#the interim

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Navigating the next month

December 27, 2024

Robert B. Hubbell

Handling the news cycle over the next month will be a challenge. The American public is understandably turning away from legacy media in droves—both from exhaustion and disgust. See HuffPo, Americans Are Exhausted By Political News. TV Ratings And A New Poll Show They're Tuning Out.

The temptation to look away is understandable for both political and personal reasons. As Democrats honor the Constitution by facilitating the peaceful transition of power, the first president to interfere with that process will be inaugurated in little less than a month.

While Democrats follow the rules, Trump is ratcheting his obnoxious behavior to unplumbed depths of depravity and lunacy. His race to the bottom does not faze business leaders and major corporations flocking to Mar-a-Lago like gulls after a storm scavenging for scraps at the nearest landfill.

In short, it stinks.

My modest goal over the next several weeks is to help navigate through the unpleasant reality of the transition from the Biden to the Trump administration. We can’t look away completely, even though the urge to keep the odiferous news at arms-length is an act of self-preservation. But we have a democracy to defend and cannot do so unless we remain engaged and aware of the threats to the rule of law.

Out of respect for those of you who are gingerly re-entering the news bubble after the holidays (or the election), I offer a 60,000-foot summary in one paragraph below. Details follow. Jill and I are still hosting family through next week, so I will be briefer than usual. (You are welcome!)

The news from 60,000 feet

Trump is making reckless statements about US expansion into Canada, Iceland, and Panama. The 119th Congress will convene on January 3, 2025, and will elect a new Speaker (or not). A joint session of Congress will convene on January 6, 2025, at which time the President of the Senate (Vice President Kamala Harris) will announce the electoral votes by state. By operation of the Constitution and enabling statutes, if a candidate receives a majority of the electoral votes, that person will be elected as the next president upon the announcement of the vote totals by the President of the Senate. The president-elect will be inaugurated on January 20, 2025, at a taxpayer-funded ceremony—which will be followed by obscene galas underwritten to the tune of $150 million by cowardly businesses and CEOs eager to curry favor with a man none of them would hire.

Trump unleashes Christmas Day torrent of insults and threats

As has become a tradition with Trump, his Christmas Day messages quickly traversed the unhinged mental landscape from “Merry Christmas” to attacking the Radical Left Lunatics—a.k.a. “American citizens” whom he was elected to represent.

At one level, it is tedious and off-putting to recite Trump's crass statements on a day that most people associate with peace and hope. If you would like to read the details, they can be found in these articles: New York Magazine / Intelligencer, Trump Christmas Message Was Basically a Villain Monologue, and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, President-elect Trump continues tradition of Christmas attacks, takes aim at ‘Radical Left Lunatics’.

At another level, Trump's ugly missives matter, especially when they involve threats to expand US territory into sovereign nations—like Canada, Greenland, and the Panama Canal. Yes, in case you missed it, Trump has directly or indirectly threatened to invade or absorb those three nations into the United States. See Rolling Stone, Trump Threatens to Take Over Canada, Panama Canal, Greenland in Christmas Day Message.

I know that many people have decided to “tune out” Trump's crazy statements—and each of the above falls well into the territory of delusion and detachment from reality. The problem is that there are sovereign nations on the receiving end of those reckless taunts—and their leaders cannot allow Trump's statements to go without response. The response, in turn, will provoke Trump to further lunacy. Wars have started over more trivial matters.

Charlie Angus, Canadian Member of Parliament in the House of Commons, was asked about Trump's threats to make Canada the 51st US state. Angus said,

[T]he message that I'm hearing from people across Canada is they're not afraid of [Trump] because they know you're a convicted felon. They know that all the people that you're bringing in to run your organization right now . . . are all grifters and thieves and thugs. We've got to look after our own interests right now. We will work with your country. We will work with our great neighbors. But, Donald, don't push us around.

