#and conflicting reports therein

[binx0r]

They’ll do the insecticide

They’ll do the heat treatment

No just insecticide

But hey the heat treatment

THEY’LL DO THE COMBINATION HEAT TREATMENT INSECTICIDE

[sgiandubh]

Holy Monday - Dagger Man

Sidenote: it's horrendously late, in my own time zone and Holy Monday is gone for good. Hoping yesterday's wonderful SC news are enough for you to forgive me, I go ahead with my short personal notes on what is perhaps one of the most complicated stories of this week.

Enter Judas Iscariot, whose name is perhaps a local corruption of the Latin term for 'dagger man': sicarius.

Who is he? We are told he was one of The Twelve chosen ones, but our Bibles are, to say the least, not very talkative when it comes to this man. We do not know what his merits are and many risk a seriously tragical confusion with the other Judas, 'son of James'. Perhaps in the same way Mary of Bethany is still mistaken by many for Mary Magdalene herself.

Today's episode is a throwback: 'Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead' (John, 12:1)'

We don't know very well where the following episode happens (in Lazarus' house? somewhere else?) and for the first two days of the Holy Week, the Evangelists' reports are either vague or even conflicting. A woman named Mary approaches. Clearly, more than a sympathizer, yet barely tolerated by what clearly is a gender segregated assembly, where women serve a dinner they never join in. Something still very much happening in the Mediterranean world, by the way:

'Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment. (John, 12:3)'

Is she a prostitute? A rich patron? I have always thought, perhaps wrongly, there was something very erotic in that choreography, for hair is a very strong sexual symbol and even more so in the Ancient World (think Egyptian wigs and also, heh, Samson). Something that also reminded me of Salome's fateful dance of the seven veils.

Experts have calculated, for dry amusement probably, the cost of that 'ointment' in today's money, which is disingenuous, to say the least. Nevertheless, that's easily the price tag of a brand new Mercedes, with all the bells and whistles. Judas immediately puts things into context and speaks like a corporate CFO: 'Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?' (John, 12:5)

You think this is what a good manager would do, right? Well, think twice. John does not like Judas. At all. He immediately tells us who he thinks that strange man really is: 'Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him' (John, 12:4). And, which is perhaps even worse, a corrupted treasurer of sorts: 'not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein' (John, 12:6).

Jesus' answer to this apparent practical dilemma is very clear: ' Let her alone (...), for the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always' (John, 12: 8-9). Judas' enormous mistake is to transform what obviously is a spiritual matter into a vulgar, political one. Throwing money into the mix, instrumentalizing it for what we would today call 'propaganda purposes' is at complete odds with His entire message.

But sometimes even the voice of Heaven has trouble making itself heard. This is why I have chosen for today a simple, short shofar sound, from Miklós Rózsa 's original soundtrack for Ben Hur:

[msn-04iinightingale]

The Hanged Man: Investigation

/BEGIN ENCRYPTION

RE: INVESTIGATION INTO POTENTIAL ARES CONVENTION VIOLATION -HIGHEST PRIORITY-

FOR: COMMANDING GENERAL MELISSA HAZEN -EYES ONLY-

General,

I apologize for the lateness of the hour with this report, but as you know, we like to be thorough with these things. As requested, I moved this ti the top of my to do pile and have, after a thorough investigation, come to the following conclusions:

There is, as of this time, no concrete evidence that one Commander Owen McEvedy was responsible for the incident involving Prisoner 012-07-6 after the capture of DZ Utah and the surrender of Word forces therein.

As such, I am recommending he be returned to active duty at this time.

I would like to stress, however, it may be prudent to keep an eye on Commander McEvedy. While we do not have any direct evidence of his involvement, and what we do have is highly circumstantial, we also do not at this time have anything proving without doubt that he is not involved in this incident.

Additionally, one woman to another, I would like to advise you that he can be very, very disarming. I had to reassign one of our investigators and one of my consulting psychologist due to...conflicts of interest...shall we say.

I hope this helps you make your decision, General.

COLONEL SEKI KIKYO, SLDF ICS

PS: Are we still on for cards once this thing has quieted down some? It's been ages since we've had a game.

@is-the-battlemech-cool-or-not

[mariacallous]

Since the heady post-Cold War years, when many in the Free World were sure that the global tide was moving less toward dictatorship and extremism, and more toward freedom and tolerance, the world has instead shifted dramatically the other way.

As Western governments exhibited moral, military and strategic complacency, ant-democratic regimes and forces gained ground. Today, more, not less, people live under tyrannical and fanatical rule, and rulers are finding more cruel and dystopian ways to oppress them. Children, who have nothing to do with any of this, are caught in the maelstrom. Moreover, children increasingly targeted with violence and atrocities.

Tragically for children and their persecuted families and communities, in parallel with the serious deterioration in global human rights in recent decades, there has been a significant decline in human rights advocacy. Moreover, Reagan-esque speeches and coherent geopolitical strategies in defense of the democratic way of life have been conspicuously absent.

Progressives have succumbed to moral relativism that emphasizes “co-existence” with authoritarian, even brutal, regimes; international corporations have overlooked human rights violations for the sake of profit; new-right isolationists have simplistically equated overseas involvement with “endless war.”

Thus, the imperative of standing up for human rights that deeply influenced post-World War II thinking, policies and institutions, has become a niche endeavor, pursued by certain groups and committees, while not seen as a personal or societal obligation.

Making matters worse, my scan of human rights reports reveals only a marginal and occasional (and declining) focus on children. Save the Children, Justice Rapid Response (JRR) and The Ukraine Conflict Observatory are commendable outliers.

Appalling mistreatment

According to JRR’s Federica Tronchin, “it has become very clear that one of the overlooked components of international justice work is child victims.” Yet children around the world today are enduring heinous, heartbreaking levels and kinds of mistreatment. In Ukraine, Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, Yemen, Myanmar, Sudan, Ethiopia, Nigeria, North Korea, Tibet, the Xinjang region of China, and many other places, their situation is dire.

Children are physically, intellectually and emotionally dependent and impressionable relative to adults, and rely on adult protection, assistance and guidance. On the other hand, children are vulnerable to being hidden and silenced by adults who choose to do them harm. Sadly, in places beset by oppression or terror, parents, relatives and mentors can be so persecuted themselves that they cannot, as hard as they try, shield the children from horrors.

In such terrible places, adults in power can get away with physically or sexually assaulting children, abducting or conscripting them, bullying or indoctrinating them. When even loving caretakers are not free enough to save children, it is up to adults in the Free World – policymakers, lawmakers, journalists, academics, NGOs, religious leaders, citizens – to speak and act.

The first and fundamental step is deciding not to look away. Might free peoples be moved to care more about severely oppressed peoples if they looked beyond their nationalities – Syrians, North Koreans, Venezuelans, etc. – and focused more on their personal struggles in the thralls of extremist regimes? And might they especially be moved if they looked at the plight therein of children?

Overlooking human rights means overlooking children who desperately need a light shone on their tragic reality. It is in dark, invisible places that those who exploit children prefer to reside.

Ukraine

Regarding Ukraine, it should be impossible to support a negotiated settlement that would allow Russia to keep some occupied territories after seeing Russia’s barbarically cruel treatment of children in those territories and throughout Ukraine.

In addition to bombing apartments, schools, hospitals, farms, cultural treasures and critical infrastructure, all the while ravaging, raping and torturing, Russians have abducted hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia and Belarus. At least 6,000 of them are held in camps and facilities where they are indoctrinated, a new report shows.

Imagine the unimaginable: the trauma to children and loved ones of being forcibly separated. Russia’s war of aggression has in addition left at least 1,500 Ukrainian children orphaned, and many casualties.

Ukrainian children have seen things no child should ever see, from soldiers raping or torturing their mothers or relatives to the utter devastation of their homes and towns. Adolescents have been victims of rape and torture and children were not spared the massacre and horrors at Bucha and elsewhere. The psychological scars of enduring relentless bombardment and witnessing terrible atrocities should not be underestimated.

China

The topic of children forcibly separated from parents and homes leads to China, where, too, the cruelty to children defies imagination. As part of its genocidal policies against Uyghurs and Tibetans, Xi Jinping and Chinese Communist Party cadres have created a system of “coercive boarding schools” that isolate millions of children from their families, and indoctrinate and militarize them.

Scholarly research (especially by Dr. Adrian Zenz) and leaked videos expose the CCP’s dystopian surveillance-police state in Xinjang and Tibet: not only the extreme torture and abuse of adults in camps and forced labor facilities, but also the sadistic intimidation of young children by overpowering males in locked “boarding schools.” One particularly heartbreaking video shows little boys trying hard not to cry to avoid punishment. 

