#Charter (Fallout)

[bellaphomet3]

My brother recently got a job at a charter school owned by Hillsdale, the super conservative college that inspired Ron DeSantis’s educational policies. Now you may think “damn that sucks, he must be a super homophobic fundamentalist Christian” and you’d be wrong, he’s a bisexual neopagan who loves playing fallout new Vegas and hates Ronald Reagan. He only works there cuz he’s fresh out of college with a history degree.

[illusivesoul]

9 People I'd Like To Know Better

Was tagged by @greypetrel @judithmactir @corffiser and @marythegizka Thank you :)

I'll tag @griffoncito @master-dellamorte @jemandthesingalongs @vorchagirl @mtreebeardiles

@theredtrails @lelianasbong and @sunstridering . Only if you feel like doing this, of course.

I'll put the blanks here and my answers under the cut.

three ships:

first ship:

last song:

last movie:

currently reading:

currently watching:

currently eating:

currently craving:

.

three ships: Leliana x current lady from DA my brain is obsessed with shipping her at the time (currently its Charter but it's been a constant rotation between my Brosca, Wynne, Isabela, Bethany, Josephine, etc), Cortez x Kaidan and Jill Valentine x Sheva Alomar from Resident Evil.

first ship: Leon and Ada from Resident Evil, even though I wasn't aware of what a ship was back then lol. I was constantly going "Gosh, Ada, why don't u love Leon back?". But my first proper proper ship which I shipped wholeheartedly and gave me brainrot was Femshep and Liara when I first played Mass Effect back in 2017.

last song:

last movie: Watched Blade for the first time a couple days ago.

currently reading: Re-reading the Stolen Throne and concurrently reading Fallout by Harry Turtledove. It's an alternate history novel set in the 50s in which the Korean War escaltes into WW3. The novel follows the lives of several characters in different parts of the world during those events.

currently watching: Started watching the John Adams miniseries on HBO

currently eating: Nothing

currently craving: The chicken with tomatoe sauce, spices and sliced potatoes I'm currently cooking

[gothicprep]

last spring, i was peripherally involved in something that can only be described as "transphobic onlyfans steakhouse drama". the long and short of it is, some onlyfans model who can't go a day without tweeting something transphobic opened a steakhouse across the street from a charter high school with performance art centric curriculum. it's basically known as the high school that's gay and trans friendly in a way that many aren't. my wife saw red when she made this connection, went on a very public online tirade about how wrong it was for it to be in the proximity and inevitably siphon money from lgbteen's families. in the nearly six years i've known her, i've never seen her this angry. fallout included an impromptu pride festival in april in the park a block down and multiple local journalists asking the transphobic onlyfans steakhouse owner for comment. oh, the places you go...

anyway, her main experience with business ownership is something that's social media focused. in other words, it's a setting where it's permissible to just block naysayers and move on. this is not how you run a restaurant! it's also not a good idea as a small business owner to be outspoken about social and political issues. you don't want potential customers to be put off by what you're saying.

i thought this was in my past for a while, but i was just talking to my mom, and apparently a TA was ranting to her about transphobic onlyfans steakmonger sharing antisemitic israel takes on facebook. and we're not talking "israel's government is corrupt and bad" takes, which are reasonable, we're talking lizard people adrenochrome level stuff. i'm so ready for this place to go out of business.

[fereldanwench]

Valerie Powell Master Post

જ⁀➴₊⊹ This is a refresh of my previous master post for Valerie (available here).

✧ BASICS ✧ Full Name: Valerie Irene Powell Pronouns: She/her Date of Birth: 12 Oct 2041 Place of Birth: Charter Hill, Night City Height: 5'10" (178 cm) Weight: ~150 lbs Body Type: Athletic, curvy Eye Color: Dark blue-gray Hair Color: Blue (cerulean or sapphire) (brown-black naturally)

✧ PERSONALITY & SKILLS ✧ MBTI: ISFJ Lifepath: Corpo-rat Combat Style: Pistols, long-range rifles, tech attacks/hacking Languages: - English (native) - Japanese (full professional proficiency) - Spanish (elementary proficiency)

✧ RELATIONSHIPS ✧ Father: Sebastian Powell (deceased) Mother: Ava Powell (née Mercan; deceased) [tag] Siblings: None Other Relatives: - Edward Powell (uncle; estranged) - Nicolas Mercan (uncle; estranged) Closest Friends: - Jackie Welles - Viktor Vektor Notable Partners: - Kristen Hughes (ex; committed relationship) - Viktor Vektor (ex; fling) - Goro Takemura (married in 2081)

✧ NOTES ✧ - Although in-game she has the corpo lifepath, Valerie's career history is pretty varied before she joins counter-intel: Biotechnica data analyst, a slew of random service jobs, hostess (with a side hustle helping Jackie con some of her more notorious clients), and Arasaka security (which is how she met Jenkins). - Valerie doesn't dye her hair blue--She did when she first made the change, but she uses a cosmetic nanotech implant to alter the color of the strands at the root. - She had a very non-traditional education: Valerie was in the Night City public school system for elementary school, but she was pulled out when her maternal grandparents insisted on funding extensive private tutoring until she was 18. Learning Japanese was a part of that curriculum. - Her father was also very steadfast about the right to bear arms, and she was just 7 years old when she first learned how to handle firearms. - Valerie doesn't drink alcohol or do drugs. Addiction runs in both sides of her family, and she made the choice to go sober when she was about 27 years old. (Caffeine is the one exception--She needs several strong cups of coffee to get through the day.) - She doesn't have any tattoos, but she does have multiple piercings in both ears and a naval piercing. - A more comprehensive character sheet is available at Pillowfort!

Tags and relevant links updated under the cut:

Last updated: 24 May 24

✧ VALERIE'S TAGS ✧

💙 oc: valerie v powell

💖 fave: valerie v powell

🖼️ art: valerie v powell

🔖 fic: valerie v powell

✨ oc inspo: valerie v powell

💑 ship: goro x valerie

💖 fave: goro x valerie

🖼️ art: goro x valerie

🔖 fic: goro x valerie

🎬 outtakes: goro x valerie

🪄 muse fuel: goro x valerie

✧ ALTERNATE UNIVERSES & TIMELINES ✧

🐺 au: cyber witchers More or less a "retired" AU--This was born out of learning how to mod and putting Goro in the Witcher jacket

🌊 au: corpo naiad Also a retired AU--Just experimenting with some new locations and mods

🛡️ au: corporate loyalty An alternate timeline in which Valerie turns on Jenkins and sell him out to Abernathy, resulting in Valerie becoming head of counter-intel

🏜️ au: the open road An alternate timeline in which Valerie seeks refuge with the Aldecaldos rather than following Jenkins' orders to kill Abernathy

🧭 au: i only play for sport An alternate universe inspired by Tomb Raider in which Valerie is an intrepid treasure seeker and Goro is the bodyguard for a powerful kumichō

☢️ au: no gods no monsters A Fallout crossover--Details pending!