In short, Trump's war of words directed at Canada, Panama, and Greenland is not harmless. It will provoke political backlash against the US in those countries. Although it is impossible to predict the outcome of the war of words, the likelihood that it will hurt the citizens of America, Canada, Panama, and Greenland is high.

Donald Trump is unfit to lead the United States—as his reckless comments make clear. That should be a leading story in every newspaper in America every day.

[Robert B. Hubbell]

[freakinthefridge]

you always look so troubled

[notbecauseofvictories]

Anyway, Terry Pratchett invented the Our Blessed Homeland / Their Barbarous Wastes meme, almost 25 years before Tom Gould got around to it

[mon-ster-chen]

✨️Interim Deputy Director of Turalism here! If you're planning a trip to Tural, be sure to visit our Tour Tural website for all of your travel needs ✈️🗺️

[beanabina]

finished my fanbind of Interim by starkraving (@punishandenslavesuckers) and I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out!

it was my first fanbind and it's nowhere near perfect (the gold foil fought me every step of the way, the spine is about as straight as I am, and I forgot a somewhat crucial piece of cardstock beneath the bookcloth...) but i'm so, so happy to have this amazing fic on my shelf now, and i'm stoked to take what i've learned in the binding process this time into my next attempt!

[serpentface]

Taighr A Teng, current high priest of Finnerich and beloved populist monarch, posing in his eclectic mix of royal regalia, a simple commoner's cloak, and dancer's garb.

---

His career as king has, so far, been notably impressive.

He had his starts as a lesser nobleman from the plains on the northwestern edge of the region. This northern region was never directly occupied by the Imperial Wardi invaders and only loosely controlled by the tributary puppet government, and the rebellion against this loyalist government and the resulting Finnerich civil war originated here. He rose to prominence in this war, eventually functioning as the general of these rebelling forces.

These forces utilized guerilla tactics and light archer cavalry (the latter being central to the warrior culture of northern Finns) to great effectiveness, and Taighr received a bulk of the credit for this. He claimed to have been visited by the solar chief god Neghri and cloaked in his armor. He never declared himself a possible king, but his confidants (conveniently) publicly urged him to undergo a rite of kingship to prove his god-given invulnerability, and he was successfully seen to perform the naked dance through fire unscathed. This granted him acknowledgment as truly chosen by Neghri, and planted the notion of Taighr being potentially a legitimate king (a status that is usually hereditary, and only granted to high lords when not) in the minds of many of his people.

Afterwords, he prominently fought on khaitback half-naked, clad only in the garb of a dancer (Neghri is a god of the dance among many other things). His claims of divine armor seemed to hold true- he never suffered any more than flesh wounds in over three years of sustained warfare.

He led battle in which the Wardi general Odomache was captured and killed, and is heavily suspected to be/popularly championed as the one who executed her with her own handcannon. He will neither confirm or deny this, but has the gun in his possession and sometimes appears with it in public. Either way, his role in this pivotal battle, subsequent expelling of Wardi troops, recapture of the capital and eradication of the Wardi-loyalist government cemented his status in the minds of a significant majority of his people. He performed the fire dance yet again in the capital and was formally declared king in the aftermath of the war.

He entered into kingship under the near-worst of circumstances. His kingdom has been decimated and politically fragmented in the aftermath of two decades of Imperial Wardi occupation as a grain tributary/colony, and the onset of a multi-year drought began that very year.

Part of his success against this adversity rested in seizing unprecedented and wholly centralized power. The former system of kingship rested upon a council of lords that each governed their own territories, with a king's power Publicly resting in his authority as high priest but practically resting in his lords' alliance and loyalty. He declared this system to be responsible for Old Finnerich's downfall (already a very widely held belief in the general public) and executed almost all the remaining lords (who were also political rivals, having a claim to the crown more legitimate than his own by the traditional standard) and their kin under accusations of being Wardi loyalists.

