#Imperium Nation

[nnn-lll-nnn]

PRESKAN NEWS

DATED; NOVEMBER 1 16TH, 1975 2 ARG TIME, AT 09:00 AM LOCAL TIME.

SOURCE; LIMAN NEWS AGENCY.

BREAKING XANXON TROOPS DECLARE FULL EVAC FROM PRESKA!

In an official press statement, General Hrixien of the devilish Xanxon Armed Forces, stated that all Xanxon forces south of an undisclosed line would be pushing upwards, into the relatively desolate and empty northern section of the country, although experts warn this could simply be a new[er] strategic posturing, as opposed to an outright rout.

[jew-ish-posting]

Just came across a “land back now” sticker which had the flag for first nations people in Australia and Palestine.

“Land back now! Free Palestine”

Palestine cannot be pronounced in arabic due to the “p”. It is a hebrew word. The native language. The word is used in the bible. It translates to “invader”.

You are legitimately saying “Land back now! Free [“invader” in native tongue]”, and putting that next to the flag for actual native Australians who were treated as “flora and fauna” and hunted practically for sport and denied any land rights, dominium or imperium for decades. Do you fucking hear urself right now.

[hearts1ckness]

imperium comeback??

[winterinhimring]

The real tragedy of Dune (which the movies did an excellent job of portraying) is that almost none of the characters we see have any real choice in what they do. The only choices they have are in how they do them.

Duke Leto must take House Atreides to Arrakis, or be declared a traitor to the Imperium and hunted down. He knows it's a trap and that the Emperor is, in the very best case scenario, setting him and his family up for a serious reversal of their fortunes (far more likely, he's outright scheming to get them killed). But he doesn't have a choice. He must go to Arrakis. He does go to Arrakis. He dies.

Paul and Jessica must flee into the desert or the Harkonnen soldiers will kill them both brutally. They must go to the Fremen for refuge or the desert will kill them. They go. They find that the Fremen have already begun to mythologise Paul. He's the Mahdi, the Lisan al-Gaib. There is no option for Paul to be a normal person here. He is either the messiah or he is a false prophet, and false prophets in a nation of true believers don't live for long.

So Paul fits himself into the mold of the myth. He becomes Muad'dib and leads the Fremen in war because they believe too much in him to let him be anything less. Is it manipulation? Yes. But because the Bene Gesserit have been manipulating the Fremen for centuries, Paul has no choice but to continue it if he wants to live.

He sees the holy war at the end of every timeline by glimpses and he fights to avoid it. To avoid it, he becomes the Kwizatz Haderach and gains the ability to fully see timelines, and thereby he makes himself that much more of the Fremen messiah and brings himself one step closer to the holy war. Every choice he makes is a choice for survival and an attempt to avoid that war, the war he cannot escape because every step he makes along the path to survival is one more step towards the war. He has no more choice in what he becomes than his father had in whether or not he went to Arrakis.

The only people who ever had a choice were the Emperor and Gaius Helen Mohiam. They made their choice, to exterminate House Atreides, and thereby they took everyone's choices away, including their own. Once they sent House Atreides to Arrakis, the entire plot was inevitable.

[moltengoldveins]

so we can all agree that the newest 2WEI song (take the crown) is the trailer song for an Antarctic Empires Emerald Duo pg14 movie where Techno is a gladiator who earned his freedom and has vowed to destroy the government that enslaved him and Philza is an old demigod banished to a solitary plane of existence for five decades after attempting to run a coup against the ruling class.

They meet on a battlefield, Techno having joined up as brute muscle and Phil having used some minor illusions to pass as a quirky avian and join the bombardment team. Combining some similar plot beats as Oceans 11 and Atlantis: The Lost Empire, they gather a specialized team of insurrectionists, anarchists, battle mages, and warriors to take down the imperium from the inside, eventually planning on restoring the nation to the democracy it was in Phil’s earliest memories. But will they manage it, or will their bloody pasts and violent present seat Technoblade on the throne as the Antarctic Emperor, with Philza as his right hand, the Angel of Death? (Spoiler, the second option. It’s the most controversial film finale decision of the decade.)

The movie is filmed in a style somewhere between Dune 1, the Prince of Egypt, and Topgun. (denis villeneuve is too busy and too expensive, but it’s clear they’re taking inspiration. Bold colors and lighting and a lot of shots of the sky, wildlife, architecture, or of characters’ hands.) It’s scored by an up and coming indie musician, working under the consultation of Ludwig Gorannson in his spare time as a pet project, though his association with the film doesn’t really come out until it Smashes the expected theatre income in the first two days of release and critics start Raving about it. Techno’s actor is nominated for an Oscar for one of the most compelling intricate portrayals of ptsd and platonic devotion in modern cinema, but doesn’t actually get the Oscar.

Tumblr is flooded with gif sets of Techno in the Obligatory No Armor After Gladiator Fight Scene and the Late Night Vibing With Phil In A Loose Poet Shirt scene (firelit, lots of closeups of his eyes, the film is obviously attempting to express his complex emotional state and his deep relationship with Phil, and is failing miserably at doing Anything but making him hot. The internet is ✨gay✨ about it, because when is the internet not?) Also most of the simps are calling Phil a dilf.

Fit MC is the fan-favorite side character, his four scenes and nine lines of dialogue are clipped and edited and giffed and memed into the dirt. (His armor and prosthetic, the makeup and costuming department say, were the hardest thing to do in the entire film, which is why he isn’t in too many shots.) Though, a close second is Niki, who is played by a woman built like a brick house who doesn’t wear sleeves, so…. Yeah. We all know what the response is there. The effects, including Phil’s wings, are almost entirely practical and the only real places it gets iffy is Steve, the giant war polar bear that’s pretty clearly clipping through a few snowbanks here and there. Nobody can agree on which characters are morally reprehensible.

Within a few years, very few people outside a dedicated fan base have seen it and a few assume it’s made up like Goncharov. It’s also, for some ungodly reason, been labeled a Christmas film. (most of the plot happens in the ice and snow, hence ‘Antarctic Empire.’) I guess nothing says ‘Christmas spirit’ quite like ‘unmitigated violence, platonic yearning, and overthrowing oppressors.’

[jezebelgoldstone]

yo zukka nation do i ever have good news for you!

there is a movie (yes movie, not show, so the required time commitment is under three hours) that is an opposite-sides-of-the-war, enemies-to-lovers, blue x red, water x fire, battle-couple, gay-as-all-hell truly epic romance. it's asian. it's anti-imperialist. the music slaps. every single fight is an absolute banger. the symbolism crammed into this one movie outdoes any other given twenty movies combined. it's easily one of the most gorgeous pieces of media i've ever seen. the tragic backstories are tragic. it's a war story. it's about besties doing goofy best-friend-things. there's torture. a mom gets killed. some of the most important relationships are siblings. the redemption arc for the red fire-coded one is off-the-charts. there's a divorce arc. there's a dance-off.

like, seriously. a little tribal girl from a village under the protection of the blue water-coded one gets kidnapped by one of the imperial rulers, and the red fire-coded agent of the imperium is sent to hunt down the water-coded one so he can't rescue the little girl. and then fire and water fall in love.

there's an active fandom, there's fic on ao3 and yes i've written some of it, and there's a huuuuuuge extended universe for anyone who wants more canon to play with.

best part is you can watch it absolutely free and 100% legal here.

and if you don't want to watch it by yourself literally dm me because i am always down to watch it again & i have a hyperbeam account. oh and did i mention that everyone in this movie but especially the two mains are some of the most insanely beautiful people i've ever seen?

kindly pleading with everyone to reblog this also, so that more people who might be interested can find it. there's nothing quite so tragic as the thing that would be one of your favorites being something you've never heard of.

