#Dynastic Control

[wonder-worker]

"Any assessment of the emotional component of the reconciliation of [Empress Matilda and Geoffrey of Anjou] remains speculation: the chroniclers are silent on the issue of whether [they] grew to love, hate, or like each other. We do know, from their movements and actions, that Matilda and Geoffrey eventually arrived at a businesslike arrangement with a united viewpoint toward the dynastic, geopolitical goals that had dictated their marriage in the first place."

"Matilda and Geoffrey effectively transitioned from a Divide and Rule model to a Collaborative Union from 1144 onwards, in which they worked together throughout their marriage to ensure rulership over their territories and gained their rightful lands, as well as ensuring the inheritance for their children. Matilda and Geoffrey’s political partnership can effectively be argued as the most successful through applying different models of rulership. Ultimately the Plantagenets regained Matilda’s inheritance through Henry, conquered Normandy, and produced several male heirs."

— Charles Beem, The Lioness Roared: The Problems of Female Rule in English History / Gabrielle Storey, Co-Rulership, Co-operation and Competition: Queenship in the Angevin Domains, 1135-1230

[divorceblogger]

milchick is being infantilised, degraded and his erudition is viewed as a threat by a company run by white dynastic leaders who interfere with people’s bodies at very intimate levels and exploit them for labour while controlling their inborn right to exercise their reproductive & sexual rights specifically while referring to them as violent, unpredictable people (helena calls them ‘animals’ and exploits mark for sexual pleasure). while keeping them entrapped in workspaces which they’re not allowed to evacuate. I think people should have smarter things to say than “it’s funny that milchick was doing a paperclip task”.

[duct-taping-zhenguo]

I'M FROM THE CENSORATE AND I'M HERE TO HELP

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The case for a Canadian wealth tax

I'm in the home stretch of my 24-city book tour for my new novel PICKS AND SHOVELS. Catch me in LONDON (July 1) with TRASHFUTURE'S RILEY QUINN and then a big finish in MANCHESTER on July 2.

A major problem with letting billionaires decide how your country is run is that they will back whichever psycho promises the lowest taxes and least regulation, no matter how completely batshit and unfit that person is:

https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/nations-are-people

Billionaires have farcical, almost unimaginable resources. These let them take over whole political parties, even "left" parties, with the result that all real electoral options disappear. Voting for the other party gets you a different set of aesthetics, but the same existential threats to the human race and the planet:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/22/starmer-backs-us-strike-on-iran-and-calls-for-tehran-to-return-to-negotiations

After generations of increasingly oligarch-friendly policies and billionaire entryism into the Democratic Party, America may well be cooked, a total write-off for generations to come. The path to saving the world and our species arguably lies through strengthening other countries to resist American psychos and protect the planet from the consequences of their brainwormed leadership.

Writing for Jacobin, Alex Hemingway sets out a plan for imposing a wealth-tax on Canada's oligarchs, one that incorporates lessons from previous attempts at such a tax:

https://jacobin.com/2025/06/wealth-tax-canada-inequality-austerity/

Even on the left, the idea of a wealth-tax is controversial – not because leftists are sympathetic to billionaires, but because they are skeptical that a wealth tax can be carried out. It's a practical, not an ideological objection:

https://pileusmmt.libsyn.com/196-the-problem-with-wealth-taxes-with-steven-hail-part-1

After all, under capitalism, wealth always grows faster than the economy at large, meaning that over time, the rich will get steadily richer, and inequality will widen and widen:

https://memex.craphound.com/2014/06/24/thomas-pikettys-capital-in-the-21st-century/

Ideally, we would counter the trend of wealth piling up into dynastic fortunes with continuous redistribution and predistribution: taxing capital gains at the same rate (or a higher rate) than income, so that income from labor isn't treated worse than income from ownership; steeply graded progressive taxes, with top rates in of 70-99%, high inheritance taxes, and so on. We had a system like that, from the end of WWII (when the rich were poorer than they'd been in centuries, with their influence in tatters) until the Reagan era (when the rich had rebuilt their fortunes and were able to seize the reins of power). In the 45 years since the rise of the new oligarchy, we've lived through accelerating wealth accumulation, and as the rich got richer, they used their wealth to dismantle any barrier to creating new aristocratic dynasties.

So here we are, trapped in the new oligarchy. It's too late to rely on income taxes, not if we're going to euthanize enough rentiers to free out politics from their toxic influence and save the human race any of several foreseeable mass-extinction events. Making the ultra-rich poor again is going to require new tactics.

In Canada, the 1% owns 29% of the country's wealth. The 87 richest families in Canada control as much wealth as the bottom 12 million Canadians combined. This is better than the US (where the 1% own 35% of the country), but not by much:

https://www.policyalternatives.ca/wp-content/uploads/attachments/Born%20to%20Win.pdf

Can we make a wealth tax work? Here's Hemingway's program for making it work in Canada:

Make it apply to all kinds of wealth equally. No carve-outs for real-estate, which makes it very easy to shift wealth among asset-classes to duck the tax;

Aim it at the super-rich alone. Avoid even the upper middle-class, who lack the liquid assets to pay the tax and could get wrecked if they have to liquidate their holdings at the same time as everyone else, which will depress asset prices;

Use third-party assessments of asset values. Don't take billionaires' word for how much their assets are worth! Canada's got an advantage here, thanks to the Canada Revenue Agency's requirement for financial institutions to report their account holders' income, including capital gains. Canada's also recently created "beneficial owner" registries that record the true owners of assets;

Use lifestyle audits: anyone caught engaging in tax-evasion will face severe penalties, as will the enablers at financial services firms that help them.

One frequent objection to high taxes is that it encourages capital flight – rich people hopping to another territory to avoid taxation. That's a reasonable fear, given how pants-wettingly terrified the rich are of paying tax. Hemingway points out that a wealth tax is different from an income tax – income taxes are levied on the outcome of productive activities, while wealth taxes target accumulated wealth. High income taxes can starve a country of the capital it needs for a productive economy, but that's not the case with wealth taxes.

Hemingway points to the OECD's Common Reporting Standard, through which more than 100 countries have agreed to share financial information, which will help Canada catch billionaires as they funnel their wealth offshore. Meanwhile, if the rich try to move with their money, we can hit them with an exit tax, like the 40% that Elizabeth Warren has proposed.

It's an article of faith that the rich will move offshore at the first hint of a wealth tax, but the research shows that rich people often have reasons to stay that trump their taxophobia. The economic effect of rich people Going Galt is pretty darned small:

https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/research/centres/cage/publications/workingpapers/2022/taxation_and_migration_by_the_super_rich/

The modern prophet of oligarchy and its origins is the French economist Thomas Piketty. In a recent Le Monde column, Piketty examines the failure of a French wealth tax proposal that would have shaved a modest 2% off the fortunes of the 1,800 French people with more than €100 million:

https://www.lemonde.fr/blog/piketty/2025/06/17/the-senate-beside-the-story/

The proposal passed the National Assembly, only to die in the Senate, an institution with a long history of pro-oligarchic activism (the Senate killed every French income tax passed by the Assembly from 1896-1914). The Assembly's wealth tax addressed the problem of tax exiles, levying the wealth tax for 5 years after an oligarch relocated. For Piketty, this didn't go far enough: he wants a pro-rated tax based on the number of years an oligarch spent in France in their lifetime: if you were educated and cared for at French expense from birth and went on to become a billionaire, then a modest share of your wealth would forever be owed to the country that made it possible. Piketty says that a wealth tax could be paid in shares instead of cash, with the stock going into a trust for workers, who would get board seats as well.

He points out that decarbonization is going to require large sacrifices from all of us, but that these will be impossible to demand with a straight face so long as the super-rich are paying taxes that are trivial relative to their assets and income.

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

https://pluralistic.net/2025/06/21/billionaires-eh/#galen-weston-is-a-rat

[kerryshifts]

omg i loved your “shifting to Italy” post and was wondering if you could do one for ancient egypt? xx (you don’t have to ofc just a suggestion!!)

shifting to ancient egypt? gotch ya.

ancient egypt was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the nile river in northeast africa.

act i. when are you?

based on your time period, you will have very much different experiences. i’d suggest you to research which one you are more interested in shifting.

predynastic ( c. 6000-3150 BCE ) preceding recorded history, saw the development of early settlements and the emergence of distinct cultures in the nile valley.

early dynastic period ( c. 3100-2686 BCE ) marked by the unification of upper and lower Egypt, the first and second dynasties ruled during this time, establishing the foundations of the egyptian state.

old kingdom ( c. 2686-2181 BCE ) a period of great power and prosperity, characterized by the construction of the pyramids and the establishment of the pharaoh as a divine ruler.

first intermediate period ( c. 2181-2040 BCE ) period of political instability and fragmentation following the decline of old kingdom.

middle kingdom ( c. 2040-1640 BCE ) period of reunification and renewed prosperity, with advancements in art, architecture, and literature.

second intermediate period ( c. 1640-1550 BCE ) another period of instability, marked by the rise of the hyksos and the fragmentation of egyptian rule.

new kingdom ( c. 1550-1070 BCE) a period of great expansion and military power, with powerful pharaohs like hatshepsut, akhenaten, and ramses ii.

third intermediate period ( c. 1070-664 BCE ) period of decline and fragmentation, with various dynasties vying for power.

late period ( c. 664-332 BCE ) period of foreign rule, with egypt ruled by the assyrians, egyptians, and persians.

roman period ( 30 BCE - 641 CE ) egypt became a province of the roman empire, marked by roman administration and culture.