These executions extended further to many lesser nobles and other identified traitors, in the end wiping out a sizeable portion of previous authority figures. He replaced executed lords and nobility with trusted loyal compatriots and popular public figures, and made efforts to legitimize his reign by taking the daughter of a former lord (who had died a martyr resisting the original Wardi invasion and was widely beloved) as his queen.

This capitalized on general public sentiment of distrust of surviving former leadership (who, if not loyalists, at least Submitted to Wardi occupation) and was a move favored by the majority of commoners (who received none of the fringe benefits that benefited loyalist nobility under Wardi rule, and this invasion occurred in the context of Preexisting tension and peasant revolts). This was not, of course, a universally accepted move, but Taighr's merciless treatment towards accused traitors along with general public favor for his action has gone a long ways towards dissuading dissent in these first years of his reign.

He has so far used his heavily centralized power to great effectiveness in rebuilding efforts and famine response. He reduced taxes on commoners, supplementing this lost income with the very substantial liquidated assets of the former lordship. Much of these assets were grain, which has been stored en-masse and rationed and periodically redistributed to alleviate the famine. The hardier, more drought resistant grain (particularly a strain of barley) has been heavily invested in planting projects. He divided the lands of his executed nobility and civilians killed in war and granted it to members of the peasantry to farm with increased status as landowners, which has caused a sizable migration to the fertile southeast of the region.

Some of his most recent maneuvers have involved resumption of raiding Wardin and Bur's trade ships and coastlines. The piracy has been beneficial to securing needed resources and wealth, while the raids (which have largely hit villages and small towns that don't have a Lot to offer mid-drought) have more of a function of terrorizing weakened enemies and building public morale in trying times. He's also in the process of courting a neighboring kingdom of Hrolje (with historical trade ties to Finnerich) into full allyship against their shared enemies (Imperial Wardin, the Burri republic, and several Royal Dain kingdoms).

A drought (which has lasted six years so far) occurring the very year he took the crown is a spiritual issue as well as a practical one. As the people's high priest, he should have the power to commune with the gods (particularly Neghri, chief of the gods with whom he has a singular connection as king) and prevent such a thing from happening. The public reaction to this drought has been varied, but most see its occurrence immediately following the expulsion of Imperial Wardin and defeat of its high priestess as significant. Many consider this to be the foreign god Odomache's vengeance, and question why their own gods (who are much more powerful and hold total sovereignty over this land) have not intervened to help them.

Taighr's public stance is that this is not quite the case. Their own gods have sent this drought to both punish their enemies and to test the Finn people. They have not forgiven Finnerich's surrender to their enemies, and require proof of the people's loyalty and strength before they will call the drought away. This message is harsh but hopeful in tone, and has been embraced (or at least accepted) by a sizeable majority. A sense of purpose to their suffering (HEAVILY bolstered by effective practical measures of famine alleviation) has gone a long way to keep Finnerich's general populace unified and confident in their new king in the face of adversity.

He has had tremendous success so far, but his rule has clear potential for future instability. While he is very popular among the peasantry, not everyone loved the whole 'mass execution of political rivals and their families' thing. Some members of these families are known or suspected to have escaped (and potentially have more legitimate claims by tradition than Taighr does). His reduced taxation on the commoner class cannot last forever, and his functional creation of a new landed peasantry class is untested and likely will not remain stable in the long term. A small but not insignificant minority interprets the drought not as a test but punishment from the gods for the acceptance of a false king.

---

Taighr has shunned most regalia for his public image. His outfit here has only the bare minimum regalia of the torc and headdress (along with his tattoos), and the rest is dancer's garb and a simple cloak. His image is partly as a maneuver to appeal to his people, who simultaneously desire a traditional king (as their protector and benefactor who can commune with the gods) but are utterly disillusioned with their former dynasty for having so deeply failed them (and being somewhat unfavored even before their surrender to Imperial Wardin).

His choice to partly neglect a traditional 'royal' image emphasizes his outsider status from this now heavily scorned ex-dynasty, while still appearing in such a way that legitimatizes him as a king to public perception.

