foundation stays the same, but the principles are as follows: good people enrich the Stone, assholes weaken it, and your nobility will not save you from the Stone's scrutiny SO YOU BETTER BE NICE.

Sins: greed/gluttony/sloth/lust/PRIDE/~envy~/wrath.

Emerald's greatest fault is her pride. Although the time spent in exile made her, more or less, aware of her shortcomings and able to express genuine humility (or even self-deprecation of sorts), Emerald, deep down, is convinced of her superiority to ALMOST EVERYONE. She knows that she is awesome, she has the papers to prove it, and even if she does not flaunt her superiority in your face, you still ~know~ that she judges you in the categories "If I were you, I would never make any of your mistakes". She goes to great lengths to change it as the Queen.

Virtues: chastity/ CHARITY/ DILLIGENCE/ humility/ KINDNESS/ ~patience~/ ~JUSTICE~.

Ooh, it is a tricky one since Emerald does her best to project an idealized version of herself. That being said, her humility is more often than not depression-induced so it does not really count. Her first marriage was very chaste, but then she did not love her husband and so I would not count is as genuine chastity. She may appear patient but she is still very much struggling with it. She is also very just for someone raised as a spoiled noblewoman, but due to her sheltered life, I feel that she has still a lot to learn.

Known languages: her mother tongue is Common as spoken in Orzammar.

As Orzammar is a fairly isolationist kingdom, I cannot say how much impact there was on the princess learning foreign languages. A language nerd myself, I like to think that Emerald knows at least a little bit of Orlesian (due to Orlais being Orzammar's best trading partner) and Tevene (due to the dwarven minority living there), but it is purely my speculation. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

For sure Emerald picks up random words and phrases from Leliana, Zevran and Sten - partially because she is a nerd but mostly because she knows that ~being more understood~ would make them happy.

Build: scrawny/bony/slender/fit/ATHLETIC/~curvy~/herculean/pudgy/plus size/average.

A friend of mine saw Queen Emerald take off her shirt in the shower, and she said that Queen Emerald had an eight pack, that Queen Emerald was shredded.

(She seems curvy only to a non-dwarven eye, though. To dwarves her charms are only slightly above average.)

Height: ???

Scars/Birthmarks: information classified! She was lucky enough not to receive any scars that would be difficult to hide with casual clothing, though.

Abilities/Powers:

1. She is a born diplomat and a pacifist who will do her best to resolve a conflict without unnecessary bloodshed.

2. She is well-versed in Orzammar's politics and her unshakable composure attests to it.

3. She makes excellent first impressions and can befriend people easily.

4. She is a good leader and advisor.

5. She makes for an empathetic friend who can listen to you rant for hours.

6. She is a good tactician and I firmly believe that she could beat Cullen in chess.

7. She is a trained warrior, by Landsmeet physically stronger than Alistair, who relies both on her smarts, her dexterity and strength.

8. She draws fun and happiness from the world's most boring hobbies which surely must be a some kind of witchcraft.

9. She shares Alistair's sense of humour, enough said.

Restrictions:

1. Her reputation of a fratricidal ex-princess makes any negotiations in Orzammar kind of difficult.

2. She speaks very posh which triggers some people's *Oghren, cough, Oghren* bratty princess alert.

3. Despite being well-versed in politics, she is a bit too idealistic, too merciful, and she used to trust her family members blindly.

4. Her composure does not really falter even among friends which gives off an impression that she is keeping distance... which she is, but not to THAT extent.

5. She is an excellent advisor… until she becomes frustrated because her advice is not listened to and her input is ignored.

6. She is good at listening to people for long periods of time, but if it is not important, she may not give the rant her full attention (getting just enough gist not to be accused of ignoring the person and dismissing the most of it when it is no longer useful).

7. She does not step up for a leadership position, despite her qualifications, unless the circumstances literally force her to do so.

8. As much as tactics go, she is miserable with games other than chess because either she will not realize that her opponent is a cheater (Isabella, round 1) or, which is worse, she will not be able to prove that her opponent is cheating (Isabella, round 2).

9. She is smart and well-trained but not very inspired as a warrior. She could be defeated by stronger people, more dexterous people, smarter people, luckier people or people who, like Kallista Tabris, are very dedicated to their craft.

FAVOURITES:

Food: anything that hails from Orzammar! Nothing makes you long for your local cuisine better than a bitter exile. Also, she would not put herself above eating a nug. Sorry, Leliana!

Pizza topping: (modern AU) corn and mushrooms. Emerald is by no means a vegetarian but she is very picky about meat so in most cases - a vegetarian pizza it is!

Colour: her all-time favourite is purple, but, frankly, Emerald is the embodiment of "Do you like the colour of the sky?" meme. Her exile to the surface made her aware of a brand new palette of colours and she loves them all. That being said, early on her "comfort" colours were the subdued earthy colours of Orzammar.

Music genre: she mostly listens to instrumentals, both in the canon and in the modern AU. She is very picky with songs, though I could see her enjoying a band as “low brow” as ABBA. During her exile she develops a soft spot for Fereldan folk songs and Leliana's Orlesian-Fereldan repertoire.

Movie genre: Emerald is not much of a movie fan. Generally, she does not have time for them. She mostly watches documentaries with some classics/awards nominated movies thrown in for a good measure. She could be persuaded to watch something entirely outside her watching preferences when quality time with friends is the main incentive.

Curse words: Emerald does not cuss, especially not in public, but I think that there are certain dwarven words she says in her thoughts when the situation goes badly.

Scents: Emerald does not like the smell of the rain and she even agrees with Sten about Ferelden smelling like a wet dog, but during her rule there is nothing she misses more.

FUN STUFF:

Bottom or top: that is disgusting. And wrong. I don’t even get- why would- Her Royal Highness has never had sex with anyone, anywhere. It is none of your- you have- the nerve, the audacity, she is the Queen of Orzammar and about to get married. Warden Alistair is her former companion, barely, and he is just awful, humour-wise. And how- how- do I know, frankly, that you are not sleeping with him? Maybe you are. Maybe you are trying to throw me off? Hmm, check and mate.

Sings in the shower: not all all, she is too aware of her lack of singing talent. Sometimes she hums to herself, though.

Likes puns: all kinds of them, with strong preference to Alistair ones, and ability to make almost EXCLUSIVELY the terrible ones.

________________________________________________________________

Phew! It was a long one. Sorry, I have a tendency for writing much more than I should. ^^”

Tagging: @bitchesofostwick, @bluekaddis, @etoilebinaire, @dekudoodle, @lady--revan and @visionmarred (Hi! Reverienne here!), @gingerbreton (Freya? 👀). As always, there is absolutely no pressure!

Tagging back is fine but only at your own risk!

#Dragon Age #Dragon Age Origins #Warden Aeducan #Emerald Aeducan #ask meme #my characters

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feywildrecap · 6 years

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Feywild Recap 7/26/18

Time for our quasi weekly recap, reminding you of the things you may have missed while you were working, vacationing, sleeping, or just having a life. This week brought us another influx of new characters to love and I’m going to have to get better at doing these ACTUALLY weekly because y’all have been busy! Let’s get into it.

Aster decided to get a few rounds after his shift at the bar then proceeded to try and buy Hyacinth a drink. Only problem was Hyacinth was working and is apparently no fun. At all.

Maybe Hyacinth would be more fun if his girlfriend hadn’t just died in An Fidchell (the world may never know) but sadly Elise has shuffled off this mortal coil.

Willow and Garnet are having a girl’s night. Garnet, to everyone’s eternal relief, is finally realizing maybe she deserves better than the King (-GASP-) who doesn’t love her.

Nadia is engaging in retail therapy and getting the opinions of anyone who will stand still long enough to provide one.

Adare asked Forest to keep an eye out for Knox, since Onyx noticed him hanging around.

Larkspur and Benji are still chatting, though Lark is now giving specific elixir recommendations. I feel like this can only end in tears.

In case no one noticed, Patrick is tall.

Adare and Willow’s conversation is going beyond the typical surface chat and real questions are getting asked. It seems like Adare is really trying to make sure Willow knows he is trying to make things better for the court. Whether or not they believe him is another story.

