#but defense policy so interesting anyway.
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If you want, and only if you want to, could you explain about making Logistics a big part of Ice's career path? Not only did fit so well with your Ice's characterization, it was just so neat I've made it my HC for Ice's career path.
yes!
I got REALLy deep into the defense policy weeds in this post so I’m putting a cut to save people’s dashboards
1. when i was rewriting chapters 8 &9 last winter i did literally the bare minimum of research about the current set of high-level officers. the commander of the pacific fleet at the time had previously been the director of pacific fleet logistics ordnance & supply. So that was easy to yoink. a proven chain of succession.
2. but also: it fit ice’s (or his alter ego admiral Kazansky’s) neat, orderly, effective, collected, strategic characterization. And as professional tactics go, there would be no better promotion for a high-level officer looking to take over the fleet than DFLOS. understand the fleet by the numbers, you comprehensively understand the fleet.
3. In terms of secret-keeping logistics, ice is supposed to be kind of the best. like, because of his logistical thinking, he & maverick get away with it. Or that’s how I would’ve written it if I were a little smarter. Obviously in practice a bunch of people find out so it’s not great. but the navy AS A WHOLE doesn’t find out.
4. The field of military logistics is rigorously bureaucratic, boring, soulsucking, selfdefeating, notoriously corrupt, and yet entirely necessary for the military to succeed at any level (in the very first draft of WWGATTAI i included a famous US marine corps maxim that most people have heard at some point: “amateurs talk tactics. professionals talk logistics.” but that was literally the only good thing about the original chapter 6 which got entirely rewritten a month after i published it). So logistics as a field of specialization fit in perfectly with my secondary character thesis that rising through the boring bureaucratic ranks of the Navy sucked all the humanity & will to live out of ice one day at a time.
a couple related interesting things that I’ve never talked about on this blog & might never get the chance to again:
a) ice canonically joins the navy as a fighter pilot & ends his career as a glorified bureaucrat. that sucks. obviously the struggle to rise in the ranks is a notoriously cutthroat, political, sleazy business (you do not get to the top of the United States Navy by being nice to people), but i would also not be the first person to say that—for exemplary officers—leadership is an EXPECTATION that can counterbalance someone’s natural drive to excel, if that makes sense. You get promoted because you’re good at something (flying), but you get promoted away from the thing you were good at. There is an extent to which you have to fight for a promotion—but there is also an extent to which commanders above you pick you for the job, suck you up along the pipeline. Loss of agency—a major major component of joining the military—does still apply to upper-level officers.
B) to that end, i am reminded of one quote from Todd Schmidt’s 2023 book “Silent Coup of the Guardians: US Military Elite Influence on National Security.” This is an Army training & doctrine commander speaking: “the military has a lot of two- and three-star senior leaders that were confident, charismatic commanders at the O-6 level. But that’s the end of the story. One in fifty, maybe one in a hundred, truly have what it takes to operate successfully at the strategic level and make a real difference for their service. The problem is that they all tend to think that, since they have stars on their shoulders, they’re the one.” —I’ve been writing ice as “The Chosen One,” the officer unicorn, for two reasons: one, it provides him cover for his illegal relationship (and also asks an interesting chicken-egg question: does he get away with his rlnship because he’s so good, or is he so good JUST to get away with his relationship?); and two, he’s “the chosen one” in canon, i.e. he already has four stars in canon: canonically he is not a mediocre officer. But most officers (cough cough maverick) are not cut out for high-level leadership.
C.) in Thomas E. Ricks’ book “The Generals,” Ricks argues that (at least in the Army) mediocrity in the general/flag officer ranks is unfortunately by design. In WWII, if you were a mediocre officer, you got relieved! You got fired! It’s part of why we won: merciless culling of the general officer ranks! But between WWII and Korea, officer relief began to be associated with shame & wasted resources. Mediocre officers got promoted anyways. The military elite pipeline sucks mediocrity up the chain of command. Ricks blames this issue for (at least the Army’s) shit leadership in every post-WWII war, including but most especially Iraq and Afghanistan. There’s no penalty for mediocrity. That in turn reflects on military strategy (mediocre strategists at the helm) & the outcome of every military foray (mediocre outcomes).
D) additionally. There’s a whole neverending debate in the field of civil-military relations (an extremely interesting field of study btw) about the corporatization of the military—lots of high-level talk over the years of “running the military like a business.” If you get kinda into defense policy like me (am i still antimilitary? Idk! but i CAN easily tell you i am against the navy’s littoral combat ship program! It sucks!) then you will know that the navy is struggling right now on a lot of different fronts (procurement [shipbuilding esp. is a disaster—ford-class carriers are under budget though 👍🏽], recruitment, theatre prioritization, general preparedness, readiness against major adversaries [China in particular]). Simply, the navy is pretty mediocre at the minute. I talk a big game about ice being COMPACFLT & SECNAV, but if those are true, & if he “exists” in our current timeline, or even canon timeline (COMPACFLT in 2020), then he’s complicit in a lot of why the navy is sucking ass right now. He didn’t do his job very well. LOL. So, because I love (especially my version of) ice too much to see his legacy suffer, I am stating for the record that my timeline is a different timeline where ice saves the navy from itself and fixes all its issues & solves all its problems & makes it the pride of the armed forces & the tip of the spear of American defense :) because I said so
E.) unrelated but important. It sounds obvious but it must be said. Ice dies on the job in TGM canon. To the extent that in earlier drafts of the script, not-his-sister-Sarah even points out to maverick that ice is still active duty, in the same breath as she tells him ice is sick again. (A wise move to remove that line.) ice does not resign his commission. Ice does not retire to spend time with his family at the end of his life. Ice dies as commander of the pacific fleet. He dies on the job; he dies FOR the job, bureaucratic as it is. If you were wondering why I wrote ice so dormantly suicidal, it’s because canon (i argue) has made it clear that—since the second ice signed up to be a fighter pilot during the Cold War to the second he died active duty—ice has ALWAYS been ready and willing to die for his honorable Navy career.
#so imagine what would have happened had he been publicly dishonored 😶#It’s also why i interrupted his SECNAV tenure with his cancer#to pay respects to compacflt Ice having the same thing happen to him#my Ice is built different tho. it doesn’t kill him#he retires to spend time with his family ☺️#unlike selfish asshole canon ice ‼️🤬#/s#this post gets DEEP into it but i find this stuff sooo interesting#got really into defense policy & missing the forest for the trees#i will admit that#military bad? yes but.#but defense policy so interesting anyway.#tom iceman kazansky#top gun#top gun maverick#icemav#edts notes#asks#last post of the night
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Here’s a little thing that’s been bugging me for a few weeks.
Summary: Stiles is a demon. This is common knowledge. At least, he was under the impression that this is common knowledge. He should have known better than to trust Derek Hale to figure it out.
————————————
Look, in his defense, Stiles was sure they knew. At least, he was sure Derek knew, and if Derek knew, then the rest of the pack knew. That’s just kind of how it works, when they aren’t hiding threats from each other.
(He’s not pointing fingers. It’s just that Stiles sometimes gets fucking tired when the pack does not tell him shit and then he ends up having to figure it all out by himself so they don’t get themselves killed. It wasn’t funny the first time Scott tried it back in sophomore year. It hasn’t gotten any funnier since.)
(Alright, so he is pointing fingers. Sue him.)
Stiles is a demon. And okay, before anyone gets mad and starts saying shit like ‘no he’s not, he’s just a bit chaotic’, he… well, Stiles will admit to being chaotic as a general rule, but that is more of a character choice. He’s being for real when he says he’s a demon.
