#global balance of power

[kesarijournal]

Geopolitical Follies: A Tongue-in-Cheek Tour of Today's Global Dramas

In a world where the bizarre often trumps the mundane, recent global events have unfolded like a poorly scripted, yet surprisingly engaging, political satire. Let’s embark on a whimsical journey through these geopolitical shenanigans, shall we?**Scene 1: The Arabian Sea – India’s Naval Catwalk**India, in a display of maritime muscle-flexing, has decided that the Arabian Sea is the new runway for…

[reasonsforhope]

"Any good gardener knows what a good de-weeding can do for a vegetable garden. As it turns out, it’s much the same for coral reefs.

Following a volunteer “sea-weeding” program launched in Australia, scientists are witnessing compounding coral recovery both in quantity and diversity, and suggest that this simple method has the power to transform degraded reefs overrun by macroalgae.

In a balanced ecosystem, macroalgae is kept in check by the size and health of corals, but as extreme weather events or coral bleaching causes some sections of reef to die, macroalgae has no other neighbor keeping a check on its spread.

Over a period of three years, the joint Earthwatch Institute program led by James Cook University Senior Research Officer Hillary Smith and Professor David Bourne, also at JCU and the Australian Institute of Marine Science, has organized volunteer citizen scientists to help remove macroalgae at two experimental reef sites.

The results of the first three years of work and study have now been published in the Journal of Applied Ecology, and they show a 600% increase in coral recovery rates.

“It’s just like weeding your garden,” Smith said. “Every time we return, the seaweed is growing back less and less, so this method could provide lasting benefit without requiring endless effort.” ...

The importance of the study, Smith details, is that a lot of reef recovery efforts globally are powered by expensive, high-tech, and experimental solutions. The study hoped to show that manual de-weeding was just as effective, and thereby encourage organizations or nations that lack the tech or funding of a country like Australia to pursue sea-weeding as a way of protecting their corals.

“We have yet to see a plateau in coral growth within these plots at Magnetic Island, which is characterized as one of the degraded reefs on the Great Barrier Reef,” Smith said. “We also found an increase in coral diversity, so this method is benefitting a wide range of different coral types.”

Smith said her team are now scoping other locations where the sea-weeding technique could be useful, including the Whitsunday Islands, which are home to a different species of predominant seaweed.

They also want to employ them in French Polynesia, Indonesia, and even Singapore, where experts have identified out-of-control macroalgae spread along coral reefs."

-via Good News Network, September 19, 2023

[j-psilas]

Will we ever get anything quite like Code Geass again?

I don't think it's possible.

Code Geass is Japanese nationalist propaganda disguised as a global political drama, disguised as a military mecha show, disguised as yaoibait, disguised as a teen melodrama, disguised as a high school romcom, disguised as a Pizza Hut commercial...

...except those layers aren't layers at all, but are instead comingled in a giant snake ball of insanity.

The lead writer, Ichirō Ōkouchi, only ever worked as an episode writer for other shows prior to Code Geass, and never took the helm of an anime series ever again. And it shows. [EDIT: Several people have pointed out his other lead writing credits to me. So I misread Wikipedia—sue me. I maintain that this guy is a better episode writer than he is a lead writer.]

The minute-to-minute pacing is impeccable from a mechanical standpoint, with tension and stakes rising to ever-higher peaks, balanced out by the slow simmers of the b-plot and c-plot. It keeps the viewer on the edge of their seat at all times. Meanwhile, the large-scale plot is the most off-the-wall middle school nonsense I've ever seen, continually surprising the viewer by pulling twists too dumb to have ever have been on their radar—and therefore more effective in terms of raw shock value.

"Greenlight it!" was the mantra of this anime's production. It must have been. It has, in no particular order, all of the following:

Character designs from CLAMP, the foremost yaoi/BL group in Japan at the time—for characters who are only queer insofar as they can bait the audience, and only straight insofar as they can be more misogynist to the female cast.

Speaking of the female cast, hoo boy the fanservice. We've all seen anime girls breast boobily, with many cases more egregious than Code Geass, but there's something special about it happening immediately after—or sometimes in the middle of!—scenes of military conflict and ethnic cleansing.

Pizza Hut product placement everywhere, in every conceivable situation. High-speed chases, light slice-of-life scenes, intimate character moments, all of it. Gotta have Pizza Hut.

The anime-only Pizza Hut mascot, Cheese-kun. He wears a fedora.

The most hilarious approximations of European names—which I would love to see more often, frankly. Names like, I dunno, "Count Schnitzelgrübe zi Blanquezzio."

A depiction of China that is wholly removed from any modern reality, with red-and-gold pagodas, ornamental robes, scheming eunuchs, and a brainwashed child empress. There's a character named General Tsao, like the chicken.

Inappropriate free-form jazz in the soundtrack, intruding at the most unexpected times.

A secret cabal not unlike the Illuminati, run by an immortal shota with magic powers, holding influence all across the world, at the highest levels of government. They matter for approximately three episodes.

An unexpected insert scene of a schoolgirl using the corner of a table to masturbate. She's doing it to thoughts of her crush, the princess Euphemia—because she believes Euphemia to be as racist as she herself is, and that gets her off. This interrupts an unrelated scene of our protagonist faction planning their next move, which then resumes as if uninterrupted.

Said schoolgirl, in a fit of hysteria, threatens to detonate a worse-than-nuclear bomb in the middle of her school. She then goes on to develop an even more destructive version of that bomb, and become a war criminal, in a chain of cause-and-effect stemming from the moment she finds out that Euphemia wasn't actually that racist.

A character called "the Earl of Pudding."

A premise that asks us to believe that the name Lelouch is normal enough that he didn't need to change it when he went into hiding as an ordinary civilian. "No, that's not Prince Strimbleford von Vanquish! That's our classmate, Strimbleford Smith."

The collective unconscious, a la Carl Jung, within which the protagonist fights his villainous father for control over the fate of humankind. After this is over, the anime just keeps going for about ten more episodes.

An episode in which a mech tosses a giant pizza.

A gay yandere sleeper agent who can manipulate the perception of time.

