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aworldforastage · 6 months

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(spoiler-free) book review: 老婆是顶级Alpha，我该怎么办 by 海藻大王

(official cover art on JJWXC)

Synopsis

Rong Shi was an elite soldier in his first life, but died in combat at 33 after being betrayed by his own people. Waking up again as his 18-year-old self, he wants to steer clear of military politics and just keep his loved ones safe. But he is already the top freshman at the military college, and can't really stay out of the spotlight despite his best (but poor) efforts.

Song Yu is the Second Prince, but his father favors his incompetent older half-brother. To ease the political pressure around himself, he creates the impression that he has given up on trying to act like a respectable prince. He arranges for himself to be "exiled" to the military college off-planet from the capital, and starts a high-profile relationship with another Alpha.

By marrying each other, Rong Shi and Song Yu can make themselves less appealing and threatening targets to their enemies. However, both of them have secret "white moonlights": a good friend from a popular video game, whom they assume must be the most adorable Omega because his in-game avatar is a cute fluffy animal. But wait, why does the annoying Alpha husband also have tokens that can only belong to the online friend?

Meanwhile, there seems to be a conspiracy to trap top Alphas with perfectly compatible Omegas who can influence their heats and pheromones. Rong Shi knows this plan is related to the secrets behind his family's misfortunes and his own death in the first timeline, and investigates in secret. Song Yu is still planning his bid for the throne, and has assassins on his tail on a weekly basis.

While this marriage of convenience is supposed to help them lay low, their incredible abilities has already made them celebrities in the Military college, and their actions has already touched the core interests of a hidden enemy ....

What I like about this story

This is the kind of Mary Sue (Gary Stu?) story with main characters who are powerful enough to never feel threatened in a substantial way, but the plot and action can still keep them busy and engaged. They fight tense battles and runs into surprising revelations, but you just know they are going to make through at the last minute. Rong Shi has an AI with technology and data from the future timeline, while Song Yu is a literal prince, and they are both gorgeous, elite fighters. You can just watch main characters fall in love and overpower all the small fries, but there is also an interesting conspiracy to uncover in the background.

The main relationship is funny, comforting, and 100% angst-free. The romance develops gradually as the characters get to know each other. In the beginning, Song Yu and Rong Shi do not trust the other, but it does not stop them from looking and acting like a smitten couple for outsiders. Once they make their feelings clear (about 40% into the story), it just falls into place like they are always meant to be. They are both intensely protective and possessive, but they also trust each other and communicate very well. It's two slightly-insane slightly-twisted people falling in love with each other, but really they really just want to survive and make things right for their loved ones.

The tone of the story is light and funny; it's not trying to take itself too seriously and is having fun with the tropes. Rong Shi and Song Yu are celebrities on the school's online forum, where they are nicknamed Daddy Rong and Beauty Song. They need to answer questions about common-sense relationship behavior to get (fake) married and fails spectacularly. Song Yu orders a custom-made, fully-functional combat mecha in the shape of a rabbit for his boyfriend. They do eventually take the rabbit mecha out into battle, and of course it wields a giant carrot.

And Song Yu, my dear murder baby, he is everything I would have wanted in a wish fulfillment character at fifteen years old. He is cool and brazen on the outside, ready to fight everything and everyone, but soft on the inside. He misses his broken family and harbors an online crush, and wants to make things right for his people. He causally tortures his enemies but also hugs his giant bunny plushie when he needs comfort. He is protected, pampered, and loved by a young man he loves just as fiercely. And to top it all off, he has these quirky traits, like having a massive sweet tooth and is a disaster cook. Sweetie, you have custom-made bunny-print pajamas and need to hug an oversized stuffed bunny to sleep, where did you get the confidence to think you might be the gong in this relationship?

On the other hand

Thinking too hard about the logic of the plot may be missing the point in a feel-good Mary Sue novel, but this story has at least as much plot and action as romance, and it's nearly impossible to not pay attention.

There are a lot of things that makes no sense, even accounting for in-universe logic. For example, Song Yu's preschool-age cousin has no reason to be in his care, since both his parents are alive and happily married -- he is only there to be a "childhood sweetheart" for Rong Shi's little brother. The political intrigue surrounding Song Yu's quest for the throne and the movement to end inequality and suppression for Omegas mention structural social and political issues that can become very serious themes, but are treated like child's play.

I haven't read much Chinese sci-fi, danmei or not, so it's possible I'm missing some genre conventions and assumptions.

Overall

This story is very fun and comforting read. It has a very Young Adult kind of feel, with hyper-competent teenage characters who are solving all the problems in their universe, while the adults are either too incompetent and/or evil. The relationship arc is fluffy and cute, while the plot is action-packed and interesting, but imho neither really stand up to a serious analysis -- which is perfectly fine for a web novel! It's a fun read!

#老婆是顶级Alpha #my reading #danmei novels #ABO danmei #danmei faves #interstellar danmei

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newstfionline · 10 months

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Sunday, July 9, 2023

Cluster Weapons U.S. Is Sending Ukraine Often Fail to Detonate (NYT) When the White House announced on Friday that it would agree to supply Ukraine with cluster munitions, it came after assurances from Pentagon officials that the weapons had been improved to minimize the danger to civilians. The weapons, which have been shunned by many countries, drop small grenades that are built to destroy armored vehicles and troops in the open, but also often fail to immediately explode. Years or even decades later, they can kill adults and children who stumble on them. The Pentagon said the weapons they would send to Ukraine had a failure rate of 2.35 percent or less, far better than the usual rate that is common for cluster weapons. But the Pentagon’s own statements indicate that the cluster munitions in question contain older grenades known to have a failure rate of 14 percent or more. Al Vosburgh, a retired Army colonel trained in bomb disposal, said that once the shooting stops in Ukraine, it will take a massive educational campaign to warn civilians of the risks of unexploded grenades before they can safely return home. Weapons of this type are banned by more than 100 countries, in part because more than half of those killed or injured by them are civilians.

What 120 Degrees Looks Like in One of Mexico’s Hottest Cities (NYT) People in Hermosillo are used to the heat: Enduring scorching temperatures is a local point of pride in this northwestern Mexican city known for its blistering weather and nicknamed the “city of sun.” But on a recent Sunday in June, temperatures reached a record high when thermometers registered 49.5 degrees Celsius, or 121 Fahrenheit. “It was like I was being thrown balls of fire,” said Isabel Rodríguez, a gas station attendant on the road to Hermosillo. At a local fountain in the city, a father used his hat to pour water over his daughter as a reprieve from the heat. Searing temperatures swept through the rest of the country, too. With temperatures above 104 degrees Fahrenheit, 23 Mexican states were under weather alerts last month. More than 110 people have died of heat-related causes this season. In the northeastern part of the country, many schools ended classes early and others moved online to protect children from the intense heat. Cattle ranchers reported hundreds of deaths and millions of pesos in losses as their animals collapsed from heat exhaustion, unable to hydrate properly. In Hermosillo, a city of about 936,000 people, feeling this hot translated to burning eyes, throbbing heads and dripping sweat.

Once hailed for decriminalizing drugs, Portugal is now having doubts PORTO, Portugal (Washington Post)—Addiction haunts the recesses of this ancient port city, as people with gaunt, clumsy hands lift crack pipes to lips, syringes to veins. Authorities are sealing off warren-like alleyways with iron bars and fencing in parks to halt the spread of encampments. A siege mentality is taking root in nearby enclaves of pricey condos and multimillion-euro homes. Portugal decriminalized all drug use, including marijuana, cocaine and heroin, in an experiment that inspired similar efforts elsewhere, but now police are blaming a spike in the number of people who use drugs for a rise in crime. In one neighborhood, state-issued paraphernalia—powder-blue syringe caps, packets of citric acid for diluting heroin—litters sidewalks outside an elementary school. Porto’s police have increased patrols to drug-plagued neighborhoods. But given existing laws, there’s only so much they can do. On a recent afternoon, an emaciated man in striped pants sleeping in front of a state-funded drug-use center awoke to a patrol of four officers. He sat up, then defiantly began assembling his crack pipe. Officers walked on, shaking their heads. Portugal became a model for progressive jurisdictions around the world embracing drug decriminalization, but now there is talk of fatigue. Police are less motivated to register people who misuse drugs and there are year-long waits for state-funded rehabilitation treatment even as the number of people seeking help has fallen dramatically. The return in force of visible urban drug use, meanwhile, is leading the mayor and others here to ask an explosive question: Is it time to reconsider this country’s globally hailed drug model?

Dutch premier resigns because of deadlock on thorny issue of migration, paving way for new elections (AP) The Dutch government collapsed Friday because of irreconcilable differences within the four-party coalition about how to rein in migration, a divisive issue that has split nations across Europe. The resignation of Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the longest-serving premier of the nation, means the country will face a general election later this year. Rutte and his government will remain in office in a caretaker capacity until a new ruling coalition is chosen.

Not so neutral anymore? (Foreign Policy) Switzerland and Austria want in on the defensive action. The two historically neutral nations signed a memorandum on Friday that signaled their intent to join Sky Shield, a German-led military initiative that aims to strengthen Europe’s air defense capabilities. Seventeen other nations are already part of the project, which promotes improved training and research cooperation to combat growing Russian aggression toward the West. Both nations said joining Sky Shield would not impact their policies of neutrality. However, critics see the memorandum as just the latest in a series of actions both countries have taken to bind themselves closer to their European neighbors since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Immediately following Russia’s invasion last year, Switzerland adopted all European Union sanctions against Russia and froze the Kremlin’s assets. And Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen has repeatedly urged the nation’s government to assist Ukraine in demining civilian areas, such as schools and residential neighborhoods.

Ukrainian refugees: how will the economy recover with a diminished population? (Reuters) With war dragging on, some of Ukraine’s millions of refugees are beginning to think about settling for good in the countries they find themselves in across Europe, posing a challenge to rebuilding the economy when the guns finally fall silent. Natalka Korzh, 52, a TV director and mother-of-two, left behind a newly-built dream house when she escaped the rockets falling on Kyiv in the early days of the war. She is only just finding her feet in Portugal, and doesn’t plan on packing up her life again even when fighting stops in Ukraine. Studies by the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR show the vast majority of displaced Ukrainians want to return one day, but only around one in ten plan to do so soon. In previous refugee crises, for example in Syria, refugees’ desire to return home has faded with time, UNHCR studies show. Reuters spoke to four company bosses who said they are now grappling with the likelihood that many refugees will not return and that the workforce will keep shrinking for years to come, a situation also worrying demographers and the government.

Palestinians, Facing Political Stagnation, Despair After Israeli Raid (NYT) The Israeli army launched a raid this week to comb for weapons and explosives in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin. After two days of violence left 12 Palestinians and one Israeli soldier dead, the Israelis pulled out on Wednesday, leaving behind damaged homes, broken infrastructure and renewed rage at Israel’s occupation of the West Bank. But it was mixed with frustration with the Palestinians’ own leaders for their failure to chart a better future for their people, much less to protect them. Israel called its 48-hour incursion into Jenin, which it said was aimed at rooting out Palestinian militants, a necessary operation to prevent attacks on Israelis: It said all 12 Palestinians killed were combatants. But Jenin residents described the raid as two days of terror that highlighted their growing sense of despair, vulnerability and abandonment across the West Bank. While Palestinians overwhelmingly consider Israel responsible for their predicament, many have also grown frustrated with the Palestinian Authority, a political body created decades ago as a sort of state-in-waiting, which has limited administrative powers in parts of the West Bank. Now, the Authority offers little more than jobs whose salaries it struggles to pay, and many Palestinians view it as ineffective, or as a subcontractor for the occupation. A Palestinian poll conducted last month found that half of respondents believe that the collapse of the Palestinian Authority would benefit the people.

