#unity days 2017

[somebozoontheinternet]

THE REMOVAL OF HIS SIGIL DURING THE DAY OF UNITY

"さようなら、ベロス..."

("Goodbye, Belos...")

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The enshittification of tech jobs

I'm on a 20+ city book tour for my new novel PICKS AND SHOVELS. Catch me at NEW ZEALAND'S UNITY BOOKS in AUCKLAND on May 2, and in WELLINGTON on May 3. More tour dates (Pittsburgh, PDX, London, Manchester) here.

Tech workers are a weird choice for "princes of labor," but for decades they've enjoyed unparalleled labor power, expressed in high wages, lavish stock grants, and whimsical campuses with free laundry and dry-cleaning, gourmet cafeterias, and kombucha on tap:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhUtdgVZ7MY

All of this, despite the fact that tech union density is so low it can barely be charted. Tech workers' power didn't come from solidarity, it came from scarcity. When you're getting five new recruiter emails every day, you don't need a shop steward to tell your boss to go fuck themselves at the morning scrum. You can do it yourself, secure in the knowledge that there's a company across the road who'll give you a better job by lunchtime.

Tech bosses sucked up to their workers because tech workers are insanely productive. Even with sky-high salaries, every hour a tech worker puts in on the job translates into massive profits. Which created a conundrum for tech bosses: if tech workers produce incalculable value for the company every time they touch their keyboards, and if there aren't enough tech workers to go around, how do you get whichever tech workers you can hire to put in as many hours as possible?

The answer is a tactic that Fobazi Ettarh called "vocational awe":

https://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2018/vocational-awe/

"Vocational awe" describes the feeling that your work matters so much that you should accept all manner of tradeoffs and calamities to get the job done. Ettarh uses the term to describe the pathology of librarians, teachers, nurses and other underpaid, easily exploited workers in "caring professions." Tech workers are weird candidates for vocational awe, given how well-paid they are, but never let it be said that tech bosses don't know how to innovate – they successfully transposed an exploitation tactic from the most precarious professionals to the least precarious.

As farcical as all the engineer-pampering tech bosses got up to for the first couple decades of this century was, it certainly paid off. Tech workers stayed at the office for every hour that god sent, skipping their parents' funerals and their kids' graduations to ship on time. Snark all you like about empty platitudes like "organize the world's information and make it useful" or "bring the world closer together," but you can't argue with results: workers who could – and did – bargain for anything from their bosses…except a 40-hour work-week.

But for tech bosses, this vocational awe wheeze had a fatal flaw: if you convince your workforce that they are monk-warriors engaged in the holy labor of bringing forth a new, better technological age, they aren't going to be very happy when you order them to enshittify the products they ruined their lives to ship. "I fight for the user" has been lurking in the hindbrains of so many tech workers since the Tron years, somehow nestling comfortably alongside of the idea that "I don't need a union, I'm a temporarily embarrassed founder."

Tech bosses don't actually like workers. You can tell by the way they treat the workers they don't fear. Sure, Tim Cook's engineers get beer-fattened, chestnut finished and massaged like Kobe cows, but Cook's factory workers in China are so maltreated that Foxconn (the cutout Apple uses to run "iPhone City" where Apple's products are made) had to install suicide nets to reduce the amount of spatter from workers who would rather die than put in another hour at Tim Apple's funtime distraction rectangle factory:

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jun/18/foxconn-life-death-forbidden-city-longhua-suicide-apple-iphone-brian-merchant-one-device-extract

Jeff Bezos's engineers get soft-play areas, one imported Australian barista for each mini-kitchen, and the kind of Japanese toilet that doesn't just wash you after but also offers you a trim and dye-job, but Amazon delivery drivers are monitored by AIs that narc them out for driving with their mouths open (singing is prohibited in Uncle Jeff's delivery pods!) and have to piss in bottles; meanwhile, Amazon warehouse workers are injured at three times the rate of other warehouse workers.

This is how tech bosses would treat tech workers…if they could.

And now? They can.

Writing for the Wall Street Journal, Katherine Bindley describes the new labor dynamics at Big Tech:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/tech-workers-are-just-like-the-rest-of-us-miserable-at-work/ar-AA1DDKjh

It starts with Meta, who just announced a 5% across-the-board layoff – on the same day that it doubled executive bonuses. But it's not just the workers who get shown the door who suffer in this new tech reality – the workers on the job are having to do two or three jobs, for worse pay, and without all those lovely perks.

Take Google, where founder Sergey Brin just told his workers that they should be aiming for a "sweet spot" of 60 hours/week. Brin returned to Google to oversee its sweaty and desperate "pivot to AI," and like so many tech execs, he's been trumpeting the increased productivity that chatbots will deliver for coders. But a coder who picks up their fired colleagues' work load by pulling 60-hour work-weeks isn't "more productive," they're more exploited.

Amazon is another firm whose top exec, Andy Jassy, has boasted about the productivity gains of AI, but an Amazon Web Services manager who spoke to Bindley says that he's lost so many coders that he's now writing code for the first time in a decade.

Then there's a Meta recruiter who got fired and then immediately re-hired, but as a "short term employee" with no merit pay, stock grants, or promotions. She has to continuously reapply for her job, and has picked up the workload of several fired colleagues who weren't re-hired. Meta managers (the ones whose bonuses were just doubled) call this initiative "agility." Amazon is famous for spying on its warehouse workers and drivers – and now its tech staff report getting popups warning them that their keystrokes are being monitored and analyzed, and their screens are being recorded.

Bindley spoke to David Markley, an Amazon veteran turned executive coach, who attributed the worsening conditions (for example, managers being given 30 direct reports) to the "narrative" of AI. Not, you'll note, the actual reality of AI, but rather, the story that AI lets you "collapse the organization," slash headcount and salaries, and pauperize the (former) princes of labor.

The point of AI isn't to make workers more productive, it's to make them weaker when they bargain with their bosses. Another of Bindley's sources went through eight rounds of interviews with a company, received an offer, countered with a request for 12% more than the offer, and had the job withdrawn, because "the company didn’t want to move ahead anymore based on the way the compensation conversation had gone."

For decades, tech workers were able to flatter themselves that they were peers with their bosses – that "temporarily embarrassed founder" syndrome again. The Google founders and Zuck held regular "town hall" meetings where the rank-and-file engineers could ask impertinent questions. At Google, these have been replaced with "tightly scripted events." Zuckerberg has discontinued his participation in company-wide Q&As, because they are "no longer a good use of his time."

Companies are scaling back perks in both meaningful ways (Netflix hacking away at parental leave), and petty ones (Netflix and Google cutting back on free branded swag for workers). Google's hacked back its "fun budget" for offsite team-building activities and replacement laptops for workers needing faster machines (so much for prioritizing "increasing worker productivity").

Trump's new gangster capitalism pits immiserated blue collar workers against the "professional and managerial class," attacking universities and other institutions that promised social mobility to the children of working families. Trump had a point when he lionized factory work as a source of excellent wages and benefits for working people without degrees, but he conspicuously fails to mention that factory work was deadly, low-waged and miserable – until factory workers formed unions:

https://www.laborpolitics.com/p/unions-not-just-factories-will-make

Re-shoring industrial jobs to the USA is a perfectly reasonable goal. Between uncertain geopolitics, climate chaos, monopolization and the lurking spectre of the next pandemic, we should assume that supply-chains will be repeatedly and cataclysmicly shocked over the next century or more. And yes, re-shoring product could provide good jobs to working people – but only if they're unionized.

But Trump has gutted the National Labor Relations Board and stacked his administration with bloodsucking scabs like Elon Musk. Trump doesn't want to bring good jobs back to America – he wants to bring bad jobs back to America. He wants to reshore manufacturing jobs from territories with terrible wages, deadly labor conditions, and no environment controls by taking away Americans' wages, labor rights and environmental protections. He doesn't just want to bring home iPhone production, he wants to import the suicide nets of iPhone City, too.

Tech workers are workers, and they once held the line against enshittification, refusing to break the things they'd built for their bosses in meaningless all-nighters motivated by vocational awe. Long after tech bosses were able to buy all their competitors, capture their regulators, and expand IP law to neutralize the threat of innovative, interoperable products like alternative app stores, ad-blockers and jailbreaking kits, tech workers held the line.

There've been half a million US tech layoff since 2023. Tech workers' scarcity-derived power has been vaporized. Tech workers can avoid the fate of the factory, warehouse and delivery workers their bosses literally work to death – but only by unionizing.

In other words, the workers in re-shored factories and tech workers need the same thing. They are class allies – and tech bosses are their class enemies. This is class war.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2025/04/25/some-animals/#are-more-equal-than-others

[jc-martin-og]

Disney TVA Universe Timeline (Forever and Always)

⚠ Contains spoilers from: Gravity Falls, Amphibia, and The Owl House.

Summer 2012: Gravity Falls events take place. A division of the FBI is sent to investigate the location, but they come back with apparent amnesia. Bill Cipher is defeated

2016: In Amphibia, a frog finds 3 strange numbered diaries with golden marks shaped like 6-finger hands on their front covers near Wartwood, storing them in the local library.

2017: Dipper and Mabel Pines finish school.

