#we have rivers swamps and bayous

[dragonprincequotesimadeup]

Question and answers from the Offical Q&A’s in The Dragon Prince Discord Server: miscellaneous / expanded universe

Q: “Are elf cultures inspired by real-world human cultures? The same for the human realms?”

EM: Elven and human cultures across Xadia come from a wide variety of inspiration. The human kingdoms probably have the most direct real-world influence, but even then it’s never singular or intended as a direct parallel. For Evenere, for example, we looked at cultures around the globe that had close connections to marshes, swamps, and rivers, such as the Cajun Bayou, the Amazon, the Malaysian wetlands, etc. We always try to cast a very wide net when seeking inspiration, then we use that insight as a springboard for discussion and creativity. For elves, we often look at their primal source and consider the traits and preferences it would naturally influence within the culture rather than looking at anything specific in the real-world (though that’s not to say it doesn’t come up as a source for inspiration, too). For example, while working on Skywing elves, we knew that their culture was more individualistic and nomadic, valuing freedom above all else. How Skywings live, dress, and express themselves is built based on that insight. When building these cultures out further or expanding on them—like for Tales of Xadia—we consider any already established lore and use that as guardrails for further research and brainstorming! As an example here, when we were developing Ponmalar (our Evenerian playable character from Tales of Xadia), one of the artists shared a concept for a massive bow for their weapon. Looking at the bow design and taking into account Evenere’s swampy environment and more insular community, our internal team discussed how this likely meant Ponmalar’s archery style was going to be sniper-like—where they would be lying in wait for hours for one precise shot vs. rapid firing any given target. So, we suggested increasing Ponmalar’s camouflage. I thought it would be cool if their cloak resembled Ashitaka’s from Princess Mononoke, but made from leaves and other foliage that would blend easily into a dark marshland.

Q: “Will we see the two rock guardians again? And are there any plans for more lore on Golems in Xadia in general?”

AE: Yes.

Q: “Will we ever see what a moonberry surprise looks like?”

AE: Oh yes. You will even see a new character based on Moonberry Surprise.

“Have there ever been Elf/Human hybrids? Is it possible?”

AE: Yes. Devon will probably remind me that acknowledging this will create all kinds of speculation and weirdness in the fandom, but it’s just the truth. I am not sure they would refer to themselves as “hybrids,” but we know what you mean.

Q: “Will the next seasons get a "The art of The Dragon Prince" book too? (asking for my collection)”

AE: I hope we will do something for the “Mystery of Aaravos” seasons…

EM: That's the goal!

Q: “will there be more books / graphic novels for the dragon prince in the future, and more about the two year gap between season 3 and 4?”

EM: Yes! We’ll have a new graphic novel, Puzzle House, and the next core novel, Book Three: Sun, coming out in late Summer / early Fall 2023. We're also in the process of kicking off the next graphic novel after Puzzle House, and all I can tell you is that it’s a wonderful story about family and building trust! And I'd love to cover different parts of the two year gap in some of the story-focused expansions we're planning. Devon and I have been discussing some really cool and interesting ideas that I'm excited to explore.

Q: “Is there any new merch coming out soon that you are able to share with us?”

EM: Yes! We just released some new t-shirt designs with Hot Topic and we have a brand new partnership with What's Your Passion (amazing jewelry) that I'm very excited about. So keep an eye out!

Q: “If the 63 episodes are set in stone, is there any chance a spinoff will be created to explore the stories not touched on in the show, e.g., TTM?”

AE: Xadia is big and wondrous, and there are eras with great stories we would love to tell…

DG: We’d love to write something about the Mage Wars someday!

Q: “will be a DVD and Blu Ray for The Dragon Prince?”

AE: I think so? What extras would you want to see on something like this? Or would you just be happy with a sweet box/packaging? In your mind, is there value to having a physical version of this, or would a digital product with some cool extras do the trick here?

#the dragon prince #tdp #dragon prince

[agentthirsty]

Top 5 real life places you’d like to see turned into Pokémon regions

Oh boy here we go. Thank you!

In no particular order:

I live in the southeastern USA and I'd love to see a region like that. Span all the way from the Atlantic to Louisiana. Maybe even Texas? Woods, farmland, swamps, plains. An area similar to the Bayou and have a city rich in culture like New Orleans. The region can be split by a river kinda like the Mississippi and have some mountains like the Appalachian. Gotta be a possum Pokemon, new deer Pokemon, fucking mosquito Pokemon. The Lizard Man would be a Mythical Pokemon (and no not the Lizardman tattooed performer fella, I'm talking THE LIZARD MAN of South Carolina infamy.) Florida is in the DLC

An Aussie region. Include Tasmania and New Zealand as well maybe? Deserts and beaches and mountains and rainforests. GOTTA have a building that is as recognizable as the Sydney Opera House. GOTTA have a Great Barrier Reef. I'd wanna see a kangaroo Pokemon, a kiwi Pokemon, A THYLACINE Pokemon. Echidna and platypus ones too. Komala has a regional evolution.

An Indian region would be so pretty. You'd have deserts and tropics and plains and then a mountain range like the Himalayas. Farms and fishing rivers. Gorgeous architecture and a building like the Taj Mahal. The region where Cufant and Copperajah are from! Also gotta have a new tiger Pokemon and maybe a river dolphin or a rhino.

Would loooooove an Egypt region. So much desert and countless sand dunes but of course something like the Nile river and valley with oases full of date palms and all that. So pretty. Temples and pyramids and obelisks; just so much ancient architecture but of course integrate the modern, bustling society as well. Gotta have the Suez Canal and the peninsula. The legendaries would be inspired by Egyptian mythology obviously. Like a Sphinx Pokemon! The desert in Unova is pretty much the vibe, just more large scale and more Egyptian.

My final dream region is Mexico! Hot arid areas, tropical rainforests, beaches, and mountains like the Sierra Madre. The gulf! Incorporate the Chicxulub Crater into the lore of the region. Can be the same type of extinction event as the real world and that's what took out the Tyrantrum and Bastiodon and all them. Gotta have them ancient Mesoamerican temples and pyramids. Pokemon like coatls and jaguar and spider monkey Pokemon. A CHIHUAHUA POKEMON. A chupacabra Pokemon would be wild. Hawlucha would have multiple aesthetic variants.

Honorable mentions: Brazil, Greece/Italy/Mediterranean

#this was so fun thank you #zackkology #zackk answers

[thestruplindegaard77]

Your Perfect Oregon Coast Vacation Starts In Florence

1) Automobiles Coast Aquarium is just south in the Newport Association. All sites have grass and in amongst a canopy of mature Monterey Pines and Monterey Cypress trees. An old town brimming in character with narrow streets and gabled companies. Some of its buildings, such mainly because the church date back to the 12th-century. Further to the west, the customer will obtain the heavily wooded Bookham and Banks Common, both of which consists of nearly a square mile each of woodland. View More: topbinhdinhaz.com - Top Binh Dinh AZ Reviewed by Team Leader in Top Binh Dinh AZ: Lương Ngọc Nam Khang - Luong Ngoc Nam Khang There are wide ranging other sights and sounds to experience during your stay. Away from your bed and breakfast in Sydney reach the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge Walk, a tour of the Opera House, a scenic seaplane flight, plus lots of other physical activities. Our next stop but another 2 hours to Richmond, Virginia. Here you can click on the Haunts of Richmond which take you on a tour, Cemetery of Hollywood where two presidents are buried as well as millions of confederate troopers. Also go visit Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site as well as Richmond Battlefield Site best places get a really taste of history.

View More: topbinhdinhaz.com - Top Binh Dinh AZ Reviewed by Team Leader in Top Binh Dinh AZ: Lương Ngọc Nam Khang - Luong Ngoc Nam Khang In times where a associated with us have a much tighter budget it's good to remember all of the wonderful things in life that are free or low cost to attain.The Oregon Coast has such beautiful scenery you could literally only spend money on food and gas and still need a great time. One of my favourite locations within coast is Currumbin Beach and Currumbin Alley. Just the thing for the family with choosing still waters or surfing beach, muscle mass to pack a picnic lunch, sunscreen and bring your camera to capture the beauty here. Toddler leave on the go. There are a involving walks for your more energetic, especially to Currumbin Rock which juts out of the beach waiting to be explored. The views from this level are magnificent, sweeping north and south of the coast. A major objective of marine safari holidays end up being to catch sight of whales, dolphins or seals. Take a cruise out to see the seals frolic off Duiker Island and out Hoyt These kinds of. Top Binh Dinh AZ News You can also arrange for viewing of Cape fur seals on Geyser Island, a popular breeding soil. On nearby Dyer Island, absolutely see the nesting ground of African penguins. Tin tuc Top Binh Dinh AZ Now area we ready to come from is Boston in Boston. Grab your hire car from the airport and you off! There many museums in Boston that purchase visit, just like the Boston Fire Museum, The J.F.K Presidential Library and Museum and also the Museum of Science, that are just for starters. There countless restaurants and cafe's for you to just relax and enjoy some period Binh Dinh in Viet Nam Boston, you'll never get bored and positive if you always have something to attempt such when the Freedom Trail which usually requires you via a tour of Boston's record. "I'm gonna be turn on a little AC," said Captain Neil Benson, owner of Pearl River Eco-tours. "Oh good," Believed. "I'm dying out here!" Appears he just meant he was to be able to drive the boat really fast. It did feel great though. After speeding near the main waterway for one mile or so, Captain Neil stopped becoming a narrow channel leading into a slough he called Dead Water. A slough is a shallow backwater lake system that parallels the main bayou waterway. The Honey Island Swamp is a 70,000 acre maze of such sloughs. Back in open water, we saw our first gator. Tin Top Binh Dinh AZ 247 Since we spotted one, we started seeing them everywhere. Once we passed, alligators would swim toward the boat angling for the marshmallows Neil would toss to them. He even reached out to pet the one he calls Big Alabama. Myrtle Beach is primarily known for a few things: golf and the beach. And in case you are traveling for the area, the resort need to have to is very different for the two. For those visiting to play golf, you could possibly not dependability from their flooring resort that located around the ocean. It many cases, you would look for virtually any resort which is near that will help you might wish to participate in the most or possibly is central ordinarily of the courses perhaps play while you are correct. 5) Click on the tidepools. At low tide, you observe green anemones, seastars, hermit crabs plus more. Some of the best spots for tidepooling are at the Yaquina Head lighthouse area. It does cost an entrance fee but also gives you access for the lighthouse and visitor site. Take the stairs down the South side on the headland into the rocky beach and explore and underwater world there. Top Binh Dinh AZ Just be careful where you step, there live creatures around the rocks. Raising place is Seal Rock State Park, south of Newport. The actual has with regard to one of the more photographed areas with every one of the rocky seastacks jutting right out the ocean.

As fly-drive holidays have grown to be increasingly popular, everyone for you to organise their particular travel by travelling further in a shorter period of this time. There are many differing types of fly drives. Achievable stay within city and drive with cities tend to be close, a person can start at one city and end at another. This would be particularly good when you are planning on going to the USA, since you can see even more cities upon the holiday, regarding stay 1. The lake increased to 16 feet, early in 2003, on account of above average rainfall associated with upper waters. Due to the drought in 2001, the river has experienced positive adjustments to vegetation. You will also need to determine no matter whether you want a resort that sits appropriate the ocean beachfront. Much traffic to the vicinity almost automatically assume seems MB hotels do, but clearly that is not the accusation Binh Dinh in Viet Nam court. Tin Top Binh Dinh AZ 247 It is the state flower of South Australia. It grows on the creeping plant and are located in different shades of red. The base of the flower is either purple or african american. It can be published on Central Australia as well as South Australia. Bletchingley comprises of a grand main street, along with the remains of just a Norman fort. Tilbury stow Hill is about a mile and one half to the east providing excellent views of the encompassing countryside. But, in order to Costa Rica fishing associated with South Pacific. Like any other place where fishing charters go out, the outfitters provide all the device most fishermen want. However, if you're one of those guys who wants to try fishing from sailfish or roosterfish, you should bring your rod and reel. Don't neglect to take along your camera to influence your envious friends at home that you absolutely landed And also the One simply because these are catch and release waters!

If you're looking for fossils, agates and shells you in order to be head south on the beach. Seeking want to surf or otherwise just watch the surfers then go north while on the beach.If element cooperates the night sky will be covered with kites. It is a good spot for flying kites a person usually possess a wind coming off the Pacific Coastal. Some of the actual kites are no longer 50 feet long. From here you go onto Florida and spend another couple of days in and around exploring Orlando, Key West, Tampa and a number of other places. Exactly why not obtain a Car hire USA which will create your own fly-drive christmas holiday! Seaworld combines attractions with marine education and designing. Located at the end of Main Beach on Seaworld Drive this can be a unique aquatic experience in order to beat elsewhere. Children will fascinated via the sharks, diversity of fish, dolphins, seals, polar bears and penguins. The list goes over. My personal favourite is the Viking's Revenge Flume Encounter. I was enjoying this ride thirty years ago, whilst still having a scream my heart out as we sail the actual edge in the waters hints. One of this UK's best preserved post mills lies to the east from the village. This old windmill consists of a wooden body that carries the sales and revolves around a central upright wooden post. Readers are permitted to see the millstones at work, and get the flour from the grind. View More: topbinhdinhaz.com - Top Binh Dinh AZ Reviewed by Team Leader in Top Binh Dinh AZ: Lương Ngọc Nam Khang - Luong Ngoc Nam Khang Written By Author in topbinhdinhaz.com: Nguyễn Mỹ Dung - Nguyen My Dung Written By Author in topbinhdinhaz.com: Nguyễn Mỹ Trang - Nguyen My Trang

#Top Binh Dinh AZ #Binh Dinh Viet Nam

[the-blackbird-roleplays]

John Bienville, Crescent City's Homme-Araignée

"Well crap, I guess it's my turn huh? Alright, let's run this back one more time, but how about a l’agniappe for your troubles of coming this far?"

