#refuse between fiefdoms

[stochastique-blog]

Cool

#NoMansLand

[knight-of-aether]

SWEU Fanon Codex: Red Zabrak in the Sith Empire

Thousands of years before the first Zabrak colonists crash landed on Dathomir, when the Nightbrothers and their kin had yet to exist, Force-sensitive Zabrak with bright red or orange skin could be found throughout the galaxy. These Zabrak owed their similar traits to their relationship with the Tsis, or ancestral Sith species, and their destinies were linked with the Sith Empire's long and bloody history.

I. Origins

During the early days of the Sith Empire, as it expanded within the isolated Stygian Caldera region, the Sith attempted to conquer and enslave worlds that had previously been settled by Iridonian Zabrak explorers, but they didn’t expect the local resistance - which was largely Force-blind - to put up as much of a fight as it did. In this clash between two warrior cultures, the Zabraks’ tenacity eventually earned the grudging respect of the larger Imperial army.

The Sith lords eventually decided that they were wasting resources on the war, and would be better off taking the locals as their servants and their lands as fiefdom than bombarding them into oblivion. Thus the first treaties were drawn up, with their terms leaning greatly in the Empire's favor. Most Zabrak clans, unwilling to admit defeat but exhausted by the war, agreed to join the Empire after several revisions to their terms. Those who refused were enslaved or executed, their lands confiscated and divided among the Sith and their new vassals.

Many Zabrak followed their new lords to the Sith homeworlds, including Korriban, Ziost, and the Dromund system. During the ages of the Great Hyperspace War and the Empire's fall and reconstitution, its Zabrak diaspora continued to grow. By the time of the Cold War, they had thoroughly intermingled with the last remaining Tsis and their Human-hybrid Red Sith successors, becoming their own hybrid people, the Red Zabrak.

II. Biology

While they share many traits with their Iridonian cousins, the Red Zabrak population has inherited notable Tsis features that are expressed to varying degrees in each individual.

Iridonian-inherited traits:

near-human height and generally fit build

vestigial horns that appear in the first few years of life, and grow in symmetrical patterns on the crown of the head

less hair than most mammalian species; no eyebrows or facial hair, often naturally bald

two hearts and resilient cardiovascular and nervous systems, resulting in greater stamina and a slightly higher pain threshold than many other near-human species

pronounced canine teeth and a metabolism optimized for a carnivorous diet

darkened camouflage striping or inkblot patterns that fade during adolescence, upon which tattoos are traditionally based

Tsis-inherited traits:

skin colors varying from burgundy through red, orange, and peach, similar to Red Sith in complexion and always more ruddy than Iridonian Zabrak

“bleeding” effect of a bright red ring around the iris, a partial expression of the Tsis species’ characteristic glowing eyes

heightened midichlorian levels and increased chance of Force sensitivity

Occasionally, Red Zabrak will display subtle, angular ridges across their skin. Though generally less noticeable than in Red Sith, these ridges have influenced their iconic face and body tattoos, which are a fusion of traditional Iridonian and Sith ritual tattoos that incorporate various symbols to convey clan affiliation and personal stories, and are often designed to outline and enhance any observable Tsis traits.

Bone spurs and cartilaginous tendrils, however, are recessive traits that were lost in most of the Red Zabrak population after first-generation hybrids. These traits, like the aforementioned ridges, appear with more frequency in Human-hybrid Red Sith due to both the selectiveness of the Sith elite, and the quirks of Tsis genetics.

III. Society

While Red Zabrak citizens are nominally equal with all free beings in the Empire, in practice they are second-class citizens compared to Red Sith and Humans, though with societal privilege above other nonhuman species, including Iridonian Zabrak. Scholarly opinion on the merit of their Sith blood weighed against their nonhuman heritage is mixed. Their treatment is comparable to that of the Chiss, but as ancient dependencies of the Empire rather than newfound foreign allies. Meanwhile, in Republic space, they are often viewed with distrust, if not outright detested by Iridonians as traitors to their species. Due to vows of fealty that were sworn when their clans first joined the Empire, many are bound to the ancient Red Sith aristocracy as vassals, with all that entails.

Family ties are vital in both Zabrak and Sith cultures, and the two have become inextricably entangled over their centuries together. The Zabrak openly regard their accomplishments in the Sith Empire as a point of pride and their allegiance as a concession that made both peoples stronger; according to their officially sanctioned history, the Sith definitively proved their superiority in the arena of war, and have remained worthy of following in their exploits to the present day.

Despite the Empire's tendencies towards forced assimilation, the clans have held onto some of their autonomy as agreed upon in their treaties - particularly to organize for cultural events, such as the yearly coming-of-age ceremony in which teenagers traditionally receive their first tattoos, after several days of combat sports, storytelling, and feasting. Large clan gatherings are required to be open to the public, and are routinely monitored by Imperial security forces, but are among the freest cultural expressions in the Empire outside Mandalorians.

Most young Red Zabrak end up in careers that will further the agendas of their affiliated Sith Houses - often the same ones their ancestors swore fealty to when the first treaties divided them among the Sith. Choosing a marriage or career that one’s clan or House disapproves of, or siding with a rival, is to become a social outcast at best. Since the Sith hold the strings of the Empire, they can and will obstruct and manipulate the paths of their servants, and sweep impromptu executions under the rug, in the name of preserving their power bases. Systemic xenophobia in the Empire at large makes social mobility for Red Zabrak even more challenging without Sith aid.

Stereotyped as violent, stubborn, and simple-minded but ultimately honorable aliens, Red Zabrak often end up in military positions within the Empire, and frequently serve as enforcers and assassins to their affiliated Sith houses. Despite the setbacks they face, this tenacious people can be found throughout the Empire in higher positions and greater numbers than any other non-Human or Sith species.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Mark Sumner at Daily Kos:

Donald Trump is trying to use the Department of Justice as a weapon, claiming that, because of his conviction on 34 felony counts, he has “every right” to go after political opponents should he be elected in November. This isn’t new for Trump. In 2017, he pushed Attorney General Jeff Sessions to prosecute Hillary Clinton. Later, he drove Attorney General William Barr to investigate ludicrous claims against President Joe Biden, resulting in a series of embarrassing international trips to support a baseless conspiracy theory. 

Trump’s four years in office were all about politicizing the DOJ by breaking down the barriers intended to keep the department from being used as a cudgel by the White House. His desire to hurt his opponents isn’t new, but the threat he represents is infinitely greater than it was four years ago. The only thing that stood in Trump’s way during his four years in the White House was a kind of institutional momentum. Enough career officials remained in place that Trump faced strong pushback. Even Sessions, Barr, and acting Attorney General Jeffery Rosen had limits on where they would go for Trump. But that won’t be a problem if he returns to Washington.  Trump has already made it clear that he intends to purge the federal government of impartial career officials and replace them with Trump loyalists. Project 2025 is centered around destroying the DOJ's impartiality and turning it into an attack dog for Trump.

Even before Trump went to trial in New York, Republicans were lamenting the weaponization of the justice system. Those complaints were supercharged after Trump was convicted. As always seems to be the case, the GOP is accusing Democrats of something that it’s already doing. In this case, it’s not just deflection; It’s an excuse to vastly increase the level of politicization in the justice system. As The Washington Post reports, Republicans aren’t just crossing their fingers and hoping that Trump gets his hands on the DOJ a second time. They’re moving forward with an aggressive plan to blunt the effectiveness of the DOJ and target Trump’s enemies ahead of the election.

[...] Punishing entire states for refusing to let Trump escape prosecution has become a popular theme among Republicans. It’s unclear how such a plan would work, but Republicans are expected to attach defunding federal investigations into Trump to upcoming must-pass legislation.  Republicans are also expected to pass along more criminal referrals, like the ones targeting Hunter and James Biden on Wednesday, which allow Republicans to pretend they’ve found crimes by political opponents, then attack the DOJ for failing to follow up on their make-believe evidence.

[...] Trump spent four years knocking holes in that wall between the White House and the DOJ, and he’s been furthering that damage even while out of office. As bad as Barr, Sessions, and Rosen were as attorney generals—and they were awful—they won’t be a patch on what’s to come. The GOP isn’t waiting for Trump to carry out his quest for retribution. They're getting a head start by urging Republican attorney generals and Congress to use every tool they can find to attack Biden and Democrats ahead of the election. 

The GOP is weaponizing the DOJ and playing lawfare games to enact revenge on Donald Trump's opponents to aid and abet in his crime spree. If Trump gets elected again, what remains of the DOJ's impartialness will erode and become a fiefdom for Trump's lawlessness.

[nonconstories]

Fun Fact(s)!

1.) Goblins and Orcs both have completely normalized the existence of trans and intersex people. Its always been a Thing, and both societies readily permit queer marriages.

2.) Goblins, Orcs, Giants, Dwarves, and many human societies used to practice Marriage By Conquest, aka forcibly taking vanquished foes or citizens as spouses (sex slaves/hostages). While the majority of Azo societies have abolished this, some communities are clinging to it. Some Orc communities deliberately seek out human fiefdoms that permit the practice and then limit their nomadic territory to within those borders and a few goblin nations still recognize Conquest Marriages as valid and will refuse to return the spouse in question to their homeland.

3.) Most mortal species can produce children together, and their kids have a fairly even mix of their parents' species traits. This has been happening since before the first cities were built, nobody really gives a fuck.

4.) Orcs didn't used to have any concept of marriage. They adopted Marriage By Conquest from Goblins and Giants as a means of specifying valuable, foreign-born concubines, and gradually amended the practice into a way of granting a newcomer permanent membership in the war-band

5.) Dwarves likely invented the entire concept of marriage among mortal species. Basing it off the Lover's Pledge taken by certain pairs of the Gods, they conceived of marriage as a special type of contract between two families in which inheritance rights and property claims were traded as part of the deal. Dwarves are known for a fact to have created the concepts of divorce, pre-nups, annulments, and alimony.

6.) Giants are believed to the originators of Marriage By Conquest, as there ancient records of giant soldiers claiming enemy troops as concubines during The War Age. Other sources indicate that it was the Gods who originated the concept: Rayic and Tara both took sex slaves as prizes during the War Age.