Chess being played very badly, even to the untrained eye. Lelouch frequently checkmates his opponent by moving his king. This goes hand-in-hand with the anime's crock of bad chess symbolism.

A fictional drug that can most succinctly be described as "nostalgia heroin."

Roller-skating mecha in knightly armor, and some of the most sickass mecha fight choreography that I've seen.

I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture. This anime is what the average Westerner in 2006 thought anime was, and it was made in a confluence of factors that cannot be replicated. I've never had so much fun watching something that I found so... insulting. Repugnant. Ridiculous. Baffling. I love it sincerely.

Catch me cosplaying Lloyd Asplund at a con sometime, or maybe even the big gay loser himself, Lelouch vi Britannia.

[autogeneratedkahootnickname]

This is literally a pro-Trump blog. Two posts back you're blaming Dems for trying to assassinate Trump.

Funny how similar the rhetoric is between actual Republicans and Tumblr 'leftists'

I have an employee we hired 3.5 years ago. She hasn't followed thru with anything she said she would.

We just did a performance review and based on our original contract, she is eligible for a promotion in November.

During the review, she said that if she gets promoted, she would do all the things promised initially. She seems to have no interest in doing the things promised currently, but appears to be holding out on them in order to get promoted.

What would you do?

[b1asho]

Huzzahh, it's species number 3! (There's a total of 6, including humans. 7 if you count artificial intelligences, 8 if you count the uhh other intelligences).

An official up to date visual for everyone's favorite communist amphibians, the Kixeli, and some up-to-date info!! ->

Kixeli are a small sentient species hailing from a planet covered mostly in ocean. They are amphibious, and originally evolved to switch between swimming and climbing using their webbed hands and powerful arms.

Their skin is permeable, allowing them to extend their time underwater to hunt and gather as well as reproduce, but due to their larger body and brain size/oxygen needs this isn’t sustainable and they must return to the surface.

Alongside their frequent trips outside the water, they also have a mucus layer and several specialized glands (including in their face by their eyes) to help remove excess salt and change levels of urea in their body to help make sure they dont lose resources when in the ocean.

Kixeli are omnivorous, with a focus on fruits and sealife. many cultures have a preference against eating anything that lives above water, including birds and the like, because they see themselves as spiritual equals to those animals as fellow air breathers.

They are oviparous, and have a specific mating season.

Most Kixeli have multiple variable spawn partners and see it as strange to be nailed down to one. Anyone who participated lays their eggs in a communal tide pool carved out in their communities.

Hatchlings are entirely aquatic wirh gills until later months of age, where they will begin to poke their head above water for air and start interacting more with the adults around them, who feed them a nutritive crop milk as they have already absorbed most of their tail by now.

This period is also the beginning of their understanding of language.

Once they lose their tail and grow in their limbs, they are still mostly helpless until those fully develop and myst cling to a caretaker adult in the community (blood parents don’t necessarily always raise their own children, but as someone who laid eggs they are responsible for children as a caretaker so anyone who didn’t want eggs gets left alone).

During their puberty, they will develop adult skin markings, and some can even end up changing sexes (much for the same reason some of them grow gliding membranes, as the result of population and resources balance in their surroundings).

Speakijg of that, there are two categories of Kixeli in their communities: Kel (swimmer) and Arasit (flier).

Arasit are just a rare continuation of their life cycle, since most Kixeli kids end up growing into Kel adults.

Sometimes, though, an Arasit will develop in case the community strongly needs to seek out new territory over long distance (triggered by close proximity to many other Kixeli and a variety of other unknown gactors, like grasshoppers turnkng into locusts.) They can’t truly fly, but they can use the powerful ocean winds and even some launching technology to glide very far to scout new resources and other communities).

Arasit are highly celebrated as voyagers, but Kel are also valued as providers for their existing community and even accompany voyages on ships to help their Arasit stay alive.

Some Arasit will cut and cauterize their membranes to make it easier for them to swim to symbolize they are staying in the community, though usually, they just poke small holes in there so they can wear clothes and be sanitary.

Their blood uses the hemocyanin molecule to carry oxygen, making their blood a bright blue when oxygenated and a thin blue/clear when unoxygenated (so you can see the other warmish colored pigments in there when it’s inside them, that yellowish stuff)

Their ancestors dwelled in deeper, cooler water where this blood type was most advantageous, but a global warming period brought them up to warm waters and eventually above the surface to capitalize on resources.

During this process, they developed some ways to improve the molecule’s lower efficiency in the heat. For one, they kept a small body size so there’s less to deal with. Another thing is that they get oxygen (albeit a small amount) from all over their body constantly through their skin, also somewhat making up for it.

The main mechanism, though, is their metabolism/temperature. They can quickly adjust their metabolism depending on the oxygen conditions in their surroundings to prevent immediate failure if they don’t have access to the right conditions to otherwise cope (this, and along with hemocyanin’s natural ability to handle low oxygen and their skin breathing, means they can tolerate very low oxygen areas that would cause a human to faint, though they’ll typically be pretty out of commission too, and this can have longer lasting effects on their health from the whiplash.)

they use their surroundings for heat when they aren’t doing anything too strenuous, and because they aren’t really producing much of their own they can tolerate even higher temperatures that would normally put them out of commission (and they actually heavily rely on that heat for ease in a lot of other processes), to do anything that has bigger oxygen needs, they can dip into cooler water/shade for periods of higher activity (but can’t stay too cold for too long or else aforementioned other processes will shut down, though it does increase the effectiveness to the point where they can do a whole lot and allows them to swim/navigate cooler areas where their early competitors couldn’t return to, it only as long as they got back quickly and warmed up)

they basically swing between these two extremes but tend to stay at a warmish middle-ground, wearing heating pads on part of their body while still letting larger areas cool off, if that makes sense.

Hemocyanin’s other properties don’t automatically give them a longer life, in fact theirs is very short compared to other species, but it does make them resistant to cancers (a common threat on their sunny planet) and the spread of diseases in their dense communities

Being cold-blooded wasn’t a problem on their mostly tropical planet. It is a considerable problem once they left it, though, hence the heating pads most wear to warm up.

many also live in areas without a large body of water nearby (or an easy way to access said body of water) but still need to stay damp to maintain their music layer and trap oxygen, so many also carry spray bottles or wet rags with them to always stay damp.

