Immigration affidavit format

Hello, please ignore the formatting I’m on mobile. I (16) have a couple friends that I eat lunch with, most of which are also around 16 or 15. I’ve gotten into an argument with one of my friends about this topic before when they said something about how I would never understand being poor blah blah blah because I was born rich or something after I had gotten mad at them for stealing from a store. Whenever people come to my house I can always see the looks that they give me or others around. Its the “oh they rich rich” I wasn’t born rich but I also wasn’t born poor either, neither was I born middle class. My parents are both immigrants and my father had an especially hard time considering he was not wealthy at all and was scrapping together whatever he could in order to get by. After getting married to my mom they bought a house when the market wasn’t so terrible and had my older sibling and moved to be closer to my dads college but kept the house and rented it out to others. Our house is nice because we sold the old one for more than double its initial price. I’m used to people making comments and giving me looks whenever they talk about their financial situations because “I’ll never understand” they’re the ones who don’t understand and its starting to get on my nerves. I will admit now that my family is financially stable I’ve been getting pampered by my parents but the way my friends talk to me about money makes me sound like some spoiled brat. Which, at least I’d like to think, isn’t true. I try my best to let my parents know how much I appreciate all their hard work. They came from almost nothing and now they can take vacations and enjoy all the money they worked so hard for but when my friends make comments and such it feels like a slap in the face of all my parents hard work. I feel like im being dramatic but I just want them to shut up about it.

I opened an LLC and always operated it online from outside the U.S. I have a tourist visa and since the LLC formation I have not been to the US, I want to make sure I am not doing anything wrong. I plan on visiting the U.S again for tourist purposes. I use the LLC mainly for online payments. Will I have problems when I apply for my immigrant EB2 NIW in the future because I have an LLC open?

Hello po. Ask ko lang po kung how much yung budget pag 4D3N, and yung ika-last day po alis ng 8 AM. First time international travel ko po eto and solo lang po. Okay lang po ba na mag gawa ng itinerary kaso hindi na po ako nag book ng tours gawa ng possibility sa immigration. Sayang po ang ipon kung hindi mar-refund. Thank you! Sana masagot🤞🏼
And also po ano yung mga usual na documents needed po? ir-ready ko po yung certificate of enrollment, student id, schedule sa duty, affidavite of support, COE ng mags-support and bank statement, hotel booking, flight booking, diy itinerary.

Lately, both in person and on this sub, I have seen a worrying amount of misinformation spreading about the political party Aon Tu. This misinformation either states that they are a left/liberal party or that they are not right/conservative. This is however clearly wrong as any amount of inspection of their statements and social media makes clear; any clear dive into their policies and statements make it clear that they are instead very right wing, if not far right. They use the many familiar terms associated with similar parties, hold the same stances, and even retweet them and their content.
In order to illustrate this below I am presenting the various tweets made by Peadar Tóibín (the current leader of the party, their founder, and currently sole elected official) as well as their official twitter account. I have limited it solely to tweets due to time and space constraints, I have also had to limit the amount of tweets due to the same constraints There is more and I strongly encourage anyway to check their accounts for themselves. If there is interest I can do a deep dive into their other socials and statements, however I do not think there is a way to access the backlog of debates they have had on RTE and radio unfortunately. I believe this thread will stand on it's own however and other such threads won't be needed.
I will present the below tweets without comment, sorting them only into sections for ease of reading. Some may contain a note below in order to give more context as to what the tweet is referencing. The one section I did not include was the various tweets on the referendum, this is because due to recency I did not think it was needed.
Edit: Fixed some formatting errors below that escaped notice when first posting, as well as one entry being under the wrong heading.
Vaccine Denial:
Tweeted by Aon Tu; 12/07/2021

Aontú opposes vaccine Passports for indoor Hospitality.
Its discrimination against many people mostly the young.
Its mandatory vaccination through the back door.
Again the Irish Gov is alone in the whole of Europe in the extreme path it's taking.

Tweeted by Toibin; 17/10/2021

99.7% of the adult population in Waterford is fully vaccinated, yet it has one of the highest Covid-19 incidence rates in the country.
The truth is the Gov don't know why this is happening.
Now they will refuse entry to pubs to 0.3% unvaccinated to see does that work. #NPHET

Tweeted by Toibin; 10/01/2022

No, it's not April Fools day.
That people being paid by the state are actually discussing this is incredible.
FF/FG/Greens need to knock this madness on the head ASAP.

Note: Linked news article can be found here; Nphet to consider mandatory vaccination, department preparing paper on legal and ethical aspects
Tweeted by Toibin; 12/10/2022

I have submitted this question;
To ask the Minister for Health, has he or his department ever received any data, evidence or information from Pfizer that indicates that that the Pfizer Covid Vaccine was ever tested in terms of its ability to stop the transmission of Covid?

Anti Covid Lockdown:
Tweeted by Toibin; 15/11/2020

480 people got Cancer today.
24 people died of Cancer today
27 people died of Heart Disease and Stroke today.
This will hardly get a mention in the media today.
#COVID19

Tweeted by Toibin; 13/05/2021

8 deaths related to Covid were reported yesterday.
We share our deepest sympathies with these families.
The manner in which Covid deaths are being reported is concerning.
They were all from March or earlier.
Reporting them yesterday gives people a false impression of risk.

Tweeted by Toibin; 26/05/2021

The majority of people who died from Covid caught Covid in a Nursing Home or a Hospital.
So while the whole country was shut closed most people died in locations that were run by or regulated by the government.
This is an incredible situation.

Note: A video is attached.
Tweeted by Toibin; 05/06/2021

All the the people with Covid in Hospital in Ireland would fit on 1 Double Decker Bus.
Yet people were baton charged in Dublin last night and
Pubs and Restaurants wont open indoors for another month.
#ItsTimeForCommonSense #OpenHospitality #southwilliamst #Aontú

Tweeted by Toibin; 14/07/2021

The Government's Hospitality Discrimination Bill has passed all stages in the Dáil after only a few hours of debate.
It will be now legal to discriminate against certain Irish citizens.
A sad day for Ireland.

Note: The bill which has a picture taken of it in the tweet can be read here.
Tweeted by Aon Tu; 30/10/2021

Some citizens are allowed into pubs.
Some citizens are not.
It's stunning that this has happened in the 21st century.
It's stunning that so much of society has just accepted it.
Worst of all, it's not even working.

Tweeted by Toibin; 24/11/2021

I have recieved information that the Goverment,
has carried out NO scientific research into the effectiveness or otherwise of the Covid Pass.
At all.
#FollowTheScience #TheySaid

Tweeted by Toibin; 17/12/2021

Are the Gov going to say that a healthy young person thats triple vaccinated along with their Covid Pass can't have a pint after 5pm.
What's the point of it all so?

Tweeted by Toibin; 21/01/2022

Very interesting to see Nphet and the Dept of Health go from researching Mandatory Vaccines to lifting restrictions in 10 days!

Anti LGBT:
Tweeted by Aon Tu; 24/10/2022

Women live in period poverty just a few miles from the Dáil.
Instead of helping them,
your virtual signalling political establishment
put a tampon machine in the men's toilet in the Dáil.

Tweeted by Toibin; 16/02/2023

Plans by FF, FG & Greens to change the law to allow 16 year olds to legally change gender, against advice of medical experts,
shows how completely alienated the political bubble is from the people of Ireland.
Aontú will oppose this and seek a return to commonsense and science.

Tweeted by Aon Tu; 05/03/2023

When Minister O Gorman refused redress to many who had been in Mother and Baby Homes because of the 'lack of money', he raided hundreds of thousands from the Magdalene Scheme and Travellers supports & diverted the funding towards the LGBTQ+ Community.

Note: There is an article linked in the tweet, about an accusation made by Toibin. Read it here
Tweeted by Aon Tu; 06/03/2023

Varadkar is wrong. 9 &10 year old children are too young to be taught about transgenderism. We have a duty of care to children.
No research has been has been carried out on the impact of such education.

Tweeted by Toibin; 07/03/2023

I've asked the Minister for Ed what research has the Dept of Education carried out
on the impact on primary school children of delivering material on Transgenderism to them in the classroom?
We've a duty of care to children.
Education should be based on evidence not ideology.

Tweeted by Aon Tu; 08/03/2023

Tóibín asked Varadkar if his Gov had carried out any research as to the impact on 8 & 9 year old children of teaching about transgenderism in primary school.
Leo refused to answer the question.
Radical changes are being introduced against majority consent.

Note: There is an attached video.
Tweeted by Aon Tu; 15/03/2023

Many people have been shocked by Paul Murphy's announcement.
But what's more shocking is that FF, FG, SF and the Greens,
are on exactly the same page as the hard left parties on teaching this ideology in every primary school in the country.

Tweeted by Toibin; 21/05/2023

This is incredible. All the actual crime that is happening on our streets and Gardaí are wasting time like this.
Even though there was no arrest here, this harassment creates a clear chilling effect on free speech and political discourse.

Note: There is an attached video in the tweet retweeted by Toibin, in it a Gardai is holding a polite conversation with an American holding a sign against "Gender Ideology." In their Twitter bio they describe themselves; "Father of two girls. Traveling the world to expose gender ideology and why children cannot consent to medical transition."
Tweeted by Aon Tu; 07/07/2023

Growing concern among parents that the new curriculum for 12 & 13 years in school is not age appropriate & is not science based.
Gender identity ideology is now mandatory for schools & thousands of parents will have no option but to withdraw their child from class.

Note: This article is linked on the topic of a statement made by Toibin.
Tweeted by Aon Tu; 23/07/2023

This is why so many are angry with the Minister for Culture Wars, Helen McEntee.
Homicides are up, murder attempts are up, rape & sexual assaults are up, theft is up. Yet....
Gardaí management are focused on allowing male born Gardaí use women’s toilets.

Note: There is an attached article; here
Tweeted by Aon Tu; 28/09/2023

The Green Party are becoming increasingly authoritarian in nature.
If you dissent from government sanctioned views, you will be investigated.
This is the opposite of a liberal democracy.

Note: There is a linked article; it pertains to an investigation by the IABA into the usage of their premises by a "Christian Group" advocating for the removal of all LGBT+ content from the SPHE curriculum.
Tweeted by Toibin; 14/03/2024

It is reckless beyond belief to give dangerous chemicals and irreversible surgery to children with gender dysphoria.
This must be made illegal in Ireland immediately.

Note: Includes a retweet of this news article.
Anti Hatespeech bill:
Tweeted by Aon Tu; 15/06/2023

Helen McEntee has become the Minister for Culture Wars.
Incredibly Varadkar accused PBP of being a threat to Free Speech.
FG, FF & the Greens are the biggest threat to free speech.

Note: There is a link article here.
Tweeted by Toibin; 26/07/2023

US gives Dublin a security warning for US citizens travelling to Ireland.
Meanwhile Minister McEntee is too busy with the Hate Speech Bill and Safe Zone Bill to worry about real people suffering actual crime.

Tweeted by Toibin; 28/03/2024

Helen McEntee is distracted by the Culture Wars.
People just want her to do her job, & make the streets safer.
Instead, she spent the last two years on a Hate Crime Bill no one wants. #BinTheBill

Note: There is an attached video.
Other:
Tweeted by Aon Tu; 15/02/2023

In the Dáil yesterday the hard left tried to close down a discussion on migration by calling people names.
This issue is too important. People have a right to respectfully ask questions and challange government policy.

Note: There is an attached video; it does not depict such name calling but rather Toibin accusing the government of name calling.
Tweeted by Aon Tu; 24/07/2023

Another day and another culture war imported by the government from America.

Note: A retweet from Gript media with an attached video.
Tweeted by Toibin; 12/03/2024

There is a battle over the narrative of the referendum defeat happening at the moment.
Some within the political & media bubble want to erase the fact that so many people have had enough of the culture wars and want the country to get back to commonsense and bread and butter.

Tweeted by Aon Tu; 19/03/2024

At a Dept of Education 'In Service' day,
their staff told secondary school teachers not to use the word 'Mother' in class as they said it was not inclusive.
They are implementing Gov policy.
Aontú disagrees wholeheartedly with this policy.
Happy Mothers Day.

Tweeted by Toibin; 10/04/2024

Says the man who seeks to delete more Irish sovereignty with the EU migration pact.

Note: A retweet from Simon Harris talking about the need to defend Ukraine's sovereignty.
Tweeted by Aon Tu; 11/04/2024

The decision by FG, FF and Green MEPs to cede the power to control immigration into Ireland to Brussels was a serious mistake. Aontú oppose this pact and will fight to retain and regain sovereignty in Europe #aontú

Here are the issues I still see since 20 years and companies have not improved in how they are going to recruit

1. Need to enter all of your data on multiple company-specific websites, each has its own different format, you have to remember the password for the company-specific job site, saving passwords does not work for many as many of these companies use the same provider eg workday, etc.
   
2. So much confusion if you are planning to apply with different resumes highlighting different skill set to project yourself.
   
3. With AI opt in/out it is confusing on what to select
   
4. Many fake companies are listing jobs and the desperate ones is ready to give SSNs, DL's and other identities - Is indeed really screening these companies and individuals? They want to save profile in their database?...what the ..
   
