Hello! Here we are again, back for another ATLA commentary.
Before we get started I do want to point out that I’m numbering and labeling episodes according to how they appear on Netflix. Episode 12, as I understand it, is actually two episodes. However, since they’re presented as one thing here, that’s how I’m watching it.
Brief update on other projects: I thought I’d try watching the first Harry Potter movie, but realized it’s two and a half hours long. That’s, at the bare minimum, five hours of commentary writing. So… yeah, we’re gonna hold off on that lol I’m also considering watching a superhero/comic book show called The Boys, because I accidentally caught part of a trailer for it that my girlfriend was watching and it looks very interesting. I’ll be doing the new Game of Thrones commentary next, not sure when exactly.
Okay, let’s go!
Episode 12- The Secret of the Fire Nation

1. Well that’s a heck of a title! I hope we learn something juicy!

It’s nice to see Aang and Katara bending for fun, thought I’m surprised Aang is so willing to encase himself in a block of ice. You’d think he’d have some trauma from that lol But also, I love Katara’s hair when she lets it down.
Yeah… I’m kind of surprised Aang is taking Appa’s loss as well as he is, considering how he reacted last episode. Since Sokka is talking about walking to Ba Sing Se, I take it they’re not going to be spending time looking for him? But then, didn’t the sandbenders say they sold him to a merchant from Ba Sing Se? Maybe he’s there, and Aang’s banking on that hope.

1. I know I keep applying real-world logic to a cartoon show, but wouldn’t Ba Sing Se get awfully crowded if they’re constantly taking in refugees from the rest of the Earth Kingdom? Iroh put the city under siege for almost two years. What if the Fire Nation does that again? More mouths to feed makes starvation quicker!

Iroh and Zuko are refugees. I still can’t get over that irony lol Hey, it’s Jet! My goodness, he’s onscreen for less than ten seconds and he’s already planning a robbery. He and Zuko are going to get along just fine, aren’t they?
The cabbage merchant! Always a delight to see him and his cabbages! Also hilarious that a bunch of people are impersonating Aang (thought it probably would be less hilarious if any of them met Azula). If passports are necessary, how did Zuko and Iroh get tickets? Also, good on Toph for taking advantage of her privilege lol
Hey! I think that’s Suki! Her eyes are drawn really distinctively and her voice sounds familiar! Two seconds after pressing play: it is Suki! Don’t you just love my long winning streak of figuring things out right before they let us know? Lol

1. Glad to see ATLA Suki appreciates Sokka’s muscles just as much as NATLA Suki lol

Someone took the pregnant family’s tickets and belongings. Is that how Zuko and Iroh got their tickets? Zuko’s robbed families before, so I wouldn’t put it past him.
Well damn, Suki got her armor and makeup on real quick, didn’t she? Hm… Sokka’s worried about her. I think Suki’s going to interpret that as him being sexist again but he’s probably traumatized from losing Yue. He’s been through way too much to still be sexist. If he still had a misogynistic bone in his body, Toph would have beaten it out of him by now.

1. Well the Serpent’s Pass looks terrifying. Also, this pregnant lady took one look at some scratched graffiti saying “Abandon Hope” and immediately started crying, saying “How can we abandon hope? It’s all we have!” Like… come on, lady lol Just because you see graffiti telling you to do something doesn’t mean you have to, otherwise I would have called quite a few people for a good time by now.

Hope is a distraction, huh? I guess I can see the logic of that from a practical application perspective. But it’s kind of a depressing philosophy for a monk to have.
Holy shit! Nope, I would not be walking along a cliff path that narrow! I will build a rowboat and paddle my way to Ba Sing Se.
Toph is really carrying the team (and some refugees too) this episode.

1. There’s a fine line between being protective and being smothering and Sokka has hopped, jumped, and skipped right over it.

Zuko’s not wearing his blue spirit mask. Not that he needs it, he and Jet work together like cogs in a machine. Ironic lol
Ow! Geez, that rejected hug hurt me lol Katara’s right though. Bottling up emotions just makes them worse in the long run. You have to allow yourself to feel bad sometimes. Granted, you can’t fly off the handle like he did last episode, but that’s a reaction. You can control your reactions, but you can’t control your feelings.
“It’s a beautiful moon.” “Yeah, it really is.” Okay, I know Sokka said last episode that Yue is the moon, but he was tripping on peyote. Does he actually believe that Yue is the moon now? Is Yue the moon now? I interpreted her death as he sacrificing herself to bring the moon spirit back to life, not to become the new moon spirit.
“Who is this guy? Is he taller than me?” Dude, we were having a moment. Damn it, just kiss her! Well actually, the moon’s right there so if Yue really did turn into the new moon spirit, it might be a tad awkward to kiss in front of her. But what’s he gonna do, only ever show intimacy during the day?

1. Um… I’m probably reading too much into this Smellerbee scene with Iroh and Longshot and I’m almost hesitant to say what I’m thinking because I can just imagine the backlash I could get for voicing it. And it’s not like ATLA has had great LGBTQ representation up to this point, so… Yeah, I’m probably just seeing things that aren’t there.

You know, I’ve never really cared a lot about Jet as a character (in fact, I’m kind of surprised to see him again. I figured he’d be a one-off character) but I am really enjoying his scenes with Zuko and Iroh. They have so much in common, which is probably the point of this whole juxtaposition. If he only knew who they really were lol
Of course Iroh believes in second chances. He’s the best. And also, he’s living proof that some people deserve a second chance.

1. Uh… Katara parting the sea while leading refugees to safety invokes a certain comparison, doesn’t it? But can I just say that I love how her solution to crossing the gap is to literally walk through the ocean instead of making a raft out of ice and floating across. She just never misses an opportunity to flex on everyone, does she? Lol

Momo continuing his pattern of trying to kill every small animal he sees is something I’ve come to treasure.
Is that the unagi?! I think that’s what it’s called/spelled but I haven’t seen that episode in a while. It would be fitting if Suki and the sea serpent both share the same episodes lol No that’s not the unagi. It’s a different color. Um… what exactly was Sokka planning to do if the sea serpent actually accepted his offer and ate Momo? Considering how he reacted to losing Appa, I don’t think Aang would be too happy with him.
Oh, now she’s making an ice bridge. Not as much of a flex as maintaining an air bubble so they plumb the depths but it is faster. Oh, Toph can’t see on ice. And she can’t swim? An earthbender not being able to swim feels like a stereotype for some reason, even though I have absolutely no reason to think that lol
“You can go ahead and let me drown now.” That’s gonna be a favorite joke of mine, I just know it lol And I’m pretty sure this is probably a jumping point for a Sokka/Toph ship. What does the community call that? Soph? Tokka? (How old is Toph, anyway? Probably Aang’s age, right? That’s… probably not an appropriate ship then)

1. Why does Ba Sing Se’s wall remind me of The Wall from Game of Thrones? Obviously not made of ice though lol

Okay, time for ATLA’s viewers to experience the miracle of childbirth!

1. Like I said earlier, ATLA isn’t heavy on the LGBTQ representation, but I swear I’m picking up on some tension and chemistry between Jet and Zuko (Juko? Jeko? Zet?). And now half of Jet’s little group is an LGBTQ allegory for me lol Even the dialogue between Jet and Zuko in this scene is slightly suggestive.

So… can Katara waterbend the baby out or…
Baby Hope, eh? Probably not a super common name in this world.
Oh? Was that Aang’s way of telling Katara he loves her without actually saying it? Aww. And hey, he’s heading off on his own to search for Appa. Which… honestly kind of feels like he should have been doing that this whole time lol
Yes! Get some, Sokka! Wait, nevermind. I fucking hate that line. Ugh No! I’m not gonna be a bitter old lady on this watch-through! They’re kissing and it’s very sweet and I love that for them!
Um… there’s a giant metal dildo on the way to penetrate Ba Sing Se! Lol but seriously, how technologically advanced is the Fire Nation? A giant mobile drill of that scale would be a marvel of engineering even by our modern standards.

1. Well hey, there’s the title card letting me know when the next episode starts.

Woah, the way the drill moves is so cool! I’m legitimately wondering if such a thing would actually be possible in our world with our physics. I don’t know why we would want to, but still. And of course Azula’s leading this attack. She gets all the best opportunities. And she’s smart too! The war minister guy is dismissive of the earthbenders, believing his drill to be impervious to earthbending attacks. You can practically smell the hubris. But Azula leaves nothing to chance and she sends her girls out to neutralize any potential threat.
And this is why we love Azula. She’s not just a scary villain, she’s a competent villain.

1. And the Earth Kingdom general shares the War Minister’s hubris. Why are the people in charge always the worst people to be in charge? Also, I love that Toph is the one to point out that Iroh broke through the wall.

So the Earth Kingdom’s elite Terra Team force were taken out by two teenage nonbenders from the Fire Nation in about twenty seconds. How have they lasted this long? Lol (I say two, but let’s be honest. Ty Lee’s doing the heavy lifting here)
Yes! I love that they acknowledge Sokka as the “Idea Guy”!
Iroh has got rizz for days lol I’m kind of surprised he only ever had one son. Jet wants to recruit Zuko. I’m totally down for that! They’re such an interesting pair!

1. I really love that Katara, whose probably the best waterbender in the world at this point, respects Ty Lee enough to recognize how dangerous she is. And Sokka had an idea! They’re going to take down the drill from the inside. Because how the hell else are they going to stop something that big?

Again with the underestimation! I swear Azula’s the only competent person in the entire Fire Nation military since Iroh retired.
Okay, engineer Sokka figured it out. It’s all a little too easy, isn’t it?

1. Ah shit, Jet just realized the truth, because Iroh used firebending to heat up his tea lol I think he’s getting a little too relaxed.

Okay, just the fact that they slice through metal with water at all is pretty impressive. And the drill has reached the wall, and Azula still doesn’t look impressed.
Oh yeah, I guess this is a pretty high stakes battle for them, huh? If they lose Ba Sing Se, they basically lose the entire Earth Kingdom, right? Omashu’s already fallen, the smaller villages and whatnot have no real defense. Ba Sing Se is the last big puzzle piece to world domination (aside from the water tribes, but they’re so isolated they’re not really a threat).
I love that Toph’s nickname for Aang is Twinkle Toes. Also I laughed at the War Minister’s face when he was side-eyeing Azula just then. +That’s the face of a man who’s about to be punished!

1. lol Sokka’s the only one with more rizz than Iroh! Maybe a legitimate battle strategy here would be to woo Ty Lee into switching sides? Aside from Azula she seems to be the most dangerous one. No offense to Mai, but she is kind of the odd woman out here.

Oh please let me get Aang and Azula 1v1! I really badly want to see how he fares against her without everyone else helping him. He’ll probably have to use the Avatar State to defeat her.
Ty Lee dives into the slurry after Katara and Sokka while Mai refuses. Yeah, Mai is the weak link here in Ozai’s Angels (I love that name, by the way).

1. Did Aang seriously think the general was going to hear him from that high up? Lol Toph’s helping Katara bend the slurry (how convenient that it’s both water and earth!). Ty Lee’s still trapped in it and the drill is about to blow. If I hadn’t learned my lesson on the last post, I’d probably be worried she might die in the explosion. But this is a kid’s show, she’ll be fine.

Here we go! Aang vs Azula! Her fighting style is so elegant. Every move she makes feels on purpose, if that makes sense. Like, whenever Aang fought Zuko, Zhao, or NPC firebenders their style is a little more chaotic and fearsome and rawr, you know? But Azula’s totally calm. Everything she’s doing feels calculated, and it’s working! If she hadn’t had to dodge that boulder after blasting Aang back she might have been able to deliver a finishing blow!
She beat him! He’s unconscious! Okay, well not anymore lol See… that right there was hubris (actually, it was kid’s show writing but whatever)! He was out for like fifteen seconds. She should have roasted him where he lay instead of picking him up and gloating.
Another fight with Azula ends in a draw with neither one beating the other! I’m starting to get a little peeved with all this edging lol but that was great! Azula is an absolute beast!

1. Okay, the way Aang hammered that rock spike into the drill was pretty epic. Mai’s “We lost” (and thank you for your contribution to the fight, Mai lol) is interesting. It’s true, they did lose. Not in the combat sense, Aang couldn’t beat Azula, but he didn’t have to. He just had to hold her off. Maybe that’s kind of a metaphor for the Fire Nation military in general. It’s very powerful, but it’s also marred by incompetence and weaknesses. Many of its generals are prideful and blind to their own weaknesses, or just outright incompetent. Look at this fight: even Mai just kind of gave up halfway through. If Ty Lee wasn’t trapped in the slurry, she might very well have been able to beat Katara, Sokka, and Toph, especially since they don’t Appa this time to bail them out. And if Mai had been with her, she might have been to break Katara’s concentration with a thrown weapon, thus freeing Ty Lee from the slurry.

I wondered how the Earth Kingdom lasted so long and maybe that’s just it. They can’t beat the Fire Nation, but they don’t have to. They just have to hold them off and the Fire Nation’s own shortcomings will end up beating themselves. It’s a hundred year stalemate.

1. Looks like Jet’s going to be causing a problem for Iroh and Zuko. I wonder if his relationship with them is what’s going to finally let him realize that not all Fire Nation people are inherently evil?

Hey, that’s Baby Hope! And Iroh gets to fawn over her too and I love that for him. You know, if Aang defeats the Fire Nation in a timely manner, Hope might actually get to grow up in a world at peace. Well, kind of. I’m sure there’s going to be massive issues with racism from generations of propaganda painting the other side as inhuman, huge demands for reparations, not to mention the territories the Fire Nation currently occupies. It’s been so long that there must be at least two generations of Fire Nation citizens who were born in and grew up in the Earth Kingdom, and I’m sure there’s been interbreeding with the Earth Kingdom people, because that’s what always happens with colonizers. Once they become established, genocide is pretty much the only way to get rid of them, and I doubt the Avatar is going to allow that.
So Hope’s probably going to grow up in pretty interesting times!
Um… is Ba Sing Se a city or is it a little walled country? Cuz all I see are farms and plains!
Katara, I love you, but you’re wrong. Team Avatar is going to catch on because it’s awesome, and that’s that.
Episode 13- City of Walls and Secrets

1. Oh, there’s an inner wall. So Ba Sing Se is kind of like the country in Attack on Titan! Oh yeah, in all of the excitement I almost forgot about Appa. Seriously, how many episodes has he been missing now? Damn, now that’s a city!

Yeah… something’s up with Joo Dee.
Walls inside that help maintain order? You mean walls that protect the rich and elite from the dirty poors? Lol Oh, Katara just confirmed it. They pen up all the poor people into a walled ghetto.

1. lol when Iroh’s talking about someone bringing home a lady friend, does he mean himself? Or Zuko? It is really interesting how their views of Ba Sing Se differ though. Iroh’s talking about getting a home, socializing, building a life, and he’s even found them jobs! Zuko sees the same situation as a prison.

Well, I’m glad Jet’s turning over a new leaf by letting the authorities handle things. Too bad I don’t trust the authorities to be any better.
Toph knows what’s up. Joo Dee is purposefully brushing Sokka off and distracting the group. I’m not sure why at the moment, but something is clearly up.

1. Of course they’re going to work in a tea shop! Lol Zuko’s right btw, all tea is hot leaf juice. Well, except for the teas that are hot root juice.

The cultural authority of Ba Sing Se, who guard their traditions and are called the Dai Li. Yeah… maybe it’s my conservative religious upbringing but when I hear about people “guarding their traditions” I immediately think of abuse, propaganda, and oppression. Generally people who are obsessed with traditions tend to be conservatives, who by their very nature cannot allow progress or improvement.
Someone important is trying to keep them under constant surveillance and prevent them from seeing the Earth King. In NATLA, there were spies in Omashu. Since Ba Sing Se is much bigger and more important, I imagine it’s riddled with Fire Nation spies as well, and somebody high ranking might be a traitor.

1. Joo Dee is kind of scary lol and clearly the citizens are terrified of her. But what’s interesting to me is that she’s preventing them from giving information about Appa, which suggests that whoever is stopping them from seeing the Earth King also has Appa. But why? What would be the point of keeping Aang away from Appa? Is it to restrict his mobility and make him easier to capture?

So people aren’t allowed to talk about the war, and the Dai Li seem to be responsible. But why? If everyone knows there’s a war going on anyway, why keep people from talking about it?
It’s lucky that Iroh borrowed his neighbor’s spark rocks, but why would he refrain from firebending in what he assumes is privacy? Unless he knows he’s being watched.

1. Huh, is the king’s pet bear the first normal animal on the show? Lol I am digging this undercover plan though.

I love that this show lets its characters try on different looks from time to time, even if they are mostly the same outfits. Katara and Toph’s high society get-ups are gorgeous!
The lost boys- I mean, freedom fighters are turning on Peter Pa- I mean, Jet. The weird thing is… he’s right! They are firebenders! But his behavior still isn’t healthy!

1. Okay, let’s go! Jet’s hurling accusations and attacking them in public! And now Zuko’s fighting back with swords. It’s the duel of the dual-wielders! Honestly, this is probably good for Zuko. He needs to blow off some steam after everything he’s been through.

Well how about that? Security at the palace is actually competent and Toph can’t bluff her way in.
This Long Feng guy is cultural minister to the king, which means he’s probably the bad guy! And also we haven’t met any other high ranking government officials with names, so he’s currently the only option lol

1. Geez, Zuko straight up intended to decapitate Jet right there. If Jet were a little slower, he would have! Man, I hope they do this fight scene in NATLA.

Uh-oh, scary lady Joo Dee is the scared one now. But can I just say how much I like her facial expressions?
Yeah… can’t blame them for arresting Jet. He did look like a crazy person.
The Dai Li’s specific brand of earthbending is very cool! It almost doesn’t seem like bending at all, if that makes sense. The stones they use are like a part of their own body. And of course Long Feng is their leader.
Okay I get the king is just a puppet and Long Feng is the real rule of the country, but I still don’t understand why he doesn’t allow mention of the war in the city. I mean, it’s common knowledge! A significant portion of their population are literally refugees fleeing war! Who doesn’t know
Oh… is it the king? Does the king just not know there’s a war happening and Long Feng keeps it from him so he can stay in charge? I mean, that’s still a stretch but it would explain why he doesn’t want Team Avatar talking to the king.

1. Jet is being hypnotized. Also, I do want to point out that I have seen “There is no (whatever) in Ba Sing Se” many times in the wild lol it’s nice to see where it comes from!

