Alt. official factions in progress

[Buster's Uncle]

This is an appeal for commentary and input from you. Different ideas are welcome, and I try to be conscientious about credit within the community.


So, a few weeks ago I asked Darsnan if he’d like custom faction graphics for his Eye of the Beholder scenario . A fruitful collaboration ensued, and you can find the graphics I did there.

I’d gone to a little extra trouble to make Darsnan's splinter factions visually distinguishable from their originals to enhance their future utility for everyone/all applications. When I finished with the factions he needed, I kept going, to make a complete set of alternate/splinters of all the official factions.

That probably makes some of them splinters of splinters with the SMACX factions, but still they're there as a resource for modders who want variety, and anyone who wants to play more than one iteration of a a faction at the same time- these can be told from the originals on the world map, and the bases and logos are also recolored.

The first one (after New Sparta, which I had done earlier, mistakenly believing it was for the scenario) was the Children of the Flowering - alt. Gaians, which I did on my own. It’s posted at the bottom of my custom factions page with the rest.

(All faction links are .pcx files only, for now. Soon, I’ll need to separate the alt./splinter line-up on the webpage, though I haven’t decided whether to divide them by EotB/not or SMAC/SMACX factions. Thoughts?)

Three more are currently in progress. I hope my remarks on the creative process will be useful/entertaining:




This is Secretary-General Adaman Haj of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force , my alternate Peacekeepers, with input from Darsnan, who supplied the names and pointed me at a 40’s Time Cover of a Canadian General. I decided Haj was Afghani-Canadian, Darsnan asked for a less-western hat and Maniac suggested changing the background to not-a-map-of Belgium/the lower Rhine basin. I’m currently awaiting comment from these gentlemen before I add scan lines and drop it into the .pcx . The link above has the original hat and background. Other than the portrait this one is done.




This one is all mine, save a helpful suggestion from Russia4Life to change her hair.

She is Aboriginal Australian and her name is Cathy Bennelong. She grew up in an assimilated suburban setting, in Brisbane, Queensland, but contact with rural relatives living a more tribal lifestyle during her adolescence led to an interest in getting back to nature, and increasingly radical politics as an adult. Olympic medalist is numbered among her accomplishments.

I may need to emphasize her brow a teeny bit more. I’m told it isn’t clear that her dreadlocks are tied back. I'll probably leave it in this basic style, but add some loose dreds and generally try to bring up the dred-iness.

-If you’ve not followed her development elsewhere, can you recognize what very famous woman she began as? No spoilers from those who did follow, please.

I created this portrait with the alt Pirate/Sea Gypsies in mind, but am now intending her for my alt. Planet Cult, the Rainbow Warriors.




-Like the photo Cathy began with, this painting turned up while googling for images of hardcore eco-types. I originally intended him for the Rainbow Warriors, and haven’t made the necessary alterations to his clothes yet or actually worked on him at all.

I think he’s a Finn, in which case he wouldn’t tend to like Zhakarov or Zhukov at all- they’ve a large national grudge against Russia. Finnlanders are typically quite gloomy (the one I went to college with was very rude, too,) and transliterations of their names have wonderfully strange spellings. I’ll have to research a good Finnish name. Biographical information to flesh out the leaders’ characters usually comes to me as I work on the portrait.

Having decided over the weekend to switch Cathy to the Rainbow Warriors, I realized that I could switch him, too. As a Finn, he’d be perfect for the alt. Pirates with a better concept: the New Vikings.



…All that’s left is the alt. Data Angels, for which I need ideas, and the alt. Usurpers, for which Darsnan and I have worked out a direction. He’s using them in his Beta Lyrae mod, and seems to want to keep them a surprise. I believe a somewhat different splinter faction line-up will be used there, but D is planning to make the decision as to which ones after I've done the whole set.

Again, I need alt. Data Angels ideas, and a portrait-ish image to work from- anything but a black lady, though I can find something myself once I have a concept. I’m interested in suggestions and comments for the rest, too, even the ones I’ve finished and the webpage itself.

Please, please stick your finger into the broth, and help me spoil it.

 

[Sexymindworm]

..... maybe your get a response

How about an ann summers faction? u might laugh, but those scout outfits look somehow familiar...

data angels = microsoft

 

[Buster's Uncle]

How about an ann summers faction? u might laugh, but those scout outfits look somehow familiar...

