#supreme patriarch

[thepinkseat-askthemoonbunny]

Dipping my toes into Warhammer lore recently and one of the first questions I had was...what does Balthasar Gelt look like behind his mask?" Of course nobody knows, but I had to draw my own interpretation for what he might look like (a little younger than I was going for but hey, I'll take it).

Since I'm going with the "disfigured by the black powder explosion" theory, I like to think that dude kintsugi'd what was left of his face back together like Japanese pottery...as you can see, he's missing a huge chunk out of the right side of his face that he filled in with gold.

idk why curly auburn hair was my first choice of hair color, but he just gives redhead vibes to me (he doesn't do much with it since nobody sees it and so it's always got the messy "helmet head" look.

[msbhagirathi]

IPKKND HEART TO HEART CONVO-(1/n)

It was a nice Sunday morning. Arnav was laying on his bed lazily, half asleep, with his hands folded behind his head. Khushi was, fresh out of the shower, getting ready for the day.

Khushi (quietely inching towards the bed) : Arnavji...? Aap so rahe hain kya...?

Arnav (already squinting at her with sleepy eyes and ruffled hair) : Khushi tum mujhese 'ji'-'aap' karke kyun baat karti ho...? Maine tumse kaha hai na that you are my equal. Tum me aur mujhme koi difference nahi hai.

Khushi (a knowing smile on her face, sat down beside him) : Yeh toh aapka baddappan hai Arnavji, joh aap humse aisa keh rahe hain.( You are being modest, Arnavji.)

Khushi : Hum aapse aise baat isiliye karte hain kyunki hum aapka samman karte hain. Humari nazron mein aapka kad bohot uncha hai.

Khushi : Hum jaante hain ki aap humein apna baraabar maante hain. Lekin aap nahi jaante ki aap humein jaan-anjaane mein kitna kuch sikha dete hain. Aap bhale hi kehte ho ki aap bhagwan mein vishwas nahi rakhte par humne apni puri zindagi mein aapke jaisa, nek insaan, aaj tak nahi dekha hai, joh apne aap ko nastik (atheist) kehta ho.

Arnav : But Khu-

*She placed her index finger on his lips*

Khushi : Hum jaante hain ki aapko purani baatein yaad karne ka koi shauk nahi hai par aaj humein bolne dijiye Arnavji. Aap humesha humein chup kara dete hain par aaj hum bolenge aur aap sunenge.

Khushi : Aaj hum aapko batana chahte hain ki hum aapki itni izzat kyun karte hain.

Khushi : Hum samajhte hain ki aapke liye kisi par bharosa karna kitna mushkil hai. Humein ab samajh mein aata hai ki, aap par kya beeti hogi, jab aapko yeh laga ki, jis ladki se aap pyaar karte hain, usne aapki zindagi ke sabse ahem insaan ke saath, dhoka karne ki koshish ki hai.

Khushi : Beshak tab aapke paas hum par vishwas karne ki koi vajah hi nahi thi kyunki tab hum aapke liye koi nahi the.

*Arnav knew where this was going and closed his eyes to steel himself*

Khushi : Hum jaante hain ki, har roz aap apne aap ko koste (curse) honge. Aapko lagta hoga ki, na aap Di ki raksha kar paaye aur na hi aap, humari vajah se, humare liye, apne aap ko, rakshas banne se rok paaye. Aapne kabhi socha hi nahi hoga ki, jis ladki se aap itna pyaar karte hain uski, nazron mein aapko itna niche girna hoga, ki aap apne aap se bhi nazrein nahi mila payenge.

*Arnav slowly starting to get teary-eyed, turned his face away from her, to hide it*

Khushi : Hum jaante hai ki hum galat nahi the phir bhi humare saath galat hua par hum yeh bhi jaante hain ki aapko bhi utna hi jhelna para tha. Hum samajhte hain ki aapko kitni ghutan hui hogi. Chahte hue bhi aap hum par vishwas kar hi nahi paaye honge.

*She laid her head on his chest with tears rolling down her face*

*Arnav slowly starting to sob, placed his hands softly on the back of her head, caressing her hair gently*

Khushi (speaking through her shaky voice) : Hum jaante hain ki aapko kitna dard hua hoga, ki aap hum se kitna pyaar karte hain, ki aapne hum par vishwas kiya aur humein mauka diya, humare pyaar ko apnaya.

*She started crying bitterly, shaking, trembling against his chest*

*Fresh tears, big and hot, rolled down his face as he took in her words*

He gently pulled her upright, sat up and wrapped his arms around her tightly, eyes shut, tears flowing continuously, his body trembling with the weight of the emotions, that her words held.

****Both of them sobbed for several minutes, calmed down gradually****

Khushi (wiped her tears, sniffing) : Isiliye jab hum aapke pair chune ke liye jhukte hain, toh aap humein roka mat kijiye.

Arnav (wiping his tears, look at her, pursing his lips) : Theek hai. Lekin SIRF tumhare liye.

Khushi (grinned) : Wada kijiye humse! (extended her palm)

Arnav (held her hand, smiling) : I promise, Khushi. Tumhare liye, kuch bhi.

Khushi : Hum bhi na! Ek hi din aap chutti par ghar-pe hote hain aur woh bhi hum roh-dho ke barbaad kar rahe hain.

She stood up hurriedly to complete drying her hair with the towel and placed it on the recliner.

Arnav : Tum chah kar bhi mera waqt barbaad nahi kar paogi, Khushi. (Note- *cue* when he had said something similar but very different to La, in her intro epi)

He made his bed, hung the towel on his shoulder and walked to the bathroom.

Few minutes later....

Khushi (to Garima, smiling dreamily) : Amma, aapko pata hai! Humare Arnavji duniya ke sabse acche pati the, hain aur humesha rahenge....

So.....I tried this one in Hindi....shall I...umm...is it better in English..? I don't even know... Also I don't know if I am allowed to casually tag people here or not. But I wanna thank them as well...so..

Phati-Sari, Jalebi-weds-bluetooth, Paobhaji, chutkiandchotte, onadaanparindey, dimaagkadahi, kashmakash, arnavsinghraizada, laadgovernorandsankadevi, pakki-ya-nahin and all the other IPK fans as well..

Mentioning all of you here because I have huge amount of gratitude to all of you, in some way or the other, I owe you the entertainment that I have received and enjoyed from all of your content and that too for...um...FREE!?!?! I can never thank all of you enough for all that you have done and are still doing for us IPK kids. So, I am trying to do something close to what all of you have done... THank you from the bottom of my heart.

[creature-wizard]

General reminder to the pagans out there:

Making a supreme goddess figure part of your spirituality? Great! Worshiping a mother goddess? Wonderful! If that brings joy and meaning into your life, excellent!

"Once upon a time long ago, people all worshiped a great goddess until THE PATRIARCHY conspired to overthrow her and replace her with a CRUEL PATRIARCHAL GOD" - that's pseudohistory and conspiracism; there's literally no evidence for it whatsoever, and it can and does drag people down the new age to alt right pipeline.

