#we would declare war crimes against one another

[stubz]

"I think Kim and Max had a fight."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well they aren't sitting together for lunch."

"That's not that strange, humans actually need alone time from one another. Even if they're as close as Kim and Max."

"Yes but while swinging by I noticed they both have bruises on them."

"Again that is not strange. They work in the youngling centre, remember? Everyday I find a new scratch, bruise, or bitemark on them. Once Max had an acid burn from a Vasid."

"But some looked like human hand prints. Adult human hand prints."

"...why would they fight though? They share the same territory, they have bonded over many cycles, they are not courting the other, why would they fight?"

"I heard humans fight for fun against one another, perhaps that is it?"

"But look, they are not happy with the other."

"...should we ask?"

"Do you have voids for brains? You can't just ask a being why they fought their pack mate!"

"With humans you can!"

"Fine. Who do we ask?"

"Kim because we can climb out of her reach fastest." the beings swung over to a grumpy Kim and dropped down into the chairs beside her.

"Hello human Kim."

"We were wondering what happened to you." they gestured with their claw the numerous bruises on her wrists and forearms.

"Max happened. Damn cheater."

"..."

"...He did this??? But why??"

"Because he's a damn cheat!!" the human yells meeting the other human's glare from across the room.

"I did not you sneaky little shit!!" the human male bursts up knocking over his chair

"My hand was on first!"

"Your stubby ass little pinky is not your hand!" the humans meet in the middle nose to nose.

"IT WAS BELOW YOUR'S!!"

"IT DOESN'T MATTER! IT WAS A PINKY VERSUS A DAMN HAND!!"

"ENOUGH! WHAT ARE YOU TWO TALKING ABOUT?!" yells Geld shoving them apart with his many appendages. "What is this nonsense about hands and being first?"

"..."

"..."

"Well? We're waiting!"

"...we were playing Slap Jack." Max mumbles.

"We got...pretty into it." Kim adds looking at her feet.

"Who is Jack and why are you slapping him?! What is it with you humans and your games?!" Geld cries horrified.

"I think I have heard of this one! It is a game of cards where you need to hit a card called Jack. It uses your speed and sight quite well, yes? For you have to hit the card before your opponent?"

"...you received this," Geld grabs Max's arm to look at a bruise in the shape of fingers on his forearm. "from a game???"

"Kim tried to wrestle the pile from me." he smirks.

"And you received this from it as well?" Haq points to Kim's swollen thumb knuckle.

"Max was milliseconds from slapping it first and smashed my thumb to the table." she grins.

"Why are you happy?!" the two cried.

"Because it was a good game."

"Yeah, that was a great comeback you had."

"Sorry about your thumb."

"No worries, sorry about your arm."

"Eh, nothing a free lunch won't heal."

"Well next time I'll be winning that free lunch." and as the two humans walked off to eat lunch Geld and Haq watched in horror at how the human race could declare war against one another so easily while playing a game.

[batshit-auspol]

have we talked about the woolworths debacle yet?

Sigh.

Alright kids strap in, because the culture wars are back and stupider than ever.

So there are two characters you need to be familiar with in this story before we continue:

Woolies (i.e. Woolworths) - One of two supermarket chains in Australia. Not related to the giant Woolworths chain that used to exist overseas, other than the Aussie one swiped the name because the original forgot to trademark the name 'Woolworths' here. Biggest company in Aus, and also the biggest employer. Not a brand anyone with more than two braincells would pick a fight with.

Peter Dutton - Man with less than two braincells, and current leader of the political opposition in Australia. Best known for bearing a passing resemblance to a potato and once demanding that a homophobic song get played for balance when a football halftime show performed 'Same Love'. His reputation is so bad that if you told an Australian that Dutton's favorite pastime was drowning puppies, they probably would believe you.

And to prove our point, here's the best headline a friendly newspaper could come up with to try spin his image:

The third thing you need to know is that in Australia we have a national holiday called "Australia Day" which is basically a scheduled day for everyone to get into a giant argument.

This is because for the last 30ish years it has been held on the anniversary of the British claiming the land around Sydney as a colony which was:

a) More the founding of an English prison then the founding of Australia, and more importantly

b) from the perspective of the people who were already living here, kindof a very shit day

Now not everyone agrees on this, and even those that don't 'celebrate' will often still have a get together with friends, but it can't be denied that we've shifted a long way from the days when the country used to celebrate Australia Day by kitting ourselves out in Aussie flag budgie smugglers, drinking enough beer to drown Harold Holt, and partying like it's 1789.

(Now a brief break for a real photo of Peter Dutton at a press conference)

Good luck sleeping tonight. Anyway back to the story.

As a result of this shift away from the trend of showing your patriotism by wearing Australian flag underpants, this year Woolworths decided that they were no longer going to be rolling out their box of southern cross thongs - on the grounds that "this kitschy shit never sells" and they are far too busy with more important things like blaming price gouging on inflation and installing self-checkout machines that think your canvas bag is a crime against humanity.

Never a man to miss an opportunity to act like a massive twat, upon hearing that Woolies had dumped their flag merch, Peter Dutton rushed onto the airwaves to declare that Woolworths had "gone woke" (paging 4chan circa 2009) and called for the country to boycott the store, a story which Australia's media have gleefully put on loudhale for over a week now in order to drive outrage clicks.

We at this point remind you that Woolworths is a company which, as we previously mentioned, basically has a monopoly on selling food in this country. Not exactly something you can boycott.

(Another real Dutton photo break)

Needless to say Dutton's dumbass plan did not immediately put Woolies out of business, however the relentless media campaign by Rupert Murdoch's minions did result in a bunch of innocent low-wage floor staff being harrassed by The Dark Lord's fanboys and a few Woolies stores were graffitied.

Allegedly being the 'free market' guy, Dutton also kindof snookered himself by demanding the free market not decide the fate of Australia day, but logic was never one of his strong suits.

Anyway, in the end we're just going to keep having this dumb circular argument every year, fulled by a media who love fanning the flames, until a politician has the guts to shift the date to May 8 (pronounced m8), and everyone promptly forgets this was ever a thing.

All in all, that's the long and the short of it. As a final touch we'll leave you with this real tweet by Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, in all its batshit glory.

We look forward to the absolute dumpster fire of comments this post is going to generate - as is the Australia Day tradition.

[starscreamsleftarm]

We need to talk about Orion Pax’s fat birthing hips in tfone. I bet D-16 was giving him that D in secret because it’s just so damn big and then it only got bigger when he got the matrix of leadership!

Megatron was definitely hate fucking him on the battlefield when everyone is looking, he can’t help it😔

Ooh and I bet you Orion loved it!

Orion waddling around with those fat birthing hips like it’s nobody’s business should be a crime!

D-16 isn’t really listening to what he says, man he doesn’t even care, all he wants is to shove his fat spike into his valve and make him a carrier, maybe they’ll even hive them time off to take care of their young.

Orion can only gasp into his hand as D rocks hard into him, slowly thrusting more roughly and faster, mixing their transfluid like cream. Poor Orion’s nods have never been massaged like this before and it doesn’t help that D’s fat spike just somehow keeps getting bigger!

Orion can’t help but squirt on his best friend, why should he not? He feels so good and full.

D is grabbing his hips, thrusting up into him as he practically shoves the head of his fat spike into Orion’s womb!

Orion snaps out of his overstimulated state and immediately begs his best friend not to overload in him. D is rocking his hips with a glare because how can he pull out now when he’s already there?!

His tip is leaking so much it might as well be an overload and Orion is begging and squirming for D to pull out, he feels so good full and doesn’t want to carry yet! D only pulls out because he heard one of the guards coming, just great now he’ll need to jack off in a room later to finish himself😒

Of course when they ho on that whole trip and everything changes, neither was happy, especially Megatron.

And when they do meet again, they’re fighting and hurting and while Optimus Prime is sad and whiny about fighting his best friend, meanwhile Megatron is trying so hard not to shoot a load into his panel because Optimus’s whiny and even fatter birthing hips have been swaying the entire time!, ‘stupid Prime knows that I’m getting hard and is doing it on purpose!’

Then one day Megatron just has enough and shoves him down mid battle, Prime is on his hands and knees, ready to kick Megatron in the stomach but instead his memory back up kicks in and his panel pops open.

Megatron with the biggest smirk you’ll ever see, shoves into his valve like it was any other Thursday and starts thrusting into him like a wild mech in heat! Everyone has either stopped to watch or is looking away in shame.

Ohhh but it only makes it better because it wasn’t only Megatron’s frame that grew bigger and Optimus can feel that! Megatron’s spike is right in his womb, he hasn’t even pushed in all the way! It feels so good, too good to notice the stares and the gasps. He’s whining for Megatron to pull out but he just keeps thrusting, massaging all his neglected nods.

Megatron is gasping out that he’s won! Declaring that they’re precious Prime doesn’t stand a chance against him!

Optimus is overstimulated and pumped to the brim with transfluid by the time Megatron is done.

Poor OP is so full and thinks it’s finally finished when Meg just holds him up and open for everyone to see and thrusts back into him, rubbing his belly and kissing his neck while massaging his hips because Meg has been waiting for the day he would finally full him up.

Who knows, the war stops entirely because OP ended up pregnant and now has to take care of him!

Maybe OP is asking Megatron to put in another one😏

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

by Seth Mandel

All that was left were the verdicts and sentencing, which we now have for a handful of the defendants. From the wires: “The heaviest sentence imposed was six months in prison, for a man identified as Sefa O. for public violence against several people.” One of the defendants, a 19-year-old, was treated by the court as a minor.

As in past pogroms, the prosecutor seemed to have more sympathy for the perpetrators than for the victims: “The violence was influenced by the situation in Gaza, not by antisemitism,” he said.

To recap: The perpetrators said they were carrying out a “Jew hunt”—in other words, a frank declaration of anti-Semitism. Even if you are the type to whine that the term “anti-Semitism” is overused in order to quash the free speech of Hamasniks on campus, you’d probably admit that “Jew hunt” as a motivation for physical violence is unambiguous. If there is such a thing as anti-Semitism, a “Jew hunt” falls into that category.

To understand the prosecutor’s argument, however, you must understand the role he is intending to play, not the role he is technically assigned to do.

The prosecutor sees himself not as a prosecutor of these defendants but as a defense attorney for the future defendants of this crime. Just as they were the night of the violence in Amsterdam, everyone is on the same side.

But wait. Didn’t the prosecutors ask for more time than was given? Don’t they claim to be disappointed by the sentences handed down? To which I’d respond with a question of my own: Are you interested in purchasing a bridge in Brooklyn? If you, as a prosecutor, argue that acts of violence are understandable acts of protest, you are the one who has reduced the sentences of the accused before the trial is even over.

Here’s another example from the same trial: “A 22-year-old identified as Abushabab M., 22, faces a charge of attempted murder but his case has been postponed while he undergoes a psychiatric assessment.

“He was born in the Gaza Strip and grew up in a war zone, his lawyer told the court, while M. sat sobbing as his case was being heard.”

Psychiatric assessment? Is he incapable of not trying to murder Jews because he is from Gaza? That is some kind of defense?

If it sounds familiar, it should. In 2017, a man named Kobili Traoré killed Sarah Halimi at her Paris apartment. He admitted to the crime, and his motive was, as reported by the New York Times, that he “had been troubled by Ms. Halimi’s mezuza.” As he threw Halimi out her own window, he yelled “Allahu akbar” and “I killed the devil.”