[felassan]

"also, on the broadest line around the edge, you can see those symbols again. I’m thinking now that these 6 symbols represent the 6 factions we can choose from for Rook to belong to."

not only that, but the factions of 6 out of our 7 companions, Harding/the Inquisition aside. from some of the things they've said lately (tho at the moment I can't remember specifically where), it sounds like we will encounter each faction in the game too and that they each play a role in the story. in the center is the Veilguard logo itself; it's like representatives from these 6 factions came together to form Voltron The Veilguard. :> about the symbols btw:

The Warden symbol is closer style-wise to this new seemingly updated or northern Warden[?] symbol than it is to previous game/southern Warden[?] symbology (two). shape of the wing, stylization etc. it being 'half' like that gives it the impression of a shield/heraldic beasts.

The Veil Jumper symbol looks to be a halla. it makes me nostalgic for Clan Sabrae heraldry :') makes sense for a faction based in Arlathan and interested in ancient elvhen ruins.

The Shadow Dragons (Tevene faction) have a snake. dragons are all around in Tevinter imagery, a country where they are a symbol of divine power. Another kind of 'worm'/wyrm also kicks around in Tevinter iconography; snakes. in the Imperium heraldry, a serpentine dragon faces off against a snake (opposition..). (side ramble - As a group the Shadow Dragons are a resistance group, they oppose slavery, corrupt rulers and the worst aspects of Tevinter society. Their name makes them seem like 'a different kind of dragon' - an alternative way for the 'dragon' Tevinter is to be, a different future it could have. a different kind of dragon than the dominant ruling one, but one that is currently still overshadowed. it also carries the implication of them working in the shadows and carrying out operations under the radar - this is contrast to the Lucerni, a faction in the Magisterium whose goal is to redeem and restore Tevinter. They're more like a political party, they operate more in public. "lucerna" is Latin for lantern. light, and shadow. Maybe the Shadow Dragons are basically the stealthy/secret operational arm of the Lucerni? like a left and right hand. end side ramble) Snakes crop up in Neve's design (her leg, her hat). I keep thinking about the snake in the Imperium heraldry. with their symbol, it's like the Shadow Dragons are saying they're fighting for a Tevinter.. without the 'dragon' part. in which.. the dragon is a metaphor for the bad stuff? corruption etc? Snakes also carry the symbolism of stealth and slyness, which again fits with the 'shadow' stuff. Would a dragon be able to see a lowly snake coming...? probably not :> I also can't help but think of the imagery of snakes that's to do with healing and medicine. like they wanna de-corrupt Tevinter, heal it of its rot. ALSO. the other thing thing is The Viper from Minrathous Shadows. well, look at that. The Shadow Dragons' symbol is a snake. "We are the Tevinter you forgot". And what do they want? "Everything". maybe The Viper is the founder of the Shadow Dragons? the story mentions they have a contact, a lady who is lightning-smart (Neve?). in the accompanying art-piece, the dealer's silhouette and other aspects of their design are snake-like, recalling Neve and what seems to be 'Shadow Dragon Rook's clothes.

The Lords of Fortune have a cephalopod. (it reminds me of House Greyjoy). makes sense for a faction with ships, dominion over the coasts of Rivain, a pirate-y aesthetic and originating from a nation almost entirely surrounded by sea. maybe this explains the cephalopod that was portrayed 'on' Rivain in the trailer from a few months ago? like maybe it was supposed to represent the Lords of Fortune, their presence in Rivain, and their storyline.

The Mourn Watcher one is just so cool. it's at once both a humanoid skull (you can see the two eyes and the teeth), recalling the symbol for the broader Mortalitasi itself, and a beetle. it makes me think of stuff like scarab beetles and deathwatch beetles, both of which have lots of cool symbolism/lore and cultural meanings irl on stuff like life and death, the cycle, decomposition etc. beetles are also culturally important in Nevarra, where they are prized. lots of households keep them in cages for good luck, and encrusted beetle wings are part of Nevarran decor.

The Crow one is obviously like looking down at a corvid in flight. its head is the top triangular part, but this shape is also known to be worn by Crows as a mask/disguise, and from that perspective the pointy part at the bottom gives the wearer a beaked appearance, masquerade-ball style. the Crows are always watching :>

[thekingofwinterblog]

You know what the most annoying thing about the Twists regarding the Elves in Inquisition was?

That all the twists, if taken on their own, would make for a really good story.

The reveals about Solas backstory and how him and his fellow God Kings rose, became decadent, warred with each other and fell, setting the stage for their transformation into the Old Gods is frankly speaking, some of the best lore that Dragon Age ever had, and lines up really well with how the world is structured while explaining how the Old Gods came to be, how the elves fell, and so on.

That the tevinter imperium when it conquered the nation of Arlathan was not the great imperial state lead by mighty mages their descendants liked to think they were, but instead a bunch of weaklings that needed years and years to take on one, measly city-state that had utterly obliterated itself in civil war.

There is so much great stuff here.

So where did it all go wrong?

The answer, is of course execution.

Inquisition overall is a great game... But man did it drop the ball so hard with the Elves that it's pretty much hard to believe that they will be able to tell a nuanced story about them in Dread Wolf.

Everything from the companions, to the world itself as the game presents , to retcons regarding mages that's there, not to tell a story about the elves, but to try and make the Templar vs mage conflict grey.

Starting with the companions, we have a great example of coming so, so close to greatness... and then falling right on it's face.

The game has two Elf companions, solas and Sera... and the contrast between them really illustrates the big picture with how incapable Inquisition is with trying to tell a nuanced picture with the elves.

Solas as a character is perfect. Love him or hate him, he is a fully fleshed out character with very clear, defined, understandable motives that makes sense to him.

And most importantly of all, his way of viewing the world is WRONG. The game acknowledges that he is wrong.

The entire story of where dragon age 4 is heading, is all about how the Dread wolf, for all his knowledge and intelligence and genuine virtues, is at the end of the day, a monster, who is willing to see the world burn to restore the Elves magic and immortality.

He is a racist, he is bigoted, and ultimately misguided. Despite all his development with the inquisitor, he does not manage to grow enough as a person that he manages to abandon his genocidal goals. And the game does not pretend othervise.

That is what makes the story of Solas rise to become the big villain of the sequel great.

There is no disconnect between the story, the characters, or the way the game wants us to view solas.

Solas is far, far more bigoted and close-minded than any of the dalish he so despises, and the game ultimately does not pretend othervise.

Which brings us to the opposite end of the elf spectrum with Sera.

Sera is a very disliked character by a lot of people, but by dalish and elf players/fans more than most.

Just like Solas, she is bigoted, racist, and ultimately misguided in her hatred of her fellow elves, whether they be city elves, or Dalish, or ancient elves.

