#[ anonymous :: friend to the empire or foe ]

[empirelead-a]

why do you ship baavira?? dont you know that's inc*st? and problematic??

1) I have many reasons why I ship them together, but really, most of them are based from my own headcanons so I’ll spare you some of the details. Anyways, I like how soft Kuvira gets when she’s around Baatar, allowing herself to let her guard down and be vulnerable, like she was the first one to tell Opal they’re getting married without hesitation. I just like how they’re not all over each other like how most couples are on television, like there is already familiarity between them. Also, I am a bit of a sucker for childhood friends to lovers trope.

2) Context matters and context has already shown Kuvira NEVER once felt like she was a part of the Beifong Family...nor did they ever treated her as such; both the comics and the show has already made it very clear Suyin literally failed to raise her and how she has NO problem throwing her aside all the while welcoming Baatar Junior back because he is her son and they will get through this together as a “family”, so why wasn’t the same given to Kuvira? Hmm...oh yeah...where was she in the family picture? Why wasn’t she introduced as one of Suyin’s kids when Korra and her friends were being shown around? They were literally in the same room for a second. So pardon me for literally having comprehension skill.

I’m just going to assume you’re the same anon from earlier. You don’t have to like me and I don’t really give a damn if you throw a little fit in my inbox, go ahead and do it because I thought it was funny the first time and I still think it’s funny now, but it really doesn’t take much to block me, ya know? Or blacklist me. This isn’t Twitter. 

[brutalcharm]

𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙍𝘼𝘾𝙏𝙀𝙍-𝙍𝙀𝙇𝘼𝙏𝙀𝘿 𝘽𝙊𝙊𝙆 𝘾𝙊𝙑𝙀𝙍𝙎 ───  you're getting published! what's the title of your book and how does it look like? feel free to write a logline. RULES: have fun with it! just tag along if you wanna join. create book titles for you, your friends, your foes or stick with themes, if that's more up your alley. create whatever fuels your creativity.

(1) " 𝐑𝐎𝐆𝐔𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐄𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒: 𝐉𝐎𝐕𝐀𝐍 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐓 𝐕𝐒. 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐅𝐈𝐀 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐋 "

Cover Description: Against a backdrop of smoky alleys and dimly lit streets, Jovan stands defiant, his expression a mix of determination and anger. Behind him, shadowy figures lurk, hinting at the sinister forces he faces. The city skyline looms ominously, perhaps New York or Los Angeles, reflecting the dual worlds of luxury and lawlessness that Jovan navigates.

𝘓𝘰𝘨𝘭𝘪����𝘦: 𝘐𝘯 𝘢 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩-𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘑𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘯 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵'𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘔𝘢𝘧𝘪𝘢 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦. 𝘈𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘑𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴.

                      ...

(2) " 𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐈𝐑𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐑𝐄: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐉𝐎𝐕𝐀𝐍 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐓 𝐂𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐋𝐄𝐒 "

On this cover, Jovan Harcourt stands at the helm of his empire, his gaze steely and determined. Behind him, the skyline of a bustling city serves as a backdrop to his reign. The title is emblazoned in bold, gold letters, evoking the wealth and influence he commands.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦: "𝘐𝘯 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘺, 𝘑𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘯 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘵?"

                      ...

(3) “ 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐇𝐈𝐆𝐇-𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐄𝐒: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐋𝐘 𝐀𝐅𝐅𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐉𝐓𝐇 “

Cover Description: The cover features a close-up of Jovan Harcourt, his face partially obscured in shadow, wearing a sharp suit and an inscrutable expression. In the background, a swirling vortex of documents, money, and tangled relationships represents the chaotic world of high-stakes business. A faint reflection of flames dances across the surface, hinting at the inferno of ambition and deceit that drives Jovan's affairs.

𝘓𝘰𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦: 𝘈𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘑𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘯 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵'𝘴 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘱𝘴𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥, 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘢𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘈𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘭𝘦, 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩-𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯.

                      ...

(4) " 𝐎𝐅 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐘 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐎𝐑𝐆𝐀𝐍 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐄 "

Cover Description: The cover depicts a stark image of a blood-stained briefcase, its contents obscured but hinting at the illicit trade within. A shadowy figure looms in the background, their face hidden in darkness, symbolizing the anonymity of those involved in the sinister world of organ trafficking. The title is written in bold, dripping letters, evoking a sense of danger and desperation.

𝘓𝘰𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦: 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥, 𝘑𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘯 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘦. 𝘈𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵, 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯.

tagged by: @nuit-sanglant + @monarchiarebel ( game changers ! )

tagging: @onlyfemmefatale @inyourheartifoundahome & anyone who's interested.

[nepofm]

SPOTTED   at   met   steps   wearing   last   season’s   jimmy   choos  ?   i’d   leave   the   steps   in   the   next   24   hours   before   nepoupdates   catches   them   !   if   it   were   me   ,   i’d   definitely   go   back   and  review   the   checklist   of   golden   rules  .

rylie  lange   madelyn   cline

madelyn cline.     she/her.     cis woman.      ›      spotted   at   the   met   steps   ,   rylie   lange  ,   most   likely   listening   to   hypocrite   by   annika   rose   with   their   airpods   pro   .   the   twenty-four   year   old   gained   quite   a   reputation   ,   known   to   be   –reckless   yet   +dutiful   to   anyone   who   knows   them   .   you’ll   easily   spot   them   when   you   hear   about   the   familiarity   of   a   champagne   cork   hitting   wooden   floor   ,   always   accompanied   by   a   cheer   ;   failed   anonymity   no   matter   how   hard   you   try   –   unable   to   escape   the   legacy   of   your   empire   ;   silent   question   of   where   the   line   of   friends   stops   &   foes   begin   ;   smoking   to   stray   away   from   the   title   of   golden   girl   ,   although   met   harshly   with   your   mother’s   sound   of   distaste   followed   by   replica   flower   market   by   maison   margiela   .   latest   nepo   updates   article   talks   about   youngest   daughter   of   legendary   director   caught   partying   with   the   lead   of   her   father’s   new   movie   only   days   after   actor   announces   his   divorce    ,   but   i   guess   any   reputation   is   good   reputation   .   (   fee   ,   21+   ,   they/them   ,   bst   .   )

[richincolor]

New Releases

Four new books to round out the month of June, just in time to take to the beach.

The Dream Runners by Shveta Thakrar Harper Collins

Seven years ago, Tanvi was spirited away to the subterranean realm of Nagalok, where she joined the ranks of the dream runners: human children freed of all memory and emotion, charged with harvesting mortal dreams for the consumption of the naga court.

Venkat knows a different side of Nagalok. As apprentice to the influential Lord Nayan, he shapes the dream runners’ wares into the kingdom’s most tantalizing commodity. And Nayan has larger plans for these mortal dreams: with a dreamsmith of Venkat’s talent, he believes he can use them to end a war between nagas and their ancient foe, the garudas.

But when one of Tanvi’s dream harvests goes awry, she begins to remember her life on Earth. Panicked and confused, she turns to the one mortal in Nagalok who can help: Venkat. And as they search for answers, a terrifying truth begins to take shape—one that could turn the nagas’ realm of dreams into a land of waking nightmare.

The Black Girls Left Standing by Juliana Goodman Feiwel & Friends

Sixteen-year-old Beau Willet has dreams of being an artist and one day leaving the Chicago projects she’s grown up in. But after her older sister, Katia, is killed by an off-duty police officer, Beau knows she has to clear her sister’s name by finding the only witness to the murder; Katia’s no-good boyfriend, Jordan, who has gone missing. If she doesn’t find him and tell the world what really happened, Katia’s death will be ignored, like the deaths of so many other Black women who are wrongfully killed.

With the help of her friend, Sonnet, Beau sets up a Twitter account to gather anonymous tips. But the more that Beau finds out about her sister’s death, the more danger she finds herself in. And with a new relationship developing with her childhood friend, Champion, and the struggle to keep her family together, Beau is soon in way over her head. How much is she willing to risk to clear her sister’s name and make sure she’s not forgotten?

Godslayers (Gearbreakers #2) by Zoe Hana Mikuta Feiwel Friends

The only way to kill a god is from the inside...

The Gearbreakers struck a devastating blow against Godolia on Heavensday, but the cost of victory has been steep. Months later, the few rebels who've managed to escape the tyrannical empire's bloody retribution have fled to the mountains, hunted by the last Zenith--Godolia's only surviving leader. Eris has been held prisoner since the attack on the capital city, which almost killed her. And she begins to wish it had when she discovers Sona--the girl she loves, the girl she would tear down cities for--also survived, only to be captured and Corrupted by the Zenith. The cybernetic brainwashing that Sona has forcibly undergone now has her believing herself a loyal soldier for Godolia, and Eris' mortal enemy. With the rebellion shattered and Godolia moving forward with an insidious plan to begin inducting Badlands children into a new Windup Pilot program, the odds have never been more stacked against the Gearbreakers. Their last hope for victory will depend on whether Eris and Sona can somehow find their way back to each other from opposite sides of a war...

Bad Things Happen Here by Rebecca Barrow Margaret K. McElderry Books

Luca Laine Thomas lives on a cursed island. To the outside world, Parris is an exclusive, idyllic escape accessible only to the one percent. There’s nothing idyllic about its history, though, scattered with the unsolved deaths of young women—deaths Parris society happily ignores to maintain its polished veneer. But Luca can’t ignore them. Not when the curse that took them killed her best friend, Polly, three years ago. Not when she feels the curse lingering nearby, ready to take her next.

When Luca comes home to police cars outside her house, she knows the curse has visited once again. Except this time, it came for Whitney, her sister. Luca decides to take the investigation of Whitney’s death into her own hands. But as a shocking betrayal rocks Luca’s world, the identity Whitney’s killer isn’t the only truth Luca seeks. And by the time she finds what she’s looking for, Luca will come face to face with the curse she���s been running from her whole life.

[shinkumancer-archive]

[mobius-prime]

203. Sonic the Hedgehog #135

The Tommy Trilogy (Part One): Agents of K.N.O.T.H.O.L.E.

Writer: Romy Chacon Pencils: Ron Lim Colors: Jason Jensen

Well, the title of this story kind of gives away the mystery of the cover image, huh? Sonic finds himself once again traveling to the Forbidden Zone in search of a undercover contact who just so happens to be a turtle. Interestingly, his narration as he makes his way into the bar that they're supposed to meet in notes that though the Forbidden Zone is apparently under Eggman's control, the Mobians that live there have refused to defect to the side of Knothole, instead keeping their heads down and hoping to not get involved. This is the first inkling we've ever gotten of a population besides Angel Island trying to stay neutral in the war, and since Eggman has more important things to focus on than the residents of a small out of the way town in the middle of nowhere they've been largely successful so far.

As this is going on, in some undisclosed location, Eggman and Snively talk about a mysterious project of theirs. Whatever they're creating, apparently the first hundred models of it failed, but their hundred-and-first is operational. Sounds suspicious… Back in the bar, Sonic slides into a booth across from a similarly hooded figure, reciting some code words, and who pops out of his cloak but Tommy Turtle! Yeah, turns out he survived the explosion at the factory a year ago, and only recently managed to message Sally and Sonic about his continued existence.

Now that's interesting. It seems Ceneca-9009 thought of everything, and tried to make sure that a Mobian once deroboticized can't be reroboticized, but somehow Eggman has found a way around that. Sonic and Tommy's conversation is then interrupted by none other than the same "friends" Tommy was hanging around last time we saw him - Sleuth Dawg, Drago, and the Fearsome Foursome, all roboticized once more! What a conveniently relevant conversation there, guys! The roboticized goons try to place the two friends under arrest, but Sonic easily dodges their attacks and begins kicking their metal butts with ease. He even gets his chance to throw in some sass here and there - but Tommy isn't doing as well as he is, being a noncombatant.