Drowning Is No. 1 Killer of Young Children. U.S. Efforts to Fix It Are Lagging. (NYT) Drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 4, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Deaths are likely to surge this month, as they do every July, with children drowning just feet from their parents without a scream, struggle or splash. A 4-year-old at a Texas hotel pool, a 5-year-old in a California river, a 6-year-old at a Missouri lake and a 10-year-old at an Indiana public pool all drowned just this past week. And yet, despite calls from the United Nations, the United States is one of the only developed countries without a federal plan to address the crisis. Thirty years of progress in decreasing the number of drowning deaths in the country appears to have plateaued, and disparities in deaths among some racial groups have worsened. “It’s hard to imagine a more preventable cause of death. No one is going to say, ‘Oh, well, some people just drown,’” said William Ramos, an associate professor at Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington and the director of the school’s Aquatics Institute. A parent who has never learned to swim yields an 87 percent chance that a child won’t, either, said Dr. Sadiqa A.I. Kendi, the division chief of pediatric emergency medicine at Boston Medical Center, who studies the cyclical nature of injury and inequity.

Amish communities and e-bikes (Yahoo News) Electric bikes, as many have discovered in recent years, are a highly convenient mode of transportation. They’re much cheaper than electric vehicles, faster than walking, and less physically arduous than riding a regular bike. Now, it seems that e-bikes have caught on in a somewhat surprising place: Amish communities. Several churches have now decided that the benefits outweigh the costs. “It’s a lot quicker to jump on your bike and go into town than it is to bring your horse into the barn, harness it to the buggy, and go,” David Mullett, a member of the Old Order Amish Church and owner of an e-bike shop in Ohio, told the blog This E-Bike Life. Generally speaking, Amish communities are most likely to avoid a new technology if they believe that it will make them too reliant on the outside world. This has also led some of them to make use of electricity derived from solar panels, which they can own and maintain. The e-bikes, as well, can often be charged by small solar panels. Mullett’s e-bike shop is powered by two dozen solar panels on its roof and is entirely off-grid.

#headlines #news

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apuppetmuseum · 10 months

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dev. Kalim's Family

I mentioned in his unique magic headcanon that he had an older brother that died - but that wasn’t the oldest brother he had. Truthfully Kalim had a couple of older siblings that all died in various ways - some more natural causes (like the sibling that died of heat stroke) while others were assassinated. Some were even kidnapped and never heard from again, and are presumed dead. Kalim is currently the oldest child only because he’s the oldest one alive. In canon Kalim has over 30 siblings. He said he stopped keeping track after that but remembers all of his siblings faces and names. Truthfully he knows the exact number but he doesn’t want to give that information out to people because of how it could put them in danger. But he is bad at remembering other people’s faces because he tries to keep the faces of all of his siblings fresh in his mind, so it will take him longer to remember a new person’s face who is not related to him in any way. There’s only a handful of these siblings that are 100% his biological siblings. The rest are half siblings. His father has had multiple wives and mistresses, having remarried at least 3 times and caught cheating more than that. Any of his children are considered ‘Asim’s’ as default even if his father isn’t married to his current wife. Because any of them could be a ‘spare’ for the heir to the fortune and business. Kalim is the oldest of 6 biological siblings and more than 30 other half siblings. His mother was his father’s second wife that was killed in an assassination. Death by poison, believe it or not. Kalim loves all of his siblings equally and wants nothing more than to protect them. His younger siblings could even orchestrate an assassination attempt on him and he would forgive them (and only them). For him, being the oldest and the heir means that they can live carefree and healthy lives. As long as he’s alive, they don’t have to worry about all the death threats and assassins. They can be normal little rich kids, and that’s all he wants. He just wants his family to be safe. That being said, a few of his younger siblings AND his father’s wives or mistresses have attempted to kill Kalim in the past. The curry incident where Jamil was poisoned after eating Kalim’s food was infact an attempt by one of the wives. But Kalim is too blinded by family to really see any of them at fault. He is going to continue to try and survive and take care of himself so he can in turn take care of them.

#ic.kalim.development

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beardedmrbean · 11 months

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Tornadoes tore through the South Thursday night, killing at least four people and injuring dozens of others, officials said.

One person died in Pensacola, Florida, after a tree fell on their home during a tornado, according to Escambia County Fire Rescue.

Three of the deaths occurred in the small town of Perryton, Texas, near the state line with Oklahoma, where a tornado destroyed homes and communication towers.

The victims were identified as Becky Randall, a woman in her 60s who was found in a print shop; Cindy Bransgrove, a woman also in her 60s who was found in a food bank; and Matthew Ramirez, an 11-year-old boy who was found in a trailer park, according to Ochiltree County Sheriff Terry Bouchard.

Another 56 people in Perryton were injured and one person -- 64-year-old Ruben Villegas -- is missing, Bouchard said.

Injuries range from minor to severe and multiple patients have be transferred to trauma centers, Fire Chief Paul Dutcher said.

There is currently no power in Perryton, according to Xcel Energy, an electric utility and natural gas delivery company.

"Our crews are arriving on site and are assisting in removing lines from cars and across the roads," the company told ABC News in a statement. "We are patrolling the transmission feeds into the city and also assessing possible damage at the main substation in town. One of the three main transmission feeds into the city was apparently undamaged, but we deenergized it for safety reasons."

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to deploy state emergency response resources to meet urgent life-safety needs in Perryton.

"The State of Texas is swiftly deploying critical emergency response resources to provide all necessary support and assistance to protect Texans and help those impacted by tornadoes in Perryton," Abbott said in a statement. "I encourage all Texans to heed the guidance of state and local officials and to take all necessary precautions to protect yourselves and your loved ones. We remain ready to quickly provide any additional resources needed over the course of this severe weather event."

Ochiltree General Hospital, the area hospital for Perryton, is currently without power, an official said Thursday.

Debbie Beck, chief financial officer of Ochiltree General Hospital, told ABC News 50 to 100 patients were treated for tornado-related injuries.

Weather alerts, including tornado warnings and severe thunderstorm watches, also extended across the South on Thursday. Georgia and Alabama were both slammed with heavy rain and flooding.

More storms are still in the forecast.

On Friday, residents from Virginia to New Jersey should be on alert for severe thunderstorms bringing damaging winds and hail.

Severe weather is also expected this weekend in Wichita, Kansas; Oklahoma City; Little Rock, Arkansas; Jackson, Mississippi; Montgomery, Alabama; and Tallahassee, Florida.

Meanwhile, dangerous, triple-digit heat is baking the South. Record-high temperatures are possible over the next few days in Houston, San Antonio, Dallas and New Orleans.

#nunyas news

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finsterhund · 1 year

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Mixed feelings today.

Groceries are terrifyingly expensive. It is now 100% indisputably cheaper to get as close as possible to a balanced diet by buying fast food than buying portions at a grocery store for one to two people without them going bad before being used. It's insane. Infuriating. Unfair. The only way to get efficient iron rich protein for a good price is fast food.

If you remember the incident where roommate had a little fit about the expensive carton of eggs? Now the cheapest eggs cost that much.

Hope is not lost though. Because I managed to find seeds for the specific species of heirloom pole beans I have positive memories cultivating as a preteen. Buying what is essentially if you do it right a yearly renewable source of a fuckton of beans was significantly cheaper than buying one serving of beans. However the problem arises in that will I be able to grow them? The issue is that my green thumb seemingly died around the same time my childhood innocence officially did. Maybe there's a magic in innocence and the love of nature. Who fucking knows. I'm jaded and miserable now. The only thing I've cultivated lately is grief and trauma. As a toddler I was growing orange and apple saplings from store bought fruits (although I suspect they may have been genetically altered to never flower) and as my childhood progressed I grew oak saplings from acorns. But long ago, ages, a lifetime ago really, back around when I first moved in with roommate I tried growing an oak sapling from an acorn again but it just moldered and died. Now maybe that was because the air quality and the lack of sun and the awful humidity but it made me very sad.

Later after that I adopted a near death Venus flytrap (who was named "Shadow" if you recall) and I successfully saved him from flowering (really big pain in the ass when it comes to flytrap husbandry) only for me to accidentally leave him behind at a friend's house who then killed him before I could bring him home. 😔 (I was between moves at the time)

But these are the special childhood beans. And they were cheap. And I got at least ten of them. And I fully intend to do as good as I can by them. I have been thinking about them beans all night. I have so many memes about beans I can post but I need to find them.

Anyways grocery shopping is horrific. I am more and more further radicalized by this inflation. There is no reason for it, don't blame some eco-friendly policy or person who's been in office for less time than it takes anything substantial to happen or whatever it's 100% companies profiting and making the consumer pay for it. Inflation harming the middle class while companies rake in record profits is not a flaw of something unless it's directly related to capitalist greed.

Also I may have irreparably broken one of my favourite (and harder to come by) music box movements. In order to repair it if so I will need to completely disassemble it and replace the governor assembly or do mild "smithing" work to the governor assembly. (Heat and hammer lol) My stupid worthless bumbling tremor hands when attempting to remove a stuck figure turning assembly accidentally bent it. Don't get me to do brain surgery lol 😔 I'm pretty saddened by that. Because I managed to find a music box mechanism for a specific music box song I like at a thrift store in the wild. Usually they play some generic shit that I don't like listening to for more than a couple minutes. But I will solve this on my own (hence why I'm not naming the song so a well-meaning friend doesn't get me another mechanism.)

Some good news though is that (before trying to buy groceries lol) I bought that special item I was saving up for. I even got it for 100 USD cheaper because I did a "best offer" with the seller. They didn't ship to Canada so I had it sent to Fishy who offered to help me out when things like that happen.

Anyways I'm thinking about them beans. Gonna spend the rest of the night trying to fix this music box mechanism. I really do not want to have to completely disassemble the parts not meant to be disassembled outside of the factory. Stress.

Beans.

#text post #negative #long post

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anothertastelesstetrahedron · 3 years

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Descole headcanons maybe 👀

Did someone say Descole? 👀 I’m just gonna put the whole thing under the read more cut, since this ended up being a very long post - and I mean looooooong - like almost 3000 words long. Major spoilers for most of the games - mainly the Descole Trilogy (looking at you AL), but there’s also one UF one.

Des has terrible handwriting. I just think it would be funny if that's the one thing he cannot change about himself while impersonating someone else. He can manage faking signatures, but free writing as someone else? He has to try very, very hard to get that (nearly) right. Tbh for most of his roles that’s also hardly a problem, so he doesn’t bother.

He dehydrated/had a heat stroke at least once while in full costume. There must be a reason why Raymond tries so hard to make sure the AL gang takes water bottles, sunscreen and so on with them. Des has no self-preservation instinct (unless having Raymond around counts as Des taking care of himself?) He also probably almost died in Monte d’Or due to the heat.

Des beat up those guys who hurt Layton in UF. Listen, no one is allowed to hurt his bro except for him.

The first thing Des did after AL was visit Umid - after getting the much needed medical treatment. Because I absolutely love their interactions he promised to do so. It would be funny for him to show up in full costume as well.

Des eventually got used to Kietz (because the cat is now living with Raymond and Des. You cannot change my mind about that) At first he hated Kietz. Des is basically the old cat in the Bostonius that now has to get used to the new one lol

I know it was just the writers having no idea about Des’ backstory in LS but I still can’t stop thinking about how Hershel felt that Descole (in full costume) was familiar. So what if young Hershel Bronev actually liked to dress up in a costume similar to the Descole one? And that had left an impression on young Theo...