[yerimsdreams]

Duty is Sacrifice

author's note: chapter 2 is finally here! sorry for the wait, I had an exam period, but that is finally over!

cregan stark x oc (she/her pronouns)

warnings: swearing. sentencing. mention of death and murder. spoilers for fire&blood.

The council chamber was dimly lit by the morning light filtering through narrow windows, casting long shadows across the stone walls. The air was thick with the scent of parchment and the muted rustle of cloaks as the nobles took their seats. Cregan sat at the head of the table, towering above everyone else. 

Benjicot, Oscar and Kermit cautiously observed him. Kermit's fingers lightly drummed against the table as his brother and friend awaited the words of the Lord of Winterfell. 

On the other side of the table, the brothers Leowyn and Corwyn Corbray of the Vale sat with anticipation. They'd only arrived that morning in King's Landing after they had received word from Lady Arryn, who occupied a place at the opposite end of the table, her sharp gaze never leaving Cregan. 

He let the silence stretch, allowing it to settle over the room. He knew what was coming, the resistance he would face, but he remained fixed. 

''Unworthy as Aegon the Usurper might have been, his murder was high treason. Those responsible must answer for it.'' He spoke clearly, his hands clasped in front of him. 

The others remained quiet at his words, exchanging uneasy glances with one another. It was a sentiment that most did not share, but none were eager to challenge the northman so directly. 

''My lord,'' Benjicot dared to speak up, ''no one here disputes the crime that was committed, but we must consider the realm. Pursuing vengeance will only breed more unrest.'' 

''What of those who still hold Aegon the Elder's banner? What if they decide to seek a vengeance of their own in response to those imprisoned here?'' Lord Leowyn asked, shifting in his seat. 

''There are still pockets of resistance, but they are of little consequence, my Lords.'' Lady Jeyne Arryn responded to his concerns, before Cregan could. 

Lord Tully spoke up for the first time, scratching his voice. ''The Dance is done. The war is over, and the realm is in shambles. It is time to make peace.'' 

The Warden's eyes flicked to Kermit, studying the young boy's tired features. The desire for peace was palpable in the room, but so was the fear of what Cregan might do if his demands were not met.

''The realm must heal,'' he conceded, though his tone remained firm, ''but it cannot come at the mercy of justice. The killers of King Aegon II cannot be allowed to walk free, lest we invite more treachery.'' 

Kermit Tully’s drumming fingers stopped abruptly. He leaned forward, his expression serious, any trepidation that had manifested itself around Cregan gone. ''Let it be on your head, Stark. I want no part of this, but I will not have it said that Riverrun stood in the way of justice.'' 

Cregan nodded, somewhat relieved they would stop fighting him on this, even if it was done with heavy hearts and lingering doubts. 

''Aegon the Younger will have to make you Hand, my Lord. No lord has the right to put another lord to death. You will need the King's authority to act in his name.'' Ser Corwyn reminded him. If Cregan were to put sentences on the kingslayers' heads, he will at least do so according to the law. 

The Warden gave an unimpressed glare to the Corbray knight. He had no desire to undermine the authority of the King, nor to cast doubt on the justice he sought to dispense. The law would be his shield as much as his sword. 

''Then it will be done,'' Cregan declared, ''I will seek the King’s authority, and with it, the traitors will be judged.'' 

The room fell into a heavy silence. The lords and Lady Arryn exchanged uneasy glances but did little more than nod. They could sense the determination in Cregan, a man who would not easily be swayed from his course. Even if they harboured doubts, they understood that any attempt to change his mind would be futile. Cregan held the authority in court now, whether they liked it or not.

''Where is Visenya?'' Bloody Ben asked. He had waited all meeting for her to walk into the room and join them, her empty seat now gathering dust as the council continued without her.

The question hung in the air, drawing the attention of the assembled lords. Cregan looked over to the Blackwood boy, his keen eyes narrowing ever so slightly. It was not only the inquiry that caught him off guard, but the casual way Benjicot referred to Visenya - by her name alone, without her title. Cregan knew that the young lord had fought alongside her, sharing the burdens of war in ways that few others could understand. But even so, the breach in formalities did not sit well with him. 

Before he could even think of a response, Jeyne's voice had him beaten again. ''It is curious, isn't it?'' She mused, her tone deceptively light, though her eyes gleamed with sharpness. ''The Princess is not one to retreat without reason.'' 

She did not know why Visenya had confined herself to her chambers for days on end, speaking to no one but the young King Aegon. However, she had her suspicions, and they pointed directly to the man sitting at the head of the table.

The lords around the table exchanged puzzled glances, not fully grasping the weight of her words, but Cregan understood. Her pointed comment was as much a question as it was an accusation, a way of nudging Cregan to acknowledge his own part in whatever had driven Visenya into isolation. 

But Cregan would not allow her to unsettle him in front of the others. ''The Princess will join us when she is ready.'' He replied, emphasising her title as he glanced at Lord Blackwood. 

''Or when you are ready for her to join us?'' She'd leaned forward as she asked, further provoking the Warden of the North. 

It was uncomfortable to watch, to say the least. The Maiden of the Vale the only one brave enough to somewhat challenge the Wolf of the North. Cregan would respect it if he was not the object of her sharp words. He knew she was testing him, trying to see how far she could push, but he was not about to give her the satisfaction of a reaction. 

''Whenever that may be,'' his voice was surprisingly calm, ''the council will continue its work. I suggest we resume our other duties now.'' 

The finality in his tone left no room for further provocation. Jeyne, though clearly unsatisfied, leaned back in her seat, her eyes still fixed on him, as if weighing his resolve. 

One by one, the lords rose from their seats exchanging quiet murmurs as they made their way out of the council chamber. The clatter of boots and swords filled the air, the heavy atmosphere easing as the chamber slowly emptied. 

Cregan lingered for a moment more, staring at the parchments in front of him. He realised his control over the court was slipping out of his hands. His plans to march on Casterly Rock, Storm's End, and Oldtown had been cast aside, undone by Visenya and Corlys's pacts of peace sent before his arrival. The trials for the traitors in the dungeons was the only thing that remained to him, and he would not let go of it. 

The room had emptied, save for one. 

Jeyne Arryn had no intention of letting him leave without a final word. She rose from her seat and approached him, her steps slow. There was an air of quiet authority about her, the kind that came from years of ruling her own domain with both strength and wisdom. 

''Lord Stark,'' she addressed him, ''a moment, if you would.'' 

Cregan paused, turning to face her with a guarded expression. He was not in the mood for more of her probing comments, but something in her demeanour told him it would be a bit different. 

''What is it you wish to discuss, my Lady?'' He acknowledged, standing up from his chair that scraped against the floor. 

She held his gaze, the silence stretching between them for a heartbeat longer than was comfortable. And then, with a tone that was both knowing and subtly accusatory, she spoke a single name.

''Visenya.''

Cregan's breath hitched for a moment, not expecting such an outright answer. The name hung between them like a drawn sword. 

''What of the Princess?'' He replied, his voice carefully neutral, though he knew it was a futile attempt to shield himself from whatever insight Jeyne was about to lay bare. Cregan could feel his pulse quicken. 

Jeyne tilted her head slightly, a look in her eyes that seemed to see through his composed exterior. ''No one has seen her or spoken to her in days. The court has taken notice, as have I. One might wonder what has driven her to such isolation.'' 

His jaw tightened, the recurring mention of her absence stirring emotions he had tried to bury. He had thought of little else but her in those silent days, his thoughts a storm of conflicting feelings. 

''Perhaps the Princess simply needs time for herself.'' He said, his voice low, though the uncertainty in his tone betrayed him. He didn’t sound sure of himself, and he knew it. 

The Lady's gaze softened, feeling somewhat pitiful for him. ''When the council is in need of her mind, she precludes herself? My cousin's daughter does not run when her presence is required by others.'' 

Cregan's expression remained stoic, his face a mask of controlled indifference. He wasn’t about to let Jeyne, or anyone else, see any sign of doubt or guilt. ''War has taken its toll on all of us, my Lady. I trust the Princess knows what is best for her.'' 

She noted the evasiveness in his voice. She had seen many men in positions of power adopt this same diplomatic tone, a way of deflecting blame while maintaining an air of authority. But Cregan Stark, despite his best efforts, was not fooling her. 

Jeyne's eyes narrowed, her earlier pity giving way to a sharper curiosity. ''Of course,'' she replied, her voice laced with just enough doubt to make it clear she wasn’t convinced, ''But Visenya is not one to retreat, as you have seen for yourself, I am sure. She has been through more than most can bear, yet she always finds a way to press on. So I ask again, what of the Princess, Lord Stark?''

His composure faltered, just for a heartbeat. It was a moment so brief that most might have missed it, but Jeyne Arryn was not most. ''As I said, Lady Arryn,'' he quickly recovered, ''the Princess is taking the time she needs.'' 

''She is not a woman to be underestimated, my Lord. Nor is she one to leave herself out of decisions that deeply affect her family, such as a potential execution of Lord Corlys Velaryon.'' 

She was figuring him out despite Cregan not giving anything away, it aggravated him. ''I do not underestimate her, my Lady,'' he said, keeping his tone respectful, ''I know full well what she is capable of.'' 

Jeyne studied him, letting her eyes wander over his figure. ''Do you?'' She challenged, again. 

A flash of frustration crossed his face before he masked it with his usual composure. ''If you are implying something, Lady Arryn, I suggest you say it plainly.'' 

She chuckled softly, a sound that was more calculating than amused. ''Do not let your sense of duty blind you to what is right in front of you, my Lord.'' Her tone was gentle, more advice than accusation. 

Jeyne did not press further, sensing she had said enough. She offered him a faint smile before leaving. The sound of her footsteps echoed softly as she made her way out of the chamber, leaving Cregan alone with his thoughts and maps. 

As the guards closed the doors behind her, Cregan stared at the empty room and the large table in front of him. She had seen something in him, something he was not ready to admit to himself yet. 

The Great Hall of the Red Keep was eerily silent, the weight of the impending judgments pressing heavily on all present. The Iron Throne loomed in the background, a jagged, forbidding monument to the power that had been fought over so bitterly. But today, it was not the Iron Throne that commanded attention, it was the man sitting before it, on a simple wooden bench, that captured all the eyes in the room. 

Lord Cregan Stark, newly named Hand of the King, though it was less an honour and more a necessity born from the young king's fear and the absence of his formidable aunt, sat in judgement of all the turncloaks and kingslayers that had been arrested. 

The next criminal in session was Ser Perkin the Flea, a man of no great birth but of infamy enough to fill the hall. His shoulders hunched slightly, his gaze shifting nervously as he was brought forward to stand trial. The man who had once risen so high through treachery now looked small and pathetic. 

''Ser Perkin,'' Cregan acknowledged the traitor, ''you rose up in rebellion against your lawful queen and helped drive her from this city to her death. You raised up your own squire in her place, then abandoned him to save your worthless hide.'' 

The Flea opened his mouth to protest to plead his case, but Cregan continued, his voice growing colder with each word. ''The realm will be a better place without you.'' 

Desperation flared in Perkin's eyes. ''I was pardoned for those crimes, my Lord! I was forgiven!'' 

The Warden's expression did not change as he delivered his final, damning words. ''Not by me.'' 

The weight of that statement hung in the air as the Flea was led away, his fate sealed by the undaunted judgement of the Lord of Winterfell. 