Kixeli are highly social (with their name even roughly translating to "belonging together"). they rarely live in groups of less than 5.

They experience severe negative side effects from isolation. Their naturally intense empathy also makes it extremely damaging for them to see other Kixeli injured or dead, sometimes leading to their own death from shock if they were the one that did it (though this has not stopped wars over their scarce resources in the past, typically because that intense sense of kinship was naturally strongest towards those among their own community, and if Their community was suffering then they had to get rid of the source of it by any means. )

This period nearly drove them to extinction, and led to a Global Community movement that argued for intercommunity cooperation and the end of 'us and them thinking'.

Due to their sliminess, Kixeli normally keep clothing to a minimum and overall don’t have a need for it beyond temperature control and ornamentation.

They have none of their own social taboos about nakedness, having no external genitalia, but still often clothe themselves to the standards of others due to the pressure/need to be polite from other species.

They also have few class divides within their own communities, with everyone working for the good of the whole, and no sex/gender roles beyond squirter and egg layer since everyone cares for the eggs.

To humans, their language sounds like birdsong, with lots of repetitive noises and subtle shifts in pattern and tone.

Their unique vocalization makes their languages hard to learn and even harder to speak, but they themselves are incredible mimics (only surpassed in some ways by humans because lips and teeth).

The fin on their forehead is similar to eyebrows in communicating emotion or tone. They can see a similar color spectrum to humans and love bright contrasting colors similar to their own skin patterns.

They favor “fast food”, or anything that can be carried easily as you swing around in a tree or on a boat.

Payment/restaurants doesn’t really exist for them, they just have areas where food brought in by providers is available to the community (or people just eat what they catch and then bring extra to the community.)

They also don’t chew their food, though some dishes are meant to be squished to the roof of the mouth with the tongue to experience the flavor

Their clothing is often “readable” in that many individuals wear clothing that represents a certain story, event in their life, event in their community, or mythical hero that can be derived from looking at their clothing from the head down.

In the two guys up there, the Arasit is wearing the equivalent of booty shorts cut scantily close to their Hole depicting one version about the founding of the first community (though a simplified one, so it’s actually more like the equivalent of wearing a crop top tee with a little monochrome dog on it or something).

This kind of imagery is common among Arasit, even modern ones, because founding/birth/life are their associations in religious cultures.

The Kel alongside them is wearing a more complex getup meant to show the inciting incident of one of the nomadic communities mythic hero’s journey, when he was cast from the star sea by the wicked Long Arms into the deep sea.

This would be seen as all most goth since this part of the story is seen as eerie and it depicts their underworld along the hem and bracelets.

By wearing clothing associated with a specific figure//story, they can also show gender identity based on whether that figure or hod was male, female, neuther, etc(helping people draw the right conclusions despite the visible evidence of their sex written on all their skin. The clothing and any makeup done on the fin is usually their main reference point for judging how to address someone. )

[astrodescent]

NEPTUNE AND THE KIND OF DAYDREAMS YOU MIGHT HAVE

neptune in astrology represents the planet associated with dreams, illusions, and spirituality. it influences our capacity for imagination, intuition, and the desire to connect with higher realms, but it can also bring confusion, escapism, and a tendency to see the world through a veil of idealism or delusion.

aries / 1H: adventures, taking risks, impulsive actions, personal growth, idealized self image, ascend personal victory, being seen as a leader

taurus / 2H: materialistic, luxury, comfort, food, owning property, stability & security, gardening, creating art, being worthy, success

gemini / 3H: communication, writing, being smart, learning, school days, being seen as witty and intelligent, having access to knowledge, siblings, neighbours

cancer / 4H: family, motherhood, having a comforting home, sense of belonging, ancestors, domestic life, home decorating, family history / secrets

leo / 5H: creativity, romance, drama, theatre, preforming, being in the spotlight, love affairs, recognition for their artistic talents, applause

virgo / 6H: work, helping others, health, science, being exceptionally good at their job, making a difference, cleaning, having order & control

libra / 7H: relationships, partnerships, art, beauty, idealistic partnership, balance and fairness, law, aesthetics, spiritual fulfillment

scorpio / 8H: mystical themes, sex, drugs, rebirth, dying & funerals, intense emotions, inheritance, deep transformational experiences

sagittarius / 9H: travelling, education, institutions, university, freedom, law, morals, adventures, global issues, higher truth, different belief systems

capricorn / 10H: public image, legacy, recognition, authority, social status, being seen with integrity, authenticity, career, creating a foundation

aquarius / 11H: inventions, societies, cultures, new technologies, close knit relationships, dystopian futures, aiding in societal change, creating a better world

pisces / 12H: spiritual & mystical themes, higher powers, divine healing, transcending material world, deep empathic scenarios, using artistic abilities, forgiving past trauma

© spirit-of-phantom 2023

[sayruq]

Biden's visit has concluded. Israel has spent his entire visit trying to muddy the waters of what happened to Al Ahli Hospital and despite their cartoonish efforts, it hasn't worked

The Global South and especially West Asia know who is responsible for the bombing and no amount of AI voice recordings of 'Hamas operatives' can change that.

Israel war crimes continues to backfire on them even in America

Biden backing Israel has had an impact on America's image. Here's a Wall Street Journal article warning that America's continued support is turning countries towards Russia and China which is code for turning countries against America

An EU official said that the EU will pay a heavy price in the Global South for its continued, unabashed support for Israel

There's also speculation that the Biden administration knew about the bombing before it happened.

Countries that were/are allied with Israel continue to distance themselves from Israel like Russia. The reason I keep highlighting Russia is because the West has been running out of ammunition due to the Russia-Ukraine war and that includes Israel which is rumoured to have sent 80-90% of its ammunition to Ukraine. If this conflict lasts a long time, Israel will need to buy weapons and ammunition and Russia would be one of the countries they would turn to (same with China)

So, where are we in terms of the conflict? After days of waffling over a ground operation in Gaza, Israel postponed it until some time after Biden's visit and now we're back here again

Now I'm no military expert but constantly going back and forth on whether or not you'll invade Gaza is bound to do damage to your troops' morale. No wonder they're dealing with mass desertions while their citizens demonstrate on the streets. The Israeli leadership has no plan besides bombing Gaza.

