#shipping from mainland China

[haiyouchashaobao]

New fanmerch is available now !! 💚

Check link below:

[erivroom]

The meaning of “The Untamed”

someone asked me to elaborate and who am i to say no? (i asked for it in the tags)

The Untamed isn’t a translation of 陈情令 (chén qíng líng) so when people discuss the title they typically toss out or brush off the english title entirely.

but that’s because it’s not a translation of 陈情令 it’s a translation of 无羁 (wú jī) the theme song of the series.

yippe explaination set up

i’d also like to make this post new fan and/or cql only fan friendly so i’m going to go in depth about the significance of 无羁 before explaining how it connects to the english title.

first the chinese characters for wwx and lwjs names

Wei Wuxian — 魏无羡

Lan Wangji — 蓝忘机

in the novels the song Wei Wuxian plays on the flute, that Lan Wangji played for him in the cave with the Xuanwu of Slaughter is expressly titled 忘羡 (wàng xiàn). the ship name we all know and love consisting of the first character of Wangji and last character of Wuxian.

so the track in cql is titled 无羁 the first character of Wuxian and the last sound of Wangji.

now the translation explanation

无羁 directly translates to unbridled, unfettered, or untamed

so The Untamed as the english version of the title is literally a mixed up version of their ship name in english! when you say “i’m watching The Untamed” in a way you’re kind of saying “i’m watching Wangxian”.

how does this relate to the name 陈情令？how did this become the english title?

i’d like to refer you to this post as it explains in depth better than i can the meaning of 陈情令.

directly translated 陈情令 means “a song from chén qíng”, being the name of Wei Wuxian’s flute. however, 陈情 itself has two translations. first being to reminisce past relationship. (referring from the linked post please check it out)

Wuji is a song both played literally on the chen qing flute, but is also a song reminiscent of a past relationship. ofc it’s of a present relationship now but throughout the series, you get what i mean.

so Wuji, or The Untamed, makes perfect sense to be the english title for the show.

ALSO!! felt i should include this

《 魔道祖师：无羁 》 or “Mo Dao Zu Shi : Wu Ji” is the official name for the books printed in mainland china afaik.

i got like maybe 2 hours of sleep last night and i’m running on 3 cups of coffee so far so this is what happens

if there’s any questions feel free to ask <3

post for @baby4012

[guzhufuren]

some stuff from Li Le and Wang Yunkai's birthday fanmeetings in Wuxi today, 9.11.24, translation by @ xiaoqiaoo_, please don't take without credit

- event was held at mainland China, so they had separate fanmeetings in the same venue, Lele first, Kaikai after Lele's finished, it was being monitored too so they weren't supposed to be on one stage (failed that)

- in the beginning of his fanmeeting Lele said that "certain laoshi said that he likes Lele's hands and collarbones"

- during the choosing game Lele was offered to choose between milk tea (his favourite) and coca cola chicken (Kaikai's signature dish) and he chose chicken

- Lele showed his magic skills

- Lele talked about his mom being the most precious and important person in his life, liking travelling because she took him to many places, loving Thailand because he went there with her for the first time, and loving the color green because during a period when she was sick he would fill her hospital room with green plants, to him it's the colour of hope and vitality

- when Lele was changing outfits and Kaikai helped the host, the huaibao kiss was mentioned into the mic by a fan

- a fan told Lele he has to treat Kaikai well and take good care of him, Lele smiled and said "okay, i definitely will"

- Kaikai prepared messages and a ship item for everyone before his fanmeeting began

- during the choosing game the host asked "if you were thrown on a deserted island, would you A: bring along your good friend Lele or B: bring enough food to last a lifetime?"

Kaikai said he would bring Li laoshi and tell him to bring the food (Lele is known as a big foodie, and known to always have snacks on him)

- during Kaikai's fanmeeting they put on a plane folding lesson by Lele in the screen (??)

- during the body part guessing game on Lele's fanmeeting, Kaikai was an option in every round, so fans intentionally chose him every time, so that in the end big photo of Kaikai was shown on the screen

[mariacallous]

On 2 February 2022, the Russian navy was to begin an exercise in Irish waters. The Irish government had pleaded with the Kremlin not to go ahead, but in vain. Only when Irish fishermen intervened did the Kremlin decide to abandon the exercise. Any day now, Russian warships will return to Irish waters for another exercise, and the Dublin government can’t count on Irish fishermen to once again solve its predicament. Now that the neutral country needs to defend itself and its waters, it can only hope and plead.

‘Defence Forces “hyper aware” as Russian navy expected to conduct drills,’ the Irish Examiner reported on 17 September. The Irish Defence Forces are still hyper aware, for the Russian navy can arrive in Ireland’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) at any time. After a few embarrassing mishaps in the Black Sea at the hands of Ukraine, it is trying to prove its worth. Earlier this month, Russia conducted the massive Ocean 2024 exercise with the navy of China’s People’s Liberation Army and People’s Liberation Army air force. The mostly Russian exercise involved 400 warships, submarines and support vessels, more than 120 naval aircraft and more than 90,000 personnel.

Ireland’s waters weren’t part of Ocean 2024, but in recent years the Russian navy has shown considerable interest in Ireland. In May last year, for example, several Russian navy ships entered Ireland’s EEZ south of the country  –  and stayed put. ‘[The situation] is carefully monitored by Ireland and by others and that is an ongoing scenario where people track what’s happening within international waters and, indeed, within the Irish exclusive economic zone, which is quite large in itself,’ Tanaiste (Foreign Minister) Micheal Martin said after the ships arrived, adding that ‘I don’t see it as a threat, but it’s something we are very conscious of and we keep a very close eye on.’ It was not the first time Russian naval and merchant ships had mysteriously parked themselves off Ireland’s southern coast, which just happens to be home to an extraordinary concentration of undersea internet cables.

Indeed, some time in late 2021 or early 2022 the Russian navy decided to conduct an exercise in the EEZ. The exercise was to begin on 3 February 2022. The Irish government sought to prevent it from happening by pleading with the Kremlin and calling the exercise ‘unwelcome and unwanted’, but to no avail. Russia’s ambassador to Ireland, Yuri Filatov, declared that ‘there is nothing to be disturbed, concerned, or anguished about and I have extensively explained that to our Irish colleagues’.

The Irish government was powerless to make the exercise go away. In late January, it issued a statement advising Irish fishermen that the exercise would begin on 3 February and that vessels should be aware of ‘serious safety risks’ in the area and avoid entering it. Russia had indicated the exercises would involve naval artillery and rocket launches, the advisory explained. The fishermen were outraged. ‘This is the livelihoods of fishermen and fishing families all around the coastline here,’ Patrick Murphy, the chief executive of the Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation, told RTE radio. ‘It’s our waters. Can you imagine if the Russians were applying to go onto the mainland of Ireland to go launching rockets, how far would they get with that?’

The fishermen took action. ‘Our boats will be going out to that area on the first of February to go fishing,’ Murphy told Politico on 25 January. ‘When one boat needs to return to port, another will head out so there is a continuous presence on the water. If that is in proximity to where the exercise is going, we are expecting that the Russian naval services abide by the anti-collision regulations.’ It was a clever move. By fielding a constant presence of fishing boats in the planned exercise waters, the fishermen would prevent the Russian navy from carrying out the exercise. The Kremlin backed down. Now the Irish fishermen’s showdown with the Kremlin is headed for the big screen: well-deserved fame for the West’s most unexpected national security strategists.

The Irish government can’t count on Murphy and his men to bail it out once again. Russia is prepared, and fishermen should not have to improvise national-security fixes. The Irish government is on its own, and that means having to face off the Russian navy and other prospective intruders with the means of the Irish Defence Forces. That’s a total of two army brigades, an army training centre, 17 aircraft (including helicopters) and six patrol vessels, some of which seem to be regularly in poor repair.