[redditreceipts]

what baffles me is that he doesn't even realise how stupid his point is when talking about white supremacy. yes, we are all socialised under white supremacy. but some of us are socialised as the supreme, and others are socialised as the inferior. or is he really arguing that there is no substancial difference in growing up white vs. growing up Black??

yes, we are all socialised under patriarchy. BUT YOU WERE SOCIALISED AS THE PATRIARCH omg are you really that stupid or are you pretending

[justinspoliticalcorner]

It is hard to imagine a worse candidate for the American presidency in 2024 than Donald J Trump. His history of dishonesty, hypocrisy and greed makes him wholly unfit for the office. A second Trump term would erode the rule of law, diminish America’s global standing and deepen racial and cultural divides. Even if he loses, Mr Trump has shown that he will undermine the election process, with allies spreading unfounded conspiracy theories to delegitimise the results. There are prominent Republicans – such as the former vice-president Dick Cheney – who refused to support Mr Trump owing to the threat he poses. Gen Mark Milley, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff under Mr Trump, calls his former boss a “fascist”. America was founded in opposition to absolute monarchy. The Republican nominee models himself after the leader he most admires: Russia’s autocratic president, Vladimir Putin. Mr Trump’s authoritarianism may finish US democracy. He has praised and promised to pardon those convicted in the January 6 insurrection. He has suggested bypassing legal norms to use potentially violent methods of repression, blurring the lines between vigilantism, law enforcement and military action, against groups – be they Democrats or undocumented immigrants – he views as enemies. His team has tried to distance itself from the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 and its extreme proposals – such as mass firings of civil servants and erasing women’s rights – that poll poorly. But it is likely that, in office, Mr Trump would adopt many of these intolerant, patriarchal and discriminatory plans. He aims to dismantle the government to enrich himself and evade the law. If Republicans gain control of the Senate, House and White House, he would interpret it as a mandate to silence his critics and entrench his power. Mr Trump is a transactional and corrupting politician. His supporters see this as an advantage. Christian nationalists want an authoritarian regime to enforce religious edicts on Americans. Elon Musk wants to shape the future without regulatory oversight. Both put self-interest ahead of the American people. Democracy erodes slowly at first, then all at once. In office, Mr Trump appointed three supreme court justices, who this summer blocked efforts to hold him accountable for trying to overturn the 2020 election: their immunity ruling renders the president “a king above the law”, in the words of the liberal justice Sonia Sotomayor. Since Kamala Harris stepped into the spotlight following Joe Biden’s exit, her campaign has been a masterclass in political jujitsu, deftly flipping Mr Trump’s perceived strengths into glaring weaknesses. With a focus on joy, the vice-president sharply contrasted with Mr Trump’s grim narrative of US decline. In their sole televised debate, Ms Harris skillfully outmaneuvered Mr Trump, who fell into her traps, appearing angry and incoherent. She is confident and composed. He sounds unhinged. [...] Political hope fades when we settle for what is, instead of fighting for what could be. Ms Harris embodies the conviction that it’s better to believe in democracy’s potential than to surrender to its imperfections. The Republican agenda is clear: voter suppression, book bans and tax cuts for billionaires. Democrats seek global engagement; the GOP favours isolation. The Biden-Harris administration laid the groundwork for a net zero America. A Trumpian comeback would undo it. A Harris win, with a Democratic Congress, means a chance to restore good governance, create good jobs and lead the entire planet’s climate efforts. Defeating Mr Trump protects democracy from oligarchy and dictatorship. There is too much at stake not to back Ms Harris for president.

The Guardian Editorial Board's endorsement of Kamala Harris for the 2024 US Presidential Election (10.23.2024).

The Guardian’s editorial board gave a powerful endorsement for Kamala Harris, as our democracy’s survival depends on her winning.

[whencyclopedia]

Yamm

Yamm (from the Semitic word yam for 'sea', also known as Yam and Yam-Nahar) was the god of the sea and storm in the pantheon of the Canaanite-Phoenicians. Depicted consistently as tyrannical, angry, violent, and harsh, Yamm was the brother of Mot, the god of death, and is associated with chaos. His story is told in the Ugaritic Baal Cycle.

This association is furthered by his identification with Lotan the Leviathan, the monster who churned the seas. As Yam-Nahar (literally 'sea' and 'river'), he personified the destructive aspects of both. He was the son of El, the supreme god of the Canaanite and Phoenician pantheon, and is also referred to as Prince Yamm and "Beloved of El" in the myths of the region.

He is best known from the Ugaritic poem known as the Baal Cycle, which tells the story of his conflict with the fertility god Baal, his defeat, and Baal's supremacy over chaos and death. The tablets containing the Baal Cycle were unearthed in the excavation of Ugarit (in modern-day Syria) following the ancient city's discovery in 1928. These tablets date to c. 1500 BCE but are thought to have been a written record of a much older story passed down by oral transmission.

The story has often been compared to the Mesopotamian epic of the Enuma Elish, but there are significant differences in that, first of all, the Enuma Elish is a cosmogony (detailing the beginnings of the world/universe) while the Baal Cycle is not, and, secondly, Yamm and Mot in the Baal Cycle are not as neatly defined as villains as Tiamat and Quingu are in the Enuma Elish.

Both stories, however, serve the purpose of explaining the world to an audience. The Enuma Elish details how order rose from chaos and how the visible and invisible worlds came to be established; the Baal Cycle describes those worlds already in operation and explains why events happen as they do. As in all ancient cultures, the gods served to explain the seemingly inexplicable and give reason to events that may seem random or mysterious. Scholars Michael D. Coogan and Mark S. Smith comment:

As a group, the gods and goddesses of the Canaanite pantheon are larger than life. They travel by giant strides – "a thousand fields, ten thousand acres at each step" – and their control over human destiny is absolute. In their personified forms, the deities embody realities beyond human understanding and control: the storms necessary for prosperity and even survival, the powerful drives of sex and violence, the final mystery of death. The gods and goddesses belong to a divine society that mirrors society on earth; for example, both share the patriarchal institution of kingship. The solutions of the problems of that "heavenly city" in their stories gave the Canaanites hope for the future.

(8)

In this, the pantheon of the Canaanites was no different than those of other ancient civilizations, and the stories the people told had the same purpose. The symbols and motifs found in the Baal Cycle are also apparent in other religious works of the Near East, and the story of the struggle between order and chaos is treated in pieces from Mesopotamia through Egypt to Greece and beyond.

An interesting aspect of the Baal Cycle, however, is how Yamm – the supposed villain of the piece along with Mot – is not guilty of usurping power (as in the tale of Set and his murder of the god-king Osiris in Egyptian mythology) nor of triumphing the cause of chaos (as the Titans in their war with Zeus in Greek mythology), but of misusing the power he was given legitimately.