The young man smiled as he stood on the edge of a skyscraper in Crescent City, slowly removing his mask to reveal a tan-skinned young man around 20 years old, green eyes, and the killer smile of a southern gentleman.

"My name is John Bienville, but my friends call me Jack. I was bitten by a cursed spider, and for the past five years I've been Crescent City's one and only Homme-Araignée. That's Spider-Man for the non-Francophone out there." He grinned, yanking his mask back down as he leapt from the building, backflipping as he did before tapping his wrist-mounted web-shooter, firing out a line of webbing with a soft thwip.

"Yeah yeah, we all know the story. Young hero with a heart of gold, tragedy ensues, power and responsibility, all that merde. But mine's a bit different from the rest." He grunted as he landed on the highest building in the city, smiling over the place he called home.

"Being raised in the bayou gives someone a unique perspective on things. It's a little wilder out there than people are used to. Most people had pet dogs growing up... I had a pet alligator. Most kids grew up with their mom and dad... mine died in a riverboat accident when I was four and I was raised from then on by my aunt 'n' nonc who could charitably be called Swamp People... but don't tell Auntie Anna that or you'll get a face full of buckshot."

He chuckled softly, leaning against the skyscraper's spire as he pulled his mask completely off, revealing a head of bushy blond hair.

"Growing up with them, I learned how a man should act, and how a gentleman should act. You gotta fight for you and yours, protect the ones who can't protect themselves, and have fun doing it... what I didn't know is Uncle Benji... He'd run afoul of some bad people. Bad people who pretended to be protecting everyone, hiding their corruption behind a badge and an ATF jacket. One day, when they realized they couldn't profit off him and his still anymore, they showed up, rigged his still, and waited for the fireball."

John sighed softly, closing his eyes as he thumped his head against the metal spire of the tower.

"I used every legal avenue I had to try and get those crooked feds to the courts. I was blocked at every turn like a dam for a salmon. So... I turned to the only source I had left. An old witch that lived deep in the bayou. She said she'd help, but I'd have to pay a cost, keep doing what I was about to do for the greater good. She said something about 'Spider-Totems' and other universes that I didn't exactly understand at the time. I just wanted justice done and done right. I agreed, she summoned a black spider, and next thing I know I was tearing up a deal between some corrupt ATF agents and some smugglers attempting to bring in guns through the Port of New Orleans. I also may or may not have left them tied up with a few wildlife camera shots of them messing with my uncle's still. Best Sunday of my life up until that point."

He smiled softly, jumping forward off the building as he backflipped through the air, swinging along as he snatched a beignet from a store window, leaving a five-dollar bill behind on the plate, munching away as he went from web-line to web-line.

"Been doing this Spider-gig ever since. My methods are a little unorthodox, playing around the lines as much as in, but there's one thing I hold absolute. 'If ya got might, ya gotta make right'. Uncle Benji taught me that. Now, I protect the ones who can't protect themselves."

He grinned, standing upside-down on a bridge spanning the Mississippi River as he scarfed down the last few bites of the beignet.

"My name's John Bienville. I'm Spider-Man. And If you abuse the might you got, I'm coming to make things right."

XxXxX

Name: John "Jack" Bienville

Age: 22

Occupation: Spider-Man, Mixologist, Chef

Home Earth: Earth-504 (Personal Creation, lore MAY be added later)

#art is not mine #Spider-Man oc #spiderverse oc #John Bienville #ai image

[phoenixmaiden-gaming]

Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation part 3

I didn’t do too much this time because I was busy exploring around the Bayou. But I could only go so far because it was blocked off for that memory. So I would do the next one and then explore again. Fun. I did get to explore around and take out some Acolytes that were trying to take over the Bayou. I even learned to fight alligators and get eggs from their nest. Here is how it went.

I went to the next mission at the smuggler’s hideout and there were 2 men there threatening a woman and another man. The new comers were telling them to give up the river, or they will take it.

The woman yells back that she will not be threatened and that the river belongs to no one. There was another man there who said they were outnumbered and told them to go, but the other two men said that they will all run at the first sign of danger.

After a few more words, I had to go over and help the man and woman as they were being attacked by the other men and a few other thugs.

After the thugs were taken care of, I went up to the man and woman and Aveline introduced herself and told them she was looking to end the leader of these men. They introduced themselves as Roussillson and Elise.

Aveline asked for their help in finding the thugs base as they know the swamp better than anyone. In return she will restore their control of the territory.

It took Elise some convincing, but she eventually agreed to help me. She also said that there was more than one base across the swamp as they spread out. I just had to meet her by the shore.

In the Smuggler place, I found a dressing room that I could buy. I had enough money, so I bought it.

I then went to find Elise by some canoes and she told me how to use them and we paddled across the swamp to find the thug base. As we did, she told me on how her troubles started when the new Spanish Governor arrived.

We then reached the opposite shore where there was a base, but there was another one nearby as well. I just had to scout ahead.

But before I could, I ran into an alligator. I had to fight it and it was a slow press certain buttons fight. It took me a few tries to get the right sequence before i could kill it. Once I did, I could take an alligator egg. There was a couple that I could collect in the area.

I then went to the thug base and I had to take them all out. I tried to be stealthy and use the pipe. I was able to get them all with no problem.

I found a chest under the ship wrecked there and there was a letter inside from Mackadal telling his followers that there was going to be a ceremony soon. What kind, no idea, but nothing good I’m sure. (S2/M4: A Faithful Acolyte - Complete).

I met up with Elise and told her what I found, she thought it was probably a voodoo ceremony. He was probably going to do it to show he had power and get more followers. That’s not good.

I then had to follow Elise to the next base where we found some slaves. She had some that she hired at her settlement and she asked that I didn’t hurt them.

I had to follow the acolyte to a hidden place to kill him so the slaves would see me and I wouldn’t have to hurt them. Once I got to a secluded place, I killed the acolyte and broke into the nearby chest. Inside was yet another letter from Mackadal saying that preparations were complete and to meet him for the ceremony somewhere on Eave of Sant John. When ever that was.

I went back to the Smugglers Base and couldn’t find Elise, but Roussillon was there. Aveline told him what she found out about the ceremony that was going to be that night but didn’t know where it will be.

Roussillon said he knew of someone, but first he needed my help. He had sent Elise to a witch doctor in the bayou with supplies, but she forgot something. He wanted me to take it to her. Once I did, the secrets of the bayou will be open to me. (S2/M5: The Second Camp - Complete)

I went to the next location to start the next mission and found Elise with the witch doctor. Aveline told her what she found out about Mackandal and after giving the supplies to the man, he agreed to help me. 

He said that Mackandal was a dark influence over the people of San Danje and that he also uses a poison that was fast acting. He then gave me an antidote that I had to drink that will limit the damage.

Aveline then said that they will strike tonight. She will disguise herself as a slave so she will be invisible by Mackandal’s followers. Elise said she will be ready as well.

That was where I left it for today. I’m making some progress in the game so far in figuring out who this fake Mackandal is and how dangerous he is. I don’t know what my ultimate goal is since it’s not clear, but for now taking back control of the bayou is top priority and that starts with taking Mackandal out. But that will be for next time. Until then. Happy Gaming!

#phoenix be gaming #Assassin's Creed III Liberation #PC Games #Steam Games #gaming #gameplay #playthrough #game #games #video games #gamer #gamer fun #gamer girl #gamer life #Entertainment #Nothing is Queue Everything is Permitted

[russellagraves]

The Southern Swamps

By Russell A. Graves 

I'll admit: Creeping through the Government Ditch of Caddo Lake in the pre-dawn blackness with only the bow lights illuminating the moss-draped cypress trees is an otherworldly experience. The ditch is a straight-as-an-arrow shortcut dredged by the federal government in the 1870s. It was carved through the swamp for steamboat traffic from New Orleans to service, what was then, the second business port in Texas over in the town of Jefferson. Giant, side wheel freighters would bring passengers and goods up the Big Cypress Bayou and, in return, haul out timber and cotton bales to the markets back East. Before the ditch, steamships would have to lumber around a big oxbow in the bayou to reach their destination. The ditch solved all of that. It created a channel by which the ships could cut miles from their journey traveling the Big Cypress.

Over time, bald cypress trees grew along the margin, and 150 years later, they arch over the ditch and create a tree tunnel in which we pass and await the coming sunrise. In a way, this place is spooky. It's no wonder that this legendary swamp is home to legends of bigfoot, ghosts, and other paranormal anomalies. Not far from here in 1869, the steamship Mittie Stephens ran aground after a spark ignited a cargo of hay carried aboard. In all, 61 of her passengers perished in the blaze. And over in Jefferson, bigfoot enthusiasts hold an annual conference and compare notes on their field findings. Caddo Lake wreaks of mystery.

The origins of the lake are somewhat unclear. Undoubtedly, the area's been a bit swampy for the past half-millennia as immense trees dot the area. Dendrologists confirm the age of these giants. With dense, wet, and barely fertile soils, bald cypress can find a niche to grow. Therefore, these flooded lowlands provide the perfect place for them to take root. This area is the largest bald cypress forest in the state and, as some suggest, worldwide. The tree is a bit of an anomaly. It's a deciduous conifer. That means the tree grows needles and cones like common conifers, but unlike trees like spruce or pine, the bald cypress loses its needles each fall. Its propensity to be among the first trees of the season to defoliate gives the tree its "bald" moniker.

From the banks, Caddo Lake doesn't look all that big since there is not a vast, sprawling body of water. Instead it exists as a giant swamp with backwater sloughs that wind in and out of the giant cypress trees that stand draped in Spanish moss. In all, 25,400 acres of big and mysterious swamplands straddle the Texas/Louisiana border. The lake takes its name from the indigenous Caddo Indian tribes who once inhabited the area.

Overall the lake is shallow and is only 20 feet at the deepest. Much of it, though, is shallow enough for trees to crowd the water. There are some areas of significant open water. Still, many of those places have a carpet of lily pads and other aquatic vegetation that stretch for hundreds of yards. In fact, 60% of the lake is covered in aquatic vegetation.

This place is so unique it is recognized as an internationally protected wetland. The lake is also the second-largest natural lake in the south and the largest (and one of the few) natural lakes in Texas.

While theories vary, most scientists think the lake formed gradually over time - probably due to a giant log jam on the Red River known as the Great Raft. Some geologists, however, corroborate the Caddo Indian legend that says the lake was formed by the 1812 New Madrid, Missouri earthquake. It is postulated that when the earthquake occurred, the earth's crust shifting created a basin filled with water from the Red River. In 1913, ecologist Lionel Janes examined cross-sections of cypress and hardwood trees. He estimated that the lake formed between 1770 and 1780.

The lake remained largely undeveloped until the mid-19th century when steamboat traffic picked up in the area and served the various villages on the lake. Bayous were dredged to provide steamer service that brought goods to and from the Red River and, eventually, down to the Port of New Orleans. Since cotton was king in the Old South, cotton trade routes were established through the lake.

While some villages no longer exist, you can take a glimpse back in history by visiting nearby Jefferson, Texas, which offers numerous Civil War-era structures and bayou tours that retrace the old steamboat routes.

Today, big chunks of Caddo Lake are largely conserved through agreements with The Nature Conservancy and the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. On the Louisiana side, a dam was built in the 1970s to help maintain the wetland's water levels and control flooding in the entire basin.

What's left is natural splendor. Each morning is something to be discovered anew. Location names are as colorful as the rust-red cypress needles within the lake proper. Carter Lake, Whangdoodle Pass, Alligator Bayou, and The Hog Wallow are all specific place names within the lake and is its own scene. Each moss-draped tree is a different character within the broader day-in-day-out natural drama that's unfolded for centuries. It's a boon for outdoor photographers.

Each day we'd venture out on a pontoon boat to explore the nuances of the swamps. Blue herons and white egrets hide amongst the cypress knees and sit motionless while they wait for an unsuspecting fish to swim past. The scenes are a mixture of big sky sunrises and careful studies of individual tree limbs. Therefore, an entire photographic lens repertoire is in order. It's an unconventional landscape shoot, but Caddo Lake challenges the traditional notions of what a landscape shoot looks like: grand mountains shot with a wide angle lens, foreground objects, edge control, etc. In the southern swamps, the rules of traditional landscape photography fly out the door. Intentional camera movement, multiple exposures, and long lens landscapes are all in order. 

The southern swamps is also a place where you learn about rural Texas culture. We even visited one of the oldest country stores in Texas. The Jonesville store is a vestige of what tiny town mercantile used to be and is full of photographic surprises. Down the road, we eat a couple of meals at Bear Creek Smokehouse. Barbecue is an iconic Texas food and this place epitomizes the low and slow method of pit cooking brisket and sausage. 

Each photographer's soul (and belly and memory card) is satiated by the trip's end. Adorned by unconventional beauty, the swamps and the people who call it home have a way of creeping into your own subconscious. Long after we're gone, these swamps will abide - ready to beckon a new batch of intrepid explorers.

[fatehbaz]

The Atakapa Ishak have lived for thousands of years in the lush green forests of southeast Texas where the Galveston Bay and the Big Thicket meet. Ishak means “people” in the Atakapa language and they built communities off the San Jacinto and Neches rivers. As colonizers entered the homelands of the Ishak, they moved into the deep swamps of east Texas and Louisiana where giant Cypress trees reigned over the muddy, marshy landscape.

