#Imperalism. Politics

[jakecosmosaller]

President Trump's Imperialist Vision Realized

Prsident Trump’s Imperialist Vision Realized Why Trump? 15 nations of North America President Trump declared his intention to expand America into a new nation—a North American Empire that would include the United States, Canada, Mexico, Caribbean nations, Guam, Greenland, the Marianas Islands, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Cuba, and Central America, including Panama,…

[starleska]

drives me a little bit crazy that Mr. Ring-A-Ding is such a charmer!!! 😳😳 "pretty lady" in his original song and "sweetie-pie", both to Sally Sunshine. "my lovely ladies of the light" to his projectors. "my Doctor, sir!" to the Doctor. and "my lovely friends" to his imaginary audience (who i am choosing to believe is us)!!! gosh, he makes me melt 🫠🫠🫠

[tmninjagirl]

amen 🙏

[bump-inthe-night]

Let's see, Trump hasn't been inaugurated yet, but he's already speaking about:

-Bombing Iran

-Invading Canada and Mexico

-Using military force to obtain Greenland and the Panama Canal

Over 77 million Americans voted for a man who wants to plunge us into a third world war.

[zombocomme]

[goofygooberton]

With all the political signage going up by the roads here in the US I am fighting tooth and nail to resist the urge to put up something like this:

I wonder if anyone would notice. Maybe a Jim DeFroque for School Superintendent (let Jesus touch your kids!) would be good too? (Also please appreciate my tagline I spend way too long coming up with it)

[nocturnal-frumpkin]

To all my fellow queer brothers, sisters, and everyone in between in America with me right now, I’m so sorry and I promise it’ll get better if we all stick together and fight back.

💜

[the-dumpster-fire-of-anxiety]

hi avi hi avi hi avi!!!!!! thinking abt avery again .:3. does he interact w/ any of his other coworkers?? whats his relationships like w/ them if so?? OH MOST IMPORTANTLY what is his opinions on like . the foundation (/ the o5?) itself? .:3

Woo-hooo! Sorry, had to go play w/niece for a bit (gonna go back down once i've answered this) butttttt:

Avery does interact, usually in person. He wasn't a big fan of hi-tech even before The Day (was forced to buy a Nokia for work and was deeply unhappy that he even had that), but will concede to email and fax (fax is better than email, in person is better than fax). Has rerouted his desk phone to be an old-school rotary but still display who's calling if it's a higher-up, and hangs up on everyone else who wasn't on his "I have notified you I will call at approx [X] time" list. He's a little hater.

Office wise, his coworker's opinions range from "he's nuts but better him than me taking the wrath of the Director" (minimal wrath, minimal interactions) to "Very odd guy, but overall good". He's awkward, he's unintentionally brusque (Ukr-Rus upbringing kicking in there, Slav coworkers don't feel this nearly as much), and despite being the sort of person normally who's down to chat, the paranoia really fucks over his ability to socialize or trust people. At the same time, his coworker social skill deficiency (and refusal to answer the phone) is made up for by his quick and correct work, the fact that you can send a lot of weirder shit to him (effectively can do paperwork in 4 languages AND can check it for cognitohazards) and that he is, despite general oddity, a chill man.

The few times he gets out or politics has come up, he's very blunt about the fact that most things are between a person and their beliefs, and that everyone needs to mind their own damn business about 'correct' behavior (he can't vote or do shit about politics so don't ask him his thoughts on government, but he will loudly and plainly shut down bigoted bullshit around him (again, queer and immigrant household and upbringing, very limited ability to give a fuck) and got into a fistfight w/Iceberg that one time over sexism).

After a few years, he can do small talk conversations and he's not awful before that (again, any expression of a problem and will offer to help if he can* (*This is not always a good thing)), but fundamentally he can't let his guard down about being caught/discovered and terminated, so he refuses to form closer relationships. There's Angela and the can of worms in his memories there, there's the hatred of Iceberg (grudging respect given for paperwork, again if Iceberg wasn't loudly sexist and didn't call Avery a freak they have been closer friends than almost anyone else in the office), and there's the only-person-i-sorta-trust with Kon, but that's about it for close friends. In general, most people who see past 'cold and efficient weirdo' read him as a guy who's lost a lot and hates remembering that there used to be something outside of this, so just let sleeping dogs lie and don't interfere.