7.) Goblins have dozens of words for "marriage" aka "a legal and social contract in which two or more parties bind themselves together to some degree". They have words specifying MBC, political marriage, economic marriage, love match, something translating as 'practical marriage', and several other culturally specific ones. Unlike most other mortal societies, goblins allow plural marriages. Love matches have been common among goblins for most of their history, even among their nobility and aristocracy.

[lloydfrontera]

what are your favorite moments in tged? ❤

ooohh i already answered this a while ago actually!

how about i give you some of my favorite quotes instead :D?? these are not in order and they are not nearly all of them but <333 this is already way too long <333 and i can't choose between all of them <33

I never, ever thought once about life without Master Lloyd, not even right now. -Ch 400

"If I have to really choose between you and me for this to end once and for all, I choose to banish myself from this world." -Ch 399

You’re my only friend, Javier. I couldn’t have overcome all the obstacles in front of me without your help. So, my trustworthy and reliable comrade, stick with me until I become a lazy lord and you become my personal guard. I hope we will be able to grow old together… -Ch 327

Lloyd felt reassured by Javier's presence as he gazed at him. He could not have gotten this far without the knight. Therefore, he did not want to lose Javier and hoped they would keep bickering with each other for eternity. -Ch 361

So stop being a crybaby about your own death. You're not going to die, and I'm going to ensure it. Even it really comes our way, I will die in your place instead. I am willing to. -Ch 384

Javier had already become his best friend. There was no one else he would be able to trust as much as him even if they always bickered with each other. Lloyd refused to lose him before he could find another solution. -Ch 367

I want to tell you everything, Lloyd... But I have no clue as to how I should talk to or ask you about this. I already see you as my precious son. I am grateful for you. [...] Unable to distract his mind he simply reached out and tightly grabbed Lloyd's hand. He hoped his unspoken feelings and thoughts would be conveyed to his son: Whatever you do, whatever you hide, you are my precious son that I will always be thankful for. -Ch 333

Javier could see from his eyes that Master Lloyd was rejoicing. Not only because he had reached a new level in swordsmanship but also because he was safe. Javier felt pure Joy in Lloyd. And the feeling was mutual for Javier. I am glad that you are safe, Master Lloyd. There was no need to speak it out loud. Just a silly joke was enough. Javier's desire to protect Lloyd, and Lloyd's heart to cherish and worry about Javier. -Ch 225

"Yes, I see," the baron said as he gazed at Lloyd. "Um, but why are you looking at me like that?" "Whew, how should I say it? I just think that I am blessed to have you as my son." -Ch 122

also i just realized that i absolutely lied i do have three moments that are my absolute favorites and you will Know why

I want to protect him. Lloyd is my true master in my heart. Lloyd was his friend. And now, Javier wanted to protect Lloyd. He would sincerely protect him with everything he had. -Ch 320

He thought he'd always be with Javier for the rest of his life. Just like now, he thought they'd spend all their time together moving forward. And like they always did, they'd be by each other's side during hard times. Happy moments. Relaxed days. They'd share all these moments as they exchanged insults and corny jokes, growing old as a lazy lord of a fiefdom and his knight. Lloyd always thought so. The thought just came naturally, without much effort from him, much like breathing. Lloyd believed that Javier would always remain by his side as that was how it had been until now. -Ch 222

And he was there. The man that I missed so much, because of the realization I could never get to see him again, was standing right outside the door. He was looking straight at me through teary eyes, with a hint of joy on his face. "... I missed you so much, Master Lloyd," said Javier with a huge, tearful smile. -Ch 401

i'm not predictable what are you talking about

[paragonrobits]

i had a bit of an idea when I saw some posts about that one terrible Disco Elysium take where someone said the game would have been better if it was about a lesbian witch in the Alps in a cozy/cottagecore setting, which i've seen sparked off discussions on how cozy and wholesome visuals (especially those that refuse to acknowledge how their homesteading fantasy doesn't address colonialism or past crimes done against indigenous peoples, and especially those that get HOSTILE over it) and it gave me an idea:

an antagonistic faction based around the cozy and wholesome cottagecore aesthetic, specifically in terms of how they clash with my primary character groups, who are by definition a bunch of weirdos; gross and deliberately rebelling against tyrants (to the extent of probably having trophies of body parts taken from slain villains) and being obnoxiously weird and offputting on purpose, reveling in rebelling against norms and restrictions because its fun, and therefore clashing with this type of enemy at a fundamental level?

the idea of living entirely on your own, or with a small group of friends and family, is more tenable in my settings; in real life you NEED some kind of organization at least at a local level to provide you with everything you need, making the homesteading fantasy not logistically sound, but here that kind of lifestyle IS possible. Everyone can instinctively use magical abilities, and it is more than possible to directly conjure up stuff you might need, though this requires rare magical substances normally found through great works of wild magic as a kind of reusable resource... or from the bodies of other magically powerful beings and monsters.

So a hypothetical group dedicated to the idea of living cozy lifestyles free from what they consider the unpleasant barbarity of the world they know (or fleeing disastrous or tyrannical regimes) may survive by cultivating magical disasters on purpose to reap the rewards, by hunting monsters of sufficient power to get those resources, or killing other magical beings to harvest their body parts. This last point can be used to combine the basic concept for a particularly unflattering take on the basic concept by conflating them with the 'spooky family of cannibals in the woods' style of horror, contrasted by the people doing this having a big fixation on elegance and wholesomeness.

off the top of my head a few ideas for this group might have:

They're a decentralized group that barely qualifies as a faction, being a large number of groups who have taken territory and rule of it as small fiefdoms. They tend to be at most small families and groups of friends, though disagreements cause them to split apart (and have a lot of bad blood and feuds between them, which can be a story hook as their schemes and plots cause problems for other people who in turn come to take retribution or make them knock it off). In general its a few people, often in romantic relationships for the whole 'living on a homestead with my wife' kind of thing.

They share common aesthetic interests and philosophies, mostly fixated on wholesomeness and cuteness. They see themselves as harmless, cute and sweet, and dislike things they see as gross, monstrous or rough. (Which describes many of my characters.) They will probably aid each other if required, but they're not a group in a traditional sense.

So how do they provide a threat? They are all well-versed in enough magical skills to produce figments: living imaginary friends and constructs generated from emotions and ideas invested into a semi-autonomous thing. These beings are not sapient, functionally being magic chatbots, and they can be created in just about any form and with some basic magical powers built in. Normally they maintain themsleves with a bit of investment, allowing people to make a LOT of them, entire armies, over a long enough period. So these homesteaders have created huge groups of workers, guardians and yesmen to do the hard work of actual farming, assuming they're not just generating fancy feasts from thin air and play-acting at the pastoral life.

This means that they can command quite powerful armies of monsters in whatever form they can imagine, based on their own personal interests, so they're likely to be fae-themed walking trees and the like, rather than anything you can really converse with. They're just powerful enough to be a problem, but not smart enough to deal with complex situations and therefore likely to go hostile or attack other people considered to be intruding upon them, making it VERY likely that they will start expanding that territory without realizing that's what they're doing.

This can also include these homesteaders driving off neighbors on purpose, resenting the intrusion (as they think of it), and anyone doing... say, dungeon exploration, or examining ruins, is likely to set them off. This faction is likely to be EXTREMELY territorial, even if they have no real interest in conquest; they're spiteful, self-centered and have a victim complex, meaning that long term feuds with people who run afoul of them is quite likely. Their emphasis on coziness also is a source of hostility; they require their neighbors to be STRICTLY regulated to keep things nice and uncomplicated, and they will drive off anyone introducing undesirable elements into their territory.

They can also serve as a warning of more organized, dire threats. Their magical powers are somewhat more complex than is common in the setting, so they may be from a more established and magically learned area that is no longer functional. This may be because they were scattered by a powerful, militarily ambitious faction that will prove to be a far more potent and direct threat, and encountering these homesteaders is a precursor to a far more dangerous peril.

They may also be a threat through the use of magic to terraform what they consider as unpleasant environments without regard for the ecological impact. My default group of characters tend to prefer swamps and wetlands for their territory, but these homesteaders dislike the stinking, insect-populated wetlands full of foul smells, bog mummies and rot, and have no interest for how their attempts to warp the swamps into forests will have terrible consequences for the land, motivating the characters to take an offense against them because the homesteaders magic is spreading, warping the environment and damaging their homes, and the homesteaders refuse to stop and won't even speak with outsiders.

(Also as I write this it occurs to me that there's some unpleasant similarities between what I'm describing and pre-civil war romanticizations of plantations, particularly that of chattel slavery, in the American South. In this case, these antagonists are making an imaginary society around them to maintain their lifestyles without any real concern for the effect on the world around them... or in particularly malevolent cases, they may attempt to warp the minds and wills of other people to force them into becoming a part of their fantasy and thus enslaving their minds, and viewing it as doing them a favor, because now they're part of something so CUTE and pleasant, and whatever rationalizations they want. This gives an obvious story hooks; these self-centered people are literally enslaving others and driving off anyone near them, so they need some good FACE PUNCHING NOW.)

[viskarenvisla]

Religious Conflict in Werewolf the Forsaken Part 1

So one of the most compelling features of Werewolf: the Forsaken is the notion this pseudo-faith based battle that happens between the factions. The common backstory that unites them has enough contradictions and mysteries, enough things that don't make sense that there is ample room for disagreement. The fact that this disagreement spirals into brutal warfare is what makes the conflict between Forsaken and Pure so interesting to me. In this lecture post, I'll talk about my own take on the backstory that underlays this conflict. In future posts, I'll share my thoughts on the actual conflict that arises from it.

A brief overview: in a mythic time and place, the Spirit World and the Physical World were barely a breath apart. Our paleolithic ancestors were able to enter the World of Spirits through their dreams; Spirits could enter the Flesh Realms by their will. Obviously, this cross-contamination meant that the balance could be thrown out of whack, with Human shamans potentially garnering too much power by enslaving Spirits; Spirits could create little fiefdoms of Human slaves if they so willed it.

