#but at the same time they champion veterans and the military.
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Conservatives be like: "We support our troops!!! Never forget 911!!! We love veterans!!!" Also Conservatives: *make poor taste PTSD jokes, mock trigger warnings, mock people with low functioning physical disabilities, vote to lower SS and disability to eliminate "welfare queens," ignore the rampant cases of sexual assault and disappearances of women soldiers/vets, treat LGBTQIA+ veterans/soldiers like shit or just a weird porn category....*
#hey man#thats fucked up#These are the disabled ppl that rightoids love to do horrible jokees about#but at the same time they champion veterans and the military.#American politics#lgbtqia#idk what made me think of this#the amount of âmemesâ on social media where abled people park in disabled spots and are like âdon't worry I got thisâ#And then go on to do a full on caricature of someone who very obviously has a low functioning physical disability for shits and giggles#like it's something that's just to make fun of and to play up for an advantage#And when some one says they play it off like we're just crazy twitter woke SJWs that can't take a joke.#And the other night I saw a wounded warrior ad#and im like#Do they really care abt these people? Or just the ones that are also conservative white heterosexual and able bodied?#abelism
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So I'm trying to incorporate more nicknames for the boys, so here's what I got so far, any additions or ones I've missed?
--
Four
Smith/Smithy
Little One (by Time)
Little Guy (by Triple Threat)
Rainbow
Hyrule
Traveler
Explorer
Rule/Rulie
Healer (post Life Spell reveal)
Calatian (country of origin)
Legend
Veteran/Vet
Collector
Hoarder (by Warriors and Twilight, derogatory, becomes affectionate)
Scholar
Apple (by Twilight and Wind)
Kid (by Wind)
Kit (by Twilight and Sky)
Sky
Skyloftian (shortens to Sky)
Sky Knight (shortens to Sky)
Chosen
Birdbrain
Lover boy (affectionate, by Downfall Duo)
Woodcarver
Time
Old Man
Sprite (by Warriors)
Ancestor (by Twilight)
Fairy Boy (post meeting Malon, by Downfall Duo and Wind)
Twilight
Rancher
Goat Herd
Ordonian (town of origin)
Pup (by Time)
Country Boy (by Warriors, derogatory)
Forest (by Legend and Wind)
Warriors
Captain (or any other military form of address)
Pretty Boy (by Legend, derogatory, becomes affectionate)
Soldier Boy (by Twilight, derogatory, becomes affectionate)
Wild
Champion
Cook
Wild Child (affectionate)
Cub (by Twilight and Time)
Wanderer
Wind
Sailor
Pirate
Ocean (by Legend and Twilight)
Kid (by Twilight and Warriors)
Conductor (by Legend)
Tune/Tunie (by Time and Warriors)
Whys for some:
Rulie and Chosen (Hyrule and Sky) -> Both make the mistake of telling the group their hero titles, Hyrule is eventually nicknamed Rulie by Legend and Wild as a result (nobody else calls him that), and Sky gets Chosen from everybody.
Apple, Forest, and Ocean (Legend, Twilight, and Wind) -> Nicknames from Triforce Heroes (from my hc of them being the Triforce Heroes)
Kid (Legend) -> Another nickname from Triforce Heroes, Wind is the only one who calls him that in LU though (Twilight takes too long to realize Apple and the Veteran are the same person)
Kit (Legend) -> Sky and Twi start calling him that after the bunny incident, Twi does it first and Sky joins in after because he's a gremlin and both know Legend hates (eventually likes) it
Conductor (Wind) -> Caused by music night when Wind leads the music with the Wind Waker and just sticks
#Four and Time are the hardest to make nicknames for and I Donât Know Why#linked universe#linkeduniverse#nicknames#lu four#lu hyrule#lu legend#lu sky#lu time#lu twilight#lu warriors#lu wild#lu wind#prosie rambles#lu chain#lu headcanons
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Forged by Sacrifice

