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#fire natio
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it's time now. it's time to imagine the brightest future you can, and talk about it.
a future where people only work 8 hours a week and everyone's basic needs are met. a future where we are more connected to nature and eat seasonal, local produce. a future where you look out for your neighbours and they look out for you. a future where you actually know who your neighbours are. a future where everyone is just a lot more relaxed and able to do whatever they want to do - this 8 hour working week has given people their lives back and now they're able to make community events, work in community gardens, sing and dance and spend time with their kids, play whatever sport they want, travel, read, create art and music.
People are interacting with each other in good faith again because money as an ulterior motive has all but disappeared. Cus you see a few decades ago they made profits illegal. All money has to be put back into the company and CEOs can take home a salary only, no bonuses and it can't be more than 3x what the lowest paid employee makes. You can go to jail if your company is found to make profits, advertise on a large scale or pay its high ranking members more than what's allowed.
Jail still exists but mostly people go in for financial crimes (greed still exists); drugs are decriminalised and available to use safely. people are not as desperate now so there's been a massive reduction of violent and petty crime and most of the people who still do this are teenagers who get away with a slap on the wrist. police are not armed anymore and are heavily penalised if they abuse their power or hurt a civilian, and their role is more that of mediator, signposter (to community services, social services, and free and accessible healthcare including for mental health) and security. together with the former military they make up an "emergency task force" which are called upon in times of need and crisis, for floods, fires, other such disasters.
the stock market completely collapsed after profits were made illegal and people had to find other ways to figure out what a company was worth: such as how they treat their staff or how accessible their processes are. as a result of this, as well as more widespread disability thanks to Covid and an ageing population, accessibility is fucking incredible now. most places are accessible to the vast majority of disabled people even without them having to ask for a single thing. If they have to ask, accommodations are made quickly and without fuss and this is completely normal now. disabled people are more visible than ever in public life and this has led to a generally kinder, more tolerant public life.
Everything is slower now. Social media as we know it died decades ago and Internet 4.0 is efficient, will find you accurate answers and the websites you're looking for very easily and fast. there's monopoly laws restricting how large companies operate online. online ads are all but illegal - there's "phone book" esque pages where you can promote your business or service and that's allowed but not anywhere else. Lots of people are still annoying and some of them are still cruel but overall living together as humans has gotten so much more chill. We've tackled climate change and reversed much of it, now it's a global day of mourning whenever a species is found to be extinct through human intervention. these days used to happen much more frequently but it's very rare these days. Most everyone gets the day off and is encouraged to read about the lost species or hold themed funerals. Globally everything has gotten better - there's much more global equality now after a bunch of western/formerly colonising countries almost self destructed and then instead decided to own up for colonialism, pay reparations to a lot of countries in Africa Asia and Latin America, as well as indigenous nations of North America, Oceania, even in Europe. The USA doesn't exist anymore instead its a whole host of separate nations all managed by the native people whose land it is. The UK doesn't exist anymore. England is still sad about it but Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Cornwall are called Cymru, Alba, Eire and Kernow again and they've formed a Celtic Union for better collective bargaining power in the EU (which still exists, somehow. Its better now. England may still be out of the EU I'm not sure). Migration is common and foreigners are welcomed into any country with open arms.
I may try to write something about this. I have a vision for a future and it's so lovely. Here, on earth, with the starting point being now. We have a lot to work with and only a few changes could make such a difference. Demilitarisation, UBI and maximum working hours, greedy financial practices made illegal. Conservation and education on local plants and nature and food. Community building on every level. Giving people their lives back.
This is all extremely possible. If it were up to me, very little in society would be left unchanged but it would all be people friendly changes. changes that aim to support the poorest and most marginalised, changes that aim to punish greed and exploitation. It's a work in progress of course. But I have a vision for a better world and dammit if I'm not going to share it with you.
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tossawary · 2 months
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Someone I know is watching the original ATLA while I'm in the next room, listening and looking in through the doorway every now and then. It is EXTREMELY horrifying-funny to view the first couple episodes (Zuko's arrival at the Southern Water Tribe) with an adult perspective on war, especially with greater knowledge of imperialist and colonialist wars.
(Warning for direct passing discussion of war-typical violence and death. Also, I wrote most of this post last night before I saw the first episode of the remake, so I've added a few extra thoughts about that.)
Also, this is a show for children, so pretty much all of the important actions are taken by our main characters, Aang and Katara and Sokka, who are children. That's how it goes. It's fine. From an adult perspective looking in on this cartoon, it's pretty weird that none of these adult Southern Water Tribe women, who presumably have been doing all of the hunting and fishing and warding off of dangerous animals (polar bear dogs) apparently have any opinions on what to do about a Fire Nation ship arriving. No one tries to run? No one picks up any hunting weapons? If the strategy is to present apparent harmlessness and hope the Fire Nation passes through with minimal damage (the last raid did just take Katara and Sokka's mother, though presumably many other people were injured and killed in the attack), Gran Gran should be dissuading Sokka from attacking first at all costs.
Playing harmless is extremely risky, of course. The raids (which have happened in living memory! Within the past ten years!) prove that the Fire Nation is willing to kidnap and kill women and children. As do the actions that left Aang the last airbender. And the men of this tribe are actively at war with the Fire Nation, so the "provoked" Fire Nation has a ready "excuse" to attack.
I don't think that the Southern Water Tribe women necessarily SHOULD have run for it (into the extremely hostile antarctic landscape???) or brandished weapons at the Fire Nation soldiers (could have provoked an extremely harsh response). I have no idea what the "right" or "intelligent" course of action is in this scenario. I don't really think there is a good course of action here. Anything could happen and anything could make everything worse. It's all bad. That's part of the problem of war.
I just think it's funny (due to the fact that this is a children's show where the rest of this tribe are not really going to be significant characters) how simplified everything is here, even for a show that does include the Southern Raids and the genocide of the Air Nomads, as the women in the background are not shown to be angry or vengeful or hysterical or divided about what to do here. They're scared for their lives, but... they're kind of part of the background, almost like props, rather than people with distinct personalities or agency (because the show wants to get out here quickly so our main characters can go on an adventure).
