#post-civil war

[abs0luteb4stard]

[creed-of-cats]

"If voting changed anything they wouldn't let people do it-" grabs your face THEY DIDN'T JUST "LET" PEOPLE DO IT, MOST PEOPLE COULDN'T VOTE FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS. PEOPLE OF COLOR ONLY GOT THE FULL RIGHT TO VOTE 50 YEARS AGO IN THE US, THATS BARELY A GENERATION.

IF IT DIDNT MATTER AT ALL WHY WOULD THEY SPEND SO MUCH TIME GERRYMANDERING THE SHIT OUT OF EVERYWHERE?? WHY CAN'T FELONS VOTE?? WHY CANT PUERTO RICO VOTE? WHY DO THEY KEEP SWITCHING DATES AND LAWS AND TIMES AND WHATEVER THEY POSSIBLY CAN TO STOP PEOPLE FROM VOTING?? WHY DO THEY MAKE EFFORT AT ALL??

BEING DISILLUSIONED IS A REASONABLE RESPONSE. BUT PEOPLE FOUGHT AND DIED AND ARE STILL FUCKING DYING FOR THAT RIGHT, DONT SPIT IN THEIR FACE.

[florida3exclamationpoints]

Steve + text posts pt. 6/?

[synchodai]

HBO's Continued Insistence on Dumbing Down Westerosi Politics

So there have been countless thinkpieces already on how GOT simplified the feudalist politics of Westeros (by giving a lowborn sellsword lordship over The Reach, by having no consequences for destroying the Sept of Baelor, etc.), but I haven't seen a lot of people talking about that for House of the Dragon.

The worst being that the show presupposes that Rhaenyra is the lawful heir when the books showed there are plenty of lawful arguments why she wouldn't be.

Mind you that I've been enjoying the show a lot so far. This is just to vent out my frustration with the writers' failure to fully engage with the values and protocols of the Middle Age-inspired setting. The show seems uninterested in laws of the Realm in a story ostensibly about politics, save for when they're using it as an excuse to amplify depictions of sex and violence.

Blacks vs Greens wasn't a matter of misunderstanding of who each side thought Viserys wanted on the throne. It was the Targaryens' belief of their absolute authority clashing with the Realm's established traditions. Everyone always knew who Viserys chose as heir. In Fire and Blood, Grand Maester Orwyle said as much when he was parleying with Rhaenyra on behalf of the Greens.

Rhaenyra heard his terms in stony silence, then asked Orwyle if he remembered her father, King Viserys. "Of course, Your Grace," the maester answered. "Perhaps you can tell us who he named as his heir and successor," the queen said, her crown upon her head. "You, Your Grace," Orwyle replied. And Rhaenyra nodded and said, "With your own tongue you admit I am your lawful queen. Why do you serve my half-brother, the pretender?" Munkun tells us that Orwyle gave a long and erudite reply, citing the Andal law and the Great Council of 101. Mushroom claims he stammered and voided his bladder. Whichever is true, his answer did not satisfy Princess Rhaenyra.

(For non-F&B readers: Munkun is the Grand Maester who served Aegon III, the king who came after this civil war. Munkun's book, The Dance of the Dragons, A True Telling, is one of Fire and Blood's source texts. Mushroom is the King Landing court jester from Viserys I to Aegon III's reign. One is a source written with academic rigor but is secondhand at best. The other is a firsthand eyewitness account but is from a literal fool who will take every chance to make things more scandalous and sexual to please the crowd.)

In House of the Dragon, they replaced Orwyle with Otto and Orwyle's discussion of legal precedent with Otto handing Rhaenyra a book page from Alicent. It's quite evident here that the writers, much like Mushroom, thought a discussion on the actual laws of the Realm were negligible in this story about a succession war.

Even Alicent made no pretense that Viserys chose Rhaenyra over her children and I have no idea why the HBO writers decided to make her mistakenly think otherwise. Maybe they thought a queen regent pushing her son to take the throne over another woman made her appear unsympathetic as a character, but if anything, this only makes show!Alicent less politically savvy and more delusional than her book counterpart, fully believing an addled king's vague muttering on his deathbed was sufficient grounds to change heirs last minute.

Book!Alicent following Andal laws instead of her husband's wishes makes sense given her Andal upbringing, her devotion to the Faith of the Seven which enforces said laws, and her desire to protect her children from Rhaenyra given that Rhaenyra has shown she's not above murdering family (see: Laenor).

In the books, there was a long discussion between the former king's council on who should succeed Viserys.