The British porno chain? That's all Google turned up for a few pages, save a reference to Mary Ann Summers.... If I did her, then I'd have to do all seven stranded castaways, and that's just dumb. A funny notion, but dumb, like the show. -Not that I wouldn't like to do Mary Ann, mind you-

data angels = microsoft

Oooh, you might have something there...

 

[Psyringe]

Nice to see that there's still active modding on SMAC. I like how your work fits into the artistic style of the game.

Regarding the Data Angels, how about the stereotypical computer nerd - male, pale, wearing glasses? It's not a terribly original idea, but would provide a contrast to Roze, and pictures of a popular stereotype are probably easy to come by.

 

[Buster's Uncle]

I like that, though we've been striving for multiculturalism- it don't conflict with the Microsoft notion at all, either.

But- I've only used one Asian, and he replaced an Asian- Hive/Protectorate. They're something like over a third of the people in the world, and only having two of 14 is giving them short shrift, but the best I can do without evicting someone.

...I'll need to look for a Japanese nerd. That doesn't sound very challenging.

Gentlemen, I may just have enough to work with now, unless someone volunteers something I like even better. I'll be sure to credit you for ideas I use/am inspired by.

I do so love actually getting feedback...

(Am I the only one to ever notice that Roze was obviously Tyra Banks and/or Naomi Campbell?)

 

[Darsnan]

I like how your work fits into the artistic style of the game.

Buster's Uncle has done a very good job of this.
In the past there have been individual instances of superior quality faction pics, but I don't think I've ever seen this large a quantity of above average pics from one source in such a short time. I've supplanted a majority of my faction pics with his work, as its a great way to keep the game fresh. :b:


D

 

[Darsnan]

-Like the photo Cathy began with, this painting turned up while googling for images of hardcore eco-types.

Its too bad we can't insert pics into the Interludes, as I think this would be a good representation of the Dr: intelligence, but slightly quirky looking.

D

 

[Sexymindworm]

data angels = microsoft, why?

Well they like to steal tech, and are pritty good at that, and as u know if you think microsoft dont know exactly whats on your hard disk - come on now, who you kidding , all those operating systems running it, all those patches people willingly let microsoft patch up... ohh humm...


cheers

Yeah the ann summers slant was a stab in the dark, and it was not a serious propersition, however i think microsoft would be a good choice. - obviously you would need to name it sommit different mind, think a copyright infringement would be in the wind otherwise.

 

[Buster's Uncle]

data angels = microsoft, why?

Well they like to steal tech, and are pritty good at that, and as u know if you think microsoft dont know exactly whats on your hard disk - come on now, who you kidding , all those operating systems running it, all those patches people willingly let microsoft patch up... ohh humm...

Oh yeah- at the very least it makes a good story.

So our Japanese nerd could have been the project manager for the "MorganNet 3D software" that was bundled with the new Network Nodes....

[insert C. Montgomery Burns smiley here] Eeexcellent.

Its too bad we can't insert pics into the Interludes, as I think this would be a good representation of the Dr: intelligence, but slightly quirky looking.

After he's uploaded himself? That would be sweet. I could remove everything below the beard and leave him a floating head...

If you didn't know, last week I asked scient to look into the interlude thing when he has time.

Are you saying I should keep looking for my Finn? I can find other old professorial-looking white guys for the floating head pretty easily- the first page of Time covers I looked at ought to yield multiple candidates. But then I could find someone more macho for the Vikings easily, too. Far better to change these things before I've invested time in altering them.

Buster's Uncle has done a very good job of this.
In the past there have been individual instances of superior quality faction pics, but I don't think I've ever seen this large a quantity of above average pics from one source in such a short time. I've supplanted a majority of my faction pics with his work, as its a great way to keep the game fresh. :b:

[blush] I'm taking the normal human pleasure in being praised, here.

It's been over two months now that I've spent all my time altering/generating SMAC(X) graphics, and I've hungered for chances to discuss my obsession.

D, do you realize that, notwithstanding the sheer volume of blood I've sweated, this is the first time anyone's endorsed my body of work as a whole in the month that I've been posting my stuff for AC-heads? Thank so, so very much for saying that.

***
This forum's been loading at a much better rate for me since sometime last night. Before it was taking something like a whole minute or more between pages.

 

[Buster's Uncle]

Here's the changes I mentioned making to Cathy:


I wish I could leave her hair darker, but that’s incompatible with having the dreadlocks look like dreadlocks. I might oughtta change the background, but cutting figures out to change backgrounds is a tedious pain. So my thinking is this: the Rainbow Warriors, like the Greenpeace boat they’re named after, are (semi?) aquatic.