2018: Dipper and Mabel start attending college. Dipper pursues a career in journalism. Mabel pursues a career related to tourism and business management.

May/June, 2019: Anne steals the Calamity Box during her 13th birthday. Anne, Sasha and Marcy are teleported to Amphibia.

October/November, 2019: Anne returns to Earth with the Plantars, escaping King Andrias.

January, 2020: Anne and the Plantars return to Amphibia and join Sasha and Grime in the Wartwood Resistance. They plan how to defeat Andrias and rescue Marcy.

April/May, 2020: Frog-Vasion to Earth begins in Los Angeles. The Core is defeated. Anne, Marcy, and Sasha leave Amphibia and return to Earth. The Calamity Stones are destroyed.

June, 2020: Amphibian technology remains are taken to Area 51 in order to be studied.

Summer 2020: Marcy Wu moves to Massachusetts.

2021: Due to his actions during Frog-vasion, as well as his actions in covering an event of such magnitude months after, Mr. X is promoted to Special Agents in Charge (SAC) within the FBI, taking command of the Unidentified Supernatural Affairs Division (USAD).

Summer 2022: Luz Noceda gets trapped in the Boiling Isles.

September, 2022: Luz and the Hexsquad try to stop Belos and the Day of Unity, but they are forced to escape back to Earth by the Collector.

November, 2022: Dipper and Mabel graduate from their respective careers. Mabel returns to Gravity Falls, Dipper moves to San Francisco. March, 2023: DARPA develops the first successful hybrid technology prototype derived from Amphibian technology.

Summer 2023: Mr. X and the FBI initiate an undercover investigation related to an unidentified wildlife virus in Gravesfield, Connecticut.

October 31st, 2023: Luz, Camila, and the Hexsquad return to the Boiling Isles Belos is defeated, and the Collector becomes an ally.

2024: Project "Amber Genesis" becomes operational.

January, 2025: The US government stablishes "Protocol Black Moonlight."

February 2025: The FBI is rebranded as the "Federal Bureau of Intervention" by the US goverment. Shock Force 51, or the "Shock Division Against Unidentified Treaths" is created.

2026: Luz starts a new life in the Boiling Isles.

May/June, 2029: Anne Boonchuy celebrates her 23rd birthday. An unauthorised failed portal attempt to Amphibia is carried by Dr. Terri and Mr. X.

May/June, 2030: "Operation Calypso" takes place in the Bermuda Triangle after a series of strange quakes. The Scatter is awakened. Mr. X and his division are considered KIA. Protocol Black Moonlight is activated. Anne Boonchuy Celebrates her 24th birthday.

Well everyone, here's a brief timeline of everything related to the crossover universe, all carefully pieced together! 🕰️✨

Took me a sweet time to put everything in order and make it feel connected, as well as to figure out when did some things happened, given how shows like The Owl House in particular don't count with canon dates, only a few clues to figure out when did some stuff took place.

I also used the so-called "Recovered Files" videos I made as a way to promote the fanfic, which back when I was just starting helped me organize everything and tie it all together now 😊

This timeline was inspired by requests from readers who wanted a clearer picture of when the events of the fanfic take place, so I hope it helps you navigate the story’s timeline and enhances your reading experience! Let me know what you think! o(*￣︶￣*)o💬💜

[candypalace]

Translation: Heterodoxy Pamphlet. Music Writers Reflect on 20 Years of the GazettE, Part 1/6 (2002-2004)

Hello friends! As promised long long ago, I'm starting the Heterodoxy series where music writers reflect on their work with the band in the last 20 years. This might take some time since not all the texts are ready just yet, but I will do my best to finish them as quickly as I can. This is Part 1/6, hope you enjoy it!

scan credit: @rad-is-more

Text by Hiroko Yamamoto [1]

the GazettE was born in March 2002. The band was formed by Uruha and Reita, who were dear friends from elementary school, Ruki, who they crossed in the previous band (back when he was a drummer) and who later changed to vocals, and their first drummer, Yune, who also invited his buddy from a previous band, Aoi. Two months later, they played their first show at Meguro Rokumeikan, a live venue that can be described as a gateway to success for visual kei bands. Their first maxi single "Wakaremichi" has a melancholic, catchy melody and an impressive fast-paced sound. During the encore of their 20th anniversary live at Yoyogi National Gymnasium in March this year, Ruki looked back on the beginning of the band: "We are the GazettE, and 20 years ago we got together thinking this would be the last band of our lifetimes”. It was during those young days when the band was standing on the stage with recklessness and foolhardiness when such strong headbanging songs as “Kantou Dogeza Kumiai” and “Waifu” were created, yet they continue to stay popular to this day. The band's forward momentum is best represented by the time when they had to play “Kantou Dogeza Kumiai” over and over again because they didn’t have many original songs yet. While they were firing the audience up with their so-called "violent songs", they also had an amazing ability to write emotionally rich compositions with Showa-inspired melodies, such as "Juunanasai" (later included in the pamphlet with CD for their first Nippon Budokan concert). Everything in the GazettE of those early days, up to their make-up and costumes, was elusive and funny in a good way, as conveyed by "Sentimental na Onigokko", a song about bullying, which presents the listeners with a droll world view of a locked room.

The band’s first turning point came the following year. In 2003, when their first drummer left the band, Kai, with whom they had played together in session shows, quickly took his place. This made the current five members, and the band moved to a new office. It was Ruki who made a last-minute call to Kai, and the drummer had to join in right from the next day's show. From this point on the band’s rapid progress officially began. the GazettE of those times actively participated in organized taiban [2] events. They were even nicknamed “taiban killers”, as their heat-packed shows helped them steal away fans who had come to see other bands. In the next three months they released three consecutive four-track mini-albums, "COCKAYNE SOUP", "Akuyuukai" and "Spermargarita", which increased the number of their fans in geometrical progression. Incidentally, at the time they called themselves "Dai Nippon Itan Geisha Gazetto" [3]. The name derived from the thought of what the word “Visual Kei” would sound like if it was a Japanese word [4]. On their 15th anniversary in 2017, the band held a concept show at the Yoyogi National Stadium. On that stage today's the GazettE performed songs from the Dainippon Itan Geisha era, so hopefully fans who didn’t know their early days got to know them. The sense of unity between band and fans that rose steam from the live house, the "Jump to us!" screams, and the band's stage presence all developed during that exact period. Back in September of 2003, the band sold out a two-day one-man show at Takadanobaba AREA, and only four months later, in January 2004, their one-man show "JUDGMENT DAY" at SHIBUYA-AX was sold out. On the day of the show, the venue was overflowing with fans, and the venue’s doors were barely closing. The band was not informed that the tickets had been sold out until the day of the show, and how they were surprised by the scenery in front of them and the crowd’s enthusiasm almost seems funny today.

Particular about every aspect of their performances, videos, sets, playing their music live, even coming up with their own ideas for photoshoots and never stopping the work until they are satisfied – this is the GazettE. When I was covering them in a magazine for the first time, I felt that a band of an entirely new generation that took over from the royalty of Visual Kei (although there was no such term back in the day) had entered the scene. I remembered their down-to-earth attitude, in which the live show and the fans who attend it are the most important thing. I also remembered that young the GazettE had a simple goal of keeping the band going, rather than becoming a band that was listened to by a certain number of people. Come to think of it, that hasn’t changed a bit. Truly an ironclad band.

[1] Hiroko Yamamoto / Born in Tokyo. Impacted by glam and punk rock as well as blues in her college days, she started a band and spent her life immersed in music. After working for an entertainment editorial production, she became a freelance writer. She covered the GazettE for the free papers and visual-kei specific magazines like Neo Genesis. She was particularly impressed by the band’s stance with its emphasis on live performances and believing in their music and their fans without being influenced by trends or critical opinions. Currently writes columns on music, as well as films and doramas. (From the pamphlet’s credits)

[2] 対バン (taiban) - A live with several bands performing. Usually those are beginner bands that split the venue and equipment rent as well as other costs.

[3] 大日本異端芸者 (Dai Nippon Itan Geisha) can be translated as “Heretic people of art (professional performers) of the Great Japan”. We know Ruki never chooses names for anything without putting a lot of meaning into it, and I’d say there are many layers to this title as well. 

大日本 (Dai Nippon) initially referrs to the Japanese Empire (大日本帝國 Dai Nippon Teikoku, 1868–1947), which embraced the Meiji, Taishō and Shōwa eras in Japanese history, though nowadays it is considered a nationalistic way of referring to Japan. Dai Nippon expressed the overall aesthetics that the GazettE (then - Gazetto) was working with at the time: Japanese flags on the Wakaremichi cover, the silhouettes of children wearing Imperial Japan school uniforms on the COCKAYNE SOUP cover, lyrics (Oni no men) and the use of traditional melodies (Back Drop Junkie [Nancy]), their iconic indie photoshoots with lots of elements clearly inspired by Japanese culture and so on.

異端 (itan) means heresy. This word is also clearly important for the GazettE’s vision and positioning since we see it literally everywhere: in the fanclub name, 20th anniversary live name, merch etc. If we look up the meaning of the word “heresy”, we’ll see the following: “an opinion profoundly at odds with what is generally accepted”. Not only “being profoundly different” is a key principle of Visual Kei, it is also one of the grounds the GazettE exists and continues to work on.