Ah… Long Feng is holding Appa as leverage over Aang.
I didn’t think Joo Dee could be any scarier but here we are! This episode almost has horror movie vibes.
Concluding thoughts: This was a fantastic couple/throuple of episodes! I loved seeing Suki again, and I really enjoyed how the refugee subplot ties so perfectly in with Iroh and Zuko. The whole drill sequence was probably the best “action” the show has had thus far and that’s saying something. It’s also nice to have my suspicions that the Earth Kingdom has its own corruption problems and bad guys confirmed.
I have a new theory to replace my “Iroh’s going to die theory”. They’ve been showing us all season how Zuko isn’t really cut out for life on the run, whereas Iroh embraces it. I think they’re driving to a separation between Zuko and Iroh. He may not have died, but narratively speaking Zuko and Iroh have to part ways permanently or semi-permanently for his character to grow. Iroh has been propping him up and supporting him this whole time, now it’s time for Zuko to leave the nest and become his own person.
My new theory is that Iroh will enjoy his new life in Ba Sing Se so much that he elects to stay there permanently, whereas Zuko is too restless to do so. He can’t go back to the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom will not accept him, so his only choice is to join Team Avatar, where he will likely end up teaching Aang firebending.
And to expand further on a previous theory of mine, which was: Azula will kill or depose Ozai. I’ve accepted at this point that death is off the table. Kid’s show and all that. But I noticed something… lots of people were quick to say that Azula would never kill Ozai. But not one person has said she wouldn’t depose him in those refutations (unless I’m misremembering but I don’t think I am). Since you all know not to hint at things or spoil them, I think your eagerness to point out that she won’t kill Ozai is an attempt to mislead me into thinking the whole theory is wrong so I’ll be surprised when she ends up deposing (not killing) him. I mean, I could be wrong but I have a strong feeling that the final villain is going to be Fire Lord Azula, with Ozai in exile somewhere (that would be fitting! The man who banishes his own son ends up being banished himself!).
Maybe that will even be the conclusion of Zuko’s arc! While Aang goes off to save the world from Azula, Zuko splits up to confront Ozai himself! Where we are in the show right now, it really does feel like Azula is Aang’s primary antagonist whereas Ozai is Zuko’s primary antagonist.
By the way, from here on out, no confirming or denying my theories either way, okay? Let it unfold naturally, and let me figure things out on my own. I mean, where’s the fun in just giving me the answers?
And also, some of you could be a little nicer with your criticisms. I had to block someone last time I posted and I don’t want to do that anymore. It’s fine to disagree with me, it’s fine to explain why you disagree with me. Hell, most of you do! I don’t mind that, I like that we all have different views of things even if I don’t agree. It makes things interesting! But don’t talk down to me, don’t use belittling language, don’t be disrespectful. Whenever I don’t like something about ATLA (or like something about NATLA) some of you seem to take it as a personal insult or something.
Just be polite, that’s all I ask.
Okay, I’ll see you same time next week probably!

Hello! Here we are again, back for another ATLA commentary.
Before we get started I do want to point out that I’m numbering and labeling episodes according to how they appear on Netflix. Episode 12, as I understand it, is actually two episodes. However, since they’re presented as one thing here, that’s how I’m watching it.
Brief update on other projects: I thought I’d try watching the first Harry Potter movie, but realized it’s two and a half hours long. That’s, at the bare minimum, five hours of commentary writing. So… yeah, we’re gonna hold off on that lol I’m also considering watching a superhero/comic book show called The Boys, because I accidentally caught part of a trailer for it that my girlfriend was watching and it looks very interesting. I’ll be doing the new Game of Thrones commentary next, not sure when exactly.
Okay, let’s go!
Episode 12- The Secret of the Fire Nation

1. Well that’s a heck of a title! I hope we learn something juicy!

It’s nice to see Aang and Katara bending for fun, thought I’m surprised Aang is so willing to encase himself in a block of ice. You’d think he’d have some trauma from that lol But also, I love Katara’s hair when she lets it down.
Yeah… I’m kind of surprised Aang is taking Appa’s loss as well as he is, considering how he reacted last episode. Since Sokka is talking about walking to Ba Sing Se, I take it they’re not going to be spending time looking for him? But then, didn’t the sandbenders say they sold him to a merchant from Ba Sing Se? Maybe he’s there, and Aang’s banking on that hope.

1. I know I keep applying real-world logic to a cartoon show, but wouldn’t Ba Sing Se get awfully crowded if they’re constantly taking in refugees from the rest of the Earth Kingdom? Iroh put the city under siege for almost two years. What if the Fire Nation does that again? More mouths to feed makes starvation quicker!

Iroh and Zuko are refugees. I still can’t get over that irony lol Hey, it’s Jet! My goodness, he’s onscreen for less than ten seconds and he’s already planning a robbery. He and Zuko are going to get along just fine, aren’t they?
The cabbage merchant! Always a delight to see him and his cabbages! Also hilarious that a bunch of people are impersonating Aang (thought it probably would be less hilarious if any of them met Azula). If passports are necessary, how did Zuko and Iroh get tickets? Also, good on Toph for taking advantage of her privilege lol
Hey! I think that’s Suki! Her eyes are drawn really distinctively and her voice sounds familiar! Two seconds after pressing play: it is Suki! Don’t you just love my long winning streak of figuring things out right before they let us know? Lol

1. Glad to see ATLA Suki appreciates Sokka’s muscles just as much as NATLA Suki lol

Someone took the pregnant family’s tickets and belongings. Is that how Zuko and Iroh got their tickets? Zuko’s robbed families before, so I wouldn’t put it past him.
Well damn, Suki got her armor and makeup on real quick, didn’t she? Hm… Sokka’s worried about her. I think Suki’s going to interpret that as him being sexist again but he’s probably traumatized from losing Yue. He’s been through way too much to still be sexist. If he still had a misogynistic bone in his body, Toph would have beaten it out of him by now.

1. Well the Serpent’s Pass looks terrifying. Also, this pregnant lady took one look at some scratched graffiti saying “Abandon Hope” and immediately started crying, saying “How can we abandon hope? It’s all we have!” Like… come on, lady lol Just because you see graffiti telling you to do something doesn’t mean you have to, otherwise I would have called quite a few people for a good time by now.

Hope is a distraction, huh? I guess I can see the logic of that from a practical application perspective. But it’s kind of a depressing philosophy for a monk to have.
Holy shit! Nope, I would not be walking along a cliff path that narrow! I will build a rowboat and paddle my way to Ba Sing Se.
Toph is really carrying the team (and some refugees too) this episode.

1. There’s a fine line between being protective and being smothering and Sokka has hopped, jumped, and skipped right over it.

Zuko’s not wearing his blue spirit mask. Not that he needs it, he and Jet work together like cogs in a machine. Ironic lol
Ow! Geez, that rejected hug hurt me lol Katara’s right though. Bottling up emotions just makes them worse in the long run. You have to allow yourself to feel bad sometimes. Granted, you can’t fly off the handle like he did last episode, but that’s a reaction. You can control your reactions, but you can’t control your feelings.
“It’s a beautiful moon.” “Yeah, it really is.” Okay, I know Sokka said last episode that Yue is the moon, but he was tripping on peyote. Does he actually believe that Yue is the moon now? Is Yue the moon now? I interpreted her death as he sacrificing herself to bring the moon spirit back to life, not to become the new moon spirit.
“Who is this guy? Is he taller than me?” Dude, we were having a moment. Damn it, just kiss her! Well actually, the moon’s right there so if Yue really did turn into the new moon spirit, it might be a tad awkward to kiss in front of her. But what’s he gonna do, only ever show intimacy during the day?

1. Um… I’m probably reading too much into this Smellerbee scene with Iroh and Longshot and I’m almost hesitant to say what I’m thinking because I can just imagine the backlash I could get for voicing it. And it’s not like ATLA has had great LGBTQ representation up to this point, so… Yeah, I’m probably just seeing things that aren’t there.

You know, I’ve never really cared a lot about Jet as a character (in fact, I’m kind of surprised to see him again. I figured he’d be a one-off character) but I am really enjoying his scenes with Zuko and Iroh. They have so much in common, which is probably the point of this whole juxtaposition. If he only knew who they really were lol
Of course Iroh believes in second chances. He’s the best. And also, he’s living proof that some people deserve a second chance.

1. Uh… Katara parting the sea while leading refugees to safety invokes a certain comparison, doesn’t it? But can I just say that I love how her solution to crossing the gap is to literally walk through the ocean instead of making a raft out of ice and floating across. She just never misses an opportunity to flex on everyone, does she? Lol

Momo continuing his pattern of trying to kill every small animal he sees is something I’ve come to treasure.
Is that the unagi?! I think that’s what it’s called/spelled but I haven’t seen that episode in a while. It would be fitting if Suki and the sea serpent both share the same episodes lol No that’s not the unagi. It’s a different color. Um… what exactly was Sokka planning to do if the sea serpent actually accepted his offer and ate Momo? Considering how he reacted to losing Appa, I don’t think Aang would be too happy with him.
Oh, now she’s making an ice bridge. Not as much of a flex as maintaining an air bubble so they plumb the depths but it is faster. Oh, Toph can’t see on ice. And she can’t swim? An earthbender not being able to swim feels like a stereotype for some reason, even though I have absolutely no reason to think that lol
“You can go ahead and let me drown now.” That’s gonna be a favorite joke of mine, I just know it lol And I’m pretty sure this is probably a jumping point for a Sokka/Toph ship. What does the community call that? Soph? Tokka? (How old is Toph, anyway? Probably Aang’s age, right? That’s… probably not an appropriate ship then)

1. Why does Ba Sing Se’s wall remind me of The Wall from Game of Thrones? Obviously not made of ice though lol

Okay, time for ATLA’s viewers to experience the miracle of childbirth!

1. Like I said earlier, ATLA isn’t heavy on the LGBTQ representation, but I swear I’m picking up on some tension and chemistry between Jet and Zuko (Juko? Jeko? Zet?). And now half of Jet’s little group is an LGBTQ allegory for me lol Even the dialogue between Jet and Zuko in this scene is slightly suggestive.

So… can Katara waterbend the baby out or…
Baby Hope, eh? Probably not a super common name in this world.
Oh? Was that Aang’s way of telling Katara he loves her without actually saying it? Aww. And hey, he’s heading off on his own to search for Appa. Which… honestly kind of feels like he should have been doing that this whole time lol
Yes! Get some, Sokka! Wait, nevermind. I fucking hate that line. Ugh No! I’m not gonna be a bitter old lady on this watch-through! They’re kissing and it’s very sweet and I love that for them!
Um… there’s a giant metal dildo on the way to penetrate Ba Sing Se! Lol but seriously, how technologically advanced is the Fire Nation? A giant mobile drill of that scale would be a marvel of engineering even by our modern standards.

1. Well hey, there’s the title card letting me know when the next episode starts.

Woah, the way the drill moves is so cool! I’m legitimately wondering if such a thing would actually be possible in our world with our physics. I don’t know why we would want to, but still. And of course Azula’s leading this attack. She gets all the best opportunities. And she’s smart too! The war minister guy is dismissive of the earthbenders, believing his drill to be impervious to earthbending attacks. You can practically smell the hubris. But Azula leaves nothing to chance and she sends her girls out to neutralize any potential threat.
And this is why we love Azula. She’s not just a scary villain, she’s a competent villain.

1. And the Earth Kingdom general shares the War Minister’s hubris. Why are the people in charge always the worst people to be in charge? Also, I love that Toph is the one to point out that Iroh broke through the wall.

So the Earth Kingdom’s elite Terra Team force were taken out by two teenage nonbenders from the Fire Nation in about twenty seconds. How have they lasted this long? Lol (I say two, but let’s be honest. Ty Lee’s doing the heavy lifting here)
Yes! I love that they acknowledge Sokka as the “Idea Guy”!
Iroh has got rizz for days lol I’m kind of surprised he only ever had one son. Jet wants to recruit Zuko. I’m totally down for that! They’re such an interesting pair!

1. I really love that Katara, whose probably the best waterbender in the world at this point, respects Ty Lee enough to recognize how dangerous she is. And Sokka had an idea! They’re going to take down the drill from the inside. Because how the hell else are they going to stop something that big?

Again with the underestimation! I swear Azula’s the only competent person in the entire Fire Nation military since Iroh retired.
Okay, engineer Sokka figured it out. It’s all a little too easy, isn’t it?

1. Ah shit, Jet just realized the truth, because Iroh used firebending to heat up his tea lol I think he’s getting a little too relaxed.

Okay, just the fact that they slice through metal with water at all is pretty impressive. And the drill has reached the wall, and Azula still doesn’t look impressed.
Oh yeah, I guess this is a pretty high stakes battle for them, huh? If they lose Ba Sing Se, they basically lose the entire Earth Kingdom, right? Omashu’s already fallen, the smaller villages and whatnot have no real defense. Ba Sing Se is the last big puzzle piece to world domination (aside from the water tribes, but they’re so isolated they’re not really a threat).
I love that Toph’s nickname for Aang is Twinkle Toes. Also I laughed at the War Minister’s face when he was side-eyeing Azula just then. +That’s the face of a man who’s about to be punished!

1. lol Sokka’s the only one with more rizz than Iroh! Maybe a legitimate battle strategy here would be to woo Ty Lee into switching sides? Aside from Azula she seems to be the most dangerous one. No offense to Mai, but she is kind of the odd woman out here.

Oh please let me get Aang and Azula 1v1! I really badly want to see how he fares against her without everyone else helping him. He’ll probably have to use the Avatar State to defeat her.
Ty Lee dives into the slurry after Katara and Sokka while Mai refuses. Yeah, Mai is the weak link here in Ozai’s Angels (I love that name, by the way).

1. Did Aang seriously think the general was going to hear him from that high up? Lol Toph’s helping Katara bend the slurry (how convenient that it’s both water and earth!). Ty Lee’s still trapped in it and the drill is about to blow. If I hadn’t learned my lesson on the last post, I’d probably be worried she might die in the explosion. But this is a kid’s show, she’ll be fine.

Here we go! Aang vs Azula! Her fighting style is so elegant. Every move she makes feels on purpose, if that makes sense. Like, whenever Aang fought Zuko, Zhao, or NPC firebenders their style is a little more chaotic and fearsome and rawr, you know? But Azula’s totally calm. Everything she’s doing feels calculated, and it’s working! If she hadn’t had to dodge that boulder after blasting Aang back she might have been able to deliver a finishing blow!
She beat him! He’s unconscious! Okay, well not anymore lol See… that right there was hubris (actually, it was kid’s show writing but whatever)! He was out for like fifteen seconds. She should have roasted him where he lay instead of picking him up and gloating.
Another fight with Azula ends in a draw with neither one beating the other! I’m starting to get a little peeved with all this edging lol but that was great! Azula is an absolute beast!

1. Okay, the way Aang hammered that rock spike into the drill was pretty epic. Mai’s “We lost” (and thank you for your contribution to the fight, Mai lol) is interesting. It’s true, they did lose. Not in the combat sense, Aang couldn’t beat Azula, but he didn’t have to. He just had to hold her off. Maybe that’s kind of a metaphor for the Fire Nation military in general. It’s very powerful, but it’s also marred by incompetence and weaknesses. Many of its generals are prideful and blind to their own weaknesses, or just outright incompetent. Look at this fight: even Mai just kind of gave up halfway through. If Ty Lee wasn’t trapped in the slurry, she might very well have been able to beat Katara, Sokka, and Toph, especially since they don’t Appa this time to bail them out. And if Mai had been with her, she might have been to break Katara’s concentration with a thrown weapon, thus freeing Ty Lee from the slurry.

I wondered how the Earth Kingdom lasted so long and maybe that’s just it. They can’t beat the Fire Nation, but they don’t have to. They just have to hold them off and the Fire Nation’s own shortcomings will end up beating themselves. It’s a hundred year stalemate.

1. Looks like Jet’s going to be causing a problem for Iroh and Zuko. I wonder if his relationship with them is what’s going to finally let him realize that not all Fire Nation people are inherently evil?

Hey, that’s Baby Hope! And Iroh gets to fawn over her too and I love that for him. You know, if Aang defeats the Fire Nation in a timely manner, Hope might actually get to grow up in a world at peace. Well, kind of. I’m sure there’s going to be massive issues with racism from generations of propaganda painting the other side as inhuman, huge demands for reparations, not to mention the territories the Fire Nation currently occupies. It’s been so long that there must be at least two generations of Fire Nation citizens who were born in and grew up in the Earth Kingdom, and I’m sure there’s been interbreeding with the Earth Kingdom people, because that’s what always happens with colonizers. Once they become established, genocide is pretty much the only way to get rid of them, and I doubt the Avatar is going to allow that.
So Hope’s probably going to grow up in pretty interesting times!
Um… is Ba Sing Se a city or is it a little walled country? Cuz all I see are farms and plains!
Katara, I love you, but you’re wrong. Team Avatar is going to catch on because it’s awesome, and that’s that.
Episode 13- City of Walls and Secrets

1. Oh, there’s an inner wall. So Ba Sing Se is kind of like the country in Attack on Titan! Oh yeah, in all of the excitement I almost forgot about Appa. Seriously, how many episodes has he been missing now? Damn, now that’s a city!

Yeah… something’s up with Joo Dee.
Walls inside that help maintain order? You mean walls that protect the rich and elite from the dirty poors? Lol Oh, Katara just confirmed it. They pen up all the poor people into a walled ghetto.

1. lol when Iroh’s talking about someone bringing home a lady friend, does he mean himself? Or Zuko? It is really interesting how their views of Ba Sing Se differ though. Iroh’s talking about getting a home, socializing, building a life, and he’s even found them jobs! Zuko sees the same situation as a prison.

Well, I’m glad Jet’s turning over a new leaf by letting the authorities handle things. Too bad I don’t trust the authorities to be any better.
Toph knows what’s up. Joo Dee is purposefully brushing Sokka off and distracting the group. I’m not sure why at the moment, but something is clearly up.

1. Of course they’re going to work in a tea shop! Lol Zuko’s right btw, all tea is hot leaf juice. Well, except for the teas that are hot root juice.

The cultural authority of Ba Sing Se, who guard their traditions and are called the Dai Li. Yeah… maybe it’s my conservative religious upbringing but when I hear about people “guarding their traditions” I immediately think of abuse, propaganda, and oppression. Generally people who are obsessed with traditions tend to be conservatives, who by their very nature cannot allow progress or improvement.
Someone important is trying to keep them under constant surveillance and prevent them from seeing the Earth King. In NATLA, there were spies in Omashu. Since Ba Sing Se is much bigger and more important, I imagine it’s riddled with Fire Nation spies as well, and somebody high ranking might be a traitor.

1. Joo Dee is kind of scary lol and clearly the citizens are terrified of her. But what’s interesting to me is that she’s preventing them from giving information about Appa, which suggests that whoever is stopping them from seeing the Earth King also has Appa. But why? What would be the point of keeping Aang away from Appa? Is it to restrict his mobility and make him easier to capture?

So people aren’t allowed to talk about the war, and the Dai Li seem to be responsible. But why? If everyone knows there’s a war going on anyway, why keep people from talking about it?
It’s lucky that Iroh borrowed his neighbor’s spark rocks, but why would he refrain from firebending in what he assumes is privacy? Unless he knows he’s being watched.

1. Huh, is the king’s pet bear the first normal animal on the show? Lol I am digging this undercover plan though.

I love that this show lets its characters try on different looks from time to time, even if they are mostly the same outfits. Katara and Toph’s high society get-ups are gorgeous!
The lost boys- I mean, freedom fighters are turning on Peter Pa- I mean, Jet. The weird thing is… he’s right! They are firebenders! But his behavior still isn’t healthy!