It’s not much with which to deter an intruder, even one merely wanting to frighten Ireland by loitering on top of the undersea cables connecting the world. No wonder Irish ministers firmly declare that the Irish Defence Forces are ‘hyper aware’ and that the government is ‘keeping a close eye’ on potential intruders: the country can do little more than be hyper aware.

Indeed, Ireland – which was so skillfully on trend during globalisation’s exuberant years and has so richly capitalised on globalised business – has thoroughly failed to spot the deteriorating situation around it. Other European countries are beefing up their armed forces, which, for the most part, were far larger than the Irish Defence Forces to begin with. Sweden and Finland, for so long neutral and then militarily non-aligned, have joined NATO. Neutral Ireland, by contrast, seems frozen in globalisation time – and even if it decided to shore up its defence now, this wouldn’t yield results any time soon.

That makes the many companies that have set up their European headquarters in Ireland (and depend on undersea cables to do business) highly vulnerable. Will they start leaving the island? We can’t know. What’s clear is that Ireland, a nation that bet everything on globalisation, is riding straight into a security dilemma.

[collapsedsquid]

Recent events in the middle east have forced me to revise my strategic projections for a US-China conflict. What we have learned is that US ships are incapable of hitting enemy weapons or moving material on to shore, but are quite capable of protecting themselves from incoming fire.

I have therefore concluded that in the US/China war the US carrier fleets will sail up and down the Taiwan strait repeatedly mooning the mainland and nothing else.

[meraki-yao]

God, he must be so overwhelmed being in that huge city far from home and alone. I know he's a grown man and he is working but it's always better to have someone close on these long and tiring journeys 🥹

See, I kind of have a little more complicated perspective on his trip to China

Taylor travels a lot (I think in September we saw him in Australia, New York, London and Spain?) and I think he mentioned he loves doing so, so to some degree I think travelling comes easier to him

But China is different from all the other places we've recently seen him travel to. I have some authority to say this as 1, I am Chinese (ethnicity-wise, I am living in Hong Kong), and used to visit family in the mainland (geopolitics are weird) at least once a year 2, I check on the RWRB Chinese fandom from time to time (still mostly here, I consider myself to be a western RWRB fan, being a Hong Konger is weird and fun in that regard) 3, racial micro-aggressions and colourism is a common issue in China that everyone just goes with (I am mad about that) 4, I know Chinese celebrity culture and how different it is from Western celebrity culture. I was so anxious for him the moment he landed at Shanghai airport because I was worried the different perception of both his race and him as a celebrity/him as Alex would hurt him in some way. I kid you not, I was worried the whole time, even if I know he's a grown man and there's functionally nothing I can do.

In a way it did and it didn't, I guess? There were a couple of issues that I personally had with the GQ event, but those are more my subjective opinions. And there was an incident two days ago that I cannot for the life of me find a reliable retelling, so take it with a pinch of salt, but what happened was there was an... art event? That Taylor attended at a restaurant? I think he co-designed something, either a plaque or a shirt. It was a private event, but one of the guests leaked the invite online, so people knew he was going there at what time, and then a crowd gathered at the restaurant and even though it was relatively peaceful and police were there to keep them in order, it's still a crowd in front of a restaurant. They didn't get to meet him, he had to leave through a back door, and later on Little Red Book said he had a change of plans. Again there are like, two contradicting narratives I could find and I pieced this together to the best of my ability, so please take it with a pinch of salt. However, I will say the whole gathering at a place where a celebrity would potentially show up is the norm in China. It's not good, it will cause inconvenience, but it is how it is.

But on the other hand, on the day of the GQ event when we saw him on the boat and everything, people were showing him so much love. People were shouting "Welcome to China" from the bridges, some people took the day off just to travel to the venue to see him, and a lot of them prepared gifts and cards for him. I heard some really fucking awful Twitter drama was happening to him at the same time (and no I don't want to hear about it) so it was relieving in a way to see him get so much love in real life. And Taylor was incredibly sweet, signing books and photos and phone cases. This would never happen with Chinese celebrities (because everything is monetized), especially with firstprince or TayNick photos. (because even shipping and RPS shipping is monetized! It's so fucked and I'm mad about it!)

I am still concerned with just how much work he had and how tight his schedule was (on the 7th he changed into 5 outfits, did a photoshoot in the morning in the black blazer, photoshoot and meeting with fans in the afternoon in the casual set, early dinner party and blue carpet in the white suit, water carpet and red carpet in the brown suit, then dinner party in the lilac suit, what the fuck, especially when apparently no other guest had this tight a schedule) and I was extra concerned when he said in the live stream that he came alone (I already suspected that when he arrived at the airport and the police were keeping order instead of private security) and I kind of think the whole trip could have been better organized or done in a way less demanding for him

But with that being said, I am incredibly proud of him and grateful for him for coming to China and doing all these events. It feels like a step. And I completely admire him for going through all of this in such a different, foreign environment on his own. As much as seeing the boys and RWRB content makes me happy (and frankly, helping my shitty mental health), I do hope he has a good rest when he gets back. I think this trip took a toll on him even if he (hopefully) enjoyed it.

Chinese RWRB fans are joking that as much as they want Nick to visit as well, with how intense Taylor's schedule turned out and how introverted and tired Nick is, he'd be "swimming back in England" after a day 🤣

[tuulikki]

China has sent dozens of coast guard and maritime militia vessels toward a disputed atoll in the South China Sea, a large show of force aimed at blocking a civilian protest flotilla from the Philippines, as tensions between the countries have flared. The Filipino group organizing the flotilla of about 100 small fishing boats, led by five slightly bigger ones, said it wanted to assert the Philippines’ claims to Scarborough Shoal, an atoll controlled by Beijing that is closer to Manila. But even before the motley Philippine fleet set out on Wednesday morning, China deployed a formidable contingent of much bigger government-run ships to the area, an intimidating escalation of its frequent assertions of control over vast expanses of sea far from its mainland.

Standoffs and close brushes between Filipino coast guard or civilian vessels and China’s larger coast guard and militia ships — which have used powerful water cannons to drive Philippine vessels away — have become more frequent in the past two years. This time, the size of the Chinese presence and the large number of civilian Filipino boats could make any encounter near the shoal more risky, Mr. Powell said. “If China decides that they want to send the message that says, ‘We’ve had enough of this,’ then the scary thing you would not want to see is one of these small Filipino fishing boats hit by a water cannon, because that would not end well,” he said.

[usafphantom2]

If this story makes me smile when I think of Jerry O’Malley and Ed Payne, as I knew them personally growing up with their daughters, was a frequent guest at their homes .

As told by Paul F Crickmore in his book Lockheed SR-71 Operations in the Far East, having deployed ‘976’ to Kadena air base, on the Japanese island of Okinawa, 11 days earlier, Maj Jerry O’Malley and Capt Ed Payne duly flew the same aircraft on the Senior Crown (codename for the SR-71 programme) operational debut. They coasted in on a heading of 284 degrees at 78,000 ft (23,774 m) and Mach 3.17, passing over Haiphong. In just 12 minutes they had overflown Hanoi – then the most highly defended city on earth – with impunity, the jet’s sensors recording dozens of high-value targets, before exiting hostile airspace in the vicinity of Dien Bien Phu. Decelerating and descending over Thailand, the crew rendezvoused with several KC-135Q tankers and took on 80,000 lbs of JP-7 from two of them. With fuel in the tanks, Maj O’Malley quickly reached the SR-71’s optimum speed and altitude and headed back over North Vietnam, before plotting a course for ‘home-plate’ – Kadena air base, on Okinawa.

