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I Read The Silmarillion So You Don't Have To, Part Four
2024.04.29 17:35 NyxShadowhawk I Read The Silmarillion So You Don't Have To, Part Four
 | Previous Part submitted by NyxShadowhawk to lotr [link] [comments] Chapter 7: Of the Silmarils and the Unrest of the Noldor In which the peace is disturbed by conspiracy theories and shiny objects. Fëanor decides to preserve the light of the Two Trees of Valinor… you know, in case anything ever happens to them. Somehow, using all of his knowledge and power and craftsmanship, he captures their light and uses it to create THE SILMARILS! The Silmarils are the biggest, brightest, and most beautiful gemstones in the history of Elfkind. No one but Fëanor knows what they’re made of (and at this point in time, he isn’t exactly in a position to tell anyone), but they look like diamonds and are completely unbreakable. Just as the bodies of the Children of Ilúvatar are shells for the soul, the crystal that composes the Silmarils is a shell for the light of the Two Trees — literally, the stones are actually alive. They are like three stars. Silmarils of Fëanor by Nikulina-Helena Side note — this isn’t technically in the text of The Silmarillion, it’s from Unfinished Tales, but I have to mention it because it’s hilarious — Fëanor got the idea to preserve the light of the Trees because Galadriel wouldn’t give him her hair. Here’s the relevant part of Unfinished Tales: Even among the Eldar she was accounted beautiful, and her hair was held a marvel unmatched. It was golden like the hair of her father and of her foremother Indis, but richer and more radiant, for its gold was touched by some memory of the starlike silver of her mother; and the Eldar said that the light of the Two Trees, Laurelin and Telperion, had been snared in her tresses. Many thought that this saying first gave to Fëanor the thought of imprisoning and blending the light of the Trees that later took shape in his hands as the Silmarils. For Fëanor beheld the hair of Galadriel with wonder and delight. He begged three times for a tress, but Galadriel would not give him even one hair. These two kinsfolk, the greatest of the Eldar of Valinor, were unfriends for ever. […] there dwelt in her the noble and generous spirit of the Vanyar, and a reverence for the Valar that she could not forget. From her earliest years she had a marvellous gift of insight into the minds of others, but judged them with mercy and understanding, and she withheld her goodwill from none save only Fëanor. In him she perceived a darkness that she hated and feared, though she did not perceive that the shadow of the same evil had fallen upon the minds of all the Noldor, and upon her own.So, just to reiterate: Galadriel is wise and benevolent and loves everyone except Fëanor, because Fëanor is just that much of an arrogant asshole. So when Fëanor asks her for her hair, she basically tells him where he can stick it, and he goes, “Well fine! I didn’t need your hair anyway! I’m going to make gems that are even prettier and shinier than your hair, and then everyone will be jealous!” And that is why it’s such a big deal that Galadriel grants Gimli’s much humbler request for her hair. Gimli may be a dwarf, but he’s actually a good person! https://preview.redd.it/ljwmwtx7sfxc1.png?width=602&format=png&auto=webp&s=d8fbcf3091c3de4afab4e4aadc6daa5473ee830d Anyway, everyone is impressed by the Silmarils, even the Valar themselves. Varda, the goddess of the stars, blessed them so that nothing evil could touch them. Now, I already said that Melkor lusted for all the shiny things that the Noldor had dug up, so how do you think he reacted when he saw the Silmarils? Oh, you’d better believe he wanted those gems more than anything else in the world. He concocted an evil plan to sew as much discord between the Elves and the Valar as possible, and to destroy Fëanor in the process. Unfortunately, enough of the Elves start to listen to his rumors. They start to believe that the Valar brought them to Valinor to stop them from ruling kingdoms of their own. Melkor also told the Elves about the eventual coming of Men, which the Elves knew nothing about. Melkor didn’t know much about Men either, but it was enough to spread a conspiracy theory that Manwë was holding the Elves hostage in Valinor so that Men could take over the world, cheating the Elves out of their God-given inheritance. The Noldor start to want to go back East, to be free of the Valar’s influence so they can start building kingdoms of their own and establishing themselves before the Men come. Fëanor especially is desperate to get out of Valinor, which is exactly what Melkor wanted, because this was all just a ploy to get the Silmarils. But Fëanor is just as obsessive about them, keeping them locked deep in his “horde” (as though he’s a dragon), except when he parades around wearing them during feasts. He doesn’t let anyone see them, except for his father and his sons. He’s already started to forget that the entire point of them was to preserve the light of the Trees of Valinor, and not just to glorify himself. Fëanor by dakkun39 Melkor starts to zero in on his mark. He spreads a new lie that Fingolfin, Fëanor’s brother, was planning to supplant him as Finwë’s heir. And to Fingolfin, he says that Fëanor has always hated his half-brothers and plans to kick them out of the city of Tirion. As the unrest brews, Melkor teaches the Noldor how to make weapons. Each family of Noldor believes that only they know about the weapons, and that none of the other families do. Meanwhile, Fëanor makes a secret forge to experiment with crafting weapons, so he and his family can have especially dangerous ones. Even Melkor didn’t know about that, that was all Fëanor. Mahtan, Fëanor’s father-in-law, bitterly regretted having taught him anything about metalwork. Fëanor openly calls for revolution against the Valar, and escaping back East. That crosses a line. Finwë holds court and asks his lords what he should do. Fingolfin asks him, “Why are you letting Fëanor call all the shots? He’s not King. You’re the King. You tell him to stop!” Fëanor promptly bursts through the doors and struts up to the podium, armed to the teeth. He draws his sword on Fingolfin and tells him to fuck off. Fingolfin hastily bows to Finwë and gets the hell out of there before his own brother murders him on the house floor. Fëanor follows him and starts taunting him. Fingolfin has the good sense not to respond. By Jenny Dolfen Now the Valar get involved. They were sad about the Noldor wanting to leave, but whatever Melkor might say, the Valar weren’t about to keep them there against their will. This, though? This is a step too far. They summon Fëanor to stand trial before them. During the trial, it’s finally revealed that Melkor, not Fëanor, is ultimately to blame for all the unrest. Tulkas doesn’t even wait for the trial to be over to go and put Melkor’s lights out. Meanwhile Mandos (the god of death/purgatory) delivers his judgement on Fëanor: “If you’re our ‘thralls,’ then I hate to break this to you, but Manwë is the king of all of Arda, not just Valinor. So… going back East isn’t going to help you very much. Threatening to kill your brother is still a crime whether here or in Middle-earth, so I sentence you to exile from the city of Tirion for twelve years. Go and think about what you did! Then, after your time-out is over, if your family forgives you, we’ll let you back in.” Fingolfin speaks up to say that he already forgives Fëanor, which is very charitable of him. But Fëanor just sulks and stalks off. Honestly, he’s had it easy — he hasn’t even been asked to leave Valinor, only to leave the city! He leaves with his seven sons and founds his own fortress, Formenos, some distance from Tirion, where he hoards all his gems and weapons and other sparkly things (including the Silmarils). Finwë loves Fëanor so much that he leaves his own city to be with Fëanor, and Fingolfin becomes king of Tirion in his place. So, in the end, Melkor’s lie became a self-fulfilling prophecy: Fingolfin did become King of the Noldor instead of Fëanor, not because of any treachery on his part, but because of Fëanor’s shitty behavior. Nice going, Fëanor. Melkor lays low for a while, disguised as a cloud. No one hears anything of him for a bit, but the Trees look slightly darker and the shadows slightly more ominous. Suddenly, he turns up on Fëanor’s doorstep and pretends to be friends, using the self-fulfilling prophecy to his advantage to make it sound like everything he’s said so far is true. Melkor offers to help Fëanor leave Valinor. Fëanor still thinks that Melkor is kind of sus, but Melkor gets to him by mentioning the Silmarils, and how they won’t be safe as long as Fëanor stays in Valinor. Unfortunately for Melkor, he showed his hand too soon. Fëanor finally sees that the Silmarils are what Melkor’s really been after this whole time. He screams the equivalent of “Get the fuck out of my house!” and slams the door in the face of what is technically the most powerful being on Arda. Melkor runs off with his tail between his legs, but Finwë recognizes that this isn’t over, and calls for Manwë’s help. Manwë and the other Valar chase Melkor to the edge of Valinor, and everything is suddenly fine for a while… the Trees are bright again, and Melkor is nowhere to be seen, but not knowing where he is might actually be worse. The people of Valinor can feel him lurking on the edge of the horizon. Fëanor and Silmarils by breath-art Chapter 8: Of the Darkening of Valinor In which everything goes to hell. The Valar assume that Melkor returned to his old fortress in the north, but they didn’t find him there. Instead, Melkor shapeshifted and slunk southwards, to a shadowy land called Avathar. He was going to visit… an old friend, shall we say. If you think Shelob is bad, you haven’t met her mother. By John Howe Ungoliant isn’t just a spider, she’s an eldritch abomination that happens to take the form of a spider. Even the Valar don’t really know where she came from, and she managed to escape them by hiding in the south where they weren’t turning their attention. She weaves webs that suck in all the light around them. Melkor takes the form of a tall Dark Lord and tells Ungoliant that he will feed her whatever she wants in exchange for her help in conquering Valinor (although at this point, you should already know that when Melkor promises anything, it’s with his fingers crossed behind his back). Ungoliant agrees, and they decide to attack while the people of Valinor are celebrating a harvest festival. Because whenever any sort of disaster happens, it’s when everyone is unsuspectingly having a party. Fëanor sulkily attends the festival, only because Manwë literally ordered him to be there, but the other elves of his household (including Finwë) don’t show up. Fëanor also deliberately underdresses for the party; instead of parading around with the Silmarils like he used to, he decides that the Valar don’t deserve to see them, and kept them locked up in his castle. Fëanor reconciles with his half-brother Fingolfin right in front of Manwë’s throne, and may even have been sincere! The Trees shine with a perfect blend of silver and gold… for the last time. The poor Elves and the Valar barely have time to react. Melkor leaps on top of the sacred mound and strikes each Tree through with his spear, and Ungoliant drinks up all the sap that gushes out of them like blood, and they quickly wither and die. Then Ungoliant drinks up all the well water, and she looks so huge and bloated that even Melkor is afraid of her. By Titita And… that’s it. Just like that, it’s over. The Trees are dead. The resulting darkness is almost a palpable thing that can attack the body and soul. The Valar and all the Elves gathered in Manwë’s palace are thunderstruck as the lights suddenly go out, and then, they hear the screams of the Teleri, who have had nothing to do with this whole mess and had no idea that there was any unrest in Valinor to begin with. You know what I’m reminded of? That scene in The Prince of Egypt when God kills the firstborn of every Egyptian household, and there’s a shot of Orion, a beat of silence, and then a wail of grief and despair goes up. Manwë sends the Valar to chase after Melkor, but they can’t penetrate Ungoliant’s cloud of darkness, and it’s too late. The damage was done. Chapter 9: Of the Flight of the Noldor In which the Valar have finally had enough of Fëanor’s bullshit. Valinor is left in shock. Yavanna tries in vain to heal the Trees, but they are dead, and there’s nothing she can do… unless she had a little of the light of the Trees, which Fëanor fortunately preserved in the Silmarils. Manwë asks Fëanor if he will give Yavanna a Silmaril. Fëanor whines that just as the Trees were Yavanna’s masterpiece, the Silmarils are his masterpiece, and if he breaks any one of them, he’ll be the first of the Elves to die. Mandos mutters that he wouldn’t be the first, but no one takes his meaning. Fëanor goes off to sulk, and remembers what Melkor said: that the Valar want the Silmarils, and will do anything to get them. Now they’re asking him to give them one. Fëanor concludes that because Melkor, a Vala, is such a shitty person, then all the other Valar must be the same. He tells the Valar that he will not give them a Silmaril, and that if they try to take one from him by force, then that will prove that they really are just as bad as Melkor. That’s that, then. Because Fëanor is such a selfish asshole, the Trees are not healed, and there’s nothing left to do but to mourn. Nienna, the goddess of sorrow, stands on top of the mound where the Trees used to be and laments the scarring of Arda, letting her tears wash away the destruction caused by Ungoliant and Melkor. Then Elves from Formenos, Fëanor’s fortress, arrive to tell the Valar about another of Melkor’s crimes: He broke into Formenos, murdered Finwë, and stole everything that was in Fëanor’s treasure horde. The Silmarils are gone. Fëanor is enraged, firstly because the Silmarils are gone, secondly because he was at Manwë’s stupid party instead of defending his castle, and thirdly because his beloved father is dead. This is when he first calls Melkor by the name Morgoth (which is what he’ll be called for the rest of the Silmarillion). History might have been different if Fëanor had originally said yes to Yavanna’s request, before learning that Morgoth had stolen the Silmarils. We can’t know. Meanwhile Morgoth and Ungoliant take the long way back to Middle-earth. Morgoth hopes to eventually escape from Ungoliant, because even he’s afraid of her, but she catches on. She tells Morgoth that she’s still hungry, and she wants to eat all the treasure he stole from Formenos. So Morgoth, begrudgingly, feeds her all of Fëanor’s beautiful gemstones. All but three, that is. The Silmarils literally burn Morgoth’s hand, because Varda made them evil-proof, but he grips them tightly and refuses to give them to her. He’s a lot weaker than he should be because he lent Ungoliant so much of his power, and she weaves a web of darkness to strangle him. Melkor screams so loud that his screaming can still be heard in that region to this day. Deep beneath the ruins of Angband, the Balrogs still lurked, and when they heard their Lord cry for help, they came to save him. Let’s just reiterate that: Ungoliant is so evil that Morgoth, who’s like Sauron but worse, needed Balrogs to save him from her. By Sheppi-Arthouse Ungoliant fled, and lurked for some time in a dark valley where she mated with other spider-creatures and ate their heads. No one knows what happened to her after that. She might still be out there, but one legend says that eventually, in her eternal hunger, she ate herself. Morgoth rebuilds Angband, amasses his armies of Balrogs and Orcs, and gives himself the modest title of “King of the World.” He forges himself an iron crown and sets the three Silmarils in it. But his hands are permanently burned by having held them, and he can never take off the crown. He stews in his hatred, and vents his humiliation at the eight spidery legs of Ungoliant by abusing his minions. Despite how pathetic that near-defeat was, Melkor is still technically a Vala, and is so terrifying in his majesty that no one can even be near him without being consumed by fear. By NeexSethe Back in Valinor, everyone is depressed. Then Fëanor shows up and gives a rousing speech to the Noldor, mostly condemning Morgoth, but also repeating all of the lies that Morgoth had spread about the Valar. Fëanor declares himself King of the Noldor since his father is dead (which isn’t anything like what Morgoth just did), and persuades the Noldor that they shouldn’t live under the Valar’s rule anymore. After all, the Valar failed to keep out Morgoth, and they’re related to him so they must be partly to blame for his actions. Fëanor doesn’t want to be anywhere near the distant cousins of the guy who killed his father. Also, look at the greener grass back in Middle-earth where the Noldor can build an empire for themselves! They can become a warlike people, and conquer Middle-earth before the Men come! Fëanor throws some racial supremacy into the mix and says that once the Noldor have waged war on Morgoth and taken back the Silmarils, they alone will be the lords of the last remaining Light. Then Fëanor and his sons draw their swords and swear an oath that they will hunt to the ends of the earth any creature — Vala, Demon, Elf, or Man — who possesses a Silmaril. By Jenny Dolfen Despite having just disavowed the Valar, this oath is still sworn with the gods and their sacred mountain as witnesses, so… old religious habits die hard. Immediately, unrest erupts among the Noldor. Fingolfin and his son Turgon are horrified, Finarfin (Fëanor’s other brother) tries to calm everything down, and Galadriel (the only woman there) likes the idea of seeing Middle-earth and ruling a realm of her own. Fëanor’s side of the debate eventually wins, and the Noldor depart for Middle-earth. Fëanor hurries them out of there before they have the chance to change their minds. Of course, the remaining problem is that Fëanor can’t simply declare himself king so easily. Fingolfin has been King of the Noldor ever since Fëanor was exiled from the city, and most of the Noldor are still loyal to him. He’s also level-headed and kind, whereas Fëanor is a hot mess. Fingolfin doesn’t want to leave Valinor, but accepts that he doesn’t have much of a choice, because he doesn’t want to abandon his people. Also, his son Fingon is urging him to go. Finarfin is even less willing to leave, but follows Fingolfin anyway for similar reasons. By BellaBergolts As the Noldor are leaving, a messenger arrives from Manwë. He says that the Valar won’t prevent the Noldor from leaving, since the Elves are free to do whatever they want, but that the Valar strongly advise against it. But Fëanor and his family are explicitly exiled from Valinor, on account of their oath. The messenger emphasizes that Fëanor is right — Melkor is a Vala —which is exactly why Fëanor and co. stand no chance against him or against any of the other Valar. So, the oath is impossible to fulfill. That sucks, because oaths are serious business, and once you’ve made an oath, you can’t simply disregard it. Fëanor has basically condemned himself and all of his sons to an impossible, borderline-blasphemous and utterly hubristic venture. Nice going, Fëanor. Of course, Fëanor gives a typical arrogant response, urging the Noldor not to send their king into exile and “return to bondage.” He says to the messenger, “Go tell Manwë that even if I can’t beat Morgoth, at least I’m gonna try, instead of sitting on my sorry ass and grieving! My battle with Morgoth is gonna be so legendary that one day the Valar will realize I was right!” Fëanor is so intimidating that even the messenger of Manwë bows to him in response. And so, the Noldor leave into exile — some boldly and without looking back, some very reluctantly. They quickly run into the first big problem: How do they get to Middle-earth? Fëanor first tries to follow Melkor and go north, to cross the narrow strip of land that connects the two continents. But realistically, there’s no way that an entire nation’s worth of people are going to cover that distance. The other option is to cross the sea itself, but the only way to do that is with ships, and the Noldor don’t know how to build them. Fëanor decides to persuade the Teleri to join his company, which would get them the ships they need — and spitefully, Fëanor hopes to further dismantle Valinor and gain himself more soldiers for his war against Morgoth. The Teleri are sad that their friends are leaving, and completely unwilling to lend them any ships or go against the will of the Valar. Olwë, the King of the Teleri, never heard any of Morgoth’s conspiracy theories, so everything Fëanor says sounds completely insane. You can imagine how well that went over with Fëanor. He’s like, “You owe us because we helped you build your city! You stragglers would still be living in mud huts if it weren’t for us!” Olwë points out that friends don’t let friends make such stupid decisions, that the plan was to live together in Valinor forever, and that the Noldor didn’t teach the Teleri shipbuilding. They learned to build ships on their own, directly from the sea gods, and don’t owe the Noldor anything. The Teleri feel the same way about their ships as Fëanor does about his jewels — they’re unique masterpieces, and can never be replicated. Fëanor doesn’t take no for an answer, and tries to take the ships by force. The Teleri fight back. What follows is the first large-scale battle between Elves. It’s brutal and sad — there’s deaths on both sides, but the Noldor win and steal the precious ships away. (Don’t ask me how the Noldor know how to sail the ships — sailing isn’t exactly a skill that one can just pick up.) Olwë calls upon Ossë, the Maia of the Waves, but he doesn’t come, because the Valar swore to neither help nor hinder the Noldor’s departure. But Uinen, the Maia of sea life, is so distraught over the cruel deaths of the Teleri mariners that she wrecks several of the ships. By Ted Nasmith When the Noldor reach the shore, a dark figure rises up from the cold mountains. Some say the figure was Mandos himself. He pronounces the “Prophecy of the North”: Anyone who’s studied pagan mythology knows that kinslaying is just about the worst thing you can do, so now all the Noldor are exiled, not just Fëanor and his sons. But Fëanor has well and truly brought down the wrath of the Valar upon his head. They’ve given him enough second chances. Now, his oath isn’t just useless — it’s actively a curse that will destroy his family, drive them to evil and treason, and keep the Silmarils forever just out of reach. After they die — and they will die, despite the immortality granted to them by Eru Ilúvatar — their souls will return to the Halls of Mandos as ghosts. The Noldor who don’t die will slowly diminish, and watch their own power fade as the other races gradually supplant them, leaving them with nothing but regret. Mandos by marcelamedeiros_arts Don’t let anyone tell you that Tolkien’s Elves are all perfect beings who are prettier, wiser, more magical, and otherwise superior to everyone else. The reason why all the Elves of the LotR fit that description is because only the wise Elves last that long. All the arrogant, hotheaded, and power-hungry Elves don’t make it to the Third Age because they’ve all killed each other by then. Case in point, Fëanor responds to this imposing figure pronouncing the wrath of the gods with his typical arrogance. He insists that he and his family are not cowards, and that treason is just another evil that they’ll have to deal with. And, as an extra “fuck you,” he boasts that everyone will sing of their deeds until the end of the world. At that, Finarfin turns back. He never actually wanted to leave Valinor, he hates that the battle ruined his friendship with Olwë, and he’s deeply resentful towards the House of Fëanor for having caused this whole mess. He and his people receive the Valar’s forgiveness, and return to their beautiful city of Tirion. Finarfin rules over the Noldor that returned with him, but without his children, because they didn’t turn back. They wanted to stay with Fingolfin’s sons, Fingon and Turgon, who aren’t the sort of people to abandon a task halfway, so they continue on. Fëanor, Fingolfin, and the other Noldor reach the far north, where the continents of Aman and Middle-earth meet. They’re cold, hungry, and don’t know which way to go next. Some of the Elves are starting to catch on that Fëanor and his propaganda is the cause of all their trouble. Fëanor is already starting to fear treachery, so he takes his sons and all the ships, and straight-up abandons Fingolfin and his people to freeze to death. Fëanor becomes the first Noldor Elf to set foot on Middle-earth. Maedhros, Fëanor’s eldest son, asks him if he’ll send any ships back for Fingolfin’s people (specifically Fingon). Fëanor laughs at his son, calls his brother and nephews and all their people “worthless baggage,” and then burns the ships. Maedhros just stands aside and lets him do it. (I’m guessing that the inability of Fëanor’s kids to stand up to their father is going to become a recurring source of conflict.) So, the curse has already come into effect: Fëanor turned on his own family. Fear of treason led him to commit it. The Burning of the Ships by Ted Nasmith In spite of Fëanor, Fingolfin and his company pass through the icy wastes in the farthest north, and eventually reach Middle-earth, though they lost many along the way. The narrator tells us straight-up that few of the deeds of the Noldor will ever surpass that desperate crossing. |
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https://www.errorsfixs.com/blog/convert-quickbooks-desktop-to-online/
2024.04.29 17:31 supergimp2000 Where do I even start?
TL;DR: Unable to find an existing home to purchase that meets my requirements, I'm thinking about building a home 2200 miles away and don't know where to start. Complicated by the fact that I am a wheelchair guy so there are some logistic and practical issues to contend with. I have no idea where to start.
I'll try to be brief (famous last words - didn't work). I currently own my home in Southern California but have been searching for almost three years for someplace top move to near Central Ohio where I grew up and my family lives. I've enjoyed my last 30 years here but I am single and also a paraplegic, using a wheelchair or mobility scooter and live on my own in my 3+2 home. I'm pretty independent, work as an engineer for a major entertainment company (now full remote allowing me to move anywhere) and also build furniture in my small garage shop as a hobby/side hustle.
The problem I've been having is that, unlike houses here, every home I've looked at (usually via internet, but sending my family out occasionally to do recon) as a possibility has a basement. Not only is that completely unusable square footage (elevator is out of the question - elevators break and even residential elevators are prohibitively expensive) but typically electrical panels, furnaces, laundry, etc are located in the basements of these houses.