Sonic decides to hurry things along, finishing off his own opponents and rushing to Tommy's aid. However, he's startled to find that somehow, Drago and Sleuth have both disappeared from the scene, with Tommy looking perfectly unharmed. Tommy explains that he was able to hotwire the two of them and reprogram them to go throw themselves into the nearest lake, and that's good enough for Sonic. Together, the two leave the messed-up bar behind, with Sonic glad to have Tommy back and alive once more…

Anonymous

Writer: Romy Chacon Pencils: Art Mawhinney Colors: Jason Jensen

So what exactly is the deal with the roboticization thing, anyway? Time to find out in a story that clearly takes place before the previous one. A.D.A.M. gets Eggman's attention in his base and directs him into a room where stand the six villains of the story prior, all roboticized and awaiting commands. The twist? Eggman didn't do it. He's just as surprised as we are to see them standing there roboticized once more. Eggman is of course eager to find out who has managed to reverse the anti-roboticization effects on them, and has A.D.A.M. run diagnostics on their memory banks to find any useful information.

Several hours later, A.D.A.M. rouses Eggman from his nap only to give him the bad news - their memory banks are totally locked down from accessing information about who retransformed them. The only thing he was able to find was a brief image of their benefactor, which has been similarly censored out, leaving only the impression of someone Eggman-sized behind. The final piece of information A.D.A.M. is able to retrieve is that the person behind it has signed their work merely as "Anonymous," which only frustrates Eggman more, as he has no idea if this person is friend or foe. Hmm, so the famous hacker group is behind this, eh? Watch yourself then Eggman, they tend to not like fascists.

Mobius 25 Years Later: Dealing With the Devil

Writer: Ken Penders Pencils: Steven Butler Colors: Jason Jensen

It's time for another riveting piece of teen drama! Lien-Da, after dropping Salma off at home, is ready to interrogate Rutan about where he was last night. Rutan isn't looking forward to the repercussions of his actions, but is grateful when Dimitri steps in to give his two cents.

This sucks in so many ways. Like, how can you make me cringe so much from just a few lines of dialogue? Yes, teenagers often want to sneak off to make out with their crushes. Lien-Da should know this, especially as she appears to be a single mother with no father in sight, indicating Rutan is perhaps the result of a one night stand. But then Penders has to go and make it all weird and have Lien-Da get like, bizarrely feminist on Dimitri, and not the reasonable kind of "I just want equality" feminist, more the "rabid social justice warrior who takes offense at everything" kind of strawman feminist. When has any of this ever been established as part of Lien-Da's personality? Why did we need this weird "man, boys and girls are sooooo different" tangent? It's just… so weird and out of place.

For a moment, we actually take a turn into something mildly interesting - that is, the matter of how exactly Lien-Da and Dimitri got to be where they are today. Apparently, at some unspecified time in the past, when Eggman's empire was on the verge of crumbling, he captured Dimitri with the intention of using him to somehow fix everything. When Dimitri refused, Eggman took his revenge… somehow, which resulted in Dimitri becoming the disembodied head that he is today. Lien-Da thinks that he holds a grudge against her for not saving him from his fate, but he retorts that he's only angry because once he was incapacitated (and decapitated), she drove the Legion forward in her own self interest instead of following his vision… which we're not even sure what it was supposed to be in the first place. Again, all of this is extremely vague - seriously, this entire story arc seems to want to gloss over everything that could actually be interesting in favor of the awkward domestic dealings of heroes past their prime and their annoying, bratty offspring. Lien-Da cuts the budding argument off at this point to go right back to the clearly most pressing question of the evening - namely, what exactly Rutan was doing with his girlfriend last night.

I love how this entire thing comes across as though Penders thinks he's danced around the issue of teenagers boning oh so carefully, when really it's done with all the finesse of a drunk baby deer trying to navigate its way through a room full of glass figurines. Like, who do you think you're fooling, dude? A five year old could read this and know you're talking about sex. Furthermore I'm trying to decide if the shocking part is that Rutan was trying to get it on with his girlfriend at all, or if his mother's life lesson was merely not to lose his virginity in a park specifically. Either way, he's able to deflect her anger by relating what he overheard of the conversation between Knuckles and Rotor, which granted, isn't much. However, it's enough to catch Lien-Da off guard, and after thinking for a moment, she suddenly gets unnervingly sweet, saying that she believes him and sending him off with a firm "just don't do it again" to his room. Rutan catches the chill from her sudden attitude shift and leaves gratefully, and when Dimitri tries to talk to her, she brushes him off, clearly calculating her next move. Next thing we know, Julie-Su, chopping vegetables for dinner, finds herself getting a video call from Lien-Da asking to talk…

Again, though, I just have to point out that nothing we're seeing makes any sense here. Everyone is so scared of Lien-Da finding out anything important, but if she's so dangerous, then why hasn't she been arrested and incarcerated for her former crimes yet? Either she's a dangerous terrorist who should pay for her transgressions against echidnakind, or she's a reformed and upstanding member of society. You can't have it both ways, guys! And now, with the new information gleaned from her son, she's all ready to scheme and plot her way to… what, exactly? The only thing she knows as of now is that Knuckles and a friend of his met in a park at night so that the latter could make a request of the former. How does she know it's anything important at all? Remember, Rutan didn't overhear anything about spacetime breaking down, so for all Lien-Da knows, Rotor just wanted to ask Knuckles if he could borrow his hairdryer. There's nothing here to even begin to be suspicious about! This entire arc is held together with duct tape and Penders' tears, and there's so many weird plot holes that rely on us essentially just taking Penders' word for it that this person is bad, and that person is totally in character, and this other person is at all interesting. And I hate to say it, but we haven't even seen the worst yet! We've yet to see King Sonic and Queen Sally enter the picture, and once they do things only get weirder…

[monkey-network]

WarioWare: The Series Season 2 Episodes

52 Episodes, Season 3 Coming 20XX. Season 1*

Business is Booming: Wario’s house blows up and nobody wants to take him in except Penny... without Crygor Sr’s permission. So Penny does her best to hide the 200+ lb man from her grandfather while bots are sent out to fix the house.

WarioiraW: One of Orbulon’s pets, a gelatinous blob that can take the form of any being, escapes and takes the form of Wario. This fools everybody in the fact that the fake is friendlier than the actual one. Even Wario, who plots to take advantage of his impostor’s kindness.

Spare the Rod, Don’t Spoil the Child: 9-Volt must wait to see a movie, one 18-Volt saw at an early screening. Known to be a blabbermouth, 9V does his best to shut out 18-Volt and spoilers of any kind before the event, which puts a strain on their friendship.

Jimmy Two Shoes: Jimmy T. wants to watch a game, but his tendency to not say no gets the better of him when everyone suddenly needs him.

Cricket and the Octopus of Fortitude: Young Cricket has to take care of Master Mantis’s pet while he goes to the doctor. The octopus doesn’t take kindly to Cricket’s overprotective nature, so it tries to outwit the apprentice with some outside help.

You’re Not Funny: An anonymous joke is emailed all across DC and everyone is laughing themselves stiff... except for Ashley and Mike, the latter believing the joke wasn’t sent just for the heck of it. The two go to uncover the truth, and it may be up to the not funny Ashley to snap people back to reality.

Fronkenstein: Feeling inferior due to his size, Snag, 9V’s Fronk, goes to build a new body for itself.... using body parts from the WarioWare gang.

Taxidermy: A customer hops into Dribble and Spitz’s cab and must compress his urge to make stuffed animals out of them, while the driving duo are completely unaware of his serial reputation.

The Nunja: Kat & Ana meets Artie, a wolf ninja who’s confidence is more than her actual skill. They see that’s she’s talented in a different field, but are conflicted to tell her the truth when she truly wants to be a ninja like her family.

One Perfection: A new student arrives at Mona’s school, and is seemingly flawless in everything they do. Mona feels inadequate compared to them, until she finds out a secret insecurity about them that she wants to help them with.

Monday Night Manor Madness: It’s a rainy day and the WarioWare gang coup up at a reluctant Ashley’s house. All goes well until a haunting spirit starts to spook everyone, with even Ashley unexpectedly shuddering at the thought of encountering it. What’s the spirit’s true intentions, and how is Jimmy not afraid of ghosts?

Meet The Sellouts: One of Wario’s schemes causes massive damage and the animation budget crashes due to the medical bills. So Crygor comes up with a way to work around this while Wario spams a bunch of ads subliminal messages to hopefully make money back.

Animal House: Mona’s pets and Kat & Ana’s pets join forces to commit a supermarket heist.

Ode to the Stone: 9-Volt makes a new pal out of a rock, glue, a sharpie, and googly eyes at school. Immediately losing interest, he tosses it and it not only reaches the rest of the gang somehow, but their hearts as the lifeless friend helps them see a new perspective about themselves.

The “Hero” Gains: Lulu* feels like she lacks a special hero attack, so she goes around Diamond City to see if she can have one of her very own. But like Wario always implies, it’s what’s on the inside that counts.

Drone Alone: Doris 1, the robot Crygor rescued from Agate forest, is left to take care of the lab while the doctor and Mike go to Penny’s talent show. Time unfortunately puts Doris on an emotional journey when an hour feels like an eternity.

Sea of Green: After a successful treasure hunt, Wario is stranded in the middle of the ocean with little to eat besides a bag of edible cacti. The cacti might leave an effect on him, but it might be the big guy’s only chance of making it home.

Late Night Cruise Control: When not on the clock, Spitz hosts a talk show that gives the latest news and brought in tons of celebrities. But when ratings start to drop, will our mechanic resort to low hanging fruit to garner back an audience, or can Dribble the music pitbull pick the show up from this funk?

Full Metal Jacket: Manager Joe, Mona’s employer and friend, creates a clothing line based on the WarioWare gang and everyone is loving it. But business becomes an empire and Joe starts losing that generous side he had, leaving Mona to bring him back down to earth.

Krumpet Scouts: 18-Volt is trying to earn money for a limited edition video game cover, but is too young for a job. He tries joining a cookie selling gang, but it’s for girls only. So he asks 13-Amp to join in his place.... while dressing up as a girl to make double the money.

Pyoro Over: The creators of Pyoro are retiring and the WarioWare gang set out to give them an explosive send off celebration since it was the company’s inspiration.

Your Greatest Feeture: Cricket’s shoes wear out and the young ward is struggling to find the right pair. But is the loss of his slippers an opportunity to learn a new technique?

Two Fros on a Sofa: Jimmy T and Jimmy P encounter each other at a bus stop and luckily finds a comfortable sofa to wait. The sofa, however, is actually a prototype rocket Orbulon left behind and the two have to work together to land the couch safely.

Flavorful Fallacy: Orbulon, realizing he left his couch in the middle of the city, goes to see where it might have gone. He meets an old man, who has a prejudice against aliens, and the two start to fight over which flavor of ice cream is better.

The People v. WarioWare Inc. (Part 1): A chipper and well meaning cult leader creates a lawsuit against the WarioWare gang for their unintentionally ludicrous crimes in the city. Wario doesn’t believe there’s a case against them, but testimony and evidence suggests otherwise and even with Mona knowing the law by hand, the gang can’t find a loophole to their reckless nature.

The People v. WarioWare Inc. (Part 2): The gang is about to serve jail time for their pretty criminal deeds of the past, but Wario’s encouragement and a special hint from the audience helps them realize that while they’re guilty, scapegoating the right person can lead to a means of escape.