His parents couldn’t have children. It’s just how it goes sometimes. But Claudia was a very powerful witch, and she knew a thing or two about making pacts with demons. So when the doctors told her she could not carry any children, she figured the next step was obviously to summon a creature from down below and make a deal with it in exchange for a child.
That’s where Stiles comes in.
Claudia probably wasn’t expecting a demon child to come to her when she did her summoning, but personally? Stiles thinks she lucked out. Stiles is a friendly demon, as far as those go, and his policy regarding humans is more ‘see what makes them tick’ rather than ‘make them burst into flames spontaneously’, so all in all, she could have done a lot worse.
So that’s kind of how he ends up as Stiles Stilinski, son of John and Claudia Stilinski. Claudia and John are the only ones that know Stiles’ true name, though only Claudia can say it right. John tries his best, but they all collectively decide that Mischief is a rather good alternative.
In exchange for being the best son anyone could have, Stiles gets to spend an unspecified amount time on the mortal realm. Claudia doesn’t put any restrictions on him, on the understanding that Stiles can’t go and kill people for kicks. Annoying them is fair game, though.
That’s fine. Stiles has never been particularly interested in needless violence. He’d much rather learn everything there is to know about humans. Such interesting creatures. Truly fascinating.
And that’s how he spends the next twelve years of his life. He makes one singular friend - humans tend to get this instinctual need to get away from demons, but Scott doesn’t have any survival instincts at all, so it works out fine - and spends most of his time enjoying the admittedly mundane life of a human child.
Stiles knows there’s a pack of werewolves living in town, but he never runs into them, and then they die in that terribly suspicious fire and the survivors leave. The town quiets down a lot after that, and Stiles tries not to mourn the loss too badly. The energy they gave off was very pleasant.
Then the werewolves come back to town.
Stiles doesn’t intent to get involved. He doesn’t. He’s a demon, he doesn’t care for mortal affairs no matter how amusing they are. So he doesn’t do anything when he feels the presence of an Alpha in Beacon Hills after seven years. A not his circus not his monkeys kinda situation. But then Scott gets turned into a werewolf, and Stiles doesn’t care for mortal affairs but he does care about Scott, so really, it was inevitable.
There’s also Derek Hale. Derek Hale with his lickable abs and his chiseled scowly face and that angryhurtsadmiserable aura of his. Stiles acuses him of murder, Derek shoves him into walls. How is Stiles supposed to not become completely obsessed?
Anyways.
Stiles isn’t sure how he ended up in a pack of werewolves of all things - demons are lonely creatures, they don’t get packs - but he can probably blame Scott for that. It’s pretty alright, even if he gets dragged into every possible supernatural matchup imaginable. At least no one is busting out the holy water. Not that it would work, that’s a myth. Stiles had that phase as a kid where he went to church every Sunday morning and received the sacrament of Eucharist just for kicks. His dad didn’t find it funny, but Stiles still thinks it’s fucking hilarious. Now he uses the name of Jesus Christ every time he can. It’s blasphemous and Stiles thinks it’s hilarious too.
Back to the point, Stiles never bothered to hide he’s a demon. He doesn’t advertise it, of course, but he doesn’t go out of his way to mask his scent or whatever. He’s powerful enough that he can take on mostly anything that comes find him. So he thought Derek knew, and was just being chill about it and not mentioning it.
Apparently not.
The bitten wolves, he could understand. They still mix up deer and rabbit after years of being bitten when they’re running in the preserve. But Derek’s a born wolf. He was trained since he was a kid, and it’s not like demons are hard to sniff out. Hell clings to Stiles like a second skin.
Well, it turns out Derek is the ultimate failwolf, because after four years, he still had no idea. It takes a run in with another demon - this one does like to set humans on fire, unfortunately, so Stiles has to banish it back to Hell - and even then Stiles has to practically spell it out for him. Stiles is only a bit disappointed in him. Mostly, he’s still a bit confused on how Derek even missed it in the first place.
“Dude, can’t you smell it?” he asks, and they’re alone in the loft because everyone else has gone out to buy celebratory donuts while they try to get the scorch marks off Derek’s wall. It’s not going as well as they hoped.
Instead of an answer, or a growl, which is his primary method of communication, Derek does something unexpected and fucking—blushes.
Huh. Okay.
Wait, no. Not okay. What?
“It’s not considered polite to act on the way people smell, Stiles,” and Derek’s voice is strangled, like it hurts him to get the words out. He’s always been bad at talking but Jesus Christ, this is excessive.
(Heh. Jesus Christ. It will never not be funny.)
“That’s bullshit and you know it. I’ve lost count of how many times you’ve sniffed out other supernatural creatures or people’s intentions. It’s what you do. Other than rip out throats and creep around my window, obviously,” Derek’s scowl makes an appearance - there it is, Stiles was getting worried for a second - looking back at the scorched wall like it’s going to magically clean itself with the power of his rage.
Stiles could probably do something like that. Maybe. His magic is chaotic on a good day, so he can’t really call it reliable. Destructive, definitely. Offensive, if he has to pick between that and defense. Stiles is terrible at that.
He’s really getting off track here.
“That’s different. You’re not a supernatural creature,” Derek says stubbornly and what?
“What?”
“What,” it’s impressive how he always manages to ask questions that don’t sound like questions.
“What do you mean, I’m not a supernatural creature? Are you—“ Stiles looks at his Alpha with narrowed eyes, mouth open mid sentence as it finally downs on him that they’re talking about very different things. “What did you think I meant when I asked you if you smelt it?”
Derek stubbornly refuses to say anything. That’s fine. Stiles is the king of stubborn, he can out-stubborn anyone at any given time.
“Tell me,” he presses. Derek doesn’t say anything. “Tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me, tell—“
“Jesus fuck, Stiles, fine!” heh. Stiles knew he’d break. “I was smelling that you’re horny. All the time.”
That— that’s not what Stiles was expecting. Um. Okay. So things got awkward very fucking quickly.
“Oh,” he says, and now he sounds strangled because he thought he’d kept that little tidbit of information hidden quite nicely. It turns out Derek was just being polite about it.
God, does it mean the betas can smell it too? Oh, no, no no no no.
(Heh. God. Stiles is so funny.)
(He really has to stop unfocusing like this.)
Stiles is officially mortified. Turns out even demons get prudish after spending so much time in the mortal realm. Who knew? It’s okay, Stiles will just find the nearest bridge to throw himself off from. If he has any luck he’ll die instantly and won’t get back to Hell so he doesn’t have to live with this knowledge forever.
“It’s okay. I know it’s not personal or anything,” Derek’s still not looking at him. He’s grabbed back his rag and is valiantly rubbing away at the wall. Stiles doesn’t have the heart to tell him that if the mark hasn’t come out already, it probably never will. He’d know, he’s burned plenty of walls before.
By accident, if his dad ever asks.
“That’s fine and all, only it’s very personal,” and Stiles is just making a bigger hole to bury himself in, but his mouth is faster than his brain. It’s an ongoing issue. “You don’t think I’m horny all the fucking time, right? I mean, demons do have that hyper hormonal stage at my age but assuming it’s all the time is a bit excessive. I’m not a succubus. This is completely a you thing.”
Derek’s face does that thing where it pinches in between his eyebrows and his eyes narrow a bit, lips pressed together tightly. It’s his Stiles Just Said Something Deeply Upsetting face. He uses it a lot.
Alright, time to backtrack.
“It’s really okay that you don’t feel the same. Really, I get it. I wouldn’t feel the same about me either. So let’s just ignore I ever said anything, and we can go back to trying to clean this up even if we both know it’s not going to come out,” he offers Derek his most winning smile. Derek’s face just gets even more pinched.
