#non-aligned armies

[rhynerd]

In preparation for a round of TAG Deathmatch, I finally painted up the only TAG model I have presently, the Anaconda:

[soylent-crocodile]

Kakophoni (Prestige Class)

(Noise Marine by Yaroslav Lotsmanov)

(Kakophoni were the first of these that I made, and the build was obvious- evil bard! I realized later that "sex cultist with bardic performance" would be the perfect setup for an NPC that's a parody of sex pest bards, and so I made sure to include that in the flavor text.

Each marine class has my personal recommendations of equivalent fiendish lords that fit their theme. Slaanesh was by far the hardest god to find equivalent to in pathfinder. The unspoken truth is that she was and is the god of Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll; notably, noise marines tie themselves to that last part. In canon Slaanesh is described as the god of "excess", which is. Lame. I've leaned more on sadism and kept the drugs and seduction. Relevant lords include Doloras, Belial, and my pick; Socothbenoth.)

Kakophoni are the sadistic envoys and sentinels of dark forces, pledged to the mixture of pleasure and pain, sowers of agony and ecstasy as they see fit. They are perhaps a dark mirror to bards, performers who use their charm and song not to carry oral legacy or strengthen communities, but only to find carnal pleasures for themselves. At best, kakophoni can be flirts, and at worst, they are sexually aggressive, but always their focus is solely on their own desire.

In battle, a kakophoni can be a boon to their allies, driving them into sadistic pleasure and perfectionism, but they are most often a sower of chaos on the battlefield; kakophoni are followed by tales of madness, brother striking brother, of armies collapsing in formation while a kakophoni and their cult cut them down.

Role: Kakophoni are at their most dangerous when using their music to disrupt enemy strategies, but can also land devastating hits when they risk wading into combat. Alignment: A kakophoni is sworn to a fiendish lord, and is always evil.  HD: D10

Prerequisites

Alignment: Must be the same as the chosen fiend. BAB: +5 Feats: Fiendish Obedience Religion: Must worship a fiendish lord of music, hedonism, and/or sadism. Skills: Performance 5

Skills

A kakophoni gains 2+int mod skills per level.

A kakophoni’s class skills are Appraise (Int), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (planes) (Int), Perform (Cha), and Swim (Str)

Weapon and Armor Proficiency

A kakophoni is proficient with basic weapons, kukri, rapiers, scimitars, and light and medium armor. 

Weapon and Armor Proficiency

A kakophoni is proficient with basic weapons, kukri, rapiers, scimitars, and light and medium armor. 

Riotous Cacophony

A kakophoni is capable of using profane musical instruments to wound and debilitate their enemies. At 1st level, a kakophoni can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 6+their Charisma modifier. Each level thereafter, they can use their riotous cacophony 2 additional times per day. This otherwise functions as a bardic performance, except they always have auditory components, and the kakophoni has a different list of available performances. Rounds of cacophony are regained after performing their daily obedience.

Additionally, if a kakophoni has levels in bard, skald or another class that grants performances, they may select one of those classes. They may spend rounds of that class’s performance to perform cacophonies, and vice versa. Once this decision is made it cannot be changed.

Strain (Su) A level 1, a kakophoni can cause Strain in creatures that hear their wretched song, racking their brains with nightmarish thoughts and dark whispers. Non-allied creatures that hear a kakophoni’s strain cacophony take a -2 morale penalty to attack rolls and saving throws against fear and compulsion effects. At level 6, this penalty increases to -3. This is a mind-affecting effect.

Sonic Blast (Su) As a standard action while performing their Cacophony, a kakophoni can create a sonic blast, a burst of raw noise that deals 3d8 sonic damage to all non-allied creatures within 30ft of them, reflex save for half. The reflex save is equal to 10+½ the Kakophoni’s character level+his Charisma modifier. At level 3 and every two levels in Kakophoni thereafter, this damage increases by 1d8. A creature that fails its save is additionally deafened for 1 round.

Countersong (Su)  This ability functions as the bardic performance of the same name.

Inspire Perfection (Su) At level 3, a kakophoni can inspire a sadistic relish and drive for the art of combat in their allies, leading them to charge into battle and attack with grace and power. Allies affected by this cacophony get a +2 profane bonus to attack rolls, damage rolls, and combat maneuver checks, and may use their dexterity modifier in place of their strength modifier when dealing damage with weapons and when calculating their combat maneuver bonus. If an ally spends a round without attacking or making a combat maneuver, they lose access to these benefits for the duration of the performance. At level 8, this bonus becomes +3. This is a mid-affecting effect.

Murderous Command (Sp) At level 3, a kakophoni can command a creature subject to their strain cacophony to attack an ally, as with the spell Murderous Command. This ability does not disrupt the strain performance, but does cost a standard action to activate. Once kakophoni has attempted to command a creature this way, they cannot do so again for the duration of the performance. A will save with DC equal to to 10+½ the Kakophoni’s character level+his Charisma modifier negates the effect.

Madness (Su) At level 5, a kakophoni gains the ability to bring joyous madness upon those who can hear their song. All non-allies who hear this cacophony must make a will save with DC equal to to 10+½ the Kakophoni’s character level+his Charisma modifier or be affected as though with the spell Confusion for the duration of the performance. A creature who has the opportunity to act normally may spend a full round clearing its mind of the kakophoni’s influence, making an additional save at a +5 bonus to end the effect. Once a creature makes the initial save, whether they succeed or fail, they cannot be affected by subsequent performances of that kakophoni’s madness for 24 hours.

Ecstasy (Su) At level 9, a kakophoni’s song can create staggering ecstasy that overwhelms those who hear it. All non-allies who hear this cacophony must make a will save with DC equal to to 10+½ the Kakophoni’s character level+his Charisma modifier or be affected as though with the spell Waves of Ecstasy. Once a creature makes the initial save, whether they succeed or fail, they cannot be affected by subsequent performances of that kakophoni’s ecstasy for 24 hours. Allies who hear this cacophony instead become empowered by the pleasure; they are immune to pain effects and may continue to take actions when at or below 0 hit points, as though they had the Ferocity special quality.

Slave to Darkness (Ex)

In order to maintain the abilities of this class, a kakophoni must perform daily obedience to the fiend they worship. 

Cocksure Shot (Su)

Whenever a kakophoni of level 2 or higher makes a called shot, they may bequeath their master to witness their excellence and precision. If the called shot hits, it deals an amount of additional precision damage equal to twice the penalty taken. If it misses, the kakophoni takes an amount of negative energy damage equal to the penalty taken as their master expresses their thoughts on their failure.

Numb (Ex)

By level 2, a kakophoni has been exposed to enough noise and pain that they become particularly resistant to it. They gain a +2 competence bonus to saves against pain effects, sonic effects, and bardic performances. At level 5, this bonus becomes +4 and at level 8, they become completely immune.

Fiendish Boons

As a kakophoni gains levels, they get access to fiendish boons. The nature of these boons varies based on their fiendish lord; if possible, they always gain the Sentinel boon. At 4th level, they gain the first boon. At 7th level, they gain the second boon. At 10th level, they gain the third boon. 

[improvapocalyps]

Stale blood caked Cleo's armor as she dragged herself through paradise. Gods below that sucked, she thought, that really sucked. They ignored the colorful birds that swooped overhead, disregarding the cloudless sky and brilliant sun that cast down gentle rays upon her green skin. What was the point of indulging in something that didn't exist?

Dust, Flesh, and Bones, by @pattonscribe

“Death!” she called, a hoarse quality to her voice, clutching tighter onto Etho’s body as their army of the dead went onwards to protect them. “You— this wasn't what I wanted!”

before we lose the sound of our own mouths calling mine, mine, mine., by @kanda-franca

In participation of MCYTblr AU Fest Summer 2024 hosted by @mcytblraufest!

I feel incredibly lucky and honored that two(2) writers decided to pick up my niche af AU pitch! They knocked it out of the park with their fics, please check them out !!

[Some behind-the-scenes ramble and close-ups under cut]

My AU's ao3 equivalent tag is "Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses", specifically drawing inspiration from Khelren's Godsend TTRPG setting (though you do not need any knowledge of the ttrpg to enjoy the fics):

In Godsend you roam the lands as the avatar of your god, cursing mere mortals and presenting gifts to the chosen ones. Your memories are numerous, made of the lives of your predecessors, your power is almost limitless. Will you use it to fulfil the will of your god? Or, as the end times draw near, will you try to save the world? 　(from the itch.io page)

I had my heart set on making Clethubs AU (to no surprise of anyone's i'm sure) so that's the main characters/ avatars settled- but who shall be the gods?

There are 6 domains in the Godsend setting: Death, Justice, Knowledge, Nature, Trickery, and War.

To me, it was obvious to put Bdouble "moss" O100 under the Nature domain, and Zombie "zombie" Cleo under Death. Then after some comtemplation Etho "free glass" sLab was slotted underneath Trickery.

What remains is to find the Hermist/ Traffic-lifers that are 1) connected to the domains 2) related to the avatars.

(fyi i drew all those feather strokes manually by hand with my lineart brush) (why? well,)

Grian came to mind immediately when I thought of "Trickery" (Though Cub, Scar, and a couple of other Hermits also fit). I wanted to build the god-avatar relationship on the Etho-Grian dynamic specifically.

Scar was chosen based on his S9 theme (wood elf) and his history with Bdubs (S7 mayor race). Baiscally the concept of King maker/ Second-in-command Bdubs was stuck in my brain. (Sorry Stress :[ )

Death was a trickier one. While it would be funny to have Grian-Scar-Mumbo to be (half of) the pantheon, Mumbo fit the Knowledge domain better. (ignoring his Peace, Love, and Plants deal for a sec; even then I think that's more Nature-aligned) so I went with the classic option of Zedeath.

Beyond this point (until "===") is me overanalysing/ blue-curtaining the black & white piece. You have been warned (/silly)

This piece's composition used a circle/three-parter as its base, witih the circle centred on the castle/city in the middle of the map. Etho was fully isolated in Grian/Trickery's third of the space, but Nature crossed over into Death's space easily the two domains are closely related imo. It was natural for things to end (death), and endings fueled the next cycle of nature life.

It seemed that all the gods are looking at the world/map, however since their pupils are obscured (non-existent in Scar's case) it was difficult to say for certain. Though you might be able to tell where their interest lie, if you look at the distance between the deities and the mortal realm and where their hands rest.

Death carefully rested his elbow on the line separating him and Nature, but his left hand was dangerously close to Bdubs. And it looked like it was ready to come down and press direcly onto the corner of the map, tilting or even flipping the chessboard over. In his right hand held the scythe, posed to swing. The edge of his scythe faced Cleo, pointing towards them like he could harvest their life whenever at his whim.