5. Some of the jobs listed are just so fake that they want to get free ideas through candidates by interviewing them and taking different opinions. HR personnel do not have a clue about this but they also want to maintain their job so don't complain, at the end of the day they would show how many candidates they bought for the interview
   
6. The job description says a few things but the actual job would be different, I am not sure why the interviews are conducted this way too. The problem I noticed was the hiring manager is the one who provides the job description but the team interviewing is different with different skills. If they are looking for someone with a different skill than they have, it is insane how they are going to make a decision.
   
7. Lots of political/personal relationships, etc I noticed one of the directors hired a good-looking girl from his community who does not know a thing. I know there are not many, but they exist.
   
8. Some of the job postings are just postings as per the law for a non-immigrant worker to apply for an immigrant visa.
   

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Hello. Nakuha po namin PSA marriage cert namin and gulat po kami bakit may 2nd page na “Affidavit of Solemnizing officer” that claims we were wed under Article 34(live-in) eh nasa magkaibang bansa po kami 90% ng relationship namin. We have marriage license # naman po sa 1st page. Pinasa po namin yun sa PSA one page lang, LCR marriage cert. Gagamitin po kasi namin yun pang-petition sa husband ko papuntang USA.
Any advice po kung paano maammend? Or kung may experience po sa immigration ng US na may 2-page marriage cert? Naghahanap po ba ng evidence kung live-in talaga or aware po ba sila ano ang Article 34?
TIA!

I (USC) am applying for my husband from Amsterdam, and we were already uploading our documents into the portal when we were informed that our case was moved to Frankfurt, Germany. I see others across Europe also have been moved to Frankfurt, so that's probably going to impact the wait time. We just submitted the DS260 and affidavit of support a few days ago so now we're just waiting for them to ask for proof of intent to redomicile.
If anyone has been DQ'd recently: did you get the interview date yet? Anyone have an idea of how big the impact will be?
Also: if anyone has any ideas on how to speed up the process by getting things done earlier, shoot! (he's going to take the COVID booster since we saw another user saying that it needs to be within 12 months? Just so that the doctor doesn't ask us to later and it's free 🤷‍♀️)
EDIT: NO idea why I said the NVC is closing in other countries because that's not it: the embassies/consulates are no longer going to be handling immigration applications and the interviews for them.