Here are the arguments for Rhaenyra:

Rhaenyra was older than her brothers and had more Targaryen blood

the late king had chosen her as his successor, that he had repeatedly refused to alter the succession despite the pleadings of Queen Alicent and her greens

hundreds of lords and landed knights had done obeisance to the princess in 105 AC, and sworn solemn oaths to defend her rights.

Here are the arguments for Aegon II:

many of the lords who had sworn to defend the succession of Princess Rhaenyra were long dead [...]

Ironrod, the master of laws, cited the Great Council of 101 and the Old King’s choice of Baelon rather than Rhaenys in 92

the hallowed Andal tradition wherein the rights of a trueborn son always came before the rights of a mere daughter

Ser Otto reminded them that Rhaenyra’s husband was none other than Prince Daemon, and “we all know that one’s nature. Make no mistake, should Rhaenyra ever sit the Iron Throne, it will be Lord Flea Bottom who rules us, a king consort as cruel and unforgiving as Maegor ever was [...]”

Should the princess reign [...] Jacaerys Velaryon would rule after her. “Seven save this realm if we seat a bastard on the Iron Throne.”

Once again, the show chose to cut out this long political discussion. Instead, the council had already made up their mind and decided to stage a coup (when in their perspectives from the books, it would definitely not be a coup).

For all their marketing how two sides are equally grey, HotD is actively delegitimizing Aegon II. The strongest argument for him is how his claim follows the laws of the Realm, but the show doesn't seem to care about the laws of the Realm or the political need to maintain a more predictable/tested transfer of power.

Instead, the show focuses on Viserys's relationship with his daughter and the mysticism of the Targaryen bloodline. In doing so, they emphasize Rhaenyra's strongest arguments for succession — that she's more of a Targaryen than her half-brother and that her father prefered her.

And what for? Because in our modern-day, we don't have male-prefered inheritance and people can only imagine misogyny as the only injustice here? What about the injustice of a monarch exercising absolute control, thinking that his "superior" heritage makes him above the established laws of the native people?

This is not to say Aegon II is unquestionably the heir. But this is to say that the show removed the political nuance of why people are questioning in the first place. Precedence isn't the end-all-be-all of succession, but neither is "because daddy said so".

[fizz-pop-thwip]

Can Iron man dick riders take 2 seconds to use critical thinking skills. "What if it was your parents" NO ONE IS BLAMING TONY'S REACTION BUT DO YOU SERIOUSLY JUST EXPECT STEVE TO SIT THERE AND LET IT HAPPEN??

He knows Bucky has been tortured and been through fucking hell for 70 YEARS, not to mention that is his best friend, you want him to just stand and fucking watch?? They didn't 'jump tony' tony attacked first and they went as far as they needed to aka disabling Tony's weapon, that being his suit.

It makes me think that people haven't watched CATWS BC Bucky is quite literally as innocent as they can get, he was stripped of all his autonomy. He had no choice over his actions, do I need to define mind control for some people?? Seriously.

I feel like I need to reiterate like 10 times over, No one is blaming Tony but you cannot possibly blame Steve for protecting Bucky because Bucky is a victim.

[dear-ao3]

robert e lee was a fucking idiot and a terrible general and im not sorry for saying so

[vigilskeep]

when you first start the cousland origin, you can have some conversations with arl howe, teyrn cousland, and duncan that shed some interesting light on the political situation in ferelden. it’s definitely the origin where you get the most context on the rebellion and on cailan and his father. while howe isn’t exactly the most trustworthy of sources, he is also one of the most openly critical of cailan that we have access to, which i think is worthy of interest

howe remembers maric with what the toolset describes as “genuine fondness”: “your father hasn’t spoken of our time with him? that man took care of his friends. as they say, he was large as life and twice as tall!” i think we should pay particular attention to that man took care of his friends.

what howe’s talking about is a really important aspect of kingship, where you win the consent and enthusiasm of the nobility for your rule by offering rewards like wealth, land, and prestige to the loyal. kingship is always less stable than it’s portrayed, and this is one of the ways that kings must essentially sell to the nobility that answering to them is worth their time, which would be especially important in ferelden given everything we know about its culture. fereldans believe someone only has power when it is given by the loyalty of those below them, who have the right to freely rescind that loyalty. the dao codex says that “the sight of [fereldan kings] asking for—and working to win—the support of ‘lesser’ men is a source of constant wonder to foreign ambassadors.”

i suspect howe is remembering a maric fresh from the victories of the rebellion, who was able to reward those who had followed him with the spoils of those victories. at the end of the stolen throne, we see that in the final days of the rebellion, maric was killing those who had betrayed his mother to the orlesians even when they arrived under truce to meet him on holy ground. in dao, we see no lingering orlesian nobility except for those who married in and continue to be met with marked hostility. i think we can safely surmise that maric elected to make no conciliatory measures and give everything to those who had followed him; with the orlesians on the run and his people out for blood, he was in a strong enough position to do so, and it certainly served to win the fond memories of men like howe.

