#especially in the beginning of peacetime

[zorciarkrildrush]

I think the essence of what drives me crazy about current Enlightened Online Leftist Discourse Regarding My Life Personally And Whether This Time Killing Me Is Morally Correct (as in, commentary about the latest episode in i/p violence) is this:

I want a free Palestine.

I don't personally know a lot of people that don't! They might bristle at the tagline, because it's co-opted by people who do in fact want them dead, but as soon as I lay out why it's in literally everyone's best interest, how a non-free Palestine is horrific both to the people of Israel and to the people of Palestine, how pragmatically ridiculous the occupation of the west bank and the siege upon Gaza are (and I am a very pragmatic person), they get it. And I don't mean I debate people online about it - this, too, is a ridiculous concept - I mean having, time and time again, the deradicalization conversation with my friends, and colleagues, and my family. Obviously not only now - I've always been a very principled and argumentative Jew, ever since I became an adult - and I've been alive for, I don't know, a dozen flashpoints and operations and wars at this point, and I don't stop being argumentative and loud in peacetime either, but especially now.

But that's not what "from the river to the sea" means.

When you, gentle soul from across the sea, echo this slogan, you are either:

By apathy or will, ignoring that the sentiment cheers for the mass expulsion and killing of Jews. Indeed, any non-Muslim present from the river to the sea. This doesn't even begin to cover how even Muslim arabs still will not be safe under Hamas rule - and trust me, I don't care if a Hamas apologist told you different. A victory for Hamas (And we're ignoring the fact they do not have the military capacity for it - I hope you are aware of the privilege inherent to not understanding military conflicts) means exactly that. No "rule by the people". No socialistic, Palestinian utopia to be had, which is a fantasy I'm seeing alluded to a lot recently. Just an extension of the horrific power structure in Lebanon and Syria, where Hezbollah - friends and allies to Hamas - have been playing a tango for decades of both refusing to participate in actual government and betterment of civilian lives, while still draining their resources and controlling them with no real contest. "From the river to the sea" is not a sentiment for freedom fighting - it's a sentiment for a final solution to the people living here who are either Jewish, or for some Very Strange And Weird Reason would rather not submit to Hamas rule. You know - Israeli Arabs, secular and Muslim and Christian, Druze, Circassians, Bahai, take your pick. Their suffering, and my suffering - you know, a person who made the strategic error of being born in Israel while Jewish, which is inherently problematic and not okay of me - don't matter to you. Just the fantasy of an easy, morally correct cleanse of the land.

Are well aware of all of the above! You just don't care. You either smugly chuckle that I, and anybody else who will die, deserve it - or that it's an acceptable loss for the aforementioned fantasy. "Decolonization is an inherently violent process", you'll say to me, chillingly, before implying I have a summer home in Brooklyn I can just retreat to when things get tough. Israel is basically Rhodesia, a very popular blog here mentioned flippantly, so what's the issue with all of those lily-white Jews fucking off back home before the righteous freedom fighters strike them down? Well. This might be the part I urge you to open a book, or even Wikipedia or any god damn thing that will explain to you these upsetting, dense things you clearly struggle with.

It's easy for me to discount islamophobes. Like, very easy. It's very easy for me to discount insane evangelistics who "advocate for me" simply because I'm a pawn in their religious rapture. It's easy for me to fight against Israeli and Jewish fascists - I have been long before this news item came across your feed, as did the insinuations that some civilian deaths are okay, actually.

It's easy for me for me to see promotions for donations to non-political aid in Gaza. It's easy for me to see the sentiment that hey! Palestinians deserve safe, healthy lives. That they have deserved an independent state, and were unfairly denied one, for decades. It's easy for me to see people saying "You know, the Israeli government is shit, actually, and their actions endanger and promote to the misery of innocents". Because that's right! I wouldn't be voting and protesting and donating for all of these sentiments otherwise!

It's not easy for me to see people, who I honestly held in high regard and saw having well thought out opinions on important matters, inadvertently echo the sentiment that my death is acceptable. That a terrorist organization, who rule over their own territory with fear and violence, are righteous freedom fighters, vox populi, only out to establish a free state. Like hey, their manifesto said otherwise, so it must be all there is - right? That Jews are just hysterical, they can easily live elsewhere - ever since that nasty holocaust business everything's fine abroad. Besides, it was just so long ago who even cares stop talking about it. Hamas, Hezbollah, ISIS, the Ayatollahs in Iran, the fucking Islamic Jihad - are not interested in freedom. They aren't, and echoing their slogan tells me you are either ignoring that, or support them anyway. If antisemitic rhetoric, half truths and lies by omission work on you today, they would have in any period of time. I'm sorry this makes you uncomfortable. I'm not, not really.

So finally:

Know what your fucking words mean. Have a cursory glance at the history of the MENA and why it's so fucked, one that doesn't boil down to "The Jews, with American help, rolled into where they don't belong". This isn't even a joke. I've seen this braindead, history-revising sentiment repeated so many times, both online and in actual textbooks, that I feel I'm going insane. So many well-meaning people handwringing and assuring each other that repeating genocidal slogans is fine, that calling the i/p conflict "a simple problem" (which means it has a simple solution, right? Just kill the Jews.) is a well-adjusted and intellectual take. That "only the Zionists should die! The rest will be fine :)" I dare you to say that and also give me a correct definition of what Zionism is. Why I, a Jew that advocates for Palestinian statehood and rights and safety and always have, won't also face the wall in your little fantasy.

Freedom to Palestine. Peace in the middle east, fucking yesterday.

A curse and a plague on those who don't want either of those, and just want to cheer on the death of "the other side".

A curse and a plague upon you, when you tell me, smugly, from somewhere safe and far away, "from the river to the sea".

[knuckleblaster]

On some level I understand the rejection or outright denial of V2's death: it was jarring and brutal, especially for a character who, at least in laws of traditional video game rivals and the rule of thirds, seemed like it'd stick around for longer. This said, inferring from in-game lore as well as dev statements, I believe V2's death, tragic that it is, is not unwarranted; and that it is commonly pigeonholed into a characterization it does not fit into due to its assumed role within the game.

This is long, so it's going under the cut.

Considering its name, it's easy to assume V2 is a new and improved version of its predecessor; but it is more heavily implied that it's simply a version of V1 with thicker plating, and nothing more. [1] V2 was an attempt at salvaging V1's design after war became irrelevant, to capitalize on the resources wasted on a highly advanced war machine by rebranding it as an adaptable worker, for security and (theoretically) other peacetime activities (...not an innuendo). This was a failure; there's no reason to invest in something so refined when a handful of lesser machines could do the same job [2].

If V2 is contextualized within its backstory, it makes a lot more sense why it ate shit so quickly. It is, out of any in-game machine so far, one of the least suited for survival in Hell. Sentries and Streetcleaners were created for war. Swordsmachine(s) and Mindflayers are scrapheads, constantly adapting to create (and protect) their perfect, lethal body. [3] If anything, it's on the same level as a Drone, able to defend itself in a limited capacity, but not intentionally programmed or built for combat. Faced with V1, something built for perfect, swift destruction, a machine made for peace would stand even less of a chance than normal, even with an equal level of mobility and build.

