This is from a story I wrote when I was about eighteen wondering how consolidated things could’ve gotten…now it feels worse in real life! More details coming in context comments.
Hello and welcome to HistoryFlights, and from LGBTQ Baha'i Experience and History Flights Productions IT'S THE HIDDEN FAITH, the UNDEFEATED and TRULY Independent Investigation of the Baha'i Faith.
I’ll summarize why you should care about queer freedom inside this tiny, little-known religion called the Baha’i Faith that is a microcosm of everything wrong with Abrahamic faiths when applied literally towards this one “problem.” I hope you can also watch the rest of The Hidden Faith: The Undefeated and TRULY Independent Investigation of the Baha’i Faith to get more background on the Baha’i Faith, but the blog entries I include from Internet Archive backups of Baha’i Rants, Just a Baha’i and Gay/Lesbian Baha’i Story Project should provide enough context. I’ll also include embeds from the portions of past Hidden Faith episodes where I discussed queer issues on my Substack, so please subscribe there and to my YouTube to help support a solo creator in my fight for truth, justice and historical accuracy!
When you emerge from a high-control religious environment, the first instinct is almost always demolition. You want the institution to answer for the harm. You want the holy men who act holier-than-thou to sit down, look at the evidence, and acknowledge their failures. You want the doctrine that suffocated you to be dismantled in the public square until the whole thing either reforms or vanishes. I know that instinct intimately because I lived in it for eleven fucking years. Even if I never signed a declaration card, by virtue of being in a relationship with one who love-bombed me to get me to visit her friend’s fireside, six of them in a marriage I put disproportionate effort towards, I got about as close as anyone could to being Baha’i while still outside of it.
For years, many thousands of people have internalized shame, believing that all humanity is one but that some are more united than others, that they struggle with a spiritual handicap, that their voices must be silenced from Dialogue to Talisman. The final breaking point always comes down to realizing that any system that requires you to destroy yourself to maintain its harmony is not a sanctuary, but a prison. The real schism happening in the Baha’i Faith is not a loud fight over succession as in every single prior transfer of power, but a quiet quitting by the thousands buried under fake numbers. Over the past several years, spaces like r/exbahai and independent channels like The LGBTQ Baha’i Experience (who I had the absolute pleasure to interview!) and Trash TV (looking forward to interviewing her later) emerged as safe spaces for, say, a nineteen-year-old queer believer in a small town, terrified of losing their family and community, to put on headphones and hear someone say: You are not crazy. You are not broken. Most importantly, you are not alone.
I’m hoping to put the full script on Substack AFTER Wahid’s tortious attempt to have it destroyed by criminally abusing the DMCA process as a heckler’s veto is reversed when they see that the clips I embedded there are obvious fair use. Otherwise, there’s a million different blogging platforms, and I’ll let you know where it lands. Please also note that the AI image in the thumbnail was NOT made by me, and my apologies regarding occasional editing issues in the interview.
ALL THE TRIGGER WARNINGS as well!
Once the portrait is completed by Larienne on Threads (who also did Image 2), it will have the Darkness Curse Shade hands of Endrelle I de Constanci (they/them/theirs, Image 2), Empress of the Metropolitan Empire of my steampunk continent of Terragia, wrapping around more of the body of Pajiyva ya’ Penhuwera (Image 3), Queen of Mifumwanga, while she in turn wraps their gripkelp tightly around their personal person. The fourth image is the picture from r/TheDigitalCircus I was inspired by when commissioning the artist, which is perfect considering Endrelle is 5 foot 3 and Pajiyva is 6 feet.
I’ve had various iterations of Pajiyva in the works since 2022, as seen in Image 3 that I made in HeroForge when I originally had her be part of a tribe of rock-piloting people on a gas giant, and well before Endrelle and Terragia was first developed in 2024. However, after I met my now-fiancee in South Africa in 2025 (Image 5) who along with her adorable now 10-year-old son live in nearby Eswatini 🇸🇿, I decided to translate some of the things I love about my Baby Bird- everything from her dry sense of humor to her amazing strength to her brilliance in so many things to the year-and-a-half-old memory of being in her arms- to Pajiyva. I still remember how my fiancee accepted my gender identity despite being straight and from a very conservative part of the world, loving me as a person as she said on September 13th, 2024 that if I felt something I should say it with my whole chest.
That was the day I told her how I felt and we started dating long distance. Now, a few weeks after our second dating anniversary, she might need surgery** **and it feels like my heart is dying outside my body. Even before that, though, I felt extremely powerless with my federal agency moribund in the gestures to everything; with a deranged old stalker who thinks I’m an Israeli spy determined to silence me for exposing his lies such as illegally abusing the DMCA to destroy my Substack, along with constantly calling me a “fake tr-word” (because I’m a “handsome boy” according to him) and my fiancee a mail-order bride (rude); and with my family half a world away. While I’m not sure I can come up with money without my stalker trying to interfere with it due to his delusions of me committing “business fraud” derailing paid video editing lessons, the last power I have, the one that allowed me to survive anything, the strength no one can take away from me and I will never surrender to a machine, is my writing. So that’s what I’ll put my focus into over the long weekend, including a short story providing context for this cuddle.
I hope that I see her again in June next year, and she’ll be able to read how wholesomely Endrelle and Pajiyva love each other in the finished draft of The Wind Empress: The Feast of Nations.