✧ CHARACTER SHEETS & MEMES ✧

Valerie Character Sheet

Valerie and Goro Ship Sheet

Valerie's Style Evolution (2060-2079)

Valerie's Corpo Lookbook

Valerie's Speech Mannerisms

Valerie's Character Influences

Valerie OC Profile

Valerie Aesthetics I

Valerie Aesthetics II

OC Tarot Card

OC Tag: Song Challenge

Unusual Muse Associations

Valerie's Affiliations

Valerie + Goro Relationship Card

Valerie's Name Meanings

Late Summer Aesthetics

Valerie's Rage Language

✧ META & PERSONAL REFLECTIONS ✧

Valerie and validating my sobriety

Valerie if she was a canon character

Valerie as an ISFJ and how she expresses love/sexuality

Valerie and being "Goro's thief"

Valerie and marriage

Valerie and not trusting Johnny

Gushing about Valerie!

Valerie on Evelyn and "straddling worlds"

On sex in the corpo world

Valerie and Jenkins' relationship

Valerie and being sensitive & honest in a cruel world

She's Valerie, not V (also BTS lore about her surname)

No love at first sight here

Musing on Valerie's background in Arasaka security

Summary of counter-intel events and Valerie's career history

Valerie's ability to read people

No one is ever free in Night City

Wanting to play more "pro-corpo" as a corpo

Valerie does think being with a corp is her best choice

Thoughts on my first experience with the Devil ending

Giving Goro and Valerie a happy ending

Early musing on the endgame options and being an engram

Valerie taking in the early morning views

✧ VIDEOS & CLIPS ✧

Valerie leaving a voicemail to Jackie post-heist

Valerie's In-Game Playlist on YouTube

"See a woman here with blue hair?"

[duskyashe]

NaNoWriMo Day #18

[masterlist] [part two]

=============‹«⟨··•|^^^|•··⟩»›=============

If there was one thing Danny wasn't expecting when he ascended the ghostly throne, it was having to worry about a freaking line of succession. For one thing, he was under the impression the only reason he was the new ghost king at all was because he'd defeated Pariah Dark in single combat. For another, what did they expect him to do, find a nice ghost girl and settle down? He was fifteen, no way was he ready for that kind of commitment! Nevermind the fact none of us even know if being a halfa effects the ability to have kids, Danny thought grimly.

He'd brought all those points up with his advisors before, but the only one with any real advice he could actually use was Pandora. "You need an heir, but it doesn't have to be the same being the entire time. Be warned, however. Some obsessions fare better in royal positions than others do. Those with freedom related obsessions like your Ellie's would be driven mad within short order." Much more useful than Clockwork's cryptic words of, "Time is the wise King's friend."

After some deliberation and careful study of the Infinite Realms' bylaws and charters, he'd made Jazz his heir with Ellie the "spare" in case Jazz wasn't in a position to succeed Danny. This sort of solution was a stopgap one at best, but it would at least give him a few years, a decade at most, to figure out a more permanent solution. If Jazz's inherent liminality wasn't enough to satisfy the bylaws for more than a few years, then they'd switch Jazz with Ellie and have Ember take up "spare" status, but again, no one knew anything about this kind of situation, it was so new territory. Jazz might be able to give Danny ten years to figure out a more appropriate heir, or she won't be able to give him more than a few months. The variables were different enough from the norm in this situation that no one was happy with how things were at that point in time.

He really needed a better solution, though, and soon, because Ember's obsession wasn't any less freedom based than Ellie's was...

=============‹«⟨··•|^^^|•··⟩»›=============

Nearly five years after Danny's ascension to kinghood, the foundations of the Infinite Realms shifted ever so slightly, almost as though a mostly unstoppable force had tried its hand against an almost immovable object. Six months after that, Danny suddenly nearly collapsed in his applied physics class as he felt the creation of a new halfa. It was sudden, it was painful, and it was familiar. But the cry of a newly formed core, so perfectly in sync with his own, being brutalized nearly made his eyes flare green. Instantly, he knew exactly where this newborn halfa was (—halfway across the world—?), he knew exactly what was happening to them (—they're hitting him with tasers—!), and he knew that if he didn't get there as soon as possible, he'd lose something precious (—they'll ruin him, his obsession, his core—!). It was a good thing Jazz had been his emergency contact on file ever since she turned eighteen, she'd understand what he didn't say, what he couldn't say, over the phone.

Danny was excused from the rest of his classes for the day and his sister picked him up from his physics teacher's office.

"What do you need?" No nonsense, straight to the point. Jazz had grown a lot since his accident, since he became the king of an entire dimension.

Danny released an anxious breath. "I need the Infinity Map." Another breath. "And Frostbite. There's a new halfa, and he's being tortured as we speak." Just keep breathing. "His core cried out to my own, Jazz. From halfway across the world." Jazz's breath hitched at that, and he almost snorted. Exactly. Later. First, he had to save the kid, get him treatment, and deal with the idiots who dared play with things they didn't understand. Then he could deal with the fallout of him hearing the newborn halfa's cry. Deep breaths. That's it, just keep breathing.

"Do you have any more information than his location and current situation?" His sister was a blessing, truly.

"I have a name," he offered. Deep breaths, stay calm, just keep breathing. "Jason Todd." His core sang with protective fury, his obsession crying for blood. That was one of his that those assassins were trying to break. His son, that was his son.

Over my half dead body.

=============‹«⟨··•|^^^|•··⟩»›=============

So. What happens when you're so into a fanfic that you lose all track of time? Well, I end up frantically trying to write a ficlet in two hours that makes sense and doesn't leave too much hanging (⁠^⁠～⁠^⁠;⁠)⁠ゞdid I succeed?

I was originally going to use this prompt to continue one of my previous ficlets, but I also really wanted to write something new, so my muse fought me tooth and nail until I finally gave in (⁠´⁠-⁠﹏⁠-⁠`⁠；⁠) that's part of the reason why I'm writing ficlets instead of a full story this month lol I knew my muse was going to be fickle and wouldn't let me stick with one, or even two storylines lol it's happened before (⁠^⁠_⁠^⁠メ⁠)

Y'all rock, honestly. Like, I know I say that every day, but I genuinely mean it every day (^⁠‿⁠^⁠)

Have a good morning/day/night!

[specialagentartemis]

franziska von karma for the ask meme? i recently redownloaded a ds emulator partly to get back to playing AA2 with my sibling so shes on the mind

for the character ask meme

Ooh fun. It's been a while since I've played the Ace Attorney games but they have a special place in my heart always

First impression

lol. Abrasive but entertainingly so. I was accustomed to the over the top zaniness so sure! This teenager is an Experienced Prosecutor who whips people. Why Not. Actually I think Franziska is the first character we're introduced to as the Absurdly Young Professional and I think I did think this was funny.