I've done extensive modifications to my current home, building my own custom kitchen cabinets with some standard height counters and some at 32" for the cooktop and prep area, large built in sub-zero type fridge and freezer as they allow me to get in close and actually reach everything, etc, and a master bath remodel with nothing specialized or obviously ADA (although I did build the vanity from solid Bubinga) but with a layout that let me maneuver around (and took out a shower in favor of a standard tub as the popular big walk-in shower is useless to me). All this while maintaining an aesthetic sense. I did all this with the help of a few friends, one of which was a fabricator (I built most of the fixtures, he helped me set cabinets, etc and used his network for plumbers and electricians and the like). I don't have any of these resources where I hope to go.
So to the heart of my question. Where do I even start if I decide to build my own home? I'm getting pretty discouraged trying to find something that not only is accessible, but meets my lifestyle and aesthetic needs.
My current home is currently valued around $1.7M (considerable cap gains over what I bought it for in 2006). The market I'm moving to is considerably LCOL by comparison so in the end there is a budget (I can also muster some cash if need be). However I feel I'm in a catch-22 in that I need an accessible place to live if I decide to build (was hoping I could find something "liveable", sell my current home and move and make changes while living there - as I did here) so ideally I don't leave my current house until the new home is done (or close enough to move in and then I could finish the things I want to build myself). Unfortunately my family's homes in Ohio aren't accessible, Not to mention, I have contractor PTSD from jobs I've hired out here and have never had a good contractor experience since my initial remodel with my friend's resources.
So my question is this. Where do I start? I see people saying "buy land" and I can do that, but I need to have some sense of a plan, both financial and practical, before I take that leap. Are there resources that would be specific to someone like myself, for guidance (I'd hire a consultant if they could walk me through the financial plan, finding and architect/builder, navigating the process all while not being present at the location the whole time? Building something custom just starts my head spinning and I'm overwhelmed with the whole thing, especially given the logistics of my situation.
submitted by supergimp2000 to Homebuilding [link] [comments]
I'll try to be brief (famous last words - didn't work). I currently own my home in Southern California but have been searching for almost three years for someplace top move to near Central Ohio where I grew up and my family lives. I've enjoyed my last 30 years here but I am single and also a paraplegic, using a wheelchair or mobility scooter and live on my own in my 3+2 home. I'm pretty independent, work as an engineer for a major entertainment company (now full remote allowing me to move anywhere) and also build furniture in my small garage shop as a hobby/side hustle.
The problem I've been having is that, unlike houses here, every home I've looked at (usually via internet, but sending my family out occasionally to do recon) as a possibility has a basement. Not only is that completely unusable square footage (elevator is out of the question - elevators break and even residential elevators are prohibitively expensive) but typically electrical panels, furnaces, laundry, etc are located in the basements of these houses.
I've done extensive modifications to my current home, building my own custom kitchen cabinets with some standard height counters and some at 32" for the cooktop and prep area, large built in sub-zero type fridge and freezer as they allow me to get in close and actually reach everything, etc, and a master bath remodel with nothing specialized or obviously ADA (although I did build the vanity from solid Bubinga) but with a layout that let me maneuver around (and took out a shower in favor of a standard tub as the popular big walk-in shower is useless to me). All this while maintaining an aesthetic sense. I did all this with the help of a few friends, one of which was a fabricator (I built most of the fixtures, he helped me set cabinets, etc and used his network for plumbers and electricians and the like). I don't have any of these resources where I hope to go.
So to the heart of my question. Where do I even start if I decide to build my own home? I'm getting pretty discouraged trying to find something that not only is accessible, but meets my lifestyle and aesthetic needs.
My current home is currently valued around $1.7M (considerable cap gains over what I bought it for in 2006). The market I'm moving to is considerably LCOL by comparison so in the end there is a budget (I can also muster some cash if need be). However I feel I'm in a catch-22 in that I need an accessible place to live if I decide to build (was hoping I could find something "liveable", sell my current home and move and make changes while living there - as I did here) so ideally I don't leave my current house until the new home is done (or close enough to move in and then I could finish the things I want to build myself). Unfortunately my family's homes in Ohio aren't accessible, Not to mention, I have contractor PTSD from jobs I've hired out here and have never had a good contractor experience since my initial remodel with my friend's resources.
So my question is this. Where do I start? I see people saying "buy land" and I can do that, but I need to have some sense of a plan, both financial and practical, before I take that leap. Are there resources that would be specific to someone like myself, for guidance (I'd hire a consultant if they could walk me through the financial plan, finding and architect/builder, navigating the process all while not being present at the location the whole time? Building something custom just starts my head spinning and I'm overwhelmed with the whole thing, especially given the logistics of my situation.
2024.04.29 17:30 Barbadosinvesting Investment Nirvana: Unveiling Barbados - The Ultimate Caribbean Real Estate Haven! 🍹🌴
🏖️ Welcome to the beautiful island of Barbados! 🌴
✅ information post: Hey fellow BIMREInvestors! Today, I want to share some fascinating tidbits about the stunning destination that is Barbados. So grab a seat, put on your virtual sunglasses, and let's dive into the enticing world of this Caribbean gem.
📍 Location: Nestled in the Caribbean Sea, Barbados lies on the easternmost edge of the Lesser Antilles. You can find it approximately 100 kilometers (62 miles) east of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
🌞 Climate: Barbados boasts a tropical monsoon climate, with pleasant temperatures throughout the year. The average temperature ranges from 26°C (79°F) in the breezier months to a comfortable 31°C (88°F) during the hotter seasons. With its refreshing trade winds, you can soak up the sun with a cool ocean breeze.
🏝️ Gorgeous Beaches: Barbados prides itself on having some of the most picturesque beaches in the world. From the lively and vibrant Crane Beach, known for its pinkish sand and perfect waves for boogie boarding, to the tranquil perfection of Bathsheba with its natural rock pools and dramatic scenic views, there is a beach for every taste on this island paradise. Don't forget to explore the coral reefs brimming with colorful marine life if you're into snorkeling or diving!
🌊 Watersports Haven: If you're a watersports enthusiast, Barbados will be your personal playground. From thrilling jet skiing and paddleboarding to the more relaxing catamaran cruises and kayaking adventures, there's no shortage of water activities to keep your adrenaline pumping or allow you to blissfully unwind.
🌴 Rich Culture: Barbados has a vibrant and diverse cultural heritage waiting to be explored. From the UNESCO-listed Bridgetown and its garrison, which preserves the island's colonial history, to the lively Crop Over Festival with its extravagant costumes and energetic calypso music, this island is a cultural hotspot.
⛵ Booming Economy: Known for its high standard of living, Barbados has evolved into one of the most developed and prosperous countries in the Caribbean region. The economy is driven by various sectors, including tourism, finance, and even offshore banking. This combined with the government's friendly policies and incentives has made Barbados an attractive destination for real estate and property investments.
💼 Thriving Real Estate Market: If you're considering real estate opportunities, you'll be thrilled to know that Barbados offers a range of options for both living and investing. From upscale beachfront villas to cozy countryside cottages, the housing market caters to all tastes. Moreover, the steady growth in the local tourism industry ensures a consistent demand for rental properties, making it an appealing prospect for investors seeking potential returns.
🛒 Local Amenities: Barbados is not only about breathtaking beaches and picturesque landscapes but also offers a wide range of amenities. The island features excellent healthcare facilities, top-notch educational institutions, and a variety of recreational activities to keep you entertained. Convenience is key when investing, and Barbados delivers.
So, fellow BIMREInvestors, if you're looking for a tropical paradise offering not only lush landscapes and rich cultural heritage but also great investment opportunities, Barbados might just be your ticket to success. Share your thoughts, questions, and experiences below, and let's discuss the endless possibilities this island presents! 🌺💼🏝️
submitted by Barbadosinvesting to BIMREInvesting [link] [comments]
✅ information post: Hey fellow BIMREInvestors! Today, I want to share some fascinating tidbits about the stunning destination that is Barbados. So grab a seat, put on your virtual sunglasses, and let's dive into the enticing world of this Caribbean gem.
📍 Location: Nestled in the Caribbean Sea, Barbados lies on the easternmost edge of the Lesser Antilles. You can find it approximately 100 kilometers (62 miles) east of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
🌞 Climate: Barbados boasts a tropical monsoon climate, with pleasant temperatures throughout the year. The average temperature ranges from 26°C (79°F) in the breezier months to a comfortable 31°C (88°F) during the hotter seasons. With its refreshing trade winds, you can soak up the sun with a cool ocean breeze.
🏝️ Gorgeous Beaches: Barbados prides itself on having some of the most picturesque beaches in the world. From the lively and vibrant Crane Beach, known for its pinkish sand and perfect waves for boogie boarding, to the tranquil perfection of Bathsheba with its natural rock pools and dramatic scenic views, there is a beach for every taste on this island paradise. Don't forget to explore the coral reefs brimming with colorful marine life if you're into snorkeling or diving!
🌊 Watersports Haven: If you're a watersports enthusiast, Barbados will be your personal playground. From thrilling jet skiing and paddleboarding to the more relaxing catamaran cruises and kayaking adventures, there's no shortage of water activities to keep your adrenaline pumping or allow you to blissfully unwind.
🌴 Rich Culture: Barbados has a vibrant and diverse cultural heritage waiting to be explored. From the UNESCO-listed Bridgetown and its garrison, which preserves the island's colonial history, to the lively Crop Over Festival with its extravagant costumes and energetic calypso music, this island is a cultural hotspot.
⛵ Booming Economy: Known for its high standard of living, Barbados has evolved into one of the most developed and prosperous countries in the Caribbean region. The economy is driven by various sectors, including tourism, finance, and even offshore banking. This combined with the government's friendly policies and incentives has made Barbados an attractive destination for real estate and property investments.
💼 Thriving Real Estate Market: If you're considering real estate opportunities, you'll be thrilled to know that Barbados offers a range of options for both living and investing. From upscale beachfront villas to cozy countryside cottages, the housing market caters to all tastes. Moreover, the steady growth in the local tourism industry ensures a consistent demand for rental properties, making it an appealing prospect for investors seeking potential returns.
🛒 Local Amenities: Barbados is not only about breathtaking beaches and picturesque landscapes but also offers a wide range of amenities. The island features excellent healthcare facilities, top-notch educational institutions, and a variety of recreational activities to keep you entertained. Convenience is key when investing, and Barbados delivers.
So, fellow BIMREInvestors, if you're looking for a tropical paradise offering not only lush landscapes and rich cultural heritage but also great investment opportunities, Barbados might just be your ticket to success. Share your thoughts, questions, and experiences below, and let's discuss the endless possibilities this island presents! 🌺💼🏝️
2024.04.29 17:28 Milky_Moonlight_ I don’t feel like it’s helping ?
I feel like I might quit because it doesn’t seem like it’s really doing much besides making me feel crappy. I lost 23 lbs the first month, but this month I haven’t lost barely anything. The nausea, fatigue and stomach ache issues are relentless, not to mention the expense and idk if it’s going to help me loose any more weight. Should I preserve and ride it out for longer? I’m not sure if it’s worth it at this point.. how long does it take to start loosing more weight? Are plateaus a big thing with ozempic? Idk what is your experience?
submitted by Milky_Moonlight_ to Ozempic [link] [comments]
2024.04.29 17:23 liv3408 Looking for reviews on Lauren and Jason Pak's Rise vs. SBTD or RP's Female Physique Templates or Hypertrophy App
Hello xxfitness! I'm considering buying a new program vs. maybe adapting what I already own to fit my goals. I'd love it if you shared your thoughts -- especially if you are familiar with the RISE program or any of the others!
I'm 32F, 5'2", 135#. I use RP Strength's diet app, and will probably be doing a cut soon to help reach my goal of leaning out this summer. I'd consider myself an intermediate-advanced lifter (x7 years) but I am absolutely *weak* in the cardio department. I also started a WFH job in January and feel like I am a bit stiff and creaky now.
My goals:
submitted by liv3408 to xxfitness [link] [comments]
I'm 32F, 5'2", 135#. I use RP Strength's diet app, and will probably be doing a cut soon to help reach my goal of leaning out this summer. I'd consider myself an intermediate-advanced lifter (x7 years) but I am absolutely *weak* in the cardio department. I also started a WFH job in January and feel like I am a bit stiff and creaky now.
My goals:
- preserve the muscle I currently have
- feel more generally fit/not be the slowest girl on my kickball team/ not huffing and puffing during ski season
- Be in and out of the gym in 1.5 hours or less
- aesthetics/leaning out for the summer and feeling more confident in a swimsuit (I realize I should've planned to do this sooner in the year but life got in the way...)
- Stronger By The Day (SBTD) I am currently subscribed to this one. I like it and have gotten really strong (180# squat, 110# bench, 160# DL). But, the workouts have been taking me a LONG time (1.5-2 hours) which has started to make me dread them. I'm also dealing with a nagging knee injury and am wondering if I should switch things up to give my knee a break (also a sentiment shared by my physical therapist).
- Booty By Bret This program was fine, but I don't want to buy anything from Bret Contreras given the allegations about him which can be found in this sub.
- RP Strength's Female Physique Template I looked the most fit when I did this program (vs. BBB or SBTD), but the workouts also took a long time (~2 hours at some points).
- Stronger By The Day Running the Express version only and adding the recommended conditioning either on my lifting or non-lifting days
- RP's Female Physique Template or Hypertrophy App 4x/wk + Conditioning 1 or 2 days/week? I have never programmed my own conditioning so this feels like a lot :-/
- Jason and Lauren Pak's RISE program This one appeals to me because I don't need to figure out the lifting, mobility, or cardio pieces. It seems well-rounded, and I noticed positive reviews in this sub. But, I am wondering about the aesthetics impact of this program. I know aesthetics isn't really the main goal of it...but I've never done anything except lifting-based programs and I am a little scared that I will be skinny fat.
2024.04.29 16:51 GladRaccoon Can I freeze magnolia blossoms?
I absolutely LOVE magnolia. Last spring I made 4 bottles of magnolia syrup and had it with sparkling water. It was divine. This year, I'm sort of... between houses. As in, I have places to sleep but still searching for a solid place. That being said, I'm unable to take the time to properly process the magnolia blossoms before they're out of season. I want to make magnolia vinegar & syrup again, but won't have a place to process and store them for another month or so. I will, however, have a freezer that can hold onto them.
Do you think they'll freeze well, and I could still make syrup & vinegar with them one thawed? Or should I pester some people and get ahold of the kitchen space I need to make some truly delicious treats?
Thanks for any advice you can give! 🫰
submitted by GladRaccoon to foraging [link] [comments]
Do you think they'll freeze well, and I could still make syrup & vinegar with them one thawed? Or should I pester some people and get ahold of the kitchen space I need to make some truly delicious treats?
Thanks for any advice you can give! 🫰
2024.04.29 16:46 partypastor Unreached People Group of the Week - Jordanian Arabs of Jordan
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Welcome back to the Reformed UPG of the Week!
Gonna leave this here because reddit is still a massive pain these days
Stratus Index Ranking (Urgency): 34
It has been noted to me by u/JCmathetes that I should explain this ranking. Low numbers are more urgent, both physically and spiritually together, while high numbers are less urgent. The scale is 1-177, with one number assigned to each country. So basically on a scale from Afghanistan (1) to Finland (177), how urgent are the peoples physical and spiritual needs.
Climate: The climate in Jordan varies greatly. Generally, the further inland from the Mediterranean, there are greater contrasts in temperature and less rainfall. The country's average elevation is 812 m (2,664 ft) (SL). The highlands above the Jordan Valley, mountains of the Dead Sea and Wadi Araba and as far south as Ras Al-Naqab are dominated by a Mediterranean climate, while the eastern and northeastern areas of the country are arid desert. Although the desert parts of the kingdom reach high temperatures, the heat is usually moderated by low humidity and a daytime breeze, while the nights are cool. Summers, lasting from May to September, are hot and dry, with temperatures averaging around 32 °C (90 °F) and sometimes exceeding 40 °C (104 °F) between July and August. The winter, lasting from November to March, is relatively cool, with temperatures averaging around 11.08 °C (52 °F).Winter also sees frequent showers and occasional snowfall in some western elevated areas.
Wadi Rum
Terrain: The east is an arid plateau irrigated by oases and seasonal water streams. Major cities are overwhelmingly located on the north-western part of the kingdom due to its fertile soils and relatively abundant rainfall. These include Irbid, Jerash and Zarqa in the northwest, the capital Amman and Al-Salt in the central west, and Madaba, Al-Karak and Aqaba in the southwest. Major towns in the eastern part of the country are the oasis towns of Azraq and Ruwaished. In the west, a highland area of arable land and Mediterranean evergreen forestry drops suddenly into the Jordan Rift Valley. The rift valley contains the Jordan River and the Dead Sea, which separates Jordan from Israel. Jordan has a 26 kilometres (16 mi) shoreline on the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea, but is otherwise landlocked. The Yarmouk River, an eastern tributary of the Jordan, forms part of the boundary between Jordan and Syria (including the occupied Golan Heights) to the north. The other boundaries are formed by several international and local agreements and do not follow well-defined natural features. The highest point is Jabal Umm al Dami, at 1,854 m (6,083 ft) above sea level, while the lowest is the Dead Sea −420 m (−1,378 ft), the lowest land point on earth.
Village in Jordan
Wildlife of Jordan: Carnivorous mammals in Jordan include the striped hyena, caracal, jungle cat, sand cat, African wildcat, Arabian wolf, golden jackal, fennec fox, Arabian red fox, Blanford's fox, Rüppell's fox, Egyptian mongoose, least weasel, caucasian badger, honey badger and European otter. There are about twenty species of bat and a similar number of rodents including the Caucasian squirrel, Asian garden dormouse, Euphrates jerboa, Middle East blind mole-rat, and various voles, jirds, mice, rats, spiny mice, gerbils and hamsters. Other mammals found in suitable habitat are the wild boar, European hare, cape hare, Indian crested porcupine, rock hyrax, European hedgehog, long-eared hedgehog and desert hedgehog. Approximately 426 species of bird have been recorded in Jordan. Some of these are the Atlantic petrel, northern bald ibis, Egyptian vulture, Griffon vulture, lappet-faced vulture, Pharaoh eagle-owl, barn owl, golden eagle, steppe eagle, greater spotted eagle, eastern imperial eagle, MacQueen's bustard, Siberian crane, sociable lapwing, saker falcon, marbled duck, aquatic warbler, Syrian serin, short-toed snake eagle, long-legged buzzard, Barbary falcon and Bonelli's eagle. Five species of turtle are known from Jordan and there are a variety of snakes, mostly colubrids and vipers, but with representatives of seven snake families. The Shaumari Wildlife Reserve, a fenced off area in the deserts of central Jordan, has since been used in a breeding and reintroduction programme for the Arabian oryx, as well as other species such as the Somali ostrich, the Persian onager and gazelles. Other animals that have been released into the wild are the Nubian ibex, wild boar, fallow deer and roe deer
I cannot figure out if there are monkeys in Jordan but it doesn't appear to be the case. Praise the Lord!
The Arabian Oryx
Environmental Issues: Jordan is considered one of the countries most affected by environmental changes, especially those caused by the climate crisis and the resulting drought, desertification and loss of arable lands.
Languages: The official language is Modern Standard Arabic, a literary language taught in the schools. Most Jordanians natively speak one of the non-standard Arabic dialects known as Jordanian Arabic. Jordanian Sign Language is the language of the deaf community. English, though without official status, is widely spoken throughout the country and is the de facto language of commerce and banking, as well as a co-official status in the education sector; almost all university-level classes are held in English and almost all public schools teach English along with Standard Arabic. Chechen, Circassian, Armenian, Tagalog, and Russian are popular among their communities. The Romani people, though they may speak Arabic, speak Domari.
Government Type: Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
Population: 4,717,000
Estimated Foreign Workers Needed: 94+
Beliefs: The Jordanian Arabs are 2.5% Christian, but only 0.3% Evangelical. That means out of their population of 4,717,000, there are roughly 14,151 believers who share their faith. Thats less than 1 believer for every 333.
The state religion in Jordan is Islam. Nearly all of Jordanians are Muslim. The great majority of Arabs practice Sunni Islam. Shi'ites living in the East make up the remainder. Christians account for a small percentage of the population, but the largest churches are Orthodox and not evangelical. There are also a few small Muslim groups who desire to see a more extreme Islamic government. The Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood is gaining support in Jordan. This is an illegal political organization who are known for terrorist actions and violence against Christians.
King Abdullah I Mosque is the most famous Masjid in Jordan. Completed in 1989 as a memorial by the late King Hussein to his grandfather, King Abdullah I Mosque is the largest Masjid in the state.
History: Alexander the Great's conquest of the Persian Empire in 332 BC introduced Hellenistic culture to the Middle East. After Alexander's death in 323 BC, the empire split among his generals, and in the end much of Transjordan was disputed between the Ptolemies based in Egypt and the Seleucids based in Syria. The Nabataeans, nomadic Arabs based south of Edom, managed to establish an independent kingdom in 169 BC by exploiting the struggle between the two Greek powers. The Nabataean Kingdom controlled much of the trade routes of the region, and it stretched south along the Red Sea coast into the Hejaz desert, up to as far north as Damascus, which it controlled for a short period (85–71) BC. The Nabataeans massed a fortune from their control of the trade routes, often drawing the envy of their neighbours. Petra, Nabataea's barren capital, flourished in the 1st century AD, driven by its extensive water irrigation systems and agriculture. The Nabataeans were also talented stone carvers, building their most elaborate structure, Al-Khazneh, in the first century AD. It is believed to be the mausoleum of the Arab Nabataean King Aretas IV.
Roman legions under Pompey conquered much of the Levant in 63 BC, inaugurating a period of Roman rule that lasted four centuries. In 106 AD, Emperor Trajan annexed Nabataea unopposed, and rebuilt the King's Highway which became known as the Via Traiana Nova road. The Romans gave the Greek cities of Transjordan—Philadelphia (Amman), Gerasa (Jerash), Gedara (Umm Quays), Pella (Tabaqat Fahl) and Arbila (Irbid)—and other Hellenistic cities in Palestine and southern Syria, a level of autonomy by forming the Decapolis, a ten-city league. Jerash is one of the best preserved Roman cities in the East; it was even visited by Emperor Hadrian during his journey to Palestine.
In 324 AD, the Roman Empire split and the Eastern Roman Empire, later known as the Byzantine Empire, continued to control or influence the region until 636 AD. Christianity had become legal within the empire in 313 AD after Emperor Constantine the Great converted to Christianity. The Edict of Thessalonica made Christianity the official state religion in 380 AD. Transjordan prospered during the Byzantine era, and Christian churches were built everywhere. The Aqaba Church in Ayla was built during this era, it is considered to be the world's first purpose built Christian church. Umm ar-Rasas in southern Amman contains at least 16 Byzantine churches. Meanwhile, Petra's importance declined as sea trade routes emerged, and after a 363 earthquake destroyed many structures, it declined further, eventually being abandoned. The Sassanian Empire in the east became the Byzantines' rivals, and frequent confrontations sometimes led to the Sassanids controlling some parts of the region, including Transjordan.
In 629 AD, during the Battle of Mu'tah in what is today Karak Governorate, the Byzantines and their Arab Christian clients, the Ghassanids, staved off an attack by a Muslim Rashidun force that marched northwards towards the Levant from the Hejaz (in modern-day Saudi Arabia). The Byzantines however were defeated by the Muslims in 636 AD at the decisive Battle of Yarmouk just north of Transjordan. Transjordan was an essential territory for the conquest of Damascus. The first, or Rashidun, caliphate was followed by that of the Umayyads (661–750).
Byzantine Madaba Map showing the Jordan River and the Dead Sea. Dating to the 6th century AD, it is the oldest surviving depiction of the Holy Land
Under the Umayyad Caliphate, several desert castles were constructed in Transjordan, including: Qasr Al-Mshatta and Qasr Al-Hallabat. The Abbasid Caliphate's campaign to take over the Umayyad's began in a village in Transjordan known as Humayma. A powerful 749 AD earthquake is thought to have contributed to the Umayyads defeat to the Abbasids, who moved the caliphate's capital from Damascus to Baghdad. During Abbasid rule (750–969), several Arab tribes moved northwards and settled in the Levant. As had happened during the Roman era, growth of maritime trade diminished Transjordan's central position, and the area became increasingly impoverished. After the decline of the Abbasids, Transjordan was ruled by the Fatimid Caliphate (969–1070), then by the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (1115–1187).