by contrast, howe goes on to say, “it’s too bad cailan isn’t half that.” the toolset notes establish very clearly that it’s the same issue, elaborating on howe’s thoughts: “bitter turn, i don’t get as much from the current king”, and “disdainful, i have no use for him, he does me no favours”. this isn’t a minor character detail, if howe’s last words when killed by the player are anything to go by. “maker spit on you... i deserved... more...” whatever it is that howe feels he should have been given, by the crown or anyone else, it characterises his actions and his defining treachery.

it’s in these same conversations that we see another side of this demonstrated. there are two points where howe can openly criticise the king, and bryce immediately admonishes him for both. one even has the toolset note: “speaks sharply, as a lord to a lesser man, not a friend to an equal”. it definitely comes across that way; the way he tells howe “that’s enough” is not far off the voice he uses when the player, his child, displeases him. bryce can’t tolerate any criticism of cailan, as the couslands in dao are ardent supporters of the king. to venture some hc, i suspect that this is not merely royalist fervour, and that howe’s resentment for having been given less is matched by bryce’s awareness of the precariousness of having more.

over the centuries, the theirins have consolidated their power and eradicated almost all the teyrns (the noble rank that is second only to the king). with the only other lingering teyrn being loghain, who is essentially part and parcel of the royal family, the couslands stand alone as the only real rivals to theirin power within ferelden. there are rumours that bryce was once considered for king instead of the theirins; he too could have decided to believe he “deserved more”. but unlike howe, and perhaps understandably given his strong position and happy growing family, he is satisfied with what he has. he will not take the risk of even the slightest challenge being made within his hall

(i expect that bryce’s satisfaction with the current situation further spurred howe’s dissatisfaction to its heights, given the complicated cousland-howe history and the fact that he was expected to accept a friend he had fought beside as a superior for the rest of his life.)

i don’t think howe’s judgement on cailan is likely to be without basis. we don’t hear about any victories the young king has to his name, from which he could have passed around spoils. (to be fair, cailan had harder luck than maric in this regard. a king who raises a successful rebellion gets to bring glory and prestige to everyone who follows him, whereas a king trying to rebuild after that rebellion mostly gets to bring, uh, taxes probably. especially on wealthy centres of trade like howe’s amaranthine, one might assume.) cailan also takes a far more diplomatic approach to the question of orlais, which perhaps predictably did not win over many nobles of howe’s generation. it makes sense that cailan’s strongest supporters would instead be men like bryce who hope for things to simply continue, peacefully, as they are. perhaps in another world where cailan had won the battle of ostagar, he might have earned wider respect. (you could actually argue on this basis that there’s more sense and purpose to cailan’s glory-seeking than he usually gets credit for.) but howe already acts before ostagar, which can only demonstrate his certainty in cailan’s failings at this point: his belief that even if cailan could win, he would not be stable enough to pursue justice for the couslands

[fotibrit]

Peter can hear heartbeats, including other people’s. He’s gotten used to it in the years since the bite, and it has made him much more empathetic. He can hear other people’s hearts race if they make a mistake in class, he can sense the anxiety of someone meeting him for the first time, he feels the fear of others because of his abilities.

It’s also the reason he realized Mister Stark has a far bigger anxiety problem than he lets on. Starks heart races at the slightest scare, the mention of certain events or people. Peter has gotten into the habit of avoiding certain topics to avoid inflicting that fear on Stark, even if Stark doesn’t let on his fear in any other way.

Mister Starks anxiety spikes at the mention of Captain America, for as long as Peter has known him. For a while, Peter thought it was because of what happened with the Accords. Peter thought it was lasting anxiety from the team drama.

But it’s been years. Stark and Rogers have interacted positively since then, Stark has even referred to Rogers affectionately multiple times.

And yet, Stark’s heart races.

[rusted-soldier]

Thinking about Bucky in Romania and how every old lady in his apartment building probably adores him because he’s this handsome, strong, man who always helps them cross the street, and keeps those whippersnappers from stealing their purses, and holds the door open, and is just so baby-shaped to all of them.

[lefthandarm-man]

Bucky Barnes // The Winter Soldier Captain America: Civil War (2016)

the way he looks at steve (part 1, part 2, part 3)

(steve vers.)

