Kamala Harris: "there must be an immediate ceasefire"

Me: good. Stop. Stop there. Not another word. Leave it there.

Harris: "for the next 6 weeks..."

Me: "I'll take your 6 weeks and raise you PERMANENT"

You will stop this killing. Permanently. NOW.

Keep protesting. Talk louder! Talk MORE! Biden and bitch ass netanyahu DO NOT start this shit up again. Not in 6 weeks. Not EVER.

And

I'll believe it when I fucking see it.

Pope Francis: ‘We must save lives, not build weapons to destroy them’ A new book entitled “God and the World to Come” hits bookstores on Tuesday, in which Pope Francis grants a book-length interview to Italian journalist Domenico Agasso (Edizione Piemme-LEV). We publish here an excerpt translated from the original Italian. DOMENICO AGASSO Q: Your Holiness, how do you interpret the "earthquake" that hit the world in 2020 in the form of a novel coronavirus? "In life there are moments of darkness. Too often we think that they only happen to others and not to us, to someone else, in another country, perhaps on a distant continent. Instead, we all ended up in the pandemic’s tunnel. Pain and sorrow have broken through the doors of our homes, invaded our thoughts, attacked our dreams and plans. And so today no one can afford to rest easy. The world will never be the same again. But it is precisely within this calamity that we must grasp those signs which may prove to be the cornerstones of reconstruction. Speeches are not enough to solve emergencies. The pandemic is an alarm signal on which humanity is forced to reflect. This time of trial can thus become a time of wise and far-sighted choices for the good of humanity, of all humanity." Cover page of the book Cover page of the book Q: What urgencies do you perceive? "We can no longer blithely accept inequalities and disruptions to the environment. The path to humanity’s salvation passes through the creation of a new model of development, which unquestionably focuses on coexistence among peoples in harmony with Creation. We need to be aware that every individual action does not remain isolated, for good or evil, but has consequences for others, because everything is connected: Everything! By changing the lifestyles that drive millions of people, especially children, into the grip of hunger, we will be able to lead a more austere existence that would make a fair distribution of resources possible. This does not mean diminishing some people’s rights in order to drive downward leveling, but rather involves guaranteeing more and broader rights to those who currently have none." Q: Do you see encouraging signs? "There are already popular movements today which are trying to promote these notions and operations ‘from below’, along with some institutions and associations. They are trying to concretize a new way of looking at our common home: no longer as a warehouse of resources to be exploited, but a sacred garden to be loved and respected, through sustainable behaviors. There is also an awareness among young people, particularly within ecological movements. If we don't roll up our sleeves and immediately take care of the Earth, with radical personal and political choices, with an economic ‘green’ turn by directing technological developments in this direction, sooner or later our common home will throw us out the window. We cannot waste any more time." Q: What are your thoughts on finance and its relationship with government? "I believe that if we manage to heal it from the dominant speculative mentality and re-establish it with a ‘soul’, according to fair criteria, we will be able to aim at the objective of reducing the gap between those who have access to credit and those who do not. And if one day, in the not-too-distant future, conditions are in place for every person to invest according to ethical and responsible principles, we will obtain the result of limiting support to companies that are harmful to the environment and to peace. In the state in which humanity finds itself, it is scandalous to continue financing industries that do not contribute to the inclusion of the excluded and the promotion of the least, and which penalize the common good by polluting Creation. These are the four criteria for choosing which businesses to support: inclusion of the excluded, promotion of the least, the common good, and care of Creation." Q: We are facing one of the worst humanitarian crises since World War II. Countries are taking emergency measures to deal with the pandemic and a dramatic global economic downturn. What do you expect from government leaders? "Right now, it is a matter of rebuilding from the rubble. And that burden weighs heavily on those in government positions. In our concern for an uncertain future, for the jobs that are in danger of being lost or that have been lost, for the income that is less and less sufficient, and for the other consequences that the current crisis brings with it, it is fundamental to govern with honesty, transparency and farsightedness. But each of us, not only political leaders, is called to eradicate indifference, corruption and connivance with crime." Q: What principle can we be inspired by? "What is happening can awaken everyone. It is time to remove social injustice and marginalization. If we seize the current trial as an opportunity, we can prepare for tomorrow under the banner of human fraternity, to which there is no alternative, because without an overall vision there will be no future for anyone. By putting this lesson to good use, the leaders of nations, together with those with social responsibilities, can guide the peoples of the Earth towards a more prosperous and fraternal future. Heads of state should talk to one another, confront each other more and agree on strategies. Let us all keep in mind that there is something worse than this crisis: the drama of wasting it. We cannot emerge from a crisis the same as before: we either come out better or we come out worse." Q: What attitude of