North Korea

The subject of camps, in turn, leads to North Korea, where horrific atrocities continue, but regarding which the Free World is numbingly silent. While the government relies on an entrenched system of camps, I have argued the country itself is like a camp, wherein the people endure ubiquitous, omnipresent repression and indoctrination. Children are brainwashed from an early age and family members are expected to spy on each other.

Highlighting a 2016 report by Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Marcus Noland showed that North Korean Christians are especially vulnerable: “Christians are routinely sent to the kwanliso or political prison camps. There they are subjected to torture including beatings, being hung on a cross over a fire, crushed under a steamroller, herded off bridges, trampled underfoot, and used as test subjects for medical training and experimentation.”

Since then, gruesome torture of Christians, including young children, in “re-education camps” has actually increased. Christian persecution is at crisis levels across the world yet is mostly ignored. Following North Korea and Afghanistan, which are the very worst, countries with the worst Christian persecution are Somalia, Libya, Pakistan, Eritrea, Yemen, Iran, Nigeria, and India. Cubans, Venezuelans and Nicaraguans, too, face religious persecution along with smothering socialist repression.

Syria

Syria is another country whose people are mostly forgotten, in spite of the endless hostilities and atrocities, including against children, committed by Bashar al Assad and allies Russia, Iran and Hezbollah.

In a recent article, I highlighted the suffering and the increasing indifference of the “international community,” and the regional fallout. A 2020 UN report showed children experiencing devastating hardship, abuse and trauma. Children were being killed and maimed in a war that included pro-government forces’ use of cluster munitions, thermobaric bombs and chemical weapons.

Children “suffer(ed) from disabilities as well as devastating psychological and development issues.” Children as well as adults have been subjected to detention, physical and sexual violence, torture and mass displacement, and still endure a reign of terror. The dire humanitarian and refugee crisis cry for our attention.

Middle East and Africa

In Iran, the regime brutalized young protestors who demonstrated in response to the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the hands of the “morality police.” Protestors as young as 12 were raped and violated. The brave Iranian people want release from a regime that deploys detentions, torture and executions against free speech and expression, persecutes ethnic minorities, women and adolescents, and endorses child marriages.

In Afghanistan, the precipitous withdrawal of US forces and ascendancy of the Taliban have meant children live with terror, homelessness, hunger, extreme misogyny, child labor, child marriage, child trafficking, sexual abuse and lack of decent education. The scourge of child trafficking for sexual exploitation or forced labor has metastasized across the globe and, because it’s become a serious problem in the US, is finally garnering our serious attention.

The number of children living in conflict zones and/or displaced has increased dramatically in the last 30 years. Many conflicts, such as in Yemen, Myanmar, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan and Somalia,  include Islamist terror, murder of civilians, and child soldiers whose ranks have grown steadily in recent decades.

Child soldiers are all too often kidnapped, physically or sexually assaulted, plied with drugs, brainwashed and threatened into participating in attacks. Children in Palestine and elsewhere are indoctrinated toward jihad, and Gazan children are tragic victims in the current war. The world saw some of the worst atrocities it had ever seen in Hamas’s Oct. 7 terror attack against Israeli families and teenagers. Israeli hostages, including adolescents and children, have suffered the cruelest inhumanity, including repeated rape of young women. Meanwhile, antisemitism is growing alarmingly worldwide.

Time to act

Clearly, democracies’ languid deterrence, flimsy penalties on atrocity committers and frequent willingness to overlook human rights did not buy the longed-for post-Cold War repose. Perhaps recognition of our own lethargy and apathy will compel us to face the consequences for the world’s children?

On the other hand, perhaps recognition of the abuse, targeting and traumatization of children will open hearts and minds to broader concerns of human rights; analysts arguing against appeasement of the world’s worst dictators and aggressors would do well to highlight their mistreatment of children.

Voice of America-type programs should be invigorated and should include specialized focus on children in the hands of extremist groups and regimes. The US Congress could use the Magnitsky Act as a model for imposing sanctions and financial penalties on authoritarian officials responsible for “crimes against children.”

Western entities and companies that abet the abusers should be exposed.

With both impassioned pleas for liberty and brutal crackdowns on civil society intensifying, free people should show they care about the freedom of others, especially the most innocent and vulnerable. Who better to be alert to the worldwide suffering of children, and to the terrible predicament of their parents and loved ones, than policymakers, journalists and citizens who are free to speak and act. The time to remain silent and indifferent has passed.

[rajfhaldi]

“The moon-drunk, haunted, pierced soul.”

Do read & comprehend.

Greetings and salutations, esteemed individuals! I, Raj Ash-Fhaldi, graciously present myself before you today to elucidate upon and acquiesce to the inquiries pertaining to my account, as well as the content contained therein. I implore you to indulge me briefly, for this shall be a succinct proclamation aimed at evading misunderstandings and avert potential discord in the days to come.

I would like to clarify that I am not affiliated with the actual Kim Taehyung, who many of you may be fans of. This account is solely for roleplaying purposes, and I am a roleplayer who portrays Taehyung, the Korean idol from BTS. I wanted to ensure that there are no conflicts or misunderstandings regarding this matter. If you have any concerns or issues with how I portray Kim Taehyung, please feel free to message me. While I am open to communication, I cannot accept criticism or any harmful actions towards my account, including reporting it. Thank you.

[impactsphere]

Embracing Zen: The Profound Impact of Mindfulness Training in Today's Workplace

In today's fast-paced, hyper-connected world, the workplace often feels like a battleground of stress, distractions, and relentless demands. Amidst this chaos, a quiet revolution is taking place - the integration of mindfulness training into corporate cultures. Far from being a passing trend, mindfulness has emerged as a powerful tool for enhancing productivity, fostering well-being, and nurturing a positive work environment.

Mindfulness, rooted in ancient contemplative traditions, is the practice of intentionally focusing one's attention on the present moment, without judgment. Initially, perceived as esoteric or spiritual, its benefits have been rigorously studied and validated by modern science, leading to its widespread adoption in various domains, including the workplace.

One of the primary impacts of mindfulness training in the workplace is its ability to mitigate stress. According to the American Institute of Stress, workplace stress costs U.S. employers an estimated $300 billion annually in absenteeism, turnover, and reduced productivity. Mindfulness techniques, such as focused breathing and body scans, equip employees with the tools to manage stress effectively, promoting resilience and emotional well-being.

Moreover, mindfulness cultivates a culture of heightened awareness and presence, enhancing individual and collective performance. By sharpening attention and concentration, employees are better equipped to navigate complex tasks with clarity and precision. Studies have shown that mindfulness practitioners exhibit improved cognitive function, creativity, and decision-making abilities, contributing to organizational success in an increasingly competitive landscape.

Furthermore, mindfulness fosters healthier interpersonal dynamics and communication within teams. By fostering empathy and active listening, it strengthens relationships, reduces conflicts, and promotes a sense of camaraderie. In a survey conducted by the National Business Group on Health, 86% of companies reported improvements in employee satisfaction and engagement after implementing mindfulness programs.

Beyond its immediate benefits, mindfulness training also fosters a more compassionate and ethical workplace culture. By encouraging self-reflection and introspection, it engenders a sense of responsibility towards oneself and others. This heightened sense of ethical awareness can lead to more principled decision-making and a greater commitment to corporate social responsibility.

However, integrating mindfulness into the workplace is not without its challenges. Skepticism, cultural resistance, and misconceptions about its efficacy may hinder adoption efforts. Moreover, sustaining long-term engagement and ensuring inclusivity across diverse workforces require thoughtful planning and ongoing support from organizational leaders.

Despite these challenges, the momentum behind mindfulness in the workplace continues to grow. From tech giants like Google and Apple to multinational corporations like General Mills and Goldman Sachs, organizations of all sizes and industries are embracing mindfulness as a strategic imperative for success.

In conclusion, the impact of mindfulness training in today's workplace is profound and multifaceted. By addressing the root causes of stress, enhancing cognitive performance, improving interpersonal dynamics, and nurturing ethical leadership, mindfulness has the potential to transform not only how we work but also how we relate to ourselves and others in the pursuit of a more harmonious and fulfilling work experience. As we navigate the complexities of the modern workplace, perhaps the most valuable lesson we can learn is the art of being present - for therein lies the path to true productivity, resilience, and well-being.

[deviantartdramahub]

I recently lost an argument with someone and had an epiphany slam into me I wanted to ask about as I've been mentally fidgeting with it.

So, speak to people anywhere for a while and you truly get a scope of which ones are NEET's and which ones aren't NEET's but whose line of work is entirely of their creative projects. I haven't been in the community for a super long time, but the scope has been largely unclouded for me. That much isn't an issue for me, who benefits from you should be voluntary, and I think it's noble that humans can take example from wolves who bring food to non-able members of the pack.