My first impressions last night in early access were fantastic. About the only even minor issue I had was with a required door not working, necessitating a checkpoint reload. Over the next few weeks, I’m excited to participate in this community, discussing the finer points of both Campaign and Horde (maybe some LFG for multiplayer too, even though I suck at and traditionally don’t like it lol), and only post my and Kevin’s Horde Siege gameplay in two weeks. OORAH!
As soon as I saw it on the map, I knew I had to find it. Whatever beef I had with Spinosaurus as a kid, I’m ecstatic that Mirabilis has been found, and awed by how long of a boy this unit was. I would definitely not want to tangle with it in the waters of Cretaceous Africa, but with millions of years safely separating us, this was definitely my favorite part of the visit!
I've been working through all my frustrations in the Current Year(TM), including just recently finding out about a medical situation impacting my family, by finally getting back into writing for The World of Terragia that I’ve been working on steadily for two years despite all that, helping out a fiancee and son that live in Eswatini, Africa while running three podcasts by myself, including this gorgeous map I commissioned from u/Treepaintersmaps, which is fantastic and will be included in every copy of The Wind Empress: The Feast of Nations when that hopefully gets published in 2027. I’ll dedicate several more episodes of my podcast HistoryFlights to the lore of each nation to help with that process next year, so I hope you can subscribe to my Substack and YouTube!
Anyway, I actually began writing steampunk with a different universe that I called the World of Emada in 2019. I’ve always been fascinated by the contrast between the natural world and technology since, as a kid, I saw Star Wars and was awed by both the massive planets with interesting (if unrealistic) climates and the sheer inventiveness of the military hardware for both the Empire and the Rebellion. This gets to the heart of why I think a lot of kids are fascinated by empires and if not given critical thinking skills to see through the symbols of such, including flags and hardware, ultimately end up becoming indoctrinated by it in a way that plenty of people have accused me of without success. This technology makes a lot of cool sounds and looks very visually interesting.
Some of my first worldbuilding was therefore influenced by that and other things I loved like The Hobbit, such as a fanfiction map of Sumer after the Shire teleported in and was attacked by wooden mechs that looked a lot like ATSTs. This was only fueled further by books around that time like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Around the World in Eighty Days, The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds and associated movies, which serendipitously occurred alongside the 100th anniversary of flight and made the Air and Space Museum my favorite of all time.
I absorbed all sorts of knowledge about all the empires I could, real and fictional, because stories of dramatic battles and wars in particular were interesting, and the results of the push-and-pull culminated in my favorite things: maps, which I drew a lot of on the floor with printer paper or card stock and colored pencil and then in Microsoft Paint as a teenager with a laptop for, say, an elaborate alternate Byzantine history where Basil II lives to 100 years old having reconquered most Roman territory. I mushed a ton of historical nations (like having the United States next to Portugal and the Roman Empire) in a continent I called Ysathamsa because autism. I wrote a story and drew a map about the mayor of New York City declaring himself Emperor and invading most of the Tri-State area. I even built my own fictional region and government in a game called NationStates in around 2007 with an incredibly elaborate constitution and Roman aesthetics…until my empire was brought down by an invasion from my mom!
For more about what the Byzantine Empire meant to me in particular, you can check out this clip from my introductory essay about them, but part of it was definitely the power fantasy in fun historical scenarios while I felt similarly besieged by various personal and societal forces arrayed against this autistic kid.
I can learn from and laugh about that because my natural curiosity and autistic hyperfocus definitely got away from me on that one, but as I decided to tackle the subject of empires in a novel for the first time, I’ll admit that Emada was somewhat simplistic in its “British-coded empire BAD” (Caledoria) vs. Elvish-coded forest empire GOOD” (Ananka) dynamics with a similar attack on the Caledorian capital city to Pearl Harbor opening the war and motivated by an increase in whaling and dragon hunting. (It’s unfortunate that similar dynamics appeared later; history never repeats, but it sometimes grimly rhymes).
The map, unfortunately lost to the Internet ether, was also overlaid onto Strangereal from Ace Combat. However, I think that by skillfully managing eight different stories at the same time from about 2019-2023 with talented co-authors, we managed to build the foundation of a grand epic that said something about how the competition of nations inevitably leads to degradation of natural resources and civilians are ultimately trampled by the whims of leaders, even if we didn’t finish it.
I plan to write about similar themes, with the benefit of time, maturity, research into historical nations from Napoleonic France to the Mali Empire, and more complex and interesting personalities, geography and politics. After all, the point of the novel The Wind Empress: The Feast of Nations is to show the growth of young Empress Endrelle I de Constanci, who is far more than a token “trans character" (for my Empire is two-thirds nonbinary.) Endrelle inherits the mess their father and brother left behind in the Twin Valleys War waged over control of Gerraterrini, having overhauled their nation’s Constitution to try to single-handedly eliminate the Metropolitan Empire’s bloody image in a mirror image of Napoleon’s Constitutions (if they were actually trying to return power to the people; I really need to update this soon but have been away from this type of software so long it’ll take a minute!).
They also set up a Royal Artistic Industrial and Scientific Exhibition that, like the Columbian Exposition in 1893, has propaganda benefits for the Empire by conspicuously consuming the food, art, inventions and other cultural artifacts of the rest of the world. However, it was also intended to genuinely learn from other nations and promote international dialogue, and I hope both sides come through..
Yet, by 685 Imperium Constituit with the Continental War two years later, Endrelle is embroiled in a far larger war than the one they vowed to resolve with a peace treaty and accidentally slips into imperialism despite their best intentions.