And that frankly, would not be a problem if the game acknowledged that fact. If her character arc was about it, and either how she could not overcome her own issues, or actually managed to grow beyond them, she could have been a great character.

The problem is the fact that the game is not willing to handle this fact head on. Its not willing to come out and portray Sera as just as bigoted against her own kind as Solas is, and to treat this as a flaw.

Instead the game treats her as if her biggest flaw is that she's annoying, and not the fact that in a game that is in many ways about setting up the rise of the dread wolf, she is just as bad as Solas, just from a different origin point.

Sera should have been a mirror to Solas, both from a story point, as well as a thematic one, but unfortunately she is not.

Hell, she doesn't really overcome her racism either. The closest she comes to doing so, is basically burning out on hating the dalish and other elves in trespasser, not admitting she was actually wrong to hate them so much in the first place.

The game does not treat Sera's disdain for other elves and their culture as a problem, and it does not give a dalish inquisitor the option to tell her to go fuck herself on the topic that you are given with Solas if you really desire to do so.

You are given the option of kicking her out of the inquisition, but not actually stand up for the dalish or even city elves the way the player could against Morrigan's flemeth raised cruelty in origins, anders and Fenris obsessions with, and hatred for templars/mages in da2, or solas ideals in inquisition.

And thats a problem that really illustrates the bigger issue with the way Inquisition took what could have been a great story about the Elves and the reveals about their anceators, and frankly ruined it.

The dalish and city elvea were very thouroughly fleshed in both Origins, Awakening and DA2.

However, city elves largely managed to avoid being utterly destroyed by the narrative the way the Dalish were, for the simple reason that outside briala, we don't get much if any interaction with them at all, making them essentially a non show foe the game for the most part. They don't get a city elf inquisitor, and so we have no point of view to look at them from a pc perspective.

They got off much better than the dalish though.

Starting off with the arguably single worst thing in all of DAI is the retcon that Dalish clans, if there is more than two mages in a clan, sends off the third one alone in the wilderness to fend for themselves. This goes against absolutely everything that has ever been established about the Dalish, and worst of all, wasn't even an addition meant to demonize the dalish, instead being an addition to handwave away the obvious fact that the Dalish had a much better system than the human circles when it came to magic... Which in turn was made irrelevant by the fact the Avvar was later shown to have a much better and more effective solution to the possession question anyway.

It was, in essence, a pointless retcon, that overall only made the dalish look bad, and has now opened the door for the idea that most dalish clans acts like this, and will be portrayed so in future games.

Its bad, but unfortunately it was only the start.

The game goes out of its way to portray absolutely every single person who critices the dalish as having a point, that they brought on their own downfalls, even as they are being the most imperialistic, racist assholes imaginable, while the dalish inquisitor can only offer a token of defence for his people, a far cry from way origins allowed you to handle the same situation wheter your main ethnicity was ferelden, mage, city elf, dalish, casteless or dwarven noble.

But nowhere is it worse than the way the game handles the fall of the dales.

Now the actual lore you learn about it, is not bad. At all. I know some complain that the reveals that ameridan(and presumably other elves) worshipped both the creators and the maker, as well as the fact that the dalish unfortunately did have a bad relationahip with the rest of the world, in particular orlais, is bad storytelling, but i firmly disagree.

No the problem is the execution.

Ameridan is not wrong when he says that The Dales should not have distanced itself from the rest of the world, especially not in the face of a blight... But the Dales of his era were in turn not wrong when they argued that the Orlesians were little better than the imperium, and they would be completely right.

This is not a grey issue, its a grey and black issue.

Orlais was, and still is an evil, expansionist empire with 99% of its population living as serfs, that can be raped and beaten at will, little better than slaves.

The dales were the morally right side of the exalted march on the dales. No amount of new lore we learned in inquisition has changed that fact. We simply get the details fleshed out a bit more to add context.

Orlais was going to invade and enslave the elves anyway, as they proved through their actions against all their other, very much fellow Adrastian neighbors.

The problem is that you are not allowed to express this kind of point of view and stick to it like steel.

The characters you meet having the bigoted opinion that the dales ultimately brought on their own fate is NOT a bad thing in and out of itself... the problem is that you are not allowed to challenge that opinion the way you could challenge Lelliana's view of the dalish in origins, or the way you could tell both Anders and fenris to go fuck themselves on their extremist opinions all through da2, and ending that fuck you by killing them in the endgame.

And thats a real shame, because just looking at characters like cassandra's character development through Inquisition, you could easily have made a really compelling narrative put of a dalish inquisitor who stuck by his or her principles, and actually challenged the people they met's racist views on the dalish the way you could in origins, just with a more fleshed out and(unfortunately something way too many people just cannot emote to a character withouth) an actual voice to raise those arguments with.

I do genuinely like Inquisition, and i think it's overall a much better game than DA2... but man did they drop the ball with the elves so hard.

I feel so sorry for anyone who really got invested in the elves as their favorites factions, and i honestly don't think the elves will be handled particularly well in Dread wolf, especially as the only Dalish we are likely to see fleshed out will be the villains fighting for Solas.

[fatehbaz]

taking relentless severe psychic damage from watching several hours of videos of television commercial advertisements from the United States in December 1999.

a world-historical moment, an all-time high peak of self-assured smirking arrogance.

ascendant home computers and internet modems. a new millennium! a time after Cold War but before Nining Leven, with saxophone-playing heads of state and cheery Spielbierg-ian sentimentality attempting to plaster over 1970s/1980s disappointments and hangovers with renewed millennarian End-Of-History optimism.

come celebrate with us! look at these images of The Nation! from sparkling Times Square and the cast of "Friends" in bustling cosmopolitan New York City, to sunny Californian prosperity, to those cartoonish frogs in the quasi-mythical Deep South-ish rural periphery of Budweiser ads, and all the suburban Midwestern Kay's Jeweler's in between! planetary hegemony. "Head east from the Colosseum, across the ruts of chariots, and you'll find an imperial estate built by a second-century Caesar. It's a rough ride. And if the agile and durable Chevy Tracker can handle these ancient roads, driving back home will be a walk in the park. Chevy Tracker: It Gets Around!"

or perhaps "our" power extends beyond this terrestrial imperium, into space, conquering the stars. UFOs; space aliens; The X-Files; Independence Day; Space Jam; Men in Black; the Phoenix Lights; Coast to Coast AM on the radio; Space Command in Colorado Springs.

the anxious fragility belied by the desperate constant promotion of an almost religious dedication to recognizable icons.

talking chihuahuas, marketing jingles, annual football game events. self-referential circular cross-promotion maelstrom.

"An all-new holiday spectacular, a Christmas special destined to become a family classic! With music from REM's Michael Stipe, voiced by Ally McBeal's Peter MacNicol, and starring Drew Barrymore! It's Olive the Other Reindeer! At 8/7 Central Fox Friday!"

trying to insist that this "classic" cultural iconography binds us. it has always lived in your heart. fabricating in real-time a supposedly shared history, insisting on this "reality" even at the moment of its very creation. hammering away at the soul.

Daffy Duck saunters in and pronounces: "Eat your way into the new millennium with this 'gigundo' party sub from Subway!"

why aren't you smiling?

