#(I must maintain my cult leader status for this ship)

[ikkaku-of-heart]

“Why Ikkaku Ships LawNa” TED Talk

Stepping onto the stage, Ikkaku was dressed fairly professionally. A crisp black blazer, pencil skirt, and oddly enough, glasses she did not need in the slightest. Adjusting those glasses, she cleared her throat before unbuttoning the blazer to reveal a t-shirt underneath, LAW X NAMI 4 EVER printed in bold black letters over a yellow heart.

“So. Trafalgar Law and ‘Cat Thief’ Nami. Allies. Friends? No, lovers. That’s right, Law and Nami are banging. But they’re doing more than just that, aren’t they? Nami’s sunk her claws into him while Law’s stolen her heart. Or maybe it’s the other way around? Either way, it’s undoubtedly one of the best things to ever happen to my captain.”

Staring out at the audience, Ikkaku continued, “I’m sure many of you are asking ‘how the fuck do those two work?!’ Well, I can understand how you small-minded fools could think that. He’s a grumpy bastard while she’s a greedy minx. He loves doing horrible experiments while she loves conning people out of their money. But you only think that way because you aren’t looking very hard at them, are you?” She took a sip of water, paying no mind to the people who grumbled or tried to leave.

Yeah, good luck with that. She had the other Hearts barricade the doors. No one was leaving until she said so.

“That’s why I’m here; to educate the masses on why these two work. So let’s get started, shall we? We’ll start with the surface reasons. Nami is more than just a ten; she’s an eleven, just like Law. She’s drop-dead gorgeous and yeah maybe it’s shallow to say but I think Law deserves someone as pretty as him. They are very aesthetically pleasing as a pair, and it makes my inner fashionista happy to see them getting dressed up and looking damn fine when they go out together.

“But she’s more than just good looks. No, this girl is everything I think Law needs in a partner. She’s his intellectual equal. Seriously, she’s one of three people on the Thousand Sunny that Law can have an actual conversation with about hundreds of different topics. Politics, history, weather, science, economics, culture, she even knows a little bit about basic medicine so he can talk to her about his work without getting a completely blank look in response. She’s also wily as fuck. Like, her deviousness rivals his at points and that is damn impressive. Do you know how rare it is to find someone who can get the better of Law, even for something as simple as stealing a wallet? And even fewer people he likes enough to not plot murderous revenge against. Just petty payback. It’s great to watch.”

Had it been anyone else, perhaps Ikkaku would have been offended on her captain’s behalf that someone would be bold enough to even attempt to pickpocket him, but Nami was a rare, extremely endearing exception. A woman who had managed to capture his attention and can keep him on his toes was exactly the kind of woman she could picture Law falling for.

“Next, she’s also a great balance to his personality. I’m not blind to the fact that my captain is a fucking grumpy ass and a bastard. All dark and edgy and full of spite towards the world. Nami’s not quite pure sunshine but she’s bright, you know? She’s gone through some shit too but is still smiling despite that. Still fighting to achieve her dream. Kind of a warm summer sunbeam to counteract his winter gust of wind if you want to get poetic about it. But she’s also not totally innocent. She’s done some dark shit for the sake of survival. You don’t spend years working for the man who murdered your mother for the sake of freeing your village without doing some morally questionable things. Yeah, not nearly as bad as Law has but she’s still got a bit of darkness balance out the brightness. I think someone who was too much joy and sunshine would utterly repulse a cynic like Law. Gotta have a bit of both. But she’s definitely more light than dark which is what he needs.

“And then there’s the fact that she doesn’t stand for his bullshit. She’s willing to call him out when he’s being too much of a bastard or a stubborn ass. Law needs more people who care about him enough to do that. I can’t always be the one pointing out when he’s being an ass. It’s nice to have someone I can tag in to take over an argument when I need a breather.”

One could argue that was a somewhat selfish reason, and perhaps it was just a little, but Ikkaku would stand by her statement. Hell, having a second person willing to come in and tell him off was a good thing for all parties. It was easier to ignore the scolding from his engineer after all these years, so a second opinion telling him he was being reckless or not taking proper care of himself might actually manage to convince him to do what was best.

“But I think the biggest thing that makes them work is that Nami understands Law in a way I don’t think anyone else really can. She’s told me about what her life was like before Straw Hat saved her, and Law finally spilled his guts to us after Dressrosa. It’s impossible not to see the parallels, even if their stories are kind of opposites. Like, both of them became pirates at a young age and were forced to deal with the guilt that came from the death of a beloved parental figure sacrificing themselves for them. Both were haunted by the shadow of that murderer throughout their lives until Straw Hat stepped in and kicked their ass. So, they can relate to each other in ways I don’t think others really can. Not even me and the crew.

The thing is, Nami’s gotten closure in a way that Law hasn’t. She’s learned to let go and even forgive a little. To smile with all her heart and keep moving forward with her life. So I think Nami’s really fucking good for him because she’s an example of what he can be. She went through a hell that wasn’t totally unlike his, but she came out the other side with a smile despite it all. Hell, you could even argue that she went through something even worse than Law, since he at least didn’t have to work under the person he hated the most through most of his life. I think if their situations were switched, neither would have survived.”

Ikkaku gave a sigh. “Straw Hat kicking Doflamingo’s ass isn’t the closure Law needed, and anyone who thinks it is doesn’t know my captain. He spent ten years plotting to kill that man. To burn down his empire and destroy him in every way he could think of just to ensure the man truly suffered. And yeah, the pink bastard’s in jail now and no longer ruling Dressrosa, but this was never about freeing a kingdom or putting the bad guy away. This was about revenge. Revenge Law was willing to die for. Straw Hat may have beaten him, but it wasn’t the victory Law needed. It wasn’t like what he did for Nami. Yet while I know Law’s never going to fully get that same peace Nami has so long as Joker is still alive, but I still think it’s important for him to see that there is life after the pain. That if Nami can get through it, so can he. I feel that because she’s gone through something similar, she can kinda…get through to him in a way we never could.”

There was a pause as Ikkaku looked out at the audience. Some had begun to nod while others were looking at her skeptically. Understandably, really, as she was a rather biased party, but thankfully she had come prepared for this argument. Helped that she’d had it with Law himself once.

“Now, before anyone thinks this is just me projecting what I want for Law onto Nami, I think he’s good for her, too. Don’t get me wrong, I know she loves her crew, but that girl is surrounded by the likes of Straw Hat, Zoro, Franky, and Brook 24/7. She needs someone on her intellectual level she can talk to. Someone who understands the difficulties of running a ship and that she can bounce ideas off of. Law can advise her on the quartermaster duties I know she takes on and how to run things most efficiently. Someone who can appreciate her sexiness without becoming a drooling mess and who doesn’t fall for her seduction tactics too easily. Hell, I think he can turn the tables and seduce her right back!

“On top of that, you know how I said she can help him get closure for his past? Well, I think Law’s good for her in that he can understand the anger and frustration she must have felt while working for that Arlong bastard. He understands her pain in a way not even Straw Hat could. And, let’s be honest, the guy’s not actually dead. If he ever got out, I feel like Law’s kind of the ideal guy to go to for help. He’d understand why she needs revenge and could get her to him no problem. Luffy of course gets first dibs because he’s her captain, but if Nami wants Arlong dead instead of just beaten to a pulp, well, Law can sure as fuck make him suffer before finally crushing his heart in his bare hands.”

The morbidity of the image had a few people cringing, but Ikkaku merely adjusted her glasses and smiled. “Law’s also good for Nami in that he’ll protect her with his life. The man doesn’t let people into his heart easily but when he loves, it’s like a force of nature. It’s powerful. He would bring the world to its knees for her. There’s also pretty much nothing he won’t do to save her if she’s sick or injured. He’ll protect her, heal her, give her the world if she asked it. And doesn’t she deserve that?

“Speaking of giving her stuff, Law is ideal for Nami because he can give her pretty much anything material she might want. Do you have any idea how much treasure is at the bottom of the sea? We Hearts have basically the whole ocean floor at our disposal, with all the sunken treasure, rare materials, and relics of lost cities we can get our hands on. Law’s loaded. And anything he couldn’t buy for Nami, he could steal with his powers. I doubt she’d even have to ask. Just point and it would be in her hands. It would be worth the cost or trouble to keep her happy.”

