#and re establishing diplomatic relationships

[cryosewn]

@rukuan​ asked: ✿.

FRIENDSHIP.     childhood friends  /  work buddies or coworkers  /  family friends  /  friends with benefits  /  smoking buddies  /  adventure buddies  /  fake friends  /  recently friends  /  party buddies  /  friendship of need  /  dying friendship  /  circumstantial friendship  /  partners in crime  /  old friendship  /  [ your muse ] is the good influence  /  [ your muse ] is the bad influence  /  [ my muse ] is the good influence  /  [ my muse ] is the bad influence  /  opposites attract  /  ride or die  /  frenemies  /  roommates or flatmates ( and they were roommates )   /  penpals  /  exes to friends  /  enemies to friends  /  other

ROMANCE.     childhood sweethearts  /  [ your muse is mines ] childhood crush  /  [ my muse is yours ] childhood crush  /  exes  /  exes to lovers  /  forbidden lovers  /  highschool sweethearts  /  secret relationship  /  opposites attract  /  long distance  /  unrequited [ from your muses side ]  /  unrequited [ from my muses side ]  /  unrequited [ from both sides ]  /  skinny love  /  friends to lovers  /  enemies to lovers  /  spurious relationship  /  power couple  /  newly entered  /  soulmates [ metaphorical ]  /  soulmates  [ literal ]  /  awkward  /  turning toxic  /  toxic love  /  cheating [ on your muse ]  /  cheating [ with your muse ]  /  other

FAMILIAL.     siblings [ half ]  /  siblings [ step ]  /  [ my muse ] is an older sibling figure to your younger sibling figure  /  [ my muse ] is a younger sibling figure to your older sibling figure muse  /  [ my muse ] is a parental figure to yours  /  [ my muse ] is a child figure to your muse  /  guardian figure  /  legal guardian  /  adoptive child  /  foster child  /  [ your muse ] is taken under mines wing  /  [ my muse ] is taken under yours wing  /  other

ANTAGONISTIC.     dangerous to each other  /  dangerous to others  /  unpredictable  /  rivals  /  petty  /  developing into sexual or romantic tension  /  based off family matters  /  based of off circumstance  /  based of professional matters  /  based off misunderstanding or lies  /  conflict of ideology  /  betrayal  /  hero - villain dynamic  /  enemies  /  fight club  /  friends turned enemies  /  lovers turned enemies  /  exes turned enemies  /  other

[izooks]

Some of Joe Biden’s accomplishments:

**Domestic policy**

* **American Rescue Plan (2021)**: Provided $1.9 trillion in COVID-19 relief, including direct payments, enhanced unemployment benefits, and funding for vaccines and testing.

* **Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (2021)**: Allocated $1.2 trillion for infrastructure projects, including roads, bridges, broadband, and clean energy initiatives.

* **Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (2022)**: Expanded background checks for gun purchases and provided funding for mental health services.

* **Child Tax Credit Expansion (2021-2022)**: Temporarily expanded the Child Tax Credit to provide up to $3,600 per child in monthly payments.

* **Affordable Care Act Expansion (2021)**: Made health insurance more affordable for low- and middle-income Americans by reducing premiums and expanding subsidies.

**Foreign Policy**

* **Withdrawal from Afghanistan (2021)**: Ended the 20-year war in Afghanistan.

* **Re-joining the Paris Agreement (2021)**: Re-committed the United States to global efforts to address climate change.

* **Strengthening Alliances with NATO and the EU (2021-present)**: Repaired relationships with key European allies after strained relations during the Trump administration.

* **Supporting Ukraine in the Ukraine-Russia War (2022-present)**: Provided military, humanitarian, and diplomatic support to Ukraine in its defense against Russia's invasion.

* **Nuclear Deal with Iran (2023)**: Revived negotiations with Iran on a comprehensive nuclear deal, aimed at preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

**Other Notable Accomplishments**

* **Appointing Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court (2022)**: Made history by being the first Black woman appointed to the nation's highest court.

* **Signing the Respect for Marriage Act (2022)**: Ensured federal recognition of same-sex and interracial marriages.

* **Establishing the Office of the National Cyber Director (2021)**: Coordinated federal efforts to combat cybersecurity threats.

* **Creating the COVID-19 National Preparedness Plan (2021)**: Developed a comprehensive strategy to respond to future pandemics.

* **Launching the Cancer Moonshot (2022)**: Re-energized the government's efforts to find a cure for cancer.

[incense-and-nonsense]

Finished watching Arcane last night and I have some thoughts about Ambessa Medara that I need to get out of my system.

What I find fascinating about Ambessa as a character is the fanbase's reception of her: she's a big muscle mommy with a hidden soft side. However, I don't think the show's writers want us to like her and especially don't intend to portray her as an attractive person. The reason I think this is because (aside from her gender) she's a textbook example of a toxic, hypermasculine, alpha-male power fantasy.

Let's elaborate. Only a few minutes after we're introduced to her (having invited herself into her estranged daughter's world in a display of Emotionally-Healthy Parenting TM), she announces that she's off to "sample the local cuisine," gesturing towards a male consort/companion who awaits her.

And then there's this scene:

Here we are shown Ambessa naked in a bath being massaged by the same comparatively small companion we met earlier. The power dynamic in the relationship is clearly one of domination and submission. She's indulgent in her consumption and luxury and lobs criticism after criticism at a visibly uncomfortable Jayce, all while the artwork behind the two reinforces how this exchange will play out: Ambessa holds all the power, while Jayce is on the defensive.

In short, everything about the way Ambessa talks and carries herself is meant to convey one simple message: I am powerful. She never needs to insist on her power--it's self-evident.

On the surface, this seems like an extremely well-written feminist icon. Ambessa is strong and confident, bending to no-one and self-assured. In flashbacks and in her own dialogue, she's presented as someone who is willing to take ruthless and decisive action regardless of other's feelings. She exudes confidence and charisma and never apologizes for the space she takes up in other's lives. Other people exist largely to fulfill her goals and desires. Further, later she reveals that she exiled her daughter Mel because her daughter's more merciful and diplomatic nature weakened Ambessa and her resolve.

In short, Ambessa is the textbook icon of hypermasculine power fantasies enfleshed in a woman.

Thing is though, these traits don't become less toxic when they happen to belong to a woman. Imagine the two scenes above if the character's genders were swapped. Then what we see is a confident, muscled warmonger who establishes his place in the social hierarchy through displays of sexual dominance and belittling those around him. Imagine Caitlyn attempting to discuss the situation in Piltover as a nude, muscled man insults her competence and strides naked over to her in a clear display of power. That's not a character we celebrate; it's a character who makes us feel violated by their very presence. Moreover, it's a character we've all probably seen before a hundred times.

Toxic behavior doesn't stop being toxic when done by a woman instead of a man.