He also looked at the world from directly above (though you could say he was biased towards Cleo's point of view since he's not centered+ he was positioned behind them), meaning that he saw all lives as "equal", or have an especially detached but not uncaring view regarding the world (like a scientist looking microorganisms in his petri dish).

In contrast, Grian/Trickery leaned in close to the world, lowering his head so his eye level was almost at the ground level of the world. Like he was looking through the mortals' point of view, understanding the state of affairs through humans' moralities and values (through Etho, even, since Grian was positioned behind him).

His eyes were wide in anticipation. While he carefully kept his hands close, they were also touching the world directly; which was a thing no other god did in the piece. It was like he was waiting for the right moment to reach out and disrupt whatever that's happening on stage. As we all know, no matter how much Grian tries to restrain himself, he will press the button.

Scar is the most... detached/ distanced from the world as a whole? He reclined backwards, his visible hand resting on his knee. He might be looking at the world, or he might be looking at Grian, or was his attention on bdubs? Even with the signature :J smile on his face, he got this air of indifference. Maybe Nature believed that everything will run their fated courses without his influence.

The flowers on Scar's clothes were sunflowers (sides of his corset), roses (back of corset and forearm), and a very specific lilac brush I had to download. Flowers that were closely related to a certain series :3c

Shoutout to w4r (War for Rayuba) for the chessboard map idea. ily octs It's really funny that Bdubs, Cleo & Etho all start/ were currently standing on black tiles (<- did not count the tiles and only realised that after i started to fill in the black)

Let's talk (more) about body language and outfits and black-white ratio (I am Reaching here) (not that I wasn't in the previous part) (but I am Reaching even further)

Etho has a very clear cut B&W shading with minimal grey/cross-hatch areas. He is the least ink-blocked. He knows what his beliefs are and the lines that he will/won't cross.

He has a semi-relaxed stance, tilting back slightly. He has one hand on his hip but the other by his side remain open-palmed. He isn't not listening to new proposals, but he is considering (and judging) them carefully.

Bdubs' moss cloak and boots has a clear divide in b&w, but not his outfit (pants)/headband. Both the cloak and boots are nature-aligned: cloak is, well, made of moss; and boots to walk the earth, the only thing separating him and the dirt (though at the same time, supporting him).

Nature is clear in what it wants. While there may be bright parts mixed in shadows, and flecks of shade within the "light", Nature holds a firm stance based on layers and layers of understanding.

Bdubs is also reaching out with an open palm. He is open for dialogue, perhaps preaching/ prompting others to communicate as well.

Cleo is the darkest/ most shaded among the three. She has highlights on the edges of her armour, but overall her armour is mainly shades of grey. Unlike Etho/Bdubs whose outfits' base color is largely white/empty, the visible parts underneath her armour (gloves and pants) are solid dark. She is dressed for blood and combat. It also gives the impression that she has this fierce determination/ conviction (darker tones being more "serious").

Her posture- legs wide, slouched/ leaning forward- makes her look aggressive/ stressed. Her hands are balled up into fists, one of them holding onto the flag/banner (of Death). Even then, the way she holds the banner isn't one that says it's for morale. She holds it like a spear, like a weapon.

There's also something about fabric/ extra fabric on the characters.

Etho has the least fabric on him but he has this shawl wrapped around himself. And the shawl itself is very still/ motionless. Bdubs' outfit is very round and gives like a grounded/soft vibe while the ribbon around his head drags behind him. but Cleo has neither of those, the only fabric that waves in the air is her banner which is outside of her body/not connected to her.

=== === ===

The composition of my 2nd piece aimed to imitate the playbook's cover art (illustrated by Vash Taylor), with the slightly faded background and wispy banner. The path of the smoke meant to mimick Cleo's face stitches (as how I usually draw them), where it crawls up her right cheek, crosses her nose bridge and passes through her eye.

Shoutout to "google search: zombie hands" stock photos and silhouette images, they saved my life when I was struggling with the foreground.

If you read through all this, I thank you from the bottom of my heart and hope everything will be going splendid for you in the month of August!! Even if you didn't and just swiped past after realising there's too many words behind the read more I wish you the same :D

Once again, please check the fics if you are interested in the AU!! Dust, Flesh, and Bones is a multi-chaptered long fic and before we lose the sound of our own mouths calling mine, mine, mine. is a 9k one-shot! They are both so dear to me I hold them close to me heart,,

[wangxianficfinder]

I'm in the mood for...

July 18th

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1. Itmf fics like the adults are talking by agloeian where someone adopts bby xue yang.

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2. HI!! itmf any modern au fics woth an inexperienced wei ying and experienced lan zhan so basically lan zhan FUCKS @yesibest

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3. Iitmf fics where Hanguang-Jun and/or Yiling Laozu are titles that can be passed down. I read 1 WIP forever ago that was a modern au where the titles and the powers passed down through the ages and I'd love for some more of that concept. Please and thank you. @itsthenerdwonder

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4. I asked about a jc choking wwx fic, I found it its called "The River Brought You Here" by ChilianXianzi. But if anyone knows any other fics that diverge at that point (jc choking wwx and that having consequences) I'd love to hear those too!

Lay my body down by tawaen (M, 48k, WWX & WQ, WWX & WN, wangxian, WWX & JYL, Canon Divergence, Time Travel, Rogue Cultivator WWX, Eventual WangXian, No Golden Core Transfer, Not Cultivation World Friendly, Canon-Typical Violence, Not JC Friendly, What if WWX saw the first siege of the burial mounds and said Nope to the war, OCs, OC point-of-view for one chapter for plot reasons)

Army Dreamers by Forever_Marie (M, 24k, WangXian, WIP, Fall of Lotus Pier, Post-Fall of Lotus Pier, Sunshot Campaign, WWX Needs a Hug, No Golden Core Transfer, Protective LWJ, Good Uncle LQR, Injury Recovery, Major Character Injury, LWJ Has Feelings, Hurt WWX, Soft WangXian, Inventor WWX, Supportive LQR, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Not JC Friendly, Soft WWX, Protective LXC, Attempted Sexual Assault WWX is So Done, Innocent XXC, Established SL/XXC) LWJ finds WWX half dead and strangled in a field after JC thought he had killed him and left him there

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5. hey fic finder community! for the itmf, can i have you favorite sizhui & wwx fics? doesn’t really matter which era or au

Love Song In Reverse by timetoboldlygo (T, 237k, WangXian, Amnesia, Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Falling In Love, Slow Burn, agressively mixing and matching novel and cql canon, No Homophobia, Mentions of Starvation, Parental WWX) not entirely about sizhui and Wei ying but one of my favorite fics that portray their relationship

my little love by mellowflicker (T, 54k, WangXian, Modern, Single Parent WWX, kindergarten teacher LWJ, Kid Fic, Hurt/Comfort, Domestic Fluff, Pining)

Would You Come Home? by s6115 (Not rated, 46k, WangXian, Junior Quartet Centric, Time Travel Fix-It, Canon Divergence, Junior Quartet Dynamics) even though wwx doesn't show up until the end, it's Sizhui learning about his past with wwx and wanting to know him 🥺

🔒 Not Yet (There As Needed) by sunrise_and_death (T, 13k, LSZ & WWX, JL & WWX, JL & LSZ, WangXian, Post-Canon, Family Feels, Family Bonding, POV LSZ, This Fic Has Everything, even more yearning, WWX & LSZ figuring out wtf their relationship is, Dramatic Revelations, JL being the contrary lil bean he is, all the juniors thinking WWX is the greatest thing to ever happen to them, and in case you missed it yearning)

Chapter 2 of 🔒 Response by Aki_no_hikari (G, 12k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Family Feels, Love Confessions)

🔒❤️ kick at the darkness ‘til it bleeds daylight by AlfAlfAlfAlfAlf, tardigradeschool (T, 75k, WangXian, Hurt/Comfort, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Eventual Happy Ending, Getting Together, Burial Mounds Settlement Days, Inspired by The Parent Trap (1998), Kid Fic, teen shenanigans, two a-yuans, Fluff and Angst)

your name, safe in their mouth by astrolesbian (G, 10k, LSZ & WWX, WangXian, Father-Son Relationship, Injury, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Canon, More aligned with CQL than novel canon, Miscommunication, Eventual Positive Communication, Trying to be a family, how to tell your dad you want him to be your dad in 6 easy steps!)

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6. Hi! I'm in the mood for some fics where LWJ gets damseled and WWX saves him. Read a really good one about that earlier and now I need more! Just some good Bamf!WWX saving his ziji! Thanks in advance! @hikato-chan

the field meets the wood by astronicht (T, 7k, WangXian, BAMF WWX, slight whump, Ritualistic Self Harm, Canon Era, Tang Dynasty style, Blood Loss, Blood and Injury, salt economics, Post-Canon, [podfic] the field meets the wood by jellyfishfire, [Podfic] the field meets the wood by semperfiona_podfic (semperfiona))

How to piss off the Yiling Laozu in one simple step! by Eicas (T, 3k, wangxian, kidnapping, hurt/comfort, pre-slash, hurt LWJ, mojo’s bookmark)

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7. Hi ,

I am looking for same type of au wangxin teen fiction like The fifth type of non contact force by caixx . This is one of the best fiction I have read and looking for same type. thankyou @dog-89

Tempo Rubato by Spodumene (E, 108k, wangxian, modern, angst w/ happy ending, romance, persuasion au, separations, pining, miscommunication, depression, self-harm, reconciliation, smut) one of my favorites

Make The Fireflies Dance Silver Moon’s Sparkling by Sweetlittlevampire (T, 23k, wangxian, modern, highschool au, friends to lovers, teenagers, growing up, getting to know each other, getting together, slow burn, first kiss, first love)

Unrequited Letters by Anonymous (T, 5k, WangXian, High School, Modern, Pining, Crushes, Unrequited Crush, Fluff, Light Angst, Humor, First Kiss, Secret Crush, Love Letters, Secret Admirer)

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8. Hii does anyone have any recs with post canon wwx being depressed? Like, maybe not eating, sleeping, etc

Silenced by Tasharene (M, 63k, WangXian, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, PTSD, Temporary Blindness, Aversion to touch, Fear of crowds, Panic Attacks, Post-Canon, WWX Whump, Hurt WWX, Whump, Angst with a Happy Ending, world-class troll LXC, see the archive Warnings BEFORE you accuse me of not tagging things!!!) this one is post canon wy has ptsd

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9. Hello!