Bored Games: Since the trial put everyone on edge (and house arrest), Jimmy invites the gang over for game night. Wario can’t join them, and this creates a vacuum as to who is the 2nd most conniving opportunist in the group.

Scientifically Supernatural: Ashley and Penny team up to create a being of both magic and nature and get along pretty well. The project, however, starts to rampage the town and the two fight over who’s responsible, with Red as the mediator.

Double Dribble: Dribble and Spitz enter their cab into a Rocket League type derby that puts their driving and piloting skills to the test.

He’s Back, An Unfortunate Revenge Story: Wario escapes from prison and plots to get his revenge on the one who put him there. Or ones...

The “Hero” Movie: Lulu enters a home movie into a film contest and wins thanks to Wario’s meddling. So after getting persuaded into competing for state, Lulu turns to Wario and he agrees to help if she constantly pays him, resulting in the two making “Ryno Optimus II, A Sequel to the Chosen One: The Unreckoning”

Mona’s Stop: Mona finds out that her checks have been sent to the wrong address for a while and she becomes a multi-millionaire. Knowing she’s been working pretty hard already, she retires early to become the queen of Diamond City. This would be around the time Wario tries to swindle her out of her fortune, but he’s surprisingly happy for her.

Head Boppin’: Jimmy, Jamie, James, Papa, and Mama T. have switched brains somehow. Getting back to normal seems easy... if the family didn’t act and sound nearly the same.

The Lazy Day Saints: Another couch related episode? Yeah, except this time 9-Volt rebels against his mother and chore day by turning the sofa into a pirate ship with Snag, 18V, Penny, Kat, and Ana as his crew. Knowing 9-Volt won’t back down without a fight, 5-Volt and the neighborhood moms fight fire with fire, using lazyboys as their vessels.

The Ultimate Foe: Cricket faces the most horrifying challenge of his life: a slab of silly putty.

Awww... Crap, Love: Ashley falls for a demon she spawned from the Necronomicon. And while Red tries to stop the demon from unleashing hell unto town, 5-Volt and Mona try to teach the stone faced witch about love, romance, the birds an- wait she learned that already, so just the first two.

Your Opinion?: Wario posts a negative review on a movie he watched, and the city turns against him. He easily ignores them at first, until everyone becomes nastier than him and the internet comes to life to kill him.

Join us for T-Posing: Dr. Crygor accidentally sets off a gas that forces everyone to silently stand in tree position... except Wario because it’s too hard for him. So I GUESS it’s up to him to reverse this before they’re all stuck like that? Ouch.

Magic Mike ACT: 13-Amp works well with music on the mind, but a challenge has arisen in the form of a standardized test... in a soundless classroom. Desperate for a beat to work with, she looks to Mike to join her in staying cool while dealing with the work and the no nonsense teach.

Spacecataz: Does anyone know how fictional characters are able to breath in space without helmets or oxygen? Eh, doesn’t matter... cocky alien hunter Spiff Gibbous* is back to destroy Orbulon, this time the WarioWare gang is in tow. It’s Star Wargames, ya’ll!

Knitwit: Dr. Crygor takes a major interest in knitting and this makes him a laughing stock among other mad scientists. Discouraged at first, Crygor soon schools his hecklers about the ingenuity of threading and needling.

Wario Und Pantser: In a 60s style episode, Wario-Man and Dynogirl (Mona) are on the case to find the criminal who’s been pulling people’s pants down.  

Flipping the L: Waluigi gets to be in this episode... and doesn’t know what to with his screen time. So what’s a reject to do besides immediately erase the show’s universe all together and come up with his own?

The Shuriken Heart of the Cards: 9-Volt wants to join Kat & Ana on their special delivery, Ana more accepting while Kat worries about him being a potential burden. However, when they get ambushed by skilled ninja.... card players, it’s 9V’s time to shine.

Stereo Street Fighter: An old foe of Master Mantis returns with a new style of fighting that towers Mantis’s more ancient techniques. Cricket, with the help of Jimmy T, try to master a new style of martial arts with the power of funk. The perfect time for Cricket to sport a rocking afro of his own.

You Have to Go: Death has come for Wario, but continuously gets sidetracked by the gang when they’ve yet to find the special treasure he buried somewhere.

Cadillacs & Yoshisaurs: I forget this is also Mario’s universe sometimes. So anyway Yoshi eggs start appearing in Diamond City and everyone’s loving them. But they’re then caught between raising pretty rowdy animals and letting a Magikoopa poach them away.

The LIVE WAHundredth Episode (Yikes, this many?): Wario is eager to celebrate the show’s special episode on stage, but somebody kidnaps the gang and leaves them in the middle of a forest, forcing everyone to work together to head back to the studio. In the meantime, Lulu and Joe are forced to entertain the audience and start to have fun with it.

Quid Pro Wario: Young puppies look to Wario for lessons on becoming con artists, with Jimmy P not taking this well.

How to Stop Worrying and Love the Cruise: 9 and 5-Volt are on a ocean liner they won in a sweepstakes and aren’t taking it well, with 5V struggling to have fun and 9V getting seasickness.

Get Nasty: Mona makes a painting everyone has mixed feelings towards it for being too obscene, so she tries to go wild with her art to get better publicity by being more shocking.

Wario’s World (Hour Long Season Finale): A fart fueled nuke sends Diamond City into a post apocalyptic setting, where a grown up Lulu leads a resistance against the Immortan Wario’s greed fueled wrath, Empresses Kat & Ana are at war with Cricket, Dribble, Spitz, and Orbulon fighting off a colossal meteor, and the only one who could possibly bring everyone together is Mike, 18 Volt (now 21 Volt), Red, and Ashley, who is dying from the putrid radiation.

[ganymedesclock]

what do you think of the general assumption by fans that lotor is a genocidal fascist? it's so beyond me, honestly. this is a man who actively opposes the empire and its ways, kills elites within it, despises his father, and was (likely) exiled BECAUSE of this opposition. the same people who lump him in with the empire's ways are always the ones who think he wants zarkon's love or don't understand his plans (ie, him attacking a galra base, etc) i am just. tired.

I think it’s a combination of things?

I think that one of the big things that I’ve seen to seem is that Lotor is characterized as deceptive and a liar. His first scene, him seeming to court the empire’s elite and his father’s viewpoint, is a complete farce as we see him sort of joking about as soon as their back is turned.

The feeling I get is that sometimes viewers felt like Lotor was also maliciously lying to them, by putting up this noble front and then turning out to be a manipulator. Which, when we see Lotor misleading one audience, it’s fair to question what we see him telling other people. But that does seem to be a fundamental misunderstanding of Lotor’s… well, just about everything about him.

With that in mind, this turned into an analysis of Changing Of The Guard/S3e1, Lotor’s debut episode and how it characterized him. It’s gonna get long, partially because I’m putting some direct transcripts in there.

I’m going to spend a lot of this looking at Throk. Throk and his friend discussing Lotor tells us something very major. It establishes, from the start, that Lotor is considered completely unacceptable by the commanding elite. After all, Throk isn’t just idly discussing this, he’s trying to recruit his friend to a movement that according to him, already has a lot of momentum within the commanding elite. Throk was just the figurehead of what most of the commanders intended for Lotor.

Lotor is introduced, and characterized, heavily by his first confrontation with Throk. So with that in mind, I’m gonna go over s3e1 for a bit and talk about Lotor and Throk, how Throk is characterized and how he and Lotor play off each other.

Throk first appears in s3e1, established by name and as an imperial commander in his brief conversation with Haggar. We see that he’s lurking in a hallway, having seemingly waited for her to leave Zarkon’s bedchamber before he approached.

Throk and Haggar’s exact dialogue- Throk is bold, Haggar is italicized.

Excuse me.

What is it, Commander Throk?

Would it be possible to speak to Zarkon today? Another planet was lost to rebellion and I feel he must be informed.

Zarkon is fully briefed on all imperial matters. He certainly doesn’t need your input.

*Of course. It is just that I fear if we do not take decisive action soon, the Empire will crumble completely. Rebel activity should be crushed with our full might before more planets are inspired to fight against us.

This is the first sign we’ve seen that the paladins’ exploits in the first two seasons are actually starting to turn the tide. Their rebellion is growing in size, a genuine threat, and aristocrats like Throk whose power and affluence is built on this conquest are starting to sweat.

Throk sees the rebellion as an eyesore and a problem, and he wants to eradicate it entirely. Implicitly, by making a bloody display out of planets like Puig, these early coalition planets, he intends to strike terror into any who might be yet on the fence. His concern isn’t so obviously on the absence of Zarkon as much as the absence of leadership around which the empire can rally to act.

This is noteworthy, because despite being about average rank for an elite (Commander, not General) Throk is a networker. His later conversation with his friend establishes that he’s dangerously fond of the buddy system and his preferred method of operation is uniting individual commanders into large and deadly fleets- incidentally something his DotU incarnation was also fond of given his hand in the Fleet of Doom.

Haggar snaps back, and this is the first time that Lotor is brought up after Haggar sent for him in s2:

Lotor has arrived at headquarters at Zarkon’s request to take command of the empire. Under Zarkon’s guidance, of course.

Lotor? Why is he not at his father’s bedside?

Zarkon needs no one at his bedside, least of all you.

So this tells us some very interesting things about Lotor, if we don’t look at all at his prior continuities, and just take this as our new introduction to a character.

The first thing we hear is that while Haggar sent for the prince to put him in power, she doesn’t intend to actually give him free reign. “Under Zarkon’s guidance, of course”, when we know that Zarkon would be one hell of a backseat driver. Lotor functionally wouldn’t be in power with Zarkon breathing over his shoulder, or Haggar acting in that alleged advising role.

Throk’s reply is also surprising because the empire’s been established as very warlike, conquering, and… sort of fantastical space-orc to our sensibilities. But this one question is something actually… reasonable.

It implies first and foremost that Lotor is young, not expected to take up the mantle as a soldier, much less a leader of soldiers, yet. Instead, the social expectation to galran sensibility is that Lotor should be tending to his ailing father.

Which Haggar practically snarls at, before pulling what, for her, is the equivalent of storming out of the conversation. Throk glares at her retreating back, then departs himself.

The camera pulls back from both of them leaving, towards an empty corner that it directed itself towards earlier- the corner was featured heavily when Throk began with “of course”- I put an asterisk there for convenience.

But here, returning to the corner, we’re revealed why it was given camera focus earlier: it’s not empty, but occupied by an orange-complected individual in blue and black armor, who was concealing herself. She drops her cloaking, watches Throk go, and then smiles, offering a succinct, thoughtful “hmm” before disappearing once again.

An astute observer will recognize a lot of the cut of Ezor’s armor here at first glance, because of its obvious similarity to that of the mysterious galra gunner in s2e9. Acxa in that episode was characterized heavily as something new and distinct from the empire’s usual tactics and personnel- Acxa wasn’t friendly to Voltron, but had no real animosity towards them, she worked with Keith and Hunk only to rob them at the last minute, making as she did an ambiguous gesture that she could shoot Keith, but was abstaining, even after she’d gotten what she wanted.

The “Weblum Galra” fascinated me personally back in s2, because of this being established as not quite friend or foe, but somewhere in between, and someone who smacks very powerfully of an obvious agenda. This first glance at Ezor is a very similar setup. She’s watching, observing, eavesdropping, and immediately pegs as a little dangerous- if she has the ability to sneak past Haggar unobserved, what if our heroes have to fight her? And what’s that knowing expression, what’s she up to? We get no answers, and the scene keeps rolling.