act ii. who are you?

you are in the middle of a society who has a strict social structure, and where your status will shape your daily life and power. you are born with it, and only scribes, soldiers and artisans could rise. from the most protected to the least one:

pharaoh. used as a title for absolute monarch since under the new kingdom, often called horus on earth. had control over laws, military, religion, and land. lived in luxurious palaces with servants, and wore a double crown ( pschent ) to symbolise his status as ruler. the most well-known are tutankhamun, ramesses ii, and akhenaten.

pharaoh’s family. wives, children and sibilings had high-ranking positions in the government and religion.

nobles. were high-ranking government officials, including the vizier ( the pharaoh's chief advisor a.k.a prime minister, who oversaw taxes, justice, and administration ) and nomarchs ( governors, controlled egypt’s provinces and managed local social ).

priests. they played a crucial role in religious ceremonies and rituals, and they held significant influence in society.

high priest: appointed by the pharaoh, held the highest authority within the priesthood, performing the most important rituals and managing the temple's affairs.

wab priests: carried out essential but mundane tasks, such as preparing for festivals and maintaining the temple complex.

other priests: who read funeral liturgies ( hery-heb ) who read incantatory formulas from the book of the dead ( khereb priests ) and those involved in mummification ( paraschists, taricheutes, and colchytes ).

priestesses: women could also be priests, with their roles varying depending on the specific cult or deity.

scribes. highly respected, literate individuals who held important administrative and clerical positions, responsible for recording and documenting everything from daily activities to royal decrees. part of the elite 1% of the population that could read and write. they used reed pens, black ink made from soot and gum, adding red oxide to make red ink, and palettes.

artisans. they lived in special workers villages ( deir el-medina ) and included stonecutters, painters, carpenters, sculptors, jewelers, and metalworkers. they created tombs, statues, temples, furniture and luxury goods.

farmers. made up the majority of population and they walked in fields, growing wheat, barley, flax and vegetables. during flood seasons they usually worked with artisans.

slaves. prisoners of war, debtors and criminals. they worked in nobles households ( cooking, cleaning, taking care of children ), temples, mines and quarries; some could earn freedom and better positions over time.

act iii. where are you?

where you live will shape your experience drastically. normal houses were built of mud-bricks with floors made from earth, and they had living rooms, kitchens and bedrooms, and many of the large objects that we can move around ( like seats and ovens ) were built into the house. there was no gas or electricity, meaning that food was cooked in stone ovens, using a fire for heat. to keep food, pits were dug and food was stored below ground level.

cities, they were the heart of the civilisation. center of political activity, religion, and economic powers. in the cities lived pharaohs and nobles ( pharaohs lived in the ‘great house’ or “per ‘aa. palaces were lavish, with evidence suggesting sprawling complexes with large dining rooms, and other amenities reflecting the pharaoh's status ) priests and scribes ( temple complexes, government departments, and even private households, depending on their specific duties and employers ) artisans and merchants ( often lived in distinct workmen's villages like deir el-medina, located near the valley of the kings ) slaves ( lived in simple dwellings, possibly separate from their owners' homes, or within the same household as servants ) but…… what cities? here some examples.

memphis. the capital of the old kingdom. full of loud markets, stone temples, and busy workshops. the most notorious thing are the white walls, the great temple of ptah, statues, palaces ( huge monuments of pharaohs ) craftsmen’s quarters ( people making gold jewelry, statues, and linen ) the nile docks ( ships unloading grain, wine, and goods from nubia and the levant ) …. one of the official religious centers as it was the worship center for the holy triad of the creator god of ptah, his wife sekhmet and nefertem.

thebes. the city of the gods. religious and cultural powerhouse, full of priests, scribes, tomb builders, and travelers. you’d see karnak and luxor temples ( giant temples with sphinx-lined roads ) street performers, food vendors, and boat festivals on the nile. markets full of incense, perfume, and imported goods from the red sea trade.

deir-el medina. there were around 68 houses, made of mud-brick built on stone foundations. letters, legal documents, statues and tombs tell us about family and working life. many of the men and women could read. women baked bread and brewed beer. the village had a court of law and everyone had a right to a trial. there was a local police, the medjay, to keep order. the people of deir-el medina also had medical treatment. they could get prescriptions of ingredients, prayers and spells from the physicians.

act iv. how is your social life?

we are talking about a very social civilisation….. if you were rich. their daily lives revolved around family, work, festivals, and entertainment, and they knew how to balance duty and pleasure ( fun fact: for them sexuality was sacred ).

marriage. frequently arranged by parents, they were a primarily a social and economic arrangement, not a religious or legal ceremony, where couples were considered married once they started living together, often after a party or celebration. while divorce was possible, it was difficult, and women were often protected from divorce by marriage contracts that placed financial burdens on men.

friendship. was significant aspect of life in ancient egypt, strong bonds and social obligations between individuals, including the idea of ‘friends’ being part of a broader social circle beyond immediate family.

banquets. they were lavish celebrations featuring large gatherings of family and friends, music, dance, and copious amounts of food and drink, frequently held near tombs to facilitate communication with the deceased. they were hosted by wealthy families and nobles. entertainment consisted in harpists, flutists, dancers, acrobats. the food ?? roast duck, fish, bread, figs, wine and beer. the banquets were often held in tents or colonnaded spaces, which were sometimes depicted in tomb. fun fact : particularly during banquets and celebrations, people wore scented wax cones on their heads, which melted and released a pleasant fragrance.

public festivals and religious celebrations. the most well-known festivals were: opet festival ( in thebes ) was a celebration of amun and mut’s marriage, statues was paraded through the streets. hathor festival is a wild party with drinking, music, and dance. wepet renpet ( new year’s ) is a huge nile-side festival with feasts and fireworks, celebrated mid-july. beautiful festival of the valley is a state festival, initiated by mentuhotep ii, and celebrated the bonds between the living and the dead, with citizens strengthening their bonds with the deceased. wag festival involved making paper boats containing shrines to souls and setting them out on the river nile to float towards the west, commemorating the death and rebirth of osiris.

markets. like today, bustling marketplaces were a social hotspot. the steet vendors sold jewelry, makeup ( kohl eyeliner and scented oils ) fine linen clothes, sandals, spices, perfumes, and exotic imports.

music. they usually played harps, flutes, drums, and lyres at parties and religious events while women, were often professional dancers, were hired for feasts and ceremonies.

act v. what are you eating?

bread was a fundamental part of the diet, made from emmer wheat or barley. it was eaten at every meal and was considered a basic element of human life.

beer was a common beverage.

vegetables. were a regular part of the egyptian diet, with a variety of options available, including onions, garlic, lentils, and cucumbers.

fish was a readily available and nutritious food source, it was prepared in various ways, including frying, smoking, and boiling.

fruits like figs and dates were also part of the ancient egyptian diet and were often included in offerings to the gods.

oils were derived from ben-nuts, sesame, linseed and castor oils. honey was used as a sweetener, and vinegar may have also been used. seasonings included salt, juniper, aniseed, coriander, cumin, fennel, fenugreek, and poppyseed.

meat. the wealthy would enjoy pork, mutton, and beef.

poultry, such as ducks and geese.

dairy products, like cheese, butter, and cream.

wine was a product of great importance, offered in funerary rituals and in temples to worship gods and consumed daily by the upper classes during meals and parties.

act vi. what are you wearing?

reflected both the hot climate and social status, with the wealthy adorning themselves with finer materials and elaborate jewelry.

linen. the primary fabric, made from the flax plant, was favored for its breathability and comfort in the hot climate.

wool. while known, wool was considered impure and primarily used by the wealthy for overcoats, but was forbidden in temples and sanctuaries.

jewelry. gold, lapis lazuli, turquoise, and other precious materials were used to create elaborate jewelry, including necklaces, rings, bracelets, and amulets.

women’s clothing. they wore full-length dresses with one or two shoulder straps, which could be pleated or draped. the wealthy often wore flowing, sheer dresses layered with colorful shawls or capes.

men’s clothing. kilt-like skirts ( schenti ) are a wrap-around skirt, tied at the waist, with variations in length depending on the era and fashion trends. loincloth and headdresses.

children’s clothing. they wore simple garments, often loincloths or short kilts for boys, and simple linen dresses for girls.

cosmetics. ochre for lips and cheeks, henna for fingernails, and kohl for outlining eyes and coloring eyebrows.

hair. men and women often shaved their heads, and instead they used wigs.

sandals. while many went barefoot, sandals were sometimes worn.

makeup, particularly black kohl eyeliner, was used by both men and women for both aesthetic and practical purposes, with ingredients like galena and malachite used to create pigments, and cosmetics were also seen as having spiritual and protective significance.

kohl eyeliner. a dark, black eyeliner made from ground galena (lead sulfide) and other ingredients like soot, which was used to outline the eyes. it was believed to protect the eyes from the sun's glare and to repel insects. applied in a distinctive style, with lines drawn above and below the eyes, sometimes slightly arched at the ends.

red pigments. red ochre, a clay that was dried in the sun, was used for blush and lipstick and it was also used to stain nails with henna.

green eye shadow. a.k.a malachite, a copper-based mineral, was ground and mixed with water to make a green eyeshadow.

oil and creams. scented oils and creams were used to moisturize the skin and mask body odor. ingredients included myrrh, thyme, marjoram, chamomile, lavender, lily, peppermint, rosemary, cedar, rose, aloe, olive oil, sesame oil and almond oil.

lipstick. red lipstick was made from red ochre and other pigments, theredder the lips, the higher the social status.

note: don’t forget to script safety things!