On contact with Kadena, Approach Control, they were dismayed to find that the base was completely ‘fogged in’. The pilot talked to the tower controller and then to Col Charlie Minter, who agreed to allow them to attempt a low visibility approach for a visual landing.

O’Malley never saw the runway, and pushed the throttles forward to go back ‘upstairs’ to contemplate further options. Low on fuel, he called for the standby tanker that had been launched earlier just in case the weather at Kadena turned nasty. After link-up, he took on 25,000 lbs of fuel, while Payne copied a two-figure encoded number that told them the location of their divert airfield — Ku Kuan, on the island of Taiwan.

Two additional KC-135s were launched to accompany ‘976’ to Nationalist China, the SR-71 adopting a tanker call sign as the number `two’ aircraft in a three-ship formation. This deception was undertaken to hide the inter-island diversion from SlGINT monitors on the Chinese mainland. As they made their way `low and slow’ with the tankers, the destination airfield’s non-directional beacon returned. As they made their way `low and slow’ with the tankers, the destination airfield’s non-directional beacon returned the unexpected Morse Code identity signal of CCK. The tanker crew soon resolved this problem, however.

It turned out that Ku Kuan had recently been re-named Ching Chuan Kang!

O’Malley asked the CCK tower for permission to land, and made a straight-in visual approach at 175 knots, before performing a smooth touch-down. After clearing the runway and lining up behind the lead tanker, he sandwiched ‘976’ between two KC-135s as they taxied in. This unusual sight caused considerable confusion in the tower, particularly when one controller asked for the call-sign of ‘the little black aircraft between the two tankers, which had replied with a tanker call sign’. While Payne was talking to the tower people, O’Malley dialled up the radio frequency of the SAC Command Post that had recently opened on CCK. He asked for the aircraft to be ‘hangared’ (for security. A crowd of at least 500 Taiwanese gathered 15-deep along a 300-yard section of the fence, all of whom were fascinated to see such a futuristic jet standing on their airfield almost within touching distance. *Note years later, when General O’Malley was a PACAF Commander he found out that SR 71 pilot David Peters was having trouble finding a hangar for his SR 71. O’Malley made a phone call minutes later a hangar became available for Lt.Col Peters. I’m sure he was remembering this moment when he needed a hangar.. second and third photograph are of O’Malley and Payne. The last one is a Charles Minter.

Part of this article were previously posted by Dario Leone in aviation geekclub.

@Habubrats71 via X

[lordpancake]

i like how the majority of the fandom view Vietnam as this strong and serious but also elegant lady meanwhile I can’t see her as anything other than trash goblin. This country exists in a state of controlled chaos. Vietnam is strong and beautiful and she is also feral and will bite. ASEAN are all gremlins no exception. On another note ship wise Thaiviet definitely more supported by Hetalia canon but Chuviet is pretty popular with mainland Vietnamese i have found due to history, there’s a joke students often make about Vietnamese history vs Vietnamese history without China. Siam and Vietnam historically always had a rivalry on influence over Laos and Cambodia but generally didn’t war much. One of my favourite period in history was the Tay Son dynasty which fell due to Gia Long who asked for help from both Siam and China. Chuviet dynamic is basically i will stab you if given the chance even into modern time while Thaiviet is more dearly detested except during football season where it’s on sight

[ellena-asg]

For the tumblr game: Danno

Thank you, Meri! ♥️

So, Danny...

Sexuality Headcanon:

The same as Steve's. Ever since I watched the show I see them both as "not hetero, not gay, not bi but the secret X thing" 😉

At the begining I felt they're aromantic (and forced so much by the show writers to woo/date/marry ladies) and I still feel they're definitely platonic when they interact with other people. But to each other - they're super romantic.

They're best friends and they're the special ones to each other. They feel (real) attraction/love only to each other. So I headcanon both Danny and Steve as definitely uniromantic and The Pilot is a very special episode to me cause the scene in the garage is like kind of "Geez, I'm interested. In THAT way. For the first time in my life I really fucking feel... Geez!" (also: "Gosh, I'm in love. With this irritating handsome guy? Gooood, Jeeeeesus, Maaaary, Anyone?" 😂).

So, uniromantic. And they're the first and only characters in my fandom life whom I see in this way 🙂

Gender Headcanon:

Man. Cis.

A ship I have with said character:

Only Steve, only McDanno ♥️

A BROTP I have with said character:

In some way it's still Steve. Best friends forever - being married doesn't change it 😉

But speaking about completely platonic brotp: Chin. Chin is like an older brother. But Lou and Jerry and Kame, all boys in Ohana are true brothers ♥️ And ladies! ♥️ Kono is his sister so much! Mary too. Abby. I also love his brotp with Amy (Meka's wife). And of course Gracie! His daughter is his brotp. His Big Friend!

What I see on screen is also brotp-to-be: Danny & Sang Min. Seriously, both are Daddies, they love their kids so much, they'll do everything for them. They understand each other as fathers (scene in the prison and in Danny's car/on the beach ♥️). They both are loyal to Ohana. They ARE Ohana. And both are sassy and silver tongued 😂 (just imagine poor Stevie with these two 😂😂😂). Both are Masters of Dorkness. In Sarcasm they trust.

And sometimes they both are BAMF! Sang once was on the dark side and Danny... when he fights for victims or his Ohana, for Grace and Steve especially, when he's furious or in vigilante mood, yeah sometimes he's close to darkness, he knows the Fire (like in that episode with Marco Reyes).

And they both would give Steve their livers (Danny gave his part and Sang: "I woulda offered you my liver, McGurrett, but we both know it’s no god" 😄).

Oh, and Danny is from Jersey, Sang is from China but they both love Hawaii and it's their home forever.

A NOTP I have with said character:

Any person who is not Steve 😉 Speaking about show's canon ones: Melissa (I like her but she and Danny are veeery NOTP), Gabby (l love her much but again: NOTP with Danny). Other ladies he dated. But especially: Rachel (sorry, I'm allergic to abusers). She and her family were highly toxic to Danny and Grace. She's like Doris, even worse sometimes. I feel anxious (and mad at show writers) every damn time she's somewhere near Danny or Ohana generally.

A random headcanon:

I once had a dream about Danny so here is my a bit angsty fluffy AU with happy end:

Kono (like in the canon) feels tired and sad and thinks about leaving Five-0 and going (with Adam) to the mainland & fighting with human traffic criminals. Chin and Abby think about living in San Francisco. Max and Sabrina think about Africa. Meanwhile Rachel comes (with her mother Amanda) to Hawaii (Rachel was somewhere far away with Stan) and claims she is sorry and wants Danny back. Williamses from Jersey also come to Hawaii. They more and more ask Danny about Rachel. Bridget mentions that they all miss Danny in Jersey.

Stevie is devastated, he is sure that Danny will go to Jersey with his family and with Rachel. For sure "for Gracie". He also can't imagine living in Hawaii without almost whole Five-0, his Ohana. So Steve decides that he will go back to the Navy (*drama*). Danny is devastated. Governor Sam is devastated too, no Kono, no Chin, no Max, no Steve and no Danny... He thinks that Five-0 has no future and promises Lou and Jerry that he'll find them a new job.

Clara, hearing about Five-0 news, says that her cousin from Italy has mentioned recently there's a job offer in Italian police with higher rank and higher salary and so on. Rachel's mother is like "oh, Italy, finally some civilized place and a job for ambitious people". Danny's family is like "Well, your friends want to leave Hawaii, we're so sorry honey, but... maybe you'll think about Italian offer? Your grandma spoke Italian, you are so brilliant, you can learn it too and...". Rachel smiles and smiles and is soo sure that she will go to Italy with Danny and Grace (sorry, I've got issues with Charlie's plot so he isn't there 😂).