Summary of the Baal Cycle

Baal, son of Dagon, is hopeful he will be chosen by El, chief of the gods, to be king, but El instead gives the crown to his son Prince Yamm. Since El is all-wise and benevolent, it is thought that his choice of Yamm would be in the best interests of all, but once Yamm has power, he becomes a tyrant and forces the other gods to labor for him. The gods cry out to their mother – El's consort, Asherah – who goes to Yamm to intercede for them. She offers him various gifts and favors, but he refuses until she offers him her body. Yamm accepts and Asherah returns to the divine court of El to tell them of the contract.

The other gods in council all seem to agree with Asherah that this is a sound plan, but Baal is disgusted by it and by the other gods who would even think of allowing it. He swears he will kill Yamm and end the tyranny himself. Some of the gods present alert Yamm to Baal's treason, and Yamm sends emissaries to the court of El demanding that Baal be surrendered for punishment.

Baal Cycle Tablets

Mbzt (GNU FDL)

All the other gods bow their heads before the emissaries except for Baal, who defies them and rebukes the other gods for their cowardice. A second set of emissaries is sent by Yamm, again demanding the gods surrender Baal. These messengers show El and the other gods no respect and refuse to participate in even the smallest rites of courtesy. Even so, instead of calling them to account or punishing them, El tells them that he will surrender Baal and that Baal will come before Yamm bearing gifts of gold.

Baal is enraged and moves to attack the emissaries but is held back by his sister Anat (the war goddess) and his consort Astarte (the goddess of love). They tell him that he cannot kill the messengers, for they are only relaying the words of their master and have no say in the matter. Baal relents and spares them but again swears he will not bow to Yamm and will not surrender himself. He cannot defeat Yamm in combat, however, because of Yamm's great strength, but at this point, Kothar-wa-Khasis, god of craftsmanship, the forge, and weapon-making, speaks up.

Kothar tells Baal he will create two clubs for him, Yagrush and Aymur, which will destroy Yamm. Kothar delivers the clubs, and Baal goes to meet Yamm in combat. He swings Yagrush down upon the king, striking him on the shoulders, but Yamm does not fall, and Baal retreats. Kothar tells him to use Aymur now and strike at Yamm's head, between his eyes. Baal does so, and Yamm falls, defeated. Baal drags him back to the council hall, proclaims himself the new king, and then casts Yamm out of the heavens. Yamm returns to his former role as god of the sea.

In the second part of the poem, Mot, the god of death, is offended by Baal and seeks to destroy him. He sends the sea creature Lotan (closely associated with Yamm as either an alter ego or a comrade) to kill Baal, but Baal kills Lotan instead. Mot swears he will not rest until Baal is dead and he, Mot, has eaten him. To escape Mot, Baal pretends he has been killed and goes into hiding. His ruse fools even the other gods and provokes his sister Anat to seek revenge. She kills Mot, but, since he is immortal – like all the gods – he returns to life. At this point, Baal returns from hiding and subdues Mot; though, of course, he cannot kill him. Mot returns to his dark realm and Baal reigns as the king of the gods.

Continue reading...

[mdzs-fanon-exposed]

MDZS Fanon VS Canon: 10/?

Wei Wuxian was called the Yiling Patriarch during the Sunshot Campaign

Rating: FANON – CONFLICTING

There is, understandably, a bit of confusion about when Wei Wuxian started to be known as the Yiling Patriarch. For convenience's sake, he's often called by this title throughout many fanwork depictions of the Sunshot Campaign, and/or the period in which he was coreless. This makes sense from an aesthetics perspective, as during this point in his life he was already adopting the persona associated with the Patriarch brand, but in canon, the title was only given to him after he liberated the Wen prisoners.

Put simply, it's not possible for Wei Wuxian to have been called the Yiling Patriarch during the Sunshot Campaign, because by definition the title must have been given to him once he was based out of Yiling – after he liberated the labor camps and set the Wen settlement up in the Burial Mounds. Although Wei Wuxian had been thrown into the Burial Mounds by Wen Chao, ostensibly drawing that connection before the Sunshot Campaign, nobody else (besides some of the Wens) knew at the time.

However, the title was not given to Wei Wuxian immediately after settling in the Burial Mounds. We can actually pinpoint the exact turning point when Wei Wuxian "became" the Yiling Patriarch:

After Wei Wuxian defected from the Jiang Clan of Yunmeng and became the Yiling Patriarch, he’d been in significant conflict with the Lan Clan of Gusu, especially in the months prior to his death. (Seven Seas Ch. 4)

Wei Wuxian was only known as the Yiling Patriarch after his split with Jiang Cheng and the Yumeng Jiang Sect. This means there was a period of time in between the formation of the Wen Settlement and Wei Wuxian's defection, in which Wei Wuxian was living in the Burial Mounds but was NOT yet publicly known as the "big bad evil cultivator" Yiling Patriarch.

We also know the first time the words "Yiling Patriarch" are mentioned chronologically:

None of the fierce corpses Wei Wuxian had ordered to patrol the foot of the mountain actively attacked anyone—the most they did was hurl them away with teeth bared in a snarl. No one was ever hurt. And so, more and more people crowded at the foot of the Burial Mounds. Wei Wuxian once saw a long pennant in the distance, emblazoned with the title “The Supreme Evil Yiling Patriarch,” and spat out an entire mouthful of fruit wine at the sight. (Seven Seas Ch. 17)

This implies that the title of "Yiling Patriarch" was formulated not by anyone in the cultivation world who saw Wei Wuxian as a threat, but by the common people who idolized him. The title could have then spread to members of cultivation sects, who adopted the common name.

In fact, the next time we see a reference to the title is when the Jiang siblings secretly meet with Wei Wuxian and Wen Ning, and Jiang Cheng uses it to tease Wei Wuxian:

“Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng were still standing inside the courtyard. Jiang Cheng raised his bowl. “To the Yiling Patriarch.” “Hearing the title reminded Wei Wuxian of that long pennant fluttering shamelessly in the wind, and his mind was filled with its huge dazzling words: “The Supreme Evil Yiling Patriarch.” “Shut up!” he said.” ... He finished the rest of his soup in a single mouthful and stood. “Impressive. Amazing. As expected of the Yiling Patriarch.” Wei Wuxian spat out a piece of bone. “Are you done?” (Seven Seas Ch. 17)

Meaning while the title spread incredibly fast, it was not taken seriously (by Wei Wuxian, at least) for at least a short period of time while the rumors surrounding Wei Wuxian were building up. Notably, Wei Wuxian does not associate himself with the title.

My interpretation of why this happened is that during the period that Wei Wuxian was still part of the Jiang Clan, his actions were seen as representative of – or at least the responsibility of – the Jiangs. Regardless of whether the cultivation world knew he was working alone, as it were, he was still beholden to a sect who had power over him. Wei Wuxian would not have been seen as a "patriarch" in his own right.