Stiles’ senses are pretty dulled here on the mortal realm, but he doesn’t need them to know his Alpha is probably very pissed. At him, specifically.
So it’s Tuesday, then.
Stiles takes a step back, just as a precaution. He doesn’t think Derek will throw him against a wall - he stopped doing that a couple of years ago. Stiles refuses to acknowledge he kinda misses it - but you can never be too cautious. And Stiles did kind of just confess his undying horniness for him.
Imagine if he’d also told the guy he’s utterly and helplessly in love with him. That would have gone fantastically. Not.
“You’re a demon?” Derek’s voice comes out more high pitch than Stiles has ever heard it. He’s surprised. Why is he surprised? This is what they were talking about, before Stiles stuck a foot in his mouth. “Since when?”
“Since always? Seriously dude, can’t you smell it?”
It’s like they’re back in square one.
So. Turns out Derek truly had no idea Stiles is a demon. No wonder he’d looked like Stiles had grown a second head when he banished that fiend back to Hell.
On the good side, Derek apparently also returns his feelings, after they go in circles a few more times and Stiles gets across that he’s not just horny, he’s in love. A happy ending, in Stiles’ opinion.
(“How did you end up as the son of the Sheriff anyway? Is he a demon, too?”
“Hmn? Oh, no. My mom just did this summoning ritual for a Prince of Hell to get them a child, and I showed up. It was kind of a two for one deal,” he waves his hand dismissively.
“You’re a what?”
Oh, boy. Stiles knew he was forgetting something.)
#patolemus writes#yes this is inspired on the fact that no one can say stiles’ real name and he refuses to tell anyone what it is#emotionally constipated derek is very funny when he’s not obstructing true love#sterek#stiles stilinksi#derek hale#derek x stiles#stiles x derek#teen wolf#teen wolf fanfiction#writing#fanfic#eternal sterek#sterek fanfic
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Dear Resident Rohan Expert:
I'm not sure if you have given any thought to this, but I could sure use your help! What are your thoughts about how Rohan's government is structured, specifically the King's council at Edoras? I have assumed the King rules with full authority, but with the help of a council of advisors... but how do you think those advisors are selected? How many? Are they military men? Nobility? Elected? Appointed? Are they inherited titles?
Any of your thoughts would be appreciated since your grasp of Rohirrim culture is sounder than of anyone around! Thank you in advance! 😊
Ooh, this comes very close to giving me the chance to answer the question, “What was Éomer’s tax policy?” 😂 (Which, as a public policy major, is something I wouldn’t mind knowing about!) I have thought about Rohan’s government, and I hope you find my answer useful or at least interesting—it’s always my goal to live up to the praise you give me and to make my Rohan even close to being as well contextualized as your Mirkwood universe!!!
I’ve tried to keep a general structure for Rohan’s government in my mind that is at least quasi-related to the way that Anglo Saxon lands were governed, since they were Tolkien’s model. The big deviations are: 1) there is no mixing of religion and government like the Anglo Saxons did, since Rohan has no organized religion; and 2) I like to keep my Rohan government a little more democratic in the sense that everything isn’t based solely on nobility, inheritance or wealth. That’s partly because I don’t vibe with that approach, but also I feel like Tolkien gave us hints that the Rohirrim are pretty laid back about stuff like that anyway (like, Théoden is shockingly casual about the whole issue of royal succession, and he’s totally willing to take advice from guys like Háma or Wídfara even though we have no reason to believe they’re particularly wealthy or elite nobles).
So, the king has ultimate authority in Rohan and, starting with Éomer, that power is equally shared with the queen (I have to believe that he really took in what he learned about Éowyn’s experience in Rohan and would want things to change, starting with his own wife!). The monarchs exercise their authority with the help of a council. That council is comprised of: 1) the advisors of the royal household, a small group that is at Meduseld with the king and queen every day; and 2) the officers of the court, a bigger group who are out in the towns and villages as representatives of the crown. The entire council meets formally a few times a year to discuss and make recommendations on significant issues, though the king and queen can call them more often if needed. And when the officers of the court are back at their homes in between formal council meetings, the advisors of the royal household give the day-to-day advice or handle emergencies that crop up.
The royal household advisors are chosen by the king/queen and would generally include trusted family members as well as others who have distinguished themselves as being particularly skilled in relevant subjects. There would normally be 7 of these, with each specializing in a particular area: defense, diplomacy, justice/law, treasury, trade, infrastructure (roads, bridges, etc.) and public welfare (care of orphans, famine relief, what passed for public health in those days). But there could be more or less depending on the priorities of the particular king/queen, and the individual advisors might have their own staffs to help them.
The royal household advisors would often be members of the most prominent families in Rohan, if only because those are the people with the most access to the education and experience needed to become good at these things, but anyone can be chosen. And younger people of any background who are identified as being particularly bright and with a lot of potential might be referred to extra schooling/study with the idea of training them to be advisors, or work for them, in the future. (In my fics, this is how Gríma ended up in an advisor role – he failed out of éored training, but the brilliance of his mind was recognized, he was given the additional education to become an advisor on diplomatic affairs, got too close to Isengard and everything went to hell.) (It’s a good process, even though the one example I’ve just given is one where things did not work out well!)
The officers of the court who are spread throughout the land are chosen by their communities, though the king/queen can refuse to seat one that they don’t like or trust.* The king and queen decide how many officers there are, adding or subtracting as the population shifts, but there are generally 5 each from the West-mark and the East-mark and 3 from Edoras and its surrounding lands. These officers not only sit on the council that helps the king/queen set law and policy, but they’re also the first line administrators who see those policies carried out around the country (so, they hire the tax collectors in Dunharrow or the work crews that build the new road between Aldburg and Grimslade or whatever). That makes them kind of the face of the crown in most parts of Rohan where regular people are never going to see the king or queen (or, at least, not often). They can also draw on the expertise and knowledge of the royal household advisors as needed when carrying out royal policy.
Thank you again for the opportunity to write something that’s probably far too long about a niche topic that I find very interesting!! If anyone has their own ideas and thoughts—either complementary or conflicting—I would love to hear them. More Rohan for everyone! 👑🐎🗡️♥️
*A king/queen should really try to avoid doing this, especially if the person in question is really popular in their community and has any kind of independent power base. Don’t get me started on how Helm Hammerhand really fucked this up with a member of his own council and got a war started as a result.
#asks#answered asks#lotr#lord of the rings#rohan#governments of middle earth#bless you for giving me a chance to blather about stuff that I like!!!
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In defense of my pov and maybe I wasn't very clear in the ask... I do think the point of Itachi in the earlier arcs is that he is meant to come across as one dimensional (of course to writers and those who read a lot this actually should equal something potentially being incredibly fishy), so when we get the conspiracy reveal after his death I mean that I wasn't surprised there was more to it and I love how it threw every interpretation of his actions from beginning to end into a new light. (And I realize I forgot to fix a sentence and I love Itachi now, but when I first encountered naruto in my early teens, he honestly didn't scare me that much 😅, he comes into town, doesn't kill any of the main characters because that point in the story wouldn't have made sense for such a thing, and then he leaves, seemingly on a tactically considered whim which fits his characterization at that time)
I also think it's actually incredibly important that Orochimaru and Itachi are both meddling in Sasuke's lives at the same time, which is why I brought them up as a "comparison" even though their motives are never even remotely the same! Orochimaru is horrific as an individual and a villain, but from a narrative standpoint serves as an incredibly effective smokescreen. Orochimaru is an immediate threat from the moment he is introduced, he's a constant and threatening presence and Sasuke goes and exposes himself to that for years which leaves him very little time to introspect on the circumstances around his family's death.