I also still cannot get over the fact that Des knows how to make Layton the perfect tea. Well, he had Raymond make it, but still. How does he know what kind Layton likes? Theory one: Layton’s taste hasn't changed from when they were kids. Theory two: He stalked observed Layton’s tea-drinking activities. Maybe he even posed as a waiter sometimes to find Layton’s favourite tea.

Des had kept track of how Layton was doing for a long time. He also was very close to introducing himself a couple of times. Obviously he never did. One reason why he decided against it was certainly to keep Layton away from everything. Des had given him the chance to live a peaceful life, so he obviously didn’t want to risk that. But that’s not all to it. Though Des hated himself for even feeling that, he was a bit jealous. It’s not that he regretted his decision from back then, but he still couldn’t help feeling that way. Plus, Hersh was a reminder of his past life. So while Des had his family that was another reason why he didn't approach - though in the beginning, he had actually thought even more about talking to Layton. However, Des had really tried to let go of his revenge and thus also his past - so Layton couldn't be a part of Sycamore's life. And if that wasn’t bad enough, he also couldn't help but think about their father whenever he looked at Hersh. He knows that’s not fair, but it’s what it is. The same way he thinks about Bronev whenever he sees his own eyes in the mirror. After his family’s death and after he became Descole he stopped approaching Hersh altogether and kept his distance. Not only because, again, he wanted to keep Layton out of all of this - even more so than before, because Des had already lost his family again, so losing Hersh was not an option (I write even though Des tried to kill Hersh himself hjasdjd)-, but also because he was afraid of how disappointed Layton would be were he to find out about all the things Descole had done. Des feared that he’d hate him.

Relating to one point in the previous point, Des absolutely hates mirrors. His reflection is bearable while being dressed as Descole, but he still avoids them like the plague. Even more so as AL Desmond. He also absolutely hates it when someone compliments his eyes - the thing he hates the most about his appearance.

Relating to that, I know Des’ glasses are just for show, but what if they are optical glasses nevertheless? Like, he cannot stand seeing clearly (especially since he ran into Bronev a couple of times and he absolutely doesn’t want to see that guy’s face). Maybe it’s also to help him distance himself even further from the others - especially Layton(?).

Des only possesses one photo of his family. It had been in his wallet when they died. I am just gonna assume Targent blew up his house, leaving Des with almost nothing. As much as he wishes to have the photo with him at all times, it's far too dangerous to do so while being Descole. Maybe Raymond keeps it safe? Or Des just keeps it in Desmond’s office? Maybe that was one of the things he actually liked while being Desmond again, at least he actually could carry the photo around this time.

Des lies a lot (obviously) - also to himself. (This is also me just trying to make his writing make more sense, since it often seemed to me he was written by 4+ people who didn't tell each other what they’ve written). I am thinking of that one bonus scene in MM where Des acts all empathetic towards Randall. “Just the thought of those poor parents, desperately looking for their own child.” That line does sound a lot like something Des himself knows too well… And then, one moment later, after Randall has left, Des just admits to himself that he’s just using Randall. (srsly writers??) I’m not saying that’s not right, because he’s certainly using him - no point in sugar-coating that - but he’s also very much trying to distance himself from Randall and his issues and reminding himself to focus on his goals and to not get distracted. Because Des does care. And I also think that he could have achieved his goal without Randall, but when he had learnt that Layton lost his best friend, Des tried everything in his power to get him back.

What is Des’ “true self”?

That is the one question I’m thinking about the most. It’s probably gonna get a bit complicated now… Let’s see if I can make my own words make sense (I really tried haha). For clarity's sake I’m gonna use three different names now: First, we have Des - the name I’m gonna use for the “true(est)” version of him - whoever that really is. Then we have Desmond - the AL Desmond Des “played” during AL. And, finally, there is Descole which is of course the Descole “role”.

Des has some serious identity issues - because of course he does. Descole started as a role (Des is even literally wearing a non-practical costume) that served a specific purpose. Des initially “created” Descole to have an outlet for all his rage and despair - and to get back at Targent without revealing himself. And I imagine some characteristics of Descole are things Des added, because he wanted Descole to appear a certain way different from how Des presented himself outside the costume. No one was to find who was behind the mask after all, so Descole had to act differently. Descole’s arrogance comes to mind, like that one just strikes me as not (fully) being Des himself. Des pretty much hates himself and blames himself for a lot of things. But Descole is also much more than a simple role. He’s very much a part of Des himself - it’s Des' own anger and his own feelings Descole is based on after all. Over the years, the lines between Des and Descole got more blurry. And now Des pretty much cannot tell the difference anymore between the things that make him him and the things he had just put into the Descole persona. So while Descole was initially based on parts of Des himself, over time Des truly lost himself in Descole who had become its own thing as well. Think method acting gone completely wrong - or right?

In a similar yet also opposite way, (AL) Desmond is also a role Des played during the game. Des said that he had just assumed Desmond’s identity again to get close to Layton and use him (which I don’t believe is 100% true, because I am convinced that a part of Des wanted to be saved. And also longed to see his brother again - and wanted Layton to like him), but it does make me think that Des mostly runs around as Descole. Obviously Des had kept the Desmond persona alive enough for Desmond to be regarded as a world-famous archeologist. But then again, it clearly doesn’t matter in the PL-universe if people don’t do their jobs.

I still do not know how much of Desmond is the “true” Desmond. Even if Des based Desmond on how he used to be with his family, there’s still the question how close Des actually comes to that. Memories can be deceiving and I doubt Des remembers exactly how he used to be. So maybe Desmond’s speaking style, his mannerism could be an act instead of that being Des’ true (past) self. Or which I like better, it’s a confusing mix between “lie” and “truth”. Some things are exaggerated (people tend to romanticize the past, so even with his family Des(mond) might not have been as nice as he presents himself to be as AL Desmond). Some aspects are more or less really Des(mond) and some other things are just stuff Des added to the Desmond role - consciously or not.

Let’s take this thought even further. When Des tried to leave his revenge behind and concentrate on his family, was that Des(mond) really his true(est) self? Or did Des play a role during that time as well (at least partly)? Des cannot let go. That has been shown throughout the games. So while he had tried to put Targent behind him, he might not have been able to do that completely. Thus he buried some things deep inside him and concentrated on “playing” Desmond Sycamore. Who might be the person he wished to be(?).

Long story short, I think that maybe AL Desmond is an idealised version of the Desmond Des used to be. Des acted like how he used to be while his family was still alive - or as much as possible, since he absolutely cannot let go of the pain completely. So his AL Desmond appearance could also be how he had looked like back then. I honestly do not even know if AL Desmond is the “true face” under the mask. Or if Desmond is also kind of like a “costume”. His appearance could be inaccurate as to how present Des really looks like. Descole’s character model also makes no sense. Like the hair that is sometimes visible doesn’t really look like Desmond’s most of the time after all. So is Descole wearing another wig? Is Desmond? I kind of like the idea that Des met Layton with his true appearance, so I’m on the fence here. Maybe he’s not wearing a wig, but extensions?I very much like the idea of Des appearing with his true face though… So I am kind of reluctant to have Desmond look too different from Des. Plus, Layton could have noticed if Desmond was in fact wearing a wig and that might have made Layton suspicious. But maybe Des dyed his hair a bit, and/or is wearing extensions? Maybe he actually already has grey hair, who knows. I certainly don’t.

However, I also believe that Desmond is far less of a role than Des probably thinks/admits. Over the course of the game, he might have lost himself in the Desmond role in a similar way to how he has lost himself in Descole.

Des' time as AL Desmond changed him for sure. And he does act differently as Descole after he changed into the costume than in the previous games. (I’m gonna make a whole separate post about how the German version uses different forms of politeness - and Des does speak rather … strange/different after his revelation than in other games… Again, I know that that’s just the writers being the writers, but where is the fun in that?)

Present day Des has probably no idea who his true self is anymore… Him “playing” Desmond further complicated things. Which parts did he make up, which parts are truly him? I don’t think there’s an easy answer to that… But that also makes Des so fascinating to me. I also really wonder what name he prefers after AL…

As much as I like the idea that Des himself came up with the plan to approach Layton as Desmond, I also very much like the idea that it had been Raymond instead who had suggested it. Raymond probably has to listen to a lot of Des’ angry rants. And after hearing another one about Layton seeing through one of Des’ disguises, Raymond came up with the idea to just go as himself next time. Partly also because Raymond knows Des better than anyone else and he knows how much Des longs to see his brother again - even if Des himself doesn’t admit that.

Des has acquired quite a lot of scars over the years… He does fall down a lot, so it’s bound to happen. He was probably wearing a fair bit of makeup in AL to hide some of them - in addition to his visible lack of sleep. Speaking of, I don’t think Des slept all that much during AL. He probably has nightmares that wake him up screaming. No way he could (or would want to) explain that to the others. Maybe that’s what he has been doing while he was not with the gang. He was taking a much needed nap… Or ...

… or he goes into the one room in the Bostonius that’s completely sound-proof (because that surely exists) and just screams (and cries) for a bit. In full Descole costume. He cannot bear being Desmond and being around the others at all times. He needs to have an outlet for his emotions.

Des really tried to retain his (emotional) distance from everyone in AL. I noticed that in the beginning he hardly ever said anything while I was clicking everything (and I hope believe that I’ve really clicked everything for potential Des dialogue). But he says more over time. It also takes a long time for him to talk about his family. So maybe that’s him slowly warming up to the others. Des was also probably still figuring out how to be Desmond (again). In a way, I think Desmond was one of his easiest yet also his most challenging role he ever had to “play”. No one is more familiar to him and yet also a total stranger. Plus, he had to be extra careful not to reveal too much. Can’t have been easy (which is why he needed to go scream for a bit sometimes).

He feels immensely guilty about caring for Aurora. He was especially reluctant to get closer to her, but he also just couldn't help caring for her. Because she reminded him of his daughter. He just feels very conflicted as he got more and more attached to her, not only because he knew he would eventually betray her, but he felt like in caring for Aurora he was betraying his daughter in a way… This guilt could apply to Flora as well when he eventually meets her.

One day after AL he found the Popoño he had bought for Aurora. He keeps it close ever since.

His revenge is achieved after AL, so there should be no reason for Descole to continue existing. But I don’t think Des will be able to let go of Descole right away. The AL ending shows that anyway. I feel him putting the mask back on in his last scene makes sense for him. He still cannot bring himself to leave Descole behind and he also very much still cannot bear to see his father’s eyes whenever he looks in a mirror. It would have been too sudden for him to just put all the pain behind him. Des’ revenge was basically also the one thing that defined his whole life. And Descole has been a part of his life for a long time as well - the pain and anger that led to Des creating Descole have been inside Des long before his family got killed. I can’t imagine it easy to just let go of all of that. Des is truly lost at the end of AL. He has lost his purpose, the one thing that made him go on. And he needs to figure out who he is himself. Even more so after his whole posing as Desmond again. I like to think that Des will be able to let go of Descole eventually, but that will be a slow process and not something that’s gonna happen overnight. Instead he’ll probably put on the costume fewer and fewer times until, eventually, Descole just disappears. Maybe he’ll stop when he runs out of costumes lol. No matter what, it’s gonna be a long road for Des to be able to heal… (And he should totally go get back to Layton and apologise to Layton and to a loooooot of other people and then they both go to therapy)

#well that descoleated quickly I guess...#finally answered after a long time - sorry for the wait #thank you so so much for the ask - I obviously love rambling about my dear Des <3 #I really hope this makes sense #I struggled a lot with certain parts (especially that super long Who is Des anyway? part)#headcanons aka me rambling on and on about Des <3 #I have a LOT of thoughts about him #jean descole #professor layton #professor layton spoilers #azran legacy spoilers #Descole breaks tumblr #tastelesstetrahedronthings

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doctorslippery · 3 years

Link

(Knowledge) Ancient tomes of sacred lore begin fading away.