The arm tattoos and banded motifs on the headgear contain symbols widely used in Finn art, but are forbidden to be worn as tattoos for anyone other than kings (unless the right has been granted by a king in recognition and blessing). A kings rule is marked with arm and leg bands added for each year of sovereignty, with symbols chosen to represent the character of each year and a king's accomplishments and actions therein. These tattoos tend to be flattering in their meaning and serve to cement a chosen narrative into the king's very skin- his successes are lauded, his difficulties are acknowledged but framed as a struggle in which he remained strong/will ultimately be triumphant.

The first year shows an abstract symbol of unification and brotherhood, representing his role early in the war when he had already emerged as a military leader was first acknowledged as a potential king. The second denotes clouded skies and an obscured sun, representing the struggle and uncertainty in the height of war. The third shows victory by the arrowhead, celebrating the end to the war, Finnerich's restored sovereignty, and the expulsion of invasive elements. The fourth shows the motif of maize, denoting the sense of hope and regrowth in the first year free of tributary occupation (somewhat in contrast to the reality of the drought). The fifth shows clouded skies yet again, as this was when public elation over their victory was thoroughly quashed by the drought not only Not Stopping but having its worst year of all, one of the more difficult years of his sovereignty. The sixth shows foundations, a sense of rebuilding in regards to great public works and triumphant management of the famine, a year in which more rain came and his land/grain distribution system entered full swing. The seventh shows an abstract symbol of clasped hands in unity and arrowheads, celebrating allegiance with Hrolje and great success in raids against enemies. He is in the eighth year of being recognized as a king, and the latest one has been outlined but not completed.

The tattoos on the back of his hands mark his status as legitimate king chosen by Neghri, capable of communing with the gods and performing acts of magic. This symbol is completely forbidden to be worn by anyone besides a king (including on clothing/jewelry/etc) and is the ultimate symbol of lordship, sovereignty, and connection to the chief of the gods.

His head (not directly visible here) is artificially lengthened, having been bound in infancy. Artificial cranial deformation is a widespread practice among many of the North Viper peoples, where it tends to be associated with beauty, nobility, and/or a semi-divine status. This practice is reserved exclusively for the hereditary nobility (kings, lords, and lesser nobles) of Finn culture. The trend for most Finn headgear to be very tall and pointed is at least related, giving a person a noble and dignified bearing (regardless of their skull's actual length).

[cordiallyfuturedwight]

mots7 hobi for @senor-hoberto 🤍 (cr. namuspromised)

[kingjasnah]

alright. the differences between the ghostbloods on roshar and the ghostbloods on scadrial are so stark.....after TLM came out and we saw them fr for the first time it was like....this is just Final Empire Crew Part 2. they call him 'kell'. they have stupid in jokes. its not that i think kelsier is above getting a little evil with it but when marasi doesnt join the ghostbloods it's whatever but when shallan doesn't join she's like "um guys theyre going to kill my entire family." did iyatil pop over from scadrial like actually this time we're operating like an actual secret society and NOT a frat house

[rogueddie]

Part one

Steve has so many questions, especially once they get in Eddies van. Everything is different- from the shops to the people. Even the trees look different. He wants to know why.

"We already told you," Dustin sighs. "Time has passed, fashion has changed, whatever."

"But why?" He leans forward, jabbing his finger at one of the shops. "Why did they change the colors?"

"I don't know!"

Dustin doesn't yell, not like his father would. He doesn't do anything other than groan too, encouraging Steve to keep asking questions. He even dares to stick his tongue out when he finally starts complaining, asking Steve to shut up.

By the time they pull up outside a small, wooden cabin, Dustin looks ready to strangle him.

It's kind of funny.

"Alright," Eddie finally speaks up. "Let's go."

He quickly jumps out, jogging around to catch Steve as he steps out, throwing him over his shoulder. He laughs when Steve yells, trying to kick him.

"Don't be a brat, Harrington!" He cackles.

"This is why you aren't cool like Robin!" He yells back, twisting around so he can tug at his hair. "You're a meanie."