The Crusaders constructed several Crusader castles as part of the Lordship of Oultrejordain, including those of Montreal and Al-Karak. The Ayyubids built the Ajloun Castle and rebuilt older castles, to be used as military outposts against the Crusaders. During the Battle of Hattin (1187) near Lake Tiberias just north of Transjordan, the Crusaders lost to Saladin, the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty (1187–1260). Villages in Transjordan under the Ayyubids became important stops for Muslim pilgrims going to Mecca who travelled along the route that connected Syria to the Hejaz. Several of the Ayyubid castles were used and expanded by the Mamluks (1260–1516), who divided Transjordan between the provinces of Karak and Damascus. During the next century Transjordan experienced Mongol attacks, but the Mongols were ultimately repelled by the Mamluks after the Battle of Ain Jalut (1260).
In 1516, the Ottoman Caliphate's forces conquered Mamluk territory. Agricultural villages in Transjordan witnessed a period of relative prosperity in the 16th century, but were later abandoned. Transjordan was of marginal importance to the Ottoman authorities. As a result, Ottoman presence was virtually absent and reduced to annual tax collection visits. More Arab Bedouin tribes moved into Transjordan from Syria and the Hejaz during the first three centuries of Ottoman rule, including the Adwan, the Bani Sakhr and the Howeitat. These tribes laid claims to different parts of the region, and with the absence of a meaningful Ottoman authority, Transjordan slid into a state of anarchy that continued until the 19th century. This led to a short-lived occupation by the Wahhabi forces (1803–1812), an ultra-orthodox Islamic movement that emerged in Najd (in modern-day Saudi Arabia). Ibrahim Pasha, son of the governor of the Egypt Eyalet, rooted out the Wahhabis under the request of the Ottoman sultan by 1818. In 1833 Ibrahim Pasha turned on the Ottomans and established his rule over the Levant. His policies led to the unsuccessful peasants' revolt in Palestine in 1834. Transjordanian cities of As-Salt and Al-Karak were destroyed by Ibrahim Pasha's forces for harboring a peasants' revolt leader. Egyptian rule was forcibly ended in 1841, with Ottoman rule restored.
Only after Ibrahim Pasha's campaign did the Ottoman Empire try to solidify its presence in the Syria Vilayet, which Transjordan was part of. A series of tax and land reforms (Tanzimat) in 1864 brought some prosperity back to agriculture and to abandoned villages; the end of virtual autonomy led a backlash in other areas of Transjordan. Muslim Circassians and Chechens, fleeing Russian persecution, sought refuge in the Levant. In Transjordan and with Ottoman support, Circassians first settled in the long-abandoned vicinity of Amman in 1867, and later in the surrounding villages. The Ottoman authorities' establishment of its administration, conscription and heavy taxation policies led to revolts in the areas it controlled. Transjordan's tribes in particular revolted during the Shoubak (1905) and the Karak Revolts (1910), which were brutally suppressed. The construction of the Hejaz Railway in 1908–stretching across the length of Transjordan and linking Damascus with Medina helped the population economically, as Transjordan became a stopover for pilgrims.
Increasing policies of Turkification and centralization adopted by the Ottoman Empire in the wake of the 1908 Young Turk Revolution disenchanted the Arabs of the Levant, who came to adopt Arab nationalism. These changes led to the outbreak of the 1916 Arab Revolt during World War I, which would end four centuries of stagnation under Ottoman rule. The revolt was led by Sharif Hussein of Mecca, scion of the Hashemite family of the Hejaz, and his sons Abdullah, Faisal and Ali. Locally, the revolt garnered the support of the Transjordanian tribes, including Bedouins, Circassians and Christians. The Allies of World War I, including Britain and France, whose imperial interests converged with the Arabist cause, offered support. The revolt started on 5 June 1916 from Medina and pushed northwards until the fighting reached Transjordan in the Battle of Aqaba on 6 July 1917. The revolt reached its climax when Faisal entered Damascus in October 1918, and established an Arab-led military administration in OETA East, later declared as the Arab Kingdom of Syria, both of which Transjordan was part of. During this period, the southernmost region of the country, including Ma'an and Aqaba, was also claimed by the neighbouring Kingdom of Hejaz.
The nascent Hashemite Kingdom over Greater Syria was forced to surrender to French troops on 24 July 1920 during the Battle of Maysalun; the French occupied only the northern part of the Syrian Kingdom, leaving Transjordan in a period of interregnum. Arab aspirations failed to gain international recognition, due mainly to the secret 1916 Sykes–Picot Agreement, which divided the region into French and British spheres of influence, and the 1917 Balfour Declaration, in which Britain announced its support for the establishment of a "national home" for Jews in Palestine. This was seen by the Hashemites and the Arabs as a betrayal of their previous agreements with the British, including the 1915 McMahon–Hussein Correspondence, in which the British stated their willingness to recognize the independence of a unified Arab state stretching from Aleppo to Aden under the rule of the Hashemites.
The British High Commissioner, Herbert Samuel, travelled to Transjordan on 21 August 1920 to meet with As-Salt's residents. He there declared to a crowd of six hundred Transjordanian notables that the British government would aid the establishment of local governments in Transjordan, which is to be kept separate from that of Palestine. The second meeting took place in Umm Qais on 2 September, where the British government representative Major Fitzroy Somerset received a petition that demanded: an independent Arab government in Transjordan to be led by an Arab prince (emir); land sale in Transjordan to Jews be stopped as well as the prevention of Jewish immigration there; that Britain establish and fund a national army; and that free trade be maintained between Transjordan and the rest of the region.
Abdullah, the second son of Sharif Hussein, arrived from Hejaz by train in Ma'an in southern Transjordan on 21 November 1920 to redeem the Greater Syrian Kingdom his brother had lost. Transjordan then was in disarray, widely considered to be ungovernable with its dysfunctional local governments. Abdullah gained the trust of Transjordan's tribal leaders before scrambling to convince them of the benefits of an organized government. Abdullah's successes drew the envy of the British, even when it was in their interest. The British reluctantly accepted Abdullah as ruler of Transjordan after having given him a six-month trial. In March 1921, the British decided to add Transjordan to their Mandate for Palestine, in which they would implement their "Sharifian Solution" policy without applying the provisions of the mandate dealing with Jewish settlement. On 11 April 1921, the Emirate of Transjordan was established with Abdullah as Emir.
In September 1922, the Council of the League of Nations recognized Transjordan as a state under the terms of the Transjordan memorandum. Transjordan remained a British mandate until 1946, but it had been granted a greater level of autonomy than the region west of the Jordan River. Multiple difficulties emerged upon the assumption of power in the region by the Hashemite leadership. In Transjordan, small local rebellions at Kura in 1921 and 1923 were suppressed by the Emir's forces with the help of the British. Wahhabis from Najd regained strength and repeatedly raided the southern parts of his territory in (1922–1924), seriously threatening the Emir's position. The Emir was unable to repel those raids without the aid of the local Bedouin tribes and the British, who maintained a military base with a small RAF detachment close to Amman.
The Treaty of London, signed by the British Government and the Emir of Transjordan on 22 March 1946, recognised the independence of the state upon ratification by both countries' parliaments. On 25 May 1946, the day that the treaty was ratified by the Transjordan parliament, Transjordan was raised to the status of a kingdom under the name of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in Arabic, with Abdullah as its first king; although it continued to be referred to as the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan in English until 1949. 25 May is now celebrated as the nation's Independence Day, a public holiday. Jordan became a member of the United Nations on 14 December 1955.
On 15 May 1948, as part of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Jordan intervened in Palestine together with many other Arab states. Following the war, Jordan controlled the West Bank and on 24 April 1950 Jordan formally annexed these territories after the Jericho conference. In response, some Arab countries demanded Jordan's expulsion from the Arab League. On 12 June 1950, the Arab League declared that the annexation was a temporary, practical measure and that Jordan was holding the territory as a "trustee" pending a future settlement. King Abdullah was assassinated at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in 1951 by a Palestinian militant, amid rumors he intended to sign a peace treaty with Israel.
Abdullah was succeeded by his son Talal, who would soon abdicate due to illness in favour of his eldest son Hussein. Talal established the country's modern constitution in 1952. Hussein ascended to the throne in 1953 at the age of 17. Jordan witnessed great political uncertainty in the following period. The 1950s were a period of political upheaval, as Nasserism and Pan-Arabism swept the Arab World. On 1 March 1956, King Hussein Arabized the command of the Army by dismissing a number of senior British officers, an act made to remove remaining foreign influence in the country. In 1958, Jordan and neighbouring Hashemite Iraq formed the Arab Federation as a response to the formation of the rival United Arab Republic between Nasser's Egypt and Syria. The union lasted only six months, being dissolved after Iraqi King Faisal II (Hussein's cousin) was deposed by a bloody military coup on 14 July 1958.
Jordan signed a military pact with Egypt just before Israel launched a preemptive strike on Egypt to begin the Six-Day War in June 1967, where Jordan and Syria joined the war. The Arab states were defeated and Jordan lost control of the West Bank to Israel. The War of Attrition with Israel followed, which included the 1968 Battle of Karameh where the combined forces of the Jordanian Armed Forces and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) repelled an Israeli attack on the Karameh camp on the Jordanian border with the West Bank. Despite the fact that the Palestinians had limited involvement against the Israeli forces, the events at Karameh gained wide recognition and acclaim in the Arab world. As a result, the time period following the battle witnessed an upsurge of support for Palestinian paramilitary elements (the fedayeen) within Jordan from other Arab countries. The fedayeen activities soon became a threat to Jordan's rule of law. In September 1970, the Jordanian army targeted the fedayeen and the resultant fighting led to the expulsion of Palestinian fighters from various PLO groups into Lebanon, in a conflict that became known as Black September.
In 1973, Egypt and Syria waged the Yom Kippur War on Israel, and fighting occurred along the 1967 Jordan River cease-fire line. Jordan sent a brigade to Syria to attack Israeli units on Syrian territory but did not engage Israeli forces from Jordanian territory. At the Rabat summit conference in 1974, in the aftermath of the Yom-Kippur War, Jordan agreed, along with the rest of the Arab League, that the PLO was the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people". Subsequently, Jordan renounced its claims to the West Bank in 1988.
At the 1991 Madrid Conference, Jordan agreed to negotiate a peace treaty sponsored by the US and the Soviet Union. The Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace was signed on 26 October 1994. In 1997, in retribution for a bombing, Israeli agents entered Jordan using Canadian passports and poisoned Khaled Meshal, a senior Hamas leader living in Jordan. Bowing to intense international pressure, Israel provided an antidote to the poison and released dozens of political prisoners, including Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, after King Hussein threatened to annul the peace treaty.
On 7 February 1999, Abdullah II ascended the throne upon the death of his father Hussein, who had ruled for nearly 50 years. Abdullah embarked on economic liberalization when he assumed the throne, and his reforms led to an economic boom which continued until 2008. Abdullah II has been credited with increasing foreign investment, improving public-private partnerships and providing the foundation for Aqaba's free-trade zone and Jordan's flourishing information and communication technology (ICT) sector. He also set up five other special economic zones. However, during the following years Jordan's economy experienced hardship as it dealt with the effects of the Great Recession and spillover from the Arab Spring.
Al-Qaeda under Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's leadership launched coordinated explosions in three hotel lobbies in Amman on 9 November 2005, resulting in 60 deaths and 115 injured. The bombings, which targeted civilians, caused widespread outrage among Jordanians. The attack is considered to be a rare event in the country, and Jordan's internal security was dramatically improved afterwards. No major terrorist attacks have occurred since then. Abdullah and Jordan are viewed with contempt by Islamic extremists for the country's peace treaty with Israel, its relationship with the West, and its mostly non-religious laws.
The Arab Spring were large-scale protests that erupted in the Arab World in 2011, demanding economic and political reforms. Many of these protests tore down regimes in some Arab nations, leading to instability that ended with violent civil wars. In Jordan, in response to domestic unrest, Abdullah replaced his prime minister and introduced a number of reforms including: reforming the Constitution, and laws governing public freedoms and elections. Proportional representation was re-introduced to the Jordanian parliament in the 2016 general election, a move which he said would eventually lead to establishing parliamentary governments. Jordan was left largely unscathed from the violence that swept the region despite an influx of 1.4 million Syrian refugees into the natural resources-lacking country and the emergence of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
King Hussein on 21 March 1968 checking an abandoned Israeli tank in the aftermath of the Battle of Karameh.
Culture: Typical qualification that all people groups can't be summed up in small paragraphs and this is an over generalization.
In the villages, Jordanian Arabs are usually hospitable and friendly. It is common for them to welcome traveling strangers into their homes. A woman's public presence is more accepted than in other Arab countries. However, restaurants may still only welcome men or show the women to a "family room," where ladies and children are allowed.
Education of children begins at five years old and is free. There is a secondary school system for both boys and girls. The brightest students attend one of three Jordanian universities or study abroad.
The economy is centered around the production of phosphates, fertilizers, agricultural products, manufacturing, and pharmaceuticals.
Jordanian folklore band playing bagpipes in Jerash.
Cuisine: As the eighth-largest producer of olives in the world, olive oil is the main cooking oil in Jordan. A common appetizer is hummus, which is a puree of chickpeas blended with tahini, lemon, and garlic. Ful medames is another well-known appetiser. A typical worker's meal, it has since made its way to the tables of the upper class. A typical Jordanian meze often contains koubba maqliya, labaneh, baba ghanoush, tabbouleh, olives and pickles. Meze is generally accompanied by the Levantine alcoholic drink arak, which is made from grapes and aniseed and is similar to ouzo, rakı and pastis. Jordanian wine and beer are also sometimes used. The same dishes, served without alcoholic drinks, can also be termed "muqabbilat" (starters) in Arabic.
The most distinctive Jordanian dish is mansaf, the national dish of Jordan. The dish is a symbol for Jordanian hospitality and is influenced by the Bedouin culture. Mansaf is eaten on different occasions such as funerals, weddings and on religious holidays. It consists of a plate of rice with meat that was boiled in thick yogurt, sprayed with pine nuts and sometimes herbs. As an old tradition, the dish is eaten using one's hands, but the tradition is not always used. Simple fresh fruit is often served towards the end of a Jordanian meal, but there is also dessert, such as baklava, hareeseh, knafeh, halva and qatayef, a dish made specially for Ramadan. In Jordanian cuisine, drinking coffee and tea flavoured with na'na or meramiyyeh is almost a ritual.
Mansaf, the traditional dish of Jordan, originates from Bedouin life and is a symbol of Jordanian hospitality.
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Here are the previous weeks threads on the UPG of the Week for Reformed from 2023 (plus a few from 2022 so this one post isn't so lonely). To save some space on these, all UPG posts made 2019-now are here, I will try to keep this current.
a - Tibet belongs to Tibet, not China.
b - Russia/Turkey/etc is Europe but also Asia so...
c - this likely is not the true religion that they worship, but rather they have a mixture of what is listed with other local religions, or they have embraced a liberal drift and are leaving faith entirely but this is their historical faith.
Here is a list of definitions in case you wonder what exactly I mean by words like "Unreached".
Here is a list of missions organizations that reach out to the world to do missions for the Glory of God.
submitted by partypastor to Reformed [link] [comments]
Welcome back to the Reformed UPG of the Week!
Gonna leave this here because reddit is still a massive pain these days
Slight update, the new reddit UI has made it almost impossible for me to quickly do these, like I used to be able to do. Thus, theres a chance it becomes UPG of the every other week until the problem is fixed. I can't spend every one of my entire Monday mornings working on this for hours with stupid formatting issues.Now, please meet the Jordanian Arabs of Jordan!
Region: Jordan
mapStratus Index Ranking (Urgency): 34
It has been noted to me by u/JCmathetes that I should explain this ranking. Low numbers are more urgent, both physically and spiritually together, while high numbers are less urgent. The scale is 1-177, with one number assigned to each country. So basically on a scale from Afghanistan (1) to Finland (177), how urgent are the peoples physical and spiritual needs.
The Stratus Index - Synthesizes reliable data from different sources to clearly display the world’s most urgent spiritual and physical needs.The vast majority of missions resources go to people and places already Reached by the Gospel, while only 3% of missionaries and 1% of missions money are deployed among the Unreached. This is the Great Imbalance. As a result, there are more people without access to the Gospel today than a decade ago. Stratus seeks to equip the global church with fresh vision to accomplish the Great Commission by addressing some of the factors that perpetuate the Great Imbalance. We hope this tool allows the church to better understand what steps will be required to overcome the barriers that prevent needs from being met, spurring informed and collaborative missions strategy. Stratus WebsiteAmman, Jordan
Climate: The climate in Jordan varies greatly. Generally, the further inland from the Mediterranean, there are greater contrasts in temperature and less rainfall. The country's average elevation is 812 m (2,664 ft) (SL). The highlands above the Jordan Valley, mountains of the Dead Sea and Wadi Araba and as far south as Ras Al-Naqab are dominated by a Mediterranean climate, while the eastern and northeastern areas of the country are arid desert. Although the desert parts of the kingdom reach high temperatures, the heat is usually moderated by low humidity and a daytime breeze, while the nights are cool. Summers, lasting from May to September, are hot and dry, with temperatures averaging around 32 °C (90 °F) and sometimes exceeding 40 °C (104 °F) between July and August. The winter, lasting from November to March, is relatively cool, with temperatures averaging around 11.08 °C (52 °F).Winter also sees frequent showers and occasional snowfall in some western elevated areas.
Wadi Rum
Terrain: The east is an arid plateau irrigated by oases and seasonal water streams. Major cities are overwhelmingly located on the north-western part of the kingdom due to its fertile soils and relatively abundant rainfall. These include Irbid, Jerash and Zarqa in the northwest, the capital Amman and Al-Salt in the central west, and Madaba, Al-Karak and Aqaba in the southwest. Major towns in the eastern part of the country are the oasis towns of Azraq and Ruwaished. In the west, a highland area of arable land and Mediterranean evergreen forestry drops suddenly into the Jordan Rift Valley. The rift valley contains the Jordan River and the Dead Sea, which separates Jordan from Israel. Jordan has a 26 kilometres (16 mi) shoreline on the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea, but is otherwise landlocked. The Yarmouk River, an eastern tributary of the Jordan, forms part of the boundary between Jordan and Syria (including the occupied Golan Heights) to the north. The other boundaries are formed by several international and local agreements and do not follow well-defined natural features. The highest point is Jabal Umm al Dami, at 1,854 m (6,083 ft) above sea level, while the lowest is the Dead Sea −420 m (−1,378 ft), the lowest land point on earth.
Village in Jordan
Wildlife of Jordan: Carnivorous mammals in Jordan include the striped hyena, caracal, jungle cat, sand cat, African wildcat, Arabian wolf, golden jackal, fennec fox, Arabian red fox, Blanford's fox, Rüppell's fox, Egyptian mongoose, least weasel, caucasian badger, honey badger and European otter. There are about twenty species of bat and a similar number of rodents including the Caucasian squirrel, Asian garden dormouse, Euphrates jerboa, Middle East blind mole-rat, and various voles, jirds, mice, rats, spiny mice, gerbils and hamsters. Other mammals found in suitable habitat are the wild boar, European hare, cape hare, Indian crested porcupine, rock hyrax, European hedgehog, long-eared hedgehog and desert hedgehog. Approximately 426 species of bird have been recorded in Jordan. Some of these are the Atlantic petrel, northern bald ibis, Egyptian vulture, Griffon vulture, lappet-faced vulture, Pharaoh eagle-owl, barn owl, golden eagle, steppe eagle, greater spotted eagle, eastern imperial eagle, MacQueen's bustard, Siberian crane, sociable lapwing, saker falcon, marbled duck, aquatic warbler, Syrian serin, short-toed snake eagle, long-legged buzzard, Barbary falcon and Bonelli's eagle. Five species of turtle are known from Jordan and there are a variety of snakes, mostly colubrids and vipers, but with representatives of seven snake families. The Shaumari Wildlife Reserve, a fenced off area in the deserts of central Jordan, has since been used in a breeding and reintroduction programme for the Arabian oryx, as well as other species such as the Somali ostrich, the Persian onager and gazelles. Other animals that have been released into the wild are the Nubian ibex, wild boar, fallow deer and roe deer
I cannot figure out if there are monkeys in Jordan but it doesn't appear to be the case. Praise the Lord!
The Arabian Oryx
Environmental Issues: Jordan is considered one of the countries most affected by environmental changes, especially those caused by the climate crisis and the resulting drought, desertification and loss of arable lands.
Languages: The official language is Modern Standard Arabic, a literary language taught in the schools. Most Jordanians natively speak one of the non-standard Arabic dialects known as Jordanian Arabic. Jordanian Sign Language is the language of the deaf community. English, though without official status, is widely spoken throughout the country and is the de facto language of commerce and banking, as well as a co-official status in the education sector; almost all university-level classes are held in English and almost all public schools teach English along with Standard Arabic. Chechen, Circassian, Armenian, Tagalog, and Russian are popular among their communities. The Romani people, though they may speak Arabic, speak Domari.
Government Type: Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
People: Jordanian Arabs
Jordanian Arab womanPopulation: 4,717,000
Estimated Foreign Workers Needed: 94+
Beliefs: The Jordanian Arabs are 2.5% Christian, but only 0.3% Evangelical. That means out of their population of 4,717,000, there are roughly 14,151 believers who share their faith. Thats less than 1 believer for every 333.
The state religion in Jordan is Islam. Nearly all of Jordanians are Muslim. The great majority of Arabs practice Sunni Islam. Shi'ites living in the East make up the remainder. Christians account for a small percentage of the population, but the largest churches are Orthodox and not evangelical. There are also a few small Muslim groups who desire to see a more extreme Islamic government. The Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood is gaining support in Jordan. This is an illegal political organization who are known for terrorist actions and violence against Christians.
King Abdullah I Mosque is the most famous Masjid in Jordan. Completed in 1989 as a memorial by the late King Hussein to his grandfather, King Abdullah I Mosque is the largest Masjid in the state.
History: Alexander the Great's conquest of the Persian Empire in 332 BC introduced Hellenistic culture to the Middle East. After Alexander's death in 323 BC, the empire split among his generals, and in the end much of Transjordan was disputed between the Ptolemies based in Egypt and the Seleucids based in Syria. The Nabataeans, nomadic Arabs based south of Edom, managed to establish an independent kingdom in 169 BC by exploiting the struggle between the two Greek powers. The Nabataean Kingdom controlled much of the trade routes of the region, and it stretched south along the Red Sea coast into the Hejaz desert, up to as far north as Damascus, which it controlled for a short period (85–71) BC. The Nabataeans massed a fortune from their control of the trade routes, often drawing the envy of their neighbours. Petra, Nabataea's barren capital, flourished in the 1st century AD, driven by its extensive water irrigation systems and agriculture. The Nabataeans were also talented stone carvers, building their most elaborate structure, Al-Khazneh, in the first century AD. It is believed to be the mausoleum of the Arab Nabataean King Aretas IV.
Roman legions under Pompey conquered much of the Levant in 63 BC, inaugurating a period of Roman rule that lasted four centuries. In 106 AD, Emperor Trajan annexed Nabataea unopposed, and rebuilt the King's Highway which became known as the Via Traiana Nova road. The Romans gave the Greek cities of Transjordan—Philadelphia (Amman), Gerasa (Jerash), Gedara (Umm Quays), Pella (Tabaqat Fahl) and Arbila (Irbid)—and other Hellenistic cities in Palestine and southern Syria, a level of autonomy by forming the Decapolis, a ten-city league. Jerash is one of the best preserved Roman cities in the East; it was even visited by Emperor Hadrian during his journey to Palestine.