I have a type of fic I'm just in the mood for, but it's hard to find any for this. I'd like to find some Wangxian marriage AUs that involve Wuxian figuring out the ribbon marriage that Wangji does to them before others point it out, basically a less oblivious Wuxian AU if it exists. Thanks! (ʘᴗʘ✿)

30 Days of Secret Marriage at Cloud Recesses by starandrea (T, 43k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Bunnies, Gusu Lan Forehead Ribbon, Accidental Marriage, Coming Out, Falling In Love, supportive family, Fluff, Happy Ending, the whole story is happy) fits for 9, if I'm remembering correctly.

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10. Everyone please give me your fav mpreg fics please 😭😭😭 but don't give books where it's like*5 years later* kinda situation or it's a hidden pregnancy or there's just mpreg for 1 chapter and it's over. I want actual pregnancy please. ***No bottomji***

The early bird gets the worm, the early fox gets the bird. But the dragon wakes the earliest of them all by sekhmetpaws (E, 52k, WangXian, Foxxian, Dragonji, A/B/O Dynamics, Royalty, Prince LWJ, dragon LWJ, fox WWX, Arranged Marriage, but not really, Mistaken Identity, Omega WWX, Alpha LWJ)

Take Responsibility by draechaeli (E, 187k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Mainly Novel with a few CQL and Donghua bits, Everybody Lives, Original Children Characters, Adoption, Adoption but WWX birthed them all, Mpreg, Teen Pregnancy, Pregnancy Kink, Male Lactation, Lactation Kink, Consensual Non-Consent, Light Bondage, Pregnant Sex, easy to skip nsfw chapters, Fix-It, Happy Ending)

To Deliver an Heir by cerbykerby (E, 49k, WangXian, slight dubcon/noncon but wangxian are into it, A/B/O, Alpha LWJ, Omega WWX, Heat Sex, Knotting, Royalty Medical, Emperor LWJ, Physician WWX, Mpreg, Postpartum Depression, Breeding, Creampie, LWJ literally cannot stop himself from coming in WWX, Breastfeeding)

🧡 Accidents Will Happen by vesna (mrsronweasley) (E, 45k WangXian, Post Canon, Mpreg, Fluff, Light angst)

If the requester likes modern AUs, I'd recommend:

All I Want by Selenay (E, 47k, wangxian, Modern, Mpreg, Post Holiday Romance, Consequences, Reunions, Idiots in Love, wangxian attempt to be sensible adults about it, they are very bad at it, Teacher WWX, Rating earned in later chapters, Handwavey Biology)

🧡 Brilliant Mistake by brooklinegirl (E, 53k, WangXian, Modern AU, Sex Pollen, Mpreg, dubcon, Modern Cultivators, Dubious Medical Science)

On The Way Home by vesna (mrsronweasley) (E, 59k, WangXian, Modern, Mpreg, Non-a/b/o mpreg, Unprotected Sex, Unexpected Pregnancy, Friends With Benefits, Getting Together, Pining while fucking)

Butter My Biscuit by LikeAFlamingKiss_Consume (E, 23k, WangXian, nonbinary LWJ, Transman WWX, Trans Male Character, Mpreg, WWX Has a Pregnancy Kink, Pregnancy Kink, Unplanned Pregnancy, Vaginal Sex, LWJ Has a Pregnancy Kink, ace spectrum LWJ & WWX, LWJ & WWX Have a Breeding Kink, Consensual Somnophilia, Somnophilia, Hormones, as in WWX's dial his libido up to 15, discussion of transphobia, Hints of dysphoria, Lactation Kink, Breastfeeding, Giving Birth, I guess a bit of sadism?, WWX is very much not having a good time and LWJ is Into It)

OMEGA GRAD STUDENT GETS PREGNANT: YOU'LL NEVER GUESS WHAT HAPPENS NEXT by attackofthezee (noxlunate) (E, 21k, WangXian, Past WWX/Unnamed Character, Mpreg, A/B/O, Omega WWX, Alpha LWJ, Graduate School, Unplanned Pregnancy, San Francisco Bay Area, Pining, Falling In Love, Kid Fic, Fluff, sometimes a family is a man his baby the man who's helping him raise his baby and all their friends)

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11. Can everyone give me their fav canon era/canon divergence completed , longer than 60k fics please 🥺🥺🥺

In Your Dreams, I Smile by 0_Heta_0 (E, 60k, WangXian, LSZ &LWJ, LSZ & WWX, LSZ & LXC, LXC & LWJ, Canon Divergence, Reincarnation, bunny WWX, Falling In Love, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Smut, Angst with a Happy Ending)

🔒 as the clouds part and clear, we finally meet again by 12262325 (E, 76k, WangXian, Younger LWJ, Older WWX, Canon Divergence, Eventual Smut)

🔒 Life is Like a Stranger by through_shadows_falling (T, 69k, wangxian, Kid Fic, Child LWJ, Child WWX, First Meetings, Canon Divergence, Cute Kids, Orphan WWX, Autism Spectrum, Fix-It, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Alternate Canon, POV LWJ, Growing Up Together, WWX raised at Cloud Recesses, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Puberty, Growing Up, Coming Out, teenage angst, Wet Dream, Pining, This fic gets a little raunchier as the kids become teens, But it won’t get too explicit, Slow Burn, Friends to Lovers, Spanish Translation, Brief mentions/moments of WWX kissing others in chapter 22 but only on the cheek, also characters kiss WWX on the cheek in chapter 23, but his real first kiss is with LWJ, Перевод на русский | Translation in Russian)

Death of a Ghost by Gotcocomilk (E, 107k, Family bonding, Fluff, Angst, Parental WWX, BAMF WWX, Hurt/Comfort, Ghost sex)

❤️ in case of fire, break glass by Jenrose (T, 65k, WangXian, Time Travel Fix-It, Post-Canon, Canon Divergence, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, unless I hate them, BAMF WWX, BAMF LWJ, Genius Inventor WWX, NHS Finds His Calling, No Women Die)

🔒 if you can’t beat them, recruit them by moeblobmegane (T, 228k, Wangxian, NHS & WWX, WWX & WQ, Time Travel Fix-It, Conspiracy, Spies & Secret Agents, Team as Family, Found Family, Burial Mounds, Temporary Character Death, Canon-Typical Violence, Pining, Morally Ambiguous Character, Rumors, Politics, Developing Friendships, Good Uncle LQR, Demonic Cultivation, YilingWei Sect)

~*~

12. Hello! Are there any fics that compare the similarities between SongXue and WangXian? I love both ships and I've always felt they're very similar on a lot of core levels and I'd be really fascinated to read a story that compares them :D

Indoctrination by ama (E, 16k, WangXian, SL/XY, WWX & XY, Puppy Play, Kink Negotiation, Kink Exploration, BDSM, Voyeurism, Vibrators, Orgasm Control, Sex Shop, Dominant XY, Submissive SL, Dominant LWJ, Submissive WWX)

Curse Broken by Anonymous (T, 19k, WangXian, Alternate Universe, frankencanon, Mutual Pining, Jiang family being flawed but ultimately loving, AU with no demonic cultivation and no war, Unreliable Narrator, POV WWX, XXC and SL are cousins, Dragon LWJ, Phoenix WWX, Phoenix BSSR, phoenix XXC, Dragon SL, Protective LWJ, WWX in WWX's Body, Mentioned JC/WQ, Hints of future SL/XY, WWX lowkey adopts XY, phoenix and dragon lore are largely inaccurate/made up for the purposes of the story, especially the phoenix lore, it draws more inspiration from western phoenix lore than fenghuang)

~*~

13. hi admins! can you recommend any fics where during the cloud recesses study, lqr/lxc/lan clan ig realizes how much of a genius wwx is, (could also be that he’s not being treated accordingly in jiang sect and they’re like ??? about it,) and decide to just. keep wwx for themselves? read a couple fics with that premise and been loving it recently, thanks for any help!

🧡 Stunted, Starving Juvenility by TomatenMark (E, 828k, WangXian, WIP, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, Getting Together, Supportive LQR, Hurt/Comfort, Fix-It of Sorts, Supportive LXC, Canon Divergence, Inventor WWX, Possessive LWJ, Cultivation Sect Politics, Pre-Sunshot Campaign, Fluff and Smut, Burning of the Cloud Recesses, Fall of Lotus Pier, Angst, Sunshot Campaign Not JFM Friendly, split into parts, Part 1 complete, Part 2 complete, Original Character(s))

💙 Holding shreds by barisan (T, 5k, WangXian, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, No Sunshot Campaign, Body Swap, Not for sexy shenanigans, Chronic Pain, Hurt WWX, Hurt LWJ, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Abusive YZY, Bad Parent YZY, Bad Parent JFM, Good Uncle LQR, Hurt/Comfort, Medical Inaccuracies, POV WWX, Angst with a Happy Ending, Not Jiāng Family Friendly, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Getting Together, Smart WWX)

🔒 in the shadow of moonlit flowers by Reverie (cl410) (T, 56k, wangxian, LXC/NMJ, Cloud Recesses, LWJ & NHS Friendship, Developing Relationship, POV LWJ, Minor Injuries, Autistic LWJ, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, aka the Madam Yu warning, Genius WWX, Light Angst And Hurt/Comfort, WWX Protection Squad, Gusu Lan Sect, Slow Burn, Protective LWJ, LWJ-centric)

🧡 To have and to hold by Moominmammashandbag (M, 78k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Major character injury, CQL verse, Happy Ending)

Like stones on an unseen board by Vir_Abelasan (Not rated, 11k, wangxian, Canon Divergence, Dark LWJ, Older LWJ, Teacher LWJ, dark twin jades, Age Difference, Manipulation, Protective LWJ, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Corporal Punishment, Relatively canon-typical abusive Jiangs, WWX Get a Happy Ending, WangXian Get a Happy Ending, Not JC Friendly, Not Jiang Clan Friendly) also fits but Lan Wangji is aged up in this one and is a teacher.