ours would waste it? "By closing in on ourselves. Instead, we can heal injustice by building a new world order based on solidarity, studying innovative methods to eradicate bullying, poverty and corruption, all working together, each for their own part, without delegating and passing the buck. Also by working to provide healthcare for all. In this way, by practicing and demonstrating social cohesion, we will be able to rise again." Q: Concretely, where might we begin? "It is no longer tolerable to continue to manufacture and traffic in arms, expending huge amounts of capital which should be used to treat people and save lives. We can no longer pretend that a dramatically vicious cycle of armed violence, poverty and senseless and indifferent exploitation of the environment has not crept in. It is a cycle that prevents reconciliation, fuels human rights violations and hinders sustainable development. Against this planetary discord that is nipping the future of humanity in the bud, we need political action that is the fruit of international harmony. United in fraternity, humanity is able to face common threats, without any more counterproductive mutual recriminations, instrumentalization of problems, short-sighted nationalism, protectionist propaganda, isolationism and other forms of political selfishness." Q: Women continue to bear the weight of all recessions: what do you think about this topic? "Women urgently need to be helped in caring for their children and not be discriminated against in terms of pay and work, or with the loss of work because they are women. On the contrary, their presence is increasingly valuable at the center of society, politics, employment, and institutional renewal. If we get better at offering them favorable conditions, they will be able to make a decisive contribution to the reconstruction of the economy and societies to come, because women make the world beautiful and make contexts more inclusive. Besides, we are all trying to get back on our feet, so we cannot overlook the fact that the rebirth of humanity began with a woman. Salvation was born from the Virgin Mary. That's why there can be no salvation without woman. If we cherish the future, if we desire a flourishing tomorrow, we must give the right space to women." Q: What would you specifically recommend to parents? "Playtime with your children is the best time you can have. I know of one family that has created an 'institutional' element in the home: 'The Program.' Every Saturday or Sunday, the mother and father take a sheet of paper and, with the children, agree and write down all the play dates between children and parents in the coming week, and then hang it on a little board in the kitchen. The children's eyes sparkle with contentment as they write down ‘the schedule’, which has now become a ritual. This mother and father are educating. This is what I said to them: "Sow education." By playing with their father and mother, a child learns to get along with other people, and learns about the existence of rules and the need to respect them. They also acquire the self-confidence that will help them as they step into the outside world. At the same time, children help their parents, above all, in two things: giving greater value to life, and remaining humble. For them, they are first and foremost Dad and Mom, the rest comes later: work, travel, successes and worries. And that protects them from the temptations of narcissism and an unbridled ego, which they risk falling into every day." Q: The violence of Covid-19 has ravaged the already precarious prospects of millions of young people around the world. Young people are trudging along under a cloak of uncertainty and reductions in educational, vocational, social, economic and political investment, which is depriving them of the right to a future. What would you like to say to the "Covid generations"? "I encourage them not to give in to the economic downturn, to not stop daydreaming. Don't be afraid to dream big. By working for their dreams, they can protect them from those who want to take them away from them: pessimists, dishonest people and profiteers. Perhaps never before as in this third millennium have younger generations paid the highest price for the economic, labor, health and moral crisis. But feeling sorry for ourselves leads nowhere. On the contrary, the crisis would only have the better of us. Rather, by continuing to fight as many are already doing, young people will not remain inexperienced, bitter and immature. They will not cease in their search for opportunities. And then, there is knowledge. In Genesis (ch.2) we read that the Lord, after having created the heavens and the earth, takes the man and places him in the garden of Eden, so that he may cultivate it and come to know it. He does not put him in retirement, or on vacation, or on the couch: he sends him to study and work. God made man capable and eager to know and to work, and to love. "You shall love your neighbor as yourself". There is no commandment more important than this one, Jesus says to the disciples (Mk 12:31). Young people have the vigor and strength to relaunch the fundamental tasks assigned by God, and thus become men and women of knowledge, love and charity. By opening themselves to encounter and wonder, they will be able to rejoice in the beauty and gifts of life and nature, emotions, and love in all its forms. Always moving forward to learn something from every experience, spreading knowledge and amplifying the hope inherent in youth, they will take the reins of life into their own hands and at the same time generate vitality that will advance humanity, making it free. Therefore, even if there seems to be no end in sight to the darkness, we must not lose heart. And, as Saint Philip Neri said, don't forget to be cheerful, as much as possible." Published by Piemme da Mondadori Libri S.p.A. © 2021 Mondadori Libri S.p.A., Milan, Italy © 2021 Vatican Publishing House, Vatican City