In 324 AD, the Roman Empire split and the Eastern Roman Empire, later known as the Byzantine Empire, continued to control or influence the region until 636 AD. Christianity had become legal within the empire in 313 AD after Emperor Constantine the Great converted to Christianity. The Edict of Thessalonica made Christianity the official state religion in 380 AD. Transjordan prospered during the Byzantine era, and Christian churches were built everywhere. The Aqaba Church in Ayla was built during this era, it is considered to be the world's first purpose built Christian church. Umm ar-Rasas in southern Amman contains at least 16 Byzantine churches. Meanwhile, Petra's importance declined as sea trade routes emerged, and after a 363 earthquake destroyed many structures, it declined further, eventually being abandoned. The Sassanian Empire in the east became the Byzantines' rivals, and frequent confrontations sometimes led to the Sassanids controlling some parts of the region, including Transjordan.
In 629 AD, during the Battle of Mu'tah in what is today Karak Governorate, the Byzantines and their Arab Christian clients, the Ghassanids, staved off an attack by a Muslim Rashidun force that marched northwards towards the Levant from the Hejaz (in modern-day Saudi Arabia). The Byzantines however were defeated by the Muslims in 636 AD at the decisive Battle of Yarmouk just north of Transjordan. Transjordan was an essential territory for the conquest of Damascus. The first, or Rashidun, caliphate was followed by that of the Umayyads (661–750).
Byzantine Madaba Map showing the Jordan River and the Dead Sea. Dating to the 6th century AD, it is the oldest surviving depiction of the Holy Land
Under the Umayyad Caliphate, several desert castles were constructed in Transjordan, including: Qasr Al-Mshatta and Qasr Al-Hallabat. The Abbasid Caliphate's campaign to take over the Umayyad's began in a village in Transjordan known as Humayma. A powerful 749 AD earthquake is thought to have contributed to the Umayyads defeat to the Abbasids, who moved the caliphate's capital from Damascus to Baghdad. During Abbasid rule (750–969), several Arab tribes moved northwards and settled in the Levant. As had happened during the Roman era, growth of maritime trade diminished Transjordan's central position, and the area became increasingly impoverished. After the decline of the Abbasids, Transjordan was ruled by the Fatimid Caliphate (969–1070), then by the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (1115–1187).
The Crusaders constructed several Crusader castles as part of the Lordship of Oultrejordain, including those of Montreal and Al-Karak. The Ayyubids built the Ajloun Castle and rebuilt older castles, to be used as military outposts against the Crusaders. During the Battle of Hattin (1187) near Lake Tiberias just north of Transjordan, the Crusaders lost to Saladin, the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty (1187–1260). Villages in Transjordan under the Ayyubids became important stops for Muslim pilgrims going to Mecca who travelled along the route that connected Syria to the Hejaz. Several of the Ayyubid castles were used and expanded by the Mamluks (1260–1516), who divided Transjordan between the provinces of Karak and Damascus. During the next century Transjordan experienced Mongol attacks, but the Mongols were ultimately repelled by the Mamluks after the Battle of Ain Jalut (1260).
In 1516, the Ottoman Caliphate's forces conquered Mamluk territory. Agricultural villages in Transjordan witnessed a period of relative prosperity in the 16th century, but were later abandoned. Transjordan was of marginal importance to the Ottoman authorities. As a result, Ottoman presence was virtually absent and reduced to annual tax collection visits. More Arab Bedouin tribes moved into Transjordan from Syria and the Hejaz during the first three centuries of Ottoman rule, including the Adwan, the Bani Sakhr and the Howeitat. These tribes laid claims to different parts of the region, and with the absence of a meaningful Ottoman authority, Transjordan slid into a state of anarchy that continued until the 19th century. This led to a short-lived occupation by the Wahhabi forces (1803–1812), an ultra-orthodox Islamic movement that emerged in Najd (in modern-day Saudi Arabia). Ibrahim Pasha, son of the governor of the Egypt Eyalet, rooted out the Wahhabis under the request of the Ottoman sultan by 1818. In 1833 Ibrahim Pasha turned on the Ottomans and established his rule over the Levant. His policies led to the unsuccessful peasants' revolt in Palestine in 1834. Transjordanian cities of As-Salt and Al-Karak were destroyed by Ibrahim Pasha's forces for harboring a peasants' revolt leader. Egyptian rule was forcibly ended in 1841, with Ottoman rule restored.
Only after Ibrahim Pasha's campaign did the Ottoman Empire try to solidify its presence in the Syria Vilayet, which Transjordan was part of. A series of tax and land reforms (Tanzimat) in 1864 brought some prosperity back to agriculture and to abandoned villages; the end of virtual autonomy led a backlash in other areas of Transjordan. Muslim Circassians and Chechens, fleeing Russian persecution, sought refuge in the Levant. In Transjordan and with Ottoman support, Circassians first settled in the long-abandoned vicinity of Amman in 1867, and later in the surrounding villages. The Ottoman authorities' establishment of its administration, conscription and heavy taxation policies led to revolts in the areas it controlled. Transjordan's tribes in particular revolted during the Shoubak (1905) and the Karak Revolts (1910), which were brutally suppressed. The construction of the Hejaz Railway in 1908–stretching across the length of Transjordan and linking Damascus with Medina helped the population economically, as Transjordan became a stopover for pilgrims.
Increasing policies of Turkification and centralization adopted by the Ottoman Empire in the wake of the 1908 Young Turk Revolution disenchanted the Arabs of the Levant, who came to adopt Arab nationalism. These changes led to the outbreak of the 1916 Arab Revolt during World War I, which would end four centuries of stagnation under Ottoman rule. The revolt was led by Sharif Hussein of Mecca, scion of the Hashemite family of the Hejaz, and his sons Abdullah, Faisal and Ali. Locally, the revolt garnered the support of the Transjordanian tribes, including Bedouins, Circassians and Christians. The Allies of World War I, including Britain and France, whose imperial interests converged with the Arabist cause, offered support. The revolt started on 5 June 1916 from Medina and pushed northwards until the fighting reached Transjordan in the Battle of Aqaba on 6 July 1917. The revolt reached its climax when Faisal entered Damascus in October 1918, and established an Arab-led military administration in OETA East, later declared as the Arab Kingdom of Syria, both of which Transjordan was part of. During this period, the southernmost region of the country, including Ma'an and Aqaba, was also claimed by the neighbouring Kingdom of Hejaz.
The nascent Hashemite Kingdom over Greater Syria was forced to surrender to French troops on 24 July 1920 during the Battle of Maysalun; the French occupied only the northern part of the Syrian Kingdom, leaving Transjordan in a period of interregnum. Arab aspirations failed to gain international recognition, due mainly to the secret 1916 Sykes–Picot Agreement, which divided the region into French and British spheres of influence, and the 1917 Balfour Declaration, in which Britain announced its support for the establishment of a "national home" for Jews in Palestine. This was seen by the Hashemites and the Arabs as a betrayal of their previous agreements with the British, including the 1915 McMahon–Hussein Correspondence, in which the British stated their willingness to recognize the independence of a unified Arab state stretching from Aleppo to Aden under the rule of the Hashemites.
The British High Commissioner, Herbert Samuel, travelled to Transjordan on 21 August 1920 to meet with As-Salt's residents. He there declared to a crowd of six hundred Transjordanian notables that the British government would aid the establishment of local governments in Transjordan, which is to be kept separate from that of Palestine. The second meeting took place in Umm Qais on 2 September, where the British government representative Major Fitzroy Somerset received a petition that demanded: an independent Arab government in Transjordan to be led by an Arab prince (emir); land sale in Transjordan to Jews be stopped as well as the prevention of Jewish immigration there; that Britain establish and fund a national army; and that free trade be maintained between Transjordan and the rest of the region.
Abdullah, the second son of Sharif Hussein, arrived from Hejaz by train in Ma'an in southern Transjordan on 21 November 1920 to redeem the Greater Syrian Kingdom his brother had lost. Transjordan then was in disarray, widely considered to be ungovernable with its dysfunctional local governments. Abdullah gained the trust of Transjordan's tribal leaders before scrambling to convince them of the benefits of an organized government. Abdullah's successes drew the envy of the British, even when it was in their interest. The British reluctantly accepted Abdullah as ruler of Transjordan after having given him a six-month trial. In March 1921, the British decided to add Transjordan to their Mandate for Palestine, in which they would implement their "Sharifian Solution" policy without applying the provisions of the mandate dealing with Jewish settlement. On 11 April 1921, the Emirate of Transjordan was established with Abdullah as Emir.
In September 1922, the Council of the League of Nations recognized Transjordan as a state under the terms of the Transjordan memorandum. Transjordan remained a British mandate until 1946, but it had been granted a greater level of autonomy than the region west of the Jordan River. Multiple difficulties emerged upon the assumption of power in the region by the Hashemite leadership. In Transjordan, small local rebellions at Kura in 1921 and 1923 were suppressed by the Emir's forces with the help of the British. Wahhabis from Najd regained strength and repeatedly raided the southern parts of his territory in (1922–1924), seriously threatening the Emir's position. The Emir was unable to repel those raids without the aid of the local Bedouin tribes and the British, who maintained a military base with a small RAF detachment close to Amman.
The Treaty of London, signed by the British Government and the Emir of Transjordan on 22 March 1946, recognised the independence of the state upon ratification by both countries' parliaments. On 25 May 1946, the day that the treaty was ratified by the Transjordan parliament, Transjordan was raised to the status of a kingdom under the name of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in Arabic, with Abdullah as its first king; although it continued to be referred to as the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan in English until 1949. 25 May is now celebrated as the nation's Independence Day, a public holiday. Jordan became a member of the United Nations on 14 December 1955.
On 15 May 1948, as part of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Jordan intervened in Palestine together with many other Arab states. Following the war, Jordan controlled the West Bank and on 24 April 1950 Jordan formally annexed these territories after the Jericho conference. In response, some Arab countries demanded Jordan's expulsion from the Arab League. On 12 June 1950, the Arab League declared that the annexation was a temporary, practical measure and that Jordan was holding the territory as a "trustee" pending a future settlement. King Abdullah was assassinated at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in 1951 by a Palestinian militant, amid rumors he intended to sign a peace treaty with Israel.
Abdullah was succeeded by his son Talal, who would soon abdicate due to illness in favour of his eldest son Hussein. Talal established the country's modern constitution in 1952. Hussein ascended to the throne in 1953 at the age of 17. Jordan witnessed great political uncertainty in the following period. The 1950s were a period of political upheaval, as Nasserism and Pan-Arabism swept the Arab World. On 1 March 1956, King Hussein Arabized the command of the Army by dismissing a number of senior British officers, an act made to remove remaining foreign influence in the country. In 1958, Jordan and neighbouring Hashemite Iraq formed the Arab Federation as a response to the formation of the rival United Arab Republic between Nasser's Egypt and Syria. The union lasted only six months, being dissolved after Iraqi King Faisal II (Hussein's cousin) was deposed by a bloody military coup on 14 July 1958.
Jordan signed a military pact with Egypt just before Israel launched a preemptive strike on Egypt to begin the Six-Day War in June 1967, where Jordan and Syria joined the war. The Arab states were defeated and Jordan lost control of the West Bank to Israel. The War of Attrition with Israel followed, which included the 1968 Battle of Karameh where the combined forces of the Jordanian Armed Forces and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) repelled an Israeli attack on the Karameh camp on the Jordanian border with the West Bank. Despite the fact that the Palestinians had limited involvement against the Israeli forces, the events at Karameh gained wide recognition and acclaim in the Arab world. As a result, the time period following the battle witnessed an upsurge of support for Palestinian paramilitary elements (the fedayeen) within Jordan from other Arab countries. The fedayeen activities soon became a threat to Jordan's rule of law. In September 1970, the Jordanian army targeted the fedayeen and the resultant fighting led to the expulsion of Palestinian fighters from various PLO groups into Lebanon, in a conflict that became known as Black September.
In 1973, Egypt and Syria waged the Yom Kippur War on Israel, and fighting occurred along the 1967 Jordan River cease-fire line. Jordan sent a brigade to Syria to attack Israeli units on Syrian territory but did not engage Israeli forces from Jordanian territory. At the Rabat summit conference in 1974, in the aftermath of the Yom-Kippur War, Jordan agreed, along with the rest of the Arab League, that the PLO was the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people". Subsequently, Jordan renounced its claims to the West Bank in 1988.
At the 1991 Madrid Conference, Jordan agreed to negotiate a peace treaty sponsored by the US and the Soviet Union. The Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace was signed on 26 October 1994. In 1997, in retribution for a bombing, Israeli agents entered Jordan using Canadian passports and poisoned Khaled Meshal, a senior Hamas leader living in Jordan. Bowing to intense international pressure, Israel provided an antidote to the poison and released dozens of political prisoners, including Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, after King Hussein threatened to annul the peace treaty.
On 7 February 1999, Abdullah II ascended the throne upon the death of his father Hussein, who had ruled for nearly 50 years. Abdullah embarked on economic liberalization when he assumed the throne, and his reforms led to an economic boom which continued until 2008. Abdullah II has been credited with increasing foreign investment, improving public-private partnerships and providing the foundation for Aqaba's free-trade zone and Jordan's flourishing information and communication technology (ICT) sector. He also set up five other special economic zones. However, during the following years Jordan's economy experienced hardship as it dealt with the effects of the Great Recession and spillover from the Arab Spring.
Al-Qaeda under Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's leadership launched coordinated explosions in three hotel lobbies in Amman on 9 November 2005, resulting in 60 deaths and 115 injured. The bombings, which targeted civilians, caused widespread outrage among Jordanians. The attack is considered to be a rare event in the country, and Jordan's internal security was dramatically improved afterwards. No major terrorist attacks have occurred since then. Abdullah and Jordan are viewed with contempt by Islamic extremists for the country's peace treaty with Israel, its relationship with the West, and its mostly non-religious laws.
The Arab Spring were large-scale protests that erupted in the Arab World in 2011, demanding economic and political reforms. Many of these protests tore down regimes in some Arab nations, leading to instability that ended with violent civil wars. In Jordan, in response to domestic unrest, Abdullah replaced his prime minister and introduced a number of reforms including: reforming the Constitution, and laws governing public freedoms and elections. Proportional representation was re-introduced to the Jordanian parliament in the 2016 general election, a move which he said would eventually lead to establishing parliamentary governments. Jordan was left largely unscathed from the violence that swept the region despite an influx of 1.4 million Syrian refugees into the natural resources-lacking country and the emergence of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
King Hussein on 21 March 1968 checking an abandoned Israeli tank in the aftermath of the Battle of Karameh.
Culture: Typical qualification that all people groups can't be summed up in small paragraphs and this is an over generalization.
In the villages, Jordanian Arabs are usually hospitable and friendly. It is common for them to welcome traveling strangers into their homes. A woman's public presence is more accepted than in other Arab countries. However, restaurants may still only welcome men or show the women to a "family room," where ladies and children are allowed.
Education of children begins at five years old and is free. There is a secondary school system for both boys and girls. The brightest students attend one of three Jordanian universities or study abroad.
The economy is centered around the production of phosphates, fertilizers, agricultural products, manufacturing, and pharmaceuticals.
Jordanian folklore band playing bagpipes in Jerash.
Cuisine: As the eighth-largest producer of olives in the world, olive oil is the main cooking oil in Jordan. A common appetizer is hummus, which is a puree of chickpeas blended with tahini, lemon, and garlic. Ful medames is another well-known appetiser. A typical worker's meal, it has since made its way to the tables of the upper class. A typical Jordanian meze often contains koubba maqliya, labaneh, baba ghanoush, tabbouleh, olives and pickles. Meze is generally accompanied by the Levantine alcoholic drink arak, which is made from grapes and aniseed and is similar to ouzo, rakı and pastis. Jordanian wine and beer are also sometimes used. The same dishes, served without alcoholic drinks, can also be termed "muqabbilat" (starters) in Arabic.
The most distinctive Jordanian dish is mansaf, the national dish of Jordan. The dish is a symbol for Jordanian hospitality and is influenced by the Bedouin culture. Mansaf is eaten on different occasions such as funerals, weddings and on religious holidays. It consists of a plate of rice with meat that was boiled in thick yogurt, sprayed with pine nuts and sometimes herbs. As an old tradition, the dish is eaten using one's hands, but the tradition is not always used. Simple fresh fruit is often served towards the end of a Jordanian meal, but there is also dessert, such as baklava, hareeseh, knafeh, halva and qatayef, a dish made specially for Ramadan. In Jordanian cuisine, drinking coffee and tea flavoured with na'na or meramiyyeh is almost a ritual.
Mansaf, the traditional dish of Jordan, originates from Bedouin life and is a symbol of Jordanian hospitality.
Prayer Request:
- Pray for the work among other unreached peoples living in Jordan - Egyptian and Iraqi Arabs.
- Ask God to protect the small number of evangelical believers and help them to grow strong in Him.
- Pray that Jordanian Arab Christians would be willing to sacrifice their time, and even their lives, to bring the Gospel to neighboring countries.
- Pray against Putin and his insane little war.
- Pray for our nation (the United States), that we Christians can learn to come alongside our hurting brothers and sisters and learn to carry one another's burdens in a more Christlike manner than we have done historically.
- Pray that in this time of an upcoming election and insanity that the needs of the unreached are not forgotten by the church. Pray that our hearts continue to ache to see the unreached hear the Good News.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Here are the previous weeks threads on the UPG of the Week for Reformed from 2023 (plus a few from 2022 so this one post isn't so lonely). To save some space on these, all UPG posts made 2019-now are here, I will try to keep this current.
| People Group | Country | Continent | Date Posted | Beliefs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jordanian Arabs | Jordan | Asia | 04/29/2024 | Islam |
| Bouyei | China | Asia | 04/22/2024 | Animism |
| Arab Libyans | Libya | Africa | 03/25/2024 | Islam |
| Gafsa Amazigh | Tunisia | Africa | 03/18/2024 | Islam |
| Hindi | South Africa | Africa | 03/04/2024 | Hinduism |
| Arabs | Iraq | Asia | 02/26/2024 | Islam |
| Bagirmi Fulani | Central African Republic | Africa | 02/12/2024 | Islam |
| Gujarati | Portugal | Europe | 02/05/2024 | Hinduism |
| Western Cham | Cambodia | Asia | 01/29/2024 | Islamc |
| Yadav | India | Asia | 01/22/2024 | Hinduism |
| Thai (updated) | Thailand | Asia | 12/18/2023 | Buddhism |
| Bayad | Mongolia | Asia | 12/11/2023 | Buddhism |
| Bedouin (Suafa) | Algeria | Africa | 12/04/2023 | Islam |
| Aboriginal (Reached) | Australia | Oceania | 11/27/2023 | Christian |
b - Russia/Turkey/etc is Europe but also Asia so...
c - this likely is not the true religion that they worship, but rather they have a mixture of what is listed with other local religions, or they have embraced a liberal drift and are leaving faith entirely but this is their historical faith.
Here is a list of definitions in case you wonder what exactly I mean by words like "Unreached".
Here is a list of missions organizations that reach out to the world to do missions for the Glory of God.
2024.04.29 16:45 CuriousCh33tah Proko drawing basics first project
 | Hello everyone, so I decided to enroll in Proko’s drawing course for beginners to finally learn art properly after years of doodling in notebooks. After the introduction lessons, we received our first project: drawing a pear from observation. This project had 3 rules: submitted by CuriousCh33tah to drawing [link] [comments] Draw the shapes using only straight lines. Use only the 5 values shown in the video. Make every single edge sharp. I added my drawing, the value scale and the reference image. How did I do? |
2024.04.29 16:40 TranslatorPure9319 It is incredibly hard to talk about suicidal ideations with a partner in a way that isn't threatening.
Don't get me wrong, using suicide as a threat, particular if the sentiment is hollow or just intended as manipulation is wrong. I know that happens frequently and it is terrible that humans play those games.
As someone who struggles with suicidal ideation though, I have mostly stopped talking about it other than in most direct, simple terms. Mostly I don't like doing that even anymore. I have struggled with deep contemplation of my own death for well over 20 years, and that is despite, overall, enjoying a wonderful, comfortable life surrounded by great people.
I think human nature is always a bit narcissistic in a way, or at least we seem to be generally self interested. As such I have always found that expressing even a simple concept of being suicidal - a comment to friends like "I really struggle with thoughts of suicide" for example - can make people uncomfortable and act manipulated. I think it is nearly impossible for most people close to me hear such ideas and then not think they have done something wrong, most specifically my spouse. I love the people closest to me dearly and recognize any close relationship has ups and downs but my suicidal thoughts are complicated. Often the thing that has me preserver are the great people in my life. Admitting my challenges even in small ways often has those closest to me in pain and thinking they have done something wrong when the opposite is wholy true. As such I just hide it more. Why bring them pain for something I may or may not do.
Anymore I feel if it does come to me taking my life, it is my personal choice and I just hope I have the for thought to leave a clear note explaining as much. I don't blame anyone except myself.
submitted by TranslatorPure9319 to offmychest [link] [comments]
As someone who struggles with suicidal ideation though, I have mostly stopped talking about it other than in most direct, simple terms. Mostly I don't like doing that even anymore. I have struggled with deep contemplation of my own death for well over 20 years, and that is despite, overall, enjoying a wonderful, comfortable life surrounded by great people.
I think human nature is always a bit narcissistic in a way, or at least we seem to be generally self interested. As such I have always found that expressing even a simple concept of being suicidal - a comment to friends like "I really struggle with thoughts of suicide" for example - can make people uncomfortable and act manipulated. I think it is nearly impossible for most people close to me hear such ideas and then not think they have done something wrong, most specifically my spouse. I love the people closest to me dearly and recognize any close relationship has ups and downs but my suicidal thoughts are complicated. Often the thing that has me preserver are the great people in my life. Admitting my challenges even in small ways often has those closest to me in pain and thinking they have done something wrong when the opposite is wholy true. As such I just hide it more. Why bring them pain for something I may or may not do.
Anymore I feel if it does come to me taking my life, it is my personal choice and I just hope I have the for thought to leave a clear note explaining as much. I don't blame anyone except myself.
2024.04.29 16:26 Suspicious-Fuel-3414 Recipe froze into a pillar
Hi all, just got a creami and froze my first recipe (core power vanilla and some more vanilla flavour). Put it in the freezer for 24 hours. Then in the center of the pint a frozen pillar formed making the pint not flat. I had to shave the pillar down so I could blend it. Has this happened to anyone before? Any tips?
submitted by Suspicious-Fuel-3414 to ninjacreami [link] [comments]
2024.04.29 16:18 squeezy102 Skin Idea: Pool Party Urgot
He walks around on big octopus legs, they go "slap slap slap slap" on the ground as he walks.
His shoulders and face are caked with excessive sunscreen.
He's wearing a big inflatable rubber duck life preserver.
He shoots people with a super soaker with his AA/W, it makes this sound
He throws a water balloon for his Q
His E shield effects are watery looking.
His R throws a life preserver on a rope, one of the classic red and white ones, and when pulling an enemy in, their screen effects are the rope from the life preserver. Upon successful execution, he opens up a slip and slide and drags the enemy down the slip and slide.
submitted by squeezy102 to leagueoflegends [link] [comments]
His shoulders and face are caked with excessive sunscreen.
He's wearing a big inflatable rubber duck life preserver.
He shoots people with a super soaker with his AA/W, it makes this sound
He throws a water balloon for his Q
His E shield effects are watery looking.
His R throws a life preserver on a rope, one of the classic red and white ones, and when pulling an enemy in, their screen effects are the rope from the life preserver. Upon successful execution, he opens up a slip and slide and drags the enemy down the slip and slide.
2024.04.29 16:15 Dot200 [The Last Prince of Rennaya] Chapter 50: Keystone
Previous First Chapter Next
Belo led them through a tunnel, past a large door, covered by rubble. They cleared it, then continued through. Sarah had heard them when they landed, disturbing her expedition site, and because of curiosity, she decided to tag along.