Glancing at the clock, Ikkaku decided it was about time to wrap this up. If she kept her captive audience, well, captive for too long, people might start asking questions. Like where the person who was originally going to be giving a presentation had disappeared to. Or they might do something extra stupid, like call the Marines to come arrest the Heart Pirates. That would be so awkward and annoying.

“The most important thing, though, is just that Law’s happy around her. He softens in a way that I usually only see with the crew. And I think he makes her happy, too. I know he’ll insist this is just a fling, but I honestly can see this working out for the long term. Mostly because I don’t think either one would try to pin the other down. Neither is going to be leaving their crews for the other, and that’s ok! They don’t actually need to be together all the time for things to work. They can be apart in person but together in spirit. Nami can continue to work towards her dream of making a map of the world while Law continues exploring the ocean with us. Nami’s incredibly loyal and like I said, once you’re in Law’s heart you’re not getting out, so I can’t see their feelings fading or anything just because they don’t see each other for a while. Hell, I think it’ll be good for them since the distance means they’ll appreciate their reunions more and won’t be smothering each other. And I’m sure Law would let her come along with us for a bit anytime she wanted to explore the underwater currents or islands in the Calm Belt she might be interested in adding to her map.”

Hands on her hips, t-shirt still proudly on display, Ikkaku concluded, “Don’t get me wrong, Law’s a stubborn ass who’s going to take a while before he actually accepts those feelings. Man does not like being vulnerable and these are dangerous, scary, unfamiliar waters for him. He sure as hell won’t be telling her ‘I love you’ anytime soon, but I think she’s ok with that. I’m not sure she’s the type to say it too quickly, either. They’re both smart enough to read between the lines and know what’s up without needing to say the words. That tells me they’re definitely in sync and can handle each other’s unique quirks and qualities. It’s why they’re good together, and why I’ll gladly be captain of this ship, even if it sails into Hell itself. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk. As you leave, please take a LAW X NAMI 4 EVER t-shirt. Anyone who tries to leave the room without one will be mauled by Bepo. Or bitten by Shachi. Or maybe Jean Bart will just snap you in half. Depends on which door you leave through. Anyway, goodnight!”

#Wear My Heart on My Sleeve (Shipping) #Oh Captain My Captain (Law) #Tangerine Queen (Nami) #Stolen Hearts (LawNa) #Imaginative Blueprints (Drabble/Fanfic) #(Ikkaku hijacks a TED Talk to talk about her ship for her captain and regrets nothing) #(why is she wearing glasses? to make her look even more knowledgeable than she is of course) #(I tried not to make Ikkaku a total mouthpiece for why I ship these two but well we ended up sharing many of the same opinions) #(if you need more reasons to ship these two I have several fanfics I can shove in your faces) #(also LawNa fans feel free to reblog this and help spread the good word) #(I must maintain my cult leader status for this ship) #law x nami #trafalgar law x nami #lawnami

[blookmallow]

heres a bunch of skyrim junk 

i dont remember what was going on here at all 

finally decided to do the light house fire thing since im already probably the most wanted criminal in skyrim as it is (except nobody knows its me. im the leader of the brotherhood and the thieves guild and i have 0 bounty anywhere) (except, uh, a small one in windhelm that im just kind of walking briskly past guards to avoid. listen the action said ‘take’ the barenziah stone in the wizard’s room but it registered as ‘steal’ so i maintain that one wasnt my fault)

ANYWAY apparently jaree-ra and deeja are siblings. the more you know 

anyway they fuckign BETRAYED ME and i ended up having to kill her. man :( 

who would have ever suspected the argonians threatening me with knives and convincing me to cause a ship wreck for them would be up to anything suspicious 

ran into these two guys just absolutely fighting to the death at a random farm somewhere for no apparent reason???

im guessing it must have been a stormcloak/imperial conflict or something but ive never seen this happen before 

one of them killed the other, i forget who won 

and in other news i knocked absolutely EVERYTHING over playing tag with my kids in the house 

found all these skulls in a nice little line in a cave somewhere, i didnt place them like that and could find no indication as to why they’re like this either 

i think neloth just really grumpily adopted me and im here for it 

i found a wedding wreath in some random bandit cave somewhere i think??? ive literally never seen these anywhere other than the solitude wedding i ruined what is this doing here 

MY EGGS

i picked up the basket by mistake help sdfjkslg

boy that’s just. stuck in there, isn’t it 

then i decided not to do the. cannibalism quest even though i very much want to see it (im going to on another file) because even with everything she’s done i really can’t see medea justifying bringing a priest into a coven of cannibals Just To See What Would Happen especially given that she’s already killed nilsine (and definitely holds a lot of guilt over it) and sacrificed someone to boethiah (i mean. the armor i got out of that questline was sick as hell so /I/ don’t regret doing it but medea probably feels bad about that one too. assassin or not it feels worse luring someone to their death than just sniping them out with an arrow and bolting) 

so my plan was to bring the guy with me to check it out and stop whatever cannibal ritual they had going on in there, which you Can in fact decide to do (though i dont think i got anything from it other than like, whatever loot i grabbed out of the room) 

everything happened too fast for me to be able to process it, basically i just panicked and started firing off arrows the minute i got in 

it wasn’t until i started searching the corpses i realized what happened 

oh my fucking god the meat merchant in markarth is a fucking cannibal cultist what the fuck what the fuck 

i got so used to him announcing the “bloodiest beef in the reach!” every time i walked by i didnt even THINK ABOUT IT AND NOW IM DEFINITELY THINKING ABOUT IT 

lisbet???? my shopkeeper friend???? LISBET????

i took the statue and its now stuck in my inventory so i dont know what quest that was supposed to be for but i guess now i have to live with this reminder for the rest of my days 

verulus is very scared and confused but he’s okay 

one of the stable guys was in the cult too but i didnt know him

i dont know what everyone thinks happened to them, like. did everyone just Know they were cannibals and just didn’t care to do anything about it. do they think they just mysteriously never came back and no one knows why 

this guy took over for lisbet 

i dont know why this is so jarring to me i guess since i put off dealing with this quest for so long its like. people i saw and interacted with for months turned out to be CANNIBALS THE ENTIRE TIME 

serana where the fuck did you find a dog 

she just. acquires zombie servants everywhere we go but where the hell was there a dog 

LOOK at all these 100s ive got piling up here. im the stealth master 

i found a giant camp with this big glowing tree in the middle of it but couldn’t figure out anything to do with it?? i feel like this has to have some significance 

#lucy plays skyrim

[lunuanaki]

Your favorite ship. I'm talking about the one that gives you the butterflies and happy feel good feelings. Talk to me about that. I wanna know what your brain words say about it. :)

THANK YOU, SYN, FOR SENDING ME THIS MESSAGE WHEN NO ONE ELSE WOULD because probably they know what’s going to happen and they don’t want any part of it---  *glares at entire dash like that one picture of the assmad cartoon pig*

I’m going to cut this because it’ll definitely get long, but... if you wanna know what kind of ships I would throw myself in front of a ruby dragon for, you’re boutta find out... I’m gonna explain it for the unfamiliar as well, though. So I get to talk more. I don’t know how anyone on this website could dislike this ship. Fight me. Anyone who reads this and agrees gets the warm fuzzy feeling of my everlasting favour. 

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

It’s Velka and Gwyndolin, is anyone surprised?! Nahhh... BUT LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT THEM BC I BET YOU DONT KNOW EM?!For those unfamiliar with Dark S//ouls, Gwyndolin is the youngest child of the Great Lord Gwyn, God of War/Sun/Lightning, all that big noisy man stuff. Gwyndolin was born weak and fragile and corpse-white, so, realising he wasn’t much of a trophy child, Gwyn raised him as a girl. Gwyn’s rejection never quite sat well with him, though - he’s always been insecure about his appearance and how others interpret it. He hates being stared at, and has been known to kill servants who aren’t careful where they look. Actually, he’s not fussy about murder in general, but he does have a strong sense of who deserves it and who doesn’t.Gwyndolin’s talents lie in moon-related magic and archery. As an adult, he still presents as female, he’s still horribly weak in a physical sense, paper-white, and for unspecified-in-canon reasons, has six or eight snakes where his legs should be (he still has legs, but the snakes tend to boost him off the floor). I’m not going to link any images. Picture white silk, gold, delicate, intricately made bows and faintly glowing arrows, and a gold mask he hides his face behind that mimics the shape of the sun his dad is so obsessed with.His canon personality is cold and apathetic; this is no tragic princess to be rescued. Suggest as much, or try to cross him, and he will kill you where you stand, with a shot so fast you’d never see him draw the arrow, or raise his staff. He leads a covenant of followers who hunt down sinners. As proof that they killed for their master, these followers tear off their victim’s ear and bring it to his doorstep for his approval. He’s pure grace and moonlight, and the definition of the phrase “glass cannon”. He knows his place, and even though he will never be a true part of Gwyn’s family, at least to his father, he works to support them. You can kill him in-game; if you do, the sun will go out. It was an illusion. The sun went out in Anor Londo centuries ago; Gwyndolin has been maintaining the false image of its better days, as a comfort to visiting Undead, even though it must grate at his soul to do it. His title is Dark Sun. This is not his natural habitat. 