[sleepyfan-blog]

Window Conversation

Author’s Note: This is the next in Cedric’s adventures in Ancient Terra. First. Previous.

Tagged: @egrets-not-regrets @the-pure-angel @kit-williams

Warnings: none? Ask me to tag, if something makes you uncomfortable

Summary: Cedric is grounded from exploring the human city he’s in, so he is content to look out a window and people watch. He’s approached by a Salamander Scout Captain and they chat.

Cedric stared longingly out of the window of the base that he'd been confined to for the past week and a half, as part of his punishment for dealing with the heretics... Allied Heretics, rudely. The fact that there were allied heretics was... It was wrong. It was against much of what he had been taught.  It had been the forces of chaos that had killed untold trillions of innocents and corrupting ten times as many during the Horus Heresy, and the many Black Crusades that had followed. Chaos had created the Cicatrix Maledictum that split the galaxy in half, corrupted half of the Holy Primarchs and killing all but one of the Loyal Primarchs. Those Chaos-tainted Primarchs were some of the most dangerous threats still existing against the Imperium.

He had been reminded by one of the Chaplains he was working under to Atone for his rudeness of how few Marines were on Ancient Terra, of the few resources that any of them had, and the fractious nature of the human nation-states who ruled Ancient Terra. He'd been shown proof of all of this, and that even the most chaos-corrupted Marines who were allied with the Loyalists on Ancient Tera had a better grip of their unholy instincts and bastardized natures... Particularly after they had been Bonded with a human. No one would give him a good explanation as to what a Bond was, only that he would Know when or if he would find his human to bond with.. That these bonds domesticated the twisted parodies that the chaos marines had become. 

Cedric couldn't muster up the Faith to believe that all of that was possible. That all of the groxshit that had been so earnestly fed to him by several Loyal older brothers wasn't some insidious Chaotic plot to get them to lower their guard in order to fuck them over and slaughter them all while taking over Ancient Terra... To ensure that the Imperium of Man never rose, or if it did, The Imperium would be a bastion of Chaos and misery, rather than of Order and the Emperor's Light. He didn't want to believe that the loyalists had been fooled so completely...

But to try to begin to believe all of this - that the chaos astartes who had allied with the loyalists weren't plotting to stab them all in the back the moment that they felt that they had gotten everything that they wanted out of this arrangement made his head and his hearts hurt.  The very thought that loyalist and chaos astartes could peacefully coexist with one another... It was almost enough to drive Cedric to madness.

Or to incredible, bloody violence. 

Especially against those smug, prancing, gaudy purple Slaaneshi bastards. Cedric could see several of them dancing around the humans who were walking amongst them, fearless. Unaware that they were being exposed to beings whose very presence was corrosive and toxic and -

"Cedric, are you glaring at random people out the window and growling again?" Ash'val asked, the Salamander looking at him in a very judgmental manner when Cedric managed to drag his eyes away from the Slaaneshi Bastards.

Rude. Not that the young Apothecary would speak up against the well-loved and deeply respected Scout captain. He blinked at the other and took a breath, realizing that he had been making a low, rumbling sound in his chest and stopped the sound from continuing before he managed out "I... Uhm... I didn't mean to growl? I... I just..." Fuck, where did his words go? He had a perfectly reasonable explanation for his vigilant watchfulness moments ago... Cedric found himself unable to look the older space marine in the eye, bowing his head a little to avoid the other's gaze.

"You seem to have a particular problem with Slaaneshi Marines." Ash'val noted. The scout captain reached out slowly and placed a reassuring hand on one of Cedric's shoulders "You've gone through a lot of changes in a very short period of time and been given a lot of information that would... Be seen as impossible at best, or heretical nonsense worthy of execution after a visit from the Inquisition at worst. But shoving your nose to a window and growling at random marines wandering by isn't going to help you adjust to all of these changes. And I imagine that you're starting to get pretty restless being stuck inside all day with little to do, other than training and chores."

"I... I understand why I've been confined to base, sir." Cedric answered, shuffling his feet a little. The stern reprimand that he'd gotten from his rude behavior towards both chaos marines and how his hostility could put the tentative alliance between the loyalists and the chaos warbands at risk still rung in his ears a week and a half later.... And one of the last things he wanted to do while planetside on a beautiful and peaceful day like this was stay inside and do fuck-all when there was a forest an easy three-hour jog from here where Cedric was pretty sure he could go hunting and foraging for fresh food, rather than the nutrient pastes that while nutritious, weren't nearly as satisfying as a meal made with fresh ingredients. But until he could prove that he could handle interacting with Filthy Chaotic Traitors without resorting to unprovoked violence within five minutes... Not just that, but he could not show any outward sings of hostility when interacting with Filthy Chaotic Traitors, including a change in scent. "... I am still fairly certain that I was being... Cordial. At least to the World Eater. I didn't threaten him or his human once, nor did I try to harm either of them - not that I would have struck out at the child unless forced to... I do admit that I did restrain the Slaaneshi sc-... Marine, but that was for the health and safety of everyone in the building. The poison he was dripping from his hands is incredibly dangerous and corruptive at a soul-deep level."

Ash'val hummed a little before lifting the hand on Cedric's shoulder to ruffle his hair "This is true, however you should have explained to Elam why you were taping jars to his hands... What you did was tackle him to the ground and tape jars to his hands while refusing to explain until one of the other Apothecaries asked you why you'd done it. And you kept Elam in a headlock until directly ordered to let him go by our head apothecary. Emperor's Children - and Elam in particular - tend to be cooperative with Apothecaries and he was being on his best behavior."

"The last time before I met this... Elam, where Slaaneshi worshippers were wielding that particularly potent poison, I lost a squad brother, and my chapter lost dozens of Battle Brother to that poison. And we were fighting against baseline human Slaaneshi worshippers. I shudder to think how much damage an Astartes Slaaneshi worshipper with a possibly endless supply of The Poison of Vainglory could do. He was a clear and present threat and even then, I used a minimal amount of force in containment of such a threat." Cedric huffed, scowling at the floor, crossing his arms over his chest defensively. He knew that if he... Capitulated to... Apologizing to the Slaaneshi Marine for the way he had handled him, his time grounded in the base would be halved - or at least, that is what he had been promised.

But the very thought of doing so, of betraying his brothers' memories like that... Comiting such a sin against the God Emperor and the Imperium was more than what the Primaris Black Templar could bear. He'd been told that things her on ancient Terra were very different... But the very thought of apologizing was enough to make him physically ill. So he was going to patiently and penitently wait out the time that he had been sentenced to in the base without complained. He trained when allowed, helped keep things tidy (It was part of his punishment, actually. To aid in the maintenance of the base and the cleanliness... To cook in the kitchens, as well as other similar tasks. He wasn't sure why they were part of his punishment, but he certainly wasn't going to complain. He was surprised that he hadn't been beaten or whipped, for the amount of lecturing he'd gotten for his misconduct against allied chaos Space marines. It felt strange, and like an oversight, but Cedric wasn't going to complain about it, either).

"How would you feel if someone tackled and pined you to the floor because of the very health symptom you were seeking treatment for?" The Salamander Scout Captain prodded.

