#Leadership Training Predictions

[pragatileadershipindia]

2024 and Beyond: Trends in Employee Leadership Training

Employee burnout and stress are not new and have existed for years. Loss of composure and focus, and unproductivity are some indicators of burnout spreading across modern businesses.

Burnout is a state of physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion resulting from excessive stress. It is a gradual process and may be challenging to address and identify at an early stage. Burnout and stress can lead to anxiety, depression, and other disorders.

To manage and prevent burnout, organizations must prioritize employee well-being. This includes offering support and other resources to enable their people to manage stress. The organizational environment must promote work-life balance and offer opportunities for their development and growth.

Symptoms of Employee Burnout

Cynical attitude towards coworkers, workers, and the entire organization

Emotional tiredness due to feelings of frustration and emptiness

Increased irritability resulting in annoyance and dissatisfaction

Depressive symptoms like loss of interest, hopelessness, and sorrow

Health issues and decline in performance due to physical ailments resulting in gaps in their performance

Reasons for Employee Burnout and Stress

Excessive workload without adequate resources and support may result in disorientation disrupting work-life balance and mental health

Disengaged employees feel helpless and detached as they don’t have any autonomy and decision-making power

Employees who feel unappreciated or undervalued are less motivated resulting in burnout and stress

Unclear job responsibilities can be draining and demotivating as people don’t understand what is expected of them

Effective communication is important and when this doesn’t happen, it can result in conflicts thereby increasing employee stress and burnout as employees may feel unsupported and isolated

Strategies to Manage Employee Burnout and Stress

Companies can adopt several strategies that effectively reduce employee burnout and stress. Some of these include:

Encouraging Work-Life Balance

People struggling to achieve a balance in their work and personal lives are often easily stressed and burnt out. Companies may offer flexible working hours, remote working, and additional benefits like vacation days to encourage work-life balance and reduce burnout.

Fostering a Support Organizational Culture

Most people management training programs provide ways to enable companies to foster a supportive culture. Some effective ways include encouraging teamwork, fostering a safe environment for open and honest communication, and providing opportunities for constructive feedback. When employees feel supported, it helps reduce burnout and stress.

Recognizing Hard Work

When people feel underappreciated or overlooked, it may result in burnout and stress. An efficient strategy to prevent this is recognizing the efforts and hard work of people and rewarding them to show appreciation. Some simple yet effective methods include verbal recognition, thank-you notes, and promotions.

Addressing Burnout and Stress Early

Organizations must monitor the workload and well-being of their personnel to identify possible symptoms of burnout and stress. Some indicators may include behavioral changes, decreased performance, more absenteeism, and disengagement. Companies may then address these issues and offer support through stress management leadership training programs, counseling, and time off.

Providing Growth Opportunities

When people feel stagnated or are not challenged, it may result in stress and burnout. To facilitate growth opportunities, companies may offer coaching, mentoring, and training programs that enable them to assume more responsibilities and bigger roles. Upskilling employees is not only beneficial for the individuals but can boost organizational growth and profitability.

Encouraging Social Connectedness

Companies must encourage social connectedness to foster a positive organizational culture and work environment. Some initiatives to encourage social connectedness include collaborative activities, team-building exercises, and open communication. These can help the employees develop a sense of belongingness ensuring they do not feel stressed or isolated.

Performance diminishes when employees are burnt out or stressed. It is a serious problem and must be diagnosed and resolved early. Creating a positive environment that allows the employees to thrive can prevent emotional exhaustion, stress, and burnout. Companies should offer a supportive organizational culture where everyone is encouraged to flourish in their careers. To know how, companies can prevent employee burnout and stress, connect with us today.

Discover effective strategies to manage employee burnout and stress with our expert people management training. Enhance your leadership skills and create a supportive work environment. Join Pragati Leadership‘s training programs today and lead your team to success! Contact us now!

[prying-pandora666]

Azula And The Tides: The Most Misread Scene in ATLA

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before:

“The tides scene shows how irrational and spoiled Azula is! She got lucky! She endangered her whole crew for her pride!”

Or any similar variation.

The only problem is it’s not even remotely close to true. Let’s talk about that.

Here is the scene in question for reference:

Seems pretty straightforward, right? I mean, the Captain warned Azula about the tides and she put her ego before reason and made the crew take a huge risk. Horrible leadership and narcissism on her part, right?

Except for one little detail.

Azula was right.

Remember in “The Storm” when Zuko demands his ship chase after the Avatar and his crew warns him that it’s a fool’s errand because they’ll surely perish in the storm? Zuko stubbornly insists his goals are more important than anyone else’s lives, including his Uncle, and demands they drive recklessly into the storm. Sure enough, the crew nearly perishes in the storm, just as predicted, and Zuko is humbled enough to even rescue his Lieutenant that he disrespected earlier in the episode.

I bring this up so we understand how ATLA sets up and then demonstrates its narrative cause and effect. It’s rather straightforward as, after all, this is being written to be inteligible to children.

So what happens with Azula’s ship when she demands they dock right away despite her Captain’s warnings?

The ship docks without incident or injury.

In fact, they dock stealthily enough that neither Zuko nor Iroh see Azula coming and she’s able to surprise them. How would this be possible if the Captain had been correct in his assessment and Azula had just been acting out of ego?

I’ve seen some people argue that Azula just got lucky, like a drunk person driving home in a car. Not that I expect the average person to have extensive knowledge about docking a ship, but it demonstrates a severe gap in knowledge of the subject matter. When it comes to the tides you cannot half-ass it. Either the tides are in or they’re not. Either they’re high enough or they’re not.

And if they’re not, what happens? The rocks you can’t see beneath the waves will shred your ship apart and you will get stuck or outright sink. Best case scenario, if by an act of divine intervention you avoided all the rocks, you’re still screwed because your ship is going to get beached and tip over. Especially with a ship of that size!

You cannot squeak by here. Even with all of our tech and modern day ships, if you don’t respect the tides, you’re going to have a bad time. There is no avoiding this.

It boggles my mind why people assume Azula is the one in the wrong here and not the Captain who is later shown to be so incompetent that he spoils the mission. He was talking down to her and she rightfully put in his place. Cold and ruthless as her method may have been, she was making it clear that she is not to be talked down to or to have her authority questioned. An important skill for a young leader. Look at the comparison with Zuko who couldn’t wrangle his men. They were about to mutiny and would’ve if Iroh hadn’t intervened! Azula has no Iroh to fall back on. She has to manage on her own. And she does! In this same episode we are shown that Azula is a perfectionist who can’t tolerate a single hair out of place. But somehow we are supposed to believe she is also reckless and incompetent? I don’t think so.

We also know that Azula canonically attended the Royal Fire Academy for girls. This wasn’t some preppy finishing school, it was an intense military academy with survival training so deadly that Rangi described having to eat worse than rats to make it out alive. We know Azula excelled in school. Why wouldn’t she know something as basic as how to read the tides? That’s seafaring 101.

Combine that with the fact that all their best naval officers probably perished at the North Pole and it’s easy to glean that this Captain isn’t exactly their A-Team.

So what IS the point of this scene if not to show Azula being irrational, egotistical, or incompetent?

Remember our comparisons to Zuko? The point of this scene is to show how much better and scarier of a leader Azula is. It’s a simple way to convey to the audience that unlike Zuko, Azula *can* and *does* command like a true military leader. She is therefor a more frightening and dangerous opponent for our heroes to face than the already dangerous Prince they’ve been battling since the previous season.

I don’t think this misinterpretation would’ve ever spread so far if some fans weren’t dead set on trying to tear down Azula for the simple crime of being better at things than fan-favorite Zuko.

And I say this as someone who adores Zuko.

[artsyco3xist]

PokéTWST Part 7

Silver's team may seem a little mismatched, but they are quite complementary with one half catering to Silver's napping needs...

Snorlax and Musharna both aid Silver when he's sleeping: Snorlax as an oversized pillow, and Musharna as a dream eater (KH references much Toboso?). Musharna will eat the dreams of others, helping them to either forget the dream or consume the nightmares.

The color of the mist emanating from Musharna shows the type of dream the host has and will inform the other Pokémon what Silver is dreaming. However, if the dream is becoming a nightmare, the mist will turn black.

Gallade and Aegislash know this. Gallade, being the "master of courtesy and swordsmanship," will guard Silver and Musharna diligently, knowing that waking a Musharna when the mist is black will bring Silver's nightmares to life.

Aegislash too will stand guard in Shield Form in order to protect Silver.

And the other half assisting with his sparring and etiquette training.

Gallade make for great knights-in-training. They are fiercely protective of their trainers and able to predict their opponent's moves. Silver loves to practice his swordsmanship with Gallade since it fights as honorably as himself.

Gallade are also chivalrous and seek to assist those in need, much like Silver. And so when Silver falls asleep in the middle of a task, or when he is preoccupied with Malleus, Gallade is there to fill in the gaps. If anything, Silver wants to learn from Gallade's example.

Aegislash, having both offensive and defensive abilities, also makes for a challenging opponent. However, Aegislash is more intrigued in Silver himself.

Aegislash are able to "detect the innate qualities of leadership" and thus are drawn to royalty. Initially, it was Malleus's Pokémon, but as Aegislash developed an obvious interest in Silver, Malleus gifted it as a birthday present as an example of what a royal protector should look like.

Aegislash are known to loyally serve entire lineages of kings, which Silver one day hopes he could do. It's a constant reminder of what Silver is training for, and the amount of faith Malleus has in him to reach that goal.

This one was soo cool to put together! Thanks to everyone who gave their Pokémon recommendations as I would've never thought up of this dynamic! If you have any ideas of what TWST character fits what Pokémon, feel free to comment. I'm always updating my list!

[wing-ed-thing]

Stay the Night (Smoker x Reader)

Synopsis: Smoker is surprisingly, bafflingly competent at taking care of you while you're drunk.

Word Count: 2.4k

Tags/Warnings: Alcohol, Intoxication, Alcohol Sickness, Vomiting, Fluff, No Reader Pronouns Explicitly Mentioned (Reader Wears Heels, Makeup, and a Wig), Language, Mildly Suggestive, Two Longtime Friends and Peers who are Clearly in Love with Each Other

Notes: I felt like Smoker was the kind of guy to reluctantly hold your hair back while you're throwing up.

Unlike the rest of his present company, Smoker usually avoided overindulging in elaborately planned social events, especially those with an open bar. It was best to stay out of the way. 

The Marines rarely allocated funds to such frivolous occasions, and so most officers and honored guests took it upon themselves to find the bottom of the generously offered bottomless champagne. While the hangovers were never worth it, that didn’t stop even the highest leadership from stumbling out of the ballroom doors with hair tousled and neckties hanging across their shoulders. 

Smoker preferred to sit at a table out of the way: a sanctuary among the chaos, away from the main path of foot traffic, with a clear view of the door. That’s where he nursed his single glass of whisky. If he were feeling especially celebratory, he would have two. 

You, on the other hand… were already standing on top of a table. Your stilettos were positioned on either side of the floral centerpiece in the middle, and the tiny point of your heels barely allowed you to balance as the bottle in your hands exploded in a loud, crisp pop. 

Smoker watched how the sea of Marines that gathered around you in disheveled formalwear cheered, and your hypnotized face admired the bubbles pouring from the bottle's neck. 

A group of newly trained officers jumped up and down together in time with the music on the opposite side of the circular table in celebration, knocking some tall glasses over onto the white cloth below. Smoker nearly leaped out of his chair as your knees began to buckle. But even despite your tiny shoes and even tinier dress, you managed to catch yourself. Your laughter resounded loudly among the voices around you.

Smoker heaved a deep sigh, sitting back down, swirling his drink with a flick of his wrist. 