The next time we get back to Throk, it’s the arena. Focus is given to the large, sort of lion-like warrior fighting, and we see very little of his masked, sword-wielding opponent, just small glimpses while Throk and his friend discuss. However, we do see him casually spinning his sword in one-hand before the camera moves to Throk.

Once again, Throk is in bold, and I’ve put asterisks where we catch glimpses of the anonymous gladiator.

I tried to speak with Lord Zarkon today, but the witch stopped me again.

I fear the emperor’s condition may be worse than she is telling us. *I’m not sure he will ever return to the throne.

Some context for Haggar’s testiness in the prior scene, and also, this gentleman Throk is speaking to- he is clearly a likeminded conspirator. Again, already we see Throk is not acting alone, but in empathy with other commanders.

In the arena, we see the large warrior making swipes and strikes while Lotor tumbles around and behind them.

Agreed. And now Prince Lotor is taking over? We’ve fought by Zarkon’s side forever, and now we are passed over by this exiled brat.

This is gonna get its own observation, since it tells us a lot. Throk is old guard, he’s had a long tenure of duty, and he prides himself on his closeness to Zarkon, his ideals. The people that he is allied with and representing, speaking for, feel the same way. He boldly and confidently uses “we”, assuming that his friend will feel the same, and assuming correctly.

Lotor is conversely, not in good graces- clearly why Haggar intends to have someone look over his shoulder. He’s also younger, and seemingly has had a much shorter term of duty than Throk (interesting as we later discover Lotor has knowledge of ten thousand years ago, but, he is very much not treated as a constant to the empire the way Zarkon is) 

Lotor is absent this line and the next few, but we can hear blades ringing off each other, reminding us of the fight that they’re watching. And now we get into the really interesting exchange:

I’ve heard rumors he fights alongside his enlisted men like a lowly private.

Worse than that, his top generals aren’t even pure Galra. They’re half-breeds at best. He has no honor.

Some say * he allows the planets he conquers to continue to rule themselves. Can you imagine?

Clearly he’s a dangerous lunatic.

This is the moneymaker. And fittingly, this is our clearest shot at Lotor before we know that’s who he is- he actively jumps into the foreground, retreating from his unseen enemy.

Lotor is unacceptable to the empire’s elite, and here we see why they seem to hate him, and probably why he’s in Zarkon’s poor graces. This is also the point where someone watching carefully might pick up a suspicion- the very unusual but somewhat galra-looking woman we saw eavesdropping on Throk earlier, and how much her armor resembles the gladiator in the ring- and Lotor, who allegedly already arrived but is nowhere to be seen, with his half-galra top generals.

But let’s look at the things Throk and his friend are exchanging looks of revulsion and horror over the very idea of:

Lotor wants to work with colonized planets and keep local leaders in power. This would seem part of a larger lack of disdain for non-galra sentient races, since he employs, and promotes to high positions, mixed race galra. The language Throk and his friend uses, “half-breeds”, tells us that’s not a small thing- even if we haven’t explicitly heard it before, the empire clearly has a pretty major hangup on perceived racial superiority. It explains the vicious inhumanity so many of them direct prisoners and slaves.

But we as an audience are perking our ears up. Because if these are the core mechanisms behind the empire’s inhumanity, Lotor is sounding very… humane. Empathetic. Reasonable. He sounds kind, in a context where we’ve seen Zarkon spurn and violently punish kindness since s1e1. Directing his opponents, and his own subordinates, a kind of camaraderie and respect. What we would call an honorable warrior- what Throk and his friend call disgusting.

Lotor is a pariah for his worldview and attitudes, a worldview surprisingly close to our heroes. And this is when Throk decides to drop that he doesn’t intend to merely sit by and complain about how “improper” Lotor is.

I’ve already spoken with the other officers in my sector. They’ve all agreed to back me if I fight for the throne. Normally I would never think of such a thing, but…

What choice do we have?

Then you’ll support me?

Yes.

It’s worth noting some very interesting body language here, and us not seeing any glimpse of Lotor or the arena. Throk, for this entire part of the exchange, stares straight ahead with an impassive face, speaking calmly. His friend, when he realizes what Throk is suggesting, stiffens, and looks around, before lowering his head to deliver his answer. 

Throk is a networker and we’re beginning to realize a dangerous one. This wasn’t just idle bellyaching, he’s been actively planning a coup. The “we” he speaks for has decided Lotor is going to be disposed of, most likely killed- he’s unacceptable.

And this is reflected by his friend- “What choice do we have?” as if Lotor, by his inclination for negotiation and empathy, is going to personally bring the plague upon their houses. Further telling us this elite is built on the backbone of cruelty, that they’re threatened by falling under leadership that won’t encourage dominating and subjugating.

Throk flashes the camera a very threatening toothy grin, and this is when his friend’s attention turns to the figure in the arena- the one we’ve been ignoring.

Who’s this little fellow?

I don’t know, I’ve never seen him before.

Important business is done, let’s talk about the bloodsports. Implicitly, they recognize or don’t care about the larger figure- the smaller one catches their eye, because, well, he’s small. And new. How unusual. The camera zooms in on him, and we see what we’ve been seeing before.

He’s agile, fleet-footed, evasive, making precise dodges of his opponent’s weapon and has been this entire time. Some of the moves are rather flashy, suggesting confidence rather than a fearful prisoner. His opponent loses track of him, and then we see him sweep in and launch a single attack, sending his opponent’s weapon flying and his opponent to the ground. It’s unclear if fatally or not. The crowd goes wild.

And then he plants his sword in the ground, to his audience’s confusion, and… takes his helmet off.

Lotor!

Here is our first characterization of Lotor speaking for himself, and holy shit is it a departure from Zarkon. Our “little fellow” actively exploited the commanders’ expectations and in returning to the headquarters, rather than any bold or dramatic entrance he could have made to try and catch people’s attention and support, he functionally snuck on board and into the ring as a silent gladiator.

And for good reason- rumors of his behavior and ethics got ahead of him, and Throk and twenty of his closest friends are already planning to reenact Julius Caesar.

Lotor’s dramatic face-revealing turn is pointed directly at Throk, who, a second later, he picks up his sword and points it directly at.

Throk. You wish to challenge me? Then come down and claim your crown. True galra do not take the throne by stirring up insurrection in darkened chambers. They rise through honorable rite of combat. Defeat me here, and the throne is yours.

This is the second brilliant fuck-you Lotor pulls in many regards. First: it’s never a good thing for your covert movement if your intended target calls you out in front of a live audience before you’ve even made a move.

Second, considering everything that motivates Throk and his conspirators to act against Lotor is his being culturally unacceptable, he’s manipulated Throk, using his own allies, into a very nasty bind.

Victory By Conquest is a VERY fundamental galra attitude, one we saw given lip service all the way back in s1e1 by Sendak. Throk knows better than to rely exclusively on direct conflict- he works with allies and plans things out ahead of time.

Lotor, however, is pretty much doing the social equivalent of dragging Throk into the ring by the scruff of his neck. All of Throk’s allies, everyone backing him, want to see their guy kick this smug little brat’s teeth in on live television. And it’s going to look really bad if Throk does the good tactical thing and refuses Lotor’s challenge- because Lotor’s tiny and pathetic-looking so he can’t possibly pose a threat to Throk, was Throk’s coup just talk?

So Lotor is both unacceptable to the empire, and not obliviously. He knows perfectly well exactly what the empire values, and how to play it to his advantage. However, he doesn’t use this to curry favor- rather, he uses it to hobble Throk.

In these scenes, we see Lotor’s expression- completely smug- and Throk’s- angry and uncomfortable- but a lot of the crowd, whispering, cheering. Lotor, as a pariah to the empire that most of them wanted to see taken down, nonetheless was able to masterfully leverage widespread social pressure to get Throk to proceed in a certain manner.

Throk has really only one answer he can give, and he knows it.

However, before he gives it- we see something else.

The Generals take the stage.

See this I think is a pretty underrated piece of psychological warfare. You have to consider these are patently obviously Lotor’s half-galra generals- the ones Throk was speaking poorly of seconds ago. The ones that Lotor is out of his mind for employing. The ones who, disdainful sniff, could never possibly measure up to real galra.

They heard everything he said about him. And now he’s surrounded by them. 

They don’t have to do anything, and they don’t really. The takeaway is still incredible. This is akin to a white supremacist mouthing off in his favorite bar over a football game only to have the new bartender lean over and go “Oh, really?” and then he’s suddenly surrounded by surly, armed, black hijabi women.

The message is clear. Lotor’s taken control of this context. Throk isn’t safe hanging back or hiding behind anybody. Not only do they have him, they have evidence on him. Throk isn’t the only one with friends, and with how dramatically Lotor stepped up on Throk, none of Throk’s buddies are going to step up to support him.

Throk’s been had, and his expression tells us he knows that.

I gladly accept your offer. Now all will see who is the rightful leader.

Lotor, conversely, is untroubled, serene, cheerful. Throk is trying to threaten him, but stepping right to the beat of his drum.

When Throk steps into the arena, he does so with a large weapon, and bragging once again, about his age and superior experience.

I have fought thousands of battles, and left many enemies much more fearsome than you wasting on the battlefields.

Again, we’re reminded of what Throk takes pride in. Victory or Death. The good old galra way, violence and subjugation. He has murdered, he has destroyed, and he is proud of it. He wants to strike fear into Lotor’s heart. That Lotor is “a brat” to him and not someone who should be a soldier at all is no concern because Lotor’s a political rival. This is the very same attitude Haxus set about trying to murder the fifteen-year-old Pidge with, and it’s likely Lotor’s maybe two or three years older- pocket change to someone like Throk who is probably in his forties or fifties.

And Throk’s opening attack is a leaping swing from the top down, intending to, if it had not been parried, split Lotor’s head open. He makes a very violent flurry of strikes, while Lotor hangs back. Once again, as he did with his initial opponent, Lotor almost doesn’t attack at all, parrying and retreating and maneuvering.

This is something big here- Lotor is characterized heavily through these opening fights as not the person who attacks first. He could easily have seemed that way if we didn’t follow Throk the entire time initially, if we didn’t hear Throk launch an absolute rain of dismissal and insult on how pathetic and inferior he sees Lotor.

At one point, Lotor stops parrying, and instead simply maneuvers past Throk. One of their clashes clips a few strands of Lotor’s hair. But he’s never concerned.

You have flawless technique, that I’ll grant you. Still, you must realize at some point that your repetitive attacks are getting you nowhere.

And this is another big line to me. Because it continues the established trend here: that Lotor’s breaking with basically every single pattern set by the empire.

Because what has the empire done, for the past two seasons? Attack, attack, attack. Victory or death. If your enemy is evading you hit them harder. And at this point, they’re starting to lose.

Lotor isn’t concerned by this. He doesn’t care that the empire’s crumbling. This is the start of an ongoing thread with his character that he pretty much refuses to play this game- he doesn’t attack the rebel planets outside of the one time he has a reason to- the next episode after this, at Puig- and even then, he leaves Puig pristine, untouched, with a couple of bruises to remember him by but nothing else, and still actively a coalition planet.

None of what Lotor’s talking up, what Throk accuses him of, at this point, is act. It is quintessentially Lotor’s character to go “Look at this. None of this is getting you results. None of this is doing you good. It’s useless, so you should stop. Change tactics.”

It’s something a warrior like Throk, who has been culturally indoctrinated from the cradle to never retreat, never surrender, never compromise, but continue pushing until you destroy your perceived enemies, finds infuriating.