1. Okay, let’s go! Jet’s hurling accusations and attacking them in public! And now Zuko’s fighting back with swords. It’s the duel of the dual-wielders! Honestly, this is probably good for Zuko. He needs to blow off some steam after everything he’s been through.

Well how about that? Security at the palace is actually competent and Toph can’t bluff her way in.
This Long Feng guy is cultural minister to the king, which means he’s probably the bad guy! And also we haven’t met any other high ranking government officials with names, so he’s currently the only option lol

1. Geez, Zuko straight up intended to decapitate Jet right there. If Jet were a little slower, he would have! Man, I hope they do this fight scene in NATLA.

Uh-oh, scary lady Joo Dee is the scared one now. But can I just say how much I like her facial expressions?
Yeah… can’t blame them for arresting Jet. He did look like a crazy person.
The Dai Li’s specific brand of earthbending is very cool! It almost doesn’t seem like bending at all, if that makes sense. The stones they use are like a part of their own body. And of course Long Feng is their leader.
Okay I get the king is just a puppet and Long Feng is the real rule of the country, but I still don’t understand why he doesn’t allow mention of the war in the city. I mean, it’s common knowledge! A significant portion of their population are literally refugees fleeing war! Who doesn’t know
Oh… is it the king? Does the king just not know there’s a war happening and Long Feng keeps it from him so he can stay in charge? I mean, that’s still a stretch but it would explain why he doesn’t want Team Avatar talking to the king.

1. Jet is being hypnotized. Also, I do want to point out that I have seen “There is no (whatever) in Ba Sing Se” many times in the wild lol it’s nice to see where it comes from!

Ah… Long Feng is holding Appa as leverage over Aang.
I didn’t think Joo Dee could be any scarier but here we are! This episode almost has horror movie vibes.
Concluding thoughts: This was a fantastic couple/throuple of episodes! I loved seeing Suki again, and I really enjoyed how the refugee subplot ties so perfectly in with Iroh and Zuko. The whole drill sequence was probably the best “action” the show has had thus far and that’s saying something. It’s also nice to have my suspicions that the Earth Kingdom has its own corruption problems and bad guys confirmed.
I have a new theory to replace my “Iroh’s going to die theory”. They’ve been showing us all season how Zuko isn’t really cut out for life on the run, whereas Iroh embraces it. I think they’re driving to a separation between Zuko and Iroh. He may not have died, but narratively speaking Zuko and Iroh have to part ways permanently or semi-permanently for his character to grow. Iroh has been propping him up and supporting him this whole time, now it’s time for Zuko to leave the nest and become his own person.
My new theory is that Iroh will enjoy his new life in Ba Sing Se so much that he elects to stay there permanently, whereas Zuko is too restless to do so. He can’t go back to the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom will not accept him, so his only choice is to join Team Avatar, where he will likely end up teaching Aang firebending.
And to expand further on a previous theory of mine, which was: Azula will kill or depose Ozai. I’ve accepted at this point that death is off the table. Kid’s show and all that. But I noticed something… lots of people were quick to say that Azula would never kill Ozai. But not one person has said she wouldn’t depose him in those refutations (unless I’m misremembering but I don’t think I am). Since you all know not to hint at things or spoil them, I think your eagerness to point out that she won’t kill Ozai is an attempt to mislead me into thinking the whole theory is wrong so I’ll be surprised when she ends up deposing (not killing) him. I mean, I could be wrong but I have a strong feeling that the final villain is going to be Fire Lord Azula, with Ozai in exile somewhere (that would be fitting! The man who banishes his own son ends up being banished himself!).
Maybe that will even be the conclusion of Zuko’s arc! While Aang goes off to save the world from Azula, Zuko splits up to confront Ozai himself! Where we are in the show right now, it really does feel like Azula is Aang’s primary antagonist whereas Ozai is Zuko’s primary antagonist.
By the way, from here on out, no confirming or denying my theories either way, okay? Let it unfold naturally, and let me figure things out on my own. I mean, where’s the fun in just giving me the answers?
And also, some of you could be a little nicer with your criticisms. I had to block someone last time I posted and I don’t want to do that anymore. It’s fine to disagree with me, it’s fine to explain why you disagree with me. Hell, most of you do! I don’t mind that, I like that we all have different views of things even if I don’t agree. It makes things interesting! But don’t talk down to me, don’t use belittling language, don’t be disrespectful. Whenever I don’t like something about ATLA (or like something about NATLA) some of you seem to take it as a personal insult or something.
Just be polite, that’s all I ask.
Okay, I’ll see you same time next week probably!

MASSACHUSETTS NUMEROLOGY DECODE

Interestingly enough, we don't hear much about this state. It's almost easy to overlook or straight up forget unless you are looking at a map. We are going to decode this state using Numerology and point out the reasons/indications that point towards it being such a silent city or at least not popular and frequented like other places. This will get very informative so enjoy the read.
We will now begin decoding each letter in detail.
M - This is The 13th letter of the alphabet Making this letter vibrate at the energy of 4. The energy of four represents privacy and caution. When it comes to 13 and the energy of 4, you have a person or an energy where it's more focused on self rather than connecting with others. So, like I mentioned, 4 is about privacy, caution, and withholding. 4 is pretty restrictive so when a person or place has this name, that you know these are very cautious people or you know that these are not people that take action without thinking. 4 is a very organized type of energy. As a state, this can translate to being a very restrictive state or a state that has particular rules in place. People who live in this state can even have some of these traits. This isn't the type of place to move to unless you want some type of restriction or a relaxed type of energy in your life. M is the strongest energy of this state since it is the first letter of the state's name. So, that alone can start speaking to why this isn't a state that is talked about as much as, let's say, New York or Florida.
A - This is the letter that represents number one as it is the first letter of the alphabet which lets you know that this is about initiation or fresh starts. When it comes to people, this speaks to having that focus on self or being self-motivated.
S - As the 19th letter of the alphabet, this letter vibrates at the energy of one, but it is from a place of being in power or being extremely independent. As a state, that's why the state can seem alone or like a stand alone and not really talked about because we already have a lot of indications that talk about being too self absorbed or too withheld.
S - As the 19th letter of the alphabet, this letter vibrates at the energy of one, but it is from a place of being in power or being extremely independent. As a state, that's why the state can seem alone or like a stand alone and not really talked about because we already have a lot of indications that talk about being too self absorbed or too withheld.
A - This is the letter that represents number one as it is the first letter of the alphabet which lets you know that this is about initiation or fresh starts. When it comes to people, this speaks to having that focus on self or being self-motivated. This is the second time we got this letter and energy.
C - 3rd letter of the alphabet which can represent communication and creativity
H - 8th letter of the alphabet which talks about structure, pressure, seriousness, and mastery.
U - 21st letter of the alphabet which vibrates at the energy of 3. This shows compassion, especially when an individual has this in their name. This also can add more creative juices to a person or the state.
S - As mentioned above, this is the 19th letter of the alphabet and vibrates at the energy of 1.
E - 5th letter of the alphabet which points to combat, creativity, romance, joy, change, and events.
T - 20th letter of the alphabet which vibrates at the energy of 2 which can point to cooperation, stability, comfort, and proactivity. This is a money number just like the number 8, but 2 represents more frequency.
T - 20th letter of the alphabet which vibrates at the energy of 2 which can point to cooperation, stability, comfort, and proactivity. This is a money number just like the number 8, but 2 represents more frequency.
S - As mentioned above, this is the 19th letter of the alphabet and vibrates at the energy of 1.
As you can see, Massachusetts has 6 letters that vibrate at the energy of 1 which equals 6. 6 is about comfort, family, beauty, and discipline. We can see that this may be a state that values discipline which goes well with the fact that it starts with M which is similar to discipline because 4 energy is responsible and even family oriented. We can assume that this state operates from a place of balance and fairness. They may not tolerate what a lot of other states tolerate. Jobs could possibly be a little easier to get here just based on how a lot of the numeric values barely get to the number 9. 1 is the main number that stands out within this state which can point to them doing their own thing and not wanting to identify with how other states do things.
Very individualistic type of energy. People that live in this state could either be workaholics, dogmatic, serious, responsible, controlling, family oriented, shy, or even mean. Routine could be a big thing here. Some or a lot of the residents could even be big on being business owners. This could even be a state where couponing is or can be a big deal. This state may not have too many outside visitors like Florida or Nevada does and the residents could have been there for a long time.
This is a good place to live if you plan on settling down with your own family or partner, if you want a simple and quiet life, if it's just you and only you, if you want to downsize, etc. You get the point. The energy of Massachusetts is very much on the personal and private side.
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As I was commenting under another post, I have a hard time selecting what to suggest. My first instinct is to keep listing stuff. So, hoping this info-dumping tendency can be useful to someone, I thought I'd make a post with little constraint; unfortunately, since I was driving myself crazy, I decided to stop at the area within the Aurelian walls + some of the most notable adjacent bits.
Best enjoyed while looking at a map.
So, what's there to see in Rome? Let's start outside of Italy, since the Vatican area can be treated as its own separate visit: - in Vatican City itself, you can visit the stunning St. Peter's square and Basilica, as well as the famous Museums (which are a must); - also notable and nearby is Castel Sant'Angelo, once emperor Hadrian's mausoleum turned fortress turned papal residence turned prison turned museum; - the late 1800s neighborhood adjacent to these, Prati, has the peculiarity of having been created in an era of hatred between the then Kingdom of Italy and the Vatican: its urban design hides the view of St. Peter's massive dome. Here you can pass by the elegant Piazza Cavour as well as the adjacent and quite impressive Palazzo di Giustizia - "colloquially nicknamed il Palazzaccio ('the Awful Palace'), [it] is the seat of the Supreme Court of Cassation and the Judicial Public Library of Italy".
A lot of famous landmarks are in & around the Campo Marzio area, basically between the Capitol Hill (Campidoglio) to the south and Piazza del Popolo to the north. Here you can find: - Piazza del Popolo itself, along with its three churches (one featuring famous Caravaggio paintings) the Pincio terrace (and the adjacent and very beautiful Villa Borghese park, within and around which you'll find two great museums: Galleria Borghese for classical arts and Galleria Nazionale di Arte Moderna for modern and contemporary art); - Piazza di Spagna & Scalinata di Trinità dei Monti (aka the "Spanish Steps") along with the eponymous church atop the stairway; - the Mausoleum of Augustus & the Ara Pacis Museum; - the Trevi Fountain; - the Italian Parliament buildings; - the Pantheon; - Piazza Navona (& Sant'Agnese in Agone); - a few "talking statues" - most notably "Pasquino"; - Campo de' Fiori (famous for Giordano Bruno's burning at the stake, for its daytime market and for nightlife); - more and more really cool churches - really, people never stopped and thought "I think that's enough churches". Most of them are really beautiful and filled with masterpieces of Italian art (especially from the Baroque era). Visit as many as you can of those you find on your way. I'll just name some I especially like: Chiesa del Gesù, Sant'Ignazio di Loyola, Sant'Andrea della Valle, San Luigi dei Francesi (also featuring Caravaggios), Sant'Agostino, San Lorenzo in Lucina; - in between Sant'Andrea della Valle and Campo de' Fiori, you'll find the residual shape of what once was the Theatre of Pompey, and a little "secret" passage connecting the two areas (Passetto del Biscione); - nearby, the archeological area of Largo di Torre Argentina, related to the Curia of Pompey of Caesar-stabbing fame; - there's also numerous palaces formerly owned by noble families, but not many are visitable - a lot are govt or diplomatic buildings, for example; - the Jewish Ghetto (where I'd especially suggest trying traditional pastries); - Piazza Venezia (stroll through the inner garden of Palazzo Venezia, meet the "talking statue" Madama Lucrezia, and then move to the impressive Vittoriano monument to enjoy the architectural beauty, the interesting iconography celebrating the Italian unification process and, finally, a great view over Rome - the elevator to the upper terrace is just 4€ for people under 26); - behind the Vittoriano, the Ara Coeli church and the iconic Campidoglio square designed by Michelangelo and the Musei Capitolini or Capitoline Museums (showcasing parts of the most important temples of ancient Rome as well as a lot of classical sculptures).
From this central area, you can head in a number of directions.
You can head towards the Circus Maximus, for example, in a couple ways: one is passing by the Theatre of Marcellus and going through the Foro Boario and Foro Olitorio, reaching Piazza di Bocca della Verità (where the Romanic, medieval looking church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin hosts the touristically famous "mouth of truth") before moving on to the aforementioned Circus - though another option would be to forget the Circus Maximus and instead head to the Isola Tiberina, cross the river the way the earliest local settlers once would've, and enjoy the neighborhood of Trastevere (but that deserves its own paragraph).
Another, more evident way takes you by the Colonna Traiana and through the Roman & Imperial Fora, reaching the Colosseum where you could pivot to the Circus Maximus - and perhaps, on the way there, you might stop for a visit to the newly opened Forma Urbis museum. However, from the Colosseum you might also go visit the church of San Pietro in Vincoli (with its famous statue of Moses made by Michelangelo), Colle Oppio park and the ruins of Nero's Domus Aurea underneath it, or go up to the Pope's Cathedral of St. John (and nearby "Scala Santa" chapel, where many of the most important relics of Catholic Christianity were preserved), not failing to notice all those obelisks that keep popping up in almost all the relevant places... What might their story ever be?
Yet another direction of exploration could take you up some beautiful streets (such as Via Nazionale or Via del Tritone, respectively leading to Piazza della Repubblica - here you'll also find the archeological area of the Baths of Diocletian, as well as the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri - and Piazza Barberini - where the macabre Capuchin Crypt is a well known curiosity, though Palazzo Barberini's museum is probably more relevant). In the same generally eastward direction, you could go up other hills, such as the Quirinale hill where the homonymous Palace of our President of the Republic stands, along with the Palace of the Constitutional Court and the Scuderie del Quirinale museum. And, on the way towards the historically significant Porta Pia, you'll find the church of Sant'Andrea al Quirinale, and later on you'll be at the Quattro Fontane crossroad with the church of San Carlino. At this crossroad, if you don't wanna keep going towards Porta Pia and you're OK with missing out on Bernini's "Ecstasy of Saint Teresa" (inside Santa Maria della Vittoria), you can instead turn towards another major church - Saint Mary Major. You'll then find yourself in the Esquilino neighborhood (named after the hill it's on), where you can also find Piazza Vittorio and Santa Croce in Gerusalemme (where supposed relics of Jesus's cross are kept, among others), as well as a good section of a nowadays underrated element of the city's history: the Aurelian walls.
Having reached the eastern end of that set of walls, it only seems fair to pay some attention to its western side: Trastevere. Here, you can enjoy the exciting nighlife, the small town vibes that tiny streets and houses give off, but also see cool government buildings (the Ministry of Education) and, of course, churches, most notably Santa Maria in Trastevere, but also Santa Cecilia, San Crisogono, San Cosimato, San Callisto... You'll also find that the neighborhood pays homage to two famous poets of Romanhood: Trilussa and Belli. This relates to a tradition that views Trastevere as a neighborhood where some part of the "Rome that once was" was preserved. Just north of its main bulk, you'll find an interesting assortment of buildings and villas along Via della Lungara: the Botanical gardens of Rome, over the western slope of the Gianicolo Hill; Villa Farnesina; the Accademia dei Lincei; the Gallerie Corsini. All of them related to one peculiar Queen of Sweden who picked a bad time to be Catholic and had to self-exile to Rome, where she became the center of intellectual life for a few decades in the 1600s. Also, since we mentioned it, you can go up and down the Gianicolo hill on a nice stroll that connects the Vatican to Trastevere stricto sensu. Apart from a great view on the city, what you'll find here are a lot of monuments and statues related to Garibaldi, a national hero during the time of Italian unification, to the Repubblica Romana (a short-lived attempt at taking over Rome from the Pope and give it an independent republican constitution) and generally to the struggle for unification.
One important hill we're missing is the Aventine hill, and it's definitely worth visiting. It's adjacent to the Circus Maximus we've mentioned before. There's a famous attraction - the keyhole of a door to the Villa di Santa Maria del Priorato - from which you can see the dome of St. Peter nicely framed. That is cool but not worth the long line that is typically there. Instead, enjoy the view from Giardino degli Aranci and check out the nearby churches, before heading down towards Testaccio. The Testaccio neighborhood is also quite cool and has nice nightlife and restaurants (note: Porta Portese and its famous flea market are close to Testaccio as well as part of Trastevere). From there you can visit the Cimitero Acattolico, a non-denominational cemetery where a good few famous people were buried and where the cultural variety of burial places is quite interesting. It also features the best view on the most visible burial in the area: a pyramid pertaining to a Roman nobleman and dating back to the Augustan era, mimicking the Ancient Egyptian ones. It wasn't always the only such extravagant burial in Rome, but it's the only one that survived due to becoming part of the Aurelian walls.
And finally, near the Circus Maximus, midway between St. John and the Pyramid, you'll find the monumental ruins of the Baths of emperor Caracalla. Oh, and just north of it is Villa Celimontana, another nice park, with another nice church (Santa Maria in Domnica alla Navicella).
Note: St Peter, St John, St Mary Major are 3/4 of the "major basilicas" recognized by the Roman Catholic Church "to which a visit is always prescribed as one of the conditions for gaining the Roman Jubilee". The fourth one is a bit further, outside the walls - it is, in fact, called St. Paul outside the Walls.

Again, this is not my personal picks but an overall selection by judging Talent, Quality of Work and Sales/Popularity combined. The 2000's was very interesting and drastically different from the 90's. For the first time the genre became mainstream on a widescale. There were mainstream hits in the 90's from El General, Big Boy, Vico C and Lisa M, but the music remained mostly underground. Beginning in 2002, the major record companies (Sony, Universal, Emi, Atlantic, WEA etc...) bought up almost every significant label and artist in Reggaeton and Hip Hop en Español. Up until recently this was the most successful era in the history of Reggaeton and Spanish Rap, but then Bad Bunny sold 5 million of 'Un Verano Sin Ti' and Karol G sold out stadiums. Still, to most fans, only because the underground of the 90's remains obscure to many, this was the true Golden Age (I only agree up until circa 2006/07 but stemming from 1994... to me that's the true Golden Era).