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Edited by WaveOfWire
- - - - -
Two days… It had been two days that Tracy had gone to sleep while Harrison was working, only to come back in the morning to see him still in the workshop. She knew he was damn productive, sure, but that really couldn’t be healthy. Apparently, it had something to do with the weird bowl of orange… soup… that Cera gave him. No way was it just caffeine; any amount of the stuff would have been filtered out of his system by now. He mentioned a tingling feeling too…
Damn, she did not know enough about drugs to even start assuming what that massive alien had Harrison fucked up on. At least the scanner said he was ‘fine’—if you ignore the other glaring issues the machine brought up. Plus, he said he didn’t mind it. Either way, he managed to complete the weaving component and a few other electrical backbones of the fabricator last night, so the project was practically done, and after seeing the engineer work himself half to death, she was dead-set on finishing it.
She was currently tits-deep into the upper manufacturing portion of the towering machine. It took a tall step-stool—on top of the nearby desk—for her to push her small shoulders through the even smaller access panels high on the everything-printer. It was difficult to fit her torso in, but she managed, holding a flashlight between her teeth as she fiddled with a stubborn series of mechanical ‘hands.’ Nothing new. The situation reminded her of the ‘shop back on Mars; it had the same ever-present scent of copper and industrial sealant. All that was missing was her dad’s ancient tunes blasting through some shitty speakers… Hold on…
The modular component in her grip was successfully attached with a resonating thock. Tracy squirmed out of the dim wire-filled crevice, trying her best to not rip her only tank-top on any bolts or corners, and getting a face-full of the bright flood-lights illuminating the workshop. She scowled and blocked out the searing light with a hand, but she was a bit too late to avoid going half-blind.
“Are the mechanical manipulators in?” Harrison grunted, poking his head out underneath the printer’s floor-adjacent maintenance hatch. She looked down at him as she tried to blink off the spots in her vision. His hair was messy, barely kept in line by his habit of combing through it with his fingers. The areas around his eyes were dark and sunken… Guess that’s what two all-nighters did to a man. He’d be seeing the hat man or start hallucinating if he didn’t get any sleep soon… but then again, the two of them were so close to finishing the fabricator…
“You bet.” She gave him a thumbs up, slamming the panel cover closed. “Feel free to test it.”
He nodded and slid back underneath the machine. “Gotcha”
She gently stepped off the stool and slid off the side of the desk, stretching herself out. If her piss-poor sitting posture or her tank-top puppies hadn’t already fucked her spine up, bending over backward to build this fabricator sure as hell would. She sat down next to the panel where Harrison resided, resting her back against the fabrication tower. Her excited voice broke the muffled noises of the engineer’s work. “So… Harrison?”
“Hmm—”
“—Mind if I play some music?”
The sounds from the hatch stopped, followed by his muffled, shocked tone echoing from beneath the fabricator. “You have music!?”
She smirked at seeing the expression on his face when his head popped out again. “I sure do… Did you seriously not download any to your data pad?”
He slipped out from beneath the fabricator fully, huffing as he took a knee beside her. The scent of melded rubber, wire, and his liquid labor reached her nose not-so-unpleasantly. “You would not believe how much of a pain it is to repair an entire barracks without it… So, yeah, I didn’t.”
“Sooooooooo, whatcha wanna listen to? I’ve got almost everything on here—besides the super niche, of course.” She pulled her data pad out, swiping to the massive music folder
“You wouldn’t like the kinda music I listen to; It’s ancient.”
She gave him a lighthearted, annoyed glare. “Welcome to the club… Now what’ll it be?”
“It’s Old Earth kind of ancient… but alright” He looked up at the ceiling in thought, lips pursed. “Do you have anything from Styx or Sweet?”
She stared at him incredulously, her smirk turning into a fully-fledged smile. “Oh my God. You are an absolute dork! You actually listen to Golden Age music?”
His brows raised, accusatory. “And you somehow know exactly who those bands were and what age of Old Earth music they came from?”
She smugly leaned in closer. “That’s because I’m just as much of a nerd with that kinda music as you apparently are.” She quickly looked upward, addressing the workshop AI. “Sebas, connect nearby speakers to my data pad’s audio.” Tracy elbowed the engineer lightly as the PA system chirped its affirmation. “Now, Mr. Golden Age music, which albums do ya want me to queue up?”
- - - - -
The two of them listened to music for hours, tossing on songs they liked as they came to mind while they worked. Harrison had a ton of recommendations that spanned all over the Golden Ages and some twenty-first century classics. She didn’t even know half of them, but she was vibing either way, adding on her own taste by intermingling some older rock tracks and newer electronic beats. The playlist was steadily built up as the day went on. Thank God her dad showed her a vast array of tunes; she might not have been able to keep up with the engineer if her old man hadn't.
It made the work go by so fast, their conversations blurring as they jumped from topic to topic. They discussed whatever came to mind—old hobbies, old jobs, and old interests. A lot was left behind in Sol… At least she knew that the only other human on the planet was more interesting than a soulless workaholic. It turned out that he was a pretty big history buff, and he apparently read a lot about the colonization of the Sol system and the various wars of independence thereafter. Curious, she asked where the interest stemmed from, and he explained that his grandfather was an admiral in the Slavic-Europan deep-ice submarine fleet, which explained how Harrison’s mother was able to afford to immigrate to Mars from Europa.
He could also play an acoustic guitar, and, unfortunately for Tracy, he wasn’t even the slightest bit interested in printing one out, citing that it was a waste of time and material that would be better used elsewhere. That didn’t stop her from writing a note on her data pad to do so later, though. She hadn’t seen someone play one of those in years—the last time was probably in some old music video from the early twenty-second century. What a shame. She would have liked to hear some of the Europan songs his grandmother taught him.
On the bright side, the man seemed to take an interest in her odd hobbies. He brought up the folder of 3D models that she accidentally uploaded to the inter-module system and asked where she got the inspiration for what was in it. Boy, was he not ready for her ‘WarHalberd40k’ lore dump. Props to the guy for not standing up and leaving the workshop throughout her rambling. He even asked questions about the different factions and their weapons, which she was more than happy to talk about.
She also ended up going over the other franchises and hobbies she was interested in, such as robotics and the like. The only interruptions to their chat were the occasional Akula or Craftsman asking for insight regarding the various tasks he had allotted to them, or Shar coming in to check up on Harrison between guard shifts.
The new dynamic of the group was pretty interesting, to say the least. Tracy hadn’t been out to interact with the whole lot of Malkrin, but she definitely noticed how they treated the engineer. They’d started to look up to him in a way ever since he started showing off technology. In a little over two days, the man had shown them that he could provide the materials for a brick house, fine clothing—especially by the alien’s standards—armor, and delicious food. That wasn’t even mentioning the other benefits the technician heard a few of the ‘banished’ talking about over their meals: heating, electric lights, and other assorted machines.
She’d be feeling pretty happy about herself if she was in his position, having so many look up to him and be grateful at the same time. He seemed to view it a lot more robotically, however, only striving to get the basics done. Luckily for him, his basics were their luxury.
That wasn’t all there was to the topic; the engineer lamented about how the colony was going through food just as quickly as materials. The meals weren’t the direct issue he had, more that he had to start focusing on long-term resource harvesting rather than directly preparing for a literal horde of monsters—which wasn’t exactly ideal. It was a good thing that they just so happened to take on an influx of Malkrin then…
Either way, they finally finished the ‘totally legal modification’ for the fabricator, meaning they could at least partially address the latter half of his worries. The whole process of ripping out an old printer and replacing the parts for a new one felt a lot easier than she imagined… even if it took her at least forty-eight hours to complete it… with help from Harrison. Maybe that was why it felt so easy… She supposed the colony overseers didn’t choose the man for no reason, so his skills made sense.
“So… what do we want to print out first?” Tracy questioned, having finished testing the last major component.
The engineer stretched his arms up into the air and rotated his shoulders, then pulled back the desk’s chair and took a seat. “I’ve had just one thing in mind since the start of this whole project.”
Her brows raised in a mix of excitement and curiosity. She leaned forward, looking at the computer monitor from over his shoulder. “Oh? What’s that, then?”
A smirk formed along his cheek, the computer mouse rapidly clicking through the blueprint folder. “I’ve had a lot of time to think about what kind of firearm we need since I started dabbling in belt-fed weapon systems.” He opened one final file, a short loading bar preceding the exploded assembly view of… “An M2 Browning machine gun. It’s more than powerful enough to kill in one shot, while also being capable of fully-automatic fire, with a capacity of however many rounds we want in a belt-box.”
“Uh…huh…” She gave a skeptical nod and took a step back, not exactly sold on the idea. “It looks ancient. It’s kinetic, right? Why aren’t we using energy-based weapons? Don’t we have a gunpowder shortage coming up?”
He moved his chair off to the side to look back at her. “We just can’t; Simple as. We’ll need who knows how many more AI cores before we can get started on that level of equipment, Trace,” he huffed, returning his gaze to the specifications of the firearm. “This isn’t the most ‘modern’ weapon we can make, but its twenty-first century counterpart helps with an improved design… somewhat. And, as I said before, it should be more than capable of killing a bug in one shot, so Shar can just tap-fire it to save ammunition.”
Her head tilted quizzically. “Shar?”
“Yup,” he returned confidently. “It’s the perfect weapon for her.”
She raised a brow. “How so?”
He held his hand up, counting his reasons on his fingers. “She’s always on the front line with a shield, she can absolutely handle the weight and recoil, her four arms make reloading it simple, plus she’ll need something with range and power that isn’t a spear. So, why not? And, if for some reason, she doesn’t want to use it, we can just convert it into a turret—which is something I was planning on doing anyways with however more M2s we print out later.”
“I doubt she’ll say no to any gun you give her,” Tracy chuckled while shaking her head, inadvertently causing her bangs to cover her eyes.
“Fair enough,” he conceded with a bob of his head. “What do you think, then? What kinda weapons do you have in mind?”
She reapplied her goggles into an impromptu hairband, feeling a smirk cross her face. “Thought you’d never ask. What purpose do we need these guns to fulfill? Hordes I’m guessing?”
“That’s the idea, yeah. That doesn’t mean they all need to be machine guns, though.” He tapped the belt-fed shotgun beside him.
“Well, lemme see what we’re working with first.” She suddenly stepped forward, leaning over Harrison’s seat to access the keyboard and mouse. Her arms briefly rubbed against him, forcing him to roll his chair backward. She suppressed a giggle at seeing his incredulous frown.
Her eyes quickly traced the hundreds of individual files, clicking through all sorts of folders, each arranged from pre-twenty-first century ‘antiques,’ to more modern iterations of kinetics and particle weaponry. There was… a lot on there—almost too much to reasonably comb through. Why? Did the colony overseers just say ‘fuck it’ and put whatever they could find on here? Were they expecting the pioneers to make a museum of everything?
She sighed, standing up straight and facing Harrison. “Y’know, I’m actually impressed you managed to find that M2-whatever in there…”
He shifted in his seat, resting an elbow on the desk. “Yup, there’s a lot. I’m almost tempted to just make several of those machine guns and just call it a day, but I feel like that’d be too much of a strain on resources, no?”
“I don’t really know enough about how you fight those spider-crab things, or how to get more gunpowder, so… maybe?” She shrugged, biting her cheek in contemplation. “You might just wanna make a few smaller caliber weapons… like, uh… those old kinetic service rifles. If your pump-action shotgun works fine, I’m sure some normal guns would work just fine for now, right?”
He hardily gripped his firearm, hauling it up to his lap. “Depends on what you mean by ‘smaller caliber.’ The whole reason why the KS-23 here works—” he pulled out a massive shell from the ammo belt, displaying it on his palm. “—is because the twenty-three-millimeter round has enough energy transfer to mess up any bug's shell and insides. I’d say the smallest rounds we could use would be point-two-forty-three caliber to get any similar results.”
Brief flickers of grungy orange shells and gnashing teeth marred Tracy’s sight. She forcibly suppressed them, distracting herself with dry humor and a strained laugh. “Guess those fuckers can really take a punch, huh?”
He shook his head somberly. “I couldn’t imagine going up against them without a gun… Anyway, I like your idea of a standard rifle for now. Then, when we have some product lines up, we can go a little more in depth into personal weapons.”
“So are you gonna take one?” She hopped up on the desk, letting her legs swing off the side.
“Don’t think so, no. I’ll stick with my shotty.” The internals of the heavily modified weapon rattled as he held it up and inspected it. “Doesn’t mean I’ll keep it as is. I’m thinking of printing a laser aiming module so I can point-fire it accurately, and maybe a melee-oriented muzzle brake or a lighter chassis to reduce weight… Not sure though.”
She leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees, her cheeks in her palms. “Melee-oriented? Oooooh, like a chain-sword or something?”
His short chuckle coerced a smirk to her face. “No, not like that. More something to use as a bludgeoning tool. Right before the blood-moon, I ended up getting just as much use out of this shotgun as a hammer than as a… well, a shotgun.”
“That’s pretty fuckin’ metal. So are you just gonna make the barrel into a giant bayonet?”
He nodded. “Not exactly a bayonet, but something more like a door-breaching break.”
A short silence settled on their conversation, the faint sounds of the fabricator’s hum and distant woodwork coming to light. Right, there was an outside world… She’d been too caught up talking to Harrison for however many hours it had been. She wondered how successful the fisherwomen were in collecting, and how things had been for the others working on the wood storage shack. Maybe it was already completed? The sun peered through the cargo bay door, proving that it was only about midday. What else would they work on today?
“Hey,” she ventured.
“Hm?” the engineer hummed, his eyes focused on the monitor beside the technician.
She scooted closer to his keyboard. “What’re we doing after this?”
“What do you mean?”
She leaned backward, propping herself up on two hands. “Project wise; what’s the next big thing?”
“Uhmmm…” he muttered, interacting with the computer for a few more seconds before finally meeting her gaze. “Well, I’ve just allocated the fabricator to print out the M2, three FALs—wood furniture, of course—then there’s the magazines and ammunition, so we’ve got a lot of time to kill. The next big thing is definitely going to be metal procurement, and— Oh, right!” Harrison stopped mid-sentence, reaching into his backpack and pulling out several finger-sized metallic cubes, a sudden fire in his eyes. “Okay, so a while ago, during an encounter with three colossi, Shar and Akula found a cave with some ‘surface’ metal deposits. I took a piece off to analyze, but never got the chance to until last night. Anyway, we don’t have any machines to examine the ore, so I made use of the recycler and broke it down to its baser components.”
She nodded along, seeing where he was going with his explanation. “I’m guessing those shiny cubes are the metals from the ore?”
“Sure is. So, as it turns out, we have a pretty damn close supply of not only iron, but also, zinc, sulfur, and a small amount of cadmium. I talked with Sebas about it and did a little research. We believe it’s something akin to sphalerite, given its composition and looks, which implies it’s a sedimentary exhalative deposit. That means there must have been some volcanic…”
Harrison continued talking about underwater deposits and ancient rock formations, bringing up some theories brought forward by the now 4-AI-core-powered Sebas, delving into the current land mass’ history and possible ore output. A lot of it went over the tradewoman’s head, but she still listened intently… Honestly, she could have listened to the man talk about finding metals for hours. It was sort of like the podcasts she used to listen to while completing colonist training, but even more personal and somehow easier to get lost in…
“…find some other minerals further down like silver, but it also might be an active lava zone. Again, these are all theories and this world could just throw the fundamentals of geology away as it does for physics. Anyway, sorry for going on for so long about that, just thought it’d be important for getting some metals in the future.”
“No, no,” Tracy assured, alleviating him of concern with a wave of her hand. “If there’s anything the colony overseers emphasized, it was farming and mineral acquisition. Don’t worry.” She smiled, pointing a thumb to herself. “I just wanna know how I can help.”
“Actually, I’ve a few things only you can do. I’d like to make use of your impressive drone-making expertise for a few applications, if you don’t mind.”
The task of keeping eye contact slipped into an impossible feat in the span of a singular second, planting a pang of embarrassment on her reddened face, forcing her to inspect her fidgeting hands. “I-I wouldn’t say ‘impressive’… b-but what do you have in mind?”
She could see him raise a brow out of the corner of her vision. “Well, after what you’ve shown me with the reconnaissance flyers, I’d like your help in setting up a more permanent ‘net’ of them to scour the meadow and parts of the nearby forest to look out for any approaching hordes. I don’t want to be snuck up on… again…”
‘Again.’
She noted his small frown and sunken eyes, both a little more exaggerated than they already were. It wasn’t like she’d deny his request, but the pangs of empathy over their shared situation all but solidified her resolve. It was the least she could do. She could help him. She would help him.
The technician exhaled slowly, taking on a more serious and understanding tone than before. “I… can do that. For sure. What else?”
“I appreciate it.” He gave a wane smile. “I’ll help you with whatever you need for the project. For the other drones, I’m thinking about a small exploration vehicle to map out caves around us and mark any minerals, as well as a submersible to look for potassium deposits in the ocean.”
“So… search bots?” She crossed her arms, confidence growing; those were her specialty. “Depending on how long the fabricators take and what kind of base drones are in the blueprint folders, I should be able to get those done in no time. All I need to know are the search cues for potassium and how many drones you want.”
He quickly shuffled a few folders on the computer, turning the monitor for her to see some scientific documents with various images and walls upon walls of text. “There’re plenty of resources for that on here for what to look for, and there’s always Sebas, so feel free to ask him since he can just sort through the data for you anyway. If you can, I’d like it if you could focus on the submersible after the reconnaissance drones.”
“Sounds good to me. I’ll be right on it, then.” She gave him a thumbs up, slipping off his desk and toward her own.
“I’ll bring you lunch in a bit. Imma go check on the others,” he called.
Her stomach grumbled at the mention, her head turning to give him an appreciative smile. “Oh! Thanks!”
\= = = = =
Avian creatures chirped from their perches in the trees nearby. The wind softly rustled red leaves as grass gently gave way to calculated footfalls. A warm sun laid its light on Shar’khee’s neck. It was surprisingly pleasant, were one to take the time to notice. The mainland was a confusing place for the paladin, with its disparate representations of nature contrasting so heavily. Some days were filled with blood and ravenous beasts, while others were left within the domain of simplicity and beauty. She was content to have the latter, yet it felt like a facade veiling the former—a soft exterior covering the maliciously spiked interior. Never could she leave herself to carelessness, no matter how welcoming it might be.
Hence why she worked to ensure the safety of the star-sent’s castles and their inhabitants, her days largely spent patrolling for any roaming swarms that may wish to cause them harm. She typically used the routine to think, but today offered little in the way of solitude. This time, she was accompanied by the previously banished guardswoman, and was tasked with instructing the new one, though the specifics of what such lessons should entail were vague. Still, Shar’khee did all that she could so as not to disappoint Harrison, so she could only attempt to meet his expectations of her.
She told the yellow-skinned female of the threats that the settlement faced, how one was to defeat them, and what to expect from the beasts. The guardswoman was directed to practice her form with the spear in both thrusts and throwing for some time afterward, proving herself to be well-built. Such was expected of her profession after all.
It was pleasing to have another capable of patrolling the settlement’s outskirts for swarms, as it would greatly impact how effectively the colony could react to such a threat. If her routine was to suffer for the colony’s well-being, she was happy to show the new one her patrol route and note what to look out for.
The guardswoman was not a perfect student, however. Shar’khee never addressed it directly, but the yellow-skinned female obviously discredited the danger posed by the abhorrent, not-so-subtly shrugging off any warnings.
…That was until they stumbled upon the ‘hyena-boars,’ as Harrison called them.
The beasts resided in a clearing not too far from the castles, carelessly meandering across the sea of tall grass. Shar’khee quickly crouched, dragging the guardswoman down with her. Once she assessed that the creatures were not an imminent danger, she decided it would be an excellent opportunity to show the new one how to properly engage a threat. She was about to propose the idea, yet her speech was silenced just as swiftly.
Orange flashes darted through the trees around the glade. Taloned feet and gnashing teeth tore across the ground toward the unsuspecting beasts at the center. It was much too late for them. They were slow. Surrounded. Unaware. It was as quick as it was vicious, the forest’s reds turning a deeper crimson hue in a moment's notice underneath the abhorrent’s brutality.
Gangly monstrosities gnawed and ripped at the dead creatures, brief glimpses of raw flesh and white bone protruding from the small spaces between the clumped-up beasts. Repulsive wet splatters of blood and gore overlapped the calm noises of the forest, the grisly scene serenaded by the softest of nature’s symphonies. It was a sickening juxtaposition.
Shar’khee bit back the unease and steeled herself. They were within twenty paces—close enough to smell the abhorrent’s vile stench of rot and bile, yet far enough so as not to be noticed. She briefly considered backing away and retreating, her focus bouncing between the different avenues of escape, or how to cover her footst—
Crack.
Several sets of feral, eyeless maws snapped in their direction, the blood dripping off freshly dampened teeth. The guardswoman gasped, Shar’khee’s gaze following to see the mistake: a singular broken branch crinkled as a yellow-colored foot raised off the splintering twig.
The paladin exhaled sharply and smoothly stood up, brandishing two spears and her shield. Her glare settled on the still crouching guardswoman. “You are to stay behind my shield and let them appr—ch. Rem—ber what I have told you. Aim for their maws when you thrust y—r lance.”
The other female nodded, shakily pulling out her own weapons with unsteady placement hampering her grip. There was an obvious nervousness to her gaze. Hesitance. That would not do.
Shar’khee faced the prowling abhorrent her knuckles shifting hue as she prepared for their advance, for there was no chance that they wouldn’t. True to her experience, the stalking turned to a gallop with several clicks of grotesque tongues, the swarm bolting toward her as one. She snarled and slammed her bulwark into the ground, letting the approaching beasts skewer themselves amongst its spikes.
There were only ten—a paltry amount. She had defended against magnitudes more, and yet she still stood. What is more, they were mindless. Uncoordinated. They would be but stains in the cloth she used to clean her armor. Perhaps, if they were fortunate, they might leave a furrow in her shield to remember them by. Her arms tensed as the first leapt.
One by one, the abhorrent fell, their repulsive green blood splattering under her thrusts. Each awaiting corpse tore across the grove’s grass, lunging to their deaths with gaping maws and unfeeling hunger, yet she did not yield. Their shells were crushed by her shield and impaled by her Goddess-blessed spears, becoming but one more smear across their surface. Ten motionless lumps lay before her, seeping their ichor into the soil, none having passed the barrier she became. Dead, just as the Creator intended. She remained vigilant for a few moments longer, watching for any more of the disgusting creatures.
None showed themselves, finally allowing blood to flow to her fingers once again. The shield’s heavy presence weighed down her back, the blood flicked off of her spears before she returned them to their place.
“Are y–u well?” Shar’khee addressed the frozen Malkrin, wiping away the splatter on her bracers. The guardswoman stared at the small pile of deceased creatures, her heavy breaths and widened eyes moving from the spear from her singular kill. The paladin huffed. “We are fort—ate that there were so few.”
“F-Few? God help us…” Her horrified, stunned gaze slowly met the paladin’s. “Y-You said there were hundreds on the crimson nights? H-How do you… They were s-so fast.”*
”As I h–ve warned,” Shar’khee affirmed.
“You are a paladin! You all exaggerate your feats… I thought it was just a facade!”
“I have no r—son to lie,” she returned tersely, shrugging off the insult to her station and shaking her head. “The mainl—d is far more dangerous than ten gnash—g beasts; more so than that of your island hamlet. Pick yourself up. We m—t inform the others of this incursion.”
The yellow-skinned female snarled, furrowing her brows at the ground in frustration. At whom…? Shar’khee? Herself? Regardless, the female promptly gathered her composure, pushing air through clenched jaws. A step forward had her feet splash in the small pool of blood, the Malkrin nodding toward the paladin to continue back to the castles.
“…for the village.”
Shar’khee paused in her stride and faced her, frowning at the determination and anger leaking through the intent. “W—t was that?”
Her question was returned with honesty, a huffed voice marred by vexation. “Paladin, how am I to defend my village-mates as I am now?”
“‘As you are now?’ What do you m—n?”
The guardswoman stared down at her spear, wood creaking under her grip. “I have faltered before what you deem a paltry threat, and the thought of an even greater one sows dread deep within my bones. I wish… I wish to be better prepared to defend those of my village. I cannot help but see their faces on those of the furred creature in the clearing, and yet, even if I am so close, I am just as unable to protect them.”
Shar’khee stared down the yellow female, a long gaze taking in a rare showing of sincerity. “Y—r fears are one we all share, new one. Do not be ashamed of them. All t—t matters is that you do not let them rem—n mere fear, but make them your strength. So tell me, do you wish to impr—e? To ensure they do not fall while you are support—g them?”
The yellow-skinned female released a shuddering breath that bled off the worst of her indecision, a newly invoked flame flaring within her visage. “I do, paladin. I seek to protect and to be of use.”
“Then, if you wish to make y—rself resilient in the face of all that opposes us, it would be my undertak—g to forge you anew. Fortunately, Harrison has ordered such already, and his guidance shall prove ever useful, should you pursue it.”
The guardswoman shuffled in place at the star-sent’s mention, her eyes slipping downwards. “He is of a great many resources, but I would rather receive your teachings than those of a craftsman… or that of a male, deity-sent he might be.”
She placed a palm on the female’s shoulder. “He is far more than you might ever k—w. Regardless of if you ac—pt his guidance, I commend your conviction. However—” Her hand gripped tighter, though not enough to instill hostility. “—understand that you are protecting more than just your vi—age-mates.”
The new one nodded, staring up at the paladin with stallwart resolve. “Of course. I shall be in your tutelage, then.”
Shar’khee smiled. “T—n let us begin.”
\= = = = =
Akula was becoming increasingly certain that she knew how her parents once felt. The green-skinned fisherwoman was currently rotating between the many tasks placed upon her, guiding the newcomers through the minutia of their tasks so they might live up to the potential Harrison saw within them. She was gratified to have her own talents recognized by the Creator, but it also placed a great many responsibilities in her talons. Of course, she handled each new addition with finesse befitting her heritage, never once balking from the increasing demands. If anything, she felt validated; it was required of her as a female anyway, was it not? The more feminine-appropriate labor and management one undertakes, the higher authority they were granted.
It began with a simple assignment to oversee the chef’s introduction to the star-sent’s provided cooking appliances. As fascinating and convenient as utilities were, she held no interest in preparing any more food than she already had, but teaching another to operate the machines would alleviate such requirements of her. She reluctantly accepted the task when it was proposed, especially considering the fact that Harrison was much too busy with his other projects to bother with something as benign as cooking. His work was more valuable elsewhere.
The task itself went well, and the pink-skinned chef was quick to pick up on the use of the various kitchen devices, as well as the smoker. A grin had grown when she considered the possibility of all males understanding such domestic things readily, yet her mirth at removing the masculine job required of her was short-lived. Despite the newly initiated Malkrin’s success, Harrison had Akula frequently return to oversee the numerous cooking operations being conducted. That was in tandem with the back-to-back fishing trips made by both herself and the newly acquired females.
…Which was something else the green-skinned cycle-worshipper was ordered to oversee.
She had left the chef to his devices after producing another batch of partially seasoned meals, returning to the Creator with hopes of a break. He applauded her efforts with a nod and tersely spoken appreciation, then quickly pushed two spearguns into her hand and directed her to the ocean, where the twins were ‘working with jack shit,’ as the busy male said. She was to give the fisherwomen the tools and make sure they were used properly, and offer additional assistance in acquiring ‘enough fish to have us fed for a little bit.’
So, she left to complete the given task, feeling somewhat appreciative that her speargun was of superior quality to those she would be delivering—the newcomers were only afforded the lesser, roped-bolt version. It was only natural that she was in possession of their greatest assets, of course; the star-sent saw her as the only one capable of wielding such fantastic ammunition, showing trust that was rightfully placed in her. That did not mean the gray-skinned females were unsatisfied with their own gifts, however. The twins were swiftly caught up on the ‘manual of arms’ and sent to work, somehow managing to keep up with Akula in spite of their land-based origins. The two were fast enough to outpace the cycle-worshipper in sheer speed, but their lack of numerous winters spent traversing deeper waters meant they required frequent rests, breaking the ocean’s surface after every third captured fish or so.
Still, she had to appreciate their dedication to their task. They never complained about Akula pushing them further to reach the star-sent’s vague objective. Such a task was entrusted to her—and by proxy, the other two—and thus it would be completed, no matter how much her comfortable bed… couch called her tiring muscles.
The group of three hauled net after full net of fresh meat to the chef—and sewist, who later joined him—forcing him to relegate much of the catch to long-term storage as the kitchen simply could not deal with the surplus. At least three-quarters of the fish were put to slow cook in the now Malkrin-sized smoker. The craftsman had upgraded it with a kit provided by Harrison, who had recycled much of the dining room and workshop furniture to accommodate it. The Creator’s showcased urgency to gather materials was clearly not unfounded… It was admirable how he used what little he had left to ensure food would not be scarce. Additionally, the apparatus exuded an excellent scent for all the survivors to enjoy, the earthy aroma drawing in some of the other Malkrin for their breaks or meals.
Those were not the end of the cycle-worshiper’s tasks, however. She was also required to report on Shar’khee’s progress in training the guardswoman—helping to recycle the small swarm of abhorrent they cleared earlier—as well as the wood storage building’s progress. Indeed, she was advising and assisting however and wherever applicable. To say she was seen all around the settlement would be an understatement.
Nevertheless, she was appreciative to see her efforts bearing fruit by sundown. The processing of their meals from sea to plate was quite efficient, and those that Akula taught were now well-practiced in their duties. The twin fisherwomen dove from wave to wave, bringing fish back to the barracks, where the cook and sewist swiftly worked to transfer the meat to pans and smoker hooks alike. Then, the remnants of the Sea Goddess’ aquatic gifts would be subsequently recycled and given purpose anew as biofuel or perhaps future fertilizer.
The endless onslaught of duties and responsibilities had enlightened her, in a way. She could see where Harrison came from now; having a working project go from one point to another without input nor difficulty was a sight to behold, and it made her swell with pride. It was a surmountable feat to teach the barbaric ground-worshippers to do something properly.
…Well, they were not horrible Malkrin, so perhaps simply calling them ‘uninitiated’ was a more apt descriptor…
No matter the tribulations faced, and no matter how draining her new authority might be, her rest at the end of the day would be one that was well-earned, and it would be had with a sense of satisfaction. She deserved it, and perhaps that extended to the rest of the settlement as well.
- - - - -
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Next time on Total Drama Anomaly Island - Mine! Mine! Mine!