Itachi on the other hand is more of a goal than a threat. He's dangerous, we see enough of him vs other cast members like Jiraiya and Kakashi for that, and he very badly wants Sasuke to pursue him (seen as early as the hotsprings town attack and later made abundantly clear to be because he wants Sasuke to spend his vengeance on him, although even that reasoning is multi layered). He's one of Sasuke's primary enemies, but he functions so differently from Orochimaru that the audience just sees him as a different kind of big bad is all.
(Sorry for the long explanation, I just don't want you to think I'm stupid 😅 but I also might be coming at my interpretations from a different place than you and that's fine too! I appreciate your first answer regardless and thank you for those panels! The manga is so long that I definitely forget things.)
For the purposes of my own work, I often think of how information is compartmentalized in the village... because other members of the konoha 11 also come to the conclusion Sasuke should be killed, but the tactical ones have different justifications than Sakura if I'm remembering correctly? I think they're mostly meant to parrot the village policies, esp since they're secondary characters at best, just cementing the way that villages sacrifice individual members for the sake of less war (which is different than real peace!), but it still makes for some interesting considerations of how much/what other characters know and where they get their information from.
Anyways, sorry again for the long ask but thank you for so much uchiha content!
Oh, of course. Initially, he is meant to be a one dimensional villain, and there are hints dropped to give him more nuance, which make sense after the truth reveal. When we move towards the chapters/episodes leading to his death, the story starts to explore his fragility while he's still a villain.
His reveal didn't surprise me. It devastated me. I've been one of those who had some gist of him not being evil, but the tragedy was entirely unexpected.
If you love Itachi too, then welcome to our hell because we suffer forever here, loving both the brothers.
Don't worry, I loved reading your interpretation of both Itachi and Orochimaru and their influence on Sasuke. Itachi is a big deal because even though Sasuke faces an actual threat from Orochimaru, he isn't scared of him. But whenever he sees Itachi, his reactions are always intense. And even after their battle, he was completely shaking, even if he knew Itachi would have exhausted his chakra too. The only person Sasuke was really scared of was probably Itachi. Other than Itachi being invincible, there were a lot of feelings. Itachi had been cruel to him. Not only physically or psychologically but also emotionally. The only one who could dismantle him was Itachi. And Sasuke had all the unanswered questions in his mind because from his POV, his beloved brother one day stopped loving him when he'd always been so supportive of him.
I think other Konoha Shinobi wanting to kill Sasuke is different from her wanting to kill Sasuke. They didn't love him, they didn't care about him, and that also includes Kakashi. She claimed to love him, and concluded that he needed to die for his own sake. I have no expectations from Konoha 11 and I don't care about their opinions on Sasuke either. But she married Sasuke and never bothered to know why he changed so suddenly and why he would want his brother back. Does she even know anything about the Uchiha clan and its history? And what happened with Itachi and all? Probably not.
Don't worry about the long ask. It's totally fine. Thank you. :)
#itachi#sasuke#uchiha brothers#anti sakura#anti sakura haruno#anti ss#anti sasusaku#i'm writing so much sakura slander nowadays it's crazy#ask
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In defense of astrology, slightly
I am generally a fairly private person, save for the topics I have decided to be embarrassingly detailed about for the greater good (the greater good). Bipolar! I'm it! Therefore, however, there are many topics I have not really weighed in on, and THAT IS FOR THE BEST. This is a policy that Cleolinda Industries will largely continue.
However, this also means that you do not know that I am a crystal-loving weirdo. Listen, I love shiny rocks as much as I love vaccinations and democracy, that's just how it is. I really like essential oils because I like perfume, not because I think they cure miasma or wifi emanations. I am vaguely interested in past lives, but not to the point that I think hypnosis (or crystals, or essential oils) would really tell me any details. Maybe it would! Life is a rich weird tapestry.
(I do suspect that I was some kind of governess or housekeeper or lady-in-waiting in a past life, but that may be my love for Jane Eyre talking. You know, the kind of person who just stood back, clutching a tea tray in amazement/horror, while Things Insisted On Happening. Probably while keeping a diary about it. Don't lie, you know I'm onto something here.)
What I am really here today to talk about is: I love astrology. BUT. The "but" is very important here. To me, astrology is a uquiz on steroids, or maybe shrooms. People love it because it's just another way of talking about themselves, and I am no exception. Downside: there are angles and degrees and, if you get deep enough into it, math, and I didn't ask for homework in my navel-gazing. However, I admit that the math is a plus for some people. They can be the ones to explain quincunxes to me.
So, I can't read your chart for you (I could take a messy stab at it), because I am interested in astrology insofar as it helps me become less of a disaster. I use it for journaling, mostly. As prompts for calling myself out on my own shit. "You know, perhaps I AM too much of an absent-minded dreamer! Thanks, South Node!" But that's the thing: I am very good at reading my own chart therapeutically, or maybe making up bullshit therapeutically, and either way, if it helps, it helps. I don't know what your placements mean for you. I know that I am a Sagittarius sun with negative athleticism who never leaves the house—a very lacking Sagittarius, in other words—but my moon and ascendant and whatever-all account for that. Maybe I should aspire to be more Sagittarius-like. Maybe I should look into traveling more! This too shall be journaled upon.
I do have a Sagittarius mug from when I was a kid that I still use to hold pens. The knick-knacks are the best thing about astrology, honestly.
So I can't explain anyone else. I reverse-engineer my interpretations from what I know about myself, because I'm the person I intend to help. I don't try to predict the future, because obviously I would get that wrong. I don't wring my hands about Mercury retrogrades (because I was born during one. Bring it). I definitely do not judge people by their signs, a thing I have actually heard people complain about. They are probably Scorpios. My Venus is in Scorpio and I very much enjoy this sign (I believe this placement explains why I love vampires), so I'm the last person to judge them.
Anyway, I felt like discussing my approach to astrology because I think it can be very helpful, even for skeptics, if you use it—I won't say "the right way," but a particular way. I don't know which planet indicates self-improvement, but mine is probably somewhere very earnest.
NEXT TIME ON: HALF-HEARTED APOLOGIA: my tarot decks, let me show you them.
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Happy Hifuumo Friday! So many things happened on my trip that I would consider to be monumental. I also learned some things about the new way I'm conducting these trips.
Like the fact that I need to be more discerning with the photos I take.
My picture-taking method so far has been to spam the picture-taking button in the hopes that one of the ones I had taken was 'good enough'.
This is why I had to sift through 327 of them for this post, and why it is still a little bit late despite giving myself a full day...
...to go through them all and pick out the ones I liked the most (Only 17 of them...) In the future, I will give in to anxiety less and take my time and be slower. But in my defense, I simply HAD to take dozens of shots of my muses this time.
Before I get into that though, I just wanted to say that if you're in 90+ fahrenheit degree weather to not count on the park you're going to having a water fountain you can refill your thermos at like I did.
Horrible mistake on my end.
Anyway, my original target was a local skate park, but it was actually the stuff around it that was more interesting. Even if I don't think the path I took was technically legal to take while walking.
I remember wondering how on Earth someone gets out of these if they bailed because of how incredibly steep these inclines were.
But then I found something far more captivating...
There was a flock of geese(?) nearby! (There were many more than this too!) But even if I was scared, I considered it a good opportunity to get some amazing pictures and see if I could do anything about my fear of animals.
It helped they were seemingly as afraid of me as I was of them. If they felt like I got too close they would step away and maintain distance.