Rewatching this, a ship full of Fire Nation soldiers (apparently entirely men) coming across a village apparently consisting of only women and children is a nightmare scenario for this tribe. If I was listening to a history podcast about any war (not even a war that has already had MULTIPLE genocides) and someone said the phrase, "And then the imperialist soldiers found the defenseless camp of women and children," I would immediately be bracing myself for the worst possible following sentences about what the soldiers did next. The next sentence being, "And no one was killed or sexually assaulted," would be a SHOCK.
If it had been anyone other than Zuko and Iroh to find the Southern Water Tribe in that state, that probably would have been it for the tribe. Someone like Zhao might have ordered an attack to get rid of everyone just to be "efficient". Someone like Azula might have taken this small crowd of people hostage to use against Hakoda and the other Water Tribe warriors. (I don't think the Fire Nation knew just how bad things were for the Southern Water Tribe, even if they had probably decided that continuing to go after a reduced tribe living in the antarctic wasn't worth the further cost or danger (polar expeditions are so dangerous IRL and must also be costly for firebenders).) The men of this tribe could have come home to all of their wives and children dead, and that would have functionally been the end of the Southern Water Tribe.
EDIT: The live-action show felt pretty weird to me because they made the tribe look much bigger and Zuko's ship look much smaller. If they wanted to introduce some "girl power" realism, they could have had the women of the Southern Water Tribe grimly arming themselves and hiding their children, and making solid plans on when/if to fight back. But no, the show still left everything to Sokka, and kept the cartoony elements like children throwing rocks at soldiers, which in my opinion just don't work as well in live-action. Sokka looks older in this remake and is slightly more believable as an interim chieftain figure, but why doesn't he have a council of opinionated older women guiding him and arguing over the correct course of action??? Everything is kept so cartoonishly FLAT instead of being expanded in interesting ways.
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diceriadelluntore · 18 days
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Storia Di Musica #320 - Arcade Fire, Funeral, 2004
La caratteristica comune dei dischi di Aprile è arrivata per caso, e mi ha fatto scoprire delle cose bellissime che non conoscevo. Sono per questo molto felice di presentarvi le mie scelte ma stavolta la caratteristica comune la tengo segreta per questo primo appuntamento, si capirà in seguito e vi invito anzi, per giocare insieme, a ipotizzare quale sia. Inizio raccontandovi di una band, e un disco, che hanno davvero segnato la storia della musica indipendente internazionale, facendo il successo di una formazione di rock canadese che nel corso degli anni ha continuato a stupire. Il nucleo originale del gruppo prende vita a Boston, dove si conoscono Win Butler e Josh Deu, che formano gli Arcade Fire. Passano poche settimane e si trasferiscono nel paese natio, precisamente a Montreal, dove fanno i primi concerti in piccole location, a feste private e persino nelle gallerie d'arte. A Montreal Win Butler incontra Régine Chassagne, che prima diventerà cantante e poi futura sua sposa, per un motivo che sta scritto nel libretto del disco di oggi:"il caldo costrinse i due a sposarsi". Registrano le prime canzoni con questa formazione: Chassagne-Butler, Josh Deu, il bassista Mules Broscoe, il chitarrista Dane Mills e a Brendan Reed alla batteria. Il primo EP esce a nome Arcade Fire nel 2002, ma fu l’inizio di un rinnovamento traumatico della formazione: Broscoe si chiama fuori dalla band, Mills abbandona nel modo più spettacolare, lasciando nel bel mezzo di un concerto alla Casa del Popolo di Montréal. In sostituzione dei due ex-membri subentrano il fratello di Win, William Butler, e Tim Kingsbury, e con questa formazione pubblicano un secondo EP, Us Kids Now. Prima della fine del primo anno di promozione, la band ottiene un contratto con l'etichetta indipendente Merge Records, che in quegli anni e in quelli a venire sfornerà gioielli musicali in serie, con la quale continua tuttora a pubblicare album. Entra in formazione Howard Bilerman alla batteria.
Nel 2004 la quasi sconosciuta formazione canadese dà alle stampe un album, Funeral (che si intitola così perchè durante la registrazione morirono parenti dei componenti della band) che nel giro di poche settimane fa gridare al miracolo. Gli Arcade Fire diventano la band più ammirata dai critici, che inseriscono Funeral nei primi posti delle classifiche non solo del 2004 ma del decennio, degli ultimi 25 anni, di sempre. Nasce una band di culto. Il loro suono è barocco, gioioso, ricco di sfumature con una sezione di archi dolente e armoniosa, la doppia voce Butler \ Chassange ad alternarsi, facendo un album che per meriti loro, per momento storico e per magia complessiva sembra perfetto. Il gruppo ha ben in mente da cosa partire: ci sono echi Bowie nella stupenda Rebellion (Lies) (che in Italia è famosa come sigla di Otto E Mezzo, il programma de La7 di Lilli Gruber), la linea di basso e il suono alla The Edge della chitarra, i New Order in tutta la serie di Neighborhood in 4 parti, denominate Tunnels, Laika, come la cagnetta che andò nello spazio, Power Out e 7 Kettles. Crown Of Love è magnifica e finisce in stile epico, Wake Up che è spectoresca nell’arrangiamento e nel finale stile U2 (Bono diventerà un grande ammiratore, e apriranno molti concerti del Vertigo Tour del 2005 della band irlandese, e la parte iniziale di Wake Up fu usata come intro a City Of Blinding Lights); Haiti, che è placida e sofisticata, mostra le loro qualità nelle ballate. Une Année Sans Lumière cambia il cantato dall’inglese al francese, ed è davvero ballabile e dolcissima. In The Backseat con la voce della Chassagne che sembra alzarsi all’infinito rispetto alla musica, è un crescendo emozionale da ricordare, con intermezzo di archi. Nonostante le evidenti ispirazioni tutto l’album è una continua sorpresa eccitante, tra le pieghe degli arrangiamenti, tra i piccoli assoli di strumenti inusuali (farfisa, xilofono, gli archi, un corno francese), tra la voce sincopata e trascinante di Butler e quella morbida e vellutata della Chassagne. Funeral fa rimanere basiti per come tutto l’insieme funzioni in armonia e con un gusto che manca a tante band di oggi.