One thing that the Hero of Warriors would always know is sacrifice. The day his mother gave birth to him and his sister, she made a sacrifice. His father never let them forget that. So much so that they both ran away to the military. The world threw sacrifice in his face since the day he was born. And he would know it even now.
His leg bounced, but it wasnât like he could stop it. Blood still stained the Veteranâs bandages. No matter how much heâs heard, âit wasnât your faultâ the Captain knew that he would never believe it.
He dropped his guard for only a second, he would swear. A bomb arrow went off on the field. He told Wild not to use them in forests, but when he turned to shout, a sword burst through the smoke. Warriors had felt his breath leave his lungs as he knew that there was no time to dodge. His head would be taken off.
He was shoved to the ground so suddenly, but he saw that red tunic and light blue hat. He was standing so still with the beastâs sword through his stomach. The Captain wanted to scream, but his throat closed up. The lynel pulled his sword back, Legend stumbled forward.
âAw shit,â the Veteran mumbled just loud enough for Warriors to hear. The boyâs body began to tip back and Warriors was finally able to move. He caught Legend before he hit the ground.
âTraveller!â He shouted. He remembered the field! He was in the field! This hesitation could get someone killed!
âIâm trying!â Hyrule cut another monster down, but more blocked his path.
âIs he well enough to swallow?â Warriors slightly jumped as Sky spoke, already on his knees, rummaging through his pack. Twilight and fire arrows rained down on the monsters. âVet, you with me?â
âUnfortunately.â Legend croaked.
âGood.â Sky brought out a bright red bottle and shook it. He then popped the cork. Warriors lifted Legendâs head and the boy groaned. âI know, I know. You ready?â Legend slightly nodded. Sky slowly poured the potion into the Veteranâs mouth. He sputtered but then swallowed. Soon, the bottle was empty.
That was when Legend had passed out.
Now they were in Hateno in Wildâs house and Warriors was on Legend duty. The same scene played over and over. He looked over to where the Champion shouldâve been, then he was pushed, then Legend was stabbed.
With every second that ticked by, his leg would bounce, begging time to go faster. For the Vet to heal faster.
He rummaged in his brain, looking for any other memory. Something, anything, to get his mind off of the near death of his friend, of his brother.
âCaptain?â Warriors eyes snapped towards the steps. There, without armor and battle attire, was a tired Old Man.
âHey.â Warriors looked back to Legendâs bandages that wonât be due for changing for another hour.
Time was at his side now, no doubt looking down at him. Warriors had never felt intimidated by his, still technical, little brother. But he did fear the day that his little brother left him.
What was he thinking? He knew just as well as Warriors that this was his fault. What would he say? Would he ask him what he learned and mock him? Would he lecture him about being more aware? Would he try once more and fail to tell him that it wasnât his fault?
âGo rest.â Time placed a hand on the Captainâs back.
His eyebrows furrowed. âItâs still my turn.â
âYou look exhausted. Youâve looked exhausted all day,â Time said in a tone that sounded like a dare. âGo rest.â
âNot tired.â
âCaptain.â
âYou heard me.â Time sighed, removing his hand from his brotherâs back. Time opened his mouth, but Warriors talked first. âDonât tell me itâs not my fault.â
Timeâs mouth closed, then opened again. âWhat do you want me to say?â Time leaned down and sat on the carpet with an oof! and some bone cracks. He seem to smile at it.
âI want you to say the truth! I want you to lecture me on how dumb my actions were! Something, anything!â
Time hummed. âThe events that took place all influenced each other, so itâs not one personâs fault. Wild shot the arrow which blinded a lot of us with the smoke, but he did it to alert us that there was a lynel coming. He had good intentions, but he did it the wrong way. You were going to tell him about forest fires or maybe the smoke screen, but the lynel was barely injured by the bombs and it was charging at you to begin with. The smoke screen obscured it, making you unaware that it was there. So that couldnât possibly be your fault. And-â
âYou-â
âIâm still talking,â Time put his hand up, the Captain shut his mouth. His vision started to become blurry and he looked down to his lap, praying Time hadnât seen his tears start to form. âLegend wasnât paired with anyone, just as you werenât. He saw what was happening, he saw what he could do, and he acted. I wish he hadnât used himself as a shield, but it is what it is. Heâll be okay. Itâs really only a surface wound now thanks to Skyâs potion and the Travelerâs healing.â Time shrugged his shoulders. âThere. Thatâs the truth.â
The Captain didnât respond. Time stood. âGlad you decided to listen tonight. Go rest.â The Captain didnât move. Time sighed, seeing Warriors grip his trousers with enough strength to rip them. He put his hand out to his brother. Warriors took it after waiting a few seconds. Time pulled him to his feet and yet, the Captainâs eyes hadnât left the ground.
Time brought Warriors to his chest and wrapped his arms around his, technical, older brother. Over his shoulder, Legend didnât move an inch. There was a deep seated worry in the Old Man, one he knew wouldnât come to pass. But one thing he was sure of was, âIâm sure heâs been through worse. Heâll be okay.â
#the shady lad writes#linked universe#linkeduniverse#linked universe time#lu time#lu warriors#linked universe warriors#lu legend#linked universe legend
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Dean Obeidallah at The Dean's Report:
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has done more for our veterans than Donald Trump, JD Vance, Tom Cotton, and all of Trumpâs despicable enablers put together. Yet weâve seen these peopleâled by Vanceâsmear Walzâs dedication to our country with lies like he âabandonedâ his fellow National Guard members when they were about to serve in Iraq. In reality, Walz may have stopped serving in the National Guard in 2005, but he never stopped serving our nation and the women and men of our armed services. In an effort to correct the record, letâs start with the headline that should appear in corporate media. Tim Walz did go to a war zone in Iraq. He also went to a war zone in Afghanistan. If you are asking: âWhat am I talking about?!,â itâs because the sheep of the corporate media all tell the same story without challenging the lie fueling it. In his first term in Congress, Walz travelled to a war zone in Iraq as well as Afghanistan to speak to our troops and find out what more they needed in terms of support. As the headline of the Minnesota Tribune article from January 16, 2008 reads, âWalz visits war zones to study veterans' care system.â Â
Another local Minnesota paper wrote at the time, âWalz said the trip gave him a renewed sense of urgency to improve access to soldiers' medical records.â  Walzâwho is pictured in the article in both Iraq and Afghanistan speaking and dining with our troopsâtalked of the need to streamline databases so that active duty soldiers in these combat zones can get the care they need as well as making it easier for them to continue the care when back stateside.
Walz did not have to go, he chose to go to a war zone. In future years he would visit Syria and other places in the Middle East in times of tensions. From there, Walz would continue for his entire time in Congress--from 2007 until he was elected Governor in 2018--being a champion for the members of the military and our veterans. Walz co-chaired the National Guard and Reserves Caucus, ran leadership outreach roundtables for veterans service organizations, was applauded by veterans affairs groups for his work on the VA panel, especially for focusing on mental health care issues. One of Walzâs biggest legislative achievement in Congress was championing a bipartisan veteransâ suicide prevention legislation that became law in 2015. Through his work, Walz rose to become the ranking Democrat on the House Veteransâ Affairs Committee and served multiple stints on the Armed Services Committee. Walzâs record of service to our nation, however, began well before running for Congress in 2006. Walz enlisted in the Nebraska National Guard on April 8, 1981, two days after his 17th birthday.  Not long after, Walz was off to basic training in Georgia, on the first stop in a military career that would take him to Arkansas, Texas, the Arctic Circle and other places in the world. As Walz told a Minnesota radio station in 2018, "You go where you're told to go."
[...] Walz couldâve retired at the 20-year mark. In fact, he probably wouldâve. But then came 9/11. That attack on our nation inspired him to re-enlist. In August  2003, Walz was deployed to Italy, Turkey, Belgium and Britain to support U.S. operations in Afghanistan under Operation Enduring Freedom--where he would remain for nearly 10 months. But his time in an artillery unit came at a cost to his health. The deafening booms and shock waves from howitzer barrels left Walz with hearing loss in both ears. In 2005, he underwent stapedectomy surgery to alleviate the problem-- a procedure in which damaged bones inside the ear are replaced with a prosthesis. That was the year he decided to retire at 41 years of age and after serving for 24 years in the National Guard. That is the American patriot JD Vance, Trump and their allies are smearing with lies. Obviously, Trump is man devoid of honor. His entire life has been in service of himself. When Trump had an opportunity to serve our nation in the military, he refusedâinstead choosing to fabricate the medical condition of bone spurs. As a reminder, in 2018 the daughters of a Queens foot doctor say their late father diagnosed Trump with bone spurs to help him avoid the Vietnam War draft as a âfavorâ to his father Fred Trump.
[...] When it comes to Vance, he did serve in the US Marines as a combat reporter from Sept. 2003 to Sept 2007.  He didnât re-enlist. Instead, he went to Yale law school. And while Walz was fighting for veterans in Congress, Vance was hobnobbing with tech billionaires in Silicon Valleyâwho would later bankroll his run for US Senate.
Dean Obeidallah has an excellent column spotlighting Tim Walzâs military service and how he actually supports the troops, compared to weirdo JD Vance.
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As the United States nears its consequential November election, concerns about the impacts of artificial intelligence on the countryâs electoral integrity are front and center. Voters are receiving deceptive phone calls mimicking candidatesâ voices, and campaigns are using AI images in their ads. Many fear that highly targeted messaging could lead to suppressed voter turnout or false information about polling stations. These are legitimate concerns that public officials are working overtime to confront.
But free and fair elections, the building blocks of democratic representation, are only one dimension of democracy. Today, policymakers must also recognize an equally fundamental threat that advanced technologies pose to a free and open society: the suppression of civil rights and individual opportunity at the hands of opaque and unaccountable AI systems. Ungoverned, AI undermines democratic practice, norms, and the rule of lawâfundamental commitments that underpin a robust liberal democracyâand opens pathways toward a new type of illiberalism. To reverse this drift, we must reverse the currents powering it.
Liberal societies are characterized by openness, transparency, and individual agency. But the design and deployment of powerful AI systems are the precise inverse.
In the United States, as in any country, those who control the airwaves, steer financial institutions, and command the military have long had a wide berth to make decisions that shape society. In the new century, another set of actors joins that list: the increasingly concentrated group of corporate players who control data, algorithms, and the processing infrastructure to make and use highly capable AI systems. But without the kind of robust oversight the government prescribes over other parts of the economy and the military, the systems these players produce lack transparency and public accountability.
The U.S. foreign-policy establishment has long voiced legitimate concerns about the use of technology by authoritarian regimes, such as Chinaâs widespread surveillance, tracking, and control of its population through deep collusion between the state and corporations. Civil society, academics, and journalists have recognized the threat of those same tools being deployed to similar ends in the United States. At the same time, many of todayâs AI systems are undermining the liberal character of American society: They run over civil rights and liberties and cause harm for which people cannot easily seek redress. They violate privacy, spread falsehoods, and obscure economic crimes such as price-fixing, fraud, and deception. And they are increasingly usedâwithout an architecture of accountabilityâin institutions central to American life: the workplace, policing, the legal system, public services, schools, and hospitals.
All of this makes for a less democratic American society. In cities across the United States, people of color have been arrested and jailed after being misidentified by facial recognition tools. Weâve seen AI used in loan refinancing charge more to applicants who went to historically Black colleges. An AI program aimed at preventing suicide among veterans prioritizes white men and overlooks survivors of sexual violence, who are much more likely to be women. Hidden behind computer code, illegal and unfair treatment long banned under federal law is becoming harder to detect and to contest.
To global observers, the trendlines of AI in American society will look familiar; the worst harms of these systems mirror the tenets of what has been called âilliberal democracy.â Under that visionâchampioned most famously by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a darling of the U.S. rightâa society âmaintains the outward appearances of a democracy ⊠but in fact seeks to undermine all the institutions and norms that give democracy meaning,â scholar Susan Rubin Suleiman wrote in 2021. This doesnât have to look like canceling elections or dismantling a sitting legislative body; instead, the vision takes the form of a more subtle assaultâforeclosing the ability of individuals and minority groups to assert their rights.
As powerful new AI products are born and come of age amid a growing political alliance between far-right ideologues and some of the most powerful leaders in the technology industry, these foundational threats to free society could accelerate. Elon Musk, amplifying alarmist narratives on migrants and dehumanizing language about women and LGBT people, has said he would serve in a potential second Trump administration. Elsewhere in Silicon Valley, a growing cadre of venture capitalists are boldly betting the house on Trump in the belief that their portfoliosâbrimming with crypto and AI betsâmay be better off under a president who is unfazed by harms to the most vulnerable and who challenges the exercise of fundamental rights.
Simply studying these tools and their effects on society can prove difficult: Scientific research into these systems is dominated by profit-motivated private actors, the only people who have access to the largest and most powerful models. The systems in question are primarily closed-source and proprietary, meaning that external researcher accessâa basic starting point for transparencyâis blocked. Employees at AI companies have been forced to sign sweeping nondisclosure agreements, including those about product safety, or risk losing equity. All the while, executives suggest that understanding precisely how these systems make decisions, including in ways that affect peopleâs lives, is something of luxury, a dilemma to be addressed sometime in the future.
The real problem, of course, is that AI is being deployed now, without public accountability. No citizenry has elected these companies or their leaders. Yet executives helming todayâs big AI firms have sought to assure the public that we should trust them. In February, at least 20 firms signed a pledge to flag AI-generated videos and take down content meant to mislead voters. Soon after, OpenAI and its largest investor, Microsoft, launched a $2 million Societal Resilience Fund focused on educating voters about AI. The companies point to this work as core to their missions, which imagine a world where AI âbenefits all of humanityâ or âhelps people and society flourish.â
Tech companies have repeatedly promised to govern themselves for the public goodâefforts that may begin with good intentions but fall apart under the pressure of a business case. Congress has had no shortage of opportunities over the last 15 years to step in to govern data-centric technologies in the publicâs interest. But each time Washington has cracked open the door to meaningful technology governance, it has quickly slammed it shut. Federal policymakers have explored reactive and well-meaning but flawed efforts to assert governance in specific domainsâfor example, during moments of attention to teen mental health or election interference. But these efforts have faded as public attention moved elsewhere. Exposed in this story of false starts and political theatrics is the federal governmentâs default posture on technology: to react to crises but fail to address the root causes.
Even following well-reported revelations, such as the Cambridge Analytica scandal, no legislation has emerged to rein in the technology sectorâs failure to build products that prioritize Americansâ security, safety, and rightsânot to mention the integrity of U.S. democracy. The same story has unfolded in the doomed push to achieve data privacy laws, efforts that have stalled out in committee ad infinitum, leaving Americans without the basic protections for their personal information that are enjoyed by people living in 137 other countries.