Since Nadia struck out with Forest in terms of discovering what Slane meant when he referenced the fey, she’s turned to Sean. Perhaps because he’s tired of watching her flail uselessly, Sean is actually giving her some answers.

Ember and Kaitlin are spending the 4th drinking together at the Irish pub.

Memes. Text memes everywhere. And some people (you know who you are) took that whole heartbreaking text a bit too seriously. Ouch.

Rowan is apparently starting a mentorship program for young unseelie, taking time to offer assistance and instruction to both Camellia and Larkspur. I would love for both of them to start following her around and trying to be just a little more like Ro in how they dress and talk. Wishful thinking? Probably, but I can see an AU forming. (No one judge me, its 4 am)

Nickel got drunk at a wedding in Jersey and texted Hazel to see about getting some mac and cheese. Hazel, after a little confusion, agreed because who doesn’t love a stray?

If you’d like to know more about Adare and his former wife, Bethany wrote a literal novel. But it’s beautiful and worth reading. Also informational. Did you know lushy was a word in 1849? I didn’t. Gotta read to find out context….

Ember is treating Quinn to a night on the town. And by town, I mean water. On a yacht. To rub elbows with a certain unnamed hollywood actor.

Willow has given Hazel a bit more info on the rebellion and Hazel, like the dork she is, is making Star Wars comparisons in her mind. If they ever try to teach her to fight, expect her to make lightsaber noises.

Adare and Marigold are having a moment. Possibly because Adare is drunk. Regardless, a moment was had -- with a hug, no less. Adare told her that he loved her mother and loved (note the past tense, intentional or not) her and her sister.

Ember and Cobalt are hanging out at the bar, but not splitting nachos… because Cobalt is selfish about that kind of thing.

Marigold and Forest are also hanging out at a bar for drinks, sans nachos. They’re contemplating places they’d rather be. So far better options include beaches, mountains, and some place upstate.

Cobalt and Willow are being adorable and also pushing the boundaries of appropriate workplace conduct at Oakenfold.

Adare revealed to the Seelie Court that he was working on a fix to the fertility crisis but that the fix might actually be another problem. A problem named Knox Bakshi who may or may not be stalking and/or murdering fey. Good talk.

Peridot is picking up where Jasper left off (someone please recruit us a Jasper) and touching base with Nickel. Because the rebellion’s motto is “the more, the merrier.”

Sean has named his price to join the rebellion -- the name of the changeling who took his place. It could get uncomfortable if both Nickel and Sean are recruited.

Hazel and Cobalt got stuck working late and are debating the merits of Red Bull.

Kaitlin finally returned Davey’s cat to him. Pros: positive, chipper, rambly Davey. Cons: he can’t remember why he shouldn’t be those things.

Speaking of Davey, he decided after a month of hiding out with his fam (a well deserved break, I’m sure) he’d try to figure out why he had a poker chip from a casino. His presence brought about a few different reactions. Adare “recognizing” his neighbor, Quinn checking on a stranger, Tyler legit checking on a stranger, Hazel turning into a dog to try to keep him from returning to repeat his mistakes, etc.

Brielle totally stole Adare’s watch (by accident, of course) so Adare decided coffee wasn’t enough and has asked her to join him for dinner to return it. Patrick sees no problem with this arrangement, provided Adare continues to be generous. He’s hoping for a taco truck.

Kaitlin decided she’d moped long enough and took to dancing in the rain with friends and sort of strangers alike.

Marigold and Camellia are having lunch to discuss their daddy issues. I really hope their waiter is a therapist on the side.

#recap4 #recap 7/26/18 #there was a LOT this time so don't hesitate to tell me if I missed something that should be known

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donald-clemons · 3 years

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Using Hashtags Effectively for Your Ecommerce Business

Millions of people and brands rely on hashtags to expand their reach, organize their content, and participate in bigger conversations. If your ecommerce business doesn’t use hashtags, the idea of building them into your social strategy might feel overwhelming. What and who should you mention? Which conversations should you join? What if you commit a social media faux pas or use a hashtag in the wrong context?

Not to worry—we have you covered. Here are a few strategies for using hashtags appropriately and effectively to reach new customers and satisfy your existing base.

A Quick Refresher on Hashtags

Hashtags may seem like an annoying social media trend that never died, but they actually have a specific, useful purpose. Hashtags act as a filing system for social media posts, organizing the platform’s index of content into topics and themes that users create (by inventing a new hashtag) or contribute to (using an existing hashtag). Some hashtags have millions of posts, and others are more specific.

Perhaps the simplest way to understand the utility of the hashtag is to consider a small event, like a wedding. If everybody who attended Pam and Jim’s wedding tag their social media photos with the invite-suggested hashtag #pamandjimswedding, then attendees will be able to access a wide array of corresponding wedding photos by clicking on that hashtag—even if they don’t know or follow the attendees who posted pictures.

Scale this idea up to the business level, and you can start to see why businesses leverage the hashtag to:

Highlight products in relevant ways. If you sell handmade soap, for example, you can use the hashtag #handmadesoap to get your products in front of people who follow that hashtag.

Show off happy customers as they sport/use the brand’s products

Participate in jokes, memes, cultural moments, and important conversations

Making Hashtags Work for Your Brand

Primarily, hashtags are for the user. Make this your golden rule: your posts are unlikely to gain any traction (and may even get penalized) if you haven’t contributed content that is useful, relevant, and on-topic.

It should be fairly obvious that a picture of your handmade soap is a useful contribution to the #handmadesoap hashtag, but not to the #DogsofInstagram hashtag. But what about cases that are more gray? Broadly popular hashtags like #love, #Instagood, or #photooftheday are as relevant to your handmade soap as they are to any other photo, so does that mean you should use them?

The short answer is, it's best to use niche-specific hashtags instead of broad-but-trendy ones whenever possible. Ambiguous hashtags like #instagood might bring you followers, but most of them will be spam accounts who won’t engage with your posts in a meaningful way. Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram’s algorithms consider engagement a ranking factor, so your post probably won’t rank for that hashtag for long. On top of that, the sheer amount of posts using the hashtag means the feed will move quickly, making the competition for a top position fierce.

There are certainly legitimate reasons to participate in broadly used hashtags—your brand might want to show solidarity with a particular group or movement by using a hashtag like #loveislove, for example—but make these choices for the right reasons; don’t expect a boost in performance metrics.

Instead of reaching for popular hashtags as a core strategy, research what’s trending within your niche (even if that means spending 30 minutes exploring various iterations of #mensfashion). It may be painstaking, but brainstorm every word combination you can think of to describe your brand, seeding your list as you spot additional opportunities. Explore how each hashtag performs on social media and build a final list of hashtags that have meaningful engagement but aren’t too broad, keeping relevance top-of-mind.

Use Hashtags Selectively

Now that you have your list, it may be tempting to use every promising hashtag you’ve found on every post you make. Not so fast—while hashtags are great for brand visibility, they can also clutter up your posts and come off as spammy. Here are some tips for using hashtags appropriately on three of the biggest social media platforms:

Twitter

You only have 280 characters, so make them count. If you have something great to say that doesn’t leave any room for hashtags, leave the hashtags off—don’t sacrifice good content for possible exposure. When you do use hashtags, keep them short and sweet, finding one or two that perform well and get your point across. If you explore some of the most popular branded Twitter accounts, like the infamous Wendy’s account, you’ll notice how they prioritize content over hashtags. In fact, most of the Wendys posts don’t use hashtags at all.

Instagram

You can add up to 30 hashtags per post, but that doesn’t mean you should—doing so has become a faux pas among social media enthusiasts and marketers. Adding the maximum number of hashtags to each post can look spammy, putting off users who otherwise might have clicked on the post.

Follow the “content over hashtags” rule on Instagram too, but do give yourself room to prioritize a small handful of promising hashtags (no more than ten). If your brand already has a following of 1000+ on Instagram, aim for no more than five relevant hashtags.

Instagram’s search feature makes hashtag discovery fairly easy. If you start typing a word related to the hashtag you want to use, the search will autocomplete with the most relevant hashtags, alongside their popularity/volume count.

