#forms a government without them (eventually)

[astrakim]

Marked by the Stars

[Preview 2]

>Genre: Soulmate AU ・ Fantasy AU ・ Slow Burn ・ Angst with Comfort ・ Fluff ・ Romance ・ Lowkey Mutual Pining ・ Emotional Growth

>Summary: Jungwon is dying—and he doesn’t even know who touched him.

Y/N is falling apart too, unaware that her soulmate bond has been activated.

A golden bruise marks them both.

Now they must stay close to survive.

But every touch feels too good— and every glance feels like falling.

Is it just the bond keeping them alive? Or something deeper pulling them in?

>Warning: Soulmate dependency (life-threatening), Emotional vulnerability, Heavy skinship/romantic tension, Fluff, angst, and slow-burn intimacy, , More to be added. (Its not yet completed)

Likes and Reblogs are really appreciated!

In a world much like our own, destiny carved a different path for human connection—a force so potent it transcended logic, time, and even life itself. Here, the concept of soulmates wasn’t a dreamy idea or a romantic myth—it was a biological necessity, an unshakable law of nature.

Everyone was born with the potential for a soulmate. Not all bonds were activated. Most lived ordinary lives never knowing who their other half might be. But for the rare few—when fate decided it was time—a single touch would ignite everything.

The first touch.

A brush of fingers in a crowd. A bump of shoulders on a rainy day. A moment so brief it would be forgotten—except for the golden bruise that bloomed on their skin like a seal of fate. That bruise wasn’t just a mark. It was the beginning of a dependency so profound it could unmake a person.

Because from that moment on, touch was no longer optional.

It became survival.

They said soulmates were Marked by the Stars—but the stars didn’t always lead you kindly.

Soulmate bonds, once activated, turned into a lifeline. Physical connection—skin to skin, however brief—was required. At first, missing a few hours without their bonded one left people restless, anxious. But as time went on—days without touch, without presence—the body began to deteriorate. Muscle pain. Headaches. Vomiting. Weakness. Paralysis.

Eventually, death.

Exactly like a person deprived of food or water, the bonded soul began to die.

Three-quarters of bonded pairs managed to find each other in time. Some were already close, friends or lovers who didn’t realize they were meant to be. Some were strangers who bumped into each other once and spent the next few days chasing that golden mark, frantic and desperate. For them, fate was merciful.

But one in four never made it.

They wandered the world weak, disoriented, desperate—and died waiting for a touch that never came.

Governments responded. Identification systems were created to detect the golden soulmate mark. Hospitals became first responders to bond-activation symptoms. Major corporations and entertainment industries, where employees traveled often, formed emergency soulmate task forces to avoid losing precious lives.

Even then, the losses mounted.

Because knowing your other half existed and not having them was the cruelest pain of all.

The soul didn’t just crave.

It demanded.

And if denied, it decayed.

For some, the bond was beautiful. Euphoric. They described a simple touch sending waves of pleasure through their body—soothing, warm, addictive. For others, it was overwhelming. They hated how vulnerable it made them feel. How dependent. How exposed.

Because once the bond was made, the other person became everything.

Not just a lover or a partner.

But sustenance. Air. Blood.

And that was the world they lived in now. A world where falling in love wasn’t a choice.

It was written into skin and nerve endings.

It was fated.

And fate could be beautiful.

Or it could burn.

And that was the world we lived in when we found Jungwon dying.

—-----------------------𐙚˙⋆.˚ ᡣ𐭩—----------------------

🛏️: DM or comment to get in the taglist of the fic!

P.S:Lovee you all byeeee!!

A/n: It will be uploaded next week guyss pinky promise... This was supposed to be uploaded this week but your girl caught Covid guyss!! And she was literally dying this week so had to postpone it :( But I pinky promise I will upload this week.

[black-water-simping-ships]

*wakes up* hm. *opens teletext* *blazing red oversized letters inform me trump has won* don't like that.

[inky-duchess]

Fantasy Guide to Political Structures

A Horse! A Horse! My X for a Horse!

Let's be honest, fantasy authors love their kingdoms and empires. You can throw a rock in a bookshop or a library in the fantasy section and you will 99.99999% hit a fantasy book that will be set in or mention either of those structures. But what are they really? What's the difference between them all? Are there any more examples of structures that would suit your WIP better? Are you using the right terms? Let's have a closer look.

Duchy

A Duchy is a small territory ruled by a Duke/Duchess. While Duchies can be found in kingdoms, some duchies were sovereign states in their own right. Duchies are usually small by land mass but some duchies such as Burgundy were extremely powerful and influential. Independent Duchies were usually apart of a kingdom but grew so powerful that they eventually broke away to become a sovereign state in their own right. An example would be modern day Luxembourg, historic Milan and Burgundy.

Principality

A principality is territory ruled by a Prince/Princess. A principality is typically smaller than a kingdom and in some instances, can be apart of a larger kingdom or be a sovereign state. Principalities have a history of having broken away from a larger kingdom or eventually becoming apart of a kingdom. A principality within a kingdom is ruled by a Prince/Princess, usually an heir of the monarch and can be used to train them up to assume the throne in the future. Examples include Monaco, Liechtenstein and Andorra.

Kingdom

A sovereign state/country that is ruled by ruling King or a Queen. A kingdom is much larger and more powerful than a principality. Kingdoms can be feudal, meaning they are ruled in a strict hierarchy or an autocracy where the monarch rules alone with minimal input from the government or constitutional where the monarch is more of a figurehead and the government has a good chunk of control. Examples include England, Thailand and modern day Spain.

Commonwealth

A Commonwealth isn't a popular choice in fantasy but it is an interesting structure. A Commonwealth in its most basic form is a collection of states that are linked by either a shared culture or history. A Commonwealth can be a politically power or an economic power, with every state allowed to participate as much as they like. Not one state leads the others, it is all one group of equals. A Commonwealth can be a good idea for a group of nations that are more powerful together with them keeping their own independence.

Federation

A Federation is a political structure that is made up of united states or countries that are under a single government but each state is still independent and rules itself. Each state can have different laws, different cultures and economies but they all answer to the single government. Examples include the United States of America.

Republic

A Republic is a territory that is ruled by leaders and heads of state that have been elected on merit and by choice of the people. Republics are not just countries but can also be much smaller areas such as cities. Republics are democratic in nature, with the people having a say in who leads them in accordance to a constitution. There are many kinds of Republic: presidential, parliamentary, federal, theocratic, unitary. Examples of Republics include the Republic of Ireland and the city of Florence.

Protectorate

A Protectorate is a country/region/territory that is independent but relies on a larger, more powerful state for protection either in a military or diplomatic sense. A Protectorate was often used by Empires in order to maintain control over an area without annexing it. There are many reasons a larger state and the protectorate would agree to this, mainly the protectorate is much smaller meaning it is far more vulnerable to attack or it has very little power when compared to other states. A Protectorate allows the territory some power to rule itself but the larger state may feel the need or desire to interfere in the dealings of the territory. Examples of protectorates include the client kingdoms of the Roman Empire like Egypt before its annexation and Puerto Rico.

Empire

An Empire is a collection of nations that are united under one sovereign head of state or government. An Empire is formed by one nation steadily taking control of other nations, either through straight invasion and colonization or acquiring them through marriage and other less violent ways. An Empire is powerful mainly because it can drum up more resources, more influence and more military power. An Empire might impose the traditions, beliefs and culture of its principal nation - the nation that started it all - onto its colonies for better control and feeling of uniformity. Empires never last, that is something to always remember. Empires will eventually fragment due to the vast size and sometimes revolt among the conquered states. Examples of empires include the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the Ottoman Empire.

[bet-on-me-13]

What Happened to GIW Site-13

So! One day, in the middle of a random field in Illinois, there is a Spacial Anomaly that is picked up by the Watchtower's Sensors.

They send a team to investigate, and find a strange facility having suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The Terrain around the Facility seems displaced, like it was dragged along by whatever dropped the Facility there, but the Flora around the Facility matched its surroundings so it couldn't have come from too far away? Where did it come from?

The Justice League doesn't pay too much mind to it at first, busy dealing with their usual mess of problems to do more than contact the local government and send a few Heroes to help with the investigation. It didn't seem to be an active threat at the moment, so sending a few superpowered Heroes are a precaution was seen as a good enough response for the time.

When the first Expedition Team went missing, they took a bigger interest.

They made contact with the Agency that was leading the investigation, a smaller agency known as the GIW that was focused on studying Supernatural Anomalies. They usually wouldn't have been the first choice, given their niche focus, but this was a special circumstance.

The Facility that had been discovered both markings stating that it was "GIW Research Site 13", however the Records they had stated that this Facility was never actually built. There were Plans to build it, but the Agency was hit with Budget Cuts after they failed to provide adequate evidence of the Supernatural, and it was scrapped. They had no explanation for how a Facility that never existed suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

They decided to send in another Team as Investigation and Rescue, this time equipped with the latest technology they GIW had developed called "Ecto-Tech", as well as a Magic User from Justice League Dark for insurance. They managed to maintain Video Contact with the Team thanks to the Ecto-Tech Cameras they had, and what they saw did not sit right with any of them.