Next came Lord Corlys Velaryon, the Sea Snake himself. The room seemed to hold its breath as the old man was brought forward, his chains clinking softly with each step. Unlike Perkin, Corlys did not cower or plead. His gaze was steady, though weary, as he faced Cregan. 

Cregan observed him for a long moment, his thoughts unreadable. The Sea Snake had been many things - an ally, a traitor, a hero, a villain - but now, he stood accused of murder, and that was all that mattered. 

''You stand accused of murder, regicide, and high treason. How do you answer these charges, Lord Velaryon?'' His deep northern accent boomed through the Great Hall. 

Much to everyone's surprise, Corlys did not attempt to hide his guilt. ''What I did, I did for the good of the realm. I would do the same again. The madness had to end.'' 

Cregan remained silent for a moment, his gaze steady, measuring Corlys’s resolve. The old man had seen countless battles, navigated treacherous waters, both literal and political, and yet here he stood, admitting to regicide without a flicker of regret.

As he stared into the Sea Snake’s eyes, Cregan’s mind drifted, if only for a heartbeat, to Visenya. Their bitter words echoed in his memory, and he felt the sting of her absence more keenly than ever. Seven days had passed since they had last spoken, seven days of not having even seen a glimpse of her. It was a wound that festered, a silent torment he could not afford to indulge.

His gaze faltered for a brief moment as those thoughts consumed him, but he quickly steeled himself. This was not the time for doubt. Corlys Velaryon had committed murder, and murder demanded justice, no matter the cost.

''I declare Lord Corlys Velaryon guilty of murder, regicide, and high treason. For his crimes, he must pay with his life.'' Cregan decided, every word a hammer blow. 

The old man stood silent, accepting the verdict with the same calm he had displayed throughout the trial. His granddaughters watched in horror as their grandsire was escorted away back to his cell in the dungeons, now a sentenced murderer and traitor. 

The price of peace was high, and today, it had claimed the Sea Snake.

The halls of the Red Keep were quieter now, the echo of recent trials still lingering in the air. The heavy weight of the verdicts hung over the castle, settling uneasily in every corner, as if the very stones themselves were absorbing the gravity of what had transpired. 

Cregan walked the corridors alone,his thoughts occupied with the day's grim duties. He was heading towards the courtyard, seeking his men, when a sudden presence halted him in his tracks. 

''You cannot do this,'' Baela's voice was steady, her expression fierce, her hand gripping the hilt of a sword, ''Aegon pardoned my grandsire. He granted him mercy, and you cannot simply take that away.'' 

Beside her, Rhaena lingered, her gaze troubled but determined. Cregan could see that while she did not entirely condone her sister's approach, she had chosen to stand by her regardless.

The Warden regarded her for a moment, the corners of his mouth twitching in something that was almost a smile. He recognized the fire in her eyes, a familiar Targaryen resolve that demanded to be heard. But her words, her challenge, it amused him more than it angered him.

''And you intend to force this pardon with that sword?'' Cregan asked, his voice laced with a hint of mockery. 

Baela tightened her grip on the sword, her expression remaining fierce. She had made a show of defiance, but deep down, she knew she would not raise her blade against him. Cregan saw it too, the internal struggle playing out behind her determined gaze. 

He let out a low, rumbling laugh. ''You will not use it, Princess. You are not here to fight me,'' Cregan respected Baela, she had been Jace's betrothed and his late friend had always spoken of her in high praises, ''you are here because you think you can sway me with a threat, but we both know that is not going to work.'' 

Baela clenched her jaw, her pride wounded by his dismissal. Rhaena, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke. ''My sister only seeks what was promised by the King. It is not too late to honour that, Lord Stark.'' 

His laughter faded, replaced by a more serious expression as he looked between the Dragon Twins. ''The King may have offered pardon, but I have not. Your grandsire committed crimes that cannot be overlooked. What’s done is done.'' 

Baela's grip did not falter as she held it up to Cregan, her eyes blazing with a mix of fury and desperation. She could see that her words alone weren't enough to sway him, so she aimed for what she hoped would be a weak spot. 

''Is that what you told Visenya, Lord Stark? Or did you wish to court her, but she rejected your Northern beastliness, and you had her imprisoned like you did our grandsire?'' 

Cregan's eyes flashed with anger at Baela's words, a fire igniting within him that he struggled to keep in check. Her comment had struck deeper than she could have known, but he would not let her see how much it affected him. 

''Whispers of the court do not concern me, Princess.'' He brushed it aside, though his voice was dangerously low, his temper barely restrained. He knew she was trying to provoke him. 

Baela's eyes narrowed as she noted his reaction. ''But they seem to concern my cousin, and what concerns her, concerns us, Lord Stark.'' She said, her tone dripping with disdain. 

His temper flared, but he forced himself to maintain his composure. ''Put the sword down, Princess. You know as well as I do that you will not be making use of it.'' 

Baela refused to back down, the fire in her eyes only growing more intense as she stared him down. ''Do you think so little of us, Lord Stark?'' She asked, her voice venomous. ''You dismiss our concerns, our family, as if they are beneath you. You should know better than to dance with a dragon.'' 

''I do not underestimate anyone,'' he retorted, the same way he had said to Lady Jeyne in the council chamber, ''least of all your cousin. Your grandfather was complicit in the poisoning of a King, even if it was the Usurper. A crime he will be punished for.'' 

Her hand slowly dropped from the sword, the fire in her eyes dimming, replaced by a mixture of frustration and resignation. Still, she was not ready to let him have the last word.

''You might believe this is justice, but there will be those who remember this as cruelty.'' She said quietly, only loud enough for him and her sister to hear. 

Cregan nodded slightly, acknowledging her words without conceding to them. ''History will judge us all, Princess.'' 

With that, he stepped past the two women, leaving them standing in the corridor. He did not slow his pace, even as doubt clawed at the edges of his mind. 

Baela's grip on the sword slackened further, her shoulders drooping as she exchanged a look with Rhaena. Her twin put a comforting hand on her shoulder, guiding her away from the cold emptiness of the corridor. 

The castle was draped in silence, the kind that only settled over King's Landing in the dead of night. The corridors were empty, save for the occasional torch flickering in its sconce. Outside, the air was cool, a stark contrast to the stuffy warmth inside the castle walls.

Visenya moved quietly, her steps light as she made her way through the Great Yard. She had been to see her dragon, Sōnax, seeking solace in the dead of night when sleep eluded her. The moon cast a pale light over the paths, guiding her through the maze of hedges and flowers that had once been so meticulously tended. Now, they seemed as weary as she felt, their blooms drooping in the darkness. 

She passed the godswood, pausing against the heart tree. She took a deep breath, letting the cool air fill her lungs, trying to ease the tension that had settled in her chest. 

It was then that she heard the faint sound of footsteps, slow and deliberate. She turned, instinctively reaching for the dagger she kept hidden in the folds of her gown ever since the start of the Dance, but she relaxed slightly when she saw who it was. 

Cregan emerged from the shadows, his tall figure illuminated by the soft glow of the moon. He had been patrolling the grounds, unable to sleep with the weight of the day’s decisions pressing down on him. The trials, the confrontations - it all swirled in his mind, leaving him restless.

They had not expected to see each other at this hour or even at all until the Lord of Winterfell would ultimately return to the North. 

The pair stared at one another, neither moving or speaking. The tension that had manifested itself in Visenya's chest had been lifted from her body and into the air between them. Cregan's dark eyes met hers, and for the first time in what felt like forever, Visenya did not look away.

''Princess.'' He finally greeted her, his voice rough from the lack of sleep. 

''Lord Stark.'' She nodded, her tone equally guarded. She could see the weariness in his eyes, the lines of fatigue etched into his face. It mirrored her own exhaustion, the strain of everything they had endured. 

He loosened the grip on his sword as he took a few steps closer. ''What brings you here at this hour?'' He asked, though he already suspected the answer. 

''I could ask you the same.'' She replied, her tone neutral, careful.

Cregan let out a soft breath, almost a chuckle, but it lacked any real humour. ''I suppose neither of us has found much comfort in sleep lately.'' 

Visenya nodded, her gaze turning back to the large tree behind her. ''The nights are long when ones thoughts are troubled.'' 

''And yours are troubled, Princess?'' He asked, taking a step closer, though still keeping a respectful distance. 

Her eyes flickered back to his. ''They are. As are yours, I imagine.'' 

Cregan did not provide her with an answer right away, instead watching her. He looked at her, really looked at her, and he could see the toll that the last few days had taken on her. She was still beautiful, even in all her fatigue and unrest. 

''Yes,'' he said, his voice thoughtful, ''there is much to ponder about.'' 

''The trials, I suppose.'' She was leaning against the tree, observing every step and move he made. 

Cregan stopped his pacing and turned to face her. ''Indeed.'' 

''I know what you think of his actions,'' Visenya sighed, '' and I agree that poison is a coward's weapon.'' Her gaze became distant, as if dreaming. 

The Wolf of the North nodded along, his expression one of contemplation.

''When I flew to King's Landing, I only had one purpose; to kill my half-brother, to kill him as he had my sister, by burning him alive and feeding him to my dragon. You can imagine my anger when I arrived here and I am told that the Usurper is dead, and by poison of all ways,'' she chuckled, though the sound was devoid of real mirth. 

''However, I am glad he got a coward's death. My sister died like a true Targaryen, in fire and blood. Her death will be a grand story told for centuries, but no one will remember his. The story of his demise will fade because it lacked the valour and the strength that he lacked,'' She admitted, almost sounding proud. 

Cregan nodded slowly, understanding the fierce loyalty and pride that Visenya held for her family. 

''But there are others who acted not out of cowardice, but out of duty to the realm, to their family. They deserve a different fate.'' She met his gaze again, sorrow in her eyes. 

Cregan's eyes narrowed slightly, sensing where the conversation was leading. ''Lord Corlys Velaryon?'' 

Visenya nodded. ''I ask you one last time to reconsider his sentence. Yes, he made a choice that many would condemn, but without him, Aegon would not be alive today.'' 

He remained unreadable, though his eyes softened slightly. ''You ask much, Princess. The law cannot bend every time someone believes their cause is just.'' 

She stepped closer to him, her violet eyes locked onto his.''If not for the stability of the realm, if not for the honour of my nephew, if not for the sake of peace, for me. A personal boon.'' 

Cregan studied her, the sincerity in her voice piercing through the walls he had built around himself. ''And if I were to grant this boon, what would you offer in return, Princess?'' There was a hint of curiosity, the first time the mighty Warden of the North could actually sound like his conviction could be persuaded. 

''In return, I will give you whatever you desire, Lord Stark.'' Visenya answered, her voice strong despite the tremor in her earlier plea. 

He could see the desperation in her eyes, the way she held herself with a dignity that was both regal and vulnerable. The offer she made was not one to be taken lightly. 

''What I desire?'' He repeated, almost as if testing the weight of those words. He looked down, thoughtful, then back at her, his gaze piercing through the darkness. ''What if what I desire is not something you are willing to give?'' 

Visenya stiffened slightly, her heart pounding as she anticipated what he might say. ''Name it.'' She said, though there was a hint of apprehension in her voice. 

Cregan took another step, closing the distance between them. ''What I desire is all of you, forever.'' 

Visenya felt the air catch in her throat as Cregan's words hung between them. It was as if the entire world had paused, waiting for her response. His dark eyes, intense and unwavering, held hers captive, and for a moment, she found herself unable to speak.

''All of me?'' She managed to whisper. She was not sure if it was a question or an incredulous statement.