V2 is also doomed, in a very literal sense, by the narrative. In a meta sense, it does not matter to the game story whatsoever [4]. V1 is the butterfly whose wing flaps set Gabriel's story in motion, but V2 has no such connection to his story, and is thus irrelevant. Even its lore entry is overshadowed by information about V1/its connection to V1. A third fight, as well, was never in the running, not necessarily due to anything in the game lore, but because its first and second encounters are all it needs: a third rematch would be repetitive and messy [5]. The reason for its extremely violent death sequence is to ensure there was no question as to its fate [6].

In regards to its personality; it is oft-headcanoned as loud, irritable, and competitive, but this characterization is more likely due to its color as well as its assumed role as a "rival" to V1; rather than based upon its in-game actions. Although its initial intentions are up to interpretation [7], comparing its actions and mechanics to other enemies fully rationalizes its anger. Although it's fairly easy to enrage in-fight, the criteria for its enrage state is much more specific than other enemies, and it's quite easy to not trigger it at all. Cerberi will enrage after one of its kind dies, Malicious Faces and Mindflayers after a certain amount of damage has been dealt (on Violent). Most notably, as the only other character with a rematch, Gabriel begins his second fight enraged after his first defeat [3], which can imply by extension that even though V2 is taking its second fight more seriously [8], it is still not outwardly angry. Its enrage state is only triggered when its patience is depleted (the player avoids it for too long), or in its second fight when it has been punched with the Knuckleblaster. These can be interpreted as indicators that V2 likes it when the fight is "fair": when it's not being avoided and picked at from a distance, or being hit with its own arm; which is frankly pretty fucking mean. A side note: Returning to its creation, it can also potentially be inferred that V2 was intentionally programmed with a rational, controlled, and even marketable personality, easily suppressed or overwritten for ease of use.

In another game, or if V1 was the protagonist, perhaps V2 would not be dead. Instead, V2 is doomed by its creators, both in-game and in reality. It mirrors V1 in action and Gabriel in mind, but unlike them, it has no place in this story beyond a truly fantastic duo of fights. Although its story has any number of potential rewritings or epilogues [9], its doom was always intended. It's easy to mourn lost potential, and its end is intensely tragic; but I believe it is a tragedy that meshes nicely with the rest of the game's story. V2 is dead, and not a second too soon.

Footnotes:

1.

Along with the lore entry for V2:

V1’s planned production was cancelled and an updated model, V2, was developed instead, using the standardized plating, since durability was far more important during times of peace when no bloodshed was necessary.

2.

twitter.com/HakitaDev/status/1538313328715513857

3. in-game lore entries, can be read on ultrakill.miraheze.org or here in one document: steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2245904838

4.

5.

twitter.com/HakitaDev/status/1538336055681863680

6. "And then V2 dies as hard as anyone could possibly die to make sure people understand he's fucking dead and is not coming back" - dev commentary, 05:08:09 (youtu.be/kaImho5JioI?si=v4_m90nfLOY-DyEZ&t=18489)

7.

8.

9. Notably, Dream's End Come True / v2isdead.com.

[esther-dot]

The poor thing in the road, it's eyes still glistening 17k by @eruherdiriel

Hooves are not what wake Jon in the middle of the night, pulse racing and hands clammy with sweat. It’s fire. Orange and angry, eating away at houses and shops and shacks in his dream. Even now that he is awake, Jon can still taste burnt flesh on the back of his tongue. The wounds from his brother’s mutiny and Drogon’s gouge, frozen only hours ago, burn white. War leaves everyone broken, Jon perhaps most of all. Sansa finds even peacetime requires letting go.

the sky is big enough 15k @hopetorun

The war is over, except all the ways it isn't, and Sansa isn't alone, except for all the ways she is.

O Voyagers 28k WIP

Jon’s eyes are fixed on the floor at her feet. To a stranger it might look like respect, the proper deference shown to a queen, but Sansa knows better. If he wished to look at her, he would. He has not forgiven me, she thinks, her heart a stone in her chest. He likely never will.

daughters and queens bleed alone 4k

They crown Sansa with a rope of twisted steel, two wolves arching across her brow in a delicate embrace. No stags upon this crown—no branching antlers, no gleaming manes, no blooming hearts of southern roses. No fire, no blood, no graceful sweep of scales and wings, or the silver bite of dragon’s teeth. The Queen in the North stands before them, and Winter has come.

old wounds 2k by @jonsaslove

Jon left King's Landing and never returned. Sansa became Queen in the North and weathered the storm. When they see each other again, there is not much left to say.

stories to tell our children 1k by @jonsaslove

“You said that Old Nan used to tell you stories so scary you couldn’t sleep for a fortnight! That was a baby story!” Duncan nods, agreeing with his sister. Her father interrupts. “Well, Old Nan was a very good story teller. She could tell you a story about fairies and princesses and make it seem terrifying with just her voice and a menacing stare.” Or; Jon and Sansa tell their children bedtime stories.

Where the Shadow Ends 245k (I'm sure y'all have read this one, but it is THE post canon fic, so it must be mentioned!)

For years Sansa has ruled the North, wisely, justly, capably--and utterly alone. Everyone tells her she needs an heir; all she wants is a family. But after everything she’s suffered, there’s only one man she trusts won’t use her for her claim. Only one she trusts with her body. Unfortunately, she trusts him in no other way--especially not with her heart. For years Jon’s hidden in the far north, choosing solitude over the people he loves, choosing self-exile as punishment rather than atoning. But then Tormund tires of his moping and drags Jon back to Winterfell where guilt and consequences and a tempting offer await him. accompanying gifset by @thewindsofwolves

We Set Fire in the Snow 7k by @framboise-fics

Three days was long enough for moments of tenderness, for soft touches and gentle murmurs alongside the violence of their passions, but it was not long enough to burn this fire between them down to ashes, to put out the flames, he thinks ruefully, bitterly, achingly, as he rides out and looks back at her standing on the ramparts as he remembered her, her hair a curtain of fire, her body rigid like she has been sculpted from ice. He will take that fire back North, to warm him through frigid nights, he thinks; to burn inside of him so that he shall never find any peace; and let her feel the same, he thinks, let him not be alone in his agony. If he loved her he should surely wish her peace, so does he love her? Or is this how a wicked man loves, painfully, cruelly, selfishly? Is he her punishment just as she is his?

An Affair in Stages 13k by @justadram (not tagged post canon but works as one which is interesting as the first chapter was posted way back in 2013!)

It begins with a proposition, but where it will end neither of them knows.

Please Speak Well of Me 17k

A queen isn’t supposed to cry. So she’s learned to turn her tears to frost before they ever reach her cheeks. “Sansa,” Jon says to her, and the ice within shifts, weakens. Brackish water begins to leak through the cracks. She can barely remember how to speak, and it doesn’t come as much of a comfort that he seems to be fumbling as well. Over the foolish moons, Sansa had imagined that, if the time came that Jon ever returned, the mere sight of him would unwind the tangles of conflict inside of her. There would be something in his eyes, something she had forgotten about his face, something that would remind her what was real and what was not between the two of them.

breathe me in, taste my words 2k

Much to her surprise, marriage has only made Sansa less of a lady, not more. She doesn’t mind terribly, but maybe that’s because Jon doesn’t either.

