Tuesday, October 26, 2021
Ask the Author: Edi and Alli, 20 years later.
Monday, October 25, 2021
Ask the Author; The Great War and WWII?
WT: In this case, yes, the first and only 'World War” in Animalia is still referred to as the Great War. However, while World War II did not happen in the sense that there was a Hitler, or Nazi's, or a push for global domination, there was a nearly, if not equally as bad period in Roarope that led to the extermination and displacement of millions of rodents over a period of ten to fifteen years.
Much like in our own universe, the Great War was followed by a Great Pandemic. The Manish Flu, which would quickly become known as the “Rat Rasp”, assaulted an already ravaged continent, and stirred up a lot of resentment for the mammals that were presumed to have caused it; rodents. By this point, rodent communities had been the established starting point for many of history's greatest plagues that made the jump to larger mammals, including the infamous black death, and this hadn't been forgotten by many Roaropeans. Coupled with the fact that rodent communities had massive, ever-increasing populations that they refused to curtail, and that would often end up putting a strain on local resources for everyone else, there was already a baseline resentment for rodent kind. The Rat Rasp was simply the latest in a long string of 'slights' to the rest of mammal kind that would fuel anti-rodent sentiment across Roarope. Over the next few years as the crises worsened, mammals who spoke ill of the rodent population would become political powerhouses, with a groundswell of support coming from the most affected communities allowing them to rise to positions of prominence.
Germamy was the first nation to start enacting curfews for rodents, and other social limitations, which would quickly escalate to outright segregation and the forced relocation of rodents and rodent-related mammals to rodent-only ghettos. But unlike our timeline, Germamy wasn't alone in setting such restrictions, merely the first, as even Kingland would come to adopt rodent ghettos to protect their populace from future pandemics. However, Germamy would be one of the first to escalate its efforts after a resurgence of the Rasp in 1923. And thus rodents were 'exiled' from Germamy, causing them to scatter to neighboring nations and forcing them to adopt their own 'hard measures'. In regards to Germamy, it's estimated that half of the rodent population never actually saw themselves exiled. This is because it is now known that Germamy had created a secret 'exterminator' squad, whose job it was to wipe out the various rodent communities and kill their inhabitants. This was upheld under the guise that any time they were caught, it was to be explained away as a highly infected community where all the residents had already succumbed, and this was to protect the rest of the Germam populace from infection. But in the years since the Great Rodent Extermination, many documents have been provided to show that this was also their method of dealing with rodent dissenters and those who refused to leave Germamy. Worse still, Germamy would not be the only Roaropean nation to make use of “Exterminators” to deal with their own “Rodent Problems”
Other rodent-heavy populations saw themselves split up, as in the case of North Itaily, and South Italamb, which split at the Ratican line as the rodent population was too entrenched to be able to successfully exile. Italamb also saw the use of exterminators to keep the newly established border free of illegal migrants.
It would take at least another decade for the hysteria to die down, and for some of the countries in Roarope to relax rodent restrictions, however, almost all Roaropean nations maintained a child limit in regards to rodent families, with even the most liberal of nations taking the stance that rodent overpopulation is what allows pandemics to sweep through nations so quickly. Some nations still segregate rodent populations from the rest of the mammalian population, but nations like Germamy still maintain a 'no entry' policy to all rodent class mammals, an edict that is highly criticized but upheld nonetheless.
So, all that was my roundabout way to say that when it comes to “Nazi” imagery in the pop culture of Zoot, the most vivid and terrifying image is the jack-booted state sanctioned 'exterminator'. The kind that a startling number of mammals in Roarope still see as 'regrettable but necessary', and an alarmingly high number of North Mammalians are starting to feel is 'needed' to cull the currently unchecked rodent population that threatens to kick off a new plague on their shores.
Ask Vanna; The difference between Sibearian and Bengal Tigers.
Vanna: I don't take it personally. After all, how do you learn if you can't ask questions about another mammal's species or culture? Anyway, my father Lucero was born in Mane, in Roarope, although his grandparents were native Bindi's. As for my mother Padaprascha, she was a native Bindian, and is a first-generation immigrant to North Mammalia along with my father. Naturally, that makes my parents, my sister, and myself one-hundred percent Bengal right down to the weddings...
Zach: I'll say. I looked patently ridiculous in that Sir...Sirwana?
Vanna: Sherwani, and I happened to think you looked quite handsome Goofball.
Zach: Thanks Kitten...I appreciate it even if I don't exactly agree with y'all. *Chuckles* At least y'all looked beautiful in that...gods I'm gonna butcher the name again...