~*~

14. for the itmf, can you guys recommend fics where while wei wuxian is dead either jin ling or jiang cheng find out lan yuan is family bc he’s actually wwx kid? sorry if this is too specific, but an example would be sing to the clouds in summer or would you come home? on ao3. great fics

Gently Haunted by LusBeatha (T, 19k, WangXian, Character Death, Sentient Burial Mounds, Autistic LWJ, Shutdowns, Canon Divergence, Ghosts, Child LSZ, Oblivious WWX, Getting Together, Ghost Marriage, ghost parenting, Grief/Mourning, but only for ghosts that are still present, Golden Core Reveal, Soup, Happy Ending) its a small part but Sizhui calls Jin ling family because hes wwxs nephew also features ghost xian

~*~

15. I just finished Concord and fell in love with the angst of Wei Wuxian marrying in Lan Sect and being unhappy and Lan Wangji trying to make it better 🥰 do you know anything similar? For the itmf I guess thank you @kanrax-blog

what you have tamed by lianhua_lianzi, Senforza (E, 94k, WangXian, Animal Traits, misunderstandings (not the romcom kind that can be resolved in a 5min convo), Courting Rituals, Pining, Lan family dynamics, Drama, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Arranged Marriage, Wangxian break up but get back together, Eventual Happy Ending, vague biological essentialism (animal species have different mating preferences), Canon Typical Alcohol Usage, Implied Mpreg, Unresolved Sexual Tension, unintentional and eventually resolved “gaslighting”, Dragon LWJ, Fox WWWX)

Betrothed by Dixielis (E, 10k, WangXian, A/B/O Dynamics, Hybrids, Fox WWX, Dragon LWJ, Arranged Marriage, Omega WWX, Alpha LWJ, Top LWJ/Bottom WWX, Miscommunication, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Mildly Dubious Consent, Mpreg, Unplanned Pregnancy)

a light hidden and singing by occultings (microcomets) (E, 48k, wangxian, arranged marriage, pining, getting together, slow burn, misunderstandings, miscommunication, blood & injury, happy ending, smut)

Mourning Robes by Starlight1395 (T, 17k, wangxian, No Sunshot Campaign, Arranged Marriage AU, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Happy Ending, Depression, dissociating, Mild Blood, Fluff, juniors idolizing WWX like he deserves, slowburn between WWX and Cloud Recesses, Hinted smut, Jingyi has a CRUSH, Supportive JC)

Marriage of duty by ninho_emy (M, 33k, WangXian, Rape/Non-Con, A/B/O, Alpha/Omega, Arranged Marriage, Mpreg, Canon Divergence, Angst and Tragedy, Angst with a Happy Ending, First Time, First Kiss, Rape between the main characters, be warned)

~*~

16. Hi this is for ITMF

A) Where WWX act as a demure and perfect spouse and everyone didnt know or forget that he is deadly. Maybe like The True Story of How Concubine Mo Deviously Deceived The Entire Imperial Family by Enigmatree

B) Arranged marriage or a political marriage or a love marriage between wangxian but WWX has Jiang support and power backing him. I prefer if its royalty au but its okay if not @idontknowwhattowriteforusername

16B)

True Gold Fears No Fire by defractum (nyargles) (M, 75k, WIP, WangXian,  Royalty, Ancient China, Wuxia, Historical, Historical Inaccuracy, Arranged Marriage, Identity Porn, Mutual Pining, Emperor LWJ, Empress WWX, Eventual Happy Ending, Misunderstandings)

much sweeter than by mellowflicker (T, 3k, WangXian, Royaltyish, Arranged Marriage, a little bit of YLLZ WWX, Hurt/Comfort, Happy Ending)

~*~

17. Hello! ITMF dragon-Ji keeping and saving all of WWX's gifts (drawings, notes, papermen, presents, etc) in his hoard? Thank you all so much!

Snow Burns and Fire Falls by Liebing (T, 12k, wangxian, Fluff, Fox WWX, fox LWJ, snow fox LWJ, red fox WWX, Childhood Friends, Orphans, LXC is 8 years older than LWJ, LWJ and WWX are besties, LXC is the best big brother, WWX is adopted by the Lan clan, Happy Ending, Sweet, soft, Cute, Fluffy, Jealous LWJ, WWX has the whole of cloud recesses in love with him… baby LWJ is pouty, LQR loves WWX, Literally everyone loves WWX, The entire Lan clan: we would die for little WWX, Thwarted dog attack, LQR trying to arrange marriages, Time jump forward, No one is harmed in the dog attack not even the dog, Clan leader LXC, Jealous WWX, Oblivious WWX, love at first kiss, Wangxian fox babies)

A Baby Dragon’s Guide To Seducing Your Huli Jing by sweetlolixo (M, 102k, wangxian, Fantasy, But still in the Cultivation World, Dragon LWJ, Fox WWX, Younger LWJ, Older WWX, Fluff, Humor, Eventual mpreg, Angst with a Happy Ending, Best Boy A-Yuan)

Dazzle Like a Diamond by Tsukimiko_san (T, 4k, WangXian, Dragon LWJ, Crow WWX, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, No Angst, ok maybe a tiny sprinkle of angst but like, usual LWJ thinking WWX is just teasing him, it doesn’t last long, Getting Together, they are both so whipped, Boys Kissing, Courting Rituals)

~*~

If you didn’t get an answer to your ask here, don’t forget to make use of @mdzs-kinkmeme and MDZS KINK MEME on Dreamwidth. Authors actually do use them for ideas. You may get what you order!***Your prompt doesn’t have to be kink! Fluff, crack, whatever - it’s all good!***

[hussyknee]

Unrolled twitter thread by Progressive International (@ProgIntl)

30 Sept 24 • 4 minute read • Read on X

On 30 September 1965, the Indonesian military, working closely with the US government, initiated a coup that would depose President Sukarno and install the brutal, 30-year dictatorship of General Suharto.

In the dark years that followed, the dictatorship massacred over a million Indonesian communists, with the CIA and US diplomats drawing up “kill lists” for the Indonesian military. The operation would become a template for the US’s regime change operations for decades to come.

Major-General Suharto with Indonesian Army in 1966

In 1945, President Sukarno led Indonesia to independence from Dutch colonial rule. He championed the Non-Aligned Movement and hosted the historic Bandung Conference, a meeting of Afro-Asian states, in 1955.

First President of Indonesia Sukarno making a speech circa 1945

Opening the conference and forecasting what was to come, Sukarno said: “We are often told ‘Colonialism is dead’. Let us not be deceived or even soothed by that… Colonialism also has its modern dress, in the form of economic control, intellectual control, actual physical control by a small, but alien community within a nation.”

Leaders attending the Bandung Conference 1955 in Bandung, Indonesia. From left: Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Ghanian Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah, Egyptian Prime Minister Gamal Abdel Nasser, President Sukarno, and Yugoslavian Prime Minister Josip Broz Tito.

By 1965, Indonesia possessed one of the world's largest communist parties, the PKI. The PKI had a mass membership and mobilized vast numbers of people in the battle against Indonesia’s ruling class.

Campaign of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) in September 1955.

Terrified by the strength and organization of Indonesia’s people, the Indonesian military’s 30th September Movement began to purge the PKI.

Men suspected of being IPK members being transported under guard by an armed Indonesian soldier

In the early hours of 1 October, a group of military conscripts murdered six high-ranking generals. Blaming the deaths on the PKI, Suharto used the attacks as a pretext to seize power. CIA communications equipment allowed him to spread false reports around the country and begin a long campaign of anti-communist propaganda.

The US had tried to overthrow Sukarno for years; in 1958, the CIA backed armed regional rebellions against the central government. In 1965, they did all they could to aid Suharto’s murderous power grab.

The campaign soon became genocidal. On islands like Bali, up to 10% of the population was massacred — and luxury hotels soon began to appear over the killing fields.

One US embassy staffer told the US press that Suharto’s military “probably killed a lot of people, and I probably have a lot of blood on my hands, but that's not all bad.”

Time Magazine referred to the killings as “the West’s best news for years in Asia”.

A cable from the US embassy’s first secretary, Mary Vance Trent, to the State Department referred to events in Indonesia as a “fantastic switch which has occurred over 10 short weeks”. It also included an estimate that 100,000 people had been slaughtered.

Cementing his power, Suharto became president in 1967. His ‘New Order’ policy allowed Western capitalism to exploit Indonesia’s cheap labour and plunder its natural resources. Civil rights and dissent were suppressed.

In one of the world’s most populous countries, any possibility for the emergence of a new, democratic political project was eliminated. Richard Nixon described Indonesia as “the greatest prize in Southeast Asia”. Suharto would not leave office until 1998.

U.S. President Ronald Reagan stands with Indonesian President Suharto in the White House South Lawn at the arrival ceremony for Suharto's State Visit. Oct 12, 1982

CIA officers described Suharto’s rise to power and anti-communist purge as the “model operation” and “Jakarta” soon became the codeword for anti-communist extermination programs in Latin America, where hundreds of thousands were massacred in regime change efforts engineered by Washington.

[dystopicjumpsuit]

OC Sunday: Cerra Kilian, your friendly neighborhood traitor to the Empire

Whether you need to repair a hyperdrive, infiltrate an Imperial base, or get absolutely kriffed up in the entertainment district, Cerra is your girl. GAR supply officer, turned deserter, turned full-time rebel. With a seemingly endless array of unsavory contacts and absolutely no moral qualms about sourcing supplies via questionable means, Cerra can get whatever you need, from expired ration bars to decommissioned GAR medical equipment. All that, and the odds of her deciding to adopt you are only about 60%!

Look at me. I’m the captain big sister now. Art by me 🩵

More info below the cut! Content warning for non-descriptive violence and spoilers for Stars Beyond Number.

Overview

Name: Cerra Kilian

Birth year/age: born 48 BBY; 31-32 at time of Stars Beyond Number

Species: Human

Pronouns: she/her

Orientation: bi/pan

Home planet: Corellia

Current location: Coruscant

Occupation: military supply officer (deserted); full-time traitor

Affiliation: Corellian Military Defense Force; Grand Army of the Republic; Clone Underground

Alignment: Chaotic good

Family: CT-5555 “Fives” (husband; deceased); Admiral Shoan Kilian (uncle); Lorn and Vianne Kilian (parents, estranged)

Physical characteristics

Height: 5’10”/178 cm

Eyes: brown

Hair: black (shaved)

Skin: brown

Tattoos/piercings/identifying marks: full sleeve tattoo on left arm; multiple piercings in ears; large shrapnel scar on left thigh

Personal history 

Cerra was born on Corellia, the daughter of Lorn and Vianne Kilian. Vianne, her mother, had joined the Corellian Military Defense force as a mechanic, as it was one of the only avenues to escape the Corellian underworld slums where she was born. She eventually married Lorn, whose family had a longstanding tradition of service in the CMDF. 

Cerra joined the CMDF at the age of sixteen, serving as a supply officer for ten years before the outbreak of the Clone Wars. At that time, the CMDF was absorbed into the Grand Army of the Republic, and Cerra was assigned to the 501st Legion, serving under General Anakin Skywalker. While serving as supply officer on the Resolute, Cerra became friends with Captain Rex, Jesse, and Kix, along with many other clones in the 501st and beyond. 

It is also where she first met Fives, who visited the supply office weekly to submit requests for candy. Every single request was denied, and eventually, Cerra ordered a crate of sweets to be delivered with her personal supplies, then passed it on to Fives, who distributed it to the entire battalion. She never told Fives that she’d paid for it, but he figured it out (of course). After the Battle of Kamino, Fives stopped by the supply office one last time before he shipped out for ARC training. That was the first time Cerra kissed him.