Finally, 芸者 (geisha, “a person of art”) is a pretty well-known word internationally. While most people associate geisha with professional female performers, the Japanese word itself doesn’t have any gender markers, and the first geisha, which appeared around the first half of the 18th century, were actually male. At the same time, it might refer to the androgynous nature of Visual Kei.

[4] “Visual Kei”‎ is partially a gairaigo — a word that came from a foreign language. The question they asked themselves was “if the concept of v-kei had to be translated through the prism of Japanese culture and values, what would a Japanese word describing it sound like?” And the answer is, apparently, “heretic people of art”.

[new-holocene]

ode to abandoned projects

normally i dedicate my public facing social media accounts solely to sharing my finished artwork, but I figure some reflection on the past few years of my development as an artist would be worthwhile. I was initially trying to find an old gmod map I made (I didn't find it), and in the process I found a number of screenshots of WIPs spanning the past 7 years. for many of these projects, they were abandoned because I got too busy with school/university.

from march 2017. made in unity. I don't remember the specifics of this project. I think I was trying to make a short narrative walking sim.

from december 2017. I wanted to make a short smw romhack. I remember drawing level designs on a spare piece of paper after finishing a secondary school exam early. one day I'll make a romhack, one day...

from may 2018. I had just replayed marble blast ultra after finding it had a PC port. shortly after I found all the textures were just in the game files and could be modified easily. myself and an old friend wanted to make a 'games repainted'-esque mod. I claim full credit for every marble game since that's included a 🤔marble skin.

from march 2020. a mockup of a piece I was calling 'alignment chart' for the first time I had ever applied for a bursary. this used a mixture of generative art pieces i made in processing and graphic design. this piece is interesting to look back on because it marked the development of my art style for the first time, and the psuedo-cuneiform generator ended up being a recurring feature of my art. my application was rejected because i did not read the terms and conditions to realise it wasn't open to university students - and I was still studying computer science at the time.

from may 2020. I was aiming to participate in the low res game jam but never got to finish due to university work taking up my time. I never fleshed out the mechanics of the game, but the goal was to take care of the tree in the center of the map. it doesn't look like much, but I really pushed myself (or rather, tortured myself) by not using a game engine and writing this in C++ with raylib instead.

from april 2020. this was going to be a browser based demake of five nights at freddy's (a game I've never played and have no interest in) titled "five years at yanderedev's". I figured that it felt too close to participating in lolcowing someone and that it was in bad spirits, so I scrapped it.

from september 2020. a mockup of my homepage sharpfourth.net. I kept the logo and general layout for whats on the site currently, but didn't include the scanner warped images.

from october 2020. I wanted to make a walking sim in the quake engine, but once again, university work got in the way. however, this got me familiar with the basics of using trenchbroom (a map editor for quake), which came in very, very handy for later projects.

from october 2021. myself and some close friends had planned to make a zine detailing how to do DIY feminising HRT in Ireland (and maybe the UK). we never got around to writing it (partly because we feared potential legal repercussions for disseminating medical advice lol), but this marked a further development of my art style.

from october 2021. I had hoped to make a first person RPG in godot. once again scrapped because I got too busy with uni. I spent ages trying to implement a wonky movement system that could be exploited, being inspired by bhopping from source or strafe jumping from quake. the dialogue system was the last thing I worked on. I used trenchbroom again - this time with qodot - for making the prototype map. while making this demo, I realised the potential use of godot and trenchbroom in visual art, something i would revisit during my first gallery residency.

from march 2022. this might be the most unassuming piece in this collection, but it marks a significant turning point in my life. I was tasked with making diagrams for a group project in uni, but given that I was facing extreme burnout and apathy towards the course, I instead "doodled" with the elements of the diagram. this spiraled into me writing my zine/short-story EATARTHU, which I then used to apply for a gallery residency. I was fortunate enough to get the residency, and I dropped out of college to pursue art.

as discouraging as it might be to constantly start and abandon projects, it's important to stop and remember that ever single abandoned game or drawing or album or whatever marked a chance for you to learn and develop as an artist. one day you might very well finish a project, and it'll reflect a bit of every single abandoned one of its precursors.

[victorysp]

King: there has been much deliberation about the funeral and King's Day

King Willem-Alexander says that there was “a lot of deliberation” before the decision was made not to attend the funeral of Pope Francis. The monarch said this in front of the NOS camera.

“We were suddenly confronted with the fact that the funeral was on the same day as King's Day,” the king said. “We are very grateful that the city of Doetinchem made it possible to postpone it by just over an hour so that the two did not overlap.”

According to the king, King's Day is “the celebration of unity and love”. “And that is exactly what Pope Francis stood for. It is wonderful to continue in that spirit here in the Netherlands and to work on society.”

Queen Máxima had to admit with her Catholic background that she would have liked to attend the funeral. She recalled her meeting with Francis in 2017. According to the queen, the pope said that ‘community’ is important. “In that spirit, it is good to be here together, and that we celebrate moments together. Even in sorrow, that is incredibly important.”

A short video speech by the king was broadcast on TV prior to King's Day about Pope Francis, who died on Monday. “Pope Francis' sense of community is also a characteristic of King's Day,” Willem-Alexander said.

[harryandmeghansussex]

Prince Harry, Founder of Invictus, Opening Ceremony 2025.

Hello Canada and Bienvenue! So, the Toronto Games in 2017 were incredible, and I’m told there is no rivalry between east and west coast, especially when it comes to sport… so I have a question for you Vancouver: Are you ready to show Toronto—and the world—how the Games are done?

I would like to begin by honoring the First Nations, who are hosting this year’s Games. Lílwat, Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh. Hite-sap —— coo-cwee-lum. From the bid for the Games through to this week’s competition, we have walked together, side-by-side on this journey, and are so grateful to you for having these games on your land. Today, and for the next week: Warriors unite.

In this moment of difficulty and division in many parts of the world, we gather here in Vancouver in a spirit of unity. We represent 23 nations. Speak many different languages and reflect the full breadth of the world’s religions and faiths. Beyond any differences, here at the Invictus Games we are grounded in mutual respect, competing fiercely, but believing in one another. Supporting one another. And rooting for one another.

The Games were born more than a decade ago, from a promise I made to myself. A promise to uphold my obligation—a sacred obligation after my own decade and privilege of military service —to do whatever I could to help my fellow brothers and sisters heal, and to champion everything we stand for.

Over the past decade I’ve lost count of the times we’ve heard you tell us that the Invictus Games saved you. Respectfully, I disagree. Invictus didn’t save you. You saved yourself. It was you, who pushed through the doubt and despair. You, who summited your own mountain and brought us along with you. It was you who kept going even when you didn’t think you had any more to give. We didn’t do that. You did. The Games simply reveal what is already within you. That scarcest—and most precious—of the world’s resources: character. A spirit—of fortitude and perseverance that can never be defeated.

That is the magic of the Invictus Games. For one of the most powerful ways of healing comes not from the hospital or recovery center, but from having a sense of purpose. A sense of belonging. From being a part of something greater than ourselves. And that healing, though it begins with you, extends to your children and loved ones, who delight in the simple gift of seeing you smile again of knowing your mind isn’t someplace else. That you are fully present.

At this moment, when there is no shortage of crises, no absence of uncertainty, no lack of weak moral character in the world, the values you embody—the way you carry yourselves—not only at the Invictus Games, but each and every day, your courage, your resilience, your humanity illuminate a path forward for us all. And for that, we thank you. Your leadership did not end when you stepped off the battlefield or took off the uniform. It endures. The example you set is a compass for the world. We need you. And we’ll always need you.

Someone once asked Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison how we survive whole in the world. She replied: “Sometimes, you don’t survive whole, you just survive in part. But the grandeur of life is that attempt. It’s not about that solution. It is about being as fearless as one can, and behaving as beautifully as one can, under completely impossible circumstances.”

So as we embark on this year’s competition, here is my challenge to all of you: Show the world how you behave under completely impossible circumstances. Show the world your fearlessness. Show the world the grandeur in your attempt at victory. Show the world why you are Invictus.

[lizzybeth1986]

Rose Gold

Book: The Royal Romance

Pairing: Hana Lee x Kiara Theron

Rating: PG

Word Count: 4, 304 words

Content Warning: Mention of Gun Violence, Character Injury.

Summary: Six months after King Liam and Queen Esther's wedding, Hana and Kiara take their next big step as a couple.

A/N: Set in the P&Tverse. Since P&T spans the timelines of Books 2 and 3 (the Engagement Tour and the Unity Tour + Liam & Esther's wedding), most of this fic takes place after the series is meant to end, and there are references to things that happen there that aren't canon.

The first half of the fic, however, takes place just before the group reunites with the MC and Drake at the safe house (TRR3, Ch 1).

I've borrowed a few elements from Hana's own engagement to the MC in the books: the rose gold ring, the coin throwing ritual at the foundation and the proposal at the lake.

Tagging @hanaleeappreciationweek for Day 5: Romance, @choicesficwriterscreations for FoTW and LGBTQ Archive, and @choicesmaychallenge24 for Hera: Marriage

October 14th, 2017. Half past Midnight.

Foolishness. Sheer foolishness.