Ambessa is not intended to be a likable character. She manipulates and dehumanizes others (especially sexually), refuses to show mercy, and pushes away those closest to her out of her fear of weakness. She's not an icon of female empowerment. Her character is a commentary on how easy it is to think that feminism means adopting the toxic ways in which men have often exercised power over others. Dehumanization and exploitation aren't behaviors that we should celebrate just because they make a women look strong. Rather, we should re-evaluate what we think strength looks like.

[skeletons-eat]

Padawan!Reva AU stuff for u guys:

-Cody has become an office worker/Diplomat/ approver of rights for the newly established vod'e and is tired of sitting I said office.

-He enjoys gossiping w/ The chancellor aka Mon Mothma

-Padme stepped down from her post as a senator after making her relationship with anakin puplic as to not further compromise her and her planets government's image.

-She and Anakin have moved to Naboo where she has taken on to wrangling more local politics.

-Anakin has followed in his Padawans footsteps and left the order to become a stay at home dad.

-Obi-Wan and Reva have severely different tastes in tea which causes a lot of bickering.

-That is the only thing they mostly argue about though since both of them share simular interests in Anthropology, History, Sciences and Politics.

-Reva is a bit more interested in the economic stuff (timeliness, effects on the future, war, famine, etc) while Obi mostly focuses on Humanitarian stuff) cultures, traditions, religions, etc)

-More than half the population of Jedi (especially Masters and knights) deal with post war ptsd, which makes the council give mandatory classes to initiates and all those who were spared from the draft, to cope with those who suffer from it and how to handle them in cases of emergency.

-Rex, the 501st and some other clones cruise around with ahsoka in the outter rim.

-The starlight initiative will be re-established to better support the outter rim and it's rebuilding efforts.

-The jedi are stretched thin and have refused almost any request of aid after the wars end to rebuild and strengthen themselfs once again.

-Two years will have past after the war when the fic starts.

-Anakin/Ahsoka and Obi-Wan are on low Contact.

-Obi-Wan is a girl dad with crippleing emty-nest-syndrome

[mariacallous]

The Russian intelligence used sexually compromising materials to recruit a member of the Irish parliament to undermine the relationship between Ireland, the U.K. and the European Union during the Brexit negotiations, The Sunday Times reported.

Irish security services have identified the politician, but his identity cannot be revealed due to legal reasons. The lawmaker, who continues to sit in the parliament, is referred to in the Times article as ‘Cobalt’ due to legal reasons. While he was tailed by Irish security services and police, ‘Cobalt’ met several times with Sergey Prokopiev, a colonel of the Russian military intelligence (GRU). The spy masqueraded as a diplomat working at the Russian embassy in Dublin between 2019 and 2022. Prokopiev was one of four Russian ‘diplomats’ expelled from Ireland in 2022 after they were identified as unreported intelligence officers. They were among some 600 Russian spies expelled by Western countries following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. ‘Cobalt’ reportedly offered to liaise Prokopiev with paramilitaries operating in Northern Ireland. According to the Irish security source, the Kremlin hoped to use the existing tensions and the period of contentious negotiations over Brexit to drive a wedge between Dublin, London and Brussels. One of the issues during the negotiations was whether to re-establish a hard border between U.K. Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, which would violate the Good Friday Agreement, which ended the protracted period of violence between Northern Ireland’s ethnic and religious communities.

On the other hand, loyalist paramilitaries were threatening violence should the alternative, a customs border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the U.K., be established, which was the solution eventually adopted.

According to the Irish intelligence, ‘Cobalt’ received no monetary gain from the Russians. Instead, he was ‘honey-trapped,’ that is recruited by a Russian agent through seduction, which enabled the Russian intelligence to gather compromising materials of a sexual nature against him.

‘Cobalt’ was recorded as having met with the agent in Ireland several times, but the services could not take any action, as he was not doing anything that would break the law. He also traveled to countries outside of the EU in which Russian intelligence can operate freely several times.

According to Times, the services warned ‘Cobalt’ that he is being targetted by Russian spies, but ignored the warnings.

“They used him but he allowed himself to be used,” a security source said.

Lacking access to classified information that he could reveal to the Russians, ‘Cobalt’ could not be arrested or charged with espionage. The services believe that the sway the Russians had over him was instead used to get him to disrupt the public debate and served the Russian agenda by repeating Kremlin propaganda’s talking points.

‘Cobalt’s’ case is the first modern known case of Russian intelligence attempting to infiltrate the Irish parliament, although several such attempts to recruit British politicians, aimed at destabilizing Western countries, have been recorded.

No surprise, says Taoiseach

Simon Harris, Ireland’s Taoiseach (prime minister) said that Russian attempts to infiltrate Western countries with agents of influence should not be surprising.

“It shouldn’t come as any surprise to any of us that Russia seeks to influence public opinion, seeks to distort public opinion and is active in relation to that across the world and that Ireland is not immune from that,” he said.

“We’ve also seen a very significant increase in that level of activity since the brutal invasion by Russia of Ukraine.

Harris refused to comment extensively on the matter due to security reasons, but he commended the services on a job well done and for effectively cooperating with other international security services in the case.

“Gardai [Irish police] and our security services take all of these issues extremely seriously and monitor these issues seriously, and work with international counterparts on all these matters, and I have great confidence in the ability of Gardai, working with international counterparts.”

[namenotfound0]

I re-watched all of G4 and started G5 for the first time and I have a theory of the timeline

DISCLAIMER:

G5 IS AN ALTERNATE TIMELINE FUTURE AND THE FiM SHOW DOES NOT TAKE PLACE IN THE SAME UNIVERSE

(That being said, the events of the FiM show did take place)

When Princesses Twilight Sparkle and Mi Amore Cadenza (Cadence) ruled their two kingdoms, after the death of their closest companions (the Guardians of Friendship and Shining Armor), their defense plans were made weaker. Twilight realized that so long as she ruled, she would outlive all of her closest friends. With the elements of harmony destroyed and the Pillars long dead, it seemed there was no remaining Friendship magic. Twilight continued to take on new pupils and send them all over Equus, but without the bonds of friendship they once had as an example, and with no villains to fight, they never lived up to her legacy. Alicorns are immortal and cannot die, and when Princess Cadence joins Princesses Celestia and Luna in retirement, they decide to cast a spell together to send them on to the next world. Twilight is devastated all over again, and decides that being apart from those you care about only leads to heartbreak, so she reaches out to Princess Flurry Heart and Dragon Lord Spike. She gives them a choice; to return to Equestria and live in Canterlot with her, or to remain outside the borders of her kingdom and establish a diplomatic relationship. Spike protests at first, but ultimately decides to return to Equestria to be with Twilight. On the other hoof, Princess Flurry Heart refuses to leave the Crystal Empire, knowing King Sombra is out there waiting.