Impression now

I love Sibling Tragedy and Sibling Drama and Sibling Relationships and she DELIVERS. Tied with Edgeworth for Favorite Prosecutor.

Favorite moment

When she gets fuvking shot outside the courthouse and Edgeworth has to drag her, protesting all the way, to the hospital. And then she left the hospital Still Bleeding From A Bullet Wound to deliver the crucial bit of evidence to the courthouse anyway.

Idea for a story

I had a WIP a long time ago about Franziska teaching Adrian Andrews how to use a whip to feel powerful and confident. And they were slowly bonding and falling in love over that. I'm a Fradrian truther

Unpopular opinion

I don't see her liking or getting along with Maya at all, sorry.

Favorite relationship

Her weird sibling deal with Edgeworth! Ace attorney has so many excellent fraught sibling relationships but these two are my favorite. They were pitted against each other as kids. Franziska is the true von Karma but she felt like her dad gave more attention to Edgeworth. She needs to beat him in court. She was heartbroken and livid when she thought he died and came to America to take it out on the person she blamed for his death. She's the person he calls when he needs a prosecutor he can trust, and she charters a private jet across the Atlantic immediately and then insults him to his face when she arrives. They are both dealing with the fallout of the way Manfred raised them.

Favorite headcanon

When Edgeworth took the bar exam at age 20, Franziska was 13 and was SO INCENSED that he would get to be a full-fledged prosecutor BEFORE her and that would be UNACCEPTABLE so she demanded to sit the bar too. The same one as him. Yes she's 13. She can do it. SHE'S BEEN TRAINING HER WHOLE LIFE FOR THIS!

Whoever administers the bar in Germany tried to explain that 13-year-olds aren't allowed to be legal professionals but Manfred von Karma loomed and glared so threateningly that they let her.

[askthe-littlepoet]

im pretty sure recalling esoteric knowledge like the fallout 4 Suffolk County Charter School food paste with near perfect accuracy marks off another check for autism...

[PLEASE SAY SIKE RN.]

[now if you guys tell me that I stim because I fidget with any item I'm not currently using?]

[that'd be mean.]

[thebibliomancer]

Essential Avengers: West Coast Avengers #37: Avengers Disassemble!

October, 1988

The team is TORN APART -- and this MYSTERY WOMAN is about to make matters WORSE!

Dammit, Mantis!

Stop throwing gas on the fire, apparently?!

And stop ripping the cover and unsettling the issue box! What will happen if the Comics Code seal of approval falls out?

I’m guessing the fallout of Mockingbird/Hawkeye’s divorce is gonna fall out here and they’re going to split up the kids.

Last time in West Coast Avengers: due to secret Russian internet chatter, Hank Pym became convinced his dead deceased wife Maria Trovoya was actually alive. When the West Coast Avengers were ambushed by a bunch of old Ant-Man villains and Quicksilver when they went to Hungary to investigate, I assumed that it was a ruse to lure the Avengers into a trap. Because Scarlet Witch and Vision had also been baited into a trap.

BUT IT TURNS OUT THAT HANK PYM’S FIRST WIFE IS ALIVE AND HAS A MASSIVE BRAIN. Hank is going to quit the team to try to help reverse the giant braining of his first wife.

ALSO: When the West Coast Avengers went to the past times, Mockingbird got kidnapped by a cowboy who drugged her into being his girlfriend. When other cowboys helped her fight off the drugs, she pursued the first cowboy, Phantom Rider, and confronted him. This resulted in Phantom Rider falling off a cliff and Mockingbird not attempting to save him. Because: fuck that guy.

Except it turns out that he became a real phantom and has decided to haunt Mockingbird for rudely manslaughtering him. And when it looked like Mockingbird would come clean to Hawkeye about what happened, Phantom Rider spilled the beans himself, and framed the story to make Mockingbird look really bad.

Hawkeye was Big Mad that Mockingbird killed manslaughtered someone because Avengers Don’t Kill Or Through Inaction Allow A Person To Die and also because she hid it from him. Both Hawkeye and Mockingbird are stubborn, prideful people so the discussion immediately escalates into an argument where Hawkeye fires Mockingbird from the Avengers and Mockingbird fires him from the marriage.

It be like that.

And even after a long flight back from Hungary, they’re still fighting.

Geez, you two, not in front of the teammates!

Look at Tigra! She’s agitated!

Wasp is trying to play peacemaker. Trying very hard.

Hawkeye: “She admits she let the Phantom Rider die, Jan!”

Wasp: “That’s not the same as killing him! Besides, he’s a ghost, so he’s not dead!”

Mockingbird: “He is dead! I let him fall because he deserved it and I don’t apologize!”

Wasp: “I’m trying to help you, Bobbi!”

See. Both stubborn, both prideful.

Hawkeye even says that Wasp has nothing to do with this. She’s just a special guest star, not a West Coast Avenger and definitely not the chairman.

He IS the chairman so he makes the decisions!

(Maybe its different in the West Coast Avengers but the East Coast Avengers used court martials, not just uncontested decree from the chairman. According to the original Avengers charter, it requires a two-thirds vote to expel an Avenger - I’m pretty sure Mockingbird has the support but then Hawkeye would probably rage-quit.)

Mockingbird: “This isn’t because I let a creep pay for what he did to me -- something most husbands would hate, too --”

Hawkeye: “I hate it -- you bet I do -- but I don’t condone death as any answer for anything!”

Mockingbird: “But death isn’t the issue! It’s the fact that I didn’t tell you about it!”

Hawkeye: “You didn’t just not tell me -- ! You lied about it, to my face --”

At this point, Hank jumps in and says okay you, Bobbi, go over there out of yelling range. Me, Hank, will take Hawkeye over here and bum him out with divorce stories.

Oh my god, Hank.

Vision joins this weird huddle to go tell Hawkeye how much marriage rocks, actually. Scarlet Witch and Tigra go to talk to Bobbi.

Scarlet Witch is currently married. Tigra was married but her husband Bill died. So everyone has opinions here.

Well, Wasp, Wonder Man, and Moon Knight hang out in the middle. I assume Wasp is tired of people not listening to her and isn’t joining either huddle. Wonder Man and Moon Knight aren’t married... as far as I know. Hell, maybe Wonder Man did have a wife before he did crime and then died. But he was dead long enough for the relationship to be legally over.

But I’m pretty sure that he wasn’t married.

Wonder Man: “Wasp -- Jan -- is it written down somewhere, this rule about not killing?”

Moon Knight: “Yes! I am new to the Avengers! How serious is Mockingbird’s infraction?”

Wasp: “Well... it is written down, in a charter we drew up years ago...! But Bobbi’s right, Simon -- Clint’s reaction is more his wounded pride than anything else! If I were your chair, I’d let it go!”