[beckyninja]

Duty

Pairing: Roboute Guilliman x FemReader

Warnings: Nothing much this time, just angst

Description: As further opposition to the alliance between their peoples is revealed, Guilliman's betrothed finally opens up about her past.

Whew! With all the holiday craziness, I didn't think I'd get this posted today. Anyway, I hope you guys don't mind some lore. This is a sequel to Worthy, and a continuation of my Guilliman/Reader story. You can find the other stories in this series on my Masterlist.

In the all but empty Communications Center, Guilliman stared at the holographic image of Captain Takahashi. His Admechs and the Captain’s technicians had finally managed to cobble together an interphase between the two ships’ communications systems. Still, the Captain’s image flickered and lagged as she spoke.

“...have rooted out two more conspirators, Lord Guilliman. A pair of sanitation specialists. They attempted to take control of my ship’s steering mechanism.”

Guilliman clenched his gauntleted fist. “That makes seven attempts to date.”

“All of which we have discovered and stopped.”

“To your credit, Captain.”

The woman nodded curtly. “All the same, I agree it remains too dangerous to allow the Lady Heir to return on a permanent basis. Though, she will still need to send the first message to our homeworld once we are in range.”

“In two standard days.”

“Yes.”

Guilliman shook his head in wonder. Even in the time of the Great Crusade, such long range communication, without the aid of Astropaths, was more fantasy than reality. He added it to his mental list of technologies to acquire once the treaty was formalized.

“You will be sending the conspirators over for interrogation.”

The Captain’s eyes turned icy. “I will. Though I expect it will be more of the same.”

Guilliman scowled. During each interrogation, an implant of some kind had activated a small electromagnetic pulse within the prisoners’ brains, eradicating all higher functions. Only the first, the former Lord O’Rourke, had managed to give them any information before his unexpected lobotomy.

“Captain, you promised to clarify a few details from the first interrogation when last we spoke.”

For the first time, Captain Takahashi looked uneasy. Her eyes flickered behind Guilliman.

He understood. “Sicarius, await me outside. And see that none enter.”

He heard Cato’s teeth grinding as he obeyed.

“Forgive my hesitance, Lord Guilliman.” The Captain frowned. “But what I am about to reveal would no doubt be considered treasonous by my superiors.”

“I am grateful for your trust, Captain.”

Her frown softened. “I have come to believe we both have the Lady Heir’s best interests at heart.” She clasped her hands behind her back. “You told me how O’Rourke mentioned his orders came from a ‘prince’, someone he believed to be the true heir to our world.”

Guilliman nodded. He had long suspected your home to be less peaceful than you implied. Your obvious discomfort whenever the topic arose, the way you dodged the subject with the skill of an Aeldari warrior, and, of course, the continued sabotage attempts by your entourage did little to persuade him otherwise.

His logical mind knew the value of this alliance and the technology it would bring to the Imperium. But, in his deepest soul, none of that mattered. Someone was trying to take you from him. You. 

Only centuries of practice hid his churning rage.

The Captain continued. “As you know, our world is led by the Matriarch. She had three children, all who have since died. My Lady is the only child of her eldest and, under our laws, the Heir. But she has two cousins, the two princes.”

Guilliman’s lips twisted sardonically. He’d dealt with enough Imperial nobility to be more than aware of the twists and turns of dynastic politics. Part of him felt saddened at the thought that you came from a family afflicted with such foolishness.

And yet, he bit back a bitter laugh, was my own “family” so different?

“Her Grace has made no secret of her preference for my Lady’s eldest cousin. He is a charismatic young man, currently riding high on the glory of military success.” The Captain paused, looked uncertain, then continued. “In my opinion, Lord Guilliman, the Matriarch purposely isolated my Lady so she could not compete with her cousin’s popularity.” 

A shrewd move. Guilliman had to admit. 

No one who had ever met you and experienced your thoughtfulness and compassion could doubt your potential for popularity with the masses. How quickly you’d won the adoration of his own serfs proved that. Not to mention the progress you’d made among the Ultramarines.

“You think he is the ‘prince’ who gave O’Rourke his orders.”

The Captain frowned. “Possibly. The other option is the younger cousin. He’s rumored to be quite intelligent, but the Matriarch destined him for holy orders. He’s been sequestered in one of our scholastic monasteries since he came of age.”

Guilliman narrowed his eyes. “If dealing with my own Ecclesiarchy has taught me anything, it is that the lust for power can infect even the holiest-seeming priest.”

“Indeed.”

Guilliman stared through the Captain’s image, mind working. Too many variables. Not enough data.

“What do you believe, Captain?”

The Captain looked him in the eye. “Whoever gave the orders is irrelevant. I believe this mission was supposed to fail. All of us, myself, my crew, and the Lady Heir were supposed to die at Imperial hands.”

Yet again, Guilliman found himself impressed by this tiny baseline woman’s strength of will. “Thus removing the only obstacle to a prince’s rise to power, and ensuring your world’s continued isolation.”

“Yes.” The Captain’s lips lifted into a slight smile. “But no one back home foresaw this particular turn of events.”

Guilliman huffed a laugh. “Nor did anyone here.” His mirth was short-lived. “Once my betrothed sends her message, however, the game changes.”

“And all Void will break loose. She needs to be made aware.”

Therein lay the crux of the problem. How much did he tell you? How much did you already suspect?

“I agree.”

The Captain must have seen something in his face. “You said once that she’s stronger than she looks, Lord Guilliman. I assure you, it’s true.”

Strong in some ways, yes. But so, so fragile in others.

***

“Fascinating, Brother Tarchus. Remind me which section of the Codex that is again?” You smiled up at the Ultramarine, stylus and dataslate in hand.

“Certainly, my Lady. Chapter 647, Section F, Subsection B-14, Paragraph 54….” 

You scribbled frantically. “Ah, yes. Thank you. I have it now.” I think. “And why would you say this is your favorite passage?”

The giant warrior actually looked excited. “The minutiae of supply lines, especially to besieged worlds, is an excellent example of the importance of efficiency and practicality in uncertain circumstances.”

There. Something you could grasp. “The creation of order in the midst of anarchy?”

“Precisely.” You swore the Ultramarine almost smiled.

“In times of uncertainty, the order brought by the Ultramarines must be a great comfort to Imperial citizens.”

Tarchus cocked his head to one side. “I suppose that is one of the outcomes.”

“A beneficial one, surely.” You continued. “A fearful population is vulnerable to manipulation, whereas a population confident in its protectors is steadfast and resilient.”

“I had not considered.”

“Something to think about, yes?”

The Ultramarine looked thoughtful. “Perhaps.”

“Well, I should not keep Lord Guilliman waiting. Thank you for taking the time to explain more of the Codex Astartes to me, Brother Tarchus. It was kind of you.”

He nodded. “I found the conversation stimulating, my Lady.”

“I should like to continue in the future, if we may.”

“I…am amenable to that suggestion.”

You gave him a final nod, smiled again, and stepped past him into Guilliman’s chambers. Once through, you couldn’t hold back a laugh of triumph. 

Your betrothed looked up at you from his place behind his desk. “And what has you so giddy this evening, my love?”

He stretched out a hand, and you hurried to his side. “I managed to engage Brother Tarchus in conversation just now!”

“Indeed? It was my understanding he was being particularly stubborn.”

“Ah, but I believe I’ve found the key to an Ultramarine’s hearts.” You smiled slyly up at him.

He chuckled. “Enlighten me.”

“I simply get them talking about the Codex Astartes. It seems to be their favorite topic.”

“Believe me, I am aware.” He lifted his eyes to the ceiling and gave a dramatic shake of his head. “You have swept all before you, my Lady. Are none of my sons safe from your wiles?”

You rolled your eyes. “You know at least one is.”

“Cato can be… difficult.”

To put it mildly. You pursed your lips.

Guilliman ran a finger along your jawline. “Do not fret. You cannot help but be beloved by all in time.”

You felt heat rush to your face. “What…what happened to your ‘no touching’ rule?”

A flash of mischief in his blue eyes was the only warning you received before you found yourself hoisted up and deposited in his lap. You gasped and caught yourself with outstretched hands against his massive chest.

“Roboute!”

An arm of steel wrapped about your shoulders, pinning you against him. “I thought depriving myself entirely of your touch would cool my ardor. Instead, it seemed to have the opposite effect.”

His head lowered, lips just shy of your own, as his voice dropped to the rumbling growl you loved. “Instead, I have decided to allow myself a few…small…indulgences….”

You melted into his arms when he kissed you, slowly and deeply.

An eternity, and yet not nearly long enough, later, he pulled away and smiled down at you. You rested your head against his chest and closed your eyes. 

This. If I could just have this, forever, I would be satisfied.

“My love, we need to talk.”

“Mmm?” 

The double beat of his hearts soothed you. You realized you could easily fall asleep like this, cradled in his arms, safe.

“It is time you told me more of your family.”

Your eyes snapped wide. “What?”

No. No no no. I’m not ready!

His arm tightened slightly around you, as if he feared you’d bolt. You considered doing exactly that.

“Captain Takahashi contacted me this morning.” Guilliman’s voice was kind, but firm. “There was another sabotage attempt.”

You jerked upright. “Was anyone hurt?”

“No. The Captain’s men-at-arms are skilled. But the fact remains,” he brought his other hand to your chin, holding it in place, “they were following orders from a prince of your house.”

Two faces appeared unbidden in your mind. One, fierce and angular, baring its teeth in a wide grin. The other, rounded and pale, eyes sullen. 

