#i mean yeah now that i think about it it makes sense for Russia's pacific shore but wow am i tardy to the party here

[arctic-hands]

I'm normally really good at knowing useless trivia about other countries and I'm not proud of my ignorance here but I honestly thought a volcano erupting in Russia was something Transformers Prime made up as a politically polite allegory for Chernobyl

[olekciy]

WHY YOU’D BETTER ROOT FOR UKRAINE AND HELP IT WIN

Not just because Ukraine is cool – even though it definitely is. In case Russia wins the war, the world as we knew it will be screwed. Irrevocably changed to the worse, to put it politely.

Let me explain it straight and simple. Russia has more surface area than the planet Pluto, our solar system neighbor. (Distant one. Russia is unfortunately much closer.) Pluto is a dwarf planet, but still a planet. Which means Russia is mindbogglingly big. When anything that big is off its rocker it’s highly likely to cause a lot of damage. Unlike Pluto, Russia is populated by life forms similar to us. Now obsessed with the idea that if the world doesn’t align with their views – so much worse for the world! It has to disappear then, literally.

So they want to make the world a place where they can do whatever they’re up to. Without having to care what others may feel about it. That’s simple. I bet it’s not about entertaining you with their ballet. Anyway, even the ballet sucks when you’re forced to watch it over and over being tied to a chair.

Russia has no borders, they claim. Which means they can cross any if they feel like it. And take whatever they put their eye on. Just as they’re doing it in Ukraine. What is yours is mine, and what is mine is mine, comrade. That’s the principle they live by.

The idea of human rights is alien to them. Property rights? The same. They don’t give a flying duck about any rights in general unless we’re talking about the right of the tsar to rule over his subjects.

Ukraine is under their brutal attack because it has dared not to obey. It is Ukrainian “don’t tread on me” moment. If Russia is stopped here it won’t be able to tread on you instead.  

When the Soviet Union was in place, people in the West might fantasize it had something to propose in the sense of an alternative way of life. Since only little was known about how it looked like the alternative seemed to be mysterious and thus attractive to some.

The way life is organized in nowadays Russia is no mystery. As far as the way of life in Russia is concerned – it beats me what can be loved about it. Unless you ever dreamed about being deprived of all your rights, there’s little here for you to long for.

Ah yeah, there’s also a right to express hate towards anyone and anything allowed to be hated, bullied and yelled at. Not everyone and everything you would like to, though, just those labeled as “enemies” by the authorities. Lame freedom of speech cosplay, I’d say.  

Well, let’s suppose you understand Russia is an existential threat to the entire world. But you still hesitate whether or not you should pay a price to stop it.

Even if you didn’t benefit directly from the close ties with Russia you might face the consequences of them being broken. Either you don’t feel safe anymore amid all the talk about possible nuclear war or your life has become less economically comfortable. And now you’re like: I didn’t order that! Why can’t we just go back to the way things were before? Let’s settle!

The Russian propaganda machine pours tons of money into making you think so. Some of your politicians play this card to get your vote. It’s not a big deal, we can easily give Russia that piece of the cake it wants so badly and forget it all as a nightmare.

Sorry if I was wrong and you’re moved by more sublime motives. Idealistic pacifism, love for Russian ballet, self-criticism that makes you think that probably “we’re to blame”, you name it.

Whatever your motives may be, I must say, unless they coincide with Russia’s ones, they will lead you to where you don’t want to go.

They’re not going to be satisfied with a piece of cake, they want the whole clucking bakery. And with any piece of cake they’re allowed to take their appetite grows more and more. Don’t feed this monster any further. Or he will end up eating you for dessert.

[xxruinaxxmcu]

Jack Thompson x Reader

What Lies Before Us 

Previous Chapters (and Book 1) 

Chapter 13

From what the doctors said, Sousa would need to stay in the hospital for about a week – mostly for observation and wound dressing.

Jack had handed the file he had discovered in the cupboard to Peggy to look through whilst they were still at the hospital.

The file contained, as he had suspected, intel on all the members of the 107th, but it was more than that. It contained information on Peggy, too, and even Steve, who was listed as ‘possibly dead/missing’.

“They file inconsistently”, Peggy remarked, flipping through the pages, “If they list Steve as missing, they should’ve listed James Barnes as missing, too.” Unfortunately, this inconsistency in filing would remain a mystery none of them would crack during their lifetimes.

“Did you know HYDRA worked globally?”, Y/N asked, looking through some parts of the file herself.

“Yeah, I mean, Germanic territories and America does mean they work internationally”, Jack replied with a shrug.

“Thanks, Jack, that much was clear”, she snorted, “No, I mean actually globally. There are coordinates here that, if I’m not mistaken, would place it somewhere in the middle of absolutely nowhere in the Pacific Ocean where they’ve just established a base. I mean, actually globally.”

“The Pacific Ocean?”, Peggy asked, visibly confused. Whilst she spoke, Y/N looked up, searching for Jack’s face.

“How well do you know the Pacific Ocean?”

His face was absolutely stoic as he replied: “Well enough.”

“26’30 degrees north, 128’00 -“

“East?”

“Yeah”, Y/N looked up from the papers, “Why-“

“You don’t forget the location of hell”, he snorted cynically, but he said it with a frozen voice. “That’s on Okinawa.”

Y/N didn’t know what to say. It was horrible enough that they were hunting HYDRA again, and now this?

“You’re telling me”, she said lowly, “that on one of the most heavily fortified American positions in the entire freaking pacific, HYDRA managed to open a base just a few months ago and no one noticed??”

“The entire island resembles a honeycomb. If they used the trench system to hide it, they might as well be invisible”, Jack replied surprisingly calmly.

“So now, what, HYDRA’s expanding into Asia? Cooperating with the Japanese that weren’t happy about the surrender?”, Sousa questioned, trying to make sense of this development.

Jack shrugged, leaning against the wall: “No clue. Can’t say we ever came across HYDRA when we were there, then again, I doubt they’d introduce themselves like that. I guess they share some similarities. Not least did the Japanese research a great deal on biological weapons and human enhancement.”

Y/N raised an eyebrow: “Like Mengele’s guys?”

He nodded: “I just think no one survived. But the documents were partially transferred to the US after the war. Other parts went to Russia. Who knows what happened with the rest.”

“Comforting.”

Y/N once again took notice by the visible separation between Jack and – well – the rest of them. Sousa, Carter and her, they had all served in the European theatre. They had all fought the Nazis, and Nazi sympathisers, on European soil. He, on the other hand, had made his experiences in war literally on the opposite side of the world, with a different enemy. They might as well have fought in two different wars altogether – the only thing that loosely tied it together was the term ‘Second World War’. But it really wasn’t ‘a war’. It was many wars, happening at the same time. And she had only begun to understand just how difficult that had to be for him – after all, whenever Sousa or Carter or she mentioned something about the Nazis, the others just understood. Because they had been there, because they had seen them. The only Japanese she had ever seen were those that were interned in the US camps during the war.

“How come I’ve never heard of these guys?”, Sousa asked, causing Y/N to look over.

“You think we’d want to accuse our new buddies against the Communist East of these sorts of crimes?”, Jack asked back, cynicism dripping from each word, “Unlike Germany, most of the leaders remain in place.”

“Right”, Y/N folded her hands, “Right. We need all the aerial photography from the area from the last six months. I suppose the US Army Air Forces would be the place for that.”

“No, not anymore, it’s the Air Force now. Got their own branch just a few weeks ago”, Jack specified, causing Y/N to roll her eyes at his nit-picking.

“Never mind, then the Air Force”, she huffed, “and I suppose we’ll have to reach out to the CIA now, too. I don’t really want to run into our own guys without them being briefed we’re there.”

“You’re not seriously planning on going there, right, Y/N?”, Sousa asked, “In case you haven’t noticed, the people you’re after are incredibly dangerous and tend to ask questions after they shoot!” He pointed at his bandages for proof.

Y/N simply shrugged: “What do you want to do, Sousa? If you have some sort of other branch of government you trust more than the SSR to handle this, and I can’t really say anything about the CIA yet, they’ve literally come into existence a few months ago, then by all means, give them a ring. But the last time I checked, the SSR’s main purpose was to hunt HYDRA, and this very much looks like it.”

She looked over to Peggy: “You understand, don’t you?”

Peggy looked at her sympathetically. Of course she did. But she also knew that she couldn’t abandon L.A. right now, because they still had to hunt down their Arena Club people connected to Frost, and with Sousa not on 100 percent, losing Peggy was out of the picture.

“Of course I do.”

Y/N felt an immense weight being placed upon her – though she knew that it was wrong. She wouldn’t be the one to suffer the most, she feared.

“You remember what I said before you went to Boston?”, Y/N asked silently without looking at Jack. “I intend to keep up my end of the bargain, now I need your word that you will keep up yours.”

……….

“Look, there’s a freaking difference between shadowing an individual on home soil and travelling across the globe to possibly take out a foreign installation!”, Jack almost yelled when they entered his hotel room, “Now, I’m not sayin’ we send no one, but this isn’t a one-man-show!”

“If we can verify what it is, we won’t have to infiltrate, Jack!”, Y/N shot back, “We just have to take it out. And sorry, but pulling the remote trigger of a bomb, I can manage that just fine.”

She waited for the next barrage of words to fly at her – another verbal explosion to go off. But though he looked like he was just about to start again, abruptly, he shut his mouth and turned away.

For the second time in under 24 hours, Thompson had defied all versions of his behaviour Y/N had prepared herself for.

“Nothing?”, Y/N asked, “You’re just giving me the silent treatment??”

“Look, put yourself in my shoes”, he said without turning around, “we’re freaking agents. First and foremost. And you can go through the list of all the people within the SSR, from West to East Coast, and tell me. Who’s the most qualified?” He turned around now, his face stern as if he had internally given himself a slap in the face to man-up: “Of all the men here, hardly a handful served in the Pacific. Harrow spent time on the Philippines, and two of Sousa’s guys in Guadalcanal. Last time I checked, I was the only one who’s been to Okinawa. Now take your pick. Agent Carter logic. That will be me.”

She looked at him in silence. He wasn’t wrong. She knew that. Still, that didn’t make it hurt any less.

‘You’re not thinking as an agent’, Y/N reminded herself, taking a single breath to focus. “You’re right, Agent Thompson. Actually, you are exactly right. Neither of us is thinking rationally right now. This is a mission on Okinawa, which means that you are on the ballot. And it most likely means dealing with HYDRA. Which means you still need someone who speaks German. Which means I am coming, too. And no, I don’t accept the entire ‘one man is safer’ or ‘you’ve done enough’ speech. Last time, God knows why, you volunteered to go on that island. And for some wicked reason, here we are and here you volunteer again. Well, I volunteer for you not to go in there alone. That ain’t happening.”

He was about to open his mouth to say something, probably a last attempt to dissuade her, but Y/N only raised a finger.

“Nah, don’t waste your breath, agent”, Y/N cut in, “Because I’m not listening.”

If anything, he looked pained at her resolve.

“It won’t be like 1945”, she said quietly, “and it won’t be like our mission in DC, either, where we wanted to retrieve that blueprint. If we can verify the nature and location of it, we will blow it to hell. And by God, given the amounts of shells and undetonated bombs still in the area, I doubt anyone will bet an eye.”

It wasn’t that he was afraid for her, or, for that matter, for himself. She wasn’t wrong – it wasn’t an extraction mission, not a rescue mission. If the base was HYDRA, they’d blow it up with everyone and anyone inside it. Carter might have wanted to choose a different route, one that was inherently more dangerous, but not him. And apparently, not Y/N, either. No, he wasn’t afraid because of that.

He hated the island. He hated it equally, though that was hard to fathom, as Iwo Jima. He hated the thought of seeing the ruins of Shuri Castle or the hills of all the damn Ridges – Tombstone, Kakazu, Cactus, and countless others. He hated the thought of that enough to want to throw up again, even though his headache had begun to lessen. How would he react once he was actually there again? And of all the people in the world, he really didn’t want her to see it, whilst simultaneously wanting no one else there in her stead.