As far as I can tell, the Avengers charter doesn’t explicitly say Thou Shalt Not Kill. It says that Avengers won’t take upon themselves any aspect of the punishment process.

I really don’t know where manslaughtering a cowboy falls into that.

But it doesn’t really matter because Hawkeye is just deciding things and Mockingbird is loudly also deciding to gtfo because fuck that guy.

Anyway, the separate pep talks didn’t work.

Hawkeye and Mockingbird get back to yelling at each other and then Mockingbird decides to g t f o.

And she’s taking half the team in the divorce.

I thought I was joking about that but it turns out that I wasn’t.

Tigra decides to go with Mockingbird because even though she decided against doing a murder in the ‘Tigra too horny’ story arc, she cat nature tells her that sometimes killing is necessary.

Moon Knight also decides to stick with Mockingbird. He doesn’t explain himself but he has already expressed support for the idea that sometimes killing is necessary and his god (i.e. him) is the god of vengeance.

I kind of feel like making this about whether or not murder is okay sometimes misses the point that it was a) manslaughter at best, and b) not even really about the killing, its about Hawkeye’s hurt pride that Mockingbird didn’t confide in him and his decision that means that he can’t trust her and his unilateral decree kicking her off the team.

Hawkeye protests that they can’t just split up the team but Mockingbird shoots back that HE is the one who split the team.

She kinda has a point.

I think that’s probably why the East Coast Avengers do the court martial process with 2/3rds vote required to boot someone for bad behavior. It makes sure that half the team won’t split because they think the bad behavior wasn’t so bad.

You fucked this up, Hawkeye.

Mockingbird offers anyone else the opportunity to join team Mockingbird.

Dr Pym... I don’t know why he has an opinion. He’s leaving the team either way. He’s not going with Mockingbird but he also offers a kind of support. Reflecting on how he formed the Avengers and helped form the rules and then broke the rules and got thrown out (actually, he quit before he could be judged but it didn’t look good for him). And that he came back. “Not because I made the Avengers, but because the Avengers made me!”

Wonder Man also says no. He was ready to leave the Avengers recently and focus more on being a movie star. But the movie star life is shallow and he’s happy that he’s doing good, real work with the Avengers.

Hawkeye, who has an opinion, of course he does, reflects that he killed someone as an Avenger. Remember that time? He killed Egghead? But it was an accident and that’s an important distinction! (Kinda like how Mockingbird didn’t murder the cowboy, just didn’t save him. Which feels like a distinction too. But whatever.) He wants the team to stay together but he’s not willing to budge. Avengers should never kill!

-laughs in hindsight-

Wasp says she understands where Mockingbird was coming from because Phantom Rider was a dangerous, obsessed cowboy and saving his life is not required behavior. But she’s also not going to undermine Hawkeye. He’s the chairman, she’s a guest star.

Vision says that he’s not an Avenger currently but he doesn’t doubt that one day he and Scarlet Witch will return to duty. But he says that if it were up to him, he’d call this a leave and not a firing. And he’s willing to nag Hawkeye a lot until he agrees.

(You’re a character, Vision.)

Scarlet Wanda just speaks of marriage. “Some marriages run smoother than others -- I can’t give you any advice -- but marriage -- joining male and female -- is an ancient and sacred ceremony precisely because neither one alone is as good as the couple! And both sides have to give!”

Feel like she’s calling someone out on being stubborn.

Also feels like gay marriage would have blown her mind but she’s a lot more mellow these days.

Ha. Awkward.

Hank can’t let the awkward moment hang because he’s got places to be. He taps Hawkeye on the shoulder and tells him he’s gonna mosey on. Gotta get started on debrainifying his super wife.

He offers to come help if Hawkeye ever needs a two-fisted science adventurer but Hawkeye tells Hank to take all the time he needs because he’s paid his due to the Avengers and deserves a chance at happiness.

-laughs in different hindsight-

Because it seems like the time for it, Wasp also announces that she’s leaving. Or ending her guest starring, I guess.

She came to help the team during the rough period of Iron Man leaving and becoming an international incident but she feels like maybe she hasn’t helped out.

(I suspect that its also because nobody is listening to her. She might as well go on vacation)

Hawkeye: “You’re really let what Bobbi did go -- ? Including the part where she lied to me?”

Wasp: “I would! She’s not you, Clint! She never will be you! That’s not a wife’s -- or an Avenger’s -- job!”

Hawkeye kinda admitted that the real problem was Mockingbird not confiding in him.

So I don’t think focusing on the do Avengers kill/manslaughter is the way.

Get out of here, Wasp, you nut!

Hank walks her out.

Wasp reiterates that they weren’t legally married (-angry noises-) and finally gives Hank that hug he’s been wanting.

Wasp: “It’s easier being friends now, isn’t it -- with the past wiped away?”

ITS NOT WIPED AWAY

GAH!

Anyway.

Inside the West Coast Avengers Compound, Mockingbird tosses her Avengers communicator, defense grid deactivator, and ID card on the couch.

She’s not giving Hawkeye any reason to come after her, claiming she broke rules by not turning them in.

Moon Knight decides to share his thoughts on whether Avengers should do a murder.

Moon Knight: “It is stupid, Mockingbird -- this prohibition against killing! The history of man is the history of murder!”

Tigra: “That’s a little heavy, Moonie! I just think you have to go with the laws of nature! Some of the people we fight are really dangerous! Like that guy we just faced -- the Voice! Maria silenced him, but what happens if her mental block wears off someday?”

Mockingbird isn’t really interested in olde West Coast Avengers business. Instead, she asks Moon Knight and Tigra to form a team with her.

Moon Knight agrees because he wants to help her if Phantom Rider comes back.

Tigra suggests they call themselves the Ex-Whackos, which Mockingbird laughs off as sounding like a mutant group.

She tables the name and Phantom Rider for now.

Mockingbird has another thing she wants to address. She snatched an incoming message from the Fantastic Four forwarded by the East Coast Avengers off the computer.

Master Pandemonium showed up at the South Pole in Fantastic Four #314-315. His first appearance since that whole arc with the cat people in West Coast Avengers. Turns out he got trapped on Arcturus IV after doggy piling out on the demonic river.

As it happens, Steve Englehart is also writing Fantastic Four, thus explaining why Master P showed up in that book.

Anyway, Mockingbird wants to check it out.

Tigra: “We may be Ex-Whackos, but we’re still heroes, no matter what anybody says!”

Meanwhile, outside Hawkeye is grappling with now having a team consisting of just himself and Wonder Man.

Resignedly, he assumes that Scarlet Witch and Vision will be leaving too, what with the kids.

They surprise him by saying that they don’t want to leave him with just Wonder Man. Two people isn’t a team.

Wanda suggests that she and Vision will take turns being the superhero parent and the stay-at-home parent.