But... this "pedos" thing that seems to be popular recently. People are, almost always falsely, accused of being one. Productive humans have their paths ruined. And this always comes up... you always have one side saying "burn the witch/terrorist/deviant/etc." and the other side saying "but they're an asset, not a sum of their honor but a sum of their potential and deeds", adding... suppose we burn the witch but the witch's sister needs a new heart, or suppose the witch saved lives or built homes or something.

And then you think back to the first thing... who are the ones accusing hardworking people of being worthy of condemnation? Oh yeah, mostly NEET's and workathomes, who, in their lack of time working, feel special by going around spreading the witch hunting. If you thirst that much for relevance, why not, I don't know, not NEET around, or NEET's sadly will be next on the mobbing block. I say sadly because there are innocent NEET's who genuinely suffer.

This brings me to a point I noticed about everything going on in the posts below this one chronologically (look at them if the dates are screwy). Adding to everything already said, there's something I don't understand about the feud Noname234252 perceives at https://www.deviantart.com/comments/18/2721982/5113524268 to be between himself and the people he mentions therein.

He claims at several points that he belongs to a Discord server where the members have tried to take these people down down. Yet he's the only one who ever signed up for a DA account... with an anon persona... to try to address the issue. What, nobody else came? Even after his thread got locked by mods?

On Reddit, it's a similar story. All the accounts that have gone after "Tri" claim to be separate individuals, and their battle cry was "we are anonymous, we do not forgive", but no two are ever seen replying to the same post, almost as if they were trying to be cautious of not breaking the alting rule, only to be banned for other reasons anyways. Then he treats "Tri" as losing simply for having a single comment that was removed by admins and for reacting to him like a human. Worst case of whataboutism I've seen in a while.

This aggressor who claims to be more than one person has not only lost the conflict but is a loser in general, especially when, upon his final attempt at Reddit slander got no visible/appreciable reaction whatsoever (perhaps out of trying not to "feed"), he enticed the replier at https://www.reddit.com/r/DeviantArt/comments/1aozh6c/comment/kqlh2r2/ to make the reply after he already engaged at https://buzzly.art/comments/thread/d2a20fb4-b3b7-4649-a52d-2e9f4d97f62d causing the latter half of the discussion and, when Twonaps from Buzzly attempted to do her Buzzly TOS duties, inspired the mods to make the post at https://buzzly.art/~Mango/blog/regarding-recent-reports after realizing from someone bringing it up on Discord that, get this, nothing works, saving his skin.

What a weasel, no? And/or is something going on?

Intimidation is the only consistency.

[kusogamesss]

3D Atlas

Speaking strictly on 'Around the World,' the game portion of 3D Atlas, this is horrifically weak. The information presented in its trivia questions can be gleaned from the main program's statistics and multimedia videos. For every vexillological vexation there comes a quandary about orchid imports for three periphery states. Be asked to identify a country from its capital, then identify another from a collage. It is altogether boring at best. Points are converted to miles, and every three questions you trade in your miles to select a destination in your quest to circumnavigate the globe. Efficient travel relies on deeper geographic knowledge, but outside multiplayer (which I didn't even know the 3DO supported) it hardly matters.

Where 3D Atlas shines is as an early multimedia font of encyclopedic knowledge. Physically manipulating the globe is not the topic of interest, but the supplementary videos, renders, and tools. Abound in 3D Atlas is Marshall McLuhan's notion of the global village, making the planet metaphorically smaller through easy access to international knowledge and peoples. Though this often presents itself here, as elsewhere, in the exacerbation of differences between the Western world and that of the Other, that global-mindedness was a reality throughout the 1990s. It is thereby unapologetic in its effective appropriation of signifiers of the Other, believing this uncritical presentation to be more egalitarian and human-focused. That is all to say, those depictions in 3D Atlas are, at best, anthropologically and ethnographically disingenuous, at worst, a reinforcement of prejudice. By way of example, Afghanistan's country profile speaks only of colonialism and the nation's global position as a centre of conflict. Panama's touches on Manuel Noriega, political turmoil, and the Panama Canal. Former Soviet states might have a sentence devoted to pre-modern histories, but would convince the unaware 'player' that Soviet history constitutes their totality. The image for each country is a postcard typically comprised of traditional garb, a natural feature, and a cultural construct.

Overhead city views demonstrate the novelty of satellite imagery at the tail end of the 20th century. That high resolution photography of major population centres had been taken by the USSR, now collapsed, is passed off as cute and interesting, as if the technology would not continue to be used for malicious purposes following the Cold War, as if Western nations were not documenting that and more. Prior to the explosion of Big Data, a couple cities from way up high was the most people might reasonably expect to see. In 2023, it is as droll as most consider Google Earth to be.

In keeping with the resurgence of environmentalism in the 1980s into the 1990s, the Reports section of 3D Atlas is devoted to the perhaps overly simplistic concerns of the era. Acid rain, nuclear energy, overpopulation, and ozone abut water usage, global warming, and oil pollution. The now known to be entirely too optimistic projections therein seem quaint today. Mention is repeatedly made of treaties and protocols aiming to reduce emissions and environmental harm that we know had no effect. Were that not heartbreaking enough on its own, timelapses are available to show the spread of oil from the Exxon Valdez spill (so minuscule next to Deepwater Horizon and Ixtoc 1). Antarctic and Arctic sea ice presentations suggest a static nature of their maximum and minimum extents for the decades preceding record lows. The hopeful messages underlying these reports inflicts tremendous hurt on me today.

3D Atlas is functionally useless for its intended use case nearly thirty years following its release. It is sluggish, limited in scope, dry, and outdated. As a snapshot of a particular worldview for a particular time, it is a relic, a single piece in a larger puzzle of multimedia scholastic utopianism that naively saw knowledge as positive power.

[whatisonthemoon]

On the Post-Marcos Unification Church’s Counterinsurgency Work in the Philippines

The Unification Church, or the Moonies, is a religious organization founded by Sun Myung Moon in South Korea in the mid-twentieth century. In the Philippines, the church was known for its work in community development, education, and religious activities. The church also played a role in supporting the efforts of the Philippine government and the CIA in counterinsurgency operations. Alsa Masa was known to have popularised and favoured the so-called CAUSA manual dearly. To many, it was called the Causa Manifesto. According to several reports, there was considerable involvement by members of the Unification Church in the training and organisation of Alsa Masa, through their WACL and CAUSA affiliates in the Philippines. Therein also were UC members, with Bo Hi Pak as the central figure, who were directly involved. This training and support included the development of their paramilitary tactics and their ideological training. The church helped shape both the ideology and tactics of the group through its training and support and lent a spiritual and moral basis to its efforts. The participation of the church in the development of Alsa Masa was part of a wider drive by conservative organizations to support anti-communist movements throughout the world and to counter the propagation of leftist ideology in developing countries. Alsa Masa in particular took in a number of ex-NPA, and the efforts of the UC were to form a spiritual and moral grounding in these disenfranchised former revolutionaries that was in opposition to the dialectical materialist worldview and Marxism so that they would not return to the National Democratic revolution. Some reports have gone so far as to claim that the Unification Church utilized their involvement with Alsa Masa to further their own political and economic agendas in the region, including protection and the elimination of "negative" enemies. It can only be confirmed that the organization mainly acted to develop and train the paramilitary group. The question of whether this was to further the Philippine government's interests in counterinsurgency or to further the interests of the Unification Church itself is in dispute. The Professors World Peace Academy, on the other hand, played a role in support of counterinsurgency efforts by the Philippine government. While it was an educational institution that aimed at fostering peace and understanding among different cultures and religions, it extended its services in support of the Philippine government in the development and implementation of counterinsurgency tactics. These tactics have only been developed since then and provided the basis for today's NTF-ELCAC, which has recklessly led countless tortured, imprisoned, and murdered. Alsa Masa is one organization among many vigilante organizations and paramilitary forces that can claim responsibility for thousands of dead alleged communists. The actual members of the Communist Party of the Philippines who were martyred in these efforts are expected to be quite low. Fascism got kicked out of the Philippines in 1986 with the departure of Marcos but has only changed clothes and masks, much with the help of the CIA, and its liaison and coordinating forces such as the organizations called Unification Church. Related posts below

The CIA Engineers “Islamic Terrorism” in the Philippines, Forming Abu Sayyaf LA Times: Philippine Vigilantes Reflect U.S. Strategy for ‘Low-Intensity Conflict’ (1987)

In 1985 the Washington Times sponsored a fund for the Contras who committed atrocities, and trafficked drugs to the US The WACL and CAUSA’s Role in the Ruthless Violence of US-Philippines Counterinsurgency How has the Moon network played a role in the post-9/11 U.S. Imperialist strategy?