Velka. Velka is a name, and a concept. That’s all we get in-game. She appeared in the third game as a statue (that confirmed my headcanon appearance for her to be spot on). Her title is Goddess of Sin. She’s known for being sneaky, “eccentric witch”, difficult, changeable. Gwyn’s friendship with her was always rocky; she could see his pride and his self interest, and he knew she waited for the day he met her judgement. Flames help him; after the massacre of the dragons, if he ever knelt at her feet, it would be the last thing he did. If Gwyn is the sun, she is the darkness waiting for him to sink below the horizon. Her covenant are absolvers of sin, for a price, their faces covered to separate them from the material world. She has no concept of the Christian idea of sin, because that just doesn’t exist in Lordran. Sin is decided based on her moral compass - conflicting philosophies, like the Way of White, might claim she has none, because she sees no inherent sin in drinking, or sex, or gambling, as long as no ill intent or effect is there. She only wears black, silver, and that one splash of red, the wedding ring from the husband she outlived. She was human once; not a born Lord like Gwyndolin. That mortal vitality is still about her; she never had the luxury of living without the concept of death. Picture extremely long, thick black hair (that she’s famous for in game), crystal-clear lavender eyes, blood red lips, porcelain-coloured skin and purple dark circles, lace and velvet. Her mother taught her to scheme and spy her way up. Gwyndolin was naturally suspicious of her at first, as he should have been. But their covenants had a mutual interest, and she began to supply her list of unrepentant sinners for his covenant to hunt down. It became a bonding ritual, I think both of them enjoyed it more than they’d admit. 

Gwyndolin to begin to get. Jealous. Velka was known for spending nights with anyone she pleased, servant to knight, never getting attached to any of them. There were rumours that the crown prince of sunlight himself was on that list. Gwyndolin seemed to be the only one she wouldn’t look at in that way. Was that because of the way he looked? Did she pity or avoid him the way everyone else did, even after all this time? Every hour she spent with one of them was one she wasn’t with him. His own anger at her is confusing to him, because he’s never had any interest in anyone, male or female, not like this. It was, she said, because she valued him more than one of her throwaways. She paid close attention to him, enough to know he didn’t like to be approached like that, or looked at. Whenever people had shown interest in him before, he’d assumed they were mocking him. She didn’t want to make him feel the way they did, so she was content with the distance she stayed at, as long as she could pride herself on being the one he was most comfortable with. It was selfish, really, but she liked being his favourite, so she’d do anything to stay that way. Velka does not recognise the word love, because she’s never experienced it before, so she doesn’t use it, not yet.

When they finally stopped dancing around each other, her reputation for impropriety died, along with anyone who spoke about her like that in front of Gwyndolin. Gwyndolin is extremely possessive, and Velka, for once, finds she wants to be possessed. There’s still no power imbalance, though. With her support, Gwyndolin’s confidence can develop (she’s so proud of everything he does). With his favour, she can’t be sidelined as badly as before. They have to be careful as a couple, because it’s dangerous to be seen that way. Not because “Gwyn won’t approve of her”, but because between them, with their combined covenants, Gwyn’s distrust of her, and the growing unrest among Gwyn’s human subjects, they present a very real threat to the throne, and as if to prove their point, Gwyn will soon exile his own son and heir for less.

They’re like Morticia and Gomez, if all that overly romantic stuff were silent. Because they don’t need to say anything. Like the time he panicked over an instinctive murder of a wayward servant, and she helped him clean the blood off his hands and let him calm down alone when she wanted to kiss him until he remembered how much more important he was than such a silly mistake as that - to her, and who else matters? Or the time someone made an untoward comment about her at the dinner table and no one saw Gwyndolin draw the arrow, just the sight of it hit the speaker and kill them instantly. She only laughed as politely as she could, because he already knows how much she adores his overprotective homicidal tendencies, and he thrives off it. Her sense of justice has a blind spot that exists just for him, and she can forgive him anything.

There’s a little piece of lore in the game that says Velka sided against the gods in a war, and lost. The AU that could happen if they won gives me life. If they won, she wouldn’t have taken Gwyn’s place herself, she would have given it to Gwyndolin. They would make a terrifying but brilliant leader between them. The sun would set in Anor Londo for good, and Gwyndolin’s intelligence and clarity would get a chance to prove itself more useful than Gwyn’s brute force and genocide tactics. Gwyndolin isn’t much for titles, but you can be damn sure Velka would take it. If it made Gwyn turn in his grave to hear her called Queen, she’d insist on it, after the way she watched him treat Gwyndolin. As if he weren’t worthy of Gwyn’s pathetic legacy. 

Of course, as the series goes, in the third game, Gwyndolin is gone. Reportedly cannibalised by a cult leader and his apprentice while he was weak and sick. Velka’s verse for that revolves around her finding and saving him - whatever that means. 

If anyone stuck with me this long, please offer me emotional support, because I am compromised. I haven’t run out of words or feelings, I’ve run out of energy to convey them. These two are precious to me. Not only is there all this intensity and unrelenting devotion behind them, they take the usual framework for a hetero relationship, shatter it and piece it back together in completely the “wrong” order. Velka has some of the masculine traits, the forcefulness of her mannerisms, the proactively destructive one, however undercover it might be. Gwyndolin is the formal, delicate, princessly one, and has to be pushed to react badly. Both of them are beautiful, in totally opposing ways. You would usually expect the  female to be the sexually inexperienced one and the male to be the opposite, but that’s flipped on its head as well. And yet, the hyper-feminine one is Velka. Gwyndolin is androgynous, even in feminine clothing. I don’t think I’ve ever come across a pairing where each one adds to the others’ existence to such a degree as they do. I reject the events of the second and third games and substitute my own, because anything else is a waste of one of the best pairs I’ve seen in anything, ever. I don’t think I’ll ever top some of the threads I did with enasaliin with these two, honestly, I might as well log out and never come back. I have to go do some starters now. My heart hurts. ;-;

#ooc; #MASSIVE otp vent #also will teach you a LOT about velka if anyone is interested in her #sighs into the sun #just end me right here #about ;; velka #this wasnt even everything i wanted to say #i have a chara vent twitter but i wont even bother tbh because #140 characters? 10x that isnt enough fam #hyperionknight

[cartzypage]

Uncovering History in Rapa Nui: Visiting The Moai in Easter Island

Fred. Olsen Cruise Line’s Black Watch in Rapa Nui

Another day on our world cruise on board Fred. Olsen Cruise Line’s Black Watch and today we visited Easter Island. This has long been on my bucket list of destinations to visit and since we are in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, all signs pointed to spending a day with the moai.

TSG Tip: Did you know that there are 887 moai statues on Easter Island?

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Taking the Tender to Hanga Roa, Easter Island

Inside the tender

Black Watch was anchored off of Easter Island, which is off the coast of Chile. To get to land and into Hanga Roa, we had to take a tender from the ship a few minutes to the island.  The seas were rough, but the crew persevered and did an extraordinary job making sure all passengers were safe getting on and off the tender. Always looking for another adventure, I wasn’t bothered by the choppy water. To be honest, it reminded me a little of being on a jet ski.

Mahantur Tours 

Once we tendered, we wandered a bit to see if we could find our tour guide. Our guide for the day was Roberto from Mahanatur Tours and he was patiently waiting for us as we were now arriving much later than we expected.

Roberto gave Danielle and I our own moai necklaces and guided us to our jeep that would be our transportation for the day. Soon we were off and headed for our first stop, a small convenience store to buy some bottled water as it was going to be a hot day on Easter Island.