Or, the oceans are part of Planet, too, and we just ignore it. It can be implemented any way the end-user desires, after all. Not planning to change the background…

 

[Darsnan]

This is Secretary-General Adaman Haj of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force , my alternate Peacekeepers, with input from Darsnan, who supplied the names and pointed me at a 40’s Time Cover of a Canadian General. I decided Haj was Afghani-Canadian

Just realized I'd never supplie feedback on this one. Knowing what I do about Lal, I'd say this guy has the look of being a little more hard-core about those democratic ideals, like he's seen first-hand the effects of Hiverian policy in captured lands, and he is unwavering in his response of "Never Again" (sort of like the victors of WW 1 claimed after the Great War.....).

This one is all mine, save a helpful suggestion from Russia4Life to change her hair.

She is Aboriginal Australian and her name is Cathy Bennelong. She grew up in an assimilated suburban setting, in Brisbane, Queensland, but contact with rural relatives living a more tribal lifestyle during her adolescence led to an interest in getting back to nature, and increasingly radical politics as an adult. Olympic medalist is numbered among her accomplishments.

I guess I'm having a hard time following this one. A lot of the original Faction Leader pics seem to embody something about their Factions. Same can be said about a lot of your pics (such as Haj, Shin, and Sister Prudence, who I think I'm going to have sooo much fun with in the future!). Bennelong I'm having a hard time gleaning where she is coming from. Probably just me, but I'm having a hard time relating to this one. Maybe change the background to something more factionally oriented?

…All that’s left is the alt. Data Angels, for which I need ideas,

I like the idea posted elsewhere of an oriental hacker, but I'd say don't go the geeky route. Just remember that a LOT of our target audience are probably geeks (like me!) and they may be offended by the portrayal.... If I come across a pic I'll let you know.

D

 

[Buster's Uncle]

Just realized I'd never supplie feedback on this one.

You did, too. You seemed to love him, but asked for a more traditional Afghani hat, then never commented on my attempt to comply. This is altered to try to look like a fusion of an officer's cap and an Afghani pawkul. Also, the hat's a lot smaller and the perspective is improved- the original was clearly painted in as an afterthought. Will this do? (Maniac suggested I change the background, and I've been waiting for word from him, too.)

If I seem a little snotty it’s only because I spent hours on that, and not because I don’t hold you in high regard.

Again, am I done?

I guess I'm having a hard time following this one. A lot of the original Faction Leader pics seem to embody something about their Factions. Same can be said about a lot of your pics (such as Haj, Shin, and Sister Prudence, who I think I'm going to have sooo much fun with in the future!). Bennelong I'm having a hard time gleaning where she is coming from. Probably just me, but I'm having a hard time relating to this one. Maybe change the background to something more factionally oriented?

Hearing about the ones you love NEVER gets old. But-

D. D,D,D. D. You're a prince among men and you've been cooler to me than any other AC-head- yer a bud. -You didn't read the two-and-a-half-hour-old-at-the-time post of mine immediately above yours or look at the updated portrait, did you?- I'll let you off with a warning this time.

-I hope the slightly enhanced dreds already fixed it, 'cause I don't wanna change the background. vyeh disagrees with you, anyway.

Again, the sea is part of nature and the faction may be aquatic Jacques Cousteu-type eco-extremists, but not necessarily even that. You’ll recall having to be sold on Prudence, too- but she’s special, isn’t she?

I like the idea posted elsewhere of an oriental hacker, but I'd say don't go the geeky route. Just remember that a LOT of our target audience are probably geeks (like me!) and they may be offended by the portrayal.... If I come across a pic I'll let you know.

We're all geeks here. I'd hate to insult, say, a Belgian, but Screw Us.

It's like Comic Book Guy on the Simpsons; whoever created/writes him gets it, and is probably one(several) of us. I believe nerds love him and find him hilarious- I really do.

Our Asian Bill Gates doesn’t have to have zits and tape on his glasses or anything insulting like that. Don't worry; I can sell it.

 

[Darsnan]

You did, too. You seemed to love him, but asked for a more traditional Afghani hat, then never commented on my attempt to comply. Am I done?

I think you are done here. :b:

Hearing about the ones you love NEVER gets old. But-

-You didn't read the two-and-a-half-hour-old-at-the-time post of mine immediately above yours or look at the updated portrait, did you?- I'll let you off with a warning this time.