PYRRAH

the royal family of pyrrah

VICTORIA, THE KING OF PYRRAH, who ascended the throne at such a young age and after her terrible father was assassinated - he’d been unable to cope with capella’s closing and became making bad and cruel decisions. she managed to undo most of his work but is still faced with suspicion and criticism at every turn.

MITSY, THE PRINCESS OF PYRRAH, who appears sweet and silly but is actually pyrrah’s spymaster. she’s foiled more than one plot to overthrow her sister. is actually sweet and silly, but is aware of how it’s perceived and uses it to let people underestimate her so she can get close to them and get them to reveal things they normally wouldn’t.

FREDERICK, THE PYRRITE AUGUR, and the king’s lover. his clairvoyance works by seeing through his lover’s eyes, and therefore is the best equipped to protect her. ends up becoming a father figure to cassandra- a healthy one, that she really fucking needed after theon.

and KEANDRA, THE ADOPTED PRINCE, who is one of pyrrah’s brightest scholars. starting to work through all his guilt about his role in the destruction of capella, and has studied his inclination at length. when he finally is able to use his inclination- when he finally finds something to believe in, all that studying pays off- it takes only a few weeks to acclimated to the feeling of actually performing the techniques he’d been studying for seven years.

top five awful things the previous king of pyrrah did

literally had no idea how to handle capella closing off. he’s like that bad ex who’s constantly trying to get you back and is super clingy. kept sending diplomat after diplomat to capella, the ships were turned away at the space station checkpoints, and then blamed whoever was on the mission

bc of #1, had NO CLUE how to rebuild pyrrah’s economy with the loss of their biggest trading partner. pyrrah is known for it’s mining and manufacture of spaceship parts and stuff, and capella, who is literally ALL ABOUT space exploration and is the best at designing and building ships, traded with them frequently.

tbh he’s probably the one who made the economy so reliant on capella?? his rule was about 800 years long (pyrrites live a really fucking long time) and so he focused so heavily on trade with capella bc he’d thought it’d go on forever despite his aids telling “uh sir this is a fucking terrible idea”

started a war. idk where or with whom (not any planets/species i have currently developed, this is something i gotta develop more) but he started a war, hoping to conquer another planet for it’s resource

paid absolutely NO attention to public works projects and maintiaing his planet?? like…they lived underground in huge networks of caverns bc the atmosphere is toxic and *bill wurtz voice* THE SUN IS DEADLY LASER. but one huge section of cavern collapsed bc THIS ASSHOLE was starting wars and being depressed bc capella wasn’t talking to him anymore and not taking care of his fucking people

bonus: was a dick to his daughters?? placed FAR to much pressure on the crown princess and she honest to god ended up hating him. constantly berated his youngest daughter for never taking things seriously, and while she’s turned her silly and sweet demeanor into a weapon, it’s still something she’s self conscious about

the main conflict on pyrrah

the main conflict on pyrrah is about people wanting to overthrow the monarchy, and cassandra having to figure out what she’s going to do. remember, revolutions and a complete overhaul of the government was the norm on capella. every few hundred years a revolution was practically expected. and not to mention the fact that cassandra’s mother was a revolutionary.

but that’s not how things work on pyrrah- the monarchy had been in place for THOUSANDS of years, and yeah, of course there was shitty rulers- victoria and mitsy’s father among them- but…the great or even mediocre rulers outnumber the shitty ones.

this whole situation challenges a lot of cassandra’s ideal and beliefs about the government. she drags her feet in helping the royal family at first- something that strains her friendship with keandra for a while- since…she’s been brought up to believe that change & revolution is good! cassandra learns a lot from this experience, and her view of the world isn’t so black and white afterwards.

cassandra’s signature outfit 

cassandra got her signature blue vest & a tie combo from her time on pyrrah. she was attending a ball there and since the pyrrite augur was wearing a suit, they all thought it’d be a nice symmetry for cassandra to wear one as well. she got complimented all night, and tbh? it was the first time she FELT beautiful since receiving her scar five years earlier

council of augurs

victoria came to dulcie’s funeral, since she and cassandra (and especially keandra) are very close, and cassandra tells her and frederick that thea KNEW that capella was going to be destroyed and said nothing. victoria is appalled and decrees that no future pyrrite augurs will be sent to thea to train. instead, she and frederick start to round up all the augurs they can find to form a council- which is what was in place before atlas fell and killed them all except for thea. 

cassandra is a member of this council, but she’s not active really. frederick really the only other augur she’s close to.

So, Cap. Marvel had this One Deleted Scene...

It sort of expands more on her stealing that motorcycle. Here.

https://twitter.com/usatodaylife/status/1131620934077571072

I’d say “You should have included this, it adds more personality to her when she kind of needed it in the film” but...then I thought about it. It’s just more FLIPPANCY. Y’know, the only other switch she has other than stoic calmness. Those are the two buttons she predominately has throughout the film. She’s calm and collected and all stone-cold “Don’t got nothing to prove to you” and flippantly snarky when she’s not. That’s it.

I know what you’re thinking. “Well a lot of the Marvel heroes are snarky and quippy and flippant, why’s it okay when they do it”? 

One, it gets annoying seeing it done twenty times. 

Two, the guy who does it the most and started the whole snarky dry wit humor thing? Iron Man. 

And I HAAAAAAATE Iron Man. I have never, EVER forgiven him for the stuff in Marvel’s Civil War comic. Not ever. He got off fuckin’ scott free and he can fuck a garbage disposal. I’m Captain America all the way. Even though they fucked HIM over with the Hydra crap in the comics. 

Three, we actually get to know the characters in the other films who do similar behavior. We know their likes, dislikes, their fears, hopes and dreams. We see their family. We get a buildup. What do we really know about Carol? 

Well, we THOUGHT we knew her when the film starts off, then about twenty minutes or so in...evidently not, something’s off about her past. So everything we THOUGHT had been established about her past was a big fuckin’ lie. She’s not that person at all. So who is she then? Do we see her past? Not really. The most we ever see of her actual past doesn’t add up to ten minutes of screentime and it’s FLASHBACK stuff that first appears with quick, almost seizure-inducing editing when her brain is being scanned. Then there’s the one full scene when Mar-vell is shot and Carol gets her powers. That’s it. 