To keep the world from going one way or the other, Father Wolf appeared on the scene. Now, Onyx Path pretty clearly laid out that Father Wolf is something called a 'Pangaean', which is like...a Spirit but not, because it also has access to Mage: the Awakening Spheres. I actually do not like this blatant explanation of his nature, so in my stories: Father Wolf's nature is mysterious. Some say he's a God in the sense of Mother Luna; some say he's something entirely other (a Pangaean); some say that he's just a Werewolf that gathered godlike power to himself (I like this possibility, because it implies that Werewolves existed *before* Mother Luna invested them with her Change). Father Wolf's job was to keep the world in balance by ripping apart transgressors; those things that were in fact too powerful for him to deal with he usually Bound into places they couldn't leave (Idigam on the Moon, Cthulhu-esque horrors beneath the Sea, etc.). In the meantime, he had a plethora of offspring called the Firstborn. The nature of the Firstborn is, from what I remember, kind of poorly explained by Onyx Path which I like. Those are the demi-god figureheads of the Tribes (Covenant equivalent for Vampire); I think in First Edition it was stated that they were the offspring of Father Wolf and another Spirit of some sort. I usually take a different tack: The Firstborn are indeed Father Wolf's children, but assuming he's a Werewolf, he mated with powerful shamans, heroines, or women whose nature bestrode the border of human and inhuman. This means the Firstborn are 'human'-born, and like Father Wolf, primordial Werewolves of the ancient days. I digress. Father Wolf became old (how, if he's a God?) and let some horrible shit slip through his claws; five (known) Firstborn agreed that he needed to be removed so one of them could become Alpha, while three (known) Firstborn refused to commit patricide. Now, what's interesting about this: if Father Wolf absolutely had to be put down, why is it that his death sundered and messed up the world so much? Was it just inevitable, or is the whole tale a lie and the truth quite different? What does that say about the Forsaken Firstborn?

Who, indeed, is the villain in Werewolf: the Forsaken? The ones trying to keep the world in its post-Sundered, shitty state of decay, or the ones desperately trying to bring it back to a state of harmony that just so happens to be awful for 99% of Humanity?

It's a great backstory, and one that I think sets up the conflict in Forsaken quite nicely. Next time, I'll talk about how that's actually implemented.

[fideidefenswhore]

Unlike Henry's relationship with Katherine, which at this stage was still loving, that between Claude and Francis was a mixture of mutual respect, collaboration and occasional mistrust. Claude was the sole heir to her parents' fiefdoms, which included Blois, Brittany, and the French claim to the Duchy of Milan. Francis did not marry her for love, but to build his dynasty. Her attitude to him is best evinced in her willing toleration of his mistresses, but absolute refusal to give him a key to the magnificent library in her favourite chateau of Blois, where she vigilantly guarded her mother's unrivalled book and tapestry collections from what she feared would be his predations.

Hunting the Falcon: Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, and The Marriage That Shook Europe, John Guy & Julia Fox

[lilias42]

18. it's absolutely criminal that the fandom has been sleeping on...

Hi ! Thank for the ask !

Inspiré de ce strip de Maliki et attention, il y a des cases avec des représentations d'insectes grouillant ! (English version right here and beware, there are boxes with representations of swarming insects.)

EN : It's absolutely criminal that the fandom has been sleeping on

the fact that Lambert is a complete moron and a very, very bad king and father. It's probably because I've got a huge weakness for villains who are not very fine people with the mentality of a five-year-old (i.e. they don't really have a high viewpoint and think mainly of themselves because they're not really aware of others yet) BUT who are in a position of power where they have to look after others, make a country work properly, can launch large-scale operations whether economic or military. … it's like giving a kid the button to the atomic weapon and forbidding him to press it or play with it, then leaving the room and watching until he obeys before he takes the button and does anything with it. These villains are hard to anticipate, because they only do what they think is right, but they're so immature that they put themselves first, convinced that they're perfectly right and just, without realizing the harm they're doing, until the more responsible characters slap them in the face and take away the big red button.

What's more, Lambert's design is clearly not that of a villain, he looks like a teddy bear but, when you follow his words and actions, he's an absolute moron who deserves to get a divorce in the face from his first wife, who runs off with the pension, and especially Dimitri, another from Dimitri, who refuses to contact him again because he doesn't give a damn about his mental and physical state, another slap from Rodrigue because he's fed up with cleaning up after the king, who's playing around while he's doing serious work and thinking like a responsible father, another from Patricia / Anselma for her life as a recluse and the fact that he never helped her with Cornelia, who is his imminence grise (Rodrigue also has the right to slap him for this reason), then one from all his people for his stupid idea of going directly to Duscur and sending them to the dogs (remember that, according to Nopes, Lambert risked everything for Patricia, whereas Rodrigue isn't even sure he loved her, so he risked the entire security of the Kingdom for his mistress of the moment, great).

So, really, it would have been nice to play on the fact that he's not a good king or a very good person in general, it could have set up a climate of tension with characters who have to adapt with a king who's as moody as their 5-year-old, and who changes his mind all the time, without knowing what he's doing. It could have been the commoners who are just plain jaded, fed up with putting up with an egocentric kid as king who does whatever he wants, and are starting to disregard royal orders in the administrations because they just can't keep up and are looking to be as efficient as possible, because they don't have the time to follow the king in his ravings. As for the noble families, they could have been divided between those who try to take advantage of the situation because the king is a moron, and those who try to limit the damage to their fiefdom by trying to emancipate themselves as best they can while remaining discreet enough not to end up with their heads chopped off for rebellion. This would have given us very different stories, rather than the classic “Lambert was a good king, but the evil nobles of the south wanted to keep their evil privileges, and the evil witch-councilor wanted him dead, along with the evil mother-in-law, so they killed the good king to take advantage of the anarchy”.

What's more, I've already mentioned this in other questions, but for example, I'd have liked to read about other dynamics between the Fraldarius and Blaiddyd families than just “I'm so delighted to serve you to the end” with fairly cordial relations, it would also have been very interesting to see more tense relations, I'm probably influenced by the fact that in France, feudal relations are extremely complex, and even under absolute monarchy, the king has to spend his time negotiating with nobles who have their own interests at stake.

FR : C'est absolument criminel que le fandom ait dormi sur le fait que Lambert est un crétin fini et un trèèèès mauvais roi et père. C'est surement parce que j'ai un énorme faible pour les méchants qui sont des personnes pas très fines ayant la mentalité d'un enfant de cinq ans (soit n'ayant pas vraiment de hauteur de vue et pense surtout à eux-mêmes car ils n'ont pas encore vraiment conscience des autres) MAIS qui sont à un poste de pouvoir où ils doivent s'occuper des autres, faire en sorte qu'un pays marche correctement, peuvent lancer des opérations de grands envergures que ce soit économiques ou militaires... c'est comme laisser le bouton de l'arme atomique à un gamin en lui interdisant d'appuyer dessus ou de jouer avec, sortir de la pièce et regarder jusqu'à quand il va obéir avant qu'il ne prenne le bouton et fasse n'importe quoi avec. C'est des méchants assez difficile à anticiper car, ils ne font que ce qu'ils pensent être bien mais, qui sont tellement immature qu'ils se font quand même passer en premier tout en étant persuadé d'être parfaitement juste et dans leur droit sans se rendre compte du mal qu'ils font, jusqu'à ce que les personnages plus responsables leur mettent la paire de claque qu'ils méritent en lui confisquant le gros bouton rouge.

En plus, pour Lambert, son design n'est clairement pas celui d'un méchant, il ressemble à un nounours mais, quand on suit ces paroles et actions, c'est un crétin absolu qui mérite que de se prendre un divorce dans la figure de la part de sa première femme qui se barre avec la pension et surtout Dimitri, une suivante de Dimitri qui refuse de le recontacter vu qu'il se fiche de son état mental et physique, une autre baffe de Rodrigue parce qu'il en a sa claque de nettoyer derrière le roi qui fait mumuse pendant que lui fait du travail sérieux et pense vraiment en père responsable, une autre de Patricia / Anselma pour sa vie de recluse et le fait qu'il ne l'a jamais aidé avec Cornélia qui est son imminence grise (Rodrigue a aussi le droit de le baffer pour cette raison), puis une de tout son peuple pour son idée stupide d'aller en Duscur directement en les envoyant au casse-pipe (on rappelle que selon Nopes, Lambert a tout risqué pour Patricia alors que Rodrigue n'est même pas sûr qu'il l'aimait alors, il a risqué la sécurité entière du Royaume pour sa maitresse du moment, super).

Donc, vraiment, ça aurait été bien de jouer sur le fait que ce ne soit pas un bon roi ou une très bonne personne en général, ça aurait pu installer un climat de tension avec des personnages qui doivent s'adapter avec un roi aussi lunatique que leur gamin de 5 ans, et qui change tout le temps d'avis, sans savoir ce qu'il fait. ça aurait pu être les roturiers qui sont juste blasés, en ont assez de supporter un gamin égocentrique comme roi qui fait n'importe quoi et commencent à passer outre les ordres royales dans les administrations car juste, ils n'arrivent plus à suivre et cherche surtout à être le plus efficace possible car, ils n'ont pas le temps de suivre le roi dans ses délires. Les familles nobles quant à elles auraient pu se diviser entre ceux qui tentent de profiter de la situation car le roi est un crétin, et ceux qui tentent surtout de limiter les dégâts sur leur fief en tentant de s'émanciper comme ils peuvent tout en restant assez discret pour ne pas finir avec la tête coupée pour rébellion. ça aurait donné des histoires très différentes les unes les autres plutôt que se contenter du classico-classique "Lambert était un bon roi mais, les méchants nobles du sud voulaient garder leurs méchants privilèges et la méchante conseillère sorcière voulait sa mort avec la méchante belle-mère alors, ils ont tué le gentil roi pour profiter de l'anarchie".

De plus, j'en ai déjà parlé dans d'autres questions mais par exemple, j'aurais aimé lire d'autres dynamiques entre les Fraldarius et les Blaiddyd que juste "je suis tellement ravi de vous servir jusqu'au bout" avec des relations assez cordiales, ça aurait été aussi très intéressant de voir des relations plus tendues, voir même antagonistes vu que bon, on est dans une monarchie, évidemment que c'est un panier de crabes et je suis surement influencé par le fait qu'en France, les relations féodales sont extrêmement complexes et même sous la monarchie absolue, il faut que le roi passe son temps à négocier avec les nobles qui ont leurs propres intérêts dans leur coin, c'est une dynamique très différente que celle des samurais par exemple.

[the-lady-of-thargelion]

Turenis' timeline

Years of the Trees

Y.T. 1197: Turenis is born.