Even by setting up a series of allied governments as Napoleon did and then creating a similar economic scheme to the Continental System, Endrelle imposes their will via military, political and economic policing against the smaller powers in their orbit, even without directly occupying much more territory than their father did. Similar dynamics include the Warsaw Pact and the United States' series of alliances across NATO and the Pacific that are beginning to break down. Even if the broad outlines of what happens are spoiled, I hope to dramatize that at the ten-foot level in interesting ways so that, via memorable characters, this story can resonate.
In this way, I hope I have elucidated several benefits of being a “fantasy creator” that does not make me delusional but gives me a sharp and unique lens on imperialism. While I can’t entirely escape my own American lens, this series is collapse literature in the middle of America’s perceptible decline, and I believe that with my video essays on various historical empires I have done a lot of good work examining prior baggage of real-world historical nations, being able to strip that so that people are forced to look at the raw mechanics of imperialism such as the limits of the “Great Man Theory” where even the most powerful characters like Endrelle, or Yusuf who operates under delusions of divine authority and messianic destiny, are able to change little about the systems they ostensibly control is absolutely liberating for a writer.
When you see little Jerome de Gran waving around a toy Gargoul the way I used to with AT-ATs as a kid and the way my son does with Spider-Man toys, I hope you’ll think of gargouls as more than legally-distinct walkers with extra limbs. They are intended as a symbol for either progress, heroism and industry or war, cruelty and natural destruction depending on the characters, who you can see the perspectives of even if you disagree. That’s the most important thing to be able to read about empires without reading only what they want you to think; seeing all characters’ perspectives and those of the author without dismissing them out of hand; reading a story so we can explore what it feels like to live inside crushing machinery, to feel the Darkness Curse Endrelle does and how power consumes even the most well-meaning individuals.
That’s the power of fiction and metaphor, even if writers deny it; Prof. Tolkien was adamant for years that The Lord of the Rings did not allegorize his experiences with World War I, yet the themes of environmental harmony versus industrial decay are present and illustrative of that. Emotions come from stories, whether real or not, and learning follows, whether for the reader or the author.
As a further example, I recently read all of Dune in a week while on the beach at Cape Cod; I already knew I wanted to subvert its white savior tropes, but actually confronting Frank Herbert’s majestic natural and political worldbuilding made me realize what specific aspects he succeeded at and themes he failed to fully comprehend despite his best efforts. To make the Nowai Desert Tribes feel more realistic than the Fremen, I have been doing intensive research on Berber and Bedouin cultures, and am also drawing from prior historical knowledge of Central Asia and my visits to the embassies of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, just as for African cultures, I’ve done research and also been to South Africa and Eswatini and pouring my love for my fiancee and her son into the page. This should hopefully make each oasis feel different, with its own legal frameworks such as *foggara-*like community water-sharing schemes, and its own perspective on navigating, bargaining with, or subverting the Empire once it arrives to “liberate” them from Yusuf. If by doing so I can even illuminate a little knowledge of each culture with, then I will have done my job. Same for Gerrasam, Mifumwanga, etc.
Yet I acknowledged years ago that even the most well-intentioned white writers end up imperializing the cultures they end up freely borrowing from, while writers of color are admonished for “race-swapping.” That’s why, primarily so I’m not the only one benefiting from this dynamic, I’m planning on a similar model as the locations of this world grow from Gran Metro to what Eric Flint did with 1632 when that world also got too big for one author; collaborating with a select handful of highly vetted co-authors who can bring their own perspectives and lived experiences to the table while sharing and contributing to the worldbuilding with some contradictions in continuity encouraged, for what history is perfectly written with all details accepted by everyone, unable to change? (Especially since I suck at conlangs!)
I say highly vetted because I did not do this two years ago to my great regret. If I had to reflect on this knowing what I know now, I would obviously have gone about it in a much calmer fashion than I did as opposed to right in the middle of the aftermath but still have to own that moment. I would also say that the most important thing going forward is establishing clear roles, expectations and deliverables in a way that I ultimately failed to do, and that I take sole responsibility for as project lead. Yet whatever my failings in the past, and I have and continue to grow from them, dismissing me as a “fantasy creator” reveals a profound lack of imagination. Some of the greatest writers in human history used speculative worlds- think the Kallipolis of Plato’s Republic, or Thomas More’s Utopia, or Gethen, the setting of my favorite novel of all time, Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness- to illustrate real power dynamics.
I also know no empire endures forever, but whether I live a full and long life (I hope!) or am caught up in the chaos of this collapsing world and am once again unable to tell my story, I will defy the bad-faith admonishment of online abusers to die, because my life has been a struggle to tell my story my way, and my story includes everyone who wants to be a part of it, so I hope you’ll find that my way is our way. Thereby, I hope this distributed author collective structure for The World of Terragia continues to evolve; lift up everyone involved including allowing me to quit my job and therefore do History Flights and writing full-time and getting other new voices published; and endure for a very long time indeed as a Republican Empire of Dreams, full of dreamers all working towards revealing truth with hearts full of steam, whatever their voices proclaim
In the meantime, I'm betting on myself, so stay tuned!
Link to the relevant part in case Reddit fucks this up.
I can kind of see why Microsoft (mostly) moved Halo to Activision even if it’s still incredibly wild to me that COD and Halo will be under the same roof. What’s infuriating to me is all the layoffs that have happened to World’s Edge! These people have been some of the most consistent developers of games and expansions for Microsoft, and right after that success you’re gonna put people out on their asses?! HAVE YOU AT LAST NO DECENCY, SATYA!