Let’s compare her to Captain America. We see his normal life. We see him with his friend Bucky, and him wanting to join the army out of a sense of Patriotic duty and because he doesn’t like bullies, and the Nazis are the biggest ones of all. He’s too weak though. But then he gets a chance to be a candidate for a super soldier serum and proves his mettle by trying to fall on a grenade to save his fellow men. We also see he’s smart, and not a brainless brick. He gets a flag down that nobody else did not by climbing up the pole...but by just knocking down the pole itself, then leisurely plucking the flag up. Nobody else thought of that. But he did.

So we see him quite a lot and get to know who he is BEFORE he gets his powers and even then, it didn’t really change who he was inside. It just brought out the potential that was always there. 

But Carol? What do we know about her? We don’t really see her with her friends and family. We get TOLD what she is, but we’re not SHOWN. And on top of that, she doesn’t really suffer any consequences or trials. She gets it easy.

Let’s compare. 

Thor actually gets kicked out of his home. He disobeys his dad’s orders and because he’s such an arrogant toe-rag, he is stripped of his godhood, and he can’t even use his big, fancy hammer because he’s not worthy of it anymore. He’s easily captured by SHIELD. He’s a fish out of water who has no idea how the Earth works and he has nothing but the clothes on his back, and he has to learn humility, and to respect other people. He begins to fall in love with a human woman, and at the end he even offers himself up to save others. So he fell to his lowest point and then got to rise back up by proving himself humble and noble and worthy again through self-sacrifice for other’s sake. 

Guardians of the Galaxy. It opens with a KID LOSING HIS MOM TO CANCER. He’s so hurt he can’t bring himself to take her hand on her deathbed, he runs out of the building to cry and he’s abducted by aliens whom, we get told, joke about doing things like EATING HIM. Which he doesn’t find funny AT ALL.  That kid grows up into a rather selfish jerk who’s an arrogant thief, and he gets into a big fight with bounty hunters AND they all get tossed into jail. Peter, the kid, has to work with others to break out and sell the fruits of his labor, which turns out to be an infinity stone. We learn more about the others, we learn of their pain, and we see them at low points too. Rocket drunk and feeling like a worthless, stupid animal. Drax tries to avenge his murdered family and fails miserably. Groot’s self-sacrifice. And they’re all...well...losers! All of them have indeed lost people and Gamora’s implied to have been heavily mistreated by Thanos, but they’re also all sort of pathetic. Just about everything they try to do blows up in their face in some way. So because they keep getting screwed over and screwing up and then at the END succeed by working together, we can identify with them. They don’t really have these huge, amazing powers either, so you can further identify with them because for the most part, they’re just normal people with guns and knives except for Groot. 

Capt America, as I’ve shown, has a ton of his life shown before he even becomes Captain America. But he loses his best friend. He can’t even get drunk to numb the pain.  And then at the end of the film he has to sacrifice himself to keep WMDs from being launched on America. He crashes into the arctic, and he doesn’t die, but he’s frozen for 70 years. He’s lost the love of his life. He’s lost his whole world, his time. All of his friends and family are dead now. He’s got nothing. He saved America...but he has nothing left. THAT...is tragedy. THAT...is drama. THAT...is good writing and it gets us to identify and relate to him.

Heck, take ANT-MAN. He’s a pathetic thief. He can’t even see his own daughter. He can’t even pay child support. He can’t hold a job because he’s a thief. So from the beginning, this guy is a loser. His only special thing is the suit he manages to steal, and he even at first doesn’t WANT it, he tries to return it. Throughout the film that sense of “this guy’s pretty pathetic” lingers on. His big thing is being able to shrink and to summon ants. Not that impressive. But we can relate to somebody who’s so pathetic, we can see ourselves in him, especially since he sincerely keeps trying to help his daughter. You know, the clear, obvious family that’s very firmly established and we get to know more than Marvel’s family who isn’t even her actual family and most of what we know about them  is from an info-dump scene and very brief flashing images of her singing in a bar with Monica? 

Even TONY has a better origin. At first he’s a smug weapons manufacturer. Then he gets kidnapped. He’s gonna get killed. He gets to know a man named Yinsen, a doctor, who helps save his life. They form a bond and Tony builds a suit made of scraps in a CAVE! But tragically Yinsen dies to save Tony. Tony barely makes it out of their alive, and decides...no more weapons. His company is done selling them. Period. But he does build a new suit, the Iron Man suit, and decides to use it to start helping people and fighting terrorism. He wants to clean up the mess he’s unknowingly made. He was at a low point. Knocked down. Nobody takes his company seriously anymore and they think he’s cuckoo for getting out of the weapons business AND if that electromagnet in his chest is removed, he’ll die. There’s a real threat to his life. So at least he started out at a low point and had to rebuild himself and build his way back up. And even then I still don’t really like him much at all.

There’s only ONE origin that I think is truly weak and could be called worse than Capt. Marvel’s. Hulk. Bruce Banner HAS to control his temper, sure, because when he tried to perform an experiment to make humans immune to gamma radiation...it failed, he went all Hulk and destroyed the lab he was in and killed several people AND he hurt the guy who helped start the project, Gen. Ross AND his beloved Betty Ross, whom Bruce cares for deeply. He’s a fugitive from the law from the very beginning of the film and desperately looking for a cure. And yes, the entire film he’s on the run and there’s never a moment’s peace for him until the very end. But then again, Captain Marvel is also on the road and the run a lot of her movie, and we see more bonding with the people who used to be her friends than Hulk bonding with Betty. And she and Nick Fury get plenty of great friendship too. Not much friendship and bonding in Hulk.