Hawkeye is really excited and proclaims that this is what the Avengers spirit is! He’s not wrong to uphold those standards!

(We’ve established though that your real problem was more about wounded pride but whatever.)

Wonder Man is also excited that he’ll get to spend more time with Vision. They haven’t gotten a chance to really bond after coming to the conclusion that they’re brothers, actually.

Wanda opportunistically jumps in and suggests that maybe sometimes Wonder Man can watch the kids so both Scarlet Witch and Vision can be with the team.

Good hustle, Wanda!

This is all good. I love Scarlet Witch and Vision. But Hawkeye can do the math.

Hawkeye: “Still -- that’s only three or four of us! When I had five I used to worry about not being powerful enough! I know me an’ Wanda, Cap an’ Quicksilver were the whole team once, but that was when there weren’t many Avengers!”

He muses about finding Iron Man but is interrupted by the arrival of the Real Star.

IIIIIIIIITS MANTIS!

She’s green, she’s wearing a tassled skirt, and she doesn’t believe in shoes!

It’s Swordsman’s Girlfriend, Mantis!

Y’know, the one who married a tree.

Most of these guys haven’t seen her since she flew off into space on her tree honeymoon and Wonder Man has never met her but has heard a lot.

She got into the grounds when Mockingbird et al were leaving.

And Hawkeye is thrilled to see her because he is going to recruit the hell out of her. And Wanda is annoyed because she remembers Mantis trying to be a homewrecker between her and Vision.

I’m really only surprised that it took this long for Englehart to try to bring Mantis back into things. He has a habit of taking her wherever he goes.

Anyway, Wonder Man introduces himself and shakes her hand, saying he’s glad to meet Mantis.

Upon which she tosses him on his ass and starts jump kicking everyone.

If you were wondering why I didn’t have an image of her showing up, its because a page later there was an image of her kicking people. And I liked that one better. Because of the kicking.

Hawkeye: “What the ding-dong blazes?!!”

Hah, just say what the fuck, Hawkeye.

He asks her if she’s under mind control or something but she doesn’t answer. He shoots some arrows at her but she just catches the smoke and tear gas arrows out of midair and then uses them to blind Wonder Man when he tries to tackle her.

Wonder Man: “My eyes are filled with ionic energy, but they’re still eyes!!”

That’s a mighty weaksauce weakness, sir.

Sitting on his back, she steers him with his belt jets and rams him into Hawkeye.

An interaction that Hawkeye comes off the worse for, by far.

His eyes clear, Wonder Man tries to get her for making him look like a fool chump but she punches him in the solar plexus and then baits him into knocking a tree down on himself.

While he’s pinned, she uses a nerve jab to paralyze him.

Sure!

Apparently nerve hits even worked on Thor so why not!

This just leaves Scarlet Witch and Vision.

Wanda asks what Mantis’ deeeeeeal is? Why is she here? Why isn’t she hanging out with her plant husband that she married and went to space with?

Mantis doesn’t know though.

Also, she kicks Scarlet Witch so her hex bolt hits Vision, knocking him out of the air.

Mantis is really making fool chumps out of this entire small group of Avengers.

Scarlet Witch yells at Mantis, asking where her empathy is for a robot man that she once claimed to love.

Kinda weird angle to take on things but okay.

Mantis: “Empathy is denied this one -- it is one of the reasons she came to you! But now, her victory must not be denied!”

Wonder Man unparalyzes and tries lunging at Mantis again. But she hops on top and knocks him to the ground.

Hawkeye finally recovers his senses and dazedly thinks that this is similar, sorta, to the situation in Hungary where one Avenger had to fight the rest.

And from there, he just jumps to an incredibly bizarre conclusion based on zero supporting evidence. I’m so, so mad that he turns out to be right.

Like in a fever dream, Hawkeye speculates an insane situation where the Voice escaped Maria Trovoya’s mental block against using his powers, followed the West Coast Avengers to California, and happened to mind control Mantis when she happened to show up.

I am livid that this is the actual plot to this comic.

While Mantis continues to beat seven kinds of hell out of Vision, Scarlet Witch, and Wonder Man, Hawkeye wanders off, hops the wall, sneaks through the forest surrounding the compound, and does, indeed, find the Voice lurking outside.

God dammit.

The Voice: “Maria Trovaya’s control of her mind was almost infinite -- but she was new to its use, and I’ve honed control of my voice to its sharpest edge! Every night since the Hungarians gave me back my power, I told myself again and again to throw off any attempt at brainwashing! All those nights I thought I was protecting myself from a falling out with them -- but when Maria struck, and Quicksilver had to go meekly back to the Inhumans on the Moon -- the Voice alone could see his way clear to final victory! I was free to leave Hungary -- free to fly to California and wait for my chance to turn Avenger against Avenger -- which came sooner than I could have hoped, with the arrival of an unsuspecting, and even distracted, Mantis!”

OKAY.

SO THAT IS APPARENTLY THE PLOT WE’RE GOING WITH.

Two things: why are we going with this plot?

Yeah, it’s good to have an excuse to have Mantis show her stuff. I presume that she’s about to join the team. But there’s so many ways to justify it.

Two: how did he know that Mantis could solo the team? He doesn’t know the team was breaking up. Sure, he might have seen Mockingbird, Moon Knight, and Tigra leaving. Mantis did say she saw them on the way out.

But that still leaves Hawkeye, Wonder Man, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Dr Pym, the Wasp, and MARIA HERSELF possibly inside.

Thing the third, yes, I did add another one: the dude lucked out with Mantis showing up. Instead of having her try to beat up an indeterminate amount of Avengers, why didn’t he just have her lure them out to him? Where he could mind control them all?

This guy is an idiot.

Didn’t even bring anyone to watch his back. He can literally control randos to stand lookout for him and he doesn’t think of it.

Hawkeye tries to talk up what a terror this guy is despite all the grumbling I just did about nuh uh.

Hawkeye, to himself: “How can anybody ever beat this guy? His power is absolutely irresistable if he gets a chance to use it on ya!”

You, specifically, Hawkeye, could turn your hearing aids off. In fact, you’re an idiot if you haven’t done that for this encounter.

Hawkeye, to himself: “I could solve the problem by killing him, of course -- but whatever his power, it ain’t a capital crime! Bobbi’s wrong, darn it! Besides, if I killed him, I couldn’t use him for my purposes...!”

Why are you still relitigating this??

And that wasn’t even the debate that you were supposedly having! She killed ONE cowboy that did something unforgivable to her. And she didn’t even kill him. She manslaughtered a cowboy! It’s not like she became Wolverine and started advocating murder as the first and only solution to all of her problems!

Don’t bring up the topic if you don’t have anything relevant to say!

Back at the fight, Wonder Man solves a problem like Mantis by just grabbing her wrists while she’s beating the shit out of Wanda and then hoisting her into the air so she has no leverage.