Facebook

Facebook isn’t a major player when it comes to hashtags, but you can still use them to your advantage. Keep your Facebook hashtags thoughtful, relevant, and somewhat brief.

The Power of Branded Hashtags

Take your social media strategy to the next level by creating a hashtag campaign for your brand. This works especially well if you already have a healthy following and decide to run a contest or invite more interaction with your channel. For example, Taco Bell has turned the tag #TacoBellWedding into a fun social tag for people who have had Taco Bell at their wedding.

In Conclusion

At the end of the day, don’t worry about following a prescribed playbook—let common sense dictate the choices you make. What are the first few words that come to mind when you look at the image you’re posting? Chances are that the same words come to mind for other people who are interested in the topic. Stay on-brand and savvy, but don’t lose valuable time debating whether or not to put #sunflowers on a sunflower photo you just posted—just give it a try and see if it sticks. Play with when and how you use hashtags, and over time, your experiments will point the way to the best hashtags for your brand.

Using Hashtags Effectively for Your Ecommerce Business published first on https://yousweetluxury.weebly.com/

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misscrawfords · 6 years

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11, 12, 16

Sorry for the delay in answering @cinquespotted and thank you for asking! :) Been a manic couple of days and I needed to think about non-fiction books about classics because that’s not so easy to answer when I haven’t been in academia in the subject for almost ten years. (Yikes…)

11. recommend a piece of non-fiction about the classical world

I was thinking about this on and off for a couple of days and then the answer hit me. Adam Nicholson’s The Mighty Dead. I’m not sure that “non-fiction” is quite the right way to describe this utterly brilliant book. It’s a lyrical, imaginative, semi-fictional investigation of Homer’s influence and power, as simultaneously oblique and direct, beautifully written and πολυτροπος as one of Homer’s heroes.

I also pulled out my undergraduate dissertation bibliography which was the last time I read classical scholarship seriously and I remember being blown away by some of the things on it. (Unlike many students, I absolutely adored writing my dissertation - I was very lucky.) Here are a few of the academic books I read which I recall enjoying even at the distance of 9 years:

- Chew, Kathryn. “The representation of violence in the Greek novels and martyr accounts”- Frye, Northrop. The Secular Scripture: A study of the structure of romance (not classical per se but brilliant and influential - I read more Frye for my masters and I’m a big, big fan)- Konstan, David. Sexual Symmetry- Loraux, Nicole. Tragic ways to kill a woman- MacAlister, Suzanne. Dreams and Suicides: The Greek novel from Antiquity to the Byzantine Empire

Yep, my dissertation was basically about sex and death. (What else is fiction about?) No, I didn’t do it on purpose…

12. who is your favourite poet? why?

(Oh how nice, this meme was created by someone writing British English. How delightfully unusual!)

Am I allowed to cheat and give two - one Greek and one Roman? Good! :P

On the Greek side, I have to go with Homer. I mean, I honestly feel he (he? As if we know!) might be my favourite author. Or at least sit up there alongside Austen. I guess at the moment I’m in more of a Homer mood than an Austen mood. Polite tea drinking and elegant sniping in a ball room really isn’t cutting it for me at the moment. (YES I KNOW THERE IS MORE TO AUSTEN THAN THAT. SHE’S MY FAVOURITE AUTHOR AND I’VE WRITTEN A DAMN MASTERS DISSERTATION ON HER. I’m just having a reaction against that kind of writing atm. I don’t know why. I don’t know what to do about it. I feel sad. But that’s another post.)

HOMER

I mean, where does one start? I’ve always loved The Odyssey from reading Book 6 for Greek GCSE and tittering over Odysseus covering his naked manhood with a fig leaf (lines inexplicably missed out from the Bristol Classical Press’ edition for fear of offending the sensibilities of school children, clearly not realising that by missing them out there is no indication that Odysseus isn’t stark naked in from of Nausicaa the entire scene lololololol). I did a final year paper involving reading the whole poem in Greek (spoiler: I failed, but I read about 2/3rds of it missing out the many books of recognition in Ithaca and it was a wonderful experience reading 100s of lines of Homer and getting a feel for the vocabulary and the rhythm of it all. I wish I had been a more dedicated student and had actually completed the whole thing.) It was my favourite paper. Professor Simon Goldhill (who looks and sounds like Zeus) opening the lecture series by booming, “The Odyssey is all about how to be a MAN”. ανδρα μοι εννεπε. First line of the poem. I get shivers thinking about it. Odysseus - his character. WHAT A GUY. (I don’t mean to say you have to like him or approve of him - that’s not what appreciating fiction is about, you clodpoles, but you have to admit he’s an amazing, amazing character and concept.) We actually had Professor Edith Hall come to my school today and she gave a talk on Odysseus as a hero and ngl I actually almost teared up at one moment. I just can’t believe such a great character exists and over 2000 years later, he still speaks to us and we can trace SO MUCH in Western culture back to these texts. Actually, while I was nursing a raging crush on Odysseus (I was 20 okay), it was Penelope who was the revelation to me in that paper. Did Penelope know her husband was back before the recognition scene? This had never occurred to me before and I was plunged into debates on the stability of the text and characterisation and feminism and narratology. I mean, it was just amazing! And whatever nitty gritty you might go into with it, I was just struck by this wonderful, admittedly overly romantic idea, that Penelope was absolutely Odysseus’ equal. That in this ancient epic, we had a woman who bested a man at his own game, that she was playing him - and he loved it. These two tricksters, separated for too long, finally getting their happy ending. And I know it’s not about that. But it also is. Emotionally, that’s what I got. And it made me so, so happy. Because, honestly, I don’t have a problem studying works written by, for and about men if they’re good, but there are SO FEW opportunities studying classics (at least traditionally; the approach is changing now which is great) to grapple with amazing female characters or figures - and here I had Homer’s hero and Homer’s heroine. I mean, there are many other things I love about the Odyssey but this is already long enough.

I always joked about the fact that I managed to get a classics degree from Cambridge without having ever studied the Iliad. (Ikr, it’s crazy!) And youthful, hubristic me was okay with that. I was an Odyssey girl through and through. I’d read the Iliad and it was all battles and death and the catalogue of ships. YOU FOOL. So the first time I really had to deal with the Iliad was when I found myself teaching it to A Level Classical Civilisation. And it was an absolute revelation. I’m teaching it for the third time at the moment and it’s not getting old. Every time I see something different, every time the students find something new, every time I cry quietly in class when we are reading. The places vary but the moments that are guaranteed to set me off are Achilles’ grief over Patroclus, him putting on his armour and his final unbending towards Priam. Why the armour? I’m not entirely sure. I think it’s something to do with this sense of inevitability of the approach of the end, of imminent climax (somehow more significant than the climax itself). It’s like how the lighting of the beacons in LotR is such a powerful scene. It’s not that the thing itself is particularly full of pathos but because of everything it signifies. I can’t altogether explain it but it always really affects me. When my uncle died the other year, I was reading the death of Patroclus with my class at that time and my mum came to visit. I didn’t know how to talk to her or talk about my uncle’s death and we had this absolutely awful walk around a country park in the rain (I am never going to be able to go back there for the memories it triggers) but somehow the only way I could articulate something of what I felt was by clinically and factually describing Achilles’ anguish and explaining to my mother how the ancient world mourned its dead and what Patroclus had meant to Achilles and what blinding grief and rage would drive him to do. And she gripped my hand and we both wept, silent tears, and we walked on in the rain talking about the Iliad. I’m actually crying again, writing this, right now. I am not sure there is ANYTHING in literature more powerful than Achilles’s rage and anguish.

