#Ressa is being herself

[maguro13-2]

Legacy of Shinra ~ Origins of the Ink Demon Chapter 1 Finale [1/3]

[Aboard the Halberd]

[Mystery of the Meteorite - Fumie Kumatani]

Meta Knight : So, it's clearly about the 18 year incident, and it's wisely that female Phanto is somehow related to that Maka Kid. I've heard about this, around 18 years ago, a woman named Mrs. Albarn, known as Maka's Mother, was captured by Phanto, the Mask Enemy, who is one of the brethren of a race of soul-eating beings called the Phantonians. They steal a victim's soul and devours it for their use of energy, or even turned their victims into an evil phantom by attaching or possessing it's host. They've been the enemies of the original heroes of Subcon before Mario came to that world on that night, during his nighttime hours. We found that why does not know why this mother of a meister have disappeared for around 18 years, so it's gonna be about around 19 or 20 years, Phanto and his goons will return from the sanctuary.

Ashley : So what you're saying that Maka's mother had been in that "Sanctuary" for so long.

Meta Knight : Yes, but not as long es ever. But when Phanto captured Mrs.Albarn before the baby shower, the child was born in the Sanctuary. And that child is Maka Albarn herself. Around three years in her past, Maka and her mother secretly slipped out of the Sanctuary and read the same the book about the person responsible for the creation of Soul World.

Penny Crygor : The person responsible for the creation of Soul World? You mean that Devil person?

Meta Knight : Only the man responsible for Soul World's creation was none other than the Devil himself and the one created this Shinigami entity. His name was Shinra...Shinra Kusakabe, the man of the Kusakabe Legacy.

Ashley & Penny : [realizing, together] Shinra Kusakabe!

Ashley : That's the Devil Chaos Chao that we met in Chao World. It was his idea to create the world of Soul Eater! All those lies were really deeply connected to the DWMA itself! He was once the hero and leader of an Organization that existed in his "newly" made world about 1000 years before the incident happened in Soul World!

Penny Crygor : Unbelievable! So that's what Soul Eater is really about, not just the legacy, but it's universe as well, so both Shinra and the world of Soul Eater is connected somehow because he remodeled the old one that was dying into a vibe of despair due to the powers of an "evil entity".

Ashley : Intriguingly that we must know that the tracks are coming in hot and the pieces are coming into together. There's a chance we might get to know that Demon Weapons aren't the type of Power System that we thought.

Kimial Diehl : Persistent how you manage to collect the pieces, but I do believe that the Demon Weapons weren't created by the witches or Arachne, but a "Dokeshi" that is responsible for their creation of the weapons he made, or should I say "Shinigami" himself.

Penny Crygor : Hey, Ash. You got a visitor that was aboard the ship.

Ashley : K-Kimial! When...When did you get aboard on the ship?

Kimial Diehl : ....

Ashley : Well....?

Kimial Diehl : Jacqueline finally knew that I was a witch, I was going to tell you about the Valk Family. I had to make some change of plans to protect the Valk, but I was gonna tell Sofia Ressa Valk II that I needed her to buy some time in order to make her "Doppelganger" to be used as a distraction for the enemy, "The true enemy". I hope Sofia will be okay for hiding in Paris. She's under protection of the Majo Detective Force organization and we can't let Shinra's "Son" happened that Shinra was behind all of this! His "Son" brought the outcome to bring Madness to everything around the planet, which turns out nothing but a "Thing" In the bible! What on earth were Japanese authors thinking of using religious stuff from the catholics? I'm a witch serves and worship a king, not a god. Cause why demons want to be a God? And I understand the question that the horned god witches worship is a Demon King that is the devil! Now I know who really created the world of Soul Eater, It was all part of a great big lie! There was no Kishin in Nevada, nor in the real world. It was a bunch of Ancient Greek Spirits called Maniae, they were the one's responsible for bringing the so-called madness and our author was so arrogant he did that for himself!

Ashley : No wonder the reason Shounen mangas like your world would all keep that in favor since the world and life of Shinra was foreshadowed to become a prequel of how her world was created.

Kimial Diehl : But in this case, Shinra himself wanted to become god and would eventually reset not the Ohkuboverse, but his entire world that was fallen in danger due to the hands of the evil entity which was his "Aunt". Because there is some connection with the Greek Gods and the Ohkubo verse.

Meta Knight : ....

Kimial Diehl : But when Shinra manages to find out the situation of his dying world, he finally saw the truce face of the Evangelist, revealing to be a heartless-like cosmic entity trying to consume the planet, causing him to create the world of Soul Eater!

Ashley : Probably the same thing that all of people's hearts have been turning to darkness this even often. Simple as that, Maka and Death's hatred against the humans and witches has been fueling darkness this entire time. Square Enix must've been playing god or whoever is responsible for the outcome, must've been Death himself.

Kimial Diehl : Oh well, it's nothing personal that my friends to thinking that Grimoire was a doppelganger, but it's true. Doppelgangers are always ment to fool everyone including their selves. It's a goddamn disgrace!

Ashley : I totally understand how the world of Soul Eater's gonna be now?

Kimial Diehl : I'm not sure. But eventually, the world of Soul Eater would eventually ends in darkness and it will be come--

[BOOM!]

[SA2 SFX : Alarm Blaring]

Voice : EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY! AN UNKNOWN LIFE FORM HAS ABOARD ONTO THE HALBERD! ALL SOLDIERS NEAR THE DECK, PLEASE REPEL FOR ANY INTRUDERS! I REPEAT! PLEASE REPEL FOR ANY INTRUDERS!

Kimial Diehl : What now?!

Ashley : Come on! To the area where Combo Cannon is! [the gang runs off to the deck]

~ Thirteenth Scene : Revenge of the Beast ~

#super mario bros #super smash bros #kirby #warioware #soul eater #bendy and the ink machine #ashley warioware #penny crygor #meta knight #kimial diehl #crossover #nintendo #hal laboratory #square enix #adventure #action #drama #dark comedy #mystery #horror #thriller #supernatural #dark fantasy #fantasy

[rcbls]

                            (       𝐁𝐀𝐒𝐈𝐂 𝐈𝐍𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍.       )

full name. — aeris rodrigues.

nicknames. — airy, ressa, res, a.r.

 alias. — rebel.

role. — the strategist. 

age. — twenty-six.

occupation. —  something here ! / street racer. 

crew. — sangre nueva. 

hometown.  — miami springs, mi. 

location. — wynwood, mi.

                                  (       𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐃𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐒.      ) 

faceclaim. — rainy milo. 

gender. — cis-female. 

pronouns — she/her. 

sexual orientation. — heterosexual. 

birth date. — november 12th, 1995. 

ethnicity. — guyanese ± european. 

zodiac big 3. — ( rising : libra, moon : sagittarius, sun : scorpio. ) 

height.— 5'3. • weight.— 110 lbs. 

eye color. — dark brown. 

hair color. — dark brown. 

distinct body marks. — mole the left side of face near lip, freckles across nose, mole on right side near collar bone.                                       

                                 (        𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘.       ) 

 character parallel(s). — tbd. label. — the femme fatale. aesthetic. — 90’s streetwear and fashion, 25mm film pictures, minimalistic yet expensive taste, jet black hair, middle parts, designer shoes and bags paid with money earned from racing, baby hairs, gold jewelry, clear lip gloss, always in heels — even when racing. likes. — flashy things, r&b music, old school cars, low riders, hydraulics, fire + flames, the color black, lollipops, fast food, flirting, weed, fashion. dislikes.— obnoxiously fast drivers on a casual day, complainers, excuses, not getting her way, vegans, loud music.

                                     (         𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘.           )

growing up in the city of miami, florida, 𝐀𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐒 had been exposed to the racing culture at a very young age, from her older cousin’s and other family member’s being a part of the fast life. 𝐀𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐒 had always been a rebellious child and did any and everything her parents would command her not to, and attending races at night after they had gone to sleep was just another one of those things she dabbled in. 𝐀𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐒 never began attending the races thinking that one day she would be a part of that lifestyle, but the more she went, the more she was captivated by the logistical aspect of racing and studied the details and calculations that each racer made to try and one up the other. years later, at the age of eighteen, 𝐀𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐒 had finished high school and decided that her next move was to become a ( something goes here ) by day and a racer by night.                               

                          (           𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐑𝐄 𝐍𝐔𝐄𝐕𝐀.         ) 

 as mentioned previously, 𝐀𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐒 knew about the racing culture growing up due to family members who were racers or fans of the industry. 𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐑𝐄 𝐍𝐔𝐄𝐕𝐀  was the crew that lived in her family’s bones ever since the splitting up of the original crew, but  𝐀𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐒 made a conscious decision to roll with the crew that she felt more drawn to in terms of strategy, leadership, and style in racing, and that was 𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐑𝐄 𝐍𝐔𝐄𝐕𝐀. because of her disloyalty to her family, 𝐀𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐒  was shunned from her family and forced to make it out on her own. being forced to get up on her own two feet, 𝐀𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐒  decided that she had no other choice but to make it in the racing world to be able to use the money she earned from racing to fend for herself. in exchange of losing her birth family, she found a new one in 𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐑𝐄 𝐍𝐔𝐄𝐕𝐀 and hasn’t turned her back yet.

#tags — tbd.

[thebreadtree]

🎃 OC Halloween🎃

(By row, top to bottom)

Jora:

She always dressed up on Halloween and nothing will keep her from doing it. Jora even goes to a costum constest each year and unsuprisingly she wins. It's her job after all to disguise herself as someone else so she lives those costums like her life depends on it.

Ressa:

My Smuggler is a party goer and force forbidds that she's not on a party on Halloween. She always get's drunk as hell on those parties and ends up flirting with random persons. But deep inside she always hopes that her nemesis Tchin will come around so they can go for trick or treat. (It's complicated between those two)

Ky'rii:

This douche bag of a Sith Warrior would actually like to be on a fancy party on Dromund Kaas. But since he is such an asshole nobody invites him to one. So instead he sits in the main area of his ship and eats candy with Vette all night while pouting about that nobody invited him.

Tchon:

He is a cinnamon roll of bounty hunter and nothing will stop Blizz, Mako and him from going trick or treating together. Not even his psychopath of a sister Tchin and/or Gault who both make fun of all of them (except Blizz) for doing "something so childish while being adults".

Reyhannah:

On Halloween Reyhannah just stays in her bed with a datapad to watch The Thing and not even Garza can stop her from ignoring her duty for her favourite horror movie. She is just watching The Thing on a loop until she falls asleep and she does that since she was a child. She will probabally keep this tradition up until she dies much to the distaste of her husband Aric. After two years of the same film over and over again Halloween has become one of his greatest fears. He loves Reyhannah but enough is enough.

Celeina:

My Outlander has always scared people on Halloween with her Cousin Lydia and they will never stop doing that. So everytime Halloween comes around Celeina invites Lydia over to Odessen and they turn the base into a spook house. And they don't do half things. We are talking about fake corpses(or are they real?), dead maggots or other insects that appear in your food, rooms that are smeared with blood, demons, ghosts and things like dead killik fingerlings in your closet(don't worry the fingerlings are just faking their death. Vector told them to help his wife scare everybody because he knows how much she loves it). The first time this happend on Odessen things were carried so far that Senya had a heart attack and nearly died. But the others were not so well off either. Arcann had a trauma of soup ever since, Lana fell into a coma of 2 weeks because she hit her head badly while fleeing from a demon, Theron ran back to his mother because he was scared took a trip to Coruscant because he needed to get away from the base and Koth refused to get out of his room until Life Day came around. Ever since then Halloween on Odessen has been slighty less scarier(and without demons and ghosts) but the Commander and her Cousin are still putting up a good scare around and on Halloween.