She can kick his shins all she likes but he’s a break outhouse of ionic energy and without the nerve pinches, she can’t do much about it.

We barely need Hawkeye to arrive with the solution at this point, even though he does anyway.

Hawkeye forces the Voice to say “Mantis, return to normal” and nothing else. And then Scarlet Witch scarlet witches him so he can’t say anything else for a while.

They’ll call the Vault later where the prison scientists there can figure out how to safely hold him.

Mantis apologizes to Hawkeye for all the trouble. Just like Hawkeye’s random guess, the Voice did mind control Mantis when she happened to show up. And she’s bummed about it.

And when Hawkeye says he’s just glad she’s back to normal, she bursts out that no, she’s not normal, and she needs the Avengers to tell her what normal is!

So the plot thickens, on the last page.

Mantis woke up two days ago in a house that she apparently owns and no memory of anything since she saw the Avengers last.

Her magical superpower of empathy with people and plants has also vanished so she couldn’t even interrogate the houseplants!

So she went to Avengers Mansion to talk to them, only find out that Avengers Mansion is gone.

A police officer on scene tells her that it’s been moved to Hydrobase, which Mantis is like whatever that means.

This is a really well-informed police officer too because he brings up the West Coast Avengers’ recent Zodiac adventures and that Mantis’ dad Libra was killed by the robot Zodiac.

(It’ll turn out that he survived, he’s just having a snooze.)

Since Mantis isn’t going looking for whatever a Hydrobase is, she decides might as well get on a plane, fly to California, and ask the West Coast Avengers for help!

Hawkeye responds by yelling AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!

Which, I think, in his mind means ‘no sweat, when you’re here, you’re family.’

Okay. So a lot of changes here.

A lot of changes that I don’t really know how to feel about.

It’s not an Avengers book if things aren’t being shaken up. And in fact, the West Coast Avengers roster has felt a little static up until Hank and Moon Knight joined.

And now Hank and Moon Knight have left! As have Tigra and Mockingbird.

I will say that after the secret has hung over Mockingbird for so long, the fallout was sufficiently big. She split the team up!

And her little group is apparently going to stay together as a splinter team. Fun!

I kind of wish Hank wasn’t going. For one thing, I’m still annoyed at ‘oh your first wife isn’t dead and that means nothing that happened in our marriage counts!’ But for another, he’d only recently reinvented himself and joined the team. I don’t think he stayed out long enough to wear out his welcome. And his fighting style of pulling random stuff out of his pocketses was fun.

Alas.

I’m not going to complain about Scarlet Witch and Vision being on the team. I like them. I’m not going to complain about Mantis. Against all reason, I like her too.

And not surprised that Englehart brought her back to the Avengers. Guy brings her wherever he goes.

Follow @essential-avengers​. Do it. It’d be a nice thing to do. Like, reblog, and comment too. Also nice things to do.

[eddieydewr]

I think what people forget, ignore or probably in the case of most younger fans, just don’t know, is that a two state solution has been offered multiple times in the past. One time so much as to give the Palestinians like 90 percent of what they wanted or more, and every single time they refused. At a certain point we have to be more critical of the Palestinians as well for having the option of peace multiple times and rejecting it every single time it was offered. And I don’t think we can or should ignore the fact that they elected Hamas, who stated in their founding charter they want all jews everywhere dead. To me this shows a fundamental incapability for these two groups of people to ever live peacefully in the same region until that ideology ends. because while the Israeli govt and military has a laundry list of problems they should be called out on, and the regime needs to go, and crimes they have committed need to be brought to justice, you also can’t make peace with a government/people whose ideology wants you dead full stop. Until that changes, there is no solution because what can be done? This is why this conflict has raged for so long with no solution and is considered insanely complicated, and why the simple bad guys vs good guys binary that gen z has ascribed to the situation doesn’t work.

Jews have indigenous claims to the land and even if they didn’t, realistically millions of jews are not going to up and leave because 1) where would they even go? where would we put them? whose land would we have to take so that they could have somewhere to go and what would be the fallout and other potential problems caused from that? the logistics of that are a nightmare and many jews live in Israel because other places of the world did not want jews or it was unsafe for them there (we also need to recognize most of the arab countries had lots of jews in their countries but have expelled all or almost all of them over the years so Israel was the best place for them to go) and the whole they are just white europeans and have other passports and can just up and leave to their other homes is not applicable to most of fhe people there and insulting to isrealis who have a long lineage in the middle east 2) as we have only been shown even more this year, the world is not a safe place for jews, the quickness in which so called liberal minded western people devolved into nazi like rhetoric is alarming, and they definitely deserve a place to protect themselves …. so yea this has no solution until hamas is gone and the palestinian people decide for themselves and through who they elect to lead them, that peace is more important than hating jews cause at this point that’s the only thing stopping a 2 state solution which can be the only solution to this. Cause israel is not going to be dissolved and the jews and palestinians can not live together in one state in harmony as the history of the middle east has shown us

(And I sure hope all the people who want Israel to be dissolved because they are “white colonizers” are willing to give up their home and land if they live in north america and give it back to the. native americans , if not then they need to shut up, stop grandstanding and think of actual solutions )

This post might sound like I am laying the issues all on Palestines feet and that I am some Israel bootlicker, I am not, both sides are at fault here, and both sides need to be active in trying to make peace and stop killing, however it can’t be ignored that at least Isreal has tried many times to give them what they want and end this but they always refuse and instead elected terrorists. And then they attacked and slaughtered hundreds… Like I support their right to want to have their own land but I do not support their actions so far and inability to accept any compromises and i can’t with the “noble savage” cliched trope that the internet has given to Hamas.

omg i don’t think i have much to add because you are right lol and i agree re. palestinians having their own land. young people also don’t realise that even the jews who never left were treated like second class citizens during the ottoman empire and the british mandate. when it fell into the UN’s hands, the arabs and palestinians didn’t even want 99% of the land because they hated the idea of living next door to jews. and now, 70 plus years later, one of the hamas leaders the other day reiterated that he doesn’t want a two state solution and wants the jewish ppl gone. so… the conflict isn’t going to be solved overnight, no matter how hard american college students scream for a ceasefire and boycotting businesses/brands that aren’t necessarily explicitly linked to israel.

lol btw, yesterday i saw an irish guy on twitter who is very radical and his bio said ‘refugees always welcome’. a lovely sentiment but i know he wouldn’t extend his welcome to israelis if they were to be displaced. 🤪

[girlsexbattle2]

okay im going to be bitter

1.) Stutter

sounds like highschool musical.