He didn’t even need to see that stunt to predict what would come later that night. 

The streets were utterly empty. Aside from the glow of the street lamps, the only light that shone was from the venue as the staff hurried their clean up. Smoker strolled out of the double doors, tie loosened around his neck and suit jacket draped neatly over his arm.

He barely had to make it outside before he saw you. Hell, he’d be able to spot that glittery ass anywhere, even without your blinding choice of attire. 

You were bent over on your weak knees as you hurled your guts out into a bush. Smoker let out a low, resigned grumble, swiping a hand over his fatigued face as he approached you. You barely registered the large shadow that overtook you, let alone the hands that gingerly and neatly gathered your hair away from your face. 

You sputtered, coughing as a few tears streamed from your eyes. The insides of your cheeks were wet and bitter, and your throat burned. You spat onto the ground to get more foul-tasting mucus out of your mouth. 

You were a Marine, dammit, and a few too many took you out quicker than any pirate ever did. 

“Koby?” you whined. Tears continued to stream from your eyes at the pressure in your sinuses. You spat again. God, something was in your nose.

“Sorry to disappoint, Lieutenant Commander,” Smoker gruffed from where he squatted next to you. 

“Don’t call me that,” you whimpered, not wanting to be reminded of your rank during such a state of weakness. Your stomach convulsed, causing your sickness to start again. Smoker’s gaze drifted to the still street like another weekday night. “I’m never gonna drink again.”

“Mh-hmm” was about the only noise you got out of Smoker. He sat patiently and wordless, not one to croon words of assurance at you as you paid for your night of over-indulgence. But for his silence, he continued to pull your hair back, meticulously smoothing the bundle back as best as he could so as not to knot or tug at your stands. 

In a moment of relief, you finally turned over to sit on the curb. Despite the extra alcohol emptied from your stomach, you were far from sober. Smoker knelt on one knee in front of you. You could hardly get his face to focus, let alone register the warm jacket he hung across your shoulders. 

He took the pocket square from the left breast pocket and unfurled it with a snap of his wrist. Smoker swiped the fabric over your mouth, clearing away saliva and slime. The backs of your fingers knocked against his wrist belatedly as you shook your head.

“‘M gonna fuck up your hankie, Smokey,” you sighed, even though he had already wiped your mouth. He shoved the square roughly into his pocket, paying no mind to you as he heaved you onto your feet. “‘M alright. I can make it home.”

“Like hell, you can.” You stumbled as you tried to step forward, but Smoker caught you around the waist. “These, too. You know the whole street’s cobblestone, right?.” His movements felt incredibly fast to you as he bent down again to slide your shoes off, and with two large fingers hooked around the pinch of your stilettos, Smoker moved to throw you over his shoulder. 

“Whoa, whoa, wait…” Your hand flew over your mouth, and the other splayed across Smoker’s right shoulder. He held you at length, studying your face and movements carefully. 

“What’s goin’ on?”

You shook your head in small but rapid swivels.

“Can’t do that.” You heaved a deep breath, slowly removing your hand from your mouth. 

Smoker grumbled a hum of acknowledgment, pulling his jacket closed over your chest before shepherding you down the street toward your apartment. 

You barely remembered the walk, although you were sure your drunken meandering was more than a test of Smoker’s patience. Even so, he hardly said a word, only breaking his silence to ask you where your keys were when you reached your doorstep. 

They were in your clutch, which Smoker was holding with your shoes, of course. 

As soon as the door opened, you nearly collapsed into your apartment. With Smoker's help, you fell neatly onto the couch by the entrance. He slipped off his boots— no matter how formal the event, Smoker was wearing his combat boots— and disappeared somewhere into your apartment. 

You didn’t even care. Your head was so heavy that all you wanted to do was sleep as you slowly sank into your couch cushions. 

“Sit back up.” You heard Smoker call sternly from the other room. You didn’t think you could obey him if you wanted to. 

In a second, you were being repositioned. The light from the lamp in the corner of the room was sobering and borderline upsetting, but it allowed you to see the small trashcan Smoker brought for you on the floor to your right and the bottle of make-up remover on the coffee table in front of you. Smoker sat beside you, tilting your chin to delicately rub your make-up away with a prepped, textured cotton pad. 

It caught you off guard, to say the least. Even in your drunken haze, Smoker still didn’t seem like the type to have patience for tender acts of service. Hell, you didn’t even know he knew what make-up remover looked like. 

But despite your judgments, Smoker sat on the couch next to you, one elbow resting against the back cushion as he held your chin while his other hand swiped away your perfect contour. 

“Who taught you this?” you giggled. Smoker, make sure to get the creases around your nose. 

“Doesn’t matter,” he muttered. “Where do you want your lashes?”

“What?—” 

Smoker had already pulled your left eyelash off, the entire strip. 

“I’ll put ‘em back in the book I saw.” Before you could protest, Smoker had already pulled off your right lash. He stood quickly, stuffing the solution-soaked pad into your hand as he pivoted to carry your lashes to the other room. “Work on the rest of the glue.”

He turned back to you slightly, leaning over you just a bit to grasp your wrist and manipulate your hand to move in a circular motion on your face before you slapped him away. Smoker disappeared once again into your apartment. 

You finally noticed the plastic cup of water on your coffee table and mustered up the energy to take it. The outside was wet with condensation. It was cold. You couldn’t remember the last time you drank water. 

“What do you wanna do with your unit?” Smoker appeared from around the corner again; some linens balled in a wad under his arm. He held a pillow in his opposite grip as if he were holding a stray dog by the scruff. 

His white collared shirt had been pulled from the waistband of his dress pants sometime during the night. The black tie that was already draped over his shoulders drooped to one side, making one side longer than the other. The first three buttons of his shirt sat on his chest untethered. A dampened towel rested over his shoulder.

You blinked at him between sips of water. Your stomach was handling rehydration so far, but you were about to push it.

“You’re not touching my hair, Smokey.”

“Though I’d offer.” He set the pillow down to take the towel off his shoulder. Smoker wadded it in a ball before throwing it your way. You somehow still had the dexterity to catch it out of the air. A generous amount of adhesive remover had already been applied to it. 

Smoker pulled the coffee table out of the way, and as you stared at the towel he threw to you, Smoker began arranging blankets and pillows around you. You supposed he was trying to get you to sleep somewhere you could sit up. He draped a fuzzy throw blanket on your lap and moved two large decorative pillows to your right and left.

As your eyes moved from the remover-soaked towel to Smoker and back, you couldn’t help but laugh. The sensation moved through you before tearing out of your chest. Unrestrained by the liquor, it probably came out louder and more shrill than it would have usually, but if Smoker had any comments, he kept them to himself. 

He knelt before you, both his wrists resting on his bent knee. He shook his head as if regretting the question he was about to ask in advance.

“What’s so funny?” he asked.

You swayed forward, racked with trembles, as you continued to laugh. The back of your heels knocked against the bottom of the couch. Smoker didn’t move, even as your face inched gradually towards his. Your cheek settled into your palm, allowing you to sit folded over to meet his eye. He waited as your laughter gradually subsided.

“What are you doing here, Smoker?” 

He stared directly into your irises, and you didn’t know if his expressionlessness or the intensity of his gaze made your smug smile waver. Intending to tease him, Smoker didn’t humor you with an expression. Nothing you had done that night—nor anything you would do—could sober you up faster than the sharp and sudden twinge in your chest that came with simply meeting Smoker’s dark brown eyes. 

What the hell?

“Your girlfriend’ll be pissed.” You sharply recoiled, kicking your legs over Smoker’s bent knee to swiftly stand. You made a beeline deeper into the apartment. 

Smoker only wavered a moment, his eyebrows creasing for a second in confusion before he stood and followed you.

“What girlfriend?” he shouted. He nearly ran into you as you closed a small cabinet by the bathroom. The side of your lip drooped downward in an acute pout. Smoker, never one to enjoy feeling left out of the loop, hovered over you expectantly. You entered the bathroom without a second thought. Smoker found himself in the doorway.

“Weren’t you with that…” You snapped your fingers as you tried to recall her name. You didn’t have to wait.

“Six months ago… and we only went on a few dates,” Smoker defended, although he wasn’t quite sure why he felt the need to defend himself to you in the first place. The two of you had known each other for longer than he recalled knowing anyone else, and more prominently, the two of you were peers. Why should it matter if he took some petty officer out for a few drinks a few months back? His eyes narrowed at the back of your head. “Why?”

You shrugged. You seemed far less worried about the whole thing; your face practically pressed against the mirror to remove the remaining patches of product Smoker missed. He did a more than adequate job. He hardly missed anything regarding your makeup, but the pointed glance you stole in the mirror escaped him. 

“Now I know I’m pretty wasted—” You met his gaze through the mirror. You cocked your head, and your hands gripped the side of the sink in pure bafflement. “But you said ‘lash book’—?”

“Got it. Got it.” Smoker crossed his arms as he tore his attention away. Steam filled the air. He hardly noticed the shower running, and he most definitely didn’t realize that you were standing in front of him, presenting your back, until you started speaking again.

“So, you’re just kind of a—" You glanced over your shoulder at him, and for as off as your judgment was, you knew you probably shouldn’t finish your sentence—even if his reaction would have been hilarious. You turned back around. “Get my dress for me?”  

You could have noticed Smoker’s single beat of hesitation if you were any less intoxicated. But for yet another instance that night, Smoker went quiet as he slowly tugged down the back zipper of your dress. The invisible zipper was thin and difficult to grip, but it slid down your spine like butter regardless, revealing the soft skin underneath.

“I have a pair of your shorts in the bottom left drawer of my dresser. The couch is yours.” You pivoted again on your heel, one hand holding your dress up on your chest and the other pushing Smoker back through the doorway. “Now get out.” 

You shut the door. Smoker sighed and resigned himself to rifle through your dresser, wondering why he had clothes at your place at all. 

Thank you to all who liked, reblogged, followed, and supported. Your support means so much and is greatly appreciated.

Notes: Based off my personal headcanon that Smoker has a surprisingly extensive dating history and an equally surprising library of knowledge about girly stuff because he's an extremely involved boyfriend. I'd say most of his previous relationships had amicable break ups. Reader was also going to say "so you're kind of a whore" but decided against it.

[zenkindoflove]

Elain Archeron and Sansa Stark: A Comparison

I’ve been wanting to make this post for a while because I have seen a lot of similarities between Elain’s character and Sansa Stark (ASOIAF/GOT), not only in their mannerisms and narrative but the way that the fandom unfairly undermines and outright despises them. So, this post is going to be a bit of an exploration of both of their characters, speaking mostly to the ACOTAR fandom, to try and give some predictions I have about Elain’s narrative journey and lessons learned from Sansa’s narrative.

Elain and Sansa fit a very similar female character archetype in fantasy (and other fiction genres), which is that they are more traditionally feminine characters that conform to their roles as women in their patriarchal societies as compared to their counterparts who buck gender norms often by learning to fight. In particular, Elain and Sansa are often directly compared to their sisters who fit the more beloved sword-fighting, sassy, smart-mouthed heroines. What is important to this post, is that these characters are almost always heavily maligned and criticized by fandoms at large with critiques that are often rooted in misogyny, which fundamentally undervalues expressions of femininity and feminine roles. 

Both characters also have a lot of other similarities when it comes to their personalities, characteristics, and narratives. Both Elain and Sansa are obedient daughters who are described as sociable and make friends easily. They both are well-skilled in navigating courtly politics, and they begin their journeys as deep romantics, dreaming and wishing to fall in love. They’re both betrothed to men for political gain, and both undergo tragic and heartbreaking violations to their bodily autonomy. They are also both frequently undermined by characters’ in their stories, often underestimated in their strengths and abilities, and in both stories, those assumptions are proven wrong.