The Unification Church and KCIA: Some Notes on Bud Han, Steve Kim, and Bo Hi Pak The Unification Church and the KCIA – ‘Privatizing’ covert action: the case of the UC The Broad Counterinsurgency Strategies of the US in the 80s, and a Glimpse into the UC’s Role

[ibn-sunni]

﷽

⏩ Women and seeking provision

Question:

There’s a woman who works in a hospital, at the faculty of labour.

Is it permissible for her to leave her house to work with the condition that there is no free-mixing?

Answer:

The basis is that a woman is to be settled in the house; not leaving unless there is a need, for this Allah, the Most High, said:

(وَقَرْنَ فِى بُيُوتِكُنَّ وَلَا تَبَرَّجْنَ تَبَرُّجَ ٱلْجَٰهِلِيَّةِ ٱلْأُولَى)

“And stay in your houses, and do not display yourselves like that of the times of ignorance”

[Al-Ahzāb:33]

Because a woman leaving her house will expose herself to dangers in regards to her Dunya and her Hereafter, and her house is better for her.

And the Prophet ﷺ said:

(المرأة عورة فإذا خرجت استشرفها الشيطان وأقرب ما تكون من ربها وهي في قعر بيتها)

“The woman is an ‘Awrah, when she leaves the house the Shaytān seeks to tempt by way of her, and the closest she is to her Lord is when she is inside her house.”

Reported by Tirmidhi and other than him, on the authority of Ibn Mas’ūd, and it is in As-Sahīh Al-Musnad of Imām Al-Wādi’ī, may Allah have mercy upon him.

And due to that men are the ones commanded to seek provisions

(ٱلرِّجَالُ قَوَّٰمُونَ عَلَى ٱلنِّسَآء)

“Men are the protectors and maintainers of women”

[An-Nisā:34]

And it’s permitted for her to work outside of her house, with the following conditions:

That she was to be in need of this work due to not having anyone who could spare her from having to seek provisions.

That the job doesn’t contain any prohibitions or what could lead to it, whereby her religion and her honour is safeguarded.

That she abides to covering with legislated clothing therein.

That the job doesn’t go against the nature of women and their physical composition.

That her work outside of the house doesn’t conflict with the cultivation and upbringing of her children, because she is responsible for their upbringing, and majority of the time working outside of the house clashes with this.

And in the two “Sahihs” on the authority of Ibn ‘Umar that the Prophet ﷺ said:

(كلكم راعٍ، وكلكم مسئول عن رعيته، والإمام راعٍ ومسئول عن رعيته، والرجل راعٍ في أهله ومسئول عن رعيته، والمرأة راعية في بيت زوجها ومسئولة عن رعيتها، ألا فكلكم راعٍ، وكلكم مسئول عن رعيته)

“Everyone of you is a guardian and everyone of you is responsible over their flock.

A ruler is a guardian and is responsible for his flock; a man is a guardian of his family and responsible over his flock; a wife is a guardian of her husband’s house and she is responsible over her flock. Beware! All of you are guardians and are responsible over your flocks.”

Then it would be permissible for her to work outside the house, and Allaah knows best.

Answered by:

Shaykh Abu Hatim Yusuf Al-‘Inaabi Al-Jazaa’iree – may Allah preserve him.

Source:

t.me/abouhatem/94

Answered on:

8th, Saffar, 1438H

Translated by:

Abu ‘Abdirrahman ‘Abdullaah bin Ahmed Ash-Shingaani

[yetanotherlesbianonthiswebsite]

DA-tober 2: Hope

9:31 Dragon, 30th day of Solace, 23 hours past midnight

“Many say she has been involved… with a knife-ear!” The mask in front of the whispering mouth was adorned with emeralds, onyx, and ivory. The Duke du Versang, born in 8:93 Blessed, married to the Marquise de Nullpar, three children training to become Chevaliers, undecided between the Grand Duke and Celene.

“Maker forbid, this wasn’t what I had in mind when I said someone had to make Denerim more like Val Royeaux!” Identifiable by his very raspy, loud voice alone, the old Chevalier du Lac, leaning noticeably more towards Celene than the Grand Duke, a definite source of conflict with his only child very vocally supporting the Grand Duke.

“Oh, but the dog lords have certainly outdone any fancy Val Royeaux here, because who bearing a noble title with pride would lift an apostate rabbit into their own ranks?”

Neither of the two seemed to notice Briala’s presence, or if they did, they’d think her a servant and not give her any second thought. She had no direct reason or order to listen to their conversation, but she needed to occupy a part of her mind to make preparing for her mission easier. Normally, she’d be able to reach her goal without any long mental warm-up, but nothing about this situation was especially usual. Nothing about the last weeks had been usual.

Ferelden seemed on the brink of yet another civil war over the question of mage freedom and royal succession, and every player in Val Royeaux was making moves in expectation of how this situation might play out. Due to that, Celene had been very distant in the last few weeks.

That the nobles were once again rumoring about Celene and her wasn’t the main focus for her here. What concerned Briala more was the comparison. She had heard from several sources that the new Grand Cleric and the Arlessa of Amaranthine were in a relationship. This would hardly be ground-breaking by itself, the entire clergy, from the lowest sister to the Sunburst Throne itself, had plenty of affairs. What mattered was that the Grand Cleric was said to be in a relationship with an elven mage that through sheer circumstance and crisis had become Arlessa of Amaranthine.

An elf in a position of nobility had to send shockwaves through the Palais Royeaux. And one anonymous source who had been sending her reports so detailed that they must come from the heart of power in Amaranthine itself spoke of more once-in-an-age events than an elven noble; the Arlessa had within a week of being in office brought justice to a group of humans who had been violently attacking a Dalish clan. Afterwards, she had given legal recognition and resources to the same clan. Faced with a noble uprising as a reaction, she simply disbanded the nobility and had made Amaranthine largely self-governing. Briala had tried to establish contact with the Arlessa via that anonymous source, but had received no answer so far. The Arlessa was an unforeseen, almost erratic variable in the Game, bringing shock and confusion to the faces of many Orlesian nobles.

And so did the new Grand Cleric’s appointment. She was one of the youngest Grand Clerics in history and had been elevated without being even a full sister herself, not only that, her appointment had come with the deposition of the old and well-liked Grand Cleric. Nobody knew why the Divine had done this. Some expected her to have punished some of the Accordists with the decision, given that the new Grand Cleric was an outspoken enemy of the White Spire. Some expected her to use the new Grand Cleric as a pawn in a move nobody could figure out. Some expected her judgment to be clouded by her age. Briala couldn’t discount the possibility that this previously unknown 26-year-old had somehow and effortlessly outplayed the most powerful and Game-savvy Divine in recent memory.

Therein lay the reason for her hesitation. Celene had ordered her to gather as many information as she can on the Grand Cleric of Ferelden, and there were so many unknowns here. Everything about this was new, and new, in this case, entailed unpredictability.

------

To find the Grand Cleric sitting on a stone bench that far into the gardens of the Palais was highly unusual. Most humans avoided the gardens during nighttime, be it because they tended to trip over stones and stairs in the dim light, or be it because the night and darkness was the perfect cover for assassins. With the swiftness, silence, and certainty that came from more than one decade of working as a bard, she moved closer to the Grand Cleric’s position, hoping to be able to figure out better what she did there by looking closer.

And yet, the Grand Cleric had exceedingly good senses. “Mademoiselle, to what do I owe the great pleasure of your company?” the woman spoke softly and turned to face Briala. Normally, humans didn’t have that good of a vision in the dark. Nothing here was normal.

“Your Eminence, a thousand pardons, I just wanted to inquire if you are feeling cold in this night. I meant not to disturb you.”

“There is no need for this level of formality, nor for apologies. And bards know at least a dozen ways to stay warm in the night, so you needn’t worry about me. But I am preaching to the choir when it comes to the bardic arsenal, don’t I, Mademoiselle Briala?”

One explanation and several rhetorical moves. The new question on Briala’s mind was why the Grand Cleric would so easily reveal that she had been trained as a bard. A duel of wits? An attempt at recruitment? Spilling information to signify one had so many cards up one’s sleeve that one revealed card wasn’t even a bother? “If you say so.”

The Grand Cleric turned her eyes back to the stars. “Are you familiar with dwarven folklore, by any chance?”

Briala hesitated to answer. “I can fetch the Proffeseur of Dwarven Studies for you, he should be here this evening, if you want to talk about dwarven folklore.” 

“I want to talk with you, though. You certainly must have heard of the superstition that without the stone above their heads, the dwarfs of Orzammar fear falling up into the sky.”

“I faintly remember something like this, yes.” What was the Grand Cleric’s game here?

“I have fallen in love with the idea of falling upwards once I heard this story. It must be so fascinating to see Thedas from a perspective far above, mustn’t it?”

Briala still couldn’t tell where this was going and it deeply concerned her. “I guess that can be an amusing idea, certainly.” 