If Odysseus is the hero of romance and comedy, a clever hero whose very wiliness makes my heart sing and my academic brain bounce up and down looking for mythic parallels, Achilles does something else altogether. I’ve been thinking about him a lot recently - partly because I’m teaching the poem and once again we’ve got to Book 16 and Achilles’ tragedy is becoming the focus of the remainder of the poem (if it wasn’t before) so it’s literally my job to think about his character - but also in the context of my recent obsession with SW, Reylo and Kylo Ren’s Episode 9 possibilities. I’m not trying to be trivial here but it saddens me SO MUCH that people have the nerve to police interest in that character, one of the most fascinating and complex to grace the screens of a fantasy blockbuster series in - well, honestly, I can’t think of another one. What a treat we have. Nobody has a problem loving Achilles’ character and weeping over him (and making soft pastel shipping graphics of him and Patroclus…) but he was objectively speaking an awful person in many ways. A violent, unpredictable, psychopathic overgrown adolescent who holds an awful grudge. But of course, that isn’t the full story and it’s not the purpose of this post to educate the internet on the nuances of Achilles’ character and his profound tragedy. I’ve got emotional enough, but honestly, we NEED Achilles. We need that larger-than-life expression of all our deepest fears and regrets and violence and destruction - and also wit, compassion, sense of justice and deep love and loyalty. I think someone once said that everyone should read the Iliad at least once in their life. Whether they did or not, it’s true: everyone should.

Okay, so I was also going to talk about how much I love Ovid too but that would be literally going from the sacred to the profane, the sublime to the ridiculous and I have spent way too long on this already. So, yeah, I really love Ovid as well.

16. Cicero - love him or loathe him?

I unironically love Cicero.

Okay, so I started along this journey from the worst of reasons. The first guy I ever liked in high school was obsessed with Cicero. At the time, I’d never read anything by him, so I decided to like him because liking the same things as your crush is an A+ way of getting him to notice you and like you back. (Spoiler: it failed.) Along the way, I got really inspired by Cicero’s wife Terentia. My first internet handles were Terentia. (I WONDER IF HE KNEW I HAD A CRUSH. lol he did. it was awful. I cringe.) Anyway, Terentia was fabulously wealthy and responsible for financing Cicero’s political career, married twice more after Cicero’s death, including to the historian Suetonius, and died aged 103. What a BAMF.

So first off, I love Cicero’s Latin. He’s my favourite Latin prose author to translate. Even if his speeches are sometimes on the dull side (we had De Imperio as an AS set text a couple of years ago and it was such a snooze-fest), the actual style of writing is so lucid and balanced and satisfying I can forgive him the content. I love all the rhetorical devices and how you can still see them at work in (good) political speeches today. I just get tremendous pleasure from translating him. It annoys me no end that the prose unseen author at A Level at the moment is Livy. I have no patience for Livy’s Latin; it doesn’t thrill me at all.

But I also kind of like Cicero the man. He lived at one of the most fascinating periods of history and although you can’t altogether trust his bias, he was a really important figure in that history and documented so much of it. I wish we had more sources to sit along side as I think he definitely puffs himself up, but nevertheless he’s invaluable. I even quite like his arrogance. He’s the ultimate self-made, intellectual man in Rome and I think he has reason to be proud of what he achieved. He must have been formidable to listen to.

Thank you for letting me ramble on about classics and literature like this. I miss writing on tumblr and not just reblogging pretty things.

Ask me about classics (or anything else obviously)

#classics #homer #the odyssey #the iliad #cicero

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khalilhumam · 4 years

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The case for rethinking the politicization of the military

New Post has been published on http://khalilhumam.com/the-case-for-rethinking-the-politicization-of-the-military/

The case for rethinking the politicization of the military

By Jim Golby, Mara Karlin Every smart defense strategist learns early in their career the wise words of Carl von Clausewitz, “War is the continuation of politics by other means.” And yet, military leaders are constantly fearful that they will be labeled with that scarlet word, “political.” To some degree, this fear is well-founded; it is also profoundly problematic. The terms “political,” “apolitical,” and “politicization” are applied and misapplied across a wide range of issues, and understanding the military’s relationship to politics deserves serious reconsideration. Claiming that the military is, or should be, apolitical is both confusing and counterproductive. The military itself is, of course, an intensely political institution. Military leaders need to be able to engage on political issues with their troops and with the public, and they shouldn’t shy away from a topic simply for fear of being labeled “political.” Instead, they should actively tackle what it means to do so in an appropriate and responsible manner. In practice, that looks like retiring the military’s ambiguous “apolitical norm” and replacing it with new practical rules of thumb about what topics are off-limits for those in uniform. We don’t want a military that is “apolitical”; we instead want a military that avoids partisanship, institutional endorsements, and electoral influence. Those topics should stay off-limits, but politics are too critical to be entirely ignored by the military. The military is a political creature — it’s time for it to consider what that means in a more practical and appropriate manner.

The US military isn’t apolitical and it shouldn’t try to be

On June 6, New Jersey Congressman Tom Malinowski posted a picture of a young man at a rally in a Marine Corps uniform. The image shot around the internet, particularly among military accounts, garnering dramatically different responses. Some praised the Marine, asserting that he was standing up for human dignity, while others roundly criticized him for violating the military’s “apolitical” norm by protesting in the garb of the institution he ostensibly represents. Standing up for the values of the military is critical and the affirmation of the oath on the Marine’s sign — “I swore an oath to defend the people” — is not a political act in and of itself. Wearing his uniform while doing so at a rally, however, demonstrates the tension between holding up that apolitical mantle while maintaining one’s role as an engaged citizen. And according to the Defense Department’s instruction on political activities, it is not permitted to do so in uniform. But there is a bigger problem: whether or not his actions are political is simply the wrong question to ask.

The military is not apolitical. It never has been, and it should not try to be.

That’s because the military is not apolitical. It never has been, and it should not try to be. The military is an instrument of policy, and there are always tensions between our security and our values; politics is the process we use to choose between competing tradeoffs that can advance our values and our interests, or both. Use of that term “apolitical” not only makes it harder for military officers to fulfill their responsibilities and maintain the trust of the American people, but confuses service members and the public alike when they see military leaders saying or doing things that have clear political consequences.

The military’s political nature

Military actions always happen in a political context, and military advice — intentionally or not — always has political implications. A senior military leader can claim she is giving “apolitical” advice when she asks Congress to appropriate certain funds to the procurement of a given weapon system, but before deciding whether to grant her request, legislators have to consider whether doing so would come at a cost to other military or non-military programs, how it might help or hurt employment in their district, the potential environmental impacts of the program, or whether they might need to raise taxes to pay for the system, among a host of other factors. Officers can claim their advice is “apolitical,” but it is simply not true. As scholar Risa Brooks has argued, lip service to an apolitical norm also can blind officers to their own biases or hinder them from understanding the political implications of their actions or advice, ultimately enabling the types of behaviors the norm was intended to prevent. Similarly, fears of becoming a meme or political poster child also can cause military officers to refrain from talking about important issues in public or with their personnel. Their silence itself can sometimes be interpreted as a political message. Indeed, following the death of George Floyd, it took nearly a week before any of the service chiefs released statements to their service members about the killing or the unrest that had consumed the nation — although for at least a few of them, that silence was almost surely informed by heavy pressure from Secretary of Defense Esper to refrain from commenting on these issues at that moment. In fact, it wasn’t until after Kaleth O. Wright — in his own words “a black man who happens to be Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force” — posted a powerful Twitter thread on June 1st that they did so. Since then, a flood of senior military officers have released statements and videos to their units, affirming the core values of the military, condemning racism, and promoting diversity and inclusion both in the military and in society — issues that, we hasten to add, should not be seen as political and instead rather as the ultimate comparative advantage of a capable U.S. military and society.