It was a paradox he couldn’t get his head around.

“Yeah”, he said, not saying a word about what he had just thought about, “It’ll be a walk in the park.”

……….

Y/N wasn’t blind, she could tell from six miles away that every fibre in Jack’s being didn’t want to go there, even as he pushed his mind in the other direction – stubborn, and, though some might find that hard to believe, dutiful as he was.

They first had to fly back to New York, so on the plane there, Y/N decided to do most of the talking, if that was required.

“You know, as much as I hated being there, I saw some beautiful landscapes in southern Germany. The Alps are a sight to behold – though, I suppose, you could now visit them in less hostile territory in France or Switzerland. But they were amazing”, Y/N said, recounting the images of immensely tall mountains, whose tips were covered in snow and ice all year around. “

“Can’t say I can compete with that”, he said dryly, “Iwo Jima is a pile of smoking rock, and Okinawa is a single subtropical health hazard. Wanna know what my company’s first enemy was? Wasn’t a soldier. It was a snake. Apparently, they have venomous snakes on Okinawa.”

“Oh.”

“Good news, the bite can be lethal, but most often, it wasn’t. Had many who were still unable to fight after being bitten by one of those things. The locals called them Habu, I think.”

“Right”, Y/N nodded, “So I’ll stay six feet away from snakes. Other potential death traps, humans aside?”

“Possibly mosquitos, otherwise, not necessarily deadly. Giant crabs and a bunch of lizards”, he shrugged.

“So it’s basically like Australia minus the deadly spiders?”, she raised an eyebrow, “Wonderful location for the biggest landing force of humankind to wage a battle.”

He snorted at her sarcasm. “Yeah.”

Y/N pondered about what to say next, she just wanted the silence to not become piercing, and for him to get lost in his thoughts.

“So, Germans have their beer and their schnapps, what’s Japan got to offer? I feel like every country has some alcohol in store.”

“Call me biased, but Asian alcohol is strange”, he pulled a grimace, “rice wine, sake.”

“Well, I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t have been able to taste the difference about twenty hours ago”, she remarked dryly, receiving an elbow to the side, causing her to laugh.

“In all fairness”, she said with a grin, “I never warmed up to schnapps, either. Tasted like disinfectant to me. And the food, well. It was pretty bad towards the end of the war, shortages almost anywhere. But, I guess, it spared me the experience of Army rations.”

“Ours weren’t that bad. I mean, they were disgusting, but they were big enough for us not to starve”, Jack shrugged with a grin, “though I can’t say that spam is a real delicacy.”

“I bet”, Y/N laughed, “cold tinned pork mash doesn’t sound like a feast.”

He tilted his head: “I guess that was the one advantage of being stuck on Iwo Jima. We could bury the rations in the ground and the volcanic heat would warm them.”

She looked at him in disbelief: “Well, I guess you were at least inventive.”

“Had to be. Guess that helps now where we fight anything from kid assassins to hardcore Nazis.”

“You make us sound way cooler than the filing mess that we produce on an average day”, Y/N remarked with a grin, “But don’t say Sousa I said that. Otherwise, he’ll be pissed that I didn’t make the caveat that his filing is ‘impeccable’.”

…………….

Arguably, the only upside Jack could find right now was that they were headed to Okinawa in early December, which was both one of the coolest, as well as driest months possible. Though both of these things were relative – the weather was still warm, and rain was always possible. It wasn’t monsoon season though, unlike the last time he was stuck there, when their foxholes and trenches turned into a field of mud.

Whilst he was talking to the lab boys regarding the tech they would take with them, Y/N was collecting all the files they could potentially use regarding HYDRA, or Japanese bio experiments.

The phone rang, and Y/N didn’t even have the time to rattle down her usual greeting.

“Y/N, it’s Sousa.”

“Shouldn’t you be in the hospital?”, Y/N asked, a bit taken aback.

“In a perfect world, probably.”

She noticed the tone in his voice, knowing something was seriously wrong.

“What’s happened?”

“Don’t repeat a word, just say yes and relay it to Thompson.”

“Yes.” She had a hunch where that was headed, being reminded of the Owens-debacle from not that long ago.

“We caught a lead out in Nevada that Keller’s been seen there”, he began, “so we sent a bunch of agents to track and arrest him. We sent four agents, now three are dead. And the fourth one and Keller have vanished.”

Y/N’s face froze. She knew what he was getting at. But she knew she had to control her reaction, so she didn’t say anything, she didn’t do anything.

“Y/N? You still there?”

“Yes, Daniel”, Y/N said calmly, “I understand. I understand exactly what you mean. I will let him know. I’ll call back when we’re back in the US.”

She ended the call and continued her filing. HYDRA, it would seem, wasn’t just not dead. HYDRA had infiltrated the SSR.

At this point, she felt little more than disillusionment. She had been willing to risk her life again and again for the SSR, and for everything they stood for – only to figure out that not only had a covert Soviet organisation infiltrated their ranks, no, so did HYDRA. And if that was the case for the SSR, then chances were, the other branches of the intelligence services had been infiltrated, too.

Looking up, Y/N clenched her teeth.

Right now, it didn’t matter. Mission One was to find, and destroy, that target on Okinawa. Mission Two was to find and kill Keller. And long-term Mission Three was to hunt down every last member of the Arena Club, where now, she didn’t care anymore that they didn’t have exact proof to pin on every one individually speaking. She now placed them under general suspicion without differentiation.

“You ready?”

Her eyes met Jack’s.

“Always.”

……….

Getting to Okinawa was an endeavour all by itself. First to L.A. to change, then to Hawaii to change, then to Guam to refuel and then to Okinawa. The flight from Hawaii onward was only the two of them, and a bunch of Armed Forces personnel headed into the occupied zone.

Y/N had decided to not bring up the issue of HYDRA within the SSR until they had finished Mission One. First, it didn’t affect their mission plan, and second, she didn’t feel like she was able to talk openly about it in the office, or on the plane. In both instances, there were too many potential listeners around them. And slipping over a note felt incredibly inappropriate given the gravity.

She could already see that once they had set foot on Guam, that Jack’s personality became more alert, more, well, more on-duty. Maybe it had been the familiar scents, the familiar scenery. The soldiers that were fairly visible everywhere. Maybe it was just the knowledge that soon, he’ll be back to the place he had never wanted to see again since getting the chance to leave it alive.

They landed in Naha in the early afternoon. It was like being thrown back into summer, having left the winter of New York far behind. It was a beautiful day, at least it was in theory. The war was still very visible in the city – airfield aside, and military bases aside, much of the area was still damaged, or under reconstruction. Even without knowing exactly what the battle had looked like, Y/N directly knew that they were standing on – essentially – a graveyard.

“You’re gonna be alright?”, Y/N asked when the two entered a vehicle they had been given by the military.

Jack’s eyes were fixed solely on the road: “Yeah. We have work to do.”

A/N: So sorry for the longer pause in between updates - the last weeks were a bit all over the place. However, I am incredibly happy to announce that I had VERY good reason for that: I have just been confirmed to have met all the necessary criteria to start my PhD this autumn. I am beyond excited! 

I am, as always, incredibly appreciative of all sort of feedback - comments, hearts, reblogs! They make all the effort worth it by a mile

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[pettania]

Дмитро Галко Dmytro Hulko (Belorussian, Ukrainian journalist)

WHY YOU’D BETTER ROOT FOR UKRAINE AND HELP IT WIN

Not just because Ukraine is cool – even though it definitely is. In case Russia wins the war, the world as we knew it will be screwed. Irrevocably changed to the worse, to put it politely.

Let me explain it straight and simple. Russia has more surface area than the planet Pluto, our solar system neighbor. (Distant one. Russia is unfortunately much closer.) Pluto is a dwarf planet, but still a planet. Which means Russia is mindbogglingly big. When anything that big is off its rocker it’s highly likely to cause a lot of damage. Unlike Pluto, Russia is populated by life forms similar to us. Now obsessed with the idea that if the world doesn’t align with their views – so much worse for the world! It has to disappear then, literally.

So they want to make the world a place where they can do whatever they’re up to. Without having to care what others may feel about it. That’s simple. I bet it’s not about entertaining you with their ballet. Anyway, even the ballet sucks when you’re forced to watch it over and over being tied to a chair.

Russia has no borders, they claim. Which means they can cross any if they feel like it. And take whatever they put their eye on. Just as they’re doing it in Ukraine. What is yours is mine, and what is mine is mine, comrade. That’s the principle they live by.

The idea of human rights is alien to them. Property rights? The same. They don’t give a flying duck about any rights in general unless we’re talking about the right of the tsar to rule over his subjects.

Ukraine is under their brutal attack because it has dared not to obey. It is Ukrainian “don’t tread on me” moment. If Russia is stopped here it won’t be able to tread on you instead.

When the Soviet Union was in place, people in the West might fantasize it had something to propose in the sense of an alternative way of life. Since only little was known about how it looked like the alternative seemed to be mysterious and thus attractive to some.

The way life is organized in nowadays Russia is no mystery. As far as the way of life in Russia is concerned – it beats me what can be loved about it. Unless you ever dreamed about being deprived of all your rights, there’s little here for you to long for.

Ah yeah, there’s also a right to express hate towards anyone and anything allowed to be hated, bullied and yelled at. Not everyone and everything you would like to, though, just those labeled as “enemies” by the authorities. Lame freedom of speech cosplay, I’d say.

Well, let’s suppose you understand Russia is an existential threat to the entire world. But you still hesitate whether or not you should pay a price to stop it.

Even if you didn’t benefit directly from the close ties with Russia you might face the consequences of them being broken. Either you don’t feel safe anymore amid all the talk about possible nuclear war or your life has become less economically comfortable. And now you’re like: I didn’t order that! Why can’t we just go back to the way things were before? Let’s settle!

The Russian propaganda machine pours tons of money into making you think so. Some of your politicians play this card to get your vote. It’s not a big deal, we can easily give Russia that piece of the cake it wants so badly and forget it all as a nightmare.

Sorry if I was wrong and you’re moved by more sublime motives. Idealistic pacifism, love for Russian ballet, self-criticism that makes you think that probably “we’re to blame”, you name it.

Whatever your motives may be, I must say, unless they coincide with Russia’s ones, they will lead you to where you don’t want to go.

They’re not going to be satisfied with a piece of cake, they want the whole clucking bakery. And with any piece of cake, they’re allowed to take their appetite grows more and more. Don’t feed this monster any further. Or he will end up eating you for dessert.

[womenofwonder]

RWBY characters races for AUs set in our world.

How I’m going to do this: three things. The first, the city they live in Remnant. This is the least important because that leaves us with only five…maybe six places compared to our world’s hundreds of countries.

The second will be the original of their names, which they’ll have to keep in the AUs, meaning that they need some culture background for them.

The third will be their fairy tale origins.

So to start, Ruby Rose:

She lives in Vale, which is similar to France (I’ll explain why in another post maybe), but technically grew up in patch, a small island off the coast of Vale. I have no idea about Patch’s culture as we hardly ever see it, so I’m going to skip this one. We also don’t know if either Summer or Taiyang was originally from Vale.

We know Taiyang is Chinese from his name, so I’m going to say she’s half Chinese. I also wrote a western au once and really love the idea of Taiyang being an Asian Redneck…so I think I’m going to say Ruby is very, very southern just because that would be adorable.

But if you don’t want that idea I generally see Taiyang being either Asian-American or Asian-French, or Asian-British if your doing a HP AU. Summer is harder to pin down, but Red Riding Hood was originally an Italian fable, so I’m going to have her be Italian or Italian-American.

Weiss:

Weiss is German, although making her simply white America/British would work. I could see her being Russian too in some AU because Atlas fits well as Russia. For American works, Pennsylvania has quite the German population and coal mines, so that works pretty well for her.