“Imagine yourself hovering above all of Thedas, or if that’s better for you, over all of Orlais for a moment. What do you see when you look down?” The nobility and the clergy only ever made elves look up. This was certainly not a perspective many wanted her to have.

“A woman as knowledgeable as you must certainly be familiar with the foundation and history of the Empire.” 

“And a woman of your wits must certainly recognize that I didn’t ask you to recount the common tellings of Orlesian history. I want to know your opinion.”

“What opinion should I have?” 

“The thriving and beautiful culture of your people was violent destroyed, the cities of your people were razed or taken over, your land was annexed, your freedom was taken, your pride supressed. All by the Empire. A woman who knows this history as well as you do, Mademoiselle, must have thoughts about it when picturing Halamshiral.”

“Most nobles and clergy would reject such a framing of the history of the Dales.” 

“Most nobles and clergy have a lot to lose without dismissing, belittling and explaining away the violence upon which their palaces rest.”

“And what do you have to gain from acknowledging this, Grand Cleric?” 

“Nothing less than the fulfillment of Andraste’s vision.” The Grand Cleric’s mask only covered the upper half of her face, showing that she began to smile. “But I am afraid you’ll have to dodge harder to avoid my question.”

“I must misunderstand you, given that your current remarks seem to imply that you insist on knowing my opinion.” 

“The thing is, I actually do.”

Briala decided to give a carefully calibrated answer. “One can feel the flow of the canals of elven Halamshiral in the curves of the streets today. When I picture Halamshiral in my mind, this is the feeling I hold on to.” 

“A good way to phrase it,” the Grand Cleric nodded. “By the way: You don’t have to keep standing, if you don’t want to. There is ample space on this bench.”

Something about this didn’t seem like an order, yet Briala sat down just in case. 

“Briala, would you be able to excuse my lack of formality for a bit?”

Formalities had been broken even before their conversation had started. “Of course, your Emi… Grand Cleric.” 

“You can call me Leliana,” the Grand Cleric noted.

Briala already had problems understanding where this was going and why, but she was even more unprepared for the Grand Cleric – Leliana taking of her mask. “These masks do so heavily obscure one’s field of view and make it barely possible to see the people around oneself. A blessing, truly, when talking to the hundredth duke this evening, but a curse when talking to you.” 

Briala took a moment to plan her next words and look at Leliana. She did fit the title; she was quite tall, possibly even for Ferelden standards, at least that is what Briala guessed. Briala herself was short, making Leliana’s height even more pronounced. Even with the moonlight as the strongest light source around, Leliana’s hair falling partially out of the cowl showed a saturated red or orange, as if tinted by the glow of a fire. Her eyes were a beautiful kind of dark blue, and her face was as pretty as her smile.

Deciding to have been distracted for long enough, Briala began speaking again. “Taking off one’s mask can cause quite the scandal at a ball.” 

“And there I was thinking that I was the scandal of this ball, mask or no mask.”

“I have to admit that I heard the nobles talking about you in rather unflattering ways.” 

Leliana shrugged. “They have never learnt the actual art of flattery to begin with. On another note, there is no one around except me to see you if you wanted to take of your mask.”

She certainly hadn’t been sent to fix any broken formalities. “Given that you allowed me to be witness to your beauty, you might as well get to see my complete face in return,” she said while taking off her mask. 

Veteran players didn’t have to use masks to conceal their thoughts, so Briala didn’t think much of the smile with which Leliana looked at her.

“You probably get to hear so many words describing your beauty that it would be redundant to add my own compliments to the pile,” Leliana whispered a bit more softly and a bit less loud than the rest of her words. “But enough with the flattery, I’m sure you have questions about Amaranthine those reports couldn’t answer.” 

Briala didn’t let her shock show. “What do you know of the reports I received?”

“As much as you would expect from the one who has written them.” 

It was increasingly harder not to show surprise in this moment. “You are the Nightingale?”

“As I live and breathe.” 

Briala paused, thinking about a diplomatic approach to her next question. “I would have wagered that the author was a close confidant of the Arlessa…”

“Is that so unthinkable, girlfriends confiding in each other?” 

If Leliana’s strategy was to outmaneuver Briala with shock tactics, she certainly was succeeding. “Most people of your standing wouldn’t so readily admit to a relationship, much less to one with an elven apostate.”

“Briala, you can guess that I have the Divine under my thumb and won’t be stopped by any conventional means. I love Imerati more than words and actions can ever describe, and I will never become tired of saying it.”

“Loving her that openly could still cost you your position, even with your considerable amount of power.”

“If that is the price I have to pay to stay true to my love, it will be worth it.” 

Briala let her head sink back and looked into the stars, searching for words. “I…” She hesitated. “I do have many questions, beginning with the Arlessa’s motivations for virtually every single political action she has made so far.”

“I could try to tell you,” Leliana began, “or… you could ask her yourself.” 

Briala’s eyes fixated on Leliana’s. “What are you suggesting?”

“You are a brilliant woman, Briala. I know you know well what will happen next when I give you the information that we will make Imerati the next Queen. So, given that I can guess that the Empress gave you the mission to gather information on me, how better could you fulfill that mission goal than by accompanying me to Denerim?” Leliana smiled warmly, and Briala still couldn’t detect any lies in her words. “I’ll still be here for two days, and we can talk tomorrow regarding all of your questions. For now, it seems prudent to give you some space to think about it.”

If Leliana was honest, and Briala was still unable to find any clue suggesting otherwise, there was the lingering possibility of an elven monarch, for the first time in seven ages. There were so many unknowns here. Everything about this was new, and new, in this case, entailed hope.

  ------

  ------

  ------

  Yes all my stories for DAtober will be set in my canon divergence AU, I’m not going to apologize for this.

[citizensaul]

The rise of anti-semitism disguised

It is disturbing to say the least of how the media reports on the ongoing conflict between Arabs and Israel.The latest of course after a journalist for "unbiased" Al Jazeera was caught up and killed as she was covering an Israeli raid in "Friendly" Jenin. The media report depicts IDf soldiers as "Murderers" that no one in the area had any weapons they just shot her in the Head !  Believe that and you'll believe that pigs can flap wings and fly but it's great P.R to cast Israel as the Villain and Arabs as helpless VICTIMS as the U.N Security Council went into emergency session to Condemn Israel calling for a full investigtion of the murder.  It's interesting that Russia's invasion and barbarity in Ukraine did not call for a U.N emergency session but the hot bed for terrorism against Israel,Jenin where IDF troops had raided to apprehend two murderers of three innocent Jews and the wounding of seven before they escaped and traced to Jenin calls for Condemnation because an Arab journalist was in the wrong place at the wrong time and became a victim of the conflict.

None of this comes as a surprise with the rise of anti-semitism cloaked as anti-Israel across college campuses and around the world as the emergence of the Fascist,racist ,draft dodging Coward Trump entered the political arena.Remember him railing against Hispanics "they're bringing drugs,they're bringing Crime,they're rapists". This brought the racist haters out in the open,White Supremacists and Neo Nazis began to rally culminating with their unfriendly rally in Charlotesville,Va where peaceful protestor Heather Hyar lost her life and Trump said there were Good people on both sides. White Supremacist  haters,areGood people ? Neo Nazis shouting "Jews will not replace  us" are Good people to the Racist in Chief and therein lies a problem as Trump has emerged as a cult like figure prompting all of the hate on campuses in the U.S at prestigious institutions like Harvard,Yale,Uconn and throughout the world. The venerable student produced Harvard "Crimson" is on a crusade of anti-semitism hidden as anti-Israel for it's HARSH treatment of helpless Arab people calling themselves "Palestinian" and lending the impression that THEIR land was STOLEN. That Arab people did not arrive in Judea & Samaria ( referred to as West Bank ) until the Ottoman Muslim Turk invasion and conquest in the 7th Century AD while Jews,Hebrews or Israelites lived on the land at a time called BC is incidental to their promoting lies and deception as the University looks the other way. I took the liberty to write to Harvard President Lawrence Bacow  of how discouraging that the University allows the anti -semitic rhetoric of the student producers of the Campus publication to continue. Harry Truman had a sign on his desk" The buck stops here".it's time  that buck stopped at the desk of Lawrence Bacow and where I REST MY CASE !

[hopelesshawks]

Physical Fatality Part 6- Ultimatum

18+ Hawks x fem, pro hero!reader

Summary: You’re a rising star in All Might’s agency. Hawks is the darling of Endeavor’s. By virtue of your job descriptions, the two of you are supposed to hate each other, or at the very least be cautiously neutral. For a long time that’s exactly what the two of you did. You stayed out of each other’s way and formed little opinion of the other. One fateful night at an HPSC gala changes all that. Based on the album Hopeless Fountain Kingdom by Halsey.