Twilight grew wary of the other kingdoms, eventually telling Flurry Heart that the Crystal Empire was technically officially a part of Equestria, and taking control herself, believing this to be the only way to keep her niece safe. Yakyakistan ends its Friendship treaty with Equestria after 100 moons as promised, and Twilight is too busy with two kingdoms to deal with international relations. Meanwhile, the Dragon Lands have a new Dragon Lord, and he doesn't approve of Princess Twilight's rulership. The Dragon Lands sever ties with Equestria, and soon Griffonstone and the Changeling Kingdom follow. The Kirin realize that Equestria is becoming weaker and flee, fearing that their homeland could be taken over. Princess Flurry Heart tries to stop Twilight from making rash decisions, but Twilight argues with her, causing a rift between the princesses. Spike, remembering what happened all those moons ago with the Two Sisters, tells Twilight that he wants to go into limbo. She denies him, so he seeks out another powerful unicorn to help him. In his travels, he goes to the Crystal Empire and finds a scroll left by Celestia, Luna, and Cadence for Flurry Heart. It details the spell they cast to enter the next world. Shocked, Spike takes it back to Canterlot, only to find Twilight and Flurry Heart in a massive fight.

Desperate to stop them before it got out of hand, he tells Twilight about the spell and suggests she reunite with her friends. Twilight seems to consider it, but Flurry Heart sees the Royal Stamp of the Crystal Empire and becomes enraged at Twilight, thinking she had stolen her mother's magic. In a flash of magic, the scroll is destroyed and Twilight is weakened. Seeing everything she did wrong, she begs Flurry Heart to reconsider her actions. Spike, having no other choice, tells Twilight how to cast the spell. She thanks him, and sends him into limbo, realizing his plan. Flurry Heart starts growing crystals in the Canterlot throne room, feeling that Twilight stole her home from her. Twilight and Flurry Heart fight, breaking several of the crystals in the process. Knowing that Flurry Heart's power matches her own, Twilight draws power from the ponies in Equestria, leaving them drained like Tirek. She sends one of the broken crystals to each of her pupils, infusing almost all of her magic in them, knowing that they would need to be united in harmony and friendship, but trusting her pupils to continue her lessons.

Twilight then faces Flurry Heart and casts the spell Spike told her about, using almost all of her magic to do so. Flurry Heart reverses it on her, and in a final attempt to stop her, Twilight sends a message to the crystals, hoping that when they're united again, the message will help guide the next generation.

The Crystal Empire becomes abandoned as everyone in all of the kingdoms leaves to the distant lands, fearing Flurry Heart and the disappearance of magic in Equestria. Flurry Heart had drained almost all of her magic, and Canterlot was destroyed. Twilight's pupils, a unicorn, a pegasus, and an earth pony, each took their crystals and fled, leading as many ponies as they could to the coast. Flurry Heart was too weak to follow them and too weak to stop the Everfree Forest from taking over most of Equestria. Her rage fueled her magic, and she set the mountain where Canterlot used to be aflame, transforming the castle and her appearance into a corrupted version of what used to be.

Discord watched the fire burn and the ponies flee, fearing the ponies he used to love. He disappeared into the Everfree Forest, a great sadness taking over him and leaving him half-asleep for centuries, devastated that he could never join his friends in the next world.

As the last ponies who knew what happened died, the story started to warp, causing fear and mistrust between the three pony tribes. The unicorns believed that they fled because the earth ponies were starving them, leaving them to hide deep in the forest, magic drained. The earth ponies believed that they fled because the pegasi were controlling the weather, sending lightning down on their crops and stopping the rain, leaving them in a firey drought. The pegasi believed that they fled because the unicorns had gotten in a massive fight, zapping their home into a wasteland.

The unicorns settled in Shady Hollow, renaming it Bridlewood and developing a superstitious, whimsical community. The earth ponies settled on Horseshoe Bay, naming their town Maretime Bay and developing an orderly and scared community. The pegasi settled atop a mountain outside what used to be Starlight's village, now long abandoned, naming their city Zephyr Heights and developing a futuristic monarchy.

(A really shitty map for it as well)

[laufire]

I watched under the red hood recently so maybe 🔥 + Jason in it?

nice 😃

first of all, in order to discuse this, I need to establish the Really Big Changes between that movie and comics canon because... yeah, they're huge lol.

in the comics, Bruce and Jason's relationship had been fracturing in his last days as robin, because Bruce suspect Jason of pushing a rapist with diplomatic immunity from a balcony (the comic leaves this ambiguous. I prefer it this way). with terrible timing, Jason finds out that the mother that raised him wasn't his biological mother, so he sets out on a search for new family. after a whole international quest, he finds her... and she gives him up to the Joker in order to cover her *check's notes* embezzling crimes. the rest is history.

Jason is not brought back by the Lazarus Pit (and Ra's certainly wanted nothing to do with him lol). he awakes one day on his coffin because of comic-typical nonsense (alternate version of superman punched the world?? and it "set things right" because Jason was never "meant" to die). he digs his way out, gets hit by a car, gets taken to a hospital, stays in a comma, awakens but ~catatonic, escapes and wanders the streets stealing and sharing food with the homeless... then a league ally finds him, Talia al Ghul is informed, and takes Jason under her wing. when he's not healing fast enough for Ra's tastes and he wants to take Jason a way to the farm, Talia throws him into the Pit without Ra's permision.

in their final confrontation, Bruce is far less calm and doesn't throw the batarang to Jason's hand: he throws it to his neck, with potential lethal force, to fully stop him. then the Joker blows things up. it's kind of implied that Jason dies, but maybe the same magic (there's a purple light thingy?) took effect, so he eventually returns to annoy Dick in New York and briefly turn into a tentacled monster. that's not relevant here though.

oh, and Black Mask didn't need to free the Joker. he was already chilling in some amusement park, as he does. while Batman did... eh. who knows.

there are other, less important changes. because comics are weird and quirky and inherently hard to adapt in a way general audiences will take seriously. a very funny one is that the assassin Jason kills when he and Bruce are fighting side by side calls himself Captain Nazi.

okay so. I have MIXED FEELINGS about the film, precisely because of these changes (well, minus the Captain Nazi one, but that is REALLY funny of Jason, imo). I like it a lot... but I'm also bummed it removes Talia's importance... and that it backs the post-death narrative pushed by DC that Jason died because he was "reckless"/eagerly violent as Robin... the changes pertaining Bruce... and most of all, Jason's resurrection (again, I get it's comics-weird. But I really like the digging-out-of-one's-grave's motif!! and it could've easily been left ambiguous - the characters in the comics have no idea of why Jason came back, so. it could remain a mystery!).

and as I said, re: Bruce. sometimes I'm annoyed because the changes seem designed to make Bruce seem less... objectionable lol. other times I'm curious because the changes because they suggest a very different person in some key ways that spark my imagination in fic-related ways. depends on the day!

but overall it's a good film and a more than competent adaptation, that REALLY showcases my perfect son who never did anything wrong in his life xD, that portrays him as competent (very important to me), and that hits just the right spot when it comes to all my Jason and Bruce-Jason FEELS. and teeny tiny robin!Jason was adorable.

(I'm very happy the fandom outgrew its phase of fancasting Jensen Ackles as Jason though. what a travesty).