Blake is really complicated. From Remment Australia which is culturally SEA (south East Asian), has an English name but parents with a Hindu-inspired names, but neither looking vaguely Indian. I’m going to assume her family are immigrants (as they are in cannon I think) to Australia, maybe even changed their name to help them fit in. Immigrants from where? Well, India is an option, but I like to think Malaysia. They have a large Indian and Chinese population, and I like to think Blake is a mixture of Chinese, Malay, and Indian ethnicities, from Malaysia and immigrated to Australia. And if you think this is crazy or unrealistic, you haven’t seen anything yet. The sheer mix of cultures I’ve seen growing up as an ex-pat is insane. This isn’t too crazy.

For Yang, we already have Taiyang as an Asian red-neck. Or at least I do. Raven and Qrow are going to be a little harder to pin down, but I’m think bandits getting replaced by mafia. Which mafia? I don’t know, take you’re pick. Branwen is Welsh, but I can’t think of a Welsh mafia. Coming from Mistral I would see them as being Triad, not Yakuza because Raven’s gang is famous for being less than coordinated.

If you need a logical reason for Yang having blonde hair, Taiyang could be only half Chinese, half blonde (blonde is race right?).

Either way I see Raven operating in an American city like New York or Detroit.

This would mean Yang is fully Chinese ethnically.

JNPR:

Jaune’s name and inspiration are all French. However his mother does come from Mistral (I think), so I do see him being half Chinese, but nationally French. It’s also funny to imagine him with a French accent.

Pyrrha: she’s Greek or maybe Greek-American with her parents being recent immigrants. Argus seems to Remnent-Greece and her name and fairy tale are greek.

Nora: she should be Scandinavian. I feel like in a MCU AU she’s Thor’s daughter. But she also grew up as a street rat in Mistral, which is hard to fit in our world. Therefore I’m going to have her in America, the great melting pot (and also America seems to be more like Mistral than any other Remnent king with our state system), and she going to ethically Scandinavian but knowing nothing of her culture due to her upbringing.

Ren: obviously Chinese, but I might have him be American-Chinese to fit his story nicely in with Nora’s.

Others:

Coco: we’re all ignoring that she’s based off Coco Channel, so let’s make her a LA girl

Velvet: Australia, because of the accent. Or maybe English because that is her story origin

Fox: he’s difficult, because tribes are pretty rare in modern AUs. But his story could work for various things. He’s one of the few black characters so he could come from practically any African tribe (I’m currently going with Hausa because it’s one of the few I know anything about). His name is based off ‘the fox and the hound’ which is a rare American story, so he could also be from a Native American tribe if you want the AU to be more American-based.

Yatsuhashi: Japanese, this one is thankfully easy.

Sun: Chinese. He comes from a tribe as well, but I can’t think of any nomadic Chinese tribes except the Uyghurs. Making Sun a Uyghur doesn’t make much sense but it will serve to piss off certain people on the internet. And now this is going to be taken down, isn’t it? Oh wait, this is tumbrl. This is anarchy. It won’t. Forgot why I liked this place for a second.

Scarlet: sorry for the rambling there. Anyway, Scarlet is definitely English. “I hope I don’t get sand in my shoes.”

Sage: well, he’s black, but other then that we have nothing to go one. He’s also from Mistral but that doesn’t really work? If Mistral is America as well as China I guess we can make him African American. Or whatever else works best for the AU. He might be Indian too now that I think of it. Or even Maori. Really options are limitless here.

Neptune: Yeah, so probably just American, but does have both a French last name and an Italian first name. So probably ethically American (aka white mutt). Also he lives near a port, I think I’m gonna gone with him being from Tacoma Washington because I am.

Flynt: African American

Neon: Japanese-American because of her meme (it started as part of Japanese pop song on YouTube, the latter of which is America summed up in one invention)

Oscar: Hispanic-American, he just looks it. And I’m guessing he lives in Kansas for obvious reasons. His last name isn’t Hispanic but their could be a lot of reasons for that. Or he could be Native American (Pawnee, Cheyenne, and Osage are all Native American tribes in Kansas).

Penny: well if she’s still a robot she probably stays white, but if you want her human in this AU she might end up being half black as Pietro is, although she also could just be adopted. I guess the later makes more sense, huh? I figure she’s American, with her dad working with a ‘well meaning’ but ultimately corrupt government. Probably living in DC, as that has both the government and the poverty issues.

Emerald: oohh, boy. This is hard. Sustrai is Basque, and Aladdin is a French addition to an Arabian story, she herself is dark skinned with anime features that are super unhelpful for this sorta thing.

I have three ideas. Brazilian, mostly as there’s no South American themed RWBY characters I can think of, and it’s diverse enough that someone looking like Emerald would fit. Secondly, for American centered stories she’s just an orphan with no idea of her ethnicity. Or she could be African, Indian, Pacific Islander, or Hispanic or some mixture between those four. It’s honestly really hard to tell. In my fanfic she’s from Suriname and ethnically 1/4 Indian, 1/2 Creole, and 1/4 Javanese.

Ilia: Sioux (Native American). Ilia means a lot of things in a lot of different languages, and Amitola mean rainbow in Sioux, so I decided to just stick with that.

Mercury: American, white mutt American. I’m guessing New York or Philli for where he grew up, it seems like a place where he’d be comfortable

Neo: the new novel reveals her father lived in vale (btw I haven’t read it, I’m just getting this off the internet) and her mother was a assassin who’s origins aren’t known. She doesn’t really have a fairy tale. So I’m going to go with British or French (thank RWBY thoughts for the first one) although in an American AU she works as just a white American.

Robyn: depends on what Atlas is in this AU, but probably German or American.

Qrow: I already mentioned he’s probably Chinese due to being from Mistral. It’s a bit weird to think of him as Asian, but not as weird as it to think of Raven as white, so I’ll take it. Although I do like the idea of him being American Irish, that’s fun.

Winter: whatever Atlas is in this AU, German or American, although British and Russian would work well too.

Maria: Mexican

Salem: If you want a AU where she’s just a normal person then New England or Italian for her story origin

Watts: British

Tyrian: uh…I have no idea, but he looks white. And he kinda has a British accent? I want him to be southern for the accent tho. Probably just another crazy American

Cinder: her fairy tale is French but her origin is Chinese. Also, Cinderella doesn’t really have an origin, it’s an ancient story with every culture having at least one Cinderella story. So I’m going to say Chinese.

Hazel: American, from the Midwest. He’s darkish so maybe he’s a POC? Part Native American or Hispanic? Idk or really care I can’t stand Hazel

Roman Torchwick: American-Italian, he runs/works for the mafia

Ozpin: American because of the whole wizard-of-Oz-thing or French, because he seems to have come from Vale.

Glynda: American or French for the same reasons Ozpin is

Oobleck: Jewish American (because Dr. Seuss was)

Professor Port: Russian, due to his fairy tale, or English, due to his style

Taiyang: already said he’s a red-neck Asian.

Raven: depending on whether you want her to be white or not, either Chinese or Irish American, like I already said.

Cordovin: Karen

Ironwood: again, depends on Atlas in the AU. Either American or German…maybe Russian

Clover: Irish-American (or German, obviously the ace-ops depend on where Atlas is. I’m just going to do the rest of them assuming Atlas is American because Germany isn’t that diverse)

Harriet: African-American, I guess. It kinda messes with the story because Harriet is supposed to be privileged, which doesn’t really work in this AU, but she’s also obviously black.

Elm: Just normal American, maybe greek-American because of the Aesop fable themes

Vine: Tibetan based on his design

Marrow: either African-American or Pakistani/Indian-American. (I’m personally going for Pakistani)

Klein: english. All butlers are English. It’s a rule.

Pietro: African-American

Johanna: Pakistani or Indian American

Fiona: Jewish-American (kinda random but while she’s obviously white she also needs to be a minority for the Faunus thing to work)

May: normal upper glass American/German

Ghira: Half Malay, Half Indian, from Malaysia but immigrated to Australia later in life

Kali: half Chinese, half Indian, but also from Malaysia

Adam: much like Fiona I’m going to assume he’s Jewish due to him being white but still needing to be a minority. German or American, again, depending on where Atlas is. Or he could be Chinese, even though it doesn’t work with his name, due to the theory that he was trafficked much like Cinder. I’m going with ethically Jewish though

Sienna Khan: Indian

Huh, I actually finished that. I’m pretty sure I was accidentally racist multiple times and apologize in advance,

I’m exhausted and starving and not thinking straight. But anyway, here it is. Your very messy guide to modern RWBY AUs. I swear this was insane to sort out.

[arcadialedger]

The Harry Potter Wizarding Schools Map: A Rant/ Meta

*takes deep breath

Okay. I am a huge fan of Harry Potter. I even enjoyed the first Fantastic Beasts film. However, I am not afraid to call out Wizarding World canon when it screws up royally.

And, well, the recent map of all of the Wizarding schools is just that. A royally big screw up.

*le sigh.

Where do I begin with how geographically, culturally, and linguistically egregious this is?

To start off, let’s look at a map which makes things more visually easy to discern.

Let’s move West to East, shall we?

The first absurdity is, of course, the size of Ilvermorny. It is ridiculous already to imply that all of AMERICA would fit into one school, and not have one in, well, pretty much every major city. At least a west coast and east coast school. But the fact we’re supposed to share a school WITH CANADA AND MEXICO? Let’s compare the size of the population this school is supposed to cover vs that of Hogwarts, shall we?

Yeah. NEARLY NINE TIMES AS LARGE. There is a blatant lack of understanding of the world outside of the UK here on JK’s part.

The idea that Mexico would not, culturally and linguistically, be grouped in with a Central American school is also ridiculous, which brings me to my next grievance.

The entirety of South America going to Castlebruxos in Brazil. This is absurd enough already, once again, with the population issue. But there’s another thing here.

An entire continent which is entirely Spanish speaking besides one country going to school in the one country that speaks Portuguese. In a school named in Portuguese.

There should, realistically, be a separate Central American school, Brazilian school, and one for general South America. Probably two, actually, one down in Argentina.

Western Europe is fine because that the region JK Rowling knows. Besides the fact that Italy has no Wizarding School. You know, even though the spells in the series ARE IN FUCKING LATIN (Yes, I am an angry Italian)

Let’s move on to Africa. Ah, Africa, a culturally diverse continent with over 200 languages and hundreds of individual cultures— relegated to one school. In Uganda. No Nigerian Yoruba school, no southern South Africa school.

“It is the largest of the eleven wizarding schools, accepting students from all over Africa”—https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Uagadou_School_of_Magic

What’s the population of Africa, might you ask?

BILLION. BILLION. ALMOST TWENTY TIMES THE POPULATION OF THE UK.

Jk, your ignorance is showing.

Now, I’m fine with Russia having its own school. It actually makes sense and isn’t infeasbale.

But the rest of Asia? Is a travesty.

Not only is there no Wizarding School for the Middle East, the cradle of civilization, but CHINA AND INDIA, THE TWO MOST POPULATED COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD WITH TOTALLY DIFFERENT CULTURES, SHARE A BLOODYDAMN SCHOOL.

There should be a Southwest Asian school, if not multiple schools in India. There should be a separate Chinese school. There should be a separate South East Asian school, not grouped in the bloodydamn Pacific.

China and India ALONE account for 2.8 BILLION PEOPLE. That is over 40x the population of the UK, and this apparently isn’t even the biggest school. Did JK Rowling even think this through?

There are 22 official languages in India alone, not including the hundreds of dialects. There are 297 living languages in China. This. Would. Never. Work. Culturally or linguistically.

Then we have the Japanese school, which population wise is fine, but the name is entirely wrong linguistically, as explained by a Japanese speaker on Twitter here.