If you don’t want to see Physical Fatality content blacklist #hopelesspf

This story will have multiple NSFW parts so it is 18+ ONLY minors dni

Warnings for descriptions of unprotected vaginal, minor wing kink

Masterlist

Hawks knows what he’s been doing the past several weeks isn’t fair to you. In his defense, he was attempting to reconcile two different facts in his head. Fact 1: He is completely in love with you. Fact 2: He is completely loyal to Endeavor. Some days fact 1 wins out and he acts the perfect almost boyfriend. He helped you move into your apartment with Mina, he’d leave little gifts on your desk if he found something that made him think of you, and he kept things quiet so the reporters and your coworkers wouldn’t sniff out potential scandal. But some days fact 2 wins and he hesitates and grows distant. It’s not so much that he sees it as betraying Endeavor. He always has and always will think the Endeavor-All Might feud is dumb. But he knows that Endeavor will see it as a betrayal and like it or not Hawks owes a lot to Endeavor.

He sees the way you constantly try to anticipate how the press will interpret your every little move. Frankly, it looks like it makes an already exhausting job even more so. All you want to do is save people and instead you spend a nontrivial part of your day hyper analyzing your every move to anticipate the next day’s headlines. The other day you’d confessed to him that another bad headline could literally mean the end of your time at All Might’s agency and Hawks can’t even imagine that level of stress. And therein lies the problem. The only reason Hawks can’t imagine it is because the HPSC wiped all record of his name and Endeavor agreed to hire him once he completed training. So it’s not so much that being with you feels like a betrayal as it is that at some point he’ll have to tell Endeavor and when he does there will be hell to pay.

You know what Hawks has been doing the past several weeks isn’t fair to you. The hot and cold, on and off again is starting to give you whiplash. At first it was ignorable, after all you were busy settling into your new place so you spent quite a bit of your limited free time getting to know the woman you’d be living with from now on. Mina is a goddamn firecracker and you love her for it. Sure you’d seen some of her antics on Instagram before but you assumed it was all for the camera. Now as her roommate you’re realizing that’s just how Mina is. So for the first week Mina kept you busy even when Hawks would be in one of his weird distant moods. Then more time passed and it started to irk you. Was it or was it not his idea for this to not be a one time thing? So why was he being so distant suddenly.

Then the first fight happened. It was one of those days Hawks had been oddly distant. The task force had managed to narrow the possible groups responsible for the terrorist attack down to five and Hawks insisted each of you should take one to run surveillance on and the sixth person could coordinate. You thought it was a better use of resources to assign some of the lower ranked heroes to the surveillance and have the task force just coordinate and analyze what came through. “Don’t you think it’ll be a little suspicious if we suddenly aren’t doing our usual rounds because we're performing surveillance? Plus a lower ranked hero won't draw as much attention!" you argued. "This case is way too sensitive for us to be working off second hand information!" Hawks fired back. “I don’t know how you all do things over at Endeavor’s agency but our lower ranked heroes are competent enough to handle some simple surveillance,” you pointed out with a of roll your eyes. “What? Like Monoma?” Hawks shot back. “Maybe we should reel it in guys,” Midoriya tried to intervene but it was too late. “Yea like Monoma. What about it?” you replied, anger starting to build. “Just seems like a conflict of interest to me,” he shrugged. “A conflict of interest?” “That’s what I said isn’t it?” “Oh fuck off.” “So you’re not denying it.” “I am literally the first person to shit on Monoma in almost any situation but he’s a good hero.” “Interesting.” “Are you trying to die bird brain?” “OK! That’s enough!” Midoriya finally interrupted. “We’ll present both plans to Endeavor and All Might, let them decide,” Shoto had said simply. In the end they decided on Hawks’ plan.

The two of you probably should’ve talked out your almost relationship then. It was obvious to everyone else in the room that the argument was, fundamentally, not about task delegation, but you and Hawks were in denial and the angry sex afterwards made it easier to kiss, makeup, and just pretend it never happened. Except it did happen. And it happened again and again. On the good days you two are amazing, all sweet words and loving looks. On the bad days you’re a ticking time bomb. Every time you try to address it Hawks gives you absolutely nothing back. It’s driving you nuts. A fact you frequently make apparent to Bakugo and Midoriya. “Oh my god enough already,” Bakugo groans, interrupting your ongoing rant about the difficulties of being almost with Hawks. “Oh I’m sorry are my problems bothering you?” you ask sarcastically. “Look, we get it. He started this shit and now he won’t finish it. But if he won’t then why don’t you fucking finish it yourself,” Bakugo points out. “Kacchan has a point,” Midoriya adds in. “Not you too Izu,” you pout. “Don’t give me that look, I’m just saying maybe it is time to put your foot down,” he elaborates. “I’ve tried talking to him and he never tells me what’s going on with him,” you sigh. “Then stop talking and just hit him with an ultimatum,” Bakugo scoffs. “Yea! Tell him he has to make a decision now or you’re done,” Midoriya agrees. “What if he decides he doesn’t want this?” you ask. “Then it’s his loss,” Midoriya says. “Yea and we’ll kick his ass for it,” Bakugo adds. You really do have the best friends.

Hawks doesn’t know what to expect when you ask him to stick around after the task force meeting, but the thumbs up Midoriya gives you and the warning look Bakugo gives him don’t exactly bode well. Shoto exchanges a look with Hawks to confirm he’ll be fine and, when Hawks nods, Shoto and Tokoyami take their leave behind their former classmates. “So what’s up?” Hawks asks once the two of you are finally alone. “We need to talk about us,” you tell him and you can already feel him preparing to argue you down from having this conversation. “(Y/n)-“ he starts, but you’re not having it, not this time, so you cut him off. “I don’t want to fight right now. I know you’re always right. But even though you’ve been through the ups and downs with me, and even though I care a lot about you, you don’t seem to feel the same.” “That’s not true,” he refutes but even he knows his actions lately haven’t exactly conveyed how much he feels for you. “Really? Because we’ve been through it all, met each other’s moms, shared each other’s tragic backstories but lately, when it comes to talking about us, you can never spit it out for me. It’s like I’m trying to talk to a wall but you can never tear it down for me,” you insist. “That’s what happens when you ask personal questions while we’re still at work.” “What other choice do I have? You never pick up or call me.” “Maybe I just need more time.” “We’re running out of time.” “We don’t have to be! Let’s just talk this through later.” “No, we’ve done enough talking. It’s gotta be right now. I want you to hold me down forever, I do, but it’s your choice. Will you love me now or never?”

Hawks stares at you trying to process what you’ve said. He isn’t oblivious. He knows you’ve been getting frustrated with him being hot and cold. He knows the two of you getting involved was his idea in the first place. He knows he hasn’t been open with you about why he’s suddenly so hesitant. But he still hasn’t decided how to reconcile his love for you with his loyalty to Endeavor, so he still hesitates. “Can we please just figure this out later,” he pleads instead of answering as he reaches for you but you step back and out of his reach. “No. I’m drawing the line. I wasted two years of my life chasing something that wasn’t real with Monoma. I refuse to do it again. Especially when being with you literally puts my career at risk. So you don’t get to take any more time up. I need you to make your mind up. You’ve gotta decide Keigo. Now or never,” you insist.

It hits him then just how serious you are. There’s no talking his way out of this one. It really is now or never and something about the choice feels fateful. As if how he responds to you right now will determine his destiny. Almost his whole life he’s been looking for the kind of earth shattering, all consuming love you see in movies and tv shows. Something to fill the void his parents and the HPSC hollowed into him as a child. The stakes are so much higher with you than with the previous women he’s dated and he’s always been such a lousy gambler. Are you really the best bet? His mind is spinning with the daunting choice in front of him but then you sigh full of resignation and heartache and start to leave. It’s like someone mainlined ice water directly into his veins because suddenly the never is real. It’s real and terrifying and it’s about to be solidified by you walking out that door and he can’t. He absolutely can’t imagine his life without you in it right now so he lunges forward and grabs hold of your wrist. “Now! Fuck baby, I choose now,” he insists so desperately and when you turn to face him you both look absolutely cracked open.

The two of you collide together, mouths finding each other immediately. There is so much need and want and relief in that one kiss because for a horrifying moment both of you felt what it would be like to never have each other again. To never again feel that unique magnetism that constantly pulls you both together. Or worse, to feel it and yet be forever condemned to ignoring it. Keigo pulls you against him by your hips and his grip is hard enough you wonder if you’ll bruise. You make quick work of each other’s shirts and pants, desperate to be closer to each other. One of his hands reaches down to rub you through your panties and you’re already so wet for him. The little gasp you give at his feather light touches is absolutely intoxicating and he can’t believe that he almost lost this. Lost you. “I’m so sorry Love. So sorry I made you wait,” he whispers against your lips as he slips his fingers past the damp material of your underwear to stroke along your sex. “I need you Kei,” you whimper. “You have me.” “All of you. I need all of you.”