Il disco vende già molto bene, ma è con Neon Bible (2007) che il successo diventerà internazionale: un disco più sofisticato, e anche più arrabbiato e teso, ammirato per canzoni come Keep The Car Running, No Cars Go e la splendida e dolente My Body Is A Cage, che verrà ripresa da Peter Gabriel in Scratch My Back del 2010, versione che fa da colonna sonora ad una delle puntate più intese della serie Tv culto House M.D. La triade iniziale trova il culmine con The Suburbs, del 2010, che debutta in vetta alla classifica di Billboard e vince il premio Grammy per il miglior disco dell’anno, primo lavoro di una casa discografica indipendente ad ottenerlo. Dello stesso disco, fu fatto una sorta di video documentario diretto da Spike Jones che verrà presentato a numerosi festival cinematografici internazionali: la band collaborerà alla colonna sonora del film Lei (Her) scritto e diretto da Spike Jonze che vede Joaquin Phoenix come protagonista, e alcuni dei brani per il film troveranno posto in Reflektor, altro disco grandioso, del 2013. Se non ho capito male, ritorneranno presto anche in Italia per dei concerti questa estate, sarebbe l’occasione migliore per scoprire una band dalle caratteristiche uniche e dalla musica speciale, che è stata protagonista influente e simpatica della musica degli ultimi 20 anni in maniera anche inaspettata.
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dinixdream · 6 months
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Katara clothes of the fire natio
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mysteryideasgroup · 2 months
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MSA X Cody's Nightmare Vacation ocs sonas
1 Male of Cody's Nightmare Vacation
He is trapped in a nightmare vacation by a crazy man taxi driver and he tries to escape from a horrible vacation. Bad Woman, she owns the Tourist Information charge map and his Airport ticket to give him. She has closed. He is not pleased and angry at the bad woman. He has better to another new airport ticket to vacation.
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Species: Human or with Skeleton Ghost Skeleghost
Status: Alive/Active
Alignment: Good
Likes: 
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Hobby: 
Goals: Get another new Airport Ticket to escape from Nightmare Vacation (Succeeded)
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Sexuality: Heterosexual
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Horror Bad Wife and Sister of Corrupted Mayor. She was Incarcerated with her brother
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Gender: Female
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Enemies: 
Species: Human or with Skeleton Ghost Skeleghost
Status: Alive/Active later Arrested/Incarcerated
Alignment: Bad
Likes: 
Dislikes: 
Hobby: 
Goals: Keep Tourists on nightmare vacations (Failed: They had escaped from Nightmare Vacations and used themselves to flights to other/another vacations)
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Horror Bad Corrupted Man and Brother of Wife He was fired and Incarcerated with his sister
Full Name: 
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Gender: Male
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Favourite Shows/Games: ___/___/___
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Favourite Food: 
Instrument: 
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Family Members Relatives: 
Other Family Members Relatives: 
Friends: 
Enemies: 
Species: Human or with Skeleton Ghost Skeleghost
Status: Alive/Active later Arrested/Incarcerated
Alignment: Bad
Likes: 
Dislikes: 
Hobby: 
Goals: Keep Tourists on nightmare vacations (Failed: They had escaped from Nightmare Vacations and used themselves to flights to other/another vacations)
Weapons: 
Powers and Abilities: 
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Sexuality: Single
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Bad Woman owns the Tourist Information. She was fired and Incarcerated for being stayed Tourists falsely imprisoned in horrified vacations
Full Name: 
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Gender: Female
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Age: 
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Favourite Shows/Games: ___/___/___
(___,___,___)
Favourite Food: 
Instrument: 
Favourite Animal: 
Family Members Relatives: 
Other Family Members Relatives: 
Friends: 
Enemies: 
Species: Human or with Skeleton Ghost Skeleghost
Status: Alive/Active later Arrested/Incarcerated
Alignment: Bad
Likes: 
Dislikes: 
Hobby: 
Goals: Get change maps from Airport Tickets to lost them help maps stay in Nightmare Vacation (Succeeded: later Failed: They had new another airport tickets)
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Crazy Taxi Driver of Man asked about the airport, and he dropped them off on a horrified vacation. He was fired and Incarcerated
Full Name: 
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Gender: Male
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Age: 
Blood Type:
Occupation:
Actual or Past Occupation:
Favourite Shows/Games: ___/___/___
(___,___,___)
Favourite Food: 
Instrument: 
Favourite Animal: 
Family Members Relatives: 
Other Family Members Relatives: 
Friends: 
Enemies: 
Species: Human or with Skeleton Ghost Skeleghost
Status: Alive/Active later Arrested/Incarcerated
Alignment: Bad
Likes: 
Dislikes: 
Hobby: 
Goals: Get picked up them to drop off at Nightmare Vacation (Succeeded: later Failed: They had escaped from Nightmare Vacations and used themselves to flights to other/another vacations)
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Sexuality: Single
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Trapped Man with tied rope to tell them to escape from horrible nightmare vacations and save their lives and save our town
Full Name: 
First Name:
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Gender: Male
Profile Pic
Age: 
Blood Type:
Occupation:
Actual or Past Occupation:
Favourite Shows/Games: ___/___/___
(___,___,___)
Favourite Food: 
Instrument: 
Favourite Animal: 
Family Members Relatives: 
Other Family Members Relatives: 
Friends: 
Enemies: 
Species: Human or with Skeleton Ghost Skeleghost
Status: Alive/Active
Alignment: Good
Likes: 
Dislikes: 
Hobby: 
Goals: Get warned that they need to get out of Nightmare Vacations and save our town (Succeeded: They had escaped from Nightmare Vacations and used themselves to flights to vacations)
Weapons: 
Powers and Abilities: 
Skills and Abilities: 
Fears/Phobias: 
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Hair Colour: 
Clothes: 
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Nationality: 
Sexuality: Single
Romantic Status: 
----
For @laurasanchez36
MSA X Cody’s Nightmare Vacation
Crossovers of AUs Alternate Universes belongs to me 
AUs Alternate Universes Crossovers belongs to me 
AUs Alternate Universes and Crossovers belongs to me 
Mystery Teams/Groups/Gangs belongs to my msa ocs sonas Teams/Groups/Gangs and my new msa ocs sonas Teams/Groups/Gangs of MSA X Cody’s Nightmare Vacation
Cody’s Nightmare Vacation CNV Games belongs to Carmel Games of Mousecity Games
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lilis-palace · 2 years
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A friendly reminder
I am wrinting this in a calm tone of voice so please read it in the same. I also try to avoid feelings and only depend on facts.