The Atakapa are made up of different clans -- the Patiri, Akokisa, Bidai, Deadose, and Han. Before contact, the Atakapa grew crops and were skilled fishermen known for their dugout canoes made from a single tree trunk. They built giant mounds that served as places of worship and sites for their leadership to come together. The Atakapa also buried those who passed away in small mounds. Today, smaller, more rural coastal communities continue this traditional practice.

As part of the Texas Observer’s land acknowledgement process, we are collaborating with tribal representatives to map their homelands and significant places in Texas, on their own terms. Mary Leblanc is Akokisa and a retired tribal council member for the nation. Her grandparents were born and raised in the Big Thicket. In this interview, we explore her tribe’s history and ties to Texas. [...]

[Texas Observer:] How did the Atakapa Ishak people come to live in the land currently known as Texas and can you talk about the sites that are listed on the map?

[Leblanc:] We’ve been here several thousand years. [...] Evidence suggests there’s been continuous occupation. In Houston, Bear Creek mound was a very sacred and important place. It sat where Bear Creek park is today. Once there was a great mound there, which was important to this area. It was the seat of government as well as religion. Bear Creek mound stood at the headwaters of Buffalo Bayou, which runs through downtown Houston. There were several villages along Buffalo Bayou and then the mound at the headwaters. Back then Buffalo Bayou ran crystal clear. Today it’s cloudy with pollution and you don’t want to get that nasty water on you. But in my grandmother’s day it was crystal clear. [...] Today the fish are all gone. Bear Creek Mound was a big mound -- 600 feet long and 40 feet high. It served several purposes: It had a flat area on top that was big as a football field. This is where people came together for ceremony. It was the place where we stored our excess produce from our farms and hunting,  [for] use in time of need, if there was a crop failure or a drought. The top of that mound was the place of refuge to which people went in times of floods or hurricanes. [...] The big mound was bulldozed and was lost to us, but the site where it was remains very special.

[Texas Observer:] Can you talk more about the different clans that you mentioned on the map and the places they belong to? 

[Leblanc:] We have multiple clans in this area, starting over at the east by the Bidai. Bidai means brush and that area is really essentially a jungle. It’s the Big Thicket. The Brush People live in what used to be a jungle. The Deadoses live a little further inland from them. The Patiri, another clan, they live a little northwest of us. Akokisa, we live along the San Jacinto River. There’s another clan down the coast the Han and they are, generally, fishermen. There’s other clans in Louisiana but they’re Eastern Atakapa. They got a whole bunch of clans over there. [...]

[Texas Observer:] What are some other misconceptions that Texans have about Atakapa people? 

[Leblanc:] We’re still here, but rather quietly. We tend to keep a low profile. There’s a lot of Eastern Atakapa in Houston. They’ve moved over here for work. Houston has a sizable Native population, but no organization [...]. There’s a lot of Choctaw in this area and a lot of Cherokee. Like I said, most of the people are completely unaware that this area had any Natives or what the culture was. And [land developers] keep destroying our mounds and other sacred places. It’s like they’re wiping us out. I mean, our mounds are very sacred to us [...]. They talk to us about preservation, but they never do. There’s a whole long list of mounds that have been destroyed within my lifetime. It’s like they’re trying to wipe us off the map and forget we ever existed. There’s still a community here. We have a dance ground, which is what Gulf Coast people do. It’s like a community center. It’s where we gather for our ceremonies. Each clan has a clan house and we have ceremonies at specific times of the year. We’re still together and an active group of people. We do keep a low profile because there are people around here who will harass us and do damage. We used to have a dance ground that people knew about, but we had threats of people shooting it up. We moved the dance ground, and now just members of the tribe know where that’s at. We feel a lot safer. I mean, this is southeast Texas and we got a lot of Klan members and people like that. So, we do have to have security. [...] All of our tribal ceremonies are closed to outsiders because we’ve had some trouble. Some of our younger members have been known to go out and give speeches. There isn’t much out there right now. We need to really become a lot better known in the Houston area. Houston needs to know that it has a history going way back. And this is something to be proud of and to carry. 

-------

Headline, images, and all text published by: Pauly Denetclaw. “Mapping Indigenous Communities of Texas: Atakapa Ishak.” [An interview with Mary Leblanc.] Texas Observer. 3 September 2021.

[rubykgrant]

I made a slightly condensed version of my Spooky Ref list; it still has a heck ton of movies and books, but now I combined certain categories, eliminated a few, and removed some of the titles that don’t quite fit. If you are looking for things to watch or read so you can get into the Halloween mood (or of you just like some creepy content), here you go!

Movies and Books for October

These range from children’s media to adult content, so be sure to check the ratings/reviews, this way you’ll find ones that are suitable for the right viewers. The dates of movies and names of authors for books are included to make searches easier

(a * symbol is for when a title is in both sections, a book that got made into a movie, ect)

Halloween and Ghosts

Movies- Hocus Pocus (1993), *the Halloween Tree (1993), the Nightmare before Christmas (1993), Trick r Treat (2007), Monster House (2006), Halloweentown (1998), the Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1949), Scary Godmother Halloween Spooktacular (2003), Poltergeist (1982), the Haunting (1999), Casper (1995), Ghostbusters (1984), the Haunted Mansion (2003), Thirteen Ghosts (2001), the Others (2001)

Books- How to Drive Your Family Crazy on Halloween by Dean Marney,*the Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury, the Haunted Mask (Goosebumps) by RL Stine, Dark Harvest by Norman Partridge, Stonewords a Ghost Story by Pam Conrad, Deep and Dark and Dangerous by Mary Downing Hahn, Ghost Beach (Goosebumps) by RL Stine, All the Lovely Bad Ones by Mary Downing Hahn, the Crossroads by Chris Grabenstein, Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn

 Witch/ESP/Mental Powers

Movies- *Practical Magic (1998), *the Wizard of Oz (1939), *the Witches (1990), Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989), Scooby-Doo and the Witch’s Ghost (1999) *Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001), the Craft (1996), the Witches of Eastwick (1987), *Carrie (1976), *Firstarter (1984), *Matilda (1996), the Last Mimzy (2007)

Books- *Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman, *the Witches by Roald Dahl, Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones, *Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by JK Rowling, *the Wizard of Oz by L Frank Baum, T*Witches by HB Gilmour and Randi Reisfeld, the Worst Witch by Jill Murphy, *Carrie by Stephen King, *Firestarter by Stephen King, *Matilda by Roald Dahl, Scorpion Shards (Star Shards Chronicles) by Neal Shusterman, the Witch’s Boy by Michael Gruber

 Vampire and Werewolf

Movies- Blade (1998), the Little Vampire (2000), Hellboy Blood and Iron (2007), *Hotel Transylvania (2012), Fright Night (2011), What We Do in the Shadows (2014), Alvin and the Chipmunks meet The Wolfman (2000), Ginger Snaps (2000), Van Helsing (2004) Wolf Children (2012), the Wolfman (1941)

Books- Bunnicula by James and Deborah Howe, Dracula by Bram Stoker, ‘Salem’s Lot by Stephen King, Red Rider’s Hood by Neal Shusterman, the Werewolf of Fever Swamp (Goosebumps) by RL Stine, Werewolves Don't Go to Summer Camp (Bailey School Kids) by Debbie Dadey and Marcia Jones, Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause, Night of the Werepoodle by Constance Hiser

 Zombies and Slasher/Gore

Movies- Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island (1998), ParaNorman (2012), Night of the Living Dead (1968), *Pet Sematary (1989), Zombieland (2009), Resident Evil (2002), Dawn of the Dead (2004) Scream (1996), a Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), *I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997), Kill Bill (2003), Happy Death Day (2017), the Hills Have Eyes (2006), US (2019), Friday the 13th (1980), the Thing (1982), *the Girl with all the Gifts (2016)

Books- *Pet Sematary by Stephen King, the Haunting of Derek Stone by Tony Abott, Welcome to Dead House (Goosebumps) by RL Stine, *I know What You Did Last Summer by Lois Duncan, the Dark Half by Stephen King, The Dead Girlfriend (Point Horror) by RL Stine, Another by Yukito Ayatsuji, the Prom Queen (Fear Street) by RL Stine, *the Girl with all the Gifts by MR Carey

 Demons/Possession/Afterlife

Movies- the Omen (1976), Insidious (2010), the Exorcist (1973), *Christine (1983), City of Angels (1998), All Dogs go to Heaven (1989), Fallen (1998), *Rosemary’s Baby (1968), Bedazzled (2000), What Dreams May Come (1998), the Book of Life (2014), Flatliners (2017), *the Lovely Bones (2009), Coco (2017), Jennifer’s Body (2009), the Mummy (1999)

Books- *Christine by Stephen King, Needful Things by Stephen King, HECK where the bad kids go by Dale E Bayse,* Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin, Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, Paradise Lost by John Milton, Inferno by Dante Alighieri, *the Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

 Monsters/Mythology/Dangerous Animals

Movies- Monsters Inc (2001), Godzilla (1998), *a Monster Calls (2016), *Jurassic Park (1993), King Kong (1933), Doug’s 1st Movie (1999), Darkness Falls (2003), Atlantis the lost empire (2001), Sinbad Legend of the Seven Seas (2003), *the Last Unicorn (1982), Urban Legend (1998), *How to Train Your Dragon (2010), the Flight of Dragons (1982), Shrek (2001), *the Hobbit (1977), Quest for Camelot (1998), Ferngully the last rainforest (1992), Lake Placid (1999), Jaws (1975), *Cujo (1983), Deep Blue Sea (1999), Anaconda (1997)

Books- *a Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, *Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton, Sasquatch by Roland Smith, *the Last Unicorn by Peter S Beagle, the Moorchild by Eloise Jarvis McGraw, the Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians) by Rick Riordan, the Boggart by Susan Cooper, *How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell, Jeremy Thatcher Dragon Hatcher by Bruce Coville, *the Hobbit by JRR Tolkien, *Cujo by Stephen King, Cat in the Crypt (Animal Ark Hauntings) by Ben M Baglio, Congo by Michael Crichton, Watership Down by Richard Adams, the Dark Pond by Joseph Bruchac

 Dolls and Toys, Circus/Carnival/Clowns, Comedy Horror

Movies- *Coraline (2009), the Adventures of Pinocchio (1996), Child’s Play (1988), Toy Story (1995), 9 (2009), We’re Back a dinosaur’s story (1993), the Care Bears Movie (1985), Little Nemo adventures in Slumberland (1989), *Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983), *Big Top Scooby-Doo (2012), Killer Klowns from Outer Space, *IT (2017), *Beetlejuice (1988), Army of Darkness (1992), Gremlins (1984), Arachnophobia (1990), Jawbreaker (1999), Tremors (1990), the Frighteners (1996), Twilight Zone the Movie (1983), Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Eight Legged Freaks (2002), the Goonies (1985)

Books- Frozen Charlotte by Alex Bell, *Coraline by Neil Gaiman, No Flying in the House by Betty Brock, Doll Bones by Holly Black, Joyland by Stephen King, *Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury, the Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, *IT by Stephen King, the Cuckoo Clock of Doom (Goosebumps) by RL Stine, a Dirty Job by Christopher Moore jr, Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (Treasury) by Alvin Schwartz and illustrated by Stephen Gammell, JTHM (Director’s Cut) by Jhonen Vasquez

 Gothic/Dark Fantasy, Curse/Transformation

Movies- *the Addams Family (1991), Rebecca (1940), Edward Scissorhands (1990), Mama (2013), the Phantom of the Opera (2004), Crimson Peak (2010), Legend (1985), the Dark Crystal (1982), Labyrinth (1986), *the Neverending Story (1984), *the Secret of NIMH (1982), Anastasia (1997), Howl’s Moving Castle (2004), Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), Willow (1988), *the Last Unicorn (1982), the Princess Bride (1987), *Legend of the Guardians the Owls of Ga'Hoole, Beauty and the Beast (1991), the Princess and the Frog (2009), the Swan Princess (1994), the Thing (1982), the Mask (1994), Freaky Friday (2003), Song of the Sea (2014), Pirates of the Caribbean the Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

Books- the Raven by Edgar Allen Poe, the Shining by Stephen King, Remember Me by Mary Higgins Clark, a Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket, Well Witched (Verdigris Deep) by Frances Hardinge, Poison by Chris Wooding, *the Neverending Story by Michael Ende, *Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C O'Brien, a Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz, the Dark Portal by Robin Jarvis, Zel by Donna Jo Napoli, *the Last Unicorn by Peter S Beagle, *Guardians of Ga’Hoole by Kathryn Lasky, Owl in Love by Patrice Kindl

 Mystery/Thriller/Psychological/Suspense

Movies- Clue (1985), *Holes (2003), Get Out (2017), Hot Fuzz (2007), Minority Report (2002), Kidnap (2017), Saw (2004), Wind River (2017), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), the Great Mouse Detective (1986), Eve’s Bayou (1997), Breaking In (2018), Cube (1997), *Secret Window (2004), Silent Hill (2006), the Sixth Sense (1999), the Good Son (1993), Psycho (1960), Donnie Darko (2001), Fargo (1996), the Game (1997), the Invisible Man (2020), Breaking In (2018)

Books- *Holes by Louis Sachar, the Lost (the Outer Limits) by John Peel, We’ll Meet Again by Mary Higgins Clark, When the Bough Breaks by Jonathan Kellerman, *Secret Window Secret Garden (Four Past Midnight) by Stephen King, House of Stairs by William Sleator, Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Dolores Claiborne by Stephen King, Tangerine by Edward Bloor, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the Girl who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King