The voice inwardly chiding her right now sounded suspiciously like her mother; for that reason alone she was desperate to ignore it.

But what else would one call an impulse to jump out of a car that could take her in complete secrecy to the city's best safe house, only to race to Argyros and Sons - Cordonia's premier jewellery store - for a gift she wasn't even sure would be accepted...a promise she wasn't even sure its intended recipient would want?

"Looking for something specific, Your Grace?"

Surprised, Hana looked up from the case displaying an assortment of glittering diamond rings. The eyes that met hers in a speculative survey were ocean-blue, marked by wizened crow's feet. It was at the tip of her tongue to correct him (Lady Hana, sir!) when she spotted the Twitter feed on the iPhone in his hand.

News sure does travel fast around the Capitol!

But no sooner had that thought left her head, than the riptide of memories began to flood her.

The Homecoming Ball. Hors d'oeuvres. Speeches. Fireworks. Announcements. Please welcome Esther DuPont, Duchess of Valtoria, and Hana Lee, Duchess of Krysanthe. Cheers. Expectant Gazes. And then...

Darkness. Gunshots. The acrid taste of fear.

Hana bit back a grimace. How long would memories of tonight haunt her? How long would it be before she heard people address her by her new title, without memories of the violence that followed?

She held her handbag with a sudden death-grip, forcing herself to breathe. To push forth happier, sweeter memories.

Unbidden, comes the one memory that had managed to keep her sane this night.

Her laughter.

Sharp. Raucous. Loud. Jarring against the tinkling sounds of cutlery and glassware, as far away as one could get from the soft, windchime quality of delicate laughter, that every female courtier was taught to emulate.

She thought she'd known love until that moment, fool that she was. Thought that no matter who she dated, no matter how distant she'd be from those memories of the social season - Esther would somehow remain her first and forever love.

Until she had taken that one fateful look at Kiara's wildly joyous face, heard her cackle - the kind one would never normally dare to do at court - and realized with piercing clarity that if she were to compare her feelings for these two women, they would be nowhere close.

Her love for Esther had all the subdued warmth of a crackling bonfire. But these newfound feelings for Kiara?? They made her feel like she was plunging herself headfirst into a raging volcano.

Something within Hana had trembled violently in that moment; some premonition that felt searing in its finality.

Kiara was the one. She was all Hana had ever wanted, without knowing it; all that Hana would ever want, from now till eternity. The one in whose arms she would want to stir awake, every day for the rest of her life.

Kiara Thorne, or no one. Kiara Thorne, or lifelong loneliness.

The phrase rang in her ears like a verdict: final, eternal, unchangeable.

When Hana opened her eyes, she found to her consternation that they were blurry from unshed tears. Quickly blinking them away, she noted dully how different the rings on the display now looked.

Certainly she must have moved to another part of the store without knowing. Where before she'd seen glittering, brilliant, ostentatious diamonds, set in white gold and platinum...now she saw stones nestled in the embrace of a warmer, almost blush-toned metal.

Rose gold.

The metal that was all the rage in her mother's birthplace Bethulia, for its delicate shimmer and soft pink hue. Mama had told her often enough in her childhood that their barony's love for it went far beyond just the colour...that her mother - Hana's Nanimaa - loved it for being such a perfect union of gold, silver and copper...

A whisper of a memory of Nanimaa, the one time she'd ever seen her. At a fountain, glowing from the glimmer of abandoned coins.

It took her less than a minute to find exactly what she didn't know she'd been looking for. Had you asked the jeweller about her, he would have told you that the newly appointed Duchess of Krysanthe had chosen her ring with the greatest confidence. The confidence of a woman who had probably wooed her beloved, confessed her love, basked in the joy of being loved back.

A confidence Hana didn't feel.

When she returned to the limo, she was greeted with the sight of a pensive Liam, rubbing the frown between his brows absently with his fingers. A telltale muscle jumped inside his jaw.

"Any news?" Hana whispered, almost dreading the answer.

"Yes," his voice was grainy from exhaustion and guilt. "Three people injured. Bastien, Esther's press secretary, and...."

"And?" Her voice had gone small and high, that a fearful child's.

"And Lady Kiara. She was..."

Hana blinked once, then blinked again. Liam's mouth was moving, yet no sound seemed to come out. All that she could hear was a low, keening noise, like a muffled siren...or like the moan of a woman in terrible pain.

Kiara. Kiara. Kiara.

--

May 12th, 2018. Afternoon.

"How far from the palace are you taking us?" Kiara asks, her voice alight with laughter.

"Not even outside its gates," Hana replies, grinning. Kiara looks down at their fingers laced together, palms almost touching.

They've been together for just six months, and still somehow, the lines on Hana's palm feel as familiar to her now as her own. Without even looking she can conjure up the memory of the heartline on Hana's left palm at a moment's notice - long and deep, starting from her index finger, suggesting she would be a wonderful lover with a very fruitful love experience - and her marriage line, stretching from one end of her palm all the way to her ring finger...suggesting friendly in-laws.

(The thought of luring Hana to marry her under the premise of palmistry is sounding more and more tempting by the minute)

Involuntarily - perhaps to stop herself from checking her trouser pockets once again for that tiny box she took from her vault today - Kiara's hand tightens around Hana's.

Can she dare to hope that fortunate beloved could be her?

She steals a glance in Hana's direction, noting with alarm that her fingers are trembling in Kiara's hand.

"We're here," she says, her voice suddenly small and quivering against the gurgle of water in the courtyard fountain. It's been a palace fixture for several decades now - ornate and imposing - a legacy from King Liam's formidable grandmother, the late Queen Mother Cassandra. According to Kiara's father, the woman had married into the family as a young princess from Monterisso, and for her foreignness alone was expected to be crushed by the strictures of the palace and the expectations of her people - yet in a decade's time she had somehow became the most imposing figure there! There was very little in the palace that didn't have her stamp of approval first.

As they come closer, Kiara sees the one thing Queen Mother Cassandra may not have predicted when this fountain was built - the glimmer of coins, all gleaming in the sunlight like they were minted just yesterday.

Her own smile begins to tremble on her lips, even as she notices Hana swallow a telltale nervous lump in her throat. For the first time since they have gotten here, Kiara notices that Hana's other hand is fisted around something. Something that could very likely be the same coins they just saw in the fountain.

She takes that hand gently in hers, knowing now how nervous Hana must feel; knowing that if they complete the ancient lover's ritual that she so hoped to do today, there will be no going back. She uncoils Hana's fisted hand, finger by quivering finger, watching her face as her breathing quickens. She smiles again - a smile more aimed at reassurance than amusement.

"Are we going to do what I think we're going to do today, ma moité?"

For several seconds, Hana doesn't respond. The three coins in her hand (Heavy. Ornate. Engraved with apples. Ancient) are proof enough. The answer, when it finally comes - almost like it is torn out of her throat for fear that Kiara's feelings may not match her own - is barely audible.

"Only if this is what you want too."

Gold. Silver. Copper. Tossed in one after the other in an ancient lover's ritual - one that Kiara knows only because she'd learned about it from her mother, who'd had friends in Bethulia where this ritual was most popular. Maman and Baba themselves had done it on a trip there when she was a teenager, still squirming over her parents' ability to still act like swoony romantics in their (and this would be said well out of their earshot) "fucking forties!".

Wiser now, Kiara feels the same anticipatory tingles that her parents must have felt back then.

This ritual wasn't for the faint of heart in ancient days. You did it only when you were certain. When you looked at your lover and knew that a life without them wasn't a life worth living.

Well, Kiara muses as she watches a hundred emotions flit in a second over Hana's face, I think I've known that long enough. I've known ever since I saw you fight your father in Shanghai, even when you knew it would cost you everything. Since that one moment, I've been yours.

Planting a tender kiss on the corner of Hana's mouth, she takes the coins. "Ready when you are," she whispers softly.

Hana swallows again, her eyes glistening and moist and relieved all at once. In a silk pouch that dangles from her wrist, she fishes for three coins identical to the ones on Kiara's palm. She breathes deep once, twice, three times.

Kiara links their free hands, grips them tight as they turn their backs to the fountain. Hana looks up, a question in her eyes.

"For friendship!" Kiara says, tossing the copper coin into the fountain. Faint memories of something that almost feels like another lifetime glimmer and fade in her memory. Applewood, sipping water, giggling over their favourite fruits and flowers. The Beaumont Bash. Watching from the sidelines as Hana did the verbel equivalent of ripping out Olivia Nevrakis' spine at the Coronation Ball.

Hana takes out the silver coin, and waits for Kiara to holds up hers'. "For love?"

Engagement tour. Fearing Hana would hate her in Fydelia, but never understanding why that should suddenly matter. Standing with her against a bridge in Paris, each mourning their lost loves.

Finally learning what love really was, when she opened her eyes and truly saw Hana for the very first time.

Kiara nods, touching her forehead to Hana's. "Par amour." Their coins splash in unison in the water.

Her girlfriend lets out a watery giggle as she takes out the final coin, glittering and golden on her palm. Her voice breaks a little as she tosses it behind her. "For...bel- belonging".

Kiara's own sigh releases in a shudder as she lets the final pledge sink in.

There were very few places in the world that truly felt like home to Hana. Not the place where she was born, not the barony that could have been her legacy. It took her months to even find comfort or security in her future in Cordonia - much less belonging.