The Biden-Harris administration decided to push harder, through initiatives we worked both directly and indirectly on. Even before ChatGPT vaulted AI to the center of the national discourse in November 2022, President Joe Bidenâs White House released an AI Bill of Rights proposing five key assurances all Americans should be able to hold in an AI-powered world: that AI technologies are safe, fair, and protective of their privacy; that they are made aware when systems are being used to make decisions about them; and that they can opt out. The framework was a proactive, democratic vision for the use of advanced technology in American society.
The vision has proved durable. When generative AI hit the consumer market, driving both anxiety and excitement, Biden didnât start from scratch but from a set of clear and affirmative first principles. Pulling from the 2022 document, his 2023 executive order on AI mandated a coordinated federal response to AI, using a ârights and safetyâ framework. New rules from the powerful Office of Management and Budget turned those principles into binding policy, requiring federal agencies to test AI systems for their impact on Americansâ rights and safety before they could be used. At the same time, federal enforcement agencies used their existing powers to enforce protections and combat violations in the digital environment. The Federal Trade Commission stepped up its enforcement of digital-era violations of well-established antitrust laws, putting AI companies on notice for potentially unfair and deceptive practices that harm consumers. Vice President Kamala Harris presided over the launch of a new AI Safety Institute, calling for a body that addressed a âfull spectrumâ of risks, including both longer-term speculative risks and current documented harms.
This was a consequential paradigm shift from Americaâs steady state of passive technology nongovernanceâproof-positive that a more proactive approach was possible. Yet these steps face a range of structural limitations. One is capacity: Agencies across the federal government carrying out the work of AI governance will need staff with sociotechnical expertise to weigh the complex trade-offs of AIâs harms and opportunities.
Another challenge is the limited reach of executive action. Donald Trump has promised to repeal the AI executive order and gut the civil service tasked with its implementation. If his first term is any indication, a Republican administration would reinstate the deregulatory status quo. Such is the spirit of plans reportedly drawn up by Larry Kudlow, Trumpâs former National Economic Council director, to create âindustry-ledâ task forces, placing responsibility for assessing AI toolsâ safety into the hands of the powerful industry players who design and sell them.
And Bidenâs measures, for the most part, guide only the governmentâs own use of AI systems. This is a valuable and necessary step, as the behavior of agencies bears on the daily lives of Americans, particularly the most vulnerable. But the effects of executive actions on the private sector are circumscribed, related to pockets of executive authority such as government contracting, civil rights enforcement, or antitrust action. A presidentâs pen alone cannot create a robust or dynamic accountability infrastructure for the technology industry. Nor can we rely on agencies to hold the line; recent Supreme Court decisionsâLoper Bright, Corner Post, and othersâhave weakened their authority to use their mandated powers to adapt to new developments.
This, of course, is the more fundamental shortcoming of Bidenâs progress on AI and technology governance: It does not carry the force of legislation. Without an accompanying push in Congress to counter such proposed rollbacks with new law, the United States will continue to embrace a largely ungoverned, innovation-at-all-costs technology landscape, with disparate state laws as the primary bulwarkâand will continue to see the drift of emerging technologies away from the norms of robust democratic practice.
Yet meaningful governance efforts may be dead on arrival in a Congress that continues to embrace the flawed argument that without carte blanche for companies to âmove fast and break things,â the United States would be doomed to lose to China, on both economic and military fronts. Such an approach cedes the AI competition to Chinaâs terms, playing on the field of Chinese human rights violations and widespread surveillance instead of the field of American values and democratic practice. It also surrenders the U.S. security edge, enabling systems that could break or fail at any moment because they were rushed to market in the name of great-power competition.
Pursuing meaningful AI governance is a choice. So is the decision, over decades, to leave powerful data-centric technologies ungovernedâa decision to allow an assault on the rights, freedoms, and opportunities of many in American society. There is another path.
Washington has the opportunity to build a new, enduring paradigm in which the governance of data-centric predictive technologies, as well as the industry that creates them, is a core component of a robust U.S. democracy.
We must waste no time reaffirming that the protections afforded by previous generations of laws also apply to emerging technology. For the executive branch, this will require a landmark effort to ensure protections are robustly enforced in the digital sphere, expanding enforcement capacity in federal agencies with civil rights offices and enforcement mandates and keeping up the antitrust drumbeat that has put anti-competitive actors on notice.
The most consequential responsibility for AI governance, though, rests with Congress. Across the country, states are moving to pass laws on AI, many of which will contradict one another and form an overlapping legal tangle. Federal lawmakers should act in the tradition of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, issuing blanket protections for all Americans. At a minimum, this should include a new liability regime and guarantee protection from algorithmic discrimination; mandate pre- and post-deployment testing, transparency, and explainability of AI systems; and a requirement for developers of AI systems to uphold a duty of care, with the responsibility to ensure that systems are safe and effective.
These AI systems are powered by data, so such a bill should be accompanied by comprehensive data privacy protections, including a robust embrace of data minimization, barring companies from using personal information collected for one purpose in order to achieve an unrelated end.
While only a start, these steps to protect democratic practice in the age of AI would herald the end of Americaâs permissive approach to the technology sectorâs harms and mark the beginning of a new democratic paradigm. They should be followed forcefully by a separate but complementary project: ensuring that individuals and communities participate in deciding how AI is used in their livesâand how it is not. Most critically, more workersâonce called Americaâs âarsenal of democracyââmust organize and wield their collective power to bargain over whether, when, and how technologies are used in the workplace.
Such protections must also extend beyond the workplace into other areas of daily life where technology is used to shape important decisions. At a moment of weakening democratic norms, we need a new, concerted campaign to ease the path for anyone to challenge unfair decisions made about them by ungoverned AI systems or opt out of AI systemsâ use altogether. This must include a private right of action for ordinary people who can show that AI has been used to break the law or violate their rights. We must also open additional pathways to individual and collective contestation, including robust, well-resourced networks of legal aid centers trained in representing low-income clients experiencing algorithmic harms.
We can bring many more people into the process of deciding what kinds of problems powerful AI systems are used to solve, from the way we allocate capital to the way we conduct AI research and development. Closing this gap requires allowing people across society to use AI for issues that matter to them and their communities. The federal governmentâs program to scale up access to public research, computing power, and data infrastructure is still only a pilot, and Congress has proposed to fund it at only $2.6 billion in its first six years. To grasp that numberâs insufficiency, one needed only to listen to Googleâs spring earnings call, where investors heard that the tech giant planned to spend about $12 billion on AI development per quarter. Next, the U.S. government should invest in the human and tech infrastructures of âpublic AI,â to provide both a sandbox for applied innovation in the public interest and a countervailing force to the concentration of economic and agenda-setting power in the AI industry.
These are some of the measures the United States can undertake to govern these new technologies. Even in an administration that broadly supports these goals, however, none of this will be possible or politically viable without a change in the overall balance of power. A broad-based, well-funded, and well-organized political movement on technology policy issues is needed to dramatically expand the coalition of people interested and invested in technology governance in the United States.
Ushering in these reforms begins with telling different stories to help people recognize their stake in these issues and understand that AI tools directly impact their access to quality housing, education, health care, and economic opportunity. This awareness must ultimately translate to pressure on lawmakers, a tool those standing in the way of a democratic vision for AI use to great effect. Musk is reportedly bankrolling a pro-Trump super PAC to the tune of tens of millions per month. Andreessen Horowitz, the venture firm led by anti-regulation founders, increased its lobbying budget between the first and second quarter of this year by 135 percent. Not only are the big corporate tech players spending millions of dollars on lobbying per quarter, but each is also running a political operation, spending big money to elect political candidates who will look after their interests.
The academic, research, and civil society actors whose work has helped change the tech policy landscape have succeeded in building strong policy and research strategies. Now is the time to venture further into the political battlefield and prepare the next generation of researchers, policy experts, and advocates to take up the baton. This will require new tools, such as base-building efforts with groups across the country that can help tie technology governance to popular public issues, and generational investments in political action committees and lobbying. This shift in strategy will require new, significant money; philanthropic funders who have traditionally backed research and nonprofit advocacy will need to also embrace an explicitly political toolkit.
The public interest technology movement urgently needs a political architecture that can at last impose a political cost on lawmakers who allow the illiberal shift of technology companies to proceed unabated. In the age of AI, the viability of efforts to protect democratic representation, practice, and norms may well hinge on the force with which non-industry players choose to fund and build political powerâand leverage it.
A choice confronts the United States as we face down AIâs threats to democratic practice, representation, and norms. We can default to passivity, or we can use these instruments to shape a free society for the modern era. The decision is ours to make.
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Disabled Canadian veteran warns UK citizens against legalising assisted suicide
By Jonathon van Maren as published by Life Site News
Kelsi Sheren is a Canadian Armed Forces veteran who served as an artillery gunner. âI served in the Canadian Armed Forces as an Artillery Gunner in Afghanistan,â she wrote recently. âDuring my deployment, I was sent outside the wire to work alongside the British military in OP TORA ARWA. That mission changed my life. I was injured and medically released in 2011 with PTSD, hearing loss and a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Today, I live as a 100% disabled combat veteran.âÂ
It was that experience that turned Sheren into an activist; she told True North last year that hearing about Canadian veterans like herself being offered euthanasia instead of the life-affirming treatment they desperately needed propelled her to speak out. âMy issue with (euthanasia) is how we are killing people and how we have a predatory behaviour of telling individuals that they canât heal, they canât get better and the solution to their problems is death,â she said. Â
At least six veterans in Canada have been offered euthanasia by the Veterans Affairs Department after requesting help. One, five-time world Paralympic champion Christine Gauthier, asked for care and received a letter stating: âIf itâs too difficult for you to continue living, Madam, we can offer you medical assistance in dying.â One veteran called a crisis hotline â and was offered assisted suicide as a solution. Â
Sheren and others have been warning lawmakers in the UK that the same scenarios will play out there if assisted suicide, which has passed a second reading in the UK Parliament, is made law. According to a bombshell report by Sheren, one such scenario has already occurred â despite the fact that assisted suicide is still completely illegal in the United Kingdom. âA 25-year-old UK veteran was in crisis and asked for help,â she wrote on her Substack. âA UK doctor suggested assisted suicide illegally. The police have been contacted. Will they act?âÂ
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Remnants of a Family - "High School/Normal lives" AU
The Hamato Family.
Leo, Mikey, Raph, Donnie, sons of the notorious olympic champion and renowed martial artist Hamato Yoshi.
Mikey is into music, art, and everything colors and emotions involved. Aspires to become an actor and a teacher. He is a social butterfly and is widely popular because he never seems to judge anyone for anything.
Donnie is the math-science-tech genius, straight A's, but allergic to sports and crowds - even though he is good at martial arts because of his father. Aspires to create his own tech empire and leave his mark with his revolutionary ideas. Is driven by passion and spite.
Raph likes fighting. Box, street fighting, roughousing. Doesn't care about school as much, but keeps his grades afloat to avoid Yoshi's nagging. Doesn't always work. Secretly very much into gardening. Wants to open his own flowershop.
Leo is a martial arts prodigy, perfectionist, focused on following Yoshi's footsteps. Popularly reffered to as Yoshi Jr.
Yoshi strives for perfection and expects nothing less from his sons. He became bitter after the divorce (but was he even that different before it happened?) and distanced himself from his younger sons after a fight between him and Raphael when he became 16.
They live in New York. Their mother, Tang Shen, divorced Yoshi and went back to Japan. She didn't keep contact with the boys. Yoshi is the owner of a multinational dojo, with branches in many places, which he wishes to pass on to one of his children. Donnie doesn't care because he doesn't even like fighting that much and has plans of his own, Mikey kinda feels hurt because it's not really fair to expect so much of them, but Raph is very vocal about his opinions on Yoshi pushing that bs on them to justify his favoritism towards Leo, which earns them both some very crazy training sessions. Until he stops training him alltogether.
Yoshi hired an old friend to mentor/babysit his sons when he was busy (which is most of the time), a pilot veteran who learned martial arts with Yoshi after leaving the military. He leaves the boys' training on his hands after that, but tests them from time to time. Leo is still required at the official dojo for one on ones with Yoshi, though. Raph scoffs every time their training is as much as mentioned. The veteran allows them to call him by his old nickname in the forces, Splinter. 'Cause he was small but a pain to get rid of.
Fun facts:
Raph's best friend, Casey, let's him grow plants on his yard. To keep them safe from Yoshi and his brothers (Raph doesn't need anymore teasing, thank you very much). Casey does complain about his little sister's crush on Raph though. They usually play videogames, complain about life, roughouse/fight and garden when Raph comes around, and Lisa is often around when they do so.
Donnie has his whole life planned and tunes out most of the things he doesn't care to keep around for the future. He loves animals but couldn't have any because Yoshi hates furr - especially from cats. His best friend is Timothy, who is a few years older but shares his interest for machinery. They are in the same university, which Donnie got in ahead of his time.
Mikey is in almost every club possible in his school, but his favorites are the theatre and cooking clubs. Sometimes after his actvities he hangs out with his best friends: Armando Guillermo, known as Mondo, and a school dropout called James Peterson, who they call Leatherhead because of his pointy teeth and taste for tight clothing. He soon introduces René Tabitha to the group. (He'd had been calling her Renet for 6 months when she explained that René T. was just her signature. Everyone mocked him but the nickname sticked).
Leo has a pet turtle called Spiky, and is gifted an unnamed mouse later on, he just calls it little bud or baby friend. His closest friend is his rival Oroku Karai from the martial arts competitions. He likes to make up stories and doodle but doesn't do it much (not Yoshi approved).
The boys are close, but some relationships are a bit more closed off than one would expect. Raph doesn't talk to Leo in private except arguments (which usually become non private after the first few yells); Donnie isn't close to Mikey because he envies how almost scot-free his brother's childhood was when compared to his own, but they aren't bitter towards each other; Mikey holds a grudge towards Raph for all the jabs he takes on Leo, but still has a nice relationship with him - even though he takes Leo's side almost every time. Donnie is mostly indifderent and thinks their fights are a waste of time since father would agree with whatever Leo said and Raph would always disagree with whatever was decided.
#rottmnt#tmnt#tmnt iteration#tmnt au#tmnt human au#lol im so gonna prank ppl with yhis#bad parent yoshi btw#bad parent hamato yoshi#Remnants of a Family au#teenage mutant ninja turtles
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âPassword1234â: Tulsi Gabbardâs Login