 Sci-Fi/Space Aliens, Robots and Technology

Movies- I Robot (2004), the Iron Giant (1999), the Terminator (1984), AI artificial intelligence (2001), the Stepford Wives (2004), Wall-E (2008), *Screamers (1995), *Sphere (1998), *Blade Runner (1982), *2001 a Space Odyssey (1968), MIB (1997), Mission to Mars (2000), Galaxy Quest (1999), Alien (1979), ET the extra terrestrial (1982), Independence Day (1996), Spaced Invaders (1990), Buzz Lightyear of Star Command the Adventure Begins (2000), Chicken Little (2005), *War of the Worlds (1953), *Contact (1997), Signs (2002), Treasure Planet (2002), Frequency (2000), Back to the Future (1985), the Time Machine (1960), Planet of the Apes (1968), Lost in Space (1998)

Books- the Terminal Man by Michael Crichton, Feed by Matthew Tobin Anderson, *Second Variety (Screamers) by Phillip K Dick, *I Robot by Isaac Asimov, Cell by Stephen King, *Sphere by Michael Crichton, *Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (Blade Runner) by Philip K Dick , *2001 a Space Odyssey by  Arthur C Clarke, a Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle, Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card, the Dark Side of Nowhere by Neal Shusterman, *War of the Worlds by HG Wells, *Contact by Carl Sagan, Childhood’s End by Arthur C Clarke, Aliens Don’t Wear Braces (the Baily School Kids) by Debbie Dadey and Marcia Jones, the Invasion (Animorphs) by KA Applegate

 Dystopia/Disaster, Other Worlds

Movies- Waterworld (1995), the Matrix (1999), Escape from New York (1981), *Demolition Man (1993), the Day After Tomorrow (2004), Volcano (1997), the Fifth Element (1997), Titan AE (2000), Armageddon (1998), Twister (1996), the Birds (1963), the Book of Eli, (2010) Spirited Away (2001), *Alice in Wonderland (1951), Pleasantville (1998), *the Phantom Tollbooth (1970), *the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), *Hook (1991), the Pagemaster (1994), *James and the Giant Peach (1996)

Books- Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix, Uglies by Scott Westerfeld, the Road by Cormac McCarthy, the House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer, 1984 by George Orwell, Armageddon Summer by Bruce Coville and Jane Yolen, the Giver by Lois Lowry, the City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau, *Brave New World (Demolition Man) by Aldous Huxley, Malice by Chris Wooding, * the Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, *Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, the Golden Compass (His Dark Materials) by Philip Pullman, *The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe (the Chronicles of Narnia) by CS Lewis, *James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

 Anime/Manga and J-Horror

Movies- Akira (1988), Perfect Blue (1997), Ring (1998), Dark Water (2002), Ghost in the Shell (1995), Tokyo Godfathers (2003), Cat Soup (2001), *Cowboy Bebop the Movie (2001), Blood the Last Vampire (2000), Pokemon the First Movie (1998), Sailor Moon R Promise of the Rose (1993), DBZ the World’s Strongest (1990), Digimon the Movie (2000), Ju-On (2000)

Manga- Claymore by Norihiro Yagi, Death Note by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata, *Yu Yu Hakusho by Yoshihiro Togashi, *Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa, *Blue Exorcist by Kazue Katō, *Soul Eater by Atsushi Ōkubo, *Inuyasha by Rumiko Takahashi,

Anime- *Yu Yu Hakusho, *Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, *Soul Eater, *Blue Exorcist, *Inuyasha, *Cowboy Bebop, Mob Psycho 100, .hack//SIGN , the Promised Neverland, Paranoia Agent, Tokyo Ghoul, Hellsing Ultimate

 Super Hero

Movies- Hellboy (2004), Ghost Rider (2007), the Incredibles (2004), Batman Beyond return of the Joker (2000), TMNT (2007), Logan (2017), Black Panther (2018), Sky High (2005), Spider-Man into the Spider-Verse (2018), Justice League Crisis on Two Earths (2010), Batman Under the Red Hood (2010)

Comics- Animal Man (New 52, 2011) DC Comics, Swamp Thing (New 52, 2011) DC Comics, BPRD Dark Waters (2012) Dark Horse Comics, Nextwave (Agents of HATE, 2006) Marvel Comics

Animated Series- Batman the Animated Series, X-Men Evolution, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003), Darkwing Duck, the Powerpuff Girls, Teen Titans (2005), Static Shock, Green Lantern the Animated Series

 Cartoons and TV shows

Over the Garden Wall, The Simpsons (Treehouse of Horrors), Regular Show (Terror Tales of the Park), Adventure Time (Stakes), Scooby-Doo Where Are You/What’s New Scooby-Doo,  El Tigre the Adventures of Manny Rivera, Phineas and Ferb (Night of the Living Pharmacists), Gravity Falls, Good Omens, Miracle Workers, Grimm, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, What We Do In the Shadows, Hotel Transylvania the series, Wolf’s Rain, Danny Phantom, Aaahh Real Monsters, the Munsters, So Weird, Tutenstein, Gargoyles, Xena Warrior Princess, Are You Afraid of the Dark, Tales from the Crypt, Goosebumps, Samurai Jack, Metalocalypse, Super Jail, My Life as a Teenage Robot, Futurama, the Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, *Beetlejuice (animated series), Sabrina the Animated Series, the Owl House, Bewitched, Growing Up Creepy, the Addams Family (animated series), a Series of Unfortunate Events, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Star VS the Forces of Evil, Amphibia, Infinity Train, Penn Zero Part-Time Hero, Murder She Wrote, the Venture Bros, Avatar the Last Airbender, Invader ZIM, People of Earth, Star Trek Next Gen, Rick and Morty, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command

#text #ref #movies #books #spooky #horror #creepy #movie list #book list #halloween #halloween movies #halloween books

[oh-boy-me]

What are all the boys (bros&other npcs) favorite bodies of water??

Jo can I trust you?  I’m not so sure anymore.

--

Lucifer: Glacier

A river that bends land to its will?  Nice.

A river that bends land to its will and is also frozen?  NICE.

The sheer power of glaciers, man.  It’s ice, but it moves.  It hogs all the freshwater.  What a truly impressive feature.

The ninth circle of hell is a frozen lake, and while that circle is reserved for the treacherous and not the proud, that probably influences his opinions just a little.

Also when exposed to light glacier ice is blue!  How cool.

Mammon: Tide Pool

Do you know how many THINGS there are in tide pools?

Most of them are worthless, but still, Mammon likes things and tide pools are not short in supply of things.

Most of them look cool too.  Anemones and starfish and stuff.

He also likes how they’re only around during low tide.  They’re like a secret.

Leviathan: Ocean

Are we surprised?  It’s his second home.  It’s the biggest and deepest saltwater option we have.

The ocean is literally his element.  The more water the better.

He does prefer warm waters though.  Cold water makes him sluggish.

I feel like this was self-explanatory so I don’t even have much to say, so let me use this extra space to sprinkle in a world building headcanon: Devildom seas are on average deeper than Human World ones, but the Mariana Trench is still the deepest trench in the three realms.

Satan: Oasis

Remember when I said he isn’t fond of big bodies of water?  Yeah that still applies.

So if he HAS to choose a favorite that’s natural, he supposes a beacon of life in an otherwise desolate land is a good choice.

(Satan you fool you absolute fool.  An oasis is the entire fertile area, not just the body of water that may or may not be there.  We’ll let him get away with it.)

He’s thinking of those ones that show up in storybooks anyway.

And he wasn’t allowed to say “pool.”

Asmodeus: Hot Spring

Curse this bastard, hot tub wasn’t allowed as an answer and he found a way around it.

Really though, hot springs have so many refreshing, good for your skin, etc., properties.

It’s also a great trip location to have a “me day.”

Or to get to know someone a little better.  Or a lot better.

Don’t get him wrong, though--when it comes to hot springs it’s a spa day first and foremost.

Beelzebub: Channel

So people swim across channels.  The English Channel, at least.  And that’s something he’d definitely be interested in doing.

It’s also good endurance training, records and completion aside.

So with that in mind, a channel has a goal attached to it, and Beel loves having goals to work towards.

Also, channels connect landmasses.  Insert metaphor about connecting here.

Belphegor: Fjord

Millions of years ago, a glacier said “hmm, today I will carve a valley.”

And then the ocean thought “oh I should flood this” (and also the glacier melted).  And that’s how fjords are created.

They’re very beautiful, with rising cliffs on either side.

They’re also often very dangerous, with extreme currents and even whirlpools.

And they’re REALLY deep.  Like, far deeper than the sea that flooded it.

And that’s pretty neat.  He just thinks they’re neat.

Simeon: Salt Flat

So it isn’t a permanent body of water--actually salt flats are made after water evaporates and leaves the salt behind--but if Satan’s allowed to say oasis Simeon’s allowed to say salt flat.

Why does he like them, though?  Well, when it IS a body of water after the rain, it’s a mirror of the sky.

There really isn’t a body of water that seems more heavenly than a rained-on salt flat.

Please look up Salar de Uyuni.

There really is a place in the Human World where he can forget he’s not in the Celestial Realm.

Luke: Pond

Lakes are freshwater basins teeming with life, both in nature and in human settlement.

Lakes are also very deep and that’s freaky.  Ponds are the same as a lake but smaller.

They can be small garden ponds with koi, or big enough to take a boat out onto.  How versatile, how diverse!

Ponds are like the little MVPs of the water world and Luke can relate.

Solomon: Lake

Solomon doesn’t really have an attachment to lakes in general, but rather to one in particular.

He doesn’t remember what it was called or where it was, but he has fond memories of summering at a lake house in the mountains when he was a child.

His father would take him fishing, his mother would watch him swim, and the whole family would hike on the surrounding trails.  It was really fun.

A beach house has similar family vacation qualities, but Solomon’s family preferred the quiet nature that lakes more readily offer.

At least, that’s what he recalls.  They… they did go fishing on the lake, right?

Diavolo: Bayou

It has little to do with the water itself, and more to do with the area.

Because bayou?  Animals and culture.

We’re talking birds, alligators, fish, frogs, you name it, fun swamp creatures.

And New Orleans.  Cajun and Creole culture flourishes in that area, and there are few human cultures that would catch his eye more than those would.

(There are of course other groups that live in similar areas that have these same charms, but I don’t know of any all-encompassing word.)

Barbatos: Cove

They are small and separated.  Feels good, feels private.

He likes the smaller ones best.

It would be nice for there to be a cove that only he knows about.  A place where he could destress and just exist.

The chances of Diavolo not knowing or finding out about it are small, but hey.  A butler can dream.

He wouldn’t call himself a romantic, but he can’t deny that it’s definitely part of the appeal.

Masterlist

#my favorite is rivers! #obey me #obey me one master to rule them all #obey me shall we date #obey me swd #swd obey me #shall we date obey me #obey me! #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor #obey me diavolo #obey me barbatos #obey me simeon #obey me luke #obey me solomon #obey me headcanons

[gascon-en-exil]

you mention cajuns and creoles not liking eachother, could you explain that? im cajun but ive never heard any of my family say anything about creoles. that could be due to the fact that us being cajuns isn't the biggest part of our identity (my grandma, who is the center of our family and is very cajun, sadly didn't pass on much of the culture. the only cajun french words I know are "cher" and "couillon" and the closest connection to our cuisine is that my grandma makes gumbo sometimes). I'm really interested in the french descendant groups of louisiana, and I've always wanted to be closer with my cajun identity. so I guess I'm just curious about the feud I've never heard about between our two groups

I wouldn't call it a feud so much as a lack of great affinity for one another, spurred on by significant differences in culture and values that make it hard for us to see eye-to-eye when we're not talking about the shared experience of the Louisianais (here referring to all those of partial or full French descent in Louisiana) in very broad terms.

There are multiple groups of Louisiana Creoles, "creole" being a catch-all term for ethnic French or Spanish people who don't have a shared history or collective trauma like le Grand Dérangement the Cajuns have. I can only speak to my experience as a white New Orleans Créole (NB: I use the accent aigu here specifically when I'm talking about the French, and not French and Spanish together), and not as a mixed Creole or member of a different group like the Cane River Créoles of the Natchitoches area.

For us it's always been an urban vs. rural divide: New Orleanians of all sorts frequently act as though the rest of Louisiana doesn't exist, while Louisianans outside the metro just as frequently regard New Orleans as a downtrodden cesspit of crime and hedonism, just a place for them to get wasted and have a lot of ill-advised sex every February (and/or September, for gay men). From a French perspective, it's not so different from how Parisians and the rest of the French métropole regard one another; for Créoles and I hear for Cajuns as well it's customary that "la Ville" without any other qualifiers refers to New Orleans, just as it refers to Paris back in France.