Rougeon:

My Darkside JC Rougeon is really enjoying herself on Halloween. Back when she was younger she used to scare other Padawans or Younglings(sometimes even Masters) at the Jedi Temple but those days are long gone. Now she makes her house extra creepy looking and then she hides somewhere and scares the children away if they dare to come to her house. When most of the trick or treat is over she goes out and vandalizes some other houses. When she comes back she puts on a horror movie and watches it with her girlfriend Parena. She never can concentrate on the movie tho because she is busy not being squished to death by Parena who is scared by every little part of the movie.

Tchin:

Once she is done insulting her brother Tchon my psychopath of a BH goes out on some planet to scare people and then kill them. She always tries to bring Torian along with her but he refuses to come along. He may love her but some things go to far. So Tchin just takes Skadge with her and they have alot of fun playing Jack the Ripper(or other serial killers). Sometimes she thinks of if she should really take the offer from Ressa to go trick or treat(just to fight with her of course) but in the end killing is always the better choice for her.

Parena:

My SI Parena spends the night of Halloween at her girlfriends house summoning demons because she always promises Rougeon to help her scare the people away. She actually does not want to do it but her LS ass just wants to help her beloved Jedi. Once Rougeon is going of to vandalize things Parena just watches whatever is on the HoloTV with her ancestor Kallig. When Rougeon finally returns home a horror movie is put in the Holoplayer and the two spend the rest of the night cuddling because Parena hates scary movies.

#OC #halloween #swtor #october

[curiousobsession101]

@ichthus95​ and a few other people and me are in a Starfinder campaign DMed by one of my two best friends (not @littleblackdragonbayard​ , one who doesn’t have a tumblr). Originally the party was my character Ressa (a true neutral damaya lashunta), ichthus’ character Sim (a chaotic good ysoki), and Bolt (a true neutral android). Here are some highlights from our campaign so far:

Session 1:

Sim: They did shoot me. Ressa: You wouldn’t have been shot if you hadn’t run out in front of them. Sim: That’s victim blaming! A few sessions later our assignment by the Starfinder society had led to us exploring a derelict ship with a mysteriously missing crew. On the ship we quickly found a lone survivor, a true neutral vesk named Gomorod (technically an npc) who immediately joined out party. It turned out the ship was attacked by monsters that were weak to water, and after the crew was killed some goblins had arrived to collect scrap and had been killed by the monsters too, with only two survivors. Later, same session: Ressa: I give the goblins each a flask of water. DM: They seem slightly disappointed these won’t set anything on fire. Ressa: You can set the ship on fire after we’re done investigating it. Goblins: We can we can?! Ressa (OOC): *laughing* I like them. Can we keep them? Sim (OOC): *also laughing* Yeah!!

(We didn’t set the ship on fire.)

End of that session:

DM: I didn’t expect them to actually survive! Now I have to come up with names and classes for them!! The goblins are called Stinky and Smelly and they’re our unofficial party mascots now. After exploring the ship we went to this asteroid where an android bounty hunter shot at us. We fought and won but didn’t kill him, and he joined our party (Thrynn, a chaotic neutral android played by someone who had joined the campaign late.) Eventually we ended up in a situation that required formalwear and this happened: Sim: Does a lab coat count as formal clothing? Thrynn: Do you have a tie to go with it? Sim: That is a GREAT idea!

Then we were doing some research in a library and Thrynn picked up a book on Aucturn. This whole conversation was OOC: Ressa: Wait you’re interested in Aucturn? Thrynn: Yes. Ressa: And we’ve confirmed you speak Infernal? Thrynn: Yes. Ressa: What’s your alignment again? Thrynn: Chaotic Neutral. This is just professional curiosity. Ressa: Oh yeah, being a bounty hunter means you need to know as much as possible about Nyarlathotep and them. Thrynn: Of course. Ressa: Wait, was it someone on Aucturn who hired you to kill us?” Android 2: “I told you, I don’t know who hired me. Ressa: Maybe it was a shell company on Aucturn! (later, same conversation, still OOC, also Ressa is a priestess of Lao Shu Po): Ressa: Well Ressa wouldn’t question your alignment based on your interest in Aucturn. She’d just find it interesting. Thrynn: Your character worships a death rat. Ressa: Exactly! Much later we’re in a forest surrounded by creatures colloquially called “stingbats”. We’ve killed all but one. DM: The last stingbat looks like it doesn’t really want to fight anymore. Ressa: We should let it go. Bolt: Yeah, no point wasting charges if it’s not even gonna fight otherwise. Later, same campaign after a much tougher fight: DM: The stingbat from earlier shows up and holds out a mark one serum of healing to you. Ressa: Awesome. Can we keep it? Sim: Yeah it can be our new pet! DM: Ugh, NO! Bolt: Aw, why not?

(the stingbat stayed with us for several sessions after that perched on a party member’s shoulder) Thrynn’s player has missed a few sessions for various reasons. Whenever we have a session and he’s not there we joke that Thrynn is updating and the reason it takes so long to update is because he was made by Apple. At one point he was gone for several sessions in a row and we made frequent jokes about how long it was taking him to update. This was during that time:

DM: The fungal spores are no longer dangerous, but they cover the ground in drifts about three feet deep and they stain anything that touches them pink. Sim: That’s almost as tall as I am. Um, I stay behind Gomorod and walk in the path he clears out. DM: Actually, Gomorod picks up Thrynn and basically uses him as a snowplow through the spores. He’s pink all over now. Bolt: A sporeplow! Ressa (OOC): Oh my god, he upgraded to the rose gold version!

A couple sessions later:

DM: Ressa, roll charisma. Ressa (OOC): Um why? DM: Just roll it. Ressa (OOC): Nat 20. My first decent roll today. DM: This creature [shows a picture of a sky fisher] appears in front of you and shoots sticky threads at you. You are now entangled. That roll was to look like the most delicious party member. (a round or two later, having established the sky fisher is a very strong opponent) Ressa: I try to communicate with it telepathically and tell it that whoever’s been shooting at us from on top of that statue must be way more delicious than someone as scrawny as me. DM: It considers for a moment, and then you feel it touch your minds again and say “I will help you.” Later, same session, the sky fisher has eaten the npc on top of the statue. (This conversation is all OOC): DM: Wow, they really didn’t plan for you guys to have telepathy. Ressa: What? But there’s two main playble races with telepathy! DM: I know but they apparently really didn’t expect you to convince the sky fisher the shirren would be delicious. They have TONS of information on what you could have found out from interrogating them. Ressa: Well that sky fisher was super helpful. Could we persuade it to join our party? DM: NO!! Bolt: Oh come on, it’s really good in a fight! DM: OK if you go back to civilization in Castrovel with a sky fisher following you, you’ll be shot on sight. They really don’t like sky fishers there. Thrynn: Why not? DM: THEY EAT PEOPLE! Thrynn and Ressa: So? Sim: But it can turn invisible. Can’t we just have it turn invisible when we get back to the city? DM: If they pass a check they’ll notice it. Thrynn: OK so we just need to get it to fly high enough that it’s too far away for them to notice it if it’s invisible. Sim: How tall are the buildings here? *cue a ten minute long discussion of how to get the sky fisher on our spaceship without being noticed* DM: Well if you ask it to join your party it will tell you it doesn’t like enclosed spaces like a spaceship. Whole party: Aw..

There have been a few jokes during the campaign that instead of a stereotypical “seduce ALL the things!” party we’re an “adopt ALL the things!” party. Also our stingbat ran away before we could take it to the ship with us and we all miss it terribly. Today we had the last session of the second segment of our campaign. Here are the highlights. (Sim’s backstory is that he has been a college student pretty much his entire adult life but he’s decided to take a gap year and gain some real-world experience by temporarily joining the Starfinder Society.)

(this conversation is all OOC, also keep in mind Thrynn and Ressa are the most money-hungry characters in the party) DM: After you get back to the university of Castrovel, you’re offered two options of payment. Either each of you can take a 1000 credit “research grant” or you can take up to three years free tuition at the university. Sim: I’ll take the research grant. Thrynn: Do they have online classes? DM: No. Thrynn: I might just leave the party to get my degree here. DM: It’s only for three years. Thrynn: I’ll take some extra classes, it’ll be fine. Ressa: Yeah honestly, can Ressa ask for a moment to think about it. After what’s happened, she’s discovered an interest in learning about history and other religions. Bolt: Yeah, free classes! Thrynn: We can go back to the Starfinder Society in three years! DM: You do this, you go back three years later and the universe has ended. Thrynn: Not my problem. Ressa: Ressa wouldn’t care. DM: Yes Ressa would care! That’s where she keeps all her stuff! Ressa: But HISTORY! DM: And [our direct superior in the Starfinder Society] is mad at you. Sim: Wait, why’s he mad at us? Ressa: He means he’d be mad at us if we quit the Starfinder Society to go to college. DM: Yeah because you’re well aware that even if what you found out turns out to be wrong, all the Devourer cultists would rally around it and try to destroy the entire universe and you didn’t stop them! Thrynn: OK then just let us take online classes. Bolt: We have a system-wide comm unit now. *several minutes of arguing later* DM: OK! You can take online classes! Jeez! Bolt: Great! Now whenever [Thrynn’s player] isn’t here we can just say Thrynn is doing homework! Sim: Sorry, got a term paper coming up. Thrynn: Look mom! I’m getting smart! DM: Oh god no... (Sim ended up being the only one to take the money and the rest of us are now officially enrolled at the university.) (During this conversation Ressa opens telepathic communications with the other party members so they can talk without Aria hearing.)

DM: OK as you approach your ship you see a cloaked figure approach. She introduces herself as Aria and offers to pay you to take her to Akiton because she has a shipment of cargo to sell. Bolt (OOC): I can’t tell from the picture, what species is she? DM: That’s a life science check. *one of our party rolled high* DM: She’s an elf. *after a little bit of discussion where we talked about how smuggling stuff to Akiton was EXTREMELY SUSPICIOUS and we didn’t want to get in potential danger but also most of the party are greedy fucks* DM: She offers to pay you 10,000 credits to take her to Akiton. Ressa (via telepathy): OK her cargo is DEFINITELY illegal. Thrynn (via telepathy): But that’s a lot of money. Ressa (via telepathy): I’m just concerned it might be slaves. Otherwise, it’s fine. Sim: Will your cargo require any food or water during the trip? Aria: With any luck, no. After a little bit of conversation, we discovered we’d misunderstood and the DM didn’t mean she was smuggling cargo TO Akiton, she was smuggling cargo OFF of Akiton and didn’t much care where we brought her and her cargo to as long as there was a population she could sell to and it wasn’t Castrovel.

