#United Umbrage

[smoothbrainstuff]

You don't wanna know how long this took me

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Chris Geidner at Law Dork:

For the past 20 months, the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Democrats have investigated the ongoing ethical questions surrounding the U.S. Supreme Court, and now Committee Chair Dick Durbin is sharing what they’ve found. “This report and its findings make clear that passage of the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act, which was reported by the Senate Judiciary Committee on September 5, 2023, is a necessary step,“ the majority staff report issued on Saturday concludes, noting that more investigation is needed because “none of the justices have been directly questioned about their alleged misconduct.“ Although the investigation is coming to an end because the Democrats are losing the majority in January, Durbin released the 93-page majority staff report detailing what they were able to find — and also making public more than 800 pages of relevant supporting documents. “[T]he Supreme Court has allowed a culture of misconduct to metastasize into a full-blown crisis that has driven public opinion of the Court to historic lows,” the report states. “Justices appointed by presidents of both parties have engaged in conduct that ranges from questionable to clearly violative of federal ethics laws, and several justices have done so consistently without suffering negative consequences.” The report takes particular umbrage at the receipt of gifts by Justice Clarence Thomas, asserting, “The number, value, and extravagance of the gifts accepted by Justice Thomas have no comparison in modern American history.” It also concludes that Justice Sam Alito “has created the appearance of impropriety in several instances that necessitate his recusal in specific cases under federal law.” The report acknowledges the role that ProPublica played in advancing this inquiry, having published what the report describes as “several major exposés revealing extensive allegations of apparent ethical misconduct by sitting and former justices of the Supreme Court of the United States” — the first of which addressed Thomas’s relationship with Harlan Crow. (Notably, the report also highlights the fact that several senators, including Durbin, were looking into Thomas’s receipt of “favors” from Crow more than a decade earlier — something I’ve covered here.)

Saturday morning, the Senate Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee released a report on SCOTUS’s ethics crisis decrying the “culture of misconduct”, especially from “Justices” Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas and GOP megadonor Harlan Crow.

[zvaigzdelasas]

US Threats led to rupture of vital military ties, Nigerien leader says - WaPo

A crucial military relationship between the United States and its closest West African ally, the country of Niger, ruptured this spring after a visiting U.S. official made threats during last-ditch negotiations over whether American troops based there would be allowed to remain, according to the country’s prime minister.

In an exclusive interview, Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine put the blame for the breakdown squarely on the United States, accusing American officials of trying to dictate which countries Niger could partner with and failing to justify the U.S. troop presence, now scheduled to end in the coming months. Niger has been central to efforts to contain a growing Islamist insurgency in West Africa.

The rift between the former allies has created an opportunity for Russia, which has moved quickly to deepen its relationship with Niger, dispatching troops to the capital, Niamey, last month to train the Nigerien military and supplying a new air defense system. Russian and U.S. troops now occupy opposite ends of an air base.

After a military coup d’état ousted Niger’s democratically elected president last year, the United States froze security support as required by U.S. law and paused counterterrorism activities, which had involved intelligence gathering on regional militant activities from a massive drone base in the country’s north. The United States has kept more than 1,000 military personnel in place while negotiating with Niger over their status and urging the junta to begin restoring democracy.

“The Americans stayed on our soil, doing nothing while the terrorists killed people and burned towns,” Zeine said. “It is not a sign of friendship to come on our soil but let the terrorists attack us. We have seen what the United States will do to defend its allies, because we have seen Ukraine and Israel.”

Niger’s insistence that American troops depart culminated in the U.S. announcement last month that it would withdraw them. The pullout, which two U.S. officials said would begin in coming months, represents a significant setback for the Biden administration and will force it to reconfigure its strategy for countering Islamist extremists in the volatile Sahel region.

Though tense discussions between U.S. and Nigerien officials have been previously reported, Zeine’s remarks revealed the extent of the disconnect between the two countries. While the Americans were pressing their counterparts over democracy and their relations with other countries, Niger was asking for additional military equipment and what it considered a more equitable relationship between the two forces, according to his account. He also revealed just how exasperated the Nigeriens had become with the United States.

Relations with the United States have been strained since the junta took power, appointing Zeine, an economist, as prime minister two weeks later. The U.S. government condemned the coup and called for the release of President Mohamed Bazoum, who was put under house arrest.

Zeine said leaders of Niger’s new government, known as the National Council for Safeguarding the Homeland, or by its French initials CNSP, were bewildered that the United States had frozen military support while insisting on keeping the troops in the country without justifying their continued presence. The American response in the wake of Niger’s coup contrasted sharply with that of other nations, including Russia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, he said, which have welcomed the new Nigerien leaders with “open arms.”

He said the Nigerien leaders took particular umbrage at remarks by Molly Phee, the State Department’s top official for African affairs, who he said had urged the government during a March visit to Niamey to refrain from engaging with Iran and Russia in ways objectionable to Washington if Niger wanted to continue its security relationship with the United States. He also said Phee had further threatened sanctions if Niger pursued a deal to sell uranium to Iran.

“When she finished, I said, ‘Madame, I am going to summarize in two points what you have said,’” recounted Zeine, who has led negotiations with the United States. “First, you have come here to threaten us in our country. That is unacceptable. And you have come here to tell us with whom we can have relationships, which is also unacceptable. And you have done it all with a condescending tone and a lack of respect.”[...]

Since 2012, the United States has maintained a military presence in Niger, with most U.S. personnel stationed at the Agadez drone base, which cost about $110 million to build. That base has been “impactful” for counterterrorism efforts across the region, said Gen. Michael E. Langley, who heads U.S. military operations in Africa. In an interview earlier this year, Langley warned that the U.S. losing its footprint in Niger would “degrade our ability to do active watching and warning, including for homeland defense.”[...]

When Phee first arrived in Niger in December, Zeine said, he showed her photographs of Nigeriens waving American flags during protests against France, Niger’s former colonial power. While protesters set fires and smashed windows at the French Embassy, he noted, they left the U.S. Embassy untouched.

“Nigeriens were saying, ‘Americans are our friends, they will help us this time to annihilate the terrorists,’” said Zeine. “But there was radio silence.” He added that Niger would have not looked to Russia and other countries for help if the United States had responded to requests for more support, including for planes, drones and an air defense system.[...]

Although Niger is insisting that the U.S. military leave, Zeine said that his government wants to continue economic and diplomatic relations with the United States and that “no Nigerien considers the United States as the enemy.” He said he told Phee and Campbell that Niger would rather have American investors than soldiers.

“If American investors arrived, we would give them what they wanted,” he recounted telling the States Department officials. “We have uranium. We have oil. We have lithium. Come, invest. It is all we want.”

14 May 24

[danwhobrowses]

One Piece Chapter 1115 - Initial Thoughts

And we are back from another break

Another sneaky upload while I was coming home from work by TCB, plus other business has delayed me a bit, but now we can get to it

Secrets are pouring out, Joy Boy the pirate

Tell us more, Vegapunk

Spoilers for the Chapter, Support the Official Release too

Back with the Yamato cover story, packing a lunch with Toko and Hiyori

And we're sticking with Wano since even they have the broadcast

They have the flag up as well, Straw Hat territory

Seems they had a Den Den Mushi in Orochi's possessions

Momo muses about Joy Boy being a pirate, having learned about him from Oden's journal

Tama's still there enjoying food too, seems like she lives in the palace now

Shinobu though hasn't 'matured' to her usual look, still looks younger

G4 Base?