Hello, sorry if formatting is bad.
I got out of an abusive relationship just few days ago. It lasted 1,5 years. He is an alcoholic and a drug addict. I am an immigrant in his home country. There are many things that he was putting into my head through the whole thing. The biggest one is about an incident that happened a year ago but is still very traumatic for me and I did not process it. I was at work, night shift, he went off on one of his benders - I begged him to come back, I had no idea what he was doing or with who. When I got home at 6 am, he still wasn’t there. Out of frustration and sadness I drank leftover wine of his under the shower. I’m not a drinker so it hit me hard. Out of exhaustion from working and the alcohol, l I decided to go to bed. Not long after, he shows up at the house with one of his “friends”. I woke up and saw him texting me, so I went downstairs and asked to please go to bed. Of course that was useless, so I went back up alone. He was still texting to come downstairs and have a threesome. I said no, no I will not do that multiple times. He wouldnt stop, thats what made me go downstairs and plead with him to act right and just sleep. He pulled me in and started touching me, I pulled away but he didnt stop. His friend came back from the bathroom and started touching me as well. I froze. My mind went blank. I was molested as a child and he knows it. They used me in a very painful way, I even started crying meanwhile but he was too high and drunk to care. When he finished he got up and left me with that friend. He continued the sexual act. I wanted it to be done, I dont even know whaat was in my head. He says I was wet so I was enjoying it. Afterwards and to this day he says that i cheated on him and embarrassed him by doing it. That its his fault, but also mine because Im an adult and “i also was there”. He used it as excuse for his sick behavior. And i felt horrible afterwards and till now it makes me sick. But he says just because we “continued “ without him, its cheating. He left because he came and took drugs off of his friend. Am I making myself a victim here? Should I be held accountable for something Im missing? It hurts so bad, I’m not a cheater and I did not want to do it.
Thank you all.

I wanted to pose 'there is no revolution at all' but I think that's too hypothetical. Good counterfactual imo has a plausible divergence. Let's look at the powder alarm. Let's imagine the British government do roll up the munitions in the colonies, specifically at Fort William and Mary. They're either emptied or given larger security. We still have rioting and the formation of 'patriotic' pan-colony militias, but none of them deliver tangible victories without artillery. Within 18 months of rebellion in New England the leaders of the rebellion have all been captured. High profile trials. It's possible the leaders e.g 1st President of Continental Congress are hanged. The liberal media in Britain perhaps puts their faces on chinaware and leaflets. 'Remember the American Patriots'.
What happens 1780-1800? I would imagine British intelligence infiltrate colonial freemasonry. There would be reshuffle in the colonial legislatures to stack more loyalists. This of course would fly against the Independent spirit of America and the dissent would probably roll on for another 20-30 years. More protests, more patriot literature. I think would extend to the Colleges like Yale and Cornell and could morph into a bourgeois signaler. The colonies themselves would continue to attract 'WASPS' and experience urbanisation. The Indian reservation remains in place for several more Monarchs, meaning the vast majority of Anglos are going to move to established cities like New York, Boston or Charleston.
Georgia would stay the destination for transported criminals over Australia, which develops really slowly. Equally the loss of America sent tens of thousands of loyalists to Canada. So here Canada is going to be look quite empty until later in 19th century. Neither of these colonies will be globally significant before mid 20th century.
I think Britain and some of the colonies would get behind ending the slave trade and then ending slavery 1800-1830. Like IRL, Westminster would presumably compensate the slave owners, effectively buying the slaves to release them. I think in this timeline the libs would argue for reform more restlessly, seeing as their 'side' is arrested and disgraced in America. Universal male suffrage before 1900 but with a delay in growth of trade unions.
Let's zoom out again. France has a healthy economy into the 1800s. I think it's quite likely France could win a continental war but of course it wouldn't radically upset politics like the French revolutionaries did for us. I think France is hegemonic in Europe and doesn't experience a drop in birth rates that we saw. Divided HRE, divided Italy. Even if liberals/nationalists take over 3-4 big German cities, you would see the 'crown in the gutter' mentality from the Prussian or Saxon monarchies.
We would see destablisation in Spain, Portugal and Russia in the 19th century. The French industrialise at the same time as Britain. *Marc Brunel flees France because of the revolution irl.* This is also a France with a lot more 'human capital' and labour supply so I don't see why they can't be churning out factories and railways by 1830.
Final thoughts thank you for reading this far lol. We take it the Americans are moving slowly to the west of Appalachia. Of course France holds the whole midwest. Settlers would move into French America illegally, possibly causing a war. I don't think the Russians or Spanish would seriously colonise California; more likely that French settlers do so. I actually think the most serious power for most of the 19th century western America will be the Comanche. The Spanish and Apache couldn't stop them. Irl they were penetrating deep into the Mexican republic. If we take the English speaking Texans out of the scenario, the Comanche have a longer period of time, maybe another 20 years, to consolidate themselves inside Spanish America.
I don't think the Americans would form a country. Virginia, New York etc would be dominions and then 'free' nations with very different accents. There wouldn't be any serious numbers of European immigrants. No pizza or statue of Liberty but I think they'd be crazy for professional horse racing. And cricket.
Rate my what if I enjoyed writing this.