If you've read my statement, you know that now i'm free, so maybe this point of view allows me to give voice to my fearful concerns.
For 8 years, early access creators and non-creators lived in peace bc early access was allowed up to 3 weeks
But everything changed when the fire natio EA, who charges 40€ for Eco Lifestyle, changed their policy. (I won't debate whether it's clear or not, this post is not about that)
The fear of losing a big part of your income from a day to another isn't a relaxing feeling, I hope we can agree.
It can be some sort of traumatic to those who can't afford it, and people react differently to a trauma
I'm not here to debate the policy itself, but the reactions.
I watch in horror as many go after their former friends, laughing at their faces with contempt and derision. They mock, they declare as public enemies those who until recently were respected as ethical creators. I feel that this anger should be aimed towards perma paywallers, not those who respected the previous policy.
Now let's stop here, and take a deep breath. It's important to respect the rules but respecting others is important too. And these two can co-exsist.
My advice to everyone
Don't send hate to anyone, and please, don't talk to them/about them in a disrespectful way regardless of where you are standing in this situation
Give ppl time, allow them to calm down
Different opinions are exist, because different point of views are exist
Please, please, please, don't cancel everyone inmediately, allow them to think, to calm down, don't pressure them
Understand that there are many who have a hard time. You don't have to agree with them, you don't have to approve them, but you also should never talk to them in a way as you talk to a dog! NEVER!
I think we can all agree that if we talk to someone in a very bad mannered, demanding way, it's not easy to expect them to act as if we would like to. Instead, be respectful, emphatic, and be human.
Thank you! I'm open to talk about this, and i'm really trust you bc I know that you can be respectful.
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Thanksgiving History
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LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN
November 23, 2023
HEATHER COX RICHARDSON
Thanksgiving is the quintessential American holiday…but not for the reasons we generally remember.
The Pilgrims and the Wampanoags did indeed share a harvest celebration together at Plymouth in fall 1621, but that moment got forgotten almost immediately, overwritten by the long history of the settlers’ attacks on their Indigenous neighbors.
In 1841 a book that reprinted the early diaries and letters from the Plymouth colony recovered the story of that three-day celebration in which ninety Indigenous Americans and the English settlers shared fowl and deer. This story of peace and goodwill among men who by the 1840s were more often enemies than not inspired Sarah Josepha Hale, who edited the popular women’s magazine Godey’s Lady’s Book, to think that a national celebration could ease similar tensions building between the slave-holding South and the free North. She lobbied for legislation to establish a day of national thanksgiving.
And then, on April 12, 1861, southern soldiers fired on Fort Sumter, a federal fort in Charleston Harbor, and the meaning of a holiday for giving thanks changed.
Southern leaders wanted to destroy the United States of America and create their own country, based not in the traditional American idea that “all men are created equal,” but rather in its opposite: that some men were better than others and had the right to enslave their neighbors. In the 1850s, convinced that society worked best if a few wealthy men ran it, southern leaders had bent the laws of the United States to their benefit, using it to protect enslavement above all.
In 1860, northerners elected Abraham Lincoln to the presidency to stop rich southern enslavers from taking over the government and using it to cement their own wealth and power. As soon as he was elected, southern leaders pulled their states out of the Union to set up their own country. After the firing on Fort Sumter, Lincoln and the fledgling Republican Party set out to end the slaveholders’ rebellion.
The early years of the war did not go well for the U.S. By the end of 1862, the armies still held, but people on the home front were losing faith. Leaders recognized the need both to acknowledge the suffering and to keep Americans loyal to the cause. In November and December, seventeen state governors declared state thanksgiving holidays.
New York governor Edwin Morgan’s widely reprinted proclamation about the holiday reflected that the previous year “is numbered among the dark periods of history, and its sorrowful records are graven on many hearthstones.” But this was nonetheless a time for giving thanks, he wrote, because “the precious blood shed in the cause of our country will hallow and strengthen our love and our reverence for it and its institutions…. Our Government and institutions placed in jeopardy have brought us to a more just appreciation of their value.”
The next year, Lincoln got ahead of the state proclamations. On July 15 he declared a national day of Thanksgiving, and the relief in his proclamation was almost palpable. After two years of disasters, the Union army was finally winning. Bloody, yes; battered, yes; but winning. At Gettysburg in early July, Union troops had sent Confederates reeling back southward. Then, on July 4, Vicksburg had finally fallen to U. S. Grant’s army. The military tide was turning.
President Lincoln set Thursday, August 6, 1863, for the national day of Thanksgiving. On that day, ministers across the country listed the signal victories of the U.S. Army and Navy in the past year and reassured their congregations that it was only a matter of time until the United States government put down the southern rebellion. Their predictions acknowledged the dead and reinforced the idea that their sacrifice had not been in vain.
In October 1863, President Lincoln declared a second national day of Thanksgiving. In the past year, he declared, the nation had been blessed.
In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, he wrote, Americans had maintained their laws and their institutions and had kept foreign countries from meddling with their nation. They had paid for the war as they went, refusing to permit the destruction to cripple the economy. Instead, as they funded the war, they had also advanced farming, industry, mining, and shipping. Immigrants had poured into the country to replace men lost on the battlefield, and the economy was booming. And Lincoln had recently promised that the government would end slavery once and for all. The country, he predicted, “with a large increase of freedom,” would survive, stronger and more prosperous than ever. The president invited Americans “in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea, and those who are sojourning in foreign lands” to observe the last Thursday of November as a day of Thanksgiving.