Y.T. 1253: she is welcomed in the Healers High Guild and studies as an apothecary/herbalist

Y.T. 1264: first meeting with Caranthir

Y.T. 1285: Caranthir finally confesses and they start officially dating

Y.T. 1301: Turenis becomes the official Royal Apothecary

Y.T. 1456: Caranthir and Turenis get married. It is a time of strife, but they are still hopeful.

Y.T. 1495: It’s the Flight of the Noldor. Turenis speaks to her own family, sad to see her go, but she truly wants to be with her husband. Caranthir speaks to her, he tells her that if she stays in Aman and abandons him, he will never resent her, because he wishes for her to be happy. She replies that she will be happy as long as she is with him, therefore she follows. She does not actively participate in the fight that ensues, because she is propped onto one of the ships and is told to wait there. Once all is said and done, all he can do is tend to the wounded and the sick with the ones from the Minor Healers Guilds that followed.

Y.T. 1497: Feanor dies, Maedhros is captured. It is the first of her griefs. She is still there for Caranthir and the rest of the family.

First Age

F.A. 5: when Maedhros is rescued from Thangorodrim, she is the one overseeing every single medicine and ointment and whatnot needed to heal Maedhros' wounds.

F.A. 7: she appears in Maedhros' council next to Caranthir as Fingolfin is crowned High King.

F.A. 20: It's the Feast of Mereth Aderthad. She is there right next to Caranthir and being a gracious guest.

F.A. 21: Turenis and Caranthir start their travels, stopping for the various sieges/battles.

F.A. 150: Caranthir's folk meet with the Dwarves of the Blue Mountains. She is the one nudging Caranthir to accept the alliance. Caranthir slowly establishes himself as Lord of Thargelion and begins a very fruitful business exchange with the Dwarves.

F.A. 312: Haleth and her people cross the Blue Mountains. They refuse allegiance with Caranthir, but instead they strike a friendship with the Lady. Turenis becomes good friends with Haleth, teaching and learning new herbs and ointments and medicines on the way.

F.A. 375: Caranthir saves Haleth and her people. He finally recognizes Men as worthy, offers them a fiefdom. Turenis does point out that Haleth may not want that. And as she pointed out, Haleth refuses. When Haleth leaves for Brethil, Turenis is saddened, but she understands the reasons Haleth is going.

F.A. 455: Dagor Bragollach. She is there to coordinate the Healers and give an extra help. This unfortunately means that Thargelion is lost. Amrod and Amras welcome them.

F.A. 463: Ulfang swears allegiance to Caranthir. Turenis has a horrible feeling about it, but can't justify it.

F.A. 472: Nirnaeth Arnoediad. Same as above.Turenis is in the camp coordinating Healers. When all is finished, it's Caranthir telling her that she was right about Ulfang. It is unclear as to where they live, everyone is pretty much displaced.

F.A. 506: Second Kinslaying. Caranthir dies and Turenis is destroyed by the news. She takes up a solemn vow of silence. She is welcomed in Himring by Maedhros. She has her own wing and grieves, mostly.

F.A. 538: Third Kinslaying. Elrond and Elros are brought to Himring. Caring for the twins sort of soothes a little bit her heart, but she keeps up her vow of silence.

F.A. 587: right before Maedhros and Maglor go to seize the Silmarils, they send away Turenis to Galadriel and Celeborn. Galadriel takes a look at her and only sees grief and pain. And she decides that Turenis will become her Lady in Waiting.

Second Age

S.A. 1: Turenis is now officially in Galadriel's following. Her title is no more Lady of Thargelion, but nevertheless she is granted with the title of Lady of the Roses. She discards her Quenya name in favour of her Sindarin name Merildis. She lives a relatively sheltered and peaceful life between Lindon and Eregion.

S.A. 1350: she follows Galadriel and Celeborn to Lothlorien. She still has not broken her vow of silence.

Third Age

Throughout the Third Age, she is mainly inside Lothlorien, either attending Lady Galadriel, or quietly pressing flowers into a book full of sweet words for the love she lost, aka Caranthir.

T.A. 3021: she passes over the sea and returns to Aman

Fourth Age and onwards

Merildis is reunited with Caranthir at the havens in Valinor. It is then that she breaks her vow of silence. She takes back the Quenya name, but she keeps the title of Lady of the Roses. She will now go back with Caranthir to lead a possibly peaceful life.

[sensitiveuser]

Red Sunday, or Bloody Sunday, January 9 1905 (January 22 according the Gregorian calendar) - Bloody repression of a peaceful popular demonstration in St. Petersburg. Starting point of the 1905 Revolution.

The bloody repression of this peaceful demonstration marks a radical break between the Russian population and the tsarist autocracy.

The war against Japan (1904-1905) began with the indifference of the Russians. Nicholas II wanted to divert public attention from domestic problems by waging a war that he believed would be easy against those he called "the monkeys". But very quickly military setbacks, tax increases to finance the conflict, and levies of men came to undermine the very foundations of the regime. The repeated announcement of military setbacks benefited the opposition, which denounced the government's adventurism. The Union for Liberation organized banquets everywhere intended to define the program of the liberal bourgeoisie. The petty bourgeoisie was eminently frustrated by political authoritarianism and the little place it was given in Russian society. For its part, the student world also wanted to see a constituent assembly emerge. Nicholas II, unable to give ground, added fuel to the fire by stating that any demonstration that undermined public order and tranquility played into the hands of the enemy and would therefore be "repressed by all legal means at the disposal of the authorities". The war had encouraged the emergence of a bourgeois liberal opposition. This was quickly overtaken by workers' demands.

In 1904, a zemstvo assembly was held. It was the first national assembly in Russian history. A constitution was demanded. The provincial marshals of the nobility (who were usually the most conservative statesmen) themselves held a congress to approve the idea of ​​a national assembly. Inspired by the Parisian banquets that had preceded the revolution of 1848, professional organizations organized public banquets, at which speakers demanded political reforms and a constitution. Maxim Gorky attended the largest banquet, in Pavlova Hall (St. Petersburg); there were 600 guests, among them members of the intelligentsia, members of the zemstvos, writers, lawyers. In his testimony (a letter he wrote to his wife), he states: “There were blunt speeches and people chanted in unison: ‘Down with autocracy! Long live the Constituent Assembly! Give us a constitution!’ A resolution was unanimously adopted calling for the election of a Constituent Assembly by universal suffrage. It was all very heated and democratic. For the first time, a woman even stood up to speak. She said that universal suffrage would give the police the right to vote, but no one had yet mentioned women. All this time, they have been fighting alongside men, and now they have been forgotten. What a shame! Her speech was excellent”. Prince Mirski, the Minister of the Interior, presented Nicholas II with a summary of the resolutions of the Zemstvo Assembly, hoping to convince the Tsar to introduce some reforms, including allowing elected Zemstvo representatives to sit on the State Council. The Zemstvo Assembly also proclaimed that the old patrimonial order with its ideas of personal power had been dead since the 1860s. It was proclaimed that Russia should no longer be the personal property and fiefdom of its sovereign, but an "impersonal state with its own body politic, public interest, and public opinion, which makes it distinct from the person of the sovereign." In response, Nicholas II expressed his refusal to establish a representative government. In December 1904, a decree was adopted promising to "strengthen the rule of law, relax restrictions on speech and the press, and expand the rights of the Zemstvos." However, the decree did not address the issue of a parliamentary body, on which concessions were essential if the Tsar did not want to see a revolution break out...

In the days leading up to Red Sunday, on January 3, 1905, the workers of the Putilov factories went on strike. The next days, Gapon, an Orthodox priest sensitive to the workers' demands, wrote the petition repeating the demands or grievances of the Petersburg workers.

Petition of the workers of St. Petersburg to Nicholas II (January 5th, 1905) :

"Sovereign !

We, workers and residents of the city of St. Petersburg of various classes, our wives, and children, and helpless elderly parents, have come to you, sovereign , to seek justice and protection. We have become impoverished, we are oppressed, burdened with backbreaking labor, we are abused, we are not recognized as people, we are treated as slaves who must endure their bitter lot and remain silent. We have endured, but we are pushed further and further into the abyss of poverty, lawlessness and ignorance, we are strangled by despotism and tyranny, and we are suffocating. There is no more strength, sire. The limit of patience has come. For us, that terrible moment has come when death is better than continued unbearable torment. And so we quit work and told our bosses that we would not start working until they met our demands. We did not ask for much, we only wanted that without which not life, but hard labor, eternal torment. Our first request was that our bosses discuss our needs with us. But we were refused this - we were denied the right to speak about our needs, which the law does not recognize for us. Our requests were also unlawful: to reduce the number of working hours to 8 per day; to set the price for our work together with us and with our consent; to consider our misunderstandings with the lower administration of the factories; to increase the wages of unskilled workers and women for their work to 1 ruble per day; to abolish overtime work; treat us carefully and without insults; arrange the workshops so that we could work in them, and not find death there from terrible drafts, rain and snow. Everything turned out, in the opinion of our owners and the factory and plant administration, to be illegal, any request of ours is a crime, and our desire to improve our situation is insolence, offensive to them. Sire, there are many thousands of us here, and all of us are people only in appearance, only in appearance, - in reality, for us, as well as for the entire Russian people, not a single human right is recognized, not even the right to speak, think, gather, discuss needs, take measures to improve our situation. We have been enslaved, and enslaved under the patronage of your officials, with their help, with their assistance. Anyone of us who dares to raise our voices in defense of the interests of the working class and the people is thrown into prison, sent into exile. They punish us as if we were committing a crime for having a kind heart, for having a sympathetic soul. To pity a downtrodden, disenfranchised, tormented person is to commit a grave crime. The entire working people and peasants are at the mercy of a bureaucratic government consisting of embezzlers and robbers who not only do not care about the interests of the people, but trample on these interests. The bureaucratic government has brought the country to complete ruin, brought a shameful war upon it, and is leading Russia further and further to destruction. We, the workers and the people, have no voice in the spending of the enormous levies collected from us. We do not even know where and for what the money collected from the impoverished people is spent. The people are deprived of the opportunity to express their desires, demands, participate in the establishment of taxes and their spending. Workers are deprived of the opportunity to organize into unions to protect their interests.