“Victor and Conrad….” You didn’t realize you’d spoken the names aloud until Guilliman reacted.

“Your cousins.”

You couldn’t turn your head away, but you dropped your eyes from his piercing gaze. “Yes. My cousins.”

You didn’t want to think about them. You didn’t want to think about…her. In desperation, you tried a new tactic. Slowly, you moved your hands up Guilliman’s chest, caressing the hard muscle beneath his tunic. 

“Can’t we talk about this later?” You looked up at him through your eyelashes, wetting your lips with your tongue.

His breath stuttered, his eyes going dark and hungry.

You continued exploring his chest with your fingers, feeling rather proud of yourself… until he released your chin and captured both wrists in an iron grip.

“A good attempt.” One side of his mouth tilted upward. “But I will not be distracted.”

Struggling only emphasized your utter helplessness. “Roboute, please.”

“What are you so afraid of, my love?”

Something snapped inside. You snarled at the man you loved.

“I’m afraid of her! My grandmother, the Matriarch, the heartless bitch.” A hysterical laugh burst through your lips. “You think one of my cousins is behind all this? Whoever the saboteurs assumed their orders came from, I guarantee she is the one pulling the strings. She wants me dead.”

You stopped, panting. Guilliman stared down at you. It frightened you how little emotion you saw behind his regal mask.

“Why?”

Why indeed? Why stop now? Let’s air all the family’s dirty laundry.

“She hated my mother first. My mother, her eldest, her legacy. My mother, who threw everything away to sail the stars. My mother, who returned years later, pregnant with an unknown man’s child.” 

You couldn’t have stopped even if you wanted to. The words poured forth like blood from a wound.

“Grandmother banished my mother to an isolated Abbey in the highlands. I was born there, among the Holy Sisters.” You smiled at the memory of happier days. “Mother became their huntress, bringing in game for the larders. During her absences, I learned alongside the novitiates. History, theology, but also botany and bioengineering. I spent hours in their gardens and greenhouses. The Sisters are famed for engineering new forms of plantlife, medicines and textiles as well as food.”

You didn’t see Guilliman anymore. You saw the kindly, wizened Mother Superior, cradling a new strain of vitamin-infused apple in her weathered hands. You saw rows of pungent medicinal herbs swaying in the greenhouses. You saw Mother, laughing, hands outstretched to welcome you into her arms.

“When I was twelve, Mother died on a hunt. I grieved. But I wasn’t alone. The Sisters were my family.” You felt tears coming as you dropped your voice to a whisper. “Then, one night….”

Screams. You jerked awake in your room amongst the other novitiates, all of you bleary-eyed and confused. Light poured through the windows. You heard the hard tramp of boots. The door burst open and Sister Helena fell into the room, shoved from behind. 

“Which one is she?” A harsh voice boomed. 

The man it belonged to stood in the doorway, covered head to toe in tactical armor, brandishing a pistol.

He shouted your name. Sister Helena crouched on the floor, but said nothing. The man snarled and aimed his weapon at her.

“Wait!” You screamed, scrambling out of bed. “It’s me! I’m the one you’re looking for!”

You had no idea why they wanted you. But you weren’t going to let them hurt your family.

The rest of the night was a blur of grasping hands, roaring engines, and bitter cold. They hadn’t let you change out of your nightdress. They hadn’t let you say goodbye.

“The soldiers took me to the Matriarch, my grandmother, who said a plague that had devastated our cities the year prior had killed my two uncles. I was now the heir. Lessons followed. Endless lessons as she tried to force me into the model princess. At first, I resisted. But the consequences….” You shuddered. “I learned to keep quiet. I learned to obey. I learned to fear.”

You felt Guilliman’s hand on your lower back, rubbing circles. Slowly, your surroundings came back into focus.

“Breathe, my love.” His deep voice dispelled the haze of terror. “Just breathe.”

You buried your face in his chest, but words kept coming. “She didn’t want me. Not really. In time, I realized she was using me as a threat to my eldest cousin, Victor. By naming me heir, but promising the position to him if he behaved, she kept him on a tight leash. I was safe for a time. But if I hadn’t proposed this diplomatic mission, my death would have come at her hands sooner or later.”

“You must have known this envoy might have gotten you killed, with or without your family’s interference.” 

“I knew.” You wondered if you sounded as desperate as you felt. “But it was a chance. A way out! I couldn’t stay in that palace anymore, with her and her spies always watching.” 

Another hysterical laugh. “You know Grandmother once refused me meals for an entire week in a fit of rage? I would have starved to death if not for the kindness of the servants. I-I just…I had to…oh, Light help me.”

You wept, clinging to Guilliman, the only solid point in the maelstrom tearing through you. “Don’t let me go, Roboute. Please. Don’t let me go.”

His huge arms tightened further around you. “Never.”

***

Guilliman held you as you sobbed, held you close, and seethed. 

I could raze her planet. I could smother it in steel, snuffing out the lives of everyone who ever hurt her. 

He wouldn’t, though. The cost in innocents would be too high. You’d never forgive him. But still….

“Damn the alliance.” He growled. “Damn the treaty. Let your Matriarch think you dead. Let her think the barbarians of the Imperium slaughtered your entire entourage.”

Your sobs quieted and you looked up at him with wide eyes.

He cupped your face in his palm. “Marry me, return with me to Ultramar, and let me care for you. You need never set foot upon your homeworld again.”

“It would be so easy,” you murmured, closing your eyes, “to just say yes. To stay safely in your shadow and forget everything else.”

“Then say yes.”

A long moment passed in silence. He heard the muted voices outside his office, the omnipresent hum of the great ship, and your beating heart. Then, you opened your reddened eyes.

“I can’t, Roboute.” You seemed calmer now. “I may have originated this plan as an escape from my home, but all the other reasons I gave, I believe in them too. My people need the rest of humanity, and the rest of humanity needs us.”

A mixture of disappointment and sheer awe filled him. How, in the vastness and cruelty of the universe, had he found a woman so perfectly matched to himself?

“I used to dream of running away.” He muttered, only half aware he spoke aloud. “I dreamed of cutting free of the Imperium, of becoming a farmer. An honest, simple life.”

“It sounds lovely.” You smiled sadly. “But we can’t cast duty aside so easily, you and I. We care too much. All we can hope for,” you placed your hand against his cheek, mirroring him, “is to find someone to share that duty with us. Someone to stand beside us. Someone to love.”

“I love you.” Throne, my hearts feel about to burst with it.

“And I you.”

He kissed you again. Soft and gentle and so, so sweet. When he pulled himself away, you tucked yourself back against his chest.

“Forgive me for hiding all this from you, Roboute. I was afraid. I’ve been afraid for so long.”

“There is nothing to forgive.”

“When we reach my homeworld, my family will stand against us.”

Ferocity welled within him. Lifting you in his arms, he carried you to the great viewport and looked out upon the passing stars. Logically, he knew the star your world circled was not among them. 

Still, he issued a challenge.“I am Roboute Guilliman, Lord of Ultramar, Lord Regent of the Imperium, Primarch.” He held you close. “Let them try.”

@remembrancer-of-heresy @solspina @sleepyfan-blog @moodymisty @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan

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@thememestrider

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[bluecrusadearcade]

Having religious sites in a region does not give your state or your religion ownership over it. By that logic, the Vatican would own half of Europe. The claim that Kashmir “belongs to Hindus” because of Amarnath or Shankaracharya temple is rooted in theocratic ethno-nationalist agenda, not history. Yes, Hindu sites exist in Kashmir because Hindus have historically lived there, just like Muslims, Buddhists, and others. Kashmiris of all faiths have coexisted and contributed to the region’s culture, language, and history for centuries.

Kashmir doesn’t “belong” to Hindus, Muslims, or any religion — it belongs to its people. The indigenous, regardless of what religion they follow today. Conversion doesn’t erase indigeneity. Cultural belonging is rooted in land, language, and memory — not who you pray to. But that is a concept difficult to grasp for you.

Kashmiri Pandits’ lack of return is not the fault of Kashmiri Muslims. It is the fault of the Indian government, which has used their displacement as a political pawn for decades. The state did nothing for their safe resettlement, didn’t provide real rehabilitation, and still continues to use their pain to fuel communal hate instead of solutions. And fools like you fall for it.

Anyway, free kashmir <3

Wow, it's impressive how much misinformation can fit into a single ask—your understanding of Kashmir's history seems to be as shallow as a puddle in the sun.

lets start, shall we?

“Having religious sites in a region does not give your state or your religion ownership over it.”

In many cases, the very establishment and maintenance of a religious site have been acts of statecraft. For example, the 2008 transfer of 99 acres of forest land to the Amarnath Shrine Board wasn’t just a religious accommodation—it was a political decision by both the Indian Union and the J&K government to assert authority over that part of the Valley. Religious institutions often hold de facto governing power over adjacent land and resources (roads, policing, revenue), effectively exercising territorial control even if they aren’t “sovereign” in name. Religious sites can and do establish historical and even legal ties to a community. The existence of a temple isn’t merely “cultural fluff.” In many pre-modern polities, state authority was deeply bound up with patronage of shrines. The Shankaracharya Temple atop Takht-e-Suleiman, for example, dates back to at least the 9th century and was rebuilt by Hindu and Buddhist rulers—evidence that Kashmir’s sovereign identity was inseparable from its Hindu heritage long before Islam arrived. When princely Jammu & Kashmir acceded to India in 1947, the Instrument of Accession specifically guaranteed protection of all existing religious institutions. That document invokes the region’s plural but historically Hindu-rooted polity, not a blank slate. Kashmir’s dynastic history wasn’t exclusively “multi-faith coexistence.”