I've seen people on twitter say that the hospital bombing was done deliberately to normalise IDF soldiers to mass civilian deaths in places like hospitals, schools, places of worship, etc. I don't know if I believe that - I think they wanted to push Iran and Hezbollah's buttons before hiding behind Biden. I don't think these people are thinking strategically.

As far as the possibility of regional war is concerned, all indicators show that the West preparing for the war to escalate

Seems to me the Israel has seen what Ukraine has received in just a year and a half of war. They're done receiving a paltry 3.8 billion every year and now prepared to drag out the conflict and I can't say I blame with Biden proposing a 100 billion package for both Ukraine and Israel. This will stretch America too thin as far as funding in concerned. Cracks are already showing

There are parts of the US government that is unhappy that the Ukraine war is losing attention. During the Ukraine war, you had parts of the government that wanted focus to shift from Russia to China. Because of that, the US government has spent the past year alternating between hostility to Russia and threatening to go to war with China over Taiwan. When Niger expelled France from within its borders, America was preparing to join that conflict until Mali and Burkina Faso declared they would fight with Niger. Now they're entering a third front in West Asia. In short, the mighty empire is expending a lot of resources right now and it is not the threat it was when it invaded Iraq and Afghanistan in the early 2000s.

At any rate, the ground invasion of Gaza won't go the way Israel and America hopes it will

The coalition of Palestinian resistance fighters are still patiently waiting for the IDF to come meet them. Their allies aren't backing down either

The reason I keep making these posts is to remind people that, while the genocide of the people of Gaza is horrifying, the war for the liberation of Palestine has not yet been lost.

Do not lose hope. From the river to sea, Palestine WILL be free

[deadandphilgames]

A note from Daniel (new epilogue from You Will Get Through This Night)

Thank you for reading This Night. Writing this book in 2021, while sitting locked down in a lightless basement apartment for months, had a certain self-fulfilling irony that was not lost on me.

In many ways, I wrote this book for not only my past self that I wish could have known these things when I needed them most - but for the guy sitting in an incredibly uncomfortable, hunched, t-rex-esque position typing, that needed it right then. Like many of you, I thought those particularly fun couple of years were a temporary inconvenience, that I wouldn't have to age the book by diving into. And here we are. I hope you enjoyed that new chapter about resilience and whatever the hell a 'polycrisis' is. Turns out certain global events do have an additional effect on our mental health - it's understandable that you may try to power through it and pretend it never happened, but we all deserve to take whatever time we need to honestly process how life makes us feel. I hope you're doing alright. My journey of reflecting honestly on my own life experiences and lifestyle while writing was …like spontaneously punching yourself in the stomach. "Wow. I really live like this? That is apparently not conducive to a healthy mind. Oops. Guess I'll go touch some grass." I'm happy if that made this a more entertaining read occasionally.

Even now, I find myself continually re-reading the book in those small moments of first emotional reaction to situations where I now at least think "Wait - what was I supposed to do here? Right. Not catastrophise." If this is you - that is fine. You are not expected to perfectly memorise this book or retain all knowledge you hear in life. I know I don't. If you're ever sat next to me in the emergency exit aisle of a plane, know that you may be required to physically throw me out of the door in order to inflate the slide because I was busy during the briefing, imagining how my life would have been different if I actually had the nerve to dye my hair black that time in school. I am at peace with that.

It was honestly terrifying for me to try and mine the content of my life to try and actually illustrate advice for people that may really need it …for me to honestly look at the balance between joking about my mental health, and really getting real. Hey - if your attempt at opening up via some humour comes out a bit offensive, you still get points for at least putting it on the table. That's progress.

This is not a book about me. I am here just as an example of terrible behaviour that you have permission to have an inappropriate public transport snort at, and as a writer who has repeatedly not finished traditional 'self-help' or scientific study books for being dry, unrelatable and preachy. I just hope you found this moist, identifiable and accepting of all of your beautiful flaws. So many flaws. I often worried if any of the material was maybe obvious, or something you could stumble across on the second page of Google - then I had a small moment of honesty with myself contemplating my own ignorance, commitment to procrastination, attention span …and the fact that factually just 0.63% of all people searching online, ever bother clicking to the second page of results. If you already knew some of this, good for you. Honestly. You must literally be happy with yourself. I'm just looking in the mirror and trying to do something for the 99.37% of humanity that spend their lives never successfully researching how to not lay awake at night fantasising about their doom. Look forward to the upcoming pocket size book of 'offensively self-destructive jokes' by Dan - or 700-page memoir of my yet un-girthy, mostly unremarkable life so far if that's what you're really looking for.

Perhaps the most terrifying result of releasing this book into the world, has been coming face to face with those of you that have read it. For in these moments, all of my protective self-deprecating persona comes crashing down in an instant when someone says this book made them feel better. Hearing that this book was the first time they finished anything tangentially related to self-improvement, or that just one thing they read was a new perspective on a part of their life they needed, makes me feel my mission in life is already complete. Seeing it be recommended by bookstores amongst all the other choices, hearing that people have shared it with their therapists or had it suggested to them by a professional, is an unbelievable seal of approval that I appreciate. I am so inarticulably grateful to have been given the opportunity to do anything that could make your life easier, more peaceful, more enjoyable. I've met people who annotated this book with post-its, told me they listen to audiobook exercises on their commute - and even a few people that have had illustrations tattooed onto them as a symbolic reminder of a message.

All of this puts that year of typing like some kind of infinite monkey at a typewriter into perspective. I'd do it all again. Mostly. It has been the greatest privilege of my life to be the guy whose name is printed on this book, and I just hope that reading it helped you, as much as writing it helped me.

Love and good luck.

- Dan

[weshallflyaway]

Don’t underestimate how important South Africa’s case against Israel in the International Court of Justice is.