Send Me a 🔥+ a Topic, and I’ll Tell You My Honest Opinion About It

[pokemon-academy-official]

I was wondering if kanto and johto have always been so close (obv in terms of diplomatic relationship, Ik they"re physically close) or if there have been conflicts between.. i was also wondering why paldea and kitakami have such close relationships too bc theyre quite far apart

Thank you for the question! Let's talk about interregional diplomacy!

In General

The largest diplomatic event in recent history was the Great Pokémon War, involving many regions, most notably Kanto and Unova. Afterwards, there was certainly some tension, but there thankfully haven't been any large-scale conflicts between regions since, and all major regions are decently friendly with one another!

That's not to say everyone is the best of friends, of course. There are certainly disagreements, but all-out war is the last thing on anyone's mind.

Paldea and Kitakami

Before we get to the real meat and potatoes, you mentioned the "close relationship" between Paldea and Kitakami. We found this interesting since there really isn't much of one to speak of. Outside of the Terestal phenomenon, the two regions share very little in common. While there are no conflicts between them, their relationship isn't especially close.

You may have been thinking of an expedition to the Kitakami region featuring students from Naranja-Uva and Blueberry Academies, during which an interesting truth was discovered regarding Ogerpon and the Loyal Three! (Read here for more information: [a link to an article on a Sinnoan news site, detailing the events of The Teal Mask])

Kanto and Johto

Now then...

Kanto and Johto share a very long history, which we will be massively simplifying and summarizing here. (Apologies to any history enthusiasts for the omissions. If it's any consolation, we offer a much more in-depth course on this very topic at our Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh campuses!)

As is common for directly neighboring regions, Kanto and Johto have a history of both alliances and feuds. While most outright fighting was mitigated by the mountains between the regions, several naval battles are recorded. These conflicts could range in cause from trade disputes to retaliation against a perceived invasion, to an influential family being angry with someone from the other region. They also ranged in scope, from a single battle lasting 20 minutes to several years of near endless fighting. The nearby Hoenn and Sinnoh regions (and, to a much lesser extent, Kitakami) had similar "on again off again" relationships. This all culminated in the War of Nations, in which each region fought both with and against each other at least twice over.

When the fighting finally ended, all of the involved regions agreed to remain allied for perpetuity, and this has held to this day. By the time of the Great Pokémon War, the regions had been nearly as friendly as they are today for several decades and were of course close allies both during this conflict and since.

One minor issue has arisen, however. When Routes 26 and 27 were established, Johto took issue with Kanto claiming Mt. Silver. Even among debate regarding the practicality of this claim, Johto did not desist. Eventually, Kanto relented. Today, Mt. Silver is a piece of Johto that is not directly accessible from any other part of Johto, and the route leading to it, Route 28, is Kantonian. This has led to some confusion among travelers, but considering the open border between the two regions it is of little consequence.

[attonitos-gloria]

If the main tension in the last seasons of Game of Thrones was between Jaime and Dany, what would that look like? How would it have changed things?

friend, thank you for this ask. This is going to be very long heheh sorry in advance. writing Jaime's arc is the most satisfying part of IKTE for me so I'm very happy for this, thank you truly.

Jaime is a character traumatized by fire. Not the only one - but he is prominently traumatized by it, and indeed his entire reputation was built around the fact he has broken sacred vows because of a Targaryen king who used fire as a tool of intimidation and social controlling. More than any other character in the show, Jaime knows the political implications of fire as a weapon. And if the daughter of said king comes back from the ashes of House Targaryen to conquer Westeros and re-establish her father's dynasty... using fire-breathing monsters as her main weapon... do you get it 😭

(that scene of Jaime trying to get Drogon killed is so good - the way the camera focused on his face, on the fire and ashes and smoke and the people burning alive around him ! he was reliving the Throne Room he was a knight trying to kill the dragon he was trying to make it right and tyrion was THERE on the enemy's side but watching him ;-; they were so close of getting it right WHY NOT LEAN INTO THAT !! It was delicious!!)

You can argue that Jaime is barely aware of this, since, true to his Lannister name and blood and inheritance, he spends his life in denial about this trauma. I would agree with this statement, which is why I think putting Jaime between Dany and Cersei as political choices is more interesting than putting Jaime between Cersei and Brienne as love interests in the most bland way possible.

If Jaime is going to leave Cersei at some point, why not earlier, at the end of season 6 when Cersei pulled an Aerys against the Tyrells?? Their relationship already is, in a way, a coping mechanism against the institutional violence of knighthood; he is the knight and she is the queen, everything is justified because of that. Their idealized versions of each other only exist in their heads anyway. Imagine if the Sept of Baelor is the last straw in a relationship that has been in crumbles for a while now. All their children dead and Cersei the very embodiment of Aerys. (Forget the pregnancy plot. It was stupid.)

And then there are so many possibilities from then on when Daenerys arrives in Westeros. The show sets her up to be rejected. I can follow that. I truly cannot conceive, in show canon, a happy ending for Dany - and by happy ending I mean everyone loving her and welcoming her as their Queen. I think her dragons are an ethical problem that needs to be addressed; the show and books themselves already pointed in that direction. The Dance of the Dragons is a cautionary tale about this, the entire story of House Targaryen is about this. I do love Dany and I believe she is a good person at heart, but also. Consider. She has the canon equivalent of nuclear weapons. The dragons are useful to kill the true enemy (the Others) and you can argue that there is an ethical justification to use them to end slavery, but then what. Then what comes next. When the enemy is defeated and this woman is the only person in the world with weapons of massive destruction. What do you do with the weapons after the War is over - I cannot be the only person who thinks this is an issue like 😭 Jaime has reasons to be wary more than anyone - yes, even more than Sansa; Sansa has reasons to be concerned and to worry about the North, but Daenerys was coming with aid in the War, and I don't see any reason why Sansa didn't even >>try<< to be mildly diplomatic, except that the writers wanted the conflict to rise. I don't know; I'm grumpy about this, and it is very hard to make sense of Sansa's actions in season 8 for me, but I will stop myself right here because this isn't about her. This is about Jaime !!!

I feel like a lot of what we call Jaime's redemption relies on his romantic feelings for Brienne; even in the show, he leaves Cersei and goes North to fight for the living because it is the ~right thing to do~, but the subtext kind of says that he went for Brienne. And it's not that I don't ship them: I do! But falling in love with Brienne is not a redemption arc, doing things because Brienne would approve is not a redemption arc. It has been said before, by people smarter than me, but Jaime is not in a redemption story; he is in an identity crisis story. I feel like the show tried to give him an redemption arc only to pull the rug at the end going like "nope, sorry, people don't change" - and since said redemption relied completely on his romantic feelings for Brienne, it wasn't enough to knight her; he had to sleep with her. Since the point being made was that people don't change, that meant necessarily ending his affair with Brienne and cruelly breaking her heart so she would let him go back to Cersei. Because what else is there to say about Jaime Lannister other than which woman he chooses to fuck by the end of the story?

Do you get what I'm saying? Like, I know he is pretty. But the choice of framing Jaime's story as primarily a love story between two women, the good one and the bad one, is wild to me. Really? That is the most relevant thing about this man?