A Little Background on Easter Island

Rano Raraku

Easter Island or Rapa Nui was named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1995. In order to visit the many moai on the island, you have to purchase the $80 admission to enter the Rapa Nui National Park, but believe me, it’s well worth it.

The first European visitor to the island, Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen, came upon the island — you guessed it — on Easter Sunday in 1722. The island’s Spanish name, Isla de Pascua, also means Easter Island.

The island was settled by Polynesians and the population once was as high as 15,000. However, due to disease, fighting, and a host of other issues, the population dwindled to as little as 111 people. Today the population is close to 8,000 and 60% are direct descendents of the aboriginal Rapa Nui.

The moai were erected as tributes to those that passed. Each moai looks different and although you’ll see a head and shoulders, you won’t see arms and legs because they didn’t feel they needed them in the afterlife. The moai stand over their descendents and protect them. I won’t begin to pretend to detail the specifics about the moai or Easter Island as there is so much history and information that I couldn’t possibly relay it all correctly. I suggest finding one of the many books out there and reading up on your own. In the meantime, follow me on my journey through Easter Island. 

Orongo

Orongo

It was in Orongo that we learned about the history of the Birdman cult or Tangata manu. Men would swim out to Moto Nui to return with the first egg and would be declared tangata-manu.

Orongo

Once Christian missionaries arrived on the island, this practice along with the moai, stopped. However, you can still see petroglyphs of the Birdman and Make-make, the chief god of the Birdman cult, all over the island still.

Moto Nui and Moto Iti

Motu Nui, with the smaller Motu Iti in front and the isolated sea stack of Motu Kau Kau between them. This was my view from the top of the 250 meters (820 feet) sea cliff at Orongo.

Rano Kau

Rano Kau

Rano Kau is a 1,063 foot extinct volcano in Orongo and measures nearly a mile across. Visitors used to be able to go inside and see the many types of vegetation, including a fungus that later became the basis for Rapamycin, an anti-rejection drug used for transplant patients.

Rano Kau

Rano Kau has a very sensitive microclimate that is needed to protect the remaining trees, plants, and other vegetation inside.

Rano Kau

As a result, no one is allowed down in Rano Kau, but the view from over it is absolutely stunning.

We returned to our vehicle after perusing some of the items for sale in the parking lot outside the center in Orongo. Of course, I needed to purchase a little black moai statue for a mere $14. Danielle purchased a similar one in arena or sand color. After petting a few stray dogs on the way to the jeep, we then made our way to the next stop, Rano Raraku.

Rano Raraku

Moai at Rano Raraku

After you exit your vehicle, you’ll need to walk up and get your admission ticket to the Rapa Nui National Park stamped again.

TSG Tip: While some people try to be cheap and avoid paying the park fee, don’t even think of it. We watched people standing outside of the park areas on the road trying to take pictures. This is both dangerous and unnecessary. The money is used to maintain the parks and to protect you. Don’t be cheap and just pay the admission fee and enjoy the experience.

Moai at Rano Raraku

Rano Raraku is an impressively large area known as a quarry for moai. Apparently, 95% of the moai on the island were carved from the rock in this location.

An incomplete moai at Rano Raraku

Some of the moai are incomplete and were never completely carved out.

Rano Raraku

In this one area there are 397 moai statues buried up to their shoulders and without their eyes hollowed out. Despite the civil wars on the island, these status were never affected or destroyed.

Moai at Rano Raraku

I loved how each one of the moai has its own distinct look and expression. While these were not the type of moai I expected to see, I learned here that all moai are different. 

Rano Raraku

I thoroughly enjoyed climbing up and around and over this area to investigate as many as we did.

Tukuturi

TSG Tip: Make sure to look for Tukuturi, the kneeling moai. He’s nothing like the others and is said to be a humanoid. Interesting, right?  

Looking over toward Ahu Tongariki

From up high on Rano Raraku, we could see our next destination, Ahu Tongariki.

Ahu Tongariki

Ahu Tongariki

Danielle made me laugh as she kept asking Roberto if we were going to see any moai that looked like the necklaces he gave us. Finally, her prayers were answered with a short drive to Ahu Tongariki.

Ahu Tongariki

Ahu means stone platform and this is the largest stone platform on the island with 15 moai. You can even see a moai with a pukao on its head.

Ahu Tongariki

Ahu Tongariki

Roberto said that there had been a king with red hair so I must be royalty. Click To Tweet

TSG Tip: Roberto said that there had been a king with red hair so I must be royalty. If you look at the pukao on a moai or even a statue that’s sold to tourists, the pukao is red. The king wanted leaders to have red hair and so they had to find a way to dye their hair red. Looks like I had a leg up on some of those men.

Ahu Tongariki

The 15 statues were restored in the 1990’s after they were toppled in both civil wars and a tsunami that swept the island in 1960. They have since been sprayed with material to preserve them. These moai were probably the closest to what I was expecting to see on Easter Island.

Danielle and I as Moai at Ahu Tongariki

Danielle and I as moai

Of course, that meant Danielle and I had to pose as moai for a pic. How’d we do? Do we blend in you think?

Behind Ahu Tongariki

Behind Ahu Tongariki

We even had a chance to walk behind the ahu to see the moai.

Anakena

Ahu Nao-Nao at Anakena

Up next on our tour of Easter Island is our last stop of the day, Anakena. This beautiful white beach area is a destination not only for tourists, but for locals as well. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw wild horses running freely along the beach.

After walking up from the car park, past a man with a puppy dachshund (“salchicha”), we made our way up through the white coral sand to the first of two ahus at Anakena Beach.

Ahu Nao-Nao at Anakena

Ahu Nao-Nao has seven moai, two of which are no longer. These moai are different than the others as they are much thinner than any of the other moais we’ve seen and have shorter ears. They had been carved and ready to mount when the king said that he didn’t like them and they needed to be changed. How I feel for those carvers who had to hack the moai down and try to make something new.

Anakena Beach

We took our pics and I decided to walk down into the water and get my feet wet.

Anakena Beach

I mean after all, how often will I get to say that I stuck my feet in the water at Easter Island or the South Pacific Ocean?

Anakena Beach

I could’ve stayed here for hours and just sunbathed and swam. The weather was hot, the sun was roasty toasty, but the water was absolutely perfect.

Back to Hanga Roa

After a wonderful day touring Easter Island with Roberto, it was time to head back to our home away from home, Black Watch. Roberto said we would need an entire year to see and learn everything we would ever want to know about Easter Island and that we didn’t have.

Back at Hanga Roa, there were vendors selling more goods and a long line of people waiting for the tender back to the ship. It was unfortunately chaotic as usually you can see where to stand and wait on line for the tender. For this trip back, there was no line and no organization and people were getting frustrated and antsy about waiting.

The crew made sure everyone was safe and worked in the hot sun and heat all day long without any relief. This to me is yet another example of how incredible this cruise line and crew are.Click To Tweet

We got back on the ship just before 6 pm, but other tenders took much longer due to the rough water conditions. I can’t even begin to explain the professionalism and dedication of the crew on this as well as every other day, but especially this day. The crew made sure everyone was safe and worked in the hot sun and heat all day long without any relief. This to me is yet another example of how incredible this cruise line and crew are.

See for yourself in this short video. I stood for over 30 minutes as they tried to secure the tender and waited until the most opportune time to disembark passengers. I’ve been on other ships where many times you felt like you might go flying off into the water. This was so not going to happen here.

Final Thoughts

Our visit to Easter Island was definitely a highlight of this world cruise thus far. It was my most anticipated destination and it proved to be as good as, if not better than I ever expected. If you love history and want to see something completely different, I highly recommend a visit to Rapa Nui. 

Have you visited Easter Island? Can you suggest other destinations in Chile that you found equally exciting? Leave your comments below. Discover some other great destinations and travel ideas here on the Travel Shop Girl website .

On my new SPONTANEOUS TRAVEL SCALE of 1-5, with 1 being super easy and spontaneous and 5 being you better plan far in advance, Easter Island scores a 5 for spontaneous travel because I think to get the best experience possible, you should plan your trip and activities far in advance and not try to wing it at the last second. 

While we were provided a tour from the Chile Tourism Board and Mahinatur Tours, as always all opinions and photographs, unless otherwise noted, are my own.

The post Uncovering History in Rapa Nui: Visiting The Moai in Easter Island appeared first on Travel Shop Girl.