And lastly the Pacific School. Size wise this is perfectly fine, as including the populations of Australia and the Pacfic Islands it only rounds out to about 28 million people. Including the southeast Asian countries and New Zealand, I’d say it rounds out just fine. But geographically and culturally? Not likely to work. The Pacific Islands are of tribal tradition, with many of the islands having their own language, culture, religion, etc. Just like Native Americans, the nature of TV wit culture would probably mean the Pasifika people don’t attend a big regional school, but smaller individual schools on their islands.

So there you have it. All of my grievances with this absurd map of the world’s wizarding schools. This truly showcases an exceptional cultural and geographical ignorance of the world.

[dramallamadingdang]

Replies!

This batch is for @joanna-squared, @skyburned, @joplayingthesims, @penig, @kayleigh-83, @maryhilton, @clericalrodent, @immerso-sims, and @yandereplumsim...

joanna-squared replied to your photo “The multi-lot park. It’s more-done but not done-done, but this is all...”

This gives me Northern California vibes and it's making me nostalgic.

I was thinking Chicago when I initially saw that terrain:

I was thinking lake/riverfront rather than oceanfront, since I figured I'd put a horizon down that would give the place an opposite "shore." But then, Chicago doesn't have mountains or much in the way of huge pine trees, does it? *laugh* So, I can see California, too, with its big cities sort of mushed in between the Pacific coast and the Sierras, and the pines do give it a more NorCal than SoCal feel.

skyburned replied to your post “vegan-kaktus replied to your photoset “Pics of the multi-lot park in...”

I try to cluster them too using the other side of a big road if I can, something that looks like a realistic separation. I've never been successful putting playable lots right next to deco lots. It looks weird.

Sometimes it works. There are some deco buildings that are in a good scale with “real” buildings. CuriousB seemed to do a good job with that. I use her base-game rabbit hole conversions a lot, interspersed amongst real buildings, and they look pretty good. But the style of them isn’t always right because they’re pretty quaint-looking. And they aren’t skyscrapers, either, which of course you need to do a decent-looking cityscape. :) But those tend to be really out-of-scale so...Yeah, a segregated cluster as a backdrop is the way to go, I think.

joplayingthesims replied to your photo “This is just a little thing that I thought I’d share that may or may...”

Just what I need for Coral Bay. :D

I’m glad it’s helpful! And it’s good to see you here in TumblrLand. :)

penig replied to your post “PSA”

Gay ski week is the greatest concept for a festival I've heard in years! Have fun!

It is hella fun! It’s been going on annually for about...10 years?... now or so. There are people who come in every year for it, and it’s the only time I see those people, so it’s fun hanging out and catching up. Busy, but fun. And skiing drag queens is always a spectacle. :) And the parties. Last night was the karaoke event, which we always do. Tonight is the big dance party, which is crazy-fun. Saturday night, the last night, is an AIDS benefit. It’s a fun, theatrical fashion show that’s like Fashion Week meets Cirque d’Soleil, and then there’s another party. I’ll be exhausted when it’s all done, but it’s awesome.

kayleigh-83 replied to your photoset “The queer hood rogues’ gallery townies. :) There’s a list of names and...”

Yay! My babies are out in the world!

And causing havoc already! For some reason Gavin lost his aspiration. (It seems to happen sometimes when I turn Sims into townies.) And when that happens, ACR loses its freakin’ mind and starts to error like crazy because it can’t make the calculations it needs to make, but at least now I know what causes such a freak-out and I know how to fix it. Took me a bit to find the culprit and, yep, Gavin. :) He better behave from now on! :)

maryhilton replied to your photo “This is just a little thing that I thought I’d share that may or may...”

It looks nice-but I wish you were able to make a horizon that matches islands. I have one that has lots of water, but the the 'far islands' out look too green & not the same color as the terrains I use..sigh.

Have you seen the one that Greatcheesecakepersona made that uses the TS3 Sunlit Tides backdrop? But maybe that’s the one you mean. In all honesty, the horizons are not easy to make at all. (Though I want to take GCP’s city one out for a spin, since I think it might be linearly-mapped and if so it’ll be HELLA easier to deal with.) But generally...It’d likely be easier to make a terrain default that matches the horizon rather than the other way around.

clericalrodent replied to your photo “My Internet browser home page today! :) (Yes, I use Bing as my home...”

*waves* If you ever do come back and have time, you've got to come and visit me

Absolutely! We will do lunch. And dinner. At least once. :) And then you can show us all the cool places in Tallinn that tourists don’t get to see and we can be your dumb American friends that embarrass you. ;)

immerso-sims replied to your photo “My Internet browser home page today! :) (Yes, I use Bing as my home...”

Definitely makes sense. I haven't been to Russia (yet), but I am planning on going there in a couple of years. I would like to come back to Vilnius again too, because that city just has a nice laid back feel to it and I quite enjoyed the artists' neighbourhood. I think they wanted to have something similar to Christiania minus the weed lol Riga is a bit more touristy, but pretty. :)

And you know how I like Christiana! :) Even without the weed I’d like Christiana. :) So, yeah, we will definitely have to check out Vilnius. :) And definitely go to Russia. St. Petersburg is one of my favorite cities in the world. <3 So much history and things to see. I could spend a week in the Hermitage all by itself...

yandereplumsim replied to your photo “Muh hometown, right now. :) We gonna do some skiin’ today, even though...”

Your Hometown is just so freaking cute <3 I love it when you post images of it

It’s a cute (but hella expensive) town. I actually live about 7 miles outside of it, but it’s fun to go into “town” and hang out and stuff. If you ever have a hankering to see it 24/7, there are a couple of webcams here. I’m sure I’m on it sometimes, since my usual hangout when I’m in town is Phoenix Bean, which is one of the places the in-town cam focuses on. :) And my ski jacket has a plumbbob patch on the right shoulders...although I doubt that’d be visible on the webcam...

[plotbunnyshipper]

Fundamental Cracks - Chapter 32

Fundamental Cracks: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11325564

(Not sure why the word Chapter managed to make it’s way into my link - that’s the only change to this post since last night) Chapter: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11325564/chapters/32569071

If you read the partial draft I posted this has that, plus more...total of just over 12k words because I was trying to cram too much in a chapter and even then ended up splitting it in two. So, this one is still in the past, skipping around right up to Ivy Town which will be the next chapter, then I’m back to storyline ‘present.’

Because it’s so long I’m not posting all of it on here - it’s on Ao3, link is above.

Thank you wonderful people who keep reading, it’s very appreciated.

A sudden wrenching movement tears me from sleep into the dark grogginess of way too early to be awake. “Wh-? What? What’s wrong..happ’nin’..Up, I’m up!”

There is more noise from the person and the bed as the jerky motion stills. A hard breath is followed by a rough, uncertain, “F-Felicity?”

Right. Oliver, not ‘the person.’ “Yeah.” I try blinking but it is still too dark to see where he went. Last night starts flickering into thought and I shake my head to try clearing the remaining fog from my mind. “What’s wrong?”

“I…Nothing, I just didn’t remember…”

Searching my hand over the sheet, even as I stretch I can’t feel him. Did he literally jump out of bed? “’S fine…” I rub my face into the pillow with a yawn, “It’s the first time we’ve slept together, you can freak out a little.”

His voice is immediate, defensive, and the bed shifts as he sits back down. “We’ve slept together and slept together before, it isn’t a first.”

Another large yawn steals my voice when I start to try and argue that last part. Oliver’s fingers lace with mine and I tug him back towards the center of the bed. “We’ve been asleep together when I sleep and you succumb to exhaustion, the closest we got was huddled up in the van or around the table. And after we slept together I dosed you wi-,“ Catching myself both in the fact that I’m still not exactly sure what I put in the wine that night, and the fact that if he’s startled by someone asleep with him in bed that maybe he woke unpleasantly like that a few times during his stretch with the League. That first time together for us was a serious, desperate last chance at a memory before what could have been the loss of each other, forever. Oliver is still learning how to let his guard back down, to relax and be happy, that place is a train of thought I don’t want to remind him of. “You were under the influence of…uh…something, and I was wide awake. So this definitely is another in our soon to be long list of firsts.”

Arms wrap around me, pulling me to rest on him, and I hear his heartbeat under my ear.

What I mean to say is something like, “We’re safe, you can relax…in a week it’ll feel weird to sleep alone.” What I actually say is muffled by his chest and yawns, but Oliver must get the gist, because I feel his breathing slowing to pace mine.

The next time I wake it is to the slow exploration of caressing hands. Oliver Queen, as it turns out, is quite the cuddler.

…

As we drink bitter coffee from the small machine on the bathroom counter, he asks, “You want to do anything today?”

“You,” I say with a terribly exaggerated wink.

He gives a startled laugh at my bluntness. “I think that can be easily arranged, but is there anything other than that?”

“Hmm…Take a bunch of naps unlike any weekday I remember. Let’s relax. Maybe play spin the bottle…box.” I point at the empty wine container.

“With just the two of us?”

“Guarantees I get to kiss the person I want to. Want to give it a whirl? We can order delivery for breakfast later.”

He does.

…

Between lazy touches, showers, and more amorous activities, we don’t get around to eating food until after noon when rumbling tummies demand use of those takeout menus, and the room phone…because I can go a damn week…another six days….five days ten hours without my phone.

…

It takes two full days into the trip, or more accurately two full days and one more blissful night after checking in, to finally decide to leave the room.

Glorious hours of exploring, learning, each other’s bodies, of making vague wish lists of plans that kept getting interrupted by smiles that in turn lead to lengthy, handsy, make-out sessions, which of course leads to taking turns seeing who can make the other forget what we were talking about.

Now, as I lay here I can honestly say that this is the most carefree I can remember being. “The black, green, and red sand beaches…and the lava at that volcano park…maybe splurge on a coffee farm tour…” Talking to myself to help remember, I nudge the wide sleeve of the robe out of the way and scribble down a couple more options for when we leave on the red-eye to Hawaii at the end of the week. Or is it still a red eye when you’re leaving at two in the morning? Those tickets were too awesome a price not to snag before leaving Starling. Either way we still have to get up to Seattle by Wednesday.

I scissor my calves back and forth, pumping them together once more before stretching my toes into the rumpled pile of blankets at the end of the bed. It’s only as his hands slide along my ribs, pushing the robe high to place a kiss over the center of my spine that I realize the shower is no longer going.

He’s trying to get another point in the tally of lost focus, but I’m still ahead by two…must hold my lead.

Trying to focus on a mental globe, avoiding teeny tiny islands, and mountains, and the entirety of China…and Russia, I keep thinking West. “After Hawaii, where do you want to go? Japan, Thailand…?” With loving caresses my hips are lifted and tugged back, inching my upper body along the bed until I’m in a kneeling bow instead of lazily sprawled on my belly. My face heats as a very intimate breath is huffed against my skin.

Focus! My voice hitchs but I press on, quickly writing in precise letters, ”Spain? France? Irelan-nnh!” The pen gouges the small notepad, “Oliver! That’s cheating!”

There is a throaty noise, like a hidden laugh before he shifts to lightly nip the back of my thigh, “Says the gorgeous distraction stretched across the bed.”

“I was trying to write a list of the places we both wanted to visit…there’s also plenty of cool stuff to see here in the States.”

“C’mere.” The pen and paper fall away as he lifts me, then rolls us so that I straddle him, leaving his hands spread across my hips and thighs. “Mmm, I think this is quickly becoming my favorite view of you.”

“You don’t look so bad yourself,” I retort, grinning with a lean forward to brush our lips together, “but you need to focus if we’re going to make plans.”

“Let’s be spontaneous, pick and go on the same day when we’re ready to leave. This is about you and me, wherever we go that’s the only thing that matters.”

“Having the time for a plan and not forming one? Who are you and what have you done with my…” Oh. What do I call him? Boyfriend? That doesn’t sound quite right. Partner? Not right either. “-my Oliver?” It’s a lame finish, but he doesn’t call me out on it.

“New start. Just us, nothing we need to do except make that flight, nowhere we need to be, though I will say I’m hoping you won’t decide to wander away for a few more minutes.”