They are outlining a case related to ongoing violence, oppression, apartheid and ethnic cleansing going back to the Nakba in 1948. They are bringing to the world’s attention in a way that can’t be ignored, in clear legal and conventional terms exactly in which ways Israel has continuously and deliberately harmed Palestinians since that time.

While the ICJ may not be able to stop the violence, a legal ruling of genocide has far reaching effects - not least of which is on the PR machinery that has been used to justify these atrocities. If ICJ rules in favour of South Africa, then not only is Israel guilty of genocidal intent, their main ally the US is guilty (if not legally then morally) or enabling and supporting a genocide.

In years to come it will be remembered that the western powers that set up these institutions to prevent further atrocities after World War II remained silent in cowardice rather than support justice. It will be remembered that it was the global south who stood up and fought to stop a genocide.

It will show, once and for all, that the balance of power rests in the wrong hand and that the US’s claims of guarding the global peace has never been anything more than their desire to safeguard their own strategic interests.

[saey707]

Omg I've been checking your account, like, everyday to see if you're alive. Hope everything is ok‼️

But you being back AND opening requests for Heartsteel?! Omg. Any thoughts for sub!Hearsteel!Kayn? I literally live for Kayn content. Take care <3

✿ Prompt: Submissive Heartsteel Kayn Headcanons ✿

♡ champion focus: kayn ♡ tw: nsfw ♡ Gender-neutral reader

Author’s Note: Hi I'm totally normal about Kayn ahahaha... (•ﻌ•) But, hey anon, thanks for always stopping in to check in on me! Life has been crazy on my end, but I'll give that kinda update soon in a separate post. For now let's focus on our little menace Kayn! ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝ The NSFW content will be below the "Keep Reading" mark. Enjoy! ✩ ♬ ₊˚.🎧⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

You would be the balancing factor to his chaos in your relationship: Always keeping him within safe boundaries under the careful scrutiny of the public eye but still giving him enough room to just be a stupid, carefree guy who flies off the handle at the right moments! Still, even if you wanted to control him, you couldn't.

Kayn has a will of his own and does whatever he wants! But, if you are in the back of his mind, urging for him to do the right thing, then maybe, just maybe, he can make the tough decision to not be a complete asshole to the paparazzi.

"It's not my fault! I'm too hot for my pictures to be sold to the public. For free at that?!"

Kayn would be a bratty sub. He talks back and resists self-restraint. He pushes your buttons and knows all the right moves to get under your skin, even in good fun!

The brash, hot-pink-headed rockstar does just about anything to get the attention of everyone around him. But with you? You're definitely a unique case. When it comes to you, he shies away from his usual idiocy and tries to do more to impress you (newsflash: He is still a careless idiot).

Kayn is undoubtedly a needy boyfriend, so expect a lot of physical intimacy and extreme, risk-taking measures to get attention!

And if you're not on the road with him during the touring season? You better text back within 5 minutes!! ...Why aren't you texting him back?!

"Look at this picture of me standing on a motorcycle!!" "Babe?" "Babe??" "Babe" ". . ." "Please respond" "Are you sleeping?" "Wake up!!!!!!!"

VAIN VAIN VAIN- Kayn relishes compliments and likes to be reminded of how talented and good-looking he is! He knows he's hot shit, but boy oh boy does he love to hear it from you!

As much as the little menace wants to believe he is the dominant one in your relationship with all the control, power, and prestige, Kayn gets super blushy and weak whenever you are gentle with him and publicly display your affection. How is he supposed to come off as big and bad when you make him feel this submissive and pathetic?!

Sometimes Kayn just needs those little moments to mellow out and have someone take care of him, especially when met with the pressures that come with being a part of a global phenomenon!

Loves cuddling into your chest and having his hair pet! Just be careful or he might start to nip and bite!

If there is one thing Kayn loves more than committing crimes, it's knowing you will always be by his side, no matter the ups and downs in his career... And the scared look on your face whenever he takes the wheel on the road~

A LOUD moaner! He has no shame in allowing everyone to hear him whoring himself out for you!

During sex, Kayn loses control and lets you dominate him.

He wants you to be rough with him. Push him down to his knees and make him beg for you... Scratch into his skin when you're pounding into him and slamming yourself down onto him... Shout your praises and call him yours!

It's as if he loses all mental faculties and becomes nothing more than a fucktoy when it comes to you topping him- nothing more than someone you can pleasure yourself with.

And he definitely doesn't have any shame when it comes to letting you take him in public places~ So what if it's a crime? So what if someone walks in or catches you two? That makes it all the more heart-pounding... All the more exciting to him!

Still, if you don't want to risk jail time, don't let that stop you from stuffing a towel into his mouth, tongue, or fingers~ Kayn loves it whenever his mouth is full anyways.

At times, Kayn can be cooperative, but most of the time he will make you work for it!

Put him on a leash. Just do it.

[astrolovecosmos]

Aries is associated with the metal Iron, the metal of weaponry and tools, Aries forges ahead.

Taurus is associated with Copper. Copper is known for its warmth, beauty, and conductivity.

Gemini is associated with the metal Mercury, Mercury represents the volatile, fluid, and transformative aspect of the alchemical process. It is often associated with the mind, spirit, and principle of change and transition.

Cancer is associated with Silver and the popular and healing Copper. Silver is a metal known for its lustrous appearance, malleability, and association with the Moon. Silver has been revered for its purity and connection to the divine feminine.

Leo is associated with Gold, the metal of power, royalty, and luxury. The metal of the Sun.

Virgo is associated with Mercury and Copper, showing the multifaceted nature of the sign. Metals of flexibility, one associated with mental agility and the other healing properties.

Libra is associated with Copper; Copper is often seen as a symbol of balance and harmony in various cultures.

Scorpio is associated with Plutonium and Iron, a metal of destruction and a metal of war.

Sagittarius is associated with Tin. Tin is a highly malleable metal, known for its ability to be easily shaped and molded. It is also widespread, used globally in many things.

Capricorn is associated with Lead and Platinum. Lead is known for its heaviness, density, and stability... and poison. Platinum is known for its durability, strength, and resistance to corrosion.