(I really like this picture by the way, it's my favorite from this trip I think.)
They just wanted to mind their own business so I respected that. I don't actually know how long my impromptu birdwatching session went on for, but I do know it was very refreshing.
This was as close as I dared to let myself get to them. Believe it or not, they didn't get aggressive towards me even /once/
...Until I was leaving and no longer taking pictures, that is.
The other significant thing was that I went out of my way to talk to people and confront that particular fear a bit more too.
On my way there, I came across a neighbor who simply had some amazing lawn ornaments on display.
I think I mentioned it once before, but I have a policy on not taking pictures of people's lawns and other personal property of the sort.
But it was simply so perfect I couldn't get it out of my head. So when I was sweaty, exhausted, and dehydrated on the return trip...
That I rang the doorbell and ask my neighbor if I could take my pictures there. I don't want to be 'that creep I saw on the ring camera' after all.
I almost ran away as soon as I had heard dogs barking. But maybe my encounter with the geese before steeled my nerves?
A nice elderly man came to the door. I explained my request, he said yes.
His wife came out after. She was a grandmother who wanted to thank me for calling her lawn 'beautiful'. She asked me if I had made 'those dolls'.
I of course said no.
I explained where they came from and she told me her granddaughter would have loved them. And then she told me more about her family and I told her why I go out and do these and she thought it was so lovely and that she was so happy for me.
I have an open invitation to come back and take more of them, anytime I want to.
I intend on taking her up on that offer.
As always, I love you all very much, I hope you have great days/nights!
#Hifuumo Friday#in my defense it was also infusion day for me today so i'm allowed to be a little late#maribel hearn#renko usami#fumoposting#touhou
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hello! i am very interested in the reading list on the transformative power of defensive violence, if you still want to share. also i like your pinned post writing a lot :)
Yes, meant to post it at some point anyway, thanks for reminding me to do that - (and thank you, it always means a lot to hear that that bit of writing resonates with someone.)
Here's what I've got so far -
And the Last Shall Be First: On the (Im)possibility of Revenge
"...what happens when revenge is aimed in the direction of revolt? In the direction of insurrection? What happens when revenge is itself not a complete project, or a bad infinity, but a break, an opening onto something else, be it terrifying or wonderful or both?”
Towards a Gender-Disobedient & Anti-Colonial Redistribution of Violence
"The redistribution of violence is a practical demand when we are dying alone and without any kind of reparation, be it from the state or from organized society. The redistribution of violence is a social justice project in a full state of emergency, and it should be performed by those for whom peace has never been an option."
"The basic premise of this proposal is that violence is socially distributed, there being nothing anomalous about the way it intervenes in society. It is all part of a world-making project, of a policy of termination and normalization, guided by racist, sexist, classist, and cis-supremacist principles of differentiation, among others. To redistribute violence within this context is a confrontational gesture, but also one of self-care. It has nothing to do with declaring war. It is, rather, a matter of sharpening the blade so as to better inhabit a war was declared behind our backs, a war which is structural for the supposed peace of this world, and which is waged against us."
Dangerous Spaces: violent resistance, self-defense, & insurrectional struggle against gender
Thirty-One Theses: A Manifesto (Toward an Anarcha-Transfeminist, Youth Liberationist, Anti-Racist, Anti-Rapist Prison Abolitionism)
The reading list is still very short and still feels like an incomplete sketch of these concepts and their interconnections. I'm gradually adding to it (I'll update this post as I do), and I hope to be able to include some of my own thoughts soon.
I hope the readings make it clear that this way of thinking about violence isn't a call for people to go out and commit indiscriminate violence against anyone who's ever hurt them, and that it challenges rather than endorses the notion that experiencing trauma preemptively justifies all acts taken in the name of that trauma. Really, what I'm after here is an understanding of the use of violence that takes into account context, direction, and power, and whether it perpetuates or interrupts oppression.
A few more relevant readings on anti-carceral feminism:
Against Innocence
Of Complaints and Apologies: Feminist Theses Against Carceralism
Intimate Authoritarianism: The Ideology of Abuse
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I really appreciate all of the links and information in that post you reblogged about the Israeli prison/detainment policies/abuses (not sure the best wording for all of that horror tbh)… but the OP post of that talking about the condition of hostages vs prisoners released doesn’t make sense to me at all. Are they saying the hostages released are supposed to be some kind of reflection of being treated well during captivity? cause I’ve read about a hostage who was shot multiple times and needed surgery, another on the brink of death because of lack of medication, a 12 year old boy who said he was beat by residents, another child being forced to watch footage, etc. I don’t understand why we can’t acknowledge the absolute horrors Israel is committing while also not trying to turn Hamas into angelic freedom fighters with the purest of morals. Things like this make it really hard for me to reblog or share stuff on social media cause I can agree with 95% of the information but then I’ll realize “oh that link hidden in this post actually goes to an alt right neo nazi website” or “oh snuck in the middle of this really great article is the most glaring of antisemitic rhetoric”… anyway, I’m sorry for the rant here I’m just… exhausted. By the world and also sometimes by my fellow pro Palestinian advocates.
I am also exhausted by it sometimes, and not immune to getting swept up in the emotions of all of this as much as I'm trying to stay reasonable. I agree the way OP worded the original post was not ideal, if it had been just that without the longer and well-sourced reply I don't think I would have reblogged it. Because you're right, criticism of Israel can't devolve into acting like Hamas by default is an amazing upstanding moral organization. That's kindergarten nonsense, this need to have a well defined Good Guy and Bad Guy in every situation. Adults should be capable of more nuance than that, and it's really frustrating to see that so many aren't.
I think for me - because I don't know the intentions of that other person and can't speak for them - posts like that are not about saying 'wow look how wonderful Hamas is'. They are about the more zoomed-out task of challenging the Western/Imperial narrative that Israel isn't doing anything wrong. The 'right to defend itself' narrative, that is just blatant nonsense under international law. The narrative that when Hamas does something it's terrorism but when the state of Israel does the same thing (or, usually, a far worse version of the same thing), it's not. The narrative that Israel is the moral authority who is following international law to the best of their ability, is trying to minimize civilian casualties, is only going after Hamas, has no choice but to bomb hospitals because there is no other way to protect their own citizens. It's not for me about saying that just because Israel is bad, Hamas is automatically good. It's about acknowledging that for literal decades, the broadcasters of the Western narrative (governments in America/Canada/UK, corporate owned media companies like CNN and MSNBC, etc) have been just blatantly lying, propagandizing, and selectively presenting partial or twisted information, all in service of empire and money and colonization and the enrichment of defense contractors. Joe Biden said, years ago, (paraphrasing because I can't remember the exact quote) "If Israel didn't exist, America would have to invent an Israel to protect it's interests in the region."
I don't know if that makes sense, I hope it does. For me it's about .. yes, push back against people who are trying to make this a binary situation in which Israel is Bad therefore Hamas is Good. But also seeing more value in a more zoomed out perspective that is meant to challenge extremely pervasive and genocidal Western narratives that have gone largely unchallenged for the entire history of the region. Sometimes you do get there by drawing equivalencies. By asking "wait a second, why does Israel have thousands of Palestinian hostages in the first place and why does no one in power seem to think that's a problem?"
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Thoughts on American foreign policy after Afghanistan and 8 months into this Ukraine nonsense.