"Where are we going?" She asked the Chief.
He looked back at her, as he led the way, with a brightly lit fireball in his palms. "A place only permitted on special permits and a site for pilgrimage for some. There used to be a second entrance, but it was destroyed during the invasion. It is called the Armaya."
Cobwebs lined the walls, as geckos, mice, and other small insects scurried around the descending tunnel. There was a sharp turn, then a left. After a dozen more meters, they stopped, at a large room. Dimly lit, by a faint ray of light. However, just before they entered, Tobi helped Belo light the room.
They were shocked by the ancient drawings and glyphs, fading around the room. In the middle, was a black cube taking up about a fifth of the room and glowed with the glyphs of ancient writing, on all four sides. as if placed there intentionally.
The cube had streams of lava, flowing through its cracks, like a network of rivers. On the cube's surface were writings, written in foreign handwriting and ink. The entire cube seemed to shimmer every so often. At the bottom right of it, a fist-sized hole, outlined by a black metal and cushion-like casing, seemed placed there at the last minute, throwing off the whole aesthetic.
"Woah! No way something like this is down here. Sarah, we gotta take a picture of this." Tobi tried reading what was on the cube, but it was written in an ancient language. He looked at his brother, squinting his eyes at the texts on the massive cube. "Can you read this?"
Osei shook his head. "I can, but it's written in very old writing, making it hard for me to interpret."
Tobi looked once more at the cube. The words started to translate slowly into English, with the help of his contacts. Belo walked in front of both of them, then called Sarah's attention, who was busy, taking professional pictures of the entire room.
"If I may... These texts are from, ancient times. Last updated about 2 million years ago." Belo, started, once they were all ready.
Tobi, Osei, and Sarah were shocked. Sarah spoke up, in disbelief. "How's that possible? The earliest writing system, for our species, wasn't developed until 3500 B.C.E, with the Sumerian Cuneiform, also, what material can survive for that long? Are you saying, there were civilizations, capable of passing down complex knowledge as far as 2 million years ago?"
Belo smiled. "All I know is what's been deciphered, through these texts." He touched the stone, as his handprint showed up, then disappeared. "These stones were not only meant to pass down knowledge but also to warn of the Dark One. A being, that wiped out the ancient empire and broke up the galaxy."
Tobi shook his head. "The Dark One. Why am I hearing so much about them? Shouldn't it be dead by now?"
Belo shook his head and chuckled. "Some believe it to be a fable or a myth but the Dark One is not a creature of the earth like us, or the children of Atlas. It is said to be roaming the universe, hoping to make itself whole once more."
He sensed more questions incoming but raised his finger to continue. "There's more. Before its destruction, the leaders of the ancient kingdom constructed these cubes, called Keystones, made out of versillium, blood, and other contents lost through time, all to preserve these texts and lead the chosen ones, to the Alcore. A supposed piece and important part of the dark ones soul, that can grant the owner immense power and any of their wishes."
He paused to take a breath and walked over to the hole on the bottom right of the cube. Before he could speak, Tobi blurted out. "There's no way, we got all of this, just from one cube?"
Belo laughed, lightly. "No. I've been interested in ancient history since I was a child. Rennayan historians and archeologists got together, with scientists from other planets and because of those nations, sharing their keystones, we were able to piece together and maintain the true history."
He pointed at the hole. "Those chosen by the people must gather at least 200 keystones. Of which, 10, like this one, will lead you to the Alcore."
Saphyra was baffled by all of this information. She was surprised that there was no mention of the keystones in any hard drives that they had seized from the children of Atlas. As well as from her future self.
"That must be Atlas's goal. Picking out 200 guardians, like his children for the keystones." She said, after mulling things over.
Belo nodded at her words. "It's possible since your followers will have to trust and believe in you, to want to thrust their arms inside, to unlock the seal for the Alcore."
Osei stepped back in disbelief. How had he gone on for so long, without such knowledge?
Jelani was ecstatic to hear all of this, once again, but she had never been down below, to personally see the keystone. She was entranced by its design and constant glow.
Tobi walked closer to it. Almost able to read about sixty percent of texts written across the stone. "Wow, if this was all part of some book, it would be an epic for the ages."
A voice paralyzed them, from up above. "A true epic, it would be indeed."
Descending slowly out of the hole, letting out the faint ray of light, was a being they dreaded facing this early on. Atlas, the Cerian Emperor had arrived...
Notes:
This chapter is probably the shortest in the book, will post another later today.
Sumero-Akkadian Cuneiform is the earliest known writing system in the world. Used from 3400 BCE to 100 CE.
Previous First Chapter Next
submitted by Dot200 to redditserials [link] [comments]
Belo led them through a tunnel, past a large door, covered by rubble. They cleared it, then continued through. Sarah had heard them when they landed, disturbing her expedition site, and because of curiosity, she decided to tag along.
"Where are we going?" She asked the Chief.
He looked back at her, as he led the way, with a brightly lit fireball in his palms. "A place only permitted on special permits and a site for pilgrimage for some. There used to be a second entrance, but it was destroyed during the invasion. It is called the Armaya."
Cobwebs lined the walls, as geckos, mice, and other small insects scurried around the descending tunnel. There was a sharp turn, then a left. After a dozen more meters, they stopped, at a large room. Dimly lit, by a faint ray of light. However, just before they entered, Tobi helped Belo light the room.
They were shocked by the ancient drawings and glyphs, fading around the room. In the middle, was a black cube taking up about a fifth of the room and glowed with the glyphs of ancient writing, on all four sides. as if placed there intentionally.
The cube had streams of lava, flowing through its cracks, like a network of rivers. On the cube's surface were writings, written in foreign handwriting and ink. The entire cube seemed to shimmer every so often. At the bottom right of it, a fist-sized hole, outlined by a black metal and cushion-like casing, seemed placed there at the last minute, throwing off the whole aesthetic.
"Woah! No way something like this is down here. Sarah, we gotta take a picture of this." Tobi tried reading what was on the cube, but it was written in an ancient language. He looked at his brother, squinting his eyes at the texts on the massive cube. "Can you read this?"
Osei shook his head. "I can, but it's written in very old writing, making it hard for me to interpret."
Tobi looked once more at the cube. The words started to translate slowly into English, with the help of his contacts. Belo walked in front of both of them, then called Sarah's attention, who was busy, taking professional pictures of the entire room.
"If I may... These texts are from, ancient times. Last updated about 2 million years ago." Belo, started, once they were all ready.
Tobi, Osei, and Sarah were shocked. Sarah spoke up, in disbelief. "How's that possible? The earliest writing system, for our species, wasn't developed until 3500 B.C.E, with the Sumerian Cuneiform, also, what material can survive for that long? Are you saying, there were civilizations, capable of passing down complex knowledge as far as 2 million years ago?"
Belo smiled. "All I know is what's been deciphered, through these texts." He touched the stone, as his handprint showed up, then disappeared. "These stones were not only meant to pass down knowledge but also to warn of the Dark One. A being, that wiped out the ancient empire and broke up the galaxy."
Tobi shook his head. "The Dark One. Why am I hearing so much about them? Shouldn't it be dead by now?"
Belo shook his head and chuckled. "Some believe it to be a fable or a myth but the Dark One is not a creature of the earth like us, or the children of Atlas. It is said to be roaming the universe, hoping to make itself whole once more."
He sensed more questions incoming but raised his finger to continue. "There's more. Before its destruction, the leaders of the ancient kingdom constructed these cubes, called Keystones, made out of versillium, blood, and other contents lost through time, all to preserve these texts and lead the chosen ones, to the Alcore. A supposed piece and important part of the dark ones soul, that can grant the owner immense power and any of their wishes."
He paused to take a breath and walked over to the hole on the bottom right of the cube. Before he could speak, Tobi blurted out. "There's no way, we got all of this, just from one cube?"
Belo laughed, lightly. "No. I've been interested in ancient history since I was a child. Rennayan historians and archeologists got together, with scientists from other planets and because of those nations, sharing their keystones, we were able to piece together and maintain the true history."
He pointed at the hole. "Those chosen by the people must gather at least 200 keystones. Of which, 10, like this one, will lead you to the Alcore."
Saphyra was baffled by all of this information. She was surprised that there was no mention of the keystones in any hard drives that they had seized from the children of Atlas. As well as from her future self.
"That must be Atlas's goal. Picking out 200 guardians, like his children for the keystones." She said, after mulling things over.
Belo nodded at her words. "It's possible since your followers will have to trust and believe in you, to want to thrust their arms inside, to unlock the seal for the Alcore."
Osei stepped back in disbelief. How had he gone on for so long, without such knowledge?
Jelani was ecstatic to hear all of this, once again, but she had never been down below, to personally see the keystone. She was entranced by its design and constant glow.
Tobi walked closer to it. Almost able to read about sixty percent of texts written across the stone. "Wow, if this was all part of some book, it would be an epic for the ages."
A voice paralyzed them, from up above. "A true epic, it would be indeed."
Descending slowly out of the hole, letting out the faint ray of light, was a being they dreaded facing this early on. Atlas, the Cerian Emperor had arrived...
This chapter is probably the shortest in the book, will post another later today.
Sumero-Akkadian Cuneiform is the earliest known writing system in the world. Used from 3400 BCE to 100 CE.
Previous First Chapter Next
2024.04.29 16:11 Dot200 The Last Prince of Rennaya 50 Keystone
Previous First Chapter Next
Belo led them through a tunnel, past a large door, covered by rubble. They cleared it, then continued through. Sarah had heard them when they landed, disturbing her expedition site, and because of curiosity, she decided to tag along.
"Where are we going?" She asked the Chief.
He looked back at her, as he led the way, with a brightly lit fireball in his palms. "A place only permitted on special permits and a site for pilgrimage for some. There used to be a second entrance, but it was destroyed during the invasion. It is called the Armaya."
Cobwebs lined the walls, as geckos, mice, and other small insects scurried around the descending tunnel. There was a sharp turn, then a left. After a dozen more meters, they stopped, at a large room. Dimly lit, by a faint ray of light. However, just before they entered, Tobi helped Belo light the room.
They were shocked by the ancient drawings and glyphs, fading around the room. In the middle, was a black cube taking up about a fifth of the room and glowed with the glyphs of ancient writing, on all four sides. as if placed there intentionally.
The cube had streams of lava, flowing through its cracks, like a network of rivers. On the cube's surface were writings, written in foreign handwriting and ink. The entire cube seemed to shimmer every so often. At the bottom right of it, a fist-sized hole, outlined by a black metal and cushion-like casing, seemed placed there at the last minute, throwing off the whole aesthetic.
"Woah! No way something like this is down here. Sarah, we gotta take a picture of this." Tobi tried reading what was on the cube, but it was written in an ancient language. He looked at his brother, squinting his eyes at the texts on the massive cube. "Can you read this?"
Osei shook his head. "I can, but it's written in very old writing, making it hard for me to interpret."
Tobi looked once more at the cube. The words started to translate slowly into English, with the help of his contacts. Belo walked in front of both of them, then called Sarah's attention, who was busy, taking professional pictures of the entire room.
"If I may... These texts are from, ancient times. Last updated about 2 million years ago." Belo, started, once they were all ready.
Tobi, Osei, and Sarah were shocked. Sarah spoke up, in disbelief. "How's that possible? The earliest writing system, for our species, wasn't developed until 3500 B.C.E, with the Sumerian Cuneiform, also, what material can survive for that long? Are you saying, there were civilizations, capable of passing down complex knowledge as far as 2 million years ago?"
Belo smiled. "All I know is what's been deciphered, through these texts." He touched the stone, as his handprint showed up, then disappeared. "These stones were not only meant to pass down knowledge but also to warn of the Dark One. A being, that wiped out the ancient empire and broke up the galaxy."
Tobi shook his head. "The Dark One. Why am I hearing so much about them? Shouldn't it be dead by now?"
Belo shook his head and chuckled. "Some believe it to be a fable or a myth but the Dark One is not a creature of the earth like us, or the children of Atlas. It is said to be roaming the universe, hoping to make itself whole once more."
He sensed more questions incoming but raised his finger to continue. "There's more. Before its destruction, the leaders of the ancient kingdom constructed these cubes, called Keystones, made out of versillium, blood, and other contents lost through time, all to preserve these texts and lead the chosen ones, to the Alcore. A supposed piece and important part of the dark ones soul, that can grant the owner immense power and any of their wishes."
He paused to take a breath and walked over to the hole on the bottom right of the cube. Before he could speak, Tobi blurted out. "There's no way, we got all of this, just from one cube?"
Belo laughed, lightly. "No. I've been interested in ancient history since I was a child. Rennayan historians and archeologists got together, with scientists from other planets and because of those nations, sharing their keystones, we were able to piece together and maintain the true history."
He pointed at the hole. "Those chosen by the people must gather at least 200 keystones. Of which, 10, like this one, will lead you to the Alcore."
Saphyra was baffled by all of this information. She was surprised that there was no mention of the keystones in any hard drives that they had seized from the children of Atlas. As well as from her future self.
"That must be Atlas's goal. Picking out 200 guardians, like his children for the keystones." She said, after mulling things over.
Belo nodded at her words. "It's possible since your followers will have to trust and believe in you, to want to thrust their arms inside, to unlock the seal for the Alcore."
Osei stepped back in disbelief. How had he gone on for so long, without such knowledge?
Jelani was ecstatic to hear all of this, once again, but she had never been down below, to personally see the keystone. She was entranced by its design and constant glow.
Tobi walked closer to it. Almost able to read about sixty percent of texts written across the stone. "Wow, if this was all part of some book, it would be an epic for the ages."
A voice paralyzed them, from up above. "A true epic, it would be indeed."
Descending slowly out of the hole, letting out the faint ray of light, was a being they dreaded facing this early on. Atlas, the Cerian Emperor had arrived...
Notes:
This chapter is probably the shortest, will post another later today.
Sumero-Akkadian Cuneiform is the earliest known writing system in the world. Used from 3400 BCE to 100 CE.
Previous First Chapter Next
submitted by Dot200 to HFY [link] [comments]
Belo led them through a tunnel, past a large door, covered by rubble. They cleared it, then continued through. Sarah had heard them when they landed, disturbing her expedition site, and because of curiosity, she decided to tag along.
"Where are we going?" She asked the Chief.
He looked back at her, as he led the way, with a brightly lit fireball in his palms. "A place only permitted on special permits and a site for pilgrimage for some. There used to be a second entrance, but it was destroyed during the invasion. It is called the Armaya."
Cobwebs lined the walls, as geckos, mice, and other small insects scurried around the descending tunnel. There was a sharp turn, then a left. After a dozen more meters, they stopped, at a large room. Dimly lit, by a faint ray of light. However, just before they entered, Tobi helped Belo light the room.
They were shocked by the ancient drawings and glyphs, fading around the room. In the middle, was a black cube taking up about a fifth of the room and glowed with the glyphs of ancient writing, on all four sides. as if placed there intentionally.
The cube had streams of lava, flowing through its cracks, like a network of rivers. On the cube's surface were writings, written in foreign handwriting and ink. The entire cube seemed to shimmer every so often. At the bottom right of it, a fist-sized hole, outlined by a black metal and cushion-like casing, seemed placed there at the last minute, throwing off the whole aesthetic.
"Woah! No way something like this is down here. Sarah, we gotta take a picture of this." Tobi tried reading what was on the cube, but it was written in an ancient language. He looked at his brother, squinting his eyes at the texts on the massive cube. "Can you read this?"
Osei shook his head. "I can, but it's written in very old writing, making it hard for me to interpret."
Tobi looked once more at the cube. The words started to translate slowly into English, with the help of his contacts. Belo walked in front of both of them, then called Sarah's attention, who was busy, taking professional pictures of the entire room.
"If I may... These texts are from, ancient times. Last updated about 2 million years ago." Belo, started, once they were all ready.
Tobi, Osei, and Sarah were shocked. Sarah spoke up, in disbelief. "How's that possible? The earliest writing system, for our species, wasn't developed until 3500 B.C.E, with the Sumerian Cuneiform, also, what material can survive for that long? Are you saying, there were civilizations, capable of passing down complex knowledge as far as 2 million years ago?"
Belo smiled. "All I know is what's been deciphered, through these texts." He touched the stone, as his handprint showed up, then disappeared. "These stones were not only meant to pass down knowledge but also to warn of the Dark One. A being, that wiped out the ancient empire and broke up the galaxy."
Tobi shook his head. "The Dark One. Why am I hearing so much about them? Shouldn't it be dead by now?"
Belo shook his head and chuckled. "Some believe it to be a fable or a myth but the Dark One is not a creature of the earth like us, or the children of Atlas. It is said to be roaming the universe, hoping to make itself whole once more."
He sensed more questions incoming but raised his finger to continue. "There's more. Before its destruction, the leaders of the ancient kingdom constructed these cubes, called Keystones, made out of versillium, blood, and other contents lost through time, all to preserve these texts and lead the chosen ones, to the Alcore. A supposed piece and important part of the dark ones soul, that can grant the owner immense power and any of their wishes."
He paused to take a breath and walked over to the hole on the bottom right of the cube. Before he could speak, Tobi blurted out. "There's no way, we got all of this, just from one cube?"
Belo laughed, lightly. "No. I've been interested in ancient history since I was a child. Rennayan historians and archeologists got together, with scientists from other planets and because of those nations, sharing their keystones, we were able to piece together and maintain the true history."
He pointed at the hole. "Those chosen by the people must gather at least 200 keystones. Of which, 10, like this one, will lead you to the Alcore."
Saphyra was baffled by all of this information. She was surprised that there was no mention of the keystones in any hard drives that they had seized from the children of Atlas. As well as from her future self.
"That must be Atlas's goal. Picking out 200 guardians, like his children for the keystones." She said, after mulling things over.
Belo nodded at her words. "It's possible since your followers will have to trust and believe in you, to want to thrust their arms inside, to unlock the seal for the Alcore."
Osei stepped back in disbelief. How had he gone on for so long, without such knowledge?
Jelani was ecstatic to hear all of this, once again, but she had never been down below, to personally see the keystone. She was entranced by its design and constant glow.
Tobi walked closer to it. Almost able to read about sixty percent of texts written across the stone. "Wow, if this was all part of some book, it would be an epic for the ages."
A voice paralyzed them, from up above. "A true epic, it would be indeed."
Descending slowly out of the hole, letting out the faint ray of light, was a being they dreaded facing this early on. Atlas, the Cerian Emperor had arrived...
This chapter is probably the shortest, will post another later today.
Sumero-Akkadian Cuneiform is the earliest known writing system in the world. Used from 3400 BCE to 100 CE.
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2024.04.29 16:02 pizzaovener Learning Poster restoration and preservation; NOT a DIY request
I am an avid vintage poster collector and have been for the past 35 years. I have watched with amazement how others I have encountered over the years have skillfully restored and preserved old paper and posters I found (my oldest is a two panel printed in 1894).
I want to learn how to restore and preserve posters with linen lining so I can do it myself. This will allow me to expand my interests within my budget with a goal of opening my own business in semi-retirement someday.
I am looking for course of study to learn. I am afraid that too many YouTube videos is making me think reckless thoughts and one day I will do something stupid in my garage.
I am open to learning in either English or Spanish (but alas, not French). Preferably hands on.
Any suggestions?
submitted by pizzaovener to ArtConservation [link] [comments]
I want to learn how to restore and preserve posters with linen lining so I can do it myself. This will allow me to expand my interests within my budget with a goal of opening my own business in semi-retirement someday.
I am looking for course of study to learn. I am afraid that too many YouTube videos is making me think reckless thoughts and one day I will do something stupid in my garage.
I am open to learning in either English or Spanish (but alas, not French). Preferably hands on.
Any suggestions?
2024.04.29 15:51 Awkward_Coffee8017 Fun Stealth builds?
So I've been thinking about stealth builds again... mainly how much I hate them to my core when the build leads you to not doing objectives and instead opting to sit in a corner all game until Hatch spawns (looking at you, random person with Distortion, Iron Will, Self Care, and Urban Evasion that sits in the corner all game).
Anyway, hatred aside, I've been thinking, what're some stealthy perks/playstyles that can both be fun and some way, and not essentially make your team lose a member from refusing to do objectives? So far what I'm thinking of, is something-something Distortion + Self Preservation.
submitted by Awkward_Coffee8017 to deadbydaylight [link] [comments]
Anyway, hatred aside, I've been thinking, what're some stealthy perks/playstyles that can both be fun and some way, and not essentially make your team lose a member from refusing to do objectives? So far what I'm thinking of, is something-something Distortion + Self Preservation.
2024.04.29 15:47 Rakne97 Structuring possible 2.2 theories.
This covers spoiler content up to latest 2.1 version:
Also I know nothing about HI3rd or anything outside of HSR, so if there is additional meta context I'm happy to include it
Rather than putting in a content dump, I'm breaking this up as concisely as possible for reading, and to see how many of these are right: (will add/update but not remove based on what comes up in comments/additional context)
The 2.2 endgame:
If TB had a new path:
submitted by Rakne97 to HonkaiStarRail [link] [comments]
Also I know nothing about HI3rd or anything outside of HSR, so if there is additional meta context I'm happy to include it
Rather than putting in a content dump, I'm breaking this up as concisely as possible for reading, and to see how many of these are right: (will add/update but not remove based on what comes up in comments/additional context)
The 2.2 endgame:
- We know our final boss is "Harmonious Choir" The Great Septimus. Hence an emanatorepresentation of Harmony.
- We can also likely conclude that Robin and Sunday have an influence on summoning this boss, or they summon the boss themselves as an emanator.
- Trailer panes upwards on Robin's concert to the birth of the Aeon
- The family are a representation of Harmony
- We see a Robin banner, a Jade banner but we don't see a Sunday banner. Even though Jade only appears once in Aventurine's backstory or in small mentions under conversations with Topaz, this could possibly mean that Sunday becomes the emanator?
- If we follow the pattern of song releases, with 2.0's White Night being about Aventurine, 2.2's "Welcome to My World (Sway to My Beat in Cosmos)" seems to indicate what the Charmony Festival is and why they are summoning the emanator in the first place:
- "Rise up into my world"... "Join my dream" Note that it is my world, indicating that the ownership of this world is not shared but owned presumably by the Family
- "Renew your definition" seems innocuous enough, you probably want to take on a new identity in a new world. But " No more ties" is where it goes off the rails, indicating that you lose your previous identity in doing so.
- This ties in all the new side content context we are getting: (Vignettes where the customers lose their original identities, Clockie being a normal person in disguise performing and the McCoy storylines)
- If we presume that release cycles follow what we see so far (Phantylia in 1.2, then resolution in 1.3), we can assume 1.2 is the climax arc and 1.3 is the resolution arc.
- Alternatively, we can believe the massive black hole defeating an emanator of Harmony can do to Penacony and that 1.3 needs Firefly to do something to stop it.
- Post live-stream:
- Boss design seems to give major Sunday Vibes
- the buttons on his wing ear and on his coat resemble the 3 buttons on boss coat
- the ring pattern of his attacks seems rather similar of a multi-pointed compass as what Sunday's halo pattern
- Boss lore follows their advanced trace material. For Septimus, it's "Lost Echo of a Shared Wish". Foolish dreamer = Robin? False player = Gallagher? THEY could be Xipe?
- Boss design seems to give major Sunday Vibes
If TB had a new path:
- Not sure if it was a leak/ a rumo a spoiler etc, but entertaining the thought if that is real: Which Aeon would it be?
- A lot of people seem to assume it is Harmony (or a good Harmony). I don't believe that to be true. Aeons are akin to gods and are fixated on their representations. It wouldn't really make much sense to have Paths in conflict with each other.
- We also see the first Path (Fire Preservation that is drawn) is in direct opposition to the eternal cold that was borne about. Although it is fair to say that in both Belobog and XZLF, we have not yet a conflict between Paths.