But I think you get the point. Compared to almost all the other superhero origin films in Marvel, Carol Danvers got jack. Even BLACK PANTHER in HIS debut in Civil War got more because we see him lose his dad and he doesn’t even get vengeance and he has to accept that revenge isn’t the answer. There’s an arc. And he’s also more fleshed out as a character. Plus his own actual movie gives him even more of an arc and having to accept responsibility for his country while realizing they’ve really dropped the ball on how to handle power. And the villains aren’t boring either. 

So Captain Marvel’s film is just...ehhhhhh. Meh. Blah. Whatever. That’s it. 

I know what you’re gonna say. “But it got so much money!” Yeah. And one of the big reasons was the same reason Black Panther did. Superhero marvel film featuring a type not seen before. For Black Panther, it’s a mainstream black superhero. For Capt. Marvel, mainstream superHEROINE. We only really had one other, Wonder Woman. People were hungry for more, even if the end result is just OKAY or AVERAGE at best. People will accept poor representation or just average if the alternate is none at all. You’d rather have crumbs than nothing. Even the critics said Captain Marvel was about a 78%, even Ant-Man and the Wasp, one of the weaker Marvel films, got a higher rating. It got ONE point higher than Thor, one of the weaker Marvel origin films. But to be fair it dead beat The incredible Hulk! And again, that’s from the Critics. AKA people who get paid to like this stuff. Sometimes outright directly in Sony’s case since we found out they were paying off critics. XD 

Just saying. Capt. Marvel wasn’t that good. But if I had to say one thing about this deleted scene that didn’t make it into the film, it’s this.

SUUUUUUUUUUUBTLE. XD

pyrrah

the royal family of pyrrah

VICTORIA, THE KING OF PYRRAH, who ascended the throne at such a young age and after her terrible father was assassinated - he’d been unable to cope with capella’s closing and became making bad and cruel decisions. she managed to undo most of his work but is still faced with suspicion and criticism at every turn.

MITSY, THE PRINCESS OF PYRRAH, who appears sweet and silly but is actually pyrrah’s spymaster. she’s foiled more than one plot to overthrow her sister. is actually sweet and silly, but is aware of how it’s perceived and uses it to let people underestimate her so she can get close to them and get them to reveal things they normally wouldn’t. 

FREDERICK, THE PYRRITE AUGUR, and the king’s lover. his clairvoyance works by seeing through his lover’s eyes, and therefore is the best equipped to protect her. ends up becoming a father figure to cassandra- a healthy one, that she really fucking needed after theon.

and KEANDRA, THE ADOPTED PRINCE, who is one of pyrrah’s brightest scholars. starting to work through all his guilt about his role in the destruction of capella, and has studied his inclination at length. when he finally is able to use his inclination- when he finally finds something to believe in, all that studying pays off- it takes only a few weeks to acclimated to the feeling of actually performing the techniques he’d been studying for seven years.

top five awful things the previous king of pyrrah did

literally had no idea how to handle capella closing off. he’s like that bad ex who’s constantly trying to get you back and is super clingy. kept sending diplomat after diplomat to capella, the ships were turned away at the space station checkpoints, and then blamed whoever was on the mission

bc of #1, had NO CLUE how to rebuild pyrrah’s economy with the loss of their biggest trading partner. pyrrah is known for it’s mining and manufacture of spaceship parts and stuff, and capella, who is literally ALL ABOUT space exploration and is the best at designing and building ships, traded with them frequently. 

tbh he’s probably the one who made the economy so reliant on capella?? his rule was about 800 years long (pyrrites live a really fucking long time) and so he focused so heavily on trade with capella bc he’d thought it’d go on forever despite his aids telling “uh sir this is a fucking terrible idea”

started a war. idk where or with whom (not any planets/species i have currently developed, this is something i gotta develop more) but he started a war, hoping to conquer another planet for it’s resource

paid absolutely NO attention to public works projects and maintiaing his planet?? like…they lived underground in huge networks of caverns bc the atmosphere is toxic and *bill wurtz voice* THE SUN IS DEADLY LASER. but one huge section of cavern collapsed bc THIS ASSHOLE was starting wars and being depressed bc capella wasn’t talking to him anymore and not taking care of his fucking people

bonus: was a dick to his daughters?? placed FAR to much pressure on the crown princess and she honest to god ended up hating him. constantly berated his youngest daughter for never taking things seriously, and while she’s turned her silly and sweet demeanor into a weapon, it’s still something she’s self conscious about

the main conflict on pyrrah

the main conflict on pyrrah is about people wanting to overthrow the monarchy, and cassandra having to figure out what she’s going to do. remember, revolutions and a complete overhaul of the government was the norm on capella. every few hundred years a revolution was practically expected. and not to mention the fact that cassandra’s mother was a revolutionary. but that’s not how things work on pyrrah- the monarchy had been in place for THOUSANDS of years, and yeah, of course there was shitty rulers- victoria and mitsy’s father among them- but…the great or even mediocre rulers outnumber the shitty ones.