Aquarius is associated with many metals: Lead, Platinum, Uranium, and Aluminum. Lead and Platinum reflect Saturn's serious and heavy influence on the sign. Uranium is a radioactive element known for its instability and transformative power. Aluminum is a lightweight, versatile metal known for its strength and conductivity.

Pisces is associated with Tin, the flexible metal that historically has been used to decorate or in the arts.

[reality-detective]

FISA: Unraveling the Military Coup – Trump’s Treason Call

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) is no longer just a tool for foreign surveillance. It’s the key to exposing the darkest coup in American history. President Trump’s bold declaration: “It’s TREASON,” has sparked a firestorm, pointing to forces within the government using FISA for their agenda—against you, the American people. They never expected this to come to light, but now it’s all unraveling.

3.4 million warrantless searches. That’s what the FBI did to Americans in 2021. No oversight, no transparency—just raw power. They hijacked FISA, originally intended to spy on foreign entities, and turned it on innocent citizens. It’s a massive invasion of privacy, but it doesn’t end there. This is about control, about silencing dissent, and yes, about installing their puppets in place of real patriots. Think back—who ordered these searches? Who benefits from this totalitarian abuse?

The Flynn factor. They tried to destroy him, but why? What did General Flynn know that made him a target of FISA? Trump’s inner circle was never just about politics; it was a battle for control over America’s soul. The FISA warrants weren’t just about Flynn. They were about dismantling Trump’s influence and crushing anyone who dared to resist.

QAnon warned us. The signs were always there. Every cryptic message, every drop hinted at FISA’s role in this covert war. FISA is the hidden thread connecting corrupt global maneuvers—from the Middle East to Washington, D.C. The attempt to overthrow leaders like Bin Salman and the engineered revolutions point to FISA’s global reach. What the elite don’t want you to know is that FISA is a weapon in their game to reshape the world—and the U.S. is just one of their targets.

Military Coup in Motion? The whispers are growing louder—U.S. generals, split and at war within the ranks, may be gearing up for an internal coup. The deep state’s stranglehold on military leadership is being challenged, and the outcome could shift the balance of power forever. But don’t forget—there are white hats in the military, patriots ready to blow the whistle and reveal the plot. These patriots are gathering evidence, working behind the scenes, and preparing to expose the deep state’s crimes at the 11.3 moment.

Blinken’s tangled web. White hats have him in their sights. His ties to Obama and secret dealings with Iran paint him as a key player in the shadow government’s plans. Did you know? Blinken was at the center of the fake Osama Bin Laden operation. The revelations to come will rock the establishment, implicating him in high treason.

It all leads back to the Biden Crime Family. Hunter’s dirty deals, the Biden’s criminal empire—it's all coming out. But it’s not just about corruption; it’s about national security. Hunter’s laptop holds classified military secrets. The elites thought they could bury this, but the truth is about to explode.

Stay tuned. The storm is brewing. 🤔

[lesmana-enterprise-ltd]

Our Story, Meet the Lesmanas.

Meet the Lesmanas—the family behind the powerhouse that is Lesmana Enterprise. As the driving force behind one of the Simworld's most influential companies, they blend tradition with cutting-edge innovation. Led by patriarch Kieran Lesmana, every member of the family plays a crucial role in sustaining their empire’s global reach. From Tyo, the poised heir, to Mia and Amira carving their own paths, they embody the essence of wealth, influence, and responsibility. The Lesmanas are more than a family—they are the foundation and future of the enterprise.

(Left)

Kieran Agung Lesmana Birthdate: March 12, 1966 (58 years old) Occupation: CEO and Chairman of Lesmana Enterprise

As the head of Lesmana Enterprise, Kieran oversees the massive business empire that his family has built. He's a shrewd and pragmatic leader with a vision for the company that spans decades. Despite his strict and focused demeanor in business, Kieran often finds himself enjoying his late-stage life, yet he maintains control over his image as the powerful patriarch of the Lesmana family.

(Right)

Seo-Yeon Lee

Birthdate: October 7, 1997 (26 years old) Occupation: Celebrity and Shareholder in Lesmana Enterprise.

Seo-Yeon, the wife of Kieran, is a social media sensation and an ex-Spop artist. Her role within the Lesmana family has elevated her into elite circles, but she maintains a vibrant public persona. She often enjoys the luxuries being a new Lesmana offers, but behind the glamorous facade, she’s sharp and calculating when it comes to maintaining her status.

(Left)

Tyo Saputra Lesmana

Birth Date: January 12, 1989 (35 years old) Occupation: Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Lesmana Enterprise

Tyo Saputra Lesmana is the eldest son and COO of Lesmana Enterprise. The chosen heir to lead the family business, Tyo balances corporate pragmatism with family tradition. A firm but steady leader, he works to shape the future of the enterprise while maintaining the family's legacy. Married to Clara, he’s often the anchor in family affairs, though the weight of the business constantly looms over him.

(Right)

Clara Ivanova Lesmana

Birth Date: April 17, 1990 (34 years old) Occupation: International Lawyer

Clara Ivanova Lesmana, born into a multicultural heritage of Indonesian, Russian, and Ukrainian descent, is Tyo's no-nonsense wife. With her international legal expertise, she brings a sharp perspective to the family. Clara's strong demeanor complements her role as a devoted mother and wife while navigating the intricate dynamics of the Lesmana family.

(Left)

Anindita Dianti Lesmana

Birth Date: February 7, 1992 (32 years old)

Occupation: CEO of Lesmana-Unternehmen Windenburg AG  

Anindita, also called “Anin” serves as the Lead of the Enterprise’s projects in Windenburg such as The Windenburg Royal Cathedral Restoration Project. Her work focuses on historical preservation and infrastructure projects. With a strong sense of family tradition, she is respected for her meticulous attention to detail.

(Right)

Arthur-Satria Lesmana

Birth Date: August 1, 1996 (age 28) Occupation: Chief Creative Officer (CCO) of Lesmana Enterprise

Arthur-Satria Lesmana heads the creative division at Lesmana Enterprise, responsible for marketing, branding, and the company’s public image. Known for his vibrant, carefree lifestyle and connections to the world of influencers, models, and pop culture, Arthur brings a modern flair to the family business. While his approach sometimes clashes with the more traditional values of the family, his innovative strategies have helped keep Lesmana Enterprise relevant to a younger demographic.