I grew up with Age of Empires II, and it helped inspire my special interest in history, steampunk and the Byzantine Empire in particular. Along with Rise of Nations, this is the game that made me a gamer. If they start stuffing battle passes or other microtransactions into future games I’m out, y’all.
My plan to fix the inconsistencies with playing back and recording MDs based on research I’ve done is to remove the faceplate using this Vessel Megadora screwdriver 🪛 (since American screwdrivers are too broad and might strip them!), then make cups of each solution before dabbing the 90% rubbing alcohol across the arms with a Q-tip (I don’t have a micro-applicator) to get rid of any old grease, then do the same with a different Q-tip for new grease. The question then becomes which one.
If it works and it plays all the MiniDiscs I throw at it like the previously untested MDS-JE520 I managed to get for just $90 (more on that in a separate post!) then I plan on finally finishing my MD recording of Malinda’s The Folks I Love/Sea to Sky, a rare signed CD, and a couple other CDs and cassettes before selling it on my Mercari store, soon to be renamed History Flights Shoppe to support my YouTube channel.
Between the $262 I spent on the unit with remote, duties, and protection policy I’ll try to transfer over to a buyer; $32 on a 500W voltage power converter; $30/month on setting up a UPS PBM to keep my address from being doxxed again (long story!); the approximately $250 spent on the following 11 MiniDiscs and excellent 3D printed storage tray from Etsy I plan on bundling with it; and unknown but incredibly high shipping costs of such an absolute unit, I’m hoping to make an opening offer of $750 for everything for buyers in the United States who want to start their MiniDisc collection or grow it with a one-of-a-kind all-in-one powerhouse without having to import anything from Japan.
The only other issue is a loose CD washer I don’t know how to fix. If I can’t fix the MD portion due to an optical laser issue (the other likely culprit) I’ll sell it for repair with converter for $400, keep the tray and sell each MiniDisc at roughly $20-$50 each depending on condition, original cost and case. They are:
I also plan on livestreaming my repair attempt later this week so please be sure to subscribe to History Flights Productions @officialdcshepard on TikTok, Twitch and YouTube and hit the bell to know when I go live. I also plan on announcing that here, and thank you so much for your advice and support in this community so far, especially on this subject as I’ve never attempted retro music hardware repair before!
Description from RailwaysoftheWorld1:
This rare Soviet CD player from the early 1990s shows a fascinating moment when USSR technology, consumer electronics, and the collapsing Soviet economy briefly intersected. In this video, we explore a real Soviet compact disc player, its price in rubles vs USD, and how it compared to Western CD players. You’ll see how the USSR combined Japanese CD transport and DAC technology with locally made components, plus a full teardown, repair, and demonstration of how it actually plays music today. This is a unique look at Cold War technology, retro audio gear, and early digital audio history.
We also dive into the history of Soviet CDs, the Melodiya CD factory, and how compact discs were produced in the USSR, including classical music releases, early digital recordings, and rare Soviet-era albums. From ISO control symbols to quirky design choices and engineering compromises, this video covers everything from Soviet electronics engineering to the transition into post-Soviet Russia. If you’re into vintage tech, hi-fi audio, CD players, or the history of Soviet consumer products, this is a story you don’t want to miss.
From August 29th to September 7th, I took a much-needed break from online stress to visit Cape Cod and then Boston for a friend's wedding. Of course, I took my MZ-NH600D Hi-MD player, and I have no complaints about that whatsoever and use it all the time. (Other than trying to figure out how to use WebMD Pro with my computer after trying to install SonicStage caused it to crash, but Asivery will be helping me with that when I get back next week so I wanted to enjoy what I had). Yet sadly, even with this amazing and ingenious case by LaserLine, I could only bring 13 MiniDiscs (12 in the case plus whatever one I had in the player).
Beforehand I had also made a few mixes of my own using my new Victor RC-MD33 boombox from Japan (completely with bulky-ahh power converter!). First, I successfully copied an entire Meditation Made Simple CD to a blank MD that I now use on occasion for screen-free meditation. Unfortunately, despite Track 7 of Malinda- The Folks I Love/Sea to Sky playing fine in the CD portion of the boombox, it skips and errors out at that point in either MD slot so was not recorded correctly. I've also had it refuse to play certain MDs for no apparent reason, even after playing them beforehand. It's also possible though that the washer that holds the CD in place is kinda loose and that could be a problem...but I'm hoping I only need to blow some compressed air or something as I have no stomach for repairing anything (more on that later.)
In better news, I was able to successfully record 74 random minutes of whatever was playing on WAMU 88.5 at the time, then listened to it while returning a DCC player (what a shame I couldn't get that working!) and found out about the Great Elephant Migration on Commonwealth Ave. in Boston from it. That was an absolutely fantastic exhibit of exquisitely crafted elephant statues that pays local Indian artisans to destroy an invasive plant and encourages coexistence between humans and elephants. If you're in Boston, it's still there until the 13th! I never would've found out about this fantastic display if I hadn't randomly stumbled across it this way, which enhances my enjoyment of the entire format.
But I digress. Here are my favorite MDs in the following three categories, separately judged: OG MD Releases, Mix MDs, and Indie MD Releases.