Sire ! Is this in accordance with the divine laws, by whose grace you reign? And is it possible to live under such laws? Is it not better to die, to die for all of us, the working people of all Russia? Let the capitalists, the exploiters of the working class, and the officials, the embezzlers of the state and the robbers of the Russian people, live and enjoy themselves. This is what stands before us, Sire, and this is what has gathered us to the walls of your palace. Here we seek our last salvation. Do not refuse to help your people, lead them out of the grave of lawlessness, poverty and ignorance, give them the opportunity to decide their own destiny, throw off the unbearable yoke of officials. Destroy the wall between you and your people, and let them rule the country together with you. After all, you were appointed for the happiness of the people, and this happiness is snatched from our hands by officials, it does not reach us, we receive only grief and humiliation. Look without anger, attentively at our requests: they are directed not towards evil, but towards good, both for us and for you, sovereign! It is not insolence that speaks in us, but awareness of the necessity of a way out of a situation that is intolerable for everyone. Russia is too large, its needs are too varied and numerous for officials alone to govern it. People's representation is necessary, it is necessary for the people themselves to help themselves and govern themselves. After all, only they know their true needs. Do not push away their help, order immediately, at once to call representatives of the Russian land from all classes, from all estates, representatives and from the workers. Let there be a capitalist, a worker, an official, a priest, a doctor, and a teacher here - let everyone, whoever they may be, elect their representatives. Let everyone be equal and free in the right to vote - and for this purpose order that the elections to the Constituent Assembly be held on the condition of universal, secret and equal voting. This is our most important request, in it and on it everything is based, this is the main and only plaster for our sore wounds, without which these wounds will ooze strongly and quickly move us to death. But one measure still cannot heal our wounds. Others are necessary, and we speak to you, sir, frankly and openly, as to a father, about them on behalf of the entire working class of Russia. The following are necessary:

I. Measures against the ignorance and lack of rights of the Russian people.

1) Immediate release and return of all those who suffered for their political and religious beliefs, for strikes and peasant unrest.

2) Immediate declaration of freedom and inviolability of the person, freedom of speech, press, freedom of assembly, freedom of conscience in matters of religion.

3) General and compulsory public education at state expense.

4) Responsibility of ministers to the people and guarantees of the legality of government.

5) Equality before the law of all without exception.

6) Separation of church and state.

II. Measures against the poverty of the people.

1) Abolition of indirect taxes and their replacement with a direct progressive income tax.

2) Abolition of redemption payments, cheap credit and gradual transfer of land to the people.

3) Execution of orders of the naval department must be in Russia, and not abroad.

4) End of the war by the will of the people.

III. Measures against the oppression of labor by capital.

1) Abolition of the institution of factory inspectors.

2) Establishment of permanent commissions at factories and plants, elected by workers, which, together with the administration, would examine all claims of individual workers. The dismissal of a worker cannot take place otherwise than with the decision of this commission.

3) Freedom of consumer-production and professional workers' unions - immediately.

4) An 8-hour working day and regulation of overtime work.

5) Freedom of labor to struggle against capital - immediately.

6) Normal wages - immediately.

7) Mandatory participation of representatives of the working classes in drawing up a bill on state insurance for workers - immediately.

Here, sir, are our main needs, with which we have come to you; Only by satisfying them is it possible to liberate our Motherland from slavery and poverty, to prosper, to organize workers to defend their interests from the brazen exploitation of the capitalists and the bureaucratic government that robs and strangles the people. Command and swear to fulfill them, and you will make Russia happy and glorious, and your name will be imprinted in our hearts and our descendants' hearts for all time, and if you do not command, if you do not respond to our prayer, we will die here, on this square, in front of your palace. We have nowhere else to go and no reason to. We have only two paths: either to freedom and happiness, or to the grave..."

On Sunday, January 9, 1905, a peaceful march of about 200000 workers took place. This march was organized by Gapon. The protesting workers were to march to the Winter Palace. Gapon, was to present a "Humble and Loyal Address" asking Nicholas II to improve the living conditions of the workers.

On that sunday, Nicholas II was not in Petersburg, but in Tsarskoye Selo.

Before the workers reached the Winter Palace, the army fired on the crowd. The column was approaching the gates of Narva, when a squadron of cavalry suddenly charged. Some of the demonstrators scattered, but others continued to advance; the rifles of the infantry were aimed at them. The soldiers began shooting. Gapon was thrown to the ground, and upon rising, proclaimed: "There is no more God. There is no more Tsar". Similar massacres took place in other parts of the city.

At Troitsky Bridge, near the Peter and Paul Fortress, the demonstrators were riddled with bullets. I quote the testimony of Maxim Gorky, who, after Red Sunday or "Bloody Sunday", had joined the Bolsheviks. "The dragon circled around him and, screaming like a woman, waved his sabre in the air. Rushing down on the unfortunate man from his dancing horse, he split his head, from the eyes to the chin. I remember the strangely wide eyes of the worker and the murderer's head, reddened by the cold and excitement, his teeth clenched in a broad smile and the hairs of his moustache standing on end on his raised lip. Brandishing his soiled steel staff, he let out another piercing scream and, with another wheeze, spat on the dead man through his teeth".

The survivors fought their way up Nevsky Prospect "in a last desperate effort" to reach the Winter Palace. The students joined the crowd of about 60,000 demonstrators. Informed of the massacres, they began to advance while jeering at the soldiers. Seeing the rifles aimed at them, the demonstrators knelt down, which did not prevent the soldiers from shooting. A Bolshevik testified: “I looked at the faces around me, and I did not perceive fear or panic. No, the reverential and almost pious expressions gave way to hostility, even hatred. I saw these looks of hatred and vengeance on literally every face – old and young, men and women.”

At the end of the day, the insurgent workers set up barricades around the Winter Palace and in the working-class neighborhoods. They waved red flags. Gapon took refuge with Maxim Gorki, who invited him to the meeting of the Free Economic Society to dispel the rumor of his death... Gapon wrote a speech addressed to what he called these "comrade workers" (which makes him a revolutionary priest, without being a socialist and still less a Bolshevik); he incites them to tear up the portraits of the tsar, and to address to him these words: "Damned be you with all your august reptilian offspring." In the days that followed, Gapon fled Petersburg for Finland...

The official human toll of Red Sunday? 96 dead and more than 300 injured.

The uprising of Red Sunday or Bloody Sunday brought Maxim Gorky closer to the Bolsheviks of the RSDLP. He thus perceived this Sunday demonstration as the starting point of the Russian Revolution (we find his point of view in the letter addressed to his wife Ekaterina). The following Tuesday, he was arrested and accused of belonging to a "revolutionary convention" which had set itself the goal of seizing power and establishing a provisional government (conspiracy). I quote Maxim Gorky's letter to Ekaterina: "So, my friend, the Russian revolution has begun: I send you my sincere congratulations. People died, but don't worry about it, only blood can change the color of history" (reprinted by Orlando Figes).

According to various historians specializing in Russian revolutions (Leon Trotsky, François-Xavier Coquin, Orlando Figes, Kathleen Prevo) the repression of Red Sunday provoked a rapid and large-scale reaction from the Russian working class. Thus, the day after Red Sunday, the police prefect was dismissed, as was the Minister of the Interior Pyotr Sviatopolk-Mirski. The workers of Petersburg went on strike. The strike movement quickly spread to other cities in Russia; it was the beginning of a general strike. More than 400,000 workers rose up. This was an unprecedented workers’ protest. The liberal and democratic opposition continued to protest against the tsarist power. Bloody Sunday had revolted educated society. Alexander Kerensky (who was student in these times) who witnessed the shooting on Nevsky Prospect, wrote a letter of protest to his comrades who were part of the guards. Alexander Pasternak (brother of the poet Boris Pasternak) proclaimed himself a revolutionary, “We are all social democrats”. At Moscow University, 3,000 students held a rally, where they burned a portrait of the Tsar and hung red flags on the faculty buildings.

Leon Trotsky considered that "The most profound and significant effect of the January massacre was on the Russian proletariat. A wave of enormous strikes swept the country from one end to the other, shaking the entire body of the nation. According to rough calculations, the strike spread to 122 cities and towns, several mines in the Donets Basin, and 10 railways. The proletarian masses were moved to the core." (quoted by Kathleen Prevo). Trotsky and other scholars (including François-Xavier Coquin) considered Bloody Sunday to be the spark that ignited the 1905 uprising. According to them, this tragic day had cast Nicholas II as a hateful and bloodthirsty tyrant, and precipitated an insurrectionary process that reached its climax in the general strikes of October and December 1905.

Sources :

François-Xavier Coquin - 1905, the first Russian revolution

Orlando Figes - Russian Revolution : 1891-1924, the tragedy of a people.

Kathleen Prevo - Worker reaction to Bloody Sunday in Voronezh

[simonloweblog]

"Coming together-Really?"

"Coming together" is a mantra that has been increasingly used during recent election cycles. The fact is that if everyone was of the same opinion there would be no need for different political parties because everyone would join  one- like they do in China! So factually "coming together" is not only unrealistic but also anti-democratic.

The only time in Man’s history when there were no effective differences between human beings was when they were simple hunter-gatherers and no social or economic organisations existed. It was from the beginning of the agricultural revolution that human beings started to organise into groups. By tending the land they established property acquisition and  “possession”, differing points of view and became competitive. This led to the birth of tribalism, hierarchy and ultimately politics.

It has been fashionable for some time now to promote the objective of assimilation & integration. For centuries, Jews have refused to do so which has made them the target of endless discrimination. The truth is that humans are tribal and to be blunt generally prefer to be with and feel more comfortable alongside their own. They tend to live and work in better harmony with those that share their social values, religious affiliations, culture and history.

In 1965 President Johnson signed “affirmative action” into law. More recently, governments and corporations have introduced the principles embodied in DEI -“ diversity, equity and inclusion”. Has the pendulum swung too far? I believe it has and no doubt  I will receive strong words of disagreement for simply suggesting this, but there is little doubt that some of the current social friction may be born out of the fact that certain groups, particularly new immigrants and asylum seekers, are being prioritized above tax paying nationals and  that generates fear that jobs and livelihood are being threatened.