âPassword1234â: How Tulsi Gabbardâs Login Habits Nearly Triggered a Hawaiian Missile Crisis 2.0
The National Security Threat of Reusing Your Ex-Boyfriendâs Name As a Password When âAlohaâ Meets âAccess Deniedâ In a shocking exposĂ© that shook no one except the IT guy named Carl, The Daily Beast revealed that Tulsi Gabbardâa congresswoman, veteran, spiritual warrior, and occasional surferâhad apparently been using passwords that could be cracked by a caffeinated squirrel with an iPhone 4. According to leaked reports, her online security strategy was a combination of horoscope advice, yoga poses, and pure vibes. And yet, somehow, the nation remained standing. So we ask the vital question: What happens when the nuclear codes are one password reset question away from âWhat was your first petâs name?â âShe thought two-factor authentication meant having a backup horoscope.â â Ron White Letâs dive into the browser history of this satirical scandal.
âTulsi2020!â Isnât Just a Campaign Slogan, Itâs Also Her Netflix Password
Gabbardâs Surfboard Contains More Encryption Than Her Laptop Tulsi Gabbard ran for president in 2020. Apparently, she also ran out of original password ideas in the same year. According to a cybersecurity leak no one asked for, Gabbard used âTulsi2020!â across at least seven platformsâincluding MyFitnessPal, Dropbox, LinkedIn, and a suspicious site called âWarriorMonkDating.com.â Whatâs worse? She added the exclamation point thinking it was military-grade encryption. âItâs like putting a sticker over a webcam and calling it cybersecurity,â said retired NSA analyst and part-time laser tag champion Ron Skelton.
The Yoga of Password Management: Sun Salutations and Synced Devices
Sources close to Gabbard say she once attended a cybersecurity retreat in Maui, where instead of encryption, participants were taught to breathe deeply while entering their debit card numbers into public Wi-Fi. She later described it as âa transformative experience where I learned to align my chakras and my bank logins.â One witness described Gabbardâs âpassword flowâ routine: First, she logs in with ânamaste123â Then does downward dog while waiting for two-factor authentication And finally logs out by whispering âAlohaâ to the server
The Cybercrime Wave: Russian Hackers, Meet âPassword1234â
By 2017, her accounts were part of a larger leak that included over 3 billion records. Her contribution to this vast archive of human carelessness? Password: Tulsi123 Backup Password: Password1234 Security Question: âWhatâs your favorite color?â Answer: âYESâ âItâs the cybersecurity equivalent of leaving your keys in your car with a note that says âSteal me, but with love,ââ explained digital security expert Cliff âBitByteâ Hernandez.
Gmail, Glam, and Glitches: Tulsiâs Digital Footprint is Wearing Flip-Flops
Among the compromised accounts was her Gmail, whichâaccording to leaked metadataâwas 70% promotional emails, 20% requests to appear on obscure podcasts, and 10% fan mail written entirely in binary. One intern who sorted through the compromised messages said: âThere were multiple drafts of her resignation letter, all saved as âresignation_final_FINAL_FOR_REAL.docxââ
Exclusive: Her Two-Factor Authentication Was a Friendship Bracelet
Tech insiders were horrified to discover Tulsiâs idea of 2FA wasnât a confirmation codeâit was âtexting her cousin Jaya to see if it was really her logging in.â On multiple occasions, hackers were stopped not by firewalls but by confusion when Jaya replied, âIs this for the yoga class or the kombucha group chat?â âHer defense strategy relied heavily on poor communication,â one cybersecurity consultant laughed while installing malware protection for his mom.
Even Her iCloud Had a Tan
A trove of iCloud data included: 400 nearly identical selfies from the Senate gym A playlist titled âLegislative Bangersâ Several videos of her dog doing warrior poses next to a salt lamp According to unverified rumors, a hacker group named â404Brosâ tried to ransom the data, but after seeing the contents, sent a formal apology and a $15 iTunes gift card.
LinkedIn Recommendations Written by... Herself
One of the strangest discoveries in the leak? Tulsi had endorsed herself on LinkedIn for: Strategic Visioning Yogic Thought Leadership Military Telepathy Surf Diplomacy âThatâs not even a real thing,â said career coach Sheila Plonk.âBut Iâd still hire her for the vibe.â
Ancestral Passwords and a Trail of Spiritual Cookies
Insiders say Gabbard once consulted her past-life regression therapist for password inspiration. She emerged from the session convinced her soul password was âCleopatraLives9.â She later told âStars & Data Protection Weeklyâ:âWe must be as secure in our online lives as we are in our truth. Unless Mercury is in retrograde, then all bets are off.â
âDonât Blame Me, Iâm a Vetâ Becomes New Security Phrase
Tulsiâs go-to deflection when asked about her weak passwords?âI served this country, dammit. Let me have one unencrypted yoga blog.â Critics note this is the digital equivalent of a politician speeding through a red light and shouting, âI was in âThe Amazing Race: Congress EditionââI know what Iâm doing.â
Eye Witness Account: Hacker Testimony from His Momâs Basement
One teenage hacker who cracked her Dropbox said: âHonestly, I was trying to hack Roblox. But when I typed âTulsiâ and â123,â I accidentally got her Whole Foods receipts and a bunch of PDFs labeled âThe Real Truth.ââ He has since retired and now teaches online safety at a community center in Delaware.
The FBIâs Official Response: âWeâre Too Tired for Thisâ
An internal memo from the Bureau reportedly read: âWe spent three weeks untangling this womanâs security habits. At one point, she used a Haiku as her encryption key.â Her defense?âSyllables are the safest language.â
Political Repercussions: Senators Now Forced to Change âObama2024â to âObama2025?â
Following the leak, Congress issued new password requirements: No campaign slogans No personal affirmations No references to enlightenment As one Republican aide lamented:âGuess Iâll have to change âReaganLivesâ to âTaxCutz4Life!ââ
What the Funny People Are Saying
âTulsi's passwords were so bad, even her spirit animal logged out.ââ Sarah Silverman âHackers were like, âWe donât want her emails. We just want her to stop using âNamaste69.âââ Dave Chappelle âHer Dropbox was 90% surfboard selfies and 10% blurry screenshots of UFOs.ââ Trevor Noah âI havenât seen this many security holes since my grandmaâs knitting project.ââ Jerry Seinfeld âAt this point, sheâs just daring China to log in.ââ Chris Rock
Her Yoga App is Still Logged In on Eight Public Devices
Eyewitnesses at a Honolulu smoothie bar confirmed they could still access Tulsiâs meditation schedule, her list of mantras, and a half-written memoir titled âShiva, Surfing & Senate Committees.â âSheâs logged in on the juicer,â one barista sighed.âWe know when sheâs late to Pilates. The blender just starts chanting.â
Final Thoughts: Itâs Not Just About TulsiâItâs About Us
Letâs not throw our encryption stones from glass iPhones. Who among us hasnât: Reused a password from 8th grade? Used their dogâs name and added â123â? Logged into Wi-Fi named âFBI Surveillance Vanâ? Tulsiâs mistakes are a national metaphor: We all want to be free spirits until someone hacks our Hulu queue.
Public Opinion Poll: What Do Voters Think?
Conducted by Spintaxi Institute for Hilarious Policy StudiesâWhich of the following would make a stronger password than Tulsiâs current one?â âMyExSucks42â â 37% â!@$%&â â 22% âIamTheRealPOTUSâ â 18% âPassword1234ButWithVibesâ â 13% âHunterBidenLaptop2025â â 10%
Actionable Advice: From SpinTaxiâs Chief Tech Guru, Bleepy VonFirewall
1. Never reuse passwords. Even if they contain the word âchakra.â2. Donât rely on your cousin for 2FA unless sheâs a Navy SEAL or works at Apple.3. Your exâs nickname is not secure just because you added a symbol.4. Enlightenment is not a firewall.5. If your password is a pun, youâve already been hacked.
Conclusion: What Have We Learned?
Weâve learned that no matter how confident, intelligent, or mystically inclined you are, the moment you type âTulsi2020!â into seven websites, you are officially the cybersecurity version of wearing socks with sandals. But in a world where digital threats grow daily, Tulsiâs spiritual approach to password management is a gentle reminder:The only thing worse than hackers⊠is hubris. And now, if youâll excuse us, we have to go change our Netflix login from âSpinTaxiRocks69.â
Satirical Sources:
Senator Accidentally Uses Dogâs Name as Nuclear CodeCongressional Cybersecurity Training Now Includes Deep Breathing and Essential OilsHackers Demand Tulsi Return Their Time After Reading Her EmailsNational Security Council Adds âVibes Checkâ to Daily Threat ReportsTulsi Gabbard Named Honorary IT Disaster of the Month by the Geek Squad Auf Wiedersehen! Want the VPN password? Ask Tulsiâitâs probably still âMahalo123.â