When the Resolute was destroyed at the Battle of Sullust, Cerra was on the bridge. She helped as many wounded as she could into the escape pods, including Admiral Wullf Yularen as well as several clones. She was on her way to her own escape pod when she was caught in an explosion and hit in the leg by shrapnel. A shiny she’d helped into a different escape pod that was at maximum capacity jumped out and dragged her inside, then launched the pod, staying behind on the Resolute and sacrificing his life to save her. She never knew who he was, so she had a blank Phase 2 helmet added to the tattoo sleeve on her left arm when she’d recovered from her injuries.

After Sullust, Cerra was reassigned to a different unit, serving on the Ro-ti-Mundi until the Battle of Coruscant. She stayed in touch with her friends in the 501st, taking every opportunity to spend time with them whenever leave schedules permitted. In particular, she and Fives commed each other as frequently as possible, though his ARC duties prevented them from seeing each other again until just after his mission to Lola Sayu, where Echo was presumed dead. At that point, Fives and Cerra began a relationship.

The Battle of Umbara was the turning point for the pair. The treachery of Pong Krell shook Fives’s faith in the Jedi as well as the Republic, and he told Cerra that their lives were too short and too uncertain not to seize their chance at happiness while they could. He asked her to marry him, proposing with a ring he’d carved out of plastoid armor. Despite the ban on clone marriages, Cerra didn’t hesitate, and the two married in secret. When she met Tup after Umbara, she forged a close bond with him and quickly came to see him as a younger brother. He was the only witness to Fives and Cerra’s marriage, and the only person who ever knew about it.

And then came the Battle of Ringo Vinda. 

In the months following Fives and Tup’s deaths, Cerra threw herself into working with Kix to try to discover what had happened. They were close to a breakthrough when Kix disappeared. Utterly disillusioned, with her faith in the Republic and the GAR shattered, Cerra abandoned her post following the Battle of Coruscant.

Her family did not understand. Her parents felt that she had disgraced the family by deserting, and after a disastrous visit home to Corellia, Cerra returned to Coruscant and disappeared into the underworld.

Until one day, several weeks after the fall of the Republic, Rex knocked on her door.

Personality

Fiercely loyal, sarcastic, competent (with a healthy dose of imposter syndrome), protective to a fault. Once Cerra decides she likes someone, she adopts them. They’re hers now. She's keeping them. And she’ll make sure everybody else in the group is nice to them, too—or else. Despite being an only child, she has strong older sister energy, which occasionally causes her to clash with the people she cares about.

She is pathologically opposed to displaying negative emotions in a healthy way; if she’s feeling anger or grief, she’s likely to shut down or hide rather than talk about it. After Fives’s death, she became withdrawn and reticent, not even trusting her closest friends with all of her secrets. But underneath her durasteel-reinforced-with-beskar walls, the same fierce, loyal heart still beats.

---

You can read about Cerra’s adventures in my Tup x Reader short fic “Do It Again” (NSFW), and you can find out what happened after Rex knocked on her door in my complete longfic Stars Beyond Number (sequel in progress but will not be posted until it is fully written). You can read her GAR Datafile here.

---

Taglist:

@secondaryrealm @sev-on-kamino @523rdrebel @wings-and-beskar @merkitty49

@anxiouspineapple99 @sinfulsalutations @arcsimper5 @starrylothcat @clio3kantarella

@cloneloverrrrr @goblininawig @ladytano420 @arctrooper69 @sunshinesdaydream

@littlemissmanga @stunkbiggu @starqueensthings @marierg @idontgetanysleep

@moonlightwarriorqueen @dudewhynotthis @sleepycreativewriter @tcwmatchmakingau @littlemissbshine

@multi-fan-dom-madness @heavenseed76 @wizardofrozz @bobaprint @sweetcream-coldfoam

@skellymom @pickleprickle @trixie2023 @mythical-illustrator @dickarchivist

@cw80831 @kimiheartblade @flyiingsly @lightwise @swcowgal

@reader6898 @cdblake1565 @epicy0n @starstofillmydream @msmeredithrose

@totallyunidentified @eclec-tech @euphoriacafe @hipwell @yve-barr

@dangraccoon @transactivecybermemory @etod @ivyyyyy @somewhere-on-kamino

@burningnerdchild @saneabandoned @heidnspeak @maniacalbooper

[mongen]

The Cosmere is Mormon Propaganda

TO BE CLEAR:

I like the Cosmere. I’m going to continue reading it. I’m not going to pay for the books, but I’m going to check them out at my local library.

I’m Jewish. I don’t know much about Mormonism, but I have learned to recognize propaganda. Having read entirely too much of Brandon Sanderson’s work while completely ignoring any of his public appearances, his writing is seeping with subtle Mormon propaganda, but in a way that leads me to believe he doesn’t even realize he’s doing it.

Almost every single series in the Cosmere contains a young, naive woman falling in love with an older man, often with that age gap directly addressed in the narration but never grappled with. Often it’s an arranged marriage that both people are completely fine with or even enthusiastic about. The one time an arranged marriage isn’t received with enthusiasm (so far in my reading, that is) it was between two people in their forties or fifties.

Almost every single series in the Cosmere contains an army of unthinking, unfeeling former slaves. The people within these armies are described as being uncannily strong and dull minded. They are also denoted by a visibly different skin color. Half of these armies are also undead, further harkening to the Mormon misconceptions of voodoo practices supposedly practiced by African Americans.

Almost every single setting in the Cosmere has at least one god-king, a savior figure who literally or symbolically dies and is resurrected, a corrupt clergy, and a “truly correct and just” group of religious outliers. Most often this resembles the conflict between Protestants and Catholics, rather than anything I can specifically site in Mormonism.

Almost every setting in the Cosmere has a hereditary hierarchy that is backed by magic in the past of the bloodline that has been “diluted by interbreeding with the common folk.” Mistborn is the most egregious for this, but it’s pretty apparent in Stormlight as well. When it’s eventually revealed that anybody can become “light-eyed” and pass it down their progeny, it’s revealed like a twist.

The setting of Warbringer has a fixation on wearing special clothing in order to perform magic, which feels… unintentionally comically similar to the parody trope of magic underwear.

The setting of Mistborn has magical metal tablets bearing prophesies handed down by a god that must be interpreted by the divinely chosen leader of humanity.

Mistborn also has the unusual twist that the “secretly true and just” religious folks are also the true natives of the land. Stormlight dips into this, but narrowly avoids it by having the Shin people be sanctioned colonizers, rather than natives… however:

The setting of The Stormlight Archive argues in favor of the right of colonizers to keep lands that they stole by aligning the natives with an evil deity of emotion and passion and giving them monstrous forms powered by unholy magics. Sanderson tries to twist this by saying the evil god was actually originally that of the colonizers and warped the minds of the natives, but ultimately undermines his point by aligning the colonizers with the god of honor.

On top of that, the setting of The Stormlight Archive is a pretty on-the-nose reference to Jewish spiritualism. The spren are just sheidim (non-angelic spirits that cause things like wind, static electricity, disease, etc. but may instead be drawn to those phenomena rather than causing them). The three realms (material, cognitive, and spiritual) are just the Olamim (of the body, of the mind, of the soul, and of the divine). He named his god of gods “Adonalsium” which is a clear reference to Adonai, one of the Hebrew pseudonyms for god. The names of the types of villains in the later books are just straight up Hebrew words.

It’s really clear from his writing that, regardless of his intent, he’s producing religious propaganda. No matter how many times he writes characters who are skeptical of faith or analyzing their own faith or whatever, ultimately the actual words on the pages he’s written come out in favor of having faith in some super powerful individual or organization, even if it’s not a literal deity.

I’d say, in the most cynical reading, these works fall squarely into the category of propaganda. At the very least, they’re a lot more repetitive and lazy than his fans pretend they are, and their themes resemble those of propaganda.

[scoobydoodean]

also brett matthews was Crazy for not only implying assault can turn you gay but then writing dean hurting his stepson after being turned into a vampire (gay) like. brett matthews your homophobia is unmatched

like yeah the fans who insist the monsters represent gay people have a point but it's literally this singular episode and it's done in a way that is so deeply homophobic it's crazy

sorry if that last ask was too much but it drives me insane whenever people ignore the insane amount of homophobia in twi-hard.

Okay so here's the thing. I'm not a particular fan of the tone of Brett Matthews episodes. I don't mind exploring non-consensual themes but I think he has a very odd fixation on them. At least in "Live Free Or Twi-Hard", this serves a purpose to the larger storyline surrounding soulless Sam and what he's willing to do, as well as the alpha monsters and how the alpha vampire is building an army. It even gives us some insight into Samuel's moral framework and his perception of Sam and Dean. It also unburies memories of some of Dean’s past experiences being used as bait by his family (or using sex to get them information). In "Caged Heat", Matthews repeated references to non-consensual sexual acts just feel like edgy set dressing for the most part.

The thing is that I also don't think Brett Matthews means to imply anywhere in "Live Free Or Twi-Hard" that being assaulted makes you gay or that Dean's gayness then harms Ben/the family. I think I understand how one can build that reading out of the episode, but I do not ultimately accept that reading. I also don't think monstrosity or vampirism is inherently queer. I do not accept that premise. Monstrosity in general or vampirism in particular certainly can represent queerness, and vampirism has been used as a metaphor for queerness in media many times, but vampirism doesn't inherently represent queerness. If it did, then almost every piece of media about vampires ever made would arguably be sowing the same uncomfortable homophobic narratives because vampirism has been connected with sexual assault from Dracula onward, and vampires in stories are almost always people who were turned against their will at some point in their life or have turned others.

I do not think any kind of monster in Supernatural has to and always represents queerness anymore than I think Sam having powers/feeling lonely makes his storyline inherently queer (which I don't). I understand that there are at least a couple of metas connecting Dean's experience in this episode to queerness not just because it involves vampires but because it also leads to Lisa and Dean's breakup and because Boris also clearly has a sexual interest in Dean, but while I respect these interpretations (as well as the choice to read vampirism as a metaphor for queerness in the episode) I don't personally find these metas that alluring (at least what I have seen of them). This has partly to do with (1) me having a VERY different take on Dean and Lisa than most of spnblr (I don’t dismiss their relationship as “comphet” for example) and (2) having a different take on Dean's relationship to his sexuality up to this point in the series than a lot of people, but it also has to do with (3) me disliking how this reading of 6.05 leads to uncomfortable linkages between queerness and rape that do not spark joy for me and that I do not think deserve to be treated as a forgone conclusion.