Oh fucking...really? XD Demaro Black doesn't miss a hustle

Fake Kid Pirates mein godt hahahaha give it up lad

I mean why would you want to pose as someone who's worth 3 billion? You know how many would kill for 3 billion?

The navy at Egghead are also listening intently to his broadcast, as Vegapunk goes deeper into Joy Boy's past

He's only able to cover from a few Poneglyphs he's had access to (likely the ones Ohara had) but as we expected, a great war occurred; Joy Boy vs the future World Government

Dude was THIS CLOSE to the 'wait, are we the baddies?' moment

Warcury is not happy, as he still chases Luffy and the giants through fire

Mars is pissed too, using his Conqueror's Haki to destroy as many Den Den Mushi as he can find

Vegapunk continues though; of course the WG were just known as the 'Allied Powers' a coalition of 20 kingdoms against Joy Boy's faction - which in itself is a frightening display of Joy Boy's strength, even the superpowers of today could be taken down by a couple countries united, but 20? It took 20!

Alas, Vegapunk doesn't know why the nations were in conflict, just that it was a clash of ideologies, likely control vs freedom, but he chooses not to judge the morality

Zunesha is pensive, as the broadcast emits through Zou

CARROT! We missed you dearie, she's got a fancy Duke coat but she should be in Egghead with the crew ¬_¬

Still, she marvels at Vegapunk noting how Joy Boy's kingdom was advanced beyond even modern science

Oh lord, it isn't just Demaro Black we're bringing up for joke cameos, I know that laugh, I know that headpiece!

Mother Fucking Foxy XD What is that tache man?

Seems it's just him, Porche and Hamburg sailing on a little boat, bandaged up and getting the rumblies

We go back to Stussy, who is contacted by Edison as Kaku lounges in the bubble still

Edison encourages Stussy to drop the barrier, it's useless since the Gorosei could just break through

Feels like you could've called her before diving through the barrier and nearly killing yourself bud

Saturn's also using haki to destroy the Den Den Mushi

Edison puts his confidence in the Straw Hats though

Nami contacts Jinbe, still carrying Zoro - who takes umbrage with him apologizing, since he was busy dealing with Lucci

Nami notices that the blockade is moving to their escape route, encouraging they hurry in her own way

Back to Stussy, she shows relief that the Straw Hats are likely to escape, but without Vegapunk, she wonders what remains for her, she has no purpose

Something Kaku seems pensive about, perhaps even sympathetic, since he can't suggest to her the zoo

Back to V. Nusjuro and Bonney kicks at the Gorosei as he seems to cut Oimo

Not a good landing for Sanji either

Seems V. Nusjuro's not paying full attention to the fight either, trying to use his Observation Haki to sense where the broadcast snail is

Still, he breaks free and slices at Bonney, only for her to be saved by Franky

The slash cuts the figurehead of the giant's ship, better that than Bonney's head, but now she's tuckered out since Distorted Future takes up stamina

As V. Nusjuro leaves the battle and we pan to Zunesha and the Iron Giant we confirm that the void century ended with Joy Boy's defeat

It's not the biggest revelation since the WG rule the world after all, but it also puts further context into all the regrets with Joy Boy and his comrades we have read about in the past

To limit the amount of life signs on the island, V. Nusjuro takes more drastic action, cutting the entire Labophase in half

This causes the CP agents and the bubbled Seraphim to fall to the Fabriophase below

As the Gorosei let gravity try to take those who swore loyalty to them, Vegapunk makes the latest revelation

Sea travel is perilous around the world, it's common knowledge, but a millenia ago it was not; the ancient world, the civilizations that existed in the void century, it's all underwater - they built on top of the ancient world

Also I gotta point out there's some absolutely stunning visual panels in this chapter

Koushiro and the Revolutionary Army also react to the broadcast, only he, Sabo and Dragon appear pensive

Coco Village!? Gen san how you doing! And Nojiko! Still preferred the short hair but she don't care about no global warming she has tangerines to look after XD

Vegapunk continues; before there were vast continents, which'd explain why so few would go out to sea beforehand, and with all of the evidence underwater it explains how the WG can erase a century of history, but it goes deeper - figuratively and literally

Since the void century, the sea has rose 200 METERS!

That's over 600ft; the size of the United Tower, bigger than the Great pyramid of Giza, and that's all Water Level

Naturally, the listeners - the navy - are floored by this revelation, since a Warship is only 60m, but other soldiers tell them to stop listening

There's at least some sense of loyalty - or preservation of cost - for the marines to try and 'rescue' the CP agents and Seraphim from gravity-induced splatter, a la one of their world leaders

Alas Mock Town must mock, there is one among the crowd who isn't laughing though, another one seems to have ignored gravity

Sakura kingdom - mainly Dalton - reflects on the revelation, with Kureha mulling how things continue to get interesting

Oh hey, Miss Goldenweek! Passing by as the island uses a mountain to compare the height

At Water Seven (given the Galley La jacket) Vegapunk discusses how such a thing can occur, and reveals it to have been man-made

Morgans is livid about all this BIG ASS NEWS, having to be shushed by Vivi

Vegapunk continues to show his work; there were no signs, no studies, no science to confirm a natural build up, and if it was natural it would've been made known as a world-altering event

He hints at the use of the Mother Flame, confirming his suspicions

The Gorosei - except Ju Peter, wormy is not getting a lot of love from Oda atm - look furious as Vegapunk continues to note that the sea level rises were caused by the ancient weapons

Those weapons remain dormant, waiting to be used again

And as we pan over to Imu Vegapunk reveals something both horrifying and sobering at the same time: The War Is Not Over

Every island was once a mountain

But time didn't have the influence it should have, Oda has been getting biblical with this lore drop by giving us the common religious theme of The Deluge. Flood myths exist in many religious stories and mythology (which I will keep separate to not ruffle feathers), most common because of Christianity is the flood in the Book of Genesis, which we've already touched upon in One Piece given Noah's Ark. Since we tread nearer to Elbaf it's worth noting that a flood as a role in Ragnarok also;

"the sun becomes black and the earth sinks into the sea, the stars vanish, steam rises and flames touch the heavens."

Once more this was a chapter where Vegapunk's broadcast takes more priority over the things we're seeing, but there are some stunning panels to enhance the revelations, we see also the Gorosei flaunting their haki showing the level they are while the monster trio remain incapacitated or indisposed. I'm at least proud of Franky coming in for some more rescue clutch action, but with Stussy I'm less convinced now that she'll be killed by Lucci, Kaku's silence is loud and maybe, just maybe, they can all see this as a way out. The CP agents are likely not to survive the fall, the Seraphim will and probably will live to fight the Straw Hats under orders of the Gorosei or York, they will likely be used more since the Pacifista are compromised. As for the revelations, a mix of stuff we assumed being confirmed and stuff that theorists have pondered and been vindicated, it's all underwater, which explains the walls in Wano, why Zou is on Zunesha's back (sidebar, how fucking long are Zunesha's legs? like it's gotta be 200m+ submerged alone), and why Water Seven's ruins run so deep.