Now, we do not know where Elain’s journey is going, but we do Sansa’s, at least from the show. Sansa eventually finds her independence and her strength, taking back her ancestral home and being declared Queen in the North. She did not do this by becoming a warrior or a great battle commander. No, she did this by leaning into her political skills, inspiring nobles and armies to fight for her because of her name and what it represents. And when she had some power, leading her people and putting their care first, a narrative journey I hope to see for Elain coming into her own leadership position one day. 

One of the ways I wanted to outline drawing some of these parallels, is to break down some of the criticisms that Elain faces now that Sansa Stark also faced by fans. And if you are reading this and these criticisms are ones you have expressed, hopefully you reconsider your assumptions about Elain and where her story is going. 

Elain is boring. 

This accusation is often ascribed to Elain based on her interests and hobbies and refusal to participate in more traditionally masculine roles in the narrative (fighting, swordplay). Elain is often described as gardening, baking, helping with domestic duties, and purposely kept away from the political and adventurous parts of the narrative. And yet, this does not mean that in order for Elain to be interesting, she suddenly needs to be thrust into her own version of a training montage to start learning to use swords and daggers. Elain is a powerful Made Fae. She has one of the rarest abilities, being a Seer. She is deeply connected with the Koschei plot, as she was the one to see a vision of him, Vassa, and the other cursed women, which brought about Lucien’s journey to the continent and connecting that overall plot to what is happening in Prythian. It’s very likely her story will focus on her exploring her magic more, likely with Lucien, to figure out how to break Vassa’s curse and destroy Koschei once and for all - none of which requires her to actually become a warrior. 

Elain will become evil. 

Sansa too was often criticized as being boring by fans. They saw her struggles, being passed from cruel husband to cruel husband, as signs she was weak. Sansa was often directly compared to her sister Arya who was learning to fight with a sword and training as an assassin. But Sansa was undergoing a very different sort of training. We see her shed her sheltered POV of the world, and instead, became deeply involved in the politics of the game of thrones. She learns from several characters how to play the game and play it right, as she is one of the few characters to survive until the end, having a true hero’s journey of ascension. We see that she uses people’s assumptions that she is stupid and naive to their disadvantage, allowing their underestimation of her abilities to make them turn away from how she outsmarts them in the end. Elain is also hinted at being deeply intelligent, in ways that even her sisters seem to ignore. She is also described several times in ACOSF as being sneaky, foreshadowing that she will surprise her family based on their assumptions of her. Ultimately, I foresee Elain leaning into her courtly knowledge and social skills, much like Sansa, to push forward her own journey.

Elain and Sansa are also both very inward characters. When they are struggling, they are more quiet and unassuming, to disarm others and draw attention away from them. As we know from Sansa's POV chapters, she was constantly strategizing her pretty words to save her skin. And I think Elain similarly shows the world one side of her, but hides a rich and complex inner world that we won't see until we get her POV.

This critique - which is also not always presented as a critique but sometimes as a wish for Elain to become a villain so she might be more interesting to those who find her boring - is one that I really dislike. And one of the biggest reasons I dislike it is because I saw the exact same predictions thrown at Sansa crash and burn. Often fans would revel in the idea that “finally, Sansa can become interesting” if she were to turn into the next Cersei or Littlefinger. But we did not see that happen. Instead, we saw that Sansa clung to her compassion, empathy, and her Stark morality, while shedding the blind trust that put her father and brothers into so much danger. She took lessons from Cersei and Littlefinger, but rather than becoming them, she bested them. Especially Littlefinger, where she outsmarted him when he tried to turn her and her sister against each other, and ultimately is the one who passed his execution sentence, achieving justice for all the crimes he committed against her family and Westeros. Sansa did not let the brutalization of her body and spirit turn her against her family. She never betrayed them, even when she was wed to their worst enemies. Instead, she made it her priority to serve and represent the North and its interest in all things, including standing up to Dany, because she understood to hold the North, she must not bend to other rulers and respect all that the North had sacrificed for the Starks. 

Similarly, I do not see Elain betraying her family. There are several times she asserts her loyalty and insists that she wants to help them and their interests. I think her story will be more about being underestimated by her family and overlooked for leadership roles and her insight (as was Sansa) and this will push her to branch out on her own to discover who she is outside of her family and the expectations they have of her. But I do not think she will become the antagonist to them. Instead, I see her using her own strength to “save” them too in ways they would have never imagined that Elain can do. Sansa was not an outright antagonist to Jon, for example, though she often challenged him (which upset many fans, more on that later) because she believed her perspective was valuable. I see Elain's difference in how she sees the world and what she values being in similar disagreement with the Night Court, and her having to "prove" herself to them that she needs to be taken seriously.

Elain and Sansa are also very similar in that they both are described as abhorring violence. Sansa, in the end, does sometimes use violence as a means to an end, and even is shown enjoying Ramsey’s brutal execution by being eaten by his own dogs. Yet, Sansa is never shown to enjoy moments like these again (and of course this moment is most understandable given all the torture Ramsey put her and others through). Sansa does not lead with anger or brutality like Cersei. Rather, she shifts from a bright, sunny girl to an authoritative woman who ices out her enemies and shows kindness and warmth to her friends and subjects. To me, in keeping with character archetypes, I do not see Elain straying from this core feature of herself as well. I don’t see her desiring to follow in the footsteps of others who use torture and violence to extract information or to hurt others who have hurt her. I do think should Elain come into a position of political leadership, that like Sansa, she will care for the people (as she is already shown to do in Velaris and was known to do in the human lands) and when needed, show her steely, authoritative voice that is unbending (much like the infamous quote from Sansa in the books “my skin has turned from porcelain, to ivory, to steel”). 

Basically, female characters do not have to be either warriors or evil villains to be interesting. Sometimes, female characters who are kind, compassionate, intelligent, and full of hope can still have badass stories and stand as heroines in their own right while maintaining all of those characteristics. 

Elain is two-faced/bitchy/spoiled/selfish. 

Of course, the classic, when the feminine character does anything SLIGHTLY unsettling to the reader, she is hated and tons of stereotypically misogynistic insults are thrown at her. 

I will first off start by saying that when people say this about Elain, it is when she is essentially displaying behaviors that counter their first argument - that Elain is boring. When Elain is being compliant and nice to the other characters, she is called boring. When she very briefly, pushes back on them at all, these insults are hurled at her. I don’t even want to waste time breaking down why these are just comically unfair. Because the fact of the matter is is that every character in the book displays moments of being two-faced/bitchy/spoiled/selfish. And yet, it is Elain who is given these monikers as if they are core features of who she is. Other female characters in ACOTAR are also called these names. However, Elain faces the unique situation of only ever being boring or bitchy to those who dislike her. She can't win either way.

Sansa, of course, had all these insults hurled at her too. She was a traitor and two-faced for having a girlish crush on Joffrey when she was 13 (11 in the books) and literally betrothed, by her father, to a prince. When Sansa at all stands up to characters like Jon or Dany and disagrees with them or argues with their logic about how to handle different choices, she is bitchy, even though Sansa is often proved to be correct in her logic, hesitancy, and how she thinks politically. And of course, in line with the previous point about becoming evil, it was assumed that Sansa would be two-faced with her family. And yet, we saw, time and time again, Sansa was loyal to House Stark. Even the ultimate “sin” of Cersei guilting her to write to Robb about their Father being a “traitor” to the crown - Sansa did it because she thought it was one way she could save her father’s life. Basically, Sansa’s crime was being a girl who didn’t win the audience over by being spunky like her sister. Sansa’s crime was her naivete early on - when she was only a child, and it haunted her throughout the entire series and how fans saw her. Even though, out of every character in the books/show, Sansa at her core, is the one who represents the audience the most. She is the most removed from the magical storylines. The way she lives her life is closer to our own modern way of living than any of the warriors or magical characters in their world. Sansa represents who we would be if we were suddenly thrust into a fantasy story - defenseless and easily abused. But most readers and watchers want to see who they are not, rather than follow a story of who they actually could be and what strength might follow. 

What I want to see from Elain’s story:

Following the lessons of staying true to my girl, Sansa, I hope that Elain, like Sansa, finds her own way in the empathy, kindness, and social skills that she has - along with exploring her powers. Now, as Elain is in a romance, and not a dystopian fantasy like Sansa is, her ending will have a HEA with her love interest. Sansa became Queen in the North, it’s true. But she has no love interest. Her family is all scattered. And there is a bit of a coldness to her now. Many suspect that she will play more of a Queen Elizabeth I role in her rule and never marry, as to keep House Stark as House Stark. But if she were to marry, it will likely be a political alliance, though, my hope is she will find love in it. Because while Sansa might have had her dreams dashed at an early age, I truly hope for the sake of that little romantic girl, she can find love after all the hurt she had to experience. 

Elain will end up with a romance at the end of her story. And I think harkening to her character archetype and who suits her narrative best, it will of course be with her mate, Lucien, who mirrors her characteristics, values, and morals the most. I imagine for them a story where they act as courtiers, helping piece back together Spring, working on alliances with the human lands, and eventually, once Lucien learns of his heritage, finding another home in the Day Court (though I do imagine them to be life-long travelers, making many friends and allies across Prythian and the continent together - as Elain always wanted to travel). Similar to how Sansa used her political intelligence and compassion for her people, I see Elain and Lucien as well using their courtier/emissary skills and knowledge and devotion to serving the people of the courts, putting diplomacy first, to heal a broken and divided world. I think especially the alliance with humans will be so important for Elain’s journey. Where Elain has struggled the most with no longer being human, Lucien has been immersing himself in human culture and political interests. And once they are ready to start their journey, I think both putting their heads together will be invaluable in representing both the interests of the Fae and the humans. I also think Lucien has more invested interest, as her mate, to push her to explore her powers rather than dismiss her ever exploring them like those in the Night Court do. Lucien’s connections through the world can also help her find ways to find the information she needs to learn more about being a Seer and whatever else is going on with her. He also has his own personal experience with exploring and learning of his multitude of powers as well, including what it means to suppress and hide them, as I suspect Elain has been doing. Where Sansa had to prove herself to every character in the story to take her seriously and respect her, I think the one person who has always and will always believe in Elain is the person who has a soul-to-soul connection with her. Who puts her and her needs before his own, and will serve as her devoted sworn shield (cries in Sansan) to fight for her if need be. 

Also maybe I wish and hope for the unlikely Lucien and Elain as High King and High Queen narrative which would fit so perfectly to Sansa’s own rise, but I suspect SJM won’t go in that direction.

Anyways, if you made it to the end, thanks for reading my desperate need to get all these parallels out of my head. I have adored Sansa since I first watched the show in 2011 and fell even more in love with her when I read the books in 2013. I have been defending her to nasty people ever since, and when I joined the ACOTAR fandom, the way people criticized Elain felt SO familiar. Which of course it did. These kinds of criticisms do not stop with Sansa and Elain. Most characters like them are disliked for being soft women with big hearts who are vulnerable to cruel people in their worlds.  

[dalekofchaos]

Context

Hux. Short version, Hux reveals Kylo killing Snoke to the FIrst Order leadership. Hux ousts Ben and becomes Supreme Leader. Now Hux plans to exterminate The Jedi, force sensitives everywhere and lead to the death of the force. Long version read here.