From the Karkota dynasty (c. 625–855 CE) through the Lohara kingdom (1003–1320 CE), Kashmir was ruled by Hindu monarchs whose geneses and governance were tied to Shaivism and other Hindu sects. The Rajatarangini (12th century chronicle) records dozens of Hindu kings and their endowments to temples—this isn’t a footnote but the core of Kashmir’s classical statehood. While Buddhists and later Muslims certainly contributed to the rich tapestry, that doesn’t negate the fact that Kashmir’s political structures, coinage, land grants (the Shasana inscriptions), and legal codes were shaped by and for a Hindu-majority ruling class for centuries.

2. “By that logic, the Vatican would own half of Europe.”

This comparison fails on two counts. Firstly, the Vatican is a sovereign city-state under the 1929 Lateran Treaty, with internationally recognized borders and extraterritorial rights over multiple basilicas in Italy. Its legal status is unique and does entail actual political jurisdiction—unlike any Hindu temple in Kashmir, which remains under Indian civil law. Second, equating a tiny city-state’s special treaty guarantees with a religious shrine’s cultural importance ignores centuries of regional power struggles over Kashmir.

3. “The claim that Kashmir ‘belongs to Hindus’ because of Amarnath or Shankaracharya temple is rooted in theocratic ethno-nationalist agenda, not history.”

Historical sources show Shaivism was the dominant faith of the early Kashmiri polity. The 8th-century Rajatarangini chronicles rulers patronizing Shiva worship; Queen Suryamati’s 11th-century gifts to Amarnath are recorded in multiple texts. These aren’t modern “ethno-nationalist” fabrications but genuine markers of an ancient Hindu state in the Valley

4. Conversion does alter a community’s indigenous stake when it’s imposed or incentivized politically. True indigeneity is rooted not only in birthplace but in the uninterrupted practice and institutions of a people. While individual conversions are personal, mass conversions under state patronage (e.g., Mughal land-revenue exemptions for converts) did reshape the demographic and institutional landscape, often at the expense of pre-existing Hindu institutions. Erasing the continuity of a faith community does weaken its claim on the public sphere—look at how many old Hindu shrines in the Valley were repurposed or fell to ruin after the medieval conversions. That loss of visible heritage undercuts your blasphemous idea that “conversion doesn’t erase indigeneity.” The demographic shift from ~6 percent Pandit population pre-1947 to under 1 percent today is no mere footnote—it reflects a transformation in who “belongs” in the Valley.

5. “Kashmiri Pandits’ lack of return is not the fault of Kashmiri Muslims. It is the fault of the Indian government…”

The 1990 exodus of roughly 300,000 Pandits was driven by targeted assassinations and mosque announcements from terrorist groups (JKLF, Hizbul Mujahideen) demanding their departure—actions directly by Kashmiri Muslims, not New Delhi While the Indian state’s resettlement package has been inadequate, you cannot erase the fact that Pandits fled under threat from local Islamist terrorists, nor that property-destruction and intimidation were carried out at the village level by Kashmiri insurgents. Kashmiri Pandits’ exile was driven by militant Islamist violence, not benign state indifference alone. In 1989–1990, Kashmiri Pandits were systematically targeted: homes marked with “P” for “Pandit,” public threats from JKLF and Hizbul Mujahideen, dozens of murders—this is well-documented. While the Indian government certainly botched the security response, the proximate cause of the mass flight was organized communal violence by militant groups, overwhelmingly deriving from the Muslim-majority side. Even today, many Pandits refuse to return precisely because the local power structure remains dominated by the same families and networks that either tacitly supported or actively condoned those 1990 purges. You cannot absolve those actors of responsibility simply by pointing at New Delhi.

6. Blaming only New Delhi for the Kashmiri Pandit displacement ignores the agency of local communities. Local Kashmiri Muslim leaders and civil society had opportunities to shelter and publicly protect Pandit neighbors but largely stayed silent or sided with the terrorists. That collective failure fueled the exodus. True reconciliation requires acknowledging both the state’s failures and the grassroots complicity. Your one-sided “it’s all Delhi’s fault” narrative only deepens the wound.

7. “Free Kashmir <3” “Freeing” any region implies a new sovereignty. But no Kashmir-wide plebiscite has ever been held; two-thirds of the Valley’s voters championed staying with India in the 1951 and 1975 assemblies. Pushing “independence” without democratic mandate simply replaces one form of rule with another-often more violent-and ignores the wishes of millions of Kashmiris who identify as Indian citizens. “Free Kashmir” slogans too often align with Pakistan-backed terrorism, not genuine self-determination. Genuine independence movements prize pluralism; Pakistan’s track record in its own territories (Balochistan, Sindh) and its support for jihadi groups in the Valley make it clear that “Azadi” framed by Islamabad would strip Kashmiri Hindus, Sikhs, even moderate Muslims of basic rights.

Real freedom would be one that guarantees security for every Kashmiri, not just the majority faith. Touting “free Kashmir” without that nuance only signals alignment with forces that intimidated Pandits in 1990—and still do.

The Bottom line is:

Historical sovereignty in Kashmir was deeply tied to Hindu kings and temples.

Demographic change via enforced or incentivized conversion did impact the Hindu community’s stake.

1990’s Pandit exodus was driven first by local Islamist militancy, secondarily compounded by Delhi’s inadequate security.

True Kashmiri freedom must protect minorities—any movement that doesn’t is no ally of pluralism but of the very extremism that drove Pandits out.

It's clear you’re more invested in fueling division than understanding history—maybe try reading up on Kashmir’s actual past before you spout off next time. And i mean some real history, not the version you’ve been fed to suit your narrow agenda.

जनहित में प्रकाशीत, नमो वः 🙏

[zuko-always-lies]

Who would be a threat to Azula, post-canon?

I'm writing this because the ATLA fandom has created a set of tropes about who would want Azula controlled, imprisoned, or even killed after canon, a set of tropes which I find questionable.

Let's work our way down the list of possible suspects:

(1) The Gaang in general: A lot of people think they would absolutely hate or at the least strongly dislike Azula, and other people think that they would be strongly sympathetic to her. I think both takes are wrong. They simply don't know much about her and don't have strong reasons to hate her or care about her. She's just another enemy to them; sure, she was a particularly dangerous enemy, but there isn't anything personal in it. Plenty of people have tried to defeat the Gaang; Azula is far from alone there. Why should they focus on her at all? Azula's existence has dynastic implications, but the Gaang are mostly from non-dynastic societies, so they're unlikely to pay close attention to those. The Gaang as a whole is unlikely to pressure Zuko to treat Azula harshly or to treat her with compassion. It's simply none of their business.

The one potential exception is Katara, since she both saw Azula break down and saw Azula shoot Aang.

(2) Mai and Ty Lee: it's hard for me to imagine these two bearing much fear of Azula or regarding Azula as a personal threat. The reality is that at Boiling Rock, after their betrayal, Azula had them in her absolute power and could have taken any revenge she wanted, and she didn't. After that, I think they wouldn't expect Azula to ever take personal revenge on themselves. Perhaps Mai might be worried about that threat that Azula poses to Zuko, but I can't imagine Ty Lee caring much about that possibility. Azula's relationship with those two was complicated at best, and it's even worse and more complicated after Boiling Rock, but I don't think her friends would be among those clamoring for harsh treatment for her.

(3) The Fire Nation elite: simply put, we're told that Azula was deeply admired among this class of people. They thought she was an ideal royal. Although she's probably made some enemies in her life in the court, as a group they generally like her, way better than they liked Zuko, even before Zuko allied with the Fire Nation's hereditary enemies and usurped the throne. These people are not going to be hating on Azula.

(4) Ordinary Fire Nation people: Again, we see little sign in canon that Azula had any particular negative relationship with ordinary Fire Nation people in general, or at the very least a relationship worse than other royals did. As a commander, she won two massive victories with limited to no casualties, which is noticeably different than the massive casualties (and failures) connected to the initiatives of Iroh, Zhao, and Ozai. Ordinary people might be aware of this. Moreover, within official propaganda, we know Azula is portrayed highly positively. Ordinary people have little reason to hate her or demand her punishment.

(5) The rest of the world: hot take, but I don't think Azula would be particularly signaled out for hate. The Northern Water Tribe and the Southern Water Tribe have little reason to care about her in particular; she has little to no connection to the campaigns against them. Even for the Earth Kingdom, Azula only participated in the last six months or so of a 100 Years long war. Her only notable action in this time regarding the Earth Kingdom was conquering Ba Sing Se. It's a big deal, no doubt, although the real story of what happened is so embarrassing that it might be something that the Ba Sing Se elite would prefer suppressed. More to the point, Azula actually lied about what exactly went down, and very few people would know the real story. In the story she gives, and in the story Fire Nation propaganda would have been sure to spread (until Zuko's defection, at least), she and Zuko played, with the help of their friends, an equal role in the conquest of the city. The EK leadership has little reason to single Azula out as the font of all evil while ignoring Zuko, Mai, and Ty Lee.

Some people think that the EK would hate Azula for her (limited) role in Ozai's plan to burn down the Earth Kingdom. I'm not so sure. Even ignoring the question of how the EK leadership could actually find out the particulars of the planning for Sozin's Comet, Azula's role was actually far less than that of many other people. Equally important, I'm not sure that anyone would particularly care about Ozai's plan. No one (aside from some Fire Nation soldiers) ended up dying, and all he managed to do was burn a couple acres of forest. Compared to the century of brutal Fire Nation warfare complete with endless atrocities in which many people actually died, I'm not sure that anyone would fixate strongly on an attempted atrocity that proved so ineffectual.