And once again- once Throk rushes a second time, burnt out from his first flurry, Lotor launches his own attack. Four strikes, locking blades with Throk on the last strike, and then he uses his free hand to punch Throk in the stomach, making him flinch- and in that instant outmaneuvers Throk and disarms him with the fifth strike, hacking his weapon in half and dropping him to the ground.

Just like his fight against the larger gladiator, Lotor waits until the perfect window to go for the kill. He lets his opponent exhaust themselves fighting someone else, and then springs on them.

Then, Lotor spares Throk, and drops this line:

Your tactics are stale. And in the end, your own aggression is your undoing.

This is an ideological clash as much as, if not more than, it is a physical one. And Lotor here is clarifying something that will heavily color his ensuing speech.

Lotor brings change. A departure from every antagonist before him in this show. The very episode title, Changing of the Guard, and the conflict it’s mirroring in the paladins- the struggle of adapting to a very new situation without Shiro, potentially with Keith leading- tells us that.

And here, he’s making a pretty unambiguous threat.

“If you don’t change your tactics, galra empire? You’re going to die.” And what he sees as the poisons that are killing them are their refusing to adapt- thus, to negotiate with the situation- and their violent disposition.

The fact that he delivers this not as an observer, but as someone who’s holding the figurehead of Zarkon’s military elite at swordpoint, gives it another potential read.

“If you don’t change your tactics, galra empire, I’m going to kill you.”

So I think this is the point where despite Lotor being talked up as such a merciful, diplomatic person that the main empire finds him actively revolting, parts of the audience get, confused about the idea of reading him as a hero. Because Lotor’s a cheap shot artist. He doesn’t really read as an honorable soldier- he gives credit where it’s due but a moment later suckerpunches Throk in the ribs to get an advantage.

He very much has a vision of what the future is and should be, but, well... let’s get into that speech of his, shall we?

Lotor is poised to execute Throk. The crowd is chanting his name. In this instant, Lotor could conform to expectations. He could prove himself what the empire wants out of him- a strong leader, like Zarkon, who punishes insubordination violently and decisively. Follow him or be destroyed.

And it’s at this point that Lotor withdraws his weapon. The cheering dies down. Even Throk looks up in confusion. And he drops this:

My father built our empire on the bones of his enemies. But the time has come to change the old ways, and inspire not fear from those we rule, but loyalty.

We must not waste our energy fighting to keep our subjects down, but rather multiply it, by allowing those worthy to rise and join our ranks.

The universe can no longer doubt our strength.

Each ally gained only makes us stronger.

While those who stand against us, will be crushed.

So here, I think, is Lotor’s active con, singular, during this thing.

What he suggests by sparing Throk, by extending that hand to him, is that the “we” he speaks of is the empire, is the old guard, is these dissatisfied aristocrats. He’s pretending that he’s a man of the people, and by ‘the people’ he means the empire’s bluebloods who were threatened by him and his rebellious policies.

However, his earlier comment to Throk raises a lot of questions, before we ever see him leave the ring and basically react to that whole event with the “Get-a-load-of-this-guy cam”.

Again, Lotor standing there, over Throk, telling him that his attitudes are garbage and put him here at the point of Lotor’s sword? That gives a lot of context to his little speech.

“I’m bringing a revolution. I’m changing the old ways. I’m not going to follow Zarkon’s example, and I think that doing so is stupid. It’s a waste.”

“You have an opportunity to work with me. I’m giving you a taste of that now- see this guy, the guy I was fighting? The one you were all rooting for? Watch me be nice to him. We can be friends, galra empire. You can have a seat at the table with the revolution, too.”

“Or I can slit your throat. Your choice.”

That threat is veiled, subdued under the much more obvious and dramatic show of sparing Throk, because what Lotor frankly wants from these people is to get them off his back. He has an agenda and he would like some modicum of their cooperation, but he has no intention of giving them anything he wants. Ultimately, he has no intention of humoring bigots like Throk whose criticisms boil down to “I don’t like that you listen to non-galra leaders or the way that you employ half-galra”. Pleasing Throk would require throwing the Generals- the core of Lotor’s power- under the bus, and diminishing most if not all of his own values.

But Lotor still means that threat in full. Because after sparing Throk, he makes sure he’s cutting off the head of that rebellious force a different way- by giving Throk a distant, isolated post.

This is some very conflicted and nuanced messaging we’re getting here.

The first is that Lotor is, in a lot of the metrics that this show has set up, a good person. He believes in teamwork. In cooperation. In diplomacy. It’s not really a surprise that Lotor is ultimately half-Altean, because he’s operating in what we’ve been told is a very stereotypical Altean mentality. Culturally his perspective is a blend of the “old”, more cooperative galra empire, the galra empire that was part of Voltron, that maintained allies, that was an enforcer of peace rather than an imperialistic nightmare- and Altea’s culture of diplomacy, negotiation- of extending the hand first, but fighting viciously when crossed.

Lotor is noble. He has these high values, genuinely means them. He wants to bring change to this rotting, foul system that’s been ruining everybody’s lives to the past ten thousand years- radical, aggressive change. He’s the last person I’d suggest is compliant with the empire’s state of affairs, and the fact that his first onscreen moment is his carefully scheduling a foremost member of Zarkon’s old guard for a spectacular political ass-kicking should tell us that.

Lotor hates Throk. Lotor hates the “classic Galra Empire values” that Throk embodies and thumps around. Throk is a bigot, Throk is cruel, Throk is proud to be a cruel bigot, and Lotor knocks him on his butt and says “Throk? You’re terrible. Everything that just happened to you happened because you’re terrible.”

But the noble, crusading Lotor, has to compromise with the Lotor who’s keenly aware he is a teenager with four friends in the middle of nowhere, who is picking a fight with literally the single largest empire in the known universe.

And this is where we see the other side of Lotor. Lotor is a survivalist. That is to say, Lotor is a cheap shot artist.

Lotor knows he can’t fight the empire. He knows, much as he’d love to, much as there’s thinly, barely-veiled scorn dripping from “Your own aggression is your undoing”, much as he has every reason to despise all of these people who find his morals and beliefs disgusting and an embarrassment... He really has no choice but to court them at least a little.

So he sugarcoats his venomous opinions of them and serves it up as a lovely little chocolate tray. So he purports to challenge Throk in “honorable rite of combat” and then suckerpunches him mid-battle after preceding it by playing head games on him. So he files all the hard edges off his real, bitter, angry feelings for all of the empire’s bullshit and he dresses it up nicely.

And alone, with the generals- with these other socially disadvantaged people who have every reason to hate the empire as much as he does- he laughs it off, mocks the empire for believing him, and makes his move to isolate Throk.

Lotor wants to live. He wants to win. And he’s the type who’s been sitting here and biting his tongue and biding his time, living off the empire like a parasite while he keeps vainly promising the empire, and Zarkon, that he really is just trying to be a good Prince like they wanted.

But being underhanded, being calculating, lying to people and then mocking them for their belief... these are villainish traits. We’re not used to seeing idealists who are nothing so much as fountains of bitterness because of the garbage world they’ve been living in. But I think that’s exactly what Lotor is. He genuinely believes in these ideas, these causes- because otherwise a shrewd and practical person like him would never waste his time defending them, dressing them up to pass by people’s defenses, expressing such genuine and utter disgust for people who disregard them.

But he’s been living in a universe built by and ruled by Zarkon. He’s been stuck there, embedded under his father’s heel, for longer than the paladins have been a thing at all. He had a front row seat to watching every good thing about the paladins of old fall apart and frankly? He’s miserable. He’s miserable the way anybody would be in that situation but that misery turned into anger and it turned into that same kind of deep simmering anger that we see flicker out of Shiro sometimes.

This is wrong. This isn’t just there are a few bad apples, this is rotten all the way back to the orchard, back to the roots of the trees that made those apples. But Lotor hasn’t been able to do anything about it. Opportunities are bubbling to the surface for him, but they’re small, and few, and he’s spent a long time building up to this.

Seeing someone so very obviously motivated by bitterness, who empathizes with bitter people, who is full of spite and largely unafraid to hack pieces out of you whether or not you deserve it if you’re between him and the door when he needs to get out of there- is not something we’re used to. And I think because of that, and because his bitterness reads so much louder than the ideals that actively drive that bitterness, makes people see him as a villain.

And seeing him as a villain, people read him as part and parcel of the empire itself, when, ironically, if Lotor really was acceptable to the empire, not only would this entire altercation with Throk never happened, a lot of Lotor’s bitterness wouldn’t have happened. He’d be living a nice, content life, probably trusted as a commander given his connection to Zarkon, have a cozy sector of space and weight to throw around.

Instead, he’s a pariah, and one who, when given the opportunity to become really acceptable to the empire, laughs it off in private because could you imagine? Him actually meaning that olive branch he extended to Throk?

[noblecrumpet-dorkvision]

Paladin Week: Honor Systems

image credit: Dan Dos Santos (Fable #136)

Codes of Honor Throughout History

Check out these tenets of honor or virtues from around the world! Use them to create your own Paladin oaths/vows!

Chivalry

From the Song of Roland. The term "paladin" comes from the knights of Charlemagne, and Roland was a huge common thread in the stories about them. So if anything, these are the most paladin-y vows you can ever vow.

To fear God and maintain His church

To serve the liege in valor and faith

To protect the weak and defenseless

To give succor to widows and orphans

To refrain from wanton giving of offence

To live by honor and for glory

To despise pecuniary reward

To fight for the welfare of all

To obey those placed in authority

To guard the honor of fellow knights

To eschew unfairness, meanness, and deceit

To keep faith

At all times to speak the truth

To persevere to the end in any enterprise begun

To respect the honor of women

Never refuse a challenge from an equal

Never turn the back upon a foe

Seven Heavenly Virtues

Originating from the Christian bible. Basically the opposites of the seven deadly sins.

Chastity: Discretion of sexual conduct.

Temperance: Restraint and abstinence.

Charity: Generosity and self-sacrifice.

Diligence: Decisive work ethic and perseverance.

Patience: Forgiveness, mercy, and peace.

Kindness: Compassion towards others.

Humility: Thinking of yourself less.

Bushido

From the Bushido, the Soul of Japan by Nitobe Inazo

Die when it is right to die, strike when it is right to strike.

It is true courage to live when it is right to live, and to die only when it is right to die.

Benevolence brings low whatever hinders it, as water subdues fire.

In its highest form politeness approaches love.

Propriety carried beyond bounds becomes a lie.

Dishonor is like a scar on a tree which time, instead of healing, only widens.

Demonstrate the sincerity of your words to your lord with the shedding of your own blood.

Stoicism

Founded originally by Zeno of Citium in 3rd century Greece, and practiced famously by Emperor Marcus Aurelius during the reign of the Roman Empire. These are not a set list as very few fragments of the original Stoics' teachings have survived, so I tried to gather the main tenets of it for you.

Happiness lies in the pursuit of virtue, and virtue is the logic that pervades nature.

Everything else is secondary to virtue, and worrying about these only creates harmful emotions.

All creatures are equal to one another

Judgment is based on actions, not words

One cannot rely on luck or faith, only ourselves and our actions

The natural state of the universe is perfect order and all events are acts of fate.

Pashtunwali

Originating from the native Pashtun tribes in Pakistan and Afghanistan. This code lasted a long time for these mountain-dwelling tribes who were often outside of governmental control.

Melmastia: Showing hospitality and respect to all visitors without the hope of remuneration or favor.

Nanawatai: Give protection to those who are beset by their enemies.