Without a moment's thought, and without releasing the golden coin in her hand, she cups Hana's face and kisses her. Hana shudders and buries her hands in Kiara's hair, her lips trembling against the unspoken promises in her lover's.

"For belonging," Kiara says it like it is a vow. "And I don't care how long it takes - I give my word right now. I'll never let you feel like you have lost your home. Ever." Another kiss - this time on Hana's temple. "I hope you will always find one. In me."

Hana's smile is warm and dreamlike, her eyes closed as if to savour this moment, her fingers playing with Kiara's curls. She barely notices the sound of Kiara's gold coin landing in the fountain. "I love you, Kiki."

Kiara chuckles at her teasing use of the nickname, brushing Hana's nose with her own. "Together forever?"

Their hands, now free, close around each other. "Together forever."

It's quiet now, except for the sound of collard doves, the rustle of leaves and branches in a light breeze, and their breathing. The air smells of wildflowers, citrus and a subtle floral scent that Kiara knows to be the perfume Hana has been using for months. Orange Blossom. She grins as she remembers. It's a scent Hana has often loved to wear, just for her.

Hana's thumb feathers lightly over the ring finger on Kiara's left hand, almost as if to commit the bare space on it to her memory. Kiara doesn't miss that gaze - bright-eyed and soaked in longing - and how it mirrors a need she has felt ever since they landed at the Capitol last week.

Kiara swallows. She had wanted to take things slow, she really did. Woo her, bathe her in every luxury possible, make this trip even more unforgettable than Hana could ever imagine, and then spring this surprise on her - like a kirsch-soaked cherry topping on an already very tempting Black Forest Cake.

But...but that gaze of Hana's has always been Kiara's undoing.

Simply, she says, "come with me."

Puzzled, Hana looks up. "Where?"

"To Lake Sôse," Kiara whispers, wasting not one more moment and grabbing her hand. Hana lets out a nervous, slightly incredulous laugh as she allows herself to be pulled along.

Kiara isn't sure why she's suddenly rushing this. When she thinks of the elaborate plans she'd been constructing all week - chocolate-dipped strawberries and champagne at one of the Capital's premier restaurants, flowers everywhere, a proposal at the hedge maze with a picture together by the swing to commemorate the occasion - she wants to laugh. She isn't even sure why Lake Sôse was the first place she'd thought of just now.

She takes a deep breath, and grounds herself. Uncommonly impulsive though it may be, her decision has been made. There is even a part of her that seems to prefer it to happen this way!Kiara has never been one for last minute changes of plan...but ever since she fell in love with Hana, she's learned to expect - and enjoy - the unexpected.

It's only when she sees the shine in Hana's eyes that she realises why her mind took the turn it did.

Lake Sôse. The one place Hana Lee has always chosen for solace and comfort. The one place in the Capitol where she felt the most at home. It had been here, Hana told Kiara once, that King Liam had told her his plans to appoint her Duchess of Krysanthe. It was here, hours later, that she'd shared that momentous news with her best friend Esther; where Esther - herself aglow with love and a newfound purpose - hugged Hana and told her that the world would now be Hana's oyster.

She'd brought Kiara to this lake for the first time the day after King Liam and Queen Esther's wedding, following a night when the queen herself had been kidnapped, and Hana had joined the king's entourage to rescue her.

A night that Kiara - in constant fear of losing her forever - had recklessly kissed Hana. In public. In front of the entire court. Braving gazes of teasing approval from Kiara's parents, and near-murderous glares from Hana's. The night everyone outside of Hana's friend circle finally realized the two were a couple.

Kiara remembers the day after that like it was yesterday. Something must have changed fundamentally in Hana that night, because the fear seemed to have gone, and with it the compulsive need for hiding and subterfuge and constantly looking over her shoulder. It was as if Hana had faced what she'd thought was the worst thing that could happen to her, and realized she really was strong enough to face that fear.

You're my safe place among people, Hana told her that morning, her fingers lacing through Kiara's. The one I feel most at home with. I want to bring my safe space..to the place in Cordonia I've always felt safest in.

It is afternoon, and the yellow crocuses behind them exude a warm, buttery golden glow in the sunlight. Hana lets out a breathless, incredulous laugh. "You seem like a woman in a very huge rush today, Lady Thorne."

Kiara's own laughter in response is high-pitched and halting. She tries to hide the moistness of her palms as she makes a blind grab for the small velvet box in her purse. "Believe me, this wasn't the way I'd planned this to go at all."

Intrigued, Hana's eyes follow Kiara's hands, and her eyes widen as she recognises the familiar deep blue velvet, the embossed silver lettering on top. Argyros and Sons.

"Is that --"

"Yes," Kiara says, clearing her throat, "I'd been planning this. All week. It was going to be romantic, elaborate, I was going to sweep you off your feet. Just like I'd planned to ask you out seven months ago."

Hana lets out a watery giggle. We all know how that turned out, don't we, qīn'ài de? Kiara can almost hear her saying.

But the humour stops almost immediately when she looks at the box again, and suddenly Hana seems too still, too shocked...too far off from how Kiara hoped she would react.

Kiara lets out a deep breath, then lets the words gush out of her. She's too scared to stop, too terrified to think - the fear that she may be doing too much too soon is so overwhelming that she knows if she stops she won't be able to bring herself to do this for a long, long time to come. The humiliation would be too strong.

"I'm not one for impulse. I never have been. I've never felt comfortable with anything if I didn't have a plan for it first."

Kiara gives herself a moment to half-smile at the irony of it all. Approaching Hana Lee with a smile and a bottle of water, after that first eventful bite of a Cordonian Ruby was definitely an impulse. So were half the things she had done with Hana since. So will many, many, many of the things they may wind up doing together, if (if!) this leap of faith works in her favour.

She looks up at Hana to see if she's laughing at the memory too. She isn't. In fact, Kiara isn't even sure Hana's reacting yet to what she's saying. Perfectly still, her eyes never moving from the box, so wide that they would go bloodshot if they were widened any further. Kiara swallows, and finds that her throat feels suddenly, inexplicably sore.

"I could never tell what it was about you that changed all that. I still don't. All I know is that...around you, Hana, I feel so much more brave. To let go of the need to plan and organize. To not be too afraid of what will follow - whether it goes in my favour or not. I find myself not just willing, but eager, to trust my gut."

Kiara's eyes search every inch of Hana's face as she opens the box, revealing the ring inside. It's a gorgeous piece, all platinum and sparkling diamonds. The smaller stones form a cluster around a massive one, leading the viewer to believe they are seeing a glittering snowflake, fallen fresh from the heavens.

Kiara had known the minute she saw the ring that it was the one. That it would remind them of the first time they confessed their love. Of their very first date, of the first time they shared Hana's cup of homemade hot chocolate. Of why the two of them will always love winters.

Hana's fingers move, trembling, towards her mouth, her face suddenly flushed. She remembers it too.

"Hana Lee," A frisson of fear slithers down Kiara's spine. "Will you marry me?"

When Hana finally opens her mouth, several seconds later, Kiara has to strain to hear her voice.

"I - I -" her eyes dart away from Kiara as if she's just remembered something important - her beautiful bronzed skin suddenly a little drained of colour. The next few words, she says in a "I.... I'll be back. Give me five minutes? I...just remembered something."

She leaves without waiting for an answer.

Kiara sinks into the grass, covering her face in her hands.

What have I just done?

--

All the way back from her room in the palace to the lake, the pouch hanging from her wrist feeling only a slight bit heavier, Hana cannot stop mentally kicking herself.

"You fool! You imbecile! Bèn dàn!!" Hana curses herself as she speeds up her sprint into a run, "What happened to your tongue? What kind of reaction was that?? What will Kiara think?"

Her mind now sprints miles ahead of her feet, racing in panicked ferocity over the possibilities.

With any luck, Kiara could still be waiting - puzzled and perhaps a little worried. Or she could be actively panicking, the way she does (on very rare occasions) when a plan goes terribly wrong.

Or...or...

Hana holds the silk pouch from her wrist in a deathlike grip as she speeds up towards Lake Sôse. Or.

The thought of that lovely, open space completely devoid of Kiara, of that beguiling combination of rose and jasmine emanating from her favourite Dior J'adore perfume, makes Hana's stomach drop to her feet.

It isn't until she sees that that heartbreakingly familiar figure of Kiara's, hunched over the grass, that Hana allows herself to breathe.

Kiara is there. Shoulders bent, head buried in her hands, almost stumbling as she tries to get up when she sees Hana.

Morose. Defeated. But still there.

Without another thought, Hana rushes into Kiara's arms, almost knocking her off her feet.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Hana whispers against her hair. "I wasn't trying to run away. I really had to get something. For you."

Kiara pulls back to look into her eyes, and when she does Hana's heart twists at the sight of unshed tears. "I thought I'd scared you off."

Hana's own laughter quavers, pitched high in disbelief. "I've just pledged myself to you this afternoon, body and soul, at the palace fountain. This -" she lifts Kiara's left hand to her chest, her thumb caressing the empty space on her beloved's ring finger " - just makes it so much more real."