Cedric tilted his head a little in confusion. He was baffled by this. The young apothecary had heard that Firstborn Salamanders were soft-touches, but this was one of the questions that had One Correct Answer, and to misspeak was a trap. He answered earnestly "I would submit to anything that was being done to me without struggle or complaint, sir, as whoever did that has good reasoning to do as what they are doing, and to struggle would mean that I am fighting treatment, sir." Which means long hours of repentance at best, after the treatment was concluded at best... At worst fighting treatment - especially when one was clearly tainted by Chaos meant that he would be culled and sent to the Emperor's side before the Chaos could corrupt his soul further. The Mechanicum - and his older Black Templar brothers had both made that very clear during his training with them. "Provided, of course, the person doing the tackling and treatment is a loyalist, of course. Otherwise I would fight to free myself."

"Even if you were worried that this other loyalist may be tryign to hurt or kill you?" Ash'val asked, a complicated series of emotions flashing across the older marine's face before settling on concern for reasons Cedric couldn't begin to guess.

"If I have committed a sin, or breach of conduct, or was exposed to something that was corrupting me, or could potentially corrupt me, yes. I would still submit to treatment, if I was in full command of my senses. The Slaaneshi poisons alter one's mind, as well as body, as well as certain Nurglite diseases and Tzeenchian curses. And of course, The Infectious Rages of Khorne." Cedric responded, knowing the Correct Response to this question as well. Not that he didn't mean what he was saying as well. "Even if I was unaware of what crime or sin I committed, or if I did not know what I had recently encountered was so corrupting."

"I... I see. A large part of your training involved adherence to orders, I am guessing? apart from your combat and medical training." The scout captain asked. The older marine's face was free of emotion, but his voice was strangely shaky.

"Yes sir. Obeying orders is important, no matter one's personal feelings on the orders given to them." Cedric answered earnestly. Orders were to be obeyed, though were also subject to change. Especially on the battlefield where preliminary orders - like plans - went to die as soon as contact with the enemy was made.

:"Oh. Okay. I've got another question for you: are you a Primaris Marine?" The Salamander Scout captain asked, looking oddly intense as he asked it. "You're one of a handful of known Primaris Marines in this era, if you are. And by whom were you trained?"

"As with all Primaris Marines so far in my tie period, I was strictly trained by the Adeptus Mechanicus. They told me that I trained on Mars, specifically in their Astartes gene-labs." Cedric answered honestly. Disobedience had been harshly punished by both the Mechanicus and his Black Templar older brothers, though in different ways. The punishments here were much lighter and easier to handle. Not that Cedric intended on misbehaving to the point of testing their mercy He wasn't trying to cause problems... Though that never mattered to the Mechanicus or the Black Templars... And the Astartes here had given him more leeway than he'd ever been given. It was making Cedric nervous as to what might happen if he found the end of these marines' patience for misconduct.

"Ah. The... The mechanicus operates in a very specific way, and though what they do works for them... As for we Astartes... We are supposed to be trained in a different matter. Not that you're wrong for behaving for how you've been taught, given that I'm guessing that no one's really gone over our expectations for marines staying with us." Ash'val mused, looking Cedric over assessingly. "Follow me to my office. We're going to talk about what expectations you've been working under, and I'll explain in detail the rules of the base and for allied astartes, that way you're not tripped up by anything."

"Yes sir." Cedric responded, giving the Salamander a salute, obediently following after him.

[dalekofchaos]

Context

Context for choice 3.

Here is what I mean about The New Republic and The First Order.

What happens after you win a war? How do you not make the same mistakes or become the thing you fought. What happens in a power vacuum? The New Republic should have been the dominant emerging power, and the Remnant should have been a small, secretive, unknown order, striking strategically from the Unknown Regions where they hid, and causing fear and panic to spread in the NR. After the Galactic Civil War, The New Republic commanders the Imperial Fleet and starts protecting systems who join the NR, all while chasing down and fighting any of the Remnants (Moffs, Warlords, Crime Lords, etc) who have grabbed power in the resulting vacuum. We could have seen an evolution of ships from Old Republic to Empire to NR ones. They could have renamed Star Destroyers into Star Defenders. Hell, they could have had a Republic of independent systems, each with their own sizable military, so that power isn’t centralized.

But no, instead of telling an interesting story, we are force fed the recycled poorly written rehashed Rebels vs Empire and the Rebels are made to be weaker than The First Order. The First Order are a terrorist movement, they should not be reigning after Hosnian Prime’s destruction, ESPECIALLY AFTER LOSING STARKILLER BASE!

Choice 4. Here is how I would give Kylo Ren motivation as to why Ben Solo fell and his main motivation as Kylo Ren.

Choice 6. I don't think there was absolutely no need for a Palpatine clone and eventually Palpatine himself(🙄) we all knew what was happening around the time this trilogy was being made. Trump. Base Snoke around the mango Mussolini and his lunatic fringe followers. An Alt-Right cult leader who cultivates the worst people imaginable. All The First Order needed to be was pointing out The New Republic brought the galaxy to an age of scum and villainy. A lawless state that usurped the rightful rulers that brought law and order. Basically "Make the Galaxy great again with Imperial Greatness"

You see, originally Lucas was going to make Palpatine JUST a politician and base him around Richard Nixon.

“George Lucas has spoken on various occasions of the way that the Nixon administration and the Vietnam war had an important influence on how he shaped the plot of the early films in the saga. The impact that these two events had an American in the 1970s started him thinking about the ways in which democracies can sale and how they deteriorating to dictatorships when corruption goes unchecked. He’s quoted as saying that Nixon - Who he viewed as having subverted the Senate and as acting an increasingly imperialistic way - what is the direct inspiration for Emperor Palpatine the supreme leader of the evil Empire in the first Star Wars trilogy”

So I don't see why they couldn't do something similar with the CLEAR FUCKING EVIL going on in the world at the time this trilogy was being made. No Sith master was needed.

In this scenario, I would call The First Order, The Imperium

Now you might have questions. What about the Stormtroopers and Kylo?

Stormtroopers? Don’t abduct kids, nationalize and recruit them willingly. Abducting children and training them to be Stormtroopers instantly made The First Order out to be cartoonishly evil from the start. So what do you do instead? Use propaganda. Nationalize them. Make them believe The Empire was right and convince them that the life of a Stormtrooper will help bring order in a chaotic galaxy. We’ve seen cults do something similar, Far Right Wing groups do it and we’ve seen Trump radicalize and nationalize white supremacists, so it’s not impossible for The First Order to do the logical thing.

Finn only leaves because he sees they are murdering unarmed civilians and chooses to leave. He is an example that it isn't too late to leave harmful fringe cult movements.

So how would Ben turn in this scenario? He's radicalized by Snoke. Ben starts hearing passionate speeches in the senate and Ben is moved. "I know he opposes my mother, but he's making a lot of sense" "He's right, we need to bring order to the galaxy" and Ben is radicalized by this Imperium movement and what he believes is Snoke's righteous cause. To Snoke, Ben represents everything great about the Empire. Snoke collects Sith Holocrons and uses the holocrons to turn Ben Solo into Kylo Ren.