Best OG MD Release: Bruce Springsteen Greatest Hits
This is one I'll treasure forever, case and all. Not a single dud on the album between Born to Run, Thunder Road, Born in the USA, Glory Days, Better Days, and songs I hadn't really appreciated before I shared the album in our car's AUX port such as Secret Garden. This was a favorite of my mom, who absolutely loved the Boss from the start, and it's moments like that have made every penny I've invested into MiniDisc collecting worth it.
Best Mix MD: 23 Amazing Tracks
I gave it that label, but all credit for actually adding the track titles goes to the person who originally mixed and labeled the tracks before it was sold along with the case. My mom and I absolutely adore the Celine Dion mix and I got an education from her on how she was discovered at 15 and her discography on the car ride to my friend's wedding (will probably back up my live recording of the music from there to an MD, as the band was great!) However, there are a few repeats and none of the tracks are labeled.
Meanwhile, I constantly play The Weeknd- Blinding Lights; AJR- BANG (which I discovered with this mix!); Cage the Elephant- No Rest for the Wicked (which immediately unlocks memories of playing Borderlands in college); Dirty Heads- Vacation; Good Feeling, Low, My House and Wild One by Flo Rida, and Ice Cube- Arrest the President. What's also funny is that when I randomly chatted with a person at Byrdland Records in DC, and they happened to mention they were a fan of Dominic Fike, I was like "No way! I have one of his songs!" and handed him my player to hear the quality of the recording of 3 Nights. It just goes to show why retro music is coming back: it helps reconnect people with sound they own and can share with anyone.
Best Indie MD Release: Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party
There is not a single dud in the entire album, and I'm so glad Hayley Williams is doing well independently because I loved Paramore as a kid. If I only ever play one MD in a day, it's this one. I have a couple other albums of hers I haven't tried yet but I can't wait to when I get back to DC.
I constantly repeat and hum Ice in My OJ and Glum in particular. I also love Kill Me, Love Me Different, Negative Self-Talk and Parachute, which help me process past traumas the way I used to with bands like 3 Doors Down, Evanescence and Linkin Park in middle and high school on an iPod. That makes me wonder about a Sliding Doors world where MDs became as popular as they were in The Matrix, but I'm glad I can take that What If path now among this excellent community and use what tiny platform I have to promote MiniDiscs, including with a lecture at Songbyrd I plan on doing on retro music format wars.
A close second is Tiger Mendoza's Not a Game. The Puzzle is the Point is addictive. I'm so glad I purchased it from Bandcamp with that gorgeous front cover apparently made by a specialty company in the UK. I can't wait to interview the man himself, u/iandeq, about it sometime later this year!
Unfortunately, some MDs just didn't click with me.
I've also purchased a couple more because of course lol.
Unless I can get the RC-MD33 to work with every MD consistently, I'm most likely going to return it (I have until October 20th to do so) or sell it and the converter to a US based buyer along with the MDs I don't like individually on my Mercari page and cross my fingers that the Sony MDS-JE520 I bought for just $90 is working and was only untestable due to the seller having no MDs. If not, I'll try to sell that for parts and get a different deck. Additionally, whatever happens, I might record my HistoryFlights lecture on retro music onto MD, CD, and cassette tape and try to get that sold...stay tuned for all that!
What an amazing summer of music!
At the New England Aquarium! His gills are not painted on very well but I love him already.
Left: Current Map, 685 Imperium Constituit, Right: Pre-War Map, 683 Imperium Constituit
Approved by the Crown, the TSS High Sluice Commission, and te Directorate Allied Affairs Council
Authorized for Continental Distribution by the Imperial Publication Agency (Morale & Security Bureau Registry No. 685-IPA-04)
Month of Harvests 43, Year 685 IC
PRICE: Two Notes
PRICE FOR SCRIPTER GUILDERS: One Note, Three Drop Pennies
TWO YEARS OF THE CONTINENTAL SYSTEM: SECURING THE BASIN
BY ANNIKA DE GUTHRI, SENIOR CHANCELLERY CORRESPONDENT
THE GREAT ARSONIST OF GRAN DRIVEN INTO SHADOWS LIKE A COWARD- TSS ALLIANCE HOLDS THE GREAT WATERS
GRAN- Two years have elapsed since the dark Month of Dreams 38, 683 when, during the long-awaited Royal Artistic Industrial and Scientific Exposition, Yusuf ya'Viwa and his dastardly Nightdancers simultaneously coordinated cowardly detonations. He smashed the Old City to pieces, horrifically burned Janim'Kuu, and tragically devastated the Free City of Arivopol. That terrible day, the world witnessed the true face of the so-called Return of the Twin Eyes of the All-Grandfather Sun: the destruction of so many innocent lives in the name of freedom.
Today, however, our Empire has emerged stronger and more triumphant than during even its legendary founding under the Old Empire by the Vapor Emperor himself. The desperate terrorism of the Vadirian bastard has shattered against the coordinated resolve. Where Yusuf promised his ragtag brigands that the Metropoles would fold into anarchy, he finds himself confined in one of the many caves in the western escarpments of Midvadir, the land he pretends to care about, more of his supply carts seized every day by our brave Vadirian Governor Dalit ya'Dieca. Meanwhile our industry has not only resumed its rhythm, but roars ever mightier.
Her Imperial Highness Acting Empress Chloe Rose Marks Two Years Since War with a Feast
CONSTANCI- At a Feast of Nations in the picturesque seaside city, bustling with onlookers, our steady Crown Princess and Acting Empress Chloe Rose finally mourned the loss of her sister, and all sisters, brothers, and tholk across the world since Yusuf's wrath unleashed the terrible curse of war upon Terragia once again.