Kiara's arms wrap around her, pulling Hana flush to her. Hana can feel Kiara shake as she giggles in response. "...you mean to say that I'd have saved myself so much stress if I'd just remembered those coins."

"Yes, qīn'ài de, a thousand times yes." She cups Kiara's face, pressing their foreheads together. "Place that ring where it belongs, Kiki. I can't wait to see it on my finger."

Hana holds her tight until Kiara's breathing becomes slower, calmer. She raises her newly-adorned hand for Kiara to see - marvelling at how the ring really mimics the glow of a snow crystal in the winter sun.

When they part, shyly, reluctantly, Hana begins to fiddle with the silk pouch.

"Here's what I'd gone to bring."

Kiara's eyes brighten at the sight of the box in her hand; a wave of warmth floods through Hana in anticipation of her response. Kiara gasps the minute she opens the box, revealing a delicate, intricately carved rose gold ring, flanked by small diamonds on all four corners, cradling a bigger one at the center.

"Rose gold," Kiara murmurs in wonder.

"Yes," Hana brushes her fingers over Kiara's knuckles. She'd told her once, long ago, how revered that metal was in her home province Bethulia. How Bethulian jewellers and goldsmiths and young women swore by the rosy hue it exuded. How it was a perfect amalgamation of three precious metals - all highly valued in the province. How tied it was to their folktales and bridal rituals.

"Copper..silver...gold." Kiara's tears glitter like diamonds before she lets them fall. "For friendship. For love. For belonging."

Hana smiles, her hand still stroking Kiara's cheek. "You remembered."

Kiara rolls her still-moist eyes, trying hard not to sniff - it would take out all the humour in this situation. "It's hard to forget a ritual we'd performed just ten minutes ago, ma moité."

"I'd planned to give you this ring a week from now," Hana says, shaking her head at her own impulsiveness as the ring she'd chosen on a fanciful whim so long ago, now finds its home. "I've been holding onto it for far too long."

Kiara caresses the stone on her own finger lovingly, admiring the way the rose gold glows on her skin. When she speaks, her voice is breathless in anticipation. "How long?"

For several minutes, Hana's only response is to pull Kiara back in her arms again. Her hand slides slowly, almost with a tinge of regret, down the dip of Kiara's waist on her left side. The wound that had once served as a constant, searing reminder of so much (of her vulnerability, of her inability to run from pain, of what she'd once considered her failures), has healed in more ways than one - only a faded scar that Hana never fails to kiss, now remains.

"For seven months," Hana's voice shakes at the memory, "Since the night after Homecoming Ball."

With a choked sob, Kiara enfolds Hana into her arms, almost as if she'd want to absorb her into every cell of her body. Fervently, reverently, she presses her lips all over Hana's face - her eyelids, her cheeks, the bridge of her nose, all the little-known, barely-noticed parts of her. It takes her a while - perhaps too long, in Hana's opinion - for Kiara's lips to meet hers, but she welcomes the sweet torture of waiting.

"Mon cœur," Kiara says between kisses, "ma raison de vivre."

When they part, the two women keep each other's hands interlinked, one left hand over the other. Neither of them will remember how long they stay at the lake; only that they never want this joy, this warm afterglow of seeing their dreams come true...to end.

The empty spaces on their ring fingers, over which they'd each stolen such secret, hungry glances today, now bear the mark of their lovers. Now bear the most tangible signs of their love, their memories, their promises, their commitment.

Together forever.

--

Translation:

Ma moité - a romantic endearment in French, meaning "my other half"

Qīn'ài de - Mandarin Chinese for "my dear"/"darling"

Bèn dàn - Mandarin Chinese cuss word that means "stupid egg!"

Mon cœur - French endearment, meaning "my heart"

Ma raison de vivre - French for "my reason to live"

--

References for Hana and Kiara's engagement rings:

Kiara:

(Source: Maxine Jewellery)

Hana:

(Source: This article on engagement rings, but the actual pic itself came from Blue Rose Photography)

[beardedmrbean]

Vice President-elect JD Vance raised concerns on Sunday about the Syrian rebels who have ousted Syria's authoritarian leader Bashar Al-Assad, saying that some of the rebels are an "offshoot of ISIS."

Assad's regime collapsed this weekend after a stunning turnaround after nearly 14 years of conflict. The deposed Syrian leader reportedly fled the country as rebels took control of the major Syrian city of Homs as well as the capital Damascus.

Various rebel groups continue to operate in Syria, with different regional and international allies. The principle rebel group that has led the charge to depose Assad in recent days is Hay'at Tahrir al Sham (HTS), which came out of Al-Qaeda and is designated by the U.S. as a terrorist organization. HTS was formerly known as Al-Nusra Front.

"As President Trump said, this is not our fight and we should stay out of it," Vance wrote in Sunday X, formerly Twitter, post, commenting on the situation in Syria.

"Aside from that, opinions like the below make me nervous. The last time this guy was celebrating events in Syria we saw the mass slaughter of Christians and a refugee crisis that destabilized Europe," Vance, who is currently serving as a Republican senator for Ohio, wrote.

The vice president-elect's post shared comments from Josh Rogin, a Washington Post columnist who covers foreign policy and national security.

"Syria is free. The rebels won. The people liberated themselves from tyranny. Freedom won. Russia, Iran, Hezbollah & Assad lost. Historic. The road ahead for Syria won't be easy. But it will be better than the past. The world should celebrate Syria's liberation & help it succeed," Rogin wrote on X on Saturday.

In a follow-up post, Vance added, "Many of 'the rebels' are a literal offshoot of ISIS. One can hope they've moderated. Time will tell."

Newsweek reached out to the U.S. State Department for comment on Sunday morning.

What Rebels Have Said About Their Plans for Syria

Like HTS, ISIS did emerge from Al-Qaeda, but the groups have been at odds in Syria. Critics of HTS have said the militant group will rule Syria as an extremist Islamist state. But Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, the leader of HTS, has said that his organization aims for all Syrians to coexist in unity.

"No one has the right to erase another group. These sects have coexisted in this region for hundreds of years, and no one has the right to eliminate them," Jolani told CNN in an interview this week.

Jolani was formerly a member of the Islamic State in Iraq, which eventually morphed in ISIS. He founded Al-Nusra Front in 2012, but it became HTS in 2017 as the group tried to moderate its image.

"People who fear Islamic governance either have seen incorrect implementations of it or do not understand it properly," he told CNN.

While the majority of Syrians are Muslim, the country has vibrant and sizable communities of Christians, Alawites and Druze, among others. Assad's family is part of the Alawite minority.

How Syrians Have Reacted

This weekend, the rebels advanced into Damascus after capturing Homs, Syria's third-largest city. In Homs, thousands of residents poured into streets after the army withdrew, chanting "Assad is gone, Homs is free" and "Long live Syria and down with Bashar al-Assad."

Youths tore down posters of the Syrian president as rebels fired celebratory shots. Security forces left in haste after burning their documents, Reuters reported. Videos have circulated widely on social media of Syrians toppling statues of Assad throughout the country.

What Donald Trump Has Said

As Vance mentioned, Trump commented on Assad's removal from power in a Truth Social post

"Assad is gone. He has fled his country. His protector, Russia, Russia, Russia, led by Vladimir Putin, was not interested in protecting him any longer. There was no reason for Russia to be there in the first place. They lost all interest in Syria because of Ukraine, where close to 600,000 Russian soldiers lay wounded or dead, in a war that should never have started, and could go on forever," the president-elect wrote.

"Russia and Iran are in a weakened state right now, one because of Ukraine and a bad economy, the other because of Israel and its fighting success. Likewise, Zelensky and Ukraine would like to make a deal and stop the madness. They have ridiculously lost 400,000 soldiers, and many more civilians."

[girlmagazineedits]

That was one heck of a show, Beyonce the woman you are...

If you haven’t seen it already, Beyonce’s incredible halftime performance at an NFL game on Christmas Day has outstanding imagery and deep cultural significance towards African American history. 

In no particular order, I will break down this performance of her album Cowboy Carter.

We see Beyonce riding in on a white horse. White horses symbolize American spirit, “a relentless pursuit of freedom and justice” and in greek mythology, finding and riding a white horse grants great power and success. 

With the backlash of her album Cowboy Carter, she is stating that she can find success in any genre as she is already widely successful in hers. It’s also just the cowgirl thing to do.

Beyonce is also from Houston, Texas, a place known for being very southern and having deep country roots as well as her mother being from Louisiana, and it doesn’t get any more country than that!

Many of her dancers and performers in the show were seen wearing white bandanas. White bandanas signify unity, which Beyonce is trying to do with her crossing over genres.

The band playing was TSU’s “Ocean of Soul,” which is an HBCU, or historically black college and university marching band. 

The women singing “Blackbird” beside Beyonce in the opening were Tanner Adell, Tiera Kennedy, Reyna Roberts, and Brittney Spencer, all black women country singers. The song “Blackbird” originally sung by The Beatles is a song inspired as a message of hope to Black women during the Civil Rights movement.

Shaboozey performed his song with Beyonce “Sweet Honey Buckin”, as he is also an up-and-coming black country artist.

She had various young black talent portrayed all throughout her show along with Ja'Dayia Kursh who became Arkansas' first Black rodeo queen in 2017.