After the defection, however, Wei Wuxian was an unknown in terms of affiliation, and thus a potential threat. With the rumors about him already beginning to paint him as evil and unstable, combined with the fact that he was going on public night hunts with Wen Ning, he quickly became notorious:

After stealing the show at several Night Hunts, quite a few people came knocking, drawn by admiration of his reputation and in hopes of joining the “Grandmaster” to become disciples under his banner. (Seven Seas Ch. 17)

Thus, the title of "Yiling Patriarch" would have only been popularized once it was assumed that Wei Wuxian wanted to start his own sect. This would have only exacerbated the hypothetical threat that Wei Wuxian was to the cultivation world as well, and contributed to his mythologizing as a quintessential sort of boogieman. This is actually an excellent example of a major theme in MDZS, of how quickly rumors can cause severe harm.

In the end, regardless of how or by whom the title was created, Wei Wuxian was only (unwillingly) given the title of Yiling Patriarch after he defected from the Jiangs.

[officialfoxsquadron]

calling luke skywalker useless, stupid etc is actually one of the oldest bad takes in the book. it used to be because he wasn’t a Supreme Hetero Alpha Male like han was. now we’re adding twink after it to double down on the homophobia and really drive the point home. luke skywalker isn’t stupid or useless y’all just hate any type of masculinity that doesn’t reinforce patriarchal oppression

[aliciavance4228]

Unpopular Opinion: Demeter Did Nothing Wrong

Alright, maybe the title isn't 100% accurate since she almost wiped the entire human race from earth, but you got the idea.

The thing with Demeter is that nowdays she is demonized/villainized all the time. And the most ironic part is that she is demonized by feminists, which leaves me quite confused, considering the fact that she would technically be a great example of female strength, especially when raporting to "Homeric Hymns to Demeter". But before discussing the myth of seasons, let's talk about her background story:

One thing that is certain about Demeter is that she had horrible experiences with almost all men from her life. Her father ate her. Poseidon raped her disguised as a horse. Zeus raped her as well (which led to the birth of Persephone). Iasion was one of the few men from her life who loved and respected her, and whom she lived with for a while before Zeus became jealous and killed him; yes, he is THAT much of a d-

The only one of her brothers who didn’t hurt her in any way at that time was Hades. And if you take into account the versions of the myths in which Hades was born before her that means that he was the one who took care of her as well during the time when they were trapped in their father's stomach. So it is pretty much implied that he was the only one of The Big Three whom she trusted the most, which makes the discovery that he was the one who kidnapped her daughter even more tragic.

Now, about "Homeric Hymns to Demeter": first of all I want to point out the fact that this myth isn't about Hades and Persephone. They are mostly mentioned in this story rather than actually playing an active role in it, because they have more of a symbolic value above it all. Wheter Persephone came to love Hades in time or despised him for the rest of her eternity is irrelevant, because this myth is not about her but Demeter.

Demeter had already faced some disturbing experiences even before Persephone was kidnapped. And considering the fact that her own daughter was a result of SA, it makes perfect sense why she would be protective towards her and raise her outside of Mount Olympus; every woman that was raped would fear that her daughter would face the same cruel fate.

About the abduction part: it is revealed to us at the beginning that Hades asked Zeus if he can marry his daughter, and he agreed. Hades only needed the approval of the father in order to wed her. Back in the Ancient Greece, especially in the Athens, people had a very patriarchal view on marriage. On short: the marriage would be usually planned between the groom and the father of the bride, her mother not knowing anything about what was going on until her daughter was already taken away from her. This myth is a representation of how the Patriarchy was a dominant system even among deities, with Zeus as its supreme figure.

At this point, the myth of seasons can be already considered a comfort story for mothers who had to endure the loss of their daughters either through death or marriage. This myth, however, has a lighter note as well, and that because Demeter, instead of accepting the fate of her daughter, left her anger free and did anything she could so that she would ultimately convince Zeus to give her daughter back, the last solution being leaving hundreds of humans dying of cold and hunger. This part basically shows how even a patriarchal figure like Zeus can be defeated by a mother's rage (or pure female rage, take it as you wish). Even though this myth is supposed to tell us just how seasons appeared, it can also be used as a moral lesson for men: it is better to consult with your wife and daughter before making a decision, or else there will be GREAT CONSEQUENCES.

And finally, one moment that is indeed very touching yet most people are ignoring for some reason is when her mother Rhea appears in front of her and starts to comfort her after she found out that Persephone ate the promeganate seeds, showing how a mother's mouring over her daughter was a common feeling among most female deities from Greek Mythology.

Now, is Demeter perfect? Absolutely not. And that is okay, because instead of that she is supposed to show in this myth a lot of humane and realistic nuances about what being a woman is like. She is a complex character, and completely demonizing her just because you ship Hades and Persephone is quite disturbing in my honest opinion. Wheter or not you like this couple (I won't condemn you because they are still one of the most stable relationships from Greek Mythology, but that basically shows just how f*cked up myths are in general lmao but anyway....), you have to understand the fact that the "Beauty and Beast" and "A mother's love will always conquer" are two tropes that can co-exist, and that things aren’t just black-and-white.

[siryouarebeingmocked]

SYABM comic 72 "Worst Draft" (Double Feature!)

[ Older comics | Chronological order | Subreddit ]

IME, most feminists only discuss the draft when someone else says it's an issue for men, or there's a chance women will be included.

And even then, most will not say it's currently an issue for men only.

I once asked a feminist point blank, and they refused to answer.

And as you see in the screenshots, mamaterf wants feminists to get credit for fighitng the draft, but is clearly mad at men for talking about it.

Like I said in >these threads< (Archive), if the US government actually uses the Selective Service Act to draft men, then it's already too late to fight it.

In fact, men might go to prison for resisting, just like with Vietnam.

Kaijucody said the draft will never be used again, so men shouldn't complain. Okay, so why do you care when men try to get rid of it?

Answer: because that shows sexism against men is a big deal. In a "Patriarchal" government that's supposed to be biased in men's favor.*

This male feminist (and mamaterf) said men created and enforced the draft, because women couldn't vote. Just one tiny issue; the Selective Service Act was  in 1917, and the 19th Amendment was in 1920.

Only three years.

More than a century ago.

First elected Congresswomen? 1930s. Women are major voting blocs. Women were their party nominees for President in two of the last three US elections, and one of them was the first female Veep. There'll probably be a lady Prez elected in my lifetime.

And then there's feminism itself.

Not to mention many women who watched the government force a man they love onto The Bus, and all that came home was a crisply folded flag.

Or just care because they don't want men to die because of sexism.

Feminism had a century and change to seriously oppose the draft, even if you accept "women = feminist" and pretend male feminists don't exist. As feminists often do. It's even a gender equality issue, just not one feminists like.

But feminists like mamaterf and kaijucody "erased women's voices" to protect their silly little sexist narrative.

Ironic.

And quite misogynist.