2.) Who Do You Love

the backing track is like the song they play in charter add reels

3.) Havent Heard Enough

also just like 2000 boy band sound like that one gravity falls episode core

4.) Desperate Messures

okay i vibe with this one but thats a vice of mine not a win for them

5.) Fallout

This is christian rock. i would know i was raised on that shit

conclusions NONE OF THESE BITCHES HOLD A SINGLE GLIMMER AGAINST THE KILLING KIND. HOW HAVE WE FAILED THIS BADLY

Go Fix This

[p0lygondust]

I’m making a Fallout-themed D&D campaign set in the Wisconsin Driftless region, and as part 2 of the factions,meet the leader of the Unstoppables, Alexander Klein! The Unstoppables got their name from the Hubris Comics series of the same name, and primarily operate out of the remains of Chicago (Although they have set up some new territories in the Driftless Wasteland. The Unstoppables primarily attempt to rebuild the old world and will charter expeditions to rebuild settlements. They also act as a bit of a pseudo police force for the Driftless.

[enbycatboygf]

Doing a challenge run of Fallout New Vegas as the Charters Andy and Leyley would from the game "The Coffin of Andy and Leyley"

[libraryofcirclaria]

September 1321

Library of Circlaria

Remikra Timeline

The newly independent nation of Combria ultimately was presided over by the nationalist Combrian resistance leader, George Henry, who administered Combria in the same fashion as the original Chartered State of Combria under President William Jeson. He retaliated against the Commonwealth with a heavy tariff on hubstone resources. This had incredible influence on the province of Gymia, where the tariffs put a strain on the economy. Prime Minister Finzi responded to Gymian economic hardship with another expansion in welfare distribution. Gymian constituents protested against this, however, asserting that the measure would worsen the rate of inflation, and demanding that Finzi engage in direct armed conflict with Combria.

The House of Archives

Established in Retun proper in 1278, the House of Archives served the purpose of housing important data and documents; for example, curriculum for the Global Academy of Ancondria.

However, in the summer of 1320, Paul Tourney, employed by the Commonwealth Department of Education as a research consultant for the recent agenda, was asked to weigh the validity of a certain curriculum employed in one of the Global Academy satellite campuses in Hobland. Conflict of interest arose when administrative frustrations related to the Archival House, prompted Tourney to fabricate critical pieces of information. Finzi, very soon, discovered this dishonest act and launched an investigation, during which Tourney was found guilty and removed from his position. On 2 June, disgruntled over the matter, Tourney returned to the House of Archives and set it ablaze. The fire was eventually contained, but the library was effectively destroyed with valuable documents lost. Finzi implemented measures in an attempt to salvage remaining artifacts, with little success. Tourney was arrested on 17 June, and was later found guilty of arson and sentenced to ten years in prison.

However, not everyone was in agreement with Finzi over the matter. In fact, this led to further resentment from the population of Gymia, who began to see Finzi more and more as a corrupt figure.

1320 Election

Leading up to 1320, Finzi and the RAD Party were opposed by the Umbol Coalition, which, formed under Peter Umbol and continued to grow after his death, carried the agenda to rid the Commonwealth of policies imitating those of the old Federal Estates of Retun, or the Early Republic. By 1320, the Umbol Coalition was headed by Mark Baret, who grew up in the Basin District and fought on behalf of Finzi and Umbol during the war in 1309. In 1318, Baret announced his candidacy for Prime Minister, determined to challenge the incumbent Holz Finzi, and winning the primary election in 1319.

Finzi, during this campaign, aimed to continue the established darkfire industry policies and the ongoing Archival House recovery efforts, while engaging in diplomacy with Combria in a hopeful attempt to gain back its jurisdiction. Meanwhile, Baret decried Finzi's agenda for being too centralized, and pushed for a private commerce organization to have more sway on the darkfire industry. He also wanted to abandon Archival House recovery efforts and launch an armed offensive against the insurgent Combrian nation.

Baret's idea for the war with Combria rang well with those in Gymia, but was otherwise not popular with the remainder of the Commonwealth. And thus, on 16 September 1320, Finzi won re-election.

Darkfire Fallout, Economic Downturn

Darkfire floans had a sharp drop in yielded quantity in the beginning of 1321. Finzi implemented more strategies in an attempt to boost such quality, only it to fall even further. It was at this point that darkfire began to drop in value even relative to the Commonwealth Qor, whose value continued to drop due to inflation. In June of that year, Commonwealth tradestone markets crashed. Finzi responded to this with a government buyout, a provision signed into law in 1309 with the intent to prevent what happened in 1301. Between 1314 and 1318, the measure previously took effect, successful in preventing complete downturns. But in 1321, funds for this measure ran dry, allowing the June 1321 downturn to continue.

Ballot for Gymian Secession

The resulting job loss and lowering of living standards prompted numerous Gymians to petition for their province to secede from the Commonwealth, citing the grievances of corruption in Finzi's administration and economic hardship. On 15 September 1321, the measure was brought to the Gymian Provincial Council in Ligam, where it was met with intense support from the local population. However, with the majority of the Provincial Council composed of Finzi-loyal representatives from previous elections, the measure was ultimately voted down.

The Independent Commonwealth of Gymia

Angered by this, Terry Bayne, a leading figure in the ballot measure, staged a coup, which succeeded in overthrowing the Provincial Council. And once again, the province of Gymia gained autonomy from the Retunian Republic, this time forming the Independent Commonwealth of Gymia. Similar to the system in Combria, Bayne became the President of Gymia. The Supreme Court in the Basin District declared this act of secession illegitimate, since it had superseded democratic processes, and thus gave Prime Minister Finzi the authority to dispatch troops in order to end Bayne's regime and place Gymia under martial law until its democratic institutions could be restored. Finzi acted on this emergency power, and Retunian troops confronted Bayne's forces on 21 September 1321, starting civil conflict.

Initially, the people of Gymia, angered by the hubstone tariffs, had disdain for the newly independent nation of Combria. However, in light of Finzi's attempted intervention in Gymia, Combrian President George Henry sent Terry Bayne a proposition to annex the Gymian territories and provide a common defense for them against Finzi. President Bayne agreed to this and signed the Treaty of Consent to Annexation. On 23 September 1321, the two autonomous provinces of Combria and Gymia merged to form the Combrian Confederation.

<- November 1319 <- || -> May 1323 to April 1329 ->

[thebillionaireinsider]

The Political Economy: Know 5 Businessmen-Turned-Politicians and Their Impact

As the recent election results unfolded, the nation held its breath, not just for the political implications but also for the economic fallout. It’s a well-established fact that political developments can send shockwaves through the share market, influencing investor sentiment and market trends. In this context, it’s intriguing to examine the journey of five businessmen who not only made their mark in the corporate world but also ventured into the realm of politics, serving as Politicians.

1. Naveen Jindal:

A scion of the prestigious Jindal family, Naveen Jindal is known for his ventures in steel, power, and infrastructure. Serving as the Member of Parliament for Kurukshetra constituency in Haryana, Jindal, representing the Indian National Congress, brought forth his business acumen to address issues of industrial development and rural empowerment.