In the scenes where carriages and Cadillac cars were in shot, they were decorated with roses. During Juneteenth celebrations in Texas in the early 1900s, their buggies, carts, and wagons were often decorated with roses. Juneteenth, or June 19, 1865, is a day marked and celebrated to be the end of African American slavery in America.

In a scene you can see performers standing on top of the horses, this signifies a popular, powerful photograph from a 2009 article by Gabriela Hasbun for Andscape, where six black men are seen standing on their horses. A tribute to black cowboys in America.

After Beyonce’s iconic release of her album Lemonade, she performed “Daddy Lessons”, a country-leaning song, at the 2016 Country Music Awards alongside Dixie Chicks and the backlash was brutal. Country fans and C.M.A. watchers did not like the fact that Beyonce was there since she was not a country artist, and they also criticized her political views at the time. 

Following the blatant discrimination and backlash, the Country Music Association in Nashville took down every trace of the live performance off of their platforms and photos taken by them. They did not defend Beyonce and people did not take lightly to that. 

After Cowboy Carter's release in early 2024, the C.M.A. disrespected Beyonce again as they did not recognize Beyonce and Cowboy Carter and she did not receive one nominee for this album despite its high praise and topping the country music charts. 

This halftime show performance and Cowboy Carter in general is a beautiful articulation of being black in a predominately white business, (and country). She took something that is supposedly only for white Americans and made it a cultural phenomenon in music and black music history.

“The cowboy is a symbol of strength and aspiration in America. The cowboy was named after slaves who handled the cows. The word ‘cowboy’ comes from those who were called boys, never given the respect they deserved,” - Beyonce

[spoodlebat]

DAY 12 - FUTURE

A fresh start. A chance to right our wrongs. Oh, what beauty lays in the eyes of a child; one that looks to the skies of a world ahead, unburdened by the ruins that for eons I have called my own future.

Ramblings and timelapse below the cut <3

Alright, this is the last of these I'll be doing in order this year; from here out I'm just going to do the non optional prompts ^^ It turns out doing a piece a day (or more to try and catch up) is not something I can do reliably, and that's fine. I just wanna get to some of the later prompts before the end of the month, and to make it past my old record for one of these things.

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An Astral's existance begets first the creation of dual tragedies. The forces of mind and heart must be tempered; changed and made ready to accept their chimeric union. Raw wounds in the weave of the world, woven one apiece to weft and warp of a material unwanted. The combining of these opposing forces, a break in the flow of all that is; the very fabric of reality itself is rent at their creation. The birth of such a creature demands respect, awe, reverence, and, above all else, pity. For what caring god would blot its work so?

Eldest daughter of Lord Volston and the zyrunite creation 653. First protégé taken by Morraestus of Unity. Eighth of the Seven Perpetual. Elizabeth Volston-Martirine, perview as of yet unknown.

But please, for brevity's sake; just call her Liz ^^

Studious, stubborn, and strongwilled, the newest in the family of eternal outcasts revives old hopes and carries on old flames. But she brings light all her own; one that, as much infinities tend towards, may just last forever.

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A redesign of an old oc, one I last tried to pen in about 2017 ;-; whoof. This is technically an older version of her; the prompt IS future, after all. But she represents also the future for a group of people that, until recently, were very much stuck in the past. It does help that she's basically immortal, also; lot of time ahead of her ^^

Here's her old design sketch; there are others I have lying around on paper somewhere, but unfortunately I don't seem to have pictures of them lying around ^^ Maybe I'll find em somewhere.

Honestly I really liked the ideas here, so I kept most of it; the majority of the work for today's piece was finally finishing the damn thing, plus some work on the outfit since I was never happy with it. I might also find a way to work some more infinities into her design, since that's kind of her 'thing'.

Aaaand timelapse~

[sagehaubitze]

All them f(l)ags, Pride unity day 2017.

[southeastasianists]

In the days since Hamas launched a deadly attack on southern Israel on 7 October, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations has not made a formal statement about the crisis. This is not surprising, given that each ASEAN member sees the conflict differently. The language adopted and positions taken by individual ASEAN members reflect the interplay of historical or domestic dynamics in their foreign policy. ASEAN is a grouping – but on this issue, not a bloc.

Let’s look at the diverse response from the ASEAN members – where at one end of the spectrum, Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia have expressed unity with the Palestinians. None of them has diplomatic relations with Israel and all have remained steadfast in their criticism of Israel despite Western pressure. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim spoke to Ismail Haniyeh, the political bureau chief of Hamas, and expressed support for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

In each of Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia, religion is significant in domestic politics. With Muslim majority populations, there is widespread public solidarity with the Palestinian struggles.

The significance of religion in Indonesian domestic politics was compelling enough for Ganjar Pranowo, one of the candidates for next year’s presidential election, to appear during an Islamic prayer call on a private TV station as part of his campaign. Furthermore, recent public demonstrations in Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur against Israel and the United States reflect sentiment on the street about the latest fighting, which governments cannot ignore.

Conversely, Singapore took a firm position against Hamas and strongly condemned the “terror attacks”. The small island-state has close defence relations with Israel, with Israeli military advisers assisting the Singapore Armed Forces since Singapore’s independence in 1965. Defence relations remain strong, as reflected in the joint development and production of surface-to-surface Blue Spear missiles.

Singapore’s strong stance against Hamas leaves it out of step with its larger Muslim-majority neighbours. Bilahari Kausikan, an influential former Singaporean diplomat, made clear the difference by frankly labelling as “bullshit” a view he attributed to a Malaysian ex-diplomat for the “root cause of the current violence” to be addressed, instead supporting a robust Israeli military response against Hamas.

Nevertheless, Singapore is concerned the crisis could lead to domestic division along religious lines as there is a sizable Muslim minority in the island-state. The government has banned events and public assemblies concerning the current Israel-Hamas conflict, citing rising tension as a reason. And to avoid a view that the Singapore position was one-sided, a government minister later said it was possible to be concerned regarding the Palestinian plights while condemning Hamas’ action. The Singaporean President and Prime Minister sent letters to Palestinian leaders, expressing condolences for the mounting casualties in the Gaza Strip, and pledging a $300,000 donation in humanitarian aid.  

Two other ASEAN members, the Philippines and Thailand, have large numbers of nationals working in Israel and have suffered casualties in the current crisis. Yet each responded differently. The Philippines condemned Hamas’ actions, while Thailand initially expressed neutrality, stating that “we do not know the truth about the political climate between the two nations [Palestine and Israel].” Manila’s response could be attributed to its experience battling militant groups in the southern Philippines over decades. As recently as 2017, militant groups professing alignment with the Islamic State seized control of Marawi, a city in the south of the Philippines, which led to a months-long campaign by the Philippines military with regional support to drive the militants out.

Across mainland Southeast Asia, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam issued softer statements, expressing concern about the crisis without assigning blame to any party. The military junta in Myanmar is more focused on regime survival, launching an air strike against domestic insurgents, killing 29 people a few days after the Hamas attack on Israel.

These historical and domestic dynamics inform the policy of individual ASEAN states and provide some perspective in their reading of and response to the current crisis in the Middle East. It demonstrates a lack of unity among the Southeast Asian grouping that some observers argue dilutes its relevance. Yet despite the diverse responses by individual ASEAN members, there has been no official criticism by one member against another. This is consistent with ASEAN’s norms of non-interference in each other’s affairs, which aims to ensure the stability of Southeast Asia, a region that is still experiencing the threat of terrorism, internal rebellions, and inter-state territorial disputes.

Perhaps the silent acceptance of diverse positions is a strategy for ASEAN to cope in the more volatile world that we live in today.

[welcomemoscowwalks]

What do the numbers 225 and 141.8m in Victory Park mean? 80th anniversary of the victory in the Second World War.

Moscow is preparing to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Victory over the Nazi invaders.

Poklonnaya Gora was mentioned as early as the 14th century in the chronicles of the Lithuanian-Muscovite war. In 1812, Napoleon was expecting a delegation here with the keys to the Kremlin.

The idea of creating a complex in memory of the Red Army soldiers who marched through Poklonnaya Gora to the front arose back in 1942. The competition for the best work was suspended by Joseph Stalin. In 1958, a memorial sign was laid "A monument to the Victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 will be erected here," and in 1961 the first trees of the future park were planted. The grand opening of the complex took place on May 9, 1995, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Victory.

0:00 Victory Park on Poklonnaya Gora.

0:09 The monument to the Soldier of the First World War and the composition to the Heroes of the First World War were unveiled on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the event.

0:30 Memorial stone of 1941.

0:32 Commemorative steles to the Fronts and fleets of the Second World War.

1:03 The War Years Fountain was opened in 1995. The total number of jets is 225 - that's how many weeks the war lasted.

1:30 Victory Monument. On Victors Square stands an obelisk with a height of 141.8 meters - the Great Patriotic War lasted 1,418 days and nights. At the hundred-meter mark, there is a figure of the goddess of victory Nika with two angels, at the foot of the obelisk there is a statue of St. George the Victorious striking a serpent. The monument depicts the battles of the Battles of Stalingrad and Kursk and the Belarusian operation.

2:02 The monument to the Cities of Military Glory is dedicated to all the cities of military glory of Russia. The opening was timed to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the counteroffensive near Moscow.