So all other Ohana members talk now about The Four and Max and so on leaving them. Kono, Max, Chin and Steve decide they will leave Hawaii next year. Governor then says to Danny "Better take that job in Italy, Danny. It's a really good offer".

Danny is like "What the hell they all are talking about?!". He only listens to them and says nothing. He's too much anxious, surprised, devastated and veeeery pissed off. What? No Kono, Adam, Chin, Abby, Sara, Max, Sabrina... No Steve the hell???!!! No Hawaii?! No Ohana?! No Five-0? He and who? Rachel? Buahahahahha. No funny. No fair. Nightmare! She will never change, he knows. And he can't love her. And he loves... Steve. And why the hell they all are so sure he is okay with this? He's NOT okay. They can't decide what is better for him - Italy, Jersey, no Hawaii. Seriously? All he wants is his home, his Honolulu. His beloved job and beloved police unit. His beloved Hawaiian people. And beaches. Pineapples. His Ohana. His whole Ohana. And Steve the hell. And Grace. No Rachel, no Italy, just NO.

Danny is so devastated. He's sure that he'll never see his guys again. He'll never see... Steve. He's in his darkest mood. Anxiety attacks, panic attacks, ANGER attacks, they come back to his head.

One day at some party he drinks too much. Gracie sees it. Some other day when he and Grace are crossing the street Danny is almost hit by a car cause he suddenly stood still like frozen and Grace had to scream his name to make him safe. He generally is more and more quiet, each day he looks like "something bad happened" and even though he pretends all is okay, he's good, Gracie sees it all.

One day she just asks. He says all is okay. She then says she feels him cause she doesn't want to leave either. She wants Ohana. Uncle Steve. And Danno, her beloved daddy. He asks her about Jersey, Italy, Rachel. She says NO, NO and... NO. She says that she knew he's sad and she knows how much he loves this place and these people. And her. She says he can't always think only about her. And that he CAN always have both: her and uncle Steve. "What you mean, Monkey?" he asks.

She says she noticed his reaction on Rachel and Amanda (and also Williamses' words about leaving Hawaii) and wanted to know finally what's going on. So one day, when Danny was sleeping hard in the living room (when he drank a bit too much beer for a second time) she checked his room to find "anything". And she finally found. His old letters/messages to Rachel and to the court. She also found something like his diary or letters-never-sent. There was all in them, Danny's pain, truth about his marriage, about her grandmother and mother's cruel plan aka You Will Never See Grace Again, his fear that he would lose Gracie, his love for Grace and Ohana. His pain after losing Matthew. His memories of wanting to kill himself when Rachel took Grace. His bad days and good days. His soul healing in Hawaii with Ohana. With Grace. With Steve. And photos. There were many photos of Ohana being together. And happy.

So, Grace tells Danny that everything will be all right. That NOW they're Super Team. They have to fight for the happiness. They're staying in Hawaii. They need to change Ohana's minds by showing them how wonderful this land is. How many people still need Five-0. How much they all love each other. Danny is amazed. Grace talks and talks. She has so many ideas. One of them is: Gracie will go to court with Danny and say she wanna be under Danny's sole custody (cause the situation and Gracie's feelings have changed so much). She says that the judge will listen to her and she doesn't need as much money as Rachel to win. Danny is speechless. Then Grace says: "We're staying here. Forever. We need to be more Hawaiian, daddy". She has a plan. Danny is very intrigued.

Danny and Grace, when they're with Ohana, pretend they are excited about Italy. Danny says he and Grace learn a lot about their "promised land" (nature, culture, whole history etc) and they also learn "language of love", "language of their Ohana" (Clara is happy and thinks about her mother 😂) with Captain Tanaka's help (his wife knows Italian and some other languages). Lou jokes that Tanaka helps Danny cause he never liked Danny much and that Tanaka is happy that Danny will leave this land. Danny laughs and only says "Maybe, maybe not". When they are like "So, maybe you'll show us your language skills?", Danny says "No, not now". And when they try to ask Mrs Tanaka about Danny's progress, she only joyfully says "He learns so fast, he's truly a brilliant mind, what a memory, what a voice, when he talks I can see all: the sun, the sea, sand, the wind... he melts my heart, he sounds... like his people. His level? He'll be native one day, I'm sure!". Rachel is happy. Steve is devastated.

One year later. Steve, Kono and so on organize the Farewell Party. With looooong tables, with a big stage and microphones (to say Aloha to all their people), with flowers and all that jazz. There are so many people there on the beach. All of them. Whole Ohana and their little Ohanas. All people who know Five-0: survivors (rescued - forever grateful - victims), Hawaiian people, Ruth, Dekker, Victoria models, guy from the gun store, aunt Deb and her Leonard, HPD, SWAT, Williamses, absolutely everyone. So, they all celebrate and then Amanda says "So, Daniel. Your language teacher claims you're a master now. It's time to prove it, right?". Rachel's face is like "Aww, Italy, we're coming. I only need Danny to like me hmmm how to change his mind...". Steve fights with his pain. Deb asks "Maybe some song for your Ohana?". Danny smiles. "For my Ohana, you say? Well, I did it all to save my Ohana so...". When he said "to save my Ohana" all eyes were on Rachel and Grace. Danny continues: "So yeah, I can sing for Ohana too. Come on, Monkey. We'll do it together".

So they all wait there to hear some Italian words but then, on stage, Gracie grabs something and... she starts playing on ukulele. Then Danny starts singing... in the absolutely Perfect and Beautiful Hawaiian. He's singing Hawai'i 78. Soon Gracie is singing with him. All people around are in damn shock 😂😂😂 Kawika, Mamo, Kono's mama, all native guys are like *we're sorry, our brains are now loading, please wait a while*. Chin, Kono, Danny's parents... Lou, Mary, Gerard, Odell, Kame, Sang Min 😂 They all CAN'T BELIEVE 😂 And Stevie... Gosh, he can't breathe. Somebody ventilate him, quickly! 😆 Rachel? She realizes that she lost.

When Danny and Grace sing "Cry for the gods, cry for the people, cry for the land that was taken away and then yet you'll find... Hawai'i" - Steve and their Ohana, they all have tears in their eyes.

Soon Danny and Grace sing (with sassy smiles on their faces) some other Hawaiian songs for Ohana and in the end they and Steve and all Ohana talk about their feelings, Gracie explains her and Danny's plan to save Ohana, Danny finally fights with his anxiety, insecurity and all other demons and asks all his sunshines to stay with him in Hawaii. He whispers Hawaiian "I love you" in Steve's ear. Ohana laughs, they ask if Danny is bewitched or what. He answers "By you guys, yeah".

Of course all will stay in their beloved land, Five-0 is safe, Ohana is safe, all are happy together. They cry and laugh. Rachel comes and starts ranting and shouting at Danny but then Gracie gives her a card and only says: "What? You'll take me away from Danno? Not this time. By the way, it's MY lawyer's number. Call him. Goodbye!". Steve needs some air again 😂 Clara and Eddie are soooo happy that Danny finally fights for himself SO MUCH. They understand all and Clara is like "Hmm, Eddie, maybe WE TOO will have a home here?" 😆 And Eddie is like "But they don't have Papa's Tomato Pies here, honey. And you know, I love our place in Jersey and... We can visit. They can visit. You know".

Okay, I just wanted to say that my random headcanon is that Danny loves Hawaii more and more and one day he wants to be "one of these people totally" so he learns Hawaiian. Because he CAN. And because he is like One Big Surprise. He's booooorn to be wiiiiiild 😂 (and here he's free thanks to Gracie, he's determined and motivated and "I'll show you all!" 💪💪💪).