After being entrusted with the throne amidst the acrid smoke of the Dreams Attacks, Her Highness has proven supremely capable of government. The Directorate, Curiate, and Tribunate praised her tireless work on behalf of our Rivalries, Provinces and people in a joint resolution conveyed to the Feast by messenger drake. While this apparently surprised our humble Empress according to onlookers who were present, she should not have been, for her sometimes sixteen-hour shifts handling everything from late-night War Directorate meetings to multiple diplomatic summits a week to personally overseeing needed aqueduct repairs across our Empire has given every Metropolitan, whether part of the Five Rivalries or a new citizen immeasurable hope.
Under Her Highness's tireless direction, the Terragian Security System has expanded from a mere defensive pact of the Free Baharean Tribes and the remnants of the Kingdom of Mifumwanga to a true continental economic regime bringing prosperity to the Empire and its allies alike. The Arivopol Republican Government-in-Exile, spurned by other Velitians who do not wish to risk war, has been granted full diplomatic sanctuary, extraterritorial sovereignty in Gran, an honorary seat on the Curia Observionale, and temporary work visas for displaced citizens (the same ones we extended to Vadirians before they stabbed us in the back.) Most importantly, the Wapan Southern Sea remains open to legitimate commerce through the aggressive deployment of the Imperial Navy's TSS Anti-Piracy Squadron, driving Yusuf's corsairs out of our shipping lanes and into the spears of the irate Wapandepi tribestholk.
"The monster who murdered my sister thinks he can forge an empire with fire and hot air from his fat, old mouth," Her Imperial Highness stated during a reception of the Velilukan Republican delegates later last evening. "Well, our Empire is maintained thanks to our allies and our commitment to the law and the Constitution my sibling set up. For every bridge he burns we will build ten more."
Endrelle Continues Their Matchless Campaign
To the west and south, the claws of our brave Aergonaut Storm Seekers and the cannons of our resolute Goliath pilots thunder with the approaching doom of the enemy, spurred on by Endrelle and the mobile TSS Command Gargoul, continue to systematically dismantle the rebellion in a campaign that will be studied from the Ice Fortresses of Racontaer to Gran Military Academy to the court of the Most Serene Daranese Emperor himself for centuries to come, cementing Endrelle undeniably atop the Ledger of Sovereigns.
Continuing to demonstrate the strategic, tactical, and logistical genius that led to few defeats during their time as the youngest Air Commander in history during the Twin Valleys War, Their Majesty has waged a campaign of methodical containment rather than total occupation of every square meter of asand. Heavily shielded Goliath walker water-convoys, supplied with sabertooth whalebone shoes by the superb craftstholk of our steadfast Oasis allies as desert scouts guard their flanks and Aerographer Guild airships watch from above, have locked down critical aquifers and neutralized Yusuf's attempted export of his insurgency to troublemakers among the Asami and Nowai.
Speaking of which, the Imperial Publication Agency has confirmed to us from the latest Condemned Desert Campaign dispatches that the Great Metro-Oasis Qabila remains stabilized by TSS peacekeepers. Every steam pump station along the frontier is heavily guarded, denying the enemy Hassassini the precious condensate they need to fuel the stolen Gargouls that so heinously murdered our dear Grand Enchantress that nightmarish Dreams night.
His craven need for absolute, theocratic power denied, Yusuf's self-styled twin claim to "Sultan of Vadiria and King of Baharea" is shrinking into a coalition of fearful warlords and fragmented outposts. He now resorts to desperate, scattered raids behind our allied lines, particularly among the rabble who dare oppose Governor Dalit and his Sunsmashers by raiding solitary steam farms and sabotaging remote Great Canal locks. These are the death spasms of a cornered sand-weasel who knows his magical water reserves are running low.
Honorable Neutrality Across the Canal
The Imperial Chancellery noted to this reporter with great satisfaction that the Majitakafui Kingdom of Gerrasam and the Fourteen Asami Oases have maintained perfect neutrality through the conflict. Not only have they admirably maintained the Great Canal they so brilliantly built centuries ago, but have maintained the flow of needed textiles, resins, and grimstone among other materials from the Vadiria Governorate to the once hotly disputed fulgen farms of Gerraterrini without incident, a testament to the political marriage of Empress Chloe Rose to Commanding Prince Ganibe ya'Gerrat in the wake of his father Ulerinj II the Feeble's death and attacks from his traitorous brother, "Crown Prince" Kunle. This includes maintaining security in both the underground arteries of our continent and the Anti-Piracy Zone in concert with TSS naval escorts.
While what remains of the Velitian Republics, with the brave patriots of Porta Veliluka holding firm against Vadirian Nightdancer spies and bandits attempting to provoke them into war with the Empire while the Republic of the Highlands maintains an armed vigil in the mountains, the Metropolitan Empire continues to supply the brave citizens of the besieged Arivopoli Velitians huddled on Isle de Fumaria.
Citizens of the Metropolis! Remember their example of humble sacrifice. By order of the Imperial Steam Bureau, conserve boiler water at peak evening hours of 1800 to 2200. Report all unmetered dry steam discharges to your Guild ward so as not to further damage Gran River. Remember, defeatism is the tool of the Arsonist. The Continent Grinds Forward.