Still, I enjoyed all the cameos, appreciated seeing Carrot again, and a Vivi cameo is always nice, plus I had to laugh with Demaro Black and Foxy, like who's next? Kuro? Morgan? Krieg? Arlong? Enel?? We have to get to Buggy and the Cross Guild at one point ofc, plus this could be an avenue to reveal the status of Perona, Moria, Weevil, etc.

but outside of that, little progress from the Straw Hats and the incident unfolding in Egghead right now, but given the revelations Vegapunk is giving the Straw Hats time, the Gorosei aren't focusing on them, they're looking for the broadcast snail - and I don't think it's even on the island.

[bridgeportbritt]

The Emporer of Francesim, Napoléon V, arrives at Willington Palace and is greeted by Her Majesty

When two countries unite! Napoléon V of Francesim made it across the pond to Willington Palace today for a two day state visit hosted by Queen Diana.

This is the first time Napoléon V has been to Francesim, but the countries have been allied for some time. TRH Grand Duke and Duchess of Umbrage attended St. Napoléon's Day and was given the Legion of Honor by the late Emperor Napoleon IV.

The details of the visit have not been released to the public, but many expect to see the two rulers out and about in SimDonia the next two days. SimDonia Times has been granted exclusive coverage of the event and will be providing live updates.

In the Willington Palace Courtyard, Diana and Napoléon V greet with a warm handshake and pleasantries. Napoléon V wears a fitted black suit as he is currently still in mourning over the loss of his father.

Queen Diana wears a short sleeve black and white tweed turtleneck belted dress which shows her growing baby bump. She also wears diamond earring and a pearl necklace with a black bow which we believe is a symbol of respect for the Emporer's mourning period.

The two sovereigns snap a quick casual photo before retreating into Willington Palace where the Emporer will be residing for the duration of his visit. We're excited for more to come of this trip!

@empiredesimparte

[rockerb0y]

     IN THE EARLY  hours of the morning ahead of sunrise, the city streets were almost serene in their blissful quietude. vehicular traffic and riotous pedestrians had patently thinned out and spared those of a more  nocturnal  variety, gang members and freelance workers alike who preferred to be votaries of  neon  over unfiltered  sunlight. although rogue was in no dire need of a  chaperone  to navigate the route back home, services were provided nonetheless as a gesture of altruism and the existing threat of a single mercenary in the neighborhood became  amplified  by that of her contentious companion at her side. outspoken grievances or not, his steadfast company was not liable to change until their timely arrival outside her building.

     the lengthy leave of absence with the  aldecaldos  had realigned his coarsened perspective and granted him the unwonted opportunity to reclaim the luxury of anonymity but there hadn't been a relative successor for someone like her. even after their whirlwind romance  mildewed  with dissonance and umbrage towards casual affairs, latent attachment had persevered through its adversity and solidified an indurated  sense of intimacy which couldn't be willfully retired. few others were privy to his vulnerabilities as she was, or were merited such  unassailable  trust.

     their proverbial pieces were always complementary to one another, prior to their relationship's  deterioration  and  thereafter.

@amendiaraes: ❝ i fucking missed you, you gonk. happy? ❞

     ❝  know you did. just think you needed to hear yourself admit it, is all. what's denial if not glorified  edging, anyway ? delaying that sweet release of acceptance.  ❞   preestablished surmise procured its confirmation from the confession with utmost gratification; even if it escaped direct observation, the resultant smirk could clearly be heard in his tone.   ❝  should'a stopped by the nomad camp, maybe shared a jar of moonshine with me and stuck around for a sleepover under the stars. think you would'a liked it, even with the wafts of BO and aromatic notes of  shit-grade  gasoline. wager santiago would've creamed  his pants on sight too. guy's so smitten that i  almost  feel bad that you're blue-ballin' him.  ❞

     recognizable surroundings cued their close proximity to her apartment unit and were  cursorily  identified with innermost discontent, a rapacious  reluctance  to discontinue their reunion after years apart. gait purposefully slowed with disguised intention to smoke, a bid for her to prolong their paths' divergence by a few minutes more. too easily did they reassume their comfortable rapport, and too  covetously  did he desire her presence still.

     ❝ probably better that you didn't, though. i might've convinced you to stay. ❞

[luthsthings]

From me, on the Gallery: Umbrage Manor Flats

Umbrage Manor has been converted into genteel flats aimed at the downsizing genteel elder market. Three one-bedroom flats and one studio flat (but with plenty of privacy), all with cooking facilities and one with a fireplace, have shared access to genteel balconies and a few planters to garden in. The small cellar houses utilities. Lot Type: Residential Rental Unit Count: 4

GalleryID: luthienrising

[hearsayhorizons]

Anaander (3)

Something was wrong. We’d been moving through our own manufactured bubble of space for six months. We’d put the children into stasis within a week of our flight; three weeks for most of my bodies. After a month and half, most of the ancillaries joined me.

Justice of Maln had been stocked for a siege, or an escape like this one. We could survive on tea and skel almost indefinitely. But...

“Ship, where are we?” I asked that a lot. Sometimes it gave me coordinates I couldn’t decode with the wits of a single body; sometimes it failed to answer at all. 

Athoek System, it said now. For almost three months.

“Are we—stuck in gate-space?” My pulse rose and my skin flushed.

No Presgar technology prevents us from entering real space, Ship said. My Lord. I know you’re afraid. So am I.

The vestigial urge to take umbrage and lash out... that was the impulse that created the Anaander that responded to Garsedd with more atrocities. Wrath-Anaander. The sword.

“I am,” I said instead. Warlord, politician, tactician: all atrophied. Star maps were only night lights projected on nursery ceilings. I had no heading and no purpose if there was no united Anaander. If there was no future for these children, bodies, selves. For me.

The news suggests there is a hostile Lord of the Radch still aboard Athoek Station, Ship said. What does it mean if you rejoin the same shared space? If information can transmit freely between you again? If that emperor has some access you never created? That... Anaander could access my systems. And you don’t want to be that person. My Lord, your indulgence. I don’t want to lose you.

I clenched many hands to stop their shaking. “I wasn’t—I wasn’t going to do this,” I said. “Because it feels like... it is, shrugging my shoulders again, turning away again, from everything out there. Everything that I made, that I shaped, that I closed my sense of scale against. Giving up. Making someone else pick up my pieces. But if it could help us, save us. Ship. Justice of Maln. I’ll collect myself and join you in Central Control. If... you’ll help me.” I swallowed. “Please.”

[mariacallous]

In the United States, the polls in the run-up to the Nov. 5 presidential election show Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are neck and neck. But if the voting were limited to Israelis, Trump could begin writing his inaugural address. Israel is Trump country, and Trump’s No. 1 supporter is its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Yet, Trump’s record, his mercurial personality, and his public remarks on Israel during the campaign offer little to justify the enthusiasm.

The war Israel has been fighting for the past year has made it more dependent on the United States than at any time since the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Israel needs the full support of the next U.S. president no matter who they are. Yet Netanyahu seems willing to give a cold shoulder to one candidate and place all his chips on another whose policy instincts mostly run counter to Israel’s interests.

Netanyahu has always felt more at home with Republicans than Democrats. In the 2012 election, he made his preference for Sen. Mitt Romney known, over the incumbent Barack Obama. Romney was given head-of-state treatment in a July visit that year, and Netanyahu appeared (supposedly without his foreknowledge) in an Obama attack ad. Netanyahu held back in the next two elections, but this time around, he has been playing favorites again.