- Erudition
- Thematically, while Harmony could be the force that encourages the procurement of knowledge, I believe that Harmony's hive mind actually prevents the pursuit of knowledge. Preventing the discussion and desire to know more.
- The influence of 2 characters possibly lend to this, Himeko
andJing Yuan. - Himeko seems to know a lot more than she is leading on, and she plays a significant role in providing information to TB.
While Jing Yuan's appearance could be a "Let's call this guy in to prevent TB from having any more Get Out of Jail Free cards",Nah scrap this, Jing Yuan's just the smart strong guy that brings the firepower to clap emanators. (I can't think of any other reason they decided to call this guy in)- (Boss seems to spawn multiple singing adds, and Erudition specializes in multi-target damage?)
- Enigmata
- We can see that Enigmata seems to have an objective in conflict with Harmony, hence the conversation between Gallagher and Sunday.
- Problem is, Enigmata doesn't exist as a playable path atm and it would probably be a massive rug pull if it could.
- Nihility
- Acheron and Welt are characters heavily referenced to having an influence in the main story. Acheron especially is the only person that can bring people to the other side.
- DoT, which Nihility represents, is a heavy counter to representations of Enigmata (MZM). Hence TB awakens the path of Nihility with Acheron and swallows up the subconsciousness of Penacony thus saving Penacony in 2.3 (This is too cracked sorry).
- Nihility is thematically lazy and probably has no interest in this
- Destruction
- Destruction is the direct opposition to Harmony thematically
- TB already has a physical Destruction Path.
- Harmony
- Harmony can work, but as an opposition to the Enigmata (GallagheMZM) crew.
- plays on the extended 2.3 theory.
- We could see something like 1.3 where everything gets resolved, nothing of importance was lost etc. But then, assuming that 2.2 revolves around the Charmony Festival, several plot points are still left open:
- At the end of 2.1, Gallagher's reveal as the Big Bad and MZM were rather significant plot points. Yet they do not appear in any of the 2.2 trailer content at all
- Jade is part of the banner lineup in 2.3, which means she likely plays a heavy plot role in the story at that phase. (meaning IPC representation)
- We saw that TB and crew defeat the Harmony representative and bring down the festival, but this leaves a massive power vacuum in its wake.
- That's where IPC comes in (hence Jade) and Enigmata crew come in to fight over the remaining rights and property that remains in the aftermath.
- I'm not sure how it ends but following gacha game logic:
- No major banner characters die
- Nothing gets destroyed, or Penacony gets restored. hence still open world
- which could severly limit the scope of what is possible in endgame.
- Maybe this is where TB unlocks Harmony Path and defeats Jade crew + Enigmata crew and everyone lives happily ever after. Who knows?
2024.04.29 15:45 Bluescape05 [GM4A] A Galaxy of Adventures: Star Wars Prompts (Sci-Fi, World B
Hello there, everyone! I hope you’re doing well today, wherever you are in the world. I hope you enjoyed my post as well. If you could tell from the title up there, I’m looking for a friend to help me play out a scenario. Not just any scenario though; one taking place in the world of Star Wars. I’m a huge fan of the series and I’ve been absolutely itching to play out a story set in the world. The galaxy is so huge and unique, it’s practically asking for stories and characters to be made! There’s a million different scenarios and genres to play around with too. Romance, adventure, crime, etc. Looking for your next big heist at a seedy cantina, training and meditating on some distant planet, fleeing from the Empire on a spaceship — its all so exciting to imagine. I’ve brought a couple of prompts I think you’d be interested in, but before I get into any details, now is a good time for an info dump.
I usually play in third person, and I have no set post length; it really depends on what’s going on in the story. I usually try to keep things as detailed as possible though. In an RP, I can play both male, female, and side characters alike. I can play against male, female, and trans partners too. Everyone’s welcome here! My timezone is EST if anyone’s curious. I only write on Reddit chat, sorry to all my DM and Discord users out there. While I already have a bunch of different scenes and ideas in mind, everything is still up for discussion. Your character, the time period, names, etcetera, etcetera! Please feel free to let me know what you’re thinking and help make the story more enjoyable for yourself. I want to give you the freedom to shape your character. Even though we’re coming together to tell a story, my main priority will always be that we’re having fun. I’m also a huge fan of OOC chat. I’d love nothing more then to chat and nerd out about the story and our characters. Sharing faceclaims, headcanons, things like that!
Now, without further ado, onto the plots!
Skies of Coruscant: Throughout the High Republic era and the waning years of the Republic, the Jedi Order stood as the ultimate symbol of heroism. United in their devotion towards the light-side of the Force, the benevolent knights of the republic carried the task of preserving peace and justice throughout the crime-ridden galaxy. With the aid of their trusty lightsabers and the power of the Force, the Jedi kept evildoers everywhere at bay. An abundance of evildoers at that; greedy smugglers, corrupted politicians, and the ever-growing Sith were just a handful of the plethora of enemies they had to face. But it wasn’t just their enemies that kept them at odds. Their strict code, their temptation to the dark — danger lurked around every corner. What kind of Jedi will you grow to become?
A Lesson in Love: While the duties of a Jedi Knight seemed to overshadow those of a Padawan, the status and responsibilities of a Jedi Apprentice were no laughing matter. Day in and day out, these young warriors fought and honed their skills under the watchful eyes of their masters, hoping to live up to their legacy someday. You were no different. Yet, alongside your master, you also frequently trained alongside a close friend and their master as well. Ever since you two had met, you had been at odds with one another. It wasn’t long before a rivalry sparked between the both of you, always striving to be the best and outwit the other. Though, in spite of that friendly rivalry, a crush formed. Then something more than a crush, something stronger. Only time will tell if this love will blossom or not.
Come Rain or Storm: Clones. Fierce, reliable, loyal to a fault. These were just a few of the traits that made the clone troopers perfect as soldiers in the desperate fight against the Separatist Army. Those traits may have been prized, but you came around to understand there was a dark, blatant truth about the clones. All of them were expendable. Forged on the rainy, sullen world of Kamino, a batch of troopers could be grown and trained on a whim, all made in the likeness of one another. One died? Make another. Simple, yet cruel. It was a sad reality, but one you put up with nonetheless. The clones were undyingly loyal to their Jedi generals, notorious for putting their lives on the line for their sake. You wouldn’t stop fighting until the awful Clone Wars had finally come to an end and the Republic claimed victory.
Heart of The Rebellion: It’s been a year since the Emperor declared the creation of his new Empire. Caught in his perilous clutches, the future of the galaxy has never been more uncertain. The Jedi that once kept the peace have been all but weeded out. Anyone deemed as a threat is hunted down without fail. All those who resist the Empire are either arrested or killed. Just when all hope seems lost though, the Rebel Alliance stands proud, willing to fight back against the tyranny of the Empire. It was no easy task, but if you wanted to live to see the age of a free galaxy once again, it was up to you and your new allies to help bring the Empire’s reign to an end. Though, along the way, you might find another kind of fire sparking in your heart. Love.
The Witch & The Wanderer: After a particularly rough mission leaves you on the brink of death, your first instinct is to hurry back to your ship and take to the skies. For once, it was better to run first and ask questions later. After setting a course for the closest system to you, your travels landed you on an obscure planet. Dathomir. Hazy red skies and barren lands welcomed you, offering you refuge in this time of need. It wasn’t long before you found out that weren’t the only person on this planet, however. Your first contact with the natives of this strange world came in the form of a mysterious woman. Her strange looks seemed to mask good intentions though. She’d take you in and tend to your wounds, helping you out — for now. Will you come around to trust this woman or will you try and escape from Dathomir the first chance you get?
The Rule of Two: The Sith Empire was no place for the weak or the faint of heart. Darkness, deceit, treachery and death were all one could expect in their pursuit for power. You had come to know this better than anyone. Raised up under the tutelage of a Sith Lord, strife was all you ever knew. You honed your skills of the dark side of the Force, festered your hatred, trained until your bones splintered and broke — your life was a vicious cycle of pain, desire, and power. Even still, you found comfort in knowing there was someone else who shared the same pain as you. A fellow Sith apprentice. Someone you could rely on just as much as they relied on you. Someone you loved. You could only hope that all the pain they endured and their own pursuit for freedom and power wouldn’t taint their heart for good.
A Scoundrels Tale: Despite all the glitz and glamour that the Galaxy entailed — it’s technology, vast history, and all the potential for greatness it held — darkness and danger lurked around every corner. Fiends and petty crooks are child’s play compared to smugglers, bounty hunters, and countless of other corrupt faces you’d find scurrying around in the underworld of the Galaxy. It’s an evil, wild world out there, but you could tame it if you knew your way around. Strength, cunning, connections — these are the things that make the difference between life or death out in the Galaxy. Everyone knew there was safety in numbers, and if you cherished your life and your freedom, you needed people to rely on. Lucky for you, there’s a whole galaxy full of friends to make — or foes if you aren’t careful.
Imperial Hearts: If the cruelty of the Empire had a face, it was Karin Velt’s. Strict, orderly, and proud to a fault, she takes her job as an imperial commander very seriously, showing little tolerance to those who fool around. Her sass and severity is matched only be her loyalty to the Empire as she is harsh towards the squad of Stormtroopers she oversees yet respectful towards her fellow imperial officers. Despite being rough around the edges, you were able to tell that there was still a much softer side hidden somewhere in her — someone that wanted to do some good. Are you a stormtrooper in her cohort? A rebel spy? Regardless, can you melt Commander Velt’s stone-cold heart?
Sands of Tatooine: Tatooine. That dry, barren ball of dust floating around hopelessly in space. While many would look at it and see nothing but crime and decay, the keenest eyes see a fortune to be made. Water may have been scarce, but there were plenty of other resources hidden beneath the sand that were ripe for the taking. Smugglers and businessmen alike were eager to get a piece of that fortune there, yourself included — though anyone who dared take from the desert had to answer to the Tusken Raiders. The cruel and merciless savages native to the sands of Tatooine. Or so you thought. Rumors of a band of raiders lead by a fierce warrior start to spread like fire, deterring off-worlders and locals alike. Someone had to put a stop to their antics. Though, when you finally come face to face with this supposed warrior — a human living amongst them — you begin to learn that there might be more to the Tuskens after all.
Glory to Mandalore: The Mandalorian name is one sure to strike fear and respect into the heart of anyone who hears it. Bound by a common creed and a strict code, the Mandalorians were a fierce warrior people led by honor and war alone. Many people might’ve saw them as nothing more than warmongering brutes, but their society is rich in culture and tradition. A warrior religion with simple principles that served as the foundation to their lives and their culture most importantly. One’s prowess in battle, having a strong sense of honor, and one’s family above all else — blood or not — that was the way. Of course, a Mandalorian’s life was nothing easy. Fierce battles, a galaxy full of dangers, and a slew of clans and houses that are locked in tense rivalries are just a handful of the challenges they face. Only the strong survive here.
I hope you enjoyed that! If you’re interested, please don’t be shy and send me a chat! Let me know what you liked, what caught your eye, and any ideas or questions you might have. I’m really looking forward to hearing from you. Take care! <3
submitted by Bluescape05 to roleplaying [link] [comments]
I usually play in third person, and I have no set post length; it really depends on what’s going on in the story. I usually try to keep things as detailed as possible though. In an RP, I can play both male, female, and side characters alike. I can play against male, female, and trans partners too. Everyone’s welcome here! My timezone is EST if anyone’s curious. I only write on Reddit chat, sorry to all my DM and Discord users out there. While I already have a bunch of different scenes and ideas in mind, everything is still up for discussion. Your character, the time period, names, etcetera, etcetera! Please feel free to let me know what you’re thinking and help make the story more enjoyable for yourself. I want to give you the freedom to shape your character. Even though we’re coming together to tell a story, my main priority will always be that we’re having fun. I’m also a huge fan of OOC chat. I’d love nothing more then to chat and nerd out about the story and our characters. Sharing faceclaims, headcanons, things like that!
Now, without further ado, onto the plots!
Skies of Coruscant: Throughout the High Republic era and the waning years of the Republic, the Jedi Order stood as the ultimate symbol of heroism. United in their devotion towards the light-side of the Force, the benevolent knights of the republic carried the task of preserving peace and justice throughout the crime-ridden galaxy. With the aid of their trusty lightsabers and the power of the Force, the Jedi kept evildoers everywhere at bay. An abundance of evildoers at that; greedy smugglers, corrupted politicians, and the ever-growing Sith were just a handful of the plethora of enemies they had to face. But it wasn’t just their enemies that kept them at odds. Their strict code, their temptation to the dark — danger lurked around every corner. What kind of Jedi will you grow to become?
A Lesson in Love: While the duties of a Jedi Knight seemed to overshadow those of a Padawan, the status and responsibilities of a Jedi Apprentice were no laughing matter. Day in and day out, these young warriors fought and honed their skills under the watchful eyes of their masters, hoping to live up to their legacy someday. You were no different. Yet, alongside your master, you also frequently trained alongside a close friend and their master as well. Ever since you two had met, you had been at odds with one another. It wasn’t long before a rivalry sparked between the both of you, always striving to be the best and outwit the other. Though, in spite of that friendly rivalry, a crush formed. Then something more than a crush, something stronger. Only time will tell if this love will blossom or not.
Come Rain or Storm: Clones. Fierce, reliable, loyal to a fault. These were just a few of the traits that made the clone troopers perfect as soldiers in the desperate fight against the Separatist Army. Those traits may have been prized, but you came around to understand there was a dark, blatant truth about the clones. All of them were expendable. Forged on the rainy, sullen world of Kamino, a batch of troopers could be grown and trained on a whim, all made in the likeness of one another. One died? Make another. Simple, yet cruel. It was a sad reality, but one you put up with nonetheless. The clones were undyingly loyal to their Jedi generals, notorious for putting their lives on the line for their sake. You wouldn’t stop fighting until the awful Clone Wars had finally come to an end and the Republic claimed victory.
Heart of The Rebellion: It’s been a year since the Emperor declared the creation of his new Empire. Caught in his perilous clutches, the future of the galaxy has never been more uncertain. The Jedi that once kept the peace have been all but weeded out. Anyone deemed as a threat is hunted down without fail. All those who resist the Empire are either arrested or killed. Just when all hope seems lost though, the Rebel Alliance stands proud, willing to fight back against the tyranny of the Empire. It was no easy task, but if you wanted to live to see the age of a free galaxy once again, it was up to you and your new allies to help bring the Empire’s reign to an end. Though, along the way, you might find another kind of fire sparking in your heart. Love.
The Witch & The Wanderer: After a particularly rough mission leaves you on the brink of death, your first instinct is to hurry back to your ship and take to the skies. For once, it was better to run first and ask questions later. After setting a course for the closest system to you, your travels landed you on an obscure planet. Dathomir. Hazy red skies and barren lands welcomed you, offering you refuge in this time of need. It wasn’t long before you found out that weren’t the only person on this planet, however. Your first contact with the natives of this strange world came in the form of a mysterious woman. Her strange looks seemed to mask good intentions though. She’d take you in and tend to your wounds, helping you out — for now. Will you come around to trust this woman or will you try and escape from Dathomir the first chance you get?
The Rule of Two: The Sith Empire was no place for the weak or the faint of heart. Darkness, deceit, treachery and death were all one could expect in their pursuit for power. You had come to know this better than anyone. Raised up under the tutelage of a Sith Lord, strife was all you ever knew. You honed your skills of the dark side of the Force, festered your hatred, trained until your bones splintered and broke — your life was a vicious cycle of pain, desire, and power. Even still, you found comfort in knowing there was someone else who shared the same pain as you. A fellow Sith apprentice. Someone you could rely on just as much as they relied on you. Someone you loved. You could only hope that all the pain they endured and their own pursuit for freedom and power wouldn’t taint their heart for good.
A Scoundrels Tale: Despite all the glitz and glamour that the Galaxy entailed — it’s technology, vast history, and all the potential for greatness it held — darkness and danger lurked around every corner. Fiends and petty crooks are child’s play compared to smugglers, bounty hunters, and countless of other corrupt faces you’d find scurrying around in the underworld of the Galaxy. It’s an evil, wild world out there, but you could tame it if you knew your way around. Strength, cunning, connections — these are the things that make the difference between life or death out in the Galaxy. Everyone knew there was safety in numbers, and if you cherished your life and your freedom, you needed people to rely on. Lucky for you, there’s a whole galaxy full of friends to make — or foes if you aren’t careful.
Imperial Hearts: If the cruelty of the Empire had a face, it was Karin Velt’s. Strict, orderly, and proud to a fault, she takes her job as an imperial commander very seriously, showing little tolerance to those who fool around. Her sass and severity is matched only be her loyalty to the Empire as she is harsh towards the squad of Stormtroopers she oversees yet respectful towards her fellow imperial officers. Despite being rough around the edges, you were able to tell that there was still a much softer side hidden somewhere in her — someone that wanted to do some good. Are you a stormtrooper in her cohort? A rebel spy? Regardless, can you melt Commander Velt’s stone-cold heart?
Sands of Tatooine: Tatooine. That dry, barren ball of dust floating around hopelessly in space. While many would look at it and see nothing but crime and decay, the keenest eyes see a fortune to be made. Water may have been scarce, but there were plenty of other resources hidden beneath the sand that were ripe for the taking. Smugglers and businessmen alike were eager to get a piece of that fortune there, yourself included — though anyone who dared take from the desert had to answer to the Tusken Raiders. The cruel and merciless savages native to the sands of Tatooine. Or so you thought. Rumors of a band of raiders lead by a fierce warrior start to spread like fire, deterring off-worlders and locals alike. Someone had to put a stop to their antics. Though, when you finally come face to face with this supposed warrior — a human living amongst them — you begin to learn that there might be more to the Tuskens after all.
Glory to Mandalore: The Mandalorian name is one sure to strike fear and respect into the heart of anyone who hears it. Bound by a common creed and a strict code, the Mandalorians were a fierce warrior people led by honor and war alone. Many people might’ve saw them as nothing more than warmongering brutes, but their society is rich in culture and tradition. A warrior religion with simple principles that served as the foundation to their lives and their culture most importantly. One’s prowess in battle, having a strong sense of honor, and one’s family above all else — blood or not — that was the way. Of course, a Mandalorian’s life was nothing easy. Fierce battles, a galaxy full of dangers, and a slew of clans and houses that are locked in tense rivalries are just a handful of the challenges they face. Only the strong survive here.
I hope you enjoyed that! If you’re interested, please don’t be shy and send me a chat! Let me know what you liked, what caught your eye, and any ideas or questions you might have. I’m really looking forward to hearing from you. Take care! <3
2024.04.29 15:20 FiletM1gn0n "Ontological Shock" - Lets dip our toes into the water.
Hi guys,
Get ready for a long read. I apologise in advance if by the end of this post you feel you've had your time wasted. I write things like this for myself just as much as everyone else.
I personally enjoy spending my time trying to process various aspects of ufology in a rational way that ties together what we observe in life. I try to walk the tightrope between fantasy and fiction. Because, at the end of the day, we're talking about aliens. The story in itself is 'fantastical', and if you hold a belief that NHI are engaging with humanity on any level, you simply have to make at least a few assumptions to make the story make sense.
One of the aspects of the story I see time and time again, and have spent much time deciphering, is the idea of 'ontological shock'. For the uninitiated, ontological shock is learning something that contributes significantly to one's beliefs about their own identity, the idea is that the truth of the NHI phenomenon is so earth shattering that you experience an immense feeling of shock. And many people reporting to be 'in the know' have talked about this realisation.
David Grusch, Luis Elizondo, Jimmy Carter and others have all talked about this.
This particular clip really hits home: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYY1Mw8TVtg&t=384s
Ontological shock has been cited as a possible reason why the powers that be have attempted to keep this secret for so long. So after much thought about the possible truth, I wanted to share my thoughts on what this could actually mean; so below are a few different topics I have spent some time thinking about, and I consider this a good place to start the discussion.
Religious Implications
I thought I'd start with what I think is the most obvious kind of ontological shock. The truth disproving the worlds major religions, by way of discounting historical events that have influenced the development of entire cultures (i.e Christianity, Islam), or the facts about life and death being demonstrably proven to not be what any of us thought they were, for example heaven and hell not existing.
This for some would certainly be an ontological shock, but lets not forget that science has already disproved many of the claims of the worlds major religions, the age of the earth, the age of the universe, and with religion already on the decline, I find it hard to believe this reason still holds water. It may have had more weight to it 50-60 years ago, but even then religions had a knack for making the ever shifting scientific landscape fit the narrative of their religious beliefs. So whilst at first this seems like the obvious candidate, for me this is also very easily dismissed quickly.
NHI are demons
Again I won't spend much time on this one because my first question would be - what does that even mean? Demons is a word, do this mean they are pure evil spirits? If so then define that too. If demons is meant in the biblical sense that surely that would also be cause for rejoicing because it would indicate that angels exist, and heaven (yes hell too I suspect), god, I just feel this is a vague and lazy option that remains ill-defined and ultimately illogical and unhelpful. Affirming a religious theory of life would be an incredible recruiting tool for any religion to have, including the Catholic Church who are said to have intimate knowledge of the truth anyway.
Guided Evolution/Humanity is an experiment
To find out who your real 'daddy' is, so to speak, I imagine can be a big shock. The idea that humankind was either placed here as a form of experiment, and we have perhaps been genetically guided or even hybridized with whatever more primitive creatures existed here naturally is one that to me seems plausible. There are a few caveats or 'add-ons' to this hypothesis that I have thought further about and I discuss below.
Similar to the 'experiment', we could have been placed here and isolated off from the rest of the universe for our own safety, or indeed the safety of other species. I struggle to get onboard with this idea. I don't believe it's morally tenable to in effect 'punish' us for the 'sins of our ancestors'. Whilst we definitely can be a volatile species, I'd say we've hardly been given a chance to show our maturity, and our NHI overlords would know that the actions of the few do not represent the actions of the many. Further to this, letting the human population increase without the necessary provisions to sustain the population (food, power, water) doesn't exactly result in the calm environment that it makes sense to provide on a prison planet. I'm sure we'd find some excuses to wage war, even if finite resources weren't an issue, but it's rational to assume that violence would drastically decrease if abundance was available across the world.
Death is death
A short but simple one. To find out scientifically that death really is death. That experience ceases to exist. This would be a cause for many to feel hopeless, worthless, and I personally would feel sadness. Although I find this an extremely rational position to hold, it doesn't appear to resonate with any of the current NHI theories, and in the many hints given to us, it appears to not be what is being eluded to.
Universal Consciousness
This has been eluded to and even directly proclaimed so many times that it appears to be one of the leading hypotheses in the field currently. NHI know that consciousness is a universal phenomenon, death does not mean the end of experience (though it could mean the end of the ego), and consciousness must be nurtured and preserved, allowed to spread and learn. Whilst this would undoubtedly shake religion to it's core, lets not forget that many people seek out religion because the idea of surviving death is the driving comfort behind belief. I'm not religious, but I would personally rejoice to find out that experience continues in some way. This would be shocking to hear, but I doubt the world would lose hope, feel sadness, or be sombre. I believe that learning this truth would be incredibly beneficial for humanity. It's for this reason that I don't think this idea is being hinted as the reason there would be 'ontological shock'.
We are a simulation
We could be AI ourselves. For reasons beyond our understanding we were created as some sort of program being ran in a higher dimension. Does learning this fact alter the human experience? Not at all. Pain would continue to be painful, pleasure would continue to be pleasurable, it's not all dissimilar to the idea that the entire universe exists within a black hole. It would just mean that existence is effectively infinitely larger than previously thought; this is something we have discovered and come to accept several times already by discovering we weren't the center of the solar system, and then we were part of the galaxy, and that the galaxy is just one of billions of galaxies. Essentially it wouldn't really matter that we are a simulation would it? It makes no difference to anything experientially, its hardly different to god turning out to be real. Whilst it could explain why NHI seem to just 'observe us', again I don't feel this would cause the ontological shock being eluded to.