Uncovering History in Rapa Nui: Visiting The Moai in Easter Island published first on https://medium.com/@GoShopSingapore

[pregantheimlich]

Feedback to Fandom Followings Thoughts on Turf Wars

Article here: https://www.thefandomentals.com/legend-korra-turf-wars-grounding/

@lokgifsandmusings

Check out Fandom Following, their Game of Thrones reviews are life. On this article, I happened to disagree, so here is my play by play.

I’ll start by outlining my thoughts on Turf Wars: meh. The scope of the story seems like it has shrunken, and I cant imagine that any really significant character development or changes to the cannon will be introduced. The gay stuff is kind ill fitting, sure, but I am quite tickled and gratified to watch characters I’ve known for years interact with this material, and I finally feel like gayness exists in the Avatar verse. I mean, hearing that Aang canonically had an opinion on gayness.. Aang who I grew up with, whom I was almost of an age with once, has canonically acknowledged that gay people exist and is cool about it. Its’ weird-  in a good way, though honestly I feel like i’m reading fanfic.. Overall I’m underwhelmed with turf wars, just because I don’t think the story will be that ambitious or significant, honestly. Kyas gay history 101 was face palming fanficcy, anachronistic and misshapen... Now onto the article.

Something about the argument falls very flat to me. The central point is how sexism in the Avatar-verse isn't so bad, and thus homophobia cannot exist.... Almost like they are two different issues? I understand and agree with the fact that one of the roots of homophobia is heterosexism, but there is more to it than that.

''Our point is, women are just like…there in this universe. They’re not even treated any differently, barring the few exceptions we described above.''

Like, no... Strong women exist, yes. .. That doesn’t mean the universe isn't significantly sexist. The show has chosen to focus on these women, but that doesn’t mean all women have the same life experience... Look at our world, there have always been strong successful women, who rise to the top and make history...By that logic, the real world isn't significantly sexist and therefore institutionalized homophobia simply cant exist, why? Becuase there are strong women.. (???)

'''Any character who said something sexist got immediate, negative feedback, or was ignored, because that’s super weird of them. '''

Or its because they where talking to the protagonists, who are good people, and therefore don’t go along with sexist comments.

''What structural sexism could exist with this history? ((referring to how badass Kyoshi was))''

So your point is, that Kyoshi was an incredibly high status, messianic figure, and so that would make everyone respect all women everywhere? Like... Look at real life.There have been many prophetesses and women who start cults because people think they can perform miracles and the like, and women who rise high in religious establishments, and female saints... Has exposure to what are ostensibly powerful magical women been shown to change societal attitudes toward all women? Joan of Arc was a very forceful character, and she and her followers believed she could speak to God directly... Did this give the patriarchs of the day epiphanies about the intrinsic value of women?

'''But…there’s no societal dominance that men have over women in this world to be upheld, at least not on a broader scale. If there was, we couldn’t have had characters like Toph or Kuvira get the general reception that they did: full acceptance and respect.'''

????? No societal dominance??? How about arranged marriages? We know the monarchies of the Fire and Water nations did it, so I assume their nobility and the small folk follow suit, to a greater or lesser extent. And again, on the Toph and Kuvira point.. Exceptions don’t disprove the rule. High status women and gays don’t negate the power structures in society. 

'''Please, tell us how the concern over Korra not being accepted fits with the world we just described. Who would challenge her? Who would be stupid enough? And how would the potential for that feedback be great enough that she actually needs to navigate cautiously? What are she and Asami in danger of, exactly? Also if this had been such an issue, wouldn’t Asami have exhibited slightly less than the extreme thirst for Korra that we witnessed in Book 3?'''

Surely you understand that their fears (and the fears of real young queer people) are more complex than simply 'I’m afraid I will be literally murdered immediately'... It can be about worrying that people wont love you as much, or wont be able to look at you the same way, even if they don’t outright reject you. It can be feeling that you have let people down, by not having the romantic destiny they had hoped you would have. It can feel humiliating as if the knowledge of it will give people a a glimpse into what you like sexually. There can be issues about which partner is perceived to be the 'top' and which is the 'bottom' and the status differentiation that can be seen to entail. And remember, Korra had no inhibitions about telling people, it was Asami who was reticent. I've never been much of an Asami fangirl, but her anxiety over this rather endeared her to me. It makes sense: she was raised by a man who had very extreme prejudices against a minority group, and Asami seems to maintained free thought about that issue her whole upbringing, but knew to be secret about it. Secrecy and fear of discover over that probably became her modus operandi and recurred over the awakening of her feelings for Korra. Hiroshi was a public figure and must have imparted a sensitivity to reputation and public appearances to Asami. Asami was also bereft of her mother, which may have lead to complications about how she feels about and interacts with women. I think its very understandable that she is not 100% gung-ho about coming out. Also, I don’t understand how anyone can say their flirting was obvious... Grl, I remember how utterly scandalized 90% of the audience was with Korrasami.

'''That is why, in a general sense, homophobia cannot exist on an institutionalized level in this universe, and certainly not to a degree where the spiritual leader would feel unsafe being openly bisexual.'''

?????????? 'Unsafe'??? There are more dimensions to this than physical safety. Spiritual leaders don’t get a free pass form wider society  to do whatever they want without reproach. If you do believe that homophobia comes (almost) entirely form sexism, and you have acknowledged that there is at least some level of sexism in the universe then by your own reasoning there is room for some atmosphere of homophobia, or at least an atmosphere that is not super enlightened or welcoming to The Gays.

''Yet homophobia was introduced in this comic—more or less immediately after Korra and Asami returned to the “real world.” (As an aside, we’re really not fond of *that* particular messaging.)'''

This is a personal comment rather than the Well Reasoned Feedback of the rest of this response post but... That rings quite true in my experience.. When you are with someone, especially when things are new and uncertain, it is like entering another world, where the rules are different. When you come from a world where same sex attraction is absent or is seen as distasteful or just plain bad, and then you meet someone whom you fall in love with.. It can give rise to feelings of disassociation and other-worldliness. And then when the vacation is over, suddenly you are back in the real world, and suddenly the worries about what people will think come at you like a wall.

'''(Talking about Kyas gay history lesson) To put it bluntly, we find all of this incomprehensible given what we know from ATLA and LoK. Literally everything is backwards.'''

Yeah I agree on this one.

''The description of the Water Tribes is more confusing. We wonder if Mike remembered that the Water Tribe was you know…a tribe. Family units are almost always deemphasized in such society, and we know they were in the Southern Water Tribe during ATLA’s run, because we saw it. It was one village with everyone having a collective responsibility to one another.'''

Umm, 'family units de-emphasised''' like no, Marriage was central to the culture... The thing that established family units.

''Let’s start with the Fire Nation. We already explained that it was quite canonically egalitarian. '''

I think this is wishful thinking.... We're never explicitly told that male primogeniture is in effect but.. Look at this family tree...

 See any female Fire Lords (before Izumi)? Nope, all male. Did the firstborn happen to be male for 4 straight generations? Or is something else being implied? See how the women are not prominent, and most aren’t even warranted physical appearances. 

''Azula was treated incredibly seriously and respectfully by everyone she interacted with, be it the governor of New Ozai, or her ship’s captain. '''

Dude... She is literally the princess. The heir apparent to the throne....  And her being privileged and respected is ... evidence of egalitarianism???

''there was simply no indication that a ‘Fire Lord Azula’ would have been met with a single eye blink.''

Female heirs inherit the throne... This is kind of standard procedure for dynasties with no male heir... Not so rare in history.. And remember, Ozai did invent an even higher seat for himself: the Phoenix King' so Azula is still subservient.

''But any systemic sexism was gone by Ozai’s time given what we saw in ATLA, so… Was Ozai a wonderful feminist reformer for the Fire Nation’s military?''

 Sozin outlawed same-sex relationships, which apparently also implies he was sexist and against women in the military? These issues are linked, sure, but they aren’t the same issue.

''Are gay couples somehow targeted without women’s rights being an issue at all? We certainly can’t think of many examples in our world where this was the case.'''

???? Hmm, can we think of societies where the cause of women’s rights are more advanced than gay rights ??? Let me think about thisss... Hmmmmmmmmmmm. How about the entire western world, who have all but secured equal rights under the law for women, but have only just begun to examine how laws affect LGBT+ people... Of course, sexism isn't solved completely, even in the legal arena, but they are literally a hundred years  ahead of gay rights.  