Naturally this leads to all the usual contrasting stereotypes, with the addition of others thanks to how our different cultures faced the coming of the Anglos to Louisiana. Cajuns have largely preserved their culture and their distinctive patois through extreme rural isolation, and from everything I've heard the deeper you go in the bayou the less welcoming they are toward outsiders - even other French. Their ancestors were mostly hunters, trappers, and fishers like most of those who settled in Québec and Acadie, and I'd imagine that helped them grow accustomed to a rough way of living even when forced down here to the subtropics. My ancestors meanwhile were haute bourgeoisie, social climbers who despised the miserable climate of Louisiana but hoped to enrich themselves in the plantation economy and by the lucrative international port of New Orleans. They built up their city in the image of Paris, filling it with all the luxuries of 18th and 19th century European urbanity they could manage over here...and so when the Anglo carpetbaggers descended on New Orleans after the Civil War my great-great and great-great-great grandparents did not retreat into the swamps but instead learned English, tolerated Protestants celebrating Carnival, married their sons to Anglo heiresses (or did not, and gradually went bankrupt), commercialized our food and our fashions and our macabre customs for the sake of the tourism industry, and watched as their fortunes and places at the heart of New Orleans rotted away like the moldering corpses in our famed mausoleums. We could not give up civilization and so have been ruined by it, and while I may lightly mock the Cajuns as wild country cousins who wouldn't know the first thing about real society I get the impression that the Cajuns mock us too for surrendering our language and our identities to our enemies.

Oh, and Anglos frequently confuse us for one another, which has led to the French elsewhere doing the same. More than once I've had to correct someone from Québec or the métropole assuming I was Cajun, and even more than that I've had to correct the assumption that I'm mixed-race because there remains a lot of confusion over what the word "creole" means in both French and English. It's not so much offensive as it is tedious, not to mention disheartening to realize just how little regard the Francophone world has for Louisiana. We may be a failed colony, but we aren't extinct.

#Louisiana Francophones #Louisiana Créoles

[newstfionline]

Tuesday, August 31, 2021

Hostile school board meetings have members calling it quits (AP) A Nevada school board member said he had thoughts of suicide before stepping down amid threats and harassment. In Virginia, a board member resigned over what she saw as politics driving decisions on masks. The vitriol at board meetings in Wisconsin had one member fearing he would find his tires slashed. School board members are largely unpaid volunteers, traditionally former educators and parents who step forward to shape school policy, choose a superintendent and review the budget. But a growing number are resigning or questioning their willingness to serve as meetings have devolved into shouting contests between deeply political constituencies over how racial issues are taught, masks in schools, and COVID-19 vaccines and testing requirements. In his letter of resignation from Wisconsin’s Oconomowoc Area School Board, Rick Grothaus said its work had become “toxic and impossible to do.” “When I got on, I knew it would be difficult,” Grothaus, a retired educator, said by phone. “But I wasn’t ready or prepared for the vitriolic response that would occur, especially now that the pandemic seemed to just bring everything out in a very, very harsh way. It made it impossible to really do any kind of meaningful work.”

California fire approaches Lake Tahoe after mass evacuation (AP) A ferocious wildfire swept toward Lake Tahoe on Tuesday just hours after roads were clogged with fleeing cars when the entire California resort city of South Lake Tahoe was ordered to evacuate and communities just across the state line in Nevada were warned to get ready to leave. The popular vacation haven normally filled with tens of thousands of summer tourists emptied out Monday as the massive Caldor Fire rapidly expanded. Vehicles loaded with bikes and camping gear and hauling boats were in gridlock traffic, stalled in hazy, brown air that smelled like a campfire. Police and other emergency vehicles whizzed by. “It’s more out of control than I thought,” evacuee Glen Naasz said of the fire that by late Monday had been pushed by strong winds across California highways 50 and 89, burning mountain cabins as it swept down slopes into the Tahoe Basin.

Hurricane Ida traps Louisianans, shatters the power grid (AP) Rescuers set out in hundreds of boats and helicopters to reach people trapped by floodwaters Monday, and utility repair crews rushed in, after a furious Hurricane Ida swamped the Louisiana coast and ravaged the electrical grid in the sticky, late-summer heat. People living amid the maze of rivers and bayous along the state’s Gulf Coast retreated desperately to their attics or roofs and posted their addresses on social media with instructions for search-and-rescue teams on where to find them. More than 1 million customers in Louisiana and Mississippi—including all of New Orleans—were left without power as Ida, one of the most powerful hurricanes ever to hit the U.S. mainland, pushed through on Sunday and early Monday before weakening into a tropical storm. As it continued to make its way inland with torrential rain and shrieking winds, it was blamed for at least two deaths. But with many roads impassable and cellphone service knocked out in places, the full extent of its fury was still coming into focus. The governor’s office said damage to the power grid appeared “catastrophic.” And local officials warned it could be weeks before power is fully restored, leaving multitudes without refrigeration or air conditioning during the dog days of summer, with highs forecast in the mid-80s to close to 90 by midweek.

Heavily armed criminal group ties hostages to getaway cars after storming Brazilian city (Washington Post) A heavily armed group of bank robbers wreaked havoc across a southeastern Brazilian city early Monday, striking several banks, setting fire to vehicles and tying hostages to their getaway cars, in an assault that left at least three people dead, officials say. Even in a country long accustomed to random spasms of violence, Brazilians reacted with shock and fear. The group stormed Araçatuba, a city of 200,000 in São Paulo state, around midnight to strike several city banking agencies. Gunshots punctured the early-morning quiet. Authorities asked residents to stay inside. Images on social media and local news reports showed at least 10 people clinging to getaway cars, apparently strapped there to deter fire from police. The hostages were reportedly released after the group escaped. The raid bore the characteristics of what criminologists have called a growing pattern: nighttime assaults on midsize Brazilian cities—often elaborate bank heists, intricately planned, well choreographed and executed by well-financed criminal groups equipped with the weaponry and gadgetry of war. The group flew a drone over Araçatuba during the raid, according to local reports, to track movements throughout the city.

EU travel restrictions (AP) The European Union recommended Monday that its 27 nations reinstate restrictions on tourists from the U.S. because of rising coronavirus infections there, but member countries will keep the option of allowing fully vaccinated U.S. travelers in. The EU’s decision reflects growing anxiety that the rampant spread of the virus in the U.S. could jump to Europe at a time when Americans are allowed to travel to the continent. Both the EU and the U.S. have faced rising infections this summer, driven by the more contagious delta variant. The guidance issued Monday is nonbinding, however. American tourists should expect a mishmash of travel rules across the continent since the EU has no unified COVID-19 tourism policy and national EU governments have the authority to decide whether or how they keep their borders open during the pandemic.

Italy’s record droughts (La Stampa) The earth is cracking in Italy’s northwest region of Piedmont: the crops and the animals suffer. Italy has been ravaged by fires and storms, like Greece, Turkey and much of Southern Europe. Italy has recorded 1,200 “extreme” meteorological events—a 56% increase from last year. Wildfires ravaged the southern regions of Sardinia, Calabria and Sicily. The town of Florida, in Sicily, is thought to have recorded the hottest temperature ever recorded in Europe: 48.8 °C. Meanwhile, heavy rainfall devastated other parts of the country. Coldiretti, Italy’s largest agricultural association, has just summed up the bill for this Italian summer: The damages to agriculture, it says, amount to €1 billion. Wheat yields have fallen 10%; cherries 30%, nectarines 40%. Tomato and corn crops have also suffered heavy losses. Giovanni Bedino, a 59-year-old Italian farmer, has been working the land since he was 15. “I love this job, but a year like this takes away your love,” he told Turin daily La Stampa. “We couldn’t water the fields and nothing came down from the sky. I remember, the summer of 2003 was a very difficult one—but it wasn’t even close to this year. I have never seen such a drought.”

In India, a debate over population control turns explosive (Washington Post) Yogi Adityanath, a star of India’s political right wing, stood before television cameras in his trademark saffron tunic and dramatically introduced a bill pushing for smaller families—two children at most. In previous decades, this measure by the leader of the country’s most populous state might have been uncontroversial. Over the past month, it’s been explosive. Critics saw a veiled attempt to mobilize Hindu voters by tapping into an age-old trope about India’s Muslim population ballooning out of control. As India barrels toward a pivotal election in Uttar Pradesh early next year, population bills introduced by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have become a new flash point in the national debate, vividly illustrating how the issues of religion and identity, spoken or implied, form the most powerful undercurrent in the country’s politics. Since 2011, when official census figures emerged showing Hindus dipping to 80 percent of India’s population compared to 84 percent in 1951—Muslims increased from 10 percent to 14.2 percent during that same period—the question of how to maintain “demographic balance” has gained urgency for the Hindu movement’s leaders. A 2016 national survey finding that Indian Muslim women had, on average, 2.6 children compared to 2.1 for Hindus provoked more concern.

North Korea appears to have restarted Yongbyon nuclear reactor, U.N. body says (Washington Post) North Korea appears to have restarted its main nuclear reactor at Yongbyon in July, a “deeply troubling” sign that the country may be on track to expand its nuclear program, according to a new report by the United Nations’ atomic agency. The finding adds another challenge to the Biden administration’s goal of denuclearizing North Korea. Although Yongbyon is not the only site where North Korea has produced highly enriched uranium, its role at the heart of Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions made the facility a bargaining chip in previous negotiations. In 2008, North Korea ceremoniously blew up the reactor’s cooling tower in a largely made-for-TV event amid nuclear talks between the United States and former leader Kim Jong Il. (A new cooling tower was built after the negotiations fell through.)

Last troops exit Afghanistan, ending America’s longest war (AP) The United States completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan late Monday, ending America’s longest war and closing a chapter in military history likely to be remembered for colossal failures, unfulfilled promises and a frantic final exit that cost the lives of more than 180 Afghans and 13 U.S. service members, some barely older than the war. Hours ahead of President Joe Biden’s Tuesday deadline for shutting down a final airlift, and thus ending the U.S. war, Air Force transport planes carried a remaining contingent of troops from Kabul airport. Thousands of troops had spent a harrowing two weeks protecting a hurried and risky airlift of tens of thousands of Afghans, Americans and others seeking to escape a country once again ruled by Taliban militants. In announcing the completion of the evacuation and war effort. Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, said the last planes took off from Kabul airport at 3:29 p.m. Washington time, or one minute before midnight in Kabul. He said a number of American citizens, likely numbering in “the very low hundreds,” were left behind, and that he believes they will still be able to leave the country. The final pullout fulfilled Biden’s pledge to end what he called a “forever war” that began in response to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, that killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Washington and rural Pennsylvania.

Afghanistan’s ‘Gen Z’ fears for future and hard-won freedoms (Reuters) Almost two third of Afghans are under the age of 25, and an entire generation cannot even remember the Taliban, who ruled Afghanistan from 1996 until it was toppled by Western-backed militia in 2001. During that time they enforced a strict interpretation of Islamic law, banning girls from school, women from work and carrying out public executions. Since 2001, the militants fought an insurgency in which thousands of Afghans died. Since re-taking power, the group has been quick to reassure students that their education would not be disrupted, also saying it would respect the rights of women and urging talented professionals not to leave the country. But used to a life with cellphones, pop music and mixing of genders, Afghanistan’s “Generation Z”—born roughly in the decade around the turn of the millennium—now fears some freedoms will be taken away, according to interviews with half a dozen Afghan students and young professionals. “I made such big plans, I had all these high reaching goals for myself that stretched to the next 10 years,” said Sosan Nabi, a 21-year-old graduate. “We had a hope for life, a hope for change. But in just one week, they took over the country and in 24 hours they took all our hopes, dreams snatched from in front of our eyes. It was all for nothing.”

They made it out of Afghanistan. But their path ahead is uncertain. (Washington Post) As the United States winds down its evacuation operation in Afghanistan, the Biden administration is accelerating efforts to resettle Afghans on U.S. soil, where they will be expected to apply for visas or humanitarian protection that could put them on a path to legal residency and citizenship. But the chaotic nature of the enormous airlift means that much is unknown: Officials have not said precisely how many Afghan evacuees have made it into the United States or whether all will be allowed to stay. More than 117,000 people had been evacuated from Afghanistan on U.S. and other flights as of Saturday, and Pentagon officials said the vast majority are Afghan citizens. Thousands have arrived in the United States, while thousands more are waiting in “transit hubs” in Europe and the Middle East. They are a mix of brand-new refugees and families with existing immigration applications that have been pending for months or years. Where the evacuees will end up is “a hard question to answer,” said Mark Hetfield, president and CEO of HIAS, one of the refugee resettlement agencies operating in the United States. “I don’t really know where they stand,” Hetfield said in an interview. “It’s chaos.”