(Life) All healing magic now comes at a cost to the casters own health.

(Light) The sky is darkened to a permanent twilight.

(Nature) Large swathes of wilderness are infected by a strange rot.

(Tempest) Droughts spread across the land as rain doesn’t fall as often.

(Trickery) People with normally good humor become cold and bitter.

(War) Morale is decreased and soldiers begin to mutiny against their officers.

(Death/Grave) Undead creatures have a chance to randomly rise from graves without a spell cast by a necromancer.

(Forge) The knowledge of forging mithral and adamantine armor and weapons is lost.

Nothing. Once the god is the creator of it’s own domain, but it is able to maintain itself in its absence

(Arcana) All spells now have a chance to go wild.

(Fire) The world becomes cold as it goes into a long winter

(Air) The air becomes polluted and difficult to breath. Many people die of lung related issues.

(Water) Rivers and oceans go stagnant and unmoving.

(Earth) The land becomes infertile and unusable.

(Time) Time rifts start appearing everywhere causing things from the past and the future to come into the present.

(Dragons) All dragons, dragonborn, and kobolds turn to dust

(Darkness) The world becomes filled with endless light and a never ending day

(Love) Family and friends start to hate one another and form grudges over the smallest things

(Order) Revolutions happen everywhere and anarchy reigns supreme

(Good) Empathy and altruism are no more as people are looking out for themselves

(Evil) Angels descend from the heavens to purge the world now knowing that there is no evil god to protect the wicked

(Nature) The forests run amok. Animals and plants invade cities, as every natural order accelerates out of control.

(Nature) Conversely, the forests and fields begin to die. Animals grow sickly and lethargic.

(Nature) The seasons begin to spin out of control. A day dawns with blazing heat, but snow covers the ground to a foot by lunch, and a monsoon rages that night.

(Death) Nothing may die. Nothing. Not the cattle, not the sickly, not the old, not those grievously wounded. Souls are bound to their bodies, and may never set off on their journey. Chop someone into bits, and every tiny piece still twitches in agony.

(Any) As the gods ‘body’ decomposes their essence (what they were the god of) infects the land affecting all who lived below their realm eg if the goddess of nature dies – nature explodes over the area (eventually after hundreds of years the natural green will die and become the land will become barren after the body completes decomposing). If it was the god of war or anger – every person and animal in the realm becomes driven by anger/easily angered, and plants become more dangerous, etc

(Nature) nature becomes twisted and more and more aberration like.

(Nature) herbivores turn predatory and hunt for meat

(Forge) weapons turn weak, Metal is prone to bending and it tarnishes easily.

(Weather) drought spreads across the land

(Weather) destructive “sunder storms” where lightning falls like rain destroy the landscape.

(Weather) winter never ends.

(Any) Angels, demons, fey, other gods, and spirits start competing for that gods power and worship to fill the vacuum

(Any) If the god who dies has worshippers still his corpse enters an odd undead state. He’s too week to be an actual god again or become truly alive again. However his remaining worshippers keep him from truly dying.

(Any) desecration of the area in which it died.

(Any) the nature and landscape where it died twisting to reflect the gods domain

(Any) people in the area also changing to reflect the gods domain

(Any) powerful magic soaks into the land creating powerful items. Things like spiders whose venom can only be cured by other god touched magic. Plants whose berries heal you and their juice can even raise the dead, etc.

(Knowledge) every self aware creature must succeed on a DC 10 Int saving throw or take 1D4 psychic damage and lose as many memories as the DM decides while also losing 1d4 Ing Stat.

(Any) The heavens begin to fall to earth/fuse with the material plane

(Any) Paladins will be in a huge pickle during their conquests.

(Protection) Warding and shielding spells no longer work.

(Protection) The ancient wards that kept the Elder Evils, horrible beings whose power even the gods fear, at bay fall.

(Any) People realize the gods are not immortal, and in reaction, faith in all of the gods begins to falter.

(Tempest) The entire world becomes still: no wind, no waves, not even clouds, like the world is perfectly smooth.

(Trickery) Nobody remembers that they can lie. Everyone either states the truth or is silent, ruining the world’s governments by disabling political maneuvering.

(Forge) Metal no longer melts, making all previously forged weapons exponentially more valuable, even an old rusty sword.

(Any) All of the people that were sacrificed to the gods come back (betrayed heroes, betrayed family members etc), but all of the things that gods has given to us fade away.

(Any) Outsiders from other worlds reveal themselves as the liberators, freeing us from our oppressors by killing the gods.

(Any) The god is replaced by another god that does a terrible (or better) job as the dead god temporary replacement.

(Any) The god was slain, the being that slew the god gains the gods power or becomes the god

(Any) Nothing. The god may have been responsible for creating or shaping it’s aspect, but once it was created it doesn’t need the god to maintain it.

(Any) The gods power leaks from its remains. Any magic of the gods aspect is greatly amplified for several years. The closer to the remains the greater the power is amplified

(Death) Everything that dies rises as a zombie.

(Death) Spirits of the dead are unable to move on. Everything that dies becomes a ghost.

(Death) Spirits of the dead start coming back to the living world

(Knowledge) people begin to forget things. (Names, places, history, how to do things, what they were doing, etc.)

(Life) every living thing becomes sterile (animals are unable to have children / plants cant produce seeds)

(Nature) microorganisms reproduce at an accelerated rate & every other living thing gets wiped out

(Nature) plants and animals become withered anemic versions of themselves

(Nature) plants and animals begin to die off (decay / rot / slowly crumble to dust / slowly turn to ash)

(Nature) plants and animals begin to mutate into monstrous versions of themselves

(Nature) plants experience explosive growth and begin to take over everything

(War) People begin to become more violent and warlike.

(War) People begin to become too apathetic to fight each other. Eventually, people become too apathetic to do much of anything. They just stand around in a daze until the die of starvation or thirst.

(Any) All clerics suddenly overload on divine power (as if the gods power has been divided between them). And they all start to slowly go mad, and start to lose control.

(Light) a massive and well known constellation vanishes and leaves a dark patch right in the middle of the night sky

(War) A vanquished war-god drops his enormous miles-long sword, which falls to Earth and pierces deep into the planet’s mantle

(Death) The god’s followers begin killing at random, hoping the power of their faith will resurrect him

(Light) Random people all over the realm begin to go blind

(Tempest) A whirling hurricane forms in the middle of the Ocean… and doesn’t stop growing

(Forge) The followers of this deceased god begin a pilgrimage to destroy every craft ever created and stamped with his symbol

(Arcana) The god’s death leaves a hole in the weave. Something… unwanted fills in the gap with Its body.

(Nature) The wood of the deity’s patron plant (oak) begins to disintegrate into dust all over the world. Buildings topple.

(Life) This god’s followers have a crisis at the oxymoron of their god dying. They are slowly driven insane

(Grave) The god itself rises as an undead, an anathema to its own mission

(Arcana) People start forgetting spells. (As a spell is cast, roll to see if that is the last time it is cast)

(Arcana) Everyone gains a cantrip. Now this minor power is just something everyone does, like breathing or eating.

(Any) Suddenly there is a war in the cosmos. Minor deities, greatly powerful beings like Warlock Patrons, and other generally unknown greater powers are vying for the position.

(Any) Upon the god’s death, their body is split into thousands and thousands of pieces. These rain down like meteorites but instead of being falling rock bits, it’s a new people recently awoken. Who are these newcomers and what is their memory of or connection to this lost god?

(Tempest) Ocean currents fluctuate wildly

(Earth) Widespread tremors and volcanic activity

(Tempest) Unpredictable squalls

(Light) Continuous winter sets in

(Order) Ubiquitous revolutionary sentiment arises

(Music) Instruments quickly go out of tune, and singers forget words and have their voices crack more often

(Magic) All casters and magic items are treated as one level lower

(Nature) Animals behave erratically and crops fail

(Fate) Prominent heroes begin to meet ignominious ends

(Luck) Coin tosses and dice rolls result in predictable patterns (Heads tails, heads, tails/1,2,3,4,5,6,1 etc.)

(Luck) Randomness begins to fade. The first to go are critical successes and critical fails, but very rapidly all rolls end up as 10.5’s.

(Any) Their power returns to its source where anyone could take it for themselves

(Any) When trees and plants are cut down, instead of sap, blood starts to weep from the cuts.

(Winter) Animals that hibernate don’t wake. Plants and trees stay in their winter state. Even if the weather gets warmer things affected by season act like it never ended.

(Knowledge) every creature’s INT ticks down steadily as their memories slowly disappear until all life is reduced to animalistic intelligence.

(Death) no one can die anymore. HP can’t be dropped below 0 and no one can die of old age, accumulating age bonuses and penalties until all physical stats are reduced to 0.

(Light/sun) the sun and stars go out. The temperature continuously drops until the entire world is frozen over.

(Magic) all spells, enchantments, supernatural and spell-like abilities, etc. get progressively weaker until the entire world is basically in a null-magic zone.

(Nature) plants and animals become incapable of reproducing.

(Life) healing magic no longer works. Natural healing progressively weakens until it too is no longer possible.

(Trickery) it becomes impossible for anyone to lie or mislead

(Forge) a small mountain range of metals and the occasional gem crashes into the planet in 3… 2… 1…

(Knowledge) everyone receives random revelations rather simultaneously.

(Trickery) some guy shows up three days later, wondering what all the hubbub’s about.

(Life) Every wound healed by their clerics starts to rot, and everyone reanimated becomes undead.

(Trickery) Their holy texts go blank, holy symbols turn to dust, and all knowledge of the god is ripped from mortal minds, the god is dead and forgotten in all ways. While most people feel like they’ve forgotten something, the most devout worshippers to the lost god go mad from the hole in their mind and soul.

(Trickery) The gods secrets are spread throughout the world, the common-folk learn of their rulers corruption, people discover their spouses cheating, children learn their beloved dog didn’t go to a farm, all secrets good and bad are made known and will rip families, kingdoms, and even other faiths apart.

(Any) A shockwave of power blasts through the realms, knocking everything unconscious for d10 hours

(Arcana) Spellcasters and magic items begin to “glitch”, causing them to either be completely unable to cast spells/activate items or the spells go wild.

(Any) People and clerics begin to notice that something is…missing…

(Nature) Many two headed animals are born the following day.

(Any) The god(s) start to slip away out of people’s mind, and they start questioning if they were ever thing to begin with.

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rexnihilis · 4 years

Text

... run, dodge the Air Cannon and bounce back from Forced Quirk Activation. It seems that Shigaraki is trying to copy the movements of All For One from Kamino. Although he also does not refuse Decay and the explosion quirk...

... jump from the Decay wave, hide behind the building from the explosion and get away from the laser from the right eye.

"Kacchan. We leave closer to the city, there are more covers."

Shigaraki will definitely hear this broadcast, but Bakugo knows that we will not endanger the civilian and at the moment when Tomura tries to block our withdrawal, we will be able to break ahead...