Stone by Stone 8k

Finally, her words came in a rush. “But I seem to have built my own wall. Stone by stone, little by little, after each of them disappointed me, hurt me. And now that they are dead, I sometimes fear I may die behind my wall that no one can can walk thru.”

fire in exile 2k by @princemills

The thoughts of the others he’d lost were too unpleasant, and the thoughts of those who survived made him want to keel over like a babe, knowing he’d left them behind. It wasn’t really a choice, but it didn’t stop him from pondering his choices. From King in the North to bending the knee to Daenerys to stabbing her with a dagger beneath white ash borne from burning flesh, he’s never made the correct choice, and now he’ll burn in hell for it. Or, as Westeros deems hell: he’ll freeze his balls off at the wall, or Tormund will cut them off. Whichever comes first. - a quick study of jon and the choices he makes in exile.

watch me run right back to you 16k

Three times Jon and Sansa almost kiss…and three times they actually do.

come out of hiding (i'm right here beside you) 36k @noqueenbutthequeeninthenorth

AU after 8.05. After the death of Daenerys Targaryen, Jon Snow chooses to live beyond the Wall, while Sansa Stark, the newly-crowned Queen in the North, marries a Dornish prince. Three years later, when Jon finally gathers the courage to return to Winterfell, he finds that while many things have changed, one hasn't: he's still in love with Sansa. (Featuring widow!Sansa, contrite!Jon, and a cute baby.)

Homecoming 31k @theoriginalsuki

Halfway to him, she broke composure; she flew at him, an arrow from a bow, and he opened to receive her, lifting her, clutching her to the soft, neglected animal of his body. Sansa has one request of Jon, and then he can leave her forever: help her to find a husband.

Gifsets: Jonsa and Their Three Children by @kingbuckley , Together We Build Our Empire by @aureliacamargo, Future Jonsa with Children by @amandapeetshusband, In Which They Live a Long and Happy Life Together by @baelerion, To See Him Once Again by @theirwinterfell, Maybe We'll Meet Again by @thatmansplayinggalaga

PRE CANON - WESTERN - FAIRYTALE - REGENCY - LITTLE WOMEN - HOLIDAY - SEASON 6 - ANNE OF GREEN GABLES - THE GIRL IN GREY - FREE CITIES - FAIRYTALE PART II - POLITICAL MARRIAGE - SALTY TEENS

[mychlapci]

Broody Carriers!! There's this fic on Ao3 https://archiveofourown.org/works/58022971#main (I'm on mobile so I'm not sure it'll work, it's called Brooding Brain and is a Jazz/Prowl fic.) and it scratches my brain so good. Just what I needed to add to my personal headcanons regarding carriers.

Personally, I prefer mechs laying eggs over live birth. Makes more sense in my brain and some species, like chickens, get broody when it's time to lay some eggs. Prefect to add to my egg-laying carriers. And because my favorite pairing is TFA Megop (as you might have noticed from some other asks you've gotten lately, I'm just going to refer to myself as Rozie Anon from now on) most of the word vomit I'm throwing at you is based on them.

So, Optimus is usually the one to get sparked, so I'm gonna focus on his brooding state. (Imagine this is some vague peacetime au and Megop is already established as conjunxes.)

At the beginning when he first gets sparked - once he's gotten over the shock and subsequent urge to murder his conjux - things are going pretty smoothly for the first trimester. His body is reconfiguring itself to better support the bitties and is putting on weight due to the cravings of various material. From hard metals like iron and titanium to soft, precious, metals like gold and silver. Energon prepared in different ways like extravagant, well-crafted and nutritious, 5-course meals or just the raw crystal to munch on. (I like to imagine he has a small hoard of various, common to hard-to-find, non-perishables. Gold and silver nuggets, coins, and chains, crystals either energon or otherwise, even shed armor pieces that would have normally been smelt down. It's like a little dragon hoard :3c)

His hips have widened with his growing belly and his thighs are thicker to accommodate for the shift in weight. He has the same pregnant thought process of "Oh Primus, I'm getting fat, I'm fat! My conjux is never going to want to touch me again!" Megatron has to reassure him that he's just a beautiful as before and honestly to him, he looks even more so, if that was even possible.

Second trimester comes around and Optimus is starting to get achy. He's starting to get more and more moody and, well, broody, as time goes on. He's crafted a wonderful little nest which Megatron pitched in for finding the right size frame, mattress, and buying a shit-ton of material for it. (He's a warlord, it's fine, he's got the funds to spare, anything for his wifey.) Optimus starts complaining his back and feet ache, his protoform has gotten more sensitive, and his titties are finally swelling. Megatron pulls out all the stops for him, back rubs and foot baths, massages (that often turn into back-blowing sex), milking his swollen titties, and just generally spoiling his wife rotten.

Optimus finds that it's getting harder and harder to concentrate, he's reluctant to leave the nest, and he starts getting more snippy and aggressive with anyone other than Megatron. He once snapped at Strika for something minor and then began apologizing profusely, only for her to laugh and say that she knew he didn't mean it, he's brooding and can't control himself. In fact she says Lugnut's brooding state was worse when they had their bitties. He's really more of a hissing kitten compared to Lugnut.

By the time he's in his third trimester and his due date is coming up, all his higher brain functions are shutting down quickly and his core temperature has risen. He rarely ever leaves the nest anymore and can really only get out one word answers for things like "fuel", "energon", "cuddles?", and "spark". The only time where Optimus is more or less cognizant at this point is when they're spark-merging. Spark-merging for a Carrier, especially with the sire of the sparklings, is one of the main ways to properly stabilize the sparks. It takes a lot of strain on the Carrier's spark to support the clutch (for Optimus, a clutch of five), and sharing sparks with the sire or another mech with a close relationship helps lift that stress. It's also a good bonding experience for the bitties even before they hatch.

Optimus is still getting railed and milked even while broody though. With his higher brain functions shut down, all there is left is instinct, and he's become Horny As Fuck. Being horny and broody at the same time makes him insatiable. Megatron is the only one who can properly satisfy him because he's the only one who can get close enough to him without the threat of getting mauled. He was basically getting fucked 24/7 before, but now Megatron has to tie Optimus up and set a sex machine on him so he can take a break.

Finally, his bitties are ready to be laid. The eggs are bigger than expected so it's a tight squeeze and long labor. Megatron is by his side the whole time, coxxing Optimus through the whole process with Ratchet as the mid-wife (the only other person that was able to get close to him). And once the eggs are out, Optimus immediately sets upon laying on them, all his vents open to dump as much heat as possible on them. Eggs need to be kept at a very specific temperature, which is why incubators were created, but it would take a few months before Optimus would be coherent enough to allow them to be moved to an incubator.

After those months are up and Optimus has started coming back to his senses, Megatron is able to convince him to move the eggs to the incubator. And once they're safe and secure, it doesn't take long for Optimus to regain his composure. He's still a little moody and occasionally takes an egg or two out of the incubator to place in his pouch (I like to think they also have a marsupial-esque pouch to carry the bitties while their either still in their eggs or still small enough to fit, the pouch can get up to forging temperatures for eggs), but is otherwise back to normal.

Until Megatron knock him up again.

ohhh inch resting... broody carriers are certainly fun, and i draw extreme satisfaction from imagining a tuckered out Optimus all splayed out over his precious eggs... He's all hazy and hyper-protective of his clutch, not even Megatron could tear him away from them. It's best to leave the happy little carrier alone...

[sparkplug02]

Redeemable Ares?

I know, I know. I’m suggesting it anyway.