Did he change? Did he find a solution to the problem of knighthood? That doesn't mean loving Brienne (he did say "I have never slept with a knight before" to her, after all. The man literally wanted to fuck knighthood! in every meaning, layer, and way! okay Jaime). That means *becoming* what Brienne already is - a person who is willing not only to kill, but in fact, to die defending the vulnerable and the innocent. And I felt like the show shaped this like "will Jaime choose Brienne or Cersei?" And everything else was secondary to that, when I think the romance could really stay in the background and the knighthood crisis should come into focus on main stage. And because Dany and Cersei are meant to be each other's foils, both in their similarities and differences, I do like the idea of Jaime being stuck between these two Queens who are, each in their own way, Aerys, who made him who he is (a Kingslayer).

SO. There are many ways this could go about:

Maybe Dany demands Jaime to kill Cersei in exchange for royal pardon; this man, after all, killed her father in an act of betrayal. She forgave him way too easily in the show. All that tension! For nothing!!!! Do we want a grim ending? No problem. Maybe he does kill Cersei and then kills himself (favorite book ending, for me). Maybe he can't handle being confronted with the reality that his life is built on an empty lie. Maybe he looks at Cersei and sees wildfire and madness and Aerys, and there is no escape, and he does not know how to live with himself with or without this woman. This has always been the cost of knighthood: blood. It has been this way since Arthur Dayne knighted him. And he cannot stand the idea of serving the daughter of Aerys for the rest of his life; he would literally rather die. Maybe love can't save the day this time.

Or: maybe Jaime vows to kill Cersei and publicly and officially bends the knee to Dany, only to break his vows again and betray her, killing Dany instead, before she can set King’s Landing on fire. Or even better: after. After he sees her as Aerys' extension. Maybe Jaime is in a time loop, doomed to repeat this, doomed to kill the dragon. Do we want grim endings for everyone? No problem: this time, he actually suffers the consequences of high treason - he is sent to the Wall, he takes the Black; or he is exiled. You can get away with killing your Monarch once, but not twice. For once, he is not rewarded for an act of brutal violence and betrayal. No cathartic death for him: he only needs to live with the consciousness that he saved the world twice, but he had to sacrifice his soul twice to do it. And no one sings his praise. He's still the Kingslayer.

Are we tired of grim endings? We don't want Jaime to be the Kingslayer? Also, no problem. Because the memory of the War that traumatized him, the trigger for it, is embodied alive in the person of Jon Snow. The boy Jaime's heroes and brothers-in-arms died trying to protect. Maybe Jaime is tired of being torn between two Mad Queens and he decides to give his life to put Jon, Rhaegar's son, on the Iron Throne. He is not the Kingslayer anymore. Fuck that. He is the Kingmaker. Kind of like Criston Cole, but cool and less catholic. He could even be Hand of the King to Jon.

Or maybe it bothers you, as it bothers me, the fact that Jaime actually pushed a child out of a window, and that event is treated like a small detail in his story once he gets North. It was not a thing Cersei commanded him to do. Cersei did not take his hand and forced it to do it. Jaime tried to kill a boy. He permanently damaged Bran's body. Any attempt at redemption that does not address this is flawed. Maybe the only way to redeem Jaime is to make him Bran's ally because Bran is one of Dany's strongest narrative foils, right there with Cersei and Tyrion: some characters have magical attributes, things they are able to do; some characters have magical things happening to them; but Bran and Dany *are* magical in themselves. They carry the power along with them. And, by the end of the show, Bran is KING. He is one of the most powerful creatures alive - he can travel in time AND control people's and animals' minds/bodies - and he apparently has been PLANNING the whole thing (why do you think I came all this way, etc) all along. Does that even make sense? What is it about Bran that allows him to be powerful and in charge by the end of the story, to the point of allowing the destruction of a city in order to get what he wants, while Dany has to be sacrificed and is deemed too power-hungry? Why is Dany's inability to have children a problem, and Bran's assumed inability to sire children presented as a solution? And more importantly- what does Bran WANT? (To hell with that ableist "Bran has no feelings or desires and can't be tempted" bullshit). And given all that: if Bran and Dany are foils and parallels, what if Bran gets things done with Jaime's help? (Not necessarily as heroes). Because he kind of owes Bran. He is the man who put Bran on that wheel-chair and changed the course of Bran's entire life. And Lannisters pay their debts, or so we are told. Maybe we could even try to actually say something relevant about magic as a weapon and the people in power wielding it.

I feel like you could still pull something out of the fact that 1) Jaime's alleged last chance of honor (Sansa) is already antagonizing Dany and 2) His little brother sided with Dany after killing their father, and he actually forgave and forgot about that too easily in the show too. There is a lot of implied drama and nuance because so many relationships in Jaime's life are bridges to Dany. I just wanted to see it explored to the last of its potential.

Anyway. I'm rambling at this point. but the gist of it is that if Dany needs an antagonist in Westeros, a character to embody her rejection, Jaime is a better candidate than Sansa, imo. This man needed to be used in a political plot as a relevant, game-changing player at the end of the show. Some of those ideas I don't even like lol all they have in common is that they force Jaime to own his bullshit and stand up to something and put his skin in the game instead of running between Brienne and Cersei through 8 seasons, and I say this as someone who appreciates both Jaime/Cersei and Jaime/Brienne from a shipping perspective.

[eretzyisrael]

Short-sighted Israel could have resolved communal property issue

Writing in Maariv, Jacky Hugi explains why one person notable by her absence from the recent inauguration of the renovated Ben Ezra synagogue in Cairo was the  Jewish ‘community’ head, Magda Haroun. The inauguration is an opportunity to  examine exactly who owns Jewish communal property in Arab countries. It is  a neglected issue, and the Israeli government  has never dealt seriously with it. (With thanks: Boruch)

Exterior of the recently renovated Ben Ezra synagogue

The reasons for Magda’s  absence lie in her strained relationship with the organizers of the ceremony, the members of the Supreme Antiquities Authority. Although the Egyptian government financed the renovation and initiated it, the key is in the hands of the community, and they are the authority to decide when to open the place.  As of today, almost two weeks after it was renovated, the site is closed to visitors until the head of the community decides to open it. Soon, probably, the winds will calm down, and this unique site will be opened to visitors. Tourists and locals, including many non-Jews, usually visit this special place and hear the wonderful story of the Geniza, look up to its second floor and look for the narrow opening through which Jews  threw the documents of the Holy Scriptures for hundreds of years.

Ben Ezra is not the only synagogue in Egypt. Throughout the city there are 12 synagogues, and there are even active ones (the Maadi synagogue is only used over the High Holydays – ed). This renovation provides an opportunity to discuss an issue that goes beyond the boundaries of the religious sites in Cairo –  the ownership of Jewish property in Arab countries where the last Jews still live. For example Egypt, Iraq, Syria and Yemen. In these countries, and others, there remains much public property that was in the hands of the community, as well as spiritual treasures such as books and scriptures. In Egypt, for example, the government realized decades ago that Jewish properties are a tourist treasure, and declared them national property. In Iraq, on the other hand, the community property is in the hands of the handful of Jews (three) who still remain there. What will happen when the last Jews in these communities pass away, who will own the properties accumulated over hundreds of years and left behind?