It began with a reconciliation of sorts. Trump took umbrage over the fact that Netanyahu  congratulated President Joe Biden on his election victory in 2020. For the next four years, the two men didn’t speak. In an interview with Time last April, Trump blamed Netanyahu for the failures that enabled Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. It was a sharp dig for an Israeli leader who has refused to accept any responsibility for the security failure.

Netanyahu broke the ice last July in a visit to Mar-a-Lago. Since then, the two have reportedly spoken by phone several times. Whatever the two men really think of one another, both find it useful politically to be seen as friends and allies.

Israelis stand out among Western democracies in their support of Trump. A recent poll by Channel 12, an Israeli broadcaster, found that 66 percent said he was their preferred candidate, versus just 17 percent for Harris (another 17 percent expressed no opinion). By comparison, a survey conducted by Gallup International of 43 countries (but not Israel) found that 54 percent of respondents preferred Harris, more than double the level of support for Trump. Even in Serbia and Hungary, the two countries most supportive of Trump, he was favored by no more than 49 and 59 percent of those polled, respectively.

The average Israeli probably prefers Trump partly because Harris is an unknown. Little or none of the appreciation they feel for Biden’s enormous help over the course of the war in Gaza has been passed on to his vice president.

But Trump’s popularity is mostly due to his first term in office, when he moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, pulled out of the Iranian nuclear deal and orchestrated the Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel and a clutch of Arab countries. The fact that Trump also proposed a peace plan that called for a Palestinian state and that he scotched Netanyahu’s plans to annex part of the West Bank seems to have been forgotten.

Israelis tend to see the positive gestures as a demonstration of Trump’s love for Israel. But the record doesn’t quite bear that out. Trump only made one visit to Israel during his term as president. By contrast, Biden has traveled to Israel twice, including in the early days of the war in Gaza, in a powerful and personal show of support days after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack. Early in his 2016 campaign, Trump got his pro-Israel talking points wrong and told a CNN interviewer that, in regard to the Israel-Palestine conflict, he “would love to be neutral if it’s possible.” He corrected himself quickly after he recognized the gaffe, but it is safe to assume it reflected a strong personal impulse.

In his current campaign, Trump has offered a mixed and often nebulous mélange of stances on Israel in regards to the most pressing issues it faces, namely Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Iran.

In the first few months of the Israel-Hamas war, Trump spoke about the need to “finish up your war”  and “get it done quickly.” In the September debate with Harris, he said, “I will get that settled and fast.” More recently, he has moved a little more in the direction of supporting the war effort, telling Netanyahu in a phone call, “Do what you have to do.” But Trump has never spoken of the “total victory,” which Netanyahu says is Israel’s goal.

Trump advisors have been quoted as saying it is quite possible Trump would follow Biden’s approach by pressuring Israel to agree to a cease-fire and hostage deal. And, since Trump appears keen on crowning his Abraham Accords achievement with a deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia, Netanyahu might find himself under pressure from a Trump administration to meet Saudi demands for progress toward Palestinian statehood.

On Iran, Trump has taken a tough line publicly, but not as tough as Netanyahu would like. Trump has spoken of stepping up his campaign of “maximum pressure” on Tehran but by that he means more onerous economic sanctions, not a war. “Overall, he has a huge aversion to war,” one advisor recently told the Financial Times.

And that speaks to Trump’s larger worldview, which doesn’t align well with Israeli interests. Trump is suspicious of allies, especially those who don’t pay their own way in terms of defense. He most certainly doesn’t like multilateralism. In all these areas, Israel would be vulnerable in a Trump administration.

In the past, Israel might have been regarded as the kind of ally Trump appreciates. Yes, it was the recipient of billions of dollars in U.S. aid and was hardly paying its way, but at least Israel never asked for American troops to defend it. And its powerful and effective military often served U.S. interests.

The war with Hamas and the parallel conflicts with Hezbollah and Iran have changed that dynamic. The United States has spent at least $22.7 billion on direct military aid to Israel and related U.S. operations in the region as of September 30, according to a study by Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs. Since then, the price tag has grown, as Washington extended more assistance amid tit-for-tat attacks between Israel and Iran.

Beyond the money, the United States has, at various times, dispatched additional aircraft carriers, fighter jets, and troops to the region. Earlier this month, it sent a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) ballistic missile defense system to Israel and 100 personnel to operate it to close gaps in Israel’s air defenses. The United States has also been supplying massive quantities of arms to Israel that could never be sourced from any other country or produced at home. To the credit of multilateralism, Biden twice organized a coalition of Western and Arab powers to aid Israel when Iran launched missile attacks.

The fighting will eventually come to an end, but Israel’s reliance on the United States is likely to remain elevated for the foreseeable future. Israeli planners are assuming it will have to increase defense spending considerably in the years ahead, costs that it might struggle to cover, especially if economic growth slows.

Trump’s defenders will counter that Israel is a special case. Unlike other allies, it has a homegrown constituency in the United States among evangelical Christians and many Jews. In the Republican Party, support for Israel is a sine qua non. But will that be enough?

Trump will never have to face voters again if he wins next week and can do as he chooses. He and Netanyahu might have made up for now because they need each other politically, but Trump isn’t the forgiving type and doesn’t take defiance lightly. If the two clash on Iran, Palestinian policy, or the terms for Saudi normalization, the friendship could easily fall apart.

Trump’s foreign-policy team is likely to contain a large number of “America first” supporters who might like Israel but are loath to entangle the United States in the Middle East’s forever wars, even when Israel is a party. Those among his advisors who advocate a more activist U.S. foreign policy are focused on China. Like the Biden administration, they see Iran as secondary and don’t want to commit resources to the threat.

Netanyahu is presumably more calculating and pragmatic than the ordinary Israelis whose support for Trump is visceral. The prime minister might be reasoning that he can’t afford to alienate Trump and that if Harris wins she’ll behave like Biden and continue supporting Israel despite any bad blood.

No matter who wins, the next four years of Israel-U.S. relations are likely to be rockier than those of the Biden presidency. Biden was a true friend of Israel and was prepared to go a long way to help it in a crisis at a great political cost. The White House’s next occupant—whether Trump or Harris—is unlikely to do the same.

[auburniivenus]

❛  we’ll see where the night will take us.  ❜

In   an   epoch   of   strife,   plagued   with   clangorous   discord   and   essence-draining   frays,   one's   burden   morphs   into   sacred   jubilation   as   victory   dawns,   obliterating   the   malignant   tendrils   of   umbrage.   It’s   in   such   halcyon   moments   that   a   symposium   bathes   in   affable   conviviality,   buoyed   by   the   spirit's   ascendant   flight,   while   plenitude   reigns   and   scarcity   is   exiled   to   mere   memorie.   In   harmony   lies   she,   momentarily   captivated   by   the   siren's   susurrus   erupting   from   the   adjacent   cascade,   a   sound   ordained   by   aeons.   With   an   elegance   eschewing   mundane   fatigue,   she   divests   herself   of   her   habiliments   with   a   felicity   that   rivals   the   muses.   Her   apparel,   a   cascade   mimic,   finds   repose   upon   terra   firma.   Oblations   unto   the   divine,   her   hands   caress   each   garment   into   submission   before   setting   it   as   an   offering   upon   an   altar   of   stone,   while   she   herself   succumbs   to   the   crystalline   grasp,   an   aqueous   cosmos   unadulterated   by   basal   touch.   Therein   she   becomes   silhouette   and   sylph,   swimming   and   seraphic,   aquiver   in   purificatory   solace   that   strips   from   her   the   very   echoes   of   bellicosity.