You don’t have to tell him twice.

The floor of the conference room perhaps isn’t the most ideal place to finally consummate your love but neither of you has the strength or desire to complain or postpone this moment. Scratchy carpet or the finest silk sheets, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that the two of you are together and finally, finally you can call him yours and he can call you his. So when he’s on top of you, underwear cast aside and nothing left to separate the two of you, you can’t even feel what’s beneath you. All you feel is his erection pressing at your entrance, his chest pressed to yours, and both of your hearts hammering in your chests as if anxious to beat against each other. You feel him in each and every one of your senses. As he presses into you, you both gasp at the sensation and just like that first time it’s so, so overwhelming. You clutch desperately at him to bring him impossibly closer and by the time he bottoms out inside you, you’re both on the verge of tears. “I love you,” he confesses and he thinks it may be the first time he’s ever meant it so utterly and completely. “I love you too,” you reply and for the first time in a long time the words don’t feel like ash on your tongue.

He starts moving his hips and it’s heaven. Each thrust into you feels like a solidification of the bond the two of you have formed over the past couple months since meeting. For the first time since Keigo had started getting distant it feels uncomplicated and you’re reminded again of why you’d thrown out all your rules for this man. This wild, beautiful man you could now call yours. You slide one hand along his back until you get to the base of one of his wings. You run your fingers through the soft plumage and delight in the shiver it draws out of him. One of his hands goes between the two of you to stimulate your sensitive clit and with each thrust you’re both seeing stars. His free hand finds yours to entangle your fingers together and he suspects that the tingling he feels throughout his whole body has less to do with the sex itself and more to do with you and the wondrous revelation that you want all of him, even the broken bits, just as much as he wants all of you. He ups the amount of pressure he’s applying to your clit and you tighten your grip on his feathers to match and soon you’re both hurtling over the edge into climax. You moan each other’s names into the limited space between you but there are multitudes contained therein.

You moan each other’s names but it sounds like I love you.

You moan each other’s names but it sounds like wedding bells and a family.

You moan each other’s names but it sounds like forever.

Author’s Note: This chapter feels short and I can’t tell if it’s because it’s actually short or I’m just paranoid about it being short because I made y’all wait a little bit for it. I’m happy with it or at least happy enough to post it but it’s not my favorite part that I’ve written for this series so far. I’ll try to make sure the next part is longer again to compensate for this one ❤️

Taglist [open]: @akkaso @cathy8taffy @eeppff @iikillerkitteh @pixelwisp

[dragonagecompanions]

Could you do both Inquisition and Origins companions reaction to the Warden being the one who got the Anchor and being the one who becomes Inquisitor?

INQUISITION:

Cassandra: This is not how she expected things to go, but…well, at least they got one of the leaders on their list one way or another? 

Varric: Damn, he knew he should have written up the story of the Blight and the ragtag bunch of loners who saved Fereldone from the oddest Blight to ever strike Thedas. Because this would be a perfect sequel, and he hasn’t even started.

Solas: This is…unexpected. He wasn’t planning on any of this, and particularly not a being with so much political power being so close to his power center. Things may need to change.

Blackwall: This is not what he wanted when the Inquisition rolled into his tiny training camp. Fereldone’s Warden-Commander is standing in front of him, and it is time to go.

Vivienne: This is perfect. Having Ferelden’s hero and champion as part of her circle might not do much for Madame de Fer, but their presence may well draw off that Apostate wench cosying up to Celene, and get the world back to normal.

Dorian: Being able to talk intimately with a Gray Warden is a huge opportunity, and if there is one goal Dorian has it is that after everything goes down Felix Alexius goes back to Tevinter the first Warden magister and with at least some chance to live longer. 

The Iron Bull: The warden saw and killed an arch dragon. Everything else aside, the Ben-Hassrath wants to hear all about it. And getting some reports on just what the hell the wardens are doing wouldn’t upset Par Vollen either.

Sera: This is the biggest little person Sera has ever met, and while Warden Commanders have a lot of problems she can trust this person to do what’s right.

Cole: “You’re very bright, and very loud, but you want to help. I can too!”

Leliana: They may have just lost Justinia, just lost the greatest leaders on both sides of the chantry’s conflict and the world may be teetering on the brink of both conquest and civil war, but their Warden is here and things are going to eventually be okay.

ORIGINS:

Alistair (King): Is anyone surprised? Because at the end of the day finding out that the Warden Commander has gone out and put themselves in charge of another complete mess isn’t a real surprise to Alistair. The minute he hears it though Ferelden’s official stance on the Inquisition drastically changes and they start off collaboratively.

Warden: Well, it’s time to start riding for Haven. His commander needs him. He is not  going to let some monster man swoop down and start problems with the wardens without Alistair Therein there.

 Swooping is bad.

Zevran: Well, surely now it cannot be said that their warden will sit and let the world have momentous changes without supervision. When the word comes into Antiva that the Conclave has failed and the Warden has somehow been named the Herald of Andraste, Zevran finishes up current to do list and boards a ship for Val Royeaux. His warden needs their ever watchful assistance, and he does not ever disappoint.

Morrigan: Well this is not wholly unexpected. There had been rumors creeping through out even Orlais that the blossoming plans amidst the Divine and her Hands was to reform the Inquisition and strike a blow for balance and great many other noble ideals. They might never come to fruition after the loss of Justinia and her guiding influence, but with the Warden at the helm this little Inquisition has the potential to become much larger.

And a tidy tool in the belt of Orlais’ newest Arcane Advisor. After a brief discussion with Celene Morrigan is on the road, bound for Haven and the ever evolving power center that is her former companion.

Oghren: Ancestor’s tits, they just can’t stay out of trouble, can they? Once Oghren might have jumped at the chance to join them, but now his life has taken a different course. Still he raises a glass to them from afar, drumming up what support he can and keeping the peace in his own part of the world.

Sten: He’d heard little of the Warden after he returned to Seheron. He had professed their actions and honor, but he did not expect to see them again, least of all after his promotion to Arishok. But one such as the Warden will never be far from the greatest moments in time, and it is no different here. The urge to go to them is strong for a moment, and yet as a leader himself that is no longer an option. But there are others he can send, who will be able to lend them support where he cannot.

And if he spends a long time looking over the information on the Hissran they want to send, and knows well that the Warden will see the same flaws he does and turn them to strengths….He can trust him friend to welcome The Iron Bull with or without the Qun.

Dog:

Mod Fereldone

[thiswaycomessomethingwicked]

Theres suddenly a lot of napoleon hate in the tag and idk what to do.. I’m interested in him and all but he did a lot of rly bad shit. I don want to pester you but do you know a way i can like.. come to terms woth those thoughts because its unhealthy to just rip from a hyperfixation

ah yeah that comes and goes. I don’t track, or go into, the Napoleon tags for that reason. 

I’ve addressed this before to another anon a year or so ago, maybe more, but at the end of the day you have to understand that Napoleon was human. He did bad things, he did good things. He could be a dick, he could be warm and generous. Because he is a multi-facsted human being living, and ruling, in a complex time. (All times are complex, but you know what I mean.) (Also, there are times when you can’t really apply modern expectations of behavior or morality to the past. Or, I mean, you can. But it won’t get you very far. I think tumblr struggles with this, sometimes.)

I don’t have an answer for how you should reconcile the contradictory life he lead. That is up to you to figure out. Sometimes you just have to sit with, and acknowledge, the bad. Because it isn’t going away. 

But also don’t become all consumed on one side (he’s the anti-christ/evil/the worst thing ever) or the other (saint who can do no wrong). Finding a balanced, nuanced understanding of him is key. 

And to that end, I recommend getting off Tumblr. Tumblr does not like nuance or context. It does not like understanding the world people are born into, the events that impacted their lives, the fact that they are human and so have deep flaws - as we all do. 

What I do recommend? Reading lots. Avoid Alan Schom and Phillip Dwyer (my two nemesis, though they are unaware of this). I only point you to biographies as a means to provide you with an overview of his life. But all biographers are flawed, all have their biases. And biography as a historical format is ... well I’ve strong views on it. But if you’re keying in on one person for fixation reasons, it’s a good starting point. Zamoyski’s alright. I have some critiques of his work but he’s as fine as any for a starting point. Steven Englund’s Napoleon: A Political Life is probably the best I’ve read. 

But once you’re done with that, read what original documents you can (memoirs, diaries, letters, accounts, newspapers), but read them critically. Know that memoirists all had a spin. Letters were written with an understanding that they could be read publicly - if at least to other family members. The concept of privacy was different at that time. 