Kylo as the villain. Adam Driver said the plan was never to redeem Ben Solo, that was a late change to appease everyone. So my big pitch for Supreme Leader Kylo Ren. To me Kylo Ren is what Vader could’ve been had he reached his full potential. A Vader who was never wounded on Mustafar, a Vader who killed a close family member and his master. He is the villain they were looking for, but no they had to course correct.As for what his motivation could be, exactly what he said. Finish what Vader started. Destroy the Light and reign over the galaxy as Supreme Leader. Long version. Other look at Kylo as the villain

Snoke's essence transferred into Kylo Ren the moment he killed Snoke.

Darth Plagueis was a powerful Sith Lord who could influence the midichlorians to create life and also save others from dying. He taught everything he knew to his apprentice, Sheev Palpatine (aka Darth Sidious), but he eventually lost his power and young Palpatine killed him in his sleep. How could Plagueis not foresee his own demise at the hands of his ambitious apprentice? Why did Plagueis suddenly “lose his power”? The truth is, he didn’t lose his power and he knew Sidious planned to kill him. It was part of the plan. By dying, I believe Darth Plagueis was able to transmit himself into Sheev and assume control of his body, almost like an infectious disease. Ever notice his name? Darth Plagueis. Plague, as in an infectious disease. Darth Plagueis unlocked the secret to immortality by moving from one body to the next, continuing his lifespan through multiple hosts over countless years. Ever wonder why Palpatine was so obsessed with training a powerful young apprentice? Surely he knew that one day the apprentice would want to overthrow him, so why train his own murderer? In Return of the Jedi, Emperor Palpatine continually provokes Luke to strike him down. Why would Palpatine want to be killed if the goal is longevity? Because Emperor Palpatine was assumed by Darth Plagueis and, through his death, he would then be able to transmit himself into a new host body. He wasn’t just looking for an apprentice, he was looking for a new body since Palpatine’s body was growing old. Luke Skywalker was meant to be the next host body for Darth Plagueis. But unfortunately for Plagueis, Darth Vader had a change of heart and defeated the Emperor. Snoke was Plagueis. It’s the only way to make things work. StarWars.com describes Snoke as a seeker of arcane and ancient lore, and the Last Jedi Visual Dictionary shows that he is a collector of rare memorabilia. At some point, Snoke must have found the wreckage of the Death Star on the forest moon Endor, and was infected by Darth Plagueis when he came upon the corpse of Palpatine. Did you ever wonder why Snoke thought it was so important to complete Kylo Ren’s training? It’s because Snoke was Darth Plagueis and he was training his next host body. Plagueis didn’t have a choice but to infect a really old political influencer like Snoke. Kylo was being groomed to become the next host body. Remember the infamous scene in The Last Jedi where Snoke is “predicting” how Kylo Ren will kill Rey? Wasn’t it a little too obvious? Wouldn’t Snoke have been able to foresee Kylo’s treachery? See through his conflict? It’s because he wasn’t predicting Rey’s death, he predicted his own. He knew Kylo would kill him. He deliberately bullied and provoked Kylo in order to stir his anger into hatred to further fuel his dark side and lead him to completing his training.

So Darth Plagueis goal would be to transfer his essence into Rey and in failing in that. He will drain the life force from the Dyad to satiate his own life force.

Thrawn. Cardinal West's Sequel Trilogy rewrite has the best take of Thrawn as the villain

Rae Sloane.

Rae Sloane founded The First Order! Sloane was loyal to the Empire, so much so, rather than allowing it to cease to exist, she recruited other loyalists and they fled to the Unknown Territories beyond Jakku. She founded the First Order. Together with Hux, she could usurp control of the First Order and become Supreme Leader, which would start a civil war, those loyal to Sloane and those loyal to Kylo. We can have someone who could be a great antagonist to Leia. The founder of The First Order and the mother of the Resistance. What makes Rae a compelling character is the fact that she believes what the Empire is doing is right. In her eyes, the Empire is doing the right thing, purging lawlessness from a galaxy overrun by bureaucrats that care little for the common people. She’s wrong, but like great villains before her, audiences can see where she’s coming from even if they don’t agree with it. Throughout her many appearances in the supplemental Star Wars narratives, she is constantly pushing for the Empire to be “just.” When things start to fall apart after the Battle of Endor, Rae struggles to keep the remnants of the fleet playing by the unspoken rules of warfare and is frustrated to see the Empire careen into backstabbing and incompetence. You can see Rae’s influence in the First Order with its strict hierarchy and minute by-the-books stringency that makes Palpatine’s Empire look positively laissez-faire by comparison. Supreme Leader Rae Sloane would make The First Order a force to be reckoned with and what better way to end it than with the First Order’s founder?

The Grysks.

The Grysks were introduced in the new canon novel Thrawn:Alliances. They are what brings Thrawn to the Empire in hopes of co-existing to fight this threat in the Unknown Regions. Grysks are a species living somewhere in the Unknown Regions. Creatures half of myth, whom few have ever seen. It is said that they are nomads, with no fixed home, traveling in spacecraft so numerous they blot out the stars. They are said to be terrifying warriors, overwhelming their opponents by sheer numbers and ferocity. The fact that these intergalactic conquerors are not the main threat in the Sequel Trilogy is baffling. You could’ve had Ben Solo sense they were coming during his Jedi days and made the ultimate sacrifice to become Kylo Ren and join The First Order because he knew the New Republic was not ready to face such a threat. It wouldn’t make what he was doing the entire trilogy right, but it would make explain why he turned and what his motivations are.

I don't really have a explanation for Qi'Ra, but she was trained by Maul, took over the Crimson Dawn and you don't waste Emilia Clarke on one movie that never continued. So Qi'Ra as the villain could've worked.

A Mandalorian invasion lead by Fett writes itself.

I know it's technically Palpatine, but it works better because we don't stupidly retcon Anakin's sacrifice. This was planned, but the idiots that be decided it would be better if Ian played him. So instead this is the perfected clone. The Clone Wars were a test for Palpatine to perfect cloning. Throughout the reign as Emperor, he tinkered with cloning force sensitives, created a lot of failures(Snoke) but prior to Endor, he perfected it and kept it as a fail safe should he die. And after Kylo Ren killed Snoke, he awakened. Palpatine reborn. The movie opens at the end of the war. Finn successfully consurs up a Stormtrooper Rebellion and all the FO officers are executed, Hux is captured and Rey beats Kylo Ren for the umpteenth time. The First Order are on their last legs. Until a message is delivered to the galaxy.

“People of the galaxy. Your Emperor has returned after thirty long, lawless years. To the Sith and the Jedi; follow the Holocrons. We have much work to do. Those who remained loyal to me shall be rewarded. For those who relished in my demise, who celebrated what they thought the end of the Empire and believed their treachery had won them the galaxy…only death and suffering await. The great error shall be corrected. The day of victory is at hand. The restoration of the Empire! The Final Order! The Day of the Sith!”

And it's a race. Rey and the Resistance hoping to stop The Emperor, while Kylo Ren is hoping to kill Palpatine, obtain the power of the Sith Eternal and an infinite fleet that will win the galaxy, but in the end, Rey and Kylo are forced to work together. Matt Smith as Palpatine could've fixed the movie

The final contingency of the Emperor. Cloning Luke Skywalker. Palpatine had foreseen either Luke will kill him and Vader or Vader will betray him. So Palpatine orders that Luke's hand be brought to him. Luke is cloned, but imperfectly. He is just a husk of power, so Palpatine has the greatest minds of the Empire indoctrinate this malleable clone to being the heir and the eventual savior of the Empire. This clone. Let's refer to him as Luuke. Luuke learned everything there was from Palpatine. His Machiavellian cunning mechanisms. Mastery over the dark side and fully believed in his master's will and plans for him.

Luuke foresaw that there would be problems if he revealed himself. SO he created a puppet, Snoke. Through Snoke, he turned Kylo Ren to the dark side and puppeteered The First Order. Masterminding everything from the shadows and after Snoke and the real Luke Skywalker's deaths, it was time to reveal himself.

Luuke's motivations are to bring Kylo Ren to heel or cast him aside, turn Rey to the dark side or kill her and rule the galaxy as his master intended for him. This dark side Luke would unite both Rey and Ben against him and would give Mark Hamill the opportunity to play a dark side Luke Skywalker.

[she-karev]

Maya meets Andrew DeLuca (Maya x Carina Sweet Imagine)

Previous Part Here

Age Rating: 12+

Chapters: Three of Three

Fandom: Station 19

Ship: Maya Bishop x Carina DeLuca

Canon Episode: Season 4 Episode 3

AN: Here’s the final chapter guys! Let me know what you think and like and reblog.

Summary: Maya and Andrew talk and get along to Carina’s joy.

Words: 885

April 6th, 2020

Maya sips her coffee sitting in the middle of the table with Carina at one end and her brother, Andrew at the other as they enjoy their breakfast. The conversation shifted to Andrew’s first day at work.

“Wait so you didn’t correct them when they thought you were an attending? I’m not judging I’m just…no I’m judging just a little bit.” Maya says honestly causing Caring to laugh, “Don’t be mad, I tell people what their doing wrong for a living.”

Andrew chuckles amused, “I don’t blame you. None of them actually called me an attending when I came from the scene. I told them it was my first day and they took it and ran with it. I was busy with the traumas, and it probably didn’t help that I stalled college for four years and looked older than the rest of my class.”

“It didn’t help no.” Maya eats a piece of the French toast that causes her to moan at the deliciousness, “Okay that is better than sex.”

Carina scoffs at that with a smile, “That sounds like a challenge.”

Andrew chuckles lightly at how predictable his sister, “And now I lost my appetite.”

Carina rolls her eyes and tells Maya, “Pay no attention to him, he’s skittles when it comes to sex because he isn’t having any.”

Maya chuckles and corrects her, “It’s skittish, skittles is candy.”

“And my sister’s insult turned around on her, this is a good morning so far.” He says with a grin sipping his coffee and continues to talk to Maya, “So a female fire captain that is very impressive I’m sure your coworkers love you over there.”

Maya groans, “Not at first but then they eventually saw my leadership skills after a few bumps and a bear in the road.”

“She told me about that too, she said it was at the pit where she first saw you. She was with a patient, and you were carrying a nose you ran with from the woods at the time. I gotta say it sounds really badass.” Andrew says impressed.

Maya smiles at that compliment, “Well thank you, it was pretty badass. I also helped contain a bomb inside a hospital and delivered a baby during a blizzard but I’m not bragging.”

Carina grins, “It sounds like you are, and I was the one who helped you deliver that baby, without me calling you you would have dropped that little girl on her head.” Andrew laughs at that with Maya smiling knowing it’s true.

“I don’t do well with babies, not all of us have to deliver them from vaginas. Firefighters are usually trained to put out fires and break down doors with axes but that part I leave to you guys.” Maya points out.

“I guess it’s not a requirement for the Olympics either?” Andrew asks jokingly.

“No.” Maya says, “And if it was, I would probably be dead last which would be a first in my life.”

“I would win the gold.” Carina boasts causing her brother and girlfriend to laugh.

Maya’s phone beeps causing her to groan, “I gotta go my shift starts, I’m so sorry.”

Andrew shakes his head, “Don’t worry go save lives.”

“You too, it was really nice to meet you.”

Andrew grins, “It was really nice meeting you too. I can see why you’re the longest relationship my sister has ever had but it wouldn’t take much time to exceed the standard she set before you.”

Carina grins amused, “Again please ignore him.” Carina stands up as Maya approaches her and they kiss, “Be safe Bella.”

“You too.” Maya steps back and looks at the siblings with a grin, “I’ll see you both later?”

Andrew nods with a smile, “Absolutely, I would love to hear more about this baby in a blizzard and bomb in a hospital story.”

Maya chuckles, “I have plenty more stories to tell and hopefully more time to share them.” Maya leaves with an I love you to Carina who says it as well. The door closes as Maya leaves and the DeLuca’s are left in the apartment where Carina looks at her brother with an anxious look while he finishes his breakfast calmly.