(Left)

Mia Citra Lesmana

Birth Date: January 15, 2004 (20 years old) Occupation: Influencer and Shareholder in Lesmana Enterprise

As Kieran’s fourth child, Mia is still figuring out her path in life but enjoys the perks of being part of the Lesmana family. She’s currently pursuing a degree at Del Sol Valley State University while being an active Simstagram influencer. Known for her luxury lifestyle, Mia enjoys her status but can be perceived as tone-deaf when it comes to the reality outside her bubble of wealth.

(Right)

Amira Malinda Lesmana

Birth Date: June 7, 2008 (16 years old) Occupation: Student and Shareholder in Lesmana Enterprise

The youngest of the Lesmana family, Amira is still in school and balancing her life between being a teenager and growing up in a powerful family. She is slowly gaining traction as a social media personality, often appearing in Del Sol Valley events and sharing glimpses of her life online. Despite her privileged upbringing, Amira is exploring her identity and figuring out where she fits into the family's empire.

(Left)

Liam Mas Lesmana

Birth Date: June 16, 2016 (8 years old) Occupation: Elementary School Student

The eldest child of Tyo Saputra and Clara Ivanova Lesmana, Liam is growing up under the guidance of his ambitious parents. He's intelligent, a bit mischievous, and already shows signs of being quite the negotiator like his father. Liam enjoys being the center of attention among the younger generation of Lesmanas and is often seen shadowing his father during corporate visits.

(Right)

Rania Putri Lesmana Birth Date: February 10, 2019 (5 years old) Occupation: Kindergarten Student

The youngest member of the Lesmana family, Rania is a playful, curious child with a bright personality. She's doted on by her older sibling, aunts and uncles, always the center of affection in the family. Rania is already learning how to balance her mixed cultural heritage and often mimics her mother Clara's no-nonsense attitude in a more innocent way.

[allgremlinart]

The Most Underrated Line In All Of ATLA/TLOK And Its Many Worldbuilding Implications - A Ramble

In S2E7 of TLOK we get this dialogue from Wan and The Aye-Aye Spirit: "There are other Lion Turtles?" "Of course there are - dozens of them!" [timestamp 3:38 in this video]

It's such a quick line it's easy to miss, but there's one thing about it that made a LOT of things click into place for me about the Avatar universe's worldbuilding; the fact that there are (or were) dozens of Lion Turtles. NOT four, with one for each element, like you would assume. Dozens.

What does this mean in terms of the Four Nations? What connections might this have with other previously established lore? Well uhm follow me on this journey. I guess.

Pre-Unifications - A Global Warring States Era?

A warring states era on a wouldn't be nearly as compelling if there were only four Lion Turtles. If this were the case, everything would be perfectly balanced; why would there be disarray, violence, cultural disparity and struggles for power within each elemental group if the world was already perfectly divided into four solid groups? Why would a national identity be in question at all?

But the fact that there are more than one Lion Turtle per element... that means different groups of people being isolated from one another for long periods of time. This means different bodies of identity, regardless of element. Different city states, regional Kings, Queens, fiefdoms, dynastic power struggle, etc etc, before any sort of inherent loyalty the ones element as a national and cultural identity was established.

We know the Avatar world was not always divided into Four Nations. In Chapter 21 of The Rise Of Kyoshi we learn that Guru Laghima - a name you'll recognize from TLOK S3 - was from an era when the Four Nations had not yet been formed. We also know from Zaheer that he lived about 4,000 years before the events of TLOK (for context, thats about 6,000 years after Wan became the first Avatar).

There's further confirmation of this in Smoke And Shadow, where we learn about the first Firelord and the Fire Nation's unification wars.

However there's implications of this even in the original series; it's not some sloppy ret-con from the books and comics, it fits. Think Omashu:

In S2E2 of ATLA we get the story of Oma and Shu - and we learn that they come from "warring villages." Now why exactly would their villages be warring if The Earth Kingdom already existed? Why the need for a power struggle? Why is it not presented as a civil insurrection or civil war, but as a conflict between two distinct groups of people? The answer is that the "Earth Kingdom" as we conceptualize it did not exist. I'd go further and say that we can assume that after Omashu was established it became a powerful regional kingdom, and created strong sphere of cultural influence. Think about it - Bumi is King Of Omashu. King. NOT the Earth King, King Of The Earth Kingdom, but still King Of Omashu.

[Now there's some debate about where Omashu's founding sits on the timeline but to me it HAS to be post-Wan, probably very nearly immediately post-Wan. The line that calls them the "first earthbenders" and that they "learned earthbending from the badger moles" has caused some to question if they fit in with the "Lion Turtles bestowed bending" lore, but to me it fits pretty easily. The Lion Turtles may have bestowed the power but the actual technique was learned from the badger moles and dragons and blah blah blah.]

I also find this line from Jianzhu in The Rise Of Kyoshi very illuminating:

VINDICATION !! And Jianzhu's moaning over the cultural diversity within his country brings me to the second part of this post...

FC Yee And Gene Luen Yang Accidentally (?) Make Avatar's Cultural Mish Mash Make More Sense

Avatar's cultural gumbo of visuals has always been a little hard to parse. If you follow @atlaculture then you know it'd be kind of fruitless to try and apply any one single ethnicity/culture to one nation. A common, and very valid, criticism of Avatar is the pan-asian approach it takes to worldbuilding. I'm not here to defend that lol. I think people who dislike Avatar on that basis are well within their rights to do so, and I also think it's important to enjoy things critically.

HOWEVER, from a worldbuilding perspective, the mish mash becomes easier to swallow when you think of it in terms of multiple groups of people being unified into different nation states over a very long period of time and slowly intertwining their cultures into a single(ish) identity.