In this scenario, I wouldn't redeem Ben. He is far too gone. He's committed atrocities in Snoke's name, for The Imperium and to bring order to the galaxy. While Finn represents those who could break away from Right Wing movements and Cults. Kylo Ren is far too gone, he's radicalized to the point where he's a die hard believer like Hux and Phasma and he's willing to fight and die for this indoctrination.

Choice 11. The Episode IX rewrite with Ben living and Reylo ending

Choice 12. The original plan for the Sequel Trilogy was to just get three young directors together to direct the Sequel Trilogy. It was supposed to be JJ, Rian and Colin Trevorrow, but Colin's IX was bad and his Jurassic World trilogy was terrible. So I would make either Matt Reves or Greta Gerwig as the director for Episode IX and ideally they would plan the trilogy out together instead of JJ setting up Mystery Boxes and expecting Rian and others open said mystery boxes and Rian subverting expectations.

[exhausted-archivist]

So I'm working on drawing food for the headnotes of the recipes I've concepted out and haven't tested or fully worked out the kinks. I want to post something to celebrate The Veilguard drop, especially something I can queue up because I will be avoiding you all and the spoilers for at least a week haha.

The poll is below and the recipe headnotes are below the cut if you want an idea of what I'm working with.

Boiled Eggs and Pine Nuts Sauce (Appetizer) A simple and delightful dish one would not particularly expect from a nation of opulence such as Tevinter. A sweet dish with the perfect touch of zing, nutty, and savory notes, while holding a compelling contrast of being both crunchy and soft.

Deepstalker Stew (Soup/Stew) An uncommon meal, one that most won’t serve outside the appeal for an ‘exotic’ dish or in times of desperation. This stew is more often one to be consumed should you be stuck in the Deep Roads or an isolated cave. Not, at a tavern when one has been on the road for several days. It should be noted that depending on where you’re capturing these cave-dwelling creatures will dictate the taste. Many of the accounts I have heard from the Legionnaires describe the taste and texture akin to chicken. Whereas if you catch them near water sources they garner a fishy taste with the texture of chicken. But, this stew is simple in and of itself. Usually with very little substance aside from the meat and whatever edible additions you can forage for. In this recipe we have tried to enhance it with herbs, potatoes, and salt.

Braised Nug with Elfroot (Savory) This salty, aromatic dish melts in your mouth with its tenderness. Nug is a common and popular dish for Orzammar dwarves. One that lingers in some surface communities with a twist of new herbs and spices. Though humble is the nug and elfroot, this meal is filling and delightful in its own right.

Exquisite Misery (Dessert) The Orlesians are nothing if not indulgent and extravagant. From wyverns to phoenixes, Orlesians have a tendency to play chance with their lives for whatever element of decadence is in the trends. While deep mushrooms are perhaps the least lethal thing one can consume, I do advise avoiding eating too many of these little cakes. That said, should one partake and find that they are able to get past the musky, earthy flavor; these can be quite a treat. Fluffy, soft, and a touch sweet, it is a dessert I find best to consume after a rather savory or spicy meal.

Roasted Fiddleheads and Leeks with Goat Cheese (Vegetable) A dish available during only a few short weeks in the spring, fiddleheads have a delightful crunch from the roasting as well as their natural snap. They have a sweet, but not quite grassy taste to them almost akin to beans and asparagus. When paired with the sweet, caramelized flavour of the leeks and the creamy, tartness of your favourite goat cheese. It pairs well with a protein or on a bed of grains.

Seasoned Mussels (Seafood) The exact origins of this dish are unknown, given that Antiva, Rivain, and Tevinter hold strong ties to their coastal waters and each have several versions of how to make this dish. Most scholars declare it was Tevinter in origin due to the age of the Imperium, but the question then lies what area of the Imperium and when? The version I have crafted is a blend of Antivan and Rivaini flavours, as I prefer the shellfish off their coastlines to those of Tevinter. A rich dish that can be eaten with a fine pasta or spread over a bed of rice.

[walkingbomb]

DRAGON AGE TIMELINE:

This uses the Chantry calendar, which measures time in "Ages." Each age lasts one hundred years; the current age is the Dragon Age, the ninth since the founding of the Chantry, which marked the beginning of the Chantry calendar. Anything prior to 1:01 Divine is known as the Ancient Era and denoted using negative numbers, counted backwards: the year immediately preceding 1:01 Divine (the first year of the first named Age) is -1 Ancient, the year before that is -2 Ancient, and so on. The Chantry calendar doesn't have a year zero.

Many dates given in the Ancient Era are rough estimates taken from various DA sources, to be taken with a pinch of salt. Will likely be continually edited and updated.

This is a LONG post. You've been warned!

-7600 Ancient: Arlathan, fabled city of the elves, was founded. Elvhen cities existed before this, spread across Thedas and through the fade.

-4600 Ancient: Dwarves & Elves make first contact

-3100 Ancient: Arrival of humans to Thedas, settling in what would become known as Tevinter

-2800 Ancient: The Old Gods begin whispering to the humans, teaching them magic, faith in them becomes widespread

-1595 Ancient: Thalsian declares himself First Priest of Dumat, first blood mage and dreamer- he is given credit for further popularising worship of the Old Gods by establishing temples, and creating the mage ruling class of Tevinter.

-1200 Ancient: Humans and dwarves create first alliance between early Tevinter and Kal-Sharok

-1195 Ancient: Tevinter Imperium founded

-981 Ancient: Tevinter Imperium declares war on the elves, rallying their forces towards Arlathan

-975 Ancient: Tevinter Magisters supposedly used blood magic to sink Arlathan into the ground, ensuring their conquest of the elves. Surviving elves are enslaved.

-715 Ancient: Tevinter begins a campaign to subjugate Alamarri tribes in Ferelden

-620 Ancient: Tevinter establishes Emerius (now known as Kirkwall), across the sea from the Alamarri as a slave trade hub

-395 Ancient: A group of Tevinter magisters enter the Golden City. First Blight begins, led by Archdemon (and Old God) Dumat

-305 Ancient: The Grey Wardens are formed at Weisshaupt

-203 Ancient: Dumat is slain by Grey Wardens, first blight is conquered. Andraste is born.

-180 Ancient: Andraste declares war (the first Exalted March) against the Tevinter Imperium, unifying the barbarian tribes of the South

-171 Ancient: The Imperium's elven slaves, lead by Shartan, join Andraste's fight against Tevinter

-170 Ancient: Andraste dies- Maferath (Andraste's husband) betrays her, allowing her to be captured and put to death by the Tevinter Imperium

-165 Ancient: Maferath grants land (The Dales) to the elves that joined in the war against the Imperium. Those that make it in 'The Long Walk' from Tevinter, found the city of Halamshiral.

-160 Ancient: Hessarian (who had Andraste put to death by fire) converts to the Chant of Light and declares Tevinter an Andrastian nation

1:01 Divine Age: Justinia I made first Divine, Orelesian Chantry is officially established.

1:05 Divine: Second Blight begins, led by Archdemon Zazikel

1:95 Divine: Archdemon slain by Grey Wardens at Starkhaven, second blight ends.

2:10 Glory Age: Orlais declares war (the Exalted March of the Dales) on the elves after years of mounting tensions.

2:20 Glory: Orlais conquers Halamshiral in their Exalted March. Orlais claims the Dales and forbids the worship of elven gods, forcing elves to convert to the Maker and live in alienages within human cities. Those elves that refused and escaped became the nomadic Dalish elves.