BY ORDER OF THE IMPERIAL PUBLICATION AGENCY, BY AND WITH THE ADVICE AND CONSENT OF THE SCRIPTER GUILD
APPROVED for Scripting Across All Scroll Networks in Metropoles and TSS Depots
Left: Current Map, 685 Imperium Constituit, Right: Pre-War Map, 683 Imperium Constituit
Approved by the Crown, the TSS High Sluice Commission, and te Directorate Allied Affairs Council
Authorized for Continental Distribution by the Imperial Publication Agency (Morale & Security Bureau Registry No. 685-IPA-04)
Month of Harvests 43, Year 685 IC
PRICE: Two Notes
PRICE FOR SCRIPTER GUILDERS: One Note, Three Drop Pennies
TWO YEARS OF THE CONTINENTAL SYSTEM: SECURING THE BASIN
BY ANNIKA DE GUTHRI, SENIOR CHANCELLERY CORRESPONDENT
THE GREAT ARSONIST OF GRAN DRIVEN INTO SHADOWS LIKE A COWARD- TSS ALLIANCE HOLDS THE GREAT WATERS
GRAN- Two years have elapsed since the dark Month of Dreams 38, 683 when, during the long-awaited Royal Artistic Industrial and Scientific Exposition, Yusuf ya'Viwa and his dastardly Nightdancers simultaneously coordinated cowardly detonations. He smashed the Old City to pieces, horrifically burned Janim'Kuu, and tragically devastated the Free City of Arivopol. That terrible day, the world witnessed the true face of the so-called Return of the Twin Eyes of the All-Grandfather Sun: the destruction of so many innocent lives in the name of freedom.
Today, however, our Empire has emerged stronger and more triumphant than during even its legendary founding under the Old Empire by the Vapor Emperor himself. The desperate terrorism of the Vadirian bastard has shattered against the coordinated resolve. Where Yusuf promised his ragtag brigands that the Metropoles would fold into anarchy, he finds himself confined in one of the many caves in the western escarpments of Midvadir, the land he pretends to care about, more of his supply carts seized every day by our brave Vadirian Governor Dalit ya'Dieca. Meanwhile our industry has not only resumed its rhythm, but roars ever mightier.
Her Imperial Highness Acting Empress Chloe Rose Marks Two Years Since War with a Feast
CONSTANCI- At a Feast of Nations in the picturesque seaside city, bustling with onlookers, our steady Crown Princess and Acting Empress Chloe Rose finally mourned the loss of her sister, and all sisters, brothers, and tholk across the world since Yusuf's wrath unleashed the terrible curse of war upon Terragia once again.
After being entrusted with the throne amidst the acrid smoke of the Dreams Attacks, Her Highness has proven supremely capable of government. The Directorate, Curiate, and Tribunate praised her tireless work on behalf of our Rivalries, Provinces and people in a joint resolution conveyed to the Feast by messenger drake. While this apparently surprised our humble Empress according to onlookers who were present, she should not have been, for her sometimes sixteen-hour shifts handling everything from late-night War Directorate meetings to multiple diplomatic summits a week to personally overseeing needed aqueduct repairs across our Empire has given every Metropolitan, whether part of the Five Rivalries or a new citizen immeasurable hope.
Under Her Highness's tireless direction, the Terragian Security System has expanded from a mere defensive pact of the Free Baharean Tribes and the remnants of the Kingdom of Mifumwanga to a true continental economic regime bringing prosperity to the Empire and its allies alike. The Arivopol Republican Government-in-Exile, spurned by other Velitians who do not wish to risk war, has been granted full diplomatic sanctuary, extraterritorial sovereignty in Gran, an honorary seat on the Curia Observionale, and temporary work visas for displaced citizens (the same ones we extended to Vadirians before they stabbed us in the back.) Most importantly, the Wapan Southern Sea remains open to legitimate commerce through the aggressive deployment of the Imperial Navy's TSS Anti-Piracy Squadron, driving Yusuf's corsairs out of our shipping lanes and into the spears of the irate Wapandepi tribestholk.
"The monster who murdered my sister thinks he can forge an empire with fire and hot air from his fat, old mouth," Her Imperial Highness stated during a reception of the Velilukan Republican delegates later last evening. "Well, our Empire is maintained thanks to our allies and our commitment to the law and the Constitution my sibling set up. For every bridge he burns we will build ten more."
Endrelle Continues Their Matchless Campaign
To the west and south, the claws of our brave Aergonaut Storm Seekers and the cannons of our resolute Goliath pilots thunder with the approaching doom of the enemy, spurred on by Endrelle and the mobile TSS Command Gargoul, continue to systematically dismantle the rebellion in a campaign that will be studied from the Ice Fortresses of Racontaer to Gran Military Academy to the court of the Most Serene Daranese Emperor himself for centuries to come, cementing Endrelle undeniably atop the Ledger of Sovereigns.
Continuing to demonstrate the strategic, tactical, and logistical genius that led to few defeats during their time as the youngest Air Commander in history during the Twin Valleys War, Their Majesty has waged a campaign of methodical containment rather than total occupation of every square meter of asand. Heavily shielded Goliath walker water-convoys, supplied with sabertooth whalebone shoes by the superb craftstholk of our steadfast Oasis allies as desert scouts guard their flanks and Aerographer Guild airships watch from above, have locked down critical aquifers and neutralized Yusuf's attempted export of his insurgency to troublemakers among the Asami and Nowai.