#headlines #news

[the-river-person]

Worldbuilding Tangent 3

Part 1 / Part 2 And here’s the section that made me want to start writing about worldbuilding in the first place. Waterfall. And since there’s no way to avoid it, bits of Hotland too. (A reminder that these are my own observations and analysis of the Game’s text  it is still only my interpretation of how this area MIGHT work if we attempt to apply real world systems Undertale’s world. It’s possible that I misunderstood or don’t know enough about the natural systems described and that things couldn’t work that way without some kind of magic, whether that of the Monsters or some natural source of it.) So let’s start off with my theories about Mt Ebbot itself. I think that at one point it was an active volcano. The area must have, in some primordial age of the world, been under high sea levels. There is no way for some of the larger caverns, such as the Snowdin Cavern, to have formed except through dissolution of Limestone over very long periods of time through water. Limestone is usually made from the accumulation of shell, coral, algal, fecal, and other organic debris at the bottom of bodies of water. As water levels receded over time, we were left with layers of limestone. Then at some point a magma chamber beneath the earth had an increase pressure and the magma was driven upwards. Interactions between magma and limestone are can cause extremely explosive eruptions, and its my guess that this caused the formation of what I’m calling the Grand Cavern which contains a huge portion of Waterfall as well as the City of New Home. This would have been a Stratovolcano, which is characterized by multiple explosions of both streams of magma and clouds of ash and thrown fragments. Usually such explosions are massive, and the high pressure of lava streams even underground might even lead to the formation of Lava Tubes. Volcanic activity and limestone would explain the presence of both the numerous crystals that decorate this part of the Underground as well as some the larger smoother areas of the visible caverns. Based on how the path seems to work, my guess is that streams of lava flooded upwards and the lava tubes formed became the main path of Waterfall. Then when the Volcano became dormant and the magma receded to lower areas, surface water began to flow back into the Underground, smoothing over and eroding at the volcanic surfaces of the caves and making waterfall much bigger as lava caves and tubes were opened into various Solutional caves and caverns or areas blasted open by the eruption as well as new layers of igneous rock which were easily eroded. Many speculate that there must be a body of water above this area of the Underground to produce that much constant water. I don’t entirely think so. While its likely that there is a nearby source for a large amount of water, there is so much water in this area that it can’t all stem from that. Part of it actually comes from the river we see in Snowdin. When you enter Waterfall, the river vanishes because you are in tunnels which are walled on one side, and drop off with the falls on the other into an unseen area (Will return to this). The river vanished behind these walls somehow, yet still manages to flow on steadily till it reaches Hotland and then the Core. My guess is that the river is one of several sources for water. Others include natural springs, probably some body of water on the surface such as mountain streams and various small lakes in the area. It is all of these that would allow water to collect in the Underground. Right above the area we travel through is probably a larger reservoir of water. Without such a thing, the water levels of this area would be affected seasonally and the caves would be dry at times, which is not hinted at anywhere. Also, Waterfall is one of the largest sections of the Underground and is significantly darker than other areas. Since the area is on the same level as most of the livable Underground, rather than deeper down, its likely that it sits under the main body of Mt Ebbot, while Snowdin Cavern, the area New Home sits under, as well as the Ruins are all much closer to the edge of the mountain and sometimes lie underneath the foothills and normal ground. This allows for the openings and shafts of light that are present in these other areas, but not so much in Waterfall. So our larger reservoir would collect water and its shores would ebb and flow as the water table was affected. It would also contain large amounts of trash if the visible area of Waterfall is any indication. Its possible that many denizens of this area live around the reservoir and river instead of in the lower tunnels, this would account for a good many monsters supposed to dwell here. We also have another piece of evidence that hints at the existence of multiple levels of the area by remembering that Undyne appears on the opposite side of the river with Papyrus at the beginning of the area. Behind them are some columns formed from limestone deposits as water drips down from above. Later she appears again attacking you through gigantic hand carved columns that line the edge of the dark water. Eventually though, if the reservoir got too low, such as during a drought, the water level in the lower areas would be affected too. Which Onionsan tells us is so with the comment that it gets shallower all the time and that many others have moved to a large Aquarium in New Home, though some are probably just eager to escape the Underground. We also appear to have rather large cliffs with standing water pools, probably a plunge pool or basin formed from the falling water. Other caves appear to hold  huge bodies of relatively still waters allowing for the growth of “Water Sausages” or Typha, grasses of various kinds, and bioluminescent mushrooms and flowers. What kind of wetlands these areas area was a bit tricky to figure out. Since they are in a cave system and there are no trees in this area and limited vegetation and animals, then things like swamps and marshes can be eliminated. A bog was a possibility, until I remembered that unlike the Dark Waters areas which have near black water, one large area has its colors inverted making the land dark due to the light coming from the water. The probably cause of this is due to Bioluminescent Dinoflagellates. Dinoflaggellates are plankton that can be found in many bodies of water such as streams and lakes. But mostly they show up in the ocean. However bioluminescence is rare, and usually only occurs to aid in escape from predators, or to help find food in dark places. We have the dark down, but Bioluminescent Dinoflagellates require relatively stable conditions such as water that is not too cold but not terribly hot, and isn’t flowing too quickly. This along with the difference between the Dark Water area and this one means that this pool is probably somewhat warmer, maybe some very light geothermal activity, or simply the shape or makeup of the cave allowed for it to be just warm enough for Bioluminescence to develop over who knows how long. Since various forms of BIoluminescence are common in dark caves big enough for complex ecosystems, this wouldn’t be too strange. But the necessary warmer temperature rules out bog, swamp, fen, and bayou. Leaving us with a marsh. Since I have no real evidence of a sea or ocean (some people say that you can see one in the distance at the end of the game, but I looked and its too blurry to tell out that far. Could be ocean, could be more land, could be hazy horizon with the setting sun. Who knows.) its unlikely that its a saltwater marsh.  This is doubled by all the fungi, freshwater plants, and such that live here, plus all of the underground gets its water from these connected rivers, lakes, and pools. So we’re left with freshwater marsh. A freshwater marsh is an area that is continuously or frequently flooded and primarily consist of sedges, grasses, and emergent plants. This checks all of our boxes for Waterfall while still allowing for enough stability in certain areas that the Dinoflagellates won’t be disturbed much. There are areas that are still very wet soil that grasses and mushrooms grow on plentifully, along with the clearly magical Echo Flowers. Though no mushroom exactly resembles those found in game, there are many many instances of bioluminescent fungi. The Echo Flowers sadly cannot be explained without magic of some kind, though there are a few very rare flowers that have bioluminescence, nothing but magic could be responsible for the echo mechanism. Also, the glowing of the crystals that make the stars is likely a natural phenomenon and the only mentions we get of them are that monsters have seen them and remember the stars. They are explicitly named as stones instead of the Arachnocampa luminosa gloworm species we are familiar with from the Waitomo Caves. So their glow must be due to some kind of Luminescence. There are several types of natural light minerals can produce, but unless the crystals have a source of light to give them energy, are glowing with intense heat, or are somehow being disturbed constantly and in ways that cause them to break chemical bonds... they’re probably magical. (Unless we want to say that the underground is flooded with Electromagnetic Radiation like Ultraviolet Light, Infrared Light, or X-Rays. I somehow doubt this is the case. Some of these would kill the monsters and any humans. Others would be impossible this far underground.) The light of the stars must be bright enough to allow the Typha to grow. Water Sausages are a resilient and adaptable species, but they must have some light because all studies showed that in total darkness they could no longer germinate. So while magic is probably involved, or this species has evolved greatly from being underground for a long time, this plant needs some light to survive. The Grand Cavern, where New Home is shown in the distance, also gives us a vague and shadowy impression of a lot of open space between you and the city proper. This is likely filled with fields for growing whatever food can be effectively produced in the Underground with limited light from the cavern ceiling, and the glowing crystals. Funnily, various parts of the Typha can be eaten either raw or after cooking and can also be used in medicines. Traditionally it has been used by certain indigenous cultures of British Columbia. This plant is probably a large part of Underground diets. We also see an abundance of fireflies around this area, who are nocturnal and wouldn’t have much problem down here. Finally I return to the countless falls that flow past you and down into the area below which we as players cannot see or reach. It is possible that the waters continue to flow down and erode or dissolve further caves and caverns below, maybe even form a massive lake or being absorbed into the stone and soil and vanishing (this depends on geological conditions down there). Now, while I think there is a great deal more room for monsters to spread out down there, it has a few problems with livability. Our biggest problem is light. Without sources of light such as the crystals or shafts of sunlight or glowing magma, it’s difficult to make a lot of things work. Because the Core is able to produce electricity due to geothermal activity, we know that the entire Underground is powered, so artificial light can be applied to crops and to every home, though clearly not every single section of the Underground. It’s possible that if Monsters found a safe way into the lower depths, they could easily use the extra room and find ways to power everything. But plant life would be scarce and limited to what artificial stuff they could grow or keep alive. It would be far more oppressive than living at higher points, even with an entire group of people you would begin to display serious psychological problems such as loss of spatial awareness or warped sense of time. This wouldn’t be a problem for most of the Underground because there are areas with large amounts of natural sunlight that leak through. But the deeper you go the more dangerous it becomes mentally. However Monster Biology is somewhat of a mystery to us and though they don’t display the strongest constitution when a human attacks with intent in their soul to do harm, perhaps they’d be more able to adapt for such living conditions since geological phenomena don’t usually possess intent to kill (At least...I hope they don’t.) Furthermore you could not only have dwellings at the bottom of the caves, but tunnels and small caves and stairs dug down into the cliffs beneath the waterfalls. The same can be said for the upper falls as well, allowing for far more territory in the area than can be seen by the player. But danger lurks in the future for the Waterfall area. It may not happen quickly, but as the water continues to flow, the stone that makes up the area will erode or be slowly dissolved. One day the roof of this part of the Underground will collapse. If the damage is extensive enough, the entirety of Waterfall could collapse into the deeper areas below we can only guess at and a massive sinkhole could open up on the surface. This process could take decades or happen very quickly. Hopefully there is enough of a rock barrier between Hotlands and any water displaced by said collapse, as such an influx of water and possible boulders of limestone to the Lava Lake could cause Mt. Ebbot to erupt.

#mt ebbot #volcanic activity #waterfall undertale #undertale #undertale theory #caves #caverns #lava tubes #subduction cave #limestone caverns #bioluminescence #bioluminescent dinoflagellates #freshwater marsh #onionsan #undyne #hotland #this is so long #but there's more coming

[rjzimmerman]

This is a great essay published by the Sierra Club, addressing how important small chunks of public lands are important to us. The author tells us about his early adventures in one of the forest preserves of the Cook County (Illinois) Forest Preserve District. These preserves ring Chicago, are sometimes are in the city proper, and run through several suburban areas. The total amount of protected area is about 70,000 acres, or 11% of the footprint of Cook County. We live a block from one of the units, Thatcher Woods, which has been a source of friction in our community lately, with most of us grateful to have the resource right there, including its wildlife, while the nature haters, mostly old people and the younger privileged princes and princesses, are pushing to have the deer slaughtered because they eat the hosta and poop on the front lawn.

Here’s the essay in full. It’s a short essay, but a long post because it’s worth a full read.

As a 10-year-old in the 1970s, I found myself marooned in the vast sprawl of suburban Chicago. Seeking more inspiration and adventure than the strip malls, giant parking lots, and endless tracts of split-level homes on cul-de-sacs could provide, I would get on my trusty green Murray bike with the banana seat and ride the two miles or so to Linne Woods. This little nature reserve was the nearest outpost of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County. In 1916, the same year the National Park Service was founded, the forest preserves were conceived in a bold act of civic devotion. They eventually grew to 70,000 protected acres or 11 percent of the second-most populous county in the United States. Today, these forests, prairies, savannas, and wetlands form a significant biodiverse refuge in a sea of asphalt sprawl.

While Linne Woods was barely more than 100 acres and surrounded by six-lane arterial roads, fast-food restaurants, and vinyl-clad houses, it was still, to me at least, a mighty citadel, bursting with mystery and magic and biological integrity. Towering old forests of oaks, hickories, and sugar maples were cheerfully carpeted in spring with trillium and mayapples. Growing in the bottomlands along the Chicago River were mammoth cottonwoods, which seemed to me as big as sequoias, where large mobs of raucous crows would roost. Along the western edge, the forest gave way to sunny open prairies and brushy meadows that filled the humid summer air with the scent of wild bergamot and Virginia mountain mint, both of which grew profusely. Here the natural world cast its spell on me and led me to be its lifelong student. Here I wandered aimlessly for hours and once tried to fish (unsuccessfully of course) with a stick and a string and a safety pin. Here I taught myself to identify trees and once fell through the ice of the river on a 10-degree day—and lived to tell about it.

Later, after I procured the driver's license that conferred full citizenship on a child of the suburbs, I branched out and began to explore forest preserve units further afield. Later still, as an adult, I have had the privilege to trek and tramp through America’s glorious public lands—from the dark, dripping rainforests of the Pacific Northwest to the swamps and bayous of the South, and from the austere canyonlands of the Colorado plateau to the emerald forests and still, clear waters of the Northwoods. Mine has been a life defined by my connection to wild land; it's something I have devoted my academic life to as well.  

I owe all of this to those humble patches of accessible public land near my house in the third-largest metro area in the country. As a suburban kid with city-bred parents and grandparents, I had very little exposure to wild nature. We didn’t have any sort of family traditions in the great outdoors. There were no camping trips, no grand tours of the national parks, no summer camps in the woods. My passion for wild nature all started from my bike trips to the urban woods—public woods, collectively held and open to all.

The Forest Preserve District strives mightily to incorporate an equity framework in all of its efforts to connect residents to its parks. Even as a 10-year-old, I could intuit that Linne Woods belonged to me (along with everyone else), and no one could tell me to scram. That made me possessive of them in the best sort of way. I was always shoving litter into my back pocket and later, in my twenties, I became a restoration volunteer on nearby preserves, cutting invasive plants and collecting seeds. It is only today—as a political scientist who grapples with issues of democracy, equity, and civic values—that I can more precisely identify what I only knew in my gut as a kid: These public places bind us to things larger than ourselves. They bind us to human community, the natural world, and collective values in ways that enhance responsibility and devotion and love. This is something we crave and need desperately.

Public lands do this partly because they are a kind of fountain from which issues a continuous flow of outrageously valuable things—treasures that are at once biological, aesthetic, cultural, psychological, spiritual, and historical. To be connected to such a place is to be a collective account-holder of a treasure trove more valuable, both tangibly and intangibly, than a million Fort Knoxes. But unlike a dead bank account, you must actively and vigilantly love and protect this treasure, because there are always those who don’t believe in sharing.

#public lands #Chicago #Forest Preserve District of Cook County

[finn-ray-nal-beads]

17 Q’s 17 People

ofc i was tagged by the amazing @morby thank you ma dear! 😘

1. Nicknames?

jeez i got called everything under the sun because i did so many sports in and out of school. Nicknames included: rocket crockett, crotch rocket (i know so cute huh), pop lock n crockett, or just plain ol’ Crockett. 