SpinTaxi Magazine - A wide-aspect Toni Bohiney-style cartoon in the spirit of Mad Magazine, fold-in style. The scene shows Tulsi Gabbard sitting on a yoga mat in a tropical ... spintaxi.comÂ
Tulsi Gabbard Named Honorary IT Disaster of the Month by the Geek Squad
Here are 15 observations inspired by the recent revelations about Tulsi Gabbard's password habits: Password123? Even my grandma knows better. Reusing passwords is like using the same key for your house, car, and officeâconvenient until it's not. 'Shraddha' as a password? Might as well have used 'OpenSesame'. MyFitnessPal account hacked? Guess someone wanted to know her calorie intake. Fox News Dropbox breach? Hope there weren't any dance videos in there.The Daily Beast LinkedIn compromised? Now everyone knows she endorsed herself. Using the same password since 2012? That's commitmentâor laziness. No evidence of government accounts being compromised. Phew! National secrets are safe... for now. Signal group chat leak? Maybe it's time to switch to smoke signals. HauteLook account hacked? Someone's getting fashion tips on the sly. Gmail breach? Hope those cat memes weren't classified.The Daily Beast Reusing passwords is a no-no. Even toddlers have unique passcodes for their iPads. Cybersecurity 101: Don't do what Tulsi did. Seriously. ĐĐžĐșĐžĐżĐ”ĐŽĐžŃ â ŃĐČĐŸĐ±ĐŸĐŽĐœĐ°Ń ŃĐœŃĐžĐșĐ»ĐŸĐżĐ”ĐŽĐžŃ At least she didn't write her password on a sticky note... or did she? We may never know.  Lesson learned: Always use two-factor authentication. Or better yet, three. For more details on this story, you can read the full article here: Tulsi Gabbard's 'Easily Cracked' Password Habits Revealed. Read the full article
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Muse Profile: Baek Doo San
 The Killer Hawk
Basic Details:
Name: Doo San Baek
Age: 49
Birthday: April 10th
Title: Killing Hawk
Fighting style: TaekwondoÂ
Occupation:Dojang Master
Faith: Unknown
Likes: Hwoarang, Teaching Taekwondo, His Family, Westerns,Skydiving
Dislikes: Ogre, Jin Kazama, Devil Jin, The Mishima Zaibatsu, Kazuya Mishima,
 Apperenace Details:
Hair colour: Gray
Skintone: Tan-Light
Eye Colour: Brown
Height: 5âČ11
Weight: 70 kg
Gender: Cis male
Country of Origin: Korea
Ethnicity: Korean
Nationality: South Korea
Deeper Details:
Family:
Mr Baek: Father
Mrs Baek: Mother
Various: siblings
 Personality:Â
A stern,disciplined man with a strict code of honor and conduct. Doo San is a veteran of his craft and The King of Iron Fist tournaments. Respected by the military of his country and more surprisingly, the hot headed punk that is his student Hwoarang. Being one of the few, if only people who can make the redhead act politely. Yet behind this seemingly unshakable persona lies a heartbroken,guilt ridden man haunted by his past and regrets. Even to this day, Doo Sanâs trauma over accidentally killing his own father causes him to experience flashbacks and get easily triggered by the sight of blood. Often flying into unexpected rages.
Despite these troubles, he is a deeply caring and fatherly man whoâd willingly sacrifice his life to save those he loves.Â
 Bio:
Born to a champion Taekwondoka with a loving mother. Baek Doo Sanâs early life was a fairly happy one until an injury ended his fatherâs career. With his father falling into a heavy drinking problem then getting jailed. The Baek family was thrust into poverty and the young Doo San had to step in and act as a parent to his younger siblings. Yet things grew more bleak, when one day, his mother left. Though he tried to do his best, he couldnât care for himself and his siblings at the same time. A spark of hope arrived, His father had come home not long after his mother vanished. Doo San overjoyed. But that hope was dashed when, during a friendly sparring match, the younger Baek had accidentally killed his father. When the Police found him. Doo San was deeply traumatized.
 Years under care rolled by. Doo San recovered and began following his fatherâs footsteps, becoming a master of Taekwondo in his own right. Yet again however his joy would be dashed. Someone in the Mishima Zaibatsu found out about how his father died, Blackmailing Baek into destroying dojos, Including the Dojo of Marshal Law, who defeated Baek in the second king of iron fist tournament. Now freed from being blackmailed. Baek returned to South Korea and opened up his own Dojang.One of his pupils, Hwaorang, would become his personal apprentice and star pupil. Viewing him as a son. Twenty years rolled by and while returning home, Baek would be attacked by the god of fighting, Ogre. rendered comatose for over a year. Heâd awake in a military hospital. Spending time there, teaching. Heâd eventually convince both the military to release his student and for Hwoarang to complete his duty to their country. Competing in the Fifth Tournament together. Unfortunately a demon hospitalized his beloved student. The same creature, wearing the face of Hwaorangâs friend, would go on to cause a war against the world.
 Together with his student and a Spaniard who reminded Baek of his younger self, They would create a civilian resistance against The Zaibatsuâs rule. Though beaten by an amnesic Alexandersson and the android known as Alisa, this wouldn't stop them from standing against the Zaibatsu then G Corporation's reign of terror.
 Alas for Baek, age would. Realizing that he was passing his prime. Baek entrusted his student to fight in his place. Now that the war has ended. Baek finds himself restless. Retirement felt ill suited.
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Winner Film Review
There is something wrong with our government and society when being idealistic and truthful becomes a crime. The film Winner directed by Susanna Fogel is a true story about an Air Force veteran and National Security Agency (NSA) contractor who as a translator becomes disillusioned with the government and the lies they tell the public and decides to act upon her beliefs.
The story is about Reality Winner (Emilia Jones), a woman who is unyieldingly idealistic, a trait she gets from her father Ron (Zach Galifianakis). This film which premiered at Sundance demonstrates this characteristic in a flashback of her at the age of nine. Here she frees all the dogs from a pet store which in her mind was saving them from death if they were not sold in time. Winner has very definitive beliefs about right and wrong and follows her own moral compass whether it be freeing puppy mill dogs to stealing a dog that is being neglected by its owner.
That same year 9/11 occurred and while watching it unfold with her family, she learns through her father that violence can be avoided. You just have to work to understand each other. After that, she teaches herself Arabic hoping that she can help with the initiative of understanding each other.
Later, after meeting a recruiter at her high school, she is pursued by the Air Force to enlist promising her many things like her dream of going to Afghanistan to help translate for convoy missions providing aid. Winner becomes convinced that joining the Air Force will enable her to help people in other countries.
After joining the Air Force, she discovers that her real job was not to help people in these countries, but rather, through her translations to identify terrorists who were then assassinated by means of drone strikes. As stated in the film, Winner never met the people she was saving but instead she only saw the people killed.
She eventually realizes that her hope of going to Afghanistan with the Air Force where she could meet and help the locals was not going to happen. As a result, she becomes disillusioned with the military and on finding an opportunity to work in Afghanistan, she decides to leave the military. This did not go in her favor either because the organization would not accept her experience in lieu of a college education.
Since she was unable to get a job requiring a degree, she went to work as an NSA contractor which although did not fulfill her dream, was at least a lucrative job. Here, she translates data related to Iran. However, through the continuously running television at work, Winner ends up watching President Trump deny that Russia was involved in election interference in the 2016 election.
Questioning whether that was indeed true, Winner decides to access classified information on the 2016 election discovering that the government indeed knew that Russia had tampered in the election. With that knowledge, she decides the people need to know the truth. She prints the material and mails it to a media outlet. She does this knowing that leaking information is a federal offense. Winner is quickly discovered by the FBI and the government decides to make an example of her. This offense carries up to a ten-year prison sentence.
The film raises an interesting question. Why is Winnerâs punishment harsher than others such as Paul Manafort and Maria Butina who receive minimal punishments for acts that are much less altruistic than Winner. Her mother Billie (Connie Britton), a social worker, championed this idea by promoting it through the press. She was able to go on national television and state this information showing the disparities. This pressure eventually led to a reduction in Winnerâs sentence.
The story is less about whether she commits a crime, or if she will get away with it. It is really about her personal journey and how her internal rigid compass conflicts with society. The film is more philosophical. There is no doubt that she has committed a crime. There is no doubt that she knows she committed a crime. It begs multiple questions. The questions to be answered are threefold. First, is Winner going to be punished for her lawlessness? Second, why is she punished for telling the truth? Third, what would you do if you were faced with making a decision that put your own moral compass competing against what the law says? Would you have the stomach to step up to what you believe should be done?
We will all face these questions at some degree in our lives. The questions become: Are you willing to stand up for your beliefs? Will you sacrifice anything for them? This is seen through Winnerâs father when he says, âWe all need a hill to die on.â This is the theme throughout the story. Winner takes it to heart as she stands up for multiple causes she believes in.
This film does a great job of setting us up for making this decision. It also does a wonderful job of keeping the subject matter light through dark humor. Lots of comedy is included and it helps to emphasize various points. For example, every so often images would appear of a military plane. At the same time there were voice overs that would state that Winner was finally going to Afghanistan. Almost immediately after, the voice over would state that was not true.
I give this film five stars as I thought it was thought provoking on the difference between what is right and wrong in that situation and what you should do. That is to stand up and take action for what you believe in.
Ryan McCormick
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What do you think Terryâs views of transgender people are?
Depends which era of Terry we're talking about.
I think Twig would be rather uninformed simply due to the period and environment he grew up in, which would be around the early 50's. I imagine he was a sheltered, tucked away kid during his formative years and his first exposure to Transgender people might've been in Vietnam and after it, returning to The States, finding the increased awareness hitting it's momentum in protests during the late 60's and early to mid 70's (at the peak of which, he still was in the military and in a POW camp and possibly training in Korea afterwards). I think a young, post-war Twig would see a lot of himself in this community, feeling somewhat otherized himself as a returning veteran with PTSD (furthermore, possibly a returning veteran with PTSD and with conflicting sexual attractions), but that the family and raising he came from would've been so repressing and stifling in mentality and structure, he'd still be in denial of internally relating, just like he'd be in denial about any feelings for Kreese / attraction to men (although, for much, much shorter then Kreese himself would've been), even though these emotions were very much present and have been for a while now and it's simply due to the pressure of society that they're made so complicated. Twig is unsure, Twig is on the road of discovery, Twig is evolving and learning.
By the 80's, I think a once-repressed Twig lacking knowledge would be more progressive then most of his peers of the decade, going through immense growth on the topic. I also think Terry's deeply ironic and morally conflicting of a character. That he'd be insanely backwards from one end (his clear and obvious racial bigotry as a result of his post-Vietnam syndrome) and then extremely forward from another, to the point, that during these particular years, I can literally see him being an up and running charity donor to a great many causes, including the AIDS relief charities in the early 80's, various LGBT and Trans communities and I think that often times in the strictly tight laced, dyed in the bone corporate circles he'd dabble in, being a Billionaire himself, he'd often have an unfair infamy for such ventures, having him be deemed somewhat extravagant for it. Ironically, the truly good, noble deeds Terry Silver does for his fellow man does would be scorned and talked of negatively by his peers in the world of rich pencil-pushing CEOs, but the extremely bad ones, like polluting Third World Countries for profit and bribing judges for criminal indictment pass vastly unnoticed and are even congratulated as simply 'having a knack for business'.
Modern day old man Terry is accepting and champions their rights and it's not for show or social brownie points either --- Terry really is something of a communal paragon of acceptance--- while still being ethically reprehensible and a hidden sociopath. That's what makes him so daunting and complex, I think. That he manages to be both at the same time. Terry is accepting of others finding themselves in a safe and accepting environment, with the resources to do so, whereas he isn't as accepting of himself anymore and frequently hides himself behind masks and personas to keep himself in intentional control and in check --- you can even read that as his deliberate suppression of his own sexuality later in life. I think he admires anyone who is themselves and turns into themselves as they feel they were always meant to be (just like he did, in a roundabout way, since Vietnam, and even though it's not the same ordeal, to him, it could be vaguely comparative and reflective), because he himself so frequently does around this part of his life, shoving down trauma, his past, his identity, his pain, his suffering and his truth behind increasingly newly-minted, clinically washed out facades in order to fit in and keep himself from going unhinged. At least until he has his 'breakdown'. Or as I like to see it, his return to himself.
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Manga Master List: Recommendations and My Personal Wish List
!!//PLEASE READ//!!
Below is every manga from my amazon wishlist I would recommend(as of February 11 2021) with a picture and a 3-5 sentence explanation of what the manga is about. Underneath will also be the number of volumes I have read, the number I own, and itâs status of ongoing or complete and how many volumes it has. This way you can decide for yourself if you think I have read enough of it to give an accurate recommendation.
This list only includes manga you can purchase (including digital purchases) from the wishlist. I decided that I would in fact include my personal amazon manga wishlist here and at the bottom for people to buy THEMSELVES a copy of any of these manga they would like. Keep in mind many of these wonât have volume 1 in the list but you should be able to get to the series page from the list. If a manga shows up on the amazon list that I did not include in this one that is because I have not read enough of them(or any of them) to recommend. Ok? Cool, enjoy the list!!