Sim (via telepathy): OK if she taking cargo from Akiton I’m slightly less suspicious. Ressa, who grew up on Akiton, (via telepathy): You know how I was a drug dealer on Akiton? Sim (via telepathy): Yeah... Ressa (via telepathy): YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE IS ON AKITON OTHER THAN DRUG DEALERS, SIM? GANGS, CRIMINALS, CEOS DOING ILLEGAL SHIT, SLAVERS! Her cargo coming FROM Akiton rather than going TO Akiton makes it MORE suspicious, not less! DM: She offers to pay you double if you take her somewhere she can sell her cargo. Ressa (via telepathy): Oh man, that’s so much money... Thrynn (via telepathy): Well if we won’t be in danger we can just drop her off somewhere it’ll be their problem. Ressa (OOC): [DM] you said she doesn’t care where we take her? DM: Nope. Ressa (OOC): Can we take her to the Diaspora? DM: It has to be somewhere she can breathe. Ressa (OOC): What about Aballon? Bolt (OOC): She can breathe there as long as she stays underground. DM: You need to take her somewhere there are people who will buy her stuff. Ressa: I know it’s not a planet but if we take her to the kasatha ship- DM: They wouldn’t let her on. Ressa: Darn. Thrynn: What’s on the other side of the Diaspora? DM: Eox. Thrynn: We could take her to Eox. DM: She doesn’t look too happy about it but she accepts your offer to take her to Eox. Ressa: OK if we let her on the ship I think we need to keep her under watch at all times. We can each take turns watching her but I think Gomorod should go first. DM: Gomorod watches her for a day and a night and then tells you he’s refusing to watch her any more. Sim (OOC): Why? DM: She’s creepy. Ressa (OOC): SHE creeps GOMOROD out?? Bolt (OOC): Well elves are generally described as being either ethereally beautiful or kinda creepy. I guess she’s the creepy kind. Ressa (OOC) (I’ve never done a pathfinder-style campaign before this): Pathfinder elves are weird. Either way, if Gomorod is creeped out that’s VERY suspicious. But we can rotate who keeps watch so each of us watches for a day and a night at a time and he doesn’t have to watch her for more than that at a time. Bolt, Sim, and Thrynn (OOC): OK sure. DM: Gomorod refuses to watch her at night. Ressa (OOC): Oh. Well we can rotate day and night shifts so he only watches her during the day. DM: He agrees to that.

Pretty much the whole time Aria is on board and Ressa is awake, Ressa keeps telepathic communications open with Thrynn, Bolt, Sim, and Gomorod.

Sim: I’ll take the next night watch. DM: *sends Sim a private message of what he observes* Sim (OOC): Well now I know why Gomorod was creeped out. The rest of us (OOC): What is it? Won’t you tell us? Sim (OOC): Yeah, I’ll tell the others. DM: She never blinks, and at night her eyes glitter like diamonds. Bolt (OOC): So do we know if this is a normal elven thing? DM: No, you know that elf eyes don’t do that.

Later, we’ve long since picked up her cargo and we’re almost at Verces where we intend to drop off another passenger. This is Sim’s home planet and he plans to use family connections to help her find a job.

Sim (OOC): So how many siblings should I have? DM: About a hundred. Ressa (OOC): So what you’re saying is they breed like rats? DM and Sim (OOC): Yes. Ressa (OOC): So can I roll Diplomacy to try to get [Aria] to answer more questions about herself? Sim (OOC): Is it Ressa’s turn to watch her? Ressa (OOC): She can volunteer to take this shift even if it’s not her turn. [DM] can I roll Diplomacy to ask her questions? DM: You can ask her questions, but don’t bother to roll. Just roleplay this part. Ressa: *asks general questions about the cargo* Aria: *reaffirms that the cargo is not alive but otherwise deflects the questions* DM: You notice that at the back of her head, something seems to be moving under her hood. Aria: *a couple more questions later she excuses herself to the bathroom* Ressa: *follows at a distance and stands in the hallway leading to the bathrooms while Aria is in there* Thrynn (via telepathy): I’m gonna sneak in and try to look at one of the crates. Ressa (via telepathy): I’ll tell you if she comes out of the bathroom. Thrynn: *a few successful rolls later, manages to look in one of the crates* DM: You can see that it’s a statue, but you can’t make out details through the packing peanuts. Ressa (OOC): They still use packing peanuts? DM: Yes, but they’re magic packing peanuts. Bolt (OOC): Are they edible? DM: No, but the ones that fall out of the crate disappear instead of getting everywhere. Later, after Thrynn has made it look like he never opened the crate and left, Ressa and Aria are back in the room, and Ressa’s made a bit more idle chitchat with her: Aria: I’m a bit bored in here with my cargo. Ressa: Would you like me to get you a deck of cards? Aria: I guess. Or maybe I could see more of the ship? Thrynn (via telepathy): If we get her into the holodeck we could set up a game of poker and at some point one of us could “trip” and pull her cloak off. Ressa: We have a holodeck. *smiles* Thrynn just said he’d like to play cards with you. Aria: Ah, right, telepathy. Ressa: *laughs slightly and waves her antennae* That’s a common reaction. *inwardly makes a mental note because even if Aria isn’t an elf we picked her up from Castrovel where almost every sentient native species is telepathic so it seems odd at best for Aria to react that way*

(OOC Thrynn made it very clear one of his plans was to try to seduce Aria into either admitting what she was or taking off her cloak.)

Thrynn (OOC): Wow, Ressa’s doing really well at poker. Ressa (OOC): Yeah, see, I can roll high when the rolls don’t actually matter! Thrynn (OOC): We’re almost at Verces, right? DM: Yeah. Thrynn (OOC): Can we slow down so we don’t get there just yet? Bolt, who is in another room, (OOC): I’m part of the telepathic skype call right? Ressa (OOC): Yeah, with this psychic booster we got Ressa can communicate telepathically almost all the way across the ship. Sim (OOC): But I’m the pilot! I’ll do it. Just give me an excuse to leave. Thrynn: I’m parched. Sim, do you think you could get us some drinks? Sim: What kind of drinks? Thrynn: Pan-galactic gargle blaster. Ressa (OOC): NO we need to not be incapacitated. Thrynn (OOC): Virgin pan-galactic gargle blaster! Ressa (OOC): Every single ingredient is a strong intoxicant and some of them are fatal! Thrynn (OOC): A virgin pan-galactic gargle blaster is just water.

Eventually we settled for Starfinder equivalents of vodka, tequila, and whiskey. It quickly became clear that Aria either isn’t affected by alcohol or has an insanely high tolerance. Also we weren’t getting to Verces until this whole thing reached some kind of conclusion.

Thrynn (OOC): So now we won’t get there until after nightfall right? Ressa (OOC): Yep so you get to tell her her eyes sparkle.

Ressa: *to Aria* I have some really good hyperleaf if you want some. Aria: Alcohol is the only drug I do. Ressa: *nods* *says via telepathy* She doesn’t know what she’s passing up. I NEVER give my drugs away for free.

Thrynn: Let’s make things a little more interesting. The winner drinks one shot, and the loser drinks two. Ressa (via telepathy): I deal drugs. I don’t do drugs! Thrynn (via telepathy): You can drink shots of water it’s fine. Ressa (via telepathy): No I’m doing this. I just won’t be drinking much. Ressa (OOC): She’s probably a super lightweight. Sim (OOC): Well she’s very light weight. Ressa (OOC): Exactly! Plus she’s never gotten drunk in her life.

Ressa (OOC): Wait you’re drinking booze in real life?? Thrynn (OOC): I’m a method actor!

Thrynn: So you’re from Castrovel right? Aria: Yes. Thrynn: *starts making small talk in Castrovellian which we all speak* Aria: *responding in Castrovellian but no more talkative than before* Ressa: *looking at Aria’s empty glass* *speaking in Elven* Want another drink? Aria: Y-yes? DM: Aria is hesitant, like she’s not sure she’s responding correctly. Ressa: *in Castrovellian because most of the party doesn’t speak Elven* Sim could you get Aria a refill? Sim: Sure. Ressa: *to Aria, in Elven again* Don’t you speak Elven? Aria: *turns to Thrynn and speaks in either Common or Castrovellian it wasn’t specified* Want to play another round? Ressa (via telepathy): She doesn’t speak Elven!

DM: Gomorod’s getting tipsy. Aria doesn’t look affected at all. Party: Seriously??

Ressa (up to this point hasn’t had anything to drink): I shoot Thrynn a dirty look and down the two shots. Thrynn (via telepathy): You could just drink water. Ressa (via telepathy): I’m hoping if I’m theatrical about this I’ll amuse her.

Thrynn: Let’s make this more interesting. *takes a flower out of his bag that had previously been employed as a sort of magical lure that almost got Ressa and Bolt killed and even now is remarkably well preserved* If you win, I give you this flower. If I win, you drink that entire bottle of booze. Aria: Are you flirting with me?? Thrynn: Are you declining the challenge? Aria: Fine. Thrynn lost his flower but the round after that Aria lost. DM: After downing the whole bottle, you notice Aria starting to act slightly tipsy. Party: FINALLY! Ressa: *loses again* I guess I have to pay up. If you don’t want my drugs, I don’t have much... Aria: I don’t think you have anything I want. Ressa: Are you sure there’s nothing I could give you that you might want? Sim: That sounded very suggestive. Ressa (OOC): Oh thank god. In real life I’m super aro ace. I don’t know how to flirt!

Thrynn: Well I don’t really have anything else to wager. Let’s make this more interesting. How about strip poker? Thrynn (OOC): OK what does Ressa take off? Ressa (OOC): *almost says she takes of her shirt but then realizes something* Is casual clothing in the Starfinder universe equivalent to clothing in real life? DM: Yeah. Ressa (OOC): OK then- DM: She can take off her jacket. Ressa (OOC): Would she even be wearing a jacket? Oh whatever, she takes off her jacket. DM: Aria takes off the jacket she wears under her cloak. Thrynn can briefly see her forearms before she hides them under the table. They’re scaly. DM: Aria takes off her vest. Ressa (OOC): How many layers is she wearing?! DM: It’s in the picture. Sim (OOC): A lot.

Aria: I know what you’re trying to do. *gets up and walks to the door* Ressa: I follow her. Wait. It’s just that we know you’re lying to us. I’m not usually such a stickler for the truth but we need to be absolutely sure you’re not a danger to us. We weren’t trying to antagonize you. Aria: *sighs* I guess you’re going to pull this out of me no matter what. *reaches for her hood* Ressa: *hurriedly* Just don’t attack us and we don’t have a problem. DM: She pulls back her hood. She’s a medusa.

Thrynn (OOC): This makes me nervous about the statues. Bolt (OOC): Can flesh to stone be reversed? Sim (OOC): Yeah, flesh to stone can be reversed by a strong enough mystic.

Long story short, our characters questioned her and it turns out she’s spent her life making a living by turning “perverted” criminals into statues and selling them to rich people around the system as art pieces. She hid her identity because most races are pretty prejudiced against medusas because of the whole turning people to stone thing. Our characters immediately relaxed when we found this out.

Sim: We’re almost at Verces. Would you like to sell your cargo here instead of waiting for us to get to Eox? DM: She very much prefers selling on Verces than Eox. Necromancers and scavengers really don’t like medusas.

Once she realized we weren’t going to treat her badly because of her race, Aria asked to join our crew.

Ressa: Well we work for the Starfinder Society. You wouldn’t get much chance to do the kind of work you’ve been doing. Bolt: Plus there’s lots of firefights. Ressa: Is that OK with you? Bolt: All the bullets... Aria: A life of investigation and adventure? Count me in.

Aria: Plus I prefer to live somewhere people don’t want to stone me. Ressa: Is that why you refused the hyperleaf?

Sim: So I’ll ask my hundred or so siblings. Actually, we slowed down going to Verces, right? So it’s probably more now. Ressa: It’s only been a few hours! Also, your parents really need a hobby. Bolt: They have one! Thrynn: And they’re very good at it.

Sim: I hope nobody here is lactose intolerant because EVERYTHING in this dinner is gonna have cheese in it. Ressa: Even though Ressa has a clear spindle she’s gonna try a little bit of everything because she’s never had such good food in her life. She’s had Akiton-whatever-she-could-scrounge-up food and tasteless protein wafers and that’s it. And she’s going to compliment the chef. Aria: Aria too. She’s never had a home-cooked meal in her life.