Also, it's notably that Azula was only outside the Fire Nation for a few months and did little to make enemies, while Zuko spent three years (violently?) searching for the Avatar. If anyone has made a lot of personal enemies out there, it would be him. He was even indirectly involved in Princess Yue's death!

All of that being said, the NWT and the EK might find Azula's claim to the Fire Nation throne interesting. Given their likely lack of trust for Zuko and his new regime(since the Fire Nation just spent the last 100 years attacking them), it's possible that one or both of them might want Azula as a "hostage," but really so that they control someone with a claim to the throne they can use as a pretender should their relationship with Zuko collapse.

(6) Ozai and any supporters he has: These people may or may not distrust Azula after the war, but they're unlikely to hate her anywhere as much as they hate Zuko.

(7) Iroh: Iroh evidently strongly dislikes and even hates Azula, and has little, if any, compassion for her. Azula's very existence is a threat to the rule of Iroh's golden "child" Zuko, so it's understandable that some people think Iroh would push for the harsh treatment Azula after the war. It's a trope that I've seen used in a few fanfics.

On the other hand, Iroh is quite lazy and irresponsible, and ends up abandoning Zuko at the end of the series to pursue hedonism. Screwing over Azula and being actively malicious to her sounds like work and effort, and this is the dude who couldn't even be bothered to show up at Zuko coronation. If he was actually going to involve himself with Zuko's government after the war, you'd think he would actually bother living in the Fire Nation. Thus, I think the odds of Iroh having much direct effect on Azula's treatment are minimal.

(8) Zuko: Due to the way that Zuko and Azula were raised, Zuko has been in conflict with Azula for a long time. He has had a very negative relationship with her. Moreover, Firelord Zuko post-canon is in a shaky position post-canon. He usurped the throne after allying with the hereditary enemies of the Fire Nation. There are likely to be many, many people who are unhappy with that, and who view Zuko as an illegitimate ruler. Azula, with her claim to the throne and her popularity, is a massive threat to Zuko and his regime. Even ignoring the strong negative feelings Zuko has for Azula, treating her poorly is quite rational for him. Unfortunately for her, the person most likely to treat her poorly, and the person most interested in doing so, is the person in direct power over her.

A lot of fics play with the idea of having Azula be controlled, imprisoned, abused, threatened with execution, etc. post-canon, but want to have their cake and eat it, too. They want terrible things to happen to Azula, but they want it to not be Zuko's fault. The reality is that Zuko is the one with the motive to treat Azula poorly and with the opportunity to treat her poorly, far more than any other character.

[theinsideofablackhole]

(More) Rain World Pearl Writings

Now with some hit-or-miss doodles I made to visualize the pearls. They might be incredibly compressed idk...

Bicker

Interesting… It is a debate forum on the punitive ruling of a homicide. To thrust an enlightened individual across the cycle was considered abominable.

However, the presiding Just Order decided that the perpetrator embodied “The Remorsive Luminance Within”, and recommended her for temporary exile to a temple.

The discourse over the sentencing is… vulgar, to say the least. Many of my citizens did little else but talk, and thus the political landscape mutated into a frenzy of dozens of quarreling factions.

Most systems were commanded by the dynastic Concepts, so the remaining scraps of governance were subject to vicious competition by these factions. Power changed hands constantly.

The perpetrator was lucky. Had it been any other cycle, the ruling Order would throw her in a sensory deprivation tank or wipe her memory. Or perhaps she would be declared unsalvageable and turned into fodder for ritual combat.

It’s a bit baffling that they rarely just transcended their criminals in a Void Fluid bath instead. Probably because it would defeat the point of their bickering…

Mast

Oh? This contains a very old intellectual offering to the 52nd Great Mind, or the Aetherial Mast west of here. It consists of a very flattering, complex riddle.

Since you’ve been to Five Pebbles, I imagine that you’ve seen those grand towers piercing into the sky. They once formed a communication network between iterators, but a few of them - such as this particular one - are actually older than iterators like me.

After the Void Fluid Revolution, people quickly discovered that if any construct got complex enough, it would gain sapience.

So they threw as much computational power as they could into these towers, and waited. They expected the Aetherial Masts to quickly discover a method to implode the cosmos into the earth, achieving global transcension.

It inevitably failed. The 52nd Great Mind was later connected to a larger, more deliberate construct, and underwent apotheosis to become Looks to the Moon. Which is me!

The first of us iterators were reborn from these Great Minds. Afterward, most Masts were created with an iterator already in control.

Thank you, little creature, for this memento from my distant past.

Brain Tree

It's a treatise on memorykeeping. There’s a crypt nearby here, under Five Pebbles - piles and piles of cabinets, holding the legacies of my departed creators.

Through a complex bombardment procedure, the storage components of a person's mind would grow a twin lump, which contained cherished memories. The "memory fruit" was then removed and placed in a cabinet.

When the crypts began to acquire a hefty pile of cabinets, my creators discovered that all the fruits had united via a network of roots. The formation bulged outward endlessly, breaking into a factory far, far away. The cleanup effort was monumental.

Now, a microbe system continually expels the fruits' boundless energy, and kills them if the defenses fail to keep the fruits from getting too large.

Rare as they are, mass fractal neural emissions are a worrying phenomenon. Please keep your distance if you see a fruit that has grown into a tree.

Don't touch it - I don't know what might happen to you.

[elodieunderglass]

Hello! I was reading back through the joyful Killie-posting and I realised I had forgotten that Ciara is going through a slow divorce. Was her marriage a dynastic move, like her parents? Were they hoping to keep the bloodline strong, or did she briefly fall in love and escape the clutches of the family for a time? She seems so awful. I'm intrigued by her.

(Killie the jockey OC’s awful sister Ciara, who turns up in a few places, being horrid.)

Do I need a better way to keep track of Killie posts /responses/comics? or is this fine? Suggestions on the back of a pigeon, please.

Oh, I like Ciara. She has one of those mean little hater faces I have ill-advised crushes on, and I expect she’s quite sharply witty, even if she mostly uses her powers for evil. It was wrong of her to push Charlie out of the nest (although she realised that quickly), it is wrong of her to sharpen her claws on Colm (which she might realise but still does it) and it is wrong of everyone else to overlook her incisive intelligence and redeemable qualities. What a big mess. Would being different flavours of bi disaster fix all of the siblings? The answer is no.

Regardless of Ciara being exactly the sort of person to read tabloids or run a drama blog, nobody deserves to have to go through a Republic of Ireland divorce, a horrible trial that nobody in the world actually wants. (You have to live apart from the other person for two out of three years. It used to be even worse!)

I think it was both. she married for love, to another jockey/trainer, son of people they knew, with her parents’ approval; but having viewed school as a mind-game full of enemies, and not having much in the way of other social connections, she only really knew people in the industry anyway. And she liked him. so she married in haste and repented at leisure. She should’ve been at the club.

Being a hater in the online comments started as an attempt to find Charlie, moved into getting sidetracked by the existence of online communities (whoa! There’s other kinds of people in the world! It isn’t just Horse Racing, Family, and Direct Competitors! People have different jobs and careers? She makes online friends? She finds out some are gay???) and gave her some ability to build identity. They’re probably the voices that helped her realise that she was replicating her birth family in her marriage, that she was just ripping strips off her husband out of frustration, and that her personality was boxing itself in with his, both of them getting worse and making each other worse, smaller people. That helped her get out of her marriage, which was a difficult thing to do anyway, since it wasn’t something as simple as either Ciara or her husband being Bad People. She married for love, goddammit!

She thought she was escaping the clutches but she was creating them again!

She probably had a moment of horrible clarity about that.

I don’t know. The other siblings all represent something. Maybe if Charlie is somehow about… Joy, and Control of the Narrative. (“There are parts of Charlie you can’t have.”) singer, liar, storyteller - those are choices you can make.

and Killie has always been Courage and also Freedom. (“Throw your heart over the fence and your horse will follow.”) Killie’s a fuckin’ warrior (and also a wild horse) and that’s all from choices.

and Colm is Peace, and oddly enough, Integrity. (“Colm has a core of solid diamond.”) of all the things we might wish for as mature adults, perhaps he has the best.

So what is Ciara? What’s she about, what was I processing here? There will be something true and brave and important there. But it doesn’t have to come from me. Maybe she means something to you, and I hope she does, even if I don’t know myself yet.

[goodqueenaly]

Hello again! I hope you’re well. Do you have any thoughts why pushing for the marriage to Hizdahr was such a big part of the Green Grace’s agenda? I definitely believe that she is involved with the Sons of the Harpy but this is something I never really understood. I got the sense she was trying to maybe overwhelm/pressure Daenerys with “advice” but I’d love to hear your thoughts! Thanks!

For what it’s worth, I don’t think the Green Grace is just involved with the Sons of the Harpy - I think she is the Harpy.

Anyway, I think the insistence from the Green Grace (as well as Reznak, and of course Hizdahr himself) that Dany marry Hizdahr was no more and no less than an attempt to return Meereen as closely as possible to its antebellum status quo - that is, rule by its (then formerly) slaveholding elite. Galazza’s suggestion of the marriage as a way “to reconcile the city to [Dany’s] rule” carried the unspoken implication that those Meereenese unreconciled to Dany’s reign were the slaveholding aristocrats whose way of life was fundamentally incompatible with Dany’s ideology. With that class unable to force Dany out of Meereen - as the terrorism of the Sons of the Harpy had failed to do - the next best option, for Galazza and her allies, was to seize control of Dany’s regime, so that policy made would be in the interests of that class.