Background: One of my teachers in high school said this to my class on the very first day of a new year: “I hate you all equally.” This piqued my interest because it broke my expectations of what most teachers tell their students, so I paid attention to him.

Two years later, I figured out what he meant by that; it was a defense mechanism. This particular teacher held all students at arms length because they would all graduate and leave, and most of them never came back around. Easier to move on if there’s not as much to move on from. He also just… isn’t a very affectionate person to begin with, but that combined with this made for one of the most guarded teachers I’ve ever had.

So my thought is that, since Uncle Rick is taking time to flesh out a few characters more and/or differently than he did in the books, maybe he’s taking a twist with Ares too.

Ares is the Greek god of war. War is not a place for kids, but they are undoubtedly hurt by it constantly despite being innocent. This applies especially demigod children, seeing as they’re constantly hunted by monsters and manipulated by the gods. If your domain is full of death and loss and suffering, ideally, you would not want to see many kids in the midst of that.

Even in peacetime, mortals also have a shorter lifespan than gods. 80 years isn’t very long if you’re immortal, and most demigods don’t live that long either. If you make deep relational bonds with people all the time, you will inevitably experience loss regularly and often. It would wear down on anyone after a while, even if there is no war to be concerned with.

My thought is that maybe Ares “hates” kids as a defense mechanism to protect his emotions and hide any vulnerability. Maybe he “hates” his kids less because they remind him of occasional moments of good he had with his partners, but all the more reason to stay away from them. He “hates” seeing kids in war.

“Look what I made!” It won’t last. “What are butterflies for?” Not for keeping you alive. “My knee hurts!” You’ll die soon. The winter solstice? How many of those kids won’t come back next year? How many of them will be offered up as sacrifices to be slaughter by the next solstice?

Ares is the god of war. It his HIS domain that kills children that don’t deserve it. Maybe he doesn’t want to see them in his domain. Maybe he doesn’t want to think about the burden of relationships he know won’t last. Maybe (in flashes of subconscious self-awareness) he thinks he is the problem. He is bad for them and he causes their deaths so any time he sees a kid, he hates that the likelihood of their death just shot up exponentially. But that’s too much to articulate concisely so he chalks it up to “I hate kids.” It’s a lot easier.

Doesn’t mean he’s not an asshole about it, but it could happen somewhere down the line. Maybe. I think it would be cool to see in later seasons. Don’t know how that would manifest, especially since Ares and Percy beef regardless of age, but you never know.

[intermundia]

in general, i think engaging with star wars from a place of realpolitik and political analysis is a fun thought exercise, especially with the canon and legends lore fleshing out the world a bit beyond lucas's archetypal story. there's a whole swath of authors who have written books and comics for adults that all take the premises of the movies seriously, the work of james luceno jumps to mind, so you can choose to dig into that lore and take it seriously as well.

the politics of the saga are related to but greatly simplified from our reality, and there is much that can be said about the way that the galaxy is designed, from george's viet cong inspired rebellion to his prequels era citizens united and bush era executive overreach. i think it's a mistake to take the jedi's role in government too seriously, as they are kind of a hand-wavy organized militia answerable to the legislative branch (and later executive during the war).

they're both a symbol of how the system works at its best and its worst. under the flourishing galactic republic, they're ideal ambassadors of peacetime diplomacy, whose arrival at a conflict resolves it using negotiation and limited force, before those conflicts sprouted into inter-system military engagement. but under sidious, they're arguably willingly misused to enforce peace on a wider scale, due to sidious's design of breaking the galaxy with a civil war.

i see many, many takes that say that the jedi should not be involved in politics at all, but i really think that's missing the point. you can take how they are being used as like a health test of the body politic, they're an epiphenomenon dependent on the republic as a whole. by the era of the prequels, they were a tool of an age that no longer existed, a more civilized one, where conflict could be resolved locally.

should they not have participated? as george has said many times, they were in a bind. would you act to save civilian lives from an invading army of droids who didn't care for or actively sought collateral damage? could you live with yourself if you had the power to help but did not? it was doomed from the beginning, they were in a trap and about to die, but is it better to fight or run away?

anyway, i got slightly off topic. engaging with star wars politically can be a fun and meaningful exercise, which even academics are not immune from the lure. here are a few articles that i enjoyed reading, if anyone is interested:

Charles, M. B. (2015). Remembering and restoring the republic: Star wars and Rome. Classical World, 108(2), 281–298. https://doi.org/10.1353/clw.2015.0014 (link) Conor Casey & David Kenny (2021): How Liberty Dies in a Galaxy Far, Far Away: Star Wars, Democratic Decay, and Weak Executives, Law & Literature, DOI: 10.1080/1535685X.2021.1991610 (link) Rackaway, C. (2020). Star Wars: The Fascism Awakens: Representation and its Failure from the Weimar Republic to the Galactic Senate. Studies in the Social Sciences, 1(1), 7-22 (link)

have at them and enjoy :)

[kell-eramis]

post onslaught/ajax analysis please

SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG I wanted to do it justice so I reread the tragedy, but basically Ajax is a figure in Greek Mythology who is present in the Trojan War and Iliad, and his titular tragedy, Ajax, originally written by Sophocles. (He’s also in Odysseus’ katabasis in the Odyssey) He’s considered the second strongest (next to Achilles), and is an extremely competent soldier.

Ajax’s tragedy takes place after a contest of who should take Achilles’ armor after his death—Menelaus and Agamemnon give it to Odysseus, the only other candidate. Ajax is incredibly angry about this, and wishes to slaughter Menelaus, Agamemnon, and Odysseus in particular. Athena clouds his vision, and he instead kills animals taken from Troy to be divided up amongst the men. Upon finding out what he has done, the other Greeks see it as a transgressive crime, and upon returning to lucidity Ajax becomes despondent, not seeing a way to live in a peaceful world after this, and kills himself.

Ultimately, Ajax’s story, and other ancient works like The Iliad, The Odyssey, and the Oresteia, represent a shift in the Athenian conscious of constant war and battle, where a person’s strength is based on their glory, to one of sophistry and wisdom, of a democracy. Figures like Ajax and Achilles die because their characters are prominent heroes, claiming great glory for themselves and their men, but that is no longer what Athens is. They cannot survive in a “peaceful” world. Odysseus, on the other hand, who represents a more “rational” and moderate perspective, makes a journey to go from the Odysseus that fights in Troy, to the Odysseus that fights for his family upon his return to Ithaca.

Now, moving on to Onslaught: Onslaught in Phase 2 (especially Till All Are One), is someone who can’t move on from the war. Whose purpose for millions of years was to fight, and he did this well! What then, is there, as she transitions from someone incredibly respected in wartime, to someone who he and his comrades are barely scraping by? Megatron has left her and her cause, Galvatron was… Galvatron, and Starscream both betrayed them and killed Swindle! Unable to cope in a peaceful world, he strives for purpose—for another war, and sets her eyes on Starscream. Where he was an excellent fighter, she is now cast to the side by the old faction leaders and the new Cybertronian leaders.

In the beginning of Till All Are One, we see Onslaught decide to refuse to ingratiate himself into the new peaceful society, choosing instead to hunt down Swindle, not for justice, but to use her to get at Starscream. To bring her Cybertron crumbling down, and find purpose in a new fight. Those who Starscream refers to as "monsters"--those who find purpose in conflict and feel lost without it, Brawl and Vortex, go along with this, and Blast Off, whose purpose isn't to fight, who has been trying to help the others persist in this society without Swindle, is the only one reluctant to do so. He knows Onslaught 1. needs a purpose 2. gets fixated on a conflict/an enemy and 3. is lost during peace time.