Sim (OOC): Wait. [DM] I think my mom’s gonna have a SEIZURE when she sees Ressa. Ressa (OOC): Um she’ll try to placate her and explain that yes, she grew up starving on Akiton but she has a clear spindle now and doesn’t actually need food or water so she’s fine. DM: Will she have an issue with Aria keeping her face covered? She won’t want them to see her glittering eyes. Sim (OOC): She’ll be fine with that. She’ll just be upset I’m letting my friend go around malnourished.

[caressaharand]

Welcome to Arvor (Welcome to Hell) | Ressa & Torul

Torul Molec was a friend and, perhaps more importantly, an ally. In Arvor, Ressa was flanked with enemies on nearly every side. As a result, she knew that there would be no chance of her and Torul having a private audience; no chance to discuss anything important for fear of being overheard, but it was still a small comfort to know that he was, at least, on her side. 

It did no good to dwell on what could have been, but seeing him she couldn’t help but wonder what life would have been like, had they married before the Quasars swooped in to stop them. She didn’t love Torul and she doubted that he loved her, but they respected each other ... they trusted each other. And that would have been more than enough. Torul acted with his head and Ressa with her heart: she knew they would have worked well together; balanced each other. 

She thought they could have been happy. 

It could be so much worse, she reminded herself. She had only to look at her brother-in-law to be thankful that she had married Aram. 

“It is good to see you,” She said. He looked tired and worn since the last time she saw him. She suspected that he might have said the same of her. “Any news from Byssya?” Any news from Arantha? She wanted to ask. Any news from home? 

#comment #torulmolec #torul molec #ressa harand #welcome to arvor (welcome to hell)

[southeastasianists]

The warning signs were all there. But Maria Ressa says “I never saw it coming.”

The founder and driving force behind the Philippines news organisation Rappler admits to surprise when President Rodrigo Duterte effectively declared war on her journalists and heralded with it the biggest threat to freedom of the press the country has seen in decades.

Rappler has only been in existence since 2012, beginning as an online news start-up with 12 reporters, established by Ressa, a former CNN Bureau chief. But over the past two months this small yet bullish group has been at the forefront of a battle against eroding press freedom in the Philippines. Duterte’s spokesperson - in language eerily evocative of Donald Trump’s White House - declared that “not only is Rappler’s news fake, it being Filipino is also fake.”

Philippines launches inquiry into formula milk firms targeting poor Read more

It is an assault which began in January when their license was revoked and has quickly intensified as the year has gone on, with Rappler’s political correspondent barred from the Presidential palace for briefings. Then, last week, the government announced they were investigating Rappler for evading $2.5m of tax – a complaint Ressa called “ludicrous”.

Ressa is now in a highly politicised David and Goliath fight for the survival of Rappler, which has reached the Supreme Court.

“We’re ready to fight it,” she said defiantly. “The end goal is to keep reporting, as long as we’re a democracy, and this, as far as I know, is still a democracy. And in a funny way it’s a backhanded compliment that the president sees us, a small start-up, as a threat.”

It was during Duterte’s second State of the Union speech in July that Ressa was first surprised to hear the President declare that Rappler was “fully owned” by Americans, and therefore in violation of the constitution. “It’s a ridiculous claim,” said Ressa, shaking her head. “We are owned 100% by Filipinos, the documents prove it.”

It followed months of critical reporting by Rappler on Duterte’s increasingly bloody and brutal war on drugs and government sanctioned extrajudicial killings, which has taken an estimated 8,000 lives. The ICC are now looking into evidence that Duterte committed crimes against humanity.

Duterte, angered by the coverage, decided to boycott, and then go after traditional media, determined to control the narrative. First of all he targeted the country’s biggest newspaper, the Philippine Inquirer, which had started a “kill list” documenting those who died in the drug war. Then he went after the biggest television station ABS-CBN, threatening not to renew their franchise. Finally, his attentions turned to Rappler.

In August 2016, the Securities and Exchange commission demanded document after document from Rappler, first to prove their Filipino ownership, and then for other unknown reasons. “It was clearly a fishing expedition,” said Ressa. “It was case of being guilty until proven innocent. There was never any formal charge given.”

In January, the government announced they had revoked Rappler’s licence. But while other news organisations kept their battle with the government quiet, Rappler did not. Ressa held an instant press conference outside their Manila offices, denouncing the attack on press freedom to the world.

“I’m banking on the fact that there are still good people in government who will prevent this. I’ve been a journalist for more than 33 years, and at Rappler we refuse to change, I refuse to be bullied,” she said.

The case is now in the Court of Appeals, which has often been known to take over a decade to come to a decision. Duterte also has an authoritarian grip on the legislature, with the power to appoint his own choice of Supreme Court justices.

Rappler’s battles also exist in the digital world. It was in August 2016, following Duterte’s denouncement of the site, that Ressa first noticed that the social media campaign machine which had helped get him elected had “transformed and became weaponised.”

“The first targets were journalists,” said Ressa. “Any journalist who asked critical questions, anyone on social media who questioned about the extrajudicial killings was bombarded with abuse, threats of violence death threats from trolls and bots and these fake Facebook accounts. We had endless rape threats, death threats, very misogynistic attacks on women. The end goal of that was to batter hate, to use hate to silence any dissent or critical questions.”

It has been unrelenting ever since and as a result Ressa put in place extra security for her reporters and offered counselling. At one point Ressa found herself getting 90 death threats an hour though social media.

The hand of Duterte in this is not known and hard to prove. When Ressa asked the president in December 2016 whether he was aware of the vicious army of trolls championing his agenda online “he just said ‘you know that I’m not online’. And he might not know but it’s plausible deniability - it’s how you use terrorist tactics,” said Ressa.

The battering has taken its toll. “I used to be a war zone correspondent and I can tell you it’s easier than what we’ve been up against these two years - at least with conflict reporting you know your enemy and you know where it’s coming from. Right now we have no idea when we’re getting these exponential attacks,” Ressa said.

For many campaigners, the survival of Rappler has become inseparable from the survival of press freedom – and democracy itself – in the Philippines. While Ressa believes that the country is going through a “transformation that we need to keep a close watch on”, she said that Duterte had not rung the death knell for democracy in the Philippines just yet.

“I came of age in 1986 and I watched the people power evolve and watched the pendulum swing as every authoritarian, one man rule in southeast Asia gradually transformed to democracies,” said Ressa. “I would hate, as I end my career, to watch the pendulum swing right back.”

#Southeast Asia #Philippines #Rodrigo Duterte #Press Freedom #Media #Democracy #Politics

[mothpoems]

10 & 15 + the OC(s) with the most interesting / unexpected answer 🌿 for a bonus challenge to go with 15, drabble an AU with them as natives of that era 👀

you get 1) eilana ianav, aka eila, aka student-turned-revolutionary who is uncomfortably attracted to her rival, a mage who believes in the monarchy completely and 2) moraine, a beekeeper on an island in a world where no one else can live on land

10: You are conducting a ritual. What 5 items would you need to summon your OC?

eila: a bird wing skeleton, a stick of dynamite, copper wire, a glass figurine shaped like a dragon, something red

moraine: a piece of honeycomb, a monocle, driftwood carved into the shape of a horse, a lock of saya’s hair, a smooth pale stone

15: Your OC is given the chance to go back in time. Where do they go and what do they do?

eila: probably go back and destroy the monarchy at its beginning!

feray marches into enduhal and declares herself queen, and eila watches from the shadows. she knows the destruction monarchy can wreak, has lived the destruction, and the citizens of ressa wish to place another tyrant on the throne?

on coronation day, the entire city turns out to see now-queen feray. eila mingles with the crowd, her knife a comforting weight at her hip, a pack of dynamite strapped to her back, and waits for an opportunity. 

she doesn’t have to wait long.

(later, when the queen’s soldiers have descended on her and dragged her off to prison, when the throne is little more than a smoking ruin, when feray is dead, they will ask her, was it worth it?

she will smile. of course it was.)

moraine: some time where beekeeping was really normal and common because people actually lived on land and she would like, apprentice herself to a beekeeper 

does it hurt them? she asks her grandfather. his laugh makes the air vibrate.

not at all. we empty the hive out to keep them healthy, else they’d swarm off to make a new hive and all die. she can hear the slide of wood against wood he lifts a frame from the hive, can smell the smoke wreathing him that keeps the buzzing of the bees to a calm hum. 

what does it look like? she asks.

he pauses, and for a moment she wonders if he doesn’t like being reminded of her blindness, because some people are like that, but then he says, you know how sunshine feels, when you’re lying out in the grass? when everything’s warm and - and you can smell the trees growing? 

he touches her hand, brings it to the honeycomb. her finger sticks against the thick honey. he lifts her hood just enough to let her slip a finger under it and taste. it’s so sweet it makes her mouth tingle, but she swears she can taste how gold it is.

like that, he says. just like that.

#angelicxi #answered #oc ask game

[ippnoida]

Journalists Maria Ressa & Dmitry Muratov win 2021 Nobel Peace Prize

In its announcement datelined Oslo, 8 October 2021, The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2021 to journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace. Ms Ressa and Mr Muratov are receiving the Peace Prize for their courageous fight for freedom of expression in the Philippines and Russia. At the same time, they are representatives of all journalists who stand up for this ideal in a world in which democracy and freedom of the press face increasingly adverse conditions.

Maria Ressa uses freedom of expression to expose abuse of power, use of violence and growing authoritarianism in her native country, the Philippines. In 2012, she co-founded Rappler, a digital media company for investigative journalism, which she still heads. As a journalist and the Rappler’s CEO, Ressa has shown herself to be a fearless defender of freedom of expression. Rappler has focused critical attention on the Duterte regime’s controversial, murderous anti-drug campaign. The number of deaths is so high that the campaign resembles a war waged against the country’s own population. Ms Ressa and Rappler have also documented how social media is being used to spread fake news, harass opponents and manipulate public discourse.

Dmitry Andreyevich Muratov has for decades defended freedom of speech in Russia under increasingly challenging conditions. In 1993, he was one of the founders of the independent newspaper Novaja Gazeta. Since 1995 he has been the newspaper’s editor-in-chief for a total of 24 years. Novaja Gazeta is the most independent newspaper in Russia today, with a fundamentally critical attitude towards power. The newspaper’s fact-based journalism and professional integrity have made it an important source of information on censurable aspects of Russian society rarely mentioned by other media. Since its start-up in 1993, Novaja Gazeta has published critical articles on subjects ranging from corruption, police violence, unlawful arrests, electoral fraud and ”troll factories” to the use of Russian military forces both within and outside Russia.

Novaja Gazeta’s opponents have responded with harassment, threats, violence and murder. Since the newspaper’s start, six of its journalists have been killed, including Anna Politkovskaja who wrote revealing articles on the war in Chechnya. Despite the killings and threats, editor-in-chief Muratov has refused to abandon the newspaper’s independent policy. He has consistently defended the right of journalists to write anything they want about whatever they want, as long as they comply with the professional and ethical standards of journalism.

Free, independent and fact-based journalism serves to protect against abuse of power, lies and war propaganda. The Norwegian Nobel Committee is convinced that freedom of expression and freedom of information help to ensure an informed public. These rights are crucial prerequisites for democracy and protect against war and conflict. The award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov is intended to underscore the importance of protecting and defending these fundamental rights.

Without freedom of expression and freedom of the press, it will be difficult to successfully promote fraternity between nations, disarmament and a better world order to succeed in our time. This year’s award of the Nobel Peace Prize is therefore firmly anchored in the provisions of Alfred Nobel’s will.