Better rules of thumb for political activity

Given the military’s inherent political nature, the Defense Department issued two regulations to try and outline parameters for individual service member involvement in political activities. The regulations, issued in 2005 and 2008 list dozens of both authorized and prohibited activities that, taken with several other relevant statutes and at least one executive order, apply in various contexts. Together, they prohibit members of the military from attending events like speeches, rallies, marches, debates, or any public demonstration while wearing their uniform, unless they receive approval by one of only a handful of generals or admirals listed in the document. This step is to ensure that individual military personnel do not give the appearance that the military institution supports the person, group, or cause at hand, while still allowing military personnel to represent their personal opinions as active and interested citizens. The regulations also mandate that members of the military must remain non-partisan and refrain from using their official position or authority to influence a campaign or election. If the “apolitical norm” is confusing, how can we expect service members or political leaders to make sense of what behavior is acceptable and what isn’t? And why should we be surprised when service members are confused about whether the Marine at the rally or their own senior leaders are engaging in political activity? Fortunately, the main provisions in these documents boil down to three rules of thumb, which we suggest can be communicated in one hokey acronym: avoid giving or taking a piece of the military’s PIE. In other words: avoid Partisan behavior; avoid Institutional endorsement; and avoid Electoral influence. First, avoiding partisan behavior seems straightforward, but it can be difficult in practice in a nation that is polarized along partisan lines. Still, those in uniform — and senior leaders, in particular — most avoid creating the impression they are aligned with a political party. They must be aware of their own biases and of the perceptions they may convey. Second, the military has been the nation’s most-admired institution for decades now, and everyone knows it. This fact creates strong incentives for individuals, groups, candidates, or causes to try to create the impression that the military supports them. Aligning themselves with those in uniform can seem an easy way to legitimize themselves or their goals or to shield them from opposition. But those in the military must avoid situations where their presence, especially in uniform, creates the impression that the military is granting its institutional endorsement. And third, those in uniform should not use their official position or authority to interfere in — or to try to influence — elections. Even in cases where party is not the central fault line in a campaign, it is dangerous for democracy when those in uniform try to position themselves as the arbiter of political legitimacy. This has happened in places like Egypt — with dangerous, authoritarian results. None of these rules of thumb keep service members from expressing their own political opinions or exercising their individual rights, but they should reshape how they exercise those rights and draw a boundary between their personal behavior and their professional behavior. As individual responsibility and rank increase, the lines between personal and professional may become harder — or impossible — to draw. Indeed, the more senior you become, the less you can ever truly speak for yourself and the more you have no choice but to speak for the institution. Political pressures on the military have always existed, and it is hard for service members, and their leaders, to avoid giving away a piece of the military’s PIE, when political leaders, candidates, and groups are always trying to take a piece of the military’s PIE. As a powerful instrument of statecraft, political leaders of both parties have tried to wield the military or use it to garner greater domestic support by wrapping themselves in the veil of military prestige. On June 1st, for example, President Trump asked Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Mark Milley to join him in his combat uniform for a photo op on his walk across Lafayette Square to Saint John’s Church. In a powerful commencement speech to the National Defense University, Milley apologized for participating and stated, “I should not have been there.” Others may want the military to take political positions to harm their opponents or to weaken the commander-in-chief, such as when Sen. John McCain tried to pressure Gen. Martin Dempsey to state that President Barack Obama’s Syria policy was not in the national security interest of the United States during his 2013 re-confirmation hearing. Growing political polarization and increased confidence in the military has only exacerbated these pressures, but this temptation has existed since time immemorial. Nevertheless, its character in recent years has broadened and deepened. Under President Trump, the military has experienced heavy external political pressure, like the president signing a temporary travel ban on Muslim-majority countries inside the Pentagon’s Hall of Heroes; regaling troops at CENTCOM and SOCOM about how much political support he commanded in the election because of them; urging sailors to lobby members of Congress on the defense budget; and his granting of clemency to convicted war criminals and then bringing them onstage during a political fundraiser. The military has also experienced heavy internal political pressure, such as when service members decided to cover up the USS John McCain out of fear that the president would be perturbed to see a ship named after his nemesis or when troops brought red MAGA hats and a Trump campaign banner to his visit at Ramstein Air Base. Ideally, the secretary of defense and other senior civilian defense leaders should do their utmost to minimize these pressures on the military. It is incumbent on them to insulate the military from politicization to the extent possible. Likewise, senior military leaders should acknowledge to their troops that these pressures exist in the national security ecosystem. The challenge for them to consider is how and in what ways they can foment a command climate that does so in a professional and appropriate manner. Military officers, at all levels, need to be more comfortable talking about politics the right way instead of avoiding the topic altogether.

Military officers, at all levels, need to be more comfortable talking about politics the right way instead of avoiding the topic altogether.

What military leaders can — and should — do now

Rather than let Clausewitz spin in his grave, military leaders at varying levels can take three key steps to help educate their troops and alleviate concerns of partisanship across the ranks, particularly at this delicate moment. First, they should reaffirm their commitment to avoid giving anyone a piece of the military’s PIE: avoid partisanship; avoid institutional endorsement; and avoid elections. This acronym is admittedly hokey, but it needs to be memorable to supplant use of the ubiquitous and ultimately confusing “apolitical norm.” Focusing on these three elements will result in a richer discussion and clearer rules of thumb for troops and the public than simply tossing about glib warnings on politicization. And using them will help military leaders — and the troops they lead — draw clearer lines around inappropriate behavior. Second, they should acknowledge that although the military is inherently political as a tool of statecraft, the use of the military as a symbol to legitimize political decisions can have harmful effects on the public’s trust in the military and in the military’s ability to provide expert advice. By reminding themselves and their subordinates that the military’s high domestic support can plummet — with catastrophic consequences — service members may internalize why a cautious approach is the right one. Third, they should not become too cautious, avoiding all talk of these hard issues out of fear of stumbling or saying the wrong thing. Instead, they should foster critical conversations on topics like the perniciousness of political activity on social media, in line with Heidi Urben’s scholarship which finds that it is common for active-duty members of the military to make highly inappropriate statements on social media — even directed against elected leaders. They should debate thorny case studies in professional military education programs and senior leader sessions, such as partisan endorsements, what appears to be increased wariness on exercising the right to vote among military leaders, and both positive and negative examples of stepping over what often feels like an invisible line. Our efforts to further refine and develop the notion of politicization in the military represent a step forward in an urgent conversation. The military is far too important in American society for it to be apolitical.

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aion-rsa · 4 years

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Batman Gifts: Our Pick of the Best DC Collectibles

https://ift.tt/34HQcAI

Here's our rundown of this year's coolest Batman collectibles.

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80 years in and Batman is as popular as ever. Even as you read these words, work is underway on the next cinematic adventure for the Dark Knight, and Joker is still going strong in theaters -- so much so that Joaquin Phoenix and Todd Phillips are hiding away crafting the character's next solo film. The eight decades since Batman was first introduced in the pages of Detective Comics have seen him undergo countless changes, the versatility of the Caped Crusader is a huge part of his staying power. But when it comes down to the nitty gritty, Batman is just a hero at heart -- whether he's the goofy 1960s one or the grimdark Synder take. So you really can't go wrong with giving the gift of Batman, and here's some ideas to make your holiday shopping experience a Bat-tastic one!

Batman 4K Film Collection

Let's kick things off in a big way with some Bat-Movies, shall we? Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Forever, and Batman & Robin get a deluxe treatment in this eight-disc set that includes 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and digital copies of each film.

Buy the Batman 4K Film Collection here

The Dark Knight Trilogy Collection

Those who prefer their Batman to be a bit less ridiculous will likely be more interested in Christopher Nolan's take on the character with Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises -- all of which are included here in 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray. Point to ponder, why does everyone give Batman & Robin so much shit when Bale's Batman essentially causes nuclear winter over the skies of Gotham City at the end of The Dark Knight Rises. No wonder he gets the fuck out of town so quick.

Buy The Dark Knight Trilogy Collection here

Batman: The Definitive History of the Dark Knight in Comics, Film, and Beyond

Nearly ever iteration of Batman -- from the World's Greatest Detective to the Dark Knight -- is explored in this mammoth 400-page guide to the character and how he has been portrayed in various forms of media. When a book bills itself as "the most comprehensive history of Batman ever written," it better have the content to back such a brazen statement up, and thats exactly what authors Andrew Farago and Gina McIntyre aim to do here.

Buy Batman: The Definitive History of the Dark Knight in Comics, Film, and Beyond here

Batman Chair Cape

Earn the respect of your coworkers -- or maybe just get a quick trip to HR! -- with this Batman cape that you can connect to your office chair.