Enter Hizdahr. As Galazza noted to Dany, Hizdahr bore the properly ancient and blue-blooded Meereenese credentials to act as a representative of his class. If Dany would, as Galazza urged, “make a son with [Hizdahr], a son whose father is the harpy, whose mother is the dragon”, then the Meereenese aristocratic class could not only assure itself that the next generation of rulership would draw its lineage and support from its own class, but also delegate Dany to the role of mere dynastic vessel, the producer of a specifically Loraq-blooded and Loraq-named ruling son.

[gawrkin]

The Pendragons and their names

From time to time, I've investigated into the etymologies of the various names of the Arthurian legends, because a good chunk of Arthurian Material is poetry. So for a bit of fun, I try to tease out the meanings of the characters' names

Then I remembered that, in a number modern stories, writers use "Pendragon" as a dynastic/family name for Arthur and his relatives, even though Pendragon is actually an epithet that only two characters in the entirety of the Matter of Britain are known to bear that title - neither of which is Arthur - and it's mostly a kenning for "War Leader".

So let's humor ourselves and see what happens when you turn Pendragon into a last name and see what that technically means for certain characters.

The following comes from my personal interpretations from learning through online dictionaries. So forewarning, these are my speculations.

First, the "official" Pendragons from medieval sources:

Uther Pendragon: "The Dreaded War Leader", "The Horrifying War Leader" (From the Brythonic Uthr "Awesome, Terrible")

Gwen Pendragon: "The Beautiful War Leader" "The Holy War Leader" (From the Brythonic feminine Gwenn "White, Blessed")

Next are the presumptive Pendragons:

Arthur Pendragon: "The Bear(like) War Leader" (From the Pan-European Arkhtos, "Bear")

Morgan(a) Pendragon: "The Sea-born War Leader" (From the Bretonnic Morigenos, "from/of the Sea")

Mordred Pendragon: "The Moderating War Leader" "The Restrained War Leader" (From the Latin Moderatus, "Managed, Controlled")

Amhar Pendragon: "The Disgraceful War Leader" "The Harmful War Leader" (From either the Brythonic Amarch "Disrespect" or Amharu, "to impair, to disrupt")

Gwydre Pendragon: "The Glass-like War Leader" "The Glazing War Leader" (From the Brythonic Gwydr "Glass")

Llacheu Pendragon: "The Striking War Leader" "The Brilliant War Leader" (From either the Brythonic Llach "Lash" or Llachar "Bright, Shining")

Duran Pendragon: "The Enduring War Leader" (From the Latin Durans "Hard, Lasting")

Archfedd Pendragon: "The Compelling War Leader" "The Commanding War Leader" (From the Brythonic words Erchi "Request, Ask" + Gwedd "Appearance")

Melora Pendragon: "The Superior War Leader" (From the Latin Melior "Better")

[memories-of-ancients]

Just curious, why do you think Rome fell?

OMG do you really have to ask such a big question right before I was going to bed anon? Well, here are the primary reasons IMO as a Roman history buff.

Lots of Civil Wars --- The Romans going way back to the days of the Republic were constantly fighting over who was going to be boss. Sulla fought a civil war and took over Rome and declared himself dictator, ditto Julius Caesar, and of course Octavian did the same and became the first emperor. During the empire there were many civil wars over who would be emperor as the Imperial system often lacked rules for succession resulting in dynastic struggles and civil wars. Not that it would have mattered if they did, as they probably would have just ignored the rules. In the 3rd century the empire underwent a 50 year period of near constant civil war known as the Crises of the Third Century. Constantine became emperor after killing all his opponents in a civil war. The later half of the 4th century had more civil wars. Even in the 5th century factions were fighting each for control of an empire that was collapsing all around them. No side wins a civil war because they are bloody, destructive, there are no spoils of war. There is only self destruction, they are about as helpful to a country as would a person shooting himself in the foot. All the money and resources that went into fighting civil wars and rebuilding after the war was money and resources not being used to maintain infrastructure, maintain public works, regulate the economy, defend from outside threats, and maintain the government.

2. Political Instability --- Most emperors did not die of natural causes, most emperors were murdered, or committed suicide, or died in battle, or died in a prison cell. Roman government was chalk full of power hungry psychopaths who were willing to murder their way to the top. Sometimes emperors could come and go quickly, with reigns lasting 2-3 years or less in the 3rd century.

Roman political history was rife with intrigue, assassinations, and coups occurring all the time. It was like Game of Thrones except instead of lasting 8 seasons it lasted 500 years.

3. The Army Became a Powerful Interest Group --- If you were a Roman emperor the army was a double edged sword. They were good in that they maintained peace and order in the empire and protected it from invaders. They were bad for you in that they could revolt and murder you, replacing you with someone they liked more. Even your own guard, the Praetorian Guards, couldn't be trusted as they could easily slit your throat in your sleep and declare someone else as emperor. To make sure the army was happy, you gave them big pay bonuses called donatives. Basically official bribes paid to keep the soldiers of the army loyal and happy. With each successive emperor the annual donative became bigger and bigger and thus a greater strain on the Imperial Treasury. If an emperor didn't pay up, he could be murdered by his own soldiers. Thus a lot of public money was paid just to keep the army happy so they didn't end up starting another civil war.

4. A Fucked up Economy --- Maintaining a large standing army to defend a large empire is expensive. Fighting civil wars is expensive. Rebuilding after civil wars is expensive. Constant regime change is expensive. Political intrigue is expensive. Eventually it got to the point where there just wasn't enough money to pay for all that. So emperors just minted more money, decreasing the silver content and minting more copper coins until eventually Roman money became worthless.

Today Roman money is still worthless. Go on ebay and find the cheapest Roman coins you can buy. Except for rarer collectibles Roman coins are still very plentiful and thus very cheap to collect. Worthless money made trade and commerce difficult, and thus the economy suffered. Not to mention constant bloody and destructive civil wars were damaging the economy. Political instability also damaged the economy.

5. Growing Disparity in Wealth --- Over time with civil wars and political instability the rich got richer and the poor got poorer. Eventually wealth became so concentrated in the upper class that the middle class disappeared entirely by the late 4th - 5th century. By then the average Roman was in a bad way. They had no opportunities and most Romans were forced to live as tenant farmers, essentially sharecroppers.

6. A Corrupt Tax System --- Meanwhile the wealthy became so powerful that they were able to wield that power so that they did not have to pay taxes. They could exploit loopholes, manipulate laws in their favor, or bribe their way out of paying. To try to make up the revenue, tax collectors attempted to squeeze the lower classes, which of course, didn't have any money. Thus by the late 4th - 5th century the empire was severely underfunded. This resulted in the degradation of infrastructure, public works, the army, the weakening of the government, and less investment in the economy and commerce.

7. Patronage --- By the 5th century the average Roman was out of opportunities and the middle class was gone entirely. More and more the lower class Roman was being squeezed for tax money, money which they didn't have. So in order to survive, Roman lower classes sold their services to a wealthy patron. The patron would house you and protect you and take care of your tax problems. If you were lucky and had special skills like a craftsman or artist you could make a good living under a patron. If not, you probably ended up a tenant farmer tied to the land of the patron, essentially a sharecropper, a serf, or a peasant. Due to this change in the socio economic system power was drawn away from the Imperial government and was redirected to the wealthy patrons. Thus the empire was becoming decentralized.

This would become the basis for medieval feudalism.

8. No One Wanted to Join the Army --- Why would you? You're dirt poor and have no opportunities. If you joined the army you may not even get the opportunity to defend the empire, as you're gonna get killed in a stupid civil war fighting a fellow Roman who is also dirt poor and has no opportunities. Your government is corrupt, your emperor is a snobbish entitled incompetent dipshit who was out of touch with reality, the tax man is trying to squeeze you for money you don't have, you have no rights, you've been forced to become a peasant to a proto-feudal lord, and it is clear the empire is dying. By the mid 5th century most Romans were like, "let it fucking die". As a result, the army suffered severe manpower shortages. Right at the time when Goths and Franks and Vandals and Huns are going to start swarming into the empire.

These to me are the primary reasons for the fall. Anyone have anything else to add in addition to this?

[whencyclopedia]

Ilkhanate: A Mongol Legacy in the Middle East

The Ilkhanate, established by Mongol general Hulegu in 1260 CE, was a key part of the Mongol Empire, spanning modern-day Iran, parts of Turkmenistan, Turkey, Iraq, Armenia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Hulegu received the title ilkhan, meaning viceroy, from his brother Mongke Khan, the ruler of the Mongols. This vast territory played a significant role in regional dynamics, often finding itself at odds with neighboring states.

Foundation and Early Years

Hulegu used an army granted to him by Mongke Khan to consolidate Mongol control in western Asia. He successfully defeated the Nizari Ismailis and the Abbasid Caliphate, capturing Baghdad in 1258 CE. However, his campaigns were halted after the death of Mongke in 1260 CE, and he withdrew to focus on holding Persia, marking the beginning of the Ilkhanate.

Rivalries and Conflicts

The Ilkhanate faced constant battles against the Chagatai Khanate, the Golden Horde, and the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt. Notable conflicts include the defeat at the Battle of Terek in 1262 CE by the Golden Horde and military victories such as Abaqa's defeat of Baraq, ruler of the Chagatai Khanate, in 1270 CE.