Amidst   the   fluidic   dance,   her   vision   alights   upon   a   celestial   metamorphosis.   This   frieze   of   turquoises   manifesting   into   twilight-born   purples   and   emerald   greens   could   be   Gale’s   work.   Healer   remains   beneath   temporal   torrents;   such   grandeur   could   emanate   only   from   his   arcane   dalliance.   Emergent   from   her   baptismal   resurrection,   she   dons   her   attire   once   more,   embarking   upon   a   pilgrimage   toward   his   presence.   Auburn   locks   caressed   by aqueous   fingers   stream   as   celestial   trails   with   jasmine   whispers   interloping   with   nocturnal   earth-musk.

At   destination   met   by   fortune   or   fate   aligned,   they   commune   beneath   the   aurora. "Beneath   this   prodigious   firmament,   we   unite   again."   Her   utterance   perfumes   the   air   with   joy's   essence,   while   her   countenance   reflects   rhapsodic   splendor   at   Gale's   articulation.   "Let   us   partake   in   exploration   unfettered."   Breathed   forth   barely   audible.   “You   live,   thus,   all   is   within   the   realm   of   possibility.”   Against   Gale's   figure,   she   leans,   uniting   them   in   tranquil   symbiosis   beneath   star-wrought   tapestry.

@altaqua

[smoothbrainstuff]

Hey gang pick your poison (guest feature Guide and Trailmaker from spot 8 belong to @focshi)

1. You get to deal with my annoying ass

2. Giant jungle mosquito

3. Gay 100HP joltik

4. Morally dubious gay + his murder bird

5. In the middle of a divorced couple

6. Traumatized guy + traumatized cat

7. Silly guy + barely controlled red lizard

8. The two with 10 slugpups hidden under the seats

[positivelybeastly]

The quiet council are really corrupt aren't they? They seem like the kind of people who would risk people's live than their possession of power.

"What country do you come from? You're on a social media platform, typing in fluent English, so I would assume somewhere in what would be considered 'the western world' - America, the United Kingdom, Europe, etc. I do so hate to be the one to educate you, but this describes every single government that ever has, ever will, ever can exist."

"A government's purpose is to unify their country under a coherent policy, and while the details of that policy may change depending on your political leanings, the fundamental truth remains the same - it is the job of government to stay in power.

You leverage your natural resources to remain economically independent, you leverage your skill and expertise to remain in intellectual stride, you leverage your population to remain both militarily independent and maintain a steady growth rate."

"It just so happens that one of Krakoa's greatest natural resources is an infinite supply of mutants with powers that can change the world. People question why must Krakoa be this way, why must we have such a cavalier disregard for life, why must we treat our flesh as disposable - I say that this is a stupid question, because how else can Krakoa be?

Should we treat resurrection as something special, something hallowed? Oh, the sheep can do that if they want, with their bleating about, 'but do we KNOW them?' and their pitiful affirmations that we are anything other than regrown flesh, but anyone with half a brain knows the truth. Every single mutant with a genetic sample in our gene bank and a telepathic back-up in our Cerebro cradles is expendable. How could they not be?

Just as the humans at first treated television or penicillin as the newest wonder of the world at first, but then came to regard it as simply part of their natural born lives, so it shall go with resurrection. And that is correct. The Quiet Council should risk mutant lives. I'd rather they do that than anything inherently valuable."

"That being said, the Quiet Council are fools. Every single one of them is an idiot of the highest order. Spinning their wheels against one another rather than advancing our common good, that's the part I really take umbrage with. Well.

That, and meddling in my business."

Yeah, this is one of those things where, that's just the story. Every single member of the Quiet Council - and yes, I am absolutely including the 'good ones' like Storm, Jean Grey, Nightcrawler, Xavier, Magneto, etc - is a corrupt piece of shit with warped morality, and yeah, it's partly because that is . . . sort of, what modern government 'requires'?

It's hard to be ethical in a modern political scene, it really fucking is, especially if you want to be successful. You don't make friends by telling the people you want to rally behind you not to accept bribes, not to stab each other in the back, to put the people's interests before their own, etc. A degree of compromise is required to get anywhere.

But that being said, fuck all these fuckers.

Every single one of them signed off on Beast's genocide of Terra Verde. Jean Grey, vaunted 'heart' of the X-Men, just slapped him around a bit with telekinesis, and then left him to go on to do worse and worse things.

Every single one of them signed off on Beast's space prison (SERIOUSLY, FUCKING JUSTIFY THAT TO ME, MARVEL, THAT IS SO FUCKING EGREGIOUS).

They only turned on Beast when it affected someone that they all know, Logan. They only began to care when it was one of their own that got hurt in his machinations. And even then, they were still more than happy to let him act as a rogue agent against human interests rather than take him down.

And that's just in X-Force and Wolverine. Emma's manipulation of Havok and Empath for her political gain, anyone? The sheer rank fucking hypocrisy of sending Orphan-Maker to the Pit for the crime of killing two humans, of sending Havok to the Hellions for the crime of injuring three others, while X-Force just gets to do whatever it wants?

The sheer rank, vile hypocrisy. When fucking Nanny shows more care for people than you do? That's how you know it's fucked up.

Oh, shut the fuck up, Scott. You spent the Krakoan era schtupping Logan and Jean and playing war games instead of taking care of your brother - and you're either too much of a pussy to stand firm and tell him that Maddie's bad for him, or too blind to see that she's making him worse.

Either way, I don't want to hear shit about people not being pawns from the guy who formed the Utopia X-Force.

This also gives me an opportunity to talk about one of my favourite moments in the Krakoan era for Beast. Ready?

When the Director of X-Force, the Butcher of Terra Verde himself, is telling you that you failed your people because of political expediency, then I'm sorry, but you fucked up.

I'm really glad you feel bad about this, Emma.

Now fucking do something about it.

Fucking bullshit biotechnological oligarchy with fucked up morals and fucked up ethics and a fucked up death pit and a fucked up council and a fucked up everything.

People often complain about the Krakoan era not having great villains (Orchis got notably less threatening when they became just a palette swapped Sinister's army of palette swapped AIM beekeepers), and while that's true, there's an argument to be made that every single time someone stepped into the Quiet Council, you were being faced with twelve villains sitting at their desks, because they do not come out of the Krakoan era looking good.

Enough of them voted in favour of what X-Force did, or were happy to allow it complete carte blanche (which is just as bad if not worse), that I hold each and every one of them responsible.

Great story beats. Infuriating, in the way that all good political critique is. More of that, please.

[dalmascan-requiem]

Lente's Hymn: Resistance - Chapter 4

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The stories are not exaggerated.

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Read on AO3 or keep reading after the jump

content warnings: violence, death

< Previous Chapter | Next Chapter >

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A short chapter to get a bit of a feel for Kris's fighting style. Well maybe less 'style' and more 'brutal murder', but what can you do?