General Opinion over said character:

Danny? Danny is The Sunshine. The Warrior. The Protector. Care Bear Number One. He's anxious and strong. He's sassy and kind. He's sensitive and BAMF! He's wise. He's a lovely dork. He's the best parent, son and friend ever. He's Steve's everything. He is a great cop/detective. He CARES about people so much (and much more than about himself). His heart is golden. He's precious. Soo precious. Ohana loves him. Fandom loves him. He deserves absolutely the best! ♥️♥️♥️ We all can write looooong essays about him and his kindest heart, right? 😍

[lurkingteapot]

It's here! I'm enjoying myself a lot and thought I'd share some bits and pieces, again, starting with the introduction.

Introduction: Boys Love (BL) Media and Its Asian Transfigurations by James Welker, in: Welker (editor), Queer Transfigurations. Boys Love Media in Asia. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2022. p. 1–16. [Jstor]

I took notes by hand while reading, tried to type them up as coherently as possible here.

BL is an umbrella term for all sorts of media (going by volume, the primary mode is still written – prose or manga) that depict male-male romantic and sexual relationships and are primarily marketed to young women. BL has had fans 'around the globe' since the 1980s, especially in East and Southeast Asia, though it really 'dramatically expanded in popularity in the current century'. (p. 1)

Asian BL fandoms do not exist in isolation from the rest of the world (p. 2)

queer as in a) gender/sexuality-related expressions that flout social norms, b) queering norms of (female) sexuality and c) creating breathing room for queer individuals (p. 2)

there's no clear line between BL and LGBTQ media (p. 2)

why 'transfiguration'? -> transit from one culture to another (p. 3)

BL: minor and often underground as a genre, still

4 overlapping attributes of BL and fandoms: 1) transnational + transcultural media phenomenon, 2) useful tool for unsettling gender and sexual norms, 3) cannot be separated from LGBTQ issues including politics, 4) BL is political (p. 4)

note on piracy of BL, its impact on Japanese producers, and how this is rarely discussed (*) (p-5)

1980s/1990s: BL makes it to Taiwan, Korea, China -> category blurring? (p. 5)

shipping as a part of BL fandom (p. 6)

legal issues in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore (p. 7)

shipping/fan works were a part of BL culture from the 1970s onwards (cf. Welker 2015) (p. 7)

seme/uke dynamics + shifts? -> mutability of gender (p. 8)

way of alternatives to masc stereotypes for cishet men (fudanshi) (p. 8)

blurring of gay and straight? (p. 8/9)

taboos around BL in Japan arise because it's often sexual and women engage with it (p. 9)

elsewhere in Asia: BL often serves as 'first conscious contact' for middle-class Indian and Indonesian fans with homosexuality -> may prompt reconsideration of own preconceptions/ideas/religious doctrine. (p. 9)

"representational appropriation" of images of gay men (cf. Ishida 2007) (p. 10)

fans turning activist for queer rights in Taiwan (p. 10/11)

rosy image of Japan among gay male fans of BL in mainland China (p. 10)

BL as progressive force for good (p. 10)

impact of US lawmaking on international fan communities (p. 10)

fan wars in South Korea (odeokku vs hujoshi) ca 2016; -> more recently: SK version of yaoi ronsou? (p. 11)

BL queer in that it flouts and facilitates the flouting of sexual and gender norms, has been pushing cishet fans to think about queer rights and the social standing of queer folks, sometimes even pushed fans to activism (p. 12)

grouping chapters under national/regional headings potentially misleading -> borders not so clear in the lives of fans and the texts they engage with (p. 13)

(*) I would LOVE to read more about this personally, anyone got anything? point me!

… this took entirely too long and I REALLY need to work on my handwriting, but I hope this might've been interesting to some. If you read this book (or anything else from the realm of BL scholarship), feel free to hmu, I'm an amateur but I love to talk this sort of stuff!

[sennamybeloved]

a love i'd cross oceans for.

selfshiptober day 1: first kiss.

▬▬ ship: khotun x lane (s/i)

▬▬ warnings: none!

▬▬ author’s note: i love this man so much it makes me look fucking stupid.

▬▬ reblogs always appreciated! ♡

Tonight, the Khan rides North to conquer Toyotama, leaving Castle Kaneda—and the Jito—to rot. 

Lane is still unsure of what role she plays in this.

She spent the day watching the Mongols rangel their supplies and load up their horses. She listens to them talk amongst themselves; although she does not understand them, their tones, relaxed and placated, are familiar to her. With each passing day, they seem less like monsters and more like men.

Usually, she’ll spend her days at Khotun’s side, following him like a shadow. However, on this day, she made a point of avoiding him. She’s plagued with apprehension, as she isn’t entirely sure if she’s going with him, or if she’s one of the countless assets he’s leaving behind.

At first, she thought she’d be content with the latter. She’d be able to return to her old ways, wandering aimlessly around the land and compiling her findings in journals. Lonely, peaceful, and free. However, when she really, truly thinks about it—him being all the way at Castle Shimura, and her being stuck here, squandering alongside men she barely trusts, let alone understands—her heart aches and her stomach twists into knots.

She wants to go with him, she wants that more than anything, and the enormity of that want frightens her. If she’ll follow him North, into the snowy mountains that divide Toyotama and Kamiagata, where else will she follow him? To the mainland, to China, back to Mongolia? She can’t follow him forever. Well, perhaps she could, but what a terrifying commitment that would be.

Moreover, why couldn’t it have been anyone else? Perhaps a noble samurai, or a wayward artist just like herself. Why would she be willing to follow Khotun Khan, of all damn people, to the ends of the Earth?

Such a terrible predicament she has found herself in.

Dusk blankets the land in fog and darkness. The sun slips behind the horizon line, and the Mongols are ready to ride North. Lane stands near the open gate that separates the courtyard from the stables. Her gaze flits back and forth, observing the Mongols as they pass through, clad in armor and furs, weapons sheathed and bound to their bodies. Some glance at her, and some smile, but most regard her like a ghost and slip past her as if she isn’t there at all.

Including Khotun.

When she sees him approaching, a hulking silhouette masked in elegant armor, her face grows warm and her heart catches in her throat.

She watches him expectantly, but he does not stop for her. He does not even look at her.

She feels her heart sink into the pits of her stomach. In the hollow of her chest, she feels her ribcage constrict, closing in on itself. She feels pain and a profound sense of sorrow.

She watches him descend into his stables. He watches him tend to his horse (his favorite horse, a cream-colored mare; if there’s one thing Lane has learned from their time together, it’s his love of animals), she listens to him address his men in Mongolian, not understanding a word he’s saying, but noting how much gruffer his voice is when he’s not speaking Japanese. All of these things, entirely separate from his warlord persona, she will remember forever.

To be loved is to be changed, is a saying she once heard. To be loved is to be known just as much as it is to know. To love is to be haunted by memories from a time long past. To love, and to be loved, is to be damned.

But was this, whatever this was, truly love? It hasn’t felt like love until right now. The pain in her chest is something very akin to love.

Sorrow turns to bitterness, and Lane bites down on her tongue as she turns her head away from the stables. You may stay with my empire for as long as you’d like, she recalls him saying once, many weeks ago. Feels like it’s been a lifetime, since that night. Still, she did not specify if she may stay by his side, which permits her to conclude that yes, she is an asset.

An asset that will stay here, it seems.

Then, a voice. Gruff, deep, and familiar. “Lane?”

A jolt of surprise cracks through her like lightening. She hadn’t even heard him approach.

After nearly chokes in her own spit, she, hesitantly, lifts her gaze to meet the man before her. His eyes are partially obscured by the shadow of his helmet, rendering his expression unreadable. She imagines that he’s scowling at her.