[reasonsforhope]

In 2016, when the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) signed a peace agreement with the Colombian government, scientists realized that the rainforests, mountains, and savannahs, out of which the FARC waged a 50-year guerrilla war, and which were counted among the most biodiverse and least-explored places on earth, were suddenly safe to explore.

In Colombia, a few biologists who longed to journey to the heart of these places also saw them as the perfect way to bring 14,000 former guerrillas back into society in a meaningful way that would benefit not only them, but the country’s stunning biodiversity.

Colombia is often referred to as the world’s most biodiverse country. Although this is a hard thing to designate since many species around the world of all kinds remain undiscovered, she does lay claim to the most bird species anywhere on earth – both endemic and migratory.

Who better to help protect Colombia’s wild spaces than those who know them best, thought Jaime Góngora, a wildlife geneticist at the University of Sydney but who is originally from Colombia.

Góngora now leads a group of researchers from the United Kingdom, Australia, and 10 different Colombian scientific institutions in a program to train ex‑guerrillas to study Colombia’s native plants and animals, which to date has uncovered nearly 100 previously-unknown species.

Peace with Nature

Peace with Nature is the result of these scientists working together with guerillas to help protect Colombia’s biodiversity and aid in the post-conflict situation for thousands of people, 84% of whom, according to Góngora, are interested in pursuing, of all things, river habitat restoration as their post-conflict career path.

Góngora and his colleagues are only too happy to help, and Peace with Nature began hosting citizen scientist workshops to help train eager folks how to find, identify, catalogue, and study wild plants, insects, birds, amphibians, and more.

The preparation work was long and hard – between 15 and 18 months according to Góngora...

“In some of the workshops, we have the presence of the police and military forces along with the ex-combatants,” explains Góngora. “I think what has surprised me most is the opportunity that biodiversity offers for reconciliation and healing after an armed conflict. These workshops have been spaces for a respectful dialogue about biodiversity and nature.”"

-via World at Large, 7/13/20

Note: Video is half in English, half in Spanish. Spanish subtitles for English parts only.

[nnaviee]

Hey Navie! (idk if its weird to use your name lol) I was wondering if you'd do a Natasha Romanoff x Fem reader? Maybe about a prank? I love pranks that have angst and then end in fluff so so much. I also love reading different writers' takes on a prank. If you don't like it that's totally fine. Love ya!! :3

seemingly harmless-natasha romanoff x fem!reader

“Любовь моя” = my love

warnings: guns, swearing, i think that’s it?

words: 3k

———————————————————————————

you slowly turned your key in the lock, opening the door to her apartment. you entered cautiously as you took in your surroundings. dark, and quiet. you had just come back from a mission, a long one. you were excited to see your girlfriend, but also felt like a prank was in order.

you slowly crept down the hallway and slowly opened her bedroom door, taking a moment to admire her peaceful, sleeping form. nobody ever really saw such a vulnerable side of her, yet you were one of the few select people who were given the privilege.

you’d seen a lot together, and you’d seen every side of each other. you made your way around the bed, pulling the sharpie you brought out of your pocket as you leaned next to the bed. you carefully lifted her arm, you had barely begun to write your name on her skin before you felt her jolt awake.

the next thing you knew, you were pressed against the wall, natasha standing behind you with a gun to your head. you knew she kept one near the bed, but this was not the outcome you expected from this seemingly harmless joke.

“nat! nat, please. it’s me.” you cried out without thinking, squeezing your eyes shut as they filled with unshed tears. “i’m sorry, i didn’t mean to scare you.” you felt her grip on your arm loosen slightly as she slowly came back to reality.

she let go of your arm, turning you around to look at your face. “jesus fucking christ! where did you- when did you get home?” she was out of breath, the incident making her chest rise and fall rapidly as she processed what happened in her half-awake moment of adrenaline.

“about an hour or so ago…i think.” you were equally out of breath, your wide eyes flitting down to the weapon she still held in her white-knucked grip. she followed your gaze, looking down and quickly scrambling to put it away.

“god, i’m so sorry. i thought you…” she trailed off, lightly holding your fingers as she looked down between you. “i’m sorry.” she whispered it, barely audible. you reluctantly squeezed her fingers back, leaning your head down slightly to look at her.

“i’m sorry, too. i shouldn’t have snuck up on you like that. are you…you know, okay?” you reached a hand up to tuck a hair behind her ear as she slowly lifted her head to look at you. “i’m not the one who just had a gun to my head.” she choked out the words. “love, are you okay?” she brought a hand up and cupped your cheek, lightly tracing her thumb back and forth.

you inhaled and exhaled slowly, shaking slightly. “yeah. i’m alright. i’m tired, though.” you held her hand as your other hand rested on her shoulder. she looked at you, her eyes showing every ounce of guilt and disbelief she felt.