PS: I completely forgot that mamaterf also said "yall can take it up with the 70% male congress and 2/3rds male supreme court". And the "male president".

So she tacitly admits women are a third of the people currently responsible, by her own standards. But somehow, Selective Service is still all men's fault. 

And male politicians caring about women's "bodily autonomy" (IE supporting abortion rights) is apparently a lower bar to clear than caring about men's own bodily autonomy, or even their own lives.

As if >politicians have never< >served themselves<, faced the draft, or have male relatives.

Heck, Biden's oldest son served in Iraq. Even got a Bronze Star. Biden was literally a senator at the time.

Most logical radfem.

PPS: found an old post where someone says MRAs who are against men being drafted should support the "countless anti-war and anarchist organizations that have been working on that."

It's the same implied "stop talking about male issues as male issues" argument. Except they didn't just imply it, >they almost explicitly said it<.

* Also, it contradicts the pro-choice idea that *only* women have laws "controlling their bodies". >Which was always a silly argument.<

It's especially stupid when countless male politicians across the country have supported laws protecting abortion rights, and countless female politicians have opposed it.

In fact, the draft makes a lot of common feminist complaints look like small potatoes.

ALT TITLE CANDIDATES: Conscript Kiddie Irrational National Service Selective (Service) Memory Scorn In the USA Fortunate Dumb Something something Sword of Damocles (too highbrow )

[princesssarisa]

That post about all the different possible interpretations of Frankenstein, and my response post about the different interpretations of Little Women, have made me think of all the different ways that other stories can be interpreted.

For example, the opera The Magic Flute. Some people wonder why I never get tired of that particular opera. Well, one reason is that no two productions feel exactly the same, because it can be looked at in so many different ways.

Here's a list of different interpretations I've read. This is probably just scratching the surface of possible perspectives, though.

Nor are these readings mutually exclusive: several can be and have been combined with each other.

*The Magic Flute is about the Age of Enlightenment. The Queen of the Night represents the Baroque era (hence the pseudo-Baroque style of her music), with its powerful Catholic church and ancien régime: luxuriantly beautiful and captivating, but decadent, manipulative and ruthless. Sarastro and his priests represent the Enlightenment, and in particular the Freemasons, with progressive values of reason, mercy, fraternity, self-control, etc. The Queen's ultimate downfall and Sarastro's rise in her place represents the social, cultural and philosophical changes that swept the Western world in the 18th century, leading to the American and French Revolutions, among other reforms. (As for why the progressive men still oppress women and own slaves... well, just look at real life.) Tamino and Pamina are an idealized young everyman and everywoman, who learn to embrace Enlightenment values and will carry them into the future.

*The Magic Flute is a socio-political and Masonic allegory focused expressly on Austria. All the sentiments above still apply, but the Queen specifically represents the staunchly Catholic Empress Maria Theresa, Tamino her more progressive son Emperor Joseph II, Sarastro the prominent Masonic leader Ignaz von Born, and Pamina the country of Austria itself, whose soul they struggle for.

*The Magic Flute is about Freemasonry as religion, namely as an offshoot of Christianity. Pamina's late father, who bequeathed his power to Sarastro, represents Jesus Christ himself. His widow the Queen of the Night, who sees herself as his rightful heir, expressly represents the dazzling yet corrupt Catholic church, the so-called "Bride of Christ." Sarastro and his priests, again, represent the Freemasons, who are portrayed as the true heirs of Christ, faithful to His teachings of mercy, brotherhood, endurance, and forgiveness. Tamino and Pamina learn which religion is false and which is true, then prove their worthiness to be initiated into the true religion.

*The Magic Flute is about the progress from nature to civilization. The Queen of the Night is a matriarchal nature goddess who reigns in a realm of stars, rocks, birds, and animals, where there is no law, only emotion, intuition, and personal will. Sarastro, by contrast, rules a patriarchal city and religious order, where laws, rituals, collectivism, and codes of virtue reign supreme. The opera celebrates the progress from the former to the latter, which has occurred in every country since recorded history began. Yet because humans need emotion and intuition as well as law and order, Sarastro's world keeps the best aspects of the Queen's world: her daughter Pamina, the Three Boys, and the magic flute and bells.

*The Magic Flute is about man vs. woman. Sarastro and his followers define all their values as "manly," while all things "womanly" are associated with the Queen of the Night. "Manhood" equals strength, reason, self-control, steadfastness, and light, while "womanhood" equals passion, intuition, vulnerability, manipulation, and darkness. The entire struggle between the Queen and Sarastro, which Tamino, Pamina, and Papageno are caught up in, embodies the tension between the sexes and all the principles associated with them. As for the resolution, there are two ways of viewing it:

**(a) The story is entirely pro-man and anti-woman. Masculinity triumphs, femininity is defeated. An individual woman (Pamina) can only redeem herself by renouncing her femininity (her bond with her mother the Queen) and aligning herself with masculine principles (joining Tamino in his trials and being initiated into Sarastro's order).

**(b) While the male characters think the solution will be the triumph of man over woman, they're wrong: the true solution is for man and woman to reconcile. The conflict is resolved not by the Queen's defeat (which is almost an afterthought), but by the union of the sexes through Tamino and Pamina. Both the hysterical Queen and the stern Sarastro are too extreme in their feminine and masculine principles, so they can never reconcile, but Tamino and Pamina succeed by loving each other and by balancing the feminine with the masculine (using the Queen's magic flute to survive Sarastro's trials).

*The Magic Flute is about growing up. It's a fantastical version of a Bildungsroman. The Queen of the Night represents the mother, nurturing and indulgent, but smothering if the child stays in her care too long, as personified by Jung's "devouring mother" archetype. Sarastro represents the disciplinarian father, who teaches the child right from wrong and trains him to be an adult. Tamino and Pamina are symbolic children: they start out in the Queen's thrall, like a baby attached to its mother, but then switch to Sarastro and undergo his trials, like an older child who outgrows his mother's apron strings and switches his focus to earning his father's respect. In the end, they achieve a synthesis of both parents, using the Queen's flute to succeed in Sarastro's trials, and are initiated into adulthood.

*The Magic Flute, contrary to popular belief, is a post-Enlightenment work of early Romanticism, which revolves around spirituality. Sarastro and his brotherhood are priests, after all, not scientific philosophers or politicians. Tamino and Pamina's journey involves rejecting not only "nature" (i.e. base instinct, which reigns supreme in the Queen of the Night's realm), but cold, worldly reason too. They learn to "renounce the world," transcend earthly fears and temptations, and achieve unity with the divine. Central to this journey is their love for each other, which transcends mere mating instinct in favor of a mutually inspiring spiritual bond, and the spiritual power of music via the magic flute and bells. The Queen of the Night's downfall is that she seeks worldly power. But Sarastro leads Tamino and Pamina down a more godly path instead.