The entire Facility was built like a Prison.

Prison Cells, or to be more accurate, Cages, lined the Walls of the section they had entered. Evidence of previous inhabitants Littered the Cells, scratches on the metal and green glowing blood staining the floors were just some of the things they found in those Cages. One of the Technicians on the Team identified the Cages as having been built with Ecto-Tech, despite the fact that the Ecto-Tech they had spent years developing was nowhere near as advanced as this.

As they continued they found Walls covered in more Glowing Green Blood, spelling out haunting messages. "They never wanted to Investigate", "Guys In White", and the most common "What F̷E̴N̸T̴O̸N̷ happened to Site 13"

Delving deeper into the Facility, they eventually found a working Computer Terminal and downloaded as much information as they could, sending it back up to the surface wirelessly, before turning around to begin searching for the other Expedition Team. But when they tried to follow they path back to their starting location, they found that it had changed. The Hallways they had just passed were missing, there were new branches in the path that never existed, and their equipment suddenly told them that they halls they were standing in didn't exist according to the Blueprints they had.

The Camera's didn't last long after that, and the last images sent through the feed were of a glowing green figure slowly approaching the Team from down a dark hallway. It seemed to be dripping with blood. Non-Green Blood.

Of course some of the League wanted to immediately rush in to save them, but it would be too dangerous without knowing more about the situation. They looked at the files they had received from the Team before they disappeared.

From there, they formed a timeline of events.

It seemed that the Facility came from an Alternate History, or another Dimension, similar to their own but with a few changes.

By all accounts it seemed like the timeline of its Original Dimension followed their very closely, until one day in the 80's when the first major discrepancy appeared. On Febuary 12th, 1989 that Universes version of the GIW reported "A True Emergence of multiple Ectoplasmic Entities reported in Amity Park, Illinois, 2:31 PM".

Apparently in that universe, the GIW had been successful in locating evidence of the Supernatural. It seemed like this event allowed them to avoid the budget cuts they had experienced in their own Universe, which was the first major change from their own Timeline. Without the Budget Cut, the GIW managed to build their Facility near where they first spotted the Entity, and from there the timeline continued to diverge.

In that same small town, multiple more sightings of Ectoplasmic Entities were reported, all witnessed to be attacking the civilian population using their abilities. It was also reported that a single Ectoplasmic Entity, thereafter known as "Designation Phantom", was defending the civilain population for unknown reasons.

Eventually the source of these Sightings was tracked down to a pair of Scientists living in Amity Park, who were decades ahead in terms of the study of Ectoplasm and Ecto-Tech, who had managed to open a Portal into another Dimension they called the "Ghost Zone". The GIW Approached them for their research, and eventually hired them on as Scientists. Their names were Dr's Jack and Madeline Fenton.

A quick investigation revealed that Jack Fenton and Maddie Walker did exist in their universe, but Jack Fenton went into Mechanical Engineering while Maddie Walker went into Theoritical Physics. They had never met in the current universe.

According to the Doctors, Ectoplasmic Entities lack the ability to have Sentience, and held a malicious rage to all living beings. They stated that "Ghosts" were simply imprinted memories on Ectoplasm that acted as if it was a thinking entity, and that "Ghosts" should be eradicated at all costs.

Unfortunately, the GIW believed them to be Geniuses ahead of their time and accepted every word that came out of their mouths as absolute fact. Any researchers that protested their claims were quickly fired as to not upset their new Golden geese, and the GIW began to follow their new Mission of eradicating all "Ghosts".

From there was a series of files detailing multiple raids into the Ghost Zone, the capture and detainment of hundreds of Ghosts and "Ecto-Infected Humans", and the gruesomely detailed Experimentation logs of the Dr's Fenton as they studied their Captured specimens.

Many of the people being debriefed later on had to leave the room when they got to that point.

It seemed like the Dr's Fenton were the most proud of the Noteworthy Specimens they had managed to capture and dissect, those which evidence showed were much older and more powerful than the typical ghosts rhey captured. These were collectively designated as the "Ancients" by the Logs.

A Yeti-Entity with Ice Powers. A Shadow-Like Humanoid with Phobokinesis. A Female Humanoid with Draconification abilities. A Four Armed Female Humanoid with Extreme Strength. A Strange Entity with Chronokineses.

But what they were most proud of was one of the first Ghosts ever reported. Designation Phantom.

They particular File was completely corrupted beyond saving, but from the notes surrounding it, it had been a very exciting time for the Doctors.

But now, better informed on the situation and what they may encounter, the Justice League decided on a new plan of action. They still didn't know how the Facility had been ripped out of its Original Universe and into theirs, but for now their objective was simply a rescue mission for both expedition teams while Justice League Dark worked with the GIW on countermeasure for Ghosts. From the Files their Universes GIW had on Ghosts, they were certainly still dangerous, and allowing them to escape the facility would be a problem. So they needed containment measures.

The Justice League prepared for their Rescue Operation, unknowing of the eyes watching their every move.

He had dragged that accursed Facility into this world in an attempt to get help, and now all he could hope for was that this version of the Justice League would act better than their own. And if they didn't, he could always try a different universe.

All would be as it should be. Eventually.

[aaushie]

On the fifth of August, 2024, the Bangladeshi prime minister was forced to resign the flee the country following civil riots after 16 years of autocratic rule. What followed was political violence against minorities, looting and burning of public property and historical museums. The infrastructure that kept these things in check, the police and the army, had fallen in a matter of hours and 4 days letter the new government has still not formed and neither have the infrastructure.

Yet, after the first wave of confusion, what happened was incredible. Students and citizens alike gathered to clean the city and repair public property to the best of their abilities. Traffic was the best in decades thanks to teachers volunteering to manage them. Food prices halved as the corporate syndicates and cartels fell. Muslim religious schools stayed up overnight to protect Hindu temples and Christians churches. Communities prepared local night guards to protect from thieves. All of this, without a formal government or any sort of authoritarian institute to compel them.

Today might be the last day, as the interim government is formed and volunteers move on to their lives. There was still mob violence, lynching and killing of cops and burning of minority houses, and many of the poorest people suffered immensely from lack of sales and not enough food drives were started to support them.

What i want to say is this: this is living proof than a people can function without government, even if it was for a short time. That when people take responsibility and do not rely on a government or party for their problems, true anarchy emerges. It might all go to waste as the interim government is filled with right winged conservatives and centrists as well as army generals, and the eventual elections are taken by the Islamic fundamentalists and the conservative party. But if i have learned anything these past 3 days, it is to never let anyone tell me anarchy is naive or unrealistic. I have witnessed living proof.

[sirfrogsworth]

I was hoping this election would be a wake up call to the Left. I thought maybe people would start to realize we need to stop eating each other and organize and build power.

But I feel like it made things worse. Hopefully that is just a trauma response and we'll get our shit together eventually, but I am disheartened by the current infighting.

I'm also seeing people recommending guns. The reason the NRA didn't want the CDC to study gun violence is because they know guns aren't actually that great for self defense. And you are more likely to be the victim of your own gun than to stop any violence from harming you. One study showed a gun is about as effective as literally doing nothing.

Then I see people talking about "revolutionary organizing" and my first thought was that leftists would all end up just shooting each other.

We have the best ideas. I believe that very much. When you present lefty ideas to regular folks in their simplest form—without mentioning Marx or using stigmatized buzzwords—people are like, "wow, that sounds great!" Even Missouri voted for abortion and raising the minimum wage despite re-electing Josh Fucking Hawley.

Our ideas are our power. We need to stop fighting each other and start talking to people about how these ideas can help them. We need local representatives. We need to start running for city council, school boards, and state government.

All we have left is the long game. It's time to stop demanding performative action that has no tangible benefits and start playing that long game.

[shanastoryteller]

Happy birthday!!!! More FMA!

He’s fucking tired.

In Xerxes, he’s Van Edris. In Xerxes, he’s the son of a former slave, having narrowly escaped being born into his father’s fate by virtue of him being awarded freedom by the time of his birth. In Xerxes, he’s an uncommon commodity, an alchemist with a skill that hasn’t been seen since his father fucked off to who knows where.

In Amestris, he’s Edward Elric. In Amestris, he’s the son of Trisha Elric who was born free and died free because while there are lots of different forms of freedom, in Amestris there’s one that everyone shares. In Amestris, he’s unknown and unremarkable and no one gives a fuck about what he does.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he says flatly.

This is what he gets for visiting his father’s country. It’s just fucking unfortunate that the really good alchemical texts are here.

He should have let Al (Van Altun, as they know him, even though the two of them having been using their Amestrian names almost their whole lives, regardless of what country they were in) do it. They’re not nearly as weird about him.

Pakor is alright, as far as kings go. He’s freed a lot of people, is poking at the laws of ownership that has governed his country for centuries to see if he can do anything about them without getting beheaded for it. He’s also known Ed since he was a barely able to walk, back when his father still made court appearances and brought the family along with him. Former slave against most talented alchemist in the country, and people tended to politely ignore the former. Hell, Ed’s been counting on the same thing since he was twelve.

Of course, now it’s coming back to bite him. People say he’s a genius, but if he was really smart he would have stayed far, far away from court. Like in Amestris, perhaps.