''' He was trying to wage war on the biggest kingdom; he was seriously going to begin oppressing his own citizens, all of whom would probably take issue with his out-of-the-blue hyperfocus on gay couples? What, had he been scapegoating them for years, laying the groundwork? '''

Rulers with supremacist and imperialist ambitions begin by  fracturing, scapegoating and oppressing groups within their own country.. Yep, again this is quite true to life.. I don’t understand why this seems unrealistic to you, especially since you have noted the gestapo imagery... (Which I do agree is anachronistic and out of nowhere)).

''More to the point, if this shit was happening, there would be rioting! Civil Wars! ''

The gay 'community' has never existed as a unified mass ever in history before now. Homosexuality was a practice not an identity. People didn't think of themselves as gay, and didn't unite or think about their legal rights the way we do today... Even in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, where tiny tiny groups where coalescing, there was never any alliances big enough or confident enough to form militias or rally the general population.

'''we refuse to believe that this wouldn’t have been an issue EVERY SINGLE AVATAR would have dealt with until it was fully rectified.'''

Just.. What?? Why should we assume that ANY avatar even significantly recognized homosexuality, and even if they did, why do we assume its on their priority list? This is so anachronistic.. We may as well wonder why any  Air Avatar didn't outlaw meat eating, or any lowborn avatar didn't invent marxism, or any female avatar would outlaw arranged marriages or male primogeniture. We seem to be assuming here that every avatar is a moral paragon and therefore is automatically a 2017 post-structuralist inter-sectional feminist, whose number 1 goal is to bring about liberal utopia, nad comes out of the box with enlightened understandings about homosexuality.

''we’re still left with the questions about feminist-reformer-Ozai, who went on to champion his own daughter (and a younger sibling to boot) as his successor, so…?'''

Well, Ozai himself was a younger sibling, remember, who thought he was more fit to rule because he was more psychopathic than his empathetic elder sibling, like Zuko and Azula.

''(Talking about Kyoshi) If there had somehow had been homophobia present on a large scale, we can’t imagine that Kyoshi, being queer herself, would have allowed this to continue. In fact, wouldn’t she have used the Dai Li to eradicate it, at least to the point where she could find acceptance?'''

It seems like although she practiced same sex relationships, she didn't add 'bisexual' to her identity. Quite probably the label didn't exist.. Like in real life, same sex relationships where seen as a sexual practice, not something you are or that you would publicly speak about, even if it wasn’t a super shameful secret. I dont think it implied that Kyoshi lived in shame.. She dosent seem the type to hung up on what people think of her at all. Kya just meant that people didn't acknowledge or understand that part of her. 

''but we have to imagine she’d be able to have influenced the laws and protections to at least have “found acceptance” and effect change. '''

I feel like your perspective is thoroughly couched in a modern day 'coming out' narrative and advocacy and reform culture... That said, it does seem that Mike wrote this from a perspective that is also jarringly modern, so maybe its appropriate to match him in that.

''There literally can’t be large-scale and widespread homophobia in a place with such an ineffectual centralized government. ''

Literally what. Like.. Think of any ineffectual centralized government in the entire world... Okay, now tell me, is the society it presides over homophobic? The answer is always yes no matter where you think of..

''The issue is that with a (mostly) closeted Kya, it means the Avatar-verse is actually worse than our own world. She’s like a celebrity (secluded acolytes with Air Nation blinders on excluded). She’s the daughter of one of the most famous people who ever lived, ever. ''

Why is this surprising? I don’t understand.. Like in the last 30 years in the west is the only time and place in history where public figures could come out and be like 'Yo guys I'm exclusively sexually and romantically attracted to people of the same sex as me, kthnxbye'. And even then, it has diminished careers and tarnished reputations...

''We’re expected to believe that Aang would have let his daughter feel unsafe to be herself? We’re expected to believe that Katara—KATARA—would have let such an injustice stand?'''

Well, Kya did say Aang was nothing but supportive.. But, even if your parents are great, you are still a tiny minority in a big wide world.. Shes almost 2 generations removed from Korra and Asami... It just feels very true to life and poignant for Kya to have gone through these issues. We know she was a drifter for much of her life, and has commitment issues. Indecision and internal conflict are very congruent with unease about sexual identity.

''On a Watsonian level, the implication of this portrayal (where Korra and Asami need to proceed with caution) is that this homophobia exists on an institutionalized level,''

You are continually looking for 'institutionalized' homophobia to explain why Korra and Asami have qualms about coming out. I would like to differentiate institutionalized homophobia from cultural homophobia. It doesn’t seem that explicitly anti-gay laws of governmental bodies are at play here, it seems more... interpersonal.. They are just fretting that people would treat them differently, or look at them differently, that’s all. And that’s quite understandable, considering it seems then neither of them knew they could be attracted to women before this relationship. It has changed how they see themselves.

''.....Toph or Azula or Mai or Lin or Suyin or Kuvira can’t really exist, at least not without getting a ton of gendered feedback all the time.''

#stop #the #conflation #of #sexism #and #homophobia. They are not separate but they are not the same. Any society at any time can provide examples of individual women being prominent while the gays are still invisible or thrown under the buses.

'''Boy oh boy do we love thinking about our faves letting their daughter live in abject terror, and the shit Kya herself must have gone through!''

It is sad to think about... But.. the critical examination of Aang as a parent is kind of a running theme already isn’t it? He was supportive to her, and at some point people do become adults and their issues are their own, and cant be laid at the feet of their parents anymore.

''Especially given that Turf Wars suggests a worse world than our own with regards to homophobic feedback. You know…for kids!''

Does it? Lets recap how things went: girl tells parents she is dating another girl. Mom: cool dude.

 Dad: cool man, be careful.

 Korra: fuck you dad. 

Korra: *tells lesbain aunt*. 

Kya: samesies. it used to be bad but no bigs. 

Korra: *to friends* guys im ghey as frick

 Friends: cool dude. 

 That’s really the best scenario anyone could hope for today, isn't it?

'''The Kya conversation didn’t land for us, not just because it broke from the canon of the franchise, or because it began with a 60-year-old woman Korra and Asami are not particularly close to offering an uninvited remark about how beautiful of a couple they are (are we alone in thinking that this would be weird??), but because the entire premise of the conversation is a little cringe-worthy in our opinion.

First of all, Kya lives in the Southern Water Tribe with her mother. Yeah, she’s not glued there, and we know she’s helping with relief efforts at the evacuee camp, but our point is that a conscious decision was made to warp her to the United Republic, simply because “who else could offer gay advice but another gay?”''

Yeah same. It does feel that this was written by a heterosexual who doesnt quite understand what its like, though to be fair so does this article (burn). 

'''we have to assume the rather affluent Hiroshi Sato got his daughter education that included these basic lessons.''

Idk, minorities being cut out of the history we teach to young people rings true to life tbh.

___

Sorry, didn’t mean to be overly critical. I think I’m biased toward liking Turf Wars because of my own personal experience rather than any actual merit it has. I look forward to reading Fandom Followings thoughts on part 2.

#korra #lok #turf wars #turfwars #korra comics #korra comic #lok comic #legend of korra #lok turf wars #fandom following #ff #lokgifsandmusings #griffin #kylie #reiew #criticism #critical #feedback #article #response #response post

[l-in-c-future]

Reading Kim Jong Nam (8)-My father Kim Jong Il, and I :exclusive interviews with Kim Jong Nam by Yoji Gomi

Political Reform B-the dilemma of ending the hereditary succession

Obviously, Kim Jong Nam had taken a great risk of his own personal life to voice out his opposition against the hereditary rule in the Hermit Kingdom at the time when he and those people clustered around him who represented relatively moderate and liberal mindsets had once hoped that Kim Jong Il would leave behind a legacy for opening up North Korea when he considered his successor.

But the dilemma is if Kim Jong Nam’s proposed immediate cessation of the hereditary rule had taken place, there would be nobody within the existing ruling Kim family or within the party to drive and oversee the reform. During his interviews, Kim Jong Nam had openly excluded himself as one of the possible successor candidates on the list. Probably he said it to reduce his political rivals’ suspicion or he didn’t really mean what he said, the fact is somebody had to drive it from within the party. Who could be that person if there is an absent of reformists’ head?