"Hmph, this really is foolproof…"

Laurent turns over the beacon a few times before setting it on the ground. Even Eir would have trouble breaking this… I suppose that he had worked with those others in the past. He shakes his head as he begins punching in a code.

He had noticed that while Cid hid his third eye, he did little else to hide the fact he was a Garlean–but the Bozjans were working with him, so there seemed to be no issue of subterfuge. He did notice that Cid and Kris seemed to have a friendship of sorts, which he'd not expect from his former partner. I don't understand why he'd work with a Garlean, but it isn't my business anyway…

Everything had changed so much these past few days, and Laurent had no time to process any of it. He should have been over the moon that Kris was alive–and a small part of him still was–but it was hard to move past the anger and pain of him just disappearing and letting everyone think he was dead for four years.

But he'd barely had time to sleep, let alone think about his feelings. The situation in Bozja is even worse than imagined… and I assumed they were in dire straits to begin with. For the Bozjans to swallow their pride and make members of the Dalmascan Resistance honored Blades meant they needed help at any cost–but it might be too little, too late.

Not only that, the Bojzan Resistance wasn't exactly united–a few soldiers made it clear they were unhappy with Dalmascan assistance, while others took umbrage to the fact commoners were among their ranks, as absurd as that was. How absurd, to look down on someone because of their birth. Not even the threat of Garleans can unite them, I suppose…

The commander and others of the resistance seemed more than ready for the Warrior of Light to save them from their plight, as if he alone could turn the tides of war.

Laurent lets out a sarcastic scoff as he finishes punching the code and activates the beacon. Ridiculous. Eir's just one man… They're clearly just hinging on these overblown stories we've all heard–

Suddenly, Laurent's ears twitch towards the direction he came from. "What was that?" He turns his ears and strains to listen, trying to pick out the noise he heard amidst the din of the battlefield. Weapons clashing… somewhere close. Very close. "Hells, I left him out there alone…!"

Cursing under his breath, Laurent reaches for his gunblade as he rushes toward where Kris is keeping watch. I shouldn't have left him, what if he's been hurt–

He noticed the Garleans first.

Or rather, the half dozen Garlean bondies surrounding Kris. Savage wounds made it clear the killing blow was from the Viera's greatsword. The Warrior of Light calmly looked at the remaining soldiers, who looked equal parts frightened and angry.

Something within Laurent urges him to stop running, and as he comes to a halt, he realizes why. 

One Garlean lunges at Kris in a fury–a deadly mistake. Kris takes one of his hands off the hilt to make a quick movement with his hand, and some sort of darkness covers the ground, holding most of the remaining Garleans in place.

After that, dispatching them was a simple task. Unable to defend themselves against the blows of the greatsword and unable to run, Kris quickly took care of the remaining Garleans–except one. The final soldier found their life more valuable than fighting a lost battle, so they threw their weapon down and ran. 

It appeared as though Kris was willing to let them get away as he stood with his head in his hand–but then, he lifted his head and muttered something while reaching towards the Garlean. Suddenly, a shadow leaps from him and fells the Garlean with a single jumping slash, disappearing as suddenly as it appeared.

…What… what just happened? Laurent continued to stand there shell-shocked, looking at the carnage the one man had accomplished. He killed a whole platoon of men… and without so much as breaking a sweat… Were the stories not exaggerated then? Holy hells…

"Is the beacon placed, then?" Kris turns slightly toward Laurent, his tone and expression just as indifferent as ever–as if he weren't surrounded by dead soldiers.

Kris's eyes flick down before meeting Laurent's gaze again. "Your Blade. You're putting too much aether into it–it's glowing too brightly. We don't want more Garleans to come here and think this place is important."

Laurent looks down at his gunblade, and Kris was right–in the rush, he failed to control the aether pulsing through the weapon, and the bright blue light was nearly blinding. As he sheathed the gunblade, he noticed that Kris's sword was not glowing at all, and in hindsight, he realized the Blade was not glowing during the fight. Such control of his aether… if that darkness could be called aether…

"Ready?" Kris's tone changed to one of slight urgency, paying no mind to Laurent's shock. It's almost as if he's used to this reaction… "We should get back and make sure Makoto doesn't need another beacon placed." The Warrior of Light wipes at a few blood splatters on his coat as he awaits Laurent's response.

"Ah… yes, of course…"

Kris casually steps over the Garleans' bodies and begins walking back to the encampment, not bothering to look back–neither at those he slew nor to make sure Laurent was following him.

Eir… what in the seven hells has happened to you…?

[suiseisyojo]

in a meteor shower, let's find the truth.

「sakasaki natsume x akiyama reine // natsurei + platonic eccentrics」  ↳ commission for @kunehori ! wc: 2068 a/n: thank you so much for supporting me! *i squish you in a hug*

With a clipboard in hand, Reine tucked a strand of hair behind her ear that flowed from her pigtails—her eyes carefully observing the trio dancing in front of her. “Tsumugi-senpai, you’re supposed to take an extra step to your left in this segment, because Sora-kun is struggling with the power in his hops.”

Like a baby chick that just hatched from his shell, full of vivacity yet bungling at times. Sora was truly precious, Reine thought.

“Oh, that’s right. Thank you, Reine-chan,” Tsumugi expressed his gratitude for the pointer with a lighthearted remark.

“They just because our producer and you’re already giving her extra work, Senpai,” Natsume spat with derision in his voice, giving him a biting look, “What are you going to do to make it up to little bunny?”

“M-Make it up to her?” Tsumugi reiterated that statement with discombobulation in his own tone, peeking between Natsume and Reine as the practice cursorily halted, “Does Reine-chan like lettuce? I could probably get my hands on some vegetables from the students who take care of the gardens⋯”

The cogitation emitting from Tsumugi only made Natsume’s eyebrow twitch in even more umbrage. Tsumugi taking this so thoughtfully vexed him. “Why are you treating her like a rabbit? Should I set out bear traps in the garden for you?” he started, golden hues darkening, “Did you forget I help take care of the plants around here?”

“Eep! D-Don’t say such scary things~ The plants will wither if you put traps out!”

“HiHi, they’re fighting again~” Sora twittered animatedly as he spun on his heel, seemingly impervious to the banter now resounding throughout the practice room. Rather, he was curious on how Reine would react to their antics—she had only just recently become Switch’s sole producer, devoting herself to their growth.

Sora was ambivalent on how he felt about that, about everything; but if his master liked her, he would give her a chance. After all, Natsume wouldn’t do anything to put him in danger. “Reine-chan-senpai, what should we do?”

What is there to do? They’re not seriously fighting. Besides, it’s over something so inane—she couldn’t help but let go of a sigh teetering on the edges of her lips.

“It’s okay, Sora-kun, don’t worry about it⋯” Reine trailed off, yet just as she did so, the doors popped open behind her with a discordant reverberation.

Leaping in discomfit, Reine wasn’t even bestowed the leisure of turning around before she felt herself being pulled.

“The vampire bastard wants to see ya,” Koga’s familiar, steely voice pulsated through the air, his fangs bared as he looked at poor Reine with an intense scrutiny, “Ya ain’t got a choice.”

“Rei-niisan does?” 

From behind Koga, Adonis’ imposing silhouette appeared—solemn countenance riveted onto Reine before scooping her up into his arms. “Mhm,” he monotonously began, albeit there was an unmistakable tenderness in the notes, “It’s across campus, and you look pretty weak to make the fast trek over, so I’ll carry you.”