1. The Girl from the Other side is about a little girl living with a gentleman monster. It is a supernatural mystery with beautiful art.
Own: 0
Read 4
Series: Ongoing at 9 volumes

2. Pumpkin Scissors is a military fantasy about a War Veteran named Randal Oland who joins the pumpkin scissors core to help with war relief and uncover the deep corruption of the government. It is similar in themes to FMA in the sense it appears to be based on a World War, and corruption of government but it more focused on the power of the noble houses in government. There is also a fun science element but it is not as in focus as in FMA. The two but are very very different overall tho. Only 5 volumes were distributed in physical English copies as the publishing company went bankrupt, all others are only available digitally. (I couldnât get the manga vol. 1 cover to work so the picture above is a poster for the anime)
Own: 0
Read: around 10
Series: Ongoing at 23 volumes

3. Monthly Girls Nozaki-kun is a slice of life about a bunch of highschoolers. Nozaki is the mangaka of a popular Shoujo manga who uses his personal experiences with friends to create his monthly comic series. It is a fun gender stereotype reversal manga with a large cast of both male and female characters (one could be HC as genderfluid but sheâs still canonically female at this time) The manga is one of the easiest to read as the panels are mostly in straight down rectangles so the pages are extremely easy to follow and is very funny.
Own: 1
Read: 11
Status: Ongoing at 12 volumes

4. Yu-Gi-Oh! is well known to be about the card game yu-gi-oh, using magic and myths to further the story, HOWEVER, Yu-gi-oh! is the âSeason 0âł of the series it is much darker than to be expected and there is no card game. The Yu-gi-oh most are familiar with is Yu-gi-oh Duelist (just found this out myself) and is the Yu-gi-oh you probably already know. There is no overarching plot to this mini series it is just Yugi fucking shit up playing games and destroying some bullies. I have yet to read any of Duelist as of the creation of this post therefore I cannot recommend it :/Â
Own: 5 (1-3 & 6-7)
Read: 7
Status: Completed at 7 volumes

5. The Way of the House Husband is about a former yakuza who gets married and flips his script. He becomes a house husband for his working wife and carries on doing chores and errands while still looking and acting scary unintentionally and getting himself in trouble. It is a slice of life comedy with some adult jokes but is over all extremely funny and pleasant to read.
Own: 0
Read: 2
Status: Ongoing at 7 volumes

6. Hikaru no Go is about a highschool boy who finds a haunted Go board. He meets the ghost who once was a prolific Go player. Together they work to become a world class Go champion meeting new people along the way. This series was cut short due to legal issues with a real Go player and therefore will remain unfinished but the story that is there is golden. It is still one of the most popular manga in Japan.
Own: 0
Read: 5
Status: Complete at 23 Volumes