1. Daddy Yankee - This is obvious. He not only made great music with pretty much every album he released from this decade becoming a classic over time (El Cartel de Yankee II, ElCangri. com, Los Home-runes, Barrio Fino, The Big Boss and Talento de Barrio). Then his classic featuring and appearances on albums like "Mas Flow 1", "Mas Flow 2", "Guatauba 3", "Blin Blin", "Los Benjamins", "Babilonia", "Sonando Diferente", "Motivando La Yal" etc... On top of that he was the first to make record breaking sales in venues and albums. The first to get big endorsements from major companies. He made a movie that was #1 in several Latin American countries and made like $10 million dollars on a $1 million dollar budget. He did go a little too commercial at the end of the decade which caused a vocal fanbase of the Latin Hip Hop audience to turn on him, but you still can't deny his achievements. He was completely on point even when they said he was off.
2. Wisin & Yandel - Wisin & Yandel are the most successful Reggaeton duo in history. They were a phenomenon and even bigger than Enrique Iglesias at one point in time. Their classic album "Pal Mundo" is one of the most celebrated works in recorded Latin Music. They had so many freakin' hits in this decade. And they started with an album called "Los Reyes Del Nuevo Milenio" which proved to be prophetic. Maybe Wisin didn't always show off his lyrical abilities and neglected his impressive skills as an MC, but they made you dance and sing along which is the point of it all.
3. Tego Calderon - At his best, Tego is like a prophet giving a voice to the voiceless that come from an underserved part of the world speaking out against the injustices and crimes against humanity unlike anyone before or after. But he can make a really good perreo too. That second part gave him the chart topping success he needed to spread his message abroad. "El Abayarde" is the perfect Urbano album that not even the Canserbero fans who hate Daddy Yankee and W&Y can deny. And every other Tego album from this decade is also a classic from El Enemy De Los Guasibiri to El Abayarde Contraataca and especially the underappreciated "The Underdog".
4. Violadores Del Verso - The greatest lyricists of the era were a phenomenon in Latin America packing venues across Spain and South America. They are one of the most renown Spanish Rap acts of all time. "Vivir Para Contarlo" is possibly the most acclaimed Urbano work to ever come out of Spain (except besides maybe "Motomami"). Sho-Hai and Lirico are two of the greatest MCs ever to hold the mic, but Kase.O on tracks like "Pura Droga Sin Cortar" shows why he is still considered the best MC in Español alive today.
5. Vico C - Vico transcended generations and barriers. The 2000's were actually a more successful time period for him than in the 90's. His best selling album is "Desahogo" from 2005 selling over 200 thousand units worldwide. He made up for all his lost time in the 90's even making new fans like Bad Bunny citing him among his biggest influences because of the music he made during this era. Vico became more popular than ever during this time.
6. Hector & Tito - Whether as a duo or solo artists, Hector El Father and Tito El Bambino just dominated the 2000's. They put out dozens of hit songs and several classic albums during this time period. As a duo they were the first to win a Billboard Latin Music award for Best Rap Album with the masterpiece "A La Reconquista". Then when they went solo, they reached new stratospheres with Tito going on to even perform at The White House for President Obama thanks to his smash hit "El Amor". Meanwhile Hector El Father's solo works were among the most transcending and notable of the era including hits like "Noches De Travesuras", "El Telefono" feat. Wisin & Yandel, "Here We Go" feat. Jay Z, "Hola Bebe" feat. Jowell & Randy and so many more... Hector is now one of the most sampled Latino artists of all-time.
7. Don Omar - Don Omar nicknamed himself "The Hitmaker" and with good reason. It was practically nonstop from "Dale Don Dale" forward, he just knows how to make hits. "The Last Don" is a seminal work of Spanish Hip Hop and Reggaeton. He brought a unique flavor at a time where Reggaeton singers were not known for their singing abilities nor being able to make crossover Pop Ballads. Don Omar helped change all that but he can still take it back to the roots with hits like "Bandoleros" feat. Tego Calderon and the Battle Rap Reggaeton "Sacala" with Hector El Father, Wisin & Yandel.
8. Nach - I don't know if Nach ever charted on Billboard but he has headlined stadiums in Latin America and Spain. When "Poesia Difusa" came out, Nach was considered the best "pure" rapper in the world even over Tego Calderon. His songs that contain a great message with much intelligence but an incredible flow plus a unique cadence reached such a widespread audience throughout Spain and Latin America.. He is as pure of a lyricist that there can be and never compromised his artistic integrity for commercial success. Nach is an immortal figure in the history of Spanish Rap.
9. Luny Tunes - The biggest hitmakers of all time, possibly in all of Latin Music, not just Urbano. You have Mas Flow 1, Mas Flow 2, Los Benjamins. Albums lesser known by the mainstream but loved by Reggaeton purists like "La Trayectoria", "Blin Blin", "Los Matadores Del Genero" and "Desafio". Then when you consider they produced "Barrio Fino", "The Last Don", and "Pal Mundo" 3 of the biggest selling and most acclaimed Reggaeton albums of all time, that alone is worth the mention.
10. Eddie Dee - Thanks to 'Los 12 Discipulos' and its hit single of the same title, Eddie Dee became a household name in the Reggateon community. Not just that he co-wrote "Gasolina" and "Rompe" with Daddy Yankee. He also wrote hits for several other artists including Tito El Bambino, Alexis & Fido, Johnny Prez, Zion, among others... He is the reason we got "El Abayarde" as he rediscovered Tego, signed him and brought Calderon to White Lion. He also brought Predikador to Puerto Rico. "El Diario" still remains the most anticipated album in all of Urbano Latino besides the long awaited "Mas Flow 3". Eddie is known for being different from most Reggaetoneros and not relying solely on "Perreo" or "Club Songs". Eddie brings diverse content with deep underlying social themes and romantic lyrics.

Honorable Mention: Tempo, Baby Rasta & Gringo, Ivy Queen, Calle 13, Mala Rodriguez, Zion & Lennox and Arcangel & De La Ghetto.
my personal Top 5: 1. Tempo (for what he did in 2000-2002 before getting locked up and the classic Free Tempo in 2009) 2. Tego 3. Eddie. 4. Baby Rasta y Gringo 5. Yankee
Edits: Gramatical errors corrected, references and Zion y Lennox added.

You can read this post, and others here
**Boss: Richard J. Daley of Chicago.** By Mike Royko. 216 Pages.
**American Pharaoh: Mayor Richard J. Daley - His Battle for Chicago and the Nation.** By Adam Cohen and Elizabeth Taylor. 624 Pages.
Richard J. Daley was perhaps the most powerful local politician America has ever produced. The second most powerful politician in America after the president, he personally selected every Democratic candidate running in Illinois, from Governor to Alderman. In addition to the elected positions, Daley controlled forty thousand patronage jobs, from judgeships down to the ditch diggers; he personally selected who got those jobs. Beyond the borders of Chicago, Daley played kingmaker for the Democratic nomination for president; his ability to control the Illinois delegation made and broke presidential candidates.
What were Daley's goals? First and foremost, to amass and maintain his personal political power. When it came to ideology, he had a sort of flinty conservatism: he liked authority and hated protestors. He was a devout Catholic, going to mass every day. He regarded the newspapers and reporters as the enemy, always criticizing, always asking questions. He believed in racial segregation and that people should pull themselves up by their bootstraps. But good politics came before ideology with Daley; his concern was always what would be best for him and the machine. Daley did not like John F. Kennedy's liberalism, but he did like that an Irish Catholic presidential candidate would turn out the machine base on election day. And so he backed him for president.
Daley was not an articulate man, known for malapropisms such as "The policeman isn’t there to create disorder; the policeman is there to preserve disorder." and “Today the real problem is the future.”. When questioned by reporters or opponents he was known to fly into fits of rage, and rant at them:

If provoked, he’ll break into a rambling, ranting speech, waving his arms, shaking his fists, defending his judgment, defending his administration, always with the familiar “It is easy to criticize . . . to find fault . . . but where are your programs . . . where are your ideas . . .”

Arrogant and ruthless, he always got what he wanted - and if he didn't, he would make sure you would never hold an office or job in Chicago again. And yet for all his flaws, Daley saved Chicago from going the way of other declining rust belt cities, like Detroit or St. Louis. Historians have ranked him amongst the greatest American mayors of all time.
This is the story of the last of the big machine bosses.
*American Pharaoh* is a 600 page tome on the life and times of Richard J. Daley. It's impressively researched, but a bit dry at times. The book takes it's title from the African-American nickname for Daley: "Pharaoh". To them he was an oppressor, demanding much of his subjects but offering little in return.
*Boss* is the much more fun read, written by Chicago Tribune humorist Mike Royko. While it is not as impressively researched, I like the style it is written in more, peppered with observations such as:

Daley didn’t come from a big family but he married into one, and so Eleanor Guilfoyle’s parents might well have said that they did not lose a daughter, they gained an employment agency. Mrs. Daley’s nephew has been in several key jobs. Her sister’s husband became a police captain. A brother is an engineer in the school system. Stories about the number of Guilfoyles, and cousins and in-laws of Guilfoyles, in the patronage army have taken on legendary tones.

A City of Neighborhoods

Early 20th century Chicago was a “City of Neighborhoods”, each with its own ethnic group: Germans on the North Side, Irish on the South Side, and Jews on the West Side. People kept to their own kind, and outsiders entered other neighborhoods at their peril.
Richard Joseph Daley was born in the Irish neighborhood of Bridgeport in 1902. Bridgeport was Chicago’s original slum, a grim place even by the standards of early Chicago. Irish laborers settled it in the early 1830s, digging the Illinois & Michigan Canal. After the canal was finished, the neighborhood turned to animal slaughter. By the time Daley was born, the Irish were prospering and no longer treated with the discrimination their parents and grandparents encountered upon arriving in America. But Daley was raised with stories of the famine and discrimination, and that would be his common refrain when civil rights groups asked him for change: “The Irish were discriminated against, and we pulled ourselves up by our bootstraps. Why can’t the Blacks do the same?“.
Daley spent his free time at the clubhouse of the Hamburg Athletic Club, which was part social club, part intramural sports team, and part street gang. Youths in the Hamburg Athletic Club policed the borders of the neighborhood, ensuring no outsiders entered, especially African-Americans living in the encroaching ghetto east of Wentworth Avenue. Poet Langston Hughes made the mistake of crossing the invisible boundary his first weekend in Chicago and was beaten by an unknown Irish street gang.
The Hamburg Athletic Club became infamous for its role in instigating the 1919 Chicago race riot. Started when an African-American swimmer drifted into the white beach area, the riot lasted for a week and killed 38 people. Later, gangs such as the Hamburg Athletic Club were found to have spent the entire summer trying to start a riot and actively attacked black neighborhoods when clashes started. Daley was always shifty about his memories of the riots, refusing to say if he participated or not. This was political calculation; Daley needed both white and black votes, and saying nothing allowed them both to believe he was on their side in 1919. But it should be noted that the youths of the club thought highly enough of Daley that they elected him their president at the age of 22, a position he retained for fifteen years.

A House for All Peoples

The Hamburg Athletic Club was also Daley's introduction to politics. Chicago's athletic clubs were sponsored by local ward bosses, and members often served as political workers, getting out the vote in campaign season. The 11th Ward Alderman and Ward Committeeman, Joseph (“Big Joe”) McDonough took an interest in Daley, and made him his personal assistant in the 11th Ward Organization. Daley had been inducted into Machine politics.
The Chicago Machine - formally known as the Cook County Democratic Organization - dominated Chicago politics. While ultimate authority rested with the County Chairman, it was the Ward bosses (Committeemen) who did the day-to-day work of slating candidates for office, distributing patronage and dispensing favors. Daley was one of three thousand precinct captains spread out over Chicago's fifty wards. Precinct captains were responsible for forming personal relationships with four to five hundred voters, and were expected to predict vote totals within ten votes. Ward bosses and captains who failed to deliver on election day were "vised" and replaced with someone who would do better.
The Machine ethic could be summarized in ten rules, according to one academic:

1. Be faithful to those above you in the hierarchy, and repay those who are faithful to you.

1. Back the whole machine slate, not individual candidates or programs.
   
2. Be respectful of elected officials and party leaders.
   
3. Never be ashamed of the party, and defend it proudly.
   
4. Don’t ask questions.
   
5. Stay on your own turf, and keep out of conflicts that don’t concern you.
   
6. Never be first, since innovation brings with it risk.
   
7. Don’t get caught.
   
8. Don't repeat what you see and hear, or someone might get indicted.
   
9. Deliver the votes, or we will find someone who will.
   

The political machine that Daley would one day inherit was an invention of Czech leader Anton Cermak. Cermak had wrested control of the machine from the Irish by uniting the various immigrant groups in Chicago under one issue: Prohibition. Protestant native-born Americans tended to favor Prohibition, and immigrants saw the attacks on alcohol as an attack on them. The Irish initially resented this Bohemian upstart, but by creating the pan-ethnic ticket, he had strengthened the machine enough to take on the current mayor, Republican William "Big Bill" Thompson. Cermak won the mayorship, but for only a short time: in 1933 he was slain by a bullet meant for FDR while vacationing in Florida.
Daley's patron, Alderman McDonough, had been slated for County Treasurer by Cermak, who brought Daley along as his deputy. McDonough was not a man given to hard work or details, and he left the job to his deputy. However, Daley was not satisfied with running the Treasury and wanted to move up in the world. The trouble was, all of the slots Daley could conceivably move into were taken. Worse, McDonough's power had waned with the assassination of Cermak. The Irish had reasserted their dominance, and the former allies of Cermak were being pushed out. Patrick Nash took over the machine and slated Edward Kelly as mayor.
McDonough unexpectedly died in 1934. While having your political patron die was usually a death knell for your career, Daley was known as a bright star in the machine. He quickly allied with the Kelly-Nash faction and stayed in his role as deputy County Treasurer, but was not slated for 11th ward boss, much to his disappointment. However, Daley's lucky streak continued - politicians continued to die at a young age, and one of the three state representatives for Bridgeport died. This man was a republican, elected as part of a deal to send two Democrats and one Republican to Springfield. The Republicans attempted to select their own man, but the Democratic-controlled state election board ruled it was too late to reprint the ballots. The machine organized a write-in campaign for Daley, who was duly elected as state representative. Daley had won his first office, but as a Republican.

Springfield

The Springfield that Daley arrived at in 1936 was corrupt, even by the standards of early 20th century America. Most legislators were there for "girls, games, and graft". The most common kind of bill was a "fetcher" bill, a bill designed to harm the many special interests that sent lobbyists to Springfield. Lobbyists came over with envelopes of cash, and the bill was quietly dropped. If directly taking money from lobbyists was too much for a legislator, lobbyists hosted card games guaranteeing winnings of up to one thousand dollars. Daley personally was never on the take, never drank, and never cheated on his wife. He instead holed up in his hotel room with draft bills and budget documents.
Even if he wasn't corrupt, Daley was a machine man, and considered his primary job to do the bidding of his masters in Chicago. However, he was also a surprisingly progressive force: he attempted to create income and corporate taxes to replace the regressive sales tax, introduced bills to strengthen tenant protections, and was an early supporter of the school lunch program. His greatest accomplishment in Springfield was creating the Chicago Transit Authority out of the ashes of the bankrupt transit companies. Of course, many of the bills were designed to promote the machine's interests:

One Daley tax reform, which he tried to pass four times, would have allowed Cook County residents to appeal their tax bills directly to the county assessor, rather than proceed through the court system. It might have made appeals simpler for taxpayers, but its greatest beneficiary would have been the ward committeemen and aldermen who could then use their ties to the highly political county assessor’s office to reduce the taxes of their friends and supporters. Daley was also doing the machine’s bidding when he crusaded to revise the state’s divorce laws to make the state’s attorney part of every divorce. The change would have given the state’s attorney’s office a five-dollar fee for every divorce action filed in Cook County, generating revenue and work for an office that was usually filled by the machine and that employed an army of Democratic patronage workers.

Daley acquired a reputation as an expert in budgetary matters and was promoted to State Senator, then elected the youngest Senate Minority Leader in Illinois history. In the Chicago tradition of double-dipping, he was given the job of Cook County Comptroller. In addition to giving Daley another salary, this was a particularly sensitive post since he could see the books of the entire county. Daley knew which contractors were favored, which contracts that were "lowest bid" were secretly loaded with extras, and who was given what job. A person who drove a politician around might be employed as an engineer for the Highway Department. Anyone who could read the figures knew where the bodies were buried.
After a decade in Springfield, Daley was ready to return to Chicago. At the same time, MayoBoss Edward Kelly was in trouble. He had proved too corrupt even for Chicago, and voters were ready to throw the machine out. Worse for his political prospects was his support for racial integration. Kelly needed a slate of candidates who seemed reform-minded but could be counted on to advance the machine's interests in office. Daley seemed the perfect choice: he had a reputation for honesty and hard work, but completely loyal to to the machine. Kelly slated him for Cook County Sheriff.
If the office of sheriff was good for the machine, it was hard to see it as good for Daley. The sheriff's office was the most corrupt of offices, and considered a career-ender. The Sheriff's office patrolled unincorporated Cook County, and was empowered to enter Chicago and the suburbs if the municipal police weren't doing their jobs. In reality, they spent most of their time shaking down motorists, suburban bars, and brothels. A journalist remarked that if a Sheriff hadn't cleared $1 million ($18.5 million in 2024 dollars) in his four years in office, he wasn't trying. Few left without being the subject of scandal, and most simply tried to clear as much money as possible before ignominious retirement. Daley's mother remarked "I didn’t raise my son to be a policeman”.
Unfortunately (or rather, fortunately) for Daley, the 1946 elections were a disaster for Democrats. President Truman's approval ratings had slid to 32% amid high inflation and shortages. The Democrats were trounced in the elections, and Daley lost to his Republican opponent. The loss wasn't held against him because the entire slate had been defeated. Daley never had to tempt his ethics.

Boss

Daley also had his eyes on the 11th Ward Committeeman position. After McDonough passed, the 11th Ward Alderman and Committeeman seats passed to Daley's new patron, Hugh “Babe” Connelly. However, Connelly's health was failing, and he lost his alderman seat to a Republican in the 1946 disaster. Daley convened a meeting that Connelly was too ill to attend and struck a deal with the Poles moving into Bridgeport. They would support Daley for Ward Boss, and he would support a Pole for the aldermanic seat.
Daley now had a seat in the Cook County Democratic Central Committee, the politburo of the machine. The Central Committee is a collection of all the committeemen from the Chicago wards and Cook County suburbs. However, it is not a committee of equals; each member votes in accordance with how strong the Democratic vote was in the last election in their ward. Daley, coming from the heavily Democratic 11th ward, was one of the most powerful members on the committee.
Meanwhile, Kelley had resigned as party boss, but Irish factions in the machine were divided on who to replace him with. They settled on Jacob Arvey, committeeman from the Jewish 24th Ward. Arvey was an ideal caretaker because the Jewish vote was relatively powerless, and he would not be able to seize control of the machine. He, however made some clever slating decisions and over-performed expectations. His first decision was to slate Martin Kennelly, a reform-minded Democrat, for mayor. While there was a risk in slating a reformer for a city-wide office, where they might actually do something, it was better to have a Democrat they could remove than a Republican they couldn't. More importantly, he was opposed to racial integration. Arvey next slated Adlai Stevenson for governor and Paul Douglas for US Senator, other great reformers. Having reformers at the top of the ticket boosted down-ballot races, but at the same time these offices controlled less patronage and could not do much damage to the machine. The strategy worked brilliantly, and Arvey was kept on as caretaker. However, Arvey's luck ran out when he slated police Captain Daniel “Tubbo” Gilbert for Sheriff. Gilbert had claimed to a Senate crime committee that he had accumulated a fortune of $360,000 ($4.6 million in 2024 dollars) by being a successful gambler, and when asked if his gambling was legal, replied “Well, no. No, it is not legal.”. The testimony was leaked to the *Chicago Sun-Times* days before the election, and headlines proclaimed the "World's Richest Cop". The Democratic ticket went down in flames, and Arvey was blamed:

Chairman Arvey, hailed as the genius who saved the Machine by slating Kennelly, Douglas, and Stevenson, was now the idiot who slated Tubbo Gilbert. In the silence of the Morrison Hotel headquarters, Arvey waited for somebody, anybody, to tell him it was just one of those bad breaks and not to worry about it. Arvey, knowing he was being blamed, was hoping for a vote of confidence. Nobody offered it, so he finally said, “I think I’m going to resign.” Then he went to California to take a vacation and wait for somebody to call and ask him to change his mind—Joe Gill, Al Horan, Daley. Nobody called, so that was it; he was out.