I sway my hips in a relaxed motion, it has an immediate effect. A few more minutes of wriggling and kisses until I can reach between us, shift and settle myself down oh-so-slowly as his hips push up into me. Both our breaths catch, Oliver stares like he’s memorizing every slowly scanned inch from my face down to where we’re joined. “Yeah,” it’s soft, and full of emotion, “definitely top of the list.”

His hand slides down, thumb making small circles in ways we’ve spent this stay perfecting, and it is so perfect that it makes me gasp, “Fuck!”

Oliver’s voice is teasing, “I am…unless you want me to stop.”

I laugh, “You just try to stop, I’ll…” the words morph into a gasped moan as he flexes particular muscle sets underneath me with a rather delightful result.

There are a few things that I’ve learned Oliver Queen loves in the hours that we’ve secluded ourselves in this quaint little room. One – he doesn’t mind eating takeout for every meal. Two – I knew the man was always up for a challenge, but the lengths he’ll go to excel rather than just succeed, that was a very pleasant education. And three – the he has a weakness for the sounds of sex. All the other senses involved work their magic, but when he closes his eyes and just loses himself in the actions…if I can work things so the bed squeaks a little louder, focus hard on verbalizing actual words rather than just sounds as I praise and beg and play, unless of course my mouth is occupied with other things…Oh how it works on him. One time, only one time so far, as I held his head in place so I could pant and moan directly into his ear what every thrust and motion he made felt like, goading and begging him on, drawing his attention to the wet rhythm of our bodies joining as it filled the room, being what should have been embarrassingly vocal as he managed to get me off just barely before he lost that carefully held control – I made this beautiful, amazingly strong man come so hard he blacked out for a few seconds. It. Was. Awesome!

There is deep heat to his voice, “You’ll what?”

With his hand playing like that as he helps me ride him I can’t keep focus on my train of thought, “What?”

His thumb moves only in the pauses between his words, “I just try to stop and you’ll…”

“I’ll tackle you and…and…God! Don’t stop or I’ll be very upset with you!”

Whatever he imagines my being very upset with him will or will not entail works, because he doesn’t stop, and keeps not stopping until we’re both exhausted again.

}]}———}>

No plans were made, and we drove until ending up in some small, touristy Pacific Northwestern fishing town, just in time for some seasonal festival, or celebration, or something. Oliver’s right, the only important thing is it’s us. Again we pick a place to stay at random, some motel that’s just a fifteen minute walk from what passes for downtown. The man at the desk recommended a local restaurant, and even was so kind as to make a reservation for us while we checked in.

…

I am quite sure we have thoroughly broken in the room. However if Oliver doesn't finish his shower we're going to miss our reservation and not make it out of here before the rest of the tourists flood the main stretch. As 'It's not authentic but these are some awesome  dumplings' as the delivery food was, we both need something a lot less fried and salty after five straight meals of the takeout that quickly arrived at our door. Besides my sensitive parts are getting a bit tender from this amount of action, no matter how wonderful, so a couple hours break is absolutely necessary.

“Hurry up!” I call towards the bathroom, “We’re going to be late!”

My dress is flirty, not that he doesn't seem to appreciate everything I have and haven't worn since we made the decision to go. But as I’m pulling clothes out for him that compliment the hints of lace peeking out near my knees, and fishing for a pair of socks at the bottom of the luggage, a familiar color flashes in the shuffle. What the...? 

I’m still standing there when he emerges, towel wrapped around his waist. Smile dropping to a look of confusion at my expression, “What’s wrong?”

I lift a fistful of dark fabric. “Are you planning on needing this for something?”

His words fumble, and his eyes dart down at the offending object then back up. “I- That- It’s a great jacket.”

“You already brought three jackets for any weather – hoodie, rain, and cold, why did you bring this one? Is Kevlar in your itinerary of escape?” The reinforced chest and back of this old prototype that was not flexible enough for easily using his arrows with is heavy enough to make my arm ache at this angle. Letting it drop to the floor with a faint thud I just give him a pointed stare.

His hands keep moving, rubbing nervously at his jaw, the back of his neck, the closely cropped hair that is still dark with water. “I don’t know, I guess I didn’t notice packing it.”

“Is that your thing?” I ask point blank, a sinking feeling growing in the pit of my belly.

He blinks, eyes meeting mine, confusion clear, “My thing?”

A step away from the dark pile and my arms wrapping around myself provides no comfort. “The danger, the life and death, do you have to have the adrenaline rush to be truly satisfied?”

“Felicity, I packed it by mistake.” He takes slow steps forward, like I'm dangerous. I'm not dangerous, I'm worried, and the distraction of just a towel blocking him from being nude is not scattering those thoughts as it would have even a day ago, not over something like this.

“That’s not a ‘No,’ Oliver. Is it your addiction, a not-so-secret kink?”

His arms wrap loosely around me, following as I try to turn my head away, “My ‘addiction,' my 'kink,’“ his forehead nudges mine, “is sharing time and experiences with the woman I love.” Eyes stare into mine as his lips hover, just shy of kissing me. “Promise…Pinkie promise.”

I can't help but give a concerned laugh at that, pecking at his lips before pushing him away with a pointed look at the clothes. “A real sicko at heart.”

It takes him mere seconds to pull on each piece, “How about we grab dinner, since you’re worried about that too, then discuss this?”

A glance at the clock that says we have ten minutes to make the long walk, “I’m not going to drop it.”

“I’m not asking you to.”

We arrive ten minutes late, and I’m a bit breathless from jogging close-ish to his slowed pace on the well worn path in these sandals, but they held the table even with the line out the door because the motel owner is a friend of the owner.

…

I present a reasonable case, a set of logical points. The jacket is one not so baby-step back into that. The same thing that left so many marks on the skin I had myself all over for the past few days.

Only distracted by the thoughts of that skin on skin for a moment, Oliver counters with it being an accident; it’s obviously one of the older prototypes, it must have been nestled into a different jacket or sweater.

Accident. Coincidence. Part of the perfection of our escape from reality cracks, splinters off. I don’t know if I can believe him on this.

He must someone see that in my face, he apologizes, and apologizes again. Our fingers lace together. “I promise you, I have no plans to take up my old job in a new location. If you want me to throw it away I’ll trash it as soon as we get back to the room.”

I sigh, “That jacket is the most expensive one you own now.” All the ways this could play out try to make a traffic jam in my brain, “Don’t trash it, that’s just wasteful. But promise me you won’t go searching for Kevlar situations to put yourself in.”

“I promise.” He raises my hand and kisses my knuckles, “Cross my heart.”

A small tug and I pull it out of his grip, dragging it over his shirt, making a wide X over that spot before letting my palm rest. His heartbeat’s soft rhythm feels right. “Keep that promise. I love that heart.”

Our drinks arrive before Oliver can say anything, but he nods as I retreat back to my side of the table. We lightly toast on it. The wine is good, the food, in its low oil, low salt, and bright flavors is better.

…

“Mmm.” My tongue darts out to catch the crumbs that broke apart on my lips. It is only then that I notice Oliver’s intense stare. Following up with my fingers to make sure I didn't miss any since my napkin disappeared, I see him lick his lips at the motion eyes never leaving my mouth. "Oliver...?"

"Mmmhmm?" He blinks, and reflexively takes a large swallow of wine.

“We have made up for lost time and more since we left, you can’t still be that distracted by the newness. If anything you should be dehydrated.” It’s only been a couple hours, even for the honeymoon style start of dating, skipping most of the awkward getting-to-know-you’s, this is a lot of sex. And for me to think it’s a lot of sex, it takes a LOT of sex.

“Felicity, I finally get a chance to show you how much I love you, all of you. My brain hasn’t quite got the memo that it’s not going to disappear in a blink like when we tried dating last time.”

His words send warm tingles through my blood.  Running my fingertip along the rim of my empty water and then half full wine glass, I bite on my lip to dim my smile just a bit, "How about we just finish the wine, skip dessert, and take a walk?"

"A walk?"

Mirroring a stare at his lips, reaching across the table to lace my fingers with his, I nod.

"Let me pay and we can just take the bottle with us." He glances around for the waiter, reaching for his wallet.

Since they still have to print out the bill, instead my hand tips the rest of the wine into our glasses, taking them both back to full. I take the time to savor mine, then a few sips of his, giving extra attention to any traces on my lips, trying to give just a little payback for the many those times he did all that shirtless training. When the total finally arrives Oliver barely glances at it while watching me steal another taste from his glass. Grabbing a few bills before shoving his wallet back in his pocket he covers our meal plus a tip.

It was an unexpected surprise that he mentioned during our drive, extra money for the trip, cash from his account tied the sale of a few of his remaining shares of Queen Consolidated to Ray in his takeover.

The wineglass is gently pried from my hands and raised to his lips. Draining, too controlled to be gulping but at the same speed, his drink down as he stands. Our hands join, within a few steps he’s gently pulling me along. We weave through dark buildings, laughing, making playful little comments. Oliver spins around when I can’t keep up through a tight alleyway, crushing his lips to mine desperately, grabbing my hips and hoisting me up so I can wrap my legs around his waist. Rubbing myself against him like an animal in heat gives me a deliciously buffered friction, I lean in for another kiss at the same time he does and our noses bump hard enough to have me drawing back with a near yelp.

“You ok?” A hand immediately caresses the side of my face.

Rubbing my cheek into that touch, nipping at the thumb that grazes the corner of my lips I give a small nod. “Just startled me more than anything. You?” The look he gives me is full of sarcasm and incredulity that he’d notice something so small as a bumped nose. The buzz is making a wonderful looseness to my muscles. “Fine, macho man, why don't you kiss it and make it better?”

He gives the ghost of a low laugh, rocking himself against me, “I’d rather kiss something else to make you feel better.”

Oh...well..."That sounds delightful."

His hips move and he groans, “It's gonna be a long walk back to the hotel.”

I mock whisper, “Who said anything about the hotel?” I may not be an exhibitionist but there’s plenty of hidden places that I remember from our dash here, and it’s only gotten darker since then. “It’s just us out here, everyone else is waiting for the fireworks to start. I’m not doing anything exposed, but if you find us a bit of privacy…”

We twist through another couple alleys, then end up in an expanse of coastline. We have to slow when I yank on his arm to catch myself from another rock my toes trip over. Oliver’s arm moves under my shoulders and he lifts so it feels like I’m floating. Just another reminder of how strong he is. It earns him another emphatic kiss. When my lips leave his, he opens his eyes, sweeping them over the stretch around us as the first of the night’s fireworks sizzles up and bursts a rainbow of burning chemicals into the sky. “That gazebo over there… looks like there’s sunken seating. Nobody is around, no one will see a thing?”

Looking at the option one minute away instead of at least half an hour from us with the darkness, and stumbling, and touches…probably even longer, another check for anyone else comes up empty and I nod.

He takes the lead, stepping down and helping keep me steady as I follow. Another set of fireworks illuminates the simple seating, a concrete circle with a fire pit in the center, but it’s private and right here, which makes it better than the distant bed. I stay standing, since it leaves me at the perfect height. Oliver drags his hands up my thighs, my fingers over his to guide him to my hips. His thumbs loop in the fabric, slowly inching down my panties as he settles to kneel.

The discarded barrier gets shoved into my purse and I plant my feet in a comfortable stance. Oliver stares up at me, eyes not leaving mine as I hitch my dress up to my hips. His head dips. “I used to fantasize about doing this, tasting you, and now that I’ve had you…those fantasies didn’t come anywhere close to how good reality is.” He kisses the inside of my leg, then the other. “I can’t remember how long it’s been since reality was so much better than a dream.”

My core clenches at the words and the breeze that tickles my exposed skin. "Well you'll almost never find me turning that down...,” I let the smile sound in my voice, “for future reference and everything."

"Good to know," is breathed against my skin, and without another word he leans forward, watching me watch him. A slow, firm, lick parts me open. Shoulders push my legs wider, he goes for another long lick, without breaking eye contact. It lets me see his pupils blow wide, hiding the bright blue with darkness. The hot lingering kiss over my clit that follows makes me gasp.