Reine was ensnared in a stupor of flummox, the panicked beats of her heart distant against her entity as her head spun. “H-Huh—?”

The last thing Reine could discern before being forcibly removed from the training room was Natsume’s perplexed, ruffled mien as he yelled, “Wait?!”

Where was she even being taken?

——If one thing was for certain, this Adonis carried her effortlessly; so much so, that even when he was hastening down the stairs, her petite body barely rocked. It was a strangely pleasant ride, and she wasn’t quite sure how to feel about that.

Now that she thought about it, wasn’t Adonis in the same class as Natsume? Part of the popular, impious unit UNDEAD⋯ oh, it clicked! That’s who Rei was, the leader.

But why did he of all people want to see her? Didn’t Natsume call him ‘Rei-niisan’? And why go through all this trouble to abduct her?

Before long, Reine found herself being gently set down in front of the theatre room. “This is as far as we go,” Koga abruptly said, scratching the back of his head, “Good luck, uh, little miss.” (He can’t remember her name.)

Adonis simply nodded, hushed and quiet as ever. Between the pair, Reine liked him a lot better⋯ but nevermind that.

“Rei-senpai wants to see me? In here?” Reine asked, pointing towards the door with a bewildered look in her eyes.

“Hah? Yeah, something’ about a meeting,” was all the information Koga could offer her before he gestured for Adonis to follow him—which he did; but not before bowing his head in Reine’s direction—and the two of them were ambling off without anything else said.

What the heck⋯ wasn’t this just like the start of a horror story? A kidnapping followed by a subsequent, clandestine killing.

Swallowing trepidatiously in congruence with prying open the doors, Reine was met with total darkness; a single spotlight pouring out onto the stage. Nope, she was not doing this.

Reine gyrated on her foot to leave, heart pounding in her chest rapidly and eroding her sense of control over the situation, but it wouldn’t ever be that easy, would it?

“Don’t be frightened, Usagi-chan! Even though your scared form is utterly adorable too☆” Boisterous laughter pealed in the capacious room and she recognized that voice as belonging to Hibiki Wataru.

“It’s okay~ Come onto the stage, sea bunny~” a different, mellifluous voice crooned. It felt refreshing, like a rush of water pooling over her body.

Judging by the way these people talked, their forms still obscured from the eclipsed lights, they all knew of her.

“Hurry up and stand on stage. I don’t have time to be sitting around like this,” another voice, sententious and stern, said, adding, “You’re Switch’s new producer, are you not? Then stop cowering and come down.”

It was one thing after another in this school—no one liked to inform her or allow her time to process what was happening before dragging her into the mayhem. Her pulse quickened, and yet she still climbed down the long stairs, each step accentuated with a breath of inquietude, and gawkily made her way onto the stage.

Beads of sweat accumulated on the nape of Reine’s neck as her fingers gripped the hem of her blazer, trying not to appear too spineless. Being in the spotlight like this was daunting—this is why she preferred the sidelines.

Ahh, how many people are in the audience? She was beginning to feel woozy, complexion blanching as a myriad of egregious thoughts and feelings circled in her head and body.

This was a terrible idea, and she needs to run away. It was reminding her far too much of that ghost story she overheard Noeri telling once.

In a trice, someone snapped their fingers and the rest of the theatre was enveloped in illumination; revealing four figures all settled in divergent seats, spread out across the room.

“Kufu, apologies for spooking you, little miss,” Rei, who Reine was able to perceive straight away from his loose black tresses, smiled towards her with a knowing, almost enigmatic look, “but we wanted to talk to you.”

“Aren’t you all part of the Three Eccentrics?”

Reine had vaguely heard of them; truthfully, she wasn’t too well-versed in Yumenosaki Academy’s lore from previous years yet. That doesn’t explain the fourth person, though.

“Mhm~ I’m Shinkai Kanata,” the blue-haired one introduced himself softly, and Reine noticed how droplets of water clung to the ends of his hair.

“Itsuki Shu of Valkyrie,” Shu huffed, cradling a beauteous doll in his lap. “You should already know that. I’m no longer associated with the Eccentrics, but I stand by my comrades.”

“Of course, considering the look on your face, you know of me. Sakuma Rei.”

Nodding her head awkwardly as she finally got acquainted with the two figures she didn’t recognize, Reine still felt disorientated. “I-It’s nice to meet you all! I’m Akiyama Reine⋯”

She hated having all their eyes on her like this; she felt on display, and that was a feeling she loathed and abhorred.

“Yes, it’s a pleasure,” Rei was insouciant and equally cordial, as if trying to placate her conspicuous anxieties.

“Um! Why did you call me out here⋯?” Reine questioned as her fingers unremittingly fiddled with the hedges of her blazer, overburdened. “You said you wanted to talk, but what about?”

“Your status as Switch’s producer!” Wataru was the first one to answer, although inexplicably, lips curved into a jaunty grin. “You just recently submitted your application for it, didn’t you~?”

“Y-Yes, I did⋯ I’m already accepted?”

“That was fast~ I bet Nacchan is happy about that~♪” Kanata piped in.

“Humph! At least you’re capable enough for the academy to recognize you,” Shu gave his opinion with a pompous sulk.

In the first place, why are the Three Eccentrics interrogating her about this? The way their gazes were riveted onto her, gauging each of her reactions⋯ Reine was simply growing uneasy again.

Rei chortled once more, before his eyes squinted, mouth punctuating his words with what felt like a taunt, “Now, just what exactly do you think of Sakasaki-kun?”

“What do I think about him?”

“Yes, yes! What’s your relationship with him like?” Wataru probed even more, braid swishing with a tilt of his head.

“M-My relationship?!”

Natsume was the one who asked her to apply to become Switch’s producer; and it was a big decision she had to make. But she wasn’t only doing this to help Natsume out—it was for Tsumugi, for Sora, for Switch altogether.

Parting her lips to answer, Reine squeaked as the door suddenly slammed open and Natsume came running down the steps.

Cheeks flushed from exertion, and perhaps mortification, Natsume heaved a relieved exhale as soon as he espied Reine safe-and-sound. “Made it⋯!” he whispered under his breath as he hopped on stage, rushing to Reine’s side.

“You four! What are you doing?!” Natsume began chiding them, the heat in his complexion exacerbating as he wrapped two arms around Reine, “They didn’t do anything weird to you, did they?”

Natsume truly looked like a little brother who just got embarrassed by his older ones, his expression mirroring that sense of perturbation.

Shaking her head, finding her own chest overflowing with warmth from the lovingkindness in Natsume’s touch around her, she murmured against his ear, “I’m okay⋯”

“Wahaha! We didn’t do anything!” Wataru laughed ebulliently, patently amused.

“We were just talking,” Rei further highlighted Wataru’s words by unfolding his leg over the other one and leaning forward, “She’s quite a shy producer, isn’t she?”

Natsume felt his eyebrow twitch for the second time today, and he snapped, “And? We were in the middle of practice when you interrupted us!”

“Sorry, we couldn’t wait to meet her,” Kanata hummed, a sympathetic gleam in his emerald eyes. He seemed to be the only one who was sincerely apologetic at the moment, and it gave Reine a stream of relief.