MTF teams get on a bit better because it's a physical job, it's mostly in-person or over radio contact (no phones or laptops required of Avery), they usually compliment his artistic work and because the general demeanor is a lot more causal and blunt, his temperament is usually taken for more of 'deadpan with a sense of humor' than 'asshole'. The continuous contact over hours and days (even weeks) really helps with that engagement, and the fact that he doesn't like talking about his past isn't as odd to teams that regularly have high mortality or trauma rates. Helps that he's got reasonably good survival skills and is good enough at combat to survive and hold his own in small-scale issues. Downside is that when there's an argument, it's a big fucking argument. The worst was very much with Agent M and almost got Avery shot, but there's been a few brawls, lots of insults, and a surprisingly low rate of the fights directly fucking up the missions. It also really, really helps that they can be chill w/him without having to talk for months between missions. Still won't trust them with big secrets, but they know of a handful of his pre-Day explorations and he can compete in 'Badass Scar' type pissing contests pretty well. Sometimes he doodles people before or after missions (or during if it's a veeeeery chill and safe mission) and if they like it, he gives them the drawings. otherwise they go over his bed labelled w/the name and context. He's building up new connections.

Admin wise, they are the second enemy right after Alto Clef and anyone he's training to eliminate reality-benders. Avery is only in the system in the flimsiest ways possible, and if anything goes wrong in his paperwork ever, it can flag very easily. The exception to this is Tech Support, whom he visits in person (lugging along a 20-pound brick of a laptop that can be used for Foundation work, accessing academic databases, and nothing else). They hate that he comes in person and then refuses to leave until they fix it, but he's patient, he does listen, and his errors are neither user error or anomalous (it's not even usually that his laptop is the sort of thing that the 50s would have found dated, it's that very occasionally something in settings or software breaks on a disturbing level and combing through this would be far, far easier if he was using literally any other laptop ever but he will not).

While there's technically money on his account, it's not exactly shit he can withdraw unless it's through Kon or Financial (again, will not talk to Financial with a gun to his head), so he's fucked unless they're paying in cash or he's purchasing from inside the Foundation (can charge his ID card) (yes, this is why the muggings occasionally happen, how else can he get clothes without stealing them from dead bodies).

As for the Foundation itself, Avery's feelings are- complicated. He got recruited fairly young (between AP classes and a college overload finished his Bachelors in 3 years and was recruited partway through the Masters at 23).

Pre- That Day he loved getting to see these things, getting to understand the universe as it is, and it was cool to put artistic skills to good use (I think his Masters was aiming either at antique restoration or art history for painting restoration) in a way that would guarantee a living. Decent pay, sends you around the world, allows for a certain amount of personal eccentricity that most places wouldn't. At the same time, the Horrors are just- just there full fucking time and not only did the job erode at time with family and friends, it's definitely worsened his issues with paranoia and caused some pretty severe injuries (fun fact: while Avery's hands being kinda shaky when he's not doing shit was a thing before too, he has suffered nerve damage from in-field operations), not to mention the weirdness of knowing you and your coworkers could die at any minute and your family won't have a body or a coherent answer.

Post- Day it's worse. He wouldn't have lose his reality if he wasn't working for the Foundation, he's sure of that. The Foundation's effectively taken away everything, down to his memories. At the same time, it's all he has now. He can't leave, he can't quit, he has no documents or existence here. The Foundation is his home in this reality and he will die in service to it, if they don't kill him on suspicion of being a threat (a suspicion that wouldn't exist if not for him being screwed over by, again, the Foundation). He hates them but he also chose this, and he can't regret that choice as much as he should. He's trying to see the good side in things, telling himself that what he does provides identification for tech-averse anomalies, that he's helped save people during missions (and been saved in turn), that if he has no choice, he should make as much of it as he can. He's never going to be fully ok with the place, but he's trying to be content.

[variousqueerthings]

congratulations france, congratulations the uk

let's keep this energy up!

[dhaaruni]

Girl what

[ekho-ekho-ekho]

if we're gonna be stuck in a new era of baseless moral panic, I say we seize the narrative and call it the Rainbow Fright

Advantages:

Americans love nostalgia

Americans love puns

format recalls the so-called "Red Scare," emphasizing similarities to an era notorious for its baseless fearmongering

fundamentally goofy-sounding compared to predecessors.

no fr, if you didn't know better, the "Red Scare" would sound like a DC comics arc. "Satanic Panic" could be the name of a punk band. even knowing what they were, there's no avoiding the fact that the names sound cool. and idk I just feel like if we were to sit them on a shelf next to something called "The Rainbow Fright," it'd bring the whole vibe down.

tidily lumps the whole movement under the boring, outmoded umbrella of "irrational homophobe," while ignoring any alleged nuance between the disparate groups of bigots responsible (for trolling reasons, you understand).

works on multiple levels—besides being a symbol of queer liberation, rainbows can also represent diversity in a broader sense, encompassing ethnic and cultural minorities affected by the current culture war. in this sense, "Rainbow Fright" becomes a distillation of the single truth at the heart of every Right-wing talking point: "I am a boring, self-entitled asshole and I hate fun."

meme potential

In Conclusion:

[ace-disgrace-on-the-case]

I really hate to admit it but I’ve kind of lost hope re: the American elections

[millionmovieproject]

[acertainmoshke]

.