This focus, exacerbated by anti Starscream protests and Rattrap's leaks, culminates in Onslaught and the other Combaticons combining into Bruticus, with one goal: to burn everything. This is seen as a transgressive act of violence, to figures such as Blast Off's peers from Ironhide's new security program, and to colonists, who've for the most part only known peace. This is a similar act to Ajax's slaughter of the animal trophies from Troy. Both Iacon and the animals are the results of the fighting both Ajax and Onslaught did, and excelled in, but as a transition to peace occurs in both settings, Ajax and Onslaught, unable to cope with being left behind by it, destroy those results, or try to. Everyone is horrified by it, further pushing these characters away, so they can't adjust to peacetime.

Afterwards, Starscream, who also can't adjust to peace time and is looking for any form of power to hold onto in case war happens once again (whether it be with one of the colonies, or Optimus, or Decepticons, or Sentinel Prime, or Unicron), (remind me to talk about this also at some point) convinces Blast Off to help deceive the other Combaticons to be loyal to her. Blast Off does this to help Onslaught not destroy himself in pursuit of conflict and vengeance, but Starscream is once more using Onslaught as a soldier. And ultimately, at the end of Till All Are One, once Starscream confesses to his crimes, Onslaught and the other Combaticons are also sent to jail, and aren't mentioned again, left behind because they no longer served as soldiers.

I personally like to think that 1. they survive through Unicron 2. they are able to live better lives post Unicron, and 3. Blast Off and the other Combaticons (including Onslaught) do make up (I still need to read Escape Velocity...). I don't think any of this is easy, but to me phase 2 is about hope, about being able to embrace the peace they were all fighting for, and find their place in and with each other, especially as Onslaught and the others have their gestalt bond. This doesn't take away from the fact that Onslaught, to me, is very Ajax-coded, but rather that he, through people like Blast Off and the other Combaticons, are able to be given the chances and the love that someone like Ajax didn't have, having dishonored himself in a world that he saw as still prioritizing honor and glory above everything.

[dailyadventureprompts]

Adventure: Do no Harm

Gangs of brigands attacking along the trade roads in a series of bloody, near suicidal raids. An increasing spree of violent incidents in town that seem to be spreading like a sickness. Folk in their feverbeds rambling about a war out of time. These seemingly unrelated incidents are the violent signs that have been laid before Prior Rupak, healer and priest of Pelor, who sees them as the prelude to a far greater evil. The good healer cannot treat the victims and investigate the cause of their suffering at the same time, and so seeks allies to help stem the tide of blood before it pours over into the streets.

Hooks:

The party may first encounter Rupak after seeking out his infirmary, usually open to all by grace of the dawnfather’s altruism but recently closed off so that the priest and his acolytes can triage an ever mounting number of injured. Ushered in to receive treatment in payment for their aid, the party is briefed on the strange occurrences in town and sent on their way. Alternatively, should their reputation be great enough, Rupak may send a runner to ask for the party by name.

Merchants are always wary of bandits on the road, but this latest swath of reckless attacks has them especially worried, shilling out good coin for caravan guards that may get the party to tag along. Gossip by the watchfires says that the attacks are originating from a tumbledown old fortress out in the countryside, though why any self-respecting brigand would choose to lair in that haunted place is anyone’s guess.

Untangling the different attacks in town leads the party through a gauntlet of civil strife: lovers’ spats, disagreements in the market, tavernbrawls, all turned bloody and in some cases lethal. Investigating the matter reveals that each perpetrator was at one point a victim, all still bearing a fevered and borderline infected wound (if only a scratch) from a previous altercation

Background: The origin of all this chaos is a dark spirit known as “I Bear Thee Unto Glory”, a demon of war that sustains itself by sowing confusion and suffering during peacetime. Weapons touched by Unto-Glory’s influence grant their bearers the manic strength of dying warriors, even as their minds and the metal they hold begin to corrode. That corrosion is the key, as each cursed weapon leaves behind tiny slivers of demonic rust in their victim, leaving their body and mind to fester with fever and anger until they too lash out, passing the curse to another.

Tracking the infection all the way back we’re left with the brigands, a group of desperate foreign soldiers making an unwitting deal with Unto-Glory which drives them to attack the caravans. These attacks are repulsed, but the guards and drivers who survived with only minor injuries became carriers, getting into town just in time to start a tavernbrawl, lashing out at the townsfolk with their now rusted weapons. If you wanted to sow a few clues into the party’s investigation, mention how the weapons seized by the constables in the different incidents are all varying levels of corroded, or how the tavernkeeper had to replace a whole bevy of cutlery all of a sudden as a good portion of their knives, forks, and even soup ladle were suddenly rusted through. 

All of this comes to a head when the party report back to Rupak only to watch as he’s stabbed near lethally by one of his patients. Strengthened by an unholy fever, the formerly bedridden attacker brandishes a rusty scalpel and rants as Unto-Glory’s presence overwhelms them, speaking of the slaughter that is to come once the good doctor and the heroes too join them in the bloodbath. The violence will spiral out of control until the army is called to do something about it and likewise join the dance. Infection and bedlam will spread across the countryside until war is inevitable, and Unto Glory will ride at the head of it awful and resplendent.

With the realm at risk and their greatest ally now at risk of succumbing to the curse, something must be done. A risky summoning in the hopes of binding the fiend perhaps? Seeking some blessing or answer of the dawnfather? Regardless, the party must act fast... there’s a very good chance that they too have received a rust-cursed wound in their numerous scuffles, and its only a matter of time before they succumb aswell.

[reallylilyreally]

Hi! Could you share more about the 100th being for better or worse for Bucky -⭐️[“Douglass is over there by the big drapes,” he says, very quietly. “You give me the nod and I'll give him the signal and he'll set them on fire.”] how many plans do they have? When did they plan?

& ⭐️[Alright,” he says when he gets in the car. “How bad is it and is there any sort of plan in place?”] how hard did bucky and jack hug when he came back? Did bucky cry when they switched jackets again? Jack my beloved, so competent but so not ready for *all this*, in a way he also might've felt that he was in someone's else shoes, and so alone after losing so many of the original boys.

Am so in love with second string universe; thank you for sharing and giving us more about the boys and especially brady! 😍

Sorry this took me so long to get to, anon, curse life and responsibilities and shit.

1 - the 100th being for better or worse for Bucky.

So to start with I think it's v important to clarify that they are like this for both of them, it's not just Bucky, the bunch of them are 100% ride or die for both Majors. In the scene you mention it looks mostly like they're worried about Bucky, and to be fair that's a reasonable response for them because he's the one who would show outwards signs of falling apart, BUT the concern is for the two of them as a pair. You go through a whole war watching your twin leaders live in each other's pockets, hold each other up, hold each other back, ground and inspire each other, work as a perfect team, and youre not stupid, you can read between the lines, you can see that there is a depth of love there that is unparalleled. And you probably catch them at it once or twice, or nearly do. They are VITAL to each other, and then they come home and one of them marries someone else. It's going to feel like a bit of a gutpunch to your world view. I alluded to this in the call between B&B after Brady gets the wedding invite, the idea that something so important wouldn't last in peacetime. I think that's what's driving the concern from the 100th really, as well as concern that the marriage might be a mistake.