Vanna: Lehenga. *Chuffs softly.* And thank you...Goofball. *Ahem* As for, the differences in Bengal tigers and Sibearian tigers...before we all evolved, I honestly wouldn't know. I will say though...that when it comes to species traits as they are now...I'd say that...erm...'calculating coldness' is definitely common among those hailing from the north. Whereas most Bengal tigers are like my father...if there was any 'savageness' in our primitive ancestors, it has translated to being a very passionate, emotional mammal in our current descendants. It is reflected in our culture, with our colorful celebrations that can sometimes last a week-long..
Zach: Like yer parents did with our tithe? *Laughs.* I mean, not that I'm complainin' about havin' a big feast and all but several days of 'em? By the end of the week, I felt like I had bread and curry comin' outta my ears. When it wasn't...rocketin' into the toilet bowl that is.
Vanna: *Giggles.* I-I'm sorry Goofball...it can take a little while for most mammals' stomachs to adapt to the spices in our food if they've never had it before.
Zach: Eh, if it were that unbearable, I wouldn't have gone back fer seconds now would I? *Laughs.*
Vanna: *Giggles.* I suppose that's true...and you've seemed to develop a tolerance for it now. Anyway. Yes, our neighbors to the north are taller, leaner, and generally quieter...although that's not true across the board. It's the same with my species, as I'm sort of an...outlier being as calm and...timid as my father would say. *Chuckles.* He likes to say I must have some Sibearian in me somewhere, and the same goes for my mother, although she's...less awkward than I am.
Zach: Awkward? True. But yer also adorable...
Vanna: *Blush* Goofball... *Chuffing.*
Ask the Ruminerds; Souls Series
Gus: That's easy. Definitely Bark So-
Joel: Rudborne, no question...
Gus: Yeah, well that's Joel's opinion...but I say Bark Souls One is probably the best of the series...
Joel: You can say that, but you'd be wrong.
Gus: *Rolls eyes.* At least the Bark Souls series wasn't a console-locked exclusive.
Joel: Your just salty because you never bought a Prey Station Four.
Gus: Everything is better on PC. It's not my fault they decided to make it a permanent exclusive!
Joel: Pft....wouldn't buy a PS4, but you bought a Scritch?
Gus: I had my back against a wall! Nyantendo never releases anything outside of their console...Breath of the Wild Mam'!
Joel: Eh...I'll give you BotW...
Gus: Look...I mean, both series are great, as is Demon Souls, although I didn't play Sekiro, I'm not big on ancient japandese style settings...
Joel: You missed out.
Gus: That's coming from a mammal who eats, sleeps, and breathes Japandese culture.
Joel: I won't deny it.
Gus: If you have the opportunity of being able to play any of them, I think the original Dark Souls is probably the safest introduction to the series.
Joel: I suppose that's...fair I guess. I mean, unfortunately, Rudborne is one and done, or I'd say start there. It's also a bit more...more difficult I'd say. As the formula is more refined by then. Bark Souls is probably better for getting your Souls legs. Though do yourself a favor and-
Gus: Skip two?
Joel: Yeah, Bark Souls 2 is mediocre at best...doesn't really feel connected to three or one...it's like Bark Souls fanfiction.
Gus: So maybe Barksouls, then Rudborne, then Bark Souls three.
Joel: After that, you can go either way, Demon or Sekiro. By then you should have 'gotten gud' enough to tangle with them.
Gus: And don't get to discouraged if you die a lot. All of those games are hard as heck. If you start to have real trouble, you can always summon a friend to help you through your first run like Broomie did for me.
Joel: You scrub...
Gus: Hey, I replayed new game plus without him and did just fine alright!
Ask Dawn and Vern; Zootopia's Government Structure.
Dawn: Oh well, I understand the confusion. Zootopia's government structure isn't exactly like our neighbors in the North Mammalian Union. While some of our differences just have to do with the choice of names, others are structurally different despite...being a little similar.
Vernon: Y'all mean like how the role of Mayor in Zoot is equivalent to the 'President' in the NMU?
Dawn: *Nods.* Precisely Puppy. Essentially our Mayor and Assistant Mayor are the equivalents of the President and Vice President of the NMU. Although we don't get the...sheer volume of secret service protection that our relatives in the NMU get.
Vernon: I imagine it'd be the same if there hadn't been that attempted assassination of Caniddey's life back in the sixties.