Much is made today of the term "the have and have nots". The billionaires of today are the equivalent of the landed gentry of yesterday. Kings and aristocrats ruled their fiefdoms and controlled the lives of their subjects. In those days there was no healthcare, social welfare, state education or pensionsso as Professor Pinkus argues, the majority in the West are better off than they have ever been and in fact the gap in narrower than ever. Nobel and Rockerfeller became the new aristocrats of the 20th century and have now been supplanted by the likes of Bezos and Musk in the 21st century. Their economic muscle is often portrayed in the form of philanthropy and political support to advance their objectives by effectively buying power. They are no different to their predecessors in so much as they too seek to pay as little tax as possible. The only difference is that their lifestyle and wealth are now visible to the masses via the internet and social media.

In France, it is now unlawful for women to wear the hijab, veil or headscarf in public. Is it fair to tell people how they must dress, or is it fair to say, “when in Rome do as the Romans do”?

The current level of friction between countries, religious sects, social groups and different political philosophies seems to be more intense and dangerous than at any time since the second world war. Today there are more countries and bad actors capable of destroying peace and wreaking havoc on the world order. Producing drones that cost a fraction of a tank or ballistic missile has immeasurably widened the market for mischief and destruction. 

AI, fake news and hacking are relatively new phenomena and were not available to bad actors just a few years ago. People no longer trust their government or show much respect for what used to be the pillars of society; teachers, law enforcement officers, the military and their elected leaders. They may still trust "their own" but that is very far from  "coming together".

The numbers of growing populations in countries such as the US, the UK and much of Europe is putting a huge strain on the demand for housing, health and education and, as a result, stokes social friction. Politicians and political parties must cease to claim "growth" as their main policy objective and concentrate more on stabilizing their increasingly fractious constituents. Otherwise, "falling apart" will become more of a mantra than "coming together".

[girldoeswordsorsomething]

At the beginning of all things there was nothing.

Then, there was Chaos, deeper and darker and broader than any ocean. Out of this ocean She was born, and Chaos hated Her for She refused to surrender herself to be a part of Chaos again. For a long time She fought to keep herself above the waves. It seemed certain it was only a matter of time before She would be torn apart, until she began to sing. Her Song reached deeply into Chaos pulled up a mountain from the depths, and upon this mountain She stood for the first time.

She sang to the mountain and from its stone rose a great tower. From this tower here Song rang out and in this way all things were made from Chaos, and it was reduced. Eventually, when the ocean of Chaos became small enough She sealed it beneath the world in a great well, and Chaos was furious, for it desired to devour all things and return them to itself. After the sealing of Chaos She looked out from the tower upon all of her creations and saw in them the echoes of the hunger of the well. She knew she must set upon her creation an Order so that it may be preserved, and She thought for much time upon what this order must be.

She was conflicted, for She did not wish to rule all things, but she knew all things must be ruled lest they return to Chaos. So long she thought, knowing these two things to be true, that eventually She split into two beings, she who bears the name of Mother and she who bears the name of Tyrant. As before She was at war within herself now She was at war with herself. Tyrant used the powers of Creation to build fearsome armies and raise great towers of black iron, and she set out to bring all things under her iron law. Mother saw what was to happen, and she mourned for her world, for she knew that the weight of Tyrants kingdom would crush much that was beautiful of what they had made. So she too made fearsome armies and great towers, and strode forth to meet her sister on the field of battle.

For many ages of the world they fought, racing to imagine new weapons to wield and new peoples to fight, and the echoes of battle were heard in all places so that none knew peace. Many peoples came into being at this time, but many more were already walking the world and resented the sisters for breaking the peace. Some of these people, having great powers of Creation themselves, hid their lands and gardens away so the violence could not touch them, though still it echoed there.

Eventually the sisters grew weary of fighting, though neither were willing to relent and let the other take mastery of the world, and deep in its well Chaos knew that this was it's chance. It thrashed in its bindings and cracked the foundations of the world, but could not break free. It seethed and boiled and belched forth great beasts to finish freeing itself, and failing that to devour whatever they could and return to it. Seeing this the sisters were afraid, for despite their disagreement on what the Order of the world must be, they both desired above all to protect what they had made from the insatiable hunger of Chaos. They joined their great armies together and marched to the well of Chaos, intending to seal it forever. But Chaos was strong, and they were already wearied by their long years of fighting.

Tyrant reached the well first, and built a great city atop it. Mother joining her set great silver watchtowers in the sky above the well to warn them of where the hordes of Chaos gathered to strike. Many more years they laboured, sealing the greatest of the fissures that chaos had caused, until they could labour no more and lay down to sleep.

In their absence the peace the sisters had forged was fragile, and their armies and kingdoms splintered into fiefdoms. Mother's people became the 13 Kingdoms of Heaven, for the 13 silver towers she had built. Tyrant's people became the 7 Circles of Hell, for the 7 rings of the city she had built.

Though there were skirmishes between these people, and the echoes of the great war never faded from their ears, there is peace between them. For while they never forget the blood they have spilled, so too do they remember the vast and endless hunger that was sealed, and still together they fight children of Chaos that crawl from that great well.

Many years have passed since this age, and many of the distant lands remember the truth of this tale only in faint echoes. The mighty beings of this age, those who heard the Song of Creation and saw the light of the first stars have been known by many names and been part of many new tales across the lands. They have been called gods, angels, devils, kami, aesir, vanir, fae, deva, asura, rakshasa, oni, and many more. Few are those among mortals who know the whole story, and even many among those who are called divine have forgotten all of what came to pass in those days and the ones that followed. Still, in all tales there is truth, and none may forget the hunger in the well.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

S.V. Dáte at HuffPost:

WASHINGTON — A prolific conspiracy theorist who has embraced the QAnon cult and already has a 60-name enemies list of President Donald Trump’s critics goes before U.S. senators Thursday to determine whether he will take charge of the nation’s premier law enforcement agency. Kash Patel, who has spread Trump’s lie that the 2020 election was stolen from him and the debunked claim that the FBI instigated the Jan. 6, 2021, violent assault on the Capitol, will soon be running that agency — unless four Republican senators defy Trump and vote him down. “What makes Patel dangerous is his willingness to harness and deploy government resources,” said Amanda Carpenter, a former Republican Senate aide and now a researcher with the Protect Democracy nonprofit. “When the government gets power like this, it rarely is only used for its publicly intended purpose.” Patel, if confirmed, would represent a radical departure from the type of nominee presidents of both parties have sought to put in charge of the FBI since a Senate investigation in the 1970s found rampant abuses by J. Edgar Hoover, who had run the agency and its predecessor entity from 1924 until his death in 1972 as a personal fiefdom by investigating his critics for the purpose of holding leverage.

Trump, who has shown little interest in following good government norms since his election in 2016, has now twice cut short the 10-year term that was established for an FBI director specifically so the agency could not be beholden to a single president. In early 2017, Trump fired then-Director James Comey after he refused to pledge Trump his loyalty.

[...]

Discrediting The Russia Probe

Unlike many Trump acolytes who came up in Republican politics, Patel, 44, began his career as a public defender in state and federal courts in Miami before moving to the Justice Department during Obama’s tenure. His rise in Trump’s circle began when he moved to work under Devin Nunes, a California congressman at the time who was the Republican chair of the House Intelligence Committee. Trump was obsessed with undermining the intelligence community’s assessment, shared by a separate investigation by the Senate Intelligence Committee, that Putin had helped Trump win the 2016 election. Patel authored a report trying to discredit special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into ties between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia, winning great acclaim in pro-Trump media. It became the go-to document for those pushing Trump’s false claim that it was all a “hoax.”

From there, Patel went to work in Trump’s White House as a staffer for the National Security Council until the final months of that first term, when he became chief of staff in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and, ultimately, chief of staff for the acting secretary of defense. Trump tried to install Patel as deputy CIA director as part of his machinations to remain in power despite having lost reelection, but backed down when agency Director Gina Haspel said she would resign in protest. Between the end of the first Trump term and the start of the second, Patel enthusiastically joined in the pro-Trump movement’s grift machine, cashing in on appearances and merchandise exploiting the seemingly limitless demand for all things Trump. He produced a podcast for the conspiracy theory-promoting news site Epoch Times. He traveled the country for revival-style meetings of believers of QAnon, a fringe cult that sees Trump as a messianic figure destined to rid the government of those who secretly murder children to drink their blood.

[...] He helped produce a recording of “The Star-Spangled Banner” made by inmates of the District of Columbia jail accused and, in some cases, already convicted of assaulting police officers on Jan. 6, which Trump then participated in and which was then sold commercially. Trump subsequently played the song at his rallies while he would stand at attention. He even helped market pills that claim — with zero evidence of efficacy — to undo the effects of COVID-19 vaccines. “Spike the Vax, order this homerun kit to rid your body of the harms of the vax,” Patel wrote in a social media post, linking to “Warrior Essentials” website [...]

So Many Enemies

No FBI nominee in history has come to the job with such a comical assortment of statements and money-making schemes. Yet, If Patel’s nomination fails, it could well be because of the adult book he published in 2023, “Government Gangsters: The Deep State, the Truth, and the Battle for Our Democracy.” Hoover famously sought out “subversives” and “communists” to target in his decades in power. Patel, in contrast, has based his dividing line between friend and foe much more simply: how an individual has treated Trump and, relatedly, Patel himself.

“Deep state” is a phrase popularized by Bannon to describe individuals in the federal government who are not personally loyal to Trump, and, in his book, Patel printed an appendix naming 60 of them. “This list only includes current and former executive branch officials and is not exhaustive. It does not, for example, include other corrupt actors of the first order such as Congressmen Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell, members of Fusion GPS or Perkins Coie, Christopher Steele, Paul Ryan, the entire fake news mafia press corps, etc.,” he wrote. Some names are unsurprising — Democratic leaders who have criticized Trump over the years like former President Joe Biden and his vice president, Kamala Harris. Prosecutors who investigated Trump’s actions leading up to and on Jan. 6, 2021, and his subsequent retention of secret documents made the list, as did those who took part in the FBI’s earlier investigation into Trump’s acceptance of Russian assistance to help win the 2016 election.

Trump’s own attorney general, Bill Barr, is on the list, as is Alexander Vindman, the NSC whistleblower who revealed Trump’s attempt to coerce Ukraine into investigating then-candidate Biden. Wray, who resigned rather than force Trump to fire him, is on Patel’s list, as are Biden’s attorney general, Merrick Garland, and Obama’s attorney general, Loretta Lynch. CIA Director Haspel, whose threatened resignation made Trump reconsider his attempt to make Patel her deputy, is now on Patel’s enemies list. Also on the list, though, are Trump administration officials whose only offense appears to have been refusing to go along with his scheme to remain in power despite losing the 2020 election. Former White House counsel Pat Cipollone and his deputy, Pat Philbin, are both included. They advised Trump against taking illegal actions in the final weeks of his first term and, prior to that, opposed Trump’s effort to install a pliant attorney general who was willing to help spread his lies about a stolen election.