Some of the things I have read before from fans regarding this episode feel a little too close to saying "Dean was attacked by a bisexual man who wanted to fuck him and that means Dean is queer" which I do not find logical and which I think aligns with some pretty harmful ideologies, and if fans choose to believe that Matthews intentionally connects the story with those ideologies (either because he himself believes them or thinks Dean does) that's their prerogative, but I don't think it means when other fans reject that reading or fail to absorb it, that they're ignoring some kind of interpretive forgone conclusion about the "meaning" of the episode or what Dean being turned must represent. This is all media analysis. It is ultimately subjective. There are different takes and perspectives here. I don't think there's an inherently right and correct reading and I do not believe this is the only reading of the episode, and while I'm happy to see people play in the sandbox writing whatever metas they'd like about it, and I think one can build up a lot of support as desired, and there's certainly commentary one can make about this episode being homophobic/biphobic regardless, I don't personally think what Brett Matthews wanted me to get out of this is that being assaulted makes you gay and ruins families.

I do think this episode has a lot to say about Dean's relationship to his body and how it has been objectified and used because he has been treated as a weapon or a tool for almost his entire life, and how Dean has internalized that. I do think this episode has a lot to say about internalizing blame as a victim of a variety of non-consensual experiences—the fear that the things that have been done to you throughout your life have "sullied" you and made you a danger who needs to be put down/who will harm the people you love. This episode has a lot to say about Dean's overactive sense of responsibility and guilt, his tendency to internalize blame for things he can't control, and his failure to see that he was a victim in many MANY situations where he was absolutely victimized. From my perspective, vampirism in this episode serves as a metaphor for all of Dean's trauma (from hell, from being raised as a hunter and never having any other choices, from all the people he's lost, from a variety of non-consensual experiences, etc) and how he internalizes the effects of that trauma on himself psychologically as something that has turned him into a monster who cannot grasp happiness or safety and instead will ruin everyone else's if he tries. It is devastatingly tragic and painful to watch. This is also why I happen to be very uncomfortable with a lot of deanlisa takes that criticize Lisa for (in usually nicer words but nontheless) allowing a filthy animal like Dean into her home and how she should have known he was disgusting damaged goods.

[danauschaewon]

my thoughts on dimension 20: fantasy high junior year ep 19 ragenarok Discourse™

⚠️ spoilers! ⚠️

from a watsonian perspective, the bad kids don't know of any way to cure a rage star. if any of the characters were stressed enough sufficiently to be angry (rage token), porter seems to be able to immediately control you so even not directly being controlled by a rage star seems to put you under ankarna's domain. there's no reasonable watsonian expectation for them to believe the ratgrinders could be redeemed, notwithstanding whether teenagers would show other teenagers who hate them that grace.

additionally, the Discourse™ seems to forget that there's ultimately a choice between following porter or not. lucy frostblade's sacrifice was extremely poignant because she chose to die rather than go against what she believed in. buddy dawn's immediate switch perfectly aligns with how religious fanatics believe/claim to believe whatever is convenient for them without any internal consistency. that doesn't mean that they weren't groomed by porter but there's really no ground for some of the moral absolutism I've been seeing here.

that also leads to something that I haven't seen people discussing; kipperlily and oisin straight up murdered buddy (their own party member, who they secretly treated as a pawn the whole time) by slitting his throat to try and keep the bad kids from being revived??? it's implied they also killed lucy and covered it up for so long that she is almost beyond reviving just so she couldn't snitch on them?? even if you liked the ratgrinders, they're much more ruthless than bad kids are, even if you take riz and fabian's comments into account. also, if the entire school was in fabian's house, they essentially tried to kill all 500 other students in their school + jawbone to beat a magical loophole to ascend porter.

and the obvious being: if you are fighting to end the world (remember they did bring down fig and gorgug, even if they are uncoordinated in pvp), don't be surprised when people fight you to save the world.

from the doyleist perspective, others have already pointed out that dnd is a combat focused game. if you fail a persuasion/intimidation/deception roll, regardless of what makes more sense for the story or the themes or your character, you probably have to fight to the death. this isn't a story written with a single overarching vision from one mind, it's real people being filmed in real time playing a game designed around roleplay AND combat. combat is gonna happen.

secondly, this is a world where powerful individuals have the ability to directly control the universe (magic). "might makes right" is a terrible moral system but that's also how reality works (laws are only (as strong as) their enforcement system, the police are an occupying army, etc).

human beings are social beings and our intelligence/creativity allows us to imagine a world where no individual or socioeconomic group can use might to make right. but our imagination also is limited by our own inconsistencies, ignorance, socialisation, habits, etc. and most importantly, our stories about the world mustn't confuse us from how the world actually is. not everyone can be redeemed, even if you want them to be.

if you want the world to change in a certain way, you have to gather enough strength to change it. the more it deviates from the status quo, the more strength you need. that's not just martial or economic power, there is social power that can be influenced by a collective moral or intellectual sense. however, those with the power to directly eliminate your existence will need to be sufficiently worried about consequences to not use that power (e.g. american police know they face no consequences for executing black people in cold blood, that's why they actually do kill instead of simply want to kill like other non-police racists).

if the ratgrinders want to kill the bad kids and ascend porter to godhood, they have to actually have to develop their skills to do so. that's why they exp levelled, they tried taking advantage of the last stand, one of them sent their grandma to kill the entire school at one kid's 18th birthday party. and correspondingly, if you don't want your 18th birthday party to end with your death + your entire school's deaths + the ascension of your teachers as the new god of rage, you gotta kill some grandmas and poorly coordinated exp levellers.

[blueikeproductions]

Onyx Prime is one I have a semi complicated feeling towards.

The Prime of Beasts, and borrowing his name from an obscure Beast Wars character, he’s meant to explain why some Transformers have Beast Modes. It’s not … super clear if this includes the various Mechanimals like Laserbeak and Ravage, or Cyberverse’s various menagerie.

But presumably it does, as that would mean the deer bots seen in ONE are related to Onyx too, as they’re the only non Prime Beast Moded robot. ONE Airachnid’s toy gives her a space spider Beast Mode, but she only turns into a space helicopter Vehicle Mode in the film, so it’s unknown if she’s a Triple Changer or if her Beast Mode was an early script idea.

ONE Onyx, like Alchemist, Quintus, Micronus, Vector, Nexus, Prima, & Solus, doesn’t really get to do anything except die by the hands of Sentinel & the Quints. His Cog is donated to the main heroes, but who got it isn’t clear. I think Megatron did because of his beastly nature at that point, but I also think it fits Elita pretty well.

His design is a hybrid of his IDW and Aligned designs, taking more from the IDW design with the colors and beast kibble.

An interesting quirk is the ONE design borrows heavily from the semi confusion of his IDW design. Oynx is supposed to be a centaur, but IDW artists opted to have him stand on his hind legs, with his fore legs dangling awkwardly.

This would be turned into foreshadowing, to imply Oynx wasn’t what he seemed, revealing that he was actually Shockwave due to comic book time paradox reasons.

The awkward posture was due to Shockwave wearing Onyx’s corpse like a Pretender Shell, being unable to copy the original centaur look. Hilariously the ONE design foregoes the centaur look altogether, but nothing has clarified on if the centaur is his actual Beast Mode, or if he turns into a different creature in a BM Savage Noble fashion… His TFONE model implies he might Transform into a space dragon, or if we want to meet half way on the centaur idea, a space griffin.

As such, Onyx’s only major role has been IDW, and it technically wasn’t even him. The actual IDW Onyx was a kind shepherd who Shockwave killed after landing on prehistoric Cybertron following his failed Dark Cybertron scheme.

Pretending to be Onyx, Shockwave guaranteed events on Cybertron played out as he knew them to, as well as raising a Beast army (from all the Beast Wars characters in their most unflattering role) and securing the mysterious magical Talisman as part of a new scheme involving Unicron.

It’s always bothered me though that the one place Onyx would’ve fit well as a central antagonist would’ve been RiD15 because of it’s heavy use of animal type Decepticons. It would’ve made more sense if Oynx was the one orchestrating the crash of the prison ship, but Steeljaw makes Oynx’s mission his own: to turn Earth into a home world for Decepticons, rather than beast bots. Oynx isn’t exactly nice here either, causing problems for the Autobots, because he has a chip on his shoulder over vehicle type Transformers due to problems from his past. Something like that might’ve been better than hyping up The Fallen, causing the same problem TFP had by using Unicron too soon.

With the upcoming CyberWorld possibly returning to a RiD15 Beast theme with its Decepticons (while the Autobots remember they have more Dinobots besides Grimlock), maybe Onyx Prime has a role there?

[kaisers-house-of-desires]

Enemies to lovers with Ganondorf. Can be smutty or not, up to you. I’m just trying to cope with the f e e l i n g s for that man rn lol

Oh of course~!

Anything to supply my readers of our eternal King~

Title: By My Hands

Characters: Ganondorf x m!reader

Contains: enemies to lovers

Fandom: Legend of Zelda

Full request below the cut

All characters are 18+

MINORS, FEM ALIGNED, AGELESS/BLANK BLOGS DNI

Reblogs > likes

Time seemed to be non existent on the battlefield.

The sound of rain mixed with the cries of the armies around you, Hylian forces colliding with Bokoblin masses. While your army handled his lesser creatures, you took it upon yourself to fight the Demon King himself, a feat that the soldiers knew only you could manage.

Despite this solo battle, you held your ground well against the King. Ganondorf had thrown attack after attack, attempting to drain your stamina, but your skills would not allow it. You'd follow up with your own offensive measures, only to be equally blocked by the other. The battle took you and him further and further from the massive group, driving the two of you up a steady hill.

"Soldiers! Continue your battle!" You exclaimed back to your forces, yours and Ganondorf's swords clashing and almost drowning your voice out. "Leave the monster to me!"

With a shove of his blade, Ganondorf gave a chuckle as you fumbled back. "Monster? How rude, do you really view me as such?" His voice was teasing, and the smirk on his face didn't help. "Would you care to tell your soldiers the words you mentioned last time?"

"Sh-Shut up!" Upon swinging your sword upward, Ganondorf blocked your spontaneous attack. You refused to speak any further to the other, your swords once again in a contending battle.

What you refused to believe, however, was how the two of you felt like you were in a dance of death, a dance that couldn't have a single step go awry, for if one of you missed a single action, a single step, it would spell someone's end.

It was exhilarating, to say the least.

You almost let your thoughts get the better of you, a desire to put this demon in his place during this forbidden dance, but one step faltered.

And suddenly you saw a dark grey sky directly above you.