Dawn: True. Zootopia is a city-state...but despite our population, it's still...rather small? I guess everyone here feels more like they have a say in the process than in a nation as massive as the NMU, not to say there haven't been plots...not counting my own of course...I suppose Lyon B. Johnson and me have that in common.
Vernon: Aw, now don't go comparin' yerself to that snake. Y'all at least weren't planin' to kill Lionheart...as much as you hated him.
Dawn: Still...*sighs*. Well, I suppose that's neither here nor there in terms of this question. Right., so...you may think that the Mayor and Assistant Mayor sort of get carte blanche control over the city, but it's really not the case. The Mayor's role is primarily to oversee that decisions and laws decided on by the district representatives are put in motion, and to be able to take emergency action when a quick decision is to be made. The mayor can use executive orders to put things into effect on their own accord, but it's meant to be used rarely, and even so, it's frowned upon. When it comes to allocation of projects, funds, etcetera for specific Districts, the Mayor plays the arbiter in helping narrow down the options to one out of the multiple that are pitched to him...and that was where my role as the Assistant Mayor came into play. I would go over and prepare all the information for a proposed project, including offers from building firms, or outside suppliers and funding allocation, and make it presentable to the Mayor. Although Lionheart never really read most of what I would put together...he either picked the first thing on his desk, or went with the last company or organization that stuffed his pockets.
Vernon: If it weren't fer the Night Howler fiasco, that fella would just seen his way outta office a lame duck at most.
Dawn: The Mayor is elected in a general election, as is the Assistant Mayor. But the District representatives are elected in local elections. These representatives and their assistants are the ones who actually field the wants and desires of their local population, and begin crafting it into local law. Of course, there are some proposals that may lean on another district's own, or may affect Zootopia as a whole, which is why the representatives meet in a council to iron out such things.
Vernon: Below that y'all got folks like my Pa, who get elected to positions like Sheriff and other very local positions o' prominence. Oh, and that ain't countnin' like...agency positions...I ferget how that works.
Dawn: Positions in organizations like the Zootopian Reserve Military, or the Zootopian Intelligence agency are chosen by the representative council, although decisions like that need to be agreed on by a majority of the council and mayor.
Vernon: Right, shows how much I know about my own local government. *Chuckles.* I weren't ever very interested in civics...
Dawn: I suppose that's another upside to not working in politics anymore, as telling you about my day at work would probably utterly confuse you. *Giggles.*
Vernon: Probably. *Chuckles.* It's much easier to digest “I helped the pups on the bus, met with my publisher, wrote for an hour and then demolished a whole can of Preyngles before nappin' on the sofa.”
Dawn: Puppy! Don't make that sound normal! I was pregnant at the time! Or did you forget that those preyngles were smothered in chocolate sauce?
Vernon: Ah...yer right. How could I forget comin' home to y'all snorin' on the couch with chocolate syrup still smeared on yer muzzle...not to mention the bottle o' syrup was empty too...
Dawn: *Blushes.* I-I ran out of chips and was still hungry...
Ask the Author: Trapped in your own Universe?
WT: Geeze, I don't even know...I'd probably think I was dreaming at first. Then comes the terrible realization and praying you don't end up dissected for science. Granted...considering the species diversity in Zoot, I imagine that alien autopsy isn't a common practice every time a new species may pop up. Still, I don't know how I'd adjust to be honest. Aside from being hopelessly in love with Dawn myself, (Which would cause issues with getting along with Vernon I guess lol) I mean...when you really think about an Isekai scenario, and just getting plopped in a strange world, even with full acceptance, how long would it take you to adapt? For instance, I'm still struggling to learn German, I've been on Duolingo for two years and haven't made decent progress. Now imagine having to learn the entire history of a new world, possibly a language or multiple ones, and various other things just to get by. I mean ending up in Zoot, my Zoot, would be interesting, but man I imagine it would take a hell of a long time to get comfortable there.
As for meeting my Ocs, it would be...well awkward. Aside from my earlier joke...I'd be...I guess kind of beside myself with fear worrying that my writing is what steered their lives along the paths they had traveled. That every time Dawn's father abused her, it was because I wrote it that way. Cameron's wife dying? That was me. And if that proves true...what do I tell them? That I wanted to make their world engaging and relatable? There are too many uncomfortable questions that I'd be far too afraid to explore but would be on my mind constantly when interacting with them. And I imagine them finding the blog would be much of the same. A lot of questions I'm not comfortable asking or answering.
I suppose you just have to hope in that instance that you are not the god who controls their world, but rather their life stories just imprinted on you across some dimensional veil. Better to be a simple scribe than the god, at the very least there's no guilt to carry.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)