... send an air attack towards Shigaraki, smash the ground before the Decay wave, grab Kacchan's hand and...

The calculation turned out to be correct, and Shigaraki tried to block the passage to the city, which means...

"KACCHAN, C'MON !!!" and with the explosion of Bakugo and a strike of 45%, we are leaping back to ground zero...

But then he began to choke ...

______________________________________________

How lucky! How lucky I am that the owner of One For All is this small bastard! How will it be worthwhile taking his quirk from him, and then his life, after he interfered with me in the USJ, became one of the reasons why I am considered only an appendage of Stein's ideology, as well as for the destruction of our triumph in Kamino. This is not the whole prize that I will receive for his death! The killing of the All Might successor, gaining the power that was stolen from Sensei 200 years ago, and also destroying the reputation of the heroes with a final blow to their "golden eggs". This is the same as getting Royal Flush in the final of the poker game.

Everything would be even better if this brat DON'T! DODGE! FROM! MY! HITS! To get on it is like trying to grab a rat by the tail. Although the comparison with the rat, for this hero, is still a compliment...

"Kacchan. We leave closer to the city, there are more covers."

Great. This bastard thinks I'm falling into such a simple trap. If I try to catch him now, then I will have to protect him from this idiot who didn’t join us when there is a chance. And now, I have a chance to get closer to residential areas where there are still a lot of civilians, so get rid of it explosive Pomeranian nor do I even have to do anything, except using the trick of the enemy, against himself!

... take on an air strike, send the collapse toward the civilians, jump into the "trap" and activate Warping. And then again that heady feeling, when his thin neck is in your hands and you just want to, and he will turn into a bunch of dust. It remains only to pick up One for All.

And again, I feel the warmth that filled me after awakening, but... It stretches, it kicks and breaks out! Now it’s clear why Sensei couldn’t take this quirk. It is reasonable, although not completely... It can take 10-15 minutes, so it’s worth knocking out this bastard and just picking up this quirk bit by bit...

While these thoughts flashed through Shigaraki’s head, his hands lit with lightning, and the caught went into the abyss of his mind...

______________________________________________

Darkness. Previously, there was only darkness, but now there, on the horizon, a white wasteland is visible, which is illuminated by a gray, dim light, which breaks through cracks.

Cracks in One for All.

Cracks in reality.

This is the end.

Cracks go faster and faster from the horizon, and hands are visible right behind them. Hands that expand cracks and absorb this world.

Izuku lost. Izuku couldn't escape from the successor of All For One, and now not only One for All, but all of Japan will be waiting for this wasteland.

He did not fulfill the request of the first, he ...

"Kidou."

These words came from darkness. Swirling darkness that always surrounded and covered him inside a quirk. Continuing to cry, he saw that now not only his fingers, but his whole hand are now not covered in this darkness. He still couldn't speak, but now he felt this world even more real. Even colder.

"Kidou. You mustn't blame yourself. It isn't your fault that your enemies are stronger and more experienced than you. You mustn't blame yourself for not being able to fulfill the request of the First."

These words were warm in Izuku's chest. The warmth that he had forgotten so long ago. The heat that filled it better and stronger, even than 100% One For All.

Tears poured from his eyes, because he had to stop Shigaraki. He was the only one capable of doing this. He...

"You don’t have to do this. You are still a child, Izuku. You are all still children, and they shouldn't have put you in such a situation. They had to do everything themselves and they failed. You shouldn't take the blame for other people's mistakes. You are already a hero, but the hero isn't obliged to solve all the problems that appear by people's actions. People must accept their mistakes and pay for them. And if they aren't able to accept their mistakes, they don't deserve to be saved. And now... Sleep. You need rest."

Izuku tried to refute his words, he wanted to say that everyone deserves to be saved, but the words of this man were echoed in Izuku’s soul. These glories lulled and offered to relax and then everything will pass. They promised hope and trust. They promised protection...

"Sleep, Kidou. Sleep and everything will pass. You mustn't solve their problems. But since they are not able to deal with this problem, I must do it."

The last words of this shadow sounded more like a threat, but Izuku was already fast asleep and there was only a person in his dreams that gave him warmth. A man whose hair was white as snow and his eyes was red as blood...

______________________________________________

Endeavor strove for the place where Shigaraki went. Midoriya said that he would go right behind him, and this conclusion was not a bit wrong.

"Burnin, report!"

"Midoriya Izuku and Bakugo Katsuki left in an unknown direction, while Uraraka Ochako and Shoto Todoroki tried to follow this idiots, but I caught them."

So Katsuki went along with Midoriya? Is he also connected with One For All? Shoto too try to run away. What is One for All and how is it related to All For One? No time to find out.

"Burnin, Shigarki headed for Midoriya. Order for you and all nearby sidekicks - take all students, civilians and injured as far away from this damn mountain! Contact the commission and ask for reinforcements."

"Yes sir!"

Well, we figured it out. Now we need to call the rest of the pro.

"Ryukyu, Crust, Wash! Answer!"

"Wash! Wash!"

"Ryukyu in touch!"

"Where is the Crust?"

"... He died saving us."

Silence hung on the channel of the heroes for a short while.

"Wash, help Burnin and warn everyone you meet that Shigaraki has several quirks. I’m also send off the coordinates. Shigaraki is there, pursuing Midoriya Izuku."

A crazy and inhuman roar filled the sound channel.

"Ryukyu, what was that?!"

"It was not me!"

“Okay, we don’t have time for that. Send as many heroes as possible there and bring the Eraserhead. While Shigaraki is distracted, we have the opportunity to eliminate him.”

And will pray that Midoriya is still not in Shigaraki’s hands...

______________________________________________

It’s easier and easier, pieces of One for All began to ripped out, only 5 minutes remained, and the void that was inside All For One should have been filled. Only 5 minutes, but nothing is ever going to be easy. There is always something that spoils his ideal plans. This time it was Hero No. 1.

"Even a step and the boy will fertilize this lifeless land."

Bluff.

It was a bluff. Shigaraki couldn’t afford to lose One For All. Not now that he was in his hands. So close that it has almost become a part of himself.

Endeavor, stepped back and looked. He was looking for a way to save that brat.

Useless hope.

A little more and it will be impossible to save him...

And then the Cold came.

It was all-consuming and murderous. It promised suffering and torment. It only wanted death...

Shigaraki used the Search to find the source of this cold and he saw darkness in front of him. Where previously there was the brightest light of all possible, darkness and cold now swirled. Something that terrified him more than anything that he had met in his life. Even when Sensei used his Aura on Shigaraki to teach him to resist, it was not so scary ... It was not so hungry. It was not so angry. It didn’t exude such a...

Cold...

Turning off the Search, he saw that the bastard reopened his eyes, but now fear and determination were not read in them. Now there was only a look of the Monster, which was troubled by stupid and weak hunters, who guessed to awaken that which would kill them, and decided how to have fun at their expense...

Not only his eyes changed, but also the color of his right eye and several curls of his hair.

The eye turned red. Pomegranate color. The fruit by which Hades bound Persephone and his underworld. The kingdom of the dead.

Hair turned white. They became even whiter than even Shigaraki’s and they were not snow, but bones. Bones of heroes and villains that gave their lives on the orders of the gods.

Seconds stretched out in a minute, and then in hours. Horror flooded Shigaraki, but this horror was dispersed by the warmth of One for All. The fire that was in the hands of the first man when he burned the forests of all those animals that threatened him...

And then this Monster touched him. He touched his face and all the warmth that was One For All went out. Shigaraki no longer felt the warmth he was just trying to steal. On the contrary, the warmth with which he woke up began to leave him. It left behind only the chill of death, which was getting closer and closer.

Shigaraki tried to activate the Decay.

The decay responded with a good old sense of dust that clogs the face and covers the body. The very disgusting, but so familiar feeling of worms dripping in the body. And so he tried to direct this force, in order to kill this monster.

But the Monster was no longer here.

There was only PAIN.

Trying to touch his face, Shigaraki did not feel anything until he touched his brain.

This monster ripped out his face and a piece of skull.

He ripped out his skull.

His...

Skull.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! BASTARD, BITCH, CRUD! YOU RIPPED OUT MY SKULL!"

Turning toward the Monster, he shouted at him in pain and rage. He hated him even more than All Might.

If All Might simply did not save him, then He hurt him. He took away from him what I wanted.

HE ALWAYS CRACKED WHAT I TRIED TO BUILD...

Shigaraki never hated anything so much in his life. Never in his life did he want to destroy something so much.

And now That Something has appeared.

His skull and face grew again, and Monster threw up a piece of his face with a skull several times in his hands and looked at the horizon.

He tossed the skull one last time, destroyed in the air with the help of pure darkness that shouldn’t have existed in this world, and turned around.

His hair was white as snow and his was eyes red as blood.

Instead of the green of the forests and the light of the heavens, the blood of the fallen and the darkness of the depths swirled around him.

The Lord of the Underworld reappeared in this world and now his servants were his victims.

The only thing he said was:

It’s Show Time.

#bnha #mha #bnha spoilers #manga spoilers #shigaraki tomura #Izuku Midoriya #bnha 274 #All for one #fic #Shigaraki is fucked up.#After all this is the DFO.#dfo #When the real Afo saw this he called on All Might to exile himself from his son.#Gigantomakhia couldn't decide what to call him and as a result of overheating of the brain he simply fell asleep.#The doctor fell into an existential crisis.#Izuku possessed with Afo!Au.#Toshinori and Gran Torino suffered a simultaneous double heart attack.#The Bakugo PTSD defused him for a couple of hours.#Both Todoroki's are really confused.

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atopearth · 3 years

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Ikemen Vampire Part 7 - Theodorus van Gogh Route

Okay, I'm really hoping I'll like this route because Theodorus' looks are 100% my type. Not gonna lie, it was love at first sight when I first played this game lmao (so dramatic), I think it's the eyes and the brown hair, he just looks so beautiful🥺🥺 Hmm how interesting, I would like to see how long Theodorus and them can hide from the heroine the fact that they're all vampires. Considering that Theodorus is an art dealer, I wonder how he got that gigantic scar on his back, it must have been pretty bad if the heroine was ready to run away lol. Anyway, half naked Theodorus was nice fanservice I guess, too bad I prefer my LIs clothed hahaha. Omg, I know he just called her a dog but it was honestly pretty hot🤣 Anyway, I love how we've seen 3 different outfits from Theodorus already, that grey suit actually suits him pretty nicely!

HAHAHA, I love how the heroine apologised to him saying it was her bad for thinking that he was actually being nice (when he said he'd carry the painting just in case she got run over by a carriage with it since she was careless lol). It was nice how Theo's attitude changed a bit from his usual harshness when the heroine genuinely asked him what art dealers do (since she's being forced to help him to keep the secret about the scar), I guess when it comes to art, he's nice to everyone haha. The art deal was cliche since the heroine has got to see how cool Theo is at inspecting fake art etc, but Theo made it pretty entertaining tbh, it was great how confident he was, how concise he was with his words and how it felt like he knew the heart of the painter when he checked it, he was really cool!🥺 Even though Theo isn't the most outwardly nice person, I love seeing how kind and thoughtful he actually is. Not only is he a great brother to Vincent, I honestly didn't think that he went around selling the art of young and budding artists too! I really liked how he got the heroine to choose a painting that called out to her heart so that she could more personally experience picking art for herself with her own eyes and without being reliant or biased by Theo's trained eyes, I think it's really nice to see how Theo is really properly trying to guide her even though he probably made her his assistant on a whim to protect her from the whole vampire thing.