I think it was just easier on my cut-and-paste routine (at least thats the story I'm giving). If no one else has a problem with it, then thats fine with me. Sometimes I just don't get things, and in this case its not jumping out at me as far as what she's supposed to represent.

We're all geeks here. I'd hate to insult, say, a Belgian, but Screw Us.

Heah, my Grandmother was a Belgian!

It's like Comic Book Guy on the Simpsons; whoever created/writes him gets it, and is probably one(several) of us. I believe nerds love him and find him hilarious- I really do.

When my wife (who I went to HS with) and I watched Napolean Dynamite together, she just laughed the whole time and kept saying "Oh, that was soooo you!". So every Halloween since I dress up as Napolean (by simply putting on a "Vote for Pedro" shirt), point at my wife and say "see, this is who Napolean ended up marrying". In revenge, I'm sadistically cruel like that....

D

 

[Buster's Uncle]

I think you are done here. :b:

Heard from Maniac today, too. Haj is ready for drop-in and-update, then. I'm golden.


BTW, since you missed this, I responded the other day to your remark about Haj:
***

like he's thinking "its Democracy/Green/ Knowledge, or else theres gonna be trouble!".

...Just wanted to add that with his British education what he'd say would likely be more like "It would save you ever so much trouble if you went Democracy/Green/ Knowledge. There's a good chap."
***

If no one else has a problem with it, then thats fine with me. Sometimes I just don't get things, and in this case its not jumping out at me as far as what she's supposed to represent.

One reason I like feedback is that I have zero perspective about portraits I've spent a whole extra lot of time on, and know it.

She doesn't scream "Eco-terrorist", but I bet most eco-terrorists don't at a glance. She's not as pretty as her famous original, but that's good, as the leaders shouldn't all be glam. I like her not for some sledgehammer archetype that could never be mistaken for anything else, -the SMAC factions kinda mined the best archetypes out anyway-, but as a striking human being.

I think Prudence works so well precisely because she plays against type, don't you? Better-rounded storytelling that way, when there's a lot of room for nuance. I submit to you that we should dare to put someone likeable in charge of our Planet Cult, for a change. I submit that this apealing woman with the arms is striking enough to carry it off.

I think she succeeds in that, and that you wouldn't think much of it if you had first seen her in someone's finished faction with “Top Tree-Spiker Bennalong of the Rainbow Warriors” under her picture, except to admire her buff arms.

(It’s a pity her dreds don’t stand out more at 83%. At 200% they look FANTASTIC.)

I should add that I COULD select the dark blues of the water and change them to browns and greens and fungus colors- ground- or just on one side, leaving water on the other- and it wouldn’t take all THAT long. I just didn’t want casual requests to change the background- it’s too time-consuming to do on a whim.

I need the participation of the peanut gallery on this one more than usual; I’ve had two mild encouragements on this portrait and the direction I announced and a slightly stronger nay-ish response. I’m invested in Cathy, and want to use her now. I have no perspective.

Whadda the rest of you think? I’m working hard to entertain you- please encourage me by posting opinions.

Heah, my Grandmother was a Belgian!

So’s Maniac, apparently. I PMed him today to apologize for a crack I'd made about making Haj’s background “less sprout-y” per his request- not having noticed Maniac's location was Ghent until yesterday. [real blush] Not knowing excuses nothing, but I wouldn’t have been so rude had I known. Fortunately he’s a cool guy, and also finds my not-Belgium alterations to the background map sufficient.

…I had very nearly quoted something from the Monty Python Prejudice Show skit, and I’m glad I didn’t twice over now, because I’d hate to have insulted your gramma- even though you casually suggest background changes too often.



I hardly laughed at all during Napoleon Dynamite, but smiled a fair bit. I enjoyed it more as a warm portrait of drooling spazbos from people who understand drooling spazbos.

See? Us nerds aren’t that sensitive about FAIR knocks against us from people who understand. Who didn’t crap themselves laughing the first time they saw Evan Dorkin’s “Welcome to Eltingville”? Or the Trio on the next-to-last season of Buffy? We drool, but can be cool.

 

[Buster's Uncle]

I wonder if little clarification about Cathy’s background would help.

I make her from an assimilated suburban upbringing to avoid noxious cliché’s about Aboriginal Australians- yet allow me to play off them. This is only a facet of a normal, well-rounded personality, but it’s the one that informs the eco-stuff.