“Uhm,” she clears her throat. “Hello.”

She tries to sound casual, not too nervous, but she failing quite miserably, she thinks.

Yet, Khotun continues. “Aren’t you coming with us?”

She blinks in surprise. Yes, she thought she was, and she’d really, really love to. She’d love nothing more. “Well… yes. I suppose. I just wasn’t quite sure if you wanted me to.”

Khotun huffs, almost seeming revolted by the statement. He tips his head back slightly with a sharp intake of breath, and the dim light of the setting sun illuminates his eyes. He decidedly isn’t scowling. In fact, he doesn’t look upset in the slightest.

“Why wouldn’t I want you to?” He questions, though it seems to be rhetorical. “I told you that you may stay with my empire for as long as you wish.”

“I know that,” Lane sputters anxiously. “But I thought, well, I don’t know. You’re looking for soldiers, not shadows. Didn’t think you’d view me as a very useful… asset.”

Khotun give a short, half-suppressed laugh. “You are not an asset, Lane. Be honest with yourself.”

Honestly, if she isn’t an asset, what else could she be? A companion? That sounds foolish. And yet, when she finally brings herself to meet his gaze again, she notes the warmth in his eyes and the subtle upkick of his lips. He seems happy, genuinely happy, to be in her presence.

He always seems like this when she’s around him, actually.

How had she not noticed that before?

Lane smiles, a dry, nervous chuckle escaping her clenched throat. “Alright, alright. Fine.” She relents.

“Then please, come.” He tells her. “Unless, there is something you’re apprehensive about?”

Suddenly, she’s on the defense, raising her palms placatingly as she shakes her head. “No, no,” she says. “I swear it isn’t anything like that. I suppose I’m just…”

A pause. She’s staring at his face, searching for subtle changes in his expression, for the tiniest hint of displeasure. Anything to justify the way she’s feeling, something that’ll allow her to harden her resolve and shrink away from him without feeling guilty.

Alas, she finds no such thing.

“I suppose I’m a little confused.” She says at last. “If I’m not useful to your conquest, why keep me around?”

There is a brief moment of awestruck hesitation before Khotun laughs outright. Its such a sweet, tantalizing sound, and it almost makes Lane forget that he’s laughing at her. 

“I have a heart, you know.” He responds warmly.

Lane feels a sudden rush of heat rise to her face, and a smile comes unbidden to her lips. “So I’ve learned.”

The pair shares yet another string of half-suppressed chuckles before quiet falls over them once more, a peaceful duvet that goes uninterrupted by their fellow soldiers and nature both. She’s quick to notice how isolated they suddenly are; the crowds on either side have cleared, and now, it’s just them. Alone, hushed, peaceful, far away from prying eyes and chattering voices.

She stares at his face for longer than she’d intended to, growing lost in his stormy brown eyes and handsome complexion. She notes all of the little details of his appearance, from his neatly trimmed beard, to the healing scar that staggers across his cheek, to the faint, knowing smile that dances across his lips when he looks at her. 

She wants to kiss him.

Hell! She’s fucking staring at him. Embarrassment washes over her like a tidal wave. She snaps out of her odd trance, and her gaze snaps up to meet his.

“I’m sorry,” is all she can manage, unable to bite down the smile in her voice.

Khotun responds with a huff of laughter. “Don’t be.”

He both looks and sounds so gentle and endeared. It makes her heart ache and her stomach twist into knots.

She finds herself overwhelmed by nerves and excitement both. Every subtle insinuation and looming prospect are of duel nature; she is horrified by what he may be feeling for this man, but at the same time, she craves him. Craves, craves, craves… it’s a craving that is sickening in its intensity, like an ever-growing hungry that gnaws at her flesh from the inside. She desires so much and so mightily that it hurts, oh, it hurts.

She wants to kiss him.

Oh, to hell with it. To fucking hell with it.

She leans up, pressing a soft kiss, tender and lovely, to the Khan’s lips. It’s quick, far too quick for him to react, but it is as real as the air they share; she would do it a thousand times more, whilst she also dreads  the thought of the gesture ever being returned. 

Is it dread, or is it perhaps love in a nasty coat? She rather not know.

“We should get going,” her words come out hurried and slurred-together; a blatant display of nerves, as if the blush that’s creeping onto her pale face wasn’t blatant enough. 

The Khan’s reply is delayed by only a few moments, but to Lane, it feels like an eternity. “Yes. Gather your things, and be quick about it. We’re tight on time.”

Lane hardly dares to glance up at him before departing, but when she does, she finds that he’s smiling even wider than before. The sight makes her feel sick. She gives him a quick half-nod before turning on her heals and taking quick paces toward the castle. 

She hates this. Everything about this. She hates him. It echoes in her mind like a mantra,  reminding her of where she should stand on such a matter (revolted by his mere presence upon this land, seizing her first opportunity to escape his grasp and never looking back) but she knows that it’s all a farce. She adores him, craves him like she craves food or water, and will follow him anywhere, even on a bloody conquest.

Lane, you fool! She reprimands herself vigorously, but it does nothing to bring down the smile on her face.

[theabysscomeshome]

Honkai Impact Webcomic - Elan Palatinus - Abridged Part 3

Part 1 here

Part 2 here

5000 years later: I definitely did not forget this was a thing haha

Fragmented fast forward so it's kind of a montage existential crisis caused by finding out your best friend is maybe evil:

There's like a whole dreamscape thing in the middle here where she talks with her dead dad? Pretty sure. It's not important. What IS important is:

When the friend who's just found out you're the villain is a literal paladin. Kallen may make for a terrible vigilante but what she IS good at is big damn dramatic entrances.

We actually know Eleanor (brown haired girl) but you'll have to read the comic yourself to find out because we kind of skipped all of her scenes oops. Otto saved her life and she thinks he walks on water, essentially.

More importantly:

MAN her monster form is pretty

The VIBES in this scene [chef's kiss]

The callback to Fu Hua 🥺

Fun fact this scene was apparently censored when it was released in mainland China to remove the religious overtones. Eleanor is instead arguing that they need the box to win the war, which gives the whole scene a MUCH different vibe and is a major reason why Kallen is relatively unpopular in China compared to in other regions.

This Is Fine. Definitely not the result of ten years of stoking Otto's paranoia and dependence on Kallen finally paying off by getting Otto to give in, just a bit, to the voice whispering in the back of his head. I had to cut them because image limit but this is followed by them defeating Eleanor and the honkai posessing? her leaves in a dark cloud, passes over Otto because he's already claimed by "another", and tries to possess Kallen.

"But the Kaslanas true secret is this: they are just too damn pure of heart and dumb of ass to give in to corruption, and thus honkai has no power over them."

I'm RIGHT and will not be taking constructive criticism at this time.

And Thus, The Bosom Friends Are Separated, And We Take One Step Closer To The Ship War.

"But Kallen's a jerk for leaving him when he loves her so much" "But Kallen was right to leave him because he's evil and unredeemable" People it is a TRAGEDY that is the POINT of it. He loved her and he also tore everything they had apart with his own two hands. My favorite part of this tbh is that in terms of the emotional beats and story arc it doesn't actually matter whether Kallen was ever "in love" with him romantically or not. The beats are the same either way. What they HAD together was the same either way. Love when that happens.

Anyway back with Otto, he has learned Zero lessons from this:

It's fine though because that malevolent voice in his head has all the answers and can give him all the knowledge he wants!

The LOOK. He WAS listening to Kallen, at least a little bit. Enough to be wary of this promise.