In 1863, November’s last Thursday fell on the 26th. On November 19, Lincoln delivered an address at the dedication of a national cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. He reached back to the Declaration of Independence for the principles on which he called for Americans to rebuild the severed nation: 
​​”Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”
Lincoln urged the crowd to take up the torch those who fought at Gettysburg had laid down. He called for them to “highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
The following year, Lincoln proclaimed another day of Thanksgiving, this time congratulating Americans that God had favored them not only with immigration but also with the emancipation of formerly enslaved people. “Moreover,” Lincoln wrote, “He has been pleased to animate and inspire our minds and hearts with fortitude, courage, and resolution sufficient for the great trial of civil war into which we have been brought by our adherence as a nation to the cause of freedom and humanity, and to afford to us reasonable hopes of an ultimate and happy deliverance from all our dangers and afflictions.”
In 1861, Americans went to war to keep a cabal from taking control of the government and turning it into an oligarchy. The fight against that rebellion seemed at first to be too much for the nation to survive. But Americans rallied and threw their hearts into the cause on the battlefields even as they continued to work on the home front for a government that defended democracy and equality before the law.
And in 1865, at least, they won.
LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN
HEATHER COX RICHARDSON
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ao3feed-zukka · 1 year
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Tell Me Your Story(I’ll Tell You Mine)
read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/OrQFdg7
by Ult_Geek
When Zuko almost captures Aang by trapping Katara, Sokka begins to realize Aang isn’t the only one the Fire Nation is hunting for. If Aang is to become a fully-realized Avatar, none of them can be seen by the Fire Prince. Sokka decides to don the armor and paint of the Kyoshi Warriors to go undetected into villages to gather supplies while Aang and Katara hide in the outskirts.
A stealth mission where he won’t get involved in any local affairs, that’s the plan. That’s how it’s supposed to be.
Until he runs into a boy in a blue mask.
Words: 12578, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English
Fandoms: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Categories: M/M
Characters: Sokka (Avatar), Zuko (Avatar), Aang (Avatar), Katara (Avatar)
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), Katara & Sokka (Avatar), Aang & Sokka (Avatar), Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), Aang/Katara (Avatar)
Additional Tags: Blue Spirit - Freeform, Kyoshi Warrior Sokka, They're both in disguise and they fall in love, strap in for lots of storytelling, Colonialism, discussions of Genocide, Discussions about Cultural Erasure, reclaiming identity, Secret Identity, Identity Reveal, Identity Porn, Kinda?????, no beta we die like men, canon-divergence, Zuko trying his darndest to escape the Fire Natio brainwashing, Whump, Hurt/Comfort, Aftermath of Torture, it's only for the first chapter but be warned, tags to be added later
read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/OrQFdg7
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irondead · 5 months
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Willkommen di Meiner Welt.
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Chapter I: A Glimpse into the Illuminating Tapestry of Knowledge.
Behold, the enigmatic Lake Blerster. Known by the neighborhood as Lake, but awaits new nicknames with open arms. A celestial being of the legal realm, aligned with the stars of Cancer, and adorned with masculine pronouns. Once, an untitled dweller of the digital realm, sharing musings of randomness. The MBTI test remains untouched, but the certainty of introversion courses through my essence.
Chapter II: Unveils My Adored Treasures.
“Unleash the power within, for a man’s potential knows no bounds when fueled by his passions. Embrace the art of selective focus, as he crafts his destiny with unwavering determination. Let ‘Interest and Want’ be the guiding stars that shape his extraordinary journey towards self-actualization.”
What-to-watch.
Marvel Cinematic Universe, Avatar, The Maze Runner, Divergent, Kingsman, The Chronicles of Narnia, 20th Century Girl, Split, The Lord of the Rings, Forrest Gump, The Book Thief, The Greatest Showman, Snowdrop, The Mortal Instruments, My Mister, and a multitude of other remarkable cinematic creations that, regrettably, cannot all be enumerated within these confines.
Music.
ATEEZ, JKT48, The Rose, Shawn Mendes, Kodaline, Official Hige Dandism, Fujii Kaze, YOASOBI, Taylor Swift, James Arthur, Troye Sivan, Hiroyuki Sawano, Nakimushi, Gemini, SZA, Dean Lewis, KANA-BOON, Conan Gray, Vickeblanka, Anson Seabra, Post Malone, TREASURE, Olivia Rodrigo, and an extensive array of other diverse musical masterpieces that intertwine seamlessly with my multifaceted taste.
Anime/Manga.
Tokyo Revengers, Naruto, D.Gray-Man, Attack on Titan, Chainsaw Man, Noblesse, Spy x Family, Beelzebub, Jujutsu Kaisen, Prince of Stride: Alternative, Your Name, Cells at Work, Fairy Tail, K Project, Ao Haru Ride, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Gakuen Babysitter, Nisekoi, Blue Lock, Black Clover, Haikyuu, Horimiya, Yamada-kun to Lv999, Bungou Stray Dogs, and an extensive tapestry of countless more tales waiting to be discovered.
Comfort Characters/Persons.
Sanzu Haruchiyo, Wanda Maximoff, Inui Seishu, Hanji Zoe, Lazark Kertia, Kiri te Suli Kireysi’ite, Beam, Sakura Haruno, Yu Kanda, Kyousuke Kuga, Hyoma Chigiri, Yukimiya Kenyu, Park Seonghwa, Choi San, Shania Gracia, Reva Fidela Adel Pantjoro, and Shani Indira Natio.
Others.
Embracing the whimsy of fantasy-adventure, savoring the delicate flavors of noodles, indulging in the allure of art and aesthetics, capturing moments through the lens of photography, and succumbing to the irresistible charm of chocolate. A feline enthusiast, yearning for their touch, yet finding solace in the enchanting world they create within.
Chapter III: Unspoken Words.
“In the symphony of silence, where unspoken words dance, and emotions yearn for expression, behold the enchanting glint in their eyes. From the realm of otherness, it ignites the fires of empathy, cascading upon hearts like a resplendent shower.”