Cregan nodded, his expression solemn. ''Yes. Your hand in marriage, your loyalty, your trust - everything that you are, everything that you could be. Not just for a night or a season, but for as long as we both shall live.'' 

She searched his eyes, looking for a trace of jest or manipulation, but found only earnestness. The Warden of the North was not a man to make light of such things. The very idea was preposterous - her, a Targaryen, bound to the North? Yet, in that moment, it felt as though he was offering something more than a mere proposal. It was an invitation to a different kind of life, one far away from King's Landing. 

She let out a small, breathless laugh, one that held no humour. ''Are you mad, my Lord? A Targaryen in the North?'' 

Cregan's lips curved into a faint smile, though his eyes remained serious. ''Perhaps I am, my Princess. But madness and greatness often walk hand in hand, do they not?'' 

Visenya regarded him, the idea swirling in her mind. It was mad, audacious, and yet... "You would truly ask this of me? To marry into the North, where winter reigns and dragons do not fly?"

He nodded, his expression unwavering. ''I would. The North may be a land of ice and snow, but it is also a land of honour, of strength, and of loyalty. It is a place where bonds are not easily broken, where words are not just spoken but lived, my Princess.'' 

''It is no place for dragons, nor for those who carry their blood.'' She shook her head. 

''And yet, here you are,'' he countered, ''a dragon in King's Landing, a place that has brought you nothing but pain and loss. What has this city given you that the North could not? What has this life offered you, other than endless war and treachery?'' 

She opened her mouth to respond but found herself at a loss for words. His questions struck at the heart of her fears, her uncertainties. The life she had known was one of fire and blood, of power plays and betrayals. But what had it truly brought her? What had it cost her?

Everything. 

Cregan took her silence as an opportunity to continue. ''I offer you more than just a marriage, Princess. I offer you a chance to build something new, something not tainted by the ghosts of the past.'' 

Visenya felt a chill run down her spine, though she was not sure if it was the cold night air or the weight of his words. For a moment, she allowed herself to imagine it - a life in Winterfell, far from the scheming of King’s Landing, the endless battles for power. A life with a man who, despite his stern exterior, had shown her a kind of respect and understanding she had not expected. 

But the thought of leaving everything behind, of binding herself to a man she barely knew, was terrifying. ''You ask much of me, my Lord.'' She remarked, her voice slightly trembling. 

''And you asked much of me, my Princess.'' He retorted gently. 

''You are right,'' she chuckled, ''I did ask much of you.'' 

Visenya looked down, her thoughts a tangled web of doubt and longing. She had always been a Targaryen, defined by her name, her blood, her dragon. But what had that brought her? Loss after loss, betrayal after betrayal. 

''What of my dragon? Sōnax is a creature of fire and sky, bound to me as I am to her.'' She could not leave her behind, she'd seen how Seasmoke had acted when Laenor left. She did not want Sōnax to be subjected to the same fate. 

''She would find her place,'' he assured her, his eyes not leaving hers, ''The North may be cold, but it is also vast, with endless skies and mountains that reach the heavens. She will not be confined, just as you will not be.'' 

It did not feel real to her. As a young girl, she had imagined how her betrothal would go. She figured it would be much like her sister's, one to strengthen alliances and no regard for what either the bride or groom want. There was no room for dreams or desires. It was all about duty. 

Despite asking him for a favour, his proposal almost felt like a choice. It felt foreign, strange, like something she was not accustomed to. To have a choice in something so monumental felt both liberating and terrifying.

''And if I say yes, if I agree to this... I want to be your equal. I do not wish for you to rule, while my only purpose would be to squeeze out heirs like a broodmare.'' She was firm and resolute, no room for arguing. 

Cregan took her hand, engulfed by his. ''You would be my equal in every way, my Princess. We do not see women as mere vessels for heirs. I already have one, my son Rickon. We value strength, wisdom, and the ability to lead, regardless of one's gender.  If you stand beside me as my wife, you will be a Lady of Winterfell, not just in name but in action.'' 

Visenya felt the warmth of his hand enveloping hers, a stark contrast to the cool night air that surrounded them. Her heart raced as she met his gaze, his grey eyes filled with a depth of sincerity she had not encountered before. 

With a deep breath, she nodded, her decision crystallising in the quiet of the night. ''I will marry you, Lord Stark. A hand for a head.'' She agreed, grinning. 

A genuine look of joy and relief crossed Cregan's face. He lifted her hand to his lips, pressing a tender kiss to her knuckles. ''Then it is settled,'' he said, his voice warm with emotion, ''I will have my men release Lord Corlys from his cell when the sun rises.'' 

''Thank you, my Lord.'' She expressed quietly. 

''Cregan.'' He corrected gently. 

''What?'' Visenya blinked, caught off guard by his sudden informality.

''You may call me Cregan.'' He repeated, his smile softening. 

Visenya hesitated for a moment before nodding, a small smile forming on her lips. ''Then you may call me Visenya.'' She offered in return. 

The familiarity between them, though still new, felt strangely comfortable. 

''I will be leaving for Winterfell once the sentences have been carried out.'' Cregan informed her, still holding onto her hand. 

She nodded, the gravity of his words not lost on her. ''So soon,'' she murmured, squeezing his larger hand as if to hold onto the moment a little longer, ''I will have to stay here longer. For Aegon, he needs me here for the time being.'' 

''I know,'' he mumbled back, ''your duty to him comes first. But when your time here is done, Winterfell will be waiting for you...and so will I.'' 

There was a tenderness in his words that made Visenya's heart ache. She gave him a small nod, her grip on his hand tightening for just a moment before she finally let go. 

''We will discuss the formalities once we both have found some rest. I am retiring for the night.'' She announced, suddenly feeling the exhaustion of the past week catching up with her as she leaned against the tree. 

Cregan noticed the weariness in her posture and stepped forward. ''Allow me to escort you to your chambers, my Princess.'' He offered his arm, for her to support her weight. 

Visenya smiled softly, touched by his offer but aware of the distance between their quarters. ''You are kind, Cregan, but your chambers are far, and you need rest as well. We have both endured enough for one night.'' Her words were gentle, her refusal a considerate one. 

He hesitated for a moment, then nodded, understanding her reasoning. ''As you wish,'' he accepted, ''goodnight, my betrothed.'' She could see a hint of a smirk on his face. 

''Goodnight, my betrothed.'' Visenya echoed, the words feeling both strange and comforting on her lips. 

With one last look, they parted ways, each retreating to their respective chambers. 

As Visenya walked away, the weight of their conversation settled over her like a heavy cloak. She had made a decision that would change the course of her life, and yet, she felt a strange sense of peace. It was not the peace that came from certainty, but the kind that came from acceptance, from choosing a path and committing to it. 

Cregan watched her until she disappeared into the castle, a mix of emotions swirling within him. He had asked for her hand not out of a simple desire for power or alliance, but because he saw how fiercely she protected those who had stood by her sister and their family.

He wanted to be the object of her loyalty, amidst other things. 

taglist: @oxymakestheworldgoround

[theharellan]

My rough thoughts/interpretation/reflection of Solas and his relationship with Mythal after a first playthrough. It's subject to change on future playthroughs, but probably by inches (if I can ever get my audio fixed). Note that while I am trying to base all of this on canon, there is reinterpretation involved, as I do feel Mythal/Flemythal/Morrimythal was neutered somewhat in the writing process.

Spoilers for the whole of DA: The Veilguard.

When I roleplayed Solas I mostly played the relationship as benign, in large part due to her being another character whose role in Solas's life was gestured at but never defined. Which in some ways, is still true, but I think at this point it's impossible to deny she had a negative impact on him (to say the least). Since moving into fic writing I started to lean into the darker implications of their relationship, and while for the sake of rp I'm adaptable, I do still want to talk about my feelings regarding them.

I believe Solas, by aiding her, is culpable in many of the crimes they committed together- make no mistake of that, but he is also a victim of her. She says at the end she used his wisdom as a weapon, but she also used her benevolence as a tool to manipulate him, appealing to his knowledge of her nature to get what she wanted.

Her coaxing him to take a body after he states outright that "he has no wish to live as humans do" (I'm going to ignore the confusing implication that humans were around) is but the first betrayal she subjects him to, and imo the greatest crime she commits against him, specifically. At least in canon, the game skirts around the issue of vallaslin, but if the "he didn't want a body but she asked him to come" is true, then it would follow that the follow-up, "he left a scar when he burned her off her face" would also be true.

The second would be rising to the heights of the gods, and calling him the traitor for rebellion. Morrigan calls Mythal corrupted 'Retribution,' and that may be true of Mythal after her murder, but I believe long before that her benevolence had gone awry. From what I can tell, we have no concrete timeline for Elvhenan and what the gods did before and after her death, and therefore no idea what Mythal even means by tempering the other evanuris. Slavery almost certainly existed, which honestly is enough for me to say she was doing a bad job. Past codices indicate that her punishments were not just so much as exact:

"Mythal, in her wisdom, interceded in an argument between Elgar'nan and Falon'Din. With clever words, she convinced them to settle their grievance through a battle of their champions. Elgar'nan and Falon'Din agreed, and set their champions against each other rather than declare war among the gods. May those knights long be remembered, and Mythal's wisdom be praised." (x)

This and the codex describing Mythal's judgment characterise her tenure as a god as being far from bloodless.

There are also indications that not all had as much faith in Mythal's ability to see reason or cede power:

"Solas always thought" is the key phrase for me in this note. Not "we," but "Solas."

What this all means for Solas is that Mythal someone he has a deep, ancient connection to, but also someone who has hurt him deeply, violated him, used him.

And he doesn't want to face that.

Solas is quite capable of admitting his mistakes, even as he is moving onto the next one literally in the same breath... but Mythal's mistakes are never addressed by him, even at the finish, when he is holding the pommel of the knife out for her taking.

I think Solas navigates around the wrongs committed against him throughout the course of their knowing each other. His rage against the mages who forced Wisdom to take a body, to kill, may lead him to murdering them, but he never directs such anger at Mythal. He can't. The regrets he has about her literally flake and dry upon the walls of the Lighthouse because he can't. He can't face her remnant in the FadeAnd it's only at the end where he receives any catharsis in the matter, any admittance of wrongdoing against him (albeit without apology).

So in most interactions with Mythal, Solas will be very close with her, at best brushing up against the sides of where there relationship chafes. Always willing to believe the best of her, and her death granting him the mercy of being able to persist in that belief.

I do also believe their relationship was entirely platonic, albeit at such an intensity (on his part at least) that I'm certain there was talk. Luckily, I've spent ten years with Thora and Solas doing the ground work for Solas having deeply intense platonic relationships that match his romantic ones for their dedication and devotion.

[matan4il]

Update post:

Yesterday, the identification of two bodies brought back to Israel from Gaza by IDF soldiers to Israel was completed.

The victims were identified as 36 years old Ziv Dado, who was murdered on Oct 7, and his body was kidnapped to Gaza by Hamas, and 27 years old Eden Zecharia, who according to one Israeli journalist, was kidnapped alive. If this is true, it means Eden was murdered in captivity.

After the identification of the bodies was completed, the IDF was able to confirm that Israeli soldiers Gal Meir Eizenkott and Eyal Meir Berkovich were killed by a detonated IED while clearing the perimeter for this operation.