this whole situation challenges a lot of cassandra’s ideal and beliefs about the government. she drags her feet in helping the royal family at first- something that strains her friendship with keandra for a while- since…she’s been brought up to believe that change & revolution is good! cassandra learns a lot from this experience, and her view of the world isn’t so black and white afterwards.

cassandra’s signature outfit 

cassandra got her signature blue vest & a tie combo from her time on pyrrah. she was attending a ball there and since the pyrrite augur was wearing a suit, they all thought it’d be a nice symmetry for cassandra to wear one as well. she got complimented all night, and tbh? it was the first time she FELT beautiful since receiving her scar five years earlier 

council of augurs

victoria came to dulcie’s funeral, since she and cassandra (and especially keandra) are very close, and cassandra tells her and frederick that thea KNEW that capella was going to be destroyed and said nothing. victoria is appalled and decrees that no future pyrrite augurs will be sent to thea to train. instead, she and frederick start to round up all the augurs they can find to form a council- which is what was in place before atlas fell and killed them all except for thea. cassandra is a member of this council, but she’s not active really. frederick’s really the only other augur she’s close to.

cassandra’s flings

cassandra’s had a few flings with pyrrites, but no romantic relationships. pyrrites and other beings with extremely long lifespans typically don’t get involved in deep, meaningful relationships with capellans and other beings with comparatively short lifespans, mostly for that fear of loss.

so like, a short, purely sexual relationship? totally cool. romantic relationship? nooooooo

so even if cassandra did have romantic feelings for them, they’d be unrequited or the other would be unwilling to act on or reveal their feelings.

kriemhild

i’ve decided to name them kriemhild and bertram. cassandra was in love with both of them, but only bertram returned her feelings. he never let on that he loved her though, because of the unspoken ‘rule’ that pyrrites don’t get into romantic relationships with beings with much shorter lifespans. for now we’re gonna focus on kriemhild though.

i’ve mentioned before that cassandra’s signature outfit of a tie and blue vest is really just a slightly more informal version of an outfit she wore to a ball on pyrrah, and that wearing that outfit made her feel pretty for the first time since receiving her scar. well, it was at this ball she met kriemhild. they talked for hours, and they flirted with each other all night (though cassandra was really a flustered mess through it, seeing as how this was her first time being flirted with). as everyone was leaving, kriemhild kissed her, and that was it for cassandra really.

a lot of her attraction to kriemhild really just boils down to the fact that cassandra was desperate to be loved and desired. while yes, she had her biggest support and dearest friend back in her life, she still wanted…well, she wanted proof that she was still (romantically) lovable. that after everything that happened on ioavis, and after what she’d done on capella, she wasn’t…broken in some way.

kriemhild made it explicitly clear that she was only attracted cassandra sexually and not romantically- she wasn’t leading cassandra on, thinking things would become romantic. cassandra understood this and agreed to the relationship anyway- again…she wanted to be desired too.

pyrrah and healing

cassandra’s time on pyrrah was so, so good for her.

the royal family was the support system she needed but did not receive on ioavis, and they all let her grieve. even when things were chaotic and messy and they were fighting off ppl seeking to overthrow victoria, they all let her vent and express her emotions instead of doing what theon and forte did, which was basically saying “you can grieve later, there’s more pressing matters now”

cassandra was finally around one of the only people who could understand the guilt and despair she felt- it should be noted that the royal family does not know about what keandra and cassandra had done. having keandra back in her life- talking to him, grieving with him, sharing her doubts and guilt and knowing they could crawl into each other’s beds when the weight of their lost world began to crush their chests...it was so, so good for the both of them.

and then kriemhild and bertram. while the unrequited love she felt did mess with her, and give her doubts about whether anyone would be able to truly love her romantically, with them she felt beautiful and desirable. and it’s not like they were cold and callous towards her- the three of them were good friends, and like i’d mentioned, bertram did secretly return her feelings. if she’d stayed on pyrrah...eventually he would have confessed.

The Chronicles of Loon

Act One: Scene One: The Chronicles of Loon

 "Bring me the Head of Quarrk! The Emporer Loon bellowed out into the crowd. "He has taken my son HungGin away to the outskirts of the Kingdom." The crowd roared: "Kill Quarrk". The emporer then adjusted his crown so it sat squarely on his big bald head. "Go to every corner of the kingdom - find the usurper and his clan." With that Loon turned to his wife Hackcha and asked: "Did I do alright honey?" Hackcha answered: "You forgot the line about the Destroyer". The Emporer stared blankly into space. The minions in the room were wondering: "What's Father going to say next?" "Oh bugger it - I'm just not in the frame anymore." He replied.

 Scene Two: Enter YoungJim

 YoungJim I made you my successor didn't I? Yes - Father Don't you remember? YoungJim replied. "I thought it was HungGin I made the heir to the throne?" Hackcha replied: "No honey - that was before your knights and I decided it wouldn't be a good fit." Just then a messenger came in, whispered something in the Kings ear; then went over to the other ear and whispered it again. Loon stepped forward: " Send word out to the leaders of the Kingdom. Let it be known in the hills and in the valleys, over the hills and over the dales. I just heard the Washington Chines Newspaper is for sale." "Quarrk and clan will give it up for 32 million dubloons your majesty." The messenger replied. "Then go to the Royal coffers and pay the ransom he ordered - at least six million dubloons. Put a spin on it for the kingdom dwellers. Tell then I brought it back for a dubloon." "As it is written so shall it be done your majesty." And with that the messenger turned and left for the castle deep. 