#Journalists

[robowitchcomics-blog]

Hell of a Ride

[This story takes place around 5 years before the actual events of the story, and is meant to be a character study for Thara more than anything else :) I really got a feel for Thara’s nature in this, even though she’s understandably a bit more immature than when we meet her in Reversed Star properly!]

The EAHR Hall’s containment bay was much fancier than the ones Thara usually found herself in.

Through the green-tinted lens of her gas mask, Thara watched as the sediment that always seemed to coat her clothing rose from her body, sucked into the large but silent fan on the ceiling. At home, it took minutes for the containment bay to get rid of all of the toxic air, but this one was finished in seconds. And along with the usual ding that served as a notification that the filters had done their work, a pleasant, automated female voice drifted through the speakers.

“The air has been purified,” it said, “If you are wearing one, you may remove your mask.”

Thara unbuckled hers to reveal a grinning face. “Right on,” she said, as the entrance doors slid smoothly open.

They revealed a large room — probably the largest room she had ever been in in her life. Larger, certainly, than the hallways of the high school she was eventually planning on quitting. And the floors were white tiles, unlike the dingy gray that most buildings had. Even though she had watched the containment bay suck the dirt from her body, she still half-expected her sneakers to leave prints.

People milled about, and Thara took a moment to stand at the entrance and just stare at them. A hybrid girl with dark, human skin and sparkling flit wings held up a small compact, applying pink make-up in a triangle pattern beneath her eyes. A bira wearing a flame-printed jumpsuit to match the fire sprouting from his head strode past in long, confident strides. A blue-skinned vina absently rocked a state-of-the-art hoverboard beneath his foot as he chatted with a wide-eyed balja.

Thara clutched her own board a little closer to her side at this. It was homemade, handpainted, and entirely unimpressive looking. Actually, compared to the other riders, everything about Thara was unimpressive looking.

Her age was one strike against her. While most of the professional and hopeful Riders here were in their 20s, she was hardly 16 — the minimum age to qualify for Intergalactic Association of Hoverboard Racing, something only the most foolhardy tried and only the most talented succeeded in.

Another strike against her was her species. Technically, she wasn’t pure human — her father was half ressa, making her 25% — but she looked it. Her brother had gotten their father’s scales and gills, leaving her with only their mother’s green eyes and weak lungs. Humans might have been known for their mental resilience, but not their physical stamina.

Finally, there was her general appearance. Even the riders just looking to qualify in the prelims came looking their best — hoverboard racing was televised, after all, and they wanted to show just how marketable they could be. Thara, with her untidy mop of brown curls and grease-stained fingertips, didn’t quite fit the part.

Add all that to the shoddy-looking board at her side, and it was easy to see how she stood out. People were already turning and looking at her. She heard snickering from somewhere.

As she so often did, Thara comforted herself by thinking of her mother’s voice and gentle smile. It doesn’t matter what people think you’re capable of, honey, the Andromeda in her mind said. You know the truth.

Yes, she knew the truth. And the truth was that she knew more about the hoverboard clasped at her side than most of these riders knew about anything. Confidently, she made her way to the prelim counter, where a line was already formed.

Sitting at the registration desk was only one person, but since they were a stalk, they were able to take four people at a time — one for each head. Thara thought that was very economical of the EAHR. Then again, they had to save their money to pay the riders. 5-thou just for qualifying, and from there the winnings only went up. Thara felt her palms sweat just thinking about what she could do with that kind of salary.

When it was her turn, Thara was ushered to the head on the far right. Its eyes didn’t even glance up from the form in front of it.

“Name?” It asked.

“Thara,” she replied. “Household, Andropeth.”

“Species?”

“75% human, 25% ressa.”

“Hoverboard?”

“Yes.”

At this, the stalk’s head finally glanced up at her, giving her an utterly nonplused look. “I meant the brand,” it said.

Thara felt her smile start to slip. “It doesn’t have one,” she said, mimicking the head’s “this-should-be-obvious” tone. “I made it myself.”

The stalk’s head looked back down, nonchalantly tossing Thara’s half-finished form in the trash. “Homemade hoverboards are not regulation, and are therefore disqualified from entering in races,” it said. “Next?”

Someone — a dyle, judging by the leathery feel if its skin on her bare shoulder — tried to move past her, but Thara refused to move. “Wait, just — wait. Excuse me?”

Careful, love, Thara heard her mother’s voice caution her, in the back of her mind. Between her and her brother, she was always the more cautious one. Icaruss would already be making a scene, throwing things around, and being generally unproductive. Thara kept an even tone. She didn’t want attention, after all. She wanted results.

“What do you mean, disqualified?”

All four of the stalk’s heads swiveled to face her. “The EAHR expressly forbids any contraband hoverboards in races.” They spoke almost perfectly in unison, a hum that reminded Thara of a motor. The people the other heads were helping were beginning to stare, too. So much for not making a scene.

“But, wait,” she said. “Contraband is like — illegal, right? My hoverboard isn’t illegal, I didn’t —“

“All homemade hoverboards are contraband according to international regulations,” the stalk said. “Please leave, or be restrained by security.”

A security guard who looked to be around eight feet tall gave her the eye. Time to leave, her mother’s voice cautioned, and she knew it was right. But she couldn’t help just a bit of pettiness. Slamming the power button on her contraband hoverboard, she threw it down, jumped on, and zoomed out of the pristine building in one fluid motion, back to the containment bay.

The second the bay’s doors slid shut behind her, she jumped off the hoverboard and kicked it hard. It rebounded hard off of the metal doors to the outside world, but quickly righted itself. She had made it to be resilient, after all.

“Fuck!” She shouted. “What a cosmic load of bullshit!”

She angrily pulled her gas mask off her hip, undoing the straps. Behind her, the doors to the EAHR hall whisked open and closed. Thara spun around, angrily expecting to confront the security guy who had been eyeing her up. But, instead, there was a girl who seemed to be only a couple of years older than her, with a side shave and four piercings in each ear. She stood with a hand on her cocked hip, half a smile on her lips.

“Easy,” she said. “I’m not here to bust you.”

Thara did her best not to glower. “What are you here to do, then? Gloat?”

The girl raised her eyebrow. “What, over the fact that you didn’t get in? Be grateful, man. That place … It isn’t what you think it is.”

Sighing, Thara retrieved her hoverboard, rocking it absently beneath her fingertips. “Uh huh?”

“Yeah, man,” the girl said. “I mean — it’s not about racing at all. It’s about looking good. Putting on a show. Fucking screen shillers, y’know? The ones who don’t win the prelims will move on to porn auditions this afternoon.”

That startled a laugh out of Thara, despite her frustration. “Well, fuck. The money would’ve been good, at least.”

The girl snorted, rolling her eyes. “Man, fuck that. Life’s too short to sell out.”

Thara looked the girl up and down. She was human — or human looking, most people Thara’s age had at least some alien DNA. Still, if she had enough human DNA to look like that, she probably knew a little something about life being too short.

“What’s your name, anyways?” Thara asked.

“Z,” the girl responded. She gestured to the hoverboard. “You any good on that thing?”

Thara nodded. “I am.”

Z looked up at her and grinned. “Wanna test that?”

—

Twenty minutes later, all Thara could see was barren land, tinted green through the lens of her gas mask.

Thara shifted her weight forward a bit, urging her hoverboard to go faster to keep up with Z’s breakneck pace with ease. They had passed through the Shanty ten minutes ago, and when she looked behind her, the towering buildings looked forbiddingly distant.

Z barked out a smoker’s laugh. “Shit, we’re not gonna rob you, man.”

“How comforting,” Thara deadpanned.

“Too late to change your mind, anyways. We’re here.” Z pointed in the distance, where there was only emptiness.

Thara looked from the empty land to Z, and then back again. “Umm …”

Z laughed again. “Come on, smartypants. That board of yours is next level shit. You can figure out what’s going on.”

Thara squinted. Something about the flat land looked … off. After a second, she realized what it was. The cracked ground … seemed to repeat itself, like a floor tile. Same for the sky, which had the exact same clouds every couple of inches. Thara’s eyes widened in realization. “An invisibility wall,” she said, impressed. “Fuck me!”

Z laughed, delighted. “Win a race, then maybe you can afford me,” she teased.

The punk girl practically skipped over to the wall, fingers keying in an invisible code in a keypad. Part of the scenery abruptly shimmered and melted away, revealing a door. Z held it open. “After you,” she said. Thara looked around for a final time, then stepped inside.

The invisible building didn’t have a containment bay. Or a floor. Thara frowned a bit beneath her mask, taking in the shoddy-looking metal walls that towered over her, up to the slightly curved ceiling. She felt like she was standing under a giant metal bucket.

“There’s a containment bay through there, before you reach the track,” Z explained. “The actual racing area is clean, don’t worry.”

“Can your species read minds, Z?” Thara asked.

Z tipped her a wink. “Nah, you’re just not the first person I’ve rescued from the soul-sucking shit heap that is the EAHR. It’s a bit of a hobby, you might say.”

“Has anyone ever told you that you have weird hobbies?”

Z shrugged. “Says the girl who looks like she’s carrying an entire mechanic shop in her pockets,” she said.

“… Point taken.”

Z waved to a guy with human features, but red, cracked skin. “Hey, Lex! We got a new racer!”

Lex crossed his arms, towering over the two girls. “Really. She any good?”

“Let’s find out,” Z said. “Get her set up for prelims.”

Thara waved her hands. “Wait, wait,” she said. “I can’t just — is there any comp for this?”

Z smirked. “In it for the money, man. That’s a great way to be.” When Thara opened her mouth to protest, Z shook her head. “Relax! I’m just busting you a bit. Of course there’s comp. We’re not quite as generous as the EAHR, but we’re also not as stuffy.”

Thara crossed her arms over her chest. “Give me the script,” she said.

“Prelims are free — no cash prizes, either. As for races, you win a tenth of however much people bet on you — plus you can bet on yourself, but once your odds get good it’s not really worth it.”

“Rules?” Thara asked.

Z snorted. “None. Don’t kill anyone on purpose, but fuck, lawyers we ain’t. You’re a smart girl, I’m sure you know that hoverboard races like these —”

“Are illegal,” Thara finished impatiently. “I figured that out for myself, yeah.”

Z’s eyes glittered. “Are you in?”

Thara thought about it. In the back of her mind, her mother cautioned, Money isn’t worth dying over. Or getting arrested. But … Z was right, when she said life was too short. The air was slowly poisoning her, and the gas mask was just delaying the inevitable. If life really was short … then all she could do was make sure that it was a hell of a ride. “I’m in,” she said. And when Z grinned at her, she knew she had made the right choice.