So I've never really been able to put into words my idea of what US foreign policy should look like in the wake of Ukraine. There was so much conflicting information in those first weeks and months (and still, tbh) that I just threw my hands up and said "fuck it, I don't care as long as we don't send troops". But that never sat right with me, because I've always been in favor of expanding US power on the world stage. Isolationism is awesome, but sadly not realistic. If we don't maintain a strong military and keep our ability to project international power, some other country will (see: Russia in the Middle East and China pretty much everywhere). But at the same time, I recognize that giving politicians access to that power is a Bad Idea, because they will use it for their own ends. And that's where I am now. I think America should look after her interests to the exclusion of all other interests. I'm not against foreign action, including boots on the ground, as long as we're going to get benefits back that are equal to or greater than what we put in. In hindsight, we should have fully occupied Afghanistan and Iraq, drained as much oil and other natural resources as we could, and then left. Cold? Yes. Harsh? Yes. Immoral? Probably. And yet, here we are, 20 years later and all we have to show for it are tens of thousands of dead soldiers, billions in abandoned military equipment in the hands of people who hate us, and no influence in a region that has been responsible for the most American deaths from foreign attacks since Pearl Harbor. We can never do that again. We can never half-ass foreign involvement like that again. We need to get ours.
And by "ours", I mean something that benefits the country, if not its citizens. Not letting politicians plunder other countries or use their wars to launder money. And not so other nations can outsource their national defense to us while giving us nothing in return. And yeah, that means I'm not really in favor of sending troops in to combat "evil" that doesn't directly effect us anymore either. As awful as Russia is, what they do to Ukraine has nothing to do with us. Let Europe deal with that. Let the Eastern European states form their own anti-Russia defensive pacts and leave us out of it. Not one cent of American money should be going to foreign military unless we can use that military when we want in place of or to augment American troops.
And before anyone says it, I know how callous this is. I know that, by what I've just said, I would be arguing against the US fighting Nazi Germany until we were forced to (which is what happened anyway, but that's not the point I'm making) or until we saw an advantage to us. Maybe that means I'm not as moral as I like to think I am. Maybe there just aren't enough righteous people left to ever have another "Greatest Generation". Maybe I'm just cynical after 20 years of a war that got us nothing followed immediately by agitation for another war I see no benefit in fighting between two relatively awful governments. And maybe my ideas on this will change in a few months or years. But this is where I am now, and I wanted to write it down.
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My friend trying to compare Lovecraft's #problematic behaviour to Tolkien's #problematic behaviour saying that "both were a product of their time" feels extremely childish, and wrong in so many levels.
Don't get me wrong, I don't think it's bad to like and admire the works of either of these authors. I have always wanted to read Lovecraft because I am into that shit but I haven't done it because life. You don't have to justify liking the work of a racist asshole because it was a "product of his time." The man is dead. He can't lobby racist policies from the grave.
And I don't think they see the value in approaching literary analysis from a critical point of view, instead of "I like this therefore it is Good and Perfect" and that's why they try to defend, or justify, or just remark that the authors don't have blame.
I'd be the first time to admit that Tolkien, as a person and as a writer, has flaws and biases. But there *is* a difference between a guy that is trying his best to convey a message of empathy and connection, like Tolkien or Mark Twain, even within the bounds of their own prejudice, and a guy as overtly ideologically poisonous as Lovecraft.
And I told her, "you know, as a disabled transgender person, I find incredibly interesting some of the work of German philosopher Heidegger, the NOTABLE NAZI, which doesn't negate the fact that he was a NOTABLE NAZI." Which is in my opinion something way more controversial than saying "I think Lovecraft's monsters are cool".
All authors are a product of their time and environment. That's like, something I thought was taken for granted? Not to get leftist about things but the individual is a social construction. I don't see the point of remarking that "authors are a product of their time" cuz DUH WE KNOW. WE ARE ALL YOU SHITHEAD. 300 years in the future they are going to see us as problematic and you have to make peace with that, and try your best to make the world better anyway. Cuz there is a difference between someone trying their best, and someone who actively advocates for genocide. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't examine the bigotry present in the works of authors who were trying their best, of course. At least my corner of the Tolkien fandom is notable for slandering the man and his work work every chance they get and we still love him. This is normal and healthy behaviour.
But the thing that really confuses me is her defense of J.K. Rowling. I really do mean this: This is a transgender girl defending her. Because she thinks that the only thing JK did was "tweeting some unfortunate things" as though those tweets existed in a vacuum and not currently fueling anti-trans bigotry around the world and possibly indirectly sparked the Scottish independence. Especially because she is a living author, her bigotry is NOT EXCUSABLE. You don't even have to stop liking Harry Potter, but at least acknowledge that this woman is incredibly fucked up?
I really hope she grows out of it eventually. Like, she is at the same crossroads I was a few years ago, of realising you are transgender and having to drop all the bullshit bigotry the YouTube algorithm has been feeding you since you were twelve, and gaining the mental maturity to engage with media critically. But damn god if I have to listen to her say "product of their time" one more time I am going to lose it.
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Eiji's Thoughts on Shizuoka Division
Kanon Hojo
"Chuohku seems to attract all types of people, all from different walks of life. I mean, I have to wonder where exactly they are recruited from, or what makes them join the government, in general. This woman is a perfect example. I don't recall seeing her the first time I visited Chuohku, and I am not at all upset about that. I don't know what caused her to join the government, but I don't think they were too torn up about her departure. She seems... just slightly unhinged. I don't think she has a PROFILE. If she does, I am not interested in taking a gander at it."
Reika Aichi
Eiji, for once, loses his calm and easygoing composure and glares deeply at the photo of the socialite. "In case you're wondering, yes I do happen to know Reika-san, though I really wish I didn't. How do I know her? I was good friends with Itsuki Sougo, her fifth husband. In fact, the man was one of the best lawyers for Sigma Inc. The first time I met her was at a cocktail party that I was hosting before Christmas, as thanks to my employees for all their hard work. She seemed like a nice woman, but... there was just something about her that I didn't care for. The fact that she subtly insulted Maiya, who was accompanying me as my plus-one, didn't help her. I was afraid Maiya would do something, but she kept her cool and continued conversing with her. I wonder if Reika realized how foolish she made herself look..."
"Anyway, when I received word that Sougo-san had passed away, I was shocked. Reika-san claimed that it was self-defense because he had attacked her cause he was drunk, but I knew it was a lie. Sougo-san was one of the nicest people outside of the courtroom and never wished ill will on anyone, regardless of what they may or may not have done. I wanted to see her badly get arrested and put in jail. But unfortunately, the police stated there were no signs of foul play involved, so his death was ruled as an 'accident'."
"An 'accident'?! When I heard that on the news, I nearly lost it! It took Maiya calming me down to make me do so before I did something I regretted. And to make matters worse, it turns out, per his "will", all of his money and possessions would go to Reika. To say that I was incensed would be an understatement. I compensated Sougo-san's family heavily, though I know that wouldn't bring him back."
"As for Reika... though she thinks she may have gotten away with it, I put a heavy ban on her on PROFILE, and erased her account. She tried to appeal numerous times to get back online, but I made sure to deny her each and every time. I know she can easily create a new account, but she knows better than to draw attention to herself, less she wants me to ban her again. It's nothing less than what she deserves for what she did to Sougo-san. And believe me when I say, a recompense will come to her sooner or later."
Sakura Kito
"I can't tell you much about this woman. All I know is that she's the leader of the Yakuza over in Shizuoka, and I have nothing to do with that. I know Masa has his... own people, but I don't like dealing with them. And from what I heard, Oki has a bone to pick with her, so I'll let the two of them deal with her."
"...I will say this though: I know she has a PROFILE, but she should be careful exactly what she's putting on there. If it gets out that she's planning some sort of crime or something else that's heinous, I will be forced to contact the proper authorities and have her arrested."