 Scene Three: Meanwhile at Quarrks Camp

 "I told that senile old bugger that Prince HungGin was the heir to the Kingdom of Loon!" Quarrk yelled at his son. "Get me an audience with HungGin immediately - I fear all may be lost. We must gather our forces and prepare for battle. The Kings son in the east - Prince CoukGin the Great has weakened us over the past year, cutting off our lifeline from the kingdom of Chappan. We had to deliver the Washington Chimes into his hands. Even now he re-establishes his Generals, and is amassing fresh forces at the Chimes." "What is it Quarrk?" Prince HungGin asked. "My Lord we must act now if we are to wrest the Kingdom from your brother YoungJim's hands." said Quarrk. "I fear the Kings wife is colluding with YoungJim and the duchess InGin and have the upper hand. Their Generals are turning the people away from you and strengthening their base of operational support." "We must rally the people Quarrk! Rally like we've never rallied before. Send a message out to our supporters: “Behold I am coming - New Leadership for a new Era." HungGin shouted.

 Interlude: Narrator

 The tensions are building now between the camps. King loon has retired to his country estate in the nearby Kingdom of the Lost: Veygus. A place he has frequented now and then over the past fifteen years. Veygus authorities are always happy to see the King. They even call him their own King: The King of Veygus. He always brings an entourage and frequents the local entertainment houses which the locals appreciate. The King has a long line of credit with the local business moguls and can always increase the taxes in his own Kingdom if he needs more. The King has a vision for that Kingdom. To have the people there acknowledge him as their King. Veygus is considered a neutral territory amongst the different Kingdoms and is always a nice place to go and relax and to get away from the rigors of Royal responsibilities. The King wants to restore the place and establish a satellite base there to increase his influence and expand his Kingdom. And what goes on in the Kingdom of Veygus stays in Veygus.

 Scene Four: Bad News From Afar

 "Your majesty, your majesty!" A messenger cried out. " YoYo Island has fallen." The King stood there motionless. "How could this be? he asked. "Quarrk has entered the city and has razed the buildings to the ground" the messenger replied. The King turned and stared at the messenger. "Not YoYo island - is nothing sacred?" "Apparently not your majesty" answered the messenger. "Quarrks special WHY22 forces have wrestled it from the local generals under your son Prince CoukGin the Great." "I thought that ground was safe for a hundred years" the king uttered in dismay. "The buildings are gone your majesty - there's no hope of rebuilding, or recovering the losses." "How much are we talking about? asked the king. "Billions of dubloons your majesty" replied the messenger. The king fell back into his chair.

 Scene Five: DayMoGin the Spook

 In the far eastern corner of Loons Kingdom there is a region called ChungDung where resides DayMoGin the Spook. So called because of the countless legions of invisible friends she commands. She is notorious in the Kingdom of Loon as a Seer beyond the physical Kingdom into the invisible Spirit Kingdom. She has a retreat center along the lake at a great marble palace, near a steep mountainside. There is an infirmary along the winding road that leads to the Palace. Loom believes that the mother of his wife Queen Hackja speaks through DayMoGin. Twenty years ago past DayMoGin was staring at a picture of the Loon family when she suddenly went into a trance and met with Loons relatives in the Spirit Kingdom. They told her she had a great mission to beat the evil Spirit Kingdom horde from the inhabitants of Loon's Kingdom. She visited spiritualists and several years later started sessions of singing and chanting, getting the people to beat themselves and each other to get the evil spirit legions out of their bodies. Once driven out of their bodies they would then attend lectures given by Loon's son who had taken up residence in the Spirit Kingdom. DayMoGin commands the multiple billions of Spirit Kingdom dwellers including all the great people who used to live in the surrounding Kingdoms who have attended the workshops given by the King's son. She is a great asset to Loon and encourages her followers to attend him. 

 Scene Six: The Kings Jewel: UnityCorp.

 For fifty years UnityCorp and it's umbrella of lower level companies have been an instrument of economic support for King Loons reign. He had established the company early on in his monarchy . This was a much needed support for  the local government who were reeling from a recent war with renegade forces in it's Northern Province. The local government contracted a company within UnityCorp called UnityCorpHeavy to manufacture and supply armaments for the military forces. The weapons were based on designs from the Kingdom in the West. UnityCorpHeavy, as well as other unassociated companies were subcontracted by the local government to supply machine guns, artillery and vehicle parts. Theses weapons were used by most of the army. The King had recently put his son Prince CoukGin the Great in charge of the businesses there in the Eastern Kingdom. This was met with mixed reactions from the locals some of whom were dismissed from their long held positions in the many companies under UnityCorp. There had been financial problems in the Eastern Province and the shakeup was in part a result of the economic climate. This didn't go down very well with the peasants - most of who had been with the companies from the beginning and had started as slaves and worked their way towards better working conditions as serfs. The Prince had a different perspective on the continued development of economic might. He had been trained in the Kingdom of the West and wasn't sensitive to the people within those companies of the East. This was in part the motivation behind Quarrks rebellion. They had invested themselves and built those companies because they were loyal to the King and were inspired by the Kings great vision of one day establishing a unified kingdom bringing all the kingdoms of the earth under the Kings dominion.