Denied a seat at the table
I don't see this talked about rationally all that often, but to me this hypothesis makes the most sense, seems to answer many questions about the situation we find ourselves in. People are understandably frustrated that the government/private aerospace is unwilling to tell us the truth regarding NHI, but it's very rarely pointed out in this case, that the NHI themselves haven't exactly landed in Times Square, or at the Superbowl, to tell us about how wonderful the universe is, and to welcome us into the galactic community.
This to me is a huge tell. There is absolutely a reason (or likely a combination of reasons) why NHI haven't revealed themselves. The reasons for this could be wide ranging, but a few catch my attention more than others.
In my opinion, the fact that NHI have chosen not to reveal themselves at least shows that they do not think it would be beneficial for them/us/others to do so. This points to us being denied a seat at the table in some way, and for a very important reason. My guess is it's because we need to choose to dismantle our ability to kill ourselves so that we can demonstrate the restraint needed to wield the kind of power NHI have to offer. If we knew this, we would be shocked to find out that those in power have chosen to ignore this proposition, and that it is their fault that we have not been transformed as a species equipped to engage with the rest of the universe. The last 100+ years filled with unnecessary suffering, genocide, starvation, disease, even taxes. Yes, I would feel great sadness to learn this fact. Followed by anger, injustice, a desire to hold those accountable. What a supreme waste of time and life in the service of a few people at the top.
It's likely our 'test' is whether or not we can stop pointing the bomb at ourselves without first setting it off.
Couple the above with the fact that we are completely non-special, totally ordinary, and possibly underachieving.
Lastly, I believe the NHI have probably had a hand in our evolution. They have reportedly been here for thousands of years, much like the people studying the ants, unless you had a vested interest in the colony, you would probably move onto the next colony to study.
So the ontological shock in my opinion is as follows:
NHI have had a hand in our evolution, and are unwilling to reveal themselves because we've currently got our fingers on a button that will kill ourselves. The highest levels of a small few of the worlds governments know this, but distrust each other too much and they continue to hover over the button. They can't do anything meaningful with the technology they have recovered and are essentially being ignored or denied help by the NHI until we grow up.
Seems like a bit of an anti-climax I know, but I really do believe this is likely the case. Not much else would cause me this level of sadness and even shame.
So there we have it. Again, a long read I know. I have obviously missed plenty of other possible reasons, but this was long enough as is. If you made it this far then thanks very much for listening. This isn't the end of the conversation, just the beginning. Would love to hear more thoughts on this so please feel free to share.
p.s I love this community.
Peace x
submitted by FiletM1gn0n to aliens [link] [comments]
Get ready for a long read. I apologise in advance if by the end of this post you feel you've had your time wasted. I write things like this for myself just as much as everyone else.
I personally enjoy spending my time trying to process various aspects of ufology in a rational way that ties together what we observe in life. I try to walk the tightrope between fantasy and fiction. Because, at the end of the day, we're talking about aliens. The story in itself is 'fantastical', and if you hold a belief that NHI are engaging with humanity on any level, you simply have to make at least a few assumptions to make the story make sense.
One of the aspects of the story I see time and time again, and have spent much time deciphering, is the idea of 'ontological shock'. For the uninitiated, ontological shock is learning something that contributes significantly to one's beliefs about their own identity, the idea is that the truth of the NHI phenomenon is so earth shattering that you experience an immense feeling of shock. And many people reporting to be 'in the know' have talked about this realisation.
David Grusch, Luis Elizondo, Jimmy Carter and others have all talked about this.
This particular clip really hits home: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYY1Mw8TVtg&t=384s
Ontological shock has been cited as a possible reason why the powers that be have attempted to keep this secret for so long. So after much thought about the possible truth, I wanted to share my thoughts on what this could actually mean; so below are a few different topics I have spent some time thinking about, and I consider this a good place to start the discussion.
Religious Implications
I thought I'd start with what I think is the most obvious kind of ontological shock. The truth disproving the worlds major religions, by way of discounting historical events that have influenced the development of entire cultures (i.e Christianity, Islam), or the facts about life and death being demonstrably proven to not be what any of us thought they were, for example heaven and hell not existing.
This for some would certainly be an ontological shock, but lets not forget that science has already disproved many of the claims of the worlds major religions, the age of the earth, the age of the universe, and with religion already on the decline, I find it hard to believe this reason still holds water. It may have had more weight to it 50-60 years ago, but even then religions had a knack for making the ever shifting scientific landscape fit the narrative of their religious beliefs. So whilst at first this seems like the obvious candidate, for me this is also very easily dismissed quickly.
NHI are demons
Again I won't spend much time on this one because my first question would be - what does that even mean? Demons is a word, do this mean they are pure evil spirits? If so then define that too. If demons is meant in the biblical sense that surely that would also be cause for rejoicing because it would indicate that angels exist, and heaven (yes hell too I suspect), god, I just feel this is a vague and lazy option that remains ill-defined and ultimately illogical and unhelpful. Affirming a religious theory of life would be an incredible recruiting tool for any religion to have, including the Catholic Church who are said to have intimate knowledge of the truth anyway.
Guided Evolution/Humanity is an experiment
To find out who your real 'daddy' is, so to speak, I imagine can be a big shock. The idea that humankind was either placed here as a form of experiment, and we have perhaps been genetically guided or even hybridized with whatever more primitive creatures existed here naturally is one that to me seems plausible. There are a few caveats or 'add-ons' to this hypothesis that I have thought further about and I discuss below.
- We are being raised like cattle for harvest - it's difficult for me to comprehend what we could possibly offer our NHI farmers. We aren't very obedient, seem hell bent on killing ourselves, and we generally treat our meat bags like garbage. One idea is that it is our very consciousness's that are somehow feeding these entities. Some think that it is suffering that nourishes the reptillian overlords. Personally I find this a bit beyond what we observe in reality. If it was suffering they wanted, they could do a lot better at producing suffering. Further to this, whilst we still have a long way to go, we are no longer in the dark ages, life expectancy has consistently gone up, general well-being has always improved and continues to do so. So I cannot see this being a possibility.
- Genetically limited for experimental purposes (or our own safety) - we know our brains have a lot more to offer than what we use them for. Although the whole "we only use 10% of our brain" is a misleading statement, there are so many mysteries surrounding the functionality of the brain, why it has evolved in the way it has, why we appear to have so much 'junk' DNA. I find the idea that we have purposely been limited cognitively for experimental purposes a little disturbing, but would it be an ontological shock? I'm unsure. The human experience is still a rich tapestry of emotion and wonder, life would certainly go on. On the whole, if this hypothesis turned out to be true, I wouldn't be all that surprised, so I'm unsure this would really cause the level of ontological shock that is described by those in the know.
Similar to the 'experiment', we could have been placed here and isolated off from the rest of the universe for our own safety, or indeed the safety of other species. I struggle to get onboard with this idea. I don't believe it's morally tenable to in effect 'punish' us for the 'sins of our ancestors'. Whilst we definitely can be a volatile species, I'd say we've hardly been given a chance to show our maturity, and our NHI overlords would know that the actions of the few do not represent the actions of the many. Further to this, letting the human population increase without the necessary provisions to sustain the population (food, power, water) doesn't exactly result in the calm environment that it makes sense to provide on a prison planet. I'm sure we'd find some excuses to wage war, even if finite resources weren't an issue, but it's rational to assume that violence would drastically decrease if abundance was available across the world.
Death is death
A short but simple one. To find out scientifically that death really is death. That experience ceases to exist. This would be a cause for many to feel hopeless, worthless, and I personally would feel sadness. Although I find this an extremely rational position to hold, it doesn't appear to resonate with any of the current NHI theories, and in the many hints given to us, it appears to not be what is being eluded to.
Universal Consciousness
This has been eluded to and even directly proclaimed so many times that it appears to be one of the leading hypotheses in the field currently. NHI know that consciousness is a universal phenomenon, death does not mean the end of experience (though it could mean the end of the ego), and consciousness must be nurtured and preserved, allowed to spread and learn. Whilst this would undoubtedly shake religion to it's core, lets not forget that many people seek out religion because the idea of surviving death is the driving comfort behind belief. I'm not religious, but I would personally rejoice to find out that experience continues in some way. This would be shocking to hear, but I doubt the world would lose hope, feel sadness, or be sombre. I believe that learning this truth would be incredibly beneficial for humanity. It's for this reason that I don't think this idea is being hinted as the reason there would be 'ontological shock'.
We are a simulation
We could be AI ourselves. For reasons beyond our understanding we were created as some sort of program being ran in a higher dimension. Does learning this fact alter the human experience? Not at all. Pain would continue to be painful, pleasure would continue to be pleasurable, it's not all dissimilar to the idea that the entire universe exists within a black hole. It would just mean that existence is effectively infinitely larger than previously thought; this is something we have discovered and come to accept several times already by discovering we weren't the center of the solar system, and then we were part of the galaxy, and that the galaxy is just one of billions of galaxies. Essentially it wouldn't really matter that we are a simulation would it? It makes no difference to anything experientially, its hardly different to god turning out to be real. Whilst it could explain why NHI seem to just 'observe us', again I don't feel this would cause the ontological shock being eluded to.
Denied a seat at the table
I don't see this talked about rationally all that often, but to me this hypothesis makes the most sense, seems to answer many questions about the situation we find ourselves in. People are understandably frustrated that the government/private aerospace is unwilling to tell us the truth regarding NHI, but it's very rarely pointed out in this case, that the NHI themselves haven't exactly landed in Times Square, or at the Superbowl, to tell us about how wonderful the universe is, and to welcome us into the galactic community.
This to me is a huge tell. There is absolutely a reason (or likely a combination of reasons) why NHI haven't revealed themselves. The reasons for this could be wide ranging, but a few catch my attention more than others.
- If they help us, we will likely use whatever technology we harness to subjugate other species. Even if they give us something akin to a suit of armor, something intended to protect ourselves, that would give us an unfair advantage. If we as humans provided an ape troop with armor, I don't think it would take them long to figure out that they could easily attack rival troops without risk of injury. Helping humanity in any way would give us the ability to target other similar species with impunity, making the NHI ultimately responsible for the demise/subjugation of another species.
- We harnessed a relatively powerful energy source in nuclear power, and all we did was turn it into a bomb that would quite literally blow up the planet, and pointed it at ourselves. We have spent trillions of dollars to in effect, build a big red button to destroy ourselves. M.A.D. Never has a more perfect acronym been invented, it's poetic. Does anybody really believe that humanity is mature enough to dismantle said big red button (metaphorically) without pressing it first? In a way I still think humanity really wants to push the button. You tell a child not to touch something, and all they want to do is touch it. The advanced energy source that NHI must harness to traverse the universe (or interdimentionally) would likely make nuclear weapons look like water pistols. If we can't resist firing that water pistol, we absolutely cannot be trusted with what they have.
- We are just another ant colony. You are surrounded by ants. Scientists estimate there are at least 20 quadrillion ants on planet earth. That looks like this by the way: 20,000,000,000,000,000. Only an extremely small percentage of the worlds population is interested in ants, they seek out special ant colonies that they likely haven't seen before in order to learn about them. The rest of us completely ignore their existence (until they become a nuisance). We could be absolutely, utterly, completely insignificant to the point where engaging with us in any way is meaningless. Whilst we are always surrounded by ants, does anybody even really see them unless they decide to look for them?
- Perhaps the ontological shock only really applies to those with the power to lose. Imagine if Joe Biden appeared on television and said "NHI exist, but they're not willing to talk to me". Imagine the power vacuum that could create. To find out that one of if not the most powerful public figures on the planet is effectively ignored. What's more is, to possibly find out that the NHI aren't willing to help us because of the actions of the people in power. Most of us (I would argue), would not invent the wheel and then instantly look for someone to run over, but unfortunately, if you're willing to use the tools at your disposal to dominate others into submission, you are simply more likely to rise to power, which is exactly why so many of our leaders seem so bat-shit crazy. That would certainly be a good enough reason for our leaders to keep the secret, and would be a good enough reason for NHI to also not be too keen on revealing themselves.
In my opinion, the fact that NHI have chosen not to reveal themselves at least shows that they do not think it would be beneficial for them/us/others to do so. This points to us being denied a seat at the table in some way, and for a very important reason. My guess is it's because we need to choose to dismantle our ability to kill ourselves so that we can demonstrate the restraint needed to wield the kind of power NHI have to offer. If we knew this, we would be shocked to find out that those in power have chosen to ignore this proposition, and that it is their fault that we have not been transformed as a species equipped to engage with the rest of the universe. The last 100+ years filled with unnecessary suffering, genocide, starvation, disease, even taxes. Yes, I would feel great sadness to learn this fact. Followed by anger, injustice, a desire to hold those accountable. What a supreme waste of time and life in the service of a few people at the top.
It's likely our 'test' is whether or not we can stop pointing the bomb at ourselves without first setting it off.
Couple the above with the fact that we are completely non-special, totally ordinary, and possibly underachieving.
Lastly, I believe the NHI have probably had a hand in our evolution. They have reportedly been here for thousands of years, much like the people studying the ants, unless you had a vested interest in the colony, you would probably move onto the next colony to study.
So the ontological shock in my opinion is as follows:
NHI have had a hand in our evolution, and are unwilling to reveal themselves because we've currently got our fingers on a button that will kill ourselves. The highest levels of a small few of the worlds governments know this, but distrust each other too much and they continue to hover over the button. They can't do anything meaningful with the technology they have recovered and are essentially being ignored or denied help by the NHI until we grow up.
Seems like a bit of an anti-climax I know, but I really do believe this is likely the case. Not much else would cause me this level of sadness and even shame.
So there we have it. Again, a long read I know. I have obviously missed plenty of other possible reasons, but this was long enough as is. If you made it this far then thanks very much for listening. This isn't the end of the conversation, just the beginning. Would love to hear more thoughts on this so please feel free to share.
p.s I love this community.
Peace x
2024.04.29 15:19 LieutenantRayne Suzerain Sordish Socialism Guide 3.0.7 (All Ministries funded) (no debt) (Full economic recovery with high production and improved infrastructure) (No disasters) (amending article 6 and 7) (Kiss my Gas) (Destroying the Old Guard) (determined, reformist Rayne) (joining CSP)
Introduction: (This part is unnecessary, it's only to explain the general views and RP of this campaign)
In this game, being a socialist is tough, especially in terms of coups and recovering the economy without sacrificing too much.Not many people support your ideas and most find them abhorrent, so do not be too open about your ideology and be polite, especially with Lucian and Iosef Lancea.
My Rayne's dream is to truly unite Sordland and help all of it's citizens, bluds, agno-sordish, women to get true equality, to do that he wants to remove the Bergia Semi-Autonomous Zone and reform the constitution.
He is a democratic socialist that wants to reform society from the top, in order to do it he will do whatever he needs to. He is not above underhanded methods and deceit to the betterment of Sordland and he will be making deals with many people he finds distateful. (Alphonso, Wiktor, Walter Tusk, Marcel Koronti, Gloria Tory, Albin Clavin and Heron Garaci)
Economically, my Rayne actually studied economy in university and learned the best ways to implement his "four year plan". He plans to be very focused in the fight against corruption and purge the administration of the Old Guard.
His strategy to recover the economy focuses in increasing foreign collaboration (especially from the CSP and Agnolia, as he distrusts most ATO nations), reforming taxes to redistribute wealth and improving production alongside infrastructure to stimulate industry despite nationalisation.
About the energy industry, he sees Gasom as a threat and wants to increase his influence over it.
Socially, although he doesn't think vanguardism is the best aproach to making Sordland better, he is uncompromising in his welfare reforms (he sees the privatisation of state services as a crime against his citizens) and seeks to improve everyone's rights and living conditions as much as possible.
He thinks that Sordland's military is an opportunity to increase it's international reputation and he wants to make it more impressive to scare Rumburg. He wants to end the BFF to make way for a peaceful reconciliation with the bluds.
Personally, my Rayne is extremely loyal to his country and it's people (bluds, agno-sordish and sords alike) spending almost all his energy in working for it. When he isn't working he spends time with his beloved family. He is currently trying to quit tobacco and alcohol to make for a better example for both his citizens and son Frank. He also is very trusting and polite to all of his citizens (including his cabinet, they are his workers after all)
Prologue:
Born in a middle-income family. (+1 personal wealth) (needed to get everything we need).Study Economy to have an easier managing Sordland's recovery (you will study it and disagree with all your professors).
Protest with the students and don't back down (you will stand for your rights)
Join a human rights group (to have an easier time managing international relations, also it fits the character)
Support your wife (you will actually pass the Women's Liberation Act, so you are actually sincere)
Join the Red Youth (the nationalists will hate you regardless, so why not)
Vote for the United Sordland Party and generally support Soll until Alphonso is voted in (at first you believe that Sordland has no other alternatives other than him and later you prefer him to an uncompromising privatiser) (the conservatives will trust you a bit more)
Escort the refugees back (letting them through damages the military's opinion and you are very loyal to Sordland, even if you personally disagree with the orders)
Work to make the country better, accept Soll's offer and sacrifice family time. (It also increases the party's opinion of you)
When Soll leaves, be happy about it and choose to support Alphonso and the party, even though you disagree with his privatisation (You think that he will at least democratise Sordland)
Dedicate yourself to the party and it's success.
Once Alphonso demontrates his absolute ineptitude in both politics and economy advise him to step down. (he will listen to you and make GASOM negotiations possible)
Finally, promise to enact democratic reforms. (you do believe in democracy, you just want to enlighten Sordland first)
Promises:
Planned Economy, Align East, Retain Relaxed Immigration and Improve Healthcare.Turn 1: B(8) PW(2)
For the inauguration speech focus on change and hope, our problems and promise to eliminate poverty and wave at the crowd (remember to always be inclusive there aren't just sords watching you)For the political briefing agree to working with the reformists in the constitution reform. (you want democracy)
For the economic briefing listen to Symon's alarmant data and decide to promote a planned economy (Fun Fact; All the people in this meeting will be gone by reelection except Gus).
For the media briefing be open to Koronti's suggestion and accept the meeting (you would like to let the press be free, but you think that the old guard could use it against you to stop the reforms)
Veto the Electoral Campaign Finance Bill (it's undemocratic and unfair)
Reject the initial mega-project (only the second one will give improved infrastructure and it drains too many funds early on)
Buy 2000 shares of Armadine industries, it will double and be used to "persuade" people PW(-2) (0)
For the inauguration, tell the interviewer you welcome Ricter's statement and say that no political party deserves to be silenced. Later you will have a little jumpscare (Bernard will come greet you. I actually got scared when I saw him for the first time in 2.0)
Turn 2: B(8) PW(0)
Reassure your family. (your country is the most important, but you do love your family)In the emergency meeting Lileas will tell you that United Contana is interfering with the Red Youth (obvious lie, dismiss her as always) and Iosef will tell you about Rumburg (say you might increase both law and defense budgets, to give the impression that you care about them)
For Tusk's visit we accept his second bribe, do not tell your personal spy. (Wealth Redistribution) (it has no consequences unless you actually do what he demands) PW(+2) (2)
To react to the unrest visit afected towns (by far the best option, it lowers unrest and increases support)
Don't enact an Economic Relief Plan (you need the budget and the modifier it gives you goes away)
Accept Koronti's deal. (You could do without it, but then you would need to nationalise his company to avoid capital flight and we need all the budget we can get)
Attend Bernard's Funeral, let red youth pass without security and do a good speech (you can say whatever you want)
In the diplomatic meeting I always choose to be diplomatic towards Rumburg (although we cannot kick them out of OMEC), you will survive if you decide to close the embassy (because we will join CSP).
In the meeting for the constitutional reforms they will tell you it will be difficult. (they are right)
Veto the Tourism and Cultural Preservation Act. (I would like to pass it, but it doesn't synergize with our strategy and we need the budget) (tourism will stabilize eventually anyways)
Meet with Hawker and Garaci and refuse to declare an emergency. (obviously)
Turn 3: B(8) PW(0)
Have a Barbecue with Franc. (reassure him, tell him about your past without holding back and say you will always be there to listen about his problems)Your projected economic growth will now turn yellow and your Four Year Plan will start to be implemented.
When going to the presidential visit to Narbel you can give Serge the money, although I doubt he needs a million sordish ren to give an education to his family in my state run universities PW(-2) PW(0) (don't worry nobody will assassinate you, so you can pass on this if you want)
On the presidential visit to Narbel listen to the concerns of Ciara and Paskal and say that you are interested in signing the Worker's Rights Bill, tell them that you wish to strike a balance between the economy and its laborers. (they will be your allies in this campaign and they will sort out your welfare)
In the meeting with Manger and Alphonso; when talking to Gus say that you want to talk about the development here, say that you are intrigued by his vision, say that Alphonso knows how to make an entrance, tell him you will put people before profits, insist on Narbel's living standards, say "support the business" and say it feels very hands on deck.
When talking to Alphonso; tell him it's a pleasure to see what he has built from the inside, tell him we all yearn make a contribution, tell him you empathise with him, tell him foreign investors make sense, tell him that if his analisis is correct it will make returns, ask him if we could keep this between Sordland and Gasom, tell him that if we invest in Gasom the company must improve the conditions in Narbel, tell him you need concrete actions not just words, invest in Gasom alone, tell him you must adress the concerns as they jeopardize the administration and ask for better housing, access to healthcare and education.
Finally say you trust he will follow up on his promises and that you want to face the crowd head-on. B(-2) (6)
Adress the protestors and leave via car.
In the adress to the protestors say that you are here to bridge the gap between Gasom and it's employees, you aren't blind to their struggles, say that you understand Denis' skepticism, say that you understand their concerns and are listening and tell the reporter about the succesful negotiations and say that today is a victory. Then say that Sordland will invest alone to undescore it's commitment to self-reliance, say that you appreciate them as an old Red Youth member and say that dialogue has only started and you look forward to their continuing conversations. (everyone will celebrate this and you will be seen as a compassionate leader)
In the stability order of 1954 you decide not to ban the Young Sords as you think that will radicalize them further and want to protect stability.
Don't tell Livia about the changes and propose the new constituion that will look like this:
-Presidential Vetoes: Limit them with a 3/5 majority override. (you want to stop future tyrants but Sordland is a Presidential Republic, removing them goes too far)
-Remove Supreme Court's Voting Rights (necessary to restore the separation of powers)
-Impeachment of the President: The assembly and Supreme Court may impeach with majority in both (you control the assembly anyways and this will keep future tyrants on their toes)
-Appoitment of Ministers: They require a confidence vote. (This is to make the assembly happy and you find it useful to stop possible future crazy ministers)
-Electoral Threshold: 8% Threshold (you want the WPB and CPS in the assembly but you don't want to make Sordland unstable with a 3% threshold)
-Presidential Decrees: Do not change. (in your opinion, this power of the executive branch is balanced by the impeachment and you find it necessary to bring change in the future)
-Term Limits: Limit of 2 terms. (you want to avoid another Soll at all costs)
-Immunity of Justices: Justices may be impeached by the assembly. (you want to purge the Supreme Court and ensure there is no more corruption in the future)
-Member of Honor Rights: Do not change. (You are no sollist but you think this will antagonize your party too much and that he could make him a martyr if he were to be tried) (you prefer him to be forgotten)
Veto the G.R.E.E.N act. (you think it's important to take care of the environment but you can do that after you recover the economy on the next term)
Meeting on the Energy Protection Act of 1932: Be respectful of everyone's opinions but you have your plan, repeal the act entirely. (you will do a Norway inspired oopsy here, you will see how later)
Dinner with the Business Council members: Try to be polite with the pieces of shit and ignore Tusk after the dinner. (being with them gives me rashes, it is best to do it quickly)
In the budget allocation meeting make a statement: "years ago we gathered to bring change", don't comment on religion, say that you must prioritize critical branches and say that you should spend as much as possible. (Increase budget for all ministeries) B(-12) (-6)
Turn 4: B(-6) PW(0)
Pass the Worker' Rights Act. B(-1) (-7) (it is high time to enact this vital reforms, disregard the concerns of the exploitators, if they cannot meet this basic demands they deserve no business)In the budget allocation of Law Enforcement meeting give the funding to Nia and form the Anti Corruption Police. (They will rid the state of the Old Guard)
In the evening walk with Monica treat her well and let her give a speech in the festival. (you will have to cancel it to compromise with Gloria)
Regional Investment Decision: Invest in Lorren. (this boosts the Morna Port, gives a surplus of coal, synergizes with our strategy, prevents the energy crisis and increases public opinion) B(-2) (-9)
Tax Reform Meeting: Increase taxes for large corporations and mantain for medium and small businesses. B(+2) (-7) (This is needed to avoid the trade war, unfortunately you cannot afford to decrease taxes to small and medium businesses)
In the visit to the school, be disapproving of the policies but don't take Soll's portrait down.