Daley headed up the Arvey faction now, but when the votes were tallied, neither he nor his rival, 14th Ward Committeeman Clarence Wagner, had enough votes to secure the chairmanship. The two factions were less divided by policy than personality: Daley's faction was the richer Irish, referred to as the "lace-curtain" Irish and resented by Wagner's faction for looking down at their less-successful brethren. The two sides settled on Joseph Gill as interim chairman until 1952. Both sides regarded him as neutral, and as the oldest member of the committee, unlikely to stay on long. 1952 came to pass, and Daley had accumulated barely enough in patronage and votes to take the chairmanship. Hover, Wagner was not ready to concede, and proposed the committee break for two weeks to stall for time and consolidate his position. Wagner took a group of influential politicians up to Canada on a fishing trip, where he died in an automobile accident. Even for a career built on well-timed deaths, no death in Daley's life had been more convenient than this. He had the chairmanship; The next step was the mayorship.

Kennelly

Kennelly was shaping up to be a mediocre mayor, content mostly to attend ceremonial functions and do little else. Unfortunately for the machine, the one issue he took on with gusto was civil service reform. While Chicago, in theory, had civil service protections, the machine had ways of getting around it. Exams were held so infrequently or made so difficult that nobody was available to be hired the honest way. The city could then hire political flunkies as "temporary" employees, many of whom spent their entire careers as temporary hires. Kennelly started running exams again and consolidated titles so that they fell under civil service protection. The ward bosses lost 12,000 jobs over Kennelly's mayorship and were ready to remove him.
Kennelly also went too far on the race issue. While he was slated because he was against integration, a careful balance needed to be struck. One of the innovations of the Kelley-Nash machine was to bring in the black vote. African-Americans had traditionally voted Republican, the party of emancipation, but this changed with the advent of the depression and FDR's New Deal. Kelley eagerly took up federal funding the New Deal, and distributed patronage and welfare to a black sub-machine controlled by Congressman William Levi Dawson.
Like most politicians, Dawson's main concern was his own political power and was a loyal machine man. He opposed integration because spreading out the black vote would dilute his power, and the machine was against it. In exchange, he promoted welfare politics for his constituents. While he didn't get as much patronage as white politicians, he got his share of jobs and favors and was an influential power player in Cook County.

during the 1960 presidential campaign, Dawson served on the civil rights issues committee of John F. Kennedy’s presidential campaign — known as the Civil Rights Section. The first thing Dawson tried to do was get the name changed. “Let’s not use words that offend our good Southern friends, like ‘civil rights,’” he told the group’s first meeting. His office in the campaign headquarters was quickly dubbed “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” Dawson’s primary loyalty was to his political organization, not his race — and when the two were in conflict, the Democratic machine always won. “You would not expect Willie Mays to drop the ball just because Jackie Robinson hit it,” Dawson liked to say.

Dawson's ability to deliver 70 percent of the vote in his three wards was critical to the machine's lopsided victories. Kennelly, however, had forgotten who had elected him and began a moralistic crusade against two black institutions: "policy wheels" and "jitney cabs". "Policy" was a popular gambling game, similar to the modern day lottery. Thousands of policy stations were spread throughout the South Side. While technically illegal, Dawson personally selected the police officers who served in his fief and ensured they did not prosecute the policy wheels. When the Chicago Outfit attempted to bribe a police captain into letting them muscle in on the action, Dawson had him replaced.
"Jitney Cabs" was the Chicago term for unlicensed taxis that operated in the South Side Black Belt. Licensed taxis were exclusively controlled by white operators and only traveled to white neighborhoods. Jitney cabs were a lifeline for the African-American community, which was not served by public transportation. Dawson was therefore shocked when police officers from downtown started arresting policy wheel operators and jitney drivers. Dawson was traditionally given a free hand to determine what illegal activities were allowed in his neighborhoods. Many blacks saw it as thinly-veiled attempt to let the white Outfit profit from their communities. And Kennelly wasn't improving welfare or leaning on slumlords to clean up their properties; - just attacking the things they liked and needed.
Dawson went to Kennelly, and explained the situation. Kennelly, however refused to do anything, and insulted Dawson at the same time. Dawson didn't ask again, and instead plotted his revenge. When it came time to re-slate Kennelly, Dawson made a surprise appearance from Washington and dressed Kennelly down:

“Who do you think you are? I bring in the votes. I elect you. You are not needed, but the votes are needed. I deliver the votes to you, but you won’t talk to me?”

After the tirade and Kennelly was thoroughly chastised, the party admitted that Kennelly's civil service reforms made him too popular; the machine would be forced to run him again. But he would not get another term after this one. This deal was made in the backrooms of the Central Committee, and Kennelly was unaware such a deal had taken place. Daley began quietly building a case for him to take over as mayor and freezing out Mayor Kennelly from the organization. Daley stopped inviting Kennelly to party functions or asking his opinion about slating decisions. Kennelly, however failed to get the message and was shocked when he was not re-slated in 1954. The slating committee instead picked Daley, who pretended to be surprised. The official line was that Daley had been drafted, not seeking the office.

The Primary

Despite not getting the Democratic endorsement, Kennelly was not going to let go of city hall without a fight. He entered the primary determined to win a third term in office, showing a fire he had never exhibited as mayor. Kennelly fired all of the ward leaders who had voted against him from their patronage positions, and also vowed to fire any city employee who campaigned against him. He received the backing of Chicago's business community, who made sizable campaign contributions. Most importantly, he was more popular than Daley, who looked exactly the image of a corrupt machine boss. Complicating the primary further was the entrance of Daley's future arch-nemesis, Benjamin Adamowski, into the primary on a anti-machine platform. Adamowski hoped Kennelly would drop out of the race, and that his reform credentials, combined with the Polish vote, would put him over.
But Daley had the machine on his side. When the candidates applied for the ballot, Daley showed exactly the kind of dirty tricks the machine afforded him. In Chicago, candidates are listed on the ballot in the order they apply. Since voters often pulled the lever on the first recognizable name, having top billing was a coveted position in Chicago elections. Kennelly arrived early, hoping to be first when the city clerk’s office opened at 8:30 a.m. However, Daley’s man entered through a side door early and got his petition stamped first. Daley would be first on the ballot.
Daley may not have had the business establishment backing him, but he had his source of campaign funds. Patronage workers were required to kick back 2% of their salary back to the ward organization, and attend $25-a-plate fundraisers. In addition, contractors who did business with the city and county kicked back money to the machine, knowing that Daley losing would mean the end of their contracts. Organized crime also backed the machine: an anonymous man appeared on TV to say that 10% of the city's gambling revenue went to politicians. Come election day, there would be plenty of "walk-around" money.
Daley spent very little time directly appealing to voters or taking stands on important issues. Instead, he practiced good old-fashioned machine politics. Daley spent most of his time firing up his precinct captains, trusting them to deliver the votes on election day. He made sure to develop a relationship with as many of them as possible, talking with the men about the White Sox, and the women about their children. The precinct workers in turn, devoted themselves to Daley, knowing their jobs were on the line. Kennelly, in contrast, thought politics was about taking the right stands on the issues. If voters were simply told about his principles, they would naturally support him. “Television is our precinct captain” was Kennelly's motto, which Daley dismissed. “Can you ask your television set for a favor?” he said.
Kennelly also tried to make the campaign about bossism and corruption. Daley, in response, promised to resign his position as chairman if elected and responded with a theme he would use throughout his career: populism. He insisted the divisions were not between the machine and reformers but between business elites and working class people. “What we must do is have a city not for State Street, not for LaSalle Street, but a city for all Chicago,” Daley told his backers, and defended the party proudly:

“The party permits ordinary people to get ahead. Without the party, I couldn’t be mayor. The rich guys can get elected on their money, but somebody like me, an ordinary person, needs the party. Without the party, only the rich would be elected to office.”

On race, Daley played both sides. He cultivated Dawson as an ally, and made sure to defend him in front of black audiences. Kennelly attacked Dawson, calling him a political boss: “I can understand why Dawson passed the word that he couldn’t stand for Kennelly. I haven’t been interested in building up his power. Without power to dispense privilege, protection and patronage to preferred people, bossism has no stock in trade.” Daley, at the same time, made sure to insinuate upon white audiences that he did not support integration, though he made every effort to dodge a direct question about the issue.
As the primary approached, it seemed that Kennelly had an insurmountable lead: polling indicated the population preferred him 2:1. These of course, were not reliable voters. Kennelly figured that the machine could turn out 400,000 votes in the primary, so if turnout was more than 900,000, he would comfortably win. In the end, turnout was only 750,000 and Daley carried the day with 49% of the vote. Adamowski had split the anti-machine vote as well. When looking at the ward totals however, it became clear how the machine had delivered Daley's victory. In most wards, Kennelly and Daley ran neck-and-neck, but in the "Automatic Eleven" wards, the machine's base, Daley had won by Assad-level margins.
While Daley had won the primary, he had not won the mayorship yet. The Republicans had decided to nominate a reform Democrat, Robert Merriam, to run for them, and he promised to be a challenging opponent. Merriam represented the liberal 5th ward and had made a name for himself as a crime fighter by broadcasting actual cases of corruption and crime on his TV show, *Spotlight on Chicago*. Many Republicans were not enthusiastic about nominating a Democrat as their candidate. The leading national conservative paper, the *Chicago Tribune* called him a RINO. But Republican Governor William Stratton wanted to breathe life into the Chicago Republican Party, and a fusion ticket between independent Democrats and Republicans was the best promise of that.
The issues ended up being a repeat of the primary, with Daley sticking to platitudes, promising to hire more policemen and to do more for the neighborhoods, though he was vague about exactly what he would do. Merriam attacked Daley for his ties to the machine and promised to continue the civil service reforms Kennelly had started. Daley hit back, mocking Merriam for not being a loyal member of either party. Daley, once again, adopted a populist tone, making the campaign between blue-collar workers and blue-bloods on the lakefront. Merriam, he said, was not a man of the people, unlike Daley, who continued to live in a Bridgeport bungalow with his seven children. Daley promised to put union members on city boards in transit, schools, parks, and health and racked up plenty of union endorsements.

How to Win an Election, Chicago Style

Merriam was concerned that Daley would try to steal the election, or at the very least, inflate his vote totals. This was completely justified. The machine had a number of tactics to steal votes. It began on registration day. Not only would precinct captains make every effort to register voters in their neighborhoods (preferably as Democrats), they would go to flophouses, scan the guest list, and register everyone on it. Since they were transients unlikely to vote, the precinct captains could safely vote for them. The *Chicago Tribune*, in a 1972 exposé, would create fake voters in the guest lists and watch precinct captains put guests such as "James Joyce" or "Elmer Fudd" on the voter rolls. In addition to flophouse voters, there were ghost voters. Merriam sent 30,000 letters to registered voters in machine strongholds. 3,000 came back as unclaimed, moved, or dead. Merriam claimed that the machine may have as many as 100,000 ghost voters on the voter rolls. The *Tribune* would later confirm that the machine was indeed voting for ghost voters. Merriam also sent a spy into a west side polling place and caught on camera "Short Pencil" Louie erasing Kennelly votes and replacing them with Daley votes.
The machine had other tactics, such as "four-legged voting," where the precinct captain would go into the booth with the voter and ensure they pulled the lever for the Democratic ticket. While it served well to ensure voters with a poor command of English voted correctly, it also ensured voters who had been bribed with cash or alcohol kept up their end of the bargain. And when regular voters weren't available, the machine simply stuffed the ballot box, with precinct captains and election judges alike pulling the lever multiple times. Later investigations would show that there were more votes in some precincts than voters who requested ballots.
According to state law, Republican and Democratic election judges were supposed to be at all polling places to blow the whistle on these sort of tactics. However, the machine had its way of co-opting them. Often ward bosses selected both the Democratic and Republican judges, who were often machine workers who had switched parties. When legitimate Republicans tried to register, the city mysteriously "lost" their applications. If a real Republican did somehow become a judge, they were intimidated into silence. Gangsters would arrive and threaten them if they didn't leave the polling site. Another judge was arrested when he asked to see the voting records, and released at the end of the day without charges. Another had their dog poisoned. If, on the other hand they looked the other way, they would be treated to breakfast, lunch, and dinner by the precinct captain, along with something extra beyond the $25 they nominally received for judging.
Beyond cheating, the machine had other tactics to convince voters to vote the way they wanted. Before the primary, voters in the Automatic Eleven received a dollar bill in the mail, accompanied by the message, "This is your lucky day. Stay lucky with Daley.”. Voters in public housing and on welfare were told that they would lose their benefits if they didn't vote for the machine. The machine would appeal to racial prejudices by circulating a fake letter in white neighborhoods saying Merriam's wife was black (she was not). In Catholic neighborhoods, campaigners never tired of reminding voters that Merriam was divorced and raising two children that were not his own.
Like the primary, Merriam staked his victory on voter turnout. The machine was thought to control 600,000 votes in the general election, and so Merriam needed 1.2 million votes to overcome Daley's lead. Daley won 708,000 votes on a turnout of 1.3 million, 55% of the vote. Again, the Automatic Eleven had proved critical, especially the African-American wards. In the 1st ward, dominated by the Chicago Outfit, Daley won by 90%. Daley was now mayor, and he would rule the city with an iron fist for the rest of his life.

There is much in this world that can change through one decision or series of factors in play. This is seen as such here more than anything. In this reality America and the rest of the world hadn’t been through the biggest economic downfall in history, and through this constant state of intuition technology is henceforth different, and more advanced in what was seen as advance in this era of history. This is seen in tech such as steam powered gadgets, and airships that impact the lives of many in a neighboring universe as ours that we couldn't even come close to imagining, but they are there. These gadgets and tools including that of the mind will be necessary to the Yankees of the broken Union of The United states of America, formerly called The Union in 1861-1865, for during the first world war the Zimmerman Telegram made it to to the Mexicans and they went along with the established plan and invaded the lower half of The United States of America in February of 1917 they wouldn’t establish an occupation solid enough till 1918. June 28th, 1919 Mexico was officially given the southern half of The United States by president Woodrow Wilson. This slip up would change the lay of the powers of the world for many years.
In this a man called Paul Smith of the rebellions up north brews a plan with his peers, Ann Tamachi, Joseph McBride, and Katy Grant to take back the full leadership of The Union:
AT: No, supplies are too densely guarded.
PS: can’t there be a back door somewhere? Like with-
JM: No.
PS: No? Why the hell not?? It’s the only choice we have.
JM: He’s dangerous. They all are from out there.
KG: You're talkin’ spies aren’t you? The connections in the empire? I say we do it if he betrays us again we shoot him with his own damn gun, got that Glass-Canon?
JM: You act like I needed reason boss, the fu-
KG: Hide everything, they’re outside. We’ve been gone too long. Just go along with this alright Glass?
*3 Mexican soldiers walk over to the door of the shop nestled into a tight little alley lit only by a purple neon sign that says “Medicine”. They walk into the back room only to see Katy and Joseph wildly entranced with each other on a couch, KISSING nothing else, as Paul, an old man in his late 40’s with a head of dark hair, beard of salt and pepper mixed into his dark hair, and eyes that had seen loss and battle still humbly paternal though and Ann who was a younger, 20 something asian beauty that had a knack for security detail and petty crime against the empire all while always being in a cocktail dress and heels on a mission both standing there sorting medicines into the proper prescriptions as Katy “Boss” who was a blonde dane that isn’t looking for a P.I but IS the P.I AND the dane, and John “Glass-Canon” McBride who was very prideful of his home in Glasgow, Scotland and he was a taller scotsmen with longer shaggy red hair under a bowler’s hat and a slim build that could knock a building to its knees hence the name “Glass-canon” or “Glass” were pretending while albeit also enjoying the distraction because the other time and time again would show something that made each other more and more crazy. The soldiers come into the clinic and look around at the medicine and notice that they aren’t distributing cartel sponsored drugs, but rather American made drugs that cut all the unnecessary fluff and are strictly medicine of hospital quality and purity.
S1: aquí blanco, ¿tienes le necesitas el medicamento?
PS: No I don’t have your opioids.
S2: Gringos wei, Vamos.
PS: You're taking up the space in my clinic if you're not dying or sick I don't care.
KG: as she takes a deep breath wow, Glass you're quite a man now not like a boy scout anymore.
JM: Ay, shoot yourself Kate. I’m just glad you were able to keep up this time.
PS: Let’s get everything back out. I think I have an idea, grab the rat poison.
KG: Roger that sir.
*While their gear is being prepared, Paul gets the rat poison and dilutes it with sugar water. When everyone is ready to move out Joseph leaves first to make contact with the government double agent Hannibal Klein-Ramos.
JM: Han, you remember that favor you owe me?
HKR: What? What the hell are you getting at this time John?
JM: Look man, I got a plan with my people. This plan is risky, but with the right people in play-
HKR: It's not happening…
JM: What do you mean it's not happening?!
HKR: Authorities are on their way to arrest you for treason, and conspiracy.
JM: Well lad I wasn't asking.
*John grabs Hannibal, and in his fiery passion he snaps his neck. In this move of revenge he revels in this for a minute then remembers the police are on their way. He strips the body of clothes, and cuts his long hair so as to hide the rest under Hannibal's hat and blend in for a little while. Grabbing his security card he goes inside the building, and while navigating the tight knit layout finds himself at a side door not watched by cameras.
JM: Give me the poison, it's not safe to go in I had to-
PS: I see that… here take it, only poison the tequila and the whiskey. Careful though too fast and rough it will crystalize, too slow it will solidify; you gotta be hasteful.
JM: I will- let me see I better get a move on. Second floor west wing?
PS: Yes, good luck Glass.
JM: Thanks Paul, me luck might run dry today.
PS: Let's hope not.
With a plan carefully planned out, John walks to the cellar to find the booze to be guarded. Not wanting to not crystalize the solution he tries to talk to the guards, but ultimately is unsuccessful and swiftly runs past them into the cellar. The cellar is almost like a maze in the way that it is barrels on massive columns from the roof to the floor, but finding the supply of whiskey he poisons the barrel, and losing the guards finally, Joseph goes to poison the tequila when he realizes the solution is starting to crystalize. Before it fully crystallized however he managed to sneak some in the barrel enough to make them sick to their stomachs long enough to deal a fatal finishing blow to the northern part of the empire at the very least reestablishing The Union from the days of the civil war; The Union v. The Confederacy, that same Union.
After enacting this plan against the Mexican empire he quickly runs out to the side door he got the poison from. When there he sees a guard at the door, but since he was facing away John dealt a brutal blow to the back of his head rendering him slightly unconscious giving John time to run into the alleyway and find Paul and the others. They aren’t there? The hell are they?