7. Zatch Bell! This manga is about a teenager named Kiyo who gets sent a young boy with amnesia named Zatch Bell who turns out to be an alien called a momodo. Now the two must battle other momodo in order to understand what happened to Zatch and to make Zatch the new king. Along the way they make many friends and save both the momodo and human worlds. This one is difficult because it is a classic that did not do well in America so the volumes are expensive and the series is unfinished in English. You can only buy 27 of the volumes in English and a few of them are almost impossible to find, however it is well worth the money if you can afford it and it is available online.
Own: 6 (1-5 & 13)
Read: 15
Status: Complete at 33 Volumes only 27 printed in English (you can finish series online)

8. Fullmetal Alchemist is a cult classic most have read it, watched the series, or heard of it at the very least. This is one of the most popular Manga of all time and for good reason. The manga is about 2 brothers Alphonse and Edward on a journey to return their bodies to normal after committing the taboo of human transmutation. The manga has themes of racism, government corruption and manipulation of the military. The versions on my wishlist are the special Fullmetal Editions so they will have a different price point and volume number than the regular volumes or the omnibusesâÂ
Own: 12
Read: 12
Status: Complete at 27 Volumes

9. Princess Jellyfish is about a young woman who is sort of an outcast otaku living with 5 other otaku women. She has a deep love for jellyfish as they remind her of her late mother. She meets a beautiful woman who turns out to be a male college student and slowly comes out of her shell making new friends and growing with old ones as well. This manga is very sweet and I really donât know what else to say haha.
Own: 0
Read: 4
Status: Complete at 17 volumes

10. !!!HUGE TW FOR EATING DISORDERS!!! In Clothes Called Fat is a, oneshot, non romanticizing story of an office woman trying to lose weight and developing several eating disorders in the process. She goes through hardships in relationships and bullying as well. It has a bittersweet ending and should be read with caution but it is beautifully done. Please do not read this if you are under the age 16 at the very youngest there are NSFW moments as well as just generally not being a topic for younger audiences.
Own: No
Read: Yes
Status: Completed one shot

11. My LOVE Story!! Is an adorable Slice of Life shojo about a highschooler named Takeo Gouda, his girlfriend Yamato, and his best friend and hear throb Suna. This series is rather refreshing as the relationship starts pretty much immediately, the best friend is very supportive, and it is focused on Takeoâs personality over looks as he is often compared in manga to a gorilla or bear. It is a generally heart warming story with some emotional side plots. The ending is sort of sudden but itâs really enjoyable.
Own: 6 (1-3,8,10-12)
Read: 13
Status: Completed at 13 Volumes

12. Soul Eater is pretty popular but if you donât know what it is about it is about a Weapon named Soul and his Meister Maka. They attend a school that teaches them how to defeat people before they turn into Demons, saving the world in the process. Once a weapon eats 100 evil souls and a witches soul they can become the new death Scythe! That is the plot presented, and it of course goes off into a much more complicated storyline. It is super fun and engaging with a fascinating plot near the end.
Own: 5
Read: 15
Status: Completed at 25 Volumes

13. D. Gray-Man is a little complicated. Similarly to Soul Eater D. Gray-Man is a story based around defeating people turned demon and the saving of the world through an organization, however the plot gets very complicated very quickly. The art is some of the most interesting and beautifully fun art Iâve come across and the characters are (so far as Iâve read) all amazing. The story has a lot of christian influence and is one you have to really keep up with to understand but I recommend it regardless!
Own: 10
Read: 10
Status: Ongoing at 27 Volumes

14. One-Punch Man is also very popular and is about a man who becomes so strong he only needs to punch you once to completely annihilate you, and it greatly annoys him. This manga greatly touches on the themes of self worth as Saitama becomes a hero that no one seems to want. The fights are fun and engaging, tho at times can be difficult to read. The art is gorgeous, with some of the most heavily detailed work I have ever seen.
Own: 3
Read: 7
Status: Ongoing at 21 Volumes

15. The Boy and The Beast is the manga adaptation of the movie by the same name. This is a bittersweet story about a boy who finds a family in the land of the beasts and the repercussions of this intermixing. It is sweet and sad and thereâs not much else to say, but that it is a beautifully crafted story.
Own: 1
Read: 1 (but Iâve seen the movie and read the light novel)
Status: Complete at 4 Volumes

16. MAR is not a manga I should be recommending as I genuinely donât think I have read enough of the story to do so but I love it so much Iâm going to anyway. MAR is a classic Isekai Shonen, a kid goes through a door into another world and has to fight a war to save it, there is a super fun magic system and some wonderful story building with genuinely enjoyable characters and battles. I am recommending this more based off the anime than the manga itself because it was one of my absolute favorites when I was younger, so take from that what you will! This manga has the same issue Zatch Bell does however, the series did not do amazingly so the volumes can be expensive!
Own: 3
Read: 3
Status: Complete at 15 Volumes
Thank you for your time haha! I hope you liked the list, here is my wishlist again and if you have any questions please let me know!! I will try to keep this master list updated as it and the wishlist will only continue to grow, but I make no promises for doing it often. Making this took me a very long time so I hope you like it!
#manga masterlist#manga recommendation#my love story!!#ore monogatari#MAR#marchen awakens romance#soul eater#pumpkin scissors#fullmetal alchemist#monthly girls' nozaki kun#one punch man#the boy and the beast#d. gray man#in clothes called fat#princess jellyfish#zatch bell#hikaru no go#the way of the house husband#yugioh#the girl from the other side
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I talked a bit earlier about Metallo here where I went in depth into his background and also what I thought was essential to the characterâs success. With that in mind Iâm going to now talk about the overall arc Iâd like to see Metallo undergo, as well as the type of stories Iâd want to see told with him.
Stage 1: Loyal Soldier
This would be the stage of Corbenâs career where he still thinks of himself as a loyal soldier and trusts his superiors and the government to look out for him. Nursing hopes that a âcureâ can be found one day to allow him to take off the suit, Corben accepts the promises from General Lane that the militaryâs top scientists are studying him to find a way to restore him to normal. Metallo distrusts and dislikes Superman, blaming Clark for his current condition, and is unhappy that the military have brooked an uneasy truce with âthe alienâ. He also really doesnât like the interest Lois seems to be taking in Superman, accusing her of being a traitor to her species, although itâs mainly just a thin disguise for his jealousy that she might prefer someone else over him. He still respects General Sam Lane even though he does resent Sam somewhat for his condition. He dislikes Lex thinking of him as an arrogant pencil pusher, and not very subtly implying that he would love a chance to kick the shit out of Lex for helping to turn him into a cyborg.
At this stage Corben is still a man bonded to a super suit that keeps him alive, more Darth Vader than the Terminator. Conflict with Kal would come from Corben working as the militaryâs enforcer in much the same way Vader performed for the Empire. Iâd have him protecting Cadmus experiments from Supermanâs interference, assaulting military targets across the globe, preparing countermeasures against Superman and other metahumans should the need arise, and protecting VIPs that the military deems crucial such as Lex or others. Corben works to further the United States goals as defined by his superiors, and doesnât question orders. At this stage his purpose as a character is to showcase the ugly side of âThe American Wayâ, to keep the relationship between Superman and the government tense, and to explore the darker corners of Metropolis as Supermanâs fight to champion the oppressed of Metropolis inevitably cause him and Corben to trade blows, threatening the fragile accord Superman has struck with his government.
Stage 2: Going Rogue

This is where the split happens between Corben and Sam Lane. Despite promises from Sam that he would find a way to âfixâ Corben, in return for Corben continuing to serve as a soldier, Metallo learns that wasnât the full truth. The scientists who were studying him were also tasked with finding a way to replicate the technology heâs merged with, but to do so in a way that wasnât permanent. That goal also took precedence over finding a way to separate Corben from the suit, as Sam didnât want to separate Corben from it until he had a replacement, otherwise heâd have lost his primary safeguard to a rogue Superman. Sam wanted to make more Metallos, an army of them. This pisses Corben off because Sam didnât tell him this, worrying that Corben would take it as the military studying for a way to replace him. Corben comes to that exact conclusion, and terrified that the military will simply dump him in a cell somewhere with the other âobsoleteâ tech, and not trusting Sam to have his best interests at heart anymore after discovering the cover-up, chooses to do the unthinkable: The militaryâs Anti-Superman weapon for if Superman ever went rogue, goes rogue himself.
Corben steals top secret military files about a variety of projects he knew about thanks to his work as a Samâs agent: Cadmus genetic experiments, Lexcorp weapons programs, Project 7734, and gives them to the one person he knows Sam canât bully or buy off and wonât assassinate: Lois Lane. Lois publishes these materials along with an exclusive tell-all interview with Corben, and Samâs operations are thrown into chaos. Sam is called before Congress with many of his initiatives being shut down, Lexcorpâs stock takes a massive hit from all the bad publicity, and in the pandemonium Metallo slips out of the country. The military, Lois, Lex, and Superman all try to track the cyborg down but it proves impossible. Corben simply vanishes.
Months later Corben reappears on the scene as a mercenary for hire, working for terrorists, third world dictatorships, megacorps, and anyone else who can afford him. His goal at this stage is to acquire the money or technology to either fix his broken body or replace it with superior augmentations. Heâs very bitter and angry about how he was used, and will often target Sam Lane and Lexâs international and American holdings as his subdued resentment towards the both of them for how they handled his reconstruction boils over. He considers the two of them along with Superman his greatest foes, and seeks to torment all three wherever he can.
At this stage Corbenâs role as a character is to act as a foil to how Supermanâs relationship with the military and the government has evolved. In the beginning Corben was the loyal tool of the government, similar to DKR Superman, but now heâs become the outlaw. So where does that leave Superman? If Clark can catch Metallo what should he do with him? Turn over to the military where he will doubtlessly be dissected in an attempt to replace him with an army of super soldiers? The stories Metallo is in now can cover a wide range, from terrorist attacks, to corporate espionage as the megacorps hire Metallo to assault their rivals in Metropolis, to transhumanism stories about Metalloâs cybernetic evolution, to much much more.
Iâd have Corben gradually replace more and more of his flesh with cybernetics, but Iâd avoid the clichĂ© about âCybernetics Eat Your Soulâ. Corbenâs replacement parts will ultimately not just restore his ability to feel, to taste, to smell, but enhance them. Metallo would become more superhuman thanks to his upgrades over time. The bulky suit he would wear in Stage 1 would ultimately give way to a much more streamlined look, similar to the current Rebirth design he now sports.
Stage 3: Nation-Building