JAPAN
12 April 1946 – surrender of Japan, brief premiership of Naruhiko Higashikuni (14 April to 9 June 1946), followed by Kijūrō Shidehara. Occupation mostly carried by US troops, but also Commonwealth zone (UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand), led by Douglas MacArthur as the SCAP (Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers)
Situation is even way worse than in our reality thanks to all the destruction. First effort is gíve relief to the starving population. Even greater than in our reality are efforts to remove Hirohito (and it is impossible to imagine for the most of Allied leaders including Truman and Churchill to keep him on the throne after this brutal invasion), and despite opposition of MacArthur, Allies force the emperor to abdicate (and renounce divine status) in favour of regency headed by Takahito, (27 July 1946), when Akihito comes to age, he would become the Emperor. Hirohito’s abdication marks the beginning of Seika era, era of Emperor Akihito.
Hirohito is still given all possible protections against any trials for war crimes by MacArthur and is basically sent to comfortable retirement. Institution of monarchy is protected by Allies. Through 1946-1947 many westernisation reforms by MacArthur, based largely on FDR’s New Deal, as in our reality. April-May, political prisoners were released, and Communist Party of Japan was legalised and became politically active organising strikes. 10 February 1947 the first election with women suffrage, victory of Democratic Liberal Party headed by war criminal Hatoyama, who was eventually purged by Allied administration, so Shigeru Yoshida became new prime minister (22 March 1947).
By mid-1947 many officials connected to war crimes were purged, however since then, the course was reversed due to American need for the creation of a powerful Ally against the USSR and many regained power or at least avoided persecution. Through 1947 Americans wrote a new Japanese constitution (later in American myths it was MacArthur completely by himself), 3 August 1947 it was presented. Major shift from our reality is that Article 9, although considered, is not included in such sense as in our reality, it states only that “Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes” second part about demilitarisation is missing. Since summer 1947, US authorities adopt “Reverse Course” policies - aforementioned rehabilitation of officials, also protection of Zaibatsu (which Americans originally wanted to break-up and weaken), and reconstruction. Tokyo Trials 26 September 1946 to 12 January 1950 – MacArthur’s cover up of Japanese war crimes to a lesser extent, but it still does happen (including Unit 731). Taft also, like in Germany, attacks trials as “victor's justice”. From 25 December to 31 1950 Khabarovsk war crimes trials in the USSR about war criminals from Manchuria.
Persecution of growing Japanese communist movement starts. 1948-1951 “Red Purge”. Since March 1949 Dodge Line plan of right-wing economic reforms (cutting public spending, limiting public consumption, and reorienting industrial production in favour of export-oriented), also increase in unemployment and law against unions passed. In 1949 conflicts between communists and authorities escalated into many strikes, pro-communist politicians and officials began to be fired, after summer strike waves also purges of workers and academics. 1 July 1949 Japanese Self-Defence forces established – official remilitarisation. 23 October 1949 election, victory of DLP, electoral success of communists.
Peace Treaty with Japan
President Taft was eager to restore Japanese Independence – SCAP already transferred large amount of authority to Japanese trough 1949, secretary of the state William Richards Castle Jr took initiative. Despite Taft’s initial opposition to idea of continuous military presence, he is persuaded to keep limited number of stationed troops. Peace Treaty with Japan was scheduled after Treaty with Germany. Talks began in August 1950, however talks collapsed over China, despite at the time everyone recognised KMT, Soviets wanted PRC representatives to also attend. Other negotiations were called for January 1951, which resulted into calling for a Peace Conference with Japan in San Francisco analogous to the previous one with Germany. 6 March to 8 August 1951 San Francisco Conference, USSR and its allies boycotted them due to not including Chinese representatives. Despite Chinese and Soviets not being present, their interests were considered. Taiwan was ceded to China, Sakhalin, and Kuril Islands to USSR, unlike OTL Okinawa and more territories were already given back to Japan. Treaty was signed 8 August 1951, valid since 8 March 1952. Separate peace treaties were signed between Japan and ROC (30 January 1953), the Soviet Union and Korea “Vladivostok Treaties” 28 April 1952, these treaties recognised Soviet control over former Japanese territories and entitled Japan to pay reparations to Korea.
8 September 1951 U.S.-Japan Security Treaty was signed, which dictated Japan to accept continuous American military presence. This treaty caused a wave of resistance in Japan, uniting Japanese from right to left. Bloody May Day – over a million protestors in all of Japan, in Tokyo these protests escalated into violence and protests were massacred by police. 1 October 1952 election victory of Yoshida’s Liberal Party. 10 November 1952 coronation ceremony of Emperor Akihito, it marks symbolic beginning of new post-war Japan.
Philippines – 4 July 1947 United States gave official independence to Philippines and retained there many military bases (agreement from 1946 establishes bases for 99 years!) and the US still keeps a degree of political and economic dominance. 28 June 1946 Manuel Roxas became president of Philippines (still under US control then), communists were expelled from Congress despite being democratically elected – Hukbalahap Rebellion resumes (June 1946) and gained substantial strength, United States interferes and supports the government. On 15 April 1948 Roxas died of a heart attack; he was succeeded by vice-president Elpidio Quirino (re-elected in a fraudulent election 8 November 1949). Since the Taft Presidency, interests of Americans in Philippine affairs decreased, aid against Huks drained. President Quirino initiated major social reforms during his second term and attempted mostly useful land reform. 1950-1951 Huks successfully boosted their strength with seizing and keeping control over the centre of Laguna province – Santa Cruz. In 1952 Huks controlled sizable parts of the country and due to government corruption and brutality against rebels had also popular support. In 1951 they started to obtain massive support from China (from 1948 they were also backed by Korea).
Indonesia
Independence
As Japan surrendered, two days later on 14 April 1946 Indonesia (then with its majority under Japanese control) Indonesia declared independence, Sukarno became president and Hatta vice-president. Indonesians took advantage of the lack of established authority. Indonesia was occupied by Commonwealth forces (started in late May 1946). 27 June to 20 July 1946 a large battle between Indonesian and British forces – Battle of Surabaya, under significant losses results into a British victory. Churchill wanted to restore Dutch colonial rule and was ready to back them.
Important is Dutch reaction, Dutch government at the time was coalition between all parties formed after liberation by the Red Army in September 1945 (in wikibox there is 1946, another mistake overlook until I needed that), all parties with exception of CPN supported re-conquest of Indonesia, while communists wanted to grand them independence. CPN is vigorously opposed to continued colonisation and due to CPN securing second place in 1946 election and to lesser degree Soviet pressure on Dutch to recognise Indonesia, talks began in February 1947. Coincidentally with the December 1946 election there was a Malino Conference in which representatives of Dutch controlled territory backed the plan for creation of Dutch aligned federal states. 15 February 1947 Linggadjati Round Table Agreement is signed, in which Netherlands recognises Indonesian Republic controlled territory and both sides agree on formation of the Federal Republic of Indonesia (Republic, East Indonesia and Kalimantan) by 1 January 1948, FRI would newly formed Netherlands-Indonesian Union with the Dutch monarch as head. Similar agreement was reached in our reality but failed. In this timeline everything goes through, despite the fall of the Dutch coalition in summer 1947.
Federation
First Indonesian prime minister under Sutan Sjahrir (April to 3 December 1946), replaced by Amir Sjarifuddin, his cabinet included leftist forces, eventually even communists, who were instrumental in making agreement with the Netherlands (as part of the Dutch coalition were also communist negotiators). This cabinet stayed in power, avoiding real life events of the Madiun Affair. New government headed by Mohammad Hatta was formed after the creation of the federal republic. Creation of this republic was met with criticism from Islamists, who launched the Darul Islam rebellion led by Sekarmadji Maridjan Kartosoewirjo (7 August 1948). Overall, young Indonesia was a very unstable country. Anti-unitary forces attempted a failed coup in January 1950. Federation was not popular among Indonesians, so it was quickly dissolved and replaced with a unitary republic (14 April 1950). The Republic of South Maluku attempted to break away with Dutch support, however failed to do so.
Liberal Democratic Period (to 1952)
Newly declared Indonesian republic adopted its constitution and became a free parliamentary democracy. First government was a leftwing one again under Sjarifuddin, however eventually collapsed due to Indonesian National Party (12 October 1950, replaced by cabinet of Mohammad Natsir), but this government managed to pass electoral law, so first Indonesian legislative elections were held (29 September 1951), lot of parties ran and get seats – four largest were PNI (left wing nationalism), Masyumi (liberal Islamism), Nahdlatul Ulama (Islamism), PKI (communists) and PSI- Parsi (democratic socialism). Result was a right leaning coalition under Sidik Djojosukarto (PNI- Masyumi and several minor parties), in 1952 Indonesia officially left “Union” with Netherlands.
British Malaya
1 November 1946 British colonies were united into the “Malayan Union”, strengthening and centralising British control, stripping local sultans of their powers. This created another opposition movement under nationalist United Malays National Organisation, they applied massive resistance and did not participate in British institutions. Unlike OTL, during the Churchill years, there was no reform. In 1952 (1 February) it was transformed due to this massive and long resistance (and also due to large scale communist uprising) to Federation of Malaya, attempting to appease at least conservative nationalists.
Anti–British National Liberation War (early years)
Postwar economic turmoil, powerful communist organisation, brutal response of colonial authorities to strikers. Malaya was a key British source of resources, to pay for US debts (even way more rising in importance after Taft). 17 June 1948 Sungai Siput incident – revenge killing of plantation managers lead to massive British anti-communist arrests, and communists went into hiding. Also, the uprising in Burma (1947) also plays a role as another new motivation. February 1949 Malayan National Liberation Army under Chin Peng is formed (reformed from anti-Japanese resistance movement), MNLA has support of the population and is based in jungles and areas very hard to access for colonialists. Britain imposes very harsh repression against the population, leading to even more widespread support for MNLA. April 1950 “Briggs Plan” adopted forced deportations of ethnic Chinese to camps (up to half million people). The UK also uses Agent Orange (as the first country in the World), murders and tortures countless civilians, and destroys villages.
6 October 1951 British High Commissioner Henry Gurney survives MNLA ambush, this is actually damaging to the British as his replacement Gerald Templer was more competent in fighting with partisans. British forces are aided by other commonwealth nations. By 1953 the UK had problems dealing with communists and communists were stronger compared to our reality.
British Sarawak, North Borneo, Brunei
These territories were separated from Malaya in 1946. This was opposed by Malays but supported by the Chinese. Resistance by Malays culminated in assassination of Duncan Stewart. Small communist rebellion also started.
Thailand – After the war in June 1946 king Ananda Mahidol (Rama VIII) returned back to Thailand, however, was found shot dead on 26 March 1947 his death was blamed on prime minister Pridi Banomyong, who was forced to resign being replaced by Luang Thamrong.
In 1946 Thailand had to return territories to France. The 20 October 1946 election resulted in the victory of the People's Party, the first government was formed by Khuang Aphaiwong, he was however replaced by Pridi Banomyong after a lost vote of confidence (6 January 1947). Pridi was supportive of Vietnamese Independence, so he ended up being overthrown in a US backed coup (8 November 1947), this coup brough Plaek Pibulsonggram back to power. Military allied with royalists and Khuang Aphaiwong was appointed prime minister. New constitution gave back powers to Monarchythat were decreased in the 1932 revolution. To counter the power of royalist military and Pridi allied supporters, another coup was carried out on 6 April 1948, fully returning Plaek to power; he eventually secured power and foced Pridi into exile. Plaek attempted to fully secure power and destroy opposition, but due to lack of US support since 1949, he was eventually ousted by Pridi and his supporters (11 February 1949). New Direk Jayanama-led left-wing democratic government, managed to secure limited support of USSR and larger one of China (but also Britain due to their previous alliance with Allies) and tried to adopt non alignment foreign political stance. Internal political reforms – reduced power of monarchy, new legislature (in June 1950 democratic election), thanks popular policy of land reform government gained widespread support from the rural population. 29 November 1951 anti-Pridi parts of the military attempted a coup against him as returned from exile Plaek Phibunsongkhram, but eventually failed and Plaek was banished. In 1952 the government turned against conservative royalists and attempted to even further weaken the monarchy.
Vietnam
March Revolution 16 March to 15 April, Abdication of Emperor Bảo Đại (already before surrender of Japan because of fears of French invasion) -> creation of Vietnamese Democratic Republic. In late April North Vietnam was occupied by Chinese forces to accept the surrender of the Japanese. In March also general Leclerc arrives. Fontainebleau Agreements in mid-1946 between Vietnam and France, Vietnam as part of the French Union. With the return of France (November 1946) fighting erupted, war erupted in March 1947. By October France took over main population centres.To increase French support, State of Vietnam was created under emperor Bao Dai (2 August 1949) In 1950 Vietnam recognised by the soviet bloc. Same year the UK recognised the State of Vietnam. In late 1950 Viet Minh launched a successful offensive. In January 1951 de Tassigny was appointed to command, under his leadership France had limited military success. Hower financing the war became a major problem around this time. In March 1951 Viet Minh won in the crucial battle of Vĩnh Yên (17 March) and Viet Minh got close to Hanoi, but the French eventually managed to hold the city after heavy losses.
Change came in 1952 from Paris, talks started in February and eventually ceasefire was declared (28 February). Paris Conference – France officially recognised Democratic Republic of Vietnam, State of Vietnam was not invited as France and DRV both agreed that it was French colony (this was heavily criticised). End of war was also connected with referendum about future of Vietnam, if people support State of Vietnam in union with France or DRV. Referendum was held 14 June 1952 and resulted into landslide victory for Vietminh. Emperor abdicates and State of Vietnam dissolves, but some members of its military continue to resist DRV.
Newly independent Vietnam became a key ally for all of the socialist bloc in Asia and supported anti-colonial movements. In 1952 land reform began – often turned violent with execution of landlords. In 1953 the first five-year plan was launched, focusing on developing the country.
Laos – After the defeat of Japanese anti-colonial Lao Issara emerged. Lao monarch king Sisavang Vong however agreed with restoration of the French protectorate, Lao Issara with aid from China and Viet Minh attempted to resist re-imposition of French rule, however movement was weak and failed to do so and eventually dissolved itself in 1949. In January 1947 an agreement was signed that pledged France to give Laos autonomy inside the French Union. 1950 – Pathet Lao is formed and joins Viet Minh against French forces. In 1952 French officially withdrew from the country.
Cambodia – In 1946 king Norodom Sihanouk attempted to negotiate independence with the French, December 1946 election was held that resulted in victory of the left-wing Democratic party over conservative Liberal party. 23 October 1947 Democratic party dominated assembly passed a constitution modelled on the French one. After the death of Democratic party founder Sisowath Yuthevong, the party divided itself and cannot agree on a concrete program. In 1948 Cambodia was given autonomy by the French. After independence in April 1952, Democratic Party was largely boosted by this success. This avoided the fall of parliamentary democracy.
Ceylon (Sri Lanka)– Sri Lankan leaders led by Don Stephen Senanayake attempted to reach independence through negotiations. However, negotiations with secretary of colonies Oliver Stanley led only to self-governance and the British initially rejected granting Ceylon status of dominion. On 24 September 1947 Senanayake became the first prime minister of the newly formed Ceylonese government. In 1948 granting Dominion status to India led to demonstrations in Ceylon, Senanayake increased his pressure towards Britain. Eventually Ceylon was given the same status as India and Pakistan 4 February 1949. The Senanayake family had a lot of power, after the death of Senanayake (26 March 1952) his son Dudley was chosen by the British governor.
OCEANIA AND AMERICAS (Basically restating history with occasional minor changes, brief)
Australia – 5 July 1945 death of prime minister John Curtin, he was succeeded by Frank Forde until Labour elected Ben Chifley as its new leader. 28 October 1946 Labour government was re-elected against the emerging Liberal Party. His government was characterised by successful Keynesian social democratic politics, similar to later Attlee in UK, (social welfare, universal healthcare – in real life modelled after British one, this timeline it is vice versa, ie. The Chifley government serves as an example for Attlee elected in 1951) starting Australian postwar economic growth. Australia also supports migration to increase its population (Europeans due to the still existing “White Australia” policy). Left-wing policies, such as nationalisations, created opposition from capitalists and their conservative affiliates in politics and media. Criticism also comes from the left due to the government's anti-communism and breaking of strikes. 10 December 1949 Liberal prime minister Robert Menzies was elected. Anti-communism, in 1950 Communist party was banned, it was ruled unconstitutional. 28 April 1951 a new election, triggered the failure of the banking bill, still a victory for Liberals, however they weakened themselves with this move. In 1951 Menzies declared a referendum about banning communist parties and this timeline people agreed, leading to persecution of many communists, it was criticised as a major attack on freedom of political expression. Red Scare was similar to the US at the time, but pushed by Menzies' government. Liberal economic policies, this time taking inspiration from Taft.
New Zealand – 27 November 1946 election, victory of ruling Labour Party, Labour declined and lost popularity due to continuous post-war rationing and Fraser’s support for compulsory military service. 30 November 1949 National Party led by Sidney Holland was elected. The Legislation was changed from bicameral to unicameral, economic reforms, however the National government still supported the welfare state. Conflict with Unions, culminating into the waterfront dispute of 1951, the government responded harshly against workers with strong anti-union legislation, even outright criminalising support for them. 11 July 1951 the government was re-elected and gained more seats as a large part of the public supported their stance against workers, due to widespread anti-communism.
Oceania – “Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands” established in 1948 was originally controlled by the USA as OTL, but eventually transferred to the United Kingdom in 1950, as the US was not interested in its administration.
Canada – economic boom, social welfare Keynesian economic policies. 20 May 1946 first postwar election, victory of Liberals, however failed to obtain majority and had to rely on leftwing Co-operative Commonwealth, resulting in Canada building the strongest welfare state from Commonwealth states and becoming the most progressive one (and also becoming a major destination for European immigrants). On 15 November 1948 King retired and was succeeded by Louis St. Laurent, a French Canadian strongly opposed to communism. Due to this anti-communist however the ruling coalition collapsed, triggering snap election on 27 June 1949, which resulted in victory of Liberals, who yet again could form government without making coalitions. Shortly before the election, 31 March 1949 Canada united with NewFoundland. Canada took an important role while the US was absent in TATO.
Mexico – 1 December 1946 Miguel Alemán Valdés became president. Pro-business policies and industrialisation, development of infrastructure (dubbed Mexican miracle), however also corruption and elitism. Pro-American foreign policy. 1 December 1952 he was succeeded by Adolfo Ruiz Cortines, he was popular due to his strong stance against corruption and rapid economic development.
Guatemala – In 1944 the country was ruled by dictator Jorge Ubico, who was overthrown by a junta that was overthrown in a popular revolution (20 October 1944), 15 March 1945 Juan José Arévalo became the country's first democratically elected president, who introduced many reforms. He developed the political ideology of Arevalismo "spiritual socialism" -it can be considered a form of democratic socialism. 12 November 1950 Jacobo Árbenz was elected president, he continued the policies of Arévalo and was even more ambitious with his democratic socialist reforms. Largest one was Land Reform (17 June 1952) which greatly benefited hundred of thousands poor Guatemalan people especially indigenous ones, however made very angry American United Fruit Company that controlled majority of land and basically country itself, UFC began to lobby for his overthrown...
British Honduras – Rise of voice for independence and People's United Party
Honduras – Rule of pro American dictator Tiburcio Carías Andino, unlike OTL he did not gave power to his puppets and continued to rule the country directly. Rise of discounted with his regime, even greater due any reforms instituted by his successor Juan Manuel Gálvez were not passed.
El Salvador – Authoritarian rule of Salvador Castaneda Castro (1945-1948), suppression of strikes and opposition, eventually he was deposed by military coup (14.12.1948), after rule of military, Óscar Osorio was appointed president (14.9.1950), he instituted some social reforms, but continued corrupt regime and persecution of opposition.
Nicaragua – Dictatorial rule of pro-American Somoza dynasty. 1947-1950 figurehead presidency of Leonardo Argüello Barreto (after Truman’s pressure for liberalisation).
Costa Rica – 12 March – 24 April 1948 civil war, after an attempt to annul victory of opposition candidate José Figueres Ferrer in election, it ultimately led to victory of rebels with US help. José Figueres Ferrer became provisional president. and pushed many important reforms: abolished the military, gave women suffrage, welfare, nationalisations of banks and also outlawed communist party. 1949-1953 presidency of Otilio Ulate Blanco that upheld these reforms.
Panama – pro-American parliamentary democracy dominated by oligarchy.
Colombia – 9 April 1948 popular democratic socialist presidential candidate of the Liberal Party Jorge Eliécer Gaitán was assassinated. This triggered the “La Violencia” (1948-1958) period of massive unrest between the left and the right, over 200 000 died, at the start of the Colombian conflict. On 9 November 1949 Liberal opposition attempted to impeach president Ospina Pérez, he dissolved Congress, creating a presidential dictatorship. Liberal leaders launched an uprising in rural areas (originally it was intended to be a military coup, that however in real life did not take place and here took place and failed). 7 August 1950 new Conservative dictatorial president Laureano Gómez Castro, admirer of Franco, suffered a major heart attack and power was transferred to Roberto Urdaneta Arbeláez in 1951.
Venezuela – 18 October 1945 military coup that brought democracy to Venezuela (October 1946 and December 1947 democratic elections) under president Rómulo Betancourt. The 1940s economy also boomed thanks to oil. However, on 24 November 1948, the military staged a coup and Marcos Pérez Jiménez became dictator, under his oppressive regime there was great economic development, and he was close to the US.
Ecuador – President José María Velasco Ibarra was ousted in military coup (23 August 1947), 1947-1948 unstable country was ruled by military Carlos Mancheno Cajas, eventually military gave power to former vice-president Mariano Suárez Veintimilla, who gave his powers to Congress that elected Carlos Julio Arosemena Tola (31 August 1947). His presidency was strongly allied with the United States. 1 September 1948 Galo Plaza, another strongly pro-American figure, became the next president. He supported technocratic approach, democracy and was very open to foreign (mostly American) influence, exporting bananas to America. 1 June 1952 José María Velasco Ibarra (former deposed president, established politician and Ecuadorian nationalist) won election and became president for third term, his term was stable and brought progress, mostly in great development of infrastructure.
Brazil – Fourth Brazilian Republic, president Eurico Gaspar Dutra (1946-1951). Close relations with the US, liberal economic policy. 31 January 1951 Vargas returned after victory in the 3 October 1950 election. Keynesian economic policy, 1953 creation of PETROBRAS. Rua Tonelero shooting an assassination attempt on leading opposition member Carlos Lacerda (5August 1954) blamed on Vargas by opposition in a strong campaign, 24 August 1954 he committed suicide.
Perú – 1945 leftwing president José Luis Bustamante y Rivero, restoration of democracy. 29 October 1948 military seized power in a coup after murder of a prominent right-wing editor. Manuel Odría's regime strongly persecuted leftwing APRA, supported powerful oligarchy and gained favour of people thanks to populist rhetoric and policies.
Bolivia – 1947 to 1949 rule of Enrique Hertzog, conservative American aligned government. Economy in a terrible state, social unrest and intensified class struggle. Dominant opposition group was Nationalist Revolutionary Movement (MRN) with a program of nationalisations and land reform. Next president Mamerto Urriolagoitía installed military rule (16 May 1951) under Hugo Ballivián. 9 April 1952 Bolivian National Revolution overthrew the junta. Víctor Paz Estenssoro became president. Many left-wing and democratic reforms transformed the country: universal suffrage, nationalisation of mining, large land reform (however created farms were eventually again taken over by large landowners), great influence of trade unions and workers.
Paraguay – Dictator Higinio Morínigo was pushed by the US to liberalise his regime, he legalised political parties and formed a coalition between Colorado and Febreristas. Later ones resigned from the government (11 January 1947) and united with opposition forces (Liberals and Communists) and attempted to topple his regime starting a civil war (7 March – 20 August 1947), despite opposition having popular support, and the government was saved by the US and Argentina. All parties with exception of Colorado were banned and the country became one party state. 16 August 1948 leader of Colorado Juan Natalicio González was elected president. He promoted nationalist policies; several American companies were nationalised. Due to American non-interventionism, three attempted coups against the president failed due to lack of any outside support. In other ways Paraguay was a stable country during his presidency.
Uruguay – functioning democracy, dominance of liberal Colorado party. Presidents: Juan José de Amézaga (1943-1947) – social reforms, economic stability and growth. Tomás Berreta (1947) died in office, Luis Batlle Berres (1947-1951) continued social and leftwing economic reforms.
Chile – Democratic presidential republic. September 1946 presidential election, Gabriel González Videla (Radical) elected. During his presidency many communist strikes, under US pressure Videla passed “Permanent Defense of Democracy Law” (8.9.1948) that banned the communist party, many imprisoned, strikes brutally suppressed, relations with socialist bloc broken. Radicals created alliance with Liberals and Conservatives. 4 September 1952 resulted in the victory of former president nationalist general Carlos Ibáñez del Campo. He repealed the ban on communists and also gained support from the left.
Argentina – Peron and Peronism. Nationalism, populism, social welfare, improvement of working conditions, development of local industry, growing power of the trade unions, authoritarian rule and persecution of opposition etc. Non-aligned foreign policy stance. 26 July 1952 death of Eva Peron.
Cuba – Presidents Ramón Grau (44-48) and Carlos Prío Socarrás (48-52) of left-wing nationalist Partido Auténtico. 10.3.1952 democracy overthrown by Batista’s coup. Pro-American authoritarian regime, serving interests of American elites owning majority of the county.
Haiti – 1946 revolution (11.1) – military seized power and new National Assembly was elected, Dumarsais Estimé became president (16 August 1946 to 10 May 1950), attempts of reforms, focused on expanding education, expansion of worker’s rights, creation of social security system (no passed), major nationalisations. His presidency was marked by growth and economic development. In foreign policy he was allied towards the US. After he tried to extend his time in office, he was removed by the military. General Paul Magloire became new president, he was elected president in 1950 first direct election.
Dominican Republic – Totalitarian far-right dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo. Ally of the US.
INDEPENDENT STATES IN AFRICA
Ethiopia – Emperor Haile Selassie. 15 September 1952 Federation Between Ethiopia and Eritrea formed.
Liberia – US aligned. President William Tubman (1944-1971), stable period.
South Africa – 26 May 1948 Reunited National Party won election. Daniël François Malan became prime minister, 1948-1953 apartheid instituted.
Colonial Africa would be addressed in the next part (since there aren’t too much events 1946-1952, 1953 to 1956 is extremely eventful on the other hand) North Africa covered in another post