2. Rajeev Chandrasekhar:

An entrepreneur turned politician, Rajeev Chandrasekhar made his mark in the technology and media sectors before venturing into politics. As an Independent MP representing Karnataka in the Rajya Sabha, Chandrasekhar advocated for issues such as defense preparedness, digital governance, and urban development.

3. Subhash Chandra:

Known for revolutionizing the Indian media landscape with Zee TV, Subhash Chandra ventured into politics by serving as a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha. His contributions ranged from advocating for media freedom to addressing issues related to rural development and education.

4. Kirit Somaiya:

Kirit Somaiya, an accomplished chartered accountant and entrepreneur, entered politics and served as a Member of Parliament from Mumbai North East constituency in Maharashtra. He actively raised issues related to corruption, public finance management, and infrastructure development during his tenure. Somaiya’s background in finance and business added a unique perspective to his contributions in the political arena.

5. Anil Ambani:

As the scion of the Ambani family, Anil Ambani’s foray into politics was not as prominent as his business endeavors. He served in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India from Uttar Pradesh as an Independent MP between 2004 and 2006. However, his recent financial challenges have thrust him into the limelight. Facing debt burdens and legal battles, Ambani’s conglomerate, Reliance Group, underwent significant restructuring efforts. Despite the setbacks, Ambani has been striving to stage a comeback, focusing on sectors such as defense, infrastructure, and renewable energy to revitalize his business empire.

These businessmen turned politicians exemplify the dynamic landscape of Indian entrepreneurship and politics. While some have seamlessly navigated both realms, others have faced formidable challenges along the way. Yet, their contributions have left an indelible mark on India’s economic and political landscape, underscoring the symbiotic relationship between business and governance in the world’s largest democracy.

[kspp]

NEP 2020 : How can India become center for public policy education in next five years?

Instead of looking at public policy professionals to be anchored in just arts and humanities, India must create a new generation of nation builders trained in Public Policy and learn from diverse disciplines such as law, management, technology, economics, and humanities.

India is a desirable destination in the global higher education space. Our demographic dividend will allow us to have the highest population of young people globally over the next decade. We need to reset our higher education offerings that will be in sync with our nation’s emerging needs and our region and the world.

When we take a closer look at the arena of public policy, specifically – India’s Act East policy has far-reaching implications in entire Southeast Asia. Over the years, China’s policies ranging from greater engagement with ASEAN, the formation of the Shangai Cooperation Organisation, debt diplomacy, and the recent Belt Road Initiative, show a reordering of the regional dynamics.

The US-China standoff, changing relations between countries in the middle east, etc., will lead to the emergence of new world order.

Domestically speaking, the repealing of close to 1500 acts during the 2014 to 2019 Lok Sabha tenure is an impressive feat considering that less than 2000 acts were repealed over the previous six decades. The emphasis on “Minimum Government Maximum Governance” and attempts to increase the “Ease of Doing Business” all point to a fresh impetus to change the way governance was done in India till recently.

As the 2012 article by CommonWealth Foundation says – “Governance is too important and complex to be left to governments alone.” Good governance will be brought about only when Society, Businesses, and Government come together and explore ways of working together to usher in more citizen-centric governance mechanisms. For a long time, in India and many other countries, public policymaking has been the domain of mainly the bureaucracy. What began in the UK under John Major, the “Citizen Charter” movement, has over the last decade resulted in various states starting to deliver the “Right to Public Services.”

Innovation in different fields: Further innovation by multiple states like Delhi, Karnataka, and other states, many public services are being offered at the doorstep. Other stakeholders’ inputs and opinions are rarely sought in a welcoming manner, and even if suggestions are received, they are less likely to be incorporated. The journey of “Changing the way we govern ourselves” demands the best and the brightest to be involved in nation-building and continue to become more citizen and business-friendly.

NEP aims to increase gross enrollment ratio: The National Education Policy 2020 rightly identifies the need to double the Gross Enrollment Ration to 50 percent by 2035 from the GER of 2018, which stood at 26.3 percent. The higher educational institutions across disciplines will have to add over three crore seats.

New generation of nation-builders: Instead of looking at public policy professionals to be anchored in just arts and humanities, India must create a new generation of nation builders trained in Public Policy and learn from diverse disciplines such as law, management, technology, economics, and humanities.

In addition to the reconfiguration of geopolitics, innovation in public services delivery, rapid advances in technology, and its implications necessitate progressive regulation to protect the privacy and thwart the threat of a jobless future. All of this adds to the need for professionalizing public policy. NEP rightfully encourages holistic and multidisciplinary education.

Emphasis must be to provide lifelong learning as compared to the long-standing – “finish college” and then “start working” mindset.

The logical fallout from NEP should lead well-functioning higher educational Institutions to dream big and move away from centrally controlled by cumbersome and lengthy Government regulations. NEP implementation should encourage them to become board-administered autonomous institutions that will respond to the country’s diverse needs and beyond.

The present-day, low-trust, high-touch regulatory approach needs to be replaced with a trust-but-verify mode, giving the better performing institutions greater autonomy to develop long-term roadmaps for emerging areas like public policy.

Different public policy courses: Public policy courses designed to keep Indian ethos with the western public policy frameworks will be essential ingredients to move towards a better-governed nation given the above set of conditions. Our students and faculty must blend ancient wisdom from texts like Kautilya’s Arthashastra, Bhartrihari’s Niti Shatakam, and others that capture the local realities and cultural context.

These texts cover various aspects of governance, ranging from ethics, economics, law, politics, military, spies, intelligence to logistics when combined with proven western governance mechanisms that have given excellent results.

With every crisis comes an opportunity to leapfrog to a new normal. Many lessons from India are relevant to the Commonwealth countries, South and Southeast Asian countries that share similar governance mechanisms.

As cooperative federalism is taking more center stage, many more opportunities will open up at the state level along with the national level for bringing in these reforms in the government sector. Many new areas are getting deregulated and opened up.

Many businesses will look out for public policy specialists who can advise them during this transitionary phase. India’s CSR spends from BSE 100 companies itself crossed 10,000 crores in FY19-20. Also, many not-for-profits raise large grants nationally and internationally will benefit from professionals with a good grounding in public policy education.

All the above aspects augur well for India powered by the National Education Policy to become a hotbed for public policy education. India will become a powerhouse for innovations that will usher in a citizen-centric and inclusive future for all.

[askthe-littlepoet]

the what? the what paste?

the food paste from fallout 4.

[this was a us government test of a food substitute in the Suffolk County Charter School as an experiment to help fund the school through a program called the Nutritional Alternative Paste Program (NAPP). The paste was intended to provide a good source of vitamins, minerals, and shit like that and have a shelf life over like, 100 years? And certainly past 200 years.]