3:10 Towers Age: Third Blight begins lead by Toth

3:25 Towers: Archdemon defeated by Grey Wardens at Hunter Fell, third Blight ends

3:87 Towers: Chantry Schism- After years of tension, Orelesian Chantry declares Tevinter as heretics as they refuse to amend the Chant of Light. Valhail I named first Imperial (Black) Divine of Tevinter

5:12 Exalted Age: Fourth Blight begins, lead by Archdemon Andoral

5:24 Exalted: Archdemon slain by Grey Wardens at Ayesleigh, fourth Blight ends

6:30 Steel Age: Qunari first arrive in Thedas in warships, landing in and conquering Par Vollen

6:32 Steel: Qunari ships land en masse in Seheron and northern Rivain, marking the beginning of the Qunari Wars. Seheron and a portions of the Imperium, Rivain and Antiva are conquered in the next 10 years, with efforts to begin attacks on the Free Marches too. Minrathous remains besieged but unconquered.

7:25 Storm Age: The New Exalted Marches are declared by both the Imperium and Orelesian Chantries to retake Seheron and Rivain from the Qunari- three Marches are declared over the next 60 years.

7:84 Storm: The third New Exalted March ends- envoys from all human lands (except Tevinter) and the Qunari meet to sign the Llomerryn Accord, hostilities cease and lands are redistributed. Tevinter refuses to sign, so hostilities between them and the Qunari persist.

8:24 Blessed Age: Orlais orders the Invasion of Ferelden, Denerim is conquered by 8:44 Blessed and Orlais occupies Ferelden until the Dragon Age.

9:00/2 Dragon Age: Ferelden is reclaimed by rebel forces lead by Prince Maric, Loghain Mac Tir and Rowan Guerrin

9:06/7 (?) Dragon: Hawke is born

9:30 Dragon: Fifth Blight begins, lead by Archdemon Urthemiel. The Battle of Ostagar (start of Origins) takes place. The Hawke family flees Lothering for Kirkwall after the battle is unsuccessful.

9:31 Dragon: Archdemon is slain at the Battle of Denerim by Grey Wardens, fifth Blight ends. Events of Awakening take place. Hawke finds the lyrium idol in a deep roads expedition to a pre-first Blight thaig.

9:32 Dragon: Events in Witch Hunt takes place- the Warden confronts Morrigan in front of the eluvian

9:34 Dragon: Hawke is declared Champion of Kirkwall by Knight-Commander Meredith Standard, for repelling a Qunari invasion

9:37 Dragon: Events of Legacy take place- Hawke inadvertently frees Corypheus from his prison. Anders destroys the Kirkwall chantry, sparking the Kirkwall rebellion, and further mage rebellions across Thedas. Hawke flees Kirkwall

9:40 Dragon: Orelesian civil war (AKA War of the Lions) breaks out. College of Enchanters votes to separate from the Chantry. Circles of Magi are dissolved. Solas awakens

9:41 Dragon: Conclave is called at the Temple of Sacred Ashes to bring an end to the Mage-Templar war, disrupted by Corypheus, resulting in the creation of the Breach and the death of the leaders at the conclave, including Divine Justinia (start of Inquisition). The Inquisitor/Herald of Andraste leads the newly reformed Inquisition against Corypheus to seal the Breach. Inquisitor resolves Orelesian civil war.

9:42 Dragon: Events of Jaws of Hakkon and The Descent take place. Inquisitor discovers a living Titan. The Inquisition defeats Corypheus at the Temple of Sacred Ashes and seals the Breach. Divine Victoria is elected.

9:44 Dragon: Events of Trespasser take place- Inquisitor attends the Exalted Council to decide the Inquisition's fate. A Qunari plot to destroy southern Thedas' nobility during the council meeting is foiled by the Inquisition and agents of Fen'harel. The anchor, along with the Inquisitor's left forearm is removed by Solas, who disappears through an eluvian. The Inquisition is disbanded.

9:52 Dragon: The events of Veilguard begin...

[velnat004]

Hi! I love the idea of Turkish qunari, I was wondering if you'd be willing to share your headcanons about them? No pressure, I just think it's a fun concept to explore!

DISCLAIMER: This is not a meta but rather just self-indulgent stuff, if you headcanon the qunari as a different ethnicity OR have a non-qunari oc that is turkish-coded,  that’s completely fine by me!

“Before their arrival in Thedas, the aforementioned race were once a part of the kossith that predated the Qun. The earliest known kossith contact with Thedas was when a colony of them had settled in the southern Korcari Wilds in -410 Ancient. It was overrun by darkspawn during the First Blight, and it is presumably this colony which led to the darkspawn developing ogres. There were no other recorded sightings of the horned race for another 1000 years.

They returned as the Qunari en masse on warships, called dreadnoughts, and arrived in Thedas from the north in 6:30 Steel. It's said that they originate from an unknown eastern land across the Boeric Ocean. Some scholars theorize that the Qunari come from the supposed eastern continent known as Amaranth.[20] They once threatened to conquer all of the known world, but after several Exalted Marches during the Qunari Wars they have lost much of the conquered land. Since then, peace has been made since with every nation except the Tevinter Imperium; with whom they are still involved in a prolonged war for dominance of the north.” (https://dragonage.fandom.com/wiki/Qunari)

Turkish history extends back thousands of years before the founding of the Turkish Republic in 1923. Turks, originally a nomadic people from Central Asia, established several empires, including the Seljuk Empire and later the Ottoman Empire, which was founded in Anatolia by Turkish ruler Osman in 1299. The Ottomans took Constantinople in 1453 and became a dominant world power encompassing Anatolia, the Maghreb in North Africa, southeastern Europe, parts of the Arabian Peninsula and Persian  Gulf, modern day Iraq, and portions of the Caucasus. Consequently, the Ottoman Empire had a religiously and ethnically diverse population. Ottoman loss of territory starting in the 17th century prompted constitutional, educational, and military reforms to begin in the late 18th century. However, due to fragmentation of national groups within the empire, slow economic and technological progress, and the Ottomans’ ill-fated alliance with Germany, the empire collapsed at the end of World War I. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who had risen to prominence as a war hero in the Battle of Gallipoli (Gallipoli Campaign, (February 1915–January 1916), in World War I, an Anglo-French operation against Turkey, intended to force the 38-mile- (61-km- [https://www.britannica.com/event/Gallipoli-Campaign]) long Dardanelles channel and to occupy Constantinople., subsequently united disparate Turkish forces against the foreign occupation of Turkish lands and in favour of national sovereignty. (https://www.tc-america.org/issues-information/turkish-history-28.htm)

-----------------------------------

"The Qunari do not have a concept of personal identity. While they possess names, they do not use them, primarily using titles rather than names to identify and present themselves. The names are in fact simply strings of genealogical information used only by the Tamassrans for record-keeping. Some of the name-titles include Sten, Arishok, and Tallis. However, they do make frequent use of nicknames."