*The Magic Flute is about the search for love. It revolves around three lonely young protagonists, Tamino, Pamina, and Papageno, whose deepest desire is to love and be loved. At first they look to the Queen of the Night to grant them love, and then to Sarastro. But neither the Queen nor Sarastro can do so, because they're both too detached from love – the Queen in her hatred, Sarastro in his noble yet chilly ideals – and use the young people as pawns in their battle against each other. Yet with help from the ethereal Three Boys, the story's purest embodiments of goodness, they find love in the end. Tamino and Pamina unite and save each other, Papageno finds Papagena despite not having "earned" her, and love conquers all.

**For a more sympathetic view of both Sarastro and the Queen, we can argue that they're both seekers of love too. The Queen loves her daughter and is desperate to get her back, but fails because her love is possessive and selfish. Sarastro's love is an idealistic, detached, universal love for all mankind, which is admirable, yet cold in a way. Tamino and Pamina strike a balance between the two by loving each other in a personal yet generous and unselfish partnership.

*The Magic Flute is a symbolic, proto-Jungian or -Freudian journey through the psyche of Tamino, a young everyman. Pamina is his soul, or his self, whom he needs to find and unite with to be complete. The Queen of the Night is his "feminine" unconscious, who embodies all his powerful and dangerous emotions, which he learns to resist... yet not discard completely, as symbolized by the fact that his soul, Pamina, is her daughter. Sarastro embodies his moral conscience and his noblest ideals and aspirations, which he learns to embrace as his ultimate guides. Meanwhile, Papageno represents his base, "animal" side that cares only for bodily safety and pleasure, which needs to be kept in check (hence Papageno can't be initiated), yet still honored (hence he does find joy with Papagena). And Monostatos represents his darkest and most selfish urges, which his nobler self (Sarastro) must suppress. Tamino's journey with all these aspects of himself represents the process of self-actualization that we all go through.

**With a few small tweaks to this outline, it can also be read as a more gender-neutral journey through the human psyche, with Tamino and Pamina as co-protagonists who represent two halves of one person seeking to unite.

*The Magic Flute is specifically a journey through Mozart's psyche. Tamino and Papageno each reflect aspects of Mozart – his "higher" and "lower" selves, respectively – while Pamina and Papagena likewise reflect his beloved wife Constanze. The Queen of the Night can be viewed as a caricature either of his difficult mother-in-law Cäcilia Weber (as Amadeus indicates) or of her daughter Aloysia Weber, Constanze's sister, whom Mozart once loved and who rejected him. (Make what you will of the fact that the soprano who first sang the role was Constanze and Aloysia's other sister and Cäcilia's daughter.) The trials of initiation into Sarastro's brotherhood reflect Mozart's relationship with Freemasonry, and possibly also his efforts to please his difficult father Leopold. While of course Mozart didn't write the libretto, he put his soul into the music, and he may have influenced Schikaneder enough to infiltrate the libretto too.

*The Magic Flute is just a classic fairy tale of good vs. evil, with some Masonic overtones, which Mozart and Schikaneder wrote as a crowd-pleasing, moneymaking spectacle.

Some of these interpretations I like better than others, but none of them are necessarily wrong.

@ariel-seagull-wings, @leporellian, @tuttocenere, @cjbolan

[rei-ismyname]

Charles Xavier vs Phoenix

Jean had been hosting the Phoenix without incident for at least a year when Mastermind did his level best to break her mind and spirit. In what was a deeply traumatic time for her, Phoenix became Dark Phoenix. She told everyone to get fucked and chose violence. Cyclops got through and was talking her down with love. Things were looking up.

Sigh...

Charles Xavier used this 'distraction' to attack a cosmic force shown to be supremely powerful. He is SO lucky to have survived this. He had many alternatives but hammer/nails etc.

The next time Dark Phoenix was in town he tried the same thing. He tried to command and bully a being of infinite power instead of trying to reach him through love (or more depressingly maybe he is showing the 'love' of a distant patriarch.) This time he wasn't so lucky and Scott/Phoenix killed his ass. MF just does NOT learn from his mistakes.

[admiral-arelami]

Squealing with excitement as I read this new chronicle of Ba'kif. Everyone, please check out this fic by @contentment-of-cats. It has everything you can hope for: Papa Labaki swaddling the bebes, Ziara and Thrawn shenanigans, and of course Pyrondi blowing things up. If you want humor, light angst, and a hopeful ending, it's all here!

Ba'kif: Chronicle of the Ice Bear

For @admiral-arelami by request and with delight. I love me some Ice Bear.

~

When he was Labaki, standing on the cusp of captain and major, he went to Lamiov and had the hardest discussion of his life. He had a new baby daughter, a little blue moonfruit in a fleece cuddler. His wives were many, and his 'Kifies' at oldest were ensigns.

"I do not wish to marry again, or to father children I might have to leave behind." Colonel was next, and unless one fucked up horribly, field rank was after that. "I never want them to see the back of me, and know that I had the choice between family and Ascendancy."

Stybla'ba'kifodo was Blood-Born going nine generations back, honored and honorable, he committed young to the Ascendancy and joined the Marines right out of secondary. Lamiov tried to assure him that whatever happened should he don the white uniform, his wives and babes would be cared for.

Labaki pursed his lips and blinked hard. "But not by me, Patriarch. Not as I promised. If I must break my word to them, let it be with the least pain for them all going forward."

No warm lover next to him in bed, no nest of wives and children sleeping around him safe and warm. No hand on a rounded belly, feeling the life moving within. No sweet-smelling bundle of baby in the crook of his arm, no little one on his knee, no young adult who knew everything rolling eyes at hopelessly old ticsi. No skinned knees, no milestones to celebrate, no star days with cake and delight at toys. Despite his yearning, he would be a piss-poor example of honor and duty if he shirked, but he'd be a father who left if he upheld his duty to the Ascendancy.

Lamiov sighed. "The Universal Analysis Group would take you in a heartbeat. Labaki, it's not all or nothing, nor as binary as you see it."

Lamiov was an optimist, and Labaki loved that about him. However, after rising through the ranks of the army, Labaki had very little optimism left.

"I know my duty, cousin. The Ascendancy needs people in those white uniforms who live their vows, not just give lip service to them."

Lamikav sensed his mood when he came back home, and all his wives gave him a wide berth. He burgled Lataem from her cradle and stole out to the garden with her travel bag. Tae was a 'surprise' baby, the next youngest of his child-herd was starting the sciences junior academy this year, and soon little Tae would be the only one at home. The little moonfruit was fat and round as a baby should be, her deep blue flecked with pink and purple across her cheeks. Her mother, Mir, was a former sky-walker and merit adoptive, and some of her mother's serene demeanor was present in Tae.

Tae made a soft grunting noise and pushed at his chest with an impatient fist once freed from her swaddle.

"I know for a fact you have been fed. You are playing me for a sucker." Unimpressed, his child gave him a look that conveyed an insubordinate 'so what?' and pushed on his chest again. "Fine, fine. You'll make me get up in the middle of the night to burp you when you're so gorged you can't move, then you'll puke all over your Tati."