#amwriting #scifi #scifi writers #writeblr #vignette #comic: reversed star #writing: all #writing: reversed star #writing: thara

[bigyack-com]

Environment advocate Greta Thunberg is Time Person of the Year - more lifestyle

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg was named Time’s “person of the year” Wednesday, becoming at age 16 the youngest person to whom the U.S. magazine has given the title.Thunberg emerged as the face of the youth climate movement after she started skipping school once a week to protest outside her country’s parliament. In the past year and a half, she has drawn large crowds at international conferences and demonstrations outside Sweden.Some have welcomed Thunberg’s environmental activism, including her speeches challenging world leaders to do more to stop global warming. But others have criticized the teenager’s sometimes combative tone.“For sounding the alarm about humanity’s predatory relationship with the only home we have, for bringing to a fragmented world a voice that transcends backgrounds and borders, for showing us all what it might look like when a new generation leads, Greta Thunberg is TIME’s 2019 Person of the Year,” the media franchise said Wednesday on its website. Leaving a United Nations climate conference in Madrid where she addressed negotiators on Wednesday, Thunberg told The Associated Press she was “a bit surprised” by Time’s recognition, which she dedicated to all young activists.“I could never have imagined anything like that happening,” she said in a phone interview.“I’m of course, very grateful for that, very honored,” Thunberg said, but added: “It should be everyone in the Fridays for Future movement because what we have done, we have done together.”Thunberg said she was hopeful the message of urgency she and other activists are communicating — that governments need to drastically increase their efforts to combat climate change — is finally getting through.The teenager has also been a strong advocate of science, regularly citing complex studies about the causes and impacts of climate change.On Wednesday, Thunberg used her address at the U.N.’s annual climate summit to accuse governments and businesses of misleading the public by holding talks that she said aren’t going to stop the world’s “climate emergency.”“The real danger is when politicians and CEOs are making it look like real action is happening, when in fact almost nothing is being done, apart from clever accounting and creative PR,” she said.Thunberg cited scientific reports showing that national pledges to reduce planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions aren’t enough to meet the ambitious goal set in the 2015 Paris climate accord of keeping temperatures from rising by more than 1.5 degrees Celsis (2.7 Fahrenheit) by the end of the century.  View this post on Instagram Greta Thunberg speaks quietly but forcefully, articulating the palpable sense of injustice that often seems obvious to the very young: adults, by refusing to act in the face of extraordinary crisis, are being foolish at best, and corrupt at worst. To those who share her fear, @gretathunberg's blunt honesty is cathartic. To those who don’t, it feels threatening. She refuses to use the language of hope; her sharpest weapon is shame. In September, speaking to heads of state ahead of the @unitednations General Assembly, Thunberg pulled no punches: "We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth," she said. "How dare you." In this photograph, Thunberg writes in her journal on the train as she travels from Lisbon to Madrid for the current U.N. climate conference. Read more at the link in bio. #TIMEPOY Photograph by @evgenia_arbugaeva for TIME A post shared by TIME (@time) on Dec 11, 2019 at 6:09am PST “This is not leading, this is misleading,” she told officials, adding that “every fraction of a degree matters.”Thunberg said the youth climate movement, which has staged repeated worldwide protests attended by hundreds of thousands of people, has managed to spread awareness about the need to urgently emissions and help those already affected by global warming.“To get in a sense of urgency in the conversation that is very needed right now to be able to move forward,” she said. “That, I think, is our biggest success.”Asked whether she thought world leaders were beginning to respond to this message, Thunberg told the AP: “They say they listen and they say they understand, but it sure doesn’t seem like it.”  View this post on Instagram Just over a year ago, a quiet and mostly friendless teenager woke up, put on her blue hoodie, and sat by herself for hours in an act of singular defiance. Fourteen months later, she had become the voice of millions, a symbol of a rising global rebellion. The politics of climate action are as entrenched and complex as the phenomenon itself, and @gretathunberg has no magic solution. But she has succeeded in creating a global attitudinal shift, transforming millions of vague, middle-of-the-night anxieties into a worldwide movement calling for urgent change. @gretathunberg is TIME’s 2019 Person of the Year. Read the cover story by @charlottealter, @suyinsays and @justinworland—and watch the full video—at the link in bio. #TIMEPOY Video by @robson.alexandra, @juliamarielull, @arpane and @maxim_arbugaev for TIME A post shared by TIME (@time) on Dec 11, 2019 at 5:28am PST “If they really would listen and understand then I think they need to prove that by translating that into action,” she added.She said the experience of the past 15 months, going from solo-protester outside the Swedish parliament to addressing world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly, had changed her.“I think life is much more meaningful now that I have something to do that has an impact,” Thunberg said in a phone interview.She plans to head home to Sweden for some rest during the holidays. “If you don’t take breaks, you won’t be able to continue,” she said.Last year’s Time winners included slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi; the staff of the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland, where five people were shot to death; Philippine journalist Maria Ressa; and two Reuters journalists, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo.(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter Read the full article

[sahreesworld]

BEFORE ANYONE MIGHT GET MISLED, it must be noted that Maria Ressa's right to express herself is not subverted. Why she is at her predicament at this time, it is because she has evaded paying the taxes she is due to the government ... and worst than it, she has violated the constitution ... SO WHERE IS THE FREEDOM BEING SUPPRESSED HERE. Even to this day, Maria Ressa could still talk, and nobody is minding her. And saddest thing for her, NOBODY SEEMS TO CARE ABOUT HER! However, the irony is ... those people who are miles away from the PHILIPPINES are the one "quacking, howling, yupping" as if what they know are undeniably real! https://www.instagram.com/roseplazo/p/Bwdzf82nJ6u/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1x69ousewkxv6

[thecreaturecrossroads]

💪Viva: "It really pays to be a dancer, doesn't it?" (To Ressa!!)

Ressa froze for a moment and then swiveled her head to peer at whomever had spoken to her. Her feather’s flattening a little against her with her shy first response to being addressed by a stranger. Her emerald feathered coils wrapped tighter around herself to give the stranger more room to stand by her. 

Ressa’s first impression of this stranger was that she didnt have to look down at them. At the same time she was seeing that they had dazzling green eyes. The very luxurious hair came next. Curling and cascading down their back in lovely dark copper waves and framing their face almost perfectly. The next thing was the easy seeming smile that curved up their dark lips, and then last and certainly the least thing she noticed was the gold and green finery. Ressa didn’t gawk at the finery. She was used to seeing, and wearing, much the same things back in her home country and with her people. 

Ressa dipped her head down a little in a greeting.   

“Sim. I would have to agree with jou.” she responded in her soft voice. “There are many good things that can come from dancing.”

#addressyourarsenic #Ressa #Viva #Andressa #Cinnamon Roll Snake Goddess #it's a little short #was thinking #that she's at some get together #for her work #in some public and fancy place

[badsithnocookie]

Ressa Lilies (Queenlilies)

Called Queenlilies on their native world of Drezzi, and more frequently known as Ressa Lilies in the greater Empire

Surprisingly hardy, but requires plenty of sunlight and warmer temperatures. Can be grown in colder climes but require a great deal of care and attention.

Found in the wild on Drezzi, warmer parts of Ziost, and certain areas of Korriban. Classified as an invasive species on Korriban.

Namesake is Queen Ressa of Drezzi, who surrendered to the rule of the Sith Empire circa 1020 IR (3060 BBY)

Green leaves and stem, deep purple petals, red ('blood red' if you want to be dramatic) stamens

Inedible for humans and not really recommended for Sith either

Primary association is with matriarchal power and transfer of power within female lines (contrast with the largely patriarchal nature of the Sith Empire)

Specifically, they carry strong overtones of submission, surrender, and capitulation to a greater power.

However, they have also got strong associations with (matriarchal, maternal) power in the family home, and love for and protection of one's family

Finally, they have gained an association with romantic love between women, especially when paired with Korribani Thornroses

realtalk for a sec legit nobody outside of the noble houses cares too deeply about floriography outside of what's needed to understand some quirkier aspects of high art. however, among the elite of sith society, any and all excuses to snipe and gossip will be taken.

Giving a female subordinate a gift of Ressa lilies can be a demand that they accept their position, a pointed reminder that you have authority over them, or an acceptance of their (impliedly consensual) submission.

Giving a female superior a gift of Ressa lilies is a sign of accepting their power and authority over you. With a female equal, it can be a sign of either submission or asking that they submit, depending on the intricacies of the arrangement

Giving a male equal or superior a gift of Ressa lilies is an extremely snide insult, as you're a) calling him a woman and b) demanding he submit to you in an extremely public manner

Giving a male subordinate a gift of Ressa lilies can be read as an insult, as above, but depending on the circumstances and details of the arrangement can also be a sign of (pseudo-)maternal care and/or protection extended towards the recipient. (this sign of care/protection can also be read in gifts to female subordinates, though it's rarer)

When paired with Korribani Thornroses, the meaning becomes explicitly sexual/romantic in nature. Queenlilies and Thornroses are frequent features of lbpq art, and both are frequently found together at lesbian/wlw wedding ceremonies etc in the wider Empire

NB: A lot of the subtleties wrt submission is lost in their use in the wider Empire, where they are generally only associated with wlw and with matriarchal/maternal power

With particular reference to high art: wilted Ressa lilies are associated with a loss of female/feminine/matriarchal power. One of the most famous paintings of Queen Ressa herself prominently features her namesake flowers not just wilting, but being crushed underfoot by a (nameless, faceless) female Sith. (note: the Sith depicted was originally Darth Nyriss, the Dark Council member whom Ressa surrendered to, but the painting was recommissioned following Nyriss's fall from the Emperor's grace)

Important note: none of this necessarily references BDSM though this isn't to say that those overtones aren't sometimes present, especially if one involves Thornroses in the arrangement (or the art, or etc)

Second important note: Yes, this is all binarist as hell. Whether an individual transperson is flattered or insulted by a gift of Ressa lilies will mostly depend on a) how much they understand flowers and b) how much they enjoy being thought of as feminine.

Reversed, Ressa lilies are a sign of defiance in the face of a greater power, and refusal to flinch in the face of adversity. Reversed in an arrangement given to a superior is equivalent to telling them to go fuck themselves. When reversed however, they largely lose their gender-specific connotations.

again 99% of this is only cared about by 1% of sith society but them’s the breaks

#swtor worldbuilding #flora of the old republic #my writing #finally wrote this sucker up #headcanons

[thewanderingamalgamate]

Calm Between Storms

Some logs from Camp Undersoul that have been sitting in my drafts for a while. Its been some time, but I still want to preserve the moment on here so, here it is! A little scene after the first Parasite Tentacle fight involving @seraphofretribution @prancing-pacifist and the goop a bit early on. The logs are unedited and unformatted, so keep that in mind. (Little reference to this at the beginning heh)

Wander-wanderandward - Today at 3:57 PM

-...backpack into the world and filled it with memories...- Seems to be muttering the words as a hums.

Emmy (two-littlesouls) - Today at 3:58 PM

Emmy looks like she wants to say something... but frowns instead, sitting on the grass on her knees.

Kamaria {SevenDeadlySouls}- - Today at 3:58 PM

"You know us souls are capable of evil, so it's better to do nothing than kill and slaughter. Buuuuut if you wanna mope, you should have a good chat with 'died as soon as he fell underground' in the yellow cabin."

Dogamy and Dogaressa (ask-dogi) - Today at 3:58 PM

...I have to focus.. It needs to die.. it needs to die.Even if it really doesn't know what it's doing.(Amy...)Ressa just hugs Amy.

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 3:58 PM

[ * Frisk couldn't help smiling, knowing that their song's been remembered. ]

Emmy (two-littlesouls) - Today at 3:59 PM

"...? Amy?"

Liam (asksixsouls) - Today at 3:59 PM

"Fine, my insecurities are a joke- I get it-"(edited)

Dogamy and Dogaressa (ask-dogi) - Today at 3:59 PM

.... He's spacing out a bit.

Dia (vines-and-pellets) - Today at 3:59 PM

"W-well.. i'm glad  you appreciate it, though!!" They giggle again as they see wander stashing the candy, not passing up the small glint of happiness in his eyes.

"Angelo" [seraphofretribution] - Today at 3:59 PM

* [Angelo had never heard the song before...]