“Well…?” Carina asks, causing him to look up.

“Well, what?”

Carina gives a ‘really?’ look at her idiot brother, “Did you like her?”

“Oh…she was okay.” Andrew says dismissively causing Carina to smack him with the dish towel over him teasing her. He chuckles and speaks seriously, “I like her, I really do she has my approval not that you need it but still. She is perfection as you said.”

“I know.” Carina states with a smile and does a little happy dance, her brother chuckles, “I’m really glad you two met.”

Andrew smiles, “Me too. I’m really happy for you.”

“Thank you, that means a lot to me…and you’ll be happy too Andrea.” He looks up surprised she’s turning this on him, “Just give it time.”

He sighs but nods gratefully, “Thanks…Do you have anymore of that toast?”

Carina chuckles at her brother’s hungry attitude but heads to the kitchen to serve him another slice happy the two most important people of her life finally met and love each other almost as much as she loves them.

[sweatersexual]

I find it really interesting how the one Windrunner ability that Kaladin doesn't have much innate talent for is Adhesion. In RoW we see him improve on using it more in combat situations, but he's also been improving on the spiritual aspect of Adhesion for the whole series.

Adhesion is about binding people together as well as objects. From the WoK flashbacks we can see that as a child Kaladin is terrible at it. Part of it is because his family's postion as the only second nahns in town does isolate them somewhat, but twelve-year-old Kaladin also does not naturally have the social graces it would take to bridge that gap. He's a loner by nature, and he never really forms connections with the people of Hearthstone outside his family. This is partially due to the drama happening with Roshone, but we also see that behind the scenes Lirin and Hesina are able to maintain good relationships with their neighbors despite this. Kaladin is only starting to understand how that works when he leaves Hearthstone to join the army.

Kaladin becomes a squadleader offscreen, so we don't see how he developed into a leadership role aside from what he learned from his sergeant Tukks. We also know he put a lot of work into mastering the spear and that there was a shortage of competent officers in Amaram's army. He and his squad clearly cared for each other, but we don't see how those relationships developed.

By the time he decides to build relationships with Bridge Four, we can see that he's used to interacting with others in a military setting. He tries to use his authority as a bridge leader to make them do strength training, and only after that fails does he realize he can't order people to become a team. And not just any people, these are slaves under a death sentence who have hardly anything to live for.

I think the miracle of Bridge Four wasn't just that those men survived. It was that they formed such strong bonds with one another under such horrible circumstances. Yes, life-threatening situations can bring people together, but they can also make them incredibly risk averse. TWoK shows the mental obstacles they had to overcome too. And I wouldn't be surprised if at least part of the reason they were able to become such a cohesive group was due to the surge of Adhesion. Kaladin came into his own as a leader, but it was also magically enhanced, I think.

I predict that we're going to see Kaladin tap into this power more consciously in Wind and Truth, and it will be key in helping to rehabilitate Ishar. It'll also be really powerful to see this ability that's been among Kaladin's weakest become a massive strength for him. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing it.

[cetaitlaverite]

Why All This Music?

Masters of the Air - Rosie Rosenthal x OC

link to the masterlist is here <3

12. A Drop in the Ocean

Freddie’s first real assignment as part of Operation Corona was a baptism of fire, to be sure. Some of the new wireless operators panicked and froze under the pressure when they made contact with the German fighters. Others rose to the challenge. Freddie had to keep an eye on them, ready to jump in and bail them out of trouble if they forgot their training, while also keeping a firm hand on the German fighters she was tuning into herself, calling them off of the American bombers when their real orders had been to shoot them out of the sky.

Three promotions did not come without its share of responsibility. Freddie was responsible not just for her own sabotage and the efforts of the wireless operators in her outfit but for determining which types of subterfuge they were to use, an attempt to predict the fighters’ orders. For this mission, over Berlin, she had told everyone to focus on making the Messers avoid trying to take the bombers out. “Tell them the likelihood of German civilian casualties and casualties of the Nazi brass has been deemed too high to account for American B-17s falling out of the sky,” Freddie had ordered everyone in their briefing. “Call them off of them, tell them the anti-aircraft guns on the ground have been deemed safer. Call them out of formation as a last resort.”

It was stressful. More so than any assignment Freddie had been given as a normal wireless operator. But it was exciting, too. There was no denying the thrill she’d felt as adrenaline had flooded her veins upon hearing the first few German words out of the foreign fighter pilot’s mouth over her radio. She had been completely in her element for the hours she’d spent helping to defend the B-17s. Here was something she could do to really help - not only that, here was something she was good at. A German-speaking wireless operator with a reason to want to protect American bombers. Who could possibly have been better at it?

When the B-17s came back they were relieved of duty. No Luftwaffe fighters had followed them to England. Freddie wasn’t sure how many had made it back, who had made it back, but she had to force herself to trust that Rosie was among them.

She hated not being the first to know. She loved her new position and the hand she played in keeping him safe but resented that she could no longer be the first to talk to him as he came in for landing.

Freddie led countless sabotage operations in just her first month in the role. Her tactics for manipulation became stronger as she better came to understand which orders the pilots responded to without question and which they were suspicious of. She became better at pre-empting their orders, their formations, and their reactions, too. As the Luftwaffe realised there was some sort of British interference in their orders they changed all of their own wireless operators to women. As such, all of the men and boys who had originally been under Freddie’s leadership were swapped out for new, freshly trained women and girls. She was mother-henning two huts’ worth of women both while on duty and off, but they all soon found their feet.

Before anyone knew it, Christmas was coming. Gone were long summer evenings where Freddie could convince Rosie to come and sit with her in the grass, Meatball lying across their laps to demand attention even when their eyes were firmly on each other. It was too cold out now to go anywhere without gloves and a coat. Everyone piled into the officers’ club every evening more to keep warm than to celebrate, but as Christmas decorations were slung on the walls and festive tunes started to be played on the gramophone it was hard not to be just a little bit taken in by all the cheer.

It was set to be Freddie’s third Christmas without Daniel. It was the first one she hadn’t felt like a bullet to the heart. He had loved Christmas. He had loved spending time with his family and Freddie, loved going on walks to look at the Christmas lights before the blackout, had loved giving gifts even though he’d been remarkably terrible at it. 

This year, Freddie was determined to enjoy Christmas. Daniel would have hated to have turned it into a sad time of year. She took to wearing red ribbons in her hair - against uniform regulations but she ranked so highly these days no one ever said anything to her about it - and to playing whichever Christmas songs she knew or was able to learn on the piano when the club wasn’t yet quite so crowded. She started planning her gifts early and thought hard on what to get her nearest and dearest. Her new rank gave her leave from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day and she was dragging Rosie and Meatball home with her.

“Daniel’s parents will be coming over on Christmas Day,” Freddie briefed Rosie as they sat in an otherwise empty compartment on the train to Oxford, “and they won’t be massively weird with you but they’ll certainly ask if we’re together. More out of curiosity than resentment, I imagine. They’ll probably try to show you old photos - if you’re not comfortable then tell me and I’ll intervene. My mum and dad will also probably ask you if we’re together, just so you know. Sorry in advance for all the interrogations you’re about to endure.”

Rosie smiled softly at her from across the compartment. “I’m a lawyer,” he reminded her, “I’m kind of used to it.”

Freddie grinned. “Glad to hear you’re thoroughly prepared.”

“What should I tell them?” he asked abruptly. The words seemed to leave him before he’d properly decided to say them. Even still, he didn’t blush or try to take them back or even start to fiddle, as he may have a few months ago. He sat still and watched her, patiently awaiting her reply.

Freddie paused. “About whether or not we’re together?” she asked. Rosie hummed his affirmation so she continued, “Whatever you think the answer is.”

“What do you think the answer is?”

Freddie sighed and turned her eyes out the window, watching idly as the British countryside rolled by. They hadn’t kissed or anything, but they spent a lot of time together. They held hands sometimes, she sat in his lap sometimes, and she’d given him the occasional kiss on the cheek when she wished him luck before missions. Did that make them together? Or did it just make her too afraid to let them be?

“I don’t know,” she confessed quietly.

“Still deciding?” Rosie asked. He didn’t sound unkind - Rosie was never unkind, especially not to her - but he did sound a little bit put out. And why shouldn’t he be? They’d known each other since August and now it was December. How long was she going to take deciding whether or not she wanted him?

“Still scared,” Freddie corrected him, resting her forehead against the glass of the window.

Rosie sighed quietly but even in her periphery she could see him nodding.

Meatball was resting across Freddie’s lap and she buried her fingers in his fur. “Do you want to open your Christmas presents tomorrow morning with the rest of us or do it privately?” she asked instead of pushing the topic further.

Rosie’s eyebrows rose with scepticism. “What do you mean, ‘presents’?”

Finally, mercifully, Freddie grinned. “Come on, Rosie,” she teased, “don’t tell me you thought you were coming home with me for Christmas and you weren’t going to get anything for your troubles.”

“It’s not any sort of trouble!” Rosie protested, grinning back at her. “I’m glad to be getting to see where you go when you’re off base. And excited to get to meet your dogs, of course.”

“Ah, yes,” Freddie acknowledged. “I did say they’d be your honorary pets, didn’t I?” Back during only their second full conversation, if she recalled correctly, when they’d gotten to know each other beneath the stars just before getting drenched with the sprinklers. The memory made her smile. 

“Anyway,” she continued, getting back on track, “I know you don’t celebrate Christmas but it would have felt strange to me not to get you anything, so I got you a gift - which I think you should have expected, honestly. And since I gave my parents fair warning that you’re coming home with me they may have gotten you something too.”

Rosie laughed as he shook his head, getting all bashful all of a sudden. He was so endearing sometimes it hurt. “You didn’t have to get me anything.”

“Well, I wanted to,” Freddie replied. After a moment’s thought she added, “Sorry if you feel weird getting Christmas presents when you don’t celebrate. None of us mean to offend you.”

Rosie brushed her aside. “You haven’t,” he assured her. “I promise. It’s… it’s really thoughtful of you all, to have thought of me.”

Freddie smiled. “Of course.”

“Do your parents know?” Rosie asked after a moment. “That I’m Jewish?”

“Of course,” she said again. “My dad thought about getting a menorah for the occasion since it’s Hanukkah right now, isn’t it? But he didn’t want to offend anyone since we’re not Jewish. They wanted to try to combine the celebrations a bit - Hanukkah and Christmas, this is - to make sure you feel included, but didn’t know how to go about it, really.” She sighed out a self-conscious little laugh. “I know it’s probably not at all helpful to hear what we might have done and what we thought about doing but I just want you to know that they are fully aware that you’re Jewish and will understand if you don’t want to partake in any of our Christmas traditions. So please don’t feel weird about it or anything.”

Rosie was smiling wide when Freddie next looked across at him. “Your parents,” he began around his beaming smile. “They sound wonderful.”

Freddie herself smiled at this. “They are,” she told him. “You’ll like them, I think. They already like you just from what I’ve told them in my letters.”

Rosie smirked. “Oh? And what have you told them?”

She shrugged coyly. “None of your business.”

When their train finally pulled into Oxford Station, Freddie jumped up, beaming. Rosie took care of both of their bags while Freddie focused on getting Meatball off in one piece, and as soon as they were on the platform Freddie’s parents started calling to her from the other side of the ticket barriers.

“Wils!” her mother was shouting, jumping up and down and waving wildly.

“Mum!” Freddie called back, grinning. “Dad!” She turned back to Rosie and gestured at them. “Those are my parents.”

Rosie chuckled. “I figured.”