Unlock the vault of your unspoken thoughts and join me on a journey through the realms of hidden words. Embark on a captivating conversation at Retrospring, where silence finds its voice in the symphony of expression.
Note: This account may feature adult content, including explicit tweets and interactions. If you are a minor or uncomfortable with such material, please avoid following.
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musicmanstuff · 6 months
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Dreamland
🐘
Life can be hard; when struggles come, however, Dreamland will be there, unchanged and with open arms, ready to serve good food to any who may come.
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ramon-balaguer · 7 months
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As an Army Vet who’s survived (Physically and Mentally, okay, a lil PTSD from first and second time that had my wife and our boys a lil concerned or fearful but self treated with the Help of my, The Helper🙌🙌🙌 Healed) jumping into combat while being fired upon (Against the 1949 Geneva Convention Treaties & Protocols) and having an upfront view of the Countless Deaths (Enemy, Friendly or Accidents) and Devastations, Collateral Damages horrors of Conflicts and Wars on foreign soil, I Always saw myself and went through possible scenarios of being a Medal of Honor, POW, PH, etc… recipient had any of those situations occurred…in other words, while in combat my mind wasn’t back home or that afterwards but constantly considering the possibilities of being in a compromised position to help my comrades now called battle buddies and do whatever was necessary to survive as a team while inflicting as much harm as possible to the enemy… and I’m thinking, though I never asked Brothers in Arms or even mentioned any of this before now…that they (Male or Female - Not Brown, Red, Yellow, Black or White or Any other Color or African, Hispanic, Asian, European, etc. Ethnicity or Sexual Preferences Contrary to my Belief, or Religion or Political and Social, Economic View or Affiliations) my Battle Brother and Sisters felt, thought and would do likewise in similar circumstances… All Heroes but all that being said and having heard personally or read Heroic actions and accounts, they seem almost fictional, DC or Marvel Comics type feats that surpass ANY human capabilities, except as The Holy Spirit Upon them Helped Achieve…and there’s this emotional anthology docudrama telling (I don’t believe exaggerating though that may be what you’ll see it as) the stories of Medal of Honor Heroes from U.S. Armed Forces operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam and more… on Netflix so, check it out and you won’t be hearing the first Hispanic, Woman, White or Black or Indian or whatever but Patriotic American Legal Citizens or Residents that Honor and Respect our Constitution, Republic, National Anthem and Flag, even when all things weren’t and aren’t Equal. 🧐🙏🇺🇸#REBTD😇
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nofardayanismss · 9 months
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Yasmine’s Tattoos
As mentioned in this post, Yasmine has a variety of tattoos. She’s gotten quite a bit over the years during her travels. While working as a flight attendant for Frontier and Emirates, she wasn’t allowed to have any visible tattoos. After leaving Dubai and coming to Dayton, she has since added more to her collection. She cherishes them deeply.
Age 18:
Yasmine has a small Lotus outline tattoo on her right inner arm above her elbow. The Lotus flower is regarded in many different cultures, especially in eastern religions, as a symbol of purity, enlightenment, self-regeneration and rebirth. Its characteristics are a perfect analogy for the human condition: even when its roots are in the dirtiest waters, the Lotus produces the most beautiful flower.
Age 19:
The next two tattoos I have taken from Angelina Jolie, which can be found here. 
The left side tattoo is a Buddhist spell for protection, which states: "May your enemies run far away from you. If you acquire riches, may they remain yours always. Your beauty will be that of Aspara. Wherever you may go, many will attend, serve and protect you, surrounding you on all sides." 
These 3 designs on the middle of her back represent four continents and the classical elements of earth, water, air and fire. She had gotten these while in Cambodia by a Thai Buddhist monk. The tattoos were inked onto her skin using steel rods that were mounted with a surgical steel needle. One of the tattoos features a Buddhist temple design which is thought to remind the individual to have mercy on oneself, whilst the one on the far right of the shoulder is a design to bring luck and wealth. The largest piece in the middle represents the four elements.
Nineteen was the age when Yasmine began to look into Buddhism and Hinduism.
Age 20:
While in Turkey, she got both an Evil Eye and Hand of Hamsa tattoo on her left shoulder. The Evil Eye is meant for protection, as well as the Hand of Hamsa. While Yasmine wasn’t religious growing up, she technically was raised Muslim. In Islam, an important figure was Fatima, the only daughter of the Prophet Muhammed who grew into adulthood. As Fatima is seen as pure and without sin, The Hand of Fatima is considered a symbol of protection, power and strength. The Hand of Fatima symbolizes the Five Pillars of Islam: Faith, Prayer, Pilgrimage, Fasting and Charity. Muslim communities also refer to the hamsa as 'Khamsa', the Arabic word for five. While she isn’t a practicing Muslim, she still finds peace within it occasionally.
Age 21:
On her lower back, she got a second Lotus tattoo.
Age 22:
Tattooed on her left side near her heart, she has the date she and Lucas got married in Vegas. The date is in Roman numerals.
Age 23:
Throughout her pregnancy, she had called Jackson albi, قلبي — my heart. She got that tattooed on her right arm above the lotus after she and Lucas lost him.
Age 31:
After moving to Dayton, she went a little crazy with getting tattoos. She hadn’t been able to get much while working as a flight attendant, so she wanted to get as much as possible. The meanings behind these are mainly due to things she loves.
On the back of her neck is her world tattoo. Because every explorer needs at least one travel-themed tattoo.
On her left inner arm is a tattoo featuring tiger eyes, which is her favourite animal. She plans to add more to it in the future and have a full tiger face within that style on her arm.
On her right thigh is a collection of passport stamps of her favourite countries, a compass, and an airplane outline.
She has the tattoo “Sometimes the right path is not the easiest one.” from Disney’s Pocahontas on her right inner arm below the first Lotus tattoo.
She also has a collection of leaves on her right collar. She loves autumn and how the leaves change colours during that time, so she wanted a tattoo to represent that.