“You’re fluent in both languages,” Pakor says, coaxing.

“So are you,” he says accusingly. “We’re speaking Amestrian right now!”

Pakor sighs and switches to Xerxian. “You also speak Xingese and Drachman. You’re a difficult man to keep secrets from.”

“I’m also Amestrian!” he shouts. “And free, might I add! You can’t sell me off to slavery just to get some intel!”

“It’s not like we’ll brand you,” he says, affronted, and Ed is reminded that alright for a king is still pretty shitty. “We just need someone to do a little – double checking. To ensure the situation in Amestris is as it’s advertised.”

“You want to gift me to the Fuhrer to spy on him and you’re, what, just hoping he doesn’t notice that I understand everything and know everything and am, oh yeah, one of his citizens? I’ve been to Central before! With my luck, I’ll get recognized the first day here and then run out of Amestris! And, again, Amestris doesn’t have slaves! The leader of the country really can’t have one.”

Pakor sighs. “You’re very dramatic, Edris. It won’t be so bad. Here, I’ll say you’re my personal slave and that you’re on loan. It’ll be for cultural exchange purposes. He speaks Xingese, so you can communicate in that language without letting on you know Amestrian.”

Ed pinches the bridge of his nose. “This is a stupid fucking idea.”

“If you do this,” Pakor says, “I’ll give you the key to the royal library.”

Ed slowly lowers his hand, eyes narrowing. “I’ve been asking you to let me in there for years.”

“I figured I’d need to bargain it away eventually,” he says. “I was hoping you’d marry one of my daughters for it.” Having even light court obligations is bad enough, he’s in no way stupid enough to marry in. “You’re very difficult, you know. I’m your king. I shouldn’t have to bargain with you.”

“Tough shit,” Ed says, because Pakor may have known him for nearly twenty years, but that knowing goes both ways. Besides, he can’t piss him off because then he and Al will stop reparing all their shit bridges and infrastructure. “Fine. But if I lose my Amestrian citizenship over this, I’m going to be pissed.”

“Noted,” Pakor says brightly.

Uhg.

It doesn’t help that everything he’s heard about Fuhrer Mustang makes the man sound insufferable.

[chowadoe]

so more on that role reversal au...

Shadow (created as a Weapon Against Humanity) who was eventually raised, and exploited, by G.U.N to become Humanity's Ultimate weapon and Sonic, found by Robotnik

some more expanded thoughts below ^_^

SHADOW - G.U.N AGENT

Shadow was initially created with the intention of being a Weapon Against Humanity. after a life-altering incident, G.U.N. takes Shadow into their custody, raising him to become one of their top agents, exploiting him.

he's constantly under government surveillance... inhibitor rings (developed by G.U.N.) are clamped onto him like a shock collar so he is unable to tap into his full power. (Shadow has neither tested nor does he know the extent of his strength.. he has never tried removing them. G.U.N. is the only one who can remove them.)

the hypocritical method in wanting their weapon (cough trained dog) to exercise and develop restraint on his own terms, and yet forcefully acclimating him.

Shadow’s aware of his past. Definitely struggles with Existential dread about why he’s on Earth and what he was made for. he wants to (and feels like he should) do good, but if he was initially made with destructive intent… is he compensating this way? is this what he really wants? no.. he shouldn't think like that.. Maria would want him to be good..

If not to make the world the better a place, if they still treat his kind as inferior and sometimes, even a threat to the whole human race, does humanity and this planet still deserve its rite for redemption? What is humanity? Is that something he’s capable of, as a weapon of mass destruction?

what is he trying to prove here? His docility? His ability to be obedient and be, by human standards, good? what does that mean in a world that may never accept them, and much less him- a synthetic and all-unnatural organism forged from humanity’s worst and an alien race only capable of Evil and wrongdoing. a being so perfectly suited for any and all forms of persecution. Humankind’s scapegoat. He thinks about Maria.

Maria remains a guiding light. Back then, she would sneak Shadow out to gaze upon the Earth, her former home. She misses it, the lush greenery, the sun, the people. she hopes that Shadow will get to experience what it’s like.

au shadow is emo edgy in a sad wet adult 40yo cat leon kennedy kind of way. au sonic is emo edgy like a 14yo that found out you could buy a tattoo gun on amazon without a license. I know nothing about resident evil

when he's not on a mission, he's usually in his "room" (extremely generous word for containment chamber/training facility.) he's like a hamster in a cage with toys to play with . (treadmills. race tracks. dummy robots. Ak-47s.) He's allowed to freely roam HQ from hours 6am-10pm, and if not, he is usually escorted by a guard, unless its Rouge sneaking him out. But beyond that, it's not like the ultimate lifeform needs that much sleep, and it'd be bad to have their ultimate weapon roaming the halls without supervision. but let's say there's the occasional nocturnal scavenger providing him a bit of nightly mischief that even the most complicated most difficult to navigate ventilation system cannot keep a natural-born burrower out..... (haha)

SONIC - ACCOMPLICE

Robotnik’s “accomplice” (adoptive son?)

Sonic goes along with Robotnik’s schemes but has his own ulterior motives .. after all, working under someone is still infringing on his sense of freedom, independence, and pride.

He only rlly helps out Robotnik out if it helps him… robotnik makes some new tech that tickles his , esp if smth that happens to enhance his existing abilities. sure he’s more than capable of doing things on his own but what’s better than to play with his new toys with his already existing toys (GUN. shadow.)

and if he manages to break them in a day then he’s found an issue that robotnik needs to troubleshoot immediately. eggman should really be Thanking him!

his only known goal atm is to find things that stave off his boredom. from what Shadow's gathered at least. but maybe there's more...

has a very bad No Good Fixation on shadow's inhibitor rings for whatever reason. wonder that could mean.

Still fucking around with roles and nothing's rlly set in stone. Im just kind of giggling kicking rocks and throwing pebbles in the water to see what lands ^q^

Rouge is still there! A contractor for G.U.N. A Recovering/reformed Jewel thief who joins the task force (maybe?) 

the gang is also there! still brainstorming roles though. emrmmm

[ignylinn]

Okay, it all makes sense with the Crows.

So, imagine Caterina. A very dangerous, a very very clever woman. I mean, she is old. You don't get old in her profession if you are not exrtremely clever and careful. She has a clan to protect, she is old, and she thinks about the future. What does she want for the Crows? How does she want a sustainable future for them? I think her goal is legitimizing the Crows: for the people of Antiva, for the powers of Antiva, and for other nations.

She manages to acquire a bastard son of the king.

She feeds him an idea of "the Crows rule Antiva". She gives him power, but never too much power. She does not want him to become the First Talon, though he is much more competent as a leader than Lucanis and Illario combined.

Lucanis is meant to be a new Crows figurehead: a highly competent, but somehow kind and soft hearted guy, a very safe person to present to legitimate governments and organizations.

Illario was probably meant to manage real Crows assassination work, but proved to be too stupid for that.

She, of course, means for Viago to become a king eventually. She cannot outright assassinate the king without a lot of preparation. She needs the people and neighbours on her side.

She waits for the opportunity (and I'm sure does a lot of things to achieve her goals anyway). The first opportunity comes in the form of Antaam invasion.

The Crows become extremely patriotic. They oppose the Antaam, help the poor, save kittens, etc., all the whole doubling down on the idea that the central power does nothing, and it's only the Crows standing between ordinary people and Qunari.

The invasion also lets them abandon child stealing practices: traumatized, politicized pro-Crows war orphans, child soldiers, can't wait to be enlisted into the People's Army of Antiva. Crows, of course, accept them. A very dubious practice; the whole Jacobus story is... bad, from in-world perspective.

The people are on their side.

I also suspect that the war with Antaam goes at a necessary pace.

Then the second opportunity presents itself: the Veilguard. The very best dudes from various countries and various political factions start to just casually wander around, and also want an alliance. They are presented with "new Crows", and provided with Lucanis - as was his role. They are also fed with the idea that the Crows are the real power here.

Thankfully, the world does not end, and by the end of the Veilguard all necessary pieces are in place for Caterina.

It is so good now, that the events will unfold as she intended even if she dies.

What do I think happens next? I think the King will be killed - not through assassination, but through rebellion. Viago will be welcomed as a king by basically everyone.

The Crows will be legitimized and transformed into something new. They won't need to continue their assassin business on such a scale - they are rich, they are powerful, they are popular, and they can play safer now.

And last thing. Why Caterina did not side with Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain? That's cause she is clever)) If the world does end, none of it will matter. If it does not, those who are now in the opposition will rule the world. Being friends with them is a much better option.

[cogentranting]

Let me preface by saying I haven't seen the new Lilo and Stitch, so I'm just going off of what I've seen online.

Now. There are bigger things wrong with it, then what they did to Bubbles, but I want to talk a little about Bubbles.

To my understanding, the new movie changes Cobra Bubbles so that instead of being the social worker (who happened to previously be in the CIA) Bubbles is just a government agent chasing Stitch and there is a new female social worker character.