IDF soldiers are reporting that the number of terror tunnels and shafts is much bigger than expected, as well as that there is almost no house they enter in Gaza, which doesn't have some weapons stashed. In some houses, they also found orders and plans for the Oct 7 massacre. Kept in residential homes. In one house, the soldiers found, side by side, weapons like an RPG, and documentation of the chemotherapy treatment that an 8 years old boy was receiving in Israel, mere weeks prior to the Hamas massacre.

The desecration of Jewish religious sites under Palestinian rule is not a new phenomenon, despite the fact that the Palestinian Authority is supposed to be legally committed to the preservation of the Jewish holy sites Israel agreed in the Oslo accords that the PA would control. Today, we got another example.

The prevalence of antisemitic and anti-Israel content and messages on social media is not new, either. After Jewish celebrities and content creators had confronted Tiktok on its antisemitin and anti-Israeli bias, there are now Jewish employees of Tiktok, who are speaking out about the fact that this is happening by the design of the many antisemitic, anti-Israel moderates of the company, and not by blind chance. They also talk about how they are discriminated against, in comparison with anti-Israel employees.

Several residential homes in the north of Israel were directly hit by Hezbollah, one in the town of Metulah was completely destroyed. The only reasons there are no casualties, is because Israel evacuated the northern towns, just as it did the southern ones.

On the day when the UN is celebrating 75 years anniversary of the human rights declaration, the families of Israeli hostages are demonstrating outside the ceremony, to remind everyone that those who had been kidnapped on Oct 7, have been robbed of all of their human rights for over two months now, and that international organizations such as the UN and Red Cross have barely even commented on this.

The IDF's spokesman in Arabic has tweeted this morning, that aid trucks have been waiting for an hour and a half to enter Gaza, because they had to wait for someone on the Gazan side of the border (meaning, Hamas) to open the checkpoint.

The BBC is reporting that Human Rights Watch has denounced the Iran-funded Houthis' attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea, and declared these attacks to be war crimes. It's nice to see that when the ships targeted are no longer supposedly Israeli ones, HRW is capable of doing its work.

The other day, soldiers who were a part of an operation to clear the neighborhood of Shujayiah, entered a terrorist ambush. During the fight, there was suspicion that one of the soldiers was kidnapped by Hamas through a terror tunnel. The highest ranking officers on the ground personally joined the battle, to help the fighting, and also to coordinate the different forces, in order to minimize the possibility of a friendly fire incident. 10 soldiers were killed in this battle, among them two of those high ranking officers, Colonel Yitzhak Ben Basat and Lieutenant Colonel Tomer Greenberg (meanwhile, the highest ranking commanders of Hamas are sending their terrorists to die, while they themselves hide in terror tunnels, behind the human shields of Gazan civilians and Israeli hostages). These are the fallen soldiers from this battle (Greenberg top right, Ben Basat top left):

This is 38 years old Lilia Gurevich-Vasilkovsky.

She was murdered at the Nova music festival on Oct 7. She was a molecular biologist, who was hailed for her ability to think outside the box. She was working on developing a sweet protein, that would replace sugar. If she had been successful, this could have improved the health and lives of countless people around the world suffering from diabetes. I'm one of them. Reading about her made me stop and think about the fact that, especially when considering the many young victims, we will never fully understand how much the world has lost on Oct 7.

This is 36 years old Itay Perry.

In the photo, he's holding up the note that his 6 years old son sent him. The note says, "I love you, I miss you, Dad. I hope you won't get injured." Itay carried the folded note on him since he got it, including when he was killed in Gaza. Itay's dad mourned his son, saying that no parent could have a kinder child, and that Itay was also an amazing father and husband.

May the memories of all of the fallen be a blessing.

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Myah Ward at Politico:

Donald Trump vowed to “rescue” the Denver suburb of Aurora, Colorado, from the rapists, “blood thirsty criminals,” and “most violent people on earth” he insists are ruining the “fabric” of the country and its culture: immigrants. Trump’s message in Aurora, a city that has become a central part of his campaign speeches in the final stretch to Election Day, marks another example of how the former president has escalated his xenophobic and racist rhetoric against migrants and minority groups he says are genetically predisposed to commit crimes. The supposed threat migrants pose is the core part of the former president’s closing argument, as he promises his base that he’s the one who can save the country from a group of people he calls “animals,” “stone cold killers,” the “worst people,” and the “enemy from within.” He is no longer just talking about keeping immigrants out of the country, building a wall and banning Muslims from entering the United States. Trump now warns that migrants have already invaded, destroying the country from inside its borders, which he uses as a means to justify a second-term policy agenda that includes building massive detention camps and conducting mass deportations.

In his lengthy speech Friday, Trump delivered a broadside against the thousands of Venezuelan migrants in Aurora. And he declared that he would use the Alien Enemies Act, which allows a president to authorize rounding up or removing people who are from enemy countries in times of war, to pursue migrant gangs and criminal networks. “Kamala [Harris] has imported an army of illegal alien gang members and migrant criminals from the dungeons of the third world … from prisons and jails and insane asylums and mental institutions, and she has had them resettled beautifully into your community to prey upon innocent American citizens,” he said.

His rhetoric has veered more than ever into conspiracy theories and rumors, like when he amplified false claims about Haitian immigrants in Ohio eating pets. And Trump has demonized minority groups and used increasingly dark, graphic imagery to talk about migrants in every one of his speeches since the Sept. 10 presidential debate, according to a POLITICO review of more than 20 campaign events. It’s a stark escalation over the last month of what some experts in political rhetoric, fascism, and immigration say is a strong echo of authoritarians and Nazi ideology. “He’s been taking Americans and his followers on a journey since really 2015 conditioning them … step by step instilling hatred in a group, and then escalating,” said Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a history professor at New York University who writes about authoritarianism and fascism and has been outspoken about the dangers of a second Trump administration.

“So immigrants are crime. Immigrants are anarchy. They’re taking their jobs, but now they’re also animals who are going to kill us or eat our pets or eat us,” she continued. “That’s how you get people to feel that whatever is done to them, as in mass deportation, rounding them up, putting them in camps, is OK.” The Trump campaign said while the “media obsesses over rhetoric,” the former president is responding to voters’ concerns. [...]

Trump has long deployed racist attacks for political gain, including spreading conspiracy theories about whether former President Barack Obama, the nation’s first Black president, was born in the United States. And when he launched his first campaign in 2015, Trump said Mexico was “not sending its best,” calling immigrants from the country “rapists” who are bringing in crime and drugs. He also promised that day to build a “great big wall.”

But times have changed, and so has he. The country has moved to the right on immigration — including the Democratic Party and Trump’s opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants. Trump repeatedly bashed Harris as “dumb,” questioned her racial identity and has called her a “DEI” candidate — perpetuating the idea that women and people of color can only be in positions of power because of quotas and preferential treatment. Harris has touted her record prosecuting transnational gangs, drug cartels and human traffickers and has promised strict enforcement at the Southern border — an effort to appease Americans’ concern about illegal migration. The vice president has vowed to go even further than the Biden administration’s crackdown on asylum. As the political conversation around immigration has shifted, Trump has not only intensified his rhetoric, but his policy plans.

He has increasingly targeted specific communities, including Springfield, Ohio, Charleroi, Pennsylvania and Aurora, arguing that immigrants are destroying American towns and cities across the country and using those examples to call for large-scale federal response. Trump has spent the last month on the trail elevating the claims about those communities — even as local officials have been denying these allegations and asking the Republican nominee to stand down. Trump on Friday used false stories about gang takeovers in Aurora as he announced he would remove migrants connected to gangs under an “Operation Aurora” based on presidential wartime powers under the Alien Enemies Act. (While police in Aurora have encountered some gang activity tied to a Venezuelan group, there has been no gang takeover in Colorado.)

Politico takes a look at how Donald Trump’s racist and anti-immigrant hatred-fueled messaging has gotten more dark, authoritarian, and apocalyptic in tone.

[catofadifferentcolor]

Terrible Fic Idea #84: Star Wars, but make it the Outer Rim

I've been reading a lot of Star Wars fic lately, much of it involving time travel in some shape or form. Most of it is wonderful, but after a while some of it starts to read as let's fix the Republic so we can bring the light and civilization of the core to the outer rim. Which, while possibly disingenuous, feels a little too much like the justifications made by Europeans for their colonial empires.

As I said, I'm probably reading too much into certain tropes, but can't help but wonder: what if one of these fics started in the outer rim as a way of bringing light and goodness back to the core? Or: Save Tatooine, save the galaxy.

aka the One Prairie Outpost fic

Just imagine it:

Several years have passed after The Book of Boba Fett in the original timeline. While the New Republic calls Daimyo Fett's leadership just another crime syndicate masquerading as good government, anyone who's actually been to the planet knows it's the other way around. Most crime syndicates don't care for planetary infrastructure or public vaccination programs.

Boba has encouraged Din to use his palace as a base for his bounty hunting activities - and as a home planet for the small community of Mandelorians building around their Mand'alor. Ideally, this would be the start of a courtship that wouldn't be moving as slowly as it is if Din wasn't an oblivious idiot about 1) his feelings and 2) traditional Mandalorian courting, but it could also simply be vod'e being vod'e. Dealer's choice.

And so Din is on planet when someone tries to bribe Boba for one reason or another with an ancient Sith artifact.

Din calls in a Jedi from Luke's school to investigate - Cal Kestis, who is one of a handful of trained adults in the new Jedi Order and the most knowledgeable about weird force osik...

...which doesn't stop Cal from accidentally triggering the artifact and sending Boba, Din, and himself back in time to the year 53 BBY, shortly before Jaster Mereel is set to die in the Battle of Korda VI.

As if finding themselves on Tatooine approximately 66 years in the past - well before any of them were even born - isn't enough, all three find themselves in their teenage bodies. Boba and Din are somewhere between 15 and 17, when they have most of their adult height but none of their bulk, while Cal is disgusted to find himself a particularly short 12. This in no way reflects their real differences in ages, and they are forced to attribute it to more inexplicable force osik.

Despite their ages, this proves an opportunity to stop the Empire from ever forming. But how? None of them know enough about the precise course of events to begin to stop it, and even if they could manage to get the Jedi Council to listen to them, waltzing into the Jedi Temple and declaring themselves time travelers is bound to put them on Palaptine's radar in a way that is likely to end their painful deaths.

The solution, they decide, is to get the Jedi to come to them. After all, if they repeat Boba's actions from the future, overthrow the Hutts, and free the slaves on Tatooine, someone from the Jedi is bound to come and investigate.

Taking over Tatooine proves easier than their wildest dreams.

Killing Jabba the Hutt in his own throne room and transmitting a signal that jams slave chips across the planet is all that's needed to spark a general uprising against the slavers and Jabba's criminal empire.

It's a little less easy getting the representatives of the colonists, freed slaves, and native peoples to believe that a pair of teenage Mandos and a half-grown Jedi took out a member of the Grand Hutt Council, but once they hear Boba's plans to convert the planet's slave-based economy to a viable democracy funded in part by the wealth of Jabba's vaults, they're more than willing to vote him Daimyo. His actions more than make up for his apparent age.

The Republic is naturally less sanguine. Mandalorians on Tatooine? Is this the start of another war of conquest? (To say nothing that several of the more corrupt members are in the position to lose a lot of money if crime and slave trade is disrupted in the outer rim.) The Senate orders the Jedi to investigate.

The Jedi are also in an uproar. Not only do holos show a young force sensitive helping a pair of Mandos take over Tatooine, but one of those Mandos has a lightsaber the likes of which they've never seen. (Tensions between Jedi and the Mandalorians are such that no one recognizes the Darksaber for what it is or what it means.) Could this mean some dark side sect has sent some of their apprentices to help rebuild the Mandalorian Empire?