Kash Patel will be grilled in the Senate today, and he’ll face questions over his enemies list and QAnon support, among other issues, such as January 6th.

[woahtherebuckerino]

Fic Recs: Hunter X Hunter

i’m pretty sure this was the first anime i ever watched, so it holds a very special place in my heart. here are some of my favourite fics from this fandom!

Double-Edged Crown by cyberflamingo

The wealthiest families in Yorbia are given a the opportunity of a lifetime when their daughters qualify to compete for the prince’s hand in marriage. Only one contestant isn’t excited to participate. Killua, a mercenary forced to take his sister’s place, just wants to be eliminated so he can stop cross-dressing and return to work. But things take a turn for the worse when he finds himself succeeding despite his best efforts to fail—and as the competition continues, he begins to suspect the prince may have a couple of screws loose. Because if Killua’s pass rate is any indication...the man has some very strange requirements for a future wife.

this might possibly be one of my favourite fics ever. i have read and reread it countless times and i never get bored of it. the humour, the descriptions, the characters, all of it is just so good! if you only read one fic off this list, this should be the one

this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart by lemon_lullabies

"Killua's hands fidgeted almost unnoticeably, but it was his eyes that gave him away. They flitted from place to place as if looking for something. Looking for a threat, perhaps. Well, she would just have to do her best to be as unthreatening as possible." Five times in which Mito asks Killua for permission (because she knows how to deal with traumatized kids) and one time Killua asks her.

mito my beloved. this fic is entirely from her perspective, which is really refreshing as she isn’t a character whose pov is written of often. plus, the mito & killua and mito & alluka interactions are so sweet!

Sleepover x At x Wing’s by DecemberCamie

“Is someone trying to capture you? A Blacklist Hunter, maybe?” “No.” A pause. “Well. Technically, yes, but-” “But it’s nothing to worry about!” Alluka finished and waved her hands at Zushi, who had turned white. “It’s okay, really!” Wing said gently, “Killua. Alluka. If there’s anyone who’s out to seek revenge, or even if its a family member-” “It’s not like that,” Killua insisted with a grimace and Alluka nodded at his side. Killua added, "And I took care of Illumi years ago. He'd have to be crazy to attack us now." “Then who's after you?” Zushi finally cried out, throwing his hands into the air. Killua rolled his eyes. “It’s Gon, obviously!”

wing my beloved. yet again another character whose pov is criminally under-utilised within the fandom, and it sets this fic apart! i love the plot concerning him and killua’s reunion, and zushi exasperation really adds to the humour!

looking out for you by orphan_account

“You’re making this difficult.” Killua sighs, sounding a bit off. Gon just hums lowly in response. He's too concentrated on forming his Nen above his finger to properly stay attentive. “I’m in love with you.” “Mmm, I’m in love with-“ Gon blankly parrots before stopping. The Nen abruptly dissolves with a slight hiss and he whips his head around to face his friend. “Wait, what did you say?”

the tone of this fic is perfect and the characterisation is spot on. the dynamic between the two is captured really well and i love the humour that’s been used

The Fatal Rose by glittercracker

It's Killua Zoldyck's 18th birthday: the day he will take over from his father, the current Lord Zoldyck, to rule their family and their fiefdom. However, his brother, Illumi, a powerful magician, challenges him for his inheritance. When Killua refuses to give it up, Illumi curses him to live for hundreds of years with no human companionship, while dying slowly and painfully of a disfiguring disease. True love's kiss will break the curse, but Killua doesn't hold out much hope that anyone will even find him, let alone fall in love with him, before the disease consumes him. Of course, he has yet to meet Gon Freecss.

this fic has been adapted into a published novel, and i think that speaks volumes about how great it is. it has this haunting yet beautiful vibe about it that i love, and it sticks closely to the plot of beauty and the beast to give a great retelling!

bust in here with his life in your hands by iooiu

Leorio doesn't get paid enough for this shit, really. or: Killua and Gon have a nasty habit of finding trouble, and Leorio's apartment is the one place they fall back to when they're forced to carry their dying best friend.

the most extreme hurt/comfort. really this fic has very heavy angst but an equal amount of fluff for the best of both worlds. plus leorio is a godsend for those two

In the Sharp and Dying Days by anodymalion

"If you can’t defeat Shoot, you must stay out of Gon’s life." This is what Bisky told him, the thing that haunts Killua still, that echoes in his ears when he lies paralyzed in the dirt at Shoot's feet, when the tentative future he’d hoped for himself falls to pieces around him. Killua will protect Gon for the thirty days Gon can’t use Nen. And then Killua will leave him forever. It’s fitting, then, that that’s how long Killua Zoldyck has left to live.

the most heart-wrenching hanahaki disease fic i’ve read. it does focus around killugon, but i love how it also draws on the other friendships killua has made and how other people care for and want to be around him

[kjack89]

An Agreement Between Gentlemen (Chapter 2/?)

Continuation of the E/R Bridgerton AU (chapter 1 tumblr | AO3) with all the shenanigans. And some fake marriage. Because why not.

This Author has long been of the opinion that there is nothing so dangerous during the season as a mother desperate to make a match for her daughter, especially when that daughter is plain, or comes without a substantial dowry. But this season may bring a danger even greater than a desperate mother of daughters: desperate mothers of sons, unable – or unwilling – to seal the deal.

While certainly families with daughters, no matter how titled or landed, stand to lose much if they are unable to find a suitable marriage, the prospect of title or land passing out of the family without a suitable heir is enough to drive even the most respectable of families to desperate measures. Especially in the case of the Marquess of Enjolras, who is approaching thirty without a suitable marriage match in sight.

It is rumoured that the Dowager Marchioness is at her wit’s end and determined that her son shall marry by the end of the season. She is even accused of going so far as to negotiate terms without her son’s knowledge. There were several reports of a great row coming from the elder and younger Enjolras earlier this month, with son and mother shouting at each other for the entire park to hear. 

The Dowager Marchioness finds herself in good company, at the least: the Duchess de Courfeyrac has long despaired to any who will listen that her eldest will never settle down, and the rumour is that the Baron of Pontmercy has proclaimed he is refusing to marry any girl save for young lady he caught glimpse of for but a moment at the Thénardiers’ ball (and whom he has never seen since, assuming she does exist). And of course, the landed gentry without titles find themselves in similar straits. Just take Mr. Grantaire, who, despite owning one of the largest houses bordering the park, has yet to find a wife, and as he is well past the age one would expect, his father has all but given up on him and retired out of the country.

Of course, with the exception of Baron Pontmercy, it is well known that neither Lord Courfeyrac nor Mr. Grantaire, nor most other young rakes who have yet to settle down, finds himself short of unsuitable women, but our gentle readers will know that unscrupulous women might warm a bed but will rarely walk down an aisle. And on a contrary note, the Marquess may well be a monk – there is not a single rumour that this Author has heard of any woman, suitable or otherwise, who has warmed his bed.

Then again, there is none who would ever think to bat the term ‘rake’ in the direction of Lord Enjolras.

But speaking of our notable rakes, this Author has learned that the Marquess of Enjolras has called upon Mr. Grantaire this past week. And our readers may remember that despite several seasons’ worth of acquaintance under their belts that neither man would consider the other friend, which causes this Author to wonder just what those two have to discuss.

Whatever they may be up to, this Author is certain it will bring nothing but more despair to their poor guardians. LADY WHISTLEDOWN’S SOCIETY PAPERS, 18  APRIL 1831

Grantaire blinked. "I beg your pardon?" he said, and Enjolras thought it was too his credit that he sounded only mildly baffled.

Still, Enjolras could not help the flush that rose in his cheeks at the absurdity of his request. "I am fairly certain that you heard me perfectly well," he said, a little stiffly.

"Heard you, certainly, but..." Grantaire trailed off. "You wish for me to help you get married."

"Correct."

"But you need that marriage..."

Again he trailed off, and Enjolras cleared his throat delicately. "To not be real, correct," he finished in what he hoped was a helpful way.

Judging by the look Grantaire gave him, it had not been. Still, Grantaire was silent for a long moment, taking several sips of whiskey before telling Enjolras, "I will not claim to be anyone's first choice to ask for help with any variety of matters, but I still never thought I would see the day when I would be asked by a marquess to assist him in committing fraud."

"And yet if memory serves, once upon a time, you offered me your help with anything," Enjolras said. "You even offered to black my boots."

Grantaire looked momentarily surprised. "I did not think you would remember that."

Enjolras shrugged. "It was not I who drank my weight in wine that evening."

Grantaire smirked. "True enough." His smile faded slightly and he finished his second glass of whiskey before standing and crossing again to the drink cart. "While my offer of assistance still stands, there is something I must know first."

Enjolras eyed him warily. "What's that?" he asked.

"Why," Grantaire said simply, pouring himself another glass. "If you wish for my help, I need to understand the circumstances that have driven you to this most desperate – and patently absurd – endeavor."

Enjolras scowled, though he had certainly assumed that Grantaire would not just blindly assist him without asking why. "Fine," he snapped. "If it will move this conversation along, then I will tell you." 

He waited for Grantaire to return to his seat with his whiskey before sighing and telling him grudgingly, "It's my mother."

"Your mother," Grantaire repeated.

"Yes," Enjolras said stiffly. "Do you intend on repeating everything I say? Because if so, this tale may never be finished."

Grantaire arched an eyebrow. "Forgive me, my lord," he said coolly. "Your statement merely took me by surprise, as I did not expect you to be a man who is cowed by anyone, let alone his own mother."

Enjolras sighed and drew a hand across his face. "No, it's you who must forgive me," he said, even more grudgingly than before. "I should not have snapped at you, but my mother..." He sighed again. "There is none who vexes me like she does.
"

"Not even I?" Grantaire asked, a small smile twitching at the corners of his mouth.