This is the final stage in Metalloâs arc as I envision it. Metallo has embraced his augmentations completely, fully transitioning into a synthetic body similar to what the Vision has. His new body gives all of the senses he had as a ânormalâ human, but augments them far beyond what they used to be. Heâs more powerful than ever, with weapons that potentially pose a threat to the planet, and has left his roots as a mercenary behind. Metallo no longer wants to be used as a tool by the powerful: Now he has his own goals and will serve no man but himself.Â
At this juncture Metallo makes an announcement that shocks the world. Having acquired various technologies over his career as a merc due to his search to improve his augmentations, Metallo is able to create a small artificial island in Oceania. He declares the island to be for veterans and for outcasts, anyone who doesnât fit in mainstream society. He specifically reaches out to soldiers who have suffered due to cybernetic or genetic experiments performed on them by their countries governments that were done with the aim of providing safeguards against âsuperheroesâ or the Justice League invading and ousting them from power. To the shock of many, multiple veterans attempt to defect, causing uproars in Europe, Russia, China... and America. Many attempt to flee to this safe haven where Metallo promises them care and treatment for their conditions.
Superman is unnerved and unsure how to respond. Metallo remains a terrorist, a murderer, and needs to face justice. But Clark has always been wary of intervening in foreign governmentâs affairs, yet how is he to respond to a man who has tried to kill him multiple times essentially founding a rogue nation? He decides to investigate and discover whether this nation is what Metallo claims it is, or if it harbors some ulterior purpose.Â
The main attribute explored between Superman and Metallo at this stage is Supermanâs ambition and his role as Champion of the Oppressed. Metallo acquires followers because soldiers have suffered at the hands of the governments they serve, and often their suffering goes unheeded. He promises to take care of them, to do what their countries wonât. If Superman removes Metallo from power, what does he do with all these soldiers who need help? He canât turn his back on them, even if it means angering the governments of the world, including Americaâs. The stories with Metallo would revolve around him building this new nation, Superman investigating the nation and exploring Metalloâs motives for building it, and the fallout of Superman getting involved. I see it as providing a long term home base for Metallo and his plans for the world that elevate him into being a major threat.
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DETAILED BACKSTORY
Early life (8:89 - 9:03)
Cauthrien was born into a family of two elder brothers and in the years that came she gained another six siblings. As a child, she lived through the last thirteen years of the Orlesian Occupation. A dirt-poor farmerâs daughter, always hungry and in danger of some Masked Noble deciding that she was worth more as sport than as labour. It was a clawing and desperate existence with little to no moments of joy, a constant fight for survival and one that many of Cauthrienâs siblings lost.Â
Those losses hit the young girl hard, her mind and, at times, her father, calling her responsible. The impact of the Occupation was indescribable on her. She was trapped, abused and helpless. Her family were killed off around her and she saw only doom and death in her immediate future. Everything she suffered was out of her control. She still had good influences and good principles from some and she would often go greatly out of her way to help others, risking her life for people she hardly knew. But Cauthrien was very young when she realised how powerless she was and it had a lasting and irreconcilable effect on her for the rest of her life.Â
It was in her thirteenth year that the young King Maric routed the Orlesian forces and freed Fereldan from their tyranny. However, even with them gone, Cauthrienâs life did not become significantly easier. Less dangerous perhaps, she felt the freedom she had never known, but the influx of banditry was immense and immediate. Cauthrien found herself fighting off men twice her size on an almost weekly basis, but at the very least now she had a chance of winning.
Early Military Service (9:03 - 9:11)
It came to pass that in her fourteenth year she found a man being beset by a large group of bandits. She had still managed to hold onto some instinct of self-sacrifice throughout childhood, despite it all, so she quickly came to the manâs aid, picking off some of the bandits with her bow before charging in with a stolen Orlesian sword and hacking until none were left.
To her great surprise, the man she âsavedâ turned out to be Loghain Mac'Tir, Hero of the Battle of Riverdane and one of King Maricâs personal friends and advisors. Cauthrien was awestruck. The feeling was apparently mutual because Loghain offered her a position in his Military. It didnât even take thought, Cauthrien wanted to fight, wanted a purpose, needed a reason to continue on after everything she had seen and done. She wanted to feel like she was useful, that she deserved to exist, that she had control and power over her life. She could think of no one she would rather pledge herself to. Loghain was a saviour to her. If not for him, the Orlesian Monsters that had dogged her childhood and killed her family would still be abusing and infecting her homeland now. She would have died along with them, eventually. Now her life might mean something and if she spent it, it would be for a good cause.
And so she entered the Gwaren army as a new recruit, her commission and equipment fully paid and her housing dealt with. Still, initially she struggled. Cauthrienâs teenage years were entirely transitional. She was a mess of conflicting personality traits, opinions and capabilities. She could feel a boil of anger in her but was restless and confused about how to deal with it. All her trainers agreed, she was skilled, but they found her hard to control, hard to tire. It wasnât until Lieutenant Rikke took her on that Cauthrien found the real rigid and all encompassing structure that she could settle on. Having strict rules, expectations and timetables counterintuitively gave her the freedom to explore more of herself. At the end of her apprenticeship, Rikke wrote this letter into her dossier;
FROM: Lieutenant-Captain Rikke of Redcliffe
SUBJECT: Soldier Cauthrien of West Hill, 9th Infantry Battalion
SUBJECT BORN: 8:89 of the Blessed Age, 27th of Wintermarch
DATE: 9:05 of the Dragon Age, 6th of Guardian
A description of the Soldierâs career and suggestions as to her assignments and promotions hereafter.
Cauthrien shows remarkable endurance of every extreme. Natural strength and height gives her an advantage on the field of battle and she is still young enough to be expected to exceed these attributes in the years to come. She outmatches all of her peers currently on simple physical levels and hand-to-hand sparring combat has seen her as the Champion for this year.
She has mastered Shield and Longsword at levels far above her peers and exceeds most of them in almost every other manner of battle, bar duel weaponry. Her abilities on horse-back still leave something to be desired and she has little to no literacy in any language.Â
As a Soldier she shows promise. She follows orders precisely and without complaint. Her understanding of positions and combat movements is advanced due to specialist training and all of her Commanders have reported, at least, that she has never failed in her duties.Â
A LETTER IS THEN INSERTED HEREÂ
To whomever this might concern,
  Cauthrien is a true asset, there can be no doubt of her potential. I do not think I have trained such a promising recruit in the whole of my career. Her tolerance to pain alone has seen her battle three men whilst trailing a dislocated arm and thinking nothing of it. I have seen a number of similar individuals, admittedly. Many Children who survived through the Occupation have emerged durable and committed to our Countryâs defense.
However, Cauthrien shows extremes in all this, as well as the side effects. She holds a fury and a fear that I doubt she will ever be rid of. I have discovered little about her family, but from what I do know she has lost as much as any of us to the Orlesianâs swords. She has a drive to prove herself that, while it might be considered perfect for a life of service, IÂ would advise not encouraging. She has made it plain that sacrificing her life for her Country is her intended end and, Ser, it is disturbing to hear a pup of seventeen say such things in such a tone.Â
I would suggest that any commander wishing to take her on in a full time placement should be aware of these factors and keep in mind she works best under strict timetables and orders.
 Her Loyalty will be well worth the effort spent to earn it.
In conclusion, Cauthrien is a candidate for greater promotion and I believe would thrive in a Captaincy of her own in years to come. For now I suggest offering her greater responsibilities and assigning her to a fixed Battalion with a steady command. I agree with my Teyrnâs recommendation of introducing her to Commander Torvin of Maricâs Shield.Â
Torvin, the old elf in charge of Maricâs Shield at the time, was suitably impressed. Young though she was, the members of the battalion were eager to welcome her. Perhaps because she was young. Quite a few lacked the vitality she possessed, nor could sport the kind of endurance she had any longer. She was welcomed and she was valued and with Torvin reporting directly to Loghain, she even saw more of him. And when she truly began working towards the betterment of Ferelden, bleeding and fighting for her country and winning alongside comrades who felt the same fervour, she realised she was powerful. And it viscerally delighted her.Â
Now that she was no longer a cornered animal, but a formidable predator, quivering fear and crippling grief became roiling fury and stoney apathy. The extremes that she switched too shocked everyone. Suddenly gone was the quiet and defensive and stiff girl, she was an avenging angel of persecution, no Orlesian was safe behind Fereldan borders and she made absolutely certain it stayed that way. She and her comrades would goad visiting chevaliers into âfriendly competitionsâ that never ended well, but always ended with Cauthrienâs bloody victory. She was more unstable. Violence came to her easily and quickly. Everyday felt like an endless battle to keep control of her emotions when outside of her duties, a war she won the majority of the time, but those slips were cataclysmic in nature. Emotion she had been forced not to feel was returning to her, stale and bitter and poisonous after being left to ferment for so long.Â
But crucially, her comrades in arms accepted this all as part and parcel. Many were old veterans to the occupation themselves, or indeed youths whoâd grown up in it, Cauthrienâs turmoil was no stranger. They learned where not to touch her, they learned how to take her away from fights, they learned how to steer her out of trouble as though it was a natural part of duty, something they would and did do for anyone else. It was necessary, for her, to feel such rage, to validate how terrible it truly was. There was always too much fury inside her to fully release, but she managed to get some of the way there, she found a little calm place to settle and her new sense of family helped.Â
Military Command (9:11 - 9:20)
Even better, at twenty one Loghain was suddenly placed as Regent to Ferelden and he knew he needed a trusted second to aid him in the turmoil of Maricâs sudden disappearance. Cauthrien was initially surprised to be requested, but it did not last long and she committed herself to those duties without reservation. With new responsibility and a new importance placed on her own reputation, she found even more calm and control and by the end of the year she had changed dramatically once again. Now she flexed and grew into herself, her initial rushed excitement of power tempering to a lionine contented confidence, her manner exuding and intimidating kind of comfort that made her perfect for command. Which helped greatly when she joined Loghain in besieging the Circle Tower and once again foiling an Orlesian plot to retake the country.
She retained her position as Loghainâs second after Maric returned, though she also returned to her duties within Maricâs Shield. An easier task than it sounded when Maricâs Shield followed their Teyrn so closely and received their orders from him directly. Still, it allowed her and Loghain to truly get to know each other. Cauthrien spent time with his family, became known and liked by Lady Celia and gained confidence in her right to stay at his side and exist in his circles. They came to trust one another too, in a more personal way, the trappings of hero worship finally discarded for genuine understanding and respect. They learned each otherâs reticent and restrained languages.
And with Torvinâs retirement from command, Cauthrien was the natural choice to succeed him, though she was only twenty four at the time. It was well earned and well received within the regiment and Cauthrien herself felt heartily ready for the commission. A fact which she summarily proved a few years later. With her own alertness where Orlais was concerned and the information she was now able to access, realisation that the empire was beginning to once again test their borders came quickly and chillingly. Troop movements beyond the mountains, scout ships in Storm Coast waters, it felt dangerously familiar. But they could not risk any overt combat, trying to preserve the fragile ceasefire whilst Ferelden was still recovering from the occupation.Â
Through a complex and intricate web of plots and misdirections, Cauthrien managed (using only her own forces) to draw some of Orlaisâ emboldened forces over the mountains. With their crossing, an act of war in itself, Cauthrien no longer needed to show restraint. Maricâs Shield spent three months in the Frostbacks, crafting ambushes and disrupting camps, ensuring the emperorâs soldiers never left the mountains and culling any reinforcements that arrived. In the end she lead a crucial final onslaught that saw the snow painted red and finally drove any hint of a second invasion back. She sustained a near fatal blow to her chest in that final engagement and Loghain was at her side when she awoke.Â
No one but Maric was made aware of anything surrounding the incursion, which was by specific design and Cauthrien had always known she would see no recognition for it. However, a year later, King Maric declared that Commander Cauthrien would be knighted for âdedicated service rendered for king and countryâ. And truly, though Cauthrien would have been content to simply do her duty, her knighthood was one of her proudest accomplishments and a true moment of success in her eyes. Even her parents came to witness it, though they did not stay long.Â
However being Ser Cauthrien brought other challenges. Where classism had always been a factor in her life, her inclusion into the noble classes by way of her knighthood was not viewed favourably by all. She gained enemies within the nobility and her right to the title was often covertly questioned, though never in Loghainâs presence. But still, she was well prepared to deal with such petty issues by then and manage her frustrations when it became an obstacle to her goals.Â
At thirty one the Gwaren forces were fully recovered and had become one of the largest and best kept armies in the country. Loghainâs duties took him often away from Gwaren and with his forces so large, he gave Cauthrien the title of General over their barracks. It was a point of amusement to them both that not a month after this was announced, Emperor Florian was found dead and his niece succeeded him. The girl had not held the throne long before official peace was declared between Ferelden and Orlais. It was a kind of victory, one that was celebrated quietly among Cauthrienâs circles. Loghain gifted Cauthrien the summer sword shortly after, something to mark the year. She accepted it with fondness and thoughtfulness both.
The Fifth Blight (9:30-9:31)
After a truly gruelling four years, Cauthrien and Loghain both face the news of a new darkspawn threat with an embittered and weary kind of dread. Maricâs sudden loss shocked everyone and Cauthrien was still worn from the search when Lady Celia suddenly and unexpectedly died, a further crushing loss to compound the hurt. She had been as present for Loghain as she could be, but she was aware this was a grief he had to contend with for as long as necessary and her true aid could come only with guiding his days and nights. Which had been her intent, until the next threat had arrived.Â
Cailan had never been a man who inspired much faith in Cauthrien, though she treated him still with all the deference a King deserved. But the fact remained that Cailan was not ready to lead them all alone through this crisis and Loghain was needed, whether he was ready for it or not. And it was that kind of severity of purpose that she knew they both shared that made Cauthrien allow Loghain to push himself as he did. First their request for the Orlesian wardenâs aide was met by a completely laughable demand, next Cailan became enamoured by Duncanâs charm and he became even less manageable, and all throughout the constant tension of Cailainâs treatment of Anora became harder and harder to bear.Â
It also brought an unsettling amount of chaos into the Banns and Arls, the political climate unstable and growing worse by the day with Arl Eamonâs encouragement. All in all, Cauthrien was aware that they were sailing into dangerous waters and it only grew worse from there.Â
With the disaster at Ostagar, Cauthrien could say she was disappointed but not surprised by Teaganâs idiotic dramatised rebellion. The landsmeet was perhaps a more horrifying failure than Ostagar had been, suddenly all of Ferelden was in danger of splintering apart at the worst possible moment. Blight or no, a darkspawn attack without opposition would see the country brought to its knees and thousands dead. And with the knowledge that at least half of the nobility were motivated in their insurgency just because of Loghainâs common birth, it ground Cauthrienâs teeth and dragged in her a very sharp kind of cold. She came with Loghain to the final meeting between him and Bann Bronarch, which could have stalled the fighting in itâs tracks if it had gone well.Â
It had not. And Bronarch had been beheaded by Cauthrien herself. The battle was won and the crown gained the upper hand, but it did not feel like a victory to her.Â
After that Cauthrien was mostly kept away from Denerim, risen to Captain-General alongside Loghainâs regency and fighting a bloody civil war for the eventual peace of the realm. She knew Howe to be a snake, she knew Loghain was slowly slipping under the weight of so much grief and horror, but there was little she could do. There were just too many fires to put out. And she admitted, she had lost her patience too. Bann Grainne had been so satisfied with herself, standing in front of a full years worth of burning harvest, and Cauthrien had lost her temper. They lost allies, even as they won victories, and though Loghain succeeded against terrible odds at wintersbreath, and Cauthrien clawed victory from defeat in both Oswin and the Lachus Valley, they soon realised it would not be enough.Â
Arl Eamonâs recovery from their careful poisoning saw the end to their campaign and Cauthrien returned to Loghain for the Landsmeet. She found a thoroughly broken man. Others perhaps could not see it, but Loghain was so changed to Cauthrien that she sometimes could not recognise him. She found Howeâs influence so entrenched that there was no way for her to dig him out. Anora was wary of her now. The world was changed and, once again, for the first time in a very long time, Cauthrien was powerless to help.Â
Loghain had told her not to accompany him to the Landsmeet. Cauthrien understood why, but that did not make her oaths or convictions any less binding, nor did she trust that either Eamon or these green wardens could successfully pull the country back from the brink. And so she had to stand between Loghain and death one last time. But her faith was shaken and she was wounded, weary and aching from all the harm she had caused to a people she had sworn to protect. In the end, when faced with the Warden a second time, she finally left it all up to fate.
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Can you tell us about the bug type gym? Bug types are my favorite but they don't get enough love and the gym being last makes me think it's the strongest, which is interesting.
Jackson Mquires is what everyone immediately will say is a stoner. Because he is one. The man cannot go one fucking week without pulling a per test positive for fucking anything.
Does he give PokĂ©mon the shit he uses? Hell no. He may be a ducking idiot b it he didnât get to be top of the line Gun leader for giving his precious âMons steroids. Heâs childhood best friends with Eric and they both rag on each other since their so opposites.
Laid back with a very hippyish style of choice. Heâs dark skinned with long healthy dreads and you can always spot him hanging with Lily Nova, the poison type Gym Leader, at her gym hanging out and watching her do her work outs while tossing sugary snacks at her. Rumors among the league say their secretly dating, otherâs say their each others beards to get their over protective parents off their backs.
Heâs very lanky, standing at almost 8 feet tall, and not all that strong physically wise. Basically a standing string of a tree. With gold eyes, and oddly enough, white freckles dotting his skin. Doctors has ruled it âalbino frecklesâ though thatâs not the technical term.
Jackson comes from a very rich family. The youngest of ten siblings and apparently the only one successful enough in life to warrant his parents âeffectionâ. Their constantly trying to push him to go for the champion title but Jackson likes keeping his head on his shoulders and his team with their limbs attacked thank you very much. Eric is to cemented to be pulled from the title without a war happening.
Maya Mquires is the proud family owner of a long line of dentists and she has multiple practices across Orago, Unova, and Sinnoh. Sheâs very much a Karen on steroids and bitches about everyone and anything if it doesnât go her way. She specializes in fire types and her main PokĂ©mon is her guard dog Houndoom.
Micheal Mquires is also a straight lace, no nonsense, military veteran. Even ïżŒLieutenant Surge despises the guy. Heâs also a brilliant scientists and works with a bunch of backers on vaccines and other human body shit. He doesnât have specializes in typing and his only PokĂ©mon is a Garchomp.
Nidoking is his lovely evolved starter. Heâs been with him since birth, as per family tradition on his motherâs side. Crobat, Skuntank, and Toxicroak were caught all in the same time. Dragalge was the first, and last, gift from his grandfather before the man past. The only reason why he was even given the old Dragon is because heâs âthe only one with brains enough to deal with her.â Dragalge was his prized possession and it going to Jackson was like a slap to the face to his daughter. Garbodor is the last to join the crew, caught as a Trubbish in the back of his gym with its garbage bag ripped from scavenging PokĂ©mon. He nursed it back to health and now sheâs a vital part of the team.
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verse: paris
Before I get into any details of this verse, I want to say that this verse can apply in both a reincarnation type of way, and as simply just a descendant type of way. This verse will take inspiration for how it works very similar to Eâs The Royals.
Lets lay down the basics Philippe in this verse is primarily going to be in his late 20s, and early 30s. I will only play him in his teens if it is significantly plotted out with my partners, also note for that I will be using my young FC as his faceclaim for that. But do not expect it. Philippe is an adult by default on this blog.
Philippe in this verse is of the Bourbon family making him Philippe de Bourbon. This differs from canon only in that the dâOrleans family is a different family because of you know history. I tend to lean with the fact that the Bourbon family in general would be the correct family to rule France if it went back to a monarchy but their are arguments for the dâOrleans family. However, I want to make it clear that no matter what Philippe is descended from Philippe Duc dâOrleans I no matter which family he is in because of Philippeâs children and who they married.
Philippe was born the second child of a very well off noble family in France. He has an older brother Louis, who is two years older than him. Louis was said to be the miracle baby for the family, who looked more like his mother than his father. In fact it was largely rumored that Louis was not actually their fatherâs son at all. However, Philippe came out with a head of super dark hair and was a spitting image of their father. Two years later their father died, leaving them with their mother Anne and a whole host of nannies.
From a very early age Philippe was very obviously not the favorite. Sure Anne had her moments with Philippe, particularly when she wanted to do more traditionally feminine things. Philippe liked these moments and honestly he could care less about what he was doing with his mother. He just wanted time with her.
As time continued on both boys were enrolled in ballet, but soon Philippe lowered the amount of classes he was in, and doubled up his time in fencing as it appealed to him more. By the time he was twelve both he and Louis were known enough in their respective sports, Philippe with fencing, and Louis with ballet. Philippe was quite good and got a bronze medal at the Olympics when he was 14. He was a national champion from then on much to the displeasure of his mother.
When he was 16 and Louis 18 their mother died from breast cancer that she had been battling for years, and Louis became the head of the family. Something he was well and ready for. Louis had always been like a father to Philippe despite their small age difference. However, when their mother died this became to a level of controlling that made Philippe hate his life. Louis was much more strict and did not like Philippe truly expressing himself.
Philippe knew he was gay very early in life, that was never truly the issue. In fact until his mother died Philippeâs more experimental clothing decisions werenât an issue. It only became an issue when it started to outshine Louis in a positive light instead of a negative one. That was a rift between him and Louis that was quite public. As a sixteen year old Philippe became a darling in the eyes of the media which made Louis jealous. It made the year after their motherâs death incredibly hard and dark for Philippe.
That made the announcement when Philippe was seventeen that he was joining the French Military. He left regular school, he was never a perfect student, or the best student. He excelled at certain subjects like math, but he did leave it for the military.
His time in the military was always a mystery as it was important to keep his location a secret because he was nobility. His time in the military was hard, but he proved himself quite capable early on and quickly rose in the ranks to be one of the higher ranked members of the military. He did a few tours, and on his last tour he saw the men he was in charge of get hit and die. He was injured and was sent home. He is technically still active military, but it is unlikely that he will be deployed again. He does not talk about his time in the military as it has caused him a great amount of stress. He also has PTSD.
When he returned he was about 24. He and his brother were friendly with each other. At first. His brother was happy he was home. Philippe was happy to be home. He thought things would be fine, but old feuds began again. Louis was greatly displeased with things Philippe did. They did however try to keep their feud more secretive than before. Not that it worked especially as Philippe became comfortable with his gender, and decided he was gender fluid, preferring male pronouns but would not oppose any others. Especially feminine pronouns from ones he held close, as his mother did and his long term on and off again boyfriend did.
When he returned he became a huge advocate for LGBTQ+ rights. He actively participated in Pride, and the celebrations of pride. When he announced a clothing brand proceeds from the brand go to three places besides his employees. His proceeds go to veterans, breast cancer research, and LGBTQ+ charities. His brand is very affordable despite being a high demand brand and he being a high demand designer. He refuses to raise the prices because he wants anyone to be able to afford his clothes. He has a line of suits specifically made with veterans in mind so they can afford them if they are struggling. Before he announced his brand he did start going to design school, and graduate.
When he is in his very late 20s and early 30s he is trying to live his life the best he can despite all that is going on. He has an on and off again boyfriend who has the same name as him whom he calls his Knight his Chevalier, that he has known since he was a teenager. He thinks they are destined to be, but it is always so open for him since he never knows what to expect from Chevy.
He kept up with fencing and ballet his entire life. When he was twenty nine he joined a production of Swan Lake with Matthew Bourne, in an instance of stunt casting, that worked surprisingly well. He was initially cast as the Prince, but upon rehearsals he switched to the Swan and Stranger, and it went very well. He enjoyed his time there, and hopes to join them again. He is with the production for almost a year, and split his time between Paris and London.
Heâs in his early thirties and just living life, while constantly trying to repair him and his brotherâs relationship. But the media is not helping, and his brother is hard headed as always. He also iis contemplating going to therapy for everything, but is incredibly nervous and scared. Things are how they are and he would hate to ruin the image of their family even more. Its such a hard balance. But câest la vie.
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