 Scene Seven: Enter General Chang

 General Chang was a relative newcomer to the Kings court. He had risen through the ranks in the Kingdom of the East to become one of the Kings favorite Generals. Chang was an educator and businessman who was involved in several major projects that the King had developed throughout several kingdoms. He was the Kings choice for a political leader to one day govern the eastern kingdom. Recently when the King was travelling through the Eastern Kingdom he made an announcement one morning that the General was to be his overall representative with authority over the princes CuekGin and YoungGin. According to an eye witness acount from an attendant of the court Prince CuekGin flew into a rage after hearing this and threatened to go back to the Western Kingdom unless the decision was rescinded. The King remained firm. Prince CuekGin felt threatened by the loss of power that he would experience and conspired with a local commander to find any kind of evidence that would cause Chang to be out of favor with the King. Meanwhile the king was talked into visiting Vuegas for a while. While the king was gone a letter was circulated accusing the General of all kinds of indiscretions - involving money and women and accusing him of mismanaging the Kings Finances in the Eastern Kingdom. He was also indirectly implicated and blamed for the loss of Yoyo island to Quarrk forces earlier in the year. This letter was leaked to sympathetic anti-loyalist forces in the west who distributed it through the channels of resistance to people in the western Kingdom. This caused concern by loyalist forces in the west who immediately responded by giving the impression that there was no appointment of Chang by the King, and even going so far as to downplay Chang’s role in the maintenance of the Eastern Kingdom. People following the situation were even wondering why the King would appoint Chang in a position over his own two sons. Had he lost confidence in them for some reason? Chang was now facing accusations from the within his group fueled by the assertions of a few through an distribution of letters sent to the people in the Eastern Kingdom. It seemed like his career was over and he would fall out of favor with the King. The Kings closest aides advised the king to extend his stay in the Kingdom of Vuegus until the commotion had died down. Even though the King had issued a royal degree it was downplayed and even dismissed as false by the Kings sons and loyalists in the Western Kingdom. The king hearing of his son CeukGin’s defiance sat back in his favorite chair. He was tired. The General now pondered his next move. Opposition had opened him up to public scrutiny. To join forces with Quarrk would definitely cause disfavor with the king. But what could he do but bide his time and wait for a favorable development.

 Scene Eight: The Two Kingdoms

 The King had been hesitant about naming his successor to the crown. There had been situations amongst his many children that caused him to hesitate before choosing the new regent. This may have been unfortunate as he was now well into old age and he needed someone to take charge who he considered to be a close embodiment of his ideals and qualified enough to assume the responsibilities involved in governing his many provinces throughout the Kingdom. Throughout his reign the King had inter-married several of his son's and daughters to the children of his closest Generals who had stood by him throughout his many campaigns and  had great responsibilities in overseeing the Kingdom.

To his son Prince CuekGin the Great he entrusted the wealth and power of the Eastern Kingdom on the foundation of financial accomplishment of his business in the West.

He divided the responsibilities of the Kingdom of the West between his son Prince HungGin and also his daughter Princess EmoGin the Grand Duchess of Neork. Prince HunGin was married to Quarrks daughter and EmoGin was married to a son of another of the Kings top aides: General Embellishment the Communicator. Several years earlier the King had crowned his son YoungJim his successor, crowning him the  new King governing the entire kingdom. YoungJim was a younger sibling and sincere in his pursuit of following in his fathers footsteps. He was also a friend of the General Wholly Spirit whom had been away from the Eastern kingdom for thirty years. YoungGin was introducing the General to the many Kingdom dwellers in the East and the West. 

 Scene Nine: Tension in the East

 The people in the eastern kingdom were talking amongst themselves. They were confused over the great princes reaction to the Kings proclamation that General Chang was now the leader.  There was a report from the eastern city of Kcarpsite that the Great Prince had called his own meeting with the leaders who had attended the King that morning. He wasn't happy with his fathers announcement. He made that clear to the leaders. He said: "If someone blocks my attack then I will strike at them hard. If someone attacks me then I will retaliate with deadly force." The commanders were astonished. One stood up and said: "I will not follow anyone except the King! If the King gave the order then the Great Prince should comply with it." General Chang also stood up and said: "Great Prince you severely attack your brother HungGin accusing him of not listening to your father the King - but you do the same thing!" It was then that General Chang realized that the prince would go out of his way to destroy him. He made a determination that if this was the situation now then he would not concede easily, but continue to fight the prince and destroy him. The leaders were afraid of the prince. They had seen how he had gone after his brother HungGin and Quarrk. They knew that he controlled the royal treasury for the eastern kingdom and they were concerned that they would have their lifelines of support cut off in retaliation for not uniting with the prince. Some felt that the people should be aware of the situation. They sent messengers to Kcarpsite so that the people would know. The small city of Kcarpsite was inhabited by around four thousand loyal followers of the King who were concerned about events in the Kingdom. The Prince had tried to destroy the city but wasn't able to stop it from operating. He had singled out several people to be tried for heresy but the local judges threw the cases out of court and Kcarpsite continued to flourish much to the dismay of the prince. The information was out and was quickly sent by messengers to the Kingdom of the West.

  John Reed 2010.