Kim indicated that his father had indicated he also opposed to the hereditary rule to last at the 3rd generation more than once in the past. If there was any reason to cause Kim Jong Il to continue the monarchy of Kim family, he probably considered the ‘internal unique circumstances’ of Chosin and therefore as his father’s son, he had no choice but to obey such decision.

What are the ‘internal unique circumstances’ that practically forced Kim Jong Il to continue the hereditary tradition even though as a believer of fundamentalist socialism he knew that a de facto hereditary monarchy isn’t consistent with a typical Stalin-Lenin socialist model of collective autocratic leadership model?

In the emails exchanges, Kim provided some possible clues to the answers.

1. The Kim dynasty was constructed not as a pure blood Soviet and China or other communist regimes’ collective autocracy power concentration within the communist party, it was based on the historical past of Korean history: up to before the Japan invasion, there had ALWAYS been a feudal or some co-existing feudal monarchies as ruling regimes on the peninsula. When Kim Jung Il’s father Kim Il Song hosted his guerillas' band against the then Japan colonial government, his legitimacy call was a nationalistic call for the Koreans to resist and overturn the occupying Japanese government. As Kim Il Song spent a lot of his earlier part of life in China while he fled from the Japan government, the macro-picture happened in China and Russia that shaped the futures of these two countries obviously bear important impacts on what the path of Kim Il Song. In China, he came across Communists but in China, he also witnessed the changing faces of China as the feudal Qing broke down. He saw the ultimate rise of Mao Zedong became the new de facto king of the ‘new’ China under the communist party China. China and Korea shared close connections for thousands of years, the Korea peninsula had been part of China’s annexed territory or her protectorate until other external powers weaken such control. When Kim witnessed the success of Mao’s new de facto ruling as a one man dominated king within the communist party, obviously this would mold what Kim Il Song’s design for a ‘new’ Korea. China was keen to have her miniature regime to be restored back in the peninsula in order to see the revival of China’s control over the future rulers.

Notably, Kim Jong Nam had avoided the sensitive questions regarding China’s view on NK’s hereditary succession diplomatically but the FACT is even CCP is ruling in substance by mimicking feudal heritage through Maoism. In the presence, CCP is tilting away from collective leadership model to a strongman leadership model around the “Xi clustered core”. What else could he say about China? What else could he say because he was totally dependent upon China’s provision and protection?

“I didn’t know the Chinese government’s view. Even I have my personal view, it is inconvenient for me to openly express such view because it is a highly sensitive topic.”

Though Kim Jong Nam said even though Mao Zedong did not adopt a hereditary succession model in CCP (likely he said this because he felt he had to praise China as the latter’s protection subject or he did not know enough about CCP), he did not mention the fact that THERE IS ANOTHER KIND OF HEREDITARY SUCCESSION MODEL WITHIN THE SO-CALLED COLLECTIVE AUTOCRACY LEADERSHIP REGIME OF CHINA. The existence of red aristocracy class within CCP is such evidence. These people are referred as the second generation of red heritage, nicknamed as the Princes’ party within the party. They are the children and descendants of the founding members, elders, military leaders of senior leaders of the first generation CCP leaders. The red princes and princesses within CCP not only take up senior leadership positions within the party, the government, they all control various State-owned enterprises as well as large ‘private’ enterprises in China. These enterprises are the flat ships and devices for the aristocrats to extort and embezzle money and assets. They are the spaceships for CCP to compete and extend their global empire. Notably, the current leader of China is from the Princes’ party.

2. Emphasis of pure blood lineage of “Baekdu shan”

Essentially, for an inherited monarchy, the pureness of blood lineage becomes a critical issue to establish the legitimacy of the successors. Baekdu Shan (means white/snowy head mountain) or Chengbai Shan (name of the same mountain range in China) has always been a legendary sacred place among Manchurians and Korean culture that it was a place where god and goddess live. The crater lake at the top of Changbai Shan is called Heavenly Lake in Chinese. It was an exclusive bathing basin for the queen of heaven. Near the heavenly lake was a smaller crater lake called little heaven lake and that was a piece of makeup mirror for the heavenly fairies. All royal nobles must be born there (For example, the founding rulers of Qing Dynasty Aisin Gioro shared same folklore that their ancestry lines came from the same mountain). In order to justify Kim Il Song as a ‘divinely’ king from heaven, his subjects made up a story that he was born at Baekdu Shan. The reality was his ancestors were just graveyard guards. Kim Il Song was born in Russia and he were sent to China to learn Chinese medicine (but he never really received any much formal education beyond primary school though he and the Qinlin province government claimed or faked he had ‘graduated’ from a famous local secondary school) because Kim Il Song’s father was too poor to even support him. Ironically, all the highly educated ancestors came from Kim family’s maternal lineage including the family clans of Kim Il Song’s mother and Kim Jong Nam’s ill fate mother.

In the email 3rd Nov 2010, Kim wrote to Gomi:

“The existence of 3 generations hereditary succession is unprecedented apart from the feudal dynasties in history. According to common sense reasonable judgments, everybody shares the same feelings that such reality is definitely not in accordance with a socialist society.

Also, I believe my father, who originally opposed to hereditary succession to the 3rd generation had changed his mind because of internal ruling reason. My personal understanding is for those Chosin people who believe and bow to the so-called the purity of Baekdu Shan bloodline, if the successor of Chosin doesn’t have such pure lineage, this might cause big troubles to the nation.

My judgment is that even though Chosin may want to move toward a collective leadership model if it doesn’t center around the notion of Baekdu Shan lineage, it will be hard for the regime to maintain legitimacy. After considering the uniqueness of Chosin’s internal situation, if the insistent continuation of hereditary rule is for the sake of maintaining internal stability, I must obey.

..............

I didn’t say Chosin will collapse.”

Kim suggested that in the North, the society is still living in a feudal era mentality. Communism is just a tool to serve the autocracy means of any feudal dynasty. If it wasn’t communism or socialism, it would be something else that the Kim family created to justify the existence of de facto feudal monarchy.

To maintain and reinforce the ‘pureity’ of the Kim Dynasty, Kim Il Song had leveraged the Soviet model of personal cult worship mingled with the worship of kings as heavenly rulers from Asian culture through intensive indoctrination of  Juche. 

At the 4th Party Conference held in April 2012, Kim Jong-un further defined Juche as the comprehensive thought of Kim Il-sung, developed and deepened by Kim Jong-il, therefore terming it as "Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism" and that it was "the only guiding idea of the party" and nation. (Wikipedia)  

3. There were strong opposition within the Party

In the same length email, Kim wrote:

“Despite these are my personal view, but I deeply doubted how many those assisted my father and his successor really care the people of North Korean’s living from the bottom of their hearts? Regrettably, from what I observed, the reality is there are not many of such people. Those treacherous officials and ministers worked tirelessly to flatter and extol in order to keep their positions and maintain their own luxury lives. Their lying about the state of affairs in the country had forged barriers between the supreme leader and the successor and the citizens. I really wish these people pissed off from my father and the successor! I consider they are not contributory to the future of North Korea and my father’s successor.”

His frequent sharp accusations and rebukes had offended and even seen as endangering the status quo privileges of many corrupted cadres within the party. In order to protect their stakes of interests, these people might have directly or indirectly inflaming Kim Jong Nam’s biggest political rival-his estranged half brother Kim Jong Un to plot numerous assassination against him. 

In fact, when Gomi first published a shorter version of interview based on his first 7 emails exchanges between Kim, the latter had found an excuse to cut off the communication for 3 years before the communication resumed.

During these no communication period, Gomi learned from news of various failed attempts of Kim Jong Nam’s assassination while he was overseas.

In another email on 2nd of April 2011, Kim wrote:

“ I don’t want to go into arguments with those narrow-minded sides of people who cannot take sincere advice and recommendations. I worried that might put me into a dangerous situation.”

“ Please publish all your drafts when you can wait till that day North Korea changes.”

Shortly after Gomi published the details of their first face to face interview, Kim Jong Nam indicated that he was severely warned and pressured by Chosin. More than once he implied that he was under some kinds of intensively monitoring or surveillance that forced him to keep a low profile and stop accepting public media interview.

The last time Gomi and Kim met in May 2011 at Beijing when being asked about his brother Kim Jong Un and the future of NK, Jong Nam smiled bitterly, “ nothing will be changed, nothing can change.”

The desperation came from the fact that North Korea can’t change without her major regional superpowers Russia and China which played dominating molding powers to Korea first go through political reforms away from autocracy, and hopefully, they may have such political will to steer NK towards a more open society. Obviously, nobody sees this in near future.