2. Zodiac sign?

Pisces ♓️.

3. Height?

5′3″ i’m a shorty!

4. Hogwarts house?

defs ravenclaw idk why i like them alot.

5. Last thing i Googled? 

Alameda slim gifs... i hate myself sm.

6. Song that’s stuck in my head? 

Numbas on the Boards by Pusha T from The Last Dance Playlist on Spotify. 

7. Number of followers? 

154 & counting! Thanks for following my dumbass ya’ll! i appreciate ya!

8. Amount of sleep i get? 

usually 8-10 depending on if my daughter gets up early or not. i value my sleep and so does she.

9. Lucky number? 

it’s always been 7. idk why but it’s the one i gravitate to. 

10. Dream job? 

cardiologist ❤️. the heart is fantastic & so is the blood. our bodies are amazing mechanisms & that’s all. 

11. Currently wearing? 

a sweaty sports bra, high waisted workout leggings, a baseball cap, & sweaty socks... forgive my appearance i ran 6 miles today.

12. Favorite song? 

ugh this is so hard because i love music of all kinds and have favorites all over but my all time favorite song has to be Animal Hospital by sKitz Kraven. it amps me up & i know every single lyric. 

13. Aesthetic? 

ohh this is so hard & forgive me if i’m incorrect but i gravitate towards simple colors like whites and blacks. the brightest color i absolutely love would have to be what i would deem as ‘oxygenated blood red’. i love the simplicity & complexity of those dueling colors. blood & gore resonate with my persona too. i am a horror fan as well as a heavy metal listener, but i also appreciate a good romantic novel with a love story attached. my love of flowers has no bounds, my favorites being peonies, lavender, ranunculuses, hydrangeas, etc. sweat resonates with my persona as well. i play & have done a plethora of sports and i appreciate all things active that i can and cannot do well. i would also argue that the aesthetic i bring out is that of water. i gravitate towards oceans, lakes, ponds, streams, rivers, bayous, & swamps even. i was born and will die in water hands down. idk it seems as though my aesthetic is really all over the place. i need help with it! 

14. Favorite author? 

i love horror books with all my heart. my favorites include Frankenstein, Dante’s Inferno, Doctor Sleep, Pet Sematary, IT, etc... any author who can write horror well i appreciate wholly.

15. Favorite instrument? 

i can’t play any instrument at all nor do i want to. i appreciate all that can & have them mastered but it’s just not an interest of mine. that being said i love people that can play guitar really well. 

16. Favorite animal noise? 

the song of an orca pod tugs at my heart strings every single time. i love orcas with all my heart & soul. 

17. Random thoughts? 

the majority of the brain is fat tissue. so, you can literally call someone a fathead & anatomically you would be 100% correct in that burn. you’re welcome!

whewwww that was a lot of useless information about me but here we fuckin’ are! 🙃

i’m tagging: @maybe-your-left @sydneyssmut @eyecandybarnes @tsarinastorm​

@jediminddicks1000 @aloneandsleepless @desiraypark @clydesducktape @clydes-hole @kylorenismybaby @commanderbensolo & whoever else wants to try this thing out

#god this is long #why did i even do this #oh well it was fun

[porkchop-ao3]

A Thrill I’ve Never Known (Chapter 45)

Opening Up

This chapter focuses on reader and Charles, I really liked writing this one, I love Charles so much <3

(All chapters tagged with #ATINK and also posted on Ao3, username PorkChop)

-

I'd been following the same path in circles around the bayou for a while, crossing over to each side of the Kamassa River over and over again. I'd been out on a ride around Scarlett Meadows but when it began to get dark, I'd started heading back. I couldn't quite bring myself to return to camp, however. I thought a ride would help clear my mind, give me a chance to get my head straight and absorb what had gone on. But truthfully, I felt no different than I had when I left. It was so odd, continuously bouncing back and forth between sinking into a deep cavern of grief and dread, then reminding myself that I didn't know for sure the boat that had gone down was carrying Arthur. It was all I could think about, though, I couldn't shift my focus for more than a moment. 

Bored of seeing the same path, I veered off. I headed down the familiar trails of the swamp, knowing exactly where I was headed but not quite knowing why. Rayna carried me from the denser part of the bayou, and out into the surrounding land where there were fewer trees. It was as if she remembered, and I barely had to direct her before we came upon the place. 

It looked a lot different now. Someone had moved in and tore down what once was my house and rebuilt it into something smaller, yet more solid. Though, that wasn't saying a lot. Like most buildings in this area, it looked a little run down; perhaps it was the moist air taking its toll on the wood by softening it. I didn't know or particularly care. I stopped a ways away from the shack, glancing around the patch of land, recognising it despite the changes. There was a particularly tall tree over to the left, underneath which sat two crosses. I didn't look at them for long, looking down at Rayna instead; I petted the top of her head, breathing out a soothing shushing sound despite the fact she wasn't in need of soothing. It was more for my own benefit. 

There was a light on inside the shack, and I knew that if I stayed too long or made too much noise, whoever was inside would likely come out and blow my brains out. That's just how the people were in these parts. I kept my distance, hoping the trees and the shadows would be enough to conceal me. 

I sighed softly and leaned forwards, leaning against the horn of my saddle and pressing my forehead against the back of Rayna's neck. I closed my eyes, listening to the toads and the crickets. If I focused hard enough I could place myself back in the night Arthur and I had laid down on the deck of the shack back at Shady Belle, staring up at the stars side by side. I imagined that he was close to me and took comfort in it. If I kept my eyes closed then my brain couldn't know that it wasn't true. 

In those few peaceful moments I was finally away from it all. I didn't notice the hoof beats or the huff of breath through horse nostrils as someone sidled up to me. That's why I all but shit myself when–

"Hey."

I jolted upright. Charles and Taima were by my side. 

"Jesus Christ," I hissed, slamming my hand against my chest. 

"I'm sorry," he said. His voice was low, all but a whisper. 

"How did you find me?"

"It's a skill of mine," he shrugged.

"Just like creeping up on people?" I questioned, it came out harsher than intended. Charles didn't flinch. 

"Come back to camp."

"I–" 

"I don't care if you don't want to. I don't wanna have to be tracking down your corpse in the morning."

"I wasn't going to say that," I said, narrowing my eyes slightly. "I was just about to come back." 

"Oh. Okay then," he murmured, softening his tone. "I'm sorry. I'm just… I'm a little worried about you. Today was not a good day." 

"Don't worry about me. I'm alive and well," I shrugged. 

"Physically, maybe. I'm more worried about what's happening up here," he pointed to his head. 

"I'm not going mad," I frowned.

"No, you're not. But you're hurting and you're isolating yourself. When that happens, it's rarely a good outcome." 

"Charles you keep to yourself more than anyone I know. I could say that you isolate yourself," I pointed out. 

"No, I just don't talk much. I don't walk around in circles for hours on end– and by the way, what the hell?" He gave me an incredulous look. 

"I was taking a ride," I grumbled, feeling my face get hot. 

"Some ride. You're not yourself right now. What if the nightfolk jump you while you're in this mindset? Do you think you could fight them off?"

"No, probably not," I admitted with a shrug, and he stared at me, slack jawed. "And no, that's not what I'm hoping for, before you start to think I'm…" I trailed off, shaking my head. 

"Speak to me," Charles sighed. 

"Charles, I'm not going to sit here whining and crying to you, using you like that."

"So, if I was upset and wanted to let it all out, you'd think of it as me using you?" He asked. 

"Of course not," I frowned at him. He stared at me, letting my words speak for him. When I didn't seem to respond correctly, he sighed. 

"So why'd you think you'd be using me?" He asked. I didn't have an answer. Charles sighed my name, "you're my friend. At least I like to think so."

"I think so too," I clarified. 

"Then let me be your friend."

I stared at the ground for a while, letting the silence drag on. Eventually, I met his eyes, then nodded. 

"This is where I grew up, you know," I started, and Charles looked over at the shack ahead. 

"In there?"

I shook my head. "Our house was torn down. But it was here. My parents are over there," I nodded towards the tree with the crosses underneath. Charles followed my gesture with his eyes and I found his expression hard to read. 

"Do you miss them?" He asked. I pursed my lips.

"Of course, sometimes. But I don't often think about it, now, until I came back here anyway," I explained and he nodded in understanding. "Do you still have your parents, if you don't mind me asking?" I looked at him, and his brows jumped a little at the question, surprised I'd asked. 

"No. I lost my mother when I was just a kid. I grew up with her tribe, then the army came and destroyed our way of life, then they took her," he told me, his voice flat and level, far calmer than I'd expect from such a story. I closed my eyes, shook my head. 

"That's…" I didn't just want to say that it was a terrible thing, sound hollow, I just trailed off. "I can understand why you're so eager to help those at Wapiti."

Charles nodded, paused for a moment, then continued. "My father didn't deal well with it. He fell head first into a bottle and I didn't stick around long enough to see if he ever came out. Ran away when I was something like thirteen, fourteen," he told me. Then his eyes flickered to mine. "I thought we were talking about you. You're sly."

"I'll find it easier to open up if we're both exposed," I reasoned, and he seemed to accept that. "I know what it's like to watch a parent lose themselves to alcohol. My mother," I looked over at her grave. 

"I'm sorry." 

"She didn't die that way. She was sick with the flu, just like my pa. But she had a problem with it. I don't like seeing Karen how she is right now, it reminds me too much of her."

"I understand," he nodded sympathetically. 

"I don't know why I came here. I guess I wanted to see how it'd changed. I thought it might change the way I was feeling somehow. I'm not… I'm not doing well, Charles. I know that's obvious. Perhaps admitting it will help," my voice was just above a whisper. 

"Come on, let's dismount and find somewhere to sit down," he suggested, and we did just that. 

I led Rayna over to a spot nearby, further from my old home. We found a fallen tree to sit on and we lit a lantern, placing it on the ground in front of us so we weren't sitting in complete darkness. I checked the area thoroughly for snakes and gators before sitting down next to Charles who was leaning forwards, elbows on his knees, watching a moth flying around the light. 

"Can I be completely honest with you? And you won't judge or tell anyone, or think badly of Arthur or me?" I queried, so desperate to tell him the truth about what had been discussed between Arthur and I. 

"Of course. That's the idea of this," he said. I nodded and looked down at my hands. I took a few moments to build my nerve up. 

"Arthur and I made a plan," I began, speaking very quietly. "He was worried about me being in this gang. He was starting to feel restless too, questioning whether he needed to make different choices. After this bank job… Arthur was counting on us having enough money to go and start a life somewhere else. We weren't going to join Dutch in Tahiti." 

"You weren't?" He murmured, though he didn't sound shocked. 

I shook my head. "He didn't want to go to some tropical island. Neither did I. We said we'd try and head west, avoiding Blackwater. He thought we had a better chance with just the two of us."

"I see," he nodded, a crease forming between his brows.

"I guess this is just… if this hadn't happened, he and I could be somewhere completely different," I pointed out, feeling tears coming. I resisted them. 

"I'm sorry," he momentarily leaned over, pressing his shoulder against mine. 

"He wanted to make sure that you were all okay. That you had money and a plan, a future. He didn't want to leave before he had that peace of mind. It was difficult for him, and honestly I felt awful about it, that he was doing it for me–"

"He was doing it for himself too, don't feel bad about that. I know Arthur, he wouldn't quit the gang if he didn't want to, that's for certain," Charles interjected. "He must've really wanted to start a life with you to talk about walking away from Dutch." 

"I– I suppose you're right," I squeaked. "It doesn't really– well, it's all changed now. Charles, what if he's–" I couldn't say it, my eyes welling. I blinked to try and clear them but one tear escaped down my cheek, I scrubbed it away. 

"There's nothing I can say that will make this better, I know that. But it's a fact that we don't know what boat they boarded. It's not necessarily set in stone," he reminded me softly, then squeezed his hands together, fidgeting, "but of course. I wouldn't be doing you any favours trying to convince you that he was definitely okay." 

"I know," I nodded. "I'm sorry Charles. Arthur's your friend, too." 

"Yeah," he breathed, eyes fixed on the lantern. "I hope that we're mistaken, I truly do. That bank job," he shook his head, scrubbed the heels of his hands into his eye sockets then dragged them back over his head.

"The worst idea Dutch ever had," I sighed, then shook my head, "but I can't blame him. None of us saw this coming."

"Do you think you'll stick around if Arthur– if they don't–" Charles didn't finish and he didn't need to.

"I have no idea. What about you?" 

"I don't know, either. I'm wondering if the gang will disband without Dutch. Molly's already gone," he pointed out and I looked at him.

"Yeah? I don't know. My understanding is this gang formed from people with no place in the world, and they found it here. You think it's just Dutch holding everyone together?"

"It's hard to say. Things haven't exactly been great since he and the others haven't been here," he noted and I hummed in acknowledgement, "what if he does come back, you think you two'll still leave?"

"I hope so. Especially after all this. I don't really want to tempt fate any more, I doubt I could handle him robbing any more banks, you know? I used to be able to tell myself he'd always be fine, he's been living like this for years and years, he knows exactly what he's doing. It'd be enough to calm my nerves until he came back. Now I know what it's like when he doesn't, and this is so much worse than when the O'Driscolls had him. That was a couple of days. This…" I sighed and held my head in my hands. I felt Charles' hand on my back. I could no longer prevent tears from spilling. I sniffled, pressing my hands into my eyes. 

"It's okay," Charles reassured me, his hand rubbing back and forth across my shoulder blades. I broke.