Take the Fire Nation for example: in FC Yee's The Shadow Of Kyoshi we learn that the government was much more decentralized and the country was controlled by different clans, like the Saowon and Keosho, who had individual spheres of influence and strong senses of identity. It makes me think about Mai and Ty Lee

They're both Fire Nation nobles and they both live in the Fire Nation capital - but their styles/clothes are completely different. Now, obviously that can be boiled down to personality-based character design but. There's a wide discrepancy between Mai's Edo Japan inspired hair and Ty Lee's Thai inspired performance outfit, and a little retroactive canon about them being part of different but powerful clans .. ? Yeah. That'd be fun, at the very least.

I could go on about this... was there a Water Lion Turtle at the north AND the south? How did the airbenders transition from relatively sedentary life on a Lion Turtle to nomadism? etc etc etc BUT in conclusion: TLOK and the comics have some very fun worldbuilding implications snuck in there !! Which makes up for a lot in my opinion. Personally I'd KILL for an Avatar series set in the warring states/unification period... I think that could be insanely cool...idk. The End. For Now.

[sir-adamus]

so

stipulations for Salem's immortality is that she will walk the face of the world until she 'learns the importance of life and death', as punishment for attempting to 'disrupt the balance' that the Brothers created

the Blacksmith establishes that the Brothers flat out don't understand what balance really is, which is why they clash constantly in contrast to how the Blacksmith shows that RWBY - finding equilibrium in their cooperation and patience with each other - represent true balance

in fact the contrast in approach between the Brothers and the Tree is very clear; the Brothers are at constant war with each other and deal out vengeful, punitive 'justice' instead of actually solving anything (bickering and breaking and repairing the Jabberwalker to spite each other and neither attempting to fix the problems with it. not even acknowledging or questioning why Salem wanted Ozma back and instead dismissing her, then throwing a tantrum when she proceeded to not do as she was told, resulting in global genocide and later hanging the threat over Oz's head that they'd do it again if the new humanity isn't up to their exacting standards).

meanwhile the Tree, through the Blacksmith, gives Ruby the space and reassurance she needs to stop running herself into the ground and start resolving her issues. it addresses the heart of the problem, for closure and resolution, with no judgment or pressure

so, message is clear - RWBY are gonna be key to stopping Salem for good by demonstrating something the Brothers could never hope to impart to her.

and obviously the Brothers will invariably get summoned down to Remnant, if not by Salem's hand then by Cinder's (she's vengeful enough that she'd be driven to try and end all of humanity just to one-up her enemies, let's be real); because the stipulation on Oz's immortality requires them to come back so he can finally die - and that's where they'll be challenged on the cosmic levels of bullshit they've left the universe in

i guess if you think about it, it all roots back to the Brothers not even understanding what they were made for and getting too big for their boots over it - the Tree doesn't judge, the Tree helps solve the heart of the issue to help people move on (though how successful that is, is up to them), to be better than they were, and judgment and punishment have no place in that. likewise, the Brothers weren't meant to judge, but they took their powers of Creation and Destruction to mean they were the arbiters over such things, and not part of the ecosystem - and therefore got it in their stupid featureless heads that they get to judge the worthiness of the living, and dole out disproportionate punishments in the face of even a modicum of defiance

and because of their failure to understand what real balance is, it's basically become a cycle that has been repeated throughout the course of Remnant's history - impatience and conflict, petty vengeance and spite. like almost every villain is acting to punish some perceived wrong inflicted on them instead of addressing their own issues (Salem vs the Brothers and Oz, Hazel vs Oz, Adam vs the world, Ironwood vs anyone who questions him, Cinder vs Ruby, Neo vs Ruby, the Cat vs Alyx and the Brothers)

Adam refused to walk away despite being given multiple chances to do so and kept going until the only option was to kill him (and his death didn't solve the problems he created). Ironwood refused to listen to any plan that wasn't his own to the point of actively sabotaging the plans of others and threatening to bomb defenseless civilians so that he'd get his way, until he was left to be literally crushed by the weight of his own city (and again, massive problems left in his wake). neither of their deaths are treated as a triumph within the narrative either

Neo's quest for vengeance destroyed her from the inside and she actually succeeded, reckoning with the hollowness she had left sent her completely catatonic - and that probably would've been the end for her, worn as a meatsuit by the Cat until they either disposed of her for no longer being useful or killed with the Cat by the team (because the Cat, like Adam, was past the point of reason and was refusing to give up). it's only Jaune getting the idea of using the leaves that frees Neo and it does that by jolting her into the self-reflection the Tree provides (and the Tree doesn't judge - it only tries to help), after which she chooses to let go of Roman and go to the Tree (there is her once again doling out punitive revenge by setting Jabberwalkers on the Cat but that's before she makes the decision to Ascend, which was after seeing RWBYJ reunite - and two scenes later it's hammered in that RWBY represent the new, better way), Neo got a second chance to stop and choose to get help because the Tree itself ended up involved, and that was followed by the show making that statement on the ideals of balance, which i guess fits with that one post Eddy made following volume 9 about the idea of eucatastrophe, the turning point in a story where it's clear that despite reaching its darkest point, things turn out for the better and that there's going to be a happy ending - so it remains to be seen if the Brothers will be convinced to self-reflect or if they'll stick to their shitty guns and escalate the conflict

[patchdonal]

Okay theory time. At first I was wondering if killing Tad fucked up the balance of magic in an Avatar/koi-esque sort of way, but then I went and rewatched the end of the holiday special (so you don’t have to).

Tad embodies the fear that wizards have of the power of magic itself, and the negative things that can be done with that power—and those negative things, like Tad, can only be suppressed with community. That’s why the McJonJons gathered people to do a ritual, and why the Pilot Program needed to utilize the power of the internet to defeat Tad.

It’s also worth mentioning that Tad isn’t really dead, just suppressed. So the koi theory doesn’t work. So then I start thinking of Tad’s final warning: “Beware of what you put into the world. There are worse things than me.”

He was warning about other creatures or forces that might be summoned by what they put into the world. What about the images of creatures on the orrery? According to Brennan, one of them looks like Tad. What about the other creatures? What if they were activated in some way by the global unveiling of magic?

This season is ripe for so much theorizing and I am HYPED.