[electriccenturies]

I know I say this a lot but... I seriously can't believe that I spent half my life convinced that I had to agree with anything anyone said about the world — no matter how obviously false, no matter how absurd — if they said it with enough emotionally manipulative language

its actually really really sad :(

[ahb-writes]

Book Review: 'As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I'll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World' #1

As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I'll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World #1 by MiraijinA, Jimmy, Tristan K Hill

castle politics

fantasy

isekai

political science

social commentary

My Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Navigating the treacherous course of a territory in turmoil, Ars Louvent is too young to know what he's actually doing. Or, he should be. It's not as if he has much of a choice. His father is ill, his neighbors encroach his borders, and the regional duke's two sons are about to kick off a civil war. Ars is too young to know what he's actually doing. Or is he?

REINCARNATED ARISTOCRAT v1 is a gem. Not because it's exceedingly original and difficult to find, but because this story is nestled comfortably in a niche genre and the author executes its narrative to absolute perfection. This is not a reincarnation story with overpowered heroes, a harem of young hybrid animal ladies, or tales of gruesome death around every corner. This novel is about political gamesmanship, the methodical merging of economic and military interests, and the people-management calculations made in the shadows of increasingly corrupted statecraft.

This novel focuses on the people who manage the land, as well as the personal relationships, economic hardships, and territorial disputes that come with being a minor lord in a much larger chess game. Readers who want their feudal lordship brimming with bloodshed should look elsewhere. Similarly, readers who want their isekai narratives packed with inexplicably outsized magecraft should look elsewhere.

Ars's ability to view people's skills and abilities via an old school RPG status screen forms the foundation of the book's trajectory. He knows when a soldier might fare better as an archer, rather than as a hand-to-hand combatant. He also knows when a political leader is more heavily inclined toward betrayal than facile loyalty. And in the case of his unexpected engagement to a friendly lord's young daughter, Ars also knows when someone is shockingly skilled at political subterfuge.

AS A REINCARNATED ARISTOCRAT, I'LL USE MY APPRAISAL SKILL TO RISE IN THE WORLD v1 is a fun book but can be difficult to follow. The novel wields dozens of place names (territories, counties, countries), people (attendants, lords, dukes), and alliances (mercenary groups, duchy coups), and it pays to have a notepad at the ready. For example, Ars, the acting lord of the Lamberg territory, finds himself thrust into the spotlight, lending needed information and aid to House Pyres, which is guided by Count Lumeire Pyres, governor of the County of Canarre, in his support of Lord Couran Salemakhia, eldest son of the ailing Lord Amador Salemakhia, the Duke of Missian, of the Summerforth Empire. Got all that? The more complex version includes Lord Couran's rival (brother), Count Pyres's rivals (neighboring counties), a plausible assassination attempt, and more. This is not a book one can put down one day, and nonchalantly pick up a week later.

Layered and complicated though the character dynamics may be, the novel is written very loosely. The book is full of clever writing and amicable characters. Ars is overly cautious but more sarcastic than not. He shudders at the thought of using his appraisal skill to climb the political ranks ("Could you imagine just how much of a pain in the ass being an emperor would be?" page 54). Unfortunately, some supporting characters earn more space on the page than others, but there's plenty of room for them to grow.

Ars recruits a skilled mercenary as his personal retainer, locates and hires a marginally intelligent but comically vain mage to lead his army, and strikes a lucrative deal with a crossdressing information broker whose intelligence and combat prowess are second to none. Ars may find it a royal pain to seek out those capable of helping him achieve his or his greater lord's goals, but the deeper he wades into the waters of governance and intrigue, the more he values the hunt for what it is ("I was starting to appreciate that there was always a lot more to a person deep down than what my little power could tell me about them," page 273).

The novel's pensive approach to domestic statecraft, as well as its deliberately obsequious view of domestic political relations, includes social commentary on enslaved peoples, arranged marriages, feuds among royalty, the economics of betrayal, the imperatives of nursing a good strategist, and more. REINCARNATED ARISTOCRAT v1 goes deep, intentionally, and the book can feel like a tome packed with entertaining but immaterial lore, but in reality, everything boils down to "medieval territory management," as the author says in the afterword. Still, it's a gem.

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