Muslim-Christian Relations

Despite early rulers favoring Christianity, Islam became increasingly dominant. Ahmad Teguder was the first ilkhan to convert to Islam in 1282 CE. Later, Ghazan also converted, turning the Ilkhanate into a officially Muslim state in 1295 CE. This shift led to the destruction of many non-Muslim places of worship.

Economic Challenges and Decline

Economic instability plagued the Ilkhanate due to dynastic disputes and ill-advised policies like the introduction of paper money. Ghazan stabilized the economy with new coinage but could not prevent the ongoing decline. The state disintegrated in 1335 CE following the death of Abu Said and a series of power struggles, eventually being absorbed into the Timurid Empire.

Timeline Highlights:

1260-1335 CE: Ilkhanate period

1265 CE: Hulegu's death, succeeded by Abaqa

1270 CE: Abaqa defeats Baraq at the Battle of Herat

1295-1304 CE: Ghazan rules, converting to Islam

1304-1316 CE: Oljeitu rules, adopting Shiite Islam

1316-1335 CE: Abu Said's reign

1335 CE: Ilkhanate disintegrates into smaller states

Learn More

The above summary was generated by AI using Perplexity Sonar. To read the orginial human-authored article, please visit Ilkhanate.

[kybelles]

Idk but i feel like many people in the fandom kinda forget that delpha was under akielon's rules before veretian conquered it

hi pookie 💕 sorry it took me a while to get back to this ask because i actually have A LOT of thoughts regarding delpha and i wanted to collect them nicely before i responded.

let me give this disclaimer first: i love these books. i love pacat’s writing. i cannot remember the last time i loved a mc like i love damen. that being said, this does not mean that pacat is immune to criticism (no writer is!) because i believe most of the fandom's attitude towards the delpha/delfeur situation stems from the contradictory attitude of the text itself. why? because the narrative goes back and forth between pointing out that akielons actually had multiple good reasons for wanting delpha back and not-so-subtly painting them as the villains who unjustly occupied a land which they had no cultural or/and historical claim on and well. i’m not the biggest fan of this choice. :)

first of all, the text makes it clear that theomedes was NOT an expansionist. he stopped his campaign before launching an assault on ravenel because of the cost and internal political risk. he wasn’t grabbing land recklessly. he only wanted delpha back and he had good reasons for it, which i will explain.

later we find out that delpha was lost during the reign of king eundros which was, and this part is very important, only ninety years ago. NINETY. while the books never explicitly says how long akielos had delpha before the 90 year rule, when damen and laurent are in kingsmeet and they're going through the line of succession, pretty sure the number of rulers means it would be more than 90 years. damen literally walks past a statue of king eundros, meaning delpha was considered a national loss and not some random military outpost. and if akielos had no historical claim or cultural connection to delpha, why would theomedes even bother trying to retake it?

once again it is critical to underline what a short time NINETY years is. it is barely yesterday in monarchic time. two generations at most. if we assume a generation is ~40 years (especially in noble or ruling families), that's basically damen's grandfather's time. there should still be living people who remember akielon rule: nobles, soldiers, even ordinary townspeople. in monarchic systems, land claims and identities persist for centuries. european powers went to war over territories they hadn't controlled for hundreds of years, citing dynastic inheritance or ancient treaties, etc.

so theomedes’ campaign wasn’t ancient history. it was contemporary enough to be a strategic memory, the idea that "we lost delpha, we can take it back." would have been very real to akielos.

and yet akielos is shown as having little cultural or historical ties to the territory and is painted as the sole aggressor in the conflict with vere. the only delphans that are shown are culturally veretian and unhappy and suffering under akielon rule. all the people in marlas are overjoyed by laurent’s presence whilst damen gets nothing but scorn. we never see what akielon villagers think. no visits to tarasis, no mothers mourning their children from veretian raids, no displaced akielon farmers. yet we’re invited into multiple scenes where veretian civilians suffer and express outrage. the narrative even dramatically has a little girl standing up to the big bad “oppressors”.

this raises significant questions about why there isn't a significant akielon presence in delpha, considering the territory was akielon only ninety years ago. where are the delphan akielons, considering we are told by the text that they have been living there for so many generations? were they all killed in a genocide? and if not, how do they feel about akielos reclaiming the territory under theomedes' rule? this is never given any consideration, which is why i think people forget that vere isn't the only country with significant historical ties to delpha.

if akielos held it for generations (and we get the sense that they did, especially since it has been 'disputed' territory for centuries, meaning this isn't the first time they gained it or lost it), that means:

-there would be akielon architecture, forts, inscriptions, even cultural or linguistic residue.

-families with akielon names or affiliations would still exist, like landed households, merchants, military retirees.

-akielon administrative systems may have shaped local governance especially if the transition to veretian control was violent or contested.

instead, the narrative presents delpha as fully veretian, with no meaningful akielon minority or memory. that’s implausible and HIGHLY suspicious.

the complete absence of delphan akielons raises a lot of serious questions. if delpha had been akielon for generations, where are the people with akielon identity? if they weren’t assimilated or erased, do they support akielon rule? do they see vere as the aggressor? none of that gets explored, which is a huge omission, especially in a story that’s otherwise very invested in the politics of land, rule, and cultural legacy.

the story frames delpha almost entirely through veretian suffering and perspective, despite the fact that it was vere who conquered it just ninety years ago! that's not that long in the context of monarchic rule. it’s like the narrative subtly naturalizes veretian ownership while delegitimizing akielos’, even when akielos is just trying to take back a territory it ruled for centuries. that framing choice is worth questioning.

these narrative choices also force us to think about just what kind of conquest was vere’s. since wars are not won by throwing roses at your opponent's feet, if the delphans are shown as uniformly veretian and anti-akielon, then vere’s conquest either included mass (forced) assimilation, elite replacement, or worse (!!!) ethnic cleansing or cultural erasure.

if that didn’t happen, then where are the akielon-leaning factions in delpha now? either way, the narrative skips the hard questions of what conquest looks like and who gets remembered, and that’s deeply political.

there's no exploration of divided loyalties in delpha, no delphans torn between akielon heritage and veretian rule. there's no acknowledgment of how power shapes memory: veretian propaganda, military presence, or cultural dominance could have absolutely rewritten how delpha sees its own history.

instead, we get a neatly polarized image: veretians good and oppressed, akielons bad and occupying… despite the historical reversal that undermines that story.

that framing isn't neutral at all, it reveals whose voice the narrative privileges. it’s not that vere is objectively in the right; it’s that we’re given no alternative viewpoint.

and that, in turn, makes readers forget that akielos also has legitimate historical ties, cultural memory, and likely, support in delpha.

vere takes land historically held by akielos, then in the space of less than a century, erases akielon cultural and political presence so completely that the native population (delphans) are portrayed as fully veretian.

akielos is then painted as the aggressor, even when trying to reclaim land it once ruled. this is classic colonialist reversal: the colonizer recasts themselves as the native, and the native becomes the invader.

lastly, the narrative also makes it seem like the “sins” of akielos can only be atoned if damen gives delpha back to vere, which again leaves a bad taste in the mouth because damen, a former slave, is now agreeing to return marlas to the nation that enslaved him. he even refers to the “the ghost of its veretian grace” and this language echoes real-world colonized elites praising the supposed refinement and "grace" of the empire that dominated them. the contrast is stark: veretian ruins are mourned. akielon victories are regretfully undone.

[sharper-than-a-serpents-tooth]

The more I think about it the more I like the idea that Lilian's father tried to pimp his daughter out to the Emperor after Penelope's death. It would make Lily sort of an anti-lp Jennette. Both are beautiful girls with brown hair that are resembling Claude's first love and were raised by an overly ambitious father/uncle who dreamed of a golden crown resting on their grandchild's head. Although popular among the other sex, they are completely uninterested in romance. They like to dress simple in private and prefer the lifestyle of commoners to that of a noblewoman (sewing and baking). Unlike lp Jennette, Lilian escaped her father's control and cut contacts with her family. She gave up her title and lands to live like a commoner servant in the Ruby Palace because she wanted to be true to herself instead of living a lie. Jennette's love for Athy strenghtened her desire to win Claude's favour, wheras Lilian's love for Diana made her turn away from the Emperor and her father's plans.

This could also be a great explanation for why one moment Lilian sings Claude's praises and the other she becomes scared and protective of Athy when he summons her to him. If Lilian's father had intended for his daughter to seek out Claude's love then he would convince her that the dynastic revolution and the massacre of the Ruby Palace were a necessary evil. He would want her to view Claude as the saviour of the nation who can do no wrong. It doesn't matter if he hurts the women around him as long as you are the only exception. If he hurts you and regrets it, then you have to accept his apology in form of dresses and jewelry. No matter how nonsensical it might appear to a regular human, if these are the lessons Lilian received from her father in her youth then it would make sense why Lilian would want Athy to meet Claude after she ran away when he tried to murder her. These moments would be when Lilian's old mindset took over. Had Lily managed to get close to Claude while successfully avoiding being bedded by him, then her relationship might have been comparable to lp Jennette and Claude's relationship in its early stages. Cold platonic dates that seemed like a horrible parody of a heterosexual relationship. Lily could have been a proto-Jennette who grew aware that her family was only using her as a pawn and happily stepped aside for Diana. An act that freed herself but would shackle her friend. Supposing Claude and Lilian had some kind of shared past, then it would offer another reason why he spared Lily's life, a reason that is unrelated to Diana.