Kamaria {SevenDeadlySouls}- - Today at 3:59 PM

"Hm? No. I'm just saying. It's better to do nothing than to do the wrong thing. At least it is in my eyes."

Kamaria {SevenDeadlySouls}- - Today at 4:00 PM

"And plus, I didn't actually do anything during the attack either. I feel bad about it, but there's nothing I can do."She shrugged.

Dogamy and Dogaressa (ask-dogi) - Today at 4:00 PM

Would probably be easy enough to snap him out of it, though.

Liam (asksixsouls) - Today at 4:01 PM

"Hmph, Well I never done anything useful- at least you've BEEN useful at least once here-'"Liam bit his lip "Nevermind, just ignore that-"

Kamaria {SevenDeadlySouls}- - Today at 4:01 PM

"In what way?" She blinked.

Emmy (two-littlesouls) - Today at 4:02 PM

"Ressa, is everythin' okay?"

Kamaria {SevenDeadlySouls}- - Today at 4:02 PM

"Useful in doing nothing but standing around?""How is that useful?""I did nothing!"

Wander-wanderandward - Today at 4:03 PM

-...always with me, by my side...- Might be easing his frayed nerves, but certainly not his anything else. Voice just a bare hoarse whisper but he carries on.

Liam (asksixsouls) - Today at 4:03 PM

"Before you were- you coud've easily replaced me multiple times here!"

Dogamy and Dogaressa (ask-dogi) - Today at 4:03 PM

(Uh, yeah.. He just had a talk with someone and came back rather shaken.)(I'm just comforting him for now.. I'll ask later.)

Kamaria {SevenDeadlySouls}- - Today at 4:03 PM

"Seriously? Are you kidding? Is that about the fishing thing?"

Liam (asksixsouls) - Today at 4:03 PM

"No-! You could've replaced me at that temple thing too!"

Kamaria {SevenDeadlySouls}- - Today at 4:03 PM

"How?!"

Liam (asksixsouls) - Today at 4:04 PM

"You could've attacked- You could've put your hand on the statue- you gave better points than us- but I guess the fishing event could be added too!""Wanna know what I did?! I failed EVERY time! And I just took silly notes nobody would evne look at!"

Emmy (two-littlesouls) - Today at 4:05 PM

Emmy nods lightly, then looks at all the cyan stains. "..."

Liam (asksixsouls) - Today at 4:05 PM

"Notes that weren't even useful!"

Wander-wanderandward - Today at 4:05 PM

-...Angelo. How is the volunteer?-

Kamaria {SevenDeadlySouls}- - Today at 4:05 PM

"Hey! You beat me in something I've trained at for months! And those notes can be useful if used right."

"Angelo" [seraphofretribution] - Today at 4:05 PM

* Hmmm? Oh.* {Frisk. Wander wants to know how you are doing. You want control of my hands?}

Kamaria {SevenDeadlySouls}- - Today at 4:06 PM

"And, and. You could've easily caught the salmon, you put your hand on the statue when I was idiotically sleeping, you took notes that could be extremely useful, and you aren't freaking useless in this!."

Dogamy and Dogaressa (ask-dogi) - Today at 4:06 PM

...Amy's still out of it. He weakly takes his helmet off and lets it drop to the ground, but stands up a moment later.

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 4:06 PM

[ * Sure thing! ]

"Angelo" [seraphofretribution] - Today at 4:07 PM

* {Then the controls are yours. It is normal if you have trouble controlling them. Every other SOUL did for a while.}

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 4:08 PM

[ * Ahhh, `kay! Thanks, man. ]

Liam (asksixsouls) - Today at 4:09 PM

"The only reason I BEAT you was because I got LUCKY! AND NO I COULDNT'VE- I FAILED ALMOST EACH TIME AND I ONLY GOT THAT SALMON BECAUSE IT WAS GIVEN TO ME- AND YOU'RE THE ONE WITH ACTUAL FIGHTING SKILLS- ALL I GREW UP WITH WAS ALL SOFT AND INNOCENT- AND YOU WANNA KNOW WHAT THAT GOT ME?! KILLED! IMPALED! AND I BARELY USED THOSE NOTES ANYWAY- IT WAS JUST SOME STUPID DISTRACTION!"(edited)

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 4:09 PM

[ * Frisk kinda struggles a bit using Angelo's left hand, they're trying to make it into the

shape. Their SOUL spirit's smiling, still a bit shaken up. ]

Liam (asksixsouls) - Today at 4:09 PM

He's tearing up

Emmy (two-littlesouls) - Today at 4:10 PM

"--!!" Liam's yelling startles her out of whatever thought she was absorbed in.

"Angelo" [seraphofretribution] - Today at 4:10 PM

* That is Frisk controlling my arm right now, Wander. That answer your question?

Liam (asksixsouls) - Today at 4:11 PM

And he seems shaken up"I-I was supposed to prove I was strong.."

Wander-wanderandward - Today at 4:11 PM

-Heh. Heheh. Yeah, thanks. Good to hear, Lintu. One down. The other six will be easier. We got this.- That was definitely a weight off his mind. Wander visibly relaxes and nods at the angel.

Liam (asksixsouls) - Today at 4:12 PM

He clutched onto his ribbon "T-to t-them"

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 4:12 PM

[ * We do, yeah... We'll beat the crud outta that beast. ]

"Angelo" [seraphofretribution] - Today at 4:12 PM

* All the crud.

Dogamy and Dogaressa (ask-dogi) - Today at 4:13 PM

...hff..

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 4:13 PM

[ * Ehehehe!!! ]

Kamaria {SevenDeadlySouls}- - Today at 4:13 PM

"Strong? A...And?? I'm... I'M A FREAKING MURDERER! THAT'S WHAT MY TRAINING AND STRENGTH DID FOR ME! GAVE ME THE ABILITY TO KILL! AND I FREAKING DESERVED MY DEATH BECAUSE OF IT! I'M AN AWFUL PERSON BECAUSE OF THAT! I SLEEP ALL THE TIME, I'M LAZY, I'M AN AWFUL FRIEND... ANd... And..." She trailed off, face covered as she stared down at the ground.

Dogamy and Dogaressa (ask-dogi) - Today at 4:13 PM

Amy leaves, followed by a slightly concerned Ressa a few moments later.

Wander-wanderandward - Today at 4:13 PM

The goopman could certainly guess the other half of that conversation, chuckling at the thought of it.

Dogamy and Dogaressa (ask-dogi) - Today at 4:14 PM

Amy's helmet is still on the ground.

Emmy (two-littlesouls) - Today at 4:14 PM

Emmy watches them go... then moves over to pick up the helmet ever so gently.

Liam (asksixsouls) - Today at 4:15 PM

((I agree with Adie,,))Liam is breathing heavily "A-at least you TRIED to make me feel better, all I ever do is make people feel worse about themselves!""and at least you're TRIYNG to change! for the better!""All i'm doing is making myself worse! I don't want to fight things and yet I DO IT ANYWAY- I DON'T WANT TO BE ANGRY ABOUT EVERYTHING""Y-you aren't a awful friend-"

Kamaria {SevenDeadlySouls}- - Today at 4:17 PM

She stared down at the ground. "...."

Liam (asksixsouls) - Today at 4:18 PM

He stared at the ground, ruffling his hair as he cried "S-see? Even now i'm making it worse-""I-I over reacted like I always do-"

Kamaria {SevenDeadlySouls}- - Today at 4:19 PM

She took a few steps forwards, and gave him a tight hug. "...Hmph."

Liam (asksixsouls) - Today at 4:20 PM

Liam was surprised by the hug "E-eh...?"

Kamaria {SevenDeadlySouls}- - Today at 4:21 PM

"Yeah, well those are flaws. Everyone's gotta live with 'em." She grumbled, letting go and stuffing her hands in her pockets.

Emmy (two-littlesouls) - Today at 4:21 PM

Emmy hugs Amy's helmet to herself, sitting back in the grass and watching the others.

Liam (asksixsouls) - Today at 4:21 PM

"S-same with you-"He sniffled loudly, he didn't even try to seem angry thereHe just rubbed his eyes

Kamaria {SevenDeadlySouls}- - Today at 4:22 PM

She smirked. "Heh... Yeah." Kamaria wiped her eye, looking off to the side.

Liam (asksixsouls) - Today at 4:23 PM

He sniffed, looking at the ground "S-sorry for being a awful friend.."

Kamaria {SevenDeadlySouls}- - Today at 4:23 PM

"P-pft. S-Seriously?"She smiled. "You're a great friend."

Liam (asksixsouls) - Today at 4:24 PM

"H-how?"

Kamaria {SevenDeadlySouls}- - Today at 4:26 PM

"Well, for one, you have a brain. That puts you above most people I know."She snickered."Two, you're a good person."

Liam (asksixsouls) - Today at 4:26 PM

"I-It's not m-much of a brain-" he rubbed his eyes

Kamaria {SevenDeadlySouls}- - Today at 4:26 PM

"Three, you're cool to hang around.""And four, you actually put up with me for more than a minute."

Liam (asksixsouls) - Today at 4:28 PM

"H-how am I two or three- p-plus what puts me above t-the rest with four? Y-you aren't annoying or anything-(edited)

Emmy (two-littlesouls) - Today at 4:32 PM

She feels a little awkward being here as they have this serious conversation, so she stands up with Amy's helmet, and wanders off to go find them to return it.

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 4:33 PM

[ * So... I'm kinda wonderin'. What's your timeline like? ]

"Angelo" [seraphofretribution] - Today at 4:34 PM

* {...It is...Complicated.}

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 4:35 PM

[ * Ahhh, how so? It's alright if you don't wanna, like, answer. ]

"Angelo" [seraphofretribution] - Today at 4:36 PM

* {It is more like...A very long story. But it is not a happy one.}* ... * {You remember the Determination lesson? How I explained how one can have too much Determination?}

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 4:38 PM

[ * I hadn't forgotten, but, yeah! I do! ]

"Angelo" [seraphofretribution] - Today at 4:39 PM

* {I encountered a person just like that. One who had extreme amounts of Determination. Their path set on...Destruction.}

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 4:40 PM

[ * Oh jeez. Wh... What made them do that? Like, all that Determination and it was to destroy things? ]

"Angelo" [seraphofretribution] - Today at 4:43 PM

* {...It is very hard to explain. But they were a menace, a villain. Set on destroying and killing everyone...So they did. They took away all my friends, everyone I loved...} * {And the only person I could call family in this entire world...}

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 4:44 PM

[ * ... ][ * They really shouldn't've done that... It's so meanin'less, like... I'm sorry. You didn't deserve any of that and neither did your friends. ][ * But, is that why..? ]

Liam (asksixsouls) - Today at 4:47 PM

Since the person rping as Kamaria is offline, I'll pretend the whole thing ended and have Liam go back to the sanctum and rest

"Angelo" [seraphofretribution] - Today at 4:49 PM

* {Why I absorbed the SOULs? Yes...But I did not force these SOULs to join me. Just like with you, I asked, let them join only if they wanted to. And well, they all did, as you can see. I just...Simply could not bring myself to force them to help me, despite everything taken away from me.}

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 4:52 PM

[ * `Cause, that'd be wrong. That... person got rid of those dear to you, it wouldn't make sense if you did the same to those souls. ][ * And y'know, since they wanted to help, I'm glad they did! ]

"Angelo" [seraphofretribution] - Today at 4:54 PM

* {Heheh...I am glad too. They even stayed after we...Took care of that person. There were still people we had to take care of and lead. And who else but me, right?}

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 4:58 PM

[ * Yeah, who else? ... I'm sure you're takin' good care of them, though. I can feel it, like, you saved a lot of people by gettin' rid of that person I bet. ]

"Angelo" [seraphofretribution] - Today at 5:00 PM

* {Sometimes I wish I could have stopped them sooner...Hmph...But what is done is done.}* {...Frisk. Do something for me, would you?}

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 5:02 PM

[ * What is it..? ]

"Angelo" [seraphofretribution] - Today at 5:06 PM

* {When camp is over and you return to your own timeline...Don't lose sight of yourself, on whatever path you choose. And don't become blind to others around you. Always remember you can choose another path or turn back...That theres always a second chance. And if someone offers that chance to you, don't be afraid to take it.}* {Don't think of it as giving up...}

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 5:09 PM

[ * I'll... try my best. There's still a lot I need to learn, about everythin'. I ain't gonna promise it, but, I'll be sure to stick to that. I'll remember your words and tie it to my sleeves, to never forget any time. ][ * I never believed in second chances myself, since there is... I'll be sure to look around me and know that if I'm doin' is wrong, I won't do it. ][ * For your sake and everyone else's. ]

"Angelo" [seraphofretribution] - Today at 5:10 PM

* {Thank you, thats all i'll ask.}

"Angelo" [seraphofretribution] - Today at 5:12 PM

* {That rumble...The next one is on the move. Time to go.}

#Camp Undersoul #rp #discord rp shenanigns #prancing pacifist #seraphofretribution #Wander ic #The Pledge: Queue

[phgq]

Badoy stands by remark vs. activist nun

#PHnews: Badoy stands by remark vs. activist nun

MANILA – Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy stood by her statement that activist nun Sr. Mary John Mananzan is a “longtime ally” of the National Democratic Front (NDF).