LMAO when Theo started tickling the heroine because Vincent wanted to see her smile so he can more visually see what he can fix for the smile on his painting. Theo really would do anything for Vincent🤣 Hahahah trust Theo to actually have a dog as a pet, it's especially funny since he keeps calling the heroine his dog lmao. I have to agree with the heroine, imagining Theo picking and buying that magnifying glass for her as a present was such a cute image, I couldn't help but smile. It's nice to have the confirmation from Theo himself that he started dragging the heroine around because he wanted to enjoy her time here. I feel like the reason he's doing all this is related to how Vincent died, since we all know Vincent van Gogh didn't exactly lead a happy life, and as the brother who couldn't "save" him, I'm sure Theo feels terrible about it, so I feel like he wants others to be able to enjoy life if they can? Well, I knew that with Theo secretly supporting artists to draw stuff other than what's allowed (religion and landscapes), it would cause trouble but I didn't think they'd really try to kill him, pretty crazy. But I guess he is forming an organisation to go against the Academie and threatening their positions in society so it should be expected in a sense. I'm glad the heroine was able to tell him that even though Theo thinks the true geniuses are people like Vincent, people like Theo are also irreplaceable for being the ones to discover these artists and work hard in bringing them to light and change how art can be perceived, since without people like him, not everyone may necessarily appreciate the art. I find it really sweet that the heroine got to see firsthand how hardworking Theo is and be inspired by him and want to help him achieve his goal of giving people the freedom to draw what they can and expand the world of art. I also love how much of a home she's made with the young artists now that they even ask her for her opinion as well, it's so cute~

LOLL it's so cute how Arthur telling Theo to go on a date with the heroine is like an instant no, but when he says the heroine wants to learn more about art, Theo's like let's go and doesn't listen to anything else hahahah. It was sad when Theo talked about how he didn't have the talent to be an artist and it took him a long time to admit that, but it was really sweet of the heroine to tell him that him following his dream until the end meant something because he was able to become who he is today after it. It's something so simple, but I think it kinda hit me too haha. It was really cute how Vincent patted Theo on the head for helping him arrange an exhibition for him, it's so cute to see Theo as a little brother haha. It breaks my heart to see Theo so traumatised by the sound of gunshots... Anyway, because of the Theo in this game, I googled a bit about the real Theodorus van Gogh and I just found it so saddening to read about how supportive he was of his brother Vincent van Gogh and yet everything ended so tragically, I think the existence of his numerous letters to Vincent really showed his love for him and it just makes me sad to think about how he must have felt over Vincent's death.

Hearing Theo personally say that Vincent is his whole world and that he refuses to let this second chance at life slip through his hands really makes it hard to tell him to not work so hard, since he more than anyone else knows the value of life and how important it is to do what you can in the time you have. So I'm really glad Theo's words got through to the heroine, and now she's decided to force him to let her help him as much as she can, then he won't need to do everything by himself. Shakespeare really likes to cause trouble, doesn't he? Regardless though, I guess it's good for the heroine to find out they're vampires if she really wants to stay by Theo. I like how she took the whole revelation though, she was shocked but understanding and I guess that's thanks to Theo for treating her so well, but also because everyone treated her nicely I guess. It was cliche but I really loved how the heroine rushed into the burning gallery to at least save the painting Theo and Vincent really treasured. For Theo to so earnestly cherish a specific painting makes the heroine understand just how important it is, so I could see why she would risk her life for it, and as someone who has seen his most precious brother die without being able to help him, Theo understands how heartbreaking it can be to lose someone suddenly, so I also really liked how he rushed to save her, and hugged her in the heat of the moment since he was so worried that he would lose her.

Although I'm not familiar with Paul Gauguin and his paintings, it's fascinating to find out that Vincent van Gogh and him lived together for a bit! Also crazy to Google that it seems like them living together ended with Vincent slicing his ear off and Paul leaving or running off to Paris. Anyway, for this story, Theo says that Paul was the person who shot Vincent to his death and then ran off, and then when Theo confronted him about it, he admitted to killing Vincent, and then shot Theo when he tried to leave?! Woww, that's so despicable. Honestly, I love how straightforward they are with each other. The moment Theo realised that some things needed to be spoken rather than assumed, he went to clear it up with the heroine that he does like her and hopes that he can move forward from the past with her. Whereas, with the heroine, she misunderstood (understandably since he was shy towards Arthur's teasing) but she still was brave enough to tell him that even if he didn't feel the same way, she would still love him, which was so cute haha. So, I'm glad they communicated properly and even held hands!

Although I'm disappointed that Theo and Vincent's deaths weren't as recorded in real life since I think it would have been really interesting to explore Vincent's suicide and Theo possibly being so struck with grief over it that he passed away half a year later, it was nice to see Theo overcome the desire for revenge and recognise that loving art is a blessing and not a curse even if they may not be the most talented painters. I'm kinda sad that Gauguin was such a basic villain though lol, like he's pretty crazy to kill people because he's jealous of art talent, and honestly he doesn't deserve forgiveness lol. I guess Theo had a love-hate relationship with the wheatfields painting. He couldn't help but love it since it reminded him of his and Vincent's pure love for art back in the day, but at the same time because they could never go back to that, he hated seeing it, but when the heroine risked her life to save the painting from the fire, he realised how important it really was, and how he loved it more than he hated it. On another note, I feel like it would be pretty cool if we could have something like a spin off and romance the "villain" counterparts of each of the LIs hahaha. I honestly loved how Vincent and Theo properly told each other how they really loved each other and cherished the fact that they were brothers even though Theo once upon a time did wish to not be his brother. On the other hand, I really didn't like how Theo also ended up going back with the heroine to her time and leaving Vincent. Like, I know and understand the idea of the usual stuff like it's about time Theo got to live for himself blah blah blah, but honestly, Vincent's existence is so integrated into Theo's life, I feel like having one of them missing is like losing a part of themselves even if it's true that they can thrive by themselves. It's also such a shame since I feel like Vincent and Theo finally properly opened up to each other and could spend more time happily bonding rather than being fixated on stuff like revenge and other worries, so yeah I'm sad for the romantic ending lol.

Overall, I really liked Theo's route! Well, I liked everything before Gauguin came into being lol, because he was made into such a weird obsessive character that is probably the worst villain to forgive lol. Like, how can someone who loves art just as much as them be so fixated on jealousy and kill people because of it? I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but it was super out of nowhere and a weak way to show that he's a "villain", when I feel like they could have done something more like Isaac Newton's villain where they did share the same love and passion for their respective skills, but things just happened causing rifts and stuff, so yeah, Gauguin and the last bits were pretty disappointing. However, I did really enjoy how this route tried something different with Theo hiding their vampire identities to protect the heroine, and I think I really felt how sweet, loving and caring he was. I also loved seeing how passionate Theo was with art and art dealing and how his relationship with Vincent was full of love but also some strain. I think their brotherly bond was nicely portrayed, but also could have been focused more on instead of the random Gauguin imo haha. Anyway, even though the heroine and Theo's relationship was pretty dramatic at times especially with the fire and stuff, it was still really sweet, and Theo definitely grew on me as they both worked together and she came to understood his dream haha. I think I personally like Theo's and Mozart's routes the most.

#Ikemen Vampire

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rabbitcruiser · 3 years

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Benjamin Franklin Day

Founding Father Benjamin Franklin was born on this day in 1706, in Boston, making today Ben Franklin Day. He was a polymath, or expert in many subjects. Some of the titles that could be given to him are inventor, scientist, politician, diplomat, civic activist, printer, author, postmaster, and mapmaker. He also founded or was a part of many organizations and groups.

Franklin was the tenth and youngest son of a soap and candle maker, Josiah Franklin, and Josiah's second wife, Abiah Folger. The elder Franklin wanted his son to follow the path of a preacher, but did not have the money to send him to school. Benjamin only attended school up until the age of ten, when he began working full-time in his father's shop. At the age of twelve he was sent to apprentice his older brother James, who was a printer. James started The New England Courant in Boston when Benjamin was fifteen. Benjamin wanted to be printed in the paper, but James would not allow it. So, he wrote letters under name of Silence Dogood, a fictional widow, and slid them under the print shop door at night. The fourteen letters he wrote were published; they gave advice and were filled with critical observations of the world. Benjamin eventually confessed to writing them, and James was not happy. Later, after harassment and beating at the hands of his brother, Benjamin ended up running away to New York, and then ended up in Philadelphia in 1723.

In Philadelphia, Franklin found work as an apprentice printer. He then went to England for several months of print work. He came back to Philadelphia and helped out a printer, but eventually borrowed money and set up his own printing business a few years later. Franklin bought the Pennsylvania Gazette in 1729, which became the most widely read newspaper in the colonies. He printed it and contributed pieces under aliases.

In 1728, Franklin had a son, William; it is not known who the mother was. In 1730, he married Deborah Read; it was a common-law marriage, as Read's first husband had deserted her. The Franklin's had two children: Francis, born in 1732, died at the age of four from smallpox. Sarah was born in 1743.

The Library Company, the nation's first subscription library, was founded by Franklin in 1731. He started publishing Poor Richard's Almanack in 1733, under the pseudonym of "Richard Saunders." Its lively writing and witty aphorisms separated it from other Almanacs of the day, and it was printed for twenty-five years. The first fire department of Philadelphia, the Union Fire Company, was organized by Franklin in 1736. Franklin also worked for environmental cleanup in the city, and launched projects and advocated for paved and lit streets. The first learned society in the country, the American Philosophical Society, was launched with the help of Franklin. In 1751, he brought together another group of people to form the Pennsylvania Hospital.

Franklin's bright mind came up with many inventions. His 1752 kite and key experiment demonstrated that lightning was electricity, and he also invented the lightning rod. He came up with other electricity related terms that we still use today, such as "battery." He invented a fireplace that became known as the "Franklin stove." Compared to the popular fireplaces of its time, it gave off more heat and used less fuel. Franklin refused to patent it, and wanted his invention to serve others freely. Franklin invented bifocals, which could be used for both distance and reading. He even invented a musical instrument, the armonica, which Beethoven and Mozart wrote music for. He charted the Gulf Stream and gave it its name, and suggested the idea for, and helped design the first penny in the United States.

In 1757, Franklin went to England to represent the Penn family over who should represent the colony. Until 1775 most of his time was spent in England. He served as a Colonial representative for Pennsylvania, Georgia, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. His wife Deborah died in 1774, while he was still in London.

Franklin was originally a loyalist, but after the 1765 Stamp Act his views shifted. He testified before Parliament, helping persuade members of that body to repeal the law. He later became embroiled in what became known as the "Hutchinson Affair." Thomas Hutchinson, an English appointed governor, had written letters that had called for the lessening of liberties of colonists. Franklin got ahold of the letters and sent them to America. He was condemned publicly, and soon came back home.

He was elected to the Second Continental Congress, and was part of the committee of five that drafted the Declaration of Independence. He also was a signer of the Declaration. He was the first Postmaster General of the United States; long after his death he was honored by being put on the first US postage stamp.

He left America to become the first Ambassador to France. During this time he helped secure a treaty with them in 1778. He also helped to secure loans during the war. When the guns fell silent, he was present at signing of Treaty of Paris in 1783, which formally ended the war.

Franklin returned to his home country, and became a delegate at the Constitutional Convention; he signed the Constitution, being the oldest person to do so. Although Franklin owned slaves early in his life, his views changed over time, and in his last years he worked for the abolition of slavery. After suffering from gout and other ailments, he died on April 17, 1790, at his daughter Sarah's home. His funeral was attended by 20,000 people.