Hi! First Reddit post, so please excuse any formatting errors. TL; DR at the end.
My dad (age 63) passed away about a month ago. We’ve finally gotten the 401k death distribution paperwork from his two 401k accounts. My mom (age 61) plans to take regular withdrawals from these funds, as she’d like to wait to start drawing on my dad’s SSI benefits. At her age, the percentage she would receive with SSI is much lower, to our understanding.
I’ve been trying to look up the best course of action with inheriting my dad’s 401k accounts, and I’m seeing two options: 1) Open a new IRA account in my mom’s name, then move the funds there; 2) Open an inherited IRA and use all funds within 10 years.
Which account would be best for my mom, since she plans to take withdrawals regularly for a few years? And any recommendations for a company to use? I have Fidelity for my Roth account and like them well enough. Any general advice would be helpful, too. My dad didn’t have his affairs in order, so we’re pretty overwhelmed by it all. I also gave birth last week, on top of everything!
Extra Background: my mom was a stay-at-home parent and does not have work history in the US, where my parents immigrated before I was born. They paid off their house and didn’t have debt, other than about $5k in medical bills on a payment plan. She will be getting $170k in life insurance, and the 401k accounts total $106k. This is what she plans to live off of, along with starting SSI benefits between age 65-67. With utilities, insurances, and real estate taxes, her monthly bills are roughly $2.5k per month.
TL; DR: Which type of IRA account is best for my mom to inherit my dad’s 401k accounts? She’s inheriting $106k and plans to live off of it for the next 4-6 years before tapping into SSI.
Thank you so much!