Here's what the director said about why he did that:

"In order to buy these two girls getting separated in a live-action movie, you couldn't really have the representative of that antagonistic force be a comically huge guy with tattoos on his knuckles, who for some reason is also a social worker. [...] This grown-up Nani, with all her wisdom, is now advising a younger version of herself. It's beautiful....If the dramatic stakes of Lilo is that she's going to get separated from her sister, then you need a person who actually services those stakes in a credible way. You can get away with that being Cobra Bubbles in an animated film — a 6-foot-5 huge dude with 'Cobra' tattooed on his knuckles is somehow a social worker in that world. I don't think you get away with it the same way in a live-action film."

And I think this shows a complete lack of understanding (or a willful misinterpretation) of what Cobra Bubbles is doing and why his character works in the original film.

Why is Bubbles a "comically huge guy with tattoos on his knuckles"? Because when you're a little kid (or a nineteen-year-old guardian) and your home is being evaluated to see if you get to stay there or if you get taken away, social workers are scary. And Bubbles captures that by outwardly representing the way that he feels to the kid in that situation. He's intimidating, he's powerful, he's unknowable. And your fate is in his hands. Granted, I understand the impulse of saying "we don't want to portray social workers as something bad and scary because they are there to protect kids--we don't want to make kids afraid of social workers". Sure. But Cobra Bubbles just represents the reality of what the kids already feel in that situation, and lets kids understand that who haven't been in that situation.

Furthermore, a big part of the original movie is the turn, realizing that Bubbles is not a bad guy. As the movie goes on, it becomes clear that Bubbles is genuinely there to protect Lilo. The demands he puts on Nani, while difficult and providing the conflict for the movie, are reasonable expectations to keep Lilo safe (of course Nani needs to have a job. of course they can't have an aggressive out of control 'dog'). In fact they would still be the concerns of the movie even without Bubbles there, he just provides a voice for them and creates a sense of urgency--he personifies those needs. And both Lilo and Nani come to see that Bubbles does want keep Lilo safe. Crucially, when Lilo ends up legitimately in danger she calls Bubbles. And in the end Bubbles ends up helping provide the means for the full family to stay together (he's the one who suggests the loophole that allows Lilo to keep Stitch). That scary, powerful force that is Bubbles, eventually turns from being an antagonistic force, to a protective one. Cobra Bubbles characterization recognizes the reality both of what social workers often are for kids, and the picture of what they should be. Kids are going to look at this figure in their life and find them scary. And if all is working as it should be, hopefully they will come to see them as a person on their side with the power to protect them (whether that means staying in their same situation or not). And in this story that comes in the form of bending a little to realize what's actually best for Lilo and who is actually going to fight for her the hardest and then providing the help needed to maintain that.

This lady:

does not do that. Maybe they create some of the same effect with her in other ways. I don't know. But surely not as effectively. And based on the quotes from the director, I suspect that they don't try to capture any of that. Instead, it seems like she is just a mentor figure that Nani has to learn to accept.

(And I think it's notable that in the original movie, Bubbles had to change. Nani and Lilo and Stitch all did too. But Bubbles had to have movement. And I can't fully speak to the live action because I haven't seen it, but it seems like the new social worker in this one probably doesn't . In the original movie virtually every character has an arc, changes in some way. But it seems like this version the arcs for several characters were removed, flattening them out)

Now, I do think there is a grain of legitimacy in the director's comments. Cobra Bubbles is a cartoon character. If you're going to adapt him to live action you have to make some adjustments. But I think those adjustments are minor if you keep the heart of the story and the characters the same. Maybe he's not the size of a tank. Maybe he doesn't have the knuckle tattoos. Maybe you need to give a little more space to revealing his gentler side. But at his core he can be the same and work in live action if you know why he works in the first place.

And it seems very clear that whatever the director may say about making the movie more realistic for live action, the heart of the matter is softening the social worker to pave the way for the changed ending. But even there, I think if you wanted that ending (you shouldn't) you could still get there with Cobra Bubbles. Except what this change does is shift the narrative perspective from Lilo to Nani. Cobra Bubbles is a social worker through Lilo's eyes. Mrs. Kekoa is a social worker meant to be viewed through Nani's eyes, which is why she positioned to be a "grown-up Nani" (literally, it's Nani's voice actress from the original). So really the change to Bubbles, is a move in line with the ending to centralize Nani over Lilo.

[afloweroutofstone]

I recently learned that in March 2011, the same month as the large-scale protests against Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad which eventually turned into the Syrian Civil War, Assad paid US public relations agents to get his wife a puff piece in Vogue about how she's a genius girlboss with great fashion sense and a heart of gold

Asma al-Assad is glamorous, young, and very chic—the freshest and most magnetic of first ladies. Her style is not the couture-and-bling dazzle of Middle Eastern power but a deliberate lack of adornment. She’s a rare combination: a thin, long-limbed beauty with a trained analytic mind who dresses with cunning understatement. Paris Match calls her “the element of light in a country full of shadow zones.” She is the first lady of Syria.

Syria is known as the safest country in the Middle East, possibly because, as the State Department’s Web site says, “the Syrian government conducts intense physical and electronic surveillance of both Syrian citizens and foreign visitors.” It’s a secular country where women earn as much as men and the Muslim veil is forbidden in universities, a place without bombings, unrest, or kidnappings, but its shadow zones are deep and dark. Asma’s husband, Bashar al-Assad, was elected president in 2000, after the death of his father, Hafez al-Assad, with a startling 97 percent of the vote. In Syria, power is hereditary. The country’s alliances are murky. How close are they to Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah? There are souvenir Hezbollah ashtrays in the souk, and you can spot the Hamas leadership racing through the bar of the Four Seasons. Its number-one enmity is clear: Israel. But that might not always be the case. The United States has just posted its first ambassador there since 2005, Robert Ford...

The 35-year-old first lady’s central mission is to change the mind-set of six million Syrians under eighteen, encourage them to engage in what she calls “active citizenship.” “It’s about everyone taking shared responsibility in moving this country forward, about empowerment in a civil society. We all have a stake in this country; it will be what we make it.”

In 2005 she founded Massar, built around a series of discovery centers where children and young adults from five to 21 engage in creative, informal approaches to civic responsibility. Massar’s mobile Green Team has touched 200,000 kids across Syria since 2005. The organization is privately funded through donations. The Syria Trust for Development, formed in 2007, oversees Massar as well as her first NGO, the rural micro-credit association FIRDOS, and SHABAB, which exists to give young people business skills they need for the future.

[godmodebeginswithlesbians]

a woman gets isekaiied into a fantasy world as a heavy armor knight, finds her long hair is too tedious to care for and gets in her face way too much and cuts it short, and slowly collects a group of friends from this world that in typical isekai fashion, form a guild with her. however- her voice is deeper than the average woman's, her figure is generally pretty androgynous even without the armor, and her behavior is read by these people as more masculine than how the same behavior would be read in her home world, so all of her friends think of her as a man. she finds that she doesnt really mind, which is helpful as the government in this fantasy world is like, really weirdly fascist, and if she revealed her gender there is the chance she would be reported and then killed for crossdressing. as she grows closer to her guild, bits of her backstory are revealed, she was killed/isekaiied the normal way (hit by a car or van or smth) while on her way to visit her terminally ill sibling in the hospital and feels really guilty about "leaving her parents to deal with that alone" or some shit. all things considered though, she's pretty ok otherwise. now, she's also pretty genre savvy, and realizes pretty quick what happened, and notices that the cast of characters around her tend to be flirty women, tho sometimes they arent flirty, and sometimes they arent women, and somethings they're neither, and kinda panics about it. she considers her options, which prob consist of like. a catgirl, a mage girl, a healer dude, a warrior guy and warrior girl (twins?), a knight in shining armor girl, a rogue/theif girl, a regal woman who's totally not a deposed princess from somewhere or another, and a younger brother type figure, and figures, y'know, she probably would've known by now if she were attracted to ladies, and they all seem to have eyes for each other rather than her, anyhow. so she decides to go after healer dude, he's cute and kinda nonassuming, and she won't be getting in the way of whatever kind of situationships the rest of her guild have found themselves in that way. so, she starts to act on that, and over the story realizes that hey maybe she should've cared more about politics in her old life, this fascist regime is killing children and people who were nice to her all because they didn't fit the mold of what they were supposed to be, and hey! maybe "she" didn't really fit either, and only thought of a future that was pushed on "her" because there wasn't really another option that immediately presented itself - an easy and nonconfrontational future with a "normal" husband and "normal" kids working a "normal" job and, and, and.... and he comes to a few more realizations along the way, learning to be happy as himself, with the people he cares about, and discovers that maybe there is some truth to that old trope that queer people tend to converge around each other and exist in groups after all, and subtly helps them get together (or apart from people/futures they don't care about) all while making plans with them to overthrow the fascist regime so that everyone in this world can live safely and happily. i figure the eventual get together between our armored protagonist and the healer is in the last couple chapters before the endgame, and has some statement about finding love and belonging and happiness, and moving on from old grief over his sibling and worry for his parents - there's nothing he can do to change the past, after all, he can only work to improve the future - and idk how it ends except that healer dude says he'll wear a dress at their wedding because he generally just loves being a feminine guy, and happily ever after and whatnot, reinstallation of a citizen-decided government or smth like that.