"Well," Enjolras allowed, "perhaps one other who vexes me like she does." Grantaire smiled, but it was too soft to be his usual smirk, and there was something in his expression that Enjolras could not quite place, but made him flush again, and he looked away, busying himself by pouring another cup of tea. "In any case, my mother is insisting that I get married so that my future bride's dowry can support the lavish lifestyle to which she has become accustomed."

Grantaire took a sip of whiskey. "And I suppose telling her no is off the table?"

"I have told her no many times," Enjolras said with a sigh. "And cut her off from the money I control to boot. But her only other assets come from some land she inherited in her own right, and she is threatening to raise levies on the poor people who work that land if she does not receive any additional funds."

"Like the fiefdoms of old," Grantaire murmured, a dark looking crossing his face. 

Enjolras nodded. "Precisely."

It took a moment for Grantaire's expression to even out, and he gave his head a swift shake. "So then, give her more of your money," he suggested.

"I cannot."

Grantaire's brow furrowed. "Why ever not?"

This, honestly, had been what he had been looking forward to least about having this conversation with Grantaire, in large part because he knew the man was liable to mock him with the reminder that the road to hell was paved with good intentions. "Most of my money is tied into trusts and investments to maintain the houses and lands, and to support infrastructure improvements in the village," Enjolras said. "And what remains is held in a trust by my solicitor that only I can draw on, and for specific purposes only."

"And let me guess, supporting your mother is not one of those specific purposes?"

Grantaire's tone was wry, and Enjolras sighed. "Indeed it is not. In fact, when I wrote the trust covenant, I deliberately chose to strictly forbid that type of use."

It looked as though Grantaire was trying very hard not to roll his eyes, but for once, Enjolras couldn’t really find it in himself to blame him. “So if you can’t use the money already under an existing trust, then you need new money, and the easiest way for that is…”

Grantaire trailed off and Enjolras nodded, relieved that Grantaire had finally caught up. “Some poor girl’s dowry,” he finished.

Grantaire pursed his lips, his expression skeptical. “You truly believe your mother would not just sell some jewels or something if the situation were truly that dire?”

“She might eventually,” Enjolras allowed, but his tone turned grim. “But I know my mother, and purposefully cruel is the kindest way to describe her. She would sooner squeeze every cent from her workers than suffer even a minor inconvenience, no matter the pain or destruction she leaves in her stead.”

“And you’re certain this is not simply a ploy to try to get you married off?” Enjolras looked affronted at the question and Grantaire held his hands up defensively. “I beg your pardon, but it had to be asked. Mothers are known for resorting to extreme measures in their desperation to see their children married off...or so Lady Whistledown would have us all believe.”

Enjolras wet his lips with his tongue as he contemplated his answer. “She might,” he said honestly. “I certainly wouldn’t put it past her. But I believe that if that were her true motive, she would’ve tried to force me into marriage through guilt over wanting grandchildren or a daughter-in-law, not going straight to the money angle.”

Grantaired nodded. “Well,” he said, “it’s good to know that you come by your manipulation tactics honestly, at least.” Enjolras gave him a withering look that Grantaire blithely ignored, asking instead, “What if you used some money from your trust to make a large purchase, a house or a tract of land, and then sold it quickly? Surely the profits from the sale would not fall under the terms of the trust.”

“They would not, but the trust—”

Grantaire groaned. “Do not tell me that you set up the trust so that you could not use it to expand your lands or holdings.”

Enjolras threw his hands up in frustration. “You know damn well I wish to be rid of these things!” he half-shouted, his irritation at the entire situation getting to the better of him. “Why would I allow myself the right to purchase more of that which I wish to depart from?”

“Because you really should have foreseen this becoming an issue,” Grantaire sighed, rubbing his forehead. He drained his glass of whiskey but to Enjolras’s relief, set it down on the table instead of getting up to pour himself another. “May I ask a question you will certainly find foolish?”

“Have you ever asked for my permission before?” Enjolras returned.

Grantaire half-smiled. “A fair question,” he said. “And I suppose I should not get in the habit now. Very well.” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Why can’t you just get married? Most marriages of your social strata are loveless, or at least start out that way, more business arrangements than unions, and most if not all have at least financial motivation.”

Enjolras just shook his head. “I would not do that to any poor woman,” he said, his voice low. “Even if they imagine they would be stuck in a loveless marriage, I would not take from them the chance at one, or at having a family of their own, neither of which they would get from me.”

For a moment, Grantaire’s expression was almost soft as he gazed at him. “I see,” he said slowly, and Enjolras frowned at his sudden change in tone.

“What?”

Grantaire shrugged. “Here I thought you might be waiting for true love.”

Enjolras rolled his eyes again. “Hilarious,” he said dryly.

But Grantaire just gave him a small smile. “I would suggest you do not dismiss the idea until you have tried it.: 

Enjolras’s eyes narrowed. “Is that why you’re not wed?” he asked snidely. “Are you waiting for ‘true love’?”

Grantaire’s expression didn’t so much as twitch but Enjolras still immediately regretted his words, or at least the tone with which he delivered them. “I am not wed because I do not wish to be. Now forgive me, but I believe we were here to talk about your nuptial problems, not my own.”

Enjolras nodded stiffly, not quite willing to apologize yet again for the crime of sticking his foot in his mouth, but luckily, Grantaire moved on quickly. “So then borrow money from one of us,” he suggested, tracing a finger idly over the brocade fabric of his chair. “Certainly I can give you the equivalent of a good dowry.”

“And explain it to my mother how?” Enjolras asked. “A dowry is a one-time cash injection that my mother knows will not come again, and she can plan accordingly. If she knows or suspects that I have borrowed money, she will not stop until I have bled my friends dry.”

Grantaire arched an eyebrow. “I did not know that I was counted as one of your friends.”

“Do you really think I would ask this of someone I did not consider friend?”

Grantaire looked away, his expression unreadable. “Well,” he said, his voice a little strange, “in fairness, you do let Marius join us at the Musain, so.”

Enjolras rolled his eyes. “Fine,” he snapped. “I will not let my mother bleed dry my friends, acquaintances and occasional nemeses, then.”

Grantaire looked back at Enjolras, his usual smirk back in full force. “Occasional nemeses,” he repeated. “Oh, I do like the sound of that.”

“Are you going to help me or not?” Enjolras asked impatiently.

Grantaire stood abruptly, but he didn’t return to the drink cart. Instead, he wandered over to the window, tucking his hands in his pockets as he stared out the window overlooking the park. Enjolras knew him well enough to know that he was thinking, and he stayed quiet despite everything in his nature wanting him to ask what was going through Grantaire’s mind.

After a long moment, Grantaire gave his head a little shake, still staring out the window. “It’ll be tricky,” he murmured, almost solely to himself, as if he had forgotten Enjolras was in the room. “We will need a plausible explanation, a suitable scandal...and of course, long-term…”

He broke off and stared out the window in silence for one long before turning back around, his troubled expression replaced by something like resolution. “Adélaïde,” he said, and Enjolras stared at him.

“I’m sorry, who?” he asked blankly.

“My sister,” Grantaire said firmly. “She is the solution. You will marry my sister for her dowry.”

Enjolras opened his mouth and promptly closed it again, completely taken aback by how this conversation had suddenly turned. “And dare I ask what you will say if I tell you that I have absolutely no desire to marry your sister, for her dowry or for any other reason?”

Grantaire didn’t look remotely deterred. “I can’t imagine she’d be too thrilled with the match either, but seeing as how she has no say in the matter…”

He trailed off as Enjolras recoiled, his expression darkening. “I did not think you the kind of gentleman who would think so little of his own sister’s consent.”

To his surprise, Grantaire rolled his eyes. “I think a great deal of her consent,” he said impatiently. “But she gets no say because she has been dead for almost twenty years.”

“Oh.”

Enjolras barely breathed the syllable, the word more an instinctive response less to what Grantaire had said and more to the pain he could see painted across Grantaire’s expression, even as his brusque tone tried to hide it.

Grantaire just jerked his head in what may have been a nod, a muscle working in his jaw, and Enjolras hesitated before saying, tentatively, “I am sorry. I did not know.”

“No one does,” Grantaire said quietly. “I…” He trailed off before shaking his head. “She and I were quite close when we were children, and after she died, it was simply easier to not speak of her.” He did not wait for any additional sounds of sympathy from Enjolras, instead straightening his shoulders as his tone turned businesslike. “But that works in our favor, as it means that no one in London knows that she is dead. It will not be difficult to tell a few key people about her, that I indulge my sister for nothing and that she has fallen in love with someone back in the country, the vicar’s son or something. And why should I subject her to the marriage market when her hand is already spoken for?”

He delivered this scenario as if it was one he had thought about before, and Enjolras shook his head slowly. But Grantaire did not let him interrupt. “Then you can come visit me,” he continued. “Just a friendly visit out to the country for a few days, mid-season. But we can stage a scandalous encounter between you and my ‘sister’ and leak the details to Lady Whistledown. A quick marriage without any of your family in attendance will be the best way to settle the scandal, and you can be ‘married’ with none the wiser.”

“Save for you,” Enjolras said faintly.

Grantaire considered it and nodded. “Myself, and likely my butler and housekeeper. I cannot imagine pulling this off without their assistance.” He looked at Enjolras expectantly. “So what do you think?”

Enjolras shook his head again. “It seems almost insane enough to work,” he said slowly, because he could not think of anything else to say. “But it’s also a ruse I cannot imagine keeping up for long, and while I might pray every day that my mother drops dead, I doubt this ruse would outlive her.”

“Ah, but you are missing the beauty of it,” Grantaire said. “As my sister is already dead, it’s easy enough to stage an illness and then her death.” Enjolras made an unconvinced noise and Grantaire added, “And besides, because of the nature of the scandal, it would make it only natural that she would not wish to subject herself to London, giving you plenty of time before she needs to grow sickly for you to carry on without any concern.”

“It certainly seems like you’ve thought this through,” Enjolras said, scrambling for some protest that would make Grantaire stop and listen, that would get him to reconsider this almost certainly asinine plan.

Grantaire smirked slightly. “I have,” he said simply.

Enjolras gave him a look. “Then I know beyond doubt that it will not work.”

Grantaire just shrugged unconcernedly. “It may not,” he said. “But what have you to lose in trying? And what other options do you possibly have?”

None, was the answer, and it was all that Enjolras could tell Grantaire, a little helplessly. “None. And I have nothing left to lose.”

“Good,” Grantaire said. “Then we have a plan.”