It is fitting a day would be dedicated to Benjamin Franklin, as he is so much more than just the man on the $100 bill. The breadth and scope of his achievements are almost unparalleled, not only in his political contributions to a fledgling country, but in his many other pursuits as well.

Here are just some of his accomplishments and activities: As writer/printer/publisher:

wrote as Silence Dogood in The New England Courant

published Poor Richard's Almanack for twenty-five years

owned the Pennsylvania Gazette

wrote an acclaimed autobiography

As an inventor:

"Franklin stove"

proved lightning is electricity and invented the lightning rod

bifocals

swim fins

carriage odometer

armonica

flexible catheter

As a founder:

The Library Company—the country's first subscription library

Union Fire Company of Philadelphia—the first fire department of Pennsylvania

American Philosophical Society

Pennsylvania Hospital

As a politician:

Colonial representative in England

member of Second Continental Congress

first Postmaster General of the United States

helped draft the Declaration of Independence and signed it

first ambassador to France

present at signing of Treaty of Paris

delegate to Constitutional Convention and signed Constitution

How to Observe

One way to celebrate the day is to follow the example he left of living a full life. Maybe you can start to do this by following his daily schedule. Learning more about the man may be a good way to celebrate his birthday and life as well. Why not read the man's own words in his Autobiography? You could also read his Silence Dogood letters, or some of Poor Richard's Almanack. Besides reading his own words, you could read books about him, or explore resources at the Library of Congress. Once you tire of reading you could find and watch the PBS mini-series on Franklin. Finally, you could plan a trip to visit his grave and the Benjamin Franklin Museum in Philadelphia.

Source

Benjamin Franklin, an American polymath and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, was born on January 17. 1706.

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newstfionline · 3 years

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Friday, March 12, 2021

Rich, developing nations wrangle over COVID vaccine patents (Reuters) Richer members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) blocked a push by over 80 developing countries on Wednesday to waive patent rights in an effort to boost production of COVID-19 vaccines for poor nations. South Africa and India renewed their bid to waive rules of the WTO’s Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) agreement, a move that could allow generic or other manufacturers to make more vaccines. South Africa argued the current TRIPS system does not work, pointing to the failure to secure life-saving medicines during the HIV/AIDS pandemic that had cost at least 11 million African lives. Medecins Sans Frontieres in October put together a letter signed by over 375 civil society organisations supporting the waiver. The South Africa and India proposal was backed by dozens of largely developing countries at the WTO, but opposed by Western countries, including Britain, Switzerland, EU nations and the United States, which have large domestic pharmaceutical industries.

US reports surge of kids at SW border, a challenge for Biden (AP) The number of migrant children and families seeking to cross the U.S. southwest border has surged to levels not seen since before the pandemic, a challenge for President Joe Biden. Statistics released Wednesday by U.S. Customs and Border Protection showed the number of children and families increased by more than 100% between January and February. Kids crossing by themselves rose 60% to more than 9,400, forcing the government to look for new places to hold them temporarily. The surge has been seized on by Republicans and former President Donald Trump as a line of attack on Biden, though his administration is turning back nearly all single adults, who make up the majority of border-crossers, under a public health order imposed at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The Biden administration is temporarily holding children and families, mostly from Central America, for several days. They are generally then allowed to enter the U.S. while authorities evaluate their claims to asylum or see if they have any other legal right to stay in the country. It is a challenge for an administration that has been working to restore an asylum system largely dismantled under Trump and likely to face increasing pressure. Factors driving the increase include widespread hunger in Central America due to recent hurricanes, the economic upheaval of the pandemic and more fundamental social problems dating back years.

Brazil hospitals buckle (AP) Brazil’s hospitals are faltering as a highly contagious coronavirus variant tears through the country, the president insists on unproven treatments and the only attempt to create a national plan to contain COVID-19 has just fallen short. Piaui state’s Gov. Wellington Dias told The Associated Press that, unless pressure on hospitals is eased, growing numbers of patients will have to endure the disease without a hospital bed or any hope of treatment in an intensive care unit. “We have reached the limit across Brazil; rare are the exceptions,” Dias, who leads the governors’ forum, said. “The chance of dying without assistance is real.” Those deaths have already started. In Brazil’s wealthiest state, Sao Paulo, at least 30 patients died this month while waiting for ICU beds, according to a tally published Wednesday by the news site G1. In southern Santa Catarina state, 419 people are waiting for transfer to ICU beds. In neighboring Rio Grande do Sul, ICU capacity is at 106%.

Athens tackles heat and pollution with pocket-sized parks (Reuters) Tucked between rows of apartment blocks on an Athens street, a strip of green with a few trees, some plants and a bench offers a breathing space in the surrounding crush of concrete. The Greek capital has started creating “pocket parks”, transforming small plots once ridden with garbage and weeds, in a bid to tackle its chronic pollution. “It’s about creating green spaces, lowering the temperatures, giving quality of life and creating new reference points inside the city,” Athens Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis said. “It lets us breathe a bit, because the way we are here ... we are suffocating,” said 65-year-old Dimitra from the densely populated neighbourhood of Kypseli.

Myanmar’s searing smartphone images flood a watching world (AP) The images ricochet across the planet, as so many do in this dizzying era of film it, upload it, tell it to the world: scenes from a protest-turned-government crackdown, captured at ground level by smartphone users on the streets of Myanmar. Images shot across barricades and furtively through windows. From behind bushes and through smudged car windshields. Horizontal video. Vertical video. Video captured by people running toward chaos and away from it. People shouting. People helping. People demanding. People dying. It is a dynamic completely unlike the uprising that spread through the Southeast Asian nation in the pre-internet, pre-smartphone summer of 1988. Then, when student-led demonstrations were violently put down by the government, cementing Myanmar’s global notoriety as an isolated, repressive state, it took months, even years, for the outside world to understand the full story of what had happened. This time around, the imagery is plentiful and unsettling. Filmed by participants on the ground and uploaded, sometimes immediately, the protests and crackdowns are reaching millions of handheld devices around the planet, also almost immediately. It’s a vivid example of a technological truism in an age when capturing images has become utterly democratized: If you can glimpse it up close, you’re more likely to pay attention.

Most Americans support tough stance toward China on human rights, economic issues (Pew Research Center) Roughly nine-in-ten U.S. adults (89%) consider China a competitor or enemy, rather than a partner, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. Many also support taking a firmer approach to the bilateral relationship, whether by promoting human rights in China, getting tougher on China economically or limiting Chinese students studying abroad in the United States. Americans rarely brought up the Chinese people or the country’s long history and culture in their responses. Instead, they focused primarily on the Chinese government—including its policies or how it behaves internationally—as well as its economy.

Ten years on, Japan mourns victims of earthquake, Fukushima nuclear disaster (Reuters) Japan on Thursday mourned nearly 20,000 victims of a massive earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan 10 years ago, destroying towns and triggering nuclear meltdowns in Fukushima, the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. Huge waves triggered by the 9.0-magnitude quake—one of the strongest on record—crashed into the northeastern coast, crippling the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant and forcing more than 160,000 residents to flee as radiation spewed into the air. The government has spent about $300 billion (32.1 trillion yen) to rebuild the tsunami-devastated region, but areas around the Fukushima plant remain off-limits, worries about radiation levels linger and many who left have settled elsewhere. Decommissioning of the crippled plant will take decades and billions of dollars. The disaster has also left survivors in Tohoku struggling to overcome the grief of losing families and whole communities to the waves in a few frightening hours on the afternoon of March 11, 2011.

Lebanon’s politicians show no sign of saving their country, France says (Reuters) France’s foreign minister said on Thursday time was running out to prevent Lebanon collapsing and that he could see no sign that the country’s politicians were doing what they could to save it. France has spearheaded international efforts to rescue the former French protectorate from its deepest crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war by trying to use Paris’ historical influence to persuade squabbling politicians to adopt a reform roadmap and form a new government to unlock international aid. “I would be tempted to qualify Lebanese politicians as guilty of not helping a country in danger,” Jean-Yves le Drian told a news conference in Paris. “They all committed to act to create an inclusive government and committed to implementing indispensable reforms. That was seven months ago and nothing is moving. I think it’s not too late, but the delays are very small before collapse.”

UN food aid chief visits Yemen, fears famine (AP) The head of the U.N. food agency warned after a visit to Yemen that his underfunded organization may be forced to seek hundreds of millions of dollars in private donations in a desperate bid to stave off widespread famine in coming months, describing conditions in the war-stricken nation as “hell.” The World Food Program needs at least $815 million in Yemen aid over the next six months, but has only $300 million, the agency’s executive director, David Beasley, told The Associated Press in an interview. He said the agency would need another $1.9 billion to meet targets for the year. Beasley visited Yemen earlier this week, including the capital of Sanaa which is under the control of Iran-backed Houthi rebels. He said that at a child malnutrition ward in a Sanaa hospital he saw children wasting away from lack of food. Many, he said, were on the brink of death from entirely preventable and treatable causes, and they were the lucky ones who were receiving medical care. He said the world needs to wake up to how bad things have gotten in Yemen, particularly for the country’s youngest.

Shock and uncertainty after death of Ivory Coast PM Bakayoko (Reuters) Ivory Coast faced shock and uncertainty on Thursday following the death of Prime Minister Hamed Bakayoko, the West African nation’s second premier to die in office in less than eight months. A close ally of President Alassane Ouattara, Bakayoko, who died of cancer a few days after his 56th birthday, was appointed prime minister in July 2020 after the death of his predecessor Amadou Gon Coulibaly, Ouattara’s handpicked successor. A central figure in Ivorian politics over the past two decades as the country was plunged into a prolonged conflict and a partition, Bakayoko, a jovial character with roots in media and showbiz, emerged as a conciliatory figure, able to talk to all sides of the conflict. His capacity to gain the trust of all sides including former rebel soldiers who staged a series of mutinies in 2017, threatening a fragile peace in the world’s top cocoa producing nation, saw him appointed as defence minister in 2017, and kept the portfolio when he became prime minister.

Nuclear power (Scientific American) Nuclear power is waning, but not for the typical fears. Rather, other ways of generating electricity have just become cheaper and more available. Nuclear power in 2020 accounted for about 19 percent of U.S. electricity needs, a figure that by 2050 is projected to slip to 11 percent according to the Energy Information Administration. Nuclear power is over half of low-carbon electricity generation in the U.S., and is about 30 percent of the world’s low-carbon electricity. The coming years will determine how much nuclear power will play a role in the energy future, as new demos of small modular reactors begin to roll out in the United States.

Tiny internal cameras (Times of London) Thousands of NHS patients will be given tiny cameras to swallow to check for cancer in a new national trial. The technology, in a pill-sized capsule, takes images as it passes through the bowel and beams them to a recording device worn on a belt and shoulder bag. It can then be flushed away. Sir Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, said that the “ingenious” capsule cameras would allow more people to undergo cancer investigations quickly and safely.

#headlines #news

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afrolesbikita · 3 years

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Stories and interesting info on POS and POS System Hardware.

As Texas braces for its notoriously scorching summer temperatures, the state House agreed to install air conditioning in dozens of uncooled prisons within seven years — but only if lawmakers set aside money for it.

On Thursday night, the Texas House initially passed a bill that would require all Texas lockups to be cooled over a seven-year span, capping costs at $300 million. But the state prison agency would only have to abide by the measure if lawmakers also agree to provide state or federal funds toward cooling costs. The bill finally cleared the House Friday on a 123-18 vote and was sent to the Senate.