[writerofjourneys]

The Regent King of Hell

A/N: Just an interesting idea I thought to try. Not sure I want to make this a part of my fandom list as it’s not my cup of tea to write but I wanted to give this a shot regardless.

Fandom(s): Hazbin Hotel

Charlie Magne/Morningstar & (Twin)Fem Reader

Lucifer Magne/Morningstar & (Daughter)Reader

Summary: As the 2nd Princess of Hell, you were given the reigns of ruling over the Ring of Wrath as a King of Sin, then eventually Pride as regent for your parents in their crumbling marriage, soon breakup and your father’s inactive state. You became one of the most, if not above all the most feared ruler out of the Rings of Hell, leaving you to be quite a contrast to your sheltered optimistic older sister, but you loved each other all the same.

Headcanon

Content: Fluff, family, Reader is nicknamed Satan, sister relationship, father-daughter relationship, platonic relationships, demons & angels, morality, afterlife, based on how Satan isn’t introduced yet and the circumstances of Lucifer’s role after physically stepping down from ruling aside from his title as King of Hell.

Warnings: None.

Main List

As children growing up, you and Charlie were always joined at the hip. It was rare for anyone to find one of the Morningstar Twins without the other.

You had very fond memories of your family together, spending moments like any other happy human ones. Having your father display his angelic powers in beautiful imagery to you and your sister’s delight. And your mother singing you songs and lullabies.

Your father would take you on trips to his Lu Lu World theme park. He also wasn’t hesitant to show his bitterness to Loo Loo Land. He forbade you and Charlie to ever go there, and that hasn’t changed even now. But you have been to Hellsney, you heard the human world had something similar to the name.

Ironically, you don’t actually like apples. By themselves they’re okay, but even though it’s your family’s main symbol, you find it tolerable. You hate apple themed food, though.

Though it became apparent that you and Charlie began to take different personalities and views as you got older. Whereas she was optimistic, naive, vibrant, and mild; you were stern, calm, intimidating, and calculating. The denizens of Hell sometimes pondered over the differences between you.

You seemed to take more after your mother and Charlie your father, you still loved them both, but when their relationship began to fall apart you mostly chose to stay by your father’s side. Taking up the duties of learning to govern over Hell more than ever.

But even before that, you took to your responsibilities as an heir more highly compared to your twin, who wasn’t all that interested, instead pursuing a different path.

As you grew up, you even took to taking on a more demonic form, like leaving your curled horns rest on your head, sharp fangs, and having similar wings to Lucifer you inherited that you left out. Though the rest of your features did match with Charlie’s. But you have the ability to shapeshift and change to a number of things, even a more monstrous form.

You displayed more powers in comparison to her, though, having even used them to ‘discipline’ anyone who tried to step out of line, thinking you’d be as dismissive as your sister.

For your capabilities, your parents had given you the opportunity of ruling over the Ring of Wrath, making you a member of one of the Seven Deadly Sins, leading to the demons to then give you the nickname famously known as Satan. Which, funnily enough, had humans and sinners tending to mistake you for your dad, Lucifer.

You found amusement in others speaking your stage name in forms of expression.

You became the embodiment of Wrath for your power and dangerous influence, finally filling the missing spot for the Seven Deadly Sins.

And like your dad, you also detested sinners. You knew many of humanity’s history and their continuous behaviours throughout the centuries. Humans are as cruel as they are loving. They could be even more monstrous than hellborn demons, for all their fragility and short lifespans.

Naturally, you took to them also being something of ants or specks of dust. Though you do get experiences being on earth and getting involved with humans. For being what they are, they did fascinate you for their unpredictability.

You even carried an exception with a level of respect for the intelligent and influential mortals.

When Charlie and Lucifer grew apart at the time of your parents separation, having the misunderstanding of how one didn’t want to see the other, you continued staying close to him. Spending time with him, listening to him talk about his hyper-fixation projects, flying together, and then visiting him among your time ruling over the two rings.

You were pretty much emancipated with your parents’ separation being a Sin.

When Lilith left, stepping down from her royal duties, you and Charlie both didn’t have any contact with her for the past 7 years to now.

You had grown apart from your mom just before that. You weren’t the fondest of her at the moment.

You didn’t know how long Lucifer would remain inactive from ruling the Pride Ring, so you continued acting as regent.

While Charlie had her cat Keekee, and goat-toys-brought-to-life, Razzle and Dazzle, you had your hellhounds, actual terrifying beasts who intelligently understood your orders, but different than the other sentient hellhounds in Hell.

As King of Wrath and now Pride, you were usually busy. Jumping between the two realms and overseeing the majority of Hell in your father’s stead. Sometimes meeting with the other Kings of the Seven Deadly Sins.

Out of all of Hell’s hierarchy, you have the most experience with humans and earth.

Shapeshifting is an ability you inherited from Lucifer. Meaning animals.

You turned into a duckling and a snake for him when you were little. He couldn’t stop fawning how cute you were. He was pretty proud.

Being the embodiment of wrath meant some cause for destruction. You’ve had a hand in a some earthly/hellish disasters.

It also made you the most warlike and combative.

Lucifer had had his worries of how fast you’ve grown. Being mature and doing your own thing ruling a ring of Hell.

Having been sheltered from the lives of humans on earth, Charlie carried the benefit of the doubt for the sinners. Which honestly exasperated you.

You didn’t have any animosity towards your twin, you cared for her, but you wished she carried more of a backbone. Having only the title as the 1st Princess of Hell to go off on and hardly using her powers, the denizens could never take her seriously.

So when she presented her ideas of redemption to you, as family and ruler, you considered it hilariously absurd, though not to her face. You had agreed that while there are sinners who didn’t deserve eternal damnation for their particular situations, not all of them deserved peace.

Humans already had their chances of change and different livelihoods, what was the point of doing it now when they already passed death? They had made their choices and harmed others in the process, to redeem now when their lives were already over felt pointless.

So you were rather indifferent to Extermination Day. You didn’t really know if Lucifer was actually in agreement to it anyways, even for his own distaste in sinners, but your father wouldn’t have had a choice in it regardless. Heaven was the one to force him to be the King of Hell after all, it isn’t a surprise that they could exterminate without his permission. And the Exorcists who were once mortal came down tended to have personal vengeance over the sinners who made their lives hell in the first place.

You weren’t interested in getting involved with Heaven if you could help it.

Seeing how passionate and serious Charlie was, you agreed to support her, regardless of how farfetched her goal looked. But you made to note that while Charlie shouldn’t focus on the inhumane sinners in particular, you advised that her future patrons should at least be remorseful to try and reach Heaven. That was the biggest point of redemption after all.

You did know her girlfriend, Vaggie, the three of you occasionally hanging out for things like lunch. She did tend to be nervous in your presence. All you cared about was her having a good relationship with your sister.

Charlie’s ex, Seviathan and his sister, Helsa, would’ve had their heads torn off of their bodies by you if your twin hadn’t convinced you otherwise. You detested that family.

You rarely did get to see Charlie as she created her ‘Happy Hotel’, but you did drop by to visit when you had time. And upon hearing the Radio Demon’s involvement as her co-owner, changing the name to ‘Hazbin Hotel’, you were obviously suspicious, since you were acquainted and familiar with the Overlords, but since he hadn’t done anything yet and Charlie saying she could take of herself, you left her to it.

While you weren’t sure how these events would fold, you hoped things would work out for your family and getting the time to be together again like you used to be.

So, how was this..?

[dsknsk]

Mountain and references to The Moon above the Mountains

This is a repost of the article that was previously on Gamepress. I am the original writer of it and decided to put it somewhere again that isn't Gamepress seeing its dead state.

First off, to react on some...less than nice comments...which I still remember being on Gamepress :)

Yes, I know that there are many Asian stories about tigers. This was just the one that came to mind directly and the one that seems to fit the most, as well as the one that seems to fit the most. I think it's also the most publicly known one.

I did not write the story's name wrong, shut the fuck up. I know that 山月記 is also sometimes translated as "Stories/Records of the Mountain/Mountains and (the) Moon" but "The Moon above the Mountains" is the most common.

Without further ado.

At first, Mountain’s codename struck me as strange. ‘Mountain’, such a simple yet slightly unusual codename. However, when Mr. Nothing was released - whose name refers to literature - I realized that Mountain’s codename may as well refer to a certain piece of literature, one named The Moon above the Mountains.

What is The Moon above the Mountains about?

The Moon above the Mountains is written by Nakajima Atsushi, a Japanese author, but the short story takes place in China.

The main character is Li Zheng, a government official, albeit a low-ranking one. Despite his job and his talented reputation, he is not satisfied by it. He wants to make a name and be remembered as a poet. Thus, he resigns from his job and fully devotes his life to poetry. However, this proves harder than he thought. Since quitting his job, he lives in poverty, and he ignores the signs his tired body gives him. Soon, he grows emaciated and irritable. 

He lives like this for a year, and then leaves. One day, he goes mad and no one hears from him after that. The year after that, a man named Yuan Can prepares to set out on one of his official business travels and is warned about a man-eating tiger he might encounter on the way to his destination.