Hello taekwondo, while I am not currently a Taekwondo or a Tangsoodo practitioner, I am very passionate towards the mentioned styles and have been highly interested in them for a long time. Korean Karate styles' development and influence within the martial arts world are very unique, especially since its overall aesthetics and kicking techniques have had a lasting impact on the martial arts world and popular cultures of the West, Japan, and Hong Kong cinema.
Because of this, I wanted to dive in more deeply and analyze which influences contributed to the formation of Taekwondo.
Karate:
I will only brush up on the topic, since karate's influence on Taekwondo has become well-known among today's martial artists. (some may even say that TKD is a a form of Karate, or Korean Karate). That stated, it has become popular today to simply equate TKD to Shotokan karate, as Shotokan karate was the most popular style practiced by those among the founding Kwans.
While Shotokan was a prominent style among founding Kwans, however, it may be misleading or inaccurate to equate today's Shotokan to Taekwondo. From certain perspectives, TKD - including modern Kukkiwon Taekwondo - may have preserved the original flavors of the classical Shuri-te martial arts styles compared to modern Shotokan karate. This was further reflected in the overall flavor of early period Shotokan karate.
Although Shotokan karate is frequently cited as the "source" for Taekwondo, it is also not the only style of karate which had a profound impact. Shudokan karate, a school which influenced YMCA Kwonbup bu and Jidokwan, was a school which practiced its own flavor of Shorin-ryu karate, much like Shotokan.
The impact of Shudokan karate and Jidokwan is significant yet frequently neglected IMO, as the related organization Kanbukan韓武舘 (Korean Marital Hall**)** was involved in extensive experimentation of full-contact sparring involving many Korean martial artists. This is important as similar trends became a foundation for Taekwondo - in the context of martial applications and chestguard sparring.
Kicks (+Chinese martial arts):
Taekkyon is frequently cited as a source for the development of Korean kicks in Taekwondo. Given many of the Kwan's strong backgrounds in Shorin-ryu lineage karate styles, however, the full-contact sparring methodologies of Kanbukan韓武舘 was the main driver behind the development of "new" kicking techniques. Meanwhile, the other strong influence aside from martial applications and chestguard sparring was the technique exchange which happened among Taekwondo and Hapkido practitioners.
Iconic techniques within Hapkido and classical Taekwondo are the low spinning heel kick or the sweep kick, in addition to the spinning hook kick/wheel kick variants. These kicks have high resemblance to kicking techniques prominent throughout northern Chinese martial arts, albeit in different executions and flavors.
In the mid-20th century, the Chinese immigrants who came into South Korea were mostly from the Shandong province - the prominent martial artists having backgrounds in either Taiji Meihua Tanglang quan or an unidentified form of Shandong shaolin quan (likely strongly related to the Yanqing quan lineage, which is popular within Shandong and Hebei regions). The rich kicking methodologies of these traditions influenced Taekwondo even in its Kukkiwon form, albeit in distinct flavors of movement. (20:05 & 28:51)
Out of all the Kwans, YMCA Kwonbup bu is an outlier for having a strong flavor of Chinese martial arts. Its founder, Yoon Byung In尹炳仁, was skilled in a form of Chinese martial arts which he said to have learned from a Mongolian master. When looking at the taolus which compose the sets and the names of the mentioned taolus, it is a combination of various northern Chinese martial arts.
With one form having the name of "팔기권Eight-banner fist", there is a possibility that the Mongolian master was related to the Eight Banners of the Qing dynasty. While in Japan, Yoon exchanged his skills with Toyama Kanken, who also had training in Chinese martial arts in Taiwan.
Judo:
While having strong backgrounds in Shorin-ryu karate lineages on top of direct and indirect influences from Chinese martial arts, Kodokan Judo was also an important influence in Taekwondo - namely within Jidokwan and Yoonmookwan. While Shorin-ryu karate is a complete martial art, Japanese taijutsu methodologies had an undeniable impact on the development of Korean martial arts and some Japanese karate styles.
For instance, Seiko Fujita藤田西湖, the final heir to the now disconnected lineage of Koga-ryu Ninjutsu, was said to have taught elements of Nanban Satto-ryu Kenpo南蛮殺到流 to some Shito-ryu karate stylists during the early 20th century. Here is one of Kodokan Judo's self defense katas, having distinct methodologies and approach to combat from modern Judo. Kodokan Judo also likely became a source for some of Taekwondo's throwing techniques, such as flying scissors which occasionally show up during demonstrations.
Tracing Shorin ryu/Shuri-te's (+ Taekwondo's) Lineage:
While karate is frequently cited to have connections with White Crane, some researchers have cited that the various Luohan quan styles within Fuzhou have the most likelihood for being the direct sources for karate (when Okinawan diplomats would take trips to Fujian).
Here are two styles of Luohan quan popular in Fuzhou, Incense Shop boxing香店拳 and Yongfu Arhat boxing永福罗汉拳.
Yongfu Arhat boxing in particular was stated to have been the victor for the 1932 Leitai competition in Fujian, despite the dominance of northern styles in prior competitions.
Interestingly, southern Luohan quan styles contain many kicks which were thought to be first developed in Korean martial arts - at least when limited within the sphere of Okinawan-Japan-Korea. Ranging from back kicks, spinning wheel kicks, and even the low sweeping kick(at 3:55). The presence of these kicks are important, as they do not show up in the original Okinawan martial arts.
This may indicate that the martial arts transmission from Fuzhou was not in complete form, and techniques were further added back in by the Japanese and Koreans through experimentations in sparring, and from Japanese taijutsu methods and northern Chinese martial arts. From this perspective, Taekwondo and Korean karate styles offer a unique development of southern Luohan quan.
Miscellaneous:
Sikaran and Kuntao, both arts within Southeast Asia, are also said to have strong influences from Fujianese Chinese martial arts. Sikaran is quite interesting in that it contains kicks quite similar to Taekwondo, despite Sikaran and Korean karate styles having no prominent interaction in the mid 20th century. It is most probable that both came into existence via convergent evolution, and the fact that both were heavily influenced by southern Chinese martial arts. Here is a video video which showcases the kicking culture of Miao people, who are prominent throughout pockets within southern China and Southeast Asia.
P.S.: After reading some of the comments posted by others, it appears that I may have come across as trying to push the narrative of Taekwondo simply being a "Shotokan karate knock-off". I should have been aware of such an issue, and tried to word it better. To make it clear, however, the purpose of this post is to provide several evidences to counter such an assumption - rather than support it.

Marc.Miller@parl.gc.ca
This is all just online chin wagging if you all don’t email the guy. Make your voices heard. Make sure to include a postal code in your email from his districts to get frontlined by his staff in his inbox (Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs). All members of commons put their constituents emails first and prioritize those that list their postal code.
Bonus: he’s in Montreal so format your email like this:
“Dear Hon. Mark Miller,
[English email]
—
[French copy]
Sincerely, [Name]
Then you’ll sound like a true Montrealer. Extra bonus points if some of you flip it to do French first or French only so it sounds more like his districts. These districts tend to be about 70/30 francophone dominant so if you don’t include French he’ll know something is weird.
Whether you believe the government cares about your voice or not - it’s your duty as a citizen to engage in the political system and at the very least make your voice heard. Take a moment out of your day to write a thoughtful policy based email that addresses real concerns the government can act on.
For you people who weren’t hugged enough as kids and want to make this a race based thing, don’t bother emailing. You’ll only discredit the work the rest of us are trying to do and give the pro-mass immigration crowd something to aim at to try and dismantle the entire political stance of immigration criticism at the moment. Remember the problem isn’t immigration, it’s thoughtless mass immigration that doesn’t account for Canadian culture or infrastructure.
Do your part. Cheers.

(Obligatory apology for mobile formatting)
So two weeks ago my phone had a 65lb dumbbell fall on it. Asurion says they’re sending a replacement. I didn’t get a shipping confirmation or tracking number for two days so I contact them again, and they finally ship the new phone. That one was delayed in shipping. I FINALLY received the new phone on Wednesday.
When I went to transfer my eSIM and info to the new iPhone, the SIM did not activate on the new phone. Went into ATT yesterday to fix the issue and they tell me there’s nothing they can do because the phone is LISTED AS STOLEN. So I had to contact Asurion AGAIN.
They made me fill out an affidavit, send my ID, and said I would get an email back within 8-12 hours. It has now been 24 hours and nothing. Calling just seems to get me in a loop of nothing being done. This is unbelievably frustrating. I can’t even access my AppleID on this phone.
Has anyone had luck with them sending a second phone or unlisting an IMEI as stolen?

For Section 2:
Please fill out the top part of Section 2 with your First Name, Last Name and Middle Initial and fill out the part of what is your Citizenship/Immigration Status.
In Lists, A, B, and C, input the information of your submitted ID/s.
In Title of Employer / Authorized Representative field: Please Write Authorized Representative. An Authorized Representative should be any person other than yourself (18 years old and above) that can check the authenticity of the ID.
In the Signature of Employer or Authorized Representative: Please affix the Signature of your “Authorized Representative”. (Text type signature is not acceptable.)
Input the Last and the First name of your “Authorized Representative”.
Today's Date should be the date when they checked your IDs. The Format should be (Month/Date/Year).
On the Employers Address, please write: 2251 S. Decatur Blvd Las Vegas Nevada, 89102
On the Employer's Business or Organization Name, Please Write: Telus International AI Inc.
The Employee's first day of employment should be May , 2024.
I have done all of these. I made sure to fill in all of the correct boxes with all of the needed information. I don't understand what would be missing. Do I have to print it out, fill it out by hand, rescan it to my computer, then send it to them? Did I somehow input the info wrong? I'm at a loss. I've never had this much trouble with a damn I9.

All racism, anger and hatred does is direct your attention at the wrong people. - Remember who sold you out - our elites.
Mass immigration is a tool of the elites to suppress wages - Canadians won't do those jobs ... at that wage.
The way we treat TFWs is despicable and if you agree with it you are a useful idiot of the elites who is allowing the value and dignity of our work to be eroded. Why hire someone for a living wage when you could hire someone for a slum wage?
Here's a quote from our beloved JT "This has all happened under the Conservatives’ watch, despite repeated warnings from the Liberal Party and from Canadians across the country about its impact on middle class Canadians: it drives down wages and displaces Canadian workers ... I believe it is wrong for Canada to follow the path of countries who exploit large numbers of guest workers" - Justin Trudeau, 2014
Our elites view immigrants as nothing more than dollar signs. They take tens of thousands in tuition, they exploit there labor, they keep them in poor living conditions - what we're doing to Indians here is not dissimilar to what Qatar does (obviously to a lesser extent). IT IS RACIST TO NOT NOTICE THE FORMATION OF A CASTE SYSTEM BUILT BENEATH YOUR FEET.
Poor Canadians are already feeling the effects, with middle class Canadians beginning to feel it. You may be insulated from it for a generation or two if you or your parents own a house, but eventually quality of life will even out and we'll all be expected to live in abhorrent living conditions. The way we treat anyone, is the way we will treat everyone.
anti-mass immigration isn't racism, pro-mass immigration is.
If you actually want to change things, join our discord to help create and spread a message all Canadians can get behind https://discord.gg/A4AWvcpD

This sub has been a huge help in my itinerary preparation and general whatever questions so I thought why not return the favor.. 3 months later. Welp, better late than never!
This trip report will be done chronologically, detailing our mistakes as we went (especially on day 1). And I'll probably be sprinkling in some tips and learnings here and there.
Travel dates
February 18 to 22 – Kyoto February 22 to 27 – Tokyo
Day 1
After landing at Narita airport, we were able to breeze through the immigration and customs lines, mainly because of the Japan web QR codes and maybe also partly because we had a morning flight. First things that I wanted to get in order ASAP were:

1. Cash - Took us a while to find an ATM in the airport, but did find one in the lower floor and withdrew just a tad over 20k JPY (a mistake).
   
2. Yamato Transport - After getting cash, I wanted to buy and load my Suica card first but it turns out there aren't any nearby the arrival area. Since Yamato is inside the airport, I just decided to do that first. Paid 5260 JPY in total for 2 luggages sent to our Kyoto hotel. Not sure if it's a measurement error or a done deliberately, but the Tokyo (NRT) to Kyoto fee was much more expensive than our Kyoto to Tokyo luggage fee.
   
3. Suica - Finally found a JR East office that sells the 10 year Suica cards. Bought two, one for me and my partner. Initial load was 1500 JPY, so I deposited 500 each so each card ended up costing 2000 JPY. After sorting all that out, I topped up our Suica cards at a 7-Eleven store. But since I did a rookie mistake of only withdrawing 20k JPY, I was only able to load 5k for each card. I call this a mistake because the foreign exchange and withdraw transaction fees where I'm from are WILD so I should, as much as possible, minimize the amount of withdrawals that I do.
   