RE plans, there were probably So Many. This one was probably whittled down from a long list in the small hours of the morning over a LOT of whiskey after Douglass left some poor girl alone in bed, and it was probably carefully selected to have maximum impact and minimal damage. Bet you anything you like there were at least two other men involved with fire extinguishers. Bet you anything you like one of them is Blakely.

Sidebar - I have this rogue idea that the men who weren't in the Stalag sometimes see the POWs after the war and feel a little regretful at the way the bond has changed and the fact that they're now really two groups rather than just one 100th.

2 - Jack and Bucky's reunion

I firmly believe that when Buck returned to England first, and alone, Jack Kidd shook his hand and slapped him on the back and said welcome home etc etc and then went off into a supply closet somewhere quiet and lost his god damn mind.

I cannot even begin to imagine the depths of the grief that he would have gone through, in the war. Over and over again. Boys go up, boys go down. Counting forts over the horizon, never a high enough number. Nagging about bedsheets and babysitting batshit group navigators, never getting to fly and watching all his friends die. Being the person in charge of all that. Fucking terrible.

I know fandom generally has Jack give Buck the sheepskin when he gets back, but I agree with your implication, and I'm inclined to believe he kept it. I don't think he wore it once, I think he put it on the back of his office chair the day of Munster and didn't touch it until he got the call to go meet Bucky et al on the hardstand during Gale's milkrun with Rosie. And then I think he put it on, with the intention of meeting Bucky off the plane and demanding to swap back. He hands Bucky his sheepskin, and asks for his coat in return, and when Bucky hands him the disgusting filthy probably lice-ridden jacket he's been wearing for the last 18m, Jack takes it, and tells him very kindly that he is never ever putting this on his body and that he appreciates the gesture but it's going in the incinerator. And then he asks Bucky if he wants to go up to the tower, because in half an hour someone's gonna need to give his better half some landing instructions.

Thank you SO much for this ask. There's more second string in the pipeline.

[drarryspecificrecs]

2022.10 ~ Top 7 longest fics posted on AO3

1. How It Haunts Me by @everything-a-wolf-could-want [E, 125k]

►When Harry escapes from Malfoy Manor and takes the rest of Voldemort's prisoners with him, the Dark Lord isn't pleased...and it's Draco who is punished for it. After more than a month of imprisonment and abuse at Voldemort's hands, the Dark Lord finally falls, leaving Draco broken and unstable. To avoid Azkaban, Draco must complete his final year at Hogwarts, and there's no way he can manage it without help. // Harry has no desire to be anyone's master; especially not Draco Malfoy. But he owes both Narcissa and Draco a hefty debt and this may be the only way to repay them. Besides, all he has to do is get Draco through the school year... right?

2. Sublimation (I Can’t Contain This Anymore) by @boldlyinnocent317 [E, 75k]

►Just another eighth year tale where Harry is obsessed in more ways than before, Hermione doesn’t know it all for once but Ron does and so does everyone else truth be told, Blaise is too fucking cryptic and Draco just wants to be alone and smoke his cigarettes in peace. Besides, it’s all Ginny’s fault, of course. Maybe Pansy can sort that out or... make it worse?

3. What We'd Rather Leave Forgotten by @robinbuckllly [E, 72k]

►[...] “Is there some other element of my service that was unsatisfactory for you?” Draco asked, rather hostilely. “Or were you just planning on standing there for a while, continuing to make irrelevant points?”

4. Ocean Man by @steampunkserpent27 [M, 64k]

►A young Harry Potter joins a crew of pirates, hoping to find adventure and a new life, but instead finds an injured Draco hiding away on the ship. Mermaid scales hold a very high monetary value, meaning they are killed on sight by all pirates. Harry just can't figure out how Draco got onto the ship or what is wrong with him, he certainly acts strange. Now faced with a difficult choice, he will have to decide who he really wants to be.

5. Life at Victoria Road five by @fanarthasmyheart [T, 64k]

►With nowhere else to go, a washed-up Harry Potter crashes on Draco Malfoy’s couch, disrupting the domestic life at this fresh dad’s two-bedroom, Muggle walk-up. From his spot on the couch, Harry watches Draco navigate the wonders of fatherhood. Draco, meanwhile, struggles to understand his urge to take care of his former enemy (it must be the paternal instinct).

6. Beyond the Garden by kateliz [M, 63k, series]

►Draco, Harry, and the gang are settling into their Eighth Year of Hogwarts, trying to overcome the trials of the past years and forge ahead into the future. Draco is wrestling with his wolf-side as Harry struggles to find out who he wants to be, not without needing to contend with some newfound abilities. Draco and Harry work to navigate peacetime, but not before having to confront some ghosts of the past.

7. too bad by @alaniarampigkonia [M, 43k, series]

►Deneb Malfoy and her friends return to Hogwarts for their eight year, hoping to put their past behind them. The problem comes when old feelings resurface and new ones emerge. None of them are going to experience the calm year they so desperately want. /// Or, the year Hanna Potter and her friends become the catalyst for new beginnings.

※ HONOURABLE MENTIONS :

8. Mountain Sound by @steampunkserpent27 [M, 51k]

►Harry is a vampire in a world where vampires have been nearly hunted to extinction. He is on the run, constantly hiding from hunters and looking for the next place to hunker down. He's on the edge of his rope, when he runs into a nervous boy named Draco, who is terrified of vampires. Draco being lonely himself and thinking Harry is human, invites him to stay while his father is away.

—

※ Word count: 1k ~ 15k

※ Word count: 15k ~ 40k

Because I Knew You (I Have Been Changed For Good) by DracoWillHearAboutThis [T, 23k]

The Bleeding Bite by THE_Machine [M, 18k]

Draco Malfoy's Most Inconvenient Client Yet by greenflowerpot [M, 17k]

Expectations by MrsRupertGrint1769 [E, 33k]

Fake Pretend by suhtmuikkis [T, 28k]

Haunting Perfect by Elisedeluxe [T, 30k]

Pirates, Princes, & Something More by yinysol [E, 33k]

Terms of Endearment by charlie_weasleys_gf [T, 15k]

Travelling Into Your Arms by @tink-wondering [E, 17k]

—

Ongoing Fest/Exchange

※ Fics would be listed elsewhere.

2022 Harry/Draco Food Fair | @hd-fan-fair

Fanatical Fam's Harryween Writing Comp 2022

[thechaoticfanartist]

Writer 20 Questions

Thank you for the tag @ninjasawakenedmystar !!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

83

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

278,714. TCWGANV definitely takes the bulk of that.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Mainly Star Wars but I have written a few Undertale fics as well.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

1) The Clone Wars Gets A New Victim

2) our last goodbye

3) i changed to save you (but i was too late)

4) quiet fire

5) The Red Scarf

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try my best too but sometimes I get just overwhelmed with happiness and can't figure out a way to word a response.

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Without going through all my fics I just want to say TCWGANV because it hasn't failed to make me cry and I wrote the ending to it almost two years ago now. However the ending is probably a lot more bittersweet than angsty. So it would probably be one will die (before he gets there)

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

A Happy Ending For Everyone (Except Palpatine)

Which is an old fic but I barely write happy stories 😅

8. Do you get hate on your fic?

Yes. I've gotten hate for TCWGANV and our last goodbye. Most of the hate goes for TCWGANV though, which is especially aimed at Grim. Who has of course, gotten hate outside of my fics with her.