That night, Yuan Can indeed meets the tiger. It attempts to attack them, before suddenly stopping in its tracks and talking like a human. Yuan Can is shocked, because he recognizes that voice as from Li Zheng, his old friend. The tiger confirms that he is indeed Li Zheng, and Yuan Can talks to the tiger, no longer afraid but rather confused.

Then, Li Zheng continues to recap what happened. From the moment that he transformed into a tiger, he has felt the inner instincts of the beast driving him to kill other animals. At certain moments, his human consciousness returns, but these moments become fewer and fewer. He knows that, eventually, he will entirely cease to think and talk like he used to, and be overtaken by the animalistic mind.

As such, he asks Yuan Can a favor. Li Zheng had written several poems, and he shares them with Yuan Can, at least, those he remembers. He writes them down, as Li Zheng asked him to. Li Zheng then talks about how his disconnection from the world and selfishness caused him to go mad. Quoting directly from the story itself (translated):

‘We are all of us trainers of wild beasts, and the beasts in question are our own inner selves. In my case, my beast was my self-important sense of shame. That was my tiger, and it damaged me, brought sorrow to my wife and children, wounded my friends, and, in the end, changed my outward form into this animal that befits my inner state.’

At the end, Li Zheng says he must leave, as he feels his human consciousness fading. The two part ways, with Yuan Can crying as he does so. The last sentence of the story is as follows (and it is one of the only full sentences from literature I know like the back of my hand):

‘The tiger gazed up at the moon, already pale, having lost its brilliance, and roared mightily two times, three times, then jumped back into the brush. They never saw the tiger again.’

Mountain and The Moon above the Mountains

So how does this story relate to Mountain exactly? Well, his codename aside (the Japanese title of the story is 山月記, and 山 is Mountain’s codename in Chinese), and him quite literally being a tiger acting like a human, I did not know until Mansfield Break actually was released in the Global server. While reading the story attached to the event, I found some very familiar themes that also return in The Moon above the Mountains.

Mountain is a very imposing figure, almost 2 meters tall (195 cm, which puts him at 76.7717 inch to be exact), with a rough voice and being really good, both in-universe and in-game, at defeating enemy after enemy all by himself with little to no outside help. It is very easy to think of him as a brute at first sight, similar to how Yuan Can was warned about the ‘man eating’ tiger at first in the story. His codename as well indicates toughness and strength.

However, his character is kind and gentleman-like, to the point that Barton points at him as a model prisoner. Quoting from the character himself (using my own way of wording the original Chinese version):

'Y'all should learn from Anthony here! Block C inmate, but composed and never sees violence as the answer. He spends his day reading, writing, and listening to music. Truly a role model y'all should follow!'

Barton outright says that Mountain is an example everyone should take as a role model, which by the way, comes from the mouth of a lousy guard that only seems to have his own best interests in mind. Even on such a person, he has made a good, solid impression. This is to the point that, during the cleaning shifts, they will always end up cleaning his cell no matter what.

Speaking about names, in the story, Mountain does not use his codename yet. This is because this story is set before he joined Rhodes and gained said codename. This also makes him more ‘human’ during the story.

Later on, after Mountain foils another assassination attempt from HydeBro, the other characters comment on this as well:

Kafka: 'You...ugh, you're an inmate, but you're a lot more composed than the others.'

Domma: 'That's him. Always polite to everyone may as well be his signature.'

Kafka: 'Ah, right. He's not only good in beating people up, but he's not bloodthirsty or anythin'.'

Mountain is really a good, nice person, who has been locked up in prison to protect him instead of him being truly guilty of a heinous crime. (Then again, it has been implied that this is not uncommon in Mansfield). Even his theme song is a calm and jazzy tune and shows him relaxing as opposed to something that befits raw, ruthless strength.

I hope that the pattern here is visible: despite his outward appearance and his admittedly good ability to punch the tar out of his enemies, his character does not immediately match this outright. He’s not a brute through-and-through. He could potentially lose himself by going ham on an enemy, but chooses not to. Even during the final fight, he remains calculated to a certain extent.

This duality is very obviously touched upon by Jesselton/Jayston, and he points it out during said final fight:

'You know, Anthony. From the moment you came in here, there was something...not right. You're constantly acting polite, but you're strength incarnate. And secretly, I have longed to see this. The facade shattering, and finally seeing what lies beneath...'

He encapsulates the duality of Mountain in this one line. Furthermore, Mountain’s fourth archive file and his second promotion quote also talk about this:

‘Doctor, take a good look. That mask of composure, calm, and politeness is off. This is the truest you'll ever find me. Bloodthirsty, violent, and destructive. Look at me and be my friend.’

The tiger in The Moon above the Mountains, or rather, Li Zheng, struggles with a similar issue. His moments of thinking and acting like a human become more and more intersected by the ‘bloodthirsty, violent and destructive’ nature of the tiger that Mountain mentions in his promotion voiceline. At first, Yuan Can was scared by the tiger, until he heard his friend. The story may end on a sad note, but it avoids a possible drama of Li Zheng not recognizing Yuan Can anymore when he’s gone full tiger, which he’s implied to have done at the end of the story.

Luckily, our Mountain doesn’t go down the deep end entirely. He seems to acknowledge what’s below the mask in his second promotion voiceline, in contrast to Li Zheng who only became aware of it when it already took him over (by transforming him into a tiger). As a bonus, Mountain is interested in literature, much like Li Zheng.

I am not entirely sure why Mountain is specifically a white tiger and not just a normal orange tiger, but I think it is to highlight how unusual this specific tiger (Li Zheng) is from all other tigers, having been human before.

The Moon above the Mountains and The Metamorphosis

If the gist of The Moon above the Mountains seems familiar to you, that might be right. The story has been compared to The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. It’s logical why the two are compared, as both of them have their protagonist transform into a creature at the beginning, with the rest of the story dealing with what happens afterwards. Both of them are eventually relegated to give up and resign to their new life as a creature after desperate moments to still act human.

Despite transforming, however, they are still aware. Gregor can still understand what people say. Li Zheng also does so, and converses with Yuan Can as if he was human. The ‘incompleteness’ of both transformations is what shapes both stories, as it’s paradoxical in a way: they’re an animal, but at the same time, they’re not. Gregor dies at the end, and Li Zheng fully loses his humanity when his story ends.

I think that this connection is what inspired HyperGryph to make Kafka and Mountain interact. Nonetheless, I’m happy that both characters are in Arknights as I see them as a homage, to the writer Kafka and to The Moon above the Mountains, to keep them from being forgotten.

References:

- The Moon above the Mountains by Nakajima Atsushi, translated by Nobuko Ochner and Paul McCarthy. The original version in Japanese is here and here on Aozora in public.

- Initial fan translation of Mansfield Break

[shadelorde]

I'm thinking about how the Red Lotus had the goal of freeing Vaatu and enacting a more chaotic goal of overthrowing oppressive governments and institutions, and I'm wondering if the White Lotus (and its flaws) similarly parallels the most extreme of Raava's intentions.

One of Raava's major flaws (that I believe anyways, and I think would have massive potential for exploration) is her belief that she can bring balance to the world alone, without her other half. Even before Wan got involved, she had already been suppressing Vaatu or "keeping him under control" (her words directly) for at least ten thousand years. And even though it's framed as wrong of him to ask, Wan is right when he does - "What gives you the right?"

Because peace and chaos are both essential to the balance of the world. Complete homogeneity is deeply oppressive, and complete chaos can cause massive destruction. Vaatu is essential to the balance of the world as much as Raava is, and while the show leans more into the extreme side of Vaatu's personality, Raava is not perfectly flawless either (ie. her hotheadedness, her disdain towards Wan, her insistence on maintaining control.) And instead of accepting Vaatu's chaos as essential to balance, she uses Wan's aid to imprison him and takes on the mantle of Avatar Spirit alone.*

While I believe that Raava does not consciously want complete homogeneity nor does she want the status quo upheld, I think it is possible for the most starkly extreme parts of her to become externalized into an organization - the White Lotus.

Whether or not it initially started out to be a following of Raava (which could make sense, given that it's clearly an ancient organization and was founded to maintain peace among the Four Nations, and the tile it's named after is over ten thousand years old, with Iroh himself claiming that the spirits invented Pai Sho in Legend of Korra) and lost that part of its roots, it does parallel some of Raava's most extreme tendencies in a fascinating way, especially if Raava became far more brutal than she is. The White Lotus works independently of any Nation's government, instead serving its own internal goals as being completely neutral. But it's not! For most of its history it's worked in secret to maintain its idea of the status quo, from the Platinum Affair (I believe it was involved in) to secretly watching Yangchen's upbringing to isolating Korra for her childhood so they could train her. Similar to the way Raava quietly guards the Avatar, the White Lotus does as well, but sometimes in a far more controlling manner so they can raise them to be what they believe the world needs most.

Much like Raava's suppression of Vaatu that was eventually lost to history, the White Lotus has covertly had its tendrils in many, many political dealings over the Era of the Avatar, and has more than occasionally forced aside those that stood in its way to maintaining its idea of peace. The most direct parallel is when its members imprisoned the members of the Red Lotus (which was more directly affiliated with Vaatu) in deeply inhumane conditions for thirteen years. While they may have had "reasons" for doing so, with the Red Lotus attempting to kidnap Korra, the White Lotus was not opposed to feeding Korra propaganda and isolating her themselves, because that's exactly what they did.**

In conclusion, it's very possible that the White Lotus could have originally been formed as a following of Raava and what they believed to be her will, and often parallels what could be some of her worst tendencies or the most extreme outcomes of her unbalanced influence over the world.