Inside, she’s really as white/western as I am, but had to walk around with her complexion and brow-ridge in a country where that draws non-trivial levels of prejudice and wasn’t something she was allowed to forget for a second in her white western surroundings. It made her fantasize as a kid about being an old-time villager running around the outback- something like uncle Charlie, who she barely knew- it made her militant as an adult, and more than a bit of a wannabe. Half the “Aboriginal” world-view she’s cultivated is just bullcrap she saw on 3V as a kid and then never took out and examined as an adult. She’s the equivalent of what I understand Native Americans call a “stick Indian”.

...And not a very good one. She never made a really serious study of her roots, never tried to move to the wilds or give up the comforts she was accustomed to. She did take an interest in ecological issues out of an impression that the People lived in harmony with nature, and so should everyone. After she Gold-Medaled at the Olympics- running I think, like Aboriginal Olympian Cathy Freeman, who contributed her first name (Bennelong was a chief taken back to England by early explorers, and who met the King) she was courted by Greenpeace-types who’d seen her environmental views in interviews. She got pretty involved with the publicity as a celebrity, but stayed away from the really radical stuff for fear of losing her lucrative Wheaties and sneaker endorsement contracts.

But being rich and safe began to feel hollow, and finding that there weren’t a lot of wilds left anywhere, longed for pristine nature. You can see where this is going. A splendid physical specimen like her didn’t have a lot of trouble getting on the Unity as a colonist- they also loved her training that I haven’t previously mentioned as an ecologist, too- she’d had to study SOMEthing while she was working through that athletic scholarship in college, and leisure studies sounded boring.

On Planet, where Nike couldn’t object, (back on Earth, CEO Morgan had totally hit on her -hard- during meetings and, creeped out, she’d declined to endorse MorganGlide sneakers) she ran with the Planet Cult. Among –let’s face it- a bunch of goons like them, she rose like cream in the ranks, being quite bright, capable and above all, charming. There had to be people to run thing around there, ‘cause the subtleties of managing people outside rallies were way over Cha’s head.

When the Rainbow Warriors split off she was into it, ‘cause the Cult seemed as much about random-violence-lashing-out-at-the-world as saving the Planet. She wanted more focus; DIRECTED violence, and a good PR campaign (utilizing her media experience giving interviews, selling breakfast cereals, and her activities as a celebrity Greenpeace spokesperson- and very much utilizing her appealing, wholesome presence and charm). She thought Cha’s big mistake, after being born Cha Dawn, was that the nasty little squirt blew the diplomacy entirely, letting the Cult become the most hated faction on Planet.

I could think of more, but that’s already about a hundred times more than could even be implied in the game, outside really digressive interludes and loooong datalinks.

Aside from that, the framework is easily adapted to an other-planet scenario, where she led survivors of a devastated Cult, or a split-off of people looking for pristine natural frontiers again, as Planet was getting too built-up and human-infested.

-And that whole aquatic-version angle is very workable. Brisbane is a coastal city, I believe. Her shirt looks as much like part of a diving suit as a tank-top. –

I should shut up and go to bed. But isn’t it refreshing to see someone go on this long about an Aboriginal Australian without mentioning the Dreamtime once until now? She just never played that.

…Also, as a little girl she was absolutely mad for the "Skippy the Bush Kangaroo" remake on 3v…

One final thing; I'm aware that I really could have pared this post down to "BTW, I propose a Jacques Cousteu-esque aquatic eco-extremist faction-- led by a dreadlocked woman pictured wearing a wetsuit with the ocean behind her-- and you don't see the distinctive qualities of the shot?" -But where's the fun in that? Actually, the post ran away on me bad.

 

[Darsnan]

I wonder if little clarification about Cathy’s background would help.
Inside, she’s really as white/western as I am, but had to walk around with her complexion and brow-ridge in a country where that draws non-trivial levels of prejudice and wasn’t something she was allowed to forget for a second in her white western surroundings. On Planet, where Nike couldn’t object, (back on Earth, CEO Morgan had totally hit on her -hard- during meetings and, creeped out, she’d declined to endorse MorganGlide sneakers) she ran with the Planet Cult. Among –let’s face it- a bunch of goons like them, she rose like cream in the ranks, being quite bright, capable and above all, charming. There had to be people to run thing around there, ‘cause the subtleties of managing people outside rallies were way over Cha’s head.