Briefing on the proposal of education reform: Reform education but don't privatize.
(If you have -7 budget or more after the education meeting the superpower trade war does not happen)
Gruni Rural Investment Plan: Initiate New Crop Research. B(-1) (-8) (synergizes with the investment in Lorren and future United Contana Investments)
In the meeting with Gloria: Greet her politely, tell her it's all in the name of democracy, tell her you would never betray the party, tell her to let you explain why the reforms are necessary, tell her the people demand change, that the decrease is necessary to democratize the elections, say that the change stays, say that this will benefit the party, say you cannot give concessions and take Monica off the schedule.
Don't play chess and relax at home. (it's the least you can do after ruining your wife's speech)
In the meeting with Albin he will say he cannot support you, you will promise him the VP position. (you won't give it to him, don't worry)
In the speech to the party talk about the people, why we need this to survive the next elections and order them to vote yes.
Turn 5: B(-8) PW(0)
United Contana offers aid: Accept. B(+2) (-6)Veto the Religious Harmony Bill. (do not believe the NFP's lies and protect religious freedom)
Gus calls to tell you that you have won big time. PW(+4) (4)
In the meeting about immigration, don't antagonize Iosef and Lileas but keep immigration laws relaxed.
In the private party be polite to everyone. (Gus will tell you no more investments are available for you, too much of a commie, I guess)
In the Benfi Festival try to make Monica forgive you, watch the events unfold and do nothing until Leste tells you to intervene, then say that Monica is absolutely right but that we will take up her concerns at a later time.
In downtime at home be supportive and say that you look forward to working closer with her.
In the discussion about the formation of the new police force be polite to Karl (he will be an important ally in the fight against corruption in the state) and focus on Hawker and the Old Guard.
In the discussion about the allocation of the Sordish Armed Forces do not seem "too happy about the Contanan ships", purchase equipment and modernisation programme.
Be polite and accept the first Agnolian Trade Deal, don't accept the alliance or helijland's recognition. B(-1) (-7) (this helps to recover Agnolia later on without antagonizing Valgsland)
Be polite and accept the second Wehlen Trade Deal that only closes the borders. B(+2) (-5) (This helps to recover Bergia, it makes bluds a little angry but it stabilizes relations with Wehlen and is very helpful)
In the assembly speech about the reforms say that the assembly has always been overshadowed, prepare Sordland for a more democratic era, rebalance the branches of government, focus on unity and setting aside our differences. (do not mention Soll or the USP)
Turn 6: B(-5) PW(4)
In the meeting with Iosef Lancea remove or maintain mandatory conscription, it doesn't really matter (Although removing it gives a red modifier) and modernize the air force (United Contana will modernize the navy for us)In the briefing on the economic situation hear their concerns, they will tell you that the country is on it's way to recovery.
Invest in the Morna Port. B(-2) (-7) (this gives green infrastructure)
In the meeting on the escalating Bergia situation choose to aprove Nia's plan. (we will use this to negotiate later with the USP later, you don't really mind between the two options but you don't want to agree with Lileas)
Pass the Central Bank Reinforcement Act. B(-1) (-8) (This prevents the debt crisis)
In the healthcare budget meeting keep healthcare state controlled and improve treatment in rural areas.
In the talks with Frens Richer be polite and he will support you. (Although he is a snake)
Assign the construction of the Morna Port project to the SSC. (it's the only company that is consistent with our economy and is free)
In the meeting on the situation of education build new rural schools.
In the briefing on the curriculum of schools ban creationism in public schools to separate state and religion.
Sell two thirds of the shares of Gasom. (We can nationalize or re-buy them on the next term after they are bankrupted by our actions)
Spend vast sums of money to sway MP's. PW(-4) (0)
When attending Victory Day remind Richter that he is negociating with racists and release the statement with the PFJP. (This is needed to change articles 6 and 7)
Very High Gasom Returns. B(+6) (-2)
Turn 7: B(-2) PW(0)
In the call with Koronti you agree to nationalize Tusk's company for him. (This will give us oligarch support while also nationalizing companies)In the meeting with Lucian he will tell you about the escalating Bludia situation and that the WPB wants to meet up and decide to nationalize. (You can tell him the truth, he won't betray you)
Accept the meeting with the bludish leaders.
Be polite with them and say that you want true equality between Sords and Bluds, however you need a sound plan to pass it. Ejall will offer himself and the BFF to get the reforms, you will accept.
In the meeting about corporation ownerships, we will leave HOS alone and fully nationalize Bergia Steel. B(-1) (-3)
In the results of the economic direction you will see Tusk getting angry, I chose not to escalate as he doesn't have power any more. (Koronti is on our side, so capital flight won't happen)
Veto the Unified Language Act. (prohibiting the teaching in schools of a minority's language, really?)
In the confrontation before the vote be polite, explain that you had to do this because Faith Ejall is offering to end the BFF, wait and concede to all of her demands except the Bergia Autonomous Zone, compromise in it's centralization (this way we also avoid arresting Ejall) (This will make them happy and this was your plan all along, bankrupting Gasom and also preventing bludish protests)
Frens Ricter will tell you that he cannot support the reforms anymore, tell him to cut the crap and stop with his personal ambitions.
In the Assembly vote take the good luck charm (although it isn't needed) and make sure to tell Gloria to speed up the voting, after that, leave Soll be. (179 Ayes and 72 Nays)
In the meeting after the vote, refuse Ricter's alliance. (he thinks that is possible after what he just tried to do?)
Grant Asylum to Rumburg's Whistleblower. (he will give us information about their nuclear programme)
Do whatever you want in the movie premiere. (in the interview say that you trust the judges and you refuse to discuss Soll)
In the meeting about diplomatic strategy don't talk about CSP (Iosef is there, no need to antagonize him) and agree to negotiate with Valgsland.
When you come home, you will discover that your son failed his university admision exams. You can send him to Contana or the military. (I personally like the military option, he does well and we need future loyal officers) (this is where my username takes inspiration from)
Do the Ceremony of Descension correctly. (it's not hard)
In the dinner with Isabel, it will be a tough affair so I will write the conversation that works; wait for her to order, stand up for a handshake, good to see you Justice Edmonds, mrs. Edmonds?, get the salad too, how is the situation in the supreme court?, what do you think about the proposal itself?, Do you not approve of those?, we need a proper balance of power, I know I can't do a lot (without this it doesn't work), I thought you would agree on that, to ensure the new processes are executed with transparency, mrs. Edmonds please help us we have to be together in this, the judiciary shouldn't have legislative powers, I am no malenyevist, don't be this will open the door to further reforms, it must have the power of judicial review, it plays an essential role in ensuring each branch recognizes the limits of their own power, the threshold can lead to a political crisis in the future, nothing to worry about judges cannot be impeached that easily, stay silent. (This is the only combination that works, be careful)
Send Lucian to reach out to Judge Heron and offer him to be chief justice. (just in case, you know)
Attend the court decision anouncement and be reassuring. (7 judges will vote for the reform)
You have acomplished your promises and passed the constitution, congratulations!!!
In the cabinet meeting on the results of the vote, let Petr talk, say you have a new focus and plan forward (My objective is making Sordland socialist so I change the manifesto, but you can campaign for public opinion if you want) and finally start to impeach the Chief Justice.
After that, listen to their reports; the economy is recovering, rural areas are developing but Gasom is bankrupt, polio could become a problem, decide not to escalate with Rumburg, international cooperation has increased, we have built +100 new schools and the new curriculum is facing success, sign on the operation against the BFF and don't promise Lileas the transfer of the gendarmerie to interior.
When Karl asks, tell him to proceed with a legal case against the Old Guard.
In the adress to the nation speech focus on your accomplishments and say that the future is on our hands.
Turn 8: B(-3) PW(0)
Talk to your son before he goes to study. (or military school)Presidential salary increase. PW(+1) (1)
In the meeting with Lucian do a socialist manifesto, break your promise with Garaci and appoint the most experienced judge. The edicts are: Fair Trade Commision, Abolish Special Zone of Bergia and Value Added Tax. B(+1) (-2)
Trade Talks with Valgsland: He will see you as the comrade you are, be pleasured to meet him, be interested in meeting Malenyev, you cannot ally Valgsland (the tariffs of Lespia take 1 budget from you), recognize Helijland for 1 budget. B(+1) (-1) (The recognition makes it impossible to expel Rumburg from OMEC)
You go to your old office, get the portrait of you an Monica. Petr will tell you about his affair, tell him you can weather it together, call Lucian immediately after.
(+2 budget because of the Valgsland trade deal) B(+2) (1)
Trust Lucian and investigate Livia.
When Lucian discovers the truth about Livia, put Koronti on it and shoulder the blame with Petr. (that way he will resign and change for the better in the future)
In the political briefing Nia will be upset about our actions in the Bergia situation, Paskal will tell you about new bills to help citizens, Symon will tell you new taxes aren't needed and Deivid will ask you to not escalate with Rumburg about Livia.
In the press release don't mention Rumburg and let Petr talk, then ask Lucian to end the conference.
In the briefing on the woman's rights situation agree with them and support their commision.
In the selection of a new vice president, listen to everyone and choose Gloria Tory. (Lucian is already useful and Albin is useless, corrupt and spineless)
Do whatever you want to the donation to the league of women. (it doesn't do anything) (I didn't do it)
When you see the new situation, ask Gloria to get along with Lucian.
Do not transfer the Gendarmerie to Lileas. (it makes Iosef angry and she is a traitior whom doesn't deserve it)
Pass the Equal Ability Bill. B(-1) (0) (This only appears if you have a surplus, the altenative is the tobacco tax)
In the meeting about the health situation, Paskal will tell you about the polio pandemic, enact mandatory vaccination to prevent the epidemic.
Build a state of the art medical school. (increases public opinion and economic development)
In the meeting with your family agree to a vacation with your wife and congratulate your daughter.
Attend Aschraf's aniversary to support it.
Focus on unity during the visit, don't grab the red candle and hug Leke. (this will initiate the reconciliation process)
In the meeting about the political situation Gloria will tell you about your purge of the party and your increased support. (listen to their advice)
Accept United Contana's agricultural aid. (Helps with all rural regions)
Expand the military industry. B(-2) (-2) (This together with increased military spending increases production)
Turn 9: B(-2) PW(1)
Pass Women's Liberation Act. B(-2) (-4) (This vital bill will promote equality and turn a red modifier into a green one, quite impressive)At home I recommend ordering a pizza, talk with your son and watch FC Anrica with Serge.
(if you allied with Valgsland -1 budget because of tariffs, you cannot pass the Children for the future bill so don't) B(-5)
Veto the Human Dignity Bill. (arresting prostitutes, really?)
Pass the children for the future bill. B(-1) (-5) (Equality is here!!)
In the meeting with Leke agree to his commision and sign his decree. (I see this as a vital step to de-radicalizing the bludish population in the future)
Veto the Alcohol Tax and Pass the Fair Luxury Tax B(+2) (-3) (The assembly will override your veto on the alcohol tax and that will neutralize the hit to public opinion) (Thank you Albin!!)
Don't fund a political youth group. (It's too expensive and socialism is now mainstream anyways)
In the meeting about the escalating situation with Rumburg approach the incident with diplomacy and organize a military parade.
In the meeting about potential alliances don't show your colours in Iosef's presence and accept the visit, a plain welcome makes sense in this case. (Malenyev dislikes extravagance and needless militarism)
Your human rights situation becomes better. (It was about time it happened)
In the meeting with Malenyev accept to enter CSP and his funds. B(+1) (-2) (Sordland stands together with its workers and close allies)
At home, meet with Monica and support her you can show her the portrait if you want the "I still love you" achievement.
(+1 budget because the veto on the alcohol tax is overriden) B(+1) (-1)
Lucian will tell you about the results of the investigation, you will initiate the largest purge in the history of Sordland. (I see this as a guarantee that Sordland won't be easily couped in the future) after that, make a speech about your achievements.
Production increases and taxes are efficient but economy is unfortunately not consistent. B(+1) (0)
In the economic meeting he will tell you that the economy has recovered but our economic strategy was mixed (because of the repealing of the EPA). Provide with housing assistance with the surplus funds. B(-2) (-2)
In the TV interview tell Sacher about Rumburg's aggression, say that Petr and you took responsability together and say that Sordland has nothing to do with the invasion but Valgsland has the right to intervene, Sordland could intervene as a peacekeeping force, it broke your heart to see what happened on Wehlen, how to distinguish militants from civilians. (Rumburg won't be expelled from OMEC unfortunately)
Meet with Lileas and do whatever you want. (It doesn't matter anymore)
Celebrate the military parade. I am sure our state of the art air force and navy is intimidating.
Turn 10: B(-2) PW(1)
In the champions cup match you will meet Soll and Alphonso, both will hate you haha. (Anrica will lose, of course)In the League of Nations meeting talk about Rumburg's nuclear weapons to make the AN investigate it.
Don't move your wealth to Kyrute.
When Deivid meets you, tell him you are fine and thank him for his service.
Friday Afternoon: Accept Symon's resignation. (it's understandable, although the recovery proves him wrong)
At home, be with your family and organize a holiday.
Put the main focus of the campaign in healthcare. (it has improved greatly and more is to come)
In the televised presidential debate highlight your achievements and reveal a basic living wage if you want to.
Turn 11: B(-2) PW(1)
Do the speech and be reelected. (congratulations!)Conclusions:
Anton Rayne ends his first term having made most of his objectives a reality, the military is extremely powerful and scary, that and CSP membership has secured Sordland internationally.Corruption has been tackled, human, worker's, minority and women's rights have improved and Bluds and Sords have began to reconciliate with a constitution that is truly inclusive.
Sordland's economy is recovered, infrastructure and production are much better and the recently bankrupt Gasom can be nationalized next term (this was achieved without increasing energy prices). All regional economies are booming and taxes are redistributed.
Welfare improved by leaps and bounds without compromising state control over it, literacy rates are improving, rural healthcare quality has increased, disabled people are now safe, working conditions are improved and homelessness rates are reduced.
Organised crime is a problem that we can now deal without Lileas, the BFF has been crippled, they can be erradicated next term and unrest is low across the nation after the discovery of the Bernard Circas conspiracy and Old Guard purge.
Sordland is now a member of the CSP, we will have to deal with that but I personally think it's the best sphere to be in. Agnolia isn't very angry with us yet and Wehlen relations are stable. Rumburg won't dare attack us anytime soon and have no nukes to throw.
Rayne's family is happy, he doesn't smoke or drink anymore and he has only lost three ministers during his term. He is ready to deal with four more years.
2024.04.29 15:14 Justthisdudeyaknow Weird ideas for mage
So, I was thinking about some of the odd stuff a mage can do, and how it might interact with other splats?
For example. Matter five mage makes a vampire into a living trenchcoat. Vulgar, technically without witnesses because who's going to look that closely at a trenchcoat? But, more to the point.... if the mage is controlling the vampire, and making use of his obfuscate, is that coincidental?
My original thought was Men in black, lining their cars and or clothing with preserved lasombra skin, to keep them from being photographed...
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For example. Matter five mage makes a vampire into a living trenchcoat. Vulgar, technically without witnesses because who's going to look that closely at a trenchcoat? But, more to the point.... if the mage is controlling the vampire, and making use of his obfuscate, is that coincidental?
My original thought was Men in black, lining their cars and or clothing with preserved lasombra skin, to keep them from being photographed...
2024.04.29 15:03 chatt_ratt Classes at The Chattery this week 4/29- 5/5!
Hey yall! Heres the rundown of classes at The Chattery this week 4/29- 5/5!
4/29 -- FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM ADS 101: HOW TO GENERATE TRAFFIC WITH JUST $10/DAY -- https://thechattery.org/classes/facebook-and-instagram-ads-101-how-to-generate-traffic-with-just-10day
4/29 -- ORGANIC PEST CONTROL: ATTRACTING BENEFICIAL INSECTS TO THE GARDEN -- https://thechattery.org/classes/organic-pest-control-attracting-beneficial-insects-to-the-garden
4/29 -- MICROSOFT POWER BI BEGINNER ONLINE BOOTCAMP -- https://thechattery.org/classes/microsoft-power-bi-beginner-online-bootcamp
4/29 -- SQL BEGINNER BOOT CAMP - ONLINE SERIES -- https://thechattery.org/classes/sql-beginner-boot-camp-online-series
4/30 -- INTRODUCTION TO PODCASTING - IN-PERSON CLASS -- https://thechattery.org/classes/introduction-to-podcasting-in-person-class-1
4/30 -- GUIDED MYOFASCIAL RELEASE FOR SHOULDER PAIN - IN-PERSON CLASS -- https://thechattery.org/classes/guided-myofascial-release-for-shoulder-pain-in-person-class
4/30 -- CREATIVE WRITING 101 - IN-PERSON CLASS -- https://thechattery.org/classes/creative-writing-101-in-person-class
5/1 -- WHIMSICAL WATERCOLOR PAINTING FOR BEGINNERS - IN-PERSON CLASS -- https://thechattery.org/classes/whimsical-watercolor-painting-for-beginners-in-person-class-2
5/1 -- CUTE AND CREEPY CREATURES! DRAWING & PAINTING - IN-PERSON CLASS -- https://thechattery.org/classes/cute-and-creepy-creatures-drawing-painting-in-person-class
5/2 -- MOTHER'S DAY HAND EMBROIDERY - IN-PERSON CLASS -- https://thechattery.org/classes/mothers-day-hand-embroidery-in-person-class
5/3 -- FLORAL PRESERVATION: THE ART OF PRESSED FLOWERS - IN-PERSON CLASS -- https://thechattery.org/classes/floral-preservation-the-art-of-pressed-flowers-in-person-class
5/4 -- WHAT MAKES A MAN? A WORKSHOP ON MASCULINITY - IN-PERSON CLASS -- https://thechattery.org/classes/what-makes-a-man-a-workshop-on-masculinity-in-person-class
5/4 -- ART AS HEALING: SITTING WITH YOUR GRIEF - IN-PERSON CLASS -- https://thechattery.org/classes/art-as-healing-sitting-with-your-grief-in-person-class
5/4 -- UNDERSTANDING THE MOON PHASES THROUGH WESTERN ASTROLOGY - IN-PERSON CLASS -- https://thechattery.org/classes/understanding-the-moon-phases-through-western-astrology-in-person-class
5/4 -- TWO-PART POLYMER CLAY WORKSHOP: TRINKET BOWL - IN-PERSON -- https://thechattery.org/classes/two-part-polymer-clay-workshop-trinket-bowl-in-person
5/4 -- ART COLLECTING 101: INTRODUCTION TO NAVIGATING THE ART MARKET - IN-PERSON -- https://thechattery.org/classes/art-collecting-101-introduction-to-navigating-the-art-market-in-person
5/5 -- HARMONY CIRCLE: MEDITATION & MINDFULNESS - IN-PERSON CLASS -- https://thechattery.org/classes/harmony-circle-meditation-mindfulness-in-person-class
5/5 -- ROOT CHAKRA KNOWLEDGE & INTEGRATION - IN-PERSON CLASS -- https://thechattery.org/classes/root-chakra-knowledge-integration-in-person-class
Hope yall have a great week!
https://thechattery.org/support
submitted by chatt_ratt to Chattanooga [link] [comments]
https://thechattery.org/
4/29 -- FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM ADS 101: HOW TO GENERATE TRAFFIC WITH JUST $10/DAY -- https://thechattery.org/classes/facebook-and-instagram-ads-101-how-to-generate-traffic-with-just-10day
4/29 -- ORGANIC PEST CONTROL: ATTRACTING BENEFICIAL INSECTS TO THE GARDEN -- https://thechattery.org/classes/organic-pest-control-attracting-beneficial-insects-to-the-garden
4/29 -- MICROSOFT POWER BI BEGINNER ONLINE BOOTCAMP -- https://thechattery.org/classes/microsoft-power-bi-beginner-online-bootcamp
4/29 -- SQL BEGINNER BOOT CAMP - ONLINE SERIES -- https://thechattery.org/classes/sql-beginner-boot-camp-online-series
4/30 -- INTRODUCTION TO PODCASTING - IN-PERSON CLASS -- https://thechattery.org/classes/introduction-to-podcasting-in-person-class-1
4/30 -- GUIDED MYOFASCIAL RELEASE FOR SHOULDER PAIN - IN-PERSON CLASS -- https://thechattery.org/classes/guided-myofascial-release-for-shoulder-pain-in-person-class
4/30 -- CREATIVE WRITING 101 - IN-PERSON CLASS -- https://thechattery.org/classes/creative-writing-101-in-person-class
5/1 -- WHIMSICAL WATERCOLOR PAINTING FOR BEGINNERS - IN-PERSON CLASS -- https://thechattery.org/classes/whimsical-watercolor-painting-for-beginners-in-person-class-2
5/1 -- CUTE AND CREEPY CREATURES! DRAWING & PAINTING - IN-PERSON CLASS -- https://thechattery.org/classes/cute-and-creepy-creatures-drawing-painting-in-person-class
5/2 -- MOTHER'S DAY HAND EMBROIDERY - IN-PERSON CLASS -- https://thechattery.org/classes/mothers-day-hand-embroidery-in-person-class
5/3 -- FLORAL PRESERVATION: THE ART OF PRESSED FLOWERS - IN-PERSON CLASS -- https://thechattery.org/classes/floral-preservation-the-art-of-pressed-flowers-in-person-class
5/4 -- WHAT MAKES A MAN? A WORKSHOP ON MASCULINITY - IN-PERSON CLASS -- https://thechattery.org/classes/what-makes-a-man-a-workshop-on-masculinity-in-person-class
5/4 -- ART AS HEALING: SITTING WITH YOUR GRIEF - IN-PERSON CLASS -- https://thechattery.org/classes/art-as-healing-sitting-with-your-grief-in-person-class
5/4 -- UNDERSTANDING THE MOON PHASES THROUGH WESTERN ASTROLOGY - IN-PERSON CLASS -- https://thechattery.org/classes/understanding-the-moon-phases-through-western-astrology-in-person-class
5/4 -- TWO-PART POLYMER CLAY WORKSHOP: TRINKET BOWL - IN-PERSON -- https://thechattery.org/classes/two-part-polymer-clay-workshop-trinket-bowl-in-person
5/4 -- ART COLLECTING 101: INTRODUCTION TO NAVIGATING THE ART MARKET - IN-PERSON -- https://thechattery.org/classes/art-collecting-101-introduction-to-navigating-the-art-market-in-person
5/5 -- HARMONY CIRCLE: MEDITATION & MINDFULNESS - IN-PERSON CLASS -- https://thechattery.org/classes/harmony-circle-meditation-mindfulness-in-person-class
5/5 -- ROOT CHAKRA KNOWLEDGE & INTEGRATION - IN-PERSON CLASS -- https://thechattery.org/classes/root-chakra-knowledge-integration-in-person-class
Hope yall have a great week!
https://thechattery.org/support