Buy the Batman Chair Cape here

The Joker: The Bronze Age Omnibus

Long before you grew tired of Joaquin Phoenix stair memes, the Joker starred in his own short-lived solo comic in 1975 and '76. A strange affair, the title removed the character from the context of Batman -- allowing him to star in stories that were unlike anything he previously appeared him. All nine issues of that book, along with a previously unseen tenth issues and countless other iconic appearances from throughout the DC Universe's stable of comic are included in this massive omnibus. From lightweight adventures to tales that portend the dark madness to come, this is an unmissable volume.

Buy The Joker: The Bronze Age Omnibus here

Batman: Damned

The dream team of Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo collaborated for Batman: Damned, the comic that infamously showed Bruce Wayne's penis for the first time. Yeah. Despite the controversy, the story ranks among the best in recent memory, with Batman trying to get to the bottom of the Joker's death with the unreliable assistance of John Constantine. The miniseries has now been collected into this graphic novel, featuring a behind-the-scenes gallery and afterword from Azzarello.

Buy Batman: Damned here

Also from the team of Azzarello and Bermejo is Joker (not to be confused with the movie of the same name), which DC Black Label declares is "arguably the most terrifying Joker tale ever written." But we will leave that to you to decide.

Buy Joker here

Batmobile: Pursuit of the Joker Lego Set

With the holidays here, it's great that this Lego set actually allows for the Batmobile to lose a wheel, allowing the Joker to get away. At press time Batman's smell remains undocumented.

Buy the Batmobile: Pursuit of the Joker Lego Set here

The Batman Who Laughs

What would happen if Batman and the Joker were one and the same? That's exactly what happens in this graphic novel from writer Scott Snyder and illustrator Jock that focuses on a character who is half Batman, half Joker, all terror -- and you'll never look at the Dark Knight the same again.

Buy The Batman Who Laughs here

The Batman Who Laughs Funko Pop!

FYI: If you really want to win over the Batfan on your holiday shopping this, get them this and The Batman Who Laughs graphic novel.

Buy The Batman Who Laughs Funko Pop! here

Batman Hallmark Christmas Tree Ornament

Tim Burton's Batman turned 30 this year, and Hallmark is celebrating the anniversary with this Keatonesque Batman ornament that will give your Christmas tree some Dark Knight realness.

Buy the Batman Hallmark Christmas Tree Ornament here

Batman Umbrella/Rainwear Set

Rainy days just got that much cooler. This raincoat/umbrella combo would make a fantastic gift for aspiring young superheroes/vigilantes. It's a fine line, right?

Buy the Batman Umbrella/Rainwear Set here

DC Collectibles Artists Alley: Batman by Joe Ledbetter Designer Vinyl

Figure

DC Collectibles continues to up the ante in terms of unique items through their Artists Alley line, which provides the industry's greatest creators with the opportunity to put their spin on the publisher's most iconic faces. Limited to 3,000 pieces, this 7" tall vinyl-cast interpretation of Batman by Joe Ledbetter is a re-imagining of the character that has a real bite to it.

Buy the DC Collectibles Artists Alley: Batman by Joe Ledbetter Designer Vinyl Figure here

Batman: Exclusive Original Television Soundtrack Album

With music and dialogue from the 1960s Batman TV series, this is a gift idea that is a little retro kitsch, a whole lot of cool.

Buy Batman: Exclusive Original Television Soundtrack Album here

Prince: Batman

The same as the above LP, just even more so.

Buy Prince: Batman here

Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass

One of 2019's finest graphic novel is Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass. Writer Mariko Tamaki and artist Steve Pugh have crafted a story about fractured adolescence that elevates the oft-maligned character into a true pop culture force to be reckoned with.

Buy Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass here

Batman: 100 Greatest Moments: Highlights from the History of the Dark Knight

Another colossal book that was produced for Batman's 80th anniversary is this effort from Robert Greenberger that is sure to stir fevered debate among the faithful.

Buy Batman: 100 Greatest Moments: Highlights from the History of the Dark Knight here

The Caped Crusade: Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture

If you are looking for a brilliantly written exploration of how Batman shaped pop culture (and vice versa) look no further than this joyous effort by writer/comics historian/NPR personality Glen Weldon.

Buy The Caped Crusade: Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture here

Invicta Men's Batman Watch

Be the most fashionable Batman fan around with this handsome men's watch from Invicta that is waterproof, has automatic self-wind and comes with a black stainless steel case. What's the time? It's time to stop criminals in Gotham City, whee!

Buy the Invicta Men's Batman Watch here

While not directly connected to Batman, 2019 best show is set in the DC Universe and therefore will has more than enough shared DNA to please fans of the character. Doom Patrol brings together a variety of largely unknown DC characters for a show that somehow manages to be both wildly entertaining and one of the greatest explorations of trauma that the medium of television has offered up. If that sounds somewhat unhinged, that is the entire point. Each of Doom Patrol's characters is severely damaged -- from the world weary Robotman (voiced by Brendan Fraser in a soulful performance) to Jane (Dianne Guerrero), a young woman whose childhood abuse caused her to splinter into 46 personalities each with their own super powers. In a season packed with mindblowing moments, perhaps the most touching involvings the Danny the Street character: A sentient qenderqueer city block that is a haven for society's castoffs. To say any more would give away some of the show's surprises, so just know this, Doom Patrol is peak TV at its best...and a show that deserves to be a much larger part of our cultural conversation.

Buy Doom Patrol: The Complete First Season here

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Feature

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Chris Cummins

Nov 29, 2019

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Batman

from Books https://ift.tt/34xuaka

#aion-rsa #Books

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okfine0104graphicnotes · 5 years

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D&AD: initial idea, research

After many brief and dissccusion for D&AD, after thinking and researching, I chose monotype for my final decision, due to the reason that I don’t think I am good at promoting brand’s value or those kind of stuff. And monotype’s brief is more like discovering the story behind communities.

Notes from briefing

The important part is to find a community that has its value and context that has a point to be presented and celebrated with type. In the begining I wasn’t sure which kind of community they want. But I found a few stuff that I was interest in.

In the first tutorial, I have 2 very initial ideas, the first one is ＃This is 18, which is a project that runs by the New York Times. They asked girls to share what their communities look like all over the world. They asked young female photographers to take photos of the girls in each place and asked them about what they like and what they up to recently or giving advice to other young women.

I like the concept of linking every young female together and it is interesting to see what other young girls life is in completely different places as myself and found out even though they are in another country that is far away, they still have the same kind of issue when I was 18. And I also found their visual design of the website really interesting. It looks like online zine, using collage style to make gifs and there is even a spotify playlist that they collected the young girls the songs are listening to, and put them together.

website link:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/10/11/style/this-is-18.html

“Marking the transition from childhood to adulthood, 18 means you can finally vote, sign a lease on an apartment, obtain a credit card and buy cigarettes in the United States. In the UK, China and parts of Canada, 18 grants you entrance to a pub, while for most Israelis, it means a mandatory draft into the military. By 18, one in five women across the globe will be married. Millions will enter college or university.

The young photographers were asked to document girls in their communities – taking the photos and conducting interviews themselves, with each photographer paired with a professional mentor to guide them through the process.

Featuring 21 girls from across 12 time zones, and 15 languages, the end result is a celebration of ‘girlhood’ across oceans and cultures, through girls’ eyes – from Mexico to Mississippi, Ramallah to Russia, Bangladesh to the Bronx.” （https://www.creativeboom.com/inspiration/this-is-18-the-new-york-times-celebrates-girlhood-with-though-provoking-project-/）

The second idea is a facebook group that created for Asian people who living abroad posting memes and stuff that happened to them or funny things happened to their immigrant family. It entertains my life a lot since I join this group and it feels like you are not alone because there are so many people out there had similar experience and sometimes sees this negative stuff from a funny perspective. It change my way of thinking when I met something that is ignorant of culture or race.

Subtle Asian Traits is a Facebook group dedicated to Internet memes, jokes, and discussion surrounding the Asian experience in the West. Though the posts on the page cover a large range of topics, they mainly focus on Asian culture as experienced by the children of migrants. The group has over 1 million members and has been featured in a variety of mainstream news sources for its insights into the Asian diaspora. (wiki)

memes from Subtle asian traits

But after discussing with David and people in our group, the first idea is off brief, it doesn’t fit with the ideal of the communities monotype are seeking for. And the asian trait is at the edge of the off brief, but if I find a smart aspect of it, it could be potential but I feel like it is too board and I decided to research more for other ideas. I went back to read the brief again, and I did a bit brainstorm. I decided to focus on the communities in Taiwan, which people don’t really know about.