Nyaw aw Badal: So seek justice or take revenge against a wrong. Even the slightest taunt must be met with the shedding of blood.

Turah: Defend your land, property, and family against tyranny with your life.

Sabat: Remain loyal to your friends, family, and tribe.

Khegara/Shegara: Strive for righteousness in thought, word, and deed towards people, animals, and the environment.

Groh: Keep trust in Khudai (Allah, God).

Pat, Wyaar aw Meraana: Respect yourself and others, have pride in your society, and demonstrate courage.

Naamus: Defend the honor of women at all costs from vocal and physical harm.

Nang: Defend those who are weak.

Hewaad: Protect the homeland and defend your nation and culture.

Sae Sok O-Gye

The moral code of the hwarang, also known as the Flowering Knights, created by Buddhist monk Won Gwang.

Loyalty to country

Devotion to family

Trust among friends

Never retreat from battle

Kill only with forethought

The Nine Noble Virtues

A code of honor used in Odinism and Asatru that comes from the Poetic Edda, a collection of Old Norse anonymous poems, particularly the Havamal - The Ballad of the High One, and the Sigrdrifumal.

Strength is better than weakness

Courage is better than cowardice

Joy is better than guilt

Honor is better than dishonor

Freedom is better than slavery

Kinship is better than alienation

Realism is better than dogmatism

Vigor is better than lifelessness

Ancestry is better than rootlessness

Machiavellianism

I would call this a code of dishonorable strategy than a code of honor. It stems from Niccolo Machiavelli's book on leadership, The Prince. I would use this for a lawful-evil or lawful-neutral paladin. These are a collection of Machiavellian values in no particular order as there is no set list:

Never was anything great achieved without danger.

Reliable allies are those who benefit from your successes.

There is little difference between obstacle and opportunity and you should turn both to your advantage.

The more sand has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it.

Forgiving those who wrong you is a mistake, for it undercuts the efforts of the loyal.

Passion is the best motivator.

Trust the honesty of enemies over that of friends. Enemies are quick to criticize.

The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him.

The difficult path is often the best, for you learn from your difficulties.

I am not interested in preserving the status quo. I want to overthrow it.

The Art of War

Again, more of a strategy guide than a code of honor, save this for war-driven or cunning paladins. Here are quotes from the Chinese general Sun Tzu's The Art of War, in no particular order.

The best policy is to take a state intact; to ruin it is inferior to this.

An army may be likened to water...so an army avoids strengths and strikes weaknesses.

Know the enemy and know yourself.

To be prepared for any contingency is the greatest of virtues.

Those skilled in war bring the enemy to the field of battle and are not brought there by him.

Move not unless you see an advantage, use not your troops unless there is something to be gained, fight not unless the position is critical.

Making no mistakes is what establishes the certainty of victory, for it means conquering an enemy that is already defeated.

When one treats people with benevolence, justice, and righteousness, and reposes confidence in them, the army will be united in mind and will be happy to serve.

image credit: Kirsi Salonen

“Evil” Codes of Honor

Evil codes of honor are more difficult to come by in history, so it’s encouraged to write your own. When writing vows for an evil paladin or ex-paladin, be sure to write it so it seems like something one could feasibly believe in or agree to. Don’t write vows like “Kill everyone you see who isn’t evil” or “be a dick to everyone you meet.” Those aren’t reasonable. Evil vows are simply a matter of perspective. Use some of these as examples or ideas:

Mercy: Only those who align with your faith deserve mercy.

Self-Reliance: Those who cannot defend themselves are weak and are not worthy of aid.

Trust: The only people who can be trusted are your deity and your self.

Strength: Power yields to power as you yield to your deity.

Justice: Those who have committed what you perceive as an evil deserve to suffer or even to die.

Passion: Pride and fervor in your mission and vows are the pinnacles of virtue.

Necromancy: The forms of the dead are borrowed for your purpose before returning to your deity.

Truth: Your word is your bond, but the terms are very specific.

Honor: Your foes must be met on equal terms even if you intend to slay them.

Survival: Your own life is worth more than anyone else's.

Allies: Ensure your allies have a reason to aid you, because generosity is an illusion.

Faith: Keep your faith with the rites and rituals ordained by your deity, potentially including blood sacrifice.

[empirelead-a]

is the mun antifacist? the existence of this blog says otherwise

ooohh you thought you did something lmao

[fictionfrend]

SHERLOCK HOLMES AND MORIATY: A GAME OF CHESS OF TWO HALFS CHAPTER ONE: A NEW CASE AND AN OLD ENEMY COMES ALONG

The rain was falling hard, bouncing in the gutters and making swirling rings around the drains of London. Overhead it was foggy so you couldn't see more than a few metres. But you could hear footfalls clicking and splashing through the water that had fallen. Look! Over there! It's our favourite famous detectives. Sherlock Holmes and Doctor (Dr) Watson. They're walking this way, and entering an anonymous looking building through its green door. They don't stop to look at the brass doorknob, the brass letterbox, or the brass foot scraper by the bottom of the door, because they're here on business. Business of investigating crime. This is an important case, for the world's greatest detectives. And they had to get dry and start looking for clues.

They'd been sent by the chief of police inspector Lestrade, because he couldn't even get close to crackling it. He didn't like using them, he thought they were either amateurs who always got lucky or maybe they were committing all the crimes and then solving them. He had no proof, but he really liked his hunches. They got him a long way, and his wife and brother liked that. Anyway, the detective and his ally were now walking down the corridor, led by a trusty lieutenant of the inspector, to keep and eye on them and report back any findings. They entered the Room of The Crime with solumn occasion. Holmes looked grave and concerned, and Watson looked curious and was also writing notes in his notebook so he could write up the story later in in the newspaper of London.

In the centre of the room, which was actually a laboratory, there was a dead body of a man lying face down in the floor. And there was blood everywhere. It smelled so much, so the police officer had to go outside with a hanky over his nose. Dr knelt down to look at the body, whilst Sherlock poked around the edges of the room with his special detecting kit. He was pushing tweezers behind things to find clues. “What do you reckon, me Sherlock?” asked Watson. “Well good sir, I believe it was strangulation”. “But why Holmes! What about all the copius blood? I am a doctor, as you know, and that does seem a trifle strange”. “A mere ruse my friend, have I not told you many times this is all a game? You just line up the pieces, and come to a conclusion.” Watson sighed his acknowledgement of this deductive line of reasoning, and continued to look for a pulse. He may not be a detective, but he knew medicine and he would at least be useful there.

I had no clue how he did it, but somehow the detective of fame always saw the clue. He'd followed a trail of seemly random broken glass, and seen a code in it. He was following a trail only he saw, again at a higher mind level than us. He stopped suddenly, squinted, and rolled up an immaculate sleeve. “Ah...now...here we...go...as I...expected...it...to....go” muttered Holmes to himself as he reached all the way behind a cupboard with his arm and kit. “Aha! Ha! I knew it!” he cried with glee, and he produced from behind the cupboard a small envelope. As he brought it over, he slowly flipped it over to show me the inscription. I could scarse believe my eyes. “I can't even believe it, my friend.” I said to him, trying to keep my composure. Even after many adventures – like last week's case of the Shempleton well – I never lost my sense of wonder at what will next befall us. Because of the back of the envelope there read the following inscription:

“So, my great foe! We meet again. Only, I am afraid I can't be with you. I see you cracked my 'RED CODE'. Ha ha, such a jolly wheeze that was, to run the police a merry chase. But I knew you would get it. Until we meet again, be ready for the next chain in my plan. It begins with this letter, but did you listen? Yours, M.”

“Good Lord!”, I cried out “it's your nemesis again the maths professor Moriaty. “Of course, of course” he was muttering to himself. “Come, Watson old friend! He shouted at me suddenly, the game is afoot!” He sprung over the poor body of the poor unfortunate in the room, forgetting it immediately, and ran to the door and through it. I must admit in the excitement, I lost all interest in the sad man below me, and trod quickly through the red pool beside him. God forgive me. I made to follow the great man, but he suddenly stopped still as if in shock. “What are YOU doing here?” He asked I know not who. But then I saw the shadow and knew immediately what was up. It was gross and deformed and cackled like a man possessed. SH had already pulled out his knife and was standing at the ready for the great confrontation with his other nemesis. I reached the doorway and leant out to confirm for myself I saw the prone form of the police officer who had been sent to escort and spy on us. He looked like he was breathing, so that was good. But he couldn't help us because he was knocked out cold. As time slowed down, I looked up and saw to my horror the 'man' who confronted us in the hallway. He had yellow eyes and a red face, as red as the blood I had earlier stepped through. He was dribbling on the floor and cursing us both and God. His cloths were ripped and torn and he was thrashing his claw like nails around as he approached. It was Mr Hyde himself! The good Doctor (Dr) Jeckyl had evidently lost his latest fight with madness and come looking for us. And had found us, for some more sport, like had so many times before.

Holmes was not afraid though. He stould his ground though and had his knife in his hand, and was ready for the confrontation. As well as the greatest mind in the empire and beyond, he was also really good at fighting.  The shadow approached. Holmes waited. The shadow got closer. Still Holmes waited ready. The shadow was upon him and me, and I could scarce know what to do. I was close to fainting in horror. Homes just stood there, calm and sure in the storm. The shadow loomed, and Holmes sprung into action. What happened here, dear Readers? Tune in for the next exciting stage in this strangest, most terrifying, and villainous of plots.

[buzzdixonwriter]

The American Empire (1898 – 2017)

Power is ephemeral, abstract.  A will o’the wisp that can stand against the fiercest gale, yet vanish in the blink of an eye in broad daylight.

America’s brief run as a global superpower vanished irretrievably at 4:31 AM on June 4, 2017.  In the aftermath of a terrorists attack, Donald Trump posted yet another ill-advised Tweet, aimed at Sadiq Khan, the current mayor of London (not, as many erroneously reported, the lord mayor; that’s a different job).

The United States, which stood up to the Soviet Union, which helped win two world wars, which bounced back from military defeats in and setbacks in Vietnam and Korea, which muscled itself onto the international stage by shoving what was left of the Spanish Empire off, the United States of America, with an international policy defined by Teddy Roosevelt as “speak softly and carry a big stick,” that United States was forever toppled from its pedestal by a bombastic sac of human excrement.

There proved no need for a single honest child to speak truth to power in this fable; no, the emperor pursed his lips and loudly proclaimed, “I’m naaaaaaaaked!”

And thus ends an empire.

It really doesn’t matter any longer if Trump is taking orders from Putin or not:  The end result is the same.

Our old alliances are in tatters.  Even at the worst, most cantankerous moments of The Reagan and Bushes administrations, our allies and the rest of the world had a sense of “this, too, shall pass.”  Whatever mistakes, missteps, and diplomatic faux pas those presidents committed, the sense was always that it was a temporary glitch, that the underlying goals and policies of the United States had not wavered or diminished, that shortly the strong and reliant ally would return.

Not anymore.

With Donald Trump we are seeing the abrupt and irreversible end of America’s influence.  Our allies, like friends of a drunk who will help him into a cab and see him safely home, have finally realized they’re dealing with a hopeless lush:  They will not be answering any more phone calls to come and party, much less to bail that friend out.

Alcoholics Anonymous holds its drunks strictly accountable for the chaos and harm they strew in their wake, and America is rushing towards its own moment of clarity, when it will realize it is naked, in a gutter, covered in piss and shit and vomit, and nobody cares, everybody is laughing.

What Trump has done that marks him so different from previous presidents has been to reduce the office holder from an intellect -- no matter how substandard -- to a bundle of uncontrollable and ill-conceived impulses, appetites, and tics.