Badoy first made the accusation in a Facebook post last June 17, after Mananzan condemned the conviction of Rappler CEO Maria Ressa and former researcher-writer Rey Santos of cyber libel.

She said the activist nun was putting forth an ideology of “communism.”

In a statement on Tuesday night, Badoy claimed that Mananzan was the longtime ally of the NDF, political wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), because she was named emeritus chairman of women’s group Gabriela.

Badoy said Gabriela is the legal front of the Malayang Kilusan ng Bagong Kababaihan (Makibaka) for Women, the first feminist organization with a national democratic orientation.

“The National Democratic Front’s task in the CPP NPA NDF is united front building— ‘front’ as in legal front, as in pagbabalatkayo, as in ‘grand deception of the Filipino people’. And this is where Gabriela fits snugly in,” Badoy said.

She added that the NDF is an illegal organization that advocates armed struggle and all the attending atrocities by way of commission or conspiracy to commit rebellion, sedition, or inciting to sedition which are direct violations of the Revised Penal Code.

“This is what Mary John Mananzan has allied herself with. By aligning herself with the NDF and by leading Gabriela for life, Mary John Mananzan agrees with the violent overthrow of government and the destruction of democracy in our country and installation of communism in its stead,” she said.

'Delusional liars'

Badoy shut down remarks by activist groups such as the Movement Against Tyranny (MAT), Karapatan, Gabriela, among others for describing Mananzan as “a pillar of activism” in the country.

“Most days, these delusional liars practice no restraint, throw all humility to the wind and outrightly proclaim themselves ‘defenders of human rights’,” she said.

She also refuted allegations that she has “gone too far” by redtagging Mananzan.

“They think I have gone too far and laid on me the usual accusation of ‘redtagging’— that made-up creature the communist terrorist groups use to silence government and to fascist-tag us,” she said.

Badoy said the atrocities committed by the CPP and its armed wing, New People’s Army (NPA), in the Philippines for the last 50 years are “equivalent of a holocaust.”

“The genocide committed by these terrorists have been spread out over five decades and the work has been cast in shadows and covered in respectability and nobility because of its broad alliances with institutions they’ve deceived into aligning with them like the church, international bodies and reputable NGOs [non-government organizations],” she said. “Conservative estimates on purgings they committed on their own members suspected of being deep penetration agents from 1984 to 1990 run to over 3,000. Satur Ocampo admitted this himself and promised reparations to the victims and their families.”

Despite being hauled to court a number of times by communist fronts, she said cases against her and a number of government officials were thrown out for lack of evidence and failure of the petitioners to present affidavits.

“They themselves know they have no case but they file these cases to embarrass government in media and in the international arena and as a tool they can wave in our faces to silence us when we speak the blinding truth about them,” she said.

Earlier, the MAT called Badoy’s accusations as “wild” and “baseless” and demanded a public apology from her.

Karapatan, meanwhile, said contrary to Badoy’s accusations, Mananzan is a “consistent, steadfast, and feisty human rights advocate.”

The CPP-NPA-NDF is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines. (PNA)

***

References:

* Philippine News Agency. "Badoy stands by remark vs. activist nun." Philippine News Agency. https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1106917 (accessed June 25, 2020 at 03:21AM UTC+14).

* Philippine News Agency. "Badoy stands by remark vs. activist nun." Archive Today. https://archive.ph/?run=1&url=https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1106917 (archived).

#Philippines #News #Filipino #Pinoy #Tourism #Politics #Culture #Editorial #Environment #Society #History

[yeskraim]

‘Those charges are bulls**t’: Philippines jailed de Lima defiant

Manila, Philippines – When Senator Leila de Lima initiated a Senate investigation into the extrajudicial killings of suspected drug offenders in the Philippines, she did not expect that she would end up charged with drug trafficking and arrested.

Nearly three years later, she remains in detention. 

“I don’t deserve to be here. Those drug charges are bulls**t,” de Lima, dressed in a blue-and-beige striped top, jeans and black sandals, told Al Jazeera. 

Sitting in a spartan receiving area in police headquarters in Manila where she is being imprisoned, de Lima said her arrest was meant to punish her for questioning a state-sanctioned crackdown on illegal drugs that has left thousands dead.

Foreign governments and international human rights organisations have condemned the killings and de Lima’s arrest.

Earlier this month, the United States went one step further by passing a resolution calling for Philippine government officials responsible for extrajudicial killings and de Lima’s prolonged detention to be blacklisted, banning their entry into the US and freezing their US assets.

The resolution invoked the 2016 Global Magnitsky Act which authorises the US government to sanction foreign government officials of any country implicated in human rights violations. 

US Senator Edward Markey authored the resolution which also condemned the harassment of independent media, particularly journalist Maria Ressa who has been arrested several times and is currently out on bail. Her news site, Rappler, has reported extensively on the drug war and been critical of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Leila de Lima was arrested in February 2017 and accused of being involved in the illicit drugs trade. She had earlier initiated a Senate investigation into President Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal crackdown on drugs [Rolex dela Pena/EPA]

Earlier, an amendment in the 2020 US state and foreign operations appropriations bill included a provision denying entry to those involved in De Lima’s arrest. 

In a statement, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo called the US moves a “form of bullying”. 

“We will not be bullied by any foreign country or by its officials, especially by misinformed and gullible politicians who grandstand at our expense,” Panelo said. 

The Philippine government has responded by levying its own sanctions, barring the three US Senators including Markey following their push for the Global Magnitsky Act.

Failed Drug War

Since President Rodrigo Duterte assumed office in 2016, a brutal crackdown on illegal narcotics has seen thousands of mostly poor young men accused of being drug offenders killed in a mix of police operations and vigilante killings. 

The government has put the number of dead at about 6,000. Human rights groups estimate the number to be more than 20,000 and the UN has called for an investigation into the crackdown.

Vice President Leni Robredo, who is elected separately and comes from an opposition party, has called the drug war a failure.

Robredo co-chaired the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD) for 19 days in November before she was sacked by Duterte. 

Citing police data, Robredo said during her brief stint in office she had discovered that the seized methamphetamines and drug money did not even reach 1 percent of the total drugs consumed and their street value.

“That’s 1 percent. If this were an exam, the score of the government would be one over 100,” said Robredo, speaking to the media on January 6.

It was this drug war that de Lima wanted to investigate in the early months of Duterte’s presidency in a probe that angered Duterte and many people who supported the president and the drug war.

Duterte, known for being intolerant of dissent, reserved a special kind of public shaming for de Lima.

“I will destroy her,” Duterte promised in 2016.

President Rodrigo Duterte began his ‘war on drugs’ shortly after coming to office [File: EPA]

The president detailed one of her past romances in lurid detail and alleged that de Lima’s former lover conspired with her.

His allies opened a congressional inquiry into de Lima’s drug charges and loaded the cross-examination with sexual innuendo that played on de Lima’s purported immorality. 

Opposition senator Risa Hontiveros described the character assassination of de Lima “as  a state-sponsored assault on women.” 

“But maligning de Lima not as a lawmaker or public official but as a woman, the president and his cohorts revealed themselves as the faces of misogyny at its worst and ugliest,” said Hontiveros. 

“I know he hates me, but I never thought he would have me jailed. He made an example out of me,” de Lima said. 

Her years in detention have made her more reflective, but no less defiant.

“They needed to demonise me to make the public believe the drug charges. Underneath the bravado, he is a coward. He knows I’m not afraid of him.”

Minister of Justice Menardo Guevarra told Al Jazeera that de Lima’s detention was “neither wrongful nor unlawful” and that the detention had been affirmed by the Supreme Court.

“She may still file a petition for bail if she truly believes that the evidence of the prosecution is weak or fabricated,” he said. “She has never attempted to do so. Instead, she relies on foreign groups, including US senators, to cry for her freedom. This is utter disrespect for our country’s legal and judicial processes.”  

Analysts doubt the Magnitsky Act will have much effect on her case.

“It is just a tit-for-tat war of words,” said political analyst Ramon Casiple. “I don’t imagine the Philippine government bending or changing its policies because it does not believe the accusations that they are violating human rights.

“It only authorises the Secretary of Senate (to enact a ban) but it does not oblige him to do it within a prescribed timeframe. I don’t see it prospering. President Trump and President Duterte are friends.”

Leila de Lima’s supporters took to the streets after she was arrested in 2017 [File: Aaron Favila/AP Photo]

Fhillip Sawali, de Lima’s chief of staff disagrees.

“It would be very difficult for President Trump to brush aside the emerging global coalition around the Global Magnitsky Act. Countries are coming together to hold human rights violators accountable.”

‘Divine justice’

Canada, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the United Kingdom have enacted laws inspired by the Magnitsky Act. The European Union and Australia are considering pursuing similar legislation.

Taking to Twitter, de Lima said she had made a list of perpetrators responsible for her detention, likening herself to Arya Stark, the Game of Thrones character who every night recites a litany of people from whom she will someday exact justice. 

De Lima stressed that she does not wish her detractors to meet a tragic fate like the characters in the hit mini-series, one of the pre-approved shows she is allowed to watch a couple of times each month. She is also allowed books but is kept separate from other detainees at the facility.

The Global Magnitsky Act was a “tool of divine justice”, she said but has a tempered view of how it will affect her case. She hopes it will hasten the verdict on her drug-trafficking charges but acknowledges the judges handling her case are caught in a bind. 

“If they convict me, it will be a violation of their conscience. If they acquit me, it will be career suicide for them under this administration. They may just decide to convict me so I can appeal the decision,” said de Lima. 

An appeal would take years and would mean more time in detention. 

“I hope not. I’m not getting any younger. I’m already 60,” she said with short brittle laugh that quickly turned into a sigh.

“I’m raring to get out of here. I miss my old life and all the things I used to do – driving my car, cooking, walking around my neighbourhood, being with my family.” 

A sliver of justice might be looming on the horizon. Freedom is another matter altogether. 

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