The Mandalorians are also unsettled - Death Watch because the Darksaber seems to have disappeared overnight, only to end up with a child in unpainted beskar half a galaxy away; the True Mandalorians because it looks to them that Death Watch might be sending children into battle to build the empire they're always going on about; and the New Mandolorians because this is exactly the kind of violence that gives Mandalore a bad name.

And all of this fails to take into account the Sith, who are naturally upset that the fear and despair they've worked so hard to cultivate on the edges of the Republic has been disrupted with something so light as hope.

All parties converge on Tatooine.

The Mandalorians arrive first. The True Mandalorians are just beginning to investigate when Death Watch decides to attack first and ask questions never.

Boba, Din, and Cal were expecting this and so have a plan in place that allow their forces to take down most of the terrorists while ensuring Jaster Mereel survives, thereby preventing Korda VI, Galidraan, and all that follows. Montross is killed in the fighting without his double cross ever being known.

This also manages to convince the True Mandalorians that they're just a bunch of kids trying to make their way in the galaxy, and while they ask why take over a planet? why not just join a mercenary guild?, Jaster can't deny that they're doing a good thing. He stations some of his people on planet and leaves them be, content Din isn't going to try to push his claim as Mand'alor and/or build another extremist terrorist sect around the Darksaber.

The Mandalorians leave right as a large number of Jedi arrive. In this party are most of their best lightsaber dualists, including a less jaded Yan Dooku and a young Qui-Gon Jinn (who is only a few months out from Xanatos' Fall and in desperate need of a mind healer). Forced proximity has made the later very clear to all the Jedi Masters involved, and this alone prevents many of the tragedies of Obi-Wan's early apprenticeship.

Qui-Gon's mental health aside, the Jedi presume they'll be attacked by dark siders the moment they touch down on Tatooine. Instead they're invited to the Daimyo's palace, given refreshments, and brought before the planet's new ruling council. Which includes two freed slaves, a wizened Tusken grandmother, a pair of moisture farmers, and a representative from one of the cantinas in addition to a pair of teenage Mandos and a young force sensitive.

This meeting goes a long way to convincing the Jedi that what's happening on Tatooine could be a good thing - particularly after Boba turns over everything they could find regarding some of Jabba's dealings with several shady senators and businessmen within the bounds of the Republic. Including one young senator, Sheev Palpatine of Naboo. While several are able to talk their way out of trouble, it removes the worst of Palpatine's future lackeys from power.

The Jedi also invite Cal to come back with them to the temple to "finish" his training. Cal invites them instead to build a satellite temple on Tatooine. After all, there's no reason why a religious order should be tied to the Republic government, and setting up a temple in the outer rim would allow the Jedi to help those on the outer rim more easily, without waiting for the approval of the Senate.

The Jedi obviously don't agree right away - but it does mean that they come back fairly often to discuss the particulars, meaning that someone is on planet when the Sith decide the best way to fix their plans is to try to assassinate the young Daimyo and his allies, revealing the Sith's continued existence decades early.

Which is where my plot bunny starts to fizzle out.

With Jaster Mereel alive, the True Mandalorians have a real chance of stopping both the terrorism of Death Watch and the cultural genocide of the New Mandalorians, leaving Mandalore in a position of strength versus the Republic. So long as this remains the case, plans for a New Sith Empire must be put on hold.

With the shadiest characters removed from the Senate, it's harder for a Sith to take charge of it - especially when a strengthening Tatooine continues to disrupt smuggling and slave trafficking in the outer rim, reducing the darkness and the funds he has access to.

And so though the details are up to the dealer, taking over Tatooine disrupts the Sith's machinations enough that they're forced to show their hands too soon, and thus defeated before they can ever give rise to the empire. It's not easy, but it involves a lot less suffering than the original timeline.

Bonuses include: 1) Merrin and Grogu also traveling through time as a result of the force bonds that they have with Cal and Din respectively. They wake up on the currently uninhabited planet Luke's school will occupy in the future rather than Tatooine and have to go through a quest of their own to get off planet and rejoin the others. This should involve accidentally helping the other's plans to prevent the empire, such as by disrupting a crime syndicate or blowing up the Trade Federation's first droid factory; 2) Teenagers being teenagers. These kids may have been adults in the future with all their adult memories, but they've got teenage bodies now and it shows; and 3) Boba and company never outright admitting they're time travelers, but dropping enough hints to the relevant parties that they eventually come to that conclusion on their own. Only then do they share the details of the horrible future they've prevented.

And that's all I have. As always, feel free to adopt this bun, just link back if you do anything with it.

More SW Fic Ideas | More Terrible Fic Ideas

[atalana]

so i've been doing a doctor who rewatch with my flatmate, which is giving me whole new avenues to think about doctor who meta from

and i wanna talk about this moment

the dalek emperor asks "so prove yourself, doctor. what are you, coward or killer?"

and i think the full context of his response goes a little underappreciated

because especially if you know a lot about doctor who, this line seems fairly obvious. still poignant as hell, but we know the doctor, and we know he's the man who'd always make that choice, it's built into his very mythology

except this is nine

and the choice he's being offered is whether or not to use a weapon that will kill every living thing in its radius - it'll wipe out the daleks, but the range of it also includes the entire earth. you can finally stop the war, but you have to sacrifice a planet you've come to call home, and all of its people, in order to do so. and you'd better act fast, because the daleks are waging war right now, people are already dying - if you don't do something, they're going to wipe out the human race anyway

logically, he should. logically, he has to.

but this is a doctor who is fresh of the heels of making that same choice! he already did it! not too long ago, with his own world in the balance, he proved himself killer, once and for all. what's one more planet, compared to all that? one more planet, to prove it wasn't all worthless? if you let them go now, you killed your own people for nothing

i don't think he knew, until he got his hands on that trigger, what choice he would make. he was certainly planning to be able to do it. and it's not like he stopped being a soldier after the war, when he met that one lone dalek he did everything in his power to kill it, to make the war finally over, to make it worth it. nine doesn't want to be a killer, but he knows that he is. and he's proven it many times this season

until right now. staring down his worst enemy, his worst nightmare, knowing that if he acts with mercy here he'll condemn the universe to destruction, he does it anyway. throws everything aside to give the devil itself the kindness neither of them deserve

this isn't just the moment he declared himself the man who never would. this is the moment he became the man who never would

and time lord regeneration's a funny thing. same man, new man. same memories, new personality, new goals, new ideals. and sure, some aspects of that are random, but there's still a chain of connection. each new incarnation becomes who they are in response to how the last one ended. the 50th enjoyed going into the differences between ten and eleven, how eleven ran away from everything that the doctor was before, played up the childish and the trickster and never fully looked at all the horrors in their past, because ten couldn't help but take responsibility. he considered responsibility the only moral option, but at the end was still so angry that this weight never stopped dragging him down, that he could never make the selfish decision. the world isn't fair and i don't want it to end like this, i see so much of that in eleven

and that defining moment of nine's that birthed ten, that's right here

the man who never would is a line stolen directly from the doctor's daughter. ten is the doctor who holds up genocide as the worst crime someone can commit, no matter the circumstances. ten who will let a dalek go just to avoid causing another. ten who won't touch a weapon of any kind unless absolutely necessary. who doesn't even want to be in the same room as a gun. it all comes down to this moment, with nine against the end of everything, in the final hours of his life

handed an identical choice to the one that changed his life forever and saying never again.

[fuckyeahmarxismleninism]

Korean Confederation of Trade Unions: The Parliamentary Passage of Yoon's Impeachment Marks the Beginning of a Comprehensive Social Transformation!

Today, on 14 December, the National Assembly passed President Yoon's impeachment motion with 204 votes in favour, exceeding the required two-thirds majority. This achievement was made possible by tens and hundreds of thousands of citizens who gathered daily before the National Assembly, demanding Yoon's impeachment and the dissolution of the People Power Party. Particularly noteworthy were this weekend and today's demonstrations, which drew over a million participants.

The ringleader of an attempted rebellion had been ensconced in the presidential office. When police, a state institution, arrived with search warrants, they were blocked by the Presidential Security Service, another state institution. It was utter chaos and disorder. The impeachment has now resolved one aspect of this disorder.

In yesterday's address, Yoon claimed the martial law was "a constitutional decision and act of governance by a president trying to protect South Korea's liberal democracy and constitutional order." He declared it "beyond judicial review" and stated he would "face any impeachment or investigation with dignity." He dashed even the slightest hopes for reflection, apology, or accountability. Instead, he effectively declared war against the people.

There remains much to be done. The Constitutional Court must still make its final decision on the impeachment. Yoon, the rebellion's ringleader, must be promptly arrested and detained. Former People Power Party floor leader Choo Kyung-ho must be investigated as an accomplice to rebellion, and procedures must begin for the dissolution of the People Power Party. All conspirators must be identified and their crimes exposed.

The impeachment is merely the beginning. We must create a society where all workers' fundamental labour rights are guaranteed, including amendments to Articles 2 and 3 of the Labour Union Act and the application of the Labour Standards Act to workplaces with fewer than five employees. We must build a society where workers don't die on the job, and where public services - healthcare, care work, education, transport, housing, and energy - are guaranteed. The power of workers and citizens that prevented unconstitutional martial law and achieved Yoon's impeachment must now be directed towards achieving major social reforms.

The KCTU will lead the way. We shall be at the forefront of creating a new society.

14 December 2024

Korean Confederation of Trade Unions

[ghelgheli]

with recent events im turning this rb into its own post: you cannot rehabilitate the judicial and political conceptual schema the hegemony designed specifically to maintain itself to suit your use. if you try and do this you will necessarily surrender epistemic ground to their conception of the world.

the attempts to flip the notions of "war criminal" and "terrorism" in the service of some ostensibly revolutionary politic are dead ends. if you try to do this, you will have to make concessions to the structures that benefit from these concepts - putin has just been charged, so we get renewed chants that every US president is a war criminal. this is supposed to be a productive line of reasoned argument. it won't work: "war criminal" is a purely legal concept, not an ethical one, and determinations of criminality are made by jurisprudential processes. no president is a war criminal until the Hague or some other court with authority (vested by who? endorsed by who? with what interests??) declares them to be one. no president is going to be subject to the Hague or any other "legitimate" court in this way, and in fact, the US has made provisions against any military personnel being subject to the ICC. but this is not any more of a "bad thing" than what the US does already. the ICC does not dispense justice; it dispenses carceral logics. you don't "win" by getting someone convicted of war crimes. someone who hasn't done anything bad at all could, in principle, become a war criminal if they are convicted of war crimes. it's just another spoke in the prison wheel. so insistence on "war criminal" language just reflects ceding that ground to the hegemonic legal structures that 1) have no material interest in applying it the way people insist it be applied; 2) would not achieve anything liberatory through its hypothetical application in this way

"terrorism" is just... whew. you get people on the left insisting US state violence be called terrorism. well, no: terrorism as a concept was constructed to serve the imperialist carving out of spaces of "civility" (who gets to define this? in service of what?) from which violence can be exported to where "civilization" is not. a terrorist is someone who imports that violence back into civilization, into the social sphere the imperialist is determined to maintain in a state of peace, with the price of keeping war up elsewhere. to insist on calling something "terrorism" when it's typically not is to concede that this project of drawing boundaries between the civilized and uncivilized is productive, so long as the boundary falls where it's convenient - that's what terrorism is, and no mission of redefining it away from those imperialist motivations is going to gain useful ground

[fantasyinvader]

The detail that Dimitri was viewed as a folk hero when he was in his murder-hobo phase is another detail that link him to Liu Bei.