Labaki took out a nursing pack, broke open the heating element and allowed it to come to the proper temperature.

"I spoke to Cousin Mio. He's trying to convince me to go to the UAG. Part of me wants to, since it means I could stay and watch you grow up." Offering the nursing pack to his daughter, he settled in with her in the crook of his arm. "But that means not standing against things that ought to perish. Patronage, self-dealing, corruption, duplicity. But that doesn't mean anything to you right now. All you want is to be warm, drink milk, and be told you are the most beautiful baby to ever exist."

Her Majesty ignored the flattery and he had to break the latch to slow her down.

"I do not want to leave, but my promotion makes it likely that I will see that white uniform in the next ten to twelve years. You won't be grown by then."

-

Five years later, after the Siege of Bogo Rai, Major Labaki became Colonel Labaki. His family welcomed him home, new honor chains bright on his chest, and a long medical leave to let him heal the rest of the way. His first grandchild, Kiwu'lai'torus, was a fat little moonfruit in a cuddler and Tae was a curly-haired cyclone in the garden, always ready to claim his knee and the only one still of age to do so.

"Baba!"

He could still toss her in the air, only a little unsteady as he caught her on the way down. They could talk over the secure comms, but not see each other. The Chaos disrupted comms signals unexpectedly, and the only true secure method was by using courier ships.

"Some men came to see me after I took some tests at school and a nice lady."

It was unworthy of him not to want his own children to become sky-walkers. He knew that. "What did they want to see you about?"

"I don't know, but I didn't like them. They were all slippery and slimy when they talked. They went away."

Labaki looked at Mir, her lips thin and fists clenched in her robe. "They-?"

Mir shook her head, lashes wet. "They test all children starting at age five up to age seven on entry to primary. It was a decision of the Syndicure and the Admiralty. No exemptions for anyone."

Labaki held Tae close, his heart hammering in his chest. Only command bridge officers and flag rank were supposed to know about sky-walkers, but he had married one. He saw the bodies of two of them carried off the Saber after Bogo Rai.

"But I'm not going." Tae stomped a foot that didn't touch the ground. "The lady said I was too stubborn for induction."

Mir smiled, but it was strained, and Labaki knew the signs of a dazzle headache. He picked up Tae and slung her over one hip, then slid an arm around Mir. "Tae, Mir, come and have a lie-down with me. I'm tired from my trip."

"Will you read to us, Tati?"

"Of course."

It was not until many years later that he understood what 'induction' really meant.

~

The day came.

Ba'kif sent a prayer of thanks to his ancestors that Tae had been accepted to the Academy of Sciences on Sposia and would leave before his ceremony. By now she knew what the white uniform meant. Once he left, his family would mourn as if for his death. Even if he should die in the line of duty, he would have a memorial on Naproar.

"I don't want to go." Tae's arms held to his middle and her tears soaked his shirt. "Can't I stay until it's time for you to go?"

Ba'kif's tears fell on her head. "No, love. I'm sorry. You need to start your life, not cry over mine. When it's time for me to retire, you'll be a grown woman. I hope you'll remember me."

He'd likely end up on Sposia, but not anywhere near the academy. The UAG facilities were the most highly secured in the Ascendancy, much to the irritation of the Syndicure, the Nine, the Forty, and the CEDF.

"I will always remember you. Why do you have to go?"

His heart broke inside his chest. Yai, his oldest, was weeks away from having his first grandchild. His wives would be treated as widows, his children as orphans.

"Because before you or any of your brothers and sisters were born, I made a promise to protect the people of the Ascendancy. When I become a general, after my ceremony, I must protect them all as I would protect you." His voice didn't break, and he could be proud of that. "I hoped that this wouldn't come until you were ready to fly on your own. Please, just remember that I am so proud of you, and love you still so much."

Mir pilots the shuttle that will take Tae and Lamiov to Sposia. When the ramp went down, he bid them farewell, and watched as the ramp went up again, and the shuttle lifted into atmosphere. He said his farewells at the homestead, where the mourning lamps were lit once he left the boundary stones. The Admiralty shuttle waits for him at the CEDF post in the secure section of the spaceport.

~

When he was Supreme General, he got a taste of what it was like to raise young ones again. Only this time the young ones had a Taharim education and were additionally too smart for their own good. He took them aboard his vessel and managed to persuade Ja'fosk to give him a free hand with both Ensign Ziara and Ensign Thrawn. Ziara stuffed Thrawn through a four-year education in three years, and essentially took him everywhere she went like a child with a favored plushie. Wags joked that the boy was the Irizi Blood-Daughter's first command, and that he had a fine future ahead of him as a trophy husband once the Mitth let him go.

After dealing with both of them at the academy, Ba'kif knew that Ziara didn't dare to let Thrawn out of eyeshot. He and Ja'fosk were quick to learn that lesson, and set to making sure that both young officers were crosstrained on every station aboard the Ferocious.

In time both moved on to their own commands, but where Ziara rose high Thrawn stuck at senior captain. Dy'lothe, also known as the Late Admiral Dy'lothe for his habit of getting there when the battle was over, stopped Thrawn's promotion to commodore with Ers'ikaro. Both men openly flaunted their connections with the Syndicure and their allegedly former families - the Clarr and the Dasklo. Both men voted to exile Thrawn, along with Af'arilk, agaainst Ar'alani and Ja'fosk.

Thrawn agreed to the intel insertion from his world of exile, and he'd be picked up in three years. But no humans came to that world for five. Thrawn could rightly believe that he's been abandoned and Ba'kif had broken his word. Indeed, Ar'alani confirmed that for him in a visit to Sposia after his return to being Labaki and elevation to Patriarch.

~

The Syndicure passed down the sentence.

Ar'alani, Ba'kif, and Thrawn would be executed at dawn. Their heads would fall under the sword. The Syndicure under Thurfian and the Admiralty under Dy'lothe had been unanimous. Now they could only wait in their cells as the hours ticked toward dawn. Ba'kif sent farewells to his family that he hoped they'd received. It was unheard of to depose a sitting Patriarch, Indeed, it was tantamount to a declaration of war, but he'd named Tae as his successor and Thurfian would kiss Dhav'uul dealing with her.

The ground shook hard and Ba'kif frowned.

That was not an icequake.

He could hear nothing from his cell, but some hours later the ground shook twice more in quick succession and the lights went out. The north glacier reservoir had been shored up ten years ago to handle excess melt. If it had breached, he wouldn't have to worry about losing his head or even drowning - the water was so cold he'd die of shock.

The door to his cell handcranked open, and a squad of guards gestured him out. One moved to put shackles on him only to be shoved back by the sergeant. He moved slowly - the questioning had been hard on him at the age he was now. He could see two more squads ahead of them, Thrawn on a stretcher and Ar'alani in a four-hand carry. Thrawn opened his eyes, smiled, and closed them again.Ba'kif vowed to peel the skin from Thurfian, Dy'lothe, and all their little brown-nosers, then roll them in salt and stake them alive over ice-roach nests.