Meatball was barking as they attempted to get him, the two of them, and their two bags through the ticket barriers, causing as much commotion as he could, but he calmed once they were through. Wordlessly, Rosie took the lead from Freddie to hold onto Meatball while she greeted her parents, standing back with a small smile as he watched her hug them both tight.

When, eventually, her parents had finished gushing over her, Freddie turned to gesture at Rosie. “This is Rosie,” she told them. “And the nuisance he’s holding onto is Meatball.”

“Hello, both,” Freddie’s father greeted, while her mother approached Rosie with outstretched arms.

“Rosie, dear,” she greeted him, drawing him in for a hug. “It’s so lovely to finally meet you.”

“It’s wonderful to meet you too, ma’am,” Rosie replied, hastily dropping his and Freddie’s bags to reciprocate her hug.

Freddie’s mother scoffed good-naturedly as she let him go. “You can just call me Alma. Or mum, if you prefer. I don’t mind.”

Rosie nodded. “Right.”

“And you must be Meatball,” Freddie’s mother - Alma - went on, turning her attention to Meatball. Freddie laughed as she watched Rosie stand there awkwardly while her mother fawned over the dog at his feet.

“Mum, you can say hello to him once we get home,” she reminded her. “I’ve been stuck living in a freezing cold hut for however many months and I’d rather like to get out of this uniform and sit by the fire, if it’s all the same to you.”

“Back five minutes and already throwing around her demands,” Alma whispered to Rosie conspiratorially as she dutifully rose to her feet. She turned to Freddie with a fond smile. “I hope you don’t order Rosie around the way you do me, Wils, or else I have no idea how he puts up with you.”

Freddie rolled her eyes indulgently and took Meatball’s lead back from Rosie. “He’s a grown man who is quite capable of telling me to piss off if the situation so requires I can assure you, mother.”

Thus, all the way back to the car Freddie was berated by her mother for her foul language.

They spent the journey from the train station to the house all scrunched into the car, discussing everything which had transpired since Freddie had last visited home. Millie was doing fine, she told her parents - was feeling better now about Brady’s fort going down because she’d received a couple of letters from him since, assuring her he was being looked after well enough in a prisoner of war camp (though how much truth there was to the sentiment Freddie wasn’t sure). And Freddie’s work was intense but gratifying - no, she still couldn’t tell them exactly what she was doing, but her father lit up from behind the steering wheel when she assured him she was using her German everyday. 

Freddie’s parents asked Rosie about his work and he told them about his recent missions - as much as he was permitted to in the interests of secrecy, of course - and about his wider responsibilities as a pilot. They asked after his family back home in Brooklyn and what he would be doing if he wasn’t in England and lamented to him that they hadn’t quite managed to work out how to add some Hanukkah celebrations into their Christmas revelry. 

By the time they reached Freddie’s house, Rosie already felt ten times more comfortable with her parents. She had been right. He liked them. Her mother was a lot warmer than he’d expected - she seemed to have accepted Rosie as one of her own before she’d even met him - and her father was more awkward and self-conscious than he was disinterested or standoffish. Freddie described him simply as “Austrian”, which had made Rosie laugh. He hadn’t honestly met enough Austrians to know whether they all behaved that way but he liked her father even still. 

Freddie’s house was beautiful. Not huge but big enough for being relatively close to the city centre. They had a guest bedroom, even, which Alma had made up for Rosie to stay in. There were paintings on the walls and family photographs following him up the stairs. He got to watch Freddie grow up every time he walked up there. There was a grand piano in the living room and an ornate fireplace decorated with traditional Christmas stockings, each with the name of a member of the family embroidered, including the dogs. And at the end of the line, beside Freddie’s stocking, was a new one with Rosie’s name embroidered, and for some reason the sentiment made him want to cry.

Alma mistook his reaction for offence as she showed him into the living room, Freddie long since having disappeared into the kitchen to greet the dogs instead of getting settled in her bedroom as Rosie had. 

“I’m sorry if it’s too forward,” Alma told him, watching him as he looked at the stocking. “I know you don’t celebrate Christmas, I just didn’t want to leave you out -”

“It’s wonderful,” Rosie told her, offering a shy smile as he ran a gentle finger over the red embroidery. “Really. Thank you, ma’am.”

“Alma,” she corrected him, smiling again now. “And think nothing of it. I know you’ve been looking after our Wils for us. This is a drop in the ocean of the thanks we owe you for it.”

Rosie grinned. “I didn’t know that was her name,” he said, instead of risking getting more emotional and responding to her thanks. He inclined his head in the direction of Freddie’s stocking, which had Wilfrieda embroidered on it. 

At this, Alma laughed softly. “She never told you her full name?” Rosie shook his head and she scoffed. “I know she goes by Freddie now - I’m sure it makes her life easier, too - but I think we gave her a beautiful name. Probably a bit too German to give her a quiet life so I understand why she hides it, I just wish she wouldn’t.”

“Wilfrieda,” Rosie read aloud, trying the name out for size. He hadn’t honestly thought very much about what Freddie was short for but it made sense. And it suited her, he thought. Elegant and beautiful, just like she was.

[badassturtles235147]

TMNT 2012: Father Splinter 2 - Raphael

I lot of people think that Splinter does not love Raphael and is very hard on him because he reminds him of Shredder but...you guys can not be more wrong.

Splinter does love Raphael, very much as he does his other children and the reason Splinter is so hard on Raphael is because he reminds him, so much of himself, not Shredder. Which I have explained a long time ago - HERE

Splinter, though it may not seem like, understands his hothead son better than others. Because he was Raphael when he was young.

I imagine Splinter and Raph having a completely different relationship than Leo. While Leonardo is open and honest with Splinter, the same can not be said for Raphael.

Raphael is very prideful and does not like to talk about his feelings, especially with his father. Splinter understood that well, he too, was too prideful for his own good sometimes. With Raphael, Splinter has to take a different approach, he either waits for Raphael to come to him or he annoys his son until he gives up on his stubbornness.

Some people, (and I honestly think this is a stupid reason) think that because Splinter did not pick Raphael as leader and was so 'quick' on the decision that it proved Leo was his favorite.

Maybe that's what Raph thought but...no.

Frist of all, Leo is the eldest, the eldest is always expected to be family head or, in this case, clan head, unless proven otherwise. Second of all, and I have said this before, Splinter did not make that decision as fast as it first appeared.

As he said, "I only said that to tame your ego at the time, I knew even when you were a small boy, that you would one day grow to be the leader of this team."

Splinter raised and trained each of his sons, he knows all their strengths and weaknesses. He has been preparing for this day, when his sons wanted to go above ground and protect others, since they started their training. Yes, Raphael has great qualities of a leader as well, but when under pressure...

You guys remember this? When Raph played leader for a day? Raph thought he could handle the pressure, but in the end, he was quickly proven otherwise.

Splinter probably predicted something like that would happen. That is probably why he was so furious with Leo when he handed over his leadership to Raphael. He did not choose Raphael as leader because he thought he was incapable but because he knew he was not ready.

Raphael does not thrive under pressure like Leonardo does. Usually, his solution to problems is to punch the thing that is making it, but Raph knew that getting angry and punching wouldn't work. When Mikey got hurt, that is when Raph froze and was completely at a loss of what to do. The pressure was too much, and he was so afraid for his brothers.

Raphael took on more than he expected, he was completely unprepared and had no plan. In that moment, all he could think about was Mikey. While Leo could put those emotions aside and focus on the mission, Raph could not.

Splinter knew this. He knew his son was not ready to handle the weight and he never wanted him to. He did not want to put it on Leonardo either but had no choice.

Also.

Raphael has his own burdens and demons to bear, and until he could solve that, he was not yet ready to lead anyone. Splinter did not want to put weight on his second son's shoulders, when he is struggling with enough already.

It was not because Leo was his favorite. It was just because he was better for the role. Leo can handle pressure and carry the weight, but Raphael can't, not yet.

Out of all his sons, Splinter and Raphael are the ones who probably buttheads the most, for one, because they are so much alike and for two...

For Raphael, it's hard being the son of someone so great like his father and constantly feels like he is always letting him as well as his brothers down. For Splinter, he does not understand why Raphael, is constantly trying to prove himself and is so jealous of his older brother when Splinter is always saying how proud he is of all of them.

These two just suck at communication. They both are not good with showing too much emotion except for anger. They try but still.

In Raph's head, Leo's the favorite because Splinter trusts him more and Leo never gets in trouble but it's not that Splinter does not trust his hotheaded son, it's just that he does not think he is ready for the burden and Leo does get in trouble, just not as much as Raphael does because Leo is more cool-headed.

Raph thinks Splinter does not understand him, but Splinter does, and that is why he is so hard on him.

It's not that Splinter neglected Raphael or never shown him love, he has, it's just that Raph has normal child insecurities because he knows that he is the most difficult out of his brothers but really, all the turtles are difficult in their own ways. Raph's just more aware of his because it's easier seen.

And Splinter is only trying to protect Raphael. From himself. Splinter made a lot of mistakes in his youth but his biggest mistake was, losing his temper with Oroku Saki, not seeing the darkness consuming in his ex-brother until it was too late...

Splinter does not want it to be too late for Raphael, that is why he is always so hard on him. He does not want his son to live with the same pain and regret he did.

Raphael loves his father and deep down, he knows his father loves him too. He just got blinded by jealously for a while. However, at the end of the day, despite their arguments, Raphael always has his father's back.

"But-But it wasn't your fault. Shredder insulted you, y-you had no choice!"

"I can't believe you called him, if anything happens to Splinter-!"

"What choice did I have Raph?!"

"Leave him alone, Karai!"

"We'll never leave you, Sensei!"

Just as Splinter always has his.

"I understand you too!"

"No choice? I could have chosen to ignore him. I could have chosen to let his words wash over me, like a river, over stone. But I let him anger me. It was I, who turned his words into weapons."

"That's the choice, I made. What choice will you make?"

"Raphael, do you know what I do when I miss my love ones from the past?"

"No."

"I think about the friend and family I have now."

"It is Japanese for, "this means nothing"

"It-It isn't some magical chant?"

"No. The mantra meant nothing, just as fear means nothing. Neither of them has any power, except the power you give them in your mind."

"Whoa, that's deep! I think I get it, Sensei."

"Good. Now, do not tell your brothers. I might use that trick on them, one day. *Chuckle*"

(Too bad he never did....:(

Despite what others may thing, Splinter and Raph have a close father-son relationship. It's just different than it was with Leonardo.

Splinter is always trying to be understanding with Raphael and guide him through his troubles, and Raphael, respects his father and looks up to him, so much so, that every mistake he makes, he feels like he is letting him down.

However, Splinter was and always will be proud of Raphael.

They may not be as open or as honest with each other, like Splinter and Leonardo, but they have a supportive and loving, father-son relationship.

Leonardo

Donatello

[lemonhemlock]

The thing I have also noticed about targies is that they not only refuse to engage with the historical precedents of a pseudo medieval world, but they admit that for them the magic is the main appeal for of HOTD/ASOIAF.....which is incredibly bizarre to me because Martin, whether intentionally or not, has thrown the more magical elements of the story to the wayside, in order to focus on the human socio-political drama in both ASOIAF and Fire and Blood. ASOIAF, in general, is very 'low fantasy' there is very little magic, the magic that is there is not thoroughly explained, and the Others, the big bad of the series, has been mentioned approximately three times over five books and 25 years. The magic is essentially a plot device and not even a device that Martin particularly likes to use lmaoo.

Anyway this hyper focus on magic and the inability to see what GRRM is doing with magic - it's not the solution it's the problem - is a big reason the fandom is so....off in their predictions. Like, the dragons are not saviors, there is no prophesied savior, etc.