Until now, in most of the Asian countries, same-sex marriage is still illegal. Even though society is more open to different sexual orientations than before, there are still many narrow-minded people. In 2017 the Taiwanese top court decided that not protecting same-sex marriage is against the law, which will make Taiwan the first country that legalized same-sex marriage in Asia.

A panel of judges at Taiwan's top court are hearing a case that could make the island the first place in Asia to introduce gay marriage.

The case has been brought by a gay activist as well as municipal authorities from the capital, Taipei.

Taiwan's parliament has also been debating whether to pass laws that would allow same-sex marriage.

The movement has split society and prompted a conservative backlash, with vocal protests in recent months.

A panel of 14 justices are hearing arguments and will debate whether a line in Taiwan's civil code, which states that marriage is between a man and a woman, is unconstitutional.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-39376423

But it also brings a huge conflict between a group of people who are homophobic and call themselves Family Guardian Coalition. They are trying to stop Legislative Yuan, which is one of the five branches of government stipulated by the Constitution of Taiwan, from changing the original law to all gender. Instead, they are hoping to make another special law for same-sex marriage which is not truly equal, because that would be creating a separation once again. Their ideals cause even more people who already don’ t understand LGBTQ have wrong impressions of them and may even go against them. They used fake news and spread it out in group chats and also sign petition to referendum against. It is an act that against human right. And the group that support Marriage equality also sign a pettition to against the Family Guardian Coalition to make another referendum to hope to remain the truly equal law. But unfortunately, they win result of referendum. It broke many LGBTQ people’s and my heart, they tore the society apart, and even cause many LGBTQ people suicide.

The power of ignorant and fake news is terrifying and more extreme than people’s imagine. And because the Family guardian group has a certain style of making fake news, the marriage equality group people starting to make similar style of how they make fake news, instead they try to make right information on those photos so people could sent to their parents who do not quite understand LGBTQ communities and marriage quality.

Marriage quality group information adverts(left)/ Family guardiangroup infromation adverts(right)

Marriage quality group information memes mimic family guardian group memes.

So I present this idea to David and he suggested me to find a specific or iconic traditional Taiwanese or Chinese symbol to use it as a starting point to communicate the idea.

I had another research which is about indigenous people’ languages in Taiwan. There are 16 main groups of indigenous people, and the problem is they do not have written characters that they couldn’t record their history on papers. They tell their story though founding member in each tribe and the main speaking languages in school is mandarin so more and more indigenous young people couldn’t speak their own language anymore, they also moved out from their villages to big cities to seek better jobs opportunities. And history and culture are dying quickly more than people’s imagine, and the government isn’t doing anything to protect their culture, because the main people in politics are Han- Chinese people. Doing anything for indigenous people does not benefit them. They keep taking more and more of their lands and limited more of the tradtional territories.

Background:

The original population of the island of Taiwan and its associated islands, i.e. not including Kinmen and the Matsu Islands, consisted of Taiwanese aborigines, speaking Austronesian languages and sharing mitochondrial DNA contribution with island peoples of Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Immigration of Han Chinese to the Penghu islands started as early as the 13th century, while settlement of the main island occurred from the 16th century, stimulated by the import of workers from Fujian by the Dutch in the 17th century. According to governmental statistics, over 95% of the Republic of China's population is of Han Chinese ethnicity, while 2.3% are Taiwanese aborigines of Malayo-Polynesian ethnicity. Half the population are followers of one or a mixture of 25 recognized religions. Around 93% of the religious population are followers of a mixture of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism, while a minority 4.5% are followers of Christianity (include Catholics and Protestants).

The official national language is Standard Chinese, although around 70% also speak Taiwanese Hokkien and 10% speak Hakka. Japanese speakers are becoming rare as the elderly generation who lived under Japanese rule are dying out but many young Taiwanese use English or Japanese as second language. Aboriginal languages are gradually becoming extinct as the aborigines have become acculturated despite a program by the ROC government to preserve the languages. (wiki)

Where the indigenous groups mainly live. (mostly in mountain area)

I am aware of this issue because of many young indigenous people are trying to help to protect their lands and culture, and are shown on social media. But I never research that deep into this topic. After researching I felt like I need to do this project to bring more awareness to this topic. Even though I am just a nobody, but someone has to do something to start changing situation.

I found out that president Tsai had only officially apologized to indigenous people for the first time in history and admit that before not protecting indigenous culture and lands is a mistake. She made an indigenous history justice committee to hope that they could improve the laws which to protect their rights.

youtube

President Tsai Apologized video

https://indigenous-justice.president.gov.tw/EN

But I don’t want to be too political on doing this project because it says on the brief that they don’t want anything too political. The more I research I got more confuse and lost.

So I try to focus on the point that they don’t have their written characters, but now they are using English letters (Latin letters) to spell and write their languages. It could trace back to the past, when Dutch people came to colonized in Taiwan, they started to use Latin letters to spell their languages, and use to o preach Christian and wrote the first bible in one of indigeous language:

The Sinckan language, spoken by the Siraya people who lived in what is now Tainan, was employed by Dutch missionaries to facilitate both missionary and government affairs during the reign of Dutch East India Company in Taiwan. They also created a romanized script, compiled a dictionary of the language, and taught the natives how to write their own language with these romanized characters.

And they indigenes people just keep this way of recording until now. Although, when they once try to use Japanese characters and Chinese letters to spell out their languages through the colonized history. But it won’t match with how they actually pronounce it so they went back to use Latin letters instead. That also causes a huge problem, because the main language Taiwanese use is traditional Chinese letters. People aren’t familiar with Latin or English letters. The government used to refuse them to spell their original name in their languages. The government forced them to have a Chinese name and only until recently they could use Latin letters to register their name in the official document.

There are so much could be done to protect their culture and languages, they are the owner of this island and sadly, no one is respecting them. Their culture is so beautiful which are sustainable and loving the motherland, which is the stuff we need now due to climate change and capitalism. who are we to force them to fit in the “modern society” which took away their identity.

Sinckan manscirpt ( right)of a land selling contract with chinese letters(left).

Bunun symbol for their calender which recorded when to hunt or when to harvest.

Paiwan snakes pattern.

16 tribes logo pattern design

Kavalan’s textile pattern.

Atayal knit their characters in textile which represent number.

Atayal illustration.

Taiwanese indigenous groups are famous for their unique patterns, every tribe has its own special patterns of textile or symbol to present their spirit.

So I try to research more about indigenous people’s pattern to try to find insight and common to build an idea into my design. But I found out that it is so difficult, there is no website that recorded officially or clearly. There are also various meaning and story behind each group and their patterns. The lack of information made it more difficult and I spent too much time to research, now I don’t really have time to work on it. All of their languages are almost completely different. My first idea is to present 26 Latin characters with their 16pattern but the number isn’t right. It doesn’t make sense and I don’t want to be inappropriate to use their pattern or symbols.

I message one of the facebook pages which runs by the indigenous people that how can I design and find a common point to make my project happen. They just told me to talk to the tribe which is kind of impossible because I can’t go back to Taiwan now.

And I think of an idea is, their common is they have their own patterns and symbol in each group, so what I could think of is making an example of how they could create stamps in their patterns and those patterns could make it into both Latin letters and Chinese letters.

Caculating using 16 tribes as main point and create 26 latin character. (idea 1)

Linocut idea sketch.(idea2)

#D&AD #monotype #content

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theliberaltony · 4 years

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via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

In the video, the host of a local independent news radio program surveys the late-night shadows of a Kenosha, Wisconsin, car lot. You can just make out four men, long rifles in their hands, as they pace on top of the building. “We got militia on the roof here, and it’s pretty neat,” he says. On the ground, the videographer chats with other people he identifies as part of “the militia” — including an eager and excited-looking kid who tells the videographer his name is Kyle.