Yasmine is secretly an Avatar: The Last Airbender fan, having watched that show as a way to learn English. Her favourite nation are the Air Nomads, so she got their symbol tattooed in the valley of her breast. She 100% believes that she’d be an airbender.
Age 32:
After Halloween and her bullet wound healed, she got a giant peacock tattoo to cover up the wound on her left side. It was started in January and completed in early March.
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ao3feedzukka-blog · 1 year
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Tell Me Your Story(Ill Tell You Mine)
https://archiveofourown.org/works/46749979 by Ult_Geek When Zuko almost captures Aang by trapping Katara, Sokka begins to realize Aang isn’t the only one the Fire Nation is hunting for. If Aang is to become a fully-realized Avatar, none of them can be seen by the Fire Prince. Sokka decides to don the armor and paint of the Kyoshi Warriors to go undetected into villages to gather supplies while Aang and Katara hide in the outskirts. A stealth mission where he won’t get involved in any local affairs, that’s the plan. That’s how it’s supposed to be. Until he runs into a boy in a blue mask. Words: 12578, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English Fandoms: Avatar: The Last Airbender Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Categories: M/M Characters: Sokka (Avatar), Zuko (Avatar), Aang (Avatar), Katara (Avatar) Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), Katara & Sokka (Avatar), Aang & Sokka (Avatar), Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), Aang/Katara (Avatar) Additional Tags: Blue Spirit - Freeform, Kyoshi Warrior Sokka, They're both in disguise and they fall in love, strap in for lots of storytelling, Colonialism, discussions of Genocide, Discussions about Cultural Erasure, reclaiming identity, Secret Identity, Identity Reveal, Identity Porn, Kinda?????, no beta we die like men, canon-divergence, Zuko trying his darndest to escape the Fire Natio brainwashing, Whump, Hurt/Comfort, Aftermath of Torture, it's only for the first chapter but be warned, tags to be added later April 25, 2023 at 06:03PM
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zayaanhashistory · 1 year
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The Watts Rebellion
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The Watts Rebellion, also known as the Watts Riots, was a large series of riots that broke out August 11, 1965, in the predominantly Black neighborhood of Watts in Los Angeles. The Watts Rebellion lasted for six days, resulting in 34 deaths, 1,032 injuries and 4,000 arrests, involving 34,000 people and ending in the destruction of 1,000 buildings, totaling $40 million in damages. 
It was a low-key traffic stop around 7 p.m. on a Wednesday evening that ignited what would become known as the Watts Rebellion. Stepbrothers Marquette and Ronald Frye were pulled over by a white California Highway Patrol officer while driving their mother’s car near the corner of Avalon Boulevard and 116th Street in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles. Marquette failed a sobriety test and panicked as he was arrested. As Marquette’s anger rose at the thought of going to jail, a scuffle broke out between him and one of the police officers. Ronald joined in, partly to protest the arrest but also to protect his brother. A crowd began to gather, and back-up police arrived under the assumption that the crowd was hostile, which resulted in a fight between someone in the crowd and an officer. Another newly-arrived officer jabbed Ronald in the stomach with his riot baton and then moved to intervene in the fight between Marquette and that officer. 
Marquette was knocked down by the riot baton, handcuffed and taken to the police car. The Frye brothers’ mother, Rena, showed-up on the scene and—believing police were abusing Marquette—rushed to pull the officers off of him, resulting in another fight. Rena was arrested and forced into the car, followed by Ronald, who was handcuffed after attempting to intervene peacefully in his stepmother’s arrest. As the crowd got angrier about the scene they had witnessed, more highway patrol officers arrived and used batons and shotguns to keep the crowd back from the police car. Hundreds more people flocked to the scene to investigate the sirens there. As two motorcycle police attempted to leave, one was spat on. Those police stopped to pursue the woman who they believed did it, the crowd converged around them, sending several other officers into the crowd to assist them. More police cars were called to the scene. The two police found Joyce Ann Gaines and to arrest her for spitting at them. She resisted and was dragged out of the crowd which, believing she was pregnant, became even angrier. By 7:45 p.m., the riot was in full force, with rocks, bottles and more being thrown at the buses and cars that had been stalled in traffic because of the escalating incident. 
The night after the arrest, crowds attacked motorists with rocks and bricks, and pulled white drivers out of their cars and beat them. The following morning, there was a community meeting helmed by Watts leaders, including representatives from churches, local government and the NAACP, with police in attendance, designed to bring calm to the situation. Rena also attended, imploring the crowds to calm down. She, Marquette and Ronald had all been released on bail that morning. The meeting became a barrage of complaints about the police and government treatment of Black citizens in recent history. Immediately following the statement by Rena, a teenager grabbed the microphone and proclaimed that rioters planned to move into the white sections of Los Angeles. Local leaders requested the police dispatch more Black police, but this was turned down by the Los Angeles Police Department Chief William H. Parker, who was prepared to call the National Guard. Word of this decision and subsequent news reports about the teenager’s tirade are credited with causing the riots to escalate. 
Overnight, violence had engulfed the streets as mobs clashed with police, set buildings and cars on fire and looted area stores. Crowds attacked firefighters and obstructed them from putting out fires. By the end the third day, rioting covered a 50 square-mile section of Los Angeles and 14,000 National Guard troops were dispatched to the city, erecting barricades. Further clashes included sniper fire at police and Guardsmen, police raids on vehicles and apartments, and Molotov cocktails. Watts resembled a war zone, and the violence continued three more days. Police Commissioner Parker fanned flames by deriding rioters as “monkeys in a zoo” and implying Muslims were infiltrating and agitating. In the early morning of the final day of the riots, as violence began to subside, police surrounded a mosque, resulting in gunfire and the arrest of people inside. Police ransacked the building next door and tear-gassed the sewers to prevent anyone from escaping. Two fires broke out and destroyed the mosque. Charges were dropped against arrestees and the Muslim community accused police of using the riots as an excuse to destroy their place of worship. Most of the 34 dead were Black citizens. Two policemen and one firefighter were among the casualties, and 26 deaths, mostly the result of Los Angeles Police Department or National Guard actions, were deemed justifiable homicides. 