We have seen some pretty terrible human beings in the White House, but by far the worst of the lot by several degrees of magnitude is Donald Trump.

He is a man without honor, without compassion, without wisdom, without integrity, without loyalty.  Andrew Jackson would have pummeled him with his cane five minutes after meeting him, George Washington would have possessed the patience and courtesy to last an hour before dong the same.  Even Abraham Lincoln would have contemplated a body slam, Truman and Eisenhower would have decked him.

And yet this is the person that the Republican party aided, encouraged, and endorsed.  They let him play to white bigotry because their power depended on white bigots as part of their base.  The hypocrisy of the GOP is part and parcel of what Makes Trump’s destruction of American power possible.  The rest of the world looks at them, recognizes they have no core integrity, no vision of the future other than one in which wealthy white people rule and everyone else suffers, and they know this is a political party they can never take seriously again.

A this point, several of my Republican friends are sputtering:  “But that’s not me!  I’m no bigot!  I don’t hate anybody!  Some of my best friends are non-white -- I’ve even dated non-whites!”

True dat…but you were more interested in your party gaining power than in doing what was right, and when histories of this era are written, you will be lumped together with the bigots you depended on.

Lie down with pigs, get up smelling like pig shit.

And for my fundamentalist / evangelical friends who wiped their ass with the Bible and endorsed Donald Trump as “God’s choice,” you’ve betrayed Christ to kiss the rancid rectum of the prince of this world, what fate do you think awaits you and your churches?  In a generation or less somebody will figure out how to market Islam to white Americans and when they do the hemorrhaging of American Christianity going on now will become an implosion and it’s going to be your damned fault.  Live with that for the rest of your lives.

Donald Trump is the most woefully ill-prepared man to take office in the last hundred years, and in a rogues gallery that includes Warren G. Harding, Harry S Truman, Ronald Reagan, and George W.  Bush that’s sayin’ sumthin’.

In fact, I’ll take back the ill-prepared part:  Even Harding had some dim idea of how politics worked and while the others lacked refinement and in-depth knowledge, Truman proved to be a quick learner, Reagan knew how to triangulate, and GWBush, for all his sins and shortcomings, never struck anyone as malicious.

But Donald Trump is the quintessential ugly American:  Clueless, classless, provincial, bigoted, money grubbing, snobbish, vulgar, spiteful, boastful, cocksure, pig ignorant, and a religious hypocrite.

Even claims that Americans possess good qualities hinge on how effectively these flaws in the national character are hammered flat.

Trump is every American flaw rolled into one big fragile, empty, greasy orange Cheeto.  He is a constant reminder to the rest of the world why they shouldn’t pay any attention to us. 

I do not exaggerate when I say Trump’s Tweet re Sadiq Khan and the latest terrorism incident marks the moment American’s waning international influence vanished like a bad dream upon waking up.  The rest of the world looked at Johnson and Nixon and Reagan and the Bushes and could say, “Okay, so it’s not as if their flaws were well known before they took office; sure, they were scoundrels and fools but at least they tried to hide those flaws.”

The American people could convincingly claim they did not understand the full malignancy of those presidents when they voted for them, but Trump’s characteristics were not merely well known, he touted them as selling points in his campaign.

So Europe and the rest of the world looks at Trump and judges America accordingly:  These people are fools and liars and imbeciles and superstitious ignoramuses who revel in their ignorance.

Why should we ever pay attention to them again?

And they won’t.

And we’re screwed.

Because very, very soon our warships are not going to be welcomed in as many foreign ports as they once were, our military aircraft will be denied fly over privileges, our troops and bases no longer tolerated in foreign lands.

Sad but true fact about the American military:  We have never defeated a numerically superior enemy.  All our victories have been us ganging up on a smaller, more poorly equipped foe.

Even then we typically need allies to do the bulk of the heavy fighting for us:  France supplied 90% of the Revolutionary Army’s gunpowder and kept the British fleet at bay so blockade runners could keep commerce going, and by the end of the Revolutionary War had committed 300,000 military personnel to help the colonial army (80,000 troops, tops) fight 40,000 English troops.

Those 40,000 English troops, by the way, represented nearly half of the entire British army (96,000 troops total during this period), the rest busy defending various non-rebellious colonies around the world from French, Spanish, and Dutch attack.

George Washington's army started the war fighting Hessians, German mercenaries the English hired to keep an eye on the colonies.  He then moved up to third rate and finally second rate troops by the time he won the war with 80,000 colonials and 300,000 French.  He never faced the crème de la crème of the British army, for if he had he would be a dangling footnote in the history of Canada.

US involvement in World War One came late, long after the tide of battle turned and German defeat was inevitable.  As a nation, we cashed in on that war, American goods filling markets the French, British, and other European nations could no longer supply, getting more money than they normally would have earned, and dominating those markets.

Despite the Depression, we still pumped US goods into foreign markets, enabled the rise of fascism, sat out the worst days of the World War Two in Europe, and only after the Russians and the English turned the tide on the Eastern and Western fronts did we start helping them – and claiming the lion’s share of the credit.

Unlike Americans, who are comfortable with hagiography and tend to ignore unpleasant facts, the Europeans don’t merely read their history, they study it.

They know us for what we are, but for a long time they also knew us for what we aspired to be:  Something better, more hopeful than the old world that spawned us.

Well, thanks to Trump, his voters, and the GOP that fond image is forever shattered.

You can practically hear the call blocking sliding into place.  Putin severely compromised two of Europe’s mightiest allies and while one might recover because they have thousands of years of tradition that point to Brexit as a fixable mistake, Donald Trump only confirms the worst everybody thought about us.

We have thrown away our birthright, abdicated our moral / ethical / political leadership, and embraced a man so unworthy of the office that his becoming president was the subject of a silly TV cartoon years before it actually happened.

America, we are not Davy Crockett or Daniel Boone, we are not Paladin or Father Knows Best or Star Trek.

We are the God damned Simpsons.

[bibbykins]

Moonlight Reign (Ch. 1)

A/N: Okay, my first series (since Snowfall All Year is only a two parter I need to finish) I’ve been wanting to write a mafia!au for the longest time, and I am crazy late on the trend but fuck it. Hope y’all enjoy and give me some love!

Pairing: Mafia boss! Yoongi x reader (hopefully it’ll stay that way)

Word count: 2.7k

Genre: Angst, fluff, maybe some smut

Summary: Some things in this world are dangerous, and you, him, and the world you once lived in that now belongs to him are just some of many you can’t be free from, but do you even want to be?

“It’s time to go now, y/n.” 

1, 2, 3, 4

“Five years after the fall of the underground power family, Moon Corporation, people still suspect an even more powerful company has taken their place since…”

1, 2, 3, 4

“The color red doesn’t suit this house well.”

1, 2, 3, 4

“The exposure beheld more answers than questions, but on the five-year anniversary of the suicidal explosion that killed the head, Mun Byungyeol and his daughter, the, as ordered to remain anonymous, green haired 13 year old. Colleagues mourn in secret and establishments fear an anniversary heist…”

1, 2, 3, 4

“Locals have several theories on the big conglomerate that now controls Seoul’s business, underground and above, with mafias and gangs running rampant, people fear the government is under their thumb as well…”

1, 2-

You inhaled deeply, as if just surfacing from the drowning body of water residing in your brain. Your fingers stilled from the tapping, a  desperate attempt to make you surface, a sorry technique therapy drilled into you.

Four was too perfect of a number for such an ugly world, a world you had to feign blind to now.

Your palms retracted from their firm placement on the wall you leaned on, relaxing you. Releasing your slightly curled fingers, you stifled a laugh at the desperate attempt to grasp onto something. 

Your little episode was finished as you settled your mind with the news continuing to drone on. Looking at the time, you decided it was time to get ready for your study session with Jungkook. 

Jungkook was a guy in the same university as you, he was older, but you were a year ahead, so you were in the same class. He was your neighbor in this adequate apartment complex that you kept via a crappy waitressing job. He was the regular party boy always at clubs and coming home at ungodly hours of the night. 

You weren’t exactly a social butterfly, so if you found one friend in Jungkook, you figured it wouldn’t be such a crime.

You faced the mirror, patting down your hair, “The green didn’t suit me well at all,” You mused, fixing your natural shade of hair, “Although the forest green was a nice shade on my skin.”

After gathering your study material, Jungkook knocked on your door and you studied like usual. He would always get distracted halfway through, though.“Why do you still have the news on?” 

You looked at the TV and shrugged.

“I guess I forgot,” You spoke, “Now what did you think this-”

“Mafias and gangs…” He mused, “Aren’t they the same?”

The pencil in your hand stilled. Absolutely not. Gangs were pawns, the mafias in this world were the players. As a little girl, that was the first thing you had learned, how to play chess outside a casual park bench, how to play chess crushing people in your hands as you moved them.

“Like I care.”

“You aren’t scared of these guys at all?”

“Failing class is scary, that,” You gestured to the TV, “Is a cheap haunted house in comparison to the hell of getting a D for my semester grade.”

Jungkook stifled a laugh, “I’m thanking every divine being if I pass, but it’s worth it as opposed to only studying and working.”

You rolled your eyes, “Sorry I’m not a child of the night.” Not anymore, at least.

—-

A few days later exams went well for you, and you finished your semester and had a solid two months off. All was well and it was peaceful in the dead of night.Too bad your body rejected sleep.This week was a big week.

////

“Dad?” You whimpered as a strong hand patted your head to calm you, or soften the blow of what’s to come, “Tell me you didn’t.”

Mun Byungyeol was a rough man who took you in as a young child. His men killed your parents for revenge and a nearly-dead 3-year-old suffering from starvation and cigarette burns was found at the scene. Initially resistant to your arrival, he got right to training you to be the heiress to replace the heir he never received.

He may have been rough, but he was a caring dad, even if you had never been his priority.

Not unless you could be used as currency.

“Y/n, it’s time for us to go,” He sighed, “I let this greed consume me, and I’m afraid it’s begun eating me alive now.”

Your mind couldn’t comprehend his words. The news was drowning out the comfort he attempted to give you. “…such evidence is linking the Moon Corporation to heinous mafia activities painting them as a possible syndicate, but no arrests have been made or criminal investigation on Mun Byungyeol himself, but many workers are being targeted due to possible involvement…”

Everything was dying. All your training was never for anything but fuel for his greed. You should be angry, shocked, appalled, but you weren’t. He’s been cashing out for so long on the blood of his family and foes that you didn’t even flinch when he said it. You did, however, flinch when the whole world highlighted it.

“If I just cash out and retire, we could never live in peace,” He shook his head as he switched off the TV, “But Uncle Byungjoo has a plan that I think might just work, but you and I won’t meet for a few years-”

He was going to abandon it. Cash out one last time, and leave. You were too surprised, you had put an inkling of faith in his heart to love this empire, like a fool. Your eyes widened at the notion of him abandoning you too. All you knew was his presence. All you knew were your father figures, “But the empire-”

“We were never an empire,” His self-loathing clung to each word, “I treated this organization as a bank, a money maker, it was inevitable that the paper I cradled would catch fire.”

You didn’t scream, yell, or cry. At least you hadn’t, yet.“Then who will rule Seoul?” You wondered aloud.

“A real syndicate.”

“Who will stay with me?”

He smiled warmly at you for the third time in your life, “One day, a real human.”