You weren't sure what exactly happened, but the almost concerned look from Ganondorf's face was...different. He was clutching onto your hand despite your wet skin and gloves. He gazed down at your confused face, panting softly as a result of the movements plus rush to save you. He did everything in his power to keep you from falling any further down this cliff.

Wait, cliff?

What you had assumed was merely a hill turned out to be a cliffside, and you two had practically waltzed your way to the edge, too invested in each other's gaze to notice where your surroundings.

And Ganondorf...saved you.

Hoisting you up with a grunt, you rolled back onto the wet, grassy terrain, facing the falling rain. Your sword was gone, but your shield remained strapped to your arm. You were now powerless against the Demon King.

"Why don't we attempt this battle again another time?" The voice startled you back to realtiy, your form scrambling to stand and prepare yourself. You prepped your shield, but Ganondorf didn't appear to prepare an attack, and any trace of the face he wore earlier was gone. "If anything is to kill you, I will kill you by my own hands and not leave you to a cowardly fate of cliffside suicide."

You were going to object, demand that you two settle it now, but the victorious cries of your army distracted you, tearing your attention toward them. You could see the bodies of the Bokoblins, lying motionless as soldiers started their way toward you, their minds on the idea of assisting you in your fight.

However, upon turning back(and mentally cursing yourself for being distracted while in front of such a powerful enemy), Ganandorf was gone, and in his place, a sheathed blade.

You hesitated, picking up the item and pulling the blade out a couple inches. Your blade was gone, that much you knew, but upon seeing the material of the weapon, you were stunned to realize this blade was that of the Demon King's himself, left as a replacement of the sword you lost.

With a sigh, you removed your own empty sheath, replacing it with the 'gifted' set you were left before meeting your soldiers halfway.

Next time you wouldn't let Ganondorf toy with you so easily.

Next time...you had some thoughts to work out.

[vague-humanoid]

The federal government is going MAGA — fast.

Why it matters: President Trump has only been in office a week, but the departments under his command are moving with blazing speed to transform the federal bureaucracy into an army of loyalists.

The new administration immediately moved to freeze nearly all foreign aid, root out DEI programs, remove officials and whole offices deemed ideologically suspect, and muzzle public health agencies.

"We're getting rid of all of the cancer ... caused by the Biden administration," Trump told reporters while signing a Day One executive order that stripped employment protections from civil servants.

Driving the news: Late Friday night, the White House fired 17 inspectors general — independent agency watchdogs responsible for identifying fraud, waste and corruption.

The mass firings, relayed via email, appear to violate a federal law that requires the administration to notify Congress 30 days before removing inspectors general.

Amid outrage from Democrats and ethics experts, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) — a Trump ally and longtime advocate for whistleblowers — called on the president to explain his decision to Congress.

Zoom in: DEI offices and programs have been shuttered across the government, including at the CIA, Department of Veterans Affairs, Army and Air Force, and the Federal Aviation Administration.

Federal workers have been ordered to report colleagues who may seek to "disguise" DEI efforts by using "coded language."

And Trump directed federal agencies to each identify "up to nine" major companies, universities or non-profits to investigate over their DEI practices.

There have been hundreds of staff removals or reassignments, including at the State Department, where far more career officers were asked to resign than in past administrations.

The Department of Justice reassigned at least 15 senior career officials, including a top counterintelligence attorney involved in the FBI's investigation of classified documents Trump stashed at Mar-a-Lago.

The DOJ also rescinded job offers to recent law school graduates who were placed through the Attorney General's Honors program.

Trump's National Security Council sent home around 160 staffers while Trump officials conducted loyalty screenings to ensure they're aligned with his agenda.

One of the administration's highest-profile firings so far was Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan, the first woman to lead a branch of the U.S. military. She was accused of leadership failures and an "excessive focus" on DEI at the Coast Guard Academy.

Between the lines: Trump loyalists have also moved to centralize control around public messaging, particularly when it comes to public health.

The Department of Health and Human Services ordered an unprecedented "immediate pause" on all health reports and social media posts through at least the end of the month, leading scientists to cancel CDC meetings on the escalating bird flu outbreak.

The Pentagon also ordered a global pause on all official social media posts until the confirmation of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has promised a radical culture shakeup across the U.S. military.

The new administration is also moving quickly on issues including LGBTQ and civil rights.

The State Department froze all passport applications with "X" designated as the gender.

DOJ ordered a freeze on civil rights litigation and is weighing a potential reversal of police reform agreements negotiated by the Biden administration.

It also ordered federal prosecutors to investigate local and state officials in so-called "sanctuary cities."

Meanwhile, the Pentagon moved to abolish an office set up during the Biden administration focused on curbing civilian deaths in combat operations.

Zoom out: Trump made no secret of his intentions to build a MAGA-aligned federal workforce during the campaign, and he quickly imposed a hiring freeze after taking office.

The vast majority of federal workers are career employees, not political appointments, but the president has made clear he wants them all to board the Trump train.

His administration is currently testing the ability to email the entire federal government workforce from a single email address.

What to watch: Trump's nominee to lead the Office of Management and Budget, Russ Vought, will be a key architect of the White House's efforts to re-engineer the administrative state.

Vought has assailed "the woke and weaponized bureaucracy," and said in a 2023 speech to his conservative think tank that he wants to put federal bureaucrats "in trauma," ProPublica reported.

"When they wake up in the morning, we want them to not want to go to work because they are increasingly viewed as the villains," Vought said — comments he defended during his confirmation hearing.

[mavlabajuri]

Speculation on Mando'a Todays word: "kaan"

There are several words in Mando'a that include the element "kaan"

ge'kaan - military exercise ne'kaan - non-combatant akaan - war* akaan'ade - army akaanir - to fight akaata - battalion meshurkaan - jeweler/gem cutter pelkaanir - to shave

But what then does "kaan" mean? We can reasonably infer that “kaan” is a root related to action, precision, or conflict.

Let’s explore a few thematic clues:

1. Core war terminology

All the following stem from "akaan", which clearly relates to war:

akaan - war akaanir - to fight akaan'ade - army akaata - battalion

This suggests that "kaan" is a morpheme deeply embedded in militaristic or combative terms.

2. "ge'kaan" = military exercise

"ge'" appears to act as an adverb or modifier ("almost" or perhaps "mock" in this context). ge'kaan may literally translate to something like "almost-war" or "war-like," which tracks for “military exercise.”

3. "ne'kaan" = non-combatant

"ne" is a negative prefix. → So "ne'kaan" = not kaan = non-combat.

This supports the idea that "kaan" has to do with war or fighting.

4. "meshurkaan" = jeweler/gem cutter

This one’s a little more metaphorical. The root "meshur" refers to gems or jewels, and "kaan" here might reference the precision or cutting aspect, which metaphorically aligns with the precision of battle or skillful action.

5. "pelkaanir" = to shave

"pel" = soft "kaanir" here may evoke a precise or scraping action, again suggesting "kaan" relates to deliberate, skilled movement.

From all this we can do some speculation.

📚 "Kaan" likely connotes: 📖 Combat 📖 Precise action 📖 Controlled or skilled intensity

It sits at the root of both warfare and delicate craft, suggesting that Mandalorians conceptually link violence and craftsmanship. Both require discipline, skill, and purpose.

Concerning it's morphological role, "kaan" seems to operate as:

a root in verb and noun derivation

neutral in moral weight, used in war, training, crafts, grooming

"kaan" - core concept of intentional, skilled action; often combat, but not exclusively violent.

Think: "to engage with deliberate force or precision."

* "But what about 'aka' and 'akaan'?" I hear you say. Well! I propose that akaan is a actually a combination of "aka" and "kaan".

"aka" - mission

"kaan" - (hypothetical root) combat, deliberate action, precision, etc.

So:

"akaan" = aka + kaan → mission + combat/action → war, as "a mission of combat", or "a purpose-driven conflict."

How do I support this?

Conceptual logic: Mandalorians see war not as chaos, but as structured, purposeful. Combining "mission" with "action/combat" reflects that framing.

Linguistic patterns: Mando’a often uses compound formations to build words:

akaan’ade = akaan (war) + ade (people) = "warriors/army" pelkaanir = pel (soft) + kaanir (maybe "to act/shave") = shaving, a delicate precise action meshurkaan = meshur (gem) + kaan = gem-cutter, precise work again

So "akaan" as aka + kaan fits this structural tendency.

If aka = mission and kaan = action/combat → then akaan = the mission is combat, which is very Mandalorian.

This makes the derivations feel even sturdier:

akaanir - to fight (turning "war" into a verb)

akaan'ade - warriors (people of war)

ge'kaan - training in simulated, structured combat

ne'kaan - one whose mission is not combat

As such, I interpret "kaan" to mean:

Mando'a : kaan Pronunciation : [kahn] Word Group : noun English Meaning : intentional, skilled action; often combat, but not exclusively violent.

Feedback is as always warmly welcomed!

[mariacallous]

South Sudan has once again returned to the brink of war, the United Nations warned on March 24. The country had made international headlines earlier in March after members of an ethnic militia attacked a U.N. helicopter in Nasir, a town rocked by fighting between the South Sudanese national army and a local rebel militia called the White Army. The U.N. peacekeeping mission was trying to evacuate a government army general and his soldiers when members of the White Army—largely from the Nuer ethnic group—shot at them, killing 28 people, including a U.N. crew member.

The South Sudanese government, headed by President Salva Kiir, blamed the attack on Juba’s main opposition party, led by Vice President Riek Machar, and arrested its leadership—including Machar himself—either detaining them or placing them under house arrest.

The event put a spotlight on South Sudan’s worsening interethnic tensions as well as the fragility of the 2018 peace agreement that mapped out a system of shared governance between Kiir’s government—which is largely aligned with the Dinka, the largest ethnic minority in a country of more than 60 ethnic groups—and Machar’s opposition group, the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-In Opposition (SPLA-IO), the leadership of which largely hails from the Nuer community, the country’s second-largest ethnic minority.

But make no mistake: War never stopped in South Sudan, and the peace agreement was already under threat. Though the recent fighting flared up in the country’s oil-rich Upper Nile region, government military troops have also geared up their attacks on the SPLA-IO in other regions.

In January, displaced people fleeing the state of Western Equatoria reported that government forces had attacked opposition troops there. A month later, they targeted the governor of the SPLA-IO-held state, forcing him into hiding. In February, locals also accused government forces of attacking opposition troops in Bahr el-Ghazal. Kiir’s government has also arrested opposition figures in recent months and been accused of supporting the targeting of non-Dinka communities in both states—violating the power-sharing terms of the peace agreement and leading to renewed fears of broader ethnic violence.