Silent Tragedy
"Yeah, this may be the first team that I don't particularly care for. That former Chuohku scientist bothers me, and Sakura... like I said, I want nothing to do with her or the Yakuza. And Reika..." Eiji slowly lights a cigarette before glaring at the screen.
"It's never been my policy to hurt a woman. But in this day and age, I believe that if a woman is going to strike a man, then a man should be allowed to retaliate. I am a very basic guy, and this isn't the 20th century. So Reika, trust me when I say this: if we happen to meet at the D.R.B., I will make you pay for not only killing my friend Sougo, but also insulting my wife. You will pay dearly, wench, and you will answer for your crimes. And that's not a threat or a promise. It's a natural fact!" Eiji discards his cigarette and walks off.
#hypnosis microphone#hypnosis mic#hypmic#hypnosis mic oc#hypmic oc#eiji noguchi#ginza division#last judgment#shizuoka division#silent tragedy#reika aichi#sakura kito#kanon hojo
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no like i respect the fact that he’s so dedicated to his own unhappiness that he becomes the worlds most unreliable narrator, however, if per se i had him hooked up to a polygraph machine on an electric chair and asked him to recount every detail from venice he could possibly remember…….what do you think he’d say
Diary of RDML Tom Kazansky 1 February 2002:
VENICE, ITA: 0900: Scheduled phone call with Dept. of Commerce Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) Deputy Director later today to discuss Foreign Military Sales program financing for the possible U.S.-Swiss F/A-18C sale.
0945: Spoke to Swiss US Export-Import Bank representative over the phone. All systems go.
1030: Reviewed Boeing-McDonnell F/A-18C fact sheet & identified points of Swiss Air Force strategic interest to push at tomorrow’s trilateral summit. Of particular note: high maneuverability at speed & long F-18 history of maintenance intercapabilities, suggesting future SWZ-US A/D industry partnership.
1215: Lunch with ITA Navy Adm. Lambretti & SWZ Asst. Deputy Minister of Defense Leipheimer. Discussed: coalition movements in Afghanistan, ongoing 9/11 relief & recovery efforts and ways allies can continue to help, SWZ tax credit for American investment.
1430: Spoke to US DOD Undersecretary for Policy (Acquisition) re: recent clarification of DOD acquisition policy. Received invitation to attend next year’s IARPA conference. Will consult with OJCS J4 leadership.
1500: Spoke with USN CDR Ron Kerner. Wished me a happy birthday.
1600: Preparatory staff meeting ahead of tomorrow’s summit.
1630: Spoke with Dept. of Commerce DSCA Deputy Director re: FMS financing. Inconclusive.
1900: Dinner with USN CDR Pete Mitchell who arrived in town today to speak at Thursday’s moderated discussion of the F/A-18C platform. He is staying till Saturday. Discussed future of Navy Fighter Weapons School & details of his presentation to be given Thurs. Stressed his adversary F-16 angle & asked him to consider putting together a future talk about F-18 evasive tactics and the concept of a joint multilateral US aerial combat training program (like NFWS) to bolster our allies’ expertise on US platforms. He did not like this idea. Scheduled follow-up dinners tomorrow (Wed 2 Feb) and Thurs (3 Feb) to continue our discussion. Will have lunch with him tomorrow as well. Due to an unfortunate scheduling error tonight’s dinner will be billed as dinner with SWZ Asst. Deputy Minister of Defense Leipheimer. DOD will likely compensate anyway.
(End)
#birthday boy knows work only. no play. only work.#i mean i literally do not know how to write him being happy and honest about it#like i have thought about it & it would just all be mediate through ‘he knows he shouldn’t be smiling but he is anyways’ etc#he knows he shouldn’t be lovingly fucked on his birthday & he feels bad about it etc etc#like he is unhappy about how happy he is so i think he just numbs himself to all of it… like he literally does not know how to talk about#his happiness if that makes sense… his happiness is a secret parenthetical#like in chapter 9 of wwgattai. all his happiness is written in parentheses#he is trying his HARDEst Not to focus on it#so he doesn’t know how to focus on it even in the moment#which means i can’t focus on it as a writer if that makes sense#mediated * sorry typing this while walking#it’s why so much was cut from debriefing unfortunately. mavericks the only one who ever sees ice honestly happy & can write about it#but then debriefing got too long.#too much of ice’s secret happiness#anyway thanks for the ask! ❤️ sorry I can’t deliver but idk how. he sees it as a work trip. idk how to write it as anything else#pete maverick mitchell#tom iceman kazansky#icemav#edts notes
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(however many) Sentences Sunday
(Thanks for the tag, @adventuresofmeghatron!)
I don’t think any of the text wip stuff I’ve posted for One if by Land has involved RJ when a huge part of it is about RJ? Oops
Anyway, here’s Wonderwall
He looked over at her, smirking, clearly waiting for a reaction. She narrowed her eyes a fraction, mouth frozen in the smallest hint of a smile, and shook her head. How did he…
A flash of memory - a row of rarely-used books stashed on the top shelf of a smoke-hazed office; the emerald, gilt-stamped spines striking a sharp, bitter pang of familiarity through her chest; the smooth, cool kiss of the leather against her fingertips; a quick sidelong glance from a pair of deep golden eyes as they flickered from her face, to the books, back to her. A slow smile - “Usually it’s my policy to be working the other side of the room from you folks, Counselor, but I think I can make an exception for such a fine partner.” Her short laugh: “That obvious, huh?”
…Sweet. It was sweet of him to care enough, unsolicitedly, to learn about a part of her life, even when it was something completely obsolete. Maybe especially because it was something completely obsolete. It was useless beyond letting him see a little glimpse of her past, a little of how she thought; letting him offer her something else just a little bit familiar as a life raft, should she need it. Annoyance and an unexpected, bright little lift of pleased surprise grappled with each other fiercely, turning her mind into an arena match between a feral cat and an angry raccoon.
“Mac.” She tried very hard to keep a straight face. “While I am always happy to see people take an interest in my…last line of work, please give Nick his code books back. He probably tossed half of Pemberton Square just to find a set - those cost an arm and a leg even back then.”
“Hmm. Just always gotta assume the worst of me, Boss.” A gratified glint in his eyes completely undermined his dejected tone. That damned impertinent bastard.
(So what’s happening here is that for ages IRL the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ annotated code has been published in green leather-bound volumes, and I decided the Massachusetts Commonwealth kept following that tradition post-reorganization. RJ, bless his little heart, swiped the crimes & punishments volume and read it cover to cover so he could needle Nora, a former criminal defense atty, with appropriate jokes. Like we are solidly at -
- where Toothless is RJ and Ben is Hiccup)
Uhhh…let’s see, most of y’all have already have been tagged but I’ll add to the pile! Tagging @totally-not-deacon, @twosides--samecoin, @just-another-wasteland-merc, and @dovesofcedar.
#wip tag#fanfiction#fallout#fallout 4#maccready#rj maccready#robert joseph maccready#nora#oneifbyland#current wip
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Amai Mask bitching around because Garou is a hero and you could said got to his eyes (and everyone's else) easy out of the mess he did because he is strong, has Bang's protection backing him and the association is corrupt enough to accept him after all of that is one of the main reasons I can't wait to see the next arc developing.
Because yes, the association is corrupt, and just when it becomes hell to obvious to ignore when the guy who beat the hell out of more than 100 heroes is sitting besides you, it's when people start to bitch around as much as Amai Mask.