They exited the Mitth compound into a dark so thick that Ba'kif could have spread it on toast. If memory served, they were heading toward the commercial spaceport and customs instead of the Admiralty or government center port. He was with Ar'alani and Thrawn in one transport. The guards answered no questions, only drove, through they passed over a medikit when Ba'kif asked for one. Ar'alani and Thrawn were in rough shape.

The headlights of the vehicle picked out something that made him blink.

"That's a Gozanti."

"It's one of theirs," the driver spat. "They interdicted the whole system along with the Stybla fleet. She didn't bother to open communications, but cratered the Syndicure as soon as she was in orbit. Then she did the same to the Admiralty and the Mitth reservoir - drained the whole thing into the agriculture caverns."

Thrawn was smiling and Ar'alani rolling her eyes. "Thrawn. She didn't even open negotiations first."

"You don't even know it was her, Ara."

"Shoot first and ask later. I know who it is."

"Captain Little Dragon of the Chimaera." Pyron'di. "And Commodore Old Lion." Pel'laeon.

Ba'kif shut his eyes and breathed out a long sigh of relief. "I shouldn't have worried, Thrawn. I knew they'd come boiling out after you like a nest of firewasps."

They stopped near the boarding ramp, but Ba'kif was almost bowled off his feet by Tae.

Who yelled at him. Shook him. Cried and hugged him. Yelled at him again. "Sesi's so mad at you!"

Medical crews surrounded each of them as the Gozanti lifted off, escorted by a dozen TIE-D fighters for the quick flight to the Chimaera. Ba'kif didn't fight being laid down in the medsled. He was old, tired, and hoped meanly that the Syndicure had been in session when Pyrondi cratered it.

Once they locked onto the Chimaera's docking ring, the captain came to see them. "We'll be taking the prisoners off first."

"Prisoners?" Thrawn lifted his head and Ar'alani pushed it back down to the pillow.

"Mm. The Nine have been deposed. Thurfian, Zistalmu, the Clarr, Dasklo, and Obbic patriarchs, speakers, and syndics prime have been turned over to-" Tae coughed and looked amused. "Old Lion and Little Dragon." He might have some explaining to do concerning Il'yana, but Ba'kif wasn't too worried. "Tati, the UAG is foaming at the mouth to get hands on those ships not to mention that bac'tah..."

Ba'kif closed his eyes, pain medications easing his injuries, the medics already starting work.

[vaarians]

List of Terms: Chiss Ascendency Edition

(If I missed anything, please add in reblogs; I feel like I've forgotten stuff. Some of these are just assumptions based on the context around them.)

For all your Chiss Ascendency writing/roleplaying needs:

General Terms

Cheunh - Chiss Language

Minnisiat - Trade Language

Tybroic - Ancient language of the Stybla

Chaos - Name for the Unknown Regions by a native

Lesser Space - Main part of the Star Wars Galaxy

Syndicure - main governing body

Nine Ruling Families - head ruling body

Comm - Phone

Questis - Tablet

Data Cylinder - Storage Device

Univers - Universal Currency in the Chaos

Credit Chit - Money

Tube Car - Type of rail transport

Tube Car station - Rail Station

Skycar - Car

Skytruck - Truck

Dayroom - Sitting Room

Yapel - Waffles

Striped Fruit Squares - Poptarts

Nutpaste - a Nut Butter or Spread

Caccoleaf - coffee

Galara tealeaf - tea

Grillig-Juice packet - Capri Sun

Cooker - Oven/Stove

Nyix - Thicker metal used mainly in war ship building

Star Day - Birthday

Lurestick - electronic catch pole

Communication Triad - Three Poled device used to transmit communications across the Chaos. The bigger the Triad, the longer range the communication.

Animals

Yubals - Cows

Packbulls - a different breed of Cow? Donkey? Horse?

Whisperbird - hummingbird

Stingfly - Bee?

Whiskercub - Domesticated Cat

Groundlion - Big Cat

Growzer - Domesticated Dog

Firewolf - Type of Wild Dog

Blinkbirds - Hawk or Predator Bird

Nighthunter - Large constrictor serpent-like creature

Military Terms

Breacher - Missile with acid inside of it

Plasma Sphere - glop of fluid used to disable ships

Spectrum Lasers - Turbolasers tuned to a ship's electrostatic barrier frequency

Crippler Nets - electronic nets used to cripple ships electronics systems

Electrostatic Barrier - Type of ship shield

Gunboat - Starfighter

Missile boat - Starfighter

Heavy Cruiser - Destroyer type warship

Light Cruiser - Smaller warship

Patrol Cruiser - Smaller warship

Nightdragon Man of War - Largest Ship in the Fleet

Defense Fleet - Stays inside the Ascendency Border

Expansionary Defense Fleet - Protects the Ascendency from outside the limits of the Ascendency

Family Fleet - Fleets supplied by one of the Nine Ruling families

Military Ranks

Enlisted Ranks

Cadet

Senior Cadet

Junior Warrior

Mid-Warrior

Senior Warrior

Lieutenant

Lieutenant-Commander

Junior Commander

Mid-Commander

Senior Commander

Junior Captain

Mid-Captain

Senior Captain

Flag Ranks

Commodore

Mid-General

Mid-Admiral

General

Admiral

Senior General

Fleet Admiral

Supreme General

Supreme Admiral

Political Ranks

Patriarch - head of family

Speaker - head of family in the Syndicure

Syndic Prime - head syndic

Syndic - member of the Syndicure

Patriel - handles family business on the planetary scale

Councilor - handles family business on the local level

Aristocra - mid-level member of the Nine Ruling families

Family Ranks

Merit Adoptive

Trial-Born

Ranking Distant

Cousin

Blood

Ruling Families

Ufsa

Irizi

Dasklo

Clarr

Chaf

Plikh

Boadil

Mitth

Obbic

Forty Great Families

Xodlak

Kiwu

Pommrio

Erighal

Stybla

Sayings

"Son of a growzer," - Son of a bitch

[theconstitutionisgayculture]

I cannot wait for the Supreme Court to overturn the ruling that let fags like you desecrate the sanctity of marriage by ‘legitimizing’ your mental deficiency. Hopefully once it happens you’ll be forced back out of sight where you belong, with the rest of the pedophiles and degenerates poisoning this country.

Oh hey, @disgruntled-foreign-patriarch. I got one too! XD

[rukafais]

Jarlaxle stuff. The first one is a warmup, the second one is based on some lines from Road of the Patriarch:

when Lolth had magically granted Jarlaxle the memories of his infancy of that fateful night in House Baenre, he had keenly felt his mother’s desperation. How she had ground that spider-shaped dagger on his chest, terrified that the rejection of her sacrifice had portended doom for her supreme House.