*(note that obviously part of this comes from the show's extremely flattened writing, but for the purposes of speculation, I'm taking Raava's actions within the context of her universe. I also am not absolving Vaatu of responsibility, he did claim to want to destroy Raava for good. However, after being held essentially immobile for ten thousand years and then another ten thousand years, I'm sure that is a contributing factor.)

**(Because Zaheer didn't immediately attempt to kill Korra in the spirit world and seemed genuinely interested in telling her about his ideology, and continued to help Korra in season 4, I do not believe the Red Lotus would have killed four-year-old Korra if they had been successful in their kidnapping attempt. It seems much more as if the White Lotus feared Korra being turned 'against them' by the Red Lotus's ideology. I'm also not stating that Raava isolated or brainwashed any of her avatars, because she didn't, but again, the most extreme length of the principles she represents.)

[signalburst]

Shōgun Historical Shallow-Dive: the Final Part - The Samurai Were Assholes, When 'Accuracy' Isn't Accurate, Beautiful Art, and Where to From Here

Final part. There is an enormous cancer attached to the samurai mythos and James Clavell's orientalism that I need to address. Well, I want to, anyway. In acknowledging how great the 2024 adaptation of Shōgun is, it's important to engage with the fact that it's fiction, and that much of its marketed authenticity is fake. That doesn't take away from it being an excellent work of fiction, but it is a very important distinction to me.

If you want to engage with the cool 'honourable men with swords' trope without thinking any deeper, navigate away now. Beyond here, there are monsters - literal and figurative. If you're interested in how different forms of media are used to manufacture consent and shape national identity, please bear with me.

I think the makers of 2024's Shōgun have done a fantastic job. But there is one underlying problem they never fully wrestled with. It's one that Hiroyuki Sanada, the leading man and face of the production team, is enthusiastically supportive of. And with the recent announcement of Season 2, it's likely to return. You may disagree, but to me, ignoring this dishonours the millions of people who were killed or brutalised by either the samurai class, or people in the 20th century inspired by a constructed idea of them.

Why are we drawn to the samurai?

A pretty badly sourced, but wildly popular history podcast contends that 'The Japanese are just like everybody else, only more so.' I saw a post on here that tried to make the assertion that the show's John Blackthorne would have been exposed to as much violence as he saw in Japan, and wouldn't have found it abnormal.

This is incorrect. Obviously 16th and 17th century Europe were violent places, but they contained violence familiar to Europeans through their cultural lens. Why am I confidently asserting this? We have hundreds of letters, journals and reports from Spaniards, Portuguese, Dutch and English expressing absolute horror about what they encountered. Testing swords on peasants was becoming so common that it would eventually become the law of the land. Crucifixion was enacted as a punishment for Christians - first by the Taiko, then by the Tokugawa shogunate - for irony's sake.

Before the end of the feudal period, battles would end with the taking of heads for washing and display. Depending on who was viewing them, this was either to honour them, or to gloat: 'I'm alive, you're dead.' These things were ritualised to the point of being codified when real-life Toranaga took control. Seppuku started as a cultural meme and ended up being the enforced punishment for any minor mistake for the 260 years the ruling samurai class acted as the nation's bureaucracy. It got more and more ritualised and flowery the more it got divorced from its origin: men being ordered by other men to kill themselves during a period of chaotic warfare. I've read accounts of samurai 'warriors' during the Edo period committing seppuku for being late for work. Not life-and-death warrior work - after Sekigahara, they were just book-keepers. They had desk jobs.

Since Europe's contact with Japan, the samurai myth has fascinated and appalled in equal measure. As time has gone on, the fascination has gone up and the horror has been dialled down. This is not an accident. This isn't just a change in the rest of the world's perception of the samurai. This is the result of approximately 120 years of Japanese government policies. Successive governments - nationalist, military authoritarian, and post-war democratic - began to lionize the samurai as the perfect warrior ideal, and sanitize the history of their origin and their heydey (the period Shōgun covers). It erases the fact that almost all of the fighting of the glorious samurai Sengoku Jidai was done by peasant ashigaru (levies), who had no choice.

It is important to never forget why this was done initially: to form an imagined-historical ideal of a fighting culture. An imagined fighting culture that Japanese invasion forces could emulate to take colonies and subdue foreign populations in WWI, and, much more brutally, in WWII. James Clavell came into contact with it as a Japanese Prisoner of War.

He just didn't have access to the long view, or he didn't care.

The Original Novel - How One Ayn Rand Fan Introduced Japan to America

There's a reason why 1975's Shogun novel contains so many historical anachronisms. James Clavell bought into a bunch of state-sanctioned lies, unachored in history, about the warring states period, the concept of bushido (manufactured after the samurai had stopped fighting), and the samurai class's role in Japanese history.

For the novel, I could go into great depth, but there are three things that stand out.

Never let the truth get in the way of a good story. He's a novelist, and he did what he liked. But Clavell's novel was groundbreaking in the 70's because it was sold as a lightly-fictionalised history of Japan. The unfortunate fact is the official version that was being taught at the time (and now) is horseshit, and used for far-right wing authoritarian/nationalist political projects. The Three Unifiers and the 'honour of the samurai' magnates at the time is a neat package to tell kids and adults, but it was manufactured by an early-20th century Japanese Imperial Government trying to harness nationalism for building up a war-ready population. Any slightly critical reading of the primary sources shows the samurai to be just like any ruling class - brutal, venal, self-interested, and horrifically cruel. Even to their contemporary warrior elites in Korea and China.

Fake history as propraganda. Clavell swallowed and regurgitated the 'death before dishonour', 'loyalty to the cause above all else', 'it's all for the Realm' messages that were deployed to justify Imperial Japanese Army Class-A war crimes during the war in the Pacific and the Creation of the Greater East Asian Co-Properity Sphere. This retroactive samurai ethos was used in the late Meiji restoration and early 20th century nationalist-military governments to radicalise young Japanese men into being willing to die for nothing, and kill without restraint. The best book on this is An Introduction to Japanese Society by Sugimoto Yoshio, but there is a vast corpus of scholarship to back it up.

Clavell's orientalism strays into outright racism. Despite the novel Shōgun undercutting John Blackthorne as a white savior in its final pages - showing him as just a pawn in the game - Clavell's politics come into play in every Asia Saga novel. A white man dominates an Asian culture through the power of capitalism. This is orthagonal to points 1 and 2, but Clavell was a devotee of Ayn Rand. There's a reason his protagonists all appear cut from the same cloth. They thrust their way into an unfamiliar society, they use their knowledge of trade and mercantilism to heroically save the day, they are remarked upon by the Asian characters as braver and stronger, and they are irresistible to the - mostly simpering, extremely submissive - caricatures of Asian women in his novels. Call it a product of its times or a product of Clavell's beliefs, I still find it repulsive. Clavell invents (nearly from whole cloth, actually) the idea that samurai find money repulsive and distasteful, and his Blackthorne shows them the power of commerce and markets. Plus there are numerous other stereotypes (Blackthorne's massive dick! Japanese men have tiny penises! Everyone gets naked and bathes together because they're so sexually free! White guys are automatically cool over there!) that have fuelled the fantasies of generations of non-Japanese men, usually white: Clavell's primary audience of 'dad history' buffs.

2024's Shōgun, as a television adaptation, did a far better job in almost every respect

But the show did much better, right? Yes. Unquestionably. It was an incredible achievement in bringing forward a tired, stereotypical story to add new themes of cultural encounter, questioning one's place in the broader world, and killing your ego. In many ways, the show was the antithesis to Clavell's thesis.

It drastically reigned in the anachronistic, ahistorical referencees to 'bushido' and 'samurai honor', and showed the ruling class of Japan in 1600 much more accurately. John Blackthorne (William Adams) was shown to be an extraordinary person, but he wasn't central to the outcome of the Eastern Army-Western Army civil war. There aren't scenes of him being the best lover every woman he encounters in Japan has ever had (if you haven't read the book, this is not an exaggeration). He doesn't teach Japanese warriors how to use matchlock rifles, which they had been doing for two hundred years. He doesn't change the outcome of enormous events with his thrusting, self-confident individualism. In 2024's Shōgun, Blackthorne is much like his historical counterpart. He was there for fascinating events, but not central. He wasn't teaching Japanese people basic concepts like how to make money or how to make war.

On fake history - the manufactured samurai mythos - it improved on the novel, but didn't overcome the central problems. In many ways, I can't blame the showrunners. Many of the central lies (and they are deliberate lies) constructed around the concept of samurai are hallmarks of the genre. But it's still important to me to notice when it's happening - even while enjoying some of the tropes - without passively accepting it.

'Authenticity' to a precisely manufactured story, not to history

There's a core problem surrounding the promotion and manufactured discussion surrounding 2024's Shōgun. I think it's a disconnect between the creative and marketing teams, but it came up again and again in advertising and promotion for the show: 'It's authentic. It's as real as possible.'