“let’s go to bed. the gun is safely put away, i promise.” she said slowly as she walked backwards, sitting on the edge of the bed and pulling you to sit next to her. you both sat on the edge of the bed, your hands interlocked. you leaned your head on her shoulder. “i’m sorry i scared you, nat.”

she brought a hand up, running it through your hair. “i would never intentionally hurt you. you know that, right?” you wrapped your arms around her waist and pulled her close to you as you buried your head in the crook of her neck.

“i know.” you whispered as both laid down, finding solace in each other’s arms as you settled beneath the covers. you rested your head on her chest and she continued to play with your hair. your breathing began to sync with hers as the two of you lay in comfortable silence. “i love you so much, Любовь моя.” she whispered into the quiet room.

“i love you more.” you responded as you closed your eyes and settled in closer to her, both of you drifting off to sleep.

———————————————————————————

A/N: ty so much for reading and suggesting!!! i hope yall enjoyed this. like i said, i’m pretty out of practice when it comes to writing things other than plays or poems, so this might be lowkey terrible lmao. also i’ll usually be writing in lowercase bc i’m too lazy to turn my autocaps on.

<3, navie.

[16woodsequ]

Friendly reminder that Steve didn't 'leave Tony to die' in Siberia. He fled to protect Bucky’s life (who Tony was trying to kill). It literally isn't Steve's job at that point to get Tony out of Siberia do you just expect him to shove them both on a plane together??

Also Tony wasn't left to die or freeze in Siberia because T’CHALLA IS RIGHT THERE. You really think T’Challa left with Zemo and didn't grab Tony too???

Anyway, please enjoy this PSA.

[florida3exclamationpoints]

Marvel + text posts

[kenisle]

love love LOVE watching captain america civil war and seeing tony do soooo much to try to convince steve and then apprehend him like anything’s gonna fucking stop that guy from getting his man!!! tony something you have to understand about steve rogers is that he’s been both unstoppable force and immovable object since long before that serum turned him into a brick shithouse! all erskine did was manifest what was already there in spirit and right now he’s got his sights SET on saving bucky. by calling in your reinforcements you’re just increasing the cost, because he will pay ANY price to protect bucky and he WILL succeed because he simply won’t stop until he does. i’m cackling this bitch has no idea

[dirigibleplumbing]

If you're like me, sometimes you need the full text of Civil-War-era Tony's letter to Steve in the event of his death from "What If? Fallen Son" (2009). So here it is in its entirety!

If you notice any typos on my part, please let me know.

I put line breaks wherever the text was broken up, either by being in different sections of a panel or different panels/pages. I preserved the ellipses, though I didn't double them (in many cases a section of text would end in "..." and then the next section would also begin with "..."). I also didn't double up line breaks and ellipses.

Steve, I hope you never have to read this, old friend, because if you do, it means something terrible has happened. It means I'm dead. I suppose it shouldn't come as much of a surprise, really. During my years as Iron Man, I've racked up hundreds of enemies who wanted to do me in… and after recent events, probably a few old friends who feel the same. It's funny, though. I always prided myself on being a futurist--constantly thinking a leap ahead of everyone else. Apparently, that leap wasn't nearly far enough. But this letter is about looking forward--not back. It doesn't matter what killed me. All that matters is what happens next… and the legacy I've left behind. I'm not talking about Iron Man, either. The suit is nothing without the right man inside… and there aren't many I'd trust to pilot. Rhodey. Pepper. Happy. Maybe Jarvis… though he was never really the hero-type. And you, Steve. Whether you believe it or not, I always trusted you. Even during the darkest days--during the war--I never stopped believing in you. No one did. But like I said, this isn't about choosing a new Iron Man. There was a world before him, and there will be one after. This is about my ideas--the plans and inventions that I hoped would make the world a better place. This is about making sure those things don't fall into the wrong hands. I don't even want to imagine the suffering that could cause… That's where you come in it. I need your help, Steve. I need you to keep an eye on things now that I can't anymore--which is a lot to ask, I know, after what I've put you through. Still you're the only one I trust to make certain everything I was working for doesn't fall apart without me… and to ensure that the threats that I wasn't around to predict… don't end up blindsiding us in my absence. Our war may be over, Steve, but we both know that it won't be the last one. When the time comes, the world will still need heroes. And when the fighting is over and history is written… I can only hope that we will be remembered as more than just heroes. I hope that we will be remembered as I will always remember us… As friends.

And the typeface used in the comic is--or is very close to--Lucida Handwriting Light, which used to come free with a lot of Microsoft products.

I also have a rough mock-up of the entire letter.