Finally he looks away, down, stares intensely enough at those intimate parts of me that I flush, and start trying to squirm my legs closed. Oliver doesn't let me, diving into his oral exploration without further hesitation. I cry out a moan, dragging my fingertips against his scalp.

He rumbles a noise of approval, the actual words lost against my flesh. I give half formed requests – “Over...Right th-there!”

He is good, really really good, as proven over the past few days, but not a mind reader. So it is an even better experience for all involved if I continue help teaching him what I like best, knowing he'll reciprocate the knowledge share. Just like we agreed. My mouth waters at the thought of our positions reversed, him standing above me, biting his lip with a moan, hips twitching in an effort not to move, gripping my hair as I...

He calls me out on my distraction, “Come back here.” The fantasy breaks apart as his head dips and he pulls my leg so it is over his shoulder and my weight sinks forward against his face. I only keep from falling by that gorgeous face and my other shaky leg. He doesn't falter, tongue plunging in that tiny bit further as he nuzzles his nose against the most sensitive part of me. He is not quiet and takes my guidance without hesitation, leaving me wanton in my tremulous ride of his face.

Staring straight into the sky, fireworks paint the night with the same intensity as the jolts of pleasure Oliver is coaxing from my body. I'm on the cusp of bliss when loud barking invades our privacy. Instinct has me straightening, shoving his head away as he makes a startled sound. The front of my dress is down before I can even figure out where the noise is coming from.

There is a whine of disappointment from him that goes silent as I hiss, “Someone’s walking their dog nearby!” Oliver’s fingers slide from my knee up near the bare skin his mouth was just buried against as he looks around. I can see the shine of me spread across his face and swipe it away with my palm.

With regret visible he grabs that hand, voice suggestive, “We could wait until they move on?”

“No.” The sounds of people talking and more excited dog noises are getting closer and a large set of fireworks burst, brightening the sky and the no longer secluded seating.

He kisses the center of my palm, licking where his lips part, murmuring, “You were close, I could feel you shaking.”

I hiss, closing my fist so he can’t lick again, “Shut it!”

One lumbering furry bundle of energy comes charging over, barking. I let out a startled shriek, legs squeezing tightly together and my hands block the second overly enthusiastic face from it’s interest in getting up in my business; my missing-a-layer-of-clothing business. The other interested party, Oliver, puts himself between me and the dog before it can touch me, just as a second and third hound come loping over to join in with excited barks, all three animals sniffing and bumping up against him.

Are there no leash laws here? I’m embarrassed by my overreaction, making shooing sounds and motions to try and keep us free of puppy kisses and sneezes when a voice, the owner, calls from maybe a hundred yards away. The tenseness that filled Oliver’s frame at my shriek does not leave him, even as it’s obvious the animals aren’t a danger. A sharp whistle and a command have the dogs sprinting back.

“Sorry, didn’t expect anyone out in these parts,” the man shouts, “They wouldn’t hurt a fly, just forgetting the rules. They get a mite spooked with the fireworks going on so I let them run, they know better than to bother strangers.”

Oliver makes some sort of dismissive response that it’s fine, his face contradicts the words but it’s not like the stranger can see. Our walk back is slow and quiet, and we make it back to the hotel after the fireworks taper off.

A quick rinse off and he tries to go back down on me but it’s not quite the same. The desire is there but he’s not relaxed and we end up settling down into soft touches when our enthusiasm fades. It’s barely past nine when we decide to call it an early night so we’ll be ready for the early flight.

I try to sneak a quick glance at my phone, email withdrawal hitting hard but it’s powered itself off. The battery must have died somewhere on our trip up the coast and because it was in silent mode there was no buzz or chime to warn me. “Hey, toss me your phone, I’ll plug them both in so they’re ready before we leave tomorrow.” Oliver gives me a look that lets me know I’m not fooling him. “I’ll leave them off, just charging!” Mildly chagrined, I do, and get one last kiss before he pulls the blanket up and cradles us together.

The circumstances that shaped this unbreakable fragile man are things I had no control over. I know that I don't know everything. It’s obvious that he shared some, not all, like anyone would do to protect themselves but damned if I'm not going to show him he is safe and wanted with me. Even after these past few years of working together, he’s still so set on being this fortress with all the emotion trapped away inside, but I’ve seen the shift from stoic to that almost startled confusion as I hugged him or John had offered reassurance. The hint of a smile quickly hidden away again that shows the real pleasure in the connection, before he reminds himself that he thinks he isn’t worth it, can’t have it, or whatever other nonsense goes through his brain and steals his happiness.

He has this fortress of protection in his mind, steel gates, stone blocks, moats, mazes, distractions and I'm going to get him to lower the drawbridge and let me in if I have to tiptoe through hell to get there. So I don’t point out that he still doesn’t fully let his guard down. That since that first night he’s made a blanket barrier between us when he thinks I’ve drifted off, or that he doesn’t fall asleep before I do to try and make sure it stays in place.

…

Plane! We’re going to miss the plane!

The thought has my eyes flying open, only to be met with the glow of 10:24 on the clock. Not going to miss the plane…Can’t miss the plane…If I just use my phone as a clock it won’t count, and I can add like five alarms so we are up in time. Stretching my fingers over to the nightstand I snag it, covering the speaker while powering it on.

The thought spills out of me as a yelp, “What the-?!”

Oliver jerks upwards from where he’s snuggled into the pillow-blanket barrier beside me, words slurred as he fights the thick comforter off for his freedom, “Wha’s wrr’gg?” His eyes are fighting to widen while blinking against the glaring brightness of my phone.

“37 messages!”

His eyes flit from me to the phone in my hand, as if trying to figure out how the messages could pose a danger to me. Another look around the room and me again before apparently deciding it’s safe, he wraps an arm around my waist, scoots closer, and spoons against my back, “Too early.”

“I need to set some-“

He nudges the small rectangle back over onto the nightstand and out of my hand. “Not been a week. You set up the wakeup call with the reservation.”

“No, I set the ‘quit molesting your gorgeous self because we need to get out the door’ call. It’s not a private jet, we need to be there early for check in, security, boarding-“

Oliver’s hips press forward as his hand snakes down, “Molesting me? Why wouldn’t I be the one molesting you?” A low whisper, “Was having a very good dream about molesting you.”

“Because you do a better job at distracting me from staying on task...” My words turn into a moan as his fingers nudge along then, just barely, inside me.

“Mmm…you’re still slick.” I press on his hand and that pair of fingertips move deeper. A much more awake part of his body presses against my backside, his hips rocking to settle us flush as he teases his lips against my ear. “You take me off plan all the time.”

Rolling his body over mine, it is fast, messy, still half asleep he continues to do a good job at distracting me, and my phone remains a forgotten task.

[courtneytincher]