“The reality is, in Texas, we are cooking people in prisons,” state Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, said on the floor when presenting his bill. “This is the right thing to do, it is the humane thing to do, and it’s something we should have done a long time ago.”

Currently, 70% of the state’s nearly 100 prison facilities do not have air conditioning in living areas. Some areas, like administrative offices and infirmaries, are air conditioned at all units.

In the last decade, at least 13 men have died of heat stroke while incarcerated in Texas prisons, according to court records and autopsy reports. Many more prisoners and guards are sickened each year in temperatures that often soar past 100 degrees, requiring intravenous fluids after reporting dizziness, nausea, heat rashes and muscle cramps.

For years, Texas Democrats have proposed measures to require state prisons to have cooling systems, as is the case in county jails. But legislators have balked at the cost, which the prison agency estimates would be more than $1 billion — though it has grossly overestimated air conditioning costs in the past.

In 2017, after a federal judge slammed the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for being “deliberately indifferent” to the potentially fatal risk of stifling temperatures inside a geriatric prison, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton argued that “taxpayers shouldn’t be on the hook for tens of millions of dollars to pay for expensive prison air conditioning systems.”

The state has, however, spent millions of dollars in ongoing legal battles while resisting installing the cooling units. The yearslong lawsuit at the geriatric Pack Unit cost the state more than $7.3 million in legal fees. TDCJ ultimately settled the suit in 2018 and agreed to cool the prison near College Station, which cost less than $4 million — a fraction of the prison agency’s original estimate of more than $20 million.

Dozens of other lawsuits against TDCJ over heat-related deaths and illnesses have cost the state millions more since the summer of 2011, when a heat wave in Texas killed at least 10 imprisoned men.

“The reality is what we’re doing is disgusting. It’s truly disheartening,” Canales told the House Corrections Committee last month. “I don’t think we have a money problem. I think we have a give-a-damn problem.”

This year, Canales filed House Bill 1971 to incrementally install air conditioning in Texas’ uncooled prisons at a maximum cost of $100 million per biennium. The bill would permit three two-year phases of installation, ending with all state prisons cooled below 85 degrees before 2029. TDCJ said the cost would be much higher, but Canales and other lawmakers have called the agency’s billion-dollar price tag “ridiculous.”

But even if Canales’ bill becomes law, state lawmakers would still need to separately set aside state dollars or seek federal funding for it. The funds couldn’t come from TDCJ’s existing budget. The bill instead relies on lawmakers in the future giving TDCJ state funds specifically for cooling or directing federal dollars toward the project.

Still, the bill’s passage on the House floor this session is the furthest a prison air conditioning bill has gone in the Texas Legislature. Eye-popping cost estimates often kept air conditioning proposals from progressing beyond the first legislative step of a committee hearing in previous years.

But this year, Canales’ bill was unanimously voted out of the House Corrections Committee and was approved on a voice vote without opposition by the full chamber Thursday night. Other bills similar to previous proposals that did not include a staggered implementation failed to move forward. State Rep. Andrew Murr, the committee chair, said Thursday that Canales’ phased approach with specific budgeting allowed for success in his committee.

“This legislation takes steps to solve an infrastructure issue that has faced our correctional institutions for decades,” the Junction Republican said in an email.

At the bill’s committee hearing last month, Murr also questioned TDCJ about the high costs of litigation the state continues to face by continuing to avoid cooling its prisons, but prison officials did not provide specific numbers.

Texas has spent about $6.4 million legally representing TDCJ alone in prison heat litigation since 2011, according to billing records from the Texas Attorney General’s Office. And the state shelled out about $10 million more in settlement expenses in the last few years, including prisoners’ attorney fees and payouts to families in wrongful death lawsuits for prisoners who died of heat stroke.

In settling the high-profile heat lawsuit at the Pack Unit, TDCJ agreed in 2018 to pay $4.5 million to the plaintiffs’ attorneys. In 2019, the Texas legislature signed off on $1.8 million in payments to settle wrongful death lawsuits in the heat-related deaths of three prisoners in 2011 and 2012.

And the state agreed to pay another $3 million in settlement payouts connected to five other heat-related deaths that occurred in those years, according to records obtained by Texas Prisons Air-Conditioning Advocates and shared with The Texas Tribune. Plus, a man who sued over heat-related illness in prison after he was released received a $90,000 settlement.

Despite the continued legal costs, the advertised billion-dollar investment to cool prisons is not an easy sell, even with bipartisan skepticism of TDCJ’s estimate. In 2019, a Republican on the House Corrections Committee suggested an independent cost study since TDCJ had a history of inflated costs, but the prison agency still was the sole source of the cost estimate officially attached to bills this year.

In lieu of installing air conditioning, the costly lawsuits moved TDCJ to implement new heat safety protocols in 2018 — like more personal fans and a steady supply of ice water — in all of its units. Prison officials have argued such heat mitigation efforts work to keep prisoners safe, even if they may still be uncomfortable. Officials claimed that there were no heat-related deaths or major illnesses since the change of protocols.

But prisoners often say heat policies are followed inconsistently, and they have previously broken windows for air flow or flooded their cells to lie in water. Months after the Pack lawsuit was settled, a medical examiner ruled that a 54-year-old man at the Michael Unit died from environmental hyperthermia — often referred to as fatal heat stroke.

In 2019, TDCJ officials contested the cause of death, stating that the autopsy report was preliminary and the prisoner had been housed in an air conditioned cell. The state death report still lists hyperthermia as the cause of death, however. A TDCJ spokesperson said Thursday the agency still refuted the finding.

Carlee Purdum, an assistant research professor for the Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center at Texas A&M University, said without systemwide cooling, the prison agency won’t solve safety and medical problems associated with heat. Prison populations, her area of expertise, tend to be more vulnerable than people in the free world, since prisoners are often older and have more medical ailments that can be exacerbated by heat, she said.

“Investing in hazard mitigation saves so much money in the long term,” she said. “We’re expecting to see about a tripling of days in Texas that are over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and this issue is only going to get worse … and more costly.”

For Amite Dominick, with Texas Prisons Air-Conditioning Advocates, the cost of air conditioning should be considered a preventive medical cost. But more important than the money, she said, are the people who get sick and die from the conditions the state holds them in.

“These people are being tortured,” she said. “We don’t treat animals like this, why on earth would we treat human beings like this?”

Disclosure: Texas A&M University has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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In 2002, UNC-Chapel Hill acquired the André Savine Collection and been digitizing its materials for years now. Among almost 100′s of thousands of materials, this book was discovered: “Sappho. Works. Selections. The Collection of songs and lyrical excerpts”, 1914 Translated into Russian by Ivanov Viacheslav Ivanovich (1866-1949) ... With a dedication of Marina Tsvetaeva to her husband of three years, Sergey Efron (or, “Seryozha”, as she gently calls him in her dedication), attaching the quote by Sappho ! Sergey, at that time, was serving on the hospital-train during WW1, visiting Moscow, from time to time, for very short stops. Most likely, Tsvetaeva presented this book during one of such visits. And Marina Tsvetaeva, in her turn, at that time, was romantically and passionately involved with Sophia Parnok (who has been referred to as “Russia’s Sappho”). Of that “affair”, Sergey Efron was very well informed, kindly understanding and fully forgiving his young wife. As well as, he always forgave all other Marina’s affairs in the many years ahead: “Marina is a gigantic stove, which in order to be heated requires wood, wood, and more wood. The useless ash is thrown away, and the quality of the wood is not so important. As long as the chimney draws well — everything turns to flame. Wood of poorer quality burns up faster, better wood takes longer. I don’t even have to tell you that I haven’t been able to feed the fire for a long time already ’’ -- Sergey Efron, complaining in a letter to their common friend, Maximillian Voloshin, in 1924, referring to all of her affairs, including with Rodzevich, who was a famous Lovelace ..... all Russian Prague was gossiping about it, suspected her newborn son was from him, and the effect of their “affair” on her genius prose and poetry. Efron understood, she needed those “fire logs” to create her works. The above image is the Russian autograph by Marina Tsvetaeva on the page from that book. It reads (the English translation):

“To Seryozha -- the most wonderful book of all Marina

Moscow, May 18th, 1915

“The sensual is what I love The youth is what I love The joy is what I love and the sun ...” -- Sappho” The book (in the Russian translation, old orthography) with this handwritten dedication (p.2) is located here: https://archive.org/details/sobraniepiesenil00alca/page/n1/mode/2up

Sergey Efron (1893-1941) in 1915 on the hospital-train #187 You can see the number “187″ on his shoulder boards. Upon his return with the family: an older daughter, a son, Marina Tsvetaeva, -- to USSR after 17 years of the emigration in 1939, he and his older daughter, Ariadna, were immediately arrested and accused in espionage, as in Stalin’s times, anyone who lived abroad was a spy. Besides, Sergey Efron served in Tsar’s (”White”) Army and fought against the Soviet (”Red”) Army in 1917. He was executed in 1941 and Ariadna spent 8 years in forced labour in labor camps. Both were exonerated after Stalin's death.

Marina Tsvetaeva (1892-1941) in 1915 with her older daughter, Ariadna or Alya (1912-1975), whose life, as the whole her family’s, was also tragic: a mother hang herself, a father -- got executed, a younger sister died of famine in 1919 in a state orphanage and a younger brother got killed in WW2 at the age of 19. Except for her aunt (Mother’s sister, who died aged 98 years old). As I said above, Ariadna spent 8 years in forced labour in labor camps for political crimes she didn’t commit. After releasing, she was arrested once again the next year and sent to live in exile for years in Siberia. She was a Russian translator of prose and poetry from French, memoirist, artist, art critic, poet.

She had ho children (most likely, as the result of being tortured by NKVD (forerunner of the KGB) to testify against her father) and her only common-law husband was executed in 1951 in Stalinist repressions. Marina Tsvetaeva always... imagined her Loves, giving them the qualities they never had, not even close to or far, and with that, giving herself a great impulse for the creativity, writing immortal poems and prose, dedicating to them, we all so admire now. Those people were never even close to the real ones. However, one of her “Loves”, she only met once, many years younger her (Anatoly Shteiger), wrote in one of his last bitter letter to her, justifiably asked: “.... but how does one feel, when you take that saint halo you created, off of his head ?” Because she always did, once the fire log got burnt down, she saw the ordinary and plain, unworthy person. Konstantin Rodzevich (1895-1988), “The Poem of The End”, “The Poem of The Mountain” were dedicated to him and about him. She called him “My Harlequin”, with whom Marina Tsvetaeva got so passionately in Love in 1923-24, who always avoided discussing their affair for decades, in the end of his life, had admitted to Losskaya: “ She just imagined me. I have no idea what she Loved me for. I got charmed with her image and appreciated it greatly. However, it didn’t let me live. It was like an avalanche.”. Her letters to him is a masterpiece of an epistolary genre.

André Savine (1946-1999) was the owner of Le Bibliophile Russe («Русский Библиофил»), an antiquarian bookstore in Paris that long served as the most valuable source of materials relating to the Russian Diaspora for major European and North American libraries such as the British Library, the State Library in Berlin, the Bavarian National Library, Harvard, and others. An avid collector, Savine spent more than 30 years acquiring hundreds of rare editions, archival materials, and documents relating to Russian culture in exile worldwide. He was obsessed with the idea of preserving Russian émigré culture, although he lived and worked during a time when this subject generated little interest among either scholars or librarians.

André Savine (1946-1999)

#Marina Tsvetaeva #autograph #Russian poet #for The Dreamer

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