If they were not without vision, it is possible that Israel’s governments over the years could have found a solution to this issue decades ago. But Israel decided to sacrifice the cultural treasures of the Jewish communities in Arab countries. In the various contacts with the Palestinians, and also in the statements of our leaders, the governments of Israel subordinated the property issue of Arab Jews to the permanent agreement with the Palestinians. These countries know from now on that they are under no obligation to enter into negotiations regarding the fate of the property of the Jews living there, as long as the Palestinians have not received their property as part of a peace agreement with Israel. The Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, or various departments of the government ministries that dealt with the Diaspora, have never seriously dealt with this issue. This does not mean that Israel should have claimed this property for itself. But it was certainly possible to establish, through diplomatic means and over the years, even with countries with which it has no relations, outlines for handling property and holy books. Whom do they belong to, who will the financial profits they generate go to, and how to preserve them in the best way.

Currently, it is not known what will happen to the property after the end of these communities. Especially in countries that have experienced wars, such as Yemen, Iraq and Syria, where such assets could be prey for looters.

Read article in full (Hebrew)

The post Short-sighted Israel could have resolved communal property issue appeared first on Point of No Return.

[valeriefauxnom]

Leonidas may seem like a brute sometimes, always charging forward in pursuit of his ideals, but he's actually pretty sneaky and cunning. Take this from him here:

"Three great powers", he says. New Alberia is Euden's, under Leonidas' proxy rule, Dyrenell is Emile's and not a threat, but by claiming that the Kingdom of Alberia is a power by itself, he's implying that he's declared Valkaheim the new capital of the old Alberia. So technically Leonidas did 'ascend' a throne instead of leaving the titles of King and Emperor for his youngest siblings.

It makes sense: Euden comments early in the game Leonidas commands one of the largest armies in South Grastea, and his was only a part of Alberia's forces before. He has the might to establish himself a country, and it's not like Emile or Euden is able or willing to challenge him much.

Oh, Leo. What's more, he's not simply twiddling his thumbs atop Euden's throne waiting for him to come back, either, but using his resources to full advantage for his own kingdom. He uses Euden's troops to help quell riots in Valkaheim, and also uses Euden's diplomatic ties to establish ones between his lands and Hinomoto.

I think that's one of his more dangerous traits that distinguishes him from a big source of Emile's incompetence: Leonidas is adaptable and quick to seize upon whatever befalls him instead of trying the same thing over and over again.

Chelle reintroduces guns, er 'manacasters' back to the field, he quickly adopts one as a weapon of choice. His brother proves some of his behavioral tendencies are better at building strength and winning fights? He starts copying some of Euden's behaviors (even if they aren't for the same reasons). And there's few things more dangerous than somebody that is always learning and adapting to your strategy.

I really do think it could have been interesting to see the relationship between Leonidas and his siblings develop further, as Leonidas has not really changed in his ultimate goals, merely the means. And his goals are very much in opposition to Euden at least, who wouldn't take kindly to a would-be conqueror who wishes to assimilate not just South Grastea but the world together under his lead, to say nothing of his opinions regarding dragons.

I think both Euden and Leonidas would be fighting to shift eachother more to their own point of view, as Euden doesn't like fighting with siblings and Leonidas has recognized Euden as a capable force and one he might like to use to further his aims now that he's also acknowledging him as a brother regardless of blood. In general, I think Leonidas might have tried a 'I'd really prefer you aiding me voluntarily, but with or without your aid I will continue along my path.' to the siblings at large, just waiting to pull the trigger in demanding they fall under his reign as eldest.

But alas, amid all the other plot threads that had to be hastily resolved/abandoned, his went under the 'abandoned' category as Dragalia more used his time in highlighting the developing personal relations with his siblings. Which is great, don't get me wrong, but with how scary Leonidas is as a threat it's a shame he never got to fully re-debut into the conflict scene, since they definitely didn't resolve it completely.

[moonchild-in-blue]

Hello!! 5 and 14 for the ask game 🌿 I hope you've had a good day

Hello Z!!! My day was alright, save for our lights going out again and again (electricity went down thrice already since being re-established. We think the storm must've hit some [thing i forgot the name in English]). I hope yours is going well so far 🥹 @whataboutyouisamascot

5 - if anything, what would you change about your childhood?

Hmmmm. I could answer with a very diplomatic "nothing", since we're all the sum of our experiences and otherwise I wouldn't be who I am, etc etc, but! I wish I didn't have to go through [event], because that did absolutely nothing but traumatise little 10 yo me.

Otherwise, I think I'm good. There was some really bad stuff but I go over them, and I'm damn proud of myself so. I don't wanna erase that about me. But I had a generally happy childhood! I had friends, and played outside a lot, school was fine, and barbie dot com was still a fun place with games. Things got dark only after 11/12 😬

14 - do you enjoy being lightheartedly teased? why or why not?

Honestly, it really depends. Usually I don't mind, but I do get weirdly sensitive about very specific things, even if I just brush them off. Mostly about physical appearance - unless we're extremely close and I made that joke first, please do not tease me about my looks whatsoever.

Also, I'm at that point where everyone around me is either married, or getting married, and as the last single girl of the group, I've heard an ungodly number of jokes about it. I'm absolutely fine with my situation, but there's only so much I can take before I get extremely annoyed.

Otherwise, you're absolutely fine - if you haven't insulted each other (affectionate), are you really friends? It's really important to me to be comfortable enough to laugh at (and with) each other. It requires a certain level of trust and vulnerability that I value a lot when establishing any kind of relationship.

[vigilskeep]

please tell me more about minerva, zevran and couslands relationship they are so sweet

when zev goes off to antiva post game, cousland really does do his best to stay in ferelden like, everyone else is here including minerva, and he knows his brother might need him, and he knows his duty is with the grey wardens, and he knows zevran is perfectly self-sufficient and—oh maker everyone’s here and zevran’s all alone out there :(

after a couple months minerva eventually and with great exasperated fondness gives up on watching tristan attempt to Stoically Suffer In Silence™️ and arranges to send him up to the grey wardens in antiva, some diplomatic excuse, blah blah blah. she was worried about zevran too anyway and she’ll feel better knowing he has one of them there not to mention a sword and shield he can trust if he needs to call on it. of course tristan doesn’t want to be apart from minerva either but she has the others and is also very well prepared and pleased to take an opportunity to re-establish a warden fortress near amaranthine (an opportunity he’s been fighting to get her because people keep trying to shove the honours and duties of the hero of ferelden on him of all people for no blighted reason except his name and the shape of his ears)

unfortunately tristan gets sunburned to all hell and has to rescind all his gentle laughter abt zevrans dislike of fereldan weather. also when u leave ur girl unsupervised she starts recruiting howes. but such are the risks taken for true love

[undyingembers]

Oh wow I have to hear more about the Mass Effect AU!! 👀

Yes! Here it is. Most of it takes place after the Reaper Wars, after the galaxy has more or less re-established the Council and its various societies.