9. Do you write smut?

No.

10. Do you write crossovers?

I have a couple Star Wars x Undertale crossover fics. I actually recently decided to redo the entire AU awhile ago but never finished the concept art for it. Here's my togruta Toriel design for this AU actually:

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of fortunately.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No I haven't. It would be cool if someone did translate one of my fics though.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic?

I have not, and although it could be interesting, I think I'd end up getting stuck with how I saw the story going.

14. What‘s your all-time favourite ship?

I'm not going to lie probably grimsoka.

15. What’s the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

That's actually probably a good portion of my WIPs. Soldier In Peacetimes was an interesting Time Travel AU though that could have a nice ending if I ever got back to it.

16. What’s your writing strengths?

Definitely dialogue! Although I would also say probably just scenes that really dive into a character's emotional pain as well. I love hurting my blorbos <3

17. What’s your writing weaknesses?

Describing what a character looks like. I know I don't have to do that for the majority of canon characters but I rarely, if ever, describe what Grim looks like 😭

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I think it depends on the fic tbh. I haven't really done this before. Except now I'm struggling in ALATL because of the beginning of Return Of The Jedi and all the huttese.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Undertale! (Although this was before I had A03)

20. Favourite fic you’ve ever written?

The Clone Wars Gets A New Victim. I think it's always going to have a special place in my heart. It's my longest fic and was the first time I really finished a multichapter story. I don't think even As Long As There's Light is going to replace TCWGANV in my heart.

I'm tagging: @jedi-valjean @jgvfhl @shrinkthisviolet @veradragonjedi @darth-caillic and anyone else who wants to do this!

[dcggersedge]

“I hope you aren’t tired of receiving sharp, pointy objects as gifts yet,” Alear begins in jest, armed with a lightly wrapped box when he drops by during a lull in activities. Albeit intended for general use rather than for combat, the knife set inside is of high quality, accompanied by a text on weapons mostly foreign to Elyos he’d thought she might like to read after glimpsing it amidst a bookseller’s wares the other day. Peacetime ideally means less of a need for fighting, after all, though it doesn’t necessarily mean one can’t still appreciate a fancy dagger or two down the road if the opportunity arises. Especially if there are any she hasn’t seen before, but he’ll save that idea for another time.

All that said, the knives he’s giving her are sharp enough to cut, well, just about anything she wants to cut. People or monsters included if it comes down to it. But he thinks it’d be nicer if all they end up being used for is cutting fruit or something instead, like that one game he’s seen others play every now and then. “Either way, happy birthday, Yunaka! I’m glad to get to celebrate it in person. This is for you— I hope you’ll enjoy them both.”

(He hopes he’ll get to wish her more birthdays like this one, too.)

"As if! You know they made me hand over most of my fancy daggers when I got here? They gave me an iron sword and said I would have to "claim" them back, like hopping over to a new continent somehow made me forget how to throw a knife or something!"

Yunaka crosses her arms and huffs, but any annoyance at the monastery's strange concepts is lost in the face of another gift. This was like, a record or something! And from the Divine One himself? There'd probably be a crowd of incredibly jealous people if they knew.

The knives in question are nice, but not made for combat. Still, Yunaka runs her thumb along the edge and lets out a low whistle. Sharp. Perfectly usable in a worst case situation, though they were definitely intended for kitchen use more than anything. "I should warn you before you try and send me back to cooking duty that I have not improved! Like, at all!"

The book is, admittedly, way more exciting. She can't wait to tear through it and see what new secrets are in store. Yunaka giggles excitedly as she flips through the pages.

"Thanks, Alear! Seriously, this is the best." She flashes him a wide smile. "Just you wait, when your birthday comes around I'll find you something just as splendiferrific, and it'll knock your socks clean off!"

That was a while from now, if she remembered right. She'd...just have to get comfy and stay. For his sake, of course.

[raisinchallah]

you know i also feel like the reluctance to define the world as too different from our world and therefore fall too heavily into "sci fi bullshit" that might put off certain viewers or seem to silly i feel like um it feels very empty and the characters lives and motivations feel extremely unclear you know like there is no picture of what the military looked like before the second war was it a small peacetime contingent that people didnt really take seriously was this a military always working under the assumption of perpetual war were there wars between the different planets how are characters such good fighter pilots when based on their age and the fact the galactica was being decommissioned at the beginning of the series all seem to point to like these being people who never saw a combat situation in their lives before the cylon attack the prison ship seems quite brutal idk both the way the characters treat every situation like a norm and the expectation of the sparse worldbuilding to simply substitute in your understanding of modern day this or that idk often feels like these characters just sorta popped out of thin air they have no connections nobody is sad about a loved one they lost they have no connections to civilian life but military life also feels ill defined idk its like nobody really feels real.. its especially aggravating cuz i do feel like they did a pretty good job of giving you a good drip feed of info and environmental storytelling for the like decommissioning of galactica and how unprepared anyone was for the cylon attack in the miniseries but idk that then seems to not really have carried over or been extrapolated upon idk its just very strange... like the sheer amount of energy and emotion devoted to son/brother/fiance who died in a crash a few years ago seems insane compared to like everyone on the entire fucking ship has currently experienced magnitudes more losses and nobody is batting an eye???? its like everyone popped out of thin air no connections no interweaving with the reality of this world so the world itself feels fake

[morsrattus]

Pentan Cultural Overview: Warfare

The Pentans divide war into categories, as they tend to do with most things. The default condition between two groups is peace. Peace is a status that requires nothing to maintain, and in peacetime, that does not mean no conflict happens.

A tribe is permitted to engage in raiding against groups they are at peace with. Raiders are not supposed to kill their targets, and especially are not allowed to kill anyone that is not a warrior. They may steal livestock, treasures or goods, but are expected to leave food stores alone. (This is ignored in times of great desperation, but food theft during peacetime is illegal and can be prosecuted to earn a repayment in goods or livestock.) Destruction of property such as yurts is not allowed. If raiders do kill a warrior, their victim's family may demand recompense legally, though it is not considered a murder. Mercenaries may not be hired for raids or attacks against tribes a tribe is at peace with, and it is illegal to take captives on raids.

There are categories both more and less combative than peace, however. Alliance is the state more peaceful than peace - tribes in an alliance are not permitted to raid each other under Pentan law, and if they do, the raiders can be prosecuted as criminals, typically for theft and assault - but also for murder, if anyone dies during the raid, even other warriors.

Enmity

In the other direction, a tribe may declare enmity against another tribe. This is a form of minor warfare. Tribes in enmity with each other may raid each other freely and owe no recompense for killing warriors, though they are still not permitted to harm noncombatants. Food theft in raids is legal, as is property destruction, though it remains illegal to destroy shrines or temples. The use of mercenaries is permitted in a limited capacity, but only as support rather than as a main force. All tribes are considered to be in a state of enmity against all trolls, barring rare and specific exceptions in which peace has formally been made with specific troll groups.

Likewise, enmity is considered to exist by default against outsider nations such as the Kralori and the Lunars, barring specific negotiations of peace. Trade is permitted with groups in enmity, but only with direct permission from one's tribal khan. Warriors may be taken as captives, but cannot be enslaved, only ransomed. It is not permitted to attack during certain periods, notably various holidays and festival periods. Enmity can be declared with a simple message, and it is forbidden to harm messengers during enmity.