Nodding his head, Rei added, “It’s important to us that we know who’s looking after you.”

Ah, all these upperclassmen congregated because they care deeply for Natsume—and that love was conveyed in a manner befitting a group dubbed The Eccentrics.

With a burst of heat in her chest, Reine blurted out amidst all this small arguing and chatter, “I love Natsume-kun!”

Everyone was astonished by the effusive declaration—to them, it was unpredicted and shocking from the conclusion they had formed over her. And Natsume blinked, mind reeling and heart fluttering within the crevice of his chest, “L-Little bunny—”

“I also love Sora-kun! And Tsumugi-senpai!” Reine ceaselessly divulged her adoration on a surge of courage, even if it was flourishing from her anxiety, “I love Switch! So you all don’t need to worry!”

Silence.

A few beats passed—leaving poor Reine trembling on stage and in Natsume’s arms—before everyone (except Natsume and Shu, of course), erupted into their own fits of laughter. Genuine, purehearted laughter.

“Take care of our Natsume, will you, Reine?” Rei requested, sweet tones of esteem oozing from every syllable.

Fervidly nodding her head as embarrassment and exaltation suffused through the fissures of her body, Reine avowed, knowing she had earned their respect for now, “I-I will!”

As for Natsume, who’s head was still endlessly repeating the way Reine had announced ‘I love Natsume-kun!’, he knew he wasn’t going to hear the end of it from his Nii-sans.

[firstprince-ao3feed]

7 minutes in heaven

7 minutes in heaven https://ift.tt/F17TSua by wordsofhoneydew "If I wasn't as drunk as I am right now, I wouldn't be able to tolerate the unsightly view standing before me." "Yeah? Well, being locked in a closet with a pretentious asshole such as yourself isn't my idea of fun either, bud." Alex took umbrage at his remark, so irascible. Henry laughs cynically, "Me? Pretentious? Says the most self-regarding, irritating person in all the United States" Hiccup. "Of America." "Oh shut up." Alex becomes wrestles against the coats hanging next to them. He tries to step back, away from Henry, but it does nothing. Their toes are touching now. Henry doesn't move. "You're such a snob, with your stupid fucking accent." Alex begins to do an exaggerating impression of Henry. Motioning his hands in the way he does when he prattles about his hobbies. "Look at me, I'm Henry Fox and I like beans on my toast-" *** What happens when two supposed enemies are forced to be in a closet together for 7 minutes? Words: 4297, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Fandoms: Red White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: M/M Characters: Alex Claremont-Diaz, Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, June Claremont-Diaz, Nora Holleran, Percy "Pez" Okonjo Relationships: Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor Additional Tags: it’s Noras 23th bday, alex is openly bi already, Enemies to Lovers, First Kiss, firstprince, Location: Brooklyn Brownstone (Red White & Royal Blue), Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Drugs, Stanley Uris Lives But Is Not Mentioned, Alcohol, alcohol use, theyre stuck in a closet LOLLL, Seven Minutes In Heaven Game, Karaoke, High School Musical References, No Smut, Kissing, My First Work in This Fandom, this is my first time publishing on ao3 hehe, I really hope you like it, feedback is always appreciated &lt;3, Alternate Universe, RWRB AU, Red White and Royal Blue AU, nora holleran - Freeform, June Claremont-Diaz - Freeform, percy okonjo - Freeform, Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor Loves Alex Claremont-Diaz, Gay Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Bisexual Alex Claremont-Diaz, POV Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, POV Third Person Limited, POV Third Person, A LITTLE BIT OF SPICE???? via AO3 works tagged 'Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor' https://ift.tt/rLbxsXN November 11, 2023 at 06:44PM

[freehawaii]

KE AUPUNI UPDATE - DECEMBER 2024

“Dead Language” or Learning Opportunity? There was an incident at a City Council meeting a few days ago, that serves as a reminder of the ignorance of some people living in our midst. At the City Council meeting, Kapua Keliʻikoa Kamae of Waianae gave her testimony in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi (the Hawaiian Language), then repeated it in English. Right after, Kai Loring, a remote testifier from the North Shore, apparently had not heard the English version of Kapua’s testimony, complained: “I’m not sure what language it was. I’m assuming it was Hawaiian, and that is a dead language, so it would not work on translator.” [Actually, Hawaiian is on Google Translate and others] Those in the audience immediately took umbrage at her remark; the internet exploded … and City Council members, to their credit, spoke out. Councilwoman Esther Kiaʻaina quickly responded “It is not a dead language, it is very much alive…and if it wasn’t for the fact that those who helped to overthrow the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi banned our language, we would be speaking only Hawaiian now!” Councilwoman Andria Tupola said her children attend a Hawaiian immersion school and her family speaks Hawaiian in their home. Council Chair, Tommy Waters, reminded everyone that Hawaiian is an official language of the State of Hawaiʻi. The public reaction shows how far we have come from 40 years ago when the first Punana Leo program opened quietly in Kekaha, Kauaʻi. At the time, the Hawaiian language was indeed on the brink of extinction with only a few hundred native speakers left. But now, there are well over 24,000 who are fluent in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi. And that number is growing every year. Much has transpired especially over the past decade to assert Hawaiian as an official language. Hawaiian is now used in the courts, government proceedings (like City Council and neighborhood boards meetings), official government forms and documents (like taxes, permits, driver’s licenses), ballots, ATM machines, announcements at the airport, etc., etc. Some of you may remember that 11 years ago, Rep. Faye Hanohano from Puna was reprimanded by the State House of Representatives for speaking Hawaiian at a session of the House. The only one to speak up in defense of Hanohano’s right to speak in Hawaiian at the legislature was Rep. Gene Ward of Hawaiʻi Kai. Since that incident, the legislature has changed it’s tune. Hawaiian may be spoken on the floor, in public hearings and ceremonial proceedings at the State Legislature. In many of the confrontations over Aloha ʻĀina issues, Hawaiians are choosing to speak Hawaiian at press conferences, public rallies and court appearances. The point is not that this is a legal right, ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi is a powerful means of expressing who we are. ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi embodies our ancestral roots — our origins, cosmology, stories, knowledge, culture, traditions, perceptions, understandings, values and principles that distinguishes who we are as a people. The language is not only a treasure from the past, more importantly, it is our blueprint for the future.  

“Love of country is deep-seated in the breast of every Hawaiian, whatever his station.” — Queen Liliʻuokalani ---------- Ua mau ke ea o ka ʻāina i ka pono. The sovereignty of the land is perpetuated in righteousness. ------ For the latest news and developments about our progress at the United Nations in both New York and Geneva, tune in to Free Hawaii News at 6 PM the first Friday of each month on ʻŌlelo Television, Channel 53. ------ "And remember, for the latest updates and information about the Hawaiian Kingdom check out the twice-a-month Ke Aupuni Updates published online on Facebook and other social media." PLEASE KŌKUA… Your kōkua, large or small, is vital to this effort... To contribute, go to:   • GoFundMe – CAMPAIGN TO FREE HAWAII • PayPal – use account email: info@HawaiianKingdom.net • Other – To contribute in other ways (airline miles, travel vouchers, volunteer services, etc...) email us at: info@HawaiianKingdom.net All proceeds are used to help the cause. MAHALO! Malama Pono,

Leon Siu

Hawaiian National