Speaking of which, the Imperial Publication Agency has confirmed to us from the latest Condemned Desert Campaign dispatches that the Great Metro-Oasis Qabila remains stabilized by TSS peacekeepers. Every steam pump station along the frontier is heavily guarded, denying the enemy Hassassini the precious condensate they need to fuel the stolen Gargouls that so heinously murdered our dear Grand Enchantress that nightmarish Dreams night.
His craven need for absolute, theocratic power denied, Yusuf's self-styled twin claim to "Sultan of Vadiria and King of Baharea" is shrinking into a coalition of fearful warlords and fragmented outposts. He now resorts to desperate, scattered raids behind our allied lines, particularly among the rabble who dare oppose Governor Dalit and his Sunsmashers by raiding solitary steam farms and sabotaging remote Great Canal locks. These are the death spasms of a cornered sand-weasel who knows his magical water reserves are running low.
Honorable Neutrality Across the Canal
The Imperial Chancellery noted to this reporter with great satisfaction that the Majitakafui Kingdom of Gerrasam and the Fourteen Asami Oases have maintained perfect neutrality through the conflict. Not only have they admirably maintained the Great Canal they so brilliantly built centuries ago, but have maintained the flow of needed textiles, resins, and grimstone among other materials from the Vadiria Governorate to the once hotly disputed fulgen farms of Gerraterrini without incident, a testament to the political marriage of Empress Chloe Rose to Commanding Prince Ganibe ya'Gerrat in the wake of his father Ulerinj II the Feeble's death and attacks from his traitorous brother, "Crown Prince" Kunle. This includes maintaining security in both the underground arteries of our continent and the Anti-Piracy Zone in concert with TSS naval escorts.
While what remains of the Velitian Republics, with the brave patriots of Porta Veliluka holding firm against Vadirian Nightdancer spies and bandits attempting to provoke them into war with the Empire while the Republic of the Highlands maintains an armed vigil in the mountains, the Metropolitan Empire continues to supply the brave citizens of the besieged Arivopoli Velitians huddled on Isle de Fumaria.
Citizens of the Metropolis! Remember their example of humble sacrifice. By order of the Imperial Steam Bureau, conserve boiler water at peak evening hours of 1800 to 2200. Report all unmetered dry steam discharges to your Guild ward so as not to further damage Gran River. Remember, defeatism is the tool of the Arsonist. The Continent Grinds Forward.
BY ORDER OF THE IMPERIAL PUBLICATION AGENCY, BY AND WITH THE ADVICE AND CONSENT OF THE SCRIPTER GUILD
APPROVED for Scripting Across All Scroll Networks in Metropoles and TSS Depots
This link should take you right to my overview of it. I absolutely love zoos and aquariums, so I knew I had to try to go based on my friend suggesting it as something to do on her wedding website while we were up in Boston over the long weekend. It was tight because my mom needed to get picked up and driven to a blowout, and my dad and I almost got drenched while trying to have tacos, but we managed to tour the entire place on Sunday and I hope you enjoy!
I can't believe this was on Saturday and now I'm already back in NY. The Great Elephant Migration on Commonwealth Avenue Mall was definitely one of the highlights of my first trip to Boston in 32 years (the last time I was there was when I was two when I saw the Make Way for Ducklings statue, which I saw again as well) along with the New England Aquarium! It's only here until the 13th though, so definitely check it out while you still can. I still can't believe I only found out about it by randomly listening to NPR.
I’m thrilled at all the support, including the seven fellow Byzantine nerds who subscribed, but some part of me feels weirdly sad too. Lol. Either way, I’m looking forward to continuing this series next year with The Byzantine Empire’s OP Geography.
Thank you to everyone here who has supported my crusade for truth, justice and historical accuracy, especially under the weight of the deranged, sociopathic Australian cultist Wahid Azal and his creepy sidekick Matt Douglas continually attacking me in an attempt to psychologically “break,” “bury” and “scatter my ashes to the four winds” for daring to expose them by saying:
That my autistic symptoms appear or disappear whenever it suits me, ignoring the situational energy costs of adapting and masking and energy gains during hyperfocus for me;
That if I am too “articulate” I must be faking autism;
That if I’m exacting in my documentation of their behavior, such as Matt creeping on a trans waitress in Thailand and Wahid messaging a minor on Facebook, I’m “compulsive”;
That I have not survived a “genuine attack” when I link a filmed attack against me on DC Metro;
That I’m a fake tr^nny or a fat tr^nny who’s taken a couple hormone shots but doesn’t look “trans enough”;
And so, so much more as I detail here!
I think that I’ve shown tremendous resilience and accomplished a great deal with History Flights Productions due my special interest in history, including my two-hour review of The Odyssey* *and coop review of Spider-Man Brand New Day with my friend Kevin. I also just opted out of his vexatious attempt to penalize me for fairly using his face in a critical thumbnail at the Copyright Claims Board and previously defeated a false attempt at an anti-stalking order. None of his other claims such as that I’ve been convicted of raping children have any evidence either.
However, the latter movie was right; even Spider-Man needs to rest, and I just had an excellent dinner with my sister last night and can’t wait to disconnect from all this bullcrap with my family in Cape Cod when we drive up there tomorrow!
UNTIL THEN, FUCK YOU GOBLIN!!! I am the DC Spider 🕷️ and I will never stop fighting you for doxxing me, demanding that I die, calling me all sorts of untrue things, and being a hateful weasel!
From The New York Times article here: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/26/business/scott-bessent-economy-markets.html