I've only seen this brought up in one article, Shōgun Has a Japanese-Superiority Complex, by Ryu Spaeth:

'The show also valorizes a supreme military power that is tempered by the pursuit of beauty and the highest of cultures, as if that might be a formula for peace. Shōgun displays these two extremes of the Japanese self, the savagery and the refinement, but seems wholly unaware that there may be a connection between them, that the exquisite sensibility Japan is famous for may flow from, and be a mask for, its many uses of atrocious domination.'

Here we come to authenticity.

'The publicity surrounding the series has focused on its fidelity to authenticity: multiple rounds of translation to give the dialogue a “classical” feel; fastidious attention to how katana swords should be slung, how women of the nobility should fold their knees when they sit, how kimonos should be colored and styled; and, crucially, a decentralization of the narrative so that it’s not dominated by the character John Blackthorne.'

It's undeniable that the 2024 production spent enormous amounts of energy on authenticity. But authenticity to what? To traditional depictions of samurai in Japanese media, not to history itself. The experts hired for gestures, movement, costumes, buildings, and every other aspect of the show were experts with decades in experience making Japanese historical dramas 'look right', not experts in Japanese history. But this appeal to 'Japanese authenticity' was made in almost every piece of promotional material.

The show had only one historical advisor on staff, and he was Dutch. The numerous Japanese consultants, experts and specialists brought on board (talked about at length in the show's marketing and behind the scenes) were there to assist with making an accurate Japanese jidaigeki. It's the difference between hiring an experienced BBC period drama consultant, and a historian specialising in the Regency. One knows how to make things look 'right' to a British audience. The other knows what actually happened.

That's fine, but a critical viewing of the show needs to engage with this. It's a stylistically accurate Japanese period drama. It is not an accurate telling of Japanese history around the unification of Japan. If it was, the horses would be the size of ponies, there would be far more malnourished and brutalised peasants, the word samurai would have far less importance as it wasn't yet a rigidly enforced caste, seppuku wouldn't yet be ritualised and performed with as much frequency, and Toranaga - Tokugawa - would be a famously corpulently obese man, pounding the saddle of his horse in frustration at minor setbacks, as he was in history.

The noble picture of restraint, patience, refinement and honour presented by Hiroyuki Sanada as Toranaga/Tokugawa is historical sanitation at its most extreme. Despite being Sanada's personal hero, Tokugawa Ieyasu was a brutal warlord (even for the standards of the time), and he committed acts of horrific cruelty. He ordered many more after gaining ultimate power. Think a miniseries about the Founding Fathers of the United States that doesn't touch upon slavery - I'm sure there have been plenty.

The final myth that 2024's Shōgun leaves us with is that it took a man like Toranaga - Tokugawa Ieyasu - to bring peace to a land ripped assunder by chaos. This plays into 19th century notions of Great Man History, and is a neat story, but the consensus amongst historians is if it wasn't Tokugawa, it would have been some other cunt. In many cases, it very nearly was. His success was historical contingency, not 5D chess.

So how did this image get manufactured, to the point where the Japanese populace - by and large - believes it to be true? Very long story short: after a period of rapid modernisation, Japan embraced nationalism in the late 19th century. It was all the rage. Nationalism depends on a glorified past. The samurai (recently the pariahs of Japanese history) were repurposed as Japan's unique warrior heroes, and woven into state education. This was especially heated in the 1920s and 30s in the lead up to the invasion of Manchuria and Japan's war of aggression in the Pacific. Nationalism + militarism = the modern Japanese samurai myth, to prepare men to obey orders unquestioningly from a military dictatorship.

This persists in the postwar period. Every year since 1963, Japan's state broadcaster NHK commissions a historical drama - a Taiga Drama, where many of this show's actors got their starts - that manufactures and re-enforces the idea of samurai as noble, artful, honourable people. Read a book - read a Wikipedia article! - and you'll see that most of it stems from Tokugawa-shogunate era self-propaganda. It's much like the European re-interpretation of chivalry. In Europe's case, chivalry in actual history was a set of guidelines that allowed for the sanctioned mass-rape and murder of civilians, with a side of rules regarding the ransoming of nobles in scorched-earth military campaigns. In Japan's case, historical figures that regularly backstabbed each other, tortured rival warriors and their lessers, and inflicted horrific casualties on the peasants that they owned (we have a term for that) are cast as noble, honourable, dedicated servants of the Empire.

Why does this matter to me? Samurai movies and TV shows are just media, after all. The issue, for me, is that the actors, the producers - including Hiroyuki Sanada - passionately extoll 'accuracy' as if they genuinely believe they're telling history. They talk emotionally about bushido and its special place in Japanese society.

But the entire concept of bushido is a retroactive, post-conflict, samurai construction. Bushio is bullshit. Despite being spoken of as the central tenet of 2024's Shōgun by actors like Hiroyuki Sanada, Tadanobu Asano, and Tokuma Nishioka, it simply didn't exist at the time. It was made up after the advent of modern nationalism.

It was used to justify horrendous acts during the late Edo period, the Meiji restoration, and the years leading up to the conclusion of Japan's war of aggression in the Pacific. It's still used now by Japan's primarily right-wing government to deny war crimes and justify the horrors unleashed on Asia and the Pacific during World War II as some kind of noble warrior crusade. If you ever want your stomach turned, visit the museum attached to Yasukuni Shrine. It's a theme park dedicated to war crimes denial, linked intimately to Japan's imagined warrior past. Whether or not the production staff, cast, and marketing team of 2024's Shōgun knew they were engaging with a long line of ahistorical bullshit is unknown, but it is important.

It's also important to acknowledge that, having listened to many interviews with Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks, they were acutely aware that they weren't Japanese, to claim to be telling an authentically Japanese story would be wrong, and that all they could do was do their best to make an engaging work that plays on ideas of cultural encounter and letting go. I think the 'authenticity!' thing is mostly marketing, and judicious editing of what the creators and writers actually said in interviews.

So... you hate the show, then? What the hell is this all about?

No, I love the show. It's beautiful. But it's a beautiful artwork.

Just as the noh theatre in the show was a twisting of events within the show, so are all works of fiction that take inspiration from history. Some do it better than others. And on balance, in the show, Shōgun did it better than most. But so much of the marketing and the discussion of this adaptation has been on its accuracy. This has been by design - it was the strategy Disney adopted to market the show and give it a unique viewing proposition.

'This time, Shōgun is authentic!*

*an authentic Japanese period drama, but we won't mention that part.

And audiences have conflated that with what actually happened, as opposed to accuracy to a particular form of Japanese propaganda that has been honed over a century. This difference is crucial.

It doesn't detract from my enjoyment of it. Where I view James Clavell's novel as a horrid remnant of an orientalist, racist past, I believe the showrunners of 2024's Shōgun have updated that story to put Japanese characters front and centre, to decentralise the white protagonist to a more accurate place of observation and interest, and do their best to make a compelling subversion of the 'stranger in a strange land' tale.

But I don't want anyone who reads my words or has followed this series to think that the samurai were better than the armed thugs of any society. They weren't more noble, they weren't more honourable, they weren't more restrained. They just had 260 years in which they worked desk-jobs while wearing two swords to write stories about how glorious the good old days were, and how great people were.

Well... that's a bleak note to end on. Where to from here?

There are beautiful works of fiction that engage much closer with the actual truth of the samurai class that I'd recommend. One even stars Hiroyuki Sanada, and is (I think) his finest role.

I'd really encourage anyone who enjoyed Shōgun to check out The Twilight Samurai. That was the reality for the vast majority of post-Sekigahara samurai

For something closer to the period that Shogun is set, the best film is Seppuku (Hara-Kiri in English releases). It is a post-war Japanese film that engages both with the reality of samurai rule, and, through its central themes, how that created mythos was used to radicalise millions of Japanese into senseless death during the war. It is the best possible response to a romanticisation of a brutal, hateful period of history, dominated by cruel men who put power first, every single time.

I want to end this series, if I can, with hope. I hope that reading the novel or watching the 1980 show or the 2024 show has ignited in people an interest in Japanese culture, or society, or history. But don't let that be an end. Go further. There are so many things that aren't whitewashed warlords nobly killing - the social history of Japan is amazing, as is the women's history. A great book for getting an introduction to this is The Japanese: A History in 20 Lives.

And outside of that, there are so many beautiful Japanese movies and shows that don't deal with glorified violence and death. In fact, it makes up the vast majority of Japanese media! Who would have thought! Your Name was the first major work of art to bridge some of the cultural animosity between China and Japan stemming from WW2, and is a goofy time travel love story. Perfect Days is a beautiful movie about the simple joy of living, and it's about the most Tokyo story you can get.

Please go out, read more, watch more. If you can, try and find your way to Japan. It's one of the most beautiful places on earth. The people are kind, the food is delicious, and the culture is very welcoming to foreigners.

2024's Shōgun was great, but please don't let that be the end. Let it be the beginning, and I hope it serves as a gateway for you.

And I hope our little fandom on here remembers this show as a special time, where we came together to talk about something we loved. I'll miss you all.