Len and his/her family are all asari. Despite not being a pureblood, Len somehow became an ardat-yaakshi, an asari who is unable to perform the melding without overwhelming their partner's nervous system and doing them harm. While Len's strain isn't lethal (s/he can safely meld with someone if they space it out about once every month or so, but if s/he does it too often with one person, they run the risk of living with permanent brain damage, a lobotomized existence), by asari law, s/he had to stay at the temple with the other ardat-yaakshi.

When the temple got attacked during the Reaper Wars, Len managed to escape and was presumed dead. Having come from a long line of matriarchs who became justicars and received top combat training, combined with his/her combat experience during the Reaper Wars and his/her ardat-yaakshi and powerful biotic powers, s/he was able to find success starting his/her own mercenary company called "the Justices" alongside Sabine (an old washed-up krogan wrestler), Lann (a vorscha sniper), and Woljif (a rare quarian biotic whose mother somehow got exposed to element zero on the engine she was working on).

(Side note, Len's other "parent" is a turian, as was his/her "grandfather" and (supposedly) "great-grandfather". It's a running joke that each member of the Scaeva family will only produce children with the hardest and most stone-faced turian general they can get their hands on. Len's great-grandmother Moraenia Scaeva was a justicar legend, and stories still speak of her epic battle against the ardat-yaakshi Dyrghaena, though if you are familiar with Len's canon backstory, you might guess that something more complicated happened with that that might have led to Moraenia's entire line susceptible to breeding ardat-yaakshi).

(Other side note: Len's birth name is Leonosa in this AU. Though s/he still feels attachment to that name s/he also goes by Lenarius, a turian masculine name. S/he develops a very complicated relationship with gender having seen how other races experience it. For practical reasons (namely, not wanting to be found by his/her justicar mother), Len almost always introduces him/herself as Lenarius.)

At some point after the Reaper War ends, Lenarius gets landed on Palaven, the turian homeworld. Len's mother had caught wind that Len might be alive and on Palaven. In order to avoid a diplomatic incident with the turians, Thessia used its connections to lock down the space port where Len was at until they could find him/her. Len reaches out to his/her old army contact Galfrey for help, but she cannot get him off world, but she suggests that her cousin Daeran might be of help, as he is sometimes said to smuggle substances, entertainments, and mercs for his own amusement.

Daeran is a very unusual turian. Everything turians care about--honor, duty, and military service--Daeran scoffs at. When Daeran was still in-utero, he and a bunch of other turian fetuses were exposed to element zero in an effort to put these kids in special turian biotic units. Sadly, Daeran didn't care for that at all. Even more unfortunately, Daeran was the only kid who ended up developing biotic potential. When it was time for him to enlist in the turian army, his mother had just died. The turian army gave him only twelve hours to grieve. Daeran decided it would be much easier instead to hack the recruitment office to make it seem that he was being placed on a different world and then spent his mandatory service time partying it up on Illium, Omega, and other unsavory places (Daeran is a Sentinel, a biotic and a hacker). The turian army is really pissed off at him. "Tens of thousands of credits and ten pounds of eezo down the drain," turian generals say of him. (There's also an incident where the head of a turian military academy insulted Daeran one to many times; Daeran responded by hacking into that academy's database and replacing classified documents with hanar and elcor porn.)

So anyway, Len reaches out to Daeran and asks if he can smuggle him/her and his/her merc company off of Palaven. Daeran agrees if Len would help him with a mission. Len does so, and Daeran arranges for a smuggler to take Len and his/her crew off world. Len is impressed with the way Daeran handled himself on that mission and offers Daeran a spot in his/her company. Despite Daeran's very close interest he develops for Len, he declines. However, just as the Justices are about to leave, Daeran catches up to them. The turian army just discovered (with or without help from Galfrey) Daeran's desertion from the draft and are super pissed off about it and Daeran needs to get off world until this can all be sorted out. Len is appalled, but s/he helps Daeran make a hasty escape.

(Side note about Daeran: Daeran didn't lift a single finger to fight in the Reaper Wars. He spent his whole time throwing parties and doing what he pleased. "After all, the world is ending, and I do not fancy myself meeting an ignoble death on some planet crushed under a colossus's foot.")

The Justices build a reputation of not only effectiveness, but of having a spotless record when it comes to the law and civilian casualties. They will not accept a contract that makes them do illegal activities, and they will not take a civilian life, and they will not do business with known criminals. Having morals as a merc is very risky, but there are clients out there who want to be above reproach and want to know that their own hands won't get dirty when they hire mercenaries. One such client is the new human Councilor Salvadore Arrigo. Salvadore is a human politician who also served in the Reaper Wars, and was able to occupy Udina's now vacant seat on the Council. He is a very frequent client for the Justices, and calls on them either for bodyguard work or to protect his interests across the galaxy.

Len very rarely deals with clients personally, preferring to use Daeran as a middleman, but Salvadore is such and important and impressive client that s/he makes an exception for him/her. People who don't know who the leader of the Justices is assume that s/he is a turian. Salvadore is quite surprised that the person he's had regular contact with turns out to be an asari. The two meet at a very fancy gentleman's bar and hit it off right away due to their elegance, intelligence, and refinement. Salvadore decides he wants to pursue something with Lenarius.

There are a few snags, however, the biggest one being that Len has already started something with Daeran. While that relationship hasn't been settled yet, Len is very loyal and will not just drop a partner. This turns into a very bitter, if short-lived rivalry between Sal and Daeran over Len's heart. Sal is very resentful towards Daeran, particularly as it seems that Daeran isn't taking Lenarius's heart seriously. Daeran, for his part, is super amused and never misses a chance to rile up this handsome Councilor in not so subtly flirty ways. Their rivalry comes to a head when the two of them have a private talk somewhere. That talk almost ends badly, with each of them furious at various things the other says. However, in that talk, Daeran opens up about his insecurities about not being able to love Len the way Len deserves and how in another lifetime, if Sal had met Len first, Sal would be the one with Len. Daeran and Sal both admit that if the two of them had met, perhaps they would be together instead. They both admit to having a mutual interest in each other as well as Len, and Daeran suggests that the three of them go out to a restaurant on the Presidium. Sal makes the reservations, and Lenarius agrees to go with Daeran to meet Sal on that date.

Another snag in their relationship is the fact that Len is an ardat-yaakshi. Daeran wasn't the only one to keep Len at arm's length. Len was also freaking out about starting a relationship with anyone, knowing that his/her partner would notice that s/he wasn't trying to mind meld with them. Also, as an ardat-yaakshi, Len is wanted by the asari governments, and they will most certainly want to either capture or kill him/her if they ever found out.