2:31 The monument to the Liquidators of the Chernobyl accident was unveiled in 2017. In the center of the composition there are sculptures of liquidators: an engineer, a scientist, a builder and a military man. The ball symbolizes the atom.

3:09 The monument to the Sons and Daughters of Slovenia appeared on Poklonnaya Gora in 2019. The shape of the monument embodies Mount Triglav, the national symbol of Slovenia.

3:16 On the roads of war - a gift from the Mongolian people for the 70th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War. A symbol of friendship and mutual assistance between the two peoples, every 5 horses at the front were Mongolian.

3:27 Course of a young fighter.

3:37 BMD-1 (combat vehicle of landings)

3:42 The monument to the internationalist soldiers was unveiled in 2004 to mark the 25th anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. It was built on donations from organizations of veterans of the Afghan war.

4:00 The Memorial Synagogue was opened in 1998. The exhibition is dedicated to Jewish victims of the Holocaust.

4:12 Monument chapel to the Spanish volunteers. About 800 volunteers from Spain fought on the side of the Soviet troops.

4:22 The monument "We were together in the fight against fascism" was opened in 2010 on the Alley of Memory. It symbolizes the unity, courage and heroism of the multinational people of the Soviet Union.

4:58 Monument to the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition.

5:15 The Victory Museum was opened on May 9, 1995. The Victory Banner hoisted over the Reichstag in Berlin is kept here.

5:29 The Eternal Flame was lit on April 30, 2010, from a piece of Eternal Flame from the Grave of the Unknown Soldier near the Kremlin walls.

5:46 The Church of St. George the Victorious was founded in 1993.

6:16 In 2020, a flagpole with the national flag of Russia was erected. The height is 50 meters, the panel is 16* 8 meters.

[humanitysstrongestsoldier1]

About Me

Hi ppl! So I decided to make an about me page so ppl can get an idea of what fandoms i'm in and what questions they can ask me and etc. I'm getting more active on tumblr because AO3 has been kinda dead recently in the fandoms i'm active in so it's good to be back here and staying. (she/her)

Houston, Texas 🤠 🦅 🇺🇸 (ethnically 🇮🇳)

Why I Chose My Names/Meanings Behind Them:

I chose the username humanitysstrongestsoldier1 because of Levi from AOT; not just for his strength, but for his rage, his refusal to break even when the world burns. I relate to that. I crave strength, of body and will. The kind of strength that doesn’t beg for mercy, that doesn’t bend to gods or fate.

The Bane of God stems from my constant heretical and iconoclastic mindset. I’ve always questioned divinity, challenged dogma, and pushed against imposed beliefs. It reflects my inner rebellion, the desire to unmake gods and re-mold truths.

As for my pen name—Simurgh—that’s how I wish to be addressed. The Simurgh is a mythical creature from Persian folklore, wise and ancient, often seen as a symbol of collective consciousness and realisation. I chose it from one of my favourite works by Attar of Nishapur, The Conference of the Birds. In the story, the birds of the world—each representing a different human flaw or virtue—gather and decide they need a king. They embark on a journey to find the legendary Simurgh, crossing seven perilous valleys: Quest, Love, Knowledge, Detachment, Unity, Bewilderment, and finally, Annihilation. Many fall behind. Only thirty birds reach the end. But when they arrive, they find no external ruler waiting for them. Instead, they see themselves reflected—scarred, weathered, transformed. They are the Simurgh. The name itself is a play on words in Persian—‘si’ meaning thirty, and ‘murgh’ meaning birds. It’s a powerful metaphor: the divine, the answer, the strength they were searching for was within them all along. That idea resonates deeply with me—of searching, suffering, and ultimately discovering that the power we seek lies in self-awareness, in introspection. The Simurgh isn’t just a creature. It’s a mirror into yourself...

☀︎☀︎☀︎

House: Slytherin 🐍

Cabin: Zeus ⚡️

Patronus: Raven/Dragon 🐦‍⬛ 🐉

Wand: Black Walnut Wood, Dragon Heartstring Core, 13”, Unyielding Flexibility 🪄

Faction: Erudite 👁️

District: 1 💎

Noble House: Martell ☀️

Court: Solar (Night, Dawn, Day) 🌌🌆🌅

Sign: Sagittarius ♐︎

♦︎♦︎♦︎

MBTI: INTP

Enneagram: 5w4 “The Iconoclast”

Tritype: 548

Temperament: Choleric-Melancholic or Melancholic-Phlegmatic (honestly idk)

Socionics: ILI-INTp

Moral Alignment: Chaotic Evil

Instinctual Variant: Sp/Sx

Global Five: RCOEI or RCUEI (idk)

Attitudinal Psyche: LVEF or LVFE (idk)

⚙︎⚙︎⚙︎

Fandoms:

EVERY SINGLE ANIME FANDOM OUT THERE!! My list is over 200 animes, i promise ik what you are talking about.

Games/Childhood: Assassin's Creed, COD, DBH, RDR, TLOU, TGOS, Minecraft, FNAF, Resident Evil, Creepypasta, Mandela Catalogue, gaming youtubers, classic genZ childhood

GOT, LOTR, Narnia, Dune every major movie adaptation from books

Books: YA, NA, Adult (read almost everything on booktok, part of booktok before it was weird btw) classical literature, philosophy, sci-fi, high fantasy, romance, political allegories

Marvel & DC, Star Wars, Star Trek, Transformers, ATLA etc. movies and tv shows (srsly i'm everywhere bro)

Absolute STEM nerd; astrophysics, particle, theoretical, classical, quantum, engineering, coding, algebra, biology, chemistry, medical, psychology GIVE IT ALL TO ME 😫💪🏽

KPOP MULTISTAN! (but my ults are BTS (since 2017), ATEEZ (since 2018), SVT (since 2018), P1H (since 2020) i have been supporting GOT7, iKON, EXO, MonstaX, NCT, Stray Kids, TXT, Xikers, 82major Enhypen as well.

ARSENAL GIRL! NORTH LONDON FOREVERRR ❤️🤍

that's mostly it lol i just spammed my nerdiness here welp, that was fun....

[katnisshawkeye]

When Among Crows

Scheda informativa

Titolo completo: A curse. A calling. A sacrifice. — When Among Crows

Autore: Veronica Roth

Copertina: Eleonor Piteira, Katie Klimowicz

Editore: Titan Books*

Prima Pubblicazione: 14 maggio 2024

Pagine: 165

Prezzo: £ 12,99 (€ 19,50)

Trama

Portiamo la spada e portiamo il dolore della spada.

Il dolore è la vocazione di Dymitr. La sua famiglia è parte di una lunga stirpe di cacciatori che sacrificano le loro anime per uccidere i mostri. Ora gli è stata affidata una missione mortale: trovare la leggendaria streca Baba Jaga. Per raggiungerla, Dymitr deve allearsi con coloro che ha giurato di uccidere.

Il dolore nell'eredità di Ala. Una zmora divoratrice di paura con poco da perdere, Ala attende la morte per la maledizione che porta con sé. Quando Dymitr le offre una cura in cambio del suo aiuto, non ha altra scelta che accettare.

Insieme devono combattere contro il tempo e l'ira della malavita di Chicago. Ma i segreti di Dymitr, e le sue vere motivazioni, potrebbero essere ciò che in realtà li distruggerà.

Recensione

La storia non è mai stata dal punto di vista del cattivo, perché Dymitr “cattivo” non è e perché né Ala né Niko sono “mostri cattivi”.

Si tratta di un urban fantasy che trae i suoi personaggi dai folklori delle culture mitteleuropee, con un accenno particolare a quello polacco, essendo la Polonia anche il Paese d'origine di Dymitr, il quale arriva a Chicago per compire la sua missione.

Dymitr è un personaggio misterioso, il cui mistero non termina con la conclusione del libro, motivo che accende la curiosità sul già annunciato sequel, A brother. A traitor. A monster. — To Clutch A Razor, in uscita il prossimo settembre 2025.

La scrittura è scorrevole e piacevole, nonostante i capitoli lunghi tiene il lettore attaccato alle pagine che, una volta finito, vorrà già sapere: “E ora?!”.

Valutazione

★★★★★ 5/5

Dalla stessa saga Curse Bearer:

A curse. A calling. A sacrifice — When among crows, 2024**

A brother. A traitor. A monster. — To Clutch A Razor, 2025

* Titan Books è l'editore per il Regno Unito, negli Stati Uniti d'America la distribuzione è grazie a Tor Books. ** È stato tradotto in italiano come Quando sei tra i Corvi, in uscita con Mondandori nel 2025

Dalla stessa autrice

La trilogia Divergent:

Divergent, Deagostini, 2011

Insurgent, Deagostini, 2012

Allegiant, Deagostini, 2013

Four, Deagostini, 2014

La duologia Carve the Mark:

Carve the Mark, Mondadori, 2017

The Fates Divide, Mondadori, 2018

L'antologia Shards and Ashes:

Hearken, 2013

Autoconclusivi:

The End and Other Beginnings: Stories from the Future, 2019

Ark, 2019

The Ones. La profezia dei prescelti., Mondadori, 2020

Poster Girl, 2020

Arch-Conspirator, 2023

Void, 2023

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