This is why targies are always harping on how there is no way for Sansa to be QITN or even go back to Winterfell because she lost her 'MaGIcAL ConNeCTioN' when Lady was offed - as if I'm supposed to give a fuck about direwolves or what the fuck 'warging' is lmaooo when there are vastly more interesting human dramas and political plots playing out in the series.

Conversely, this is why King Bran as Martin's endgame is so stupid imo lmao. He's giving a magical solution for a political human drama that he's been setting up for five books and has not done enough to build up the importance of magic in the series. Like, I'm sorry but a seven year old all seeing Tree Wizard Warlock as King of the 7K is an absolutely hilarious endgame and makes all the philosophical discussions about good rulers and leadership a joke.

Bullseye. 🎯

The only caveat I have is that, while I agree with your assertion that ASOIAF is low-fantasy, the magical element does slowly gain in importance and it's fair to say that the characters who ignore the magical threats (the Others, dragons) are categorically in the wrong and will end up paying for it. But it is very, very likely that the end of the series will see Westeros returning to a normal climate and the disappearance of magic once and for all. The man himself is on record saying magic can be a hindrance and part of the problem!

This is my personal theory as to why he is taking so much time to publish The Winds of Winter, not just because he wrote himself into a corner with the Meereenese knot, making it very difficult to get Dany to Westeros in one book. But it's also that the King Bran ending doesn't make any sense. Perhaps that was indeed his original planned ending, perhaps that was indeed what he told D&D all those years ago, but as he likes to consider himself a gardener-type of writer, the garden he tended started to grow beyond his control and now having a CCTV Tree in charge of Westeros at the end of the series directly contradicts the themes he developed for nearly 30 years.

No hate to Bran, who is an OK kid, but everyone else in the series who's become entangled with the magic to that extent has paid dearly for it. We have Beric Dondarrion on page telling us exactly how it takes its toll and he feels himself becoming less human. Bran also commits several other transgressions that would normally have other characters cursed or punished via deus-ex-machina like warging into Hodor and eating jojenpaste (the last is theoretically unconfirmed, but come on).

At the end of the day, he is an immature child who's being used as a pawn by Bloodraven, with little formal training in the ways of being a lord (the bare minimum), no practical experience with leadership, no social skills and no charisma. These are all consequences imposed on him given his status as a fugitive and not his fault by any means or reflective of a lack of inclination, but they are practical realities nonetheless. GRRM has spent so many pages already criticising poor leadership skills and has always punished bad, immoral, incompetent OR naive people in positions of power - how is he going to make an exception out of Bran without negating literally every other POV he's chosen to write? This is a serious problem in the construction of the story.

He's also already been caught with his pants down by the show and saw for himself how nearly everyone either hated or mocked the King Bran endgame. I'm really very curious what was his opinion on that and whether it made him reflect in any way. D&D did indeed make a hodgepodge of the final season, but it's still got to sting to see how the majority of viewers thought it was a completely random choice and a joke ending.

[fatehbaz]

From Atlanta to Chicago [...]. These cop cities are training grounds for police violence and must be dismantled to restore a world where life is precious.

In a stunning yet utterly predictable act, Chicago’s “cop academy” has officially opened on the West Side complete with a ribbon-cutting in front of fake street signs and fake housing.

In a city reeling from extreme poverty, a lack of affordable housing, myriad environmental injustices, food apartheid, [...] and in a city where at least 65,000 people are experiencing homelessness, the leadership of the city of Chicago spent $128 million to build fake homes on the city’s resource-starved West Side where officers can practice the violence and brutality that they will mete out to Chicago residents.

---

In a disturbing photo, Mayor Lightfoot, [...] Fire Commissioner Nance-Holt and others smile while cutting a red ribbon, proud to have brought this into being. Adding insult to injury, the thirty-two-acre cop academy was built on the city’s West Side, where decades of racist policy (such as redlining and other housing discrimination and disinvestment) by the city government in this majority-nonwhite community have already given way to poverty and population loss. (In just one example, the Rahm Emanuel administration closed half of the West Side’s mental health clinics in 2012, then shuttered numerous West Side schools in his historic closure of fifty schools in 2013.) [...]

---

Lest there be any doubt as to whether or not West Siders actually want this cop academy, in 2018 the organizers of the No Cop Academy campaign polled West Garfield Park residents [...]. 95 percent recommended that the city invest in something else - beyond the Chicago Police Department [...]

What kind of society eagerly spends millions of dollars to build fake neighborhoods, but cannot muster the funds to provide actual housing for the unhoused? What kind of society would rather stage and practice violence than provide mental health resources or violence interruption to communities reeling from it everyday? Unfortunately, such questions arise on a routine basis in this city.

---

And it is not only in this city. [...] For Chicago, like so many cities across the US, we must remember that policing is not a “rational” response to something called “crime.” Instead, it is a war on poor people (particularly Black and Brown poor people). As Ruth Wilson Gilmore argues, this war treats incarceration as a solution to social and economic ills while conveniently stripping poor and working-class people of color of their political rights and autonomy. [...]

---

Additionally, in a cynical move decried by Chicago youth organizers, a chapter of the Boys and Girls Club is set to open at the facility. This is despite Chicago having the second most killings by police of youth under eighteen in the country, and despite several high-profile CPD murders of youth such as thirteen-year-old Adam Toledo and twenty-two-year-old Anthony Alvarez just in the last few years. [...]

They want a fake village where no one lives or thrives. They spend millions on a theme park to practice surveilling, policing, and controlling people. This vision can never be a home for anyone, and thus the Cop Academy should have no place in our city if we are to make Chicago, someday, a true home for its residents. [...]

--

We must refuse to allow such sadism to become normalized, and continue to make clear in the face of a city leadership which laughs, that, as Ruth Wilson Gilmore says, “where life is precious, life is precious.” [...]

Like the brave protesters facing off against the horrific violence of Atlanta’s proposed Cop City, organizers in Chicago have fought a valiant campaign against the cop academy since it was first proposed during the Emanuel administration. The No Cop Academy campaign, led by Black youth across the city, has led countless protests and actions and was endorsed by more than 100 organizations. [...]

Though the structures have been built, the fight against the cop academy (as well as similar projects in Atlanta and elsewhere) must continue: we must transform every fake cop neighborhood into real, affordable housing and vibrant neighborhoods where every person has what they need to thrive.

---

Text by: Nisha Atalie. “From Atlanta to Chicago, Cop Cities Breed Violence.” Rampant Magazine. 30 January 2023. [Italicized first paragraph in this post is directly quoted from the title and subheading printed alongside the article at Rampant.]

[furinana]

"Why is this SMT4 character blushing?"

Disclaimer: I won't be counting scenes where characters are possessed, under a spell or the obviously fake beach DLC because this is for accurate character analysis purposes.

Reaction after Hikaru says she's interested in their group. After receiving rejection after rejection from Isabeau, Walter instantly gets his hopes up with another girl with (seemingly) the same age.

Hikaru means light. Morning light... When you think about it, does the fact that the Ring of Gaea is comprised of many female warriors (to the point of being under leadership of matriarchs) has also something to do with Walter getting bewitched by the Chaos alignment so fast? Lucifer's disguise being a highschool girl in this universe doesn't seem like a coincidence.

Law boy gets flustered whenever Walter insists on asking stuff that he, well, isn't compatible with.

In both scenes it's ambiguously conveyed but with sufficient lore in mind, a player will deduce the reason for the red cheeks is due to Walter assuming both share the same type of thoughts towards girls. Jonathan becomes nervous because he feels too embarrassed to be frank on the reasons he doesn't. Possibly something else is added on it, but ultimately it's up to the player...

Isabeau becomes stiff over showing a vulnerable side and breaking her serious warrior front that is needed specially as the sole female Samurai of the group. Hell, the only women we see dressed in Samurai garb around besides her are zombies

The majority was shame over her otaku hobby but in two occasions she becomes nervous at the sight of undressed men and in one from when you're done with the Ring of Gaea's training she lets out her bashful admiration for Flynn (that might get missed by a good portion of players due to the necessity of Flynn being neutral for this scene to play).

Asahi's dad getting the blushes after Flynn throws a flattering remark at Asahi and Nanashi becoming full-fledged Hunters as if he said "Look how far you got as their father!". As evident by how grumpy he becomes when Asahi calls him "dad" when he's working, he feels uneasy at the prospect of not being taken seriously if he's anything but a tough Boss.

It's possible that this behavior rubbed off on Nanashi...

Asahi's crush is straightforwardly part of her character rather than open to interpretation (or an easter egg even) so there's an element of predictability in her case over others.

Everyone recognizes she's super close with Nanashi but something about the fidgety way she acts gives the impression she might be afraid of potentially making Nanashi grow distant in case it happens that he doesn't return her feelings. She also showed to be reluctant in accepting compliments (be they coming from Nanashi or Cleopatra) which exposes a sense of inadequacy from her part.

For a character that was supposed to be Ashura-kai's "spy", Hallelujah soon reveals himself to be a boy with a heart of gold easily vulnerable with Asahi and Nanashi for both heavy and lighthearted subjects, to a point where one could mistake him as being close with the duo for longer than what he's been.

A player will deduce that a reddened Hallelujah is from imagining himself getting made fun or looked down by others since such scenario might have constantly played whenever he showed an exploitable demeanor to Abe and other Ashura-kai members. It's nothing short of a miracle that he didn't let the toxic masculinity of a yakuza group change him

Toki is the "odd" one out of this post because even if you carefully curate the parts where she's not possessed by Inanna, her infatuation nonetheless starts to exist specifically because of the Aether thus it's intrinsic to her character differently from one-time comedic scenes.

In one interpretation, you could say the Aether set free the "devil in the shoulder" and made Toki's inner thoughts become amplified. Even after going separate ways from the Ring of Gaea, Toki directly states she will stay aligned to Chaos in her own terms. In the end, she might not need deep reasons to be attracted to Nanashi similar to Walter jumping onto pretty girls he just met...

Or in another way of seeing it, Toki's thoughts became distorted or possibly even amalgamated with thoughts of other people considering the Aether is stated to be produced from thoughts of humans of Tokyo. Which gives validity to why some players think Toki's consent in this scenario is debatable, similarly to Dagda's influence on Nanashi. But Krishna did comment that humans were supposed to have free will...

Gaston becomes rigid in the context of being thanked by or transparently show concern for his young teammates, possibly from desiring clear boundaries as the "Samurai figurehead" of the group.

In a later private message sent for Nanashi it's made clear that deep down the main reason he gave up on Mikado was because it was through providing protection for your party that he could keep accomplishing his duties thus where he felt needed. Behold the most monumental example of tsundere in the game

[myemuisemo]

"On the Great Alkali Plain" part 2, from Letters from Watson, arrived in my inbox this morning, bringing with it a predictable cloud of dust from approaching horses (since this isn't a George R.R. Martin novel, so we're not going to introduce characters just to kill them off immediately).

But what a caravan! When the head of it had reached the base of the mountains, the rear was not yet visible on the horizon. Right across the enormous plain stretched the straggling array, waggons and carts, men on horseback, and men on foot. Innumerable women who staggered along under burdens, and children who toddled beside the waggons or peeped out from under the white coverings.

Either we're running late on the Oregon Trail (since Doyle did not have social media to live-blog progress across the dusty waste) or the year 1847 is important, and these are Mormons.

“Shall I go forward and see, Brother Stangerson,” asked one of the band.

These have got to be Mormons.

“Nigh upon ten thousand,” said one of the young men; “we are the persecuted children of God—the chosen of the Angel Merona.”

Tell me you're a Mormon without telling me you're a Mormon.