Most recently, in the lead-up to the March 7 U.N. helicopter incident in Nasir—when the White Army killed the Dinka general and U.N. worker, among others—government troops attacked local Nuer market-goers and injured a U.N. peacekeeper in the same town.

The Nuer militia has had a complicated relationship with Machar, who has previously asserted control over the group to boost his profile. Though the White Army was initially founded as a community defense militia, it has offered crucial support to Machar’s SPLA-IO opposition force. Back in 2014, the SPLA-IO leadership even admitted to the New York Times that the Nuer militia had provided up to 80 percent of its troops in the Upper Nile State.

However, since then, the SPLA-IO has ended up with much less control and command over the White Army as it pursued its own agenda of revenge against the Dinka state troops, some of whom killed thousands of Nuer in a massacre in the capital city of Juba in 2013. Meanwhile, Machar’s waning political influence has only diminished his already limited ability to offer the militia crucial resources, such as weapons, ammunition, and coordination with other troops.

Machar’s popularity within the opposition has also declined since 2018 over the lack of implementation of the peace agreement’s security arrangements, which has triggered desertions by SPLA-IO soldiers. Some senior officers have also defected to Kiir’s government over Machar’s choices of political appointees.

Yet with repeated violations of the peace agreement primarily driven by the government, the eventual attack by the White Army on the U.N. helicopter has become a political gift for Kiir. Despite the White Army issuing a statement denying its affiliation to Machar, Kiir and the army have capitalized on Machar’s past claims of control over the White Army to attack him and other opposition members in Juba—in turn blaming them for the collapse of the peace agreement.

Machar’s arrest on March 27 now amounts to his de facto removal from his position as vice president—the ultimate violation of the peace agreement.

The government had already started bombarding the White Army’s strongholds in the Upper Nile region in February. Following the recent flare-ups, the president also dismissed the governor of the state in mid-March. But the situation in Nasir is just one of the factors driving Kiir’s escalation policy.

The regime in Juba is increasingly unstable—threatening the president’s grip on power and prompting attempts to restore control. Kiir’s health has reportedly worsened since 2022, limiting his public appearances. In October, he dismissed his own intelligence chief and competitor, Akol Koor; placed him under house arrest; and replaced Koor with one of his loyalists in a bid to reassert control over Koor’s former agency—the National Security Services, arguably the best equipped and best funded armed force in South Sudan.

This wasn’t the first time that Kiir has sacked a rising competitor he felt threatened by—he dismissed Army Chief Paul Malong, seemingly for the same reasons, in May 2017.

In a major shake-up in February, Kiir also fired James Wani Igga, the second vice president and the secretary-general of his party, the Sudan’s People Liberation Movement—replacing him with Benjamin Bol Mel, a businessman who is also Kiir’s son-in-law.

Bol Mel, who is sanctioned by the U.S. government over allegations of corruption, has been accused of benefitting from government contracts worth tens of millions of dollars. Kiir’s overt promotion of Bol Mel, considered a relatively junior figure also created further political instability by angering many across the army, the National Security Services, and the governing Sudan’s People Liberation Movement, according to a source in the area who wished to remain anonymous for fear of retribution.

Meanwhile, the government only recently paid its public servants, including soldiers, after they had gone without paychecks for more than a year. Following the recent spate of fighting in Nasir, some government soldiers have refused deployment to Upper Nile to fight the White Army, and some have even publicized the decision on social media. Many are deserting their posts.

With conflict raging in neighboring Sudan, the South Sudan’s poverty rate has risen to an estimated 92 percent due to the disruption in oil production, which makes up more than 90 percent of the country’s national revenue.

The people of South Sudan are under no illusion. They know that the peace deal is effectively dead and that there will be no elections as scheduled in 2026. They are increasingly worried about new waves of ethnic killings across the country. The source on the ground, who wishes to remain anonymous for fear of retribution, reports that at border points, Nuer men have been prevented from leaving the country, and that government soldiers near recently bombed SPLA-IO cantonment sites have started targeting civilians from non-Dinka ethnic groups that they associate with the opposition.

Increased instability has compelled Kiir to resort to Ugandan troops once again. From late 2013 to early 2014, Kiir had relied on the Ugandan People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) to stop the opposition from descending on Juba and ousting his regime. In July 2016, the UPDF officially evacuated Ugandan citizens from South Sudan but also continued to bolster Kiir’s regime after he orchestrated fighting with SPLA-IO troops in Juba.

Uganda views South Sudan as its backyard and Kiir as its protégé. UPDF chief Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the son of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, boasted in a since-deleted post on X about launching Operation “Mlinzi wa Kimya” (or “the silent protector” in Swahili) in South Sudan. (A separate post, in which Kainerugaba referred to Kiir as Museveni’s “younger brother,” remains up.)

Critics have also accused Kainerugaba of making posts that have incited further ethnic violence in South Sudan. Netherlands-based radio station Radio Tamazuj reported that on March 22, amid UPDF-supported government bombardments on Nasir and its civilian population, Kainerugaba posted on X: “I’m tired of killing Nuer. Tell your leader Riek Machar to kneel before ‘Our’ President H.E. Salva Kiir.” (The posts have since been deleted.)

The regional context only emboldens Kiir, who has used his country’s oil wealth to play both sides of Sudan’s war, a strategy shared by Museveni. South Sudan relies on Sudanese pipelines to export its crude oil from Port Sudan, which is controlled by the Sudanese Armed Forces . The Sudanese Armed Forces partly depend on South Sudan’s oil transit fees to fight their rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF). However, South Sudan’s oil is mortgaged to the RSF’s main backer, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), further complicating the situation.

South Sudan has also let the UAE, the country’s largest lender, build a hospital at the border of Sudan that is rumored to be treating RSF soldiers. The government has denied such allegations. But reports recently emerged that the South Sudanese government may have used the RSF to arrest SPLA-IO members in northern Upper Nile and target White Army men fleeing to Sudan. The wars in Sudan and South Sudan are now fully enmeshed.

The UPDF’s deployment since early March and its active participation to the war, bombarding Nasir along government military forces and reportedly using chemical weapons, only escalates South Sudan’s war into a regional conflict.

Kiir has most likely factored in the United States’ laissez-faire approach in his decisions. Back in December 2013, during the Juba massacre of thousands of ethnic Nuer civilians by largely Dinka state troops made up of several security organs, Canadian and American diplomats had played a critical role in saving some dual nationals by putting them on planes that evacuated them from Juba’s airport.

However, the South Sudanese government has recently ramped up its pressure on the United Nations to withdraw its presence from the vicinity of Juba’s airport and move to the far outskirts of the city—preventing the U.N. mission from witnessing as many of the state troops’ actions in the city. This could seriously curb its ability to offer lifesaving refuge to civilians fleeing government killings and debilitate other diplomatic missions’ operations as well.

Meanwhile, foreign governments, including those of Norway and Germany, have closed their embassies in Juba over fears of renewed civil war, and the United States has ordered all its nonessential staff to evacuate the country.

The arrests of prominent Nuer politicians, meanwhile, have reportedly accelerated and have even extended to their relatives in recent weeks.

After openly declaring its intention to dissolve the SPLA-IO and unify it with the government forces, on March 24, the government bombarded an SPLA-IO cantonment site just 18 miles west of Juba, in Wunliet. It reportedly repeated the exercise on Rajab, a training base for SPLA-IO located to the south of Juba, two days later.

In the meantime, Machar published a letter calling on the international community to stop Uganda’s military presence in South Sudan, arguing that it violates the 2018 peace agreement, likely leading to his recent arrest on accusations of attempting to stir rebellion.

History never exactly repeats itself. But there are currently no restraints on the government of South Sudan from returning to a full-blown war, and from targeting civilians based on their ethnicity—both in Juba and beyond.

[kingdrawcse]

Chemistry Behind Ancient Pigment, 'Chinese Purple'

In ancient times, rare non-natural pigments, especially blues and purples. 'Chinese Purple' or 'Han Purple' a Barium Copper Silicate BaCuSi₂O₆ pigment, emerged from the Western Zhou to the Han Dynasty, found in terracotta army garments at the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum. Initially linked to Egyptian Blue, Chinese Purple predates Silk Road contacts by centuries, suggesting an independent discovery.

Likely an alchemical serendipity during Daoist experiments, its compounds—copper, barium, and lead—aligned with materials used by Daoist alchemists in creating ancient lead-barium glass.

[soft4gguk]

please give us recommendations of your favorite books and your comfort fics! xoxoxo

omg fun!!! yessss, I would love to!!! recs under the cut :)

okay so let's start with books. please, don't let the summer end without reading Bonjour Tristesse by François Sagan. I read this book when I was like... sixteen or something. I was probably too young to be reading it lol. but it's SO GOOD, I'd almost forgotten how good it is!! I recently picked it back up at the beginning of the summer and it like, reseted my entire way of interpreting literature. that's how much I love this book lol. also Just Kids by Patti Smith is such an amazing book, I cannot stress it enough. it's genuinely my comfort read whenever I'm feeling a little lost, specially in my artistic journey (what a pretentious way of putting it lol!). Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto is also such a comfort read for me. albeit a bit sad at times, it somehow feels like a hug as you read!! Normal People by Sally Rooney was a summer re-read for me and I loved it, although at times I was like... wtf. lol. but yeah, it's a good book. anything, and I mean, ANYTHING! by Toni Morisson (I've read her whole repertoire this summer) will have you LEVITATING. her way of threading words is actually insane. she's definitely one of my favourite authors, if not my favourite author lol. she's so amazing. it literally feels like she's in front of you and telling you the whole story in one sitting (hence why I devoured it). also, anything by Annie Ernaux will have you highly entertained. it's not light, but it's entertaining. she's an amazing writer, too. so easy to want to keep reading. and as for the oldies and classics I've been back in my Fitzgerald kick (I will forever love The Great Gatsby) and anything James Baldwin!!! (Giovanni's Room has been my most recent read by him).

as for fics!!! okay so anything by stella @venusiangguk but specifically realizations concerning real life relations. ooooh. I still don't know how she did it. it's genuinely the best thing I've ever read on this app lol. and it's my comfort fic even though it's devastating 😩. a still day or a hurricane by mimi @ahundredtimesover definitely reseted my entire being. aligned my chakras. nothing has ever hit the way that fic did lol. if you're an OG, you probably remember my elaborate reviews of each chapter hehe. I LOVE THIS FIC OK!! it's so good ugh. also, bad influence by @noteguk never ever fails to HIT. like it HIIIIIIIIITS. whenever I need to feel something, that's where I end up at lol. and last but certainly not least, my favourite jk EVER is at the hands of @bratkook in concrete king!!! go check all of these out, trust me I have put my non-army friends into some of these stories just to prove my point and point proven INDEED.