Meanwhile in Germany, a Prime Minister Adolf Hitler prepares a speech on how he, as a more fortunate man came to help the children in the less fortunate areas where their cities, or towns might be destitute ghettos, and slums. This speech will encourage many to follow the National Socialist German worker’s party. This thinking was interrupted by an angry man, fiery with pride and passion for his country and the poor times ahead saying that he will be there and he will follow them into the dark times to come. This was highly unusual for the stations in Germany to pick up for two reasons. The first reason would be that radio stations let alone ones broadcasting speeches are very few, and very well known of the speeches that are happening, for it would be a gathering wherever this speech was happening. The second reason being this man is not a man that Adolf met before, and he would have met him especially if the country he lives in is in a massive crash of the market especially even more so since he is speaking fluent Deutsch and how he is supposedly talking about… Deutschland? That can’t be, though Germany and Austria are a province and they have been since 1920 when the Chancellor of Austria met with the newly appointed president of Germany 2 years into his first term as the first president of Germany. In this decision it was thought that if they were states under the Austrial-German province their economy would flourish in a sort of capitalistic-communist checks and balances where if Austria was poor Germany was rich and would be obligated to give the state of Austria a fund to balance out both governments so they were equal and functioned as two arms to a body. They haven’t been known as Deutschland since during the first world war when they were the whistleblowers against the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand by a radical russian that had been banished earlier that year for calling the Tsar a tyrant. 

With this Adolf listens to this broadcast more closely for a few minutes till his advisor Hermann Göring interrupts his thinking, frankly startling Adolf by telling him his speech is to be delivered now.
AH: in German Hello, and thank you for listening in tonight. I come on air today to address our victory in Africa, for these brothers through blood have been drenched in darkness for long enough. The funding I had so graciously given them out of my own pocket is being flowed towards purified water pumps that I gave my blood and sweat to help them build, offering not just your labors, but mine too. These courageous men in the south of our fatherland’s continent only offer fond memories of my father in my youth, for he would help me achieve what I loved and romanticized doing in my free time and that is to help my comrades in God to the luxury we have here in our proud state of Germany. They will have hard times ahead, and they will be thrown to the wolves, but I will not allow it in that I myself will be a wolf in establishing my rule as the ultimate lay of those lands. These savage peoples of the savannah sew my soul as one of Hatred and Malice, but we only desire the greatest and best for these people to-
MAN: All hail Die Fuhrer right?? You're nothing, but a dictator I’ve seen it in action! Go to hell wolf and see how long you stay alpha then-
AH: Take this man out of my sight! Send him to the brig. I'll talk to him later.
*After giving his thoughts and remarks on the matter of helping the downtrodden of Africa he departs to speak to this man. When he comes to the brig he finds this man, and the minister’s very presence seemed to light this man up like gun fire in wartime. In the moment there was something about the man that gave Adolf a sense of familiarity. This familiarity came with paranoia and fear, but the man looked like a normal man.when talking to this man he speaks of things that never came to be like a depression that hit the whole world after the first world war, or a second world war where he is absolutely sure that Prime Minister Adolf Hitler was in fact a hellish dictator that killed many people, for in his eyes they conflicted with the superior white man of blonde hair and blue eyes. Hearing this Adolf is taken aback, for he never has nor will think of himself as superior because of the color or lack there of his skin, and only serves to want to make life better for those that aren’t as comfortable as him… is this man related to the speech I heard on the radio he thinks?
AH: Turn this man over to the Russians. He might be a spy and as to speak to the safety and security of our people he needs to be let loose. He serves to lie and smudge the credibility of myself and my leadership of the fatherland.
HG: Understood sir, we’ll send him back immediately.
AH: Hermann, do you believe I could say such things?
HG: No. in all honesty your actions speak to the opposite of what that man had said about what you allegedly said sir.
AH: I appreciate the honesty Hermann.
Meanwhile back in The Empire, John rushes to find the others before he is caught by authorities for conspiracy to sabotage. Running down the alley next to the building he finds the van in the distance and Mexican guards guarding the others as he flows into cover. While in cover he counts the shots he has before he might very well be shot having to get them bare handed, and he has a full magazine of 16 rounds of 9mm, and there are 4 guards. Preparing his gun, and anything else he might need on the ground he shoots the first three shots and turns out he missed all but one shot. After firing the rest of his shots with very little luck he runs from cover, and bone rushes the guards and gets them all on the floor, getting into the van and dropping a grenade on the bodies as they drive away.
JM: Where the hell were you! I was almost got and this whole plan would’ve been a sham.
PS: Cool yourself down! Their surveillance saw us from the building across the way and came to attempt to commandeer the van.
KG: Well hopefully soon they drop like the flies they are just bothering people like a swarm of fruit flies to a buffet platter.
JM: All we need to do now is wait.
*Waiting a few weeks the effects of the sabotage are clear as the little remnants of the empire up north are in enough of a flurry with each other fighting themselves as Paul goes in and snipes off the stragglers. These stragglers being noticed to be gone just made them fight themselves more and more until one day these so called stragglers straggle back to the south. With this Paul takes charge as the leader of his organization recognized as The Sons of Liberty II who serve as the current militia for The Union, and the newly appointed president of The Union of The United States of America grants Paul the rank of General over The Sons of Liberty II, and John his second in command while Ann is assigned to the intelligence of The Union and was decoding the information left behind by the Mexican Empire and adding it to the national archives for safe storage while Katy is a floating contractor for whatever might need to be done in the Union. Over the next couple of months John and Ann collaborate to find, and kill the remaining targets of the cartel, policia that align themselves with The Empire, and any loyalists left that may cause some sway. After about five more months the Union has hastily regained its strength and await the orders of what to do next as they attempt to create a dirty bomb big enough to flatten a city called a proto-A bomb that they nicknamed “ Big Hoover” after the man who sacrificed his life for the rebels, taking out a unit of Mexican soldiers to keep the secrets of the rebels safe as to not be given checkmate to the enemy.
Meanwhile in Germany The Minister was at his home listening to the classic music on the radio as another broadcast interrupted. It’s the same man as before, but this time it was as though he had been talking strictly to the minister as he demanded in German “Can you hear me?”
AH: I can in fact hear you what is it you want good sir?-
Die Fuhrer: how dare you!? You look upon those negroes in such a way as to suggest that those abominations as well as the slavs and judes are your brothers through some God. They are destitute and hungry but instead of letting them die out you draw out your hand to feed them when the country you so serve can barely feed itself?!
AH: The state led out of darkness by my holding a torch to the blind corruption of man had, and never will be starving, for Austria our sister state balances us out as they did in America before the invasion.
DF: Germany isn’t a state, we are an independent country worthy of being ruled by our own accord, not some other nation’s! America hasn’t been taken by the Nazi Reich yet, for when the start of the 4th Reich will watch as we crawl upon the shores of their uncle sam’s proud land. They will make a fine territory to occupy, for the local hunting parties I believe called the KKK will uphold my law and godly status as Fuhrer to only the superior race-
AH: Superior race?! to be told that this snake who bites the hand that is held out looking for help led a country to prosperity and power against the poor man that’s only fear is to starve alone on the street making the most dangerous nap on the sidewalk a highlight of the press.
DF: if we work together we can achieve greater things. Take my hand for as you seek light in darkness I seek comfort in calmness.
AH: What do we do meine freund?
DF: The americans will not divert their attention away from that of an opening to annihilate the fatherland so you must prevent them from taking the life of the fatherland and all it stands for with a bomb that i’ve heard has the potential to level an entire city and to halt such progression of the political system weakening the grip on the country they rule being more invested in the damages done by this bomb they might not even consider the fact that they are sitting ducks. We kill America, and insure the fatherland stands, for what monsters of tyranny they would be to destroy such a peace loving and generous patron as oneself to the poor and downtrodden. Doing such a crime as smiting the land in which the most generosity comes would be a crime against humane support. Kill them.
As these leaders talk in private about affairs they shouldn’t know of each other, Adolf sets together a plan to create a bomb before The Union, before the Americans finish thier’s. This war is the duel of fate between destroyers of worlds being pit against each other as though they are cocks in a back alley way as the very sight of them sicken eachother. The Nazi regime never helped the Americans out and the Nazi’s found the Americans to be too proud of their country to want to be helped by the Nazi’s, for they would rather die under some freedom than foreign aid to a shady republic. This of course would always be hopeful speaking if provided the Nazi’s even heard the pleas echoing as though speaking into a void.
In America a scientist by the name of Jeffery Himmler works tirelessly to ensure the bomb will be done on time and properly to destroy Berlin if need be from a B17-Bomber. General Smith, who has been overseeing this project, aims to ready the bomb for use by the end of the week. However the one problem with the bomb as of now is the fact that it is far from being able to blow up a whole city block let alone a house with just radiation rays. However The General has a rather primitive idea in that they should hit the irradiated metals together, or even just cover it as to provide it with more of a mass. Himmler looking at this plan tries to put it in motion, but ultimately finds that the amount of radiation emitted from this core touching the halves had been enough to gravely condition the rest of his team he had been given in this “demon core” incident. In this they had thought the whole might of God had come down and smote them for wishing this damage upon another on this earth.

Got bored and decided to write about one of my characters to flesh them out a little. A lot of the stuff’s still vague, but here’s a rough outline of who the character will be. Feel free to give suggestions or feedback.
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Context is that the series takes place in the Kingdom of Guirya, loosely inspired by the Holy Roman Empire in the 16th and 17th centuries. It’s about an adventurer’s company called the Pit Vipers, headquartered in some coastal city I haven’t named yet. “The Free City of Such-and-such.”
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One Viper goes by the nickname “Fraymaker.” In Guirya, nicknames are common among professional bounty hunters, as he had been for eight years before joining the Vipers.
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Fraymaker's parents were peasants who, after being forced off their home because of an Enclosure Act, ended up settling in a ghetto inside the Free City. As a child, Fraymaker witnessed his father get severely beaten by two of the city policemen for stealing food to feed their family. The incident left his father paralyzed and Fraymaker with a lifelong disdain for authority figures. He provided for his family as much as could, supporting them with what few copper coins he earned that weren’t extorted at knifepoint by members of the local gang. Of his various jobs, the most stable and consistent one was in an opium den. He often stole a bit of the product, taking it to the degraded knight who squats at the edge of town, in exchange for lessons in wrestling and fencing.
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Young adult men of the Free City undergo two years of mandatory conscription in the city militia. There Fraymaker honed his combat skills. After his service ended, he became a professional bounty hunter, operating in the same ghetto he grew up in, as well as the ones surrounding. With crowbar and battleaxe, he terrorized the gangsters who terrorized him in his childhood. He’d often bait criminals into attacking him, so he legally kill them in “self-defense”. His career ended after realizing that one of his quarries, which Fraymaker killed after provoking them, was actually innocent.
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This probably won’t be incorporated into the story, it’s more of a hypothetical. If confronted with a Dark Lord who’ll do the “we’re not so different, you and I” thing, like most Vipers, Fraymaker will just shoot him the middle of his monologue. But if a corrupt policeman does the same, he’ll stop dead in his track.
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Fraymaker isn’t a worldly person. While he’s literate, unlike ¾ of his comrades, he’s not exactly lettered. Most of his readings are bondsmen contracts and wanted posters. Were a Dark Lord to wax poetic over the nature of evil or about how might makes right, it’ll just go over his head. It’s not that Fraymaker is immune to evil. While he may get the gist of why the Dark Lord should be shot, the evil a Dark Lord represents is too abstract, too foreign for him to understand. The evil he does understand are the mundane ones: poverty and urban decay; police corruption and brutality; criminality and street violence. That’s the evil he understands because that’s what he grew up with.
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Another point is that Fraymaker will find the stereotypical Dark Lord too alien. Deep down, Fraymaker knows he’ll never be anything more than gutter trash. He’ll never lead armies of evil minions or lord over a castle built on top a volcano. Even if those things were to fall on his lap, he knows he’s not cunning enough to survive the machination of politics. He’ll end up getting assassinated or becoming a puppet to some higher authority. Fraymaker never will see himself as the evil overlord, not because he’s pure of heart, but because he’s too incompetent to play that role.
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Things changed since Fraymaker left bounty hunting. While he can’t imagine himself becoming the menace of nations, he can imagine himself becoming the menace of the urban poor he wanted to protect. While he can’t imagine himself executing hundreds of dissident against an evil empire, he can imagine himself bludgeoning a hungry man to death in front of his own child. He’ll heed the corrupt policeman. No one knows the evils he recognizes than the ones committing them. Only the corrupt police can confirm Fraymaker’s deepest fear: that all he’s become is a freelance cop enacting his own brand of police brutality.

Me and my friends aren't good at Lethal Company. We couldn't find a set cover-all guide for Lethal Company so we decided to document a couple things things we found and create one ourselves. It's still a work in progress, so I would appreciate people looking at it and giving us a couple tips or things to add!
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Notes for A
Wiki: https://lethal.miraheze.org/wiki/Main_Page
Commands
scan use right after landing
view monitor puts player radar on terminal
switch [player name] switches radar central to player name. switch swaps in order
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ping [radar booster name] radar booster makes sound, attracts monsters too
flash [radar booster name] radar booster lights up, stuns monsters around it
transmit [9 character message] transmits messages
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Time
1 day lasts 11 mins (1 hour is 40 seconds)
8:00 am to 6:00 pm = prime time, lasts ~6.5 mins
Pro flashlight battery lasts 5 mins
Walkie battery lasts longer than a day (13 mins)
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Tips for pathfinding inside
If a door swings between two rooms that have the following attributes:
Brick walls to brick walls (not counting the Factory "Big" room)
Metal grated floors to metal grated floors
White plaster floors to metal grated floors
the door will swing into the room that is closer to the main entrance.
In all other instances, the door is unreliable.
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Warnings and General Advice
When in doubt, STAY QUIET
Scream/radio to let your crewmates know about a threat only if you are sure you can escape or if you are sure that you will die
Say: Monster, Location (inside or outside), Danger level (“Fine” to “I’m dead”)
If heard, ask: “Is the entity stressed/injured” and “Are you injured/stressed/dead”
Overseer will also confirm death and notify others
Taking the Apparatus cuts all power and spawns 2 monsters. Take it last.
RMB scan can be used for identifying enemies and entrances and ship
Monsters can spawn from open vents
Dropping items make sound
Only one person makes eye contact with Bracken, no more than 5 seconds. Must be within the middle half of the screen. Check back often as he may still stalk but he's in retreat mode for roughly 20 seconds after spotted before hunting again.
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(in)Sanity
Being inside the facility building.

Increases at a rate of 0.8 

Being outside after sunset

Increases at a rate of 0.5 

Being outside before sunset

Increases at a rate of 0.3 

Being inside the ship

Increases at a rate of 0.2 

Being near other players

Decreases at a rate of 3.0 

Hearing other players on the walkie-talkie*

Decreases at a rate of 3.0 

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*This is why I’m always talking to you guys
Sanity decides who the ghost haunts and the ambience
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Team Dynamics 

Recon (main strat) - By A
Overseer: Walkie / Radio Boosters == A
Operator: Walkie == Su
Scout: Pro-Flashlight == Se
Mule: Walkie == T
Operator carries and deploys the radio booster to mark waypoints (path to ship, items dropped, enemies, etc).
Operator and Overseer stay in contact with walkies to locate objects and navigate.
Scout leads the away team.
Mule ferries items, if no mule, then Overseer
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This is a high-mobility focused group with 1 person on the ship and 3 people in the facility.
You can carry 9 items each trip.
It's important the formation starts with Scout in case something bad happens to the lead, this can be communicated to the ship for extraction.
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Exterminators - By A
Overseer: Walkie == A
Scout: Pro-Flashlight / Flash bang == Se
Muscle: Shovel / Walkie == Su
Hustle: Shovel == T
Scout throws flash bangs and leads with the flashlight.
Muscle and Hustle deal the damage.
Overseer advises the group and looks out for enemies.
After you get more upgrades, upgrade your flash bangs to a laser gun.
You can spend your money on moons with favorable conditions and replacement equipment.
Eventually you can ditch shovels for hauling items because it will be more efficient.
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Tips:
Avoid stormy weather, shovels attract lightning.
Make frequent trips back to the entrances with items collected.
Stay within earshot of voices and Walkie.
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I hate you (I want you to die) - By A
Overseer: Pro-Flashlight / Walkie == A
Torturer 1: Pro-Flashlight / Walkie == Se
Torturer 2: Pro-Flashlight / Walkie == Su
Torturer 3: Pro-Flashlight == T
Overseer complains about going out
Torturer 1 and 2 makes Overseer go out
Overseer gets scared
Overseer kill himself or carries whole team or dooms everyone
Later game Overseer runs items back to ship, stay closer as time goes on
Stay on tier 1 and 2 moons because Overseer is a wuss
1 person can leave go without walkie to carry more, must accompany a walkie haver
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Tips:
Split up ways and follow right wall
Might mark path with spray paint
Works best on lower moons, especially Experimentation and Vow
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Best setup for big quota - by Se
*Roles are flexible depending on who dies
OverseeSlave 1: Pro-Flashlight / Walkie == A
Slave 2: Pro-Flashlight / Walkie == Se
Slave 3: Pro-Flashlight / Walkie == Su
(optional) Slave 4: Pro-Flashlight == T
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If you already have quota and it is above 600 or so, leave someone behind on the last day
Otherwise:
All slaves go in at the beginning, ideally with walkies and some type of flashlight
Stay within earshot of at least one person until Overseer is confirmed to be running back loot
The remaining slaves will keep collecting until it gets too dangerous or someone dies and loot is getting sparse - this is to minmax the loot out front and the fines from dead bodies
A: lmao remember when you said you didn’t wanna minimax and just have fun
Se: shhhhhhhhhhh
When the status of everyone is known, run stuff back and dip
The goal of this is to make the most out of the higher tier moons and ensure that we can return. This isn’t a problem at the higher quotas but we want extra money for more items (consumerism) earlier on so the goal the instant we can get to tier 3 should be about $300-$500 per day.
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Moons
1 Experimentation
Very close entrance, Gots trains
Up ladder, hop railing
Same way back but can hop down straight from train tracks
Get out by 6 pm
Overseer can ferry
Garbage loot distribution
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1 Assurance
Entrance is kinda far, Rocky bits, looks like Garden of the Gods
Go straight then right, up ladder, across rock and parkour to pipe, turn right to fire exit
From fire: slide down and turn left, turn right when see ladder again, turn left & see ship
From main: Go straight out and turn left, under pipe and turn right and see ship
Get out by 5-6 pm
Better to wave carry back
Pretty alright loot, second best cheap moon
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1 Vow
Entrance is mid far, Has trees, lots of treeple
Turn left immediately and walk for a bit
Same way back
Get out by 5 pm
Overseer can ferry
Mid loot
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2 Offense
Entrance is kinda far
[description here]