Also, very importantly, read broadly about the life and times of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Read about the French Revolution, Napoleon was 20 when it began and it had a profound impact on him. Read about culture and society at the time - in France, in Corsica, Italy, the UK. Read about religion, about science and literature of the late 18th and early 19th century. Napoleon was not a religious man but his Catholic childhood informed, if subconsciously, many of his world views. Especially his understand of a woman’s place in the world. It’s a deeply Mediterranean Catholic understanding. Read about friendship and the homo-social nature of Napoleonic relationships in France (Napoleonic Friendship is great for this). Read about the revival of the classics (which, when covering the French Revolution, should be addressed). 

It’s one of those things, that to come to understand someone. To reconcile their incredible bad with their incredible good, you need to know the world they were operating in. The life they led. The information they had to hand. The relationships that informed and influenced them. 

E.g.: Napoleon and Josephine fought famously over money. Why? Josephine had a compulsive spending habit that I think is a bit of a response to the Revolution and her experiences therein. Napoleon watched his father fritter away what little money the family had gambling, drinking, whoring, ill-thought out business ventures etc. (his mother, according to one apocryphal story, used to send him down to the docks to spy on his father and report back how much he lost). He also went through incredible poverty in his early 20s as the sole bread-winner for his entire family. Des Mazis has some moving memories about this time and how messed up Napoleon was about feeling like he was failing everyone. 

These two people have strong responses to money because of the things they’ve lived through. Entirely understandable responses. But they are responses that are in conflict, so of course they fought over it. 

Context matters. 

Some of the things he did are not going to be comfortable to think about. And that’s ok. That’s part of studying history. Witnessing events and actions that are uncomfortable, that are horrible. But also, as a historian, your role is to understand. By all means look at the decisions he made and say: that was a terrible thing to do. But also look at decisions he made that were good. Like, I don’t know how else to put this than to say: he was complex, he made mistakes, he was cruel in some of his policies, he was also capable of great kindness and generosity and goodness of spirit. He did France great good and he did her great harm. As all rulers do to their countries. 

He did the people he loved great harm and great good. He hurt them and helped them. As we all do to the people in our lives that we care about. 

I wish you the best on this. 

My only truly dear, and earnest advice is: get off Tumblr. Do not take your history from this website. Do your own research. Form your own opinions. 

Thank you for the kind ask!

[dailytafsirofquran]

Tafsir Ibn Kathir: Surah Al-Baqarah Ayah 35-36

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

35 And We said: "O Adam! Dwell you and your wife in the Paradise and eat both of you freely with pleasure and delight, of things therein wherever you will, but come not near this tree or you both will be of the Zalimin (wrongdoers). ''

36. Then the Shaytan made them slip therefrom (the Paradise), and got them out from that in which they were. We said: "Get you down, all, with enmity between yourselves. On earth will be a dwelling place for you and an enjoyment for a time.''

Adam was honored again

Allah tells;

And We said: "O Adam! Dwell you and your wife in the Paradise and eat both of you freely with pleasure and delight, of things therein wherever you will, but come not near this tree or you both will be of the Zalimin (wrongdoers).''

Allah honored Adam by commanding the angels to prostrate before him, so they all complied except for Iblis. Allah then allowed Adam to live and eat wherever and whatever he wished in Paradise.

Al-Hafiz Abu Bakr bin Marduwyah reported Abu Dharr saying,

"I said, `O Messenger of Allah! Was Adam a Prophet?'

He said,Yes. 

He was a Prophet and a Messenger, to whom Allah spoke directly, meaning, (O Adam!) Dwell you and your wife in the Paradise).''

Hawwa' was created before Adam entered Paradise

Muhammad bin Ishaq stated,

The Ayah (2:35) indicates that Hawwa was created before Adam entered Paradise.

Ibn Ishaq said,

"After Allah finished criticizing Iblis, and after teaching Adam the names of everything, He said, (O Adam! Inform them of their names...) until, the end of the Ayah ...and I know what you reveal and what you have been concealing. (2:33)

Then Adam fell asleep, as the People of the Book and other scholars such as Ibn Abbas have stated, Allah took one of Adam's left ribs and made flesh grow in its place, while Adam was asleep and unaware. Allah then created Adam's wife, Hawwa, from his rib and made her a woman, so that she could be a comfort for him. When Adam woke up and saw Hawwa next to him, it was claimed, he said, `My flesh and blood, my wife.' Hence, Adam reclined with Hawwa.

When Allah married Adam to Hawwa and gave him comfort, Allah said to him directly,

"O Adam! Dwell you and your wife in the Paradise and eat both of you freely with pleasure and delight, of things therein wherever you will, but come not near this tree or you both will be of the Zalimin (wrongdoers).''''

Allah tests Adam

Allah's statement to Adam, (but come not near this tree) is a test for Adam. There are conflicting opinions over the nature of the tree mentioned here.

Some said that it was the grape tree, barley, date tree, fig tree, and so forth. Some said that it was a certain tree, and whoever eats from it will be relieved of the call of nature. It was also said that it was a tree from which the angels eat so that they live for eternity.

Imam Abu Jafar bin Jarir said,

"The correct opinion is that Allah forbade Adam and his wife from eating from a certain tree in Paradise, but they ate from it. We do not know which tree that was, because Allah has not mentioned anything in the Qur'an or the authentic Sunnah about the nature of this tree. It was said that it was barley, grape, or a fig tree. It is possible that it was one of those trees. Yet, this is knowledge that does not bring any benefit, just as being ignorant in its nature does no harm. Allah knows best.''

This is similar to what Ar-Razi stated in his Tafsir, and this is the correct opinion.

Allah's statement,

Then the Shaytan made them slip therefrom, either refers to Paradise, and in this case, it means that Shaytan led Adam and Hawwa away from it, as Asim bin Abi An-Najud recited it.

It is also possible that this Ayah refers to the forbidden tree. In this case, the Ayah would mean, as Al-Hasan and Qatadah stated, "He tripped them.''

In this case, (Then the Shaytan made them slip therefrom) means, "Because of the tree'', just as Allah said, Turned aside therefrom (i.e. from Muhammad and the Qur'an) is he who is turned aside (by the decree and preordainment of Allah), (51:9), meaning, the deviant person becomes turned aside - or slips - from the truth because of so and so reason.

This is why then Allah said, And got them out from that in which they were. nmeaning, the clothes, spacious dwelling and comfortable sustenance.

We said: "Get you down, all, with enmity between yourselves. On earth will be a dwelling place for you and an enjoyment for a time.''

meaning, dwelling, sustenance and limited life, until the commencement of the Day of Resurrection

Adam was very Tall

Ibn Abi Hatim narrated that Ubayy bin Ka`b said that the Messenger of Allah said, Allah created Adam tall, with thick hair, just as a date tree with full branches. When Adam ate from the forbidden tree, his cover fell off, and the first thing that appeared was his private area. When he saw his private area, he ran away in Paradise and his hair got caught in a tree. He tried to free himself and Ar-Rahman called him, 'O Adam! Are you running away from Me?'

When Adam heard the words of Ar-Rahman (Allah), he said, 'No, O my Lord! But I am shy.'

Adam remained in Paradise for an Hour

Al-Hakim recorded that Ibn Abbas said,

"Adam was allowed to reside in Paradise during the time period between the `Asr (Afternoon) prayer, until sunset.''

Al-Hakim then commented this is "Sahih according to the Two Sheikhs (Al-Bukhari and Muslim), but they did not include it in their collections.''

Also, Ibn Abi Hatim recorded Ibn Abbas saying,

"Allah sent Adam to earth to an area called, Dahna, between Makkah and At-Ta'if.''

Al-Hasan Al-Basri said that; Adam was sent down to India, while Hawwa was sent to Jeddah. Iblis was sent down to Dustumaysan, several miles from Basra. Further, the snake was sent down to Asbahan.

This was reported by Ibn Abi Hatim.

Also, Muslim and An-Nasa'i recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah said,

Friday is the best day on which the sun has risen. On Friday, Allah created Adam, admitted him into Paradise, and expelled him from it.

A Doubt and a Rebuttal

If one asks, "If the Paradise that Adam was thrown out of was in heaven, as the majority of the scholars assert, then is it possible for Iblis to enter Paradise, although he was expelled from it by Allah's decision (when he refused to prostrate before Adam)?''

Basically, the response to this would be that the Paradise which Adam was in, was in the heavens, not on the earth, as we explained in the beginning of our book Al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah.

The majority of scholars said that Shaytan was originally prohibited from entering Paradise, but there were times when he sneaked into it in secret. For instance, the Tawrah stated that Iblis hid inside the snake's mouth and entered Paradise. Some scholars said that it is possible that Shaytan led Adam and Hawwa astray on his way out of Paradise. Some scholars said that he led Adam and Hawwa astray when he was on earth, while they were still in heaven, as stated by Az-Zamakhshari.

Al-Qurtubi mentioned several beneficial Hadiths here about snakes and the ruling on killing them.