The historical records don't paint Liu Bei and the Shu Kingdom in the best light. Liu Bei, for instance, often betrayed his benefactors as he rose to power, eventually calling himself emperor and holding up the reunification of China. However, records at the time were heavily biased towards Wei, as Wei's successor Jin emerged victorious.

Yet Liu Bei and his allies were remembered as folk heroes.

The answer is simple, while Cao Cao had his good points (such as him punishing crimes committed by his own generals/officers. He's also often depicted promoting meritocracy, and was an accomplished poet. On one occasion, he forgave a rebel because the guy only rebelled against him to protect his subordinates rather than out of hatred to Cao Cao), Cao Cao was a tyrant who had a tenancy of committing massacres whenever someone upset him. It wasn't a one-off thing like Romance of the Three Kingdoms paints it as. In addition, him making the last Han emperor his puppet and ruling through him (it was his son who disposed of the emperor) is a big no-no under Confucian thought whereas Liu Bei openly declaring himself Emperor is a lot more reasonable.

The people did not like Cao Cao. There's a tomb in China speculated to be his, and the evidence seems to suggest his body was defiled around 50 years after his death iirc. And at the time, as people fled from Cao Cao Liu Bei made himself out as the main force opposing him. The underdog, champion of the people. And it's because of that people passed on stories of Shu, defying history being written by the winners, and this was taken further with Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Guess this would make the Alliance Wu, Claude being a Sun Quan would make sense. Sun Quan would align with either Liu Bei or Cao Cao depending on the circumstances so that his region may remain independent, but over time his ambitions grew but was never able to make a go of his invasions of Hefei.

Granted, the thing is I could go either way of Edelgard being Cao Cao or her being Sima Yi, Cao Cao's strategist who founded of the Jin dynasty after turning on Cao Cao's successors. I almost think that Thales is more a Cao Cao, using Ionius as his puppet and having long overseen the Empire's decline as part of his plans. In a way, Thales has really been the one running the show from the shadows, making it more like Agartha. Edelgard turning on him after the war, seizing full power for herself and changing how succession worked would fit more with Sima Yi, but it was those changes that led to the War of the Eight Princes (namely, dividing up the Empire and giving the Princes each a piece like King Leer... which would explain the reference in the Alliance kids). It's very different from Edelgard's reforms, which consolidates power on the Emperor who can appoint anyone they want as successor.

Though the flaw in that system is pretty easy. Anyone named successor will have a target on their back for anyone wanting power. If the successor isn't publicly named ahead of time and the Emperor dies unexpectedly, than even if they left a note saying who should lead can be disputed which is what we see happen in Fodlan's history with the death of King Klaus with the note saying the throne goes to the most beloved prince by the people... which was forged by Klaus's sister to put her preferred prince on the throne.

The detail that Dimitri was viewed as a folk hero when he was in his murder-hobo phase is another detail that link him to Liu Bei.

The historical records don't paint Liu Bei and the Shu Kingdom in the best light. Liu Bei, for instance, often betrayed his benefactors as he rose to power, eventually calling himself emperor and holding up the reunification of China. However, records at the time were heavily biased towards Wei, as Wei's successor Jin emerged victorious.

Yet Liu Bei and his allies were remembered as folk heroes.

The answer is simple, while Cao Cao had his good points (such as him punishing crimes committed by his own generals/officers. He's also often depicted promoting meritocracy, and was an accomplished poet. On one occasion, he forgave a rebel because the guy only rebelled against him to protect his subordinates rather than out of hatred to Cao Cao), Cao Cao was a tyrant who had a tenancy of committing massacres whenever someone upset him. It wasn't a one-off thing like Romance of the Three Kingdoms paints it as. In addition, him making the last Han emperor his puppet and ruling through him (it was his son who disposed of the emperor) is a big no-no under Confucian thought whereas Liu Bei openly declaring himself Emperor is a lot more reasonable.

The people did not like Cao Cao. There's a tomb in China speculated to be his, and the evidence seems to suggest his body was defiled around 50 years after his death iirc. And at the time, as people fled from Cao Cao Liu Bei made himself out as the main force opposing him. The underdog, champion of the people. And it's because of that people passed on stories of Shu, defying history being written by the winners, and this was taken further with Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Guess this would make the Alliance Wu, Claude being a Sun Quan would make sense. Sun Quan would align with either Liu Bei or Cao Cao depending on the circumstances so that his region may remain independent, but over time his ambitions grew but was never able to make a go of his invasions of Hefei.

Granted, the thing is I could go either way of Edelgard being Cao Cao or her being Sima Yi, Cao Cao's strategist who founded of the Jin dynasty after turning on Cao Cao's successors. I almost think that Thales is more a Cao Cao, using Ionius as his puppet and having long overseen the Empire's decline as part of his plans. In a way, Thales has really been the one running the show from the shadows, making it more like Agartha. Edelgard turning on him after the war, seizing full power for herself and changing how succession worked would fit more with Sima Yi, but it was those changes that led to the War of the Eight Princes (namely, dividing up the Empire and giving the Princes each a piece like King Leer... which would explain the reference in the Alliance kids). It's very different from Edelgard's reforms, which consolidates power on the Emperor who can appoint anyone they want as successor.

Though the flaw in that system is pretty easy. Anyone named successor will have a target on their back for anyone wanting power. If the successor isn't publicly named ahead of time and the Emperor dies unexpectedly, than even if they left a note saying who should lead can be disputed which is what we see happen in Fodlan's history with the death of King Klaus with the note saying the throne goes to the most beloved prince by the people... which was forged by Klaus's sister to put her preferred prince on the throne.

There's also the fact that Sima Yi is presented as the rival to Kongming. As I've said before, Rhea seems to be the Kongming figure, but Edelgard was designed to be a rival for Byleth. Byleth, who is a Nabatean, spends five years asleep and then either ends up as king/queen or as an advisor to Dimitri. Zhuge Liang, or Kongming, was also known as the Sleeping Dragon and served Liu Bei.

Jin is seen as a successor state to Wei, making Edelgard’s empire the successor state to Agartha. It may figure into the devs referring to Silver Snow as the Empire route, the Empire kids taking back their home from Agartha while going against the moral decline Thales created, making Edelgard and Flower out to be the real fourth faction. They’re also going back to the roots of the Empire, the founding principles of it while aligning with the Church, like a what-if restoration of the Han(the founder of the Han dynasty, Liu Bang, is often said to have looked like a dragon and promoted the Confucian beliefs the Mandate of Heaven is based around. His reign was said to be a golden era of Chinese history, much like the Byleth/Rhea ending. Liu Bang also started out as a peasant)

[magical-girl-coral]

I have the brain worms. Snippet from a scene rewrite where Mel is allowed to be a politician.

When they were done explaining the plan, Sevika, Mel recalls, looked as though she was told to swim through Piltover's sewers. "You left us to live on the streets, declared martial law, threw our people into Stilwater for every petty crime you accused us of, made our lives a bigger hell than it was under Vander or Silco, and now you expect us to fight this war for you?" She asked, her voice both still yet terrifying. Thank god this woman never Ambessa. "This has got to be the saddest joke I've ever heard, and I've listened to some of the lines Jinx practiced before confronting her sister. You've got to be as insane as your mother. Maybe it runs in the family." Jayce got up from his seat. Mel put her hand up to make him stand down. "I understand your anger and frustration, and these are not empty words. But I need you to understand that my mother will not just stop with us." Mel took a deep breath, and revealed the skinniness of her side. Sevika's face went still. "When I was a child, my mother would force me to train until I vomited my stomach acid and collapsed from exhaustion. To this day, my body never truly recovered. I could barely sleep or eat under her watchful gaze, always feeling like I had to push myself beyond my limits so maybe one day I'll gain her approval. She never did anything to prove me wrong. In fact, it only proved me right when she banished me for refusing to kill my confidant, Elora, because only bloodshed fits her idea of power." Mel stared straight into Sevika's eyes. "This is the treatment of someone she claims as family, as someone she wishes to protect. Imagine what will happen to Zaun once she reaches the people she sees as nothing more than the dirt on her boots." Sevika seemed to back down, if only a little, but didn't relent. "We don't do this without getting something back. And don't you dare give up scraps again. We deserve more than your leftovers." "How about Zaun independence?" Jayce suggested. For the first time since the meeting started, Sevika's mask fell. "Is this another joke?" "Far from it," Mel said, backing up Jayce. "We can't blindly give you freedom thanks to everything that happened in the past year, but if you prove yourselves during the battle against Noxus, I'm sure some of the nobles will have no choice but to relent, especially since so many of them fled like cowards and will have no room to talk. Besides, now the council is only Jayce, Shoola and I. What do you think of this Shoola." Shoola turned her head to regard Sevika. She cocked her head to the side in mock consideration. "I think I can be persuaded. But I would like to see the negotiations before we settle for good." "What about the Zaunites in uniforms?" One of the men next to Sevika asked. "We refuse to die in our enemy's clothes. It'll be an insult to what we stand for." "The Zaunites in uniforms will be with the ranger shooters along with Caitlyn Kiramman, as far away from my mother's men as possible," Mel answered. "We simply want to make it look as though that's the size of our army so my mother will get overconfident and let her guard down. Once I give the signal, you will come in with your own armors with the materials we will give you. You will not fall wearing enemy colors." That seemed to fully put Sevika at ease. Or the closest she can get to it, at the very least. "When will we get the materials for the armor?" "The second you agree to our plan." Sevika sighed. "I guess that's fair. How do we know what the signal will look like?" Mel's armor glowed for a split second. Sevika's eyes widened. Mel smirked. "Trust me, you'll know."

[melishade]

I know you said to send asks, so this is the best I got. How is Optimus doing in the new age anthology? I know there hasn’t been a big focus on him (and rightfully so cause he’s unconscious), and there was that tiny little blip in the last installment saying he was slowly getting better, but like what’s going on around him? How long has he been unconscious for? Who’s keeping his unconscious body company if anyone is at all?

Reunions

Game Plan

Returning home

Let cut to Cybertron for a brief moment. Specifically about the high council discussing both Optimus and Megatron in private.

"We are dealing with uncharted territory as of right now," Windblade addressed the council as she paced around the floors of the council room, "We had once believed that Optimus Prime had sacrificed his life for the future of our planet, while Megatron was to never be seen again."

Windblade turned to the council. "But now we have been given proof that Optimus Prime lives and that Megatron is a different Bot."

"That is no excuse for Megatron's war crimes, Windblade," Cyclonus seethed.

"But he should be given a fair trial," Cyberwarp insisted.

"Fair?!" Cyclonus shouted at Cyberwarp, "Where was fair to us when we served him?! When I served him?!"

"Cyclonus," Skybite warned.

"Megatron stopped caring about the cause a long time ago and only cared for power, and so did I!" Cyclonus declared, "But now Megatron's willing to give a slag about...insects!"

"Whoa, hey, these humans didn't do anything wrong," Jazz tried to calm Cyclonus down.

"These humans break easy! They shed easy! They die quickly!" Cyclonus listed, "Yet Megatron would risk his own spark for the lot of them, especially when a good portion of them hated him based on those memories?!"

"Cyclonus, If you need to be excused, please state so," Windblade warned him, "I do not want to have to remove you myself."