Kyle Rittenhouse would go on to allegedly kill two people and injure a third later that night. In the aftermath, the extent of his ties to militia activity — and militia activity itself — have been widely discussed: Are militias hate groups? Was Rittenhouse actually a part of a formal militia group? When people who identify as militia members show up in the middle of a protest … whose side are they on?

For the purposes of this article, when we refer to the militia movement, we are referring to an umbrella term that encompasses paramilitary activists and groups with strong anti-government leanings. But beyond that, modern militias are hard to explain and categorize — what even counts as a militia is up for debate. One thing is for sure: There is no one militia — not in Kenosha that night and not anywhere in the country. Instead, experts say, “the militia” is really a multifaceted movement with fluid boundaries. The key to understanding that movement’s role in the chaos of 2020 is knowing just how difficult it can be to pin down what apparent militia members believe — much less how they’re connected to each other and the broader movement.

While established militias are kind of like a heavily armed scout troop — formal organizations with ranks and membership dues and training programs and regular meetings — some academics argue that many people who are falling into the militia movement’s orbit these days are more like loosely affiliated individuals. “Members” is a strong word for this kind of community, with lots of people drifting along, sharing memes online or showing up, guns in tow, to protests — despite having no clear ties to any specific group. Even the organized, club-like militias don’t ascribe to a single overarching ideology, which makes it especially difficult to figure out what motivates individuals like Rittenhouse, or even how to describe them. “It’s almost like people are choosing their own adventure,” said Oren Segal, vice president of the Center on Extremism at the Anti-Defamation League.

So a crowd like the one that showed up in Kenosha can be made up of individuals, even strangers, with little connecting them except a shared interest in gun rights and a sense that they’re the only ones who can protect their community. And in these trying times — amid a pandemic and protests against racial injustice, plus a president who is giving them more public support than they’ve ever had from the national political establishment — those individuals are taking a collective turn in a direction that, experts fear, is likely to result in more violence.

An armed militia — or even a lone individual with ties to the militia movement — is not, of course, unique to 2020 or even the Trump era. Experts who study modern militias quibble over when the movement actually emerged, but most whom we spoke to date it to the late 1980s and early 1990s, when paramilitary groups and self-described “sovereign citizens” (who believe they, and not the government, get to decide which laws they follow) began to organize, partially in response to the deaths of political dissenters in Waco, Texas, and Ruby Ridge, Idaho. These groups didn’t bear much resemblance to the colonial-era militias mentioned in the U.S. Constitution, but they had a few things in common — specifically, anger at the federal government, and a strong belief in their individual right to own weapons and use those weapons to defend themselves against perceived government overreach or a threat to their community.

How the various members of the movement define that threat is where things get muddy. For instance, some — but not all — militia members are also part of the white power movement, and see themselves as part of a struggle against the federal government that would eventually lead to a race war. Other parts of the militia movement, conversely, have explicitly rejected the white supremacist label. But that doesn’t mean that their members don’t hold racist views. And the decentralized nature of the movement has made it easy for militia groups or leaders to disavow individual people who committed acts of violence, even when they were likely influenced by some part of the movement’s ideology. Social media has made it even easier for someone with a passing interest to find out about militias online, and get involved — even tangentially — in whatever part of the movement fits their ideology and goals.

“People are organizing more around concepts and less around groups,” Segal told us. Some people might be pro-police; others might be anti-police. Some might be libertarian, others might be trying to stoke a race war. “They identify with an ideology, maybe with a movement. But not everyone is going to be part of Militia Group A, B or C,” he said.

The rise of President Trump, and the tumultuous events of 2020, have made it even more difficult to untangle what militias are doing and what their individual adherents believe. From the beginning of his candidacy, Trump’s rhetoric — his attacks on the “deep state” or the anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant insults that peppered his tweets and speeches — have resonated with and garnered public responses from people within the militia movement. When Trump tweeted about an impending civil war or warned about threats from the left, it brought extremist theories and conversations into the national conversation. “With Trump, the fringe entered the mainstream,” said Lawrence Rosenthal, the chair and lead researcher of the Berkeley Center for Right-Wing Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.

The pandemic — and the racial injustice protests that have roiled cities throughout the summer — appear to have brought even more people into the militia movement’s orbit. Suddenly, people were at home all day, feeling anxious and fearful about the future and spending a lot more time online. Many in the militia movement chafed at state lockdown orders, and started appearing, heavily armed, at state capitols across the country to protest what they saw as an assault on their individual freedoms. “It’s the same central narrative about government tyranny: ‘I have the right to get a haircut, you don’t have the right to tell us we have to shelter in place,’” said Cynthia Miller-Idriss, a sociologist at American University, where she runs the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab.

The same messages were echoing across internet forums and Facebook groups, including among more loosely organized corners of the militia movement, prompting people who weren’t part of formal militia groups to show up. And they didn’t just appear at protests of government lockdowns — militia members also materialized at the protests of police brutality that sprang up in the wake of the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. People in that city are still arguing, months later, over whether those people were supporting protesters, supporting police, simply trying to incite violence, or some combination thereof.

Many of those people might never have met before in real life, but they sported signs of a shared identity, like Hawaiian shirts, the emblem of the apocalyptic “Boogaloo” movement, an amorphous online militia that has been described as a “meme-based insurgency.” “Boogaloo” identifiers aren’t held together by a coherent ideology — or even a shared sense of what it means to don a Hawaiian shirt. But their ranks have swelled quickly since the pandemic began, according to research by the Network Contagion Research Institute and others. And what these individuals do have in common is a tendency to be armed to the teeth in situations where tensions are already very high. For obvious reasons, that increases the likelihood of a violent confrontation.

Fear and anxiety are predictors of people — particularly young people — turning towards extremism and violence, said Miller-Idriss. In that context, the conditions of the pandemic are a perfect culture for radicalism to grow. “We know from the research that unemployment itself does not lead to greater risk of engaging in extremist behaviors but economic precarity does,” she said. For the last six months, the entire country has lived on the edge of economic and social precarity. What if our institutions crumble? What if we can’t get our normal lives back? Extremist ideologies can offer meaning, purpose and a narrative of control when everything feels out of it.

The president’s rhetoric has fed into that, experts say. By the time he was elected, Trump was a hero to many in the militia movement. “Donald Trump has succeeded in being at once the head of government and the head of anti-government,” Rosenthal said. “It’s a remarkable thing, actually.”

With Trump saying both implicitly and explicitly that militias or even just armed individuals are the only thing standing between America and the chaos of a leftist takeover of the country, the promise of control becomes even stronger. It becomes a call to arms — one that more young Americans, sitting at home without school or even work, may try to answer.

But if the head of the government isn’t the threat, who is? The answer, said Sam Jackson, a professor at the University of Albany and the author of a new book on one of the country’s most prominent modern militia groups, has turned out to be other Americans — specifically, left-leaning ones who oppose Trump.

That transition wasn’t as hard to make as it might seem, Jackson said, because many of the individuals loosely affiliated with the militia movement never really saw themselves as exactly “anti-government” to begin with. Instead, it’s better to think of them as radical libertarians, who wanted drastically less government, or maybe different government. “So when their man is in office, it’s an easier pivot for them to say … not all government is bad, but we don’t need to target the White House anymore,” he said.

But targeting opponents of the White House means a drastic change in the character of the American militia movement, said Robert Churchill, a history professor at the University of Hartford who extensively researched the militia movement of the 1990s. The majority of militia members back then were radical libertarians, he said, agreeing with Jackson, but their opposition to the federal government broadly meant they weren’t a partisan force. In fact, that definition of militias — small, armed groups of civilians fighting against the government — has characterized these kinds of movements throughout American history, Churchill told us.

Until now. Given the way things are changing, the people who study the militia movement and have spent years talking to its members think there’s a risk of American militias becoming more like the militias of other, often politically unstable, countries. “What matters is if the movement becomes essentially a more traditional Latin American pro-regime paramilitary, which seems to be what Trump is trying to create or wants,” Churchill said.

#IFTTT #Politics – FiveThirtyEight #politics #538 #Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux and Maggie Koerth

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