What It’s Like to Travel the World With the Secretary of State

Nolan Peterson, The Daily Signal’s foreign correspondent, is back in Washington after a week traveling abroad with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Today, he joins Daniel in the studio to share about the trip and the news he reported on, ranging from Russia to China to North Korea and Afghanistan.Daniel Davis: Joining me back in the studio is our foreign correspondent, Nolan Peterson, who is straight off of one week globetrotting with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.The liberal Left continue to push their radical agenda against American values. The good news is there is a solution. Find out more >>Nolan, welcome back.Nolan Peterson: I’m glad to be back.Davis: So, just before we get started, where all did you go?Peterson: It was quite the journey. We started off the long flight to Bangkok, spent several days there, and then on to Sydney, and then a hopscotch across the Pacific, stopping in the Federated States of Micronesia for Secretary Pompeo’s final visit of the journey.Davis: It was [your] first time traveling with the secretary of state?Peterson: It was, yeah. It was really impressive to see through the levers of U.S. power working abroad, and I think just to see the importance of the presence of the United States in these places, and the fact that we do carry a lot of sway around the world. And I would definitely argue against the notion that our power is somehow on the decline, based on what I saw this past week.Davis: Well, your trip covered a whole … set of issues, so I want to ask you to go through those. Starting with Russia—you actually broke a story about the U.S. putting new sanctions on Russia for its use of a chemical weapon last year on British soil, targeting a former Russian spy and his daughter.What’s the significance of those new sanctions?Peterson: Well, I think, if you look at what happened last week, it was a pretty aggressive week [for] U.S. foreign policy.I think when you look at the additional sanctions for the Skripal assassination attempt on U.K. soil by a nerve agent in conjunction with the U.S. decision to finally pull out of the [Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces] Treaty, the medium-range missile treaty that was a carryover from the Cold War that the U.S. withdrew from last week.You take all these things together, and I think there’s a pattern going on, too, more broadly with the U.S. slapping new … tariffs on China. The U.S. is really digging in its heels and saying that these countries are serial violators of America’s trust, aren’t going to get away with it any longer.So, I think you’re seeing a more aggressive pushback in some ways by the Trump administration. It happened [with] these two things. The new sanctions for the nerve agent attack and the INF Treaty withdrawal happened concurrently.So, I think that was a blow for Russia. But yeah, I think America seems to be really making a statement that it won’t be made a fool by these countries anymore.Davis: So, President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the INF Treaty. This was a treaty struck at the end of the Reagan administration with [Soviet leader Mikhail] Gorbachev, really celebrated as something that [was] finally a breakthrough with the Soviet Union to reduce the missile stock holds.Russia has not been abiding by this in recent years.Peterson: Right.Davis: So, it makes sense for President Trump to say, “All right. Well, we’re not going to hold ourselves to this either.” But does this signal a deterioration of U.S.-Russia relations to the point where you might see a new nuclear buildup on either side?Peterson: I don’t think it’s a deterioration. I think it’s just an acceptance of reality, right? I mean, Russia has been violating this treaty for years, and the U.S. was still abiding by it just for our posture, if you want to call it that.I think that, finally, you just have to accept reality and saying that we are hobbling ourselves militarily by abiding by this treaty, which Russia was blatantly violating for quite a long time.I think, also, you can’t overlook the fact that as the U.S. asserts itself as a Pacific power, and as we start to push back against China’s more aggressive military posture in the Pacific region, the ability for us to have these ground-based missiles is important in the Pacific.So, China was never bound by the INF Treaty, and they have all sorts of missiles that operate within that prescribed range of the INF Treaty.So, now that we’re unbound from those obligations, we have the capacity to deploy missiles in the Pacific region, which could offer a deterrent effect to China, and Defense Secretary Mark Esper floated that possibility on his trip to Sydney where he met, by the way, Secretary Pompeo there.Davis: Yeah, your trip to Sydney—I want to ask about that because Pompeo was meeting with a major partner in the Pacific and … President Trump had just announced that new tariffs are coming on $300 billion of Chinese goods.How are our partners in the Pacific responding to this?Peterson: Well, I think when you look at Australia, their No. 1 trading partner is China. At the same time, Australia is getting, I think, more wary, and I wouldn’t necessarily say nervous, but concerned about China’s more aggressive military posture in the region.So, in a way, Australia has come in a pickle, right? They’re dependent on China’s trade. At the same time, they are feeling the pressure of China: their territorial claims in the South China Sea, acts like this covert base in Cambodia, which got exposed recently. The fact that China and Russia just conducted a joint air patrol [over] the Sea of Japan.So, I think all these things together make Australia nervous about the long-term military threat posed by China. At the same time, they don’t want to lose that trade by doing something provocative, which might damage their economy.So, Secretary Pompeo’s visit to Australia really was to rally to Australians to our side to help push back against China. And in doing so, he made a point that the economic costs potentially of stepping away from China pale in comparison to the long-term costs if China is able to either manipulate Australia from within, through these information campaigns and electoral interference, which has happened recently, as well as China trying to position itself as a strategic threat throughout the Pacific.Davis: Well, recently, when Pompeo was in the U.K., he was critical of the U.K.’s government policy toward China, specifically allowing Huawei to help to play a role in building its 5G network.You noted in your story that Australia actually has drawn a hard line against China on this.Peterson: Yeah, they really led the way on not allowing China’s 5G network in their country. Australia has called out China, too, for these subversive influence campaigns on its soil, electoral interference. So I think Australia is definitely our partner, and I think that was clear on the trip.The rhetoric come from the Australian side. They’re clearly with America, but they also made clear that they have to balance their national interests, and that they don’t have, perhaps, the leeway that we do to push back really aggressively against China because our economy can weather the storm, and I’m not sure if theirs necessarily could.I think, also, when I mentioned the INF Treaty withdrawal by the U.S, there’s some concern in Australia, too, about the possibility of the United States asking to put missiles on Australian soil.That request has not been made, but Secretary Pompeo fielded … a few questions about the possibility of U.S. missiles on Australian soil during his trip.So, I think there is some anxiety in Australia that they don’t want to get caught up in some sort of military escalatory tit-for-tat competition between the U.S. and China.But I think they feel the pressure of China, and they understand that looking forward in this new era of strategic competition that you can’t just bury your head in the sand and wish this threat [was] going to go away because China’s behavior patterns clearly indicate that they are trying to establish their regional dominance.Davis: Well, another big factor there in the region is North Korea, and in just the last few days, they’ve been launching numerous ballistic missile tests, and they were notably absent from the ASEAN diplomatic gathering in Bangkok, where you were with the secretary.Are relations with North Korea deteriorating to a new level, or do you think this is just a typical periodic fit that North Korea throws to get our attention?Peterson: I don’t think they’re necessarily deteriorating. I think it’s a lull between decision points, right? I think we haven’t agreed on having new talks with them yet.So, perhaps, they’re just trying to fan the flames a little bit to approach the talks with more leverage, right? If they walk into the talks after some provocative acts, if America is looking to just get them to stop the missile tests, that gives them something extra to trade.Whereas if they weren’t doing anything provocative, they’d walk in with less cards to play with us.So, I think it’s interesting that North Korea has kept these missile tests below a certain threshold by which the U.S. would be forced to escalate or respond with some more sanctions or some more punishment.But Secretary of State Pompeo made it explicitly clear that he was looking to talk to North Korea. He made multiple entreaties to them both before the trip and during the trip that he was looking to meet, and he also made clear that there were discussions going on behind the scenes.So, I would not say that we’re at a total impasse right now, but I think things are going on quietly, and that the momentum is there for talks to resume.Davis: What’s the state of affairs in Afghanistan right now, and what are the president’s realistic goals there on the ground?Peterson: Well, I think when you talk about timelines, Secretary Pompeo said something on the plane flight over. He said … I’m paraphrasing here, but he’d rather get something done quicker just for the sake of saving American lives.The timeline is just to get America to the point where we don’t have service men and women in danger any longer. There’s no artificial marker based on an election. That was the point he made.Yeah, talks are ongoing with the Taliban. The Taliban has said that it wants to strike a deal with the U.S. for troop withdrawal before it’s willing to talk to the Afghan government.So, I think the Afghan government feels a little bit left out right now because the Taliban, their overarching objective before they start talking about a long-term peace deal is they want to get American troops out of the country.Davis: So what leverage does the Taliban have right now? Because I know that—Peterson: Violence.Davis: OK.Peterson: Violence is their leverage.Davis: Because I know that after 9/11, we displaced them. They were no longer in power. You have an alternative Afghan government.So, if the Afghan government’s still in place, what’s the Taliban doing? Are they just a rebel group [carrying out] guerrilla warfare?Peterson: Yeah, I think Afghanistan is not necessarily a unitary country, like we might consider here in the United States or another Western country. And the Taliban, they have de facto control over a lot of the country.So, I think after 18 years of war, I think reality is that they’re a force in Afghanistan, and that they’re not going to be wiped off by any U.S. military action.The U.S. adopted an advise-and-assist mission in Afghanistan a few years ago. So, we don’t have a direct combat presence per se in the country. But yeah, I think there is now movement toward some sort of solution with Afghanistan.I think the question is now, “Do we leave the country completely, or do we remain there providing assistance and advice to the Afghan military as they move forward?”There’s other examples of the United States doing this quietly in places around the world like Kosovo, where I visited earlier this year, where we still have U.S. forces. They’re helping the cost of our government and their military, but it’s not obviously a military combat operation.But yes, I think there is some movement. The U.S. is trying to talk to the Taliban to get some sort of ceasefire arrangement. But as a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, and having been a witness to what the Taliban represents, I don’t know how you can trust them.I think any deal you strike with them, I mean, you have to walk into it with eyes wide open knowing that the minute America pulls out, you no longer have a way to modulate that violence, and it’s very likely that a lot of the progress that Afghanistan’s society has made, particularly freedoms [for] women, will be reversed if the Taliban is able to claw back to power.Davis: Do you think Iraq could be a possible analog or a model for how to go about this? I mean, we withdrew from Iraq. Obviously, ISIS grew up after that because we pulled out so quickly, but we do still have some military presence there even though we’re not running things politically.Do you think there’s some comparison there, that there’s a way to keep some influence in the country without actually being an “occupying force”?Peterson: Yeah, I mean, I think there’s obviously different layers of differences between just the cultures and the histories of those two countries.But I think in general, the lesson from Iraq is we left too early. The security situation wasn’t shored up. We had to return because, basically, the threat we had been there to defeat … originally, it was to defeat Saddam Hussein, but over the years, it was to defeat that Islamist extremist insurgency, but that returned after we left.There is certainly a threat that if we leave Afghanistan, that the Taliban can take the country over again. There is a strong Islamic State presence in Afghanistan right now.So, I think the possibility that the country could revert to being a safe haven for terrorists with designs on global strikes is certainly there. It’s a really tricky spot for America.I think we do have to ask ourselves the question, though: After being at war for 18 years, at what point do we have to say that we have to leave?In some regards, we did displace the Taliban from power after 2001. The Afghan government has made strides toward establishing this legitimacy. So, there are some who say that if you’re looking at a definition of victory in Afghanistan, perhaps that’s as good as it’s going to get, and perhaps we are looking at the apex of what we can achieve in that country.Then, maybe it is time to pull back and see how things go without our overt presence in the country. I don’t know. I think it’s hard to say how things would go.I think there’s not a great track record of these countries having robust democracies after we leave, and I think it’s important to note that that sort of global Islamist threat still exists even if it is in the shadows, and it’s not quite as powerful as it was before Sept. 11, 2001. It’s still there, and there is a risk of it coming back.Davis: Well, you did some excellent reporting over the last week, and I really encourage our listeners to go check out Nolan’s work at The Daily Signal. When do you head back to Ukraine?Peterson: Tomorrow morning, so I’m still trying to figure out what time zone, day, and continent I’m on.Davis: Don’t get too comfortable with the U.S. time zone.Peterson: Yeah, I won’t. I won’t.Davis: Nolan, thanks for being back on.Peterson: All right. Thank you.This first appeared in The Daily Signal here. Image: Reuters.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines

Nolan Peterson, The Daily Signal’s foreign correspondent, is back in Washington after a week traveling abroad with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Today, he joins Daniel in the studio to share about the trip and the news he reported on, ranging from Russia to China to North Korea and Afghanistan.Daniel Davis: Joining me back in the studio is our foreign correspondent, Nolan Peterson, who is straight off of one week globetrotting with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.The liberal Left continue to push their radical agenda against American values. The good news is there is a solution. Find out more >>Nolan, welcome back.Nolan Peterson: I’m glad to be back.Davis: So, just before we get started, where all did you go?Peterson: It was quite the journey. We started off the long flight to Bangkok, spent several days there, and then on to Sydney, and then a hopscotch across the Pacific, stopping in the Federated States of Micronesia for Secretary Pompeo’s final visit of the journey.Davis: It was [your] first time traveling with the secretary of state?Peterson: It was, yeah. It was really impressive to see through the levers of U.S. power working abroad, and I think just to see the importance of the presence of the United States in these places, and the fact that we do carry a lot of sway around the world. And I would definitely argue against the notion that our power is somehow on the decline, based on what I saw this past week.Davis: Well, your trip covered a whole … set of issues, so I want to ask you to go through those. Starting with Russia—you actually broke a story about the U.S. putting new sanctions on Russia for its use of a chemical weapon last year on British soil, targeting a former Russian spy and his daughter.What’s the significance of those new sanctions?Peterson: Well, I think, if you look at what happened last week, it was a pretty aggressive week [for] U.S. foreign policy.I think when you look at the additional sanctions for the Skripal assassination attempt on U.K. soil by a nerve agent in conjunction with the U.S. decision to finally pull out of the [Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces] Treaty, the medium-range missile treaty that was a carryover from the Cold War that the U.S. withdrew from last week.You take all these things together, and I think there’s a pattern going on, too, more broadly with the U.S. slapping new … tariffs on China. The U.S. is really digging in its heels and saying that these countries are serial violators of America’s trust, aren’t going to get away with it any longer.So, I think you’re seeing a more aggressive pushback in some ways by the Trump administration. It happened [with] these two things. The new sanctions for the nerve agent attack and the INF Treaty withdrawal happened concurrently.So, I think that was a blow for Russia. But yeah, I think America seems to be really making a statement that it won’t be made a fool by these countries anymore.Davis: So, President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the INF Treaty. This was a treaty struck at the end of the Reagan administration with [Soviet leader Mikhail] Gorbachev, really celebrated as something that [was] finally a breakthrough with the Soviet Union to reduce the missile stock holds.Russia has not been abiding by this in recent years.Peterson: Right.Davis: So, it makes sense for President Trump to say, “All right. Well, we’re not going to hold ourselves to this either.” But does this signal a deterioration of U.S.-Russia relations to the point where you might see a new nuclear buildup on either side?Peterson: I don’t think it’s a deterioration. I think it’s just an acceptance of reality, right? I mean, Russia has been violating this treaty for years, and the U.S. was still abiding by it just for our posture, if you want to call it that.I think that, finally, you just have to accept reality and saying that we are hobbling ourselves militarily by abiding by this treaty, which Russia was blatantly violating for quite a long time.I think, also, you can’t overlook the fact that as the U.S. asserts itself as a Pacific power, and as we start to push back against China’s more aggressive military posture in the Pacific region, the ability for us to have these ground-based missiles is important in the Pacific.So, China was never bound by the INF Treaty, and they have all sorts of missiles that operate within that prescribed range of the INF Treaty.So, now that we’re unbound from those obligations, we have the capacity to deploy missiles in the Pacific region, which could offer a deterrent effect to China, and Defense Secretary Mark Esper floated that possibility on his trip to Sydney where he met, by the way, Secretary Pompeo there.Davis: Yeah, your trip to Sydney—I want to ask about that because Pompeo was meeting with a major partner in the Pacific and … President Trump had just announced that new tariffs are coming on $300 billion of Chinese goods.How are our partners in the Pacific responding to this?Peterson: Well, I think when you look at Australia, their No. 1 trading partner is China. At the same time, Australia is getting, I think, more wary, and I wouldn’t necessarily say nervous, but concerned about China’s more aggressive military posture in the region.So, in a way, Australia has come in a pickle, right? They’re dependent on China’s trade. At the same time, they are feeling the pressure of China: their territorial claims in the South China Sea, acts like this covert base in Cambodia, which got exposed recently. The fact that China and Russia just conducted a joint air patrol [over] the Sea of Japan.So, I think all these things together make Australia nervous about the long-term military threat posed by China. At the same time, they don’t want to lose that trade by doing something provocative, which might damage their economy.So, Secretary Pompeo’s visit to Australia really was to rally to Australians to our side to help push back against China. And in doing so, he made a point that the economic costs potentially of stepping away from China pale in comparison to the long-term costs if China is able to either manipulate Australia from within, through these information campaigns and electoral interference, which has happened recently, as well as China trying to position itself as a strategic threat throughout the Pacific.Davis: Well, recently, when Pompeo was in the U.K., he was critical of the U.K.’s government policy toward China, specifically allowing Huawei to help to play a role in building its 5G network.You noted in your story that Australia actually has drawn a hard line against China on this.Peterson: Yeah, they really led the way on not allowing China’s 5G network in their country. Australia has called out China, too, for these subversive influence campaigns on its soil, electoral interference. So I think Australia is definitely our partner, and I think that was clear on the trip.The rhetoric come from the Australian side. They’re clearly with America, but they also made clear that they have to balance their national interests, and that they don’t have, perhaps, the leeway that we do to push back really aggressively against China because our economy can weather the storm, and I’m not sure if theirs necessarily could.I think, also, when I mentioned the INF Treaty withdrawal by the U.S, there’s some concern in Australia, too, about the possibility of the United States asking to put missiles on Australian soil.That request has not been made, but Secretary Pompeo fielded … a few questions about the possibility of U.S. missiles on Australian soil during his trip.So, I think there is some anxiety in Australia that they don’t want to get caught up in some sort of military escalatory tit-for-tat competition between the U.S. and China.But I think they feel the pressure of China, and they understand that looking forward in this new era of strategic competition that you can’t just bury your head in the sand and wish this threat [was] going to go away because China’s behavior patterns clearly indicate that they are trying to establish their regional dominance.Davis: Well, another big factor there in the region is North Korea, and in just the last few days, they’ve been launching numerous ballistic missile tests, and they were notably absent from the ASEAN diplomatic gathering in Bangkok, where you were with the secretary.Are relations with North Korea deteriorating to a new level, or do you think this is just a typical periodic fit that North Korea throws to get our attention?Peterson: I don’t think they’re necessarily deteriorating. I think it’s a lull between decision points, right? I think we haven’t agreed on having new talks with them yet.So, perhaps, they’re just trying to fan the flames a little bit to approach the talks with more leverage, right? If they walk into the talks after some provocative acts, if America is looking to just get them to stop the missile tests, that gives them something extra to trade.Whereas if they weren’t doing anything provocative, they’d walk in with less cards to play with us.So, I think it’s interesting that North Korea has kept these missile tests below a certain threshold by which the U.S. would be forced to escalate or respond with some more sanctions or some more punishment.But Secretary of State Pompeo made it explicitly clear that he was looking to talk to North Korea. He made multiple entreaties to them both before the trip and during the trip that he was looking to meet, and he also made clear that there were discussions going on behind the scenes.So, I would not say that we’re at a total impasse right now, but I think things are going on quietly, and that the momentum is there for talks to resume.Davis: What’s the state of affairs in Afghanistan right now, and what are the president’s realistic goals there on the ground?Peterson: Well, I think when you talk about timelines, Secretary Pompeo said something on the plane flight over. He said … I’m paraphrasing here, but he’d rather get something done quicker just for the sake of saving American lives.The timeline is just to get America to the point where we don’t have service men and women in danger any longer. There’s no artificial marker based on an election. That was the point he made.Yeah, talks are ongoing with the Taliban. The Taliban has said that it wants to strike a deal with the U.S. for troop withdrawal before it’s willing to talk to the Afghan government.So, I think the Afghan government feels a little bit left out right now because the Taliban, their overarching objective before they start talking about a long-term peace deal is they want to get American troops out of the country.Davis: So what leverage does the Taliban have right now? Because I know that—Peterson: Violence.Davis: OK.Peterson: Violence is their leverage.Davis: Because I know that after 9/11, we displaced them. They were no longer in power. You have an alternative Afghan government.So, if the Afghan government’s still in place, what’s the Taliban doing? Are they just a rebel group [carrying out] guerrilla warfare?Peterson: Yeah, I think Afghanistan is not necessarily a unitary country, like we might consider here in the United States or another Western country. And the Taliban, they have de facto control over a lot of the country.So, I think after 18 years of war, I think reality is that they’re a force in Afghanistan, and that they’re not going to be wiped off by any U.S. military action.The U.S. adopted an advise-and-assist mission in Afghanistan a few years ago. So, we don’t have a direct combat presence per se in the country. But yeah, I think there is now movement toward some sort of solution with Afghanistan.I think the question is now, “Do we leave the country completely, or do we remain there providing assistance and advice to the Afghan military as they move forward?”There’s other examples of the United States doing this quietly in places around the world like Kosovo, where I visited earlier this year, where we still have U.S. forces. They’re helping the cost of our government and their military, but it’s not obviously a military combat operation.But yes, I think there is some movement. The U.S. is trying to talk to the Taliban to get some sort of ceasefire arrangement. But as a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, and having been a witness to what the Taliban represents, I don’t know how you can trust them.I think any deal you strike with them, I mean, you have to walk into it with eyes wide open knowing that the minute America pulls out, you no longer have a way to modulate that violence, and it’s very likely that a lot of the progress that Afghanistan’s society has made, particularly freedoms [for] women, will be reversed if the Taliban is able to claw back to power.Davis: Do you think Iraq could be a possible analog or a model for how to go about this? I mean, we withdrew from Iraq. Obviously, ISIS grew up after that because we pulled out so quickly, but we do still have some military presence there even though we’re not running things politically.Do you think there’s some comparison there, that there’s a way to keep some influence in the country without actually being an “occupying force”?Peterson: Yeah, I mean, I think there’s obviously different layers of differences between just the cultures and the histories of those two countries.But I think in general, the lesson from Iraq is we left too early. The security situation wasn’t shored up. We had to return because, basically, the threat we had been there to defeat … originally, it was to defeat Saddam Hussein, but over the years, it was to defeat that Islamist extremist insurgency, but that returned after we left.There is certainly a threat that if we leave Afghanistan, that the Taliban can take the country over again. There is a strong Islamic State presence in Afghanistan right now.So, I think the possibility that the country could revert to being a safe haven for terrorists with designs on global strikes is certainly there. It’s a really tricky spot for America.I think we do have to ask ourselves the question, though: After being at war for 18 years, at what point do we have to say that we have to leave?In some regards, we did displace the Taliban from power after 2001. The Afghan government has made strides toward establishing this legitimacy. So, there are some who say that if you’re looking at a definition of victory in Afghanistan, perhaps that’s as good as it’s going to get, and perhaps we are looking at the apex of what we can achieve in that country.Then, maybe it is time to pull back and see how things go without our overt presence in the country. I don’t know. I think it’s hard to say how things would go.I think there’s not a great track record of these countries having robust democracies after we leave, and I think it’s important to note that that sort of global Islamist threat still exists even if it is in the shadows, and it’s not quite as powerful as it was before Sept. 11, 2001. It’s still there, and there is a risk of it coming back.Davis: Well, you did some excellent reporting over the last week, and I really encourage our listeners to go check out Nolan’s work at The Daily Signal. When do you head back to Ukraine?Peterson: Tomorrow morning, so I’m still trying to figure out what time zone, day, and continent I’m on.Davis: Don’t get too comfortable with the U.S. time zone.Peterson: Yeah, I won’t. I won’t.Davis: Nolan, thanks for being back on.Peterson: All right. Thank you.This first appeared in The Daily Signal here. Image: Reuters.

August 08, 2019 at 09:02AM via IFTTT

[thetrumpdebacle]

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

We’re going to hear next from another major player on the political stage in Russia. Yesterday on the show, we introduced you to Ksenia Sobchak. She’s challenging President Vladimir Putin in the upcoming elections even though she admits she has no chance of winning. I asked her to respond to critics who say she’s only in the race to lend a veneer of legitimacy, to make it look free and fair.

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KSENIA SOBCHAK: I would say it’s a lie because I think Putin maybe underestimates me, or he’s less afraid of me than he’s afraid of, for example, Alexei Navalny.

KELLY: Afraid of Alexei Navalny – Navalny is Putin’s most prominent political opponent, and today we meet him. NPR’s Lucian Kim sat down with Navalny in Moscow, and Lucian’s here now to share what he learned in that interview. Hi there.

LUCIAN KIM, BYLINE: Hello.

KELLY: Start with just a quick sketch. Who is Navalny, for people who don’t follow Russian politics?

KIM: Well, Alexei Navalny is a Moscow lawyer. He basically started as a shareholder activist who became an anti-corruption campaigner, which led him to start leading protests, especially when big anti-government rallies broke out in Russia in 2011.

KELLY: And he’s in his mid-40s – right? – a different generation from Putin.

KIM: Yeah. He appeals to a different generation because of his style. And he’s very effectively used the Internet, where he is bypassing state media and going directly to his supporters.

KELLY: OK. And you had this fascinating chance to sit down with him. I gather you all talked for nearly an hour. So you must have asked about all kinds of things. But can I start here? I’m curious if you asked him about Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election and arguably the biggest thorn in U.S.-Russia relations. The Kremlin says, didn’t happen – we didn’t do it. What does Navalny say?

KIM: Well, of course this subject came up. And I asked him, you know, what do you think? (Laughter) Was there really interference in the election? And this is what he had to say.

ALEXEI NAVALNY: (Speaking Russian).

KIM: He doesn’t have the tiniest doubt about it because that’s also what the Kremlin does inside Russia. He says that he and also other opposition leaders have had their email accounts hacked. And their Twitter accounts and even YouTube have been attacked by these armies of bots.

KELLY: Oh, so he’s saying he buys that Russia hacked U.S. elections ’cause they hack people in Russia, too, including him.

KIM: Exactly.

KELLY: What – did you ask him about President Trump and what he makes of the relationship between Trump and Vladimir Putin?

KIM: Navalny says he can’t understand that relationship because Putin’s main agenda, including inside Russia, is anti-Americanism. So how could someone like Trump be his favorite president? He says there’s no rational explanation, and he thinks that (laughter) only a new Watergate, in his words, could solve this mystery.

KELLY: Hypothetical question, Lucian, because Navalny, we should mention, is not on the ballot in next month’s election – he’s not being allowed to run, but did you ask him what his vision for Russia would be, Russia on the world stage if he ever got the chance to run the country?

KIM: Yes. I mean, during the course of this interview, there were (laughter) hypothetical moments which also made him laugh out loud. When I presented him with a question – well, let’s say that you actually won this election, that you participated and won the election, how would you change relations with the West? This is how he answered.

NAVALNY: (Speaking Russian).

KIM: “We’re a Western country.” Those are his exact words. Navalny is saying that even if you go to Russia’s far east, to the Pacific coast, you’ll feel like you’re in Europe. You won’t feel like you’re in Korea or Japan. He told me that Russia should be a leading European power and that its aim should eventually be to join the European Union. This of course automatically caused me to ask him about NATO. And at that point, Navalny laughed and said, well, actually, Vladimir Putin was the first person to mention joining NATO.

KELLY: Which would be an interesting development given that NATO is a security alliance expressly founded to counter Russian power and influence in the world.

KIM: Exactly. Navalny’s main point was that Russia has no strategic contradiction with the United States and that what both sides really need to do is sort of form a joint security umbrella and fight common threats like nuclear nonproliferation or terrorism.

KELLY: Can I ask you, Lucian, just what he’s like to sit with for an hour? This is a guy who has been physically assaulted, who has been jailed more times than he can probably remember. And you were sitting there in his office, which not just a few weeks ago they chainsawed the door off as security forces went in to ransack it again.

KIM: (Laughter) Yeah, exactly. Well, as a person, I found Navalny surprisingly unpretentious, and he definitely has a certain charisma. He has a good sense of humor. And we only were slated to speak for half an hour, and that went over by 20 minutes.

KELLY: Does he seem frightened for his life, for his own security?

KIM: He doesn’t make the impression of a person who’s frightened. I think he’s already experienced quite a lot in his life. His brother is in jail right now. He’s spent quite a few short terms in jail. So he’s not easily intimidated.

KELLY: Lucian, thank you.

KIM: Thank you.

KELLY: That’s NPR Moscow correspondent Lucian Kim talking about his interview with Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

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