Turn a bit right and go straight, right ahead Coming back can slide down cliff 

Get out by 4 pm
[loot movement here]
Garbage loot for the risk
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2 March
Main entrance kinda far and behind, fire exit straight ahead
Vow-like but lots of quicksand and mud on way to fire exit (mostly on right)
Main exit turn left, walk around plateau behind ship, fire exit straight ahead
Same way back
Get out by 4 pm
Overseer can ferry from fire entrance, wave carry from main entrance
Best cheap moon; pretty good loot and bees
Lots of thumpers - 25% chance of spawning at least one
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3 Rend - $550
[door distance], Snowstorm
Lowest monster spawn rates indoors out of the tier 3 moons, but spawns the dangerous monsters more often
Follow string of lights
Same way back, look for lights
Get out by 6:47.29 pm
Better to wave carry back
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3 Dine - $600
[door distance], Snowstorm
Follow string of lights or follow for a bit then turn left and go straight
Same way back, look for lights
There’s also a way to get around the back but it’s janky
Get out by 4 pm
Can both Overseer run or wave carry back
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3 Titan - $700
Main entrance close, up the funny looking STAIRS
Got some funny looking STAIRS
Go up the funny looking STAIRS
Go down the funny looking STAIRS or jump off the edge (be careful don’t die)
Get down the STAIRS by 3 pm
Drop loot off edge close to ship off the STAIRS, Overseer brings dropped stuff back
Good for larger crews bc of short commute up the STAIRS
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Monsters Guide 

Inside Monsters
Snare Flea - By A
Description: A bug that looks like a flat centipede. Drops from the ceiling.
Colloquial Nicknames: “Face Hugger,” “Drop Bug,”
Fightable: Yes, 4/10
Health: 1
Favorite moon:
Notes: If you get ensnared, STAY CALM. You will have dropped your items, but try to find a shovel (or other whacking object) if you have one and try to knock it off. Se: These guys are really annoying.
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Bracken - By A
Description: A black man with white eyes. Black leaves protrude from its back.
Colloquial Nicknames: “The Black Man,” “Big Dick Randy,” “Flowerman”
Fightable: Yes, 1/10 fightability
Health: 3
Favorite moon: Vow
Notes: Only 1 can spawn on every moon. It can open doors but doesn’t make walking noises. I always see one of these guys for some reason immediately after I first enter a building. Strange how it more often than not becomes less of a nuisance afterwards. If you see it, it will begin retreating and try to go as far from you as it can for about 20 seconds, and then it will start hunting again. The AI behind these guys is complex, but they hide above you, around corners, and will kill you if you turn to look at them without giving some distance by sprinting first.
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Hoarding Bug - Se
Description: [i leave this one to u se]
Colloquial Nicknames:
Fightable:
Health:
Favorite moon:
Notes:
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Thumper - By A
Description:
Colloquial Nicknames: “Ankle Biter,” “Halves”
Fightable: Yes, 3/10 fightability
Health: 4
How to fight: Se: To not die, have a shovel, and dodge around a corner when it runs at you. The thumper accelerates only in a straight line, but the acceleration resets when it gets hit or has to change direction. Make the acceleration reset by dodging, then back up while hitting it. It should be slow enough that regular walking will outpace it if you keep slamming
Favorite moon: Offense
Notes: Since it can only run in a straight line, run around corners when getting chased. They are deaf and only rely on sight. I ran around a pillar for what seemed like a whole minute and 30 seconds, trampling Se’s dead body and screaming at the top of my lungs. Very funny.
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Jester - By Se
Description: Little box man, resembles a jack-in-the-box. Has a skull when angered.
Colloquial Nicknames: “Jack,” “INSANEUS THINGUS”
Fightable: No. Run away as fast as possible
Health: N/A
Favorite moon: Rend
Notes: There’s a 40 second window after windup starts before he pops, after that he just accelerates, no straight line restriction. He is dodgeable, but he can also be cheesed with certain props in the mansion that break his pathfinding - this WILL put him onto other targets though, so make sure people get out. If everyone leaves the building for 5 seconds, he will withdraw and have to wind up again.
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Coil Head - By A
Description: A large mannequin with a coil for a neck. Moves when you aren’t looking.
Colloquial Nicknames: “Springman,” “SCP-173”
Fightable: No
Health: N/A
Favorite moon: Offense
Notes: Try to lock it behind electronic doors or lure it into an empty room to lock with the terminal. It can open doors, though it takes it a long time to do so. I did so once and I refuse to shut up about it every time Se or Su say that the Overseer role is useless. It replaces its victims’ necks with coils, and corpses with coils for necks can be struck by lightning.
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Bunker Spider
Description:
Colloquial Nicknames: “BIG SPIDER”
Fightable:
Health:
Favorite moon:
Notes:
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Nutcracker - Se
Description: Tall nutcracker with shotgun
Colloquial Nicknames: “Soldier”, “Nut”
Fightable: Yes, 2/10 fightability
Health: 5
Favorite moon: Rend
Notes: Has a shotgun that can be used if killed. To kill it, lure to something that you can use for cover, wait until you hear a bell sound, and then quickly dodge behind cover. This will make it shoot the wall. Do this twice and the nutcracker will need to reload - that’s when you can go in for ONE shovel hit to the neck. Repeat five times. Once you have the shotgun, mostly anything becomes trivial at short range, as it can do up to 5 damage. It cannot see you if you are not moving at all, even if it walks right past you. However, it will kick you if it walks into you.
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Hygrodere - A
Description: A large, amorphous, almost clear slime. Looks water based and slow.
Colloquial Nicknames: “Slime,” “Blob”
Fightable: No, but easily cheesed
Health: N/A
Favorite moon: Offense
Notes: It is very slow, and cannot open doors. However, it can go through doors and is attracted to sound. An additional danger of the Hygrodere is that they may occasionally camp bunker entrances, possibly because they are attempting to reach players outside of the building, and thus instantly kill players upon entry. This scenario should be considered if a player exited the bunker while a slime was nearby. Hygrodere can not attack players standing on railings.
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Spore Lizard
Description:
Colloquial Nicknames:
Fightable:
Health:
Favorite moon:
Notes:
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Masked - By A
Description: Looks exactly like a player, but with a theater mask.
Colloquial Nicknames: “Mimic,” “Masks,” "SCP-035"
Fightable: Yes, /10 fightability
Health: 4
Favorite moon: Rend
Notes: Masks will start and stop running based on random chance when roaming. They also might try to ambush you inside the ship. If you find a mask item, you should immediately click and hold for as long as possible, it’ll be funny! try not to touch it and let the other crew members know about it. If a player is transforming into a Masked, you can kill it before it becomes active. Shovels have a longer range than a Masked reach.
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Ghost Girl
Description: A little girl wearing a red dress, and slightly glowing.
Colloquial Nicknames: “Ghost,” “Little Girl”
Fightable: No
Health: N/A
Favorite moon:
Notes:
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Outside Monsters
Eyeless Dogs
Description:
Colloquial Nicknames: “Dinosaurs”
Fightable:
Health:
Favorite moon:
Notes:
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Forest Keeper - A
Description: A humanoid giant made of wood. It has no “head,” and eyes in its “chest”.
Colloquial Nicknames: “Treeple,” “The Trees”
Fightable: No. Don’t even try, go hide.
Health: N/A
Favorite moon: Vow
Notes: While roaming, a Forest Keeper will wander aimlessly. Staying crouched and avoiding their line of sight using the environment (such as hiding behind trees and rocks) will avoid a Forest Keeper. It makes loud footsteps when it walks that you can listen for.
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Earth Leviathan
Description:
Colloquial Nicknames:
Fightable:
Health:
Favorite moon:
Notes:
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Baboon Hawks
Description:
Colloquial Nicknames: “Ghetto u/ss little f*ckers”
Fightable:
Health:
Favorite moon:
Notes:
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Circuit Bees
Description:
Colloquial Nicknames: “Ghetto u/ss little f*ckers”
Fightable:
Health:
Favorite moon:
Notes:
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[name here]
Description:
Colloquial Nicknames:
Fightable:
Health:
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Favorite moon:
[name here]
Description:
Colloquial Nicknames:
Fightable:
Health:
Favorite moon:
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i went to film school there, and i LOVE that i guess for a decade, after constantly mentioning it, no one at all ever like, says anything about it. if anyone ever wants any tidbits, here are some that i remember (overall it's a great town):

• the school has very good individual programs (law, medicine, film, other things)
• incredible local natural sites, parks, historical landmarks
• the capitol looks like a dick and balls, and there's a pretty credible urban legend that might be proven about how it was designed
• guthries chicken, tastiest chicken, 'gut bucket'
• momo's pizza
• there was/is a frat called KAOS or CAOS that had the best house location, they got kicked off campus, so when i attended, the house was just where theatre school ladies lived and threw parties, and it was "the house of Chaos", and the parties were super fun/safe/funny
• oh ok, there's a tunnel and adjoining bike trail that lead right to the stadium, and they share a really distasteful nickname (the **** tunnel/trail) and everyone calls them that but really hates that that is the name, and when i left Tally, frats had by that time done work to light the area and make it safer
• Tallahassee Lassies was a term coined by a Scottish local actor that the film school used
• Burt Reynolds (alumni) showed up for a week and the entire film school, grad and bachelors, whole schedule was changed to support him teaching classes, and then he left suddenly. very many weird stories there
• Hip Hop Fish and Chicken
• there's a super thin bar called the In Between that has a dartboard directly beside the entrance at head level, not ironically
• oh the disenfranchised aka poor part of town is called Frenchtown and it's super crazy but true that in a town that small they get essentially treated like a ghetto
• the police department sucks like, way more than is stereotypical, like look up Tallahassee Police Department

there's probably much more, that was top of my head. cheers!

Written By Dr Laide Okubena
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Olufunke Ayotunde Akindele-Bello born 24 August 1977) popularly known as Funke Akindele or Jenifa, is a Nigerian filmmaker, actress, director, producer and politician. Akindele starred in the sitcom I Need to Know from 1998 to 2002, and in 2009, she won the Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. for her role in Jenifa, which brought her into fame. Akindele reprised the role in a 2015 television series adaption titled Jenifa's Diary,for which she was named the Best Actress in a Comedy at the 2016 and 2017 Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards. Akindele won the same award in 2020 and 2022, making it her fifth win for the Best Actress in a Comedy category. Akindele is the most nominated actress/filmmaker at the AMVCA and currently owns six wins which makes her the actress with most wins. She is the second director to gross over a billion naira at the Nigeria box office and also the Highest grossing Nigerian Director in Nigerian Box Office with a total Gross of over ₦2.6 billion
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Her movie A Tribe Called Judah is currently the highest-grossing movie of all time at over 1 Billion Naira in Nigeria, breaking the record of her movie Battle on Buka Street.
Akindele has the most wins at award shows like AMVCA and NEA Awards.
She is the producer and director of the three highest grossing Nollywood movies of all time, A Tribe Called Judah,Battle on Buka Street and Omo Ghetto: The Saga.
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1.Passion for Storytelling: Funke Akindele's success stems from her genuine passion for storytelling. "A Thribe called Judah" reflects her commitment to creating narratives that resonate with audiences on a deep and emotional level.
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A Tribe Called Judah tells the story of five brothers:
Jide Kene Achufusi as Emeka Judah, Timini Egbuson as Pere Judah, Uzee Usman as Adamu Judah, Tobi Makinde as Shina Judah, and Olumide Oworu as Ejiro Judah. The brothers must unite to rob a company to save their mother Jedidah Judah (Funke Akindele).
The feature-length film officially hit the one-billion-naira gross income on Thursday. It has become the first ever Nollywood title to break that record. It is also the highest-grossing Nigerian film currently.
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1. Strong Work Ethic: Akindele's dedication and strong work ethic are evident in the success of the movie. She is known for putting in the time and effort required to deliver high-quality productions.

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Akindele is also the director of the second highest-grossing Nollywood film of all time, Battle on Buka Street (668 million), and the third highest-grossing Nollywood film of all time, Omo Ghetto: The Saga (636 million).
According to Moses Babatope, Group Deputy Managing Director of FilmHouse Group, the new milestone demonstrates that Nigerian cinema is in its golden era.
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3.Risk-Taking: Akindele's willingness to take creative risks, whether in storytelling or production choices, sets her apart. "A Thribe called Judah" benefited from her bold approach, resulting in a unique and memorable film.
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Commenting on how she picks the right movies to make per time, she said, “I have a lot of stories, but you have to think of what you want at that time, whether it’s a blockbuster or something for the festive period, whether it’s to sensitise or to entertain. Whatever you want to take to the cinema must be something everybody can relate to and something they would love to see. However, in everything I do, I entertain, but I still teach morals.”
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1. Resilience in the Face of Challenges:
   Challenges are inevitable in the film industry, but Akindele's resilience played a crucial role in overcoming obstacles during the making of the movie, contributing to its ultimate success.
   

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She stopped shooting the movie at a stage because of one the actor was not feeling fine waited for him to recover , she took care of her actors on set and off set during the shoot of the movie like one family.
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1. Understanding the Audience: Akindele's ability to understand her audience and deliver content that resonates with them is a key success factor. Tailoring the movie to meet audience expectations ensures a strong connection and positive reception.

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Funke Akindele, a stalwart of the film industry for over 25 years, has been somewhat on a December movie streak since 2019, starting with her directorial debut, “Your Excellency.”
From her breakout role as ‘Bisi’ in “I Need to Know” to the iconic titular character in the 2008 “Jenifa” movie and then the series, she has consistently charmed audiences, amassing awards and accolades. She took it a notch higher by venturing into successful film production with films like ‘Omo Ghetto: The Saga,’ ‘Battle on Buka Street,’ ‘She Must Be Obeyed’ and now, ‘A Tribe Called Judah.’ Her status as the second director to gross over a billion naira at the Nigerian box office is a testament to the success of her movies.
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6.Continuous Learning: Akindele's success is also attributed to her commitment to continuous learning. Adapting to evolving trends and staying updated with industry dynamics allows her to stay relevant and produce content that appeals to a diverse audience.
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7.Effective Communication and marketing:
Clear and effective communication with the cast and crew is essential for a successful project. Akindele's communication skills contribute to a collaborative and productive working environment.
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First off, can we talk about the massively aggressive marketing and promotion carried out for this movie, especially by Funke? You have to be living under a rock not to have heard about it. You see Funke Akindele; you see hard work! It’s no surprise the movie made a record-breaking N122 million on its opening weekend, earning her the new nickname “box office queen.”.
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Who noticed the collaborative marketing on social media by big brother ex house mates , actors who did meet and greet in all the different locations in the cinemas, the outfit and invitations box for movie from different states in Nigeria to UK etc and even radio ads and Billboard ads on the streets.
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1. Resource Management :
   Efficient utilization of resources, both financial and creative, is crucial in filmmaking. Akindele's ability to manage resources effectively played a role in the success of "A Thribe called Judah."
   

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This, of course, is also a testimony to the superb performance by every single cast member, including Funke Akindele herself, Jide Kene Achufusi, Uzor Arukwe, Timini Egbuson, Tobi Makinde, Uzee Usman, Olumide Oworu, Genoveva Umeh, Nse Ikpe Etim, Faithia Williams, Nosa Rex, and many others. These actors clearly understood their roles, and their hard work not only showed; it paid off!
Commenting on the extent to which she went to make sure everyone delivered astounding performances, she said, “I went to the extreme, literally acting out every scene for the actors. I was particular about their expressions and interpretations; they also came with their A games. We prepped with lots of readings and rehearsals before shooting, inputting lots of adlibs and taking out what was unnecessary.”
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9.Brand Consistency: Akindele's success is built on a consistent brand. Whether through her acting or production work, maintaining a recognizable and reliable brand contributes to audience trust and loyalty.
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‘A Tribe Called Judah ‘ not only entertains but also resonates with its audience, making us eagerly anticipate Akindele’s future cinematic endeavours. The film is a masterclass in storytelling, character establishment, and the seamless blending of emotion and humour, making it a must-watch for any cinema enthusiast. Akindele’s ability to elevate seemingly basic stories to profound narratives solidifies her as a true Amazon in the Nigerian film industry.
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1. Social Impact: Beyond entertainment, Akindele's work often carries social messages. "A Thribe called Judah" likely succeeded not only in its entertainment value but also in addressing relevant social issues, contributing to its impact and success.

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In two hours and fifteen minutes (which felt like thirty minutes, to be honest), ‘A Tribe Called Judah’ addressed several issues prominent in our society today, including poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, dysfunctional families, liquor abuse, single parenting, japa syndrome, love, greed, and much more.
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Question of the day
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What lessons did you learn from this Record breaking History movie A Tribe Called Judah by Funke Akindele.
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Thanks for your attention and please enjoy your day.
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Dr Laide Okubena

Ever since me and my friend entered high school, he has changed a lot - especially with his language. Before, he talked to me and around groups with decency and like a normal person. Even though we are from the peaceful suburbs, he talks like a ghetto kid. And I don't even see him hanging out with a lot of ghetto kids. Example: "Blud I'm finna see what 'chu yappin about."
When at the lunch-table - with new friends that we met this year - he tells them about embarrassing things I've done even though I don't say anything bad about him. We joined our school's wrestling team and that has let us socialize with other people, but they aren't that bad, so idk if he gets that from any of them. Ig reels maybe?
His language has become more vulgar and insulting too. Today, when we were walking back from a social-event, I stopped by a window - we were talking about scary things earlier - and said bloody mary three times ( as a joke ) then he said, "(my name) Shut the **** up." He used to say my nickname but now he uses my full name in every sentence for some reason (not as bad but a little weird). When I asked him about that he said "I just want to fit in."
Maybe I am being a snowflake but I want to ask yalls advice for how to adapt to his change in behavior, along with your opinion on this.