"Ow, dude, not the hair!"

Someone clears their throat, making Eddie stop walking. Steve tries to wriggle around, trying to see who it is, but Eddies jacket blocks his view no matter what.

Someone snaps their fingers, after a moment, and Eddie gently lowers him back onto his feet.

The man standing in front of the cabin door looks stunned, when Steve turns around. He blinks at the group for a second, before silently pointing to Steve.

"We don't know," Robin answers. "He's been like this for a while."

"Let me guess; parents aren't home. Again."

"They're busy!" Steve defends.

The man snorts, shaking his head. "That's what you always say, kid." He steps aside, nodding towards the cabin. "Come on, she knew you were coming."

Before Steve can step inside, following the group, the man stops him with a hand on his shoulder.

"Kid," the man clears his throat as he crouches down. His hand is gentle on his shoulder. "You doing ok?"

"I'm fine."

"Steve. This is probably very confusing and scary, I know, but you need to trust us. We want to help you."

Steve scuffs his feet on the floor, grumbling, "yeah, I know."

"So if you're not ok, you can tell us."

"Yeah, I know."

The man stares at him for a moment, before nodding. "If that changes, let us know, ok?"

"Ok."

"Good. Come on."

The inside of the cabin is cozy. Cluttered. Lived in.

"Hello Steve!" A young woman greets. Her hair is shorter than his, Steve notes. And she has a nice smile.

"Hello."

"I am Jane, but you can call me El." She offers her hand.

He shakes it automatically, a little surprised when she doesn't let go. "El?"

"That is what my friends call me." She gestures towards the two pillows set out on the floor, in front of the TV. "I am going to find out what has happened to you. It won't hurt."

"Uh, right. What- uh..." He looks to Robin, who nods encouragingly. "What do I do?"

"Sit with me."

She gently tugs him over, sitting on one of the pillows. She smiles at him when he hesitates, waiting, patient.

He keeps quiet, looking to the others when she pulls out a blindfold.

"It helps her think," the man explains.

Steve nods, even though he doesn't understand what that means.

For a moment, nothing happens. They sit there, almost silent- the static from the TV starts to grate his ears, especially with how close they're sat. But the others look tense, impatient, so Steve tries to stay where he is. He tries to behave.

Until he spots blood.

"She's bleeding!" He points out.

He goes to jump to his feet, but a hand quickly lands on his shoulder, pushing him back down.

It's Robin.

"It's ok, she's ok, it's just a nosebleed," she says. "It's harmless, really. She knows what she's doing."

Robin stays next to him. She even lets him hold her hand when he reaches out for her.

It's not long, after that, until El lifts the blindfold off. She looks confused.

"Well?" Dustin snaps. "What is it? Is he ok? Did someone do-"

"Hey," Eddie gently interrupts, leaning over to bump their shoulders together.

"He is ok," El says, once Dustin relaxes a little. "But I... don't know how this happened."

"How do we change him back?" Eddie asks.

"I can't, I'm sorry. But it is taking too much power to sustain itself."

"Wait, wait, wait," Robin rubs at her forehead. "So, you can't change him back but, what, eventually he will on his own?"

"Yes."

"How long will that take?" Dustin asks.

"I am not sure. Maybe a week? Two?"

"And until then he's just stuck like this?"

"I am sorry, Steve," El says, turning to him. "When it is weaker, I might be able to help?"

"That's ok," Steve quickly reassures her. "I will be ok. I know how to take care of myself."

"What?" El tilts her head, confused.

"Kid, you're staying here," the man says.

"No, Hopper," Robin cuts in, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "I'm gonna take care of him. He's, like, my soulmate! And he likes me!"

"Woah, hold on," Dustin says. "That's not fair! He's my family!"

They continue to argue for an hour. It's mostly playful, but Steve kind of likes it. He's never had anyone fight over him before.