"I love him so much," I sobbed, "and the worst thing is, I never told him that. I never said the words to him." 

Charles' arm wrapped around my shoulders, tugged me closer, against his chest, his hand scrubbing up and down my arm briskly. I surrendered to it, leaning into him and letting the tears come as they pleased, ignoring the voice in the back of my head telling me I'd be embarrassed about it once I pulled myself together. 

"Love is more than just the words. People show that they love each other in the things they do; I'm certain Arthur knows how you feel." 

"Have you met the man? He barely believes that I think he's handsome," I said and despite it all, Charles released a fond chuckle. "I used to count on him just knowing but now I fear I'll never get to tell him for sure, I wish I'd told him every damn day." 

Charles didn't say anything, he didn't need to, all he had to do was listen to me and give me the chance to pour my heart out as he held me. I hadn't hugged many people in my life. Just my parents, a couple of the gang members, and of course Arthur. Charles' hug was solid and steady, I felt protected in his arms, but there was a distance to it, too. He did not feel over familiar, he kept it to the tenderness of a friend. Which was why it felt so different to being held by Arthur, and though the hug comforted me, it made me miss him all the more.

"Being with Arthur felt like the first time I'd felt true happiness since my parents passed. I don't know how to deal with the fact that he might now be– that he could be gone forever. How do I begin to get over it? My heart feels like it's–" I shook my head, unable to put it into words. "It hurts."

"I wish I had answers for you," Charles said quietly. "I've– I've never really loved a person, not like that," he revealed. 

I shifted and he loosened his arms, allowing me to sit up again. "You haven't?" I asked. 

He shook his head. "Anyone I have gotten close to, it just hasn't–" he shrugged, "I've never felt that way in the end."

"I hadn't before meeting Arthur," I told him. 

"I understand what it's like to lose someone important. Just not like that. I'm sorry, I'm not really good with advice. I'm a better listener than a talker," he said under his breath apologetically and I shook my head, patting his arm. 

"I'm not looking for advice. For something like this, I don't believe there is any," I admitted, glancing off to the side, "but you've shown me a great deal of care. That means a lot."

"I promised Arthur I'd look after you when I left the docks," he told me, pressing his thumb into the palm of his hand, rubbing at a patch of scar tissue idly, "seeing you these last few weeks, looking as down as you have been; didn't feel like I was doing a good job."

I didn't know what to say to that. To think my name had been mentioned that night, amongst all that disaster, Arthur had thought of me. My chest hurt. 

"It's funny. I've spoken to you more than I've spoken to some of the others, and you've been here for the shortest time. I guess I'm not particularly sociable. But when you arrived, you reminded me of myself when I first joined. You threw yourself into work, never wanting to sit idle. I'll never forget when you pleaded with me to let you go hunting," he chuckled. "I think when you're alone you get so used to doing everything yourself, you're constantly active. Joining a group where the workload is spread, it's an adjustment."

"Yeah, it is," I nodded. 

"I think that may be why you and I gravitated towards Arthur," he pointed out, looking at me. "He seems to have a similar attitude. Doesn't want to let anyone down. But he's never– I may sound like a cold bastard, but I find certain members of the gang very annoying. Arthur's never that. His company is preferable to the rest of them," he waved a hand in the general direction of camp. 

I nodded. His company was certainly preferable over anyone I'd ever met, but I may have been biased. 

"I don't really know where I'm going with this. I guess I just wanted you to know that I feel like I relate to you in a number of ways. And you've never been annoying. Only when you lie and say you're fine, thinking I'm dumb enough to believe it," he nudged me and I exhaled a laugh through my nose.  

"Thank you, Charles," I told him softly, smiling, "this may sound strange, but I've always found your company very calming."

"It's not strange. You're not the first to tell me that," he said. 

"Well, maybe this is your calling. Bringing people back down to Earth, calming them down."

He chuckled to himself. "I guess I've had a lot of practice calming myself down. I used to let my emotions – usually anger – get the better of me. Years ago. I try not to let that happen anymore. It still does, sometimes, but now I feel things can usually be solved better with words, so long as people keep their heads about them." 

"That's very wise," I said. 

"It's what I'm trying to convince Eagle Flies of. He's the son of the chief of the tribe I've been helping. He has a lot of passion, and with that comes anger. And rightly so. Unfortunately, it's not the right solution for their problems. His father knows that."

I perked with interest, looking at him with curved brows. "What exactly are they going through right now?"

"Yet another treaty has been broken. Their people are being treated like animals, no regard for their health whatsoever. A lot of the tribe is sick, and vaccines and medicine are being withheld. The whole situation disgusts me," he explained, his voice low and resonant.

My mouth opened, but I didn't know what to say. Charles sighed, his silence lasting only a moment. 

"War has weakened them. If things get worse with the army– I fear for them," he admitted. 

"What those people are going through… what the army and the government are doing to them; it's shameful," I said, and I saw him nod from the corner of my eye. 

"I'm doing all I can for now, to convince Eagle Flies to listen to his father. If he continues to fight with anger and violence, it will only add fuel to the flame. They like to think of our kind as savage, as reckless and uncivilised. They expect these reactions and take it as proof, never mind how much they provoke it," he said and I nodded in understanding. 

"I don't know what use I would be, but if there is anything at all– please ask me," I whispered, and he met my eyes.

"I will. Thank you," he replied. 

A noise came from behind us, a rustling and a snap. We both jolted and looked towards it. I couldn't see anything through the dark, our lantern only serving to light up the mist surrounding us, making everything beyond a few feet invisible. I looked at Charles, his eyes were narrowed as he scanned the area from which the noise came. Nothing happened for a few moments, but he slowly rose to his feet, taking my arm in his hand. 

"We should leave," he said quietly. He didn't need to ask twice and we made for our horses. 

We left not knowing if anyone or anything was actually there. It could've been the nightfolk, it could've been a rat, it could've been a falling twig. Neither of us felt it was worth the risk of sticking around to find out. I maintained my opinion that the bayou was creepy, especially at night. It was incredibly easy to run away with your imagination there, convincing yourself that all sorts was lurking in the mist and the foliage.

A lot of the gang was asleep by the time Charles and I returned to camp. Lenny and Miss Grimshaw were both on watch duty for the night, and they asked how I was feeling when I passed. I told them I was starting to get my head on straight, I just needed everything to sink in before I could begin to deal with it. They were kind to me and reminded me that the gang was a family, we were there for each other.

We crept into the main cabin where most people slept and went to our respective bedrolls, guided by the limited light of the two lanterns that were dotted across the space. I sat down on mine, curled up on my side, facing the wall with Mary-Beth behind me fast asleep. My satchel sat next to Arthur's in my line of sight and I reached out to touch his, running my hand over the front of it, feeling the soft, pliable aged leather interrupted by the coarseness of warn, scuffed spots as my fingers passed over it. I pulled it over to me, tracing my fingertips over the partially matted fur that made up the flap. I inhaled. If I was being honest, it didn't smell great. There was an undertone of leather and Arthur's own smell, but it was sadly overpowered by a bouquet of spoiled food, too many herbs and plants clashing with each other, blood and horse.

I had taken the liberty of throwing out the rotting meat and cheese I'd realised was in there about a week ago, when I kept catching the odor when laying in bed. I hadn't pried too much into what the contents of his bag were, but I'd noticed a mishmash of all sorts of stuff; drawings, photographs, trinkets. He carried around the world in his satchel. 

Without thinking, I lifted the flap and reached inside, my knuckles immediately brushing against his journal. I paused for a moment, then retrieved it. Sitting up on my elbow I placed the book down in front of me, bracing my palm on the smooth, well-loved and broken in leather of the cover, flexible from continuous opening and closing. My thumb inched towards the strap that held the thing closed, mousing along its raw edge, dipping underneath and prying it away from the cover but not quite releasing it from its fastening just yet.

I drew a breath, long and slow through my nose, then released it, wondering how Arthur would feel about me peeking inside his journal. A sad, nasty little voice told me he would never know if he was dead, and I would end up looking at some point during the grieving process. I sighed and relinquished the strap from its slot, smoothing it out away from the cover. I fingered the edge of the page, toying with it, not quite giving myself permission to open it. Instead I slipped my hand under the front cover, running my fingers across the page, feeling the grooves and indentations where his pencil had once pressed into its surface, revealing his inner thoughts. 

I was struck with this uncanny feeling at once. There was a sense of grief, longing, of course. But then a surreal sense of personal connection, feeling the marks that Arthur had made. It brought tears to my eyes in an instant and I removed my hand, closing the strap once more and concealing his journal back within the confines of his satchel where I decided it would stay for the foreseeable future. There was no way I could bring myself to read it, not while there was still a chance that he was out there, alive, tangible, of flesh and blood and with privacy that needed respecting. 

I decided I would read it only when given his direct verbal permission, or when beginning to forget the sound of his voice.

#rdr2 #red dead redemption 2 #arthur morgan #arthur morgan x reader #fanfiction #atink #arthur morgan x female reader #reader insert #rdr2 fanfic

[fatehbaz]

Edit again: Police violence

Edit: Environmental racism at the northern edge of the Great Plains is connected to environmental racism in the Gulf Coast region. Reposting, since might be more relevant, now that, as of early April 2020, not only does St. John the Baptist Parish in South Louisiana’s chemical industrial corridor have the highest death rate from covid/coronavirus of any county in all of the US, but construction has also begun on the Keystone XL pipeline near the land of the Fort Belknap, Fort Peck, Standing Rock Sioux, Cheyenne River, Pine Ridge, Lower Brule, Crow Creek, Rosebud Sioux, and Flandreau Santee reservations. Thousands of workers will be arriving in the region in the coming days and weeks, and, in March 2020, the state of South Dakota passed “ri0t-b00sting” legislation and effectively criminalized the act of protesting against fossil fuel infrastructure. The Keystone XL pipeline is expected to bring over 825,000 barrels of oil each day, transferring the fossil fuels from the northern Great Plains to the Port Arthur area adjacent to South Louisiana.

Original post:

Reading today about ongoing Oglala Lakota, Rosebud Sioux, and other Indigenous demonstrations against Keystone XL pipeline, which is currently being constructed in eastern Montana and western South Dakota. Given how South Dakota state institutions and legislation use deliberately obscure or passive-aggressive language and implications to essentially intimidate and criminalize Indigenous-led protests against that project, using severe felony penalties and tens of thousands of dollars in fines, I was reminded of how Louisiana state institutions subvert water protectors at L’Eau Est la Vie Camp confronting the Bayou Bridge pipeline. Local p0lice in Louisiana join private mercenary groups while off-duty, and the pipeline developer then hires them as mercenaries, sometimes while the c0ps are wearing their formal uniform.

Energy Tr@nsfer P@rtners (ETP), the company running the infamous Dakota Access Pipeline, had hired mercenaries from a private military contractor to coordinate with police and then infiltrate and subvert Standing Rock Sioux demonstration groups in North Dakota. ETP is the same company developing Bayou Bridge in Louisiana. And in 2018, it was reported that ETP had done something similar: In St. Mart!n P@rish, they hired yet another private mercenary army. But rather than simply “coordinating” with p0lice, the mercenary company actually hired sheriffs deputies to moonlight for them while off-duty. Yet the deputies, throughout 2018, wore their sheriff’s department uniforms while off-duty and being paid by the mercenary group. At least 27% of St. Mart!n P@rish officers were employed by the mercenary group contracted by ETP.

The Camp, in their own words: “L’eau Est La Vie camp is a floating pipeline resistance camp. Although we have no leaders, we value the voices of our indigenous, black, femme, and two spirit organizers. We fight in the bayous of Louisiana, Chata Houma Chittimacha Atakapaw territory, to stop the Bayou Bridge Pipeline, an Energy Tr@nsfer P@rtners project and the tail end of the Dakota Access Pipeline. [...] The Atchafalaya Basin contains the largest contiguous bottomland hardwood forest in North America. The largest river swamp in North America, and one of the most productive wetlands in the world, the Basin’s 885,000 acres of forested wetlands provide habitat for an expansive array of mammals, fishes and amphibians. Situated at the mouth of North America’s most important flyway, the Basin supports half of America’s migratory waterfowl (more than 300 bird species), and provides the most important habitat for neotropical migratory land birds in the Western Hemisphere. [...] Bayou Lafourche is the sourceof drinking water for 300,000 people, including the United Houma Nation and residents in Ascension, Assumption, Terrebonne, and Lafourche Parishes. Consolidated Water District No. 1 which provides water to residents in Terrebonne and Lafourche Parish is becoming increasingly dependent on Bayou Lafourche to provide 80% of its water supply (approximately 4 billion gallons per year).”

In June 2019, In These Times reported about how at least 16 water protectors from the Camp were arrested by the mercenary contractors, but since the mercs were wearing their formal sheriff’s uniforms, the activists were unaware that they were actually being arrested by private security. Anne White Hat, an Indigenous leader from the Camp, was arrested by mercenaries during a prayer ceremony. She was placed in a sheriff’s vehicle, driven to the outskirts, and then clandestinely transferred to an on-duty c0p’s vehicle.

Louisiana, in 2018 and 2019, had passed some ri0t-b00sting legislation, similar to South Dakota’s new law (passed in March 2020), which can potentially be used to arrest/prosecute people for the act of merely supporting a protest during which fossil fuel or energy projects -- formally called “critical infrastructure” -- has been “damaged” (and if a protest ends up delaying operations or stopping a train or something, that counts as “damage” to infrastructure, and the act of “organizing for” or “supporting” the demonstration group might even be considered a felony, even if a supporter/organizer of the group was sitting at home during a protest).