“We are the Mormons,” answered his companions with one voice.

OMG, they're Mormons.

This makes the geographic names a little dicey -- the Mormon Trail ran through Wyoming, similar but not identical to today's I-80, so the Rio Grande River should be nowhere nearby -- but Doyle didn't have access to Google Maps, and it's not like his readers in the UK would go factcheck. Even with the Transcontinental Railroad completed back in 1869, most places in the Great American Desert were still remote in the 1880s, and California on the far end was still feeling the effects of isolation. Doyle also misspells the Angel Moroni and uses a masculine-ending name on a Sierra, so he's working from popular myth and the memory of things he's read. I wonder how many letters with corrections he received.

(At the time Doyle was writing, "Mormon" was the term used by the group themselves. Since about the 1980s, church leadership started urging the use of "Latter-Day Saints" instead. When I lived in Phoenix, that's near a big LDS population in Mesa, so I wince at using the older term. From here on out, if I'm quoting Doyle, I'll use "Mormon," but if I'm talking, I'll stick to LDS.)

The big reason the LDS wagon train is headed west is because they practiced polygamy at the time, and this was considered both illegal and immoral in larger U.S. society. (That's not a critique of polyamory today, when enthusiastic concept and clear rules are normalized.)

So far Doyle's account of the LDS party is generally positive -- they're organized, efficient, knowledgeable about their surroundings, prepared for danger, and responsible toward people needing rescue, if a bit holier-than-thou -- but I can't believe he's going to handle polygamy with anything other than distaste.

Polygamy is the thing LDS have been known for (to their chagrin after the mainstream LDS church banned it), so at the end of this section, Doyle's original audience is split into two groups:

Readers who have no real idea what a "Mormon" is and accept it as just one more crazy American thing, who now figure Lucy is rescued and wonder what goes wrong later to lead to murder; and

Readers who know about polygamy and are feeling dread for Lucy.

[niqhtlord01]

Humans are weird: No sense in Dying

( Don’t forget to come see my on my new patreon and support me for early access to stories and personal story requests :D https://www.patreon.com/NiqhtLord )    

Military Report 3759612.3 Subject: Harvest Conflict Category: Mendigold Incident

Star date: 3751.2 Coalition forces have driven off remaining Reni Fleet contingents and have full control over the Mendigold system.

Consisting of four worlds, the system only has Mendigold Prime had a livable environment while the remaining three have minimal mining and colonization facilities.

Mendigold Prime was designated a military garrison world to the Reni empire. As such the installations on the planet were largely dedicated to the Reni military industrial complex. City sized barracks, underground ammunition warehouses, dozens of football sized landing fields, and uncountable training grounds for various aspects of the Reni military were the primary structures on the planet. Only a small percentage of the Reni population was designated civilian and they were regulated to either industrial support roles or service industries that entertain off duty soldiers.

On average the planet’s population was between 500 million - 1 billion, with 93% of that being military personnel. This number was subject to fluctuation due to military units rotating in and out for different warzones. When the Coalition arrived in system the population was estimated 3 Billion as the Reni military had been preparing for a renewed offensive into Coalition territory and had diverted the majority of their military ground forces gathered on planet. Star date 3751.3 The Coalition naval fleets have surrounded Mendigold Prime and a blockade has been enforced.

Orbital defenses around the main military bases keep the naval assets from conducting recon scans from lower orbit, but their firing range is limited allowing for the rest of the planet to be mapped without issue.

Scans show that the planet is heavily fortified with existing prefabricated structures while additional defenses had been constructed. These consisted of extensive trench works, bunkers, and newly built gun positions that surrounded each installation for at least three kilometers in every direction.

Further reinforcing the defense of the planet was a large and well equipped air force. The scans showed the existence of several underground bunker complexes that housed the aircraft and protected them from all but a sustained orbital strike. Due to the lack of resistance in the space around the planet it was believed that they were limited to atmospheric aircraft, but it was not discounted that they possessed some fighters that could breach the atmosphere and attack the Coalition navy.

Routine scans were continued while Coalition leadership met to debate plans for the invasion of the planet.

Star Date 3751.6 Coalition leaders were unable to decide on how the ground invasion of Mendigold would progress.

All calculations predicted that any planetary landing would cost Coalition forces 15%. Assaulting any of the heavily defended installations estimated 35% per installation and a total planet conquest at 87% casualty rate.

Unlike previous worlds the Reni had attacked they had only a few months to entrench themselves before the Coalition could respond, but Mendigold was the first Reni military world the coalition had come into contact with and now faced the might of a well disciplined and prepared enemy.

Such casualty figures were well beyond what even the most bloodthirsty Coalition leader take pause. These kinds of losses would cripple the rest of the campaign and leave any future planetary assaults all but impossible.

The debate about what should be done went on for two days while the coalition navy maintained its blockade of the planet. By the third day the leader of the human contingent spoke up with a rather brutal method.

Rather than invading the human leader, a General Herald Farn, suggested that they simply maintain the blockade and wait for the planet to starve out and surrender.

This tactic was all but unheard of and many called it cowardly. It was all the more surprising when it came from a human whose people are known to be well renowned warriors.

General Farn counters the dissenting arguments by stating that it is likewise madness to send their ground forces into a meat grinder and waste them so needlessly.

Taking control of the holographic display, General Farn recommended that by surgically striking the store houses holding the rations and food supplies the Reni would be unable to maintain rationing for long. He then provided data that while the planet was a military world with extensive supply facilities, it was never intended to have such a large garrisoning force for extended periods.

General Farn promised that within a week they would begin seeing results.

Star date 3751.13

Initial bombardment operations were successful.

Over 67% of supply depots that were targeted were destroyed by orbital bombardment in addition to knocking out all satellite communication platforms orbiting the planet . A following 12% were damaged but note entirely destroyed while the remaining 21% received minor to no damage. Anti-orbital defenses around the remaining 21% was too strong for naval forces to breach long enough to carry out precise strikes and after losing three cruisers and ten frigates the coalition navy withdrew and considered the operation done.

After that scans showed renewed activity by ground forces to further strengthen their areas in the days following. New trench lines were dug and the remaining supplies were dispersed to prevent another critical loss.

Reni forces remained on active alert for four days straight but with no follow up strikes they were largely left to their own devices. With no communication between the defense pockets larger coordinated defense efforts ceased.

Several small parties were seen leaving the larger defended areas and going out into the few wild areas that remained on the planet. Analysts summarized that commanders were now foraging for provisions to supplement their dwindling stocks.

General Farn took this as confirmation that the plan was working and within the coming weeks the Reni ground forces would surrender. The coalition leaders agreed and allowed the plan to continue.

Star date 3751. 20

Larger foraging parties have now been seen departing the fortified enclaves and spreading out further in search of supplies. While unconfirmed it has been seen that several of these detachments have engaged in small skirmishes with other foraging parties from different enclaves.

Two weeks have passed since the supply depot bombardments and the rapidly degrading state of the Reni military can be seen from orbit within the cities. Small fires have broken out in the more fortified enclaves while smaller redoubts have entirely emptied of all personnel. It is unknown if this was by order or general desertion due to lack of supplies but the number of abandoned bases is increasing.

Star date 3751.27

First displays of open aggression between fortified enclaves have broken out as the supply situation has reached critical mass.

The spaceport under the command of Reni General Hopi was attacked. Spy drones were dispatched to the surface and returned video feeds depicting the attackers to have come from the Central Command Block under the command of Reni General Filar.

Military intelligence had prior to the Mendigold campaign had shown there had been a deep hatred between the two generals that went far beyond minor squabbling. With the cut off of supplies the hatred may have boiled over into outright violence, as Filar may have believed Hopi still had supplies left at the spaceport.

For the first time in recorded history Reni fought Reni and the Coalition watched as massed Reni infantry fought against waves of the spaceport defense air force.

While this engagement was the largest battle in the brewing Reni civil war on the planet it was not the only conflict. All over the globe Reni forces were fighting each other in a desperate need for supplies.

Star date 3751.30

The situation on the surface is now entirely untenable.

While Coalition leaders have agreed the starvation tactic was successful at weakening the Reni forces, it has produced the unhealthy side effect of triggering a massive Reni civil war planetside.

Central command no longer exists for the Reni as each enclave commander has now become a sudo warlord in their own right. There is no one leader to open a dialogue with now to demand terms of surrender, and even if they did accept it they would only be able to stand down the forces loyal to them while other warlords would continue fighting.

Coalition leaders have no idea how to defuse the situation, with only General Farn calling the operation a success.

Reni forces have begun dwindling rapidly as each enclaves seeks to horde whatever few supplies remain. Estimated Reni casualties now range in the 500 million range with more expected in the coming days as starvation finally takes its full toll on the Reni population.

With no concise plan of action and the planet now having lost all tactical value, the Coalition fleet has decided to continue the campaign and leave Mendigold to its fate. A tribunal has been called to have the human General Farn answer potential crimes that resulted from his order. Until the war is over however it is not likely that the human would lose his position or rank.

[nenelonomh]

human resource management pt.4

woah! part four!

currently revising for my business exam on 28-05-24, so i'm writing and scheduling some revision posts. in these posts, i copy my chaotic notes into tumblr post format - it's a fun way for me to revise.

this post will focus on the hrm topics of training and development, discipline and grievances, and workforce planning. it will be the last part of my hrm revision series. below are links to the other three posts.

part 1 | part 2 | part 3

training and development

this hrm topic refers to the process of acquiring skills, knowledge and attitudes to enhance employees' job performance. some features of training and development are addressing training needs, and evaluating both the process and outcomes of the training.

examples of this include onboarding programs, skill-specific training, leadership development, and performance management.

advantages of a business investing in training and development for it's employees include error minimization, and enhanced product or service quality. due to this, customer satisfaction is likely to increase. there is also likely to be reduced employee turnover, as the employees will feel as if they matter to the organization.

some disadvantages include the costs of time and finance. a company may feel the need to stay updated with the latest training methodologies, which can add to the costs. additionally, if a business does not evenly distribute training and development programs, a skill gap may arise between trained and untrained employees.

discipline and grievances

discipline is the act of an employer addressing and possibly punishing employee behaviour or performance issues. it can be used to correct and prevent future misconduct among employees. an employer may reprimand an employee's behaviour through verbal warnings, warnings in writing, suspension, demotion, or termination. of course, the severity of the punishment depends on the severity of the misconduct.

discipline helps to establish clear expectations for behaviour and performance, also creating a culture of accountability and professionalism. however, excessive discipline without room for employee input or improvement can lead to disengagement.

grievances refer to statements or complaints raised by an employee against a fellow employee/employer. grievance procedures are put in place to deal with formal complaints in an unbiased manner.

possible topics for grievances include pay and benefits, bullying, harassment, working conditions, and workload. grievances help to pinpoint problems within a company, promoting a feeling of fairness and serving as a feedback system for the business.

workforce planning

workforce planning refers to the overall management of an organization's workforce. it is a systematic process that will assess the needs or an organization's workforce and does what is necessary to meet these human resource needs. it is the backbone of human resources management.

most importantly, this planning anticipates the future needs of a business's staff, working on the future needs of the staff of a company.

workforce planning benefits all staff by predicting possible future problems, which allows the issue to be resolved swiftly when it does occur. there are fewer resource risks involved in workforce planning when a workforce plan is reactive to change.

one problem associated with workforce planning is that it can be very time-consuming. it takes a long time to develop and implement a workforce plan and can diverge attention away from other business activities.

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i've finally explored all the hrm topics in tumblr post form. i hope you were able to learn something!

i look forward to any feedback or questions from other ibdp business students, or anyone interested in business topics.

❤️ nene

image source: pinterest