Cyclonus scoffed in response.

"But Cyclonus has a point," Windblade proclaimed, "Megatron has been cruel and sparkless for so long. This planet he has found himself on has essentially forced him to adapt and change. We have seen in his memories why...but it is still difficult to accept."

"If we hold a public trial for him, are we certain we're going to be sending the right message?" Jazz asked, "I mean...Decepticons are already feeling betrayed by him. There might be some Decepticons that might restart the movement and try to convince him to join the moment they see him. Not to mention majority of the Autobots would prefer an execution. If we broadcasted these memories to the public, the reaction would be...damaging."

"Is Cybertron ready for a public trial against Megatron?" Skybite asked, "Are they ready to be made aware of Megatron's presence on the planet as well as Optimus'?"

"You make it sound like it would be better to hide this information from the public," Predaking accused, "And I know for a fact that many do not wish to be deceived."

"We have to consider the fact that Bots and Cons alike are still healing from the war, and there are many Decepticons would who use Megatron as a scapegoat to take his position, or a martyr," Skybite explained to him, "I know you have not been in the Decepticons for very long, but they were all about power. The strength of one over another."

"If we are to foster a new age of peace, having Megatron receive justice would be the best recourse in action," Predaking declared, "That is something that many can agree on."

"Yeah but now Megatron's...good?" Jazz questioned, "Wow, that felt weird to say."

"To save the life of the Bot that took his own," Cyberwarp listed, "To save a world of lifeforms that pale in comparison to our own. To save you, Predaking. These actions, knowing Megatron's character, should give us some pause."

"To not give Megatron the courtesy of a trial is still an insult and a right's violation," Windblade proclaimed, "Even if he is far from deserving of it. But to go public with it...and without the blessing of Optimus Prime-!"

"I doubt that we would need his blessing. The public thinks he's dead," Skybite retorted.

"Optimus Prime has been working with Megatron for the past four years," Windblade retorted.

"Enemies for four million," Skybite reminded.

"As a powerful political figure, Optimus has a right to dictate how this trial goes," Windblade stated.

"Optimus and Megatron used to be friends. You don't think he won't feel conflicted at the thought of putting him on trial? Especially since they seemed to be getting along now?" Jazz asked.

"Well we obviously can't have an emotionally compromised Prime dictating the laws of the planet." Cyclonus rolled his optics.

"Hey, what about those humans that have been standing up for him?" Jazz asked, "Wheeljack was going so far into saying they would actually try to fight for him."

Cyclonus scoffed at that.

"Well, Megatron did say that his views were one-sided, and based on his memories, he was obviously surprised that the humans came to his defense," Cyberwarp surmised.

"Are you suggesting that we interview the humans, Jazz?" Predaking demanded in disbelief.

"Why not?" Jazz shrugged, "For all we know, Megatron manipulated some of the humans into believing that he's changed. Wouldn't we want to ask them ourselves?"

"It would be a good place to start," Cyberwarp agreed.

"I'm under the impression that these humans are busy trying to repair their world causing by their cataclysmic event along with the Autobots," Predaking recalled.

"Then perhaps we should let them address their event first," Windblade proclaimed, "Once the situation on their world has stabilized, then they will be called for questions."

"And of Optimus," Skybite pressed, "Do we reveal that he is alive to the public?"

Windblade sighed. "For now, it would be wise to let Optimus Prime recover without any political or social pressures awaiting him. Once he has recovered, then we will discuss what to do next."

===

Ratchet continued to monitor Optimus' vitals on the monitor before him. The medic glanced over at his friend and couldn't help but feel relief at the sight of him. Optimus was no longer hooked up to so many wires. He only had one tube pumping energon into his damaged side. But the Prime still hadn't woken up. Ratchet wanted Optimus to wake up. Even for a moment. Just to make himself feel better and to report to the rest of the Autobots.

Ratchet looked down at the keyboard and away from the monitor. Maybe he needed to call Knockout and ask him to watch Optimus while he took a break.

“R-r..ratchet." Ratchet gasped at the sound of a familiar voice, broken and strained from misuse. He snapped his helm towards Optimus and saw his bleary and flickering optics were open.

"w...wh...ere-!" Optimus coughed a little, forcing Ratchet to snap out of his shock.

“Optimus, please rest,” Ratchet pleaded as he kneeled down. He placed his servo under Optimus’ cheek and the Prime fell into the touch. His vitals seemed to calm down and he dozed off back to sleep.

“You’re in a safe place,” Ratchet reassured, “You are home. Please rest and recover.”

Ratchet saw Optimus' optics dim before he passed out once more. The medic had never felt a mix of relief and sorrow all at once. He had gotten what he had been thinking about for over a month now, but it was clear that the Prime was still in pain.

Ratchet placed a servo over his spark. "Rest now Optimus. You need it so much."

(The last part of the New Age Anthology is the Mikasa portion of it and that's it.)

[makethatelevenrings]

I mean this with ZERO disrespect, I'm simply trying to educate myself on this matter because it impacts us all.

All I can find about the Israel-Palestine conflicts is the fighting. What I want to know is why.

Whats the backstory? Why are they fighting? Why is everyone persecuting one another and who in the government is responsible?

I heard Hamas bombed Gaza and has taken hostages. What brought on this violence? Do all the Palestinians agree with this?

(More personal opinion questions, you don't need to answer these)

Do you agree with Hamas? Do you think that violence was a last resort to free Palestine? Do you think it's justified?

One thing I do hate is people saying "I hate *this group of people*, they are bad." They can't all be bad. So I don't like the titles of Anti-Israel/Anti-Palestine because you're assuming everyone there is on the same side.

In conclusion, people are stupid. The government is messed up. Citizens and families want to live so why won't the government let them?

I’m genuinely grateful that you’re asking because educating ourselves is one of the greatest tools we have. I’ll break it up into sections.

1. What’s the backstory?

In 1918, the Ottoman Empire conceded land they controlled to Britain (this is still an ongoing problem regarding many, many things because the Ottoman Empire controlled many nations that weren’t theirs to control if you catch my drift. Look up the Elgin marbles for a fun wormhole of WTF Britain). The Arab Revolt was backed by France and Britain with the promise that if the Arab fighters could force the Ottomans out of the area of the Levant, they would be granted independence (McMahon-Hussein Correspondence) but, plot twist, France and the UK instead split the region (Sykes-Picot Agreement). The Balfour Declaration of 1917 expressed Britain’s support of the creation of Israel. After they gained control of the region, they established Israel and systematically began to take the land of Palestinians.

Note: Zionism began as a belief in the mid-18th century. Many, MANY Jewish people do not subscribe, encourage, or promote the idea of a Jewish state. I do not view Israel = Jewish because it is antisemitic to imply that the Jewish diaspora all exist under the state of Israel. Especially when many Jewish people disagree with Israel.

Note note: Zionism was created as a response to the numerous pogroms and other antisemitic hate crimes affecting Jewish people. the Holocaust was fucking awful. No ifs ands or buts. Genocide doesn’t justify genocide, however.

Continuing on. So, clearly, the Palestinians are pissed. They were promised independence and instead now have their land taken by a global superpower who has historically fucked over hundreds of countries (another wormhole for you: India under British rule, Ireland and literally all of its history with England, the transatlantic slave trade under Britain, Africa under British rule, Australia and the treatment of Aboriginals under British rule, America and the British, it goes on). Palestinians revolted from 1936-1939 because, again, their home and promise of independence was being stolen. They lost against the British army but then 1939 was a bit of an important year for everyone and they world was sucked into another world war.

With WWII saw the birth of the United Nations, an organization that might sound important but has the moral backbone with the equivalence of a chocolate eclair. The UN said “hey, why don’t we split Palestine and Israel into two different states so maybe they’ll stop fighting” (United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine) and, as a result, the 1948 Palestine-Israel war began. Hundreds died. 700k+ people were forced from Palestine and spread across the world in what is called the Nakba. Israeli colonizers quite literally moved into homes that had been occupied by Palestinians only days before. In 1918, the Jewish population of the region was 8.1%. In 1948, when Israel was recognized as a nation by the UN, the Jewish population of the region was 82.1%.

2. There’s plenty of infographics and videos explaining the next few decades but I’m already writing an essay basically so the gist is: Palestinians keep losing their homes and Israel keeps taking them. Israel forces the Palestinians into smaller and smaller parcels of land until the control virtually everything but a small strip of land (Gaza) and the West Bank. That brings us to 2006.

Hamas was elected in 2006 over rivaling Fatah, gaining majority amount of seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council under the promise that they would help end the corruption many Palestinians were frustrated with. Instead they took military control over Gaza and established an autocratic state over millions of people who were already suffering under barbaric policies and practices from Israel. Politicians.

This is where things get a little…messy morally. Do I agree with Hamas? Fuck no. I couldn’t care less about Hamas because they don’t care about Palestinians. Do all Palestinians agree with Hamas? Firstly, you will rarely find a group of people where all agree with some. Secondly, I don’t think they appreciate being bombed by Israel while Hamas leaders chill somewhere else. The people of Palestine are the victims of Hamas and Israel.

Did some Palestinians celebrate Hamas’ actions? Yes. Do I think violence is a last resort? Yes and no. Do I think it’s justified? Yes and no.

Lemme expand on those last two points. I want to be an international human rights attorney someday. The loss of innocent life is always a fucking tragedy that I hope to help prevent or to bring justice for them. I understand violence. I understand why people are so angry. I understand the rage and grief Palestinians feel. 75 years of having their rights stripped away, their homes quite literally occupied, their land and culture chipped away piece by piece, and their children bombed and shot at.

“But how on earth can you think violence is justified if people get hurt!” The American Revolution was an act of violence that got numerous people killed yet you will rarely find someone who won’t justify it. Ukraine defending themselves against Russia wanting their land with no regard to how many Ukrainians they kill is considered justified.

People just seem to focus on the “violence is bad” aspect of things once POC are involved. Yeah, I said it. Americans tired of taxation, of British rule, and of not having their independence causes property damage, argues with soldiers in the streets, and starts a war is okay but when Palestinians do it, it’s a problem? When Black Americans ask to stop being brutalized by the police, it’s a problem? When Black South Africans ask to end an apartheid state, it’s a problem? When Central Americans ask for western nations to stop causing coups that destabilizes their nations, it’s a problem? I could go on.

Yeah, violence is bad. Violence is also the way that a lot of countries are where they are today. Violence is sometimes the only reason why things changed. Violence is enacted on the oppressed everyday yet people only seem to really care once the oppressed fight back.

3. I’m anti-Israel because I don’t agree with the government and the state of Israel. I don’t agree with their 75 years of violent oppression of Palestinians. I don’t agree with their current or past actions. I’m anti-Hamas. I think they’re a vacuous organization that is more focused on getting what they want than considering the consequences of innocent Palestinians.

I’m also really fucking furious at Joe Biden’s insistence that we send aid to Israel. We have given Israel $260 BILLION since 1948. BILLION. And yet we have people dying because they can’t afford healthcare. Students leaving school because they can’t afford tuition. We have 8 year olds in debt because they can’t afford school lunches. The unhoused population is growing rapidly due to the housing crisis. I can sense the unemployment rate creeping higher. I know many people who have lost their jobs this past month alone. We’re days away from another government shutdown and they can’t vote on a speaker.

American politicians would rather send Israel billions more to bomb innocent people than to feed their own citizens. That, in my opinion, is a sort of violence that can never be justified.