Before that, Turks, as well as other ethnicities living in the Ottoman Empire, had no surname. People were addressed with titles like "hadji" (pilgrim), "hodja" (teacher), "agha" (master), "pasha" (general), "hafiz" (someone who have completely memorized the Qur'an), "lady/madam" and so on.  (https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/surname-law-a-profound-change-in-turkish-history)

-----------------------------------

"The Qunari call outsiders bas ("thing") and consider them unfortunate beings who, however, have a potential to grow if the Qun's wisdom is imparted to them.The best an outsider can hope for amongst the Qunari is to be considered a basalit-an, "worthy of respect"; a basalit-an is a worthy foe, and one that can be negotiated with to an extent, but still bas regardless."

Giaour/Gavur (a Turkish adaptation of the Persian gâwr or gōr, an infidel), a word used by the Turks to describe all who are not Mohammedans, with especial reference to Christians. The word, first employed as a term of contempt and reproach, has become so general that in most cases no insult is intended in its use; for example in parts of China, the term foreign devil has become void of offence. A strict analogy to giaour is found in the Arabic kafir, or unbeliever, which is so commonly in use as to have become the proper name of peoples and countries. (https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Giaour)

---------

Aside from the historical jazz, the word "Kadaan" sounds and translates similar to "Kalbim" in Turkish <:

Kadan: Literally, "where the heart lies;" friend. An all-purpose word for a "person one cares about," including colleagues, friends and loved ones. Also means "the center of the chest."

Kalbim : "My heart" in Turkish, an endearment word

i couldn't find her reply under one of my posts but @loghainderolo mentioned that Seheron is the Thedas equalevent of Cyprus

Thank u for the ask! :D

[grandparomeaskblog]

Imperium Romanum Bros

Rome / Romulus

full name: Tullus Lupercius Romulus

profession: retired empire

highest military position: Optio Centuriae to Hastatus Prior

(2nd in command to the 5th Centurio, thus in charge of 150 men aged 20-25 of the elite troops of the first cohort)

highest military decoration: Civic Crown

marriage status: unmarried

alignment: lawful neutral

nationality: former Roman, now stateless

residence: no fixed abode

height: 1.64 m / 5'4

appearant age: 28

Religion: Roman Catholic officially, more traditional pagan actually

Transportation: he walks mostly

Favourite clothes: loose fitted styles mostly, shorts, armani jeans, sweatpants, sandals, loafers

favourite colours: white, lavender, reds

sports: F1, chariot racing (team white!!!)

fav food: Take out, cheap beers or expense wines, lotta fish sauce or ketchup, snickers

dreamjob: plasterer

Hobbies: watching sports, walking, hitting the gym, drawing (botanical stuff mainly)

Constantinople / Dinos (Ντίνος) / Rûm (Ῥώμη)

fullname: Kōnstantînos Hatzikaratheodoris

(Κωνσταντίνος Χατζηkαραθεοδωρή)

profession: representative of the Rûm

highest official position: senator

marriage status: widower (to Iullia)

alignment: lawful evil

nationality: Turkish (That's what his passport says. Ha Ha loser!)

residence: Istanbul (Not Constantinople)

height: 1.67 m / 5'5

appearant age: 45

Religion: Greek Orthodox

Transportation: Public transport. He sold his car to be more climate neutral, he does own an electric bike.

Food/drinks/drugs: He has a bit of a sweet tooth. He tries to stick to vegan foods. His favourite treat is a magnum almond, they do sell a vegan version, but he buys the regular as a guilty pleasure! He was an alcoholic but quit drinking after Greece died. He has experimented a lot with drugs. He smokes sigarets and tries to quit three times a year.

Favourite clothes: tailor made suits

taste in jewellery: gold and gems, chains, earrings, watches, rings

favourite colours: purple and blues

description of home: three story apartment with a view to the Bosporus. It's stuffed with books and numbered boxes because he is a hoarder. Only the ground level is tidy enough to have guests over. His furniture is old fashioned but decent, built to last and stylish.

Funfacts: hobbies include beatboxing, making counterfeit money&documents, restoration of old books/art, writing poetry. He is a conspiracy theorist.

Pet: thaleia, the straycat

Music: He plays a Cello he named 'me julie'

[mangofresca]

anachronism

He’s handsy. More than anything he had been expecting, Romano is handsy, and Portugal does not need to be any sort of psychologist or poet to understand why. What catches him, though—and what he often spends his time considering—is the when, that variable shift from companionable air to congenial leading, amicable to insinuative to bold, before settling somewhere in the vicinity of amatory caressing.

He’s handsy, and Portugal, within his own personal revelations, likes it more than he tolerates it, indulges in it more than he expected, revels in it more frequently than he is willing to count.

And this, he knows, is Romano’s biggest fantasy, the thing that makes him hot and flushed and brazen, steadfast and sure beneath hands that have long since lost their hesitation. For all his blustering and posturing, Romano only ever cared for that which left him unsure, and Portugal understands in his own way, even relates to a certain degree. He expected it and he hadn’t.

It’s a truth that existed long before their paths wove themselves together so intrinsically, bonded in gold and sweetly-scented lavender, one that would exist long after their time in each other’s presence diverged, a truth that was laid out so plainly before him that he all but tripped and fell into it when he actually allowed himself to look. A truth Portugal could pluck from the skies of Alqueva and Lecce, shimmering like stars embedded in the outskirts of unwavering constellations, glittering fantastically before his eyes—a skittish, despairing, lonely truth.

Romano wants to be wanted. Not coveted nor revered nor exalted. Romano wants to be wanted, and Portugal, for reasons that dawned on him slowly at first then entirely all-encompassingly, wants him.

The notion of acting on this newly unearthed want had once been wholly at odds with Portugal’s nature. Romano has long existed within a sphere beyond Portugal’s notice, purview, and grasp, and he never cared to make any motion to extend his interest into that particular area of his brother’s imperium.

The nature of nations, Portugal knows, is that they are bonded to their people first and foremost. The nature of immortals, though, is that they are bonded to each other beyond what any human could ever conceivably fathom. As beings who live in the nebulous middle, their lives are only ever dictated by flux and wavering posture. All the more reason, then, he muses, to understand each other.

He knows Romano would laugh at the very thought of it, of being understood, of understanding those who have only ever burned his bridges. But—or so Portugal likes to believe—that was why they differed: he hadn’t intended to try, and Romano certainly hadn’t intended to deliver. To Romano’s endless annoyance and even more infinite delight, Portugal doesn’t care if he fails. This pleases him, and Romano, in return, gives, because nothing is expected of him and every gift, every action, every physical admiration is received like it’s all Portugal wants, with no expectation of other.

And maybe, Portugal wonders, just maybe, it is.

It’s a small thing, only a tease, a tempt with none of the promise, but as they leave their table from a shared lunch one blinding, blistering afternoon, Romano reaches behind him, pulls the hand from Portugal’s pocket, and places it on the small of his back, beneath the flutter of his pristine suit jacket. His eyes flick over his shoulder, and Portugal is already watching, already receiving, delighted in that way he gets when he makes a particularly good dig or catches an underhanded comment, revelry adorned in equanimity.

Portugal lets his lips turn up into a smile, hand pressing just that much more against Romano’s back, thumb tracing the line of his spine, and Romano grins at him, the keeper of a secret he doesn’t know he’s already shared.

Romano wants to be wanted. Portugal wants to try.