My favorite is nong-Ghetto , the parent doesnt know what it means , just like the sound of the word they said it's "English word that sounds Japanese"
Also have a friend that have two kids nicknamed "Wifi & Connect"

I’m 20, my ex boyfriend (fake name) Jay, is 19. we’ve known each other since we were 14. this past september i broke up with him in a pretty heated argument after he ditched me in the ghetto of boston with two strangers to go to coke 4 hours away. it killed me to do it because i loved this boy so much, and he’d never done anything like this to me before. he’d always been so good to me. when i broke up with him he felt no remorse and i was so mad and i said so many things. i said one day i hope his guilt tears him apart. god i regret saying that.
we didn’t talk for awhile, but one day he graffitied his nickname in an area i frequent, so i messaged him about it. after that we started talking again. not a lot by any means but it was something. after a few days of this he sent me a long apology, saying he loves me so much and he regrets his choices. he said the guilt eats him alive, and he’s never fucked up so bad. he was by no means asking for me to take him back, it was a genuine apology, which i accepted and told him i wasn’t mad anymore, i hadn’t been in a long time. that it was okay i’ve healed, and i want that for him as well. we moved on and talked as normal. i noticed his jokes were a bit darker though, and it seemed like he was still using.
flash forward to the two nights ago. i was hanging with a friend in their car in the same spot that had been spray painted (far corner of a parking lot, lots of cars park here) and i saw Jays moms truck. i figured he was meeting up with a friend before going to the gym like he normally did. on my way home i got a flat tire, and initially tried contacting the person i was with to help me but they weren’t answering, so i thought of how close Jay was to me and figured i could ask him for help since i haven’t seen him in months. this was at 11:55 pm. he picked up immediately and said he’d come help, he just had to say bye to his friend.
not even a few seconds later, my friend that i’d tried contacting at first showed up to where i was to help me. they’d seen my messages and just headed straight there before responding. so i called jay and said he didn’t have to come help and he could keep hanging with his friend, and he said okay. those calls were the first time i’d heard his voice in months. even after i’d gone home i was texting him, joking about how we used to play video games together and i said “i wish you still had your playstation so we could play fortnite” and his only response was “there’s a lot of things i wish i still had” and that was his last response to me. i tried asking what he meant but got nothing back so i went to bed. i went to sleep at 3:30am
as the last 24 hours have revealed, he tried to take his own life in that truck in that parking spot at around 4:30am. he sent goodbye messages to everyone he was close with, and i got one as well. the doctors say he had attempted by 4:30, and i received my message at 4:29.
i’ll leave the details of that part out, as they’re hard to share and quite graphic.
i didn’t know what was going on, i woke up to phone calls from his friends asking if i knew where he was and for his moms phone number. one of his friends told me “i needed to ask you because if he ever did anything, you’d be the person he tells” and i can’t stop thinking about it. i sent someone to his house when neither him nor his mom would respond. that’s when we found out what happened, but not his condition. later his mom called me, her and i have always been so close. she’s the most genuine and kind hearted person i have truly ever met. she told me she wanted to tell me herself, that jay wasn’t going to make it, and asked if i wanted to see him. that’s when i knew he was at least still alive.
i went to the hospital, my mom drove me because i wasn’t in my right mind. i’m still not. i can’t wrap my head around this. when i got there i was greeted with his amazing family. they’re like my second family. his mom and uncle engulfed me in hugs and then his lead doctor came and sat everyone down, and said his best chance at survival would still equal a lifelong vegetative state, or at the very least, 24/7 care. i couldn’t breathe. when he was done his mom came back over to me and asked me if i wanted to see him. she held my hand to his room and i can’t unsee him. beautiful boy. i haven’t slept because i can’t get it out of my head. i held his hand. he squeezed my hand back. i know it’s probably just reflexes but i don’t want him to hear me. i don’t want him to be aware of what’s happening to him right now. i just want him to be sleeping until he heals, but i know he wont and i know he’s gone but i don’t know how to accept it. i feel like it’s my fault because of how guilty it all made him feel. i wish he believed me when i told him that i forgave him. i wish i stayed up a little longer. i wish i let him help with my tire. i’m so heartbroken and im sorry for the long post i just needed somewhere to put it because my friends are saying i shouldn’t be this sad or be seeing him and intruding on his family but i am his family. i needed to be there for him and his family. i needed to see him, to hold his hand. i just can’t believe it
i’m praying for you Jay, i just hope you’re not in pain anymore. thank you for showing me to most innocent and pure form of love. i’m always grateful. if anyone is reading this and is thinking of attempting to take their own life, please feel free to message me. no one should have to feel that pain, and if i couldn’t be there for him, maybe i can be there for someone else who needs it

The story info from Final Fight Streetwise.

• Manual
• Video Edits

"Your fist is the only thing you can really rely on in this bullshit world...." These words from my brother, Cody, were drilled into my head way back when we were kids.
My name is Kyle Travers. I'm a streetwise underground pit fighter, resigned to making my money in the back alleys and dark basement fight clubs of Metro City. And sure, that money comes in handy from time to time, but respect is what it's really all about when it comes to survivin' these streets.
I've been fightin' in this 'hood for some time now, to the point where I've built up a bit of a "ghetto fabulous" rep among the local gangs and punks. And I must say, lately I've been collecting fight money like an uptown call girl. But this new development has thrown things way out of whack!
So me and Cody are at our local watering hole, mindin' our own business, when this guy they call "The Stiff" suddenly shows up with some of his goons and takes Cody away right in front of me! Needless to say, I've got a very, very bad feeling. What the hell is this all about?!
This much I know: we're dealin' with well-trained pros here. No bullshit Metro City street gang has the balls to mess with the Travers brothers. Sure, Cody's gettin' older...but he's still the most bad-ass SOB I know!
Ya see, my brother has always been around for me, ever since we were kids. Countless times, we've helped each other through nasty scrapes in order to survive these mean streets. There's not much we haven't done to reach the level of respect we've got now. But then there's this shit.
Damn...I'm the only family Cody's got! Looks like it's time for me to really step up, and get my brother back safely! But...where do I start?!
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KYLE TRAVERS
Kyle is Cody's cocky, sometimes reckless, younger brother. Though a bit unfocused compared to his legendary older sibling, Kyle shows natural fighting potential that Cody continually pushes him to develop further. Kyle's devotion to his beloved 'hood is surpassed only by his unspoken admiration for his big brother.
CODY TRAVERS
Cody, a well-respected hero in the 'hood, is a long way from his glory days of fighting Mad Gear gangbangers years ago. His knees have since failed him, and he's resigned himself to training his younger brother to uphold the family name in the underground fight clubs of Metro City. But that hunger for the ring still burns, and Cody can't put to rest the thought of someday, somehow, fighting again. Even if it comes at a heavy price.
VANESSA SIMS
Vanessa is the beautiful but tough-as-nails bartender at Kyle's neighborhood bar, the Barfly. She runs her joint with authority, quick to lay down her house rules on any troublemakers. Yet, in spite of her "my way or the highway" approach, she is clearly drawn to Kyle and his life "on the edge." And Kyle can't help but be attracted to her. Not only is she a clever and streetwise beauty, she's also the best damn pool player he's ever seen!
MIKE HAGGAR
Once mayor of Metro City, Mike Haggar hates what crime has done to it. Yet, the legendary muscleman stays because of his idealistic love for what the city once was, and hopefully could again be. Though far from his years of power in City Hall, Haggar does what he can to keep peace in his own corner of town. And he keeps himself in solid shape by training would-be pit fighters at his own gym, Mike's Mat and Muscle.
GUY
Guy's life path has taken some dramatic turns since his heyday as a key protector of Metro City. After Cody Travers was wrongly accused of a crime that Guy took part in, Guy fell into a life in organized crime and quickly became a powerful underworld figure in Metro City's Japantown. Having mellowed a bit in recent years, he still uses his tremendous power, skill, speed, and influence to protect Japantown from civil unrest. Guy's secretive and devoted band of "Genin" warriors provides him with deadly assistance.
DEVIN "THE STIFF" ARANOC
A powerful leader in some sort of mysterious Metro City mob. It is The Stiff's past dealings with Cody that prove to be a key factor leading to a dramatic upheaval in the brothers' daily lives. Though the origin of his nickname is unclear, The Stiff's rigid posture, perfect businessman grooming, and unparalleled skills at making people stop breathing all have certainly contributed to his highly feared reputation.
NICKY "THE WEASEL" WISSELL
Nicky is a true weasel: sneaky, twitchy, selfish...and a surprisingly annoying pain in the butt. The superficial little prick is the kind of guy who would say anything to get what he wants. He has wild delusions of someday achieving big-time criminal status. The Weasel holds a certain degree of authority over his rag-tag gang of "Blue Ballers," though no one's quite certain how. Maybe it's just his far-reaching porn connections.
VITO BRACCA
THE MAN in Metro City's Little Italy district, whose no-nonsense approach leaves no doubt about his complete control of all that goes on there. Vito is rarely seen without a significant number of expertly trained bodyguards. He can come off as sincere and compassionate one minute, then mean as hell the next. And he's never met a plate o' linguini he didn't like.
DINO (a.k.a. "BLADES")
Dino is a most efficient assassin, with a penchant for carrying out assignments with grotesque methodology. Blades is unpredictable, cutthroat... and as sick as they come. Yet his reputation also includes a great degree of reliability, and his services are highly valued.

Here is what’s happening in Minneapolis

MSP Airport Embarks On 3-Year Renovation

The Summary: The Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport is starting a $242 million renovation of Terminal 1, with a focus on transforming six concourses and 75 gate areas. This will be the largest interior renovation of terminal 1 since 1962.
What changes to expect: The renovation project aims to bring a brighter, more modern design to the terminal, featuring accessible Terrazzo flooring, new carpet, upgraded wall finishes, sustainable LED lighting, metal panel ceilings, and technology enhancements such as dynamic flight information screens at every gate.
Renovation Timeline: The project will be divided into three phases, with the initial phase currently in progress, and the entire project is scheduled for completion by 2025.
Who is paying for it: Taxpayers will not be on the hook for this renovation. Delta is covering $60M of the project and the Metropolitan Airports Commission is picking up the remaining $182.5M.

New MPD Retention Incentive Plan Announced + Former Suspended MPD Lieutenant Promoted 📷

The Summary: Minneapolis leaders including Mayor Jacob Frey have unveiled a plan to address the MPD staffing shortage that includes increasing incentives to retain officers.
Incentives for Officers: The agreement between the city and the union will pay existing officers $18,000 over two and a half years as an incentive to remain in the force, while new recruits will be offered $15,000 over three years, resulting in a total cost exceeding $15 million for the city.
City Council Approval: The plan requires approval by city council and is expected to be discussed in this week’s council meeting.
From Mayor Frey: In a press conference, Jacob Frey said, “We need to be holding officers accountable and at the same time, they are doing a very tough job, and we need to make sure that we’re paying for the kind of service, the kind of accountability that we all are expecting on a daily basis,”
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MPD Lieutenant, Previously on Leave for Racist Email, Is Promoted: A Minneapolis police lieutenant, Aimee Linson, previously on paid leave for forwarding a racist email, has been appointed to lead the department's homicide unit.
What the email said: In 2012, Sergeant Linson forwarded an email titled "Only in the Ghetto" to colleagues, containing 16 pictures, seven of which portrayed Black people negatively. Linson was put on paid leave in 2022 and reinstated in April of 2023.

Politics

❯ Don Samuels will challenge Ilhan Omar again: Former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels has announced his candidacy for a rematch against U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar in the upcoming DFL primary, following his narrow loss to Omar last year. Samuels, who is more moderate than Omar, said that “I’m running because there’s a crisis in leadership that’s tearing our country apart.” Read more here.
❯ Kelly Morrison to run for Dean Phillips seat: Democratic state senator Kelly Morrison has announced her candidacy for the Minnesota congressional seat currently held by Dean Phillips, who is running for president. Morrison has garnered early endorsements from Governor Mark Dayton, Democratic state Sen. Alice Mann and Sarah Stoesz, former president and CEO of Planned Parenthood North Central States. Morrison is the second candidate to announce their bid to challenge for Phillips seat.

Sports

🏈 The Legend of Josh Dobbs Continues: After spending the week learning some of his teammates’ names, Dobbs shined once again as the Vikings beat the Saints 27-19. The win improved the Vikings record to 6-4 and have put them right back in playoff conversations with 7 games left. On a side note, Dobbs’ college degree is in aerospace engineering which has caused a flurry of online memes and has earned him the nickname, “Passtronaut.”
🏀 Timberwolves Continue Winning Ways: The T-Wolves went on the road and beat the San Antonio Spurs in their first game of the NBA In-Season Tournament. The Wolves have now won five straight games, lead the league in many defensive categories, and have more fans turning out to see it in person.
🏈 Gophers Football Loses to 2-7 Purdue: The Gopher football teams’ struggles continued, this time on the road against Purdue. The Gophers need to win one more game to become bowl eligible and their remaining games are against Ohio State and Wisconsin, both of which they are not favored to win.

Headlines From Around Minneapolis

❯ Minnesota Democrats consider constitutional amendment for abortion rights (WCCO)
❯ Original Caribou Coffee will be closing on December 12 (KSTP)
❯ Minneapolis faces lawsuit alleging illegal contracts were awarded for violence prevention programs (MPR)
❯ Laid-off Fairview chaplains fear impact on Muslim, East African patients after cuts (Sahan Journal)

The Final Word:

I’m sure we have some Twin Cities Metro lovers who read this newsletter, but unless you can also show me that you have a tattoo of the metro, then I don’t think you are on the same level as this particular Twin Cities resident.
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If you liked this newsletter, you can have it delivered directly to you email inbox for free by subscribing here.
​

Here is what’s happening in the Twin Cities.

MSP Airport Embarks On 3-Year Renovation 📷

The Summary: The Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport is starting a $242 million renovation of Terminal 1, with a focus on transforming six concourses and 75 gate areas. This will be the largest interior renovation of terminal 1 since 1962.
What changes to expect: The renovation project aims to bring a brighter, more modern design to the terminal, featuring accessible Terrazzo flooring, new carpet, upgraded wall finishes, sustainable LED lighting, metal panel ceilings, and technology enhancements such as dynamic flight information screens at every gate.
Renovation Timeline: The project will be divided into three phases, with the initial phase currently in progress, and the entire project is scheduled for completion by 2025.
Who is paying for it: Taxpayers will not be on the hook for this renovation. Delta is covering $60M of the project and the Metropolitan Airports Commission is picking up the remaining $182.5M.

New MPD Retention Incentive Plan Announced + Former Suspended MPD Lieutenant Promoted 📷

The Summary: Minneapolis leaders including Mayor Jacob Frey have unveiled a plan to address the MPD staffing shortage that includes increasing incentives to retain officers.
Incentives for Officers: The agreement between the city and the union will pay existing officers $18,000 over two and a half years as an incentive to remain in the force, while new recruits will be offered $15,000 over three years, resulting in a total cost exceeding $15 million for the city.
City Council Approval: The plan requires approval by city council and is expected to be discussed in this week’s council meeting.
From Mayor Frey: In a press conference, Jacob Frey said, “We need to be holding officers accountable and at the same time, they are doing a very tough job, and we need to make sure that we’re paying for the kind of service, the kind of accountability that we all are expecting on a daily basis,”
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
MPD Lieutenant, Previously on Leave for Racist Email, Is Promoted: A Minneapolis police lieutenant, Aimee Linson, previously on paid leave for forwarding a racist email, has been appointed to lead the department's homicide unit.
What the email said: In 2012, Sergeant Linson forwarded an email titled "Only in the Ghetto" to colleagues, containing 16 pictures, seven of which portrayed Black people negatively. Linson was put on paid leave in 2022 and reinstated in April of 2023.

Politics

❯ Don Samuels will challenge Ilhan Omar again: Former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels has announced his candidacy for a rematch against U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar in the upcoming DFL primary, following his narrow loss to Omar last year. Samuels, who is more moderate than Omar, said that “I’m running because there’s a crisis in leadership that’s tearing our country apart.” Read more here.
❯ Kelly Morrison to run for Dean Phillips seat: Democratic state senator Kelly Morrison has announced her candidacy for the Minnesota congressional seat currently held by Dean Phillips, who is running for president. Morrison has garnered early endorsements from Governor Mark Dayton, Democratic state Sen. Alice Mann and Sarah Stoesz, former president and CEO of Planned Parenthood North Central States. Morrison is the second candidate to announce their bid to challenge for Phillips seat.
❯ St. Paul City Council is first all-women council in city history: Its official, the St. Paul City Council will be the youngest and most diverse in the city’s history. Anika Bowie and Cheniqua Johnson secured wins in St. Paul's First and Seventh wards over the weekend to round out the city’s all-female city council. That also features six women of color and no member over the age of 40.

Sports

🏈 The Legend of Josh Dobbs Continues: After spending the week learning some of his teammates’ names, Dobbs shined once again as the Vikings beat the Saints 27-19. The win improved the Vikings record to 6-4 and have put them right back in playoff conversations with 7 games left. On a side note, Dobbs’ college degree is in aerospace engineering which has caused a flurry of online memes and has earned him the nickname, “Passtronaut.”
🏀 Timberwolves Continue Winning Ways: The T-Wolves went on the road and beat the San Antonio Spurs in their first game of the NBA In-Season Tournament. The Wolves have now won five straight games, lead the league in many defensive categories, and have more fans turning out to see it in person.
🏈 Gophers Football Loses to 2-7 Purdue: The Gopher football teams’ struggles continued, this time on the road against Purdue. The Gophers need to win one more game to become bowl eligible and their remaining games are against Ohio State and Wisconsin, both of which they are not favored to win.

Headlines From Around The Twin Cities 📷

❯ Thousands march to Minnesota State Capitol calling for a cease fire in Gaza (MPR)
❯ Minnesota Democrats consider constitutional amendment for abortion rights (WCCO)
❯ Original Caribou Coffee in Edina will be closing on December 12 (KSTP)
❯ Minneapolis faces lawsuit alleging illegal contracts were awarded for violence prevention programs (MPR)
❯ Laid-off Fairview chaplains fear impact on Muslim, East African patients after cuts (Sahan Journal)

Headlines From Greater Minnesota 📷

❯ In response to Minnesota’s higher-ed tuition program, North Dakota State University unveils their own free tuition plan (Minnesota Reformer)
❯ Tree from Minnesota tree farm is chosen as the Christmas tree for VP Kamala Harris’ residence (FOX9)
❯ Declining enrollment resulting in budget cuts and layoffs have left Bemidji State with little room for error (Star Tribune)
❯ 150,000 rebate checks have not been cashed in Minnesota and are set to expire (WCCO)

The Final Word:

I’m sure we have some Twin Cities Metro lovers who read this newsletter, but unless you can also show me that you have atattoo of the metro, then I don’t think you are on the same level as this particular Twin Cities resident.
If you liked this newsletter, you can have it delivered directly to you email inbox for free by subscribing here.

The name, of course, was taken by the nickname of a very dark urban legend/potentially lost media. I wouldn’t recommend looking it up, but I felt like putting the name of such a gruesome myth on such a happy go lucky goofball was too perfect to pass up.
Saki, her real name unknown, has been an aspiring actress since she was very little. She used to look up to Japanese idols, and as a result gave herself a Japanese name (which doesn’t translate well to anything, since it’s fake). She acts out the character of ‘Saki’ whenever she’s in the presence of others, as an extreme form of method acting. She believes that if she’s constantly playing a character, it’ll always keep her in the mindset of an actress, and help her mesh into whatever role she plays. The ‘Saki’ character is a complete ditz who always gives terrible advice to her friends and enjoys trolling or pranking them on a regular basis. She lives in a ghetto apartment with peeling wallpaper and broken floorboards, because she spends most of her income on things that make her look pretty and club soda (she thinks it’s fancy.) She loves playing the accordion, and often takes it whenever she shouldn’t, like when hiking, as part of her ‘character’.
When she’s alone, however, she’s very smart and calculating, having several plans to make her dreams come true, or potentially at the very least become a popular influencer. She’s crafty enough to keep her real identity a secret for all this time, at the very least. She’s a fun character and I hope to continue developing her.