Sweet Mask will likely have much to say when he finds out, but "the guy who beat the hell out of more than 100 heroes" -- now wait a sec, since when? The room of countless criminals Garou beat up to make his debut statement vs the HA weren't -heroes- (only 3 were there.) Unless Tank Top Master has over 100+ followers who ganged up on him, then they might count.
(Cause if it’s the shed scene you’re thinking of, Garou performatively said ‘100 kills,’ never specifying -heroes-, plus we already know he never actually killed anyone either. That’s the difference I’m talking about, cause it’s very easy to assume he committed things he never actually did.)
So this is what I meant when I said the actual -heroes- Garou chose to 'hunt' (duel) on-panel actually weren't that many; their number is far less than it seems; you can count them on your fingers. :O (Meaning the ones he initiated like T.T. Vegetarian, Mumen, Golden Ball, Metal Bat, Watchdog Man, 'King', etc PPP & Darkshine are in a weird place cause Garou was unconscious first.) So making amends to them is feasible. Bang would have inside knowledge of all the dojos hunted too.
But the heroes who chose to strike first or retaliate back in a vengeance 'hunt' with their buddies - who picked a fight with him and lost (while Garou fought back in self-defense lmao did they honestly expect him to 'come quietly' when they aimed for his life?) - now Garou owes those self-entitled heroes nothing. :) Especially if they already 'had their fill' of petty payback kicking on him when he was down when they joined in the mob. This is where I draw the line.
But if they still insist putting up a fight unsatisfied, making a scene or bitching & moaning because of him, then that'll be interesting to see. Because yup, it'll distract them from the other valid problems they should be worrying about more at the HA - like when Death Gatling made a point about class inequity, S Class 'special treatment,' and receiving proper compensation, benefits & respect (including their undesirable hero names) despite being lower-class heroes. Especially if Garou appears to them like he's swooping in getting a 'free pass' and special pardons + protection. (Along with any other questionable things/corruption going on behind the scenes that might be revealed/expanded upon post-arc. SM's identity reveal being another one.) So their complaints should focus around that, otherwise, even if Garou's their final straw of patience dealing with the HA's management & policies for ex, they'll just be using Garou as a scapegoat for their bigger problems. And it'll leave them that much more blind & vulnerable to the actual, far worse evil at the Neo Heroes. Anyway, the incoming changing political climate & chaos should be fun~
#opm#garou#racoon-puppy#replies#speculation#it's easy to assume garou hunted more heroes than he actually did#more in fact aimed to eliminate or gang up on him instead#so this is where i draw the line
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afsadsd omg i finally finished war on peace 😭
out of my sight forever!!!!!! this book was interesting at first but ended up being such a slog, esp part 3 which was all about tillerson's tenure and trump's administration and i just like oh my god look idgaf!!!!!
anyways ended up giving this book 2 stars, which was PAINFUL for me to do because 'catch and kill' was such PEAK investigative journalism. solid 5/5 stars and some of the best reporting i've ever read in my life. he's so good at profiling people, but i just don't think that format worked for his book on foreign policy bc if people are reading a book about american foreign policy they're probably here for the history and political analysis, not the characters! he spent so much time profiling holbrooke and other people and i just did not care for that at all. it was great in catch in kill, but not for war on peace
part 2 was hands down the best part of the book; i learned a lot about how the us fucked things over in various countries with the decline of diplomacy and ramping up on defense funding. part 1 was just ok. some good nuggets of history in there but overall very apologetic to the us perspective and idk maybe i shouldn't have expected anything else from a book about american foreign policy but it's one of those things where it's just like. the hypocrisy kills you as you read because the entire narrative functions under the assumption that american foreign policy and leadership is GOOD but like. IS IT????? and that stance is never questioned or examined (only a little bit in part 2) and that was aggravating also. like oh obviously us leadership is good but beware of leadership from other countries!!! that's exactly what other countries are saying about us.
anyways. gave it 3 stars at first because giving it 2 stars physically pained me but then 30 seconds later i was like no it really was only just ok i can't give it more than 2
#i can't believe i fucking finished this book#it was more of a chore than anything else but i didn't want to drop it halfway#given how good catch and kill was i thought farrow deserved to be read through to the end#but man by 2/3 of the way through i was pretty much done with it#hope his next book is more 'catch and kill' and less 'war on peace' :')#book blogging
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New Batch of Mitsubishi Type 73 Off-Roaders Reached Ukraine - Technology Org
New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/new-batch-of-mitsubishi-type-73-off-roaders-reached-ukraine-technology-org/
New Batch of Mitsubishi Type 73 Off-Roaders Reached Ukraine - Technology Org
Japan has a very strict defense doctrine, which does not permit the country to support any country at war with lethal weapons or partake in an armed conflict unless it itself is being attacked. And so Japan does not export weapons. Even its Type 10 tanks are not on the export markets. Japan cannot even help Ukraine with any kind of lethal aid. But Japan is sending some light military trucks to Ukraine.
Mitsubishi Type 73 Light Truck Shin. Image credit: z tanuki via Wikimedia (CC BY 3.0)
Japan has a strict self-defense policy. It will only use its military power for self-defense purposes and will not partake in other conflicts in other ways. This includes the supply of weapons. Japan does not even export its weapons to countries that are not currently at war, unless it is a re-export of technology (for example, Japan can transfer American missiles back to the US).
And there are plenty of countries that are interested in Japanese weapons. For example, the main battle tank Type 10 is very advanced and would be in high demand if Japan decided to sell some of them. But because it is not exported, its price remains very high and Japan is the only one to cover it.
It doesn’t mean that Japan is not supporting Ukraine in other ways. Non-lethal aid is permitted. For example, since May 2023 Japan has been sending Mitsubishi Type 73 Light Trucks (known as Shin) to Ukraine. A batch of them just made it to Ukraine, as reported by the Embassy of Japan in Ukraine.
21 грудня, декілька авто��обілів від Міністерства оборони Японії прибули до Сил оборони України.
Надання підтримки Японією продовжуватиметься наступного року. Разом з Україною. Слава Україні! 🇺🇦🤝🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/OpuDh7ebZd
— Посольство Японії в Україні (@JPEmbUA) December 26, 2023
There have been two generations of the Mitsubishi Type 73. The first one, which was in service from 1973 to 1997, was developed from the Jeep CJ-3B. In fact, it even looked a lot like the WW2-era Jeep. The second generation of the Mitsubishi Type 73, known as Shin, entered service in 1996 and is based on the frame of the Mitsubishi Pajero. It weighs around 2 tonnes, can carry 4-6 soldiers and serves as a basis for a machine gun.
The Shin is just over 4.1 metres in length and 1.77 metres in width. It is quite small. Having in mind that an average Ukrainian man is probably significantly larger than an average Japanese soldier, it is probably a good thing that the Shin features an open-body design.
Under the bonnet, the Shin has a simple 4-cylinder engine pushing 125 HP. It powers all four wheels through an automatic 4-speed transmission. For extra capabilities off-road, the Shin has a locking differential.
Although Shin trucks were bulletproofed when they were deployed in Iraq, normally these off-roaders are not armoured at all. In fact, they have nothing to do at the frontlines and will probably be used further away from the battlefield itself.
They will be useful anyway – the Armed Forces of Ukraine are growing and light vehicles are desperately needed. And because they are coming from all over the world, Shin being right-hand drive is not even a concern.
Written by Povilas M.
Sources: Embassy of Japan in Ukraine, Wikipedia
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#2023#armed forces#Authored post#Conflict#december#defense#Design#engine#Featured Military news#Features#generations#hand#hp#it#Japan#Light#Link#military#Military technology#mind#missiles#Off-roading#One#Other#Policy#power#price#Russia Ukraine War#speed#Spotlight news
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