We're wrapping up the comic and I have exactly one image left before hitting post limit so I will leave with:

A personal letter that he never sent, because he has ~bigger things on his plate now. But the person she wants to save in the village is a miko now being corrupted by the box, who is all but stated elsewhere to be Kallen's sweetheart, and Kallen gets to be the suave and cool tuxedo mask at least once and it's great. They live happily ever after and are not Tragedy 2.0 at all.

[mariacallous]

Ukraine’s daring attack on a major Russian warship in occupied Crimea in the small hours of Dec. 26 was one more episode in Kyiv’s strategy to deny Russia control over the Black Sea. With most of its ships driven out of its home port in Sevastopol, the Russian Black Sea Fleet can no longer find safe haven anywhere along the Crimean Peninsula. All ports there are now vulnerable to attack.

The Institute for the Study of War tells the story with data, showing that Sevastopol saw a steady decline in the number of Russian naval vessels in port between June and December 2023; by contrast, Novorossiysk on the Russian mainland farther east showed a steady gain. While Russia has been going all-out to attack Ukraine’s infrastructure, its risky move to deploy ships and submarines armed with Kalibr missiles in the Black Sea is exposing them to potential Ukrainian attack. It is a tacit acknowledgment that Russia can no longer depend on Crimean ports and launch sites.

Ukraine’s success has been due to domestically produced missiles and drones, sometimes launched using Zodiac boats or jet skis. But its most potent attacks have come from the air, where Ukraine has used its Soviet-era fighter aircraft to launch both domestically produced and NATO-supplied missiles. These attacks have taken place with the protection of Ukraine’s advanced air defenses—including newly supplied foreign ones—which are regularly shooting down the majority of Russian missiles and drones destined for Ukrainian targets.

Ukraine thus has made significant strides denying Russia control of both the sea and airspace over and around its territory, thereby preventing the Russian Navy and Air Force from operating with impunity. But is that enough for Kyiv to win? To many Western observers, victory doesn’t seem possible in the face of wave after wave of Russian troops grinding down Ukrainian defenders. Ukraine’s strategy to deny Russia free use of its sea and airspace may be working, but as things stand, it cannot defeat the Russian army on the ground, nor can it defend against every missile striking civilian targets.

Indeed, the current conventional wisdom in large parts of the West is that Ukraine is losing the ground war, leaving no pathway to victory for the country as Russia pounds Ukrainian civilians into submission. Kyiv might as well call for a cease-fire and sue for peace.

The trouble with this scenario is that it spells defeat not only for Ukraine, but also for the United States and its allies in Europe and Asia. It would embolden both Russia and China to pursue their political, economic, and security objectives undeterred—including the seizure of new territory in Eastern Europe and Taiwan.

But is the conventional wisdom right—or does Ukraine’s clever success at sea and in the air suggest that a different outcome is possible? Perhaps the Russian army can be defeated by making use of Ukraine’s willingness to fight in new ways. If you asked a U.S. military professional, the key to dislodging the Russians is to subject them to relentless and accurate air attacks that are well synchronized with the maneuver of combined arms forces on the ground. While the Ukrainians are admirably using the weapons at hand to strike Russian forces both strategically, as in Crimea, and operationally, as in hitting command and logistics targets, success at the tactical level has remained elusive. To achieve a tactical breakthrough on the ground front that leads to operational and strategic success, they will need to be more effective from the air.

For power from the air to be decisive in 2024, the Ukrainian Armed Forces must create temporary windows of localized air superiority in which to mass firepower and maneuver forces. Given the Ukrainians’ success in denying their airspace to Russia at points of their choosing, such windows are possible using the assets they already have at hand. More and better weapons tailored to this scenario would make them more successful across the entire front with Russia.

Gen. Valery Zaluzhny, the commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, acknowledges that to break out of the current positional stalemate—which favors Russia—and return to maneuver warfare, where Ukraine has an advantage, Ukrainian forces need air superiority, the ability to breach mine obstacles, better counter-battery capability, and more assets for electronic warfare. Specifically, he argues for three key components. First, armed UAVs that use real-time reconnaissance to coordinate attacks with artillery (which could include properly armed Turkish-built TB2s, MQ-1C Gray Eagles, MQ-9 Reapers, or bespoke cheap and light UAVs capable of employing the necessary weapons). Second, armed UAVs to suppress enemy air defenses, as well as medium-range surface-to-air missile simulators to deter Russian pilots. And third, unmanned vehicles to breach and clear mines.

Although the technologies are new, this combination of capabilities recalls the method U.S. and allied NATO forces practiced during the Cold War in West Germany to confront numerically superior Warsaw Pact ground forces protected by layered air defenses. The Joint Air Attack Team (JAAT) was developed to synchronize attack helicopters, artillery, and close air support by fighter planes to ensure a constant barrage of the enemy in case of a ground force attack. Pooling NATO assets in this way was designed to give the alliance’s forces the mass, maneuverability, and flexibility needed to overcome superior numbers, avoid a war of attrition, and escape the type of bloody slugfest that characterizes the current stalemate in Ukraine.

In Ukraine’s case, a modernized JAAT would encompass, among many things, armed UAVs carrying Maverick and Hellfire missiles, loitering munitions, precision-guided artillery shells, and extended-range standoff missiles fired by aircraft. These systems would be coordinated in an electromagnetic environment shaped by Ukrainian operators to dominate the local airspace, saturate the battlefield with munitions, and clear mines to open the way for a ground assault. This updated JAAT—let’s call it electronic, or eJAAT—would create a bubble of localized air superiority that would advance as the combined arms force advances under the bubble’s protection.

Given Russia’s willingness to endure significant casualty rates, the eJAAT could be even more effective on defense: Massing firepower against advancing troops through an eJAAT might result in a stunning rout of the attackers, opening opportunities for Ukraine to strategically exploit the sudden change of fortunes.

Zaluzhny has made it publicly clear that “the decisive factor will be not a single new invention, but will come from combining all the technical solutions that already exist.” Like all good commanders, Zaluzhny is painfully aware that the 2023 campaign didn’t work as well as he had intended. Even so, and to their advantage, the Ukrainians have clearly demonstrated their innovative talents, willingness to exploit Western methods, and total commitment to victory. U.S. and European assistance to work with them on how to better manage operational complexity and combine technology, information, and tactics in more dynamic ways, coupled with security assistance tailored to the eJAAT approach, would return movement to the now-static battlefield and give Ukraine a fighting chance.

If Ukraine can achieve the momentum in the ground war that evaded it during its failed summer offensive, Kyiv will have a real pathway to victory. That pathway will run through Ukraine’s demonstrated prowess at sea and in the air, joined to an embrace of a sophisticated combination of techniques on the ground. It will be a pathway to victory not only for Ukraine, but also for the United States and its allies.

[daisyachain]

‘[KSA/Azerbaijan/Russia/China] never get flack therefore criticism of Israel is disingenuous’ is a dumb argument that doesn’t work when taken seriously (the solution to multiple world powers encouraging genocide is not to condone additional genocides carried out by additional world powers in the spirit of fairness) and also can’t be taken seriously. What do all these nation-states have in common—oh right, condemned by the press and governments of the Global North or ignored completely.

US/EU/Anglo money props up the governments of all the aforementioned countries, the US pays imperialist governments to keep imperializing because the US military needs oil and steel to further its own imperialist ambitions. The global north sells weapons to KSA, ships its businessmen and diplomats to summits in Baku, bought Russian oil/gas for decades and (in the case of the EU) keeps buying it indirectly, and of course, buys the thousand and one things manufactured in mainland China. However, ‘common knowledge’ is different. The press of the Global North largely ignores atrocities committed by KSA and Azerbaijan and identifies atrocities committed by the Russian and Chinese governments. Your average person in Canada/Denmark/New Zealand knows that human rights are a joke in 3 out of 4 of these nations and don’t know that the 4th nation exists. There’s no cognitive dissonance. ‘Western’ backing of these governments is done on the down low. The official government line is consistent with the evidence offered by the press is consistent with popular opinion.