But why did Kim said “I don’t say Chosin will collapse.” in such context?

The only possible reason is if USA and the West can have the same wisdom they did 40 years ago to pull NK to their side as they pulled China to their side when USA discovered China had broken up with or was in an enstranged relationship with USSR.

North Korea has been in deteriorating relationship with China, especially after the death of Kim Jong Il. Their leaders never meet each other once. Kim Jong Un challenged China more than once by displaying ‘bad boy’ behaviors despite China had ‘complied with’ UN resolutions to sanction NK.

At the same time, Kim had shown limited but symbolic embracing USA through the basketball player. People who have visited Pyongyang formed an impression that Kim Jong Un unofficially allows limited black markets of private tradings, at least at Pyongyang, a living modern way of lifestyle is tolerated. These may be weak signals that beyond the tough saliva wars by all parties and the rockets striking wars (which can be largely avoided if NK doesn’t felt ‘threaten’ or ‘provoked’ by fire drills from neighboring countries+USA), something may be negotiable.

Will the USA basketball player’s visits become plausible breakthroughs like the Pingpong diplomacy in the 1970s? 

It requires wisdom. It requires out of the box approach to genuinely consider ‘all options’ not only on the table as outcried by Tillerson but options beyond the table.

At least, if all the previous and existing options had tried and failed to achieve much, why not consider providing incentives and supports to NK toward some solid economic reforms first?

As Kim Jong Nam correctly pointed out, no economic reform and take off can possibly take place successively in the absence of the West’s solid continual support (think of HOW MUCH CONTINUAL FLOWING OF MONEY, ASSETS, INVESTMENTS, KNOWLEDGE INTO CHINA in the past 4 decades and still allowing China to buy up anything they can from the rest of the world UNBELIEVABLY!). It is exactly why ALL previous experiments of economic reforms failed and didn’t really progressed much.

Perhaps people have forgotten that the real big betting capital for Deng Xiao Ping to fend off strong internal obstructions from the fundamentalistic camp within the party during the first 10 years (1979-89) of his leadership was the backup from the West in SOLID inflows of investments and defrosting many restrictions the West had imposed on China in the past.

Will that be replicated under Trump? Nope! If he stills maintain the same ‘America’ first mentality and his highly rhetoric ways of management on ad hoc basis. Saying something versus doing the thing is a totally different matter. Not just for NK but USA and the West.

#North Korea #political reform #economic reform

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Overall Season 4 Character and Plot Thoughts

Wow, what a journey. I will be honest, when season 4 began, I was nervous. The premiere didn’t really have that wow factor for me. It felt like the beginning of season 3C instead of pushing us forward (which is coming from someone that actually liked season 3 a lot). That said, it came very far.

LONG thoughts after the break

Characters: -Clarke. Ever since the end of the Mount Weather arc, Clarke has been in this odd state. Between the betrayal and the A.L.I.E and the end of the world, I feel like it has worn on her a lot. Understandably so, but it got to the point where I began to hate her character while respecting her strength. This season continued that theme for me. After being so passive while Lexa was alive, Clarke really came into making decisions again, no matter how I felt about them. The weight of the end of the world was so powerful and I applaud her for not giving up. Highlights for me with Clarke were making the list that eventually was used in the bunker, saying that her fight was over to save her friends, giving up her helmet because she was a nightblood, and honestly, despite it being pretty messed up, taking the bunker. She’s a very smart person, almost imitatingly so, and in a different way than Monty or Raven. Even though I may not like her, I respect who she is. Plus that time skip Clarke looks way more peaceful than the one we’ve seen in a longgggg time. -Bellamy. DUDE. my guy. After a ROUGH season 3 (I can see why people would say he acted out of character during this season or where were the motivations, but then again, I’d argue that he mirrored Clarke’s giving into Lexa by giving into Pike, but that’s a whole nother text post,) my man came back to the growth that he was showing during season 2. Lots of character beats over this season where he was seeking redemption and by the finale he earned it. By starting with the slaves (involving who ever really gave a f*ck Riley) he chose them over the hydrogenerator. There was the time where he fought his hardest to save them during the acid rain and two people had to die and Bellamy felt it. There was sending his sister to the conclave. There was looking for the bunker. He just did a lot of selfless acts this season on his way to redemption and by the time that he ended by closing the rocket door on Clarke, I knew he was set up for the next little while to be okay in space. Highlight for me definitely was when he was telling off Roan about Octavia.

-Raven. MAIN. CHARACTER. BADASS. The 100 should be retitled “Clarke Saves The World After Receiving Support from Bellamy While Carrying Out Raven’s Plan.” What can I even say about Raven Reyes that hasn’t already been said? Upgraded Raven this season has been a treat. She’s always the one who is willing to make the hard decisions. She kept people on track all the way through. Her suicide spacewalk storyline was compelling beginning to end. She really can carry the episode. Her season highlight was without a doubt when she cured herself of the A.L.I.E code. Just everything about that scene. The only thing I don’t know is, because she’s so mature already, because she’s fought so hard for so long, where is there to go for her? This time skip must include things because I really don’t know what there is to do now other than maintain the Ring.

-Octavia. Let me begin this by saying I like Octavia. A lot. However, she has been broken since Lincoln died. He was her tie to humanity. I think a lot about how she hit the ground and was so wide eyed and falling for anyone and just amazed to be outside of the arc and from underneath the floor. This place hardened her a lot. Lincoln’s death made her adamantium. She was cold. Very cold. I thought that would have changed by the duel with Echo when she almost died. Guess she had some plot armor underneath those grounder clothes. By the end of the season, I didn’t see the old Octavia, I doubt that we ever will again, but I saw one that had opened up again, if even a little, and was placed in a position where she would have to decide what kind of leader she wanted to be for a whole group of people under the floor. I didn’t NOT like Illian but I wished that they would have been friends only. I recognize he was a catharsis for her however. Highlights for me this season involve the conclave as well as when she survived that death fall and told her horse to take her home. -Monty/Harper. DAMN. I can’t believe this was just the high Asian kid in season 1. I remember saying to myself, “I wonder if he’ll die early or have a storyline?” Wow. Monty has blossomed into one of those characters that I care about deeply. From having to kill his own mother (which I think losing her on top of his dad offscreen made his fight to save his brother and his love this season even more tragic and meaty) to being one of the few smart enough to help set up anything on the ring during the death wave, he’s grown into leading man status. His scenes at the ark during the suicide cult were all so charged. Props for that acting. His I love you to Harper was so real. That’s a ship that I never knew I needed but now must reach the end of the series. I’m all aboard. Ya’ll have done it. I’ve never had the experience of the show introducing a ship that I hadn’t thought about shipping and falling in love with the ship like ya’ll have done for Monty and Harper. Wow. Highlights for me include the I love you, Monty staying to bring Harper back, and taking his gloves off to save his friends. -Jasper. It wasn’t all going to be good was it? I am sitting here amazed and heartbroken at the way that Jasper went from wide-eyed stoner to leading man hero of mount weather to literally the most hated character in my eyes and burning out in a suicide instead of coming back around. Seriously, I’m not quite sure what went wrong. Maya’s death and everything, while traumatic, I never thought that it would be this far reaching. It almost makes me wish that he’d committed suicide in the season 3 finale. He just never came back. I honestly hate how his character was handled. -Roan. MY DUDE ARE YOU STILL ALIVE IN THAT WATER? I KNOW YOU AIN’T DEAD. YOU HID FROM PRAIMFAYA RIGHT?

The rest of the cast didn’t really do too much to make me feel like they took a journey. Kane is still spacedad. Abby is still hella annoying to me and I only care that she’s alive because of Kane’s feelings. Jaha has burnt out his welcome. Overall, despite the unevenness of the season, it’s my second favorite season. They now rank:

2. 4. 3. 1. 

As for plot, I feel like, with the exception of the slave compound, most of the stories matched the dire nature of the countdown and held great drama. There were no stories that I was annoyed with (save Riley) and the finale few episodes with the conclave and the bunker and the satellite were all masterfully done. I enjoyed the journeys that the characters took this season and with a soft reboot we were set up for a season 5 that gives us just as much wonder as season 1 did as we were discovering how the world worked. SO EXCITED for the next season which isn’t something that I saw coming in the middle of this one.

#the 100 #thoughts #season 4