She wanted more focus; DIRECTED violence, and a good PR campaign (utilizing her media experience giving interviews, selling breakfast cereals, and her activities as a celebrity Greenpeace spokesperson- and very much utilizing her appealing, wholesome presence and charm). She thought Cha’s big mistake, after being born Cha Dawn, was that the nasty little squirt blew the diplomacy entirely, letting the Cult become the most hated faction on Planet.

I can definately see the diplomacy side, but I'm not seeing that directed violence side (or a threat in general) from the pic. As I said thats probably just me.

I'd say pencil her in and we will run with her. If in the next couple months you see another pic you think would be better then lets revisit it at that time: sound like a plan?


D

 

[Buster's Uncle]

(My thinking on the nature of the Cult was clearly influenced by the bit of Michel Ely AC fiction I've seen online. I see Cha as a tiny Hitler- not so much for the evil, but as someone who sets policy from the top but is otherwise useless outside the speeches to whip up the populace. He’d last five minutes without people under him doing all the work. Hitler was very much like that.)

I can definately see the diplomacy side, but I'm not seeing that directed violence side (or a threat in general) from the pic. As I said thats probably just me.

This is what's wonderful about collaborating, even in dissent. I just came up with the PR flack stuff while writing last night's post- you made me think of that. It makes everything work beautifully.

So, for datalinks2, an only somewhat too-long background line:
Aboriginal Australian, Ecologist, Olympic Gold Medalist, Celebrity environmental activist/spokesperson, Unity colonist.

All that needs, aside from any condensing/consolidating we can manage, is a way to more clearly imply “More-dangerous-than-she-looks; really-just-Cha-Dawn-in-a-charming-package. I think just add “eco-terrorist” at the end of the line, or better if-too-long, “eco-terrorist leader/press secretary”. If we found a short leader-title term that said that, everything would be perfect.

-I know I always look at the datalink faction profiles when confronted with new factions, anyway.-

There are hints/shadings that could be put in the diplomacy dialogue, too. “You’ve been accused of trying to put a pretty face on what’s really just eco-terrorism and murder.”

(Someone, seeing her athletic career was going places, talked her into minoring in communications in college, BTW.)

I'd say pencil her in and we will run with her. If in the next couple months you see another pic you think would be better then lets revisit it at that time: sound like a plan?

It totally does. (I never know for a while if I’ve convinced you or if you’re just giving in- I like a good argument too much.)

Of course, if you can suggest a better pic to run with, I may or may not argue, but I give your opinion more weight than any but my own.

I haven’t had to set aside a portrait so far, but I feel like it wouldn’t be a waste- I haven’t made my last faction graphic yet.

***
I’ve compared Cathy to Sister Prudence repeatedly because this is really the same thing- putting a pretty face on an ugly faction, one that can still be every bit as rotten a neighbor as the original. What’s not to love about either lady? But they’re still dangerous, and that’s what makes them fun. Archetypes are great, but good storytelling has nuance, too.

(That Prudence doesn’t look like a nun is what makes her great, along with the abundant personality written in her expression.)

As the face of the alt. Cult taken as a stand-alone custom faction, I’m sure Cathy is a weak choice exactly as you say. But as a resource for a story-teller modder like you, D, I think she’s better.

I’ll commence on the Rainbow Warriors .pcx as soon as I’ve updated Haj and the United Nations (perhaps with a break between to play some EotB). (Perhaps with a break before, too.)

 

[Buster's Uncle]

Just to add-

It's not in the portrait, and I don't know how it can be without redrawing her expression entirely and ruining the sense I've developed about the charming PR frontswoman thing, but Cathy is hiding a lot of rage.

For whatever reason, race relations are as bad or worse in Australia in her time- she wasn’t just a rich celebrity, but as an Olympian, a bit of a living patriotic symbol, as well-marketed Olympic athletes so often are- and she still got called an abo (Fosters is Australian for beer? Well, abo is Australian for n**ger) to her face pretty regularly. You don’t want to know what it was like for her walking to school as a homely little girl. She didn’t go all militant just for the heck of it.

The pressures of maintaining her squeaky-clean image to hold onto the sneaker money, when she wanted nothing more than to go out and spike some trees, (and get drunk and go clubbing once in a while) also made her life suck beyond words for several years, and contributed to driving her off Earth more than anything else

So there’s a lot going on behind that big smile. If you met her, you’d like her instantly—but if you crossed her twice, you’d really wish you hadn’t.

 

[Buster's Uncle]

The United Nations has been upgraded.


Thank you, and goodnight.

 

[Darsnan]

The United Nations has been upgraded.

DL'd and installed. :b:

D