////

You woke up with a start from a bang on the door, but considering the 4 am hour, you chalked it up to city noise. Five years ago today, you saw the match light. In two days, it will have been five years ago you saw the flames engulf your home, your family, and everything you were. Each year, this week was chaos for the city of Seoul. Each day was accompanied by an event that slowly grew more and more above ground. It was almost mocking the past, the surfacing of dirty secrets. Secrets the world knew, but never wanted to see, cowards.

The new syndicate at the top of the kingdom was known as Bangtan to the underground scene, but with a “Group” tacked on after the ominous name, they were also the kings of the business world. They were much better at actually hiding their identities, hence why most average people assumed there was no such syndicate anymore or that the “law” took care of it. As if the “law” wasn’t under the thumb of the kings. 

The only reason you were aware of their presence was because getting out of the game was easy, but you could never fully burn the console.

Another bang on your door startled you out of your thoughts, “I knew I shouldn’t have let you go alone to the bar before such a big day- where are your keys?!” 

An unfamiliar voice spoke through your door.

“Ask, y/n,” Jungkook’s slurred voice rang out in a yell as you flinched at the volume, “Y/n! I need stitches!” 

This wasn’t the first time Jungkook was yelling outside your door, most likely bleeding on your doormat. You never really asked questions, you just patched him up and left him on your couch.

“Is this even your door?! Did you lead me to one of your whore’s places?!”

“Bangtan!” Jungkook chanted in response.

This made you huff as you hopped out of bed in your large t-shirt and shorts and ripped the door open. You were faced with a blonde haired man in a three-piece suit accompanied by a trashed Jungkook with a short, but deep, cut on the corner of his forehead. The blonde-haired handsome man stopped struggling with Jungkook as he looked at you with the most pristine judging face, “Look, just forget we were-”

“Y/n!” Jungkook cheered before he passed out.

“He lives next door,” You remarked flatly, “No, I’m not one of his whores, more like one of his classmates, but I’ve seen those lines get blurred with him a lot, so I understand the assumption,” You looked at his forehead again, “And he does need stitches.”

The man narrowed his eyes, “Do you usually play nurse for him?”

“Only when his blood is dripping on my doormat, for the third time this month,” You angled your head down for the man to see, “Bring him in, you aren’t the first friend of his I’ve met-”

“But-”

“Anymore blood on that mat and I’m making you pay for it, now come on,” You snapped as he walked in and sat Jungkook in a chair around your table. You shut the door as you pulled your first aid kit out, “You have to sit him on the floor or the couch.”He complied to the couch, 

“Why does he-”

“When he wakes up, he attacks whoever is in front of him,” You spoke, preparing the needle and thread, “And I can’t stitch and hold him down at the table,” You explained, settling your knees to lock on both sides of Jungkook’s legs and your elbows pressing on his shoulders.

“Aren’t you scared he’ll hurt you?” The man asked as you began stitching.

You scoffed, “The only thing that scares me are failing grades.” You chuckled, “Plus Jungkook hurting me? Yeah, right. He has the fight of a peanut.”

Eventually, you just went on stitching in silence until the man broke the silence, “Who are you?” The man spoke mid-way through your stitching.

You paused for a moment, “Didn’t you hear Jungkook? I’m y/n, and who are you?”

“None of your concern,” He stated.“You’re bleeding on my hardwood floor, that has me pretty concerned.” You gestured to your hand to show him the small cut on his, “Concerned for my floor I mean.” You clarified, “The other two told me their first names at least.”

You thought back to the much pluckier and grateful Taehyung and Jimin as they smiled at you before taking Jungkook away.

He sighed, “Namjoon-”

You were tying the final knot when Jungkook snapped his eyes open. He immediately dove at you, pushing you to the floor, making the needle in your hand scratch your forearm before you threw it across the room to avoid the tempting notion of stabbing him with it. Namjoon was trying to find an opening to cut in between the struggling as Jungkook was sloppily throwing his fist down and you were moving your head to dodge each blow. Though his moves were sloppy, they were still fast, and Namjoon ended up watching in awe as you fearlessly slammed your forehead on his fresh stitches to make him stop to register the pain. You took advantage of the opening as you effortlessly pinned his arms down with your knees planted on his upper arms, “Jungkook!” You snapped as Namjoon watched his younger friend finally recognize you in his drunken haze.

“Y-Y/n?” He questioned, his tongue thick in his mouth, “You hurt my head- hey, you’re bleeding on my shirt!”

Your arm had a gash the length of a half ruler, it was shallow, but still dripping blood, but you didn’t flinch, “Wonder who made me hurt both my arm and their head, jackass,” You muttered, examining his stitches to make sure the impact didn’t affect the new suture, “And you got your blood on my doormat and my forehead, so let’s call it a draw.”

Namjoon was beginning to suspect you were more than a college student. With the sheer fearlessness and those fighting skills, you had to be something or someone who was anything but a regular student. Upon this realization, he then felt enormous regret wash over him for telling you his name. Yoongi would be livid if the empire was affected by Namjoon’s poor judgment, even in the most minuscule of ways. This string of thoughts prompted his mistake of grasping your wounded forearm to make you stand so he could properly question you. What he didn’t calculate in that movement was the fact that he grasped your fresh cut, which hurt like a bitch. This pain made you bring your other forearm to his neck, pressing firmly into his trachea as his back hit the wall with a bang, “Don’t ever manhandle a lady, Namjoon,” You seethed as you released him, “Care to explain yourself?” 

Namjoon regained his composure, impressed by your reaction time and ability to weaken his pride in such a short matter of seconds, “Who are you?” His tone was rougher in comparison to when he first asked the question.

“None of your concern,” You mocked, “Now take your sloppy friend, an alcohol pad and go-”

Your anger was cut short by a cloth that smelled an awful lot like chloroform engulfing your senses and releasing you from consciousness.

[uniteordie-usa]

Plot Holes, by Robert Gore

http://uniteordiemedia.com/__trashed/ https://uniteordiemedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/El-Trumpo-600x464.jpg Plot Holes, by Robert Gore There has been a deluge of articles about the Michael Flynn affair from an array of political and ideological vantage points, and SLL has reposted some of them. What’s lacking are coherent and cohesive explanations for what would be, if this were a novel or movie, gaping plot holes. The upshot...

There has been a deluge of articles about the Michael Flynn affair from an array of political and ideological vantage points, and SLL has reposted some of them. What’s lacking are coherent and cohesive explanations for what would be, if this were a novel or movie, gaping plot holes. The upshot of many commentators is that Trump has underestimated the Deep State, he’s floundering, and so on. This article takes the opposite tack, out of innate contrariness and because President Trump has been so consistently underestimated by both friends and foes.

Why was Michael Flynn cashiered? The administration’s story is that he talked with a Russian diplomat and mentioned lifting sanctions, then lied about his conversations to Vice President Pence. What’s become the conventional subtext is that the intelligence agencies have launched a “soft coup” against Trump, he has been significantly weakened, and the Deep State has scored a major victory.

Plot hole: if Trump had wanted to keep Flynn, he could have kept him and rode out the media firestorm. Blogger The_Real_Fly has suggested there was either a prearranged plan for Flynn to make an early exit, or Trump did an about-face, determined Flynn was not a good fit, and decided to get rid of him.

A subplot hole: Flynn, an intelligence veteran, undoubtedly knew his phone was tapped. Either he knowingly said what he said to set a trap, or when the Washington Post story surfaced, Trump saw his chance and got rid of Flynn. He has demonstrated a cold-blooded capacity to quickly cut his losses: “You’re fired!” It’s telling that Flynn’s replacement, H.R. McMaster, authored Dereliction of Duty: Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, The Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies that Led to Vietnam. This looks like a classic Trump double down, replacing a maverick the Deep State didn’t like with a bigger one they’ll like even less.

Whatever the real story, Trump has gained valuable leverage on the intelligence agencies. Somebody leaked an intelligence agency transcript of Flynn’s call to the Washington Post, and that’s illegal. Just before he left office, President Obama relaxed limits on the NSA’s dissemination of its information to other intelligence agencies, the FBI, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Obama probably thought he’d be turning those agencies into a collective sieve of untraceable leaks that would plague Trump, but this may backfire spectacularly. With the new rules, the illegal leak could conceivably come from any agency that has access to NSA data. The Trump Justice Department now has carte blanche to investigate them all, unless the agency responsible coughs up the leaker to protect itself and the other agencies.

A gaping plot hole: the Deep State’s stratagems scream weakness, not the strength so many are attributing to it. The Deep State likes to stay in the shadows, zealously protecting its power by shielding it from public view. Trump has forced it into the open, and it doesn’t adjust well to the light. It has resorted to tissue-thin stories planted in the captive media that speak of assessments and opinions, but don’t offer source material that’s supposedly the basis of those subjective judgments.

The Flynn disclosure was in the same vein; the original transcript on which the Post’s story was based has not been made public. This tees it up for Trump to lambaste the mainstream media and intelligence agencies, which he has done repeatedly and to great effect. He was in rare form at his recent press conference. You only plant stories in media organs nobody trusts, sourced to anonymous operatives within an intelligence community nobody trusts, obviously breaking the law, and setting yourself up for abuse from the president, because that’s all you’ve got.

The whole Russian story reeks of “Desperation.” It is flimsy and flimsier still is the rationale offered for the Deep State’s dogged loyalty to this concoction. Any rapprochement with Russia supposedly threatens the empire and must be quashed, even if that entails ham-handed efforts to depose an elected president. However, it’s child’s play for Trump to beat a tactical retreat, talk out of the other side of his mouth, and take the wind out of his enemies’ sails.

To counter the Putin puppet fairy tale, he could have his ambassador to the UN condemn Russia’s annexation of Crimea. He could continue Obama’s military build up on Russia’s western border. Trump and team could tweet and talk tough about Russia and its allies China and Iran, and reject any joint military operations with Russia in Syria. Oh wait, all this has already happened. So why has the Deep State resorted to repeatedly discredited tactics to propagate its concocted story, ultimately helping the president in his battles with it and its captive press, supposedly in service of a foreign policy criticism of the president that he easily undercuts by adjusting his rhetoric and moving toward their position? What’s going on?

The real story isn’t Russia. Do you mount a “soft coup” over policy differences when, after all the Washington give and take, those policies will, at worst, marginally affect your influence, power, and payola? Doubtful. (Keep in mind Trump wants to increase military budgets.) If, on the other hand, you’re facing complete disgrace and ruin, including a long stretch in a penal institution, there’s nothing you won’t do to save yourself.

It’s not what politicians and bureaucrats do sub rosa that poses the biggest danger to the country and the world, but what they do in broad daylight. However, there’s no denying that Washington is the world capital of sub rosa—the unethical, immoral, and illegal.

Read More: straightlinelogic.com/2017/02/26/plot-holes-by-robert-gore/

[empirelead-a]

anonymous asked:  All hail the mighty Kuvira! *bows*

“It’s not  ‘ALL HAIL THE MIGHTY KUVIRA’  it’s ‘all hail the Great Uniter’.”

[empirelead-a]

different anon

that anon implied post lok fanmade content will be superseded by canon??

its a bad day for some fanfiction writers sure but other things are more important??

They are still free to create fanmade content and not follow canon; fanfiction came to be for that very reason. I’m doing the same for Kuvira since everything I’ve written for her past existed way before the comics came to be...and I’m not following the ending of it either because it is a pretty bullshit way to end. I may have sounded pretty disrespectful regarding to Legend of Genji and I didn’t mean for it to come off as rude, but I just don’t like how the story is disrespectful to Korra by having her die so young and the thought of the rumored next series of doing the same is just even more disrespectful.

It is like I said: Korra deserves to have more time to shine with her story continued to be told, she finally became a fully realized Avatar.