War

Full war lessens many of these restrictions. In war, attacks can come at any time, even festivals. Captives may be enslaved as well as ransomed. While it is still illegal to kill or enslave noncombatants, they may be taken as captives for ransom. It is permitted to destroy shrines or temples, save for those of Yu-Kargzant, which are sacrosanct. Conquest and the binding of enemies by treaties of tribute and obedience are permitted, as well. War must be formally declared by a diplomatic envoy, with a season's grace period before the war begins.

Formal envoys cannot be harmed during the war, but may bear no weapons in the enemy camp or court. Any messengers sent are also sacrosanct so long as they are unarmed. All Pentans are considered to be at war against the forces of Chaos and Winter. In theory, specific exceptions could be negotiated, but in practice, this does not happen. Mercenaries may be used freely.

The Burning

The worst form of war is known as the Burning. It is almost never declared, for it requires swearing an oath to Yu-Kargzant before a Pure Horse high priest, in the presence of the enemy or an envoy of the enemy. The khan declaring the Burning swears to see the end of their enemy in total, the oblivion of all they are. The enemy (or their envoy) must then be permitted to leave peacefully, and a grace period of one season is given before the Burning begins. During this grace period, even if war had been in place prior, no attacks may occur.

The Burning is declared against a specific enemy leader, rather than a tribe, but applies to all of that leader's followers while they still live. Peace cannot be made until the Burning's target is dead, and while the Burning is in place, it is permitted to kill anyone that follows that target, though recompense is owed for the deaths of noncombatants. Once the Burning's target is dead, a state of war is considered to exist with their people until negotiations occur to bring peace.

Note that breaking the rules of war does happen - particularly by tribes that maintain Hatred Bird Tricksters, who care nothing for the law.

[runawaycarouselhorse]

Hello,

How do you do ? I hope to be in a good condition.

This is my special campaign

We hope to help us by donating or sharing to others.

Every donation makes a different even if it a small.

As you know, the war began on October 7 and lasted ten months. During this period, we were unable to obtain food, drink, or treatment because we did not have money.

There is no source of income for the family at the present time, so we are unable to buy food, clean water, and medicine, especially after we are afflicted with the ongoing infectious diseases spread in the north like Hepatitis C disease.

Our house has been damaged a lot since the beginning of the war. We are from the north of Gaza and we are still in the north and have not displaced to the south. We displaced 10 times from place to another seeking to safety .

We hope for your help and support, even if only a little.

This is the link if you would to read our story well 👇👇

https://gofund.me/4e896ac1

Thank you all

Please unite this mother and her three sweet babies (one in first grade—he didn't get to graduate—one a kindergartener who doesn't know the kindergarten that was his only safe space was bombed—and one still a baby who never saw a day of peacetime) with her husband (who left before the Rafah border closed)!

There are still so very few donations! Only €2,059 at time of writing. If all of you who can pitch in even a small amount, it will make a big difference eventually!

[luxmaeastra]

Temeluchus walked briskly up the stairs. He wore his medals for the occasion, to think Azriel would ask him to train his sons, he thought he'd never see the day.

Temeluchus had served with him in the Valg Wars 300 years ago. He remembered thinking less of him in the beginning, how he kept to his morals and ways. How he would never survive in the lands of Doranelle and the Mountains surrounding it.

His opinion had changed quickly, Azriel was quiet but just as deadly as his parents and family. Temeluchus was proud to see how far his old friend had come, especially when he had once scoffed at power and everything it could offer.

The High King of the Valg, the entirety of Hel and it's princes under his sway. Temeluchus still hated he'd missed that battle between Hypaxia and Anastasiya. But Micah had been poisoned and if something had happened to her...

He shoved the memories aside as he saw Azriel waiting for him. His sons stood at his side, they looked like him. Though they didn't carry the shadows he and Azriel had at their age.

Temeluchus slid his eyes to Azriel and inclined his head low. His Reaper Blades winked in the afternoon sun. Blades forged from the bone of Daglan and the ashes of Reapers. Blades that were rumored to kill anything and devour their soul.

But his blades had been satiated in this long stretch of peacetime. He wondered if it would last, but then that was why he was here wasn't he? If it didn't, well then at least the next generation would be prepared.

Azriel's lips twitched and he rose an eyebrow.

"Are we waiting for someone else?"

"Hypaxia trusts me to train her boys?"

Azriel tilted his head turning on his heel to walk into the training yard. Temeluchus rolled his pale blue eyes following behind him. He recognized a power play when he saw one.

He may be sworn to Drakon, the strongest of the Valg Kings. But even he was subject to Hypaxia and Azriel's control. He had counted the soldiers and the wards in the halls as he'd been guided here. He knew exactly how it would end if he provoked Azriel enough to be attacked.

He may be merciful but the soldiers here would not. Hypaxia had earned her people's loyalty and fear fairly. None would stand for her mate to be disrespected in his own kingdom.

Azriel sat on the ledge of a window looking over the training room. It was a big, sandy and enclosed by the four stone walls. It must have been for the royal family, deep within the castle to protect them.

Azriel gestured for him to inspect it as he wished it.

"You won't be training our boys alone, obviously. I trust you train them with supervision."

"I'm not that violent to hurt children Azriel."

He stood stepping away from a corner mark he'd been dissecting. Azriel rose another eyebrow at him from his perch.

"Do I need to remind you about the war and that house?"

"Daglan house, they deserved everything I did to them."

Temeluchus turned to the boys, quietly amused to see Creon had moved between his younger brother and him.

"Your Grace I won't hurt your brother. You must let him train too."

Creon raised his chin, his hand didn't move from Orion's shoulder. His eyes were green like his mother's.

"I'll train with you, if you please me you may train with my brother as well. You may begin whenever you wish."

Temeluchus lips curved into a smile. He shot Azriel a look whose eyes sparkled as he watched in pride. Of course their children wouldn't have been coddled, Azriel and Hypaxia had too much riding on them to blunt their teeth and claws.

Temeluchus turned back to Creon and gave a nod. He stepped back and pointed to the armory in the corner.

"What would like to work on first Your Grace?"

It was ridiculous to call the boy anything but his name. But politics trumped his own thinking. Creon shot him an unimpressed look.

"Do you not have any ideas? Do I have to figure out my own lessons too? Father why did you hire him to train us? He doesn't know anything!"

Temeluchus exhaled, focusing on his breathing. This wasn't Drakon's court or children. He couldn't discipline them the same way he would have them. But he could fantasize about it. Knock the price to his knees, a blade at his throat till he Yielded and realized exactly who he was talking to.

//Pre war!!!!//

This was a two-way means of entertainment, if Temeluchus had not figured that out at this time. As much as he trusted and knew his old friend would train his boys, he was also interested to see if he could handle them. They both were strong-willed, Creon much more vocal and opinionated than his brother.

Both were fine fighters, but they needed refining and honing of their skills. Just as Temeluchus needed more experience outside of Drakon's court, deal with someone who you could not knock down with brute force so easily.

Azriel's lips quirked when Creon spoke back, he watched the scene unfold waiting to see how it played out. Waiting to see how the other would react, watching that attempt to focus his breathing. There was a reason why they were not as easy to get on with he supposed...

"Rethinking training them yet?" He spoke up.