With Israel, the official line of Global North governments is that the civilian murders and rapes of Israelis are war crimes (obviously true), that the civilian murders and rapes of Palestinians are good and righteous (obviously untrue), and that the explicitly stated policy of imprisonment, abuse, random killings, and extermination carried out by Israel in its occupied territories are good and righteous (obviously untrue). This line is spoken aloud, amplified by the mainstream press, and broadcast from the rooftops. It is impossible to be a citizen of the Global North and not hear that those dastardly Muslims need to be wiped out in the name of justice.

It’s also very difficult to be a citizen of the Global North and not be aware that the civilian casualties of the current guerrilla war are mad high. That information is available in the mainstream press. Whatever the obfuscation, CBC news will faithfully list that ‘thousands of minors’ have been killed in the bottom of the fifth paragraph of an article about infighting in Canada’s ruling party. That’s enough for most people to go ‘woah hey maybe that’s going a bit far.’ It is impossible to ignore the contradictions in press coverage and government statements on the Oct 7th pogrom VS the ethnic cleansing campaign that ensued.

With the Israeli government populated by proud, self-described racists and—again—people convicted of hate- and terror-related crimes, it’s impossible to paint one belligerent as an unhinged terrorist organization and the other belligerent as a heroic defender of the people. Especially given that there was coverage in the mainstream press of Likud’s recent antidemocratic reforms. The narrative doesn’t hold up even to your average noncommittal centrist.

That’s why there’s such a rise in support for Palestinian liberation—part of it is because Israel is a nation aligned with the US in a region where multiple nations are aligned with geopolitical enemies or rivals of the US (specially states with ties to Iran). Part of it is that antisemites in the Global North will jump on any opportunity for hatred that they might be able to get away with. Part of it is because every person with eyes and ears in the US, Five Eyes, EU has been inundated with images of Palestinian suffering and IOF brutality and has been told ‘this is good and you support it.’ The public protests are intended to change government policy because its so obviously against the public will. There aren’t protests against eg Russia because the Global North has sanctioned that government and provided military/humanitarian support to Ukraine against the invading forces, and because the press, government, and normies are in agreement that this is good. Some people agitating against Israel are antisemitic, and the majority are normal people who just don’t want to be told by their own government that they are murderers

[nemo-duspy-writes]

Let's see whether it's appreciated to put a snippet of my current WIP here. It's hard Sci-Fi, called Anarchtica, and mostly takes place in the early 23rd century in the Antarctic.

i'd love to hear what you think of this start of the Prologue. It's only the first draft, so don't be too harsh.

Anarchtica

Prologue

Somewhere on the Antarctic circle - 2057-12-31

From the small research vessel on a calm sea, Professor Bergmann spotted one of the massive, converted cargo ships. If he had spotted it, the staffless ship must've spotted them as well, though it did not make any efforts to change its course. It kept gliding through the water slowly, mostly moved by the current. It resembled a whale, using minimal movements to conserve energy. 

The container ship's propellers would only engage to keep the vessel on its long trip around Antarctica, or, after the curtain project is activated tomorrow, to hunt down every man-made object trying to cross the boundary to the cold continent. 

Bergmann's ship was the last manned vessel allowed in these waters, the last that would see the southern land mass for 150 years. The silence was eerie, it stood in stark contrast to the bustling of workers that used to work here over the last few years. The temporary housing still marred the otherwise untouched land, a windswept desert of snow and black rock. Though, it wasn't totally dead anymore. On some spots by the seaside, the snow had melted, and resilient plants took the opportunity. 

A bit away from the coast, on the side of a hill was a massive concrete cube. It had many nicknames while it was being built, but the one that stuck was 'Chtultwo', a portmanteau of the cosmic horror's name and two. 

Within its thick walls lay the world's entire stock of Sodium-22-chloride. Chemically nothing more than table salt. You could have used it for cooking, if the sodium isotope hadn't been radioactive, producing Neon-22 by emitting a positron - the antiparticle to an electron. Half-life time: 2.6 years. That in and of its own isn't too special, nothing that would warrant quarantining an entire continent. Until they figured out that Sodium-22 is the perfect catalyst for cold fusion of deuterium. The reaction created enough heat to be self-sufficient.

This was a great discovery. It promised an easy way to cover the world's entire energy needs for millennia, or even making the colonization of the solar system feasible. 

Then, in 2048, the city of Kairo was wiped off the earth by an explosion bigger than the Tzar bomba's. The victim count was above 10 Million. The culprit was suspected to be a small terrorist cell, having built a cheap and easy fusion bomb with the help of Sodium-22.

The destructive power that was the driving force for most politics since the second half of the 20th century, now in the hands of everyone with college level physics' knowledge, water, and a few grams of a relatively easy to buy isotope.

This was one of the few times in history the world came together. They knew no human and no government on the planet should wield such power. They put heavy restrictions on every way to produce or isolate the isotope, and they confiscated each gram of Sodium-22. 

At this point, the distrust between the nations welled up again. China absolutely refused the Americans' plan to store it in a safe area on their mainland until it is degraded, and vice versa. There needed to be a land on earth that was not affiliated with any nation, tectonically stable and easy to defend from anyone trying to take it.

As ludicrous as it sounded, Antarctica was the only option. 

And so, they rebuilt a fleet of container ships to be armed with drones, controlled by an AI program whose task was to destroy every attempt to reach the Sodium-22, until it was degraded far enough to be a threat. They settled on 150 years; in that time the stock would degrade to 4.3 quintillionth of its original mass. 

A big challenge was to make sure the ships survived the time without any outside help; that they wouldn't run out of energy. Most of the vessels were fitted with fission reactors; reliable and tested. But for some, as an experiment, some ships had different energy sources in their bellies.

His colleague, Doctor Defarote, joined Prof. Bergmann at the railing. 

She blew into her hands to warm them up.

"Cold here even in the summer," she said with a strong Argentinian accent.

"Yes, Daria," Professor Bergmann said, his view still on the container ship. "It's not that much of a loss that no one can be here for one and a half centuries."

Daria looked at him. "Is that sarcasm? We will miss all the effects that climate change has on it. With it becoming more temperate, we will lose out on the opportunity to observe a new ecosystem forming, while we will miss a lot of the old inhabitants dying. It's a loss for everyone."

"Yes, I know. But we won't be able to change it." 

The container ship was now almost at their vessel.

"Which number is that?" Doctor Defarote asked.

"34"

"Oh, so this is yours?"

"Yes." Professor Bergmann couldn't hold back the proud smile. "A thorium fission reactor coupled with an inertia-type fusion reactor. Not as efficient as a theoretical Natwotwo, but more efficient than anything else right now, while still being reliable enough to run for more than 200 years."

The container ship passed them, showing how much bigger it was compared to their vessel. Like an unscalable wall of steel. 

The Professor and his colleague looked at it with awe.

"A true marvel of human engineering," he said. "A monument to the intellect of humans and that with science and technology, their creations can even withstand the harshest conditions."

Doctor Defarote scoffed. "For me it means exactly the opposite. That humans are stupid and stubborn, that they'd rather quarantine a whole continent than not using the newest science to kill other people or destroy our home planet."

"What a pessimistic view." The vibration of the device in his jacket interrupted their conversation. "We can discuss this later, but I think it's time to leave the area. We don't want to be on this side of the curtain when it activates."

Professor Bergmann ripped his eyes from the massive steel hull. As he turned to go under deck, he spotted something else on the horizon in the water and froze.

"Is that another ship?"