"He is staying here," Eddie finally speaks up, when it looks like the man- Hopper- is about to explode. "Neither of you two have thought of a single excuse for your parents. And you can't leave him in that big house on his own. He's safer here."

"Oh, fuck," Robin suddenly jerks upright. "What the hell do I tell Keith?"

Part Three

tag list for those who asked; @songbird-garden @str4wb3rry-guy @badcaseofcasey @lioniheart @irethsune @starry-eyedlune @newtstabber @messrs-weasley @vesme @penny00dreadful

[moth-time]

It's BOOK TIME again! It has been forever since I last bound a book wow.

This is Interim by @punishandenslavesuckers, which is a fantastic botw post-canon Link/Zelda/Ganon fic that you all should go read if you haven't already. It's great, go check it out. I stayed up way too late reading it.

The binding is a sewn-board binding, which means the cover stiffeners are sewn directly into the text block, instead of wrapped around and glued to the endpapers. This makes for a very tidy and modern looking binding, AND because the boards are doubled (sewn in like the endpapers) allows for fun shenanigans like that indented triforce.

I'm SO proud of how the triforce came out! I was really careful with all of my measurements and it really paid off.

Oh yeah and I finally found a place with a good guillotine, so now I can make SMALLER books and still have nice crisp edges. Look at it, it's such a cute size. Perfect for holding.

Next step… painted fore-edges, maybe owo

[lineffability]

my personal taxonomy of "he would not fucking say that" is

1 "he would not fucking say that normally but under these specific circumstances he might and isn't that interesting"

2 "he would not fucking say that but it's fun to imagine actually"

3 "he would not fucking say that and I do not understand where you even got the faintest notion from that he might, but I remain puzzledly neutral"

4 "he would not fucking say that and I am gritting my teeth and seething inwardly but I can ignore this without receiving too much psychic damage"

5 "he would not fucking say that and the only thing stopping me from inviting you to a duel in the town square tomorrow at noon is my working brain, which I have, opposed to you apparently, but I would still like to sacrifice you to the nearest volcano and delete my short term memory just so I don't have to be aware that I live in a world where people have so little grasp on a character and no apparent media literacy whatsoever, excuse me while I go count some flowers and scream from the nearest hilltop"

[notbecauseofvictories]

I deeply, deeply hate cleaning. Not tidying, which is fine---cleaning, which requires a small forest of paper towels and solvents for various surfaces. (Why so many different solvents? Hasn't science come up with One Solvent To Clean Everything yet? Get on that, science.) It's something I really only do when I'm expecting company---specifically my mother, because she is someone who finds wiping down the baseboards relaxing for reasons I can't fathom.

What I do love is the period directly after cleaning, when you can't move or really do anything, because of course that would ruin(!!!) all your efforts. Instead, you are forced to sit in heroic stillness and eat takeout, on reveling in the Cleanliness and also how you won't have to do this again for 6 months.

[sleepnoises]

made one wretchedly bad quilt block this weekend -> made some slightly better ones today -> gave up on pretensions of cutting "precisely" and made some weirdos

[bumblingbabooshka]

Stonn writes a letter to T'Pring [Patreon | Commissions]

Dear T'Pring, Forgive me contacting you from the green. This is your friend _, now Stonn. I have thought of you often ever since being forced to move away but knew your parents would not allow our continued association. I have grown no richer since we last met. I have gained no greater renown than any man who lives a quiet life of service might. But I remember you enjoying my dull company and hope you might indulge me by partaking in it again.

There is a house I rent in _ which I will enclose the coordinates to if you will meet me. If you won't, please tell me quickly and I will never write again if you write the words yourself. After so long, even your rejection would be desirable if personalized. From your old friend, Stonn

[wild-fleurs]

I love Friday the 13th solely because it means I can gear up for Tuesday the 17th

[watchyourbuck]

I don’t ever wanna hear anybody say that Firefighter Buckley doesn’t have leadership skills,,, that man single-handedly saved the entire 118 then went home and delivered a baby ???????