The riot was not an isolated event, with multiple urban riots across the country taking place in 1964 and 1965 prior to the Watts explosion. In 1964, there was a three-day riot in Rochester, NY, leaving four dead; in the New York City neighborhoods of Harlem and Bedford-Stuyvesant, a six-day riot involving as many as 4,000 people following the shooting of a young Black man; in Philadelphia, a three-day riot following the arrest of a Black couple who had gotten into a scuffle with police; and a three-day riot in Chicago when a Black woman attempting to shoplift alcohol was attacked by the store owner and crowds later gathered to protest. Some blamed the Watts riots on outsider agitators, but most understood it as the result of continuing dissatisfaction about living conditions and opportunities, and long-standing tension between police and residents. In 1961, the arrest of a Black male in Griffith Park for riding a merry-go-round without a ticket resulted in crowds throwing rocks and bottles at police. In 1962, the police raided a Nation of Islam Mosque and killed an unarmed man, resulting in massive protests. Over the two years leading up to the riot, 65 Black residents were shot by police, 27 of them in the back and 25 of them unarmed. During that same period, there were 250 demonstrations against the living conditions there. Nationwide, the violence would not end. On August 12, the day after tensions erupted in Watts, Chicago’s troubled Garfield Park neighborhood erupted into three days of violence following the death of Dessie May Williams in a fire truck ladder accident.  
The following year saw fire bombings, riots, and killing in the same city. And the Detroit Riots began two years later, resulting in 43 deaths. The 1992 Los Angeles riots following the Rodney King beating trial of four police officers led to the deaths of 63 people and were a grim reminder that many issues of racism remained unresolved. 
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mirrorhunt · 2 years
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Today is the Independence day of my home country. We're celebrating it in the midst of war. Expecting anything happen.
This is the last photo I've made while being in Ukraine. The early morning in the train carrying us to safety. It was the middle of April. The trees are still without leafs, when back in my town the lilacs were blossoming.
They bombed the main city of my oblast (like state in US) at night, when everyone was asleep, or trying to, with the air sirens going off outside their windows.
They are bombing my home town every day, every night since the beginning of March. There are now whole streets that are covered in ruble and someone lost homes. My parent's house, the house in which I grew up, is still standing, somehow, miraculously. Even when most of our neighbor's houses are destroyed or damaged.
I am a refugee. My mom is a refugee. Million of my people are refugees. Millions are fighting for our land. Thousands died.
My heart is heavy today. I remember how we celebrated this day before. The last week before school, trying to get some sleep, and be awoken with our hymn. I would dress in my best, do my nails in blue or/and yellow, my makeup darker and brighter, celebratory. It was a quiet pride, but it felt special. There will be fireworks by the river, with bbq and concerts. You'll meet your old friends there, your teachers, your distant family. There will be flower crowns and hair ribbons, the crossstiched shirts, old and loved songs, history essays how this day come to be. And my town, which is almost seven hundred years old, whose birthday we will celebrate in the middle of September later the same way, will sing for us. We will go home late at night, tired and smiling, listening to the radio, and fell asleep feeling pride and heartache for what our country had to live through to get to this point.
And now my town is weeping. There are no power, no water, no gas. The people who are still leaving there cook their food in open fire, there are barely any communication with them, and they are hiding in the basements, sleeping there. A lot of them lost their houses, so the basements are the only home they have now.
And still they live. They grow vegetables, grow fruit, they are finding ways to can their goods, to stuff their basements for cold winter ahead. Most of them don't know how to survive it. There's no jobs, the rent in other, safer places, is sky high. Not everyone has family outside who can take them under the roof. Someone, like my grandfather, doesn't want to leave the place where he lived his whole life, where his wife is buried. Some people are coming back, of the reasons the other don't want to evacuate - there's no where to go, their money's are dwindling, there are no jobs, and here at least they're home.
Today I had a dream of war. They are rare now, unlike from the beginning. There was my school, now damaged heavily, still standing, and there were black rockets above me, bringing death and destruction, even though in reality I only thought white ones. And I was calm. I was looking for apples to take with me to the basements. Thinking "If I saw it, it didn't come for me". Like a long time ago my parents calmed my fear of thunderstorms.
My town is the first town that greets people fleeing occupied territories of three states with Ukrainian flag. We've met here, in country that took us as refugees, Ukrainians who talked about weeping with joy when they passed our town. The town on the edge of war. The zero ground.
Our soldiers plead us to celebrate, to live, to be happy, because this is what they are fighting for. And with tears in my eyes, I will try to smile. Thinking about what could've been. How right now I will be by the river, cringing at some performances, waiting in lane for some food or sitting on the car, people watching, listening to the sound of distant speech from our mayor, watching sunset and laughing at some old inside jokes. There will be small blue-yellow flags, kids in national costumes, memories how I would where them at school, how tight the flower crown was on my head. And I would feel so calm. Quiet finally in my brain. I will try to memorise this moment to it's finest details. The hot smell of cooling grass and asphalt, the smoke of cherry tree for bbq, the river, the bittersweet taste of the ending summer. The last hooray before fall. I never liked summer, but I loved August for this reason alone. And it's f-ing stings to be thousands kilometers away from my destroyed town, knowing it will never be the same, even after the victory. Too much changed. Too much was taken violently from us. Knowing that to the stories about how my town fought off Nazi in '44 will not complete the horror period of history of my town. If those stories were echoes and somber reminders what price we had to pay to have what we have, now I leaved through those stories. I know this price. I see it everyday. I remember it every time I hear the loud noise outside. I feel it when the plane goes by particularly low in the sky. Or when fireworks go off for some local holiday. When I see dreams of black shadows and shattered glass and dark basements.
I want to go home to the town that will never be. The town, that are ruined and burned and broken. But it's my home. Forever will be.
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cosmiccomma · 2 years
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HEthens hethenS EVERYwherer burn at the hands of th e fire natio- tHe LORD ouR GOD!!!! 😡
oh, speaking of the fire nation. i heard there might be a war in ba sing se? could you confirm this?
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