Of course, Sal and Daeran eventually find out. Not much about ardat-yaakshi is known outside of asari space. Daeran is sympathetic to what Len has gone through and agrees that they should keep Len away from the asari (though he also sneers at any ardat-yaakshi who chooses life in the temple over death or freedom). I'm not sure how Sal reacts at first, but at some point he is outraged that Len cannot stand openly by his side and wants to do something about it.

The idea that Len and Sal come up with is for Sal to nominate Len as a Spectre. As a Spectre, Len would be above asari law and only answer to the Council. Len is a powerful biotic and a formidable fighter who has done a lot of work for Sal and the Council already. Giving Len Spectre status is only an extension of that. The asari Councilor is very against it. Not only is Len an ardat-yaakshi, and therefore belong in the temple, the asari know that Len's mother is a justicar, and asari justicars operate outside the laws as well. The justicars would not accept the Council's decision, and it would cause a major diplomatic incident if they went after a Spectre. Despite the protests, Sal gets the support of the other Councilors to get Len tested for a Spectre position.

Len gets an assignment from the Council, supervised by one of their Spectres. It is a difficult and delicate mission, but one that Len would be expected to complete. Unfortunately, Len's mother Lodetta does not respect the Council's decision and decides to go after Len on this test. The complication makes the assignment brutal, and Lodetta nearly gets Len killed. The whole thing is a harrowing experience for Sal and Daeran, who for the longest time think Len might be dead. However, Len manages to escape the situation with the objective complete and gains his/her Spectre status.

The three of them celebrate by bringing Len to one of Thessia's major cities, where s/he can openly walk the streets. Lodetta and the other justicars will still want to either kill Len or lock him/her up, but they can no longer rely on the asari government for help. Len also wants to use his/her newfound freedom and power to gain freedom and rights for other ardat-yaakshi.

***

I would like to give thanks and credit to @dmagedgoods for letting me include their OC Salvadore and for the very intense roleplaying sessions with this AU. It was a lot of fun, and Sal is very wonderful, as always.

[mermaidsirennikita]

Your post re: Elizabeth Hoyt’s depictions of sex made me think of that scene from The Diplomat where Kate had Hal smell her armpit (so hot and so good at establishing that relationship - like oh these two are closssse and have been around each other for a while). More shows need that kind of chemistry!

Yeah, that scene said a lot--I'm not into armpits myself (though I did love that she also had him smell her crotch and he fully attempted to turn that into something, lol) but scenes like that speak a lot to long-term intimacy.

It says a lot in a little, and it's something we don't see a lot of; in part because so many things are written to appeal to such wide age demos right now, and lots of younger adult viewers think people live in a sanitized bubble because of what they see in movies and TV.

Keri Russell is also just one of those actors who's good at generating chemistry. Her chemistry with Matthew Rhys on The Americans was some of the best I've ever seen, and obviously worked for them in real life.

[yuri-puppies]

yesssss it makes me so happy to see people thinking seriously about laios' council of old white men, i hope it's okay to add my own thoughts

I have no problem accepting this as canon. The reason why (joke) is that Kabru needs enrichment and these guys can always be replaced later. But seriously, I think hiring advisors from other countries makes sense as the immediate move. They need to get the country running ASAP, and handle immediate crises such as the desalination/reforestation project, (re)settlement of the citizenry, and establishing diplomatic relationships with Khaka Brud. Handing the entire cabinet to people who would have to be learning on the job is unnecessarily stressful and should be avoided unless strictly necessary (Laios and Marcille).

Another big political concern that's brought up from the beginning of the feast is that they need to be taken seriously on a global stage. All of his allies from the dungeon moving on to politics and having positions of power smacks of cronyism and undermines Laios in a global stage. Any foreign power walking in, even from tallmen courts (like the one Marcille comes from), is going to see them as a bunch of cosplaying children.

Let Chilchuck retire lmao, burnout is real. But for real, he doesn't need a cabinet position, his community is better served by him being on the streets rather than the castle. I do think he's sticking around long enough to at least: a) train his successor in the union, b) see protections for half-foots codified into law and c) get a half-foot Minister of Labour in that cabinet.

The orcs seem to be their own nation, so I think a Minister of Orcs position also needs to exist? IDK, the orcs are a very interesting political situation, I'm not sure if there's any examples in our world of a self-governing indigenous ethnic group whose autonomy is actually fully respected? So I'm not sure what would be best for them. Surely they have their own territory within Melini (that legally needs to be part of Melini, bc curse) and protected minority status? I'm getting side-tracked...

ANYWAYS, yes, we need a diverse cabinet ASAP. At least one of those fuckers is quitting within the month, tho, they're not prepared for how smart and principled (unpliable) Laios actually is, and they're CERTAINLY not prepared for whatever Kabru has in store for them.

1000% agree that Yaad is not as good at governance as he thinks he is. I like the idea I've seen around of the 1000yo hyperspecialized craftspeople being potential industry powerhouses, but if you put Yaad's underwhelming cabinet next to the galaxy brain silhouettes and materials the fashion girlies were producing… I have no doubt that he's a human encyclopedia and knows the theory like the back of his hand, but his practical knowledge, as you say, is confined to a very specific and repetitive set of circumstances. Unfortunately that's what cements this comic as canon so firmly in my head… like, he would.

With all due respect to my new idol Ms. Kui, I’ll be treating this particular post-canon comic as a guideline at best.

Hiring a bunch of advisors for your new country who are experts in how things are done in other countries just means you’re going to end up with a country in which things happen like they already do in other countries. What a missed opportunity no matter where you are—and most of all in Melini, which doesn’t want to be like other countries! This is going to be a country ruled by tallmen, rather than elves, dwarves or gnomes! A country in which halflings as well as orcs, kobolds and other “demihumans” have full rights and respect! A country in which petty, non-destructive monsters will be raised and eaten as crops and livestock!

Yes, a king as inexperienced as Laios needs advisors who actually know how to govern a country. But a king as inexperienced and socially & politically inept as Laios also needs advisors he can trust. Who are these guys?!

@ Chilchuck Tims specifically get your ass back here, you lanky little shit. You started a union. You may not know how to “govern”, but you know how to unite, organize, politick, manage, bargain, bully… You helped save this world, buster. You unbroke it, you bought it.

While I’m here, I’d like to issue a concern that Yaad probably isn’t as good at politics or governance as he thinks he is. Sure, he has 1,000 years of experience…with a single, specific group of people, population unchanging except to slowly shrink, with NO threat of famine, plague, war, monsters, or any other dangers except depression and one (1) increasingly paranoid protective mage. Sure, he can play the age card on even the elves, but is he ready for complex international politics? I’m skeptical.

Seriously though, if they mean to start as they mean to go on—and they have to do the former, or they won’t be able to do the latter—then there needs to be at least 1 orc and at least 1 halfling among all those advisors. Ideally a kobold or offer, too.

And get that guy who was running the Island’s black market (so, shadow-governing the island) for Treasurer of State or something. He's a skilled opportunist, which is exactly the sort of person who'll thrive in this brand-new ancient kingdom. Better to have him lying, scheming and getting filthy rich for you than against you.