Next task was to buy tickets for the Narita Express bound for Tokyo station. It wasn't difficult to get one, but turns out that I selected the unreserved seats option when I got my ticket. All of the seats in the NEX are supposedly reserved os I'm not sure why that was even an option. Luckily, I asked a guard about my ticket, at that time just making 1000% sure we're in the right place. He found out that I had an unreserved ticket so he taught me how to change to a reserved one in the kiosk near the tracks. So big thanks to that guy.
Slept the entire way from NRT to Tokyo station. Tokyo station wasn’t as bad as I expected. After just following the signs leading to Tokaido Sanyo shinkansen, managed to find ourselves in the right floor and right gate. I tried to redeem our reserved tickets, but somehow couldn’t get it to work. Turns out that this is not an isolated issue and people on Reddit are also complaining about this. Apparently all you need to do is just let the gate machine scan your QR code and then it spits out a ticket for you. The conductor asked me to insert my 2 tickets from the NEX too, probably to ‘end’ the trip.
While waiting for our 1 PM train, we bought some ekibens and water. Got pork cutlet and unagi. Around 12:50 we decided to go up and wait for the train there. Turns out the train was the one waiting for us. Apparently you can already board a shinkansen 20 minutes before departure.. when the clock struck 1 PM, the train immediately left the station.
Ate and then slept for quite a bit at the train. We had premium or business class style seats, so it was pretty comfortable. I wasn’t really feeling well, so I had a hard time resting. Asked my partner to wake me up if she sees Mt. Fuji, but Fuji-san was shy that day.
Arrived at the specified time, as usual when it comes to Japanese standards. Looked for signs leading to the Subway and Karasuma line, as that will be our next train going to the hotel. Managed to find it quite easily. Metros and subways are really just about following instructions, turns out. Shocker. As we arrived at the exit gate leading to the subways, we didn’t know what to do again so asked for help from the gate conductors. They just took our ticket and scanned our qr codes and then let us pass.
Found the entrance gate to the Karasuma line and tapped our Suicas. We were able to go inside without any problems. Couple minutes later, we arrived at Shijo station and tried to exit when for some reason it wouldn’t accept our cards. Obviously I have no idea again what happened here. A concerned citizen pointed us to the fare change booth, but it only ended up recharging my card another 1k yen. After a couple more failures, just decided to call for help using the help desk/kiosk thing. The attendant asked me to scan my card and then he opened the gate. We stayed at THE GENERAL KYOTO Shijo Shinmachi for our Kyoto leg, which was pretty close from the station. After taking a little rest, we went to Nishiki market even though most of the stalls are already closed. We weren't very hungry due to sleep deprivation so we just bought strawberry daifukus. Wanted to check the good coffee place nearby (WEEKENDERS) even though I had an inkling it was already closed, but was pleasantly surprised to find out that they were still open and accepting orders at 1 minute before their closing time. The coffee was amazing, of course. We left shortly after finishing our cups and headed to a nearby Lawson to top up our cards again, withdraw additional cash, and buy some snacks.
Day 2 - Temple hopping, Pontocho
Started our day at 9:30 AM. First stop was Shijo station, just to have my partner's Suica card fixed. The station staff was really efficient and was able to fix the card in no time, probably because they get idiots like us everyday. Unfortunately, it rained the moment we got out of the station, which lasted the entire day. We had our minds set to our itinerary, so we had a quick Daiso run for some face towels and umbrella. After our first ever Japan bus ride, which turned out to be the wrong bus, we were finally able to ride the correct bus for Kiyomizudera. We hiked to the top with a shit ton of people and elementary school kids who were on a field trip. We didn’t really mind the crowd – explored, took some photos, and paid 400 JPY to enter the temple premises. After circling the entire perimeter of the temple, we went down to the next temple in our itinerary, Kodaiji. Bought a snoopy ice cream on the way down and this pickled cucumber on stick which we found absolutely disgusting, to say the least.
To reach Kodaiji, we passed through Gion street, which had lots of cute distractions everywhere. Entered a ring making store, but didn’t buy anything. Saw the second Ghibli merch store and got some souvenirs this time. Reached Kodaiji but decided not to go inside anyway lol. We went to Maruyama Park instead and enjoyed spending time petting and taking pictures of the most obese cats we've ever seen in our lives.
We had more temples that we were supposed to visit in our itinerary, but at this point with the rain and all we just decided to fuck it and skip them. Went to Ichizawa Shinzaburo Hanpu, an old canvas bag shop that only has this one store in Kyoto. A bit pricey, but it's even more expensive on their online store so I took my sweetest time to find one that I really liked before I pulled the trigger.
At this point, we haven't had a proper meal ever since we set foot in Japan. So we took a bus to the nearest Ichiran and got the ramen bowl with soft-boiled egg add-on. It was good, but nothing life changing. As we were in the area, we walked to WEEKENDERS (again), and ordered pourover and iced latte. Everything was amazing. On the way to Pontocho, we passed by our first Donki and ate our first famichiki. That thing is insanely good and one of my biggest regrets is not eating more of it. Strolled by Pontocho alley, didn't eat at any of the restaurants. We didn't have any winter clothes at all, so we went to UNIQLO and GU for some heattechs and outerwears. Before ending our day, we paid another visit to 7-Eleven for snacks/dinner. I think it was probably around this time that I fell in love with the salmon onigiri.
Our Yamato transport luggages arrived in the afternoon that day, so were only able to collect it when we returned to the hotel at night.
Day 3 - Fushimi Inari, Higashiyama
Arrived at the starting area of the Fushimi Inari hike 30 minutes past 12. Was wearing my newly bought long coat today and a pair of loafers. Definitely the exact opposite of clothes you’d want to wear for this kind of activity. Still, we managed to finish the entire Fushimi Inari loop, but not without sweating loads.
At the end of the hike, we went inside this cozy coffee shop by the river (Vermillion Cafe). Ordered hot coffee and bread. Place was nice but was more amazed with the Japanese cashier's fluent English. Didn’t stay for long, and then continued on our way and stumbled upon this chonky tuxedo cat. Or it could’ve been the other way around…
Anyway, after those events, we finally arrived at the end road. Plenty of food stalls everywhere, so we tried some takoyaki, chicken skewers, and karaage. Probably liked the takoyaki the most, but then again, none of them were life changing good.
After Inari, we were kind of at a loss on what to do next. We weren’t really hungry because of all the snacks, and the supposed next stop on our itinerary is already closed because of our late start. So I figured to go to Arabica instead, and found one in Higashiyama. Boarded the train to Kyoto and then a bus to the area. Turns out that this Arabica spot is the one that’s famous for the Yasaka pagoda background. Took some pics, bought coffee, which was terrible at first but got better as it mixed, then took more pics. Fair warning if you're lactose intolerant, you might want to stay away from Arabica's coffee..
Again, we didn’t know what to do after our coffee stop. We just mindlessly strolled for a while, until finally setting our sights on Gion. Noticed that there’s a gyukatsu place on the way, so we decided to eat there for dinner.
Day 4 - Arashiyama, Kinkakuji
Started the day with a fun 15km run along Kamo river. Really had a blast running there, as the riverbank never seemed to end.
Had a long bus ride to Arashiyama, where we visited the bamboo forest and monkey park. It rained again, but at this point we've had enough rains that it didn't really matter anymore. Mount Arashi looked amazing across the Oi river, especially with the fog caused by the rain.
For lunch, we had a reservation at Unagi Hirokawa, which is also located in the vicinity. A little pricey, but the meal was superb.
Shortly thereafter, we left for Kodaiji temple. We arrived just before closing time so we just kinda sped up going around the temple. It probably would've looked much better if we went there in the morning or early afternoon. Didn't do much afterwards, just random strolls along Gion and Shijo, visiting a couple boutique stores and had takeout Mos to eat at the hotel.
Day 5 - Kyoto → Tokyo
Our last day in Kyoto. Checked out of our hotel and grabbed our last cup of coffee at Weekenders before going to the station and ride the Shinkansen to Tokyo.
Tokyo felt much colder than Kyoto for some reason. Maybe it had to do with the wind. We were freezing when we arrived outside Tokyo station. Anyway, we took the city bus from the station to Hamacho hotel, where we'll be staying at for 5 days in Tokyo.
After settling ourselves in, we strolled around the neighborhood and stopped by Single O for coffee. Walked a bit more afterwards to explore the nearby stations. Realized it was getting too cold so we decided to take a quick trip to Ginza to buy gloves and leggings.
Pretty uneventful day overall, but we were pretty tired from all the travelling so it felt nice to have a slow, easy day.
Day 6 - Shinjuku, Shibuya
Our first taste of rain in Tokyo. And what better way to spend a rainy day than to visit the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden.. But yeah, that's exactly what we did. It was freezing cold, but we had fun seeing the plum and early cherry blossoms at the garden.
We were supposed to visit Meiji Jingu and Yoyogi afterwards, but we were short of time so we went directly to the Harajuku area instead. Ate some crepes, strolled a couple blocks, and off we went to Shibuya crossing. After a couple pictures, we then went to Shibuya Sky for our scheduled visit.
Since it rained all day, we weren't allowed to go to the open/rooftop area of Shibuya Sky. We didn't get a nice view either because of all clouds and rain, so pretty unfortunate overall. But we still had fun looking at the streets below. Had a late lunch/early dinner at Tonkatsu Maisen Omotesando, which was also our first meal of the day. We didn't plan to go at this restaurant at all but I'm so glad we did because it was amazing. Their tonkatsu was something else, plus the unlimited rice, which was a welcome surprise.
If it isn't obvious by now, we're huge suckers for good coffee so we went to Koffee Mameya after our meal. There was a short line (around 5 PM) so we had to wait for a while before getting our turn at the table. This never came up on my research for some reason, but I was surprised to find out that they don't carry their own beans, and they actually only make the pourovers for you using beans from other roasteries. Both of us had a light roast (forgot which roastery) which was pretty good, but didn't really make me salivate enough to buy the beans.
Checked a couple more stores around the area. Didn't really like anything so we left and went to the ASICS RUN store in Marunouchi and bought my first pair of Superblasts. Then, we left for the hotel shortly afterwards.
Day 7 - Ueno, Asakusa
Had my morning run at the Sumida riverside, just a few blocks away from our hotel. Not as nice as Kamo river, but it was good enough for me, as someone who lives in a place with barely any running routes.
We tried this bakery beside our hotel called Boulangerie Django, somewhat European inspired but the food and bread were really good. We didn't really have much of a choice though since the aroma of the breads just draws you in when you pass by the place. Afterwards, we bought coffee to-go at Single O, which is at the other side of the street. The weather today was perfect. Sunny with some clouds. We visited Ueno zoo, even though it wasn't in our itinerary. Initial plan was stroll around Ueno park and visit the museums, but for some reason we wanted to look at some animals that day, so we did. Didn't know what else to do at Ueno afterwards so we headed to Asakusa for food.
At Asakusa, we had croquette for snacks, street izakaya for late lunch, and unagi onigiri, and cremia for more snacks. It was nice, but at the same time the place felt very congested.
Before going back to our hotel, we paid a quick visit to Akihabara just to have an idea of what the place is like. We ended up spending quite some time here, visiting a couple anime stores and claw machines. Left the place around 10 PM and arrived at the hotel at 10:30 PM.
Day 8 - Chuo area
Ran again, this time at the Imperial Palace. I think I did around 2 loops. Had a ton of fun running here, plenty of other runners as well so you could easily just latch on to their pace and cruise the entire time. It also rained again after I finished my run.
Went to Tsukiji Market first thing for snacks. Then we walked to Hamarikyu Gardens for more plum and cherry blossom spotting. Kinda wish we just skipped this since it felt pretty much just like our Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden trip with the rain. There weren't any stations nearby either, so we had to walk to our next destination, which was Ginza Steak.
Ginza Steak has set menus, but I'm pretty sure everyone's just after the unlimited wagyu beef. I think I had at least 6 servings. The person beside me, who was already there before we arrived, probably had like 20 servings. Funnily enough he struck a conversation with us just out of fun, so I told him that I think he's a very big eater. He laughed and thank me for the compliment. He was there with his daughter, who was celebrating her birthday. In the end, all of us at the table sang happy birthday for her. Such a fun moment.
We went to Glitch Coffee after our meal, then lined up for almost 2 hours just to get inside. Turns out their other branch was under construction so everyone flocked to the Ginza branch. It was 100% worth the wait though because this was the best cup of coffee we've ever had in our lives. I ended up buying 2 bags of beans from this roaster. Shopped at UNIQLO then had a small meal at TORIGIN. Bought souvenirs at Don Quixote before going back to the hotel.
Day 9 - teamLAB Borderless, Shibuya
Our last day today. First thing we did was go to teamLAB Borderless at Azabudai hills for our reservation. We didn't expect to have as much fun as we did here.
We wanted to eat ramen so we looked for one near Omotesando. Stumbled upon Oreryu Shio, supposedly a big ramen chain in Japan. Their serving was much larger than Ichiran's. Taste-wise though, I think we preferred Ichiran more.
We didn't have much planned for this last day, as we wanted to keep it open to allow us to visit places that we liked or wanted to visit again. We spent our last half day in Shibuya, doing vintage stores crawl and revisiting Takeshita street. Also did some last minute shopping at Loft Shibuya and spent all of our coins in a gachapon place near Shibuya crossing. Crossed the Shibuya crossing one last time and then we went back home to pack and rest.
Day 10 - Flight back home Our flight was at 8:00 in the morning, so there was no room to do anything else before leaving. Since we stayed in Hamacho, the T-CAT was just a few blocks away from us. We took a taxi to T-CAT, then boarded the bus to Narita. Arrived around 6 AM, which was plenty enough time for us to go through all of the stuff in the airport plus buy additional souvenir snacks.
And as promised, here's the expense breakdown of our trip: https://imgur.com/a/PCckaO1
Edit: Formatting

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